Cost comparison of full-scale water reclamation technologies with an emphasis on membrane bioreactors.

The paper assesses the costs of full-scale membrane bioreactors (MBRs). Capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenses (OPEX) of Spanish MBR facilities have been verified and compared to activated sludge plants (CAS) using water reclamation treatment (both conventional and advanced). Spanish MBR facilities require a production of 0.6 to 1.2 kWh per m3, while extended aeration (EA) and advanced reclamation treatment require 1.2 kWh per m3. The energy represents around 40% of the OPEX in MBRs. In terms of CAPEX, the implementation costs of a CAS facility followed by conventional water reclamation treatment (physical-chemical + sand filtration + disinfection) ranged from 730 to 850 €.m-3d, and from 1,050 to 1,250 €.m-3d in the case of advanced reclamation treatment facilities (membrane filtration) with a capacity of 8,000 to 15,000 m3d-1. The MBR cost for similar capacities ranges between 700 and 960 €.m-3d. This study shows that MBRs that have been recently installed represent a cost competitive option for water reuse applications for medium and large capacities (over 10,000 m3d-1), with similar OPEX to EA and conventional water reclamation treatment. In terms of CAPEX, MBRs are cheaper than EA, followed by advanced water reclamation treatment.

Neonatal acute stress by novelty in the absence of social isolation decreases fearfulness in young chicks.

Two hours after hatching (Day 0), groups of chicks from both sexes were housed either individually (IND) or socially in pairs (SOC) for 24 h. On Day 1, for each of the two conditions, half of the chicks were individually exposed to early novelty for 10 min, which comprised being placed in a novel-cage with small pebbles glued to the floor. The other half (controls) remained in the home-cage (IND-C and SOC-C). Thus, the IND-N group was exposed to early novelty, and the SOC-N+I group was exposed to early novelty and social isolation. Subsequently, all groups were mixed and socially reared until reaching 15 days of age. At this time, chicks were exposed to open field (OF) and tonic immobility (TI) tests. The IND-N group showed a shorter latency to ambulate in the OF test, shorter immobility duration in the TI test, a reduced plasma corticosterone concentration and increased flunitrazepam sensitive-GABA(A) receptor basal forebrain density compared with other groups, indicating that a neonatal novelty induced lower fearfulness in young chicks. In contrast, the effect of neonatal novelty was abolished by a simultaneous effect of social isolation in the SOC-N+I group. Thus, early post-hatch life events such as early novelty could improve a bird's later ability to cope with new stressful events. In addition, it is possible that both novelty and social isolation act on different neurobiological processes.

Acute stress or systemic insulin injection increases flunitrazepam sensitive-GABAA receptor density in synaptosomes of chick forebrain: Modulation by systemic epinephrine.

Interactions between acute stress and systemic insulin and epinephrine on GABAA receptor density in the forebrain were studied. Here, 10 day-old chicks were intraperitoneally injected with insulin, epinephrine or vehicle and then immediately stressed by partial water immersion for 15 min and killed by decapitation. Non-stressed controls were similarly injected, then returned to their rearing boxes for 15 min and then killed. Forebrains were dissected and GABAA receptor density was measured ex vivo in synaptosomes by 3[H]-flunitrazepam binding assay. In non-stressed chicks, insulin at 1.25, 2.50 and 5.00 IU/kg of body weight (non-hypoglycemic doses) increased Bmax by 33, 53 and 44% compared to saline, respectively. A similar increase of 41% was observed in receptor density after stress. However, the insulin effect was not additive to the stress-induced increase suggesting that both effects occur through similar mechanisms. In contrast, epinephrine, at 0.25 and 0.5 mg/kg did not induce any changes in Bmax in non-stressed chicks. Nevertheless, after stress these doses increased the receptor density by about 13 and 27%, respectively. Similarly, the same epinephrine doses co-administered with insulin (2.50 IU/kg), increased the receptor density by about 20% compared to insulin alone. These results suggest that systemic epinephrine, perhaps by evoking central norepinephrine release, modulates the increase in forebrain GABAA receptor binding induced by both insulin and stress.

Effects of phosphorylation and cytoskeleton-affecting reagents on GABA(A) receptor recruitment into synaptosomes following acute stress.

The [3H]-flunitrazepam receptor density, measured ex vivo in synaptosomes at 4 degrees C, increased by about 30% because of acute stress in chicks. This increase was first reported to be a receptor recruitment due to the fact that the increase induced by subsolubilizing concentrations of Triton X-100 was not additive to the receptor increase induced by acute stress [J Neural Transm 87 (1992) 97]. In synaptosomal membranes from stressed chicks, the incorporation of alkaline phosphatase or ATP into the lumen abolished or increased, respectively, the receptor unmasking after incubation at 4 and 37 degrees C, suggesting that phosphorylation plays a role in the recruitment mechanism. Moreover, both colchicine and vinblastine, but not taxol, abolished the recruitment induced by stress at 37 degrees C only in synaptosomes, suggesting that micrutubule depolymerization plays a role in the masking of receptors. Furthermore, both cytochalasins C and D induced an increase of the receptor density, abolished by N-ethylmaleimide, in both the stressed and nonstressed conditions, suggesting that microfilament depolymerization induced the exposure to the radioligand of a cytosolic vesicular receptor pool, which had not fused yet with the postsynaptic membrane.

Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate induced flunitrazepam sensitive-GABAA receptor increase in synaptosomes from chick forebrain.

The flunitrazepam sensitive-GABA(A) receptor density was increased by cytochalasins C and D at 37 degrees C suggesting that microfilament depolymerization induces exposure to the radioligand of a GABA(A) receptor in synaptosomes (Pharm Biochem Behav 72 (2002) 497). Similarly, phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (1-5 microM), but not a mixture of phospholipids, induced an increase of GABA(A) receptors in synaptosomes. Furthermore, N-ethyl maleimide, an inactivator of the sensitive fusion protein, which interacts with GABA(A) receptor, abolished the receptor increase induced by phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate. Together, the results suggest that phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate, acts via microfilament depolymerization increasing the binding of the radioligand to receptors possibly by modulation of their interaction with proteins involved in trafficking and docking mechanisms.

Un nuevo método radiorreceptor para la cuantificación de benzodiazepinas en fluidos biológicos / A new radioreceptor method for the quantification of benzodiazepines in biological fluids

Se desarrolló un método radiorreceptor, relativamente rápido y de bajo costo, para determinar concentraciones de benzodiazepinas en fluidos biológicos. El método se basa en el hecho que la cantidad de [3H]-flunitrazepam incorporada específicamente, por fotomarcado, en receptores de membranas sinaptosomales, está relacionada cuantitativamente con la cantidad de benzodiazepina no radiactiva presente en el medio de incubación. Después del fotomarcado, las membranas fueron tratadas con ácido tricloroacético, y el sedimento obtenido fue lavado con acetona para eliminar el [3H]-flunitrazepam remanente, no unido. La preparación de receptor, constituida por membranas liofilizadas obtenidas a partir de corteza de cerebro bovino, fue estable durante seis meses por lo menos. El análisis estadístico de los gráficos logit-log de las curvas de desplazamiento con varias benzodiazepinas, mostró los siguientes valores de IC50: clonazepam, 1,6 nM; flunitrazepam, 3,8 nM; nitrazepam, 15,3 nM; diazepam, 43,2 nM; y clorodiazepóxido, 7,4 micronM, valores que se correlacionaron significativamente con los correspondientes valores determinados por otro método. Los valores de concentración correspondientes a benzodiazepinas no identificadas, extraídas de sangre, fueron expresados en equivalentes de diazepam. La sensibilidad para diazepam fue 3,3 nM, y los niveles de dosis entre 15 y 138 nM, mostraron valores de coeficiente de variación intra e inter ensayo, variando desde 3,4 a 12,2%, y desde 13 a 30,7%, respectivamente