A participatory multi-criteria decision analysis framework reveals transition potential towards non-grid wastewater management.

Many public environmental decisions are wicked problems due to high complexity and uncertainty. We test a participatory value-based framework based on multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to tackle such problems. Our framework addresses two important gaps identified in reviews of MCDA applications to environmental problems: including stakeholders and treating uncertainty.

The efficacy of combined arginine and probiotics as an add-on to 1450 ppm fluoride toothpaste to prevent and control dental caries in children - A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: To determine how daily consumption of a lozenge combining arginine and two probiotic strains affects the Relative Risk Reduction (RRR) in children regarding dental caries transitions and lesion activity at tooth surface level during 10-12 months.

Methods: A total of 21,888 tooth surfaces in 288 children were examined. The intervention group (n = 141) received a lozenge containing 2% arginine, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, LGG® (DSM33156), and Lactobacillus paracasei subsp.

The effect of a lozenge combining prebiotic arginine and probiotics on caries increment in children during 10-12 months, a randomized clinical trial.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of daily use of a lozenge containing arginine and probiotics for 10-12 months on caries increment, gingivitis- and plaque occurrence in children aged 5-9 years.

Methods: In this placebo-controlled, double-blinded, parallel-grouped randomized clinical trial, 343 children were randomly assigned to one of the study arms (1:1). The intervention group (n = 172) received a lozenge containing Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, LGG® (DSM33156), Lactobacillus paracasei subsp.

Screening innovative technologies for energy-efficient domestic hot water systems.

Domestic hot water systems are large energy consumers. With the aim of reducing the energy footprint of these systems, we selected and simulated five technologies across a wide range of technology readiness levels: established technologies - pipe insulation and low-flow faucets -, relatively new technologies - shower drain heat exchangers and an innovative pipe system - and a novel experimental technology - a heat exchanger connected to membrane bioreactor for on-site greywater treatment. Using the WaterHub modeling framework, we simulated the technologies alone and in combination and compared the energetic performance of fifteen scenarios with a validated reference domestic hot water system.

State of the art of urine treatment technologies: A critical review.

Over the last 15 years, urine treatment technologies have developed from lab studies of a few pioneers to an interesting innovation, attracting attention from a growing number of process engineers. In this broad review, we present literature from more than a decade on biological, physical-chemical and electrochemical urine treatment processes. Like in the first review on urine treatment from 2006, we categorize the technologies according to the following objectives: stabilization, volume reduction, targeted N-recovery, targeted P-recovery, nutrient removal, sanitization, and handling of organic micropollutants.

In-building heat recovery mitigates adverse temperature effects on biological wastewater treatment: A network-scale analysis of thermal-hydraulics in sewers.

Heat recovery from wastewater is a robust and straightforward strategy to reduce water-related energy consumption. Its implementation, though, requires a careful assessment of its impacts across the entire wastewater system as adverse effects on the water and resource recovery facility and competition among heat recovery strategies may arise. A model-based assessment of heat recovery from wastewater therefore implies extending the modeling spatial scope, with the aim of enabling thermal-hydraulic simulations from the household tap along its entire flow path down to the wastewater resource recovery facility.

A Research Agenda for the Future of Urban Water Management: Exploring the Potential of Nongrid, Small-Grid, and Hybrid Solutions.

Recent developments in high- and middle-income countries have exhibited a shift from conventional urban water systems to alternative solutions that are more diverse in source separation, decentralization, and modularization. These solutions include nongrid, small-grid, and hybrid systems to address such pressing global challenges as climate change, eutrophication, and rapid urbanization. They close loops, recover valuable resources, and adapt quickly to changing boundary conditions such as population size.

Dental biofilm infections - an update.

Teeth are colonized by oral bacteria from saliva containing more than 700 different bacterial species. If removed regularly, the dental biofilm mainly comprises oral streptococci and is regarded as resident microflora. But if left undisturbed, a complex biofilm containing up to 100 bacterial species at a site will build up and may eventually cause development of disease.

Robust planning of sanitation services in urban informal settlements: An analytical framework.

New types of sanitation services are emerging to tackle the sanitation crisis in informal settlements. These services link toilet facilities to semi-decentralized treatment plants via frequent, road-based transport of excreta. However, information for the planning of such sanitation services is scarce, and their future operating conditions are highly uncertain.

Early testing of new sanitation technology for urban slums: The case of the Blue Diversion Toilet.

The toilets used most in informal urban settlements have detrimental consequences for the environment and human health due to the lack of proper collection and treatment of toilet waste. Concepts for safe, sustainable and affordable sanitation systems exist, but their feasibility and acceptance have to be investigated at an early stage of development, which is difficult due to the high costs of building working models. In this paper, we present an approach to estimate acceptance in a valid and representative form with only one working model, and apply it to test an innovative zero-emission toilet with recycling of wash water.

Emerging solutions to the water challenges of an urbanizing world.

The top priorities for urban water sustainability include the provision of safe drinking water, wastewater handling for public health, and protection against flooding. However, rapidly aging infrastructure, population growth, and increasing urbanization call into question current urban water management strategies, especially in the fast-growing urban areas in Asia and Africa. We review innovative approaches in urban water management with the potential to provide locally adapted, resource-efficient alternative solutions.

A novel approach for stabilizing fresh urine by calcium hydroxide addition.

In this study, we investigated the prevention of enzymatic urea hydrolysis in fresh urine by increasing the pH with calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) powder. The amount of Ca(OH)2 dissolving in fresh urine depends significantly on the composition of the urine. The different urine compositions used in our simulations showed that between 4.

CO₂-neutral wastewater treatment plants or robust, climate-friendly wastewater management? A systems perspective.

CO2-neutral wastewater treatment plants can be obtained by improving the recovery of internal wastewater energy resources (COD, nutrients, energy) and reducing energy demand as well as direct emissions of the greenhouse gases N2O and CH4. Climate-friendly wastewater management also includes the management of the heat resource, which is most efficiently recovered at the household level, and robust wastewater management must be able to cope with a possible resulting temperature decrease. At the treatment plant there is a substantial energy optimization potential, both from improving electromechanical devices and sludge treatment as well as through the implementation of more energy-efficient processes like the mainstream anammox process or nutrient recovery from urine.

Decision support for redesigning wastewater treatment technologies.

This paper offers a methodology for structuring the design space for innovative process engineering technology development. The methodology is exemplified in the evaluation of a wide variety of treatment technologies for source-separated domestic wastewater within the scope of the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge. It offers a methodology for narrowing down the decision-making field based on a strict interpretation of treatment objectives for undiluted urine and dry feces and macroenvironmental factors (STEEPLED analysis) which influence decision criteria.

Redesigning wastewater infrastructure to improve resource efficiency.

Resource efficiency of wastewater management is a question of optimizing at the same time the management of resources in wastewater (e.g. water), the resources spent on treatment and transport (e.

Decision support in urban water management based on generic scenarios: the example of NoMix technology.

Urine source separation (NoMix technology) followed by processing the concentrated nutrient solution has the potential to become a cost-efficient alternative to conventional end-of-pipe nutrient elimination. A choice of processing technologies can only be made for specific scenarios, and there is currently no methodology for analyzing generic situations. In setting up a formalized decision-support methodology (based on STEEPLED analysis), we discuss how to create such generic scenarios, how to couple them with process engineering objectives, how to define the technology requirements, and finally how to produce a realistic subset of technology alternatives.

High acceptance of urine source separation in seven European countries: a review.

Urine source separation (NoMix-technology) is a promising innovation aiming at a resource-oriented, decentralized approach in urban water management. However, NoMix-technology has a sensitive end-point: people's bathrooms. NoMix-technology is increasingly applied in European pilot projects, but the success from a user point-of-view has rarely been systematically monitored.

Effect of heterotrophic growth on nitritation/anammox in a single sequencing batch reactor.

The combination of nitritation and autotrophic denitrification (anammox) in a single sequencing batch reactor (SBR) is an energy efficient process for nitrogen removal from high-strength ammonia wastewaters. So far, the process has been successfully applied to digester supernatant. However, the process could also be suitable to treat source-separated urine, which has very high ammonium and organic substrate concentrations (up to 8,200 gN/m3 and 10,000 gCOD/m3).

Charting a path for innovative toilet technology using multicriteria decision analysis.

Practical and theoretically sound methods for analyzing innovative environmental technologies are needed to inform public and private decisions regarding research and development, risk management, and stakeholder communication. By integrating scientific assessments with a characterization of values, multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) supports the ranking of alternative technology pathways on the basis of technical, financial, and social concerns. We applied MCDAto evaluate the use of NoMix urine separating toilets for managing environmental risk and postponing expensive upgrades to a large wastewater treatment plant near Zürich, Switzerland.

Identifying the institutional decision process to introduce decentralized sanitation in the city of Kunming (China).

We conducted a study of the institutional barriers to introducing urine source separation in the urban area of Kunming, China. On the basis of a stakeholder analysis, we constructed stakeholder diagrams showing the relative importance of decision-making power and (positive) interest in the topic. A hypothetical decision-making process for the urban case was derived based on a successful pilot project in a periurban area.

Considering user attitude in early Development of environmentally friendly technology: a case study of NoMix toilets.

Urine source separation (NoMix technology) has been proposed as a sustainable alternative to centralized wastewater treatment systems. Radical changes necessitate an early inclusion of sociological expertise, thus offering a real chance fortransdisciplinary collaboration. The practical aim of our survey is to find out how users accept and use existing NoMixtoilets and how this could be encouraged.

Increased plasma levels of IL-6 in bacteremic periodontis patients after scaling.

Bacteremia frequently occurs after dental treatment. Periodontal inflammation may influence the incidence, magnitude and duration of bacteremia. The presence of circulating oral bacteria or bacterial components may induce cytokine synthesis in blood cells, which may contribute to the development or exacerbation of atherosclerosis.