Article
Engineering, Environmental
James P. R. Sorensen, Jacintha Nayebare, Andrew F. Carr, Robert Lyness, Luiza C. Campos, Lena Ciric, Timothy Goodall, Robinah Kulabako, Catherine M. Rushworth Curran, Alan M. MacDonald, Michael Owor, Daniel S. Read, Richard G. Taylor
Summary: The study found that in-situ tryptophan-like fluorescence (TLF) and humic-like fluorescence (HLF) were more accurate predictors of thermotolerant coliforms (TTCs) quantity. Compared to the traditional indicator of TTCs, these two methods are faster and more resilient, performing better in the wet season.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Brian M. Pecson, Emily Darby, Richard Danielson, Yeggie Dearborn, George Di Giovanni, Walter Jakubowski, Menu Leddy, George Lukasik, Bonnie Mull, Kara L. Nelson, Adam Olivieri, Channah Rock, Theresa Slifko
Summary: The California State Water Resources Control Board is the first regulatory body in the United States to develop statewide regulations for direct potable reuse (DPR). They conducted a pathogen monitoring campaign to better understand the concentration of human pathogens in raw wastewater. By optimizing methods and analyzing over 120 samples from five wastewater treatment plants, they obtained a high-quality dataset.
Review
Engineering, Environmental
Christina M. Morrison, Samantha Hogard, Robert Pearce, Daniel Gerrity, Eric C. Wert, Urs von Gunten
Summary: This study analyzed ozone disinfection data for viruses, Giardia cysts, and C. parvum oocysts, and found that ozone's inactivation efficiency decreases in the order of viruses >> Giardia cysts > C. parvum oocysts. The USEPA Ct models accurately predicted inactivation of C. parvum oocysts and viruses, but overestimated inactivation of Giardia cysts. Common surrogate organisms showed different inactivation kinetics compared to mammalian viruses and C. parvum oocysts.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shaofu Qiu, Kangkang Liu, Chaojie Yang, Ying Xiang, Kaiyuan Min, Kunpeng Zhu, Hongbo Liu, Xinying Du, Mingjuan Yang, Ligui Wang, Yong Sun, Haijian Zhou, Muti Mahe, Jiayong Zhao, Shijun Li, Deshan Yu, Jane Hawkey, Kathryn E. Holt, Stephen Baker, Juntao Yang, Xuebin Xu, Hongbin Song
Summary: The antimicrobial resistance of Shigella sonnei is a global concern. This study reports on a phylogenetic group of S. sonnei with extensive drug resistance, which has caused multiple waterborne shigellosis outbreaks in China. The resistance is associated with the acquisition of plasmids.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Editorial Material
Immunology
Hajime Kanamori, David J. Weber, Jennifer E. Flythe, William A. Rutala
Summary: Patients receiving dialysis are at a higher risk of healthcare-associated infections, with water being a potential source of the infections. Inadequate infection prevention practices and dialysis water management contribute to waterborne outbreaks. Dialysis clinics should adhere to recommendations regarding monitoring bacteria and endotoxin levels in hemodialysis water and dialysate.
OPEN FORUM INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Mathematics, Applied
Jinling Zhou, Yu Yang, Cheng-Hsiung Hsu
Summary: We study the traveling waves of a discrete diffusive waterborne pathogen model with general incidence. The existence and non-existence of traveling waves are determined by the basic reproduction number R0 and the minimum wave speed c*. We establish the traveling waves connecting the disease-free equilibrium and endemic equilibrium when R0 > 1 and c ≥ c*, using the Schauder fixed point theorem, technique of Lyapunov function, and the limiting argument. The non-existence of traveling waves can be verified using the comparison principle and the method of Laplace transform when R0 ≤ 1 or R0 > 1 and c < c*. Our results show that the diffusion rates of infectious individuals and bacteria in water can increase the minimum wave speed.
COMMUNICATIONS IN NONLINEAR SCIENCE AND NUMERICAL SIMULATION
(2023)
Article
Mathematics
Beryl Musundi, Johannes Mueller, Zhilan Feng
Summary: This study presents a multi-scale model that connects the within-host and between-host dynamics of cholera. Numerical simulations reveal the mechanisms and patterns of cholera occurrence and spread.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Amos Branch, Greg Leslie, Pierre Le-Clech
Summary: In this study, a critical review was conducted to gather all available log removal values (LRV) data reported for membrane bioreactors (MBRs) in recent literature. The correlation between MBR operating parameters and LRV was found to be difficult based on available literature data, but LRV PDFs can be used for probabilistic quantitative microbiological risk assessment. The study identified target pathogens and microbial surrogates based on the most conservatively removed microorganisms by MBRs.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Brian E. Lapointe, Rachel A. Brewton, Jeffrey M. Littlejohn
Summary: Wastewater management is a critical issue globally, especially in proximity to sensitive ecosystems. Distributed wastewater treatment units (DWTUs) are a state-approved alternative to centralized sewer infrastructure, and this study tested the performance of a DWTU in Lake Hamilton, FL. The results showed significant improvements in effluent quality compared to influent, indicating the effectiveness of DWTUs in improving wastewater quality. These systems could be particularly useful in sensitive areas where advanced wastewater treatment is required.
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chamteut Oh, Seungil Pak, Young-Soo Ha, Nguyen Thi Hoang Ha, Moonil Hong, Sangwoo Ji
Summary: The water treatment system utilizing electrocoagulation and filtration technologies successfully purified contaminated groundwater containing pathogens and arsenic, reducing pollutant concentrations to safe levels and providing a sustainable solution for rural areas.
ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Abdul Arif Khan, Zakir Khan
Summary: Coronavirus outbreaks, including SARS, MERS and COVID-19, have caused significant global healthcare and economic burdens in the past two decades. Efforts to identify potential viral targets for management of these outbreaks are ongoing, with a focus on common host proteins to prevent current and future outbreaks. Targeting proteins like FURIN and TMPRSS2, which are involved in recent and previous outbreaks, may provide promising results in the development of new therapeutic modalities. However, safety evaluation and risk assessment are crucial considerations when targeting necessary human proteins for the management of coronavirus.
BRIEFINGS IN BIOINFORMATICS
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Yoong-Ling Oon, Yoong-Sin Oon, Muhammad Ayaz, Min Deng, Lu Li, Kang Song
Summary: This comprehensive review examines the trajectory of waterborne pathogenic bacteria detection technologies from traditional techniques to current detection methods including PCR techniques and emerging techniques such as biosensors and artificial intelligence. The paper discusses the merits, constraints, research gaps, and future perspectives of these techniques, with a focus on their applicability in field settings and timely analyses. The integration of AI with these technologies has enhanced detection accuracy, enabling real-time analysis of large datasets.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Zhao Chen, Jianghong Meng
Summary: Metagenomics provides high strain discrimination ability for bacterial pathogen identification in complex food and water microbiota. This study benchmarks short-read assemblers for metagenomic identification of foodborne and waterborne pathogens using simulated bacterial communities. MEGHIT, metaSPAdes, and Ray Meta were found to be more effective for metagenomic identification. Higher sequencing depths generally led to more accurate results. Continuous evaluation of assemblers is important as assembly algorithms advance and mature.
Article
Engineering, Civil
Sadaf Teimoori, Mohammad Hessam Olya, Carol J. Miller
Summary: This research introduces a method that combines groundwater models and machine learning algorithms to design optimal Groundwater Level Monitoring Networks. The study uses K-means clustering and relevance vector machine algorithms to determine the optimal configuration of observation wells, and compares the different network configurations to evaluate their effects.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Laura E. Condon, Stefan Kollet, Marc F. P. Bierkens, Graham E. Fogg, Reed M. Maxwell, Mary C. Hill, Harrie-Jan Hendricks Fransen, Anne Verhoef, Anne F. Van Loon, Mauro Sulis, Corinna Abesser
Summary: Groundwater, as the largest unfrozen freshwater resource on Earth, has been historically excluded from global models. Efforts have been made to develop global scale groundwater modeling, but there are still key technological and data challenges that need to be addressed to achieve a consistent global groundwater framework.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2021)