Hasil untuk "Environmental protection"

B. Vu, Miao Chen, R. Crawford et al.

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced by microorganisms are a complex mixture of biopolymers primarily consisting of polysaccharides, as well as proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and humic substances. EPS make up the intercellular space of microbial aggregates and form the structure and architecture of the biofilm matrix. The key functions of EPS comprise the mediation of the initial attachment of cells to different substrata and protection against environmental stress and dehydration. The aim of this review is to present a summary of the current status of the research into the role of EPS in bacterial attachment followed by biofilm formation. The latter has a profound impact on an array of biomedical, biotechnology and industrial fields including pharmaceutical and surgical applications, food engineering, bioremediation and biohydrometallurgy. The diverse structural variations of EPS produced by bacteria of different taxonomic lineages, together with examples of biotechnological applications, are discussed. Finally, a range of novel techniques that can be used in studies involving biofilm-specific polysaccharides is discussed.

R. Tharanathan

Evdokia Moise

1. The Role and Functioning of the OECD 2. Sustainable Management of Resources 2.1 Waste Management 2.2 Biodiversity 3. Protection of Health and Safety 3.1 Testing of Chemicals 3.2 Good Laboratory Practice 3.3 Mutual Acceptance of Data 3.4 High Production Volume Chemicals 4. Climate Change 4.1 Energy Efficiency 4.2 Environmentally Sustainable Transport 5. Biotechnology 5.1 Human Health 5.2 Agriculture and Food 5.3 Environmental and Industrial Applications 6. Conclusion Glossary Bibliography Biographical Sketch

S. Romagnani

R. Medzhitov

Description Inflammation is an integral part of animal biology. It provides critical protection from adverse environmental factors by enforcing the defense of homeostasis and the functional and structural integrity of tissues and organs. Recent advances have uncovered a broad range of biological processes that involve inflammatory control, calling for a renewed framework of inflammation beyond its classical roles in defense from infection and injury. In this Review, new perspectives on inflammation biology are discussed and new research directions are suggested to address the fundamental gaps in our current understanding.

Christian O. Dimkpa, T. Weinand, F. Asch

I. Cousins, J. Johansson, M. Salter et al.

It is hypothesized that environmental contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) defines a separate planetary boundary and that this boundary has been exceeded. This hypothesis is tested by comparing the levels of four selected perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) (i.e., perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)) in various global environmental media (i.e., rainwater, soils, and surface waters) with recently proposed guideline levels. On the basis of the four PFAAs considered, it is concluded that (1) levels of PFOA and PFOS in rainwater often greatly exceed US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Lifetime Drinking Water Health Advisory levels and the sum of the aforementioned four PFAAs (Σ4 PFAS) in rainwater is often above Danish drinking water limit values also based on Σ4 PFAS; (2) levels of PFOS in rainwater are often above Environmental Quality Standard for Inland European Union Surface Water; and (3) atmospheric deposition also leads to global soils being ubiquitously contaminated and to be often above proposed Dutch guideline values. It is, therefore, concluded that the global spread of these four PFAAs in the atmosphere has led to the planetary boundary for chemical pollution being exceeded. Levels of PFAAs in atmospheric deposition are especially poorly reversible because of the high persistence of PFAAs and their ability to continuously cycle in the hydrosphere, including on sea spray aerosols emitted from the oceans. Because of the poor reversibility of environmental exposure to PFAS and their associated effects, it is vitally important that PFAS uses and emissions are rapidly restricted.

Zhehao Huang, Gaoke Liao, Zhenghui Li

Abstract Green innovation has attracted worldwide attention in the past decades. In this paper, we develop series of game models to address the effects of green loans and government subsidies on green innovation activities of enterprises. We derive a threshold value for loaning interest rate. If the interest rate of the green loan is lower than this threshold value, then the enterprises are willing to accept the loan from the bank and implement green innovation. By defining a measure for environmental effect of productive activities, we obtain a threshold value for the loaning scale. If the loaning scale is larger than this threshold value, then it meets the purpose of green loan to improve the environmental quality. We prove the effectiveness of government subsidies as an intervention way in supporting green innovation and environmental protection.

T. Mason, J. Lorimer

Shaohan Wang, Huixin Jin, Yong Deng et al.

Abstract Red mud is a solid waste produced during the bauxite refining of alumina. In recent years, environmental problems caused by the accumulation of red mud have become increasingly serious. In order to understand the status of red mud recovery in recent years, this article uses a comprehensive literature database to classify and statistically analyze red mud-related publications from 2010 to 2019. The results show that research on the comprehensive utilization of red mud is mainly found in three fields: the construction and chemical industry, the environmental protection and agriculture industry, and the valuable elements extraction industry. A brief report is also made on the related research of red mud in the fields of cement, concrete, glass, ceramics, adsorbents, geopolymers, catalysts, composite materials, sewage treatment, waste gas treatment, soil improvement, and valuable element recovery. The current industrial consumption of red mud in China is measured, and some suggestions for solving the red mud problem are put forward.

D. Pearce, G. Atkinson, S. Mourato

Wazir Zada Khan, Yang Xiang, M. Aalsalem et al.

Kaman Lee

L. Dragolea, G. Butnaru, S. Kot et al.

Introduction: Organizations currently emphasize green marketing strategies by implementing marketing practices, aiming to design, produce, promote and sell green products. Thus, both consumers and producers have turned their attention to the category of environmental friendly products, taking into account that the concept of green marketing is now being given greater importance. Responsible organizations have begun to adapt their strategies in production, promotion and interaction activities with consumers or potential consumers of organic products in the context we are going through, when environmental protection becomes an imperative. Analysis of the sustainable behavior of Generation Z is a determining factor from the perspective of the task that this generation will naturally take on, in terms of environmental responsibility. Methods: The research aims to determine the profile of the Generation Z consumer, in order to adapt the strategic actions of the government or organizations to direct and educate as objectively and efficiently as possible towards adopting the principles of ecological, sustainable and responsible consumption. Based on the data collected through a survey, we analyzed the sustainable behavior of Generation Z consumers studying at Romanian universities where there are specializations in this field. The research is quantitative, using structural equation modelling with partial least squares (PLSSEM) to test the hypotheses regarding the relationship between the determining factors and the sustainable behavior of Generation Z consumers. Results and Discussion: The results show that there is a positive relationship between both the sustainable behavior of Generation Z consumers and the satisfaction it conveys to them, as well as their environmental protection activities. However, there is no relationship between the sustainable behavior of Generation Z consumers and the green marketing practices of the organizations, environmental issues and their identification with the environmentally responsible consumer.

R. Aminov, N. Garrigues-Jeanjean, R. Mackie

Moirangthem Tiken Singh, Adnan Arif

This paper tackles the pressing challenge of preserving semantic meaning in communication systems constrained by limited bandwidth. We introduce a novel reinforcement learning framework that achieves per-dimension unequal error protection via adaptive repetition coding. Central to our approach is a composite semantic distortion metric that balances global embedding similarity with entity-level preservation, empowering the reinforcement learning agent to allocate protection in a context-aware manner. Experiments show statistically significant gains over uniform protection, achieving 6.8% higher chrF scores and 9.3% better entity preservation at 1 dB SNR. The key innovation of our framework is the demonstration that simple, intelligently allocated repetition coding enables fine-grained semantic protection -- an advantage unattainable with conventional codes such as LDPC or Reed-Solomon. Our findings challenge traditional channel coding paradigms by establishing that code structure must align with semantic granularity. This approach is particularly suited to edge computing and IoT scenarios, where bandwidth is scarce, but semantic fidelity is critical, providing a practical pathway for next-generation semantic-aware networks.

Jon P. Nelson, Peter E. Kennedy

Yonatan Gizachew Achamyeleh, Yang Xiang, Yun-Ping Hsiao et al.

The growing complexity of global supply chains has made hardware Trojans a significant threat in sensor-based power electronics. Traditional Trojan designs depend on digital triggers or fixed threshold conditions that can be detected during standard testing. In contrast, we introduce Environmental Rate Manipulation (ERM), a novel Trojan triggering mechanism that activates by monitoring the rate of change in environmental parameters rather than their absolute values. This approach allows the Trojan to remain inactive under normal conditions and evade redundancy and sensor-fusion defenses. We implement a compact 14~$μ$m$^2$ circuit that measures capacitor charging rates in standard sensor front-ends and disrupts inverter pulse-width modulation PWM signals when a rapid change is induced. Experiments on a commercial Texas Instruments solar inverter demonstrate that ERM can trigger catastrophic driver chip failure. Furthermore, ETAP simulations indicate that a single compromised 100~kW inverter may initiate cascading grid instabilities. The attack's significance extends beyond individual sensors to entire classes of environmental sensing systems common in power electronics, demonstrating fundamental challenges for hardware security.

Mª Ángeles Caraballo, Oksana Liashenko

Background Institutional quality is a critical determinant of development outcomes, yet the role of social attitudes in shaping institutions remains underexplored. This study examines the impact of public attitudes toward gender equality, environmental protection, and immigration on institutional strength and socioeconomic development. Method Using data from Wave 7 of the World Values Survey, we apply a classification of attitudes based on a combination of set theory and ordinal preference logic. Respondents are grouped into 27 attitude combinations and then aggregated into eight categories. Country-level proportions are computed. We apply Bayesian Network Analysis (BNA) to uncover complex dependencies, identifying relationships and central institutional nodes such as the rule of law, democratic stability, and market organisation. Latent institutional quality and development outcomes variables are derived using Principal Component Analysis. We then use Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to test a mediation model, estimating direct and indirect effects of attitudes on development outcomes. Bootstrapping with 5,000 replications ensures statistical robustness. Results BNA reveals that institutional quality is a key bridge between social attitudes and development outcomes. SEM confirms that institutional quality mediates these effects in most cases. Neutral-positive and mixed-neutral attitudes yield the most potent positive indirect effects, underscoring their role in consensus building. Negative attitudes are associated with institutional weakening and lower development performance. Interestingly, moderately negative views may drive democratic reform when linked to institutional accountability. Conclusion Social attitudes affect development primarily through their influence on institutions. Contrary to common assumptions, moderate and neutral positions are not passive; they foster institutional adaptability and stability. These findings underscore the importance of targeting centrist groups in policy design to reinforce inclusive governance and long-term development.

Meng LIU, Wei ZHANG, Qi ZHUANG et al.

BackgroundThe high work intensity and possible subsequently increased susceptibility to occupational hazards of calcium carbide plants may lead to hypertension in workers, but there are few studies on the relationship between occupational hazard exposure and hypertension in workers involving the production process of calcium carbide.ObjectiveTo explore the influence of occupational hazards on the incidence of hypertension in calcium carbide plants.MethodsUsing historical cohort design, the employees of a calcium carbide factory in the western part of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region were selected as research subjects. According to the pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria, the study population comprised an exposure group of 377 employees (including furnace workers, inspection workers, and maintenance workers) exposed to dust, noise & carbon monoxide, and a control group of 388 employees (including central control workers, electricians, and administrative personnel) without above-mentioned exposure. The total sample size was 765 participants. The follow-up period was from April 2011 to October 2022, and the study endpoint was defined as the conclusion of the follow-up period or diagnosed hypertension in annual occupational health examination. Information on general demographic characteristics, living habits, and work status was collected from all study subjects. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the association between occupational hazard exposure and the risk of hypertension among the calcium carbide plant employees.ResultsThe average age, mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure, proportion of males, smoking rate, and alcohol consumption rate in the exposure group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). Compared to baseline, both systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels increased in the exposure group and the control group at the end of the follow-up (P<0.05). At the end of the follow-up, the average differences between systolic/ diastolic blood pressure and baseline values in the exposure group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). During the follow-up period, a total of 223 cases of hypertension occurred, with a total follow-up of 2785 person-years, resulting in an incidence density of 8007.18 per 100000 person-years, an average age of onset of (35.90±8.22) years, and an average working age of onset of (2.69±1.97) years. The incidence density in the exposure group was 128.71% higher than that in the control group, and the risk of hypertension in the exposure group was 2.115 times that of the control group. The risk of hypertension was 2.199 times higher for men than for women, 1.344 times higher for those aged 30 and above than for those under 30, 1.546 times higher for smokers than for non-smokers, and 1.750 times higher for drinking workers than for non-drinking ones. The results of Cox proportional hazards regression modeling indicated that the hazard ratio (95%CI) of hypertension among the employees exposed to dust, noise, and carbon monoxide was 2.254 (1.703, 2.982), 1.594 (1.107, 2.295), and 1.567 (1.079, 2.274), respectively, when different covariates (gender, age, smoking, and alcohol consumption) were included. The results of Log-rank test showed that there were statistically significant differences in the distribution of disease-free survival between the exposure group and the control group (P<0.05).ConclusionOccupational exposures to dust, noise, and carbon monoxide may increase the risk of hypertension among calcium carbide plant workers.