Temperature effect on acetate and propionate consumption by sulfate-reducing bacteria in saline wastewater

Seawater toilet flushing, seawater intrusion in the sewerage, and discharge of sulfate-rich industrial effluents elevates sulfate content in wastewater. The application of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in wastewater treatment is very beneficial; as for example, it improves the pathogen removal and reduces the volume of waste sludge, energy requirement and costs. This paper evaluates the potential to apply biological sulfate reduction using acetate and propionate to saline sewage treatment in moderate climates. Long-term biological sulfate reduction experiments at 10 and 20 °C were conducted in a sequencing batch reactor with synthetic saline domestic wastewater. Subsequently, acetate and propionate (soluble organic carbon) conversion rate were determined in both reactors, in the presence of either or both fatty acids. Both acetate and propionate consumption rates by SRB were 1.9 times lower at 10 °C than at 20 °C. At 10 °C, propionate was incompletely oxidized to acetate. At 10 °C, complete removal of soluble organic carbon requires a significantly increased hydraulic retention time as compared to 20 °C. The results of the study showed that biological sulfate reduction can be a feasible and promising process for saline wastewater treatment in moderate climate.     

Tendinopathy diagnosis and treatment monitoring using attenuated total reflectance‐Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Tendinopathy, an important sports injury afflicting athletes and general public, is associated with huge economic losses. The currently used diagnostic tests are subjective, show moderate sensitivity and specificity; while treatment failures persist despite advances in therapy. This highlights the need for tendinopathy diagnostic and treatment monitoring tools. This study investigates tendon injury, natural healing and effect of treatment using ATR‐FTIR complemented with histopathology. Control (C), injured (I) and treated (T) rat tendons were extracted 3, 7, 14 and 28 days post‐injury/treatment, representing phases of healing; and subjected to hematoxylin & eosin staining as well as spectroscopy. While C showed no change, I‐ and T‐related histological changes could be clearly observed in stained sections. ATR‐FTIR spectra highlighted the biochemical changes within groups. Multivariate analysis could classify C, I and T with 75%; different days between groups with 84%; and different days within group with 65% efficiency. Results suggest that such analysis can not only identify C, I or T but also different phases of healing. Difference between I and T at different time points also suggest change in rate of healing. Further studies may help develop this technique for clinical diagnosis and treatment monitoring in future.      

Particle size influences decay rates of environmental DNA in aquatic systems

Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis is a powerful tool for remote detection of target organisms. However, obtaining quantitative and longitudinal information from eDNA data is challenging, requiring a deep understanding of eDNA ecology. Notably, if the various size components of eDNA decay at different rates, and we can separate them within a sample, their changing proportions could be used to obtain longitudinal dynamics information on targets. To test this possibility, we conducted an aquatic mesocosm experiment in which we separated fish-derived eDNA components using sequential filtration to evaluate the decay rate and changing proportion of various eDNA particle sizes over time. We then fit four alternative mathematical decay models to the data, building towards a predictive framework to interpret eDNA data from various particle sizes. We found that medium-sized particles (1–10 μm) decayed more slowly than other size classes (i.e., <1 and > 10 μm), and thus made up an increasing proportion of eDNA particles over time. We also observed distinct eDNA particle size distribution (PSD) between our Common carp and Rainbow trout samples, suggesting that target-specific assays are required to determine starting eDNA PSDs. Additionally, we found evidence that different sizes of eDNA particles do not decay independently, with particle size conversion replenishing smaller particles over time. Nonetheless, a parsimonious mathematical model where particle sizes decay independently best explained the data. Given these results, we suggest a framework to discern target distance and abundance with eDNA data by applying sequential filtration, which theoretically has both metabarcoding and single-target applications.     

Resistance to the pink potato aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae, in two accessions of Lycopersicon hirsutum f. glabratum

An integrated programme of pheromone-mediated mating disruption using Isomate-C®, post-harvest removal of fruit, and trapping overwintering larvae with cardboard tree bands, was used to control codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), in four commercial organic apple orchards in Cawston, British Columbia during 1989–1992. One application of 1000 dispensers ^{– 1} on May 1 delivered estimated seasonal totals of 16.6, 16.5 and 19.9 g of E,E-8,10-dodecadien-1-ol [=codlemone] ^{– 1}in 1990, 1991 and 1992, respectively, at median rates of 8.4, 8.3, and 13.3 mg · < ha^–1 · ha^–1 during dusk flight periods of first brood and 5.3, 4.7 and 4.6 mg · ^{– 1}· ha^–1 in second brood, respectively. Over this 3-year period damage from codling moth at harvest ranged from 0.08 to 2.4%, and averaged 60.7% in these four organic orchards, while damage in five conventional orchards receiving sprays of azinphosmethyl ranged from 0.02 to 1.85%, and averaged 0.5%. Damage in an experimental orchard that was banded only, ranged from 43.5 to 56.7%, and averaged 48.9%. Between 1990 and 1992 cumulative male catches in Pherocon 1-CP wing traps baited with 10 mg of codlemone declined by 52% and densities of overwintering codling moth larvae declined an average of 49.5% in all organic orchards. Overwintering populations in the banded experimental orchard showed an increase of 57.7% during this study period. We conclude that an integrated programme of pheromone-mediated mating disruption, post-harvest fruit removal and tree banding, controls codling moth effectively enough to make organic apple production viable in British Columbia.     

Antagonistic Interplay between MicroRNA-155 and IL-10 during Lyme Carditis and Arthritis

MicroRNA-155 has been shown to play a role in immune activation and inflammation, and is suppressed by IL-10, an important anti-inflammatory cytokine. The established involvement of IL-10 in the murine model of Borrelia burgdorferi-induced Lyme arthritis and carditis allowed us to assess the interplay between IL-10 and miR-155 in vivo. As reported previously, Mir155 was highly upregulated in joints from infected severely arthritic B6 Il10^-/- mice, but not in mildly arthritic B6 mice. In infected hearts, Mir155 was upregulated in both strains, suggesting a role of miR-155 in Lyme carditis. Using B. burgdorferi-infected B6, Mir155^-/-, Il10^-/-, and Mir155^-/- Il10^-/- double-knockout (DKO) mice, we found that anti-inflammatory IL-10 and pro-inflammatory miR-155 have opposite and somewhat compensatory effects on myeloid cell activity, cytokine production, and antibody response. Both IL-10 and miR-155 were required for suppression of Lyme carditis. Infected Mir155^-/- mice developed moderate/severe carditis, had higher B. burgdorferi numbers, and had reduced Th1 cytokine expression in hearts. In contrast, while Il10^-/- and DKO mice also developed severe carditis, hearts had reduced bacterial numbers and elevated Th1 and innate cytokine expression. Surprisingly, miR-155 had little effect on Lyme arthritis. These results show that antagonistic interplay between IL-10 and miR-155 is required to balance host defense and immune activation in vivo, and this balance is particularly important for suppression of Lyme carditis. These results also highlight tissue-specific differences in Lyme arthritis and carditis pathogenesis, and reveal the importance of IL-10-mediated regulation of miR-155 in maintaining healthy immunity.     

134 Cryopreservation of Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii (Chlorophyceae): A Cause of Low Viability at High Cell Density

Cryopreservation provides a convenient method for long term storage of living organisms. Current protocols allow the successful cryopreservation of a wide range of algae, although many strains remain recalcitrant to cryopreservation. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii , a species utilized in many molecular and biochemical studies, survives cryopreservation best at low cell density. We show that reduced viability at higher cell densities is caused by the accumulation of a substance released from C. reinhardtii into the culture medium during cryopreservation. A mutant strain of C. reinhardtii (cw10) with a greatly reduced cell wall did not release a substance inhibitory to wild type or cw10 C. reinhardtii during cryopreservation, and could be cryopreserved with the same viability regardless of cell density. The inhibitory substance is small (mw<1300), polar, heat-stable and organic. Chlamydomonas moewusii Gerloff and Chlamydomonas zebra Korschikov ex Pascher both produce substances that reduce the viability of cryopreserved C. reinhardtii . However, neither is affected by the inhibitory substance produced by themselves or C. rienhardtii. Pandorina morum (Müller) Bory and Volvox carteri f. nagariensis Iyengar are colonial Volvocalean algae related to C. reinhardtii that cannot be successfully cryopreserved. They both generate substances that inhibit C. reinhardtii during cryopreservation. The identification of the substance inhibitory to C. reinhardtii during cryopreservation should explain why this alga cryopreserves best at a low cell density, and may lead to protocols that facilitate the more successful cryopreservation of C. reinhardtii and related algae.     

Prediagnostic Serum Biomarkers as Early Detection Tools for Pancreatic Cancer in a Large Prospective Cohort Study

BackgroundThe clinical management of pancreatic cancer is severely hampered by the absence of effective screening tools.MethodsSixty-seven biomarkers were evaluated in prediagnostic sera obtained from cases of pancreatic cancer enrolled in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO).ResultsThe panel of CA 19-9, OPN, and OPG, identified in a prior retrospective study, was not effective. CA 19-9, CEA, NSE, bHCG, CEACAM1 and PRL were significantly altered in sera obtained from cases greater than 1 year prior to diagnosis. Levels of CA 19-9, CA 125, CEA, PRL, and IL-8 were negatively associated with time to diagnosis. A training/validation study using alternate halves of the PLCO set failed to identify a biomarker panel with significantly improved performance over CA 19-9 alone. When the entire PLCO set was used for training at a specificity (SP) of 95%, a panel of CA 19-9, CEA, and Cyfra 21-1 provided significantly elevated sensitivity (SN) levels of 32.4% and 29.7% in samples collected <1 and >1 year prior to diagnosis, respectively, compared to SN levels of 25.7% and 17.2% for CA 19-9 alone.ConclusionsMost biomarkers identified in previously conducted case/control studies are ineffective in prediagnostic samples, however several biomarkers were identified as significantly altered up to 35 months prior to diagnosis. Two newly derived biomarker combinations offered advantage over CA 19-9 alone in terms of SN, particularly in samples collected >1 year prior to diagnosis. However, the efficacy of biomarker-based tools remains limited at present. Several biomarkers demonstrated significant velocity related to time to diagnosis, an observation which may offer considerable potential for enhancements in early detection.