Membrane Processes.

This review, for literature published in 2017, contains information related to membrane processes for municipal and industrial applications. This review is a subsection of the Treatment Systems section of the annual Water Environment Federation literature review and covers the following topics: membrane bioreactor (MBR) configuration, design, nutrient removal, operation, industrial treatment, anaerobic membrane systems, reuse, microconstituents removal, membrane technology advances, membrane fouling, and modeling. Other sub-sections of the Treatment Systems section that might relate to this literature review include: Biological Fixed-Film Systems, Activated Sludge and Other Aerobic Suspended Culture Processes, Anaerobic Processes, and Water Reclamation and Reuse. The following sections might also have related information on membrane processes: Industrial Wastes, Hazardous Wastes, and Fate and Effects of Pollutants.

Membrane Processes.

This review, for literature published in 2016, contains information related to membrane processes for municipal and industrial applications. This review is a subsection of the Treatment Systems section of the annual Water Environment Federation literature review and covers the following topics: membrane bioreactor (MBR) configuration, design, nutrient removal, operation, industrial treatment, anaerobic membrane systems, reuse, microconstituents removal, membrane technology advances, membrane fouling, and modeling. Other sub-sections of the Treatment Systems section that might relate to this literature review include: Biological Fixed-Film Systems, Activated Sludge and Other Aerobic Suspended Culture Processes, Anaerobic Processes, and Water Reclamation and Reuse. The following sections might also have related information on membrane processes: Industrial Wastes, Hazardous Wastes, and Fate and Effects of Pollutants.

Membrane Processes.

This review, for literature published in 2015, contains information related to membrane processes for municipal and industrial applications. This review is a subsection of the Treatment Systems section of the annual Water Environment Federation literature review and covers the following topics: pretreatment, membrane bioreactor (MBR) configuration, design, nutrient removal, operation, industrial treatment, anaerobic membrane systems, reuse, microconstituents removal, membrane technology advances, membrane fouling, and modeling. Other sub-sections of the Treatment Systems section that might relate to this literature review include: Biological Fixed-Film Systems, Activated Sludge and Other Aerobic Suspended Culture Processes, Anaerobic Processes, Water Reclamation and Reuse. The following sections might also have related information on membrane processes: Industrial Wastes, Hazardous Wastes, and Fate and Effects of Pollutants.

Randomized, controlled, phase 3 study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of fibrin sealant VH S/D 4 s-apr (Artiss) to improve tissue adherence in subjects undergoing rhytidectomy.

BACKGROUND: Suction drains are commonly placed after rhytidectomy to avoid seroma formation that may result from dead spaces between skin layers. Fibrin sealants promote tissue adherence by crosslinking with extracellular matrix proteins, which may reduce the dead space under skin flaps. OBJECTIVES: The authors evaluate the safety and efficacy of the fibrin sealant (FS) VH S/D 4 s-apr (Artiss; Baxter Healthcare Corp, Deerfield, Illinois), added to standard-of-care (SoC) treatment, in improving flap adherence and reducing dead space in patients undergoing rhytidectomy. METHODS: Patients with planned facial rhytidectomy were enrolled in this phase 3, prospective, controlled, randomized, patient-blinded, multicenter trial. They received SoC treatment on 1 side of the face and adjunctive FS VH S/D 4 s-apr on the other. RESULTS: Seventy-five patients completed the trial. The mean (SD) drainage volume was 7.7 (7.4) mL from the sides treated with sealant and 20.0 (11.3) mL from the SoC-only sides (P < .0001). Rates of hematoma and seroma were similar for the 2 treatments, as were changes in postoperative skin sensitivity. Adverse events generally were mild; 2 serious adverse events were reported (wound abscess, dehydration). CONCLUSIONS: Adjunct use of FS VH S/D 4 s-apr in rhytidectomy was proven safe in this study. It significantly reduced drainage volumes without increasing the incidence of hematoma or seroma, which suggests that it eliminates dead space through improved flap adherence. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2.

Exploratory, randomized, controlled, phase 2 study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of adjuvant fibrin sealant VH S/D 4 S-Apr (ARTISS) in patients undergoing rhytidectomy.

BACKGROUND: Suction drains are commonly placed after rhytidectomy surgery to avoid seroma formation that may result from dead spaces between skin layers. Fibrin sealants promote tissue adherence by cross-linking with extracellular matrix proteins, which may reduce the dead space under skin flaps. OBJECTIVES: The authors evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of the fibrin sealant (FS) VH S/D 4 s-apr (ARTISS; Baxter Healthcare Corp, Deerfield, Illinois), added to standard-of-care (SoC) treatment, on tissue plane adherence and local hemostasis in rhytidectomy patients. METHODS: In this phase 2, prospective, controlled, randomized, evaluator- and patient-blinded, multicenter study, 45 patients (of 56 possible enrollees) received SoC treatment on 1 side of the face and adjunctive FS VH S/D 4 s-apr treatment on the other side. Outcomes measures included visual assessments of ecchymosis (by blinded reviewers), grading of ecchymosis and edema, drainage volumes, occurrence of hematoma/seroma, safety evaluations, and patient-reported assessments of pain, numbness, and treatment preferences postoperatively. RESULTS: Mean patient age was 55.1 years. Rates and grades of ecchymosis and edema were similar for the 2 treatments. The mean (SD) drainage volume 24 hours after surgery was 11.5 (13.7) mL from the FS VH S/D 4 s-apr-treated sides of the face and 26.8 (24.0) mL from the SoC-only sides (P < .0001). Patient assessments of pain, numbness, and preference favored treatment with FS VH S/D 4 s-apr. Adverse events were mild to moderate in severity. CONCLUSIONS: Adjuvant use of FS VH S/D 4 s-apr appears to be safe and results in lower drainage volumes than SoC treatment alone.

Separating respiratory-variation-related fluctuations from neuronal-activity-related fluctuations in fMRI.

Subtle changes in a subject's breathing rate or depth, which occur naturally during rest at low frequencies (<0.1 Hz), have been shown to be significantly correlated with fMRI signal changes throughout gray matter and near large vessels. The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of these low-frequency respiration variations on both task activation fMRI studies and resting-state functional connectivity analysis. Unlike MR signal changes correlated with the breathing motion ( approximately 0.3 Hz), BOLD signal changes correlated with across-breath variations in respiratory volume ( approximately 0.03 Hz) appear localized to blood vessels and regions with high blood volume, such as gray matter, similar to changes seen in response to a breath-hold challenge. In addition, the respiration-variation-induced signal changes were found to coincide with many of the areas identified as part of the 'default mode' network, a set of brain regions hypothesized to be more active at rest. Regions could therefore be classified as being part of a resting network based on their similar respiration-induced changes rather than their synchronized neuronal activity. Monitoring and removing these respiration variations led to a significant improvement in the identification of task-related activation and deactivation and only slight differences in regions correlated with the posterior cingulate at rest. Regressing out global signal changes or cueing the subject to breathe at a constant rate and depth resulted in an improved spatial overlap between deactivations and resting-state correlations among areas that showed deactivation.

Free-radical damage: a possible mechanism of laryngeal aging.

We conducted a study of lipid peroxidation as a marker of age-related free-radical damage in the human larynx--the first study of its kind. A colorimetric assay for malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) was performed on extracts taken from thyroarytenoid muscle harvested from fresh cadaveric laryngeal specimens. Levels of MDA and 4-HNE were measured by spectrophotometry. Correlation studies were performed by linear regression analysis. We found that MDA levels in human thyroarytenoid muscle appeared to increase with age while 4-HNE levels showed a slight decrease with age. Our findings are consistent with those of previous studies of other organ systems and indicate that there is a need for further study of free-radical damage and the effects of aging on the human larynx and on voice production.