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The microbial diversity in anaerobic digestion (AD) is important because it affects process robustness. High-throughput sequencing offers high-resolution data regarding the microbial diversity and robustness of biological systems including AD; however, to understand the dynamics of microbial processes, knowing the microbial diversity is not adequate alone. Advanced meta-omic techniques have been established to determine the activity and interactions among organisms in biological processes like AD. Results of these methods can be used to identify biomarkers for AD states. This can aid a better understanding of system dynamics and be applied to producing comprehensive models for AD. The paper provides valuable knowledge regarding the possibility of integration of molecular methods in AD. Although meta-genomic methods are not suitable for on-line use due to long operating time and high costs, they provide extensive insight into the microbial phylogeny in AD. Meta-proteomics can also be explored in the demonstration projects for failure prediction. However, for these methods to be fully realised in AD, a biomarker database needs to be developed.

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Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluation the relationship between hemoglobin A1C levels and the severity of carpal tunnel syndrome in diabetic patients. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 60 patients referred to endocrine and internal medicine clinics of Baqiyatallah Hospital who were diagnosed with diabetes and were receiving drug or insulin therapy were studied according to the Diagnostic criteria by the American Diabetes Association (ADA criteria). Patients' CTS severity was assessed according to HbA1C laboratory results and EMG / NCV test. Three questionnaires were completed for all participants: demographic information (height, weight, age, BMI, duration of diabetes, history of smoking and alcohol use, and history of other underlying diseases), Neuropathy disability score (NDS) (to assess nerve fiber damage, muscle strength, reflex loss, and loss of sensation), and Diabetic neuropathy symptoms (DNS) (for pain, numbness, tingling). The results were statistically analyzed. Results The study group consisted of 44 men and 16 women. 47 had type 2 diabetes and 13 had type 1 diabetes. The mean age of participants was 53.22 ± 7.28 years, the mean duration of diabetes was 11.2 ± 8.8 years, the mean duration of neuropathic symptoms was 2.9 ± 3.8 years, and the mean serum Hb A1C level of the subjects was 6.91 ± 1.38. The majority of subjects had mild CTS severity (30 out of 60). There was a statistically significant relationship between CTS severity and hemoglobin A1C levels in diabetic patients (P = 0.014). Conclusion The results of the study showed that the level of hemoglobin A1C has an effect on the severity of CTS. There was a statistically significant relationship between serum Hb A1C levels and CTS severity. The intensity of CTS increases with increasing hemoglobin A1C levels.

The inevitable nexus between energy use and CO2 emission necessitates the development of sustainable energy systems. The conversion of CO2 to CH4 using green H2 in power-to-gas applications in such energy systems has attracted much interest. In this context, the present study provides a thermodynamic insight into the effect of water removal on CO2 conversion and irreversibility within a CO2 methanation reactor. A fixed-bed reactor with one intermediate water removal point, representing two reactors in series, was modeled by a one-dimensional pseudo-homogeneous model. Pure CO2 or a mixture of CO2 and methane, representing a typical biogas mixture, were used as feed. For short reactors, both the maximum conversion and the largest irreversibilities were observed when the water removal point was located in the middle of the reactor. However, as the length of the reactor increased, the water removal point with the highest conversion was shifted towards the end of the reactor, accompanied by a smaller thermodynamic penalty. The largest irreversibilities in long reactors were obtained when water removal took place closer to the inlet of the reactor. The study discusses the potential benefit of partial water removal and reactant feeding for energy-efficient reactor design.