Dissolved gas separation for engineered anaerobic wastewater systems

Dissolved gases produced within engineered anaerobic processes subsequently create a fugitive emission which can have financial, environmental and health and safety implications. Whilst desorption technology has been used to control dissolved gases in the drinking water sector, there is considerably less understanding of its deployment in wastewater for which there are numerous existing and emerging challenges. This review therefore focuses on existing and proposed technological approaches to gas desorption in engineered anaerobic wastewater processes, with specific emphasis on technology compatibility and downstream gas phase management. Simplified engineered solutions such as diffused aeration and multi-tray aerators appear robust solutions for implementation into wastewater. However, these processes are characterised by a low mass transfer coefficient and require high gas to liquid ratios (G/L) to achieve reasonable separation, which suggests their suitability is limited to small scale applications, in which gas recovery is not a priority. Packed columns and membrane contactors afford process intensification through increasing interfacial area which favours large scale applications; although both will require prefiltration technology to obviate media clogging. Vacuum or steam is the preferred driving force for separation when gas recovery is sought, while sweep-gas is energetically favoured. Sweep-gas has been used for gas recovery by operating at G/L toward the equilibrium value, which somewhat constrains mass transfer. Process selection must therefore be weighted on whole life cost, but will also be dependent upon process scale, financial (e.g. incentivisation) and non-financial (e.g. carbon) instruments, which are strongly influenced by regional policy

The Utility of Functional Movement Assessment on NBA Players

Professional basketball related injuries have not declined over the last decade despite improvements in training and conditioning or medical advancements in diagnostics, surgery, or rehabilitation. A descriptive epidemiological study of 80% of the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams over 17 years reported an injury incidence of 19.1 per 1000 athlete exposures, and 59,179 games missed due to injury. Starkey found that the there has been a 12.4% increase in game-related injuries in the NBA in a 10-year period from the 1988 - 1997 seasons. It is suspected that increased contact within the NBA along with improved player athleticism, size, power, and speed have contribute to the rise in injuries. The most commonly reported injuries in the NBA as reported via the greatest number of days missed include ankle sprains, patellofemoral inflammation, knee sprains, and lumbar strains. Recent trends involve less focus on specific physical or clinical measures and increased attention on the assessment of functional movement patterns for the purpose of predicting the likelihood of injury. The Functional Movement Screen (FMSTM) was introduced as a pre-participation examination intended to evaluate the quality of seven basic movement patterns that require a balance of both mobility and stability. The functional movements tested include: deep squat, hurdle step, in-line lunge, shoulder mobility, active straight leg raise, trunk stability push-up, and rotary stability. It is designed to assess the extremes of specific movements and positions for the purpose of identifying potential limitation, compensation, and asymmetry in individuals without obvious pathology. Recent literature has linked this screen to injury prediction in numerous populations that may be predisposed to injury, including professional football players, firefighters, collegiate female athletes, elite track and field athletes, military personnel. The majority of reliability studies conclude that the FMSTM has good intra-rater reliability. While some researchers conclude that reliability increases with additional training and clinical experience, others claim that the FMS intra-rater reliability was not improved with FMS certification. Inter- rater reliability was reported in recent studies to range from moderate and good to high. The Y-balance Test (YBT) is pre-participation assessment used to screen individuals who may have potential for lower extremity injury. This test involves the examination of dynamic balance and postural control. While research is still lacking regarding the validity and utility of the YBT-LQ, the SEBT has been reported to have a moderate to strong effect size and that this test was reliable and valid as a dynamic predictor to lower extremity injuries. No studies have investigated the outcomes of YBT as an injury predictor in professional basketball athletes or the relationship of these factors with functional movement screens.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/dpt_symposium/1011/thumbnail.jp

Hidden Disunities and Uncanny Resemblances: Connections and Disconnections in the Music of Lera Auerbach and Michael Nyman

Does stylistic appropriation serve to create a sense of unity or disunity, continuity or fragmentation? Taking George Lipsitz's notion of �families of resemblance� and intertextuality's dialogic qualities (as shown in the writings of Mikhail Bakhtin and Julia Kristeva), this article will put forward the argument that certain forms of quotation result in a kind of halfway house�an in-between state�where the text seemingly announces its own independence despite its (inter)dependence on a whole host of other intertexts. Unlike the collage-like, so-called polystylistic compositions of the late 1960s, which also used quotation, an altogether different and more deeply embedded form has developed since then, where the quoted material is integrated to a much greater extent on the surface, only to lay bare its �difference� at a deeper level. Such �hidden discontinuities� will be examined in relation to a single work, Lera Auerbach's Sogno di Stabat Mater (2005/2008), before applying Lipsitz's principle as a case study to Michael Nyman's oeuvre

Evaluation of the long-term efficacy and safety of an imidacloprid 10%/flumethrin 4.5% polymer matrix collar (Seresto®) in dogs and cats naturally infested with fleas and/or ticks in multicentre clinical field studies in Europe

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of these two GCP multicentre European clinical field studies was to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of a new imidacloprid/flumethrin collar (Seresto^®, Bayer AnimalHealth, Investigational Veterinary Product(IVP)) in dogs and cats naturally infested with fleas and/or ticks in comparison to a dimpylat collar ("Ungezieferband fuer Hunde/fuer Katzen", Beaphar, Control Product (CP)).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>232 (IVP) and 81 (CP) cats and 271(IVP) and 129 (CP) dogs were treated with either product according to label claims and formed the safety population. Flea and tick counts were conducted in monthly intervals for up to 8 months in the efficacy subpopulation consisting of 118 (IVP) + 47 (CP) cats and 197 (IVP) + 94 (CP) dogs. Efficacy was calculated as reduction of infestation rate within the same treatment group and statistically compared between the two treatment groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Preventive efficacy against fleas in cats/dogs varied in the IVP group between 97.4%/94.1% and 100%/100% (overall mean: 98.3%/96.7%) throughout the 8 month period and in the CP group between 57.1%/28.2% and 96.1%/67.8% (overall mean: 79.3%/57.9%). Preventive efficacy against ticks in cats/dogs varied in the IVP group between 94.0%/91.2% and 100%/100% (overall mean: 98.4%/94.7%) throughout the 8 month period and in the CP group between 90.7%/79.9% and 100%/88.0% (overall mean: 96.9%/85.6%). The IVP group was statistically non-inferior to the CP group, and on various assessment days, statistical superiority was proven for flea and tick count reduction in dogs and cats. Both treatments proved to be safe in dogs and cats with mainly minor local observations at the application site. There was moreover, no incidence of any mechanical problem with the collar in dogs and cats during the entire study period.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The imidacloprid/flumethrin collar proved to reduce tick counts by at least 90% and flea counts by at least 95% for a period of at least 7-8 months in cats and dogs under field conditions. Therefore, it can be used as sustainable long-term preventative, covering the whole flea and tick season.</p

Characterisation of physico-mechanical properties and degradation potential of calcium alginate beads for use in embolisation

High molecular weight alginate beads with 59% mannuronic acid content or 68% guluronic acid were prepared using a droplet generator and crosslinked in calcium chloride. The alginate beads were compared to current embolisation microspheres for compressibility and monitored over 12 weeks for size and weight change at 37°C in low volumes of ringers solutions. A sheep uterine model was used to analyse bead degradation and inflammatory response over 12 weeks. Both the in vitro and in vivo data show good delivery, with a compressibility similar to current embolic beads. In vitro, swelling was noted almost immediately and after 12 weeks the first signs of degradation were noted. No difference was noted in vivo. This study has shown that high molecular weight alginate gel beads were well tolerated by the body, but beads associated with induced thrombi were susceptible to inflammatory cell infiltration. The beads were shown to be easy to handle and were still observable after 3 months in vivo. The beads were robust enough to be delivered through a 2.7 Fr microcatheter. This study has demonstrated that high molecular weight, high purity alginate bead can be considered as semi-permanent embolisation beads, with the potential to bioresorb over time

Improvisation as a creative dialogue

Our paper will describe the creative process of Zaum: Beyond Mind an interactive sound theater performance, and examine the role of improvisation in shaping the piece. Zaum is a modular performance for voice, bandoneon, piano and electronics- integrating both live interactive elements and fixed sounds – with lighting, and video projection. While the creative process included traditional modes of composition, a significant aspect in melding the contribution of two composers - each with a different approach to composition - shares important attributes with improvisation. It is to do with creative listening, adjusting our individual contribution in response to changing contexts, and developing a shared sense of musical pacing and narrative. Improvisation also played a significant role in developing the technological, interactive elements of the piece with a co-evolution of the programming and the performance over a lengthy process of exploration and adjustments. This process, therefore, entails multiple dialogues, musical as well as verbal, between us as a duo and between us and our instruments. On the way we discovered that analytical reflection, despite its connotations of cerebral processes popularly portrayed as in opposition to the spontaneity required in improvisation, played a crucial role in the shaping of the piece

Dermacentor reticulatus: a vector on the rise

Dermacentor reticulatus is a hard tick species with extraordinary biological features. It has a high reproduction rate, a rapid developmental cycle, and is also able to overcome years of unfavourable conditions. Dermacentor reticulatus can survive under water for several months and is cold-hardy even compared to other tick species. It has a wide host range: over 60 different wild and domesticated hosts are known for the three active developmental stages. Its high adaptiveness gives an edge to this tick species as shown by new data on the emergence and establishment of D. reticulatus populations throughout Europe. The tick has been the research focus of a growing number of scientists, physicians and veterinarians. Within the Web of Science database, more than a fifth of the over 700 items published on this species between 1897 and 2015 appeared in the last three years (2013–2015). Here we attempt to synthesize current knowledge on the systematics, ecology, geographical distribution and recent spread of the species and to highlight the great spectrum of possible veterinary and public health threats it poses. Canine babesiosis caused by Babesia canis is a severe leading canine vector-borne disease in many endemic areas. Although less frequently than Ixodes ricinus, D. reticulatus adults bite humans and transmit several Rickettsia spp., Omsk haemorrhagic fever virus or Tick-borne encephalitis virus. We have not solely collected and reviewed the latest and fundamental scientific papers available in primary databases but also widened our scope to books, theses, conference papers and specialists colleagues’ experience where needed. Besides the dominant literature available in English, we also tried to access scientific literature in German, Russian and eastern European languages as well. We hope to inspire future research projects that are necessary to understand the basic life-cycle and ecology of this vector in order to understand and prevent disease threats. We conclude that although great strides have been made in our knowledge of the eco-epidemiology of this species, several gaps still need to be filled with basic research, targeting possible reservoir and vector roles and the key factors resulting in the observed geographical spread of D. reticulatus. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1599-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users