Assessing groundwater quality dynamics in Madhya Pradesh: Chemical contaminants and their temporal patterns.

Groundwater is essential for maintaining ecosystem health and overall well-being as a pivotal resource for plants and animals. The increasing public consciousness of the deterioration of groundwater quality has emphasized the significance of undertaking extended evaluations of groundwater water quality, particularly in regions undergoing substantial hydrological alterations. This study primarily aims to investigate the spatio-temporal variations in groundwater quality and evaluate its suitability for potable purposes in the region of Madhya Pradesh. The study combines the Mann-Kendall (MK) test and Sen's Slope (SS) to analyze the changes in groundwater quality of all 51 districts of Madhya Pradesh, India, utilizing 12 water quality indices using MATLAB. Data was sourced from the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) in India from the year 2001-2021. The data was then tested for homogeneity at all 1154 sampling stations using the software XLSTAT. Piper plot clustering characterized the state's groundwater as bicarbonate-calcium-magnesium (HCO3--Ca2+-Mg2+) type. The study found that the groundwater in the area is heavily impacted by high levels of nitrate and hardness, which is caused by an increase in multivalent cations. The water was classified as ranging from hard to extremely hard, and approximately 25.49% of the state's groundwater has nitrate levels that exceed the acceptable limits. The MK test showed a significant increasing correlation in trends for parameters such as nitrate, sulfate, fluoride, chloride, bicarbonate, total hardness, and electrical conductivity. It also showed a significant decreasing correlation for calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. These results were observed at a confidence level of 95%. The analysis of trends has shown that human-related factors have a considerable effect on the characteristics of groundwater quality. It is therefore recommended that such human-related factors be taken into consideration when developing policies for managing groundwater resources. Consequently, these policies should emphasize the strict enforcement of rules and standards that limit the overuse of fertilizers, ensure the appropriate disposal of municipal solid and liquid wastes, and regulate industrial pollutants.

Pyrolytic conversion of human hair to fuel: performance evaluation and kinetic modelling.

There are several environmental and human health impacts if human hair waste is not adequately disposed of. In this study, pyrolysis of discarded human hair was carried out. This research focused on the pyrolysis of discarded human hair under controlled environmental conditions. The effects of the mass of discarded human hair and temperature on bio-oil yield were studied. The proximate and ultimate analyses and calorific values of disposed of human hair, bio-oil, and biochar were determined. Further, chemical compounds of bio-oil were analyzed using a gas chromatograph and a mass spectrometer. Finally, the kinetic modeling and behavior of the pyrolysis process were characterized through FT-IR spectroscopy and thermal analysis. Based on the optimized mass of disposed of human hair, 250 g had a better bio-oil yield of 97% in the temperature range of 210-300 °C. The different parameters of bio-oil were: pH (2.87), specific gravity (1.17), moisture content (19%), heating value (19.34 MJ/kg), and viscosity (50 CP). C (56.4%), H (6.1%), N (0.16%), S (0.01%), O (38.4%), and Ash (0.1%) were discovered to be the elemental chemical composition of bio-oil (on a dry basis). During breakdown, the release of different compounds like hydrocarbons, aldehydes, ketones, acids, and alcohols takes place. According to the GC-MS results, several amino acids were discovered in the bio-oil, 12 abundant in the discarded human hair. The FTIR and thermal analysis found different concluding temperatures and wave numbers for functional groups. Two main stages are partially separated at about 305 °C, with maximum degradation rates at about 293 oC and 400-4140 °C, respectively. The mass loss was 30% at 293 0C and 82% at temperatures above 293 0C. When the temperature reached 4100C, the entire bio-oil from discarded human hair was distilled or thermally decomposed.

Novel CRISPR/Cas technology in the realm of algal bloom biomonitoring: Recent trends and future perspectives.

In conjunction with global climate change, progressive ocean warming, and acclivity in pollution and anthropogenic eutrophication, the incidence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CHABs) continue to expand in distribution, frequency, and magnitude. Algal bloom-related toxins have been implicated in human health disorders and ecological dysfunction and are detrimental to the national and global economy. Biomonitoring programs based on traditional monitoring protocols were characterised by some limitations that can be efficiently overdone using the CRISPR/Cas technology. In the present review, the potential and challenges of exploiting the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-Cas technology for early detection of HABs and CHABs-associated toxigenic species were analysed. Based on more than 30 scientific papers, the main results indicate the great potential of CRISPR/Cas technology for this issue, even if the high sensitivity detected for the Cas12 and Cas13 platforms represents a possible interference risk.

The spread of the omicron variant: Identification of knowledge gaps, virus diffusion modelling, and future research needs.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognised variant B.1.1.529 of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as a variant of concern, termed "Omicron", on November 26, 2021. Its diffusion was attributed to its several mutations, which allow promoting its ability to diffuse worldwide and its capability in immune evasion. As a consequence, some additional serious threats to public health posed the risk to undermine the global efforts made in the last two years to control the pandemic. In the past, several works were devoted to discussing a possible contribution of air pollution to the SARS-CoV-2 spread. However, to the best of the authors' knowledge, there are still no works dealing with the Omicron variant diffusion mechanisms. This work represents a snapshot of what we know right now, in the frame of an analysis of the Omicron variant spread. The paper proposes the use of a single indicator, commercial trade data, to model the virus spread. It is proposed as a surrogate of the interactions occurring between humans (the virus transmission mechanism due to human-to-human contacts) and could be considered for other diseases. It allows also to explain the unexpected increase in infection cases in China, detected at beginning of 2023. The air quality data are also analyzed to evaluate for the first time the role of air particulate matter (PM) as a carrier of the Omicron variant diffusion. Due to emerging concerns associated with other viruses (such as smallpox-like virus diffusion in Europe and America), the proposed approach seems to be promising to model the virus spreading.

Generation of bio-energy after optimization and controlling fluctuations using various sludge activated microbial fuel cell.

An aerobic microbial fuel cell (MFC) was designed to produce bio-electricity using cow manure-pretreated slurry (CM) and sewage sludge (SS). A comparative study of parametric effects on power generation for various parameters like feed ratio of wastes, pH of anode media, and electrode depth was conducted. This experiment aimed to identify the most important system parameters and optimize them to develop a suitable controller for a stable output. Power production reached its maximum at an electrode depth of 7 cm, a pH of 6, and a feed ratio of 2:1 in the CM + SS system before applying the controller. Response surface methodology (RSM) was practiced to explore the relationships between various parameters and the response using MINITAB software. The regression equation of the most productive system deduced from the RSM result has an R2 value of 85.3%. The results show that an ON/OFF controller works satisfactorily in this study. The highest energy-generating setup has a chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of 45%. The morphology and content of the used wastes indicate that they can be recycled in other applications.

Nano-biotechnology in tumour and cancerous disease: A perspective review.

In recent years, drug manufacturers and researchers have begun to consider the nanobiotechnology approach to improve the drug delivery system for tumour and cancer diseases. In this article, we review current strategies to improve tumour and cancer drug delivery, which mainly focuses on sustaining biocompatibility, biodistribution, and active targeting. The conventional therapy using cornerstone drugs such as fludarabine, cisplatin etoposide, and paclitaxel has its own challenges especially not being able to discriminate between tumour versus normal cells which eventually led to toxicity and side effects in the patients. In contrast to the conventional approach, nanoparticle-based drug delivery provides target-specific delivery and controlled release of the drug, which provides a better therapeutic window for treatment options by focusing on the eradication of diseased cells via active targeting and sparing normal cells via passive targeting. Additionally, treatment of tumours associated with the brain is hampered by the impermeability of the blood-brain barriers to the drugs, which eventually led to poor survival in the patients. Nanoparticle-based therapy offers superior delivery of drugs to the target by breaching the blood-brain barriers. Herein, we provide an overview of the properties of nanoparticles that are crucial for nanotechnology applications. We address the potential future applications of nanobiotechnology targeting specific or desired areas. In particular, the use of nanomaterials, biostructures, and drug delivery methods for the targeted treatment of tumours and cancer are explored.

Wastewater treatment with nanomaterials for the future: A state-of-the-art review.

Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are both threatened by toxic wastewater. The unique properties of nanomaterials are currently being studied thoroughly for treating sewage. Nanomaterials also have the advantage of being capable of removing organic matter, fungi, and viruses from wastewater. Advanced oxidation processes are used in nanomaterials to treat wastewater. Additionally, nanomaterials have a large effective area of contact due to their tiny dimensions. The adsorption and reactivity of nanomaterials are strong. Wastewater treatment would benefit from the development of nanomaterial technology. Second, the paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the unique characteristics of nanomaterials in wastewater treatment, their proper use, and their prospects. In addition to focusing on their economic feasibility, since limited forms of nanomaterials have been manufactured, it is also necessary to consider their feasibility in terms of their technical results. According to this study, the significant adsorption area, excellent chemical reaction, and electrical conductivity of nanoparticles (NPs) contribute to the successful treatment of wastewater.

Column optimization of adsorption and evaluation of bed parameters-based on removal of arsenite ion using rice husk.

The objective of this study deals with column optimization of adsorption-based on removal of arsenite ion using rice husk. The parameters affecting the column adsorption study, i.e., influent-concentration, bed depth, and flow rate, were optimized. The range of parameters, i.e., influent-concentration (15-50 mg/L), flow rate (20, 35, 45, and 60 mL/min), and bed depth (15-60 mm), were studied experimentally. Kinetics models Bohart-Adams and Hutchins were studied to measure the amount adsorbed, depth of mass transfer zone, saturated concentration, and time observed at 10% & 90% breakthrough. The percentage amount adsorbed qm enhanced with enhancement in bed depth but got reduced with influent ions concentration and volumetric flow rate. Established model Bohart-Adams and Hutchins equations were used for calculation of mass transfer zone which came out to be 51 mm. An adsorption capacity (qm) of 4.5 mg/g for arsenite ions was achieved at optimum parameter values of 60 mm of bed depth, 20 mL/min volumetric flow rate, and 50 mg/L of influent ions concentration. The adsorption bed parameters were also evaluated using Hutchins and Michaels equations. The column study proved rice husk to be a potential adsorbent for the adsorption of arsenite.