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Abstract Osmosis membrane bioreactors (OMBRs), which integrate forward osmosis (FO) and a biological process, followed by reverse osmosis or membrane distillation (MD) have been receiving increasing attention for wastewater treatment and reuse. However, OMBR application in wastewater treatment is still hindered by the accumulation of inorganic and organic salts, which affects microbial activity in the OMBR. Therefore, in this study, a novel hybrid OMBR–MD system integrated with periodic microfiltration (MF) extraction was developed for simultaneous salinity reduction and phosphorus recovery using a magnesium-based draw solute by taking advantage of magnesium salt reversal. In the OMBR system, MgCl2 was used as the draw solution to withdraw clean water passing through the FO membrane, whereby all contaminants and mineral salts, including phosphate, ammonia and magnesium reversed from the draw solution, were retained in the bioreactor. The MF membrane was used to bleed the water out of the bioreactor for salinity reduction and subsequent phosphorus recovery. The pH of the effluent from the MF containing high phosphorus was adjusted to 10 to precipitate struvite, and the amount of the produced struvite was quantitatively determined to be 41 mg per liter of the MF permeate. The MD process was used to recover the diluted MgCl2 draw solution with an initial flux of 8.2 L/m2 h under a temperature difference of 30 °C (55 °C in the feed and 20 °C in the distillate). Subsequently, the flux slightly decreased to 6.3 L/m2 h after 6 h because of the decreasing vapor pressure in the salt solution based on Raoult's law.

It has been submitted that, for the very large number of different traditional type formulae to determine price indices associated with a pair of periods, which are joined with the longstanding question of which one to choose, they should all be abandoned. For the method proposed instead, price levels associated with periods are first all computed together, subject to a consistency of the data, and then price indices that are true taken together are determined from their ratios. An approximation method can apply in the case of inconsistency. Here are illustrations of the method.

lafond c.m. & van hulle vincent c. (2012) A critique of the National League for Nursing/Jeffries simulation framework. Journal of Advanced Nursing00(0), 000–000. doi: 10.1111/j.1365‐2648.2012.06048.xAbstractAims.  To present a critique of the National League for Nursing/Jeffries simulation framework.Design.  Fawcett’s criteria for theory analysis and evaluation are used.Background.  Use of simulated learning experiences in nursing education is widespread; a sound framework to guide educators across the globe in implementing these experiences effectively is essential. The basic assertion of the National League for Nursing/Jeffries simulation framework is that student‐learning outcomes are influenced by the concepts of teacher, student, educational practices, and simulation design characteristics.Data sources.  A literature search was performed using Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed and Google Scholar to identify studies published in the English language, between 2005–June 2011, where the National League for Nursing/Jeffries simulation framework was tested or used as a theoretical framework for research.Discussion.  Sixteen publications (two articles in press) from the USA and UK were identified using the framework to guide research; outcomes included increased student satisfaction, confidence, and improved skill performance.Implications for nursing.  As a newer theoretical framework, the National League for Nursing/Jeffries simulation framework offers promise to guide the construction and implementation of simulation experiences resulting in positive student outcomes.Conclusion.  Empirically supported definitions of concepts would strengthen the framework and help educators to consistently produce and identify positive outcomes. Additional rigorous research is necessary to further test relationships among concepts and the associated concept variables in the framework. More studies outside of the United States are needed to confirm the framework is relevant to nursing programs in other countries.

Obstructive sleep apnea is increasing worldwide, leading to disordered sleep patterns and inflammatory responses in brain and peripheral tissues that predispose individuals to chronic disease. Pro-inflammatory cytokines activate the inflammatory response and are normally regulated by glucocorticoids secreted from adrenal glands. However, the temporal dynamics of inflammatory responses and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation in relation to acute sleep fragmentation (ASF) are undescribed. Male C57BL/6J mice were exposed to ASF or control conditions (no ASF) over specified intervals (1, 2, 6, or 24 h) and cytokine gene expression (IL-1β, TNF-α) in brain and peripheral tissues as well as serum glucocorticoid and interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentration were assessed. The HPA axis was rapidly activated, leading to elevated serum corticosterone from 1–24 h of ASF compared with controls. This activation was followed by elevated serum IL-6 concentration from 6–24 h of ASF. The tissue to first exhibit increased pro-inflammatory gene expression from ASF was heart (1 h of ASF). In contrast, pro-inflammatory gene expression was suppressed in hypothalamus from 1 h of ASF, but elevated at 6 h. Because the HPA axis was activated throughout ASF, this suggests that brain, but not peripheral, pro-inflammatory responses were rapidly inhibited by glucocorticoid immunosuppression.

Abstract Study on freshwater ecology have been long focused on subtropical habitats with few references to tropical regions including Indonesia. Zooplankton, in particular, is an important component of aquatic ecosystem as they are key player of aquatic food webs, thus a solid understanding of their community structure can be of direct benefit to freshwater ecosystem management. The spatial patterns of zooplankton diversity in Lake Tondano, Celebes Island – Indonesia were studies in 2013, with the main aim was to understand how local environmental and habitat heterogeneity driving the zooplankton community structure. We performed field samplings to collect zooplankton using a vertical tow with a 156 μm mesh plankton net from 1 meter above sediment to the surface and to measure environmental parameters using portable multi probes water quality checker from three different water columns. The sampling sites were selected to include different habitats within the lake to look at diversity of the entire zooplankton communities including Rotifers, Cladocerans, and Copepods in Lake Tondano, Indonesia. A total of 21 species of cladocerans, 31 copepods, and 60 rotifers were identified from Lake Tondano. Our result indicates a relatively low number of cladocerans which is may be associated with high predatory pressure from planktivorous fish, especially within the open pelagic zone.

Východiska a účely: Cílem příspěvku je představit již aplikova-né metodické koncepty a aktuální výsledky predikce budoucích počtů pojištěnců VZP ČR (podle věku a pohlaví), které by měly být východiskem úvah o budoucí solventnosti a profitabilitě největší zdravotní pojišťovny v ČR i v České republice jako celku.Materiál a metody: V rámci nám dostupných datových zdrojů jsme analyzovali časové řady počtů pojištěnců VZP za roky 2002-2017 v každém kvartální období a datové zdroje možných vysvětlujících proměnných. Vzhledem k majoritním podílům VZP na trhu zdravotního pojištění v ČR (ve většině věkových skupin vyšším než 50%) byly do předpovědních mo-delů zavzaty časové řady počtů obyvatel ČR z demografických projekcí ČSÚ r. 2013. Ty jsme doplnili o extrapolované trendy přeregistrací pojištěnců (odchody a příchody do VZP) v odpo-vídajících věkových strukturách. Budoucí počty pojištěnců byly modelovány s využitím extrapolačních postupů běžných při aplikaci metodiky odvozených demografických projekcí v kom-binaci s adaptivními aditivními regresními modely.Výsledky: V rámci jednotlivých věkových skupin se význam-ně uplatňují obě použité exogenní proměnné, tzn. “strategická” demografická i “operativní” (aktuálně mírně rostoucí) přeregist-rační složka. Takto koncipovanou predikci můžeme považovat za poměrně spolehlivou pro období nejbližších 2-3 let; pro del-ší horizonty se můžeme opírat v podstatě jen o sofistikovanou demografickou složku. Variantní budoucí vývoj přeregistrační složky lze však efektivně modelovat prostřednictvím modelo-vých scénářů v rámci uživatelské excelovské aplikace vytvořené až na regionální úroveň krajů ČR.Závěry: Aktuálně se VZP nachází v období, kdy lze budoucí vývoj predikovat spíše s větším množství nejistoty; je tedy třeba počítat i s tím, že by se výsledky dosažené stávající nebo mírně modifikovanou metodikou měly průběžně aktualizovat po uzá-věrkách stavů pojištěnců za každé čtvrtletí nebo pololetí.

Experimental study on plaque progression, regression and composition in atherosclerotic thoracic aorta of hypercholesterolemic rabbits after long-term withdrawal of cholesterol-enriched diet (CED).Rabbits were fed 2% cholesterol for 6 weeks followed by withdrawal periods for 15, 23, 34, 68, or 78 weeks. Cholesterol, triglyceride, and phospholipids levels in blood and cholesterol concentrations in aorta were quantified. Plaque size and cellularity, phenotype of macrophages and smooth muscle cells were (immuno)histomorphometrically analyzed in segments of the thoracic aorta.After 6 weeks of CED, blood cholesterol levels were about 80-fold higher, whereas atherosclerosis and cholesterol content in the thoracic aorta were only minimally increased. However, the latter significantly increased within 15 weeks after cholesterol withdrawal, while serum cholesterol level was still 10-fold increased. Thereafter plaque area and cholesterol content remained almost unchanged until the end of the study despite a long-term normalization of serum cholesterol level after withdrawal of CED. Directly after 6 weeks of CED the densities of macrophages and apoptotic cells within plaques were highest, decreasing after cholesterol withdrawal, whereas, vice versa the density of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) significantly increased.We suggest that atherosclerotic plaques respond to long-term withdrawal of CED by decrease in number and phenotype of macrophages and increase of SMCs without regression of the lesion size. The cellular changes are suggested to considerably contribute to higher plaque stability.