The research was conducted in the Kırklareli stream, which flows southwest through the city of the same name toward the village of Kavaklı. The aim of the study is to evaluate water analysis results and assess the potential that the European Union drinking water standard for lead can be achieved in the Kırklareli stream by reliance on the low solubility of lead phosphate minerals. The present study used Visual MINTEQ 3.1 for all water chemistry simulations. The European Union drinking water standard for lead, which is 10 μg L⁻¹, is exceeded at least once and as many as three times at seven of the ten sites during the 2018 sampling season. Although the database solubility of hydroxypyromorphite is exceeded in most samples, it appears this may be the result of major ion substitutions in the hydroxypromorphite that forms in the Kırklareli stream which increases the effective solubility of lead in the stream.

This study was aimed at investigating the effects of roasting and cryogenic milling on particle size, water solubility, and amount of bioactive components in ginseng root. Samples were pulverized by cryogenic milling, and one treatment condition was selected for each size range (10-50 μm, and >50 μm). The selected samples were roasted at different temperatures (160-200 °C) followed by cryogenic milling. Powdered samples were analyzed for their physicochemical characteristics. Results revealed that roasted samples exhibited significantly smaller particle size than controls (not roasted, p<0.05), and the particle size of roasted samples decreased with increase in roasting temperature until flocculation occurred around 180-190 °C. With decrease in particle size of ginseng; water solubility index, antioxidant activity, total polyphenol content, and total polysaccharide content were observed to increase. Ginseng samples showed an increasing trend in antioxidant activity with decreasing particle size (p>0.05) with significantly higher values for all roasted samples compared to the controls (p<0.05). Non-polar ginsenosides such as Rg2(S), Rg2(R), Rg3(S), Rg3(R), and Rh1(S) showed an increase in temperature-dependent manner. This study revealed that roasting at certain temperature range with cryogenic milling has positive effects on ginseng by reducing its particle size, and increasing water solubility and bioactive components.

This study aimed to decrease the particle size of ginseng by roasting and cryogenic milling to increase its water solubility and physiological activity. The samples were roasted for different times (9–21 min) and generated in different sizes (10–50, and > 50 μm). All roasted samples revealed significantly smaller particle sizes than did non-roasted samples based on Sauter mean diameter (D [3,2], p < 0.05). Further, the particle sizes of roasted samples decreased till roasting up to 15 min. In terms of the water solubility index (WSI), antioxidant activity, total polyphenol content (TPC), and total polysaccharides according to particle size, 10-20 μm-sized samples showed the highest values when compared with >50 μm-sized samples. Based on roasting time, WSI values of all samples roasted for up to 15 min were higher than those of the control (not roasted) (p < 0.05). Antioxidant activity and TPC also increased with increasing roasting time. Total polysaccharide content was the highest upon roasting for 15 min except for the 10-20 μm sample. Ginsenoside content of roasted samples >20 μm size was higher than that of the control (not roasted) except after 15 min of roasting. Therefore, roasting and cryogenic milling are effective in producing ginseng root powder.

Choice of the salts of therapeutic agents or active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) is based on the physicochemical properties of API and the dosage form considerations. The appropriate salt can have positive effect on overall therapeutic and pharmaceutical effects of API. However, the incorrect salt form can negatively affect the overall pharmaceutical outcomes of the API. This review addresses various criteria for choosing appropriate salt form along with the effect of salt forms on API’s pharmaceutical properties. In addition to comprehensive review of the criteria, this review also gives a brief historic perspective of the salt selection process.

The increasing popularity of porphyrins and hydroporphyrins for application in a variety of biomedical (photodynamic therapy, fluorescence tagging and imaging, photoacoustic imaging) and technical (chemosensing, catalysis, light harvesting) applications is also associated with the growing number of methodologies that enable their solubilization in aqueous media. Natively, the vast majority of synthetic porphyrinic compounds are not water-soluble. Moreover, any water-solubility imposes several restrictions on the synthetic chemist on when to install solubilizing groups in the synthetic sequence, and how to isolate and purify these compounds. This review summarizes the chemical modifications to render synthetic porphyrins water-soluble, with a focus on the work since 2000. Where available, practical data such as solubility, indicators for the degree of aggregation, and special notes for the practicioner are listed. We hope that this review will guide synthetic chemists through the many strategies known to make porphyrins and hydroporphyrins water soluble.

Production and transport of reactive species through plasma-liquid interactions plays a significant role in multiple applications in biomedicine, environment, and agriculture. We experimentally investigated the transport mechanisms of hydrogen peroxide H2O2 and ozone O3, as the typical plasma species, into water. We measured the solvation of gaseous H2O2 and O3 in airflow into water bulk vs. electrosprayed microdroplets while changing the gas and water flow rates, applied voltage that determines the gas-liquid interface area, and treatment time. The solvation rate of H2O2 and O3 increased with the treatment time and the gas-liquid interface area. The total surface area of the electrosprayed microdroplets was larger than that of the bulk, but their lifetime was much shorter. We estimated that only microdroplets with diameters below ~ 40 µm could achieve the saturation by O3 during their lifetime, while the saturation by H2O2 was impossible due to its depletion from air. Besides the short-lived flying microdroplets, the longer-lived bottom microdroplets substantially contributed to H2O2 and O3 solvation in water electrospray. This study contributes to a better understanding of the gaseous H2O2 and O3 transport into water as a function of different parameters and will lead to design optimization of the plasma-liquid interaction systems.

The low water solubility of any pharmacoactive molecules limits their pharmacological potential but the solubility parameter cannot compromise, so different approaches are employed to enhance their bioavailability. Pharmaceutically active molecules with low solubility convey a higher risk of failure for drug innovation and development. Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and several other parameters, such as drug distribution, protein binding and absorption, are majorly affected by their solubility. Among all pharmaceutical dosage forms, the oral dosage forms cover more than 50 %, and the drug molecule should be water-soluble. For good therapeutic activity by the drug molecule on the target site, solubility and bioavailability are crucial factors. The pharmaceutical industry screening programs identified that around 40% of new chemical entities (N.C.E.s) face various difficulties at the formulation and development step. These pharmaceuticals are attributed to their less solubility and bioavailability. The bioavailability and drug solubility enhancement are significant challenges in the area of pharmaceutical formulations. According to the Classification of Biopharmaceutics, Class II and IV drugs (APIs) exhibits poor solubility, lower bioavailability, and less dissolution. Various technologies are discussed in this article to improve the solubility of the poorly water-soluble drug, for example, complexation of active molecules, utilization of emulsion formation, micelles, microemulsions, cosolvents, polymeric micelles preparation, particle size reduction technologies, pharmaceutical salts, prodrugs, solid-state alternation technique, soft gel technology, drug nanocrystals, solid dispersion methods, crystal engineering techniques and nanomorph technology. This review mainly describes several other advanced methodologies for solubility and bioavailability enhancement, such as crystal engineering, micronization, solid dispersions, nano sizing, use of cyclodextrins, solid lipid nanoparticles, colloidal drug delivery systems and drug conjugates, by some appropriate research reports.

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of supplementation of inorganic sources of manganese (MnO, MnSO4), zinc (ZnO, ZnSO4) and copper (CuSO4) at different levels (0.06%DM for Mn, 0.05%DM for Zn; and 0.01 and 0.05%DM for Cu) on in vitro rumen fermentation, solubility and bioavailability. Fermentation activity was measured by total gas production (TGP) and dry matter degradability after 70hrs of fermentation (dDM%). Trace-mineral (TM) solubility was estimated by the TM concentration in the supernatant of the final fermentation medium (SOL) and TM bioavailability by the TM concentration in a bacterial enriched fraction (BACT). Mn (regardless of source) and ZnO tended (p&lt;0.10) to decrease, while Cu showed no significant effect on TGP. The addition of inorganic Mn and of ZnO tended (p&lt;0.10) to decrease, ZnSO4 tended to increase (p&lt;0.10), whilst Cu showed no effect on dDM%. Concerning solubility, Mn (MnO and MnSO4), ZnSO4 and CuSO4 significantly (p&lt;0.05, p&lt;0.001 and p&lt;0.01) increased, while ZnO did not affect TM content of the SOL. These results indicate that MnSO4, ZnSO4 and CuSO4 are highly soluble, MnO is quite soluble, while ZnO has a low solubility in the rumen. Based on the TM content of BACT, MnO, MnS4 and CuSO4 have a high bioavailability, while ZnO is poorly assimilated by rumen bacteria. However, the lack of clear inhibition or improvement of fermentations suggests that the rumen microbiota has low requirement for TM supplementation.

Here, we report the synthesis and experimental characterization of three drug-drug eutectic mixtures of drug aminoglutethimide (AMG) with caffeine (CAF), nicotinamide (NIC) and ethenzamide (ZMD). The eutectic mixtures (AMG-CAF, AMG-NIC and AMG-ZMD) demonstrate significant melting point depressions ranging from 99.2 to 127.2 °C compared to the melting point of the drug AMG (151°C) and also show significantly higher aqueous solubilities than that of the AMG. The results presented include the determination of the binary melt phase diagrams and accompanying analytical characterization via X-ray powder diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy and Scanning electron microscopy.

Chemical flooding is one of the effective methods to recover large volumes of oil from sandstone formations after primary depletion. However, silica dissolution often occurs during Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) flooding, affecting the petro-physical properties of the formation. To address this issue, samples from Berea sandstone formations were treated with various brine solutions, through static tube tests and core flooding experiments. Analytical tests such as DR/2800 spectrophotometer and scanning electron microscope were used to evaluate the silica solubility and the alteration in mineral content. The results indicated that the silicate contents decreased after the saturation due to silica solubility in the solution. Increasing brine salinity to 40,000ppm and introducing Magnesium and Calcium ions to the solution, reduces the silicate contents by 5.03 % and 7.32 %. Moreover, saturating the samples with ASP solution, further reduced the silicate contents by 14.86 %. This reduction is associated with a relative increase in silica solubility and pH of the solution. Silica dissolution affects the pore microstructure, which resulted in increasing the porosity and pore volume after the core flooding. The injection of the ASP solution increased the porosity by 5.83%, thus the pore volume increased from 17.72 to 18.76cc. This is associated with the high silica solubility and the increase of solution pH in the ASP solution. The permeability of the samples generally reduced after the core flooding, due to the silica solubility. However, injecting the ASP solution, resulted in a major reduction of the permeability by more than 75%. These changes in the petro-physical properties can lead to severe formation damage, and affect hydrocarbon production. This study assists in understanding the impact of silica dissolution during ASP treatment and addresses the factors involved. Efficient utilization of chemical flooding can help mitigating silicate scaling within the formation, and extend field productivity.

In the present work, a novel and the robust computational investigation is carried out to estimate solubility of different acids in supercritical carbon dioxide. Four different algorithms such as radial basis function artificial neural network, Multi-layer Perceptron (MLP) artificial neural network (ANN), Least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) are developed to predict the solubility of different acids in carbon dioxide based on the temperature, pressure, hydrogen number, carbon number, molecular weight, and acid dissociation constant of acid. In the purpose of best evaluation of proposed models, different graphical and statistical analyses and also a novel sensitivity analysis are carried out. The present study proposed the great manners for best acid solubility estimation in supercritical carbon dioxide, which can be helpful for engineers and chemists to predict operational conditions in industries.

Resveratrol, because of its low solubility in water and its high membrane permeability, is collocated in the second class of the biopharmaceutical classification system, with limited bioavailability due to its dissolution rate. Solid dispersion of resveratrol supported on magnesium dihydroxide (RESV@MDH) was evaluated to improve solubility and increase bioavailability of resveratrol. Fluorimetric microscopy and granulometric analysis display three types of microparticles with similar size: type 1 that emitted preferably fluorescence at 463 nm (λ_ecc 358 nm), type 2 that emitted preferably fluorescence at 605 nm (λ_ecc 550 nm) andtype 3 that are non-fluorescent. Micronized pure resveratrol display only microparticles type 1 whereas type 3 are associated to pure magnesium dihydroxide. Dissolution test in simulated gastric environment resveratrol derived from RESV@MDH in comparison to resveratrol alone displayed better solubility. According to the biopharmaceutical classification, an increase of 3 fold of resveratrol bioavailabilitywas observed after oral administration of 50 mg/Kg of resveratrol of RESV@MDH in rabbits. We hypothesize that type 2 microparticles represent magnesium dihydroxide microparticles with a resveratrol shell and that they are responsible for the improved resveratrol solubility and bioavailability of RESV@MDH.

Ion association is an important process in aqueous dissolution, precipitation, and~crystallization of ionic inorganic, organic, and biological materials. Polyoxometalates (POMs) are good model compounds for understanding the complex relationships between lattice energy, ion-pairing in solution, and salt solubility. Here we perform calorimetric measurements to elucidate trends in cluster stability, lattice energy, and ion-pairing behavior studies of simple hexatantalate salts in neat water, parent hydroxide solutions, and molybdate melts, extending previous studies on the isostructural hexaniobates. High temperature calorimetry of alkali salts of hexatantalate reveals that the enthalpies of formation from oxides of the K, Rb, and Cs salts are more similar to each other than they are for their niobate analogues and that the tantalate cluster is energetically less stable than hexaniobate. Aqueous dissolution calorimetry reveals that the cesium salt of hexatantalate has a similar concentration dependence on its dissolution enthalpy to that of hexaniobate. However, unlike~rubidium hexaniobate, rubidium hexatantalate also exhibits increased concentration dependence, indicating that hextantalate can undergo increased ion-pairing with alkali salts other than cesium, despite the dilute environments studied. Dissolution enthalpies of POM salts in the parent alkali hydroxides shows that protonation of clusters stabilizes lattices even more than the strongly associating heavy alkali cations do. Additionally, neither weak nor strong lattice ion associations necessarily correlates with respectively high or low aqueous solubility. These studies illuminate the importance of considering ion-pairing among the interrelated processes in the aqueous dissolution of ionic salts that can be extended to serving as a model of cation association to metal oxide surfaces.

Ellagic acid, a polyphenolic compound present in fruits and berries, has recently been object of extensive research for its antioxidant activity, which might be useful for the prevention and treatment of cancer, cardiovascular pathologies, and neurodegenerative disorders. Its protective role justifies numerous attempts to include it in functional food preparations and in dietary supplements not only to limit the unpleasant collateral effects of chemotherapy. However, ellagic acid use as chemopreventive agent has been debated because of its poor bioavailability associated to low solubility, limited permeability, first pass effect, and interindividual variability in gut microbial transformations. To overcome these drawbacks, various strategies for oral administration including solid dispersions, micro-nanoparticles, inclusion complexes, self-emulsifying systems, polymorphs have been proposed. Here, we have listed an updated description of pursued micro/nanotechnological approaches focusing on the fabrication processes and the features of the obtained products, as well as on the positive results yielded by in vitro and in vivo studies in comparison to the raw material. The micro/nano-sized formulations here described might be exploited for pharmaceutical delivery of this active, as well as for the production of nutritional supplements or for the enrichment of novel foods.

Due to the rapid development of nanotechnologies, materials, in particular , solid dispersions (SDs), which are actively introduced into the life of modern man, have been obtained. Special progress in this area is observed in industry and medicine. The use of SDs in agriculture is lagging far behind, despite the growing number of scientific papers on this topic. At the same time, the prospects for the introduction of SDs in the agro-industrial complex are obvious. The review presents the results of research on the development of innovative preparations based on SD to protect plants from diseases and pests of cultivated plants, as well as parasiticides to protect animal health based on modern achievements of nanotechnology. One of these technologies is the methods of mechanochemistry, which improve the properties of poorly soluble biologically active substances by their joint mechanical treatment with water-soluble polymers and auxiliary substances.

Calculating hydrocarbon components solubility of natural gases is known as one of the important issues for operational works in petroleum and chemical engineering. In this work, a novel solubility estimation tool has been proposed for hydrocarbon gases including methane, ethane, propane and butane in aqueous electrolyte solutions based on extreme learning machine (ELM) algorithm. Comparing the ELM outputs with a comprehensive real databank which has 1175 solubility points concluded to R-squared values of 0.985 and 0.987 for training and testing phases respectively. Furthermore, the visual comparison of estimated and actual hydrocarbon solubility leaded to confirm the ability of proposed solubility model. Additionally, sensitivity analysis has been employed on the input variables of model to identify their impacts on hydrocarbon solubility. Such a comprehensive and reliable study can help engineers and scientists to successfully determine the important thermodynamic properties which are key factors in optimizing and designing different industrial units such as refineries and petrochemical plants.

The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate a self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) to improve the oral absorption of poorly water-soluble Olaparib. Through the solubility test of Olaparib in various oils, surfactants and co-surfactants, pharmaceutical excipients for use in SMEDDS manufacturing were selected. Self-emulsifying regions were identified by mixing the selected materials at various ratios, and a pseudoternary phase diagram was constructed by synthesizing these results. Various physicochemical properties of microemulsion incorporating Olaparib were confirmed by investigating the particle morphology, particle size, zeta potential, drug content and stability. In addition, the improved dissolution and oral absorption of Olaparib were also confirmed through a dissolution test and a pharmacokinetic study. An optimal microemulsion was generated in the formulation of Capmul MCM EP/NF 10%, Labrasol 80% and PEG 400 10%. Fabricated nano-sized microemulsions were well-dispersed in aqueous solutions, and it was also confirmed that it was maintained well without any problems of either physical or chemical stability. The 5 min initial dissolution of Olaparib in fabricated formulations was improved by 10.6 times (pH1.2), 14.8 times (pH6.8) and 14.8 times (distilled water) compared to the values of Olaparib powder. The dissolution at 120min was 45.4±4.0%(pH1.2), 53.5±1.1% (pH6.8) and 58.1±1.00% (distilled water) in Olaparib powder but has been significantly improved by 1.7 times (74.8±1.9%), 1.6 times (84.2±0.3%) and 1.5 times (81.2±0.7%) in SMEDDS. Associated with the high dissolutions of Olaparib in fabricated microemulsions, the pharmacokinetic parameters were also greatly improved. The Cmax and AUCinf of Olaparib in the prepared microemulsion were increased 4.2- and 3.2-fold, respectively, compared to powder. Taken together with the results mentioned above, the microemulsion system could be an effective tool as an oral delivery formulation for Olaparib. Additionally, our results demonstrate that the SMEDDS systems comprising Capmul MCM, Labrasol and PEG 400 could be a useful option for improvement of several other poorly water-soluble drugs with physico-chemical properties similar to Olaparib.

The copper end paste used in multilayer ceramic capacitors sintered in nitrogen atmosphere will lead to carbon residue of organic vehicle, which will lead to the reduction of electrode conduc-tivity and high scrap rate. With an attempt to leave no residue in the sintering, the compatibility of solvents and thickeners should be improved because it has an important influence on the hi-erarchical volatilization and carbon residue of organic vehicles. In this work, the volatility of different solvents was compared and several solvents were mixed in a definite proportion to prepare an organic vehicle with polyacrylate resins. The hierarchical volatility and solubility parameters of mixed solvents were adjusted effectively by changing proportions of different components, the thermogravimetric curves of resins and organic vehicles were measured by thermogravimetric analyzer, the effect of solubility parameter on the dissolvability of resins in the solvent and the residual of organic vehicles were studied. Results showed that the hierar-chical volatilization of solvents can be obtained by mixing different solvents; the intrinsic vis-cosity of the organic vehicle is higher and the thermal decomposition residue of polyacrylate resins is lower when the solubility parameters of mixed solvents and polyacrylate resins are closer. The low residual sintering of organic vehicles can be achieved by using the mixed solvent with hierarchical volatility and approximate solubility parameters as resins.

A framework for the review of existing water management systems and their transformation into robust water sharing systems is offered. The framework focuses on the need to develop efficient and equitable ways to manage water scarcity and plan to deal with the tensions scarcity imposes on any community. The framework identifies a way to bring together traditional community-managed systems with those typically used to allocate water to large water users and more commonly found in developed countries. So that use can be kept within sustainable limits while optimizing use, the framework includes mechanisms that enable the reallocation of water as demand and supply conditions change. Non-consumptive uses are recognized and environmental objectives can be delivered efficiently. Compliance with well-established accounting and hydro-logical concepts. Ways to increase the value of existing entitlements, encourage innovation and protect investments are included as options. It is recognized that the governance and legal arrangements necessary to underpin successful implantation are context specific.

Through the process of paradigm change (water as a resource towards water as a common), the authors examine, from a theoretic point of view, the water governability proposed by Agenda del Agua Cochabamba (AdA) – Cochabamba Water Agenda – in the Cochabamba Valley (Bolivia), identifying barriers and drivers to the process that could take place. The rise of Evo Morales in Government in 2006 suggested that policy making would somehow take a fundamental turn resulting in more poor environmental-oriented water policies. However, if that was indeed the case, the implementation of these policies remain controversial as strong power asymmetries still exist at a local level that interfere with national policies shaping the political area. The Cochabamba Water Agenda echoes this debate on the political arena and contributes a politically contested water management through a paradigm change envisaging the difficulties through its implementation. The question remains if this “political” solution to paradigm change in water management may reduce water conflicts.

The awareness of the existence in plants of bioactive compounds namely phytochemicals (PHYs), having health properties is progressively expanding. Therefore, their massive introduction in the normal diet, in food supplements, and their use as natural therapeutics to treat several diseases are increasingly emphasized by several sectors. Particularly, most PHYs possessing antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiulcer, anti-cholesterol, hypoglycemic, immunomodulatory, and antioxidant properties have been isolated from plants. Additionally, their secondary modification with new functionalities, to further improve their intrinsic beneficial effects, is extensively investigated. Unfortunately, although the idea of exploiting PHYs as therapeutics is amazing, its realization is far from simple, and the possibility of exploiting them as effective orally administrable drugs is almost utopic. Most PHYs are insoluble in water and, when introduced orally, they scarcely reach the site of action in therapeutic concentrations. Degradation by enzymatic and microbial digestion, occurring in the mouth, stomach, and intestine, as well as fast metabolism and rapid excretion via the kidney, biliary, or lung, strongly limit their in vivo activity. To overcome these drawbacks, several nanotechnological approaches have been used and many PHYs-loaded delivery systems with dimensions of nanometers have been developed. This paper, also by reporting various recent case studies, reviews the foremost nano-suspension and nano-emulsion-based techniques developed for formulating the most relevant PHYs in more bioavailable nanoparticles (NPs), suitable or promising for clinical application. Also, the acute and chronic toxic effects due to the exposure to NPs reported so far, the possible nanotoxicity which could derive by their massive employment, as well as the ongoing actions to improve the knowledge in the field were discussed. The state of the art concerning the actual clinical application of both PHYs and the nanotechnologically engineered PHYs was also reviewed.

Water scarcity is a significant challenge facing Jordan today. It is a challenge in all areas that use water, and it has become certain that water is the critical factor in the population/resources equation. The water resources in Jordan have become limited with the noticeable increase in the population, mostly resulting from forced migrations in neighboring countries because of the wars and until our time. The rising natural population growth rate, along with the massive influx of refugees, has turned into a state of disproportion between the daily consumption of the population and the amount of water available. That Jordan shares most of its surface water resources with neighboring countries has exacerbated the situation. The current use of water already exceeds its renewable supply. Excessive withdrawal from aquifers, which leads to a lowering of the water table and deterioration in water quality, covered the deficit. This paper focuses on assessing the water situation in Jordan, mainly evaluating this problem and the solution being considered, the true basis for a sustainable water solution requires awareness by the population, and several governmental and non-governmental organizations are actively involved in educating residents about water shortages. The most important and 'actionable' elements of comprehensive water solutions are discussed in this paper, and these elements exist, develop extra water supplies, water harvesting, water desalination, proper wastewater reuse in the agricultural sector, and reduce the demand for drinking water. This research provides specific recommendations to address the shortage of water resources in the Kingdom and highlights the importance of water conservation and optimal use.

The growing need for water has pressured society and governments to focus more on preservation, planning and management of this natural resource, in which is fundamental to ecosystems and especially to humans. In this sense, the goal of this study was to analyze the national policy of water resources in Brazil and Italy, figuring out aspects that could promote its improvement, aiming at the preservation of water sources, guaranteeing satisfactory quantity and quality. They were carried out in 2019 by the environmental agencies of both countries, listing the main disciplinary regulations. The results show that although they are countries with different realities, they resemble similarities in managerial aspects of water resources, with legislation addressing qualitative and quantitative aspects of water, with guiding principles, instruments and actions aimed at the defence of this natural resource.

Mexico is currently facing important water management challenges. Cities in the country are facing water scarcity and at the same time, they struggle with floods during the raining season. The water sensitive urban design (WSUD) approach has proved to be helpful in tackling urban water challenges such as floods and water scarcity and it is being implemented in cities around the world. The WSUD approach highlights the role of both the water cycle and the water utilities systems, when transitioning towards a water sensitive stage. Therefore, the objective of this research is to analyse the current situation of the water cycle and the water utility (SIAPA). To do so, we have selected the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara (MAG) and proposes a case study approach. Within our case of study, we answer two questions: 1) What are the causes of water scarcity and flooding in the MAG? and 2) What are the proposals to solve these problems under a WSUD approach? By answering these questions, we identified that the water management in the MAG corresponds to a single purpose infrastructure. This type of management does not contribute to solve the problems of water scarcity and floods. The water supply policy is based only on the construction of large dams disregarding the storage and use of rainwater, and reuse of greywater, and water-conservation devices. In order to transition towards a water sensitive stage, a WSUD approach that includes multi-purpose infrastructure should be considered. Such as green roofs, swales, rainwater gardens, infiltration trenches, etc.

Background Legionella pneumophila is one of the causes of legionellosis. Water environments serve as the natural habitat and the main sources of Legionella pneumophila. Objectives The aims of this study was to understand the differences of Legionella pneumophila serogroups distribution in well water, tap water, ice cubes, hospital and hotel water in East Java-Indonesia. Methods a total of 60 water samples in east java-Indonesia; from well water (n=25), tap water (n=5), ice cubes (n=5), water from the hospital (n=16), and hotel water (n=9) were detected using polymerase chain reaction with mip gene spesific primers and then it was analyzed by phylogenetic tree. Results For the 60 water samples collected in East Java, 12% of the samples (7/60) were positively contaminated by L. pneumophila. In details, there was 8% of the well water samples (2/25), 2% of the tap water samples (1/5), 2% of the ice cubes samples (1/5), 0% of the hospital water samples (0/16) and 33.33% of the hotel water samples (3/9). The phylogenetic tree showed that Legionella pneumophila contaminating well water isolate 1 from Surabaya and tap water isolate from Sidoarjo was closer to L.pneumophila serogroup 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, isolates from Brazil, China, Spain and Australia. L.pneumophila contaminating the ice cubes from Sidoarjo was closer to serogroup 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, while the bacteria contaminating well water isolate 2 from Sidoarjo as well as water in hotel of Surabaya (hotel water isolate 1, 2 and 3) classified into their own group. Conclusion There is a difference in the distribution of L. pneumophila serogroups between well water, tap water, ice cubes, and hotels.

The world will experience an estimated 40% freshwater supply shortage by 2030, converting water scarcity into one of the principal global challenges that modern society face. Urban water-reuse is recognized as a promising and necessary measure to alleviate the growing water stress in many regions. The transformation to widespread application of water-reuse systems requires major changes in the way water is governed, and countries such as Spain already find themselves involved in this process. Through the systematic assessment of the city of Sabadell (Spain), we aim to identify the main barriers, opportunities and transferable lessons that can enhance governance capacity to implement systems for non-potable reuse of treated wastewater in cities. It was found that continuous learning, the availability and quality of information and level of knowledge and strong agents of change are the main capacity-building priorities. On the other hand, awareness, multilevel network potential and implementing capacity are already well-established. It is concluded that in order to undertake a widespread application of water-reuse practices, criteria examining water quality according to its use need to be developed, independently of the water’s origin. The development and implementation of such a legislative frame should be based on the experience of local water-reuse practices and continuous evaluation. Finally, the need for public engagement and adequate pricing mechanisms are emphasized.

Water availability is a major constraint for spring wheat production on the western Loess Plateau of China. The impact of tillage practices on water potential, water potential gradient, water transfer resistance, yield, and water use efficiency (WUEg) of spring wheat was monitored on the western Loess Plateau in 2016 and 2017. Six tillage practices were assessed, including conventional tillage with no straw (T), no-till with straw cover (NTS), no-till with no straw (NT), conventional tillage with straw incorporated (TS), conventional tillage with plastic mulch (TP), and no-till with plastic mulch (NTP). No-till with straw cover, TP, and NTP significantly improved soil water potential and root water potential at the seedling stage and leaf water potential at the seedling, tillering, jointing, and flowering stages, compared to T. These treatments also significantly reduced the soil-leaf water potential gradient at the 0-10 cm soil layer at the seedling stage and at the 30-50 cm soil layer at flowering, compared to T. Thus, NTS, TP, and NTP reduced soil-leaf water transfer resistance and enhanced transpiration. Compared to T, the NTS, TP, and NTP treatments significantly increased biomass yield (BY) by 18, 36, and 40%, respectively, and grain yield (GY) by 28, 22, and 24%, respectively, with corresponding increases in WUEg of 24, 26, and 24%, respectively. These results demonstrate that NTS, TP, and NTP improved GY and WUEg of spring wheat by decreasing the soil-leaf water potential gradient and soil-leaf water transfer resistance and enhancing transpiration, and are suitable tillage practices for sustainable intensification of wheat production in semi-arid areas.

β-cyclodextrin (CD) derivatives containing aromatic triazole ring were studied as potential carriers of drugs containing an anthraquinone moiety in the structure: anthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid (AQ2S), anthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid (AQ2CA) and a common anthracycline, daunorubicin (DNR). UV-Vis and voltammetry measurements were carried out to determine the solubilities and stability constants of the complexes formed and revealed the unique properties of the chosen CDs as effective pH dependent drug complexing agents. The stability constants of the drug complexes with the CDs containing triazole: βCDLip and βCDGAL were significantly larger than with the native βCD. The AQ2CA and AQ2S drugs are ill-soluble and their solubilities increased as the result of complex formation with βCDLip and βCDGAL ligands. AQ2CA, AQ2S were negatively charged at pH 7.4 and therefore they were less prone to form inclusion complex with the hydrophobic CD cavity than at pH 3 (characteristic of gastric juices) when they were protonated. βCDTriazole and βCDGAL ligands were found to form weaker inclusion complexes with the positively charged drug DNR at acidic pH (pH 5.5) than in the neutral medium (pH 7.4) when the drug dissociates to the neutral, uncharged form. This pH dependence is favorable for anti-tumor applications.

The aim were to determine the drinking water preferences of people applied to a family health center. This cross-sectional study was carried out from April 01st to May 31st, 2022. The data were evaluated using the chi-square test and percent ratios with a significant of P < 0.05. The mean age of all 432 respondents was 48.03±15.86. It was determined that those aged 31-45 had drunk more bottled water (p<0.01) and more spring water (p<0.001), that those aged 65 and over more purified water (p<0.001), that women more tap water (p<0.001), that married people had drunk more demijohn and tap water (p<0.001, each one), that divorced/widows had drunk more packaged and purified water (p<0.001, each one), that the illiterate/literate bottled water (p<0.001, per one), that those who had no income/people who lived on the state or municipal assistance only carboy water (p<0.001). This study suggests that the biggest factor that positively affected the drinking water preference was the packaging of the water. However, the drinking rates of mains water and spring water were quite low. Convincing the authorities to make the mains water drinkable is of great importance in terms of overcoming the public's distrust of mains water.

Water resources are under pressure because of human activities. Its management faces the challenge of enhancing long-term water security while minimizing undesirable economic, social, and environmental impacts along with its production chain. Since water and wastewater treatment plants are designed to maintain and conserve freshwater provisioning services, it is paramount to understand how it operates before proposing options for sustainability. At this point, the diagnosis phase claims for methods scientifically-based, systemic, and more objective to provide information for decision-makers towards strategic management of water resources. This work applies the five-sector sustainability model (5SenSu) to assess Brazil's twenty major water and wastewater treatment companies (WWTC) to quantify their sustainability levels that allow ranking procedures and the establishment of benchmarks for improvements. Under comparative basis, results identified the top-three sustainable companies, CORSAN, CASAN, and SANEPAR, which should be considered examples of best practices. Specifically, the following best-ranked companies in each sector within 5SenSu should be used as benchmark patterns for more oriented best practices: SANEAGO, sector 1; AGESISA, sector 2; CORSAN, sector 3; CASAL, sector 4; MA, sector 5. This work contributes to the advancement in modeling sustainability assessment of human-managed systems (applied in WWTCs in this present study) from a systemic and epistemologically rooted approach, avoiding shortcomings and misleading discussions on the sustainability issue. Quantifying sustainability of WWTCS from 5SenSu allows the identification of those sectors/indicators that requires immediate cleaner production practices by decision-makers to improve overall sustainability, besides identifying those companies more aligned with the requirements of UN SDGs.

This research contributes to the detailed discussion about the approach to secure, hygienic water and cleanliness in Uganda and its pastoral regions. The relationship between the sanitation and clean water access with destitution is also discussed. Although this document is not leading towards the policy recommendation but it is an overall idea of how Uganda progressed because of the provisions adopted by the government, local and international organizations, and NGOs, and how the country lacked before these steps taken. Most of the data mentioned is taken from the house surveys of a decade 2002-2013 alongside the qualitative data. Literature review is also considered and is divided in two sections: first included researches related to water accessibility and usage, while the second section included researches related to work done and progress for diarrheal diseases and sanitation. Afterwards, methodologies were discussed where, firstly, trends and then the limitations in access to the basic necessities of life that is clean water and hygiene are mentioned. At last, the implementations and how they affected the rural Ugandans was discussed.

This study was conducted generally by aiming assessment of the hydraulic performance of water distribution systems of Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU). In line with the main objective, this study addressed, (1) pinpointing problems of existing water supply versus demand deficit (2) evaluating the hydraulic performance of water distribution system using water GEMS and (3) recommended alternative methods for improving water demand scenarios. The University’s water supply distribution network layout was a looped system and the flow of water derived by both gravity and pressurized system. The gravity flow served for the academic and administrative staffs whereas the pressurized system of the network fed the students dormitories, cafeteria’s etc. The study revealed the existence of unmet minimum pressure requirement around the student dormitories which accounts 25.64% below the country’s building code standard during the peak hour consumption. The result of the water demand projection showed an increment of 2.5 liter per capita demand (LPCD) in every five years. Hence, first, the university’s water demand was projected and then hydraulic parameters such as; pressure, head loss and velocity were modeled for both the existing and the improved water supply distribution. The finding of the study was recommended to the university’s water supply project and institutional development offices for its future modification and rehabilitation works.

Water plays a crucial role in maintaining plant functionality and drives many ecophysiological processes. The distribution of water resources is in a continuous change due to global warming affecting the productivity of ecosystems around the globe, but there is a lack of non-destructive methods capable of continuous monitoring of plant and leaf water content that would help us in understanding the consequences of the redistribution of water. We studied the utilization of novel small hyperspectral sensors in the 1350-2450 nm spectral range in non-destructive estimation of leaf water content in laboratory and field conditions. We found that the sensors captured up to 96% of the variation in equivalent water thickness (EWT, g/m²) and up to 90% of the variation in relative water content (RWC). These laboratory findings were supported by field measurements, where repeated leaf spectra measurements were in good agreement (R²=0.79) with a time-lagged change of tree xylem diameter. Further tests were done with an indoor plant (Dracaena marginate Lem.) by continuously measuring leaf spectra while drought conditions developed, which revealed detailed diurnal dynamics of leaf water content. We conclude that close-range hyperspectral spectroscopy can provide a novel tool for continuous measurement of leaf water content at the single leaf level and help us to better understand plant responses to varying environmental conditions.

Sachet water (SW) is a major source of drinking water in most Nigerian homes, thus making it a possible conveyance medium for health risks due to contamination rather than for replenishment of the body. This study collected SW from three busy neighborhoods and investigated for the presence of indicator bacteria – Escherichia coli (E. coli), Total Coliform (TC), Total Heterophilic Bacteria (THB), and Staphylococcus – and some physio-chemical parameters – total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and salinity. Multi-variable and exploratory statistical methods were applied to the results to determine correlations between bacterial contamination levels and perceived brand reputation. Bacteriological test with raw SW samples appeared too numerous to count (TNC) and thus required serial dilutions. After seven dilutions, results obtained revealed that SW brands with good reputation had no TC and E. coli and was statistically significant with groupings of other SW brands (χ2 = 12.28; p < 0.05 and χ2 = 37.96; p < 0.05) respectively. Additionally, SW brands with poor reputation had mean values of TC (19.7X10^8 cfu/ml;14X10^8 cfu/ml1.15X10^8 cfu/ml) and E.coli (18.2X10^8 cfu/ml;38.7X10^8 cfu/ml,32.4X10^8 cfu/ml) exceeding threshold value of zero set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Only one sample from poor reputation brand tested positive for Staphylococcus and was not statistically significant (χ2 =5.2191; p = 0.074). Principal Component Analysis (PCA)/ Factor Analysis (FA) revealed that most of the SW had fecal contamination in an alarming magnitude. Therefore, this study suggests that periodic cleaning of distribution lines, location specific treatment, QC and QA measures should be taken to reduce water security risk for SW consumption in the region.

Water pollution in Iraq has been extended disaster edge; this pollution is caused by wastes and sewages into soil and rivers, pollutant water sources influence the outbreak and serious epidemic status among the population.. The aim of this study is to determine the bacteriological quality of drinking water sources and characteristics of water-borne diseases especially diarrheal cases in Darbandikhan city. 166 water samples, collected from the different sources and areas, were tested for the presences of coliform bacteria as an indicator for pathogen contamination. Most probable number index was used for coliform enumeration. 161 diarrheal cases were taken as a sample from the patients were admitted to the general hospital in Darbandikhan district.. The questionnaire form was planned to view characteristics of diarrheal cases and patients were interviewed directly, the data was analyzed by STATA software application. 46% of the diarrheal cases used tap water for drinking. On the other hand, the reminder (54%) used other sources for the same purpose. All the risk factor such as type of water source, sufficiency of the water, duration of water storage and chlorination were associated with diarrhea. Almost half of the cases were children and three quarters were single. The data was analyzed by STATA version 13.1.This study indicated that the majority of drinking water sources in Darbandikhan city are not suitable for drinking, although net pipe system supplied chlorine significantly it has been proven that the tap water from the homes is not suitable for consumption.

Shanghai is experiencing water supply problems caused by heavy pollution of its raw water supply, deficiencies in its treatment processes and water quality deteoriation in the distribution system. However, little attention has been paid these problems of water quality in raw water, water treatment and household drinking water. Based on water quality data we show that the raw water sources of the Huangpu River and the Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuary are polluted by microbes (TBC), eutrophication (TP, TN and NH3-N), heavy metals (Fe, Mn and Hg) and organic contamination (chemical oxygen demand [COD], detergent and volatile phenols [VP]). The average concentrations of these contaminants in the Huangpu River are almost double that of the Changjiang estuary forcing a rapid shift to the Changjiang estuary for raw water. In spite of filtering and treatment, TN, NH3-N, Fe, COD and chlorine maxima of the treated water and drinking water still exceed the Chinese National Standard (GB5749). We determine that the relevant threats from water source to household water in Shanghai are: 1) eutrophication arising from highly concentrated TN, TP, COD and algal density in the raw water; 2) increasing salinity in the river estuary, especially at the Qingcaosha Reservoir (currently the major freshwater source for Shanghai); 3) more than 50% of organic constituents and by-products remain in treated water; 4) bacteria and turbidity increase in the course of water delivery to users. The analysis presents an holistic assessment of the water quality threats to metropolitan Shanghai in relation to the city’s rapid development.

Wind energy powered pumps could be an alternative to conventional fuel powered pumps for water abstraction because they rely on a free energy and they are environmentally friendly. The objective of this study was to assess the potential of wind energy to operate water abstraction systems in Teso sub-region of Uganda for livestock watering Daily mean wind speeds recorded at a height of 10 m for a period of ten years (2005–2015) were collected from Amuria and Soroti Meteorological stations in the study area. Data were analyzed using Weibull distribution to evaluate the annual wind speed frequency distributions and consequently assess their potential for water abstraction. The results indicated that warmer months (January, February and March) have higher mean wind speeds than the cold months (August, September and October). High wind speeds in the dry seasons corresponded to the periods of high water demand. The highest shape parameter (k) of 3.07 was registered in 2009 and scale parameter (c) of 3.78 in 2012. The highest wind power density of 43 W/m² was obtained the year 2012 while the lowest wind power density of 15.47 W/m² was obtained for Soroti district in the year 2009. The maximum power extractable in Amuria in 2012 was 324 W/m² which is potentially enough for water abstraction. Maximum discharges of 1.86 m³/s and 1.52 m³/s were obtained for Amuria and Soroti districts respectively at mean wind speeds of 5 m/s. Therefore, Teso sub region winds have potential for water abstraction and Amuria district better sites for livestock watering using wind energy.

Cleaning wastewater and using it again for secondary purposes is a measure to address water scarcity in urban areas. However, upscaling of recycled water schemes is challenging due to the possible emergence of various barriers. Based on a review of the governance literature we suggest that a set of five governance conditions is necessary for a successful upscaling of recycled water schemes; (1) policy leadership, (2) policy coordination, (3) availability of financial resources, (4) awareness of a problem, and (5) the presence of a public forum. In order to elaborate on the practical relevance of these conditions we studied a recycled water scheme currently being upscaled in Sabadell, Spain. We reviewed policy documents, conducted a set of 21 semi-structured interviews, and attended two policy meetings about the subject. Our results suggest that Sabadell meets the required conditions for upscaling reused water to a certain extent. However, the presence of a public forum is lacking. We discuss the implications of the absence of the venue and procedures for public participation in Sabadell and how it could be strengthened. Following this discussion, we conclude with some lessons for other cities that plan to upscale their recycled water schemes.

Packaged water consumption has grown rapidly in urban areas of many low and middle income countries, but particularly in Ghana. However, the sources of water used by this growing packaged water industry and its implications for water resource management and transport-related environmental impacts have not been described. This study aimed to assess the spatial distribution of regulated packaged water production in Ghana, both in relation to demand and for natural mineral water, to hydrogeological characteristics. 764 addresses for premises licenced to produce packaged water from 2009-2015 were mapped and compared to regional sachet water consumption and beverage import/export data examined. We find evidence to suggest packaged water is transported shorter distances in Ghana than in developed countries. For natural mineral waters, producers should be able to address the most widespread water quality hazards (including high salinity, iron and nitrates) in aquifers used for production through reverse osmosis treatment. The study suggests there is scope to integrate beverage product and groundwater regulatory databases to support groundwater management.

Various methods of water purification, the aim of which is to obtain such a purity class that makes it suitable for consumption are presented in the article. It is a review of solutions, ranging from methods known and used for over 100 years, through research and experiments underway, to those that are only a concept. Some of the solutions are so effective that they should also be combined with the possibility of safe storage of purified water. Flexible tanks are used for this, which significantly improve logistics and provide a supply of water in all places where it is needed.

The occurrence of potential spikes in a cell is a sign of life, and it is called action potential. There is a common notion that neuron signal conduction is the conduction of action potential. Hence, action potential is a typical and essential life activity. However, such potential spikes occur even in simple nonliving systems. According to the experimental observations by Pollack, structured water molecules can generate a negative potential environment. From this observation, the potential spike generation process for both living and nonliving systems caused by ion and water molecule adsorption-desorption process could be explained in this paper. So, taking into consideration the electrically neutral water molecules,the action potential generation mechanism could be explained. It is a fully inanimate model. Hence, the action potential may not be a life activity. Here, the role of water molecules in life is investigated further. It was found that the phase transition of the membrane is involved in the neuron signal conduction, but the membrane phase transition could be due to the change of state of the water molecules, which forms a large-scale structure in the cavities created by a number of lipids.

Rapid technological advancements in information communication technologies have enabled water resource data collection at greater spatial and temporal scale. However, this water data is often limited to the purposes of its primary collection, and limits decisions made by stakeholders towards sustainable urban water management. This empirically focused research paper examines how water practitioners involved in strategic planning can capture additional values from integrating different water data. Furthermore, the perception of 22 urban water practitioners across Australia are presented, regarding the importance of and difficulty in using water data for strategic planning, and the necessary steps for achieving integrated water management practices. Interviewees perception revealed gaps in available water resource data (i.e. water quality, ground water, stormwater, and urban water use), and limitations of industry guidelines for operating within existing governance frameworks. Overall, the research highlights the Australian urban water sector’s perception of water data’s crucial role in representing stakeholders interest; however, changes made in water data’s collection are required for an integrated water management approach. Implications for future open water data standard are discussed.

Water scarcity is significantly increasing water stress in Africa and some parts of the world. This is due to human induced factors such as climate change, increase of human population that raises demand which outstrips food availability, and put great changes of land use which results in changes of hydrological mechanics and water availability as whole. The investigation was through literature review and it tries to examine the criticality of water scarcity in Africa regions, and the major factors that mastermind this menace. Also possible strategies that can be promptly used to manage water scarcity at domestic level and in agriculture are described in this paper, not with standing the fact that agriculture sectors in Africa and the rest of the world remain the utmost vulnerable enterprise to water scarcity and withdrawal on the planet earth.

Achieving water security and availability for all is among the principle agenda of the UN-Sustainable Development Goals. To achieve the goal of water security, particularly in rapidly expanding cities, identification of safe and sustainable water resources is an absolute necessity. The paper conducts an exploratory investigation in the hydro geochemical characteristics of groundwater and thereby, assess the suitability of groundwater as an alternative and reliable resource for public water supply in the Indian city of Surat. A total of 33-groundwater samples, selected on the basis of aquifer depth, land use signatures, were collected from open, bore, dug wells and hand pumps. After the hydrogeochemical analysis, the study evaluated the present state of the groundwater quality and determined the spatial distribution of groundwater quality parameters such as hardness, electrical conductivity, Cl −, pH, SO42-, and NO3 − concentrations. An interpolation technique, known as ordinary kriging, was used to acquire the spatial distribution of parameters of groundwater quality parameters. Based on the permeability index, result showed that 80% of the sampled groundwater quality falls under excellent class i.e. category I with PI value ranging from 1-24%, whereas the rest 20% of the samples has fallen under good class i.e. category II with PI value ranging from 25 to 75% on the suitability of water for irrigation. The results of this study outlines the unsustainability of groundwater for direct consumption, especially without any improved onsite water treatment, but it is appropriate for the irrigation purposes.

Fresh water is an increasingly scarce resource in both urban and rural developments. As a response to this challenge, non-potable water reuse is on the rise. This research explored a potential off-grid system for water purification, consisting of a staircase wetland with terracotta pot plants working as a filter for greywater. The study further investigated the physicochemical properties of the greywater and the soil before and after the wetland purification. Results showed that the filtered water satisfied all requirements for water reuse, e.g., pH, turbidity, and total coliforms. The research then uniquely investigated the effect of greywater on the soil biodiversity and soil biomass using soil DNA extraction and the tea bag index testing method. The filtered greywater absorbed by soil decomposed the soil faster and stabilized it better compared to tap water-absorbed soil or unfiltered greywater. The DNA generation sequencing revealed no significant differences in alpha diversity between control and treatment samples. The beta diversity differences were significant. This nature-based solution can lead to reduced load on the sewage system, resulting in less wastewater generation.

The accurate prediction of molecular properties such as lipophilicity and aqueous solubility are of great importance and pose challenges in several stages of the drug discovery pipeline. Machine learning methods like graph-based neural networks (GNNs) have shown exceptionally good performance in predicting these properties. In this work, we introduce a novel GNN architecture, called directed edge graph isomorphism network (D-GIN). It is composed of two distinct sub-architectures (D-MPNN, GIN) and achieves an improvement in accuracy over its sub-architectures employing various learning, and featurization strategies. We argue that combining models with different key aspects help make graph neural networks deeper and simultaneously increase their predictive power. Furthermore, we address current limitations in assessment of deep-learning models, namely, comparison of single training run performance metrics, and offer a more robust solution.

Growing water shortages for large regions of the arid regions of the world, are likely to become more recurrent as climate change impacts grow. Countries across the world are facing water security difficulties that stem from population growth, urbanization, and rapid industrialization. The use of behavioral nudges methods implemented to encourage a socially desired behavior at a low to zero cost, has been an effective method at reducing water consumption in places where they have been deployed. For example, studies in California USA, Barcelona Spain, and Australia indicate that adoption of nudges give significant positive results in water consumption reduction. We describe some of the barriers that make it difficult to implement behavioral nudges to address the water crises in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We investigate the literature available in Sub-Saharan Africa and discover that the application of behavioral nudges has been sparingly used for reasons that are not obvious at first glance. Second, we find that the potential impediments to the use of behavioral nudges in SSA to be awareness, inadequate access to science and technology, political systems that are poorly suited for implementing nudging, abundance of multiple ethnic groups that speak different languages, along with other barriers that could challenge implementation of behavioral nudges. In light of those barriers, we present a conceptual model with a potential to address these barriers to behavioral nudging a workable solution in SSA.

The specialisation and intensification in agriculture have increased the productivity but have also led to the spread of monocultural systems, simplifying production and reducing genetic diversity. The purpose of this study was to propose crop diversification as a tool to increase biodiversity and achieve sustainable and resilient intensive agriculture, particularly in areas with water scarcity. In this paper, a combined Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) was applied to evaluate the environmental and economic sustainability of a differentiated system of cultivation (pomegranate, almond and olive), according to modern intensive and superintensive cropping systems. Based upon the results obtained, it is deduced that pomegranate cultivation generated the highest environmental load, followed by almond and olive. From the financial analysis, it emerged that almond is the most profitable, followed by pomegranate and olive.

This work investigates the utility of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Water Model (NWM) for water management operations by assessing the total inflow into a select number of reservoirs across the Central and Western U.S. Total inflow is generally an unmeasured quantity, though critically important for anticipating both floods and shortages in supply over a short-term (hourly) to sub-seasonal (monthly) time horizon. The NWM offers such information at over 5,000 reservoirs across the U.S., however, its skill at representing inflow processes is largely unknown. The goal of this work is to understand the drivers for both well performing and poor performing NWM inflows such that managers can get a sense of the capability of NWM to capture natural hydrologic processes and in some cases, the effects of upstream management. We analyzed the inflows for a subset of Bureau of Reclamation (BoR) reservoirs within the NWM over the long-term simulations (retrospectively, seven years) and for short, medium and long-range operational forecast cycles over a one-year period. We utilize ancillary reservoir characteristics (e.g. physical and operational) to explain variation in inflow performance across the selected reservoirs. In general, we find that NWM inflows in snow-driven basins outperform those in rain-driven, and that assimilated basin area, upstream management, and calibrated basin area all influence the NWM’s ability to reproduce daily reservoir inflows. The final outcome of this work proposes a framework for how the NWM reservoir inflows can be useful for reservoir management, linking reservoir purposes with the forecast cycles and retrospective simulations.

Natural spa springs are diffused all over the world and their use in pools is known since ancient times. This review underlines the cultural and social spa context focusing on hygiene issues, public health guidelines and emerging concerns regarding water management in wellness or recreational settings. The question of the "untouchability" of therapeutic natural waters and their incompatibility with traditional disinfection processes is addressed considering the demand for effective treatments that would respect the natural properties. Available strategies and innovative treatments are reviewed, highlighting potentials and limits for a sustainable management. Alternative approaches comprise nanotechnologies, photocatalysis systems, advanced filtration. State of the art and promising perspectives are reported considering the chemical-physical component and the biological natural complexity of the spa water microbiota.

Water supply is a mandatory service for Tanzanians from respective legal public water utilities, and their sustainability reflects implementations of best management strategies at a local level. The objective of this study was to assess current approaches used in water quality and quantity management in Tanzania. This was achieved through secondary water data tends, on-site water quality assessments, visits of respective water supply and sanitation authorities, and assessment of their performances. It was observed that water supplied in rural-based authorities was quite different from that supplied in an urban setting as far as quality and quantity is concerned, urban-based supplies being of assistance to users over rural ones. A new strategy on water management is presented for sustainable water supply in Tanzania; it is based on controlling groundwater abstractions and preference of surface water in public water supplies. Rural water supply management must learn several practices realized at urban supplies for the betterment of respective majority water users.

A Water demand per capita will rise in the Arab world as a result of climate change and population expansion. One of the most important aims in coping with population increase around the world is to conserve water supplies. As a result, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia constructed Al Wajeed Water Treatment System to meet the demands of the southern population. This research aims to assess the drinking water quality produced from the AlWajeed Water Treatment System. Monthly water samples were collected (January 2018 to January 2021) from the Al Wajeed Water Treatment Framework (4sites), extending to governorates; Bishah`s distribution system (5sites) and Tathleeth`s distribution system (7sites). Water quality criteria, such as physical, chemical, and microbiological parameters, revealed that the majority of water samples collected from the Al Wajeed Water Framework and its environs are of a good quality matched the national and international standards. Few sites showed water quality criteria, such turbidity, fluoride and total coliform did not comply with national and global standards. The obtained results explained the importance of monitoring and follow-up programs for drinking water criteria. In addition, they can help the authorities and stakeholders in the sustainable development.

The River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) is an essential component of the European Union Water Framework Directive that details an integrated approach required to protect, improve and sustainably manage water resources. RBMP were intended to be produced for the periods 2009-2015, 2016-2021 and 2022-2027. However, after two years of delays in the development processes, the Republic of Ireland produced its first RBMP in 2010. The second RBMP cycle was also implemented in 2018 and is expected to run until the end of 2021 to give way to the third RBMP, whose consultation processes have been ongoing since December 2019. This paper contributes to the forthcoming RBMP by assessing stakeholders’ perspectives on the second RBMP through a desk-based review and by conducting interviews with nine institutions (14 interviewees). The qualitatively analysed interviews reveal a broad spectrum of actors associated with water management and governance in the Republic of Ireland through a three-tier governance structure that has been delivered (with amendment) through the first two RBMPs. Organisations such as the An Fóram Uisce|The Water Forum, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Local Authority Waters, and the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme have responsibilities designated in the RBMPs to deliver improved water quality, integrated catchment management, community engagement and awareness-raising. Trust has also been building up among these organisations and other agencies in the water sector. Despite these responsibilities and progress, the interviews identified communication lapses, ineffective collaboration and coordination among stakeholders and late implementation to be hampering the successful delivery of the second RBMP, in addition to significant pressures acting on water bodies from agricultural activities and urban wastewater treatment. Towards the third RBMP, the paper concludes that optimised water sector finance, enhanced and well-resourced communications, and improved stakeholder collaboration are needed to foster effective and efficient water services delivery and quality. More so, given the cross-cutting impact of the Sustainable Development Goals on water resources and the interconnected relations among the goals, the paper further recommends the integration of the SDGs in the various plans of actions and a co-benefits approach to derive the triple benefits from biodiversity, climate change initiatives and water quality measures.

In response to droughts, various media campaigns and water saving instructions are released, often however, with only temporary water conservation effects. A promising development is this regard are Digital Water Meters (DWM) that provide near real-time water-use feedback. Despite extensive DWM experience in some water-stressed regions, a profound understanding of the initial attitude towards DWM and message tailoring opportunities are rarely empirically explored. Therefore, we aim to obtain insights into the attitude towards the introduction of DWM and explore opportunities for message tailoring, a topic of extra relevance as we may be on the threshold of a large-scale implementation in many world regions. Messages tailored to (i) normative beliefs and attitudes on drinking water, (ii) water-use activity and (iii) phase of decision-making, seem particularly compatible with DWM. Through a survey (n=1037) in the Netherlands, we observe that 93% of respondents have no objections utility investments in DWM and that 78% would accept a free DWM because of improved leakage detection, lower costs and environmental considerations. Finally, instead of sociodemographic factors, we observed that an attitude-based customer segmentation approach proved an especially useful predictor of respondent’s motivation to endorse DWM and forms a promising basis for water conservation message-tailoring strategies.

Pompeii was connected to the great Serino aqueduct under the principate of Augustus. From that moment on, water became not only a precious resource for the inhabitants but also their true social indicator. It is no coincidence, in fact, that the concentration of sumptuous dwellings is in Regio VI, the district closest to the aqueduct reservoir (castellum aquae in Latin) and the one most equipped with piezometric towers, the first of the network, the ones that would never leave the decorative fountains of the peristyles dry. From this observation follows the original possibility of considering the water network a factor that contributed to designating the morphology of urban neighbourhoods and blocks.

Yemen is a water-scarce country with inadequate fresh water and considerable groundwater depletion, as well as a lack of adequate surface water. The study region is considered an arid region, and there is insufficient water to meet the needs of the region's yearly population growth rate of 4 %. This study aims to assess the water resources in the Sana'a region and to identify the current water situation and forecast for the future. Rainfall changes spatial and temporal in very few quantities and an annual average of 267 mm. Water harvesting facilities are entirely filled by 75% of the total water facilities in the rainy seasons. The groundwater level in Sana’a Basin decreases about 6-8 meters annually due to the increase in the number of wells, the abundance of abstraction, and the lack of recharge. The amount of abstraction exceeds 400% of the recharge in the Sana'a basin. The water per capita is 70 - 85 m³ annually. It is an abstraction from the aquifers by private wells. The crop cultivated area decreased from 184217 hectares in 2007 to 122583 hectares in 2018 due to lack of water. The sewage treatment plant treats 18.25 Mm³ annually, with less than 70 % efficiency. The water deficit is about 500 to 723 Mm³ annually; it is an abstraction from the aquifers by private wells. The current water situation in the Sana'a region is catastrophic, and the planning and management must ensure a water balance in the future.

Hotel water systems colonized with Legionella spp. have been the source of travel-associated Legionnaires’ disease and cases, clusters or outbreaks continue to be reported worldwide each year. A total of 132 hotels linked with travel-associated Legionnaires’ disease, as reported through the European Legionnaires’ Disease Surveillance Network, were inspected and tested for Legionella spp. during 2000–2019 by the public health authorities of the island of Crete (Greece). A total of 3,311 samples were collected: 1,885 (56.93%) from cold water supply systems, 1,387 (41.89%) from hot water supply systems, 37 (1.12%) were swab samples and two (0.06%) were soil. Of those, 685 (20.69%), were collected from 83 (62.89%) hotels, testing positive (≥ 50CFU/L) for Legionella pneumophila) serogroups 1-10, 12-14 and non-pneumophila species (L. anisa, L. erythra, L. tusconensis, L. taurinensis, L. birminghamensis, L. rubrilucens, L. londiniesis, L. oakridgensis, L. santicrusis, L. brunensis, L. maceacherii). The most frequently isolated L. pneumophila serogroups were 1 (27.92%) and 3 (17.08%). Significantly higher isolation rates were obtained from hot water supply systems (25.96%) versus cold water systems (16.98%) and swab samples (13.51%). A Relative Risk (R.R.) > 1 (p < 0.0001) was calculated for hot water temperature <55 °C (R.R.: 4.43), chlorine concentrations <0.2 mg/L (R.R.: 2.69), star rating <4 (R.R.: 1.73) and absence of Water Safety Plan implementation (R.R.: 1.57).

Tanzania with 945 million hectares of land area and annual rainfall of 300 mm on 67% of its territorial land is considered as a semi-dry region in the world. Rice production in Tanzania needs to be increased to feed a growing population, whereas water for irrigation is getting scarce. One way to decrease water consumption in paddy fields is to change the irrigation regime for rice production and to replace continuous flooding with alternate wetting and drying. In order to investigate the effect of different regimes of irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer on yield and water productivity of hybrid rice, two greenhouse pot experiments comprising soils from upland and lowland production ecologies were conducted at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania during crop seasons of 2019. The experiment was arranged in split plots based on randomized completely block design with 3 replications. Water regimes were the main factor comparing continuous flooding (CF) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) with nitrogen fertilizer levels as the sub-factor including absolute control , 0, 60, 90, 120 and 150 kg/ha. Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) improved water productivity in both upland and lowland production ecologies compared to CF. AWD increased yield under lowland production by 13.3% while in upland there was 18.5% decrease in yield. The average water use varied from 31.5 to 84 L pot-1 under upland trials, while in lowland trials it was 36 to 82.3 L. Higher yield and lower water application led to an increase in WP varying from 1.2 to 1.8 kg cm-3 under upland trials, and 0.6 to 1.5 kg cm-3 under lowland trials. The variation in water productivity among treatments was mainly due to the differences in the yield, water and nitrogen levels used in the production process. Both sets of trials recorded water saving up to 34.3% and 17.3% under lowland and upland trials, respectively. Under upland trials, the yield varied from 39.9 to 124.1 g pot-1 and in lowland trials yield ranged from 20.6 to 118.2 g pot-1 representing paddy rice. The measurements showed that less water can be used to produce more crops under alternative rice growing practices. The results are important for water-scarce areas, providing useful information to policy makers, farmers, agricultural departments, and water management boards in devising future climate-smart adaptation and mitigation strategies.

The key goal of the current study was to determine suitable areas of water pumping for drinking and agricultural harvest in Tabriz aquifer, located in East Azerbaijan province, northwest Iran. In the study area, groundwater is the key foundation of water for drinking and farming requirements. Groundwater compatibility study was conducted by analyzing Electrical conductivity (EC), Total dissolved solids (TDS), Chloride (Cl), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Sulfate (SO4), Total hardness (TH), Bicarbonate (HCO3), pH, carbonate (CO3) and Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR) obtained from 39 wells in the period of 2003 to 2014. For this purpose, the Water Quality Index (WQI) and irrigation water quality (IWQ) index were utilized. The WQI index zoning exposed that the groundwater of the study area for drinking purposes is categorized as excellent, good and poor water. Most drinking water harvested for urban and rural areas are in the class of 'excellent water'. The results revealed that about 37 percent (296 km2) of groundwater has high compatibility, and 63 percent of the study area (495 km2) has average compatibility for agricultural purposes. The trend of IWQ and WQI indexes demonstrates that the groundwater is getting worse over the time.

Innovations and improvements in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal well technologies have contributed to the success of the shale gas industry; however, the industry is also challenged by freshwater use and environmental health issues. Increasing water impact makes precise quantification of water consumption important. The objective in this study was to better understand water sustainability and availability of the projected shale gas from 2018 to 2030 in the Weiyuan play, China. The water footprint framework was used to quantify the potential water use and environmental impacts on different time scales. The results showed that the water use per well ranged from 11351.3 to 60664.73 m3, with a median of 36013.94 m3, totaling ~3.44 Mm3 for 97 wells. Yearly evaluation results showed that the gray water footprint was the main contributor and accounted for 83.82% to 96.76%, which was dependent on different scenarios of treatment percentages. The monthly environmental impact results indicated that the annual streamflow statistics were more likely to prevent water withdrawal. Water quality issues may be alleviated through recycling and retreatment measures that improve current waste water management strategies. Resource regulators should manage their water resources by matching water demand to water availability or replenishment.

The Brazilian water legislation advocates that some uses have priority over others, but this aspect has never been clearly addressed, generating conflicts. Water authorities usually refer to hydrological models to justify their decisions on water allocation. However, a significant group of stakeholders does not feel qualified to discuss these models and is, therefore, excluded from the decision process. We hereby propose a hydrologically robust method to correlate water uses with their respective reservoir alert volumes, which should empower the less formally educated stakeholders. The method consists of: (i) generating the water discharge versus reliability curve, using a stochastic approach; (ii) generating the withdrawal discharge versus alert volume family of curves, using a water-balance approach; (iii) calibrating the key parameter T using field data; and (iv) associating each water use with its alert volume. We have applied the method to four of the largest reservoirs (2.10³ - 2.10² hm³) in the semi-arid Ceará State. The results indicate that low-priority water uses should be rationalized when the reservoir volume is below 20%; whereas uses with very high priority should start rationalization when it is below 11%. These hydrological guidelines should help enhance water governance among non-specialist stakeholders in water-scarce and reservoir-dependent regions.

Lack of water resources in Iran, especially in recent years, has faced the agricultural sector as the most important consumer of water resources, with serious challenges. In Iran, the agricultural sector accounted for more than 90% of water consumption. However, the focus on domestic production and self-sufficiency policy in staples (wheat, barley, maize and rice) has been emphasized in general agriculture's policy. This study was conducted to estimate the imported virtual water from the imports of basic products in Iran using defined indicators during 1961-2013. Also this study investigated the possibility of achieving self-sufficiency due to the limited water resources in Iran. The results of this study showed with the increase in cereal imports, virtual water imports from 0.28 billion cubic meters in 1961 increased to 17.6 billion cubic meters in 2013 and on average about 60% of virtual water imports in strategic products is related to wheat imports during the past 53 years. Other products in cereal (barley, maize and rice) are also indicative of the general trend of increasing imports of virtual water in development plans. The estimated long-run elasticity of virtual water imports in the cereal group compared with the country's water resources also showed that with a one percent reduction in renewable water resources of the country, the virtual water import in the main cereal group will increase equivalent to 2.89 percent and the determination coefficient more than 90 percent also confirms this negative relationship. According to this result and the emphasis on the fact that renewable water resources per capita in the country is falling increasingly, it cannot be expected that domestic production could compensate for the imports of the cereal group and virtual water imports with current technology, without increasing the water productivity and without additional harm to water resources.

Many techniques have been and are being made to find alternatives to water-saving practices. Among them, Partial root drying (PRD), one of the effective approaches, plays a major role in reducing the harmful effects of water deficit stress. An experiment was carried out using irrigation strategies [I1 (100% full irrigation “FI”), I2 (75%FI), I3 (50%FI), and I4 (PRD (50%FI)] and soil organic mulch [L0 (Zero layer organic soil mulch” control”), L1 (Single layer organic soil mulch), L2 (Two layers of organic soil mulch), and L3 (Three layers of organic soil mulch)] to inspect the impact of those treatments for increasing yield, water productivity and saving energy under arid region conditions. To meet the study's objective, two field experiments were carried out at a private farm. Our results demonstrated a general decrease in water stress and salt accumulation inside root-zone area with PRD with L3. The PRD strategy increased fruit yields by 3.7 and 7.3% and water productivity by 51.9 and 53.1% compared with I1 during 2020/2021 and 2021/2022, respectively, while reducing the applied irrigation water by 50 %. The PRD strategy showed superior results in increasing mango yield and water productivity. In general, PRD can be used as good technique to save water and energy up to 50% and enhance productivity along with using organic mulching, ultimately improving mango yield under arid climatic regions. It may prove a good adaptation strategy for current and future water shortage scenarios of climate change.

Although the water absorption feature (WAF) at 970 nm is not very well-defined, it may be used alongside other indices to estimate the canopy water content. The individual performance of a number of existing vegetation water content (VWC) indices against the WAF is assessed using linear regression model. We developed a new Combined Vegetation Water Index (CVWI) by merging indices to boost the weak absorption feature. CVWI showed a promise in assessing the vegetation water status derived from the 970 nm absorption wavelength. CVWI was able to differentiate two groups of dataset when regressed against the absorption feature. CVWI could be seen as an easy and robust method for vegetation water content studies using hyperspectral field data.

A model is proposed that describes the transfer of ions and the process of water dissociation in a system with a bipolar membrane and adjacent diffusion layers. The model considers the transfer of four types of ions: the cation and anion of salt and the products of water dissociation – hydrogen and hydroxyl ions. To describe the process of water dissociation, a model for accelerating the dissociation reaction with the participation of ionogenic groups of the membrane is adopted. The boundary value problem is solved numerically using COMSOL® Multiphysics 5.5 software. An analysis of the results of a numerical experiment shows that, at least in a symmetric electromembrane system, there is a kinetic limitation of the water dissociation process, apparently associated with the occurrence of water recombination reaction at the of the bipolar region. An interpretation of the entropy factor (β) is given as a characteristic length which shows the possibility of an ion that appeared as a result of the water dissociation reaction to be removed from the reaction zone without participating in recombination reactions.

High quantities of wastewater produced from producing natural gas and oil from the aquifer, which called produced water. The produced water was comprised of dissolved solids, suspended solids, emulsified oil, and organic and inorganic compounds. That should be treated it's before disposal because it causes harm to the environment. This study takes the produced water from the southern Iraqi oilfield drilling company to adsorption by the Cane papyrus as natural and low-cost adsorbent. The analysis completed by using Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, EDX spectra and Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) for Cane papyrus. Investigating the effect of many parameters such as adsorbent dosage, temperature, solution pH, mixer speed and contact time. The Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Harkins-Henderson isotherm models were tested, the results were 0.998,0.966, 0.931 and 0.966 respectively. The Langmuir model was more suitable described the adsorption process than the other models. The kinetics results were, 0.984 for Pseudo-first-order, 0.938 for Pseudo-second order is, 0.979 for Intra particle diffusion study and 0.912 for the Elovich model, the Pseudo-first-order kinetic equation best described the kinetics of the reaction. The thermodynamics study effect temperature changes on the thermodynamic parameters such as standard free energy change (∆G°), standard enthalpy change (∆H°) and standard entropy change (∆S°). The experimental data obtained demonstrated that Cane papyrus is a suitable adsorbent for removing oil from produced water.

The paper presents a model of moisture transport in wood taking into account diffusion and the accompanying adsorption of water vapour through the skeleton. A two-parameter form of the source term was proposed, depending on the distance of the current mass concentration of bound water from the equilibrium state. The tests on cubic samples with a side of 2 cm were carried out which allowed to determine the coefficients of the proposed model on the basis of the reverse method. The tests were performed for pine, larch, oak and ash in all directions of orthotropy. Also the tests on thin samples were performed to verify the source term.

Effective water resources management requires assessments of water availability within a framework of complex institutions and infrastructure employed to manage extremely variable stream flow shared by numerous often competing water users and diverse types of use. The Water Rights Analysis Package (WRAP) modeling system is fundamental to water allocation and planning in the state of Texas in the United States. Integration of environmental flow standards into both the modeling system and comprehensive statewide water management is a high priority for continuing research and development. The public domain WRAP software and documentation are generalized for application any place in the world. Lessons learned in developing and implementing the modeling system in Texas are relevant worldwide. The modeling system combines: (1) detailed simulation of water right systems, interstate compacts, international treaties, federal/state/local agreements, and operations of storage and conveyance facilities; (2) simulation of river system hydrology; and (3) statistical frequency and reliability analyses. The continually evolving modeling system has been implemented in Texas by a water management community that includes the state legislature, planning and regulatory agencies, river authorities, water districts, cities, industries, engineering consulting firms, and university researchers. The shared modeling system contributes significantly to integration of water allocation, planning, system operations, and research.

To address the question whether there is evidence that drinking water in general or mineral water in particular is effective in preventing diabetes; we performed a literature search of randomized controlled trials (PubMed). The search resulted in very few trials (N = 9) investigating this topic: one trial investigates the effect of increasing water consumption on glycemic control in diabetic patients; two trials investigate the effect of drinking water with a meal in diabetic patients; while six trials compare the effect of mineral rich water with that of low mineralized water on glucose metabolism in healthy subjects. There is evidence that increasing water consumption can improve glucose metabolism and randomized controlled trials with mineral water suggest that waters containing relevant amounts of magnesium can exert an additional effect. The role of bicarbonate; which is present in all the mineral waters used in the trials; will be discussed. Future research needs to investigate the effect of mineral water in prediabetic individuals or individuals with impaired glycemic control.

The goods and services produced by forest and vegetation ecology system is the power by which human society can be promoted fast in high-quality and sustainable way. With the increase of population and economic development in water-limited regions, there is an increasing demand for the quantity and variety of forest vegetation ecosystem products and services. To meet the demands of this situation, most of the original forest has changed into farmland, non-native forest and grass land. As a result, water-plant relationship changed from equilibrium to non-equilibrium, which led to soil drought, soil degradation and vegetation decline in dry years or waste of soil water in rainy years in most of water-limited regions. In order to solve the questions and realize the sustainable utilization of soil water resources and the high quality and sustainable development of social economy, it is necessary to apply the utilization limit theory of soil water resources by plants and the theory of soil water carrying capacity for vegetation to adjust the relationship between plant growth and soil moisture to obtain the maximum yield and benefit of vegetation and serve high-quality and sustainable development.

Ad- and desorption forces move water in living xylem/wood from the root to the leaf thermodynamically. The doctrine of plant water transport, the so-called cohesion- or cohesion-tension theory, postulates however that the process is physically based on a hydraulic fluid flow with negative pressure in water conducting tubes originating from the leaves. Lower pressure (suction) driven volume flow is physically a branch of mechanics. Moisture absorbed from the soil via the root is thought to be pulled up the stem by the leaves in continuous and tensioned threads of water. It is assumed that the hydraulic Hagen/Poiseuille flow law, derived for tubes, applies in the xylem. In a textbook of botany you can find the opinion: "Just as the pipes of a water pipe supply necessary water to each household, leaf nerves supply water and nutrient salts to each individual cell.” (Translated from German). Many plant physiologists consider this hydraulic principle to be correct, but it does not remain unchallenged. Doubts are repeatedly expressed. The question arises: How does water transport actually take place? It is shown how the diffusive/adsorption transport principle works. The partial dehydration (desorption) of the plant, driven by the diffusive process of transpiration, forms a combined concentration and adsorption-site gradient for water in the xylem matrix. Especially with open stomata the lowest moisture concentration and the highest number of adsorption-sites for water (sites with free van der Waals forces), can be found in the mesophyll cell walls at the liquid/vapor boundary in the leaf. The water taken up by the root moves spontaneously in the direction of this boundary and can thus partially or completely compensate for the existing concentration- and adsorption-site- differences for water. Thus, a thermodynamic overlapping diffusive/adsorptive movement of moisture along the stationary xylem/wood takes place. After the introduction and a review of some controversies with cohesion theory, the physiology of the processes associated with long-distance water displacement is mentioned below. A thermodynamic adsorption hypothesis of the natural water transport in plants, based on known facts, is presented.

Abstract: Current models in design of urban water management systems and their corresponding infrastructure using centralized designs have commonly failed from the perspective of cost effectiveness and inability to adapt to the future changes. These challenges are driving cities towards using decentralized systems. While there is great consensus on the benefits of decentralization; currently no methods exist which guide decision-makers to define the optimal boundaries of decentralized water systems. A new clustering methodology and tool to decentralize water supply systems (WSS) into small and adaptable units is presented. The tool includes two major components: (i) minimization of the distance from source to consumer by assigning demand to the closest water source, and (ii) maximization of the intra-cluster homogeneity by defining the cluster boundaries such that the variation in population density, land use, socio-economic level, and topography within the cluster is minimized. The methodology and tool are applied to Arua Town in Uganda. Four random cluster scenarios and a centralized system were created and compared with the optimal clustered WSS. It was observed that the operational cost of the four cluster scenarios is up to 13.9 % higher than the optimal, and the centralized system is 26.6% higher than the optimal clustered WSS, consequently verifying the efficacy of the proposed method to determine an optimal cluster boundary for WSS. In addition, optimal homogeneous clusters improve efficiency by encouraging reuse of wastewater and stormwater within a cluster and by minimizing leakage through reduced pressure variations.

Tourism, and particularly residential tourism, has led to a change in the urban and demographic model of towns along the European Mediterranean coastline. Water as a limited and limiting resource for the growth of tourism is a popular topic in the scientific literature. However, the incorporation of non-conventional resources (desalination) has meant, in theory, that this limitation has been overcome. The aims of this paper are: a) to identify the different tourism models implanted in this territory and describe them from the point of view of their consumption of water in the demand cycle from 2002 to 2017; b) analyse the hydrosocial cycle, highlighting the measures aimed at satisfying water demand; and c) identify the limitations associated with these hydrosocial systems. To this end, different types of information will be processed, and various complex indicators produced. The results show the importance that demand management and the use of desalinated water in increasing the resilience of this territory to aridity. However, this has generated other problems associated with a tsunami of construction and the continuity of a non-sustainable territorial model.

This study identified and mapped worldwide surveillance actions and initiatives of drinking water quality implemented by government agencies or public health services. The scoping review was conducted between July 2021 and August 2022 based on the Joanna Briggs Institute. The search was performed in relevant databases and grey literature; 49 studies were obtained. Quantitative variables were presented as absolute and relative frequencies, while qualitative variables were analyzed using the IRaMuTeQ software. The actions developed worldwide and their impacts and results provided four thematic classes: (1) assessment of coverage, accessibility, quantity, and drinking water quality in routine and emergency situations; (2) analysis of physical-chemical and microbiological parameters in public supply networks or alternative water supply solutions; (3) identification of household water contamination, communication, and education with the community; (4) and investigation of water-borne disease outbreaks. Preliminary results were shared with stakeholders to favor early knowledge dissemination.

Abstract: The concept of sustainability applied to sports activities means ensuring that the economic benefits brought about by their development are not obtained at the expense of causing ecological damage or interference in local cultural habits. A cable-ski is a nautical ski system whereby a motorboat is substituted by a cable traction system powered by an electric motor. The effect on the quality of the water in those places that can boast cable-ski facilities has been described in cold freshwater lakes. Objective: Our purpose was to study the evolution of water quality in a ten-year period after the installation of a cable-ski facility in a warm, salted, semi-stagnant pond. Material and Method: Review of the data gathered from the routine test carried out by the Laboratory of the Council of Alcúdia from 2010 to 2019 Results: The levels of dissolved oxygen have increased, being significantly higher in the period 2016 – 2019 than in that of 2010 – 2015. The turbidity of the water has also seen a reduction in the second period with respect to the first. Conclusion: It seems that cable-ski improves the quality of water even warm, high-conductivity, semi-stagnant conditions

This article discusses the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the Netherlands and intends to show how law and politics combine in river basin management. Initially, the implementation of the WFD in the Netherlands was approached as a technical and administrative issue, handled by water quality and ecology experts, but in 2003 this approach was broken open by the agricultural sector, who were worried about stricter regulation. Subsequently, the environmental objectives of the WFD were set as low as possible and they are not used in authorising individual projects. Yet, in 2015 of the European Court of Justice determined that the environmental objectives have binding effect and that Member States have to refuse authorisation for projects that endanger the achievement of these objectives. In the future, the European Court of Justice and national courts may force the Dutch government to change its approach. They may only do so because and as long as they enjoy sufficient social and political support and function relatively independently. The article concludes that, to understand river basin management fully, one has to open up the black box of water law and become a kind of water lawyer.

Rainwater harvesting could be an optional water source to fulfil the emergency water demand in different setups. The aim was to assess if the rainwater harvesting potential for households and selected institutions were sufficient to satisfy the emergency water demand for the prevention of COVID-19 in Dilla town, Southern, Ethiopia. Rain water harvesting potential for households and selected institutions were quantified using 17 years’ worth of rainfall data from Ethiopian Metrology Agency. With an average annual rainfall of 1464 mm, households with 40 and 100 m2 roof sizes have a potential to harvest between 15.71-31.15 m3 and 41.73-82.73 m3 of water using Maximum Error Estimate. Meanwhile 7.2-39.7 m3 and 19.11-105.35 m3 of water can be harvested from the same roof sizes using Coefficient of Variation for calculation. Considering mean monthly rainfall, the health centres and Dilla University can attain 45.7% and 77% of their emergency water demand, while the rest of the selected institutions in Dilla Town can attain more than 100 % of their demand using only rainwater. Rain water can be an alternative water source for the town in the fight against COVID-19.

This paper presents a device for measuring and maintaining the constant water level in a tank. The device uses a capacity sensor to measure the water level. The sensor has a DC voltage output proportional to the water level in the tank. This voltage can be used in other automation too. The water level, in percentages, is displayed on a vu meter with 8 LEDs. The circuit for maintaining the constant level consists in a comparator with hysteresis. The level of the water is adjustable, using a reference voltage from a potentiometer (marked in percentages). The level of the water is compared with the prescribed level and the difference between them commands the start/stop of the water pump which supplies the tank through a relay. The device is powered by 220 V and is isolated from the environment.

To alleviate the contradiction between the increasing demand for water and the shortage of resources and to provide a favorable institutional environment for water rights trading, the Chinese government has strengthened the top-level design of water management system. However, the water-rich regions (southern regions of China) have good water resource endowment and a surplus of total water consumption indicators. Does this mean that there is no incentive and no need to conduct water rights trading in these regions? Through the investigation of water rights circulation cases in the Taihu Basin, a typical water-rich region of China, we established the existence of trading demand and some difficulties in conducting transactions. This paper argues that the needs of trading include alleviating the water gap in regional development, solving the water demand for large new projects, coordinating trans-jurisdiction water disputes. The plight of trading includes the lack of awareness, irregular process, excessive administrative intervention, and imperfect trading system.

The goods and services produced by forest vegetation ecosystem are the driving force for the rapid, high-quality and sustainable development of human society. In history, with the increase of population and economic development, there is an increasing demand for the quantity and variety of forest vegetation ecosystem products and services in a country or a region. To meet the demands, most of the original forest has become farmland, plantation and grass and crops land. As a result, the plant water relationship changed from equilibrium to non-equilibrium, which easily led to soil drought, soil degradation and vegetation decline in dry years or waste of soil water in rainy years in most of water-limited regions. In order to solve the question and realize the sustainable utilization of soil water resources and the high-quality sustainable development of forest, it is necessary to apply the limit theory of plant utilization of soil water resources and the vegetation carrying capacity theory in the critical period of plant-water relationship regulation to adjust the relationship between plant growth and soil moisture to obtain the maximum yield and benefit and realize high-quality and sustainable development.

Within this paper, a machine learning algorithm is used to investigate the importance of certain setpoints and parameters in the filtration processes of a large-scale water treatment facility. Previously, a model for the filtration process based on Run-to-Run Control was proposed and tested against sample data from the treatment plant, but it was quickly found that such a model was incompatible for successfully computing setpoints of operation which minimize the energy cost of running the filtration systems. The machine learning model described herein is an attempt to elucidate the importance of the available data on the filtration systems and to identify the most important variables that influence the filtration run time.

With permafrost degenerating caused by climate change, water accumulation increases in permafrost regions during last decades. Water accumulation will deteriorate existing status of engineering in cold regions. Water accumulation can make a thermal effect on permafrost under construction, even result in failure of the subgrade. Moreover, the thermal effect is related to water temperature. However, temperature variation of water accumulation is complex, and its influence factors include air temperature, environment, scope of water accumulation and so on. In order to make analysis of the damage mechanism of water accumulation on permafrost, it is necessary to explore the internal temperature change of water accumulation. This paper proposes a review about temperature calculation method of water accumulation in cold environment. The thermal calculation method between air and water boundary of water accumulation is summarized. Water temperature change of water accumulation with various type is analyzed. The thermal calculation considering phase transformation in water accumulation is discussed, and heat transfer from the bottom of water accumulation to the underlying soil is further studied. Finally, the key factors which are advantageous to make research about the thermal effect of water accumulation in permafrost is proposed to optimize calculation method.

Since the second half of the second millennium AD, water management among the Chagga people of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania has involved community collaboration in the construction, ownership and management of water infrastructure. Chagga settlement on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro transformed the landscape significantly to reflect an agrarian society characterised by decentralised forms of socio-political and economic organisation. Such organization involved conception, construction, and post-construction management of water distribution systems, constituting high-level socio-political complexity. The study employs ethnography, archaeological surveys and GIS to document water infrastructures on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro. We conclude that community collaboration was key in management of the water infrastructure and by extension, agriculture, which sustained Chagga and chiefdoms for centuries.

Rocks are materials with a wide variety of structures and properties. These can be unprocessed conglomerates of conglomerated minerals as well as crystallized outcrop or metamorphic rocks. Their processing, especially shaping, poses many technological difficulties. Therefore, it is very important to answer the question of how these natural materials yield to high-pressure water jet and abrasive water. It is equally important to determine the effect of key process parameters such as pressure, water nozzle diameter and feed rate on cutting efficiency. The first two parameters determine the water output and power of the jet, while the third determines the jet erosion time per unit volume of material. Their interdependence, using appropriate evaluation indicators, allows to determine the energy intensity of processing and directions for its minimization.

This study looks at the application of delayed action Passive InfraRed (PIR) sensors in the control of water use for urinal flushing. In this we briefly review the literature on urinal controls before reviewing four different approaches to PIR urinal controls. Existing literature discusses some of the pros and cons of different types of urinal control. However, the literature doesn’t consider the marked differences that can occur within individual approaches, based on the way controls operate. This study was initiated at the University of Surrey during 2019 following a water saving audit, in an attempt to bring down what had been identified as one of the largest users of water. This paper therefore aims to identify the most effective way to reduce water consumption of urinal systems, through retro-fitting PIR control systems within the variety of settings found across university campuses. This paper also reviews the different reductions achieved over periods of different levels of use, linked to term time, holidays, Covid-19 related lockdowns, and the ‘new normal’. It found that grouped delayed action flushing was the most effective form of urinal control for reducing water use. The delayed action, grouped PIR sensors, achieved between, a 59-64% adjusted reduction against the control group during non-Covid19 periods, and a 35% reduction against the control group during lockdowns.

Turbulence is a fluid dynamic problem refractory to mathematical treatment. Examining a theoretical model of liquid water flowing in a cylinder at different Raleigh numbers, we propose a novel approach to elucidate the first stages of turbulent flows. The weakly bonded molecular assemblies of liquid water form a fluctuating branched polymer in which every micro-cluster displays different density. Against the common view of liquid water as an incompressible and continuous fluid, we suggest that the occurrence of transient local aggregates could be able to generate the vortices and eddies that are the hallmarks of turbulence. We quantify the local changes in velocity, diameter and density required to engender “obstacles” to the average flow. Then, we show how these microstructures, equipped with different Raleigh numbers and characterized by high percolation index, could generate boundary layers that contribute to micro-vortices production. We conclude that the genesis of turbulence cannot be assessed in terms of collective phenomena, rather is sustained, among many other factors, by the underrated microscopic inhomogeneities of fluids like liquid water.

Stable isotope concentrations in the soil, rain and ground water have been used to trace the water extraction zones of plants in different environments. The need to identify the plant water use by plants in afforestation programs to control desertification increases the importance of sap water partitioning of plants in sand dune areas. However, the introduction of new plant covers exerts pressure on the water resources and can affect the local soil water conditions. In this study, we analyzed the isotope concentrations in rain, soil, sap, and ground water after the summer of 2010. Two experimental plots established in the Hailiutu catchment (Shaanxi province, northwest China) were selected to gather the water samples between September and October 2010. One plot is dominated by Salix bushes (Salix psammophila C. Wang \& Chang Y. Yang) and the other by the tree species Willow (Salix matsudana Koidz.). The total precipitation at the experimental site was 401 mm/yr during 2010, while 88.7 mm was collected in total for the period September to October. Willow trees transpired 12.82 kg/d being almost three times larger than Salix shrubs (4.57 kg/d). Despite the transpiration rates of both plant species and the few rain events in the region, the soil water beneath the plant covers is not depleted. Stable isotope signature of soil water beneath both covers shows the fractionation front in Salix at 20 cm depth and at Willow at 40 cm depth. However, soil water signature is closer to the groundwater than the collected rain water.

In this article, the quality of water in the reservoirs of Lake Arpi, Lake Yerevan, Akhuryan, Azat, Aparan and Kechut was estimated with usage of the Armenian Water Quality Index. It was established that in the waters of reservoirs the the maximum permissible concentration of copper, vanadium, aluminum, chromium, manganese, iron, NH4+ and NO2- regularly increases. The following computational algorithm was used for determination of the Armenian Water Quality Index values: to determine the number of cases of MPC excess of i-substance or indicator of water –n; to estimate the total amount of cases of the maximum permissible concentration (N) – N = ∑n; to computes log2N, nlog2n and ∑nlog2n; to determine geoecological syntropy (I) and entropy (H): I = ∑ nlog2n/N and H = log2N – I. Then, Geo-Ecological Evolving Organized index index was determined: G = H/I. Further, the total amount multiplicity of MAC exceedances was estimated: (M) - M=∑m and log2M was computed. Finally, Armenian Water Quality Index was obtained: AWQI = G + 0.1log2M. It was established that the Armenian Water Qquality Index showed a linear dependence on the Water Contamination Index, the Specific Combinatory Water Quality Index, the Geo-Ecological Evolving Organized index and an inverse dependence on the Canadian Water Quality Index.

For decades, the Ébrié Lagoon in Côte d'Ivoire has been the receptacle of wastewater effluent and household waste transported by runoff water. This work assesses the spatio-temporal variability of the Ébrié lagoon water quality at the city of Abidjan. The methodological approach used in this study is summarized in three stages: the choice and standardization of the parameters for assessing water quality for uses such as aquaculture, irrigation, watering, and sports and recreation; the weighting of these parameters using the Hierarchical Analysis Process (AHP) of Saaty; and finally, the aggregation of the weighted parameters or factors. Physicochemical and microbiological analysis data on the waters of the Ébrié lagoon for June and December of 2014 and 2015 were provided by the Ivorian Center for Anti-Pollution (Centre Ivoirien Anti-Pollution, CIAPOL) and the concentrations of trace elements in sediments (As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn) were used. The aggregation of standardized and weighted parameters allowed the determination of the Water Quality Indices (WQI) by usage for each bays of the lagoon. The results show that in both 2014 and 2015, the waters of the Ébrié lagoon were generally of poor quality for the different uses examined in this study (aquaculture, irrigation, watering and sport and recreation) with an accentuation in 2015. However, some bays of the lagoon have waters of dubious to satisfactory quality. This study contributes an improved evaluation of the Ébrié lagoon waters.

This study estimates rainfall interception losses from natural wetland ecosystems based on maximum canopy storage measurements. Rainfall interception losses play an important role in water balance, which is crucial in wetlands, and has not yet been thoroughly studied in relation to this type of ecosystem. Maximum canopy storage was measured using the weight method. Based on these measurements, daily values of interception losses were estimated and then used to calculate long term interception losses based on precipitation and potential evapotranspiration data for the 1971–2015 period. Depending mainly on the number of days with precipitation, the results show that total interception losses for the growing season as well as monthly interception losses are around 13% of gross rainfall. This value is similar to the values observed for some forests. Hence, interception losses should not be disregarded in hydrologic models of wetlands, especially because data trends in meteorological conditions (mainly number of days with precipitation) show that interception losses will increase in the future if those trends stay the same.

There is a balanced plant-water relationship in the primary vegetation of desert area. With the increase of population and social development in desert areas, people’s need for forest vegetation ecosystem’s goods and service have been changed. To meet the growing demand for plant community goods and services, more original vegetation has been changed into non-native vegetation such as in China loess plateau. However, with the plant growth, sometime soil drying happens and then becomes gradually serious with times in most of desert regions. Serious drying of soil eventually result in soil degradation, vegetation decline and agriculture failure，which influence the produce and supply of forest vegetation goods and service in market in dry year or waste of soil water resources in wet year, which wastes precious nature resources. In order to solve these problems, the soil water resources have to be used in sustainable way and plant-water relationship have to be regulated on Carrying Capacity of Soil Water for Vegetation in the key period of plant water relationship regulation, to carry out sustainable use of nature resources, high-quality and sustainable development of forest and grass or high-quality produce of fruit and crop in desert re-gions.

This article presents a field-performance investigation on an Integrated Solar Water Supply System (SWSS) at two isolated agricultural areas in Thailand. The two case-study villages (Pongluek and Bangkloy ) have experienced severe draughts in the last decades, and therefore water supply has become a major issue. A stand-alone 15.36 kW solar power and a 15 kW solar submersible pump were installed along with the input power generated by solar panels supported by four solar trackers. The aim is to lift water at the static head of 64 and 48 m via piping length of 400 metres for each village to be stored in 1,000 m3 and 1,800 m3 reservoirs at an average of 300 m3 and 400 m3 per day, respectively for Pongluek and Bangkloy villages. The case study results have shown that the real costs of electricity generated by SWSS using solar PV systems intergraded with the solar tracking system yield better performance and are more advantageous compared with the non-tracking system. This study illustrates how system integration has been employed. System design and commercially available simulation predictions are elaborated. Construction, installation, and field tests for SWSS are discussed and highlighted. Performances of the SWSS in different weather conditions such as sunny, cloudy, and rainy days were analysed to make valuable suggestions for higher efficiency of the integrated solar water supply systems.

Drought-induced plant mortality has increased globally during the last decades and is forecasted to influence global vegetation dynamics. Timely information on plant water dynamics is essential for understanding and anticipating drought-induced plant mortality. The most common metric that has been used for decades for measuring water stress is leaf water potential (Ψ_L), which is measured destructively. To obtain information on water dynamics from trees and forested landscapes, remote sensing methods have been developed. However, the spatial and temporal resolution of the existing methods have limited our understanding of water dynamics and diurnal variation of Ψ_L within single trees. Thus, we investigated the capability of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) intensity in observing diurnal variation in Ψ_L during a 50 hour monitoring period and aimed to improve understanding on how large part of the diurnal variation in Ψ_L can be captured using intensity observations. We found that TLS intensity at 905 nm wavelength was able to explain 78% of the variation in Ψ_L for three trees of two tree species with a root-mean square error of 0.137 MPa. Based on our experiment with three trees, time-series of TLS intensity measurements can be used in detecting changes in Ψ_L, and thus it is worthwhile to expand the investigations to cover a wider range of tree species and forests and further increase our understanding of plant water dynamics at wider spatial and temporal scales.

This research was conducted to analyze the content of Fe, Cu, Cd, Cr, and Pb in several species of fish taken from three lakes that is closely to disposal of industrial waste in Indonesia. The fish samples were taken from three lakes, namely, Muara Angke, Weda, and Morowali. The samples from Morowali were analyzed in April 2019, those from Weda from November to December 2019, and those from Muara Angke in June 2018. All the samples were then analyzed at the chemistry laboratory of the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, University of Indonesia, and the Integrated Laboratory of IPB. The results showed that all types of fish from Morowali and Weda were no longer safe to consume because they contained Fe, Cu, Cd, and Cr exceeding the threshold of metal contamination. Meanwhile, all types of fish from Muara Angke, except for ayam-ayam, are still safe for consumption. The results of this study can be a source of information regarding metal content in fish and fish feed for safe consumption. Several studies have been done to determine the metal pollutants contained by fish. Given the high consumption rate of fish and the hazards of heavy metals on humans’ health, such research must be furthered

The Delaware River has made a marked recovery in the half-century since the adoption of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) Compact in 1961 and passage of the Federal Clean Water Act amendments during the 1970s. During the 1960s, the DRBC set a 3.5 mg/l dissolved oxygen criteria for the river based on an economic analysis that concluded a waste load abatement program designed to meet fishable water quality goals would generate significant recreation and environmental benefits. Scientists with the Delaware Estuary Program have recently called for raising the 1960s DO criteria along the Delaware River from 3.5 mg/l to 5.0 mg/l to protect anadromous American shad and Atlantic sturgeon and address the prospect of rising temperatures, sea levels, and salinity in the estuary. This research concludes through a marginal abatement cost (MAC) analysis that it would be cost effective to raise DO levels to meet a more stringent standard by prioritizing agricultural conservation and wastewater treatment investments in the Delaware River watershed to reduce 90% of the pollutant load 13.6 million kg/year of nitrogen (30 million lb/year) for $160 million at 35% of the $449 million annual cost. The annual least cost to reduce nitrogen loads and raise dissolved oxygen levels to meet more stringent water quality standards in the Delaware River totals $45 million for atmospheric NOX reduction, $130 million for wastewater treatment, $132 million for agriculture conservation, and $141 million for urban stormwater retrofitting. This 21st century least cost analysis estimates that $50 million/year is needed to reduce pollutant loads in the Delaware River to raise dissolved oxygen levels to 4.0 mg/l, $150 million/year is needed to reach 4.5 mg/l, and $449 million/year is needed to reach 5.0 mg/l.

Differences in the physical and chemical properties of reclaimed water (RW) and natural surface water (SW) lead to the differences in terms of nitrogen and phosphorus release when pipeline sediments enter these water bodies. The nitrogen and phosphorus release kinetics from pipe sediments with different particle sizes have been investigated. The results demonstrated that both SW and RW had a pH buffering effect after sediment addition, and the final pH (approximately 8.1) of RW was lower. The release of total phosphorus (TP) and ammonia nitrogen ( NH₄⁺-N) fitted the first-order kinetic model where the release of TP reached equilibrium; TP release was inhibited in both SW and RW, where RW exhibited the lowest (by a factor of 1.23~2.44) release (0.002 mg/g). The release of NH4+-N was promoted in both SW and RW; the maximum release in RW was 0.0188 mg/g. The amounts of NH₄⁺-N released in SW and RW were 1.02-1.40 and 1.30-1.80 times that of the control group (CG), respectively. The percentage of TP and NH₄⁺-N release in the three groups was highest in 75-154 μm pipe sediment, reaching 34.53% and 43.51% in SW and RW, respectively. These results can assist in the development of water quality evolution models for specific urban scenarios, and provide important guidance for the precise regulation of recharge water quality during and after rainfall.

Multivariate predictive analysis of the Stream-Water (SW) parameters (discharge, water level, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, and specific conductance) is a pivotal task in the field of water resource management during the era of rapid climate change. The highly dynamic and evolving nature of the meteorological and climatic features have a significant impact on the temporal distribution of the SW variables in recent days making the SW variables forecasting even more complicated for diversified water-related issues. To predict the SW variables, various physics-based numerical models are used using numerous hydrologic parameters. Extensive lab-based investigation and calibration are required to reduce the uncertainty involved in those parameters. However, in the age of data-informed analysis and prediction, several deep learning algorithms showed satisfactory performance in dealing with sequential data. In this research, a comprehensive Explorative Data Analysis (EDA) and feature engineering were performed to prepare the dataset to obtain the best performance of the predictive model. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network regression model is trained using over several years of daily data to predict the SW variables up to one week ahead of time (lead time) with satisfactory performance. The performance of the proposed model is found highly adequate through the comparison of the predicted data with the observed data, visualization of the distribution of the errors, and a set of error matrices. Higher performance is achieved through the increase in the number of epochs and hyperparameter tuning. This model can be transferred to other locations with proper feature engineering and optimization to perform univariate predictive analysis and potentially be used to perform real-time SW variables prediction.

Clean production of renewable fuels is a great challenge of our scientific community. Iridium complexes have demonstrated a superior catalytic activity in the water oxidation (WO) reaction, which is a crucial step in water splitting process. Herein we have used a defective zirconium MOF with UiO-66 structure as support of a highly active Ir complex based on EDTA with formula [Ir(HEDTA)Cl]Na. The defects are induced by the partial substitution of tereftalic acid with smaller formiate groups. Anchoring of the complex occurs through a post-synthetic exchange of formiate anions, coordinated at the zirconium clusters of the MOF, with the free carboxylate group of the [Ir(HEDTA)Cl]-complex. The modified material was tested as heterogenous catalyst for the WO reaction by using Cerium Ammonium Nitrate as sacrificial agent. Although TOF and TON values are comparable to those of other iridium heterogenized catalysts, the MOF exhibits iridium leaching not limited at the first catalytic run, as usually observed, suggesting a lack of stability of the hybrid system under strong oxidative conditions.

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is an invasive species that has modified ecosystem functioning in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta), California, USA. Studies in lakes and rivers have shown that water hyacinth alters water quality. In tidal systems, such as the Delta, water moves back and forth through the water hyacinth patch so water quality directly outside the patch in either direction is likely to be impacted. In this study, we asked whether the presence or treatment of water hyacinth with herbicides resulted in changes in water quality in this tidal system. We combined existing datasets that were originally collected for permit compliance and long-term regional monitoring into a dataset that we analyzed with a before-after control-impact (BACI) framework. This approach allowed us to describe effects of presence and treatment of water hyacinth, while accounting for seasonal patterns in water quality. We found that although effects of treatment were not detectable when compared with water immediately upstream, dissolved oxygen and turbidity became more similar to regional water quality averages after treatment. Temperature became less similar to the regional average after treatment, but the magnitude of the change was small. Taken together, these results suggest that tidal hydrology exports the effects of water hyacinth upstream, just as river flow is known to transport the effects downstream, creating a buffer of altered water chemistry around patches. It also suggests that although water hyacinth has an effect on dissolved oxygen and turbidity, these parameters recover to regional averages after treatment.

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is one of the system thinking approaches emerged in the 1990s. Since then it has been applied in various countries and contexts. However, the implementation of the IWRM is contested. There are paucity of literature and guidelines as to how the concept can be operationalized. In Ethiopia, there is no evidence that IWRM is successfully instituted. Particularly, IWRM has never been implemented in the Awash River Basin. The study generated data from household and institutional surveys, in-depth interviews, focused group discussions, workshops, and secondary sources. Multiple sources of data were triangulated and thematically summarized. We found that pragmatic water resources management through system approach helps to recognize river basin as a bigger system in which the natural and human systems function. This resolves the problem of fragmentations among among various actors, sectors, interest and priorities. That it facilitates the coordination of various subsystems. The operationalization of IWRM as a system to secure water resources require the establishment and/or strengthening of the interactions of various systems, subsystems, and the elements within the entire basin system. Finally, enabling institutional environments should be considered as a medium of realizing IWRM.