MBR technology: a promising approach for the (pre-)treatment of hospital wastewater.

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology is a very reliable and extensively tested solution for biological wastewater treatment. Nowadays, separate treatment of highly polluted wastewater streams especially from hospitals and other health care facilities is currently under investigation worldwide. In this context, the MBR technology will play a decisive role because an effluent widely cleaned up from solids and nutrients is absolutely mandatory for a subsequent further elimination of organic trace pollutants. Taking hospital wastewater as an example, the aim of this study was to investigate to what extent MBR technology is an adequate 'pre-treatment' solution for further elimination of trace pollutants. Therefore, we investigated - within a 2-year period - the performance of a full-scale hospital wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) equipped with a MBR by referring to conventional chemical and microbiological standard parameters. Furthermore, we measured the energy consumption and tested different operating conditions. According to our findings the MBR treatment of the hospital wastewater was highly efficient in terms of the removal of solids and nutrients. Finally, we did not observe any major adverse effects on the operation and performance of the MBR system which potentially could derive from the composition of the hospital wastewater. In total, the present study proved that MBR technology is a very efficient and reliable treatment approach for the treatment of highly polluted wastewater from hospitals and can be recommended as a suitable pre-treatment solution for further trace pollutant removal.

Full scale membrane bioreactor treatment of hospital wastewater as forerunner for hot-spot wastewater treatment solutions in high density urban areas.

Membrane Bioreactors (MBR) are a very attractive option for the treatment of hospital wastewater and elimination of pharmaceuticals in high density urban areas. The present investigation showed that, depending on the substance, between 19% and 94% of the level of antibiotics found in the environment originate from hospitals. Because of their ecotoxic potential, hospital wastewaters can have a significant impact on the environment. The segregation of these wastewaters and their separate treatment at the source can reduce the entry of drugs in waterways and enable water reuse after adequate polishing treatment processes.

Attachment representations, patterns of emotion regulation, and social exclusion in patients with chronic and episodic depression and healthy controls.

BACKGROUND: The experience of social exclusion (ostracism) is linked to the etiology and maintenance of depression. Most individuals experience emotional stress in states of social exclusion. Insecurely attached individuals, especially with an unresolved trauma, show maladaptive coping in response to social stress. The present study examines (a) the differences with regards to attachment representations in episodic (ED) and chronic depressive (CD) inpatients and (b) how ostracism affects their emotional reactions. METHODS: Patients with CD (n=29) and ED (n=23) and healthy control subjects (n=29) were interviewed using the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP), a valid measure to assess attachment representation; and played a virtual ball tossing game simulating social exclusion (Cyberball). Multiple depression-related risk and protective factors were considered. We hypothesized that CD patients show the most severe attachment disorganization and are emotionally most affected by the social exclusion situation. Moreover, we explored the interaction between ostracism and attachment. RESULTS: Contradicting our hypotheses, ED and CD individuals were almost akin with regards to their attachment insecurity/disorganization and reactions to Cyberball. An emotionally altered reaction to social exclusion was identified in the insecure-disorganized depressive subgroup. LIMITATIONS: Small sample size hampering further subgroup analyses. The ED sample may include single CD subjects with recent manifestation. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of emotion regulation in the depressive groups matches with findings from clinical studies, including attachment research. The relationship between attachment representations and ostracism should be further investigated in larger samples of depressive individuals.