Life cycle assessment (LCA) of end-of-life dairy products (EoL-DPs) valorization via anaerobic co-digestion with agro-industrial wastes for biogas production

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to assess the environmental impacts of End-of-Life Dairy Products (EoL-DPs) management via their co-treatment with agro-industrial wastes (AgW) in a centralized biogas facility located in Cyprus using a gate-to-gate LCA approach. Two different scenarios were examined under the framework of this project. In the first one, co-treatment of EoL-DPs with various AgW (in a 20/80, w/w, ratio) was evaluated in a one-stage mesophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) process. In the second scenario, the same amount of EoL-DPs were acidified before methanogenesis with AgW in order to improve biogas production. RESULTS: Prior acidification of EoL-DPs showed a better environmental performance compared to the results obtained upon direct co-digestion in a mesophilic digester, having a total impact of 52.44 Pt against 57.13 Pt respectively. Biogas production upon acidification, and therefore energy yield, was higher reaching up to 22.88 m3 CH4/ton of feed (229.25 kWh/ton of feed), compared to 17.45 m3 CH4/on of feed (174.85 kWh/ton of feed) for the case where no pretreatment was performed. CONCLUSIONS: The acidification of EoL-DPs enhanced the environmental performance of the process by reducing its impact by 8.2% (in Pt equivalents). The energy consumption of the biogas plant mixing equipment was identified as the process hotspot. However, further analysis of the environmental performance of the proposed process is required by extending the system’s boundaries towards a Cradle-to-Grave approach

Determination of Cytomegalovirus Prevalence and Glycoprotein B Genotypes Among Ulcerative Colitis Patients in Ahvaz, Iran

Background: The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a common pathogen which usually remains asymptomatic in the healthy adults; however, it can cause a symptomatic disease in the immunocompromised patients. The risk of infection with HCMV increases in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients as a result of receiving immunosuppressive agents. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and the glycoprotein B genotypes of HCMV among the patients with HCMV disease superimposed on an UC flare that required hospitalization in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahvaz, Iran, during 2010- 2012. Patients and Methods: In this case-control study, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded intestinal tissue samples were taken from 98 patients with UC disease including 53 males and 45 females (mean age ± standard deviation, 38.95 ± 17.93) and 67 control patients with noninflammatory disease who were referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital during 2010-2012. Detection of HCMV genome in intestinal samples was carried out by seminested polymerase chain reaction. Glycoprotein B genotypes were determined by sequencing. Results: Among 98 patients with UC, only 12 (12.2%) patients were positive for HCMV genome, while the HCMV genome was not detected in any of the controls. (P = 0.002). The distribution of HCMV gB genotypes in 12 CMV-positive UC patients was as follow: gB1, 11 (91.7%) and gB3, 1 (8.3%). The most prevalent genotype in CMV-positive UC patients was gB1. Conclusions: In this study, high prevalence of 91.7% HCMV gB1 genotype was predominant among HCMV-positive UC patients, which suggests that there might be an association between HCMV gB genotype 1 and UC disease

The experience of brace treatment in children/adolescents with scoliosis

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic scoliosis is a chronic illness with several different braces used for its treatment. Brace treatment during childhood/adolescence can produce stress. There are studies supporting that it can decrease body-image perception while other studies support that it has no such effect. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of brace treatment in children/adolescents with scoliosis. The aim was to investigate which feelings are created by the bracing experience in children/adolescents with scoliosis and what are the children/adolescents' with scoliosis opinions of the support provided to them by health-care professionals and by their families. METHODS: We conducted interviews with the help of a semi-structured interview guide in order to address the topic of the experience of brace treatment. A convenient sample of twelve children and adolescents with scoliosis was selected from patients attending follow-up appointments at the Outpatient Scoliosis Clinics of two Greek hospitals. The data was analysed using the method of content analysis. RESULTS: Patients in the sample were 10–16 years old and they were mainly females (71%). Almost all of the participants reported having to deal with stress, denial, fear, anger, and shame. They were satisfied with the information they received regarding their condition and therapy. However, the information was not accompanied by support from the health care professionals. They reported that they were receiving support mainly from their families, friends, and classmates. CONCLUSION: The present study is contributing to the development of a better understanding of significant issues related to the experience of bracing therapy. It is clear that scoliosis children/adolescents have to be provided with support during the long period of bracing. It is apparent that those children/adolescents have unmet needs for care and health professionals and policy makers should try to find a way to address those needs