Agent-based framework for modeling and simulation of resources in self-sustainable human settlements: a case study on water management in an eco-village community in Croatia

A newly developed agent-based framework for modeling, simulation, and evaluation of resource management in self-sustainable human settlements is presented, along with the ability of the framework to prolong the self-sustainability of the observed human settlement system in the simulation environment. In this study the focus is on the analysis of a conducted water management simulation based on observations of an existing eco-village in Croatia, in the context of producing, storing, and consuming water as a resource. The conducted research shows that the developed framework was able to prolong the self-sustainability of localized water production, storage, and consumption dynamics when managing the water allocation with the use of self-sustainability mechanisms, in comparison to water management without using such mechanisms, under the same initial conditions. The work is placed within the context of sustainable development, Internet of Things, as well as Environmental Internet of Things areas of research, analyzing the ambiguous relationship between the terms ‘sustainable development’ and ‘self-sustainability’.     

Wastewater-nitrogen removal using polylactic acid/starch as carbon source: Optimization of operating parameters using response surface methodology

The use of PLA/starch blends for nitrogen removal was achieved. The influence of different operating parameters on responses was verified using RSM. The conditions for desired responses were successfully optimized simultaneously. Blends material may have a promising application prospect in the future. Nitrogen removal from ammonium-containing wastewater was conducted using polylactic acid (PLA)/starch blends as carbon source and carrier for functional bacteria. The exclusive and interactive influences of operating parameters (i.e., temperature, pH, stirring rate, and PLA-to-starch ratio (PLA proportion)) on nitrification (Y₁), denitrification (Y₂), and COD release rates (Y₃) were investigated through response surface methodology. Experimental results indicated that nitrogen removal could be successfully achieved in the PLA/starch blends through simultaneous nitrification and denitrification. The carbon release rate of the blends was controllable. The sensitivity of Y₁, Y₂, and Y₃ to different operating parameters also differed. The sequence for each response was as follows: for Y₁, pH>stirring rate>PLA proportion>temperature; for Y₂, pH>PLA proportion>temperature>stirring rate; and for Y₃, stirring rate>pH>PLA proportion>temperature. In this study, the following optimum conditions were observed: temperature, 32.0°C; pH 7.7; stirring rate, 200.0 r·min^-1; and PLA proportion, 0.4. Under these conditions, Y₁, Y₂, and Y₃ were 134.0 μg-N·g-blend^-1·h^-1, 160.9 μg-N·g-blend^-1·h^-1, and 7.6 × 10³ μg-O·g-blend^-1·h^-1, respectively. These results suggested that the PLA/starch blends may be an ideal packing material for nitrogen removal.     

Linking marine predator diving behavior to local prey fields in contrasting habitats in a subarctic glacial fjord

Foraging theory predicts that animals will adjust their foraging behavior in order to maximize net energy intake and that trade-offs may exist that can influence their behavior. Although substantial advances have been made with respect to the foraging ecology of large marine predators, there is still a limited understanding of how predators respond to temporal and spatial variability in prey resources, primarily due to a lack of empirical studies that quantify foraging and diving behavior concurrently with characteristics of prey fields. Such information is important because changes in prey availability can influence the foraging success and ultimately fitness of marine predators. We assessed the diving behavior of juvenile female harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) and prey fields near glacial ice and terrestrial haulout sites in Glacier Bay (58°40′N, ?136°05′W), Alaska. Harbor seals captured at glacial ice sites dived deeper, had longer dive durations, lower percent bottom time, and generally traveled further to forage. The increased diving effort for seals from the glacial ice site corresponded to lower prey densities and prey at deeper depths at the glacial ice site. In contrast, seals captured at terrestrial sites dived shallower, had shorter dive durations, higher percent bottom time, and traveled shorter distances to access foraging areas with much higher prey densities at shallower depths. The increased diving effort for seals from glacial ice sites suggests that the lower relative availability of prey may be offset by other factors, such as the stability of the glacial ice as a resting platform and as a refuge from predation. We provide evidence of differences in prey accessibility for seals associated with glacial ice and terrestrial habitats and suggest that seals may balance trade-offs between the costs and benefits of using these habitats.     

Small-scale entrainment in inclined gravity currents

We investigate the effect of buoyancy on the small-scale aspects of turbulent entrainment by performing direct numerical simulation of a gravity current and a wall jet. In both flows, we detect the turbulent/nonturbulent interface separating turbulent from irrotational ambient flow regions using a range of enstrophy iso-levels spanning many orders of magnitude. Conform to expectation, the relative enstrophy isosurface velocity \(v_n\) in the viscous superlayer scales with the Kolmogorov velocity for both flow cases. We connect the integral entrainment coefficient E to the small-scale entrainment and observe excellent agreement between the two estimates throughout the viscous superlayer. The contribution of baroclinic torque to \(v_n\) is negligible, and we show that the primary reason for reduced entrainment in the gravity current as compared to the wall-jet are 1) the reduction of \(v_n\) relative to the integral velocity scale \(u_T\); and 2) the reduction in the surface area of the isosurfaces.     

All clear? Meerkats attend to contextual information in close calls to coordinate vigilance

Socio-demographic factors, such as group size and their effect on predation vulnerability, have, in addition to intrinsic factors, dominated as explanations when attempting to understand animal vigilance behaviour. It is generally assumed that animals evaluate these external factors visually; however, many socially foraging species adopt a foraging technique that directly compromises the visual system. In these instances, such species may instead rely more on the acoustical medium to assess their relative risk and guide their subsequent anti-predator behaviour. We addressed this question in the socially foraging meerkat (Suricata suricatta). Meerkats forage with their head down, but at the same time frequently produce close calls (‘Foraging’ close calls). Close calls are also produced just after an individual has briefly scanned the surrounding environment for predators (‘Guarding’ close calls). Here, we firstly show that these Guarding and Foraging close call variants are in fact acoustically distinct and secondly subjects are less vigilant (in terms of frequency and time) when exposed to Guarding close call playbacks than when they hear Foraging close calls. We argue that this is the first evidence for socially foraging animals using the information encoded within calls, the main adaptive function of which is unrelated to immediate predator encounters, to coordinate their vigilance behaviour. In addition, these results provide new insights into the potential cognitive mechanisms underlying anti-predator behaviour and suggest meerkats may be capable of signalling to group members the ‘absence’ of predatory threat. If we are to fully understand the complexities underlying the coordination of animal anti-predator behaviour, we encourage future studies to take these additional auditory and cognitive dimensions into account.     

Environmental risk assessment of genetically modified plants - concepts and controversies

Purpose

The purpose of the study is the enhancement of criticality assessments for resources in order to address function specific factors like dissipation, recycling, bio-activity and toxicity. The developed methodology is applied to platinum-containing cytostatic drugs and automotive catalytic converters.

Methods

The study is methodically based on an analysis of resource specific factors like exploration rates, reserves-to-production ratio and regional distribution of exploration areas as well as on the investigation of product/functional depending factors like recycling rates, dissipation rates, bio-diversity and toxicity. Taking into account that economic and ecological risks may occur at any stage of the supply, consumption and dissipation processes, the whole life cycles of the two analyzed products (cytostatic drugs and automotive catalytic converters) are considered. As an approach to reduce potential economic and ecological risks the study is especially focused on recycling strategies.

Background

In order to get a better understanding of platinum as an essential resource for the development of our society the history and the cultural impact of the term "resource" are introduced.

Results & Discussion

The availability of platinum is crucial for several products of our modern society. Areas of application are e.g. jewellery, automotive catalytic converters, investments (coins, bars), computers, mobile devices, fertilizers and cytostatic drugs. Economic risks are caused by limited sources and dynamic demand of new application areas like fuel cells and drugs. Platinum-containing drugs are used for the treatment of several kinds of cancer such as testicular, breast, colon and prostate. Currently the pharmaceutical industry requires 6,9 tons per year (3 percent of the total demand of platinum). Due to the improvement of medical standards and the ageing society, especially in developing countries, the demand of platinum-containing drugs will rise significantly. The dissipation of toxic soluble salts and the lack of advanced waste-water treatment and recycling systems is a problem of the usage of platinum-containing drugs. Compared with cytostatic drugs (14.6 kg/a for Germany) the dissipation of platinum particles of mobile catalytic converters is much higher (5-20 tons/a only in North America, Europe and Japan; 184,2 kg/a in Germany). On the other hand the emission of platinum nano-particles of automotive catalytic converters seems less critical. Furthermore advanced recycling technologies are already available for them.

Conclusions

The evaluation of resources has to consider resource specific and functional depending factors. In order to reduce economic and ecological risks of the dissipation of platinum salts in cytostatic drugs three principle options can be identified: the development of ecologically compatible and cost-effective substitutes, efficient recycling systems and future-oriented sanitary-systems as well as waste-water treatment facilities, which are able to separate platinum salts. Concerning the dissipation of platinum particles of mobile converters relevant research questions are the identification of adequate substitutes as well as the extension of recycling capacities.

Recommendations and perspectives

The study demonstrates a research gap concerning substitutes for automotive catalytic converters as well as for platinum-containing cytostatic drugs. The development and implementation of recycling concepts, technologies and capacities to reuse platinum as a secondary resource is an essential issue. As a consequence the economic and ecological risks can be reduced by increasing the resource efficiency. Special research has to be done concerning the development of future-oriented sanitary-systems and waste-water treatment facilities in order to separate platinum in waste water. Furthermore, if the future demand of new products like fuel cells is considered, a resource conflict concerning the potential functional applications will be evident. In order to address these challenges the criticality assessment has to be enhanced by ethic and social factors.     

Subjective theories of organizing and learning from events

The present paper outlines potential shortcomings of analyzing events in high hazard systems. We argue that the efficiency of organizational learning within high hazard systems is at least partially undermined by the subjective theories of organizing held by their members. These subjective theories basically reflect an “engineering” understanding of “how a system and its components perform”, and are assumed to involve (social-) psychological blind spots when applied to the analysis of events. More specifically, we argue that they neglect individual motives and goals that critically drive work performance and social interactions in high hazard systems. First, we focus on the process of identifying the causes of failed organizing within the course of an event analysis. Our analysis reveals a mismatch between the basic functional assumptions of the event analyst on the motives of social actors involved in an event and on the other hand, the perspective held by the social actors themselves. Second, we discuss the process of correcting failed social system performance after events. Thereby we draw on blind spots that emerge from the direct application of technical safety principles (i.e., standardization and redundancy) to the organization of social systems. Finally, we propose some future research strategies for developing event analysis methods which are aimed at improving an organization’s learning potential.     

Distribution-free two-sample comparisons in the case of heterogeneous variances

Behavioral ecologists are often faced with a situation where they need to compare the central tendencies of two samples. The standard tools of the t test and Mann–Whitney U test (equivalent to the Wilcoxon rank-sum test) are unreliable when the variances of the groups are different. The problem is particularly severe when sample sizes are different between groups. The unequal-variance t test (Welch test) may not be suitable for nonnormal data. Here, we propose the use of Brunner and Munzel’s generalized Wilcoxon test followed by randomization to allow for small sample sizes. This tests whether the probability of an individual from one population being bigger than an individual from the other deviates from random expectation. This probability may sometimes be a more clear and informative measure of difference between the groups than a difference in more commonly used measures of central tendency (such as the mean). We provide a recipe for carrying out a statistical test of the null hypothesis that this probability is 50% and demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique for sample sizes typical in behavioral ecology. Although the test is not available in any commercial software package, it is relatively straightforward to implement for anyone with some programming ability. Furthermore, implementations in R and SAS are freely available on the internet.     

Sulfide assimilation by ectosymbionts of the sessile ciliate, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zoothamnium niveum</Emphasis>

We investigated the constraints on sulfide uptake by bacterial ectosymbionts on the marine peritrich ciliate Zoothamnium niveum by a combination of experimental and numerical methods. Protists with symbionts were collected on large blocks of mangrove-peat. The blocks were placed in a flow cell with flow adjusted to in situ velocity. The water motion around the colonies was then characterized by particle tracking velocimetry. This shows that the feather-shaped colony of Z. niveum generates a unidirectional flow of seawater through the colony with no recirculation. The source of the feeding current was the free-flowing water although the size of the colonies suggests that they live partly submerged in the diffusive boundary layer. We showed that the filtered volume allows Z. niveum to assimilate sufficient sulfide to sustain the symbiosis at a few micromoles per liter in ambient concentration. Numerical modeling shows that sulfide oxidizing bacteria on the surfaces of Z. niveum can sustain 100-times higher sulfide uptake than bacteria on flat surfaces, such as microbial mats. The study demonstrates that the filter feeding zooids of Z. niveum are preadapted to be prime habitats for sulfide oxidizing bacteria due to Z. niveum’s habitat preference and due to the feeding current. Z. niveum is capable of exploiting low concentrations of sulfide in near norm-oxic seawater. This links its otherwise dissimilar habitats and makes it functionally similar to invertebrates with thiotrophic symbionts in filtering organs. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Insights from complete-incomplete brood sex-ratio disparity

An assertion deeply rooted in the ornithological literature holds that sex-specific mortality causes a sex ratio disparity (SRD) between complete and incomplete broods. Complete broods are thought to reflect the primary sex ratio before any bias introduced by developmental mortality. Contrary to this view, however, complete and incomplete broods should exhibit identical sex ratio distributions even when the sexes experience differential mortality, as shown in the classic paper of Fiala (Am Nat 115: 442–444, 1980). Therefore, in partially unsexed samples, primary sex ratio biases cannot be distinguished from biases caused by differential mortality. In addition, complete broods do not represent primary sex ratio more accurately than incomplete ones and might even be misleading. Despite Fiala’s prediction, SRD does occur in some empirical studies. We show that this pattern could arise if (1) primary sex ratio affects chick mortality rates independently of sex (direct effect), (2) primary sex ratio covaries with a variable that also affects mortality rate, or (3) sex differential mortality covaries with overall mortality rate (indirect effects). Direct effects may cause stronger SRD than indirect ones with a smaller and opposite bias in the overall sex ratio and could also lead to highly inconsistent covariate effects on brood sex ratios. These features may help differentiate direct from indirect effects. Most interestingly, differences in covariate effects between complete and incomplete broods imply that influential variables are missing from the analysis.