Incidence and predisposing factors of cognitive disorders following off-pump coronary artery bypasses graft surgery

Patients and Methods: A total of 171 patients who had undergone off-pump CABG without any history of psychiatric disorders were enrolled. Samples were selected according to a purposive sampling method. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) questionnaire was given to each patients to assess the incidence of cognitive disorder during the first 24 hours of surgery in ICU. To compare creatinine, erythrocytes sedimentation rate, extubation time, and patients’ age between those with and those without postoperative cognitive disorder, independent-samplest test was employed. To compare two groups in terms of any history of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, and qualitative C-reactive protein (CRP), Chi square test was used. Results: Results showed that 75% of patients had postoperative cognitive disorder. There was a significant association between the history of hypertension, CRP, and preoperative creatinine levels in both cognitive disorder and control groups. Background: Cognitive disorder, which is a common problem for the hospitalized patients, is a fluctuating cognitive destruction that leads to the loss of consciousness. It is usually accompanied by increased mortality, prolonged hospital stay, and decreased rehabilitation. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with cognitive disorder after coronary artery bypasses graft surgery (CABG). Conclusions: Given the significant prevalence of postoperative cognitive disorder and significant association between the history of hypertension, CRP, and preoperative creatinine and cognitive disorder, the detection of patient’s clinical symptoms may improve diagnosis, treatment, and even prevention of cognitive disorder. © 2014, Iranian Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ISRAPM); Published by Kowsar

Cadmium Removal from Aqueous Solutions by Ground Pine Cone

A study on the removal of cadmium ions from aqueous solutions by pine cone was conducted in batch conditions. Kinetic data and equilibrium removal isotherms were obtained. The influence of different experimental parameters such as contact time, initial concentration of cadmium, pine cone mass and particle size, and temperature on the kinetics of cadmium removal was studied. Results showed that the main parameters that played an important role in removal phenomenon were initial cadmium concentration, particle size and pine cone mass. The necessary time to reach equilibrium was between 4 and 7 hours based on the initial concentration of cadmium. The capacity of cadmium adsorption at equilibrium increased with the decrease of pine cone particle size. The capacity of cadmium adsorption at equilibrium by pine cone increased with the quantity of pine cone introduced (1–4 g/L). Temperature in the range of 20-30°C showed a restricted effect on the removal kinetics (13.56 mg/g at 20°C and a low capacity of adsorption about 11.48 mg/g at 30°C). The process followed pseudo second-order kinetics. The cadmium uptake of pine cone was quantitatively evaluated using adsorption isotherms. Results indicated that the Langmuir model gave a better fit to the experimental data in comparison with the Freundlich equation

Cadmium content in rice and its daily intake in Ghaemshahr region of Iran

This investigation surveyed Cadmium (Cd) content of Iranian rice (oryza saliva) which is predominant rice culture in north of Iran. A total of 60 samples were collected from Ghaemshahr region in Mazandaran province (North of Iran). The samples were collected in during harvesting of rice in field. The first step, grains of raw rice were digested by acid digestion method and then were analyzed for Cadmium by atomic absorption spectrometer. To assess the daily intake of Cd by rice, from daily consumption of rice was calculated. The results showed that average concentration of Cd in rice was 0.40± 0.16µg/g dry wt and ranged from 0.12 to 0.83 ìg/g dry wt. The Cd content in the rice samples was found to be upper the FAO/WHO Guidelines. Also average weekly intake of Cd from rice was 7.7µg/kg body weight/week that it was approximately 10% more than to the maximum weekly intake recommended by WHO/FAO

Performance of Microbial Fuel Cell for Wastewater Treatment and Electricity Generation

Renewable energy will have an important role as a resource of energy in the future. Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a promising method to obtain electricity from organic matter and<br />wastewater treatment simultaneously. In a pilot study, use of microbial fuel cell for wastewater treatment and electricity generation investigated. The bacteria of ruminant used as inoculums. Synthetic wastewater used at different organic loading rate. Hydraulic retention time was an<br />effective factor in removal of soluble COD and more than 49% removed. Optimized HRT to achieve the maximum removal efficiency and sustainable operation could be regarded 1.5 and 2.5 hours. Columbic efficiency (CE) affected by organic loading rate (OLR) and by increasing OLR, CE reduced from 71% to 8%. Maximum voltage was 700mV. Since the microbial fuel cell reactor considered as an anaerobic process, it may be an appropriate alternative for wastewater treatmen

Electricity Generation from Synthetic Wastewater Treatment in Microbial Fuel Cell

Background and Objectives: Microbial fuel cell (MFC) used for electricity generation and wastewater treatment, simultaneously. In MFC, microorganisms act as a catalyst to convert chemical energy stored in organic materials into electrical energy. This study was performed with the aim of electricity generation from synthetic wastewater treatment in microbial fuel cell.Methods: A dual chambered microbial fuel cell was operated in continuous flow for 720 hours at temperature 20±4ºC at different organic loading rates and hydraulic retention times. Results: Organic loading rate and hydraulic retention time were effective factors for the power production and removal of organic loading rate. Maximum COD removal efficiency was observed as 49% for a period of 1.5 to 2.5 hours that this range of time can be used as optimum retention time for operation of microbial fuel cell reactor. Maximum voltage and power production were obtained 700 mV and 1700 mW/m2, respectively.Conclusion: Considering the advantages such as direct electricity generation from wastewater and considerable removal efficiency of organic loading rate, wastewater treatment in a microbial fuel cell, application of industrial scale microbial fuel cell for wastewater treatment is recommended after complementary studies and economic assessment

Electricity Generation from Synthetic Wastewater Treatment in Microbial Fuel Cell

Background and Objectives: Microbial fuel cell (MFC) used for electricity generation and wastewater treatment, simultaneously. In MFC, microorganisms act as a catalyst to convert chemical energy stored in organic materials into electrical energy. This study was performed with the aim of electricity generation from synthetic wastewater treatment in microbial fuel cell. Methods: A dual chambered microbial fuel cell was operated in continuous flow for 720 hours at temperature 20±4ºC at different organic loading rates and hydraulic retention times. Results: Organic loading rate and hydraulic retention time were effective factors for the power production and removal of organic loading rate. Maximum COD removal efficiency was observed as 49% for a period of 1.5 to 2.5 hours that this range of time can be used as optimum retention time for operation of microbial fuel cell reactor. Maximum voltage and power production were obtained 700 mV and 1700 mW/m2, respectively. Conclusion: Considering the advantages such as direct electricity generation from wastewater and considerable removal efficiency of organic loading rate, wastewater treatment in a microbial fuel cell, application of industrial scale microbial fuel cell for wastewater treatment is recommended after complementary studies and economic assessment

Trace quantification of selected sulfonamides in aqueous media by implementation of a new dispersive solid-phase extraction method using a nanomagnetic titanium dioxide graphene-based sorbent and HPLC-UV

Herein, a new dispersive solid-phase extraction method using a nano magnetic titanium dioxide graphene-based sorbent in conjunction with high-performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet detection was successfully developed. The method was proved to be simple, sensitive, and highly efficient for the trace quantification of sulfacetamide, sulfathiazole, sulfamethoxazole, and sulfadiazine in relatively large volume of aqueous media. Initially, the nano magnetic titanium dioxide graphene-based sorbent was successfully synthesized and subsequently characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Then, the sorbent was used for the sorption and extraction of the selected sulfonamides mainly through ��� stacking hydrophobic interactions. Under the established conditions, the calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 1�200 μg/L. The limit of quantification (precision of 20, and accuracy of 80�120) for the detection of each sulfonamide by the proposed method was 1.0 μg/L. To test the extraction efficiency, the method was applied to various fortified real water samples. The average relative recoveries obtained from the fortified samples varied between 90 and 108 with the relative standard deviations of 5.3�10.7. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei

Upgrading the effluent quality of an aerated lagoon with horizontal roughing filtration

Removal of suspended solids and microorganisms from an aerated lagoon effluent with a horizontal roughing filter (HRF) was investigated. The aerated lagoon receives Qom municipal wastewater. The HRF was operated at three filtration rates of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 m3/(m2·h) during four month operation period. The measured values of turbidity, TSS, COD, pH, temperature and flow rate of HRF at the former filtration rate were 79±12 NTU, 100±11 mg/dm3, 190±12 mg/dm3, 7±0.1 °C, 17±8 °C and 0.82 dm3/min, respectively. The differences between inlet and outlet values of pH and temperature were not significant (P > 0.05). Measures turbidity, TSS and COD in HRF final effluent were 15±13.7 NTU, 37±295 mg/dm3, 64±39.7 mg/dm3, respectively, which corresponds to 81.1%, 63% and 66.3% removal efficiencies, respectively. A decrease of removal efficiency was observed upon increasing filtration rates. The Spearman correlation coefficients between the head-loss and removal efficiencies ranged from 0.578 to 0.968 pointing to a direct relationship. Results of modeling approach revealed appropriate compliance between the values of the observed and predicted TSS for higher filtration rates

Nitrogen and phosphorous removal from aerated lagoon effluent using horizontal roughing filter (HRF)

Traditionally, aerated lagoons are not reliable wastewater treatment systems to eliminate nutrient contents of municipal wastewater. This study aimed to enhance the aerated lagoon effluent quality by applying a simple filtration system. Removal of nitrogen and phosphorous from aerated lagoon effluent using horizontal roughing filter (HRF) was investigated. Also, the �1/3�2/3 theory� was applied to predict the TSS concentration of HRF effluent. An experimental setup of HRF was used to receive the continuous effluent from wastewater treatment plant. HRF was operated at three consecutive filtration rates, including 0.5, 1 and 1.5 m3 m�2 h�1. At the first filtration rate (0.5 m3 m�2 h�1), the removal efficiencies of total Kjeldahl nitrogen, total phosphorous, TSS, and COD were reported 50, 54, 63, and 68, respectively. Decreasing the removal efficiency was occurred during raising the filtration rate (p &lt; 0.05). Applying the �1/3�2/3 theory� revealed the significant correlation between predicted and measured TSS values. The capacity of HRF to retain nitrogen, phosphorous, and COD during the filtration runs was 24.3, 10.1, and 435.4 g m�3d�1, respectively. HRF can be applied as an appropriate alternative for tertiary treatment of the aerated lagoon effluent. © 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved