Abstract
Unplanned urban areas are flawed by the lack of the supplemental services; for example, infrastructure, educational buildings, worship places, administrative authorities, and appropriate ...road networks. Thus, the goal of this paper is to propose a new method for the spatial analysis and redesigning of a defined urban space (US) rendering it to be smarter and sustainable. Starting from these assumptions, the paper attempts to develop a methodology for procedural modeling for building the regeneration process starting from the planning to the design of the United States under study with the aid of the City Geography Markup Language (CityGML) application. The proposed solution was shown to be capable of meeting the increased population needs better than the traditional replanning methods. In this instance, a software interface incorporating InfraWorks and ArcGIS software programs was utilized to regenerate a new smart urban area with the involvement of all respective urban features within the CityGML model replacing that of the conventional unplanned area. Moreover, a unified geodatabase was adopted to enhance the design flexibility by integrating data from diverse sources, in addition to attaining higher accuracy. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed solution, a detailed case study has been applied on the Amarwi area, which is located at the Alexandria governorate in Egypt in the Montzah District, validating the replanning competency and outperformance.
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•Anammox bacteria revealed robust resistance to the toxicity to 200 mg/L 1,4-dioxane.•1,4-Dioxane inhibition to anammox process was found to be substrate dependent.•Inactivation of ...HDH enzyme is the main anammox inhibition mechanism by 1,4-dioxane.•Candidatus Brocadia was adversely affected by increasing 1,4-dioxane concentration.
Anammox process contaminated by 1,4-dioxane was evaluated using sets of batch experiments under different nitrogen loads and 1,4-dioxane concentrations. Toxicity of 1,4-dioxane to anammox consortia was negligible till the level of 200 mg-dioxane/L with a reduction in the total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency, less than 8% at initial loads of <200 mgTN/L. However, 1,4-dioxane inhibition was also found to be substrate-dependent, where TN removal efficiency was declined by 19.3% at 500 mgTN/L and 200 mg-dioxane/L. The negative synergistic effect was exacerbated in the case of 500 mgTN/L and 2000 mg-dioxane/L, with the minimum TN removal efficiency of 24.1 ± 1.2%. Moreover, the impact of 1,4-dioxane on anammox activity was evaluated in terms of specific anammox activity (SAA), hydrazine dehydrogenase (HDH) activity, and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). These parameters revealed a significant reduction when 1,4-dioxane surpassed 200 mg/L. Their lowest values of 0.90 ± 0.02 mgTN/gVSS/h (54.7% lower than control), 0.45 ± 0.03 µmol cytochrome-c reduced/min/mg protein (45.1% lower than control), and 74.8 ± 8.5 mg/gVSS (32.6% lower than control) were recorded when anammox bacteria were subjected to initial TN and 1,4-dioxane loads of 200 and 2000 mg/L, respectively. The inhibition mechanism of 1,4-dioxane on the anammox process was expected owing to HDH enzyme inactivation that led to a reduction in SAA and EPS secretion ability. Further, the 16S rRNA analysis revealed that the exposure to 1,4-dioxane caused a significant drop in the dominant anammox genus Candidatus Brocadia, along with a progression of denitrifying bacteria, particularly genus Limnobacter.
•Biological treatment of hazardous landfill leachate by UASB/SAS system for 310 days.•Integrated UASB/SAS system showed adequate organics, N, TSS, and VSS removals.•Removals of hazardous pollutants ...(heavy metals and chlorinated PCBs) were achieved.•Sponge media in SAS attained nitrification/denitrification and biomass immobilization.•UASB/SAS system had initial investment 212.7 US$/m3/d and annual cost 11.3 US$/m3/d.
This study investigated the application of an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor followed by a self-aerated sponge (SAS) unit as a combined system for the treatment of hazardous landfill leachate (HLL) for 310 days. The removal efficiencies of the integrated UASB/SAS system were 34.5–59.2% for COD total, 19.6–50.8% for COD soluble, 72.3–92.8% for NH4-N, 41.3–58.6% for TSS, and 32.9–49.4% for VSS. The removal efficiencies of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), i.e., PCB-44, PCB-118, PCB-149, PCB-180, and PCB-194 were 88.1 %, 94.2 %, 87.2 %, 95.7 %, and 91.2 %, respectively, resulting in ΣPCBs of 0.019 μg/L in the treated effluent. The highest heavy metals removal efficiencies were 85.6 ± 4.8 %, 73.6 ± 5.4 %, 87.6 ± 6.2 %, 76.5 ± 3.8 %, 77.8 ± 4.0 %, 42.9 ± 1.9 %, 59.3 ± 4.5 %, and 80.6 ± 4.5 % for Fe2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, Cr3+, and Mn2+, respectively. The performance of the treatment system was found to be hydraulic retention time (HRT), salinity, and C/N ratio dependent. The profile analysis along the SAS height revealed that the COD fractions (COD total, COD soluble, and COD particulate) were initially consumed, followed by the nitrification process. An initial investment of 212.7 US$/m3/d and an annual cost of 11.3 US$/m3/d were estimated for the combined UASB/SAS system treating HLL. This study provided an environmental-eco-friendly and feasible sustainable solution for handling the HLL issues, particularly in developing countries.
Purpose
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a respiratory morbidity related to prematurity. Early prediction of BPD allows the selection of patients who would benefit from new therapies. Lung ...ultrasound (LUS) is a non-invasive diagnostic tool that has proven to be reliable for many neonatal diseases recently. The study aimed to detect the role of LUS in predicting BPD at days 7 and 14 of life in preterm babies.
Methods
This was a prospective cohort study that included 95 preterm babies ≤ 34 weeks. Lung ultrasounds were performed on days 7 and 14 of life.
Results
The mean gestational age of the studied neonates was 30.25 ± 2.21 weeks. The mean birth weight was 1347.66 ± 432.14 gm. Patients who developed BPD had statistically significantly higher LUS scores on both days 7 and 14 of life. At first examination, a LUS score > 8 showed a sensitivity of 83.33% and a specificity of 60.87%, whereas at follow-up, a LUS score > 8 showed a sensitivity of 76.39% and a specificity of 82.61%. The multivariate logistic regression analysis shows that the most important factors associated with BPD were gestational age ≤ 30 weeks, LUS score at first examination > 8, platelets ≤ 245 × 10
9
/L, segment neutrophils ≤ 42%, and CRP > 5 mg/l.
Conclusions
The LUS score predicts BPD at 7 and 14 days of life. LUS scores increased with increasing BPD severity. LUS score > 8 was an independent factor in the prediction of BPD.
Background:Iron overload (IO) appears in cases with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) treated with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA) & parenteral iron, with liver iron storage concentrations ...closely related to total body iron stores. Objectives:To estimate the frequency of iatrogenic iron overload among end-stage chronic kidney disease patients undergoing regular HD and to ascertain the primary determinants of risk & complications associated with iatrogenic iron overload in hemodialysis cases at Qena University Hospital. Patients and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 96 adult ESRD subjects undergoing maintenance dialysis for at least three months at the nephrology unit of Qena University Hospital, from 1/12/2022 to 1/6/2023. All patients were submitted to full history taking, Full clinical examination, Estimation of body mass index, Laboratory investigation including CBC, Iron profile, Kidney function test, glomerular filtration rate, Liver function, C-reactive protein, liver fibrosis indices, inflammatory indices and liver ultrasonography. Results:58.3percentmen& 41.7 percentwomen were included;the mean age was 53.32 ± 13.60 years, and 66.7% had less than 5 years of dialysis duration. The common causes of their CKD were hypertension (41.7%), idiopathic (28.1%), and diabetes (18.8%). They have a mean serum ferritin level of 721.96 ± 626.72 ng/ml, which was correlated with the patient’s age and dialysis duration. 60 patients (63.22%) utilized blood transfusion; 46 (47.9%) received parenteral iron; and 42 (43.8%) got ESA. 47.22%of patients had hyperferritinemia, and 29.16% had IO. Liver ultrasonography revealed diffuse hepatic pathology (21.9%), mild hepatomegaly (6.3%),and 2.1% had a fatty liver.Out of 22 patients with normal ferritin levels, 4 have diffuse hepatic pathology (18.18%), 3 have diffuse hepatic pathology with mild hepatomegaly (13.64%), and 1 hasa bright liver (4.55%). Of 46 hyperferritinemia patients, 5 have diffuse hepatic pathology (10.87%), 2 have diffuse hepatic pathology with mild hepatomegaly (4.35%), and 5 have a bright liver (10.87%). Of 28 IO patients, 11 have diffuse hepatic pathology (39.29%), 1 has diffuse hepatic pathology with mild hepatomegaly (3.57%), 1 has liver cysts (3.57%), and 2 have fatty liver (7.14%). Patients with IO have significant heart symptoms. Conclusion:Out of 96 ESRD patients, 29.16% had IO, and 47.92% had hyperferritinemia associated with the presence of hepatic pathology. It is necessary to monitor blood or organ siderosis, use parenteral iron cautiously, and find a safe cut-off value for ferritin.
IntroductionSurgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). However, there is a lack of data available about SSI in children worldwide, especially ...from low-income and middle-income countries. This study aimed to estimate the incidence of SSI in children and associations between SSI and morbidity across human development settings.MethodsA multicentre, international, prospective, validated cohort study of children aged under 16 years undergoing clean-contaminated, contaminated or dirty gastrointestinal surgery. Any hospital in the world providing paediatric surgery was eligible to contribute data between January and July 2016. The primary outcome was the incidence of SSI by 30 days. Relationships between explanatory variables and SSI were examined using multilevel logistic regression. Countries were stratified into high development, middle development and low development groups using the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI).ResultsOf 1159 children across 181 hospitals in 51 countries, 523 (45·1%) children were from high HDI, 397 (34·2%) from middle HDI and 239 (20·6%) from low HDI countries. The 30-day SSI rate was 6.3% (33/523) in high HDI, 12·8% (51/397) in middle HDI and 24·7% (59/239) in low HDI countries. SSI was associated with higher incidence of 30-day mortality, intervention, organ-space infection and other HAIs, with the highest rates seen in low HDI countries. Median length of stay in patients who had an SSI was longer (7.0 days), compared with 3.0 days in patients who did not have an SSI. Use of laparoscopy was associated with significantly lower SSI rates, even after accounting for HDI.ConclusionThe odds of SSI in children is nearly four times greater in low HDI compared with high HDI countries. Policies to reduce SSI should be prioritised as part of the wider global agenda.
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