A sensory neuroprosthesis enhances recovery from treadmill-induced stumbles for individuals with lower limb loss.

Over 50% of individuals with lower limb loss report a fear of falling and avoiding daily activities partly due to a lack of plantar sensation. Providing direct somatosensory feedback via neural stimulation holds promise for addressing this issue. In this study, three individuals with lower limb loss received a sensory neuroprosthesis (SNP) that provided plantar somatosensory feedback corresponding to prosthesis-floor interactions perceived as arising from the missing foot generated by electrically activating the peripheral nerves in the residuum.

Enhancing quorum quenching media with 3D robust electrospinning coating: A novel biofouling control strategy for membrane bioreactors.

Bacterial quorum quenching (QQ) is an effective strategy for controlling biofouling in membrane bioreactor (MBR) by interfering the releasing and degradation of signal molecules during quorum sensing (QS) process. However, due to the framework feature of QQ media, the maintenance of QQ activity and the restriction of mass transfer threshold, it has been difficult to design a more stable and better performing structure in a long period of time. In this research, electrospun fiber coated hydrogel QQ beads (QQ-ECHB) were fabricated by using electrospun nanofiber coated hydrogel to strengthen layers of QQ carriers for the first time.

Long-term impacts of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics in membrane bioreactor.

Due to the mass production and daily use of plastic products, the potential toxicity of microplastics to the water environment has attracted worldwide attention. In this work, the effect of typical microplastics (PET) on the performance of activated sludge from membrane bioreactors (MBR) was evaluated. The impacts on biological removal efficiency were unconspicuous with continuous dosing of 60 particles/L.

Investigation of the adsorption behavior of Pb(II) onto natural-aged microplastics as affected by salt ions.

In this study, the adsorption behavior of Pb(II) on natural-aged and virgin microplastics in different electrolyte solutions was investigated. The results demonstrated that natural-aged microplastics exhibited higher adsorption capacity for Pb(II) compared to virgin ones, and the addition of CaCl strongly inhibited the adsorption amount of Pb(II). The adsorption kinetics of Pb(II) adsorption were better fitted by the pseudo-second order model and Elovich equation, and were slowed down greatly at higher ionic strength.

Microplastics as a vehicle of heavy metals in aquatic environments: A review of adsorption factors, mechanisms, and biological effects.

Microplastics (MPs) have recently attracted much attention due to their widespread distribution in the aquatic environment. Microplastics can act as a vector of heavy metals in the aquatic environment, causing a potential threat to aquatic organisms and human health. This review mainly summarized the occurrence of microplastics in the aquatic environment and their interaction with heavy metals.

QQ-PAC core-shell structured quorum quenching beads for potential membrane antifouling properties.

Quorum quenching (QQ) has been proven to be an effective method to reduce MBR membrane biological contamination. In this paper, a novel and efficient QQ-PAC core-shell beads were prepared for mitigating the membrane contamination. The bead was composed of two parts: QQ bacteria embedded in the core and PAC in the shell.

Effect of potassium persulphate addition on sludge disintegration of a mesophilic anaerobic fermentation system.

Persulphates, an advanced oxidation process, has been recently used as an alternative pretreatment method to enhance short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) yield from waste-activated sludge (WAS) anaerobic fermentation (AF). But so far, the effects of peroxydisulphate (PDS) dosages on mesophilic anaerobic fermentation are still not studied fully. Herein, we explored the influences of potassium PDS addition on mesophilic AF of WAS.

Optimization of startup and shutdown operation of simulated moving bed chromatographic processes.

This paper presents new multistage optimal startup and shutdown strategies for simulated moving bed (SMB) chromatographic processes. The proposed concept allows to adjust transient operating conditions stage-wise, and provides capability to improve transient performance and to fulfill product quality specifications simultaneously. A specially tailored decomposition algorithm is developed to ensure computational tractability of the resulting dynamic optimization problems.

Optimization of simulated moving bed chromatography with fractionation and feedback: part II. Fractionation of both outlets.

A new improvement based on outlet fractionation and feedback has been developed for simulated moving bed (SMB) chromatography. In this contribution, this fractionation and feedback SMB (FF-SMB) concept is extended to the general scenario which integrates a simultaneous fractionation of both outlet streams. A model-based optimization approach, previously adopted to investigate single fractionation, is extended to consider this flexible fractionation policy.

Optimization of simulated moving bed chromatography with fractionation and feedback: part I. Fractionation of one outlet.

A novel modification of simulated moving bed (SMB) technology, referred to as fractionation and feedback SMB (FF-SMB), has been introduced recently. This concept is based on fractionating one or both outlet streams and feeding the off-spec fractions back into the unit alternatingly with the original feed mixture. In this paper, the optimization problem of FF-SMB realizing one outlet fractionation is considered.