We investigate possibilities to determine the mass of a primary particle from anomalous longitudinal profiles of extensive air showers. Such profiles are predicted utilizing a Monte Carlo technique ...together with the contemporary high‐energy interaction models. The depth of shower maximum, which is commonly used for the mass composition analyses, is inspected and its performance to discriminate between primary species is studied. We search for alternative observables that have better properties in the case of anomalous profiles.
The commercialization of microbial fuel cell technology is limited by high operating costs and low electricity production due to poor electron transfer to the anode. Operational costs can be lowered ...by utilizing waste materials, and cell performance can be improved by anode modification. This study investigated how anode modification with iron compounds changed the efficiency of energy generation and the microbiome of microbial fuel cells fueled with waste volatile fatty acids from a full-scale anaerobic digestion. Anode modification with 2.5 g Fe
2
O
3
/m
2
increased the power density, current density, and voltage by 3.6-fold, 1.8-fold, and 1.4-fold, respectively. In the microbial fuel cell influent, propionic, enanthic, and iso-caproic acids predominated (60, 15, and 13% of all volatile fatty acids, respectively); in the outflow, propionic (71%) and valeric acids (17%) predominated. In anodic biofilms,
Acidovorax
sp. were most abundant; they have a great capacity for volatile fatty acids decomposition, and their abundance doubled in the microbial fuel cell with an iron-modified anode. The presence of iron significantly increased the abundance of the genera
Pseudomonas
and
Geothrix
, which were mainly responsible for electricity production. These results indicate that anode modification with iron changes the anode microbiome, favoring efficient volatile fatty acids metabolism and a greater abundance of electrogens in the biofilm, which ensures better electricity generation.
The skin barrier is fundamental to terrestrial life and its evolution; it upholds homeostasis and protects against the environment. Skin barrier capacity is controlled by lipids that fill the ...extracellular space of the skin's surface layer—the stratum corneum. Here we report on the determination of the molecular organization of the skin's lipid matrix in situ, in its near-native state, using a methodological approach combining very high magnification cryo-electron microscopy (EM) of vitreous skin section defocus series, molecular modeling, and EM simulation. The lipids are organized in an arrangement not previously described in a biological system—stacked bilayers of fully extended ceramides (CERs) with cholesterol molecules associated with the CER sphingoid moiety. This arrangement rationalizes the skin's low permeability toward water and toward hydrophilic and lipophilic substances, as well as the skin barrier's robustness toward hydration and dehydration, environmental temperature and pressure changes, stretching, compression, bending, and shearing.
We present a discovery and observation of an extraordinarily bright prompt optical emission of the GRB 060117 obtained by a wide-field camera atop the robotic telescope FRAM of the Pierre Auger ...Observatory from 2 to 10 min after the GRB. We found rapid average temporal flux decay of $\alpha = -1.7 \pm 0.1$ and a peak brightness $R = 10.1$ mag. Later observations by other instruments set a strong limit on the optical and radio transient fluxes, unveiling an unexpectedly rapid further decay. We present an interpretation featuring a relatively steep electron-distribution parameter $p \simeq 3.0$ and providing a straightforward solution for the overall fast decay of this optical transient as a transition between reverse and forward shock.
This study compared the dewatering properties of aerobic granular and activated sludge from full-scale wastewater treatment plants, and determined how polymer dose and type affect granular sludge ...dewatering efficiency. At the same dose, granular sludge filtration cake had about 4% lower humidity than activated sludge cake. Aerobic stabilization improved only activated sludge dewatering. The granular sludge reactor had over 1.5 times more extracellular polymeric substances (1.8 times more alginate) per reactor volume than the activated sludge reactor, but the high polymer content did not decrease granular sludge dewatering. Granular sludge dewatered best with FLOPAM EM 840MEB, due to its composition (
n
-alkanes, isoalkanes, cyclic/aromatic hydrocarbons). With this polymer, sludge cake moisture was lowest (84.7 ± 0.4%) at 1.6 g polymer/kg MLSS. With all tested polymers, the lowest dose (0.2 g/kg MLSS) ensured low cake humidities; this dose was far lower than typical doses for activated sludge dewatering. Upgrading from activated to granular sludge technology significantly facilitates excess sludge management.
Hidradenitis suppurativa (acne inverse) (HS) is a chronic skin disease primarily affecting hair follicles. The aetiology of HS is unknown, but infection is believed to play some role. This ...retrospective study investigated the microbial colonization directly in skin appendices in HS skin samples. Archival samples from 27 patients with HS were screened by immunofluorescence labelling with monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against Gram‐positive bacteria, Propionibacterium acnes and Propionibacterium granulosum. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was used for further species identification of Staphylococcus spp. Overall, 17 patients (63%) were found positive for bacterial colonization. Of these, 15 showed colonization in hair follicles and/or sinus tracts. The most commonly identified bacteria were DAPI labelled coccoids that were seen in 71% of the positive patients in the form of biofilms and microcolonies. P. acnes was found as biofilms in hair follicles of two patients. Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase‐negative staphylococci were not detected in any sample. The results of this study indicate a common bacterial presence in HS skin lesions. Bacterial biofilms are not uncommon and their pathogenic role needs further evaluation.
PDF
