Innovative technologies are needed to enhance access to clean water and avoid waterborne diseases. We investigated the performance of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), a clean and sustainable approach for microbial inactivation and total organic carbon (TOC) degradation in environmental water. Water matrices played a crucial role in the performance of CAP efficacy; for example, complete removal of ɸX174 from dH₂O required 1 min of treatment, while ɸX174 reductions of ~ 2log₁₀ and 4log₁₀ were obtained after 10 min of CAP exposure in river water and wastewater samples, respectively. Similarly, after 10 min of CAP treatment, bacterial concentrations decreased by 3 log₁₀ and 4 log₁₀, in river and wastewater samples, respectively. In contrast, after 30 s of contact time, a 4 log₁₀ reduction of bacteria was accomplished in dH₂O. Complete removal of Acanthamoeba from dH₂O was found after 30 min of CAP treatment, whereas it was not removed from surface water or wastewater at the same exposure time. Additionally, the approach successfully reduced TOC, and the degradation kinetics of TOC were represented by pseudo-first-order. CAP showed higher rates of TOC degradation in the final effluent of the wastewater treatment plant compared to surface water. The difference in CAP performance between river water and wastewater could be attributed to the bulk structure of humic acids in river water compared to small organic byproducts in the final effluent of WWTP. Overall, the findings reported here support the idea that CAP holds promise as a sustainable solution for controlling pathogens, removing organic water pollution, and integrating with traditional purification processes. Low-cost systems may advance CAP technology and increase its widespread use.

This study evaluates the efficiency of a sustainable technology represented in an integrated pilot-scale system, which includes a facultative pond (FP), a high-rate algal pond (HRAP), and a rock filter (RF) for wastewater treatment to produce water that complies with the Egyptian standards for treated wastewater reuse. Still, limited data are available on pathogen removal through HRAP systems. Thus, in this study, the performance of the integrated system was investigated for the removal of Escherichia coli (E. coli), coliform bacteria, eukaryotic pathogens (Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia intestinalis, and helminth ova), somatic coliphages (SOMCPH), and human adenovirus (HAdV). Furthermore, physicochemical parameters were determined in order to evaluate the performance of the integrated system. The principal component analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis showed a strong significant effect of the integrated system on changing the physicochemical and microbial parameters from inlet to outlet. The mean log₁₀ removal values for total coliform, fecal coliform, and E. coli were 5.67, 5.62, and 5.69, respectively, while 0.88 log₁₀ and 1.65 log₁₀ reductions were observed for HAdV and SOMCPH, respectively. The mean removal of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia intestinalis was 0.52 and 2.42 log₁₀, respectively. The integrated system achieved 100% removal of helminth ova. The results demonstrated that the system was able to improve the chemical and microbial characteristics of the outlet to acceptable levels for non-food crops irrigation. Such findings together with low operation and construction costs of HRAPs should facilitate wider implementation of these nature-based systems in remote and rural communities. Overall, this study provides a novel insight into the performance of such systems to eliminate multiple microbial pathogens from wastewater.

Microorganisms are one of the most dangerous damage factors that threaten archaeological cellulosic textiles such as cotton and linen. This research presents a detailed study of the effect of fungi that have been isolated from the display and storage environment of Sohag National Museum on the mechanical, physical and chemical properties of archaeological linen textiles. The study used the potato Dextrose Agar, PDA. Nutritional medium in conducting microbial surveys of the museum display and storage environment; the result of the survey was the presence of three fungal strains, Aspergillus flavus, Trichoderma sp. and Penicillium duclauxii, which dominated the display and storage atmosphere in the museum. The study evaluated the effect of these fungal strains on the linen textiles. Measurement of mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation), change of color using the CIE Lab system and the use of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used for the evaluation process. The results of this study found that the most dangerous fungal strain that affect both mechanical, physical properties and chemical composition was strain of Aspergillus flavus.

Textiles should be handled carefully to maintain their integrity. Because handling textile artifacts is a major responsibility, a comprehensive study shall be carried out before making any treatment decision. The proposed treatment should be carried out in cooperation with the concerned disciplines, museum curators, and art historians. It should have accurate steps and be documented and registered to describe the artifact historically or diagnose the damage manifestations using scientific methods, means, tools, and devices. It is important before actual restoration or any treatment steps of the artifact as it shows the pre-restoration steps, demonstrating the success of the treatment operations. Each textile has unique problems that require specific solutions. However, the same principles are applicable, so the methods and materials used must be safe for the artifact, especially in the long run and regenerative 1(Masschelein1993 (. Archaeologists may use polymers in conservation to provide structural support to overcome the fragility and deterioration of the artifacts 2 (Abdel-Maksoud 2010).