Erin Erwin, Fereshteh Emami, Thilini Gunawardhana

This study investigates the relationship between salinity fluctuation and heavy metal (HM) concentrations in Lake Maurepas, Southeastern Louisiana, USA, from July 2023 to July 2024. Monitoring HMs in lake ecosystems is crucial, as elevated levels can disrupt aquatic life, bioaccumulate in the food chain, and pose risks to human health. Salinity, known to influence the mobility and uptake of HMs, was measured using an EC meter (MW802 PRO pH/EC/TDS meter), while concentrations of twelve HMs (Sr, Ba, Cu, Ni, Co, Pb, Mo, Mn, Cr, As, Hg, Zn) were analyzed using a Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer (Agilent MP-AES 4200) at nine sites of the lake, including river inflows, the lake center, and areas impacted by ongoing Industrial activities. Using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Salinity Response Analysis (SRA), we quantify relationships between salinity and HM concentrations. Additionally, the Heavy Metal Index (HMI) is calculated to assess the lake's pollution status. This study aims to provide critical insights into the potential effects of industrial activities and salinity dynamics on HM contamination and the lake’s environmental health.

Thilini Gunawardhana, Erin Erwin, Fereshteh Emami

Mercury (Hg), a highly toxic and bio-accumulative heavy metal, poses risks to aquatic ecosystems and human health, particularly through contaminated seafood. In Lake Maurepas in southeastern Louisiana, Hg contamination arises from natural processes (microbial methylation) and anthropogenic activities. This study, spanning June 2023 to July 2024, assessed Hg levels in water, sediment, aquatic plants, and organisms in Lake Maurepas, identifying spatial and temporal Hg distribution patterns. Water samples near river discharges and resuspended sediments showed Hg levels exceeding the 0.002 mg/L safety limit for drinking water. Sediments near anthropogenic sources had high Hg concentrations, particularly during the rainy season. Aquatic plants exhibited site-specific Hg accumulation, highest in blue-green algae. Catfish and Blue Crabs displayed notable bioaccumulation, with Catfish muscle tissues occasionally exceeding the 0.15 μg/g regulatory threshold. Hg levels in fish peaked in late 2023, prompting an advisory in early 2024. Muscle tissues of Blue Crabs accumulated more Hg compared to gills and hepatopancreas. Pollution sources of Hg were identified using EPA PMF 5.0 software, revealing seven potential contributors. Source apportionment highlighted atmospheric deposition and geological release contributions as dominant. These findings underscore the importance of long-term monitoring and targeted mitigation strategies to safeguard aquatic ecosystems and public health.

Jeimy Martinez De La Hoz, Mahathir M Bappy, Shafikul Islam

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize wastewater treatment systems by enhancing reliability, affordability, and sustainability, thereby contributing significantly to public health and environmental protection. However, its application in rural wastewater management remains limited, with existing research fragmented and lacking a structured approach. Rural settings face unique challenges, such as infrastructure limitations, resource constraints, and variable water quality, necessitating AI models specifically tailored to these environments. This review examines current practices in AI-enabled modeling for wastewater treatment, highlighting the use of machine and deep learning methods, which have predominantly been applied in urban contexts. Key challenges include data scarcity, limited model interpretability, and integration issues with existing rural infrastructure, all hindering the adoption of scalable and cost-effective solutions. To address these gaps, future research should develop modular and explainable models that account for data scarcity, resource variability, incremental upgrades, and real-time monitoring to optimize treatment processes. Advancing AI integration in rural settings can enable more adaptable, efficient, and sustainable wastewater management solutions for underserved communities.

MD ALINUR RAHMAN, Thilini Gunawardhana, Zachary LaCour, Erin Erwin, Fereshteh Emami

This study investigates the influence of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on various contaminant source contributions in lake water. We considered a range of natural factors, including temperature, pH, salinity, electrical conductivity (EC), precipitation, dew point, humidity, wind speed, and atmospheric pressure. Human-induced disturbances such as transportation, boating, seismic, and drilling activities were also evaluated to assess their associations with source contributions. We employed sensitivity analysis, cluster analysis, and correlation analysis to examine the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors on six identified sources: death and decay of biological species (DDBS), river inputs (RI-1, RI-2, RI-3), transportation-recreation and accidental release (TRAR), and geological release (GR). Results indicate that salinity and EC significantly affect DDBS across most sites while precipitation has small to moderate effects on RIs. Additionally, seismic and drilling activities exhibit small to moderate impacts on GR at sampling sites near the south test well (STW).

Keywords: natural and anthropogenic disturbances, lake water, sources, river inputs, seismic-drilling, geological release

Shiron Thalagala

Air pollution is a crucial global concern that significantly impacts human health, ecosystems, and climate stability of earth. The region surrounding Lake Maurepas in Louisiana is particularly at risk due to its close proximity to numerous petroleum and chemical manufacturing facilities. It makes the Lake Maurepas ecosystem highly susceptible to the adverse effects of air pollution. This study aims to systematically monitor air pollution levels and identify the sources of pollutants within the Lake Maurepas airshed. To achieve this, real-time data was collected from a single monitoring station positioned near the lake from January 26, 2024, to September 23, 2024. Key atmospheric pollutants, including CO2, CO, NO2, SO2, H2S, TVOC, PM1, PM2.5, PM4, and PM10, were measured at 15-minute intervals. Initial analyses identified eight potential sources including industrial emissions, vehicle traffic, combustion processes, secondary organic aerosol formation, biogenic emissions, construction activities, and dust resuspension. Preliminary findings revealed that CO2 and PM2.5 concentrations exceeded the safety thresholds set by the EPA. Moreover, the levels of PM1, PM2.5, PM4, and PM10 exhibited a consistent upward trend during the study period. Further analysis will be done using positive matrix factorization (PMF) to validate identified sources.

Emily Lubag, Abby Adams

The ubiquitous flowers from the genus Ranunculus, commonly known as buttercups, have been used as a home remedy for many years despite their known toxicity. Though buttercups are used for the treatments of various ailments, the medicinal mechanism and antioxidant components of the hairy buttercup (Ranunuculus sardous) remain ill-defined. This research project seeks to delineate the antioxidant potential of different parts of the hairy buttercup anatomy as well as to identify the compounds responsible for the antioxidant activity. The buttercups were harvested at the Nicholls State University’s Restorative Plant Farm, a 277 acre artificial wetland located in Thibodaux, Louisiana during February and March of 2024. After harvesting, the flowers of the Ranunculus sardous were separated from their stems and leaves, dehydrated and soaked in methanol to extract the compounds responsible for the antioxidant activity. The antioxidant potential was tested using colorimetric, spectrophotometric free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay which showed that both the flowers and stems/leaves had approximately the same antioxidant activity, with an average of 87.27% and 89.34% inhibition of free radical, respectively. The data will be further replicated, and activity will be validated by other standard antioxidant assays of extracts before compound identification.

Prem Chanda, Philip Le Riche

Enantioselective synthesis of syn-β-hydroxy-α-methyl /trifluoromethyl /phenyl  carboxylic acid esters are elegantly developed. However, such synthesis of syn-β-hydroxy-α-aryl carboxylic acid esters remains neglected to date. We have recently completed a work on the complementary synthesis of syn- or anti-β-hydroxy-α-phenyl carboxylic acid esters as their racemic mixtures. Currently, we are working on the chiral version of this methodology. Therefore, we will report the progress towards the enantioselective synthesis of syn-β-hydroxy-α-aryl carboxylic acid esters. 

Michael Goss, Alexandra Aucoin, John Pojman

The trithiol-divinyl ether system exhibits extremely fast polymerization front velocities, making it highly beneficial for rapid curing. However, the system also has an exceptionally short pot life, significantly limiting its practical applications. In this study, we investigate the use of inhibitors to extend the system's pot life while maintaining desirable front propagation speeds. By examining systems with varying inhibitor and thiol concentrations, we can find formulations that achieve both an extended pot life and a sufficient front speed to expand the commercial viability of thiol-ene systems in high-speed curing applications.

Md Abdullah Al Mahmud, John A. Pojman 

We demonstrated that using benzopinacol (1,1,2,2-tetraphenylethanediol,) as the free-radical initator thermal frontal polymerization of acrylates produced samples without voids, as normally occurs with peroxide initators. Unlike persulfate initiators,which also produce void-free materials, benzopinacol is commericially available and allows very long pot lives. Benzopinacol has been used for the radical-induced cationic frontal polymerization of epoxies but not studied with acryaltes. We investigated the FP of various acrylate monomers with TPED at room temperature, including trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA), a 1:1 mixture of pentaerythritol triacrylate and pentaerythritol tetraacrylate (PETIA), pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA), 1,6- hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA), 1,4-butanediol diacrylate (BDDA), and diethylene glycol diacrylate (DEGDA). The results were compared to the same monomer systems with the conventional peroxide initiator, Luperox 231, assessing differences in front behavior, pot life, and bubble formation. We also included another study that looked at factors that could impact front velocity of acrylates, such as adding MeHQ to the formulations and increasing or decreasing the amount of TPED in the formulations.