Fractions Of Substances Research Articles

Quantifying synergy in the bioassay-guided fractionation of natural product extracts.

Mixtures of drugs often have greater therapeutic value than any of their constituent drugs alone, and such combination therapies are widely used to treat diseases such as cancer, malaria, and viral infections. However, developing useful drug mixtures is challenging due to complex interactions between drugs. Natural substances can be fruitful sources of useful drug mixtures because secondary metabolites produced by living organisms do not often act in isolation in vivo. In order to facilitate the study of interactions within natural substances, a new analytical method to quantify interactions using data generated in the process of bioassay-guided fractionation is presented here: the extract fractional inhibitory concentration index (EFICI). The EFICI method uses the framework of Loewe additivity to calculate fractional inhibitory concentration values by which interactions can be determined for any combination of fractions that make up a parent extract. The EFICI method was applied to data on the bioassay-guided fractionation of Lechea mucronata and Schinus terebinthifolia for growth inhibition of the pathogenic bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii. The L. mucronata extract contained synergistic interactions (EFICI = 0.4181) and the S. terebinthifolia extract was non-interactive overall (EFICI = 0.9129). Quantifying interactions in the bioassay-guided fractionation of natural substances does not require additional experiments and can be useful to guide the experimental process and to support the development of standardized extracts as botanical drugs.

Study of influence of agro-industrial production of Perm region on honey condition

Honey is a unique product of nectar and pollen processing by bees, which is a sweet, viscous substance rich in amino acids, macro- and microelements. Honey in the modern world is used in many directions: cosmetology, cooking, medicine, as well as in the home for eating, treating cold diseases, massage, etc. Honey has high taste and nutritional qualities, is easily absorbed by the body. It is also a dietary food for the human body. The object of the study is honey purchased from individual entrepreneurs of Solikamsk and Osinsky districts of Perm region of Russia. The purpose of the study: to study veterinary - sanitary indicators of the honey sold on the counter of the city of Solikamsk, which came both from local producers and from the Osinsky district of Perm region. The priority task of this work was to assess the veterinary and sanitary quality of honey produced by beekeepers of Solikamsk city and compare its quality with honey from ecologically clean Osinsky district of Perm region. Studies were carried out to determine the basic physical and chemical values of the selected honey samples by free acidity, diastase number; mass fraction of water; The weight fraction of water insoluble substances; Weight ratio of reducing sugars, weight ratio of sucrose and other indicators. Studies have shown that some honey samples had an increased percentage of sucrose – 7.87, with a maximum allowed value of 5%. No excess of heavy metal ions was detected, which meets the safety requirements of the Technical Regulation.

The experimental data on the density, viscosity, and boiling temperature of the coffee extract

The paper shows the experimental data on the density, viscosity, and boiling temperature of the coffee extract. The mass fraction of the dry substances varies in the range of 15-70 % for all measurements. The coffee extract temperature varies in the rage of 20-80 °C for the density and viscosity measurements. It is found that the coffee extract density varies in the range of 1030-1350 kg/m3 for the considered cases. The coffee extract viscosity varies in the range of 0.0008-27.4810 Pa·s for the considered cases. The coffee extract boiling temperature varies in the range of 100.0-103.3 °C at atmospheric pressure. It was found that the coffee extract is foaming in the considered range of dry substances mass fraction. The foaming temperature is decreasing with the dry substances mass fraction increasing.

Humus substances content in agrochernozems using for cultivation of oilseeds in the Kansk forest-steppe

The agrochernozems of the Kansk forest-steppe used for the cultivation of rapeseed and camelina were characterized by a high humus content both in the 0–20 and 0–40 cm layer. The carbon content of humus (Chumus) (Dump) and carbon of water-soluble organic matter (CH2O) had a weak spatial variability (Cv = 1.3-11.7%), the content of carbon extracted with 0.1 n alkali (C0.1 n NaOH) had an average and very high degree of spatial variability (Cv = 18.7-66.1% ) The heterogeneity of the soil cover was a factor determining the average statistical decrease in the content of stocks of all fractions of humic substances, with the exception of water-soluble carbon of humus. Fields with a pronounced meso- and microrelief and the presence of thinner types of agrochernozems are recommended for use for the cultivation of camelina, as a crop less demanding on soil conditions than rape.

Comparing optical versus chromatographic descriptors of dissolved organic matter (DOM) for tracking the non-point sources in rural watersheds

Identification of the major dissolved organic matter (DOM) sources in watersheds is critical for an efficient management to control the non-point sources associated with DOM and for an understanding of the local carbon cycle. In this study, several DOM indicators, which are derived from fluorescence spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography, were compared for their applicability to track DOM sources in three forested-agricultural watersheds. Several potential source end-members were collected from upper catchments, which included fallen leaves, riparian reeds, riparian weeds, paddy soils, field soil, riverside soil, cow manure, swine manure, and poultry manure, and the values of their representative DOM descriptors were estimated along with those of the stream samples during high flow periods. The relative source contributions to streams were estimated via an end member mixing analysis using the paired descriptors that were selected based on the criteria in terms of the value ranges and the significant differences in stream samples between the high and low flow periods. Biological index (BIX) and the ratio of the terrestrial humic-like to the humic-like component were found to be optimum optical tracers, while the aromaticity and the C/N ratio of humic substance fraction were an applicable pair of chromatographic tracers. The optical tracers were superior to the latter because of more consistent and less variability in the assigned sources between the different streams in the same watersheds. The optical tracer-based estimations revealed that the major DOM sources to the high flow stream samples were soil (22.3%–58.5%) and manures (12.9%–51.3%). This comparative study provides new insights into the practical feasibility and the overlooked limitations of the common DOM descriptors for source discrimination.

Mechanistic insights into a novel nitrilotriacetic acid-Fe0 and CaO2 process for efficient anaerobic digestion sludge dewatering at near-neutral pH

Traditional Fenton or Fenton-like oxidation has been widely studied for waste activated sludge dewaterability. However, the narrow pH range (2.0–4.0) and the instabilities of Fe2+ and H2O2 have hindered its commercial application. Owing to the high alkalinity of anaerobic digestion (AD) sludge, traditional Fenton or Fenton-like oxidation is economically unfeasible for its dewatering. In this study, we successfully demonstrated a novel and feasible method that used nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA)-Fe0 combined with CaO2 (NTA-Fe0/CaO2) at near-neutral pH (∼6.0) (a slight pH adjustment) in which capillary suction time ratio (CST0/CST) and centrifuged weight reduction (CWR) improved by 6 folds and 42.98 ± 0.37%, respectively, under the optimal conditions. The presence of NTA accelerated the Fe0 corrosion, Fe2+ stability and turnover between Fe2+ and Fe3+. As such, Fe0 could effectively catalyze CaO2 to produce hydroxyl radicals (•OH) under near-neutral conditions. Accordingly, various molecular weight hydrophilic compounds in different extracellular polymeric substances fractions were significantly reduced after treatment. The hydrophilic functional groups especially protein molecules were largely reduced. Consequently, the viscosity of sludge and particle size effectively decreased, while the release of bound water, surface charge, flocculation, and flowability of sludge were improved. The cost-benefit analysis further demonstrated the NTA-Fe0/CaO2 treatment has high reusability and stability and is also more economical over the FeCl3/CaO and Fenton’s reagent/CaO treatments. In summary, the NTA-Fe0/CaO2 process is a cost-effective and practically feasible technology for improving AD sludge dewaterability.

Search for biologically active substances of natural origin based on low-polar conifer extracts

In recent years, research interest in the application of biologically active substances as a means of increasing the yield and stability of agricultural plants has been increasing. The main advantages of natural substances, which determines the prospects of their application in contemporary agricultural technologies, are seen in terms of their environmental safety and multifunctionality of action, including the ability to reduce various environmental stresses on plants. For both economic and ecological reasons, one of the main sources of biologically active substances consists of coniferous trees. Thus, an important task is presented in the search for new compounds from coniferous trees having growth-regulating and stress-protective properties as applied to various plants of commercial interest. In order to solve this problem, the growth-modulating and anti-stress biological activity of eight extracts containing compounds from needles and branches of three low-polar pine species (Pinus gen.) was tested using a model based on the Arabidopsis (thale cress) root and leaf rosette growth indicator. The obtained data confirmed the possibility of using the studied plant model for identifying the biological activity of low-polar metabolite extracts. Growth inhibition of the Arabidopsis main root, lateral roots and leaf rosettes by extracts and fractions of low-polar substances of the Pinus coniferous trees was demonstrated. The most significant growth inhibition of the main root was characteristic of the P. koraiensis (NIOC-28/1) needle hexane extract, while the neutral substances of the P. sibirica (NIOC-32/1) needle hexane extract suppressed the growth of both the main and accessory roots. The demonstrated allelopathic growth inhibition for Arabidopsis roots and leaf rosettes caused by extracts and fractions of low-polar substances of the Pinus coniferous trees shows the relevance of further study into the most active extracts for their possible application as herbicides. The absence of a positive effect for the studied extracts on the growth stability of the Arabidopsis root to heat shock was established.

Soil particle density as affected by soil texture and soil organic matter: 2. Predicting the effect of the mineral composition of particle-size fractions

The particle density of soil (ρS) represents one of the basic physical properties of soil. However, measurement of this parameter is not part of common routine soil inventories in most countries. Therefore, pedotransfer functions (PTFs) were developed to calculate ρS. Here, we used a complex, hierarchically structured PTF to calculate ρS, separating the soil mineral substance (SMS) into clay, silt and sand fractions as well as separating the soil organic matter (SOM) into heavy-density and low-density fractions. This PTF was recently published, and here, we introduced an additional hierarchical level to consider the particle size fraction-dependent effect of the mineral composition on ρS. This extended PTF was calibrated and validated using data from soils of 16 German long-term experiments contrasting in soil texture and in soil mineral composition. Χ-ray diffraction analysis was applied to identify the mineralogical composition of the clay, silt and sand fractions. We fitted the particle densities of the identified minerals occurring in the respective particle size fractions by minimising the squared differences between the measured and predicted ρS. The model performed very well (RMSE = 0.011 Mg m−3 soil). According to the mechanistic base of the model and its hierarchical structure, it is very easy to include available information about the composition of any fraction or subfraction of soil mineral substances and to use the model to calculate the ρS corresponding to the specific site conditions.

Atomic scale structure and surface chemistry of Fe oxides/carbonates-based composites precipitated at various temperatures via urea-supported hydrothermal synthesis

This is the first report of the atomic-scale structure in iron oxides/carbonates based composites produced at various autoclave temperatures from divalent Fe(II) precursor. It is also one of the first works which demonstrates how EXAFS simulation can be utilized to additionally characterize metal compound-based materials to estimate their properties associated with surface reactivity. Here we examine how greatly the autoclave temperature within a practical range of 120–180 °C affects the composition, structure, surface chemistry and adsorptive anion removal of three Fe-oxides/carbonates-built composites synthesized via urea-supported hydrothermal precipitation. Divalent Fe(II) precursor was used to promote redox transformations and consequently to increase number of phases/compounds. Complementary tools EXAFS, XPS and FTIR allowed to characterize the entire composites regardless of their crystallinity. It was defined that the autoclave temperature strongly influenced both the ratios between two substances (Fe oxides and Fe carbonates) in each material and speciation in each compound. Stronger reducing conditions at higher temperature in autoclave intensified generation of FeCO3-containing substances fraction of which was growing from 20.6 to 56.2–75.6% in the materials fabricated at 120, 150 and 180 °C, respectively. In neither of the three composites, local structure around Fe simulated using EXAFS oscillations reproduced arrangement of any known individual phase of Fe oxide or Fe carbonate. The data on adsorptive performance of the samples to six aqueous anions supported the recently proposed methodological suggestion which associates an extended x-ray absorption fine structure around the main atoms (here, Fe) in outer shells simulated using EXAFS oscillations with the material anion exchange ability. In this paper, we made another observation which for the first time relates the local structure in further shells fitted solely with O atoms with physisorbed water.

Optimization of Technological Modes of Extraction of Tea Raw Material Used in Emulsion Beverages Technology

The article observes the technological modes optimization of tea raw materials extraction (black tea and hibiscus tea beverage) used in the technology of emulsion drinks as natural food additives (dyes, flavorings, surfactants) and sources of valuable biologically active substances. The researchers studied the mass fraction dependence of soluble solids and vitamin C in tea extracts on the determining factors (hydromodule, duration and temperature) that affect the extraction kinetics of the biologically active substances using mathematical modeling. Based on the experiment results processing, a man obtained second-degree polynomial equations that adequately described the mathematical dependence of the mass fraction of soluble dry extract substances on the hydromodule and the extraction time. The researchers experimentally determined the optimal extraction parameters: time – 15 and 20 minutes; temperature – 70 and 60 °C for black tea and hibiscus drink, respectively; hydromodule – 1:5. The mass fraction of the functional ingredient (vitamin C) under the specified modes was from 84.6 to 189.2 mg/%. The researchers run the commodity quality evaluation of tea extracts obtained according to the developed parameters. On organoleptic and safety indicators tea extracts met the requirements of the current normative documentation.

The influence of different sludge concentrations on its dewaterability during bioleaching.

Bioleaching, a technologically and economically feasible technology, is considered as the high efficiency method to improve dewaterability in sewage sludge. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different sludge concentrations on bioleaching dewaterability and understand the mechanism of the effect of bioleaching on sludge dewaterability. Variation in pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), capillary suction time (CST), specific resistance to filtration (SRF) and different fractions of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) including slime EPS (S-EPS), loosely bound EPS (LB-EPS), and tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS) were determined. Different sludge concentrations (5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 g·L-1) were selected to investigate during bioleaching. Results indicated that sludge buffering capacity significantly inhibited bioleaching efficiency as sludge concentrations increased. Optimum enhancements in sludge dewaterability were observed during the 10 g·L-1 sludge concentration treatment, and reached a maximum when the pH was 2.11. The variation of different fractions of EPS revealed that the ratio of S-EPS/TB-EPS significantly affected sludge dewaterability. Principal component analysis and Pearson's correlation analysis both provided evidence that the higher TB-EPS followed by a very large reduction was positively correlated with sludge dewaterability. However, the increase of protein and DNA in S-EPS content was negatively correlated with sludge dewaterability.

The study of the main parameters affecting the efficiency of Claus reactor and construction of linguistic models for assessing the quality of produced sulfur

Analysis of the key technological factors of sulfur recovery process and their impact on operating efficiency of Claus reactor sulfur recovery unit at thermal and catalytic stages was carried out. The composition of acid gas entering Claus reactor and hydrogen sulfide (H2S); carbon dioxide (CO2), vapors of water, hydrocarbons, oxygen, COS and CS2, and their impact on sulfur recovery process were studied and analyzed. Dependence diagrams of the influence of selected technological factors on sulfur recovery process rates were constructed.The quality of the produced sulfur is estimated on the basis of linguistic models developed using the initial fuzzy information. Linguistic models are developed on the basis of recovery model of knowledge representation and they describe the dependence of sulfur quality indices (sulfur grade) from the mass fractions of sulfur, ash, organic substances, and water. To describe a fuzzy term ‘high quality’ of sulfur, structures of membership functions were determined.

Physicochemical characteristics of particulate matter emitted by diesel blending with various aromatics

To evaluate the effects of aromatics structure on physicochemical features of diesel exhaust particles, particulate samples emitted from diesel fuel and its mixtures with benzene, m-xylene and tetralin were characterized using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), Raman spectroscopy (RS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Results showed that diesel soot had the least reactivity among four particle samples, followed by diesel/tetralin soot, which the latter was less reactive than diesel/m-xylene and diesel/benzene soot. In this aspect, diesel fuel with high proportion of aromatics, especially monoaromatics, demands lower thermal energy input for diesel particulate filter (DPF) regeneration. Higher reactivity of diesel/aromatics soot was in line with the less ordered nanostructure. Fringe parameters obtained from HRTEM showed that fringe length of soot particles decreased in the order: diesel > diesel/tetralin > diesel/m-xylene > diesel/benzene, while both fringe tortuosity and separation distance exhibited the opposite trend with fringe length. Notably, the effects of fuel formulations on fringe parameters were slight. Moreover, both ID1/IG and AD1/AG values revealed that diesel soot had a greater ordered structure than diesel/aromatics soot. The mean primary particle diameters of diesel/aromatics soot were larger than those of soot from pure diesel fuel. After mixing with aromatics, the mass fraction of volatile substances in particle samples increased while elemental carbon contents decreased. According to XPS, no relationship was observed between the surface oxygen content (O/C ratio) and the soot reactivity.

Dissolved organic carbon and surface active substances in the northern Adriatic Sea: Long-term trends, variability and drivers

The paper presents a unique time series of organic matter content (dissolved organic carbon, DOC, and its surface active substances fraction, SAS) collected in the northern Adriatic along the Po-Rovinj transect between 1998 and 2017. The data were collected on a monthly or bimonthly basis. Seasonal variance of organic matter content does not exceed 30% of its total variance, while the DOC and the SAS trends are significantly negative and positive, respectively, over the whole transect. The organic matter content, however, exhibits pronounced interannual and decadal changes, with periods of high and low carbon content and evident changes in composition of the SAS content. The changes indicate altering episodes between eutrophication and oligotrophication, embedded in the overall oligotrophication trend in the considered period. Both series were correlated with the potential local and regional yearly-averaged drivers in both atmosphere and sea. DOC is most strongly (significant at 99%) correlated with the Po River discharges, at the phase lag of −1 to −2 years. For the SAS, the largest correlations (significant at 99%) are obtained with the Adriatic-Ionian Bimodal Oscillating System index (BiOS index), at the phase lag of −3 to −4 years. Correlations between the organic matter content and the hemispheric or the regional climate indices (North Atlantic Oscillation, East Atlantic/West Russia, East Atlantic, Scandinavian, and Mediterranean Oscillation) are much lower and only sparsely significant at 95% at some phase lags. The same was found for the other local drivers (precipitation and net heat flux). Our analysis highlights the importance of remote processes, like the BiOS, that weren't previously considered to shape the biogeochemical properties of such shallow coastal region impacted by freshwater load. To properly assess such impacts, long-term ecological monitoring and homogenized data series are required.

Responses of Exogenous Bacteria to Soluble Extracellular Polymeric Substances in Wastewater: A Mechanistic Study and Implications on Bioaugmentation.

Compared with the chemically defined synthetic wastewater (SynWW), real wastewater has been reported to exhibit distinct effects on microbial community development. Whether and how soluble microbial products in real wastewater contribute to different effects of synthetic and real wastewater on the fate of exogenous bacteria remains elusive. In this study, using a model wastewater bacterium Comamonas testosteroni, we first examined the influences of microfiltration filter-sterilized real wastewater (MF-WW) and SynWW on the retention of C. testosteroni in established wastewater flocs during bioaugmentation. In bioreactors fed with MF-WW, augmentation of C. testosteroni to wastewater flocs resulted in a substantially higher abundance of the augmented bacterial cells than those fed with SynWW. To identify the soluble microbial products in MF-WW contributing to the observed differences between bioaugmentation reactors fed with MF-WW and SynWW, we examined the effect of MF-WW and SynWW on the growth, floc formation, and biofilm development of C. testosteroni. When C. testosteroni grew in MF-WW, visible flocs formed within 2 h, which is in contrast to cell growth in SynWW where floc formation was not observed. We further demonstrated that the observed differences were mainly attributed to the high molecular weight fraction of the soluble extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in MF-WW, in particular, proteins and extracellular DNA. The DLVO analysis suggested that, in the presence of soluble EPS, the bacterial cell surface exhibits an increased hydrophobicity and a diminished energy barrier, leading to irreversible attachment of planktonic cells and floc formation. The RNA-seq based transcriptional analysis revealed that, in the presence of soluble EPS, genes involved in nonessential metabolisms were downregulated while genes coding for Cco (cbb3-type) and Cox (aa3-type) oxidases with different oxygen affinities were upregulated, facilitating bacterial survival in flocs. Taken together, this study reveals the mechanisms underlying the contribution of soluble EPS in real wastewater to the recruitment of exogenous bacteria by microbial aggregates and provides implications to bioaugmentation.

Anaerobic hybrid membrane bioreactor for treatment of synthetic leachate: Impact of organic loading rate and sludge fractions on membrane fouling

In the present study, the treatment of synthetic landfill leachate was carried out using a lab-scale anaerobic hybrid membrane bioreactor (An-HMBR). The reactor was operated for 250 days at two days of hydraulic retention time (HRT). Average chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency was ≥ 88% at steady-state conditions at 100% raw leachate. As organic loading rate (OLR) increased from 1.6 to 13.9 Kg COD m−3 d−1, flux gradually declined from 70 to 52 L/m2 h (LMH) within 250 days. Chemical membrane cleaning enhanced the flux up to 75% of the initial flux at the final stage of the reactor. Reversible fouling (>90%) dominated over irreversible fouling (<8%). Membrane fouling was mainly caused by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) fraction, which resulted in cake layer formation on the ceramic membrane used in the An-HMBR system. Membrane resistance increased with variables in the following order OLR > MLSS (mixed liquor suspended solids) > EPS > SMP (soluble microbial products). A nonlinear regression model developed for prediction of membrane resistance at different OLR can predict with an error of ±7%.

Assessing Redox Properties of Natural Organic Matters with regard to Electron Exchange Capacity and Redox-Active Functional Groups

Redox processes in groundwater play an important role in bioavailability, toxicity, and mobility of redox-active elements and contaminants. A recent study has demonstrated that low-molecular-weight fraction (LMWF) of humic substances with great number of redox-active functional groups (RAFGs) exhibits great reducing capacity. However, whether LMWF of natural organic matter (NOM) exhibits high redox capacity still remains unclear. Therefore, this study extracted Pahokee peat NOM (PPNOM) and Leonardite NOM (LNOM) from soils, and then LMWFs in these NOMs were collected using a dialysis method. Electron exchange capacities (EEC) and RAFGs of LMWF NOMs at different Eh were analyzed using a novel electrochemical method and a three-dimensional excitation emission fluorescence (3DEEM) spectroscopy. We found that the reducing capacity in LMWF PPNOM was approximately 5-6 times higher than the bulk NOM, while only 7.8% LMWF PPNOM was accounted for in the bulk NOM. An increasing in EEC (EAC + EDC, where EAC is the electron accepting capacity and EDC is the electron donating capacity) of LMWF PPNOM and LNOM with Eh reduced from −0.49 V to −0.69 V. Additionally, an obvious increase in fluorescent intensities of quinone-like fluorophores before and after being reduced LMWF LNOM is responsible for high EAC of LMWF LNOM. These findings provide a better understanding of relationship between RAFGs Eh in LMWF of NOM, further helping in predicting and protection of groundwater environment and fate of transformation and transport for redox-active contaminants in groundwater.

Nutrients Enrichment and Process Repercussions in Hybrid Microfiltration Osmotic Membrane Bioreactor: A Guideline for Forward Osmosis Development Based on Lab-Scale Experience

The effects of reverse salt diffusion through a forward osmosis membrane were studied in a microfiltration osmotic membrane bioreactor. The reactor was used to treat and simultaneously concentrate nutrients from wastewater. The system was operated at different draw solution concentrations, leading to varying salinity conditions. A relatively low, yet stable forward osmosis flux was observed regardless of increasing draw solution conductivities from 10 to 50 mS cm−1. A substantial increase in sludge conductivity from 5.7 to 19.8 mS cm−1 was observed during the operation. Batch transmembrane pressure-step experiments showed a decline in sludge filtration properties with increasing salinity buildup in sludge due to increasing deflocculation and associated release of protein and carbohydrate fractions of extracellular polymeric substances. Mathematical simulations showed that accumulation of total dissolved solids could mainly be attributed to reverse flux of salts from the draw solution rather than by the enrichment of incoming nutrients when forward osmosis membrane’s salt permeability was high and water permeability low. Ideally, salt permeability below 0.010 L m−2 h−1 and effective water permeability above 0.13 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 are crucial to ensure enhanced nutrient enrichment and reduce sludge osmotic pressure, microbial inactivation, sludge deflocculation and membrane fouling.

Feasibility Studies on the Effect of Natural Plant Compounds on Sludge Characteristics in a Batch-Type Aerobic Reactor and N-butyryl-L Homoserine Lactone

Quorum quenching using different kinds of inhibitors is a new subject of research that is used for biofilm prevention in wastewater treatment membrane systems. In this study, three natural compounds, namely tea, coffee and vanillin, were tested in order to evaluate their possible effects on wastewater sludge characteristics in a batch type aerobic reactor. The parameters evaluated included the soluble microbial products (total soluble microbial products, protein and carbohydrate fraction of soluble microbial products), extracellular polymeric substance concentrations (total extrapolymeric substances, protein and carbohydrate fraction of the extrapolymeric substances), floc size, zeta potential, sludge volume index and capillary suction time. The effects of these plant based compounds upon the quorum sensing N-butyryl-L-homoserine lactone signal were also investigated using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) under optimized conditions. The results indicated different effects for each natural compound upon the sludge characteristics. The role of these natural compounds as quorum quenchers in the batch-type aerobic reactor was inconclusive due to their effects on extraction outputs. Understanding the effect of quorum quenchers on sludge characteristics is important and recent studies have been aimed at preventing biofilm formation in membrane bioreactors.

Authenticity Identification of Carbonated Alcochol-Free Beverages

The article concerns the counterfeiting problem of non-alcoholic drinks sold on the consumer market of the Russian Federation; provides data on drinks fraud methods (assortment, qualitative, quantitative and informational types). Strengthening quality control of soft drinks is one of the main directions of providing consumers with qualitative products. The authors presented authenticity identification results of carbonated soft drinks sold on the Kemerovo consumer market for compliance with the current regulatory documents requirements; run the consumer criteria analysis for the drinks identification of various brands. They obtained data on the labeling and packaging identification of selected non-alcoholic carbonated drinks samples for the compliance with current regulatory documents. A man recorded the compliance. There was an absence of the quantitative counterfeiting identification. The study described results of the organoleptic and physico-chemical quality indicators research. According to the GOST 28188-2014 “Non-Alcoholic Beverages. General Technical Conditions” the authors evaluated beverages quality by such physical and chemical indicators as the mass fraction of dry substances, acidity, and the mass fraction of carbon dioxide. The researchers run the organoleptic indicators analysis according to a score system. Authenticity identification of the selected drinks samples showed that there are no signs of counterfeiting and the products are of high quality.