Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Thomas Hughes, Bhavan Rai, Sanjeev Madaan, Edmund Chedgy, Bhaskar Somani
Summary: Robot-assisted surgical systems (RASS) have transformed the management of urological conditions, particularly with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) becoming the preferred approach. The market has opened up to new contenders as patents expire, leading to increased competition and potentially lower costs. Despite barriers such as learning curves and training, advancements in technology and dedicated training programs have improved accessibility. Comprehensive research has shown improved outcomes and the rapid developments in robot-assisted surgery indicate a promising new era in urological surgery.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Seyed Mojib Zahraee, Nirajan Shiwakoti, Peter Stasinopoulos
Summary: The wood based bioenergy industry has been growing rapidly, and this study focuses on investigating the environmental emissions and transportation costs of the woody biomass supply chain. The results show that a combination of truck and train transport with increasing container size and capacity can significantly reduce pollutant emissions and transportation costs.
Article
Environmental Studies
Ralf-Uwe Syrbe, Tran Thuc Han, Karsten Grunewald, Suili Xiao, Wolfgang Wende
Summary: This paper examines the relationship between land demands for biomass heating and ecosystem services. By utilizing residues from forestry and the wood processing industry, sustainable supply of woody biomass is possible. Therefore, the use of pellets and wood chips for heating purposes should be expanded.
Article
Thermodynamics
Sajida Kousar, Maryam Nazir Sangi, Nasreen Kausar, Praveen Agarwal, Ebru Ozbilge, Alper Bulut
Summary: This paper discusses the transportation and biomass optimization problem in the process of biomass conversion. It presents an optimization method for reducing transportation costs of natural gas and biofuel, depending on transport routes and other factors.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Tomohiro Tabata, Junnan Zhou, Jinku Hoshikawa
Summary: The study organized a model to describe the impact of woody biomass energy utilization on natural ecosystems, conducted an online survey to collect data on woody biomass power plants and heat utilization facilities in Japan, and discussed the positive and negative impacts of using woody biomass on economic, environmental, social systems, and ecosystems.
CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Quan-Hoang Vuong, Quang-Loc Nguyen, Ruining Jin, Minh-Hieu Thi Nguyen, Thi-Phuong Nguyen, Viet-Phuong La, Minh-Hoang Nguyen
Summary: This article investigates how to increase landowners' likelihood to contribute to woody-biomass-based energy and finds that male landowners, those with higher income, and members of state/national forestry organizations are more likely to waste woody resources.
Article
Forestry
Yusuke Matsuoka, Hiroaki Shirasawa, Uichi Hayashi, Kazuhiro Aruga
Summary: This study estimated the annual availability of timber and forest biomass resources in Japan, focusing on trade between five prefectures. The study found the supply potential of timber and forest biomass resources, as well as the ratio between availability and demand, and provided thinning subsidies for large operational sites.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Pranshu Shrivastava, Anil Kumar, Perapong Tekasakul, Su Shiung Lam, Arkom Palamanit
Summary: This study examined the quantitative and qualitative attributes of liquid product and biochar obtained from pyrolysis of different biomasses, demonstrating their potential for biofuels and other value-added products. The results showed promising characteristics of the liquid product and biochar, making them viable feedstocks for various applications.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Siim Link, Patrik Yrjas, Daniel Lindberg, Andres Trikkel, Valdek Mikli
Summary: This study investigated the melting behavior of fuel ash blends of reed, pine wood pellets and Douglas fir wood chips. Various methods were used to examine the morphology and composition of the ash samples at different temperatures. The results revealed different reactions and gas releases during the melting process.
Article
Ecology
Yude Pan, Robert B. Jackson, David Y. Hollinger, Oliver L. Phillips, Robert S. Nowak, Richard J. Norby, Ram Oren, Peter B. Reich, Andreas Luescher, Kevin E. Mueller, Clenton Owensby, Richard Birdsey, John Hom, Yiqi Luo
Summary: Experiments show that the enhancement of plant photosynthesis and productivity by eCO2 varies depending on climate conditions and water supply. Woody ecosystems have a stronger CO2 enhancement effect compared to grasslands, especially in wetter years.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Chad A. Peterson, Malachi K. Hornbuckle, Robert C. Brown
Summary: The study used a modified micropyrolyzer reactor to determine devolatilization kinetics of switchgrass, corn stover, red oak, and pine, showing that a first order reaction could model devolatilization rates at temperatures up to 500 degrees C. No correlation was found between inorganic content and devolatilization rate.
FUEL PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Ecology
Keith L. L. Kline, Virginia H. H. Dale, Erin Rose
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the global economy, employment, and shipping. This study evaluates the effects of COVID-19 on the bioenergy supply chain in the southeastern United States, highlighting the importance of government support and essential worker classification in maintaining operations. Factors that enhance supply chain resilience include personal protective equipment, long-term supply contracts, and established safety cultures, while factors that reduce resilience include limited availability of skilled workers, inadequate stakeholder engagement, and dependence on external policies.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
Karolina Golicz, Gohar Ghazaryan, Wiebke Niether, Ariani C. Wartenberg, Lutz Breuer, Andreas Gattinger, Suzanne R. Jacobs, Till Kleinebecker, Philipp Weckenbrock, Andre Grosse-Stoltenberg
Summary: The intensification of food production in industrialized countries has led to the disappearance of trees and hedgerows on agricultural land, but the potential of agroforestry systems and small woody landscape features to sequester carbon has been recognized as a strategy to combat global climate change. A study in Germany identified over 900,000 hectares of SWFs on agricultural land, estimating their carbon storage at 111 ± 52 SD teragrams of carbon, which could contribute to mitigating emissions. Cropland was found to have the lowest SWF density and the highest potential to benefit from agroforestry implementation, sequestering between 0.2 and 2 Tg of carbon per year.
Review
Plant Sciences
Helene C. Muller-Landau, K. C. Cushman, Eva E. Arroyo, Isabel Martinez Cano, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Bogumila Backiel
Summary: Tropical forests exhibit varying biomass and productivity levels based on factors such as humidity, elevation, temperature, and soil fertility. Areas with higher disturbance experience lower wood residence time and biomass. These variations are influenced by both direct effects of changing environments on forest carbon fluxes and shifts in functional composition.
Review
Chemistry, Applied
Li Ching Wong, Cheu Peng Leh, Choon Fu Goh
Summary: Hydrogels are a versatile system with potential applications, and hydrogel development from non-woody biomass, especially using native cellulose, shows promise. The design of hydrogels is influenced by factors such as cellulose solubility, crosslinking method, and processing conditions, impacting the properties of the hydrogels.
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
(2021)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Hanna Fekete, Takeshi Kuramochi, Mark Roelfsema, Michel den Elzen, Nicklas Forsell, Niklas Hoehne, Lisa Luna, Frederic Hans, Sebastian Sterl, Jos Olivier, Heleen van Soest, Stefan Frank, Mykola Gusti
Summary: This article reviews climate change mitigation policies in China, the European Union, India, Japan, and the United States, focusing on their historical performance and target goals in various sectors. While most countries have successful policies in renewable energy, fuel efficiency, electrification of passenger vehicles, and forestry, there are still areas with limited information or comprehensive policies, such as buildings and agriculture. The study suggests that transformative policies are needed to achieve global emissions reductions in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Giacomo Grassi, Elke Stehfest, Joeri Rogelj, Detlef van Vuuren, Alessandro Cescatti, Jo House, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Simone Rossi, Ramdane Alkama, Raul Abad Vinas, Katherine Calvin, Guido Ceccherini, Sandro Federici, Shinichiro Fujimori, Mykola Gusti, Tomoko Hasegawa, Petr Havlik, Florian Humpenoder, Anu Korosuo, Lucia Perugini, Francesco N. Tubiello, Alexander Popp
Summary: Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) often underestimate global land-use fluxes compared to countries' GHG inventories, with a mismatch of about 5.5 GtCO(2) yr(-1). By adjusting IAMs' land-use mitigation pathways using a 'Rosetta stone' method, cumulative emissions can be reduced by 120-192 GtCO(2) relative to original pathways. These adjustments are crucial for ensuring an accurate assessment of progress towards the Paris Agreement.
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Takeshi Kuramochi, Leonardo Nascimento, Mia Moisio, Michel den Elzen, Nicklas Forsell, Heleen van Soest, Paola Tanguy, Sofia Gonzales, Frederic Hans, M. Louise Jeffery, Hanna Fekete, Tessa Schiefer, Maria Jose de Villafranca Casas, Gustavo De Vivero-Serrano, Ioannis Dafnomilis, Mark Roelfsema, Niklas Hoehne
Summary: This study compares greenhouse gas emissions projections for nine key non-G20 countries in 2030, finding that some countries may meet or exceed their targets, while others will need to strengthen their actions to achieve their goals.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Keywan Riahi, Christoph Bertram, Daniel Huppmann, Joeri Rogelj, Valentina Bosetti, Anique-Marie Cabardos, Andre Deppermann, Laurent Drouet, Stefan Frank, Oliver Fricko, Shinichiro Fujimori, Mathijs Harmsen, Tomoko Hasegawa, Volker Krey, Gunnar Luderer, Leonidas Paroussos, Roberto Schaeffer, Matthias Weitzel, Bob van der Zwaan, Zoi Vrontisi, Francesco Dalla Longa, Jacques Despres, Florian Fosse, Kostas Fragkiadakis, Mykola Gusti, Florian Humpenoeder, Kimon Keramidas, Paul Kishimoto, Elmar Kriegler, Malte Meinshausen, Larissa P. Nogueira, Ken Oshiro, Alexander Popp, Pedro R. R. Rochedo, Gamze Uenlue, Bas van Ruijven, Junya Takakura, Massimo Tavoni, Detlef van Vuuren, Behnam Zakeri
Summary: Current emissions scenarios show overshooting of the temperature goals set in the Paris Agreement, relying on future net negative emissions. Limiting overshoot would require upfront investments but bring long-term economic benefits. However, criticism is directed at these scenarios for featuring strategies with pronounced overshoot, requiring a long-term repair phase through net-negative emissions to bring temperatures back down.
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Malin Johansson, Emanuel Erlandsson, Thomas Kronholm, Ola Lindroos
Summary: This study investigates workflow variations in harvesting services by comparing monthly variations between contractors' workload in terms of harvested volumes and the time spent on operations. The results indicate differences between contractors' workflow variations which can be attributed to the number of machines, machine sizes, and the workload in harvested volume and hours. These findings are relevant for guiding both the customer and contractor in this business relationship, and they could also serve as a basis for further research on the need for flexibility to effectively increase and decrease volume production in harvesting services.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOREST ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Omar Mendoza-Trejo, Arturo D. Lopez Rojas, Daniel Ortiz Morales, Ola Lindroos, Carlos A. Cruz-Villar, Pedro La Hera
Summary: This paper analyzes how a mechanical engineering design method, known as gravity compensation, can be used to make a new generation of highly energy efficient forestry cranes. The analysis suggests that using gravity compensation could reduce energy consumption by 27%, at the cost of increasing the crane total mass by 57%. The study emphasizes the need to consider gravity compensation in the design philosophy of forestry cranes, not only for minimizing energy consumption, but also for the inherited properties it provides.
CROATIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Mikael Lundback, Carola Haggstrom, Dag Fjeld, Ola Lindroos, Tomas Nordfjell
Summary: The mechanization of roundwood harvesting in Sweden drastically reduced costs historically, but the next major wave of development is expected to focus on automation and teleoperation. A study evaluating the economic potential of semi-automated tele-extraction revealed that utilizing teleoperation for longer extraction distances could lead to significant cost reductions.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOREST ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Rikard Jonsson, Mikael Ronnqvist, Patrik Flisberg, Petrus Jonsson, Ola Lindroos
Summary: Choosing technologies for forest operations and planning their use involves considering various factors, such as cost. This study analyzed and compared the potential of two different machine systems in final fellings using different model approaches. The results showed that both approaches were effective in reducing costs and optimizing machine system allocation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOREST ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Rikard Jonsson, Mikael Ronnqvist, Patrik Flisberg, Petrus Jonsson, Ola Lindroos
Summary: A Swedish study found that using a harwarder instead of the traditional TMS system for logging operations could reduce total costs by around 3%. However, to achieve this, more harwarders would need to be introduced and further technological development, especially automation, may be necessary.
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Bosko Blagojevic, Eva-Maria Nordstroem, Ola Lindroos
Summary: Most forest operations require the weights of relevant criteria to be defined, and this is often done using multicriteria weighting methods in a group context. However, determining the weights assigned to decision makers (DMs) remains a challenge. To address this, a consistency-based group decision-making framework (CGDF) is proposed, which evaluates the expertise of a DM based on the consistency of their assigned weights using different multicriteria weighting methods. The utility of CGDF is demonstrated through its application in a Swedish forest operations decision-making problem.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOREST ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Olov Tranberg, Anne-Maarit Hekkala, Ola Lindroos, Therese Lofroth, Mari Jonsson, Jorgen Sjogren, Joakim Hjalten
Summary: This study tested the translocation of hard-to-come-by deadwood substrates from an impact area to a compensation area as a method for ecological restoration. The results show that the translocation of deadwood could be a cost-efficient tool for ecological compensation/restoration, but further refinement is needed to ensure better deadwood composition in the compensation area. The study also calculated the cost for translocation at different spatial scales.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Ahmad Hosseini, Eddie Wadbro, Dung Ngoc Do, Ola Lindroos
Summary: This paper proposes a mathematical optimization model and a greedy heuristic method to design an optimal machine trail network, aiming to reduce negative environmental impact. By finding the optimal location of machine trails in different randomized search scenarios, the operational costs of the logging operation can be minimized. The computational experiments show that the heuristic can generate solutions that outperform conventional, manual designs within practical time limits for operational planning.
COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS IN AGRICULTURE
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Rikard Jonsson, Lotta Woxblom, Rolf Bjoerheden, Eva-Maria Nordstroem, Bosko Blagojevic, Ola Lindroos
Summary: This study aims to describe and analyze the decision-making processes, decision situations, and the use of decision support tools in technological development decisions made by forest companies. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with respondents from six forestry organizations. The findings suggest that investing more resources into diagnosing the problem at hand can potentially improve decision-making. The main objective in decision-making is to maximize economic criteria while satisfying threshold requirements.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Ola Lindroos, Malin Soderlind, Joel Jensen, Joakim Hjalten
Summary: Translocation of dead wood is a new method for ecological compensation and restoration that creates substrates for organisms in compensation areas. The study analyzed the cost efficiency of different parts of the translocation process and found that prioritizing short distances for wood transport can minimize costs. Models developed can help predict work time and costs for different transportation distances and load sizes, optimizing the ecological value reached in compensation areas.
Article
Forestry
A. Q. Nyrud, K. M. A. Heltorp, Anders Roos, Francisco X. Aguilar, Katja Lahtinen, Noora Viholainen, Sami Berghall, Anne Toppinen, B. J. Thorsen, Matleena Kniivila, Antti Haapala, Elias Hurmekoski, T. Hujala, H. F. Hoen
Summary: This study investigated public attitudes towards multi-storey wood buildings in seven European countries and found that the level of knowledge about wood buildings was lower in countries where brick, stone, and concrete were commonly used in construction, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and Denmark. Finland and Sweden had the most positive attitudes towards wood buildings. The study also identified factors such as fire vulnerability, material solidity, indoor environment, and moisture vulnerability that influenced people's perception of wood buildings as a nice place to live.
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH
(2024)
