Accumulation of Pb and Cd in tissue of leek (Allium ampeloprasum persicum) and peppermint (Mentha piperita) treated with sewage sludge of Qods town’s treatment plant, Tehran

This study was carried out to investigate the accumulation of Pb and Cd in tissue of leek (Allium ampeloprasum persicum) and peppermint (Mentha piperita) treated with municipal sewage sludge of Qods town’s treatment plant, Tehran. For this purpose, after soil preparation, sampling of sewage sludge and assessment of the physicochemical properties of the samples, leek and peppermint plants were divided as treatment and control groups. Afterwards, using ICP-OES the concentrations of Pb and Cd were determined in the tissues of peppermint and leek. Results showed that the concentration (mean ± SD) of Pb in the control and treatment groups was 0.26±0.08 and 0.55±0.16 mg/kg, respectively. Pb concentration in peppermint samples was estimated as 0.26±0.06 and 2.41±0.79 mg/kg for control and treatment group, respectively. Moreover, the mean concentration of Cd in control and treatment groups of leek was 0.083±0.003 and 0.26±0.05 mg/kg and for peppermint 0.057±0.002 and 0.14±0.02 mg/kg, respectively. Comparative evaluation of the evaluated treatments showed that except for Cd in leek and peppermint treatment samples, the mean concentrations of Pb and Cd in both vegetables were significantly lower than EPA permissible limits for human consumption. The results of this study indicated that for reducing the health risks of long-term use of sewage sludge as fertilizer, further monitoring should be performed

Accurate capacity factor calculation of waste-to-energy power plants based on availability analysis and design/off-design performance

The aim of this study is to obtain more realistic estimations of the achievable capacity factor and availability of waste-to-energy power plants to better understand their economics, and hence facilitate appropriate deployment. Towards this aim, we introduce Markov analysis and off-design considerations into the calculation of plant performance. Parameters such as increasing failure rates as a result of aging, infant mortality failures, and overhauls are all taken into account with our approach. Meanwhile, the effect of failures on such plant's operating mode is evaluated, and Stodola's cone law is applied to calculate the actual power generation in off-design mode. A system divided into three main sub-components, two steam generation blocks and a power generation block, each of which has its own failure and repair rates, is proposed for this study. The state-space diagram of the proposed system is constructed and simplified, and the transient differential equations governing the state-space diagram are solved numerically. Having obtained the availability of the system and off-design performance, the capacity factor is calculated and compared with actual field data. Also, a new availability-based formulation is presented to obtain the net present value of the cash flow. Results show that by using a time-varying failure rate, the availability of the power plant declines about 23% over 20 years, a significant difference to estimated availability if a constant failure rate was assumed. Our findings highlight that the present price of electricity, $0.057 per kWh, for generation from the plant is insufficient to encourage investment in this technology in Iran at present, and greater deployment will require some form of policy intervention

Intraoperative Fluorescent Imaging of Intracranial Tumors: A Review

A review of fluorescent imaging for intracranial neoplasms is presented. Complete resection of brain cancer is seldom possible because of the goal to preserve brain tissue and the inability to visualize individual infiltrative tumor cells. Verification of histology and identification of tumor invasion in macroscopically normal-appearing brain tissue determine prognosis after resection of malignant gliomas. Therefore, imaging modalities aim to facilitate intraoperative decision-making. Intraoperative fluorescent imaging techniques have the potential to enable precise histopathologic diagnosis and to detect tumor remnants in the operative field. Macroscopic fluorescence imaging is effective for gross tumor detection. Microscopic imaging techniques enhance the sensitivity of the macroscopic observations and provide real-time histological information. Further development of clinical grade fluorescent agents specifically targeting tumor cells could improve the diagnostic and prognostic yield of intraoperative imaging. © 2013 Elsevier B.V

Impact of leachate on groundwater pollution due to non-engineered municipal solid waste landfill sites of erode city, Tamil Nadu, India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Leachate and groundwater samples were collected from Vendipalayam, Semur and Vairapalayam landfill sites in Erode city, Tamil Nadu, India, to study the possible impact of leachate percolation on groundwater quality. Concentrations of various physicochemical parameters including heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Fe and Zn) were determined in leachate samples and are reported. The concentrations of Cl^-, NO₃^-, SO₄^2-, NH₄⁺ were found to be in considerable levels in the groundwater samples particularly near to the landfill sites, likely indicating that groundwater quality is being significantly affected by leachate percolation. Further they were proved to be the tracers for groundwater contamination near Semur and Vendipalayam dumpyards. The presence of contaminants in groundwater particularly near the landfill sites warns its quality and thus renders the associated aquifer unreliable for domestic water supply and other uses. Although some remedial measures are suggested to reduce further groundwater contamination via leachate percolation, the present study demands for the proper management of waste in Erode city.</p

Infection after penetrating brain injury—An Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma multicenter study oral presentation at the 32nd annual meeting of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, January 15–19, 2019, in Austin, Texas

2019 EAST PODIUM PAPER Infection after penetrating brain injury—An Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma multicenter study oral presentation at the 32nd annual meeting of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, January 15–19, 2019, in Austin, Texas Harmon, Laura A. MD; Haase, Daniel J. MD; Kufera, Joseph A. MA; Adnan, Sakib BS; Cabral, Donna BNS; Lottenberg, Lawrence MD; Cunningham, Kyle W. MD, MPH; Bonne, Stephanie MD; Burgess, Jessica MD; Etheridge, James MD; Rehbein, Jennifer L. MD; Semon, Gregory DO; Noorbakhsh, Matthew R. MD; Cragun, Benjamin N. MD; Agrawal, Vaidehi PhD; Truitt, Michael MD; Marcotte, Joseph MD; Goldenberg, Anna DO; Behbahaninia, Milad MD; Keric, Natasha MD; Hammer, Peter M. MD; Nahmias, Jeffry MD; Grigorian, Areg MD; Turay, Dave MD; Chakravarthy, Vikram MD; Lalchandani, Priti MD; Kim, Dennis MD; Chapin, Trinette; Dunn, Julie MD; Portillo, Victor MD; Schroeppel, Thomas MD, MS; Stein, Deborah M. MD, MPH Author Information Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery 87(1):p 61-67, July 2019. | DOI: 10.1097/TA.0000000000002327 Buy CME Test Erratum Abstract BACKGROUND Fatality rates following penetrating traumatic brain injury (pTBI) are extremely high and survivors are often left with significant disability. Infection following pTBI is associated with worse morbidity. The modern rates of central nervous system infections (INF) in civilian survivors are unknown. This study sought to determine the rate of and risk factors for INF following pTBI and to determine the impact of antibiotic prophylaxis. METHODS Seventeen institutions submitted adult patients with pTBI and survival of more than 72 hours from 2006 to 2016. Patients were stratified by the presence or absence of infection and the use or omission of prophylactic antibiotics. Study was powered at 85% to detect a difference in infection rate of 5%. Primary endpoint was the impact of prophylactic antibiotics on INF. Mantel-Haenszel χ2 and Wilcoxon\u27s rank-sum tests were used to compare categorical and nonparametric variables. Significance greater than p = 0.2 was included in a logistic regression adjusted for center. RESULTS Seven hundred sixty-three patients with pTBI were identified over 11 years. 7% (n = 51) of patients developed an INF. Sixty-six percent of INF patients received prophylactic antibiotics. Sixty-two percent of all patients received one dose or greater of prophylactic antibiotics and 50% of patients received extended antibiotics. Degree of dural penetration did not appear to impact the incidence of INF (p = 0.8) nor did trajectory through the oropharynx (p = 0.18). Controlling for other variables, there was no statistically significant difference in INF with the use of prophylactic antibiotics (p = 0.5). Infection was higher in patients with intracerebral pressure monitors (4% vs. 12%; p = \u3c0.001) and in patients with surgical intervention (10% vs. 3%; p \u3c 0.001). CONCLUSION There is no reduction in INF with prophylactic antibiotics in pTBI. Surgical intervention and invasive intracerebral pressure monitoring appear to be risk factors for INF regardless of prophylactic use. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic, level IV