Review
Microbiology
Marc Griesemer, Ali Navid
Summary: Secondary metabolites play a critical role in microbial interactions with the environment and have important ecological, agricultural, medicinal, and industrial uses. Industrial-scale microbial production is a green and economically attractive alternative. In silico multi-objective analysis of metabolism using genome-scale models is an ideal method for studying this field.
Article
Economics
Carlos Francisco Terneus Paez, Oswaldo Viteri Salazar
Summary: This research analyzes the impact of biofuel production in Ecuador on water, food, and energy, with a focus on ethanol produced from sugar cane. Despite the trend of promoting biofuels in countries highly dependent on petroleum imports, other options should be explored due to the risks biofuels pose to food security.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Adithya Sridhar, Muthamilselvi Ponnuchamy, Ponnusamy Senthil Kumar, Ashish Kapoor, Leilei Xiao
Summary: The research on converting food waste to hydrogen energy has gained increasing attention in the past two decades, with the number of publications growing nearly 50 times. China, South Korea, and India are the top contributors to research output, while the USA dominates in terms of citations. Future research hotspots include fuel delivery, environmental impacts, and social acceptance.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Bartlomiej Bajan, Joanna Lukasiewicz, Agnieszka Poczta-Wajda, Walenty Poczta
Summary: The projected increase in global population necessitates an increase in food production, with a high reliance on energy. The energy return on investment (EROI) is an important indicator for energy efficiency, showing that underdeveloped regions have high EROI but insufficient food production, while highly developed regions have low EROI but strong food self-sufficiency.
Article
Limnology
Jan J. Beukema, Rob Dekker
Summary: The numbers and weights of macrozoobenthos in the Dutch Wadden Sea have been monitored for several decades. Data collected since 1992 were used to estimate annual secondary production. Chlorophyll concentrations and primary production data from a nearby tidal inlet were also examined and showed rapid increases in the late 1970s, followed by gradual declines since the late 1980s. The benthos responded to these changes by doubling in biomass around 1980 and experiencing gradual declines in summer biomass, annual production, and seasonal biomass gain during the de-eutrophication period from 1992 to 2019. Bivalves were found to be the main contributors to zoobenthic production, with their production values being positively correlated with recruitment success in the preceding year.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Michelle Jungbluth, Calvin Lee, Cheryl Patel, Toni Ignoffo, Brian Bergamaschi, Wim Kimmerer
Summary: The study investigated the consumption of a massive bloom of Aulacoseira granulata by the dominant zooplankton Pseudodiaptomus forbesi in the upper San Francisco Estuary. Results showed that ingestion rates decreased over time, providing only a minor contribution to the growth and reproduction of P. forbesi.
ESTUARIES AND COASTS
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Abul Doulah, Tonmoy Ghosh, Delwar Hossain, Masudul H. Imtiaz, Edward Sazonov
Summary: A novel wearable sensor AIM-2 was proposed in the study, which can accurately capture food intake images, reduce the number of images for analysis, and alleviate privacy concerns of users.
IEEE JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH INFORMATICS
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Walter Anaya Menacho, Abdul Md Mazid, Narottam Das
Summary: Research on producing biofuel from food waste using a two-stage digester setup has shown promising results in increasing biogas and methane production, with simulations providing valuable data for future industrial-level biogas research and development.
Article
Economics
Yang Qu, Tara Hooper, J. Kim Swales, Eleni Papathanasopoulou, Melanie C. Austen, Xiaoyu Yan
Summary: This study examines the impacts of offshore wind farms on the seafood industry from a macroeconomic perspective using a computable general equilibrium model with Scotland as a case study. The results indicate that increasing the number of offshore wind farms may have negative effects on seafood production, but the reduced electricity costs have a positive impact on the economy as a whole, benefiting lower income households and reducing fuel poverty.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yijie Zhai, Tianzuo Zhang, Yueyang Bai, Changxing Ji, Xiaotian Ma, Xiaoxu Shen, Jinglan Hong
Summary: This study conducted an energy and water footprint analysis of cereal production in China, focusing on wheat, maize, and rice. It found that rice production had a significantly higher water footprint compared to maize and wheat, and agricultural economic effect was the largest driving factor in promoting environmental burdens. Effective measures such as optimizing plantation structure and implementing rational agricultural management practices are recommended for achieving resource-saving and ecofriendly agricultural development.
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Hoda Amiri, Mohammad Hoseini, Sajjad Abbasi, Mohammad Malakootian, Majid Hashemi, Neamatollah Jaafarzadeh, Andrew Turner
Summary: Microplastics (MPs) are widespread contaminants and their impact on human health is still uncertain but of increasing interest in the scientific community. This study investigated MP contamination in soils from Hormoz Island, Iran and spices made from these soils. Fibres of various types of plastics were detected in the soils and composite spice, with the highest concentration found in the spice (0.1 MP g(-1)). Geophagy, the ingestion of contaminated soil and dirt, could be a significant means of MP exposure for humans and animals.
JOURNAL OF FOOD COMPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Qi Wang, Shanshan Fu, Fanghong Mu, Zhinan Zhang, Xiaoshou Liu
Summary: The study evaluated the impact of bottom aquaculture on benthic ecosystems by examining the characteristics of benthic food web using stable isotope techniques. Results showed that there were no significant seasonal changes in the structure of the benthic food web, although food sources had seasonal differences in stable isotope values. Manila clam bottom aquaculture can enhance secondary productivity by providing bio-deposits. Bivalve bottom culture may have a positive impact on benthic ecosystem functioning.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Carlos J. M. Silva, Ana L. Patricio Silva, Diana Campos, Ana L. Machado, Joao L. T. Pestana, Carlos Gravato
Summary: This study found that dipteran larvae exposed to different sizes of polyethylene microplastics exhibited varying degrees of ingestion, leading to oxidative damage and reduced aerobic energy production, ultimately impacting their physiology and fitness.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Yifei Yin, Angui Li, Dingmeng Wu, Xiaoqi Wen, Jiaxing Li, Jinnan Guo, Yuanqing Ma
Summary: This study proposes a method to reduce energy loss and resistance by inserting guide vanes in a confluent T-junction, and analyzes the flow characteristics and energy loss distribution through experiments and simulations. The results show that the T-junction with curved guide vanes has significantly smaller energy loss coefficient compared to the traditional T-junction.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Maria Spoljar, Mirela Sertic Peric, Haobai Wang, Chen Zhang, Natalia Kuczynska-Kippen, Jelena Fressl, Zvonimir Ercegovac
Summary: The littoral zone of shallow water bodies is highly sensitive to water level fluctuations caused by climate-related hydrologic changes. Different environmental conditions in the three temperate shallow water bodies led to variations in macrozoobenthos structure, with larger-sized macroinvertebrates dominating in turbid lakes and smaller detritivores and grazers prevailing in transparent lakes covered by submerged macrophytes.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)