Bioleaching of sewage sludge for copper extraction using Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans: Optimization and ecological risk assessment.

In this study, Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans was used for the bioleaching of copper (Cu) from sewage sludge. In order to find optimization conditions, three factors including solid-to-liquid ratio (S/L) (0.01-0.2 %(w/v)), initial element sulfur (S0) (1-10 g/L), and initial pH (1-3) have been investigated. Based on response surface methodology (RSM) determined a significant reduced quadratic model with a p-value of 0.0022 (<0.05 significant level). The maximum Cu recovery was 85.3% in the optimum condition of S/L = 0.16% (w/v), S0 = 8.2 g/L, and pH = 1.4. Furthermore, a kinetic study based on a shrinking core model was performed and the result showed that chemical reaction was rate limiting in the extraction. Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) results after bioleaching showed the bioleaching process detoxified sludge and the bioleached sludge residue was well within the regulatory limits for disposal. The germination seed with adding bioleached and unbioleached sludge to the soil was determined. Various parameters such as Germination Index (GI), Tolerance Index (TI), Vigor Index (VI), and stem length showed that the sewage sludge indices significantly increased than the sample soil with unbioleached sludge.

Copper recovery from printed circuit boards leaching solution with bioelectricity generation using microbial fuel cell.

Recovery of valuable metals via leaching printed circuit boards (PCBs) has gained moment recently. This work studied the Microbial fuel cell (MFC) performances for recovery of Cu from a Cu2+ solution by examining key operating parameters. A dual-chamber MFC with 6 cm × 6 cm × 7 cm dimensions was constructed. Both anode and cathode electrodes were made of a carbon cloth sheet. The anodic and cathodic chambers were separated by a Nafion membrane. The highest Cu recovery efficiency was 99.7% after 240 h batch mode operation, yielding 102 mW/m2 MFC power density output using 1 g/L Cu2+ solution as the catholyte (initial pH 3) and an anolyte containing 1 g/L sodium acetate inoculated with a sludge from a wastewater treatment plant's anaerobic pond, with 2 cm distance between the electrodes made of polyacrylonitrile polymer. The highest open circuit voltage, current density (based on cross-section cathode area) and power density with an external load of 1 kΩ was 555 mV, 347 mA/m2 and 193 mW/m2, respectively. Additionally, recovery of Cu in the leachate of PCBs using sulfuric acid leaching after 48 h was performed and the highest Cu recovery was 50% in 48 h.

Ultrasound-assisted leaching of spent lithium ion batteries by natural organic acids and H2O2.

Ultrasound-assisted bioacid leaching was examined for the extraction of valuable metals from spent lithium ion batteries (LIBs). In this work, organic acids in lemon juice were used as the leaching agent together with H2O2. Three effective factors, namely solid/liquid (S/L) ratio, lemon juice percentage, and H2O2 volume percentage, were optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The optimal conditions were found to be 0.98% (w/v) S/L ratio, 57.8% (v/v) lemon juice and 8.07% (v/v) H2O2 in the leaching liquor, achieving recovery of 100% Li, 96% Co and 96% Ni. Furthermore, the individual effects of ultrasound, H2O2 and lemon juice on metal recovery were studied and the results showed that without H2O2 or lemon juice, the metal recovery rates decreased greatly while the absence of ultrasound reduced recovery rates to a much smaller extent, indicating that both H2O2 and lemon juice were essential in the leaching process. The effect of time on the metals recoveries was examined and results showed that Li and Co recovery reached 100% with the leaching time of 35 min. The modified shrinking core modeling results suggested that chemical reaction was the rate controlling step.

Radiomics for classification of bone mineral loss: A machine learning study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop predictive models to classify osteoporosis, osteopenia and normal patients using radiomics and machine learning approaches. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 147 patients were included in this retrospective single-center study. There were 12 men and 135 women with a mean age of 56.88±10.6 (SD) years (range: 28-87 years). For each patient, seven regions including four lumbar and three femoral including trochanteric, intertrochanteric and neck were segmented on bone mineral densitometry images and 54 texture features were extracted from the regions. The performance of four feature selection methods, including classifier attribute evaluation (CLAE), one rule attribute evaluation (ORAE), gain ratio attribute evaluation (GRAE) and principal components analysis (PRCA) along with four classification methods, including random forest (RF), random committee (RC), K-nearest neighbor (KN) and logit-boost (LB) were evaluated. Four classification categories, including osteopenia vs. normal, osteoporosis vs. normal, osteopenia vs. osteoporosis and osteoporosis+osteopenia vs. osteoporosis were examined for the defined seven regions. The classification model performances were evaluated using the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS: The AUC values ranged from 0.50 to 0.78. The combination of methods RF+CLAE, RF+ORAE and RC+ORAE yielded highest performance (AUC=0.78) in discriminating between osteoporosis and normal state in the trochanteric region. The combinations of RF+PRCA and LB+PRCA had the highest performance (AUC=0.76) in discriminating between osteoporosis and normal state in the neck region. CONCLUSION: The machine learning radiomic approach can be considered as a new method for bone mineral deficiency disease classification using bone mineral densitometry image features.

Correction: Ultrasound-assisted leaching of vanadium from fly ash using lemon juice organic acids.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/C9RA09325G.].

Ultrasound-assisted leaching of vanadium from fly ash using lemon juice organic acids.

In this work, vanadium (V) was selectively extracted from fuel-oil fly ash using a leaching process utilizing organic acids extracted from lemon juice with assistance from ultrasound and H2O2. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the main operating factors. The V recovery was 88.7% at the optimal conditions: 27.9% (v/v) lemon juice, 10% (v/v) hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), solid/liquid (S/L) ratio 0.01% (w/v), ultrasound power 159 W at 20 kHz in 2 h, and initial temperature of 35 °C. The effect of time on the V recovery was examined. The maximum recovery was 100% after 3 h. Furthermore, the individual effects of ultrasound and H2O2 on V recovery were studied, and the results showed that without H2O2 and ultrasound, the V recovery decreased greatly, indicating that both factors were essential in the leaching process. According to the modified shrinking core model, test results indicated that mass diffusion was the controlling step of the overall reaction kinetics. The activation energy of the leaching reaction in the temperature range 25 to 65 °C was found to be 17.1 kJ mol-1.

Expression and activity profiling of the steroidogenic enzymes of glucocorticoid biosynthesis and the fdx1 co-factors in zebrafish.

The spatial and temporal expression of steroidogenic genes in zebrafish has not been fully characterised. Because zebrafish are increasingly employed in endocrine and stress research, a better characterisation of steroidogenic pathways is required to target specific steps in the biosynthetic pathways. In the present study, we have systematically defined the temporal and spatial expression of steroidogenic enzymes involved in glucocorticoid biosynthesis (cyp21a2, cyp11c1, cyp11a1, cyp11a2, cyp17a1, cyp17a2, hsd3b1, hsd3b2), as well as the mitochondrial electron-providing ferredoxin co-factors (fdx1, fdx1b), during zebrafish development. Our studies showed an early expression of all these genes during embryogenesis. In larvae, expression of cyp11a2, cyp11c1, cyp17a2, cyp21a2, hsd3b1 and fdx1b can be detected in the interrenal gland, which is the zebrafish counterpart of the mammalian adrenal gland, whereas the fdx1 transcript is mainly found in the digestive system. Gene expression studies using quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR and whole-mount in situ hybridisation in the adult zebrafish brain revealed a wide expression of these genes throughout the encephalon, including neurogenic regions. Using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, we were able to demonstrate the presence of the glucocorticoid cortisol in the adult zebrafish brain. Moreover, we demonstrate de novo biosynthesis of cortisol and the neurosteroid tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone in the adult zebrafish brain from radiolabelled pregnenolone. Taken together, the present study comprises a comprehensive characterisation of the steroidogenic genes and the fdx co-factors facilitating glucocorticoid biosynthesis in zebrafish. Furthermore, we provide additional evidence of de novo neurosteroid biosynthesising in the brain of adult zebrafish facilitated by enzymes involved in glucocorticoid biosynthesis. Our study provides a valuable source for establishing the zebrafish as a translational model with respect to understanding the roles of the genes for glucocorticoid biosynthesis and fdx co-factors during embryonic development and stress, as well as in brain homeostasis and function.

The Zebrafish as Model for Deciphering the Regulatory Architecture of Vertebrate Genomes.

Despite enormous progress to map cis-regulatory modules (CRMs), like enhancers and promoters in genomes, elucidation of the regulatory landscape of the developing embryo remains a challenge. The zebrafish embryo with its experimental virtues has a great potential to contribute to this endeavor. However, so far progress remained behind expectation. We discuss here available methods and their limitations and how the zebrafish embryo could contribute in the future to unravel the wiring of the vertebrate genome.

Fungal leaching of valuable metals from a power plant residual ash using Penicillium simplicissimum: Evaluation of thermal pretreatment and different bioleaching methods.

Each year a tremendous volume of V-Ni rich ashes is produced by fuel oil consuming power plants throughout the world. Recovery of precious metals existing in these ashes is very important from both economic and environmental aspects. The present research was aimed at investigating bioleaching potential of Penicillium simplicissimum for the recovery of metals from power plant residual ash (PPR ash) using different bioleaching methods such as one-step, two-step, and spent-medium bioleaching at 1% (w/v) pulp density. Furthermore, the effects of thermal pretreatment on leaching of V, Ni, and Fe, as major elements present in PPR ash, were studied. Thermal pretreatment at various temperatures removed the carbonaceous and volatile fraction of the ash and affected the fungal growth and metal leachability. The highest extraction yields of V and Ni were achieved for the original PPR ash, using spent-medium bioleaching in which nearly 100% of V and 40% of Ni were extracted. The maximum extraction yield of Fe (48.3%) was obtained for the pretreated PPR ash at 400°C by spent-medium bioleaching. In addition, the fungal growth in pure culture was investigated through measurement of produced organic acids via high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Chemical leaching experiments were performed, using commercial organic acids at the same concentrations as those produced under optimum condition of fungal growth (5237ppm citric, 3666ppm gluconic, 1287ppm oxalic and 188ppm malic acid). It was found that in comparison to chemical leaching, bioleaching improved V and Ni recovery up to 19% and 12%, respectively. Moreover, changes in physical and chemical properties as well as morphology of the samples utilizing appropriate analytical methods such as XRF, XRD, FTIR, and FE-SEM were comprehensively investigated.

Platinum and rhenium extraction from a spent refinery catalyst using Bacillus megaterium as a cyanogenic bacterium: statistical modeling and process optimization.

The present study evaluated the potential of Bacillus megaterium as a cyanogenic bacterium to produce cyanide for solubilization of platinum and rhenium from a spent refinery catalyst. Response surface methodology was applied to study the effects and interaction between two main effective parameters including initial glycine concentration and pulp density. Maximum Pt and Re recovery was obtained 15.7% and 98%, respectively, under optimum conditions of 12.8 g/l initial glycine concentration and 4% (w/v) pulp density after 7 days. Increasing the free cyanide concentration to 3.6 mg/l, varying the pH from 6.7 to 9, and increasing the dissolved oxygen from 2 to 5mg/l demonstrated the growth characteristics of B. megaterium during bioleaching process. The modified shrinking core model was used to determine the rate limiting step of the process. It was found that diffusion through the product layer is the rate controlling step.

Cr and Ni recovery during bioleaching of dewatered metal-plating sludge using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans.

This study determined the optimal conditions required to attain maximum metal recovery in the bioleaching process of dewatered metal-plating sludge using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (A. ferrooxidans). Adaptation of this strain was carried up to 1% (w/v) of the sample. Three factors including initial pH, initial Fe(3+) concentration and pulp density were selected as the effective factors and were optimized using a central composite design of response surface methodology. An initial pH of 1, pulp density of 9 g/l and initial Fe(3+) concentration of 1g/l were determined to be optimum values by the statistical models. The highest extractions for Cr and Ni under optimal conditions were 55.6% and 58.2%, respectively. Bioleaching kinetics was investigated using a modified shrinking core model to better understand the mechanism of the leaching reaction. The model predictions indicate that the diffusion step controlled the overall dissolution kinetics and is the rate controlling step.

Optimization of petroleum refinery effluent treatment in a UASB reactor using response surface methodology.

An upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) bioreactor was successfully used for the treatment of petroleum refinery effluent. Before optimization, chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was 81% at a constant organic loading rate (OLR) of 0.4 kg/m(3) d and a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 48 h. The rate of biogas production was 559 mL/h at an HRT of 40 h and an influent COD of 1000 mg/L. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to predict the behaviors of influent COD, upflow velocity (V(up)) and HRT in the bioreactor. RSM showed that the best models for COD removal and biogas production rate were the reduced quadratic and cubic models, respectively. The optimum region, identified based on two critical responses, was an influent COD of 630 mg/L, a V(up) of 0.27 m/h, and an HRT of 21.4 h. This resulted in a 76.3% COD removal efficiency and a 0.25 L biogas/L feed d biogas production rate.

Distribution of cannabinoid receptor 1 in the CNS of zebrafish.

The cannabinoid receptor 1 (Cb1) mediates the psychoactive effect of marijuana. In mammals, there is abundant evidence advocating the importance of cannabinoid signaling; activation of Cb1 exerts diverse functions, chiefly by its ability to modulate neurotransmission. Thus, much attention has been devoted to understand its role in health and disease and to evaluate its therapeutic potential. Here, we have cloned zebrafish cb1 and investigated its expression in developing and adult zebrafish brain. Sequence analysis showed that there is a high degree of conservation, especially in residues demonstrated to be critical for function in mammals. In situ hybridization revealed that zebrafish cb1 appears first in the preoptic area at 24 hours post-fertilization. Subsequently, transcripts are detected in the dorsal telencephalon, hypothalamus, pretectum and torus longitudinalis. A similar pattern of expression is recapitulated in the adult brain. While cb1 is intensively stained in the medial zone of the dorsal telencephalon, expression elsewhere is weak by comparison. In particular, localization of cb1 in the telencephalic periventricular matrix is suggestive of the involvement of Cb1 in neurogenesis, bearing strong resemblance in terms of expression and function to the proliferative mammalian hippocampal formation. In addition, a gradient-like expression of cb1 is detected in the torus longitudinalis, a teleost specific neural tissue. In relation to dopaminergic neurons in the diencephalic posterior tuberculum (considered to be the teleostean homologue of the mammalian midbrain dopaminergic system), both cb1 and tyrosine hydroxylase-expressing cells occupy non-overlapping domains. However there is evidence that they are co-localized in the caudal zone of the hypothalamus, implying a direct modulation of dopamine release in this particular region. Collectively, our data indicate the propensity of zebrafish cb1 to participate in multiple neurological processes.

Effect of thermal damage and biaxial loading on the optical properties of a collagenous tissue.

Thermal denaturation can induce marked changes in the optical and mechanical properties of collagenous tissues. The optical properties are important in both therapeutic and diagnostic applications of lasers in medicine. Although mechanical stress can be caused by collagen shrinkage in laser-based therapies, how the mechanical loading state affects the optical properties is not well understood. We used a new computer-controlled biaxial testing system to subject bovine epicardium to various loading conditions both before and after multiple levels of thermal damage. An integrating sphere technique was used to measure transmittance and diffuse reflectance, from which absorption and scattering coefficients were calculated using a Monte Carlo method. Results showed that the scattering coefficient increased with increasing mechanical load but decreased as the degree of thermal damage increased. There was no significant change in the absorption coefficient due to thermal damage over the ranges studied.

Expression of brain subtype creatine kinase in the zebrafish embryo.

Creatine kinases (CK) play crucial roles in intracellular energy transfer. We have isolated a cDNA from zebrafish embryos, which encodes a CK highly related to the mammalian brain subtype creatine kinase (BCK). The bck mRNA is expressed maternally in the zebrafish embryo and transcripts are distributed uniformly in blastula and gastrula stages. Expression becomes restricted to the prechordal plate and the nervous system during subsequent somitogenesis stages. bck transcripts are abundant in primary neurons in the developing central nervous system of the 1-day-old embryo. While some bck expression persists in the hindbrain, expression vanishes in the spinal cord of the 2-day-old embryo. In summary, the expression pattern of bck is highly dynamic and suggests a role for bck during gastrulation and neuronal differentiation.

Expression of the anti-dorsalizing morphogenetic protein gene in the zebrafish embryo.

The BMP3 related anti-dorsalizing morphogenetic protein (ADMP) has been proposed to function in the organizer of chick and Xenopus embryos. We report here the cloning and expression pattern of a zebrafish admp gene. The gene is expressed in involuting cells of the embryonic shield, but not in the non-involuting forerunner cells. During gastrulation, admp transcripts are detected in the posterior prechordal plate, in the notochord primordium and in cells of the dorsal blastoderm margin. Expression is also detectable in the neuroectoderm overlying the posterior prechordal plate. Expression persists in the tail bud until the end of somitogenesis while expression in other areas disappears during early somitogenesis stages.

Monte Carlo modeling for implantable fluorescent analyte sensors.

A Monte Carlo simulation of photon propagation through human skin and interaction with a subcutaneous fluorescent sensing layer is presented. The algorithm will facilitate design of an optical probe for an implantable fluorescent sensor, which holds potential for monitoring many parameters of biomedical interest. Results are analyzed with respect to output light intensity as a function of radial distance from source, angle of exit for escaping photons, and sensor fluorescence (SF) relative to tissue autofluorescence (AF). A sensitivity study was performed to elucidate the effects on the output due to changes in optical properties, thickness of tissue layers, thickness of the sensor layer, and both tissue and sensor quantum yields. The optical properties as well as the thickness of the stratum corneum, epidermis, (tissue layers through which photons must pass to reach the sensor) and the papillary dermis (tissue distal to sensor) are highly influential. The spatial emission profile of the SF is broad compared that of the tissue fluorescence and the ratio of sensor to tissue fluorescence increases with distance from the source. The angular distribution of escaping photons is more concentrated around the normal for SF than for tissue AF. The information gained from these simulations will be helpful in designing appropriate optics for collection of the signal of interest.

Smad1 and Smad4 are components of the bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4)-induced transcription complex of the Xvent-2B promoter.

To study the mechanism of transcriptional activation of the Xenopus homeobox gene Xvent-2B, we have delineated the bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4)-responsive region between -275/-152 in the proximal promoter. Consistent with the BMP-4 inductive nature of this region, this element exhibits transcriptional activation upon ectopic expression of Smad1 and Smad4. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with total cellular extracts demonstrated that a DNA fragment encompassing this region was competent in the formation of a BMP-4-induced protein-DNA complex containing Smad1. Two different Smad binding regions were localized, a distal binding region for Smad1 containing two GCAT motifs and proximal AGNC binding sites for Smad4, the latter being conserved in other transforming growth factor-beta-responsive elements. Mutation of the Smad4 binding motif completely abolished transcriptional activation, whereas mutation or deletion of the Smad1 recognition sequence inhibited Smad1/Smad4 responsiveness. These results provide a functional characterization and identification of a vertebrate Smad1/Smad4 DNA response element induced by BMP-4 signaling and offers insight into the transcriptional regulation of a component essential for dorsoventral patterning in Xenopus embryos.

A study of aminolevulinic acid-induced protoporphyrin IX fluorescence kinetics in the canine oral cavity.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: 5-Aminolevulinic acid-induced protoporphyrin IX is a promising photosensitizer that could enhance the spectroscopic contrast between normal and diseased oral tissues. Knowledge of the pharmacokinetics and effects on tissue type are important for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dogs randomly were administered five doses of 5-aminolevulinic acid: 5, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg/kg. The fluorescence was recorded from buccal mucosa, gums, tongue, and facial skin using a fiberoptic probe connected to an optical multichannel analyzer. Blood samples were collected for hematologic and serum biochemical analysis. Pharmacokinetic parameters of interest were estimated using a compartmental model. RESULTS: Protoporphyrin fluorescence at all sites reached a peak in 2-6 hours, and returned to baseline in 24-31 hours, depending on the dose. Plasma protoporphyrin peaked earlier than oral tissues. CONCLUSION: The rate of synthesis of protoporphyrin, and its conversion to heme products are dose dependent. Different tissues have different pharmacokinetic response.

STEAP: a prostate-specific cell-surface antigen highly expressed in human prostate tumors.

In search of novel genes expressed in metastatic prostate cancer, we subtracted cDNA isolated from benign prostatic hypertrophic tissue from cDNA isolated from a prostate cancer xenograft model that mimics advanced disease. One novel gene that is highly expressed in advanced prostate cancer encodes a 339-amino acid protein with six potential membrane-spanning regions flanked by hydrophilic amino- and carboxyl-terminal domains. This structure suggests a potential function as a channel or transporter protein. This gene, named STEAP for six-transmembrane epithelial antigen of the prostate, is expressed predominantly in human prostate tissue and is up-regulated in multiple cancer cell lines, including prostate, bladder, colon, ovarian, and Ewing sarcoma. Immunohistochemical analysis of clinical specimens demonstrates significant STEAP expression at the cell-cell junctions of the secretory epithelium of prostate and prostate cancer cells. Little to no staining was detected at the plasma membranes of normal, nonprostate human tissues, except for bladder tissue, which expressed low levels of STEAP at the cell membrane. Protein analysis located STEAP at the cell surface of prostate-cancer cell lines. Our results support STEAP as a cell-surface tumor-antigen target for prostate cancer therapy and diagnostic imaging.