High-rate anaerobic treatment of wastewater from soft drink industry: Methods, performance and experiences.

At an Austrian soft drink company, an expanded granular sludge bed reactor for anaerobic wastewater treatment was inoculated with sludge from paper and food industries. Detailed online monitoring and laboratory examinations were carried out during startup and subsequent phases, which included a period of inhibition after ca. 80 days during which reactor degradative performance diminished suddenly, following a period of increased effluent VFA.

Development of instrumentation systems as a base for control of digestion process stability in full-scale agricultural and industrial biogas plants.

This article deals with the analysis of instrumentation from three modern German full-scale biogas plants with different inputs and typical process engineering concepts for German conditions. The measured results from each plant and the suitability of the instrumentation used are evaluated and assessed. Conclusions are also made about improving the use and architecture of the instrumentation.

Operational results of an agricultural biogas plant equipped with modern instrumentation and automation.

Agricultural biogas plants based on energy crops gain more and more importance because of numerous energetic, environmental and agricultural benefits. In contrast to older biogas plants, the newest generation of biogas plants is equipped with modern ICA equipment and reliable machines/engines. In this paper, the authors present technical details and operational results of a modern full-scale agricultural biogas plant using energy crops.

Laser eustachian tuboplasty.

Objectives: Surgery on the eustachian tube for chronic eustachian tube dysfunction has been previously directed toward the bony isthmus and failed to produce lasting results. Dynamic video analysis demonstrates pathophysiology in the tubal cartilaginous portion. This study investigated a new endoluminal procedure that focused on the cartilaginous eustachian tube.

European brown hare syndrome virus in free-ranging European brown hares from Argentina.

From 1998 to 2000, serum samples of 80 shot European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) from Argentina were examined for antibodies against European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV) and 80 spleen samples were tested for EBHSV-antigen by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Nine hares were positive for EBHSV-antigen. Antibodies against EBHSV were detected in only one individual.