An empirical analysis of energy efficiency measures applicable to cities,regions, and local governments,based on the case of South Korea’s local energy saving program

As highlighted in the outcome of the Paris Agreement at the 21st Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change there has been a recent push for the stronger mitigation actions of cities, regions, and local governments. Energy efficiency is a tool that can be leveraged by not only industry or national governments but also cities, regions, and local governments for mitigation purposes. However, studies on energy efficiency as a mitigation tool thus far have focused on the national or transnational scale, and on certain sectors of industry. The purpose of this paper is to find the most cost-efficient energy efficiency measures (EEMs) at the city, region, and local government level. To that end, this paper examines the yearly energy savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction intensity, as well as energy savings and GHG reduction efficiency, in the case of EEMs conducted by South Korean local governments. Yearly energy savings intensity and GHG reduction intensity are estimated to be in the range of 0.094～0.375 tonne of oil equivalent (TOE)/M-KRW (million Korean won) and 0.287～1.180 tCO2e/M-KRW. Results show that inverter installation at water and sewage treatment plants and improvement of pump efficiency are the most cost-efficient EEMs. Moreover, energy savings efficiency and GHG reduction efficiency are within the range of 18.29～45.31 %, at an average of 30.5 % GHG reduction potential. If this reduction potential is applied to the buildings and facilities regulated and run by cities/local governments, there is a worldwide reduction potential of 1.023 billion tCO₂ compared to 2020 business as usual levels.     

一种生物除臭方法及装置的研究

文章介绍了一种生物除臭的方法,这种方法是将装有碳质填料的反应包悬挂于好氧池中,反应包在好氧池中,历经曝气挂膜20~30天;就可以将装有碳质填料的反应包/或碳质填料放于生物除臭装置内;然后向生物除臭装置通入湿润的臭气,就可以将其生成水、二氧化碳、硫酸、硝酸和亚硝酸.使臭气被氧化,转化成无污染的物质,由于它的转化效率高,符合现代生产的高效性,因此一定会在生产实际中受到欢迎.     

兰州市废旧手机产生量预测分析研究

手机普及率日益提高,随之产生的废弃量也日益增多,分别采用时间梯度模型、市场供给A模型、斯坦福(stanford)模型对兰州市2013年-2022年废旧手机的产生量进行了预测.结果显示,不同模型预测结果之间存在较大差异,市场供给A模型和斯坦福(Stanford)模型的预测结果比较接近,均大于时间梯度模型的预测结果,三种模型预测的兰州市2022年废旧手机的产生量分别为40.40万、46.67万和21.04万部.总体上看,兰州市废旧手机的产生量增长趋势较快.     

The Effect of Heat and Free Chlorine Treatments on the Surface Properties of Murine Norovirus

Heat and free chlorine are among the most efficient and commonly used treatments to inactivate enteric viruses, but their global inactivation mechanisms have not been elucidated yet. These treatments have been shown to affect at least the capsid proteins of viruses and thus may affect the surface properties (i.e. electrostatic charge and hydrophobicity) of such particles. Our aim was to study the effects of heat and free chlorine on surface properties for a murine norovirus chosen as surrogate for human norovirus. No changes in the surface properties were observed with our methods for murine norovirus exposed to free chlorine. Only the heat treatment led to major changes in the surface properties of the virus with the expression of hydrophobic domains at the surface of the particles after exposure to a temperature of 55 °C. No modification of the expression of hydrophobic domains occurred after exposure to 60 °C, and the low hydrophobic state exhibited by infectious and inactivated particles after exposure to 60 °C appeared to be irreversible for inactivated particles only, which may provide a means to discriminate infectious from inactivated murine noroviruses. When exposed to a temperature of 72 °C or to free chlorine at a concentration of 50 mg/L, the genome became available for RNases.     

Use of ATP Readings to Predict a Successful Hygiene Intervention in the Workplace to Reduce the Spread of Viruses on Fomites

The purpose of this study was to validate the use of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for evaluating hygiene intervention effectiveness in reducing viral dissemination in an office environment. The bacterial virus MS-2 was used to evaluate two scenarios, one where the hand of an individual was contaminated and another where a fomite was contaminated. MS-2 was selected as a model because its shape and size are similar to many human pathogenic viruses. Two separate experiments were conducted, one in which the entrance door push plate was inoculated and the other in which the hand of one selected employee was inoculated. In both scenarios, 54 selected surfaces in the office were tested to assess the dissemination of the virus within the office. Associated surface contamination was also measured employing an ATP meter. More than half of the tested hands and surfaces in the office were contaminated with MS-2 within 4 h. Next, an intervention was conducted, and each scenario was repeated. Half of the participating employees were provided hand sanitizer, facial tissues, and disinfecting wipes, and were instructed in their use. A significant (p < 0.05) reduction was observed in the number of surfaces contaminated with virus. This reduction in viral spread was evident from the results of both viral culture and the surface ATP measurements, although there was no direct correlation between ATP measurements with respect to viral concentration. Although ATP does not measure viruses, these results demonstrate that ATP measurements could be useful for evaluating the effectiveness of hygiene interventions aimed at preventing viral spread in the workplace.     

Norovirus GII.Pe Genotype: Tracking a Foodborne Outbreak on a Cruise Ship Through Molecular Epidemiology,Brazil, 2014

Norovirus (NoV) is recognized as the most common cause of foodborne outbreaks. In 2014, an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis occurred on a cruise ship in Brazil, and NoV became the suspected etiology. Here we present the molecular identification of the NoV strains and the use of sequence analysis to determine modes of virus transmission. Food (cream cheese, tuna salad, grilled fish, orange mousse, and vegetables soup) and clinical samples were analyzed by ELISA, conventional RT-PCR, qRT-PCR, and sequencing. Genogroup GII NoV was identified by ELISA and conventional RT-PCR in fecal samples from 5 of 12 patients tested (41.7%), and in the orange mousse food sample by conventional RT-PCR and qRT-PCR. Two fecal GII NoV samples and the orange mousse GII NoV sample were successfully genotyped as GII.Pe (ORF 1), revealed 98.0–98.8% identities among them, and shared phylogenetically distinct cluster. Establishing the source of a NoV outbreak can be a challenging task. In this report, the molecular analysis of the partial RdRp NoV gene provided a powerful tool for genotyping (GII.Pe) and tracking of outbreak-related samples. In addition, the same fast and simple extraction methods applied to clinical samples could be successfully used for complex food matrices, and have the potential to be introduced in routine laboratories for screening foods for presence of NoV.     

Use of Preservative Agents and Antibiotics for Increased Poliovirus Survival on Positively Charged Filters

Environmental surveillance of poliovirus (PV) and other non-enveloped viruses can help identify silent circulation and is necessary to certify eradication. The bag-mediated filtration system is an efficient method to filter large volumes of environmental waters at field sites for monitoring the presence of viruses. As filters may require long transit times to off-site laboratories for processing, viral inactivation or overgrowth of bacteria and fungi can interfere with virus detection and quantification (Miki and Jacquet in Aquatic Microb Ecol 51(2):195–208, 2008). To evaluate virus survival over time on ViroCap^? filters, the filters were seeded with PV type 1 (PV1) and/or MS2 and then dosed with preservatives or antibiotics prior to storage and elution. These filters were stored at various temperatures and time periods, and then eluted for PV1 and MS2 recovery quantification. Filters dosed with the preservative combination of 2% sodium benzoate and 0.2% calcium propionate had increased virus survival over time when stored at 25 °C, compared to samples stored at 25 °C with no preservatives. While elution within 24 h of filtration is recommended, if storage or shipping is required then this preservative mixture can help preserve sample integrity. Addition of an antibiotic cocktail containing cephapirin, gentamicin, and Proclin^? 300 increased recovery after storage at 4 and 25 °C, when compared to storage with no antibiotics. The antibiotic cocktail can aid sample preservation if access to appropriate antibiotics storage is available and sample cold chain is unreliable. This study demonstrated that the use of preservatives or antibiotics is a simple, cost-effective method to improve virus detection from ViroCap cartridge filters over time.