Consideration and Application of Evaluation Indicators of Regional Circular and Ecological Sphere (CES) for the Utilization of Woody Biomass

The “Regional Circular and Ecological Sphere” takes advantage of the SDGs’ concept of integrated solutions to numerous concerns, complementing and supporting resources based on the region’s features while maximizing the utilization of local resources. This research makes a comprehensive evaluation of the three aspects of the environment, economy, and society. First, formulate the evaluation indicators of the regional circulation symbiosis zone. Then, choose the cutting conditions of trees according to geographical factors, use the thinning forecasting system and forest GIS data to evaluate the supply potential of thinned wood in the area, and calculate the heat and power generation of wood biomass. According to the above analysis and calculation, 12,000 tons of unused wood chips can be supplied per year for 36 years from 2016 to 2051. From the economic point of view, the purchase of wood chips of 146 million yen due to the local circulation of wood fuel is expected to save about 50 million yen in intermediate input. And it is estimated that if 12,000 tons of unused wood chips can be supplied in the city per year, and about 98.4 million yen can be saved annually. Finally, from a social perspective point of view, biomass power generation of unused thinned timber using materials worth about 146 million yen is expected to create about 20 jobs.

Assessing the potential for managed aquifer recharge (MAR) of the Cape Flats Aquifer

This paper discusses the potential use of ‘managed aquifer recharge’ (MAR) in Cape Town to provide additional water supplies to the city that are fit-for-purpose. The paper investigates the feasibility of implementing MAR by simulating the artificial recharge of winter stormwater into the Cape Flats Aquifer (CFA), an extensive sandy, unconfined aquifer that covers most of metropolitan Cape Town’s urban landscape. The objective is to assess the storage capacity and supply potential of two MAR sites by modelling various scenarios in order to determine the feasibility of MAR as a viable strategy for achieving improved water security by augmenting groundwater water supply. The selected scenarios demonstrated that MAR could be used to minimise the risk of seawater intrusion and maximise the amount of water available for abstraction from the CFA. Six MAR scenarios provided strong evidence to suggest that there is sufficient storage capacity within the CFA for using stormwater to improve the wellfield yield in two regions of the CFA and which can sustainably yield approximately 18 Mm3 per year. The study concluded that the use of stormwater or treated wastewater could be deliberately used to recharge the CFA and as a viable option in support of the City of Cape Town’s intention to establish a water-resilient city by 2030.

Analysis of Therapeutic Targets and Prognostic Biomarkers Among semaphorins in the glioblastoma Microenvironment

Background Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most invasive and common form among brain cancers in adults. GBM is characterized for its poor survival and markedly high tumors heterogeneity with shortage of effective therapies. Semaphorins, a family of membrane-associated and secreted proteins, were originally defined as neuronal growth pyramidal proteins involved in directing repulsive axons. Semaphorins are repeatedly involved in the evolution of neural circuits, involving not only the generation and guidance of neurons, but also the recognition of target regions and cells and synapse formation. However, the differential expression and clinical prognostic value of semaphorins in GBM were not yet available clarity. Methods In this study, various databases including ONCOMINE (1159 samples), GEPIA (TCGA and GTEx dataset), UALCAN (samples from TCGA dataset), cBioPortal (604 samples from GDAC firehose of TCGA dataset), GeneMANIA(data from publicly available daatbases, e.g. GEO, BioGRID) and TIMER(samples from TCGA) were exploited. Results We found that in GBM tissues the transcriptional levels of SEMA3A/3B/3E/3F/5A/6A were markedly elevated, while those of SEMA3G/4A/4D/4F/5B were markedly reduced. GBM patients with lower levels of SEMA3F/4F transcription had a significantly better outcome. The function of semaphorins was mainly related to the regulation of cell growth and development. Besides, we found that the expression of semaphorin was significantly correlated with the infiltration of immune cells. Conclusions Semaphroins are differentially expressed in glioblastoma compared with normal brain tissue. They could provide diverse prognostic values, participate in various molecular pathways. In addition, the semaphorin protein family plays an important role in immune cell infiltration. Our study may supply potential target genes for the treatment of glioblastoma while providing new insights into the selection of prognostic biomarkers. Besides, our results may offer new insights into immunotherapy targeting and analysis of protein co-expression in SEMA for glioblastoma.

The Influence of Different Management Modes on the Potential of Moso Bamboo Carbon Sink Based on Survey Data of Yuhang and Lin’an

Bamboo forest carbon sequestration has strong development potential in coping with global climate change. The management of Moso bamboo forest can exert its own strong carbon sequestration ability and promote farmers' income, which is the fundamental point of bamboo industry development and can integrate ecological, economic, and social benefits. In this study, two Moso bamboo forests with different management modes in Lin'an and Yuhang of Zhejiang Province were used as research points. Using the system dynamic thinking method, a dynamic system model was constructed to simulate the growth process of Moso bamboo and its carbon sink supply. Then comparative analysis was made of its carbon sink supply potential. It is easy for bamboo forest managers to change management measures according to their requirements and create a dynamic balance between ecology and economics when determining the optimum management mode for the bamboo forest under the supply potential of carbon sink. According to the study results, the carbon sink supply under the intensive model is the most ideal, while the carbon sink supply under the extensive peach blossom model is the least ideal.

A New Approach to Inform Restoration and Management Decisions for Sustainable Apiculture

Habitat loss has reduced the available resources for apiarists and is a key driver of poor colony health, colony loss, and reduced honey yields. The biggest challenge for apiarists in the future will be meeting increasing demands for pollination services, honey, and other bee products with limited resources. Targeted landscape restoration focusing on high-value or high-yielding forage could ensure adequate floral resources are available to sustain the growing industry. Tools are currently needed to evaluate the likely productivity of potential sites for restoration and inform decisions about plant selections and arrangements and hive stocking rates, movements, and placements. We propose a new approach for designing sites for apiculture, centred on a model of honey production that predicts how changes to plant and hive decisions affect the resource supply, potential for bees to collect resources, consumption of resources by the colonies, and subsequently, amount of honey that may be produced. The proposed model is discussed with reference to existing models, and data input requirements are discussed with reference to an Australian case study area. We conclude that no existing model exactly meets the requirements of our proposed approach, but components of several existing models could be combined to achieve these needs.

Reduced Use of Fossil Fuels can Reduce Supply of Critical Resources

Previous research has identified that climate change mitigation policies could increase demand for resources perceived as critical, because these are used in many renewable energy technologies. This study assesses how reducing the extraction and use of fossil fuels could affect the supply of (i) elements jointly produced with fossil fuels and (ii) elements jointly produced with a host that is currently mainly used in fossil fuel supply chains. Several critical resources are identified for which supply potential from current sources is likely to decline. Some of these, e.g. germanium and vanadium, have uses in low-carbon energy systems. Renewable energy transitions can thus simultaneously increase demand and reduce supply of critical elements. The problem is greatest for technology groups in which by-products are more difficult to recycle than the host. Photovoltaic cell technology stands out as one such group. Phasing out fossil fuels has the potential to reduce both the supply potential (i.e. primary flow) and recoverable resources (i.e. stock) of materials involved in such technology groups. Further studies could examine possibilities to increase recovery rates, extract jointly produced resources independently of hosts and how the geographical distribution of by-product supply sources might change if fossil fuel extraction is scaled back.

Cost Effectiveness of Poultry Production by Sustainable and Renewable Energy Source

Poultry farming is one of high energy consumption and energy-intensive industries that requires significant amount of fuel fossil to provide the desired internal temperature for health and production level of chicken, which results in high running cost and growth of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Renewable and sustainable energy technologies are being employed in the area of poultry farming in order to achieve energy saving, GHG emission reduction and to some extent supply potential selective benefits for farmers. Therefore, it is very necessary for generalizing the state-of-the-art technologies including the solar photovoltaic, solar photovoltaic/thermal, ventilation and wind turbine, air/water/ground sources heat pump and thermal energy storage. It is demonstrated that the system energy saving could achieve up to 85% with a payback time of 3–8 years, compared to the conventional heating system.

Assessing the Potential of Agricultural Reservoirs as the Source of Environmental Flow

Excessive nutrient loadings from drainage areas and resulting water quality degradation in rivers are the major environmental issues around the world. The water quality further deteriorates for the large seasonal variation of precipitation and water flow. Environmental decision makers have been exploring affordable and effective ways of securing environmental flow (EF) to improve the water quality, especially in dry seasons, and agricultural reservoirs have attracted the attention of policymakers as an alternative source of EF. This study proposed an analysis framework for assessing the EF supply potential of agricultural reservoirs as alternative sources of EF. A reservoir water balance model was prepared to mathematically represent the reservoir water balance and quantify temporal variations of the amount of water available for the EF supply. The simulation model was designed to explicitly consider inflow from the upstream drainage areas, irrigation water requirement, and hydrological processes happening in the reservoirs. The proposed framework was applied to four agricultural reservoirs located in South Korea to evaluate its efficiency. Results showed that the additional storage capacity added by the dam reinforcement enabled the study reservoirs to satisfy both needs, EF and irrigation water supply. The surplus capacity turned out to be enough to satisfy various EF supply scenarios at the annual time scale. However, the current operation plans do not consider the seasonal variations of reservoir hydrology and thus cannot supply EF without violating the original operational goal, irrigation water, especially in dry months. The results demonstrate that it is necessary to consider the temporal variations of EF when developing reservoir operation rules and plans to secure EF. This study also highlights the unconventional roles of agricultural reservoirs as resources for improved environmental quality. The methods presented in this study are expected to be a useful tool for the assessment of agricultural reservoirs’ EF supply potential.