scholarly journals Special Issue on Environmental Biocatalysis

Catalysts ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 490
Author(s):  
Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic ◽  
Evangelos Topakas

Biocatalysis has developed new molecular tools for the improvement of a wide range of bioprocesses that diminish raw material and energy consumption, while reducing or eliminating the formation of byproducts that might be hazardous to human health and the environment [...]

Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Durazzo ◽  
Massimo Lucarini ◽  
Antonello Santini

The combined and concerted action of nutrient and biologically active compounds is flagged as an indicator of a “possible beneficial role” for health. The use and applications of bioactive components cover a wide range of fields, in particular the nutraceuticals. In this context, the Special Issue entitled “Nutraceuticals in Human Health” is focused on the all aspects around the nutraceuticals, ranging from analytical aspects to clinical trials, from efficacy studies to beneficial effects on health status.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4405 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Carlos de Oliveira Matias ◽  
Radu Godina ◽  
Edris Pouresmaeil

The world population is growing at a very high rate, which also entails a massive increase in energy consumption, and also, therefore, in its production, which is gradually and steadily increasing. Energy and the environment are essential to achieving sustainable development, and constitute a fundamental part of human activity. If we consider energy efficiency as the use of an appliance, process or installation for which we try to produce more energy, but with less energy consumption than the average for these appliances, processes or installations, then achieving a higher energy efficiency is imperative. Energy efficiency is a cornerstone policy on the road to stopping climate change and to achieving sustainable societies, along with the development of renewable energy and an environmentally friendly transport policy. In this Special Issue, 11 selected and peer-reviewed articles have been contributed, on a wide range of topics under the umbrella of sustainable energy systems. The published articles encompass distinct areas of interest. One area addresses distributed generation, which addresses such topics as the optimal planning of distributed generation, protection of blind areas in distribution networks, multi-objective optimization in distributed generation, energy management of virtual power plants in distributed generation, and the impact of demand-response programs on a home microgrid, as well as concentrating solar power into a highly renewable, penetrated power system. The second section of the Special Issue addresses a wide range of topics, from parametric studies of 2 MW gas engines or data centers, to combustion characteristics of a non-premixed oxy-flame, to new techniques of PV Tracking, to applications of nanofluids in the thermal performance enhancement of parabolic trough solar collectors.


2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
Rosario Nicoletti ◽  
Andrea Becchimanzi

Insects and fungi represent two of the most widespread groupings of organisms in nature, occurring in every kind of ecological context and impacting agriculture and other human activities in various ways. Moreover, they can be observed to reciprocally interact, establishing a wide range of symbiotic relationships, from mutualism to antagonism. The outcome of these relationships can in turn affect the extent at which species of both organisms can exert their noxious effects, as well as the management practices which are to be adopted to counter them. In conjunction with the launch of a Special Issue of Microorganisms with the same title, this article offers a general overview of the manifold aspects related to such interactions from the perspective of implementing our capacity to regulate them in a direction more favorable for the environment, crop production and human health.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-12
Author(s):  
Agus Sugiarta ◽  
Houtman P. Siregar ◽  
Dedy Loebis

Automation of process control in chemical plant is an inspiring application field of mechatronicengineering. In order to understand the complexity of the automation and its application requireknowledges of chemical engineering, mechatronic and other numerous interconnected studies.The background of this paper is an inherent problem of overheating due to lack of level controlsystem. The objective of this research is to control the dynamic process of desired level more tightlywhich is able to stabilize raw material supply into the chemical plant system.The chemical plant is operated within a wide range of feed compositions and flow rates whichmake the process control become difficult. This research uses modelling for efficiency reason andanalyzes the model by PID control algorithm along with its simulations by using Matlab.


Author(s):  
D.Y. Bolgova ◽  
◽  
N.A. Tarasenko ◽  
Z.S. Mukhametova ◽  
◽  
...  

Nutrition is an important factor that affects human health. The use of plant proteins as various additives in food production has now been actively developed. The rich chemical composition of pea grains determines the possibility of application in the food industry. Peas are characterized by good assimilability and degree of digestion.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sivaram ◽  
V. Porkodi ◽  
Amin Salih Mohammed ◽  
S. Anbu Karuppusamy

Background: With the advent of IoT, the deployment of batteries with a limited lifetime in remote areas is a major concern. In certain conditions, the network lifetime gets restricted due to limited battery constraints. Subsequently, the collaborative approaches for key facilities help to reduce the constraint demands of the current security protocols. Aim: This work covers and combines a wide range of concepts linked by IoT based on security and energy efficiency. Specifically, this study examines the WSN energy efficiency problem in IoT and security for the management of threats in IoT through collaborative approaches and finally outlines the future. The concept of energy-efficient key protocols which clearly cover heterogeneous IoT communications among peers with different resources has been developed. Because of the low capacity of sensor nodes, energy efficiency in WSNs has been an important concern. Methods: Hence, in this paper, we present an algorithm for Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) which reviews security and energy consumption to discuss their constraints in the IoT scenarios. Results: The results of a detailed experimental assessment are analyzed in terms of communication cost, energy consumption and security, which prove the relevance of a proposed ABC approach and a key establishment. Conclusion: The validation of DTLS-ABC consists of designing an inter-node cooperation trust model for the creation of a trusted community of elements that are mutually supportive. Initial attempts to design the key methods for management are appropriate individual IoT devices. This gives the system designers, an option that considers the question of scalability.


Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2237 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Sarika ◽  
Paul Nancarrow ◽  
Abdulrahman Khansaheb ◽  
Taleb Ibrahim

Phenol–formaldehyde (PF) resin continues to dominate the resin industry more than 100 years after its first synthesis. Its versatile properties such as thermal stability, chemical resistance, fire resistance, and dimensional stability make it a suitable material for a wide range of applications. PF resins have been used in the wood industry as adhesives, in paints and coatings, and in the aerospace, construction, and building industries as composites and foams. Currently, petroleum is the key source of raw materials used in manufacturing PF resin. However, increasing environmental pollution and fossil fuel depletion have driven industries to seek sustainable alternatives to petroleum based raw materials. Over the past decade, researchers have replaced phenol and formaldehyde with sustainable materials such as lignin, tannin, cardanol, hydroxymethylfurfural, and glyoxal to produce bio-based PF resin. Several synthesis modifications are currently under investigation towards improving the properties of bio-based phenolic resin. This review discusses recent developments in the synthesis of PF resins, particularly those created from sustainable raw material substitutes, and modifications applied to the synthetic route in order to improve the mechanical properties.


Quaternary ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentí Rull

In the coming years, the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) will submit its proposal on the ‘Anthropocene’ to the Subcommission of Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) and the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) for approval. If approved, the proposal will be sent to the Executive Committee of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) for ratification. If the proposal is approved and ratified, then the ‘Anthropocene’ will be formalized. Currently, the ‘Anthropocene’ is a broadly used term and concept in a wide range of scientific and non-scientific situations, and, for many, the official acceptance of this term is only a matter of time. However, the AWG proposal, in its present state, seems to not fully meet the requirements for a new chronostratigraphic unit. This essay asks what could happen if the current ‘Anthropocene’ proposal is not formalized by the ICS/IUGS. The possible stratigraphic alternatives are evaluated on the basis of the more recent literature and the personal opinions of distinguished AWG, SQS, and ICS members. The eventual impact on environmental sciences and on non-scientific sectors, where the ‘Anthropocene’ seems already firmly rooted and de facto accepted as a new geological epoch, are also discussed. This essay is intended as the editorial introduction to a Quaternary special issue on the topic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Katsaros ◽  
Sophie Le Panse ◽  
Gillian Milne ◽  
Carl J. Carrano ◽  
Frithjof Christian Küpper

Abstract The objective of the present study is to examine the fine structure of vegetative cells of Laminaria digitata using both chemical fixation and cryofixation. Laminaria digitata was chosen due to its importance as a model organism in a wide range of biological studies, as a keystone species on rocky shores of the North Atlantic, its use of iodide as a unique inorganic antioxidant, and its significance as a raw material for the production of alginate. Details of the fine structural features of vegetative cells are described, with particular emphasis on the differences between the two methods used, i.e. conventional chemical fixation and freeze-fixation. The general structure of the cells was similar to that already described, with minor differences between the different cell types. An intense activity of the Golgi system was found associated with the thick external cell wall, with large dictyosomes from which numerous vesicles and cisternae are released. An interesting type of cisternae was found in the cryofixed material, which was not visible with the chemical fixation. These are elongated structures, in sections appearing tubule-like, close to the external cell wall or to young internal walls. An increased number of these structures was observed near the plasmodesmata of the pit fields. They are similar to the “flat cisternae” found associated with the forming cytokinetic diaphragm of brown algae. Their possible role is discussed. The new findings of this work underline the importance of such combined studies which reveal new data not known until now using the old conventional methods. The main conclusion of the present study is that cryofixation is the method of choice for studying Laminaria cytology by transmission electron microscopy.


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