Project description:Genome-wide epigenetic changes such as histone modifications form a critical layer of gene regulations and have been implicated in a number of different disorders such as cancer and inflammation. Progress has made to decrease the input required for gold-standard genome-wide profiling tools like chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by next generation sequencing (i.e. ChIP-seq) to allow scarce primary tissues of specific type from patients and lab animals to be tested. However, there has been very little effort to rapidly increase the throughput of these low-input tools. In this report, we demonstrate LIFE-ChIP-seq (Low-Input Fluidized-bed Enabled Chromatin Immunoprecipitation combined with sequencing), an automated and high-throughput microfluidic platform capable of running multiple sets of ChIP assays in as little as 1 h with as few as 50 cells per assay. Our technology will enable testing of a large number of samples and replicates with low-abundance primary samples in the context of precision medicine.
Project description:454-pyrosequencing technology was employed to investigate the microbial communities from anaerobic fluidized bed reactor treating laundry wastewater.
Project description:This paper presents the numerical investigation of the effects of the general bed characteristics such as superficial gas velocities, bed temperature, bed heights and particle size, on the direct synthesis in a 3D fluidized bed reactor. A 3D model for the gas flow, heat transfer, and mass transfer was coupled to the direct synthesis reaction mechanism verified in the literature. The model was verified by comparing the simulated reaction rate and dimethyldichlorosilane (M2) selectivity with the experimental data in the open literature and real production data. Computed results indicate that superficial gas velocities, bed temperature, bed heights, and particle size have vital effect on the reaction rates and/or M2 selectivity.
Project description:An industrial fluidized bed reactor was designed to convert an aqueous solid laden stream into a consistent granular product. CFD simulations were run using the MFiX two-fluid model for a fluidizing bed operating at 650?°C. A set of simulations were run over a Latin-hypercube sample of five model parameters - bed particle size, bed particle density, coal particle size, spray feed flow rate, and fluidizing gas flow rate. Data from the simulations were collected on three quantities of interest - bed differential temperature, low solids velocity, and bed void fraction. The data presented here is the full set of response surfaces generated using the process Gaussian response surface model in the Dakota toolkit, as well as the table of data for coefficients of the fitted model. The fits to the five-dimensional Gaussian Process models were 0.7797, 0.8664, and 0.9440 for the temperature, velocity, and solids packing, respectively.
Project description:The capacity of electroactive bacteria to exchange electrons with electroconductive materials has been explored during the last two decades as part of a new field called electromicrobiology. Such microbial metabolism has been validated to enhance the bioremediation of wastewater pollutants. In contrast with standard materials like rods, plates, or felts made of graphite, we have explored the use of an alternative strategy using a fluid-like electrode as part of a microbial electrochemical fluidized bed reactor (ME-FBR). After verifying the low adsorption capacity of the pharmaceutical pollutants on the fluid-bed electrode [7.92 ± 0.05% carbamazepine (CBZ) and 9.42 ± 0.09% sulfamethoxazole (SMX)], our system showed a remarkable capacity to outperform classical solutions for removing pollutants (more than 80%) from the pharmaceutical industry like CBZ and SMX. Moreover, the ME-FBR performance revealed the impact of selecting an anode potential by efficiently removing both pollutants at + 200 mV. The high TOC removal efficiency also demonstrated that electrostimulation of electroactive bacteria in ME-FBR could overcome the expected microbial inhibition due to the presence of CBZ and SMX. Cyclic voltammograms revealed the successful electron transfer between microbial biofilm and the fluid-like electrode bed throughout the polarization tests. Finally, Vibrio fischeri-based ecotoxicity showed a 70% reduction after treating wastewater with a fluid-like anode (+ 400 mV), revealing the promising performance of this bioelectrochemical approach.
Project description:Methanogenic community structure and dynamics were investigated in two different, replicated anaerobic wastewater treatment reactor configurations [inverted fluidized bed (IFB) and expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB)] treating synthetic dairy wastewater, during operating temperature transitions from 37°C to 25°C, and from 25°C to 15°C, over a 430-day trial. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) and moving-window analyses, based on quantitative real-time PCR data, along with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiling, demonstrated that the methanogenic communities developed in a different manner in these reactor configurations. A comparable level of performance was recorded for both systems at 37°C and 25°C, but a more dynamic and diverse microbial community in the IFB reactors supported better stability and adaptative capacity towards low temperature operation. The emergence and maintenance of particular bacterial genotypes (phylum Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes) was associated with efficient protein hydrolysis in the IFB, while protein hydrolysis was inefficient in the EGSB. A significant community shift from a Methanobacteriales and Methanosaetaceae towards a Methanomicrobiales-predominated community was demonstrated during operation at 15°C in both reactor configurations.