Treatment Methods for the Quality Improvement of Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA)–A Review

For the purpose of providing references for further research and practical application about the quality improvement of RCA,in this paper,various treatment methods were firstly classified into four categories:removing old mortar (OM),strengthening OM,multi-stage mixing methods,and combination methods.Thereafter,the improvement mechanisms and important conclusions of various treatment methods were elucidated and summarised respectively.In the section of discussion,the improved effects as well as advantages and disadvantages of various treatment methods were compared and discussed respectively,and recommendations for the selection of treatment methods were proposed.Finally,the further research directions were pointed out,and an integrative programme on the quality improvement of RCA was recommended.

Gastric cancer with peritoneal metastases: Efficiency of standard treatment methods

BACKGROUND Peritoneal metastasis(PM),arising from gastric cancer(GC),is the most common pattern of synchronous and metachronous dissemination and is generally associated with poor prognosis.New therapeutic modalities are being increasingly employed for such patients.AIM To develop more advanced methods,it becomes necessary to study the results of existing standard treatment methods in patients with PM in order to perform a comparative analysis of the strategies.METHODS A retrospective analysis of the efficiency of standard treatment methods(i.e.,palliative chemotherapy,palliative gastrectomy,and the best supportive care)was performed on 200 GC patients with synchronous PM.RESULTS The overall survival(OS)rate in 200 GC patients with PM under standard treatment was 5.4 mo.One-year survival occurred in 18.4%of patients.In multivariate analysis,the survival rate was significantly influenced by the following factors:Presence of extraperitoneal metastases,and stage of PM according to both the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association(JGCA)and the peritoneal cancer index(PCI).The median OS and 1-year survival of patients withР1,P2,and P3(JGCA)carcinomatosis were 9.8 mo,6.7 mo,and 4.0 mo,and 47.2%,18.8%,and 5.1%,respectively.The application of the palliative gastrectomy resulted in an increase in the median OS by up to 17 mo compared to the conservative approach where the value was 8.5 mo(P=0.05)in patients withР1РМ.In patients withР3,palliative chemotherapy increased the OS by up to 5.6 mo compared to the OS of 3.2 mo(P=0.0006)for best supportive care.The median OS and 1-year survival of patients withРCI of 1-6,7-12 and 13+points were 8.5 mo,4.2 mo,and 4.1 mo,and 39.8%,6.7%,and 5.5%,respectively.Palliative gastrectomy increased the median OS to 12.6 mo compared to conservative approach of 8.0 mo(P=0.03)in patients withРCI of 1-6 points.In patients withРCI 13+points,only palliative chemotherapy increased the OS to 6.0 mo compared to the OS of 3.4 mo for best supportive care(P=0.0008).CONCLUSION GC patients with PM are characterized by extremely poor prognoses.Long-term survivors were found in the group with PCI of 1-6 points,and there was no survival difference in groups with PCI 7-12 vs PCI 13+points.Palliative gastrectomy could prove effective in treating patients with early stage PM.The three standard treatment methods are equally effective for moderate stages of PM.In cases with advanced peritoneal carcinomatosis,a significant increase in prognosis was registered only after treatment with palliative chemotherapy.

Environmental Impacts of Farm Waste Treatment Methods and Perspectives of Valorization by Composting: The Case of the Farm “Sociétéde Provenderies du Cameroun (SPC)” of Foumbot

Waste recovery is an environmental, agronomic and economic asset. The farm “Société de Provenderies du Cameroun” (SPC) processes its wastes by incineration and landfill. During this study, environmental impacts of these two treatment methods were assessed in this farm and a composting experiment was also conducted. For the experiment, chicken carcasses and droppings mixed with wood shavings, straw, incineration ash, egg shells and cattle dung were distributed differently in four experimental composters C1, C2, C3 and C4 with the same starting weight. C1 consisted of the first three waste types, for C2, C3 and C4 a new waste was added in the order they are listed above. The results show that the major impacts associated with the incineration and landfilling of SPC waste are the degradation of the health of workers and surrounding populations, the occurrence of conflicts, and the pollution of the air, soil and groundwater of the site. As far as composting is concerned, the characteristics of three of the four composts obtained are usable as soil fertilisers. Indeed, at the end of the experiment, the pH of the four composters was basic (8), the temperature values were between 24°C and 34°C and the humidity values were between 37% and 41%. However, the last parameter, the C/N ratio, was not satisfactory for C1 (13.42), which eliminated it from mature and ready-to-use composts according to FAO standards. The C/N ratios of C2 (15.71), C3 (16.30), and C4 (18) composters were found to be good for mature and ready-to-use compost.

Emergy Evaluation of Treatment Methods for Solid Medical Waste in Bujumbura-Burundi

Introduction: Treatment of solid medical waste (SMW) is a complex task requiring the proper practices with specific treatment methods corresponding to each type of SMW during pretreatment and final treatment. This study targeted three treatment methods identified as the main used by the majority of health care facilities (HCFs) and treating a large amount of SMW. It aimed: 1) to evaluate the current practices by calculating the emergy investment and emergy costs that are required to treat one ton of SMW through the three treatment methods and 2) to evaluate and compare better technologies and provide policy suggestions for the final treatment of SMW in Burundi. Materials and Methods: This study used the emergy methodology to evaluate the relative efficiencies of three treatment methods used for to treat SMW in twelve HCFs in Bujumbura. Results and Conclusion: The total emergy input was 1.36E+20 seJ/yr, 3.54E+17 seJ/yr, and 1.681E+18 seJ/yr for low temperature incinerator, landfill and organic pit, respectively. Conclusion: Rapid improvement of organic pit by ensuring its maintenance, the gradual replacement of low temperature incinerator by high temperature incinerator with air control pollution and landfill by sanitary landfill are highly recommended by respecting its maintenance (fence, roof and monitoring evaluation) for reducing the risk.

Highly efficient solution-processed CZTSSe solar cells based on a convenient sodium-incorporated post-treatment method

In CZTSSe solar cells,a simple sodium-incorporation post-treatment method toward solution-processed Cu2Zn Sn S4precursor films is presented in this work.An ultrathin NaCl film is deposited on Cu2Zn Sn S4precursor films by spin-coating NaCl solution.In subsequent selenization process,the introduction of Na Cl is found to be benefacial for the formation of Cu2-xSe,which can further facilitate the element transportation,leading to dense and smooth CZTSSe films with large grains and less impurity Cu2Sn(S,Se)3phase.SIMS depth profiles confirm the gradient distribution of the sodium element in Na-doped absorbers.Photoluminescence spectra show that the introduction of appropriate sodium into the absorber can inhibit the band tail states.As high as 11.18% of power conversion efficiency(PCE)is achieved for the device treated with 5 mg mL^-1 NaCl solution,and an average efficiency of Na-doped devices is 10.71%,13%higher than that of the control groups(9.45%).Besides,the depletion width and the charge recombination lifetime can also have regular variation with sodium treatment.This work offers an easy modification method for high-quality Na-doped CZTSSe films and high-performance devices,in the meantime,it can also help to further understand the effects of sodium in CZTSSe solar cells.

A Data Treatment Method of Carbon Saturated Solubility in Fe-C-Cr Melt

Based on the current situation of studying the thermodynamic property of Fe-C-Cr melt using the carbon saturated solubility, an experimental data treatment method of the carbon saturated solubility was put forward. With this method a linear relationship ex- pression of the carbon saturated solubility in Fe-C-Cr melt was obtained, which intercept is dependent on temperature and independent of third component [Cr], but which slope is dependent on third component [Cr] and independent of temperature. Through this expression activity interaction coefficients at different temperatures were calculated and the relationship between activity interaction coefficients and temperature is also obtained.

Different Detection and Treatment Methods for <i>Entamoeba histolytica</i>and <i>Entamoeba dispar</i>in Water/Wastewater: A Review

Entamoeba histolytica is an anaerobic parasitic protozoan and well known as a human pathogen, while its close relative, Entamoeba dispar, also possesses similar characteristics as an infectious agent. These microorganisms are generally transmitted in fecal-contaminated water. However, E. dispar present in industrial wastewater is also capable of creating biofilms that can cause adverse impacts in piping networks. Therefore, it is important to detect both of these protozoan species in water and to find a cost-effective technique for inactivation or management control. This review article summarizes the available detection methods in water and wastewater matrices along with feasible disinfection techniques.

The Psychosomatic Thought of Tibetan Medicine and its Treatment Methods

Objectives:Call on people to treat the causes of physical diseases is to take into account the causes of psychological factors as well as external causes.Materials and Methods:The analysis was conducted by combining the classical medical books of Tibetan medicine,as well as the traditional culture and living habits of Tibetan people,with modern research results.Results:Many of the theories mentioned in Tibetan medicine related to mind-body medicine have been confirmed by modern research.Mental and physical treatment related to psychosomatic diseases should be administered simultaneously.First,when a person is healthy,he should cultivate his mind to build a solid psychological defense against diseases.Developing both the mind and body contributes to creating a stable physical protection barrier against diseases.When a person is ill,he should realign his mind and help his body adjust and promote its early recovery with the help of medications.Conclusions:Treating related psychosomatic diseases should treat the mind and body simultaneously.And the mind and body should be cultivated before diseases to reinforce the psychological and physical defense against diseases.

A NEW TREATMENT FOR INTERFACE OF METAL AND DIELECTRIC IN FDTD METHOD

A new treatment for interface of metal and dielectric in finite-difference time domain (FDTD) method was presented, further how and why this treatment should be as it is was explained. The FDTD method was developed to compute the low-frequency electromagnetic fields in the metal instead of the traditional high-frequency ones as it was originally proposed. The computational results agreed well with the experimental ones.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF FORGING AND SUBSEQUENT HEAT TREATMENT OF A ROD BY A FINITE VOLUME METHOD

A method to simulate processes of forging and subsequent heat treatment of an axial symmetric rod is formulated in eulerian description and the feasibility is investigated. This method uses finite volume mushes for troching material deformation and an automatically refined facet surface to accurately trace the free surface of the deforming material.In the method,the deforming work piece flows through fixed finite volume meshes using eulerian formulation to describe the conservation laws,Fixed finite volume meshing is particularly suitable for large three-dimensional deformation such as forging because remeshing techniques are not required, which are commonly considered to be the main bottelencek in the ssimulations of large defromation by using the finite element method,By means of this finite volume method, an approach has been developed in the framework of "metallo-thermo-mechanics" to simulate metallic structure, temperature and stress/strain coupled in the heat treatment process.In a first step of simulation, the heat treatment solver is limited in small deformation hypothesis,and un- coupled with forging. The material is considered as elastic-plastic and takes into account of strain, strain rate and temperature effects on the yield stress.Heat generation due to deformation,heat con- duction and thermal stress are considered.Temperature - dependent phase transformation,stress-in- duced phase transformation,latent heat,transformation stress and strain are included.These ap- proaches are implemented into the commerical commercial computer program MSC/SuperForge and a verification example with experimental date is given as comparison.

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of the Population of the District of Ahomadégbé(Municipality of Lalo) in Benin on Methods of Water Treatment at Home

Water is an indispensable resource for life. In the district of Ahomadégbé in Benin, although most of the population has access to improved water sources, in their homes, residents consume poor water quality due to microbiological contamination during transport and storage. To identify necessary actions needed to improve household drinking water quality, the present study aims to analyze the knowledge, attitudes, and practices the district of Ahomadégbé’s population regarding household drinking water treatments methods. A study was conducted, where 377 residents were interviewed using an individual questionnaire and 82 participants were selected for eight focus groups to determine the population’s knowledge, attitudes, and practices. More than 65% of the district’s population knew some methods of water treatment at home. In practice, however, they lacked the knowledge to apply the different water treatment methods and only 6.1% of the population used at least one method of water treatment at home, even if it was not always adapted. The water treatment methods residents used were Alum (KAl(SO4)2·12 H2O, chemical decantation method), filtration on tissues, and disinfection by boiling. Ineffective home water treatment methods, such as oil and cresol were also used. The population is aware of water contamination during transport and storage. Unfortunately, most residents surveyed do not treat water before consumption, and those who treat it, use inappropriate methods. Thus, people must be made aware of the health benefits of using effective home water treatment methods and their correct use.

PTSD Outcome,Adjustment Disorder and Methods of Treatment

This research is pointed up on“Adjustment disorder and adaptation with anxiety,stress and depression following the catastrophic life events”.We explained the results of psychopathological and psychosocial effects of post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD),especially depression and anxiety caused by catastrophic stressful life events or other factors(war,terrorist acts,etc.),and then discussed and presented different methods and forms of treatments.Our theoretical studies,in the fields of PTSD-Psychogeriatry and Psychiatry in one side and different Seminars in Paris etc.in other side,have completed this research;the studies at the University of Illinois,as full time Prof.are developed in this working research.Anxiety disorders,depression and stresses are not a new phenomenon in the field of psychiatry,they have existed several years B.C.,but their aetiology and physiopathology were not clear.Moreover,the treatments were on the basis of some medical plants or traditional and local methods which existed yet,more or less in some African or Asiatic countries,the hospitals for mental disorders had been limited;in plus,environmental factors,also heredity,quality of life and the degree of the vulnerability of individuals and the capacity of the patients to cope with the pain.etc were neglected.In our time,because of multifactorial reasons,anxiety disorders and depression,which are often accompanied by obsessive-compulsive disorders,are the most prevalent pathology in Psychiatry that we discussed in this paper(Figure 1).Actually,because of the global COVID-19 pandemic,the frequency of depression and anxiety disorders,according to the global news and audio-visual information,are significantly increased.Our teaching experiences,also clinical researches and observations in the Mental Health Centres showed clearly that in extreme cases when major depression and anxiety are accumulating and occur to coexist together,they can exert serious pathological effects not only on the cardiovascular system and endocrine glands but also on the cognitive system more particularly on flexibility,memory,creativity and attention(Figure 2);moreover,the coexistence of anxiety and a psychiatric condition can produce not only cognitive disorder,but in some cases-ex.inability to cope with pain or inadaptability to stress,may hasten and intensify ageing process.In many cases as shown,the anxious subjects,when confronted to psychosocial crisis,feel fear and expect to be facing to adverse events or catastrophic situations and believe to live negative future events;in plus,exhibit emotional distress,repetitive dreams and severe insomnia.In these cases,according to our experiences,in parallel to pharmacotherapy,the relaxation and complete massages in one side,physical education,meditation,positive emotion and muscular release etc.in other side,are useful to help these patients for a best control of emotional distress and relatively reduce anxiety and depression.We add that the syndrome of stress,depression and anxiety has been recognized not only in the different victims of war,but also in the non-war(cf.other factors noted in this paper:fig.1)traumatized population.

A case of 9p deletion syndrome with congenital infantile glaucoma,effective method of diagnosis,and treatment

Dear Editor,I am Dr.Jia X from the Department of Ophthalmology,Second Xiangya Hospital,Central South University,Changsha,China.I write to present a rare case report of 9p deletion syndrome with congenital infantile glaucoma in an infant,accompanying with an effective method of both diagnosis

Alteration of Taste Acuity in Pediatric Cancer Patients after Treatment Completion: A Cross-Sectional Study Using a Filter-Paper Disc Method

Taste acuity of adult patients undergoing cancer treatment has been well investigated;however, studies of taste acuity after completion of cancer treatment are limited, particularly in children. This study aimed to assess taste acuity in pediatric cancer patients after treatment completion. Seventy-three patients who had completed cancer treatment (median age, 13 years;range, 7 - 18 years) and had not received any further treatment for at least 6 months were enrolled. Eighty-one healthy children (median age, 10 years;range, 8 - 19 years) served as controls. We determined the thresholds for four tastes (sweet, salty, sour, and bitter) using the filter-paper disc method. There was no significant difference in the thresholds of taste acuity for the four test solutions between the patient and control groups. The duration since treatment completion (<5 years vs. ≥5 years) had no significant impact on taste acuity for the four test solutions. The threshold for tasting salt was significantly higher in the group that had received chemotherapy + radiation and/or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation than that in the group that had received chemotherapy-only. Our results indicated that taste acuity after treatment completion in pediatric cancer patients was the same as that in healthy children. However, some treatment modalities were correlated with an impaired ability to taste salt. Gustatory test results should be considered while deciding nutritional support modalities after treatment completion in pediatric cancer patients.

Carbon spheres prepared via solvent-thermal reaction method and their microstructures after high temperature treatment

Carbon spheres with size of 50-300 nm were synthesized via a solvent-thermal reaction with calcium carbide and chloroform as reactants in a sealed autoclave.The morphologies and microstructures of carbon spheres before and after high temperature treatment(HTT) were characterized by X-ray diffractometry(XRD) ,scanning electronic microscopy(SEM) ,energy diffraction spectroscopy(EDS) ,and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) .The formation mechanism of carbon spheres was discussed.The results indicate that the carbon spheres convert to hollow polyhedron through HTT.Carbon spheres are composed of entangled and curve graphitic layers with short range order similar to cotton structure,and carbon polyhedron with dimension of 50-250 nm and shell thickness of 15-30 nm.The change of solid spheres to hollow polyhedron with branches gives a new evidence for formation mechanism of hollow carbon spheres.

Current Problems of the Diagnostics and Treatment of Sepsis and Burn Injuries: The Modified Pathogenetic Concept

Background: The deep understanding of pathogenesis is a key moment in the formation of the modern strategy of modern medicine. We conducted the thorough analysis of the microscopic processes occurring in the bodies of patients with purulent-septic complications. The modified pathogenetic concept of the diagnostic and treatment model of diseases with septic complications is presented. The obtained information about the mechanisms of origin and development of these diseases is fundamentally important for finding the modern effective methods of treating patients. The aim of the research is to modify treatment tactics for patients with sepsis and burn injuries based on the modified pathogenetic concept using modern diagnostics, i.e. the method of fluorescence spectroscopy (MFS) and biomarkers. Materials and Methods: The proposed modified pathogenetic concept of the diagnostic and treatment model of diseases with purulent-septic complications along with standard methods was used successfully for effective treatment of 15 patients with sepsis and 25 with burn injuries. Results: 3 main scenarios of behaviour of spectral-fluorescence characteristics of patients with sepsis are illustrated. Spectral-fluorescence markers of sepsis were studied, which are informative 24 to 48 hours before the appearance of obvious clinical and laboratory signs of significant changes in the general somatic status of patients. Conclusions: The proposed diagnostic and therapeutic approach is new and fundamentally important for diagnostics and monitoring of the process of treatment of patients with purulent-septic diseases and burn injuries. An in-depth understanding of the dynamics of septic complications and the corresponding changes of the main markers of these diseases during treatment is especially relevant. The use of infusion therapy with solutions of donor albumin as an effective pathogenetic treatment is scientifically justified.

An entropy-based multi-criterion group decision analysis method of selecting the optimum weak-subgrade treatment

Proper treatment of weak subgrade soil is very important to building a highway of good quality. We proposed an entropy-based multi-criterion group decision analysis method for a group of experts to evaluate alternatives of weak subgrade treatment,with an aim to select the optimum technique which is technically,economically and socially viable. We used fuzzy theory to analyze multiple experts' evaluation on various factors of each alterative treatment. Different experts' evaluations are integrated by the group eigenvalue method. An entropy weight is introduced to minimize the negative influences of subjective human factors of experts. The optimum alternative is identified with ideal point discriminant analysis to calculate the distance of each alternative to the ideal point and prioritize all alternatives according to their distances. A case study on a section of the Shiman Expressway verified that the proposed method can give a rational decision on the optimum method of weak subgrade treatment.

Influence Factors of Phosphorus Removal by Chemical Method in Sewage Treatment System

[Objective] The research aimed to study influence factors of phosphorus removal by chemical method in sewage treatment system.[Method] In different reaction systems,removal effect of the phosphorus in sewage by dosing lime and influence of the constraint factor were studied.[Result] Lime precipitation method treating high-concentration phosphorus wastewater could not only decline cost of phosphorus removal by chemical method,but also reach better treatment effect under suitable stirring and precipitation conditions by controlling alkalinity and pH.Phosphorus content of chemical sludge after treatment could reach 9%-12%,with higher recyclable value.[Conclusion] Lime method treating phosphorusrich sewage was more economic than low-concentration phosphorus sewage,and had very great potential for recycling phosphorus.

Functional physiotherapy method results for the treatment of idiopathic clubfoot

BACKGROUND Idiopathic clubfoot is a congenital deformity of multifactorial etiology.The initial treatment is eminently conservative;one of the methods applied is the Functional physiotherapy method(FPM),which includes different approaches:Robert Debré(RD)and Saint-Vincent-de-Paul(SVP)among them.This method is based on manipulations of the foot,bandages,splints and exercises adapted to the motor development of the child aimed to achieve a plantigrade and functional foot.Our hypothesis was that the SVP method could be more efficient than the RD method in correcting deformities,and would decrease the rate of surgeries.AIM To compare the RD and SVP methods,specifically regarding the improvement accomplished and the frequency of surgery needed to achieve a plantigrade foot.METHODS Retrospective study of 71 idiopathic clubfeet of 46 children born between February 2004 and January 2012,who were evaluated and classified in our hospital according to severity by the Dimeglio-Bensahel scale.We included moderate,severe and very severe feet.Thirty-four feet were treated with the RD method and 37 feet with the SVP method.The outcomes at a minimum of two years were considered as very good(by physiotherapy),good(by percutaneous heel-cord tenotomy),fair(by limited surgery),and poor(by complete surgery).RESULTS Complete release was not required in any case;limited posterior release was done in 23 cases(74%)with the RD method and 9(25%)with the SVP method(P<0.001).The percutaneous heel-cord tenotomy was done in 2 feet treated with the RD method(7%)and 6 feet(17%)treated with the SVP method(P<0.001).Six feet in the RD group(19%)and twenty-one feet(58%)in the SVP group did not require any surgery(P<0.001).CONCLUSION Our study provides evidence of the superiority of the SVP method over the RD method,as a variation of the FPM,for the treatment of idiopathic clubfoot.

丹栀逍遥散联合和调督任安神针刺法对卒中后抑郁患者的临床疗效

目的探讨丹栀逍遥散联合和调督任安神针刺法对卒中后抑郁患者的临床疗效。方法98例患者随机分为对照组和观察组,每组49例,对照组给予常规治疗,观察组在对照组基础上加用丹栀逍遥散联合和调督任安神针刺法,疗程4周。检测临床疗效、MoCA评分、肠道菌群(肠球菌、乳酸杆菌、大肠埃希菌、双歧杆菌)、免疫功能指标(IgM、IgG、IgA)、抑郁状态指标(HAMD评分、SDS评分)、不良反应发生率变化。结果观察组总有效率高于对照组(P<0.05)。治疗后,2组MoCA评分、免疫功能指标升高(P<0.05),HAMD评分、SDS评分降低(P<0.05),肠球菌、大肠埃希菌减少(P<0.05),乳酸杆菌、双歧杆菌增加(P<0.05),以观察组更明显(P<0.05)。2组不良反应发生率比较,差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论丹栀逍遥散联合和调督任安神针刺法可安全有效地改善卒中后抑郁患者认知功能和体液免疫,调节肠道菌群,减轻抑郁症状。