Mcfarlandolesen8264

Optimizing the hydraulic performance of free water surface constructed wetlands (FWS CWs) is of great economic and ecological value. However, there is a complex nonlinear relationship between the hydraulic performance and design parameters of FWS CWs. In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN) was applied to simulate and predict the hydraulic performance corresponding to different combinations of design parameters, and orthogonal design L9 (34) was used to determine the optimal combination of the important hyperparameters of the ANN. Based on the convenient scenario prediction ability of ANN, sensitivity analysis of different design parameters was carried out by the control variate method and full factor experiment. The results showed that the combination of 3 hidden layers, 15 neural nodes in each hidden layer, 0.001 learning rate, and 8 batch sizes was optimal for the established ANN model, achieving a coefficient of determination of 0.828 in the validation set and a satisfactory prediction effect in the test set. The narrow feature distribution interval in the training set restricted the generalization ability of the ANN model to some extent. Of the four continuous design parameters, the water depth and aspect ratio had an important influence on the effective volume ratio. The layout of inlet and outlet was the most influential design parameter, as confirmed by the full factor experiment of five factors and four levels. The established ANN allowed real-time implementation in an extended scenario at a low cost. This study suggests that the ANN can simultaneously project complex and uncertain effects of several design parameters on wetland performance. In future research, acquiring further comprehensive, impartial, and unbiased experimental datasets is necessary to establish a more robust and generalizing ANN model that can guide the optimal design of FWS CWs.Soil fertility and phosphorus management by bone apatite amendment are receiving increasing attention, yet further research is needed to integrate the physicochemical and mineralogical transformation of bone apatite and their impact on the supply and storage of phosphorus in soil. This study has examined bone transformation in the field over a span of 10-years using a set of synchrotron-based microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. Transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) observations reveal the in-situ deterioration of bone osteocyte-canaliculi system and sub-micron microbial tunneling within a year. Extensive organic decomposition, secondary mineral formation and re-mineralization of apatite are evident from the 3rd year. The relative ratio of (v1 + v3) PO43- to v3 CO32- and to amide I increase, and the v3c PO43- peak exhibits a blue-shift in less than 3 years. The carbonate substitution of bone hydroxyapatite (HAp) to AB-type CHAp, and phosphate crystallographic rearrangement become apparent after 10 years' a phosphorus within the bone and its interplay with adjacent soil account for a sustainable supply and storage of phosphorus nutrients.Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) released from landfills have received increased attention because of their health risks. In this study, individual external and internal exposures of BTEX in a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill were simultaneously studied for the first time. Eight workers from the landfill (as the case group) and eight control subjects were enrolled in the study. In total, 88 air samples and 232 urine samples (194 samples from the case group and 38 samples from the control group) were obtained from 2018 to 2019. According to the results of external exposure monitoring, benzene was the predominant component of BTEX, and the exposure level was higher in winter than in other seasons. Carcinogenic (RiskT) and noncarcinogenic (HIT) risks were calculated based on a dose-response model. The RiskT (1.64 × 10-8-1.09 × 10-6) might exceeded the limit, whereas HIT (9.84 × 10-4-1.40 × 10-2) was within their thresholds. Benzene was the major contributor to both RiskT and HIT. Internal exposures were evaluated by measuring urinary metabolites of BTEX. Levels of urinary BTEX metabolites for case group were higher than those for control group. A remarkable increase in urinary metabolites was observed from the urine samples of the case group after their shift compared with those before their shift. t,t-MA, the metabolite of benzene, was found to exceed the biomonitoring guidance limits of both China and the United States of America. Landfills can be considered as a potential BTEX exposure source for landfill employees. Minimizing occupational exposures and appropriate personal protective equipment are needed in reducing BTEX exposures.As the popularity of nature-based recreation and tourism grows, protected area (PA) managers around the world are faced with escalating monitoring and management challenges across spatial and temporal scales. Citizen science, an emerging research approach which involves active public participation and collaboration with scientists in the scientific process, is an innovative tool that could help managers address these challenges. This study applied the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review Recommendations (PRISMA) protocol to review published studies that utilized citizen science methods in recreation research, examining the extent and nature of such applications and identifying future opportunities. We identified 20 peer-reviewed journal articles from the Web of Science, most of which were published since 2015. These studies utilized different citizen science approaches to examine recreation patterns, behaviors, and impacts in terrestrial and marine PAs. We found that citizen science was used most often in marine PAs, with specialized recreationists (e.g., SCUBA divers) as the most frequent contributors. The types of volunteers recruited differed by their sources (i.e., general public, recreation specialists, and organizational affiliates) and roles (i.e., volunteers as agents of data collection and volunteers as research subjects), with innovative technology (e.g., participatory GIS) creating new engagement opportunities. Despite these benefits, the accuracy and reliability of citizen science data remain important considerations for managers. Our review demonstrates how citizen science can inform management and enhance public participation in PA stewardship activities, and it reveals the need for more research to explore applications of citizen science in different recreation contexts.

Higher cardiovascular mortality is seen with schizophrenia due to the disorder itself and antipsychotic use. find more South Asians are more vulnerable to developing metabolic disorders than others. Resource-limited settings in South Asia have only a few mental health professionals, and individualised case management is mostly unavailable. Therefore, there is less monitoring and personalised support for diet and physical exercise programmes. Topiramate is useful for weight reduction and improvement of psychopathology in schizophrenia. However, there has been only one previous randomised controlled trial (RCT) done in South Asia, which possesses a quarter of the world's population.

We conducted a double-blind RCT in an outpatient setting in Sri Lanka. We compared topiramate 100mg/day with a placebo in overweight/obese adults with schizophrenia who have been on antipsychotics for at least a year. We obtained monthly anthropometric measurements and assessed the symptomatology using the brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS).

Fifty patients each in the topiramate and placebo arms completed the study. Topiramate add-on therapy led to significant weight/Body Mass Index reduction and improved symptomatology as measured by the BPRS compared to the placebo. The topiramate group had significantly more reporting of loss of appetite.

According to available data, this is the RCT with most participants assessing the use of topiramate in schizophrenia and only the second in South Asia. Topiramate was shown to be useful for weight reduction and symptomatic improvement in persons with schizophrenia in a resource-limited setting in South Asia.

According to available data, this is the RCT with most participants assessing the use of topiramate in schizophrenia and only the second in South Asia. Topiramate was shown to be useful for weight reduction and symptomatic improvement in persons with schizophrenia in a resource-limited setting in South Asia.Treatment gaps of 60-70%, reflecting, amongst many other factors, Human Resources shortfalls means that 150 million India never accessed mental healthcare. In Punjab, mental health training is required in primary health centers. A short-term synchronous training was conceptualized by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences. A total of 114 primary care doctors participated for the training. Substantial positive changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices were noted. Task sharing and capacity building initiatives can be undertaken during the pandemic to meet the demand for mental healthcare service delivery.Antibiotic contamination has become the primary environmental concern due to its potential to induce the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). To obtain the efficient antibiotic removal approach, the combination of photocatalysis and microalgae technology for the efficient removal and reducing environmental risk of three typical antibiotics (norfloxacin, oxytetracycline and sulfamethoxazole) was demonstrated in this study. The g-C3N4 material, with advantages of low cost, simple synthesizing, nontoxic, and wider spectral absorption, was selected and synthesized by an easy thermal polymerization process of urea. Characterization results showed that the prepared material exhibited a typical structure of g-C3N4 and irregular nanosheet structure with the large BET surface area and mesoporous structure. The irradiation wavelength and solution pH showed great influences on the photocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin over g-C3N4 nanosheets. •O2-, h+, and •OH generated by the photocatalysis of g-C3N4 nanosheets were confirmed based on energy band results and electron spin resonance detection, while •O2- was the main contributor to the antibiotics degradation in accordance with scavenging experiments. Many NOR photocatalytic products were identified and degradation pathway was proposed. link2 Due to the formation of many unmineralized products, the acute toxicity of NOR photocatalytic reaction solution was increased. link3 And then, the introduction of microalgae promoted the degradation of some photocatalytic degradation products of NOR, but only Chlorella pyrenoidosa treatment resulted in the decrease of toxicity of NOR reaction solution. This study provides useful information on the application of the combination of photocatalysis and microalgae technology for removal of antibiotics.An innovative electro-Fenton enhanced membrane photobioreactor with satisfactory membrane fouling mitigation was constructed for microalgae harvesting. The porous carbon and carbon nanotubes hollow fiber membranes (PC-CHFMs) were used as the separation unit and cathode, simultaneously. H2O2 was generated by cathode reducing O2 in-situ, which would further produce •OH as the main oxidant by coupling H2O2 with Fe2+. The •OH could deeply remove the extracellular organic matter (EOM) deposited on the membrane surface or inside the pores. Experimental results showed that the permeate flux recovery rates of PC-CHFMs by electro-Fenton at the 18th, 29th and 41st day were 100%, 100% and 98.3%, respectively. The corresponding recovery rates by chemical cleaning at the same time were 99.8%, 81.7% and 54.4%. The stable and high permeate flux of PC-CHFMs made a great contribution to the microalgae harvesting efficiency, where the concentration factor could be 4.8 times higher than that of the control group. Filtrating superiority of PC-CHFMs was becoming more prominent with the extension of operating time.