Feasibility of utilizing moving bed biofilm reactor to upgrade and retrofit municipal wastewater treatment plants

In this study, feasibility of upgrading and retrofitting municipal wastewater treatment plants was investigated at laboratory scale using Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor [MBBR] process. For this purpose, an aerobic pilot was operated for nearly one year in different conditions, in which a moving bed carrier with a specific biofilm surface area of 500 m[2]/m[3] and a filling rate of 60% was utilized. System efficiency in removal of BOD[5] and COD was examined at different hydraulic retention times [HRTs] of 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 and 4 h. The obtained results indicated high ability of the system to tolerate organic loading and to remain stable at a high food to microorganism [F/M] ratio. The system produced effluents with good quality at low HRTs and led to an average BOD[5] removal efficiency of nearly 88% during the operational period. The Organic Loading Rate [OLR] applied to the system had a range of 0.73-3.48 kgBOD[5]/m[3].day and 2.43-11.6 gBOD[5]/m[2].day, at which the reactor showed a good performance and stability. In general, it was concluded that [MBBR] can be an excellent alternative for upgrading and optimizing municipal wastewater treatment plants

[ effectiveness of existential group therapy in improving problem-solving skills]

Problems and difficulties are part of the human beings' life; hence it is important to learn how to deal with the life's problem and difficulties in order to improve the mental health. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficiency of existential group therapy in improving the problem-solving skills. This study was a semi-experimental study with pretest-posttest approach. Thirty subjects referring to the Counseling and Psychological Service Center of Ferdowsi University in Mashhad were selected based on a screening method and were randomly divided into two equal groups; experimental and control groups. A problem-solving questionnaire was used for data collection and the intervention method was performed by existential group therapy two hours a week for eight sessions. Mean and standard deviation were used for descriptive data analysis and we used ANCOVA for statistical inference. The results suggested that the problem-solving skills in the experimental group improved significantly [P

Comparative exploration of stressors and coping strategies in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects

Background and Purpose: The effect of stress on diabetes is a complex issue but its relationship with blood sugar level and diabetes control has been clarified. The present study was carried out to compare the stressor and coping strategies in subjects with diabetes and normal subjects

Methods and Materials: This case-control study was conducted on diabetic and normal subjects, including 30 subjects with diabetes and 30 normal subjects. Research instruments were daily stressors assessment questionnaire and the ways of coping with stress questionnaire. Independent t-test in SPSS was used for testing the hypotheses. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were 0.88 and 0.84 respectively

Results: There was a significant difference between frequency of stressors in subjects with diabetes [mean 307.33] compared to normal subjects [mean 173.2] [p<0.05]. Also, there was a significant difference between severity of stressors in subjects with diabetes [mean 308.26] compared to normal subjects [mean 172.5] [p<0.05]. There was a significant difference between coping strategies in subjects with diabetes [mean 15.56] compared to normal subjects [mean 24.73] [p<0.05]

Conclusion: According to research findings, frequency and severity of stressors in subjects with diabetes were higher than normal subjects