Treatment of odorous volatile fatty acids using a biotrickling filter

In this study, a novel fibrous bioreactor was developed for treating odorous compounds present in contaminated air. The first stage of this work was a preliminary study which aimed at investigating the feasibility of using the fibrous bioreactor for the removal of malodorous volatile fatty acids (VFA) that is a common odorous contaminant generated from anaerobic degradation of organic compounds. The kinetics of microbial growth and VFA degradation in the selected culture, and the performance of the submerged bioreactor at different VFA mass loadings were studied. Above 95% of VFA removal efficiencies were achieved at mass loadings up to 22.4 g/m(3)/h. In the second stage, the odour treatment process was scaled up with system design and operational considerations. A trickling biofilter with synthetic fibrous packing medium was employed. The effects of inlet VFA concentration and empty bed retention time (EBRT) on the process performance were investigated. The bioreactor was effective in removing VFA at mass loadings up to 32 g/m(3)/h, beyond which VFA started to accumulate in the recirculation liquid, indicating the biofilm was unable to degrade all of the VFA introduced. Although VFA accumulated in the liquid phase, the removal efficiency remained above 99%. This suggested that the biochemical reaction rather than gas-liquid mass transfer was the limiting step of the treatment process. In addition, the biotrickling filter was stable for long-term operation with relatively low and steady pressure drop, no clogging and degeneration of the packing material occurred during the four-month study.     

Development of High‐Level Omega‐3 Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) Production from Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Phaeodactylum tricornutum is a lipid‐rich marine diatom that contains a high level of omega‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). In an effort to reduce costs for large‐scale cultivation of this microalga, this study first established a New BBM medium (0.3 x strength BBM with only 3% of the initial phosphate level) to replace the traditional F/2 medium. Phaeodactylum tricornutum could grow in extremely low phosphate concentrations (25 µM), without compromising the EPA content. In the presence of sea salts, silicate addition was not necessary for high rate growth, high EPA content, or lipid accumulation in this species. Using urea as the sole nitrogen source tended to increase EPA contents per dry biomass (by 24.7%) while not affecting growth performance. The use of sea salts, rather than just sodium chloride, led to significantly improved biomass yields (20% increase) and EPA contents of total fatty acid (46–52% increase), most likely because it supplied sufficient essential elements such as magnesium. A salinity level of 35 led to significantly higher biomass yields compared with 20, but salinity had no significant influence on EPA content. EPA became the dominant fatty acid with average levels of 51.8% of total fatty acids during the exponential growth phase at 20 ppt in New BBM medium with sea salts.     

Isolation and identification of gastrointestinal microbiota from the short-nosed fruit bat Cynopterus brachyotis brachyotis

Studies on the microbial ecology of gut microbiota in bats are limited and such information is necessary in determining the ecological significance of these hosts. Short-nosed fruit bats (Cynopterus brachyotis brachyotis) are good candidates for microbiota studies given their close association with humans in urban areas. Thus, this study explores the gut microbiota of this species from Peninsular Malaysia by means of biochemical tests and 16S rRNA gene sequences analysis. The estimation of viable bacteria present in the stomach and intestine of C. b. brachyotis ranged from 3.06 × 10¹⁰ to 1.36 × 10¹⁵ CFU/ml for stomach fluid and 1.92 × 10¹⁰ to 6.10 × 10¹⁵ CFU/ml for intestinal fluid. A total of 34 isolates from the stomach and intestine of seven C. b. brachyotis were retrieved. A total of 16 species of bacteria from eight genera (Bacillus, Enterobacter, Enterococcus, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Pantoea, Pseudomonas and Serratia) were identified, Enterobacteriaceae being the most prevalent, contributing 12 out of 16 species isolated. Most isolates from the Family Enterobacteriaceae have been reported as pathogens to humans and wildlife. With the possibility of human wildlife transmission, the findings of this study focus on the importance of bats as reservoirs of potential bacterial pathogens.     

Expression of p58.2 or CD94/NKG2A inhibitory receptors in an NK-like cell line,YTINDY, leads to HLA Class I-mediated inhibition of cytotoxicity in the p58.2- but not the CD94/NKG2A-expressing transfectant

Natural killer cytotoxicity is down-regulated by HLA Class I-specific inhibitory receptors classified as killer inhibitory receptors (KIRs) or C-type lectins. The regulation of their inhibitory signaling pathways is not completely understood. The YTINDY NK-like cell line was transfected to express p58.2 KIR (YT/C143 transfectant) or CD94/NKG2A C-type lectin (YT/CD94 transfectant); and YT/C143, but not YT/CD94, cytotoxicity was down-regulated by Class I. YT/C143 and YT/CD94 expressed equally low p56(lck) levels, suggesting that p56(lck) is not absolutely required for p58.2 signaling but may be required for CD94/NKG2A signaling. Lower SHP-1 levels and activity were observed in YT/CD94 compared to YT/C143. However, increasing SHP-1 to equivalent levels in YT/C143 did not restore inhibition in YT/CD94. Our results suggest that the combination of low p56(lck) and SHP-1 levels may be responsible for the absent inhibitory signal in YT/CD94. In addition, the possible expression of CD94/NKG2C activating receptor may override inhibitory signals transduced through CD94/NKG2A.     

The parasite complex ofSaissetia nigra in Malaysia

The percentage parasitism ofSaissetia nigra (Nietner) by chalcidoid parasites and the relative abundance of individual parasites were studied in the field usingHibiscus rosa-sinensis L. as the host plant. In order of abundance (on the basis of percentage recorded) the primary parasites wereAnysis saissetiae Ash.,Aneristus ceroplastae How., andMicroterys newcombi (Gir)., while the hyperparasites wereMarietta exitiosa Comp.,Cheiloneurus saissetiae Noyes & Chua andEupelmus catoxanthae Ferr. The efficiency ofA. saissetiae (the larvae of which feed on the scale eggs) to control the scale population is doubtful because it is often parasitised by all 3 hyperparasites mentioned and each larva during development causes only 58% egg mortality of the parasitised host, leaving many scale eggs unconsumed.A. ceroplastae appears to be more useful parasite because it attacks the 2nd instar scales which cause significant damage to the host plant and it is free from attack by hyperparasites.     

Phytochrome and UV signal transduction pathways

The phytochromes are the best studied plant photoreceptors, controlling a wide variety of responses at both whole plant and single cell levels. Three signal transduction pathways, dependent on cGMP and/or calcium, have been found to be utilized by phytochrome to control the expression of genes required for chloroplast development (e.g., CAB and FNR) and anthocyanin biosynthesis (e.g., CHS). In particular, cGMP is a second messenger positively regulating CHS gene expression whilst calcium and calmodulin act as negative regulators. In addition to phytochrome regulation of CHS we have begun to examine the signal transduction pathways utilized by UV photoreceptors. In contrast to phytochrome-mediated responses, results indicate a role for calcium and calmodulin as positive regulators of CHS gene expression in UV light.     

Nitric oxide and prostacyclin-dependent pathways involvement on in vitro induced hypothermia

Nitric oxide and prostacyclin are endogenous endothelium-derived vasodilators, but little information is available on their release during hypothermia. This study was carried out to test the hypothesis that endothelium may modulate vascular reactivity to decreased temperature changes. Segments of contracted (prostaglandin F(2alpha), 2x10(-6)M) canine coronary, femoral, and renal arteries, with and without endothelium, were in vitro ("organ chambers") exposed to progressive hypothermia (from 37 to 10 degrees C) in graded steps. The study is limited to physiological measurements of vascular tone, in the presence or absence of PGI(2) and/or NOS inhibitors, which show correlation with the relaxation. Hypothermia induced vasodilatation of vessels with intact endothelium, which became endothelium-independent below 20 degrees C. This vasodilatation began at 35 degrees C and, in the presence of indomethacin (2x10(-6)M), at 30 degrees C. Endothelium-dependent vasodilatation to hypothermia was blocked by L-NMMA or L-NOARG (10(-5)M), two competitive inhibitors of nitric oxide synthase (n=5 each, P<0.05). Oxyhemoglobin (2x10(-6)M) also inhibited vasodilatation induced by hypothermia (n=6, P<0.05). Pretreatment with either atropine or pirenzepine (10(-6)M) inhibited hypothermia-mediated vasodilatation (n=5 each, P<0.05). The present in vitro study concluded that the endothelium is sensitive to temperature variations and indicated that PGI(2) and NO-dependent pathways may be involved endothelium-dependent relaxation to hypothermia. The endothelium-dependent vasodilatation to hypothermia, in systemic and coronary arteries, is mediated by the M1 muscarinic receptor.     

Analysis of an ABA-responsive rice gene promoter in transgenic tobacco

We have analyzed in transgenic tobacco the expression of a chimeric gene containing 5 sequences of the rice rab-16B gene fused to the -glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene. This construct, a translational fusion (–482 to +184) including 14 amino acids of the RAB-16B protein, is expressed only in zygotic and pollen-derived embryos. In zygotic embryos, GUS activity begins to accumulate 10 days after flowering (daf), and increases until seed maturation at 25 daf. Immunological measurements of endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) accumulation in these seeds showed a close parallel between hormone levels and GUS activity. However, GUS activity could not be reproducibly induced by treatment of immature embryos with ABA (10 M). Neither GUS activity nor GUS mRNA could be detected in leaves of transgenic tobacco even after ABA treatment. In contrast, GUS activity could be induced to high levels in pollen-derived embryos by treatment with ABA. Our results show that 482 bp of 5 sequences of the rice rab-16B promoter can confer in transgenic tobacco developmentally regulated expression in embryos but not ABA-responsive expression in vegetative tissues.     

Involvement of the insulin-like growth factor binding proteins in the cancer cell response to DNA damage

The complex mechanisms that cells have evolved to meet the challenge of constant exposure to DNA-damaging stimuli, also serve to protect cancer cells from the cytotoxic effects of chemo- and radiotherapy. IGFBPs appear to be involved, directly or indirectly, in some of these protective mechanisms. Activation of p53 is an early response to genotoxic stress, and all six human IGFBP genes have predicted p53 response elements in their promoter and/or intronic regions, at least some of which are functional. IGFBP3 has been extensively characterized as a p53-inducible gene, but in some cases it is suppressed by mutant p53 forms. DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), induced by radiotherapy and some chemotherapies, potentially lead to apoptotic cell death, senescence, or repair and recovery. DSB damage can be repaired by homologous recombination or non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), depending on the cell cycle stage, availability of key repair proteins, and other factors. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been implicated in the NHEJ pathway, and EGFR inhibition may inhibit repair, promoting apoptosis and thus improving sensitivity to chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Both IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-6 interact with components of the NHEJ pathway, and IGFBP-3 can facilitate this process through direct interaction with both EGFR and the catalytic subunit of DNA-PK. Cell fate after DNA damage may in part be regulated by the balance between the sphingolipids ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate, and IGFBPs can influence the production of both lipids. A better understanding of the involvement of IGFBPs in the DNA damage response in cancer cells may lead to improved methods of sensitizing cancers to DNA-damaging therapies.