Applications of biosensors for bacteria and virus detection in food and water–A systematic review

Biosensors for sensitive and specific detection of foodborne and waterborne pathogens are particularly valued for their portability, usability, relatively low cost, and real-time or near real-time response. Their application is widespread in several domains, including environmental monitoring. The main limitation of currently developed biosensors is a lack of sensitivity and specificity in complex matrices. Due to increased interest in biosensor development, we conducted a systematic review, com...     

Implications of a changing climate on food security and smallholders’ livelihoods in Bogotá, Colombia

Small farmers who supply the city of Bogotá with food are facing many challenges that are jeopardizing their livelihoods and by extension, the food security of Colombia’s capital. We expect future changes in climatic conditions to exacerbate the plight of the small farmers and this is expected to compromise Bogota’s food security even further. This paper specifically seeks to assess the impact of climate change (CC) on the livelihoods of smallholders who supply Bogota with most of its food. In our multidisciplinary methodology, we translated the exposure to CC into direct impact on crops and assessed sensitivity and adaptive capacity using the sustainable rural livelihoods framework. The results show that rainfall (by average of 100 mm) and temperature (by average of 2.1 °C) will increase over the study area, while the future climate suitability of the most important crops such as mango (Mangifera indica), papaya (Carica papaya), corn (Zea mays) and plantain (Musa balbisiana) shows a decrease of 19 % to 47 % climate suitability by the year 2050. The assessment of sensitivity and adaptive capacity demonstrates that farmers participating in a farmers’ market, initiated by several local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), are less vulnerable to CC than farmers who sell through intermediaries. Those farmers selling directly to consumers in the farmers’ market have a higher adaptive capacity (3 on a scale of 3) in social and financial capital than those selling to intermediaries with less adaptive capacity (1 on a scale of 3). In light of the reduction in overall climatic suitability of some of the major crops and the change of geographic location of suitability for others, there are likely to be serious threats for Bogotá’s food security, the ecological landscape around the city, and farmers’ livelihoods. We further conclude that unless proper adaptation measures are implemented, the geographical shift in climate suitability may also force farmers to shift their crops to higher elevations including remaining forests and páramos (the Colombian alpine tundra ecosystems), which may be threatened in the near future.     

A perspective analysis on municipal solid waste(MSW) energy recovery in China

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Effects of sulfate-reducing bacteria on methylmercury at the sediment–water interface

Sediment cores(containing sediment and overlying water) from Baihua Reservoir(SW China)were cultured under different redox conditions with different microbial activities, to understand the effects of sulfate-reducing bacteria(SRB) on mercury(Hg) methylation at sediment–water interfaces. Concentrations of dissolved methyl mercury(DMe Hg) in the overlying water of the control cores with bioactivity maintained(BAC) and cores with only sulfate-reducing bacteria inhibited(SRBI) and bacteria fully inhibited(BACI) were measured at the anaerobic stage followed by the aerobic stage. For the BAC and SRBI cores, DMe Hg concentrations in waters were much higher at the anaerobic stage than those at the aerobic stage, and they were negatively correlated to the dissolved oxygen concentrations(r =- 0.5311 and r =- 0.4977 for BAC and SRBI, respectively). The water DMe Hg concentrations of the SRBI cores were 50% lower than those of the BAC cores, indicating that the SRB is of great importance in Hg methylation in sediment–water systems, but there should be other microbes such as iron-reducing bacteria and those containing specific gene cluster(hgc AB), besides SRB,causing Hg methylation in the sediment–water system.     

The water-energy-food nexus: Is the increasing attention warranted,from either a research or policy perspective?

In recent years, the notion of a nexus involving water, energy, and food has been gaining attention in the scholarly literature and popular press, due partly to the impetus provided by an international conference on the nexus in 2011, and partly to the increasing interest among researchers and public officials in determining the investments and policies needed to achieve and sustain water, energy, and food security. While the notion of such a nexus is compelling to some observers, interactions involving water, energy, and food have been known and studied for many years by scientists and policy analysts. The need for greater integration of research and policy discourse across sectors and regions has been expressed in international meetings since the late 1940s. In addition, the conceptual basis for including water, energy, and food in the “nexus,” to the exclusion of other resources and inputs is not evident. In many cases, the information excluded from studies claiming to implement a nexus approach might be of greater importance to science and policy than the information included in the analysis. In this paper, I review some of the experience gained in earlier attempts to enhance integration and policy coherence, and to promote systems analysis. The challenges observed in implementing programs of integrated natural resources management (INRM) and integrated water resources management (IWRM), in particular, suggest that efforts to implement a water-energy-food nexus approach will not enhance the policy process in all settings. In sum, it is not clear that the increasing attention given to studies claiming to implement a nexus approach is warranted.     

Commercial development of energy—environmentally sound technologies for the auto-industry: the case of fuel cells

The economic importance of energy and environmental issues is continuously increasing, affecting both process and product design in business. The energy crisis in California in 2001 made this basic issue universal. New technologies are expected to reduce pollution derived both from production processes and products, with costs that are still unknown and in competition with more mature technologies high. Nevertheless, until now there is still little, but growing knowledge concerning the process of technological innovation in the fields of energy and environment.In this paper we analyze the development of zinc air fuel cell (ZAFC) and its transfer from a research laboratory to potential mass production. ZAFC are a new ‘environmentally sound technology’, proven to have commercial value, that can be used for substituting internal combustion engines (ICEs) and meeting zero emission vehicles (ZEV) regulations. Although ZAFC performances are higher than traditional electric batteries ones, commercial costs are still high. Hence the pathway to mass production may come from stationary application of fuel cells for power.In contrast to the conventional ‘paradigmatic’ approach, we argue that the existing economic and organizational literature concerning technological innovation is not able to fully explain steps followed in commercializing energy—environmentally sound technologies. Existing models mainly consider adopting problems, which are due to market uncertainty, weak application, lack of a dominant design, and problems in reconfiguring existing organizational routines. Above all ‘market power’ exists in terms of control over technological innovation and its commercial application. Barriers are erected that prevent new technologies such as fuel cells from becoming adapted. Through pro-active government intervention, such as the case in California, new advanced technologies can move rapidly into the marketplace.From this discussion we draw some conclusions and issues for further research concerning policy making for sustaining the process of technological transfer and firms’ strategies in technological innovation.     

Understanding the use of science in decision-making on cockle fisheries and gas mining in the Dutch Wadden Sea: Putting the science–policy interface in a wider perspective

The use of science to inform and underpin decision-making on natural resources is not self-evident as stakeholders often use science in a selective and strategic way. Scientific analyses of science utilisation often focus on how the science–policy interface is organised and from this perspective provide recommendations to scientists about how they can increase their contribution to decision-making. Yet in this paper we argue that a wider perspective on the science–policy interface, in particular by analysing the roles and interactions of actors other than those directly involved, provides both additional explanations and new points of application for strategies aimed at enhancing science utilisation. We illustrate our claim by means of an analysis of decision-making on cockle fisheries and gas mining in the Dutch Wadden Sea between the 1990s and 2004. For many years, scientific studies addressing the ecological effects of these activities were not used to meaningfully contribute to decision-making. In 2004 this situation changed radically. Explanations include the role of intermediaries between scientists, stakeholders and decision-makers and new legislation. Scientists could enhance the chances of knowledge utilisation both by creating a more open science–policy interface and by reframing the policy problems at issue.     

Numerical experiments for the impacts of temperature and precipitation variation on the growth and development of winter wheat

The growth process of winter wheat was simulated by CERES-wheat model assuming the daily temperature increase -1, 0,1, 2℃ and daily precipitation increase -20, -10, -5, 0, 5, 10, and 20 percent, respectively. The case study site is Zhenjiang City of Jiangsu Province in the east China. Simulation results show that the impacts of temperature variation on winter wheat is stronger than that of precipitation. Climate warming would speed development rate and shorten phonological period. In general, the adverse effect of climate change on grain yield is greater than that of its beneficial effect, especially when the climate becoming cooler and dryer. The increase of temperature and decrease of precipitation would reduce the plant extractablc soil water content.     

Approach towards zero discharge tanning: role of concentration on the development of eco-friendly liming–reliming processes

Beam house processes¹ in leather processing are known for their uncleanness. More than 60% of the total pollution is emerging from the liming–reliming processes. The use of lime and sodium sulphide is purely empirical without quantification. Lime has a potential to drive swelling in a gradual manner due to its low solubility; however, the use of lime is currently creating a lot of environmental concern. Huge amounts of lime sludge and total solids formation are the main drawbacks of lime. Sulphide plays a detrimental role in effluent treatment plants. This is mainly due to the application of lime, sulphide, water and other chemicals without any rationalization. An approach has been made to apply the beam-house chemicals with optimal requirement. This is based on the fact that swelling requires only 20 to 40% water (based on raw skin weight before soaking) for conventional opening up. This would, in principle, make possible the use of only one tenth of the chemicals conventionally used in liming–reliming processes maintaining the same concentration gradient. The process employs 40% water, 0.35% sodium sulphide and 1% lime for liming and 40% water and 1% lime for reliming, with conventional process time in a drum. Commercial post-reliming processes and operations were adopted. A control experiment was run parallel using conventional liming–reliming processes. It has been found that the dehairing is complete and the extent of opening up of fibre bundles is comparable to that of the control. This has been substantiated through scanning electron microscopic, stratigraphic chrome distribution analysis and softness measurements. Performance of the leathers is shown to be on par with conventionally opened up leathers through physical and hand evaluation. Especially, softness of the leathers is numerically proven to be comparable with that of control. The process also enjoys reduction in chemical oxygen demand and total solids load on environment by 85 and 12%, respectively compared to the conventional process. The total dry sludge from the liming–reliming processes is brought down from 152 to 6 kg for processing 1 ton of raw skins, which has been demonstrated for the first time.     

Impacts of climate change on wheat development and production in the northern China

In this paper, impacts of climate change on wheat development rate and production in the northern China are discussed. The results show that the temperature is a controlling factor of development rate but the precipitation is not. The higher the temperature is. the faster the development and the shorter development period will be. Without consideration to varieties and cropping system, meteorological yield of winter wheat would decrease 170.40, 134.25, 98.70 and 97.20 kg/hm2 in the north China and 13.97, 7.95, 39.60 and 19.80 kg/hm2 in the northwest China compared with that in 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, respectively, when the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is doubled. In drought and semi-drought regions, the spring wheat yield would drop with the temperature rise in and raise with the precipitation increase. The influence of temperature on weight of leaf and stalk is also remarkable.     

Electrokinetic chemical characteristics of humic and dannic acids effecting on the natural water and its coagulation

Taking streaming current(SC)as the electrokinetic parameter,this paper demonstrated the electrokinetic chemical characteristics of humic and dannic acids(HA and DA)in suspensions including turbid water,coagulated water and HA or DA contained water.Accordingly, the studies were carried out for determining the relationship between streaming current and zeta potential ζ(expressed by eleetrophoretie mobility EM)in above water conditions.In addition,the mechanisms of HA effecting on streaming current within or after coagulant addition and the electrokinetic detection principles for HA or DA were also investigated on experiments and theoretical analysis.The results indicated that the change of SC like ζ presented meaningful information concerning the degree for destabilization of a particulate suspension,and HA or DA in water could remarkably decrease the effect of inorganic coagulant upon streaming current,which is in accordance with their influence on coagulation.     

Economic development and its impact on the environment in east coastal zone of China

This paper discusses briefly the elementary characteristics of the east China economic developing zone, and analyses the condition of urban atmospheric pollution, water pollution and ecological damage in this zone at present. It was brought forward that we must pay great attention to the environmental factors, and make the environmental impact assessment and environmental planning in the process of economic development in this zone.     

Photodegradation of hydroxyfluorenes in ice and water: A comparison of kinetics,effects of water constituents,and phototransformation by-products

The photochemical behavior of organic pollutants in ice is poorly studied in comparison to aqueous photochemistry.Here we report a detailed comparison of ice and aqueous photodegradation of two representative OH-PAHs,2-hydroxyfluorene (2-OHFL) and 9-hydroxyfluorene (9-OHFL),which are newly recognized contaminants in the wider environment including colder regions.Interestingly,their photodegradation kinetics were clearly influenced by whether they reside in ice or water.Under the same simulated s...     

A policy and technical measures for controlling soil and water loss in the Loess Plateau of China

Loess Plateau is the most serious region of soil and water loss in China and the world. The sediment carried into the Yellow River amounts to 1.6 billion tons every year. This paper reviews the factors and reasons for erosion in this area, and puts forward a comprehensive controlling policy on the basis of the principles of ecology and practise of Chinese scientists for 40 years. In conformity with the policy, a number of technical measures for controlling soil and water loss are suggested.     

Chemical characteristics of long-term acid rain and its impact on lake water chemistry:A case study in Southwest China

The chemical composition of acid rain and its impact on lake water chemistry in Chongqing,China,from 2000 to 2020 were studied in this study.The regional acid rain intensity is affected jointly by the acid gas emissions and the neutralization of alkaline substances.The pH of precipitation experienced three stages of fluctuating decline,continuous improvement,and a slight correction.Precipitation pH showed inflection points in 2010,mainly due to the total control actions of SO₂and NO     

Impacts of climate change on development rate and production of corn in the northeastern China

In this paper, the impacts of climate change on development rate and production of corn in the northeastern China are discussed. The results show that the higher the temperature is, the faster the development rate will be. And the more the precipitation is, the slower the development rate will be. Of which, air temperature is the controlling factor of corn development rate. The influences of development rate on corn yield are remarkable. The impacts of development rate on production in first and last periods are great, and small in the middle two periods. The development rate is positive by relate with corn production from sowing to emergence stage and negative during other periods. So, it is very important to arrange a suitable sowing time for com cultivating in the northeastern China.     

Fate and transport of the β-adrenergic agonist ractopamine hydrochloride in soil–water systems

The feed additive ractopamine hydrochloride was fortified at four concentrations into batch vials containing soils that differed in both biological activity and organic matter(OM).Sampling of the liquid layer for 14 days demonstrated that ractopamine rapidly dissipated from the liquid layer. Less than 20% of the fortified dose remained in the liquid layer after 4 hr,and recoveries of dosed ractopamine ranged from 8 to 18% in the liquid layer at 336 hr. Sorption to soil was the major fate for ractopamine in soil:water systems, i.e., 42%–51% of the dose at14 days. The major portion of the sorbed fraction was comprised of non-extractables; a smaller fraction of the sorbed dose was extracted into water and acetone, portions which would be potentially mobile in the environment. Partitioning coefficients for all soils suggested strong sorption of ractopamine to soil which is governed by hydrophobic interactions and cation exchange complexes within the soil OM. Ractopamine degradation was observed, but to mostly non-polar compounds which had a higher potential than ractopamine to sorb to soil. The formation of volatiles was also suggested. Therefore, despite rapid and extensive soil sorption,these studies indicated a portion of ractopamine, present in manures used to fertilize soils,may be mobile in the environment via water-borne events.     

A retrospective survey on the effect of Kaschin-Beck disease prophylaxis by a change of water sources

In order to provide further references for studing on the causes of Kaschin-Beck discase (KBD) and measuring for its prevention and treatment from a macroscopic view, we analyzed the natural growth and declineof KBD and the effects of selenium and humic acid on its occurrence from an epidemiologic angle. In this article through a retrospective survey on the spots of disease areas by comparison between a change in water sources and that without. It was proved that a change in water sources was an effective measure for the prevention of KBD occurrence, and the pathogenic factor of KBD was one (or several kinds) of organic compounds or active radicals related to water.     

Effect of filter-feeding fish silver carp on phytoplankton species and size distribution in surface water： A field study in water works

Silver carp were introduced into the pre-sedimentation pond to control excessive phytoplankton in raw water.The effectiveness of the filter-feeding silver carp on phytoplankton control and the effect of silver carp on phytoplankton community were investigated.The results showed that Microcystis could be effectively removed by silver carp stocked in the pre-sedimentation pond,and simultaneously,the concentration of single-cell phytoplankton increased obviously.The difference in phytoplankton species and singlecell phytoplankton size between in the water and in the gut of silver carp indicated that phytoplankton smaller than 5 μm,such as Chamydomonas and Platymonas,were almost not be filtered by silver carp,phytoplankton with the size between 5 and 20 μm could be partly filtered,and large size phytoplankton,mainly colony-forming Microcystis could be filtered almost completely.These filterfeeding characteristics directly caused the phytoplankton size distribution biased toward miniaturization.Therefore,this biological treatment using silver carp could be applied only to deal with groups of Microcystis-dominated eutrophic water,and was not appropriate in water bodies where single-cell micro phytoplankton were dominant.Especially when silver carp are used in water treatment,a cautious attitude should be taken based on the evaluation of phytoplankton biomass and species structure features in raw water.