bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing the Antitumor Potential of Variants of the Extracellular Carbohydrate Polymer from Synechocystis ΔsigF Mutant
Authors: Mota Rita , Lima Raquel T. , Flores Carlos , Silva Juliana F. , Cruz Beatriz , Alves Bárbara , Pinto Marta T. , Adessi Alessandra , Pereira Sara B. , De Philippis Roberto , Soares Paula , Tamagnini Paula
Published: March 2023

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide with a huge societal and economic impact. Clinically effective and less expensive anticancer agents derived from natural sources can help to overcome limitations and negative side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Previously, we showed that the extracellular carbohydrate polymer of a Synechocystis ΔsigF overproducing mutant displayed a strong antitumor activity towards several human tumor cell lines, by inducing high levels of apoptosis through p53 and caspase-3 activation. Here, the ΔsigF polymer was manipulated to obtain variants that were tested in a human melanoma (Mewo) cell line. Our results demonstrated that high molecular mass fractions were important for the polymer bioactivity, and that the reduction of the peptide content generated a variant with enhanced in vitro antitumor activity. This variant, and the original ΔsigF polymer, were further tested in vivo using the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. Both polymers significantly decreased xenografted CAM tumor growth and affected tumor morphology, by promoting less compact tumors, validating their antitumor potential in vivo. This work contributes with strategies for the design and testing tailored cyanobacterial extracellular polymers and further strengths the relevance of evaluating this type of polymers for biotechnological/biomedical applications.
Salt Transport in Crosslinked Hydrogel Membranes Containing Zwitterionic Sulfobetaine Methacrylate and Hydrophobic Phenyl Acrylate
Authors: Lin Yi-hung , Kim Jung Min , Beckingham Bryan S.
Published: March 2023

Produced water is a by-product of industrial operations, such as hydraulic fracturing for increased oil recovery, that causes environmental issues since it includes different metal ions (e.g., Li+, K+, Ni2+, Mg2+, etc.) that need to be extracted or collected before disposal. To remove these substances using either selective transport behavior or absorption-swing processes employing membrane-bound ligands, membrane separation procedures are promising unit operations. This study investigates the transport of a series of salts in crosslinked polymer membranes synthesized using a hydrophobic monomer (phenyl acrylate, PA), a zwitterionic hydrophilic monomer (sulfobetaine methacrylate, SBMA), and a crosslinker (methylenebisacrylamide, MBAA). Membranes are characterized according to their thermomechanical properties, where an increased SBMA content leads to decreased water uptake due to structural differences within the films and to more ionic interactions between the ammonium and sulfonate moieties, resulting in a decreased water volume fraction, and Young’s modulus increases with increasing MBAA or PA content. Permeabilities, solubilities, and diffusivities of membranes to LiCl, NaCl, KCl, CaCl2, MgCl2, and NiCl2 are determined by diffusion cell experiments, sorption-desorption experiments, and the solution-diffusion relationship, respectively. Permeability to these metal ions generally decreases with an increasing SBMA content or MBAA content due to the corresponding decreasing water volume fraction, and the permeabilities are in the order of K+ > Na+ > Li+ > Ni2+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ presumably due to the differences in the hydration diameter.
Vegetation History and Estuarine Ecology of the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain in Relation to Climate and Sea-Level Changes According to Three Pollen Cores
Authors: Albert Bruce M.
Published: March 2023

The vegetation history of the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain in the Holocene is considered according to pollen evidence from three coring sites where both terrestrial and marine ecology are reconstructed. These pollen sites record oscillations in the limit of the Southeastern US Forest zone in relation to climate changes, with a major, southward migration of the forest limit and expansion of the range limit of Betula nigra being recorded in the 6th millennium BP and a northward migration in the 4th millennium BP. The appearance of Rhizophora pollen also indicates increased tropical influence in the Middle Holocene. Moreover, changes in the salinity profiles of estuaries are reconstructed in relation to broader coastal environmental changes, such as sea-level oscillations and the formation of barrier islands, with a major sea-level transgression phase being recorded in the 4th millennium BP and still-stand conditions after the 3rd millennium BP. These vegetation changes are finally compared to occupational evidence of prehistoric humans in the Central Texas Gulf Coastal Plain region in relation to ecological factors. Here, human occupation of the coastal zone is correlated with afforestation, the proliferation of pecan and the emergence of low-salinity estuaries.
Carnival in Rome: The Tension of Pope Paul III’s Dual Role Revisited
Authors: Yin Ming
Published: March 2023

The papacy’s authority and standing in the sixteenth century were harmed by the Martin Luther Reformation and the sacking of Rome. In order to uphold the legitimacy of the papal theocracy and to restore the papacy’s cultural and intellectual authority, Pope Paul III brought back carnival celebrations in Rome. Paul III, a reformer, maintained an image of the pope as a spiritual leader who was “merciful” and “peaceful” using clever imagery; for instance, staging a “mask” procession which unites people while minimising ethnic and national disparities, thereby fostering a sense of community within the Catholic community. Reinforcing himself as a religious leader, Paul III was careful with the image of the papal monarchy in order to preserve the unity and independence of the Papal States. In the carnival floats, the pope introduced elements of pagan mythology, comparing himself to the consuls of ancient Rome to strengthen the pope’s ties with society. He adopted Janus (the double-faced god) and Apollo (the sun god) to create a secular image of the pope as the patron saint of Rome. On the one hand, the spiritual image of Pope Paul III as a religious leader was prominent in the carnival celebrations, and on the other hand, the secular image of the pope helped to consolidate the authority of the pope and external defendant of the Papal States. The dual spiritual and secular image of the pope underwent constant changes during the celebrations, a process of tension that helped him to overcome, in part, the political and religious challenges of the early modern period and reflected the transitional and dual nature of the Catholic Church at the time.
A Note on a Modified Parisian Ruin Concept
Authors: Cheung Eric C. K. , Wong Jeff T. Y.
Published: March 2023

Traditionally, Parisian ruin is said to occur when the insurer’s surplus process has stayed below level zero continuously for a certain grace period. Inspired by this concept, in this paper we propose a modification by assuming that once a grace period has been granted when the surplus becomes negative, the surplus level will not be monitored continuously in the interim, but instead it will be checked at the end of the grace period to see whether the business has recovered. Under an Erlang distributed grace period, a computationally tractable formula for the Gerber–Shiu expected discounted penalty function is derived. Numerical examples regarding the modified Parisian ruin probability are also provided.
Examining the Spatially Varying Relationships between Landslide Susceptibility and Conditioning Factors Using a Geographical Random Forest Approach: A Case Study in Liangshan, China
Authors: Dai Xiaoliang , Zhu Yunqiang , Sun Kai , Zou Qiang , Zhao Shen , Li Weirong , Hu Lei , Wang Shu
Published: March 2023

Landslide susceptibility assessment is an important means of helping to reduce and manage landslide risk. The existing studies, however, fail to examine the spatially varying relationships between landslide susceptibility and its explanatory factors. This paper investigates the spatial variation in such relationships in Liangshan, China, leveraging a spatially explicit model, namely, geographical random forest (GRF). By comparing with random forest (RF), we found that GRF achieves a higher performance with an AUC of 0.86 due to its consideration of the spatial heterogeneity among variables. GRF also provides a higher-quality landslide susceptibility map than RF by correctly placing 92.35% of the landslide points in high-susceptibility areas. The local feature importance derived from GRF allows us to understand that the impact of conditioning factors varies across space, which can provide implications for policy development by local governments to place different levels of attention on different conditioning factors in specific counties to prevent and mitigate landslides. To account for the spatial dependence among the data in the model performance assessment, we use spatial cross-validation (CV) to split the data into subsets spatially rather than randomly for model training and testing. The results show that spatial CV can effectively address the over-optimistic bias in model error evaluation.
Integrated Methodology for Potential Landslide Identification in Highly Vegetation-Covered Areas
Authors: Yan Liangxuan , Gong Quanbing , Wang Fei , Chen Lixia , Li Deying , Yin Kunlong
Published: March 2023

It is normally difficult to identify the ground deformation of potential landslides in highly vegetation-covered areas in terms of field investigation or remote sensing interpretation. In order to explore a methodology to effectively identify potential landslides in highly vegetation-covered areas, this paper established an integrated identification method, including sliding prone area identification based on regional geological environment analysis, target area identification of potential landslides in terms of comprehensive remote sensing methods, and landslide recognition through engineering geological survey. The Miaoyuan catchment in Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province, southeastern China, was taken as an example to validate the identification methods. Particularly, the Shangfang landslide was successfully studied in terms of comprehensive methods, such as geophysical survey, drilling, mineral and chemical composition analysis, and microstructure scanning of the sliding zone. In order to assess the landslide risk, the potential runout of the Shangfang landslide was evaluated in a quantitative simulation. This paper suggests a methodology to identify potential landslides from a large area to a specific slope covered by dense vegetation.
Using High-Resolution UAV Imaging to Measure Canopy Height of Diverse Cover Crops and Predict Biomass
Authors: Kümmerer Robin , Noack Patrick Ole , Bauer Bernhard
Published: March 2023

Remote-sensing data has become essential for site-specific farming methods. It is also a powerful tool for monitoring the agroecosystem services offered by integrating cover crops (CC) into crop rotations. This study presents a method to determine the canopy height (CH), defined as the average height of the crop stand surface, including tops and gaps, of heterogeneous and multi-species CC using commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Images captured with red–green–blue cameras mounted on UAVs in two missions varying in ground sample distances were used as input for generating three-dimensional point clouds using the structure-from-motion approach. These point clouds were then compared to manual ground measurements. The results showed that the agreement between the methods was closest when CC presented dense and smooth canopies. However, stands with rough canopies or gaps showed substantial differences between the UAV method and ground measurements. We conclude that the UAV method is substantially more precise and accurate in determining CH than measurements taken with a ruler since the UAV introduces additional dimensions with greatly increased resolution. CH can be a reliable indicator of biomass yield, but no differences between the investigated methods were found, probably due to allometric variations of different CC species. We propose the presented UAV method as a promising tool to include site-specific information on CC in crop production strategies.
Soil Microbial Responses to Aflatoxin Exposure: Consequences for Biomass, Activity and Catabolic Functionality
Authors: Albert Julius , More Camilla , Korz Sven , Muñoz Katherine
Published: March 2023

Aflatoxins (AFs) are fungal secondary metabolites frequently detected in soil that exhibit in vitro toxicity to certain soil microorganisms. However, microbial responses at different levels and in complex systems such as the soil environment have not been systematically studied. Therefore, we investigated multiple microbial responses in two different soils (sandy loam and clay) to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) at environmentally relevant concentrations (0.5–500 µg kg−1) during a 28-day incubation. General microbial parameters for biomass (microbial biomass carbon and ergosterol), activity (glucose-induced and basal respiration), and catabolic functionality (substrate utilization patterns) were assessed. We observed minor and transient effects in both soils. In sandy loam, we found negative effects on activity and catabolic functionality with increased metabolic quotient, while clay soil exhibited stimulation for the same parameters, suggesting a hormetic effect due to reduced bioavailability through sorption onto clay minerals. Our results indicate that AFB1 does not pose a threat to general microbial indicators under the test conditions in soils without previous AF contamination. Given the toxic potential of AFs to specific microorganisms, further studies should investigate responses at higher taxonomic and functional levels in natural environments of aflatoxigenic fungi, such as tropical soils, and including additional physicochemical stressors.
Selenium Uptake from Livestock Pasture Extremely Enriched in Selenium, Molybdenum and Uranium: A Field and X-ray Absorption Study
Authors: McLoughlin Shauna L. , Pattrick Richard A. D. , Mosselmans J. Frederick W. , Kelleher Joe , van Dongen Bart E.
Published: March 2023

The agricultural soils of West Limerick, Ireland, contain very localised, extremely high natural Se concentrations that reach levels that are very toxic to grazing livestock. The Carboniferous shales that formed in anoxic deep-water marine environments are the source of the selenium, which, along with the other redox-sensitive elements of molybdenum, uranium, arsenic and vanadium, were mobilised and reprecipitated in post-glacial anoxic marshes. The result has been a history of selenosis and molybdenosis in livestock in this important dairy province. Soils collected at 10–20 cm from five different agricultural sites were analysed, and all yielded concentrations greatly in excess of the safe Se limits of 3–10 mg kg−1; the highest value recorded was 1265.8 mg kg−1 Se. The highest recorded value for Mo in these soils was 1627.5 mg kg−1, and for U, 658.8 mg kg−1. There was a positive correlation between Se, Mo U and organic matter in the soils. Analysis of non-accumulator pasture grasses (Lolium perenne (perennial ryegrass), Festuca arundinacea (tall fescue), Dactylis glomerata (cocksfoot) and Phleum pretense (timothy grass)) revealed the shoot/leaf to contain up to 78.05 mg kg−1 Se while Trifolium repens (white clover) leaves contained 296.15 mg kg−1 Se. An in situ growing experiment using the Se accumulator species Brassica oleracea revealed 971.2 mg kg−1 Se in the leaves of premier kale, which also contained 1000.4 mg kg−1 Mo. Translocation factors (TFs) were generally higher for Mo than Se across all plant species. Combined X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) with micro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) showed the Se was present in the soil predominantly as the reduced immobile phase, elemental Se (Se0), but also as bioavailable organoselenium species, mainly selenomethionine (SeMet). SeMet was also the main species identified within both the Se non-accumulator and Se accumulator plants. The Se soil–plant system in West Limerick is dominated by SeMet, and uptake into the cattle pasture results in selenosis in the grazing dairy herds. The hyperaccumulating Brassica oleracea species could be used to extract both the Se and Mo to reduce the toxicity of the blighted fields.
Biceps Brachii and Brachioradialis Excitation in Biceps Curl Exercise: Different Handgrips, Different Synergy
Authors: Coratella Giuseppe , Tornatore Gianpaolo , Longo Stefano , Toninelli Nicholas , Padovan Riccardo , Esposito Fabio , Cè Emiliano
Published: March 2023

The current study analyzed the excitation of biceps brachii, brachioradialis, and anterior deltoid during bilateral biceps curl performed with different handgrips. Ten competitive bodybuilders performed bilateral biceps curl in non-exhaustive 6-rep sets using 8-RM with the forearm in supinated, pronated, and neutral positions. The ascending and descending phase of each variation was separately analyzed using the normalized root mean square collected using surface electromyography. During the ascending phase, (i) biceps brachii excitation was greater with the supinated compared to the pronated [+19(7)%, ES: 2.60] and neutral handgrip [+12(9)%, ES: 1.24], (ii) the brachioradialis showed greater excitation with the supinated compared to the pronated [+5(4)%, ES: 1.01] and neutral handgrip [+6(5)%, ES: 1.10], (iii) the anterior deltoid excitation was greater with the pronated and neutral handgrip compared to the supinated condition [+6(3)% and +9(2)%, ES: 2.07 and 3.18, respectively]. During the descending phase, the anterior deltoid showed greater excitation in the pronated compared to the supinated handgrip [+5(4)%, ES: 1.02]. Changing the handgrips when performing biceps curl induces specific variations in biceps brachii and brachioradialis excitation and requires different anterior deltoid interventions for stabilizing the humeral head. Practitioners should consider including different handgrips in the biceps curl routine to vary the neural and mechanical stimuli.
Research Progress on Effects of Biochar on Soil Environment and Crop Nutrient Absorption and Utilization
Authors: Xu Peng , Gao Yuhong , Cui Zhengjun , Wu Bing , Yan Bin , Wang Yifan , Zaitongguli Keranmu , Wen Ming , Wang Haidi , Jing Na , Wang Yingze , Chao Changyan , Xue Wenfang
Published: March 2023

As a by-product generated from the pyrolysis of biomass, biochar is extraordinary for improving the soil environment of agricultural fields, improving soil fertility, and promoting nutrient uptake and the utilization of crops. In recent years, breakthroughs in progress have been made regarding the fertility value of biochar and in investigations into the physicochemical properties of soil and into plant nutrient utilization. This review focuses on the physicochemical and biological properties of soil, on soil pollution remediation, on greenhouse gas emissions, and on the effects of biochar on the uptake and utilization of soil nutrients and plant nutrients, as well as on the preparation of biochar, and on biochar produced under different conditions. The results of the relevant studies show that the main characteristics of biochar depend on the biochemical properties and pyrolysis temperature of raw materials, which play an important role in nutrient transport and transformation in the soil. At low temperatures (≤400 ℃), the biochar prepared from manure and waste contains a large amount of nitrogen, which can be used as a nutrient source for plants. In addition, biochar enhances soil fertilizer retention by reducing soil nutrient loss, which in turn promotes nutrient uptake and utilization by crops. By controlling pyrolysis temperature and by optimizing biochar input, one can effectively reduce soil respiration, as well as reduce carbon emissions to achieve the goal of controlling carbon sources and increasing carbon sinks. Therefore, a long-term series of mapping studies on the effects of biochar application on agricultural ecosystems should be conducted, which in turn, it is hoped, will provide a theoretical reference for the physiological and ecological effects of biochar croplands.
Integrating GIS, Statistical, Hydrogeochemical Modeling and Graphical Approaches for Hydrogeochemical Evaluation of Ad-Dawadmi Ground Water, Saudi Arabia: Status and Implications of Evaporation and Rock–Water Interactions
Authors: Gomaa Hassan E. , Alotibi AbdAllah A. , Charni Mohamed , Gomaa Fatma A.
Published: March 2023

Ensuring sustainability of groundwater (GW) resources requires understanding the interplaying factors in the hydrogeochemical evolution of the system (cause and effect relationships), which is the subject of the current work concerning the groundwater resource in a hyperarid region, namely, AdDawadmi, Saudi Arabia. Integration of geographical information system (GIS), statistical, graphical, and geochemical modeling approaches are adopted to achieve the study’s design intentions. Slicing the study area on a spatial basis helped yield insights into major constituents’ variation trends using the graphical methods that lack spatial representation capabilities, such as Piper, radial, and Durov plots. Localities of higher salinities, NO3−, SO42−, Cl−, Na+, and Ca2+ are remarkable, indicating the effects of localized and point source activities and evaporation-driven concentrating processes rather than lithology supported by the largest regression and correlation coefficients for Cl−, Na+, and SO42. Many interacting processes are identified: evaporation, vicious salinization cycle (VSC), rock weathering, ion exchange, and geomorphological-driven flow. Hydrogeochemical modeling using the Visual MINTEQ program concludes that concentration-driven evaporation might lead to the precipitation of significant SO42− and Ca2+ along with CaCO3 saturation. Such processes, coupled with the ion exchange, would greatly impact the GW chemical composition and affect the aquifer and soil properties such as permeability. Human activities impact the GW system, necessitating remediation plans and protection policies to prevent overexploitation and brook the VSC. Finally, the integration of the adopted approaches was found useful, constraining the findings of one approach, reducing the associated uncertainties, enhancing the confidence level and reliability of the obtained conclusions, and obtaining useful information, enabling understanding of the internally interacting processes otherwise hidden.
Exploring the Coupling Coordination of Green Transformation of Industry and Novel Infrastructure in the Context of Low-Carbon Economy
Authors: Dong Yanmei , Zhu Yingming
Published: March 2023

In response to the huge economic impact of the new pneumonia epidemic, the “new infrastructure” has become an important hedge against the downward pressure of the economy. We believe that we should take this opportunity to ensure that the “new infrastructure” projects can strongly support the green and low-carbon transformation of the economy, so whether the new infrastructure can promote the green transformation of the industry has become the focus of academic circles, whereas the existing literature has ignored the coupling and coordination between the green transformation of the sports industry (GTSI) and the novel infrastructure in the context of a low-carbon economy. This study uses data of 31 provinces and cities in China from 2013 to 2020, and a linked coordination degree model is selected to assess the relationship between novel infrastructure and GTSI. The conclusions are as follows. (1) China’s comprehensive index of “novel infrastructure” was 0.228 from 2013 to 2020, comprised of 0.705 convergence infrastructure, 0.227 information infrastructure, and 0.200 innovation infrastructure. (2) The sports industry’s average green total factor productivity is 1.223, with an annual growth rate of 11.2%. The yearly growth rates for green technology efficiency, green pure technology efficiency, and green scale efficiency are correspondingly 10.5%, 6.8%, and 4.5%. 83.6% of provinces and cities are in the growing return to size phase. (3) The mean coupling coordination value between novel infrastructure and GTSI is 0.449. Except for Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, the majority of provinces and cities led in the development of novel infrastructure but lagged in GTSI. From 2013 to 2020, the coupling coordination degree of novel infrastructure and its three subsystems in specific provinces and cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, and GTSI show an upward trend, while the overall trend displays a downward trend. (4) Novel infrastructure and GTSI have mutual promoting effect; Government intervention negatively affects the coupling and coordination level; Consumption structure, industrial structure and foreign investment also have a certain positive impact on the two.
Numerical and Experimental Investigation of the Seismic Effect of a Two-Stage Seismic Isolation Method
Authors: Peng Tianbo , Guan Jianyu , Wu Yicheng
Published: March 2023

In order to improve the post-earthquake resilience of bridge structures, a Two-Stage seismic isolation method is proposed in this paper. According to the method, the restoring force and horizontal stiffness are smaller in the first stage and become much larger in the second stage. Therefore, a new kind of seismic isolation device, Two-Stage Friction Pendulum Bearing (TSFPB for short), is invented based on the traditional friction pendulum bearing (FPB for short). In this paper, the geometry configuration, sliding states and hysteresis characteristics of the bearing are first introduced with a theoretical approach. Then the hysteresis curve of the TSFPB is verified experimentally and the simulation method of the bearing in an FEM software is proposed. Last, a numerical analysis for an actual highway girder bridge is carried out to compare the seismic design method recommended in this paper with the conventional seismic isolation method. It is found that the Two-Stage seismic isolation method has an adaptive restoring force, horizontal stiffness and energy dissipation mechanism for different seismic intensity levels and better seismic performance compared with a conventional seismic isolation method. In addition, bridges with TSFPBs have smaller residual displacements and better post-earthquake resilience than those with traditional FPBs.
“Sustainab-lization”: Sustainability and Digitalization as a Strategy for Resilience in the Coffee Sector
Authors: Iannone Barbara , Caruso Giulia
Published: March 2023

COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on the world. This study aims to investigate the possible implications of COVID-19 on sustainability and digitalization initiatives, by exploring a sample of 15 Italian coffee companies located in Northern, Central and Southern Italy, to highlight any differences and at the same time identify which are the main strands of their resilient behaviors. “Sustainab-lization” is our idea to define a business model in which sustainability and digitalization are closely related in companies’ strategic initiatives. We have analyzed the various actions which have been undertaken to get out of the COVID-19 crisis, focusing on initiatives related to sustainable development and digitalization, critical also to fulfilling some of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. Most of the companies have invested in sustainability and digitalization. The results show, for most of them, a resilient approach towards a sustainable business model, and also through increased digitalization.
Runoff–Sediment Simulation of Typical Small Watershed in Loess Plateau of China
Authors: Jian Shengqi , Xiao Peiqing , Tang Yan , Jiao Peng
Published: March 2023

The implementation of measures such as check dams and terraces in the Loess Plateau of China has had a groundbreaking impact on water and sediment conditions. The question of how to accurately simulate the runoff–sediment process under complex underlying surface conditions has become key to clarifying the water cycle law. This study focused on the Chenggou River basin, a small watershed located in the Loess Plateau, to examine the effect of the underlying surface characteristics on the runoff production process, and the spatial distribution of the dominant runoff process in the runoff generation mechanism was determined according to the land application, slope and vegetation coverage of the watershed. A runoff–sediment model was constructed that was combined with the traditional hydrological physical mechanism and a deep learning algorithm. Different parameters were calibrated depending on the spatial distribution of the dominant runoff process and we then ran the runoff–sediment simulation model to very its serviceability in the typical watershed of the Loess Plateau. Different parameters were calibrated for each type of hydrological response unit (HRU), according to the division of each HRU and the actual flood process, to calculate the runoff yield of each HRU. An LSTM algorithm was used for flow routing and a CSLE algorithm was used to simulate soil erosion. The results show that there were 29 flood events in the Chenggou River basin from 2013 to 2017. The average runoff depth had an 8.86% margin of error, while the peak flow had a slightly higher 9.44% deviation. The Nash efficiency coefficient was 0.84, and the relative error of soil erosion was 14.45%. The model simulation effect is good and can be applied to the typical watershed of the Loess Plateau. The model can provide a scientific basis for the highly efficient and sustainable utilization of water resources, ecological environment construction and the sustainable development of agriculture.
Improved Granite Residual Soils from a Study on Diesel Contamination in East Hunan Province
Authors: Chen Qiunan , Long Kun , Huang Xiaocheng , Chen Zhenghong , He Yongchao
Published: March 2023

Soil can be amended with cement, lime, fly ash and other curing agents after diesel contamination. In this study, a diesel-contaminated granite residual soil with an oil content of 9% was selected and amended with cement, lime and fly ash as curing agents and their incorporation levels were varied. A straight shear test showed that 6% lime resulted in the best improvement in the contaminated soil, with a cohesive force of 122.1 kPa and an internal friction angle of 27.1°. A disintegration test revealed that the disintegration resistance of the contaminated soil was improved by 6% cement, 20% fly ash and 10% lime, with 10% lime being the most effective. SEM tests revealed that diesel fuel acted as a constant pore fluid to cause significant fragmentation and separation of the granite residual soil from flakes and blocks to smaller agglomerates and fragments. The curing agent, by increasing the physical reaction products, causes the particles to agglomerate, filling the soil pores and enhancing the integrity of the soil, thus improving the soil properties.
Developing Flood Risk Zones during an Extreme Rain Event from the Perspective of Social Insurance Management
Authors: P. C. Shakti , Hirano Kohin , Iwanami Koyuru
Published: March 2023

Recently, Japan has been hit by more frequent and severe rainstorms and floods. Typhoon Hagibis caused heavy flooding in many river basins in central and eastern Japan from 12–13 October 2019, resulting in loss of life, substantial damage, and many flood insurance claims. Considering that obtaining accurate assessments of flood situations remains a significant challenge, this study used a geographic information system (GIS)-based analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach to develop flood susceptibility maps for the Abukuma, Naka, and Natsui River Basins during the Typhoon Hagibis event. The maps were based on population density, building density, land-use profile, distance from the river, slope, and flood inundation. A novel approach was also employed to simulate the flood inundation profiles of the river basins. In addition, a crosscheck evaluated the relationship between flood insurance claims and the developed flood risk zones within the river basins. Over 70% of insurance claims were concentrated in high to very high risk zones identified by the flood susceptibility maps. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of this type of assessment in identifying areas that are particularly vulnerable to flood damage, which can be a useful reference for flood disaster management and related stakeholder concerns for future extreme flood events.
Determinants of Employees’ Personal and Collective Energy Consumption and Conservation at Work
Authors: Kotsopoulos Dimosthenis , Bardaki Cleopatra , Papaioannou Thanasis G.
Published: March 2023

Energy conservation in public buildings is an important means towards reducing CO2 emissions worldwide and tackling climate change. In this context, employee behaviour has been recognised as a highly impactful factor that needs to be studied more thoroughly. In this study, we propose and investigate a behavioural model that can be utilised in energy-saving interventions in the workplace. Employing a questionnaire (N = 119 employees in three workplaces in EU countries), we identified two types of energy consumption behaviour at work: personal and collective actions. We further investigated the effect of six factors on employee willingness, as well as self-reported energy-saving habits and behaviour. We found that an employee’s profile (i.e., i. personal energy-saving norms, ii. emotional exhaustion/burnout, iii. collective energy-saving responsibility and efficacy, iv. awareness of energy wastage and knowledge of solution, v. personal comfort/comfort levels, vi. age, vii. gender, and viii. having children) determines energy-saving habits and behaviour, as well as affects willingness to alter it and to conserve energy at work. Employee willingness in turn directly affects energy-saving habits and behaviour at work. The proposed behavioural model can provide guidance towards applying energy conservation initiatives in the workplace. Behavioural interventions should accordingly primarily focus on improving personal energy-saving norms at work and be designed to be easy to follow and not overly demanding, time consuming, or pressuring. Moreover, to motivate collective energy-saving behaviours, interventions should focus on increasing employees’ collective energy-saving responsibility and efficacy, while respecting their personal comfort/comfort levels and their emotional exhaustion/burnout levels. Practical advice towards specific types of interventions is provided accordingly.
Operational Decisions on Remanufacturing under the Product Innovation Race
Authors: Yang Dexiang , Yang Qin , Zhang Lei
Published: March 2023

To obtain a competitive advantage in the marketplace, firms usually need to adopt an innovation program as a key strategic initiative. New product innovation is usually accompanied by discarding the old products and results in negative effects on the environment. Conversely, to maintain environmental sustainability, a greater number of governments have enacted regulations to promote remanufacturing as an integral part of manufacturers’ existing businesses. However, at the firm level, remanufacturing may induce the cannibalization of new product sales. The primary goal of this paper is to provide firms with guidelines for the operational decisions on remanufacturing under the product innovation race. In particular, from a profit-maximization perspective, we suggest that the cost-efficient firm should look for cost-reduction opportunities in remanufacturing operations; otherwise, it should invest more resources into new product development. Our analysis also provides insights for environmental groups and agencies by indicating that improved environmental sustainability should involve not only setting collection targets but the implementation of additional reuse targets as well.
Using Landfill Sites and Marginal Lands for Socio-Economically Sustainable Biomass Production through Cultivation of Non-Food Energy Crops: An Analysis Focused on South Asia and Europe
Authors: Shah Tavseef Mairaj , Khan Anzar Hussain , Nicholls Cherisa , Sohoo Ihsanullah , Otterpohl Ralf
Published: March 2023

Food security and energy transition are among the current major global environmental challenges. Although these issues individually are significant in their own right, they are connected to each other in a nexus with different interrelationships and dependencies. In the quest for non-fossil alternatives for energy, cultivation of bioenergy crops has become an important part of the energy policy in many countries. In this regard, the use of fertile agricultural land for growing crops for energy production rather than for food supply affects the global food security. Recent conflicts and the geopolitical crisis in Europe, leading to increased food, fuel, and fertiliser prices, the existing climate crisis, and the crisis caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have further reinforced the understanding of this nexus, with certain countries mulling limiting biofuel production from agricultural land and others banning food grain exports to safeguard food supply. The idea of growing non-food energy crops on marginal lands in general and closed landfill sites in particular is hence ever more relevant, to avoid land-use concurrence between food needs and energy needs. Landfilling has been the dominant waste management strategy until recently in European countries and is still the dominant mode of waste management in low-income regions like South Asia. This paper provides a review of the economic as well as environmental benefits of growing Ricinus communis L., Jatropha curcas L., and Populus deltoides as energy crops on closed landfill sites in the South Asian context. While as the cultivation of Miscanthus X Giganteus, Silphium perfoliatum L., and Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass) is reviewed in the European context. The cultivation of non-food energy crops like these on closed landfill sites and marginal lands is presented as a potential component of an integrated food-energy policy, with an increased relevance in the current times. In the current times of multiple crises, this measure is of increasing relevance as a part of the overall strategy to achieve resilience and environmental sustainability.
If Sand Interlayer Acts Better than Straw Interlayer for Saline Soil Amelioration? A Three-Year Field Experiment
Authors: Liu Na , Feng Wenhao , Zhang Hongyuan , Chang Fangdi , Wang Jing , Li Yuyi , Pang Huancheng
Published: March 2023

An addition of straw interlayer in the 0.40 m soil depth could effectively reduce salt accumulation in the surface soils by regulating water fluxes, thus mitigating the salt stress to the crop growth and development. However, the positive effects of straw interlayer were weakened with straw decomposition, and whether we could use sand (an indecomposable substance) instead of straw for saline soil amelioration still needs further investigation. Therefore, a three-year field experiment was established with straw and sand interlayers, as well as with no interlayer as a control. Straw interlayer demonstrated an increase of 4.85~13.10% of water content, while the sand interlayer increased 12.41~16.48% of water content in the soil layer of 0–0.40 m depth comparing to the control. Salt contents were lowered by 10.69~17.01% in the same soil layer of the straw interlayer and lowered by 7.00~7.59% in the sand interlayer treatment after irrigation. Data also shows that irrigation significantly increased water content and lowered salt accumulation in the soil plough layer, thus increasing the sunflower emergence rate of 10.49~13.54% in the straw interlayer treatment and 12.53~14.78% in the sand interlayer treatment, respectively. Both the straw interlayer and sand interlayer treatments effectively reduced the evaporation of groundwater and established a beneficial plough layer with a lower salt accumulation throughout the sunflower growth period. At harvesting stage, the evaporation fluxes of salt in the straw interlayer and sand interlayer treatments were significantly lower than that in the control treatment. Lower salt accumulation conferred a beneficial promotion for the growth of sunflower, while the grain yields in the straw interlayer treatment were increased by 8.67% in 2018, 11.00% in 2019 and 17.37% in 2020 compared to the no-interlayer soil, respectively. However, the low water content in the soil layer of 0–0.40 m depth in the sand interlayer treatment inhibited the growth of sunflower, resulting in a significant decrease in the seed yields. It is worth noting that the precipitation effectively alleviated water stress on the sunflower at the middle and late growth stage in the sand interlayer treatment. This study suggests that a maize straw burial of 0.05 m thickness at a depth of 0.40 m soil layer could be used as an effective tillage practice that could improve the distribution of water and salt in saline soils.
A Comprehensive Review on Recycling of Construction Demolition Waste in Concrete
Authors: Joseph Herbert Sinduja , Pachiappan Thamilselvi , Avudaiappan Siva , Maureira-Carsalade Nelson , Roco-Videla Ángel , Guindos Pablo , Parra Pablo F.
Published: March 2023

There have been efforts to use building demolition waste as an alternative aggregate in concrete to decrease the use of natural resources for construction. The World Green Building Council estimates that the construction industry is responsible for more than 50% of all material extracted globally and that construction and demolition waste makes up 35% of global landfills. As a result, incorporating recycled aggregate (RA) in concrete production is a prudent course of action to reduce the environmental impact. This study reviews prior research on using recycled aggregate instead of conventional ingredients in concrete. The composition and morphology of different types of RA, the behavior of RA in fresh and hardened states, keyword co-occurrence and evolution analysis, and the various additives used to enhance the inferior properties of RA are discussed. The RA showed different physical properties when compared with natural aggregate. However, the addition of pozzolanic materials and various pretreatment techniques is desirable for improving the inferior properties of RA. While building waste has been utilized as a substitute for fine and coarse aggregate, prior research has demonstrated that a modified mixing approach, an adequate mixing proportion, and the optimum replacement of cementitious materials are necessary. Based on the review, the recommendation is to use RA at a replacement level of up to 30% and the addition of precoated and pozzolanic materials as a treatment to provide concrete with adequate workability, strength, and durability for structural applications.
Effect of Aggregates Packing with the Maximum Density Methodology in Pervious Concrete
Authors: Arcolezi Karina H. , da Silva Rodrigo G. , Soriano Lourdes , Borrachero Maria V. , Monzó José , Payá Jordi , Tashima Mauro M. , Akasaki Jorge Luis
Published: March 2023

The granulometric distribution of the aggregates used in pervious concrete can significantly impact its mechanical and hydraulic properties by modifying granular skeleton and pore distribution. The unit weight increases when single-sized aggregates are combined, which results in improved mechanical properties. In this study, the maximum density methodology was applied to enhance pervious concrete’s mechanical strength by using three narrow-sized basaltic aggregates and their combination. The experimental results showed that the mechanical performance of the samples created with packed aggregates improved compressive strength by up to 81.2% and the energy support impact was higher than 225 J (50% higher than the reference sample) after curing for 28 days. Although the densification of packing aggregates increased, the greatest reduction in porosity was 24.3%. The lowest infiltration rate was 0.43 cm/s, a satisfactory value according to the literature. These findings suggest that the aggregates packing methodology is effective in producing optimized and sustainable pervious concretes.
Do Carbon Footprint Estimates Depend on the LCA Modelling Approach Adopted? A Case Study of Bread Wheat Grown in a Crop-Rotation System
Authors: González-García Sara , Almeida Fernando , Brandão Miguel
Published: March 2023

This study aims to assess the impact of global warming on winter wheat cultivation under different rotation systems with potato, maize or oilseed rape over a six-year period in the region of Galicia, Spain, to identify the rotation system most favorable from a climate change perspective. An attributional life cycle assessment (ALCA) with economic allocation (retrospective assessment of impacts) and a consequential life cycle assessment (CLCA) with system expansion (impacts of a change) were performed to identify discrepancies and differences in the results in this impact category and thus in the decision supported by the farmers, whose main goal is to produce wheat grain for bread purposes with the lowest carbon footprint. The global warming results modelled with ALCA and CLCA can be contradictory. In general, the climate change impact was considerably higher when modelled with CLCA than with ALCA. Farming activities were consistently identified as hotspots when using both CLCA and ALCA, but other hotspots differed in terms of their contributions. Concerning the ranking of cropping systems that produce grain with the lowest greenhouse gases emission levels, contradictory results were identified in some cases between the LCA modelling approaches. Nevertheless, the cultivation of native winter wheat under ecological management is always the preferred choice, regardless of the approach. However, wheat rotation with potato is preferrable in the ALCA, and with maize in the CLCA. The assumptions required to perform a CLCA have a large impact on results. The allocation of burdens between the co-products in the ALCA involves a level of uncertainty since discrepancies arise with the selection of the allocation procedure. Thus, the assumptions made affect the results considerably and have a direct effect on the final conclusions.
Potential Use of Chilean Native Species in Vertical Greening Systems
Authors: Kaltsidi Maria P. , Bayer Ignacia , Mitsi Christina , Aros Danilo
Published: March 2023

Vertical greening systems (VGSs), i.e., living walls (LWs) and green façades (GFs), are considered a promising technology to diminish the negative effects of urbanisation. Plant selection for these systems is challenging due to the narrow spectrum of species available, and the required adaptation to specific climate conditions. Considering Chile’s rich plant biodiversity, this study aims to analyse the potential of Chilean native species to be introduced in VGSs. A total of 109 potentially usable species from the north (n = 25), centre (n = 32), south (n = 31) and the Andes Mountains (n = 21) were selected for VGSs, showing a high level of endemism (43.1%). According to the filters applied, 39 and 70 species were selected for GFs and LWs, respectively. To evaluate appreciation of Chilean native plants and their potential use in VGSs, an online questionnaire was responded by 428 individuals. Most participants agreed or strongly agreed with the use of LWs and/or GFs inside their house/apartment (75.5%) and in their garden/balcony (90.0%). Most of the participants agreed or strongly agreed with the use of Chilean native plants inside their house/apartment (75.0%) and in their garden/balcony (84.4%). Further empirical studies are still required to confirm the use of Chilean native species in LWs and GFs.