A laboratory-scale completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (Canon) biofilm reactor was applied to remove nitrogen and organic carbon from swine digester liquor for 150 d. A stable nitrogen removal rate was reached after a three-week adaptation period. The nitrogen loading rate of influent were 0.20±0.04, 0.26±0.04, 0.26±0.07 kg N m(-3) d(-1) in period I, II and III, respectively. N...

In the treatment of intracanal and periodontal infections, the local application of antibiotics and other therapeutic agents in the root canal or in periodontal pockets may be a promising approach to achieve sustained/controlled drug release, high antimicrobial activity and low systemic side effects. The conventional method for the elimination of subgingival microbial infection includes mechani...

Btk is a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase, which is mainly involved in B cell receptor signalling. Gene targeting experiments revealed that Btk is important for B cell development and function. However, Btk is not only expressed in B cells, but also in several other haematopoietic lineages except for T cells and plasma cells. Recently we found that Btk is involved in Toll-like receptor signalling. T...

Many studies have shown the adverse effects of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) on living organisms. PFCs include groups of perfluorinated sulfonic acids, perfluorinated carboxylic acids, fluorotelomer alcohols, high-molecular weight fluoropolymers and low-molecular weight perfluoroalkanamides. These compounds are chemically very stable and are highly resistant to biological degradation. Current...

Although natural selection appears to favor the elimination of gene redundancy in prokaryotes, multiple copies of each rRNA-encoding gene are common on bacterial chromosomes. Despite this conspicuous deviation from single-copy genes, no phenotype has been consistently associated with rRNA gene copy number. We found that the number of rRNA genes correlates with the rate at which phylogenetically...

Microbial infections induce the replacement of constitutive proteasomes by immunoproteasomes (I-proteasomes). I-proteasomes support efficient generation of MHC class I epitopes and influence immunodominance hierarchies of CD8(+) T cells. Recently, the function of I-proteasomes in antimicrobial responses was challenged by showing that the lack of I-proteasomes has no effect on induction and func...

The fabrication of activated carbon air cathodes for larger-scale microbial fuel cells requires a diffusion layer (DL) that is highly resistant to water leakage, oxygen permeable, and made using inexpensive materials. A hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane synthesized using a simple phase inversion process was examined as a low cost ($0.9/m(2)), carbon-free DL that prevented wate...

This study aims to investigate the effect of two different groups phenolic compounds (the alkylphenols nonylphenol (NP) and octylphenol (OP), chlorophenol pentachlorophenol (PCP)) on constructed wetlands (CWs) performance, including organic matter, nutrients contaminants removal efficiency, microbial community structure in plant bed substrate. CWs were assembled at lab scale simulating a vertic...

In recent years, the number of articles reporting addition nanomaterials to enhance process anaerobic digestion has exponentially increased. The benefits this can be observed from different aspects: an increase in biogas production, enrichment methane biogas, elimination foaming problems, a more stable and robust operation, absence inhibition etc. literature, one current focuses research on top...

We believe that NGOs, engaged in leprosy control in metropolitan cities where there are many dermatologists in medical colleges, or in private practice, have a special responsibility in implementing leprosy work in an integrated manner. It may be worthwhile narrating the experience of over 3 decades of the Bombay Leprosy Project (BLP) as the Project has been constantly striving to practise all ...