Chewing insects, pollinators, and predators on Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex Beth (Fabales: Fabaceae) plants fertilized with dehydrated sewage sludge

Fertilization with dehydrated sewage sludge can speed up the recovery process of degraded areas due to nutrients concentration, favoring the development of pioneer plants such as Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex Beth (Fabales: Fabaceae) and the emergence of insects. This study aimed the evaluation of chewing, pollinating insects, predators, their ecological indices and relationships on A. auriculiformis plants fertilized with dehydrated sewage sludge. The experimental design was completely randomized with two treatments (with and without dehydrated sewage sludge) and 24 repetitions. The prevalence of chewing insects Parasyphraea sp. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Nasutitermes sp. (Blattodea: Termitidae), and Tropidacris collaris (Stoll, 1813) (Orthoptera: Romaleidae), defoliation, and ecological indices of abundance of Coleoptera and Orthoptera were observed on fertilized A. auriculiformis. Acacia auriculiformis plants, with a superior number of branches/tree, revealed greater abundance of Coleoptera and Orthoptera, species richness of pollinating insects, defoliation, numbers of Parasyphraea sp. and T. collaris. The ones with larger leaves/branches displayed greater abundance of species richness of Coleoptera and Diabrotica speciosa (Germar, 1824) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Therefore, the use of A. auriculiformis plants, fertilized with dehydrated sewage sludge, is promising in the recovery of degraded areas due to the ecological indices increase of chewing and pollinators insects and spiders in the analyzed area.

Insects and spiders on Acacia mangium (Fabaceae) saplings as bioindicators for the recovery of tropical degraded areas

Acacia mangium is a pioneer species with fast growth and frequently used in the recovery of degraded areas. The objectives were to evaluate insects and spiders, their ecological indices and interactions on A. mangium saplings in a tropical degraded area in recovering process. The experimental design was completely randomized with 24 replications, with treatments represented by the first and second years after A. mangium seedling planted. Numbers of leaves/branch, branches/sapling, and ground cover by A. mangium saplings, Hemiptera: Phenacoccus sp. and Pachycoris torridus; Hymenoptera: Tetragonisca angustula and Trigona spinipes, Brachymyrmex sp., Camponotus sp. and Cephalotes sp.; Blattodea: Nasutitermes sp. and Neuroptera: Chrysoperla sp.; abundance, species richness of pollinating insects, tending ants, and the abundance of Sternorrhyncha predators were greatest in the second year after planting. Numbers of Hemiptera: Aethalium reticulatum, Hymenoptera: Camponotus sp., Cephalotes sp., Polybia sp., T. angustula, T. spinipes, tending ants, pollinating insects, Sternorrhyncha predators and species richness of tending ants were highest on A. mangium saplings with greatest numbers of leaves or branches. The increase in the population of arthropods with ground cover by A. mangium saplings age increase indicates the positive impact by this plant on the recovery process of degraded areas.

Application of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) as a Healing Aid after Extraction of Incisors in the Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis syndrome

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a stress-free, relatively safe method supporting the treatment of many different diseases. Although it is widely used in human medicine (including dentistry), in veterinary medicine, especially in the treatment of horses, there are not many scientifically described and documented cases of its use. Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis syndrome is a disease that affects older horses and significantly reduces their quality of life. The only effective treatment for this condition is extraction of the incisors. The described case compares the recovery process of the alveolar area after extraction of incisors during the course of EOTRH syndrome without and with the use of a chamber, in horses with the same clinical picture of the disease, of the same age, and living in the same conditions. According to the authors’ knowledge, the presented case describes the use of a chamber in equine dentistry for the first time.

Influence of Optic Cable Construction Parts on Recovery Process after Gamma Irradiation

Fibre optic cables are widely used as communication cables in Instrumentation and Control (I&C) systems. In the case of nuclear power plants (NPPs), using optic cables in mild environments outside of containment areas are very common. However, at present, there is a need for fibre optic cables to be used in containment areas, i.e., with radiation. An optical fibre consists of a highly transparent core that possesses a higher refractive index than the surrounding transparent cladding, which possesses a lower refractive index. Most optical fibres are manufactured from glass (silica with required dopants) which is created at high temperatures from the reaction between gasses. The glass used in optical fibres is sensitive; it becomes dark during exposure to radiation, which compromises the optic functions. That is why there has been a slow infiltration of optic cable in NPP containment areas. Radiation resistant optic fibres have been developed. Although these fibres are called “radiation resistant,” they go through a darkening process (absorbance increase) as well, but not as quickly. Immediately after the irradiation has stopped, a recovery process starts in the glass structure. During this period, optical losses of the glass improve, but not to the original level as before the irradiation. During the testing of optic cables for the installation in nuclear power plant containment areas, we observed an unusual recovery process. In the beginning, a healing effect was observed. However, after a few days of recovery, the healing process stopped, and the trend changed again as a worsening of the optical properties was observed. This paper describes experiments which explain the reasons for such an unexpected behaviour.

Cyclone Amphan effects on the copepods of Ganges estuary

Tropical cyclones are increasingly affecting the estuarine communities. Impacts of category-5 tropical cyclone Amphan (landfall on 20 May 2020 near Ganges estuary mouth) on the copepod community of Muriganga section of Ganges estuary was studied by sampling the copepod assemblages before (February to December 2019), shortly after (31 May to 12 June 2020) and post (September to November 2020) cyclone. Hypothesis was shortly after Amphan a relatively homogenous community consists of a few estuarine specialist copepods would succeed but within months that community would be replaced by a heterogenous one but those estuarine specialists would continue their dominance. Shortly after Amphan, species richness declined but the recovery process completed within months led by herbivorous Paracalanus parvus, omnivorous Bestiolina similis, Acartia spinicauda, Acartiella tortaniformis, and carnivorous Oithona brevicornis. Spatial homogeneity of the community that prevailed in Muriganga in pre-Amphan and shorty after Amphan was lost in post-Amphan. Community composition changed from pre- to shortly after to post-Amphan. Unilateral dominance of B. similis observed in pre-Amphan was challenged by P. parvus, A. spinicauda, A. tortaniformis and O. brevicornis shortly after Amphan and in post-Amphan. Acartia spinicauda proliferated shortly after Amphan and co-dominated the estuary along with A. tortaniformis but the latter replaced the former in post-Amphan. Copepods did rebuild their community within a few months from Amphan but experienced rearrangements of species composition, abundance, dominance hierarchy and feeding guilds, which may strain benthic-pelagic linkages of Ganges estuary so shall be monitored regularly by coastal institutions following uniform methods and best practises.

Cognitive behaviour therapy for adolescents with eating disorders: An effective alternative to the disease-based treatments

Several clinical services offer eclectic multidisciplinary treatments with no evidence of efficacy and effectiveness for adolescents with eating disorders. These treatments are usually based on the ‘disease model’ of eating disorders. The model postulates that eating disorders are the result of a specific disease (i.e., anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or other eating disorders), and patients are considered not to have control of their illness. Therefore, they need the external control of parents and/or health professionals. In this model, the patients adopt a passive role in the treatment. On the contrary, enhanced cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT-E) for adolescents is based on a ‘psychological model’ of eating disorders. Patients are helped to understand the psychological mechanisms that maintain their eating disorder and are ‘actively’ involved in the recovery process. Clinical studies showed that more than 60% of adolescent patients who complete the treatment achieve a full response at 12-month follow-up. The treatment is well accepted by young people and their parents, and its collaborative nature is well suited to ambivalent young patients who may be particularly concerned about control issues and for parents who cannot participate in all treatment sessions.

Recovery of Salts from Synthetic Erythritol Culture Broth via Electrodialysis: An Alternative Strategy from the Bin to the Loop

Sustainability and circularity are currently two relevant drivers in the development and optimisation of industrial processes. This study assessed the use of electrodialysis (ED) to purify synthetic erythritol culture broth and for the recovery of the salts in solution, for minimising the generation of waste by representing an efficient alternative to remove ions, ensuring their recovery process contributing to reaching cleaner standards in erythritol production. Removal and recovery of ions was evaluated for synthetic erythritol culture broth at three different levels of complexity using a stepwise voltage in the experimental settings. ED was demonstrated to be a potential technology removing between 91.7–99.0% of ions from the synthetic culture broth, with 49–54% current efficiency. Besides this, further recovery of ions into the concentrated fraction was accomplished. The anions and cations were recovered in a second fraction reaching concentration factors between 1.5 to 2.5 times while observing low level of erythritol losses (<2%), with an energy consumption of 4.10 kWh/m3.

Energy and Environmental Analysis of a Solar Evacuated Tube Heat Pipe Integrated Thermoelectric Generator Using IoT

This paper investigates the solar evacuated tube heat pipe system (SEHP) coupled with a thermoelectric generator (TEG) using the internet of things (IoT). The TEGs convert heat energy into electricity through the Seebeck effect that finds application in the waste heat recovery process for the generation of power. The present work deals with the theoretical study on solar evacuated tube heat pipe integrated TEG and it is validated experimentally using with and without parabolic trough concentrating collector. And the carbon credit of the TEG system is determined to find its potential in the environmental aspect. Also, the boost type converter is used to raise the power output by increasing the voltage from the TEG for rural electrifications. However, it is found that the maximum power output due to the influence of the parabolic trough concentrator results in increased efficiency when compared with the non-concentrating SEHP-TEG system. The TEG output power can be boosted up to a maximum of 5.98 V using a power electronic boost converter. Besides, the recorded real sensor data with Arduino is implemented in the experimental process for automatic remote monitoring of the temperature.

S3 and Recovery and Resilience Funds: A Case Study Built on the Experience of 10 Spanish Regions

The EU's response to the COVID-19 crisis, namely the approval of the Next Generation package, provides an opportunity to explore to what extent the existing Smart Specialisation regional strategies and related ecosystems have been taken into account in the highly relevant territorial context in which the national Recovery Plans have been designed. According to our results the potential of the Smart Specialisation approach (S3) in relation with its place-based strategic prioritisation may have been overlooked in the process. The research is based on a desk review of relevant documents and recent literature in this field; followed by semi-structured interviews with regional planners and practitioners from 10 Spanish regions (autonomous communities); complemented, in a second phase, by the organisation of a focus group to validate the initial results. During our research we identified the main contributions that the Smart Specialisation approach has so far made to the regions (mainly in terms of participative governance and creation of regional ecosystems); and the unanimous perception shared by all the practitioners interviewed that the S3 approach has led to a change of vision in public intervention. However, all of the interviewed regions have confirmed that the drafting of the national recovery and resilience plan lacked an ex-ante alignment with the regional S3 strategies, and failed to consider the existing regional S3 ecosystems. The separation of the recovery logic (based on the operation of public consultations at national level to identify strategic projects) from the S3 logic (based on a strategic prioritisation exercise conducted by each regional ecosystem) confirms that an opportunity may have been missed in the recovery planning process to consolidate the multi-actor, multilevel and place-based S3 approach. Although there is a certain degree of disappointment among regional practitioners as a result of this misalignment, the majority of them believe in the possibility of an ex-post alignment between the two processes, that can protect existing regional shared visions. However, without clear recognition of the S3 ecosystems and the S3 managing bodies, the significant role that Smart Specialisation could play in the recovery process may be at risk.