Presenting a Case of an Extralobar and Extrapleural Pulmonary Sequestration in a Four-Month-Old Infant.

Pulmonary sequestration is a congenital disease formed by embryogenic separation of the lung parenchyma, halting development and function. It has an aberrant blood supply and can provide a nidus for infection and respiratory compromise. It can be diagnosed prenatally with surgical resection after delivery reserved as the best mode of treatment.

Blockades of effector T cell senescence and exhaustion synergistically enhance antitumor immunity and immunotherapy.

Background: Current immunotherapies still have limited successful rates among cancers. It is now recognized that T cell functional state in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is a key determinant for effective antitumor immunity and immunotherapy. In addition to exhaustion, cellular senescence in tumor-infiltrating T cells (TILs) has recently been identified as an important T cell dysfunctional state induced by various malignant tumors.

Effective anaerobic treatment of produced water from petroleum production using an anaerobic digestion inoculum from a brewery wastewater treatment facility.

Produced water is a major waste problem in oil production yet it also represents a potential water source if treated properly, especially in arid regions. In this study, we investigate the anaerobic treatability of an oil-produced water with extremely high chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total dissolved organic carbon (TOC) from Wyoming's Greater Green River Basin using anaerobic microcosms inoculated with a microbial consortium derived from a brewery wastewater treatment facility. The results demonstrate that for this water and an appropriate microbial inoculation, high-COD/TOC can be effectively removed with concomitant energy recovery as a form of methane.

A novel and high-performance double Z-scheme photocatalyst ZnO-SnO-ZnSnO for effective removal of the biological toxicity of antibiotics.

Visible light-responsive tetradecahedral ZnO-SnO-ZnSnO photocatalysts possessing double Z-scheme mechanism were prepared via a hydrothermal pathway and subsequent annealing treatment. Due to its enhanced optical absorption ability and effective charge separation, the sample with a Zn/Sn atom ratio of 3:2 (Z32) exhibited superior degradation of the antibiotics ciprofloxacin and sulfamonomethoxine under visible light irradiation and also degraded bisphenol A. Furthermore, five-cycle experiments confirmed that Z32 also exhibited satisfactory photostability.

Rejection of pharmaceutically-based N-nitrosodimethylamine precursors using nanofiltration.

N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is a disinfection by-product (DBP) with many known precursors such as amine-containing pharmaceuticals that can enter the environment via treated wastewater. Reverse osmosis and tight nanofiltration membranes (MW cutoff < 200 Da) are treatment technologies that demonstrate high removal of many compounds, but at relatively high energy costs. Looser membranes (>200 Da) may provide sufficient removal of a wide range of contaminants with lower energy costs.

Influence of naturally occurring dissolved organic matter, colloids, and cations on nanofiltration of pharmaceutically active and endocrine disrupting compounds.

This study examined the rejection of selected pharmaceutically active (PhAC) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) when using nanofiltration as a function of naturally occurring dissolved organic matter (DOM), colloidal particles, cations and their interactions. Lake Ontario water served as a source of natural DOM and colloidal particles. PhAC/EDC rejection experiments were conducted using raw Lake Ontario water and Lake Ontario water that was pre-treated with either ultrafiltration to remove colloidal particles, or fluidized ion exchange resins to remove DOM.

Recent advances in membrane technologies for biorefining and bioenergy production.

The bioeconomy, and in particular, biorefining and bioenergy production, have received considerable attention in recent years as a shift to renewable bioresources to produce similar energy and chemicals derived from fossil energy sources, represents a more sustainable path. Membrane technologies have been shown to play a key role in process intensification and products recovery and purification in biorefining and bioenergy production processes. Among the various separation technologies used, membrane technologies provide excellent fractionation and separation capabilities, low chemical consumption, and reduced energy requirements.

Life cycle evaluation of emerging lignocellulosic ethanol conversion technologies.

Lignocellulosic ethanol holds promise for addressing climate change and energy security issues associated with personal transportation through lowering the fuel mixes' carbon intensity and petroleum demand. We compare the technological features and life cycle environmental impacts of near- and mid-term ethanol bioconversion technologies in the United States. Key uncertainties in the major processes: pre-treatment, hydrolysis, and fermentation are evaluated.

Practical overview of analytical methods for endocrine-disrupting compounds, pharmaceuticals and personal care products in water and wastewater.

The detection of organic micropollutants, such as endocrine-disrupting compounds, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, in wastewater and the aquatic environment has brought increasing concern over their potential adverse ecological and human impacts. These compounds are generally present at trace levels (ng l(-1)) and in complex water matrices, such as wastewaters and surface waters, making their analysis difficult. Currently, no standardized analytical methods are available for the analysis of organic micropollutants in environmental waters.

The influence of natural organic matter and cations on the rejection of endocrine disrupting and pharmaceutically active compounds by nanofiltration.

The impact of natural organic matter (NOM) and cations on the rejection of five endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) (acetaminophen, carbamazepine, estrone, gemfibrozil, oxybenzone) by nanofiltration (NF) was examined. The water matrices included membrane bioreactor (MBR) effluent, Lake Ontario water and laboratory-prepared waters modelled to represent the characteristics of the Lake Ontario water. The impact of cations in natural waters on compound rejection was also examined by doubling the natural cation concentration (calcium, magnesium, sodium) in both the Lake Ontario water and the MBR effluent.

Fermentative hydrogen gas production using biosolids pellets as the inoculum source.

Biosolids pellets produced from anaerobically digested municipal wastewater sludge by drying to greater than 90% total solids at 110-115 degrees C for at least 75 min, were tested for their suitability as an inoculum source for fermentative hydrogen production. The hydrogen recoveries (mg gaseous H(2) produced as COD/mg added substrate COD) for glucose-fed batch systems were equal, 20.2-21.

Improving the yield from fermentative hydrogen production.

Efforts to increase H(2) yields from fermentative H(2) production include heat treatment of the inoculum, dissolved gas removal, and varying the organic loading rate. Although heat treatment kills methanogens and selects for spore-forming bacteria, the available evidence indicates H(2) yields are not maximized compared to bromoethanesulfonate, iodopropane, or perchloric acid pre-treatments and spore-forming acetogens are not killed. Operational controls (low pH, short solids retention time) can replace heat treatment.

Supersaturation of dissolved H(2) and CO (2) during fermentative hydrogen production with N(2) sparging.

Dissolved H(2) and CO(2) were measured by an improved manual headspace-gas chromatographic method during fermentative H(2) production with N(2) sparging. Sparging increased the yield from 1.3 to 1.

A rational procedure for estimation of greenhouse-gas emissions from municipal wastewater treatment plants.

Municipal wastewater treatment may lead to the emission of greenhouse gases. The current Intergovenmental Panel on Climate Change (Geneva, Switzerland) approach attributes only methane emissions to wastewater treatment, but this approach may overestimate greenhouse gas emissions from the highly aerobic processes primarily used in North America. To better estimate greenhouse gas emissions, a procedure is developed that can be used either with plant-specific data or more general regional data.

Evaluation of an MBR-RO system to produce high quality reuse water: microbial control, DBP formation and nitrate.

A membrane bioreactor and reverse osmosis (MBR-RO) system was developed to assess potential reuse applications of municipal wastewater. The objective of the study was to examine the water quality throughout the system with a focus on waterborne pathogens, disinfection by-products (DBPs) and nitrate. This paper will discuss the presence of these contaminants in MBR effluent and focus on their subsequent removal by RO.

Continuous fermentative hydrogen production using a two-phase reactor system with recycle.

The effects of effluent recycle were examined in a two-phase anaerobic system where the first phase was operated for fermentative hydrogen production and the second for methanogenesis. The hydrogen reactor was operated as a chemostat at 35 degrees C and pH 5.5 with a 10 h hydraulic retention time, and the methane reactor was operated as an up-flow reactor at 28 degrees C and pH between 6.

Effects of C18 long chain fatty acids on glucose, butyrate and hydrogen degradation.

The effects of linoleic (C18:2), oleic (C18:1), and stearic (C18:0) acids on glucose, butyrate and hydrogen degradation were investigated at 21 degrees C using a culture unacclimated to long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs). Diethyl ether was used to facilitate precise addition of LCFAs and provide adequate dispersion in cultures. Butyrate degradation was affected by diethyl ether but minimal effects were observed on hydrogen and glucose consumption.

Improving anaerobic sequencing batch reactor performance by modifying operational parameters.

A lab-scale anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) that had operated with glucose at an organic loading rate of 2.1 kg COD m(-3) d(-1) was stressed with an organic loading rate of 3.2 kg COD m(-3) (-1).