Jack Reed

Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education • 2022

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>How causation is approached has, for some time now, been a central debate within the archives of educational research. Despite rich discussion in broader literature, the influence of what has been described as the ‘methodology wars’ has rarely featured within the field(s) of outdoor and environmental education (OEE). This paper explores causation in this context, employing a feminist paradigmatic approach to investigate the role of causation in OEE research. A positivist approach is also considered in parallel, asking whether and how research in OEE navigates causation, and the potential influences of this upon competing audiences (e.g., policy makers and funders). Drawing on a <jats:italic>conceptual causal pluralist</jats:italic> approach to causation within the feminist paradigm, four key touchstones are presented that stand ready to facilitate inclusive, equitable, and reflexive research for OEE post-pandemic. The paper reflects on the general position of OEE presently, and responds to increasing sociocultural complexity as it is lived and felt within the profession and beyond.</jats:p>

Houssameldin M. Mohamed, Abdellatif M. Sadeq, Ahmad K. Sleiti et al.

• 0

<title>Abstract</title> <p>This study thoroughly investigates thermal comfort conditions within an indoor swimming pool in a desert climate resembling the climatic conditions of regions like Qatar, known for its scorching summers and mild winters. The research focuses on a 17.6 m x 11.7 m indoor swimming pool, assessing its response to extreme outdoor conditions: 43.3 ℃ dry-bulb temperature and 33.3 ℃ wet bulb temperature for summer, and 17 ℃ dry-bulb temperature and 10.6 ℃ wet bulb temperature for winter. Design considerations maintain indoor temperatures in the range of 24 to 29 ℃ year-round, aligning with ASHRAE Handbook recommendations for indoor swimming pools. The study encompasses a comprehensive analysis, including calculation of pool evaporation rates and resulting latent heat load gain. Hourly Analysis Program (HAP 4.9), a specialized cooling load calculation program, was employed to determine the essential thermal load required to maintain optimum indoor conditions. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, employing ANSYS Fluent 19.2 and incorporating standard turbulence and moisture content models following a meticulous grid independence study, were conducted. The results highlight distinct average indoor conditions for both summer and winter, encompassing parameters such as air temperature, air velocity, and relative humidity. The research outcomes, assessed using Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD), indicate comfort in summer and slight warmth in winter, serving as a valuable reference for future research on desert pool and greenhouse designs, ultimately enhancing indoor environmental quality.</p>

Age J. Tjalma, Robert Planqué, Frank J. Bruggeman

• 0

<jats:p>An open problem in biology is to understand when particular adaptation strategies of microorganisms are selected during evolution. They range from random, bet-hedging strategies to deterministic, responsive strategies, relying on signalling circuits. We present an evolutionary model that integrates basic statistical physics of molecular circuits with fitness maximisation and information theory. This model provides an explanation for a puzzling observation on responsive strategies: the accuracy with which signalling networks track external signals seems remarkably low. Single cells often distinguish only between 2 to 4 concentration ranges, corresponding to 1 or 2 bits of mutual information between signal and response. Why did evolution lead to such low-fidelity signalling systems? Our theory offers an explanation by taking a novel perspective. It considers the fitness benefit of all signals, including those that are not sensed. We introduce a new concept, ‘latent information’, which captures the mutual information between all non-sensed signals and the optimal response. The theory predicts that it is often evolutionarily optimal to transduce sensed signals noisily when latent information is present. It indicates that fitness can indeed be maximal when the mutual information extracted from sensed signals is not maximal, but rather has a low value of about 1 or 2 bits. Cells likely do not sense all signals because of the fitness cost of expressing idle signalling systems that consume limited biosynthetic resources. Our theory illustrates that as the total available information about the optimal behaviour decreases, the cell should trust the available information less, and gamble more.</jats:p><jats:sec><jats:title>Significance Statement</jats:title><jats:p>Surprisingly, microorganisms appear to sense only very few environmental signals (such as nutrients and stresses) compared to the number of conditions they can encounter. Even worse, the signals they do sense are transduced at low fidelity. We study the accuracy of sensing in the situation where multiple signals determine the optimal response, but only few signals are actually sensed. We show that it is in fact to be expected that sensing in the presence of latent information should be imprecise, and that signalling circuits should underperform.</jats:p></jats:sec>

Ethan Levien, Jane Kondev, Ariel Amir

• 0

<jats:title>Summary</jats:title><jats:p>In isogenic microbial populations, phenotypic variability is generated by a combination of intrinsic factors, specified by cell physiology, and environmental factors. Here we address the question: how does phenotypic variability of a microbial population affect its fitness? While this question has previously been studied for exponentially growing populations, the situation when the population size is kept fixed has received much less attention. We show that in competition experiments with multiple microbial species, the fitness of the population can be determined from the distribution of phenotypes, provided all variability is due to intrinsic factors. We then explore how robust the relationship between fitness and phenotypic variability is to environmental fluctuations. We find that this relationship breaks down in the presence of environmental fluctuations, and derive a simple formula relating the average fitness of a population to the phenotype distribution and fluctuations in the instantaneous population growth rate. Using published experimental data we demonstrate how our formulas can be used to discriminate between intrinsic and environmental contributions to phenotypic diversity.</jats:p>

V.P. Bekh

All Ukrainian scientific-practical magazine Principal of School Liceum Gymnasium • 2020

<jats:p>Based on the regularities of the first stage of lifecycle for the social system of industrial education it is predicted the status of initiation for education and perception system around the turn of the anthropocene eon. It is emphasized that the process of the new age education system set- up takes place in self-organizing mode. For this purpose, the following is assessed: 1) the state of the “spirit of the era”, that carries an personalized (information, network, knowledge, digital) society, as an example of a new type of life order for the global community; 2) worldview imperatives of eco-humanistic filling of the educational community of the planet; 3) ideological guidelines for sustainable development; 4) conceptual prerequisites for the formation of a new education type that do not correspond in any way to the transformation of the violent paradigm of education and upbringing of young people of the technocratic age; 5) the state of fundamental science as a reason that, on the basis of mastering a new classification of social labor, should generate a modernization of education content in the 21st century; 6) the content of the involved segment of senseogenesis, which gives rise to a new division of information work in order to qualitatively service new operation forces, leading to the benefits of the development of spiritual production over material. It is prognosed that the new social division of labor will form a qualitatively new nomenclature of workers in domain of national and international education. The problems of the current state of the theory of education and pedagogy are revealed, those does not have time to produce perspectives of national and international educational policies relevant to the needs of the planet’s social organism. The attention of educators focused on the inadequacy of the existing pedagogical and organizational facilities to impact on the formation of creative personality, since they only improve the conservation of the industrial education system. The planetary personality is justified as the ideal of an educated person of the 21st century and the ultimate goal of education and upbringing in the World Knowledge Society. The principle of personalization / individualization is defined as the main parameter of managing the generation of the future education system. Emphasis is placed on the benefits of an open system of education that enhances the degree of individual freedom in a globalized world. Educators and education managers are encouraged to turn to the principles of evolution, which more strongly contribute to the spread of human activity in the school. The attractiveness of the idea of self-education for the modern young generation in the virtual space of the information age is emphasized.</jats:p>

Ruihang Gao

Applied and Computational Engineering • 0

<jats:p>The main objective of this study on temperature and humidity control in indoor sports halls is to provide an environment that is suitable for the people exercising in the halls and a way to minimize unnecessary sports injuries. The research methods used in this paper are both field monitoring of the environment and online data collection. The paper concludes with a temperature and humidity monitoring network based on a wireless sensor network to detect environmental temperature and humidity and thus achieve a system that can regulate it.</jats:p>

Lovleen Marwaha

The Drone Honey Bee • 2023

<jats:p>The Drone caste exhibits specific diagnostic morphometric characteristics that facilitate its differentiation from other colony castes. Drone formation gets completed in about 24-25 days, with the first ten days in an open cell and the final 14 days under capped conditions. Furthermore, the drone caps are convex in shape. The Drone egg is measured about 1.49±0.12 (range 1.12–1.85) mm, the width is 0.35±0.02 (range 0.30–0.40) mm, and the volume is 0.10±0.02 (range 0.06–0.15) cubic mm. After hatching for the first three days, the larval weight is 0.11 mg, the 7th-day-old larva is 120 mg, 11th-day-old larva reaches a weight of 350 mg. An adult has a mean body length of about 1.5 cm. Further, the drone character varies as per ecological conditions, species, genotype, and other environmental conditions.</jats:p>

Michael J. Boyle

The Drone Age • 2020

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Chapter 1 provides an overview of the growth of drone technology around the world and introduces the main themes of the book. It distinguishes drones from similar forms of technology and discusses their unique features. It describes how drones have now come into the hands of new actors, such as governments, terrorist organizations, law enforcement, and others. It argues that the possession of drones is altering the strategic choices of all of these actors by changing their calculation of risks and by leading them to expand their goals, sometimes in unsustainable ways. It identifies the six consequences of these alterations for war and peace, each of which will be explained in detail in the book.</jats:p>

Ravi Shankar Yadav, Weihua He, Dandan Liang et al.

Water • 2024

This study attempts to overcome the challenges associated with the degradation of complex organic substances like corn straw hydrolysate in hydrogen recovery by strategically enriching functional microbial communities in single-chamber cubic microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). We applied negative pressure, using acetate or xylose as electron donors, to mitigate the hydrogen sink issues caused by methanogens. This innovative method significantly enhanced MEC performance. MECs enriched with xylose demonstrated superior performance, achieving a hydrogen production rate 3.5 times higher than that achieved by those enriched with acetate. Under negative pressure, hydrogen production in N-XyHy10 reached 0.912 ± 0.08 LH2/L MEC/D, which was 6.7 times higher than in the passive-pressure MECs (XyHy10). This advancement also resulted in substantial increases in current density (73%), energy efficiency (800%), and overall energy efficiency (540%) compared with MECs operated under passive pressure with 10% hydrolysate feed. The enrichment of polysaccharide-degrading bacteria such as Citrobacter and Pseudomonas under negative pressure underscores the potential for their industrial application in harnessing complex organic substrates for bioenergy production in single-chamber MECs. This is a promising approach to scaling up bioenergy recovery processes. The findings of this research study contribute significantly to the field by demonstrating the efficacy of negative pressure in enhancing microbial activity and energy recovery, thereby offering a promising strategy for improving bioenergy production efficiency in industries.

Sang-Ri Lee, Hag-Wone Kim, Kwan-Yuhl Cho et al.

The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics • 2013

In large vessels, proper water level must be maintained with a balance for right and left equilibrium by absorbing or draining sea water in ballast water tank. However, this ship`s ballast-water can be drained marine organisms to local sea area by world trade and this can be a source of ecological disturb. In order to solve these problems, marine organisms must be removed in accordance with the international covenant for the emission of microorganisms. By this reason, the seawater electrolysis rectifier of low-voltage high-current rectifiers with excellent ability for microbial treatment is required. In this paper, PSFB converter will be discussed for the seawater electrolysis rectifier. Furthermore, a new output control method with the power limit operation under the limited maximum voltage condition is proposed for this rectifier. The simulation for the proposed current control method for PSFB Converter is shown using MATLAB/SIMULINK. Finally the usefulness of the proposed control method is presented by the experimental results.

Fuel Cells Bulletin • 2021

<jats:p> Air Liquide Japan and Itochu Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the development of hydrogen mobility markets in Japan. The partnership will leverage the expertise and technologies of Air Liquide across the hydrogen supply chain, and Itochu's significant presence in multiple energy sectors, from the fuel retail business to renewable energy production plants. </jats:p>

Sally Kneeshaw

World Electric Vehicle Journal • 0

<jats:p>EVUE is a European funded exchange of experience project for 10 cities developing Electric Vehicle strategies. The initiative demonstrates the benefits of collaboration and shared learning for urban professional and policy makers learning how to integrate EVs at early market stages. It promotes fresh approaches to integrated planning and to delivering the potential of electric mobility in sustainable cites of tomorrow.</jats:p>

Jun Yang Leong

World Electric Vehicle Journal • 0

<jats:p>The growing electric vehicle (EV) sector, while tackling climate issues, also encounters obstacles concerning resource usage and a rise in EV disposal. This study examines the circularity framework in the EV sector to address these problems, emphasizing the importance of reusing and upcycling resources for sustainability. Moreover, numerous nations have implemented recycling and R&amp;D policies to offer legal and policy backing for the advancement of recycling technology. This report will investigate and contrast various recycling technologies. Furthermore, it involves an examination of key figures in the EV sector to identify deficiencies in the EV materials supply chain and tactics for minimizing waste. Conversations with a variety of EV stakeholders will provide perspectives on the creative methods businesses are implementing to tackle these obstacles. By embracing the principles of a circular economy, the EV industry can act as a model for a sustainable future, decreasing its environmental footprint and encouraging a more efficient use of resources.</jats:p>

Boucar Diouf

World Electric Vehicle Journal • 0

<jats:p>Electric vehicles (EVs) have been the most dependable and feasible choice for decarbonizing road transport over the last decade. To ensure the advancement of EVs and establish them as a sustainable alternative to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, the EV sector and technological growth have largely relied on government subsidies. A significant challenge for EVs is their faster depreciation compared to ICE vehicles, primarily owing to swift technological advancements that propel the market while simultaneously rendering older EV models outdated too soon. Another factor that leads to the quicker depreciation of EVs is subsidies. The anticipated cessation of subsidies is expected to provide the required leverage to mitigate the rapid value decline in EVs, given the larger price disparity between new and used EVs. Batteries, which enable EVs to be a viable option, significantly contribute to the depreciation of EVs. In addition to the potential decline in EV battery performance, advancements in technology and reduced prices provide newer models with improved range at a more affordable cost. The used EV market accurately represents the rapid devaluation of EVs; consequently, the two topics are tightly related. Though it might not be immediately apparent, it seems evident that the pace of depreciation of EVs significantly contributes to the small size of the second-hand EV market. Depreciation is a key factor influencing the used EV market. This manuscript outlines the key aspects of depreciation and sustainability in the EV transition, especially those linked to rapid technological advancements, such as batteries, in addition to subsidies and the used EV market. The objective of this manuscript is to expose and analyze the relation between the drivers of the second-hand EV market, such as the cost of ownership, technology, and subsidies, and, on the other hand, present the interplay perspectives and challenges.</jats:p>

Lou A. Honary

Automotive Lubricants and Testing • 2012

<jats:p>There is a new impetus for the use of vegetable oils or renewable oils in automotive applications. The environmental factor promises to be a more steady and persistent force in promoting the use of these products than the fluctuating availability of petroleum. However, increased demand for petroleum by emerging economies has led to an increase in the need for petroleum substitutes. Either because of imposed environmental regulations or society's desire for a more environmentally friendly lubricant, the interest and increased use of vegetable-based engine oils and industrial lubricants will continue. Every year in the United States nearly 2.5 billion gallons of lubricants are manufactured; 1.4 % are automotive-related lubricants, and the rest are considered industrial lubricants. Therefore, the automotive engineer should become familiar with greases and oils and their characteristics as they relate to automotive use. Because this chapter deals with automotive lubricants, the emphasis will be placed on the use of vegetable oils within automotive systems. Furthermore, the chapter provides information on the chemistry of vegetable oils, the general performance requirement of lubricants and greases, standard test procedures required for the oil testing, and the issues of biodegradability and toxicity.</jats:p>

Yu Zhanning

Vehicle Dynamics • 0

<jats:p>With the growing shortage of energy and environmental pollution problems, the community on the car's efficient, clean, economic and security put forward higher requirements. This paper introduces the history of fuel cell vehicles, the classification of electric vehicles, the fuel cell electric vehicle technology, the classification of fuel cells, the problems existing in fuel cell technology and the urgent need to be solved, and the development prospects of fuel electric vehicles, analyzes the fuel cell electric the key technology of automobile in development and application needs to be solved. Pointed out that the fuel cell as a new energy, with its high efficiency and zero pollution and other advantages of increasing attention, fuel cell electric vehicles and its technology has also been more widely applied and developed.</jats:p>

Ueli Brauen

Footbridge 2022, Madrid: Creating Experience • 0

<jats:p>&lt;p&gt;The forest management body Groupement Forestier des Agittes, which was creating a discovery trail at La Joux Verte, commissioned Brauen Wälchli Architectes to design a suspended footbridge from which walkers could enjoy a commanding view over the restored ruins of the former dam cutting across the valley. The footbridge was built according to the principles of sustainable development. Renewable and recycled local materials and regional know-how were employed in its construction.&lt;/p&gt;</jats:p>

Sherri Irvin

Immaterial • 2022

<p>Traditionally, visual artworks persist over time through the preservation of their material elements: if the surface of a painting is irrevocably obscured, the work is destroyed. While this remains true for many artworks, in other cases artists have sanctioned custom rules that permit or require certain forms of material change. Zoe Leonard requires that her objects be allowed to decay; Sarah Sze requires that some objects in her sculptural works be periodically replaced. In still other cases, such as James Turrell’s Skyspaces, changes in environmental conditions may destroy the work even if the object fabricated by the artist remains intact. Institutions have developed detailed procedures for gathering information about how artworks should be conserved, since this information is essential to the work’s identity and the meanings it expresses.</p>

Mingfei Chen, Shwetha Acharya, Mon Oo Yee et al.

• 0

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The rhizosphere microbiome plays a crucial role in supporting plant productivity and contributes to ecosystem functioning by regulating nutrient cycling, soil integrity, and carbon storage. However, characterizing their functional attributes and microbial relationships remains challenging due to their complex taxonomic and functional compositions. To enable such studies, the development of reduced complexity microbial consortia derived from the rhizosphere microbiome of the natural ecosystem is highly desirable. Designing and assembling reduced complexity consortia that mimic natural communities with consistent, stable, predictable features are highly sought after but is challenging to deliver. Here we present our systematic controlled design towards successful assembly of several such rhizosphere derived reduced complexity consortia. From<jats:italic>Brachypodium</jats:italic>grown in natural soil under controlled lab conditions, we enriched the root-associated microbes, utilizing carbon compounds prevalent in Brachypodium root exudates. By transferring the enrichments every 3 or 7 days for 9 generations, we developed both fast and slow-growing microbial communities. 16S rRNA amplicon analysis revealed that both inoculum and carbon substrates significantly influence microbial community composition. For example, 1/10 R2A preferentially enriched Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) from slow growing taxa vital to plant including Acidobacteria and Verrucomicrobia. Network analysis revealed that although fast and slow growing microbial consortia have distinct key taxa, the key hubs (keystone taxa) for both belong to genera with plant growth promoting (PGP) traits. This suggests that PGP bacteria might play a central role in controlling the microbial networks among rhizospheric microbiomes. Based on the stability and richness results from different transfers, most carbon substrates lead to microbial consortia with reduced complexity and high stability after a few transfers. The stability tests of the derived microbial consortia also showed high stability, reproducibility, and revivability of the constructed microbial consortia. Our study represents a significant step towards understanding and harnessing the potential of rhizosphere microbiomes, with implications for sustainable agriculture and environmental management.</jats:p>

Yumeng Jiang

Communications in Humanities Research • 0

<jats:p>This paper focuses on the conservation of historical blocks and strategies for the regeneration of historical buildings under the backdrop of urban renewal, using the Wuhan Tiandi historical block as a case study. By analyzing issues such as cultural value loss, disappearance of block characteristics, and architectural homogenization faced by current historical blocks, targeted design strategies are proposed. These strategies include organic renewal through micro-circulation, emphasis on introducing diverse formats, respect for historical architectural elements, and the introduction of cultural activities and artistic installations. The aim of these conservation and transformation strategies is to preserve the original features of historical blocks, inject new vitality, safeguard urban historical memory, and promote sustainable development across the entire region.</jats:p>

Celia Martínez Yáñez

Protection of Cultural Heritage • 0

<jats:p>Since its establishment in the sixties, the standard setting texts produced by ICOMOS have become the most reputed, influential and distributed documents concerning cultural heritage protection worldwide. An examination of all ICOMOS charters and recommendations makes clear the  indispensable role of this organisation to disseminating best conservation, restoration and management practices during the last sixty years. It also demonstrates its persistence to never give up to the countless pressures that challenge heritage preservation around the world. Tourism is undoubtedly one of the most important and global of these pressures due to its considerable influence at all levels of cultural heritage management and decision-making. This paper analyses the early, pioneer and crucial role of ICOMOS to promote responsible tourism through an evaluation of its international cultural tourism charters from 1976, when the first was adopted, until 2021, when the Advisory Council of the organisation has approved the ICOMOS Draft International Charter for Cultural Heritage Tourism (2021): Reinforcing cultural heritage protection and community resilience through responsible and sustainable tourism management for its adoption at the ICOMOS General Assembly in 2022. The long process for drafting and approving this Charter and its new conceptual approaches show the emerging trends affecting cultural heritage globally and allow reflecting more broadly about the future of standard setting texts on this subject.</jats:p>

Janet Blake

The Oxford Handbook of International Cultural Heritage Law • 0

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter assesses the drafting of the 2003 Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), the result of three decades of consideration within UNESCO. For many UNESCO Member States—especially in the African, Asia-Pacific, and Latin American regions—ICH constitutes a major part of their cultural heritage. The contribution that it can make to social and economic development in such societies was an important factor in the desire to strengthen international safeguarding of this heritage. UNESCO’s 2003 Convention was developed within two main international law and policy contexts: human-centred and sustainable development and the growing importance accorded to cultural rights. The 2003 Convention makes clear the role of cultural heritage in preserving cultural diversity; ensuring truly sustainable development models; protecting human rights and the cultural identities of individuals, social groups, and communities; and protecting the right of communities to be themselves socially and economically sustainable through their heritage.</jats:p>

John H. Jameson

Anthropology • 0

<p>With conceptual roots going back to the first half of the 20th century, the public interpretation and presentation of cultural and archaeological heritage have become essential components in the conservation and protection of cultural heritage values and sites. By the early 21st century, the mechanisms and processes of public interpretation had reached a heightened level of sophistication and effectiveness. In the international arena, many leading organizations have emerged that are carrying the banner of interpretation principles for access, inclusion, and respect for multiple points of view. These principles emphasize the importance of dialogue facilitated by community engagement experts / laypersons, and participation in all phases of program planning, development, and delivery. Conventions and charters have been two of the most used categories of international documents to frame standards and guidelines for cultural and archaeological heritage management and presentation. International documents that specifically addressed the presentation and interpretation of archaeological heritage did not take shape until the late 20th century. The most important international document, to date, relating to interpretation and presentation of archaeological heritage sites is the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Charter on the Interpretation and Presentation of Cultural Heritage Sites (2008). The charter lays out seven principles of interpretation and presentation about the conservation, education, and stewardship messages that represent the transcendent humanistic values of the resource. The concept of authenticity has become a central concern in the conservation and interpretation of cultural heritage. The Nara Document of 1994 (ICOMOS 1994, cited under Guidelines and Charters) built on the Venice Charter (ICOMOS 1965, cited under Guidelines and Charters), considering an expanding scope of cultural heritage concerns. It addresses the need for a broader understanding of cultural diversity and cultural heritage and underscores the importance of considering the cultural and social values of all societies. It emphasizes respect for other cultures, other values, and the tangible and intangible expressions that form part of the heritage of every culture. The Nara+20 text identifies five key interrelated issues highlighting prioritized actions to be developed and expanded within global, national, and local contexts by wider community and stakeholder involvement: (1) diversity of heritage processes, (2) implications of the evolution of cultural values, (3) involvement of multiple stakeholders, (4) conflicting claims and interpretations, and (5) the role of cultural heritage in sustainable development. The goal of more-inclusive interpretations requires an acceptance of divergent definitions of authenticity that depend on a level of tolerance of multiple definitions of significance with concomitant, objectively derived, assigned, and ascribed heritage values. We can hope that these efforts lead to the recognition of humanistic values that are reflected in cultural heritage narratives and heritage tourism practices as well as site commemoration and protection decisions by controlling authorities.</p>

Nimrod Wieler, Tali Erickson Gini, O. Gillor et al.

• 2021

Abstract. Biological rock crusts (BRCs) are ubiquitous features of rock surfaces in drylands composed of slow-growing microbial assemblages. BRC presence is often correlated with rock weathering, soiling effect, or with mitigating geomorphic processes. However, their development rate has not been quantified. In this work, we characterised and dated BRCs in an arid environment, under natural conditions, by integrating archaeological, microbiological and geological methods. To this end, we sampled rocks from a well-documented Byzantine archaeological site, and the surrounding area located in the Central Negev Desert, Israel. The archaeological, which is dated to the 4th–7th centuries CE, was constructed from two lithologies, limestone and chalk. BRC started developing on the rocks after being carved, and its age should match that of the site. The BRC samples showed mild differences in the microbial community assemblages between the site and its surrounding, irrespective of lithology, and were dominated by Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria and Proteobacteria. We further measured the BRC thickness, valued at 0.1–0.6 mm thick BRC on the surface of 1700 years old building stone block of about 0.1 square metres. Therefore, a BRC growth rate was estimated, for the first time, to be 0.06–0.35 mm 1000 yr−1. We propose that BRC growth rates could be used as an affordable yet robust dating tool in archaeological sites in arid environments.

C. Orr, R. Williams, H. Halldórsdóttir et al.

• 2021

Waterlogged burial conditions impact upon artefact preservation. One major determinant of preservation is presence and behaviour of microorganisms, however, unravelling the mechanisms is challenging. In this study, we analysed elemental composition, bacterial diversity and community structure from excavation trenches at the Roman Site of Vindolanda, Northumberland, UK, using pXRF and 16s rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Excavation trenches provide layers which can be classed as phosphorus sinks and which are strongly linked to the abundance of vivanite. The results indicated that microbial communities were dominant in Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria at a phylum level. Samples which also had visible vivianite presence showed that there were marked increases in Methylophilus. Methylophilus might be associated with favourable preservation in these anaerobic conditions. More research is needed to clearly link the presence of Methylophilus with vivianite production. The study emphasises the need for further integration of chemical and microbiome approaches, especially in good preservation areas, to explore microbial and chemical degradation mechanisms.

M. Abegg, K. Magalhães-Guedes, Andrea Santos et al.

African Journal of Microbiology Research • 2016

The microbial community structure from dark earth in a native archaeological site of the Lower Amazon was analyzed by PCR-DGGE, using 16S rRNA gene for prokaryote population and 18S rDNA and ITS regions (using clamp GC) for the eukaryote population. The bands were excised from gel and re-amplified for sequencing. The diversity found according to the region of amplification showed same profiles for the two primers pairs. The bacteria genus were: Bacillus, Klebsiella, Pantoea, Enterobacter, Lactobacillus, Escherichia, Leuconostoc and actinobacterias as Streptomyces and Microbacterium. Among the fungal community was Zygosaccharomyces, Lachancea, Saccharomyces, Cladosporium, Candida, Penicillium and Uncultured ascomycota and zygomycete were found. Molecular approaches revealed microbial groups that have never been reported in Lower Amazon soil as the Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus paracasei bacteria’s and Lachancea meyersii yeast. The soil pH was ~6.5; the soil had high levels of minerals with exception of Na (not detected) and Al (~0.2 mg/dm3). The organic matter was 3.5 dag/kg. This study also shows that the Amazon soil is rich in minerals. This can be an important factor in the species richness in the Amazon region. The present data show that the Lower Amazon represents a vast resource for the biotechnology area.   Key words: PCR-DGGE, fungi and yeast, soil microdiversity, soil chemical.

Diego Machado, Thaís Fioravanti, Francisco Ladeira

• 0

<jats:p>&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Buried soils and paleosols may be important paleoenvironmental indicators, providing information about the processes that act in the relief elaboration. The Bastos archaeological site is currently considered the oldest in the State of S&amp;amp;#227;o Paulo. Archaeological records were preserved due to erosive/depositional events that led to the burial of the site. The present work aims to identify the depositional events associated with the burial. The methodological procedures consisted of a morphological description of a vertical section, physical-chemical analysis, in addition to the collection of undisturbed samples for micromorphological description. The area is located in a low-slope terrace condition, close to the Silvestre stream with small irregular levels, lowered by an average of 2.9 m in relation to the colluvium ramps. Its contact occurs through ruptures of concave-converging slopes. The vertical section investigated presents 229 cm depth, in which 10 horizons were identified, composing 7 distinct soil profiles. The highest values &amp;amp;#8203;&amp;amp;#8203;of silt and clay occur in the A, Bi, 5Bt, 7Cg1 and 7Cg2 horizons, with mean values &amp;amp;#8203;&amp;amp;#8203;of 25.3% and 34.4% respectively. The 2C, 3C1, 3C2, 4Cg and 6C horizons present high levels of sand, between 53.2% and 84.8%, with predominance of the coarse fraction. The terraces show evidence of alternations in erosion and local deposition cycles, where a sequence of truncated and buried soil profiles occur. Two types of events may be described, the colluvial processes, interspersed by fluvial depositions. On the colluvium ramps and slopes, fine materials (silt and clay) predominate, due to basalt alteration. Along the valley, we see conical shapes modeled by the action of concentrated surface runoff through narrow channels. When unconfined, the detrital flows are dispersed, forming fan-shaped deposits. The deposits truncate soils and deposit poorly selected materials, especially basalt fragments, in the midst of a clayey matrix. The process supplies material to form the profiles with clayey texture in the studied section, evidenced by the similar textural and chemical characteristics. However, in cases such as the discontinuity that marks the abrupt transition between the 7Cg1 and 6C profiles, the presence of silcrete clasts and the relative proportion of sand in the fine land fraction (+87%) highlight the existence of an alluvial deposit. In the higher areas, close to the channel's drainage head, the slopes are built on the sandstones of the Vale do Rio do Peixe Formation. Thus, the materials that make up the archaeological site present both alluvial and colluvial origin, indicating the complex geomorphological dynamics of the valley. Currently, the channel continues to rework the slope deposits that fill the valley and are distributed throughout the study area. The channel thalweg is approximately 115 cm below its most recent depositional event (2C), and 15 cm above the oldest (6C), evidencing the dynamics of the deposition and erosion processes in the valley.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;</jats:p>

Terry C. Hazen

Microbial Biotechnology • 2013

<jats:title>Summary</jats:title><jats:p>We have the technology and capability to develop an all‐in‐one microarray that can provide complete information on a microbial community, including algae, protozoa, bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses, antimicrobial resistance, biotoxins and functional activity. With lab‐on‐a‐chip, nanotechnology integrating a variety of the latest methods for a large number of sample types (water, sediment, waste water, food, blood, etc.) it is possible to make a desktop instrument that would have universal applications. There are two major thrusts to this grand challenge that will allow us to take advantage of the latest biotechnological breakthroughs in real time. The first is a bioengineering thrust that will take advantage of the large multidisciplinary laboratories in developing key technologies. Miniaturization will reduce reagent costs and increase sensitivity and reaction kinetics for rapid turnaround time. New and evolving technologies will allow us to port the designs for state‐of‐the‐art microarrays today to completely new nanotechnology inspired platforms as they mature. The second thrust is in bioinformatics to use our existing expertise to take advantage of the rapidly evolving landscape of bioinformatics data. This increasing capacity of the data set will allow us to resolve microbial species to greatly improved levels and identify functional genes beyond the hypothetical protein level. A cheap and portable assay would impact countless areas, including clean water technologies, emerging diseases, bioenergy, infectious disease diagnosis, climate change, food safety, environmental clean‐up and bioterrorism. In my opinion it is possible but it will require a very large group of multidiscplenary scientists from multiple institutions crossing many international boundaries and funding over a 5‐year period of more than $100 million. Given the impact that this <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">SuperChip</jats:styled-content> could have it is well worth the price!!!</jats:p>

Linglong Chu, Wenli Zheng, Xiaoxiang Zhao et al.

• 0

<title>Abstract</title> <p>Ionic liquids (ILs) are widely used “green solvent” as they have a low vapor pressure and can replace volatile solvents in industry. However, ILs are difficult to biodegrade and are potentially harmful to the environment. This study, herein, investigated the toxicity of three imidazole ILs ([C₈MIM]Cl, [C₈MIM]Br, and [C₈DMIM]Br) towards soil microorganisms. The results showed that the ILs inhibited the growth of soil culturable microorganisms (fungi, bacteria, and actinomycetes) and affected the activity of soil enzyme. In addition, microbial community species and abundance in soil were altered, with significant differences between the control and experimental groups. Alpha diversity analysis showed that the community abundance tended to increase and then decrease with increasing ILs concentrations. The decrease in species abundance implied that the soil microbial system was less resilient to disturbance. Finally, functional prediction analysis revealed that ILs mainly affected the carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid metabolic processes of the microorganisms. ILs with single methyl substituent had a more pronounced effect than those with double methyl substituents. This study contributes to a better understanding of the environmental safety and ecological risks of ILs.</p>

Kabaivanova L

Open Access Journal of Microbiology &amp; Biotechnology • 0

<jats:p>Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a process driven by microbes that supports renewable energy production, together with waste utilization. The role of microorganisms is undisputable as they are involved in the subsequent processes of hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis, and methanogenesis. Microbial communities vary in wide ranges, depending on the type of substrates used and the conditions provided. Anaerobic systems are addressed, operating under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions for the biodegradation of agricultural wastes for biogas/biomethane production. AD comprises successive degradation pathways and syntrophic microbial consortia activities. Identifying the microbial content in digesters could help attaining new information on the digester performance. Archaeal and bacterial associations have to be determined as their important role to be elucidated. Molecular-biological methods of metagenomics are applied to identify the residing mixed cultures therein. Methanogens have been attained to the domain Archaea. Bacterial and archaeal populations, specific for each stage are differentiated in thermophilic or mesophilic conditions as temperature plays a crucial role in AD process, especially for hydrolysis and methanogenesis and determines microorganisms’ variety.</jats:p>

Siew Herng Chan, Muhammad Hafiz Ismail, Chuan Hao Tan et al.

• 0

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p><jats:bold><jats:italic>Background</jats:italic></jats:bold>Bacterial communities are responsible for biological nutrient removal and flocculation in engineered systems such as activated floccular sludge. Predators such as bacteriophage and protozoa exert significant predation pressure and cause bacterial mortality within these communities. However, the roles of bacteriophage and protozoan predation in impacting granulation process remain limited. Recent studies hypothesised that protozoa, particularly sessile ciliates, could have an important role in granulation as these ciliates were often observed in high abundance on surfaces of granules. Bacteriophages were hypothesized to contribute to granular stability through bacteriophage-mediated extracellular DNA release by lysing bacterial cells. This current study investigated the bacteriophage and protozoan communities throughout the granulation process. In addition, the importance of protozoan predation during granulation was also determined through chemical killing of protozoa in the floccular sludge.<jats:bold><jats:italic>Results</jats:italic></jats:bold>Four independent bioreactors seeded with activated floccular sludge were operated for aerobic granulation for 11 weeks. Changes in the phage, protozoa and bacterial communities were characterized throughout the granulation process. The filamentous phage, <jats:italic>Inoviridae,</jats:italic> increased in abundance at the initiation phase of granulation. However, the abundance shifted towards lytic phages during the maturation phase. In contrast, the abundance and diversity of protozoa decreased initially, possibly due to the reduction in settling time and subsequent washout. Upon the formation of granules, ciliated protozoa from the class <jats:italic>Oligohymenophorea </jats:italic>were the dominant group of protozoa based on metacommunity analysis. These protozoa had a strong, positive-correlation with the initial formation of compact aggregates prior to granule development. Furthermore, chemical inhibition of these ciliates in the floccular sludge delayed the initiation of granule formation. Analysis of the bacterial communities in the thiram treated sludge demonstrated that the recovery of ‘<jats:italic>Candidatus </jats:italic>Accmulibacter’ was positively correlated with the formation of compact aggregates and granules.<jats:bold><jats:italic>Conclusion</jats:italic></jats:bold>Predation by bacteriophage and protozoa were positively correlated with the formation of aerobic granules. Increases in <jats:italic>Inoviridae </jats:italic>abundance suggested that filamentous phages may promote the structural formation of granules. Initiation of granules formation was delayed due to an absence of protozoa after chemical treatment. The presence of <jats:italic>Candidatus </jats:italic>Accumulibacter was necessary for the formation of granules in the absence of protozoa.</jats:p>

Advance in Environmental Waste Management &amp; Recycling • 0

<jats:p>The demand for an alternative source of energy and challenge of increase in wastes pollution initiates the need for renewable energy and management of waste using anaerobic digestion (AD). Anaerobic digestion is an effective and efficient method of waste treatment and energy generation. The study focused on investigating the physicochemical parameters and microbial community in anaerobic digestion of organic wastes and was conducted using chicken wastes and food wastes as organic substrate under semi-continuous conditions at hydraulic retention time (HRT) of forty-two (42) days in fifteen liter (15L) fabricated digesters labeled D1, D2 and D3 at 37OC. The pH, volatile fatty acid (VFA), moisture content (MC), total ammonia, total solid, volatile solid, alkalinity was assessed before and after digestion while the microbial community diversity was analyzed using 16S rRNA amplicon-based nextgeneration sequencing (NGS). The results indicated a pH value of 6.65 ± 0.12, 7.27 ± 0.13, 6.43 ± 0.27, volatile fatty acid of 72.17 ± 1.42, 58.35 ± 2.58, 40.56 ± 0.38 and moisture content of 98.9 ± 2.65, 92.3 ± 1.81, 96.4 ± 3.60 at day 42 for D1 (Chicken waste and food wastes), D2 (Chicken wastes+), D3 (control) respectively. A collective biogas yield of 686±17.00 kpa for D1, 700±11.00kpa for D2 and 521±21.00 kpa for D3 were recorded. The characterization of biogas analyzed with nondispersive infrared (NDIR) gas analyzer (gas board 3100p) revealed a percentage methane content of 46.11±1.11, 52.4±1.05, 50.31±1.33 for D1, D2 and D3 respectively. The microbial community identified phylum Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, proteobacteria, Tenericutes, Verrucomicrobia, Actinobacteria, Euryarchaeota among others. The study shows that physicochemical properties and microbial community diversity are useful tools to indicate digester performance and also to enhance anaerobic digestion process.</jats:p>

Claire Gibson, Shameem Jauffur, Bing Guo et al.

• 0

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are host to diverse microbial communities and receive a constant influx of microbes from influent wastewater, however the impact of immigrants on the structure and activities of the activated sludge (AS) microbial community remains unclear. To gain insight on this phenomenon known as perpetual community coalescence, the current study utilised controlled manipulative experiments that decoupled the influent wastewater composition from the microbial populations to reveal the fundamental mechanisms involved in immigration between sewers and AS-WWTP. The immigration dynamics of heterotrophs were analysed by harvesting wastewater biomass solids from 3 different sewer systems and adding to synthetic wastewater. Immigrating influent populations were observed to contribute up to 25 % of the sequencing reads in the AS. By modelling the net growth rate of taxa, it was revealed that immigrants primarily exhibited low or negative net growth rates. By developing a protocol to reproducibly grow AS-WWTP communities in the lab, we have laid down the foundational principals for the testing of operational factors creating community variations with low noise and appropriate replication. Understanding the processes that drive microbial community diversity and assembly is a key question in microbial ecology. In the future, this knowledge can be used to manipulate the structure of microbial communities and improve system performance in WWTPs.</jats:p><jats:sec><jats:title>Importance</jats:title><jats:p>In biological wastewater treatment processes, the microbial community composition is essential in the performance and stability of the system. To allow future process optimisation to meet new treatment goals, we need a better understanding of factors influencing the microbial community assembly in WWTPs. This study developed a reproducible protocol to investigates the impact of influent immigration (or perpetual coalescence of the sewer and activated sludge communities) with appropriate reproducibility and controls. We demonstrate herein that influent immigration contributed up to 25 % of the sequencing reads in the activated sludge under the studied conditions, highlighting the need to consider this process in future WWTP modelling and design.</jats:p></jats:sec>

Xiaoliang Zhang

2024 6th International Conference on Energy, Power and Grid (ICEPG) • 2024

Off-grid wind and solar hydrogen technology are large-scale development of renewable energy and achieve low-carbon operation. This article studies the evaluation of the economy of systems using the lowest economic indicator of penalty costs for wind and solar curtailment. Finally, reinforcement learning algorithms are used to solve the optimal optimisation model of systems. The calculation example shows that the proposed optimisation strategy can greatly reduce wind and light waste and improve the overall economic of the system.

Mohamed Mosaad, Fahd Banakhr

• 0

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy has met great attention in the electrical power generation field for its many advantages in both on and off-grid applications. The requirement for higher proficiency from the PV system to reap the energy requires maximum power point tracking techniques (MPPT). This paper presents an adaptive MPPT of a stand-alone PV system using an updated PI controller optimized by harmony search (HS). A lockup table is formed for the temperature and irradiance with the corresponding voltage at MPP (V<jats:sub>MPP</jats:sub>). This voltage is considered as the updated reference voltage required for MPP at each temperature and irradiance. The difference between this updated reference voltage at MPP and the variable PV voltage due to changing the environmental conditions is used to stimulate PI controller optimized by HS to update the duty cycle (D) of the DC-DC converter. Another lockup table is formed with the temperature, irradiance and the corresponding duty cycle at MPP to convert this MPP technique into an adaptive one. An experimental implementation of the proposed adaptive MPPT is introduced to test the validity of the simulation results obtained at different irradiance and temperature levels.</jats:p>

Adugnaw Lake Temesgen, Getachew Bekele

• 0

<title>Abstract</title> <p>Mini-grids (MGs) have emerged as an economically viable alternative to communities in remote areas with low population density or with geographical constraints. However, identifying optimal locations where investments can lead to long-term and sustainable MG development remains a significant challenge due to the complex interplay of technical, social, and economic factors. This study addresses this challenge by identifying economically feasible renewable MG sites in Ethiopia. The study employs the Open-Source Spatial Electrification Tool (OnSSET) to integrate critical factors such as resource availability, population density, land cover, terrain slope, and proximity to existing infrastructure. These factors are used based on equal weight criteria, under two grid proximity scenarios (2.5 km and 25 km from existing medium-voltage (MV) grid lines). The Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for the selected sites is calculated to assess economic feasibility. The results show that hydro MGs, with LCOE values ranging from 0.088–0.16 $/kWh, are the most cost competitive option. Under the 2.5 km and 25 km grid proximity scenarios, 306 and 84 potential mini-hydro sites are identified as capable of electrifying approximately 5 and 1.9 million people, respectively. Solar PV MGs exhibit significant potential and LCOE values ranging 0.15–0.22 $/kWh. Solar MGs could electrify 7.2 million people under the 2.5 km scenario and 3.2 million people under the 25 km scenario. Wind MG, with LCOE values ranging from 0.12–1.75 $/kWh, could provide electricity to 4.8 million people under the 2.5 km scenario and 3.1 million under the 25 km scenario. The study provides a roadmap to compare different suitable locations at the prefeasibility stage for MG deployment, guiding policymakers and investors in prioritizing MG deployment for sustainable rural electrification.</p>

Najib Altawell

Advanced Materials Research • 0

<jats:p>Various types of DG technologies, their viability and other important aspects, such as the economical and performance side have been examined in this paper. The main aim and objective of this workis to find the most suitable off-grid system for rural electrification, i.e. in the form of technical feasibility, acceptable purchasing/installation and maintenance cost, as well asreliability. The selected system should be able to provide continuous electricity supply, particularly in areas where main grid connection is not a viable option. The result from this work has concluded that hybrid renewable energy systems are the best approach in solving some of the problems related to electricity shortage in the countryside. Hybrid systemsconstruction means that sustainable energy and environmental protection will be part of the overall commercial and non-commercial applications for off-grid electricity supply</jats:p>

Magnus de Witt

• 0

<jats:p>Fossil fuels are the most common energy source for electricity generation among remote Arctic communities. Around 80% of remote Arctic communities are predominantly dependent on fossil fuels. Even if some of the region's raw oil is extracted, the processed diesel must be imported. Transport is complicated and strongly dependent on weather conditions. The harsh Arctic weather conditions make fuel transportation is complex, risky, and costly, leading to an insecure primary energy supply and high fuel prices. For many inhabitants of remote Arctic communities, the high energy costs are a significant cost burden because unemployment, temporary jobs, and a resulting low income are common issues.This presentation will focus on implementation strategies for renewable energy sources into the energy mix or remote Arctic communities, with the aim of lowering the energy cost burden. System dynamics (SD) was used as a methodology to analyze the implementation process. SD is a powerful tool to analyse complex systems with non-linear relationships, as it is expected to find them among the policy strategies for energy transition. Investing in renewable energy technology is a high-risk investment; therefore, the effects of such an investment must be well studied to gain an optimal result. Furthermore, remote communities are often facing financial issues, which limits investments in energy infrastructure. Therefore, the model is looking for affordable ways of investing in energy infrastructure. The model aims for a sustainable performance of the utility provider, whereas the electricity cost for the consumer can be lowered and the utility provider can perform well on a non-profit base.The research indicates that renewables have a significant cost-saving potential. Despite all the positive effects, investment in renewables can be risky and a substantial commitment for small communities. Moreover, depending on the type of renewable energy source, there can be some environmental impact that must be considered as well. With a well-structured integration process, the most can be made out of the investment, which helps lower the energy cost burden even more.</jats:p>

Benard Nsaku

Journal of Developing Country Studies • 0

<jats:p>Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine the effects of Multinational Companies involvement in developing nations.&#x0D; Methodology: This study adopted a desktop methodology. This study used secondary data from which include review of existing literature from already published studies and reports that was easily accessed through online journals and libraries.&#x0D; Findings: The study concluded that the critical roles played by MNCs include providing employment, contributing to community development projects, and providing industrial training to youth. Other roles include providing local markets, providing emergency assistance to disaster survivors, environmental protection, staff development and contributing to the tax base.&#x0D; Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study was anchored on legitimacy and stakeholder’s theory. The study recommends that multinational companies should ensure they have in the board of directors, a member who is originally from the host country. The study also recommends that there should be more incorporation of the community and other stakeholders in future MNC activities to avoid conflicts.</jats:p>

Wakanyi Hoffman

The Humanitarian Leader • 0

<jats:p>&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; In the international humanitarian landscape, crisis interventions are deployed based on a long-standing working culture that presupposes that local authorities are usually overwhelmed during a crisis and unable to mobilise local capacity. Thus, external human resource mobilisation is necessary. However, this may only be true in various instances, such as natural disasters, where rapid response is needed to extinguish further harm to human life. In most cases, there are no mechanisms to make prior assessments that can inform decision-makers about the kind of international assistance needed in the local context.&#x0D; This is because existing data for the availability of resources is produced mainly by international aid agencies and their governing political institutions. This database of knowledge, which leans heavily on a post-colonial Anglocentric viewpoint about ‘best practices’, is used as the baseline to assess the ability of potential partners to mobilise their resources, while failing to include the capacity of local agents to determine what capacity exists in a particular context, what they are already capable of delivering and how best to support their response system (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction [UNISDR] 2008).&#x0D; However, as access to digital communication devices and other globally useful technology in resource-constrained rural settings continues to emerge, this may soon change. This paper explores the ways in which Indigenous and local knowledge should contribute to the exploration of intelligent and sustainable solutions that are well-suited within the local context to mitigate and understand humanitarian crises before, during and after they occur, and how to curate, analyse and use local data and knowledge systems to create innovations that are sustainable and adaptive to the priorities of the local population.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; </jats:p>