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People who drink naturally hardened water may experience longevity-enhancing effects. In this study, we investigated water hardness and longevity from both geological and epidemiological perspectives in Japan’s Amami islands, where drinking water is drawn from coralline or non-coralline bedrock. We investigated drinking water hardness, limestone bedrock occupancy, and the centenarian rate (number per 10,000 population) by municipality across four adjacent islands (Amami-Oshima (non-coralline), Tokunoshima, Okinoerabu, and Yoron (predominantly coralline)). Limestone was strongly correlated with water hardness (r = 0.99; p < 0.01), occupying more than 80% of the bedrock where the water was the hardest (Tokunoshima’s Isen municipality: 86.5%; Yoron: 82.9%) and being scarcely detectable in Amami-Oshima (0.0 to 0.2%), where the water was the least hard. The centenarian rate was also strongly correlated with water hardness (r = 0.84, p < 0.01), with the highest figures in Yoron (29.7) and Isen (29.2), and the lowest in Amami-Oshima (0.0 to 12.2). Therefore, we hypothesize a potentially beneficial effect of hard water on longevity when that water is drawn from coralline limestone. Water hardness is determined by the water content of calcium and magnesium and may plausibly influence life expectancy through a preventative effect against cardiovascular disease. Our findings are of interest to current debates about future global access to drinking water and its quality.

Herbicide carrier water hardness and pH can be variable depending on the source and geographic location. Herbicide efficacy can be affected by the pH and hardness of water used for spray solution. Field and greenhouse studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of carrier water pH and hardness on premixed dicamba and glyphosate efficacy. Treatments were combinations of water pH at 4, 6.5, or 9; and water hardness at 0 (deionized water), 400, or 800 mg L–1 of CaCO3 equivalent. In the field study, dicamba and glyphosate were applied at 0.55 and 1.11 kg ae ha–1, respectively, and half of these rates were applied in the greenhouse study. There was no interaction between carrier water pH and hardness on dicamba and glyphosate efficacy; however, the main effects of carrier water pH and hardness were significant. Herbicide efficacy was reduced with carrier water at pH 9 compared with pH 4. In the field study, common lambsquarters, common ragweed, horseweed, or Palmer amaranth control was improved 6% or more at carrier water at pH 4 compared with pH 9. Similar results were observed with water pH for giant ragweed, Palmer amaranth, or pitted morningglory control in the greenhouse study. Carrier water hardness at 400 or 800 mg L–1 reduced common ragweed, giant ragweed, or horseweed control compared with 0 mg L–1. Similarly, common lambsquarters, Palmer amaranth, or pitted morningglory control was reduced at least 10% with carrier water hardness at 800 mg L–1 compared with 0 mg L–1. These results indicate carrier water at acidic pH and of no hardness is critical for dicamba and glyphosate application, and spray solution needs to be amended appropriately for an optimum efficacy. Nomenclature: Dicamba; glyphosate; common lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. CHEAL; common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. AMBEL; giant ragweed, Ambrosia trifida L. AMBTR; horseweed, Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq. ERICA; Palmer amaranth, Amaranthus palmeri (S.) Watson AMAPA; pitted morningglory, Ipomoea lacunosa L. IPOLA

An investigation on novel Kulkual fibers that were derived from Ethiopia was carried out in this work. An open-mold casting approach was employed to manufacture a lightweight composite comprising chopped Kulkual fibers and titanium diboride (TiB₂) particles. The primary objective of this study was to scrutinize the interfacial dynamics of the composites upon inclusion of the reinforcements, focusing on compression, hardness, and water absorption characteristics. The incorporation of both TiB₂ and Kulkual fibers markedly augmented the inherent properties of the epoxy matrix, evident in compression testing. Notably, composites containing 5 vol% of fibers exhibited a significantly higher modulus of 87 MPa, while those with 5 vol% of fibers demonstrated an impressive strength of 90 MPa. Vickers hardness assessments revealed composites containing 5 vol% of fibers displaying a superior hardness value of 45 HV. Subsequent water absorption tests with different types of water unveiled a Fickian behavior, characterized by an initial exponential increase in the absorption rate within the first 50 h. The incorporation of Kulkual fibers amplified this intake rate, particularly evident at the 10 vol% level, which eventually reached saturation after 200 h. Collectively, these findings underscore the optimal efficacy of fiber addition up to 5 vol% in enhancing composite properties, suggesting a threshold beyond which further increments may not yield proportional benefits.

Carrier water quality is an important consideration for herbicide efficacy. Field and greenhouse studies were conducted from 2021 to 2023 to evaluate the effect of carrier water pH and hardness on imazapic efficacy for sicklepod control in peanut crops. In separate field experiments imazapic was applied postemergence at 0.071 kg ai ha–1 with carrier water pH levels of 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9; and hardness levels of 0 (deionized water), 100, 200, 400, or 500 mg L–1 of CaCO3 equivalent. In greenhouse experiments, imazapic was applied to sicklepod that was either 10 cm, 15 cm, or 20 cm tall at similar carrier water pH levels and hardness levels of 0, 100, 200, 400, or 800 mg L–1 of CaCO3. In the field study, sicklepod control, density, and biomass reductions were lower with carrier water pH 5 or 9 compared with pH 7. In the greenhouse study, control was not different among carrier water pH levels when imazapic was applied to 10-cm-tall sicklepod; however, when applied to 15- or 20-cm-tall sicklepod, control was at least 25% greater with acidic (pH 5) compared to alkaline (pH 9) carrier water. Results from the field study showed that carrier water hardness ≤500 ppm did not reduce the efficacy of imazapic to control sicklepod. In the greenhouse study, regardless of sicklepod height, carrier water hardness of 800 mg L–1 reduced sicklepod control by 15% and biomass reduction by 17% compared with deionized water (pH 7). The effects of carrier water pH and hardness on imazapic efficacy did not compromise peanut yield in the field study. However, this study indicates that both acidic and alkaline carrier water pH and hardness (800 mg L–1 CaCO3 L–1) have the potential to reduce imazapic efficacy on sicklepod, and appropriate spray solution amendments maybe be needed to maintain optimum efficacy. Nomenclature: Imazapic; sicklepod; Senna obtusifolia L.; peanut; Arachis hypogaea L.

Chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) is a significant health problem in Sri Lanka. Several hypotheses, such as soil geology, pesticide exposure, cyanotoxins, and prolonged dehydration, have been suggested as possible contributors to CKDu; however, the precise etiology remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the potential impact of groundwater hardness and fluoride content on CKDu using zebrafish (Danio rerio) as an animal model. Sixty well water samples were randomly collected during the dry season from CKDu endemic regions in Sri Lanka, including Galnewa, Rajanganaya, and Medirigiriya in the North Central Province, Dehiattakandiya in the Eastern Province, and Agunukolapelassa (non-endemic area) in the Southern Province as a control. Water pH, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen were measured onsite and within the Sri Lankan Drinking Water Quality Standards (SLS 614: 2013). The highest mean water hardness (285.2 ppm) was recorded in Medirigiriya, and the highest mean fluoride (1.24 ppm) was recorded in Dehiattakandiya, both of which are identified as CKDu high-prevalence areas. The acute toxic effects of these parameters were assessed using zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. Ninety embryos were exposed up to 96 h post-fertilization (hpf) to water samples representing the highest and lowest water hardness and fluoride concentrations, as single and combined solutions. Embryonic mortality rate in combined exposure (highest hardness and fluoride) was 49.0±0.58%, while hardness alone was 16.7±0.58% and fluoride alone was 18.8±1.15%. Statistical analysis revealed a significant synergistic effect of hardness and fluoride combination (p< 0.05) on mortality compared to single exposure. Subsequently, combined exposure caused developmental delays (> 65%) and morphological abnormalities, such as bent body axis and yolk sac edema. Fluorescence images indicated that the damaged premature pronephros in the combined exposure group emitted bright green fluorescence compared to that in the single exposure group. Thus, the findings suggest that the synergistic nephrotoxic effect of high water hardness and fluoride can be a prominent cause of CKDu etiology in Sri Lanka.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the relationship between domestic water hardness and risk of symptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and explore whether this association was modified by genetic predisposition to AAA. Methods Exposures of interest included concentration of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) as well as water hardness. Symptomatic AAA was identified through ICD code and operation code. Multivariable Cox proportional-hazard models were used for outcome analysis. Subgroup analysis was performed by the levels of genetic susceptibility to AAA. Results This study included 371,668 participants. Over a median follow-up duration of 15.2 years, 2,154 new cases of symptomatic AAA were recorded. A negative association was observed between exposure to Ca and CaCO 3 and water hardness and risk of symptomatic AAA (all p values < 0.050 ). No significant interaction was observed between genetic risk, as determined by AAA polygenic risk score (PRS), and any water mineral exposure in relation to AAA risk. Conclusion Our study found that exposure to domestic hard water was associated with a reduced risk of symptomatic AAA, regardless of individuals ' genetic risk. These findings reinforce the recommendations on the importance of maintaining and supplementing minerals in drinking water, such as using filtered or desalinated water.

South Africa is an electricity-stressed country with a growing energy demand. Globally, hot water appliances are major consumers of electricity. Poor water quality for domestic purposes is a concern that may affect the efficiency of hot water appliances. Therefore, the Eskom Research, Testing, and Development Business Unit embarked on a study to examine total water hardness as a chemical parameter that may impact the power consumption of electrical geyser heating elements. An accelerated scaling method was developed to lime-scale the geyser heating elements for about 2 to 3 months. In addition, the geyser heating elements were tested with and without electronic descaler technology. The results showed that the accelerated scaling method developed for shortening the scaling time of geyser heating elements was successful. Furthermore, the results proved that scale formation of 1.5 kW and 3 kW geyser heating elements due to high total water hardness increased the power consumption by approximately 4% to 12%. This paper also presents energy-efficient electronic descaler technology as an alternative treatment of scaling for geyser heating elements.

Contamination of drinking water by metals remains a global threat to living organisms. Therefore, the current study describes variations of metal occurrence, water quality and human health risk assessment between the dry and wet seasons of a rural village located in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The concentrations of major and trace metals were determined in drinking water samples using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The physicochemical parameters, water quality index (WQI), total water hardness (TWH) and health risk assessment (hazard quotient: HQ and chronic daily intake: CDI) were evaluated seasonally. The TWH results showed that the water was very hard with water hardness values ranging between 415 and 442. The water also contained several metals and metalloids such as Al (2.18–3.36 mg L−1), As (0.17–0. 53 mg L−1), Cd (0.0068–0.0134 mg L−1), Cr (0.2481–0.2601 mg L−1), Mn (0.387–1.582 mg L−1), Pb (0.064–0.0802 mg L−1), Sb (0.0496–0.1391 mg L−1) and Se (0.075–0.148 mg L−1) that exceeded the SANS and WHO permissible limits in drinking water. The health risk assessment revealed that the water may cause noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic health effects due to the presence of As, Cr, Sb, Tl and V in water samples, while the water quality index revealed that the water was of very poor quality.

Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and peracetic acid (PAA) are commonly used disinfectants with a maximum recommended concentration of 200 ppm for food-contact surfaces. The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of pH and water hardness on NaOCl and PAA efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 on stainless steel (SS). The two disinfectants were prepared at 200 ppm in water of hardness 150 or 300 ppm with the final pH adjusted to 5, 6, 7, or 8. Disinfectants were applied to virus-contaminated SS for one minute at room temperature following the ASTM E2197 standard assay. SARS-CoV-2 infectivity was quantified using TCID50 assay on Vero-E6 cells. In general, increasingly hard water decreased the efficacy of NaOCl while increasing the efficacy of PAA. Hard water at 300 ppm significantly increased virus log reduction with PAA at pH 8 by ~1.5 log. The maximum virus log reductions were observed at pH 5 for both NaOCl (~1.2 log) and PAA (~2 log) at 150 and 300 ppm hard water, respectively. In conclusion, PAA performed significantly better than NaOCl with harder water. However, both disinfectants at 200 ppm and one minute were not effective (≤3 log) against SARS-CoV-2 on contaminated food-contact surfaces, which may facilitate the role of these surfaces in virus transmission.

In the present paper, we investigated the characteristics of chalky rice grains generated by ripening under high temperature and compared them with whole grains. We evaluated 14 unpolished Japonica rice grains harvested in Japan in 2021, and these samples (original grains) were divided into two groups (a whole grain group and a chalky grain one). We found that not only activities of endogenous amylase and proteinase, but also cell wall-degrading enzymes, such as xylanase and cellulase, changed markedly between chalky grains and whole grains. Using rice grains blended with 30% of chalky grains as the material, we compared the sugar and mineral contents and textural properties of the rice grains soaked and boiled in either ordinary water or hard water, such as Evian or Contrex. It was shown that xylanase, in addition to amylase and proteinase, may play an important role in changing the texture of the boiled chalky rice grains. For the sake of preventing the above-mentioned deterioration in the texture of boiled grains of chalky rice, we tried to use hard water, such as Evian or Contrex, to soak and cook the chalky rice grains. It was shown that the hard water was useful for the prevention of texture deterioration of the boiled rice grains due to inhibition of the activities of endogenous hydrolytic enzymes, such as α-amylase, β-amylase, proteinase, and xylanase. Furthermore, we found that the hard water was useful in increasing the calcium absorption through the meal by 2.6 to 16.5 times.