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Overuse of aluminum salts (a.k.a., alum) in coagulation and flocculation processes in water treatment raises concerns about increased levels of aluminum (Al) in drinking water. In this study, we present a probabilistic human health risk assessment (HRA) for non-cancerogenic risks, with Sobol sensitivity analysis, to vet the concern of increased health risk from Al in drinking water in Shiraz, Iran, for children, adolescents, and adults. The results show that the concentration of Al in the drinking water in Shiraz varies significantly between winter and summer seasons and varies considerably spatially across the city irrespective of the season. However, all concentrations are below the guideline concentration. The HRA results show that the highest health risk is for children in summer, and the lowest is for adolescents and adults during winter, with generally higher health risks for younger age groups. However, Monte Carlo results for all age groups suggest no adverse health effects due to Al exposure. The sensitivity analysis shows that the sensitive parameters vary across age groups. For example, the Al concentration and ingestion rate pose the most risk for adolescent and adult groups, and children group, respectively. More importantly, the interaction of Al concentration with ingestion rate and body weight is the controlling parameters for evaluating HRA rather than Al concentration alone. We conclude that while the HRA of Al in Shiraz drinking water did not indicate significant health risk, regular monitoring and optimal operation of the coagulation and flocculation processes are essential., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Recovery of precious metals has been considered due to their limited availability and resources, and the reduction of environmental hazards. In this study, the environmentally friendly chloride leaching method was used to recover platinum (Pt) from a spent reforming catalyst. Hydrochloric acid and sodium chloride were applied as the complexing agent and ferric or cupric chloride (FeCl 3 , CuCl 2 ) was used as oxidants. Response surface methodology was implemented to investigate the influences of acid concentration (1-3 M), oxidant concentration (0.5-1.3 M), and temperature (70-90 °C) on the Pt extraction at a fixed duration of 3 h using two separate Box-Behnken experimental designs. Increasing temperature and acid concentration improved the Pt recovery from ∼52% to ∼89% in the presence of 1 M FeCl 3 , and from ∼29% to 94% in the presence of 0.75 M CuCl 2 . Generally, at low acid concentrations, ferric chloride was more efficient in Pt dissolution, while, at high acid concentrations, cupric chloride performed better. Finally, the platinum content of the pregnant leach solution was precipitated by adding a saturated ammonium chloride solution. According to the results of the X-ray diffraction analysis, the obtained precipitate was mainly composed of ammonium hexachloroplatinate, sodium chloride, and ammonium chloride. Also, the Pt assay of the powder was determined as 21%., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A nanosensor is designed for rapid detection of the gluten content of wheat-containing samples. Gluten is a plant protein that causes allergy in individuals and leads to celiac disease. Since in a celiac diet trace amounts of gluten are able to prompt allergic reactions, a food-allergen label must be provided on foodstuffs and be seriously considered by food industries. Various analytical methods and commercial immunoassays are used for such analyses but prices per test, especially for low-income countries are high. Thus, a rapid, sensitive, simple, and inexpensive detecting tool seems essential. A solution can be designing a gluten optical nanosensor. The nanosensor is made of folic-acid-carbon dots and gluten molecularly templates embedded simultaneously in a silicate matrix. Adding gluten to the solution of this nanostructure and its adsorbing on the blank templated space on the nanostructure causes fluorescence enhancement. The concentration range of gluten detection was 0.36 to 2.20 µM., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Procedures for neurological disorders such as Parkinsons Disease (PD), Essential Tremor (ET), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Tourette's Syndrome (TS), and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) tend to overlap. Common therapeutic procedures include deep brain stimulation (DBS), lesioning, and focused ultrasound (FUS). There has been significant change and innovation regarding targeting mechanisms and new advancements in this field allowing for better clinical outcomes in patients with severe cases of these conditions. In this review, we discuss advancements and recent discoveries regarding these three procedures and how they have led to changes in utilization in certain conditions. We further discuss the advantages and drawbacks of these treatments in certain conditions and the emerging advancements in brain-computer interface (BCI) and its utility as a therapeutic for neurological disorders., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press.)

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) substantially contributes to environmental degradation because of its intrinsic characteristics of fast and high generation volume, low recycling rate, and low revenue margins. A systemic problem is that recycling facilities are not usually a part of a reverse supply chain (RSC) specific for CDW. This makes the recovery process costs prohibitive, especially where companies are unable to receive and process large volumes of waste continuously. This paper presents a systematic analysis of the extant literature and utilizes the results accrued to develop a conceptual RSC model for CDW. In so doing, the research seeks to provide clarity on this phenomenon, while simultaneously stimulating wider academic discourse and further research endeavours. A mixed philosophies epistemological design was adopted using both interpretavism and constructivism to undertake a qualitative systematic analysis of the literature. A process diagram was produced to represent the conceptual model (CM) and thematically group the nodes into three key swim lanes that delineate the boundaries between distribution, manufacturing, and sourcing and warehousing processes. Within each swim lane, stakeholders were incorporated as key actors. A further layer of nuanced complexity was added to illustrate the key actors involved in the process, government strategies, and activity flow paths. This novel CM offers both practical and theoretical contributions to existing knowledge and signposts a future research direction. Such work will demystify reverse logistics for managing CDW, and assist government policy-makers to develop informed policies that reduce the negative environmental impact of construction activities.