A two-stage anaerobic fluidized-bed membrane bioreactor (SAF-MBR) system was applied for the treatment of primary-settled domestic wastewater that was further pre-treated by either 10 μm filtration or 1 mm screening. While the different pre-treatment options resulted in different influent qualities, the effluent qualities were quite similar. In both cases at a total hydraulic retention time of 2.3 h and 25 °C, chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) removals were 84-91% and 92-94%, with effluent concentrations lower than 25 and 7 mg/L, respectively. With a membrane flux of 6-12 L/m(2)/h, trans-membrane pressure remained below 0.2 bar during 310 d of continuous operation without need for membrane chemical cleaning or backwashing. Biosolids production was estimated to be 0.028-0.049 g volatile suspended solids/g BOD5, which is far less than that with comparable aerobic processes. Electrical energy production from combined heat and power utilization of the total methane produced (gaseous and dissolved) was estimated to be more than sufficient for total system operation.

Adenovirus or naked plasmid DNA (pDNA) has been used to deliver the therapeutic gene into corpus cavernosum. However, the potential risks of viral vector and inefficiency of naked pDNA have limited their clinical application. In this study, water-soluble lipopolymer (WSLP) was evaluated as a gene carrier to corpus cavernosum. The WSLP/pDNA complex was transfected to smooth muscle cells in vitro. WSLP had high transfection efficiency, which was comparable to poly(ethylenimine) (PEI). In addition, WSLP had much less cytotoxicity than PEI, suggesting that WSLP is a safer carrier than PEI. To evaluate the transfection efficiency to corpus cavernosum, the WSLP/pDNA complex was injected into the rat corpus cavernosum. As a result, the WSLP/pDNA complex showed higher transfection efficiency than naked pDNA. In addition, the gene expression was dependent upon the dose of the complex. The results suggest that WSLP may be useful for gene therapy of erectile dysfunction.

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