Drivers of Microbial Risk for Direct Potable Reuse and de Facto Reuse Treatment Schemes: The Impacts of Source Water Quality and Blending.

Although reclaimed water for potable applications has many potential benefits, it poses concerns for chemical and microbial risks to consumers. We present a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) Monte Carlo framework to compare a de facto water reuse scenario (treated wastewater-impacted surface water) with four hypothetical Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) scenarios for Norovirus, Cryptosporidium, and Salmonella. Consumer microbial risks of surface source water quality (impacted by 0-100% treated wastewater effluent) were assessed. Additionally, we assessed risks for different blending ratios (0-100% surface water blended into advanced-treated DPR water) when source surface water consisted of 50% wastewater effluent. De facto reuse risks exceeded the yearly 10-4 infections risk benchmark while all modeled DPR risks were significantly lower. Contamination with 1% or more wastewater effluent in the source water, and blending 1% or more wastewater-impacted surface water into the advanced-treated DPR water drove the risk closer to the 10-4 benchmark. We demonstrate that de facto reuse by itself, or as an input into DPR, drives microbial risks more so than the advanced-treated DPR water. When applied using location-specific inputs, this framework can contribute to project design and public awareness campaigns to build legitimacy for DPR

Zero-Energy Modes from Coalescing Andreev States in a Two-Dimensional Semiconductor-Superconductor Hybrid Platform

We investigate zero-bias conductance peaks that arise from coalescing subgap Andreev states, consistent with emerging Majorana zero modes, in hybrid semiconductor-superconductor wires defined in a two-dimensional InAs/Al heterostructure using top-down lithography and gating. The measurements indicate a hard superconducting gap, ballistic tunneling contact, and in-plane critical fields up to $3$~T. Top-down lithography allows complex geometries, branched structures, and straightforward scaling to multicomponent devices compared to structures made from assembled nanowires.Comment: Includes Supplementary Materia

Bioaccessibility performance data for fifty-seven elements in guidance material BGS 102

BGS 102, a guidance material for bioaccessible arsenic (As) and lead (Pb), was produced during validation of the in vitro Unified Bioaccessibility Method (UBM). This paper reports a compilation of reproducible bioaccessible guidance values for fifty-five additional elements in BGS 102, providing guidance for analysts to broaden the scope of UBM analyses for a wider range of elements based on data collected over an average of 60 separate analytical batches per element. Data are presented in categories for both gastric (STOM) and gastrointestinal (STOM + INT) extraction phases, where reproducibility, measured as relative standard deviation (RSD) was; ≤ 10% RSD for 27 elements (Mg, Al, Si, P, Ca, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, As, Rb, Sr, Y, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb); between 10 and 20% RSD for 10 elements (Li, K, V, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd, Lu, Pb, U); and ≥ 20% RSD for 19 elements in the gastric phase (Be, B, S, Ti, Ga, Se, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ag, Sn, Sb, Cs, Hf, Ta, W, Tl, Bi, Th). Two elements (Mg, Rb) met the ≤ 10% RSD criteria in the UBM gastrointestinal extraction phase due to the alkaline conditions of this phase precipitating out the majority of determinands. Certain elements, including Na, K, Zn and Se, were found to be a significant component of the extraction fluids with proportionally higher concentrations compared to the guidance material. Bioaccessible fractions (%BAF) were also calculated, but were found to be a less reproducible format for confirming the accuracy of measurements. The low concentration of some elements of interest in BGS 102, such as antimony (Sb), justifies the preparation of an alternative certified reference material (CRM). This paper presents an opportunity to broaden the scope of the UBM method to address food security issues (e.g. Fe and Zn micronutrient deficiencies) and contributions to dietary intake from extraneous dust or soil through evidence of the analytical possibilities and current limitations requiring further investigation

River Otter, Lontra canadensis, Food Habits in the Missouri Ozarks

The reintroduction of River Otters (Lontra canadensis) between 1982 and 1992 resulted in widespread occurrence of the species throughout the Missouri Ozarks. This study examined otter diets from the vicinity of two Ozark streams in relation to seasonal and spatial trends. Otter scats (N = 4750) were collected and analyzed from the Osage Fork River and Big Piney River during the summer and winter seasons of 2001 and 2002. During the winter (January-March), fish occurred in 86% of the samples. During the summer (June–August), occurrence of fish dropped to approximately 15% for both rivers. Seven families of fish were identified in the diets, with Centrarchidae being most common regardless of river or season. Within the Centrarchidae, the genus Lepomis (mostly Longear Sunfish, Lepomis megalotis) was most common, with Micropterus (mostly Smallmouth Bass, Micropterus dolomieu) and Rock Bass (Ambloplites rupestris) also well represented. The mean age of Ambloplites consumed (mean = 3.3 years) was consistently older than that of either Micropterus (mean = 2.54 years) or Lepomis (mean = 2.78 years). Crayfish were recovered from a mean of 85.2% of scats in the winter and 99% in the summer. Smaller fish and crayfish were more common from the upper reaches of the streams while larger fish were prevalent in the lower reaches

Gastrointestinal helminths in two species of geckos, gekko vittatus, gehyra oceanica, and five species of skinks, caledoniscincus atropunctatus, Emoia cyanogaster, Emoia erronan, Emoia nigra, Emoia sanfordi (Squamata) from the republic of Vanuatu, Oceania

Two species of geckos, Gekko vittatus, Gehyra oceanica and 5 species of skinks, Caledoniscincus atropunctatus, Emoia cyanogaster, Emoia erronan, Emoia nigra, and Emoia sanfordi from the Republic of Vanuatu were examined for helminths. One species of Digenea (Mesocoelium microon), 3 species of Cestoda (Gekkotaenia novaeguineaensis, Cylindrotaenia hickmani, Ophiotaenia greeri), and 7 species of Nematoda, gravid individuals of Hedruris hanleyae, Maxvachonia chabaudi, Parapharyngodon maplestoni, Spauligodon gehyrae, Spauligodon zweifeli, juveniles assigned to the Filarioidea, and larvae of Physocephalus sp. in cysts were found. Eighteen new host records and 7 new locality records are reported. The lizards of Vanuatu are infected by generalist helminths that occur in a variety of lizards throughout Oceania. © The Helminthological Society of Washington

Bradycardia as a Marker of Chronic Cocaine Use: A Novel Cardiovascular Finding

Few studies have examined the effects of chronic cocaine use on the resting surface electrocardiogram (ECG) between exposures to cocaine