Wetlands for wastewater treatment and subsequent recycling of treated effluent : a review

Due to water scarcity challenges around the world, it is essential to think about non-conventional water resources to address the increased demand in clean freshwater. Environmental and public health problems may result from insufficient provision of sanitation and wastewater disposal facilities. Because of this, wastewater treatment and recycling methods will be vital to provide sufficient freshwater in the coming decades, since water resources are limited and more than 70% of water are consumed for irrigation purposes. Therefore, the application of treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation has much potential, especially when incorporating the reuse of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous, which are essential for plant production. Among the current treatment technologies applied in urban wastewater reuse for irrigation, wetlands were concluded to be the one of the most suitable ones in terms of pollutant removal and have advantages due to both low maintenance costs and required energy. Wetland behavior and efficiency concerning wastewater treatment is mainly linked to macrophyte composition, substrate, hydrology, surface loading rate, influent feeding mode, microorganism availability, and temperature. Constructed wetlands are very effective in removing organics and suspended solids, whereas the removal of nitrogen is relatively low, but could be improved by using a combination of various types of constructed wetlands meeting the irrigation reuse standards. The removal of phosphorus is usually low, unless special media with high sorption capacity are used. Pathogen removal from wetland effluent to meet irrigation reuse standards is a challenge unless supplementary lagoons or hybrid wetland systems are used

Rubus crataegifolius Bunge regulates adipogenesis through Akt and inhibits high-fat diet-induced obesity in rats

BACKGROUND: Obesity is one of the greatest public health problems and major risk factors for serious metabolic diseases and significantly increases the risk of premature death. The aim of this study was to determine the inhibitory effects of Rubus crataegifolius Bunge (RCB) on adipocyte differentiation in 3 T3-L1 cells and its anti-obesity properties in high fat diet (HFD)-induced obese rats. METHODS: 3 T3-L1 adipocytes and HFD-induced obese rats were treated with RCB, and its effect on gene expression was analyzed using RT-PCR and Western blotting experiments. RESULTS: RCB treatment significantly inhibited adipocyte differentiation by suppressing the expression of C/EBPβ, C/EBPα, and PPARγ in the 3 T3-L1 adipocytes. Subsequently, the expression of the PPARγ target genes aP2 and fatty acid synthase (FAS) decreased following RCB treatment during adipocyte differentiation. In uncovering the specific mechanism that mediates the effects of RCB, we demonstrated that the insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of Akt strongly decreased and that its downstream substrate phospho-GSK3β was downregulated following RCB treatment in the 3 T3-L1 adipocytes. Moreover, LY294002, an inhibitor of Akt phosphorylation, exerted stronger inhibitory effects on RCB-mediated suppression of adipocyte differentiation, leading to the inhibition of adipocyte differentiation through the downregulation of Akt signaling. An HFD-induced obesity rat model was used to determine the inhibitory effects of RCB on obesity. Body weight gain and fat accumulation in adipose tissue were significantly reduced by the supplementation of RCB. Moreover, RCB treatment caused a significant decrease in adipocyte size, associated with a decrease in epididymal fat weight. The serum total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels decreased in response to RCB treatment, whereas HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) increased, indicating that RCB attenuated lipid accumulation in adipose tissue in HFD-induced obese rats. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate an inhibitory effect of RCB on adipogenesis through the reduction of the adipogenic factors PPARγ, C/EBPα, and phospho-Akt. RCB had a potent anti-obesity effect, reducing body weight gain in HFD-induced obese rats

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH MINIMUM DIETARY DIVERSITY, MINIMUM MEAL FREQUENCY AND MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE DIET PRACTICES AMONG CHILDREN 6- 23 MONTHS OF AGE IN BOBO-DIOULASSO, BURKINA FASO

The study assessed infant and young child feeding practices and associated factors among 6–23-month-old children in order to inform ongoing and future programs and projects in Bobo-Dioulasso area, in Burkina Faso. Information on child feeding practices and determinants in urban areas is limited in Burkina Faso. Data of 301children, collected in 2013, were considered in this secondary analysis. Questionnaires were used to collect data on respondents’ socio-demographic and economic situation. In addition to the information on child care practices, food consumption data were also collected using a 24h dietary recall questionnaire. Indicators of minimum dietary diversity (MDD), minimum meal frequency (MMF), and minimum acceptable diet (MAD) were constructed and proportion of children meeting these indicators calculated. Binary logistic regression was used to see the association between the outcome variables and explanatory variables, and multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with minimum dietary diversity, meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet. Data cleaning and analysis were done using SPSS version 25. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95 % confidence interval (CI) were computed to measure the strength of association. Almost 3 out of 4 mothers (72.5%) were housewives and 62.4% of them were illiterate. Among the 301 children, 40.2% were aged 18-23 months. About half of the children (45.2%) were born to mothers from high income households. The proportion of children 6–23 months who met the MDD and MMF for breastfed and non-breastfed children was 18.3% and 28.9%, respectively. Less than one fifth of breastfed children (16.1%) received MAD. Girls were more likely to meet the MDD (p=0.02) and MAD (p=0.04) than boys. The proportion of children 6- 23 months meeting the three complementary feeding practice indicators in Bobo- Dioulasso in Burkina Faso were far below the WHO-recommended standard of 90% coverage. The MDD and MAD were positively associated to the female gender. This finding could be used to better target the children in order to improve the effects of the ongoing or future interventions in increasing appropriate complementary feeding practices