Anaerobic membrane bioreactors: Are membranes really necessary?

Membranes themselves represent a significant cost for the full scale application of anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR). The possibility of operating an AnMBR with a self-forming dynamic membrane generated by the substances present in the reactor liquor would translate into an important saving. A self-forming dynamic membrane only requires a support material over which a cake layer is formed, which determines the rejection properties of the system. The present research studies the application of self-forming dynamic membranes in AnMBRs. An AnMBR was operated under thermophilic and mesophilic conditions, using woven and non woven materials as support for the dynamic membranes. Results showed that the formation of a cake layer over the support materials enables the retention of more than 99% of the solids present in the reactor. However, only low levels of flux were achieved, up to 3 L/m2 x h, and reactor operation was unstable, with sudden increases in filtration resistance, due to excessive cake layer formation. Further fine-tuning of the proposed technology involves looking for conditions that can control effectively cake layer formatio

Longitudinal links between childhood peer acceptance and the neural correlates of sharing

Childhood peer acceptance is associated with high levels of prosocial behavior and advanced perspective taking skills. Yet, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these associations have not been studied. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined the neural correlates of sharing decisions in a group of adolescents who had a stable accepted status (n = 27) and a group who had a chronic rejected status (n = 19) across six elementary school grades. Both groups of adolescents played three allocation games in which they could share money with strangers with varying costs and profits to them and the other person. Stably accepted adolescents were more likely to share their money with unknown others than chronically rejected adolescents when sharing was not costly. Neuroimaging analyses showed that stably accepted adolescents, compared to chronically rejected adolescents, exhibited higher levels of activation in the temporo-parietal junction, posterior superior temporal sulcus, temporal pole, pre-supplementary motor area, and anterior insula during costly sharing decisions. These findings demonstrate that stable peer acceptance across childhood is associated with heightened activity in brain regions previously linked to perspective taking and the detection of social norm violations during adolescence, and thereby provide insight into processes underlying the widely established links between peer acceptance and prosocial behavior

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Dutch Soccer Team

An outbreak of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus occurred among members and close contacts of a soccer team. Typing of the isolates showed the outbreak was caused by the well-known European ST80-IV strain. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an outbreak of this strain among members of a sports team

Precisie irrigatie: Verbeteren van het irrigatiesysteem voor de chrysantenteelt

Samenvatting Vanwege knelpunten in de irrigatiesystemen is in dit project onderzocht welke knelpunten er zijn, wat de oorsprong is vandeze knelpunten en of er verbeteringen mogelijk zijn op de bestaande systemen, dan wel volledig nieuwe irrigatiesystemen ontworpen kunnen worden. Uit een inventarisatie bleek dat er een grote diversiteit is in de praktijk aan gebruik van nozzles, inrichting en vooral het onderhoud van de irrigatiesystemen. Daarbij bleek dat de on-uniformiteit bij enkele onderzochte bedrijven groter was dan de betrokken ondernemers dachten. Op basis van de beschikbare kennis over irrigatie moest echter geconcludeerd worden, dat niet zozeer de kennis ontbreekt, maar dat deze kennis veelal niet wordt toegepast. Voorbeelden hiervan zijn verkeerde installatie van het hele systeem (doorrekening op papier), te grote drukvallen door verkeerde uitvoering (bv. verkeerde koppelstukken, verkeerde inschatting van de druk bij gebruik van slootwater in plaats van basinwater), te lang gebruik van nozzles en het achterwege blijven van periodieke reiniging en controle. Vanwege deze situatie heeft het project zich gericht op het vergroten van de bewustwording door het ontwerpen van een eenvoudig meetinstrument. Dit instrument stelt ondernemers in staat periodiek en vergelijkbaar (binnen het bedrijf en met andere bedrijven) de uniformiteit van de irrigatieverdeling te bepalen. Op basis van deze informatie kan de ondernemer acties nemen op het gebied van onderhoud. Vervolgens is alternatieve irrigatieprincipes voor doorontwikkeling in de toekomst. Principes als spuitboom, onderlangs druppel irrigatie of ingegraven ‘zweetslangen’ bleken in eerste ronden van toetsing al niet geschikt voor toepassing in de chrysantenteelt. Uit deze inventarisatie kwam wel naar voren dat er mogelijk perspectieven zijn voor het ontwikkelen van (draadloze) vochtsensornetwerken, zodat de kwaliteit van irrigatie kwantitatief gemonitord kan worden op de plek waar het er toe doet: in de wortelzone. Puntsgewijs concluderen we de volgende aanbevelingen voor de praktijk: 1. ga in studiegroepen aan de gang met het meetprotocol en leer de ondergrens - zie Bijlage 1 2. bewuster bezig zijn bij installatie - zie Bijlage 2 en 3 3. op het bedrijf 2-3 maal per jaar de uniformiteit meten en het verloop zien - en daarop inspelen met onderhoud (reiniging, vervangen van doppen, eventueel verdere monitoring van drukverlies in het systeem - en vervanging/reiniging van systeemcomponenten). 4. voer vervolgstudies uit naar de relatie tussen uniformiteit en kwaliteitsverlies: wat kost het om 10% over of onder te irrigeren? 5. verdere ontwikkeling van irrigatiesystemen in de toekomst toespitsen op kwantitatieve sturing van irrigatie -vochtsensoren in de grond

Mitigation of Humic Acid Inhibition in Anaerobic Digestion of Cellulose by Addition of Various Salts

Humic compounds are inhibitory to the anaerobic hydrolysis of cellulosic biomass. In this study, the impact of salt addition to mitigate the inhibitory effects of humic compounds was investigated. The experiment was conducted using batch tests to monitor the anaerobic hydrolysis of cellulose in the presence of humic acid. Sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron salts were tested separately for their efficiency to mitigate humic acid inhibition. All experiments were done under mesophilic conditions (30 °C) and at pH 7. Methane production was monitored online, using the Automatic Methane Potential Test System. Methane production, soluble chemical oxygen demand and volatile fatty acid content of the samples were measured to calculate the hydrolysis efficiencies. Addition of magnesium, calcium and iron salts clearly mitigated the inhibitory effects of humic acid and hydrolysis efficiencies reached up to 75%, 65% and 72%, respectively, which were similar to control experiments. Conversely, potassium and sodium salts addition did not mitigate the inhibition and hydrolysis efficiencies were found to be less than 40%. Mitigation of humic acid inhibition via salt addition was also validated by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy analyses, which showed the binding capacity of different cations to humic aci

Immediate postoperative high-sensitivity troponin T concentrations and long-term patient-reported

BACKGROUND: Myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery is associated with mortality and major adverse postoperative cardiovascular events. The effect of postoperative troponin concentrations on patient-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is unknown. OBJECTIVE: The study examined the association between immediate postoperative troponin concentrations and self-reported HRQoL 1 year after surgery. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Single-centre tertiary care hospital in the Netherlands between July 2012 and 2015. PATIENTS: Patients aged at least 60 years undergoing moderate and major noncardiac surgery.None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: HRQoL total score was assessed with the EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire. Tobit regression analysis was used to determine the association between postoperative troponin concentrations and 1-year HRQoL. Peak high-sensitivity troponin T values were divided into four categories: less than 14, 14 to 49, 50 to 149 and at least 150 ng l. RESULTS: A total of 3085 patients with troponin measurements were included. 2634 (85.4%) patients were alive at 1-year follow-up of whom 1297 (49.2%) returned a completed questionnaire. The median score for HRQoL was 0.82 (0.85, 0.81, 0.77 and 0.71 per increasing troponin category). Multivariable analysis revealed betas of -0.06 [95% confidence interval (CI) -0.09 to -0.02], -0.11 (95% CI -0.18 to -0.04) and -0.18 (95% CI -0.29 to -0.07) for troponin levels of 14 to 49, 50 to 149 and at least 150 ng l when compared with values less than 14 ng l. Other independent predictors for lower HRQoL were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, female sex, peripheral arterial disease and increasing age. CONCLUSION: Higher levels of postoperative troponin measured immediately after surgery were independently associated with lower self-reported HRQoL total score at 1-year follow-up

Continuous oral contraceptives versus long-term pituitary desensitization prior to IVF/ICSI in moderate to severe endometriosis:study protocol of a non-inferiority randomized controlled trial

STUDY QUESTIONS: The primary objective is to investigate if continuous use of oral contraceptives is non-inferior compared to long-term pituitary desensitization with a GnRH agonist prior to IVF/ICSI in patients with moderate to severe endometriosis with regard to treatment efficacy. Secondary objectives concern treatment safety and cost-effectiveness. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Long-term pituitary desensitization with a GnRH agonist for 3-6 months prior to IVF/ICSI improves clinical pregnancy rates in women suffering from endometriosis. However, discussion about this treatment strategy exists because of its uncomfortable side effects. Alternatively, IVF/ICSI pre-treatment with continuously administered oral contraceptives may offer fewer side-effects and lower (in)direct costs, as well as encouraging IVF outcomes in women with endometriosis. To date, these two different IVF/ICSI pre-treatment strategies in women with endometriosis have not been directly compared. STUDY DESIGN SIZE DURATION: An open-label, parallel two-arm randomized controlled multicenter trial is planned, including patients with moderate to severe endometriosis. To demonstrate an absolute difference of 13% (delta of 10% with non-inferiority margin of 3%) with a power of 80% 137 patients per group are sufficient. Taking into account a withdrawal of patients of 10% and a cancelation rate of embryo transfer after ovarian pick up of 10% (for instance due to fertilization failure), the sample size calculation is rounded off to 165 patients per group; 330 patients in total will be included. After informed consent, eligible patients will be randomly allocated to the intervention or reference group by using web based block randomization stratified per centre. Study inclusion is expected to be complete in 3-5 years. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS SETTING METHODS: The research population consists of patients with moderate to severe endometriosis (ASRM III/IV) who are scheduled for their first, second or third IVF/ICSI treatment attempt. Women aged over 41 years, younger than 18 years, with a known contraindication for the use of oral contraceptives and/or GnRH agonists or with severe male factor infertility will be excluded from participation. After informed consent patients are allocated to the intervention group (one-phase oral contraceptive continuously during three subsequent months) or the reference group (three Leuprorelin 3.75 mg i.m./s.c. depot injections during three subsequent months). Tibolon 2.5 mg can be given daily as add-back therapy in the reference group. After 3 months of pre-treatment the IVF/ICSI stimulation phase will be started. The primary outcome is live birth rate after fresh embryo transfer. Secondary outcomes are cumulative live birth rate after one IVF/ICSI treatment cycle (including fresh and frozen embryo transfers up to 15 months after randomization), ongoing pregnancy rate and time to pregnancy. In addition, treatment outcome parameters, adverse events, side-effects during the first 3 months, complications, recurrence of endometriosis (complaints), quality of life, patient preferences, safety and costs effectiveness will be reported. Measurements will be performed at baseline and at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 months after randomization. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTs: All authors have no conflict of interest related to this manuscript. The department of reproductive medicine of the Amsterdam UMC location VUmc has received several research and educational grants from Guerbet, Merck and Ferring not related to the submitted work. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: The trial is registered as the COPIE trial (Continuous use of Oral contraceptives as an alternative for long-term Pituitary desensitization with a GnRH agonist prior to IVF/ICSI in Endometriosis patients) in the Dutch Trial Register (Ref. No. NTR6357, http://www.trialregister.nl). TRIAL REGISTRATION DATE: 16 March 2017. DATE OF FIRST PATIENT’S ENROLMENT: Enrollment is planned for November 2018