In this paper, we deal with one of the most urgent and relevant topics nowadays, i.e., water pollution. The problem is finding a valid candidate for the absorption and removal of different kinds of pollutants commonly found in water. There are already some indications about graphene oxide as a potential candidate. In the present work, we take a step forward to show how graphene nanoplatelets (rather than the oxide form of this material) are capable of decontaminating water. In this starting step, we use a specific substance as a model pollutant, i.e., acetonitrile, leaving for the future steps, to extend the analysis to additional types of pollutants. In addition to laboratory-produced graphene nanoplatelets, we already examined in the past; now we wish to consider also commercially available ones, so that the new results will not be bound to a laboratory (low technology readiness level) material, but will become interesting also from the industrial point of view, thanks to the scalability of the nanoplatelets production. For this aim, we compare the performance of two types of filters based on two classes of nanomaterials, i.e., those produced by microwave and ultrasound assisted exfoliation, already analyzed in our earlier works, with those commercially distributed by an Italian company, i.e., NANESA, http://www.nanesa.com/. The latter is an innovative SME involved in the production of graphene-based nanomaterials. We focus here in the graphene nanoplatelets, commercially available in industrial batches (GXNan grades). The present study leads to determine which filtering membrane, among the various types of commercial graphene considered, shows the greatest stability, and the lack of breakage of the membrane, concentrating on such accessory features, given that all types of graphene showed excellent adsorption properties.

The present study assessed the potential of sediment loading in Beteni, Lauruk, Andheri, and Harpan sub-watersheds of Phewa Lake and estimated the sediment yield in the year 2020. Morphometry, land use/land cover, geology, climate, and human and development factors of the sub-watersheds were studied to assess the potential of sediment loading in the sub-watersheds. SRTM DEM was used for the computation of morphometric parameters and land use/land cover maps were prepared by using Landsat imagery. Geology, rainfall data, census data, and road maps were collected from various secondary sources. The sediment yields of the four sub-watersheds in the year 2020 were estimated by measuring the sediment volume deposited in the sediment retention ponds at the outlet of each sub-watershed. Results indicated that Beteni had the highest potential for sediment loading, while Harpan had the lowest. Likewise, the sediment yields for Beteni, Lauruk, Andheri, and Harpan sub-watersheds in 2020 were estimated at 1,420.67 m³/km²/year, 2,280.14 m³/km²/year, 1,666.77 m³/km²/year, and 766.42 m³/km²/year, respectively. To reduce sedimentation in Phewa Lake, it is recommended to regularly maintain siltation dams and construct check dams along the drainage slopes, alongside other soil conservation measures and appropriate land use practices in the upstream areas of the sub-watersheds.

Monitoring marine biodiversity is a challenge in some vulnerable and difficult-to-access habitats, such as underwater caves. Underwater caves are a great focus of biodiversity, concentrating a large number of species in their environment. However, most of the sessile species that live on the rocky walls are very vulnerable, and they are often threatened by different pressures. The use of these spaces as a destination for recreational divers can cause different impacts on the benthic habitat. In this work, we propose a methodology based on video recordings of cave walls and image analysis with deep learning algorithms to estimate the spatial density of structuring species in a study area. We propose a combination of automatic frame overlap detection, estimation of the actual extent of surface cover, and semantic segmentation of the main 10 species of corals and sponges to obtain species density maps. These maps can be the data source for monitoring biodiversity over time. In this paper, we analyzed the performance of three different semantic segmentation algorithms and backbones for this task and found that the Mask R-CNN model with the Xception101 backbone achieves the best accuracy, with an average segmentation accuracy of 82%.

A failsafe network design recovering from the stressed condition against a massive supply disruption is generally useful for various applications. Water flow in plants under a tension is inherently vulnerable to an embolism, a water supply cut off, causing a death. However, the function of the network structures of leaf veins and xylem stems effectively reduces the embolism-induced failure. In this study, water transport in plants under the pressurized conditions compared to the normal physiological conditions is observed by X-ray imaing. By examining embolism-induced water supply limits in the architecturally diverse leaf and stem networks, a progressive hydraulic rule has been found: the limited flows in the selected parts of the network structures against a total fail. For a scientific explanation on nanoscale water flow dynamics occurring in plants, temporal meniscus development in the nanomembrane model system is investigated. The pressure-driven hydrodynamic transport phenomena can be explained to follow network dynamics of the modified imbibition typically occuring in nanostrutcures. This study contributes to a variety of design technologies of networked materials against the spread of flow damages under the stressed conditions.

The US Infrastructure Investment and Job Act (IIJA), also commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, passed in 2021, has drawn international attention. It aims to help to rebuild US infrastructure, including transportation networks, broadband, water, power and energy, environmental protection and public works projects. An estimated $1.2 trillion in total funding over ten years will be allocated. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill is the largest funding bill for US infrastructure in the recent history of the United States. This review article will specifically discuss funding allocations for roads and bridges, power and grids, broadband, water infrastructure, airports, environmental protection, ports, Western water infrastructure, electric vehicle charging stations and electric school buses in the new spending of the Infrastructure Investment and Job Act and why these investments are urgently necessary. This article will also briefly discuss the views of think tank experts, the public policy perspectives, the impact on domestic and global arenas of the new spending in the IIJA, and the public policy implications.

This paper contributes to a long-standing debate in development practice: under what conditions can externally established participatory groups engage in the collective management of services beyond the life of a project? Using 10 years of panel data on water point functionality from Indonesia’s rural water program, the Program for Community-Based Water Supply and Sanitation, the paper explored the determinants of subnational variation in infrastructure sustainability. It then investigated positive and negative deviance cases to answer why some communities successfully engaged in system management despite being located in difficult conditions as per quantitative findings and vice versa. The findings show that differences in the implementation of community participation, driven by local social relations between frontline service providers, that is, village authorities and water user groups, explain sustainable management. This initial condition of state-society relations influences how the project is initiated, kicking off negative or positive reinforcing pathways, leading to community collective action or exit. The paper concludes that the relationships between frontline government representatives and community actors are important and are an underexamined aspect of the ability of external projects to generate successful community-led management of public goods.