Attenuation Of Inhibitory Effect Research Articles

Phenol and p-nitrophenol biodegradations by acclimated activated sludge: Influence of operational conditions on biodegradation kinetics and responding microbial communities

This study aims to evaluate the influence of operational factors (i.e. substrate concentration, activated sludge concentration and acclimation concentration) and the microbial communities of activated sludge on the aerobic biodegradation of phenol and p-nitrophenol (PNP). During the biodegradation process, the phenol or PNP biodegradation and activated sludge growth kinetics were determined and the interaction effects of the operational factors on the kinetics were assessed. The phenol biodegradation kinetics was well described by zero-order model (R2 > 0.813). At low phenol concentration (< 200 mg/L), the biodegradation rate can be enhanced by increasing activated sludge concentration and acclimation concentration. From the specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR) analysis, lower SOUR values for PNP relative to phenol suggests higher toxicity of PNP, with inhibition detected above 50 mg/L for both phenol and PNP. In view of the inadequacy of zero-order equation for PNP biodegradation, the kinetic data was fitted into Haldane equation that incorporate the inhibitory effect. From the results, the value of critical PNP concentration was observed to increase at higher acclimation concentration, indicating the attenuation of inhibitory effects on PNP-acclimated activated sludge. For microbial growth, only the factor of acclimation concentration greatly affected the growth kinetics, in which the Ks/Ki ratio was greatly reduced when the acclimation concentration was doubled. Lastly, potential degrading strains of Acinetobacter sp. USM, Rhodococcus sp. USM1 and Caballeronia sp. USM2, were successfully isolated from the acclimated activated sludge. From the results of dioxygenase genes amplification, the phenol degradation mechanism was identified following ortho fission pathway.

Role of cortical inhibition in heterosensory interaction of neurons of the cat sensorimotor cortex

Background and evoked neuronal activity in the cat sensorimotor cortex was recorded under a-chloralose anesthesia. Pairs of heterogeneous stimuli were applied, spaced at intervals of 0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 msec. A clicking sound, flashing light, and electroshock to the contralateral forepaw were used as stimuli. Partial or complete blockade of response to test stimuli presentations spaced 100–200 msec apart were observed when using stimulation of varying modality. The greatest test response was recorded at interstimulus intervals of 200–300 msec. Intracellular mechanisms of heterosensory interaction were investigated by applying the inhibitory transmitter antagonist picrotoxin microiontophoretically to the test cell to produce local attenuation of inhibitory effects. This substance also reduced the duration of blockage following the conditioning stimulus and the occurrence of peak level test response at a lower interstimulus interval than in the controls. Either a consistent increase in the number of spikes per response at one of the interstimulus intervals or a uniform reinforcement in unit response to several different interstimulus intervals were observed in a proportion of the cells. The contribution of intracortical inhibitory influences to the mechanisms of heterosensory interaction on neurons of the cat sensorimotor cortex is discussed in the light of our findings.