High-concentration industrial molasses wastewater treatment was examined using biological reactors coupled with physicochemical filtration membranes. The biological processes combined two mesophilic ...upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors, a multi-stage upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (MS)-UASB, and a regular UASB for primary anaerobic pre-organic removal, and a downflow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor, equipped with polyurethane sponge media for post-aerobic treatment. Concentrated blackstrap molasses was diluted 12,000 - 1,500 mg of chemical oxygen demand (COD)/L with organic loading rate (OLR) of 4.5 - 57.7 kg-COD/m3/d (MS-UASB), 2.3 - 34.7 kg-COD/m3/d (UASB), and 0.2 - 6.0 kg-COD/m3/d (DHS). A 1:1.3 recirculation ratio within the MS-UASB was evaluated at different influent concentrations for COD, biogas (CH4) production, and nitrogen, phosphate, and color removal. The average total organic COD removal was over 92% with and without recirculation. A total of 150 NL/d of biogas with 64 - 75% methane content was collected at the maximum loading rate and influent concentration. Ammonia was reduced from 30 mg-N/L to 5 mg-N/L in the DHS reactor. The dark influent could not be reduced biologically; however, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration removed 98% of the color.
In the production of natural rubber, formate or acetate is added to the latex solution to coagulate the rubber; therefore, the wastewater contains high concentrations of organic acids, requiring the ...application of anaerobic treatment technology. In this study, a two-phase continuous flow experiment using a laboratory-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) was conducted to investigate the influence of formate inflow on the microbial and physical characteristics of the retained granular sludge. In phase 1, acetate-based wastewater was used as feed, while in phase 2, formate-based wastewater was used as feed. In phase 1, the UASB exhibited high COD removal efficiency (97.2%); in addition, the retained sludge showed increased methane production from acetate and proliferation of acetate-utilizing Methanosaeta species. In phase 2, the UASB performed as well as phase 1, with 98.2% COD removal efficiency. Microbial community structure analysis confirmed that relatives of Methanobacterium formicicum present in the retained sludge were responsible for the degradation of formate in phase 2. However, decreased diameter and slight deterioration of granular sludge settleability were observed. In conclusion, formate inflow has low risk of interference with the process performance of the UASB, but it has negative effects on the physical properties of the granular sludge.
In this study, a pilot-scale co-compositing process using sewage sludge and plant biomass in Japan was used as a model for a local circular bioeconomy. Heavy metal concentrations in the developed ...sewage sludge compost (NSSC) were lower than the threshold values of composts reported worldwide, and the fiber content was higher (33.6 %) than that of commercial sewage sludge compost (CSSC) (9.7 %), indicating that co-composting with plant biomass resolves the issues associated with sewage sludge. Komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. peruviridis) showed plant growth-promoting effects after fertilizing with NSSC compared to CSSC. The alpha diversities of NSSC were 4- to 6-fold higher than those of CSSC, and several effective biosynthetic gene clusters, such as non-ribosomal peptide synthases, siderophores, and acetoin metabolism, were detected in the predominant microorganisms, suggesting that NSSC may promote plant growth owing to an increase in the presence of antagonistic microorganisms and promotion of microbial interactions in the soil.
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•Heavy metal concentrations in newly developed sewage sludge compost (NSSC) were low.•Aggregate and muddy properties were improved by co-composting with plant biomass.•NSSC has plant growth-promoting (PGP) effect compared with commercial compost (CSSC).•Microbial diversities of NSSC were 4- to 6- fold higher than those of CSSC.•Predominant bacteria in NSSC possess effective biosynthetic gene clusters for PGP.
Background and Objectives
This prospective study aimed to identify long‐term changes in sexual function of men with rectal cancer from point of diagnosis to 24 months postoperatively.
Methods
Male ...patients undergoing laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery were prospectively enrolled. International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) Questionnaire scores were collected at diagnosis; first follow‐up; and 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. Missing values were managed via multiple imputations using the propensity score method. Paired t tests were applied to examine changes in IIEF scores over time.
Results
This study analyzed 115 patients. For erectile function, there were no significant changes in scores from the point of diagnosis to first treatment (9.4 vs. 9.8 as mean scores; p = .227). Scores deteriorated postoperatively and recovered until 12 months post‐surgery, but did not improve significantly from 12 months to 24 months post‐surgery (8.7 vs. 8.2 as mean scores; p = .440). This pattern of change was observed in all other domains: orgasmic function, sexual desire, orgasmic satisfaction, and overall satisfaction.
Conclusions
Sexual function was not influenced by a rectal cancer diagnosis. Sexual function deteriorated following surgery and recovered until 12 months post‐surgery; however, it did not significantly improve from 12 months to 24 months postoperatively.
Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the association of body mass index (BMI) with arterial stiffness assessed by cardioankle vascular index (CAVI). Subjects and methods: A ...retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in 23,257 healthy Japanese subjects (12,729 men and 10,528 women, aged 47.1 + or - 12.5 years, BMI 22.9 + or - 3.4 kg/m.sup.2) who underwent health screening between 2004 and 2006 in Japan. Exclusion criteria were current medication use and a past history of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, and nephritis. Results: Male subjects showed significantly higher BMI, CAVI, and triglycerides and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol compared with female subjects. Next, the subjects were divided into tertiles of BMI: lower, middle, and upper, in a gender-specific manner. After adjusting for confounders including age, systolic blood pressure, and HDL-cholesterol identified by multiple regression analysis, the mean CAVI decreased progressively as BMI tertile increased in both genders. Furthermore, a negative inverse relationship between BMI and adjusted CAVI was observed throughout the BMI distribution. Multivariate logistic regression model for contributors of high CAVI (greater than or equal to90th percentile) identified obesity (odds ratios (95% confidence interval): 0.804 (0.720-0.899), older age 15.6 (14.0-17.4), male gender 2.26 (2.03-2.51), hypertension 2.28 (2.06-2.54), impaired fasting glucose 1.17 (1.01-1.37), and low HDL-cholesterol 0.843 (0.669-1.06) as independent factors. Conclusion: We demonstrated an inverse relationship between CAVI and BMI in healthy Japanese subjects, suggesting that systemic accumulation of adipose tissue per se may lead to a linear decrease of arterial stiffness in nonobese and obese subjects without metabolic disorders. Keywords: BMI, cardioankle vascular index, arterial stiffness
An antenna load impedance detection and automatic tuning technique is presented. An antenna load impedance detection circuit as well as burst detector enabling autonomous tuning is integrated on a ...CMOS-PA chip. A low-loss impedance tuner with an SOI switch is also demonstrated. The proposed impedance detection circuit employs polar detection technique, so that the antenna impedance is tuned in a vector fashion to track the time-varying antenna impedance promptly. Also, it can operate with nonconstant envelope signal thanks to an introduced relative detection technique. At the back-off operation, the impedance can be automatically tuned to optimum value. The circuit is time shared with PA linearization loop, minimizing the overhead of the circuit. When the VSWR is approximately 2.5, the peak PAE is kept more than 40% with tuning, whereas it varies from 28% to 45% without tuning. The linear efficiency without the tuning is 15% as the worst case, while more than 30% of PAE is maintained when the tuning and PA-closed loop are enabled. The drain efficiency at 6 dB back-off is improved from 30% to 40%. The tuner can cover a VSWR of around 6, while achieving a loss ranging from 0.3 to 4.6 dB.
Dyspnea is a prevalent symptom that significantly reduces quality of life of cancer patients. Palliative treatment is necessary when the symptoms do not respond to treatment for their cause. Opioids ...are widely used as pharmacological therapy, but evidence for individual agents is inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of opioids for dyspnea in cancer patients. We searched the CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and ICHUSHI for studies using opioids for dyspnea in adult cancer patients reported by September 2019. Screening of the retrieved literature and assessment of risk of bias and outcomes were performed by two independent authors. A meta-analysis was performed on the primary endpoint, relief of dyspnea, and secondary endpoints including quality of life, somnolence as a side effect, and serious adverse events. Twelve randomized controlled trials were evaluated regarding relief of dyspnea. Somnolence and serious adverse events were evaluated in seven and four randomized controlled trials, respectively, but no randomized controlled trials were evaluable for quality of life. Overall, opioids were more effective than placebo for dyspnea (standardized mean difference − 0.43, 95% confidence interval CI − 0.75 to – 0.12). Although significant difference was found between systemic morphine and placebo in the drug-specific analysis, no significant difference could be detected in the other analyses. Systemic administration of opioids is more effective than placebo in relieving dyspnea in cancer patients. Robust evidence on the efficacy and safety of opioids on dyspnea in cancer patients is lacking, and further studies are needed.
As a reinforcing method for orthotropic steel decks, the U-rib cutting method has been proposed, in which the welding area between the U-rib and the deck plate is cut and reinforcing plate is ...installed. However, due to the U-rib cutting, the stress concentration may occur at the deck-transverse rib welds. In this study, two intersection structures were applied to the full-scale test model. Moreover, the static and cyclic loading test was carried out. As a result, in the case of the intersection structure with reinforcing plate on the transverse rib, cracks occurred at the deck-transverse rib welds. For the intersection structure without the plate on the transverse rib, stress concentration occurred at the deck-transverse rib welds, but no fatigue cracks occurred.
A new contact model, which is called 'multi-visco-elastic contact model', is developed in the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to represent rheological characteristics of fat spread and simulate the ...dynamics in a kneading machine for improving the uniformity and the efficiency of filling-up of fat spread. The new rheological contact model is connected with a Maxwell component and several Kelvin components in series. Using the new contact model, the overall bulk material composed of small-sized discrete elements shows a time-dependent rheological characteristics, since the model represents rheological characteristics at each contact point. Several simple simulations, which show stress relaxation and creep characteristics, are conducted to verify the new model. The results are in good agreement with analytical ones. Also creep simulations, which mimic lab-scale creep experiments, are conducted. The results are compared with the experimental ones. As a result, it is clarified that the multi-visco-elastic contact model represents rheological characteristics of fat spread well and the scheme enables one to simulate dynamics of fat spread during the process.
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