Characterization of Grey Water from Country-Side Decentralized Water Treatment Stations in Northern Palestine

Fresh-water problem in Palestine dates back to the early 1900's due to various geographical settings and political turbulences. The problem is exacerbated by the ever-increasing demand on water by population growth and development. As pressures on freshwater resources grow in Palestine and as new sources of supply become increasingly scarce, expensive, or politically controversial, utilizing alternative options has become a must, to meet water needs. To reduce water demand by increasing the efficiency of water use and to expand the usefulness of alternative sources of water previously considered unusable. One option of supply is greywater. The project seeks to treat and reclaim household grey water to supply irrigation water, and enhance crop production in patch gardens. The task results reveal that grey water from household activities has the potential for irrigating crops and offers many social and financial benefits to improve the residents source of revenue. Various parameters were monitored and measured for a decentralized constructed wetland system yielding some interesting and promising data. Keywords: Treated Grey Water, Irrigation, Agriculture

Enhancement of electromagnetically deposited pristine CdTe film electrode photoelectrochemical characteristics by annealing temperature and cooling rate

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) characteristics of CdTe film electrodes, known to have low conversion efficiency when used in their pristine form, can be significantly enhanced by carefully controlling their annealing temperature and cooling rate. Pristine CdTe films were electrodeposited onto FTO/Glass substrates which were used as anodes. To reach films with optimal characteristics, different applied preparation potentials were intentionally examined, namely 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 V, vs. Ag/AgCl reference electrode (or 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 V NHE, respectively) where the 1.1 V applied potential showed best PEC characteristics, and was thus followed unless otherwise stated. To study effect of annealing temperature, three temperatures (150, 200 and 250 ºC) were attempted to enhance PEC characteristics of the deposited films. Effect of cooling rate, on PEC performance of pre-annealed films, was also studied using quenching and slow cooling. Films quenched from annealing at all temperatures showed lower PEC performance compared to non-annealed electrode. Film electrodes slowly cooled from 150 or 200 ºC show enhanced PEC performance compared to quenched or non-annealed films. Film slowly cooled from 250 ºC exhibited lower PEC performance than the quenched counterpart. Annealing at 250 ºC lowered PEC for both quenching and slow cooling. As a low band gap semiconductor film electrode, it is recommended to slowly cool CdTe from low annealing temperatures, and to quickly cool them from relatively higher annealing temperature. The annealing temperature and cooling rate effects on CdTe film PEC performance are attributed to their effects on other physical characteristics, namely crystallinity, morphology and chemical composition. The optimal conversion efficiency (6.9%) was observed for film deposited at 1.1 V applied potential when annealed at 200 ºC and slowly cooled to room temperature

Comparison of autonomic stress reactivity in young healthy versus aging subjects with heart disease.

BackgroundThe autonomic response to acute emotional stress can be highly variable, and pathological responses are associated with increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events. We evaluated the autonomic response to stress reactivity of young healthy subjects and aging subjects with coronary artery disease to understand how the autonomic stress response differs with aging.MethodsPhysiologic reactivity to arithmetic stress in a cohort of 25 young, healthy subjects ( 55 years) with CAD was evaluated using electrocardiography, impedance cardiography, and arterial pressure recordings. Stress-related changes in the pre-ejection period (PEP), which measures sympathetic activity, and high frequency heart rate variability (HF HRV), which measures parasympathetic activity, were analyzed as primary outcomes.ResultsMental stress reduced PEP in both groups (pDiscussionPEP decreases with stress regardless of health and age status, implying increased sympathetic function. Its decline with stress may be attenuated in CAD. The HF HRV (parasympathetic) stress reactivity is more variable and attenuated in younger individuals; perhaps this is related to a protective parasympathetic reflex.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02657382

Telomere Shortening, Regenerative Capacity, and Cardiovascular Outcomes

RATIONALE: Leucocyte telomere length (LTL) is a biological marker of aging, and shorter LTL is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Reduced regenerative capacity has been proposed as a mechanism. Bone marrow-derived circulating progenitor cells (PCs) are involved in tissue repair and regeneration. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between LTL and PCs, and their impact on adverse cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS AND RESULTS: We measured LTL by quantitative PCR in 566 outpatients (age 63±9 years, 76% male) with coronary artery disease (CAD). Circulating PCs were enumerated by flow cytometry. After adjustment for age, gender, race, BMI, smoking and previous myocardial infarction, a shorter LTL was associated with a lower CD34(+) cell count: for each 10% shorter LTL, CD34(+) levels were 5.2% lower (p<0.001). After adjustment for the aforementioned factors, both short LTL (<Q1) and low CD34+ levels (<Q1) predicted adverse cardiovascular outcomes (death, myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization or cerebrovascular events) independently of each other, with a hazards ratio (HR) of 1.8, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.1–2.0, and a HR of 2.1, 95% CI, 1.3–3.0, respectively, comparing Q1 to Q2–4. Patients who had both short LTL (<Q1) and low CD34+ cell count (<Q1), had the greatest risk of adverse outcomes (HR=3.5, 95% CI, 1.7–7.1). CONCLUSION: Although shorter LTL is associated with decreased regenerative capacity, both LTL and circulating PC levels are independent and additive predictors of adverse cardiovascular outcomes in CAD patients. Our results suggest that both biological aging and reduced regenerative capacity contribute to cardiovascular events, independent of conventional risk factors