Publications by authors named "Yekta S"

Proper pretreatment of organic residues prior to anaerobic digestion (AD) can maximize global biogas production from varying sources without increasing the amount of digestate, contributing to global decarbonization goals. However, the efficiency of pretreatments applied on varying organic streams is poorly assessed. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis on AD studies to evaluate the efficiencies of pretreatments with respect to biogas production measured as methane yield.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: Before and during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), commercially and publicly insured children may have faced different challenges in obtaining consistent and adequate health insurance.

Objective: To compare overall rates, COVID-19 PHE-related changes, and child and family characteristics associated with inconsistent and inadequate coverage for publicly and commercially insured children.

Design, Settings, And Participants: This was a cross-sectional study using nationally representative data from the 2016 to 2021 National Survey of Children's Health of children from age 0 to 17 years living in noninstitutional settings.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The recalcitrant structures either from substrate or microbial biomass contained in digestates after anaerobic digestion (AD) highly influence digestate valorization. To properly assess the microbial biomass contribution to the digested organic matter (OM), a combination of characterization methods and the use of various substrate types in anaerobic continuous reactors was required. The use of totally biodegradable substrates allowed detecting soluble microbial products via fluorescence spectroscopy at emission wavelengths of 420 and 460 nm while the protein-like signature was enhanced by the whey protein.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Natural environments with frequent drainage experience drying and rewetting events that impose fluctuations in water availability and oxygen exposure. These relatively dramatic cycles profoundly impact microbial activity in the environment and subsequent emissions of methane and carbon dioxide. In this study, we mimicked drying and rewetting events by submitting methanogenic communities from strictly anaerobic environments (anaerobic digestors) with different phylogenetic structures to consecutive desiccation events under aerobic (air) and anaerobic (nitrogen) conditions followed by rewetting.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates the fate of macromolecules in biogas processes, focusing on the residual organic matter in digestates from various biogas plants to identify factors affecting its composition and methane potential.!* -
  • Results showed that while carbohydrates were the largest fraction in substrates, proteins dominated the digestates, highlighting a lower degradation efficiency for proteins compared to carbohydrates and fats.!* -
  • The study found that co-digesting sewage sludge with fats improved protein degradation efficiency and linked high residual methane production to unstable operational conditions related to ammonia levels and hydraulic retention time.!*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Benign joint hypermobility syndrome (BJHS) is one of the most common hereditary connective tissue disorders in children in which autonomic nervous system involvement has been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of primary focal hyperhidrosis in children with BJHS.

Methods: This observational-analytical study was conducted in a case-control setting on children aged 3 to 15 years in 2018 at Mofid Children's Hospital, Tehran, Iran.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Trace elements (TEs) are vital for anaerobic digestion (AD), due to their role as cofactors in many key enzymes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of specific TE deficiencies on mixed microbial communities during AD of soluble polymer-free substrates, thus focusing on AD after hydrolysis. Three mesophilic (37 °C) continuous stirred-tank biogas reactors were depleted either of Co, Ni, or a combination of Se and W, respectively, by discontinuing their supplementation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Understanding fluid rheology is important for optimal design and operation of continuous stirred-tank biogas reactors (CSTBRs) and is the basis for power requirement estimates. Conflicting results have been reported regarding the applicability of total solid (TS) and/or total volatile solid (TVS) contents of CSTBR fluids as proxies for rheological properties. Thus, the present study investigates relationships between rheological properties of 12 full-scale CSTBR fluids, their substrate profiles, and major operational conditions, including pH, TS and TVS contents, organic loading rate, hydraulic retention time, and temperature.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study examined whether the abundance and expression of microbial 16S rRNA genes were associated with elemental concentrations and substrate conversion biokinetics in 20 full-scale anaerobic digesters, including seven municipal sewage sludge (SS) digesters and 13 industrial codigesters. SS digester contents had higher methane production rates from acetate, propionate and phenyl acetate compared to industrial codigesters. SS digesters and industrial codigesters were distinctly clustered based on their elemental concentrations, with higher concentrations of NH -N, Cl, K and Na observed in codigesters.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Cervical cancer is one of the most common and lethal cancers in West Africa. Even though vaccines that protect against the most common Human papillomavirus (HPV) strains, 16 and 18, are currently in use in developed countries, the implementation of these vaccines in developing countries has been painfully slow, considering the pre-eminence of HPV-associated cervical cancer among women in those countries.

Aim: We performed serological and PCR-based assessment of blood and tissue specimens obtained from women undergoing cervical cancer-related surgery at a major urban hospital in Bamako.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Although screening for pre-cancerous cervical lesions and human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination are accepted and effective means to prevent cervical cancer, women in Mali have limited access to these interventions. In addition, cervical cancer prevention by HPV vaccination has been controversial in some settings. To reduce cervical cancer prevalence and increase HPV vaccine uptake, it is important to understand the level of knowledge about cervical cancer screening and practices related to vaccination in at-risk populations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Codigesting fats, oils, and greases with municipal wastewater sludge can greatly improve biomethane recovery at wastewater treatment facilities. Process loading rates of fats, oils, and greases have been previously tested with little knowledge of the digester microbial community structure, and high transient fat loadings have led to long chain fatty acid (LCFA) accumulation and digester upsets. This study utilized recently-developed quantitative PCR assays for syntrophic LCFA-degrading bacteria along with 16S amplicon sequencing to relate changes in microbial community structure to LCFA accumulation during transient loading increases to an anaerobic codigester receiving waste restaurant oil and municipal wastewater sludge.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This article deals with the interrelationship between overall chemical speciation of S, Fe, Co, and Ni in relation to metals bio-uptake processes in continuous stirred tank biogas reactors (CSTBR). To address this topic, laboratory CSTBRs digesting sulfur(S)-rich stillage, as well as full-scale CSTBRs treating sewage sludge and various combinations of organic wastes, termed co-digestion, were targeted. Sulfur speciation was evaluated using acid volatile sulfide extraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Geochemical parameters and major ion concentrations from sediments of a freshwater lake in the town of Åtvidaberg, southeastern, Sweden, were used to identify the geochemical processes that control the water chemistry. The lake sediments are anoxic, characterized by reduced sulfur and sulfidic minerals. The hypothesis tested is that in sulfidic-anaerobic contaminated sediments, the presence of redox potential changes creates a favorable condition for sulfide oxidation, resulting in the release of potentially toxic metals.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Metabolic syndrome is an increasingly common condition that can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. 35 % of adults living in the United States meet the criteria for having metabolic syndrome, with that number being even higher in populations with health disparities. We describe a 'healthy lifestyles' program implemented at a free clinic serving a predominantly Hispanic cohort of low-income, uninsured individuals living in Providence, Rhode Island.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Food and Drug Administration has approved two human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines for use by men and women in the United States. The vaccines not only protect against HPV infection, but also reduce the risk of cervical cancer in women. Despite the widespread availability of these vaccines, vulnerable populations such as those with low incomes have been reported to have limited access to and knowlege about HPV vaccines.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Dental problems are rarely mentioned in the training of medical students or physicians in travel medicine, and there are little data on dental problems of travellers in the literature. We studied the epidemiology of dental problems amongst trekkers in Nepal to develop strategies for preventive care during/before travelling and propose a curriculum for dental First Aid training.

Material And Methods: We undertook a prospective, cross-sectional questionnaire and clinical dental survey of Trekkers at Manang (3550 m, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Ninety-five percent of burn deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); however, longitudinal household-level studies have not been done in urban slum settings, where overcrowding and unsafe cook stoves may increase likelihood of injury.

Methods: Using a prospective, population-based disease surveillance system in the urban slum of Kibera in Kenya, we examined the incidence of household-level burns of all severities from 2006-2011.

Results: Of approximately 28,500 enrolled individuals (6000 households), we identified 3072 burns.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The microbial community of 21 full-scale biogas reactors was examined using 454 pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene sequences. These reactors included seven (six mesophilic and one thermophilic) digesting sewage sludge (SS) and 14 (ten mesophilic and four thermophilic) codigesting (CD) various combinations of wastes from slaughterhouses, restaurants, households, etc. The pyrosequencing generated more than 160,000 sequences representing 11 phyla, 23 classes, and 95 genera of Bacteria and Archaea.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Despite a high prevalence of oncogenic human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer mortality, HPV vaccination is not currently available in Mali. Knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer in Mali, and thereby vaccine readiness, may be limited. Research staff visited homes in a radial pattern from a central location to recruit adolescent females and males aged 12-17 years and men and women aged ≥ 18 years (N = 51) in a peri-urban village of Bamako, Mali.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) was characterized in eight full scale continuous stirred tank biogas reactors (CSTBR) using solid-phase extraction and electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FT-ICR-MS). An overview of the DOM molecular complexity in the samples from biogas reactors with conventional operational conditions and various substrate profiles is provided by assignments of unambiguous exact molecular formulas for each measured mass peak. Analysis of triplicate samples for each reactor demonstrated the reproducibility of the solid-phase extraction procedure and ESI-FT-ICR-MS which allowed precise evaluation of the DOM molecular differences among the different reactors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Schwannomas, also known as neurilemomas or neurilemmomas, are relatively uncommon, slow-growing benign tumors. Whereas, about one-third of all extracranial Schwannomas are found in the head and neck region, a few intraoral Schwannomas are reported in the literature. This article contributes to a review regarding the current literature and the report of a rare case.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Colloidal gold particles with functionalized organic shells were applied as novel selectin binders. The ligand shell was terminated with different monocyclic carbohydrate mimetics as simplified analogs of the sLe(x) unit found in biological selectin ligands. The multivalent presentation of the sulfated selectin binding epitopes on the gold particles led to extremely high binding affinities towards L- and P-selectin and IC(50) values in the subnanomolar range.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Bisphosphonates are therapeutics of bone diseases, such as Paget's disease, multiple myeloma or osteoclastic metastases. As a severe side effect the bisphosphonate induced osteonecrosis of the jaw (BONJ) often requires surgical treatment and is accompanied with a disturbed wound healing.Therefore, the influence on adhesion and migration of human osteoblasts (hOB) after bisphosphonate therapy has been investigated by morphologic as well as gene expression methods.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The purpose of the study was to investigate whether dentine irradiation with a pulsed CO(2) laser (10.6μm) emitting pulses of 10 ms is capable of reducing dentine calcium and phosphorus losses in an artificial caries model.

Design: The 90 dentine slabs obtained from bovine teeth were randomly divided into six groups (n=15): negative control group (GC); positive control group, treated with fluoride 1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF