Sugarcane plays a crucial role in global sugar and ethanol production. Conventionally, sugar-cane propagation involves planting billets. However, Brazilian researchers have introduced the innovative pre-sprouted seedlings (PSS) method, widely used in the MEIOSI (Simultaneously Occurring Interrotational Method) system. Although MPB has several advantages over the con-ventional method, its sensitivity to water scarcity is a challenge. The study aimed to evaluate the survival and growth of PSS inoculated with Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis under differ-ent water regimes. The experiment was conducted in the field in a randomized block in strips (split-block) using a 2×4 factorial scheme consisting of two inoculation conditions (with and without bacteria) and four water regimes (0%, 33%, 66%, and 100% of the ideal irrigation). The bacteria increased the PSS's survival and water use efficiency in the field. In addition, inocula-tion increased root and shoot growth, as well as the nutrient uptake such as N, P, Mn, Zn, and Cu, which resulted in a higher number of stalks per meter and, therefore, a higher multiplica-tion rate in the MEIOSI system. Inoculation proved to be a promising alternative for establishing PSS under water restriction.

Melon pest management relies on the excessive application of pesticides. Reducing pesticide spraying has become a global issue for environmental sustainability and human health. Therefore, developing a new cropping system that is sustainable and eco-friendly is important. This study found that melon seedlings irrigated with ultrafine water containing H2 and O2 (UFW) produced more root hairs, increased shoot height, and produced more flowers than the control irrigated with reverse osmosis (RO) water. Surprisingly, we also discovered that UFW irrigation significantly reduced aphid infestation in melon. Based on cryo-scanning electron microscope (cryo-SEM) observations, UFW treatment enhanced trichome development and prevented aphid infestation. To investigate whether it was H2 or O2 that helped to deter insect infestation, we prepared UF water enrichment of H2 (UF+H2) and O2 (UF+O2) separately and irrigated melons. Cryo-SEM results indicated that both UF+H2 and UF+O2 can increase the density of trichomes in melon leaves and petioles. RT-qPCR showed that UF+H2 significantly increased the gene expression level of the trichome-related gene GLABRA2 (GL2). We planted melons in a plastic greenhouse and irrigated them with ultrafine water enrichment of hydrogen (UF+H2) and oxygen (UF+O2). The SPAD value, photosynthetic parameters, root weight, fruit weight, and fruit sweetness were all better than the control without ultrafine water irrigation. UFW significantly increased trichome development, enhanced insect resistance, and improved fruit traits. This system thus provides useful water management for pest control and sustainable agricultural production.

Natural radioactivity of 238U, 232Th and 40K for liquid and solid samples collected from Sidi Salem dam (Tunisia) and Aïn Dalia dam (Algeria) were measured using TERRA detector of rays (gam-ma, beta, and alpha), Atomic adsorption and Gamma-ray spectrometry were used to analyze the levels of radionuclides and toxic heavy metals, respectively. Toxic heavy metals (Fe, Bb, Zn, Ni, Cu, Cr and Cd) and associated health risks in surface water and sediment of dams have been in-vestigated in this present study. The radioactivity mean rates in the water samples were 1.72±0.01, 0.068±0.01 and 94.6±1.04 Bql-1 for 238U, 232Th and 40K respectively (Tunisia dam) and were 1.9± 0.24, 0.09±0.01 and 131.43±1.03 Bql-1 for 238U, 232Th and 40K respectively (Algeria dam). The 238U, 232Th and 40K radioactivity mean concentration measured in the sediment samples were 2.67±0.01, 0.18±0.012 and 197.87±2.01 Bqkg-1 respectively (Tunisian dam) and were 4.34±0.05, 0.27±0.05 and 287.61±3.34 Bqkg-1 respectively (Algeria dam). The activity concentration of 40K was higher than that of 238U and 232Th for the water and sediment samples. The mean activity concen-trations follow the order 40K > 238U > 232Th. The cumulative impact can be a serious immediate radiological health burden on the ecosystem, environment and people's health in this study area and can be transposable to any other similar region. The good knowledge of monitoring quality and quantity for the transboundary water resources and the international collaborations are es-sential to safeguard human health (women’s breasts cancer, thyroid cancer, neurological im-pact…), and avoid the conflicts, especially during these climatic upheavals of drought.

The widespread use of the herbicide glyphosate has resulted in the global presence of its degra-dation product, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), in the global environment. AMPA is commonly found in water bodies, including freshwater systems. We investigated the effects of chronic and acute AMPA exposure on the survivorship, regenerative abilities, and locomotion of the brown planarian (Girardia tigrina), a water-dwelling flatworm commonly found in freshwa-ter ecosystems. We exposed planarians to two concentrations of AMPA, consistent with the high and low ranges of concentrations observed in US water systems. We measured endpoints includ-ing survivorship, regenerative abilities of head and tail segments, eyespot regeneration, and swimming speed. Compared to the control group, we found that planarians chronically exposed to AMPA exhibited (1) modestly reduced survivorship while regenerating and (2) slower regen-eration from the tail segment. No significant differences were observed in intact body growth during chronic exposure. Our findings highlight the potential ecological impacts of AMPA con-tamination on planarian populations. Understanding the effects of AMPA exposure on planarians contributes to our understanding of the ecological consequences of glyphosate use in freshwater ecosystems.

Modern lifestyle has increased our utilization of pollutants such as heavy metals, aromatic compounds, and contaminants of emerging concern including pharmaceutical and personal products and other materials that may have an important environmental impact. Especially, the ultimate results of intense use of highly stable materials, such as heavy metals and chemical restudies are that they turn into waste materials which, when discharged, accumulate in the environment water bodies. In this context, the present review presents application of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in electrochemiluminescent (ECL) sensing for water pollutant detection. MOF composites applied as innovative luminophore or luminophore carriers, materials for electrode modification and enhancement of co-reaction in ECL sensors have enabled sensitive monitoring of some most common contaminants of emerging concern such as heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals and cyanotoxins. Moreover, we provide future trends and prospects associated with ECL MOF-composites for environmental sensing.

The Cantareira Water Producer System (CWPS), which supplies water to the most populous Brazilian region, Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MRSP), faces significant challenges due to climate change, threatening its water security. Climate change affects the hydrological cycle affecting water availability. The CWPS is vulnerable to periods of scarcity and instability due to increased climatic variability and increasing water consumption. Current water resource management systems do not consider the impacts of climate change, making it difficult to ensure water security in the future. This study analyzes the impact of climate change on the availability of CWPS using hydrological modeling approach with forecast precipitation data by CMIP6 and assessment of existing systems. The finds will provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by CWPS in the context of climate change, as well as support strategies and adaptive measures to ensure water security for MRSP.

The increase in carbon dioxide emissions has a significant impact on human society and the global environment. As the most abundant and cheap C1 resource, the conversion and utilization of carbon dioxide has received extensive attention from researchers. In many methods of carbon dioxide conversion and utilization, the reverse water gas conversion reaction is considered to be one of the most effective ways. In this paper, the research progress of reverse water gas conversion reaction in recent years is introduced.

This paper presents an investigation of the oxidation of Alloy X-750 containing 5% Fe in a simulated boiling water reactor (BWR) environment. To mimic the conditions in which the bare metal is exposed to the reactor water the samples were not pre-oxidized. The specimens were exposed for durations ranging from 2 to 840 hours, and the development of the oxide microstructure was mainly studied using electron microscopy. The results showed that the oxide scale consisted of blocky crystals of trevorite on top of a porous inner layer rich in Ni and Cr. After the longest exposure time, the trevorite crystals completely covered the specimen surface. The study further revealed that the speed at which the oxide grew and the metal dissolved both decreased with time. Additionally, the metal thinning process was found to be sub-parabolic. Given the significant variation in iron content in the X-750 specification, the influence of this element on the material's corrosion performance in BWR was examined by comparing the results from this investigation with those from previous work on material containing 8 wt% Fe. The study demonstrated that the oxide growth, metal dissolution and metal thinning were slower in the material with higher Fe content, indicating the importance of this element in limiting the degradation of Alloy X-750 in BWR environments.

Water electrolysis is a compelling technology for the production of environmentally-friendly hydrogen, minimizing carbon emissions. The electrolysis process of water heavily relies on the effective and steady oxygen evolution reaction (OER) taking place at the anode. Herein, we in-troduce a highly promising catalyst for OER called CoSe2@NiFeOOH arrays, which are supported on a nickel foam. This catalyst, referred to as CoSe2@NiFeOOH/NF, is fabricated through a two-step process involving the selenidation of a Co-based porous metal organic framework and subsequent electrochemical deposition on a nickel foam. The CoSe2@NiFeOOH/NF catalyst demonstrates outstanding activity for the OER in an alkaline electrolyte. It exhibits a low over-potential (η) of 254 mV at 100 mA cm−2, a small Tafel slope of 73 mV dec−1, and excellent high stability. The high performance of CoSe2@NiFeOOH/NF can be attributed to the combination of the high conductivity of the inner layer and the synergistic effect between CoSe2 and NiFeOOH. This study offers an effective method for the fabrication of highly efficient catalysts for the OER.

With the realization of the Grand Canal's full water supply and the strong pursuit of green and low-carbon transportation in contemporary society, the value of the Grand Canal's water transport has been further affirmed, and its coordinated development with other transportation modes has become inevitable and important. This paper analyzes and combs through the characteristics, development status and existing problems of Grand Canal water transport and other transport modes in depth, and takes Jiangsu as an example. A collaboration model of Grand Canal water transport and other transport modes was built and their collaboration degree has been calculated. It is believed that the coordinated development of Grand Canal water transport and other transport modes can be greatly promoted via four aspects: optimizing the construction and governance of Grand Canal water transport, building an integrated management platform of transport modes, improving the integrated transport network structure, and promoting the deep integration of integrated shipping and tourism.

An attempt has been made to explore the relative contributions of moisture feedback processes on tropical intraseasonal oscillation or Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO). We focused on moisture feedback processes, including evaporation wind feedback (EWF) and moisture convergence feedback (MCF), which integrates the mechanisms of convective interactions in the tropical atmosphere. The dynamical framework considered here is a moisture-coupled, single-layer linear shallow-water model on an equatorial beta-plane with zonal momentum damping. With this simple approach, we aimed to recognize the minimal physical mechanisms responsible for the existence of the essential dispersive characteristics of the MJO, including its eastward propagation(k>0), the planetary-scale (small zonal wavenumbers) instability, and the slow phase speed of about ≈ 5 m/sec. Further, we extended our study to determine each feedback mechanism’s influence on the simulated eastward dispersive mode. Our model emphasized that the MJO-like eastward mode is a possible outcome of the combined effect of moisture feedback processes without requiring additional complex mechanisms such as cloud radiative feedback and boundary layer dynamics. The results substantiate the importance of EWF as an energy source for developing eastward moisture mode with a planter-scale instability. Moreover, our model endorses that the MCF alone could not produce instability without surface fluxes, although it has a significant role in developing deep convection. It is found that the MCF exhibits a damping mechanism by regulating the frequency and growth rate of the eastward moisture mode at shorter wavelengths.

This study was investigate the possible hydrological impact of climate change in stream flow of Arba River based on the downscaled precipitation and temperature data at West Harerghe Zone, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia. The case study, Arba River is one of the tributaries of Awash River Basin and the catchment of the river at Bordode flow gauging station covers around 72 square kilometers. Dynamically downscaled Regional Climate Model (RCM) HIRHAM derived by ICHEC-EC-EARTH global climate model under two scenarios RCP 4.5 and 8.5 was used in this study. The future time periods are divided into two time horizons with equal length of time as the base line period 2021–2050 and 2051–2080. For both projected periods relatively the minimum average monthly percentage change in precipitation will be happened from May to October under RCP4.5 except August and from March to October under RCP8.5. The variation under RCP4.5 is relatively high when compared to RCP8.5. The average monthly per-centage of flow increment may vary from (7.6 to 81.8) for 2021-2050 and (22.3 to 107.8) for 2051-2080 under RCP4.5. Under RCP8.5 scenario, from July to January except the December for 2021-2050, simulated flow is expected to increase while from February to June decreases for both time horizons. Generally, the change of simulated flow under both scenarios and both near and far time period is follows the pattern of precipitation. However, the flow change will have less variation than the precipitation change.

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is widely used as a plasticizer in the production of polymeric materials to give them flexibility, strength and extensibility. However, due to its negative impact on human health, in particular, reproductive function and fetal development, the content of DBP must be controlled in food and environmental objects. The present study aims to develop a sensitive, fast and simple polarization fluorescent immunoassay (FPIA) using monoclonal antibodies derived against DBP (MAb-DBP) for its detection in open waters. New conjugates of DBP with various fluorescein derivatives were obtained and characterized: 5-aminomethylfluorescein (AMF) and dichlorotriazinylaminofluorescein (DTAF). The advantages of using the DBP-AMF conjugate in the FPIA method are shown, the kinetics of binding of this drug with antibodies is studied, the analysis is optimized, and the concentration of monoclonal antibodies is selected for sensitive analysis - 16 nM. The calibration dependence of the fluorescence polarization signal for the detection of DBP was obtained. The observed IC50 (40 ng/mL) and LOD (10 ng/mL) values were improved by a factor of 35 for the previously described FPIA using polyclonal antibodies. This technique was tested by the added/found method, the percentage of DBP discovery in water ranged from 85 to 110%. Using the developed method, real water samples from Lake Onega were tested, and a good correlation was shown between the results of the determination of DBP by the FPIA method and GC-MS/MS. Thus, the FPIA method developed in this work can be used to determine DBP in open water reservoirs.

Climate change is a threat to mining and other industries, especially those involving water supply and management by inducing or amplifying some climatic parameters such as changes in precipitation regimes and temperature extremes. Using the latest NASA NEX-GDDP-CMIP6 datasets, this study quantifies the level of climate change that may affect the development of two mine sites (Site1 and Site2) in northeast Kazakhstan. The study analyses the daily precipitation and maximum and minimum temperature a of a number of global circulation models (GCM) over three future time periods, 2040s, 2060s and 2080s, under two shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenarios, SSP245 and SSP585, against the baseline period 1981- 2014. The analyses revealed that: (1) Both maximum and minimum temperature will increase under both SSP in those time periods, with the rate of change for minimum temperature being higher than maximum temperature. (2) The mean annual precipitation will increase by an average rate of 7% and 10.5% in 2040s for SSP245 and 17.5% and 7.5% for SSP585 in 2080s at Site1 and Site2, respectively. It is also observed that summer months will experience drier condition whilst all other months will increase in precipitation. (3) The values of 24-hour precipitation with 10-year return period will also increase under both SSP scenarios and future time periods for most of the studied GCM and at both mine sites. These predicted changes should be considered as design criteria adjustments for project water supply and water management structures.

This paper evaluated the quality and suitability of surface water in the Vaalharts area, South Africa, for human consumption, drinking, and irrigation purposes. Water quality constituents include water pH, EC, TDS, HCO3-, Cl-, SO4, Mg, Ca, k, Na, NO3, F, Fe, PO4, As, Al, Mn, Cr, Cu, Zn, B, Cd, Hg, Pb, N, Sb, Se, and the biological parameter included E. coli along surface waters as well as canals and dams. Sodium Adsorption Ratio, Sodium Percentage, Permeability Index, Residual Sodium Carbonate, Kelley’s Ratio, Magnesium Hazard, and Potential salinity irrigation water parameters indicated that the majority of the water samples are suitable for irrigation. The water quality index values showed that the majority of the samples are unsuitable for drinking but suitable for irrigation and industrial uses. E. coli in the surface water samples in the study area show unsafe water quality with high and very high risk for human health. Based on the classifying criterion of the Heavy Metal Pollution Index and Heavy Metal Evaluation Index, all the water samples are above the critical limit, therefore, unsuitable for human consumption. The carcinogenic risk (CR) concentrations of As, Cr and Cd were above the target risk.

In this paper, applicability of the modified water-based yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) suspensions, including different dispersants, to produce plasma sprayed coatings with “columnar microstructure” is investigated. The effects of processing parameters like suspension liquid phase ethanol content, change of substrate roughness, and spray distance on the resulting coatings morphologies are investigated. The results showed that increasing ethanol concentration, substrate surface roughness, and the spray distance promote formation of coatings with columnar structure. Moreover, application of modified water-based suspensions including α-Terpineol dispersant has led to deposition of columnar coatings with comparable morphologies of coatings deposited from ethanol-based suspensions.

Pipe leakage is an inevitable phenomenon in water distribution networks (WDNs), leading to energy waste and economic damage. Leakage events can be reflected quickly by pressure values, and the deployment of pressure sensors is significant for minimizing the leakage ratio of WDNs. Concerning the restriction of realistic factors, including project budgets, available sensor installation locations, and sensor fault uncertainties, a practical methodology is proposed in this paper to optimize pressure sensor deployment for leak identification in terms of these realistic issues. Two indexes are identified to evaluate the leak identification ability, that is, detection coverage rate (DCR) and total detection sensitivity (TDS), and the principle is to determine priority to ensure an optimal DCR and retain the largest TDS with an identical DCR. Leakage events are generated by a model simulation and the essential sensors for maintaining the DCR are obtained by subtraction. In the event of a surplus budget, and if we suppose the partial sensors have failed, then we can determine the supplementary sensors that can best complement the lost leak identification ability. Moreover, a typical WDN Net3 is employed to show the specific progress, and the result shows that the methodology is largely appropriate for real projects.

Climate change is an issue that is the order of the day, and among the many consequences it has on the environment one is its influence on the amount and frequency of rainfall on our planet, since our water supply depends on them. Therefore, in order to quantify these effects, a rainfall analysis has been carried out using data collected in Bilbao over the last 150 years. Thanks to this, it has been possible to observe that, although the total annual amount seems to suffer a slight decrease, hardly quantifiable with certainty, it is true that the intra-annual patterns are more concentrated at certain times of the year, with greater imbalances between one month and another than in previous years. However, taking into account the capacity of the reservoirs that supply the Greater Bilbao area, it can be concluded that this does not pose any problem for Bilbao's supply, at least at present.

Recharge is a crucial section of water balance for both surface and subsurface models in water resource assessment. However, quantifying its spatiotemporal distribution at a regional scale poses a significant challenge. Empirical and numerical modeling are the most commonly used methods at the watershed scales. However, integrated model inherently contain a vast number of unknowns and uncertainties, which can limit their accuracy and reliability. In this work, we have proposed integrated SWAT-MODFLOW and Transient Water Table Fluctuation Method (TWTFM) to evaluate the spatiotemporal distribution of groundwater recharge in Anyang wa-tershed, South Korea. Since TWTFM also uses SWAT model percolation output data, calibration was performed for individual models and coupled model. The coupled model was calibrated using daily streamflow and hydraulic head. SWAT-MODFLOW model performed well during the simulation of streamflow compared SWAT model. The study output showed that the study watershed had significant groundwater recharge variations during the simulated period. A sig-nificant amount of recharge happens in the wet season. It contributes about 34% of the average annual precipitation of the region. The direct flow components (surface and lateral) showed sig-nificant contributions when the water balance components were evaluated in the region. TWTFM showed a glimpse to estimate recharge, which requires representative monitoring wells in the study region. Comprehensively, the SWAT-MODFLOW model estimated groundwater recharge with reasonable accuracy in the region.

The use of plant growth-promoting bacteria can be one option for mitigating the impact of abiotic constraints on different cropping systems in the tropical semi-arid region. The aim of this study was to evaluate growth, leaf gas exchange and yield in maize inoculated with Bacillus aryabhattai, and subjected to water and salt stress. The experiment followed a randomised block design, in a split plot arrangement, with six repetitions. The plots comprised two levels of electrical conductivity for the irrigation water (ECw): 0.3 dS m-1 and 3.0 dS m-1; the subplots consisted of three irrigation depths (ID1: 50%, ID2: 75%, and ID3: 100% of the crop evapotranspiration (ETc)); while the sub-subplots included the presence or absence of Bacillus aryabhattai inoculant. A water deficit of 50% of the ETc resulted in the principal negative effects on growth, reducing the leaf area and stem diameter. The use of Bacillus aryabhattai mitigated salt stress and promoted better leaf gas exchange by increasing the CO2 assimilation rate, stomatal conductance, and internal CO2 concentration. However, irrigation with brackish water (3.0 dS m-1) reduced the instantaneous water use efficiency of the maize. Inoculation partially reduced the effects of abiotic stress due to morpho-physiological traits, and increased yield potential under water deficit with no salt stress.

Circular Economy (CE) is noted as an emerging tool or framework to support sustainable production and consumption agenda. In addition, CE is aiming to be a trigger for redefining economic growth pathways to be sustainable, inclusive, and sensitive to ecological and environmental agendas and to focus its operational standards on co-creating societal benefits. Concerning the guiding principles and the standards of practice applied to implement and scale circular economy, this study will provide an overview of the water sector-specific circularity roadmaps and strategies in the Latin American Region. By using a semi-systematic review, document analysis, and qualitative assessment approach, we highlight framings and operational pathways, gaps, and needs within existing practices of circularity in the water sector. The results provide an overview of CE pathways at the national level of selected countries in LAR iterating those nations reflect various levels of advancement (low to high) with CE-focused innovations and policy support structures specific to the water and wastewater sectors. Towards the closing, the study is pointing to the ‘call for action’ to integrate outstanding advances and innovations in the circular economy within sectoral mandates for water and wastewater management, making an argument that circularity in the water sector could serve as an accelerator toward implementing the agenda outlined in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in particular for SDG 6 (water security for all).

Drought stress on soybean is a research-demanding matter for negative influence that agricultural drought brings about. This study was designated to evaluate the effect of drought stress on some gene expression in flowering and pod elongation stages in soybean. This experiment was carried out in split-plot format with RCBD design with four replicates. Drought stress as the main factor included three levels (irrigation after 50, 100, and 150 millimeters evaporation from the A-class evaporation pot) of which 50 millimeters evaporation is considered as control. The sub-factor included a factorial combination of 3 varieties (DPX, Sari and WE6) and two sampling stages (flowering and pod elongation). The gene expression analysis was carried out by using the QRT-PCR technique. According to our results, all genes have shown overexpression in drought stress despite this result was not the same for all genotypes and stress levels. Some genes have up-regulated in mediate stress (treatment 100) level (like as Gmdreb 2, Gmdreb 5, GmRD20A, GmaxACD2) and other genes up-regulated in serve stress (treatment 150) level. Between genotypes, DPX cultivar and WE6 line were better than of the sari cultivar for all genes up-regulated.

Sediment thickness increases can cause floodplains and the water level increases. This has the potential to generate a flood. Using electromagnetic waves, Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) detected resistivity or conductivity contrast of lithology in the subsurface. It is measured in the time domain. TDEM method has been developing for decades. Here we tried to develop a 1-D forward modelling program for central loop configuration in the water environment using the Adaptive Born Forward Mapping (ABFM) method. We simulated this program in several water environment conditions (such as freshwater, brackish water and saline water) to know its response. Preventing natural hazards, especially flood hazards which are caused by the floodplain increases is our motivation in this research. Our simulation shows that Central-Loop Configuration Time-Domain Electromagnetic Method is able for imaging the sediment thickness clearly. The response of this method is extremely sensitive in saline water to depth changing than in other water environments.

Situbondo is one of the best mango producer city with a distinctive mango taste compared to other regions in East Java. Mango production in Situbondo in 2015 reached 222,471 quintals. One of the damage to post-harvest mango products is due to anthracnose disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of hot water treatment in inhibiting anthracnose disease and maintaining the quality of mangoes. The study was conducted at the Plant Clinical Laboratory in January 2019 at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jember. The study design used was a completely randomized design with two factors, namely washing temperature (59 ± 1 ° C, 53 ± 1 °C, normal water temperature) and storage temperature (15.1 ± 1 ° C and 18.1 ± 1 ° C). Washing with a temperature of 53 ± 1 ° C can be used to clean fruit. Treatment with low temperature (15.1 ± 1 ° C and 18.1 ± 1 ° C) resulted in inhibiting changes in weight loss, fruit hardness, acid content (total titrated acid), and total dissolved solids while another treatment, 53 ± 1 ° C washing temperature with storage temperature 15.1 ± 1 ° C gives a good appearance that suppress the development of anthracnose, and inhibit fruit discoloration.

With the influences of climate change and human activities, the resources and environment of “One Belt and One Road” are facing severe problems and challenges. This study aims to analyze the temporal and spatial dynamics of the drought environment and the response of vegetation cover to the drought by using drought indicators. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) drought severity index (GRACE-DSI) and GRACE water storage deficit index (GRACE-WSDI), were calculated to present hydrological drought. Moreover, based on GRACE, Water-Global Assessment and Prognosis (WaterGAP) model, and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) data, the groundwater in Central Asia was retrieved to calculate the groundwater drought index called the GRACE Standardized Groundwater Level Index (GRACE-SGI). The results show that the annual precipitation in Central Asia increased slightly at a rate of 0.39 mm/year (p = 0.82) since 2000, while the temperature increased slightly at a rate of 0.05 ℃/year (p = 0.10). The water storage decreased significantly at -0.59 mm/year (p <0.01) and experienced a decrease-increase-decrease process. During the study period, the arid situation in Central Asia deteriorated, especially in the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea basin. From 2007 to 2015, the Central Asian environment was generally arid and suffered from different du-rations and degrees of hydrological and groundwater droughts. The drought indicators (i.e., GRACE-DSI, GRACE-WSDI) and the NDVI showed a significantly positive correlation during the growing season. However, the NDVI of cultivated land and grassland distribution areas in Central Asia showed a strong negative correlation with GRACE-SGI. It is concluded that the drought environment in Central Asia affected the growth of vegetation. The continued deterioration of the arid situation may further stress the ecological system in Central Asia.

The present paper investigates numerically the resistance at full-scale of a zero-emission, high-speed catamaran in both deep and shallow water, with the Froude number ranging from 0.2 to 0.8. The numerical methods are validated by two means: a) comparison with available model tests; b) a blind validation using two different flow solvers. The resistance, sinkage and trim of the catamaran, as well as the wave pattern, longitudinal wave cuts and cross-flow fields, are examined. The total resistance curve in deep water shows a continuous increase with the Froude number while in shallow water, a hump is witnessed near the critical speed. This difference is mainly caused by the pressure component of total resistance, which is significantly affected by the interaction between the wave systems created by the demihulls. The pressure resistance in deep water is maximised at a Froude number around 0.58, whereas the peak in shallow water is achieved near the critical speed (Froude number ≈ 0.3). Insight into the underlying physics is obtained by analysing the wave creation between the demihulls. Profoundly different wave patterns within the inner region are observed in deep and shallow water. Specifically, in deep water, both crests and troughs are generated and moved astern as the increase of the Froude number. The maximum pressure resistance is accomplished when the secondary trough is created at the stern, leading to the largest trim angle. In contrast, the catamaran generates a critical wave normal to the advance direction in shallow water, which significantly elevates the bow and creates the highest trim angle as well as pressure resistance. Moreover, significant wave elevations are observed between the demihulls at supercritical speeds in shallow water which may affect the decision for the location of the wet deck.

Cyanides, though naturally occurring, are environmental pollutants when not treated properly. Some methods used to attenuate cyanides in waste waters from industrial processes are based simply on changing the physico-chemical properties of the waste water such as the pH and temperature. The effectiveness of these methods are based on hydrolysis of the cyanide and volatilization of the hydrogen cyanide formed. Another reaction which takes place simultaneously is ultraviolet-catalysed oxidation which converts the cyanide to bicarbonates and carbonates.The changes in the cyanide degradation rate approaches a minimum faster if the cyanide solution is maintained at a higher than ambient constant temperature.

Objective: To study the changes in urine metabolism in female water polo players before and after high-intensity training by using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and to explore the biometabolic characteristics of urine after training and competition. Methods: Twelve young female water polo players (except goalkeepers) from Shanxi Province were selected. A 4-week formal training was started after one week of acclimatization according to experimental requirements. Urine samples (5 ml) were collected before formal training, early morning after 4 weeks of training, and immediately after 4 weeks of training matches, and labeled as T1, T2, and T3, respectively. The samples were tested by LC-MS after pre-treatment. XCMS, SIMCA-P 14.1, and SPSS16.0 were used to process the data and identify differential metabolites. Results: On comparing the immediate post-competition period with the pre-training period (T3 vs T1), 24 differential metabolites involved in 16 metabolic pathways were identified, among which niacin and niacinamide metabolism and purine metabolism were potential post-competition urinary metabolic pathways in the untrained state of the athletes. On comparing the immediate post-competition period with the post-training period (T3 vs T2), 10 metabolites involved in 3 metabolic pathways were identified, among which niacin and niacinamide metabolism was a potential target urinary metabolic pathway for the athletes after training. Niacinamide, 1-methylnicotinamide, 2-pyridone, L-Gln, AMP, and Hx were involved in two metabolic pathways before and after the training. Conclusion: Differential changes in urine after water polo games are due changes in the metabolic pathways of niacin and niacinamide.

Lake Chapala is a natural ecosystem of Mexico, declared Ramsar site, currently, is an area with importance in the agricultural sector, tourism, and important source of drinking water in the Metropolitan area of Guadalajara, considered as a thermo regulatory body. This study used tools such as Rhtest, as well as analyzing extreme climate indices using RClimdex. In addition, the relationship with the change in water surface of Lake Chapala was assessed through the NDWI index, using Landsat images, between 1985 and 2018. According to the obtained results, the signs of climatic variability are detected in the study region, which, directly affects the basin runoff and water levels in the lake, as well as, the factor of water overexploitation in the basin, so it is considered that the lake conditions mostly depend on the type of management that is given to the resource. Finally, the results will help the understanding of climate variability and its water resources influence of the Lerma Chapala basin, which will assist in future research.

The Umbulan Water Supply Project is categorized by the Shipping Infrastructure Acceleration Committee in the list of Accelerated National Strategic Projects through Presidential Regulation Number 3 of 2016 concerning the Acceleration of the Implementation of National Strategic Projects, targeted to operate in mid-2019. This is what will be the focus of the stakeholders of the Umbulan Water Supply Project. This study was to identifying and analyzing networks among stakeholders. Method: This study used a qualitative approach with exploratory methods combined with meta-analysis identification design Identification of stakeholder mapping in the context of early detection of stakeholder involvement in the implementation of the Umbulan Water Supply Project at various levels starting from the National, Provincial (East Java), District/City (Pasuruan, Sidoarjo, Surabaya, to Gresik), Sub-District (Winongan, Gondang Wetan, and Pohtjentrek). The conclusion of this study was based on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions in describing the determination of stakeholders which were divided into two, namely primary stakeholder and secondary stakeholder, and outline the result of the indicators analysis on the stakeholder network of Umbulan Water Supply Project.

The great importance of estimating dissolved oxygen (DO) dictates utilizing proper evaluative models. In this work, a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) network is trained by three capable metaheuristic algorithms, namely multi-verse optimizer (MVO), black hole algorithm (BHA), and shuffled complex evolution (SCE) for predicting the DO using the data of the Klamath River Station, Oregon, US. The records (DO, water temperature, pH, and specific conductance) belonging to the water years 2015 - 2018 (USGS) are used for pattern analysis. The results of this process showed that all three hybrid models could properly infer the DO behavior. However, the BHA and SCE accomplished this task by simpler configurations. Next, the generalization ability of the developed patterns is tested using the data of the 2019 water year. Referring to the calculated mean absolute errors of 1.0161, 1.1997, and 1.0122, as well as Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.8741, 0.8453, and 0.8775, the MLPs trained by the MVO and SCE perform better than the BHA. Therefore, these two hybrids (i.e., the MLP-MVO and MLP-SCE) can be satisfactorily used for future applications.

Water and water habitats are essential to life and to the wellness of the communities that rely on them, as the Danube river is subject to human impact and vice versa, periodic surveys are required to determine the status of its pollution levels. In this work we used known microbiological indicators as well as physico-chemical ones to assess the ecotoxicological status of the Danube river from eleven locations partially forming the “Romanian–Bulgarian Danube Sector”. Most of the microbial communities found, and their densities, could be explained by point and diffuse sources scattered along the sector such as discharged household and farm wastewater, as well as nearby agricultural areas where fertilizers have been used and then leaked in the water stream during rainfalls. However, microbial data on non-point sources that lead to diffuse pollution of surface waters could be linked to such parameters and furthermore shown a slight correlation with the current status of fish communities.

In this article we report the first investigation over time of the atmospheric conditions around TGFs occurrence, using GPS sensors in combination with geostationary satellite observations and ERA5 reanalyses data. The goal is to understand which characteristics are favourable to the development of these events and to investigate if any precursor signals can be expected. A total of 9 TGFs, occurred at a distance lower than 45 km from a GPS sensor, were analysed and two of them are shown here as an example analysis. Moreover, the lightning activity, collected by the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) was used in order to identify any links and correlations with TGF occurrence and PWV trends. The combined use of GPS and the stroke rate trends identified, for all cases, a recurred pattern in which an increase of PWV is observed on a timescale of about two hours before the TGF occurrence that can be placed within the lightning peak. The temporal relation between the PWV trend and TGF occurrence is strictly related to the position of GPS sensors in relation to TGF coordinates. The life cycle of these storms observed by geostationary sensors, described TGFs producing clouds as intense with a wide range of extensions and, in all cases, the TGF is located at the edge of the convective cell. Furthermore, the satellite data give an added value in associating the GPS water vapor trend to the convective cell generating the TGF. The investigation with ERA5 reanalyses data showed that TGFs mainly occur in convective environment with not exceptional values with respect to the monthly average value of parameters measured in the same location. Moreover the analysis showed the strong potential of the use of GPS data for the troposphere characterization in areas with complex territorial morphology. This study provided indications on the dynamics of convective systems linked to TGFs and will certainly help refine our understanding on their production highlights a potential approach through the use of GPS data to explore the lightning activity trend and the TGFs occurrence.

Carbohydrate and menthol mouth-swilling have been used to enhance exercise performance in the heat. However, these strategies differ in mechanism and subjective experience. Participants (n=12) sat for 60 min in hot conditions (35°C; 15±2%), following a 15 min control period, participants undertook three 15 min testing blocks. A randomised swill (Carbohydrate; Menthol; Water) was administered per testing block (one swill every three minutes within each block). Heart rate, tympanic temperature, thermal comfort, thermal sensation and thirst were recorded every three minutes. Data were analysed by ANOVA, with carbohydrate intake controlled for via ANCOVA. Small elevations in heart rate were observed after carbohydrate (ES: 0.22 ± 90% CI: -0.09 to 0.52) and water swilling (0.26; -0.04 to 0.54). Menthol showed small improvements in thermal comfort relative to carbohydrate (-0.33; -0.63 to 0.03) and water (-0.40; -0.70 to -0.10), and induced moderate reductions in thermal sensation (-0.71; -1.01 to -0.40 and -0.66; -0.97 to -0.35, respectively). Menthol reduced thirst by a small to moderate extent. These effects persisted when controlling for dietary carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrate and water may elevate heart rate, whereas menthol elicits small improvements in thermal comfort, moderately improves thermal sensation and may mitigate thirst; these effects persist when dietary carbohydrate intake is controlled for.

Cyanobacterial species (blue-green algae) constitute the major part of the phytoplanktonic biomass during the summer in freshwater ponds. The aim of the research work was to study the biodiversity of cyanobacteria among 20 different freshwater ponds of the Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu, India. The morphological identification of cyanobacterial species was carried out using a trinocular microscope. The results showed that the maximum number of cyanobacterial species belonged to Oscillatoriaceae, Nostocaceae, Microcystaceae, Scenedesmaceae, and Desmidiaceae families. Among 25 different families of Cyanobacteria about 42 distinct species were identified. These results showed that the freshwater ponds of the Pudukkottai district have an abundance of cyanobacteria species.

In deep geological analysis of data, these are input data that are few and include a small set of data. In a small set of case data, it is necessary to obtain reliable data of individual geological variables from this type of data. The paper analyzes the possibility of applying the bootstrap method on variables that are important in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons. The variables analyzed were the following: porosity and total costs of disposal formation water. The case study was made on the data of reservoir "K", field "B" located in the western part of the Sava Depression. The analysis of the results showed the possibility of applying the bootstrap method in the analysis of deep geological data with the application of three different sizes of resampling dataset.

Based on NCEP FNL 1°*1° analysis data and Xinjiang meteorological bureau area numerical operation prediction, a local precipitation event in southern Xinjiang on June 26 was analyzed, and the results showed that the water vapor involved in this process originated from the northwestern Gangetic Plain and was transported along the Indus River plain and over the northwestern end of the mountains. Driven by the Iranian low-pressure trough, water vapor at 500 hPa was transported across the northwestern end of the Gangdise Mountains, past Georgoli Peak, and northwest over the Kunlun Mountains to arrive in southern Xinjiang.

Three decades ago, human arsenic (As) contamination has been recognized in Ron Phibun, a sub-district with tin mining activity in southern Thailand. Since then different government bodies have attempted to mitigate the As-contamination problem by providing safe water in households. The most recent study conducted during 2000-2002 reported only a small fraction of population still had high urinary As level. Less attention has been paid to this issue afterwards. The present study aimed to re-assess the current situation, including human As contamination, water use behavior as well as identify risk factors of elevated As concentration among residents of Ron Phibun. The survey of 560 participants living in Ron Phibun with urinary As assessment was conducted. The median urinary As concentration of study participants was higher than normal. Consumption of shallow well water, a source generally considered as As-contaminated, was higher than a previous survey. A significant association was observed between urinary As concentrations and water sources for drinking and cooking. Gender and educational level were found to be associated with urinary As concentration. Significant associations between urinary As concentration and certain diseases (respiratory diseases, dermatitis, and dyslipidemia) were observed. The findings suggested further investigation of all water sources in the area for As contamination.

Remote sensing data are essential for monitoring Earth’s surface waters, especially since the number of publicly available in-situ data is declining. Satellite altimetry provides valuable information on water level and its variations for lakes, reservoirs, and rivers. In combination with satellite imagery, the derived time series allow for monitoring lake storage changes and river discharge. However, satellite altimetry is limited in spatial resolution due to its measurement geometry, only providing information in nadir direction beneath the satellite’s orbit. In a case study in the Mississippi River Basin (MRB), this study investigates the potential and the limitations of past and current satellite missions to monitor basin-wide storage changes. For that purpose an automated target detection is developed and the extracted lake surfaces are merged with the satellites’ tracks. This reveals that the current altimeter configuration misses about 80% of all lakes larger than 0.1 km2 in the MRB, and still 20% of lakes larger than 10 km2, corresponding to 30% and 7% of surface area, respectively. Past altimetry configurations perform even worse. From the water bodies represented by a global hydrology model, at least 91% of targets and 98% of storage changes are captured by the current altimeter configuration. This will significantly improve with the launch of the planned SWOT mission.

This study investigated the physical properties of section-restoration mortar with calcium nitrite and carbon dioxide (CO2) nanobubble mixing water to develop materials and methods for the repair and reinforcement of cracks in reinforced concrete (RC) structures. As the calcium nitrite content increased, the generation rate and generated amount of nitrite-based hydration products increased, owing to the rapid reaction between NO2- ions in calcium nitrite and C3A(Al2O3). Further, the reaction with C3S and C2S was accelerated, thereby increasing the generation rates of Ca(OH)2 and C-S-H. Further, the large amount of Ca2+ ions in these hydration products reacted with CO32- ions in CO2 nanobubble water, thereby increasing the generation of calcite-based CaCO3 in the cement matrix. This appears to have affected the strength development and durability improvement via the densification of the structure. These results suggest that the performance of polymer cement mortar for repairing concrete structures can be improved if calcium nitrite and CO2 nanobubble water are properly combined and applied.

Drinking water supplies in the developing world often serve as a biosphere for various organisms. Viral gastroenteritis is a neglected area of research in Pakistan, there is no data for the prevalence of enteric viruses in drinking water of the largest city of Karachi. The present study aimed to provide a survey of the existence of enteric viruses: human adenovirus (HAdV), human enteroviruses (hEV), and genotype A rotavirus (GARV) in tap water. Using a simple PCR approach, we detected 20%, 43%, and 23% of HAdV, hEV, and GARV in tap water respectively. We have also shown an overall quality of tap water at the pumping station and consumer tap. Moreover, we assessed the efficiency of small-scale water treatment methods for the removal of viruses.

A delayed crosslinked polymer gel was developed for indepth water control in mature oilfields. The thermal gelation behavior of nonionic polyacrylamide (NPAM) and PEI was investigated, and sodium citrate (NaCit) was selected as a new retarder to prolong the gelation time. The gelation performance of NPAM/PEI gel system can be adjusted by the variation of NPAM or PEI concentration, and a quadratic model was developed by statistical analysis, which predict the gelation time of NPAM/PEI gel system. The obtained model showed high significance and good reliability as suggested by the F-ratio of 175.16 and high adjusted R-square value (0.9732). The decrease of the initial pH value of gelling solution leads to the weaker gel viscosity and longer gelation time due to the protonation of amine groups on the PEI chains. Increasing temperature resulted in higher gel viscosity but shorter gelation time. The addition of NaCit showed a good delayed gelation effect on the NPAM/PEI gel system, and the gel system in the presence of NaCit exhibited a good compatibility with injected and formation water. A dense three-dimensional structure was observed in matured NPAM/PEI/NaCit gel, and it could keep stable below 150℃. The gel system could effectively reduce the permeability (>95%) and restricted the flow of water after matured in natural cores.

For some decades, the scientific community has been looking for alternatives to the use of fossil fuels that allow the planet's sustainable and environmentally friendly development. To do this, attempts have been made to mimic some processes that occur in nature, among which the photosystem-II stands out, which allows water splitting operating with different steps to generate oxygen and hydrogen. This research presents promising results using synthetic catalysts, which try to simulate some natural processes, and which are based on Au@ZnO-graphene compounds. These catalysts were prepared by incorporating different amounts of gold nanoparticles (1 wt.%, 3 wt.%, 5 wt.%, 10 wt.%) and graphene (1 wt.%) on the surface of synthesized zinc oxide nanowires (ZnO NWs), and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), along with a commercial form (commercial ZnO) for comparison purposes. The highest amount of hydrogen (1,127 µmol/hg) was reported by ZnO NWs with a gold and graphene loadings of 10 wt.% and 1 wt.%, respectively, under irradiation at 400 nm. Quantities of 759 µmol / hg and 709 µmol / hg were obtained with catalysts based on ZnO NPs and commercial ZnO, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of all composites increased with respect to the bare semiconductors, being 2.5 times higher in ZnO NWs, 8.8 times for ZnO NPs and 7.5 times for commercial ZnO. The high photocatalytic activity of the catalysts is attributed, mainly, to the synergism between the different amount of gold and graphene incorporated, and the surface area of the composites.

Results are presented concerning the influence on the water splitting process of enantiopure tartaric acid present in bulk solution. Stainless steel and electrodeposited nickel are used as working electrode (WE) surface. The latter is obtained by electrodeposition on the two poles of a magnet. The influence and role played by the chiral compound in solution has been assessed by comparing the current values, in cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiments, recorded in the potential range at which oxygen evolution reaction (OER) occurs. In the case of tartaric acid and nickel WE a spin polarization of about 4 % is found. The use of the chiral environment (bulk solution) and ferromagnetic chiral Ni electrode allows for observing the OER at a more favourable potential: about 50 mV (i.e. a cathodic, less positive, shift of the potential at which the oxygen evolution is observed).

The COVID 19 related social distancing is hypothesized can affect the environmental quality including the air and water quality. Correspondingly, this study aims to study how the reduction of activities of people living near the rivers and the coastal areas due to social distancing may decrease the discharges of materials and nutrients to the water body. The chlorophyll-a was used as bio indicators of nutrient contents related to the anthropogenic activities in the coast. The study was conducted in the Jakarta coast considering that this coast was surrounded by populated cities with total population equal to 16 million people. The chlorophyll-a was measured in mg/m³ and monitored using remote sensing data from January to April 2020 representing the period before and after the implementation of social distancing. The determinant environmental factor measured was sea surface temperature (⁰C). The study considered that there were reductions of levels and areas of chlorophyll-a in the coast. The chlorophyll-a levels were reduced from January to April (p<0.05). The chlorophyll-a levels for January, February, March, and April were 7.36 mg/m³ (95%CI: 6.34-8.37), 7.90 mg/m³ (95%CI: 7.32-8.47), 6.52 mg/m³ (95%CI: 5.37-7.66), and 4.21 mg/m³ (95%CI: 3.34-5.07) respectively. However, the differences of chlorophyll-a were not influenced by the sea surface temperature factor (p>0.05). Based on remote sensing data in January and February, the sizes of coastal areas with chlorophyll-a levels >7.00 mg/m³ were larger than areas observed in March and April. Contrarily, the coastal area sizes with low chlorophyll-a levels <5.00 mg/m³ were increasing in April. To conclude the dynamic of anthropogenic activities in coastal setting is responsible and associated with the water quality and nutrient contents as indicated by chlorophyll-a levels.

There are abundant coal, oil and natural gas resources in "Golden Triangle" energy region. Energy resources development, coal chemical industry, coal power and other industries play an important role in promoting regional economic growth, but facing the insufficient water supply. Under the condition of marginal equilibrium of water resources, the paper firstly analyzes the water utilization, and calculates the potential water-saving amount. Then, the paper constructs a cooperative game model and allocates the newly increased GDP by using the weight distribution method. Finally, the paper puts forward some policy suggestions to reduce the efficiency gap of water utilization among regions.

Water quality forecasting is increasingly significant for agricultural management and environmental protection. Enormous amounts of water quality data are increasingly being collected by advanced sensors, which leads to an interest in using data-driven models for predicting trends in water quality. However, the unpredictable background noises introduced during water quality monitoring seriously degrade the performance of those models. Meanwhile, artificial neural networks (ANN) with feed-forward architecture lack the capability of maintaining and utilizing the accumulated temporal information, which leads to biased predictions in processing time series data. Hence, we propose a water quality predictive model based on a combination of Kernal Principal Component Analysis (kPCA) and Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) to forecast the trend of dissolved oxygen. Water quality variables are reconstructed based on kPCA method, which aims to reduce the noise from the raw sensory data and preserve actionable information. With the RNN's recurrent connections, our model can make use of the previous information in predicting the trend in the future. Data collected from Burnett River, Australia was applied to evaluate our kPCA-RNN model. The kPCA-RNN model achieved R2 scores up to 0.908, 0.823 and 0.671 for predicting the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the upcoming 1, 2 and 3 hours, respectively. Compared to current data-driven methods like ANN and SVR, the predictive accuracy of the kPCA-RNN model was at least 8 %, 17 % and 21 % better than the comparative models in these 3 cases. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of the kPAC-RNN modeling technique in predicting water quality variables with noisy sensory data.

China is not only short of fresh water resources per capita, but also faces a serious problem of water pollution in recent years, with 190 million people suffering from excessive levels of harmful substances in their drinking water. Such as arsenic poisoning and fluorosis and other endemic water diseases high incidence. As a series of water pollution prevention plan of action by the Chinese government announced that, this paper uses the modified Undesirable Dynamic Network model empirical analysis of China's 31 provincial administrative region economic growth, wastewater treatment, and water disease control efficiency between 2013 and 2017. The results show that the efficiency of water pollution disease in all four regions of China and the total efficiency in the three regions of east, west and central China all show a decreasing trend, and the efficiency scores and rankings of all provinces and cities within the region fluctuate greatly. The eastern region with the most developed economy has the best overall performance, with higher efficiency in Water consumption and Water disease control. However, the efficiency of wastewater treatment in northeast China is stable and better. Given the high level of economic development in China and the results of the above mentioned efficiency in water pollution and water diseases, improving the efficiency and quality of wastewater treatment in China is regarded as an important factor in achieving the strategic goal of green growth.

Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems currently monitor and collect a huge among of data from all kind of processes. In practice, due to sensor failures or to communication errors, in the long-time running, some data may be lost. When it happens, given the nature of these failures, information is lost in bursts, that is, sets of consecutive samples, which besides can be very long. Data completion is a critical step, which must be done with the utmost rigour in order to not propagate errors in the rest of the processing chain stages. Some Big Data techniques do not work if the data series are incomplete, due to the loss of some data. When this occurs it is necessary to fill out the gaps of the historical data with a reliable data completion method. This paper presents an ad-hoc method to replenish the data lost by a SCADA system in case of long bursts. The data correspond to levels of drinking water tanks of a Water Network company that present patterns on a daily and a weekly scale. A method based on tensors is used to take advantage of the data structure. A specially designed \textit{tensorization} is employed to deal with bursts of missed data, applying a twice tensor decomposition and a signal continuity correction. Statistical tests are realized, which consist of apply the data reconstruction algorithms, by deliberately removing bursts of data in verified historical database servers, to be able to evaluate the real effectiveness of the tested methods. For this application, the presented approach outperforms the other techniques found in the literature.

The existence of the exclusion zone (EZ), a layer of water in which plastic microspheres are repelled from hydrophilic surfaces, has now been independently demonstrated by several groups. A better understanding of the mechanisms which generate EZs would help with understanding the possible importance of EZs in biology and in engineering applications such as filtration and microfluidics. Pollack theorizes that EZ water exists in a new phase which has a layered structure. We note several problems with Pollack's proposed structure, some of which were noted in the 1960's when a similar structure was proposed for ``polywater''. We argue that Schurr's diffusiophoresis based theory presents a compelling alternative explanation for the core EZ phenomena, although there remain other findings from Pollack's lab it does not explain. Among other things, Schurr's theory makes predictions about the growth of the EZ with time which have been confirmed by Florea et al.\ and others. In this work we also introduce and explore a novel hypothesis - that some aspects of EZ phenomena may be attributable to repulsive van der Waals forces. Finally, we touch on several possible confounding factors that make experimentation on EZs difficult, such as charged surface groups, dissolved solutes, and adsorbed nanobubbles.

This paper proposes a novel deterministic methodology for estimating the optimal sampling frequency (SF) of water quality monitoring systems. The proposed methodology is based on employing two-dimensional contaminant transport simulation models to determine the minimum SF considering all the potential changes in the boundary conditions of a water body. A two-dimensional contaminant transport simulation model (RMA4) was implemented to estimate the distribution patterns of the total dissolved solids (TDS) within the Al-Hammar Marsh in the southern part of Iraq for 30 cases of potential boundary conditions. Using geographical information system (GIS) tools, a spatiotemporal analysis approach was applied to the results of the RMA4 model to determine the minimum SF of the monitoring stations with an accuracy level of detectable change in TDS concentration (ALC) of 5%, 10% and 15%. The proposed methodology specified a minimum and maximum SF for each monitoring station (MS) that ranged between 12 and 33 times per year, respectively. Additionally, increasing the ALC to 10% and 15% increase the minimum SF for some MSs by approximately 18% and 21%, respectively. However, the proposed methodology includes all the potential values and cases of boundary conditions, which increases the certainty of monitoring the system and the efficiency of the SF schedule. Moreover, the proposed methodology can be effectively applied to all types of surface water resources.

The study of the distribution and health risk assessment is meaningful to provide basic data for environmental management．To investigate the pollution of potential toxic organics and their health risk to human beings, water samples were collected at 7 sites of main surface water of Beijing during wet and dry seasons respectively. The targeted 92 organics were detected, including phthalates (PAEs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phenols. The results showed that: there were 56 organics detected out, and the number ratios of detected compounds to the total compounds of the same kind increased as the following: VOCs, phthalates, phenols, PAHs. 8 VOCs were detected in wet season, and 3 in dry season. The concentration of 2,2-Dichloropropane was highest as 10.62ug/L, while the concentrations of other VOCs were below 5ug/L; There were 11 phthalates detected during dry season. The content of Bis(2-methoxyethyl) phthalate was highest as 188.47ng/L; 17 phenols were found in samples during wet season, and the highest concentration was 1244.73ng/L for 4-nitrophenol; PAHs could be detected in all samples, and the detected compounds and the corresponding average concentrations were higher in wet seasons than those in dry seasons, which indicated that non-point pollution was possibly the main pollution source. The health risk assessment of the detected 56 pollutants by using a model from US EPA showed that, the risk caused by the four kinds of toxic organics in this study was in the acceptable ranges.

The current study focused on reviewing the rapid growing of using magnetic water in different fields of science and measure the influence of several intensities of magnetization on the chemical and electrical properties of tap water treated by reverse osmosis. The work includes circulation of water for 24 h. in magnetic fields of intensity 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 G. The magnetization of water causes increasing some positive and negative ions in water such as (Mg, K, Na, Cl¯, Alkaline and SiO₂) and decreasing some positive and negative ions (Ca and SO₃). In the near future, the application of concepts of sustainability development in civil engineering have the to produce structures in harmony with these concepts through using of high-performance materials with less impacts on the environmental and have low cost. The main application of using magnetic water is improvement the geotechnical properties of soil through precipitation of calcite which increases the bond between soil particles and then strength of soil.

This paper investigates an alternative use of sterile aggregate materials which may arise from various construction applications in conjunction with other low-cost mineral raw materials to remediate the acid mine drainage phenomenon. This study is based on the combination of unprocessed mineral raw materials as well as on the basic concept of the cyclic economy where the conversion of a waste into a raw material for another application can be achieved. In this way, the value of mineral raw materials can be prolonged for as long as possible, waste generation and exploitation of natural resources are minimized and resources are kept as far as possible within the existing economy. In this study, an electrically continuous flow driven forced device proposed and demonstrated for the remediation of waste water in lab-scale by using certain mixes of mineral raw materials (serpentinite, andesite, magnesite, peat and biochar). Our results focus on the impact of the studied mineral raw materials and especially on their synergy on the water purification potential under continuous water flow operation. Using the proposed 7-day experimental electrically continuous flow driven forced device with the certain mixes of mineral raw materials, the increase of pH values from 3.00 to 6.82 as well as significant removal of Fe, Cu and Zn was achieved.

Sam Granick opened his seminal 1957 paper titled Speculations on the Origins and Evolution of Photosynthesis with the assertion that there is a constant urge in human beings to seek beginnings (I concur). This urge has led to an incessant stream of speculative ideas and debates on the evolution of photosynthesis that started in the first half of the twentieth century and shows no signs of abating. Some of these speculative ideas have become common place, are taken as fact, but find little support. Here I review and scrutinise three widely accepted ideas that underpin the current study of the evolution of photosynthesis: firstly, that the photochemical reaction centres used in anoxygenic photosynthesis are more primitive than those in oxygenic photosynthesis; secondly, that the probability of acquiring photosynthesis via horizontal gene transfer is greater than the loss of photosynthesis; and thirdly, and most importantly, that the origin of anoxygenic photosynthesis predates the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis. I shall attempt to demonstrate that these three ideas are often grounded on incorrect assumptions built on more assumptions with no experimental nor observational support. I hope that this brief review will not only serve as cautionary tale, but also that it will open new avenues of research aimed at disentangling the complex evolution of photosynthesis and its impact on the early history of life and the planet.

The Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) was used to evaluate the impact of urbanization, climate change, and implementation of Low Impact Developments (LIDs) at the Mahabad Dam watershed, Iran. Several scenarios of urbanization, with and without climate change impacts, in different locations were defined, including near outlet, middle, far end, and whole watershed. Climate change was considered to change the intensity of rainfall and increase evaporation. Vegetative swales were implemented as LIDs to evaluate their applicability to reduce pollutant loads. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the area was input into ArcGIS, and the watershed was delineated using the ArcSWAT extension to identify topographic features. Water quality properties were defined in the software, and each scenario was run for a twelve-hour simulation. The results indicated that urbanization affects the imperviousness of sub-catchments, and location of urbanization affects the amount and timing of runoff and pollutant yields. Fifty-percent urbanization near the watershed outlet resulted in 23.1% and 27.4% increases in runoff and pollutant loads, respectively. Fifty-percent urbanization in the middle resulted in 28.8% and 35.4% increases in runoff and pollutant loads; and, at the far end, 23.1% and 3.9% increases in runoff and pollutant loads were the result; Fifty-percent urbanizing the whole watershed gave 58.6% and 66.3% increases in runoff and pollutant loads, respectively; Under climate change scenarios (higher intensity, shorter duration rainfall) peaks occurred earlier. Moreover, results showed LIDs decreased pollution loads up to 25%.

The Wester coastal Delta zone of the Netherlands is the relatively more crowded area of the country where ten of the seventeen million people live. The governmental prognosis is that this number of people will increase steadily in the coming decennia, unless the threat of climate-change seawater level rising. This is the picture in more Delta zones globally what makes the topic of resiliency for these delta-areas of importance. Approaches of resiliency are often dominated by governmental rescue planning and believe in technology solutions, while in the process the behaviour of people can make the difference in overcoming climate-change impact disasters. In the struggle against high water storming and flooding, the Dutch people prove this by developing societal resilient behaviour in a broad spectrum of activities. Post-PhD research on Dutch resilient behaviour in the in 1016-flooded Zaanstreek-Waterland area near the city of Amsterdam confirms that. Recently research by questionnaire among citizens in this region shows that people have favour for shared responsibility with government and related professional organizations. The Dutch examples of societal resiliency carried by people also show a action-learning perspective intertwined with governmental contingency planning. Therewith the Dutch practice shows a positive cross-fertilization of practice and knowledge development.

Inorganic nanoparticles based on magnetite improve the mechanical, thermal, and magnetic properties of microporous cryogel polymer composites. Here we report the synthesis of microporous cryogel based on the crosslinked sodium vinyl sulfonate (Na-VS) and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid sodium salt (Na-AMPS). The magnetite nanoparticles were inserted into Na-VS/Na-AMPS cryogel either during its crosslinking polymerization or by in-situ technique after its crosslinking. The morphology, particle sizes, thermal stability and magnetite contents of Na-VS/Na-AMPS cryogel and its magnetite composites were investigated. The prepared Na-VS/Na-AMPS cryogel and its magnetite composites were used as adsorbents for methylene blue (MB) cationic dye using optimum conditions. The magnetite Na-VS/Na-AMPS cryogel composite prepared by in-situ technique achieved the best adsorption MB removal capacity for 7 cycles among the other adsorbents via chemical adsorption mechanism at room temperature.

The recent increase in global consumption of rice has led to increased demand for sustainable water management in paddy cultivation. In this study, we propose an enhanced paddy simulation module to be introduced to Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to evaluate the sustainability of paddy cultivation. The enhancements added to SWAT include: (1) modification of water balance calculation for impounded fields, (2) addition of an irrigation management option for paddy fields that are characterized by flood irrigation with target water depth, and (3) addition of a puddling operation that influences the water quality and infiltration rate of the top soil layer. In a case study, the enhanced model, entitled SWAT-Paddy, was applied to an agricultural watershed in Japan. The results showed that the SWAT-Paddy successfully represented paddy cultivation, water management, and discharge processes. Simulated daily discharge rates with SWAT-Paddy (R² = 0.8) were superior to the SWAT result (R² = 0.002). SWAT-Paddy allows the simulation of paddy management processes realistically, and thus can enhance model accuracy in paddy-dominant agricultural watersheds.

Videogames have become educational, communicative and social tools among the youngest, favouring the acquisition of skills, abilities and values, encompassing an endless number of themes, and help to experience and to face, in the first person, a great diversity of environmental situations and ecology problems. Thus, the present article aims: a) the evaluation of a sample of 20 educational videogames about water, making use of some empirical criteria of quality; and b) the design, validation and application of an integrate quality indicator of educational videogames on water, based on the aspects of narrative, gameplay and didactics to that sample, which allows us to obtain a ranking. The findings reflect a ranking of games allows to suggest that the nature of the game (simulation, adventures, platforms or questions) does not determine the quality of the game, although generally simulations and adventure games are placed in a range of medium or high quality, as well as those games that pursue objectives related to the design and management of a territory in a sustainable way. The paper provides teachers with quality criteria based on narrative and gameplay that complement and enriches the pedagogical dimension.

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is staple of Pakistani people. However, its yield at farmer field is low as compared with its genetic potential. Integration of various crop and soil management strategies might be an option to enhance wheat productivity at farmer field. This 2-year experiment was conducted to check the influence of combine application of natural plant water extracts and biochar on the productvity of wheat during the winter season of 2015-16. The experiment consisted of seven treatment viz. (1) control (2) application of biochar (0.18 kg pot-1) alone, (3) application of sorghum water extract (SWE) alone, (4) application of moringa water extract (MWE) alone, (5) application of biochar + SWE, (6) application of biochar + MWE, (7) application of biochar + SWE+MWE. The results revealed that application of both crop water extracts in combination with biochar improved the growth and grain yield of wheat. Use of MWE in combination with biochar enhanced the grain weight, grain number and grain yield of wheat by 44, 14, and 24%, respectively than the control treatment. In crux, use of MWE in combination with biochar might be a viable option to improve the productivity of bread wheat.

The problem of limited water supply in the Vhembe District (Limpopo Province, South Africa) is exacerbated by a preponderance of dissolved salts, which cause disagreeable taste and odour in the water as reported by the communities using this water for drinking. The water treatment plant that supplies the treated water to the communities in the District sources this raw water from the Nandoni Dam at the Livhuvu river catchment. However, there are no scientific studies that have been reported in the literature which focused on determining the levels of water salinity from various water sources in the municipalities of the District. Water samples from various sites across the Nandoni Dam, a primary source of domestic water supply in the region, were collected during all the seasons basis over a period of twelve months in order to ascertain the concentrations of dissolved salts in the dam. Onsite analyses of the water samples were conducted using the YSI ProDSS multimeter, while the laboratory water analyses were conducted using the spectroquant and atomic absorption spectrometers. Although salinity tests seem to indicate that the water sampled across most of the Nandoni Dam is brackish during all seasons of the year with the highest being 750 mg/L, water samples from the dam mid-outlet and the treatment plant are slightly below the WHO brackish water bracket of 500 mg/L with unfavourable taste for drinking. Results from this study indicate that the water sourced from the Nandoni Dam is not suitable for human consumption and therefore requires integrated water resource management, as well as robust and cost-effective water desalination treatment.

Fisheries in Cambodia play an important role in supporting household food security and livelihoods throughout the country. Inland fisheries production is largely dependent on numerous ecosystem services, particularly the flood waters of the Tonle Sap Lake basin, which has been degraded from increased fishing pressure because of population growth and a rising demand for fish. To address the dual problem of food insecurity and overfishing, an integrated food security and climate change program involved the promotion of small-scale aquaculture through semi-intensive pond management. The objective of this study is to examine perceptions of small-scale aquaculture by participants in this program in order to assess the potential for aquaculture to contribute to household food security and conservation of the Tonle Sap Lake ecosystem. Focus group discussions and a household survey were conducted among current and previous fish farmers. Results demonstrate that most farmers continue to practice small-scale aquaculture as a means to supplement household food availability and income. Numerous barriers to adoption of small-scale aquaculture were identified, including access to water, prices of commercial fish feed, selling price of fish in markets, and concerns about profitability. Seasonal water scarcity is the most prominent challenge in promoting aquaculture technologies, so aquaculture development should be expanded in areas where there are abundant supplies of water, or where use of water storage techniques are feasible. Aquaculture technology appears to have the potential to contribute to food security, nutrition, and household income, and the expansion of the practice of small-scale aquaculture has the potential to reduce fishing pressure on the wild fisheries of the Tonle Sap Lake.

The analysis of particulate matter (PM) in dilute solutions is an important target for environmental, geochemical and biochemical researches. Here we show how the microdrop technology may allow to control, through the evaporation of small droplets, the deposition of insoluble materials dispersed in a solution on a well-defined area with a specific spatial pattern. Using this technology the superficial density of the deposited solute can be accurately controlled. In particular, it becomes possible to deposit an extremely reduced amount of insoluble material -in the order of few μg- on a confined area, thus allowing a relatively high superficial density to be reached within a limited time. In this work we quantitatively compare the microdrop technique for the preparation of particulate matter samples with the classical filtering technique. After having been optimized, the microdrop technique allows to obtain a more homogeneous deposition and limit sample consumption of a factor ~25. This method is potentially suitable for many novel applications in different scientific fields.

A simple, efficient and stand-alone method for purification of river water using moringa seed powder and copper is discussed. Coagulant property of the seed powder clears turbid raw water and the oligodynamic activity of copper completely destroys E.coli bacteria. Both raw and treated water samples were tested for contaminants to verify the efficacy of the system. Treated water has turbidity in the range 3 NTU - 5 NTU and non-detected (< 1 MPN/100 mL) E.coli count making it suitable for drinking. The technique is very cost effective and can be practiced anywhere using locally available materials. It does not require a power source or any technical assistance. Being a stand-alone system the technique exceptionally useful in providing drinking water as an immediate solution in disaster areas affected by cyclone or floods.

Water treatment efficiency of several filter media such as perlite, modified (silicated) perlite, zeolite and sand were studied on wastewater. This study contains 2 distinct experiments which the first one emphasize on the modified perlite’s performance in removing turbidity which has been gone through 3 phases including low turbidity model water, mid turbidity and high turbidity model water; the second experiment underlines the differentiation between 3 evolutionary material based on perlite which undergoes the filtration process with certain turbid model water. It was dedicated that modified perlite removed more than 90% of turbidity and it functions better than other materials with high turbidity (more than100 NTU). The experiments have been conducted with sodium silicate perlite, normal perlite and synthetic zeolite perlite in order to determine the optimized material which is able to be substituted with perlite in the filtration process.

The coastal dry zone areas of Sri Lanka mostly rely on ground water as the potable drinking water source because pipe born water is rarely provided. Most of the domestic units construct dug wells adjacent to houses where the ground water is exposed to fecal contamination due to pit – latrines. There available standards and commonly accepted factors regulating the construction of ground water extraction sources yet there is lack of evidence whether following them effectively prevent ground water fecal contamination. This research focus on applicability of commonly accepted factors on preventing the pit latrines correlated ground water contamination, taking twenty (20) sampling locations of Kalpitiya Peninsula of Sri Lanka as the case study area. The ground water was tested for Total coliform bacteria at 37 °C and E.Coil at 44 °C to identify the water quality level related to fecal contamination. The depth of water table, gap of infiltration layer, depth of latrine pit and distance between dug well and latrine pit were identified as the most commonly considered factors. Accordingly, case specific and area specific reasons apart from the ‘commonly accepted factors’ are highly influencing the pit latrines correlated ground water contamination in Kalpitiya Peninsula, Sri Lanka.

This study was carried out at Kita-mura near Bibai located in central Hokkaido, Japan, with the intention of investigating the effects of different agronomical managements on CH4 emissions from paddy fields on mineral soil over peat under farmers’ actual management conditions in the snowy temperate region. Four fields were studied, including two fields with twice drainage (D1-M and D2-M) and also a single-drainage field (D3-S) under single-cropping yr-1 and a paddy-fallow-paddy crop rotation as their systems. The other field was under single cropping yr-1 with continuous flooding (CF-R) in the pattern of soybean (upland crop)-fallow-paddy. The mineral-soil thickness of these soil-dressed peatland fields varied from 20 to 47 cm. The amount of crop residues leftover in the fields ranged from 277 to 751 g dry matter m−2. Total CH4 emissions ranged from 25.3 to 116 g CH4-C m−2 per growing season. There was a significant relationship between crop-residue carbon (C) and total CH4 emissions during the rice-growing season. This study, therefore, CH4 fluxes from paddy soils in that there was a strong interaction between readily available C source for methanogens and anaerobic conditions created by water management. Despite the differences in water regime and soil type, the average values of straw’s efficiency on CH4 production in this study were significantly higher than those of southern Japan and statistically identical with central Hokkaido. Our results suggest that the environmental conditions of central Hokkaido in association with crop-residue management had a significant influence on CH4 emission from paddy fields on mineral soil over peat. Rotation soybean (upland)-to-paddy followed by drainage twice practices also largely reduces CH4 emission. However, mineral-soil dressing on peat could have a significant impact to suppress CH4 emission from beneath the peat reservoir.

Influence of water concentration on the properties of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) thin films was systematically studied in this work. Home made SISOM’s SPEED techniques and its chemical formulation was employed to grow the FTO on quartz substrate. Water concentration in the precursor solution was varied from 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mol %. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of the films were studied under these deposition conditions. The results show that the properties of the films varied significantly with water concentration. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed FTO films whose grain size and uniformity increases significantly with increase in water concentration. The structure of the films was measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement. It shows polycrystalline films with (110), (101), (200), (211) and (220) orientation; the strength increases as water concentration increases. The optical transmission was determined by UV-Vis spectroscopy at 380–780 nm UV-VIS regions. The optical transmittance varies with water concentration with an average of 84%. The electrical property, measured by Hall Effect revealed n-type semiconductor. The films have the following properties: resistivity, 15 × 10^-4Ω cm; carrier concentration, 18.7 × 10¹⁹ cm^-3 and mobility of 21.86 cm² V^-1 s^-1. The average figure of merit, φ of the FTO film is 1.25. Optimum deposition condition was established after series of experiments and was found to be 1.5% water concentration at 460^oC substrate temperature. The FTO films deposited in this work could be a promising replacement to indium tin oxide (ITO) especially in dye-sensitized solar cells.

A four stage semi-pilot scale RFR reactor with ceramic disks as support for TiO₂ modified with silver particles was developed for the removal of organic pollutants. The design presented in this article is an adaptation of the rotating biological reactors (RBR) and its coupling with the modified catalyst provides additional advantages to designs where a catalyst in suspension is used. The optimal parameter of rotation was 54 rpm and the submerged surface of the disks offer a total contact area of 387 M². The modified solid showed a decrease in the value of its bandgap compared to commercial titanium. The system has a semi-automatic operation with a maximum reaction time of 50 h. Photo-activity tests show high conversion rates at low concentrations. The results conform to the Langmuir heterogeneous catalysis model.

In this study, we evaluated the physicochemical and microbial qualities of source and stored household waters in some communities in Southwestern Nigeria using standard methods. Compared parameters include physicochemical constituents; Temperature (T), pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Hardness (TH), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Magnesium ion (Mg²⁺) and Calcium ion (Ca²⁺) and microbiological parameters included Total Coliform Counts (TC), Faecal Coliform Counts (FC), Fungal Counts (Fung C), Heterotrophic Plate Counts (HPC). Comparing Stored and Source samples, the mean values of some physicochemical parameters of most of the stored water samples significantly (P<0.05) exceeded that of Sources and ranged in the following order: T (15.3±0.3^oC - 28.3±0.5^oC), pH (6.4±0.1 - 7.6±0.1), TDS (192.1±11.1 ppm - 473.7±27.9 ppm), TH (10.6±1.7 mg/L - 248.6±18.6 mg/L), BOD (0.5±0.0 mg/L - 3.2±0.3 mg/L), Mg²⁺ (6.5±2.4 mg/L - 29.1±3.2 mg/L) and Ca²⁺ (6.5±2.4 mg/L - 51.6±4.4 mg/L). The mean microbial counts obtained from microbial comparison of different points (Stored and Source) of collection showed that most of the stored water had counts significantly exceeding (P<0.05) those of the source water samples (cfu/100 mL) which ranged as follows: TC (3.1±1.5 - 156.8±42.9), FC (0.0±0.0 - 64.3±14.2) and HPC (47.8±12.1 - 266.1±12.2) across all sampled communities. Also, the predominant isolates recovered from the samples were identified as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter aerogenes, Aspergillus spp, Mucor spp, Rhizopus spp and Candida spp. The presence of these pathogenic and potentially pathogenic organisms in the waters and the high counts of the indicator organisms suggest the waters to be a threat to public health.

The rapid development of China’s textile industry leads to consumption and pollution of large volumes of water. Therefore, the textile industry has been the focus of water conservation and waste reduction in China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020). The premise of sustainable development is to achieve decoupling of economic growth from water consumption and wastewater discharge. In this work, changes in blue water (water consumption), grey water (water pollutants), and water footprints of the textile industry from 2001 to 2014 were calculated. The relationship between water footprint and economic growth was then examined using the Tapio decoupling model. Furthermore, factors influencing water footprint were determined through logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method. Results show that the water footprint of China’s textile industry has strongly decoupled for five years (2002, 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2013) and weakly decoupled for four years (2002, 2007, 2009, and 2010). A decoupling trend occurred during 2001–2014, but a steady stage of decoupling has not been achieved yet. Based on the decomposition analysis, the total water footprint is mainly increased by production scale and inhibited by the technology. In addition, the effect of industrial structure adjustment is relatively weak.

In this paper, Rice water requirement and irrigation water requirement in Amol agro meteorological Station in 2016-2045 are forecasted based on the projected meteorological data of Hadcm3 under A2 scenario. Rice water requirements are estimated by using crop coefficient approach. Reference evapotranspiration are calculated by FAO Penman-Monteith method. Moreover, the irrigation water requirements are simulated by calibrated CROPWAT model using the meteorological parameters. The results show that both crop water requirement and irrigation water requirement present downward trend in the future. In 2016-2045, the rice water requirement and irrigation water requirement decrease by more than 9.9% under A2 scenario, respectively. Furthermore, the precipitation rise may be the main reason for the decrease in crop water requirement, while significant decrease of irrigation water requirement should be attributed to combined action of rising precipitation and a slight increase in temperature.

A method for estimating river water surface elevation (WSE) from Landsat imagery using the river inundation area - water surface elevation (RIA-WSE) rating curve constructed from the U.S. Geological Survey Topobathymetric Elevation Model (TEM) data was developed and tested at six gauging stations along the upper Mississippi River. The Otsu's automatic threshold selection algorithm was employed for the image classification and estimation of inundation areas within each pre-defined polygon around each gauging station. In addition to the commonly used green-band based water indices, Landsat 8 and 9 OLI's ultra-blue, blue, and red band-based water indices were also tested in this study, which resulted in twenty different water indices: NDWIv (Normalized Difference Water Index), MNDWI1v and MNDWI2v (Modified Normalized Difference Water Index), AWEIsv (Automatic Water Extraction Index with shadow), and AWEInsv (AWEI without shadow), where v represents the visible light band used in the water index. At each station, about 60-80 Landsat 8 or 9 images during 2013-2023 were used for assessing the performances of the twenty water indices through comparing the estimated WSEs with the measured WSEs. Results showed that the ultra-blue or red band-based AWEIs yielded the most accurate estimations of WSEs among the twenty tested water indices.

This paper studies the evaporative heat transfer characteristics of R744 at low temperatures in a horizontal smooth tube as a cascade refrigeration system (CRS) among hybrid cascade refrigeration systems (HCRSs). There is a lack of research on the low-temperature evaporative heat transfer characteristics of R744 under the operating conditions of evaporators used in actual CRSs used in supermarkets. Therefore, this study aims to provide basic data on the evaporative heat transfer characteristics of R744 in the evaporators of refrigerators used in supermarkets. The tube used in the evaporation experiment conducted herein was a smooth horizontal copper tube with an inner diameter and length of 11.46 mm and 8000 mm, respectively. The experimental pa-rameters were as follows: heat fluxes of 12–21.5 kW/m2, mass fluxes of 75–225 kg/(m2·s), and saturation temperatures of −50–−30 °C. The main results are summarized as follows. (1) When designing the R744 evaporator, the mass and heat fluxes must be maximized within the operating conditions, and the saturation temperature must be designed to be as low as possible. (2) The evaporative heat transfer coefficient of R744 can be predicted well by using the correlation formula of Chen at the evaporation temperature of −40 °C in the CRS.

The field of water management is continually changing. Water has been subject to external shocks in the form of climate change and globalization. Analysis of water management is subject to disciplinary developments and inter-disciplinary interactions. Are these developments well documented in the literature? Initial observations on interdisciplinary literature suggest that results are fragmented, implying that a state-of-the-art review is needed. The objective of this paper is to close this gap by reviewing recent developments in water economics that address the increasing perceptions of water scarcity by looking first at changes in supply and quality of water, and then at impacts of climate change on water extremes. Among responses to such challenges, the paper identifies changes to water use patterns by including and co-managing water from different sources—surface and groundwater, wastewater, and desalinated water. Technological advancements also are among the resources that address water challenges. Water challenges reflect also on management of internationally shared water. A recent surge in scientific work identified international treaties as playing a significant role in water management. The paper reviews recently employed economic tools, such as experimental economics, game theory, institutional economics, and valuation methods. And finally, it explores modeling approaches, including hydro-economic and computable general equilibrium models that are being used to deal with water challenges.

Research with deuterium-depleted water (DDW) in the last two decades proved that deuterium/hydrogen ratio has a key role in cell cycle regulation and cellular metabolism. The present study aimed to investigate the possible effect of deuterium-depleted organic compounds (DDOC) alone and in combination with DDW on cancer growth in two in vivo mouse models. To produce DDOC, drinking water of laying hens was replaced with DDW (25 ppm) for 6 weeks, resulting in 60 ppm D level in dried egg yolk that was used as deuterium-depleted food additive. In one model, 4T1, a cell line with high metastatic capacity to the lung, was inoculated in the mice’s mammary pad. After three weeks of treatment with DDW and/or DDOC, the tumor volume in the lungs was smaller in all treated groups vs. controls with natural D level. Tumor growth and survival in mice transplanted with MCF-7 breast cancer cell line showed that the anticancer effect of DDW was enhanced by food containing the deuterium-depleted yolk. The study confirmed the importance of D/H ratio not only in consumed water but also in metabolic water produced by the mitochondria while oxidizing nutrient molecules. This is in line with the concept that initiation of cell growth requires the cells to generate a higher D/H ratio, but DDW, DDOC, or the naturally low-D lipids in a ketogenic diet, have significant effect on tumor growth by preventing the cells from raising D/H ratio to the threshold.

Temperature differences between the atmosphere and river water allow rivers to be used as a hydrothermal energy source. The river-water heat pump system is a relatively non-invasive renewable energy source; however, effluent discharged from the heat pump can cause downstream temperature changes which may impact sensitive fluvial ecosystems. In this study, the water temperature recovery distance of the effluent was estimated for a river section in the Han River Basin, Korea, using the heat transfer equation and the Environmental Fluid Dynamic Code (EFDC) model. Results showed that, compared to the EFDC model, the heat transfer equation tended to overestimate the water temperature recovery distance due to its simplified assumptions. The water temperature recovery distance could also be used as an objective indicator to decide the reuse of downstream river water. Furthermore, as the river system was found to support an endangered fish species that is sensitive to water environment changes, care should be taken to exclude the habitats of protected species affected by water temperatures within water temperature recovery distance.

In recent years, using pre-sprouted seedlings for sugarcane establishment has been developed in Brazil. Despite yielding promising results, the optimal irrigation management for this method during the Brazilian winter planting season has yet to be determined. Additionally, information regarding water demand and seedling behavior when subjected to different irrigation levels remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the response of pre-sprouted sugarcane seedlings to different irrigation levels during the winter in southeastern Brazil. Pre-sprouted sugarcane seedlings were subjected to different irrigation levels during the winter season in the region of Piracicaba, using a sprinkler irrigation system. Periodic evaluations were conducted, such as seedlings mortality rate, root size, root dry mass, number of sugarcane tillers sprouted per meter, total number of tillers, plant height, leaf area index, shoot dry mass, and total leaf chlorophyll index. The findings of this investigation indicate that a 10 mm irrigation level facilitated optimal fixation depth and achieved a 97.8% survival rate. Moreover, a correlation between seedling mortality rate and irrigation management was observed, emphasizing the critical role of irrigation in establishing and developing seedlings. Based on these findings, a 10 mm irrigation may represent the optimal irrigation strategy for pre-sprouted sugarcane seedlings in this scenario.

Elemental sulfur, commonly known for its wide range of biological activity, has a long history of being used to protect all garden and vegetable crops from a range of pests and diseases, including powdery mildew, ascochyta blight, clubroot, plant mites, oidium, anthracnose, and scab. In the present study, a quick and environmentally friendly approach has been developed for the synthesis of sulfur nanoparticles with antibacterial activity. Sulfur nanoparticles (SNPs) were prepared by modifying the surface of elemental sulfur using various polyelectrolyte-surfactant mixtures (PSM) including NaCMC-SDBS and PHMG-CTAB. The SNPs were characterized by UV–visible spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), with the SNPs showing an almost spherical shape with an average size in the range of 150-200 nm. The antibacterial activity of the sulfur nanoparticles was tested using against gram-positive S. aureus and E. faecium and gram-negative E. coli and P. aeruginosa bacteria. From this, it could be seen that SNPs exhibited significant antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria, i.e., S. aureus and E. faecium. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the SNPs-1 and SNPs-2 studied to normal (MeT-5A) and tumorous (MCF-7) human cell lines was assessed in the concentration range from 500 μg/ml to 0.12 mg/ml, from which it was determined as being non-cytotoxic. The received products can be considered for potential application in agriculture and medicine.

Cambodia is a predominantly agrarian society, with a majority of the population residing in rural areas and relying on agriculture for food and income. The primary sources of food for the Khmer society are rice and fish. However, the country faces vulnerabilities due to climate change, natural disasters, impacts of hydropower and infrastructure development, and land grabs, which disrupt food sources and the livelihoods of local communities. Since 2015, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has been actively promoting rice production for export, resulting in increased rice farming seasons and annual rice production. Despite these efforts, a significant portion of the population still experiences food insecurity. Therefore, this study aims to explore the reasons why food security issues persist despite the government program to increase rice production. The study involves a review of existing literature and an examination of food security in three provinces in the Cambodian Mekong Delta. It concludes that, on the one hand, the increased rice production has increased food availability, but access to and utilization of food have been challenged by indebtedness, increased cost of production and migration, and on the other hand, the rights to foods have been challenged by land crabs, water conflicts, and lack of sectoral integrations of food systems; and compounded by climate change and environmental degradation, which all contribute to food security.

The rapid urban expansion requires an effective management of water resources in small basins, where data are often limited. This article addresses a combination of an empirical hydrological model and Steven Method, a flow extrapolation method that considers the morphological char-acteristics of the cross-section. It also proposes an approach for overcoming the challenges asso-ciated with the lack of information on small water basins in rural to urban transition. A rain-fall event occurred in Pau de Caixeta stream basin (33,7 km²), in the Federal District (DF), in De-cember 2022, was evaluated. The simulation was carried out on the decision support system, Analysis of Complex Basins (ABC), using the rainfall registred by the rain gauge instaled within the monitered area with 3 hours duration and 38 mm of total rainfall, in addiction to the mor-phological and hydraulics characteristics of the study section. The basin presented in this study, has a classification regarding land use: i) urban area: horizontal and vertical residential neigh-borhoods (in the study phase) and rapidly expanding urban infrastructure, ii) rural areas and iii) environmental preservation areas. The results were within the acceptable range of flow extrap-olation errors (16%), indicating the integration of the proposed approaches can guide the devel-opment of impact mitigation strategies and promote sustainable practices in sub-basins.

For some persistent pollutants, such as recalcitrant pesticides, the polluted water (urban, agricultural and/or industrial) treated by conventional wastewater treatment plants is in some cases insufficient to achieve the legally required level of purity. This issue is of particular concern in areas where low rainfall does not provide sufficient water resources to meet the needs of agriculture, requiring increased reuse of water from wastewater treatment plants. In this context, Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) hold great promise for the removal of organic pollutants. This study first evaluates the effectiveness of UV/S2O8= compared to heterogeneous photocatalysis using UV/TiO2 processes on the degradation of two commonly used herbicides (terbutylazine and isoproturon) in aqueous solutions using a photoreactor. In addition. the effect of UV wavelength on the degradation efficiency of both herbicides was investigated. Although degradation rate was higher under UV-254/S2O8= nm than under UV-365/S2O8= nm, complete degradation of the herbicides (0.2 mg L-1) was achieved within 30 min under UV-366 nm using a Na2S2O8 dosage of 250 mg L-1 in the absence of inorganic anions. To assess the impact of water matrix, the individual and combined effects of sulphate, bicarbonate and chloride were evaluated. They can react with hydroxyl and sulphate radicals formed during AOPs to form new radicals with a lower redox potential. The results showed negligible effects of sulphate, while the combination of bicarbonate and chloride seemed to be the key for the decrease in herbicide removal efficiency found when working with complex matrices. Finally, the main intermediates detected during the photodegradation process were identified and the likely pathways are proposed and discussed.

Hydrogen is now recognized as the primary alternative to fossil fuels due to its renewable, safe, high energy density and environmentally friendly properties. Efficient hydrogen production through water splitting has laid the foundation for sustainable energy technologies. However, when hydrogen production is scaled up to industrial levels, operating at high current densities introduces unique challenges. It is necessary to design advanced electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under high current densities. This review will briefly introduce chal-lenges posed by high current densities on electrocatalyst, including catalystic activity, mass dif-fusion and catalyst stability. In an attempt to address these issues, various electrocatalyst design strategies are summarized in detail. In the end, our insights into future challenges for efficient large-scale industrial hydrogen production from water splitting are presented. This review is expected to guide the rational design of efficient high current density water electrolysis electro-catalysts and promote the research progress of sustainable energy.

Benveniste’s experiments – known in the lay press as the “water memory” phenomenon – are generally considered to be a closed case. However, the amount of data generated by twenty years of well-conducted experiments prevents closing the file so simply. An issue, which has been little highlighted so far, merits to be emphasized. Indeed, if Benveniste failed to persuade his peers of the value of his experiments, it was mainly because of a stumbling block, namely the difficulty of convincingly proving the causal relationship between the supposed cause (“informed water”) and the experimental outcomes in different biological models. To progress in the understanding of this phenomenon, we abandon the idea of any role of water in these experiments (“water memory” and its avatars). In other words, we assume that “control” and “test” conditions to be evaluated were physically identical and differed only by their respective designations. We show in this article how simple probabilistic considerations allow to build a model that accounts for all aspects of Benveniste’s experiments. In this model based on probability amplitudes, constructive and destructive interferences emerge – or not – according to the experimental context. The recording of a statistical regularity shapes the intertwined whole constituted by the probability amplitudes of the states of the experimenter’s cognitive structures and of the experimental system. This model provides an alternative explanation to Benveniste’s experiments where water plays no role and where the place of the experimenter is central.

This study investigates the concentrations of physicochemical and heavy metal contaminants in the groundwater of the Middle Awash Basin, Ethiopia, to inform targeted water management strategies. A total of 32 groundwater samples were collected from 16 stations via piezometers and boreholes at the end of both the dry (June 2021) and wet (October 2021) seasons. Utilizing Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), and in situ metering, 22 physicochemical and 24 heavy metal parameters were analyzed. The data revealed significant levels of contamination; notably, sample GW11 had extraordinarily high concentrations of total dissolved solids (10,826 mg/L), strontium (908 µg/L), molybdenum (802.4 µg/L), zinc (6060 µg/L), and electrical conductivity (15,645 µS/cm), while GW12 exhibited elevated levels of aluminum (2615 µg/L), zinc (4446 µg/L), and arsenic (117.2 µg/L). Contaminants such as arsenic, vanadium, gallium, lithium, rubidium, chromium, manganese, copper, and zinc were found enriched in groundwater near Lake Beseka, influenced by agricultural runoff from sugarcane plantations and agro-industry activities. Over half of the groundwater sources were unsuitable for drinking, posing significant health risks to local communities that rely heavily on these sources due to limited access to clean surface water. The findings emphasize the urgent need for comprehensive groundwater management and remediation plans in the Middle Awash region to ensure safe and sustainable water use, particularly addressing the variation in contamination levels influenced by Lake Beseka. These measures are critical to protect public health and support local development in the face of ongoing environmental and anthropogenic pressures.

In arid and semi-arid regions like Tunisia, irrigation water is typically saline, posing a soil and crop salinization risk and yield reduction. This research aims to study the combined effects of soil matric and osmotic potential stresses on tomato root water uptake. Plants were grown in pot and field experiments in loamy-clay soils and were irrigated with three different irrigation water qualities: 0, 3.5, and 7 dS/m. The Hydrus-1D model was used to simulate the combined dynamics of subsurface soil water and salts. Successful calibration and validation of the model against measured water and salt profiles enabled the examination of the combined effects of osmotic and matric potential stresses on root water uptake. Relative yields, indirectly estimated from actual and potential transpiration, indicated that the multiplicative stress response model effectively simulated measured yields and the impact of saline water irrigation on crop yields. The gradual salinization of the root zone further evidenced this effect. The scenario considering a temperature increase of 2°C had no significant impact on crop yields in the pot and field experiments.

Nowadays, the identification and characterization of grapevine cultivars resilient to climate and water stress while preserving quality traits is crucial for the wine industry. Therefore, the objective of this work was to characterize according to their aromatic potential 9 white and 6 red minority cultivars recently recovered from Castilla-La Mancha region (Spain), subjected at two different water deficit regimes: rainfed, with subsistence irrigation, and irrigated. For this, the varietal aromatic potential index (IPAv) and the detailed aromatic composition were analyzed by HS-SBSE-GC/MS, in extracts of two different ph. For IPAv values, red varieties did not show a clear trend with respect to irrigation. However, in white minority varieties, higher values were obtained under irrigation conditions. Thus, a clear differentiation of the minority varieties in comparison to the references was observed, primarily attributed to the content of esters and acids, in both white and red varieties. A notable contrast was observed at different pH, indicating a greater extractability of certain compounds like linalool, under more acidic conditions. This suggests that some recovered minority cultivars could be promising for cultivation in semi-arid regions with limited water, contributing to the wine sector sustainability in the future.

Financing frameworks for Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are lacking in developing countries. This study develops and recommends a financing framework for water and sanitation PPP infrastructure projects in Zimbabwe. The framework model integrates the Public Private Partnership models, sources of finance for water and sanitation PPPs, and the drivers of water and sanitation PPP finance. Both the public and private sources of finance are instrumental for financing water and sanitation PPP projects. Tobit econometric models are applied on data collected from both international and domestic data banks. The time frame for the analysis is a 25-year period running from 1996 ending 2021. Capital market variables, bank market development and economic affluence drive the financing of water and sanitation Public Private Partnership infrastructure projects in Zimbabwe. The study recommends the application of the developed framework in the water and sanitation Public Private Partnership infrastructure financing policy, for developing countries.

Using a detailed atmospheric radiative transfer model, we derive macroscopic relationships of downwelling and outgoing longwave radiation, useful for hydrological practice. We validate them using empirical formulae based on downwelling radiation data, which are in common use in hydrology, as well as satellite data for the outgoing radiation. We use the macroscopic relationships to infer the relative importance of carbon dioxide and water vapour in the greenhouse effect. The results show that the contribution of the former is 4% – 5%, while water and clouds dominate with a contribution of 87% – 95%. The minor effect of carbon dioxide is also confirmed by the small, non-discernible effect of the recent escalation of atmospheric CO2 concentration from 300 to 420 ppm, which is quantified at 0.5% for both downwelling and outgoing radiation. Water and clouds also perform other important functions in climate, such as regulating the heat storage and the albedo, as well as cooling the Earth’s surface though latent heat transfer, with a contribution of 50%. By confirming the major role of water on climate, these results suggest that hydrology should have a more prominent and more active role in climate research.

Technological advances in the last decades have led to the realization of the concept of a smart environment. A significant part of this development is decentralized ledger technology and its variant, a blockchain. The blockchain database is immutable, open to all stakeholders, secure by architecture and robust. Applying a blockchain in water supply sanitary control creates opportunities for optimization, higher quality of service, cost reduction, better sanitary standards and public control. Physical, chemical, and biological water supply contamination is a great source of public health hazards. Implementation of a blockchain for water supply IoT, from the source point to the consumption point, enables effective response to changing environments, possible cross-contamination, stormwater management or disaster and emergency action. The chapter encompasses all fundamental elements and principles of water collection, distribution and consumption, with a focus on the health hazards and sanitary requirements for potable water. The chapter listed the main contaminants, methods of their registration and elimination, and requirements for drinking water in accordance with WHO, EU Drinking Water Directive and EPA standards. Blockchain technology solutions are described for smart water supply, including smart supply management, smart contracts, tokenization, smart compliance systems, and, most importantly, effective utilization of distributed ledger technologies for sanitary monitoring of water sources, water treatment, and water distribution systems.

Microplastics, which are plastic particles smaller than 5 mm in size, are a growing environmental concern since they have been found in oceans, rivers, lakes, and even on land. These tiny particles can escape water filtration systems and end up in water bodies as well as through the degradation of the larger plastic products causing serious environmental and food safety concerns. This research represents the magnitude of this pollution, characterization of microplastic contamination, its type of polymer, and possible sources of this pollution in the rivers around Dhaka, Bangladesh. Quantitative analyses were done following the method suggested by the NOAA and other conventional methods. Among the rivers, Buriganga has the highest microplastic pollution with 3.654 items/L in surface water and 43.125 items/kg in sediment. The concentration in Shitalakshya and Turag rivers are 3.011 items/L and 2.051 items/L in surface water and 34.875 and 17.875 items/kg in sediment respectively. ANOVA test revealed a significant difference between the concentration level of microplastic in the surface water of the Burigana and Turag rivers. A positive correlation between the concentration level of microplastic in the surface water and the sediment was also found. On average 58% of the microplastics were found to be fibrous in surface water. Qualitative analyses were done to find the characteristics and chemical composition of the microplastics. Through the use of FTIR spectroscopy, the study identified different kinds of synthetic polymers in the sample including polyamide (Nylon), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), polyethersulfone (PES), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene were the most abundant polymer in the samples. This study involved the investigation of three distinct rivers located in the vicinity of Dhaka city

Hydrogen is considered as an ideal substitute to the traditional fossil fuels because of its widespread sources, high calorific value of combustion, and zero carbon emissions. The electrocatalytic water-splitting to produce hydrogen is also deemed to be the best approach, however, it is a challenge to make high-efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts. Single-atom catalysts (SACs) are considered the most promising candidate to replace the traditional noble-metal catalysts. Compared with SACs, the dual-atom catalysts (DACs) are of greater attraction including higher metal loading, more versatile active sites, and excellent catalytic activity. In the review, several general synthetic strategies and structural characterization methods of DACs are introduced, and the mechanisms of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reactions (OER) are discussed. The authors hope that the review has given some insights and inspiration to the researchers about DACs in electrocatalytic water-splitting.

Water plays a vital role in the healthy growth of pears. Early detection of water stress can play a significant role in the timely management of water deficiency for pear yield. Most current methods are labour-intensive, time-consuming, only provide point measurements, and could be destructive. In this research, a real-time non-destructive method using a push-broom hyperspectral system (400-1000nm) was used to collect hyperspectral image data and detect the water stress of the pear seedling leaves. To build a reliable prediction model, machine learning techniques were used. The Successive Projections Algorithm (SPA) was applied for optimal wavelength selection. In particular, CNN was applied to obtain the features of key wavelengths. Both the CNN features and key wavelengths were put into RR-MLR, BLR and ENN for analysis. The training accuracy of the three modellings all reach the accuracy above 70% after about 100 epochs, while combination of CNN features outperformed the mere main spectra analysis. This research demonstrated that hyperspectral imaging coupled with machine learning techniques could be applied to predict the water content of pear leaves predict non-destructively.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry allows the generation of orthophoto and digital surface model (DSM) rasters of a terrain. However, DSMs of water bodies mapped using this technique often reveal distortions in the water surface, thereby impeding the accurate sampling of water surface elevation (WSE) from DSMs. This study investigates the capability of deep neural networks to accommodate the aforementioned perturbations and effectively estimate WSE from photogrammetric rasters. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) were employed for this purpose. Two regression approaches utilizing CNNs were explored: direct regression employing an encoder and solution based on prediction of the weight mask by an encoder-decoder architecture, subse-quently used to sample values from the photogrammetric DSM. The dataset employed in this study comprises data collected from five case studies of small lowland streams in Poland and Denmark, consisting of 322 DSM and orthophoto raster samples. Each sample corresponds to a 10 by 10 meter area of the stream channel and adjacent land. A grid search was employed to identify the optimal combination of encoder, mask generation architecture, and batch size among multiple candidates. Solutions were evaluated using two cross-validation methods: stratified k-fold cross-validation, where validation subsets maintained the same proportion of samples from all case studies, and leave-one-case-out cross-validation, where the validation dataset originates entirely from a single case study, and the training set consists of samples from other case studies. The proposed solution was compared with existing methods for measuring WSE in small streams using a drone. The results indicate that the solution outperforms previous photogrammetry-based methods and is second only to the radar-based method, which is considered the most accurate method available. The solution is characterized by a high degree of explainability and generalization.

A parallel shallow water flow model is introduced in this paper. The explicit-time finite volume approach is adopted to solve the 2D shallow water equations on an unstructured triangular mesh. The proposed scheme is second-order accurate in temporal and spatial terms using the two-stage Runge-Kutta and the monotone upwind scheme for conservation law (MUSCL) methods, respectively. Based on Message Passing Interface (MPI) and OpenACC, a multi-GPU model is presented with the METIS library to produce the domain decomposition. A CUDA-aware MPI library through GPUDirect for peer-to-peer (P2P) transfer between two GPUs and overlapping computation and MPI communication are used to speed up MPI memory exchange and the performance of the code. A 2D circular dam break test with wet and dry downstream beds and grid resolutions of about 2 million cells is considered to verify the accuracy of the code, and good results were achieved compared to the numerical simulations of published studies. Compared with the multi-CPU version of the 6-core CPU, maximum speedups of 56.18 and 331.51 were obtained using the single-GPU and multi-GPU versions, respectively. Results indicate that acceleration performance improves as the mesh resolution increases.

Free-Living Amoebae (FLA) are widely distributed protozoa in both nature and artificial environments such as drinking water. Besides the ability of all FLA to transport various pathogenic microorganisms, certain species, Acanthamoeba spp. or Balamuthia mandrillaris, have intrinsic pathogenic abilities and cause severe cerebral infections. Previous work has shown an enrichment of FLA cysts in biofilm developed in upper levels of Drinking Water Storage Towers (DWST), suggesting that differences in densities of FLA cysts may play a role in their unequal distribution in the water column. To evaluate this hypothesis, a model of a water column was created for this study and used to analyze the vertical distribution of cysts of the FLA Acanthamoeba castellanii, Vermamoeba vermiformis and Balamuthia mandrillaris from 0 to 23 weeks. Interestingly, our data showed that the cysts of both A. castellanii and V. vermiformis were enriched in upper water levels during their aging. However, B. mandrillaris cysts were equally distributed in the water column during the entire study. These results showed that, besides the role of the water level variation in the DWST, some FLA cysts can become less dense during their aging, which contributes to their enrichment in upper water, and thus biofilm levels.

There is a deep link existing between symmetry and nature that may be best apprehended by using group theory. In physics, giving a symmetry group is entirely equivalent to fix natural laws (Noether’s theorem). Within such a framework, it follows that all fundamental mechanical laws may be given by defining a group of symmetry operations belonging to the Gal(3,1) symmetry group having ten generators (3 + 3 + 3 + 1 = 10). The move to special relativity amounts simply to substitute another group ISO(3,1) to Gal(3,1) and having the same number of generators. In both cases, one immediately perceives that we live in universe with 3 dimensions of space and 1 dimension of time. A further progress could be made by looking for the symmetry group that leaves Maxwell’s equations invariant. The answer to this fundamental question is the group ISO(4,2)⊗U(2)⊗U(2) characterized by 23 generators : 15 = 10 + 5 for the conformal group ISO(4,2), 4 for U(2) and hence 8 = 4 + 4 for the compact part U(2)⊗U(2) that could be related to the existence of quantum physics besides relativity. As ISO(3,1) is a sub-group of ISO(4,2), the two numbers 4 and 2 suggests that, taking into account the existence of light besides matter, we live in an universe having 4 spacelike dimensions and 2 time-like dimensions. Here, it is proposed that, as music is characterized by a scale-invariant symmetry operation (transposition by octaves) and that as time may be perceived differently in shamanic trance for instance, the two “new” dimensions of our universe may be related to music and consciousness. Related to the fifth dimension of music, the notion of diapason linking physical frequencies to a musical note is revisited. It is thus proposed to adopt a new A4 = 429.62 Hz value based on universal physical constants of our universe and on the mass of the water molecule H₂O, the most abundant molecule in the universe. Demonstration is done that this new diapason is superior to other diapasons based on frequencies of 440 Hz or even 432 Hz

Achieving sustainable development will require improved water management, but the main framework to address it, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), lacks clarity and acceptance among a diverse community of many stakeholders. This creates communication problems and obscures issues that people care about like drinking water and pollution prevention. As a process within IWRM, the concept of water resources assessment also suffers from a lack of clarity, which leads to ambiguity and reports that are too general to lead to action. This lack of acceptance of IWRM and water resources assessment saps support for essential data collection, analysis, and reporting. Clarifying IWRM will require work within the water community and better messaging to stakeholders. Methods for water resources assessment can be clarified by linking outcomes to higher level reporting of policy and issues. Acceptance of the role of water resources assessment can be facilitated by adding it to the management instruments in the IWRM Toolbox. Stovepipes among water management agencies require coordination to achieve this, usually through framework studies. Improved messaging will involve what people and stakeholders care about and will require changed approaches to presentation of outcomes by categories, such as drinking water, pollution prevention, and flood risk reduction. Researchers can report outcomes with technical messaging that trends toward uniform language and definitions and the water resources management community can nudge its media outlets to carry unifying messages.

Highly transparent, conductive nanosheets are extremely attractive for advanced optoelectronic applications. Previously, we have demonstrated that transparent, conductive Au nanosheets can be prepared by UV irradiation of Au nanoparticle (AuNP) monolayers spread on water, which serves as the subphase. In this study, we show that this UV irradiation technique can easily be extended as a nanosheet modification method by using subphases containing metal ions. That is, aqueous solutions containing Au and Ag ions are effective in modifying Au nanosheets. HAuCl4 solutions increased Au nanosheet thickness, which improved conductivity, but reduced transparency. On the other hand, use of aqueous AgNO3 and CH3COOAg solutions yielded Au-Ag hybrid nanosheets; however, their morphologies depended on the electrolytes used. Homogeneous Au-Ag nanosheets from AgNO3 and AuNPs covered with an Ag nanosheet from CH3COOAg were also produced. Further, these Au-Ag hybrid nanosheets had high conductivity without reduced transparency. Therefore, this UV irradiation method, modified by adding metal ions is quite effective at improving and diversifying properties of Au nanosheets.