With about 2.4 billion people worldwide without access to improved sanitation facilities, there is a strong incentive for development of novel sanitation systems to improve the quality of life and reduce mortality. The Nano Membrane Toilet is expected to provide a unique household-scale system that would produce electricity and recover water from human excrement and urine. This study was undert...

Spontaneous imbibition is of special importance to oil recovery from fractured reservoirs. Laboratory measurements of volume of liquid imbibed versus time are often used in the prediction of oil recovery. Imbibition measurements also provide a useful approach to the complex problem of characterizing the wetting properties of porous media. Correlation of a large body of data for imbibition of br...

Oyster populations in Virginia’s waters of Chesapeake Bay were lightly exploited until the early 1800s, when industrial fishery vessels first arrived, driven south from New England due to the collapse of northeastern oyster fisheries. Early signs of overexploitation and habitat degradation were evident by the 1850s. The public fishery, where oyster fishers harvest on state-owned bottom, rapidly...

Marine megafauna tend to migrate vast distances, often crossing national borders and pose a significant challenge to managers. This challenge is particularly acute in the Pacific, which contains numerous small island nations and thousands of kilometers of continental margins. The green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, is one such megafauna that is endangered in Pacific waters due to the overexploita...

Hormones 17α-ethinylestradiol, 17β-estradiol and estriol were analyzed in urban water supply due to the concern about the problem associated with the presence of these compounds in water bodies. The aims of this project were adapt, validate analytical methodology and monitor these hormones in drinking water. Results showed that the limits of detection, linearity, regression coefficients and rec...

Rhododendron delavayi Franch is an evergreen shrub or small tree with large scarlet flowers that makes it highly attractive as an ornamental species. The species is native to southwest China and southeast Asia, especially the Himalayan region, showing good adaptability, and tolerance to drought. To understand the water stress coping mechanisms of R. delavayi, we analyzed the plant's photosynthe...

Batch reverse osmosis (BRO) systems may enable a significant reduction in energy consumption for desalination and water reuse. BRO systems operate with variable pressure, by applying only slightly more pressure than is needed to overcome the osmotic pressure and produce reverse water flux. This study explains, quantifies, and optimizes the energy-saving performance of realistic batch designs im...