Removal of pharmaceuticals through UV-C/Performic acid advanced oxidation process: Kinetics and identification of reactive species.

Performic acid (PFA), widely recognized for its disinfectant properties in wastewater, shows selective and limited reactivity in oxidizing micropollutants. This study investigates the activation of PFA through UV-C photolysis to generate an advanced oxidation process (UV-C/PFA) and enhance the degradation of six pharmaceuticals: lidocaine, furosemide, sulfamethoxazole, diclofenac, acetaminophen, and carbamazepine. The synergy of UV-C photolysis with PFA enhances the removal of PFA-persistent pharmaceuticals.

Transcriptional repression facilitates RNA:DNA hybrid accumulation at DNA double-strand breaks.

RNA:DNA hybrids accumulate at DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and were shown to regulate homologous recombination repair. The mechanism responsible for the formation of these non-canonical RNA:DNA structures remains unclear although they were proposed to arise consequently to RNA polymerase II or III loading followed by DSB-induced de novo transcription at the break site. Here, we found no evidence of RNA polymerase recruitment at DSBs.

Towards an online, high-frequency determination of the biochemical methane potential of sewage sludge.

This study aimed to develop a rapid method for determining the biochemical methane potential (BMP) of centrifuged sludge using Three-Dimensional Excitation-Emission Matrix Fluorescence Spectroscopy (3D-EEM) analysis of sludge supernatant. Sixty wastewater sludge samples were collected from four different treatment plants, spanning different treatment stages. The sludge supernatant, obtained from the centrifuge step in WWTP, underwent 3D-EEM analysis, revealing six characteristic components of dissolved organic matter via Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC).

Improving monitoring of dissolved organic matter from the wastewater treatment plant to the receiving environment: A new high-frequency in situ fluorescence sensor capable of analyzing 29 pairs of Ex/Em wavelengths.

A high-frequency, in situ fluorescence probe, called Fluocopée®, has been developed in order to better monitor variations in both the quality and quantity of dissolved organic matter within various aquatic environments (e.g. wastewater, receiving environments) thanks to a wide choice of 29 measured Excitation/Emission wavelength pairs.

Spatial and temporal characteristics of microbial communities in the Seine river in the greater Paris area under anthropogenic perturbation.

Microorganisms play an important role in maintaining the proper functioning of river ecosystems and are promising candidates for environmental indicators. They are also highly sensitive to environmental changes. It is necessary to have basic knowledge about them in order to know the ecological status of river ecosystem.

Microplastic accumulation in sewer sediments and its potential entering the environment via combined sewer overflows: a study case in Paris.

During wet weather events, combined sewer overflows (CSOs) transfer large amount of particulate matter and associated pollutants into surrounding water bodies, thereby deteriorating the recipients' ecological health. Resuspension of sewer sediments during these events contributes significantly to pollution level of these discharges. However, how much this in-sewer process contributes to CSOs' quality regarding microplastic (MP) pollution is little known.

Chromatin compartmentalization regulates the response to DNA damage.

The DNA damage response is essential to safeguard genome integrity. Although the contribution of chromatin in DNA repair has been investigated, the contribution of chromosome folding to these processes remains unclear. Here we report that, after the production of double-stranded breaks (DSBs) in mammalian cells, ATM drives the formation of a new chromatin compartment (D compartment) through the clustering of damaged topologically associating domains, decorated with γH2AX and 53BP1.

Wild type and variants of SARS-COV-2 in Parisian sewage: presence in raw water and through processes in wastewater treatment plants.

The presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been extensively reported at the influent of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) worldwide, and its monitoring has been proposed as a potential surveillance tool to early alert of epidemic outbreaks. However, the fate of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the treatment process of WWTP has not been widely studied yet; therefore, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficiency of treatment processes in reducing SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in wastewater. The treatment process of three WWTPs of the Parisian area in France was monitored on six different weeks over a period of 2 months (from April 14 to June 9, 2021).

Fate of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in wastewater treatment sludge during storage and thermophilic anaerobic digestion.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak has started in late 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has been widely detected in human stools and in urban wastewater. No infectious SARS-CoV-2 particles have been detected in raw wastewater until now, but it has been reported occasionally in human stools. This has raised questions on the fate of SARS-CoV-2 during wastewater treatment and notably in its end-product, wastewater treatment sludge, which is classically valorized by land spreading for agricultural amendment.

Modelling the benefits of urine source separation scenarios on wastewater treatment plants within an urban water basin.

Stringent discharge regulations are encouraging researchers to create innovative and sustainable wastewater treatment solutions. Urine source separation (USS) is among the potent approaches that may reduce nutrient peak loads in the influent wastewater and improve nutrient recovery. A phenomenological model was used to simulate dynamic influent properties and predict the advantages gained from implementing USS in an urban water basin.

Nuclear HMGB1 protects from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease through negative regulation of liver X receptor.

Dysregulations of lipid metabolism in the liver may trigger steatosis progression, leading to potentially severe clinical consequences such as nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLDs). Molecular mechanisms underlying liver lipogenesis are very complex and fine-tuned by chromatin dynamics and multiple key transcription factors. Here, we demonstrate that the nuclear factor HMGB1 acts as a strong repressor of liver lipogenesis.

Bioaccumulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance in fish from an urban river: Occurrence, patterns and investigation of potential ecological drivers.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous in aquatic environments and a recent shift toward emerging PFAS is calling for new data on their occurrence and fate. In particular, understanding the determinants of their bioaccumulation is fundamental for risk assessment purposes. However, very few studies have addressed the combined influence of potential ecological drivers of PFAS bioaccumulation in fish such as age, sex or trophic ecology.

Modeling, simulation and control of biological and chemical P-removal processes for membrane bioreactors (MBRs) from lab to full-scale applications: State of the art.

Phosphorus (P) removal from the domestic wastewater is required to counter the eutrophication in receiving water bodies and is mandated by the regulatory frameworks in several countries with discharge limits within 1-2mgPL. Operating at higher sludge retention time (SRT) and higher biomass concentration than the conventional activated sludge process (CASP), membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are able to remove 70-98% phosphorus without addition of coagulant. In full-scale facilities, enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) is assisted by the addition of metal coagulant to ensure >95% P-removal.

First evidence of SARS-CoV-2 genome detection in zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha).

The uses of bivalve molluscs in environmental biomonitoring have recently gained momentum due to their ability to indicate and concentrate human pathogenic microorganisms. In the context of the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, the objective of this study was to determine if the SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid genome can be detected in zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) exposed to raw and treated urban wastewaters from two separate plants to support its interest as bioindicator of the SARS-CoV-2 genome contamination in water. The zebra mussels were exposed to treated wastewater through caging at the outlet of two plants located in France, as well as to raw wastewater in controlled conditions.

DeepG4: A deep learning approach to predict cell-type specific active G-quadruplex regions.

DNA is a complex molecule carrying the instructions an organism needs to develop, live and reproduce. In 1953, Watson and Crick discovered that DNA is composed of two chains forming a double-helix. Later on, other structures of DNA were discovered and shown to play important roles in the cell, in particular G-quadruplex (G4).

Loop extrusion as a mechanism for formation of DNA damage repair foci.

The repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) is essential for safeguarding genome integrity. When a DSB forms, the PI3K-related ATM kinase rapidly triggers the establishment of megabase-sized, chromatin domains decorated with phosphorylated histone H2AX (γH2AX), which act as seeds for the formation of DNA-damage response foci. It is unclear how these foci are rapidly assembled to establish a 'repair-prone' environment within the nucleus.

Fluorescence excitation/emission matrices as a tool to monitor the removal of organic micropollutants from wastewater effluents by adsorption onto activated carbon.

Monitoring the removal of organic micropollutants (OMPs) in advanced wastewater treatment facilities requires expensive and time-consuming analytical methods that cannot be installed online. Spectroscopic techniques such as fluorescence excitation/emission spectroscopy were demonstrated to offer the potential for monitoring OMPs removal in conventional wastewater treatment plants or ozonation pilots but their application to activated carbon (AC) adsorption processes was only investigated at lab scale and not in real treatment facilities. In this study, indexes from fluorescence emission/excitation matrices (EEMs) were used to find correlations with the removal of 28 OMPs from a large-scale AC pilot in fluidized bed employed for wastewater advanced treatment, as well as from batch experiments.

Urban pathways of biocides towards surface waters during dry and wet weathers: Assessment at the Paris conurbation scale.

Eighteen biocides used in building materials and domestic products were monitored in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) during dry weather and in combined sewer overflows (CSOs) during wet weather in the Paris conurbation. The aims of this study were to (i) acquire data on biocides in urban waters, which are very scarce up to now, (ii) identify their origins in CSOs with the perspective of reducing these contaminants at source, and (iii) compare and rank biocide pathways to the river (dry vs. wet weather) at the annual and conurbation scales.

Analyzing Homologous Recombination at a Genome-Wide Level.

Among the types of damage, DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) (provoked by various environmental stresses, but also during normal cell metabolic activity) are the most deleterious, as illustrated by the variety of human diseases associated with DSB repair defects. DSBs are repaired by two groups of pathways: homologous recombination (HR) and nonhomologous end joining. These pathways do not trigger the same mutational signatures, and multiple factors, such as cell cycle stage, the complexity of the lesion and also the genomic location, contribute to the choice between these repair pathways.

Temperature, turbidity, and the inner filter effect correction methodology for analyzing fluorescent dissolved organic matter in urban sewage.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) will be increasingly monitored by means of in situ fluorescence spectroscopy devices in order to supervise wastewater treatment plant efficiency, due to their ease of implementation and high-frequency measurement capacity. However, fluorescence spectroscopy measurements are reported to be sensitive to the sample matrix effects of temperature, the inner filter effect (IFE), and turbidity. Matrix effect estimation tests and signal correction have been developed for DOM (tyrosine-like, tryptophan-like, and humic substances-like fluorescent compounds) fluorescence measurements in unfiltered urban sewage samples.

Normalization of wastewater coagulation-flocculation trials and implications in terms of variability in treatment performance and comparison of commercial coagulants.

Normalizations by TSS or P-PO initial concentrations are consistent as they are correlated to the Jar-test performances. Jar-tests results are independent of the wastewater quality variations in terms of TSS and P-PO and independent of the WWTP origin of the water. A notable variability in the TSS results indicates that the pollutant's initial load has to be taken into account even with normalizations.