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•Total solid content is the main factor that drives solid-state anaerobic digestion.•S/X ratio has an impact on the start-up phase of dry anaerobic digestion.•The start-up phase is ...affected by the soluble fraction of fine particle.•Both TS content and particle size modify the apparent water quantity.
Among all the process parameters of solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD), total solid content (TS), inoculation (S/X ratio) and size of the organic solid particles can be optimized to improve methane yield and process stability. To evaluate the effects of each parameter and their interactions on methane production, a three level Box-Behnken experimental design was implemented in SS-AD batch tests degrading wheat straw by adjusting: TS content from 15% to 25%, S/X ratio (in volatile solids) between 28 and 47 and particle size with a mean diameter ranging from 0.1 to 1.4mm. A dynamic analysis of the methane production indicates that the S/X ratio has only an effect during the start-up phase of the SS-AD. During the growing phase, TS content becomes the main parameter governing the methane production and its strong interaction with the particle size suggests the important role of water compartmentation on SS-AD.
The Thermodynamics of Advanced Fuels – International Database (TAF-ID) was developed using the Calphad method to provide a computational tool to perform thermodynamic calculations on nuclear fuel ...materials under normal and off-normal conditions. Different kinds of fuels are considered: oxide, metallic, carbide and nitride fuels. Many fission products are introduced as well as structural materials (e.g., zirconium, steel, concrete, SiC) and absorbers (e.g., B4C), in order to investigate the thermochemistry of irradiated fuels and to predict their chemical interaction with the surrounding materials. The approach to develop the database and the models implemented in the database are described. Examples of models for key chemical systems are presented. Finally, a few examples of application calculations on severe accidents with UO2 fuels, irradiated fuel chemistry of MOX and metallic fuels and metallic fuel/cladding interaction show how this tool can be used. To validate the database, the calculations are compared to the available experimental data. A good agreement is obtained which gives confidence in the maturity degree and quality of the TAF-ID database. The working version is only accessible to the participants of the TAF-ID project (Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, USA). A public version is accessible by all the NEA countries. The current version contains models on the Am–Fe, Am–Np, Am-O-Pu, Am–U, Am–Zr, C–O–U-Pu, Cr–U, Np–U, Np–Zr, O–U–Zr, Re–U, Ru–U, Si–U, Ti–U, U-Pu-Zr, U–W systems. It is progressively extended with our published assessments. Information on how to join the project is available on the website: https://www.oecd-nea.org/science/taf-id/.
•The TAF-ID international thermodynamic database is a computational tool for nuclear fuel applications.•Key systems for nuclear fuels are modelled using the Calphad method.•Fission product chemistry of irradiated fuels is predicted.•Chemical interaction with structural materials can be predicted under normal and severe accident conditions.•Coupling with kinetics, phase-field, Fuel Performance Code is being performed.
The effect of milling pretreatment on performances of Solid-State Anaerobic Digestion (SS-AD) of raw lignocellulosic residue is still controverted. Three batch reactors treating different straw ...particle sizes (milled 0.25 mm, 1 mm and 10 mm) were followed during 62 days (6 sampling dates). Although a fine milling improves substrate accessibility and conversion rate (up to 30% compared to coarse milling), it also increases the risk of media acidification because of rapid and high acids production during fermentation of the substrate soluble fraction. Meanwhile, a gradual adaptation of microbial communities, were observed according to both reaction progress and methanogenic performances. The study concluded that particle size reduction affected strongly the performances of the reaction due to an increase of substrate bioaccessibility. An optimization of SS-AD processes thanks to particle size reduction could therefore be applied at farm or industrial scale only if a specific management of the soluble compounds is established.
The gut microbiota enhances the host's metabolic capacity for processing nutrients and drugs and modulate the activities of multiple pathways in a variety of organ systems. We have probed the ...systemic metabolic adaptation to gut colonization for 20 days following exposure of axenic mice (n = 35) to a typical environmental microbial background using high-resolution (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to analyze urine, plasma, liver, kidney, and colon (5 time points) metabolic profiles. Acquisition of the gut microbiota was associated with rapid increase in body weight (4%) over the first 5 days of colonization with parallel changes in multiple pathways in all compartments analyzed. The colonization process stimulated glycogenesis in the liver prior to triggering increases in hepatic triglyceride synthesis. These changes were associated with modifications of hepatic Cyp8b1 expression and the subsequent alteration of bile acid metabolites, including taurocholate and tauromuricholate, which are essential regulators of lipid absorption. Expression and activity of major drug-metabolizing enzymes (Cyp3a11 and Cyp2c29) were also significantly stimulated. Remarkably, statistical modeling of the interactions between hepatic metabolic profiles and microbial composition analyzed by 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing revealed strong associations of the Coriobacteriaceae family with both the hepatic triglyceride, glucose, and glycogen levels and the metabolism of xenobiotics. These data demonstrate the importance of microbial activity in metabolic phenotype development, indicating that microbiota manipulation is a useful tool for beneficially modulating xenobiotic metabolism and pharmacokinetics in personalized health care.
Gut bacteria have been associated with various essential biological functions in humans such as energy harvest and regulation of blood pressure. Furthermore, gut microbial colonization occurs after birth in parallel with other critical processes such as immune and cognitive development. Thus, it is essential to understand the bidirectional interaction between the host metabolism and its symbionts. Here, we describe the first evidence of an in vivo association between a family of bacteria and hepatic lipid metabolism. These results provide new insights into the fundamental mechanisms that regulate host-gut microbiota interactions and are thus of wide interest to microbiological, nutrition, metabolic, systems biology, and pharmaceutical research communities. This work will also contribute to developing novel strategies in the alteration of host-gut microbiota relationships which can in turn beneficially modulate the host metabolism.
This work reports the thermodynamic modelling assessment of the rather complex Cs-Mo-O system, which is key for the understanding of fission products chemistry in oxide fuelled Light Water Reactors ...(LWRs) and next generation Sodium-cooled and Lead-cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs and LFRs). The model accounts for the existence of the ternary molybdates Cs2MoO4 (α and β), Cs2Mo2O7 (α and β), Cs2Mo3O10, Cs2Mo4O13, Cs2Mo5O16, and Cs2Mo7O22, for which sufficient structural and thermodynamic information are available in the literature. These phases are treated as stoichiometric in the model. The liquid phase is described with an ionic two-sublattice model, and the gas phase as an ideal mixture. The optimized Gibbs energies are assessed with respect to the known thermodynamic and phase equilibrium data in the Cs2MoO4-MoO3 pseudo-binary section. A good agreement is generally obtained within experimental uncertainties. The calculated vapour pressures above Cs2MoO4 (solid and liquid) are also compared to the available experimental data. Finally, isotherms of the Cs-Mo-O ternary phase diagram are calculated at relevant temperatures for the assessment of the fuel pin behaviour in LWRs, SFRs and LFRs.
•The Cs-Mo-O system is modelled using the CALPHAD method.•The formalisms used are compatible with those of the TAF-ID database.•The liquid phase is described with an ionic two-sublattice model.•Calculations are performed at key temperatures to assess nuclear fuel pin behaviour.•Remaining discrepancies or missing data on the Cs-Mo-O system are identified.
We report experimental and theoretical evidence that solid molecular ammonia becomes unstable at room temperature and high pressures and transforms into an ionic crystalline form. This material has ...been characterized in both hydrogenated (NH sub(3)) and deuterated (ND sub(3)) ammonia samples up to about 180 and 200 GPa, respectively, by infrared absorption, Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction. The presence of a new strong infrared absorption band centered at 2500 cm super(-1) in NH sub(3) (1900 cm super(-1) in ND sub(3)) is in line with previous theoretical predictions regarding the ionization of ammonia molecules into NH sub(2) super(-) and NH sub(4) super(+) ions. The experimental data suggest the coexistence of two crystalline ionic forms, which our ab initio structure searches predict to be the most stable at the relevant pressures. The ionic crystalline form of ammonia appears stable at low temperatures, which contrasts with the behavior of water in which no equivalent crystalline ionic phase has been found.
Within the framework of a complex Calphad thermodynamic database for the 4th generation nuclear fuels, called Fuelbase, the description of different binary systems involving U are obtained. For most ...of the systems considered, only limited experimental work is available, often without any thermodynamic data. Assumptions as simple as possible were made in order to derive descriptions showing a reasonable agreement with experimental data and which allow to extrapolate in complex systems.
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•The microbial degradation of wheat straw was followed under SS-AD conditions.•Microscopic observations of main wheat straw cell structures were performed.•The degradation of wheat ...straw starts in the inner tissues by the central vacuole.•Lignified cell walls are degraded during a long term AD.•Substrate bioaccessibility is an important limitation of SS-AD degradation.
The solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) of wheat straw was characterized under low inoculated batch tests during 244days. High levels of degradation of the cellulose (52%±1) and hemicelluloses (55%±2) were observed at the final stages and associated to a methane yield of 204±16NmLgTS−1. Ultrastructural observations, using transmission electronic microscopy, indicated that microorganisms degraded wheat straw from the central to the outer tissue (i.e. parenchyma to epidermis), depending on cell chemical, physical accessibility and the degree of lignification. Furthermore, major degradation of sclerenchyma secondary walls was observed. The bioaccessibility of lignocellulosic structures of wheat straw is mainly limited by the external waxy layer (cuticle), tertiary cell walls, high silica content and access to the cell lumen.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is notorious for its poor prognosis even after curative resection. Responses to immunotherapy are rare and related to inadequate T-cell priming. We previously ...demonstrated the potency of allogeneic lysate-dendritic cell (DC) vaccination in a preclinical model. Here we translate this concept to patients.
In this phase I study, patients with resected PDAC were included when they demonstrated no radiologic signs of recurrence after standard-of-care treatment. Allogeneic tumour lysate-loaded autologous monocyte-derived DCs were injected at weeks 0, 2, 4 and at months 3 and 6. Objectives are feasibility, safety and immunogenicity of allogeneic tumour-DCs. The presence of tumour antigens shared between the vaccine and patient tumours was investigated. Immunological analyses were performed on peripheral blood, skin and tumour.
Ten patients were included. DC production and administration were successful. All patients experienced a grade 1 injection-site and infusion-related reaction. Two patients experienced a grade 2 fever and 1 patient experienced a grade 3 dyspnoea. No vaccine-related serious adverse events were observed. Shared tumour antigens were found between the vaccine and patient tumours. All evaluated patients displayed a vaccine-induced response indicated by increased frequencies of Ki67+ and activated PD-1+ circulating T-cells. In addition, treatment-induced T-cell reactivity to autologous tumour of study patients was detected. Seven out of ten patients have not experienced disease recurrence or progression at a median follow-up of 25 months (15–32 months).
Allogeneic tumour lysate-DC treatment is feasible, safe and induces immune reactivity to PDAC expressed antigens.
•Pancreatic cancer is an immune-deserted tumour and responses to immunotherapy are rare.•Allogeneic-tumour lysate-dendritic cell vaccination is feasible and safe in patients with pancreatic cancer.•Dendritic cell vaccination was immunogenic and demonstrated T-cell activation after therapy.•Therapy-induced cross-reactive T-cell responses against autologous tumour were found.
To successfully colonize their host, pathogens produce effectors that can interfere with host cellular processes. Here we investigated the function of CRN13 candidate effectors produced by plant ...pathogenic oomycetes and detected in the genome of the amphibian pathogenic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (BdCRN13). When expressed in Nicotiana, AeCRN13, from the legume root pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches, increases the susceptibility of the leaves to the oomycete Phytophthora capsici. When transiently expressed in amphibians or plant cells, AeCRN13 and BdCRN13 localize to the cell nuclei, triggering aberrant cell development and eventually causing cell death. Using Förster resonance energy transfer experiments in plant cells, we showed that both CRN13s interact with nuclear DNA and trigger plant DNA damage response (DDR). Mutating key amino acid residues in a predicted HNH‐like endonuclease motif abolished the interaction of AeCRN13 with DNA, the induction of DDR and the enhancement of Nicotiana susceptibility to P. capsici. Finally, H2AX phosphorylation, a marker of DNA damage, and enhanced expression of genes involved in the DDR were observed in A. euteiches‐infected Medicago truncatula roots. These results show that CRN13 from plant and animal eukaryotic pathogens promotes host susceptibility by targeting nuclear DNA and inducing DDR.
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