Physico-chemical monitoring of biodegradation of furfural from oil industry effluents from the Arzew refinery (Oran) Algeria

Furfural is one of the petroleum products posing a potential danger to the environment and human health. However, the decontamination of these pollutants released into the environment is primarily governed by biodegra-dation processes. This study is based on biodegradation kinetics at increasing concentrations of furfural by natural mixed culture in order to assess the potential of this process in the elimination of furfural from petrochemical effluents from the ARZEW refinery. This biodegradation was measured through physicochemical parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, con-centration of hydrocarbons, the chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemi-cal oxygen demand (BOD5) and the concentration of furfural. The results obtained show at a concentration of 250ppm of injected furfural: a decrease in pH 4.9 and an increase in other parameters (conductivity 3450 μS.cm-1, HC 102 mg / l; furfural 210 ppm, COD 327mg / l, BOD5 98mgO2 / l. The study findings indicated that the injection of these effluents with concentrations greater than 180 ppm leads to values of pH, EC, HC, Furfural, COD, BOD5 which do not comply with direct discharge standards and disrupt biological treatment. The high levels of furfural not only cause a pollution problem but can also disrupt the functioning of bacteria at the biological treatment level. Therefore, dilution with the filtration wash water before switching to biologi-cal treatment is recommended in order to reduce the concentrations below 180 ppm.

Hallux rigidus: clinical examination, radiology, and classification

The severity of hallux rigidus depends on the degree of joint involvement, from local pain to stress fractures of other bones of the foot due to hyper-support. Radiology is mandatory to have an accurate diagnosis and gives us a parameter of joint injury. We use the Coughlin and Shurnas classification as the gold standard for treatment. Level of Evidence IV.

Diagnostic treatment-level discrepancies in patients with lumbosacral radicular pain and lumbar spine anomalies

BackgroundLumbosacral transitional vertebra can result in an anomalous number of lumbar vertebrae associated with wrong level treatment. The primary aim of this study was to characterize discrepancies between reported referring levels and levels from MRI reports with treated levels. The secondary aim was to analyze interobserver variability between a pain physician and a radiologist when determining levels and classifying lumbosacral transitional vertebrae.MethodsBetween February 2016 and October 2019, a retrospective case series of prospectively collected data of the affected levels mentioned in referrals, MRI reports and treated levels was performed. The counting process, level determination, classification of lumbosacral transitional vertebrae and a secondary control were carried out by independent researchers using a standard methodology.ResultsOf the 2443 referrals, 143 patients had an anomalous number of lumbar vertebrae; of these, 114 were included for analysis. The vertebral level noted in the patient’s file, in the referral, and the reported level of treatment differed in 40% of these cases. The vertebral level between the MRI reports and treatment differed in 46% of cases. The interobserver reliability (radiologist vs pain physician) for classifying a transitional vertebra was fair ((κ=0.40) and was substantial (κ=0.70) when counting the vertebrae.ConclusionIn the presence of lumbar spine anomalies, we report a high prevalence of discrepancies between referral levels and MRI pathological findings with treatment levels. Further research is needed to better understand clinical implications.

The Relationship Between Systemic Immune Inflammation Index and Treatment Response in Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients Treated with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors: Results from The Turkish Oncology Group Kidney Cancer Consortium Database

Aim: To investigate the prognostic value of the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and its impact on survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).Methods: A total of 706 patients with mRCC treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) (i.e., sunitinib, pazopanib) were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were classified into either a high-SII group or a low-SII group based on the cut-off value of SII at 756, which was the median SII level of our study group. Results: The median age of patients was 60 (interquartile range (IQR):53-67) years. Three out of four patients were male. The majority of patients (85.7%) had clear cell histology, and sarcomatoid differentiation was observed in 16.9% of all patients. The rates of patients in favorable, intermediate, and poor “International mRCC Database Consortium (IMDC)” risk groups were 20.1%, 57.6%, and 22.2%, respectively. There were 311 and 310 patients in the SII-low and SII-high groups, respectively. At the median of 48.6 months follow-up, the median overall survival (OS) was 34.6 months and 14.5 months in the low- and high-SII groups, respectively (p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, SII was an independent prognostic factor for OS (hazard ratio (HR):1.39, 95% confidence interval (CI):1.05-1.85, p=0.01) and PFS (HR:1.60, 95% CI:1.24-2.05, p<0.001).Conclusion: Pre-treatment level of high SII might be considered as a predictor of poor prognosis in patients with mRCC treated with TKIs.

Open-Label Placebo Interventions With Drinking Water and Their Influence on Perceived Physical and Mental Well-Being

In recent years, the postulation that deception is necessary for placebos to have an effect on pain relief or increased well-being has come into question. Latest studies have shown that an openly administered mock drug works just as well as a deceptively administered placebo on certain complaints. This open-label placebo effect has primarily been used in the area of pain treatment so far. This study is the first to examine the effect of such placebos on healthy individuals with the use of drinking water. In two experiments, participants were required to use certain specified water bottles for their daily drinking water consumption. At the beginning of Experiment 1, all participants (N = 68) received one bottle of water, which they were asked to refill themselves each day during a 2-week intervention period. In Experiment 2, participants (N = 75) received a new sealed water bottle every day. In both experiments, participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: no treatment (control group CG), open-label placebo without rationale (OPR–), open-label placebo with rationale (OPR+), and open-label placebo with additional rationale in a suggested relaxed state (group OPR++). We conducted baseline and post-treatment measurements of the subjective perceived physical and mental well-being of the participants. In Experiment 1, only the OPR++ group reported enhanced vitality at the post-treatment level compared to the other groups. In Experiment 2, post-treatment measurements showed improvements for the OPR++ group in the Physical Performance Capability, Mental Performance Capability, Emotional Balance, Overall Recovery, Negative Emotional State, and Overall Stress categories compared to the other groups. Our results support the idea that placebos with an additional rationale in a suggestive relaxed state are more effective than with just a rationale in a normal state. Furthermore, our study shows the tendency that OLP++ in the form of water with health claims may be more effective when the water is given in several sealed bottles separately than in one sealed but refillable bottle.

Meta-Analysis of the Correlation between TCM Syndromes of Lung Cancer and CT through Data Mining and Computer Software

To systematically evaluate the correlation between the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes of lung cancer and the imaging manifestations of CT. Computer search of CNKI, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Springer, CBM, VIP, Wanfang database, Baidu library and other major databases. Collect the relevant literature on the TCM syndromes of lung cancer and CT imaging manifestation since the database was built until September 1, 2021. Two researchers collected literature and evaluated the quality of the literature, conducted data mining on the literature, and used the computer Revman 5.3 software to conduct a Meta-analysis of the included literature. The results showed that the phlegm dampness type lobular sign was higher than the burr sign, and there was no significant difference between vacuole sign and cavity sign; In Qi-Yin deficiency type, lobular sign was higher than burr sign, vacuole sign was higher than cavity sign; In Qi stagnation blood stasis type, lobular sign is higher than burr sign. The CT lobular sign of lung cancer are mainly phlegm dampness type, Qi-Yin deficiency type and Qi stagnation blood stasis type. Vacuole sign is mainly Qi-Yin deficiency type. Burr sign and cavity sign are less in the above three types. In this study, the combination of computer and meta-analysis technology has promoted the development of lung cancer micro-differentiation theory and assisted in improving the treatment level of lung cancer clinical syndrome differentiation.

Measurement push and pull forces on automatic liquid dispensers

<span lang="EN-US">Since the COVID-19 pandemic, automated liquid dispensers have been increasingly developed to assist transmission prevention. However, data availability of automatic liquid dispenser mechanism's technical characteristics is not yet widely available. This causes frequent over or under design in its development. Therefore, we specifically measure push and pull forces engineering characteristics generated by the automatic liquid dispenser mechanism. A wire mechanism-based automatic liquid dispenser apparatus was used to experiment. A load-cell sensor was used to detect the force that occurs from a servo motor controlled by a microcontroller. The force data (push and pull) will be sent directly to the database server cloud with a recording </span><span lang="EN-US">frequency of every second. Three types of fluid treatment levels are used i.e. water, liquid soap, and hand sanitizer gel. Three types of fluid volume treatment levels used were 50 ml, 150 ml, and 250 ml. Each treatment level combination is carried out at the servo motors rotation steps 180</span><span lang="EN-US">°</span><span lang="EN-US">, 150</span><span lang="EN-US">°</span><span lang="EN-US">, 120</span><span lang="EN-US">°</span><span lang="EN-US">, 90</span><span lang="EN-US">°</span><span lang="EN-US">, 60</span><span lang="EN-US">°</span><span lang="EN-US">, and 30</span><span lang="EN-US">°</span><span lang="EN-US">. The results show that no significant differences were found in maximal forces required to release the water, liquid soap, and hand-sanitizer gel. It is also known that the volume of the fluid has a very significant effect on the amount of push and pull forces generated.</span>

Analysis of common problems in industrial wastewater treatment and countermeasures

With the development of industry, the industrial wastewater produced by all walks of life become more and more, which cannot be overestimated, studies on the technology of industrial wastewater treatment are conducive to the development of industrial wastewater treatment. The paper analyzes in detail the treatment methods of industrial wastewater, including physical method, chemical method and biological method, The application of the three methods is relatively simple, and several methods have been merged. Moreover, the current industrial wastewater treatment in the paper industry, printing and dyeing industry, pharmaceutical industry is analyzed, the results show that industrial wastewater treatment in the pharmaceutical industry is difficult. In addition, the role of Aquamats ecological technology in industrial wastewater treatment is analyzed. In addition, this paper analyzes and discusses the status quo of industrial wastewater treatment and the main existing problems, and proposes countermeasures to further improve the treatment level of industrial wastewater.

Pengaruh Subtitusi Tepung Terigu Dengan Tepung Biji Alpukat (Persea Americana Mill) Terhadap Tingkat Kesukaan Cookies

Cookies are one of the food products that are popular with the public. The raw material for making cookies is wheat flour, which is still imported from abroad and year by year the number of imports from abroad continues to increase. Utilization of avocado seed flour will reduce the use of wheat flour and can also reduce waste from avocados. The main factor in fulfilling the quality of a product can be assessed based on the appearance of the product, the taste of the product, and the nutritional value of a product. This study aims to analysed the level of preference (taste, aroma, texture, and colour) of cookies through organoleptic tests. The design of this study used an experimental study using the RAL (Completely Randomized Design) method with two replications. Avocado seed flour substitution formulation in 4 treatments, namely control (P1), 30% (P2), 50% (P3) and 70% (P4). The research location is at the State University of Medan. The subjects (untrained panellists) of this study were 25 people. The data from the organoleptic test were analysed descriptively using the percentage of respondents' acceptance from each treatment level and to determine the effect of avocado seed flour substitution on the treatment, Kruskal Wallis statistical analysis was used. The results of this study indicate that the best formula for cookies with 50 percent substitution of avocado seed flour obtained an average value of 1.2 for taste, 0.3 for colour, 0.6 for texture, and for aroma 0.3 with a total value of 2, 4. Based on the results of the Kruskal Wallis test, it is known that there is a significant difference in perception seen from the level of preference for colour, aroma, taste, and texture of avocado seed flour cookies (p = 0.000).