Enhanced thermophilic high-solids anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste with spatial separation from conductive materials in a single reactor volume.

Despite benefits such as lower water and working volume requirements, thermophilic high solids anaerobic digestion (THSAD) often fails due to the rapid build-up of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and the associated drop in pH. Use of conductive materials (CM) can promote THSAD through stimulation of direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET), while the need for their constant dosing due to poor separation from effluent impairs economic feasibility. This study used an approach of spatially separating magnetite and granular activated carbon (GAC) from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) in a single reactor for THSAD.

Light absorption by a planar array of spherical particles and a matrix in which they are embedded: statistical approach.

The fractions of light energy absorbed by a 2D array of spherical particles and the matrix in which they are embedded are determined. The solution is based on a volume integral equation and a statistical approach. The absorption coefficient of the array is found via the internal fields of the particles.

Optical characteristics of a monolayer of identical spherical particles in an absorbing host medium.

The problem of light interaction with a 2D ensemble of homogeneous spherical particles embedded into an unbounded homogeneous absorbing host medium is considered. Based on the statistical approach, the equations are derived to characterize optical response of such a system with taking into account multiple scattering of light. Numerical data are presented for the spectral behavior of coherent transmission and reflection, incoherent scattering, and absorption coefficients of thin dielectric, semiconductor, and metal films containing a monolayer of particles with various spatial organization.

Comparative effect of conductive and dielectric materials on methanogenesis from highly concentrated volatile fatty acids.

Various conductive materials and their dielectric counterparts were used to get deeper insights into contribution of direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) in improving methanogenesis from highly concentrated volatile fatty acids (12.5 g/L). Potential CH yield, maximum CH production rate and lag phase were significantly (up to 1.

Resonant absorption of light by a two-dimensional imperfect lattice of spherical particles.

The light absorption and scattering by an infinite two-dimensional array with an imperfect lattice of identical spherical particles is considered based on the statistical approach to a description of electromagnetic wave interaction with particulate media. Absorption resonances due to the coherent component of scattered light (zeroth order of diffraction) and resonances arising from the excitation of a flux of incoherently scattered light (higher diffraction orders) propagating at grazing angles to the array plane are studied. The dependence of absorption on the degree of positional ordering of particles is considered.

Effects of various materials used to promote the direct interspecies electron transfer on anaerobic digestion of low-concentration swine manure.

The activation of direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) by the supplementation of conductive materials is one of the effective and available methods to enhance anaerobic digestion (AD). Microorganisms that colonize the surface of these materials form biofilms, the study of which could provide new insights into the character of the DIET process and its effect on AD. The present study focused on AD performance, microbial community, as well as morphological and topological features of biofilms on various materials used to promote DIET during AD of low-concentration swine manure.

Multi-crystal data collection using synchrotron radiation as exemplified with low-symmetry crystals of Dps.

Multi-crystal data collection using synchrotron radiation was successfully applied to determine the three-dimensional structure of a triclinic crystal form of Dps from Escherichia coli at 2.0 Å resolution. The final data set was obtained by combining 261 partial diffraction data sets measured from crystals with an average size of approximately 5 µm.

Morphological peculiarities of the DNA-protein complexes in starved Escherichia coli cells.

One of the adaptive strategies for the constantly changing conditions of the environment utilized in bacterial cells involves the condensation of DNA in complex with the DNA-binding protein, Dps. With the use of electron microscopy and electron tomography, we observed several morphologically different types of DNA condensation in dormant Escherichia coli cells, namely: nanocrystalline, liquid crystalline, and the folded nucleosome-like. We confirmed the presence of both Dps and DNA in all of the ordered structures using EDX analysis.

Projection structures reveal the position of the DNA within DNA-Dps Co-crystals.

One of the universal mechanisms for the response of Escherichia coli to stress is the increase of the synthesis of specific histone-like proteins that bind the DNA, Dps. As a result, two-and three-dimensional crystalline arrays may be observed in the cytoplasm of starving cells. Here, we determined the conditions to obtain very thin two-dimensional DNA-Dps co-crystals in vitro, and studied their projection structures, using electron microscopy.

Interaction of deoxyribonucleic acid with deoxyribonucleic acid-binding protein from starved cells: cluster formation and crystal growing as a model of initial stages of nucleoid biocrystallization.

The paper represents the study of interaction between deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid-binding protein from starved cells (DPS) cluster formation and crystal growing within a cell. This study is a part of the project that includes European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) investigations of in vivo and in vitro nanocrystallization processes of Escherichia coli (E. coli) nucleoid under stress condition combined with theoretical molecular dynamics approaches.

Incoherent component of light scattered by a monolayer of spherical particles: analysis of angular distribution and absorption of light.

We have derived an analytical solution for an incoherent component of light scattered by a normally illuminated monolayer of homogeneous spherical particles. It is based on the quasi-crystalline approximation of the theory of multiple scattering of waves as well as on the multipole expansion of electromagnetic fields and tensor Green's function in terms of vector spherical wave functions. We apply the solution to a description of scattering and absorption characteristics of partially ordered monolayers and monolayers with imperfect lattices.