投加溶胞菌群对剩余污泥消化影响的初步研究

活性污泥法是目前世界上普遍应用的污水生物处理工艺，其在运行过程中产生大量的剩余污泥。由于剩余污泥处理费用巨大及污泥最终处置对环境具有潜在危害问题，污泥的处理和处置已经成为水处理领域关注的焦点。本文利用实验室筛选的溶胞菌群，在好氧消化的同时对污泥进行前处理，促进剩余污泥的破解与溶胞，再通过两相厌氧处理对污泥进行进一步消化，以研究投加溶胞菌对剩余污泥消化的影响。 本研究中溶胞菌污泥减量化技术分为两个部分，第一，污泥在溶胞菌作用下的好氧消化与污泥传统好氧消化的对比研究，利用取自成都三瓦窑污水处理厂剩余污泥，向好氧污泥消化反应器中投加溶胞菌，检测各项污泥指标，并通过同传统好氧污泥消化对比，以研究溶胞菌对污泥好氧消化的影响。第二， 经过溶胞菌处理后好氧消化的剩余污泥进行两相厌氧处理研究。通过建立好氧溶胞联合两相厌氧消化系统的来处理剩余污泥，并与相同条件运行的两相厌氧消化系统做对比，检测运行过程中系统中物质成分变化，研究了其处理能力和运行稳定性，探索了两相厌氧消化系统中的发酵类型差别，验证了好氧溶胞对剩余污泥的破解效果。 研究结果表明：污泥在溶胞菌作用下的好氧消化效果和消化效率均优于传统好氧消化。在溶胞菌群存在的情况下，剩余污泥的TSS和VSS去除率达到40%和53%，远高于传统好氧消化的12%和20%。污泥经过溶胞及好氧消化后，TCOD去除率达到54.4%。经过溶胞菌处理后的剩余污泥再进入两相厌氧处理系统，进入厌氧处理系统的剩余污泥的VSS／TSS比值约为0.62。在两相厌氧处理水力停留时间(HRT)为8d时，溶胞处理污泥厌氧消化后VSS去除率达到55.17%，对照组两相厌氧系统的VSS去除率平均值为18.53%。经过溶胞处理的两相厌氧系统的污泥减量了能力远高于对照组。两相厌氧系统的pH值和碱度说明系统运行较为稳定。产酸相的有机酸中乙酸含量高于丙酸和丁酸，说明发酵末端产物以乙酸为主。在20天的试验周期内，污泥溶胞处理后、两相厌氧系统产甲烷相产气量累积产气量为1.2L，对照组只有375ml。气体中甲烷含量都在55%左右。该研究结果表明，好氧溶胞对污泥有破解能力，溶胞处理对两相厌氧中产酸相水解污泥细胞有明显的促进作用，提高了产酸相的水解酸化能力和效率。该研究对于利用生物溶胞途径提高污泥消化效率具有重要意义。 The actived sludge process has been used more and more extensively, but the procedure will lead to a large quantity of excess sludge. The treatment of Excess activated sludge has becomes a focuses not only for it is a seriously negative effect on environment but also for the costly disposal comes subsequently. The cell lysing bacterium was keeped in our lab to joined in the digestion of the excess activated sludge which was carrying at the same time with pre-processing of sludge to investigated the influence of cell lysing bacterium on excess sludge. There are two part in the method of cell lysing bacterium digesting sludge technology, the first, comparison of excess sludge digestion between anaerobic Cell-lysing Pretreatment and Conventional Aerobic Process. The sludge which was collected from San Wanyao disposal plant in Chengdu was thrown into the aerobic process system with cell-lysing bacterium, then, the indexes were detected to compare the difference between the cell-lysing bacterium in aerobic process and the traditional method to determine the influence of cell-lysing bacterium on aerobic process ; The second, the research on the sludge which was pro-treated with cell-lysing and aerobic digestion in the diphase of anaerobic digestion system. The system of cell-lysing combined with diphase of anaerobic digesting was created to compare to the diphase of anaerobic digested system, the changes of mass constituent was detected to study the ability and steady of disposal. Moreover, the research explored the difference among the types of fermentation. The efficacious of aerobic process was been proved. The result shows that the digesting rate of aerobic process with cell-lysing bacterium was higher than the traditional process. The ratio of sludge is reach to 40%~53%, which was far more effectively than the traditional process rate of 12%~20%. The TCOD of sludge which was treated with cell lysing bacterium and Aerobic Process is reach to 54.4%. Then, the sludge was thrown into the diphase of anaerobic digesting system. VSS／TSS of sludge is 0.62, HRT is 6d, the reduction of VSS is reach to 40.8%. The pH and alkalinity indicate the steady running of the diphase anaerobic digest system. In the acerbity phasing, the content of acetic acid was more than butanoic acid and propanoic acid in organic acid, it is demonstrated that the main composition of final production of fermentation was Acetic Acid. During the 20d of experiment, methylhydride phasing of diphase anaerobic digest system produced 1.2L methylhydride, however, there is only 375ml in CK, the content of methylhydride in all gas phase was around the rate of 55%. The average ratio of VSS was 18.53% in CK diphase anaerobic digest system which was far more unavailable than the mass sludge rate of 55.17%. Results demonstrated that aerobic cell-lysing digested the sludge, the treat of cell-lysing could obviously promoted the hydrolyzeing of sludge cell in the acerbity phasing, which improved the ability and rate of hydrolization and acidification. This study is significant in inhenceing the rate of sludge digestion in the method of cell-lysing bacterium.

Antibodies against the extracellular domain of human Notch1 receptor reveal the critical role of epidermal-growth-factor-like repeats 25-26 in ligand binding and receptor activation

The Notch signalling pathway is implicated in a wide variety of cellular processes throughout metazoan development. Although the downstream mechanism of Notch signalling has been extensively studied, the details of its ligand-mediated receptor activation are not clearly understood. Although the role of Notch ELRs EGF (epidermal growth factor)-like-repeats] 11-12 in ligand binding is known, recent studies have suggested interactions within different ELRs of the Notch receptor whose significance remains to be understood. Here, we report critical inter-domain interactions between human Notch1 ELRs 21-30 and the ELRs 11-15 that are modulated by calcium. Surface plasmon resonance analysis revealed that the interaction between ELRs 21-30 and ELRs 11-15 is similar to 10-fold stronger than that between ELRs 11-15 and the ligands. Although there was no interaction between Notch 1 ELRs 21-30 and the ligands in vitro, addition of pre-clustered Jagged1Fc resulted in the dissociation of the preformed complex between ELRs 21-30 and 11-15, suggesting that inter-domain interactions compete for ligand binding. Furthermore, the antibodies against ELRs 21-30 inhibited ligand binding to the full-length Notch1 and subsequent receptor activation, with the antibodies against ELRs 25-26 being the most effective. These results suggest that the ELRs 25-26 represent a cryptic ligand-binding site which becomes exposed only upon the presence of the ligand. Thus, using specific antibodies against various domains of the Notch1 receptor, we demonstrate that, although ELRs 11-12 are the principal ligand-binding site, the ELRs 25-26 serve as a secondary binding site and play an important role in receptor activation.

Combining stable isotopes and skeletal growth marks to detect habitat shifts in juvenile loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta

Understanding the phase and timing of ontogenetic habitat shifts underlies the study of a species’ life history and population dynamics. This information is especially critical to the conservation and management of threatened and endangered species, such as the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta. The early life of loggerheads consists of a terrestrial egg and hatchling stage, a posthatchling and juvenile oceanic, pelagic feeding stage, and a juvenile neritic, primarily benthic feeding stage. In the present study, novel approaches were applied to explore the timing of the loggerhead ontogenetic shift from pelagic to benthic habitats. The most recent years of somatic growth are recorded as annual marks in humerus cross sections. A consistent growth mark pattern in benthic juvenile loggerheads was identified, with narrow growth marks in the interior of the bone transitioning to wider growth marks at the exterior, indicative of a sharp increase in growth rates at the transitional growth mark. This increase in annual growth is hypothesized to correlate with the ontogenetic shift from pelagic to benthic habitats. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen just interior and exterior to the transitional growth mark, as well as stable isotopes from pelagic and benthic flora, fauna and loggerhead stomach contents, were analyzed to determine whether this transition related to a diet shift. The results clearly indicate that a dietary shift from oceanic/pelagic to neritic/benthic feeding corresponds to a transitional growth mark. The combination of stable isotope analysis with skeletochronology can elucidate the ecology of cryptic life history stages during loggerhead ontogeny.

EfeUOB (YcdNOB) is a tripartite, acid-induced and CpxAR-regulated, low-pH Fe2+ transporter that is cryptic in Escherichia coli K-12 but functional in E-coli O157 : H7

Escherichia coli possesses iron transporters specific for either Fe2+ or Fe3+. Although Fe2+ is far more soluble than Fe3+, it rapidly oxidizes aerobically at pH >= 7. Thus, FeoAB, the major Fe2+ transporter of E. coli, operates anaerobically. However, Fe2+ remains stable aerobically under acidic conditions, although a low-pH Fe2+ importer has not been previously identified. Here we show that ycdNOB (efeUOB) specifies the first such transporter. efeUOB is repressed at high pH by CpxAR, and is Fe2+-Fur repressed. EfeU is homologous to the high-affinity iron permease, Ftr1p, of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other fungi. EfeO is periplasmic with a cupredoxin N-terminal domain; EfeB is also periplasmic and is haem peroxidase-like. All three Efe proteins are required for Efe function. The efeU gene of E. coli K-12 is cryptic due to a frameshift mutation - repair of the single-base-pair deletion generates a functional EfeUOB system. In contrast, the efeUOB operon of the enterohaemorrhagic strain, O157:1147, lacks any frameshift and is functional. A 'wild-type' K-12 strain bearing a functional EfeUOB displays a major growth advantage under aerobic, low-pH, low-iron conditions when a competing metal is provided. Fe-55 transport assays confirm the ferrous iron specificity of EfeUOB.

Analysis of cryptic, systemic Botrytis infections in symptomless hosts

Botrytis species are generally considered to be aggressive, necrotrophic plant pathogens. By contrast to this general perception, however, Botrytis species could frequently be isolated from the interior of multiple tissues in apparently healthy hosts of many species. Infection frequencies reached 50% of samples or more, but were commonly less, and cryptic infections were rare or absent in some plant species. Prevalence varied substantially from year to year and from tissue to tissue, but some host species routinely had high prevalence. The same genotype was found to occur throughout a host, representing mycelial spread. B. cinerea and B. pseudocinerea are the species that most commonly occur as cryptic infections, but phylogenetically distant isolates of Botrytis were also detected, one of which does not correspond to previously described species. Sporulation and visible damage occurred only when infected tissues were stressed, or became mature or senescent. There was no evidence of cryptic infection having a deleterious effect on growth of the host, and prevalence was probably greater in plants grown in high light conditions. Isolates from cryptic infections were often capable of causing disease (to varying extents) when spore suspensions were inoculated onto their own host as well as on distinct host species, arguing against co-adaptation between cryptic isolates and their hosts. These data collectively suggest that several Botrytis species, including the most notorious pathogenic species, exist frequently in cryptic form to an extent that has thus far largely been neglected, and do not need to cause disease on healthy hosts in order to complete their life-cycles.

Population structure, sex ratio and growth of the seabob shrimp Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Decapoda, Penaeidae) from coastal waters of southern Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of ocean acidification and pH fluctuations on the growth and development of coralline algal recruits, and an associated benthic algal assemblage

Coralline algae are susceptible to the changes in the seawater carbonate system associated with ocean acidification (OA). However, the coastal environments in which corallines grow are subject to large daily pH fluctuations which may affect their responses to OA. Here, we followed the growth and development of the juvenile coralline alga Arthrocardia corymbosa, which had recruited into experimental conditions during a prior experiment, using a novel OA laboratory culture system to simulate the pH fluctuations observed within a kelp forest. Microscopic life history stages are considered more susceptible to environmental stress than adult stages; we compared the responses of newly recruited A. corymbosa to static and fluctuating seawater pH with those of their field-collected parents. Recruits were cultivated for 16 weeks under static pH 8.05 and 7.65, representing ambient and 4*preindustrial pCO2 concentrations, respectively, and two fluctuating pH treatments of daily (daytime pH = 8.45, night-time pH = 7.65) and daily (daytime pH = 8.05, night-time pH = 7.25). Positive growth rates of new recruits were recorded in all treatments, and were highest under static pH 8.05 and lowest under fluctuating pH 7.65. This pattern was similar to the adults' response, except that adults had zero growth under fluctuating pH 7.65. The % dry weight of MgCO3 in calcite of the juveniles was reduced from 10% at pH 8.05 to 8% at pH 7.65, but there was no effect of pH fluctuation. A wide range of fleshy macroalgae and at least 6 species of benthic diatoms recruited across all experimental treatments, from cryptic spores associated with the adult A. corymbosa. There was no effect of experimental treatment on the growth of the benthic diatoms. On the community level, pH-sensitive species may survive lower pH in the presence of diatoms and fleshy macroalgae, whose high metabolic activity may raise the pH of the local microhabitat.

Growth of boehmite nanofibers by assembling nanoparticles with surfactant micelles

It is known that boehmite (AlOOH) nanofibers formed in the presence of nonionic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) surfactant at 373 K. A novel approach is proposed in this study for the growth of the boehmite nanofibers: when fresh aluminum hydrate precipitate was added at regular interval to initial mixture of boehmite and PEO surfactant at 373 K, the nanofibers grow from 40 to 50 nm long to over 100 nm. It is believed that the surfactant micelles play an important role in the nanofiber growth: directing the assembly of aluminum hydrate particles through hydrogen bonding with the hydroxyls on the surface of aluminum hydrate particles. Meanwhile a gradual improvement in the crystallinity of the fibers during growth is observed and attributed to the Ostwald ripening process. This approach allows us to precisely control the size and morphology of boehmite nanofibers using soft chemical methods and could be useful for low temperature, aqueous syntheses of other oxide nanomaterials with tailorable structural specificity such as size, dimension and morphology.