Metagenomic Analysis of Anaerobic Microbial Communities Degrading Short-Chain Fatty Acids as Sole Carbon Sources.

Analyzing microbial communities using metagenomes is a powerful approach to understand compositional structures and functional connections in anaerobic digestion (AD) microbiomes. Whereas short-read sequencing approaches based on the Illumina platform result in highly fragmented metagenomes, long-read sequencing leads to more contiguous assemblies. To evaluate the performance of a hybrid approach of these two sequencing approaches we compared the metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) resulting from five AD microbiome samples.

Habitat variability and faunal zonation at the Ægir Ridge, a canyon-like structure in the deep Norwegian Sea.

The Ægir Ridge System (ARS) is an ancient extinct spreading axis in the Nordic seas extending from the upper slope east of Iceland (∼550 m depth), as part of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), to a depth of ∼3,800 m in the Norwegian basin. Geomorphologically a rift valley, the ARS has a canyon-like structure that may promote increased diversity and faunal density. The main objective of this study was to characterize benthic habitats and related macro- and megabenthic communities along the ARS, and the influence of water mass variables and depth on them.

Augmenting Biogas Process Modeling by Resolving Intracellular Metabolic Activity.

The process of anaerobic digestion in which waste biomass is transformed to methane by complex microbial communities has been modeled for more than 16 years by parametric gray box approaches that simplify process biology and do not resolve intracellular microbial activity. Information on such activity, however, has become available in unprecedented detail by recent experimental advances in metatranscriptomics and metaproteomics. The inclusion of such data could lead to more powerful process models of anaerobic digestion that more faithfully represent the activity of microbial communities.

Determination of Microbial Maintenance in Acetogenesis and Methanogenesis by Experimental and Modeling Techniques.

For biogas-producing continuous stirred tank reactors, an increase in dilution rate increases the methane production rate as long as substrate input can be converted fully. However, higher dilution rates necessitate higher specific microbial growth rates, which are assumed to have a strong impact on the apparent microbial biomass yield due to cellular maintenance. To test this, we operated two reactors at 37°C in parallel at dilution rates of 0.

Intermittent fasting for microbes: how discontinuous feeding increases functional stability in anaerobic digestion.

Background: Demand-driven biogas production could play an important role for future sustainable energy supply. However, feeding a biogas reactor according to energy demand may lead to organic overloading and, thus, to process failures. To minimize this risk, digesters need to be actively steered towards containing more robust microbial communities.

PCR-based quantification of taxa-specific abundances in microbial communities: Quantifying and avoiding common pitfalls.

The quantification of relative and absolute taxa-specific abundances in complex microbial communities is crucial for understanding and modeling natural and engineered ecosystems. Many errors inherent to this quantification are, though well-known, still insufficiently addressed and can potentially lead to a completely different interpretation of experimental results. This review provides a critical assessment of next generation sequencing (NGS) of amplicons and quantitative real-time PCR for the quantification of relative and absolute taxa-specific genome abundances.

Ecological Stability Properties of Microbial Communities Assessed by Flow Cytometry.

Natural microbial communities affect human life in countless ways, ranging from global biogeochemical cycles to the treatment of wastewater and health via the human microbiome. In order to probe, monitor, and eventually control these communities, fast detection and evaluation methods are required. In order to facilitate rapid community analysis and monitor a community's dynamic behavior with high resolution, we here apply community flow cytometry, which provides single-cell-based high-dimensional data characterizing communities with high acuity over time.

Recurrent stenosis following carotid artery stenting treated with a drug-eluting balloon: a single-center retrospective analysis.

Purpose: Early in-stent restenosis after stent-protected angioplasty of the carotid artery (SPAC) is an infrequent, but potentially harmful condition for patients with carotid artery disease.

Methods: In our retrospective single-center analysis of 176 patients with carotid artery stenting between 2009 and 2015, using duplex ultrasound, we detected 9 patients with high-grade carotid artery in-stent restenosis. All restenosis patients were treated with a drug-eluting balloon (DEB) to prevent recurrent neointimal hyperplasia.

Exploring the selective lactic acid production from food waste in uncontrolled pH mixed culture fermentations using different reactor configurations.

Carboxylic acid production from food waste by mixed culture fermentation is an important future waste management option. Obstacles for its implementation are the need of pH control, and a broad fermentation product spectrum leading to increased product separation costs. To overcome these obstacles, the selective production of lactic acid (LA) from model food waste by uncontrolled pH fermentation was tested using different reactor configurations.

Recovery of carboxylic acids produced during dark fermentation of food waste by adsorption on Amberlite IRA-67 and activated carbon.

Amberlite IRA-67 and activated carbon were tested as promising candidates for carboxylic acid recovery by adsorption. Dark fermentation was performed without pH control and without addition of external inoculum at 37°C in batch mode. Lactic, acetic and butyric acids, were obtained, after 7days of fermentation.

Mechanical Recanalization following i.v. Thrombolysis: A Retrospective Analysis regarding Secondary Hemorrhagic Infarctions and Parenchymal Hematomas.

Introduction. In acute stroke by occlusion of the proximal medial cerebral artery (MCA) or the distal internal carotid artery, intravenous thrombolysis is an established treatment. Another option is mechanical recanalization.

Converting the organic fraction of solid waste from the city of Abu Dhabi to valuable products via dark fermentation--Economic and energy assessment.

Landfilling the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) leads to greenhouse gas emissions and loss of valuable resources. Sustainable and cost efficient solutions need to be developed to solve this problem. This study evaluates the feasibility of using dark fermentation (DF) to convert the OFMSW to volatile fatty acids (VFAs), fertilizer and H2.

Central nervous system involvement in adults with epidemic hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Hemolytic uremic syndrome is a multisystem disorder that is caused by infection with Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli. HUS affects mainly children and is rare among adults. This retrospective case series analyzes clinical signs and MR imaging findings of 11 adult patients with HUS associated nervous system involvement during the epidemic EHEC outbreak in northern Europe with its epicenter in Hamburg in May 2011.

Quantum logical operations for spin 3/2 quadrupolar nuclei monitored by quantum state tomography.

This article presents the realization of many self-reversible quantum logic gates using two-qubit quadrupolar spin 3/2 systems. Such operations are theoretically described using propagation matrices for the RF pulses that include the effect of the quadrupolar evolution during the pulses. Experimental demonstrations are performed using a generalized form of the recently developed method for quantum state tomography in spin 3/2 systems.

Short-range structure and cation bonding in calcium-aluminum metaphosphate glasses.

Comprehension of short- and medium-range order of phosphate glasses is a topic of interest, due to the close relation between network structure and mechanical, thermal, and optical properties. In this work, the short-range structure of glasses (1 - x)Ca(PO(3))(2).xAl(PO(3))(3) with 0 < or = x < or = 0.

Prospectively gated cardiac computed tomography.

A fourth-generation scanner has been modified to perform prospectively gated cardiac computed tomography (CT). A computer program monitors the electrocardiogram (ECG) and predicts when to initiate the next scan in a gated series in order to acquire all projection data for a desired phase of the heart cycle. The system has been tested with dogs and has produced cross-sectional images of all phases of the cardiac cycle.

A composite curve of ultrasonic biparietal diameters for estimating gestational age.

A composite curve of biparietal diameters at various gestational ages was constructed from previous reports from five large centers. Estimates of the mean gestational age using the composite curve compared favorably with other reporting institutions. This suggests that the newly established echography department may employ the composite curve of mean values and need not develop its own biparietal growth curve.