Activated sludge from the municipal waste water treatment plant in Hamburg was seeded with mineral nitrite medium and incubated at 10°C, 17°C and 28°C. Dominant lithoautotrophic nitrite-oxidizing bacteria have been identified by electron microscopy, denaturing and temperature gradient gel electrophoresis and PCR with genus-specific primer pairs. The results have revealed the existence of three different genera of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, namely Nitrospira, Nitrobacter and a novel cold-adapted nitrite oxidizer. As shown by electron microscopy members of the novel genus coexisted in activated sludge together with Nitrospira. A temperature-dependent shift in the population structure was demonstrated by cultivation-based approaches. The novel nitrite oxidizer was enriched at temperatures of 10°C and 17°C. Representatives of Nitrospira were able to grow in a broad temperature range between 10°C and 28°C and members of Nitrobacter were enriched during incubations at 17°C and 28°C. By subsequent 16S rDNA sequencing, the cold-adapted nitrite oxidizer was shown to be closely related to the betaproteobacterium 'Candidatus Nitrotoga arctica'. These findings demonstrated that the population structure of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in activated sludge is more complex than previously thought and responds strongly to long-term temperature changes.

Objective: To assess serum levels of in the first trimester and to determine the factors affecting deficiency levels and its association with pregnancy outcomes. Methods: Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured at 11-14 weeks' gestation in 229 singleton pregnancies using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results: The median serum 25(OH)D concentration was 10.8 ng/mL and 45.9% of women had severe vitamin D deficiency with concentrations of <10 ng/mL. Logistic regression analysis revealed that covered dressing style, lack of multivitamin intake, season of blood sampling (November-April) were factors associated with 25(OH)D deficiency. There was a negative correlation between 25(OH)D levels and gestational age at sampling. Low 25(OH)D levels were not associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Higher rate of cesarean section (CS) was noted in women with 25(OH)D ≥10 ng/mL compared to those with 25(OH)D < 10mg/ml ( p= 0.01). Conclusion: A high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was observed in early pregnancy which was related to dress code, use of multi-vitamins and season at sampling. Low 25(OH)D levels were not related with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Women with severe vitamin D deficiency were more likely to deliver vaginally.

The design of a linear parameter varying (LPV) controller for the F-16 longitudinal axes over the entire ight envelope, using a blending methodology that lets an LPV controller preserve regional optimal solutions over each parameter subset and reduces computationalcosts for synthesizing an LPV controller, is presented. Three blending LPV controller synthesis methodologies are applied to control F-16 longitudinal axes. By the use of a function substitution method, a quasi-LPV model of the F-16 longitudinal axes is constructed from the nonlinear equations of motion over the entire ight envelope, including nontrim regions, to facilitate synthesis of LPV controllers for the F-16 aircraft. The nonlinear simulations of the blended LPV controller show that the desired performance and robustness objectives are achieved across all altitude variations. Nomenclature C m 0 = pitch moment aerodynamic coef cient Cm q = pitch moment aerodynamic stability derivative C X , C Z = X and Z force aerodynamic coef cients C Xq , C Z q = aerodynamic stability derivatives N c, S = chord length, ft, and reference area, ft 2 g = gravity constant, ft/s 2 m, I yy = mass, slug, and inertial moments, slug ¢ ft 2 V , N q = velocity, ft/s, and dynamic pressure, psi X a:c: , X c:g: = aerodynamic center position, ft, and center of gravity position, ft ®, q = angle of attack, rad, and pitch rate, rad/s ± e , T = elevator de ection, rad, and thrust, lb µ ,°= pitch angle, rad, and ight-path angle, rad

The application of receding horizon control (RHC) with the linear, parameter varying (LPV) design methodology to a high-delity, nonlinear F-16 aircraft model is demonstrated. The highlights are 1) use of RHC to improve upon the performance of a LPV regulator; 2) discussion on details of implementation such as control space formulation, tuning of RHC parameters, computation time and numerical properties of the algorithms; and 3) simulated response of nonlinear RHC and LPV regulator. Nomenclature epos = east position, ft h = altitude, ft npos = north position, ft p = roll rate, deg/s q = pitch rate, deg/s r = yaw rate, deg/s T = thrust, lb V t = velocity, ft/s ® = angle of attack, deḡ = sideslip angle, deg ± a = aileron, deg ± e = elevator, deg ± r = rudder, deg µ = pitch angle, deg Á = bank angle, deg à = yaw angle, deg

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