Characteristics of Far-Infrared Ray Emitted from Functional Loess Bio-Balls and Its Effect on Improving Blood Flow.

XRD diffraction and IR absorption were investigated for raw loess powder and heat-treated loess powder. Raw loess retains its useful minerals, but loses their beneficial properties when calcined at 850 °C and 1050 °C. To utilize the useful minerals, loess balls were made using a low-temperature wet-drying method. The radiant energy and transmittance were measured for the loess balls. Far-infrared ray (FIR) emitted from loess bio-balls is selectively absorbed as higher vibrational energy by water molecules. FIR can raise the body's core temperature, thereby improving blood flow through the body's thermoregulatory mechanism. In an exploratory study with 40 participants, when the set temperature of the loess ball mat was increased from 25 °C to 50 °C, blood flow increased by 39.01%, from 37.48 mL/min to 52.11 mL/min, in the left middle finger; in addition, it increased by 39.62%, from 37.15 mL/min to 51.87 mL/min, in the right middle finger. The FIR emitted from loess balls can be widely applied, in various forms, to diseases related to blood flow, such as cold hands and feet, diabetic foot, muscle pain, and menstrual pain.

Biological ball filters regulate bacterial communities in marron (Cherax cainii) culture system.

This study aimed to characterize the bacterial communities in rearing water treated with commercial plastic biological ball filters named as Bio-ball in marron culture for 60 days. Inclusion of Bio-ball in the aquaculture tanks showed improvement in water quality parameters and enrichment of bacterial communities in terms of operational taxonomic units. The water treated with Bio-ball showed significantly less nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, phosphorus and high dissolved oxygen concentration than untreated control group. At phylum level, Proteobacteria was dominant in both control and treated water, whereas Firmicutes was found to be significantly (P < 0·05) enriched in Bio-ball treated water. Among the classified genus, Aquabacterium and Polunucleobacter were most dominant in control and Bio-ball treated water respectively. Linear Discriminant Analysis Effect Size exhibited 31 indicator bacterial genus, 10 in control and 21 in treated condition, suggesting the enrichment of microbial lineages with addition of Bio-ball. The bacteria Haliscomenobacter, Hypnocyclicus, Pajaroellobacter and Vibrio were found to be significantly (P < 0·001) correlated with higher pH, nitrate, nitrite, phosphorus and ammonia in control tanks, whereas Corynebacterium was linked to higher temperature in treated water. Overall results suggest that Bio-ball filter media significantly improved the water quality and microbial populations in aquaculture tanks. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The results of this study revealed the positive impacts of Bio-ball in enrichment of microbial flora associated with the degradation process of nitrogenous and organic compounds. Bio-ball also showed the capability to prevent the colonization of harmful bacteria, and favoured the growth of beneficial microbes in aquatic system. This study therefore could pave the ways of increasing the aquaculture production by improving the water quality.

Culture scale-up and immobilisation of a mixed methanotrophic consortium for methane remediation in pilot-scale bio-filters.

Robust methanotrophic consortia for methane (CH4) remediation and by-product development are presently not readily available for industrial use. In this study, a mixed methanotrophic consortium (MMC), sequentially enriched from a marine sediment, was assessed for CH4 removal efficiency and potential biomass-generated by-product development. Suitable packing material for bio-filters to support MMC biofilm establishment and growth was also evaluated. The enriched MMC removed ∼7-13% CH4 under a very high gas flow rate (2.5 L min-1; 20-25% CH4) in continuous-stirred tank reactors (∼10 L working volume) and the biomass contained long-chain fatty acids (i.e. C16 and C18). Cultivation of the MMC on plastic bio-balls abated ∼95-97% CH4 in pilot-scale non-sterile outdoor-operated bio-filters (0.1 L min-1; 1% CH4). Contamination by cyanobacteria had beneficial effects on treating low-level CH4, by providing additional oxygen for methane oxidation by MMC, suggesting that the co-cultivation of MMC with cyanobacterial mats does not interfere with and may actually be beneficial for remediation of CH4 and CO2 at industrial scale.