The impact of aerobic pretreatment of agro and industrial wastes on their biomethanation potential in Nisargruna technology

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 548-556
Author(s):  
Shubhada Nayak ◽  
Madhuri Sahasrabuddhe ◽  
Sharad Kale
Keyword(s):  
Rice Straw ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Industrial Wastes ◽  
Methane Formation ◽  
Municipal Solid Wastes ◽  
Metabolic Potential ◽  
Downward Displacement ◽  
Complex Polymers ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Aerobic And Anaerobic

Anaerobic digestion is among the essential biological techniques used for stabilization of organic sludge from sewage and highly concentrated efflu-ents from food processing industries. It also recycles the municipal solid wastes into compost with simultaneous production of methane. The current study was performed to estimate the biomethanation potential of various agro- and industrial wastes like Jatropha de-oil cake, prawn shells, chicken feathers, bagasse, rice straw and wheat husk by mimicking the conditions in the biphasic Nisargruna biogas plant. A small volume of samples was chemi-cally characterized and allowed to decompose under aerobic and anaerobic conditions to determine the effect of aerobic predigestion (i.e. phase 1 of Nisargruna plant) on final methane production. The biogas produced was quantified by downward displacement of water. The observations indicated that approximately 60-80% methane was produced when Jatropha de-oil cake, prawn shells and rice straw was used. Conversely, the wheat straw and sugarcane wastes showed less methane formation, which may be due to the presence of complex polymers like lignocellulose and silica that considerably reduces the metabolic potential of microorganisms.

Differential impact of on-site or telepharmacy in the intensive care unit: a controlled before–after study

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joao Gabriel Rosa Ramos ◽  
Sandra Cristina Hernandes ◽  
Talita Teles Teixeira Pereira ◽  
Shana Oliveira ◽  
Denis de Melo Soares ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Phase 2 ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Clinical Pharmacists ◽  
Versus Phase ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Clinical pharmacists have an important role in the intensive care unit (ICU) team but are scarce resources. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of on-site pharmacists on medical prescriptions in the ICU. Methods This is a retrospective, quasi-experimental, controlled before-after study in two ICUs. Interventions by pharmacists were evaluated in phase 1 (February to November 2016) and phase 2 (February to May 2017) in ICU A (intervention) and ICU B (control). In phase 1, both ICUs had a telepharmacy service in which medical prescriptions were evaluated and interventions were made remotely. In phase 2, an on-site pharmacist was implemented in ICU A, but not in ICU B. We compared the number of interventions that were accepted in phase 1 versus phase 2. Results During the study period, 8797/9603 (91.6%) prescriptions were evaluated, and 935 (10.6%) needed intervention. In phase 2, there was an increase in the proportion of interventions that were accepted by the physician in comparison to phase 1 (93.9% versus 76.8%, P < 0.001) in ICU A, but there was no change in ICU B (75.2% versus 73.9%, P = 0.845). Conclusion An on-site pharmacist in the ICU was associated with an increase in the proportion of interventions that were accepted by physicians.

scholarly journals Co-Digestion of Rice Straw with Cow Manure in an Innovative Temperature Phased Anaerobic Digestion Technology: Performance Evaluation and Trace Elements

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2561
Author(s):  
Furqan Muhayodin ◽  
Albrecht Fritze ◽  
Oliver Christopher Larsen ◽  
Marcel Spahr ◽  
Vera Susanne Rotter
Keyword(s):  
Trace Elements ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Rice Straw ◽  
Methane Yield ◽  
Methane Formation ◽  
Cow Manure ◽  
Volatile Solids ◽  
Mass Fractions ◽  
Cu And Zn

Rice straw is an agricultural residue produced in abundant quantities. Open burning and plowing back the straw to the fields are common practices for its disposal. In-situ incorporation and burning cause emissions of greenhouse gas and particulate matter. Additionally, the energy potential of rice straw is lost. Anaerobic digestion is a technology that can be potentially used to utilize the surplus rice straw, provide renewable energy, circulate nutrients available in the digestate, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from rice paddies. An innovative temperature phased anaerobic digestion technology was developed and carried out in a continuous circulating mode of mesophilic and hyperthermophilic conditions in a loop digester (F1). The performance of the newly developed digester was compared with the reference digester (F2) working at mesophilic conditions. Co-digestion of rice straw was carried out with cow manure to optimize the carbon to nitrogen ratio and to provide the essential trace elements required by microorganisms in the biochemistry of methane formation. F1 produced a higher specific methane yield (189 ± 37 L/kg volatile solids) from rice straw compared to F2 (148 ± 36 L/kg volatile solids). Anaerobic digestion efficiency was about 90 ± 20% in F1 and 70 ± 20% in F2. Mass fractions of Fe, Ni, Co, Mo, Cu, and Zn were analyzed over time. The mass fractions of Co, Mo, Cu, and Zn were stable in both digesters. While mass fractions of Fe and Ni were reduced at the end of the digestion period. However, no direct relationship between specific methane yield and reduced mass fraction of Fe and Ni was found. Co-digestion of rice straw with cow manure seems to be a good approach to provide trace elements except for Se.

scholarly journals A data-driven metapopulation model for the Belgian COVID-19 epidemic: assessing the impact of lockdown and exit strategies

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pietro Coletti ◽  
Pieter Libin ◽  
Oana Petrof ◽  
Lander Willem ◽  
Steven Abrams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phase 1 ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
National Level ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Exit Strategy ◽  
Initial Wave ◽  
Contact Data ◽  
Stochastic Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Second Wave

Abstract Background In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, several countries adopted measures of social distancing to a different degree. For many countries, after successfully curbing the initial wave, lockdown measures were gradually lifted. In Belgium, such relief started on May 4th with phase 1, followed by several subsequent phases over the next few weeks. Methods We analysed the expected impact of relaxing stringent lockdown measures taken according to the phased Belgian exit strategy. We developed a stochastic, data-informed, meta-population model that accounts for mixing and mobility of the age-structured population of Belgium. The model is calibrated to daily hospitalization data and is able to reproduce the outbreak at the national level. We consider different scenarios for relieving the lockdown, quantified in terms of relative reductions in pre-pandemic social mixing and mobility. We validate our assumptions by making comparisons with social contact data collected during and after the lockdown. Results Our model is able to successfully describe the initial wave of COVID-19 in Belgium and identifies interactions during leisure/other activities as pivotal in the exit strategy. Indeed, we find a smaller impact of school re-openings as compared to restarting leisure activities and re-openings of work places. We also assess the impact of case isolation of new (suspected) infections, and find that it allows re-establishing relatively more social interactions while still ensuring epidemic control. Scenarios predicting a second wave of hospitalizations were not observed, suggesting that the per-contact probability of infection has changed with respect to the pre-lockdown period. Conclusions Contacts during leisure activities are found to be most influential, followed by professional contacts and school contacts, respectively, for an impending second wave of COVID-19. Regular re-assessment of social contacts in the population is therefore crucial to adjust to evolving behavioral changes that can affect epidemic diffusion.

FC 096THE EFFECT OF INCREMENTAL START OF HAEMODIALYSIS ON BLOOD PRESSURE AND INTERDIALYTIC WEIGHT GAIN: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM THE ENDURE STUDY

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adil Hazara ◽  
Victoria Allgar ◽  
Maureen Twiddy ◽  
Sunil Bhandari
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Propensity Scores ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Residual Renal Function ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Interdialytic Weight Gain ◽  
Matching Criteria ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background and Aims Mortality rates are high in patients starting haemodialysis/haemodiafiltration (HD) therapy. Incremental HD may help reduce this risk by reducing the burden of early treatment whilst patients are still adapting to long-term HD therapy. A feasibility study (ENDURE study – Clinical trials ID: NCT04268264) is being conducted with the primary objectives of evaluating the acceptability and tolerance of a new incremental HD regime. Its secondary aims are to evaluate the impact of this form of incremental HD on indicators of patient safety and wellbeing. These indicators include blood pressure (BP) control and interdialytic weight gains (IDWG) which are independently associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients on long-term HD. We present preliminary findings from the study related to systolic BP and IDWG. Method The ENDURE study is being carried out at a tertiary care hospital in the United Kingdom. Patients aged > 18 years known to renal services for at least 90 days, referred for start of HD, were eligible for participation. Following approved consenting procedures, they are started on a new regime of incremental HD starting dialysis twice weekly with progressive increases in the duration and frequency of sessions over 15 weeks. This period is split in to four phases; phase 1 representing the first two days of dialysis (baseline) whereas phases 2 – 4 representing the pre-specified incremental steps. Propensity scores were calculated to match each participant (incremental HD group) with two controls from a database of patients who previously started HD at our centres using the standard protocol of 3 times weekly, 4hr long sessions. The matching criteria accounted for 14 key demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics. Results were analysed as intention to treat. In comparing BP and IDWG between the two groups, only readings taken pre-dialysis at the first session of the week was considered. This study has been approved by the West of Scotland Research Ethics committee-4 (Ref: 19/WS/0019). Results Baseline characteristics of the first 15 participants (target 20) and their matched controls are presented in table 1. The proportion of females and duration of previous specialist input was higher in the incremental HD group. Conclusion The ENDURE study tests the feasibility of starting patients on a novel incremental HD regime. Early data suggest that control of systolic BP and IDWG are comparable to patients who start dialysis at 3 times weekly. Further work is needed to understand the impact of reducing dialysis frequency on BP control correlating the findings with changes residual renal function and objective measures of fluid overload.

Model-based analysis to support dose selection of pevonedistat (PEV) combined with azacitidine (AZA) in patients (pts) with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)/chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 7042-7042
Author(s):  
Xiaofei Zhou ◽  
Diane R. Mould ◽  
Dan Zhao ◽  
Mikkael A. Sekeres ◽  
Lionel Adès ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Benefit ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Performance Status ◽  
Disease Type ◽  
International Prognostic Scoring System ◽  
Population Pharmacokinetic ◽  
Starting Dose ◽  
Grade 3 ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Dose Reductions

7042 Background: PEV+AZA has been studied in higher-risk MDS/CMML and AML, with encouraging efficacy and an acceptable safety profile without added myelosuppression. This pooled analysis was performed to evaluate the impact of PEV exposure on safety and efficacy. Methods: Data from three studies (NCT01814826, NCT02782468 and NCT02610777) were used in the PEV exposure–safety analyses, including ≥ grade 3 neutropenia (NEU3), febrile neutropenia (FN), ≥ grade 3 thrombocytopenia, ≥ grade 3 alanine aminotransferase elevation, ≥ grade 3 aspartate aminotransferase elevation and ≥ grade 3 treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE3), in pts with higher-risk MDS/CMML and AML who received PEV+AZA. Data from NCT02610777 were used for exposure–efficacy analyses, including overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS), complete response (CR) and CR+partial response (PR), in pts with higher-risk MDS/CMML who received PEV+AZA. The exposure metrics for individual pts were derived from a previously developed population pharmacokinetic model with pooled data from eight phase 1/2 studies. PEV exposure–safety relationships for the toxicity endpoints, exposure–CR and exposure–CR+PR, were estimated by logistic regression. Age, sex, race, baseline Eastern Cooperate Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status score and disease type were evaluated as covariates. Cox proportional-hazards models were used to evaluate the PEV exposure–survival for higher-risk MDS/CMML, with age, sex, baseline ECOG PS score, Revised International Prognostic Scoring System score (IPSS-R) and disease type as potential covariates. Results: In total, 135 pts (median age, 74 years; male, 64%; Caucasian, 82%) and 41 pts (median age, 74 years; male, 76%; Caucasian, 90%; median IPSS-R, 5.5) were included in PEV exposure–safety and exposure–efficacy analyses, respectively. PEV exposure was significantly related to the incidence of NEU3 ( p = 0.003), FN ( p = 0.02) and TEAE3 ( p = 0.02), supporting PEV dose reductions for pts with treatment-related toxicities. Relationships between PEV exposures and CR, CR+PR, EFS or OS indicated consistent clinical benefit across ranges of PEV exposure following a starting dose of 20 mg/m2. Conclusions: The association between exposure and safety supports PEV dose reductions for pts with treatment-related toxicities. The exposure–efficacy analyses indicated consistent clinical benefit across ranges of PEV exposure following a starting dose of 20 mg/m2. These results support a favorable benefit–risk profile of the 20 mg/m2 PEV dose on days 1, 3 and 5 in combination with AZA 75 mg/m2 for 7 days in 28-day cycles. Clinical trial information: NCT01814826 , NCT02782468 , NCT02610777.

Quantifying The Impact That Coxswain Behaviour Has on Whole Body Vibration - Simulator Trial

2021 ◽  
Vol 163 (A3) ◽  
Author(s):  
T J Newman
Keyword(s):  
Phase 1 ◽  
Whole Body Vibration ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Motion Platform ◽  
Body Vibration ◽  
Sea Trial ◽  
Data Driven Approach ◽  
Exposure Levels ◽  
Transit Speed ◽  
The Impact

A common risk to personnel is from Whole Body Vibration (WBV) and shock when transiting at speed in heavy seas, and much research has been done by maritime organisations to reduce this risk and the associated health impacts. It is well known that coxswain ‘driving style’ can radically affect exposure levels for a given sea state and sustained transit speed. A data-driven approach to define what makes a good coxswain from a WBV perspective is currently being developed by the Naval Design Partnering team (NDP). In phase 1, a systematic coxswain behaviour tracking methodology has been developed and demonstrated using a motion platform-based fast craft simulator at MARIN. The performance of several experienced volunteer coxswains from MOD, RNLI and KNRM has been evaluated based on a set pattern of tests. The advantages of using the simulator, over a sea trial, have been demonstrated: it is more repeatable, more controllable, accurate and more accessible. The potential disadvantages of the approach are also discussed with reference to feedback gathered from coxswains. Analysis has shown effective throttle control is much more important than steering to reduce WBV. Several interesting trends in WBV reduction potential have been shown which it is thought, with further validation, could aid mission planning, mission execution and provide data for training autonomous feedback/control algorithms. Further work is required before the findings of this study can be fully exploited. These subsequent phases, which include sea trials, aim to provide validation and further evidence to support the initial findings.

Effects of organic matter and time of incorporation on root development of tropical maize seedlings

2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-178
Author(s):  
U. Sangakkara ◽  
S. Nissanka ◽  
P. Stamp
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Root Growth ◽  
Rice Straw ◽  
Organic Materials ◽  
Gliricidia Sepium ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Poor Growth ◽  
Time Of Application ◽  
The Impact

Smallholders in the tropics add different organic materials to their crops at different times, based on the availability of materials and labour. However, the time of application could have an effect on the establishment and early growth of crops, especially their root systems, which has not yet been clearly identified. This paper presents the results of a study conducted under greenhouse conditions using soils from a field treated with three organic materials at 4 or 2 weeks before or at the planting of maize seeds, corresponding to the times that tropical smallholders apply these materials. The organic materials used were leaves of Gliricidia sepium and Tithonia diversifolia or rice straw, incorporated at a rate equivalent to 6 Mt ha −1 . A control treatment where no organic matter was added was used for comparison. The impact of the treatments on soil properties at the planting of maize seed and detailed root analysis based on root lengths were carried out until the last growth stage (V4). The addition of organic matter improved the soil characteristics, and the impact of adding Gliricidia leaves was most pronounced when incorporated 2 weeks before planting. The benefits of leaves of Tithonia or rice straw on soil quality parameters were clearly evident when added 4 weeks before planting. Organic matter enhanced the root number, root length, root growth rate and branching indices. All the organic materials suppressed the growth of maize roots when applied at planting, suggesting the existence of allelopathic effects, which could result in poor growth. The most benefits in terms of root growth were observed with Tithonia .

scholarly journals Comparison of the impacts of thermal pretreatment on waste activated sludge using aerobic and anaerobic digestion

2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (8) ◽  
pp. 1772-1781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyungjun (Brian) Jo ◽  
Wayne Parker ◽  
Peiman Kianmehr
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Waste Activated Sludge ◽  
Thermal Pretreatment ◽  
Decay Products ◽  
Anaerobic Biodegradability ◽  
Pretreatment Conditions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Aerobic And Anaerobic

Abstract A range of thermal pretreatment conditions were used to evaluate the impact of high pressure thermal hydrolysis on the biodegradability of waste activated sludge (WAS) under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. It was found that pretreatment did not increase the overall extent to which WAS could be aerobically biodegraded. Thermal pretreatment transformed the biodegradable fraction of WAS (XH) to readily biodegradable chemical oxygen demand (COD) (SB) (16.5–34.6%) and slowly biodegradable COD (XB) (45.8–63.6%). The impact of pretreatment temperature and duration on WAS COD fractionation did not follow a consistent pattern as changes in COD solubilization did not correspond to the observed generation of SB through pretreatment. The pretreated WAS (PWAS) COD fractionations determined from aerobic respirometry were employed in anaerobic modeling and it was concluded that the aerobic and anaerobic biodegradability of PWAS differed. It was found that thermal pretreatment resulted in as much as 50% of the endogenous decay products becoming biodegradable in anaerobic digestion. Overall, it was concluded that the COD fractionation that was developed based upon the aerobic respirometry was valid. However, it was necessary to implement a first-order decay process that reflected changes in the anaerobic biodegradability of the endogenous products through pretreatment.

scholarly journals Environmental impact of the Midia Port - Black Sea (Romania), on the coastal sediment quality

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Catianis ◽  
Constantin Ungureanu ◽  
Luca Magagnini ◽  
Elisa Ulazzi ◽  
Tiziana Campisi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Sediment Quality ◽  
Industrial Wastes ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Quality Of Water ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of potential pollution sources, mainly from the upstream anthropogenic sources and port-related activities. The in-vestigated area covered a wide range of anthropogenic im-pacts (e.g., industrial wastes, storm water runoff, acciden-tal oil spills, intentional discharges and shipping activities). The quality of water and Sediments was assessed us-ing Standard methods, as physical-chemical parameters, chemistry and biology (microbiology, ecotoxicology) aim-ing to figure the level of pollution and the effect of port-related activities. Seawater quality results agreed generally with environmental Standards. Though, in some samples the concentrations of sulphates (mg/1) and heavy metals (μg/1), as B, As and Se exceeded the recommended lim-its, without posing a serious environmental concern. Most of the surface sediment samples contain critical levels of hydrocarbons (C>12), (mg/kg), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (ng/g) and polychlorobiphenyls (ng/g). For some heavy metals (mg/kg), exchangeable concentrations were found to be very close or above the regulations. The signifi-cance of this study is incontestable taking into account the lack of previous relevant historical data of this area. In this sense, it was possible to indicate, in general, good environmental conditions, despite the industrial and concentrated local port-related activities in the investigated area.

scholarly journals Application areas of phosphogypsum in production of mineral binders and composites based on them: a review of research results

2018 ◽  
Vol 149 ◽  
pp. 01012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonid Dvorkin ◽  
Nataliya Lushnikova ◽  
Mohammed Sonebi
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Blast Furnace ◽  
Blast Furnace Slag ◽  
Setting Time ◽  
Industrial Wastes ◽  
Cement Clinker ◽  
Complete Replacement ◽  
Slaked Lime ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Furnace Slag

The increase of the consumption of gypsum products in construction industry with a limited amount of natural gypsum deposits requires alternative sources of gypsum-containing raw materials. In some countries which have fertilizers industry plants, the problem can be solved using industrial wastes, e.g. phosphorgypsum – a byproduct of fertilizers’ production. Kept in dumps over decades, phosphorgypsum is subjected to the chemical changes due to washing out impurities with rain and other natural factors. However, there are observed deviations of harmful impurities in dumped PG depending on its age., Phosphorgypsum of any age requires chemical treatment to neutralize remains of phosphorus and sulfuric acids, fluorine compounds. According to our researches one of the most simple and effective method of neutralization the impurities is using lime-containing admixtures. The paper presents results of laboratory tests of phosphorgypsum as a component of clinker and non-clinker binders. There were investigated the impact of phosphorgypsum as admixture for clinker binders to substitute natural gypsum. Neutralized phosphorgypsum can be applied as mineralizing admixture in calcination of Portland cement clinker. Adding 2 to 2.5% of phosphorgypsum as setting time regulator resulted in a similar physical and mechanical properties compared to mix made with natural gypsum. Another important area of phosphorgypsum application is sulphate activatoion of low-clinker blast-furnace slag cement (clinker content is less than 19%). According to results, the incorporation of phosphorgypsum as sulphate activator in cement has the better effect as natural gypsum. Other development has been carried out to modify the phosphorgypsum binder properties. Complex additive consisted of polycarboxylate-based superplasticizer and slaked lime permitted an increase mechanical properties of hardened phosphorgypsum binder due to significant a reduction of water consumption. Such modified binder can be used as partial or complete replacement of gypsum binder for filling cements and finishing plasters. It can substitute gypsum in non-clinker binders like supersulphated cements. There were also developed compositions of supersulphated cements based on low-alumina blast furnace slag and phosphorgypsum. Supersulphated cements were tested in normal-weight and light-weight concrete.

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