Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), which is an autosomal recessive disease, is characterised by recurrent febrile episodes in association with peritonitis, pleuritis and arthritis and has ongoing ...subclinical inflammation during attack-free period. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between FMF with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), which is determined in many chronic inflammations as a new potential inflammatory mediator. We included 62 patients and 41 healthy subjects who were similar in terms of age and sex. We found that the NLR values of the patients were significantly higher than those of the control group, and C-reactive protein values were correlated with NLR. Another finding was the NLR values were significantly higher in the FMF patient with M694V mutation than with other mutations. As a result, NLR might be used in the FMF patient as an indicator of the subclinical inflammation, and the FMF patients with M694V mutation should be followed up closely because of increased subclinical inflammation risk.
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common complication and cause of visual impairment in diabetes patients. The pathogenesis is not fully understood, but several studies have suggested that ...inflammation plays an important role. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was defined as a novel potential marker to determine inflammation. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between DR and inflammation by using NLR.
The study was included 58 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Twenty-four of them had DR. The control group was composed of 52 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. Retinopathy was graded using the International Clinical Diabetic Retinopathy Disease Severity Scale.
NLR values of the diabetes patients were significantly higher than those of the healthy control group (P<0.001), and NLR levels of the patients with DR were higher than those of the patients without DR (P<0.001). In addition, NLR values were correlated with the presence of DR and DR grades (r=0.466, P<0.001; and r=0.630, P<0.001, respectively).
According to our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the relationship between NLR, which is an inflammatory marker, and DR and its severity. Our results suggest that while evaluating diabetes patients in terms of DR, higher NLR values may be a remarkable marker.
Improvement of the thermal properties of coolants used in automobile radiators increases the cooling performance of the engine. Metallic nanoparticle additives generally improve the thermal ...properties of the coolant. In this study, the heat transfer characteristics of a nanofluid prepared with bimetallic additives (CuO–ZnO) for automotive radiators were experimentally investigated. Experiments were made for four different fluids under constant heating power. These are water-bimetal mixture fluids with 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% particulate additives. UA values of the heat exchanger were calculated using the logarithmic temperature difference method and compared for different concentrations. As a result, it was observed that the 0.3% additive ratio had the highest UA value. In addition, with the increase of the bimetallic nanoparticle additive rate, the heat transfer also increases. Finally, an economic analysis was carried out for the use of nanoparticles in the water cooling system for a single cylinder natural gas engine.
Numerous inflammatory and innate immune pathways are involved in atherogenesis. We aimed to investigate the atherogenic index and other lipid parameters in individuals with familial Mediterranean ...fever (FMF), as a predictor of atherosclerosis.
A total of 60 patients with FMF and 60 healthy age- and sex-matched controls were included in this study. The patients with acute infection, chronic metabolic and rheumatic diseases, use of drugs other than colchicine and smoking history were excluded. CRP, ESR, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, and HDL-C levels of patients and the control group were measured. Atherogenic index (TG/HDL-C) was calculated.
We found that the atherogenic index values of the patients were significantly higher than those of the control group. HDL-C levels were lower and ESR and TG levels were higher in patients. Total cholesterol, LDL-C and CRP levels did not differ significantly between the two groups. There was no significant difference in the values of total cholesterol, LDL-C, triglycerides (TG), HDL-C, and atherogenic indexes between the groups of patients with and without M694V mutation.
Elaboration of clinical models of inflammation-induced atherogenesis may further advance our knowledge of multiple inflammatory pathways implicated in atherogenesis and provide a useful tool for cardiovascular prevention. We believe that the atherogenic index also be used as a preliminary indication of accelerated atherosclerosis in FMF. However, large-scale prospective studies on this issue are needed.
Abstract Background The aim of this study was to investigate the possible protective effect of interleukin 18–binding protein (IL-18BP) on ischemia–reperfusion (I/R)–induced liver injury in ...experimental rat models. Liver is one of the most affected organs from I/R process. IL-18 is an important proinflammatory cytokine, which may induce some events such as production of reactive oxygen substances and release of various cytokines. IL-18BP acts as an inhibitor of IL-18. The relationship between IL-18 and IL-18BP has an important place in inflammatory process. Materials and methods Rats were equally divided into three groups as follows: sham: Hepatic pedicle dissection was done, but hepatic pedicle clamping was not used. I/R: Sixty minutes of ischemia and 2 h of reperfusion were applied. IR + IL-18BP: Recombinant human IL-18BP (100 μg/kg) was administered 30 min before the surgery. Hepatic pedicle was clamped during 60 min of ischemia and 2 h of reperfusion was achieved. Results Liver enzyme levels were significantly lower in the IR + IL-18BP group, when compared with the I/R group. Serum and tissue levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-6, and IL-18 were considerably lower in the IR + IL-18BP group, when compared with the I/R group, but hepatic interferon-γ and IL1β levels were not significant. Serum oxidative stress index level was significantly higher in the I/R group, when compared with the IR + IL-18BP group. In immunostaining, it was observed that pathologic changes were lower in IR + IL-18BP group than the I/R group. Conclusions IL-18BP exhibited anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and protective effects in I/R-mediated hepatic injury via regulating some liver enzyme activities and cytokine levels. Additionally, these effects have been verified by histomorphologic examination and oxidative stress markers.
•AMD and TSB containing medium enriched a mixotrophic Fe2+ oxidizing culture.•The CMBR efficiently retained the biomass and oxidized Fe2+ at 99% efficiency.•Specific Fe2+ oxidation rate decreased ...when TSB was removed from the AMD.•Alicyclobacillus tolerans and Acidiphilium cryptum dominated the CMBR community.•As and fe were selectively removed (~99%) as schwertmannite at pH 3.5–4.
Acid mine drainage (AMD), generated in the active and abandoned mine sites, is characterized by low pH and high metal concentrations. One AMD treatment possibility is biologically oxidizing Fe2+ followed by precipitation through pH control. As compared to autotrophic iron oxidizing microbial community, a microbial community enriched in the presence of organic nutrients was hypothesized to yield higher biomass during commissioning the bioreactor. In this study, the treatment of Fe, Cu, Co, Mn, Zn, Ni, and As containing simulated AMD was studied using an iron-oxidizing ceramic membrane bioreactor (CMBR) at varying hydraulic retention times (HRTs) (6–24 h) and two different feed Fe2+ concentrations (250 and 750 mg/L). The impact of tryptone soya broth (TSB) on the CMBR performance was also investigated. Almost complete Fe2+ oxidation and sustainable flux at around 5.0 L/(m2.h) were obtained in the CMBR with the Alicyclobacillus tolerans and Acidiphilium cryptum dominated enrichment culture. The Fe2+ oxidation rate, as assessed in batch operation cycles of CMBR, increased significantly with increasing Fe2+ loading to the bioreactor. The iron oxidation rate decreased by the elimination of organic matter from the feed. The increase of the CMBR permeate pH to 3.5–4.0 resulted in selective co-precipitation of As and Fe (over 99%) with the generation of biogenic schwertmannite.
High-rate membrane bioreactors (MBR), where the wastewater undergoes partial oxidation due to the applied short sludge retention time (SRT) and hydraulic retention time (HRT) values, retain the ...majority of the organic substances in the sludge through growth and biological flocculation. Thus, a raw material source with a high biomethane production potential is created for the widespread use of circular economy or energy-neutral plants in wastewater treatment. While high-rate MBRs have been successfully employed for energy-efficient treatment of domestic wastewater, there is a lack of research specifically focused on textile wastewater. This study aimed to investigate the textile wastewater treatment and organic matter recovery performances of an aerobic MBR system containing a hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane with a 0.04 μm pore diameter. The system was initially operated at short SRTs (5 and 3 d) and different SRT/HRT ratios (5, 10, and 20) and subsequently at high-rate conditions (SRT of 0.5–2 d and HRT of 1.2–9.6 h) which are believed to be the most limiting conditions tested for treatment of real textile wastewater. The results showed that chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal averaged 77% even at SRT of 0.5 d and HRT of 1.2 h. Slowly biodegradable substrates and soluble microbial products (SMP) accumulated within the MBR at SRT of 0.5 and 1 d, which resulted in decreased sludge filterability. The observed sludge yield (Yobs) exhibited a considerable increase when SRT was reduced from 5 to 1 d. On the other hand, the SRT/HRT ratio displayed a decisive effect on the energy requirement for aeration.
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•COD removal in the MBR is high (77%) even at SRT of 0.5 d and HRT of 1.2 h.•Organic matter recovery significantly increases at SRTs ≤1 d.•Slowly biodegradable COD accumulates in the bulk at SRTs ≤1 d.•Membrane fouling increases significantly at SRTs ≤1 d.•Energy requirement decreased to 0.19 kWh/m3 or 0.3 kWh/kg-CODrem. at SRT 0.5 d.
Arsenic penetrates human society through a variety of geological and anthropogenic processes, posing significant health hazards. Acid mine drainage, which contains high concentrations of heavy metals ...and sulfate, is formed by the biological oxidation of pyrite and other metal-containing sulfidic minerals and is a significant environmental hazard. Adsorption is a simple and effective method for removing arsenic from water. In this study, co-precipitation and adsorption of arsenic with biogenic and chemically produced iron-containing settleable precipitates, i.e. schwertmannites were studied. Autotrophic Leptospirillum ferrooxidans and heterotrophic mixed culture of Alicyclobacillus tolerans and Acidiphilium cryptum oxidized iron at rates from 18 to 23 mg/(L.h) in the presence of 5 and 10 mg/L As3+, and both cultures tolerated up to 100 mg As3+/L although Fe2+ oxidation rates decreased to 3–4 mg/(L.h). At Fe/As ratios of ≥20, As removal efficiencies of ≥95% were obtained by co-precipitation with Fe3+ at pH 3.5–4.5. Because schwertmannite precipitates produced by the heterotrophic culture formed crystals, it was studied for adsorptive removals of As3+ and As5+ and compared with chemically synthesized schwertmannites. As3+ (100 mg/L) adsorption onto biogenic and chemical schwertmannite were 25 and 44%, respectively, at pH 4. At 100 mg As5+/L, adsorption capacity and efficiency onto biogenic schwertmannite were 47 mg/g and 50%, respectively. At 300 mg As5+/L, adsorption capacity and efficiency onto chemical schwertmannite were 169 mg/g and 56%, respectively. In summary, biogenic schwertmannite has potential for As removal via co-precipitation with Fe3+ at pH 3.5–4.5 and Fe/As ratios of ≥20 due to low production cost from acidic mine drainage. In contrast to the schwertmannite generation methods, which are usually performed with autotrophic acidophilic bacteria in the literature, this efficient and modular schwertmannite production process and its evaluation on arsenic adsorption is an important potential in acidic mine drainage treatment containing arsenic.
Differential evaluation of schwertmannite production processes for arsenic removal. Display omitted
•Adsorptive removal of As on biological and chemical schwertmannite was studied.•Co-precipitation with Fe effectively removed As at Fe/As ratio of ≥20.•With chemical schwertmannite, As3+ and As5+ adsorption capacities were 45 and 170 mg/g, respectively.•With biogenic schwertmannite, As3+ and As5+ adsorption capacities were 26 and 48 mg/g, respectively.
The study aims to investigate the effect of nanofluids on heat transfer through experimentation. To prepare the nanofluids, water, commonly used in radiator cooling systems, served as the base ...liquid. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and silicon dioxide (SiO
2
) nanoparticles were added at weight concentrations of 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, and 0.4%, with two different flow rates tested. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant was used to prevent the nanoparticles from agglomerating. After visually observing the hybrid nanocoolant, it was found that SDS as a surfactant prevented sedimentation and maintained stability for two weeks. Furthermore, STEM imaging demonstrated that spherical SiO
2
particles evenly distributed throughout the tube-shaped CNTs improved the fluid's thermophysical properties regarding heat transfer. Heat transfer improvements were assessed with water experiments. The findings indicate that greater nanoparticle weight concentration promotes heat transfer. The most significant improvement in thermal conductance (UxA) was recorded as 28% in the case of 0.4 wt.% MWCNT water-based nanofluid at 0.034 kg/s flow rate as against water. The economical performance of a nanoparticle-containing cooling system was gauged for a natural gas-powered engine.
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