Hybrid method for selection of the optimal process of leachate treatment in waste treatment and valorization plants or landfills

“The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10098-014-0834-4”Leachate from waste landfill or treatment plants is a very complex and highly contaminated liquid effluent. In its composition, it is found dissolved organic matter, inorganic salts, heavy metals, and other xenobiotic organic compounds, so it can be toxic, carcinogenic, and capable of inducing a potential risk to biota and humans. European law does not allow such leachate to leave the premises without being depolluted. There are many procedures that enable debugging, always combining different techniques. Choosing the best method to use in each case is a complex decision, as it depends on many tangible and intangible factors that must be weighed to achieve a balance between technical, cost, and environmental sustainability. It is presenting a hybrid method for choosing the optimal combination of techniques to apply in each case, by combining a multicriteria hierarchical analysis based on expert data obtained by the Delphi method with an analysis by the method of VIKOR to reach a consensus solution.Martín Utrillas, MG.; Reyes Medina, M.; Curiel Esparza, J.; Cantó Perelló, J. (2015). Hybrid method for selection of the optimal process of leachate treatment in waste treatment and valorization plants or landfills. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy. 17(4):873-885. doi:10.1007/s10098-014-0834-4S873885174Abbas AA, Guo J, Ping LZ, Ya PY, Al-Rekabi WS (2009) Review on landfill leachate treatments. AJAS 6(4):672–684Abood AR, Bao J, Abudi Z, Zheng D, Gao C (2013) Pretreatment of nonbiodegradable landfill leachate by air stripping coupled with agitation as ammonia stripping and coagulation–flocculation processes. Clean Technol Environ Policy 15(6):1069–1076Ahn WY, Kang MS, Yim SK, Choi KH (2002) Advanced landfill leachate treatment using an integrated membrane process. Desalination 149(1–3):109–114Al-Subhi Al-Harbi KM (2001) Application of the AHP in project management. Int J Proj Manag 19:19–27Bernasconi M, Choirat C, Seri R (2014) Empirical properties of group preference aggregation methods employed in AHP: theory and evidence. Eur J Oper Res 232(3):584–592Boopathy R, Karthikeyan S, Mandal AB, Sekaran G (2013) Characterization and recovery of sodium chloride from salt-laden solid waste generated from leather industry. Clean Technol Environ Policy 15(1):117–124Brechet T, Tulkens H (2009) Beyond BAT: selecting optimal combinations of available techniques, with an example from the limestone industry. J Environ Manag 90:1790–1801Canto-Perello J, Curiel-Esparza J, Calvo V (2013) Criticality and threat analysis on utility tunnels for planning security policies of utilities in urban underground space. Expert Syst Appl 40(11):4707–4714Chen Y, Liu C, Nie J, Wu S, Wang D (2014) Removal of COD and decolorizing from landfill leachate by Fenton’s reagent advanced oxidation. Clean Technol Environ Policy 16(1):189–193Chiochetta CG, Goetten LC, Almeida SM, Quaranta G, Cotelle S, Radetski CM (2014) Leachates from solid wastes: chemical and eco(geno)toxicological differences between leachates obtained from fresh and stabilized industrial organic sludge. Environ Sci Pollut R 21:1090–1098Chiumenti A, da Borso F, Chiumenti R, Teri F, Segantin P (2013) Treatment of digestate from a co-digestion biogas plant by means of vacuum evaporation: tests for process optimization and environmental sustainability. Waste Manag 33(6):1339–1344Council Directive 1999/31/EC (1999) April 26th 1999, on the landfill of waste. European Union Council, Official Journal L 182, 16/07/1999 P. 0001–0019Curiel-Esparza J, Canto-Perello J (2012) Understanding the major drivers for implementation of municipal sustainable policies in underground space. Int J Sust Dev World 19(6):506–514Curiel-Esparza J, Canto-Perello J (2013) Selecting utilities placement techniques in urban underground engineering. Arch Civ Mech Eng 13(2):276–285Curiel-Esparza J, Canto-Perello J, Calvo MA (2004) Establishing sustainable strategies in urban underground engineering. Sci Eng Ethics 10(3):523–530Dong Y, Zhang G, Hong WC, Xu Y (2010) Consensus models for AHP group decision making under row geometric mean prioritization method. Decis Support Syst 49:281–289Duckstein L, Opricovic S (1980) Multiobjective Optimization in River Basin Development. Water Resour Res 16(1):14–20Ersahin ME, Ozgun H, van Lier JB (2013) Effect of support material properties on dynamic membrane filtration performance. Separ Sci Technol 48(15):2263–2269Gracht HA (2012) Consensus measurement in Delphi studies, review and implications for future quality assurance. Forecast Soc Chang 79(8):1525–1536Grisey E, Laffray X, Contoz O, Cavalli E, Mudry J, Aleya L (2012) The bioaccumulation performance of reeds and cattails in a constructed treatment wetland for removal of heavy metals in landfill leachate treatment (Etueffont, France). Water Air Soil Pollut 223:1723–1741Guoliang Z, Lei Q, Qin M, Zheng F, Dexin W (2013) Aerobic SMBR/reverse osmosis system enhanced by Fenton oxidation for advanced treatment of old municipal landfill leachate. Bioresour Technol 142:261–268Gupta SK, Singh G (2007) Assessment of the Efficiency and Economic Viability of Various Methods of Treatment of Sanitary Landfill Leachate. Environ Monit Assess 135:107–117Heyer KU, Stegmann R (2005) Landfill systems, sanitary landfilling of solid wastes, and long-term problems with leachate. In: Jördening HJ, Winter J (eds) Environmental Biotechnology. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, p 375Hsu CC, Sandord BA (2007) The Delphi technique: making sense of consensus. PARE 12(10):1–7Kjeldsen P, Barlaz MA, Rooker AP, Baun A, Ledin A, Christensen TH (2002) Present and long-term composition of MSW landfill leachate: a review. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 32(4):297–336Lee WS (2013) Merger and acquisition evaluation and decision making model. Serv Ind J 33(15–16):1473–1494Lee GKL, Chan EHW (2008) The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach for assessment of urban renewal proposals. Soc Indic Res 89(1):155–168Li G, Wang W, Du Q (2010) Applicability of nanofiltration for the advanced treatment of landfill leachate. J Appl Polym Sci 116(4):2343–2347Mela K, Tiainen T, Heinisuo M (2012) Comparative study of multiple criteria decision making methods for building design. Adv Eng Inform 26:716–726Ozdemir MS, Saaty TL (2006) The unknown in decision making, what to do about it. Eur J Oper Res 174(1):349–359Renou S, Givaudan JG, Poulain S, Dirassouyan F, Moulin P (2008) Landfill leachate treatment: review and opportunity. J Hazard Mater 150(3):468–493Ritzkowski M, Stegmann R (2012) Landfill aeration worldwide: concepts, indications and findings. Waste Manag 32(7):1411–1419Romero C, Ramos P, Costa C, Marquez MC (2013) Raw and digested municipal waste compost leachate as potential fertilizer: comparison with a commercial fertilizer. J Clean Prod 59:73–78Roubelat F (2011) The Delphi method as a ritual: inquiring the Delphi Oracle. Forecast Soc Chang 78(9):1491–1499Saaty TL (1980) The analytic hierarchy process. Mc Graw-Hill, New YorkSaaty TL (2001) Decision making with dependence and feedback: the analytic network process, 2nd edn. RWS Publications, PittsburghSaaty TL (2008) Decision making with the analytic hierarchy process. Int J Serv Sci 1(1):83–98Saaty TL (2012) Decision making for leaders. The analytic hierarchy process for decisions in a complex world, 3rd edn. RWS Publications, PittsburghSan Cristobal J (2012) Contractor selection using multicriteria decision-making methods. J Constr Eng M 138(6):751–758Sayadi MK, Heydari M, Shahanaghi K (2009) Extension of VIKOR method for decision making problem with interval numbers. Appl Math Model 33:2257–2262Statnikova RB, Bordetskya A, Statnikov A (2005) Multi-criteria analysis of real-life engineering optimization problems: statement and solution. Nonlinear Anal 63:685–696Syamsuddin J (2010) The use of AHP in security policy decision making: an open office calc application. JSW 5(10):1162–1169Thapa RB, Murayama Y (2010) Drivers of urban growth in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal: examining the efficacy of the analytic hierarchy process. App Geogr 30(1):70–83van Praagh M, Heerenklage J, Smidt E, Modin H, Stegmann R, Persson KM (2009) Potential emissions from two mechanically–biologically pretreated (MBT) wastes. Waste Manag 29(2):859–868Vedaraman N, Shamshath BS, Srinivasan SV (2013) Response surface methodology for decolourisation of leather dye using ozonation in a packed bed reactor. Clean Technol Environ Policy 15(4):607–616Wang Q, Matsufuji Y, Dong L, Huang Q, Hirano F, Tanaka A (2006) Research on leachate recirculation from different types of landfills. Waste Manag 26:815–824Xing W, Lu W, Zhao Y (2013) Environmental impact assessment of leachate recirculation in landfill of municipal solid waste by comparing with evaporation and discharge (EASEWASTE). Waste Manag 33(2):382–389Yang W, Zhang KN, Chen YG, Zhou XZ, Jin FX (2013) Prediction on contaminant migration in aquifer of fractured granite substrata of landfill. J Cent South Univ 20(11):3193–3201Zavadskas EK, Turskis Z, Tamosaitiene J (2011) Selection of construction enterprises management strategy based on SWOT and multi-criteria analysis. ACME 11(4):1063–108

Diffuse duodenal nodular lymphoid hyperplasia: a large cohort of patients etiologically related to Helicobacter pylori infection

Abstract Background Nodular lymphoid hyperplasia of gastrointestinal tract is a rare disorder, often associated with immunodeficiency syndromes. There are no published reports of its association with Helicobacter pylori infection. Methods From March 2005 till February 2010, we prospectively followed all patients with diffuse duodenal nodular lymphoid hyperplasia (DDNLH). Patients underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy with targeted biopsies, colonoscopy, and small bowel video capsule endoscopy. Duodenal nodular lesions were graded from 0 to 4 based on their size and density. Patients were screened for celiac sprue (IgA endomysial antibody), immunoglobulin abnormalities (immunoglobulin levels & serum protein electrophoresis), small intestine bacterial overgrowth (lactulose hydrogen breath test), and Helicobacter pylori infection (rapid urease test, and histological examination of gastric biopsies). Patients infected with Helicobacter pylori received sequential antibiotic therapy and eradication of infection was evaluated by 14C urea breath test. Follow up duodenoscopies with biopsies were performed to ascertain resolution of nodular lesions. Results Forty patients (Males 23, females 17; mean age ± 1SD 35.6 ± 14.6 years) with DDNLH were studied. Patients presented with epigastric pain, vomiting, and weight loss. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed diffuse nodular lesions (size varying from 2 to 5 mm or more) of varying grades (mean score ± 1SD 2.70 ± 0.84) involving postbulbar duodenum. Video capsule endoscopies revealed nodular disease exclusively limited to duodenum. None of the patients had immunoglobulin deficiency or small intestine bacterial overgrowth or positive IgA endomysial antibodies. All patients were infected with Helicobacter pylori infection. Sequential antibiotic therapy eradicated Helicobacter pylori infection in 26 patients. Follow up duodenoscopies in these patients showed significant reduction of duodenal nodular lesions score (2.69 ± 0.79 to 1.50 ± 1.10; p Helicobacter pylori infection showed no significant reduction of nodular lesions score (2.71 ± 0.96 to 2.64 ± 1.15; p = 0.58). Nodules partially regressed in score in 2 patients, showed no interval change in 10 patients and progressed in 2 patients. Conclusions We report on a large cohort of patients with DDNLH, etiologically related to Helicobacter pylori infection.</p

Precise measurement of the W-boson mass with the CDF II detector

We have measured the W-boson mass MW using data corresponding to 2.2/fb of integrated luminosity collected in proton-antiproton collisions at 1.96 TeV with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. Samples consisting of 470126 W->enu candidates and 624708 W->munu candidates yield the measurement MW = 80387 +- 12 (stat) +- 15 (syst) = 80387 +- 19 MeV. This is the most precise measurement of the W-boson mass to date and significantly exceeds the precision of all previous measurements combined

Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012

TGFBR1 Intralocus Epistatic Interaction as a Risk Factor for Colorectal Cancer

In colorectal cancer (CRC), an inherited susceptibility risk affects about 35% of patients, whereas high-penetrance germline mutations account for <6% of cases. A considerable proportion of sporadic tumors could be explained by the coinheritance of multiple low-penetrance variants, some of which are common. We assessed the susceptibility to CRC conferred by genetic variants at the TGFBR1 locus. We analyzed 14 polymorphisms and the allele-specific expression (ASE) of TGFBR1 in 1025 individuals from the Spanish population. A case-control study was undertaken with 504 controls and 521 patients with sporadic CRC. Fourteen polymorphisms located at the TGFBR1 locus were genotyped with the iPLEX Gold (MassARRAY-Sequenom) technology. Descriptive analyses of the polymorphisms and haplotypes and association studies were performed with the SNPator workpackage. No relevant associations were detected between individual polymorphisms or haplotypes and the risk of CRC. The TGFBR1*9A/6A polymorphism was used for the ASE analysis. Heterozygous individuals were analyzed for ASE by fragment analysis using cDNA from normal tissue. The relative level of allelic expression was extrapolated from a standard curve. The cutoff value was calculated with Youden's index. ASE was found in 25.4% of patients and 16.4% of controls. Considering both bimodal and continuous types of distribution, no significant differences between the ASE values of patients and controls were identified. Interestingly, a combined analysis of the polymorphisms and ASE for the association with CRC occurrence revealed that ASE-positive individuals carrying one of the most common haplotypes (H2: 20.7%) showed remarkable susceptibility to CRC (RR: 5.25; 95% CI: 2.547–5.250; p<0.001) with a synergy factor of 3.7. In our study, 54.1% of sporadic CRC cases were attributable to the coinheritance of the H2 haplotype and TGFBR1 ASE. These results support the hypothesis that the allelic architecture of cancer genes, rather than individual polymorphisms, more accurately defines the CRC risk

Regulation of Pax6 by CTCF during Induction of Mouse ES Cell Differentiation

Pax6 plays an important role in embryonic cell (ES) differentiation during embryonic development. Expression of Pax6 undergoes from a low level to high levels following ES cell differentiation to neural stem cells, and then fades away in most of the differentiated cell types. There is a limited knowledge concerning how Pax6 is regulated in ES cell differentiation. We report that Pax6 expression in mouse ES cells was controlled by CCCTC binding factor (CTCF) through a promoter repression mechanism. Pax6 expression was significantly enhanced while CTCF activity was kept in the constant during ES cell differentiation to radial glial cells. Instead, the interaction of CTCF with Pax6 gene was regulated by decreased CTCF occupancy in its binding motifs upstream from Pax6 P0 promoter following the course of ES cell differentiation. Reduced occupancy of CTCF in the binding motif region upstream from the P0 promoter was due to increased DNA methylations in the CpG sites identified in the region. Furthermore, changes in DNA methylation levels in vitro and in vivo effectively altered methylation status of these identified CpG sites, which affected ability of CTCF to interact with the P0 promoter, resulting in increases in Pax6 expression. We conclude that there is an epigenetic mechanism involving regulations of Pax6 gene during ES cell differentiation to neural stem cells, which is through increases or decreases in methylation levels of Pax6 gene to effectively alter the ability of CTCF in control of Pax6 expression, respectively

Incidence of epidural haematoma and neurological injury in cardiovascular patients with epidural analgesia/anaesthesia: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Epidural anaesthesia is used extensively for cardiothoracic and vascular surgery in some centres, but not in others, with argument over the safety of the technique in patients who are usually extensively anticoagulated before, during, and after surgery. The principle concern is bleeding in the epidural space, leading to transient or persistent neurological problems. METHODS: We performed an extensive systematic review to find published cohorts of use of epidural catheters during vascular, cardiac, and thoracic surgery, using electronic searching, hand searching, and reference lists of retrieved articles. RESULTS: Twelve studies included 14,105 patients, of whom 5,026 (36%) had vascular surgery, 4,971 (35%) cardiac surgery, and 4,108 (29%) thoracic surgery. There were no cases of epidural haematoma, giving maximum risks following epidural anaesthesia in cardiac, thoracic, and vascular surgery of 1 in 1,700, 1 in 1,400 and 1 in 1,700 respectively. In all these surgery types combined the maximum expected rate would be 1 in 4,700. In all these patients combined there were eight cases of transient neurological injury, a rate of 1 in 1,700 (95% confidence interval 1 in 3,300 to 1 in 850). There were no cases of persistent neurological injury (maximum expected rate 1 in 4,600). CONCLUSION: These estimates for cardiothoracic epidural anaesthesia should be the worst case. Limitations are inadequate denominators for different types of surgery in anticoagulated cardiothoracic or vascular patients more at risk of bleeding

Patient Complexity: More Than Comorbidity. The Vector Model of Complexity

BACKGROUND: The conceptualization of patient complexity is just beginning in clinical medicine. OBJECTIVES: This study aims (1) to propose a conceptual approach to complex patients; (2) to demonstrate how this approach promotes achieving congruence between patient and provider, a critical step in the development of maximally effective treatment plans; and (3) to examine availability of evidence to guide trade-off decisions and assess healthcare quality for complex patients. METHODS/RESULTS: The Vector Model of Complexity portrays interactions between biological, socioeconomic, cultural, environmental and behavioral forces as health determinants. These forces are not easily discerned but exert profound influences on processes and outcomes of care for chronic medical conditions. Achieving congruence between patient, physician, and healthcare system is essential for effective, patient-centered care; requires assessment of all axes of the Vector Model; and, frequently, requires trade-off decisions to develop a tailored treatment plan. Most evidence-based guidelines rarely provide guidance for trade-off decisions. Quality measures often exclude complex patients and are not designed explicitly to assess their overall healthcare. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS: We urgently need to expand the evidence base to inform the care of complex patients of all kinds, especially for the clinical trade-off decisions that are central to tailoring care. We offer long- and short-term strategies to begin to incorporate complexity into quality measurement and performance profiling, guided by the Vector Model. Interdisciplinary research should lay the foundation for a deeper understanding of the multiple sources of patient complexity and their interactions, and how provision of healthcare should be harmonized with complexity to optimize health