Aim
The use of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatments are increasing among paediatric patients worldwide. We aimed to review the effects of PPIs on the microbiome and its associated effect on the ...gastrointestinal, respiratory and metabolic systems. The role of probiotics is discussed.
Methods
We searched for relevant articles published in English language in PubMed and Google Scholar. Articles were extracted using subject heading and key words of interest to the topic.
Results
There is evidence that PPIs modify the microbiome of the mouth, gut and lungs. The specific adverse effects associated with PPIs were necrotising enterocolitis, late onset sepsis in premature infants, Clostridium difficile infection, asthma, obesity and small intestine bacterial overgrowth in young children. Studies on the use of probiotics to counteract adverse effects of PPIs were limited.
Conclusion
PPIs create dysbiosis of the microbiome in the mouth, gut and lungs in the paediatric population. Probiotics could restore dysbiosis but it has very poorly been studied if probiotics can counteract or prevent PPI induced adverse effects.
Studies on the development and evolution of anaerobic digestion (AD) pretreatments are nowadays becoming widespread, due to the outstanding benefits that these processes could entail in the ...management of sewage sludge. Production of sewage sludge in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is becoming an extremely important environmental issue. The work presented in this paper is a continuation of our previous studies with the aim of understanding and developing the advanced thermal hydrolysis (ATH) process. ATH is a novel AD pretreatment based on a thermal hydrolysis (TH) process plus hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) addition that takes advantage of a peroxidation/direct steam injection synergistic effect. The main goal of the present research was to compare the performance of TH and ATH, conducted at a wide range of operating conditions, as pretreatments of mesophilic AD with an emphasis on methane production enhancement as a key parameter and its connection with the sludge solubilization. Results showed that both TH and ATH patently improved methane production in subsequent mesophilic BMP (biochemical methane potential) tests in comparison with BMP control tests (raw secondary sewage sludge). Besides other interesting results and discussions, a promising result was obtained since ATH, operated at temperature (115 °C), pretreatment time (5 min) and pressure (1 bar) considerably below those typically used in TH (170 °C, 30 min, 8 bar), managed to enhance the methane production in subsequent mesophilic BMP tests biodegradability factor (fB) = cumulative CH4production/cumulative CH4production (Control) = 1.51 ± 0.01 to quite similar levels than conventional TH pretreatment fB = 1.52 ± 0.03.
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•Thermal hydrolysis (TH) and advanced thermal hydrolysis (ATH) anaerobic digestion pretreatments are studied.•Both TH and ATH patently improved total methane production in mesophilic BMP tests.•Higher solubilization of secondary sewage sludge not always entails an improvement on BMP.•ATH at 115 °C, 5 min, 1 bar shows quite similar performance than TH at 170 °C, 35 min, 8 bar.•Pretreatments at 115 °C did not increase the H2S content in the biogas from BMP tests.
► Anaerobic digestion of microalgae have highest productivities at S/I ratios of 0.5. ► Methane productivity is depended of microalgae specie. ► The microalgae concentration for anaerobic digestion ...must be greater than 10gTS/kg. ► COD solubilization no imply an improvement on methane productivity. ► Thermal hydrolysis substantially improves methane productivity of microalgae.
The anaerobic digestion of three microalgae mixtures was evaluated at different substrate to inoculum (S/I) ratios (0.5, 1 and 3), biomass concentrations (3, 10 and 20gTS/kg) and pretreatments (thermal hydrolysis, ultrasound and biological treatment). An S/I ratio of 0.5 and 10gTS/kg resulted in the highest final methane productivities regardless of the microalgae tested (ranging from 188 to 395mL CH4/gVSadded). The biological pretreatment supported negligible enhancements on CH4 productivity, while the highest increase (46–62%) was achieved for the thermal hydrolysis. The optimum temperature of this pretreatment depended on the microalgae species. The ultrasound pretreatment brought about increases in CH4 productivity ranging from 6% to 24% at 10,000kJ/kgTS, without further increases at higher energy inputs. The results here obtained confirmed the lack of correlation between the solubilization degree and the methane enhancement potential and pointed out that anaerobic digestion of algae after thermal pretreatment is a promising technology for renewable energy production.
The effect of thermal and sonication pre-treatment on the anaerobic degradation of sewage sludge was evaluated through the calculation of performance parameters by using three simplified mathematical ...models and one kinetic model. The Modified Gompertz equation, the Logistic function, Reaction Curve and First-Order models were all used with experimental data from the anaerobic biodegradability tests fed with primary and secondary thermal pre-treated sludge, and secondary sonicated sludge. All the models fit well with the experimental data, but the Reaction Curve model presented the best agreement in the fitting process. From the first-order equation no significant changes were observed in the hydrolysis constant under all conditions. Thermal pre-treatment (175
°C and 30
min) showed an important effect on the secondary sludge reaching an improvement of around 90% and 80% in the maximum production rate and the total biogas produced respectively. With regards to the sonication experiment, the best result was obtained when 12,400
kJ/kgTS were used, reaching an improvement of 40% in the total biogas production.
•Influence of thermal pretreatment on the anaerobic biodegradation of wheat straw.•Evaluation through BMP tests and modeling.•Optimum severity factor at 220°C and 1min (3.5 severity factor).•First ...order model confirmed that the hydrolysis is the limiting step.•Surface response evaluation indicated negligible interaction temperature–time.
The biochemical methane potential of steam exploded wheat straw was evaluated in a pilot plant under different temperature–time combinations. The optimum was obtained for 1min and 220°C thermal pretreatment (3.5 severity factor), resulting in a 20% increase in methane production respect non-treated straw. For more severe treatments the biodegradability decreased due to a possible formation of inhibitory compounds. The results of the tests were modeled with a first order equation to estimate the hydrolysis constant and biodegradability extent, and the influence of temperature and time on the kinetic parameters was obtained with a response surface study. The data processing confirmed the accuracy of the model and the optimum operation conditions, and demonstrated that the biomethanization of raw and pretreated wheat straw is limited by the hydrolysis, being the individual influence of temperature and time much more important than the interaction between them.
Aim
Description of the impact of caesarean section on the infant gut microbiome, infant health and solutions to restore the dysbiosis.
Methods
We searched PubMed and Google Scholar for relevant ...articles. Only articles published in English were selected. Separate searches were performed for each topic. We selected 60 articles published between 1999 and 2019 by extracting subject headings and key words of interest for this topic.
Results
Caesarean section is an obstetrical procedure that is increasing in prevalence worldwide. On top of the maternal and neonatal risks that this procedure carries, it also induces a dysbiosis of the infant intestinal microbiome possibly challenging the health outcome for the infant. Antibiotics administered during Caesarean deliveries contribute to the development of the gut microbiome. Nonetheless, breastfeeding and several interventions such as vaginal seeding and supplementation with probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics may contribute to the restoration of the dysbiosis.
Conclusion
Caesarean section is associated with the development of an imbalance of the infant gut microbiome. Long‐term consequences of this imbalance are debated. Besides breastfeeding, other strategies to restore this dysbiosis need further studies before they can be recommended.
At industrial scale, thermal hydrolysis is the most used process to enhance biodegradability of the sludge produced in wastewater treatment plants. Through statistically guided Box-Behnken ...experimental design, the present study analyses the effect of TH as pre-treatment applied to activated sludge. The selected process variables were temperature (130-180 °C), time (5–50 min) and decompression mode (slow or steam-explosion effect), and the parameters evaluated were sludge solubilisation and methane production by anaerobic digestion. A quadratic polynomial model was generated to compare the process performance for the 15 different combinations of operation conditions by modifying the process variables evaluated. The statistical analysis performed exhibited that methane production and solubility were significantly affected by pre-treatment time and temperature. During high intensity pre-treatment (high temperature and long times), the solubility increased sharply while the methane production exhibited the opposite behaviour, indicating the formation of some soluble but non-biodegradable materials. Therefore, solubilisation is not a reliable parameter to quantify the efficiency of a thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment, since it is not directly related to methane production. Based on the operational parameters optimization, the estimated optimal thermal hydrolysis conditions to enhance of sewage sludge digestion were: 140–170 °C heating temperature, 5–35min residence time, and one sudden decompression.
•Optimization of a Thermal Hydrolysis (TH) process through a statistically guided Box-Behnken design.•Pre-treatment time and temperature notably affected CH4 production and solubility.•High intensity TH showed opposite behaviour of solubility and CH4 production.•TH is a robust process without strict and sophisticated operation control system.•Solubilisation is not a suitable prediction parameter to quantify TH efficiency.
To study the prevalence and interrelationship between asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema using data obtained from ISAAC questionnaires.
The Medline, Pubmed Publisher, EMBASE, Google Scholar and the ...Cochrane Controlled Clinical Trials Register databases were systematically reviewed to evaluate epidemiological data of children with atopic disorders. To study these interrelationships, a new approach was used. Risk ratios were calculated, describing the risk of having two different atopic disorders when the child is known with one disorder.
Included were 31 studies, covering a large number of surveyed children (n=1,430,329) in 102 countries. The calculated worldwide prevalence for asthma, eczema and allergic rhinitis is 12.00% (95% CI: 11.99-12.00), 7.88% (95% CI: 7.88-7.89) and 12.66% (95% CI: 12.65-12.67), respectively. The observed prevalence 1.17% (95% CI: 1.17-1.17) of having all three diseases is 9.8 times higher than could be expected by chance. For children with asthma the calculated risk ratio of having the other two disorders is 5.41 (95% CI: 4.76-6.16), for children with eczema 4.24 (95% CI: 3.75-4.79), and for children with allergic rhinitis 6.20 (95% CI: 5.30-7.27). No studied confounders had a significant influence on these risk ratios.
Only a minority of children suffers from all three atopic disorders, however this co-occurrence is significantly higher than could be expected by chance and supports a close relationship of these disorders in children. The data of this meta-analysis supports the hypothesis that there could be a fourth distinct group of children with all three disorders. Researchers and clinicians might need to consider these children as a separate group with distinct characteristics regarding severity, causes, treatment or prognosis.
In this study, 28-membered macrocyclic 1,5(1,5)-di(1,5-diaza-3,7-diphosphacyclooctana)-2,4,6,8(1,4)-tetrabenzenacyclooctaphane were synthesized by condensation of pyridinephosphine, paraformaldehyde, ...and primary diamines (bis(4-aminophenyl)methane or -sulfide. The first representatives of binuclear copper(I) complexes of P,N-containing cyclophanes with two 1,5-diaza-3,7-diphosphacyclooctane rings incorporated into a macrocyclic core and intracavity location of unusual, developed angle Cu2I moiety were obtained. The structure of one complex was established by X-ray diffraction analysis. The complexation led to a slight distortion of the cyclophane conformations.
The growing development of technologies and processes for resource treatment and recovery is offering endless possibilities for creating new plant-wide configurations or modifying existing ones. ...However, the configurations’ complexity, the interrelation between technologies and the influent characteristics turn decision-making into a complex or unobvious process. In this frame, the Plant-Wide Modelling (PWM) library presented in this paper allows a thorough, comprehensive and refined analysis of different plant configurations that are basic aspects in decision-making from an energy and resource recovery perspective. In order to demonstrate the potential of the library and the need to run simulation analyses, this paper carries out a comparative analysis of WWTPs, from a techno-economic point of view. The selected layouts were (1) a conventional WWTP based on a modified version of the Benchmark Simulation Model No. 2, (2) an upgraded or retrofitted WWTP, and (3) a new Wastewater Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRF) concept denominated as C/N/P decoupling WWTP. The study was based on a preliminary analysis of the organic matter and nutrient energy use and recovery options, a comprehensive mass and energy flux distribution analysis in each configuration in order to compare and identify areas for improvement, and a cost analysis of each plant for different influent COD/TN/TP ratios. Analysing the plants from a standpoint of resources and energy utilization, a low utilization of the energy content of the components could be observed in all configurations. In the conventional plant, the COD used to produce biogas was around 29%, the upgraded plant was around 36%, and 34% in the C/N/P decoupling WWTP. With regard to the self-sufficiency of plants, achieving self-sufficiency was not possible in the conventional plant, in the upgraded plant it depended on the influent C/N ratio, and in the C/N/P decoupling WWTP layout self-sufficiency was feasible for almost all influents, especially at high COD concentrations. The plant layouts proposed in this paper are just a sample of the possibilities offered by current technologies. Even so, the library presented here is generic and can be used to construct any other plant layout, provided that a model is available.
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•Comparative analysis of evolutionary WWTP, from a techno-economic point of view.•Analysis of organic matter and nutrient energy use and recovery options.•Comparative analysis of COD and nutrient flux distributions in evolutionary plants.•Analysis of the costs distributions in WWTPs for different influent COD/N/P ratios.•Simulations based on the Plant-wide modelling methodology.
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