Preventive treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms in adult patients with sickle cell anemia: A cohort study.

Background And Purpose: Intracranial aneurysms are frequent in patients with sickle cell anemia, while subarachnoid hemorrhage is a major cause of death and disability in young adult patients. Several characteristics, such as younger age and smaller size at rupture, may incline therapeutic decision towards exclusion treatments. Clinical guidelines on treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms in this population are still missing.

Comparison of aerobic processes for olive mill wastewater treatment.

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) has been proven to be an efficient technology capable of treating various industrial effluents. However, the evaluation of its performances in the case of olive mill wastewater (OMW) over a conventional activated sludge (CAS) have not been determined yet. The present study aims to compare OMW treatment in two laboratory scale pilots: an external ceramic MBR and CAS starting with an acclimation step in both reactors by raising OMW concentration progressively.

Key process parameters involved in the treatment of olive mill wastewater by membrane bioreactor.

The Olive Mill Wastewater (OMWW) biodegradation in an external ceramic membrane bioreactor (MBR) was investigated with a starting acclimation step with a Ultrafiltration (UF) membrane (150 kDa) and no sludge discharge in order to develop a specific biomass adapted to OMWW biodegradation. After acclimation step, UF was replaced by an Microfiltration (MF) membrane (0.1 µm).

Performance of a biomass adapted to oncological ward wastewater vs. biomass from municipal WWTP on the removal of pharmaceutical molecules.

The performance of a biomass adapted to Oncological Ward Wastewater (OWW) in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) was compared with that of a municipal WWTP, on the removal of pharmaceutical molecules and more specifically on their overall resistance and purifying ability in the presence of pharmaceutical cocktails. Sorption and biotransformation mechanisms on two antineoplastics, one antibiotic and a painkiller were evaluated. Sludge acclimated to OWW allowed for a 34% increase in the removal rate and in the minimum inhibition concentration.

Biomass behaviour in a conventional activated sludge system treating olive mill wastewater.

The current work aims to study the biomass behaviour in a continuous mode activated sludge system (ASS) treating olive mill wastewater (OMWW) through an increasing OMWW food to microorganism ration (F/M). To this end, the biomass growth, the specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR), microbial characterization, sludge volume index (SVI) as well as COD and phenolic compounds removal efficiencies were examined over time. Results showed a successful growth of the biomass that reached 6.

Impact of synthetic or real urban wastewater on membrane bioreactor (MBR) performances and membrane fouling under stable conditions.

Influence of substrate type (synthetic (SWW) or real wastewater (RWW)) on lab scale MBR performances (e.g. COD and N-NH4(+) removal rates and bioactivities) was assessed.

Impact of oxygen cut off and starvation conditions on biological activity and physico-chemical properties of activated sludge.

Physico-chemical and biological parameters were monitored both throughout different oxygen cut off and starvation (OCS) times (6 h-72 h) and after the restoration of normal operational conditions. Sludge apparent viscosity and soluble extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) characteristics were measured to determine the activated sludge (AS) properties. Oxygen transfer, biological activity with specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR) measurements during endogenous/exogenous conditions (without any external substrate/with external substrate consumption) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal were measured to assess the AS performances.

Influence of sludge retention time at constant food to microorganisms ratio on membrane bioreactor performances under stable and unstable state conditions.

Food to microorganisms ratio (F/M) and sludge retention time (SRT) are known to affect in different ways biomass growth, bioactivities and foulants characteristics. Thus the aim of this study was to dissociate the effects of SRT from those of F/M ratio on lab-scale membrane bioreactors performances during stable and unstable state. Two acclimations were stabilized at a SRT of either 20 or 50 d with a constant F/M ratio of 0.

Kinetic study of compost liquor nitrification.

This study is a first kinetic approach about the compost liquor treatment by activated sludge. This industrial wastewater is highly loaded in organic and nitrogen compounds (COD≈12,000 mg L(-1) and NH(4)(+)-N≈4,000 mg L(-1)). The possibility of its treatment in an urban WWTP is studied measuring ammonia oxidation rate with non-acclimated sludge to the industrial effluent.

Effect of membrane bioreactor configurations on sludge structure and microbial activity.

The aim of this paper was to determine the effect of two different membrane bioreactor (MBR) configurations (external/immersed) on sludge structure and microbial activity. Sludge structure was deduced from rheological measurements. The high shear stress induced by the recirculation pump in the external MBR was shown to result in decreasing viscosity due to activated sludge (AS) deflocculation.

Olive mill wastewater treatment in a membrane bioreactor: process stability and fouling aspects.

An external ceramic membrane bioreactor was used to carry out an experimental study of process stability and fouling aspects for olive mill wastewater (OMW) treatment. Three diluted OMW solutions were used to continuously feed the reactor. An acclimated biomass was employed and the process stability was followed on the basis of the permeate quality and some operating parameters (pressure, temperature, mass flow and dissolved oxygen).

Kinetic parameters for 17alpha-ethinylestradiol removal by nitrifying activated sludge developed in a membrane bioreactor.

The synthetic hormone 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) is primarily removed in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) by sorption, and nitrifying biomass has been shown to be responsible for EE2 biodegradation. Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology was chosen to develop a community of autotrophic, nitrifying micro-organisms and determine kinetic parameters for EE2 biodegradation. Biological inhibition by azide was applied to differentiate sorption from biodegradation.

Reverse osmosis desalination: water sources, technology, and today's challenges.

Reverse osmosis membrane technology has developed over the past 40 years to a 44% share in world desalting production capacity, and an 80% share in the total number of desalination plants installed worldwide. The use of membrane desalination has increased as materials have improved and costs have decreased. Today, reverse osmosis membranes are the leading technology for new desalination installations, and they are applied to a variety of salt water resources using tailored pretreatment and membrane system design.