Improved valorization of sewage sludge in the circular economy by anaerobic digestion: Impact of an innovative pretreatment technology.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of sewage sludge shows low carbon conversion efficiency (CCE) due to the poor biodegradability of sewage sludge. The lack of digestibility is specifically linked to the waste-activated sludge (WAS) making up the majority of sewage sludge along with a smaller portion of primary sludge, depending on the wastewater treatment plant configuration. In this study, we examine the Advanced Wet Oxidation & Steam Explosion process (AWOEx) for improving the CCE of digested sewage sludge (DSS) by thermophilic AD.

Direct Peritoneal Resuscitation Reduces Lung Injury and Caspase 8 Activity in Brain Death.

Acute brain death (ABD) is associated with inflammation and lung injury. Direct peritoneal resuscitation (DPR) improves blood flow to the vital organs after ABD. DPR reduces lung injury, but the mechanism for this is unknown.

Direct peritoneal resuscitation reduces inflammation in the kidney after acute brain death.

Brain death is associated with significant inflammation within the kidneys, which may contribute to reduced graft survival. Direct peritoneal resuscitation (DPR) has been shown to reduce systemic inflammation after brain death. To determine its effects, brain dead rats were resuscitated with normal saline (targeted intravenous fluid) to maintain a mean arterial pressure of 80 mmHg; DPR animals also received 30 cc of intraperitoneal peritoneal dialysis solution.

Direct Peritoneal Resuscitation Alters Leukocyte Infiltration in the Lung After Acute Brain Death.

Background: Brain death is associated with significant lung injury and inflammation. This has been associated with worse long-term outcomes for transplanted lungs. Direct peritoneal resuscitation (DPR) reduces systemic inflammation in brain death and improves lung procurement rate.

Association Between MC-2 Peptide and Hepatic Perfusion and Liver Injury Following Resuscitated Hemorrhagic Shock.

Importance: Hemorrhagic shock (HS) due to trauma remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, despite continuing progression of advanced life support and treatment. Trauma is the third most common cause of death worldwide and is the leading cause of death in the 1- to 44-year-old age group. Hemorrhagic shock often progresses to multiple organ failure despite conventional resuscitation (CR) that restores central hemodynamics.

A High Linoleic Acid Diet does not Induce Inflammation in Mouse Liver or Adipose Tissue.

Recently, the pro-inflammatory effects of linoleic acid (LNA) have been re-examined. It is now becoming clear that relatively few studies have adequately assessed the effects of LNA, independent of obesity. The purpose of this work was to compare the effects of several fat-enriched but non-obesigenic diets on inflammation to provide a more accurate assessment of LNA's ability to induce inflammation.

Effects of occupational exposure to chlorpyrifos on neuropsychological function: a prospective longitudinal study.

Background: Exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF), an organophosphorus (OP) anticholinesterase insecticide, occurs typically in settings where multiple agents are present (e.g., agriculture) and quantitative dose measures may be absent (e.

Direct peritoneal resuscitation augments ileal blood flow in necrotizing enterocolitis via a novel mechanism.

Purpose: Endothelin-1, prostaglandins (PGs), and nitric oxide (NO) have been implicated in the intestinal microvascular dysfunction of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). We hypothesized that direct peritoneal resuscitation (DPR) dilates the intestinal microvasculature and improves blood flow independent of these mechanisms.

Methods: Rat pups were assigned by litter to experimental NEC or CONTROL groups.

Direct peritoneal resuscitation improves obesity-induced hepatic dysfunction after trauma.

Background: The metabolic syndrome and associated fatty liver disease are thought to contribute to poor outcomes in trauma patients. Experimentally, obesity compromises liver blood flow. We sought to correlate the effect of obesity, injury severity, and liver dysfunction with trauma outcomes.

Altered intestinal microcirculation is the critical event in the development of necrotizing enterocolitis.

Purpose: The pathophysiology of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) includes prematurity, enteral feeds, hypoxia, and hypothermia. We hypothesized that vasoconstriction of the neonatal intestinal microvasculature is the essential mechanistic event in NEC and that these microvascular changes correlate with alterations in mediators of inflammation.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley rat pups were separated into groups by litter.

Plasma appearance rate of intraperitoneal macromolecular tracer underestimates peritoneal lymph flow.

The magnitude of peritoneal lymph flow is an issue of great controversy in peritoneal dialysis (PD) research. Because no single lymphatic duct drains the entire peritoneal cavity, peritoneal lymph flow is indirectly measured as lymphatic removal of intraperitoneal macromolecular tracer. In rats, the peritoneal clearance (K) of such a tracer is 5 times the approximately 8 microL/min determined from the tracer appearance rate in blood (Cl).

Chronic infusion of sterile peritoneal dialysis solution abrogates enhanced peritoneal gene expression responses to chronic peritoneal catheter presence.

Chronic exposure to sterile peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions is associated with microvascular and interstitial changes within the blood-peritoneal barrier (peritoneum). These changes are commonly linked to loss of peritoneal function over time, presumably because of angiogenesis-related increased vascular area. However, the effects on peritoneal microvascular function of chronic peritoneal exposure to PD solutions are unknown.

Vasoactive components of dialysis solution.

Background: Conventional peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions elicit vasodilation, which is implicated in the variable rate of solute transport during the dwell. The components causing such vasoactivity are still controversial. This study was conducted to define the vasoactive components of conventional and new PD solutions.

Obesity, inflammation, and the potential application of pharmaconutrition.

Obesity is an emerging problem worldwide. Hospitalized obese patients often have a worse outcome than patients of normal weight, particularly in the setting of trauma and critical care. Obesity creates a low-grade systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) that is similar (but on a much smaller scale) to gram-negative sepsis.

Cellular edema regulates tissue capillary perfusion after hemorrhage resuscitation.

Background: Hemorrhage-induced activation of endothelial cell Na+/H+ -exchanger results in cellular swelling, which physically impedes capillary filling and compromises gut perfusion. We hypothesized that correction of the vascular volume deficit by conventional resuscitation does not improve capillary filling unless cellular swelling is prevented. Also, we hypothesized that adjunctive direct peritoneal resuscitation (DPR) with topical peritoneal dialysis solution (Delflex; Fresenius USA, Inc.

Postresuscitation tissue neutrophil infiltration is time-dependent and organ-specific.

Background: Hemorrhagic shock with conventional resuscitation (CR) primes circulating neutrophils and activates vascular endothelium for increased systemic inflammation, superoxide release, and end-organ damage. Adjunctive direct peritoneal resuscitation (DPR) with intraperitoneal instillation of a clinical peritoneal dialysis solution decreases systemic inflammation and edema formation by enhancing tissue perfusion. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of adjunctive DPR on neutrophil and fluid sequestration.

Mechanisms of direct peritoneal resuscitation-mediated splanchnic hyperperfusion following hemorrhagic shock.

Conventional resuscitation (CR) from hemorrhagic shock causes a persistent and progressive splanchnic vasoconstriction and hypoperfusion despite hemodynamic restoration with intravenous fluid therapy. Adjunctive direct peritoneal resuscitation (DPR) with a clinical peritoneal dialysis solution instilled into the peritoneal cavity has been shown to restore splanchnic tissue perfusion, down-regulate the gut-derived exaggerated systemic inflammatory response, promote early fluid mobilization, and improve overall outcome. This study was conducted to define the molecular mechanisms of DPR-induced gut hyperperfusion after hemorrhagic shock.

Dose-effect analyses of occupational chlorpyrifos exposure and peripheral nerve electrophysiology.

We performed nerve conduction studies (NCSs) on 113 chemical workers, many of whom had occupational exposure to the organophosphorus insecticide chlorpyrifos (O,O-diethyl-O-[3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridyl]-phosphorothioate), to identify dose effects of subclinical neuropathy. In this masked longitudinal study, we estimated historic and interim chlorpyrifos exposures and measured excretion of 3,5,6 trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP), a chlorpyrifos metabolite. TCP excretion among exposed workers suggested an estimated daily chlorpyrifos exposure averaging about 576-627 microg/day and indicated levels approximately 30% (range 0-250%) of the internal dose received by a typical subject exposed during a working day at the threshold limit value of 200 microg/m3.

Clinical peritoneal dialysis solutions modulate white blood cell-intestinal vascular endothelium interaction.

Background: Hemorrhagic shock (HS) with conventional resuscitation (CR) (HSCR) primes neutrophils and modulates leukocyte (WBC)-endothelium interaction as part of an exaggerated systemic inflammatory response. We hypothesize that topical application of clinical peritoneal dialysis solutions (PD) modulates such interaction.

Methods: Intestinal intravital microscopy was used to measure WBC rolling in terminal ileum post capillary venules (V2 and V3) in sham-operated animals, and in animals that underwent fixed pressure hemorrhage (50% mean arterial pressure for 60 minutes), followed by conventional resuscitation with the return of the shed blood and 2 vol of saline.

Absence of sensory neuropathy among workers with occupational exposure to chlorpyrifos.

Several studies have reported the occurrence of sensory neuropathy with exposure to chlorpyrifos and other organophosphorus insecticides, at levels not associated with overt toxicity. We evaluated 113 chemical workers, including 53 of 66 (80%) eligible chlorpyrifos workers and 60 of 74 (81%) randomly selected referent workers, to identify evidence of sensory neuropathy or subclinical neuropathy. Compared to referents, chlorpyrifos subjects had significantly longer duration of work in chlorpyrifos-exposed areas (9.

The effects of occupational exposure to chlorpyrifos on the neurologic examination of central nervous system function: a prospective cohort study.

Questions persist about adverse effects such as impaired cognition and attention, incoordination, spasticity, or parkinsonism from chronic, low-level exposures to organophosphate (OP) compounds. In a prospective cohort study, we evaluated chlorpyrifos-manufacturing workers and a referent group on 2 occasions, 1 year apart, to determine whether occupational exposure to chlorpyrifos produced clinically evident central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction. Chlorpyrifos subjects had significantly higher TCP excretion and lower average BuChE activity than referents in a range in which physiological effects on B-esterases exist.

The value of experienced medical personnel during the investigation of general aviation accidents.

A multidisciplinary approach to accident investigation is routine in commercial aircraft accidents. A medical team is usually assigned to assist with the investigation. As far as general aviation accidents are concerned, in a majority of cases, these resources are not available to the investigator-in-charge.