Treatment capability of an up-flow anammox column reactor using polyethylene sponge strips as biomass carrier

The feasibility of applying a polyethylene (PE) sponge as a biomass carrier in an anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) reactor and its nitrogen removal performance were also investigated. Experiments were carried out in an up-flow column reactor with synthetic inorganic wastewater. Experimental results indicate that reactor containing PE sponge biomass carriers showed a high nitrogen removal capability and exhibited stable performance. In addition, the reactor with 8 strips PE sponge as biomass carrier exhibited greater adaptation capacity compared to that with 6 strips and could achieve a high TN removal rate within a very short period. The ratio of NO₂-N removal and NO₃-N production to NH₄-N removal for the reactor was 1.26:0.21. Furthermore, to investigate the bacterial composition of the mature community, 16S rRNA sequences were amplified by PCR and analyses were conducted using DNA databases. Results showed that a new kind of anammox microorganism (Kumadai-1) was the dominant species in the reactor when using PE sponge as a biomass carrier.     

The trend in current and near future energy consumption from a statistical perspective

Energy consumption has increased remarkably over the past half century mainly due to increasing population and economic development. The influences of these two factors are considered. In most developed countries, such as Japan, France, Germany and Korea, the growth rate of energy consumption is due to economic development. The effects of population in Germany and Japan will substantially decline. In the USA, it is due to both factors as well as in the developing countries, such as China, India, Indonesia and Latin America. Economic success is more effective than increasing population in China, India and Indonesia, while both factors are roughly equal in Latin America. In Africa, though the growth rate depends on the effect of increasing population, its contribution to world energy consumption is small. On a worldwide scale, the growth rate of energy consumption will be affected by improving standards of living.     

Effect of highly lipolyzed goat cheese on HL-60 human leukemia cells: antiproliferative activity and induction of apoptotic DNA damage

To establish cheese as a dairy product with health benefits, we embarked on examining the multifunctional role of cheeses, especially in the field of cancer prevention. The current study was designed to investigate whether different types of commercial goat cheeses may possess antiproliferative activity, using an HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cell line as a cancer cell model. Among 11 cheese extracts tested at 500μg/mL, 6 (Crottin de Chavignol, Pouligny Saint-Pierre, Chabichou du Poitou, Valencay, Kavli, and Sainte-Maure de Touraine) resulted in a significant decrease of cell viability, which is consistent with a decrease in viable cell number. Compared with the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) value of individual cheeses in cellular proliferation assays, the Pouligny Saint-Pierre extract showed strong inhibition. Incubation of cells in the presence of Pouligny Saint-Pierre extract resulted in induction of cellular morphological changes and apoptotic DNA fragmentation as well as expression of the active form of caspase-3 protein. Based on the quantification of the ratio of free fatty acids to triglycerides in different cheese samples, a significant correlation was detected between lipolytic ripeness and IC(50) values for antiproliferative capacity tested in HL-60 cells. Collectively, these results support a potential role of highly lipolyzed goat cheeses in the prevention of leukemic cell proliferation.     

Combination effect of phospholipids and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on rat cholesterol metabolism

This study evaluated phospholipids (PLs) containing n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) for their specific inherent effects and effects due to a combination of the presence of glycerophosphate structure and n-3 PUFAs on cholesterol metabolism in rats. Rats were fed a diet of AIN-93G containing soybean oil (SO, 7%), SO (5.8%)+fish oil (1.2%), SO (5.2%)+soybean PLs (1.8%), SO (5.2%)+PLs containing n-3 PUFAs (1.8%), and SO (4.0%)+fish oil (1.2%)+soybean PLs (1.8%). Diets with PLs containing n-3 PUFAs, and soybean PLs in combination with fish oil, resulted in decreased serum and liver cholesterol levels through enhancement of fecal cholesterol excretion and suppression of liver sterol regulatory element binding protein-2 mRNA expression compared with the diet containing soybean oil alone. This study shows that soybean PLs with added triacylglycerol that included n-3 PUFAs have the same effects on cholesterol metabolism as PLs containing n-3 PUFAs, and that these could be of benefit to people.     

The effect of gas bubbles on flash evaporation

The effect on evaporation rates of air content in flashing water was investigated experimentally in a scaled-down open-channel flash evaporator. The water was at 97°C–98°C, the flash-down temperature differences were up to about 2°C, and air content was up to 6.32 ppm. The ratio (ΔT_s/R_c), of the local liquid superheat to the equilibrium radius of bubbles was proposed as the correlating parameter for the flash-evaporation heat transfer Stanton Number, and a correlation was developed. The presence of air in the water was found to have an important influence on the process: both the Stanton Number and the approach to equilibrium of the flashing water were seen to improve with air concentration.     

Effects of isocyanuric acid on the monochlorodimedone chlorinating rates with free chlorine and ammonia chloramine in water

Changes in monochlorodimedone (MCD) chlorinating rates with free chlorine (mixture of HOCl and OCl-) and ammonia monochloramine (NH2Cl) in water at pH 7 by the addition of isocyanuric acid (H3Cy) were determined at room temperature. Decreases in MCD absorbance at 290nm in equimolar (0.04mM) reactions of MCD and free available chlorine solutions containing H3Cy (0.01-1.60 mM) were recorded in a stopped-flow spectrophotometer. The rates indicate second-order reactions. Since the rate with free chlorine was high (> 7.6 x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1)), the amounts of free chlorine in the solutions could be distinguished from that of chlorinated cyanurates. The chlorinating rates with chlorinated cyanurates decreased with an increase in H3Cy concentrations. Plotting the rates against the molar ratio of chlorine to H3Cy showed a linear correlation and the rates with chlorinated cyanurates (H2ClCy) was estimated at 0.5 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1). In contrast, the rates with the NH2Cl solution containing H3Cy increased with an increase in H3Cy concentrations, increasing from 1.2 x 10 to 2.7 x 10 M(-1) s(-1) by the addition of 1.55 mM H3Cy. The DPD color development rates (OD512/t1/2/M) with free available chlorine (0.015mM) declined from 1.3 x 10(5) to 0.9 x 10(5)M(-1) by the addition of 0.61 mM H3Cy.     

Evaluation of different bonded investments for dental titanium casting

The properties of several different investments were investigated including phosphate bonded, magnesia bonded, and alumina cement investments. Measurements included the setting expansion, thermal expansion, and compressive strength of investments, as well as the tensile strength, elongation, Vickers hardness (VHN) and surface roughness of titanium castings. For phosphate bonded investment, the setting expansion after being mixed with its own mixing solution was 2.10%, which was larger than the other investments; the thermal expansion was −0.25% at 200°C, the compressive strength 14 and 5 MPa after heating. For titanium cast in phosphate bonded investment, the hardness on its top surface was 655 Hv, the tensile strength was 379 MPa, the elongation was 19.4%, and the surface roughness was 2.29 μm. Athough the thermal expansion of phosphate bonded investment is small, the setting expansion is large enough to compensate for the shrinkage of titanium castings. As its thermal expansion at T ≥ 600°C was constant and its heating-cooling cycle was almost reversible, these two properties can reduce the thermal shock and thus avoid cracking of the investment.     

Corrosion behavior of various steels in the simulated fluidized bed boiler environment

The corrosion behavior of various austenitic stainless steels and high-alloy steels has been studied in simulated fluidized bed boiler environment to develop a new corrosion resistant austenitic stainless steel for the superheater tube. The superheater is usually not installed within the bed position, which is different from the evaporator installed within the bed position. Therefore, the superheater tubes are exposed to an oxidizing environment; but it is also necessary to estimate the corrosion resistance of the steels in a reducing environment. It is already known that the high temperature corrosion behavior in conditions where CaSO₄ is coated on the steels is more important than the erosion of the superheater tubes. The main results in this present study are as follows: The Nb bearing steels and low C steels showed good resistance to high-temperature corrosion in CaSO₄/CaO, e.g. 347, 304L and HR3C. The corrosion rate of all steels used increased with increase in temperature, particularly at temperatures higher than 650°C. Internal penetration was not detected at temperatures lower than 550°C, but it was detected at temperatures higher than 600°C, in particular, higher than 650°C. The corrosion thickness loss was almost the same as the internal penetration depth at 700 and 750°C in the 300 series steels placed in CaSO₄/CaO, including the fine grained 347 steel, while the internal penetration depth was larger than the corrosion thickness loss in high-alloyed materials such as Alloy 800 and 310 steels. At temperatures higher than 800°C, the same result was also obtained for the fine grained 347 steel. The corrosion during exposure to oxidizing or reducing gases without CaSO₄/CaO or CaS was slight, but when the test specimens were placed in CaSO₄/CaO or CaS, the corrosion rate sharply increased, regardless of the atmospheric gas composition. Cr, Si, Mn (less than 5 %), Mo and Nb are beneficial elements while C, Cu and Al are harmful elements. From the above results, the following steel was developed for high temperature corrosion resistance in CaSO₄/CaO: low C-22/25Cr-17/25Ni-3/5Mn-(2Mo)-Nb-0.08/0.2N-Al-(B).