Applying multivariate techniques to fingerprint water quality impact of the Fundão Dam breach within the Rio Doce basin.

The Fundão Dam breach on 5 November 2015 (the "Event") released tailings, water, soil and/or sediments, and other debris to downstream watercourses. This breach included both direct and indirect impacts from scouring of soils and sediments along and within the affected courses. Multivariate statistical techniques were used to determine the potential of fingerprinting the impact of the breach compared to pre-Event water quality conditions and unaffected watercourses.

Determining recovery of marine water quality of the Rio Doce using statistical and temporal comparisons with nearby river systems.

The Fundão dam breach affected the Rio Doce's estuarine and marine environments with water, tailings, scoured soil and/or sediments, and other debris. Time series and standard exceedance analyses are typically used to assess water quality recovery to baseline conditions after deteriorating water quality events. In the absence of historical measurements, impacts to water quality from the Fundão Event were compared with measurements of nearby rivers.

COVID-19 Outbreak and Hospital Air Quality: A Systematic Review of Evidence on Air Filtration and Recirculation.

The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has made us all think critically about hospital indoor air quality and the approaches to remove, dilute, and disinfect pathogenic organisms from the hospital environment. While specific aspects of the coronavirus infectivity, spread, and routes of transmission are still under rigorous investigation, it seems that a recollection of knowledge from the literature can provide useful lessons to cope with this new situation. As a result, a systematic literature review was conducted on the safety of air filtration and air recirculation in healthcare premises.

Adsorption and decontamination of α-synuclein from medically and environmentally-relevant surfaces.

The assembly and accumulation of α-synuclein fibrils are implicated in the development of several neurodegenerative disorders including multiple system atrophy and Parkinson's disease. Pre-existing α-synuclein fibrils can recruit and convert soluble non-fibrillar α-synuclein to the fibrillar form similar to what is observed in prion diseases. This raises concerns regarding attachment of fibrillary α-synuclein to medical instruments and subsequent exposure of patients to α-synuclein similar to what has been observed in iatrogenic transmission of prions.

The attachment of colloidal particles to environmentally relevant surfaces and the effect of particle shape.

Despite the prevalence of nonspherical colloidal particles, the role of particle shape in the transport of colloids is largely understudied. This study investigates the attachment of colloidal particles onto environmentally relevant surfaces while varying particle shape and ionic strength. Using quartz crystal microbalance and atomic force microscopy measurements, the role of particle shape was elucidated and possible mechanisms discussed.

Combined quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and generalized ellipsometry (GE) to characterize the deposition of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on model rough surfaces.

Measuring the interactions between engineered nanoparticles and natural substrates (e.g. soils and sediments) has been very challenging due to highly heterogeneous and rough natural surfaces.

Modeling improved ISCO treatment of low permeable zones via viscosity modification: assessment of system variables.

A major challenge to successfully using in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) for groundwater treatment is achieving uniform contact between the oxidant and contaminants in a heterogeneous aquifer. Viscosity modification technology, where a water-soluble polymer is mixed with remedial fluids, has been introduced in recent years to improve oxidant coverage of the target zone (i.e.

Improving the sweeping efficiency of permanganate into low permeable zones to treat TCE: experimental results and model development.

The residual buildup and treatment of dissolved contaminants in low permeable zones (LPZs) is a particularly challenging issue for injection-based remedial treatments. Our objective was to improve the sweeping efficiency of permanganate into LPZs to treat dissolved-phase TCE. This was accomplished by conducting transport experiments that quantified the ability of xanthan-MnO4(-) solutions to penetrate and cover (i.