Simultaneous nitrification, denitrification, and phosphorus removal from nutrient-rich industrial wastewater using granular sludge

The biological removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from nutrient-rich abattoir wastewater using granular sludge has been investigated. A lab-scale sequencing batch reactor, seeded with granular sludge developed using synthetic wastewater, was operated for 13 months under alternating anaerobic and aerobic conditions. It is demonstrated that the granules could be sustained and indeed further developed with the use of abattoir wastewater. The organic, nitrogen, and phosphorus loading rates applied were 2.7 gCOD L(-1) day(-1), 0.43 gN L(-1) day(-1), and 0.06 gP L(-1) day(-1), respectively. The removal efficiency of soluble COD, soluble nitrogen and soluble phosphorus were 85%, 93%, and 89%, respectively. However, the high suspended solids in the effluent limited the overall removal efficiency to 68%, 86%, and 74% for total COD, TN, and TP, respectively. This good nutrient removal was achieved through the process known as simultaneous nitrification, denitrification, and phosphorus removal, likely facilitated by the presence of large anoxic zones in the center of the granules. The removal of nitrogen was likely via nitrite optimizing the use of the limited COD available in the wastewater. Accumulibacter spp. were found to be responsible for most of the denitrification, further reducing the COD requirement for nitrogen and phosphorus removal. Mineral precipitation was evaluated and was not found to significantly contribute to the overall nutrient removal. It is also shown that the minimum HRT in a granular sludge system is not governed by the sludge settleability, as is the case with floccular sludge systems, but likely by the limitations associated with the transfer of substrates in granules.     

Optimization of pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) conditions for thermophilic <Emphasis Type="Italic">bacilli</Emphasis>

Although thermophilic members of the genus Bacillus are known to tolerate extreme environmental conditions, they appeared to be readily damaged upon mechanical manipulations. This fact was evidenced in genotyping of some strains of thermophilic Bacillus by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Consequently, a new procedure for the preparation of agarose plugs was developed. The procedure produced interpretable genomic DNA restriction profiles.     

Agronomical and chemical characterization of spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) originating in Turkey

The essential oil properties of spearmint (Mentha spicataL.), one of the most important spice plants, were studied and the essential oil components determined using gas chromatography. The essential oil content of wild-grown spearmint in the region was found to range from 1.00% to 2.00%, and two chemotypes were identified, one high in carvone (49.53-80.65%) and the other in pulegone (44.9-49.23%). Agronomic and essential oil properties of cultivated landraces ofM. spicata were also investigated under field conditions during the 1999 vegetation period. The examined spearmint landraces showed a great variability for each character studied, including yield and essential oil components. The crop was harvested twice during the vegetation period, and the essential oil content of the landraces varied from 0.90 to 2.70% in the first harvest and from 1.00 to 3.00% in the second one. Carvone was constantly present as the predominant essential oil in landraces, except for one sample, which was high in linalool (82.80%). Superior landraces with carvone contents were discovered; their maximum content reached 79.70% in the first cutting and 82.97% at the second cutting. The superior landraces were assayed for future improvement studies.     

Os trigonum syndrome in ancient Anatolian settlements

An os trigonum is a small, round bone situated just behind the ankle joint. Clinical research shows that the os trigonum is present in about 5-15 % of normal feet. It occurs when one part of the bone does not fuse with the rest of the talus during growth. The present study is made on the skeletons, which were found in the Karagündiiz, Dilkaya and Van Kalesi-Eski Van Sehri settlements, Van province, Anatolia, dated in the Middle Ages. In this study 228 skeletons were examined, 120 males and 108 females. 376 tall were studied: 227 from Karagiindtiz, 93 from Dilkaya, and 56 from Van Kalesi-Eski Van Sehri. The percentage of the os trigonum syndrome was recorded as 6.6 %.     

Effect of Strontium Ranelate on Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Apoptosis of CRL-11372 Cells

In vitro and in vivo studies have proven strontium to be an osteoinductive trace element. The effect of strontium ranelate (SR) on H₂O₂-induced apoptosis of CRL-11372 cells and optimization of its anti-apoptotic dose were the aims of this study. After 1 h of pretreatment with SR 1 μM, 50 μM, 100 μM, 500 μM, and 1,000 μM concentrations, CRL-11372 osteoblasts were exposed to 100 μM H₂O₂ for periods of 6–12 h. The same experiments were repeated without H₂O₂. The apoptotic index and viability of cells were assessed quantitatively with a fluorescent dye and qualitatively with agarose gel electrophoresis. Concentrations of 1–100 μM of SR with a 6-h treatment and only 1 μM concentration with a 12-h treatment inhibited the apoptotic effect of H₂O₂ on cultured osteoblasts significantly (P < 0.05). SR was shown to inhibit H₂O₂-induced apoptosis of CRL-11372 cells in a dose-dependent manner.     

Substrate docking and molecular dynamic simulation for prediction of fungal enzymes from Trichoderma species-assisted extraction of nanocellulose from oil palm leaves

Abstract

Fungi of the Trichoderma species are valued industrial enzymes in support of the ‘zero-waste’ technology to convert agro-industrial biomass into valuable products, i.e. nanocellulose (NC). In this study, an in silico approach using substrate docking and molecular dynamic (MD) simulation was used to predict the order of which the multilayers of cellulosic polymers, i.e. lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose in oil palm leaves (OPL) are degraded by fungal enzymes, endocellulase and exocellulase. The study aimed to establish the catalytic tendencies of the enzymes to optimally degrade the cellulosic components of OPL for high yield production of NC. Energy minimized endocellulase and exocellulase models revealed satisfactory scores of PROCHECK (90.0% and 91.2%), Verify3D (97.23% and 98.85%) and ERRAT (95.24% and 91.00%) assessments. Active site prediction by blind docking, COACH meta-server and multiple sequence alignment indicated the catalytic triads for endocellulase and exocellulase were Ser116–His205–Glu249 and Ser382–Arg124–Asp385, respectively. Binding energy of endocellulase docked with hemicellulose (?6.0 ? kcal mol^?1) was the most favourable followed by lignin (?5.6 ? kcal mol^?1) and cellulose (?4.4 ? kcal mol^?1). Exocellulase, contrarily, bonded favorably with lignin (?8.7 ? kcal mol^?1), closely followed by cellulose (?8.5 ? kcal mol^?1) and hemicellulose (?8.4 ? kcal mol^?1). MDs simulations showed that interactions of complexes, endocellulase–hemicellulose and the exocellulase–cellulose being the most stable. Thus, the findings of the study successfully identified the specific actions of sugar-acting enzymes for NC production.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma     

Targeted metabolomic profiling of low and high grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer tissues: a pilot study

Introduction

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies and has an alarming global fatality rate. Besides the differences in underlying pathogenesis, distinguishing between high grade (HG) and low grade (LG) EOC is imperative for the prediction of disease progression and responsiveness to chemotherapy.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate, the tissue metabolome associated with HG and LG serous epithelial ovarian cancer.

Methods

A combination of one dimensional proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1D H NMR) spectroscopy and targeted mass spectrometry (MS) was employed to profile the tissue metabolome of HG, LG serous EOCs, and controls.

Results

Using partial least squares-discriminant analysis, we observed significant separation between all groups (p?<?0.05) following cross validation. We identified which metabolites were significantly perturbed in each EOC grade as compared with controls and report the biochemical pathways which were perturbed due to the disease. Among these metabolic pathways, ascorbate and aldarate metabolism was identified, for the first time, as being significantly altered in both LG and HG serous cancers. Further, we have identified potential biomarkers of EOC and generated predictive algorithms with AUC (CI)?=?0.940 and 0.929 for HG and LG, respectively.

Conclusion

These previously unreported biochemical changes provide a framework for future metabolomic studies for the development of EOC biomarkers. Finally, pharmacologic targeting of the key metabolic pathways identified herein could lead to novel and effective treatments of EOC.