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Understanding a Basic Biological Process: Expert and Novice Models of Science.
Kindfield, A. C. H.
Reports on the meiosis models utilized by five individuals at each of three levels of expertise in genetics as each reasoned about this process in an individual interview setting. Results revealed a set of biologically correct features common to all individuals' models as well as a variety of model flaws (i.e., meiosis misunderstandings) which are…
Basic digital signal processing
Lockhart, Gordon B
Basic Digital Signal Processing describes the principles of digital signal processing and experiments with BASIC programs involving the fast Fourier theorem (FFT). The book reviews the fundamentals of the BASIC program, continuous and discrete time signals including analog signals, Fourier analysis, discrete Fourier transform, signal energy, power. The text also explains digital signal processing involving digital filters, linear time-variant systems, discrete time unit impulse, discrete-time convolution, and the alternative structure for second order infinite impulse response (IIR) sections.
Basic radiotherapy physics and biology
Chang, David S; Das, Indra J; Mendonca, Marc S; Dynlacht, Joseph R
This book is a concise and well-illustrated review of the physics and biology of radiation therapy intended for radiation oncology residents, radiation therapists, dosimetrists, and physicists. It presents topics that are included on the Radiation Therapy Physics and Biology examinations and is designed with the intent of presenting information in an easily digestible format with maximum retention in mind. The inclusion of mnemonics, rules of thumb, and reader-friendly illustrations throughout the book help to make difficult concepts easier to grasp. Basic Radiotherapy Physics and Biology is a
Understanding a Basic Biological Process: Expert and Novice Models of Meiosis.
Kindfield, Ann C. H.
The results of a study of the meiosis models utilized by individuals at varying levels of expertise while reasoning about the process of meiosis are presented. Based on these results, the issues of sources of misconceptions/difficulties and the construction of a sound understanding of meiosis are discussed. Five individuals from each of three…
Basic statistics in cell biology.
Vaux, David L
The physicist Ernest Rutherford said, "If your experiment needs statistics, you ought to have done a better experiment." Although this aphorism remains true for much of today's research in cell biology, a basic understanding of statistics can be useful to cell biologists to help in monitoring the conduct of their experiments, in interpreting the results, in presenting them in publications, and when critically evaluating research by others. However, training in statistics is often focused on the sophisticated needs of clinical researchers, psychologists, and epidemiologists, whose conclusions depend wholly on statistics, rather than the practical needs of cell biologists, whose experiments often provide evidence that is not statistical in nature. This review describes some of the basic statistical principles that may be of use to experimental biologists, but it does not cover the sophisticated statistics needed for papers that contain evidence of no other kind.
Basic biology in health physics
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
This report describes the consequences of the interaction of ionizing radiation with living cells and tissues. The basic processes of living cells, which are relevant to an understanding of health physics problems, are outlined with particular reference to cell-death, cancer induction and genetic effects. (author)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Barney G. Glaser, PhD, Hon. PhD
Full Text Available The goal of grounded theory is to generate a theory that accounts for a pattern of behavior that is relevant and problematic for those involved. The goal is not voluminous description, nor clever verification. As with all grounded theory, the generation of a basic social process (BSP theory occurs around a core category. While a core category is always present in a grounded research study, a BSP may not be.BSPs are ideally suited to generation by grounded theory from qualitative research because qualitative research can pick up process through fieldwork that continues over a period of time. BSPs are a delight to discover and formulate since they give so much movement and scope to the analyst's perception of the data. BSPs such as cultivating, defaulting, centering, highlighting or becoming, give the feeling of process, change and movement over time. They also have clear, amazing general implications; so much so, that it is hard to contain them within the confines of a single substantive study. The tendency is to refer to them as a formal theory without the necessary comparative development of formal theory. They are labeled by a "gerund"("ing" which both stimulates their generation and the tendency to over-generalize them.
Mathematical modeling of biological processes
Friedman, Avner
This book on mathematical modeling of biological processes includes a wide selection of biological topics that demonstrate the power of mathematics and computational codes in setting up biological processes with a rigorous and predictive framework. Topics include: enzyme dynamics, spread of disease, harvesting bacteria, competition among live species, neuronal oscillations, transport of neurofilaments in axon, cancer and cancer therapy, and granulomas. Complete with a description of the biological background and biological question that requires the use of mathematics, this book is developed for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students with only basic knowledge of ordinary differential equations and partial differential equations; background in biology is not required. Students will gain knowledge on how to program with MATLAB without previous programming experience and how to use codes in order to test biological hypothesis.
Branching processes in biology
Kimmel, Marek
This book provides a theoretical background of branching processes and discusses their biological applications. Branching processes are a well-developed and powerful set of tools in the field of applied probability. The range of applications considered includes molecular biology, cellular biology, human evolution and medicine. The branching processes discussed include Galton-Watson, Markov, Bellman-Harris, Multitype, and General Processes. As an aid to understanding specific examples, two introductory chapters, and two glossaries are included that provide background material in mathematics and in biology. The book will be of interest to scientists who work in quantitative modeling of biological systems, particularly probabilists, mathematical biologists, biostatisticians, cell biologists, molecular biologists, and bioinformaticians. The authors are a mathematician and cell biologist who have collaborated for more than a decade in the field of branching processes in biology for this new edition. This second ex...
Fungal genome sequencing: basic biology to biotechnology.
Sharma, Krishna Kant
The genome sequences provide a first glimpse into the genomic basis of the biological diversity of filamentous fungi and yeast. The genome sequence of the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with a small genome size, unicellular growth, and rich history of genetic and molecular analyses was a milestone of early genomics in the 1990s. The subsequent completion of fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe and genetic model, Neurospora crassa initiated a revolution in the genomics of the fungal kingdom. In due course of time, a substantial number of fungal genomes have been sequenced and publicly released, representing the widest sampling of genomes from any eukaryotic kingdom. An ambitious genome-sequencing program provides a wealth of data on metabolic diversity within the fungal kingdom, thereby enhancing research into medical science, agriculture science, ecology, bioremediation, bioenergy, and the biotechnology industry. Fungal genomics have higher potential to positively affect human health, environmental health, and the planet's stored energy. With a significant increase in sequenced fungal genomes, the known diversity of genes encoding organic acids, antibiotics, enzymes, and their pathways has increased exponentially. Currently, over a hundred fungal genome sequences are publicly available; however, no inclusive review has been published. This review is an initiative to address the significance of the fungal genome-sequencing program and provides the road map for basic and applied research. PMID:25721271
Fungal genome sequencing: basic biology to biotechnology.
Sharma, Krishna Kant
The genome sequences provide a first glimpse into the genomic basis of the biological diversity of filamentous fungi and yeast. The genome sequence of the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with a small genome size, unicellular growth, and rich history of genetic and molecular analyses was a milestone of early genomics in the 1990s. The subsequent completion of fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe and genetic model, Neurospora crassa initiated a revolution in the genomics of the fungal kingdom. In due course of time, a substantial number of fungal genomes have been sequenced and publicly released, representing the widest sampling of genomes from any eukaryotic kingdom. An ambitious genome-sequencing program provides a wealth of data on metabolic diversity within the fungal kingdom, thereby enhancing research into medical science, agriculture science, ecology, bioremediation, bioenergy, and the biotechnology industry. Fungal genomics have higher potential to positively affect human health, environmental health, and the planet's stored energy. With a significant increase in sequenced fungal genomes, the known diversity of genes encoding organic acids, antibiotics, enzymes, and their pathways has increased exponentially. Currently, over a hundred fungal genome sequences are publicly available; however, no inclusive review has been published. This review is an initiative to address the significance of the fungal genome-sequencing program and provides the road map for basic and applied research.
Poverty, Human Development, and Basic Biology
Gross, Liza
Taking a slight departure from our normal fare, PLoS Biology features two articles with a special focus on poverty and human development: one explores the biological mechanisms of health inequalities; the second discusses the value of including local communities in biodiversity conservation.
Basic mathematics for the biological and social sciences
Marriott, F H C
Basic Mathematics for the Biological and Social Sciences deals with the applications of basic mathematics in the biological and social sciences. Mathematical concepts that are discussed in this book include graphical methods, differentiation, trigonometrical or circular functions, limits and convergence, integration, vectors, and differential equations. The exponential function and related functions are also considered. This monograph is comprised of 11 chapters and begins with an overview of basic algebra, followed by an introduction to infinitesimal calculus, scalar and vector quantities, co
[Sociophysiology: basic processes of empathy].
Haker, Helene; Schimansky, Jenny; Rössler, Wulf
The aim of this review is to describe sociophysiological and social cognitive processes that underlie the complex phenomenon of human empathy. Automatic reflexive processes such as physiological contagion and action mirroring are mediated by the mirror neuron system. They are a basis for further processing of social signals and a physiological link between two individuals. This link comprises simultaneous activation of shared motor representations. Shared representations lead implicitly via individual associations in the limbic and vegetative system to a shared affective state. These processes are called sociophysiology. Further controlled- reflective, self-referential processing of those social signals leads to explicit, conscious representations of others' minds. Those higher-order processes are called social cognition. The interaction of physiological and cognitive social processes lets arise the phenomenon of human empathy. PMID:20926053
Nutritional biology: a neglected basic discipline of nutritional science.
Döring, Frank; Ströhle, Alexander
On the basis of a scientific-philosophical analysis, this paper tries to show that the approaches in current nutritional science-including its subdisciplines which focus on molecular aspects-are predominantly application-oriented. This becomes particularly evident through a number of conceptual problems characterized by the triad of 'dearth of theoretical foundation,' 'particularist research questions,' and 'reductionist understanding of nutrition.' The thesis presented here is that an interpretive framework based on nutritional biology is able to shed constructive light on the fundamental problems of nutritional science. In this context, the establishment of 'nutritional biology' as a basic discipline in research and education would be a first step toward recognizing the phenomenon of 'nutrition' as an oecic process as a special case of an organism-environment interaction. Modern nutritional science should be substantively grounded on ecological-and therefore systems biology as well as organismic-principles. The aim of nutritional biology, then, should be to develop near-universal 'law statements' in nutritional science-a task which presents a major challenge for the current science system. PMID:26584807
Nutritional biology: a neglected basic discipline of nutritional science.
Döring, Frank; Ströhle, Alexander
On the basis of a scientific-philosophical analysis, this paper tries to show that the approaches in current nutritional science-including its subdisciplines which focus on molecular aspects-are predominantly application-oriented. This becomes particularly evident through a number of conceptual problems characterized by the triad of 'dearth of theoretical foundation,' 'particularist research questions,' and 'reductionist understanding of nutrition.' The thesis presented here is that an interpretive framework based on nutritional biology is able to shed constructive light on the fundamental problems of nutritional science. In this context, the establishment of 'nutritional biology' as a basic discipline in research and education would be a first step toward recognizing the phenomenon of 'nutrition' as an oecic process as a special case of an organism-environment interaction. Modern nutritional science should be substantively grounded on ecological-and therefore systems biology as well as organismic-principles. The aim of nutritional biology, then, should be to develop near-universal 'law statements' in nutritional science-a task which presents a major challenge for the current science system.
A basic analysis toolkit for biological sequences
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Siragusa Enrico
Full Text Available Abstract This paper presents a software library, nicknamed BATS, for some basic sequence analysis tasks. Namely, local alignments, via approximate string matching, and global alignments, via longest common subsequence and alignments with affine and concave gap cost functions. Moreover, it also supports filtering operations to select strings from a set and establish their statistical significance, via z-score computation. None of the algorithms is new, but although they are generally regarded as fundamental for sequence analysis, they have not been implemented in a single and consistent software package, as we do here. Therefore, our main contribution is to fill this gap between algorithmic theory and practice by providing an extensible and easy to use software library that includes algorithms for the mentioned string matching and alignment problems. The library consists of C/C++ library functions as well as Perl library functions. It can be interfaced with Bioperl and can also be used as a stand-alone system with a GUI. The software is available at http://www.math.unipa.it/~raffaele/BATS/ under the GNU GPL.
Applications of Recombinant DNA Technology in Gastrointestinal Medicine and Hepatology: Basic Paradigms of Molecular Cell Biology. Part C: Protein Synthesis and Post-Translational Processing in Eukaryotic Cells
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Gary E Wild
Full Text Available The translation of mRNA constitutes the first step in the synthesis of a functional protein. The polypeptide chain is subsequently folded into the appropriate three-dimensional configuration and undergoes a variety of processing steps before being converted into its active form. These processing steps are intimately related to the cellular events that occur in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi compartments, and determine the sorting and transport of different proteins to their appropriate destinations within the cell. While the regulation of gene expression occurs primarily at the level of transcription, the expression of many genes can also be controlled at the level of translation. Most proteins can be regulated in response to extracellular signals. In addition, intracellular protein levels can be controlled by differential rates of protein degradation. Thus, the regulation of both the amounts and activities of intracellular proteins ultimately determines all aspects of cell behaviour.
Thermodynamics of Biological Processes
Garcia, Hernan G.; Kondev, Jane; Orme, Nigel; Theriot, Julie A.; Phillips, Rob
There is a long and rich tradition of using ideas from both equilibrium thermodynamics and its microscopic partner theory of equilibrium statistical mechanics. In this chapter, we provide some background on the origins of the seemingly unreasonable effectiveness of ideas from both thermodynamics and statistical mechanics in biology. After making a description of these foundational issues, we turn to a series of case studies primarily focused on binding that are intended to illustrate the broad biological reach of equilibrium thinking in biology. These case studies include ligand-gated ion channels, thermodynamic models of transcription, and recent applications to the problem of bacterial chemotaxis. As part of the description of these case studies, we explore a number of different uses of the famed Monod–Wyman–Changeux (MWC) model as a generic tool for providing a mathematical characterization of two-state systems. These case studies should provide a template for tailoring equilibrium ideas to other problems of biological interest. PMID:21333788
Basics of cutting and abrasive processes
Toenshoff, Hans Kurt
Manufacturing is the basic industrial activity generating real value. Cutting and abrasive technologies are the backbone of precision production in machine, automotive and aircraft building as well as of production of consumer goods. We present the knowledge of modern manufacturing in these technologies on the basis of scientific research. The theory of cutting and abrasive processes and the knowledge about their application in industrial practice are a prerequisite for the studies of manufacturing science and an important part of the curriculum of the master study in German mechanical engineering. The basis of this book is our lecture "Basics of cutting and abrasive processes" (4 semester hours/3 credit hours) at the Leibniz University Hannover, which we offer to the diploma and master students specializing in manufacturing science.
Applied medical image processing a basic course
Birkfellner, Wolfgang
A widely used, classroom-tested text, Applied Medical Image Processing: A Basic Course delivers an ideal introduction to image processing in medicine, emphasizing the clinical relevance and special requirements of the field. Avoiding excessive mathematical formalisms, the book presents key principles by implementing algorithms from scratch and using simple MATLAB®/Octave scripts with image data and illustrations on an accompanying CD-ROM or companion website. Organized as a complete textbook, it provides an overview of the physics of medical image processing and discusses image formats and data storage, intensity transforms, filtering of images and applications of the Fourier transform, three-dimensional spatial transforms, volume rendering, image registration, and tomographic reconstruction.
Muscle Satellite Cells: Exploring the Basic Biology to Rule Them.
Almeida, Camila F; Fernandes, Stephanie A; Ribeiro Junior, Antonio F; Keith Okamoto, Oswaldo; Vainzof, Mariz
Adult skeletal muscle is a postmitotic tissue with an enormous capacity to regenerate upon injury. This is accomplished by resident stem cells, named satellite cells, which were identified more than 50 years ago. Since their discovery, many researchers have been concentrating efforts to answer questions about their origin and role in muscle development, the way they contribute to muscle regeneration, and their potential to cell-based therapies. Satellite cells are maintained in a quiescent state and upon requirement are activated, proliferating, and fusing with other cells to form or repair myofibers. In addition, they are able to self-renew and replenish the stem pool. Every phase of satellite cell activity is highly regulated and orchestrated by many molecules and signaling pathways; the elucidation of players and mechanisms involved in satellite cell biology is of extreme importance, being the first step to expose the crucial points that could be modulated to extract the optimal response from these cells in therapeutic strategies. Here, we review the basic aspects about satellite cells biology and briefly discuss recent findings about therapeutic attempts, trying to raise questions about how basic biology could provide a solid scaffold to more successful use of these cells in clinics.
Stochastic processes in cell biology
Bressloff, Paul C
This book develops the theory of continuous and discrete stochastic processes within the context of cell biology. A wide range of biological topics are covered including normal and anomalous diffusion in complex cellular environments, stochastic ion channels and excitable systems, stochastic calcium signaling, molecular motors, intracellular transport, signal transduction, bacterial chemotaxis, robustness in gene networks, genetic switches and oscillators, cell polarization, polymerization, cellular length control, and branching processes. The book also provides a pedagogical introduction to the theory of stochastic process – Fokker Planck equations, stochastic differential equations, master equations and jump Markov processes, diffusion approximations and the system size expansion, first passage time problems, stochastic hybrid systems, reaction-diffusion equations, exclusion processes, WKB methods, martingales and branching processes, stochastic calculus, and numerical methods. This text is primarily...
Understanding the basic biology underlying the flavor world of children
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Julie A. MENNELLA, Alison K. VENTURA
Full Text Available Health organizations worldwide recommend that adults and children minimize intakes of excess energy and salty, sweet, and fatty foods (all of which are highly preferred tastes and eat diets richer in whole grains, low- and non- fat dairy products, legumes, fish, lean meat, fruits, and vegetables (many of which taste bitter. Despite such recommendations and the well-established benefits of these foods to human health, adults are not complying, nor are their children. A primary reason for this difficulty is the remarkably potent rewarding properties of the tastes and flavors of foods high in sweetness, saltiness, and fatness. While we cannot easily change children's basic ingrained biology of liking sweets and avoiding bitterness, we can modulate their flavor preferences by providing early exposure, starting in utero, to a wide variety of flavors within healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Because the flavors of foods mothers eat during pregnancy and lactation also flavor amniotic fluid and breast milk and become preferred by infants, pregnant and lactating women should widen their food choices to include as many flavorful and healthy foods as possible. These experiences, combined with repeated exposure to nutritious foods and flavor variety during the weaning period and beyond, should maximize the chances that children will select and enjoy a healthier diet [Current Zoology 56 (6: 834–841, 2010].
Achieving year 2000 readiness: basic processes
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
This document provides an approach or addressing safety and operability concerns related to Year 2000 (Y2K). Although it was prepared for nuclear power plants the methods described are applicable to other nuclear installations and to other industrial concerns. The basic goal was to provide a brief but comprehensive approach that may be used to discover, understand and correct the Y2K related problems. The document relies on certain basic expectations of the facility that would apply to any programme: ownership, management, knowledgeable participants, thorough application of the approach, documentation of efforts, quality assurance of products and compliance with all regulatory requirements. The IAEA has and will continue to be involved with Member States to assist them in implementing this document and achieving Y2K Readiness
Rotating Biological Contractors (RBC's). Instructor's Guide. Biological Treatment Process Control.
Zickefoose, Charles S.
This two-lesson unit on rotating biological contactors (RBC's) is designed to be used with students who have had some experience in wastewater treatment and a basic understanding of biological treatment. The first lesson provides information on the concepts and components of RBC treatment systems. The second lesson focuses on design operation and…
Molecular Processes in Biological Thermosensation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
I. Digel
Full Text Available Since thermal gradients are almost everywhere, thermosensation could represent one of the oldest sensory transduction processes that evolved in organisms. There are many examples of temperature changes affecting the physiology of living cells. Almost all classes of biological macromolecules in a cell (nucleic acids, lipids, proteins can present a target of the temperature-related stimuli. This review discusses some features of different classes of temperature-sensing molecules as well as molecular and biological processes that involve thermosensation. Biochemical, structural, and thermodynamic approaches are applied in the paper to organize the existing knowledge on molecular mechanisms of thermosensation. Special attention is paid to the fact that thermosensitive function cannot be assigned to any particular functional group or spatial structure but is rather of universal nature. For instance, the complex of thermodynamic, structural, and functional features of hemoglobin family proteins suggests their possible accessory role as "molecular thermometers".
Apoptotic cell clearance: basic biology and therapeutic potential.
Poon, Ivan K H; Lucas, Christopher D; Rossi, Adriano G; Ravichandran, Kodi S
The prompt removal of apoptotic cells by phagocytes is important for maintaining tissue homeostasis. The molecular and cellular events that underpin apoptotic cell recognition and uptake, and the subsequent biological responses, are increasingly better defined. The detection and disposal of apoptotic cells generally promote an anti-inflammatory response at the tissue level, as well as immunological tolerance. Consequently, defects in apoptotic cell clearance have been linked with various inflammatory diseases and autoimmunity. Conversely, under certain conditions, such as the killing of tumour cells by specific cell-death inducers, the recognition of apoptotic tumour cells can promote an immunogenic response and antitumour immunity. Here, we review the current understanding of the complex process of apoptotic cell clearance in physiology and pathology, and discuss how this knowledge could be harnessed for new therapeutic strategies.
Basic considerations on business process quality
Reichert, Manfred; Lohrmann, Matthias
Quality management practices in manufacturing and logistics have led to proven results for organisations with respect to competitiveness and portability. At the same time, business process management not only addresses a comprehensive functional scope including the ever more important administrative functions and business services, but also contributes to realising potentials (e.g. in the field of process automation) through extensive use of information technology. Integrating quality managem...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
L.A. Azzalis
Full Text Available Basic biological disciplines as biochemistry, genetic and molecular biology have grown faster than any of other sciences. Moreover, those disciplines contribute to the understanding and treatment of an elevated number of illnesses. On the other hand, teachers cannot assure the graduating students that each particular discipline is essential. Furthermore, those disciplines are often studied separately without any interdisciplinary integration between them. The new curriculum proposed at Anhembi Morumbi University - a private institution placed at São Paulo city - incorporates learning blocks that have been designed to integrate basic biological disciplines and clinical contents from the beginning in order to provide the stimulation and motivation to guide the student through his learning. The educational trend has concentrated on the following steps: 1 Biochemistry, genetic, cellular and molecular biology teachers´ from that institution have elaborated a new discipline that was named Biologic Process. The aim of this new discipline was integrate basic biological sciences in a single content; 2 Selecting problems that could be discussed in the light of biochemistry, genetic and molecular contents; e.g. sickle cell anemia; 3 Developing an innovative instructional method that challenges students "learn to learn" different from problem-based learning , economically unavailable at any particular university, and 4 Assessments that measure knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs. We believe that the future pedagogical system in private health university will be a combination of "classical" presentation of contents combined with actively involved students in the educational process and instruction based on either hypothetical or real clinical cases in order to create the stimulus for the student continues to integrate basic and clinical investigation.
Update on the genomics and basic biology of Brachypodium
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Catalan, Pilar; Chalhoub, Boulos; Chochois, Vincent;
, abiotic and biotic stress, comparative genomics, natural diversity, and cell walls) demonstrates that the Brachypodium research community has achieved a critical mass of tools and has transitioned from resource development to addressing biological questions, particularly those unique to grasses...
Rotating Biological Contactors (RBC's). Student Manual. Biological Treatment Process Control.
Zickefoose, Charles S.
This student manual provides the textual material for a unit on rotating biological contactors (RBC's). Topic areas considered include: (1) flow patterns of water through RBC installations; (2) basic concepts (shaft and stage); (3) characteristics of biomass; (4) mechanical features (bearings, mechanical drive systems, and air drive systems); (5)…
Skeletal Muscle Stem Cells from Animals I. Basic Cell Biology
Michael V. Dodson, Gary J. Hausman, LeLuo Guan, Min Du, Theodore P. Rasmussen, Sylvia P. Poulos, Priya Mir, Werner G. Bergen, Melinda E. Fernyhough, Douglas C. McFarland, Robert P. Rhoads, Beatrice Soret, James M. Reecy, Sandra G. Velleman, Zhihua Jiang
Skeletal muscle stem cells from food-producing animals are of interest to agricultural life scientists seeking to develop a better understanding of the molecular regulation of lean tissue (skeletal muscle protein hypertrophy) and intramuscular fat (marbling) development. Enhanced understanding of muscle stem cell biology and function is essential for developing technologies and strategies to augment the metabolic efficiency and muscle hypertrophy of growing animals potentially leading to grea...
Some Basic Aspects of HLA-G Biology
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Estibaliz Alegre
Full Text Available Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G is a low polymorphic nonclassical HLA-I molecule restrictively expressed and with suppressive functions. HLA-G gene products are quite complex, with seven HLA-G isoforms, four membrane bound, and other three soluble isoforms that can suffer different posttranslational modifications or even complex formations. In addition, HLA-G has been described included in exosomes. In this review we will focus on HLA-G biochemistry with special emphasis to the mechanisms that regulate its expression and how the protein modifications affect the quantification in biological fluids.
Basic disturbances of information processing in psychosis prediction
The basic symptoms (BS) approach provides a valid instrument in predicting psychosis onset and represents moreover a significant heuristic framework for research. The term 'basic symptoms' denotes subtle changes of cognition and perception in the earliest and prodromal stages of psychosis development. BS are thought to correspond to disturbances of neural information processing. Following the heuristic implications of the BS approach, the present paper aims at exploring disturbances of inform...
Basic Disturbances of Information Processing in Psychosis Prediction
Bodatsch, Mitja; Klosterkötter, Joachim; Müller, Ralf; Ruhrmann, Stephan
The basic symptoms (BS) approach provides a valid instrument in predicting psychosis onset and represents moreover a significant heuristic framework for research. The term "basic symptoms" denotes subtle changes of cognition and perception in the earliest and prodromal stages of psychosis development. BS are thought to correspond to disturbances of neural information processing. Following the heuristic implications of the BS approach, the present paper aims at exploring disturbances of inform...
An investigation of the relationship between having recent knowledge in basic biology and student success in Anatomy and Physiology I
Taylor, Edward T.
Allied Health Programs generally require that students complete coursework in Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II as part of their Pre-Allied Health curriculum. Human Anatomy and Physiology I generally has as a prerequisite some coursework in basic biology. Basic biology as a prerequisite should provide students with the foundation of knowledge in the basic biological principles and processes that will prepare them for the material presented in a Human Anatomy and Physiology I course and the Allied Health Program. The principle question that prompted this study was, Do students need coursework in basic biology to be successful in Anatomy and Physiology I? The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the exam average obtained in Biology 202, Human Anatomy and Physiology I, for those students who have had, within the previous three years, a foundation course in basic biology as compared to those students who have not, within the previous three years, had a foundation course in basic biology. The current study analyzed data obtained on 642 students who were enrolled in Biology 202, Anatomy and Physiology I, during the Fall semester of 2000 to the Spring semester of 2003 at Wor-Wic Community College. Statistical techniques including an ANOVA, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, and a Multiple Regression Analysis were conducted to reveal any relationships in the data. The dependent variable was the exam average obtained in the independent variables included the time period since the student had taken a basic biology course, sex, age, and college GPA. The results of the ANOVA indicated that there was no relationship between the exam average between current and non-current students, where alpha = 0.05 and p = 0.783. There was statistically significance for GPA, where p = 0 .000. There was also statistically significant interactions between last biology course and GPA, p = 0.05, last biology course, sex, and GPA, p = 0.002. The Pearson Product
Integrating system safety into the basic systems engineering process
Griswold, J. W.
The basic elements of a systems engineering process are given along with a detailed description of what the safety system requires from the systems engineering process. Also discussed is the safety that the system provides to other subfunctions of systems engineering.
Enantioselective separation of biologically active basic compounds in ultra-performance supercritical fluid chromatography.
Geryk, Radim; Kalíková, Květa; Schmid, Martin G; Tesařová, Eva
The enantioseparation of basic compounds represent a challenging task in modern SFC. Therefore this work is focused on development and optimization of fast SFC methods suitable for enantioseparation of 27 biologically active basic compounds of various structures. The influences of the co-solvent type as well as different mobile phase additives on retention, enantioselectivity and enantioresolution were investigated. Obtained results confirmed that the mobile phase additives, especially bases (or the mixture of base and acid), improve peak shape and enhance enantioresolution. The best results were achieved with isopropylamine or the mixture of isopropylamine and trifluoroacetic acid as additives. In addition, the effect of temperature and back pressure were evaluated to optimize the enantioseparation process. The immobilized amylose-based chiral stationary phase, i.e. tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) derivative of amylose proved to be useful tool for the enantioseparation of a broad spectrum of chiral bases. The chromatographic conditions that yielded baseline enantioseparations of all tested compounds were discovered. The presented work can serve as a guide for simplifying the method development for enantioseparation of basic racemates in SFC. PMID:27286774
An introduction to stochastic processes with applications to biology
Allen, Linda J S
An Introduction to Stochastic Processes with Applications to Biology, Second Edition presents the basic theory of stochastic processes necessary in understanding and applying stochastic methods to biological problems in areas such as population growth and extinction, drug kinetics, two-species competition and predation, the spread of epidemics, and the genetics of inbreeding. Because of their rich structure, the text focuses on discrete and continuous time Markov chains and continuous time and state Markov processes.New to the Second EditionA new chapter on stochastic differential equations th
Polyhydroyalkanoates: from Basic Research and Molecular Biology to Application
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Amro Abd alFattah Amara
Full Text Available This review describes the Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA, an intracellular biodegradable microbial polymer. PHAs is formed from different types of three hydroxyalkanoic acids monomers, each unit forms an ester bond with the hydroxyl group of the other one and the hydroxyl substituted carbon has R configuration. The C-3 atom in β position is branched with at least one carbon atom in the form of methyl group (C1 to thirteen carbons in the form of tridecyl (C13. This alkyl side chain is not necessarily saturated. PHAs are biosynthesized through regulated pathways by specific enzymes. PHAs are accumulated in bacterial cells from soluble to insoluble form as storage materials inside the inclusion bodies during unbalanced nutrition or to save organisms from reducing equivalents. PHAs are converted again to soluble components by PHAs depolymerases and the degraded materials enter various metabolic pathways. Until now, four classes of enzymes responsible for PHAs polymerization are known. PHAs were well studied regarding their promising applications, physical, chemical and biological properties. PHAs are biodegradable, biocompatible, have good material properties, renewable and can be used in many applications. The most limiting factor in PHAs commercialization is their high cost compared to the petroleum plastics. This review highlights the new knowledge and that established by the pioneers in this field as well as the factors, which affect PHAs commercialization.
Basic information processing in children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Madsen, Gitte
have reduced sensory motor gating measured by"P50 suppression" and reduced"pre-pulse inhibition of the startle reflex" (PPI). Aims: 1. To compare basic information processing in children with PDD and a group of healthy controls. 2. To investigate whether it is possible, on the basis of outcomes...
Basic Substantive Law for Paralegals: Contracts, Torts, and Due Process.
Marcin, Raymond B.
Part of the paralegal, or legal assistant, training materials prepared by the National Paralegal Institution under a Federal grant, the text comprises an overview of the basic legal concepts usually found in introductory law courses concerning contracts, torts, and the due process area of constitutional law. Part 1, Contracts, covers: definition,…
Targeting cancer epigenetics: Linking basic biology to clinical medicine.
Shinjo, Keiko; Kondo, Yutaka
Recent studies provide compelling evidence that epigenetic dysregulation is involved in almost every step of tumor development and progression. Differences in tumor behavior, which ultimately reflects clinical outcome, can be explained by variations in gene expression patterns generated by epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation. Therefore, epigenetic abnormalities are considered potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. DNA methylation is stable at certain specific loci in cancer cells and predominantly reflects the characteristic clinicopathological features. Thus, it is an ideal biomarker for cancer screening, classification and prognostic purposes. Epigenetic treatment for cancers is based on the pharmacologic targeting of various core transcriptional programs that sustains cancer cell identity. Therefore, targeting aberrant epigenetic modifiers may be effective for multiple processes compared with using a selective inhibitor of aberrant single signaling pathway. This review provides an overview of the epigenetic alterations in human cancers and discusses about novel therapeutic strategies targeting epigenetic alterations.
Basic rules for rheologic forging process of semisolid alloy
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Shuming Xing; Lizhong Zhang; Jianbo Tan; Chuanlin Zheng; Hanwu Liu; Peng Zhang; Yunhui Du
Semisolid mold forging is a major type of semisolid processing, which is different from neither traditional mold forging nor traditional permanent casting. However, processing defects are often seen in work pieces because of lacking available rules for the process design and control. Some basic rules for the process design and control, simply named the shortest flowing length, pressure filling and the minimum uplifting mold pressure, are advanced in the paper based on amount of researches and experiments. The equations to determine the major process parameters are given out such as the filling pressure, forming pressure and locking mold pressure for the process design and control. The rules and equations are experimentally proved available and applicable by several actual work pieces produced by the semisolid forging process.
Aging and the number sense: preserved basic non-symbolic numerical processing and enhanced basic symbolic processing
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jade Eloise eNorris
Full Text Available Aging often leads to general cognitive decline in domains such as memory and attention. The effect of aging on numerical cognition, particularly on foundational numerical skills known as the Number Sense, is not well known. Early research focused on the effect of aging on arithmetic. Recent studies have begun to investigate the impact of healthy aging on basic numerical skills, but focused on non-symbolic quantity discrimination alone. Moreover, contradictory findings have emerged. The current study aimed to further investigate the impact of aging on basic non-symbolic and symbolic numerical skills. A group of 25 younger (18-25 and 25 older adults (60-77 participated in non-symbolic and symbolic numerical comparison tasks. Mathematical and spelling abilities were also measured. Results showed that aging had no effect on foundational non-symbolic numerical skills, as both groups performed similarly (RTs, accuracy and Weber fractions (w. All participants showed decreased non-symbolic acuity (accuracy and w in trials requiring inhibition. However, aging appears to be associated with a greater decline in discrimination speed in such trials. Furthermore, aging seems to have a positive impact on mathematical ability and basic symbolic numerical processing, as older participants attained significantly higher mathematical achievement scores, and performed significantly better on the symbolic comparison task than younger participants. The findings suggest that aging and its lifetime exposure to numbers may lead to better mathematical achievement and stronger basic symbolic numerical skills. Our results further support the observation that basic non-symbolic numerical skills are resilient to aging, but that aging may exacerbate poorer performance on trials requiring inhibitory processes. These findings lend further support to the notion that preserved basic numerical skills in aging may reflect the preservation of an innate, primitive and embedded Number
A new method for processing of basic electric values
Petrovic, Predrag B.
This paper proposes a practical new algorithm for the calculation of basic ac (alternate current) electric values: average, rms, active power and energy. Based on the value of the integration of the original input (analogue) signal, a calculation is performed using the definition formulae. The realization avoids the use of a separate circuit for sample and hold, and the analogue signal was directly introduced into the integration circuit, after which its digital equivalent is formed. The suggested measuring system was simulated, realized in a practical set-up and tested. The errors related to the signal processing and errors bound were investigated and provided. A processing precision better than 10 ppm was achieved.
The basics of IT audit purposes, processes, and practical information
Gantz, Stephen D
The Basics of IT Audit: Purposes, Processes, and Practical Information provides you with a thorough, yet concise overview of IT auditing. Packed with specific examples, this book gives insight into the auditing process and explains regulations and standards such as the ISO-27000, series program, CoBIT, ITIL, Sarbanes-Oxley, and HIPPA. IT auditing occurs in some form in virtually every organization, private or public, large or small. The large number and wide variety of laws, regulations, policies, and industry standards that call for IT auditing make it hard for organizations to consistent
Basic disturbances of information processing in psychosis prediction
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mitja eBodatsch
Full Text Available The basic symptoms (BS approach provides a valid instrument in predicting psychosis onset and represents moreover a significant heuristic framework for research. The term 'basic symptoms' denotes subtle changes of cognition and perception in the earliest and prodromal stages of psychosis development. BS are thought to correspond to disturbances of neural information processing. Following the heuristic implications of the BS approach, the present paper aims at exploring disturbances of information processing, revealed by fMRI and EEG as characteristics of the at-risk state of psychosis. Furthermore, since high-risk studies employing UHR criteria revealed non-conversion rates commonly exceeding 50%, thus warranting approaches that increase specificity, the potential contribution of neural information processing disturbances to psychosis prediction is reviewed. In summary, the at-risk state seems to be associated with information processing disturbances. Moreover, fMRI investigations suggested that disturbances of language processing domains might be a characteristic of the prodromal state. Neurophysiological studies revealed that disturbances of sensory processing may assist psychosis prediction in allowing for a quantification of risk in terms of magnitude and time. The latter finding represents a significant advancement since an estimation of the time to event has not yet been achieved by clinical approaches. Some evidence suggests a close relationship between self-experienced BS and neural information processing. With regard to future research, the relationship between neural information processing disturbances and different clinical risk concepts warrants further investigations. Thereby,a possible time sequence in the prodromal phase might be of particular interest.
Mathematics for seismic data processing with basic microcomputer programs
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Camina, A.R.; Janacek, G.J.
The new, refined techniques for exploration of oil and gas and the growth of computer uses have led to a far wider application of mathematics, and the interpretation of seismic data in particular. The authors explain in detail the mathematical principles required for signal processing and clarify for the reader what are sometimes very complex concepts. The book starts at precalculus level and progresses through to advanced theories and principles. A collection of BASIC microcomputer programs is included to give the reader a practical feel for the mathematics and their applications to these techniques.
Biochemistry on the game board: improvements in the teaching-learning process in basic education
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
F. A. Silva
Full Text Available According to the Curriculum Guidelines of Biology of Basic Education "school should encourage the pedagogical practice based on different methodologies, valuing the teaching concepts, the learning (internalization and the evaluation that allow teachers and students being aware of the need for emancipatory transformation". The teaching of biochemistry and its contents in basic education are not discussed as a structuring content within the Biology subject, but are included in related content such as cellular biology. The objective of this study was to inventory the contents and methodologies related to biochemistry taught by teachers of basic education and produce teaching-learning materials as contribution to these contents from the inventory results. The methodology was developed from the analysis of the questionnaires applied to biology teachers from public schools of Guarapuava-Pr. The results showed that the teaching of biochemistry and biology discipline, although it comes from the same area, are designed as two unattached areas, meaning there is no perception by teachers in relation to the implicit conceptual intercept in teaching Biology and Biochemistry. To this end, the profile of the game Grow was adapted using themes related to Biochemistry. The game consists of 45 cards and a game board with a track. The player who gives more write answers to the questions reaches the end and wins the match. For game evaluation participants answered a questionnaire at the end of the activity. Most of the participants argued that the process has contributed to ensure the assimilation of the contents, since it is a leisure activity with effective participation of students. Thus, the obtained data confirmed the assumption of Pedroso (2009, which states that the games allow a significant teacher-student interaction, disseminating scientific knowledge from the views and experiences of the student.
Study on process basic requirements of experimental facility of advanced spent fuel management process
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The advanced spent fuel management process, which was proposed to reduce the overall volume of the PWR spent fuel and improve safety and economy of the long-term storage of spent fuel, is under research and development. Hot cell facilities of α-γ type and inert atmosphere are required essentially for safe hot test and verification of this process. In this study, design basic data are established, and these data include process flow, process condition and yields, mass and radioactivity balance of radionuclides, process safety considerations, etc. And also, these data will be utilized for basic and detail design of hot cell facility, secured conservative safety and effective operability
Towards the understanding of network information processing in biology
Singh, Vijay
Living organisms perform incredibly well in detecting a signal present in the environment. This information processing is achieved near optimally and quite reliably, even though the sources of signals are highly variable and complex. The work in the last few decades has given us a fair understanding of how individual signal processing units like neurons and cell receptors process signals, but the principles of collective information processing on biological networks are far from clear. Information processing in biological networks, like the brain, metabolic circuits, cellular-signaling circuits, etc., involves complex interactions among a large number of units (neurons, receptors). The combinatorially large number of states such a system can exist in makes it impossible to study these systems from the first principles, starting from the interactions between the basic units. The principles of collective information processing on such complex networks can be identified using coarse graining approaches. This could provide insights into the organization and function of complex biological networks. Here I study models of biological networks using continuum dynamics, renormalization, maximum likelihood estimation and information theory. Such coarse graining approaches identify features that are essential for certain processes performed by underlying biological networks. We find that long-range connections in the brain allow for global scale feature detection in a signal. These also suppress the noise and remove any gaps present in the signal. Hierarchical organization with long-range connections leads to large-scale connectivity at low synapse numbers. Time delays can be utilized to separate a mixture of signals with temporal scales. Our observations indicate that the rules in multivariate signal processing are quite different from traditional single unit signal processing.
Basic thin film processing for high-Tc superconductors
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Much attention has been paid for the thin films of perovskite-type oxides especially for the thin films of the high-Tc superconducting ceramics. Historically the thin films of the perovskite-type oxides have been studied as a basic research for ferroelectric materials. Thin films of BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 were tried to deposited and there ferroelectricity was evaluated. Recently this kind of perovskite thin films, including PZT (PbTiO3-PbZrO3) and PLZT [(Pb, La) (Zr, T)O3] have been studied in relation to the synthesis of thin film dielectrics, pyroelectrics, piezoelectrics, electro-optic materials, and acousto-optic materials. Thin films of BPB (BaPbO3- BaBiO3) were studied as oxide superconductors. At present the thin films of the rare-earth high-Tc superconductors of LSC (La1-xSrxCuO4) and YBC (YBa2Cu3O7-δ) have been successfully synthesized owing to the previous studies on the ferroelectric thin films of the perovskite- type oxides. Similar to the rare-earth high-Tc superconductors thin films of the rare-earth-free high-Tc superconductors of BSCC (Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O)9 and TBCC (Tl- Ba-Ca-Cu-O)10 system have been synthesized. In this section the basic processes for the fabrication of the high- Tc perovskite superconducting thin films are described
Ontogeny of taste preferences: basic biology and implications for health12345
Mennella, Julie A.
Health initiatives address childhood obesity in part by encouraging good nutrition early in life. This review highlights the science that shows that children naturally prefer higher levels of sweet and salty tastes and reject lower levels of bitter tastes than do adults. Thus, their basic biology does not predispose them to favor the recommended low-sugar, low-sodium, vegetable-rich diets and makes them especially vulnerable to our current food environment of foods high in salt and refined su...
Stability and biological activity evaluations of PEGylated human basic fibroblast growth factor
Hadadian, Shahin; Shamassebi, Dariush Norouzian; Mirzahoseini, Hasan; Shokrgozar, Mohamad Ali; Bouzari, Saeid; Sepahi, Mina
Background: Human basic fibroblast growth factor (hBFGF) is a heparin-binding growth factor and stimulates the proliferation of a wide variety of cells and tissues causing survival properties and its stability and biological activity improvements have received much attention. Materials and Methods: In the present work, hBFGF produced by engineered Escherichia coli and purified by cation exchange and heparin affinity chromatography, was PEGylated under appropriate condition employing 10 kD pol...
The reverse control of irreversible biological processes.
Cho, Kwang-Hyun; Joo, Jae Il; Shin, Dongkwan; Kim, Dongsan; Park, Sang-Min
Most biological processes have been considered to be irreversible for a long time, but some recent studies have shown the possibility of their reversion at a cellular level. How can we then understand the reversion of such biological processes? We introduce a unified conceptual framework based on the attractor landscape, a molecular phase portrait describing the dynamics of a molecular regulatory network, and the phenotype landscape, a map of phenotypes determined by the steady states of particular output molecules in the attractor landscape. In this framework, irreversible processes involve reshaping of the phenotype landscape, and the landscape reshaping causes the irreversibility of processes. We suggest reverse control by network rewiring which changes network dynamics with constant perturbation, resulting in the restoration of the original phenotype landscape. The proposed framework provides a conceptual basis for the reverse control of irreversible biological processes through network rewiring. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2016, 8:366-377. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1346 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. PMID:27327189
Building phenomenological models of complex biological processes
Daniels, Bryan; Nemenman, Ilya
A central goal of any modeling effort is to make predictions regarding experimental conditions that have not yet been observed. Overly simple models will not be able to fit the original data well, but overly complex models are likely to overfit the data and thus produce bad predictions. Modern quantitative biology modeling efforts often err on the complexity side of this balance, using myriads of microscopic biochemical reaction processes with a priori unknown kinetic parameters to model relatively simple biological phenomena. In this work, we show how Bayesian model selection (which is mathematically similar to low temperature expansion in statistical physics) can be used to build coarse-grained, phenomenological models of complex dynamical biological processes, which have better predictive powers than microscopically correct, but poorely constrained mechanistic molecular models. We illustrate this on the example of a multiply-modifiable protein molecule, which is a simplified description of multiple biological systems, such as an immune receptors and an RNA polymerase complex. Our approach is similar in spirit to the phenomenological Landau expansion for the free energy in the theory of critical phenomena.
All basic condensed matter physics phenomena and notions mirror in biology – A hypothesis, two examples and a novel prediction
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
G Baskaran
A few billion years of evolutionary time and the complex process of 'selection' has given biology an opportunity to explore a variety of condensed matter phenomena and situations, some of which have been discovered by humans in the laboratory, that too only in extreme non-biological conditions such as low temperatures, high purity, high pressure etc., in the last centuries. Biology, at some level, is a complex and self-regulated condensed matter system compared to the 'inanimate' condensed matter systems such as liquid 4He, liquid water or a piece of graphite. In this article I propose a hypothesis that 'all basic condensed matter physics phenomena and notions (already known and ones yet to be discovered) mirror in biology'. I explain this hypothesis by considering the idea of 'Bose condensation' or 'momentum space order' and discuss two known example of quantum magnetism encountered in biology. I also provide some new and rather speculative possibility, from light harvesting in biological photosynthesis, of mesoscopic exciton condensation related phenomena at room temperature.
Stochastic transport processes in discrete biological systems
Frehland, Eckart
These notes are in part based on a course for advanced students in the applications of stochastic processes held in 1978 at the University of Konstanz. These notes contain the results of re cent studies on the stochastic description of ion transport through biological membranes. In particular, they serve as an introduction to an unified theory of fluctuations in complex biological transport systems. We emphasize that the subject of this volume is not to introduce the mathematics of stochastic processes but to present a field of theoretical biophysics in which stochastic methods are important. In the last years the study of membrane noise has become an important method in biophysics. Valuable information on the ion transport mechanisms in membranes can be obtained from noise analysis. A number of different processes such as the opening and closing of ion channels have been shown to be sources of the measured current or voltage fluctuations. Bio logical 'transport systems can be complex. For example, the tr...
Diffusion processes and related topics in biology
Ricciardi, Luigi M
These notes are based on a one-quarter course given at the Department of Biophysics and Theoretical Biology of the University of Chicago in 1916. The course was directed to graduate students in the Division of Biological Sciences with interests in population biology and neurobiology. Only a slight acquaintance with probability and differential equations is required of the reader. Exercises are interwoven with the text to encourage the reader to play a more active role and thus facilitate his digestion of the material. One aim of these notes is to provide a heuristic approach, using as little mathematics as possible, to certain aspects of the theory of stochastic processes that are being increasingly employed in some of the population biol ogy and neurobiology literature. While the subject may be classical, the nov elty here lies in the approach and point of view, particularly in the applica tions such as the approach to the neuronal firing problem and its related dif fusion approximations. It is a ple...
In the Beginning Was the Word: Basic Processes in Reading.
Fisher, Dennis F.
The articles in this section describe research on reading in areas of visual persistence, letter identification, letter probability, word superiority effect, proofreader errors and order effects. This review challenges fellow basic researchers to become more aware of the components of reading before adding new data purporting to delineate the…
Howard Brenner's Legacy for Biological Transport Processes
Nitsche, Johannes
This talk discusses the manner in which Howard Brenner's theoretical contributions have had, and long will have, strong and direct impact on the understanding of transport processes occurring in biological systems. His early work on low Reynolds number resistance/mobility coefficients of arbitrarily shaped particles, and particles near walls and in pores, is an essential component of models of hindered diffusion through many types of membranes and tissues, and convective transport in microfluidic diagnostic systems. His seminal contributions to macrotransport (coarse-graining, homogenization) theory presaged the growing discipline of multiscale modeling. For biological systems they represent the key to infusing diffusion models of a wide variety of tissues with a sound basis in their microscopic structure and properties, often over a hierarchy of scales. Both scientific currents are illustrated within the concrete context of diffusion models of drug/chemical diffusion through the skin. This area of theory, which is key to transdermal drug development and risk assessment of chemical exposure, has benefitted very directly from Brenner's contributions. In this as in other areas, Brenner's physicochemical insight, mathematical virtuosity, drive for fully justified analysis free of ad hoc assumptions, quest for generality, and impeccable exposition, have consistently elevated the level of theoretical understanding and presentation. We close with anecdotes showing how his personal qualities and warmth helped to impart high standards of rigor to generations of grateful research students. Authors are Johannes M. Nitsche, Ludwig C. Nitsche and Gerald B. Kasting.
Stochastic Simulation of Process Calculi for Biology
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andrew Phillips
Full Text Available Biological systems typically involve large numbers of components with complex, highly parallel interactions and intrinsic stochasticity. To model this complexity, numerous programming languages based on process calculi have been developed, many of which are expressive enough to generate unbounded numbers of molecular species and reactions. As a result of this expressiveness, such calculi cannot rely on standard reaction-based simulation methods, which require fixed numbers of species and reactions. Rather than implementing custom stochastic simulation algorithms for each process calculus, we propose to use a generic abstract machine that can be instantiated to a range of process calculi and a range of reaction-based simulation algorithms. The abstract machine functions as a just-in-time compiler, which dynamically updates the set of possible reactions and chooses the next reaction in an iterative cycle. In this short paper we give a brief summary of the generic abstract machine, and show how it can be instantiated with the stochastic simulation algorithm known as Gillespie's Direct Method. We also discuss the wider implications of such an abstract machine, and outline how it can be used to simulate multiple calculi simultaneously within a common framework.
The Nephrologist's Tumor: Basic Biology and Management of Renal Cell Carcinoma.
Hu, Susie L; Chang, Anthony; Perazella, Mark A; Okusa, Mark D; Jaimes, Edgar A; Weiss, Robert H
Kidney cancer, or renal cell carcinoma (RCC), is a disease of increasing incidence that is commonly seen in the general practice of nephrology. However, RCC is under-recognized by the nephrology community, such that its presence in curricula and research by this group is lacking. In the most common form of RCC, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), inactivation of the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor is nearly universal; thus, the biology of ccRCC is characterized by activation of hypoxia-relevant pathways that lead to the associated paraneoplastic syndromes. Therefore, RCC is labeled the internist's tumor. In light of this characterization and multiple other metabolic abnormalities recently associated with ccRCC, it can now be viewed as a metabolic disease. In this review, we discuss the basic biology, pathology, and approaches for treatment of RCC. It is important to distinguish between kidney confinement and distant spread of RCC, because this difference affects diagnostic and therapeutic approaches and patient survival, and it is important to recognize the key interplay between RCC, RCC therapy, and CKD. Better understanding of all aspects of this disease will lead to optimal patient care and more recognition of an increasingly prevalent nephrologic disease, which we now appropriately label the nephrologist's tumor.
Basics for sensorimotor information processing: some implications for learning.
Thierry eHasbroucq; Franck eVidal
AbstractIn sensorimotor activities, learning requires efficient information processing; whether in car driving, sport activities or human-machine interactions. Several factors may affect the efficiency of such processing: they may be extrinsic (i.e. task-related) on intrinsic (i.e. subjects-related). The effects of these factors are intimately related to the structure of human information processing. In the present article we will focus on some of them, which are poorly taken into account, ev...
Motivation: the most basic process in TQM/CQI.
Rice, W R
Quality management professionals confront the challenge of motivating others to participate in the improvement of patient care. Producing this motivation frequently proves problematic. This article addresses the issue of motivation by presenting it as a process. Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs functions as the foundation of the process. A process model is used to demonstrate that satisfaction of the higher-level needs of esteem and self-actualization is required to produce true motivation. By understanding the process of motivation, we may become more effective in improving patient care.
Process efficiency simulation for key process parameters in biological methanogenesis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sébastien Bernacchi
Full Text Available New generation biofuels are a suitable approach to produce energy carriers in an almost CO2 neutral way. A promising reaction is the conversion of CO2 and H2 to CH4. This contribution aims at elucidating a bioprocess comprised of a core reaction unit using microorganisms from the Archaea life domain, which metabolize CO2 and H2 to CH4, followed by a gas purification step. The process is simulated and analyzed thermodynamically using the Aspen Plus process simulation environment. The goal of the study was to quantify effects of process parameters on overall process efficiency using a kinetic model derived from previously published experimental results. The used empirical model links the production rate of CH4 and biomass to limiting reactant concentrations. In addition, Aspen Plus was used to improve bioprocess quantification. Impacts of pressure as well as dilution of reactant gas with up to 70% non-reactive gas on overall process efficiency was evaluated. Pressure in the reactor unit of 11 bar at 65℃ with a pressure of 21 bar for gas purification led to an overall process efficiency comprised between 66% and 70% for gaseous product and between 73% and 76% if heat of compression is considered a valuable product. The combination of 2 bar pressure in the reactor and 21 bar for purification was the most efficient combination of parameters. This result shows Aspen Plus potential for similar bioprocess development as it accounts for the energetic aspect of the entire process. In fact, the optimum for the overall process efficiency was found to differ from the optimum of the reaction unit. High efficiency of over 70% demonstrates that biological methanogenesis is a promising alternative for a chemical methanation reaction.
Towards a semantic lexicon for biological language processing
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Verspoor, K. (Karin)
It is well understood that natural language processing (NLP) applications require sophisticated lexical resources to support their processing goals. In the biomedical domain, we are privileged to have access to extensive terminological resources in the form of controlled vocabularies and ontologies, which have been integrated into the framework of the National Library of Medicine's Unified Medical Language System's (UMLS) Metathesaurus. However, the existence of such terminological resources does not guarantee their utility for NLP. In particular, we have two core requirements for lexical resources for NLP in addition to the basic enumeration of important domain terms: representation of morphosyntactic information about those terms, specifically part of speech information and inflectional patterns to support parsing and lemma assignment, and representation of semantic information indicating general categorical information about terms, and significant relations between terms to support text understanding and inference (Hahn et at, 1999). Biomedical vocabularies by and large commonly leave out morphosyntactic information, and where they address semantic considerations, they often do so in an unprincipled manner, for instance by indicating a relation between two concepts without indicating the type of that relation. But all is not lost. The UMLS knowledge sources include two additional resources which are relevant - the SPECIALIST lexicon, a lexicon addressing our morphosyntactic requirements, and the Semantic Network, a representation of core conceptual categories in the biomedical domain. The coverage of these two knowledge sources with respect to the full coverage of the Metathesaurus is, however, not entirely clear. Furthermore, when our goals are specifically to process biological text - and often more specifically, text in the molecular biology domain - it is difficult to say whether the coverage of these resources is meaningful. The utility of the
Reading biological processes from nucleotide sequences
Murugan, Anand
Cellular processes have traditionally been investigated by techniques of imaging and biochemical analysis of the molecules involved. The recent rapid progress in our ability to manipulate and read nucleic acid sequences gives us direct access to the genetic information that directs and constrains biological processes. While sequence data is being used widely to investigate genotype-phenotype relationships and population structure, here we use sequencing to understand biophysical mechanisms. We present work on two different systems. First, in chapter 2, we characterize the stochastic genetic editing mechanism that produces diverse T-cell receptors in the human immune system. We do this by inferring statistical distributions of the underlying biochemical events that generate T-cell receptor coding sequences from the statistics of the observed sequences. This inferred model quantitatively describes the potential repertoire of T-cell receptors that can be produced by an individual, providing insight into its potential diversity and the probability of generation of any specific T-cell receptor. Then in chapter 3, we present work on understanding the functioning of regulatory DNA sequences in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Here we use experiments that measure the transcriptional activity of large libraries of mutagenized promoters and enhancers and infer models of the sequence-function relationship from this data. For the bacterial promoter, we infer a physically motivated 'thermodynamic' model of the interaction of DNA-binding proteins and RNA polymerase determining the transcription rate of the downstream gene. For the eukaryotic enhancers, we infer heuristic models of the sequence-function relationship and use these models to find synthetic enhancer sequences that optimize inducibility of expression. Both projects demonstrate the utility of sequence information in conjunction with sophisticated statistical inference techniques for dissecting underlying biophysical
Basic instinct undressed: early spatiotemporal processing for primary sexual characteristics.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lore B Legrand
Full Text Available This study investigates the spatiotemporal dynamics associated with conscious and non-conscious processing of naked and dressed human bodies. To this effect, stimuli of naked men and women with visible primary sexual characteristics, as well as dressed bodies, were presented to 20 heterosexual male and female participants while acquiring high resolution EEG data. The stimuli were either consciously detectable (supraliminal presentations or were rendered non-conscious through backward masking (subliminal presentations. The N1 event-related potential component was significantly enhanced in participants when they viewed naked compared to dressed bodies under supraliminal viewing conditions. More importantly, naked bodies of the opposite sex produced a significantly greater N1 component compared to dressed bodies during subliminal presentations, when participants were not aware of the stimulus presented. A source localization algorithm computed on the N1 showed that the response for naked bodies in the supraliminal viewing condition was stronger in body processing areas, primary visual areas and additional structures related to emotion processing. By contrast, in the subliminal viewing condition, only visual and body processing areas were found to be activated. These results suggest that naked bodies and primary sexual characteristics are processed early in time (i.e., <200 ms and activate key brain structures even when they are not consciously detected. It appears that, similarly to what has been reported for emotional faces, sexual features benefit from automatic and rapid processing, most likely due to their high relevance for the individual and their importance for the species in terms of reproductive success.
A polynomial-time algorithm for deciding bisimilation equivalence of normed Basic Parallel Processes
Hirshfeld, Yoram; Jerrum, Mark; Moller, Faron
A polynomial-time algorithm is presented for deciding bisimulation equivalence of so-called Basic Parallel Processes: multisets of elementary processes combined by a commitative parallel-composition operator.
NK cell-based cancer immunotherapy: from basic biology to clinical application.
Li, Yang; Yin, Jie; Li, Ting; Huang, Shan; Yan, Han; Leavenworth, JianMei; Wang, Xi
Natural killer (NK) cells, which recognize and kill target cells independent of antigen specificity and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) matching, play pivotal roles in immune defence against tumors. However, tumor cells often acquire the ability to escape NK cell-mediated immune surveillance. Thus, understanding mechanisms underlying regulation of NK cell phenotype and function within the tumor environment is instrumental for designing new approaches to improve the current cell-based immunotherapy. In this review, we elaborate the main biological features and molecular mechanisms of NK cells that pertain to regulation of NK cell-mediated anti-tumor activity. We further overview current clinical approaches regarding NK cell-based cancer therapy, including cytokine infusion, adoptive transfer of autologous or allogeneic NK cells, applications of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-expressing NK cells and adoptive transfer of memory-like NK cells. With these promising clinical outcomes and fuller understanding the basic questions raised in this review, we foresee that NK cell-based approaches may hold great potential for future cancer immunotherapy.
The Basic Biology of PP2A in Hematologic Cells and Malignancies.
Haesen, Dorien; Sents, Ward; Lemaire, Katleen; Hoorne, Yana; Janssens, Veerle
Reversible protein phosphorylation plays a crucial role in regulating cell signaling. In normal cells, phosphoregulation is tightly controlled by a network of protein kinases counterbalanced by several protein phosphatases. Deregulation of this delicate balance is widely recognized as a central mechanism by which cells escape external and internal self-limiting signals, eventually resulting in malignant transformation. A large fraction of hematologic malignancies is characterized by constitutive or unrestrained activation of oncogenic kinases. This is in part achieved by activating mutations, chromosomal rearrangements, or constitutive activation of upstream kinase regulators, in part by inactivation of their anti-oncogenic phosphatase counterparts. Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) represents a large family of cellular serine/threonine phosphatases with suspected tumor suppressive functions. In this review, we highlight our current knowledge about the complex structure and biology of these phosphatases in hematologic cells, thereby providing the rationale behind their diverse signaling functions. Eventually, this basic knowledge is a key to truly understand the tumor suppressive role of PP2A in leukemogenesis and to allow further rational development of therapeutic strategies targeting PP2A.
Use of colloidal gold cytochemistry in the study of the basic cell biology of cancer.
Willingham, M C
We are currently investigating the morphologic aspects of two areas of the basic cell biology of cancer: tumor-specific surface antigens as targets for immunotoxins, and the phenomenon of multidrug resistance in chemotherapy of human tumors. Colloidal gold cytochemistry has provided a useful method for the electron-microscopic cytochemical detection of materials endocytosed by cells in culture. This technique has been used to study the internalization pathway of ligands bound to the surface of cancer cells, particularly antibodies for use as immunologic targeting reagents for the construction of immunotoxins. These colloidal gold conjugates with monoclonal antibodies have demonstrated the internalization of these immunologic reagents through coated pits and receptosomes, which is a necessary step in the delivery of immunotoxins into the cell where they can mediate their cell-killing functions. Morphologic methods have been employed for the screening and selection of monoclonal antibodies reactive with the surface of human ovarian cancer cells for use as immunotoxins and have demonstrated the in vivo activity of immunotoxins made with these antibodies and Pseudomonas exotoxin in a nude mouse model system. In other studies, we have employed such reagents for the immunocytochemical detection of the surface expression of P170, the cell-surface efflux pump protein responsible for the phenotype of multidrug resistance in tumor cells, and to investigate the distribution of this protein by using immunocytochemistry in normal human tissues. These results have suggested a role for P170 in normal cell membrane transport of metabolites in various organ systems.
Basic Processes in Reading: The Effect of Interletter Spacing
Risko, Evan F.; Lanthier, Sophie N.; Besner, Derek
Reading is acutely sensitive to the amount of space between letters within a string. In the present investigation, we explore the impairment caused by increasing interletter spacing when reading single words and nonwords aloud. Specifically, 2 hypotheses are tested: (a) whether increasing interletter spacing induces serial processing while reading…
Basics for sensorimotor information processing: some implications for learning.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Thierry eHasbroucq
Full Text Available AbstractIn sensorimotor activities, learning requires efficient information processing; whether in car driving, sport activities or human-machine interactions. Several factors may affect the efficiency of such processing: they may be extrinsic (i.e. task-related on intrinsic (i.e. subjects-related. The effects of these factors are intimately related to the structure of human information processing. In the present article we will focus on some of them, which are poorly taken into account, even when minimizing errors or their consequences is an essential issue at stake. Among the extrinsic factors, we will discuss, first, the effects of the quantity and quality of information, secondly, the effects of instruction and thirdly motor program learning. Among the intrinsic factors, we will discuss first the influence of prior information, secondly how individual strategies affect performance and, thirdly, we will stress the fact that although the human brain is not structured to function errorless (which is not a new humans are able to detect their errors very quickly and (in most of the cases, fast enough to correct them before they result in an overt failure.
Capitalizing on Basic Brain Processes in Developmental Algebra--Part One
Laughbaum, Edward D.
Basic brain function is not a mystery. Given that neuroscientists understand the brain's basic functioning processes, one wonders what their research suggests to teachers of developmental algebra. What if we knew how to teach so as to improve understanding of the algebra taught to developmental algebra students? What if we knew how the brain…
Basic emotion processing and the adolescent brain: Task demands, analytic approaches, and trajectories of changes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Larissa B. Del Piero
Full Text Available Early neuroimaging studies suggested that adolescents show initial development in brain regions linked with emotional reactivity, but slower development in brain structures linked with emotion regulation. However, the increased sophistication of adolescent brain research has made this picture more complex. This review examines functional neuroimaging studies that test for differences in basic emotion processing (reactivity and regulation between adolescents and either children or adults. We delineated different emotional processing demands across the experimental paradigms in the reviewed studies to synthesize the diverse results. The methods for assessing change (i.e., analytical approach and cohort characteristics (e.g., age range were also explored as potential factors influencing study results. Few unifying dimensions were found to successfully distill the results of the reviewed studies. However, this review highlights the potential impact of subtle methodological and analytic differences between studies, need for standardized and theory-driven experimental paradigms, and necessity of analytic approaches that are can adequately test the trajectories of developmental change that have recently been proposed. Recommendations for future research highlight connectivity analyses and non-linear developmental trajectories, which appear to be promising approaches for measuring change across adolescence. Recommendations are made for evaluating gender and biological markers of development beyond chronological age.
Exploiting graphics processing units for computational biology and bioinformatics.
Payne, Joshua L; Sinnott-Armstrong, Nicholas A; Moore, Jason H
Advances in the video gaming industry have led to the production of low-cost, high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) that possess more memory bandwidth and computational capability than central processing units (CPUs), the standard workhorses of scientific computing. With the recent release of generalpurpose GPUs and NVIDIA's GPU programming language, CUDA, graphics engines are being adopted widely in scientific computing applications, particularly in the fields of computational biology and bioinformatics. The goal of this article is to concisely present an introduction to GPU hardware and programming, aimed at the computational biologist or bioinformaticist. To this end, we discuss the primary differences between GPU and CPU architecture, introduce the basics of the CUDA programming language, and discuss important CUDA programming practices, such as the proper use of coalesced reads, data types, and memory hierarchies. We highlight each of these topics in the context of computing the all-pairs distance between instances in a dataset, a common procedure in numerous disciplines of scientific computing. We conclude with a runtime analysis of the GPU and CPU implementations of the all-pairs distance calculation. We show our final GPU implementation to outperform the CPU implementation by a factor of 1700. PMID:20658333
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yu. P. Sedluho
Full Text Available Technological peculiar features of biocenosis development in water treatment facilities and a role of biological processes in the technology of ground water treatment are considered in the paper. The paper provides main factors that influence on biological process development.
Adsorption Dynamics of Calyx Aroma onto Basic Tea in Scenting Process of Calyx-scented Tea
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Changhui CHEN
[Objective] The paper was to study adsorption dynamics of calyx aroma onto basic tea in scenting process of calyx-scented tea, so as to increase aroma and quality of products. [Method] Adsorption experiment was carried out in a hermetic container, and the effect of calyx amount, contact time, moisture content of basic tea and temperature on the scenting process was studied. [Result] The optimal moisture and temperature for scenting process was 4% and 10 ℃, respectively. [Conclusion] The scenting process accorded pseudo-first-order kinetic model, and the adsorption dynamic data of total process could better fit pseudo-second-order kinetic model.
Severyn, A.; Shulika, О.; Il'chenko, R.
The structure of ware-house technology of loads processing has been determined, a mathematical model has been built, dependence of prime price of the loads ware-house processing on the basic indexes of storages functioning has been set and the analysis of these indexes influencing on the prime price of processing has been carried out.
EcoMat, Inc. of Hayward, California (EcoMat) has developed an ex situ anoxic biofilter biodenitrification (BDN) process. The process uses specific biocarriers and bacteria to treat nitrate-contaminated water and employs a patented reactor that retains biocarrier within the syste...
Symbiotic grasses: A review of basic biology of forage grass fungal endophytes
The fungal endophytes associated with grasses are the fundamental reason for the basic successes of several pasture grasses, notable tall fescues, and perennial ryegrass. Tall fescue and perennial ryegrass fungal endophytes, Neotyphodium coenophialum and N. lolii, respectively, and their relatives ...
Death in the intestinal epithelium-basic biology and implications for inflammatory bowel disease.
Blander, J Magarian
Every 4-5 days, intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) are terminated as they reach the end of their life. This process ensures that the epithelium is comprised of the fittest cells that maintain an impermeable barrier to luminal contents and the gut microbiota, as well as the most metabolically able cells that conduct functions in nutrient absorption, digestion, and secretion of antimicrobial peptides. IEC are terminated by apical extrusion-or shedding-from the intestinal epithelial monolayer into the gut lumen. Whether death by apoptosis signals extrusion or death follows expulsion by younger IEC has been a matter of debate. Seemingly a minor detail, IEC death before or after apical extrusion bears weight on the potential contribution of apoptotic IEC to intestinal homeostasis as a consequence of their recognition by intestinal lamina propria phagocytes. In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), excessive death is observed in the ileal and colonic epithelium. The precise mode of IEC death in IBD is not defined. A highly inflammatory milieu within the intestinal lamina propria, rich in the proinflammatory cytokine, TNF-α, increases IEC shedding and compromises barrier integrity fueling more inflammation. A milestone in the treatment of IBD, anti-TNF-α therapy, may promote mucosal healing by reversing increased and inflammation-associated IEC death. Understanding the biology and consequences of cell death in the intestinal epithelium is critical to the design of new avenues for IBD therapy.
Virtual Lab Demonstrations Improve Students' Mastery of Basic Biology Laboratory Techniques
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Grace A. Maldarelli
Full Text Available Biology laboratory classes are designed to teach concepts and techniques through experiential learning. Students who have never performed a technique must be guided through the process, which is often difficult to standardize across multiple lab sections. Visual demonstration of laboratory procedures is a key element in teaching pedagogy. The main goals of the study were to create videos explaining and demonstrating a variety of lab techniques that would serve as teaching tools for undergraduate and graduate lab courses and to assess the impact of these videos on student learning. Demonstrations of individual laboratory procedures were videotaped and then edited with iMovie. Narration for the videos was edited with Audacity. Undergraduate students were surveyed anonymously prior to and following screening to assess the impact of the videos on student lab performance by completion of two Participant Perception Indicator surveys. A total of 203 and 171 students completed the pre- and posttesting surveys, respectively. Statistical analyses were performed to compare student perceptions of knowledge of, confidence in, and experience with the lab techniques before and after viewing the videos. Eleven demonstrations were recorded. Chi-square analysis revealed a significant increase in the number of students reporting increased knowledge of, confidence in, and experience with the lab techniques after viewing the videos. Incorporation of instructional videos as prelaboratory exercises has the potential to standardize techniques and to promote successful experimental outcomes.
Death in the intestinal epithelium-basic biology and implications for inflammatory bowel disease.
Blander, J Magarian
Every 4-5 days, intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) are terminated as they reach the end of their life. This process ensures that the epithelium is comprised of the fittest cells that maintain an impermeable barrier to luminal contents and the gut microbiota, as well as the most metabolically able cells that conduct functions in nutrient absorption, digestion, and secretion of antimicrobial peptides. IEC are terminated by apical extrusion-or shedding-from the intestinal epithelial monolayer into the gut lumen. Whether death by apoptosis signals extrusion or death follows expulsion by younger IEC has been a matter of debate. Seemingly a minor detail, IEC death before or after apical extrusion bears weight on the potential contribution of apoptotic IEC to intestinal homeostasis as a consequence of their recognition by intestinal lamina propria phagocytes. In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), excessive death is observed in the ileal and colonic epithelium. The precise mode of IEC death in IBD is not defined. A highly inflammatory milieu within the intestinal lamina propria, rich in the proinflammatory cytokine, TNF-α, increases IEC shedding and compromises barrier integrity fueling more inflammation. A milestone in the treatment of IBD, anti-TNF-α therapy, may promote mucosal healing by reversing increased and inflammation-associated IEC death. Understanding the biology and consequences of cell death in the intestinal epithelium is critical to the design of new avenues for IBD therapy. PMID:27250564
Bridging the gap between basic and applied biology: towards preclinical translation
Cagan, Ross L; Justice, Monica J.; George F. Tidmarsh
Summary To better translate basic research findings into the clinic, we are moving away from the traditional one-gene–one-phenotype model towards the discovery of complex mechanisms. In this Editorial, the new Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editors of Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM) discuss the role that the journal will play in this transition. DMM will continue to provide a platform for studies that bridge basic and applied science, and, by demanding the rigorous assessment of animal model...
Biological processes of the northern Indian Ocean
Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)
Madhupratap, M.; Parulekar, A.H.
Physical processes such as wind-driven coastal run-off during the monsoons and convective overturning of surface waters due to winter cooling bring in nutrients into the euphotic zone and enhance primary productivity of the northern Indian Ocean...
Recent Developments in Biological Hydrogen Production Processes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Full Text Available Biohydrogen production technology can utilize renewable energy sources like biomass for the generation of hydrogen, the cleanest form of energy for the use of mankind. However, major constraints to the commercialization of these processes include lower hydrogen yields and rates of hydrogen production. To overcome these bottlenecks intensive research work has already been carried out on the advancement of these processes such as the development of genetically modified microorganisms, the improvement of the bioreactor design, molecular engineering of the key enzyme hydrogenases, the development of two stage processes, etc. The present paper explores the recent advancements that have been made till date and also presents the state of the art in molecular strategies to improve the hydrogen production.
Basic model study on efficiency evaluation in collaborative design work process
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
XIE Qiu; YANG Yu; LI Xiaoli; ZHAO Ningyu
During the efficiency evaluation process of collaborative design work,because of the lack of efficiency evaluation models,a basic analytical model for collaborative design work efficiency evaluation is proposed in this paper.First,the characteristics of the networked collaborative design system work process were studied; then,in accordance with those characteristics,a basic analytical model is created.This model,which is built for centralized collaborative design work,includes an analytical frame,a process view model,a function view model and an information view model.Finally,the application process and steps of this basic analytical model are elaborated when used for efficiency evaluation through an experiment.
Developing a Process-Oriented Translation Test for Assessing English-Arabic Basic Translation Skills
Abdellah, Antar Solhy
The study reviews translation validated tests and proposes a process-oriented translation test for assessing basic translation skills for freshmen English majors at the faculty of Education. The proposed test is developed based on the process approach to translating and translation teaching, and is confined to translation from English to Arabic.…
Basic auditory processing is related to familial risk, not to reading fluency : An ERP study
Hakvoort, Britt; van der Leij, Aryan; Maurits, Natasha; Maassen, Ben; van Zuijen, Titia L.
Less proficient basic auditory processing has been previously connected to dyslexia. However, it is unclear whether a low proficiency level is a correlate of having a familial risk for reading problems, or whether it causes dyslexia. In this study, children's processing of amplitude rise time (ART),
Basic auditory processing is related to familial risk, not to reading fluency: An ERP study
B. Hakvoort; A. van der Leij; N. Maurits; B. Maassen; T.L. van Zuijen
Less proficient basic auditory processing has been previously connected to dyslexia. However, it is unclear whether a low proficiency level is a correlate of having a familial risk for reading problems, or whether it causes dyslexia. In this study, children's processing of amplitude rise time (ART),
Landauer in the Age of Synthetic Biology: Energy Consumption and Information Processing in Biochemical Networks
Mehta, Pankaj; Lang, Alex H.; Schwab, David J.
A central goal of synthetic biology is to design sophisticated synthetic cellular circuits that can perform complex computations and information processing tasks in response to specific inputs. The tremendous advances in our ability to understand and manipulate cellular information processing networks raises several fundamental physics questions: How do the molecular components of cellular circuits exploit energy consumption to improve information processing? Can one utilize ideas from thermodynamics to improve the design of synthetic cellular circuits and modules? Here, we summarize recent theoretical work addressing these questions. Energy consumption in cellular circuits serves five basic purposes: (1) increasing specificity, (2) manipulating dynamics, (3) reducing variability, (4) amplifying signal, and (5) erasing memory. We demonstrate these ideas using several simple examples and discuss the implications of these theoretical ideas for the emerging field of synthetic biology. We conclude by discussing how it may be possible to overcome these limitations using "post-translational" synthetic biology that exploits reversible protein modification.
Quantum chemical methods for the investigation of photoinitiated processes in biological systems: theory and applications.
Dreuw, Andreas
With the advent of modern computers and advances in the development of efficient quantum chemical computer codes, the meaningful computation of large molecular systems at a quantum mechanical level became feasible. Recent experimental effort to understand photoinitiated processes in biological systems, for instance photosynthesis or vision, at a molecular level also triggered theoretical investigations in this field. In this Minireview, standard quantum chemical methods are presented that are applicable and recently used for the calculation of excited states of photoinitiated processes in biological molecular systems. These methods comprise configuration interaction singles, the complete active space self-consistent field method, and time-dependent density functional theory and its variants. Semiempirical approaches are also covered. Their basic theoretical concepts and mathematical equations are briefly outlined, and their properties and limitations are discussed. Recent successful applications of the methods to photoinitiated processes in biological systems are described and theoretical tools for the analysis of excited states are presented. PMID:17009357
Bridging the gap between basic and applied biology: towards preclinical translation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ross L. Cagan
To better translate basic research findings into the clinic, we are moving away from the traditional one-gene–one-phenotype model towards the discovery of complex mechanisms. In this Editorial, the new Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editors of Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM discuss the role that the journal will play in this transition. DMM will continue to provide a platform for studies that bridge basic and applied science, and, by demanding the rigorous assessment of animal models of disease, will help drive the establishment of robust standards of preclinical testing for drug development.
Bridging the gap between basic and applied biology: towards preclinical translation.
Cagan, Ross L; Justice, Monica J; Tidmarsh, George F
To better translate basic research findings into the clinic, we are moving away from the traditional one-gene-one-phenotype model towards the discovery of complex mechanisms. In this Editorial, the new Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editors of Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM) discuss the role that the journal will play in this transition. DMM will continue to provide a platform for studies that bridge basic and applied science, and, by demanding the rigorous assessment of animal models of disease, will help drive the establishment of robust standards of preclinical testing for drug development. PMID:23616075
Summing up dynamics: modelling biological processes in variable temperature scenarios
Tijskens, L.M.M.; Verdenius, F.
The interest of modelling biological processes with dynamically changing external conditions (temperature, relative humidity, gas conditions) increases. Several modelling approaches are currently available. Among them are approaches like modelling under standard conditions, temperature sum models an
The Crossroads between Biology and Mathematics: The Scientific Method as the Basics of Scientific Literacy
Karsai, Istvan; Kampis, George
Biology is changing and becoming more quantitative. Research is creating new challenges that need to be addressed in education as well. New educational initiatives focus on combining laboratory procedures with mathematical skills, yet it seems that most curricula center on a single relationship between scientific knowledge and scientific method:…
Using Restriction Mapping to Teach Basic Skills in the Molecular Biology Lab
Walsh, Lauren; Shaker, Elizabeth; De Stasio, Elizabeth A.
Digestion of DNA with restriction enzymes, calculation of volumes and concentrations of reagents for reactions, and the separation of DNA fragments by agarose gel electrophoresis are common molecular biology techniques that are best taught through repetition. The following open-ended, investigative laboratory exercise in plasmid restriction…
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Gushylyk B.
Full Text Available Data about directions of synthesis and use of the phosphororganic compounds in technics, biology and medicine is presented in the paper. Antimicrobial activity of 51 phosphororganic salts and ilides containing urine and threechlor ethylenamide has been studied. Perspective of the development of effective antimicrobial substances has been determined
Psychological Aspects of Aging. Module A-7. Block A. Basic Knowledge of the Aging Process.
Harvey, Dexter; Cap, Orest
This instructional module on psychological aspects of aging is one in a block of 10 modules designed to provide the human services worker who works with older adults with basic information regarding the aging process. An introduction provides an overview of the module content. A listing of general objectives follows. Six sections present…
Formulae and figures for basic two-body QCD processes in ep interaction
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
A compilation of some useful formulae is given for basic 2→2 processes involving quarks, gluons and photons. The formulae are illustrated by evaluation of some partonic cross sections, parton luminosities and ep cross sections at HERA and LEPxLHC energies. (orig.)
Neural processing of basic tastes in healthy young and older adults - an fMRI study
Hoogeveen, Heleen R.; Dalenberg, Jelle R.; Renken, Remco J.; ter Horst, Gert J.; Lorist, Monicque M.
Ageing affects taste perception as shown in psychophysical studies, however, underlying structural and functional mechanisms of these changes are still largely unknown. To investigate the neurobiology of age-related differences associated with processing of basic tastes, we measured brain activation
Electron beam/biological processing of anaerobic and aerobic sludge
Čuba, V.; Pospíšil, M.; Múčka, V.; Jeníček, P.; Dohányos, M.; Zábranská, J.
Besides common chemical and biological methods, the radiation technology is a promising way of sludge treatment. The paper describes possibilities of combined accelerated electrons/biological processing of both anaerobic and aerobic sludge. Besides one-shot experiments, experimental reactors for the simulation of anaerobic processes have been used. Main effort has been aimed to decrease organic compounds concentration and overall volume of solids, to improve some physico-chemical parameters of sludge, to validate hygienisation effects of the ionising radiation, and in the case of anaerobic sludge, to increase the volume of the produced biogas. Positive effects of the electron beam processing have been observed on all previously named parameters.
Electron beam/biological processing of anaerobic and aerobic sludge
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Besides common chemical and biological methods, the radiation technology is a promising way of sludge treatment. The paper describes possibilities of combined accelerated electrons/biological processing of both anaerobic and aerobic sludge. Besides one-shot experiments, experimental reactors for the simulation of anaerobic processes have been used. Main effort has been aimed to decrease organic compounds concentration and overall volume of solids, to improve some physico-chemical parameters of sludge, to validate hygienisation effects of the ionising radiation, and in the case of anaerobic sludge, to increase the volume of the produced biogas. Positive effects of the electron beam processing have been observed on all previously named parameters. (author)
Mesenchymal Stem Cells Isolated from Adipose and Other Tissues: Basic Biological Properties and Clinical Applications
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hakan Orbay
Full Text Available Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs are adult stem cells that were initially isolated from bone marrow. However, subsequent research has shown that other adult tissues also contain MSCs. MSCs originate from mesenchyme, which is embryonic tissue derived from the mesoderm. These cells actively proliferate, giving rise to new cells in some tissues, but remain quiescent in others. MSCs are capable of differentiating into multiple cell types including adipocytes, chondrocytes, osteocytes, and cardiomyocytes. Isolation and induction of these cells could provide a new therapeutic tool for replacing damaged or lost adult tissues. However, the biological properties and use of stem cells in a clinical setting must be well established before significant clinical benefits are obtained. This paper summarizes data on the biological properties of MSCs and discusses current and potential clinical applications.
Investigations of biological processes in Austrian MBT plants
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Mechanical biological treatment (MBT) of municipal solid waste (MSW) has become an important technology in waste management during the last decade. The paper compiles investigations of mechanical biological processes in Austrian MBT plants. Samples from all plants representing different stages of degradation were included in this study. The range of the relevant parameters characterizing the materials and their behavior, e.g. total organic carbon, total nitrogen, respiration activity and gas generation sum, was determined. The evolution of total carbon and nitrogen containing compounds was compared and related to process operation. The respiration activity decreases in most of the plants by about 90% of the initial values whereas the ammonium release is still ongoing at the end of the biological treatment. If the biogenic waste fraction is not separated, it favors humification in MBT materials that is not observed to such extent in MSW. The amount of organic carbon is about 15% dry matter at the end of the biological treatment.
Investigations of biological processes in Austrian MBT plants.
Tintner, J; Smidt, E; Böhm, K; Binner, E
Mechanical biological treatment (MBT) of municipal solid waste (MSW) has become an important technology in waste management during the last decade. The paper compiles investigations of mechanical biological processes in Austrian MBT plants. Samples from all plants representing different stages of degradation were included in this study. The range of the relevant parameters characterizing the materials and their behavior, e.g. total organic carbon, total nitrogen, respiration activity and gas generation sum, was determined. The evolution of total carbon and nitrogen containing compounds was compared and related to process operation. The respiration activity decreases in most of the plants by about 90% of the initial values whereas the ammonium release is still ongoing at the end of the biological treatment. If the biogenic waste fraction is not separated, it favors humification in MBT materials that is not observed to such extent in MSW. The amount of organic carbon is about 15% dry matter at the end of the biological treatment. PMID:20580543
Biological and Biomedical Coatings Handbook Processing and Characterization
Zhang, Sam
Written in a versatile, contemporary style that will benefit both novice and expert alike, Biological and Biomedical Coatings Handbook, Two-Volume Set covers the state of the art in the development and implementation of advanced thin films and coatings in the biological field. Consisting of two volumes--Processing and Characterization and Applications--this handbook details the latest understanding of advances in the design and performance of biological and biomedical coatings, covering a vast array of material types, including bio-ceramics, polymers, glass, chitosan, and nanomaterials. Contri
Hidden Markov processes theory and applications to biology
Vidyasagar, M
This book explores important aspects of Markov and hidden Markov processes and the applications of these ideas to various problems in computational biology. The book starts from first principles, so that no previous knowledge of probability is necessary. However, the work is rigorous and mathematical, making it useful to engineers and mathematicians, even those not interested in biological applications. A range of exercises is provided, including drills to familiarize the reader with concepts and more advanced problems that require deep thinking about the theory. Biological applications are t
Process efficiency simulation for key process parameters in biological methanogenesis
Sébastien Bernacchi; Michaela Weissgram; Walter Wukovits; Christoph Herwig
New generation biofuels are a suitable approach to produce energy carriers in an almost CO2 neutral way. A promising reaction is the conversion of CO2 and H2 to CH4. This contribution aims at elucidating a bioprocess comprised of a core reaction unit using microorganisms from the Archaea life domain, which metabolize CO2 and H2 to CH4, followed by a gas purification step. The process is simulated and analyzed thermodynamically using the Aspen Plus process simulation environment. The goal of t...
Basic Abnormalities in Visual Processing Affect Face Processing at an Early Age in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Vlamings, Petra Hendrika Johanna Maria; Jonkman, Lisa Marthe; van Daalen, Emma; van der Gaag, Rutger Jan; Kemner, Chantal
Background: A detailed visual processing style has been noted in autism spectrum disorder (ASD); this contributes to problems in face processing and has been directly related to abnormal processing of spatial frequencies (SFs). Little is known about the early development of face processing in ASD an
Using restriction mapping to teach basic skills in the molecular biology lab.
Walsh, Lauren; Shaker, Elizabeth; De Stasio, Elizabeth A
Digestion of DNA with restriction enzymes, calculation of volumes and concentrations of reagents for reactions, and the separation of DNA fragments by agarose gel electrophoresis are common molecular biology techniques that are best taught through repetition. The following open-ended, investigative laboratory exercise in plasmid restriction mapping allows students to gain technical expertise while simultaneously exploring the utility of gel electrophoresis and restriction mapping. Because of its interpretive nature, this project also provides data suitable for a written report, and can thus be used to reinforce lessons on figure presentation and science writing skills. PMID:21591089
Qualitative analysis of biological oscillators as processing structures
Bordon, Jure
Recently there is a certain tendency in the field of computer science to find alternative processing platforms, which would replace the conventional ones that are starting to reach their limits in the meaning of components' size and speed. Computer science is trying to avoid its dependency on traditional electronic components. One of such alternatives is also processing in biological systems. Whatever the future processing platform might be, computer science will most likely always need a com...
Site-selective protein-modification chemistry for basic biology and drug development
Krall, Nikolaus; da Cruz, Filipa P.; Boutureira, Omar; Bernardes, Gonçalo J. L.
Nature has produced intricate machinery to covalently diversify the structure of proteins after their synthesis in the ribosome. In an attempt to mimic nature, chemists have developed a large set of reactions that enable post-expression modification of proteins at pre-determined sites. These reactions are now used to selectively install particular modifications on proteins for many biological and therapeutic applications. For example, they provide an opportunity to install post-translational modifications on proteins to determine their exact biological roles. Labelling of proteins in live cells with fluorescent dyes allows protein uptake and intracellular trafficking to be tracked and also enables physiological parameters to be measured optically. Through the conjugation of potent cytotoxicants to antibodies, novel anti-cancer drugs with improved efficacy and reduced side effects may be obtained. In this Perspective, we highlight the most exciting current and future applications of chemical site-selective protein modification and consider which hurdles still need to be overcome for more widespread use.
Basic Data Report -- Defense Waste Processing Facility Sludge Plant, Savannah River Plant 200-S Area
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Amerine, D.B.
This Basic Data Report for the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF)--Sludge Plant was prepared to supplement the Technical Data Summary. Jointly, the two reports were intended to form the basis for the design and construction of the DWPF. To the extent that conflicting information may appear, the Basic Data Report takes precedence over the Technical Data Summary. It describes project objectives and design requirements. Pertinent data on the geology, hydrology, and climate of the site are included. Functions and requirements of the major structures are described to provide guidance in the design of the facilities. Revision 9 of the Basic Data Report was prepared to eliminate inconsistencies between the Technical Data Summary, Basic Data Report and Scopes of Work which were used to prepare the September, 1982 updated CAB. Concurrently, pertinent data (material balance, curie balance, etc.) have also been placed in the Basic Data Report. It is intended that these balances be used as a basis for the continuing design of the DWPF even though minor revisions may be made in these balances in future revisions to the Technical Data Summary.
Boolean Models of Biological Processes Explain Cascade-Like Behavior.
Chen, Hao; Wang, Guanyu; Simha, Rahul; Du, Chenghang; Zeng, Chen
Biological networks play a key role in determining biological function and therefore, an understanding of their structure and dynamics is of central interest in systems biology. In Boolean models of such networks, the status of each molecule is either "on" or "off" and along with the molecules interact with each other, their individual status changes from "on" to "off" or vice-versa and the system of molecules in the network collectively go through a sequence of changes in state. This sequence of changes is termed a biological process. In this paper, we examine the common perception that events in biomolecular networks occur sequentially, in a cascade-like manner, and ask whether this is likely to be an inherent property. In further investigations of the budding and fission yeast cell-cycle, we identify two generic dynamical rules. A Boolean system that complies with these rules will automatically have a certain robustness. By considering the biological requirements in robustness and designability, we show that those Boolean dynamical systems, compared to an arbitrary dynamical system, statistically present the characteristics of cascadeness and sequentiality, as observed in the budding and fission yeast cell- cycle. These results suggest that cascade-like behavior might be an intrinsic property of biological processes.
Boolean Models of Biological Processes Explain Cascade-Like Behavior.
Chen, Hao; Wang, Guanyu; Simha, Rahul; Du, Chenghang; Zeng, Chen
Biological networks play a key role in determining biological function and therefore, an understanding of their structure and dynamics is of central interest in systems biology. In Boolean models of such networks, the status of each molecule is either "on" or "off" and along with the molecules interact with each other, their individual status changes from "on" to "off" or vice-versa and the system of molecules in the network collectively go through a sequence of changes in state. This sequence of changes is termed a biological process. In this paper, we examine the common perception that events in biomolecular networks occur sequentially, in a cascade-like manner, and ask whether this is likely to be an inherent property. In further investigations of the budding and fission yeast cell-cycle, we identify two generic dynamical rules. A Boolean system that complies with these rules will automatically have a certain robustness. By considering the biological requirements in robustness and designability, we show that those Boolean dynamical systems, compared to an arbitrary dynamical system, statistically present the characteristics of cascadeness and sequentiality, as observed in the budding and fission yeast cell- cycle. These results suggest that cascade-like behavior might be an intrinsic property of biological processes. PMID:26821940
[Which molecular biology techniques must conform to the armamentarium for basic research in uro-oncology?].
Oriola, Josep
Molecular biology has been one of the scientific disciplines in which there has been more advances in the last years. The first impulse in the study of genetic alterations came from the discovery of DNA structure, followed by elucidation of the genetic code, the discovery of restriction enzymes and subsequently the invention of PCR, not forgetting the exponential development of computer science. All of them have allowed us to know much more about our genome and its regulation than we could imagine. The impulse in proteomics has been especially in tune up of soft methods of ionization coupled with mass spectrometry. Nevertheless, this seems to be only the beginning since today there are continuous methodological advances that will increase more, without doubt, the knowledge and applications in this discipline. PMID:23793758
Discovering networks of perturbed biological processes in hepatocyte cultures.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Christopher D Lasher
Full Text Available The liver plays a vital role in glucose homeostasis, the synthesis of bile acids and the detoxification of foreign substances. Liver culture systems are widely used to test adverse effects of drugs and environmental toxicants. The two most prevalent liver culture systems are hepatocyte monolayers (HMs and collagen sandwiches (CS. Despite their wide use, comprehensive transcriptional programs and interaction networks in these culture systems have not been systematically investigated. We integrated an existing temporal transcriptional dataset for HM and CS cultures of rat hepatocytes with a functional interaction network of rat genes. We aimed to exploit the functional interactions to identify statistically significant linkages between perturbed biological processes. To this end, we developed a novel approach to compute Contextual Biological Process Linkage Networks (CBPLNs. CBPLNs revealed numerous meaningful connections between different biological processes and gene sets, which we were successful in interpreting within the context of liver metabolism. Multiple phenomena captured by CBPLNs at the process level such as regulation, downstream effects, and feedback loops have well described counterparts at the gene and protein level. CBPLNs reveal high-level linkages between pathways and processes, making the identification of important biological trends more tractable than through interactions between individual genes and molecules alone. Our approach may provide a new route to explore, analyze, and understand cellular responses to internal and external cues within the context of the intricate networks of molecular interactions that control cellular behavior.
Kauffman, L H
In this paper we explore the boundary between biology and the study of formal systems (logic). In the end, we arrive at a summary formalism, a chapter in "boundary mathematics" where there are not only containers but also extainers ><, entities open to interaction and distinguishing the space that they are not. The boundary algebra of containers and extainers is to biologic what boolean algebra is to classical logic. We show how this formalism encompasses significant parts of the logic of DNA replication, the Dirac formalism for quantum mechanics, formalisms for protein folding and the basic structure of the Temperley Lieb algebra at the foundations of topological invariants of knots and links.
Chemical and biological flocculation process to treat municipal sewage and analysis of biological function
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
XIA Si-qing; YANG Dian-hai; XU Bin; ZHAO Jian-fu
The pilot-scale experimental apparatus and the procedure of the chemical and biological flocculation process to verify the feasibility in treating Shanghai municipal sewage were introduced in this paper. In addition, the biological function of the process was discussed. The results of optimal running showed that in the reaction tank, the concentration of mixed liquor suspended solid(MLSS) was2 g/L, hydraulic retention time(HRT) was 35 min, dosage of liquid polyaluminium chloride(PAC) was 60 mg/L, and the concentration of polyacrylamide(PAM) was 0.5 mg/L. The effluent average concentrations of CODcr, TP, SS and BOD5 were 50 mg/L, 0.62 mg/L, 18mg/L, and 17 mg/L, respectively. These were better than the designed demand. In addition, the existence of biological degradation in this system was proven by several methods. The removal efficiencies of the chemical and biological flocculation process were 20% higher than that of the chemical flocculation process above at the same coagulant dosage. The treatment process under different situations was evaluated on a pilot-scale experiment, and the results provided magnificent parameters and optimal condition for future operation of the plant.
Cancer systems biology: signal processing for cancer research
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Olli Yli-Harja; Antti Ylip(a)(a); Matti Nykter; Wei Zhang
In this editorial we introduce the research paradigms of signal processing in the era of systems biology. Signal processing is a field of science traditionally focused on modeling electronic and communications systems, but recently it has turned to biological applications with astounding results. The essence of signal processing is to describe the natural world by mathematical models and then, based on these models, develop efficient computational tools for solving engineering problems. Here, we underline, with examples, the endless possibilities which arise when the battle-hardened tools of engineering are applied to solve the problems that have tormented cancer researchers. Based on this approach, a new field has emerged, called cancer systems biology. Despite its short history, cancer systems biology has already produced several success stories tackling previously impracticable problems. Perhaps most importantly, it has been accepted as an integral part of the major endeavors of cancer research, such as analyzing the genomic and epigenomic data produced by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. Finally, we show that signal processing and cancer research, two fields that are seemingly distant from each other, have merged into a field that is indeed more than the sum of its parts.
Cancer systems biology: signal processing for cancer research.
Yli-Harja, Olli; Ylipää, Antti; Nykter, Matti; Zhang, Wei
In this editorial we introduce the research paradigms of signal processing in the era of systems biology. Signal processing is a field of science traditionally focused on modeling electronic and communications systems, but recently it has turned to biological applications with astounding results. The essence of signal processing is to describe the natural world by mathematical models and then, based on these models, develop efficient computational tools for solving engineering problems. Here, we underline, with examples, the endless possibilities which arise when the battle-hardened tools of engineering are applied to solve the problems that have tormented cancer researchers. Based on this approach, a new field has emerged, called cancer systems biology. Despite its short history, cancer systems biology has already produced several success stories tackling previously impracticable problems. Perhaps most importantly, it has been accepted as an integral part of the major endeavors of cancer research, such as analyzing the genomic and epigenomic data produced by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. Finally, we show that signal processing and cancer research, two fields that are seemingly distant from each other, have merged into a field that is indeed more than the sum of its parts.
Zabolotskiy V. I.; Sharafan M. V.; Chermit R. H.; Vasilieva V. I.
The stability of strongly basic anion-exchange membranes MA-41-2P (JSC "Schekino-Nitrogen", Russia) and AMX (Tokuyama Soda, Japan) under intensive current regimes was investigated in the current study. The process of water molecules dissociation at current densities above the limiting one in 0.01 M sodium chloride solution was studied in detail. The length of the electroconvective instability at the membrane / solution interface at currents exceeding the limiting current was measured by laser...
Introductory Biology Textbooks Under-Represent Scientific Process
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dara B. Duncan
Full Text Available Attrition of undergraduates from Biology majors is a long-standing problem. Introductory courses that fail to engage students or spark their curiosity by emphasizing the open-ended and creative nature of biological investigation and discovery could contribute to student detachment from the field. Our hypothesis was that introductory biology books devote relatively few figures to illustration of the design and interpretation of experiments or field studies, thereby de-emphasizing the scientific process.To investigate this possibility, we examined figures in six Introductory Biology textbooks published in 2008. On average, multistep scientific investigations were presented in fewer than 5% of the hundreds of figures in each book. Devoting such a small percentage of figures to the processes by which discoveries are made discourages an emphasis on scientific thinking. We suggest that by increasing significantly the illustration of scientific investigations, textbooks could support undergraduates' early interest in biology, stimulate the development of design and analytical skills, and inspire some students to participate in investigations of their own.
A Friendly-Biological Reactor SIMulator (BioReSIM for studying biological processes in wastewater treatment processes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Raul Molina
Full Text Available Biological processes for wastewater treatments are inherently dynamic systems because of the large variations in the influent wastewater flow rate, concentration composition and the adaptive behavior of the involved microorganisms. Moreover, the sludge retention time (SRT is a critical factor to understand the bioreactor performances when changes in the influent or in the operation conditions take place. Since SRT are usually in the range of 10-30 days, the performance of biological reactors needs a long time to be monitored in a regular laboratory demonstration, limiting the knowledge that can be obtained in the experimental lab practice. In order to overcome this lack, mathematical models and computer simulations are useful tools to describe biochemical processes and predict the overall performance of bioreactors under different working operation conditions and variations of the inlet wastewater composition. The mathematical solution of the model could be difficult as numerous biochemical processes can be considered. Additionally, biological reactors description (mass balance, etc. needs models represented by partial or/and ordinary differential equations associated to algebraic expressions, that require complex computational codes to obtain the numerical solutions. Different kind of software for mathematical modeling can be used, from large degree of freedom simulators capable of free models definition (as AQUASIM, to closed predefined model structure programs (as BIOWIN. The first ones usually require long learning curves, whereas the second ones could be excessively rigid for specific wastewater treatment systems. As alternative, we present Biological Reactor SIMulator (BioReSIM, a MATLAB code for the simulation of sequencing batch reactors (SBR and rotating biological contactors (RBC as biological systems of suspended and attached biomass for wastewater treatment, respectively. This BioReSIM allows the evaluation of simple and complex
iBiology: communicating the process of science.
Goodwin, Sarah S
The Internet hosts an abundance of science video resources aimed at communicating scientific knowledge, including webinars, massive open online courses, and TED talks. Although these videos are efficient at disseminating information for diverse types of users, they often do not demonstrate the process of doing science, the excitement of scientific discovery, or how new scientific knowledge is developed. iBiology (www.ibiology.org), a project that creates open-access science videos about biology research and science-related topics, seeks to fill this need by producing videos by science leaders that make their ideas, stories, and experiences available to anyone with an Internet connection. PMID:25080124
Biological Decolorization of C.I. Basic Green 4 Solution by Chlorella sp.:Effect of Operational Parameters
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Khataee A. R.; Pourhassan M.; Ayazloo M.
In recent years, the ability of microorganisms to decolorize textile wastewater has received great attention due to the environmental persistence and toxicity of these pollutants. In this paper biological decolorization of triphenylmethane dye, C.I. Basic Green 4 (BG 4), by Chlorella species was investigated. The effect of operational parameters (temperature, pH, initial dye concentration and algal concentration) on decolorization efficiency was examined. Results indicated that the desired initial pH was 9. The stability and efficiency of the algae in long-term repetitive operations were also examined. Michaelis-Menten kinetics was employed to describe the apparent correlation between the decolorization rate and dye concentration. The optimal kinetic parameters, Vmax (specific decolorization rate) and Km (maximum specific decolorization rate) were 4.6 mg dye g cell-1 h-1and 151.0 mg L-1, respectively. Fig 10, Tab 2, Ref24
Classical and spatial stochastic processes with applications to biology
Schinazi, Rinaldo B
The revised and expanded edition of this textbook presents the concepts and applications of random processes with the same illuminating simplicity as its first edition, but with the notable addition of substantial modern material on biological modeling. While still treating many important problems in fields such as engineering and mathematical physics, the book also focuses on the highly relevant topics of cancerous mutations, influenza evolution, drug resistance, and immune response. The models used elegantly apply various classical stochastic models presented earlier in the text, and exercises are included throughout to reinforce essential concepts. The second edition of Classical and Spatial Stochastic Processes is suitable as a textbook for courses in stochastic processes at the advanced-undergraduate and graduate levels, or as a self-study resource for researchers and practitioners in mathematics, engineering, physics, and mathematical biology. Reviews of the first edition: An appetizing textbook for a f...
Assessment of biological Hydrogen production processes: A review
Najafpour, G. D.; Shahavi, M. H.; Neshat, S. A.
Energy crisis created a special attention on renewable energy sources. Among these sources; hydrogen through biological processes is well-known as the most suitable and renewable energy sources. In terms of process yield, hydrogen production from various sources was evaluated. A summary of microorganisms as potential hydrogen producers discussed along with advantages and disadvantages of several bioprocesses. The pathway of photo-synthetic and dark fermentative organisms was discussed. In fact, the active enzymes involved in performance of biological processes for hydrogen generation were identified and their special functionalities were discussed. The influential factors affecting on hydrogen production were known as enzymes assisting liberation specific enzymes such as nitrogenase, hydrogenase and uptake hydrogenase. These enzymes were quite effective in reduction of proton and form active molecular hydrogen. Several types of photosynthetic systems were evaluated with intension of maximum hydrogen productivities. In addition dark fermentative and light intensities on hydrogen productions were evaluated. The hydrogen productivities of efficient hydrogen producing strains were evaluated.
Basic uranium-235 enrichment by the Asahi Chemical Enrichment Process (ACEP)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The development of Asahi Chemical Enrichment Process (ACEP) led to the establishment of basic process technology permitting attainment of 3% enrichment within several months of operation by the mid-1980s, through advances which brought increased electron-exchange and adsorption-desorption reaction rates, effective uranium adsorption band formation and maintenance, and equilibrium plate height reductions based on the elucidation of mobile-phase dispersion. The theoretical and experimental development of redox agent self-regeneration led to a new 'Super Process' characterized by greater simplicity and efficiency than previously thought possible. A semi-commercial plant with enrichment columns of 1 m in diameter and 3 m in height, constructed at Hyuga City in Miyazaki Prefecture, demonstrated 3% uranium enrichment in April 1988. Through the improvement of enrichment efficiency, overall enrichment costs have been greatly lowered. The advantage of the chemical enrichment process, and its low cost of enrichment, have now been clearly demonstrated. (author)
Computer-Based Support of Decision Making Processes during Biological Incidents
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Karel Antos
Full Text Available The paper describes contextual analysis of a general system that should provide a computerized support of decision making processes related to response operations in case of a biological incident. This analysis is focused on information systems and information resources perspective and their integration using appropriate tools and technology. In the contextual design the basic modules of BioDSS system are suggested and further elaborated. The modules deal with incident description, scenarios development and recommendation of appropriate countermeasures. Proposals for further research are also included.
Biological Signal Processing with a Genetic Toggle Switch
Hillenbrand, Patrick; Fritz, Georg; Gerland, Ulrich
Complex gene regulation requires responses that depend not only on the current levels of input signals but also on signals received in the past. In digital electronics, logic circuits with this property are referred to as sequential logic, in contrast to the simpler combinatorial logic without such internal memory. In molecular biology, memory is implemented in various forms such as biochemical modification of proteins or multistable gene circuits, but the design of the regulatory interface, which processes the input signals and the memory content, is often not well understood. Here, we explore design constraints for such regulatory interfaces using coarse-grained nonlinear models and stochastic simulations of detailed biochemical reaction networks. We test different designs for biological analogs of the most versatile memory element in digital electronics, the JK-latch. Our analysis shows that simple protein-protein interactions and protein-DNA binding are sufficient, in principle, to implement genetic circuits with the capabilities of a JK-latch. However, it also exposes fundamental limitations to its reliability, due to the fact that biological signal processing is asynchronous, in contrast to most digital electronics systems that feature a central clock to orchestrate the timing of all operations. We describe a seemingly natural way to improve the reliability by invoking the master-slave concept from digital electronics design. This concept could be useful to interpret the design of natural regulatory circuits, and for the design of synthetic biological systems. PMID:23874595
Targeting Specific HATs for Neurodegenerative Disease Treatment: Translating Basic Biology to Therapeutic Possibilities
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sheila K. Pirooznia
Full Text Available Dynamic epigenetic regulation of neurons is emerging as a fundamental mechanism by which neurons adapt their transcriptional responses to specific developmental and environmental cues. While defects within the neural epigenome have traditionally been studied in the context of early developmental and heritable cognitive disorders, recent studies point to aberrant histone acetylation status as a key mechanism underlying acquired inappropriate alterations of genome structure and function in post-mitotic neurons during the aging process. Indeed, it is becoming increasingly evident that chromatin acetylation status can be impaired during the lifetime of neurons through mechanisms related to loss of function of histone acetyltransferase (HATs activity. Several HATs have been shown to participate in vital neuronal functions such as regulation of neuronal plasticity and memory formation. As such, dysregulation of such HATs has been implicated in the pathogenesis associated with age-associated neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline. In order to counteract the loss of HAT function in neurodegenerative diseases, the current therapeutic strategies involve the use of small molecules called histone deacetylase (HDAC inhibitors that antagonize HDAC activity and thus enhance acetylation levels. Although this strategy has displayed promising therapeutic effects, currently used HDAC inhibitors lack target specificity, raising concerns about their applicability. With rapidly evolving literature on HATs and their respective functions in mediating neuronal survival and higher order brain function such as learning and memory, modulating the function of specific HATs holds new promises as a therapeutic tool in neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we focus on the recent progress in research regarding epigenetic histone acetylation mechanisms underlying neuronal activity and cognitive function. We discuss the current understanding of specific HDACs and
Processing biological literature with customizable Web services supporting interoperable formats
Rak, Rafal; Batista-Navarro, Riza Theresa; Carter, Jacob; Rowley, Andrew; Ananiadou, Sophia
Web services have become a popular means of interconnecting solutions for processing a body of scientific literature. This has fuelled research on high-level data exchange formats suitable for a given domain and ensuring the interoperability of Web services. In this article, we focus on the biological domain and consider four interoperability formats, BioC, BioNLP, XMI and RDF, that represent domain-specific and generic representations and include well-established as well as emerging specific...
Processed Vietnamese ginseng: Preliminary results in chemistry and biological activity
Le, Thi Hong Van; Lee, Seo Young; Kim, Tae Ryong; Kim, Jae Young; Kwon, Sung Won; NGUYEN, NGOC KHOI; Park, Jeong Hill; Nguyen, Minh Duc
Background This study was carried out to investigate the effect of the steaming process on chemical constituents, free radical scavenging activity, and antiproliferative effect of Vietnamese ginseng. Methods Samples of powdered Vietnamese ginseng were steamed at 120°C for various times and their extracts were subjected to chemical and biological studies. Results Upon steaming, contents of polar ginsenosides, such as Rb1, Rc, Rd, Re, and Rg1, were rapidly decreased, whereas less polar ginsenos...
Susy Albert; Amee Padhiar
Biopulping, the treatment of wood chips by white rot fungi and subsequent chip refining is envisioned as a method for saving energy and making a stronger paper product. The present study aims to find suitability of two fungal isolates Phellinus pectinatus and Daedaleopsis confragosa for the process of biopulping and the characteristion of the biologically pretreated raw materials for biopulping. Two combinations of raw samples, Bamboo: wood shavings and Bamboo: wood shavings: Sorghum halepens...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zabolotskiy V. I.
Full Text Available The stability of strongly basic anion-exchange membranes MA-41-2P (JSC "Schekino-Nitrogen", Russia and AMX (Tokuyama Soda, Japan under intensive current regimes was investigated in the current study. The process of water molecules dissociation at current densities above the limiting one in 0.01 M sodium chloride solution was studied in detail. The length of the electroconvective instability at the membrane / solution interface at currents exceeding the limiting current was measured by laser interferometry
Influence of different natural physical fields on biological processes
Mashinsky, A. L.
In space flight conditions gravity, magnetic, and electrical fields as well as ionizing radiation change both in size, and in direction. This causes disruptions in the conduct of some physical processes, chemical reactions, and metabolism in living organisms. In these conditions organisms of different phylogenetic level change their metabolic reactions undergo changes such as disturbances in ionic exchange both in lower and in higher plants, changes in cell morphology for example, gyrosity in Proteus ( Proteus vulgaris), spatial disorientation in coleoptiles of Wheat ( Triticum aestivum) and Pea ( Pisum sativum) seedlings, mutational changes in Crepis ( Crepis capillaris) and Arabidopsis ( Arabidopsis thaliana) seedling. It has been found that even in the absence of gravity, gravireceptors determining spatial orientation in higher plants under terrestrial conditions are formed in the course of ontogenesis. Under weightlessness this system does not function and spatial orientation is determined by the light flux gradient or by the action of some other factors. Peculiarities of the formation of the gravireceptor apparatus in higher plants, amphibians, fish, and birds under space flight conditions have been observed. It has been found that the system in which responses were accompanied by phase transition have proven to be gravity-sensitive under microgravity conditions. Such reactions include also the process of photosynthesis which is the main energy production process in plants. In view of the established effects of microgravity and different natural physical fields on biological processes, it has been shown that these processes change due to the absence of initially rigid determination. The established biological effect of physical fields influence on biological processes in organisms is the starting point for elucidating the role of gravity and evolutionary development of various organisms on Earth.
MEG event-related desynchronization and synchronization deficits during basic somatosensory processing in individuals with ADHD
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wang Frank
Full Text Available Abstract Background Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD is a prevalent, complex disorder which is characterized by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Convergent evidence from neurobiological studies of ADHD identifies dysfunction in fronto-striatal-cerebellar circuitry as the source of behavioural deficits. Recent studies have shown that regions governing basic sensory processing, such as the somatosensory cortex, show abnormalities in those with ADHD suggesting that these processes may also be compromised. Methods We used event-related magnetoencephalography (MEG to examine patterns of cortical rhythms in the primary (SI and secondary (SII somatosensory cortices in response to median nerve stimulation, in 9 adults with ADHD and 10 healthy controls. Stimuli were brief (0.2 ms non-painful electrical pulses presented to the median nerve in two counterbalanced conditions: unpredictable and predictable stimulus presentation. We measured changes in strength, synchronicity, and frequency of cortical rhythms. Results Healthy comparison group showed strong event-related desynchrony and synchrony in SI and SII. By contrast, those with ADHD showed significantly weaker event-related desynchrony and event-related synchrony in the alpha (8–12 Hz and beta (15–30 Hz bands, respectively. This was most striking during random presentation of median nerve stimulation. Adults with ADHD showed significantly shorter duration of beta rebound in both SI and SII except for when the onset of the stimulus event could be predicted. In this case, the rhythmicity of SI (but not SII in the ADHD group did not differ from that of controls. Conclusion Our findings suggest that somatosensory processing is altered in individuals with ADHD. MEG constitutes a promising approach to profiling patterns of neural activity during the processing of sensory input (e.g., detection of a tactile stimulus, stimulus predictability and facilitating our
Basic auditory processing is related to familial risk, not to reading fluency: an ERP study.
Hakvoort, Britt; van der Leij, Aryan; Maurits, Natasha; Maassen, Ben; van Zuijen, Titia L
Less proficient basic auditory processing has been previously connected to dyslexia. However, it is unclear whether a low proficiency level is a correlate of having a familial risk for reading problems, or whether it causes dyslexia. In this study, children's processing of amplitude rise time (ART), intensity and frequency differences was measured with event-related potentials (ERPs). ERP components of interest are components reflective of auditory change detection; the mismatch negativity (MMN) and late discriminative negativity (LDN). All groups had an MMN to changes in ART and frequency, but not to intensity. Our results indicate that fluent readers at risk for dyslexia, poor readers at risk for dyslexia and fluent reading controls have an LDN to changes in ART and frequency, though the scalp activation of frequency processing was different for familial risk children. On intensity, only controls showed an LDN. Contrary to previous findings, our results suggest that neither ART nor frequency processing is related to reading fluency. Furthermore, our results imply that diminished sensitivity to changes in intensity and differential lateralization of frequency processing should be regarded as correlates of being at familial risk for dyslexia, that do not directly relate to reading fluency.
EEG delta oscillations as a correlate of basic homeostatic and motivational processes.
Knyazev, Gennady G
Functional significance of delta oscillations is not fully understood. One way to approach this question would be from an evolutionary perspective. Delta oscillations dominate the EEG of waking reptiles. In humans, they are prominent only in early developmental stages and during slow-wave sleep. Increase of delta power has been documented in a wide array of developmental disorders and pathological conditions. Considerable evidence on the association between delta waves and autonomic and metabolic processes hints that they may be involved in integration of cerebral activity with homeostatic processes. Much evidence suggests the involvement of delta oscillations in motivation. They increase during hunger, sexual arousal, and in substance users. They also increase during panic attacks and sustained pain. In cognitive domain, they are implicated in attention, salience detection, and subliminal perception. This evidence shows that delta oscillations are associated with evolutionary old basic processes, which in waking adults are overshadowed by more advanced processes associated with higher frequency oscillations. The former processes rise in activity, however, when the latter are dysfunctional. PMID:22020231
Basic auditory processing is related to familial risk, not to reading fluency: an ERP study.
Hakvoort, Britt; van der Leij, Aryan; Maurits, Natasha; Maassen, Ben; van Zuijen, Titia L
Less proficient basic auditory processing has been previously connected to dyslexia. However, it is unclear whether a low proficiency level is a correlate of having a familial risk for reading problems, or whether it causes dyslexia. In this study, children's processing of amplitude rise time (ART), intensity and frequency differences was measured with event-related potentials (ERPs). ERP components of interest are components reflective of auditory change detection; the mismatch negativity (MMN) and late discriminative negativity (LDN). All groups had an MMN to changes in ART and frequency, but not to intensity. Our results indicate that fluent readers at risk for dyslexia, poor readers at risk for dyslexia and fluent reading controls have an LDN to changes in ART and frequency, though the scalp activation of frequency processing was different for familial risk children. On intensity, only controls showed an LDN. Contrary to previous findings, our results suggest that neither ART nor frequency processing is related to reading fluency. Furthermore, our results imply that diminished sensitivity to changes in intensity and differential lateralization of frequency processing should be regarded as correlates of being at familial risk for dyslexia, that do not directly relate to reading fluency. PMID:25243992
Stochasticity in processes fundamentals and applications to chemistry and biology
Schuster, Peter
This book has developed over the past fifteen years from a modern course on stochastic chemical kinetics for graduate students in physics, chemistry and biology. The first part presents a systematic collection of the mathematical background material needed to understand probability, statistics, and stochastic processes as a prerequisite for the increasingly challenging practical applications in chemistry and the life sciences examined in the second part. Recent advances in the development of new techniques and in the resolution of conventional experiments at nano-scales have been tremendous: today molecular spectroscopy can provide insights into processes down to scales at which current theories at the interface of physics, chemistry and the life sciences cannot be successful without a firm grasp of randomness and its sources. Routinely measured data is now sufficiently accurate to allow the direct recording of fluctuations. As a result, the sampling of data and the modeling of relevant processes are doomed t...
Molecular and physiological basic processes in the context of radiation protection
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The aim of this paper is an attempt to answer the question why accumulated knowledge on molecular basis of biological effects of ionizing radiation have not yet resulted in in sufficiently successful chemical radiation protection. In the past decade experimental results which demonstrated a direct regulatory role of some radicals in the main physiological processes such as vascular tone successfully emphasize the significance of old experimental results (the best protection can be achieved through physiological manipulations) connecting them to new data on free radical evolvement and the application of various free radical scavengers in radiation protection, which represents the most appropriate approach to the problem. (author)
[Hadamard Transform NIR Spectrometer for the Biological Processes].
Liu, Peng; Li, Kai; Zeng, Li-bo; Wu, Qiong-shui
Monitoring the consumption of nutrients of biological process helps control the growth environment of the microbes. It ensures the microbes are always in the best growing conditions, so as to maximize the yield of the target product. To monitor the content of glycerol, methanol and glucose in yeast culture medium, a new NIR spectrometer was developed which is based on Hadamard Transform (HT)technique. It uses the Near IR probe, which was designed all by ourselves, to collect the spectral signals, and uses the Digital Micro-mirror Devices(DMD) to complete the coding and modulation of Hadamard template. With self-developed software, aiming at spectral acquisition and spectral processing, the spectrometer has realized the real-time monitoring. The designs of optical path, Near IR probe, hardware circuit and software modules are given. Through lots of experiments, it turns out that the value of stray light is 0.875% and the volatility is ±4.28% in this spectrometer. The spectrometer shows high precision in a series of tests which means it totally meets the requirements of monitoring the biological processes. PMID:26669185
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Susy Albert
Full Text Available Biopulping, the treatment of wood chips by white rot fungi and subsequent chip refining is envisioned as a method for saving energy and making a stronger paper product. The present study aims to find suitability of two fungal isolates Phellinus pectinatus and Daedaleopsis confragosa for the process of biopulping and the characteristion of the biologically pretreated raw materials for biopulping. Two combinations of raw samples, Bamboo: wood shavings and Bamboo: wood shavings: Sorghum halepense culm were prepared and subjected to four different pretreatment. Daedaleopsis confragosa was found to be effective in biopulping with a supplement of Potato dextrose broth medium to the raw material.
Benchmarking Combined Biological Phosphorus and Nitrogen Removal Wastewater Treatment Processes
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gernaey, Krist; Jørgensen, Sten Bay
are to a large extent based on the already existing nitrogen removal simulation benchmark. The paper illustrates and motivates the selection of the treatment plant lay-out, the selection of the biological process model, the development of realistic influent disturbance scenarios for dry, rain and storm weather...... resulting from open loop simulations with a dynamic dry weather influent scenario. The influence of the dissolved oxygen set point selection on the nitrate control loop performance observed in the simulations further illustrates the need for a plant-wide optimization approach to reach optimal plant...
Process for the biological purification of waste water
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Process for the biological purification of waste water by the activated sludge method, the waste water being mixed with recirculated sludge and being subjected to an anaerobic treatment, before the waste water thus treated is alternately subjected to anoxic and aerobic treatments and the waste...... water thus treated is led into a clarification zone for settling sludge, which sludge is recirculated in order to be mixed with the crude waste water. As a result, a simultaneous reduction of the content both of nitrogen and phosphorus of the waste water is achieved....
Experimental measurements and mathematical modeling of biological noise arising from transcriptional and translational regulation of basic synthetic gene circuits.
Bandiera, Lucia; Pasini, Alice; Pasotti, Lorenzo; Zucca, Susanna; Mazzini, Giuliano; Magni, Paolo; Giordano, Emanuele; Furini, Simone
The small number of molecules, unevenly distributed within an isogenic cell population, makes gene expression a noisy process, and strategies have evolved to deal with this variability in protein concentration and to limit its impact on cellular behaviors. As translational efficiency has a major impact on biological noise, a possible strategy to control noise is to regulate gene expression processes at the post-transcriptional level. In this study, fluctuations in the concentration of a green fluorescent protein were compared, at the single cell level, upon transformation of an isogenic bacterial cell population with synthetic gene circuits implementing either a transcriptional or a post-transcriptional control of gene expression. Experimental measurements showed that protein variability is lower under post-transcriptional control, when the same average protein concentrations are compared. This effect is well reproduced by stochastic simulations, supporting the hypothesis that noise reduction is due to the control mechanism acting on the efficiency of translation. Similar strategies are likely to play a role in noise reduction in natural systems and to be useful for controlling noise in synthetic biology applications.
Process-based design of dynamical biological systems
Tanevski, Jovan; Todorovski, Ljupčo; Džeroski, Sašo
The computational design of dynamical systems is an important emerging task in synthetic biology. Given desired properties of the behaviour of a dynamical system, the task of design is to build an in-silico model of a system whose simulated be- haviour meets these properties. We introduce a new, process-based, design methodology for addressing this task. The new methodology combines a flexible process-based formalism for specifying the space of candidate designs with multi-objective optimization approaches for selecting the most appropriate among these candidates. We demonstrate that the methodology is general enough to both formulate and solve tasks of designing deterministic and stochastic systems, successfully reproducing plausible designs reported in previous studies and proposing new designs that meet the design criteria, but have not been previously considered.
Adoption: biological and social processes linked to adaptation.
Grotevant, Harold D; McDermott, Jennifer M
Children join adoptive families through domestic adoption from the public child welfare system, infant adoption through private agencies, and international adoption. Each pathway presents distinctive developmental opportunities and challenges. Adopted children are at higher risk than the general population for problems with adaptation, especially externalizing, internalizing, and attention problems. This review moves beyond the field's emphasis on adoptee-nonadoptee differences to highlight biological and social processes that affect adaptation of adoptees across time. The experience of stress, whether prenatal, postnatal/preadoption, or during the adoption transition, can have significant impacts on the developing neuroendocrine system. These effects can contribute to problems with physical growth, brain development, and sleep, activating cascading effects on social, emotional, and cognitive development. Family processes involving contact between adoptive and birth family members, co-parenting in gay and lesbian adoptive families, and racial socialization in transracially adoptive families affect social development of adopted children into adulthood. PMID:24016275
Using Fossil Shark Teeth to Illustrate Evolution and Introduce Basic Geologic Concepts in a High School Biology Classroom
Agnew, J. G.; Nunn, J. A.
Shell Foundation sponsors a program at Louisiana State University called Shell Undergraduate Recruitment and Geoscience Education (SURGE). The purpose of SURGE is to help local high school science teachers incorporate geology into their classrooms by providing resources and training. As part of this program, a workshop for high school biology teachers was held at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge on June 3-5, 2007. We had the teachers do a series of activities on fossil shark teeth to illustrate evolution and introduce basic earth science concepts such as geologic time, superposition, and faunal succession and provided the teachers with lesson plans and materials. As an example, one of our exercises explores the evolution of the megatoothed shark lineage leading to Carcharocles megalodon, the largest predatory shark in history with teeth up to 17 cm long. Megatoothed shark teeth make excellent evolutionary subjects because they have a good fossil record and show continuous transitions in morphology from the Eocene to Pliocene. Our activity follows the learning cycle model. We take advantage of the curiosity of sharks shared by most people, and allow students to explore the variations among different shark teeth and explain the causes of those variations. The objectives of this exercise are to have the students: 1) sort fossil shark teeth into biologically reasonable species; 2) form hypotheses about evolutionary relationships among fossil shark teeth; and 3) describe and interpret evolutionary trends in the fossil Megatoothed lineage. To do the activity, students are divided into groups of 2-3 and given a shuffled set of 72 shark tooth cards with different images of megatoothed shark teeth. They are instructed to group the shark tooth cards into separate species of sharks. After sorting the cards, students are asked to consider the evolutionary relationships among their species and arrange their species chronologically according to the species first
Back Pain in Children and Adolescents (Beyond the Basics)
... Preclinical)]; Sobi [IL-1 biology (Anakinra)]; Alkermes [Basic biology]. Robert Sundel, MD ... group. When found, these are addressed by vetting through a multi-level review process, and through requirements for references to ...
Gas transport processes in sea ice: How convection and diffusion processes might affect biological imprints, a challenge for modellers
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Tison, J.-L.; Zhou, Shaola J. G.; Thomas, D. N.;
ice cover. These rates were however obtained surmising that neither convection, nor diffusion had affected the gas concentration profiles in the ice between discrete ice core collections. This paper discusses examples from three different field surveys (the above-mentioned Barrow experiment......, the INTERICE IV tank experiment in Hamburg and a short field survey close to the Kapisilit locality in the South-East Greenland fjords) where convection or diffusion processes have clearly affected the temporal evolution of the gas profiles in the ice, therefore potentially affecting biological signatures....... The INTERICE IV and Barrow experiment show that the initial equilibrium dissolved gas entrapment within the skeletal layer basically governs most of the profiles higher up in the sea ice cover during the active sea ice growth. However, as the ice layers age and cool down under the temperature gradient, bubble...
Integration of basic biological sciences and clinical dentistry in the dental curriculum. A clinically orientated approach to teaching oral and dental anatomy.
Gotjamanos, T
Although dental curricula have undergone significant revision during the past three decades, the problem of linking basic science with clinical dentistry often remains an unmet challenge in dental education. This paper describes the content and method of presentation of a course in oral and dental anatomy which aims to integrate closely basic biological science and clinical dental practice. The course holds considerable promise for overcoming one of the major deficiencies of the horizontally structured curriculum by presenting basic science information and detailing its clinical relevance simultaneously. The academic background, clinical experience, and educational philosophy of the course co-ordinator and assisting teaching staff are undoubtedly important factors in determining the extent to which integration between basic and clinical science can be achieved.
Neural processing of basic tastes in healthy young and older adults - an fMRI study.
Hoogeveen, Heleen R; Dalenberg, Jelle R; Renken, Remco J; ter Horst, Gert J; Lorist, Monicque M
Ageing affects taste perception as shown in psychophysical studies, however, underlying structural and functional mechanisms of these changes are still largely unknown. To investigate the neurobiology of age-related differences associated with processing of basic tastes, we measured brain activation (i.e. fMRI-BOLD activity) during tasting of four increasing concentrations of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter tastes in young (average 23 years of age) and older (average 65 years of age) adults. The current study highlighted age-related differences in taste perception at the different higher order brain areas of the taste pathway. We found that the taste information delivered to the brain in young and older adults was not different, as illustrated by the absence of age effects in NTS and VPM activity. Our results indicate that multisensory integration changes with age; older adults showed less brain activation to integrate both taste and somatosensory information. Furthermore, older adults directed less attention to the taste stimulus; therefore attention had to be reallocated by the older individuals in order to perceive the tastes. In addition, we considered that the observed age-related differences in brain activation between taste concentrations in the amygdala reflect its involvement in processing both concentration and pleasantness of taste. Finally, we state the importance of homeostatic mechanisms in understanding the taste quality specificity in age related differences in taste perception. PMID:26072251
Monitoring Biological Modes in a Bioreactor Process by Computer Simulation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Samia Semcheddine
Full Text Available This paper deals with the general framework of fermentation system modeling and monitoring, focusing on the fermentation of Escherichia coli. Our main objective is to develop an algorithm for the online detection of acetate production during the culture of recombinant proteins. The analysis the fermentation process shows that it behaves like a hybrid dynamic system with commutation (since it can be represented by 5 nonlinear models. We present a strategy of fault detection based on residual generation for detecting the different actual biological modes. The residual generation is based on nonlinear analytical redundancy relations. The simulation results show that the several modes that are occulted during the bacteria cultivation can be detected by residuals using a nonlinear dynamic model and a reduced instrumentation.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Artur Mielcarek
Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine the degree of an organic substrate consumption in the denitrification process involving a biofilm in four-stages laboratory scale rotating biological contactor (RBC. The discs submergence was 40% of their diameter. Acetic acid, used as external carbon source, was fed to the fourth stage of RBC. Consumption of substrate was observed for 2 and 24 hours. For a shorter period there was the removal of 37.9 ± 1.8 mg N·m-2, while using 499,9 ± 33.2 mg O2·m-2 of organic compounds. The prolongation of the experiment duration guaranteed higher efficiency of denitrification. The ratio of organic substrate used to the amount of nitrogen removed was 13: 1 and 21: 1 for 2 and 24 hours respectively.
Implied Movement in Static Images Reveals Biological Timing Processing
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Francisco Carlos Nather
Full Text Available Visual perception is adapted toward a better understanding of our own movements than those of non-conspecifics. The present study determined whether time perception is affected by pictures of different species by considering the evolutionary scale. Static ("S" and implied movement ("M" images of a dog, cheetah, chimpanzee, and man were presented to undergraduate students. S and M images of the same species were presented in random order or one after the other (S-M or M-S for two groups of participants. Movement, Velocity, and Arousal semantic scales were used to characterize some properties of the images. Implied movement affected time perception, in which M images were overestimated. The results are discussed in terms of visual motion perception related to biological timing processing that could be established early in terms of the adaptation of humankind to the environment.
[Biological Process Oriented Online Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer].
Xie, Fei; Wu, Qiong-shui; Zeng, Li-bo
An online Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer and an ATR (Attenuated Total Reflection) probe, specifically at the application of real time measurement of the reaction substrate concentration in biological processes, were designed. (1) The spectrometer combined the theories of double cube-corner reflectors and flat mirror, which created a kind of high performance interferometer system. The light path folding way was utilized to makes the interferometer compact structure. Adopting double cube-corner reflectors, greatly reduces the influence of factors in the process of moving mirror movement such as rotation, tilt, etc. The parallelogram oscillation flexible support device was utilized to support the moving mirror moves. It cancelled the friction and vibration during mirror moving, and ensures the smooth operation. The ZnSe splitter significantly improved the hardware reliability in high moisture environment. The method of 60° entrance to light splitter improves the luminous flux. (2) An ATR in situ measuring probe with simple structure, large-flux, economical and practical character was designed in this article. The transmission of incident light and the light output utilized the infrared pipe with large diameter and innerplanted-high plating membrane, which conducted for the infrared transmission media of ATR probe. It greatly reduced the energy loss of infrared light after multiple reflection on the inner wall of the light pipe. Therefore, the ATR probe obtained high flux, improved the signal strength, which make the signal detected easily. Finally, the high sensitivity of MCT (Mercury Cadmium Telluride) detector was utilized to realize infrared interference signal collection, and improved the data quality of detection. The test results showed that the system yields the advantages of perfect moisture-proof performance, luminous flux, online measurement, etc. The designed online Fourier infrared spectrometer can real-time measured common reactant substrates
[Biological Process Oriented Online Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer].
Xie, Fei; Wu, Qiong-shui; Zeng, Li-bo
An online Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer and an ATR (Attenuated Total Reflection) probe, specifically at the application of real time measurement of the reaction substrate concentration in biological processes, were designed. (1) The spectrometer combined the theories of double cube-corner reflectors and flat mirror, which created a kind of high performance interferometer system. The light path folding way was utilized to makes the interferometer compact structure. Adopting double cube-corner reflectors, greatly reduces the influence of factors in the process of moving mirror movement such as rotation, tilt, etc. The parallelogram oscillation flexible support device was utilized to support the moving mirror moves. It cancelled the friction and vibration during mirror moving, and ensures the smooth operation. The ZnSe splitter significantly improved the hardware reliability in high moisture environment. The method of 60° entrance to light splitter improves the luminous flux. (2) An ATR in situ measuring probe with simple structure, large-flux, economical and practical character was designed in this article. The transmission of incident light and the light output utilized the infrared pipe with large diameter and innerplanted-high plating membrane, which conducted for the infrared transmission media of ATR probe. It greatly reduced the energy loss of infrared light after multiple reflection on the inner wall of the light pipe. Therefore, the ATR probe obtained high flux, improved the signal strength, which make the signal detected easily. Finally, the high sensitivity of MCT (Mercury Cadmium Telluride) detector was utilized to realize infrared interference signal collection, and improved the data quality of detection. The test results showed that the system yields the advantages of perfect moisture-proof performance, luminous flux, online measurement, etc. The designed online Fourier infrared spectrometer can real-time measured common reactant substrates
Ontology of physics for biology: representing physical dependencies as a basis for biological processes
Background In prior work, we presented the Ontology of Physics for Biology (OPB) as a computational ontology for use in the annotation and representations of biophysical knowledge encoded in repositories of physics-based biosimulation models. We introduced OPB:Physical entity and OPB:Physical property classes that extend available spatiotemporal representations of physical entities and processes to explicitly represent the thermodynamics and dynamics of physiological processes. Our utilitarian, long-term aim is to develop computational tools for creating and querying formalized physiological knowledge for use by multiscale "physiome" projects such as the EU's Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) and NIH's Virtual Physiological Rat (VPR). Results Here we describe the OPB:Physical dependency taxonomy of classes that represent of the laws of classical physics that are the "rules" by which physical properties of physical entities change during occurrences of physical processes. For example, the fluid analog of Ohm's law (as for electric currents) is used to describe how a blood flow rate depends on a blood pressure gradient. Hooke's law (as in elastic deformations of springs) is used to describe how an increase in vascular volume increases blood pressure. We classify such dependencies according to the flow, transformation, and storage of thermodynamic energy that occurs during processes governed by the dependencies. Conclusions We have developed the OPB and annotation methods to represent the meaning—the biophysical semantics—of the mathematical statements of physiological analysis and the biophysical content of models and datasets. Here we describe and discuss our approach to an ontological representation of physical laws (as dependencies) and properties as encoded for the mathematical analysis of biophysical processes. PMID:24295137
Rett syndrome: basic features of visual processing-a pilot study of eye-tracking.
Djukic, Aleksandra; Valicenti McDermott, Maria; Mavrommatis, Kathleen; Martins, Cristina L
Consistently observed "strong eye gaze" has not been validated as a means of communication in girls with Rett syndrome, ubiquitously affected by apraxia, unable to reply either verbally or manually to questions during formal psychologic assessment. We examined nonverbal cognitive abilities and basic features of visual processing (visual discrimination attention/memory) by analyzing patterns of visual fixation in 44 girls with Rett syndrome, compared with typical control subjects. To determine features of visual fixation patterns, multiple pictures (with the location of the salient and presence/absence of novel stimuli as variables) were presented on the screen of a TS120 eye-tracker. Of the 44, 35 (80%) calibrated and exhibited meaningful patterns of visual fixation. They looked longer at salient stimuli (cartoon, 2.8 ± 2 seconds S.D., vs shape, 0.9 ± 1.2 seconds S.D.; P = 0.02), regardless of their position on the screen. They recognized novel stimuli, decreasing the fixation time on the central image when another image appeared on the periphery of the slide (2.7 ± 1 seconds S.D. vs 1.8 ± 1 seconds S.D., P = 0.002). Eye-tracking provides a feasible method for cognitive assessment and new insights into the "hidden" abilities of individuals with Rett syndrome.
Selective reading slowness in a traumatic patient with impairment in basic visual processes.
Di Pace, E; Guariglia, C; Judica, A; Spinelli, D; Zoccolotti, P
Following a closed-head injury, G.M., a 17-year-old male, showed a reading disturbance in the absence of other cognitive deficits. G.M.'s reading was exceedingly slow, although virtually error free. Analysis of his disorder indicated an inability to read words presented tachistoscopically to the left (spared) visual field. Therefore the reading deficit cannot be interpreted as simply due to the visual field reduction (hemianopic alexia). Reading speed was clearly affected by word length, a finding typical of letter-by-letter reading. Both behavioral and psychophysical testing indicated a selective reduction of visual discrimination and detection (particularly in the range of high spatial frequency information) in portions of the left hemifield which appeared spared upon perimetric examination. Overall, it is suggested that the reading deficit, phenomenologically similar to that of other letter-by-letter readers, can be interpreted as due to a combination of basic visual perturbations: visual field cut with macular splitting and deficit of processing of high spatial frequency information. PMID:8847394
29 CFR 780.815 - Basic conditions of exemption; second part, processing of sugar beets, sugar-beet molasses...
... sugar beets, sugar-beet molasses, sugarcane, or maple sap. 780.815 Section 780.815 Labor Regulations... Cotton and Processing of Sugar Beets, Sugar-Beet Molasses, Sugarcane, or Maple Sap into Sugar or Syrup... Quantities § 780.815 Basic conditions of exemption; second part, processing of sugar beets,...
Processing biological literature with customizable Web services supporting interoperable formats.
Rak, Rafal; Batista-Navarro, Riza Theresa; Carter, Jacob; Rowley, Andrew; Ananiadou, Sophia
Web services have become a popular means of interconnecting solutions for processing a body of scientific literature. This has fuelled research on high-level data exchange formats suitable for a given domain and ensuring the interoperability of Web services. In this article, we focus on the biological domain and consider four interoperability formats, BioC, BioNLP, XMI and RDF, that represent domain-specific and generic representations and include well-established as well as emerging specifications. We use the formats in the context of customizable Web services created in our Web-based, text-mining workbench Argo that features an ever-growing library of elementary analytics and capabilities to build and deploy Web services straight from a convenient graphical user interface. We demonstrate a 2-fold customization of Web services: by building task-specific processing pipelines from a repository of available analytics, and by configuring services to accept and produce a combination of input and output data interchange formats. We provide qualitative evaluation of the formats as well as quantitative evaluation of automatic analytics. The latter was carried out as part of our participation in the fourth edition of the BioCreative challenge. Our analytics built into Web services for recognizing biochemical concepts in BioC collections achieved the highest combined scores out of 10 participating teams. Database URL: http://argo.nactem.ac.uk. PMID:25006225
Improving the reviewing process in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Grossman, G. D.
Full Text Available I discuss current issues in reviewing and editorial practices in ecology and evolutionary biology and suggest possible solutions for current problems. The reviewing crisis is unlikely to change unless steps are taken by journals to provide greater inclusiveness and incentives to reviewers. In addition, both journals and institutions should reduce their emphasis on publication numbers (least publishable units and impact factors and focus instead on article synthesis and quality which will require longer publications. Academic and research institutions should consider reviewing manuscripts and editorial positions an important part of a researcher's professional activities and reward them accordingly. Rewarding reviewers either monetarily or via other incentives such as free journal subscriptions may encourage participation in the reviewing process for both profit and non–profit journals. Reviewer performance will likely be improved by measures that increase inclusiveness, such as sending reviews and decision letters to reviewers. Journals may be able to evaluate the efficacy of their reviewing process by comparing citations of rejected but subsequently published papers with those published within the journal at similar times. Finally, constructive reviews: 1 identify important shortcomings and suggest solutions when possible, 2 distinguish trivial from non–trivial problems, and 3 include editor's evaluations of the reviews including identification of trivial versus substantive comments (i.e., those that must be addressed.
The method validation step of biological dosimetry accreditation process
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Roy, L.; Voisin, P.A.; Guillou, A.C.; Busset, A.; Gregoire, E.; Buard, V.; Delbos, M.; Voisin, Ph. [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, LDB, 92 - Fontenay aux Roses (France)
One of the missions of the Laboratory of Biological Dosimetry (L.D.B.) of the Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (I.R.S.N.) is to assess the radiological dose after an accidental overexposure suspicion to ionising radiation, by using radio-induced changes of some biological parameters. The 'gold standard' is the yield of dicentrics observed in patients lymphocytes, and this yield is converted in dose using dose effect relationships. This method is complementary to clinical and physical dosimetry, for medical team in charge of the patients. To obtain a formal recognition of its operational activity, the laboratory decided three years ago, to require an accreditation, by following the recommendations of both 17025 General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories and 19238 Performance criteria for service laboratories performing biological dosimetry by cyto-genetics. Diagnostics, risks analysis were realized to control the whole analysis process leading to documents writing. Purchases, personnel department, vocational training were also included in the quality system. Audits were very helpful to improve the quality system. One specificity of this technique is that it is not normalized therefore apart from quality management aspects, several technical points needed some validations. An inventory of potentially influent factors was carried out. To estimate their real effect on the yield of dicentrics, a Placket-Burman experimental design was conducted. The effect of seven parameters was tested: the BUdr (bromodeoxyuridine), PHA (phytohemagglutinin) and colcemid concentration, the culture duration, the incubator temperature, the blood volume and the medium volume. The chosen values were calculated according to the uncertainties on the way they were measured i.e. pipettes, thermometers, test tubes. None of the factors has a significant impact on the yield of dicentrics. Therefore the uncertainty linked to their use was
Pyrroloquinoline-quinone and its versatile roles in biological processes.
Misra, H S; Rajpurohit, Y S; Khairnar, N P
Pyrroloquinoline-quinine (PQQ) was initially characterized as a redox cofactor for membrane-bound dehydrogenases in the bacterial system. Subsequently, PQQ was shown to be an antioxidant protecting the living cells from oxidative damage in vivo and the biomolecules from artificially produced reaction oxygen species in vitro. The presence of PQQ has been documented from different biological samples. It functions as a nutrient and vitamin for supporting the growth and protection of living cells under stress. Recently, the role of PQQ has also been shown as a bio-control agent for plant fungal pathogens, an inducer for proteins kinases involved in cellular differentiation of mammalian cells and as a redox sensor leading to development of biosensor. Recent reviews published on PQQ and enzymes requiring this cofactor have brought forth the case specific roles of PQQ. This review covers the comprehensive information on various aspects of PQQ known till date. These include the roles of PQQ in the regulation of cellular growth and differentiation in mammalian system, as a nutrient and vitamin in stress tolerance, in crop productivity through increasing the availability of insoluble phosphate and as a bio-control agent, and as a redox agent leading to the biosensor development. Most recent findings correlating the exceptionally high redox recycling ability of PQQ to its potential as anti-neurodegenerative, anticancer and pharmacological agents, and as a signalling molecule have been distinctly brought out. This review discusses different findings suggesting the versatility in PQQ functions and provides the most plausible intellectual basis to the ubiquitous roles of this compound in a large number of biological processes, as a nutrient and a perspective vitamin. PMID:22581337
Pyrroloquinoline-quinone and its versatile roles in biological processes
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
H S Misra; Y S Rajpurohit; N P Khairnar
Pyrroloquinoline-quinine (PQQ) was initially characterized as a redox cofactor for membrane-bound dehydrogenases in the bacterial system. Subsequently, PQQ was shown to be an antioxidant protecting the living cells from oxidative damage in vivo and the biomolecules from artificially produced reaction oxygen species in vitro. The presence of PQQ has been documented from different biological samples. It functions as a nutrient and vitamin for supporting the growth and protection of living cells under stress. Recently, the role of PQQ has also been shown as a bio-control agent for plant fungal pathogens, an inducer for proteins kinases involved in cellular differentiation of mammalian cells and as a redox sensor leading to development of biosensor. Recent reviews published on PQQ and enzymes requiring this cofactor have brought forth the case specific roles of PQQ. This review covers the comprehensive information on various aspects of PQQ known till date. These include the roles of PQQ in the regulation of cellular growth and differentiation in mammalian system, as a nutrient and vitamin in stress tolerance, in crop productivity through increasing the availability of insoluble phosphate and as a bio-control agent, and as a redox agent leading to the biosensor development. Most recent findings correlating the exceptionally high redox recycling ability of PQQ to its potential as anti-neurodegenerative, anticancer and pharmacological agents, and as a signalling molecule have been distinctly brought out. This review discusses different findings suggesting the versatility in PQQ functions and provides the most plausible intellectual basis to the ubiquitous roles of this compound in a large number of biological processes, as a nutrient and a perspective vitamin.
Carbonation processes of basalts and ultra-basic rocks in subsurface conditions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
For mitigating against rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, several ways are envisaged to store it geologically. Among them, mineral trapping by carbonation of basic and ultra-basic rocks is thought to be the safest. However, little is known about the reaction kinetics and mechanisms of the process, which would ultimately make us able to foresee the fate of CO2 over long time spans, and possibly enhance the efficiency of the mineral trapping. As a consequence, this thesis aimed at bringing new constrains on the weathering processes of (ultra)basic silicates, with (or without) high pCO2. Original experimental data of dissolution and carbonation processes were acquired on five silicates: wollastonite (CaSiO3), forsterite (Mg2SiO4), diopside (CaMgSi2O6), lizardite (Mg3Si2O5(OH)4) and fayalite (Fe2SiO4). The main parameters which could affect the rates of carbonation were assessed: role and mechanism of formation of passivating layers, saturation state of the fluid, specific effect of CO2 and behaviour of iron (II). Each mineral was thought to be relevant to bring new insights on each one of these questions. Wollastonite carbonation was first investigated in batch reactors. At 90 C and pCO2 = 25 MPa, the reaction reaches completion within a couple of days. The measured carbonation rate is similar to the modelled one, indicating that the rate-limiting step of the process is wollastonite dissolution. Consequently, the thick amorphous silica coatings (≥ 100 μm) that form onto wollastonite surface do not prevent the fluid to reach the pristine mineral. This result is in agreement with the structure of the silica coating, determined to be meso-porous at the nm-scale. Besides, the chemical gradient of calcium across the silica layer suggests that it is formed by a dissolution-precipitation mechanism instead of a solid-state diffusion mechanism. On the other hand, the dissolution of forsteritic olivine is inhibited by the formation of a thin (∼ 40 nm
Full Text Available ... interconnections. neuron —A nerve cell that is the basic, working unit of the brain and nervous system, which processes and transmits information. neurotransmitter —A chemical produced by ...
Biological sulfuric acid transformation: Reactor design and process optimization.
Stucki, G; Hanselmann, K W; Hürzeler, R A
As an alternative to the current disposal technologies for waste sulfuric acid, a new combination of recycling processes was developed. The strong acid (H(2)SO(4)) is biologically converted with the weak acid (CH(3)COOH) into two volatile weak acids (H(2)S, H(2)CO(3)) by sulfate-reducing bacteria. The transformation is possible without prior neutralization of the sulfuric acid. The microbially mediated transformation can be followed by physiochemical processes for the further conversion of the H(2)S.The reduction of sulfate to H(2)S is carried out under carbon-limited conditions at pH 7.5 to 8.5. A fixed-bed biofilm column reactor is used in conjunction with a separate gas-stripping column which was installed in the recycle stream. Sulfate, total sulfide, and the carbon substrate (in most cases acetate) were determined quantitatively. H(2)S and CO(2) are continually removed by stripping with N(2). Optimal removal is achieved under pH conditions which are adjusted to values below the pK(a)-values of the acids. The H(2)S concentration in the stripped gas was 2% to 8% (v/v) if H(2)SO(4) and CH(3)COOH are fed to the recycle stream just before the stripping column.Microbiol conversion rates of 65 g of sulfate reduced per liter of bioreactor volume per day are achieved and bacterial conversion efficiencies for sulfate of more than 95% can be maintained if the concentration of undissociated H(2)S is kept below 40 to 50 mg/L. Porous glass spheres, lava beads, and polyurethane pellets are useful matrices for the attachment of the bacterial biomass. Theoretical aspects and the dependence of the overall conversion performance on selected process parameters are illustrated in the Appendix to this article. PMID:18609554
The AAA+ proteins Pontin and Reptin enter adult age: From understanding their basic biology to the identification of selective inhibitors
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pedro M Matias
Full Text Available Pontin and Reptin are related partner proteins belonging to the AAA+ (ATPases Associated with various cellular Activities family. They are implicated in multiple and seemingly unrelated processes encompassing the regulation of gene transcription, the remodeling of chromatin, DNA damage sensing and repair, and the assembly of protein and ribonucleoprotein complexes, among others. The 2nd International Workshop on Pontin and Reptin took place at the Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier in Oeiras, Portugal on October 10-12, 2014, and reported significant new advances on the mechanisms of action of these two AAA+ ATPases. The major points under discussion were related to the mechanisms through which these proteins regulate gene transcription, their roles as co-chaperones, and their involvement in pathophysiology, especially in cancer and ciliary biology and disease. Finally, they may become anticancer drug targets since small chemical inhibitors were shown to produce anti-tumor effects in animal models.
The AAA+ proteins Pontin and Reptin enter adult age: from understanding their basic biology to the identification of selective inhibitors.
Matias, Pedro M; Baek, Sung Hee; Bandeiras, Tiago M; Dutta, Anindya; Houry, Walid A; Llorca, Oscar; Rosenbaum, Jean
Pontin and Reptin are related partner proteins belonging to the AAA+ (ATPases Associated with various cellular Activities) family. They are implicated in multiple and seemingly unrelated processes encompassing the regulation of gene transcription, the remodeling of chromatin, DNA damage sensing and repair, and the assembly of protein and ribonucleoprotein complexes, among others. The 2nd International Workshop on Pontin and Reptin took place at the Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier in Oeiras, Portugal on October 10-12, 2014, and reported significant new advances on the mechanisms of action of these two AAA+ ATPases. The major points under discussion were related to the mechanisms through which these proteins regulate gene transcription, their roles as co-chaperones, and their involvement in pathophysiology, especially in cancer and ciliary biology and disease. Finally, they may become anticancer drug targets since small chemical inhibitors were shown to produce anti-tumor effects in animal models.
Applications of Recombinant DNA Technology in Gastrointestinal Medicine and Hepatology: Basic Paradigms of Molecular Cell Biology. Part A: Eukaryotic Gene Structure and DNA Replication
Wild, Gary E; Papalia, Patrizia; Ropeleski, Mark J.; Faria, Julio; Thomson, Alan BR
Progress in the basic sciences of cell and molecular biology has provided an exciting dimension that has translated into clinically relevant information in every medical subspecialty. Importantly, the application of recombinant DNA technology has played a major role in unravelling the intricacies related to the molecular pathophysiology of disease. This series of review articles constitutes a framework for the integration of the database of new information into the core knowledge base of conc...
"Sickle Cell Anemia: Tracking down a Mutation": An Interactive Learning Laboratory That Communicates Basic Principles of Genetics and Cellular Biology
Jarrett, Kevin; Williams, Mary; Horn, Spencer; Radford, David; Wyss, J. Michael
"Sickle cell anemia: tracking down a mutation" is a full-day, inquiry-based, biology experience for high school students enrolled in genetics or advanced biology courses. In the experience, students use restriction endonuclease digestion, cellulose acetate gel electrophoresis, and microscopy to discover which of three putative patients…
Five-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Data Processing, Sky Maps, and Basic Results
Weiland, J.L.; Hill, R.S.; Odegard, 3.; Larson, D.; Bennett, C.L.; Dunkley, J.; Jarosik, N.; Page, L.; Spergel, D.N.; Halpern, M.; Meyer, S.S.; Tucker, G.S.; Wright, E.L.
The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) is a Medium-Class Explorer (MIDEX) satellite aimed at elucidating cosmology through full-sky observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The WMAP full-sky maps of the temperature and polarization anisotropy in five frequency bands provide our most accurate view to date of conditions in the early universe. The multi-frequency data facilitate the separation of the CMB signal from foreground emission arising both from our Galaxy and from extragalactic sources. The CMB angular power spectrum derived from these maps exhibits a highly coherent acoustic peak structure which makes it possible to extract a wealth of information about the composition and history of the universe. as well as the processes that seeded the fluctuations. WMAP data have played a key role in establishing ACDM as the new standard model of cosmology (Bennett et al. 2003: Spergel et al. 2003; Hinshaw et al. 2007: Spergel et al. 2007): a flat universe dominated by dark energy, supplemented by dark matter and atoms with density fluctuations seeded by a Gaussian, adiabatic, nearly scale invariant process. The basic properties of this universe are determined by five numbers: the density of matter, the density of atoms. the age of the universe (or equivalently, the Hubble constant today), the amplitude of the initial fluctuations, and their scale dependence. By accurately measuring the first few peaks in the angular power spectrum, WMAP data have enabled the following accomplishments: Showing the dark matter must be non-baryonic and interact only weakly with atoms and radiation. The WMAP measurement of the dark matter density puts important constraints on supersymmetric dark matter models and on the properties of other dark matter candidates. With five years of data and a better determination of our beam response, this measurement has been significantly improved. Precise determination of the density of atoms in the universe. The agreement between
Next generation tools to accelerate the synthetic biology process.
Shih, Steve C C; Moraes, Christopher
Synthetic biology follows the traditional engineering paradigm of designing, building, testing and learning to create new biological systems. While such approaches have enormous potential, major challenges still exist in this field including increasing the speed at which this workflow can be performed. Here, we present recently developed microfluidic tools that can be used to automate the synthetic biology workflow with the goal of advancing the likelihood of producing desired functionalities. With the potential for programmability, automation, and robustness, the integration of microfluidics and synthetic biology has the potential to accelerate advances in areas such as bioenergy, health, and biomaterials. PMID:27146265
Dynamic phases in control and information processing biological circuits
Vaikuntanathan, Suriyanarayanan
Recent work using the mathematical framework of large deviation theory has shown that fluctuations about the steady state can have a particularly rich structure even in extremely simple non-equilibrium systems [Phys. Rev. E. 89, 062108, 2014]. In certain instances the fluctuations can encode the presence of a dynamical phase with properties distinct from those of the steady state of the system. The transition between these two regimes is akin to a first order thermodynamic phase transition. Specifically, it implies an extreme sensitivity of the system to changes in certain sets of parameters. I will show that such dynamical phase transitions can serve as a general organizing principle to understand biological circuits that are involved in information processing and control. I will focus on two specific examples: adaptation control in E. coli chemotaxis and ultra sensitive response of the E. coli flagella motor, to illustrate these calculations. This work also elucidates the role played by energy dissipation in ensuring control and suggests general guidelines for the construction of robust non equilibrium circuits that perform various specified functions.
Crowdsourcing and curation: perspectives from biology and natural language processing.
Hirschman, Lynette; Fort, Karën; Boué, Stéphanie; Kyrpides, Nikos; Islamaj Doğan, Rezarta; Cohen, Kevin Bretonnel
Crowdsourcing is increasingly utilized for performing tasks in both natural language processing and biocuration. Although there have been many applications of crowdsourcing in these fields, there have been fewer high-level discussions of the methodology and its applicability to biocuration. This paper explores crowdsourcing for biocuration through several case studies that highlight different ways of leveraging 'the crowd'; these raise issues about the kind(s) of expertise needed, the motivations of participants, and questions related to feasibility, cost and quality. The paper is an outgrowth of a panel session held at BioCreative V (Seville, September 9-11, 2015). The session consisted of four short talks, followed by a discussion. In their talks, the panelists explored the role of expertise and the potential to improve crowd performance by training; the challenge of decomposing tasks to make them amenable to crowdsourcing; and the capture of biological data and metadata through community editing.Database URL: http://www.mitre.org/publications/technical-papers/crowdsourcing-and-curation-perspectives. PMID:27504010
Optimization of electrocoagulation process to treat biologically pretreated bagasse effluent
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Thirugnanasambandham K.
Full Text Available The main objective of the present study was to investigate the efficiency of electrocoagulation process as a post-treatment to treat biologically pretreated bagasse effluent using iron electrodes. The removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD and total suspended solids (TSS were studied under different operating conditions such as amount of dilution, initial pH, applied current and electrolyte dose by using response surface methodology (RSM coupled with four-factor three-level Box-Behnken experimental design (BBD. The experimental results were analyzed by Pareto analysis of variance (ANOVA and second order polynomial mathematical models were developed with high correlation of efficiency (R2 for COD, TSS removal and electrical energy consumption (EEC. The individual and combined effect of variables on responses was studied using three dimensional response surface plots. Under the optimum operating conditions, such as amount of dilution at 30 %, initial pH of 6.5, applied current of 8 mA cm-2 and electrolyte dose of 740 mg l-1 shows the higher removal efficiency of COD (98 % and TSS (93 % with EEC of 2.40 Wh, which were confirmed by validation experiments.
Microbiology and atmospheric processes: chemical interactions of primary biological aerosols
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L. Deguillaume
Full Text Available This paper discusses the influence of primary biological aerosols (PBA on atmospheric chemistry and vice versa through microbiological and chemical properties and processes. Several studies have shown that PBA represent a significant fraction of air particulate matter and hence affect the microstructure and water uptake of aerosol particles. Moreover, airborne micro-organisms, namely fungal spores and bacteria, can transform chemical constituents of the atmosphere by metabolic activity. Recent studies have emphasized the viability of bacteria and metabolic degradation of organic substances in cloud water. On the other hand, the viability and metabolic activity of airborne micro-organisms depend strongly on physical and chemical atmospheric parameters such as temperature, pressure, radiation, pH value and nutrient concentrations. In spite of recent advances, however, our knowledge of the microbiological and chemical interactions of PBA in the atmosphere is rather limited. Further targeted investigations combining laboratory experiments, field measurements, and modelling studies will be required to characterize the chemical feedbacks, microbiological activities at the air/snow/water interface supplied to the atmosphere.
Active microorganisms as drivers of dynamic processes in soil: integration of basic teaching into research
Blagodatskaya, Evgenia; Kuzyakov, Yakov
Traditionally lecture courses, seminars and even practical training are disconnected from real experimental studies and from ongoing research projects. As a result students passively participate in lectures and are helpless when they come to the laboratory to prepare their BSc or MSc theses. We introduce a training course, which is developed for Bachelor students to integrate the basic knowledge on soil microbiology and modern microbiological methods in ecological studies. The training course is focused on the importance of active microbial biomass as biogeochemical driver of soil processes. According to our concept soil functioning is closely related to and depends on the microbial activities, and only active microorganisms drive all processes. Despite this importance of active microorganisms, the most of methods are focused on the estimation of the total microbial biomass and fail to evaluate its activity. Our course demonstrates how the active physiological state of soil microorganisms can be related to the activity indicators such as respiration, molecular biomarkers and viable cell compartments (ATP, PLFA, RNA) determined in situ in soil. Each lecture begins with the set of provocative questions "What is wrong?" which help students to activate their knowledge from previous lectures. Information on on-going soil incubation experiments is integrated in the lectures as a special block. The students are required not only to learn the existing methods but to compare them and to evaluate critically the applicability of these methods to explain the results of on-going experiments. The seminars foreseen within training course are focused on critical discussions of the protocols and their adaptations to current experimental tasks. During practical part of training courses the students are associated in small research groups with a certain ecological tasks. Each group uses soil sub-samples from ongoing experiments and thus, the experimental data obtaining during the
A simple and rapid chromatographic method to determine unauthorized basic colorants (rhodamine B, auramine O, and pararosaniline) in processed foods.
Tatebe, Chiye; Zhong, Xining; Ohtsuki, Takashi; Kubota, Hiroki; Sato, Kyoko; Akiyama, Hiroshi
A simple and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to determine basic colorants such as pararosaniline (PA), auramine O (AO), and rhodamine B (RB) in various processed foods was developed. Linearity of the calibration curves ranged from 0.05 to 50 μg/mL for PA and 0.05-100 μg/mL for AO and RB. The detection and quantification limits (LOD and LOQ) of the basic colorants, which were evaluated as signal-to-noise ratios of 3 for LOD and 10 for LOQ, ranged from 0.0125 to 0.05 and 0.025 to 0.125 μg/g, respectively. The recoveries and relative standard deviations of three basic colorants in six processed foods, namely, chili sauce, curry paste, gochujang (hot pepper paste), tandoori chicken (roasted chicken prepared with yogurt and spices), powder soup, and shrimp powder ranged from 70.2% to 102.8% and 0.8% to 8.0%, respectively. The intraday precision of the recovery test ranged from 1.7% to 4.5%, whereas the interday precision ranged from 3.7% to 7.7%. The reported method has been successfully applied to basic colorant determination in various processed foods such as fat-based food matrices (curry paste and tandoori chicken), chili products (gochujang and chili sauce), and protein-based products (shrimp powder and powder soup). Thin layer chromatography and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry methods for the determination of basic colorants in processed foods were also developed for rapid analysis and identification, respectively. These methods are very useful for monitoring unauthorized basic colorants in inspection centers or quarantine laboratories in many countries. PMID:25473512
A Trip Through the Virtual Ocean: Understanding Basic Oceanic Process Using Real Data and Collaborative Learning
Hastings, D. W.
How can we effectively teach undergraduates the fundamentals of physical, chemical and biological processes in the ocean? Understanding physical circulation and biogeochemical processes is essential, yet it can be difficult for an undergraduate to easily grasp important concepts such as using temperature and salinity as conservative tracers, nutrient distribution, ageing of water masses, and thermocline variability. Like many other topics, it is best learned not in a lecture setting, but working with real data: plotting values, making predictions, and making mistakes. Part I: Using temperature and salinity values from any location in the world ocean (World Ocean Atlas), combined with an excellent user interface (http://ferret.pmel.noaa.gov), students are asked to answer a series of specific questions related to ocean circulation. Using established temperature and salinity values to characterize different water masses, students are able to identify various water masses and gain insight to physical circulation processes. Questions related to ocean circulation include: How far south and at what depth does NADW extend into the S. Atlantic? Is deep water formed in the North Pacific? How and why does the depth of the thermocline vary with latitude in the Atlantic Ocean? How deep does the Mediterranean Water descend as it leaves the Straits of Gibraltar? How far into the Atlantic can you see the influence of the Amazon River? Is there any Antarctic Bottom Water in the North Pacific? Collaborating with another student typically leads to increased engagement. Especially in large lecture settings, where one teacher is not able to address student questions or concerns, working in pairs or in groups of three is best. Part II: Using the same web-based viewer and data set students are subsequently assigned one oceanic property (phosphate, nitrate, silicate, O2, or AOU) and asked to construct three different plots: 1) vertical depth profile at one location; 2) latitude vs. depth
Photo-activated biological processes as quantum measurements
Imamoglu, Atac
We outline a framework for describing photo-activated biological reactions as generalized quantum measurements of external fields, for which the biological system takes on the role of a quantum meter. By using general arguments regarding the Hamiltonian that describes the measurement interaction, we identify the cases where it is essential for a complex chemical or biological system to exhibit non-equilibrium quantum coherent dynamics in order to achieve the requisite functionality. We illustrate the analysis by considering measurement of the solar radiation field in photosynthesis and measurement of the earth's magnetic field in avian magnetoreception.
Basic Principles of Organization of the Medium and Thinking Process of the Human in its Conceptual Presentation
Belov, Yuriy; Rabinovich, Zinoviy
Given in the report conceptual presentation of the main principles of fractal-complexity Ration of the media and thinking processes of the human was formulated on the bases of the cybernetic interpretation of scientific information (basically from neurophysiology and neuropsychology, containing the interpretation giving the best fit to the authors point of view) and plausible hypothesis's, filling the lack of knowledge.
Bottom-up engineering of biological systems through standard bricks: a modularity study on basic parts and devices.
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Lorenzo Pasotti
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Modularity is a crucial issue in the engineering world, as it enables engineers to achieve predictable outcomes when different components are interconnected. Synthetic Biology aims to apply key concepts of engineering to design and construct new biological systems that exhibit a predictable behaviour. Even if physical and measurement standards have been recently proposed to facilitate the assembly and characterization of biological components, real modularity is still a major research issue. The success of the bottom-up approach strictly depends on the clear definition of the limits in which biological functions can be predictable. RESULTS: The modularity of transcription-based biological components has been investigated in several conditions. First, the activity of a set of promoters was quantified in Escherichia coli via different measurement systems (i.e., different plasmids, reporter genes, ribosome binding sites relative to an in vivo reference promoter. Second, promoter activity variation was measured when two independent gene expression cassettes were assembled in the same system. Third, the interchangeability of input modules (a set of constitutive promoters and two regulated promoters connected to a fixed output device (a logic inverter expressing GFP was evaluated. The three input modules provide tunable transcriptional signals that drive the output device. If modularity persists, identical transcriptional signals trigger identical GFP outputs. To verify this, all the input devices were individually characterized and then the input-output characteristic of the logic inverter was derived in the different configurations. CONCLUSIONS: Promoters activities (referred to a standard promoter can vary when they are measured via different reporter devices (up to 22%, when they are used within a two-expression-cassette system (up to 35% and when they drive another device in a functionally interconnected circuit (up to 44%. This paper
Capitalizing on Basic Brain Processes in Developmental Algebra--Part 3
Laughbaum, Edward D.
In Part Three, the author reviews the basic ideas presented in Parts One and Two while arguing why the traditional equation-solving developmental algebra curricula is not a good choice for implementing neural response strategies presented in the first two parts. He continues by showing that the developmental algebra student audience is simply…
Testing Results of Basic Educational Professional Master Module "The Organization of Educational Process in Preschool Organization"
Stozharova M.Y.; Zaitseva I.G.
The article describes the testing results of module "The organization of educational process in preschool organization" in a basic professional educational master program in some universities of Russia. It proves the necessity to develop the program of the educational module "The organization of educational process in preschool organization". We approved its theoretical originality and practical significance and analyzed the module structure as an integrated set of compulsory general scientif...
Documentation control process of Brazilian multipurpose reactor: conceptual design and basic design
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Kibrit, Eduardo; Prates, Jose Eduardo; Longo, Guilherme Carneiro; Salvetti, Tereza Cristina, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com, E-mail: email@example.com, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)
Established in the scope of Plan of Action of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (PACTI/MCTI) in 2007, the construction of the Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor (RMB) is on the way. This type of reactor has a broad spectrum of applications in the nuclear field and related technologies such as the radioisotopes used as supplies in the production of radiopharmaceuticals, with very much benefit to the Brazilian society being, therefore, the main goal of the Project. RMB Project consists of the following stages: site selection and site evaluation; design (conceptual design, basic design, detailed design and experimental design); construction (procurement, manufacturing; civil construction; electromechanical construction and assembling); commissioning; operation and decommissioning. Each stage requires adaptation of human resources for the stage schedule execution. The implementation of a project of this magnitude requires a complex project management, which covers not only technical, but also administrative areas. Licensing, financial resources, quality and document control systems, engineering are some of the areas involved in project success. The development of the conceptual and basic designs involved the participation of three main engineering companies. INTERTECHNE Consultores S.A. was in charge of conceptual and basic designs for conventional systems of buildings and infrastructure. INVAP S.E. was responsible for preparing the basic design of the reactor core and annexes. MRS Estudos Ambientais Ltda. has prepared documents for environmental licensing. This paper describes the procedures used during conceptual and basic design stages to control design documentation and flow of this documentation, involving the analysis and incorporation of comments from experts, control and storage of a volume of approximately 15,000 documents. (author)
Students' Ability to Solve Process-diagram Problems in Secondary Biology Education
M. Kragten; W. Admiraal; G. Rijlaarsdam
Process diagrams are important tools in biology for explaining processes such as protein synthesis, compound cycles and the like. The aim of the present study was to measure the ability to solve process-diagram problems in biology and its relationship with prior knowledge, spatial ability and workin
Students' Ability to Solve Process-Diagram Problems in Secondary Biology Education
Kragten, Marco; Admiraal, Wilfried; Rijlaarsdam, Gert
Process diagrams are important tools in biology for explaining processes such as protein synthesis, compound cycles and the like. The aim of the present study was to measure the ability to solve process-diagram problems in biology and its relationship with prior knowledge, spatial ability and working memory. For this purpose, we developed a test…
Biological security problem of basic disease control laboratory%基层疾病控制实验室的生物安全问题
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
In this paper,the author explored the problem of biological security in the disease prevention and control system. Through the exposed problem in the basic center for disease control and prevention examination in recent years,we have investigation and analysis.Contrasting with the non-conformance term of general 'general rules of biological safety',the harm was elaborated and explained.Through the control of human induced biological safety incidents,strengthening management, perfecting biological safety management system,increasing the hardware input can effectively control the biological security risk.%本文主要探讨疾病预防控制系统在生物安全方面的问题。通过近年在基层疾控中心检查中暴露出的问题,进行调查分析,对照《生物安全通用规则》中不符合项所带来的危害进行阐述说明。通过控制人为因素引起的生物安全事件,加强管理,健全生物安全管理体系、加大硬件方面的投入可以有效控制生物安全的风险。
Diffusion and association processes in biological systems: theory, computation and experiment
Mereghetti Paolo; Kokh Daria; McCammon J Andrew; Wade Rebecca C
Abstract Macromolecular diffusion plays a fundamental role in biological processes. Here, we give an overview of recent methodological advances and some of the challenges for understanding how molecular diffusional properties influence biological function that were highlighted at a recent workshop, BDBDB2, the second Biological Diffusion and Brownian Dynamics Brainstorm.
Proceedings of the 42nd basic science seminar. (The 7th workshop on neutron crystallography in biology)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
42nd advanced science seminar (the 7th workshop on neutron crystallography in biology) was held on October, 25-26, 1995 at Tokai. Forty three participants from university, research institute and private company took part in the workshop and there were 17 lectures given. The proceedings collect the figures and tables which the speakers used in their lectures. (author)
Applications of Recombinant DNA Technology in Gastrointestinal Medicine and Hepatology: Basic Paradigms of Molecular Cell Biology. Part A: Eukaryotic Gene Structure and DNA Replication
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Gary E Wild
Full Text Available Progress in the basic sciences of cell and molecular biology has provided an exciting dimension that has translated into clinically relevant information in every medical subspecialty. Importantly, the application of recombinant DNA technology has played a major role in unravelling the intricacies related to the molecular pathophysiology of disease. This series of review articles constitutes a framework for the integration of the database of new information into the core knowledge base of concepts related to the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal disorders and liver disease. The goal of this series of three articles is to review the basic principles of eukaryotic gene expression. The first article examines the role of DNA in directing the flow of genetic information in eukaryotic cells.
Proceedings of the 182nd basic science seminar (The workshop on neutron structural biology ) 'New frontiers of structural biology advanced by solution scattering'
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Fujiwara, Satoru (ed.) [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment
182nd advanced science seminar (the workshop on neutron structural biology) was held in February 9-10, 2000 at Tokai. Thirty-six participants from universities, research institutes, and private companies took part in the workshop, and total of 24 lectures were given. This proceedings collects abstracts, the figures and tables, which the speakers used in their lectures. The proceedings contains two reviews from the point of view of x-ray and neutron scatterings, and six subjects (21 papers) including neutron and x-ray scattering in the era of structure genomics, structural changes detected with solution scattering, a new way in structural biology opened by neutron crystallography and neutron scattering, x-ray sources and detectors, simulation and solution scattering, and neutron sources and detectors. (Kazumata, Y.)
Engineering scalable biological systems
Lu, Timothy K.
Synthetic biology is focused on engineering biological organisms to study natural systems and to provide new solutions for pressing medical, industrial, and environmental problems. At the core of engineered organisms are synthetic biological circuits that execute the tasks of sensing inputs, processing logic, and performing output functions. In the last decade, significant progress has been made in developing basic designs for a wide range of biological circuits in bacteria, yeast, and mammal...
Building the process-drug–side effect network to discover the relationship between biological Processes and side effects
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Song Min
Full Text Available Abstract Background Side effects are unwanted responses to drug treatment and are important resources for human phenotype information. The recent development of a database on side effects, the side effect resource (SIDER, is a first step in documenting the relationship between drugs and their side effects. It is, however, insufficient to simply find the association of drugs with biological processes; that relationship is crucial because drugs that influence biological processes can have an impact on phenotype. Therefore, knowing which processes respond to drugs that influence the phenotype will enable more effective and systematic study of the effect of drugs on phenotype. To the best of our knowledge, the relationship between biological processes and side effects of drugs has not yet been systematically researched. Methods We propose 3 steps for systematically searching relationships between drugs and biological processes: enrichment scores (ES calculations, t-score calculation, and threshold-based filtering. Subsequently, the side effect-related biological processes are found by merging the drug-biological process network and the drug-side effect network. Evaluation is conducted in 2 ways: first, by discerning the number of biological processes discovered by our method that co-occur with Gene Ontology (GO terms in relation to effects extracted from PubMed records using a text-mining technique and second, determining whether there is improvement in performance by limiting response processes by drugs sharing the same side effect to frequent ones alone. Results The multi-level network (the process-drug-side effect network was built by merging the drug-biological process network and the drug-side effect network. We generated a network of 74 drugs-168 side effects-2209 biological process relation resources. The preliminary results showed that the process-drug-side effect network was able to find meaningful relationships between biological processes
Proceeding of the Scientific Meeting and Presentation on Basic Research of Nuclear Science and Technology: Book II. Nuclear Chemistry, Process Technology, and Radioactive Waste Processing and Environment
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The proceeding contains papers presented on Scientific Meeting and Presentation on on Basic Research of Nuclear Science and Technology, held in Yogyakarta, 25-27 April 1995. This proceeding is second part of two books published for the meeting contains papers on nuclear chemistry, process technology, and radioactive waste management and environment. There are 62 papers indexed individually. (ID)
Biological Signal Processing with a Genetic Toggle Switch
Patrick Hillenbrand; Georg Fritz; Ulrich Gerland
Complex gene regulation requires responses that depend not only on the current levels of input signals but also on signals received in the past. In digital electronics, logic circuits with this property are referred to as sequential logic, in contrast to the simpler combinatorial logic without such internal memory. In molecular biology, memory is implemented in various forms such as biochemical modification of proteins or multistable gene circuits, but the design of the regulatory interface, ...
Reactome: a database of reactions, pathways and biological processes
Croft, David; O'Kelly, Gavin; Wu, Guanming; Haw, Robin; Gillespie, Marc; Matthews, Lisa; Caudy, Michael; Garapati, Phani; Gopinath, Gopal; Jassal, Bijay; Jupe, Steven; Kalatskaya, Irina; Mahajan, Shahana; May, Bruce; Ndegwa, Nelson
Reactome (http://www.reactome.org) is a collaboration among groups at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York University School of Medicine and The European Bioinformatics Institute, to develop an open source curated bioinformatics database of human pathways and reactions. Recently, we developed a new web site with improved tools for pathway browsing and data analysis. The Pathway Browser is an Systems Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN)-based visualiz...
In-process optical measurement and data graphing of paper sheets using Sherlock32 and Visual Basic
Meyer, Jon E.
Quality control through real-time process improvement and on-line inspection has become a key element in establishing efficient production lines. Machine vision solutions to these quality control issues are becoming increasingly popular as machine vision systems become more cost effective. This paper discusses how a machine vision system is incorporated into a paper product production line to provide 100 percent inspection and real-time, process control feedback. Seven dimensional measurements are performed on an 8.5 by 11 inch, 3 ring binder divider sheet, to an accuracy within 0.002 inches. The vision system hardware engine is comprised of a standard, multimedia personal computer that is enhanced with two frame grabber boards and Sherlock software from Imaging Technology. Two progressive scan CCD cameras are used to provide high speed image acquisition and adequate image resolution. Using Microsoft Visual Basic, the operator is provided with a single, graphical user interface with real-time graphing of the measurement data. Visual Basic runs in the foreground, controlling the user interface, while Sherlock operates in the background, performing all the machine vision tasks. By viewing the real-time graphs generated in Visual Basic, the operator is able to make process improvements, in real time, at line sped sin excess of 200 sheets per minute.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
S. I. Suskov
Full Text Available The basic variants of cytokines reactions defining type of organ dysfunctions are revealed in the course of car- diopulmonary bypass and in the early postoperative period. Their character and expression, depends on gravity preoperative an immunodeficiency and initial degree of heart insufficiency. Diphasic dynamics of development of system inflammatory reaction is confirmed after cardiopulmonary bypass: increase of levels proinflammatory cytokines is in the first phase and anti-inflammatory cytokines with development immunodepression and cellular anergy in is the second phase. Also, key role IL-1Ra is revealed in restraint of hyperactivation of system inflam- matory reaction. Blood whey levels IL-6, IL-8, G-CSF, TNF-α and IL-1Ra should be defined to cardiopulmonary bypass, in 10–12 hours, 24 hours and 3 days after cardiopulmonary bypass and may be used as prognostic criteria of development of postoperative complications.
Realization basic directions of the Bologna process in preparation of teachers physical cultures in Polish Institutes of higher
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Pasichnik V.R.
Full Text Available Basic progress of higher school trends are presented in Poland. Directions of introduction of decisions of Bologna declaration and European educational standards are considered in preparation of teachers of physical culture. Information is resulted about the improvement of process of preparation of specialists of physical education and sport in the Warsaw academy of physical education. Growth of the state financing of research projects and introduction of the European educational projects is marked. It renders assistance to perfection of process of training of pedagogical personnels.
Pulsed electrical discharges for medicine and biology techniques, processes, applications
Kolikov, Victor
This book presents the application of pulsed electrical discharges in water and water dispersions of metal nanoparticles in medicine (surgery, dentistry, and oncology), biology, and ecology. The intensive electrical and shock waves represent a novel technique to destroy viruses and this way to prepare anti-virus vaccines. The method of pulsed electrical discharges in water allows to decontaminate water from almost all known bacteria and spores of fungi being present in human beings. The nanoparticles used are not genotoxic and mutagenic. This book is useful for researchers and graduate students.
Biological Effects of bFGF on Murine Endometrium in the Process of Blastocyst Implantation
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
赤晶; 高英茂; 刘凯; 李少玲; 张保华; 邴鲁军
Objective To study the biological effects of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in the process of embryo implantation in mouse Materials & Methods The transcription and translocation of bFGF and its receptor (Flg) in endometrium of 60 Kunming mice were detected with the methods of im munohistochemistry and hybridization in situ. Endometrial tissue was obtained on the day 4 from pregnancy mice. The cells were cultured and attached in 1 : 1 F12/DMEM (vol/vol) supplemented with 10% FBS for 24 h The medium supplemented with 1% FBS and bFGF (50 ng/mL), anti-bFGF antibody (250 ng/mL) or anti-Flg antibody (250 ng/mL) was added in different culture wells. At different culture stages, the biological effect of bFGF on cell survival and expression of LN, FN and c-myc was detected by using MTT analysis, immunohistochemistry and hybridization in situ.Results bFGF and Flg was located in luminal and glandual cells on day 4 and 5 of pregnancy. Embryonic implantation was accompanied by increased bFGF and its recep tor in decidual cell around implantation site, in which low level of bFGF and its recep tor was apparent on day 7 and 8 of pregnancy. In vitro, the OD value in culture wells containing bFGF was significantly higher than that in control group. Exogenous bFGF promoted the expression of LN, FN and c-myc.Conclusion Changes in the cell-specific distribution of bFGF and the effects of bFGF on cultured endometrial cells imply a multifunctional role of the growth factor in uterine cell proliferation, differentiation and embryonic implantation.
Basics of Polar-Format algorithm for processing Synthetic Aperture Radar images.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Doerry, Armin Walter
The purpose of this report is to provide a background to Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image formation using the Polar Format (PFA) processing algorithm. This is meant to be an aid to those tasked to implement real-time image formation using the Polar Format processing algorithm.
Coupled model of physical and biological processes affecting maize pollination
Arritt, R.; Westgate, M.; Riese, J.; Falk, M.; Takle, E.
Controversy over the use of genetically modified (GM) crops has led to increased interest in evaluating and controlling the potential for inadvertent outcrossing in open-pollinated crops such as maize. In response to this problem we have developed a Lagrangian model of pollen dispersion as a component of a coupled end-to-end (anther to ear) physical-biological model of maize pollination. The Lagrangian method is adopted because of its generality and flexibility: first, the method readily accommodates flow fields of arbitrary complexity; second, each element of the material being transported can be identified by its source, time of release, or other properties of interest. The latter allows pollen viability to be estimated as a function of such factors as travel time, temperature, and relative humidity, so that the physical effects of airflow and turbulence on pollen dispersion can be considered together with the biological aspects of pollen release and viability. Predicted dispersion of pollen compares well both to observations and to results from a simpler Gaussian plume model. Ability of the Lagrangian model to handle complex air flows is demonstrated by application to pollen dispersion in the vicinity of an agricultural shelter belt. We also show results indicating that pollen viability can be quantified by an "aging function" that accounts for temperature, humidity, and time of exposure.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Markovic Sasa
Full Text Available The population from which we extracted a sample of 76 subjects consisted of elementary school students in Kursumlija, all male, aged 12-13, who were divided into a sub-sample consisting of 38 young handball players who took part in the training sessions of a school of handball and another sub-sample consisting of 38 non-athletes, who only took part in their regular physical education classes. The aim of the research was to determine the transformation processes involving motor skills, which occur under the influence of basic preliminary training in young handball players. The subject matter of the study was to examine whether a statistically significant increase in the level of motor skills would occur under the influence of physical exercise as part of basic preliminary training in the final as compared to the initial state. Six motor tests which define the dimensions of explosive and repetitive strength were used. The results of the research indicate that significant transformational processes involving the motor skills of young handball players occurred in the final as compared to the initial measuring, under the influence of basic preliminary training.
The 5 Alpha-Reductase Isozyme Family: A Review of Basic Biology and Their Role in Human Diseases
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Faris Azzouni
Full Text Available Despite the discovery of 5 alpha-reduction as an enzymatic step in steroid metabolism in 1951, and the discovery that dihydrotestosterone is more potent than testosterone in 1968, the significance of 5 alpha-reduced steroids in human diseases was not appreciated until the discovery of 5 alpha-reductase type 2 deficiency in 1974. Affected males are born with ambiguous external genitalia, despite normal internal genitalia. The prostate is hypoplastic, nonpalpable on rectal examination and approximately 1/10th the size of age-matched normal glands. Benign prostate hyperplasia or prostate cancer does not develop in these patients. At puberty, the external genitalia virilize partially, however, secondary sexual hair remains sparse and male pattern baldness and acne develop rarely. Several compounds have been developed to inhibit the 5 alpha-reductase isozymes and they play an important role in the prevention and treatment of many common diseases. This review describes the basic biochemical properties, functions, tissue distribution, chromosomal location, and clinical significance of the 5 alpha-reductase isozyme family.
The Creation of a French Basic Nuclear Installation - Description of the Regulatory Process - 13293
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
CEA is a French government-funded technological research organization. It has to build a medium-level waste interim storage facility because the geological repository will not be available until 2025. This interim storage facility, called DIADEM, has to be available in 2017. These wastes are coming from the research facilities for spent fuel reprocessing and the dismantling of the most radioactive parts of nuclear facilities. The CEA handles the waste management by inventorying the needs and updating them regularly. The conception of the facility is mainly based on this inventory. It provides quantity and characteristics of wastes and it gives the production schedule until 2035. Beyond mass and volume, main characteristics of these radioactive wastes are chemical nature, radioisotopes, radioactivity, radiation dose, the heat emitted, corrosive or explosive gas production, etc. These characteristics provide information to study the repository safety. DIADEM mainly consists of a concrete cell, isolated from the outside, wherein stainless steel welded containers are stored, stacked in a vertical position in the racks. DIADEM is scheduled to store three types of 8 mm-thick, stainless steel cylindrical containers with an outside diameter 498 mm and height from 620 to 2120 mm. DIADEM will be a basic nuclear installation (INB in French) because of overall activity of radioactive substances stored. The creation of a French basic nuclear installation is subject to authorization according to the French law No. 2006-686 of 13 June 2006 on Transparency and Security in the Nuclear Field. The authorization takes into account the technical and financial capacities of the licensee which must allow him to conduct his project in compliance with these interests, especially to cover the costs of decommissioning the installation and conduct remediation work, and to monitor and maintain its location site or, for radioactive waste disposal installations, to cover the definitive shut
The Creation of a French Basic Nuclear Installation - Description of the Regulatory Process - 13293
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Mahe, Carole [CEA Marcoule - BP17171 - 30207 Bagnols-Sur-Ceze (France); Leroy, Christine [CEA Cadarache - 13108 Saint Paul-Lez-Durance (France)
CEA is a French government-funded technological research organization. It has to build a medium-level waste interim storage facility because the geological repository will not be available until 2025. This interim storage facility, called DIADEM, has to be available in 2017. These wastes are coming from the research facilities for spent fuel reprocessing and the dismantling of the most radioactive parts of nuclear facilities. The CEA handles the waste management by inventorying the needs and updating them regularly. The conception of the facility is mainly based on this inventory. It provides quantity and characteristics of wastes and it gives the production schedule until 2035. Beyond mass and volume, main characteristics of these radioactive wastes are chemical nature, radioisotopes, radioactivity, radiation dose, the heat emitted, corrosive or explosive gas production, etc. These characteristics provide information to study the repository safety. DIADEM mainly consists of a concrete cell, isolated from the outside, wherein stainless steel welded containers are stored, stacked in a vertical position in the racks. DIADEM is scheduled to store three types of 8 mm-thick, stainless steel cylindrical containers with an outside diameter 498 mm and height from 620 to 2120 mm. DIADEM will be a basic nuclear installation (INB in French) because of overall activity of radioactive substances stored. The creation of a French basic nuclear installation is subject to authorization according to the French law No. 2006-686 of 13 June 2006 on Transparency and Security in the Nuclear Field. The authorization takes into account the technical and financial capacities of the licensee which must allow him to conduct his project in compliance with these interests, especially to cover the costs of decommissioning the installation and conduct remediation work, and to monitor and maintain its location site or, for radioactive waste disposal installations, to cover the definitive shut
Towards a New Approach of the Economic Intelligence Process: Basic Concepts, Analysis Methods and Informational Tools
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sorin Briciu
Full Text Available One of the obvious trends in current business environment is the increased competition. In this context, organizations are becoming more and more aware of the importance of knowledge as a key factor in obtaining competitive advantage. A possible solution in knowledge management is Economic Intelligence (EI that involves the collection, evaluation, processing, analysis, and dissemination of economic data (about products, clients, competitors, etc. inside organizations. The availability of massive quantities of data correlated with advances in information and communication technology allowing for the filtering and processing of these data provide new tools for the production of economic intelligence.The research is focused on innovative aspects of economic intelligence process (models of analysis, activities, methods and informational tools and is providing practical guidelines for initiating this process. In this paper, we try: (a to contribute to a coherent view on economic intelligence process (approaches, stages, fields of application; b to describe the most important models of analysis related to this process; c to analyze the activities, methods and tools associated with each stage of an EI process.
Aerobic Digestion. Biological Treatment Process Control. Instructor's Guide.
Klopping, Paul H.
This unit on aerobic sludge digestion covers the theory of the process, system components, factors that affect the process performance, standard operational concerns, indicators of steady-state operations, and operational problems. The instructor's guide includes: (1) an overview of the unit; (2) lesson plan; (3) lecture outline (keyed to a set of…
Pretreatment of lignocellulose with biological acid recycling (the Biosulfurol process)
Groenestijn, van J.; Hazewinkel, O.; Bakker, R.R.C.
A biomass pretreatment process is being developed based on contacting lignocellulosic biomass with 70% sulfuric acid and subsequent hydrolysis by adding water. In this process, the hydrolysate can be fermented yielding ethanol, while the sulfuric acid is partly recovered by anion-selective membranes
Lignocellulose Biomass: Constitutive Polymers. Biological Processes of Lignin Degradation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The structure of the lignocellulosic materials and the chemical composition of their main constitutive polymers, cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin are described. The most promising transformation processes according to the type of biomass considered: hardwood, softwood an herbaceous and the perspectives of biotechnological processes for bio pulping, bio bleaching and effluents decolorisation in the paper pulp industry are also discussed. (Author) 7 refs
Systems Biology Graphical Notation: Process Description language Level 1 Version 1.3.
Moodie, Stuart; Le Novère, Nicolas; Demir, Emek; Mi, Huaiyu; Villéger, Alice
The Systems Biological Graphical Notation (SBGN) is an international community effort for standardized graphical representations of biological pathways and networks. The goal of SBGN is to provide unambiguous pathway and network maps for readers with different scientific backgrounds as well as to support efficient and accurate exchange of biological knowledge between different research communities, industry, and other players in systems biology. Three SBGN languages, Process Description (PD), Entity Relationship (ER) and Activity Flow (AF), allow for the representation of different aspects of biological and biochemical systems at different levels of detail. The SBGN Process Description language represents biological entities and processes between these entities within a network. SBGN PD focuses on the mechanistic description and temporal dependencies of biological interactions and transformations. The nodes (elements) are split into entity nodes describing, e.g., metabolites, proteins, genes and complexes, and process nodes describing, e.g., reactions and associations. The edges (connections) provide descriptions of relationships (or influences) between the nodes, such as consumption, production, stimulation and inhibition. Among all three languages of SBGN, PD is the closest to metabolic and regulatory pathways in biological literature and textbooks, but its well-defined semantics offer a superior precision in expressing biological knowledge. PMID:26528561
In situ single molecule imaging of cell membranes: linking basic nanotechniques to cell biology, immunology and medicine
Pi, Jiang; Jin, Hua; Yang, Fen; Chen, Zheng W.; Cai, Jiye
The cell membrane, which consists of a viscous phospholipid bilayer, different kinds of proteins and various nano/micrometer-sized domains, plays a very important role in ensuring the stability of the intracellular environment and the order of cellular signal transductions. Exploring the precise cell membrane structure and detailed functions of the biomolecules in a cell membrane would be helpful to understand the underlying mechanisms involved in cell membrane signal transductions, which could further benefit research into cell biology, immunology and medicine. The detection of membrane biomolecules at the single molecule level can provide some subtle information about the molecular structure and the functions of the cell membrane. In particular, information obtained about the molecular mechanisms and other information at the single molecule level are significantly different from that detected from a large amount of biomolecules at the large-scale through traditional techniques, and can thus provide a novel perspective for the study of cell membrane structures and functions. However, the precise investigations of membrane biomolecules prompts researchers to explore cell membranes at the single molecule level by the use of in situ imaging methods, as the exact conformation and functions of biomolecules are highly controlled by the native cellular environment. Recently, the in situ single molecule imaging of cell membranes has attracted increasing attention from cell biologists and immunologists. The size of biomolecules and their clusters on the cell surface are set at the nanoscale, which makes it mandatory to use high- and super-resolution imaging techniques to realize the in situ single molecule imaging of cell membranes. In the past few decades, some amazing imaging techniques and instruments with super resolution have been widely developed for molecule imaging, which can also be further employed for the in situ single molecule imaging of cell membranes. In
In situ single molecule imaging of cell membranes: linking basic nanotechniques to cell biology, immunology and medicine.
Pi, Jiang; Jin, Hua; Yang, Fen; Chen, Zheng W; Cai, Jiye
The cell membrane, which consists of a viscous phospholipid bilayer, different kinds of proteins and various nano/micrometer-sized domains, plays a very important role in ensuring the stability of the intracellular environment and the order of cellular signal transductions. Exploring the precise cell membrane structure and detailed functions of the biomolecules in a cell membrane would be helpful to understand the underlying mechanisms involved in cell membrane signal transductions, which could further benefit research into cell biology, immunology and medicine. The detection of membrane biomolecules at the single molecule level can provide some subtle information about the molecular structure and the functions of the cell membrane. In particular, information obtained about the molecular mechanisms and other information at the single molecule level are significantly different from that detected from a large amount of biomolecules at the large-scale through traditional techniques, and can thus provide a novel perspective for the study of cell membrane structures and functions. However, the precise investigations of membrane biomolecules prompts researchers to explore cell membranes at the single molecule level by the use of in situ imaging methods, as the exact conformation and functions of biomolecules are highly controlled by the native cellular environment. Recently, the in situ single molecule imaging of cell membranes has attracted increasing attention from cell biologists and immunologists. The size of biomolecules and their clusters on the cell surface are set at the nanoscale, which makes it mandatory to use high- and super-resolution imaging techniques to realize the in situ single molecule imaging of cell membranes. In the past few decades, some amazing imaging techniques and instruments with super resolution have been widely developed for molecule imaging, which can also be further employed for the in situ single molecule imaging of cell membranes. In
A novel process of dye wastewater treatment by linking advanced chemical oxidation with biological oxidation
Zou Haiming; Ma Wanzheng; Wang Yan
Dye wastewater is one of typically non-biodegradable industrial effluents. A new process linking Fenton's oxidation with biological oxidation proposed in this study was investigated to degrade the organic substances from real dye wastewater. During the combination process, the Fenton's oxidation process can reduce the organic load and enhance biodegradability of dye wastewater, which is followed by biological aerated filter (BAF) system to further remove organic substances in terms of dischar...
Exploiting Graphics Processing Units for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Payne, Joshua L.; Nicholas A. Sinnott-Armstrong; Jason H Moore
Advances in the video gaming industry have led to the production of low-cost, high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) that possess more memory bandwidth and computational capability than central processing units (CPUs), the standard workhorses of scientific computing. With the recent release of general-purpose GPUs and Nvidia's GPU programming language, CUDA, graphics engines are being adopted widely in scientific computing applications, particularly in the fields of computational b...
Using the Unified Modelling Language (UML) to guide the systemic description of biological processes and systems.
Roux-Rouquié, Magali; Caritey, Nicolas; Gaubert, Laurent; Rosenthal-Sabroux, Camille
One of the main issues in Systems Biology is to deal with semantic data integration. Previously, we examined the requirements for a reference conceptual model to guide semantic integration based on the systemic principles. In the present paper, we examine the usefulness of the Unified Modelling Language (UML) to describe and specify biological systems and processes. This makes unambiguous representations of biological systems, which would be suitable for translation into mathematical and computational formalisms, enabling analysis, simulation and prediction of these systems behaviours.
Basic research on separation control of long life nuclides in fuel reprocessing processes
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Suzuki, Atsuyuki; Usami, Go [Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Engineering; Maeda, Mitsuru; Fujine, Sachio; Uchiyama, Gunzo; Kihara, Takehiro; Asakura, Toshihide; Hotoku, Shinobu
The behavior of technetium (Tc) in nuclear fuel reprocessing processes has become the subject to be elucidated in the transition to distribution process by coextraction and the catalytic action in distribution process. In order to forecast or control the behavior of Tc in reprocessing processes, it is necessary to understand that at which valence Tc exists stably in respective processes. Tc is stable at 7 valence in nitric acid solution expected in reprocessing. In this research, the reaction speed of the oxidation and reduction reactions of rhenium (Re) which simulates Tc was measured by laser Raman spectroscopy which can do high speed analysis of valence. The experimental method is explained. The Raman spectra of Re in the experimental system of this research were measured in perchloric acid solution and nitric acid solution, and compared with the values in literatures. As the result, the validity of this research was assured. It was confirmed that Re(7) was not reduced by sulfamic acid and ascorbic acid. Re(7) was reduced by thiocyanic acid once, but was oxidized again by the reaction of thiocyanic acid and nitric acid. (K.I.)
Sex Differences in the Development of Brain Mechanisms for Processing Biological Motion
Anderson, L.C.; Bolling, D. Z.; Schelinski, S.; Coffman, M.C.; Pelphrey, K.A.; Kaiser, M.D.
Disorders related to social functioning including autism and schizophrenia differ drastically in incidence and severity between males and females. Little is known about the neural systems underlying these sex-linked differences in risk and resiliency. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a task involving the visual perception of point-light displays of coherent and scrambled biological motion, we discovered sex differences in the development of neural systems for basic social perce...
Using Forensic Psychology to Teach Basic Psychological Processes: Eyewitness Memory and Lie Detection
Costanzo, Mark A.
Teachers can incorporate topics in forensic psychology into lower level courses to increase student interest and to show how psychological processes influence outcomes in high-stakes applied contexts. One such topic is eyewitness identification, which teachers can use to show how stress affects memory and how memories can become distorted during…
Mistaking geography for biology: inferring processes from species distributions.
Warren, Dan L; Cardillo, Marcel; Rosauer, Dan F; Bolnick, Daniel I
Over the past few decades, there has been a rapid proliferation of statistical methods that infer evolutionary and ecological processes from data on species distributions. These methods have led to considerable new insights, but they often fail to account for the effects of historical biogeography on present-day species distributions. Because the geography of speciation can lead to patterns of spatial and temporal autocorrelation in the distributions of species within a clade, this can result in misleading inferences about the importance of deterministic processes in generating spatial patterns of biodiversity. In this opinion article, we discuss ways in which patterns of species distributions driven by historical biogeography are often interpreted as evidence of particular evolutionary or ecological processes. We focus on three areas that are especially prone to such misinterpretations: community phylogenetics, environmental niche modelling, and analyses of beta diversity (compositional turnover of biodiversity).
Reactome: a database of reactions, pathways and biological processes.
Croft, David; O'Kelly, Gavin; Wu, Guanming; Haw, Robin; Gillespie, Marc; Matthews, Lisa; Caudy, Michael; Garapati, Phani; Gopinath, Gopal; Jassal, Bijay; Jupe, Steven; Kalatskaya, Irina; Mahajan, Shahana; May, Bruce; Ndegwa, Nelson; Schmidt, Esther; Shamovsky, Veronica; Yung, Christina; Birney, Ewan; Hermjakob, Henning; D'Eustachio, Peter; Stein, Lincoln
Reactome (http://www.reactome.org) is a collaboration among groups at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York University School of Medicine and The European Bioinformatics Institute, to develop an open source curated bioinformatics database of human pathways and reactions. Recently, we developed a new web site with improved tools for pathway browsing and data analysis. The Pathway Browser is an Systems Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN)-based visualization system that supports zooming, scrolling and event highlighting. It exploits PSIQUIC web services to overlay our curated pathways with molecular interaction data from the Reactome Functional Interaction Network and external interaction databases such as IntAct, BioGRID, ChEMBL, iRefIndex, MINT and STRING. Our Pathway and Expression Analysis tools enable ID mapping, pathway assignment and overrepresentation analysis of user-supplied data sets. To support pathway annotation and analysis in other species, we continue to make orthology-based inferences of pathways in non-human species, applying Ensembl Compara to identify orthologs of curated human proteins in each of 20 other species. The resulting inferred pathway sets can be browsed and analyzed with our Species Comparison tool. Collaborations are also underway to create manually curated data sets on the Reactome framework for chicken, Drosophila and rice. PMID:21067998
The expansion of a plasma into a vacuum - Basic phenomena and processes and applications to space plasma physics
Wright, K. H., Jr.; Stone, N. H.; Samir, U.
In this review attention is called to basic phenomena and physical processes involved in the expansion of a plasma into a vacuum, or the expansion of a plasma into a more tenuous plasma, in particular the fact that upon the expansion, ions are accelerated and reach energies well above their thermal energy. Also, in the process of the expansion a rarefaction wave propagates into the ambient plasma, an ion front moves into the expansion volume, and discontinuities in plasma parameters occur. The physical processes which cause the above phenomena are discussed, and their possible application is suggested for the case of the distribution of ions and electrons (hence plasma potential and electric fields) in the wake region behind artificial and natural obstacles moving supersonically in a rarefied space plasma. To illustrate this, some in situ results are reexamined. Directions for future work in this area via the utilization of the Space Shuttle and laboratory work are also mentioned.
Anaerobic Digestion. Student Manual. Biological Treatment Process Control.
Carnegie, John W., Ed.
This student manual contains the textual material for a four-lesson unit on anaerobic digestion control. Areas addressed include: (1) anaerobic sludge digestion (considering the nature of raw sludge, purposes of anaerobic digestion, the results of digestion, types of equipment, and other topics); (2) digester process control (considering feeding…
Development and application of a new software tool for the basic design of flue gas cleaning processes
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Schausberger, P.; Friedl, A. [Vienna Univ. of Technology, Inst. of Chemical Engineering, Group of Thermal Process Engineering and Simulation, Vienna (Austria); Wieland, A.; Reissner, H. [AE and E Austrian Energy and Environment AG, Flue Gas Cleaning Div., Raaba/Graz (Austria)
The development of a new software tool designed for improvement of the basic engineering of flue-gas cleaning processes and its specific application is presented. The tool is based on the commercially available simulation tool IPSEpro originating from the field of power engineering. Here, a modelling environment enables the enhancement of the existing content: substances, streams and unit operations to be included are structured in an object-oriented manner, the according steady mass and heat balances are setup to yield a system of equations to be solved simultaneously. (orig.)
Basic investigation into the production of oxygen in a solid electrolyte process
Richter, R.
Mission analyses indicated that by extracting oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, which consists primarily of carbon dioxide, the launch mass of a spacecraft can be reduced by such an amount that samples from the planet can be returned to earth. The solid electrolyte process for producing O2 from CO2 was investigated. A model of the thermodynamic and electrochemical processes in the electrolyte cell was postulated, thereby establishing the parameters influencing the effectiveness and efficiency of an in situ O2 production system. The major operating parameters were investigated over a wide range of temperature and pressure. Operating limits imposed by the solid electrolyte material, 8% yttria stabilized zirconia, were determined as a function of the operating temperature.
Gasification processes old and new: a basic review of the major technologies
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Breault, R. W. [NETL-US DOE, PO Box 880, Morgantown, WV 26507 (United States)
This paper has been put together to provide a single source document that not only reviews the historical development of gasification but also compares the process to combustion. It also provides a short discussion on integrated gasification and combined cycle processes. The major focus of the paper is to describe the twelve major gasifiers being marketed today. Some of these are already fully developed while others are in various stages of development. The hydrodynamics and kinetics of each are reviewed along with the most likely gas composition from each of the technologies when using a variety of fuels under different conditions from air blown to oxygen blown and atmospheric pressure to several atmospheres. (author)
Towards a New Approach of the Economic Intelligence Process: Basic Concepts, Analysis Methods and Informational Tools
Sorin Briciu; Marinela Vrîncianu; Florin Mihai
One of the obvious trends in current business environment is the increased competition. In this context, organizations are becoming more and more aware of the importance of knowledge as a key factor in obtaining competitive advantage. A possible solution in knowledge management is Economic Intelligence (EI) that involves the collection, evaluation, processing, analysis, and dissemination of economic data (about products, clients, competitors, etc.) inside organizations. The ...
Biological removal of metal ions from aqueous process streams
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Aqueous waste streams from nuclear fuel processing operations may contain trace quantities of heavy metals such as uranium. Conventional chemical and physical treatment may be ineffective or very expensive when uranium concentrations in the range of 10 to 100 g/m3 must be reduced to 1 g/m3 or less. The ability of some microorganisms to adsorb or complex dissolved heavy metals offers an alternative treatment method. Uranium uptake by Saccharomyces cerevisiae NRRL Y-2574 and a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was examined to identify factors which might affect a process for the removal of uranium from wastewater streams. At uranium concentrations in the range of 10 to 500 g/m3, where the binding capacity of the biomass was not exceeded, temperature, pH, and initial uranium concentration were found to influence the rate of uranium uptake, but not the soluble uranium concentration at equilibrium. 6 figs
Kinetics of quasi-isoenergetic transition processes in biological macromolecules
Petrov, E. G.; Teslenko, V. I.
A master equation describing the evolution of averaged molecular state occupancies in molecular systems where alternation of molecular energy levels is caused by discrete dichotomous and trichotomous stochastic fields, is derived. This study is focused on the kinetics of quasi-isoenergetic transition processes in the presence of moderately high frequency stochastic field. A novel physical mechanism for temperature-independent transitions in flexible molecular systems is proposed. This mechani...
Low cost materials of construction for biological processes: Proceedings
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
The workshop was held, May 1993 in conjunction with the 15th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals. The purpose of this workshop was to present information on the biomass to ethanol process in the context of materials selection and through presentation and discussion, identify promising avenues for future research. Six technical presentations were grouped into two sessions: process assessment and technology assessment. In the process assessment session, the group felt that the pretreatment area would require the most extensive materials research due the complex chemical, physical and thermal environment. Discussion centered around the possibility of metals being leached into the process stream and their effect on the fermentation mechanics. Linings were a strong option for pretreatment assuming the economics were favorable. Fermentation was considered an important area for research also, due to the unique complex of compounds and dual phases present. Erosion in feedstock handling equipment was identified as a minor concern. In the technology assessment session, methodologies in corrosion analysis were presented in addition to an overview of current coatings/linings technology. Widely practiced testing strategies, including ASTM methods, as well as novel procedures for micro-analysis of corrosion were discussed. Various coatings and linings, including polymers and ceramics, were introduced. The prevailing recommendations for testing included keeping the testing simple until the problem warranted a more detailed approach and developing standardized testing procedures to ensure the data was reproducible and applicable. The need to evaluate currently available materials such as coatings/linings, carbon/stainless steels, or fiberglass reinforced plastic was emphasized. It was agreed that economic evaluation of each material candidate must be an integral part of any research plan.
Molecular imaging of apoptosis and necrosis - basic principles of cell biology and use in oncology; Molekulare Bildgebung von Apoptose und Nekrose - Zellbiologische Grundlagen und Einsatz in der Onkologie
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Boehm, I.; Traeber, F.; Block, W.; Schild, H. [Univ. Bonn (Germany)
Soon molecular imaging techniques will play a prominent role in basic scientific research and clinical approaches. In particular, important aspects of medicine such as apoptosis and gene- and stem-cell therapy will play a pivotal role in radiology too. This review presents the basic principles of apoptosis, recent results and future perspectives of apoptosis imaging. Apoptosis or programmed cell death is a precisely regulated, complex cascade of molecular events to eliminate individual cells. Disturbances may lead to diseases like malignancies and neurodegenerative diseases that are of clinical relevance. Several therapeutic strategies in oncology are based on apoptosis induction; conversely, resistance to therapy is indicative of decreased apoptosis induction. Whereas up to now the clinician had to depend exclusively on biopsy specimens to detect apoptosis, the feasibility of non-invasive imaging of this cell-biological phenomenon in vivo opens up new horizons in future. This review focuses on different modifications of this imaging technique, with and without the use of molecular probes (e.g. annexin V, synaptotagmin I), in vitro and in vivo using the various detector systems (like MRI, flow cytometry) currently available. Future perspectives are also addressed. (orig.)
Biological processing in oscillatory baffled reactors: operation, advantages and potential.
Abbott, M S R; Harvey, A P; Perez, G Valente; Theodorou, M K
The development of efficient and commercially viable bioprocesses is essential for reducing the need for fossil-derived products. Increasingly, pharmaceuticals, fuel, health products and precursor compounds for plastics are being synthesized using bioprocessing routes as opposed to more traditional chemical technologies. Production vessels or reactors are required for synthesis of crude product before downstream processing for extraction and purification. Reactors are operated either in discrete batches or, preferably, continuously in order to reduce waste, cost and energy. This review describes the oscillatory baffled reactor (OBR), which, generally, has a niche application in performing 'long' processes in plug flow conditions, and so should be suitable for various bioprocesses. We report findings to suggest that OBRs could increase reaction rates for specific bioprocesses owing to low shear, good global mixing and enhanced mass transfer compared with conventional reactors. By maintaining geometrical and dynamic conditions, the technology has been proved to be easily scaled up and operated continuously, allowing laboratory-scale results to be easily transferred to industrial-sized processes. This is the first comprehensive review of bioprocessing using OBRs. The barriers facing industrial adoption of the technology are discussed alongside some suggested strategies to overcome these barriers. OBR technology could prove to be a major aid in the development of commercially viable and sustainable bioprocesses, essential for moving towards a greener future. PMID:24427509
State Estimation for a Biological Phosphorus Removal Process using an Asymptotic Observer
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Larose, Claude Alain; Jørgensen, Sten Bay
This study investigated the use of an asymptotic observer for state estimation in a continuous biological phosphorus removal process. The estimated states are the concentration of heterotrophic, autotrophic, and phosphorus accumulating organisms, polyphosphate, glycogen and PHA. The reaction scheme...
Basical characteristics of fluid geologic process of interlayer oxidation zone sandstone-typeuranium deposit
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
WU; BoLin; LIU; ChiYang; WANG; JianQiang
This paper reveals the physicochemical properties such as component, formulation, genesis, tem- perature, pH, Eh, salinity and pressure of all main alteration fluid of interlayer oxidation zone sand- stone-type uranium deposits after studying the geologic process and geochemistry of internal typical sandstone-type uranium deposits such as Shihongtan deposit in the Turpan-Hami basin, 512 deposit in the Yili basin, Dongsheng deposit in the Ordos basin. The composition of fluid can be divided into two parts based on the analysis of inclusion: one can be affirmed as atmospheric water with ordinary temperature epigenesist according to the character of hydrogen and oxygen isotope of inclusion, the other is natural gas containing gaseous hydrocarbon like CH4, and CO2 as well as a little H2S, CO, H2, N2 and so on, it always contains a small quantity of hydrocarbon liquid in petroliferous basins. The fluid property of oxidation alteration zone is always oxidation alkaline, and neutrality or weak acid-weak alkaline and reducibility during the metallizing process, but at secondary reduction or deoxidization zone it becomes strong reduction alkaline. Oxygenic groundwater in the fluid is the activate and mig- ratory medium of uranium element, but the gaseous hydrocarbon like CH4 as well as H2, H2S, CO from natural gas is the important sedimentary reducer of uranium mineral; the transformation of pH,Eh in fluid environment is the main reason for the formation of uranium metallization.
Curricular contribution of the subject Health and Philosophy to the educational process of Basic General Doctors.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Blanca Rosa Garcés Garcés
Full Text Available Background: The curriculum of Philosophy and Health discipline is an important tool in the formative process of General Comprehensive Doctors if the educative and instructive goals, as well as the content of each subject are linked to the educative work necessities and the future fields of Health Professionals. Objectives: To determine the curricular contribution of this discipline to the formative process of General Comprehensive Doctors regarding human values development, skills and preparation for their future working fields during courses 2000-2001, 2001-2002 and 2003-2004. Methods: An anonym survey was performed to students, in the conformation of the final report different methods were used: analysis, synthesis, historical-logical method. Results: Values such responsibility, discipline, justice, humanism, solidarity, honesty, anti-imperialism, equality and creativity were more popular among students and the least popular were simplicity and unconditional behavior. Conclusion: This experience allowed us to verify that this discipline has contributed to human values development of first year students and that they acknowledge their professor's work.
A basic experimental study of ultrasonic assisted hot embossing process for rapid fabrication of microlens arrays
Chang, Chih-Yuan; Yu, Che-Hao
This paper reports a highly effective technique for rapid fabrication of microlens arrays based on an ultrasonic assisted hot embossing process. In this method, a thin stainless steel mold with micro-holes array is fabricated by a photolithography and wet etching process. Then, the thin stainless steel mold with micro-holes array is placed on top of a plastic substrate (PMMA plate) and the stack is placed in an ultrasonic vibration embossing machine. During ultrasonic assisted hot embossing operation, the surface of the stainless steel mold with micro-holes array presses against the thermoplastic PMMA substrate. Under proper ultrasonic vibration time, embossing pressure and hold time, the softened polymer will just partially fill the circular holes and due to surface tension, form a convex lens surface. After the stainless steel mold is removed, the microlens array patterns on the surface of plastic substrate can be obtained. The total cycle time is less than 10 s. Finally, geometrical and optical properties of the fabricated plastic microlens arrays were measured and proved satisfactory. This technique shows great potential for fabricating microlens array on plastic substrates with high productivity and low cost.
A basic experimental study of ultrasonic assisted hot embossing process for rapid fabrication of microlens arrays
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
This paper reports a highly effective technique for rapid fabrication of microlens arrays based on an ultrasonic assisted hot embossing process. In this method, a thin stainless steel mold with micro-holes array is fabricated by a photolithography and wet etching process. Then, the thin stainless steel mold with micro-holes array is placed on top of a plastic substrate (PMMA plate) and the stack is placed in an ultrasonic vibration embossing machine. During ultrasonic assisted hot embossing operation, the surface of the stainless steel mold with micro-holes array presses against the thermoplastic PMMA substrate. Under proper ultrasonic vibration time, embossing pressure and hold time, the softened polymer will just partially fill the circular holes and due to surface tension, form a convex lens surface. After the stainless steel mold is removed, the microlens array patterns on the surface of plastic substrate can be obtained. The total cycle time is less than 10 s. Finally, geometrical and optical properties of the fabricated plastic microlens arrays were measured and proved satisfactory. This technique shows great potential for fabricating microlens array on plastic substrates with high productivity and low cost. (paper)
Basic rhythm of myoelectric activities of sphcter of Oddi and its biological significance%Oddi括约肌肌电活动的基本方式
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
李虎城; 董家鸿; 陈飞; 邹一平; 李为民
Objective To observe the basic rhythm of myoelectrie activities of sphcter of Oddi (SO)and explore its biological significance.Methods Healthy adult rabbits(n=32)were randomized into 4 groups with 8 in each.The first group was for recording of myoelectric activities of SO after keeping fast for 18 hours.The second group was manipulated to observe the myoelectric activities of SO after food infusion through the stoma in stomach.The myoelectric activities of SO in the third group were monitored after the classical Nardi test was performed on these rabbits.The fourth group was used to observe the myoelectric activities of SO after the cholinergic receptors had been blocked.Using the double claw metal electrodes which were put into SO and duodenum through the plasma membrance,the myoelectric signal were recorded with RM6240 multi-channel physiologic recording and signal processing system and non-stop recording was conducted for 120-150 mins.Results 1)Spike Potentials of SO with the frequency was observed in rabbits that had been fasting.2)Myoelectronic activity of SO was observed in rabbits infused with 50 ml milk through stoma.3)After the administration of 1 mg morphine and 1 mg neostigmine i.v,the myoelectric activities of SO were noted as long-lasting persistent MASO.4)Administration of anisodamine 1 mg(i.v.)in the empty abdomen group dismissed SPSO and MASO.This state lasted for 120 min before SPSO gradually reconverted to the state of empty abdomen.Conclusion There are four patterns of myoelectric activities of SO,i.e,tensional waves under empty abdomen indicating a state in which the SO kept a basic tension level.Peristaltic waves under intake of food.Spastic waves under the stimulation of drugs and relaxant waves under the post-ganglionic block of cholinergic receptors were observed in the present study.Correspondingly,their mechanic locomotion is inferred as the basic tensional state to faciliate the deposition and condensation of bile,the peristalsis for the
A strategy for xenobiotic removal using photocatalytic treatment, microbial degradation or integrated photocatalytic-biological process
Lapertot, Miléna; Pulgarin, César
According to the limited natural resources and due to the risks of anthropogenic pollution, it appears necessary to react efficiently in order to remove existing contaminations and avoid the creation of new ones. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to propose a sustainable strategy for treating problematic pollutants with the most adequate process. First, an overview of the different treatment processes has been given. In particular, biological, photocatalytic and integrated biological-p...
Basic Evaluation of the Process of China's Industrial Modernization
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
JiaguiChen; QunhuiHuang
As China will change from a large industrial power into a strong industrial power in the 21st century, the inevitable demand is for industrial modernization. This paper puts forward three criteria for judging the degree of realization of industrial modernization: industrial growth efficiency, industrial structure and industrial environment. Together with these, it constructs an indicator system and indices for evaluating the level of industrial modernization, and uses this indicator system to evaluate the level of China's industrial modernization at the tam of the century. The resulting comprehensive index of China's industrial modernization is 28. 72. This indicates that, through the rapid industrialization which has taken place over more than 20 years of reform and opening up, China has commenced its industrial modernization, which is now in the primary stage of development. The core of the strategy for further development should be to accelerate the process of industrial modernization.
A straightforward graphical user interface for basic and advanced signal processing of thermographic infrared sequences
Klein, Matthieu T.; Ibarra-Castanedo, Clemente; Maldague, Xavier P.; Bendada, Abdelhakim
IR-View, is a free and open source Matlab software that was released in 1998 at the Computer Vision and Systems Laboratory (CVSL) at Université Laval, Canada, as an answer to many common and recurrent needs in Infrared thermography. IR-View has proven to be a useful tool at CVSL for the past 10 years. The software by itself and/or its concept and functions may be of interest for other laboratories and companies working in research in the IR NDT field. This article describes the functions and processing techniques integrated to IR-View, freely downloadable under the GNU license at http://mivim.gel.ulaval.ca. Demonstration of IR-View functionalities will also be done during the DSS08 SPIE Defense and Security Symposium.
生物反硝化除磷技术研究进展%Advances in Research of Phosphorus Removal Technology for Biological Denitrification Processes
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
姜鸣; 张静慧; 宫飞蓬; 周军; 甘一萍; 李军
综述了反硝化除磷技术的基本理论,各种反硝化除磷工艺的特点,反硝化除磷微生物学的研究情况以及对其机理与数学模型研究的发展.%The basic theories of biological denitrifying phosphorus removal, characteristic of various process, the research status of biological denitrifying phosphorus removal and so on were introduced.
Quantum biological information theory
Djordjevic, Ivan B
This book is a self-contained, tutorial-based introduction to quantum information theory and quantum biology. It serves as a single-source reference to the topic for researchers in bioengineering, communications engineering, electrical engineering, applied mathematics, biology, computer science, and physics. The book provides all the essential principles of the quantum biological information theory required to describe the quantum information transfer from DNA to proteins, the sources of genetic noise and genetic errors as well as their effects. Integrates quantum information and quantum biology concepts; Assumes only knowledge of basic concepts of vector algebra at undergraduate level; Provides a thorough introduction to basic concepts of quantum information processing, quantum information theory, and quantum biology; Includes in-depth discussion of the quantum biological channel modelling, quantum biological channel capacity calculation, quantum models of aging, quantum models of evolution, quantum models o...
Revealing complex function, process and pathway interactions with high-throughput expression and biological annotation data.
Singh, Nitesh Kumar; Ernst, Mathias; Liebscher, Volkmar; Fuellen, Georg; Taher, Leila
The biological relationships both between and within the functions, processes and pathways that operate within complex biological systems are only poorly characterized, making the interpretation of large scale gene expression datasets extremely challenging. Here, we present an approach that integrates gene expression and biological annotation data to identify and describe the interactions between biological functions, processes and pathways that govern a phenotype of interest. The product is a global, interconnected network, not of genes but of functions, processes and pathways, that represents the biological relationships within the system. We validated our approach on two high-throughput expression datasets describing organismal and organ development. Our findings are well supported by the available literature, confirming that developmental processes and apoptosis play key roles in cell differentiation. Furthermore, our results suggest that processes related to pluripotency and lineage commitment, which are known to be critical for development, interact mainly indirectly, through genes implicated in more general biological processes. Moreover, we provide evidence that supports the relevance of cell spatial organization in the developing liver for proper liver function. Our strategy can be viewed as an abstraction that is useful to interpret high-throughput data and devise further experiments.
Chemical industrial wastewater treated by combined biological and chemical oxidation process.
Guomin, Cao; Guoping, Yang; Mei, Sheng; Yongjian, Wang
Wastewaters from phenol and rubber synthesis were treated by the activated sludge process in a large-scale chemical factory in Shanghai, but the final effluent quality cannot conform with the local discharge limit without using river water for dilution. Therefore, this chemical factory had to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant. To fully use the present buildings and equipment during upgrading of the chemical factory's wastewater treatment plant and to save operation costs, a sequential biological pre-treatement, chemical oxidation, and biological post-treatment (or BCB for short) process had been proposed and investigated in a pilot trial. The pilot trial results showed that about 80% COD in the chemical wastewater could be removed through anoxic and aerobic degradation in the biological pre-treatement section, and the residual COD in the effluent of the biological pre-treatment section belongs to refractory chemicals which cannot be removed by the normal biological process. The refractory chemicals were partial oxidized using Fenton's reagent in the chemical oxidation section to improve their biodegradability; subsequently the wastewater was treated by the SBR process in the biological post-treatment section. The final effluent COD reached the first grade discharge limit (process, the operation cost of the BCB process increased by about 0.5 yuan (RMB) per cubic metre wastewater, but about 1,240,000 m(3) a(-1) dilution water could be saved and the COD emission could be cut down by 112 tonne each year.
The Renin-Angiotensin System Modulates Inflammatory Processes in Atherosclerosis: Evidence from Basic Research and Clinical Studies
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fabrizio Montecucco
Full Text Available Recent evidence shows that the renin-angiotensin system is a crucial player in atherosclerotic processes. The regulation of arterial blood pressure was considered from its first description of the main mechanism involved. Vasoconstriction (mediated by angiotensin II and salt and water retention (mainly due to aldosterone were classically considered as pivotal proatherosclerotic activities. However, basic research and animal studies strongly support angiotensin II as a proinflammatory mediator, which directly induces atherosclerotic plaque development and heart remodeling. Furthermore, angiotensin II induces proatherosclerotic cytokine and chemokine secretion and increases endothelial dysfunction. Accordingly, the pharmacological inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system improves prognosis of patients with cardiovascular disease even in settings of normal baseline blood pressure. In the present review, we focused on angiotensin-convertingenzyme (ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs, and renin inhibitors to update the direct activities of the renin-angiotensin system in inflammatory processes governing atherosclerosis.
Acidic and basic properties of zeolite-containing cracking catalyst in the process of butene-1 isomerization
Mursalova, L. A.; Guseinova, E. A.; Adzhamov, K. Yu.
The process of butene-1 isomerization in the presence of two groups of samples of zeolite-containing catalyst (ZCC) that earlier participated in the traditional and oxidative catalytic cracking of vacuum gasoil is investigated. It is established that the nature of the reaction mixture and conditions of the cracking process are key factors in forming the acidic and basic properties of the catalyst. It is shown that the highest activity in the butene-1 isomerization into cis-/ trans-butene-2 is demonstrated by ZCC samples that participated in the oxidative catalytic cracking (oxycracking). It is suggested that the enhanced catalytic activity of this group of ZCC samples was related to the availability of acid-base centers in the form of radical-like oxygen along with protic- and aprotic-type acidic centers in the structure of the oxidative compaction products.
Kinetics of quasi-isoenergetic transition processes in biological macromolecules
A master equation describing the evolution of averaged molecular state occupancies in molecular systems where alternation of molecular energy levels is caused by discrete dichotomous and trichotomous stochastic fields, is derived. This study is focused on the kinetics of quasi-isoenergetic transition processes in the presence of moderately high frequency stochastic field. A novel physical mechanism for temperature-independent transitions in flexible molecular systems is proposed. This mechanism becomes effective when the conformation transitions between quasi-isoenergetic molecular states take place. At room temperatures, stochastic broadening of molecular energy levels predominates the energy of low frequency vibrations accompanying the transition. This leads to a cancellation of the temperature dependence in the stochastically averaged rate constants. As examples, physical interpretations of the temperature-independent onset of P2X$_3$ receptor desensitization in neuronal membranes, as well as degradation o...
An assessment of basic processes controlling mean surface salinity over the global ocean
Ponte, R. M.; Vinogradova, N. T.
A data-constrained ocean state estimate that permits closed property budget diagnostics is used to examine the balance between surface forcing (F¯), advective (A¯), and diffusive (D¯) fluxes in maintaining the large-scale time-mean surface salinity Ss¯. Time-mean budgets (1993-2010) are considered for the 10 m thick top layer. In general, D¯ tends to counteract F¯, but A¯ is important almost everywhere, and some regions show a main balance between A¯ and D¯ (Bay of Bengal, Arctic) or A¯ and F¯ (tropical Atlantic and Pacific). Advection tends to freshen the surface in the tropics and high latitudes, with opposite tendencies in midlatitudes. For various Ss¯ tropical extrema, A¯ adds to the F¯ tendencies in precipitation regions and opposes F¯ in evaporation regions. Long-term Ss¯¯ conditions thus reflect more than a simple diffusive adjustment to F¯, likely involving close interaction between wind- and buoyancy-driven circulation and mixing processes.
Advanced Small Rocket Chambers. Basic Program and Option 2: Fundamental Processes and Material Evaluation
Jassowski, Donald M.
Propellants, chamber materials, and processes for fabrication of small high performance radiation cooled liquid rocket engines were evaluated to determine candidates for eventual demonstration in flight-type thrusters. Both storable and cryogenic propellant systems were considered. The storable propellant systems chosen for further study were nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer with either hydrazine or monomethylhydrazine as fuel. The cryogenic propellants chosen were oxygen with either hydrogen or methane as fuel. Chamber material candidates were chemical vapor deposition (CVD) rhenium protected from oxidation by CVD iridium for the chamber hot section, and film cooled wrought platinum-rhodium or regeneratively cooled stainless steel for the front end section exposed to partially reacted propellants. Laser diagnostics of the combustion products near the hot chamber surface and measurements at the surface layer were performed in a collaborative program at Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA. The Material Sample Test Apparatus, a laboratory system to simulate the combustion environment in terms of gas and material temperature, composition, and pressure up to 6 Atm, was developed for these studies. Rocket engine simulator studies were conducted to evaluate the materials under simulated combustor flow conditions, in the diagnostic test chamber. These tests used the exhaust species measurement system, a device developed to monitor optically species composition and concentration in the chamber and exhaust by emission and absorption measurements.
Effect of Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning on Non-majors Biology Students' Understanding of Biological Classification
Wozniak, Breann M.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of process-oriented guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) on non-majors college biology students' understanding of biological classification. This study addressed an area of science instruction, POGIL in the non-majors college biology laboratory, which has yet to be qualitatively and quantitatively researched. A concurrent triangulation mixed methods approach was used. Students' understanding of biological classification was measured in two areas: scores on pre and posttests (consisting of 11 multiple choice questions), and conceptions of classification as elicited in pre and post interviews and instructor reflections. Participants were Minnesota State University, Mankato students enrolled in BIOL 100 Summer Session. One section was taught with the traditional curriculum (n = 6) and the other section in the POGIL curriculum (n = 10) developed by the researcher. Three students from each section were selected to take part in pre and post interviews. There were no significant differences within each teaching method (p vs. M = 7.330 +/- .330; z =-1.729, p = .084) and the traditional group may have scored higher on the pretest than the posttest (M = 8.333 +/- .333 vs M = 7.333 +/- .333; z = -1.650 , p = .099). Two themes emerged after the interviews and instructor reflections: 1) After instruction students had a more extensive understanding of classification in three areas: vocabulary terms, physical characteristics, and types of evidence used to classify. Both groups extended their understanding, but only POGIL students could explain how molecular evidence is used in classification. 2) The challenges preventing students from understanding classification were: familiar animal categories and aquatic habitats, unfamiliar organisms, combining and subdividing initial groupings, and the hierarchical nature of classification. The POGIL students were the only group to surpass these challenges after the teaching intervention. This
Sequential biological process for molybdenum extraction from hydrodesulphurization spent catalyst.
Vyas, Shruti; Ting, Yen-Peng
Spent catalyst bioleaching with Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans has been widely studied and low Mo leaching has often been reported. This work describes an enhanced extraction of Mo via a two stage sequential process for the bioleaching of hydrodesulphurization spent catalyst containing Molybdenum, Nickel and, Aluminium. In the first stage, two-step bioleaching was performed using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, and achieved 89.4% Ni, 20.9% Mo and 12.7% Al extraction in 15 days. To increase Mo extraction, the bioleached catalyst was subjected to a second stage bioleaching using Escherichia coli, during which 99% of the remaining Mo was extracted in 25 days. This sequential bioleaching strategy selectively extracted Ni in the first stage and Mo in the second stage, and is a more environmentally friendly alternative to sequential chemical leaching with alkaline reagents for improved Mo extraction. Kinetic modelling to establish the rate determining step in both stages of bioleaching showed that in the first stage, Mo extraction was chemical reaction controlled whereas in the subsequent stage, product layer diffusion model provided the best fit. PMID:27351900
Sequential biological process for molybdenum extraction from hydrodesulphurization spent catalyst.
Vyas, Shruti; Ting, Yen-Peng
Spent catalyst bioleaching with Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans has been widely studied and low Mo leaching has often been reported. This work describes an enhanced extraction of Mo via a two stage sequential process for the bioleaching of hydrodesulphurization spent catalyst containing Molybdenum, Nickel and, Aluminium. In the first stage, two-step bioleaching was performed using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, and achieved 89.4% Ni, 20.9% Mo and 12.7% Al extraction in 15 days. To increase Mo extraction, the bioleached catalyst was subjected to a second stage bioleaching using Escherichia coli, during which 99% of the remaining Mo was extracted in 25 days. This sequential bioleaching strategy selectively extracted Ni in the first stage and Mo in the second stage, and is a more environmentally friendly alternative to sequential chemical leaching with alkaline reagents for improved Mo extraction. Kinetic modelling to establish the rate determining step in both stages of bioleaching showed that in the first stage, Mo extraction was chemical reaction controlled whereas in the subsequent stage, product layer diffusion model provided the best fit.
Life's origin: the cosmic, planetary and biological processes
Scattergood, T.; Des Marais, D.; Jahnke, L.
From elements formed in interstellar furnaces to humans peering back at the stars, the evolution of life has been a long, intricate and perhaps inevitable process. Life as we know it requires a planet orbiting a star at just the right distance so that water can exist in liquid form. It needs a rich supply of chemicals and energy sources. On Earth, the combination of chemistry and energy generated molecules that evolved ways of replicating themselves and of passing information from one generation to the next. Thus, the thread of life began. This chart traces the thread, maintained by DNA molecules for much of its history, as it weaves its way through the primitive oceans, gaining strength and diversity along the way. Organisms eventually moved onto the land, where advanced forms, including humans, ultimately arose. Finally, assisted by a technology of its own making, life has reached back out into space to understand its own origins, to expand into new realms, and to seek other living threads in the cosmos.
Solid separation and sbr biological process for pig slurry treatment; Depuracion de purines por separacion de solidos y tratamiento biologico en SBR
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Lekuona, A.; Alberdi, M.; Lekue, I.; Lasuen, M.
Egiluze treatment plant in Renteria (Gipuzkoa, spain), has treated around 45 m{sup 3}/day of pig slurry since 2006. During this two years, the plant has been running in order to get a suitable effluent, which fulfills the corresponding parameters to be discharged to municipal drain. The treatment process consists basically of a first solid separation and subsequent nitrification-de-nitrificacion biological process using a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR). The technical and economic results showed in this article, prove that the process used in Egiluze treatment plant is an effective solution which allows the treatment of pig slurry in an economical and automated way. (Author)
Five-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe Observations: Data Processing, Sky Maps, and Basic Results
Hinshaw, G.; Weiland, J. L.; Hill, R. S.; Odegard, N.; Larson, D.; Bennett, C. L.; Dunkley, J.; Gold, B.; Greason, M. R.; Jarosik, N.; Komatsu, E.; Nolta, M. R.; Page, L.; Spergel, D. N.; Wollack, E.; Halpern, M.; Kogut, A.; Limon, M.; Meyer, S. S.; Tucker, G. S.; Wright, E. L.
We present new full-sky temperature and polarization maps in five frequency bands from 23 to 94 GHz, based on data from the first five years of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) sky survey. The new maps are consistent with previous maps and are more sensitive. The five-year maps incorporate several improvements in data processing made possible by the additional years of data and by a more complete analysis of the instrument calibration and in-flight beam response. We present several new tests for systematic errors in the polarization data and conclude that W-band polarization data is not yet suitable for cosmological studies, but we suggest directions for further study. We do find that Ka-band data is suitable for use; in conjunction with the additional years of data, the addition of Ka band to the previously used Q- and V-band channels significantly reduces the uncertainty in the optical depth parameter, tau. Further scientific results from the five-year data analysis are presented in six companion papers and are summarized in Section 7 of this paper. With the five-year WMAP data, we detect no convincing deviations from the minimal six-parameter ACDM model: a flat universe dominated by a cosmological constant, with adiabatic and nearly scale-invariant Gaussian fluctuations. Using WMAP data combined with measurements of Type Ia supernovae and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations in the galaxy distribution, we find (68% CL uncertainties): OMEGA(sub b)h(sup 2) = 0.02267(sup +0.00058)(sub -0.00059), OMEGA(sub c)h(sup 2) = 0.1131 plus or minus 0.0034, OMEGA(sub logical and) = 0.726 plus or minus 0.015, ns = .960 plus or minus 0.013, tau = 0.84 plus or minus 0.016, and DELTA(sup 2)(sub R) = (22.445 plus or minus 0.096) x 10(exp -9) at k = 0.002 Mpc(exp -1). From these we derive sigma(sub 8) = 0.812 plus or minus 0.026, H(sub 0) = 70.5 plus or minus 1.3 kilometers per second Mpc(exp -1), OMEGA(sub b) = 0.0456 plus or minus 0.0015, OMEGA(sub c) = .228 plus or minus
Particle size distribution and removal in the chemical-biological flocculation process
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
ZHANG Zhi-bin; ZHAO Jian-fu; XIA Si-qing; LIU Chang-qing; KANG Xing-sheng
The particle characterization from the influent and effluent of a chemical-biological flocculation (CBF) process was studied with a laser diffraction device. Water samples from a chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) process and a primary sediment tank process were also analyzed for comparison. The results showed that CBF process was not only effective for both the big size particles and small size particles removal, but also the best particle removal process in the three processes. The results also indicated that CBF process was superior to CEPT process in the heavy metals removal. The high and non-selective removal for heavy metals might be closely related to its strong ability to eliminate small particles. Samples from different locations in CBF reactors showed that small particles were easier to aggregate into big ones and those disrupted flocs could properly flocculate again along CBF reactor because of the biological flocculation.
Bridging the gaps in systems biology
Marija Cvijovic; Joachim Almquist; Jonas Hagmar; Stefan Hohmann; Hans\\u2011Michael Kaltenbach; Edda Klipp; Marcus Krantz; Pedro Mendes; Sven Nelander; Jens Nielsen; Andrea Pagnani; Natasa Przulj; Andreas Raue; J\\xf6rg Stelling; Szymon Stoma
International audience Systems biology aims at creating mathematical models, i.e., computational reconstructions of biological systems and processes that will result in a new level of understanding-the elucidation of the basic and presumably conserved "design" and "engineering" principles of biomolecular systems. Thus, systems biology will move biology from a phenomenological to a predictive science. Mathematical modeling of biological networks and processes has already greatly improved ou...
Removal of reactive blue 19 from wastewaters by physicochemical and biological processes - a review
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The developments for the removal of reactive blue 19 dye (RB 19) by various physicochemical methods such as sonolysis, photo catalysis, electrochemical, ozonolysis, adsorption, hydrolysis and biological methods like microbial degradation, bio sorption, chemical and biological reductive decolorisation has been presented. It was found that none of the individual physical and chemical technique can be used in wastewater treatment with good economics and high energy efficiency. For example, the application of adsorption method is restricted as adsorbent materials requires frequent regenerations; ozonolysis and photo catalysis processes can efficiently decolorize and degrade the dye but these face operational difficulties are not cost effective. Similarly the performance of biological treatment processes is required to enhance by developing efficient strains of bacteria, fungi. The comparison of physiochemical and biological treatment of RB 19 dye suggested that biological treatment of RB 19 dye is comparatively cost-effective process. However, the integrated approach can be used to decolorize and degrade the dye by combining both physicochemical and biological processes. (author)
Present and perspective of enhanced biological phosphorus removal process; Seibutsugakuteki rin jokyoho no genjo to kadai
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Nakamura, K. [National Inst. of Bioscience and Human-Technology, Tsukuba (Japan)
Biological phosphorus removal process utilizing anaerobic and aerobic conditions, mechanism of phosphorus removal, and microbes relating to phosphorus removal are outlined, and future problems are discussed. By mixing waste water and sludge under anaerobic condition followed by treatment under aerobic condition, phosphorus content in sludge increases to enable biological phosphorus removal. More microbes with high polyphosphorus accumulating performance are acquired by the anaerobic/aerobic process than other microbes with the result of their preferential increase, and the process has high phosphorus removal characteristic than the general treatment process. Microbes relating to phosphorus removal, immobilization of polyphosphate accumulating microbes, and phosphorus acquiring and releasing characteristics of immobilized mycelium are discussed. Application of gel entrapped immobilized mycelium to phosphorus removal and problems in biological phosphorus removing methods are described. 18 refs., 12 figs.
A basic experimental study on characteristics of on-line human information processing associated with man-machine interface
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Yoshikawa, Hidekazu (Kyoto Univ., Uji (Japan). Inst. of Atomic Energy); Shimoda, Hiroshi; Nagai, Yoshinori; Kojima, Shin-ichi
Regarding human factors research on man-machine interface, a basic psychological experiment was conducted to observe psycho-physiological characteristics of on-line human cognitive behavior when cognitive tasks on learning and pattern classification were given to subjects by personal computer using a simple state transition model. During the experiment, three different types of subjects' data were recorded: (i) eye movement data by eye mark recorder, (ii) physio-electric signals by polygraph and (iii) verbal reports. Those subjects' data were analyzed with respect to: (i) the related human cognitive characteristics concerning problem solving strategy, measures of problem difficulty and mental image effect, (ii) observed eye movement characteristics such as saccade, attention, pupil reaction and blinking, etc., and (iii) obtained characteristics of skin potential response and heart rate. It was found that the application of psycho-physiological measurement would serve to objective and detailed analysis of on-line cognitive process. (author).
A basic experimental study on characteristics of on-line human information processing associated with man-machine interface
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Regarding human factors research on man-machine interface, a basic psychological experiment was conducted to observe psycho-physiological characteristics of on-line human cognitive behavior when cognitive tasks on learning and pattern classification were given to subjects by personal computer using a simple state transition model. During the experiment, three different types of subjects' data were recorded: (i) eye movement data by eye mark recorder, (ii) physio-electric signals by polygraph and (iii) verbal reports. Those subjects' data were analyzed with respect to: (i) the related human cognitive characteristics concerning problem solving strategy, measures of problem difficulty and mental image effect, (ii) observed eye movement characteristics such as saccade, attention, pupil reaction and blinking, etc., and (iii) obtained characteristics of skin potential response and heart rate. It was found that the application of psycho-physiological measurement would serve to objective and detailed analysis of on-line cognitive process. (author)
An Investigation Of The Influence Of Leadership And Processes On Basic Performance Results Using A Decision Model Based On Efqm
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ahmet Talat İnan
Full Text Available EFQM Excellence Model is a quality approach that companies benefit in achieving success. EFQM Excellence Model is an assessment tool helping to determine what is competence and missing aspects in achieving excellence.In this study, based on the EFQM Excellence Model, the influence of basic performance results caused by leadership and processes variables in this model of a firm engaged in maintenance and repair services due to a large-scale company. In this work, a survey was conducted that covering the company's employees and managers. The data obtained from this survey was utilized by using SPSS16.0 statistics software in respect of factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation and regression analysis. The relation between variables was evaluated taking into account the resuşts of analysis.
Proceedings Fourth Workshop on Membrane Computing and Biologically Inspired Process Calculi 2010
Ciobanu, Gabriel; 10.4204/EPTCS.40
The 4th Workshop on Membrane Computing and Biologically Inspired Process Calculi (MeCBIC 2010) is organized in Jena as a satellite event of the Eleventh International Conference on Membrane Computing (CMC11). Biological membranes play a fundamental role in the complex reactions which take place in cells of living organisms. The importance of this role has been considered in two different types of formalisms introduced recently. Membrane systems were introduced as a class of distributed parallel computing devices inspired by the observation that any biological system is a complex hierarchical structure, with a flow of biochemical substances and information that underlies their functioning. The modeling and analysis of biological systems has also attracted considerable interest of the process algebra research community. Thus the notions of membranes and compartments have been explicitly represented in a family of calculi, such as ambients and brane calculi. A cross fertilization of these two research areas has ...
Process for the continuous biological production of lipids, hydrocarbons or mixtures thereof
Van der Wielen, L.A.M.; Heijnen, J.J.
The present invention is directed to a process for the continuous biological production of lipids, hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon like material or mixtures thereof by conversion of a suitable substrate using micro-organisms, in which process the said substrate is continuously, anaerobically fermented to
The basic and additional immunohistochemical criteria in differential diagnostics of tumors and tumor-like processes of mammary gland
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shponka I.S.
Full Text Available Morphological diagnostics of mammary gland neoplasm is complex due to polymorphism of tumors and tumor-like processes. The purpose of our research was to reveal the basic and additional immunohistochemical markers for differential diagnostics of some diseases. We have established that the basic markers for differential diagnostics of adenosis and invasive carcinomas were MSA, α-SMA, S100, collagen IV, р63, Кі-67 and р53, additional - 34βЕ12, СК7, СК8, СК5/6, E-cadgerin. The loss of expression of myoepithelial markers, positive reaction with Кі-67, р53, Her2/neu also matters. Mutually contrary patterns of 34βЕ12 and E-cadgerin expression allow to differentiate ductal or lobular primacy of process. СК7, СК8, 34βЕ12 play a key role in differential diagnostics of carcinosarcomas and sarcomas. myoepithelial markers and basal membrane also give the additional information. At differential diagnostics of carcinoma and malignant tumors of other nature СК7, СК8, E-cadgerin, Her2/neu, ER/PgR, myoepithelial markers were the most important, being typical only for epithelial tumors. At Paget disease the reliable diagnostic criteria are absence of S100 and expression of certain classes СК (more often luminal epithelium СК7, СК8, E-cadgerin, СЕА. Clone AE1/AE3 and revealing СК7 is valuable for diagnostics of micro-metastasises.
Visual processing in reading disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and its contribution to basic reading ability.
Kibby, Michelle Y; Dyer, Sarah M; Vadnais, Sarah A; Jagger, Audreyana C; Casher, Gabriel A; Stacy, Maria
Whether visual processing deficits are common in reading disorders (RD), and related to reading ability in general, has been debated for decades. The type of visual processing affected also is debated, although visual discrimination and short-term memory (STM) may be more commonly related to reading ability. Reading disorders are frequently comorbid with ADHD, and children with ADHD often have subclinical reading problems. Hence, children with ADHD were used as a comparison group in this study. ADHD and RD may be dissociated in terms of visual processing. Whereas RD may be associated with deficits in visual discrimination and STM for order, ADHD is associated with deficits in visual-spatial processing. Thus, we hypothesized that children with RD would perform worse than controls and children with ADHD only on a measure of visual discrimination and a measure of visual STM that requires memory for order. We expected all groups would perform comparably on the measure of visual STM that does not require sequential processing. We found children with RD or ADHD were commensurate to controls on measures of visual discrimination and visual STM that do not require sequential processing. In contrast, both RD groups (RD, RD/ADHD) performed worse than controls on the measure of visual STM that requires memory for order, and children with comorbid RD/ADHD performed worse than those with ADHD. In addition, of the three visual measures, only sequential visual STM predicted reading ability. Hence, our findings suggest there is a deficit in visual sequential STM that is specific to RD and is related to basic reading ability. The source of this deficit is worthy of further research, but it may include both reduced memory for order and poorer verbal mediation.
Visual processing in reading disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and its contribution to basic reading ability.
Kibby, Michelle Y; Dyer, Sarah M; Vadnais, Sarah A; Jagger, Audreyana C; Casher, Gabriel A; Stacy, Maria
Whether visual processing deficits are common in reading disorders (RD), and related to reading ability in general, has been debated for decades. The type of visual processing affected also is debated, although visual discrimination and short-term memory (STM) may be more commonly related to reading ability. Reading disorders are frequently comorbid with ADHD, and children with ADHD often have subclinical reading problems. Hence, children with ADHD were used as a comparison group in this study. ADHD and RD may be dissociated in terms of visual processing. Whereas RD may be associated with deficits in visual discrimination and STM for order, ADHD is associated with deficits in visual-spatial processing. Thus, we hypothesized that children with RD would perform worse than controls and children with ADHD only on a measure of visual discrimination and a measure of visual STM that requires memory for order. We expected all groups would perform comparably on the measure of visual STM that does not require sequential processing. We found children with RD or ADHD were commensurate to controls on measures of visual discrimination and visual STM that do not require sequential processing. In contrast, both RD groups (RD, RD/ADHD) performed worse than controls on the measure of visual STM that requires memory for order, and children with comorbid RD/ADHD performed worse than those with ADHD. In addition, of the three visual measures, only sequential visual STM predicted reading ability. Hence, our findings suggest there is a deficit in visual sequential STM that is specific to RD and is related to basic reading ability. The source of this deficit is worthy of further research, but it may include both reduced memory for order and poorer verbal mediation. PMID:26579020
Operation and control of SBR processes for enhanced biological nutrient removal from wastewater
Puig Broch, Sebastià
In the last decades, the awareness of environmental issues has increased in society considerably. There is an increasing need to improve the effluent quality of domestic wastewater treatment processes. This thesis describes the application of the Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) technology for Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) from the wastewater. In particular, the work presented evolves from the nitrogen removal to the biological nutrient removal (i.e. nitrogen plus phosphorous removal) with ...
Micropollutant removal from municipal wastewater: from conventional treatments to advanced biological processes
Margot, Jonas
Many micropollutants present in municipal wastewater, such as pharmaceuticals and pesticides, are poorly removed in conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and may generate adverse effects on aquatic life. The objective of this thesis was to study and develop various options to improve micropollutant removal from municipal wastewaters. Various technologies were investigated, from conventional biological treatments to advanced physico-chemical and biological processes such as ozonati...
Degrading organic micropollutants: The next challenge in the evolution of biological wastewater treatment processes
Naresh eSinghal; Octavio ePerez-Garcia
Global water scarcity is driving the need for identifying new water source. Wastewater could be a potential water resource if appropriate treatment technologies could be developed. One of the barriers to obtaining high quality water from wastewater arises from the presence of organic micropollutants, which are biologically active at trace levels. Removal of these compounds from wastewater by current physico-chemical technologies is prohibitively expensive. While biological treatment processes...
Work Process Oriented Learning via Mobile Devices – Theoretical Basics and Examples for a (New Didactical Approach
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Georg Spöttl
Full Text Available Two problems can be identified which counteract the need for further training: On the one hand the clientele of skilled workers is not necessarily keen on further training. On the other hand the time and cost pressure within the sector does not offer any room for time-consuming further training measures far away from the workplace. This is why the project "Virtual Learning on the building site – (Vila-b" was realized in cooperation with the project partners of the University of Bremen (Working group »Digital Media« of the Centre for Information Technology as well as from the economy (Arbeitskreis ökologischer Holzbau e. V. and Claus Holm, pm|c. The project team has tested a concept which facilitated learning adapted to the occupational reality and supported by the advantages of digital media. The central didactical elements for the development of this further training course are the contextual and methodological orientation to real work processes as well as the use of digital mobile media which facilitate learning directly at the workplace. The present article starts with a description of the theoretical basics for learning within the work process and discusses the didactical elements which are necessary for work process oriented learning with digital and mobile media.
Integration of advanced oxidation technologies and biological processes: recent developments, trends, and advances.
Tabrizi, Gelareh Bankian; Mehrvar, Mehrab
The greatest challenge of today's wastewater treatment technology is to optimize the use of biological and chemical wastewater treatment processes. The choice of the process and/or integration of the processes depend strongly on the wastewater characteristics, concentrations, and the desired efficiencies. It has been observed by many investigators that the coupling of a bioreactor and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) could reduce the final concentrations of the effluent to the desired values. However, optimizing the total cost of the treatment is a challenge, as AOPs are much more expensive than biological processes alone. Therefore, an appropriate design should not only consider the ability of this coupling to reduce the concentration of organic pollutants, but also try to obtain the desired results in a cost effective process. To consider the total cost of the treatment, the residence time in biological and photochemical reactors, the kinetic rates, and the capital and operating costs of the reactors play significant roles. In this study, recent developments and trends (1996-2003) on the integration of photochemical and biological processes for the degradation of problematic pollutants in wastewater have been reviewed. The conditions to get the optimum results from this integration have also been considered. In most of the studies, it has been shown that the integrated processes were more efficient than individual processes. However, slight changes in the configuration of the reactors, temperature, pH, treatment time, concentration of the oxidants, and microorganism's colonies could lead to a great deviation in results. It has also been demonstrated that the treatment cost in both reactors is a function of time, which changes by the flow rate. The minimum cost in the coupling of the processes cannot be achieved unless considering the best treatment time in chemical and biological reactors individually.
Mineralization of 2-chlorophenol by sequential electrochemical reductive dechlorination and biological processes.
Arellano-González, Miguel Ángel; González, Ignacio; Texier, Anne-Claire
In this work, a novel approach was applied to obtain the mineralization of 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) in an electrochemical-biological combined system where an electrocatalytic dehydrogenation process (reductive dechlorination) was coupled to a biological denitrification process. Reductive dechlorination of 2-CP was conducted in an ECCOCEL-type reactor on a Pd-Ni/Ti electrode at a potential of -0.40V vs Ag/AgCl(s)/KCl(sat), achieving 100 percent transformation of 2-CP into phenol. The electrochemically pretreated effluent was fed to a rotating cylinder denitrifying bioreactor where the totality of phenol was mineralized by denitrification, obtaining CO2 and N2 as the end products. The total time required for 2-CP mineralization in the combined electrochemical-biological process was 7.5h. This value is close to those previously reported for electrochemical and advanced oxidation processes but in this case, an efficient process was obtained without accumulation of by-products or generation of excessive energy costs due to the selective electrochemical pretreatment. This study showed that the use of electrochemical reductive pretreatment combined with biological processes could be a promising technology for the removal of recalcitrant molecules, such as chlorophenols, from wastewaters by more efficient, rapid, and environmentally friendly processes. PMID:27131458
Mineralization of 2-chlorophenol by sequential electrochemical reductive dechlorination and biological processes.
Arellano-González, Miguel Ángel; González, Ignacio; Texier, Anne-Claire
In this work, a novel approach was applied to obtain the mineralization of 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) in an electrochemical-biological combined system where an electrocatalytic dehydrogenation process (reductive dechlorination) was coupled to a biological denitrification process. Reductive dechlorination of 2-CP was conducted in an ECCOCEL-type reactor on a Pd-Ni/Ti electrode at a potential of -0.40V vs Ag/AgCl(s)/KCl(sat), achieving 100 percent transformation of 2-CP into phenol. The electrochemically pretreated effluent was fed to a rotating cylinder denitrifying bioreactor where the totality of phenol was mineralized by denitrification, obtaining CO2 and N2 as the end products. The total time required for 2-CP mineralization in the combined electrochemical-biological process was 7.5h. This value is close to those previously reported for electrochemical and advanced oxidation processes but in this case, an efficient process was obtained without accumulation of by-products or generation of excessive energy costs due to the selective electrochemical pretreatment. This study showed that the use of electrochemical reductive pretreatment combined with biological processes could be a promising technology for the removal of recalcitrant molecules, such as chlorophenols, from wastewaters by more efficient, rapid, and environmentally friendly processes.
Basic Principle of Molecular Dynamics and Application in The Filed of Biologic Molecules Simulation%分子动力学模拟及在生物大分子模拟领域的应用
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
简要介绍了分子动力学的发展历史、基本理论、基本步骤以及其作为基本研究手段来进行生物大分子模拟领域的应用。%This article briefly describes the molecular dynamics of development history,basic theory,basic steps and basic research as a means to carry out simulation in the field of application of biological macromolecules.
Downregulation of the microtubule associated protein tau impairs process outgrowth and myelin basic protein mRNA transport in oligodendrocytes.
Seiberlich, Veronika; Bauer, Nina G; Schwarz, Lisa; Ffrench-Constant, Charles; Goldbaum, Olaf; Richter-Landsberg, Christiane
Oligodendrocytes, the myelin forming cells of the CNS, are characterized by their numerous membranous extensions, which enwrap neuronal axons and form myelin sheaths. During differentiation oligodendrocytes pass different morphological stages, downregulate the expression of the proteoglycan NG2, and acquire major myelin specific proteins, such as myelin basic proteins (MBP) and proteolipid protein. MBP mRNA is transported in RNA granules along the microtubules (MTs) to the periphery and translated locally. MTs participate in the elaboration and stabilization of the myelin forming extensions and are essential for cellular sorting processes. Their dynamic properties are regulated by microtubule associated proteins (MAPs). The MAP tau is present in oligodendrocytes and involved in the regulation and stabilization of the MT network. To further elucidate the functional significance of tau in oligodendrocytes, we have downregulated tau by siRNA technology and studied the effects on cell differentiation and neuron-glia contact formation. The data show that tau knockdown impairs process outgrowth and leads to a decrease in MBP expression. Furthermore, MBP mRNA transport to distant cellular extensions is impaired and cells remain in the NG2 stage. In myelinating cocultures with dorsal root ganglion neurons, oligodendrocyte precursor cells after tau miR RNA lentiviral knockdown develop into NG2 positive cells with very long and thin processes, contacting axons loosely, but fail to form internodes. This demonstrates that tau is important for MBP mRNA transport and involved in process formation. The disturbance of the balance of tau leads to abnormalities in oligodendrocyte differentiation, neuron-glia contact formation and the early myelination process.
``What if we were in a test tube?'' Students' gendered meaning making during a biology lesson about the basic facts of the human genitals
Orlander, Auli Arvola
This paper explores what happens in the encounters between presentations of "basic facts" about the human genitals and 15-year-old students during a biology lesson in a Swedish secondary school. In this paper, meaning making was approached as relational, context-dependent and continually transacted. For this reason the analysis was conducted through a series of close readings of situations where students interacted with each other and the teacher in opening up gaps about alternative ways of discussing gender. Drawing on Foucault's theories about the inclusion and exclusion of knowledge and the subsequent work of Butler and other feminist researchers, the paper illuminates what gendered relations remain tacit in the conversation. It then illustrates possible ways in which these tacit gendered meanings could be made overt and discussed with the students when making meaning about the human genitals. The paper also shows how the ways in which human genitals are transacted in the science classroom have importance for what kind of learning is made available to the students.
A semester-long project for teaching basic techniques in molecular biology such as restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis to undergraduate and graduate students.
DiBartolomeis, Susan M
Several reports on science education suggest that students at all levels learn better if they are immersed in a project that is long term, yielding results that require analysis and interpretation. I describe a 12-wk laboratory project suitable for upper-level undergraduates and first-year graduate students, in which the students molecularly locate and map a gene from Drosophila melanogaster called dusky and one of dusky's mutant alleles. The mapping strategy uses restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis; hence, students perform most of the basic techniques of molecular biology (DNA isolation, restriction enzyme digestion and mapping, plasmid vector subcloning, agarose and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, DNA labeling, and Southern hybridization) toward the single goal of characterizing dusky and the mutant allele dusky(73). Students work as individuals, pairs, or in groups of up to four students. Some exercises require multitasking and collaboration between groups. Finally, results from everyone in the class are required for the final analysis. Results of pre- and postquizzes and surveys indicate that student knowledge of appropriate topics and skills increased significantly, students felt more confident in the laboratory, and students found the laboratory project interesting and challenging. Former students report that the lab was useful in their careers.
Tsimring, Lev S
Noise permeates biology on all levels, from the most basic molecular, sub-cellular processes to the dynamics of tissues, organs, organisms, and populations. The functional roles of noise in biological processes can vary greatly. Along with standard, entropy-increasing effects of producing random mutations, diversifying phenotypes in isogenic populations, limiting information capacity of signaling relays, it occasionally plays more surprising constructive roles by accelerating the pace of evol...
Research on rural sewage treatment using biological-ecological coupling process
Shi, Chang; Zhang, Jing; Liu, Chun; Zaixing LI; Gen WU; Yang, Jingliang
Developing low-investment, low-energy consumption and low-maintenance sewage treatment process is important for sewage treatment in rural areas. An upflow anaerobic filter (UAF) without energy consumption and a subsurface flow wetland (SFW) are utilized as a biological-ecological coupling process to treat rural domestic sewage. The effect of the coupling process on treatment performance of domestic sewage under different hydraulic retention time (HRT) is investigated. The removal of nitrogen ...
Nonequilibrium thermodynamics transport and rate processes in physical, chemical and biological systems
Demirel, Yasar
Natural phenomena consist of simultaneously occurring transport processes and chemical reactions. These processes may interact with each other and may lead to self-organized structures, fluctuations, instabilities, and evolutionary systems. Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics, 3rd edition emphasizes the unifying role of thermodynamics in analyzing the natural phenomena. This third edition updates and expands on the first and second editions by focusing on the general balance equations for coupled processes of physical, chemical, and biological systems. The new edition contains a new chapte
In Vivo Bioluminescent Imaging (BLI: Noninvasive Visualization and Interrogation of Biological Processes in Living Animals
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Steven Ripp
Full Text Available In vivo bioluminescent imaging (BLI is increasingly being utilized as a method for modern biological research. This process, which involves the noninvasive interrogation of living animals using light emitted from luciferase-expressing bioreporter cells, has been applied to study a wide range of biomolecular functions such as gene function, drug discovery and development, cellular trafficking, protein-protein interactions, and especially tumorigenesis, cancer treatment, and disease progression. This article will review the various bioreporter/biosensor integrations of BLI and discuss how BLI is being applied towards a new visual understanding of biological processes within the living organism.
Investigation and design of the dismantling process for irradiation capsules containing tritium. 1. Conceptual investigation and basic design
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
In-pile functional tests of tritium breeding blankets for fusion reactors have been planned by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), using a test blanket module (TBM) which will be loaded in ITER. In preparation for the in-pile functional tests, JAEA has been being performed irradiation experiments of solid breeder materials including Li2TiO3, which is the first candidate of tritium breeder materials for the blanket of the demonstration reactor (DEMO) in a water-cooled solid-breeder design concept in Japan. The present report describes conceptual investigation and basic design of the dismantling process for irradiation capsules which were used in irradiation experiments by the Japan Materials Testing Reactor (JMTR) of JAEA. An irradiation capsule to be dismantled is comprised of a cylindrical outer-container (65mm in outer diameter) and an inner-container which is loaded with Li2TiO3 pebbles. In the present design, the irradiation capsule is cut by a band saw; the released tritium is recovered safely by a purge-gas system, and is consolidated into a radioactive waste form. Furthermore, an inner-box enclosing the dismantling apparatus has been designed as a safety countermeasure of possible tritium release from the dismantling apparatus in accidental events. The adoption of the inner-box has brought a prospect to be able to utilize an existing hot cell (β γ cell) equipped with usual wall material permeable to tritium, without extensive refurbishing of the cell. Thus, the present study has indicated the feasibility of the dismantling process for the irradiated JMTR capsules containing tritium. The results of the present investigation and design will contribute to the design of the TBM structure and to the planning of the dismantling process of the TBM. (author)
... a Friend Who Cuts? About the Body Basics Library KidsHealth > For Teens > About the Body Basics Library Print A A A Text Size Did you ... system, part, and process works. Use this medical library to find out about basic human anatomy, how ...
Whole process reclamation and utilization of wastes produced in the biological fermentation industry
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
YAN Ling-jun; LI Da-peng; MA Fang; Chein-chi Chang; XU Shan-wen; QIU Shan
Wastes yielded in the vintage process and the biological fermentation of itaconic acid and sodium gluconate of a winery in Shandong,such as grain stillage,melon lees,cornstarch protein residues,itaconic acid mother liquid,itaconic acid mycelium and sodium gluconate mycelium,were studied.Hish-activity biological protein feed,foliar fertilizer and irrigation fertilizer were generated from these wastes by applying biological/microbial technologies.Meanwhile,a whole set of technological pathways Was put forward.As a result,the optimal economical and social benefits can be obtained with low natural resource consumption and environmental costs by converting wastes into useful matters.In conclusion,through the utilization of limited resources in the whole process of reclamation and utilization of wastes,the harmony promotion Can be achieved between the economic system and the natural ecosystem.
Degrading organic micropollutants: The next challenge in the evolution of biological wastewater treatment processes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Naresh eSinghal
Full Text Available Global water scarcity is driving the need for identifying new water source. Wastewater could be a potential water resource if appropriate treatment technologies could be developed. One of the barriers to obtaining high quality water from wastewater arises from the presence of organic micropollutants, which are biologically active at trace levels. Removal of these compounds from wastewater by current physico-chemical technologies is prohibitively expensive. While biological treatment processes are comparatively cheap, current systems are not capable of degrading the wide range of organic micropollutants present in wastewater. As current wastewater treatment processes were developed for treating conventional pollutants present at mg/L levels, degrading the ng/L levels of micropollutants will require a different approach to system design and operation. In this paper we discuss strategies that could be employed to develop biological wastewater treatment systems capable of degrading organic micropollutants.
A novel process of dye wastewater treatment by linking advanced chemical oxidation with biological oxidation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zou Haiming
Full Text Available Dye wastewater is one of typically non-biodegradable industrial effluents. A new process linking Fenton's oxidation with biological oxidation proposed in this study was investigated to degrade the organic substances from real dye wastewater. During the combination process, the Fenton's oxidation process can reduce the organic load and enhance biodegradability of dye wastewater, which is followed by biological aerated filter (BAF system to further remove organic substances in terms of discharge requirement. The results showed that 97.6% of chemical oxygen demand (COD removal by the combination process was achieved at the optimum process parameters: pH of 3.5, H2O2 of 2.0 mL/L, Fe(II of 500 mg/L, 2.0 h treatment time in the Fenton's oxidation process and hydraulic retention time (HRT of 5 h in the BAF system. Under these conditions, COD concentration of effluent was 72.6 mg/L whereas 3020 mg/L in the influent, thus meeting the requirement of treated dye wastewater discharge performed by Chinese government (less than 100 mg/L. These results obtained here suggest that the new process combining Fenton's oxidation with biological oxidation may provide an economical and effective alternative for treatment of non-biodegradable industrial wastewater.
Treatment of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) wastewater by internal electrolysis--biological contact oxidation process.
Cao, X Z; Li, Y M
Surfactant wastewater is usually difficult to treat due to its toxicity and poor biodegradability. A separate physico-chemical or biochemical treatment method achieves a satisfactory effect with difficulty. In this study, treatment of the wastewater collected from a daily chemical plant by the combination processes of Fe/C internal electrolysis and biological contact oxidation was investigated. For the internal electrolysis process, the optimal conditions were: pH = 4-5, Fe/C = (10-15):1, air-water ratio = (10-20):1 and hydraulic retention time (HRT)= 2 h. For the biological contact oxidation process, the optimal conditions were: HRT = 12 h, DO = 4.0-5.0 mg/L. Treated by the above combined processes, the effluent could meet the I-grade criteria specified in Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard of China (GB 8978-1996). The results provide valuable information for full-scale linear alkylbenzene sulfonate wastewater treatment. PMID:22053469
The image simulation arithmetic of the degradating process of porous biologic ceramic in life-form
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
CHEN Zuo-bing; HUANG Jian-zhong; YAN Yu-hua; LI Shi-pu
@@ It is a complex and difficult task to simulate the degradating process of porous biologic ceramic in life-form by computer. Because the evolvement of crystal' s structure deals with not only the mechanism of many factors, such as crystallography tropism, the reciprocity of wafer, interfacial movement, but also topology geometry mechanism of dimensional padding.
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
SongYinjie; ZhangHui; 等
A moving boundary model under considering the volume change of spherical resin beads during ion exchange processes was employed to recognize the mechanisms of reecovering uranium from carbonate solutions using strongly basic anion exchanger.Two important factors,swelling and ion exchange,which directly affect the violume of ion exchangers were taken into account.An ion exchange mechanism has been found for the forward reaction PCl/[UO2(CO3)3]4-,and is partical diffusion governing at high concentration of the complex anion.The mechanism of RCl/U(VI) at pH 5.5-7.5 is a chemical reaction taking place at the moving boundary of the unreacted nucleus.For the reverse reaction RnU/NaCl,the uranyl tricarbonate complex anion in the resin phase is replaced by Cl- ions with an ion exchange mechanism alway determined by particle diffusion.The other forms of uranium in the solid phase loaded on the resin at pH5.5-7.5 should belong to non-exchangeable uranium.The mechanism of the reverse reaction RnU/HCl is always chemical reaction which is not restricted to the moving boundary of the unreacted core.
Deep silicon etch for biology MEMS fabrication: review of process parameters influence versus chip design
Magis, T.; Ballerand, S.; Bellemin Comte, A.; Pollet, Olivier
Micro-system for biology is a growing market, especially for micro-fluidic applications (environment and health). Key part for the manufacturing of biology MEMS is the deep silicon etching by plasma to create microstructures. Usual etching process as an alternation of etching and passivation steps is a well-known method for MEMS fabrication, nowadays used in high volume production for devices like sensors and actuators. MEMS for biology applications are very different in design compared to more common micro-systems like accelerometers for instance. Indeed, their design includes on the same chip structures of very diverse size like narrow pillars, large trenches and wide cavities. This makes biology MEMS fabrication very challenging for DRIE, since each type of feature considered individually would require a specific etch process. Furthermore process parameters suited to match specifications on small size features (vertical profile, low sidewall roughness) induce issues and defects on bigger structures (undercut, micro-masking) and vice versa. Thus the process window is constrained leading to trade-offs in process development. In this paper process parameters such as source and platen powers, pressure, etching and passivation gas flows and steps duration were investigated to achieve all requirements. As well interactions between those different factors were characterized at different levels, from individual critical feature up to chip scale and to wafer scale. We will show the plasma process development and tuning to reach all these specifications. We also compared different chambers configurations of our ICP tool (source wafer distance, plasma diffusion) in order to obtain a good combination of hardware and process. With optimized etching we successfully fabricate micro-fluidic devices like micro-pumps.
Modelling biological processes in WWTP; Modelado de procesos biologicos en las EDAR
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Carpes, G.
Biological technologies by active sludges are the most used in wastewater treatments. Multiple variants are affected in the characterization of this process, like wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) design, features and concentration of sludge, dissolved oxygen concentration and characteristics of the wastewater, including temperature and nutrients. Mathematical formula applied to WWTP modelling are presented to design its operation and to test the most important parameters, too. It is necessary to optimize the process in WWTP. (Author) 19 refs.
Biodrying for mechanical-biological treatment of wastes: A review of process science and engineering
Velis, C.A.; Longhurst, Philip J.; Drew, Gillian H; Smith, Richard; Pollard, Simon J. T.
Biodrying is a variation of aerobic decomposition, used within mechanical–biological treatment (MBT) plants to dry and partially stabilise residual municipal waste. Biodrying MBT plants can produce a high quality solid recovered fuel (SRF), high in biomass content. Here, process objectives, operating principles, reactor designs, parameters for process monitoring and control, and their effect on biodried output quality are critically examined. Within the biodrying reactors, w...
Microbiology and atmospheric processes: the role of biological particles in cloud physics
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
O. Möhler
Full Text Available As part of a series of papers on the sources, distribution and potential impact of biological particles in the atmosphere, this paper introduces and summarizes the potential role of biological particles in atmospheric clouds. Biological particles like bacteria or pollen may be active as both cloud condensation nuclei (CCN and heterogeneous ice nuclei (IN and thereby can contribute to the initial cloud formation stages and the development of precipitation through giant CCN and IN processes. The paper gives an introduction to aerosol-cloud processes involving CCN and IN in general and provides a short summary of previous laboratory, field and modelling work which investigated the CCN and IN activity of bacterial cells and pollen. Recent measurements of atmospheric ice nuclei with a continuous flow diffusion chamber (CFDC and of the heterogeneous ice nucleation efficiency of bacterial cells are also briefly discussed. As a main result of this overview paper we conclude that a proper assessment of the impact of biological particles on tropospheric clouds needs new laboratory, field and modelling work on the abundance of biological particles in the atmosphere and their CCN and heterogeneous IN properties.
Chemical analysis and biological testing of materials from the EDS coal liquefaction process: a status report
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Later, D.W.; Pelroy, R.A.; Wilson, B.W.
Representative process materials were obtained from the EDS pilot plant for chemical and biological analyses. These materials were characterized for biological activity and chemical composition using a microbial mutagenicity assay and chromatographic and mass spectrometric analytical techniques. The two highest boiling distillation cuts, as well as process solvent (PS) obtained from the bottoms recycle mode operation, were tested for initiation of mouse skin tumorigenicity. All three materials were active; the crude 800/sup 0 +/F cut was substantially more potent than the crude bottoms recycle PS or 750 to 800/sup 0/F distillate cut. Results from chemical analyses showed the EDS materials, in general, to be more highly alkylated and have higher hydroaromatic content than analogous SRC II process materials (no in-line process hydrogenation) used for comparison. In the microbial mutagenicity assays the N-PAC fractions showed greater activity than did the aliphatic hydrocarbon, hydroxy-PAH, or PAH fractions, although mutagenicity was detected in certain PAH fractions by a modified version of the standard microbial mutagenicity assay. Mutagenic activities for the EDS materials were lower, overall, than those for the corresponding materials from the SRC II process. The EDS materials produced under different operational modes had distinguishable differences in both their chemical constituency and biological activity. The primary differences between the EDS materials studied here and their SRC II counterparts used for comparison are most likely attributable to the incorporation of catalytic hydrogenation in the EDS process. 27 references, 28 figures, 27 tables.
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Biological removal of methanol from process condensate for the purpose of reclamation
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
WANG Yan-ming; YANG Min; ZHANG Yu; GAO Meng-chun; ZHANG Jing
The biological removal of methanol from condensate of ammonia manufacturing processes for the purpose of reclamation using contact type reactor was studied. Methanol of 60 mg/L was removed completely under an HRT of 1.12 h. Optimal inorganic nutrient dose was determined on evaluating methanol removal performance and dehydrogenase activities (DHA) under different nutrition doses. The optimal inorganic nutrient dose only gave an increase of conductivity of ca. 10 μs/cm2 in the effluent on treating synthetic condensate containing methanol of 30 mg/L. The results demonstrated that biological removal of methanol was effective for the purpose of recovering the methanol-bearing condensate.
Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in step feeding biological nitrogen removal process
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
The simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in step-feeding biological nitrogen removal process were investigated under different influent substrate concentrations and aeration flow rates.Biological occurrence of simultaneous nitrification and denitrifieation was verified in the aspect of nitrogen mass balance and alkalinity.The experimental results also showed that there was a distinct linear relationship between simultaneous nitrification and denitrification and DO concentration under the conditions of low and high aeration flow rate.In each experimental run the floe sizes of activated sludge were also measured and the results showed that simultaneous nitrification and denitrification could occur with very small size of floc.
The development of a content-influenced process skills instrument for general biology
White, Grady M.
Since the mid 1960's, a major goal in biology instruction has been the teaching of process skills. Many process skills studies have been done and several process skills tests exist, but these studies and tests all target students in grades 7 through 12. The purpose of this study was to develop a biological process skills test for use in college level freshman biology classes. The study was conducted in two phases. Phase I was the development of the process skills test. Phase II of the study was to administer the test and determine student acquisition of process skills, and to determine whether any relationship existed between acquisition of process skills, student attitudes toward science, and student learning styles. Testing was implemented with a sample of 135 students enrolled in general biology in one southeastern university. The process skills test and the attitudes toward science test were administered as pretests; and posttests. The learning styles test was administered as a pretest. Data analysis included t-tests for dependent samples, multiple regression analyses, and an item analysis of the process skills test that concentrated on item difficulty, discriminating power, and distractor spread. Item analysis of the process skills test revealed some questions that were too difficult, and some questions that had problems with distractors. The majority of the test questions were found to be acceptable. The t-tests for dependent samples pies showed a significant increase in process skills mean test scores from pretest to posttest, and a significant improvement in student attitudes toward science mean test scores from pretest to posttest. The multiple regression analyses revealed no significant relationship between process skills, and student attitudes toward science, and student learning style. Recommendations include a review of the process skills test and revision of those items that are in question. The study should be continued with a larger sample size and
How to Build a Course in Mathematical–Biological Modeling: Content and Processes for Knowledge and Skill
Hoskinson, Anne-Marie
Biological problems in the twenty-first century are complex and require mathematical insight, often resulting in mathematical models of biological systems. Building mathematical–biological models requires cooperation among biologists and mathematicians, and mastery of building models. A new course in mathematical modeling presented the opportunity to build both content and process learning of mathematical models, the modeling process, and the cooperative process. There was little guidance fro...
Biclustering with Flexible Plaid Models to Unravel Interactions between Biological Processes.
Henriques, Rui; Madeira, Sara C
Genes can participate in multiple biological processes at a time and thus their expression can be seen as a composition of the contributions from the active processes. Biclustering under a plaid assumption allows the modeling of interactions between transcriptional modules or biclusters (subsets of genes with coherence across subsets of conditions) by assuming an additive composition of contributions in their overlapping areas. Despite the biological interest of plaid models, few biclustering algorithms consider plaid effects and, when they do, they place restrictions on the allowed types and structures of biclusters, and suffer from robustness problems by seizing exact additive matchings. We propose BiP (Biclustering using Plaid models), a biclustering algorithm with relaxations to allow expression levels to change in overlapping areas according to biologically meaningful assumptions (weighted and noise-tolerant composition of contributions). BiP can be used over existing biclustering solutions (seizing their benefits) as it is able to recover excluded areas due to unaccounted plaid effects and detect noisy areas non-explained by a plaid assumption, thus producing an explanatory model of overlapping transcriptional activity. Experiments on synthetic data support BiP's efficiency and effectiveness. The learned models from expression data unravel meaningful and non-trivial functional interactions between biological processes associated with putative regulatory modules. PMID:26357312
New insight into the biological treatment by activated sludge: the role of adsorption process.
Zhang, Xiaochun; Li, Xinrun; Zhang, Qingrui; Peng, Qiuming; Zhang, Wen; Gao, Faming
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of adsorption on the biological treatment process of wastewater. In the absence of substrate in the water, activated sludge developed well in the first hour, indicating that the growth of microorganism was not directly related to substrate concentration and the dissolved organic matter in the water assays were performed, no organic matter was detected out, revealing that there was no desorption in the activated sludge adsorption process. Activated sludge batch growth experiments in the presence of different adsorption capacities indicated that specific growth rate increased as specific adsorption capacity increased. The experiment on the relationship of adsorption capacity and substrate concentration or sludge concentration was also carried out. Specific adsorption capacity increased as sludge load increased, presenting linear correlation. The experiment results showed that adsorption should be taken into account in the study of the biological treatment process of wastewater.
Microfluidic solutions enabling continuous processing and monitoring of biological samples: A review.
Karle, Marc; Vashist, Sandeep Kumar; Zengerle, Roland; von Stetten, Felix
The last decade has witnessed tremendous advances in employing microfluidic solutions enabling Continuous Processing and Monitoring of Biological Samples (CPMBS), which is an essential requirement for the control of bio-processes. The microfluidic systems are superior to the traditional inline sensors due to their ability to implement complex analytical procedures, such as multi-step sample preparation, and enabling the online measurement of parameters. This manuscript provides a backgound review of microfluidic approaches employing laminar flow, hydrodynamic separation, acoustophoresis, electrophoresis, dielectrophoresis, magnetophoresis and segmented flow for the continuous processing and monitoring of biological samples. The principles, advantages and limitations of each microfluidic approach are described along with its potential applications. The challenges in the field and the future directions are also provided.
Natural physical and biological processes compromise the long-term performance of compacted soil caps
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Compacted soil barriers are components of essentially all caps placed on closed waste disposal sites. The intended functions of soil barriers in waste facility caps include restricting infiltration of water and release of gases and vapors, either independently or in combination with synthetic membrane barriers, and protecting other manmade or natural barrier components. Review of the performance of installed soil barriers and of natural processes affecting their performance indicates that compacted soil caps may function effectively for relatively short periods (years to decades), but natural physical and biological processes can be expected to cause them to fail in the long term (decades to centuries). This paper addresses natural physical and biological processes that compromise the performance of compacted soil caps and suggests measures that may reduce the adverse consequences of these natural failure mechanisms
A comparison of form processing involved in the perception of biological and nonbiological movements
Thurman, Steven M.; Lu, Hongjing
Although there is evidence for specialization in the human brain for processing biological motion per se, few studies have directly examined the specialization of form processing in biological motion perception. The current study was designed to systematically compare form processing in perception of biological (human walkers) to nonbiological (rotating squares) stimuli. Dynamic form-based stimuli were constructed with conflicting form cues (position and orientation), such that the objects were perceived to be moving ambiguously in two directions at once. In Experiment 1, we used the classification image technique to examine how local form cues are integrated across space and time in a bottom-up manner. By comparing with a Bayesian observer model that embodies generic principles of form analysis (e.g., template matching) and integrates form information according to cue reliability, we found that human observers employ domain-general processes to recognize both human actions and nonbiological object movements. Experiments 2 and 3 found differential top-down effects of spatial context on perception of biological and nonbiological forms. When a background does not involve social information, observers are biased to perceive foreground object movements in the direction opposite to surrounding motion. However, when a background involves social cues, such as a crowd of similar objects, perception is biased toward the same direction as the crowd for biological walking stimuli, but not for rotating nonbiological stimuli. The model provided an accurate account of top-down modulations by adjusting the prior probabilities associated with the internal templates, demonstrating the power and flexibility of the Bayesian approach for visual form perception. PMID:26746875
[Biocenotic dynamics of liquid sewage in the process of its biological purification at aeration stations].
Kalina, G P; Vinogradova, L A; Gipp, E K
A study was made of biological purification of sewage at the aeration stations on the quantitative composition of the main indicator microbes--of bacteria of the coliform group and of the fecal coliform bacilli, enterococci, Proteus, and also pathogenic enterobacteria. There was found a difference in the behaviour of different species of Proteus, i.e. reduction in the process of purification in the numbers of Pr. mirabilis, and a sharp elevation of Pr. morganii content. There was noted an insignificant amount of Pr. vulgaris both before and after the biological purification. It was found that dynamics of biocenosis was influenced by air temperature at the time of collection of the samples. A possibility of reproduction of coliform bacilli serving as one of the factors of autopurification of sewage during the biological purification was confirmed.
Optimal Size for Maximal Energy Efficiency in Information Processing of Biological Systems Due to Bistability
Zhang, Chi; Wang, Long-Fei; Yue, Yuan; Yu, Lian-Chun
Energy efficiency is closely related to the evolution of biological systems and is important to their information processing. In this paper, we calculated the excitation probability of a simple model of a bistable biological unit in response to pulsatile inputs, and its spontaneous excitation rate due to noise perturbation. Then we analytically calculated the mutual information, energy cost, and energy efficiency of an array of these bistable units. We found that the optimal number of units could maximize this array's energy efficiency in encoding pulse inputs, which depends on the fixed energy cost. We conclude that demand for energy efficiency in biological systems may strongly influence the size of these systems under the pressure of natural selection.
Biological Production in Lakes. Physical Processes in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems, Ecological Processes.
Walters, R. A.; Carey, G. F.
These materials were designed to be used by life science students for instruction in the application of physical theory to ecosystem operation. Most modules contain computer programs which are built around a particular application of a physical process. Primary production in aquatic ecosystems is carried out by phytoplankton, microscopic plants…
The Influence of Nanoadditives on the Biological Properties and Chemical Composition of Process Fluids
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Borůvková K.
Full Text Available In this study process fluids were tested after the addition of nanoparticles. Cooling and lubricating process fluids are used in machining to reduce wear on tools, to increase machine performance and to improve product quality. The use of process fluids leads to their pollution and contamination. Nanoparticles were added to the process fluids in order to increase their antibacterial activity. The selected nanoparticles were nanoparticles of metallic silver. The process fluids were modified by the addition of silver nitrate and ascorbic acid. Reduction of silver nanoparticles in the volume of the fluid was achieved using UV. The modified fluids were tested for their cytotoxicity and changes in chemical composition. The cytotoxicity of process fluids was tested for the purpose of verifying whether the process fluids, which are in direct contact with the skin of the operator, affect the health of the operator. The cytotoxicity of the process fluids was tested on human fibroblast cells. Fibroblasts are the basic cells of fibrous tissue. The cytotoxicity was tested by measuring the cell viability and using XTT. Analysis of chemical composition was performed for the purpose of determining the individual substances in the process fluids and their chemical stability. Qualitative analysis of the process fluids was performed using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC - MS.
Group processing in an undergraduate biology course for preservice teachers: Experiences and attitudes
Schellenberger, Lauren Brownback
Group processing is a key principle of cooperative learning in which small groups discuss their strengths and weaknesses and set group goals or norms. However, group processing has not been well-studied at the post-secondary level or from a qualitative or mixed methods perspective. This mixed methods study uses a phenomenological framework to examine the experience of group processing for students in an undergraduate biology course for preservice teachers. The effect of group processing on students' attitudes toward future group work and group processing is also examined. Additionally, this research investigated preservice teachers' plans for incorporating group processing into future lessons. Students primarily experienced group processing as a time to reflect on past performance. Also, students experienced group processing as a time to increase communication among group members and become motivated for future group assignments. Three factors directly influenced students' experiences with group processing: (1) previous experience with group work, (2) instructor interaction, and (3) gender. Survey data indicated that group processing had a slight positive effect on students' attitudes toward future group work and group processing. Participants who were interviewed felt that group processing was an important part of group work and that it had increased their group's effectiveness as well as their ability to work effectively with other people. Participants held positive views on group work prior to engaging in group processing, and group processing did not alter their atittude toward group work. Preservice teachers who were interviewed planned to use group work and a modified group processing protocol in their future classrooms. They also felt that group processing had prepared them for their future professions by modeling effective collaboration and group skills. Based on this research, a new model for group processing has been created which includes extensive
Biologically inspired large scale chemical sensor arrays and embedded data processing
Marco, S.; Gutiérrez-Gálvez, A.; Lansner, A.; Martinez, D.; Rospars, J. P.; Beccherelli, R.; Perera, A.; Pearce, T.; Vershure, P.; Persaud, K.
Biological olfaction outperforms chemical instrumentation in specificity, response time, detection limit, coding capacity, time stability, robustness, size, power consumption, and portability. This biological function provides outstanding performance due, to a large extent, to the unique architecture of the olfactory pathway, which combines a high degree of redundancy, an efficient combinatorial coding along with unmatched chemical information processing mechanisms. The last decade has witnessed important advances in the understanding of the computational primitives underlying the functioning of the olfactory system. EU Funded Project NEUROCHEM (Bio-ICT-FET- 216916) has developed novel computing paradigms and biologically motivated artefacts for chemical sensing taking inspiration from the biological olfactory pathway. To demonstrate this approach, a biomimetic demonstrator has been built featuring a large scale sensor array (65K elements) in conducting polymer technology mimicking the olfactory receptor neuron layer, and abstracted biomimetic algorithms have been implemented in an embedded system that interfaces the chemical sensors. The embedded system integrates computational models of the main anatomic building blocks in the olfactory pathway: the olfactory bulb, and olfactory cortex in vertebrates (alternatively, antennal lobe and mushroom bodies in the insect). For implementation in the embedded processor an abstraction phase has been carried out in which their processing capabilities are captured by algorithmic solutions. Finally, the algorithmic models are tested with an odour robot with navigation capabilities in mixed chemical plumes
The neurophysiology of human biological motion processing: a high-density electrical mapping study.
Krakowski, Aaron I; Ross, Lars A; Snyder, Adam C; Sehatpour, Pejman; Kelly, Simon P; Foxe, John J
The neural processing of biological motion (BM) is of profound experimental interest since it is often through the movement of another that we interpret their immediate intentions. Neuroimaging points to a specialized cortical network for processing biological motion. Here, high-density electrical mapping and source-analysis techniques were employed to interrogate the timing of information processing across this network. Participants viewed point-light-displays depicting standard body movements (e.g. jumping), while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded and compared to ERPs to scrambled motion control stimuli. In a pair of experiments, three major phases of BM-specific processing were identified: 1) The earliest phase of BM-sensitive modulation was characterized by a positive shift of the ERP between 100 and 200 ms after stimulus onset. This modulation was observed exclusively over the right hemisphere and source-analysis suggested a likely generator in close proximity to regions associated with general motion processing (KO/hMT). 2) The second phase of BM-sensitivity occurred from 200 to 350 ms, characterized by a robust negative-going ERP modulation over posterior middle temporal regions bilaterally. Source-analysis pointed to bilateral generators at or near the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS). 3) A third phase of processing was evident only in our second experiment, where participants actively attended the BM aspect of the stimuli, and was manifest as a centro-parietal positive ERP deflection, likely related to later cognitive processes. These results point to very early sensory registration of biological motion, and highlight the interactive role of the posterior STS in analyzing the movements of other living organisms. PMID:21276862
Biological treatment of fish processing wastewater: A case study from Sfax City (Southeastern Tunisia).
Jemli, Meryem; Karray, Fatma; Feki, Firas; Loukil, Slim; Mhiri, Najla; Aloui, Fathi; Sayadi, Sami
The present work presents a study of the biological treatment of fish processing wastewater at salt concentration of 55 g/L. Wastewater was treated by both continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) during 50 and 100 days, respectively. These biological processes involved salt-tolerant bacteria from natural hypersaline environments at different organic loading rates (OLRs). The phylogenetic analysis of the corresponding excised DGGE bands has demonstrated that the taxonomic affiliation of the most dominant species includes Halomonadaceae and Flavobacteriaceae families of the Proteobacteria (Gamma-proteobacteria class) and the Bacteroidetes phyla, respectively. The results of MBR were better than those of CSTR in the removal of total organic carbon with efficiencies from 97.9% to 98.6%. Nevertheless, salinity with increasing OLR aggravates fouling that requires more cleaning for a membrane in MBR while leads to deterioration of sludge settleability and effluent quality in CSTR.
Marketing the use of the space environment for the processing of biological and pharmaceutical materials
The perceptions of U.S. biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies concerning the potential use of the space environment for the processing of biological substances was examined. Physical phenomena that may be important in space-base processing of biological materials are identified and discussed in the context of past and current experiment programs. The capabilities of NASA to support future research and development, and to engage in cooperative risk sharing programs with industry are discussed. Meetings were held with several biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to provide data for an analysis of the attitudes and perceptions of these industries toward the use of the space environment. Recommendations are made for actions that might be taken by NASA to facilitate the marketing of the use of the space environment, and in particular the Space Shuttle, to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
Sensory processing sensitivity: a review in the light of the evolution of biological responsivity.
Aron, Elaine N; Aron, Arthur; Jagiellowicz, Jadzia
This article reviews the literature on sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) in light of growing evidence from evolutionary biology that many personality differences in nonhuman species involve being more or less responsive, reactive, flexible, or sensitive to the environment. After briefly defining SPS, it first discusses how biologists studying animal personality have conceptualized this general environmental sensitivity. Second, it reviews relevant previous human personality/temperament work, focusing on crossover interactions (where a trait generates positive or negative outcomes depending on the environment), and traits relevant to specific hypothesized aspects of SPS: inhibition of behavior, sensitivity to stimuli, depth of processing, and emotional/physiological reactivity. Third, it reviews support for the overall SPS model, focusing on development of the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) Scale as a measure of SPS then on neuroimaging and genetic studies using the scale, all of which bears on the extent to which SPS in humans corresponds to biological responsivity.
HRI catalytic two-stage liquefaction (CTSL) process materials: chemical analysis and biological testing
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Wright, C.W.; Later, D.W.
This report presents data from the chemical analysis and biological testing of coal liquefaction materials obtained from the Hydrocarbon Research, Incorporated (HRI) catalytic two-stage liquefaction (CTSL) process. Materials from both an experimental run and a 25-day demonstration run were analyzed. Chemical methods of analysis included adsorption column chromatography, high-resolution gas chromatography, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, low-voltage probe-inlet mass spectrometry, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The biological activity was evaluated using the standard microbial mutagenicity assay and an initiation/promotion assay for mouse-skin tumorigenicity. Where applicable, the results obtained from the analyses of the CTSL materials have been compared to those obtained from the integrated and nonintegrated two-stage coal liquefaction processes. 18 refs., 26 figs., 22 tabs.
A Comparative Study of the Bacterial Community in Denitrifying and Traditional Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal Processes
Lv, Xiao-Mei; Shao, Ming-Fei; Li, Chao-Lin; Li, Ji; Gao, Xin-lei; Sun, Fei-Yun
Denitrifying phosphorus removal is an attractive wastewater treatment process due to its reduced carbon source demand and sludge minimization potential. Two lab-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were operated in alternating anaerobic-anoxic (A-A) or anaerobic-oxic (A-O) conditions to achieve denitrifying enhanced biological phosphate removal (EBPR) and traditional EBPR. No significant differences were observed in phosphorus removal efficiencies between A-A SBR and A-O SBR, with phosphoru...
'TISUCROMA': A Software for Color Processing of Biological Tissue's Images
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
In this work a software intended to plot and analyze digital image RGB histograms from normal and abnormal regions of biological tissue. The obtained RGB histograms from each zone can be used to show the image in only one color or the mixture of some of them. The Software was developed in Lab View to process the images in a laptop. Some medical application examples are shown. (Author)
Diurnal rhythmicity in biological processes involved in bioavailability of functional food factors
Tsurusaki, Takashi; Sakakibara, Hiroyuki; Aoshima, Yoshiki; Yamazaki, Shunsuke; Sakono, Masanobu; Shimoi, Kayoko
In the past few decades, many types of functional factors have been identified in dietary foods; for example, flavonoids are major groups widely distributed in the plant kingdom. However, the absorption rates of the functional food factors are usually low, and many of these are difficult to be absorbed in the intact forms because of metabolization by biological processes during absorption. To gain adequate beneficial effects, it is therefore mandatory to know whether functional food factors a...
Influence of physical and chemical factors on biological leaching process of copper from printed circuit boards
Willner, J
The article presents the results of the research regarding the biological leaching of this metal from electronic wastes components in the form of printed circuit boards. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the influence of some physical and chemical factors (e.g. pH, oxidation-reduction potential) on bioleaching process and efficiency of copper transfer from solid phase into solution. Bioleaching experiments were carried out with pure cultures of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. The obtai...
Intended process water management concept for the mechanical biological treatment of municipal solid waste
D. Weichgrebe; S. Maerker; T. Böning; H. Stegemann
Accumulating operational experience in both aerobic and anaerobic mechanical biological waste treatment (MBT) makes it increasingly obvious that controlled water management would substantially reduce the cost of MBT and also enhance resource recovery of the organic and inorganic fraction. The MBT plant at Gescher, Germany, is used as an example in order to determine the quantity and composition of process water and leachates from intensive and subsequent rotting, pressing water from anaerobic...
Reduction of Biological Sludge Production Applying an Alternating Oxic/anoxic Process in Water Line.
Eusebi, Anna Laura; Panigutti, Maximiliano; Battistoni, Paolo
Alternating oxic/anoxic process, applied for the main objective of the improvement of nitrogen performances, was studied in terms of secondary effect of biomass reduction. The process was carried out in one real water resource recovery facility and the data were compared with the previous conventional period when a conventional process was adopted. The main mechanism of the process for the sludge minimization is recognized in the metabolic uncoupling. In fact, an increase of the specific oxygen uptake rate in the biological reactor was recorded stimulated by the change of the oxidation reduction potential environment. Moreover, the heterotrophic growth yield was measured equal to 0.385 kgVSS/kgCOD. The global percentage of reduction was tested with the mass balance of solids. The process is able to decrease the observed sludge yield up to 20%. The specific energy consumption was evaluated.
Reduction of Biological Sludge Production Applying an Alternating Oxic/anoxic Process in Water Line.
Eusebi, Anna Laura; Panigutti, Maximiliano; Battistoni, Paolo
Alternating oxic/anoxic process, applied for the main objective of the improvement of nitrogen performances, was studied in terms of secondary effect of biomass reduction. The process was carried out in one real water resource recovery facility and the data were compared with the previous conventional period when a conventional process was adopted. The main mechanism of the process for the sludge minimization is recognized in the metabolic uncoupling. In fact, an increase of the specific oxygen uptake rate in the biological reactor was recorded stimulated by the change of the oxidation reduction potential environment. Moreover, the heterotrophic growth yield was measured equal to 0.385 kgVSS/kgCOD. The global percentage of reduction was tested with the mass balance of solids. The process is able to decrease the observed sludge yield up to 20%. The specific energy consumption was evaluated. PMID:27225780
Telemetry System of Biological Parameters
The mobile telemetry system of biological parameters serves for reading and wireless data transfer of measured values of selected biological parameters to an outlying computer. It concerns basically long time monitoring of vital function of car pilot.The goal of this projects is to propose mobile telemetry system for reading, wireless transfer and processing of biological parameters of car pilot during physical and psychical stress. It has to be made with respect to minimal consum...
Determination of Biological Treatability Processes of Textile Wastewater and Implementation of a Fuzzy Logic Model
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Harun Akif Kabuk
Full Text Available This study investigated the biological treatability of textile wastewater. For this purpose, a membrane bioreactor (MBR was utilized for biological treatment after the ozonation process. Due to the refractory organic contents of textile wastewater that has a low biodegradability capacity, ozonation was implemented as an advanced oxidation process prior to the MBR system to increase the biodegradability of the wastewater. Textile wastewater, oxidized by ozonation, was fed to the MBR at different hydraulic retention times (HRT. During the process, color, chemical oxygen demand (COD, and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD removal efficiencies were monitored for 24-hour, 12-hour, 6-hour, and 3-hour retention times. Under these conditions, 94% color, 65% COD, and 55% BOD removal efficiencies were obtained in the MBR system. The experimental outputs were modeled with multiple linear regressions (MLR and fuzzy logic. MLR results suggested that color removal is more related to COD removal relative to BOD removal. A surface map of this issue was prepared with a fuzzy logic model. Furthermore, fuzzy logic was employed to the whole modeling of the biological system treatment. Determination coefficients for COD, BOD, and color removal efficiencies were 0.96, 0.97, and 0.92, respectively.
Effects of Basicity and MgO in Slag on the Behaviors of Smelting Vanadium Titanomagnetite in the Direct Reduction-Electric Furnace Process
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tao Jiang
Full Text Available The effects of basicity and MgO content on reduction behavior and separation of iron and slag during smelting vanadium titanomagnetite by electric furnace were investigated. The reduction behaviors affect the separation of iron and slag in the direct reduction-electric furnace process. The recovery rates of Fe, V, and Ti grades in iron were analyzed to determine the effects of basicity and MgO content on the reduction of iron oxides, vanadium oxides, and titanium oxides. The chemical compositions of vanadium-bearing iron and main phases of titanium slag were detected by XRF and XRD, respectively. The results show that the higher level of basicity is beneficial to the reduction ofiron oxides and vanadium oxides, and titanium content dropped in molten iron with the increasing basicity. As the content of MgO increased, the recovery rate of Fe increased slightly but the recovery rate of V increased considerably. The grades of Ti in molten iron were at a low level without significant change when MgO content was below 11%, but increased as MgO content increased to 12.75%. The optimum conditions for smelting vanadium titanomagnetite were about 11.38% content of MgO and quaternary basicity was about 1.10. The product, vanadium-bearing iron, can be applied in the converter steelmaking process, and titanium slag containing 50.34% TiO2 can be used by the acid leaching method.
Mineral CO2 sequestration in basalts and ultra-basic rocks: impact of secondary silicated phases on the carbonation process
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The formation of carbonates constitutes a stable option for carbon dioxide (CO2) geological sequestration, and is prone to play a significant role in reducing emissions of anthropic origin. However, our comprehension of the carbonation mechanism, as well as of the kinetics limitations encountered during this chemical reaction, remains poorly developed. Though there is a large number of studies focusing on the dissolution kinetics of basic silicates and on the precipitation of carbonates, few have inquired about the impact that the formation of non-carbonated secondary phases can have on these reaction's kinetics. It is the approach chosen here, as only solid knowledge of the global carbonation mechanism can make this process predictive and efficient. Experimental data on dissolution and carbonation have therefore been determined in batch reactors, on relevant minerals and rocks. Firstly, we studied the carbonation of olivine (a major phase within peridotites and minor within basalts) at 90 deg. C and under pCO2 of 280 bars. The dissolution of San Carlos olivine (Mg1.76Fe0.24SiO4) is slowed down by the formation of a surface silica gel, when the fluid reaches equilibrium with amorphous silica. The transport of species to the reactive medium becomes the limiting step of the process, slowing down the dissolution process of San Carlos olivine by 5 orders of magnitude. However, this passivation doesn't occur during the alteration of Ca-olivine (Ca2SiO4), though a surface silica layer does form. This comparison suggests that it isn't the structure of the silicate but its chemical composition, which controls the transport properties through the interfacial layer. The second part explores the effects of organic ligands and of temperature variations on the formation of those phases. The addition of citrate at 90 deg. C increases the kinetics of San Carlos olivine by one order of magnitude, and allows the release of enough Mg in the aqueous medium to form carbonates, before
Ashen, R A
BASIC Electrotechnology discusses the applications of Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (BASIC) in engineering, particularly in solving electrotechnology-related problems. The book is comprised of six chapters that cover several topics relevant to BASIC and electrotechnology. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to BASIC, and Chapter 2 talks about the use of complex numbers in a.c. circuit analysis. Chapter 3 covers linear circuit analysis with d.c. and sinusoidal a.c. supplies. The book also discusses the elementary magnetic circuit theory. The theory and performance of two windi
Preliminary degradation process study of infectious biological waste in a 5 k W thermal plasma equipment
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
This work is a preliminary study of infectious biological waste degradation process by thermal plasma and was made in Thermal Plasma Applications Laboratory of Environmental Studies Department of the National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ). Infectious biological waste degradation process is realized by using samples such polyethylene, cotton, glass, etc., but the present study scope is to analyze polyethylene degradation process with mass and energy balances involved. Degradation method is realized as follow: a polyethylene sample is put in an appropriated crucible localized inside a pyrolysis reactor chamber, the plasma jet is projected to the sample, by the pyrolysis phenomena the sample is degraded into its constitutive particles: carbon and hydrogen. Air was utilized as a recombination gas in order to obtain the higher percent of CO2 if amount of O2 is greater in the recombination gas, the CO generation is reduced. The effluent gases of exhaust pyrolysis reactor through are passed through a heat exchanger to get cooled gases, the temperature water used is 15 Centigrade degrees. Finally the gases was tried into absorption tower with water as an absorbent fluid. Thermal plasma degradation process is a very promising technology, but is necessary to develop engineering process area to avail all advantages of thermal plasma. (Author)
Reclaimation of petroleum-based wastewater by noval ozone immobilized biological activated carbon process
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Wastewater reclamation in the petroleum industries in Northern China is important because of the shortage of water resource. Conventional treatment technology used in treating petroleum-based wastewater,namely the 3-phase biological process, typically removes COD, BOD, grease, volatile hydrobenzenes, cyanides, sulfides and suspended solids. However, the process is often ineffective in ammonia-nitrogen removal,and thus the treated effluent quantity can't meet the required standards for reuse. This paper investigated a novel ozone immobilized biological activated carbon (O3-IBAC) process for ammonia nitrogen removal from petroleum-based wastewater. Operated at a HRT (Hydraulic Retention Time) of 15 minutes in IBAC1 and 27 minutes in IBAC2, the O3-IBAC process achieved ammonia nitrogen removal efficiency of 91%. In addition, the removal efficiencies of COD, volatile hydrobenzenes, suspended solids, turbidity and petroleum-based micropollutants were all above 90%. Competition between the autotrophs and heterotrophs was observed, which was indicated by an increase of ammonia nitrogen removal with a decrease of COD removal, and vise versa. Nitrite accumulation in IBAC1 followed by erobic shortcut denitrification in IBAC2 led to 28% of the Total Nitrogen removal efficiency. Pollutant reduction in the IBAC process was achieved by a rapid physical adsorption and biodegradation on the activated carbon, which effectively retained the pollutants in the system despite the short hydraulic retention time.
Basic Need Satisfaction and Identity Formation: Bridging Self-Determination Theory and Process-Oriented Identity Research
Luyckx, Koen; Vansteenkiste, Maarten; Goossens, Luc; Duriez, Bart
The fulfillment of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness as postulated within self-determination theory was hypothesized to play an energizing role in identity formation, conceptualized as multiple dimensions of exploration and commitment. Two studies among high school and college students (N = 714) were conducted…
Open Markov processes: A compositional perspective on non-equilibrium steady states in biology
Pollard, Blake S
In recent work, Baez, Fong and the author introduced a framework for describing Markov processes equipped with a detailed balanced equilibrium as open systems of a certain type. These `open Markov processes' serve as the building blocks for more complicated processes. In this paper, we describe the potential application of this framework in the modeling of biological systems as open systems maintained away from equilibrium. We show that non-equilibrium steady states emerge in open systems of this type, even when the rates of the underlying process are such that a detailed balanced equilibrium is permitted. It is shown that these non-equilibrium steady states minimize a quadratic form which we call `dissipation.' In some circumstances, the dissipation is approximately equal to the rate of change of relative entropy plus a correction term. On the other hand, Prigogine's principle of minimum entropy production generally fails for non-equilibrium steady states. We use a simple model of membrane transport to illus...
Biodrying for mechanical-biological treatment of wastes: a review of process science and engineering.
Velis, C A; Longhurst, P J; Drew, G H; Smith, R; Pollard, S J T
Biodrying is a variation of aerobic decomposition, used within mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) plants to dry and partially stabilise residual municipal waste. Biodrying MBT plants can produce a high quality solid recovered fuel (SRF), high in biomass content. Here, process objectives, operating principles, reactor designs, parameters for process monitoring and control, and their effect on biodried output quality are critically examined. Within the biodrying reactors, waste is dried by air convection, the necessary heat provided by exothermic decomposition of the readily decomposable waste fraction. Biodrying is distinct from composting in attempting to dry and preserve most of biomass content of the waste matrix, rather than fully stabilise it. Commercial process cycles are completed within 7-15 days, with mostly H(2)O((g)) and CO(2) loses of ca. 25-30% w/w, leading to moisture contents of MBT process operators, regulators and end-users of SRF. PMID:19216072
Full Text Available ... pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Brain Basics in Real Life Brain Basics in Real Life—How Depression affects the Brain Meet Sarah Sarah ... having trouble coping with the stresses in her life. She began to think of suicide because she ...
Full Text Available ... Basics in Real Life Brain Basics in Real Life—How Depression affects the Brain Meet Sarah Sarah is a middle-aged woman who seemed to have it all. She was happily married and successful in business. Then, after a serious setback at work, she lost interest ...
Survey of biological processes for odor reduction; Kartlaeggning och studie av biologiska processer foer luktreduktion
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Arrhenius, Karine; Rosell, Lars [SP Technical Research Inst. of Sweden, Boraas (Sweden); Hall, Gunnar [SIK Swedish Inst. for Food and Biotechnology, Gothenburg (Sweden)
This project aims to characterize chemical and subsequently odor emissions from a digester plant located closed to Boraas in Sweden (Boraas Energi och Miljoe AB). The digestion produces mainly 2 by-products, biogas and high quality organic biofertilizer. Biogas is a renewable source of electrical and heat energy and subsequently digester have a promising future. Unfortunately, release of unpleasant odours is one of the problems that may limit development of the technique as odours strongly influence the level of acceptance of the neighbours. The number of complaints due to odours depends mostly, upon the degree of odour release, the weather condition and plant environment (which influence the risks for spreading out), and the tolerance of the neighbours. These parameters are strongly variable. Many processes inside the plant distributed on a large surface may contribute to odour release. Chemical emissions were studied, in this project, by extensive sampling inside the plant. Results were then evaluated regarding risk for odour releases. The goal was to suggest controls and routines to limit releases. The conditions leading to the higher risks for odour emissions were studied by performing sampling at different periods of the year and subsequently different weather conditions. At first, places for measurement were chosen together with personal of the plant. Three zones are considered to mainly contribute to the odour emissions: the landfill region, the cisterns region and the leaching lake region. Totally 13 places were studied with regard to odour and chemical emissions under 2008-2009 at different weather conditions. Some results from a previous project (2007) are also presented here. Results show that the spreading out of can be maintained to an acceptable level as long as the plant is functioning without disturbances. The early stages of the treatment of waste should be confined in locals with closed doors to avoid spreading out of odours. Through controlled
State of the art of biological processes for coal gasification wastewater treatment.
Zhao, Qian; Liu, Yu
The treatment of coal gasification wastewater (CGW) poses a serious challenge on the sustainable development of the global coal industry. The CGW contains a broad spectrum of high-strength recalcitrant substances, including phenolic, monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic nitrogenous compounds and long chain aliphatic hydrocarbon. So far, biological treatment of CGW has been considered as an environment-friendly and cost-effective method compared to physiochemical approaches. Thus, this reviews aims to provide a comprehensive picture of state of the art of biological processes for treating CGW wastewater, while the possible biodegradation mechanisms of toxic and refractory organic substances were also elaborated together with microbial community involved. Discussion was further extended to advanced bioprocesses to tackle high-concentration ammonia and possible options towards in-plant zero liquid discharge. PMID:27364381
Removal of disinfection by-products formation potential by biologically intensified process
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
AN Dong; LI Wei-guang; CUI Fu-yi; HE Xin; ZHANG Jin-song
The removal of disinfection by-products formation potential(DBPFP) in artificially intensified biological activated carbon(IBAC) process which is developed on the basis of traditional ozone granular activated carbon was evaluated. By IBAC removals of 31% and 68% for THMFP and HAAFP were obtained respectively. Under identical conditions, the removals of the same substances were 4% and 32% respectively only by the granular activated carbon(GAC) process. Compared with GAC, the high removal rates of the two formed potential substances were due to the increasing of bioactivity of the media and the synergistic capabilities of biological degradation cooperating with activated carbon adsorption of organic compounds. A clear linear correlation ( R2 = 0.9562 and R2 = 0.9007) between DOC HAAFP removal rate and Empty Bed Contact Time(EBCT) of IBAC process was observed, while that between THMFP removal rate and EBCT of GAC was R2 = 0.9782. In addition certain linear correlations between THMFP, HAAFP and UV254 ( R2 = 0.855 and R2 = 0.7702) were found for the treated water. For IBAC process there are also more advantages such as long backwashing cycle time, low backwashing intensity and prolonging activated carbon lifetime and so on.
Is biological treatment a viable alternative for micropollutant removal in drinking water treatment processes?
Benner, Jessica; Helbling, Damian E; Kohler, Hans-Peter E; Wittebol, Janneke; Kaiser, Elena; Prasse, Carsten; Ternes, Thomas A; Albers, Christian N; Aamand, Jens; Horemans, Benjamin; Springael, Dirk; Walravens, Eddy; Boon, Nico
In western societies, clean and safe drinking water is often taken for granted, but there are threats to drinking water resources that should not be underestimated. Contamination of drinking water sources by anthropogenic chemicals is one threat that is particularly widespread in industrialized nations. Recently, a significant amount of attention has been given to the occurrence of micropollutants in the urban water cycle. Micropollutants are bioactive and/or persistent chemicals originating from diverse sources that are frequently detected in water resources in the pg/L to μg/L range. The aim of this review is to critically evaluate the viability of biological treatment processes as a means to remove micropollutants from drinking water resources. We first place the micropollutant problem in context by providing a comprehensive summary of the reported occurrence of micropollutants in raw water used directly for drinking water production and in finished drinking water. We then present a critical discussion on conventional and advanced drinking water treatment processes and their contribution to micropollutant removal. Finally, we propose biological treatment and bioaugmentation as a potential targeted, cost-effective, and sustainable alternative to existing processes while critically examining the technical limitations and scientific challenges that need to be addressed prior to implementation. This review will serve as a valuable source of data and literature for water utilities, water researchers, policy makers, and environmental consultants. Meanwhile this review will open the door to meaningful discussion on the feasibility and application of biological treatment and bioaugmentation in drinking water treatment processes to protect the public from exposure to micropollutants. PMID:24053940
Kinetic analysis of enhanced biological phosphorus removal in a hybrid integrated fixed film activated sludge process
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hybrid integrated fixed film activated sludge is a promising process for the enhancement of nitrification, denitrification and phosphorus removal in conventional activated sludge systems that can be used for upgrading biological nutrient removal, particularly when they have space limitations or need modifications that will require large monetary expenses. In this research, successful implementation of hybrid integrated fixed film activated sludge process at temperate zone wastewater treatment facilities has been studied by the placement of fixed film media into aerobic, anaerobic and anoxic zones. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the incorporation of enhanced biological phosphorus removal into hybrid integrated fixed film activated sludge systems and study the interactions between the fixed biomass and the mixed liquor suspended solids with respect to substrate competition and nutrient removal efficiencies. A pilot-scale anaerobic-anoxic-oxic configuration system was used. The system was operated at different mean cell residence times and influent chemical oxygen demand/total phosphorus ratios and with split influent flows. The experimental results confirmed that enhanced biological phosphorus removal could be incorporated successfully into hybrid integrated fixed film activated sludge system, but the redistribution of biomass resulting from the integration of fixed film media and the competition of organic substrate between enhanced biological phosphorus removal and denitrification would affect performances. Also, kinetic analysis of the reactor with regarding to phosphorus removal has been studied with different kinetic models and consequently the modified Stover-Kincannon kinetic model has been chosen for modeling studies and experimental data analysis of the hybrid integrated fixed film activated sludge reactor
Smith, P D
BASIC Hydraulics aims to help students both to become proficient in the BASIC programming language by actually using the language in an important field of engineering and to use computing as a means of mastering the subject of hydraulics. The book begins with a summary of the technique of computing in BASIC together with comments and listing of the main commands and statements. Subsequent chapters introduce the fundamental concepts and appropriate governing equations. Topics covered include principles of fluid mechanics; flow in pipes, pipe networks and open channels; hydraulic machinery;
Treatment of Slightly Polluted Wastewater in an Oil Refinery Using a Biological Aerated Filter Process
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
XIE Wenyu; ZHONG Li; CHEN Jianjun
The slightly polluted wastewater from oil refinery contains some COD, oil pollutants and suspended solids (SS). A small-scale fixed film biological aerated filter (BAF) process was used to treat the wastewater. The influences of hydraulic retention time (HRT), air/water volume flow ratio and backwashing cycle on treatment efficiencies were investigated. The wastewater was treated by the BAF process under optimal conditions: the HRT of backwashing cycle of every 4-7 days. The results showed that the average removal efficiency of COD, oil pollutants and SS was 84.5%, 94.0% and 83.4%, respectively. And the average effluent concentration of COD, oil pollutants and SS was 12.5, 0.27, 14.5the BAF process is a suitable and highly efficient method to treat the wastewater.
Intended process water management concept for the mechanical biological treatment of municipal solid waste
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
D. Weichgrebe; S. Maerker; T. Boning; H. Stegemann
Accumulating operational experience in both aerobic and anaerobic mechanical biological waste treatment (MBT) makes it increasingly obvious that controlled water management would substantially reduce the cost of MBT and also enhance resource recovery of the organic and inorganic fraction. The MBT plant at Gescher, Germany, is used as an example in order to determine the quantity and composition of process water and leachates from intensive and subsequent rotting, pressing water from anaerobic digestion and scrubber water from acid exhaust air treatment, and hence prepare an MBT water balance. The potential of, requirements for and limits to internal process water reuse as well as the possibilities of resource recovery from scrubber water are also examined. Finally, an assimilated process water management concept with the purpose of an extensive reduction of wastewater quantity and freshwater demand is presented.
Intended process water management concept for the mechanical biological treatment of municipal solid waste
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
D. Weichgrebe
Full Text Available Accumulating operational experience in both aerobic and anaerobic mechanical biological waste treatment (MBT makes it increasingly obvious that controlled water management would substantially reduce the cost of MBT and also enhance resource recovery of the organic and inorganic fraction. The MBT plant at Gescher, Germany, is used as an example in order to determine the quantity and composition of process water and leachates from intensive and subsequent rotting, pressing water from anaerobic digestion and scrubber water from acid exhaust air treatment, and hence prepare an MBT water balance. The potential of, requirements for and limits to internal process water reuse as well as the possibilities of resource recovery from scrubber water are also examined. Finally, an assimilated process water management concept with the purpose of an extensive reduction of wastewater quantity and freshwater demand is presented.
Removal of hydrogen sulfide from gas streams using biological processes : a review
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Syed, M.; Soreanu, G.; Falletta, P.; Beland, M. [Environment Canada, Burlington, ON (Canada). Wastewater Technology Centre
Hydrogen sulfide (H{sub 2}S) is produced by the anaerobic digestion of biosolids and other organic materials, and can be corrosive to internal combustion engines. This study investigated biological H{sub 2}S removal processes with the aim of overcoming the chemical and disposal costs associated with existing chemically-based removal processes. Current biological H{sub 2}S removal processes were reviewed, and research needs for potential process improvements were identified. Processes included photoautotrophs; chemotrophs; bioreactors for H{sub 2}S removal involving phototrophic bacteria; continuous-flow reactors; phototube reactors; gas-fed batch reactors; bioscrubbers; biofilters; and biotrickling filters. Results of the review suggested that the preferred treatment method for H{sub 2}S gas containing streams depended on the source of the gas. In the case of H{sub 2}S in biogas, anaerobic methods involving phototrophic bacteria provided the inherent advantage of maintaining the anaerobic nature of the gas. Cholorobium limicola was recommended as a desirable bacterium due to its growth using inorganic substrates, its efficiency at converting sulfide to elemental sulfur, and its extracellular production of elemental sulfur. Fixed-film reactors had the greatest potential for cost-effective sulfide conversion. It was noted that light supply is one of the key cost components in the process and poses a major constraint. It was concluded that future research should focus on the development and use of energy efficient LEDs and the proper use of sunlight and reflectors to minimize the electrical energy use. 73 refs., 5 tabs., 5 figs.
Nanomaterial processing using self-assembly-bottom-up chemical and biological approaches
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nanotechnology is touted as the next logical sequence in technological evolution. This has led to a substantial surge in research activities pertaining to the development and fundamental understanding of processes and assembly at the nanoscale. Both top-down and bottom-up fabrication approaches may be used to realize a range of well-defined nanostructured materials with desirable physical and chemical attributes. Among these, the bottom-up self-assembly process offers the most realistic solution toward the fabrication of next-generation functional materials and devices. Here, we present a comprehensive review on the physical basis behind self-assembly and the processes reported in recent years to direct the assembly of nanoscale functional blocks into hierarchically ordered structures. This paper emphasizes assembly in the synthetic domain as well in the biological domain, underscoring the importance of biomimetic approaches toward novel materials. In particular, two important classes of directed self-assembly, namely, (i) self-assembly among nanoparticle–polymer systems and (ii) external field-guided assembly are highlighted. The spontaneous self-assembling behavior observed in nature that leads to complex, multifunctional, hierarchical structures within biological systems is also discussed in this review. Recent research undertaken to synthesize hierarchically assembled functional materials have underscored the need as well as the benefits harvested in synergistically combining top-down fabrication methods with bottom-up self-assembly. (review article)
Combination of Advanced Oxidation Processes and biological treatments for wastewater decontamination-A review
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nowadays there is a continuously increasing worldwide concern for development of alternative water reuse technologies, mainly focused on agriculture and industry. In this context, Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) are considered a highly competitive water treatment technology for the removal of those organic pollutants not treatable by conventional techniques due to their high chemical stability and/or low biodegradability. Although chemical oxidation for complete mineralization is usually expensive, its combination with a biological treatment is widely reported to reduce operating costs. This paper reviews recent research combining AOPs (as a pre-treatment or post-treatment stage) and bioremediation technologies for the decontamination of a wide range of synthetic and real industrial wastewater. Special emphasis is also placed on recent studies and large-scale combination schemes developed in Mediterranean countries for non-biodegradable wastewater treatment and reuse. The main conclusions arrived at from the overall assessment of the literature are that more work needs to be done on degradation kinetics and reactor modeling of the combined process, and also dynamics of the initial attack on primary contaminants and intermediate species generation. Furthermore, better economic models must be developed to estimate how the cost of this combined process varies with specific industrial wastewater characteristics, the overall decontamination efficiency and the relative cost of the AOP versus biological treatment.
Physicochemical and porosity characteristics of thermally regenerated activated carbon polluted with biological activated carbon process.
Dong, Lihua; Liu, Wenjun; Jiang, Renfu; Wang, Zhansheng
The characteristics of thermally regenerated activated carbon (AC) polluted with biological activated carbon (BAC) process were investigated. The results showed that the true micropore and sub-micropore volume, pH value, bulk density, and hardness of regenerated AC decreased compared to the virgin AC, but the total pore volume increased. XPS analysis displayed that the ash contents of Al, Si, and Ca in the regenerated AC respectively increased by 3.83%, 2.62% and 1.8%. FTIR spectrum showed that the surface functional groups of virgin and regenerated AC did not change significantly. Pore size distributions indicated that the AC regeneration process resulted in the decrease of micropore and macropore (D>10 μm) volume and the increase of mesopore and macropore (0.1 μm
Reduction of overestimation in interval arithmetic simulation of biological wastewater treatment processes
Rauh, Andreas; Kletting, Marco; Aschemann, Harald; Hofer, Eberhard P.
A novel interval arithmetic simulation approach is introduced in order to evaluate the performance of biological wastewater treatment processes. Such processes are typically modeled as dynamical systems where the reaction kinetics appears as additive nonlinearity in state. In the calculation of guaranteed bounds of state variables uncertain parameters and uncertain initial conditions are considered. The recursive evaluation of such systems of nonlinear state equations yields overestimation of the state variables that is accumulating over the simulation time. To cope with this wrapping effect, innovative splitting and merging criteria based on a recursive uncertain linear transformation of the state variables are discussed. Additionally, re-approximation strategies for regions in the state space calculated by interval arithmetic techniques using disjoint subintervals improve the simulation quality significantly if these regions are described by several overlapping subintervals. This simulation approach is used to find a practical compromise between computational effort and simulation quality. It is pointed out how these splitting and merging algorithms can be combined with other methods that aim at the reduction of overestimation by applying consistency techniques. Simulation results are presented for a simplified reduced-order model of the reduction of organic matter in the activated sludge process of biological wastewater treatment.
Potential biological hazard of importance for HACCP plans in fresh fish processing
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Baltić Milan Ž.
Full Text Available The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP system is scientifically based and focused on problem prevention in order to assure the produced food products are safe to consume. Prerequisite programs such as GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices, GHP (Good Hygienic Practices are an essential foundation for the development and implementation of successful HACCP plans. One of the preliminary tasks in the development of HACCP plan is to conduct a hazard analysis. The process of conducting a hazard analysis involves two stages. The first is hazard identification and the second stage is the HACCP team decision which potential hazards must be addressed in the HACCP plan. By definition, the HACCP concept covers all types of potential food safety hazards: biological, chemical and physical, whether they are naturally occurring in the food, contributed by the environment or generated by a mistake in the manufacturing process. In raw fish processing, potential significant biological hazards which are reasonably likely to cause illness of humans are parasites (Trematodae, Nematodae, Cestodae, bacteria (Salmonella, E. coli, Vibrio parahemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificus, Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium botulinum, Staphyloccocus aureus, viruses (Norwalk virus, Entero virusesi, Hepatitis A, Rotovirus and bio-toxins. Upon completion of hazard analysis, any measure(s that are used to control the hazard(s should be described.
Current good manufacturing practice in plant automation of biological production processes.
Dorresteijn, R C; Wieten, G; van Santen, P T; Philippi, M C; de Gooijer, C D; Tramper, J; Beuvery, E C
The production of biologicals is subject to strict governmental regulations. These are drawn up in current good manufacturing practices (cGMP), a.o. by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. To implement cGMP in a production facility, plant automation becomes an essential tool. For this purpose Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) have been developed that control all operations inside a production facility. The introduction of these recipe-driven control systems that follow ISA S88 standards for batch processes has made it possible to implement cGMP regulations in the control strategy of biological production processes. Next to this, an MES offers additional features such as stock management, planning and routing tools, process-dependent control, implementation of software sensors and predictive models, application of historical data and on-line statistical techniques for trend analysis and detection of instrumentation failures. This paper focuses on the development of new production strategies in which cGMP guidelines are an essential part.
Coal cinder filtration as pretreatment with biological processes to treat pharmaceutical wastewater.
Zheng, Wei; Li, Xiao-ming; Hao, Zhi-ming; Wang, Dong-bo; Yang, Qi; Zeng, Guang-ming
This study aims at coupling coal cinder filter with biological process to improve pharmaceutical wastewater quality and reduce the disposal cost. In the coal cinder filter, the removal efficiencies of COD, BOD(5), SS and color were 90+/-2%, 72+/-2%, 95+/-2% and 80+/-2%, respectively. The results attribute to the big specific surface area and strong adsorption ability. Coal cinder filter removes a large portion of the pollutants in the influent wastewater, which would strongly stable the effluent waste water quality, and reduce the load of follow-up biological treatment process. The average removal efficiencies for COD, BOD(5), SS and color of the combined process were about 99.7+/-3%, 98.2+/-4%, 98.5+/-3% and 96.3+/-2%, respectively, with the average effluent quality of COD 16+/-1 mg/L, BOD(5) 11+/-1 mg/L, SS 10+/-0.6 mg/L and color 22+/-1 (multiple), which are consistent with the national requirements of the waste pollutants for pharmaceutical industry of chinese traditional medicine discharge standard (GB 21906-2008). The results indicated that the combined procedure could offer an attractive solution for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment with considerable low cost.
Full Text Available ... the anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of the nervous system. When the brain cannot effectively coordinate the billions ... basic working unit of the brain and nervous system. These cells are highly specialized for the function ...
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... News About Us Home > Health & Education > Educational Resources Brain Basics Introduction The Growing Brain The Working Brain ... to mental disorders, such as depression. The Growing Brain Inside the Brain: Neurons & Neural Circuits Neurons are ...
... Cancer? Breast Cancer Colon/Rectum Cancer Lung Cancer Prostate Cancer Skin Cancer Show All Cancer Types News and Features Cancer Glossary ACS Bookstore Cancer Information Cancer Basics Cancer Prevention & Detection Signs & Symptoms of Cancer Treatments & Side Effects ...
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Vittek, J. F.
A discussion of the basic measures of corporate financial strength, and the sources of the information is reported. Considered are: balance sheet, income statement, funds and cash flow, and financial ratios.
Full Text Available ... Brain Basics provides information on how the brain works, how mental illnesses are disorders of the brain, ... others live with symptoms of mental illness every day. They can be moderate, or serious and cause ...
Full Text Available ... the function of conducting messages. A neuron has three basic parts: Cell body which includes the nucleus, ... Plan in 2016 August 31, 2016, 2:00-3:00 PM ET Recovery Month September 2016 National ...
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Full Text Available ... for the function of conducting messages. A neuron has three basic parts: Cell body which includes the ... disorder (ADHD) . Glutamate —the most common neurotransmitter, glutamate has many roles throughout the brain and nervous system. ...
Full Text Available ... The Growing Brain Inside the Brain: Neurons & Neural Circuits Neurons are the basic working unit of the ... distant nerve cells (via axons) to form brain circuits. These circuits control specific body functions such as ...
Full Text Available ... science, such as: How the brain develops How genes and the environment affect the brain The basic ... that with brain development in people mental disorders. Genes and environmental cues both help to direct this ...
... about how the body works, what basic human anatomy is, and what happens when parts of the body don't function properly. Blood Bones, Muscles, and Joints Brain and Nervous System Digestive System Endocrine System Eyes Female Reproductive System ...
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Application software for thecalculation of mineral processing flowsheet developed by Visual Basic%用VB开发选矿工艺流程计算应用软件
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
The flowsheet calculation problems in mineral processing design can be resolved by the application software for the calculation of mineral processing flow sheet developed by Visual Basic.The speed and quality of mineral processing design can be improved by the software.%利用VB开发的选矿工艺流程计算应用软件可解决选矿设计中工艺流程计算问题,提高选矿设计的速度和质量。
Theoretical study of the molecular bases that control photochemical processes with biological and nanotechnological interest
Saurí Peris, Vicenta
El trabajo desarrollado en la tesis doctoral que lleva por título "Theoretical study of the molecular bases that control photochemical processes with biological and nanotechnological interest" se enmarca en las líneas de investigación del grupo QCEXVAL (Quantum Chemistry of the Excited State University of Valencia), que nació en el seno del departamento de Química Física de la Universitat de València en 1993. Se han abordado temas de interés metodológico, biológico y nanotecnológico. La prime...
Influence of physical and chemical factors on biological leaching process of copper from printed circuit boards
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J. Willner
Full Text Available The article presents the results of the research regarding the biological leaching of this metal from electronic wastes components in the form of printed circuit boards. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the influence of some physical and chemical factors (e.g. pH, oxidation-reduction potential on bioleaching process and efficiency of copper transfer from solid phase into solution. Bioleaching experiments were carried out with pure cultures of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. The obtained results were discussed.
Biogeomorphology of tidal landforms: physical and biological processes shaping the tidal landscape
Marani, M.; D'Alpaos, A.; Da Lio, C.
The equilibrium states and transient dynamics of tidal landforms are the result of many concurring physical and biological forcings, such as tidal range, wind climate, sediment supply, vegetation and microphytobenthos development, and rates of relative sea level rise (RSLR). A 0D model of the coupled elevation-vegetation dynamics is used to explore the relative role of the physical and biological factors shaping these systems. We find that salt marshes exposed to large tidal ranges are more stable, and therefore more resilient to increasing rates of RSLR, than marshes subjected to low tidal ranges and that subtidal platforms in macrotidal systems are less exposed to wind-induced erosion processes than their counterparts in systems with smaller tidal fluctuations. Notably, we find that vegetation crucially affects both the equilibrium marsh elevation, through dissipation of wind waves and organic accumulation, and marsh resilience to accelerations in RSLR rates, important differences being associated with different vegetation types. Furthermore, our results show that the existence and stability of equilibrium states fundamentally depend on the local wind and tidal regime, even within the same tidal system. Finally, we propose a modelling framework to study how biological evolution lead to the emergence of tidal landforms as we know them.
Reductions of bacterial antibiotic resistance through five biological treatment processes treated municipal wastewater.
Yuan, Qing-Bin; Guo, Mei-Ting; Wei, Wu-Ji; Yang, Jian
Wastewater treatment plants are hot spots for antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). However, limited studies have been conducted to compare the reductions of ARB and ARGs by various biological treatment processes. The study explored the reductions of heterotrophic bacteria resistant to six groups of antibiotics (vancomycin, gentamicin, erythromycin, cephalexin, tetracycline, and sulfadiazine) and corresponding resistance genes (vanA, aacC1, ereA, ampC, tetA, and sulI) by five bench-scale biological reactors. Results demonstrated that membrane bioreactor (MBR) and sequencing batch reactor (SBR) significantly reduced ARB abundances in the ranges of 2.80∼3.54 log and 2.70∼3.13 log, respectively, followed by activated sludge (AS). Biological filter (BF) and anaerobic (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket, UASB) techniques led to relatively low reductions. In contrast, ARGs were not equally reduced as ARB. AS and SBR also showed significant potentials on ARGs reduction, whilst MBR and UASB could not reduce ARGs effectively. Redundancy analysis implied that the purification of wastewater quality parameters (COD, NH4 (+)-N, and turbidity) performed a positive correlation to ARB and ARGs reductions. PMID:27384166
Principles for integrating reactive species into in vivo biological processes: Examples from exercise physiology.
Margaritelis, Nikos V; Cobley, James N; Paschalis, Vassilis; Veskoukis, Aristidis S; Theodorou, Anastasios A; Kyparos, Antonios; Nikolaidis, Michalis G
The equivocal role of reactive species and redox signaling in exercise responses and adaptations is an example clearly showing the inadequacy of current redox biology research to shed light on fundamental biological processes in vivo. Part of the answer probably relies on the extreme complexity of the in vivo redox biology and the limitations of the currently applied methodological and experimental tools. We propose six fundamental principles that should be considered in future studies to mechanistically link reactive species production to exercise responses or adaptations: 1) identify and quantify the reactive species, 2) determine the potential signaling properties of the reactive species, 3) detect the sources of reactive species, 4) locate the domain modified and verify the (ir)reversibility of post-translational modifications, 5) establish causality between redox and physiological measurements, 6) use selective and targeted antioxidants. Fulfilling these principles requires an idealized human experimental setting, which is certainly a utopia. Thus, researchers should choose to satisfy those principles, which, based on scientific evidence, are most critical for their specific research question. PMID:26721187
Treatment of waste metalworking fluid by a hybrid ozone-biological process.
Jagadevan, Sheeja; Graham, Nigel J; Thompson, Ian P
In metal machining processes, the regulation of heat generation and lubrication at the contact point are achieved by application of a fluid referred to as metalworking fluid (MWF). MWFs inevitably become operationally exhausted with age and intensive use, which leads to compromised properties, thereby necessitating their safe disposal. Disposal of this waste through a biological route is an increasingly attractive option, since it is effective with relatively low energy demands. However, successful biological treatment is challenging since MWFs are chemically complex, and include biocides specifically to retard microbial deterioration whilst the fluids are operational. In this study remediation of the recalcitrant component of a semi-synthetic MWF by a novel hybrid ozone-bacteriological treatment, was investigated. The hybrid treatment proved to be effective and reduced the chemical oxygen demand by 72% (26.9% and 44.9% reduction after ozonation and biological oxidation respectively). Furthermore, a near-complete degradation of three non-biodegradable compounds (viz. benzotriazole, monoethanolamine, triethanolamine), commonly added as biocides and corrosion inhibitors in MWF formulations, under ozonation was observed. PMID:23274939
Composting of the solid fraction of digestate derived from pig slurry: Biological processes and compost properties
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Tambone, Fulvia, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com; Terruzzi, Laura; Scaglia, Barbara; Adani, Fabrizio
Highlights: • Anaerobic digestion leads to the production of a biologically stable digestate. • Solid–liquid separation produces a solid fraction having high fertilizer value. • Composting process shows low biological activity due to high biological stability of digestate. • Solid digestate fraction can be composted in a short time or used directly as organic fertilizer. - Abstract: The aim of this paper was to assess the characteristics of the solid fractions (SF) obtained by mechanical separation of digestate, their compostability and compost quality. To do so, the SF of digestates obtained from anaerobic digestion of pig slurry, energy crops and agro-industrial residues were sampled in five plants located in Northern Italy. Results obtained indicated that anaerobic digestion by itself promoted the high biological stability of biomasses with a Potential Dynamic Respiration Index (PDRI) close to 1000 mgO{sub 2} kg V S{sup −1} h{sup −1}. Subsequent composting of digestates, with an added bulking agent, did not give remarkably different results, and led only to a slight modification of the characteristics of the initial non-composted mixtures; the composts obtained fully respected the legal limits for high quality compost. Chemical studies of organic matter composition of the biomasses by using CP MAS {sup 13}C NMR, indicated that the compost was composed of a high relative content of O-alkyl-C (71.47% of total C) (cellulose and hemicelluloses) and a low alkyl-C (12.42%) (i.e. volatile fatty acids, steroid-like molecules, aliphatic biopolymers and proteins)
Advances in wastewater nitrogen removal by biological processes: state of the art review
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andrea G. Capodaglio
Full Text Available The paper summarizes the state-of-the-art of the most recent advances in biological nitrogen removal, including process design criteria and technological innovations. With reference to the Modified Ludzck Ettinger (MLE process (pre-denitrification and nitrification in the activated sludge process, the most common nitrogen removal process used nowadays, a new design equation for the denitrification reactor based on specific denitrification rate (SDNR has been proposed. In addition, factors influencing SDNR (DO in the anoxic reactor; hydrodynamic behavior are analyzed, and technological solutions are proposed. Concerning technological advances, the paper presents a summary of various "deammonification" processes, better known by their patent names like ANAMMOX®, DEMON®, CANON®, ANITA® and others. These processes have already found applications in the treatment of high-strength wastewater such as digested sludge liquor and landfill leachate. Among other emerging denitrification technologies, consideration is given to the Membrane Biofilm Reactors (MBfRs that can be operated both in oxidation and reduction mode.
Techno-economic evaluation of a two-step biological process for hydrogen production.
Ljunggren, Mattias; Zacchi, Guido
An integrated biological process for the production of hydrogen based on thermophilic and photo-heterotrophic fermentation was evaluated from a technical and economic standpoint. Besides the two fermentation steps the process also includes pretreatment of the raw material (potato steam peels) and purification of hydrogen using amine absorption. The study aimed neither at determining the absolute cost of biohydrogen nor at an economic optimization of the production process, but rather at studying the effects of different parameters on the production costs of biohydrogen as a guideline for future improvements. The effect of the key parameters, hydrogen productivity and yield and substrate concentration in the two fermentations on the cost of the hydrogen produced was studied. The selection of the process conditions was based mainly on laboratory data. The process was simulated by use of the software Aspen Plus and the capital costs were estimated using the program Aspen Icarus Process Evaluator. The study shows that the photo-fermentation is the main contributor to the hydrogen production cost mainly because of the cost of plastic tubing, for the photo-fermentors, which represents 40.5% of the hydrogen production cost. The costs of the capital investment and chemicals were also notable contributors to the hydrogen production cost. Major economic improvements could be achieved by increasing the productivity of the two fermentation steps on a medium-term to long-term scale. PMID:20039381
Research on rural sewage treatment using biological-ecological coupling process
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chang SHI
Full Text Available Developing low-investment, low-energy consumption and low-maintenance sewage treatment process is important for sewage treatment in rural areas. An upflow anaerobic filter (UAF without energy consumption and a subsurface flow wetland (SFW are utilized as a biological-ecological coupling process to treat rural domestic sewage. The effect of the coupling process on treatment performance of domestic sewage under different hydraulic retention time (HRT is investigated. The removal of nitrogen and phosphorus in the SFW is improved by increasing plant density. The results show that the coupling process of UAF and SFW has no power consumption and is maintenance-free, suitable for rural sewage treatment; the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus mainly happens in the SFW phase; increasing the density of reed plants in the SFW can obviously enhance the capacity to remove nitrogen and phosphorus, and ensure that the efficient performance of the coupling process of UAF and SFW is stabilized in a high level. When the HRTs of UAF and SFW are 18 h and 3 d, respectively, the concentrations of COD, ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen and total phosphorus in the final effluent treated by UAF and SFW process are 44.07, 4.25, 13.36 and 0.44 mg/L, respectively, meeting the requirement of first grade class A in Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (GB 18918-2002.
Diagnosis and optimization of the composting process in full-scale mechanical-biological treatment plants.
Baptista, Marco; Antunes, Fernando; Silveira, Ana
The aims of this study were (i) to evaluate the performance of the composting process operation in full-scale mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) plants, (ii) to estimate their performance under optimized conditions and (iii) to propose specific guidelines on how to improve the efficiency of the composting process. To fulfil these objectives, a first-order kinetic model was used. This model was calibrated with experimental data to account for the limitations imposed by less-than-optimal environmental conditions during operation of the composting process. Data treatment and simulation showed that two of the three MBT plants studied were poorly operated. Optimization of process management with measures of simple practical implementation was estimated to be highly significant in these poorly managed plants, increasing performance by 103% in MBT1 and 53% in MBT2. In MBT3, the potential for optimization was estimated at 17%. Similar results were obtained from the analysis of other published data, suggesting that poor process management in MBT composting is widespread. These findings highlight the importance of having programmes for monitoring and optimizing process performance in full-scale composting systems. The procedures developed here are simple to apply and can routinely be implemented in full-scale plants. PMID:21216924
Studies of Basic Electronic Properties of CdTe-Based Solar Cells and Their Evolution During Processing and Stress: Final Technical Report, 16 October 2001 - 31 August 2005
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kaydanov, V. I.; Ohno, T. R.
This report describes basic issues behind CdTe/CdS cell performance and stability, such as the nature and electronic properties of impurities and defects that control the majority carrier concentration, mechanisms of dopant compensation, recombination processes, their nature and properties, migration and transformation of defects under various processing, stress, and operating conditions. We believe that a better basic understanding of the specific influence of grain boundaries, especially for fine-grain materials such as those making up CdTe-based cells, is now one of the most important issues we must address. We need to clarify the role of grain boundaries in forming the film electronic properties, as well as those of the p-n junction.
Assessing Students' Abilities in Processes of Scientific Inquiry in Biology Using a Paper-and-Pencil Test
Nowak, Kathrin Helena; Nehring, Andreas; Tiemann, Rüdiger; Upmeier zu Belzen, Annette
The aim of the study was to describe, categorise and analyse students' (aged 14-16) processes of scientific inquiry in biology and chemistry education. Therefore, a theoretical structure for scientific inquiry for both biology and chemistry, the VerE model, was developed. This model consists of nine epistemological acts, which combine…
Signal and Image Processing of Optical Coherence Tomography at 1310 nm Wavelength for Non Biological Samples
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Yogesh Rao
Full Text Available OCT is a recently developed optical interferometric technique for non-invasive diagnostic medical imaging in vivo; the most sensitive optical imaging modality.OCT finds its application in ophthalmology, blood flow estimation and cancer diagnosis along with many non biomedical applications. The main advantage of OCT is its high resolution which is in µm range and depth of penetration in mm range. Unlike other techniques like X rays and CT scan, OCT does not comprise any x ray source and therefore no radiations are involved. This research work discusses the basics of spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT, experimental setup, data acquisition and signal processing involved in OCT systems. Simulation of OCT involving modelling and signal processing, carried out on Lab VIEW platform has been discussed. Using the experimental setup, some of the non biomedical samples have been scanned. The signal processing and image processing of the scanned data was carried out in MATLAB and Lab VIEW, some of the results thus obtained have been discussed in the end.
Proceedings of the Scientific Meeting and Presentation on Basic Researchin Nuclear Science and Technology part II: Nuclear Chemistry, Process Technology, Radioactive Waste Management and Environment
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Scientific Meeting and Presentation on Basic Research in Nuclear Scienceand Technology is an annual activity held by Centre for Research and Development of Advanced Technology, National Nuclear Energy Agency, for monitoring research activities achieved by the Agency. The papers presented in the meeting were collected into proceedings. These are the second part of the proceedings that contain 71 articles in the fields of nuclear chemistry, process technology, radioactive waste management, and environment (PPIN).
Bacterial secrets of secretion: EuroConference on the biology of type IV secretion processes.
Baron, Christian; OCallaghan, David; Lanka, Erich
Type IV secretion systems (TFSS) mediate secretion or direct cell-to-cell transfer of virulence factors (proteins or protein-DNA complexes) from many Gram-negative animal, human and plant pathogens, such as Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Bartonella tribocorum, Bordetella pertussis, Brucella suis, Helicobacter pylori, Legionella pneumophila and Rickettsia prowazekii, into eukaryotic cells. Bacterial conjugation is also classified as a TFSS-like process mediating the spread of broad-host-range plasmids between Gram-negative bacteria such as RP4 and R388, which carry antibiotic resistance genes. Genetic, biochemical, cell biological and structural biology experiments led to significant progress in the understanding of several aspects of TFSS processes. X-ray crystallography revealed that homologues of the A. tumefaciens inner membrane-associated proteins VirB11 and VirD4 from H. pylori and R388, respectively, may form channels for substrate translocation or assembly of the transmembrane TFSS machinery. Biochemical and cell biological experiments revealed interactions between components of the periplasmic core components VirB8, VirB9 and VirB10, which may form the translocation channel. Analysis of A. tumefaciens virulence proteins VirE2 and VirF suggested that the periplasmic translocation route of the pertussis toxin from B. pertussis may be more generally valid than previously anticipated. Secretion and modification of toxins from H. pylori and L. pneumophila profoundly affect host cell metabolism, thus entering the discipline of cellular microbiology. Finally, results from genome sequencing projects revealed the presence of up to three TFSS in a single organism, and the analysis of their interplay and adaptation to different functions will be a future challenge. TFSS-carrying plasmids were discovered in different ecosystems, suggesting that genetic exchange may speed up their evolution and adaptation to different cell-cell interactions. PMID:11918819
Biologically active collagen-based scaffolds: advances in processing and characterization.
Yannas, I V; Tzeranis, D S; Harley, B A; So, P T C
A small number of type I collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffolds (collagen-GAG scaffolds; CGSs) have unusual biological activity consisting primarily in inducing partial regeneration of organs in the adult mammal. Two of these are currently in use in a variety of clinical settings. CGSs appear to induce regeneration by blocking the adult healing response, following trauma, consisting of wound contraction and scar formation. Several structural determinants of biological activity have been identified, including ligands for binding of fibroblasts to the collagen surface, the mean pore size (which affects ligand density) and the degradation rate (which affects the duration of the wound contraction-blocking activity by the scaffold). Processing variables that affect these determinants include the kinetics of swelling of collagen fibres in acetic acid, freezing of the collagen-GAG suspension and cross-linking of the freeze-dried scaffold. Recent developments in the processing of CGSs include fabrication of scaffolds that are paucidisperse in pore size, scaffolds with gradients in physicochemical properties (and therefore biological activity) and scaffolds that incorporate a mineral component. Advances in the characterization of the pore structure of CGSs have been made using confocal and nonlinear optical microscopy (NLOM). The mechanical behaviour of CGSs, as well as the resistance to degradative enzymes, have been studied. Following seeding with cells (typically fibroblasts), contractile forces in the range 26-450 nN per cell are generated by the cells, leading to buckling of scaffold struts. Ongoing studies of cell-seeded CGSs with NLOM have shown an advantage over the use of confocal microscopy due to the ability of the former method to image the CGS surfaces without staining (which alters its surface ligands), reduced cell photodamage, reduced fluorophore photobleaching and the ability to image deeper inside the scaffold. PMID:20308118
Distorted wave calculations for electron loss process induced by bare ion impact on biological targets
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Distorted wave models are employed to investigate the electron loss process induced by bare ions on biological targets. The two main reactions which contribute to this process, namely, the single electron ionization as well as the single electron capture are here studied. In order to further assess the validity of the theoretical descriptions used, the influence of particular mechanisms are studied, like dynamic screening for the case of electron ionization and energy deposition on the target by the impacting projectile for the electron capture one. Results are compared with existing experimental data. - Highlights: ► Distorted wave models are used to investigate ion-molecule collisions. ► Differential and total cross-sections for capture and ionization are evaluated. ► The influence of dynamic screening is determined. ► Capture reaction dominates the mean energy deposited by the projectile on the target
Signal processing for molecular and cellular biological physics: an emerging field
Little, Max A.; Jones, Nick S.
Recent advances in our ability to watch the molecular and cellular processes of life in action—such as atomic force microscopy, optical tweezers and Forster fluorescence resonance energy transfer—raise challenges for digital signal processing (DSP) of the resulting experimental data. This article explores the unique properties of such biophysical time series that set them apart from other signals, such as the prevalence of abrupt jumps and steps, multi-modal distributions and autocorrelated noise. It exposes the problems with classical linear DSP algorithms applied to this kind of data, and describes new nonlinear and non-Gaussian algorithms that are able to extract information that is of direct relevance to biological physicists. It is argued that these new methods applied in this context typify the nascent field of biophysical DSP. Practical experimental examples are supplied. PMID:23277603
Employment of the covariance matrix in parameter estimation for stochastic processes in cell biology
Preuss, R.; Dieterich, P.
The dynamics of movements of biological cells can be described with models from correlated stochastic processes. In order to overcome problems from correlated and insufficient data in the determination of the model parameters of such processes we employ the covariance matrix of the data. Since the covariance suffers itself from statistical uncertainty it is corrected by a renormalization treatment [1]. For the example of normal and fractional Brownian motion, which allows both to access all quantities on full theoretical grounds and to generate data similar to experiment, we discuss our results and those of previous works by Gregory [2] and Sivia [3]. The presented approach has the potential to estimate the aging correlation function of observed cell paths and can be applied to more complicated models.
Modelling GAC adsorption of biologically pre-treated process water from hydrothermal carbonization.
Fettig, J; Liebe, H
Granular-activated carbon (GAC) adsorption of biologically pre-treated process waters from hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of different materials was investigated. Overall, isotherms showed that most of the dissolved organic substances are strongly adsorbable while the non-adsorbable fractions are small. The equilibrium data were modelled by using five fictive components to represent the organic matter. Mean film transfer coefficients and mean intraparticle diffusivities were derived from short-column and batch kinetic test data, respectively. Breakthrough curves in GAC columns could be predicted satisfactorily by applying the film-homogeneous diffusion model and using the equilibrium and kinetic parameters determined from batch tests. Thus, the approach is suited to model GAC adsorption of HTC process water under technical-scale conditions. PMID:26114274
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Aleksandra Jolanta Bawiec
Full Text Available Municipal wastewater is characterized by diverse microbial content, largely dependent on their sources as well as many other factors like condition and health of their producer, but also environmental factors. The number and share of individual bacterial population in wastewater is changing during the process of their treatment in wastewater treatment plants. The microbial content of treated wastewater is significantly affected by the type of technology used for wastewater treatment. The paper presents the results of the species composition of bacteria present in the wastewater at various stages of treatment for the two different technologies. Samples of wastewater from hydroponic wastewater treatment plant and from the plant which technology is based on biofilters were analysed. A key mechanism for wastewater treatment in both cases is biological treatment, using microbial activity that decomposes pollutants in the wastewater, which significantly contributes to changes in the species composition of bacteria comparing to microbiological composition of sewage flowing into the treatment plant. Analyses of microbial composition showed that in the objects consisting of preliminary tank and biofilter, composition of bacteria species is changing, but many species isolated from raw sewage is also found in treated wastewater. In the plant with hydroponic lagoon after wastewater treatment throughout the process system, bacteria present in raw sewage or in wastewater after biological treatment were not identified in the outlet.
eQTL Regulating Transcript Levels Associated with Diverse Biological Processes in Tomato.
Ranjan, Aashish; Budke, Jessica M; Rowland, Steven D; Chitwood, Daniel H; Kumar, Ravi; Carriedo, Leonela; Ichihashi, Yasunori; Zumstein, Kristina; Maloof, Julin N; Sinha, Neelima R
Variation in gene expression, in addition to sequence polymorphisms, is known to influence developmental, physiological, and metabolic traits in plants. Genetic mapping populations have facilitated identification of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL), the genetic determinants of variation in gene expression patterns. We used an introgression population developed from the wild desert-adapted Solanum pennellii and domesticated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) to identify the genetic basis of transcript level variation. We established the effect of each introgression on the transcriptome and identified approximately 7,200 eQTL regulating the steady-state transcript levels of 5,300 genes. Barnes-Hut t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding clustering identified 42 modules revealing novel associations between transcript level patterns and biological processes. The results showed a complex genetic architecture of global transcript abundance pattern in tomato. Several genetic hot spots regulating a large number of transcript level patterns relating to diverse biological processes such as plant defense and photosynthesis were identified. Important eQTL regulating transcript level patterns were related to leaf number and complexity as well as hypocotyl length. Genes associated with leaf development showed an inverse correlation with photosynthetic gene expression, but eQTL regulating genes associated with leaf development and photosynthesis were dispersed across the genome. This comprehensive eQTL analysis details the influence of these loci on plant phenotypes and will be a valuable community resource for investigations on the genetic effects of eQTL on phenotypic traits in tomato. PMID:27418589
Combined advanced oxidation and biological treatment processes for the removal of pesticides from aqueous solutions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Advanced oxidation processes were combined with biological treatment processes in this study to remove both pesticides and then the COD load from aqueous solutions. It was found that O3 and O3/UV oxidation systems were able to reach 90 and 100%, removal of the pesticide Deltamethrin, respectively, in a period of 210 min. The use of O3 combined with UV radiation enhances pesticides degradation and the residual pesticide reaches zero in the case of Deltamethrin. The combined O3/UV system can reduce COD up to 20% if the pH of the solution is above 4. Both pesticide degradation and COD removal in the combined O3/UV system follow the pseudo-first-order kinetics and the parameters of this model were evaluated. The application of the biological treatment to remove the bulk COD from different types of feed solution was investigated. More than 95% COD removal was achieved when treated wastewater by the O3/UV system was fed to the bioreactor. The parameters of the proposed Grau model were estimated
Connecting marine productivity to sea-spray via nanoscale biological processes: Phytoplankton Dance or Death Disco?
O'Dowd, Colin; Ceburnis, Darius; Ovadnevaite, Jurgita; Bialek, Jakub; Stengel, Dagmar B.; Zacharias, Merry; Nitschke, Udo; Connan, Solene; Rinaldi, Matteo; Fuzzi, Sandro; Decesari, Stefano; Cristina Facchini, Maria; Marullo, Salvatore; Santoleri, Rosalia; Dell'Anno, Antonio; Corinaldesi, Cinzia; Tangherlini, Michael; Danovaro, Roberto
Bursting bubbles at the ocean-surface produce airborne salt-water spray-droplets, in turn, forming climate-cooling marine haze and cloud layers. The reflectance and ultimate cooling effect of these layers is determined by the spray's water-uptake properties that are modified through entrainment of ocean-surface organic matter (OM) into the airborne droplets. We present new results illustrating a clear dependence of OM mass-fraction enrichment in sea spray (OMss) on both phytoplankton-biomass, determined from Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and Net Primary Productivity (NPP). The correlation coefficient for OMss as a function of Chl-a increased form 0.67 on a daily timescale to 0.85 on a monthly timescale. An even stronger correlation was found as a function of NPP, increasing to 0.93 on a monthly timescale. We suggest the observed dependence is through the demise of the bloom, driven by nanoscale biological processes (such as viral infections), releasing large quantities of transferable OM comprising cell debris, exudates and other colloidal materials. This OM, through aggregation processes, leads to enrichment in sea-spray, thus demonstrating an important coupling between biologically-driven plankton bloom termination, marine productivity and sea-spray modification with potentially significant climate impacts.
An Indexed, Mapped Mutant Library Enables Reverse Genetics Studies of Biological Processes in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
Li, Xiaobo; Zhang, Ru; Patena, Weronika; Gang, Spencer S; Blum, Sean R; Ivanova, Nina; Yue, Rebecca; Robertson, Jacob M; Lefebvre, Paul A; Fitz-Gibbon, Sorel T; Grossman, Arthur R; Jonikas, Martin C
The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a leading unicellular model for dissecting biological processes in photosynthetic eukaryotes. However, its usefulness has been limited by difficulties in obtaining mutants in specific genes of interest. To allow generation of large numbers of mapped mutants, we developed high-throughput methods that (1) enable easy maintenance of tens of thousands of Chlamydomonas strains by propagation on agar media and by cryogenic storage, (2) identify mutagenic insertion sites and physical coordinates in these collections, and (3) validate the insertion sites in pools of mutants by obtaining >500 bp of flanking genomic sequences. We used these approaches to construct a stably maintained library of 1935 mapped mutants, representing disruptions in 1562 genes. We further characterized randomly selected mutants and found that 33 out of 44 insertion sites (75%) could be confirmed by PCR, and 17 out of 23 mutants (74%) contained a single insertion. To demonstrate the power of this library for elucidating biological processes, we analyzed the lipid content of mutants disrupted in genes encoding proteins of the algal lipid droplet proteome. This study revealed a central role of the long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase LCS2 in the production of triacylglycerol from de novo-synthesized fatty acids.
Network-based analysis of affected biological processes in type 2 diabetes models.
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Manway Liu
Full Text Available Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a complex disorder associated with multiple genetic, epigenetic, developmental, and environmental factors. Animal models of type 2 diabetes differ based on diet, drug treatment, and gene knockouts, and yet all display the clinical hallmarks of hyperglycemia and insulin resistance in peripheral tissue. The recent advances in gene-expression microarray technologies present an unprecedented opportunity to study type 2 diabetes mellitus at a genome-wide scale and across different models. To date, a key challenge has been to identify the biological processes or signaling pathways that play significant roles in the disorder. Here, using a network-based analysis methodology, we identified two sets of genes, associated with insulin signaling and a network of nuclear receptors, which are recurrent in a statistically significant number of diabetes and insulin resistance models and transcriptionally altered across diverse tissue types. We additionally identified a network of protein-protein interactions between members from the two gene sets that may facilitate signaling between them. Taken together, the results illustrate the benefits of integrating high-throughput microarray studies, together with protein-protein interaction networks, in elucidating the underlying biological processes associated with a complex disorder.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Løvengreen, Hans Henrik
In this set of notes, we present some of the basic theory underlying the discipline of programming with concurrent processes/threads. The notes are intended to supplement a standard textbook on concurrent programming.......In this set of notes, we present some of the basic theory underlying the discipline of programming with concurrent processes/threads. The notes are intended to supplement a standard textbook on concurrent programming....
Preparation of cell-sized water-in-oil droplets for in vitro reconstitution of biological processes in cellular compartments
This protocol presents a method for encapsulation of purified proteins into cell-sized water-in-oil droplets surrounded by a phospholipid monolayer, which can be broadly applied to studies to reconstitute biological processes in cellular compartments.
A Converter from the Systems Biology Markup Language to the Synthetic Biology Open Language.
Nguyen, Tramy; Roehner, Nicholas; Zundel, Zach; Myers, Chris J
Standards are important to synthetic biology because they enable exchange and reproducibility of genetic designs. This paper describes a procedure for converting between two standards: the Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) and the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL). SBML is a standard for behavioral models of biological systems at the molecular level. SBOL describes structural and basic qualitative behavioral aspects of a biological design. Converting SBML to SBOL enables a consistent connection between behavioral and structural information for a biological design. The conversion process described in this paper leverages Systems Biology Ontology (SBO) annotations to enable inference of a designs qualitative function. PMID:26696234
Broadening Horizons and Teaching Basic Biology through Cell-Free Synthesis of Green Fluorescent Protein in a High School Laboratory Course
Albayrak, Cem; Jones, K. C.; Swartz, James R.
Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) has emerged as a practical method for producing a broad variety of proteins. In addition, the direct accessibility to the reaction environment makes CFPS particularly suitable as a learning vehicle for fundamental biological concepts. Here, we describe its implementation as a teaching tool for a high school…
Introducing Basic Molecular Biology to Turkish Rural and Urban Primary School Children via Hands-on PCR and Gel Electrophoresis Activities
Selli, Cigdem; Yildirim, Gokce; Kaymak, Aysegul; Karacicek, Bilge; Ogut, Deniz; Gungor, Turkan; Erem, Erdem; Ege, Mehmet; Bümen, Nilay; Tosun, Metiner
This study includes the results of a 2-day education project titled "Molecular Biology Laboratory Summer School, MoBiLYO." The project was held at a University Research Center by scientists from Department of Pharmacology and graduate students. The project was composed of introductory lectures, model construction, DNA isolation,…
Development of a computational system for management of risks in radiosterilization processes of biological tissues
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Risk management can be understood to be a systematic management which aims to identify record and control the risks of a process. Applying risk management becomes a complex activity, due to the variety of professionals involved. In order to execute risk management the following are requirements of paramount importance: the experience, discernment and judgment of a multidisciplinary team, guided by means of quality tools, so as to provide standardization in the process of investigating the cause and effects of risks and dynamism in obtaining the objective desired, i.e. the reduction and control of the risk. This work aims to develop a computational system of risk management (software) which makes it feasible to diagnose the risks of the processes of radiosterilization of biological tissues. The methodology adopted was action-research, according to which the researcher performs an active role in the establishment of the problems found, in the follow-up and in the evaluation of the actions taken owing to the problems. The scenario of this action-research was the Laboratory of Biological Tissues (LTB) in the Radiation Technology Center IPEN/CNEN-SP - Sao Paulo/Brazil. The software developed was executed in PHP and Flash/MySQL language, the server (hosting), the software is available on the Internet (www.vcrisk.com.br), which the user can access from anywhere by means of the login/access password previously sent by email to the team responsible for the tissue to be analyzed. The software presents friendly navigability whereby the user is directed step-by-step in the process of investigating the risk up to the means of reducing it. The software 'makes' the user comply with the term and present the effectiveness of the actions taken to reduce the risk. Applying this system provided the organization (LTB/CTR/IPEN) with dynamic communication, effective between the members of the multidisciplinary team: a) in decision-making; b) in lessons learned; c) in knowing the new risk
Open water processes of the San Francisco Estuary: From physical forcing to biological responses
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Wim Kimmerer
Full Text Available This paper reviews the current state of knowledge of the open waters of the San Francisco Estuary. This estuary is well known for the extent to which it has been altered through loss of wetlands, changes in hydrography, and the introduction of chemical and biological contaminants. It is also one of the most studied estuaries in the world, with much of the recent research effort aimed at supporting restoration efforts. In this review I emphasize the conceptual foundations for our current understanding of estuarine dynamics, particularly those aspects relevant to restoration. Several themes run throughout this paper. First is the critical role physical dynamics play in setting the stage for chemical and biological responses. Physical forcing by the tides and by variation in freshwater input combine to control the movement of the salinity field, and to establish stratification, mixing, and dilution patterns throughout the estuary. Many aspects of estuarine dynamics respond to interannual variation in freshwater flow; in particular, abundance of several estuarine-dependent species of fish and shrimp varies positively with flow, although the mechanisms behind these relationships are largely unknown. The second theme is the importance of time scales in determining the degree of interaction between dynamic processes. Physical effects tend to dominate when they operate at shorter time scales than biological processes; when the two time scales are similar, important interactions can arise between physical and biological variability. These interactions can be seen, for example, in the response of phytoplankton blooms, with characteristic time scales of days, to stratification events occurring during neap tides. The third theme is the key role of introduced species in all estuarine habitats; particularly noteworthy are introduced waterweeds and fishes in the tidal freshwater reaches of the estuary, and introduced clams there and in brackish water. The
Holbrook, Harold D
Basic Electronics is an elementary text designed for basic instruction in electricity and electronics. It gives emphasis on electronic emission and the vacuum tube and shows transistor circuits in parallel with electron tube circuits. This book also demonstrates how the transistor merely replaces the tube, with proper change of circuit constants as required. Many problems are presented at the end of each chapter. This book is comprised of 17 chapters and opens with an overview of electron theory, followed by a discussion on resistance, inductance, and capacitance, along with their effects on t
Streams of events and performance of queuing systems: The basic anatomy of arrival/departure processes, when the focus is set on autocorrelation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Erland Hejn
if such a decision setup is that widespread in consequent use anywhere. So, how come that sequence independence is so relatively popular in describing real system processes? I can only think of three possible explanations to this dilemma - (1) either sequence dependence is present, but is mostly not of a very......Judging from the vast number of articles in the field of queuing simulation, that assumes i.i.d. in one or more of the stochastic processes used to model the situation at hand, often without much validation, it seems that sequence independence must be a very basic property of many real life...
Basics of Bayesian Learning - Basically Bayes
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Larsen, Jan
Tutorial presented at the IEEE Machine Learning for Signal Processing Workshop 2006, Maynooth, Ireland, September 8, 2006. The tutorial focuses on the basic elements of Bayesian learning and its relation to classical learning paradigms. This includes a critical discussion of the pros and cons...
A cell-free expression and purification process for rapid production of protein biologics.
Sullivan, Challise J; Pendleton, Erik D; Sasmor, Henri H; Hicks, William L; Farnum, John B; Muto, Machiko; Amendt, Eric M; Schoborg, Jennifer A; Martin, Rey W; Clark, Lauren G; Anderson, Mark J; Choudhury, Alaksh; Fior, Raffaella; Lo, Yu-Hwa; Griffey, Richard H; Chappell, Stephen A; Jewett, Michael C; Mauro, Vincent P; Dresios, John
Cell-free protein synthesis has emerged as a powerful technology for rapid and efficient protein production. Cell-free methods are also amenable to automation and such systems have been extensively used for high-throughput protein production and screening; however, current fluidic systems are not adequate for manufacturing protein biopharmaceuticals. In this work, we report on the initial development of a fluidic process for rapid end-to-end production of recombinant protein biologics. This process incorporates a bioreactor module that can be used with eukaryotic or prokaryotic lysates that are programmed for combined transcription/translation of an engineered DNA template encoding for specific protein targets. Purification of the cell-free expressed product occurs through a series of protein separation modules that are configurable for process-specific isolation of different proteins. Using this approach, we demonstrate production of two bioactive human protein therapeutics, erythropoietin and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, in yeast and bacterial extracts, respectively, each within 24 hours. This process is flexible, scalable and amenable to automation for rapid production at the point-of-need of proteins with significant pharmaceutical, medical, or biotechnological value. PMID:26427345
Pilot plant study on ozonation and biological activated carbon process for drinking water treatment
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
A study on advanced drinking water treatment was conducted in a pilot scale plant taking water from conventional treatment process. Ozonation-biological activated carbon process (O3-BAC) and granular activated carbon process (GAC) were evaluated based on the following parameters: CODMn, UV254, total organic carbon (TOC), assimilable organic carbon (AOC) and biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC). In this test, the average removal rates of CODMn , UV254 and TOC in O3-BAC were18.2%, 9.0% and 10.2% higher on (AOC) than in GAC, respectively. Ozonation increased 19.3-57.6 μg Acetate-C/L in AOC-P17,45.6-130.6 μg Acetate-C/L in AOC-NOX and 0.1-0.5 mg/L in BDOC with ozone doses of 2-8 mg/L. The optimum ozone dose for maximum AOC formation was 3 mgO3/L. BAC filtration was effective process to improve biostability.
Fermentation of biologically pretreated wheat straw for ethanol production: comparison of fermentative microorganisms and process configurations.
López-Abelairas, María; Lu-Chau, Thelmo Alejandro; Lema, Juan Manuel
The pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass with white-rot fungi to produce bioethanol is an environmentally friendly alternative to the commonly used physico-chemical processes. After biological pretreatment, a solid substrate composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, the two latter with a composition lower than that of the initial substrate, is obtained. In this study, six microorganisms and four process configurations were utilised to ferment a hydrolysate obtained from wheat straw pretreated with the white-rot fungus Irpex lacteus. To enhance total sugars utilisation, five of these microorganisms are able to metabolise, in addition to glucose, most of the pentoses obtained after the hydrolysis of wheat straw by the application of a mixture of hemicellulolytic and cellulolytic enzymes. The highest overall ethanol yield was obtained with the yeast Pachysolen tannophilus. Its application in combination with the best process configuration yielded 163 mg ethanol per gram of raw wheat straw, which was between 23 and 35 % greater than the yields typically obtained with a conventional bioethanol process, in which wheat straw is pretreated using steam explosion and fermented with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
A cell-free expression and purification process for rapid production of protein biologics.
Sullivan, Challise J; Pendleton, Erik D; Sasmor, Henri H; Hicks, William L; Farnum, John B; Muto, Machiko; Amendt, Eric M; Schoborg, Jennifer A; Martin, Rey W; Clark, Lauren G; Anderson, Mark J; Choudhury, Alaksh; Fior, Raffaella; Lo, Yu-Hwa; Griffey, Richard H; Chappell, Stephen A; Jewett, Michael C; Mauro, Vincent P; Dresios, John
Cell-free protein synthesis has emerged as a powerful technology for rapid and efficient protein production. Cell-free methods are also amenable to automation and such systems have been extensively used for high-throughput protein production and screening; however, current fluidic systems are not adequate for manufacturing protein biopharmaceuticals. In this work, we report on the initial development of a fluidic process for rapid end-to-end production of recombinant protein biologics. This process incorporates a bioreactor module that can be used with eukaryotic or prokaryotic lysates that are programmed for combined transcription/translation of an engineered DNA template encoding for specific protein targets. Purification of the cell-free expressed product occurs through a series of protein separation modules that are configurable for process-specific isolation of different proteins. Using this approach, we demonstrate production of two bioactive human protein therapeutics, erythropoietin and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, in yeast and bacterial extracts, respectively, each within 24 hours. This process is flexible, scalable and amenable to automation for rapid production at the point-of-need of proteins with significant pharmaceutical, medical, or biotechnological value.
Weingartner, Charles
This paper argues that the "back to basics" movement is regressive and that regression is the characteristic mode of fear-ridden personalities. It is argued that many people in American society today have lost their ability to laugh and do not have the sense of humor which is crucial to a healthy mental state. Such topics as necrophilia, mental…
Full Text Available ... Life Brain Basics in Real Life—How Depression affects the Brain Meet Sarah Sarah is a middle-aged woman ... new memories. hypothalmic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis —A brain-body ... stress. impulse —An electrical communication signal sent between neurons ...
Full Text Available ... Welcome. Brain Basics provides information on how the brain works, how mental illnesses are disorders of the brain, ... highly developed area at the front of the brain that, in humans, plays a role in executive functions such as ...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Ethanol is a widely-used, domestically-produced renewable fuel made from corn and other plant materials. More than 96% of gasoline sold in the United States contains ethanol. Learn more about this alternative fuel in the Ethanol Basics Fact Sheet, produced by the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Cities program.
Luparelli, Augustus N.; And Others
These four articles focus on developing basic reading, science, and job search skills: "Reading Program for Vocational Classes" by Augustus Luparelli; "Why Teach Employability Skills?" by Larry Siefferman; "Improving Vocabulary and Reading Skills" by Edythe Conway; and "Science in Everyday Life" by Virginia Eleazer and George Carney. (SK)
Telemetry System of Biological Parameters
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Jan Spisak
Full Text Available The mobile telemetry system of biological parameters serves for reading and wireless data transfer of measured values of selected biological parameters to an outlying computer. It concerns basically long time monitoring of vital function of car pilot.The goal of this projects is to propose mobile telemetry system for reading, wireless transfer and processing of biological parameters of car pilot during physical and psychical stress. It has to be made with respect to minimal consumption, weight and maximal device mobility. This system has to eliminate signal noise, which is created by biological artifacts and disturbances during the data transfer.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Joanna Smyk
Full Text Available The aim of the research was to determine the COD fraction thereof in sewage and their changes in the effluent after further treatment processes. The study was conducted in a sewage treatment plant in Bialystok (RLM> 100000. In sewage the highest concentrations occurred in the suspension of the organic fractions slowly biodegradable XS (303.7 mg O2/l and dissolved organic compounds readily biodegradable SS (263 mg O2/l. The lower amounts were irreducible fractions dissolved in sewage and suspended SI (56 mg O2/l and XI (101.2 mg O2/l. Almost 80% of the total COD fractions were biodegradable (SS + XS. In the treated wastewater soluble fraction SI-biodegradable (56 mg O2/l occurred in the highest concentration. The flow of wastewater by components of sewage treatment plant resulted the complete removal of biologically degradable fraction of dissolved SS. More than 94.5% of the total COD in waste water purified fractions were biologically decomposable (SI + XI. Moreover, based on the analysis of studies the following soil removal was found: BOD5 – 99.4%, COD – 92.9%, total nitrogen – 93.4%, total phosphorus – 92%. After waste water treatment, ammonia nitrogen was completely removed while the nitrate concentration increased to 4.6 mg N/dm3.
Stromal microenvironment processes unveiled by biological component analysis of gene expression in xenograft tumor models
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Chen James L
Full Text Available Abstract Background Mouse xenograft models, in which human cancer cells are implanted in immune-suppressed mice, have been popular for studying the mechanisms of novel therapeutic targets, tumor progression and metastasis. We hypothesized that we could exploit the interspecies genetic differences in these experiments. Our purpose is to elucidate stromal microenvironment signals from probes on human arrays unintentionally cross-hybridizing with mouse homologous genes in xenograft tumor models. Results By identifying cross-species hybridizing probes from sequence alignment and cross-species hybridization experiment for the human whole-genome arrays, deregulated stromal genes can be identified and then their biological significance were predicted from enrichment studies. Comparing these results with those found by the laser capture microdissection of stromal cells from tumor specimens resulted in the discovery of significantly enriched stromal biological processes. Conclusions Using this method, in addition to their primary endpoints, researchers can leverage xenograft experiments to better characterize the tumor microenvironment without additional costs. The Xhyb probes and R script are available at http://www.lussierlab.org/publications/Stroma
Process of inorganic nitrogen transformation and design of kinetics model in the biological aerated filter reactor.
Yan, Gang; Xu, Xia; Yao, Lirong; Lu, Liqiao; Zhao, Tingting; Zhang, Wenyi
As one of the plug-flow reactors, biological aerated filter (BAF) reactor was divided into four sampling sectors to understand the characteristics of elemental nitrogen transformation during the reaction process, and then the different characteristics of elemental nitrogen transformation caused by different NH(3)-N loadings, biological quantities and activities in each section were obtained. The results showed that the total transformation ratio in the nitrifying reactor was more than 90% in the absence of any organic carbon resource, at the same time, more than 65% NH(3)-N in the influent were nitrified at the filter height of 70 cm below under the conditions of the influent runoff 9-19 L/h, the gas-water ratio 4-5:1, the dissolved oxygen 3.0-5.8 mg/L and the NH(3)-N load 0.28-0.48 kg NH(3)-N/m(3) d. On the base of the Eckenfelder mode, the kinetics equation of the NH(3)-N transformation along the reactor was S(e)=S(0) exp(-0.0134D/L(1.2612)).
Assessment of the removal of estrogenicity in biological nutrient removal wastewater treatment processes
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The removal of estrogenicity in a University of Cape Town-biological nutrient removal (UCT-BNR) wastewater treatment process was investigated using pilot and bench scale systems, batch experiments and mathematical modeling. In the pilot BNR process, 96 ± 5% of the estrogenicity exerted by the influent wastewater was removed by the treatment process. The degradation efficiencies in the anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic zones of the pilot BNR bioreactor were 11 ± 9%, 18 ± 2% and 93 ± 10%, respectively. In order to further understand the performance of the BNR process in the removal of estrogenicity from wastewater, a bench scale BNR process was operated with synthetic wastewater dosed with E1 and E2. The removal of estrogenicity in the bench scale system (95 ± 5%) was comparable to the pilot BNR process and the degradation efficiencies were estimated to be 8 ± 0.8%, 38 ± 4% and 85 ± 22% in the anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic zones, respectively. A biotransformation model developed to predict the fate of E1 and E2 in batch tests using the sludge from the BNR process was calibrated using the data from the experiments. The biotransformation rate constants for the transformation of E2 to E1 were estimated as 71 ± 1.5, 31 ± 3.3 and 1 ± 0.9 L g COD−1 d−1 for the aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic batch tests, respectively, while the corresponding biotransformation rate constants for the transformation of E1 were estimated to be 7.3 ± 1.0, 3 ± 2.0, and 0.85 ± 0.6 L·g COD−1 d−1. A steady state mass balance model formulated to describe the interactions between E2 and E1 in BNR activated sludge reasonably described the fate of E1 and E2 in the BNR process. - Highlights: • Comparable estrogenicity removal was observed from two BNR processes. • Pseudo first order model described the transformation of E2 and E1 in BNR process. • Biotransformation of E1 in BNR activated sludge controls the degradation of E2
Assessment of the removal of estrogenicity in biological nutrient removal wastewater treatment processes
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Ogunlaja, O.O., E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com; Parker, W.J., E-mail: email@example.com
The removal of estrogenicity in a University of Cape Town-biological nutrient removal (UCT-BNR) wastewater treatment process was investigated using pilot and bench scale systems, batch experiments and mathematical modeling. In the pilot BNR process, 96 ± 5% of the estrogenicity exerted by the influent wastewater was removed by the treatment process. The degradation efficiencies in the anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic zones of the pilot BNR bioreactor were 11 ± 9%, 18 ± 2% and 93 ± 10%, respectively. In order to further understand the performance of the BNR process in the removal of estrogenicity from wastewater, a bench scale BNR process was operated with synthetic wastewater dosed with E1 and E2. The removal of estrogenicity in the bench scale system (95 ± 5%) was comparable to the pilot BNR process and the degradation efficiencies were estimated to be 8 ± 0.8%, 38 ± 4% and 85 ± 22% in the anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic zones, respectively. A biotransformation model developed to predict the fate of E1 and E2 in batch tests using the sludge from the BNR process was calibrated using the data from the experiments. The biotransformation rate constants for the transformation of E2 to E1 were estimated as 71 ± 1.5, 31 ± 3.3 and 1 ± 0.9 L g COD{sup −1} d{sup −1} for the aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic batch tests, respectively, while the corresponding biotransformation rate constants for the transformation of E1 were estimated to be 7.3 ± 1.0, 3 ± 2.0, and 0.85 ± 0.6 L·g COD{sup −1} d{sup −1}. A steady state mass balance model formulated to describe the interactions between E2 and E1 in BNR activated sludge reasonably described the fate of E1 and E2 in the BNR process. - Highlights: • Comparable estrogenicity removal was observed from two BNR processes. • Pseudo first order model described the transformation of E2 and E1 in BNR process. • Biotransformation of E1 in BNR activated sludge controls the degradation of E2.
Basic concepts on threat, vulnerability and risk associated to a process of massive use of gaseous fuels
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The massive use of gaseous fuels, natural gas and liquefied gas of the oil or G.L.P., demands the implementation and complex technologies utilization in each one of the technical activities operative that transportation, distribution and consumption of these fuels requires, in order to accomplish each one of they in the form most efficient and possible insurance. Natural phenomena (earthquakes, landslides) and technical phenomena and caused by the man (terrorism, not appropriate designs of transportation and distribution net, wrong manipulation of the gas equipment) represent a latent danger for the distributors as well as for the users of the gas, generating a threat, of large proportions, for the normal development of the program of massive use of the gas, in any geographical environment where this is implemented. In this article are described the disaster concepts, threat, vulnerability and risk and the form as are related to the project of massive use of the gas, basically to transportation areas, distribution and final use
Clarification of basic factorization identity is for the almost semi-continuous latticed Poisson processes on the Markov chain
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Gerich M. S.
Full Text Available Let ${xi(t, x(t}$ be a homogeneous semi-continuous lattice Poisson process on the Markov chain.The jumps of one sign are geometrically distributed, and jumps of the opposite sign are arbitrary latticed distribution. For a suchprocesses the relations for the components of two-sided matrix factorization are established.This relations define the moment genereting functions for extremumf of the process and their complements.
The biological role of a-ketoglutaric acid in physiological processes and its therapeutic potential.
Grzesiak, Paulina; Słupecka-Ziemilska, Monika; Woliński, Jarosław
In this article we present the results of recent studies on the mechanism of action and biological role of α-ketoglutaric acid (AKG) in animals including developmental period of life. AKG is an intermediate in the Krebs cycle, which generates energy for life processes. Administration of AKG has been shown to be beneficial for proper development and function of the skeletal system during growth of young organisms, as well as in adulthood. In the form of a dietary supplement it also contributes to inhibition of osteoporosis in women. Moreover, it promotes the growth of muscle mass and accelerates wound healing. AKG has a significant impact on the morphology of the gastrointestinal tract in healthy animals and animals with damaged gastrointestinal tract mucosa. It is also a promising substance for the treatment of patients with short bowel syndrome, as it stimulates beneficial changes in intestinal morphology. Recent research has also revealed that AKG has neuroprotective effects. PMID:27416627
Insights into biological information processing: structural and dynamical analysis of a human protein signalling network
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Fuente, Alberto de la; Fotia, Giorgio; Maggio, Fabio; Mancosu, Gianmaria; Pieroni, Enrico [CRS4 Bioinformatica, Parco Tecnologico POLARIS, Ed.1, Loc Piscinamanna, Pula (Italy)], E-mail: email@example.com
We present an investigation on the structural and dynamical properties of a 'human protein signalling network' (HPSN). This biological network is composed of nodes that correspond to proteins and directed edges that represent signal flows. In order to gain insight into the organization of cell information processing this network is analysed taking into account explicitly the edge directions. We explore the topological properties of the HPSN at the global and the local scale, further applying the generating function formalism to provide a suitable comparative model. The relationship between the node degrees and the distribution of signals through the network is characterized using degree correlation profiles. Finally, we analyse the dynamical properties of small sub-graphs showing high correlation between their occurrence and dynamic stability.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Victor Panfilov
Full Text Available Biotechnological methods have perhaps the greatest potential in deep processing of renewable raw materials. Bioconversion of lignocelluloses materials substantially increases its bioavailability and effectiveness of consumption by microorganisms. The enzymatic and chemical hydrolysis of wheat bran under mild conditions are compared in this study.The purpose of this study was to define microbiological and biochemical criteria for the bioconversion. Enzymatic hydrolysis of extruded bran was held with three enzyme preparations usually used in the conversion of vegetable raw materials: "Viscoferm," "Cellic HTec2," and "Celloviridin G20x." The central composite design was used for parameter optimization. Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast was used for assessment of biological value of the slurry obtained. The content of crude protein of the product obtained was 1.9 times higher than the initial.
Fate of dissolved organic nitrogen during biological nutrient removal wastewater treatment processes.
Liu, Bing; Lin, Huirong; Yu, Guozhong; Zhang, Shenghua; Zhao, Chengmei
Due to its potential to form toxic nitrogenous disinfection byproducts (N-DBPs), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is considered as one of the most important parameters in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). This study describes a comprehensive investigation of variations in DON levels in orbal oxidation ditches. The results showed that DON increased gradually from 0.71 to 1.14 mg I(-1) along anaerobic zone, anoxic zone, aerobic zone 1 and aerobic 2. Molecular weight fractionation of DON in one anaerobic zone and one aerobic zone (aerobic zone 2) was performed. We found that the proportion of small molecular weight ( 20 kDa) showed opposite trend. This variation may have been caused due to the release of different types of soluble microbial products (SMPs) during biological processes. These SMPs contained both tryptophan protein-like and aromatic protein-like substances, which were confirmed by three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (EEM) analysis. PMID:24620601
Biological impact of preschool music classes on processing speech in noise.
Strait, Dana L; Parbery-Clark, Alexandra; O'Connell, Samantha; Kraus, Nina
Musicians have increased resilience to the effects of noise on speech perception and its neural underpinnings. We do not know, however, how early in life these enhancements arise. We compared auditory brainstem responses to speech in noise in 32 preschool children, half of whom were engaged in music training. Thirteen children returned for testing one year later, permitting the first longitudinal assessment of subcortical auditory function with music training. Results indicate emerging neural enhancements in musically trained preschoolers for processing speech in noise. Longitudinal outcomes reveal that children enrolled in music classes experience further increased neural resilience to background noise following one year of continued training compared to nonmusician peers. Together, these data reveal enhanced development of neural mechanisms undergirding speech-in-noise perception in preschoolers undergoing music training and may indicate a biological impact of music training on auditory function during early childhood.
Molecular imaging with radionuclides, a powerful technique for studying biological processes in vivo
Cisbani, E.; Cusanno, F.; Garibaldi, F.; Magliozzi, M. L.; Majewski, S.; Torrioli, S.; Tsui, B. M. W.
Our team is carrying on a systematic study devoted to the design of a SPECT detector with submillimeter resolution and adequate sensitivity (1 cps/kBq). Such system will be used for functional imaging of biological processes at molecular level in small animal. The system requirements have been defined by two relevant applications: study of atherosclerotic plaques characterization and stem cells diffusion and homing. In order to minimize costs and implementation time, the gamma detector will be based—as much as possible—on conventional components: scintillator crystal and position sensitive PhotoMultipliers read by individual channel electronics. A coded aperture collimator should be adapted to maximize the efficiency. The optimal selection of the detector components is investigated by systematic use of Monte-Carlo simulations (and laboratory validation tests); and finally preliminary results are presented and discussed here.
Composting of biological waste. Processes and utilisation. Summary report; Bioabfallkompostierung. Verfahren und Verwertung. Kurzfassung
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Gronauer, A.; Claassen, N.; Ebertseder, T.; Fischer, P.; Gutser, R.; Helm, M.; Popp, L.; Schoen, H.
The project investigated environmentally compatible concepts for processing and utilisation of biological waste by means of composting and spreading on agriculataural and gardening plots. The project comprised three parts: Composting techniques, applications of compost in agriculture and gardening, and applications in landscaping. This volume comprises the summaries of the three part-projects. (orig./SR) [Deutsch] Die umweltschonende Aufbereitung und Verwertung von Bioabfall durch Kompostierung und Rueckfuehrung auf landwirtschaftliche und gaertnerische Flaechen wurde untersucht. Dieses Projekt war dreigeteilt in die Bereiche der Kompostierung selbst, der Anwendung des Komposts in der Landwirtschaft und seiner Anwendung im Gartenbau sowie im Garten- und Landschaftsbau (GaLa-Bau). Die vorliegende Schrift enthaelt die Zusammenfassung der genannten drei Teilberichte. (orig./SR)
Ozone-biological activated carbon as a pretreatment process for reverse osmosis brine treatment and recovery.
Lee, Lai Yoke; Ng, How Yong; Ong, Say Leong; Hu, Jiang Yong; Tao, Guihe; Kekre, Kiran; Viswanath, Balakrishnan; Lay, Winson; Seah, Harry
Ozonation was used in this study to improve biodegradability of RO brine from water reclamation facilities. An ozone dosage ranging from 3 to 10 mg O(3)/L and contact times of 10 and 20 min in batch studies were found to increase the biodegradability (BOD(5)/TOC ratio) of the RO brine by 1.8-3.5 times. At the same time, total organic carbon (TOC) removal was in the range of 5.3-24.5%. The lab-scale ozone-biological activated carbon (BAC) at an ozone dosage of 6.0mg O(3)/L with 20-min contact time was able to achieve 3 times higher TOC removal compared to using BAC alone. Further processing with Capacitive Deionization (CDI) process was able to generate a product water with better water quality than the RO feed water, i.e., with more than 80% ions removal and a lower TOC concentration. The ozone-BAC pretreatment has the potential of reducing fouling in the CDI process. PMID:19580984
Video-rate processing in tomographic phase microscopy of biological cells using CUDA.
Dardikman, Gili; Habaza, Mor; Waller, Laura; Shaked, Natan T
We suggest a new implementation for rapid reconstruction of three-dimensional (3-D) refractive index (RI) maps of biological cells acquired by tomographic phase microscopy (TPM). The TPM computational reconstruction process is extremely time consuming, making the analysis of large data sets unreasonably slow and the real-time 3-D visualization of the results impossible. Our implementation uses new phase extraction, phase unwrapping and Fourier slice algorithms, suitable for efficient CPU or GPU implementations. The experimental setup includes an external off-axis interferometric module connected to an inverted microscope illuminated coherently. We used single cell rotation by micro-manipulation to obtain interferometric projections from 73 viewing angles over a 180° angular range. Our parallel algorithms were implemented using Nvidia's CUDA C platform, running on Nvidia's Tesla K20c GPU. This implementation yields, for the first time to our knowledge, a 3-D reconstruction rate higher than video rate of 25 frames per second for 256 × 256-pixel interferograms with 73 different projection angles (64 × 64 × 64 output). This allows us to calculate additional cellular parameters, while still processing faster than video rate. This technique is expected to find uses for real-time 3-D cell visualization and processing, while yielding fast feedback for medical diagnosis and cell sorting. PMID:27410107
The consequence of biologic graft processing on blood interface biocompatibility and mechanics.
Van de Walle, Aurore B; Uzarski, Joseph S; McFetridge, Peter S
Processing ex vivo derived tissues to reduce immunogenicity is an effective approach to create biologically complex materials for vascular reconstruction. Due to the sensitivity of small diameter vascular grafts to occlusive events, the effect of graft processing on critical parameters for graft patency, such as peripheral cell adhesion and wall mechanics, requires detailed analysis. Isolated human umbilical vein sections were used as model allogenic vascular scaffolds that were processed with either: 1. sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 2. ethanol/acetone (EtAc), or 3. glutaraldehyde (Glu). Changes in material mechanics were assessed via uniaxial tensile testing. Peripheral cell adhesion to the opaque grafting material was evaluated using an innovative flow chamber that allows direct observation of the blood-graft interface under physiological shear conditions. All treatments modified the grafts tensile strain and stiffness properties, with physiological modulus values decreasing from Glu 240±12 kPa to SDS 210±6 kPa and EtAc 140±3 kPa, Papplied to the umbilical vein scaffold were shown to modify structural mechanics and cell adhesion properties, with the EtAc treatment reducing thrombotic events relative to SDS treated samples. This approach allows time and cost effective prescreening of clinically relevant grafting materials to assess initial cell reactivity.
Coking wastewater treatment for industrial reuse purpose: combining biological processes with ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis.
Jin, Xuewen; Li, Enchao; Lu, Shuguang; Qiu, Zhaofu; Sui, Qian
A full-scale plant using anaerobic, anoxic and oxic processes (A1/A2/O), along with a pilot-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) integrated system developed by Shanghai Baosteel Chemical Co. Ltd., was investigated to treat coking wastewater for industrial reuse over a period of one year. The removals reached 82.5% (COD), 89.6% (BOD), 99.8% (ammonium nitrogen), 99.9% (phenol), 44.6% (total cyanide (T-CN)), 99.7% (thiocyanide (SCN-)) and 8.9% (fluoride), during the A1/A2/O biological treatment stage, and all parameters were further reduced by over 96.0%, except for fluoride (86.4%), in the final discharge effluent from the currently operating plant. The pilot-scale MBR process reduced the turbidity to less than 0.65 NTU, and most of the toxic organic compounds were degraded or intercepted by the A1/A2/O followed MBR processes. In addition, parameters including COD, T-CN, total nitrogen, fluoride, chloride ion, hardness and conductivity were significantly reduced by the NF-RO system to a level suitable for industrial reuse, with a total water production ratio of 70.7%. However, the concentrates from the NF and RO units were highly polluted and should be disposed of properly or further treated before being discharged. PMID:24520694
Utilization of the cyanobacteria Anabaena sp CH1 in biological carbon dioxide mitigation processes
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Chiang, C.L.; Lee, C.M.; Chen, P.C. [Hungkuang University, Taichung (Taiwan)
Before switching totally to alternative fuel stage, CO{sub 2} mitigation process has considered a transitional strategy for combustion of fossil fuels inevitably. In comparison to other CO{sub 2} mitigation options, such as oceanic or geologic injection, the biological photosynthetic process would present a far superior and sustainable solution under both environmental and social considerations. The utilization of the cyanobacteria Anabaena sp. CH1 in carbon dioxide mitigation processes is analyzed in our research. It was found that an original developed photobioreactor with internal light source exhibits high light utilization. Anabaena sp. CH1 demonstrates excellent CO{sub 2} tolerance even at 15% CO{sub 2} level. This enables flue gas from power plant to be directly introduced to Anabaena sp. CH1 culture. Double light intensity and increased 47% CO{sub 2} bubble retention time could enhance CO{sub 2} removal efficiencies by 79% and 67%, respectively. A maximum CO{sub 2} fixation rate of 1.01 g CO{sub 2} L{sup -1} day{sup -1} was measured experimentally.
Micro-processing of polymers and biological materials using high repetition rate femtosecond laser pulses
Ding, Li
has been observed in or around the laser-induced refractive index modification regions. These results support the notion that femtosecond laser micro-processing method may be an excellent means of altering the refraction or higher order aberration content of corneal tissue without cell death and short-term tissue damage, and has been named as Intra-tissue Refractive Index Shaping (IRIS). The femtosecond laser micro-processing workstation has also been employed for laser transfection of single defined cells. Some preliminary results suggest that this method can be used to trace individual cells and record their biological and morphological evolution, which is quite promising in many biomedical applications especially in immunology science. In conclusion, high repetition rate femtosecond laser micro-processing has been employed to fabricate microstructures in ophthalmological hydrogels and ocular tissues. Its unique three-dimensional capability over transparent materials and biological media makes it a powerful tool and will greatly impact the future of laser material-processing.
分子生物学图像分析系统软件设计%The Software Design for the Molecular Biological Image Processing System
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
徐秀林; 朱乃硕; 果忠祥
With the use of Visual Basic 6.0 language and molecularbiological technology, we have developed a new molecular biological information processing system to detect the characteristic parameter of molecular biological electrophoresis image. The software can determine the molecular weight of the restriction endonuclease hydrolytic DNA fragment and protein or other macromolecules. The application indicates that the system with its accuracy reliability high officiency and a large capacity of data to be stored,It is very useful to gene diagnosis and molecular biological researches.%利用VisualBasic6.0(简称VB6)编程技术和分子生物学实验技术,研制开发一套用于测定DNA基因扩增片段或限制性内切酶水解后形成的不同大小片段的特征参数的分子生物学图像分析软件,该软件能对不同DNA分子、蛋白质分子和其它生物大分子的电泳图像进行定量分析。应用表明,该软件系统准确可靠,速度快,能储存大量信息,便于检索和信息处理,对分子生物学及基因工程基础研究和临床基因诊断都具有重要的应用价值。
The Precambrian Biogeochemical Carbon Isotopic Record: Contributions of Thermal Versus Biological Processes
DesMarais, David J.; DeVincenzi, Donald L. (Technical Monitor)
Superplumes offer a new approach for understanding global C cycles. Isotopes help to discern the impacts of geological, environmental and biological processes ujpun the evolution of these cycles. For example, C-13/C-12 values of coeval sedimentary organics and carbonates give global estimates of the fraction of C buried as organics (Forg), which today lies near 0.2. Before Oxygenic photosynthesis arose, our biosphere obtained reducing power for biosynthesis solely from thermal volatiles and rock alteration. Thus Forg was dominated by the mantle redox state, which has remained remarkably constant for greater than Gy. Recent data confirm that the long-term change in Forg had been small, indicating that the mantle redox buffer remains important even today. Oxygenic photosynthesis enabled life to obtain additional reducing power by splitting the water molecule. Accordingly, biological organic production rose above the level constrained by the mantle-derived flux of reduced species. For example, today, chemoautotrophs harvesting energy from hydrothermal emanations can synthesize at most between 0.2 x 10(exp 12) and 2x 10(exp 12) mol C yr-1 of organic C globally. In contrast, global photosynthetic productivity is estimated at 9000 x 10(exp 12) mol C yr-1. Occasionally photosynthetic productivity did contribute to dramatically -elevated Forg values (to 0.4 or more) as evidenced by very high carbonate C-13/C-12. The interplay between biological, tectonic and other environmental factors is illustrated by the mid-Archean to mid-Proterozoic isotopic record. The relatively constant C-13/C-12 values of Archean carbonates support the view that photosynthetically-driven Forg increases were not yet possible. In contrast, major excursions in C-13/C-12, and thus also in Forg, during the early Proterozoic confirmed the global importance of oxygenic photosynthesis by that time. Remarkably, the superplume event at 1.9 Ga did not trigger another major Forg increase, despite the
Basic Study of Establishment of Quality Assurance Processes to Develop an Integrated Quality Assurance System for Nuclear Power Plant Construction
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
An integrated quality assurance system has necessitated carrying out quality assurance programs in a systematic manner because the opportunities to expand business in overseas markets have increased since the export of a nuclear power plant to UAE in 2009. In this study, we use PDCA method to systematically analyze the quality assurance procedures that were used in previous projects for constructing nuclear power plants. We reached a classification system of quality assurance processes at each phase of nuclear power plant construction by integrating similar work related to quality such as planning, design, equipment manufacturing, construction and start-up. We also established a hierarchy of quality assurance processes to develop an integrated quality assurance system as a technology goal to be developed later. To obtain most updated quality assurance activities, a quality assurance process is structured by integrating similar works analyzed from quality assurance procedures through PDCA cycle method. At the implementation phase of Hierarchy of quality processes and sequence of processes for constructing nuclear power plant are established in this study. Integrated quality assurance system is to be developed by connecting organizations as well as stakeholders such as owners, Architect engineering, suppliers, contractors, and sub-contractors to carry out assigned work efficiently
Functional knowledge transfer for high-accuracy prediction of under-studied biological processes.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Christopher Y Park
Full Text Available A key challenge in genetics is identifying the functional roles of genes in pathways. Numerous functional genomics techniques (e.g. machine learning that predict protein function have been developed to address this question. These methods generally build from existing annotations of genes to pathways and thus are often unable to identify additional genes participating in processes that are not already well studied. Many of these processes are well studied in some organism, but not necessarily in an investigator's organism of interest. Sequence-based search methods (e.g. BLAST have been used to transfer such annotation information between organisms. We demonstrate that functional genomics can complement traditional sequence similarity to improve the transfer of gene annotations between organisms. Our method transfers annotations only when functionally appropriate as determined by genomic data and can be used with any prediction algorithm to combine transferred gene function knowledge with organism-specific high-throughput data to enable accurate function prediction. We show that diverse state-of-art machine learning algorithms leveraging functional knowledge transfer (FKT dramatically improve their accuracy in predicting gene-pathway membership, particularly for processes with little experimental knowledge in an organism. We also show that our method compares favorably to annotation transfer by sequence similarity. Next, we deploy FKT with state-of-the-art SVM classifier to predict novel genes to 11,000 biological processes across six diverse organisms and expand the coverage of accurate function predictions to processes that are often ignored because of a dearth of annotated genes in an organism. Finally, we perform in vivo experimental investigation in Danio rerio and confirm the regulatory role of our top predicted novel gene, wnt5b, in leftward cell migration during heart development. FKT is immediately applicable to many bioinformatics
A Practical Approach to Quantitative Processing and Analysis of Small Biological Structures by Fluorescent Imaging
Noller, Crystal M.; Boulina, Maria; McNamara, George; Szeto, Angela; McCabe, Philip M.
Standards in quantitative fluorescent imaging are vaguely recognized and receive insufficient discussion. A common best practice is to acquire images at Nyquist rate, where highest signal frequency is assumed to be the highest obtainable resolution of the imaging system. However, this particular standard is set to insure that all obtainable information is being collected. The objective of the current study was to demonstrate that for quantification purposes, these correctly set acquisition rates can be redundant; instead, linear size of the objects of interest can be used to calculate sufficient information density in the image. We describe optimized image acquisition parameters and unbiased methods for processing and quantification of medium-size cellular structures. Sections of rabbit aortas were immunohistochemically stained to identify and quantify sympathetic varicosities, >2 μm in diameter. Images were processed to reduce background noise and segment objects using free, open-access software. Calculations of the optimal sampling rate for the experiment were based on the size of the objects of interest. The effect of differing sampling rates and processing techniques on object quantification was demonstrated. Oversampling led to a substantial increase in file size, whereas undersampling hindered reliable quantification. Quantification of raw and incorrectly processed images generated false structures, misrepresenting the underlying data. The current study emphasizes the importance of defining image-acquisition parameters based on the structure(s) of interest. The proposed postacquisition processing steps effectively removed background and noise, allowed for reliable quantification, and eliminated user bias. This customizable, reliable method for background subtraction and structure quantification provides a reproducible tool for researchers across biologic disciplines. PMID:27182204
Chan, Y T
Since the study of wavelets is a relatively new area, much of the research coming from mathematicians, most of the literature uses terminology, concepts and proofs that may, at times, be difficult and intimidating for the engineer. Wavelet Basics has therefore been written as an introductory book for scientists and engineers. The mathematical presentation has been kept simple, the concepts being presented in elaborate detail in a terminology that engineers will find familiar. Difficult ideas are illustrated with examples which will also aid in the development of an intuitive insight. Chapter 1 reviews the basics of signal transformation and discusses the concepts of duals and frames. Chapter 2 introduces the wavelet transform, contrasts it with the short-time Fourier transform and clarifies the names of the different types of wavelet transforms. Chapter 3 links multiresolution analysis, orthonormal wavelets and the design of digital filters. Chapter 4 gives a tour d'horizon of topics of current interest: wave...
Quantum electronics basic theory
Fain, V M; Sanders, J H
Quantum Electronics, Volume 1: Basic Theory is a condensed and generalized description of the many research and rapid progress done on the subject. It is translated from the Russian language. The volume describes the basic theory of quantum electronics, and shows how the concepts and equations followed in quantum electronics arise from the basic principles of theoretical physics. The book then briefly discusses the interaction of an electromagnetic field with matter. The text also covers the quantum theory of relaxation process when a quantum system approaches an equilibrium state, and explai
Basic Auditory Processing Deficits in Dyslexia: Systematic Review of the Behavioral and Event-Related Potential/Field Evidence
Hämäläinen, Jarmo A.; Salminen, Hanne K.; Leppänen, Paavo H. T.
A review of research that uses behavioral, electroencephalographic, and/or magnetoencephalographic methods to investigate auditory processing deficits in individuals with dyslexia is presented. Findings show that measures of frequency, rise time, and duration discrimination as well as amplitude modulation and frequency modulation detection were…
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Radiobiology, a branch of science concerned with the action of ionizing radiation on biological tissues and living organisms, is a combination of two disciplines: radiation physics and biology. For use in radiobiology and radiation protection the physical quantity that is useful for defining the quality of an ionizing radiation beam is the linear energy transfer (LET). In contrast to the stopping power, which focuses attention on the energy loss by an energetic charged particle moving through a medium, the LET focuses attention on the linear rate of energy absorption by the absorbing medium as the charged particle traverses the medium. When cells are exposed to ionizing radiation the standard physical effects between radiation and the atoms or molecules of the cells occur first and the possible biological damage to cell functions follows later. The biological effects of radiation result mainly from damage to the DNA, which is the most critical target within the cell; however, there are also other sites in the cell that, when damaged, may lead to cell death
Expanding biological data standards development processes for US IOOS: visual line transect observing community for mammal, bird, and turtle data
Fornwall, M.; Gisiner, R.; Simmons, S. E.; Moustahfid, Hassan; Canonico, G.; Halpin, P.; Goldstein, P.; Fitch, R.; Weise, M.; Cyr, N.; Palka, D.; Price, J.; Collins, D.
The US Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) has recently adopted standards for biological core variables in collaboration with the US Geological Survey/Ocean Biogeographic Information System (USGS/OBIS-USA) and other federal and non-federal partners. In this Community White Paper (CWP) we provide a process to bring into IOOS a rich new source of biological observing data, visual line transect surveys, and to establish quality data standards for visual line transect observations, an important source of at-sea bird, turtle and marine mammal observation data. The processes developed through this exercise will be useful for other similar biogeographic observing efforts, such as passive acoustic point and line transect observations, tagged animal data, and mark-recapture (photo-identification) methods. Furthermore, we suggest that the processes developed through this exercise will serve as a catalyst for broadening involvement by the larger marine biological data community within the goals and processes of IOOS.
A compact and versatile microfluidic probe for local processing of tissue sections and biological specimens
Cors, J. F.; Lovchik, R. D.; Delamarche, E.; Kaigala, G. V.
The microfluidic probe (MFP) is a non-contact, scanning microfluidic technology for local (bio)chemical processing of surfaces based on hydrodynamically confining nanoliter volumes of liquids over tens of micrometers. We present here a compact MFP (cMFP) that can be used on a standard inverted microscope and assist in the local processing of tissue sections and biological specimens. The cMFP has a footprint of 175 × 100 × 140 mm3 and can scan an area of 45 × 45 mm2 on a surface with an accuracy of ±15 μm. The cMFP is compatible with standard surfaces used in life science laboratories such as microscope slides and Petri dishes. For ease of use, we developed self-aligned mounted MFP heads with standardized "chip-to-world" and "chip-to-platform" interfaces. Switching the processing liquid in the flow confinement is performed within 90 s using a selector valve with a dead-volume of approximately 5 μl. We further implemented height-compensation that allows a cMFP head to follow non-planar surfaces common in tissue and cellular ensembles. This was shown by patterning different macroscopic copper-coated topographies with height differences up to 750 μm. To illustrate the applicability to tissue processing, 5 μm thick M000921 BRAF V600E+ melanoma cell blocks were stained with hematoxylin to create contours, lines, spots, gradients of the chemicals, and multiple spots over larger areas. The local staining was performed in an interactive manner using a joystick and a scripting module. The compactness, user-friendliness, and functionality of the cMFP will enable it to be adapted as a standard tool in research, development and diagnostic laboratories, particularly for the interaction with tissues and cells.
Basic study of the effect of the extended-cycle process on mammographic screen/film systems. Granularity
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
With single-emulsion films like those used in screen/film mammography, if the developing temperature is higher and/or the processing time is longer than recommended (i.e., extended-cycle process), film speed and/or film contrast are effectively increased. However, it can also be expected that radiographic noise will be increased by the extended-cycle process. Therefore, film graininess and radiographic mottle were investigated with standard- and extended-cycle processes in four single-screen/single-emulsion film systems for mammography, the Konica M-150/New CM, Fuji UM MAMMO Fine/UM-MA HC, Kodak Min-R 2000/Min-R 2000, and Kodak Min-R Medium/Min-R M. Investigation was carried out by measurement of the Wiener spectrum (WS). Results showed that the WS of film graininess increased in all films. The increase was greatest in Min-R M, and the rate of increase at 2.0 cycles/mm was 1.67 or more. The film showing the smallest increase was UM-MA HC, for which the rate of increase was 1.03-1.21. There were cases in which the spatial frequency at a 50 percent contribution rate of film graininess to radiographic mottle changed to a low spatial frequency. When only the increase in WS of radiographic mottle was examined, the increase was greatest in Min-R Medium/Min-R M, and the rate of increase at 2.0 cycles/mm was 1.65 or more. Min-R 2000/Min-R 2000 showed the least increase, and the rate of increase was 1.12-1.24. Increases in WS values were larger at 0.1-0.5 cycle/mm than at 2.0 cycles/mm when investigating the influence of trend using film graininess, and roller marks and so on could not be specified as a cause. (author)
Interconnection of reactive oxygen species chemistry across the interfaces of atmospheric, environmental, and biological processes.
Anglada, Josep M; Martins-Costa, Marilia; Francisco, Joseph S; Ruiz-López, Manuel F
Oxidation reactions are ubiquitous and play key roles in the chemistry of the atmosphere, in water treatment processes, and in aerobic organisms. Ozone (O3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydrogen polyoxides (H2Ox, x > 2), associated hydroxyl and hydroperoxyl radicals (HOx = OH and HO2), and superoxide and ozonide anions (O2(-) and O3(-), respectively) are the primary oxidants in these systems. They are commonly classified as reactive oxygen species (ROS). Atmospheric chemistry is driven by a complex system of chain reactions of species, including nitrogen oxides, hydroxyl and hydroperoxide radicals, alkoxy and peroxy radicals, and ozone. HOx radicals contribute to keeping air clean, but in polluted areas, the ozone concentration increases and creates a negative impact on plants and animals. Indeed, ozone concentration is used to assess air quality worldwide. Clouds have a direct effect on the chemical composition of the atmosphere. On one hand, cloud droplets absorb many trace atmospheric gases, which can be scavenged by rain and fog. On the other hand, ionic species can form in this medium, which makes the chemistry of the atmosphere richer and more complex. Furthermore, recent studies have suggested that air-cloud interfaces might have a significant impact on the overall chemistry of the troposphere. Despite the large differences in molecular composition, concentration, and thermodynamic conditions among atmospheric, environmental, and biological systems, the underlying chemistry involving ROS has many similarities. In this Account, we examine ROS and discuss the chemical characteristics common to all of these systems. In water treatment, ROS are key components of an important subset of advanced oxidation processes. Ozonation, peroxone chemistry, and Fenton reactions play important roles in generating sufficient amounts of hydroxyl radicals to purify wastewater. Biochemical processes within living organisms also involve ROS. These species can come from pollutants in
Interconnection of reactive oxygen species chemistry across the interfaces of atmospheric, environmental, and biological processes.
Anglada, Josep M; Martins-Costa, Marilia; Francisco, Joseph S; Ruiz-López, Manuel F
Oxidation reactions are ubiquitous and play key roles in the chemistry of the atmosphere, in water treatment processes, and in aerobic organisms. Ozone (O3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydrogen polyoxides (H2Ox, x > 2), associated hydroxyl and hydroperoxyl radicals (HOx = OH and HO2), and superoxide and ozonide anions (O2(-) and O3(-), respectively) are the primary oxidants in these systems. They are commonly classified as reactive oxygen species (ROS). Atmospheric chemistry is driven by a complex system of chain reactions of species, including nitrogen oxides, hydroxyl and hydroperoxide radicals, alkoxy and peroxy radicals, and ozone. HOx radicals contribute to keeping air clean, but in polluted areas, the ozone concentration increases and creates a negative impact on plants and animals. Indeed, ozone concentration is used to assess air quality worldwide. Clouds have a direct effect on the chemical composition of the atmosphere. On one hand, cloud droplets absorb many trace atmospheric gases, which can be scavenged by rain and fog. On the other hand, ionic species can form in this medium, which makes the chemistry of the atmosphere richer and more complex. Furthermore, recent studies have suggested that air-cloud interfaces might have a significant impact on the overall chemistry of the troposphere. Despite the large differences in molecular composition, concentration, and thermodynamic conditions among atmospheric, environmental, and biological systems, the underlying chemistry involving ROS has many similarities. In this Account, we examine ROS and discuss the chemical characteristics common to all of these systems. In water treatment, ROS are key components of an important subset of advanced oxidation processes. Ozonation, peroxone chemistry, and Fenton reactions play important roles in generating sufficient amounts of hydroxyl radicals to purify wastewater. Biochemical processes within living organisms also involve ROS. These species can come from pollutants in
A comparative study of the bacterial community in denitrifying and traditional enhanced biological phosphorus removal processes.
Lv, Xiao-Mei; Shao, Ming-Fei; Li, Chao-Lin; Li, Ji; Gao, Xin-Lei; Sun, Fei-Yun
Denitrifying phosphorus removal is an attractive wastewater treatment process due to its reduced carbon source demand and sludge minimization potential. Two lab-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were operated in alternating anaerobic-anoxic (A-A) or anaerobic-oxic (A-O) conditions to achieve denitrifying enhanced biological phosphate removal (EBPR) and traditional EBPR. No significant differences were observed in phosphorus removal efficiencies between A-A SBR and A-O SBR, with phosphorus removal rates being 87.9% and 89.0% respectively. The community structures in denitrifying and traditional EBPR processes were evaluated by high-throughput sequencing of the PCR-amplified partial 16S rRNA genes from each sludge. The results obtained showed that the bacterial community was more diverse in A-O sludge than in A-A sludge. Taxonomy and β-diversity analyses indicated that a significant shift occurred in the dominant microbial community in A-A sludge compared with the seed sludge during the whole acclimation phase, while a slight fluctuation was observed in the abundance of the major taxonomies in A-O sludge. One Dechloromonas-related OTU outside the 4 known Candidatus "Accumulibacter" clades was detected as the main OTU in A-A sludge at the stationary operation, while Candidatus "Accumulibacter" dominated in A-O sludge. PMID:24964811
Roles of extracellular polymeric substances in enhanced biological phosphorus removal process.
Li, Wen-Wei; Zhang, Hai-Ling; Sheng, Guo-Ping; Yu, Han-Qing
Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process is known to mainly rely on the ability of phosphorus-accumulating organisms to take up, transform and store excess amount of phosphorus (P) inside the cells. However, recent studies have revealed considerable accumulation of P also in the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of sludge, implying a non-negligible role of EPS in P removal by EBPR sludge. However, the contribution of EPS to P uptake and the forms of accumulated extracellular P vary substantially in different studies, and the underlying mechanism of P transformation and transportation in EPS remains poorly understood. This review provides a new recognition into the P removal process in EBPR system by incorporating the role of EPS. It overviews on the characteristics of P accumulation in EPS, explores the mechanism of P transformation and transportation in EBPR sludge and EPS, summarizes the main influential factors for the P-accumulation properties of EPS, and discusses the remaining knowledge gaps and needed future efforts that may lead to better understanding and use of such an EPS role for maximizing P recovery from wastewater. PMID:26143588
Development of Biological Coal Gasification (MicGAS Process). Topical report, July 1991--February 1993
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Srivastava, K.C.
Laboratory and bench scale reactor research carried out during the report period confirms the feasibility of biomethanation of Texas lignite (TxL) and some other low-rank coals to methane by specifically developed unique anaerobic microbial consortia. The data obtained demonstrates specificity of a particular microbial consortium to a given lignite. Development of a suitable microbial consortium is the key to the success of the process. The Mic-1 consortium was developed to tolerate higher coal loadings of 1 and 5% TxL in comparison to initial loadings of 0.01% and 0.1% TxL. Moreover, the reaction period was reduced from 60 days to 14 to 21 days. The cost of the culture medium for bioconversion was reduced by studying the effect of different growth factors on the biomethanation capability of Mic-1 consortium. Four different bench scale bioreactor configurations, namely Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC), Upflow Fluidized Bed Reactor (UFBR), Trickle Bed Reactor (TBR), and Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) were evaluated for scale up studies. Preliminary results indicated highest biomethanation of TxL by the Mic-1 consortium in the CSTR, and lowest in the trickle bed reactor. However, highest methane production and process efficiency were obtained in the RBC.
The impact of environmental stress on male reproductive development in plants: biological processes and molecular mechanisms.
De Storme, Nico; Geelen, Danny
In plants, male reproductive development is extremely sensitive to adverse climatic environments and (a)biotic stress. Upon exposure to stress, male gametophytic organs often show morphological, structural and metabolic alterations that typically lead to meiotic defects or premature spore abortion and male reproductive sterility. Depending on the type of stress involved (e.g. heat, cold, drought) and the duration of stress exposure, the underlying cellular defect is highly variable and either involves cytoskeletal alterations, tapetal irregularities, altered sugar utilization, aberrations in auxin metabolism, accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS; oxidative stress) or the ectopic induction of programmed cell death (PCD). In this review, we present the critically stress-sensitive stages of male sporogenesis (meiosis) and male gametogenesis (microspore development), and discuss the corresponding biological processes involved and the resulting alterations in male reproduction. In addition, this review also provides insights into the molecular and/or hormonal regulation of the environmental stress sensitivity of male reproduction and outlines putative interaction(s) between the different processes involved.
Photo-induced regeneration of hormones by electron transfer processes: Potential biological and medical consequences
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Getoff, Nikola, E-mail: email@example.com [Section of Radiation Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna (Austria); Hartmann, Johannes [Department of Gynecologic Endocrinology and Reproduction, Medical University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna (Austria); Schittl, Heike [Section of Radiation Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna (Austria); Gerschpacher, Marion [Department of Gynecologic Endocrinology and Reproduction, Medical University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna (Austria); Quint, Ruth Maria [Section of Radiation Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna (Austria)
Based on the previous results concerning electron transfer processes in biological substances, it was of interest to investigate if hormone transients resulting by e.g. electron emission can be regenerated. The presented results prove for the first time that the hormone transients originating by the electron emission process can be successfully regenerated by the transfer of electrons from a potent electron donor, such as vitamin C (VitC). Investigations were performed using progesterone (PRG), testosterone (TES) and estrone (E1) as representatives of hormones. By irradiation with monochromatic UV light ({lambda}=254 nm) in a media of 40% water and 60% ethanol, the degradation as well as the regeneration of the hormones was studied with each hormone individually and in the mixture with VitC as a function of the absorbed UV dose, using HPLC. Calculated from the obtained initial yields, the determined regeneration of PRG amounted to 52.7%, for TES to 58.6% and for E1 to 90.9%. The consumption of VitC was determined in the same way. The reported results concerning the regeneration of hormones by the transfer of electrons from an electron donor offer a new, promising method for the therapy with hormones. As a consequence of the regeneration of hormones, a decreased formation of carcinogenic metabolites is expected.
A biological/chemical process for reduced waste and energy consumption: caprolactam production. Final report
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
A biological/chemical process for converting cyclohexane into caprolactam was investigated: microorganisms in a bioreactor would be used to convert cyclohexane into caprolactone followed by chemical synthesis of caprolactam using ammonia. Four microorganisms were isolated from natural soil and water, that can utilize cyclohexane as a sole source of C and energy for growth. They were shown to have the correct metabolic intermediates and enzymes to convert cyclohexane into cyclohexanol, cyclohexanone, and caprolactone. Genetic techniques to create and select for caprolactone hydrolase negative-mutants were developed; those are used to convert cyclohexane into caprolactone but, because of the block, are unable to metabolize the caprolactone further. Because of a new nylon carpet reycle process and the long time frame for a totally new bioprocess, a limited study was done to evaluate whether a simplified bioprocess to convert cyclohexanol into cyclohexanone or caprolactone was feasible; growth rates and key enzyme levels were measured in a collection of microorganisms that metabolize cyclohexanol to determine if the bioactivity is high enough to support an economical cyclohexanol bioprocess. Although these microorganisms had sufficient bioactivity, they could tolerate only low levels (<1%) of cyclohexanol and thus are not suitable for developing a cost effective bioprocess because of the high cost of dilute product recovery.
Coupling of photocatalytic and biological processes as a contribution to the detoxification of water: catalytic and technological aspects
Parra Cardona, Sandra Patricia; Pulgarin, César
This research contributes to the study and development of a new degradation technique that couples solar and biological processes for the treatment of biorecalcitrant, nonbiodegradable, and/or toxic organic substances present in the aqueous medium. Efficient physicochemical pretreatments are necessary to modify the structure of the pollutants, by transforming them into less toxic and biodegradable intermediates, allowing then, a biological procedure to complete the degradation of the pollutan...
Evaluation of the processing of dry biological ferment for gamma radiation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The developed work had with objectives to demonstrate if it had alteration in the growth of UFC in plate and in the viability of yeasts and total bacteria when dry biological ferment was dealt with by different doses to gamma radiation and under different times storage, to determine the D10 dose for total bacteria and yeasts in this product and to analyzed the processing of this product it promoted some benefit without causing unfeasibility of exactly. The different samples of dry biological ferment had been irradiated at IPEN in a Gammacell - 220 source at 0.5; 1; 2 and 3 kGy doses (dose rate of 3.51 kGy/h). This procedure referring samples to each dose of radiation had been after destined to the microbiological analysis and the test of viability while excessively the samples had been stored the ambient temperature (23 degree C). The increase of the dose of radiation caused a reduction in the counting of yeasts growth, of total bacteria growth and also in the frequency of viable yeast cells, demonstrated by FDA-EB fluorescent method. Beyond of radiation the storage time also it influenced in counting reduction of total bacteria and reduction of frequency of viable cells. According with the analysis of simple linear regression, the dose of radiation necessary to eliminate 90% of the yeast population was between 1.10 and 2.23 kGy and for the bacterial population varied between 2.31 and 2.95 kGy. These results demonstrated clearly the negative points of the application of ionizing radiation in dry biological ferment; therefore the interval of D10 found for total bacteria is superior to found for yeasts. Being thus, the use of this resource for the improvement of the product quality becomes impracticable, since to reduce significantly the bacterial population necessarily we have that to diminish the population of yeasts. With yeasts reduction of we will go significantly to modify the quality and the viability of product. (author)
REE incorporation and behaviour in aquatic turtles as a consequence of environmental exposure and biological processes
Censi, P.; Randazzo, L. A.; D'Angelo, S.; Cuttitta, A.; Saiano, F.
features in whole blood samples suggest that behaviour of these elements can be influenced by vital effects, probably related to the phosphate deposition during formation of turtle skeleton. In order to corroborate this suggestion a portion of esoskeleton sample coming from an Emys trinacris individual was analysed and REE concentrations normalised to the environmental water. Observed features of REE pattern from this material strongly agree with above the mentioned hypothesis being MREE enriched, from Nd to Ho, with respect to LREE and HREE. Therefore collected data indicate that REE contents in blood of Emys trinacris is influenced by exposure to environmental conditions but elemental behaviour in whole blood is driven by biological processes, probably associated to formation of esoskeleton that can be subjected to the incorporation of radionuclides.
Biologically produced sulfur particles and polysulfide ions
Kleinjan, W.E.
This thesis deals with the effects of particles of biologically produced sulfur (or 'biosulfur') on a biotechnological process for the removal of hydrogen sulfide from gas streams. Particular emphasis is given to the role of polysulfide ions in such a process. These polysulfide ions are formed from reaction of sulfide with biologically produced sulfur. The basic concepts of this H 2 S removal process were developed at the department of Environmental Technology of Wageningen University and the...
Kinetic analysis of anaerobic phosphorus release during biological phosphorus removal process
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
DOU Junfeng; LUO Guyuan; LIU Xiang
Enhanced biological phosphorus removal(EBPR)is a commonly used and sustainable method for phosphorus removal from wastewater.Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate(PHB),polyphosphate,and glycogen are three kinds of intracellular storage polymers in phosphorus accumulation organisms.The variation of these polymers under different conditions has an apparent influence on anaerobic phosphorus release,which is very important for controlling the performance of EBPR.To obtain the mechanism and kinetic character of anaerobic phosphorus release,a series of batch experiments were performed using the excessively aerated sludge from the aerobic unit of the biological phosphorus removal system in this study.The results showed that the volatile suspended solid(vss)had an increasing trend,while the mixed liquid suspended sludge(MLSS)and ashes were reduced during the anaerobic phosphorus release process.The interruption of anaerobic HAc-uptake and phosphorus-release occurs when the glycogen in the phosphorus-accumulating-organisms is exhausted.Under the condition of lower initial HAc-COD,HAc became the limiting factor after some time for anaerobic HAc uptake.Under the condition of higher initial HAc-COD,HAc uptake was stopped because of the depletion of glycogen in the microorganisms.The mean ratio of △ρP/△ρPHB,△ρGLY/△ρPHB,△ρP/△COD,and △ρPHB/△COD was 0.48,0.50,0.44.and 0.92.respectively,which was nearly the same as the theoretical value.The calibrated kinetic parameters of the HAc-uptake and phosphorus-release model were evaluated as Kgly was 0.005,and KCOD was 3 mg/L.An apparently linear correlation was observed between the ratio of △ρP/△COD and pH of the solution,and the equation between them was obtained in this study.
Extended morphological processing: a practical method for automatic spot detection of biological markers from microscopic images
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kimori Yoshitaka
Full Text Available Abstract Background A reliable extraction technique for resolving multiple spots in light or electron microscopic images is essential in investigations of the spatial distribution and dynamics of specific proteins inside cells and tissues. Currently, automatic spot extraction and characterization in complex microscopic images poses many challenges to conventional image processing methods. Results A new method to extract closely located, small target spots from biological images is proposed. This method starts with a simple but practical operation based on the extended morphological top-hat transformation to subtract an uneven background. The core of our novel approach is the following: first, the original image is rotated in an arbitrary direction and each rotated image is opened with a single straight line-segment structuring element. Second, the opened images are unified and then subtracted from the original image. To evaluate these procedures, model images of simulated spots with closely located targets were created and the efficacy of our method was compared to that of conventional morphological filtering methods. The results showed the better performance of our method. The spots of real microscope images can be quantified to confirm that the method is applicable in a given practice. Conclusions Our method achieved effective spot extraction under various image conditions, including aggregated target spots, poor signal-to-noise ratio, and large variations in the background intensity. Furthermore, it has no restrictions with respect to the shape of the extracted spots. The features of our method allow its broad application in biological and biomedical image information analysis.
Scientific Opinion on the safety assessment of the process SOREPET GR based on EREMA Basic technology used to recycle post-consumer PET into food contact materials
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF
Full Text Available This scientific opinion of the EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids deals with the safety assessment of the recycling process SOREPET GR (EU register No RECYC073 which is based on the EREMA Basic technology. The input to the process is hot caustic washed and dried poly(ethylene terephthalate (PET flakes originating from collected post-consumer PET containers, mainly bottles and containing no more than 5 % PET from non-food consumer applications. In this process, washed and dried PET flakes are heated in a continuous reactor under vacuum before being extruded. Having examined the results of the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the continuous reactor is the critical step that determines the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control its performance are well defined and are temperature, pressure and residence time. Under these conditions, it was demonstrated that the recycling process is able to ensure that the level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food is below the modelled migration of 0.1 μg/kg food derived from the exposure scenario for infants and 0.15 μg/kg food derived from the exposure scenario for toddlers. The Panel concluded that recycled PET obtained from the process is not of safety concern when used to manufacture articles intended for food contact materials applications in compliance with the conditions as specified in the conclusion of the opinion.
Kahane, Leo H
Using a friendly, nontechnical approach, the Second Edition of Regression Basics introduces readers to the fundamentals of regression. Accessible to anyone with an introductory statistics background, this book builds from a simple two-variable model to a model of greater complexity. Author Leo H. Kahane weaves four engaging examples throughout the text to illustrate not only the techniques of regression but also how this empirical tool can be applied in creative ways to consider a broad array of topics. New to the Second Edition Offers greater coverage of simple panel-data estimation:
Tayal, DC
The second edition of this book incorporates the comments and suggestions of my friends and students who have critically studied the first edition. In this edition the changes and additions have been made and subject matter has been rearranged at some places. The purpose of this text is to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date study of the principles of operation of solid state devices, their basic circuits and application of these circuits to various electronic systems, so that it can serve as a standard text not only for universities and colleges but also for technical institutes. This book
The basics of the relationship of physical and aesthetic education in the process of development of personality.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yermolayeva T.N.
Full Text Available A variety of publications has been analyzed and theoretically grounded the relationship of aesthetic and physical education as an integral part of the harmonious development of personality. The initial position of interaction of physical and aesthetic education, their combination and intercomplementarity has been generalized. The influence of these processes at each other, mutual dependency and begetting of one object by the other in the spiritual and physical spheres of human being. Common goals, objectives and means of aesthetic and physical education in the development of personality are defined.
Salt marsh response to the effects of physical and biological processes
Roner, Marcella; D'Alpaos, Andrea; Ghinassi, Massimiliano; Franceschinis, Erica; Realdon, Nicola; Marani, Marco
Salt marshes are widespread features of the tidal landscape governed by the interacting physical and biological processes. These crucially important ecosystems provide valuable services and are currently threatened by the effects of increasing rates of relative sea level rise (RSLR) and decreasing sediment supply. Although a few studies have analyzed the biomorphological evolution of salt marsh systems, a complete understanding of the two-way feedbacks between physical and biological processes is still lacking. The temporal evolution of marsh elevation is governed by the balance between inorganic and organic accretion rates, and the rate of RSLR. Studies based on field observations and modeling suggest that, in equilibrium conditions, marsh inorganic accretion rates, and the related platform elevations, decrease with distance from the main creek whereas the organic deposition gradually increases. In order to analyze salt marsh responses to the effect of physical and biological processes, about 100 sediment samples were collected on the San Felice salt marsh, Venice Lagoon. For each sample, local coordinates, surface elevations and vegetation cover were detected, whereas inorganic and organic sediment content, together with grain size distribution, were determined and analyzed. Loss On Ignition (LOI) and a double treatment with H2O2 and NaClO, were used to estimate the amount of organic matter in each sample. Particle size analysis was carried out on the inorganic fraction with a Mastersizer that uses laser diffraction techniques to measure the grain size. Our results show that the San Felice salt marsh is characterized by a concave-up profile, as commonly displayed by marshes worldwide. Marsh elevation is highest along the boundary and decreases toward the inner marsh. The inorganic deposition, which is maximum along the marsh edge, decreases with distance from the channel network, because as water moves across the marsh, the velocity is reduced and sediment
Coking wastewater treatment for industrial reuse purpose: Combining biological processes with ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Xuewen Jin; Enchao Li; Shuguang Lu; Zhaofu Qiu; Qian Sui
A full-scale plant using anaerobic,anoxic and oxic processes (A1/A2/O),along with a pilot-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR),nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) integrated system developed by Shanghai Baosteel Chemical Co.Ltd.,was investigated to treat coking wastewater for industrial reuse over a period of one year.The removals reached 82.5% (COD),89.6% (BOD),99.8% (ammonium nitrogen),99.9% (phenol),44.6% (total cyanide (T-CN)),99.7% (thiocyanide (SCN-)) and 8.9% (fluoride),during the A1/A2/O biological treatment stage,and all parameters were further reduced by over 96.0%,except for fluoride (86.4%),in the final discharge effluent from the currently operating plant.The pilot-scale MBR process reduced the turbidity to less than 0.65 NTU,and most of the toxic organic compounds were degraded or intercepted by the A1/A2/O followed MBR processes.In addition,parameters including COD,T-CN,total nitrogen,fluoride,chloride ion,hardness and conductivity were significantly reduced by the NF-RO system to a level suitable for industrial reuse,with a total water production ratio of 70.7%.However,the concentrates from the NF and RO units were highly polluted and should be disposed of properly or further treated before being discharged.
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Processing, basic characterization and standard dielectric measurements on PLZT x/65/35 (4 ≤ x ≤ 11) ceramics
Pytel, Krzysztof; Suchanicz, Jan; Livinsh, Maris; Sternberg, Andris
The influence of external stress (0-800 bar) on the dielectric properties of lead lanthanum zirconium titanate (PLZT) x/65/35 (4 ≤ x ≤ 11) ceramics was investigated. Applying uniaxial pressure leads to a change in the peak intensity of the electric permittivity (ɛ), in its frequency dispersion as well as in the dielectric hysteresis. The peak intensity of ɛ becomes broader and shifts to lower temperatures for PLZT x/65/35 with x = 4, 7, 9.75 and 11, with increasing pressure, on heating. It was concluded that applying uniaxial pressure induces an increase of Tm, and thus has a similar effect as the increase of the Ti ion concentration in the lead zirconium titanate (PZT) system. Results based on nanoregion switching processes under combined electromechanical loading were interpreted. Studies clearly showed that applied stress has a significant influence on the dielectric properties of PLZT ceramics.
Epitaxially grown crystalline silicon thin-film solar cells reaching 16.5% efficiency with basic cell process
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
We report about the current performance of crystalline silicon thin-film (cSiTF) solar cells that are a very attractive alternative to conventional wafer-based silicon solar cells if sufficiently high cell efficiencies are achieved at acceptable cost of production. Applying a standard cell process (diffused POCl3 emitter, front contacts by photolithography, no surface texture) to thin-films deposited with a lab-type reactor, specifically designed for high-throughput photovoltaic applications, on highly-doped Cz substrates we routinely obtain efficiencies above 16%. On 1 Ω cm FZ material substrates we reach efficiencies up to 18.0%, which is among the highest thin-film efficiencies ever reported. Additionally, a comparison to microelectronic-grade epitaxially grown cSiTF material underlines the excellent electrical quality of the epitaxial layers deposited.
The Basic Process of 3D Modeling%浅析maya软件建模的基本流程
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
徐国艳; 苏家有
学习三维建模的人必须在掌握三维建模的流程(创建模型、UV拆分、贴图绘制、灯光设置、渲染设置)基础上,学习和掌握其相关的建模技巧和造型能力,了解模型的精度级别以及制作规范,才能做出精美的模型。%Study of 3D modeling of people you must master a 3D modeling process(the model is created,UV arran gement,texturing,lighting,rendering settings)basis,learning and mastering the related modeling techniques and modeling skills,understand the model accuracy level and production norms,can make beautiful model.
How a seven-year ocean observatory is influencing our understanding of physical and biological processes in northern Arabian Sea?
Wang, Z.; Dimarco, S. F.; Al-Kharusi, L. H.; Belabbassi, L.; Ingle, S.
An ocean observatory—consisting of a real-time, cabled system in the Sea of Oman and an internally-recording, autonomous mooring system recently upgraded to a cabled system in the northern Arabian Sea—was installed in 2005. The two arrays have collected a continuous seven-year time series record of current velocities, temperature, pressure, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity in a region where several water masses converge and subsequently spread southward to the Indian Ocean. The systems have provided new insights into physical and biological oceanographic processes of the northwestern Indian Ocean, which is strongly affected by the monsoonal oscillation, along with lessons learned and best practices in the operation and application of ocean observatories to ocean science. In this presentation, we show four recent studies for the scientific highlights derived from the data collected from the two systems and supporting data from other sources. The topics of those four studies include: (1) The seasonality associated with the upwelling of low oxygen water on the northern Oman coast and insights on the inter-annual variability of this process; (2) The deep-water oceanic responses excited by the passage of Cyclone Gonu, the largest-ever recorded cyclone in the region; (3) The temporal and spatial evolution of an acoustic backscatter layer; (4) The pulse-like salinity/temperature events in the northeastern Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman. In summary, the observatory provides a long-term time series with which to perform basic scientific research related to characterizing the general dynamical patterns of the region, quantifying seasonal variability of water column properties, and establishing a time series of sufficient duration to deduce the potential impacts of climate change. Furthermore, observations taken over the full, 20+ year lifetime of a typical cabled system will be extremely useful for evaluating numerical ocean circulation and coupled atmospheric
Laser ablation ICP-MS applications using the timescales of geologic and biologic processes
Ridley, W. I.
Geochemists commonly examine geologic processes on timescales of 10^4--10^9 years, and accept that often age relations, e.g., chemical zoning in minerals, can only be measured in a relative sense. The progression of a geologic process that involves geochemical changes may be assessed using trace element microbeam techniques, because the textural, and therefore spatial context, of the analytical scheme can be preserved. However, quantification requires appropriate calibration standards. Laser ablation ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS) is proving particularly useful now that appropriate standards are becoming available. For instance, trace element zoning patterns in primary sulfides (e.g., pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena) and secondary phases can be inverted to examine relative changes in fluid composition during cycles of hydrothermal mineralization. In turn such information provides insights into fluid sources, migration pathways and depositional processes. These studies have only become possible with the development of appropriate sulfide calibration standards. Another example, made possible with the development of appropriate silicate calibration standards, is the quantitative spatial mapping of REE variations in amphibolite-grade garnets. The recognition that the trace and major elements are decoupled provides a better understanding of the various sources of elements during metamorphic re-equilibration. There is also a growing realization that LA-ICP-MS has potential in biochemical studies, and geochemists have begun to turn their attention in this direction, working closely with biologists. Unlike many geologic processes, the timescales of biologic processes are measured in years to centuries and are frequently amenable to absolute dating. Examples that can be cited where LA-ICP-MS has been applied include annual trace metal variations in tree rings, corals, teeth, bones, bird feathers and various animal vibrissae (sea lion, walrus, wolf). The aim of such studies is
An efficient process for wastewater treatment to mitigate free nitrous acid generation and its inhibition on biological phosphorus removal
Zhao, Jianwei; Wang, Dongbo; Li, Xiaoming; Yang, Qi; Chen, Hongbo; Zhong, Yu; An, Hongxue; Zeng, Guangming
Free nitrous acid (FNA), which is the protonated form of nitrite and inevitably produced during biological nitrogen removal, has been demonstrated to strongly inhibit the activity of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs). Herein we reported an efficient process for wastewater treatment, i.e., the oxic/anoxic/oxic/extended-idle process to mitigate the generation of FNA and its inhibition on PAOs. The results showed that this new process enriched more PAOs which thereby achieved higher ph...
Advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coking wastewater by intensified zero-valent iron process (IZVI) combined with anaerobic filter and biological aerated filter (AF/BAF)
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
潘碌亭; 韩悦; 吴锦峰
Experiments were conducted to investigate the behavior of the sequential system of intensified zero-valent iron process (IZVI) and anaerobic filter and biological aerated filter (AF/BAF) reactors for advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coking wastewater. Particular attention was paid to the performance of the integrated system for the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and total nitrogen (TN). The average removal efficiencies of COD, NH3-N and TN were 76.28%, 96.76% and 59.97%, with the average effluent mass concentrations of 56, 0.53 and 18.83 mg/L, respectively, reaching the first grade of the national discharge standard. Moreover, the results of gas chromatography/mass spectrum (GC/MS) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis demonstrated that the refractory organic compounds with high relative molecular mass were partly removed in IZVI process by the function of oxidation-reduction, flocculation and adsorption which could also enhance the biodegradability of the system effluent. The removal efficiencies of NH3-N and TN were achieved mainly in the subsequent AF/BAF reactors by nitrification and denitrification. Overall, the results obtained show that the application of IZVI in combination with AF/BAF is a promising technology for advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coking wastewater.
Reproductive Behavior and Basic Biology of the Oriental Bamboo-Inhabiting Anoplomus rufipes and a Comparison with Frugivorous Dacinae Fruit Flies
Kovac, Damir
The reproductive behaviors and mating systems of the fruit-infesting species of the Dacinae tribes Ceratitidini and Dacini are increasingly well understood, while in the non-frugivorous tribe Gastrozonini, data are lacking. In the present study, the reproductive behavior of Anoplomus rufipes from North Thailand was studied in the field, other behaviors also in the laboratory. A. rufipes mated on young bamboo plants growing in areas destroyed by fire. Exudates of extrafloral nectaries produced by the young bamboo plants provided food for the females. Factors affecting the choice of the mating site were favorable microclimatic conditions and food. Courtship behavior was performed on the upper sides of bamboo leaves and included pheromone calling (abdominal elevation, anal pouch eversion, abdominal pleural distention), anal dabbing, looping flights and a specific lofting/body swaying behavior. The males searched individually for females or formed leks containing up to four males. The reproductive behaviors and lek formation of A. rufipes are compared to other Dacinae (Ceratitis, Bactrocera), and their functions are discussed. Hitherto unknown data on the general biology of A. rufipes are also included. A. rufipes larvae infested living bamboo shoots of Cephalostachyum pergracile, and the observed behaviors of the adults included locomotion, grooming, feeding, oral droplet deposition, bubbling and agonistic behavior. PMID:26512699
Removal of Refractory Organics from Biologically Treated Landfill Leachate by Microwave Discharge Electrodeless Lamp Assisted Fenton Process
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jiuyi Li
Full Text Available Biologically treated leachate usually contains considerable amount of refractory organics and trace concentrations of xenobiotic pollutants. Removal of refractory organics from biologically treated landfill leachate by a novel microwave discharge electrodeless lamp (MDEL assisted Fenton process was investigated in the present study in comparison to conventional Fenton and ultraviolet Fenton processes. Conventional Fenton and ultraviolet Fenton processes could substantially remove up to 70% of the refractory organics in a membrane bioreactor treated leachate. MDEL assisted Fenton process achieved excellent removal performance of the refractory components, and the effluent chemical oxygen demand concentration was lower than 100 mg L−1. Most organic matters were transformed into smaller compounds with molecular weights less than 1000 Da. Ten different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were detected in the biologically treated leachate, most of which were effectively removed by MDEL-Fenton treatment. MDEL-Fenton process provides powerful capability in degradation of refractory and xenobiotic organic pollutants in landfill leachate and could be adopted as a single-stage polishing process for biologically treated landfill leachate to meet the stringent discharge limit.
A DO- and pH-based early warning system of nitrification inhibition for biological nitrogen removal processes.
Hong, Seil; Choi, Il; Lim, Byung Jin; Kim, Hyunook
In Korea, more than 80% of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with capacities of 500 m3·d-1 or more are capable of removing nitrogen from wastewater through biological nitrification and denitrification processes. Normally, these biological processes show excellent performance, but if a toxic chemical is present in the influent to a WWTP, the biological processes (especially, the nitrification process) may be affected and fail to function normally; nitrifying bacteria are known very vulnerable to toxic substances. Then, the toxic compound as well as the nitrogen in wastewater may be discharged into a receiving water body without any proper treatment. Moreover, it may take significant time for the process to return back its normal state. In this study, a DO- and pH-based strategy to identify potential nitrification inhibition was developed to detect early the inflow of toxic compounds to a biological nitrogen removal process. This strategy utilizes significant changes observed in the oxygen uptake rate and the pH profiles of the mixed liquor when the activity of nitrifying bacteria is inhibited. Using the strategy, the toxicity from test wastewater with 2.5 mg·L-1 Hg2+, 0.5 mg·L-1 allythiourea, or 0.25 mg·L-1 chloroform could be successfully detected. PMID:23443381
A DO- and pH-Based Early Warning System of Nitrification Inhibition for Biological Nitrogen Removal Processes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hyunook Kim
Full Text Available In Korea, more than 80% of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs with capacities of 500 m3·d−1 or more are capable of removing nitrogen from wastewater through biological nitrification and denitrification processes. Normally, these biological processes show excellent performance, but if a toxic chemical is present in the influent to a WWTP, the biological processes (especially, the nitrification process may be affected and fail to function normally; nitrifying bacteria are known very vulnerable to toxic substances. Then, the toxic compound as well as the nitrogen in wastewater may be discharged into a receiving water body without any proper treatment. Moreover, it may take significant time for the process to return back its normal state. In this study, a DO- and pH-based strategy to identify potential nitrification inhibition was developed to detect early the inflow of toxic compounds to a biological nitrogen removal process. This strategy utilizes significant changes observed in the oxygen uptake rate and the pH profiles of the mixed liquor when the activity of nitrifying bacteria is inhibited. Using the strategy, the toxicity from test wastewater with 2.5 mg·L−1 Hg2+, 0.5 mg·L−1 allythiourea, or 0.25 mg·L−1 chloroform could be successfully detected.
Raman scattering in GaN, AlN and AlGaN. Basic material properties, processing and devices
Hayes, J M
dependence of the phonon frequencies and lifetimes was measured from 10 K to 1275 K. Empirical fitting and theoretical modelling of the temperature dependence was performed. The results have application for the monitoring of temperature in (Ga/AI)N. The E sub 2 (high) phonon frequency of GaN measured by micro-Raman spectroscopy was used to monitor local temperatures in active AIGaN/GaN hetero-structure field effect transistor devices (HFETs). The temperature rise in the active area of devices on sapphire substrates was significantly higher than for devices on 4H-SiC substrates. Temperatures were monitored to the point of device failure to gain insight into degradation mechanisms. GaN, AIN and AIGaN are very promising materials for high-power, high-temperature and high-frequency electronic device applications but many of their material properties and the effects of processing steps for device fabrication have not yet been fully investigated. AIGaN/GaN films were annealed at temperatures of 800 to 1300 deg C in...