Food insecurity is a public health concern with pervasive effects on numerous human biological factors. In addition to physical problems, food insecurity may have adverse social and psychological impacts. The present study aimed to determine the correlations between household food insecurity and stress, anxiety, and depression in mothers living in Mashhad, Iran.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSustainable development is a grand challenge of the present century, with tremendous direct and indirect implications for a range of social, economic, and environmental factors. This research proposes a water-centric framework for evaluating "relative" sustainability of the status quo in a country via a new "hydro-social-economic-environmental sustainability index" (HSEESI). We test this framework across 35 countries of American continent using national-scale surveyed data for the 2005-2017 periods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Genome-wide association studies have shown that risk alleles on chromosome 9p21.3 locus, are associated with increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Several epidemiological studies have found that metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with CVDs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA model was developed for a water resources recovery facility (WRRF) activated sludge process (ASP) in Modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) configuration. Amplification of air requirements and its associated energy consumptions were observed as a result of concurrent circadian variations in ASP influent flow and carbonaceous/nitrogenous constituent concentrations. The indirect carbon emissions associated with the ASP aeration were further amplified due to the simultaneous variations in carbon emissions intensity (kgCO(kWh)) and electricity consumption (kWh).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis research systematically studied the behavior of aeration diffuser efficiency over time, and its relation to the energy usage per diffuser. Twelve diffusers were selected for a one year fouling study. Comprehensive aeration efficiency projections were carried out in two WRRFs with different influent rates, and the influence of operating conditions on aeration diffusers' performance was demonstrated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that all carbon dioxide (CO) emissions generated by water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) during treatment are modern, based on available literature. Therefore, such emissions were omitted from IPCC's greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting procedures. However, a fraction of wastewater's carbon is fossil in origin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOver the seasonal cycles, the mean cell retention time (MCRT) of the activated sludge process is varied to compensate the wastewater temperature variations. The effects of these variations on the carbon footprint (CFP) and effluent quality index (EQI) of a conventional activated sludge (CAS) process and a nitrification/denitrification (NDN) process were quantified. The carbon emission included both biogenic and non-biogenic carbon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA study was conducted to compare the technical potential and effectiveness of different water supply options for securing water availability in a large-scale, interconnected water supply system under historical and climate-change augmented inflow and demand conditions. Part 2 of the study focused on determining the greenhouse gas and renewable energy utilization impacts of different pathways to stabilize major surface reservoir levels. Using a detailed electric grid model and taking into account impacts on the operation of the water supply infrastructure, the greenhouse gas emissions and effect on overall grid renewable penetration level was calculated for each water supply option portfolio that successfully secured water availability from Part 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe technical potential and effectiveness of different water supply options for securing water availability in a large-scale, interconnected water supply system under historical and climate-change augmented inflow and demand conditions were compared. Part 1 of the study focused on determining the scale of the options required to secure water availability and compared the effectiveness of different options. A spatially and temporally resolved model of California's major surface reservoirs was developed, and its sensitivity to urban water conservation, desalination, and water reuse was examined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe goal of this paper is to show the effect of primary sedimentation on the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and solids fractionation and consequently on the carbonaceous and energy footprints of wastewater treatment processes. Using a simple rational procedure for COD and solids fraction quantification, we quantify the effects of varying fractions on CO2 and CO2-equivalent mass flows, process energy demand and energy recovery. Then we analysed two treatment plants with similar biological nutrient removal processes in two different climatic regions and quantified the net benefit of gravity separation before biological treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMost wastewater treatment plants monitor routinely carbonaceous and nitrogenous load parameters in influent and effluent streams, and often in the intermediate steps. COD fractionation discriminates the selective removal of VSS components in different operations, allowing accurate quantification of the energy requirements and mass flows for secondary treatment, sludge digestion, and sedimentation. We analysed the different effects of COD fractions on carbon and energy footprint in a wastewater treatment plant with activated sludge in nutrient removal mode and anaerobic digestion of the sludge with biogas energy recovery.
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