Reviewing factors affecting the effectiveness of decentralised domestic wastewater treatment systems for phosphorus and pathogen removal

Environmental pollution and risks to human health can result from diffuse sources of pollution originating from decentralised wastewater treatment systems (DWTS). In particular phosphorus pollution can lead to eutrophication and the downgrading of the quality of water bodies, for example, under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the EU, and pathogen pollution can result in increased risks of human exposure to pathogens and impacts on industries such as shellfish growing and tourism. The study reported in this paper reviews the effectiveness of various DWTS in removing phosphorus and pathogens from onsite systems. It was found that DWTS are typically not designed to specifically treat these pollutants and the most common type of DWTS, septic tanks, provide only basic treatment. Additional treatment such as filtration-based or wetland systems must be used to achieve desired levels of treatments. The performance of these systems is affected by site specific conditions, such as input load and sources, and climatic conditions and as such operational characteristics and treatment measures must be designed to take account of these factors

Practical measures for reducing phosphorus and faecal microbial loads from onsite wastewater treatment system discharges to the environment:a review

Onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS), the majority of which are septic tanks, are a contributing factor to phosphorus and faecal microbial loads. OWTS contribute to waterbodies failing to meet Water Framework Directive (WFD) objectives and as such, measures to improve the quality of OWTS discharges are required. Literature has been reviewed for a range of measures designed to reduce phosphorus and pathogen concentrations in effluent from OWTS. A feasibility assessment focussed on their application, effectiveness, efficiency, cost and ease of adaptation. A wide range of measures have been identified that could potentially improve water quality. Results show no one solution could be applied to reduce phosphorus and pathogen loadings to the water environment. The literature suggests that OWTS need to be designed to the local flow and load characteristics of the effluents streams,as well as site specific conditions. With that in mind, measures such as awareness raising, site planning, and maintenance are likely to contribute to reduction of impact of OWTS on the environment. The level of load reduction possible from measures such as awareness raising is difficult to quantify, but it is low-cost and relatively easy to implement. Those most effective for phosphorus and pathogen removal are post-tank measures that maximise physical removal, through adsorption and filtering, and maintain good conditions for biological breakdown of solids and predation of pathogens

Protocol for the feasibility and implementation study of a model of best practice in primary care led postdiagnostic dementia care: PriDem

INTRODUCTION: Care is often inadequate and poorly integrated after a dementia diagnosis. Research and policy highlight the unaffordability and unsustainability of specialist-led support, and instead suggest a task-shared model, led by primary care. This study is part of the PriDem primary care led postdiagnostic dementia care research programme and will assess delivery of an evidence-informed, primary care based, person-centred intervention. The intervention involves Clinical Dementia Leads (CDLs) working in primary care to develop effective dementia care systems that build workforce capacity and support teams to deliver tailored support to people living with dementia and their carers. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a 15-month mixed-methods feasibility and implementation study, situated in four National Health Service (NHS) primary care networks in England. The primary outcome is adoption of personalised care planning by participating general practices, assessed through a patient records audit. Feasibility outcomes include recruitment and retention; appropriateness and acceptability of outcome measures; acceptability, feasibility and fidelity of intervention components. People living with dementia (n=80) and carers (n=66) will be recruited through participating general practices and will complete standardised measures of health and well-being. Participant service use data will be extracted from electronic medical records. A process evaluation will explore implementation barriers and facilitators through methods including semistructured interviews with people living with dementia, carers and professionals; observation of CDL engagement with practice staff; and a practice fidelity log. Process evaluation data will be analysed qualitatively using codebook thematic analysis, and quantitatively using descriptive statistics. Economic analysis will determine intervention cost-effectiveness. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has received favourable ethical opinion from Wales REC4. NHS Confidentiality Advisory Group support allows researchers preconsent access to patient data. Results will inform intervention adaptations and a future large-scale evaluation. Dissemination through peer-review journals, engagement with policy-makers and conferences will inform recommendations for dementia services commissioning. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN11677384

The genesis of gold mineralisation hosted by orogenic belts: A lead isotope investigation of Irish gold deposits

Lead isotope analyses have been performed on 109 gold and 23 sulphide samples from 34 Irish gold occurrences, including 27 placers, and used to shed light on the sources of mineralising fluids and metals associated with gold mineralisation hosted by orogenic belts. The Pb isotope ratios of lode and placer gold range from 206Pb/204Pb=17.287-18.679, 207Pb/204Pb=15.382-15.661, and 208Pb/204Pb=37.517-38.635, consistent with the Pb isotopic data on previously reported Irish sulphide mineralisation. There is no evidence that gold mineralisation is associated with distinctive source regions, and it appears to have been derived from similar sources to those responsible for the widespread sulphide mineralisation in Ireland. It is inferred that the principal controls on the Au mineralisation are structural and not related to the distribution of Au in their source rocks. The range of Pb isotope ratios favours the interaction of multiple source reservoirs predominantly during the Caledonian Orogeny (c. 475-380Ma). Underlying basement was the primary control on two key sources of Pb. Gold occurrences located to the south-east of the Iapetus Suture are characterised by Pb compositions that derive predominantly from the Late Proterozoic crustal basement or overlying Lower Palaeozoic sediments, whilst those located north-west of the Iapetus Suture are characterised by less radiogenic Pb signatures derived predominantly from Late Proterozoic or older crustal basement. A third source, relatively enriched in radiogenic Pb, also played a role in the formation of a number of Irish gold occurrences, and may have been associated with syn- to post-orogenic intrusives. Magmatic processes may therefore have played an important role in the formation of some orogenic gold occurrences

Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference

The electromagnetic calorimeter for the T2K near detector ND280

The T2K experiment studies oscillations of an off-axis muon neutrino beam between the J-PARC accelerator complex and the Super-Kamiokande detector. Special emphasis is placed on measuring the mixing angle θ 13 by observing ν e appearance via the sub-dominant νμ ν e oscillation and searching for CP violation in the lepton sector. The experiment includes a sophisticated, off-axis, near detector, the ND280, situated 280 m downstream of the neutrino production target in order to measure the properties of the neutrino beam and to understand better neutrino interactions at the energy scale below a few GeV. The data collected with the ND280 are used to study charged- and neutral-current neutrino interaction rates and kinematics prior to oscillation, in order to reduce uncertainties in the oscillation measurements by the far detector. A key element of the near detector is the ND280 electromagnetic calorimeter (ECal), consisting of active scintillator bars sandwiched between lead sheets and read out with multi-pixel photon counters (MPPCs). The ECal is vital to the reconstruction of neutral particles, and the identification of charged particle species. The ECal surrounds the Pi-0 detector (PØD) and the tracking region of the ND280, and is enclosed in the former UA1/NOMAD dipole magnet. This paper describes the design, construction and assembly of the ECal, as well as the materials from which it is composed. The electronic and data acquisition (DAQ) systems are discussed, and performance of the ECal modules, as deduced from measurements with particle beams, cosmic rays, the calibration system, and T2K data, is described.© 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab srl.The ECal detector has been built and is operated using funds provided by the Science and Technology Facilities Council U.K. Important support was also provided by the collaborating institutions. Individual researchers have been supported by the Royal Society and the European Research Council