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The hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) resistance of four (4) L80 casing steels, with different nominal compositions and processing conditions, was determined using the NACE TM0284 HIC test. Microstructural and inclusion characterization of each steel was undertaken using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The morphology (equivalent diameter, aspect ratio and major length) of inclusions over identical analysis regions were measured for each steel. In total, >15,000 inclusions were characterized. Non-linear models correlating inclusion morphology with the measured values of CLR (crack length ratio) and CTR (crack thickness ratio) were developed. The models show that both CLR and CTR are complex functions of the diameter (equivalent) of oxide-based inclusions and the major length of the manganese sulfide (MnS) stringers. The models show that oxides <10 μm in diameter were found to have negligible effect on HIC resistance (CLR) while oxides >20 μm exhibited a significant and escalating negative impact on HIC resistance comparable to long (>50 μm) MnS stringers.

Physiological measures indicative of the welfare status of animals during rearing could form part of an abattoir-based animal health and welfare assessment tool. A total of 66 pigs were used in this study, the aim of which was to assess how serum concentrations of haptoglobin (Hp) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (assessed in 51 pigs), and hair concentrations of cortisol (assessed in 65 pigs), measured at or close to slaughter, reflected welfare-related indicators recorded from the animal during its lifetime. These indicators were recorded at intervals between 7 and 21 weeks of age and included assigning scores for levels of tail and skin lesions, recording the presence or absence of certain health issues, and conducting qualitative behavioural assessments (QBA). Pigs recorded as having tail lesions during their lifetime had higher hair cortisol levels than those with no tail lesions (tail lesions: 47.87 ± 3.34 pg/mg, no tail lesions: 42.20 ± 3.29 pg/mg, P= 0.023), and pigs recorded as having moderate or severe tail lesions had higher Hp levels than those with no or mild tail lesions (moderate/severe: 1.711 mg/ml ± 0.74, none/mild: 0.731 mg/ml ±0.10, P= 0.010). Pigs recorded as being lame during their lifetime tended to have higher hair cortisol levels than non-lame pigs (lame: 52.72 pg/mg ± 3.83, not lame: 43.07 pg/mg ± 2.69, P= 0.062). QBA scores were not associated with any of the physiological measures (P> 0.05). Receiver Operator Curve (ROC) analysis was also carried out to get a better understanding of the usefulness of the physiological measures in discriminating animals that had had welfare-related issues recorded during their lifetime from those that had not. Hair cortisol was determined as having ‘moderate’ accuracy in discriminating pigs that were tail bitten on-farm from unbitten pigs (AUC: 0.748) while Hp and CRP were determined to have no meaningful discriminatory ability (AUC < 0.600). This research should be repeated on a larger scale, but the results suggest that hair cortisol measured at slaughter could provide insight into the welfare status of pigs during their lifetime. Hp may be a useful indicator of tail lesions in pigs. However, further research utilising a greater proportion of severely bitten pigs is required before conclusions can be drawn.

A Gleeble® thermo-mechanical simulator combined with microstructure characterization using a field emission scanning electron microscope was used to provide insights into the seam weld formation during resistance welding (RW). Gleeble® was used to physically/microstructurally simulate the seam weld formation during RW for the first time. It was found that a peak temperature of 1500°C and 10-mm stroke produced a microstructure in the solid-state bondline, the flash, and the heat-affected zone similar to the resistance welded pipe manufactured in an industrial scale. Using the force response obtained during seam weld formation in Gleeble®, microstructure characterization of the seam weld, and thermodynamic calculations, it is proposed the seam weld in a resistance weld consists of a mushy zone with delta ferrite and solute-enriched liquid, which solidifies into austenite, and on post welding cooling, transforms into ferrite and stringers of M/A, respectively. The presence of a mushy zone in the weld joints provides a physical explanation for the "decarburization" phenomenon observed in the seam of resistance welds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important aspect of the integrity of oil and gas pipelines is the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of girth welds where the microstructure of the as-hot rolled steel is altered with potentially adverse effects on the HAZ properties. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate the HAZ microstructure for different welding scenarios. Here, an integrated microstructure evolution model is proposed and applied to the HAZ of an X80 linepipe steel. The model considers dissolution of Nb-rich precipitates, austenite grain growth and austenite decomposition into ferrite and bainite. Microstructure maps showing the fraction of transformation products as a function of distance from the fusion line are obtained and used to compare the effect of different welding procedures on the HAZ microstructure.

An important aspect of the integrity of oil and gas pipelines is the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of girth welds where the microstructure of the as-hot rolled steel is altered with potentially adverse effects on the HAZ properties. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate the HAZ microstructure for different welding scenarios. Here, an integrated microstructure evolution model is proposed and applied to the HAZ of an X80 linepipe steel. The model considers dissolution of Nb-rich precipitates, austenite grain growth and austenite decomposition into ferrite and bainite. Microstructure maps showing the fraction of transformation products as a function of distance from the fusion line are obtained and used to compare the effect of different welding procedures on the HAZ microstructure.

Objective:: Birth is less safe than it can be. We adapted the UK-developed PROMPT™ (PRactical Obstetric Multi-Professional Training) course to local practices and initiated annual training. Study Design:: This observational study used quality assurance data from University of Kansas Hospital 2 years before and 7 years after intervention encompassing 14?309 consecutive deliveries from January 2006 through December 2014. An events/trials approach was applied to changes in proportions over time. Result:: PROMPT™ was associated with progressive decreases in rates (P&lt;0.05) of brachial plexus injury and umbilical artery pH &lt;7.00 exclusive of catastrophic events. Reduced rates (P&lt;0.05) of cesarean section, episiotomy and higher perception of nurse/physician communication were documented. Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) rates declined progressively by >50% (P=NS). These improvements occurred despite younger faculty and higher rates of complicated pregnancies (P&lt;0.05). Estimated health-care costs avoided exceeded annual training costs. Conclusion:: Local annual multi-professional training as provided by PROMPT™ was temporally associated with improved obstetric outcomes.

We show that Quantum Molecular Dynamics provides a powerful tool to extend and benchmark current opacities libraries into the complex regime of warm dense matter. In this regime, the medium can be constituted of electrons, protons, atoms and molecules, while plasma and many-body effects can not be treated as perturbations. Among the most notable features of this new approach for calculating Rosseland mean opacities is the ability to obtain a consistent set of material (equation-of-state), optical and electrical properties for various mixtures from the same simulation.

The article discusses the challenges to conducting a welfare risk assessment in farm animals. The authors suggest that risk assessment is adopted to study welfare problems across different species in order to set priorities in terms of policy-making. The main factors to risk assessment are the intensity of consequences, the duration affected by consequences and the prevalence. The authors believe that it is also important to know about the hazards themselves.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignancy in men. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) plays an important role in the management of locally advanced and metastatic PCa. Its use in combination with external beam radiation and as an adjuvant therapy has resulted in improved survival in a subset of patients with locally advanced disease. In men with metastatic disease, ADT results in improvement in pain and overall quality of life. In addition to these two clinical settings where ADT has proven benefits, it is also being increasingly used in patients experiencing biochemical recurrence and those with early stage localized disease, even though no survival advantage has been demonstrated. ADT has significant adverse effects such as sexual dysfunction, decreased lean mass, increased fat mass, decreased quality of life, anemia, and osteoporosis. Recently, insulin resistance, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome have emerged as complications of ADT. Some data also suggests that ADT might be responsible for incident cardiovascular disease. Since the majority of men with PCa die of conditions other than their malignancy, recognition and management of these adverse effects is important. This paper serves as a focused review of recent studies examining the metabolic abnormalities and cardiovascular disease related to ADT.

The article evaluates existing studies concerning inherited diseases in local horse breeds. The research was performed on electronic bibliographic databases for published research and online databases of inherited diseases in animals, where 102 of 203 studies addressed inherited diseases on horses. Results showed that 47 breeds of horses in Great Britain were claimed to be predisposed to one or more inherited diseases, which were caused by either genetic or environmental factors.

The problem of transverse crack formation in continuously cast steel has been an issue for over 30 years. The crack susceptibility depends not only to the steel composition, but also to the temperature history during casting. To improve the surface quality, two key solutions have been suggested; adjusting the straightening stage to an appropriate temperature range, out of hot ductility trough, and/or alloy modification. These solutions have certain limitations and difficulties still exist for grades such as peritectic steels containing Nb or V. In this article, the hot ductility of a peritectic steel grade with Nb has been studied under direct cast conditions. This was performed using a Gleeble 3800 thermo-mechanical simulator under two critical strain rates. In addition, the transverse crack formation and appearance, as well as the application of infrared camera to study the surface temperature profile of the slabs is presented.

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data provides a powerful technique to identify subsurface buried threats. Although GPR data contains a three-dimensional representation of the subsurface, object truth (i.e. labels and positions of true threat objects in training lanes) is often provided in only two dimensions (GPS coordinates along the earth's surface). To mitigate uncertainty in an object's location in depth, many successful feature extraction/ object recognition techniques in GPR extract feature vectors from several depth regions, and attempt to combine information across these feature vectors to make final decisions. However, many machine learning techniques are not well suited for learning under these conditions. Multiple Instance Learning (MIL) is a type of supervised learning method in which labels are available for sets of samples, but not for individual samples. The goal of learning in MIL is to classify new sets of samples as they become available. This set-based framework is useful in processing GPR responses since features are often extracted independently from multiple un-labeled depth bins, and thus a set of features is produced at each potential threat location. In this work, a comparison of several previous approaches to MlL applied to landmine detection in GPR data is presented. One recent algorithm, the p-Posterior Mixture Model approach (pPMM) is given special attention, and several slight modifications to the pPMM approach are presented and compared.

Each year in Canada, there are an estimated 90 deaths and approximately 90,000 illnesses caused by contaminated drinking water. These estimates are likely low due to under-reporting. A disproportionate number of these illnesses occur in Indigenous communities where poor water quality, inadequate treatment of drinking water, lack of running water and poor sanitation, and substandard health services all contribute to a growing public health problem.

The article presents a study which examined the use of risk analysis and severity diagrams as means of mapping the overall problem of inherited disorders in pedigree dogs and, more specifically, the welfare impact of specific diseases in particular breeds. Welfare hazard in terms of risk assessment is characterized by the intensity of the adverse effect that the hazard causes, among others. One method for comparing different inherited diseases in the absence of reliable prevalence data is to consider the relative severity of conditions.

The universal serial bus (USB) is a phenomenally successful connection standard. Although its arrival on PCs was not accompanied by working drivers, once the key operating systems had been updated, it rapidly replaced clunky D-type serial connectors and unwieldy parallel printer cables, and has now spread to almost everything you can connect to a computer, from digital cameras to novelty office rocket launchers. USB will add wireless and higher speed variants if standards makers can overcome some tricky issues.

ABSTRACTTo study different activation states in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) in mice, we compared the function of murine PMN obtained from the bone marrow (BMPMN) with those of PMN obtained by intraperitoneal induction with thioglycolate (TGPMN) or uric acid (UAPMN). When stimulated with chemotactic peptides, e.g., formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLF), WKYMVM, or WKYMVm, the TGPMN and UAPMN showed greatly enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) compared with BMPMN, which suggests that exudation to the peritoneum per se induces a primed state in the cells. The WKYMVm peptide was the most potent stimulant of ROS generation, and it desensitized for subsequent stimulation with fMLF or WKYMVM. This desensitization was broken by the addition of cytochalasin B. The TGPMN and UAPMN appeared to be fully primed, since no increase in response was induced by pretreatment with tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-a). In contrast, the BMPMN response was increased 2.5- to 3-fold. The differences in oxidative responses were supported by degranulation studies. Preincubation with TNF-a promoted CR3 expression on BMPMN, and this level of expression was also enhanced by WKYMVm. In contrast, CR3 expression on untreated TGPMN and UAPMN was already similar to that on TNF-a-primed BMPMN and could be only slightly enhanced by TNF-a treatment. Taken together, these results indicate that BMPMN are in a resting state and have the capacity to become primed, while peritoneal exudate PMN are already fully primed upon isolation. These results have major implications for murine neutrophil research and show the importance of defining which PMN subsets to use when investigating murine models.

Through solving the three-dimensional (3D) time-dependent Schrödinger equation, we have investigated how an intense, circularly/elliptically-polarized, few-cycle pulse rotates the electronic wave packets of a dissociated diatomic molecule. When such rotating wave packets from one atomic core sweep quickly through the other nucleus, recombination occurs and generates a supercontinuum radiation spectrum. The numerical solution of the Maxwell equation for the 3D propagation of such supercontinuum radiation in realistic molecular gases has confirmed the generation of a single attosecond (as) pulse, with a duration of ~186 as. Moreover, the proposed scheme can push the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pulse generation down to the sub-100-attosecond regime. As an example, we have shown a single EUV pulse of ~90 as, using an elliptical driving pulse.

In this study we show that human dendritic cells (DC), productively infected with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), activate CD8+ T cells that suppress antigen-specific and alloreactive CD4+ T cell expansion. Addition of CD8+ T cells to cultures of DC and CD4+ T cells blocked CD4+ T-cell proliferation in response to HSV-2–infected but not to uninfected DC. The effect was independent of prior HSV exposure or cognate MHC class I–restricted CD8-DC recognition as it was induced in CD8+ T cells from HSV-2–seronegative individuals and in mixed lymphocyte reactions using allogeneic DC. Both CD8+ CD25+ and CD8+ CD25− cells were shown to have suppressive capacities. The blood-derived CD25+ CD8+ T cells did not express Foxp3 mRNA but had a bona fide antiproliferative capacity in response to both uninfected and HSV-2–infected DC, whereas the CD25-CD8+ T cells were selectively activated to become antiproliferative by HSV-2–infected DC. These data imply that HSV infection of DC could modulate the immune response by activating CD8+ T cells.

Complete two-photon break-up of He near threshold has been investigated by solving the time-dependent closing-coupling equations on a numerical lattice. We have obtained good agreement for the total double ionization cross-section with previous theoretical results. The triple-differential cross-sections exhibit interesting features as the two-photon energy approaches the threshold of double ionization. We found that two-electron ejection with equal energy sharing is most probable near the two-photon threshold, in contrast to the case away from threshold, where ejection with large unequal energy sharings is most probable.

We report that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is inflammatogenic in vitro and in vivo as a result of the presence of unmethylated CpG sequences and its oxidative status. Purified human and murine mtDNAs induced arthritis when injected intra‐articularly (i.a.) in mice. Importantly, oligodeoxynucleotide that contained a single oxidatively damaged base also induced arthritis when injected i.a. in mice. In contrast, neither human nor murine nuclear DNA induced inflammation. mtDNA‐induced arthritis was neither B cell‐ nor T cell‐dependent but was mediated by monocytes/macrophages. mtDNA‐induced nuclear factor‐κB stimulation resulted in the production of tumor necrosis factor α, a potent, arthritogenic factor. Finally, extracellular mtDNA was detected in the synovial fluids of rheumatoid arthritis patients but not of control subjects. We conclude that endogenous mtDNA displays inflammatogenic properties as a result of its content of unmethylated CpG motifs and oxidatively damaged adducts.

Oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) containing unmethylated CpG motifs (CpG ODN) potently stimulate the innate and acquired immune system. We have compared the in vivoand in vitroinflammatogenic properties of CpG ODNs containing a specific nucleobase deletion either 5′-upstream (ODN-2) or 3′-downstream (ODN-3) of the CpG motif, comparing with a prototype CpG ODN (ODN-1). The frequency of arthritis was similar after intra-articular (i.a.) injections of ODN-1 or ODN-3, but was significantly lower (p< 0.02) after i.a. injections of ODN-2. in vitroproduction of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α was higher in mouse spleen cell cultures exposed to ODN-2 in comparison to ODN-1. In addition, the level of IL-10 induced by ODN-2 was higher than that induced by ODN-1. On the other hand, TNF-α, IL-10, and MCP-1 levels, as well as splenocyte proliferative responses were all significantly lower for ODN-3 than for ODN-1. These results suggest that a 5′-upstream nucleobase deletion reduces arthritogenicity, while maintaining or increasing the production of pro- and anti-inflammatory factors. In contrast, a 3′-downstream nucleobase deletion has no effect on arthritogenicity, despite significantly lower levels of proliferation and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, compared with ODN-1. This study indicates that specific structural elements within the ODN sequence but outside the CpG motif, modulate the immunostimulatory properties of CpG ODNs.

Experiments with immunostimulatory unmethylated CpG-containing DNA are usually conducted with nuclease-protected phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides (S-ODNs), rather than phosphodiester oligodeoxynucleotides (O-ODNs). We compared the murine immune responses to S-ODNs and O-ODNs that either contained or lacked CpG motifs. Both CpG and non-CpG S-ODNs induced synovitis, as did sequence-matched CpG O-ODN, but not GpC O-ODN. There was a minimum length requirement for arthritogenic S-ODNs since a CpC dinucleotide S-ODN did not induce arthritis. There were both sequence-(CpG > non-CpG) and backbone-dependent (S-ODN > O-ODN) differences in the levels of DNA-induced arthritis upon intra-articular injection with the ODNs. However, CpG O-ODN being an exception, induced more severe arthritis than the GpC S-ODN. The levels of in vitroproliferation and production of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-12, and RANTES by splenocytes following exposure to CpG S-ODN were significantly higher than those induced by CpG O-ODN. In addition, both proliferative responses and cytokine production induced by S-ODN-stimulated splenocytes increased significantly when the S-ODN contained a CpG motif. Transcription factor NFκB was activated by both CpG S-ODN and CpG O-ODN but interestingly not by GpC S-ODN. This indicates that the NFκB signal pathway modulates CpG-mediated immunostimulation, while sequence-independent immune activation by the phosphorothioate backbone is probably signalled via a different pathway.

We examined the effects of oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) with different structures and sequences on human neutrophil function. In lymphocytes and monocytes, the CpG-mediated immunostimulation isdependent on motif content, flanking sequences and DNA backbone composition. In neutrophils, however, native phosphodiester ODN were without effect regardless of CpG content, while backbone-substituted phosphorothioate ODN (PS-ODN) modulated neutrophil function in a sequence-independent manner. The neutrophil respiratory burst and degranulation of the specific and gelatinase granules were markedly increased by PS-ODN, as was the shedding of L-selectin. In contrast, neutrophil chemotaxis and phagocytosis were inhibited by PS-ODN. In summary, PS-ODN have both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on neutrophil function. This impact of PS-ODN on neutrophil function is unique and distinct from that exerted on other immune cells, with respect to both the identity of the activating DNA molecules and the regulation of the effector functions. These findings may have implications for the development of DNA-based immunotherapy and vaccination.

ABSTRACTEnterotoxins with superantigenic properties secreted during systemic Staphylococcus aureusinfection are responsible for toxic shock. We show that intranasal administration of staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA), but not a recombinant SEA lacking superantigenic activity, protected mice against lethal systemic SEA challenge. Protection was superantigen specific since intranasal exposure to SEA would not protect against death caused by subsequent toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 systemic challenge. Protection was neither due to selective depletion of SEA-specific T-cell receptor Vβ families nor due to production of neutralizing anti-SEA antibodies. Importantly, the production of interleukin 10 (IL-10) induced by “tolerization” (that is, by the induction of immunological tolerance) contributed to the observed protection against lethal superantigen-triggered disease. In support of this notion we found that (i) significantly increased levels of IL-10 in sera of “tolerized” animals (that is, animals rendered tolerant) and (ii) IL-10−/−mice could not be tolerized by mucosal SEA administration. Altogether, this is the first study to show that mucosal tolerance to a superantigen is readily triggered by means of immunodeviation.

Enterotoxins with superantigenic properties secreted during systemic Staphylococcus aureus infection are responsible for toxic shock. We show that intranasal administration of staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA), but not a recombinant SEA lacking superantigenic activity, protected mice against lethal systemic SEA challenge. Protection was superantigen specific since intranasal exposure to SEA would not protect against death caused by subsequent toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 systemic challenge. Protection was neither due to selective depletion of SEA-specific T-cell receptor Vbeta families nor due to production of neutralizing anti-SEA antibodies. Importantly, the production of interleukin 10 (IL-10) induced by "tolerization" (that is, by the induction of immunological tolerance) contributed to the observed protection against lethal superantigen-triggered disease. In support of this notion we found that (i) significantly increased levels of IL-10 in sera of "tolerized" animals (that is, animals rendered tolerant) and (ii) IL-10(-/-) mice could not be tolerized by mucosal SEA administration. Altogether, this is the first study to show that mucosal tolerance to a superantigen is readily triggered by means of immunodeviation.

Defensins, antimicrobial peptides of the innate immune system, protect human mucosal epithelia and skin against microbial infections and are produced in large amounts by neutrophils. The bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus is insensitive to defensins by virtue of an unknown resistance mechanism. We describe a novel staphylococcal gene, mprF, which determines resistance to several host defense peptides such as defensins and protegrins. An mprF mutant strain was killed considerably faster by human neutrophils and exhibited attenuated virulence in mice, indicating a key role for defensin resistance in the pathogenicity of S. aureus. Analysis of membrane lipids demonstrated that the mprF mutant no longer modifies phosphatidylglycerol with l-lysine. As this unusual modification leads to a reduced negative charge of the membrane surface, MprF-mediated peptide resistance is most likely based on repulsion of the cationic peptides. Accordingly, inactivation of mprF led to increased binding of antimicrobial peptides by the bacteria. MprF has no similarity with genes of known function, but related genes were identified in the genomes of several pathogens including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterococcus faecalis. MprF thus constitutes a novel virulence factor, which may be of general relevance for bacterial pathogens and represents a new target for attacking multidrug resistant bacteria.

Recently, a vagally mediated excitatory lung reflex (ELR) causing neural hyperpnea and tachypnea was identified. Because ventilation is regulated through both inspiratory and expiratory processes, we investigated the effects of the ELR on these two processes simultaneously. In anesthetized, open-chest, and artificially ventilated rabbits, we recorded phrenic nerve activity and abdominal muscle activity to assess the breathing pattern when the ELR was evoked by directly injecting hypertonic saline (8.1%, 0.1 ml) into lung parenchyma. Activation of the ELR stimulated inspiratory activity, which was exhibited by increasing amplitude, burst rate, and duty cycle of the phrenic activity (by 22 ± 4, 33 ± 9, and 57 ± 11%, respectively; n= 13; P< 0.001), but suppressed expiratory muscle activity. The expiratory muscle became silent in most cases. On average, the amplitude of expiratory muscle activity decreased by 88 ± 5% (P< 0.002). The suppression reached the peak at 6.9 ± 1 s and lasted for 200 s (median). Injection of H2O2into the lung parenchyma produced similar responses. By suppressing expiration, the ELR produces a shift in the workload from expiratory muscle to inspiratory muscle. Therefore, we conclude that the ELR may contribute to inspiratory muscle fatigue, not only by directly increasing the inspiratory activity but also by suppressing expiratory activity.

In this work, a mixture of benzene, toluene, and p-xylene was simultaneously biodegraded by Pseudomonas sp. ATCC 55595 in a two-phase partitioning bioreactor. This bioreactor consisted of a 1-L cell-containing aqueous medium phase and a 500-mL immiscible organic phase. The organic solvent systematically selected for use in the bioreactor was Adol 85 NF, an industrial-grade, biocompatible solvent. In the first of three experiments, the organic phase was loaded with 2.0 g of benzene, 10.15 g of toluene, and 2.1 g of p-xylene, which partitioned into the aqueous phase at concentrations of 25, 50, and 8 mg/L, respectively. The system ultimately biodegraded all of the substrates within 144 h. During the rapid growth phase of this fermentation, the cells were oxygen-limited. This fermentation was therefore repeated using an enriched air supply to remove the oxygen limitation. The use of enriched air ultimately reduced the length of the fermentation to 108 h, thereby improving the overall volumetric consumption rates. Finally, 500 mL of Adol were used to recover 2.0 g of benzene, 10.15 g of toluene, and 2.1 g of p-xylene from silica sand that was contaminated as part of a simulated soil “spill”. The solvent washing procedure was able to recover greater than 99% of each compound from the contaminated soil. The Adol was then transferred to the two-phase bioreactor to permit biological treatment of the BTX contaminants. This process was repeated when the initial BTX load had been consumed almost to exhaustion, and the solvent was able to recover the contaminants at greater than 99% efficiency once again. The system was ultimately able to degrade 4.0 g of benzene, 20.2 g of toluene, and 4.2 g of p-xylene within 144 h. These results represent an unprecedented level of BTX degradation and illustrate a potential practical application for this novel biotechnology.