Start-up of autotrophic nitrogen removal reactors via sequential biocatalyst addition

A procedure for start-up of oxygen-limited autotrophic nitrification-denitrification (OLAND) in a lab-scale rotating biological contactor (RBC) is presented. In this one-step process, NH4+ is directly converted to N2 without the need for an organic carbon source. The approach is based on a sequential addition of two types of easily available biocatalyst to the reactor during start-up: aerobic nitrifying and anaerobic, granular methanogenic sludge. The first is added as a source of aerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AAOB), the second as a possible source of planctomycetes including anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB). The initial nitrifying biofilm serves as a matrix for anaerobic cell incorporation. By subsequently imposing oxygen limitation, one can create an optimal environment for autotrophic N removal. In this way, N removal of about 250 mg of N L(-1) d(-1) was achieved after 100 d treating a synthetic NH4+-rich wastewater. By gradually imposing higher loads on the reactor, the N elimination could be increased to about 1.8 g of N L(-1) d(-1) at 250 d. The resulting microbial community was compared with that of the inocula using general bacterial and AAOB- and planctomycete-specific PCR primers. Subsequently, the RBC reactor was shown to treat a sludge digestor effluent under suboptimal and strongly varying conditions. The RBC biocatalyst was also submitted to complete absence of oxygen in a fixed-film bioreactor (FFBR) and proved able to remove NH4+ with NO2- as electron acceptor (maximal 434 mg of NH4+-N (g of VSS)(-1) d(-1) on day 136). DGGE and real-time PCR analysis demonstrated that the RBC biofilm was dominated by members of the genus Nitrosomonas and close relatives of Kuenenia stuttgartiensis, a known AnAOB. The latter was enriched during FFBR operation, but AAOB were still present and the ratio planctomycetes/AAOB rRNA gene copies was about 4.3 after 136 d of reactor operation. Whether this relates to an active role of AAOB in the anoxic N removal process remains to be solved.     

Sub-spreading events limit the reliable elimination of heterogeneous epidemics

We show that sub-spreading events, i.e. transmission events in which an infection propagates to few or no individuals, can be surprisingly important for defining the lifetime of an infectious disease epidemic and hence its waiting time to elimination or fade-out, measured from the time-point of its last observed case. While limiting super-spreading promotes more effective control when cases are growing, we find that when incidence is waning, curbing sub-spreading is more important for achieving reliable elimination of the epidemic. Controlling super-spreading in this low-transmissibility phase offers diminishing returns over non-selective, population-wide measures. By restricting sub-spreading, we efficiently dampen remaining variations among the reproduction numbers of infectious events, which minimizes the risk of premature and late end-of-epidemic declarations. Because case-ascertainment or reporting rates can be modelled in exactly the same way as control policies, we concurrently show that the under-reporting of sub-spreading events during waning phases will engender overconfident assessments of epidemic elimination. While controlling sub-spreading may not be easily realized, the likely neglecting of these events by surveillance systems could result in unexpectedly risky end-of-epidemic declarations. Super-spreading controls the size of the epidemic peak but sub-spreading mediates the variability of its tail.     

Benzene removal by a novel modification of enhanced anaerobic biostimulation

A novel modification of enhanced anaerobic bioremediation techniques was developed by using non-activated persulfate to accelerate the organic phosphorus breakdown and then stimulate benzene biodegradation by nitrate and sulfate reduction. Benzene concentrations in groundwater where nitrate, triethyl phosphate and persulfate were successfully injected were reduced at removal efficiencies greater than 77% to the levels below the applicable guideline. Soil benzene was removed effectively by the modification of the enhanced anaerobic bioremediation with removal efficiencies ranging between 75.9% and 92.8%. Geochemical analytical results indicated that persulfate effectively breaks down triethyl phosphate into orthophosphate, thereby promoting nitrate and sulfate utilization. Microbial analyses (quantitative polymerase chain reaction, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 16S ribosomal RNA) demonstrated that benzene was primarily biodegraded by nitrate reduction while sulfate reduction played an important role in benzene removal at some portions of the study site. Enrichment in the heavier carbon isotope ¹³C of residual benzene with the increased removal efficiency provided direct evidence for benzene biodegradation. Nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen isotope analyses indicated that both nitrate reduction and sulfate reduction were occurring as bioremediation mechanisms.     

Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Glycosylated Macrolactam Analogues of the Macrolide Antibiotic YC‐17

YC‐17 is a 12‐membered ring macrolide antibiotic produced from Streptomyces venezuelae ATCC 15439 and is composed of the polyketide macrolactone 10‐deoxymethynolide appended with D ‐desosamine. In order to develop structurally diverse macrolactam analogues of YC‐17 with improved therapeutic potential, a combined approach involving chemical synthesis and engineered cell‐based biotransformation was employed. Eight new antibacterial macrolactam analogues of YC‐17 were generated by supplying a novel chemically synthesized macrolactam aglycone to S. venezuelae mutants harboring plasmids capable of synthesizing several unnatural sugars for subsequent glycosylation. Some YC‐17 macrolactam analogues were active against erythromycin‐resistant bacterial pathogens and displayed improved metabolic stability in vitro. The enhanced therapeutic potential demonstrated by these glycosylated macrolactam analogues reveals the unique potential of chemoenzymatic synthesis in antibiotic drug discovery and development.

     

Kinetics of Difructose Dianhydrides Formation under Fructose Crystallization Conditions

Fructose undergoes dehydration reactions to form difructose dianhydrides during crystallization. Difructose dianhydrides can be incorporated into fructose crystals and inhibit the crystal growth. In this study, the kinetics of difructose dianhydrides formation under industrial crystallization conditions were investigated. Four difructose dianhydrides were detected by HPLC analysis. An empirical second-order irreversible kinetic model was proposed for the reaction. The extent of reaction increased with increasing temperature and decreasing pH value of the solution. The amount of two of the difructose dianhydrides stopped increasing when the fructose concentration was about 70% or less. On the other hand, the formation of all dimers were retarded when the initial fructose concentration was higher than 80%.