Evolution Of Other Parameters Research Articles

Treatment of Mineral Oil Refinery Wastewater in Microbial Fuel Cells Using Ionic Liquid Based Separators

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an environmentally friendly technology that can recover electricity directly from several wastes at ambient temperatures. This work explores the use of mineral oil refinery wastewater as feedstock in single-chamber air-cathode MFC devices. A polymer inclusion membrane based on the ionic liquid methyltrioctylammonium chloride, [MTOA+][Cl−], at a concentration of 70% w/w, was used as separator, showing a good efficiency in power production and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. The power and the chemical oxygen demand removal reached values of 45 mW/m3 and over 80%, respectively. The evolution of other parameters of the wastewater including nitrites, phosphates and sulphates were also studied. Kjeldahl nitrogen and sulphates were significantly reduced during MFC operation. The results show that mineral oil refinery wastewater can be used as feedstock in air breathing cathode-microbial fuel cells based on polymer ionic liquid inclusion membranes. This configuration could represent a good alternative for wastewater depuration while producing energy during the process.

Characterization of volcanic regimes and identification of significant transitions using geophysical data: a review

A volcano can be considered as a dynamical system, and each time series recorded at a volcano can be interpreted as one of its observables. It is therefore theoretically possible to extract, even from a single time series, information about the underlying governing system. This is done through a procedure called “embedding” that is based on the intuitive statement that the only time series available carries with it information also about the time evolution of other parameters that we are not able to sample or observe. Carrying out this embedding procedure requires estimates of key parameters such as the optimal delay time and a proper embedding dimension. Other independent but often conceptually similar procedures allow decompositions of the time series into components that may in turn be associated to different source processes. The key to the characterization of volcanic regimes is a process of data reduction, aimed at parsing the amount of data into its most useful components which can then facilitate the interpretation of the system. The approaches presented here can be used to conduct such a data reduction phase, and the reduced data stream can be used not only for characterizing different volcanic regimes but also for determining transitions between them, examining their relationship with external or internal events such as tectonic or volcano-tectonic seismic events, looking for precursors of paroxysmal eruptive phases etc. These results can become additional inputs for physical models in order to understand in detail the physical changes that occurred in the volcanic system and their possible consequences. In this paper, the existing literature on this subject will be reviewed and the prospects of future research will be discussed.

Effects of an Immunosuppressive Treatment in the GRMD Dog Model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

The GRMD (Golden retriever muscular dystrophy) dog has been widely used in pre-clinical trials targeting DMD (Duchenne muscular dystrophy), using in many cases a concurrent immune-suppressive treatment. The aim of this study is to assess if such a treatment could have an effect on the disease course of these animals. Seven GRMD dogs were treated with an association of cyclosporine A (immunosuppressive dosage) and prednisolone (2 mg/kg/d) during 7 months, from 2 to 9 months of age. A multi-parametric evaluation was performed during this period which allowed us to demonstrate that this treatment had several significant effects on the disease progression. The gait quality as assessed by 3D-accelerometry was dramatically improved. This was consistent with the evolution of other parameters towards a significant improvement, such as the clinical motor score, the post-tetanic relaxation and the serum CK levels. In contrast the isometric force measurement as well as the histological evaluation argued in favor of a more severe disease progression. In view of the disease modifying effects which have been observed in this study it should be concluded that immunosuppressive treatments should be used with caution when carrying out pre-clinical studies in this canine model of DMD. They also highlight the importance of using a large range of multi-parametric evaluation tools to reliably draw any conclusion from trials involving dystrophin-deficient dogs, which reproduce the complexity of the human disease.

Corticosteroids in Latent Amoebiasis

<h3>Objective</h3> Mechanical evaluation of dyssynchrony by echocardiography has not replaced ECG in routine cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) evaluation because of its complexity and lack of reproducibility. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential correlations between electromechanical parameters (atrioventricular, interventricular and intraventricular from the dyssynchrony model presented in 2000), their ability to describe dyssynchrony and their potential use in resynchrony. <h3>Methods</h3> 455 sets of the 18 parameters of the model obtained in 91 patients submitted to various pacing configurations were evaluated two by two using a Pearson correlation test and then by groups according to their ability to describe dyssynchrony, using the Column selection method of machine learning. <h3>Results</h3> The best parameter is duration of septal contraction, which alone describes 25% of dyssynchrony. The best groups of 3, 4 and ≥8 variables describe 59%, 73% and almost 100% of dyssynchrony, respectively. Left pre-ejection interval is highly and significantly correlated to a maximum of other variables, and its decrease is associated with the favourable evolution of all other correlated parameters. Increase in filling duration and decrease in duration of septum to lateral wall contraction difference are not associated with the favourable evolution of other parameters. <h3>Conclusions</h3> No single electromechanical parameter alone can fully describe dyssynchrony. The 18-parameter model can be simplified, but still requires at least 4–8 parameters. Decrease in left pre-ejection interval favourably drives resynchrony in a maximum of other parameters. Increase in filling duration and decrease in septum–lateral wall difference do not appear to be good CRT targets.