Comparison of Deterministic and Statistical Models for Water Quality Compliance Forecasting in the San Joaquin River Basin, California

Model selection for water quality forecasting depends on many factors including analyst expertise and cost, stakeholder involvement and expected performance. Water quality forecasting in arid river basins is especially challenging given the importance of protecting beneficial uses in these environments and the livelihood of agricultural communities. In the agriculture-dominated San Joaquin River Basin of California, real-time salinity management (RTSM) is a state-sanctioned program that helps to maximize allowable salt export while protecting existing basin beneficial uses of water supply. The RTSM strategy supplants the federal total maximum daily load (TMDL) approach that could impose fines associated with exceedances of monthly and annual salt load allocations of up to $1 million per year based on average year hydrology and salt load export limits. The essential components of the current program include the establishment of telemetered sensor networks, a web-based information system for sharing data, a basin-scale salt load assimilative capacity forecasting model and institutional entities tasked with performing weekly forecasts of river salt assimilative capacity and scheduling west-side drainage export of salt loads. Web-based information portals have been developed to share model input data and salt assimilative capacity forecasts together with increasing stakeholder awareness and involvement in water quality resource management activities in the river basin. Two modeling approaches have been developed simultaneously. The first relies on a statistical analysis of the relationship between flow and salt concentration at three compliance monitoring sites and the use of these regression relationships for forecasting. The second salt load forecasting approach is a customized application of the Watershed Analysis Risk Management Framework (WARMF), a watershed water quality simulation model that has been configured to estimate daily river salt assimilative capacity and to provide decision support for real-time salinity management at the watershed level. Analysis of the results from both model-based forecasting approaches over a period of five years shows that the regression-based forecasting model, run daily Monday to Friday each week, provided marginally better performance. However, the regression-based forecasting model assumes the same general relationship between flow and salinity which breaks down during extreme weather events such as droughts when water allocation cutbacks among stakeholders are not evenly distributed across the basin. A recent test case shows the utility of both models in dealing with an exceedance event at one compliance monitoring site recently introduced in 2020.

Review Study of Antioxidants and the Cinnamon Oil Effects

The aim of the study to estimate the antioxidant action and protecting effect of ethanolic cinnamon extract against CCl4 induced toxicity in male rats. To determine the effect of different concentrations of ethanolic cinnamon extract on male rats that fed a high cholesterol diet that induced hyperlipidemia. The experiment has been conducted in the present study., aimed to evaluate the hepatoprotective, role of Cinnamomum zeylanicum ethanolic extract in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced hepatotoxic male rats, The cinnamon and its oil reported to have many beneficial uses in food preservation due to antioxidant of cinnamon. The Phenolic compounds extracted from cinnamon such as hydroxyl cinnamaldehyde and the hydroxycinnamic acid act as scavengers of peroxide radicals and avoid oxidative damage (Mathew and Abraham, 2006; Leela, 2008). Ranjbar et al, (2006) observed individuals consuming cinnamon tea showed increased total serum antioxidant status, increased thiols such as glutathione, NADPH, NADH, SOD, and decreased lipid peroxidation.

Phytochemistry, Pharmacological Potency, and Potential Toxicity of Myoporum spp.

Genus Myoporum family Myoporaceae, includes approximately 32 species of woody small trees or shrubs, most of them are native to Australia and surrounding territories. Only certain species have been thoroughly studied and rich in flavonoids, phenylethanoids, Phenylpropanoids, terpenoids, iridoids, essential oil, and trace alkaloids. The essential oils are characterized by sesquiterpenes type components, either in ketone or alcoholic forms usually combined to a furanoid moiety. Myoporum spp. have been utilized in folk medicine for treatment of various diseases and were used as antidermatitis, antibacterial, antipyretic, anti-pulpitis, antipsychotic, anti-inflammatory, detoxicant, and others. Despite all these benefits, Myoporum spp. must be cautiously employed due to their potential toxicities, which arise from the presence of furanosesquiterpenoid contents, particularly in their essential oil. The toxicity influences liver and can extend to kidney and lung causing injury. The present review aims to explore the phytochemistry, beneficial uses and the toxic potentials of Myoporum spp.

Evolving Institutional Arrangements for Use of an Ecosystem Approach in Restoring Great Lakes Areas of Concern

The 1987 Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement required Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) be collaboratively generated between local stakeholders and government agencies to implement an ecosystem approach in cleaning up 43 historically polluted Areas of Concern (AOCs) throughout the Laurentian Great Lakes. The institutional arrangements that have emerged over the past 35 years to foster an ecosystem approach in RAPs are expected to have changed over time and be varied in some aspects—reflecting unique socio-ecological contexts of each AOC—while also sharing some characteristics that were either derived from the minimally prescribed framework or developed convergently. Here we surveyed institutional arrangements to describe changes over time relevant to advancing an ecosystem approach in restoring beneficial uses in the 43 AOCs. While eight AOCs evidenced little institutional change, the remaining 35 AOCs demonstrated a growing involvement of local organizations in RAPs, which has enhanced local capacity and ownership and helped strengthen connections to broader watershed initiatives. We also noted an expansion of strategic partnerships that has strengthened science-policy-management linkages and an increasing emphasis on sustainability among RAP institutions. Our study details how institutional arrangements in a decentralized restoration program have evolved to implement an ecosystem approach and address new challenges.

Antibacterial Property of Hanguana Malayana (Bakong) Crude Leaf Ethanolic Extract Against Staphylococcus Aureus

Hanguana Malayana, known as Bakong plant is an invasive macrophytic plant found in few regions of the Philippines. Due to its mode of propagation, it occupies large spaces and it invades the space that’s allotted for the crops of local farmers. Hence, the researchers investigate this plant for beneficial uses. In this study, the effect of the different concentrations of H. malayana crude ethanolic leaf extract on Saureus is evaluated on the basis of the study of Ooh and company (2014) stating that the plant is a potential resources of bioactive phytoconstituents. This research concluded that the Hanguana malayana crude leaf ethanolic extract has an antibacterial property against Staphylococcus aureus.

Privacy protections to encourage use of health-relevant digital data in a learning health system

The National Academy of Medicine has long advocated for a “learning healthcare system” that produces constantly updated reference data during the care process. Moving toward a rapid learning system to solve intractable problems in health demands a balance between protecting patients and making data available to improve health and health care. Public concerns in the U.S. about privacy and the potential for unethical or harmful uses of this data, if not proactively addressed, could upset this balance. New federal laws prioritize sharing health data, including with patient digital tools. U.S. health privacy laws do not cover data collected by many consumer digital technologies and have not been updated to address concerns about the entry of large technology companies into health care. Further, there is increasing recognition that many classes of data not traditionally considered to be healthcare-related, for example consumer credit histories, are indeed predictive of health status and outcomes. We propose a multi-pronged approach to protecting health-relevant data while promoting and supporting beneficial uses and disclosures to improve health and health care for individuals and populations. Such protections should apply to entities collecting health-relevant data regardless of whether they are covered by federal health privacy laws. We focus largely on privacy but also address protections against harms as a critical component of a comprehensive approach to governing health-relevant data. U.S. policymakers and regulators should consider these recommendations in crafting privacy bills and rules. However, our recommendations also can inform best practices even in the absence of new federal requirements.

Vanadium: environmental hazard or environmental opportunity? A perspective on some key research needs

Limited information on the speciation of vanadium in the environment and anthropogenic emissions, coupled with toxicology heavily focused on V2O5 needs to be addressed to balance environmentally beneficial uses against potential harmful effects.