Laying date and polygyny as determinants of annual reproductive success in male collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis): a long-term study

Annual reproductive success (ARS) is one of the main components of lifetime reproductive success, a reliable measure of individual fitness. Previous studies often dealt with ARS and variables potentially affecting it. Among them, long-term studies that consider multiple factors at the same time are particularly important in understanding the adaptive value of different phenotypes. Here, we used an 18-year dataset to quantify the ARS of male collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) on the basis of recruited offspring. We simultaneously assessed the effect of start of breeding, age, polygyny, body size and the expression of forehead patch (a sexually selected trait). The success of early breeding individuals was appreciably higher than late birds; however, breeding too early was also disadvantaged, and males that bred around the yearly median breeding date had the highest ARS. Polygynous males were more successful in years with good food supply, while in years with low food availability, they did not produce more recruits than monogamous males. The age of males, their forehead patch size and body size did not affect the number of recruits. Our findings support the importance of breeding date and suggest stabilizing selection on it in the long term. We also show that polygyny is not always advantageous for males, and its fitness pay-off may depend on environmental quality.     

Renewable energy powered membrane desalination — review of recent development

Due to current water stress, there is a problem with hygiene and sanitation in many parts of the world. According to predictions from the United Nations, more than 2.7 billion people will be challenged by water scarcity by the middle of the century. The water industry is increasingly interested in desalination of the sea, ocean, and brackish water. Desalination processes are widely classified as thermal or membrane technologies. In the Middle East, thermal desalination remains the primary technology of choice, but membrane processes, for example reverse osmosis (RO), have evolved rapidly and in many other parts of the world are currently even surpassing thermal processes. The purpose of this paper is to review the renewable energy source, the technology, desalination systems, and their possible integration with renewable energy resources and their cost. This article suggests that the most practical renewable desalination techniques to be used are the solar photovoltaic integrated RO desalination process, the hybrid solar photovoltaic-wind integrated RO desalination process, the hybrid solar photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) integrated RO desalination process, and the hybrid solar photovoltaic-thermal effect distillation (PVT-MED) desalination process. However, intensive research is still required to minimize the cost, reduce the heat loss, enhance the performance, and increase the productivity.

     

Effective Removing of Remazol Black B by the Polyacrylamide Cryogels Modified with Polyethyleneimine

In this study, modified polyacrylamide (PAAm) cryogels with high dye holding capacity were synthesized with an easily and cheaply process and adsorption of Remazol Black B (RBB) with the synthesized materials was investigated. Firstly, PAAm cryogels were synthesized with free radical cryo-copolymerization method and they were modified with Hofmann reaction to form amine groups in the structure of the cyrogels. Then, to increase the removal efficiency of cryogels, polyethylenimine (PEI) molecules were crosslinked onto the cryogels via NH₂ groups present in the PAAm gels modified by the Hofmann reaction. The original and modified cryogels were characterized with fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The point of zero charge (pH_pzc) of the modified cryogels was found to be 7.13 and RBB removing capabilities of PEI-modified PAAm cryogels were investigated at pH between 2 and 7. In addition, the adsorption treatments were performed at different process time, incubation temperature, initial dye concentration and adsorbent amount to find maximum removal capacity of the adsorbent. The modified cryogels adsorbed maximum amount of RBB at pH 2 and the sorption process reached equilibrium in 6 h. It was observed that the adsorption efficiency did not change much with the increase in temperature. The maximum RBB removal capacity of the modified cyrogels was determined to be 201 mg/g when the initial RBB concentration was 200 mg/L, treatment time was 6 h at pH 2. Moreover, the adsorption of RBB dye with the modified cryogels takes place with a second order kinetic and RBB dye adsorption data showed compliance with the Langmuir isotherm. The findings of the study expose that the obtained PEI-modified PAAm cryogels are a hopeful material for RBB removal in aqueous environment.

     

Inactivation of bacteria G(+)-S. aureus and G(-)-E. coli by phototoxic polythiophene incorporated in ZSM-5 zeolite

A new heterogeneous photocatalyst was prepared by oxidative polymerization of the thiophene with ferric chloride in the ZSM-5 zeolite type. The synthesized polythiophene absorbs radiation in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum and by illumination with visible light generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) in water medium. During illumination reactive hydroxyl radical was detected by the spin trapping EPR method. Efficiency of the photocatalyst was tested on the killing of Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli.     

Biocapacity convergence clubs in Latin America: an analysis of their determining factors using quantile regressions

Latin America experiences an increasing urban primacy index and a rapid expansion of the financial system, putting direct pressure on the demand for resources to satisfy the consumption of large cities. We investigate the convergence of per capita biocapacity in 16 Latin America countries and evaluate the factors that influence its evolution over time. Specifically, we analyze the impact of the urban primacy index, economic progress, and the financial globalization index on the convergence of per capita biocapacity. We use the methodological framework developed by Phillips and Sul Econometrica 75:1771-1855, (2007) to analyze the convergence and the formation of convergence clubs of biocapacity during 1970–2017. The findings indicate that the countries of the region do not share a common trend of biocapacity, although they are grouped into five converging clubs. Biocapacity transition analysis reveals that countries have heterogeneous transition pathways between them. Using marginal effects, we find that the urban primacy index and economic progress reduce the biocapacity. The effect of the financial globalization index on biocapacity is not conclusive. The quantile regressions reveal that quantiles’ impact of the urban primacy index and financial globalization on per capita biocapacity is heterogeneous. However, the effect of economic progress on biocapacity that predominates among quantiles is positive. The adoption of common policies among the countries that form the converging clubs could improve the effectiveness of pro-environmental policies and promote the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals related to environmental quality.