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Dried sludge as additive for making ceramsite is a new effective approach for disposal of sludge. In this study sewage sludge, water glass and clay were chosen as the components, the optimal ratio of the components and the most appropriate conditions were obtained. The functions of primary components in the sintering process, porosity formation mechanism and solid phase reaction also have been discussed. The optimized process parameters were shown as follows: the ratio of dried sludge/clay (wt%) was 33%, ratio of adherent /clay (wt%) was 15%, sintering temperature was 1000 degrees C, sintering time was 10 min. Bulk density was 582 kg m(-3), particle density was 1,033 kg m(-3), water absorption was 9.5%, porosity was 43.7%. SEM, EDS, XRD and XRF analyses were also carried out. The results indicate that dried sludge as raw material is a good way for making ceramsite. Biological Aerated Filters (BAFs) with filter media of Guangzhou ceramsite, Jiangxi ceramsite, activated carbon and ceramsite (obtained in test) were selected to treat municipal wastewater. The average removal efficiencies of ceramsite (obtained in test) for turbidity, COD, SCOD and NH3-N were about 96.4%, 76.2%, 59.6% and 82.3% respectively and were higher than those of other ceramsites.
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PMID:Utilization of dried sludge for making ceramsite. 1716 44

The dependence of sweat composition and acidity on sweating rate (SR) suggests that the lower SR in children compared to adults may be accompanied by a higher level of sweat lactate (Lac-) and ammonia (NH3) and a lower sweat pH. Four groups (15 girls, 18 boys, 8 women, 8 men) cycled in the heat (42 degrees C, 20% relative humidity) at 50% VO2max for two 20-min bouts with a 10-min rest before bout 1 and between bouts. Sweat was collected into plastic bags attached to the subject's lower back. During bout 1, sweat from girls and boys had higher Lac- concentrations (23.6 +/- 1.2 and 21.2 +/- 1.7 mM; P < 0.05) than sweat from women and men (18.2 +/- 1.9 and 14.8 +/- 1.6 mM, respectively), but Lac- was weakly associated with SR (P > 0.05; r = -0.27). Sweat Lac- concentration dropped during exercise bout 2, reaching similar levels among all groups (overall mean = 13.7 +/- 0.4 mM). Children had a higher sweat NH3 than adults during bout 1 (girls = 4.2 +/- 0.4, boys = 4.6 +/- 0.6, women = 2.7 +/- 0.2, and men = 3.0 +/- 0.2 mM; P < 0.05). This difference persisted through bout 2 only in females. On average, children's sweat pH was lower than that of adults (mean +/- SEM, girls = 5.4 +/- 0.2, boys = 5.0 +/- 0.1, women = 6.2 +/- 0.5, and men = 6.2 +/- 0.4 for bout 1, and girls = 5.4 +/- 0.2, boys = 6.5 +/- 0.5, women = 5.2 +/- 0.2, and men = 6.9 +/- 0.4 for bout 2). This may have favored NH3 transport from plasma to sweat as accounted for by a significant correlation between sweat NH3 and H+ (r = 0.56). Blood pH increased from rest (mean +/- SEM; 7.3 +/- 0.02) to the end of exercise (7.4 +/- 0.01) without differences among groups. These results, however, are representative of sweat induced by moderate exercise in the absence of acidosis.
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PMID:Effect of age and gender on sweat lactate and ammonia concentrations during exercise in the heat. 1722 6

In engineered systems, biological nitrogen removal through partial nitrification to nitrite is of great interest. Accordingly, effect of operating parameters such as pH, DO and temperature on the accumulation of ammonia-oxidizers was investigated. pH of 8, DO of 0.3-0.5mg/l and temperature of 35 degrees C yielded a ratio of 0.9-1.5 of NO(2)N:NH(4)N in the effluent suitable as a feed for Anammox reactor. Microbial population shift during start-up was assessed using quinone profile, SEM and FISH. UQ-8 in the biomass, which is the predominant quinone in ammonia-oxidizers, increased from 24.8% on Day 1 to 61.2% on Day 136. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis in the reactor showed that ammonia-oxidizing bacteria gradually outcompeted other bacteria and was the dominant population. The morphology and inner structure of the granular sludge was observed using SEM and the photographs indicated that the aerobic granular sludge showed a shift towards spherical and small rod-shaped clusters.
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PMID:Assessment of partial nitrification reactor performance through microbial population shift using quinone profile, FISH and SEM. 1725 33

Freshly isolated porcine hepatocytes are a very attractive cell source in the cell-based therapies to treat liver failure because of unlimited availability. However, due to the loss of hepatocyte functions in vitro, there is a need to develop a functional culture system to keep the cells metabolically active. Here we compared the effect of a self-assembling peptide nanofiber (SAPNF) as an extracellular matrix (ECM) with collagen type I on hepatocyte metabolic and secretion activities following hepatocyte isolation. Isolated porcine hepatocytes were cultured in SAPNF and collagen type I. Morphological assessment at different time points was performed by using SEM and phase contrast microscope. Metabolic and secretion activities were comparatively performed in the groups, by means of ammonia, lidocaine, and diazepam as well as albumin. Hepatocytes cultured on SAPNF revealed a three-dimensional spheroidal formation, thus maintaining cell differentiation status during 2 weeks of culture. On the other hand, hepatocytes in collagen revealed a spread shape, and by day 14 no hepatocyte-like cells were observed, but cells with long shape were present, thus revealing a degree of dedifferentiation in collagen culture. Hepatocytes in SAPNF were capable of drug-metabolizing activities and albumin secretion in higher ratio than those cultured on collagen. The present work clearly demonstrates the usefulness of SAPNF for maintaining differentiated functions of porcine hepatocytes in culture.
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PMID:Self-assembling peptide nanofiber as a novel culture system for isolated porcine hepatocytes. 1729 97

Factors affecting cultivation of extremely slow-growing bacteria (anaerobic ammonium oxidiser, doubling time 11 days) were investigated by using upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors which can maintain high solid retention time. The effects of concentrations of DO, free ammonia (FA), and nitrite on activation of anammox activity were tested during the start-up period. The reactor was inoculated with granular sludge collected from a full-scale UASB reactor used for treating brewery wastewater, and sludge from a piggery wastewater treatment plant and rotating biological contactor treating sewage. Results of continuous operation showed that concentrations of DO, free ammonia (FA) and nitrite in the reactors played a key role in stimulating the anammox activity during start-up period. It is crucial to keep DO below 0.2 ppm, FA below 2 mg/L and nitrite nitrogen below 35 mg/L to cultivate anammox cells in the continuous bioreactor. When the levels of DO, FA and nitrite in the influent were controlled at less than the inhibition levels, the anammox activity increased gradually in the anaerobic condition. Addition of hydrogen sulphide into the reactor enhanced anammox activity in the continuous culture. Through the SEM, TEM and FISH analysis, anammox bacteria were detected in the granular sludge after 3 months of continuous operation.
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PMID:Factors affecting the activity of anammox bacteria during start up in the continuous culture reactor. 1730 71

A novel modified nanocomposite was studied for the adhesion and proliferation of the human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) line EA.hy926. The nanocomposite under investigation was poly(carbonate-urea)urethane with silsesquioxane nano-cages, here in the form of a mixture of two polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes. The nanocomposite surfaces were exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light of a Xe(*)(2)-excimer lamp at a wavelength of 172 nm in an ammonia atmosphere. The effects of the irradiation were characterized by atomic force and scanning electron microscopy (AFM, SEM), X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) using an attenuated total reflection (ATR) device and measurements of advancing water contact angle (CA). The irradiation resulted in the introduction of new hydrophilic N- and O-containing groups into the surface, which was initially amphiphilic, while surface morphology remained mainly unchanged. Slight chemical changes were also observed for the silsesquioxane nano-cages at the surface. Onto the untreated and irradiated samples HUVECs were seeded and grown for various durations in culture. Standard tissue-culture polystyrene (PS) was employed as a positive control to check the efficiency of the cell-culture methods. Viability and proliferation of the cells were then assessed using a non-radioactive assay. Compared to the untreated nanocomposite polymer, irradiation times of at least 5 min resulted in a significantly increased cell proliferation between 3 and 8 days after seeding with the HUVEC line EA.hy926.
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PMID:UV surface modification of a new nanocomposite polymer to improve cytocompatibility. 1754 Jan 19

Apportionment of urban particulate matter (PM) to sources is central for air quality management and efficient reduction of the substantial public health risks associated with fine particles (PM(2.5)). Traffic is an important source combustion particles, but also a significant source of resuspended particles that chemically resemble Earth's crust and that are not affected by development of cleaner motor technologies. A substantial fraction of urban ambient PM originates from long-range transport outside the immediate urban environment including secondary particles formed from gaseous emissions of mainly sulphur, nitrogen oxides and ammonia. Most source apportionment studies are based on small number of fixed monitoring sites and capture well population exposures to regional and long-range transported particles. However, concentrations from local sources are very unevenly distributed and the results from such studies are therefore poorly representative of the actual exposures. The current study uses PM(2.5) data observed at population based random sampled residential locations in Athens, Basle and Helsinki with 17 elemental constituents, selected VOCs (xylenes, trimethylbenzenes, nonane and benzene) and light absorbance (black smoke). The major sources identified across the three cities included crustal, salt, long-range transported inorganic and traffic sources. Traffic was associated separately with source categories with crustal (especially Athens and Helsinki) and long-range transported chemical composition (all cities). Remarkably high fractions of the variability of elemental (R(2)>0.6 except for Ca in Basle 0.38) and chemical concentrations (R(2)>0.5 except benzene in Basle 0.22 and nonane in Athens 0.39) are explained by the source factors of an SEM model. The RAINS model that is currently used as the main tool in developing European air quality management policies seems to capture the local urban fraction (the city delta term) quite well, but underestimates crustal particle levels in the three cities of the current study. Utilizing structural equation modelling parallel with traditional principal component analysis (PCA) provides an objective method to determine the number of factors to be retained in a model and allows for formal hypotheses testing.
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PMID:Source apportionment of population representative samples of PM(2.5) in three European cities using structural equation modelling. 1762 34

Ce-containing MCM-41 materials were prepared via a direct, nonhydrothermal method at room temperature from tetra-ethoxysilane, n-hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide, ammonia solution, and cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate precursors. Composite materials containing the nominated ratios of 5 and 10% (w/w) CeO2/MCM-41 were targeted. The obtained materials were investigated by TGA, DSC, FTIR, diffuse reflectance UV-vis, XRD, N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, and SEM. Results indicated the insertion of cerium ions in tetrahedral environment in the framework of MCM-41. BET surface area amounting to 824 and 726 m2/g; total pore volume amounting to 0.427 and 0.515 cm3/g; and narrow pore size distribution maximizing at 22.5 and 23.7 A, respectively were obtained for the 5 and 10% CeO2/MCM-41 calcined composites. SEM showed a spherical type morphology for the composites which is rather similar to their blank MCM-41, and no clear ceria aggregates were observed on the external surfaces of composites spherical particles. Thus, the adopted method allows the persistence of MCM-41 texture with cerium inserts in the framework of MCM-41 and/or forms finely divided ceria nanoparticles on the wall of MCM-41 materials. Moreover, stabilization of any formed ceria nanoparticles was attributed to the short nonintersecting porous nature of MCM-41 matrix, which hinders their aggregation upon calcinations.
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PMID:Cerium modified MCM-41 nanocomposite materials via a nonhydrothermal direct method at room temperature. 1771 29

Nitrate reduction by the fluoride form of green rust modified with copper (GR-F(Cu)) was investigated using a batch reactor system. The extent of nitrate reduction was measured by measuring the increase in concentration of ammonia, which is the final product of nitrate reduction by GR. This approach was required, because nitrate could be removed from solution by ion exchange without reduction. The rate of ammonium production was investigated over the range of pH 7.8-11. The fastest reaction was achieved at pH 9 when GR was present at a concentration of 0.083M as Fe(II) and 1mM of Cu(II) was added. The rate at pH 9 was enhanced by a factor of 2.5 compared to that at pH 7.8 by comparing the time elapsed to transform all nitrate to ammonium. Kinetics of nitrate reduction by GR-F at pH 7.8 were affected by the concentration of Cu(II) added. The rate constants for ammonium production increased from 0.012 to 1.52h(-1) as Cu(II) additions increased from 0 to 2.5mM, but the reaction rate at 5mM was slightly decreased to 1.25h(-1). The mechanism of enhanced rates of nitrate reduction by addition of Cu(II) could not be fully determined in this study. However, XRD results showed that magnetite was produced in the reaction of Cu(II) and GR-F and SEM shows the production of nano-size particles which were not fully identified in this study. In addition, the concentration of Fe(II) in GR was observed to linearly decrease with concentration of Cu(II) added.
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PMID:Nitrate reduction by fluoride green rust modified with copper. 1786 24

Barley hull, a lignocellulosic biomass, was pretreated using aqueous ammonia, to be converted into ethanol. Barley hull was soaked in 15 and 30 wt.% aqueous ammonia at 30, 60, and 75 degrees C for between 12 h and 11 weeks. This pretreatment method has been known as "soaking in aqueous ammonia" (SAA). Among the tested conditions, the best pretreatment conditions observed were 75 degrees C, 48 h, 15 wt.% aqueous ammonia and 1:12 of solid:liquid ratio resulting in saccharification yields of 83% for glucan and 63% for xylan with 15 FPU/g-glucan enzyme loading. Pretreatment using 15 wt.% ammonia for 24-72 h at 75 degrees C removed 50-66% of the original lignin from the solids while it retained 65-76% of the xylan without any glucan loss. Addition of xylanase along with cellulase resulted in synergetic effect on ethanol production in SSCF (simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation) using SAA-treated barley hull and recombinant E. coli (KO11). With 3% w/v glucan loading and 4 mL of xylanase enzyme loadings, the SSCF of the SAA treated barley hull resulted 24.1g/L ethanol concentration at 15 FPU cellulase/g-glucan loading, which corresponds to 89.4% of the maximum theoretical yield based on glucan and xylan. SEM results indicated that SAA treatment increased surface area and the pore size. It is postulated that these physical changes enhance the enzymatic digestibility in the SAA treated barley hull.
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PMID:Bioethanol production from barley hull using SAA (soaking in aqueous ammonia) pretreatment. 1824 85


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