Evaluating a unique enhanced recovery protocol in laparoscopic donor nephrectomy: A single center experience.

Introduction: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols have been associated with a reduction in opioid consumption and a hastening in recovery in abdominal surgery. However, their impact on laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN) has not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study is to evaluate opioid consumption and other relevant outcome measures before and after implementation of a unique LDN ERAS protocol.

The Bitter and the Sweet: Relationship of Lactate, Glucose, and Mortality After Severe Blunt Trauma.

Background: Hyperglycemia is associated with mortality after trauma; however, few studies have simultaneously investigated the association of depth of shock and acute hyperglycemia. We evaluated lactate, as a surrogate measure for depth of shock, and glucose levels on mortality following severe blunt trauma. We hypothesize that measurements of both lactate and glucose are associated with mortality when considered simultaneously.

Assessing modified aluminum-based water treatment residuals as a plant-available phosphorus source.

Inorganic phosphorus (P) fertilizers are a finite resource; alternative means of creating P fertilizers from current municipal and agricultural waste sources may reduce our reliance on phosphate rock mining, and improve waste disposal and nutrient cycling. Previous research demonstrated that organic aluminum water treatment residual composites (Al/O-WTR), created by mixing aluminum water treatment residuals (Al-WTR) with swine wastewater, have the potential to be a source of plant-available P. A greenhouse study was conducted to compare spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.

Mechanisms Responsible for Soil Phosphorus Availability Differences between Sprinkler and Furrow Irrigation.

From a historical perspective, human-induced soil erosion and resulting soil phosphorus (P) losses have likely occurred for thousands of years. In modern times, erosion risk and off-site P transport can be decreased if producers convert from furrow to sprinkler irrigation, but conversion may alter nutrient dynamics. Our study goal was to determine soil P dynamics in furrow- (in place since the early 1900s) versus sprinkler-irrigated (installed within the last decade) soils from four paired producer fields in Idaho.

X-Ray Spectroscopic Quantification of Struvite and Dittmarite Recovered from Wastewater.

Phosphorus recovery from wastewater as struvite (MgNHPO⋅6HO) or dittmarite (MgNHPO⋅HO) can decrease water pollution risk, as well as produce a P-rich material suitable as fertilizer. However, most studies to date have focused on the removal of P from wastewater, rather than on characterization of the recovered P materials. The objective of this work was to apply microfocused X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, and both bulk and microfused X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, to provide insight into the speciation of recovered P in various struvite-containing and struvite-like materials.

Combining spectroscopic and isotopic techniques gives a dynamic view of phosphorus cycling in soil.

Current understanding of phosphorus (P) cycling in soils can be enhanced by integrating previously discrete findings concerning P speciation, exchange kinetics, and the underlying biological and geochemical processes. Here, we combine sequential extraction with P K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy and isotopic methods (P and O in phosphate) to characterize P cycling on a climatic gradient in Hawaii. We link P pools to P species and estimate the turnover times for commonly considered P pools.

Phosphorus Sorption to Aluminum-based Water Treatment Residuals Reacted with Dairy Wastewater: 2. X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy.

Phosphorus capture from wastewater can decrease water pollution and provide a P-rich fertilizer alternative for use in agricultural production. This study was conducted to elucidate P retention mechanisms in Al-based water treatment residuals (Al-WTR) to gain insight regarding P sorption and the potential for P release from Al-WTR after reaction with dairy wastewater. Synchrotron-based microfocused X-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) spectrometry, bulk P -edge X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy (XANES), and P -edge micro-XANES spectroscopy were used to determine P distribution and speciation within the Al-WTR materials.

Phosphorus Sorption Characteristics in Aluminum-based Water Treatment Residuals Reacted with Dairy Wastewater: 1. Isotherms, XRD, and SEM-EDS Analysis.

We examined P sorption characteristics in Al-based water treatment residuals (Al-WTR) generated from slightly alkaline surface water and in an organic residual composite (WW-Al/O-WTR), produced by using the Al-WTR to treat organic-rich and high P concentration dairy wastewater. Solids from both residuals were examined using scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and exposed to P additions of 0 to 4000 mg L in a sorption experiment. The Al-WTR removed ∼97% of the added P, whereas WW-Al/O-WTR removed only 78% of the added P in the addition range of 0 to 100 mg P L.

Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics of Uranium Incorporated in Goethite (α-FeOOH): Interpretation of X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy of Trace Polyvalent Metals.

Incorporation of economically or environmentally consequential polyvalent metals into iron (oxyhydr)oxides has applications in environmental chemistry, remediation, and materials science. A primary tool for characterizing the local coordination environment of such metals, and therefore building models to predict their behavior, is extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS). Accurate structural information can be lacking yet is required to constrain and inform data interpretation.

Innovative approach for recycling phosphorous from agro-wastewaters using water treatment residuals (WTR).

Phosphorus capture from polluting streams and its re-use using industrial byproducts has the potential to also reduce environmental threats. An innovative approach was developed for P removal from soil leachate and dairy wastewater using Al-based water treatment residuals (Al-WTR) to create an organic-Al-WTR composite (Al/O-WTR), potentially capable of serving as a P fertilizer source. Al-WTR was mixed with either soil leachate, or with dairy wastewater, both of which contained elevated P concentrations (e.

Uranium incorporation into aluminum-substituted ferrihydrite during iron(ii)-induced transformation.

Uranium retention processes (adsorption, precipitation, and incorporation into host minerals) exert strong controls on U mobility in the environment, and understanding U retention is therefore crucial for predicting the migration of U within surface and groundwater. Uranium can be incorporated into Fe (hydr)oxides during Fe(ii)-induced transformation of ferrihydrite to goethite. However, ferrihydrite seldom exists as a pure phase within soils or sediments, and structural impurities such as Al alter its reactivity.

Uranium incorporation into amorphous silica.

High concentrations of uranium are commonly observed in naturally occurring amorphous silica (including opal) deposits, suggesting that incorporation of U into amorphous silica may represent a natural attenuation mechanism and promising strategy for U remediation. However, the stability of uranium in opaline silicates, determined in part by the binding mechanism for U, is an important factor in its long-term fate. U may bind directly to the opaline silicate matrix, or to materials such as iron (hydr)oxides that are subsequently occluded within the opal.

Macroscopic and microscopic variation in recovered magnesium phosphate materials: implications for phosphorus removal processes and product re-use.

Phosphorus (P) recovery and re-use will become increasingly important for water quality protection and sustainable nutrient cycling as environmental regulations become stricter and global P reserves decline. The objective of this study was to examine and characterize several magnesium phosphates recovered from actual wastewater under field conditions. Three types of particles were examined including crystalline magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (struvite) recovered from dairy wastewater, crystalline magnesium ammonium phosphate hydrate (dittmarite) recovered from a food processing facility, and a heterogeneous product also recovered from dairy wastewater.