Dataset Information

Comparison of the Performance and Microbial Community Structure of Two Outdoor Pilot-Scale Photobioreactors Treating Digestate.

ABSTRACT: This study aimed at examining and comparing the nutrient removal efficiency, biomass productivity and microbial community structure of two outdoor pilot-scale photobioreactors, namely a bubble column and a raceway pond, treating the liquid fraction of an agricultural digestate. Bacterial and eukaryotic communities were characterized using a metabarcoding approach and quantitative PCR. The abundance, composition, diversity, and dynamics of the main microbes were then correlated to the environmental conditions and operational parameters of the reactors. Both photobioreactors were dominated either by Chlorella sp. or Scenedesmus sp. in function of temperature, irradiance and the nitrogen compounds derived by nitrification. Other species, such as Chlamydomonas and Planktochlorella, were sporadically present, demonstrating that they have more specific niche requirement. Pseudomonas sp. always dominated the bacterial community in both reactors, except in summertime, when a bloom of Calothrix occurred in the raceway pond. In autumn, the worsening of the climate conditions decreased the microalgal growth, promoting predation by Vorticella sp. The study highlights the factors influencing the structure and dynamics of the microbial consortia and which ecological mechanisms are driving the microbial shifts and the consequent reactor performance. On these bases, control strategies could be defined to optimize the management of the microalgal-based technologies.

SUBMITTER: Bani A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7695279 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Comparison of the Performance and Microbial Community Structure of Two Outdoor Pilot-Scale Photobioreactors Treating Digestate.

Bani Alessia A Parati Katia K Pozzi Anna A Previtali Cristina C Bongioni Graziella G Pizzera Andrea A Ficara Elena E Bellucci Micol M

Microorganisms 20201108 11

This study aimed at examining and comparing the nutrient removal efficiency, biomass productivity and microbial community structure of two outdoor pilot-scale photobioreactors, namely a bubble column and a raceway pond, treating the liquid fraction of an agricultural digestate. Bacterial and eukaryotic communities were characterized using a metabarcoding approach and quantitative PCR. The abundance, composition, diversity, and dynamics of the main microbes were then correlated to the environment ...[more]

PMID: 33171685

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Project description:ObjectivesTo determine the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining outdoor walking on knee osteoarthritis (KOA) clinical outcomes and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) structural changes.MethodThis was a 24-week parallel two-arm pilot RCT in Tasmania, Australia. KOA participants were randomized to either a walking plus usual care group or a usual care control group. The walking group trained 3 days/week. The primary outcome was feasibility assessed by changes being required to the study design, recruitment, randomization, program adherence, safety, and retention. Exploratory outcomes were changes in symptoms, physical performance/activity, and MRI measures.ResultsForty participants (mean age 66 years (SD 1.4) and 60% female) were randomized to walking (n = 24) or usual care (n = 16). Simple randomization resulted in a difference in numbers randomized to the two groups. During the study, class sizes were reduced from 10 to 8 participants to improve supervision, and exclusion criteria were added to facilitate program adherence. In the walking group, total program adherence was 70.0% and retention 70.8% at 24 weeks. The walking group had a higher number of mild adverse events and experienced clinically important improvements in symptoms (e.g., visual analogue scale (VAS) knee pain change in the walking group: - 38.7 mm [95% CI - 47.1 to - 30.3] versus usual care group: 4.3 mm [- 4.9 to 13.4]).ConclusionsThis study supports the feasibility of a full-scale RCT given acceptable adherence, retention, randomization, and safety, and recruitment challenges have been identified. Large symptomatic benefits support the clinical usefulness of a subsequent trial.Trial registration number12618001097235. Key Points • This pilot study is the first to investigate the effects of an outdoor walking program on knee osteoarthritis clinical outcomes and MRI joint structure, and it indicates that a full-scale RCT is feasible. • The outdoor walking program (plus usual care) resulted in large improvements in self-reported knee osteoarthritis symptoms compared to usual care alone. • The study identified recruitment challenges, and the manuscript explores these in more details and provides recommendations for future studies.

Dataset Information

Comparison of the Performance and Microbial Community Structure of Two Outdoor Pilot-Scale Photobioreactors Treating Digestate.

Publications

Comparison of the Performance and Microbial Community Structure of Two Outdoor Pilot-Scale Photobioreactors Treating Digestate.

Similar Datasets

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