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Search results for: biological materials
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Microscale diamond protection for a ZnO coated fiber optic sensor
PublicationFiber optic sensors are widely used in environmental, biological and chemical sensing. Due to the demanding environmental conditions in which they can be used, there is a risk of damaging the sensor measurement head placed in the measuring field. Sensors using nanolayers deposited upon the fiber structure are particularly vulnerable to damage. A thin film placed on the surface of the fiber end-face can be prone to mechanical damage...
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Synthetic strategies in construction of organic macromolecular carrier–drug conjugates
PublicationMany metabolic inhibitors, considered potential antimicrobial or anticancer drug candidates, exhibit verylimited ability to cross the biological membranes of target cells. The restricted cellular penetration ofthose molecules is often due to their highhydrophilicity. One of the possible solutions to this problem is aconjugation of an inhibitor with a molecular organic nanocarrier. The conjugate thus formed should beable to penetrate...
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Influence of Two-Stage Anodization on Properties of the Oxide Coatings on the Ti–13Nb–13Zr Alloy
PublicationThe increasing demand for titanium and its alloys used for implants results in need of such innovative surface treatment that may jointly increase corrosion resistance and biocompatibility, and demonstrate antibacterial protection at no cytotoxicity. The purpose of this research was to characterize the effect of two-stage anodization, performed for 30 min in phosphoric acid, at the presence of hydrofluoric acid in the second stage....
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Evaluation and start-up of an electro-Fenton-sequencing batch reactor for dairy wastewater treatment
PublicationThis study examined the performance of an integrated wastewater (WW) treatment system, namely an electro-Fenton (EF)-sequencing batch reactor (SBR), for dairy industry WW. The EF process was used as the first stage of the SBR. It degrades bio-refractory compounds via advanced oxidation processes, thereby resulting in the formation of simple biodegradable intermediates. Several factors, including the hydraulic retention time (HRT),...
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Role of the Synergistic Interactions of Environmental Pollutants in the Development of Cancer
PublicationThere is a growing awareness that the large number of environmental pollutants we are exposed to on a daily basis are causing major health problems. Compared to traditional studies that focus on individual pollutants, there are relatively few studies on how pollutants mixtures interact. Several studies have reported a relationship between environmental pollutants and the development of cancer, even when pollutant levels are below...
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Solvent Exchange around Aqueous Zn(II) from Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations
PublicationHydrated zinc(II) cations, due to their importance in biological systems, are the subject of ongoing research concerning their hydration shell structure and dynamics. Here, ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations are used to study solvent exchange events around aqueous Zn2+, for which observation in detail is possible owing to the considerable length of the generated trajectory. While the hexacoordinated Zn(H2O)62+ is the...
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Stabilizing lactate production through repeated batch fermentation of food waste and waste activated sludge
PublicationBio-valorization of organic waste streams, such as food waste and waste activated sludge, to lactic acid (LA) has recently drawn much attention. It offers an opportunity for resource recovery, alleviates environmental issues and potentially turns a profit. In this study, both stable and high LA yield (0.72 ± 0.15 g/g total chemical oxygen demand) and productivity rate (0.53 g/L•h) were obtained through repeated batch fermentation....
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Meconium analysis as a promising diagnostic tool for monitoring fetal exposure to toxic substances: Recent trends and perspectives
PublicationPrenatal exposure to toxic substances is an important public health problem. Many biological specimens obtained from the fetus or mother are used for biomonitoring. Each material reflects exposure in a specific time period and has different advantages and disadvantages in terms of accuracy, time window of detection and cost/benefit ratio. Recently, meconium has become the matrix of choice in toxicology screening for detecting exposure...
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Interactions between hydration spheres of two different solutes in solution: The least squares fitting with constraints as a tool to determine water properties in ternary systems
PublicationBiological systems are complex and the problem of their description lies in mutual interactions between their components. This paper is focused on model experiment-based studies which can reduce these difficulties. The ternary aqueous N-methylacetamide (NMA)–Na2HPO4 system has been studied by means of the FTIR spectroscopy. A novel difference spectra method aimed to extract the spectral contribution of water affected simultaneously...
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The Use of Artificial Neural Networks and Decision Trees to Predict the Degree of Odor Nuisance of Post-Digestion Sludge in the Sewage Treatment Plant Process
PublicationThis paper presents the application of artificial neural networks and decision trees for the prediction of odor properties of post-fermentation sludge from a biological-mechanical wastewater treatment plant. The input parameters were concentrations of popular compounds present in the sludge, such as toluene, p-xylene, and p-cresol, and process parameters including the concentration of volatile fatty acids, pH, and alkalinity in...
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Lipids and Food Quality
PublicationThis chapter deals with lipids present in food as well as their chemical, biological, and functional properties. The chapter begins with a presentation of the main groups of lipids including their chemical structure and physical properties. The physical properties of lipids affecting food processing are covered. Then, the role of lipids in human nutrition is presented. This is followed by a description of the undesirable changes...
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Optimizing Construction Engineering Management Using Metaheuristic Methods and Bayesian Networks
PublicationThe construction of buildings invariably involves time and costs, and disruptions impact ongoing construction projects. Crisis situations in management strategies, structural confusion, and finan-cial miscalculations often arise due to misguided decision-making. This article proposes a method that combines the learning of Bayesian Networks and heuristic techniques to optimize deci-sion-making processes in construction scheduling....
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Stardust - Investigation of Microbes in the Stratosphere
PublicationThe stratospheric microbiome has been investigated several times using the methods of classical microbiology. In this experiment, we have combined them with some novel approaches including whole- metagenome amplification, Maldi TOF mass spectrometry and Sanger DNA sequencing. The results of the experiment may provide the scientists with knowledge about the mechanisms of survivability of microorganisms in stratospheric conditions...
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Polydopamine Biomaterials for Skin Regeneration
PublicationDesigning biomaterials capable of biomimicking wound healing and skin regeneration has been receiving increasing attention recently. Some biopolymers behave similarly to the extracellular matrix (ECM), supporting biointerfacial adhesion and intrinsic cellular interactions. Polydopamine (PDA) is a natural bioadhesive and bioactive polymer that endows high chemical versatility, making it an exciting candidate for a wide range of...
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To donate or not to donate? Future healthcare professionals’ opinions on biobanking of human biological material for research purposes
PublicationBackground Over the last few decades biobanks have been recognised as institutions that may revolutionisebiomedical research and the development of personalised medicine. Poland, however, still lacks clear regulationsregarding the running of biobanks and the conducting of biomedical research. While the awareness of the generalpublic regarding biobanks is low, healthcare professions and medical students also...
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Development of biocompatible iron oxide-silicon oxide core-shell nanoparticles as subcellular delivery platform for glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase inhibitors
PublicationIn order to develop the preparation of iron oxide-silica coreshell nanoparticles (CSNPs), thesis deeply explores the cetyltrimethylammonium (CTA+) directed silica coating methods of the oleic-acid capped iron oxide nanoparticles (OA-IONPs) initialized under near-neutral pH conditions. It is demonstrated that the initial alkaline hydrolysis of ethyl acetate in the presence of CTA+ and OA-IONPs induces an unusual ligand exchange...
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Oxidation Products of 5-Methylcytosine are Decreased in Senescent Cells and Tissues of Progeroid Mice
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Chromatographic lipophilicity determination using large volume injections of the solvents non-miscible with the mobile phase
PublicationA new perspective in the lipophilicity evaluation through RP-HPLC is permitted by analysis of the retentionfactor (k) obtained by injecting large volumes of test samples prepared in solvents immiscible withmobile phase. The experiment is carried out on representative groups of compounds with increasedtoxicity (mycotoxins and alkaloids) and amines with important biological activity (naturally occurringmonoamine compounds and related...
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The influence of sterilization with EnbioJet Microwave Flow Pasteurizer on composition and bioactivity of aronia and blue-berried honeysuckle juices
PublicationIn this study, fruit juices that are rich sources of anthocyanins, obtained from aronia (Am. chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa) and blueberry honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L. var. edulis) were used to examine the preservation of plant phytochemicals and bioactivity upon sterilization -either thermal, or with an EnbioJet microwave flow pasteurizer. The chemical properties verified included determinations of anthocyanins and other...
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Synthesis of Combretastatin A-4 Analogs and their Biological Activities
PublicationCombretastatin A-4 (CA-4) is a natural product, which consists of two phenyl rings, linked by an ethylene bridge. CA-4, inhibitor of polymerization of tubulin to microtubules, possesses a strong antitumor and anti-vascular properties both in vitro and in vivo. Previous studies showed that disodium phosphate salt of CA-4, a water-soluble prodrug is well tolerated at therapeutically useful doses. However, it should be noted that...
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Synthesis and steroid sulfatase inhibitory activities of N-phosphorylated 3-(4-aminophenyl)-coumarin-7-O-sulfamates
PublicationIn the present work, we report convenient methods for the synthesis and biological evaluation of N-phosphorylated derivatives of 3-(4-aminophenyl)-coumarin-7-O-sulfamate as potential steroid sulfatase (STS) inhibitors. Their binding modes were modeled using docking techniques. The inhibitory effects of the synthesized compounds were tested on STS isolated from human placenta. All of the newly synthesised coumarin derivatives were...
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The influence of selenium addition during germination of Brassica seeds on health-promoting potential of sprouts
PublicationThe correlation among selenium uptake, the content of bioactive compounds in sprouts, and biological activities triggered in cultured human cells by sprout extracts was investigated. Seeds of Brassica crops and rye were treated with SeO2 water solution. The selenium levels in sprouts increased from 1.0-4.1 to 53.3-382 μg/g dw with no influence on plant physiology according to the indices used. Neither the composition of glucosinolates...
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The Hydrolysis of Slowly Biodegradable Substrate in Activated Sludge
PublicationIn a present work a novel procedure, based on the standard batch tests and pretreatment of wastewater sample with coagulation-flocculation method, was proposed to evaluate the effects of hydrolysis of slowly biodegradable substrate (Xs) on biological nutrient removal (BNR) processes in activated sludge systems. The study was conducted at two large BNR wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in northern Poland: "Wschod" in Gdansk and...
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Chronographic Imprint of Age-Induced Alterations in Heart Rate Dynamical Organization
PublicationBeat-to-beat changes in the heart period are transformed into a network of increments between subsequent RR-intervals, which enables graphical descriptions of short-term heart period variability. Three types of such descriptions are considered: (1) network graphs arising from a set of vertices and directed edges, (2) contour plots of adjacency matrices A, representing the networks and transition matrices T, resulting from A, and (3)...
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Two-Step Model Based Adaptive Controller for Dissolved Oxygen Control in Sequencing Wastewater Batch Reactor
PublicationDissolved Oxygen (DO) concentration is a crucial parameter for efficient operation of biological processes taking place in the activated sludge Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). High-quality DO control is difficult to achieve because of complex nonlinear behavior of the plant and substantial influent disturbances. A method to improve the Direct Model Reference Adaptive Control (DMRAC) technology in application to DO tracking for...
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Synthesis of functionalized new conjugates of batracylin with tuftsin/ retro-tuftsin derivatives and their biological evaluation
PublicationNew batracylin conjugates with tuftsin/retro-tuftsin derivatives were designed and synthesized using T3P as a coupling agent. The conjugates possess an amide bond formed between the carboxyl group of heterocyclic molecule and the N-termini of the tuftsin/retro-tuftsin chain. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of the new analogues and their precursors was evaluated using a series of human and murine tumor cells. BAT conjugates containing...
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30 years of treatment wetland application in poland- progress and reserch
PublicationThe experiences with design and operation of constructed wetlands in the Pommerania region during last 30 years followed by carried out investigations of treatment processes lead to the following conclusions:First applications of constructed wetlands for biological sewage treatment were made in 1984-92. The later implementations of multi-stage constructed wetlands in the individual household and local scale enable wastewater treatment...
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When Biobanks Meet Religion: Association Between Religiosity and Attitudes of Polish Medical Students Toward Biobanking of Human Biological Material for Research Purposes
PublicationWhile biobanking is expanding globally, the empirical evidence concerning the impact of religion on future healthcare professionals’ awareness and willingness to donate biospecimens for biobank research is lacking. To understand how medicalstudents’ religious beliefs can fuel their questions regarding how biospecimens would be stored, cared for, and used, we conducted a survey among 1500 medical students at Poznań University...
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Effects of different external carbon sources and electron acceptors on interactions between denitrification and phosphorus removal in BNR processes
PublicationThe effects of two different external carbon sources (acetate, ethanol) and electron acceptors (dissolved oxygen, nitrate and nitrite) were investigated under aerobic and anoxic conditions with non-acclimated process biomass from a full-scale biological nutrient removal activated sludge system. When acetate was added as an external carbon source, phosphate release was observed even in the presence of electron acceptors. The release...
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Effect of double thermal and electrochemical oxidation on titanium alloys for medical applications
PublicationThe research focuses on the development and characterization of innovative thin hybrid oxide coatings obtained in subsequent processes of thermal (TO) and electrochemical (EO) oxidation. Four different surface modifications were investigated and the microstructure was determined, the mechanical, chemical and biological properties of the Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy were assessed using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray dispersion analysis,...
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Ion Chromatography with Pulsed Amperometric Detection for Determining Cyanide in Urine and Meconium Samples
PublicationThe parents’ addictions and eating habits have a significant influence on the child’s growth. The first stool of a newborn baby provides a large amount of information about xenobiotics transmitted by the mother’s body. The analytical technique used in the study is ion chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (IC-PAD). The biological samples, which were obtained from women staying in a maternity ward and their partners,...
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The Caucasian flora: a still-to-be-discovered rich source of antioxidants
PublicationCellular redox homeostasis is a state of balance between the formation of Usually Reactive Oxygen and / or Nitrogen Species (ROS/RNS), endogenous antioxidant defence systems, and exogenous dietary antioxidants. The disturbance of redox homeostasis, by the overproduction of endogenous ROS/RNS, may increase the risk of development of so-called civilisation diseases. The solution seems to be either the increased production of endogenous...
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Modelization of Nutrient Removal Processes at a Large WWTP Using a Modified ASM2d Model
PublicationThe biodegradation of particulate substrates starts by a hydrolytic stage. Hydrolysis is a slow reaction and usually becomes the rate limiting step of the organic substrates biodegradation. The objective of this work was to evaluate a novel hydrolysis concept based on a modification of the activated sludge model (ASM2d) and to compare it with the original ASM2d model. The hydrolysis concept was developed in order to accurately...
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The Chemical and Biological Properties of Nanohydroxyapatite Coatings with Antibacterial Nanometals, Obtained in the Electrophoretic Process on the Ti13Zr13Nb Alloy
PublicationThe risk of an early inflammation after implantation surgery of titanium implants has caused the development of different antimicrobial measures. The present research is aimed at characterizing the effects of nanosilver and nanocopper dispersed in the nanohydroxyapatite coatings, deposited on the Ti13Zr13Nb alloy, and on the chemical and biological properties of the coatings.The one-stage deposition process was performed by the...
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Machine Learning and Electronic Noses for Medical Diagnostics
PublicationThe need for noninvasive, easy-to-use, and inexpensive methods for point-of-care diagnostics of a variety of ailments motivates researchers to develop methods for analyzing complex biological samples, in particular human breath, that could aid in screening and early diagnosis. There are hopes that electronic noses, that is, devices based on arrays of semiselective or nonselective chemical sensors, can fill this niche. Electronic...
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Glucose oxidase as an important yet overlooked factor determiningthe antibacterial activity of bee pollen and bee bread
PublicationBee pollen (BP) and bee bread (BB) have attracted great attention due to their biological activities including antibacterial activity. However, the mechanism of antibacterial activity is largely unknown. Therefore, we aimed to characterise the antibacterial effect of BP and BB aqueous extracts against bacterial pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis and Enterococcus faecalis)...
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Low-Molecular Pyrazine-Based DNA Binders: Physicochemical and Antimicrobial Properties
PublicationPyrazine and its derivatives are a large group of compounds that exhibit broad biological activity, the changes of which can be easily detected by a substituent effect or a change in the functional group. The present studies combined theoretical research with the density functional theory (DFT) approach (B3LYP/6-311+G**) and experimental (potentiometric and spectrophotometric) analysis for a thorough understanding of the structure...
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Development of Sulfamoylated 4‑(1-Phenyl‑1H‑1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)phenol Derivatives as Potent Steroid Sulfatase Inhibitors for Efficient Treatment of Breast Cancer
PublicationWe present here the advances achieved in the development of new sulfamoylated 4-(1-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)phenol derivatives as potent steroid sulfatase (STS) inhibitors for the treatment of breast cancer. Prompted by promising biological results and in silico analysis, the initial series of similar compounds were extended, appending a variety of m-substituents at the outer phenyl ring. The inhibition profiles of the newly...
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Silica In Silico: A Molecular Dynamics Characterization of the Early Stages of Protein Embedding for Atom Probe Tomography
PublicationA novel procedure for the application of atom probe tomography (APT) to the structural analysis of biological systems, has been recently proposed, whereby the specimen is embedded by a silica matrix and ablated by a pulsed laser source. Such a technique, requires that the silica primer be properly inert and bio-compatible, keeping the native structural features of the system at hand, while condensing into an amorphous, glass-like...
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Hydrazinolysis Products of Selected Sugar Lactones—Crystal Structure and Microbiological Activity
PublicationCommercially available lactones, as well as those synthesized by us, turned out to be good substrates for the synthesis of sugar hydrazides. The exception was L-ascorbic acid, whose hydrazinolysis led to the formation of a hydrazinium salt, not the hydrazide as expected. The structure of all compounds was confirmed by NMR and X-ray analyses. The lower durability of hydrazinium L-ascorbate was additionally confirmed by thermogravimetric...
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Multimodal analysis of traction forces and the temperature dynamics of living cells with a diamond-embedded substrate
PublicationCells and tissues are constantly exposed to chemical and physical signals that regulate physiological and pathological processes. This study explores the integration of two biophysical methods: traction force microscopy (TFM) and optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) to concurrently assess cellular traction forces and the local relative temperature. We present a novel elastic substrate with embedded nitrogen-vacancy microdiamonds...
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Metal nanoparticles-assisted early diagnosis of diseases
PublicationEarly diagnosis is essential for the effective illness treatment, but traditional diagnostic approaches inevitably have major downsides. Recent advancements in nanoparticle-based biosensors have created new opportunities for accelerating diagnosis. High surface area, exceptional sensitivity, high specificity, and optical characteristics of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles have made it possible to detect a variety of health conditions...
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In vitro and in silico assessment of anti-inflammatory activity of cocoa powders
PublicationPlants are considered the major sources of biologically active compounds, which provide unlimited opportunities for their use either as medical treatments or as novel drug formulations. Cocoa powder is frequently used in nutrition and is known to have many benefits thanks to its wide range of biological activities. The presented study was focused on th evaluation of the anti-inflammatory potential of extracts obtained from cocoa...
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Application of chiral chromatography for enantiomeric separation of currently used pesticides from various chemical groups
PublicationChiral pesticides account for more than 25 % of currently used pesticides and this ratio is still increasing. According to the number of chiral centers in the structure, a pesticide may consist of two or multiple enantiomers or stereoisomers. Studies into the stereoselective behaviour of pesticides started in the early 1990s and most research efforts focused on understanding the environmental fate and effects of these pesticides....
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Speciation of heavy metal compounds in samples of biota from marine ecosystems
PublicationIt has become increasingly evident that the toxicity, mobility, bioavailability and bioaccumulation of metals are dependent on the particular physico-chemical form in which the element occurs in the environment. Special attention is paid to metals, which are essential for the proper functioning of organisms if present in appropriate amounts but are toxic if in excess (i.e. Se, Cr, Zn), and also to non-essential elements (i.e. Hg,...
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The potential of enhancing denitrification in the activated sludge process with by-products from the alcohol production
PublicationIn this study, by-products from the alcohol production were examined in terms of their potential application as external carbon sources for enhancing denitrification in biological nutrient removal systems. Three kinds of experimental assays were used to compare the effects of the by-products with other external carbon sources (ethanol and acetic acid) and the settled wastewater. Based on the results obtained, it appears that one...
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Effects of Different Aeration Modes on Ammonia Removal from Sludge Digester Liquors in the Nitritation-Anammox Process
PublicationSludge digester liquors can be responsible for up to one third of the nitrogen load to the biological step of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The conventional process for ammonia removal via two sequential processes, i.e. nitrification and denitrification, is increasingly being challenged by a one-step process in which ammonium is oxidized directly to nitrogen gas e.g. ammonium oxidation (anammox) process. In this novel process,...
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Phage-Directed Synthesis of Photoluminescent Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles under Benign Conditions
PublicationBiological systems, especially bacteriophages and peptides, are an attractive green alternative to other known methods of nanoparticle synthesis. In this work, for the first time, bacteriophages were employed to synthesize a specific peptide, capable of producing nanoparticles (NPs). Derivatives of M13 bacteriophage exposing a ZnO-binding peptide (TMGA-LGLKWPV) on either pIII or pVIII phage coat protein were constructed and used...
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Modeling the Effect of External Carbon Source Addition under Different Electron Acceptor Conditions in Biological Nutrient Removal Activated Sludge Systems
Publicationhe aim of this study was to expand the International Water Association Activated Sludge Model No. 2d (ASM2d) to predict the aerobic/anoxic behavior of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) and “ordinary” heterotrophs in the presence of different external carbon sources and electron acceptors. The following new aspects were considered: (1) a new type of the readily biodegradable substrate, not available for the anaerobic activity...
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Use of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 producing recombinant colicins for treatment of IBD patients
PublicationPatients with Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis infected with Adherent-Invasive Escherichia coli strains constitute the largest group among Inflammatory Bowel Disease subjects, when taking into account all known etiological agents of the disease. A possible link between these pathogenic bacteria and inflammation process has gained the confidence in recently published papers. Observed enteric neuroglial cells apoptosis and...