An electrochemical DNA sensor based on a layers-film construction modified electrode.

This work developed a relatively inexpensive and layers-film construction electrochemical sensor for DNA recognition and its performance was investigated. The Fe(3)O(4) magnetic nanoparticles-cysteine were immobilized on the carbon paste electrode (CPE) surface using magnetic force. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), gold nanoparticles (GNPs), and chitosan (Chi) were used successively to coat on the electrode surface.

Relative contributions of archaea and bacteria to microbial ammonia oxidation differ under different conditions during agricultural waste composting.

The aim of this study was to compare the relative contribution of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) to nitrification during agricultural waste composting. The AOA and AOB amoA gene abundance and composition were determined by quantitative PCR and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), respectively. The results showed that the archaeal amoA gene was abundant throughout the composting process, while the bacterial amoA gene abundance decreased to undetectable level during the thermophilic and cooling stages.

Endophyte-assisted promotion of biomass production and metal-uptake of energy crop sweet sorghum by plant-growth-promoting endophyte Bacillus sp. SLS18.

The effects of Bacillus sp. SLS18, a plant-growth-promoting endophyte, on the biomass production and Mn/Cd uptake of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), Phytolacca acinosa Roxb.

Microsatellite is an important component of complete hepatitis C virus genomes.

Microsatellites are common and play diverse roles in eukaryotic and prokaryotic genomes. However, to our knowledge, microsatellite distribution remains largely enigmatic in viruses yet is crucial for understanding instability of viral genomes. We have therefore, examined microsatellite distribution in 54 complete genomes of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) from six genotypes, showing microsatellites were an important component of HCV genomes.

Oxalate production at different initial Pb²+ concentrations and the influence of oxalate during solid-state fermentation of straw with Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

The production of oxalate at different initial Pb(2+) concentrations during solid-state fermentation of straw with Phanerochaete chrysosporium was investigated. It was found that the maximal peak value of oxalate concentration (22.84 mM) was detected at the initial Pb(2+) concentration of 200 mg kg(-1) dry straw, while the minimum (15.

[Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of white-rot fungus and their effects on Pb2+ adsorption by biomass].

The extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of P. chrysosporium and their effects on Pb2+ biosorption were studied. The product, composition of EPS and the effects on Pb2+ biosorption capacity were investigated in lab via flask experiments.

Effects of continuous thermophilic composting (CTC) on bacterial community in the active composting process.

The method of continuous thermophilic composting (CTC) remarkably shortened the active composting cycle and enhanced the compost stability. Effects of CTC on the quantities of bacteria, with a comparison to the traditional composting (TC) method, were explored by plate count with incubation at 30, 40 and 50°C, respectively, and by quantitative PCR targeting the universal bacterial 16S rRNA genes and the Bacillus 16S rRNA genes. The comparison of cultivatable or uncultivatable bacterial numbers indicated that CTC might have increased the biomass of bacteria, especially Bacillus spp.

Combined effect of sodium dodecyl sulfate and enzyme on waste activated sludge hydrolysis and acidification.

The combined effect of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and enzyme system on hydrolysis and acidification of waste activated sludge (WAS) was investigated. The results showed that the combined system was more effective in the promotion of sludge hydrolysis than sole SDS and sole enzyme, and the SDS+mixed-enzymes (ME) system had better hydrolysis performance than SDS+single enzyme system. Compared with SDS+protease and SDS+amylase systems, the soluble protein concentration in SDS+ME system increased respectively by 20.

MfSAT: Detect simple sequence repeats in viral genomes.

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are ubiquitous short tandem repeats, which are associated with various regulatory mechanisms and have been found in viral genomes. Herein, we develop MfSAT (Multi-functional SSRs Analytical Tool), a new powerful tool which can fast identify SSRs in multiple short viral genomes and then automatically calculate the numbers and proportions of various SSR types (mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta- and hexanucleotide repeats). Furthermore, it also can detect codon repeats and report the corresponding amino acid.

Effect of saponins on cell surface properties of Penicillium simplicissimum: performance on adsorption of cadmium(II).

Previous studies about the effect of biosurfactants on cell surface properties mainly focus on cell surface hydrophobicity. In the present study, the effects of plant-derived biosurfactants saponins on cell surface charge and the adsorption of cadmium(II) by Penicillium simplicissimum were studied. The pretreatment of saponins changed the optimal pH from 6 to 5 for Cd(II) adsorption.

Simultaneous cadmium removal and 2,4-dichlorophenol degradation from aqueous solutions by Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

Phanerochaete chrysosporium has been recognised as an effective bioremediation agent due to its unique degradation to xenobiotic and biosorption ability to heavy metals. However, few studies have focused on the simultaneous removal of heavy metals and organic pollutants. The aim of this work was to study the feasibility of simultaneous cadmium removal and 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) degradation in P.

Enhancement of cadmium bioremediation by endophytic bacterium Bacillus sp. L14 using industrially used metabolic inhibitors (DCC or DNP).

Bioremediations of cadmium by endophytic bacterium (EB) L14 (Bacillus sp.) in the presence of industrially used metabolic inhibitors (DCC or DNP) were investigated. In the presence of DCC or DNP, the biomass population of EB L14 was greatly inhibited.

Simultaneous phosphate and CODcr removals for landfill leachate using modified honeycomb cinders as an adsorbent.

In this study, honeycomb cinders were employed to remove phosphate and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD(cr)) simultaneously for landfill leachate treatment. Operating conditions of honeycomb cinders pretreatment, pH, temperature, honeycomb cinders dosage, reaction time, and settling time, were evaluated and optimized. The results revealed that the removal efficiencies of both phosphate and COD(cr) could be increased up to 99.

Coarsening of extracellularly biosynthesized cadmium crystal particles induced by thioacetamide in solution.

A novel coarsening route for extracellularly biosynthesized cadmium nanocrystals was investigated for the first time. In this process, the white rot fungus Coriolus versicolor was employed to take up cadmium ions and synthesize extracellular cadmium crystal particles. The coarsening of the particles was induced by thioacetamide under certain conditions.

Effects of cake collapse caused by deposition of fractal aggregates on pressure drop during ceramic filtration.

A cake collapse model was developed by taking the combined effects of fractal dimension, relaxation ratio, coordination number, and aggregate diameter into consideration. The cake porosity including intraaggregate and interaggregate porosities was modeled successively by three typical coordination numbers (n = 6, 8, and 12). Accordingly, an inversion method made it possible to deduce the coordination number using the measured cake porosities, and the reverse-calculated value with minimum error and the corresponding relaxation ratios were applied as the parameters for the model.

Response of compost maturity and microbial community composition to pentachlorophenol (PCP)-contaminated soil during composting.

Two composting piles were prepared by adding to a mixture of rice straw, vegetables and bran: (i) raw soil free from pentachlorophenol (PCP) contamination (pile A) and (ii) PCP-contaminated soil (pile B). It was shown by the results that compost maturity characterized by water soluble carbon (WSC), TOC/TN ratio, germination index (GI) and dehydrogenase activity (DA) was significantly affected by PCP exposure, which resulted in an inferior degree of maturity for pile B. DGGE analysis revealed an inhibited effect of PCP on compost microbial abundance.

Compound microsatellites in complete Escherichia coli genomes.

Compound microsatellites consisting of two or more repeats in close proximity have been found in eukaryotic genomes. So far such compound microsatellites have not been investigated in any prokaryotic genomes. We have therefore examined compound microsatellites in 22 complete genomes of Escherichia coli, which is one of the ideal model organisms to analyze the nature and evolution of prokaryotic compound microsatellites.

Effect of trace amounts of polyacrylamide (PAM) on long-term performance of activated sludge.

This study aims at evaluating the impacts of PAM addition on activated sludge performance. Four lab-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs), each with a working volume of 3L, were investigated with different PAM concentrations. Experiments were conducted with varying organic loading rate and the sludge volume index (SVI), particle size, zeta potential, specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR), mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS), COD and ammonium removal efficiency were monitored over a 105-day period.

[Comparison for removing Cu2+ by micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration with SDS and SDBS].

Micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration was used to remove Cu2+ (Cu2+ was fixed at 0.6 mmol/L) from simulant aqueous solutions with SDS and SDBS as anionic surfactants respectively. Compare SDS and SDBS separation through permeate flux, permeate concentration, rejection and enrichment ratio.

Effect of monorhamnolipid on the degradation of n-hexadecane by Candida tropicalis and the association with cell surface properties.

The effect of monorhamnolipid (monoRL) on the degradation of n-hexadecane by Candida tropicalis was investigated in this study. The concentration of hexadecane, cell growth, cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH), cell surface zeta potential (CSZP), and FT-IR spectra of cellular envelope were tested to determine the mechanisms. MonoRL at the initial concentrations of 11.

Quantitative effects of composting state variables on C/N ratio through GA-aided multivariate analysis.

It is widely known that variation of the C/N ratio is dependent on many state variables during composting processes. This study attempted to develop a genetic algorithm aided stepwise cluster analysis (GASCA) method to describe the nonlinear relationships between the selected state variables and the C/N ratio in food waste composting. The experimental data from six bench-scale composting reactors were used to demonstrate the applicability of GASCA.

Surface-modified Phanerochaete chrysosporium as a biosorbent for Cr(VI)-contaminated wastewater.

To improve the removal efficiency of heavy metals from wastewater, the surface of a fungal biomass was modified to obtain a high-capacity biosorbent for Cr(VI) in wastewater. The effects of pH, initial concentration, and sorption time on Cr(VI) removal by polyethylenimine (PEI)-modified Phanerochaete chrysosporium were investigated. The biomass adsorption capacity was significantly dependent on the pH of the solution, and the optimum pH was approximately 3.

Total concentrations and chemical speciation of heavy metals in liquefaction residues of sewage sludge.

The risk (including bioavailability and eco-toxicity) of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr and Ni) in liquefaction residues (LR) of sewage sludge (SS) was estimated, according to both the speciation of heavy metals and the local environmental characteristics. The amount of organic matters in LR was lower than that in SS, resulting in a smaller calorific value, while the total content of heavy metals in LR nearly doubled. High residual rates of heavy metals (about 80%) indicated that the heavy metals in SS were concentrated into LR after liquefaction.

Effects of physico-chemical parameters on the bacterial and fungal communities during agricultural waste composting.

The goal of this study was to identify and prioritize some of the physico-chemical parameters that contributed to bacterial and fungal community compositions during agricultural waste composting. Relationships between those parameters and microbial community compositions determined by PCR-DGGE were simultaneously evaluated by redundancy analysis (RDA). The results showed that the temporal variation of bacterial community composition was significantly related to water soluble carbon (WSC), ammonium and nitrate (P<0.

[Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose in reverse micelles].

Several types of surfactants were adopted to construct reverse micelles, in order to investigate the characteristics of cellulose hydrolysis, we used the carboxymethyl cellulose as substrate. The electrical conductivity was measured to determine the maximum water solubilization W0( W0 = [H2O]/[SA] ) of CTAB, SDS, Tween-80 and rhamnolipid reverse micellar systems were 15.2, 20.