Search

Quality of life on Earth in the future will largely depend on the amount of safe water. As the most fundamental source of life, water is relentlessly consumed and polluted. To halt this trend, many countries are taking extensive measures and investing substantial resources in order to stop the contamination of water and return at least tolerably good water quality to nature. The goal of water purification is to obtain clean water with the sewage sludge as a by-product. Clean water is returned to nature, and further treatment of sludge may be subject to other procedures. The conclusion of this paper is simple. The procedure with purified water is easily achievable, purified water is discharged into rivers, lakes and seas, but the problem of further treatment of sludge remains. This paper presents the basic methods of wastewater treatment and procedures for processing the products from contaminated water. The paper can serve as a basis for further elaboration. Water Pollution In order to ensure normal life of living creatures, the water in which they live or the water they use must have a natural chemical composition and natural features. When, as a result of human activities, the chemical composition of water and the ratio of its chemical elements significantly change, we say that water is polluted. When the pollutants come from industrial plants, we are talking about industrial wastewater, and when they come from households and urban areas, we are talking about municipal wastewater. Both contain a huge amount of pollutants that eventually end up in rivers. Then, thousands of defenseless birds, fish and other animals suffer, and environmental consequences become immeasurable. In addition, the waste fed to the water often ends up in the bodies of marine animals, so they can return to us as food. Thermal water pollution also has multiple effects on the changes in the wildlife composition of aquatic ecosystems. Polluted water can be purified by mechanical, chemical and biological agents. Mechanical methods are based on the effect of physical forces. Chemical agents are based on chemical processes. Biological measures are based on natural laws and activities of living beings. Water saving and its rational use are some of the most effective ways of saving water from pollution. Water treatment Water treatment is done in two ways: by sedimentation and filtration. Dirt falling on the bottom is called deposition. The passage of clean water through the material is called filtering. Water containing dissolved substances is purified by distillation. To improve the taste of distilled water, aeration should be performed. The sun’s ultraviolet rays destroy biological pollutants. Mechanical, biological and chemical methods are used for water purification. Mechanical methods Mechanical methods are based on the removal of physical impurities from water and the action of natural forces. For this purpose we use: grids and sieves, sedimentation, flotation, filtration, centrifugation, sand sedimentation tanks, grease traps, primary sedimentation tanks and flow equalization tanks. Wastewater aeration equipment is also used within these facilities. Grids and Sieves Larger, insoluble and floating substances in wastewater are removed with grids and sieves. Sedimentation The application of grids and sieves as well as sand sedimentation tanks and grease traps can be viewed as a process of deposition using certain infrastructure facilities intended for this type of separation of impurities. Infrastructure facilities are sedimentation tanks. There are vertical, horizontal and radial flow sedimentation tanks. Flotation Particle resurfacing with bubbles of air is called flotation. The best effect is achieved by aeration of bubbles of smaller diameters in a larger area. Filtration Filtration is a process used in water conditioning to remove insoluble substances. During filtration, water passes through a layer of granular material placed on a perforated surface. Some other processes can also take place during filtration. Centrifugation Centrifugation is a method of separating particles from a suspension due to the effect of the centrifugal force that is many times greater than the force of gravity. For larger water quantities, it is not realistic to apply centrifugation as a water purification technique. Sand sedimentation tanks Substances with specific gravity higher than water, such as sand, gravel, stone, earth, slag, mineral particles, etc., accumulate in the plants called sand traps. Grease traps Substances lighter than water: oil, grease, soap flakes, bits of wood, cork, etc., are removed by means of grease traps. Flow equalization tanks They provide conditions for the slow and steady movement of water and retain wastewater long enough to provide gravity sedimentation of suspended particles. Chemical methods Chemical purification methods are the processes in which the treatment is carried out by means of certain chemical reactions, or certain physical and chemical phenomena. Basic operations of the chemical wastewater treatment are the removal of suspended and colloidal substances: by coagulation and flocculation, and the removal of some dissolved substances: by chemical deposition, ion exchange, oxidation, gas blowing and adsorption. Chemical deposition The process of chemical deposition is based on the conversion of dissolved substances in wastewater to insoluble compounds, using suitable reagents. Ion exchange Ion exchange is much more widely used as a water preparation process to remove water hardness than as a wastewater purification process. Oxidation Oxidation can convert some organic and inorganic substances in industrial wastewater into compounds that are far less polluting. The most often used oxidant is chlorine. Gas blowing Some dissolved substances can be removed from the wastewater by means of blowing gas, ordinary air or steam. Adsorption Adsorption is a process of accumulating fluid substances on the surface of the solid phase. A substance being adsorbed is adsorbate, and the phase upon which the adsorption is carried out is called the adsorbent. Biological methods Biological purification processes are based on the activities of a complex microflora, which is in the course of their life cycle adopted by organic and parts of inorganic materials causing wastewater pollution, using them to maintain life activities and to create new cells. During a biological treatment, stabilized sludge is precipitated,and removed from the water in secondary sedimentation tanks. Biological purification processes can be aerobic and anaerobic, with the help of aerobic or anaerobic microorganisms. Aerobic processes with suspended microflora are divided into: the processes with activated sludge in bioaeration tanks, processes in aerated lagoons (biological lagoons) and processes in aerobic (shallow) lakes (biological artificial lakes). Activated sludge process This is an aerobic process of a biological wastewater treatment, as it occurs due to aerobic microbial population. Microorganisms are found in aeration basins, where, with the help of oxygen in the metabolic process, substrate degradation is provided. Microorganisms oxidize the dissolved substrate into carbon dioxide and water. A part of the organic material is synthesized into new cells or used for the growth of existing ones and the rest consists of waste and excess sludge. A part of sludge is returned into the process (activated sludge) where it has a role of an activator of the biological process. The rest of sludge is discharged into the sludge treatment device or disposed of in a proper way. Clear purified water (effluent) is discharged into the recipient, or, if necessary, taken to additional processing. Process in aerobic lagoons Lagoons and shallow basins, as an aerobic biological wastewater treatment method, provide a sufficient amount of oxygen through photosynthesis. Process in shallow lakes Aerobic lakes are large and shallow earthen basins in which wastewater treatment takes place with minimum regulation, practically as natural self-purification. Anaerobic processes The anaerobic treatment process is based on the methane fermentation of organic wastewater pollution, where organic material is converted into a mixture of gases. The use of microorganisms in the absence of oxygen is called anaerobic digestion. Processing products from the wastewater treatment process Waste materials from the wastewater treatment process should have a high proportion of isolated components and a small proportion of the remaining moisture. Sludge treatment methods may include: thickening, stabilization, conditioning, dewatering, drying or oxidation and disposal. In accordance with the applied technology, sludge treatment processes may be biological, technical and mechanical ones. Biological sludge treatment processes are performed for compost production, to improve sludge residue for disposal, for biological stabilization of sludge residue. Composting is the simplest way of processing biodegradable sludge (humus). Compost can be used in agriculture, to revitalize the soil laid bare by fire and to improve the quality of land next to roads. Mechanical-biological treatment of sludge is based on a process of mechanical treatment of sludge, where valuable components are separated from sludge. These components are metal, paper, plastic, nonmetal or harmful substances that cannot be disposed of in landfills. The thermal treatment of sludge is carried out using the following methods: combustion, pyrolysis and gasification.

Abstract Background Alvinella pompejana is an annelid worm that inhabits deep-sea hydrothermal vent sites in the Pacific Ocean. Living at a depth of approximately 2500 meters, these worms experience extreme environmental conditions, including high temperature and pressure as well as high levels of sulfide and heavy metals. A. pompejana is one of the most thermotolerant metazoans, making this animal a subject of great interest for studies of eukaryotic thermoadaptation. Results In order to complement existing EST resources we performed deep sequencing of the A. pompejana transcriptome. We identified several thousand novel protein-coding transcripts, nearly doubling the sequence data for this annelid. We then performed an extensive survey of previously established prokaryotic thermoadaptation measures to search for global signals of thermoadaptation in A. pompejana in comparison with mesophilic eukaryotes. In an orthologous set of 457 proteins, we found that the best indicator of thermoadaptation was the difference in frequency of charged versus polar residues (CvP-bias), which was highest in A. pompejana. CvP-bias robustly distinguished prokaryotic thermophiles from prokaryotic mesophiles, as well as the thermophilic fungus Chaetomium thermophilum from mesophilic eukaryotes. Experimental values for thermophilic proteins supported higher CvP-bias as a measure of thermal stability when compared to their mesophilic orthologs. Proteome-wide mean CvP-bias also correlated with the body temperatures of homeothermic birds and mammals. Conclusions Our work extends the transcriptome resources for A. pompejana and identifies the CvP-bias as a robust and widely applicable measure of eukaryotic thermoadaptation. Reviewer This article was reviewed by Sándor Pongor, L. Aravind and Anthony M. Poole.

A new connectomics study of the compound eye of the miniature wasp Megaphragma viggianii highlights how the study of small animals in a comparative framework can give fresh insights into circuit evolution and function., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Brains contain networks of interconnected neurons and so knowing the network architecture is essential for understanding brain function. We therefore mapped the synaptic-resolution connectome of an entire insect brain ( Drosophila larva) with rich behavior, including learning, value computation, and action selection, comprising 3016 neurons and 548,000 synapses. We characterized neuron types, hubs, feedforward and feedback pathways, as well as cross-hemisphere and brain-nerve cord interactions. We found pervasive multisensory and interhemispheric integration, highly recurrent architecture, abundant feedback from descending neurons, and multiple novel circuit motifs. The brain's most recurrent circuits comprised the input and output neurons of the learning center. Some structural features, including multilayer shortcuts and nested recurrent loops, resembled state-of-the-art deep learning architectures. The identified brain architecture provides a basis for future experimental and theoretical studies of neural circuits.

The Nereid Platynereis dumerilii (Audouin and Milne Edwards (Annales des Sciences Naturelles 1:195-269, 1833) is a marine annelid that belongs to the Nereididae, a family of errant polychaete worms. The Nereid shows a pelago-benthic life cycle: as a general characteristic for the superphylum of Lophotrochozoa/Spiralia, it has spirally cleaving embryos developing into swimming trochophore larvae. The larvae then metamorphose into benthic worms living in self-spun tubes on macroalgae. Platynereis is used as a model for genetics, regeneration, reproduction biology, development, evolution, chronobiology, neurobiology, ecology, ecotoxicology, and most recently also for connectomics and single-cell genomics. Research on the Nereid started with studies on eye development and spiralian embryogenesis in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Transitioning into the molecular era, Platynereis research focused on posterior growth and regeneration, neuroendocrinology, circadian and lunar cycles, fertilization, and oocyte maturation. Other work covered segmentation, photoreceptors and other sensory cells, nephridia, and population dynamics. Most recently, the unique advantages of the Nereid young worm for whole-body volume electron microscopy and single-cell sequencing became apparent, enabling the tracing of all neurons in its rope-ladder-like central nervous system, and the construction of multimodal cellular atlases. Here, we provide an overview of current topics and methodologies for P. dumerilii, with the aim of stimulating further interest into our unique model and expanding the active and vibrant Platynereis community., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Light-sheet imaging of cleared and expanded samples creates terabyte-sized datasets that consist of many unaligned three-dimensional image tiles, which must be reconstructed before analysis. We developed the BigStitcher software to address this challenge. BigStitcher enables interactive visualization, fast and precise alignment, spatially resolved quality estimation, real-time fusion and deconvolution of dual-illumination, multitile, multiview datasets. The software also compensates for optical effects, thereby improving accuracy and enabling subsequent biological analysis.

Ciliary and rhabdomeric photoreceptor cells represent two main lines of photoreceptor-cell evolution in animals. The two cell types coexist in some animals, however how these cells functionally integrate is unknown. We used connectomics to map synaptic paths between ciliary and rhabdomeric photoreceptors in the planktonic larva of the annelid Platynereis and found that ciliary photoreceptors are presynaptic to the rhabdomeric circuit. The behaviors mediated by the ciliary and rhabdomeric cells also interact hierarchically. The ciliary photoreceptors are UV-sensitive and mediate downward swimming in non-directional UV light, a behavior absent in ciliary-opsin knockout larvae. UV avoidance overrides positive phototaxis mediated by the rhabdomeric eyes such that vertical swimming direction is determined by the ratio of blue/UV light. Since this ratio increases with depth, Platynereis larvae may use it as a depth gauge during vertical migration. Our results revealed a functional integration of ciliary and rhabdomeric photoreceptor cells in a zooplankton larva., Competing Interests: CV, MG, HJ, VR, LB, CP, NR, RS, NM, SY, KT, GJ No competing interests declared, (© 2018, Verasztó et al.)

Mapping brain function to brain structure is a fundamental task for neuroscience. For such an endeavour, the Drosophila larva is simple enough to be tractable, yet complex enough to be interesting. It features about 10,000 neurons and is capable of various taxes, kineses and Pavlovian conditioning. All its neurons are currently being mapped into a light-microscopical atlas, and Gal4 strains are being generated to experimentally access neurons one at a time. In addition, an electron microscopic reconstruction of its nervous system seems within reach. Notably, this electron microscope-based connectome is being drafted for a stage 1 larva - because stage 1 larvae are much smaller than stage 3 larvae. However, most behaviour analyses have been performed for stage 3 larvae because their larger size makes them easier to handle and observe. It is therefore warranted to either redo the electron microscopic reconstruction for a stage 3 larva or to survey the behavioural faculties of stage 1 larvae. We provide the latter. In a community-based approach we called the Ol 1 mpiad, we probed stage 1 Drosophila larvae for free locomotion, feeding, responsiveness to substrate vibration, gentle and nociceptive touch, burrowing, olfactory preference and thermotaxis, light avoidance, gustatory choice of various tastants plus odour-taste associative learning, as well as light/dark-electric shock associative learning. Quantitatively, stage 1 larvae show lower scores in most tasks, arguably because of their smaller size and lower speed. Qualitatively, however, stage 1 larvae perform strikingly similar to stage 3 larvae in almost all cases. These results bolster confidence in mapping brain structure and behaviour across developmental stages., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing or financial interests., (© 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)

Vision allows animals to detect spatial differences in environmental light levels. High-resolution image-forming eyes evolved from low-resolution eyes via increases in photoreceptor cell number, improvements in optics and changes in the neural circuits that process spatially resolved photoreceptor input. However, the evolutionary origins of the first low-resolution visual systems have been unclear. We propose that the lowest resolving (two-pixel) visual systems could initially have functioned in visual phototaxis. During visual phototaxis, such elementary visual systems compare light on either side of the body to regulate phototactic turns. Another, even simpler and non-visual strategy is characteristic of helical phototaxis, mediated by sensory-motor eyespots. The recent mapping of the complete neural circuitry (connectome) of an elementary visual system in the larva of the annelid Platynereis dumerilii sheds new light on the possible paths from non-visual to visual phototaxis and to image-forming vision. We outline an evolutionary scenario focusing on the neuronal circuitry to account for these transitions. We also present a comprehensive review of the structure of phototactic eyes in invertebrate larvae and assign them to the non-visual and visual categories. We propose that non-visual systems may have preceded visual phototactic systems in evolution that in turn may have repeatedly served as intermediates during the evolution of image-forming eyes., (© 2015 The Author(s).)

Phototaxis is characteristic of the pelagic larval stage of most bottom-dwelling marine invertebrates. Larval phototaxis is mediated by simple eyes that can express various types of light-sensitive G-protein-coupled receptors known as opsins. Since opsins diversified early during metazoan evolution in the marine environment, understanding underwater light detection could elucidate this diversification. Opsins have been classified into three major families, the r-opsins, the c-opsins, and the Go/RGR opsins, a family uniting Go-opsins, retinochromes, RGR opsins, and neuropsins. The Go-opsins form an ancient and poorly characterized group retained only in marine invertebrate genomes. Here, we characterize a Go-opsin from the marine annelid Platynereis dumerilii. We found Go-opsin1 coexpressed with two r-opsins in depolarizing rhabdomeric photoreceptor cells in the pigmented eyes of Platynereis larvae. We purified recombinant Go-opsin1 and found that it absorbs in the blue-cyan range of the light spectrum. To characterize the function of Go-opsin1, we generated a Go-opsin1 knockout Platynereis line by zinc-finger-nuclease-mediated genome engineering. Go-opsin1 knockout larvae were phototactic but showed reduced efficiency of phototaxis to wavelengths matching the in vitro Go-opsin1 spectrum. Our results highlight spectral tuning of phototaxis as a potential mechanism contributing to opsin diversity., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Developmental programs have the fidelity to form neural circuits with the same structure and function among individuals of the same species. It is less well understood, however, to what extent entire neural circuits of different individuals are similar. Previously, we reported the neuronal connectome of the visual eye circuit from the head of a Platynereis dumerilii larva (Randel et al., 2014). We now report a full-body serial section transmission electron microscopy (ssTEM) dataset of another larva of the same age, for which we describe the connectome of the visual eyes and the larval eyespots. Anatomical comparisons and quantitative analyses of the two circuits reveal a high inter-individual stereotypy of the cell complement, neuronal projections, and synaptic connectivity, including the left-right asymmetry in the connectivity of some neurons. Our work shows the extent to which the eye circuitry in Platynereis larvae is hard-wired.

Animals use spatial differences in environmental light levels for visual navigation; however, how light inputs are translated into coordinated motor outputs remains poorly understood. Here we reconstruct the neuronal connectome of a four-eye visual circuit in the larva of the annelid Platynereis using serial-section transmission electron microscopy. In this 71-neuron circuit, photoreceptors connect via three layers of interneurons to motorneurons, which innervate trunk muscles. By combining eye ablations with behavioral experiments, we show that the circuit compares light on either side of the body and stimulates body bending upon left-right light imbalance during visual phototaxis. We also identified an interneuron motif that enhances sensitivity to different light intensity contrasts. The Platynereis eye circuit has the hallmarks of a visual system, including spatial light detection and contrast modulation, illustrating how image-forming eyes may have evolved via intermediate stages contrasting only a light and a dark field during a simple visual task.

The larval stages of polychaete annelids are often responsive to light and can possess one to six eyes. The early trochophore larvae of the errant annelid Platynereis dumerilii have a single pair of ventral eyespots, whereas older nectochaete larvae have an additional two pairs of dorsal eyes that will develop into the adult eyes. Early Platynereis trochophores show robust positive phototaxis starting on the first day of development. Even though the mechanism of phototaxis in Platynereis early trochophore larvae is well understood, no photopigment (opsin) expression has yet been described in this stage. In late trochophore larvae, a rhabdomeric-type opsin, r-opsin1, expressed in both the eyespots and the adult eyes has already been reported. Here, we identify another Platynereis rhabdomeric opsin, r-opsin3, that is expressed in a single photoreceptor in the eyespots in early trochophores, suggesting that it mediates early larval phototaxis. We also show that r-opsin1 and r-opsin3 are expressed in adjacent photoreceptor cells in the eyespots in later stages, indicating that a second eyespot-photoreceptor differentiates in late trochophore larvae. Using serial transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we identified and reconstructed both photoreceptors and a pigment cell in the late larval eyespot. We also characterized opsin expression in the adult eyes and found that the two opsins co-express there in several photoreceptor cells. Using antibodies recognizing r-opsin1 and r-opsin3 proteins, we demonstrate that both opsins localize to the rhabdomere in all six eyes. In addition, we found that r-opsin1 mRNA is localized to, and translated in, the projections of the adult eyes. The specific changes we describe in opsin transcription and translation and in the cellular complement suggest that the six larval eyes undergo spectral and functional maturation during the early planktonic phase of the Platynereis life cycle.

Life-cycle transitions connecting larval and juvenile stages in metazoans are orchestrated by neuroendocrine signals including neuropeptides and hormones. In marine invertebrate life cycles, which often consist of planktonic larval and benthic adult stages, settlement of the free-swimming larva to the sea floor in response to environmental cues is a key life cycle transition. Settlement is regulated by a specialized sensory-neurosecretory system, the larval apical organ. The neuroendocrine mechanisms through which the apical organ transduces environmental cues into behavioral responses during settlement are not yet understood. Here we show that myoinhibitory peptide (MIP)/allatostatin-B, a pleiotropic neuropeptide widespread among protostomes, regulates larval settlement in the marine annelid Platynereis dumerilii. MIP is expressed in chemosensory-neurosecretory cells in the annelid larval apical organ and signals to its receptor, an orthologue of the Drosophila sex peptide receptor, expressed in neighboring apical organ cells. We demonstrate by morpholino-mediated knockdown that MIP signals via this receptor to trigger settlement. These results reveal a role for a conserved MIP receptor-ligand pair in regulating marine annelid settlement.