Adsorbent-modified membranes represent an evolving approach to improved water purification that has addressed the persistent trade-off between membrane selectivity and permeability, as well as the fouling associated with conventional membrane technology. This study will provide a critical evaluation of recent advancements in adsorptive membrane design, fabrication, and functional mechanisms for removing various contaminants, such as heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, pharmaceuticals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and microplastics. The emphasis of this study will be on combining adsorption chemistry with membrane separation via surface functionalization, nanomaterial incorporation, ion and molecular imprinting, and bio-inspired engineering strategies. Discussion will be provided on the mechanistic aspects of chelation, hydrophobic interactions, π–π stacking, electrostatic attraction, and catalytic coupling, in addition to performance metrics including selectivity, adsorption capacities, regeneration efficiency, and anti-fouling properties. Emerging concepts such as stimuli-responsive and dual-functional catalytic membranes show great potential to surpass traditional separation limitations, while also reducing energy requirements and minimizing secondary pollution. Although significant advancements have been reported at the laboratory scale, many unresolved challenges remain, including scalable manufacture, long-term stability, and environmentally sustainable regeneration. This review aims to bridge the gap between fundamental principles of membrane science and practical applications, thereby supporting next-generation membrane development for sustainable wastewater treatment.
Abstract This study investigates high school students’ health-information seeking behaviors related to COVID-19 and viruses in a rural area of the south-central United States, and how these behaviors relate to students’ knowledge, perceptions, and learning interests. Survey data were collected from 83 students in Spring 2023, during the post-pandemic period, as part of a STEM and public health unit. Drawing on frameworks from Health Information-Seeking Behavior and student interest, the study examines students’ COVID-19 information sources, how these sources relate to their knowledge about viruses and their perceptions of COVID-19, and the specific topics about which they were most interested in learning. Our analysis showed that students most frequently reported using governmental health agencies, healthcare professionals, and mainstream media as sources of COVID-19 information, while science teachers were rarely cited. Students with higher general knowledge about COVID-19 were more likely to support individual protective behaviors such as mask-wearing. Thematic analysis of students’ open-ended responses (N = 233) revealed strong interest in learning about COVID-19 biology, treatment, and origin, with less expressed interest in vaccines. These findings highlight the importance of connecting students lived experiences with disciplinary knowledge by integrating the information sources they already use into science instruction. Insights from this work can inform science teaching and help educators better support students during future public health challenges.
This study examined a hybrid treatment approach that integrates a traditional batterer intervention program (BIP) with a restorative justice (RJ) component, Circles of Peace (CP), to address domestic violence (DV) crimes in cases of intimate partner violence (IPV). In Utah, 274 offenders (both male and female), court-mandated to treatment for misdemeanor DV offenses in IPV cases, were randomly assigned to treatment. A parallel randomized controlled trial compared a standard 16-week BIP (BIP-only; n = 138) with a 12-week BIP followed by four weeks of CP (BIP-plus-CP; n = 136). Poisson regression models were used to examine group differences in new offenses and crime severity scores. Offenders assigned to BIP-plus-CP demonstrated statistically significant reductions in both the number of new offenses and the severity of those offenses. Combining BIP and RJ components showed greater effectiveness in reducing recidivism and the severity of offenses among DV offenders.
On 24 April 2025 at 18:30:57 UTC, a bright daytime fireball over Southcentral Alaska was detected by 37 seismic stations, 16 single infrasound sensors, and four infrasound arrays, yielding 30 ballistic and multiple fragmentation arrivals. The unprecedented density of seismoacoustic coverage enabled detailed reconstruction of the event using acoustic signals, with fragmentation source locations further guiding the identification of Doppler weather radar signatures of a meteorite fall. Incorporation of a radar-derived terminal point yielded a final trajectory solution, which agreed closely with an independent optical trajectory solution from video analysis. The reconstructed entry parameters from seismoacoustic analysis indicate a velocity of 25.3 km/s, an entry angle of 19 degrees, and an energy release of similar to 38 t TNT equivalent. Assuming a chondritic composition, the pre-entry object diameter was similar to 0.7 m. Using orbital parameters from the optical solution, we estimate meteoroid composition as most likely an L-type ordinary chondrite. The event occurred in the sub-Arctic, where space-based optical systems face challenges in detection, demonstrating the critical role of dense ground-based seismoacoustic networks in characterizing high-latitude atmospheric entries. This uniquely well-recorded event demonstrates the capability of dense seismoacoustic networks to constrain bolide trajectories, energetics, and fragmentation, with radar and optical data providing critical confirmation and complementary perspectives. These results bridge the methodological gap between planetary-defense monitoring of natural impactors and space-traffic analyses of artificial reentries, illustrating how multi-sensor integration can deliver calibration-grade trajectories even for unpredicted events.
IceCube recently reported the observation of TeV neutrinos from the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068, and the corresponding neutrino flux is significantly higher than the upper limit implied by observations of GeV-TeV gamma rays. This suggests that neutrinos are produced near the supermassive black hole, where the radiation density is high enough to obscure gamma rays. We use a set of muon neutrinos with interaction vertices inside the detector, which have good sensitivity to sources in the southern sky, from IceCube data recorded between 2011 and 2021. We then search for individual and collective neutrino signals from 14 Seyfert galaxies in the southern sky selected from the Swift Burst Alert Telescope AGN Spectroscopic Survey. Using the correlations between keV X-rays and TeV neutrinos predicted by disk-corona models, and assuming production characteristics similar to NGC 1068, a collective neutrino signal search reveals an excess of 6.7(-3.2)(+4.0) events, which is inconsistent with background expectations at the 3 sigma level of significance. In this Letter, we present new independent evidence that Seyfert galaxies contribute to the extragalactic flux of high-energy neutrinos.
