Scaled-up multi-anode shared cathode microbial fuel cell for simultaneous treatment of multiple real wastewaters and power generation.

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is lauded for its capacity to valorize organic substrates in wastes, providing a solution to environmental pollution and energy crisis. While different types of organic substrates affect removal efficiency and current output, most MFCs are designed to only be able to utilize one type of wastewater. However, many real wastewater treatment sites generate more than one type of wastewater which hinders the installation of most MFCs.

Cross-Linking Cellular Prion Protein Induces Neuronal Type 2-Like Hypersensitivity.

Background: Previous reports identified proteins associated with 'apoptosis' following cross-linking PrP with motif-specific anti-PrP antibodies and . The molecular mechanisms underlying this IgG-mediated neurotoxicity and the role of the activated proteins in the apoptotic pathways leading to neuronal death has not been properly defined. Previous reports implicated a number of proteins, including apolipoprotein E, cytoplasmic phospholipase A2, prostaglandin and calpain with anti-PrP antibody-mediated 'apoptosis', however, these proteins are also known to play an important role in allergy.

A multi-emission analysis of organic and inorganic pollutants during the combustion of sludge with high and low calorific value coals.

To achieve allowable gas emission limits and eliminate the high cost and challenges associated with pre-treatment of sludge before incineration, a new technique was proposed to co-incinerate wet printing and dyeing sludge with different calorific values of coal while conducting a full evaluation of organic and inorganic emission of pollutants. Different proportions (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%) of the wet sludge-coal slurry (peat) were incinerated using a commercialized fluid bed (circulating) incinerator. The results showed the that flue gas emitted contained sulfur oxides (SO), nitrogen oxides (NO), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and heavy metals in bottom ash.

Performance of Exoelectrogenic Bacteria Used in Microbial Desalination Cell Technology.

The tri-functional purpose of Microbial Desalination Cell (MDC) has shown a great promise in our current scarcity of water, an increase in water pollution and the high cost of electricity production. As a biological system, the baseline force that drives its performance is the presence of exoelectrogens in the anode chamber. Their presence in the anodic chamber of MDC systems enables the treatment of water, desalination of seawater, and the production of electrical energy.

Cloning and Purification of Per a 4, a Gene Encoding a Allergen, and Preparation of Its Monoclonal Antibodies.

Objective: To clone, express, purify the Per a 4 gene encoding an allergen of and prepare monoclonal antibodies against the recombinant allergen.

Methods: The total RNA was extracted from , and the target gene was amplified by RT-PCR and cloned into pMD18-T vector. After being confirmed by nucleotide sequencing, the gene was then inserted into pGEX-3X to construct the express vector pGEX-3X-Per a 4.

Effects of winter cover crops residue returning on soil enzyme activities and soil microbial community in double-cropping rice fields.

Residue management in cropping systems is useful to improve soil quality. However, the studies on the effects of residue management on the enzyme activities and microbial community of soils in South China are few. Therefore, the effects of incorporating winter cover crop residue with a double-cropping rice (Oryza sativa L.

A method to provide rapid in situ determination of tip radius in dynamic atomic force microscopy.

We provide a method to characterize the tip radius of an atomic force microscopy in situ by monitoring the dynamics of the cantilever in ambient conditions. The key concept is that the value of free amplitude for which transitions from the attractive to repulsive force regimes are observed, strongly depends on the curvature of the tip. In practice, the smaller the value of free amplitude required to observe a transition, the sharper the tip.

Current and future therapeutic targets of rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systematic autoimmune disease which affects about 1% of the population world wide. This article aimed to identify current therapeutic targets for RA based on data from the literature and drug target related databases. Identified targets were further analysed using a powerful bioinformatics tool, PANTHER (Protein ANalysis THrough Evolutionary Relationships).

Chronic effects of berberine on blood, liver glucolipid metabolism and liver PPARs expression in diabetic hyperlipidemic rats.

Berberine is one of the main alkaloids of Rhizoma coptidis which has been used as a folk medicine to treat diabetes mellitus for more than 1400 years in China. To investigate the chronic effect of berberine on diabetic hyperlipidemic rats, fasted rats were intraperitoneally injected 35 mg/kg streptozotocin. Diabetic rats were admitted after 2 weeks and given a high-carbohydrate/high-fat diet to induce hyperlipidemia.

Measurement of bioelectric currents based on the coupling of electric and magnetic field.

A method based on magneto-acoustic technique is developed to measure bioelectric currents non-invasively. Theoretically, vibrations of particles in the medium are produced due to the Lorentz force when oscillatory currents flow through medium in a steady magnetic field. These vibrations contain information of the bioelectric currents and can be detected by surface contact detector.

Molecular cloning of PP2Ceta, a novel member of the protein phosphatase 2C family.

We have cloned a novel member of the mouse protein phosphatase 2C family, PP2Ceta. Sequence analysis suggests that PP2Ceta, PP2Czeta and NERPP-2C constitute a unique subgroup of the PP2C family. PP2Ceta had extremely low activity against alpha-casein compared with PP2Calpha and was localized mainly in cell nuclei, suggesting that PP2Ceta dephosphorylates a unique nuclear protein(s) in the cells.