Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Amandeep Kaur, Lalit Kumar Gautam, Sanjeev Balda, Neena Capalash, Prince Sharma
Summary: Slime deposition on paper during the paper-making process is a significant issue that results in decreased product quality and economic losses. This study explores eco-friendly alternatives to conventional chemical biocides for inhibiting biofilm formation by bacteria. Triclosan was found to be the most effective compound in inhibiting biofilm formation in paper-mill bacterial isolates, making it a promising solution for preventing slime deposition and economic losses.
INTERNATIONAL BIODETERIORATION & BIODEGRADATION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chia-Fu Liu, Ali Mostafavi
Summary: Community recovery from hazards involves diffusion processes within social and spatial networks. In this study, a network diffusion model was created to characterize population activity recovery in spatial networks. The results show heterogeneous spatial effects of recovery, with low-income and minority areas acting as multipliers for community recovery. Therefore, prioritizing resource allocation in these areas can expedite the recovery process while promoting equality and equity.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Felix N. Fernando, Meg Maloney, Lauren Tappel
Summary: This article compares the perceptions of community resilience between public officials and residents, using Dayton, OH as a case study. The findings highlight the similarities and differences in resilience perceptions and provide insights for policy initiatives.
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Juan Zhang, Gang Li, Mingyuan Zhang
Summary: This study proposes two multi-objective optimization recovery models for the post-earthquake recovery of community building groups (CBG). By considering the interdependence of service functions among buildings, the postdisaster recovery efficiency of CBG can be improved.
COMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Yasser Almoghathawi, Shokri Selim, Kash Barker
Summary: This paper addresses the restoration of interdependent networks from a community structures perspective, and develops an optimization model to enhance the resilience of infrastructure networks.
RELIABILITY ENGINEERING & SYSTEM SAFETY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Michael M. Danziger, Albert-Laszlo Barabasi
Summary: The increased complexity of infrastructure systems has resulted in critical interdependencies between multiple networks, where failures in one system can lead to a cascade of failures in other systems. The recovery process of a system often requires resources from other networks, causing documented interdependencies induced by the recovery process. Recovery coupling, capturing the dependence of the recovery of one system on the instantaneous functional state of another system, slows down the recovery process if the supporting networks are not functional.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yongsun Jang, Sang-Hoon Lee, Na-Kyung Kim, Chang Hoon Ahn, Bruce E. Rittmann, Hee-Deung Park
Summary: In a hydrogen-based membrane biofilm reactor (H-2-MBfR), the thickness of biofilm is crucial for denitrification. Thick biofilms have lower removal fluxes due to substrate transport resistance. This study operated the H-2-MBfR under different loading rates of oxyanions, and observed improved performance and stable denitrification under stressful conditions. Microbial community analysis showed dominant heterotrophs and the presence of functional genes related to organic carbon metabolism and homoacetogenesis.
Article
Engineering, Civil
Wanting Lisa Wang, Maria Watson, John W. van de Lindt, Yu Xiao
Summary: A probabilistic commercial building recovery model is proposed in this study to predict the recovery of commercial buildings following a hazard event. The model considers critical downtime factors such as financing delays and repair process, and incorporates a typical recovery resource portfolio quantitatively.
NATURAL HAZARDS REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Mark Feldman, Irith Gati, Ronit Vogt Sionov, Sharonit Sahar-Helft, Michael Friedman, Doron Steinberg
Summary: This study investigates the potential of incorporating cannabidiol (CBD) and triclosan into a sustained-release varnish (SRV) to enhance their pharmaceutical efficacy against Candida albicans biofilm. The results demonstrate that SRV-CBD and SRV-triclosan exhibit strong antibiofilm activity, inhibiting biofilm formation and removing mature fungal biofilm. Additionally, the combination of SRV-CBD/triclosan shows a significant enhancement of antibiofilm activity. These findings suggest that CBD or triclosan incorporation into SRV is an effective strategy to combat fungal biofilms, and the mixture of CBD and triclosan in SRV exhibits complementary antibiofilm activity.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
L. Junger, P. Davids, G. Stoeglehner, T. Hartmann
Summary: This study examines the multidimensional resilience in the context of flood recovery, finding that the physical, social, and financial dimensions are all part of the recovery process. Conflicting impacts and dependencies exist between these dimensions, necessitating coordination and trade-offs.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Nasreen Lalani, Julie L. Drolet, Caroline McDonald-Harker, Matthew R. G. Brown, Pamela Brett-MacLean, Vincent I. O. Agyapong, Andrew J. Greenshaw, Peter H. Silverstone
Summary: The 2016 Alberta wildfire caused significant damage and trauma to the residents of Fort McMurray, highlighting the importance of spirituality in fostering resilience and promoting well-being during post-disaster recovery. Community members found strength through shared positive outlook, faith, hope, compassion, and gratitude, which contributed to increased resilience and positive health outcomes. This study emphasizes the significant role of spiritual values and beliefs in building resilience and promoting healing and recovery at both individual and community levels post-disaster.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Firas Gerges, Rayan H. Assaad, Hani Nassif, Elie Bou-Zeid, Michel C. Boufadel
Summary: The resilience of communities has become a major goal in policy and practice, with laws requiring climate-related hazard vulnerability assessments in master plan updates. Quantifying community resilience is crucial to measure preparedness and enhance capacity to endure disasters. Two approaches, community and infrastructure resilience, are being pursued, and a hybrid approach combining both is proposed.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mei Zou, Mengyu Yin, Yayi Yuan, Dongbo Wang, Weiping Xiong, Xiao Yang, Yaoyu Zhou, Hongbo Chen
Summary: Triclosan promotes volatile fatty acid accumulation in waste activated sludge anaerobic fermentation, accelerating acid production and enhancing key enzyme activity.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sylvie Estrela, Jean C. C. Vila, Nanxi Lu, Djordje Bajic, Maria Rebolleda-Gomez, Chang -Yu Chang, Joshua E. Goldford, Alicia Sanchez-Gorostiaga, Alvaro Sanchez
Summary: The study found that family-level convergence in microbial communities reflects a reproducible metabolic organization, while taxonomic divergence among replicate communities arises from multistability in population dynamics. Multistability can lead to alternative functional states in closed ecosystems but not in metacommunities.
Article
Engineering, Geological
Tian You, Wei Wang, Yiyi Chen
Summary: This paper introduces a framework to link the seismic performance of buildings with community resilience, and proposes a novel long-term resilience indicator that integrates different magnitude earthquake probabilities. The framework is effective in assessing whether the desired community resilience goals can be achieved by evaluating the seismic performance of buildings and highlights the importance of considering the interdependence between infrastructure systems.
SOIL DYNAMICS AND EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Vanessa J. Swarbrick, Nathanael T. Bergbusch, Peter R. Leavitt
Summary: The study revealed that urea is ubiquitous in eutrophic prairie streams and its concentrations are influenced by factors such as nutrient content and chlorophyte abundance in the water, while during summer, porewater urea concentrations are higher than stream concentrations.
Article
Limnology
Heather A. Haig, Amir M. Chegoonian, John-Mark Davies, Deirdre Bateson, Peter R. Leavitt
Summary: This study reported the marked blue discoloration of ice and water in prairie lakes in late winter 2021, caused by the high concentration release of cyanobacterial pigment. The phenomenon raised public concerns over eutrophication, pollution, and climate change, leading to rapid governmental and academic response. Consideration should be given to the increasing frequency of cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic lakes subject to ice cover.
LAKE AND RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Limnology
Amir M. Chegoonian, Kiana Zolfaghari, Peter R. Leavitt, Helen M. Baulch, Claude R. Duguay
Summary: This study compares the accuracy and reliability of instrumented buoys and spectrophotometry in measuring chlorophyll a concentration for water quality monitoring. The results show that the model based on phycocyanin fluorescence is the most accurate, while the model using environmental factors is the most reliable. The newly developed models significantly improve the performance of estimating chlorophyll a content in water bodies using remotely sensed imagery.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY-METHODS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Liam P. Brown, Roger Murray, Andrew Scott, Yuan-Ching Tien, Calvin Ho-Fung Lau, Vera Tai, Edward Topp
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of long-term and repeated exposure to macrolide antibiotics on the diversity of soil bacterial community, resistome, and mobilome. At unrealistically high concentrations, macrolide antibiotics altered the overall diversity of resistome and mobilome, enriching for antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements of concern to human health. However, at realistic antibiotic concentrations, no effect on these endpoints was observed, suggesting that current biosolids land management practices are unlikely to pose a risk to human health due to macrolide antibiotic contamination alone.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Limnology
Judith A. Bjorndahl, Cale A. C. Gushulak, Stefano Mezzini, Gavin L. Simpson, Heather A. Haig, Peter R. Leavitt, Kerri Finlay
Summary: This study reveals the impact of climate-induced variation in lake level on phototrophic production and regime shifts in endorheic lakes. The research conducted in two lakes in southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada, shows that decline in water level and increase in temperature can lead to an increase in phytoplankton, particularly cyanobacteria. However, it also demonstrates that significant increases in obligately anaerobic purple sulfur bacteria occur in response to changes in light environments and declines in lake level. These findings suggest that climate-induced shifts in lake ecosystems may become more frequent in the future.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jian Zhou, Peter R. Leavitt, Yibo Zhang, Boqiang Qin
Summary: The depth of lakes reflects their susceptibility to human disturbance, with shallow lakes being more prone to anthropogenic eutrophication. Deep lakes, on the other hand, are less affected by human activities.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Rebecca E. V. Anderson, Gabhan Chalmers, Roger Murray, Laura Mataseje, David L. Pearl, Michael Mulvey, Edward Topp, Patrick Boerlin
Summary: The increase in antimicrobial resistance is a major concern for human and animal health, especially when resistance affects extended-spectrum cephalosporins, commonly used to treat serious infections. This study investigated the diversity and distribution of extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli in dairy manure in Southern Ontario, Canada, and characterized their resistance plasmids. The results highlighted the importance of manure treatment in reducing the levels of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and emphasized the potential dissemination of resistance genes through environmentally applied manure.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Michael Fruci, Munene Kithama, Elijah G. Kiarie, Suqin Shao, Huaizhi Liu, Edward Topp, Moussa S. Diarra
Summary: Black soldier fly larvae meal is a promising alternative protein and antimicrobial source for poultry. This study found that partially replacing soybean meal with up to 25% black soldier fly larvae meal can achieve similar growth performance in broiler chickens.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jessica Subirats, Hannah Sharpe, Domenico Santoro, Edward Topp
Summary: It is generally believed that antibiotics provide producing bacteria with a competitive advantage by inhibiting or killing neighboring microorganisms. However, modeling studies have shown that the concentrations of antibiotics near single producing cells are not high enough to have inhibitory effects, while concentrations around aggregates of cells can reach inhibitory levels.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Adam J. Heathcote, Zofia E. Taranu, Nicolas Tromas, Meaghan MacIntyre-Newell, Peter R. Leavitt, Frances R. Pick
Summary: This study used sedimentary DNA analysis to investigate the changes in cyanobacterial communities and toxin genes in nine lakes in Minnesota, USA over the past century. The results showed a significant increase in the abundance of cyanobacteria and potential toxin genes since the 20th century, and land use and lake depth had a major impact on the cyanobacterial communities.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Limnology
Kathleen R. Laird, Shirui Li, Cale A. C. Gushulak, Katherine E. Moir, Yuxiang Wang, Peter R. Leavitt, Brian F. Cumming
Summary: This study examines the influence of regional land-use practices, climate change, and landscape position on cultural eutrophication and lake response in three lakes within the Trent-Severn Waterway in Ontario, Canada. The findings suggest that the intensification of forest harvest, agriculture, and development of the waterway have led to increased water levels and phosphorus conditions in the lakes since the 1830s. The changes in nutrient levels and planktonic community composition varied among the lakes and can be attributed to landscape position, water inflow from the northern forested regions, point-source nutrient reductions, and climate change.
LAKE AND RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sydney A. Jensen, Jackie R. Webb, Gavin L. Simpson, Helen M. Baulch, Peter R. Leavitt, Kerri Finlay
Summary: Inland waters, specifically small water bodies, play a significant role in greenhouse gas cycling. Wetland ponds and constructed reservoirs in agricultural regions have differences in the content and regulatory mechanisms of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Primary production is a dominant factor in reservoirs, while heterotrophic metabolism is stronger in wetland ponds. Eutrophication affects methane concentrations in reservoirs, while both water body types show undersaturated levels of nitrous oxide.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Francine M. G. McCarthy, Timothy Patterson, Martin J. Head, Nicholas L. Riddick, Brian F. Cumming, Paul B. Hamilton, Michael F. J. Pisaric, Cale Gushulak, Peter R. Leavitt, Krysten M. Lafond, Brendan Llew-Williams, Matthew Marshall, Autumn Heyde, Paul M. Pilkington, Joshua Moraal, Joseph Boyce, Nawaf A. Nasser, Carling Walsh, Monica Garvie, Sarah Roberts, Neil L. Rose, Andy B. Cundy, Pawel Gaca, Andy Milton, Irka Hajdas, Carley A. Crann, Arnoud Boom, Sarah A. Finkelstein, John H. McAndrews
Summary: Crawford Lake in Ontario, Canada is proposed as the Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Anthropocene. The lake's annually laminated sediments provide insights into environmental changes at global and local scales. The sediments reflect an increase in fossil fuel combustion and fallout from nuclear testing in the early 1950s. The lake's depositional environment inhibits the mobilization of Pu-239, a proposed stratigraphic guide for the Anthropocene.
ANTHROPOCENE REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jessica Subirats, Hannah Sharpe, Vera Tai, Michael Fruci, Edward Topp
Summary: This study found that polluted environments have a higher relative abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), especially in environments exposed to petroleum pollution. Chemical pollution, particularly with petroleum, was associated with an increase in the prevalence of ARGs linked to multidrug efflux pumps.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Remote Sensing
Amir M. Chegoonian, Nima Pahlevan, Kiana Zolfaghari, Peter R. Leavitt, John-Mark Davies, Helen M. Baulch, Claude R. Duguay
Summary: We developed a support vector regression (SVR) model using satellite-derived remote-sensing reflectance spectra (R-rs(d)) to retrieve near-surface chlorophyll-a (Chla) concentration in Buffalo Pound Lake (BPL), Canada. The SVR model outperformed other models and showed comparable performance to a locally trained model, producing accurate Chla distribution maps and time series.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF REMOTE SENSING
(2023)