SEARCH · PubMed Health
Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
A relationship between yeast flocculation and intracellular acid-soluble glycogen has been established which has been substantiated using flocculation mutants (mutants with altered capacities to flocculate) as well as a normal strain of Saccharomyces carlsbergensis. Sound evidence exists to implicate physiological differences in carbohydrate metabolism (glycogen storage) to this physical property of brewing significance.
Ballasted flocculation represents a relatively new technology that shows promise of bringing improvements to the field of water and wastewater treatment. Ballasted flocculation involves the addition of a ballasting agent (high-density microsand, sp gr = 2.65) to a chemically stabilized and coagulated suspension of particulate solids. Tests were conducted to determine the effect of eight independent parameters on the settling velocity of the resulting floc. Measurements showed settling velocities ranging from approximately 100 m/h for 0.5-mm diameter particles to as high as 380 m/h for particles having effective diameters up to 7 mm. Settling velocities for discrete microsand particles and discrete ballasted flocs were found to fit conventional settling theory with reasonable accuracy. The most important factors contributing to the benefits of ballasted flocculation are the large floc sizes that can be maintained, the greater roundness of the floc particles, and a lower shape factor for the ballasted floc, which all contribute to higher settling rates. Higher settling rates allow for substantially smaller sedimentation units and decreased capital costs.
In late 1986, several vials of Humulin N (NPH human insulin, recombinant DNA origin) came to our attention because of a clumped, white coating on the inside of the vials. To determine the frequency of this phenomenon, we surveyed 100 consecutive patients who used Humulin N. Ten patients had encountered 21 vials of flocculated insulin in the previous 12 mo, reflecting an incidence of 1 per 72 vials. Insulin drawn from affected vials was markedly reduced in potency: 20.9 +/- 3.4 U/ml vs. the labeled potency of 100 U/ml. Several patients reporting flocculated insulin, including one hospitalized with ketoacidosis, experienced unusual and unexplained elevation in blood glucose concentration for several days before flocculation was observed. Patients who use NPH human insulin should be aware of this phenomenon and carefully inspect their vials for evidence of insulin precipitation before each injection.
A slide flocculation test for Chagas' disease is described, which uses a lyophilized, stable antigen obtained by formalin and ultrasonic treatment of culture forms of Trypanosoma cruzi. The test was compared with other tests for the serodiagnosis of American trypanosomiasis and showed a high sensitivity, positive results being obtained in every case of acute or chronic Chagas' disease. In sera from blood donors and from normal individuals with negative T. cruzi antigen complement fixation tests a specificity of 96% was found. False positive flocculation tests were seen, especially in cases of South American blastomycosis and in a few cases of acute toxoplasmosis. Since it is easy and quick to perform, the slide flocculation test can be recommended as a screening procedure, especially for blood banks.
Flocculation using pellicular charged flocculants was investigated as an alternative process to conventional chromatography in purification of recombinant proteins using human recombinant superoxide dismutase expressed in E. coli as a model system. The removal of pyrogens, proteins, debris and the yield were determined. At laboratory scale, the starting conditions were optimized to yield a stable solution and the flocculation process fitted into a purification scheme. 100 L fermentation broth was the initial volume at pilot scale. The process parameters determined at the laboratory scale were tested and the results were compared to the pilot scale. The method was also compared to an ion-exchange chromatography.
The performance of an EGSB (expanded granular sludge bed) reactor type using flocculent sludge was evaluated for the post-treatment of effluent from UASB reactor treating domestic sewage. A pilot-scale 157.5-L EGSB reactor was monitored during a 331-day period. The original concept of the EGSB reactor was based on granular sludge use and by applying of high upflow liquid velocities (Vup). However, even using flocculent sludge from a UASB full-scale (Mangueira Plant, Recife, Brazil), good mixing conditions and high retention of biomass were achieved. By applying a 4-h hydraulic retention time and Vup values up to 3.75 m/h, effluent chemical oxygen demand concentrations in the EGSB were below 87 mg/L and 55 mg/L, for total and filtered samples, respectively. Total suspended solid (TSS) concentrations in the effluent were below 32 mg/L. Good performance and stable reactor operation during the whole experimental period were observed. Therefore, the EGSB reactor type using flocculent sludge can also be used for post-treatment of very dilute anaerobic effluent from reactors treating domestic sewage.
Twenty-six natural clays were studied for their kinetics of flocculating and removing algal cells of Microcystis aeruginosa. According to the 8 h equilibrium removal efficiencies and removal rates at a clay-loading of 0.7 g.L-1, all the 26 clays were classified into three categories. Type-I clay, which includes talc, ferric oxide, sepiolite, ferroferric oxide, and kaolinite, has an equilibrium removal efficiency greater than 90%, a t50 (time needed to remove 50% of the algae) of less than 30 min, and a t80 (time needed to remove 80% of the algae) of less than 2.5 h. Type-II clay, which includes argillanceous rocks, attapulgite, rectorite, illite, and argil, etc., has an equilibrium removal efficiency of 50%-80%, a t50 of less than 2.5 h, and a t80 of more than 5 h. Type-III clay consists of 14 minerals, including laterite, zeolite, mica, clinoptilolite, pumice, tripoli, feldspar and quartz, etc. with the removal efficiency less than 50%, and t50 > > 8 h. When the clay loading was decreased to 0.1-0.2 g.L-1, the 8 h equilibrium removal efficiencies for 25 clays declined to below 60%, except for sepiolite, a Type-I clay, which maintained around 90%. After the sepiolite was modified with Fe3+ to increase its surface charge (Zeta potential from -24.0 mV to +0.43 mV at pH 7.4), the initial removal rate was increased remarkably although its 8 h equilibrium removal efficiency was not improved substantially. As a comparison, the 8 h equilibrium removal efficiency of PAC was no greater than 40% at loadings of 0.02-0.2 g.L-1. Following the analysis of the flocculation mechanism it was concluded that the effect of bridging and netting may play a key role in the clay-algae flocculation processes, which may be important for selecting and modifying clays to improve significantly the removal efficiency.
This paper examined the efficiency of a combined flocculants synthesized by aluminum and starch (noted as CAS) in treating kaolin suspension, domestic wastewater, municipal effluent and pulp-making wastewater. Jar test results showed that the flocculent performance of CAS was prior to polyaluminum-chloride (PAC) in treating different concentration kaolin suspension samples (100, 400 and 2000 mg x L(-1)). The optimal dose of CAS to each sample was 3.0, 2.0 and 2.0 mg x L(-1), being 60%, 50% and 50% of PAC, respectively. CAS also showed a priority to PAC in removing the COD and turbidity of domestic and municipal effluents. When treating pulp-making wastewater, the optimal dose of CAS was 70% of PAC. The removal rate of COD was enhanced 10%, the sludge was reduced 40%, and the sediment time was greatly shortened. It was also identified that the optimal concentration required to affect flocculation depended on the concentration and the character of the wastewater within the range examined. CAS was more effective in treating high turbidity wastewater.
Treatment of urban stormwater by clarification, with flocculant addition, was studied in Toronto, Canada using a pilot-scale clarifier with removable lamellar plates. Almost 90 stormwater runoff events were characterised at the study site and found fairly polluted. The previous research phase indicated good treatability of this stormwater by lamellar clarification with flocculant addition (total suspended solids, TSS, removal of 84%, at a surface load of 15 m/h), but there were concerns about cleaning plates after storm events. With the aid of numerical modelling, hydraulic improvements to the clarifier inlet zone were retrofitted in 2004 and permitted the removal of the lamellar pack without a loss in treatment efficiency. In the modified clarifier, a cationic polymeric flocculant dosage of 4 mg/L with conventional clarification provided a TSS removal of 77%, at surface loads up to 43 m/h. The use of the polymer did not increase the acute toxicity of the treated effluent. The clarifier sludge was severely polluted by several heavy metals and would require special disposal. The treatment process tested could be well applied in projects requiring intensive stormwater treatment at compact sites.
The pilot-scale experimental apparatus and the procedure of the chemical and biological flocculation process to verify the feasibility in treating Shanghai municipal sewage were introduced in this paper. In addition, the biological function of the process was discussed. The results of optimal running showed that in the reaction tank, the concentration of mixed liquor suspended solid(MLSS) was 2 g/L, hydraulic retention time(HRT) was 35 min, dosage of liquid polyaluminium chloride(PAC) was 60 mg/L, and the concentration of polyacrylamide(PAM) was 0.5 mg/L. The effluent average concentrations of COD(Cr), TP, SS and BOD5 were 50 mg/L, 0.62 mg/L, 18 mg/L, and 17 mg/L, respectively. These were better than the designed demand. In addition, the existence of biological degradation in this system was proven by several methods. The removal efficiencies of the chemical and biological flocculation process were 20% higher than that of the chemical flocculation process above at the same coagulant dosage. The treatment process under different situations was evaluated on a pilot-scale experiment, and the results provided magnificent parameters and optimal condition for future operation of the plant.
In order to improve the flocculation efficiency of polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDADMAC), high molecular weight PDADMAC should be prepared from high purity diallyldimethylammonium chloride(DADMAC) monomers. In this paper, a cleaner method with microwave irradiation and alkali solidification was proposed for preparing high pure DADMAC by selective heating under low temperature, and the prepared high purity DADMAC is characterized using FTIR and atomic absorption spectrometry. The new method provides a solution to the key technical problem of PDADMAC synthesis. Comparing with the conventional methods, the results showed that the advantages of the novel synthesis include: (a) high purity DADMAC is improved from 57% to 71%; (b) reaction time of tertiary amine preparation is shortened from 6 h to 7 min; (c) water instead of acetone was used as reaction medium; (d) toxic by-products, wastewater and waste gas are eliminated. Flocculant made from the synthesized high purity DADMAC monomers was proved more efficient in flocculation tests.
Ristocetin in aqueous solution dimerizes with an equilibrium dissociation constant of 5.0 x 10(-4) M, i.e. approximately 1.1 mg ml-1 (Waltho, J.P., and Williams, D. H. (1989) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 111, 2475-2480). At concentrations of about 1.0 mg ml-1 ristocetin flocculates many proteins, lyses platelets and, in the presence of von Willebrand factor, agglutinates both fresh and formalin-fixed platelets. Because ristocetin exists as both monomeric and dimeric species, we sought to determine which of these forms flocculates proteins and agglutinates platelets. We found that: 1) the initial rate of flocculation of certain proteins, 2) the initial rate of agglutination of formalin-fixed platelets, and 3) the binding of ristocetin to formalin-fixed platelets are higher order solely with respect to the concentration of ristocetin dimers. As to the operative mechanism, it appears that bifunctional dimers cross-link proteins that possess multiple copies of a common recognition site. Preliminary evidence indicates that a recognition site is a beta-turn of the form X-P-G-X'.
Inhibition of flocculation by sugars was studied in 41 strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Two distinct groupings were found. The first type, including all strains containing FLO 1, FLO 4, FLO 5, FLO 8 and TUP 1, were partially inhibited by mannose only. The second type (NewFLO) were completely inhibited by mannose, maltose, glucose and sucrose. Sugar inhibitions were reversible and were exacerbated by increased agitation. NewFLO strains were more sensitive to inhibition by inorganic salts than the FLO 1 type strains. This inhibition is probably chaotropic in nature. Most FLO 1 type strains are constitutive, expressing flocculation throughout growth, whereas, NewFLO strains are completely repressed by the presence of excess ammonium ions. It is proposed that this indicates two entirely distinct mechanisms of flocculation, probably involving a mannose-specific lectin in the FLO 1 type and a broad specificity lectin in the NewFLO type.
The interaction of intact E. coli cells with polymeric flocculants polyethylenimine and dextran was being studied by spin-labelling. The nitroxyl groups of spin-labelled polymers are reduced during formation of the adsorption layer on the cell surface. Some peculiarities of redox reactions between polymer macroradicals and units of the bacterial electron-transport chain were studied depending of temperature and flocculation regime. The course of the reduction of spin-labelled polymer radicals and characteristics of EPR spectra of the flocculant give evidence on the formation of a loose polymeric layer on the surface of E. coli cells.
In this further study, an exhaustive investigation into the value of the bentonite flocculation test in detecting tuberculosis in cattle was made on a group of 358 cattle, with known intradermal (ID) tuberculin reactions and with or without tuberculosis lesions. Bentonite sensitized with human old tuberculin (OT) and a purified BCG carbohydrate fraction (BCG-F1) were used. In the group of 126 cows with tuberculosis lesions, 113 were positive to the tuberculin ID test and there were also 113 positive reactions to the flocculation test using OT sensitized bentonite. Only 62 were positive using the BCG-F1 sensitized bentonite. Out of the 232 animals with no visible lesions, 114 reacted positively to the tuberculin ID test, 148 had a titer to the flocculation test using OT sensitized bentonite and 70 were positive when using BCG-F1 sensitized bentonite.
Protoplast fusion was applied to obtain intraspecific fusion in yeast strains in order to overcome restrictions imposed by the natural mating system. Acriflavine was used to construct petite mutants from non-flocculent industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae saké strain. UV radiation was used to construct ura- mutants from a respiratory competent and highly flocculent S. cerevisiae NCYC869 strain. Fusion products were selected by complementation on minimal medium. The frequency of appearance of prototrophic hybrids was five per 10(5) protoplasts. The stable hybrids showed not only the S. cerevisiae saké characteristics but also flocculation ability, thereby confirming the success of the fusion.
The phenomenological interpretation of characteristics of the blood reaction flocculation is proposed. Variations of the blood reaction flocculation are comparable to transformations of magnetosphere-ionosphere current systems. Short- and longtime changes of reaction flocculation parameters are correlates with ionospheric current modifications and ionospheric composition.
Deflocculated suspensions of coarse powders tend to cake as the individual particles settle out and form compact, cohesive sediments. Limited flocculation results in looser sediments because the settled-out flocs incorporate large amounts of the liquid suspending medium. Controlled flocculation of bismuth subnitrate suspensions was achieved by the addition of small amounts of bentonite. The interaction of the coarse, positively charge bismuth subnitrate particles in aqueous suspension with negatively charged, colloidally dispersed bentonite was investigated by measuring electrophoretic mobility, sedimentation volume, and viscosity. Gradual addition of bentonite dispersion to bismuth subnitrate suspensions first reduced the zeta-potential of the bismuth subnitrate particles from +28 mv to zero, then inverted it, and finally caused it to level off at -20 mv for bismuth subnitrate-bentonite weight ratios below 200. Owing to the much greater specific surface area of bentonite, the surface of the bismuth subnitrate lath-shaped crystals was completely covered by 0.5% of its weight in clay platelets. Adhesion was promoted by electrovalences between surface bismuthyl ions and cation-exchange sites of the clay and by secondary valences. The charge neutralization of bismuth subnitrate by bentonite was a heterocoagulation process: the addition of small amounts of the clay flocculated the bismuth subnitrate suspensions and eliminated caking. While the zeta-potential of the bismuth subnitrate particles leveled off when their surface was saturated with bentonite platelets, sedimentation volume and viscosity continued to increase when the clay concentration was increased further while maintaining the bismuth subnitrate concentration constant. The excess, nonadsorbed bentonite formed the characteristic house-of-cards structure, incorporating the bentonite-coated bismuth subnitrate particles as cornerstones.