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We explore point source (PS) and non-point source (NPS) pollution impacts on surface water quality in Vinh Long Province, Vietnam. We used data from 60 surface water quality monitoring stations across dry, transitional, and wet seasons from 2017 to 2021, in addition to sampling data collected from 12 wastewater outlets from June to October 2021 to determine the sources of pollution loads. Surface water quality was assessed using both the water quality index (WQI) and the Vietnamese standards QCVN 08:2015, whilst cluster analysis (CA) and principal components analysis (PCA) were used to evaluate spatial variation and key influencing factors. We observed seasonal variation in surface water quality, with a decline in quality during the rainy season. Moreover, the water quality parameters such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) frequently exceeded the QCVN 08:2015 standard. Across, the different monitoring fixed points and seasons, COD levels were found to range from 8.94 to 15.14 mg/L, while TN levels varied between 0.24 and 0.53 mg/L. The cluster analysis categorized the monitoring fixed points into three groups, based on their water quality parameters, while PCA identified four principal components that explain 69% of the variance, distinguishing between pollution sources and seasonal factors. Our findings emphasize that poor water quality in many areas is affected by non-point source pollution, underscoring the need for watershed and land management. The results and applied methodologies provide insights for watershed management, policy development, and adaptation, applicable to regions facing similar environmental challenges. Article Highlights: Pinpointing and quantifying sector-specific sources of pollution is essential to effective water resource management. Methods exist by which to use water quality data to begin to identify primary sources of pollution in complex watersheds. Water quality declined during the rainy seasons of 2017 to 2021, emphasizing non-point sources (NPS) as as leading causes of the decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar (BC) is a well-established physical treatment method. The high-cost BC limits their use as adsorbents in wastewater. Thus, deriving BC from cheap and locally available waste materials is needed to develop a feasible waste removal technology. Nowadays, BC technology makes it possible to envision a new strategy to manage invasive plants by converting them into value-added products like BC. Hence, the present study was designed to evaluate the potential utilization of BC as an efficient filter medium made by invasive aquatic plants, Salvinia spp., and Eichhornia spp. A mass of 50 g of prepared activated and nonactivated BC was incorporated in a sand and gravel filter to treat rubber-manufactured wastewater. Wastewater was passed through the filter, and both raw and treated water samples were analyzed for pH, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN), Ammoniacal- Nitrogen (NH3-N), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Phosphates (TP), Nitrate (NO3-N), turbidity and heavy metals (Zinc, Chromium). The control filter was developed only with sand and gravel, excluding BC. Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to analyze BC's chemical and physical characteristics. A brine shrimp lethality assay was carried out for toxicological evaluation. OH stretching (3,550-3,200 cm-1), C=C aromatic stretching (1400-1660 cm-1), and Phenol-O-H bending (1,300-1,400 cm-1) were recorded in all BC samples that involved the adsorption mechanism. Observed images indicated differences in surface morphology of both activated and nonactivated BC were observed under SEM observation. The study concludes that the filter unit incorporated with activated Eichhornia spp. Gave the best treatment efficiency when compared to filter units incorporated with other activated and nonactivated BC. The toxicity assay revealed 100% mortality in the control setup and raw wastewater but only 60-70% in the nonactivated BC integrated filters. Activated BCincorporated filters showed no mortalities. Hence, the study's outcomes suggest a green approach using invasive aquatic plants for sustainable wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to evaluate surface water quality using pollution indices including the organic pollution index (OPI), comprehensive pollution index (CPI), and water quality index (WQI), cluster analysis (CA), with the support of one-way analysis of variance (One-way ANOVA), and principal component analysis (PCA). Water quality data at 42 locations, with 22 water quality parameters including temperature, pH, turbidity, salinity, chloride, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, sulfate, dissolved oxygen, total suspended solids, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, nitrite, nitrate, ammonium, orthophosphate, coliform, E. coli, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and copper, were used for the evaluation. The results showed that all the pollution indices fluctuated spatially and temporally. The OPI index ranged from slight organic pollution to heavy organic pollution, and the OPI values in February and April were higher than those in other months. OPI values were classified as moderate with 54.76% of the locations and heavily polluted with 45.24%. Assessment based on the CPI revealed that 16.7% and 83.3% of locations were classified as moderately contaminated and heavily contaminated, respectively. The WQI classified 45% of the locations as poor and 55% of the locations as having average water quality. In particular, the water quality in August, October, and December was better than that in other months. PCA results showed that eight polluting sources were responsible for 77.1% of the water quality variation. The main surface water polluting sources could be natural sources (riverbank erosion, rainwater runoff), wastewater (domestic, agricultural, and industrial), water discharge from the national park, and livestock areas. Local environmental management agencies need to have appropriate solutions to improve water quality. Future research should focus on the contribution sources to surface water degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated a novel municipal solid waste leachate (MSWL) treatment system called the Batch flow leachate treatment system (BFLTS). This process uses a combination of coagulation/flocculation (C-F), advanced oxidation (sulfate-hydroxyl radical), and extended aeration of activated sludge (EAAS) to treat MSWL. The results indicated that the primary treatment phase using coagulation/flocculation with 0.8 g L-1 FeCl3 at pH 6 achieved 67% turbidity and 63% chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction. The secondary treatment phase with the presence of both K2S2O8 and H2O2 peroxides was more efficient than single peroxide processes. While PS-based or H2O2-based single peroxide processes are less effective (UV-PS 65.7%, UV-H2O2 43.2%, Heat-PS 58.6%, Heat-H2O2 34.5%, and Heat-PS/H2O2 74.8%). The UV-PS/H2O2 system achieved the highest COD removal rate of 89.4%. In the third treatment phase, the efficient removal of COD and Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) under optimal operating conditions was 87.3% and 94.7% respectively. Overall, the BFLTS treatment system has demonstrated high efficiency in removing COD, BOD, TSS, Turbidity, TKN, and Heavy metals by 99%, 98%, 97%, 89%, 86%, and 98%, respectively. This hybrid process has potential for reducing organic load in MSWL and can be used for various leachates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Closed quotient (CQ) represents the time ratio for which the vocal folds remain in contact during voice production. Because analyzing CQ values serves as an important reference point in vocal training for professional singers, these values have been measured mechanically or electrically by either inverse filtering of airflows captured by a circumferentially vented mask or postprocessing of electroglottography waveforms. In this study, we introduced a novel algorithm to predict the CQ values only from audio signals. This has eliminated the need for mechanical or electrical measurement techniques. Our algorithm is based on a gated recurrent unit (GRU)-type neural network. To enhance the efficiency, we pre-processed an audio signal using the pitch feature extraction algorithm. Then, GRU-type neural networks were employed to extract the features. This was followed by a dense layer for the final prediction. The Results section reports the mean square error between the predicted and real CQ. It shows the capability of the proposed algorithm to predict CQ values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most clinically diagnosed arrhythmia in cardiac pathology. The incidence of AF begins at a very early age and its initial state is paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). This type of heart disease can be detected and predicted by analyzing the spectrogram of a surface electrocardiogram (ECG) signal. In many studies, different ECG signal formats and convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures have been used. However, the lack of good signal preprocessing or signal adequacy may have affected the accuracy, especially on short-term ECG signals. In this study, we analyzed a preprocessed ECG signal, determined the optimal set to predict PAF, and evaluated the accuracy using ECG signals of different durations. The PAF Prediction Challenge-PhysioNet database was used to extract spectrograms in 30 sec and 5 sec windows for two classes (Normal, PAF) and 3 classes (Normal, Close-AF, Distant-AF). Then, the AlexNet architecture was used. The proposed method achieved a two-class accuracy of 99.92% with a 30 sec window and 99.42% with a 5 sec window, improving the PAF prediction performance compared with similar works. In addition, the three-class accuracies were 96.92% and 97.43% with windows of 30 sec, and 5 sec, respectively. These results prove the efficacy of the method for the early diagnosis of PAF, even based on short-term ECG signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to environmental concerns about the use of fossil fuels, renewable energy, especially solar energy, is increasingly sought after for its ease of installation, cost-effectiveness, and versatile capacity. However, the variability in environmental factors poses a significant challenge to photovoltaic (PV) power generation forecasting, which is crucial for maintaining power system stability and economic efficiency. In this paper, a novel muti-step-ahead PV power generation forecasting model by integrating single-step and multi-step forecasts from various time resolutions was developed. One-dimensional convolutional neural network (CNN) layers were used for single-step forecasting to capture specific temporal patterns, with the transformer model improving multi-step forecasting by leveraging the combined outputs of the CNN. This combination can provide accurate and immediate forecasts as well as the ability to identify longer-term generation trends. Using the DKASC-ASA-1A and 1B datasets for empirical validation, several preprocessing methods were applied and a series of experiments were conducted to compare the performance of the model with other widely used deep learning models. The framework proved to be capable of accurately predicting multi-step-ahead PV power generation at multiple time resolutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey is separated into 25 river basins, and the Güren Stream is found in Kastamonu Province's West Black Sea Basin. Güren Stream originates inside the borders of Küre Mountains National Park and flows into Black Sea. Küre Mountains National Park, in addition to being one of the 9 hot spots to be protected in Turkey, is the country's first Protected Area Network Parks (PAN park). At this research, monthly stream water samples were taken from different 14 stations in the Güren Stream between 2018–2019. Subsequently, the concentration of 28 parameters, consisting of pH, water temperature, electrical conductivity, suspended solid matter, salinity, total hardness, total alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, NH4-N, NO2-N, NO3-N, SO4, SO3, PO4-P, Cl, Fe, Na, K, Mg, Ca and six potential toxic elements, including Pb, Cu, Cd, Hg, Ni, and Zn were measured. The results were compared to the criteria of the Turkish Water Pollution Control Regulation and the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, the association between the obtained data and Geographic Information Systems, spatial distribution maps, ecotoxicological indexes, quality classifications, multivariable statistical pearson corelation and factor analysis inter-parameter associations were evaluated. According to the results, the Güren Stream's water is of the highest quality, designated first class, and did not exceed WHO limits. According to water quality and ecotoxicological indexes, Güren Stream is classified as "excellent, good, no pollution, permissible and low." To identify relationship between parameters, correlation and factor analysis were applied to data. Natural sources, anthropogenic activities and forestry factor inputs were determined as the main accumulation sources of river by the result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this work is to analyze the possible use of banana peel waste as a natural coagulant and also to improve its coagulation effectiveness using an eco-friendly modification methodology the removal of synthetic water turbidity and river water purification. In this case, the modified banana peel powder hasan average particle size and diameters are 571 and 360 nm respectively. While the normal banana peel powder's size of particles and diameter were 978 and 602 nm, respectively. The effectiveness of the coagulation was examined at various pH values, dosages, sedimentation periods, and NaCl concentrations. With up to 90% turbidity removal, the ideal dose for modified banana peel was discovered to be 0.4 g/L. At small concentrations of less over 0.4 g/L, NaCl somewhat improved the coagulation performance; however, the activity decreased at higher concentrations, even when using the modified powder. In river water, banana peel powder act significantly hence reduced the color of the water, the total amount of dissolved and suspended solids, as well as the chemical and biochemical oxygen demand. However, for non-modified and modified powders, the turbidity reduction was only 75 and 83%, respectively. To look into and validate the coagulation mechanism, SEM and FT-IR analysis were done. Banana peel powder modified in this environmentally friendly way has a lot of potential as a cheap and accessible bio-coagulant and can likely help to decrease wastages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tafna river serves as a model for assessing surface water and environmental quality by combining water quality and pollution indices using multivariate statistical methods. Thirty-six surface water samples were analyzed to assess 13 indicators. The results indicate contamination of the surface waters of the Tafna river by organic matter and the influence of lithology (presence of calcite), leading to an enrichment in Cl−, SO42−, and Ca2+ by dissolution (9.6–4.8 and 4.06 mg.l−1, respectively). During the summer and autumn, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) reaching 57 mg.l−1, chemical oxygen demand (COD) at 90.9 mg.l−1, N-NH4+, and N-NO3− showed significant increases. In addition, the pollution index revealed the absence of pollution during winter and early summer but moderate levels of pollution in autumn. In addition, the spatial distribution of the water quality index (WQI) indicates good water quality in the estuary upstream to 54.94, but progressive deterioration upstream. However, analysis of the correlation matrix highlighted the influence of various sources, both natural and human, on surface water quality. In particular, a significant correlation (R2 = 0.9) was observed between Ca2+ and HCO3− concentrations, indicating a close relationship between these two elements. Organic pollution of the waters of the Tafna river has been strongly influenced by wastewater discharge and agricultural activities, which could lead to potential health risks if consumed. The results of this study provide a sound scientific basis to support decision-making and the implementation of measures to preserve and sustainably manage the Tafna river. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water is very crucial liquid which has the potential to fluidly various materials along with biological and mineral substances. The condition of water usually indicates to the substance of water exist at the peak level for sufficient rise of plants and animals. The Bibi talav, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India is situated at favela location. People discharge their domiciliary ravage unswervingly into the talav water forging environmental imperilment. The motive of this research paper is to establish the water quality index. Numerous physical and chemical parameters such as pH(BPH), Electrical Conductivity (BEC), Turbidity (BTD), Total dissolved solids (BTDS), Alkalinity (BAL), Total Hardness (BTH), Calcium(BCA), Chloride(BCL), Magnesium (BMG), Total dissolved Oxygen (BDO), Sodium (BSOD), Nitrates (BN) and Biochemical Oxygen demand (BBOD) of talav water is examined during three sessions such as monsoon, winter and summer. After calculating water quality index it shows that Bibi talav water is dangerous for drinking and survival of water borne species because the water quality index is above 75. This shows that water is unsuitable for drinking throughout the year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global attention has been increasingly paid to the use of biosensor in water quality monitoring, particularly for on-site determination of biochemical oxygen demand and heavy metal toxicity. However, there have not been many publications that show a practical application of biosensor. In this study, canal water in Ho Chi Minh City was collected to evaluate the potential application of biosensor, which measures respiratory activity of immobilized microorganisms on plastic biochips and calcium alginate beads, for the fast determination of biochemical oxygen demand and heavy metal toxicity. The total amount of aerobic bacteria immobilized on the plastic biochips was 35.6 times higher than that on calcium alginate beads, which, in turn, leads to an increased sensitivity of the biosensor based on the plastic biochips in measurement of biochemical oxygen demand. Additionally, the one-way analysis of variance coupled with Turkey Honestly Significant Difference test at a significant level of 0.05 showed no statistical difference between the values of biochemical oxygen demand in samples at various locations determined by 5-day standard method and biosensor. The biosensor also demonstrated its capability in detection of toxicity of Cu(II), Pb(II), Cr(III), Ni(II), and Cr(VI) at concentrations of 2 mg/L, 0.5 mg/L, 1 mg/L, 0.5 mg/L, and 0.1 mg/L, which are the allowable maximum concentration for industrial wastewater discharged into receiving water, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant potential of microorganisms for fecal sludge degradation is an interesting area for investigation, primarily due to its current lack of attention. This study involved the identification of indigenous bacteria in septic tank fecal waste with the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) 16S rRNA gene. Subsequently, selected bacteria strains were subjected to a potential assessment using a single method. Variables in this experiment included the addition of 2% (v/v) bacteria and sample sterilization. The results showed that the use of PCR 16S rRNA analysis led to the identification of Priestia aryabhattai, a member of the phylum Firmicutes, as the dominant species in the samples. This bacteria exhibited adaptability to both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Sterile samples with the addition of P. aryabhattai 2% (v/v), showed the best removal efficiency percentages of 79.77%, 79.62%, 62.91%, and 70.48% for Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and Volatile Suspended Solids (VSS). Meanwhile, the total carbon and nitrogen decreased to 2895 mg/L C and 794.12 mg/L NH3‐N, respectively. Based on the results, Priestia aryabhattai has the potential to degrade organic waste but is not suitable for fecal sludge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, assessing the extent of natural water resources and making an accurate assessment of its quality is a task as important as it is urgent. The determination and assessment of the Water Quality Index (WQI) is a method used in our paper to assess the water quality of the Shkumbini River in Albania - one of the main rivers of our country. We used the analysis of the WQI index, because it is the most optimal analysis we can do with the collected data and because it is an easier index to interpret. WQI is considered fundamental information for analyzing and demonstrating the water quality. We have used the data collected during a 4-year period from the Shkumbini River’s water (in total 72 sets of data) and through the statistical method of Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) we have defined an equation for the assessment of WQI expressed by three variables: biological oxygen demand, hydrogen carbonate and phosphorus (BOD, HCO3, P-total). MLR is implemented by interpreting the correlation coefficient R², which demonstrates that 99.6% variability of the data is explained by the new regression equation. The t-test was also used, demonstrating the equivalence of the WQI index, calculated from the newly constructed equation, and the values of the first WQI, calculated using nine variables. The reduction of the number of determining variables of WQI has its advantages, both financially, as well as from the way that the water quality of the Shkumbini River is interpreted and monitored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was undertaken to assess the pollution status of Erai and Zarpat rivers flowing through industrial Chandrapur City, Maharashtra, India. The obtained data of physicochemical parameters were processed to calculate Water Quality Index (WQI). The obtained data revealed that the physicochemical parameters such as turbidity (20.2-28.7 NTU), hardness (236-276 mg/l), total dissolved solids (1586-1730 mg/l), nitrates (49-53 mg/l), phosphate (0.7-0.9 mg/l), chemical oxygen demand (53.2-69.2 mg/l) and biochemical oxygen demand (19-22 mg/l) were beyond the permissible limits of Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS).The concentrations of toxic metals viz. cadmium (0,006-0.008 mg/l), lead (0.03-0.05 mg/l), arsenic (0.0-0.03 mg/l) and molybdenum (0.05-0.07 mg/l) in river water were also recorded higher than permissible limits of BIS. The WQI values of both the rivers at different sampling stations ranged from 144 to 220 indicating poor to very poor water quality. The sources of pollution in both the rivers were disposal of fly ash, mining, disposal of treated and untreated domestic and industrial effluent due to lack of sewage treatment plants (STPs), effluent treatment plant (ETP), and common effluent treatment plant (CETP). Therefore, there is a need of construction of STP, ETP, CETP, proper disposal of fly ash, and desludging of rivers at regular intervals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhanced denitrification has been reported under weak electric fields. However, it is difficult to investigate the mechanism of enhanced denitrification due to the complex interspecific interactions of mixed-culture systems. In this study, Pseudomonas stutzeri, capable of denitrification under anaerobic conditions, was selected for treating low COD/N (2.0, ratio between concentration of chemical oxygen demand and NO3−-N) artificial wastewater under constant external voltages of 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 V. The results revealed that P. stutzeri exhibited the highest efficiency in nitrate reduction at 0.2 V. Moreover, the maximum nitrate removal rate was 15.96 mg/(L·h) among the closed-circuit groups, 19.39% higher than that under the open-circuit group. Additionally, a notable reduction in nitrite accumulation was observed under weak electric fields. Enzyme activity analysis showed that the nitrate reductase activities were significantly increased among the closed-circuit groups, while nitrite reductase activities were inhibited. Transcriptomic analysis indicated that amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and energy metabolism were increased, enhancing the resistance of P. stutzeri to environmental stress and the efficiency of carbon source utilization for denitrification. The current study examined the impacts of weak electric fields on enzyme activities and microbial metabolic pathways and offers valuable insights into the mechanism by which denitrification is enhanced by weak electric fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial biofilms present one of the most widespread forms of life on Earth. The formation of microbial communities on various surfaces presents a major challenge in a variety of fields, including medicine, the food industry, shipping, etc. At the same time, this process can also be used for the benefit of humans—in bioremediation, wastewater treatment, and various biotechnological processes. The main direction of using electroactive microbial biofilms is their incorporation into the composition of biosensor and biofuel cells This review examines the fundamental knowledge acquired about the structure and formation of biofilms, the properties they have when used in bioelectrochemical devices, and the characteristics of the formation of these structures on different surfaces. Special attention is given to the potential of applying the latest advances in genetic engineering in order to improve the performance of microbial biofilm-based devices and to regulate the processes that take place within them. Finally, we highlight possible ways of dealing with the drawbacks of using biofilms in the creation of highly efficient biosensors and biofuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The second cheese whey (SCW) is the liquid fraction that remains after the production of whey-cheeses. SCW appears as a white to yellow/green opalescent liquid with suspended solids and contains up to 6% lactose and variable amounts of proteins, fats, and mineral salts. Due to its organic load, SCW is characterized by levels of Biochemical Oxygen Demand and Chemical Oxygen Demand that are significantly higher than urban wastewater. Therefore, it poses an environmental challenge and represents a significant cost and a problem for cheese production facilities when it comes to disposal. On the flip side, SCW contains valuable nutrients that make it a cost-effective substrate for bio-based productions including lactose extraction, and the production of lactic acid, bioethanol, eco-friendly bioplastics, biofuels, beverages, bioactive peptides, and microbial starters. A search in Scopus database indicates that despite the numerous potential applications, interest in SCW exploitation is surprisingly limited and, accordingly, sustainable management of SCW disposal remains an unresolved issue. In this review, which marks the first exclusive focus on SCW, with the aim of contributing to increase the interest of both the scientific community and the stakeholders in the exploitation of this by-product, the processes aimed at SCW valorisation will be described, with particular attention to its use in the production of beverages, food and feed, single cell proteins and as a source of biodegradable bioplastics, organic acids and renewable energy. Moreover, to provide valuable insights into its applications and innovations, an overview on patents regarding the exploitation of SCW will be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxidative degradation of an antibiotic, Ofloxacin (OFX), has been investigated using the electro-Fenton (EF) process with a constant current between 100 and 500 mA and a carbon-felt cathode. The kinetics of oxidative degradation and the efficiency of mineralization were examined about the applied current and catalyst (Fe2+) concentration. The absolute rate constant for the oxidation of OFX by hydroxyl radical was determined using the competition kinetic approach as 3.04 ± 0.19 × 109 M–1s–1. For efficient degradation of OFX at the relevant operating conditions, the ideal current value is 400 mA at a concentration of the catalyst (Fe2+) at 0.10 mM. After 6 h of electrolysis, in the present study, it is demonstrated that several cathodes, including carbon felt (CF), carbon-graphite (CG) and stainless steel (SS), had an impact on the electrochemical oxidation of the organic contaminant, OFX. A high level of mineralization (>97%) was attained. The development of F−, and ions was also monitored and their evolution during their release into the medium was discussed. Several intermediate products were identified using LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry) and HPLC (High-performance liquid chromatography) analyses. Based on the identity of these products, a feasible route for the mineralization process is proposed. Finally, biodegradability was studied and the results indicated the following ratio of biological oxygen demand within 5 days to chemical oxygen demand BOD5/COD through OFX mineralization by EF treatment for the possibility of evaluating the combination of electro-Fenton and biological treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we addressed the prevalent issue of untreated greywater discharge into waterbodies in many developing countries, despite the associated public health risks. Our approach involved utilizing fibers extracted from plantain pseudo-stems to enhance the quality of greywater through simple biofiltration setups. Greywater sourced from the GETFund Hostel of the University of Energy and Natural Resources in Sunyani, Ghana, served as the focal point of our investigation. Through the application of this biofilter, we achieved notable reductions in two crucial parameters for assessing greywater quality: biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), averaging at 30.4 % and 28.67 %, respectively. Furthermore, we conducted comparative analyses between the efficacy of plantain pseudo-stem fibers and carbonized coconut shell adsorbent, both individually and in composite form as biosorbents. While certain combinations of biofilters led to slight increases in conductivity, pH, and total dissolved solids (TDS) in the treated greywater, these variations were anticipated and attributed to potential organic matter leaching during the biofiltration process. Employing Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, we detected significant spectral changes indicative of successful organic matter removal from the greywater. Specifically, we observed an intensified phenolic hydroxyl (OH) peak at 3300 cm⁻¹, which shifted marginally to 3335 cm⁻¹ post-biofiltration. Additionally, the emergence of a carboxylic hydroxyl stretch at 2850 cm⁻¹ post-biofiltration provided strong evidence supporting the efficacy of our approach in mitigating organic contaminants in greywater.

Extracorporeal blood purification with polymyxin B immobilized fiber column direct hemoperfusion (PMX-DHP), is reported to be effective in treating COVID-19 pneumonitis with oxygen demand. This multicenter prospective study evaluated the efficacy and safety of PMX-DHP in oxygen-requiring patients with COVID-19 admitted between September 28, 2020, and March 31, 2022. The primary endpoint was the percentage of clinical improvement 15 days after treatment. The secondary endpoint was the percentage of worsened disease status. Data from the COVID-19 patient registry were used for the synthetic control group. The improvement rate on Day 15 did not differ between PMX-treated patients and controls; however, the deterioration rate was 0.38 times lower in the PMX-treated group, and the death rates on Day 29 were 0 and 11.1% in the PMX-treated and control groups, respectively. The PMX group showed a 0.73 times higher likelihood for reduced intensive care demand, as 16.7% of PMX-treated patients and 22.8% of controls worsened. After treatment blood oxygenation improved, urinary β2-microglobulin and liver-type fatty acid-binding protein showed significant decreases, and IL-6 decreased once during treatment but did not persist. In this study, PMX treatment effectively prevented the worsening of COVID-19 pathology, accompanied by improved oxygenation. PMX treatment to remove activated cells may effectively improve patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Modeling plays a crucial role in understanding wastewater treatment processes, yet conventional deterministic models face challenges due to complexity and uncertainty. Artificial intelligence offers an alternative, requiring no prior system knowledge. This study tested the reliability of the Adaptive Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), an artificial intelligence algorithm that integrates both neural networks and fuzzy logic principles, to predict effluent Biochemical Oxygen Demand. An important indicator of organic pollution in wastewater. Materials and Methods: The ANFIS models were developed and validated with historical wastewater quality data for the Kauma Sewage Treatment Plant located in Lilongwe City, Malawi. A Self Organizing Map (SOM) was applied to extract features of the raw data to enhance the performance of ANFIS. Cost-effective, quicker, and easier-to-measure variables were selected as possible predictors while using their respective correlations with effluent. Influents' temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and effluent chemical oxygen demand were among the model predictors. Results and Discussions: The comparative results demonstrated that for the same model structure, the ANFIS model achieved correlation coefficients (R) of 0.92, 0.90, and 0.81 during training, testing, and validation respectively, whereas the SOM-assisted ANFIS Model achieved R Values of 0.99, 0.87 and 0.94. Overall, despite the slight decrease in R-value during the testing stage, the SOM- assisted ANFIS model outperformed the traditional ANFIS model in terms of predictive capability. A graphic user interface was developed to improve user interaction and friendliness of the developed model. Integration of the developed model with supervisory control and data acquisition system is recommended. The study also recommends widening the application of the developed model, by retraining it with data from other wastewater treatment facilities and rivers in Malawi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, 15 sampling sites were set up in Dongting Lake, a typical river-connected lake in China, to investigate water quality and diatioms in March, June, September and December from year 2017 to 2022. Seven diatom indices, including relative abundance of diatoms (RAD), percentage motile diatoms (PMD), generic diatom index (GDI), diatom quotient (DU), pollution tolerance index for diatoms (PTI), trophic diatom index (TDI), and Pampean diatom index (IDP), were selected to screen the adaptability of water quality assessment comparing with the Nemero index (NI), which is simple to calculate and has always been the main method for water quality assessment in Dongting Lake. The results from 2017 to 2019 showed that the diatom density in Dongting Lake ranged from 0.7 × 104 to 85.5 × 104 ind./L, with a certain decreasing trend. The spatial and temporal changes of some water quality factors were obvious, just like the temperature of water (WT), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+–N), dissolved oxygen (DO) and the comprehensive trophic level index (∑TLI) ranged from 45.99 to 50.72, with an average value of 47.85, indicating that the overall condition of Dongting Lake was medium nutrition. Correlation analysis showed that PTI, RAD and PMD could represent the information of DU, GDI, TDI and IDP, and were significantly positively correlated with DO (p < 0.01), while significantly negatively correlated with electrical conductivity (Cond), potassium permanganate (CODMn), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (CODCr) and ∑TLI (p < 0.001). The index verification results from year 2020 to 2022 showed that PTI, RAD and PMD were all significantly positively correlated with NI (p < 0.001). Taking into account the data integrity of the index calculation and the difficulty degree, RAD was finally selected as the biological indicator for evaluating the water quality of Dongting Lake. The results of this study provide a new path or alternative method for water quality assessment of the river-connected lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of restoration measures such as municipal wastewater treatment and aquaculture closures have been implemented in Wuhan City during recent years. In order to explore the impact of restoration measures and climate change on lake water quality, long-term (2005–2021) water quality data of 47 lakes were explored to reveal spatiotemporal changes in lake water quality. Percentages of polluted lakes were calculated according to six water-quality parameters, including total phosphorus (TP), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand using potassium permanganate as oxidant (CODMn) and petroleum contamination (PET), at interannual and monthly timescales. At the interannual timescale, percentages of COD, BOD, CODMn and PET pollution decreased significantly, suggestive of water quality improvement during recent years. At the monthly timescale, low percentages of NH3-N and BOD pollution in March 2020 probably resulted from the sharp reduction in human activities during the COVID-19 lockdown. At the monthly timescale, temperature was positively correlated with percentage of CODMn pollution, but negatively correlated with percentage of NH3-N pollution; precipitation was negatively correlated with percentage of BOD pollution. The similarity of water-quality parameters generally decreased with an increase in geographical distance between each pair of lakes. However, the regression coefficients between the similarity of lake water quality and the geographical distance decreased with time, probably resulting from enhanced similarity of water quality parameters among all lakes with rapid urbanization. Our results highlight the importance of active restoration measures for sustainable management of lakes in Wuhan City, as well as in similar developing regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work proposes an approach to the formation of receptor elements for the rapid diagnosis of the state of surface waters according to two indicators: the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) index and toxicity. Associations among microorganisms based on the bacteria P. yeei and yeast S. cerevisiae, as well as associations of the yeasts O. polymorpha and B. adeninivorans, were formed to evaluate these indicators, respectively. The use of nanocomposite electrically conductive materials based on carbon nanotubes, biocompatible natural polymers—chitosan and bovine serum albumin cross-linked with ferrocenecarboxaldehyde, neutral red, safranin, and phenosafranin—has made it possible to expand the analytical capabilities of receptor systems. Redox polymers were studied by IR spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, the contents of electroactive components were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy, and electrochemical properties were studied by electrochemical impedance and cyclic voltammetry methods. Based on the proposed kinetic approach to modeling individual stages of bioelectrochemical processes, the chitosan–neutral red/CNT composite was chosen to immobilize the yeast association between O. polymorpha (ks = 370 ± 20 L/g × s) and B. adeninivorans (320 ± 30 L/g × s), and a bovine serum albumin (BSA)–neutral composite was chosen to immobilize the association between the yeast S. cerevisiae (ks = 130 ± 10 L/g × s) and the bacteria P. yeei red/CNT (170 ± 30 L/g × s). After optimizing the composition of the receptor systems, it was shown that the use of nanocomposite materials together with associations among microorganisms makes it possible to determine BOD with high sensitivity (with a lower limit of 0.6 mg/dm3) and detect the presence of a wide range of toxicants of both organic and inorganic origin. Both receptor elements were tested on water samples, showing a high correlation between the results of biosensor analysis of BOD and toxicity and the results of standard analytical methods. The results obtained show broad prospects for creating sensitive and portable bioelectrochemical sensors for the early warning of environmentally hazardous situations based on associations among microorganisms and nanocomposite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic–inorganic hybrid materials have a range of applications due to their unique properties. Their application in agriculture brings alternatives for the controlled release of nutrients in the soil, the seed coating, the transport of herbicides, and the treatment of plant diseases. The present study aimed to investigate the use of fungicides incorporated into hybrid membranes formed by synthetic hectorite (LAPONITE®) and polymers in the pre-treatment of garlic bulbils exposed to the pathogen Stromatinia cepivora, which causes white rot. The coatings were selected by a germination test, based on the bulbil sprouting index, and by a mycelial growth inhibition test, based on the percentage of mycelial growth inhibition. The chosen membranes were used to coat the bulbils for bioassays conducted in a biochemical oxygen demand incubator at 17 °C. The coated bulbils were planted in soil samples containing three different densities of Stromatinia cepivora: 0.1 g, 1.0 g, and 10 g of sclerotium per L of soil. Membranes containing 2% carboxymethyl cellulose and 2% LAPONITE® incorporated with (i) the fungicide tebuconazole (36 mg L−1) and (ii) the combination of the actives tebuconazole (36 mg L−1) and triadimenol (62 mg L−1) showed the total rate of sprouting and null indices of incidence of symptoms and mortality in its repetitions. The hybrid membranes were characterized employing several techniques, including X-ray diffraction, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry coupled to mass spectrometry, and optical microscopy. Characterization data confirmed the presence of fungicides incorporated into the membranes. Some concentrations of fungicides were low enough not to be detected in all analyses performed, although they guaranteed a protective character to the bulbils about the fungus S. cepivora present in the soil, with a possibility of antifungal pre-treatment with a potential reduction in the concentration used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrialization and the ever-increasing world population have diminished high-quality water resources for sustainable agriculture. It is imperative to effectively treat industrial effluent to render the treated water available for crop cultivation. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of textile effluent treated with Trametes pubescens MB 89 in supporting maize cultivation. The fungal treatment reduced the amounts of Co, Pb and As in the textile effluent. The biological oxygen demand, total dissolved solids and total suspended solids were within the permissible limits in the treated effluent. The data indicated that the irrigation of maize with fungal-treated textile effluent improved the growth parameters of the plant including root, shoot length, leaf area and chlorophyll content. Moreover, better antioxidant activity, total phenol content and protein content in roots, stems and leaves of maize plants were obtained. Photosynthetic parameters (potential quantum yield, electron transport rate and fluorescence yield of non-photochemical losses other than heat) were also improved in the plants irrigated with treated effluent as compared to the control groups. In conclusion, the treatment of textile effluent with the immobilized T. pubescens presents a sustainable solution to minimize chemical pollution and effectively utilize water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents an innovative pulse-rotating biological contactor (P-RBC) designed to enrich glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs), thereby facilitating low-energy chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. It then investigates the impact of rotational speed and hydraulic retention time (HRT) on GAO enrichment and COD removal efficiency. Optimized conditions at lower speeds and longer HRTs significantly enhance GAO proliferation and Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthesis, the key to COD removal. Noteworthy findings include a maximum GAO abundance of 21.34% at a half round per hour (rph) rotating speed, which correlates with a 90.2% COD removal rate and an HRT of 6 h, yielding a 21.23% GAO abundance and 89.8% COD removal. This study also explores various carbon sources for PHA synthesis, with sodium acetate proving the most effective. Compared to other wastewater treatment methods, P-RBC demonstrates minimal energy consumption (0.09 kWh per ton of wastewater), highlighting its potential as a sustainable and effective approach for wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A drastic level of resource degradation was revealed through a preliminary evaluation (completed in 2016) of water quality in a recreational lake in the second industrial city in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The primary signs were a foul smell, algal bloom, high turbidity, and lack of aquatic life. This study aims to evaluate the influence of reverse osmosis (RO) on lake water quality. The recreational lake consists of two connected lakes (Lakes 1 and 2), which receive treated effluent from an industrial wastewater treatment plant. Composite samples were collected from the lakes to analyze their physiochemical parameters. Descriptive analyses were performed, and two water quality indices were developed to observe the variations in water quality conditions between the two periods (2016 and 2021). The results indicated that the water parameters of total dissolved solids (TDS), sulphate (SO42−), biological oxygen demand (BOD), and dissolved oxygen (DO) in 2016 (3356, 4100, 516, and 1.32 mg/L, respectively) were significantly improved in 2021 (2502, 1.28, 9.39, and 7.79 mg/L, respectively). The results of the water quality index (WQI) and comprehensive pollution index (CPI) indicated that the water quality in Lake 1 was significantly enhanced in 2021 (WQI = 85, CPI = 1) in comparison with assessment data from 2016 (WQI = 962, CPI = 8). However, the data from Lake 2 revealed higher pollution levels in 2021 (WQI = 1722, CPI = 18) than those recorded in 2016 (WQI = 1508, CPI = 13). As indicated by the absence of bad smells, algal blooms, and restoration of aquatic life, the RO intervention successfully improved the water quality in Lake 1. The WQI and CPI were helpful tools for evaluating lake water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to evaluate the interactions between diatoms and ecological factors in various streams and to test the suitability of diatom indices to evaluate the ecological status of 44 streams in the Ceyhan River Basin during the spring and autumn periods of 2021 and the summer of 2022. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated the significant effects of electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand (BOD5), total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen (TN) on the distribution of diatom species of streams in the Ceyhan River Basin. Of the streams, Aksu and Erkenez streams were associated with high EC, BOD5, and TP and characterized by pollution-tolerant species. Pollution-sensitive species showed close integration with Aksu Spring Brook, Gözpınar Creek, Göksun Creek, and Yeşilgöz Spring Brook, which related to a high dissolved oxygen gradient. Different eco-regional diatom indices displayed different scores, representing from bad to high ecological status in the Ceyhan River basin. Among the diatom indices, Trophic Index Turkey (TIT) proved to be the more suitable metric to assess the ecological status of streams. TIT indicated deterioration of water quality in Karasu (S06), Erkenez (S07) streams, and downstream areas of the Ceyhan River and the least distributed sampling stations in the basin. Results suggested that eco-regionally developed diatom indices, like TIT, are required to more accurately assess the ecological status of streams in the Mediterranean region. The study provides a fundamental assessment of the ecological status of streams in the Ceyhan River Basin using an appropriate diatom index before the Pazarcık-centered earthquake on February 6, 2023. Findings allow someone to assess the impact of the earthquake on diatom communities and ecological factors in the region in the future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of microorganisms with excellent flocculants-producing capability and optimization of the fermentation process are necessary for the wide-scale application of bioflocculants. Therefore, we isolated and identified a highly efficient flocculation performance strain of Stenotrophomonas pavanii GXUN74707 from the sludge. The optimal fermentation and flocculation conditions of strain S. pavanii GXUN74707 was in fermentation medium with glucose and urea as the carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, at pH 7.0 for 36 h, which treatment of kaolin suspension with 0.5 mL of the fermentation broth resulted in a flocculation rate of 99.0%. The bioflocculant synthesized by strain S. pavanii GXUN74707 was found mainly in the supernatant of the fermentation broth. Chemical analysis revealed that the pure bioflocculant consisted of 79.70% carbohydrates and 14.38% proteins. The monosaccharide components of MBF-GXUN74707 are mainly mannose (5.96 mg/mg), galactose (1.86 mg/mg), and glucose (1.73 mg/mg). Infrared spectrometric analysis showed the presence of carboxyl (COO-), hydroxyl (-OH) groups. The SEM images showed clumps of rod-shaped bacteria with adhesion of extracellular products. Furthermore, the strain decolored dye wastewater containing direct black, direct blue, and Congo red by 89.2%, 95.1%, 94.1%, respectively. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) removal rates after treatment of aquaculture wastewater with the fermentation broth were 68% and 23%, respectively. This study is the first to report the performance and application of strain Stenotrophomonas pavanii in wastewater flocculation. The results indicate that strain S. pavanii is a good candidate for the production novel bioflocculants and demonstrates its potential industrial practicality in biotechnology processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbeads find widespread usage in personal care items and cosmetics, serving as exfoliants or scrubbing agents. Their micro-scale size poses challenges in effective drainage capture and given their origin from non-biodegradable oil-based plastics, this contributes substantially to marine pollution. In this study, microbeads were prepared by a simple yet scalable melt homogenization method using four types of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), namely poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (P(3HB)), poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-(R)-3-hydroxyvalerate] (P(3HB-co-3HV)), poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-(R)-3-hydroxyhexanoate] (P(3HB-co-3HHx)) and poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-(R)-4-hydroxyvalerate] (P(3HB-co-4HB)). Microbeads with different surface smoothness, compressive strength (6.2–13.3 MPa) and diameter (from 1 ~ 150 μm) could be produced. The microbeads were subjected to a comprehensive degradation analysis using three techniques: enzymatic, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) evaluations, and in situ degradation tests in the deep-sea off Misaki Port in the northern Pacific Ocean (depth of 757 m). Qualitatively, results from enzymatic and in situ degradation demonstrated significant degradation within one week and five months, respectively. Quantitatively, BOD findings indicated that all PHA microbeads degraded similarly to cellulose (~ 85% biodegradability in 25 days). In conclusion, PHA microbeads from this study exhibit promising potential as alternatives to conventional non-biodegradable microbeads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims The present study aimed to use a conventional and metagenomic approach to investigate the microbiological diversity of water bodies in a network of drainage channels and rivers located in the central area of the city of Belém, northern Brazil, which is considered one of the largest cities in the Brazilian Amazon. Methods and results In eight of the analyzed points, both bacterial and viral microbiological indicators of environmental contamination—physical–chemical and metals—were assessed. The bacterial resistance genes, drug resistance mechanisms, and viral viability in the environment were also assessed. A total of 473 families of bacteria and 83 families of viruses were identified. Based on the analysis of metals, the levels of three metals (Cd, Fe, and Mn) were found to be above the recommended acceptable level by local legislation. The levels of the following three physicochemical parameters were also higher than recommended: biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity. Sixty-three bacterial resistance genes that conferred resistance to 13 different classes of antimicrobials were identified. Further, five mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance were identified and viral viability in the environment was confirmed. Conclusions Intense human actions combined with a lack of public policies and poor environmental education of the population cause environmental degradation, especially in water bodies. Thus, urgent interventions are warranted to restore the quality of this precious and scarce asset worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to assess the performance of Yarmouk station for treating sewage water in Mosul City, Ninevah province. The station's performance was estimated based on the analysis of water quality data, including measurements of TSS, TDS, EC, pH, temperature, turbidity, TH, ALK, SO42-, Mg2+, Ca2+, K+, Na+, HCO3-, Cl-, and NO3- . Additionally, the biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the station were measured. The study results showed that the station's water matched the standard specifications for water quality, and the treated water met the WQI water quality standards. The efficiency of treatment stations is generally measured by their ability to remove organic matter, which can be elucidated through the amount of BOD and TSS removed. The station's efficiency in removing BOD was found to be 82.8%, and the removal efficiency for TSS was 85.2%. The results also indicated that the water discharged from the station is suitable for irrigation according to KR and SAR values and within irrigation guidelines. Overall, the station was found to operate efficiently within the Iraqi discharge standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water quality index (WQI) is a practical and comprehensive technique to evaluate water quality. It is often employed to assess water quality in simple terms and determine its suitability for various uses. The current study aimed to assess the temporal and spatial variation of the Al-Dujaila River. Three sites were selected for surveying from January to December 2021. The studied area starts after the AL-Kut dam and goes to the point where the river exits in the city of AL-Kut. Several physico-chemical parameters were addressed to calculate the IQ-WQI based on the Iraqi rivers maintaining limits; namely, dissolved oxygen (DO mg/ l), biological oxygen demand (BOD5 mg/l), hydrogen ion (pH), phosphate (PO4 mg/ l), nitrate (NO3 mg/ l), chloride (Cl mg/ l), sulfate (SO4-2 mg/ l), total dissolved solid (TDS mg/ l), and turbidity (Turb NTU). The concentrations of most parameters were within the standard limits, except for SO4-2, TDS, and Turb, where the highest concentrations reached 390mg/ l, 920mg/ l, and 70 NTU, respectively. The rating of the water quality index in these three sites falls under very poor water quality, where values of the IQ-WQI ranged between 83.41-89.48 in the wet season, and in the dry season, the value was 85.24-91.13. The shift of the index toward the worst conditions is related to the high concentration of TDS and SO4-2, where the standard limits for them are 500 and 200mg/ l according to the Iraqi rivers maintaining limits, respectively, which indicates pollution conditions of the river caused by the increased levels of salts. The principal component analysis (PCA) was used to visualize the data obtained to know how they interrelate in addition to extracting the most affecting parameters on water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface waters in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State are the predominant sources of potable water for the rapidly increasing population in the area with the presence of three tertiary institutions. Hence, the objective of this paper was to determine baseline data of the physicochemical and microbiological quality of surface waters in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria using standard microbiological and analytical procedures and values compared to the World Health Organization WHO and Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) recommended levels. Results showed that water from streams 3, 4, 5 and 7 were good as source of drinking water. Water from Ikot Oku Nsit and Anyam streams had high levels of 28.46 mg/l and 23.05 mg/l, 46.14mg/l and 46.51 mg/l, 51.85 mg/l and 56.42 mg/l for Chemical Oxygen Demand, Total Suspended Solids and nitrates respectively, making it necessary for treatment. Water from stream 6 had high values of Nitrates and Fecal Coliform well above the WHO recommended levels rendering it not good for human consumption without treatment. Proper sensitization of the populace on water management, regular assessment of the surface waters and the revamping of the public water works at Afaha Nsit, have been recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-throughput materials research is strongly required to accelerate the development of safe and high energy-density lithium-ion battery (LIB) applicable to electric vehicle and energy storage system. The artificial intelligence, including machine learning with neural networks such as Boltzmann neural networks and convolutional neural networks (CNN), is a powerful tool to explore next-generation electrode materials and functional additives. In this paper, we develop a prediction model that classifies the major composition (e.g., 333, 523, 622, and 811) and different states (e.g., pristine, pre-cycled, and 100 times cycled) of various Li(Ni, Co, Mn)O2 (NCM) cathodes via CNN trained on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. Based on those results, our trained CNN model shows a high accuracy of 99.6% where the number of test set is 3840. In addition, the model can be applied to the case of untrained SEM data of NCM cathodes with functional electrolyte additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River water quality management and monitoring are essential responsibilities for communities near rivers. Government decision-makers should monitor important quality factors like temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). Among water quality parameters, the BOD throughout 5 days is an important index that must be detected by devoting a significant amount of time and effort, which is a source of significant concern in both academic and commercial settings. The traditional experimental and statistical methods cannot give enough accuracy or solve the problem for a long time to detect something. This study used a unique hybrid model called MVMD-LWLR, which introduced an innovative method for forecasting BOD in the Klang River, Malaysia. The hybrid model combines a locally weighted linear regression (LWLR) model with a wavelet-based kernel function, along with multivariate variational mode decomposition (MVMD) for the decomposition of input variables. In addition, categorical boosting (Catboost) feature selection was used to discover and extract significant input variables. This combination of MVMD-LWLR and Catboost is the first use of such a complete model for predicting BOD levels in the given river environment. In addition, an optimization process was used to improve the performance of the model. This process utilized the gradient-based optimization (GBO) approach to fine-tune the parameters and better the overall accuracy of predicting BOD levels. To assess the robustness of the proposed method, we compared it to other popular models such as kernel ridge (KRidge) regression, LASSO, elastic net, and gaussian process regression (GPR). Several metrics, comprising root-mean-square error (RMSE), R (correlation coefficient), U95% (uncertainty coefficient at 95% level), and NSE (Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency), as well as visual interpretation, were used to evaluate the predictive efficacy of hybrid models. Extensive testing revealed that, in forecasting the BOD parameter, the MVMD-LWLR model outperformed its competitors. Consequently, for BOD forecasting, the suggested MVMD-LWLR optimized with the GBO algorithm yields encouraging and reliable results, with increased forecasting accuracy and minimal error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deciphering the targets of microRNAs (miRNAs) in plants is crucial for comprehending their function and the variation in phenotype that they cause. As the highly cell-specific nature of miRNA regulation, recent computational approaches usually utilize expression data to identify the most physiologically relevant targets. Although these methods are effective, they typically require a large sample size and high-depth sequencing to detect potential miRNA-target pairs, thereby limiting their applicability in improving plant breeding. In this study, we propose a novel miRNA-target prediction framework named kmerPMTF (k-mer-based prediction framework for plant miRNA-target). Our framework effectively extracts the latent semantic embeddings of sequences by utilizing k-mer splitting and a deep self-supervised neural network. We construct multiple similarity networks based on k-mer embeddings and employ graph convolutional networks to derive deep representations of miRNAs and targets and calculate the probabilities of potential associations. We evaluated the performance of kmerPMTF on four typical plant datasets: Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, Solanum lycopersicum, and Prunus persica. The results demonstrate its ability to achieve AUPRC values of 84.9%, 91.0%, 80.1%, and 82.1% in 5-fold cross-validation, respectively. Compared with several state-of-the-art existing methods, our framework achieves better performance on threshold-independent evaluation metrics. Overall, our study provides an efficient and simplified methodology for identifying plant miRNA-target associations, which will contribute to a deeper comprehension of miRNA regulatory mechanisms in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in municipal solid waste in developing areas, as demonstrated by the Fez landfill, has led to the production of leachate with alarmingly high levels of pollutants, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive analysis and advanced treatment methods. This study uncovered exceptionally high concentrations of organic and inorganic substances, as well as heavy metals in the leachate, with chemical oxygen demand (COD) reaching 57,100 mg/L, biochemical oxygen demand (BODs) at 39.400 mg/L, and a significant presence of iron (Fe) at 1,370 mg/L, underscoring the extreme contamination levels. Importantly, this research introduced a notable contribution to the field by calculating a leachate pollution index (LPI) of 88.8, a figure considerably exceeding the limits considered safe for environmental discharge. The results of the current study complement the already existing information about the critical environmental threat posed by the leachate, emphasizing the necessity for extensive treatment prior to release into the environment. The study insights are crucial for developing effective strategies to reduce the risks to aquatic ecosystems and public health, as well as for guiding policy and practice in waste management in developing regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the problem of low accuracy of construction schedule prediction in location-based management systems (LBMS), this paper adopts Harmony Search Algorithm (HS) to optimize the weights and thresholds of BP neural networks. By integrating practical construction information, an LBMS framework based on HS-BP neural networks is constructed to accurately predict the construction schedule. Finally, the prediction accuracy of HS-BP neural network is verified by taking the construction schedule of roof slab formwork of Guangzhou Guanglianda South China Headquarters Base Project as an example. The flow line of the actual and predicted schedules of the beam slab are also drawn to illustrate the reliability of the LBMS framework based on HS-BP neural network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the versatility of thermophilic esterase for treating raw papermaking whitewater with organic solvents at high temperatures. Thermophilic esterase from a metagenomic library was immobilized on a chitosan/macroporous resin composite carrier using a covalent crosslinking approach in conjunction with deep eutectic solvent (DES). The stability and tolerance of the immobilized thermophilic esterase were greatly enhanced by DES. Immobilized thermophilic esterase resulted in significant 85.35% and 88.02% reductions in the average particle size and pitch deposit contents, respectively. Furthermore, clear decreases in turbidity, chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand were found, indicating an optimal treatment outcome for all the commercial enzymes that were examined. The superior efficacy of thermophilic esterase in the treatment of raw whitewater was found to be due to the effective removal of colloidal substances such as polyvinyl acetate. Therefore, this research had significant potential for the enzymatic treatment of raw whitewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]