The potential use of sedimentary pyrogenic biomarkers to quantitatively reconstruct wildfires occurrence and extension

We have developed and applied new analytical methodologies to study the drivers of the spatial distribution of pyrogenic biomarkers throughout the Iberian Peninsula. The goal of the study is to develop a multiproxy pyrogenic biomarker approach to quantitatively reconstruct the paleo-occurrence and extension of biomass wildfires from sediments. For this purpose, we have compiled an extensive collection of lacustrine sediments throughout Spain. The sample suite is representative of a wide range of climates and ecosystems. We have quantified the abundance of different types of pyrogenic biomarkers such as BPCAs (benzene polycarboxylic acids derived from the chemical oxydation of pyrogenic carbon), MAS (monosaccharide anhydrides, namely levoglucosan) and PAHs (polyaromatic hydrocarbons namely with 4 or more rings). The data obtained, as concentrations or ratios, has been mapped and compared to the documented occurrence and extension of wildfires in Spain over the last 5 decades. Specifically, we have calculated the burned area within different radius around the lake, and correlated them against the biomarker data.&#160;The regional distribution of fires in Spain is the primary driver of the spatial distribution of pyrogenic biomarkers in lakes sediments. Thus, the sedimentary concentration of pyrogenic biomarkers, generally, correlates with the area of burned forest land within a radius of 10-20km. Work is still under way to decipher the meaning between the correlations of different types of pyrogenic biomarkers, and the relation between biomarker ratios and fire regimes and vegetation types. Our study shows that pyrogenic biomarkers in lakes can be used as paleoproxies to study regional fires, as opposed to those occurring at larger spatial scales. It remains to be seen, how our findings&#160; from Spanish lakes can be extrapolated &#160;to other continental regions.&#160; Nonetheless, our study validates their use to quantify the area of forest burned in the region surrounding the lake, in addition to the frequency of fires in the past.

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Locust Wind Receptors

Journal of Experimental Biology ◽

10.1242/jeb.50.2.349 ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 349-362

Author(s):

JEFFREY M. CAMHI

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Wind Direction ◽

Narrow Range ◽

Desert Locust ◽

Optimal Direction ◽

Wide Range ◽

Different Types ◽

Stimulation Of

1. The cervical connective of the desert locust contains interneurones giving responses of four different types to wind stimulation of the facial wind receptor setae. The four categories are: (a) ‘Wind-indicator cells’, giving a slowly adapting response to wind from any of a wide range of directions. (b) ‘Wind-direction cells’, displaying fairly slowly adapting responses, and sensitive to wind only within a very narrow range of directions. Pivoting wind into a cell's optimal direction evokes a full response. (c) ‘Recentre cells’, showing rapidly adapting responses to wind onset from a fairly wide directional range. Rapidly shifting the wind direction from only one preferred side into the centre evokes a vigorous burst. (d) ‘Acceleration cells’, giving a rapidly adapting response which is especially pronounced for rapid wind accelerations. 2. Interneurones connect with several sensory setae, whose spatial distribution and angles of curvature are unique to each interneurone type. 3. A suggested integrative mechanism relates the angles of curvature of the input setae to the direction response of each interneurone type. 4. The responses suggest roles for certain interneurone categories in flight maintenance and yaw-correcting reflexes.

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Wildfires in Fennoscandia under changing climate and forest cover

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10648 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Juha Aalto ◽

Leif Backman ◽

Timo Virtanen ◽

Tero Partanen ◽

Ilari Lehtonen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Black Carbon ◽

Forest Fires ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Climate Models ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Burned Area ◽

Strong Impact ◽

Wide Range

In recent years, large forest fires in Fennoscandia have shown that wildfires can have a strong impact on society also in northern Europe. In the future, meteorological conditions are expected to become increasingly favorable for wildfires due to climate change. An important aspect in fire management are the national forest management strategies that play a crucial role in controlling e.g. fuel availability in forests, and further areal coverage of burned area. In addition, the effectiveness of rescue services is crucial. Thus, the development of fire risk prediction and fire detection systems, as well as, modeling of spread of fires and emissions of harmful ingredients, such as black carbon are urgently required to improve the societies preparedness to the increasing thread. In this presentation we synthetize the current state-of-the-art understanding of wildfires in Fennoscandia from a wide range of key perspectives: historical fire regimes, monitoring using in-situ and remote-sensing technologies, integrated modeling (e.g. climate models, spatial fire propagation models forced with operational weather forecast model) and fire suppression. In addition, we assess the amount of black carbon emissions released from recent wildfires in Fennoscandia. These results will help northern societies to tackle against the negative impacts of climate change and to support the development of efficient mitigation strategies. In the upcoming decades the effective management of wildfires is especially relevant, as wildfires greatly affect regional carbon budgets and mitigation efforts.&#160;

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Nanoparticles Functionalized with Venom-Derived Peptides and Toxins for Pharmaceutical Applications

Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology ◽

10.2174/1389201020666190621104624 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 97-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ana P. dos Santos ◽

Tamara G. de Araújo ◽

Gandhi Rádis-Baptista

Keyword(s):

Oral Absorption ◽

Current Data ◽

Pharmacological Activities ◽

Venom Peptides ◽

Essential Components ◽

Wide Range ◽

Different Types ◽

Direct Use ◽

Animal Venoms ◽

Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

Venom-derived peptides display diverse biological and pharmacological activities, making them useful in drug discovery platforms and for a wide range of applications in medicine and pharmaceutical biotechnology. Due to their target specificities, venom peptides have the potential to be developed into biopharmaceuticals to treat various health conditions such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and chronic pain. Despite the high potential for drug development, several limitations preclude the direct use of peptides as therapeutics and hamper the process of converting venom peptides into pharmaceuticals. These limitations include, for instance, chemical instability, poor oral absorption, short halflife, and off-target cytotoxicity. One strategy to overcome these disadvantages relies on the formulation of bioactive peptides with nanocarriers. A range of biocompatible materials are now available that can serve as nanocarriers and can improve the bioavailability of therapeutic and venom-derived peptides for clinical and diagnostic application. Examples of isolated venom peptides and crude animal venoms that have been encapsulated and formulated with different types of nanomaterials with promising results are increasingly reported. Based on the current data, a wealth of information can be collected regarding the utilization of nanocarriers to encapsulate venom peptides and render them bioavailable for pharmaceutical use. Overall, nanomaterials arise as essential components in the preparation of biopharmaceuticals that are based on biological and pharmacological active venom-derived peptides.

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Wetting of glass surface using natural surfactants

Micro and Nanosystems ◽

10.2174/1876402912666200219111447 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Nihar Ranjan Biswal

Keyword(s):

Contact Angle ◽

Glass Surface ◽

Pure Water ◽

Amyl Alcohol ◽

Synthetic Surfactant ◽

Wide Range ◽

Different Types ◽

Natural Surfactants ◽

Triton X ◽

Solid Liquid

Background: Surfactant adsorption at the interfaces (solid–liquid, liquid–air, or liquid–liquid) is receiving considerable attention from a long time due to its wide range of practical applications. Objective: Specifically wettability of solid surface by liquids is mainly measured by contact angle and has many practical importances where solid–liquid systems are used. Adsorption of surfactants plays an important role in the wetting process. The wetting behaviours of three plant-based natural surfactants (Reetha, Shikakai, and Acacia) on the glass surface are compared with one widely used nonionic synthetic surfactant (Triton X-100) and reported in this study. Methods: The dynamic contact angle study of three different types of plant surfactants (Reetha, Shikakai and Acacia) and one synthetic surfactant (Triton X 100) on the glass surface has been carried out. The effect of two different types of alcohols such as Methanol and amyl alcohol on wettability of shikakai, as it shows little higher value of contact angle on glass surface has been measured. Results: The contact angle measurements show that there is an increase in contact angle from 47° (pure water) to 67.72°, 65.57°, 68.84°, and 68.79° for Reetha, Acacia, Shikakai, and Triton X-100 respectively with the increase in surfactant concentration and remain constant at CMC. The change in contact angle of Shikakai-Amyl alcohol mixtures are slightly different than that of methanol-Shikakai mixture, mostly there is a gradual increase in contact angle with the increasing in alcohol concentration. Conclusion: There is no linear relationship between cos θ and inverse of surface tension. There was a linear increase in surface free energy results with increase in concentration as more surfactant molecules were adsorbing at the interface enhancing an increase in contact angle.

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Impact of Environmental Degradation on Human Health

International Research Journal of Management IT and Social Sciences ◽

10.21744/irjmis.v3i1.82 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

_______ Archana ◽

Charu Datta ◽

Pratibha Tiwari

Keyword(s):

Environmental Degradation ◽

Human Population ◽

Environmental Problems ◽

Population Increase ◽

Human Beings ◽

The People ◽

Wide Range ◽

Different Types ◽

Economic Institute ◽

Day By Day

Degradation of environment is one of the most serious challenges before the mankind in today’s world. Mankind has been facing a wide range of problem arising out of the degradation of environment. Not only the areas under human inhabitation, but the areas of the planet without human population have also been suffering from these problems. As the population increase day by day, the amenities are not improved simultaneously. With the advancement of science and technologies the needs of human beings has been changing rapidly. As a result different types of environmental problems have been rising. Environmental degradation is a wide- reaching problem and it is likely to influence the health of human population is great. It may be defined the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water, and soil. The destruction of ecosystem and extinction of wildlife. Environmental degradation has occurred due to the recent activities in the field of socio-economic, institute and technology. Poverty still remains a problem as the root of several environmental problems to create awareness among the people about the ill effect of environmental pollution. In the whole research it is clear that all factors of environmental degradation may be reduced through- Framing the new laws on environmental degradation, Environment friend policy, Controlling all the ways and means of noise, air, soil and water pollution, Through growing more and more trees and by adapting the proper sanitation policy.

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Portable near Infrared Spectroscopy as a Tool for Fresh Tomato Quality Control Analysis in the Field

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11073209 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 3209

Author(s):

Karla R. Borba ◽

Didem P. Aykas ◽

Maria I. Milani ◽

Luiz A. Colnago ◽

Marcos D. Ferreira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Citric Acid ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Prediction Models ◽

Quality Attributes ◽

Internal Quality ◽

Control Analysis ◽

Tomato Quality ◽

Wide Range ◽

Different Types ◽

Fresh Tomato

Portable spectrometers are promising tools that can be an alternative way, for various purposes, of analyzing food quality, such as monitoring in a few seconds the internal quality during fruit ripening in the field. A portable/handheld (palm-sized) near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer (Neospectra, Si-ware) with spectral range of 1295–2611 nm, equipped with a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMs), was used to develop prediction models to evaluate tomato quality attributes non-destructively. Soluble solid content (SSC), fructose, glucose, titratable acidity (TA), ascorbic, and citric acid contents of different types of fresh tomatoes were analyzed with standard methods, and those values were correlated to spectral data by partial least squares regression (PLSR). Fresh tomato samples were obtained in 2018 and 2019 crops in commercial production, and four fruit types were evaluated: Roma, round, grape, and cherry tomatoes. The large variation in tomato types and having the fruits from distinct years resulted in a wide range in quality parameters enabling robust PLSR models. Results showed accurate prediction and good correlation (Rpred) for SSC = 0.87, glucose = 0.83, fructose = 0.87, ascorbic acid = 0.81, and citric acid = 0.86. Our results support the assertion that a handheld NIR spectrometer has a high potential to simultaneously determine several quality attributes of different types of tomatoes in a practical and fast way.

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Toxic or Not Toxic, That Is the Carbon Quantum Dot’s Question: A Comprehensive Evaluation with Zebrafish Embryo, Eleutheroembryo, and Adult Models

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym13101598 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 1598

Author(s):

Chih-Yu Chung ◽

Yu-Ju Chen ◽

Chia-Hui Kang ◽

Hung-Yun Lin ◽

Chih-Ching Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Zebrafish Embryo ◽

Comprehensive Evaluation ◽

Aquatic Organisms ◽

Carbon Quantum Dots ◽

Adult Zebrafish ◽

Fish Embryo ◽

Wide Range ◽

Different Types ◽

Low Toxicity

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are emerging novel nanomaterials with a wide range of applications and high biocompatibility. However, there is a lack of in-depth research on whether CQDs can cause acute or long-term adverse reactions in aquatic organisms. In this study, two different types of CQDs prepared by ammonia citrate and spermidine, namely CQDAC and CQDSpd, were used to evaluate their biocompatibilities. In the fish embryo acute toxicity test (FET), the LD50 of CQDAC and CQDSpd was about 500 and 100 ppm. During the stage of eleutheroembryo, the LD50 decreased to 340 and 55 ppm, respectively. However, both CQDs were quickly eliminated from embryo and eleutheroembryo, indicating a lack of bioaccumulation. Long-term accumulation of CQDs was also performed in this study, and adult zebrafish showed no adverse effects in 12 weeks. In addition, there was no difference in the hatchability and deformity rates of offspring produced by adult zebrafish, regardless of whether they were fed CQDs or not. The results showed that both CQDAC and CQDSpd have low toxicity and bioaccumulation to zebrafish. Moreover, the toxicity assay developed in this study provides a comprehensive platform to assess the impacts of CQDs on aquatic organisms in the future.

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Nanometals-Containing Polymeric Membranes for Purification Processes

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma14030513 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 513

Author(s):

Anna Rabajczyk ◽

Maria Zielecka ◽

Krzysztof Cygańczuk ◽

Łukasz Pastuszka ◽

Leszek Jurecki

Keyword(s):

Synergistic Effects ◽

Membrane Surface ◽

Antibacterial Properties ◽

Polymeric Membranes ◽

Treatment Processes ◽

Wide Range ◽

Different Types ◽

Type Size ◽

Titanium Zinc ◽

Membrane Surface Charge

A recent trend in the field of membrane research is the incorporation of nanoparticles into polymeric membranes, which could produce synergistic effects when using different types of materials. This paper discusses the effect of the introduction of different nanometals such as silver, iron, silica, aluminum, titanium, zinc, and copper and their oxides on the permeability, selectivity, hydrophilicity, conductivity, mechanical strength, thermal stability, and antiviral and antibacterial properties of polymeric membranes. The effects of nanoparticle physicochemical properties, type, size, and concentration on a membrane’s intrinsic properties such as pore morphology, porosity, pore size, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, membrane surface charge, and roughness are discussed, and the performance of nanocomposite membranes in terms of flux permeation, contaminant rejection, and antifouling capability are reviewed. The wide range of nanocomposite membrane applications including desalination and removal of various contaminants in water-treatment processes are discussed.

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On the generation of internal waves by river plumes in subcritical initial conditions

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-81464-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

R. Mendes ◽

J. C. B. da Silva ◽

J. M. Magalhaes ◽

B. St-Denis ◽

D. Bourgault ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Numerical Modeling ◽

Internal Waves ◽

Coastal Waters ◽

Initial Conditions ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

River Plumes ◽

Wide Range ◽

Near Shore ◽

Generation Mechanisms ◽

Douro River

AbstractInternal waves (IWs) in the ocean span across a wide range of time and spatial scales and are now acknowledged as important sources of turbulence and mixing, with the largest observations having 200 m in amplitude and vertical velocities close to 0.5 m s−1. Their origin is mostly tidal, but an increasing number of non-tidal generation mechanisms have also been observed. For instance, river plumes provide horizontally propagating density fronts, which were observed to generate IWs when transitioning from supercritical to subcritical flow. In this study, satellite imagery and autonomous underwater measurements are combined with numerical modeling to investigate IW generation from an initial subcritical density front originating at the Douro River plume (western Iberian coast). These unprecedented results may have important implications in near-shore dynamics since that suggest that rivers of moderate flow may play an important role in IW generation between fresh riverine and coastal waters.

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Glycans in scaffold design in tissue reconstruction

Journal of Bioactive and Compatible Polymers ◽

10.1177/0883911521997847 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088391152199784

Author(s):

Nipun Jain ◽

Shashi Singh

Keyword(s):

Cell Attachment ◽

Low Cost ◽

Growth Conditions ◽

Downstream Signaling ◽

Cell Carrier ◽

Wide Range ◽

Proliferation And Differentiation ◽

Different Types ◽

Tissue Reconstruction ◽

A Cell

Development of an artificial tissue by tissue engineering is witnessed to be one of the long lasting clarified solutions for the damaged tissue function restoration. To accomplish this, a scaffold is designed as a cell carrier in which the extracellular matrix (ECM) performs a prominent task of controlling the inoculated cell’s destiny. ECM composition, topography and mechanical properties lead to different types of interactions between cells and ECM components that trigger an assortment of cellular reactions via diverse sensing mechanisms and downstream signaling pathways. The polysaccharides in the form of proteoglycans and glycoproteins yield better outcomes when included in the designed matrices. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains present on proteoglycans show a wide range of operations such as sequestering of critical effector morphogens which encourage proficient nutrient contribution toward the growing stem cells for their development and endurance. In this review we discuss how the glycosylation aspects are of considerable importance in everyday housekeeping functions of a cell especially when placed in a controlled environment under ideal growth conditions. Hydrogels made from these GAG chains have been used extensively as a resorbable material that mimics the natural ECM functions for an efficient control over cell attachment, permeability, viability, proliferation, and differentiation processes. Also the incorporation of non-mammalian polysaccharides can elicit specific receptor responses which authorize the creation of numerous vigorous frameworks while prolonging the low cost and immunogenicity of the substance.

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