Photosynthetic biofilm reactor (PBR) for nutrient removal from wastewater

Faculty advisor: Bo HuThis research was supported by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Hydrogeochemistry of the Paravanar River Sub-Basin, Cuddalore District, Tamilnadu, India

To assess the groundwater quality of the Paravanar river basin, groundwater data were collected by conventional methods. Hydrogeochemical facies of groundwater of study area reveals fresh to brackish and alkaline in nature. Piper plot shows that most of the groundwater samples fall in the mixed field of Ca-Mg-Cl type. Using GIS mapping technique, major element concentration of groundwater has been interpolated and studied. Groundwater thematic maps on electrical conductivity (EC), hydrogen ion concentration, bicarbonates, chlorides and nitrates were prepared from the groundwater quality data. Different classes in thematic maps were categorized as i) good, ii) moderate and iii) poor with respect to groundwater quality. Northeast and southeast parts of the study area represent the doubtful water class regarding the concentration of EC to represent connate nature of water adjacent to the coast. NNE (North-North-East) and southern parts of the study area have pH ranging from 7 to 8 indicating acidic nature as they were from the weathered Cuddalore sandstone. As northern part of the study area is irrigated, fertilizer used for agriculture may be the source for increase in concentration of nitrates. Chloride clusters in the south central part of the study area from coast up to NLC mines and reveals the chloridization of aquifer in 48 years either due to upwelling of connate water from the deeper aquifer as a result of depressurization of Neyveli aquifer for the safe mining of lignite

Evaluation of High Throughput Scale-Down Models and Scale-Up of an Intensified Dynamic Cell Culture Platform Process

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Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background: Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods: The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results: A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion: Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)

Effect of Fermentation Parameters on Extra Cellular Tannase Production by Lactobacillus plantarum MTCC 1407

Lactobacillus plantarum MTCC 1407 represents a valuable source of an economically attractive stable long-life tannase with potential for application in various industries. The effect of fermentation parameters such as pH, temperature and agitation speed on the growth of biomass and production of tannase using liquid medium were determined at the end of fermentation period. The optimum values of pH, reaction temperature and agitation speed for tannase activity were 6.0, 30 °C and 125 rpm respectively. The maximum tannase activity was found to be 9.29 U/mL