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•A two-step constructed wetland system for sewage treatment and reuse was studied.•Excellent removal efficiencies of TSS (76%), BOD5 (74%), and NH4-N (90%) were achieved.•Hydraulic ...loading significantly affected the removal of NH4-N, TSS, and BOD5.•Optimal HLR of 0.04–0.06 m/d were suitable and practical for water recycling.
This study developed a unique system by combining the novel vertical flow (NVF) using expanded clay (ExC) and free flow surface constructed wetland (FWS) for dormitory sewage purification and reuse. The NVF tank consisted of filter layers of ExC, sandy soil, sand, and gravel. The FWS consisted of sandy soil substrate and was installed after the NVF. Colocasia esculenta and Dracaena sanderiana was planted in NVF and FWS, respectively. The treatment system was operated and tested for more than 21 weeks by increasing the hydraulic loading rate (HLR) from 0.02 m/d to 0.12 m/d. The results demonstrated that effluents in the system changed proportionally to the HLRs, except for nitrate nitrogen. Furthermore, the maximum removal efficiencies for TSS, BOD5, NH4-N, and Tcol were 76 ± 13%, 74 ± 11%, 90 ± 3%, and 59 ± 18% (0.37 ± 0.19 log10MPN/100 mL), respectively. At HLRs of 0.04–0.06 m/d, the treatment system satisfied the limits of agriculture irrigation.
Treatment of oily wastewater has been still a challenge to environmental scientists. In this study, waste autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) grains from a concrete manufacturing plant were collected ...and modified with stearic acid to evaluate the possibility of using them as low-cost filtration media for the removal of oil from water. The modification factors such as percentage of surface modifying agent — stearic acid (0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, 1%, 2% by weight), mixing durations (3 h, 6 h, and 9 h), and different grain sizes (0.1–0.2 mm; 0.63–1.25 mm; and 1.25–2.5 mm) were all evaluated in this study. The results showed that waste AAC with a grain size of 0.1–0.2 mm modified with 2% stearic acid in 9 h had only 24% (by weight) wetted during the wetting test. The filtration column test with oily wastewater using modified AAC and original AAC grains proved the oil removal performance depends on filtration flow modes (downflow, upflow, or up–downflow), types of filtration media (single or dual filtration layers), and initial oil concentrations. The COD removal and total oil removal efficiencies were 55–82% and 75–90%, respectively, depending on the testing conditions.
Distance-aware quality adaptation is a potential approach to reduce the resource requirement for the transmission and rendering of textured 3D meshes. In this paper, we carry out a subjective ...experiment to investigate the effects of the distance from the camera on the perceptual quality of textured 3D meshes. Besides, we evaluate the effectiveness of eight image-based objective quality metrics in representing the user's perceptual quality. Our study found that the perceptual quality in terms of mean opinion score increases as the distance from the camera increases. In addition, it is shown that normalized mutual information (NMI), a full-reference objective quality metric, is highly correlated with subjective scores.
The stringent response to amino acid starvation, whereby stable RNA synthesis is curtailed in favour of transcription of amino acid biosynthetic genes, is controlled by the alarmone ppGpp. To ...elucidate the extent of gene expression effected by ppGpp, we designed an experimental system based on starvation for isoleucine, which could be applied to both wild-type Escherichia coli and the multiauxotrophic relA spoT mutant (ppGpp⁰). We used microarrays to profile the response to amino acid starvation in both strains. The wild-type response included induction of the general stress response, downregulation of genes involved in production of macromolecular structures and comprehensive restructuring of metabolic gene expression, but not induction of amino acid biosynthesis genes en masse. This restructuring of metabolism was confirmed using kinetic Biolog assays. These responses were profoundly altered in the ppGpp⁰ strain. Furthermore, upon isoleucine starvation, the ppGpp⁰ strain exhibited a larger cell size and continued growth, ultimately producing 50% more biomass than the wild-type, despite producing a similar amount of protein. This mutant phenotype correlated with aberrant gene expression in diverse processes, including DNA replication, cell division, and fatty acid and membrane biosynthesis. We present a model that expands and functionally integrates the ppGpp-mediated stringent response to include control of virtually all macromolecular synthesis and intermediary metabolism.
Tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS) is a common complication in HIV-TB co-infected patients receiving combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). This study ...investigated a putative contribution of monocytes to the development of TB-IRIS.
A prospective study was designed to compare gene expression between patients who developed TB-IRIS with matched non-TB-IRIS controls.
We performed a hypothesis-generating transcriptome analysis on monocytes of HIV-TB co-infected patients. Identified pathways were subsequently analysed in patients' monocytes before and shortly after cART initiation, in a technically independent set-up (nCounter). Additionally, protein expression and enzymatic activities of specific factors were assessed at the systemic level.
Pathway analysis of microarray datasets and focused gene expression study revealed that, even before initiation of cART, the complement system is dysregulated in HIV-TB co-infected patients who are predisposed to developing TB-IRIS. Detailed analysis revealed differences between TB-IRIS patients and matched non-TB-IRIS cases, at the level of the balance between the effector C1Q and the inhibitor C1-INH, both before and 2 weeks after cART initiation. These differences were mirrored by increases in the downstream pro-inflammatory complement factor C5 over the course of 2 weeks of cART. Our results suggest that inappropriate control of complement activation could be associated with the 'flaring up' of inflammation observed during TB-IRIS.
The current study reveals a contribution of monocytes and the complement system to TB-IRIS development. An intriguing possibility is that the development of TB-IRIS may depend partially on the relative balance between C1Q and C1-INH.
A field-effect transistor (FET) using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the conducting channel (CNTFET) has been developed, designed such that the CNT conducting channel (15
μ
m long, 700
μ
m wide) is ...directly exposed to medium containing target deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The CNTFET operates at high ON-current of 1.91
μ
A, ON/OFF-current ratio of 1.2 × 10
5
, conductance of 4.3
μ
S, and leakage current of 16.4 pA. We present initial trials showing the response of the CNTFET to injection of target DNA into aqueous medium.
This study investigated methyl orange (MO) dye adsorption using three biochars produced from agro-waste and invasive plants; the latter consisted of wattle bark (BA), mimosa (BM), and coffee husks ...(BC). BC had the lowest specific surface area (2.62 m2/g) compared to BA (393.15 m2/g) and BM (285.53 m2/g). The adsorption efficiency of MO was stable at pH 2–7 (95%–96%), whilst it had reduced stability at pH 7–12. Between 0 and 30 min, MO adsorption efficiency was >82%, and at 120 min, representative adsorption equilibrium had occurred. The maximum adsorption capacity of the biochars was 12.3 mg/g. The underlying adsorption mechanisms of the three biochars were governed by electrostatic adsorption and pore diffusion. There was an abundance of active sites for adsorption in BA and BM, while chemical adsorption appeared to be more vital for BC, as it contained more functional groups on its surface. The highest MO adsorption efficiency occurred with BM. BC was not recommended for MO removal, as it was observed to stain the water when a dose exceeding 5.0 g/L was utilized.
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•Biochars were successfully derived from agro-waste and invasive plants.•After only 30 min the methyl orange adsorption efficiency on biochar was more than 82%.•The adsorption equilibrium was established at 120 min.•The highest adsorption occurred with biochar from mimosa.
The factors that govern the development of tuberculosis disease are incompletely understood. We hypothesized that some strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) are more capable of ...causing disseminated disease than others and may be associated with polymorphisms in host genes responsible for the innate immune response to infection. We compared the host and bacterial genotype in 187 Vietnamese adults with tuberculous meningitis (TBM) and 237 Vietnamese adults with uncomplicated pulmonary tuberculosis. The host genotype of tuberculosis cases was also compared with the genotype of 392 cord blood controls from the same population. Isolates of M. tuberculosis were genotyped by large sequence polymorphisms. The hosts were defined by polymorphisms in genes encoding Toll-interleukin 1 receptor domain containing adaptor protein (TIRAP) and Toll-like receptor-2 (TLR-2). We found a significant protective association between the Euro-American lineage of M. tuberculosis and pulmonary rather than meningeal tuberculosis (Odds ratio (OR) for causing TBM 0.395, 95% confidence intervals (C.I.) 0.193-0.806, P = 0.009), suggesting these strains are less capable of extra-pulmonary dissemination than others in the study population. We also found that individuals with the C allele of TLR-2 T597C allele were more likely to have tuberculosis caused by the East-Asian/Beijing genotype (OR = 1.57 95% C.I. 1.15-2.15) than other individuals. The study provides evidence that M. tuberculosis genotype influences clinical disease phenotype and demonstrates, for the first time, a significant interaction between host and bacterial genotypes and the development of tuberculosis.
Nowadays, when the zero-waste strategy is an inevitable component of the circular economy, the reuse of waste, including dredged sludges, has drawn the attention of many researchers. This study ...evaluated four kinds of bio-wastes (corn core powder, rice husk powder, sugarcane bagasse powder, and peanut shell powders) and two kinds of construction wastes (autoclaved aerated concrete-AAC and pavement stone) in enhancing the dewaterability of dredged sludge from the lake, in which the sludges would then be reused for brick production. The results showed that the moisture contents decreased from 62 ± 0.14% to 57 ± 1.89% after mixing and then to 35 ± 8.31% after compressing for the construction waste-blended sludge. Among the bio-wastes, the sugarcane bagasse additive performed the best at a mixing ratio of 1:3 by weight and rice husk powder worked best at a mixing ratio of 1:5 by weight. The organic matter was increased up to 80% when the bio-wastes were added, while it was decreased to 5% for the case of construction wastes. The optimum percentage of sludge in the mixture to meet all the oxide contents in the brick and energy saving shall be about 30%. The results have revealed a potentially green route for brick production with lake sediment and bio-waste/construction wastes.
Implications: It is the first time the reuse of agro-wastes/construction waste was evaluated to mix with lake sediment to partly replace clay for brick production; Among the bio-wastes, the sugarcane bagasse additive performed the best at a mixing ratio of 1:3 by weight; Moisture contents decreased from 62 ± 0.14% to 57 ± 1.89% after mixing and then to 35 ± 8.31% after compressing for the blended sludge; The optimum percentage of mixed sludge, possibly replaced the clay in brick production, considering oxide contents and energy saving shall be up to 30%.
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