Evolution and expression of TLR5a and TLR5b in lamprey (Lampetra japonica).

The lamprey serves as a key model organism for studying the origin and evolution of species, embryonic development, and the immune system. The immune system primarily relies on pattern recognition receptors, including Toll-like receptors (TLRs), with Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) having a particularly complex evolutionary history. Currently, although TLR5 is being identified in an expanding array of taxonomic groups, a comprehensive study on its evolutionary aspects is yet to be conducted.

How to achieve air resistance control in hollow fiber membrane process: Membrane vibration or inner surface modification?

As a factor affecting the efficiency of hollow fiber membrane filtration, air resistance is gradually being discovered. To obtain a better air resistance control strategy, in the study, two representative strategies have been proposed, namely, membrane vibration and inner surface modification, which was achieved by aeration combined with looseness-induced membrane vibration and dopamine (PDA) hydrophilic modification of the inner surface, respectively. The performance of two strategies was based on Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensing technology and ultrasonic phased array (UPA) technology to achieve real-time monitoring.

Enhancing the selective synthesis of butyrate in microbial electrosynthesis system by gas diffusion membrane composite biocathode.

The reduction of carbon dioxide (CO) to high value-added multi-carbon compounds at the cathode is an emerging application of microbial electrosynthesis system (MES). In this study, a composite cathode consisting of hollow fiber membrane (HFM) and the carbon felt is designed to enhance the CO mass transfer of the cathode. The result shows that the main products are acetate and butyrate without other substances.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) reveals the role of microbial fuel cell-ceramic membrane bioreactor (MFC-CMBR): Electricity utilization and membrane fouling.

Ceramic membrane has become a major concern due to creasing cost and competitive efficiency. Microbial fuel cell-ceramic membrane bioreactor (MFC-CMBR) is considered alternative technology for larger-scale industrial application because of its advantages of convenient detecting and control of membrane fouling. However, MFC-CMBR are highly susceptible to membrane fouling and harsh operating requirements in these wastewaters of different compositions.

Enhanced Antibiotic Tolerance of an Multispecies Uropathogen Biofilm Model, Useful for Studies of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections.

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) are a common clinical concern as they can lead to severe, persistent infections or bacteremia in long-term catheterized patients. This type of CAUTI is difficult to eradicate, as they are caused by multispecies biofilms that may have reduced susceptibility to antibiotics. Many new strategies to tackle CAUTI have been proposed in the past decade, including antibiotic combination treatments, surface modification and probiotic usage.

Transition of fouling characteristics after development of membrane wetting in membrane-aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs).

The practical applications of water treatment techniques based on hydrophobic aeration membrane are limited due to membrane pores blocking. Various studies have revealed that both biofilm and microbial secretion can exacerbate membrane fouling. Recently, we constructed a membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) system for treating micro-polluted surface water in order to identify the primary cause for oxygen transfer rate (OTR) decline.

Shifts in microbial community structure and diversity in a novel waterfall biofilm reactor combined with MBBR under light and dark conditions.

In this study, a novel, low-cost, easy-maintenance and effective waterfall aeration biofilm reactor (WFBR) was designed to treat wastewater with MBBR. The chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen removal efficiency, and the microbial community structure in this novel system were evaluated for 70 days under light and dark conditions. The COD and ammonium nitrogen (NH-N) removal efficiency remained at approximately 90% and 100% respectively after 25 days, even if the influent substrate concentration and illumination condition changes.