Low-cost filtration for metal(loids) removal from groundwater in rural Bangladesh: probabilistic human health risk mitigation effect.

In most rural Bangladesh, naturally contaminated shallow wells exceed the maximum allowable arsenic standards defined by the World Health Organization of 10 µg/L or even the Bangladesh Standard for the Tolerable Level (BSTL) of 50 µg/L. The present research conducted a probabilistic human health risk assessment to address the exposure and dose-response data uncertainties while evaluating the mitigation impact of a simple, low-cost ceramic filter (LCCF) made of clay soil and rice bran. Water quality monitoring in three villages of Bagerhat District, Bangladesh, found arsenic, manganese, and iron levels exceeding the regulatory standards of 50 µg/L, 50 µg/L, and 300 µg/L.

Predicting removal of arsenic from groundwater by iron based filters using deep neural network models.

Arsenic (As) contamination in drinking water has been highlighted for its environmental significance and potential health implications. Iron-based filters are cost-effective and sustainable solutions for As removal from contaminated water. Applying Machine Learning (ML) models to investigate and optimize As removal using iron-based filters is limited.

Influence of iron, phosphate, and silicate on arsenic removal from groundwater using a low-cost ceramic filter.

The ceramic filter amended with iron (Fe) has proven to be a potential low-cost method for arsenic (As) removal from groundwater. The presence of Fe, phosphate (P), and silicate (Si) significantly affects the As removal efficiency of the ceramic filter, which has not been passably investigated. The present research aimed to examine the effect of Fe, P, and (or) Si presence as single or in combination on As (III) removal from synthetics groundwater by a low-cost iron amended ceramic filter (IACF).

Comparative evaluation of low-cost ceramic membrane and polymeric micro membrane in algal membrane photobioreactor for wastewater treatment.

Algal-bacterial membrane photobioreactor (AMPBR) is proven as a highly energy-efficient process for treating domestic wastewater. This study compared the application of polymeric micro-membrane (PMM) and a low-cost ceramic membrane (LCM) to the AMPBR process for treating domestic wastewater with low and high organic pollution levels. Experiments were conducted over 57 days using two PMM-AMPBRs and two LCM-AMPBRs, operating on a 12-h dark/light cycle in a continuous mode.

Arsenic release dynamics of paddy field soil during groundwater irrigation and natural flooding.

Irrigation water in rice cultivation significantly affects the arsenic (As) mobilization in the paddy field soil. This research assessed the effect of rainwater (RW) and groundwater (GW) on the dissolution dynamics of arsenic (As) in paddy field soil. Up-flow column flooding experiments were conducted continuously for 80 d with simulated RW and GW to evaluate As dissolution phenomena in actual field conditions.

Evaluating configuration of dual unit ceramic filter for arsenic removal from highly contaminated groundwater.

Iron (Fe) amended dual unit ceramic filters (DUCF) can be a viable treatment option for arsenic (As) removal from highly contaminated groundwater. The present field study investigated the effect of filter configurations, the separate-unit dual filter (SUDF) and connect-unit dual filter (CUDF), on As removal from groundwater having As concentration of 475 μg/L. SUDF was configured by placing 1st and 2nd filter units side-by-side, whereas the 1st filter unit was placed on the top of the 2nd filter unit in CUDF configuration.

Life Cycle Assessment of Construction and Demolition Waste Management in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Extensive construction augmenting the infrastructure and real estate projects underpin Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 of sustainable cities. A part of this struggle involves the transformation of the existing infrastructure together with new construction, which generates a large amount of construction and demolition waste (CDW). In the absence of a structured life cycle assessment (LCA) framework, the waste management companies are planning future scenarios (phased expansions of material recovery facilities to improve the recycling rate) primarily on economic grounds.

Staged energy and water quality optimization for large water distribution systems.

Simultaneous optimization of energy and water quality in real-time large-sized water distribution systems is a daunting task for water suppliers. The complexity of energy optimization increases with a large number of pipes, scheduling of several pumps, and adjustments of tanks' water levels. Most of the simultaneous energy and water quality optimization approaches evaluate small (or hypothetical) networks or compromise water quality.

Continuous Performance Improvement Framework for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Facilities in Arid Regions: Case of Wadi Rumah in Qassim, Saudi Arabia.

In arid regions such as Saudi Arabia, wastewater treatment (WWT) facilities (meeting promulgated standards) need to adapt their continuous performance improvement (CPI) for long-term sustainability. To achieve this, the facilities need to improve their performance to comply with more strict objectives for broader reuse applications of treated effluent. The present research proposes a CPI framework based on performance benchmarking process for the stepwise improvement of WWT facilities.

Source to Tap Risk Assessment for Intermittent Water Supply Systems in Arid Regions: An Integrated FTA-Fuzzy FMEA Methodology.

Water utilities in arid regions deal with multifaceted issues of natural groundwater contamination, high treatment costs, and low water rates. These utilities rely on intermittent supplies resulting in numerous water quality failures at source, treatment, distribution, and in-house plumbing systems. The present research presents an inclusive risk assessment methodology for managing water quality from source to tap.

Arsenic removal by iron-oxidizing bacteria in a fixed-bed coconut husk column: Experimental study and numerical modeling.

Groundwater in several parts of the world, particularly in developing countries, has been contaminated with Arsenic (As). In search of low-cost As removal methods, the biological oxidation of As(III) and Fe(II) followed by co-precipitation requires detailed investigation for the practical implementation of this technology. The present study investigated the biological oxidation of As(III) and Fe(II) through a combination of laboratory experiments and reactive transport modeling.

Wastewater treatment by microalgal membrane bioreactor: Evaluating the effect of organic loading rate and hydraulic residence time.

Current microalgal based photobioreactors focus on the secondary treated effluent while limited researches attempted for treating the raw domestic wastewater. This study aimed to assess the microalgal biomass production, removal performance, and fouling characteristics of microalgal membrane bioreactors (MMBRs) for treating synthetic wastewater under different conditions of organic loading rate (OLR) and hydraulic residence time (HRT). The 12h/12 h dark/light cycle continuous experiments were performed for four MMBRs at different OLRs and three MMBRs at different HRTs.

Performance indicators for aquatic centres in Canada: Identification and selection using fuzzy based methods.

Aquatic centres (ACs) are becoming exceedingly popular in the urban agglomerations of cold climate countries like Canada but functioning without assessing the state of their sustainability performance. Previous studies examined health and safety, water and indoor air quality, and energy consumption aspects without aiming at the holistic sustainability performance assessment. The present research is the first systematic effort for benchmarking of ACs.

Spatiotemporal variations of DOM components in the Kushiro River impacted by a wetland.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) has been recognized as a serious water quality problem in natural water bodies receiving pollution loads from point and nonpoint sources. The present study investigates the spatiotemporal variability of DOM composition in the Kushiro River and its tributaries (Eastern Hokkaido, Japan) impacted by the Kushiro wetland. Water samples were collected in the wet and dry seasons from several locations of the river and analyzed for DOM characteristics by UV-visible and excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy techniques and by developing water quality index.

Mapping safety culture attributes with integrity management program to achieve assessment goals: A framework for oil and gas pipelines industry.

Introduction: The safety of oil and gas pipelines is an increasing concern for the public, government regulators, and the industry. A safety management system cannot be efficient without having an effective integrity management program (IMP) and a strong safety culture. IMP is a formal document (policies, planning, scheduling, and technical processes) while safety culture is a measure of views, beliefs, and traditions about safety.

Nicorandil potentiates sodium butyrate induced preconditioning of neurons and enhances their survival upon subsequent treatment with HO.

Background: Extensive loss of donor neural stem cell (NSCs) due to ischemic stress and low rate of differentiation at the site of cell graft are two of the major issues that hamper optimal outcome in NSCs transplantation studies. Given that histone deacetylases (HDACs) modulate various cellular processes by deacetylating histones and non-histone proteins, we hypothesized that combined treatment with small molecules, sodium butyrate (NaB; a known HDAC inhibitor) and nicorandil, will enhance the rate neuronal differentiation of NSCs besides their preconditioning to resist oxidative stress.

Methods: NSCs derived from 14-day old Sprague Dawley rat ganglion eminence were characterized for tri-lineage differentiation.

Performance assessment framework for groundwater treatment plants in Arid Environments: a case of Buraydah, Saudi Arabia.

In arid environmental regions, such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), each and every drop of groundwater needs to be efficiently utilized to meet growing water demands. Ground water treatment plants (WTPs) are regularly being monitored by the municipalities to ensure safe water supply. However, analyzing large data to assess the performance of a WTP has always been a daunting task for plant's management.

Small drinking water systems under spatiotemporal water quality variability: a risk-based performance benchmarking framework.

Traditional approaches for benchmarking drinking water systems are binary, based solely on the compliance and/or non-compliance of one or more water quality performance indicators against defined regulatory guidelines/standards. The consequence of water quality failure is dependent on location within a water supply system as well as time of the year (i.e.

Risk-based framework for optimizing residual chlorine in large water distribution systems.

Managing residual chlorine in large water distribution systems (WDS) to minimize human health risk is a daunting task. In this research, a novel risk-based framework is developed and implemented in a distribution network spanning over 64 km for supplying water to the city of Al-Khobar (Saudi Arabia) through 473-km-long water mains. The framework integrates the planning of linear assets (i.

Evaluating the impact of lower resolutions of digital elevation model on rainfall-runoff modeling for ungauged catchments.

Geomorphological instantaneous unit hydrograph (GIUH) usually uses geomorphologic parameters of catchment estimated from digital elevation model (DEM) for rainfall-runoff modeling of ungauged watersheds with limited data. Higher resolutions (e.g.

Framework for continuous performance improvement in small drinking water systems.

Continuous performance improvement (CPI) can be a useful approach to overcome water quality problems impacting small communities. Small drinking water systems (SDWSs) struggle to meet regulatory requirements and often lack the economic and human resource flexibility for immediate improvement. A CPI framework is developed to provide SDWS managers and operators an approach to gauge their current performance against similar systems and to track performance improvement from the implementation of the new technologies or innovations into the future.

Calibration and verification of a dissolved oxygen management model for a highly polluted river with extreme flow variations in Pakistan.

A dissolved oxygen (DO) model is calibrated and verified for a highly polluted River Ravi with large flow variations. The model calibration is done under medium flow conditions (431.5 m(3)/s), whereas the model verification is done using the data collected during low flow conditions (52.

Adenoviral short hairpin RNA therapy targeting phosphodiesterase 5a relieves cardiac remodeling and dysfunction following myocardial infarction.

We previously showed that treatment with tadalafil, a long-acting phosphodiesterase-5a (PDE5a) inhibitor, effectively prevented adverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling of the infarcted heart. We hypothesized that short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) therapy targeting PDE5a would simulate the effects of pharmacological intervention for treatment of postinfarction LV remodeling and dysfunction. Experimental model of myocardial infarction was developed in female mice by permanent ligation of left coronary artery.

Non-hypoxic stabilization of HIF-Iα during coordinated interaction between Akt and angiopoietin-1 enhances endothelial commitment of bone marrow stem cells.

We previously reported that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) co-expressing Akt and angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) preserved infarcted heart function via angiomyogenesis. The present study determined the mechanism of co-overexpression of Akt and Ang-1 in promoting endothelial commitment of MSC. The cells were transduced with vectors encoding for Akt ((Akt)MSC), Ang-1 ((Ang-1)MSC), and both Akt and Ang-1 ((AA)MSC) using Empty vector transduced MSC ((Emp)MSC) as control.