Forward osmosis or osmotic membrane bioreactor (FOMBR) has attracted great attention for wastewater treatment and reuse since conceptually introduced as a process. It has been proposed to reduce the high energy consumption in the conventional MBR, has lower membrane fouling propensity, and produce higher quality water. Moreover, RO process can be used after FOMBR to reconcentrate the diluted DS to be used for FO again. Besides significant advantages, when compared to conventional MBRs; lower water flux, concentration polarization, and salt accumulation because of high retention of FO in the bioreactor still remains as major drawbacks and challenges of FOMBR systems that need to be solved. In the last few years, many advances in development of FOMBR are stated to overcome the drawbacks of the system. The researches focused on manufacturing of high performance FO membranes and orientation, utilizing various different draw solutions providing required osmotic pressure and minimum reverse salt flux, and recently hybrid systems to alleviate the salt accumulation in bioreactor. However, the main critical challenges of FOMBR have not been completely resolved yet. This paper reviews the design and applications of FOMBR process in wastewater treatment. Particular focus was given to reverse salt flux and effects of the system performance; recent developments in FOMBR applications from beginning till today are reported.
The effect of solarization on bacterial inactivation in sewage sludge was studied using thermotolerant coliforms, enterococci and Escherichia coli (E. coli) as the indicator organisms. Solarization significantly increased the sludge temperature. The maximum temperatures were achieved at the beginning of the second week, reaching 65, 58, 55 and 50 degrees C at depths of 0-10, 10-20, 20-30 and 30-40 cm, respectively. E. coli was found to be the most sensitive microorganism and was reduced to undetectable levels after 9 d at all monitored sludge depths. Thermotolerant coliforms were rapidly inactivated but were not reduced to below the detection limit. The inactivation curves of enterococci showed both shoulders and tailing, indicating a larger heat resistant fraction than with E. coli and the thermotolerant coliforms. Overall, the results suggest that the temperature regime produced by solarization was sufficient to reduce bacterial indicators to an acceptable level, meeting the pathogen regulation limit, in two weeks.
Objective:The purpose of this study is to compare demographical and cognitive features of patients who have neurodegenerative diseases with or without seizures. Methods: This descriptive retrospective study included a total of 16 348 participants, 479 with seizures and 15 869 without seizures. Independent samples t-test and chi-square tests were used to compare age, education, Mini Mental State Examination, and gender of groups.Results: There was a significant difference between patients with seizures and without seizures in age [t(3764) = 2.815, P = .005]. It is found that patients with seizures (M = 67.51, standard deviation = 9.69) were significantly younger than patients without seizures (M = 70.37, standard deviation = 9.51). Conclusion:In all neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer's disease, at an early age and regardless of cognitive status, diagnosis of seizures at the first admission and subsequent follow-ups is of great importance in terms of the patient's quality of life, prognosis of the disease, and treatment options.
Objective: It has been reported that estrogen may affect T helper (Th) 1 and Th-2 lymphocytes and the ratio of Th-1 to Th-2, which play an essential role in the immunopathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). Therefore, hormonal changes during transitional periods, such as pregnancy and menopause, may affect the activity of the disease at different phases of the menstrual cycle. This study aimed to determine the association of MS in women with variables, such as menarche age, menstrual order, menopausal age, and disease-related factors, such as disability level and the number of relapses. Materials and Methods:This descriptive study enrolled 281 women with MS. The participants were evaluated using a simple and short survey by the researchers. A neurologist evaluated the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, the number of attacks, and disease duration.Results: Sixty-seven (23.8%) of 281 patients had entered menopause. There was no significant difference in the EDSS score of women with MS with or without menopause (p>0.05). Sixty patients (21.4%) had children after MS. There was no significant difference between the number of relapses before (1.87±1.46) and after having a child (3.15±3.59) (p>0.05). Additionally, the last EDSS score (2.46±2.07) was not different from the EDSS score after having a child (2.35±1.81) (p>0.05). It was found that 80.4% of the patients had a regular menstrual cycle, whereas 19.6% of them had an irregular cycle. The EDSS score was significantly higher in women with irregular menstrual cycles than in women with regular menstrual cycles (p<0.05). The age at menarche in the study group (13.07) was found to be earlier than the average age at menarche in Turkey (13.3) (p<0.05). Conclusion:This study suggested that menopause and childbearing may not affect disability level or the number of attacks in women with MS. Additionally, women with MS have an earlier age at menarche compared with the general population. Future studies should investigate earlier age at menarche as a possible risk factor in MS.
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