Sludge minimization by thermal treatment within activated sludge process was investigated at pilot scale. A 90°C treatment was set up in the return activated sludge loop. When keeping apparent sludge age at 15 days, 90°C treatment decreased sludge production by 30.4%. However, effluent quality was altered. A sludge minimization ASM1 based model was set up and calibrated against experimental dat...

Since the industrial revolution ushered in the economic benefits of similarity, standardization has become a hybrid of technical design and political processes with major impact on markets, social welfare, and economic activity. Standards increasingly develop outside government regulatory venues in consortia and other forms of voluntary consensus bodies involving collaboration among private sec...

Background. Peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) is the most common peripheral vascular disorder in the elderly. A clear picture of the disease’s course, especially in patients with non-critical limb ischaemia (Fontaine stages I and II), is essential for the general practitioner, who plays a key role in the diagnosis and management of PAOD. Aim. To evaluate the population-based evidence...

This paper introduces a new DNA extraction and purification method from whole blood. Mixing and separation steps are performed using functionalised superparamagnetic beads suspended in cell lysis buffer in a circular chamber that is sandwiched between two electromagnets. Non-uniform nature of magnetic field causes temporal and spatial distribution of beads within the chamber. This process effic...

Bacterial spores are forms of bacteria that are capable of surviving in harsh conditions. We have investigated thermal lysis of the spores and subsequently release of their DNA. We were able to heat water-based samples at ambient pressure to temperatures far above 100 °C without boiling, known as superheating process. It resulted in the breaking of spores in a matter of seconds. Successful rele...

The optothermal properties of nanoparticles are of interest for biosensors and highly sensitive biochip applications. In this respect, the longitudinal resonance of Au nanorods was used to transform near infrared energy into thermal energy in a microfluidic chip. The resulting heat generated effectively caused pathogen lysis. Consequently the DNA was extracted out of the cell body and transferr...

Introduction: Severe industrial diseases result from the hepatic accumulation of mercury, cadmium or chromium in humans and on the other hand cadmium and dichromate and mercuric salts may induce lung or kidney cancer. Acute or chronic CdCl2, HgCl2 or dichromate administration induces hepatic and nephrotoxicity in rodents. Oxidative stress is often cited as a possible cause of metal induced cell...

Although real-time PCR (RT-PCR) has become a diagnostic standard for rapid identification of bacterial species, typical methods remain time-intensive due to sample preparation and amplification cycle times. The assay described in this work incorporates on-chip dielectrophoretic capture and concentration of bacterial cells, thermal lysis, cell permeabilization, and nucleic acid denaturation and ...

Although real-time PCR (RT-PCR) has become a diagnostic standard for rapid identification of bacterial species, typical methods remain time-intensive due to sample preparation and amplification cycle times. The assay described in this work incorporates on-chip dielectrophoretic capture and concentration of bacterial cells, thermal lysis, cell permeabilization, and nucleic acid denaturation and ...

The amount of lysis effected by cold agglutinins is directly related to the ability of the antibody to initiate complement activation. This ability is modified by the concentration of antibody, its thermal amplitude (the highest temperature at which the antibody will react with the cell), the degree to which antibody fixation is modified by the presence of complement components (particularly C3...