Impact of cathodic pH and bioaugmentation on acetate and CH production in a microbial electrosynthesis cell.

This study compares carbon dioxide conversion in carbonate-fed microbial electrosynthesis (MES) cells operated at low (5.3), neutral (7) and high (8) pH levels and inoculated either with wild-type or bioaugmented mixed microbial populations. Two 100 mL (cathode volume) MES cells inoculated with anaerobic digester sludge were operated with a continuous supply of carbonate solution (5 g L as CO ).

The Effect of Bismuth and Tin on Methane and Acetate Production in a Microbial Electrosynthesis Cell Fed with Carbon Dioxide.

This study investigates the impacts of bismuth and tin on the production of CH and volatile fatty acids in a microbial electrosynthesis cell with a continuous CO supply. First, the impact of several transition metal ions (Ni, Fe, Cu, Sn, Mn, MoO, and Bi) on hydrogenotrophic and acetoclastic methanogenic microbial activity was evaluated in a series of batch bottle tests incubated with anaerobic sludge and a pre-defined concentration of dissolved transition metals. While Cu is considered a promising catalyst for the electrocatalytic conversion of CO to short chain fatty acids such as acetate, its presence as a Cu ion was demonstrated to significantly inhibit the microbial production of CH and acetate.

Microbial Fuel Cell Biosensor with Capillary Carbon Source Delivery for Real-Time Toxicity Detection.

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) biosensor with an anode as a sensing element is often unreliable at low or significantly fluctuating organic matter concentrations. To remove this limitation, this work demonstrates capillary action-aided carbon source delivery to an anode-sensing MFC biosensor for use in carbon-depleted environments, e.g.

Evaluation of biocathode materials for microbial electrosynthesis of methane and acetate.

This study compares carbon felt (CF), granular activated carbon (GAC), and a conductive acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (cABS) polymer cathodes for CH and acetate production in a microbial electrosynthesis (MES) cell. At an applied voltage of 2.8 V and continuous CO flow, the CF biocathode MES cell showed the highest CH production rate of 1420 ± 225 mL V d (V = cathode volume), also producing acetate at a rate of 710 ± 110 mg V d.

A comparative analysis of biopolymer production by microbial and bioelectrochemical technologies.

Production of biopolymers from renewable carbon sources provides a path towards a circular economy. This review compares several existing and emerging approaches for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production from soluble organic and gaseous carbon sources and considers technologies based on pure and mixed microbial cultures. While bioplastics are most often produced from soluble sources of organic carbon, the use of carbon dioxide (CO) as the carbon source for PHA production is emerging as a sustainable approach that combines CO sequestration with the production of a value-added product.

On-line monitoring of water quality with a floating microbial fuel cell biosensor: field test results.

Real-time biomonitoring using microbial fuel cell (MFC) based biosensors have been demonstrated in several laboratory studies, but field validation is lacking. This study describes the long-term performance of an MFC based biosensor developed for real-time monitoring of changes in the water quality of a metal-contaminated stream. After a startup in the laboratory, biosensors were deployed in a stream close to an active mining complex in Sudbury, ON, Canada.

Tellurium compound provides pro-apoptotic signaling in drug resistant multiple myeloma.

Multiple Myeloma, effectively treated by chemotherapeutic drugs, relapses due to drug resistance. We tested here the capacity of mesenchymal stromal cells, from the bone marrow of patients or from adipose tissue of healthy individuals, to induce drug resistance in Myeloma cell lines. We show that drug resistance can be achieved by factors secreted by the various MSC's.

Selenite and selenate removal in a permeable flow-through bioelectrochemical barrier.

This study demonstrated the removal of selenite and selenate in flow-through permeable bioelectrochemical barriers (microbial electrolysis cells, MECs). The bioelectrochemical barriers consisted of cathode and anode electrode compartments filled with granular carbon or metallurgical coke. A voltage of 1.

Microbial fuel cell soft sensor for real-time toxicity detection and monitoring.

Real-time toxicity detection and monitoring using a microbial fuel cell (MFC) is often based on observing current or voltage changes. Other methods of obtaining more information on the internal state of the MFC, such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), are invasive, disruptive, time consuming, and may affect long-term MFC performance. This study proposes a soft sensor approach as a non-invasive real-time method for evaluating the internal state of an MFC biosensor during toxicity monitoring.

Treatment of Multiple Myeloma Using Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells with Dual Specificity.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has shown remarkable successes in fighting B-cell leukemias/lymphomas. Promising response rates are reported in patients treated with B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) CAR T cells for multiple myeloma. However, responses appear to be nondurable, highlighting the need to expand the repertoire of multiple myeloma-specific targets for immunotherapy and to generate new CAR T cells.

Online monitoring of heavy metal-related toxicity using flow-through and floating microbial fuel cell biosensors.

Elevated concentrations of heavy metals in water caused by mining activities create significant risks to the environment. Traditional biological methods used to assess heavy metal-related toxicity in aquatic environments are lengthy and labor intensive. Real-time biomonitoring approaches eliminate some of these limitations and provide a more accurate indication of toxicity.

Harvesting Energy from Multiple Microbial Fuel Cells with a High-Conversion Efficiency Power Management System.

Direct electricity production from waste biomass in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) offers the advantage of producing renewable electricity at a high Coulombic efficiency. However, low MFC voltage (below 0.5 V) necessitates the simultaneous operation of multiple MFCs controlled by a power management system (PMS) adapted for operating bioelectrochemical systems with complex nonlinear dynamics.

On-line monitoring of heavy metals-related toxicity with a microbial fuel cell biosensor.

This study describes an environmental biosensor for real time toxicity monitoring, which exploits high sensitivity of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) to variations in concentrations of electron donors and acceptors. Fast biosensor response to changes in total heavy metal concentration of a mining rock drainage was observed in laboratory tests with acceptable repeatability and a coefficient of determination (R) of 0.95-0.

Impaired lymphocyte reconstitution after autologous transplant is associated with apoptosis of CD8+ T cells and adverse clinical outcome.

We noticed that the lymphocyte counts, after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, oscillated during the first 4 post-transplant months. Thereafter, the lymphocyte counts stabilized and segregated the patients into two groups, those who normalized their lymphocyte counts and those with prolonged lymphopenia. In both groups, the CD4 counts remained low for at least 6 months.

A comparison of microbial fuel cell and microbial electrolysis cell biosensors for real-time environmental monitoring.

This study compares the biosensing performance of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) and a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). Initial tests provided a qualitative comparison of MFC and MEC currents after the anode compartment liquid (anolyte) was spiked with acetate, or sulphates of NH, Na, Mg, Fe, or a fertilizer solution. Current measurements showed that the MFC sensor had a faster response time, higher sensitivity, and faster recovery time after the spike.

Fluorescence-based real time monitoring and diagnostics of recombinant Pichia pastoris cultivations in a bioreactor.

This study describes the application of the multivariate curve resolution (MCR) analysis technique for real-time analysis of culture fluorescence during recombinant Pichia pastoris cultivation in a bioreactor. Fluorescence spectra were acquired with an on-line dual excitation wavelength fluorometer and then used to develop a real time MCR-based bioprocess monitoring and diagnostics tool. Initial bioreactor experiments using two similar recombinant antibody secreting P.

Dynamic model of a municipal wastewater stabilization pond in the arctic.

Waste stabilisation ponds (WSPs) are the method of choice for sewage treatment in most arctic communities because they can operate in extreme climate conditions, require a relatively modest investment, are passive and therefore easy and inexpensive to operate and maintain. However, most arctic WSPs are currently limited in their ability to remove carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD), total suspended solids (TSS) and ammonia-nitrogen. An arctic WSP differs from a 'southern' WSP in the way it is operated and in the conditions under which it operates.

Long-term performance of a microbial electrolysis cell operated with periodic disconnection of power supply.

This study describes a new approach for achieving stable long-term performance and maximizing the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in a Microbial Electrolysis Cell (MEC). In the proposed approach, the MEC power supply is periodically disconnected, at a frequency of 0.1-0.

Real-time monitoring of a microbial electrolysis cell using an electrical equivalent circuit model.

Efforts in developing microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) resulted in several novel approaches for wastewater treatment and bioelectrosynthesis. Practical implementation of these approaches necessitates the development of an adequate system for real-time (on-line) monitoring and diagnostics of MEC performance. This study describes a simple MEC equivalent electrical circuit (EEC) model and a parameter estimation procedure, which enable such real-time monitoring.

Removal of organic carbon and nitrogen in a membraneless flow-through microbial electrolysis cell.

This study evaluated performance of an upflow membraneless microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) with flow-through electrodes for wastewater treatment. First, methane production and COD removal were evaluated in continuous flow experiments carried out using synthetic and municipal wastewater. A 29-75% increase in methane production was observed under bioelectrochemical conditions as compared to an anaerobic control.

Bioelectrochemical anaerobic sewage treatment technology for Arctic communities.

This study describes a novel wastewater treatment technology suitable for small remote northern communities. The technology is based on an enhanced biodegradation of organic carbon through a combination of anaerobic methanogenic and microbial electrochemical (bioelectrochemical) degradation processes leading to biomethane production. The microbial electrochemical degradation is achieved in a membraneless flow-through bioanode-biocathode setup operating at an applied voltage below the water electrolysis threshold.

Maximizing the productivity of the microalgae Scenedesmus AMDD cultivated in a continuous photobioreactor using an online flow rate control.

In this study, production of the microalga Scenedesmus AMDD in a 300 L continuous flow photobioreactor was maximized using an online flow (dilution rate) control algorithm. To enable online control, biomass concentration was estimated in real time by measuring chlorophyll-related culture fluorescence. A simple microalgae growth model was developed and used to solve the optimization problem aimed at maximizing the photobioreactor productivity.

A comparison of simultaneous organic carbon and nitrogen removal in microbial fuel cells and microbial electrolysis cells.

This study demonstrates simultaneous carbon and nitrogen removal in laboratory-scale continuous flow microbial fuel cell (MFC) and microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) and provides side-by side comparison of these bioelectrochemical systems. The maximum organic carbon removal rates in MFC and MEC tests were similar at 5.1 g L(-1) d(-1) and 4.

Combined bioelectrochemical-electrical model of a microbial fuel cell.

Several recent studies demonstrated significant charge storage in electrochemical biofilms. Aiming to evaluate the impact of charge storage on microbial fuel cell (MFC) performance, this work presents a combined bioelectrochemical-electrical (CBE) model of an MFC. In addition to charge storage, the CBE model is able to describe fast (ms) and slow (days) nonlinear dynamics of MFCs by merging mass and electron balances with equations describing an equivalent electrical circuit.

Effect of C/N ratio and salinity on power generation in compost microbial fuel cells.

In this work, compost Microbial Fuel Cells (cMFCs) were used to generate electricity from a mix of fruit and vegetable wastes, and soil with different C/N ratios and salinities. Experiments were carried out in 500mL cMFCs equipped with carbon felt anodes and manganese dioxide cathodes. The cMFCs were loaded with fresh compost and operated at 20-23°C for up to 97days.