The aim of this work was to test polyamines as potential natural substrates of the Acinetobacter baumannii chlorhexidine efflux protein AceI using near-UV synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) spectroscopy. The Gram-negative bacterium A. Baumannii is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections and an important foodborne pathogen. A. Baumannii strains are becoming increasingly resistant to antimicrobial agents, including the synthetic antiseptic chlorhexidine. AceI was the founding member of the recently recognised PACE family of bacterial multidrug efflux proteins. Using the plasmid construct pTTQ18-aceI(His₆) containing the A. Baumannii aceI gene directly upstream from a His₆-tag coding sequence, expression of AceI(His₆) was amplified in E. coli BL21(DE3) cells. Near-UV (250-340 nm) SRCD measurements were performed on detergent-solubilised and purified AceI(His₆) at 20 °C. Sample and SRCD experimental conditions were identified that detected binding of the triamine spermidine to AceI(His₆). In a titration with spermidine (0-10 mM) this binding was saturable and fitting of the curve for the change in signal intensity produced an apparent binding affinity (K_D) of 3.97 +/- 0.45 mM. These SRCD results were the first experimental evidence obtained for polyamines as natural substrates of PACE proteins.

Agricultural landscapes are more and more characterized by intensification and habitat losses. Landscape composition and configuration are known to mediate insect abundance and richness. In the context of global insect decline, and despite 75% of crops being under insect’s dependence, there is still a gap of knowledge about the link between pollinators and aromatic crops. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is an aromatic plant cultivated in South of France, for its essential oil which is of great economic interest. Using pan-traps, we investigated the influence of the surrounding habitats at landscape scale (semi-natural habitat proportion and vicinity, landscape configuration) and local scale agricultural practices (insecticides and patch size) on fennel-flower-visitor abundance and richness and their subsequent impact on fennel essential oil yield. We found that fennel may to be a generalist plant species. We did not find any effect of intense local management practices on insect abundance and richness. Landscape configuration and the proximity to semi-natural habitat were the main drivers of flying insect’s family richness. This richness positively influenced fennel essential oil yield. Maintaining a complex configuration of patches at the landscape scale are important to sustain insect diversity and crop yield.

Fiber reinforced thermoplastics (FRTP), which is reinforced with glass or carbon fibers, are used to improve the mechanical strength of injection-molded products. However, FRTP has problems such as the formation of weld lines, the deterioration of the appearance due to the exposure of fibers on the molded product surface, and the deterioration of the strength of molded products due to the fiber orientation in the molded products. We have designed and fabricated an injection mold capable of melt flow control and induction heating and cooling that has the functions of both heating and cooling the injection mold as well as the function of controlling the melt flow direction using a movable core pin. In this study, the above-mentioned mold was used for the molding of carbon fiber reinforced semi-aromatic polyamide. As a result, we found that increasing the heating temperature of the mold and increasing melt flow control volume contribute to the prevention of the generation of a weld line and the exposure of fibers on the molded product surface, as well as to the formation of a flat surface and increased bending strength. The relationships of these results with the carbon fiber orientation in the molded products and the crystallization of semi-aromatic polyamide were also examined in this study.

The purpose of this work is to study quasi-stationary wave structure in the mid-latitude stratosphere and mesosphere (40–50°N) and its role in the formation of the annual ozone cycle. Geopotential height and ozone from Aura MLS data are used and winter climatology for January–February 2011–2020 is considered. More closely examined is the 10-degree longitude segment centered on Longfengshan Brewer station, China, and located in the region of the Aleutian Low influence associated with the quasi-stationary zonal maximum of total ozone. Annual and semi-annual oscillations in ozone were compared using units of ozone volume mixing ratio and concentration, as well as changes in ozone peak altitude and in time series of ozone at individual pressure levels between 316 hPa (9 km) and 0.001 hPa (96 km). The ozone maximum in the vertical profile is higher in volume mixing ratio (VMR) values than in concentration by about 15 km (5 km) in the stratosphere (mesosphere), in consistency with some previous studies. We found that the properties of the annual cycle are better resolved in the altitude range of the main ozone maximum: middle–upper stratosphere in VMR and lower stratosphere in concentration. Both approaches reveal SAO/AO-related changes in the of ozone peak altitudes in a range of 4–6 km during the year. In the lower-stratospheric ozone of the Longfengshan domain, an earlier development of the annual cycle takes place with a maximum in February and a minimum in August compared to spring and autumn, respectively, in zonal means. This is presumably due to the higher rate of dynamical ozone accumulation in the region of the quasi-stationary zonal ozone maximum. The “no-annual-cycle” transition layers are found in the stratosphere and mesosphere. These layers with undisturbed ozone volume mixing ratio throughout the year are of interest for more detailed future study.

The Circular Economy of plastics is a promising concept that has the potential to reduce pollution and close the loop on plastic waste. However, further research is needed to develop more efficient and environmentally friendly methods of recycling plastic. This review article discusses the Circular Economy of plastics, its potential benefits and drawbacks, and the challenges that need to be addressed to make it a reality. Some case studies are also examined to explore how the Circular Economy of plastics has been implemented across the globe.

Shell-like, double curved and thus above-average performance structures, are usually produced monolithically on site. For industrial advancement, however, they must be divided into transportable modules which can be assembled on the construction site (design for assembly). Models are lattice shells made of steel and glass, in which predominantly flat sub-surfaces (modules) are used. Therefore, the main question is: Which modularizations are suitable for flow production with mineral building materials? In this paper designed free-form surface is going to be discretized as PQ circular mesh system, suitable modules for 3D concrete printing. Moreover, the multi-criteria optimization is done with Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in order to get optimal final shape. The goal is to start from the arbitrary shape, that can be generated from two curves, with possible two-way division into modules and compare it with the resulted discretized PQ circular mesh system, realized with new algorithm. The comparison can be defined through two main criteria: geometrical and structural.

For every three people on the planet there is approximately two Tonne (Te) of available plastic waste. We show that carbon recovery from polystyrene (PS) plastic is enhanced by the co-addition to solvents to grow carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by liquid injection chemical vapour deposition. Polystyrene was loaded up to 4 wt% in toluene and heated to 780 °C in the presence of a ferrocene catalyst and a hydrogen/argon carrier gas in a 1:19 ratio. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Raman spectroscopy were used to identify multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The PS addition in the range from 0 to 4 wt% showed improved quality and CNT homogeneity; Raman “Graphitic/Defective” (G/D) values increased from 1.9 to 2.3; mean CNT diameters increased from 43.0 to 49.2 nm; and maximum CNT yield increased from 11.3% to 14.2%. Since both the CNT diameters and the percentage yield increased with respect to polystyrene addition, we conclude that carbon from the PS contributes to the carbon within the MWCNTs. The electrical contact resistance of acid washed Bucky papers produced from each loading, ranged from 2.2 to 4.4 Ohm, with no direct correlation to PS loading. Due to this narrow range, the materials with different loading were mixed to create six wires of an Ethernet cable and tested using iPerf to give uplink and downlink speeds of ~99.5 Mbps, comparable to Cu wire of identical dimension (~99.5 Mbps). The lifecycle assessment (LCA) of CNT wire production was compared to copper wire production for the use case in a Boeing 747-400 over the lifespan of the craft. Due to their lightweight nature the CNT wires decreased the CO2 footprint by 21 kTonne (kTe) over the aircraft lifespan.

Taste signaling is a complex process that is linked to obesity and its associated metabolic syndromes. The sweet taste is mediated through a heterodimeric G protein coupled receptor (GPRC) in a species-specific manner and at multi-tissue specific levels. The sweet receptor recognizes a large number of ligands with structural and functional diversities to modulate different amplitudes of downstream signaling pathway(s). The human sweet-taste receptor has been extremely difficult to study by biophysical methods due to inadequate methods for producing large homogeneous quantities of the taste-receptor protein and a lack of reliable in vitro assays to precisely measure productive ligand binding modes leading to activity upon their interactions with the receptor protein. We report a multimodal high throughput assays to monitor ligand binding, receptor stability and conformational changes to model the molecular interactions between ligand-receptor. We applied saturation transfer difference nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (STD-NMR) complemented by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, and intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy (IF) to characterize binding interactions. Our method using complementary NMR and biophysical analysis is advantageous to study the mechanism of ligand binding and signaling processes in other GPCRs.

In regions with low-temperature action transverse cracks can appear in asphalt pavements as a result of thermal stresses that exceed the fracture strength of materials used in asphalt layers. To better understand thermal cracking phenomenon, strength properties of different asphalt mixtures were investigated. Four test methods were used to assess the influence of bitumen type and mixture composition on tensile strength properties of asphalt mixtures: tensile strength using the Thermal Stress Restrained Specimen Test (TSRST) and the Uniaxial Tension Stress Test (UTST), flexural strength using the Bending Beam Test (BBT) and fracture toughness using the Semi-Circular Bending Test (SCB). The strength reserve behavior of tested asphalt mixtures was assessed as well. The influence of cooling rate on strength reserve was investigated and correlations between results from different test methods were also analyzed and discussed. It was observed that the type of bitumen is a factor of crucial importance to low-temperature properties of the tested asphalt concretes. This conclusion was proved by all test methods that were used. It was also observed that the level of cooling rate influences the strength reserve and, in consequence, resistance to low-temperature cracking. It was concluded that reasonably good correlations were observed between strength results for the UTST, BBT and SCB test methods.

The paper analyses how between 1956 and 2009 the agrarian metabolism of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region (BMR) has become less functional, losing circularity in biomass flows and in relationship to its landscape. We do so by adopting a Multi-EROI and flow-fund (MuSIASEM) analyses and its nexus with landscape functional structure. The study of agricultural flows of Final Produce, Biomass Reused and External Inputs is integrated with that of land use, livestock, power capacity and population changes between 1956 (at the beginning of the Green Revolution) and 2009 (fully industrialized agriculture). A multi-scale analysis is conducted at the landscape scale (seven districts within the Barcelona metropolitan region) as well as for the functions deployed, within an agroecosystem, by the mutual interactions between its funds (land-uses, livestock and farming population). A complex nexus between land, livestock, dietary patterns and energy needs is shown; we conclude that from the perspective of the circular bioeconomy the agrarian sector has gone worse hand in hand with the landscape functional structure. Therefore, a novel perspective in landscape agroecology is opened

This paper deals with a non-standard finite difference scheme defined on a quasi-uniform mesh for approximate solutions of the Magneto-Hydro Dynamics (MHD) boundary layer flow of an incompressible fluid past a flat plate for a wide range of the magnetic parameter. We show how to improve the obtained numerical results via a mesh refinement and a Richardson extrapolation. The obtained numerical results are favourably compared with those available in the literature.

The idea of replacing the broken linear economy with circular forms to help address the current sustainability crisis is gaining world-wide traction in policy, industry, and academia. This article presents results from an international interview study with 34 repair practitioners and experts in different fields. The article aims to improve understandings of the potential of repair so as to contribute to a more just, sustainable, and circular economy. Through a five-step qualitative method the results reveal and explore three tensions inherent in repair: first, repair activities constitute different forms of subjectivity; second, repair entails different and sometimes contested temporalities; and finally, even though repair is deeply political in practice, the politics of repair are not always explicit, and some repair activities are actively depoliticized. The opportunities and obstacles embodied in these tensions are generative in repair practices and debates, but poorly reflected in contemporary circular economy discourse. We conclude that a richer, more inclusive and politicized understanding of repair can support environmental justice in the implementation of CE and provide greater opportunities for just and transformational sustainability strategies and policies.

It is widely accepted that plastic waste is one of our most urgent environmental concerns the world is currently facing. Plastic has contributed greatly to innovation in all fields, but the raw material for its production (fossil fuels), as well as the linear economy in which it is currently produced and used, makes the material problematic from a sustainability and human health perspectives. The emergence of bio-based plastics provides an opportunity to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and transition to a more circular plastics economy. For polyethylene terephthalate (PET), one of the most prevalent plastics in packaging and textiles, there exist two bio-based alternatives that are similar or superior in material property and recyclability. These are polyethylene furanoate (PEF) and polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT). The overarching aim of this study was to examine the transition from fossil-based to renewable plastics, through the lens of PET upcycling into PEF and PTT. The process for the production of PEF and PTT from three feed streams (post-consumer PET waste, lignocellulosic biomass-derived cellulose and biodiesel-derived crude glycerol) was developed in the software SuperPro Designer and the economic viability assessed via a discounted cumulative cash flow (DCCF) analysis. This study represents a conceptual case study of the valorisation of existing plastic waste into new, recyclable bio-based plastics, for a more sustainable plastics production. A techno-economic analysis of the designed process revealed that the minimum selling price (MSP) of second generation-derived PEF and PTT is 3.13 USD/kg, and that utilities and the feedstock used for the production of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) needed in PEF synthesis contributed the most to the process operating costs. The effect of recycling PEF and PTT through the process at three recycling rates (42%, 50% and 55%) was investigated and revealed that increased recycling could reduce the MSP of the 2G bio-plastics (by 48.5%) to 1.61 USD/kg. This demonstrates that increasing recycling rates would have a beneficial effect on the economic viability of the plastic biorefinery.

The nonlinear deformation and stress analysis of a circular torus is a difficult undertaking due to its complicated topology and the variation of the Gauss curvature. A nonlinear deformation (only one term in strain is omitted) of Mindlin torus was formulated in terms of the generalized displacement, and a general Maple code was written for numerical simulations. Numerical investigations show that the results obtained by nonlinear Mindlin, linear Mindlin, nonlinear Kirchhoff-Love, and linear Kirchhoff-Love models are close to each other. The study further reveals that the linear Kirchhoff-Love modeling of the circular torus gives good accuracy and provides assurance that the nonlinear deformation and stress analysis (not dynamics) of a Mindlin torus can be replaced by a simpler formulation, such as a linear Kirchhoff-Love theory of the torus, which has not been reported in the literature.

An event occurring within a stationary environment, in the direction toward which an observer self-rotates, is perceived to precede a simultaneous event, in the direction away from which she moves. When self-rotation results from angular acceleration in the dark, perception of space is also distorted, such that the subjective straight-ahead shifts in the opposite direction to motion and temporal event promotion. A reference frameshift theory, based on the special theory of relativity, is proposed to explain these findings. Here, a hyperbolic tangent transformation of objective angular velocity constrains subjective self-rotation velocity within finite bounds, consistent with it being a limited perceptual resource. Identifying this subjective variable with vestibular nystagmus slow-phase angular velocity, the asymptotic perceived self-rotation velocity is estimated at ~200 °⁄s. When included in the Lorentz transformations of the new formalism, this value predicts experimental simultaneity distortion. Hypothetically, the hyperbolic tangent objective-to-subjective transfer function would maximize the differential entropy of the percept, and thereby also the stimulus/percept mutual information, if angular velocities of body rotation encountered in naturalistic environmental interaction have a logistic probability density distribution of scale 100 °⁄s, a proposed experimental test of the scheme.

This work is concerned with the existence and uniqueness of boundary value problems defined on semi-infinite intervals. These kinds of problems seldom admit exactly known solutions and, therefore, the theoretical information on their well-posedness is essential before attempting to derive an approximate solution by analytical or numerical means. Our utmost contribution in this context is the definition of a numerical test for investigating the existence and uniqueness of solutions of boundary problems defined on semi-infinite intervals. The main result is given by a theorem relating the existence and uniqueness question to the number of real zeros of a function implicitly defined within the formulation of the iterative transformation method. As a consequence, we can investigate the existence and uniqueness of solutions by studying the behaviour of that function. Within such a context the numerical test is illustrated by two examples where we find meaningful numerical results.

The goal of newborn screening is to improve health outcomes by identifying and treating affected newborns. This manuscript provides an overview of a data tool to facilitate the longitudinal collection of health information on newborns diagnosed with a condition through NBS. The Newborn Screening Translational Research Network (NBSTRN) developed the Longitudinal Pediatric Data Resource (LPDR) to capture, store, analyze, visualize, and share genomic and phenotypic data over the lifespan of NBS identified newborns to facilitate understanding of genetic disease, and to assess the impact of early identification and treatment. NBSTRN developed a consensus-based process using clinical care experts to create, maintain, and evolve question and answer sets organized into common data elements (CDEs). The LPDR contains 24,172 core and disease-specific CDEs for 118 rare genetic diseases, and the CDEs are being made available through the NIH CDE Repository. The number of CDEs for each condition average of 2,200 with a range from 69 to 7,944. The LPDR is used by state NBS programs, clinical researchers, and community-based organizations. Case level, de-identified data sets are available for secondary research and data mining. The development of the LPDR for longitudinal data gathering, sharing, and analysis supports research and facilitates the translation of new discoveries into clinical practice.

The transportation sector significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, thus imposing sig-nificant environmental hazards. In response, many nations have begun promoting Electric Vehicles (EVs) as an ecologically sustainable substitute for traditional combustion vehicles. Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs), characterized by their high energy density, extended lifespan, and relatively low self-discharge rate, have become the suitable energy storage system for EVs, advancing the field of sustainable transportation. The decreasing cost of LIB production has primarily driven this progression, realized through a combination of economies of scale, advancements in electrode materials and cell design, and re-finements in manufacturing processes. All these elements collectively contribute to the cost reduc-tion of LIBs. A foreseeable implication of this trend is an expected surge in LIBs that will exhaust their operational lifespan and, consequently, be cast away into the environment. One mitigating strategy for this impending environmental issue involves collecting these spent EV batteries, re-configuring them, and repurposing them for applications with less rigorous weight, performance, and size prerequisites. This approach would not only prolong the utility life of the batteries but also ameliorate their environmental impacts. Nevertheless, second-life batteries are anticipated to exhibit a higher rate of gas evolution, necessitating comprehensive testing and readjustments to ensure safe operation in secondary ap-plications. The regulatory framework encompassing the second-life battery sector still needs to be defined regarding norms, technical standards, and legislation. This paper aims to elucidate the primary regulations and technical standards proposed thus far in the second-life battery marketplace. The results underscore the exigency for neutral evaluative entities, such as universities, research centers, and governmental institutions, to perform an unbi-ased assessment of the second-life battery market. This would pave the way for novel technical standards and legislative measures specifically tailored to this emerging sector.

Image segmentation is a new challenge prob- lem in medical application. The use of medical imaging has become an integral part of research, as it allows us to see inside the human body without surgical intervention. Many researcher have studied brain segmentation. One stage method is used to segment the brain tissues. In this paper, we proposed the multi-stage generative ad- versarial network to solve the problem of information loss in the one-stage. We utilize the coarse-to-fine to improve brain segmentation using multi-stage generative adversar- ial networks (GAN). In the first stage, our model generated a coarse outline for (i) background and (ii) brain tissues. Then, in the second stage, the model generated outline for (i) white matter (WM), (ii) gray matter (GM) and (iii) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). A good result can be achieved by fusing the coarse outline and refine outline. We conclude that our model is more efficient and accu- rate in practice for both infant and adult brain segmenta- tion. Moreover, we observe that multi-stage model is faster than prior models. To be more specific, the main goal of multi-stage model is to see the performance of the model in a few shot learning case where a few labeled data are available. For medical image, this proposed model can work in a wide range of image segmentation where the convolution neural networks and one-stage methods have failed.

This paper presents two designs of high-efficiency polarizer reflectarray antennas able to generate a collimated beam in dual-circular polarization using a linearly polarized feed, with application to high-gain antennas for data transmission links from a Cubesat. First, an 18 cm x 18 cm polarizer reflectarray operating in the 17.2 - 22.7 GHz band has been designed, fabricated and tested. The measurements of the prototype show an aperture efficiency of 52.7% for right-handed circular polarization (RHCP) and 57.3% for left-handed circular polarization (LHCP), both values higher than those previously reported in related works. Then, a dual-band polarizer reflectarray is presented for the first time, which operates in dual-CP in the frequency bands of 20 and 30 GHz. The proposed antenna technology enables a reduction of the complexity and cost of the feed chain to operate in dual-CP, as a linear-to-circular polarizer is no longer required. This property, combined with the lightweight, flat profile and low fabrication cost of printed reflectarrays, makes the proposed antennas good candidates for Cubesat applications.

The formulation used by most of the studies on an elastic torus are either Reissner mixed formulation or Novozhilov's complex-form one, however, for vibration and some displacement boundary related problem of a torus, those formulations face a great challenge. It is highly demanded to have a displacement-type formulation for the torus. In this paper, I will carry on my previous work [ B.H. Sun, Closed-form solution of axisymmetric slender elastic toroidal shells. J. of Engineering Mechanics, 136 (2010) 1281-1288.], and with the help of my own maple code, I am able to simulate some typical problems and free vibration of the torus. The numerical results are verified by both finite element analysis and H. Reissner's formulation. My investigations show that both deformation and stress response of an elastic torus are sensitive to the radius ratio, and suggest that the analysis of a torus should be done by using the bending theory of a shell, and also reveal that the inner torus is stronger than outer torus due to the property of their Gaussian curvature. Regarding the free vibration of a torus, our analysis indicates that both initial in u and w direction must be included otherwise will cause big errors in eigenfrequency. One of the most intestine discovery is that the crowns of a torus are the turning point of the Gaussian curvature at the crown where the mechanics' response of inner and outer torus is almost separated.

The military areas in Sardinia are around 234 km2, which constitutes 59.97% of the national surface affected by military easements. This situation is due to its geographic centrality in the Mediterranean. This contribution evaluates the performance of the Local Coastline Plan (LCP) and the Site Management Plan of Community Interest (SCI) in conditions of military constraint. The case study is the Municipality of Villaputzu where an important coastal military easement and the use of the coast for recreational tourism purposes coexist together through specific planning, a consequence of institutional agreements between the Municipal Administration of Villaputzu and the Ministry of Defense. The evaluation of the congruence of the specific objectives of the LCP and the SCI shows how their combined action favors the environmental enhancement of Sardinia, contributing to the formation of ecosystem services, even in particular conditions arising from military easements. These are sites that pass from the status of "anti-commons" to "semi-commons". In fact, the military release process in Sardinia, together with the promiscuous military and civil use, activates unique governance policies of their kind that find a significant field of application in Sardinia to guarantee a sustainable renewal of economic development of the ‘semi-commons’ awaiting to become ‘commons’

Transcription factors must scan genomic DNA, recognize the cognate sequence of their control element(s), and bind tightly to them. The DNA recognition process is primarily carried out by their DNA binding domains (DBD), which interact with the cognate site with high affinity and more weakly with any other DNA sequence. DBDs are generally thought to bind to their cognate DNA without changing conformation (lock-and-key). Here we used nuclear magnetic resonance and circular dichroism to investigate the interplay between DNA recognition and DBD conformation in the Engrailed homeodomain (EnHD), as model case for the homeodomain family of eukaryotic DBDs. We found that the conformational ensemble of EnHD is rather flexible and becomes more structured as ionic strength increases following a Debye-Hückel’s dependence. Our analysis indicates that EnHD’s response to ionic strength is mediated by a built-in electrostatic spring-loaded latch that operates as conformational transducer. We also found that, at moderate ionic strengths, EnHD changes conformation upon binding to cognate DNA. This change is of larger amplitude and somewhat orthogonal to the response to ionic strength. As a consequence, very high ionic strengths (e.g. 700 mM) block the electrostatic-spring-loaded latch and binding to cognate DNA becomes lock-and-key. However, the interplay between EnHD conformation and cognate DNA binding is robust across a range of ionic strengths (i.e. 45 to 300 mM) that covers the most physiologically-relevant conditions. Therefore, our results demonstrate the presence of a mechanism for the conformational control of cognate DNA recognition on a eukaryotic DBD. This mechanism can function as a signal transducer that immediately locks the DBD in place upon encountering the cognate site during active DNA scanning. The electrostatic-spring-loaded latch of EnHD can also enable the fine control of DNA recognition in response to local/temporal changes in ionic strength induced by variate physiological processes.

Let $G$ be a group with identity $e$ and $R$ be a commutative $G$-graded ring with nonzero unity $1$. Graded semi-primary and graded $1$-absorbing primary ideals have been investigated and examined by several authors as generalizations of graded primary ideals. However, these three concepts are different. In this article, we characterize graded rings over which every graded semi-primary ideal is graded $1$-absorbing primary and graded rings over which every graded $1$-absorbing primary ideal is graded primary.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are effective supports for nano metals and together they represent hybrids that combine unique properties of both. A microwave induced reaction was used to deposit nano palladium on carboxylated and octadecylamine functionalized multiwall CNTs, which were used to carry out C-C coupling reactions in DMF and toluene. These hybrids showed excellent catalytic activity with yield as high as 99.8% while its enhancement with respect to commercially available Pd/C catalyst reached as high as 109%, and the reactions times were significantly lower. Polarity of the functionalized form was found to be a significant factor with the polar carboxylated CNT showing better activity in DMF while the relatively nonpolar octadecyl amine was better in toluene. The results suggest the possibility of tailor making functionalized CNT when used as catalyst supports

Circular RNAs (circRNAs), which are a class of non-coding RNA with covalently closed loops, play important roles in epigenetics regulation of gene expression at both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level. Accumulating evidence demonstrated that numerous circRNAs were abnormally expressed in tumors and their dysregulation was involved in the tumorigenesis and metastasis of cancer. Although the functional mechanisms of many circRNAs have been revealed, why circRNAs are dysregulated in cancer remains elusive. CircRNAs are generated by a “backsplicing” process, which is regulated by different cis-regulatory elements and trans-acting proteins. Therefore, how these cis- and trans-elements change during tumorigenesis and how they regulate the biogenesis of circRNAs in cancer are two questions that interest us. In this review, we summarized the pathways for the biogenesis of circRNAs; and then illustrated why circRNAs dysregulated in cancer by discussing the changes of cis-regulatory elements and trans-acting proteins that related to circRNA splicing and maturation in cancer.

The snow melt from the High Atlas is a critical water resource in Morocco. In spite of its importance, monitoring the spatio-temporal evolution of key snow cover properties like the snow water equivalent remains challenging due to the lack of in situ measurements at high elevation. Since 2015, the Sentinel-2 mission provides high spatial resolution images with a 5 day revisit time, which offers new opportunities to characterize snow cover distribution in mountain regions. Here we present a new data assimilation scheme to estimate the state of the snowpack without in situ data. The model was forced using MERRA-2 data and a particle filter was developed to dynamically reduce the biases in temperature and precipitation using Sentinel-2 observations of the snow cover area. The assimilation scheme was implemented using SnowModel, a distributed energy-balance snowpack model and tested in a pilot catchment in the High Atlas. The study period covers 2015-2016 snow season which corresponds to the first operational year of Sentinel-2A, therefore the full revisit capacity was not yet achieved. Yet, we show that the data assimilation led to a better agreement with independent observations of the snow height at an automatic weather station and the snow cover extent from MODIS. The performance of the data assimilation scheme should benefit from the continuous improvements in MERRA-2 reanalyses and the full revisit capacity of Sentinel-2.

This study analyses the case study of a deconstruction project called the ‘Whole House Reuse’ (WHR) which aimed, firstly, to harvest materials from a residential house, secondly, to produce new products using the recovered materials, and thirdly, to organize exhibition for the local public to promote awareness on resource conservation and sustainable deconstruction practices. The study applies characterization of recovered materials through deconstruction. In addition to the material recovery, the study assesses the embodied energy saving and greenhouse gas emission abatement of the deconstruction project. Around twelve tonnes of various construction materials were harvested through a systematic deconstruction approach, most which would otherwise be disposed to landfill in the traditional demolition approach. The study estimates that the recovered materials could potentially save around 502,158MJ of embodied energy and prevent carbon emission of around 27,029kg (CO2e). Deconstruction could eventually contribute to New Zealand’s national emission reduction targets. In addition, the project successfully engages local communities and designers to produce 400 new products using the recovered materials and exhibited to the local people. The study concludes that there is a huge prospect in regard to resource recovery, emission reduction, employment and small business opportunities using deconstruction of the old house. The socio-cultural importance of the WHR project is definitely immense; however, the greater benefits of such projects are often ignored and remain unreported to wider audiences as most of the external and environmental costs have not been considered in the traditional linear economy. It is acknowledged that under a favourable market condition and with appropriate support from local communities and authorities, deconstruction could contribute significantly to resource conservation and environmental protection despite its requirement of labour intensive efforts.

The Gol'denveizer problem of a torus was studied analytically by Audoly and Pomeau (2002), and the accuracy of the Audoly and Pomeau linear law was confirmed numerically by Sun (2021). However, the law does not include the major radius R of the torus. To find the influence of the major radius, we used finite element numerical simulation to simulate different cases, and we propose a modified Audoly and Pomeau linear law for vertical deformation, which includes R. A linear law of horizontal deformation is presented as well. Our studies show that the Audoly and Pomeau linear law has high accuracy. With modified vertical and horizontal deformation, a displacement-compatible relation between them is formulated.

In this paper, the authors identified key elements important for circularity: (1) Background: The primary goal of circularity is to eliminate waste and to prove the constant use of resources. In the paper, we classify studies according to circular approaches. The authors identified main elements and classified them into categories important for circularity, starting with the managing and reducing waste and the recovery of resources; and ending with the circularity of material, and general circularity-related topics and presented scientific works dedicated to each of the above-mentioned categories. The authors analyzed several core elements from the first category aiming to investigate and connect different waste streams and provided a regression model; (2) Methods: The authors used a dynamic regression model to identify relationships among variables and selected the ones, which has an impact on the increase of biowaste. The research was delivered for the 27 European Union countries during the period between 2020 and 2019; (3) Conclusions: The authors indicated that the recycling rate of wasted electrical equipment in the previous year has an impact on the increase of recycling biowaste next year. This is explained as non-metallic spare parts of electronic equipment are used as biowaste for fuel production. And the separation process of the composites of electric equipment takes some time, on average the effect is evident in one year period.

The aim of this article is to extend the local as well as the semi-local convergence analysis of multi-point iterative methods using center Lipschitz conditions in combination with our idea, of the restricted convergence region. It turns out that this way a finer convergence analysis for these methods is obtained than in earlier works and without additional hypotheses. Numerical examples favoring our technique over earlier ones completes this article.

The city-port involves a decisive reality for the economic development of the territories and nations, capable of significantly influencing the conditions of well-being and quality of life, and of making the Circular City Model operational, preserving and enhancing seas and marine resources in a sustainable way, through the construction of appropriate production and consumption models, with attention to relations with the urban and territorial system. The Circular Economy paradigm identifies the ideal context in the city-port to rethink traditional development models and make ports driver areas for the regeneration of the city and metropolitan territories, in compliance with the EU Directive 2014/89 which considers maritime spatial planning as a tool for public authorities and stakeholders to achieve an integrated approach, promoting the development of maritime and coastal economies and the sustainable use of resources. The paper, starting from these assumptions, presents an adaptive decision-making process for the strategies development of the Naples (Italy) commercial port, aimed at re-establishing a sustainable city-port relationship and making operative Circular Economy principles.

Natural cycles underpin the very stuff of life. In this commentary we consider unnatural cycles: that is, anthropogenic activities which have a circularity, but whose nature is to have a detrimental effect on human health, exacerbating existing problems. Natural cycles have feedback loops, some of which have recently come to light, with an understanding that everything is connected in some way. In health, feedback loops are imperative in homeostatic mechanisms. However, in the unnatural cycle the feedback loops serve to reinforce (and in some cases amplify) negative problems. We offer a commentary on an unnatural cycle moving from air quality to lung function and back to air quality; we call this the lung disease unnatural cycle. We suggest where links occur, and where wider consideration of interactions between various disciplines can lead to breaking this unnatural (or vicious) cycle, changing it to a healthy cycle where individual health can be improved, along with better global scale outcomes. We suggest that many activities within this unnatural cycle occur within silos. However, the improved cycle incorporates joint activities at geological, health, and financial levels, to the mutual benefit of all, breaking the unnatural cycle, and improving health, life and financial costs.

Abstract: Plasma hemopexin (HPX) is the key antioxidant protein of the endogenous clearance pathway that limits the deleterious effects of heme released from hemoglobin and myoglobin. During intra-vascular hemolysis, heme partitioning to protein and lipid increases as the plasma concentration of HPX declines. Therefore, the development of HPX as a replacement therapy during high heme stress could be a relevant intervention for hemolytic disorders. A logical approach to enhance HPX yield involves recombinant production strategies from human cell lines. The present study focuses on a biophysical assessment of heme binding to recombinant human HPX (rhHPX) produced in the Expi293FTM (HEK293) cell system. In this report, we examine rhHPX in comparison with plasma HPX using a systematic analysis of protein structural and functional characteristics related to heme binding. Analysis of rhHPX by UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD), SEC-HPLC and catalase-like activity demonstrated a similarity to HPX fractionated from plasma. In particular, the titration of HPX apo-protein(s) with heme was performed for the first time using a wide range of heme concentrations to model HPX-heme interactions to approximate physiological conditions (from extremely low to more than 2-fold heme excess). The CD titration data showed an induced bisignate CD Soret band pattern typical for plasma and rhHPX versions at low heme-to-protein molar ratios and demonstrated that further titration is dependent on the amount of protein-bound heme to the extent that the arising opposite CD couplet results in a complete inversion of the observed CD pattern. The data generated in this study suggests more than one binding site in both plasma and rhHPX. Further, our study provides a useful analytical platform for detailed characterization of HPX-heme interactions and potentially, novel HPX fusion constructs.

The growing concern about climate change and the recognition of the planet’s limits led society to look for alternatives that promote the balance between the natural and the built environment. The circular economy emerges as an alternative to the linear economic model, inspired by natural metabolisms, by circulating resources in continuous loops, where their intrinsic value is maintained and improved. This research proposes a closed-loop strategy in the built environment by studying innovative constructive solutions that aim to find use, value, and inspiration in what is considered waste. A literature review is conducted on the circular design strategies, re-use and recycle typologies, and waste transformation processes. Then, the development of a methodology for qualitative evaluation and selection of re-used and upcycled construction materials from post-consumer waste and by-products is presented and then applied to thirty-five cases of constructive solutions from plastic, wood, paper, steel, aluminium, and agricultural waste. The research reports that the developed framework is adequate. The analysed alternative materials have good environmental performance and can be used as building materials despite their functional limitations, reflecting the enormous potential of waste as a resource for the construction industry.

To contribute to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sustainable transition into the circular economy, the study proposes the activation of organizational learning (OL) processes – denoted here as multi-level knowledge creation, transfer, and retention processes – as a key phase in introducing circular business models (CBMs) at SME and supply chain (SC) level. The research employs a mixed-method approach, using the focus group methodology to identify contextual elements impacting on CBM-related OL processes, and a survey-based evaluation to single out the most frequently used OL processes inside Italian construction SMEs. As main result, a CBM-oriented OL multi-level model offers a fine-grained understanding of contextual elements acting mutually as barriers and drivers for OL processes, as possible OL dynamics among them. The multi-level culture construct – composed of external stakeholders’, SC stakeholders’, and organizational culture – identify the key element to activate CBM-oriented OL processes. Main implications are related to the identification of cultural, structural, regulatory, and process contextual elements across the external, SC, and organizational levels, and their interrelation with applicable intraorganizational and interorganizational learning processes. The proposed model would contribute to an improved implementation of transitioning into the circular economy utilizing sustainable business models in the construction SMEs.

Object segmentation is still considered a challenging problem in autonomous driving, particularly in consideration of real world conditions. Following this line of research, this paper approaches the problem of object segmentation using LiDAR-camera fusion and semi-supervised learning implemented in a fully-convolutional neural network. Our method is tested on real-world data acquired using our custom vehicle iseAuto shuttle. The data include all-weather scenarios, featuring night and rainy weather. In this work, it is shown that LiDAR-camera fusion with only a few annotated scenarios and semi-supervised learning, it is possible to achieve robust performance on real-world data in a multi-class object segmentation problem. The performance of our algorithm is measured in terms of intersection over union, precision, recall and area-under-the-curve average precision. Our network achieves 82% IoU in vehicle detection in day fair scenarios and 64% IoU in vehicle segmentation in night rain scenarios.

Gol'denveizer's problem of a torus has been analyzed by Audoly and Pomeau (2002) and Sun (2021). However, all of the investigations of Gol'denveizer's problem of an elastic torus have been linear. In this paper, the finite element method is used to more accurately address this problem. Furthermore, Sun (2021) cannot be solved by nonlinear analysis. We research the nonlinear mechanical properties of Gol'denveizer's problem of circular and elliptic tori, and relevant nephograms are given. We study the buckling of Gol'denveizer's problem of an elastic torus, and propose failure patterns and force-displacement curves of tori in the nonlinear range. Investigations reveal that circular tori have more rich buckling phenomena as the parameter a increases. Gol'denveizer's problem of the buckling of an elliptic torus is analyzed, and we find a new buckling phenomenon called a "skirt." As a/b increases, the collapse load of an elliptic torus of the Gol'denveizer problem is enhanced gradually.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used frequently as a decision support tool for evaluating different design choices of products based on their environmental impacts. A life cycle usually comprises several phases of varying timespan. The amount of emissions generated from different life cycle phases of a product could be significantly different from one another. In conventional LCA, the emissions generated from the life cycle phases of a product are aggregated at the inventory analysis stage, which is then used as an input for life cycle impact assessment. However, when the emissions are aggregated, the temporal variability of inventory data is ignored, which may result in inaccurate environmental impact assessment. Besides, the conventional LCA does not consider the environmental impact of circular products with multiple use cycles. It poses difficulties in identifying the hotspots of emission-intensive activities with the potential to mislead conclusions and implications for both practice and policy. To address this issue and to analyse the embedded temporal variations in inventory data in a CE context, the paper proposes to calculate the emission intensity for each life cycle phase. It is argued that calculating and comparing emission intensity, based on the timespan and amount of emissions for individual life cycle phases, at the inventory analysis stage of LCA offers a complementary approach to the traditional aggregate emission-based LCA approach. In a circular scenario, it helps to identify significant issues during different life cycle phases and the relevant environmental performance improvement opportunities through product, business model and supply chain design.

End-of-life electric vehicle (EV) batteries can be reused to reduce their environmental impact and economic costs. However, the growth of a second-life market is limited by the lack of information on the characteristics and performance of these batteries. As the volume of end-of-life EVs may exceed the amount of batteries needed for stationary applications, investigating the possibility of repurposing them in mobile applications is also necessary. This article presents an experimental test that can be used to collect the data necessary to fill a battery passport. The proposed procedure can facilitate the decision making process regarding the suitability of a battery for reuse at the end of its first life. Once the battery passport has been completed, the performance and characteristics of the battery are compared with the requirements of several mobile applications. Mobile charging stations and forklift trucks were identified as relevant applications for the reuse of high capacity prismatic cells. Finally, a definition of a state of health (SoH) is proposed to track the suitability of the battery during use in the second life application considering not only energy but also power and efficiency of the battery. This SoH shows that even taking into account accelerated ageing data, a repurposed battery can have an extended life of 11 years at 25~°C. It has also been shown that energy fade is the most limiting performance for lifetime and that cell-to-cell variation should be tracked as it has been shown to have a significant impact on battery life.

Despite significant advances in metallurgy and the potential to create high and very high-strength steel, all international specifications for steel design provided little information about the limits of slenderness for high-strength steel sections (HSSs) and didn’t give anything about the design of very high-strength steel sections (VHSSs). The American structural steel design specification covers circular hollow sections (CHS) of steel grades up to S690, while it isn't in ANSI/AISC 360-16 and ASTM A514/A514M. Euro code EN 1993-1-1 can be applicable only to steel grades up to S460. EN 1993-1-3 and EN 1993-1-12 contain supplementary rules for cold-formed members and HSS (S460- S700), respectively. Though ductility requirements for (HSS) are specifically established in EN 1993-1-12, it is largely a continuation of the normal-strength-steel design procedures standardized in EN 1993-1-1, where (HSSs) are largely treated as normal-strength steels in these rules, and the same design approaches are used. The behavior of high and very high-strength steel circular hollow sections under axial compression load is studied in this research. A total of 16 nonlinear finite-element (FE) models were generated to replicate stub column tests that were experimentally tested by others in previous research. Hence, a parametric study is conducted using forty FE models developed to investigate the local buckling behavior under various slenderness ratios comprehensively. The developed models cover slenderness ratios ranging from 20 to 1226 and steel grades S460 and S1100 with yield stress equal 460 MPa and 1152 MPa, respectively. The FE results were combined with 105 previously collected experimental results to assess the applicability of existing codified design methodologies in the Euro code and the North American codes of cold-formed CHS. Based on the results of this study, new cross-sectional slenderness limits and new design equations for more efficient simple designs were presented for high and very-high strength steel circular hollow sections and Compared with the results of experimental tests and FE models.

The circular supply chain was applied to many industries in the past studies, whereas the rubber recycling industry has not been explored in detail yet. Therefore, this study indentified the key factors of the circular supply chain used in remanufactured products, thereby perfecting its framework. This study put forward 5 aspects and 19 criteria for reference, so that companies in the rubber recycling industry are able to clearly know the direction of implementation when con-structing the circular supply chain for remanufactured products. This study integrated expert opinions with the fuzzy Delphi method and the fuzzy decision making trial and evaluation laboratory proposed key factors, and performed the ranking of importance. The results have displayed that key aspects include the circular business model (A3), increasing the value of resources in the supply chain (A4), and risk management of the circular supply chain (A2). The factors that the rubber recycling industry needs to pay attention to are: optimizing the production process (C2), sharing data in the product lifecycle (C4), effectively tracking and recycling products (C5), redesigning remanufactured products (C13), enhancing resource efficiency (C16), and identifying waste composition and separating materials (C14) . Based on the abovementioned, we had a discussion in this study.

Cutaneous Melanoma (CM) is the most lethal form of skin cancer if it becomes metastatic, where treatment options and survival chances decrease dramatically. Immunotherapy treatments based on the immunologic checkpoint inhibitors (PD-1 and CTLA4) constituted a main breakthrough in the treatment of metastatic CM, particularly in the long-term benefit. However, several molecular pathways are responsible for the failure of this strategy in about 50-70% of CM patients. Some Long Non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNA) are implicated in triggering pro- and antitumorigenic responses to various cancer treatments. The relationship between lncRNA, circRNA and Immune Checkpoint Blockade (ICB) immunotherapy is not extensively explored in cutaneous metastatic melanoma (CMM). The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential role of both circRNA and lncRNA as a predictive immunotherapy biomarker in CMM. RNA-seq from 12 FFPE samples from the metastatic biopsy of metastatic melanoma patients treated with Nivolumab were analyzed. Our findings indicate that specific lncRNA and circRNA are involved in regulatory networks of the immune response against metastatic melanoma under treatment with nivolumab. Moreover, we have established a risk score that allows the prediction of Overall survival (OS) and Progression-free survival (PFS) of CMM patients with high accuracy. This proof of principle work provides a possible insight on the function of ceRNA, contributing to decipher the complex molecular mechanism of ICB cancer treatment response.

In this paper, a new probe-fed wideband antenna with a circular patch and a coupled stacked ring is proposed. This antenna can be implemented by using suspended microstrip technique with total thickness of about 0.09 of center frequency wavelength. By using a novel feeding technique, in this antenna about 40 % reduction in area compared to similar works can be achieved. The obtained bandwidth in this antenna according to simulation results satisfying VSWR<2 is about 27.5 % from 5 to 6.6 GHz using two resonant frequencies. Also a comprehensive theoretical and parametric study is done in order to facilitate its designing in various frequency bands.

We propose a new approach of extending the laser filament plasma channel. By adding a circular aperture quartz plate before the focusing lens, the extension of the plasma channel is doubled. The effects of different diameters, thicknesses of the circular aperture quartz plate and different pulse energies on the length of the plasma channel were investigated. The experimental results show that the thickness of the quartz plate and the depth of the hole have little effects on the plasma channel of the filament, and the diameter of the hole in the center of the quartz plate has a significant effect on the length of the optical filament. The moving-focus model is used to explain the extension of the optical filament.

The negative impact of the modern-day lifestyle on the environment is aggravated during the COVID-19 pandemic through the increased use of single-use plastics from food takeaways to medical supplies. Similarly, the closure of food outlets and disrupted supply chains have also resulted in significant food wastage. As the pandemic rages on, the aggravation of increased waste becomes an increasingly urgent problem that threatens the biodiversity, ecosystems, and human health worldwide through pollution. While there are existing methods to deal with the organic and plastic waste, many of the solutions also cause additional problems. Increasingly proposed as a natural solution to man-made unnatural problems, there are insect solutions for dealing with the artificial and organic waste products towards a circular economy, making the use of natural insect solutions commercially sustainable. This review discusses the findings and how some of these insects, particularly the Hermetia illucens, Tenebrio molitor, and Zophobas morio, can play an increasing important role in food and plastics, with a focus on the latter.

Purpose: Carotid intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) increases risk of territorial cerebral ischemic events, but different sequences or criteria have been used to diagnose or quantify carotid IPH. The purpose of this study was to compare manual segmentation and semi-automatic segmentation for quantification of carotid IPH on magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition with gradient-echo (MPRAGE) sequences. Methods: Forty patients with 16–79% carotid stenosis and IPH on MPRAGE sequences were reviewed by two trained radiologists with more than five years of specialized experience in carotid plaque characterization with carotid plaque MRI. Initially, the radiologists manually viewed the IPH based on the MPRAGE sequence. IPH volume was then measured by three different semi-automatic methods, with high signal intensity 150%, 175%, and 200%, respectively, above that of adjacent muscle on the MPRAGE sequence. Agreement on measurements between manual segmentation and semi-automatic segmentation was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: There was near-perfect agreement between manual segmentation and the 150% and 175% criteria for semi-automatic segmentation in quantification of IPH volume. The ICC of each semi-automatic segmentation were as follows: 150% criteria: 0.861, 175% criteria: 0.809, 200% criteria: 0.491. The ICC value of manual vs. 150% criteria and manual vs. 175% criteria were significantly better than the manual vs. 200% criteria (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The ICC of 150% and 175% criteria for semi-automatic segmentation are more reliable for quantification of IPH volume. Semi-automatic classification tools may be beneficial in large-scale multicenter studies by reducing image analysis time and avoiding bias between human reviewers.

An adequate number of waste management facilities is the key element to meet circular economy goals. Using empirical data taken from official sources the research framework bases on an econometric model to compare the elasticity of cost on quantity of different alternatives such as waste-to-energy facilities, mechanical biological facilities and landfills impact on waste management cost. Results suggest that both waste-to-energy facilities (-0.278%) and landfills (-0.38%) concur to lower the cost while the higher the percentage of waste sent to mechanical biological treatment facilities, the higher the cost (0.788%). This figure deserves to be examined in more details as such facilities represent an intermediary step in the chain which efficiency depends on the industrial organization of the chain.

In this paper, we have analysed the level of advancement in circular economy (CE) in the EU-28 countries. Firstly, we used a synthetic measure to examine CE advancement in EU countries in each of the Eurostat CE distinguished areas, i.e. production and consumption, waste management, secondary raw materials, and competitiveness and innovation. For the empirical analysis, we applied 17 Eurostat indicators to the CE areas. To find the synthetic measure in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016, we used multidimensional comparative analysis, i.e. a zero unitarisation method. Secondly, based on the synthetic measures of the CE areas, we created a general synthetic measure of the CE advancement of the EU-28 countries as well as the countries’ rankings. Thirdly, we classified the countries into groups according to their level of advancement in CE, i.e. high level, medium-high level, medium-low level, and low level groups. Finally, we applied a similarity measure to evaluate the correlation between obtained rankings in two most extreme moments in the period of analysis (2010, 2016). Our analysis covers all EU member states, as well as "old" and "new" EU countries separately. Our results confirm that highly developed Benelux countries, i.e. Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium, have the highest CE advancement level. Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, and Greece are the least advanced in CE practice. Apart from that, on average, there is some progress in CE implementation, significant disproportions between the EU countries were observed, especially among the "new" member states.

Evaluating new, promising organic molecules to make next-generation organic optoelectronic devices necessitates the evaluation of charge carrier transport performance through the semi-conducting medium. In this work, we utilize quantum chemical calculations (QCC) and kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations to predict the zero-field hole mobilities of ~100 morphologies of the benchmark polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene), with varying simulation volume, structural order, and chain-length polydispersity. Morphologies with monodisperse chains were generated previously using an optimized molecular dynamics force-field and represent a spectrum of nanostructured order. We discover that a combined consideration of backbone clustering and system-wide disorder arising from side-chain conformations are correlated with hole mobility. Furthermore, we show that strongly interconnected thiophene backbones are required for efficient charge transport. This definitively shows the role "tie-chains" play in enabling mobile charges in P3HT. By marrying QCC and KMC over multiple length- and time-scales, we demonstrate that it is now possible to routinely probe the relationship between molecular nanostructure and device performance.

Financial capacity instruments are psychometric tools designed to evaluate individual decisional capacity based on financial decisions. As tests are complex and need special conditions for administration and evaluation, it is difficult to use them in daily geriatric clinics. Our scoping review objective was to evaluate existing financial capacity instruments from the perspective of simplicity and portability. We evaluated one English speaking knowledge database (Medline) using a dedicated MeSH terminology. The review yielded one independent instrument, The Semi-Structured Clinical Interview for Financial Capacity, that can be easy adapted for every-day clinical use. It is simple to understand and perform and do not need trained personnel for administration. It can be finalized in 15 minutes. Initially validated on 261 subjects (with different forms of cognitive impairment), it showed good accuracy and precision mainly in subjects with cognitive impairment. The test is less apt to detect early or fluctuating cognitive impairment. Simplicity, the main advantage of the test, allows gamification fact that increases portability. Familiar images (coins, money) that are used for performing simple tasks does not need complex translation and adaptation. In form of a game, the test is suitable for serial administration, increasing the chance for early capacity reduction detection. Results reflect a physician judgement related to the subjects’ capacity to understand and execute simple financial instructions and not financial proficiency scores. The main limitation of our review is that we investigated only one, English speaking, knowledge database. The scoping strategy generated a financial capacity instrument that can be used in geriatric clinics for early diagnostic of decisional capacity reduction. Further studies are needed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the test in conditions of serial administration and in populations having various financial experience.

In the context of improving the comfort and dynamics of the vehicle, the suspension system has been continuously developed and improved, especially using magnetorheological (MR) shock absorbers. The development of this technology which is relatively new has not been easy. Thus, the first widespread commercial use of MR fluid in a semi-active suspension system was implemented in passenger cars. The magnetorheological shock absorber can combine the comfort with the dynamic driving, because it allows the damping characteristic to be adapted to the road profile. The main objective of the paper is to analyze the dynamic behavior of the magnetorheological shock absorber in the semi-active suspension. In this sense, the author carried out a set of experimental measurements with a damping test bench, specially built and equipped with modern equipment. The results obtained from the experimental determinations show a significantly improved comfort when using a magnetorheological shock absorber, compared to a classic one, by the fact that the magnetorheological shock absorber allows to modify the damping coefficient according to the road conditions, thus maintaining the permanent contact between the tire and the road due to increased damping force.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Romanian migrants have become one of the most significant national groups doing agricultural work in Spain, initially coming via a temporary migration program and later under several different modalities. However, despite their critical importance for the functioning of Europe’s largest agro-industry, the study of this long-term circular mobility is still underdeveloped in migration and agriculture literature. Thanks to extensive fieldwork carried out in the provinces of Huelva and Lleida in Spain and in the counties of Teleorman and Buzău in Romania, this paper has two main objectives: first, to identify some of the most common forms of mobility of these migrants and second, to discuss whether this industrial agriculture, hugely dependent on migrant work, is socially sustainable. The case of Romanian migrants in Spanish agriculture will serve to show how a critical sector for the EU and for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations, operates on an unsustainable model based on precariousness and exploitation.

In this paper, we provide alternative proofs to some results proposed in the article "New inequalities involving circular, inverse circular, hyperbolic, inverse hyperbolic and exponential functions" authored by Yogesh J. Bagul.

Desertification is impeding the implementation of reforestation efforts in Mongolia. Many of these efforts have been unsuccessful due to lack of technical knowledge on water and nutrient management strategies, limited financial support, and short-lived rainfall events. We investigated the effects of irrigation and fertilization on the morpho-physiological traits of Populus sibirica Hort. Ex Tausch and Ulmus pumila L. and to suggest irrigation and fertilization strategies for reforestation. Different irrigation and fertilizer treatments were applied: no irrigation, 2 L h-1, 4 L h-1 and 8 L h-1 of water; no fertilizer, 2 L h-1 + NPK, 4 L h-1 + NPK, and 8 L h-1 + NPK; and no compost, 2 L h-1 + compost, 4 L h-1 + compost, and 8 L h-1 + compost. The leaf area (LA) and specific leaf area (SLA) of both species responded positively to 4 L h-1 and/or 8 L h-1. Results also showed that the addition of either NPK or compost to 4 L h-1 and/or 8 L h-1 irrigation resulted in a higher LA, SLA, and leaf biomass (LB). Total chlorophyll content decreased with irrigation in both species. The same pattern was detected when a higher amount of irrigation was combined with fertilizers. Lastly, we found that both diurnal and seasonal leaf water potential of plants grown in 4 L h-1 and/or 8 L h-1 were significantly higher than in control plots. Therefore, 4 L h-1 and/or 8 L h-1 with either NPK or compost has shown to be the optimal irrigation and fertilization strategy for the species in an arid and semi-arid region of Mongolia. Results should provide us with a better understanding of tree responses to varying amounts of irrigation with or without fertilizer in pursuit of sustainable forest management in arid and semi-arid ecosystems.

Novel pH responsive semi-interpenetrating polymer hydrogels based on tamarind gum-co-poly(acrylamidoglycolic acid) (TMGA) polymers have been synthesized using simple free radical polymerization in the presence of bis[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] phosphate as a crosslinker and potassium persulfate as a initiator. In addition, these hydrogels have been used as templates for green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (13.4±3.6 nm in diameter, TMGA-Ag) by using leaf extract of Teminalia bellirica as reducing agent. Swelling kinetics and equilibrium swelling behavior of the TMGA hydrogels have been investigated in various pH environment the maxium % equilibrium swelling behavior observed i.e., 2882±1.2. The synthesized hydrogels and silver nanocomposites have been characterized by the UV, FTIR, XRD, SEM and TEM. TMGA and TMGA-Ag hydrogels have been investigated to study the characteristics of drug delivery and antimicrobial study. Doxorubicin hydrochloride, a chemotherapeutic agent successfully encapsulated with maximum encapulstaion efficiency i.e., 69.20±1.2 and performed in vitro release studies in pH physiological and gastric environment at 37 ℃. The drug release behavior is examined with kinetic models such as zero order, first order, Higuchi, Hixson Crowell, Korsmeyer-Peppas. These release data was the best fitted with the Korsemeyer-Peppas transport mechanism with n=0.91. Treatment effect on HCT116 Cell, human colon cancer cells were assessed with cell viability and cell cycle analysis. Antimicrobial activity of TMGA-Ag hydrogels is studied against to Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumonia. Finally, the results demonstrate that TMGA and TMGA-Ag are promising candidates for anti-cancer drug delivery and inactivation of pathogenic bacteria, respectively.

An activated carbon manufacturing process using winemaking waste is analyzed and designed at industrial scale. Starting from experimental research, the chemical transformations and thermodynamics during pruning wood conversion are studied as a basis for plant design. In this way, mass and energy balances of hydrothermal carbonization and physical activation are fulfilled and a thermoeconomic methodology is applied to develop an energy-integrated plant. To achieve this target, a network of heat exchangers is allocated to minimize heat consumption and supply hot domestic water, while a cogeneration cycle is designed to provide electricity and satisfy the remaining heat demand. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to determine the influence of the production scale and other operation parameters, such as annual workload, service life, and capital and feedstock costs, on the economic viability of the plant. The energy balance of the plant indicates that the energy integration design manages to provide 48.9% of the overall process energy demand by crossing hot and cold streams and recovering heat from residual flue gas. On the other hand, the exergy cost analysis identifies the combustion of pruning wood used to provide heat demands as the main source of exergy destruction, confirming the suitability of integration to improve the thermodynamic performance. Including activated carbon production, electricity, and hot domestic water, the exergy efficiency of the plant stands at 11.5%.

: Our study aim to test the influence of RGB reflectance and chlorophyll content on grain fill and grain yield of 15 durum wheat cultivars sown under semi-arid conditions. the evolution of chlorophyll content during three stages showed a stability during the heading stage, the chlorophyll content begins at this degradation during grain filling. Boutaleb genotype which was the best yielding genotype was characterized by low values ​​of RGB reflectance and high values ​​of majority of grain filling parameters and thousand kernels weight. Grain filling follows a sigmoid curve. Chlorophyll content was positively correlated with reflectance under the green band and negatively with both Red and Blue bands. A positive correlation was recorded between thousand kernel weight and grain yield, maximum grain dry weight and grain filling duration. The duration of the grain filling was positively influenced by the maximum dry weight of the grain and negatively by the grain filling ratio, the grain filling ratio was positively affected by reflectance at blue band. The principal component analysis separated the cultivars considered into 3 principal components, the absorption/reflectance component, the profitability component and the component of grain filling rate to which the local landrace Boutaleb belongs in terms of grain yield.

This work addresses the role of charge regulation (CR) and the associated fluctuations in the conformational and mechanical properties of weak polyelectrolytes. Due to CR, changes in the pH-value modifies the average macromolecular charge and conformational equilibria. A second effect is that, for a given average charge per site, fluctuations can alter the intensity of the interactions by means of correlation between binding sites. We investigate both effects by means of Monte Carlo simulations at constant pH-value, so that the charge is a fluctuating quantity. Once the average charge per site is available, we turn off the fluctuations by assigning the same average charge to every site. A constant charge MC simulation is then performed. We make use of a model which accounts for the main fundamental aspects of a linear flexible polyelectrolyte i.e. proton binding, angle internal rotation, bond stretching and bending. Steric excluded volume and differentiated treatment for short-range and long-range interactions are also included in the model. It can be regarded as a kind of "minimal'' model in the sense that contains a minimum number of parameters but still preserving the atomistic detail. It is shown that, if fluctuations are activated, gauche state bond probabilities increase, and the persistence length decreases, so that the polymer becomes more folded. Macromolecular stretching is also analyzed in presence of CR (the charge depends on the applied force) and without CR (the charge is fixed to the value at zero force). The analysis of the low force scaling behavior concludes that Pincus exponent becomes pH-dependent. Both with and without CR, a transition from 1/2 at high pH-values (phantom chain) to 3/5 to low pH-values (Pincus regime), is observed. Finally, the intermediate force stretching regime is investigated. It is found that CR induces a moderate influence in the force-extension curves and persistence length (which in this force regime becomes force-dependent). It is thus concluded that the effect of CR on the stretching curves is mainly due to changes in the average charge at zero force. It is also found that, for the cases studied, the effect of steric excluded volume is almost irrelevant compared to electrostatic interactions.

The inherent value and use of hydrocarbon from waste plastics and solvents can be extended through open-loop chemical recycling as this process converts plastic to range of non-plastic materials. This process is enhanced by first creating plastic-solvent-combinations from multiple sources which are then streamlined through single process stream. We report on the relevant mechanics for streamlining industrially relevant polymers such as polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) into chemical slurries mixed with various organic solvents such as toluene, xylene and cyclohexane. The miscibility of the polymer feedstock within the solvent was evaluated using the Relative Energy Difference method, and the dissolution process was evaluated using the “Molecular theories in a continuum framework” model. These models were used to design a batch process yielding 1 tonne/h slurry by setting appropriate assumptions including constant viscosity of solvents, disentanglement-controlled dissolution mechanism and linear increase of the dissolved polymer’s mass fraction over time. Solvent selection was found to be the most critical parameter for the dissolution process. The characteristics of the ideal solvent are high affinity to the desired polymer and low viscosity. This work serves as a universal technical guideline for open-loop chemical recycling of plastics avoiding the growth of waste plastic in a circular economy framework.

A proposed animal welfare assessment protocol for semi-arid rangeland-based cow-calf systems in Namibia combined 40 measures from a protocol developed for beef cattle in New Zealand with additional Namibia-specific measures. Preliminary validation of the protocol had been undertaken with five herds in one semi-commercial village. The aim of the current study was to apply this protocol and compare animal welfare across three cow-calf production systems in Namibia. A total of 2529 beef cows were evaluated during pregnancy testing in the yards of 17 commercial, 20 semi-commercial and 18 communal (total: 55) herds followed by an assessment of farm resources and a questionnaire-guided interview. Non-parametric tests were used to evaluate the difference in the welfare scores between the production systems. The results indicated a discrepancy of animal welfare between the three farm types, with a marked separation of commercial farms from semi-commercial, and communal village farms in the least. The differences in these production systems was mainly driven by economic gains through access to better beef export market for commercial farms and semi-commercial villages, as well as by the differences in the available grazing land, facility designs/quality and traditional customs in the village systems. The results indicate an advantage of commercialisation over communalisation.

The emergence of the circular economy, and the evolving paradigms in the treatment and management of wastewater, have opened up an opportunity for co-digestion of organic waste (i.e., food waste) with sewage sludges to enhance resource recovery at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This paper reviewed the potential for anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and sewage sludges, as well as alternative sustainable food waste handling systems in South Africa. The promotion of the circular economy by the latest national solid waste management strategy and the ongoing efforts for resource recovery by the wastewater sector suggests that anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and sewage sludge is possible in South Africa. Furthermore, an integrated food waste disposer (FWD) system was identified as a sustainable alternative for food waste handling. To formulate a roadmap for future food waste and sewage sludge co-digestion implementation, a multi-disciplinary investigation is required to bridge the literature gap.

Extensive in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) will be essential to enable long-duration stays on Luna and Mars and reduce reliance on resupply from Earth. Early development of ISRU technologies has focused on standalone capabilities for specific targets related to life support and ascent propellant. An unexplored opportunity remains for greatly expanding the scope of materials that can be supplied by ISRU, and for integrating various technology platforms into a larger system. Recent advances in power-to-X technology aimed at decarbonising the global economy have made it possible to drive key chemical processes using electricity with small-scale, modular reactor. This paper proposes a vision for an integrated system of ISRU processes based on power-to-X technology to produce oxygen, hydrogen, water, methane, polymers, metal alloys, and synthetic fertilisers, using Martian regolith, atmosphere, and ice. A ‘building block’ strategy is adopted to convert raw materials into versatile intermediaries, which can then be combined to form essential products. A wider range of raw materials are available on Mars compared to Luna, suggesting greater opportunity for ISRU deployment to compensate for the greater time and cost requirements for a Mars resupply mission.

Various efforts have been made to detect minimum value of glucose in any medium like water or body buffer solutions with high-sensitivity, accurate, and low-cost sensors in order to enhance life style. Therefore, the present study was done to investigate reliability of two-dimensional plasmonic structure by circular dichroism (CD) and ellipsometry tools in different concentrations of glucose. Our results confirmed a dependency of the CD signal on glucose concentrations and also a very good sensitivity based on the phase difference between each polarization in ellipsometry parameters with the help of an achiral plasmonic structure.

In an increasingly resource-constrained era, the utilization approach of waste and by-products from grain processing, is attractive widely, considering both nutritive value and economic aspects and move towards more sustainable food systems. Following the fundamentals of a circular economy, the need of the hour lies in its effective utilization as a grain waste and by-products conversion into value-added products in food industry. The aim of this study is twofold: 1. Understanding the progress of grain waste and by-products to valorization in human nutrition, using bibliometrics; different literature databases namely Google Scholar, Web of Science and Elsevier Scopus have been evaluated for their merits and values; 2. Exploration of knowledge-based strategies, by reviewing the literature concerning the possible use of grain waste and by-products for food processing industry, reducing burden on virgin raw materials. The review allowed to unlock the latest-advances of upcycling side streams and waste from grain processing industry.

The study aimed to develop standards for a welfare assessment protocol, by validating potential categorisation thresholds for assessment of beef farms in various beef cow-calf production systems in Namibia. Forty measures combined from a New Zealand-based protocol plus Namibia-specific measures, were applied on 55 beef farms (17 commercial farms, 20 semi-commercial and 18 communal village farms) during pregnancy testing, and a questionnaire guided interview. The categorised measures on a 3-point welfare score of 0: good 1: marginal and 2: poor/unacceptable welfare were subsequently compared with derivation of thresholds based upon the poorest 15% and best 50% of herds for each measure. Overall combined thresholds of continuous measures across the 3 farm types, showed 10/22 measures that posed welfare compromise across Namibia, where commercial farms had 4/22 measures and semi-commercial and communal village farms had 12/22 and 11/22 respectively with high thresholds. Most measures-imposed thresholds were retained because of significant importance to welfare of animals and preventiveness of the traits, while leniency was given to adjust good feeding and mortality measures to signify periods of drought. Handling measures (fearful, falling/lying) and abrasions thresholds were adjusted to reflect the temporary stress caused by infrequent cattle handling, and faulty yard designs/design and possible cattle breed influence on handling. Hence, the country needs prioritised investigation of underlying contributing factors and remediation to reduce the high thresholds.

The authors have revised the circularity of materials, which is important to stimulate circular activity processes. The theoretical part starts with describing the characteristics of the circular activity and the comparison of circular and linear systems in terms of recycling. Later on, the authors examined key elements important for the circularity and the results of an examination of various sectors. The authors formed a correlation matrix and used a dynamic regression model to identify the circular material use rate. The authors suggested a three-level methodology, using it provided a dynamic regression model which could be applied for forecasting the size of circular material use rate in European Union countries. The results show that private investments into recycling and the recycling of electronic waste and the recycling of other municipal waste categories are important in seeking to increase the usage rate of circular materials.

Complete digraphs are referred to in the combinatorics literature as tournaments. We consider a family of semi-simplicial complexes, that we refer to as ``tournaplexes'', whose simplices are tournaments. In particular, given a digraph G, we associate with it a ``flag tournaplex'' which is a tournaplex containing the directed flag complex of G, but also the geometric realisation of cliques that are not directed. We define several types of filtrations on tournaplexes, and exploiting persistent homology, we observe that flag tournaplexes provide finer means of distinguishing graph dynamics than the directed flag complex. We then demonstrate the power of these ideas by applying them to graph data arising from the Blue Brain Project's digital reconstruction of a rat's neocortex.

Abstract: Droughts are complex and gradually evolving conditions of extreme water deficits which can compromise livelihoods and ecological integrity, especially in fragile arid and semi-arid regions that depend on rainfed farming, such as Kitui West in south-eastern Kenya. Against the background of low ground-station density, 10 gridded rainfall products and four gridded temperature products were used to generate an ensemble of 40 calculations of the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) to assess uncertainties in the onset, duration and magnitude of past droughts. These uncertainties were driven more by variations between the rainfall products than variations between the temperature products. Remaining ambiguities in drought occurrence could be resolved by complementing the quantitative analysis with ground-based information from key informants engaged in disaster relief, effectively formulating an ensemble approach to SPEI-based drought identification to aid decision making. The reported trend towards drier conditions in Eastern Africa was confirmed for Kitui West by the majority of data products, whereas the rainfall effect on the increasingly dry conditions was more subtle than annual and seasonal declines and greater annual variation, which warrants further investigation. Nevertheless, the effects of increasing droughts are already felt on the ground and warrant decisive action.

Cities consume over 75% of natural resources, produce over 50% of global waste and emit 60 - 80% of greenhouse gases. The scenario that by 2050 two thirds of the world population will live in cities, highlights how cities are still responsible of the growing consumption characterized by linear economy processes, with the production of various types of waste. In this unsustainable framework, the Circular Economy offers the opportunity to shape the urban system by means of rethinking the possibility to produce and use goods and services exploring new ways to ensure long-term prosperity. The Circular City paradigm contains in fact all the principles of the Circular Economy: recovery, recycling and sharing. In particular, Circular City also introduces actions related to the development of renewable energy communities, use of green materials, CO2 absorption approaches and Proximity Cities. The aim of this work is to develop a methodology to build a composite index (Circular City Index) capable of measuring the degree of implementation of urban policies that enable the territory to initiate an ecological transition of public assets. The city of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) represents the case study to apply circular urban policies in public properties, for civil and military use.

Iturbide is located in the Northeast of Mexico, it has a rich native and exotic flora, however, there are no ethnobotanical records, therefore, it requires attention in the documentation of traditional practices and uses of its botanical resources. In 2021, twelve field trips were carried out, applying 110 semi-structured interviews. Plant samples were collected, identified and deposited in an herbarium. We used the Chi-square test to compare ethnobotanical uses with respect to others reported in Mexico. To determine the cultural importance, three ethnobotanical indices were applied (UVI, ICF and FL). We recorded 250 species with ethnobotanical uses associated with 121 genera and 83 families, including 140 native and 110 exotic species. The most common plant families were Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, and Fabaceae. The main uses were ornamental, medicinal and food. The species with the highest UVI values ​​were Lepidium peruvianum, Ocimum basilicum and Rosmarinus officinale. The multifunctionality of the native and exotic flora demonstrates the extensive knowledge associated with botanical resources. Examples, the role of ornamental plants, with a direct impact on human well-being, the resilience of healers and traditional inhabitants by using different species for the treatment of various ailments. or indigenous edible plants in the daily diet.

The unresolved territories are privileged places for the proliferation of degradation phenomena that affect the environment and human well-being. The impacts of their critical conditions go beyond the limits of the damaged urban fragments, involving the built environment, society, economy, culture and conditioning quality of life. This paper proposes a methodological approach to landscape design supported by an evaluation framework to orient strategic design planning with specific attention to unresolved territories consistent with circular economy perspective. The circular city principles are applied to spatial planning of landscape, by operationalising Ecosystem Services, Landscape Services, and Ecosystem Disservices, as interpretative categories for multi-dimensional regenerative strategies. Starting from the theoretical framework, the objective of the analysis is to implement an approach to the regenerative design of landscapes of waste, defined wastescapes. The industrial area of East Naples is the case study where an incremental evaluative approach has been defined to design scenarios to provide services and values, aimed to drive the conversion in a regenerativescape. A multi-criteria analysis through PROMETHEE-GAIA method has been implemented to compare the base case scenario with two incremental new scenarios and identify situated sustainable priorities.

In the framework of 2D circular membrane Micro-Electric-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS), a new non-linear second-order differential model with singularity in the steady-state case is presented in this paper. In particular, starting from the fact that the electric field magnitude is locally proportional to the curvature of the membrane, the problem is formalized in terms of the mean curvature. Then, a result of existence of at least one solution is achieved. Finally, two different approaches prove that the uniqueness of the solutions is not ensured.

Circular Economy (CE) is noted as an emerging tool or framework to support sustainable production and consumption agenda. In addition, CE is aiming to be a trigger for redefining economic growth pathways to be sustainable, inclusive, and sensitive to ecological and environmental agendas and to focus its operational standards on co-creating societal benefits. Concerning the guiding principles and the standards of practice applied to implement and scale circular economy, this study will provide an overview of the water sector-specific circularity roadmaps and strategies in the Latin American Region. By using a semi-systematic review, document analysis, and qualitative assessment approach, we highlight framings and operational pathways, gaps, and needs within existing practices of circularity in the water sector. The results provide an overview of CE pathways at the national level of selected countries in LAR iterating those nations reflect various levels of advancement (low to high) with CE-focused innovations and policy support structures specific to the water and wastewater sectors. Towards the closing, the study is pointing to the ‘call for action’ to integrate outstanding advances and innovations in the circular economy within sectoral mandates for water and wastewater management, making an argument that circularity in the water sector could serve as an accelerator toward implementing the agenda outlined in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in particular for SDG 6 (water security for all).

An upsurge in global population over the years and rapid urbanization have accelerated huge dependence on petroleum-derived fuels and consequent environment concerns owing to green-house gas emissions in the atmosphere. An integrated biorefinery uses lignocellulosic feedstock as raw material for the production of renewable biofuels, and other fine chemicals. The sustain-able bio-economy and the biorefinery industry would benefit greatly from the effective use of lignocellulosic biomass obtained from agricultural feedstocks to replace petrochemical products. Lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and other extractives, which are essential components of ligno-cellulosic biomass, must be separated or upgraded into useful forms in order to fully realize the potential of biorefinery. The development of low-cost and green pretreatment technologies with effective biomass deconstruction potential is imperative for an efficient bioprocess. The abun-dance of microorganisms along with their continuous production of various degradative en-zymes makes them suited for the environmentally friendly bioconversion of agro-industrial wastes into viable bioproducts. The present review highlights the concept of biorefinery, ligno-cellulosic biomass and its valorization by green pretreatment strategies into biofuels and other biochemicals. The major barriers and challenges in bioconversion technologies, environmental sustainability of the bioproducts and promising solutions to alleviate those bottlenecks are also summarized.

The travel-goods industry is an essential part of the larger travel and tourism sector, but it creates significant environmental impacts due to resource and energy consumption. This study investigates the feasibility and sustainability potential of servitisation concepts within the travel-goods industry, and the Product-Service System (PSS) models, in particular, to identify steps towards a more sus-tainable travel industry in the future. It explores the sustainability-related drivers within the luggage industry and identifies barriers to the adoption of servitisation models, and opportunities for value creation for both consumers and commercial organisations. Business models are mapped into a ty-pology to highlight different pathways to PSS adoption, underpinned with empirical data collected via a consumer sentiment survey and semi-structured interviews with industry experts. Even though the analysis revealed shifting consumer attitudes towards servitisation concepts within the travel-goods market, with a significant level of interest emerging for specific PSS models, at present, the widespread adoption of PSS is hindered. This is due to the fragmented nature of global supply chains and entrenched ownership values. Addressing supply chain issues regarding end-of-life systems to sustainably manage products beyond functional obsolescence is critical. In parallel, product-oriented PSS models are more likely to increase, driven by a burgeoning resale market and supported by digi-tal technologies, which in turn can lead to greater prospects for use-oriented PSS adoption and even-tually, reduced environmental impacts.

This article evaluates Europe's building sector's circular economy (CE). This industry is respon-sible for 42% of energy consumption, more than 50% of extracted materials, 30% of Europe's wa-ter and waste generation, and 35% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study focuses on peer-reviewed articles from Scopus and Web of Science databases. Of the first 1750 publications, 2.9% were eligible for a full-text reading and analysis. Most of the trending studies, 92%, pro-mote the circular economy concept through construction materials rather than analyzing the im-pact of the construction sector on the environment and finding solutions for better implementa-tion, and 41% promote recycling and reuse as the only options. New Design solutions are in 12% of the studies, six-fold more than Law and Legislation, only 2%. Finding an optimal combination of assessing the life cycle of buildings and components and searching for different ways of man-aging the Construction and Demolition Waste at end-of-life is between 33% and 39%. Ultimately, one evaluated CE proposed frameworks for the building industry based on 10R principles varia-tions. One presents an alternative framework for a circular strategy for the building industry that focuses on Upcycling, replacing the Recover principle.

Swimming pools are examples of water-intensive facilities, where solutions for reducing economic and environmental costs are increasingly frequently searched. One of the solutions is the recovery of water from wastewater, including from washings obtained through the process of rinsing filter bed. The study objective was the qualitative and quantitative assessment of post-coagulation sludges, the main pollutant found in the washings. During the analyses, assessment of the sedimentation capabilities of the sludges was performed (gravitationally), particle size distribution was assessed (particle size distribution analyzer) and assessment of phytotoxicity with the use of plant indicators in short-term tests was performed (Lemna minor, Lepidium sativum, Sinapis alba, Raphanus sativus). The samples were collected from two independent circulations, which differed in terms of capacity and type of coagulant used. The tested post-coagulation sludges were characterized by high content of total suspended solids: in samples from Circulation 1 from 251 to 128 mg/l, in Circulation 2 from 489 to 228 mg/l. However, the sedimentation processes enabled significant separation of sludges. The hydrolyzed coagulant contributed to the improvement of sedimentation capabilities of sludges. Despite the fact that in many samples low sludge concentrations favored stimulation of plant growth, the post-coagulation sludges can constitute a hazard to plant growth, particularly in the long-term perspective.

In the realm of mathematics education, self-explanation stands as a crucial learning mechanism, allowing learners to articulate their comprehension of intricate mathematical concepts and strategies. As digital learning platforms grow in prominence, there are mounting opportunities to collect and utilize mathematical self-explanations. However, these opportunities are met with challenges in automated evaluation. Automatic scoring of mathematical self-explanations is crucial for preprocessing tasks, including the categorization of learner responses, identification of common misconceptions, and the creation of tailored feedback and model solutions. Nevertheless, this task is hindered by the dearth of ample sample sets. Our research introduces a semi-supervised technique using the Language Learning Model (LLM), specifically its Japanese variant, to enrich datasets for the automated scoring of mathematical self-explanations. We rigorously evaluated the quality of self-explanations across five datasets, ranging from human-evaluated originals to ones devoid of original content. Our results show that combining LLM-based explanations with mathematical material significantly improves the model's accuracy. Interestingly, there's an optimal limit to how much synthetic self-explanation data can bene-fit the system. Exceeding this limit doesn't further improve outcomes. This study thus highlights the need for careful consideration when integrating synthetic data into solutions, especially within the mathematics discipline.

The textile and clothing (T&C) industry is not usually viewed as an exemplar of sustainable de-velopment and the circular economy, as the industry has hitherto made its products in linear fashion, with relatively little recycling of the finished goods. This article examines the industry’s approach to the core sustainability concept and the circular economy in particular, through a re-view of the available academic literature, evidence from corporate sustainability reports and websites, and feedback from an online survey of industry professionals. The role of digital technology deployment in engendering sustainability and the circular economy in the industry is also explored. The study finds that whilst sustainability is now firmly embedded at the strategic level in the vast majority of companies studied, attitudes towards the circular economy remain fickle. The use of digital technologies in support of sustainability objectives is also limited at present, but the article concludes that the need to meet compliance requirements and new cus-tomer perceptions of sustainability will speed the transition to circular economy activities, facili-tated by greater exploitation of digital technologies. Building upon the research findings, existing models and an initial conceptual framework, a simple operational model for initiating such a transition for small-to-medium sized enterprises in the T&C industry is put forward.

We generalize the dynamical analog of the Berry geometric phase setup to the quaternionic model of Avron et al. In our dynamical quaternionic system, the fast half-integer spin subsystem interacts with a slow two-degrees-of-freedom subsystem. The model is invariant under the 1:1:2 weighted SO(2) symmetry and spin inversion. There is one formal control parameter in addition to four dynamical variables of the slow subsystem. We demonstrate that the most elementary qualitative phenomenon associated with the rearrangement of the energy super-bands of our model consists of the rearrangement of one energy level between two energy superbands which takes place when the formal control parameter takes the special isolated value associated with the conical degeneracy of the semi-quantum eigenvalues. This qualitative phenomenon is of the topological origin, and is characterized by the second Chern class of the associated semi-quantum system. The correspondence between the number of redistributed energy levels and the second Chern number is confirmed through a series of examples.

The combination of organic matter, iron oxide, and clay minerals is of great significance for the adsorption of copper ions (Cu). The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics of Cu adsorption and laws governing Cu complexation to organic–inorganic, organic–clay mineral, and iron-oxide–clay mineral complexes in the sediments in the estuary of plateau fault and sinking lake——Dianchi Lake. In this study, Cu adsorption tests were performed on the three complexes, in order to study the kinetic behavior of adsorption, Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were used. The samples before and after adsorption were characterized via scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Our results show that, the Freundlich isotherm models model was able to describe adsorbent behavior in comparison to the Langmuir models. During the Cu adsorption process, the iron-oxide–clay mineral complex is able to adsorb Cu, via coordination exchange, through the –OH contained therein. Organic-matter–clay mineral complexes bonded to the surfaces of clay minerals by replacing the hydroxyl groups with functional groups (carboxyl groups or phenolic hydroxyl groups) contained in the organic matter. Organic–inorganic composites then adsorbed Cu through the coordination exchange of –OH in the polar functional groups of alcohols, phenols, and carboxylic acids. The adsorption capacity of Cu in these three sediment complexes was observed to have the following order: organic–inorganic complex &gt; organic-matter–clay mineral complex &gt; iron-oxide–clay mineral complex. The semi-quantitative analysis results of Fourier Infrared Spectroscopy show that the organic matter (changes in the peak area of functional groups such as carboxyl groups) in the organic-inorganic composite material has an important effect on the amount of copper ions adsorbed by clay minerals.

We report cross-shore profile evolution at Palanga, eastern Baltic Sea where short period waves dominate. Cross-shore profile studies began directly after a significant coastal erosion caused by storm “Anatoly” in December of 1999 and continued for a year. Further measurements were undertaken sixteen years later. Cross-shore profile ∆V(x) changes were described, and cross-shore transport rates Q(x) were calculated. A K-means clustering technique was applied to determine sections of the profile with the same development tendencies. Profile evolution was strongly influenced by the depth of closure which is constrained by a moraine layer and the presence of a groyne. The method used divided the profile into four clusters: the 1st cluster in the deepest water represents profile evolution limited by the depth of closure, and the 2nd and 3rd mostly are affected by processes induced by wind, wave and sea-water level changes. The most intensive sediment volume changes were observed directly after the coastal erosion. The largest sand accumulation was in the 4th profile cluster, which includes the upper beach and dunes. Seaward extension of the dune system caused a narrowing of the visible beach which has led to an increased sand volume (accretion) being misinterpreted as erosion

In recent years, the manufacturing sector has benefited from a variety of technological innovations regarding automation and utilization of artificial intelligence on the shopfloor. During the manufacturing processes of a product, a variety of meta data can be derived from each working step and considered during subsequent stages of its liefycle like shipment, utilization or recycling. With upcoming regulations decided by the European Union, manufacturers must begin to react to the demand of a comprehensive circular economies by introducing technical solutions like Digital Product Passports (DPP). By associating the specific conditions of all stages in the life of a product within a digital identity, e.g., the DPP, transparency and efficiency can be increased. The Gaia-X service landscape aims at realizing federated data infrastructures, enabling robust and transparent services while considering data sovereignty. In this work, a modular and generic multi-tenant framework for utilizing DPPs within cross-company ecosystems is presented with respect to the manufacturing sector. In applying the Secret Network-blockchain for implementing the automation of DPP management processes, premises for Gaia-X compliance and therefore strengthened trust-anchors are realized. By considering details of ecosystems, as well as most interesting security threats to the proposed architecture, a holistic view of applying DPPs in the context of smart production supply chains is shown. In presenting a simple but vivid use case of the production and compilation of car wheels, the fundamental benefits of the work on hand are underlined, once more.

In proteomics, it is essential to quantify proteins in absolute terms if we wish compare results among studies and integrate high-throughput biological data into genome-scale metabolic models. While labeling target peptides with stable isotopes allows protein abundance to be accurately quantified, the utility of this technique is constrained by the low number of quantifiable proteins that it yields. Recently, label-free shotgun proteomics has become the “gold standard” for carrying out global assessments of biological samples containing thousands of proteins. However, this tool must be further improved if we wish to accurately quantify absolute levels of proteins. Here, we used different label-free quantification techniques to estimate absolute protein abundance in the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. More specifically, we evaluated the performance of seven different quantification methods, based either on spectral counting (SC) or extracted-ion chromatogram (XIC), which were applied to samples from five different proteome backgrounds. We also compared the accuracy and reproducibility of two strategies for transforming relative abundance into absolute abundance: a UPS2-based strategy and the total protein approach (TPA). This study mentions technical challenges related to UPS2 use and proposes ways of addressing them, including utilizing a smaller, more highly optimized amount of UPS2. Overall, three SC-based methods (PAI, SAF, and NSAF) yielded the best results because they struck a good balance between experimental performance and protein quantification.

In the current paper, we present our work towards developing a solution combining computer vision and AI to support footrest design customization in the wheelchair industry. Wheelchairs and postural systems are complex and often user centric in the design process. Those products require a wide range of adjustments to adapt to the various anthropometries and disabilities of patients. Most commercial products, dedicated to severe disability, also include a series of additional elements, designed to keep the patient in a comfortable but “fixed” position. Such systems do not allow to “fix and maintain” the position of patient foot, especially for patients who have no control over their lower limbs. For that reason, it becomes essential to supply wheelchairs with specific elements to hold patient's shoe in place. Commercial foot supports are typically developed on standard sizes and do not always cover the entire population. In addition, those designs are based on standard shoes, thus they do not lend themselves well to adapting to special shoes or orthopedic shoes. Feet final position therefore becomes a key element in correct postural management. In this paper, we investigate the use of computer vision and AI to correctly define customization parameters of the footrest. The proposed design has been developed based on the specifications received from the Pro Medicare S.r.l orthopedic technicians. We present suitable algorithms, design principles and well defined components towards the implementation of our proof of concept. We also present the testing activities we have undertaken and the obtained performance results.

Post-industrial recycling (PIR) and post-consumer recycling (PCR) are measures to sustain re-sources by improving materials’ circularity and sustainability. Currently, circularity is mostly measured as the degree of reutilization of a material from 0 to 100 % at product or company lev-el. This lacks in assessing the resources’ usage over multiple product life cycles. Therefore, we propose to assess circularity as (i) the frequency resources are used in products (effective circu-larity eC) and (ii) a vehicle to reduce virgin resource use and environmental impacts (environ-mentally efficient circularity eeC). Besides, to compare the environmental impacts of using recy-cled materials from PIR or PCR, we analyse their impact reduction potential (IRP) indicating the environmental benefits of recycling in relation to virgin material put onto the market. We demonstrate the suggested indicators for a case study material: polypropylene. For this polymer type, the eC ranges between 0.93 and 9.08 uses of the resource on average depending on collec-tion, sorting, and recycling rates. Likewise, the eeC ranges between 0.31 and 1.50 uses per kg of CO2 equivalents emitted. PCR has a higher IRP regarding climate change impacts than PIR in all analysed scenarios. The results reveal the relevance of PCR and PIR beyond the product life cycle.

The abundant use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in a wide variety of electric devices and vehicles will generate a large number of depleted batteries, which contain several valuable metals such as Li, Co, Mn, and Ni present in the structure of the cathode material (LiMO2). The present work investigates chemical, technological, and environmental aspects in the treatment of such wastes, development of a methodology for the extraction of lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and graphite by a carbochlorination pyrometallurgical process. Mixtures of cathode and anode materials (called black mass, mixed oxides of Li, Co, Ni, Mn, and graphite) from different LIBs, carbon black (as reducing agent), and CaCl2 (as chlorinating agent) were used. Non-isothermal thermogravimetric tests up to 850°C and isothermal tests at 700°C of the mixtures in an inert atmosphere were carried out. It was experimentally observed that the LiMO2-C-CaCl2 reaction takes place at 700°C. LiCl, Ni, and Co were obtained as final products, and to a lesser extent, CoO, NiO, and MnO2. CaCO3 was also obtained as a by-product. The obtained results show that carbochlorination is an efficient and effective alternative route for the extraction and recovery of metals from different LIBs, focused on the sustainability and circular economy

The paper delves into an extensive exploration of the integration of the circular economy paradigm within the realm of additive manufacturing (AM). The objective is to comprehensively investigate existing methodologies for structuring the symbiotic relationship between circular economy and additive manufacturing, while meticulously analyzing the current research gap concerning the implementation of circular economy principles in additive manufacturing practices. A thorough review focusing on the sustainability of additive manufacturing within the circular economy framework was conducted. This review aims to recognize and delineate pertinent aspects related to post-use material valuation in AM, recyclability of materials, and the environmental footprint associated with these processes. Emphasis was placed on the significance of examining circular economy facets concerning additive manufacturing processes to establish a holistic understanding. The overarching goal of this review is to augment knowledge regarding the potential advantages and benefits derived from the seamless integration of circular economy principles within AM. By elucidating the activities essential to attain compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals, this study endeavors to illuminate the pathway toward promoting sustainable development through the harmonious marriage of additive manufacturing and the circular economy.

A time integration scheme based on semi-Lagrangian advection and Laplace transform adjustment has been implemented in a baroclinic primitive equation model. The semi-Lagrangian scheme makes it possible to use large time steps. However, errors arising from the semi-implicit scheme increase with the time step size. In contrast, the errors using the Laplace transform adjustment remain relatively small for typical time steps used with semi-Lagrangian advection. Numerical experiments confirm the superior performance of the Laplace transform scheme relative to the semi-implicit reference model. The algorithmic complexity of the scheme is comparable to the reference model, making it computationally competitive, and indicating its potential for integrating weather and climate prediction models.

Recently, a paper was written to reformulate and strengthen the theory of semi-structured complex numbers H (a new number set invented to enable division by zero). Whilst the paper had profound results, the application of this number set in many areas of engineering and science has not been fully explored. Consequently, the aim of this paper was to establish the number set H as a useful mathematical tool by providing an amalgam of results arising from its application in several areas of engineering and science. In the process, this paper makes four major contributions: these are (1) determining the product of the gradients of a horizontal and vertical line; (2) developing new Euler formulas relating exponential, trigonometric and hyperbolic functions in the 3D semi-structured complex number Euclidean space; (3) establishing semi-structured complex numbers as a better extension of the complex number set than quaternions; (4) resolving singularities that may arise in engineering and science equations (because of division by zero) to develop reasonable conclusions in the absence of experimental data. These results and their applications provide a firm foundation to advance the number set H as a useful mathematical tool.

The use of the commercial simulator Aspen Plus® could bring an amelioration in the accuracy of the predictions of the chemical species composition in the output streams of the anaerobic digestion process, due to availability of a broad library of thermodynamic and phenomena transport properties in this commercial package. In the present investigation, the process simulation model for anaerobic digestion, which was originally developed by Rajendran et al. [1], has been modified by including a stoichiometric-equilibria reactor to calculate the extent of the ionization of the molecules present in the anaerobic digestate. The refined model offers a more accurate prediction of the composition of the biogas because it delves on the chemical equilibrium of the gaseous stream and the anaerobic digestate. Additionally, the refined model allows to assess the possibility of upgrading the gaseous stream to biomethane degree via manufacturing of ammonium bicarbonate. This processing pathway relies on the stabilization of the anaerobic digestate by means of biomass ash-based treatment. First of all, the titration of the manure digestate with the hydrochloric acid showed that a dose of 3.18 mEq/g would be required to attain the targeted pH of zero-point charge, upon addition of the sewage sludge ash in a ratio to the manure digestate of 0.6 ± 0.2 %. Secondly, the profiles of ammonia, carbon dioxide, and methane found in the biogas agree with both the pH of the treated digestate and the processes described in for the simultaneously upgrading the biogas and the production of ammonium bicarbonate. The refined Aspen Plus® model presented in this article needs to be further developed to ensure the standards are attained in all output streams of stabilized anaerobic digestate, biomethane, and isolated added-value chemical fertilizers.

Rajshahi, blessed by the geographical advantage provided by the river Padma, is a beautiful and one of the cleanest cities in Bangladesh. It presents a spectacular image and stunning sight to its residents. But Rapid urbanization created immense pressure on the infrastructures and cityscape by rescinding most of the natural assets and scenic beauty it possessed historically. The growing pressure of population influx accompanied by unplanned urbanization threatens the survival of its waterbodies, wetlands, and greeneries, which many other contemporary cities strive to achieve with hard-hearted planning measures. Moreover, the city suffers from inadequate provision of quality outdoor recreational facilities. Yet because of the verdant resources, it still can set an example of becoming green and fluid landscape. There are scopes to connect the city people to the urban landscape and blue-green infrastructures by applying proper planning and urban design techniques. For example, it can explore the potential and scope of a water-based transportation system to create outdoor recreation space for city dwellers as well as a transport mode in the city. This SECTION discusses the prospects and potential of enhancing recreational aspects of Circular Inland Waterways. It also analyzes the benefits of a network of waterways well-connected and integrated with the existing conventional transportation system to reduce pressure on land transport and promote a sustainable system. This research was conducted in two phases each involving a distinct approach. The first one was a macroscopic approach to probe the potential of the water transport system in Rajshahi city. The required data on traffic volume, traffic growth rate, roads and existing waterbodies were collected, and GIS and Remote Sensing tools were used to find the scope of waterway transport around Rajshahi City. In the second approach, a detailed design was proposed for a potential circular waterway network in the city. Results indicate that there is a huge prospect for introducing a circular waterway transport system around Rajshahi city to create a place of fluid landscape and minimize the pressure on the existing land transportation system.

Two heating surfaces with longitudinal fins are located within the closed channel inside the housing made of thermal insulation material. The air flow inside the channel was carried out by an axial fan. The heating of the fins is established by using two positive temperature coefficient heating elements (PTC). Air flows circularly from one finned surface to another, and after reaching the required temperature, it leaves the housing. In the heating system conceived in this way, a methodology based on transient thermal irreversibility of heating sources and circular air flow has been established. Volumetric air flow and circulation time within the channel were varied. The total entropy generated does not include hydraulic irreversibility, but transient thermal irreversibility of the air and heat sources. For conducting analytical modeling, the temperature of the PTC heater was considered constant at 423K and 473K. Volumetric air flow varied in the interval from 0.00001m3s-1 to 0.00006m3s-1. The experimental determination of the transient thermal entropy was performed at a much higher air flow rate of 0.005m3s-1 inside the closed channel. Due to the continuous increase in air temperature, the temperatures of both PTC heaters increased within the examined time interval of 300s. According to experimental testing, the total transient thermal entropy of the described heating system has a minimum after 175s from the start of the circular heating of the air. The minimum of transient entropy also implies the optimal time of channel opening and exit of heated air.

This paper presents the experimental and numerical studies of the vertical stress distribution beneath the centerline of circular footings resting on the sand. Vertical stress values due to circular load in medium-dense sand were measured using soil stress transducers. Reduced-scale laboratory model tests were carried out in a square-shaped test box and vertical stresses were measured at the centerline of the circular footing at different depths of the sand. In order to determine the effect of footing width on vertical stress distribution, laboratory experiments were performed on circular footings of different diameters. In addition, a series of finite element analyses was carried out on the test model to validate the findings of the experimental study. In the numerical analysis, the sand was modeled as a non-linear elastoplastic material. The analyses were performed using the finite element method with two-dimensional axisymmetric and three-dimensional conditions. The results obtained from laboratory model tests and numerical analysis were compared with the vertical stress values obtained from the theoretical solution in the literature. Vertical stress distribution in horizontal planes at any depth from the footing base shows the same characteristic form in all methods. However, some differences were observed between experimental, numerical, and theoretical results and discussed.

This study focuses on land cover and land management changes in relation to food security and environmental services in a semi-arid area of East Nusa Tenggara (ENT) – Indonesia. The study was conducted in Central Sumba District of ENT Province. Classification and regression tree (CART) for land cover classification has been analyzed using machine learning techniques using Google Earth Engine. A survey with Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and followed with in-depth interviews were conducted for primary data collection involving a total of 871 respondents. The Socio-economic data analyzed statistics descriptively and non-parametric tests. The study showed that: 1). There has been a substantial land use change during the devo-lution era that has both positive and negative implications for food security and envi-ronmental services. 2). There has been population pressure in the fertile or agricultur-al land as the direct impact of the development of city infrastructures; and 3). Nation-al intervention through the Food Estate program has fostered and shaped land use change and land management in Central Sumba District. The study highlights the importance that the devolution spirit should help to well manage the limited ara-ble/agricultural land in dominated semi-arid to ensure food security and environment services.

An inter- and transdisciplinary concept has been developed, focusing on the scaling of industrial circular construction using innovative compacted mineral mixtures (CMM) derived from various soil types (sand, silt, clay) and recycled mineral waste. The concept aims to accelerate the systemic transformation of the construction industry towards carbon neutrality by promoting the large-scale adoption and automation of CMM-based construction materials, which incorporate natural mineral components and recycled aggregates or industrial by-products. In close collaboration with international and domestic stakeholders in the construction sector, the concept explores the integration of various CMM-based construction methods for producing wall elements in conventional building construction. Leveraging a digital urban mining platform, the concept aims to standardize the production process and enable mass-scale production. The ultimate goal is to fully harness the potential of automated CMM-based wall elements as a fast, competitive, emission-free, and recyclable alternative to traditional masonry and concrete construction techniques. To achieve this objective, the concept draws upon the latest advances in soil mechanics, rheology, and automation and incorporates open-source digital platform technologies to enhance data accessibility, processing, and knowledge acquisition. This will bolster confidence in CMM-based technologies and facilitate their widespread adoption. The extraordinary transfer potential of this approach necessitates both basic and applied research. As such, the proposed transformative, inter- and transdisciplinary concept will be conducted and synthesized using a comprehensive, holistic, and transfer-oriented methodology.

With the continuous growth of electric and electronic appliances’ usage, the waste produced with obsolete material (e-waste) has an increasing environmental impact. Also, the production of such appliances bears to increased consumption of natural resources and produces a multitude of toxic and hazardous substances, which typically are not properly treated. One of the approaches that may be adopted to reduce such problems relies on the circularization of the current linear model, commonly adopted in the EEE value chain. This includes recovering eol products and reintroducing its parts, components, or raw materials into the value chain (e.g. semiconductors, circuit boards, raw metals, etc.), thus contributing to a more sustainable value chain. In this article, we present a state-of-art review that focuses on approaches and solutions for the EEE value chain traceability, and analyses the technologies that may be beneficial for promoting and implementing the CE model in this value chain.

Pineapple is a highly demanded fruit in international markets, thanks to its unique appearance and flavor, high fiber content, vitamins, folic acid, and minerals. It makes the pineapple production and processing market a significant source of income for producing countries, such as Costa Rica. Nowadays, its processing produces a large amount of waste with negative consequences for the environment. However, pineapple waste is an essential source of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and other high-value products like enzymes (bromelain). These by-products can be obtained by pineapple waste biorefinery, generating an additional source of export goods and foreign currency, framing pineapple processing in the concept of the circular economy. This review discusses how incorporating biorefinery in the pineapple production processes can contribute to the post-COVID 19 economy in Costa Rica. Pineapple production in Costa Rica is explored, and the contamination of generated residues is delineated. Furthermore, the primary processes for by-product extraction via biorefinery, their general characteristics and applications in the medical field, and their contribution to the circular economy are presented.

: Seaweeds are among the most important biomass feedstocks for the production of third generation biofuels. They are also efficient in carbon sequestration during growth, and produce a variety of high value chemicals. Given these characteristics together with the relatively high carbohydrate content, seaweeds have been discussed as an ideal means for CO2 capture and biofuel production. Though third generation biofuels have emerged as some of the best alternatives to fossil fuels, there is currently no large-scale production or mainstream use of such liquid fuels due to the many technical challenges and high production costs. The present study describes the concept of coastal marine biorefineries as the most cost-effective and sustainable approach for biofuel production from sea-weeds as well as atmospheric carbon capture and storage (CCS). The suggested refinery system makes use of marine resources, namely seawater, seaweed, and marine microorganisms. Firstly, extensive screening of the current literature was performed to determine which technologies would enable the emergence of such a novel biorefinery system and its merits over conventional refineries. Secondly, the study investigates various scenarios assessing the potential of seaweeds as a means of carbon sequestration. We demonstrate that the removal of 100 Gigatons of excess CO2 using seaweed farms can be achieved in around 4 months to less than 12 years depending on the area under cultivation and the seaweed species. The total bioethanol that could be generated from the harvested biomass is around 8 trillion litres. In addition, high-value chemicals (HVC) that could potentially be recovered from the process represent a considerable op-portunity with multi-billion-dollar commercial value. Overall, coastal marine biorefineries have strong potential for a sustainable green economy and rep-resent a rapid approach for climate change mitigation.