Lambton College is a publicly funded college in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. It has approximately 3,500 full-time students, 6,500 part-time students and 3,500 international students worldwide. Lambton College also has campuses in Mississauga and Toronto.
Performic acid (PFA) has emerged as a promising disinfectant for wastewater effluents and combined sewer overflows (CSOs), offering strong microbial inactivation with minimal formation of harmful disinfection byproducts (DBPs). This review systematically evaluates existing research on PFA performance across primary effluent, CSOs, and secondary effluent, emphasizing microbial inactivation kinetics, exposure modeling, DBP formation, and toxicity, while identifying knowledge gaps. Compared with traditional disinfectants such as free chlorine, chlorine dioxide, chloramines, and peracetic acid, PFA demonstrates comparable or superior bacterial inactivation while generating substantially lower concentrations of regulated halogenated DBPs. PFA also generates diverse oxygenated and nitrogen-containing transformation products, with PAA behaving similarly, whereas chlorine and chloramines form more persistent halogenated and nitrogenous byproducts. Disinfection efficacy of PFA varies across microbial groups, with enterococci, spores, and protozoan cysts demonstrating greater resistance, consistent with patterns observed for other disinfectants. However, PFA achieves faster inactivation at equivalent doses. Studies indicate that integral CT (ICT)-based models more accurately describe PFA inactivation under real wastewater conditions by capturing disinfectant decay and non-ideal hydraulics. DBP formation during PFA disinfection remains low, with halogenated DBPs detected only at high PFA concentrations (≥30 mg/L), and no nitrosamine formation reported. Acute toxicity assays show low ecotoxicity, although responses differ among species. Despite these promising findings, research gaps remain regarding PFA reactivity with complex wastewater matrices, inactivation of human enteric viruses and resistant bacterial spores, environmental fate of transformation products, and long-term ecological impacts. Overall, this review highlights PFA’s strong potential as a safer, effective disinfectant for wastewater treatment and identifies critical areas for future investigation to support full-scale implementation.
With the increasing integration of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) into distance learning, new educational methodologies have been developed to overcome the limitations of traditional models. This paper presents the validation of a learning methodology based on Design Thinking, applied asynchronously through the LMS D2L Brightspace platform, with the support of technologies such as animated videos and AI-generated avatars. The study focused on simulating collaborative problem-solving through the analysis of an ethical dilemma called “The Bridge Case.” Participants were invited to rank the characters in the narrative according to their degree of culpability, interacting with avatars that presented different social, cultural, and legal arguments. The methodology allowed volunteers to revisit their decisions after each new interaction. The results indicated a significant internalization of answers, based on moral and personal experiences, revealing a level of engagement comparable and, in some aspects, superior to that observed in face-to-face environments. Furthermore, participants were monitored via EEG and eye-tracking, which indicated moderate stress levels averaging around 45
Abstract Cooking activities in commercial food-service environments generate sustained internal heat loads and drive indoor air quality deterioration, yet small-scale restaurant kitchens in South Asian contexts remain critically under-studied. This investigation quantified CO 2 concentration, air temperature, and relative humidity (RH) across a complete 24-hour operational cycle in three student-oriented restaurant kitchens of contrasting typologies located near the Kathmandu University gate area, Dhulikhel, Nepal: a vegetarian snack and tea stall (Restaurant 1), a bread and curry house (Restaurant 2), and a full-service rice-meal establishment (Restaurant 3). Field measurements were recorded at 2-minute intervals using a calibrated T&D TR-76Ui data logger and averaged across time windows spanning from Day to midnight with 720 data collected for each day. During university operational hours, ensemble mean CO 2 concentrations exceeded the ASHRAE 1000 ppm ventilation adequacy threshold in four of the ten windows, with peak ensemble means reaching 1268 ppm during 16:00-19:00 and instantaneous peaks of 3735 ppm recorded at the breathing-zone height of primary cooking stations. Restaurant 1 recorded its highest CO 2 concentrations during the 6:00-9:00 and 9:00-11:00 pre-lunch preparation periods (means of 1669 and 1725 ppm respectively), reflecting the intensity of its morning snack-preparation schedule. Restaurant 2, a late-day and evening venue, concentrated its most severe exposures during the 12:00-16:00 and 16:00-19:00 service windows (mean 1322-1650 ppm). Restaurant 3 maintained lower CO 2 concentrations throughout the measurement period, consistent with its larger natural ventilation opening. Maximum air temperatures reached 39.8 °C in Restaurant 2 during a concentrated midday frying episode. All ensemble mean RH values remained within ASHRAE-recommended bounds. Three proportionate interventions are proposed: demand-responsive augmentation of natural ventilation, operationally mandated inter-service purge windows, and transition from LPG to induction cooking.
Solid-phase denitrification using biodegradable polymers such as polycaprolactone (PCL) is increasingly proposed as a sustainable alternative to conventional soluble carbon dosing. However, reported kinetic and stoichiometric parameters for PCL-based systems are often confounded by mass-transfer and dissolution limitations, hindering accurate determination of biological kinetics. In this study, the dissolution step was explicitly decoupled from microbial growth by presolubilizing PCL prior to use, enabling the direct experimental determination of biomass yield (Y) and maximum specific growth rate (μmax) under strictly anoxic batch conditions. Methanol was investigated in parallel as a benchmark soluble carbon source. Yield assays conducted over 12 independent replicates produced statistically similar yields of 0.35 ± 0.08 and 0.38 ± 0.08 g COD per g COD for methanol and PCL, respectively, indicating comparable stoichiometric efficiency for biomass synthesis. Dynamic nitrate depletion profiles were resolved through high-frequency batch testing and fitted using SUMO process modeling. The resulting μmax values were 1.3 day-1 for methanol and 2.1 day-1 for presolubilized PCL, indicating that when carbon availability is not limited by dissolution, under the tested decoupled batch conditions, PCL-derived substrates can support higher growth rates than conventional methanol. Long-term acclimation tests showed lower net biomass accumulation with PCL, attributable to its slower carbon release rather than to microbial capacity limits. These results provide the first direct determination of true biological kinetic parameters for PCL-based denitrification, independent of polymer hydrolysis effects. The findings demonstrate that the apparent kinetic constraints previously reported for solid PCL systems primarily reflect physicochemical mass-transfer limitations and not biological capacity. This work establishes design-ready kinetic parameters for integrating biodegradable polymers into predictive denitrification models, supporting the rational implementation of biodegradable polymeric carbon sources in sustainable nitrogen removal processes.
Diploknema butyracea, also known as the Himalayan butter tree, is mainly valued for its butter-producing seeds and ecological significance. In addition to being significant for its traditional usage, it has lately gained popularity in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries for its pharmacological and therapeutic significance. All components of the tree contain beneficial phytochemicals, including phenolics, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, and essential fatty acids, and possess bioactive properties, including anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties. Chiuri seeds contain over 60% fat and are used to produce chiuri butter with skin-healing properties and industrial applications. Despite being culturally integrated with its economic and medicinal importance, D. butyracea faces challenges from deforestation and overexploitation. This plant is underexplored and not widely promoted in accordance with its worth. This review describes the physicochemical and phytochemical composition of different components of D. butyracea. Detailed study of literature for this review was performed using databases like PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), and Scopus. Moreover, the botanical description, ecology and distribution, processing methods, and medicinal and industrial applications are also discussed, providing insight into its potential for sustainable development in the region. This review aims to emphasize the multifaceted importance of D. butyracea from all the available information and encourage further exploration into its commercial importance in sustainable food systems and ecological potential.
