Energetic and environmental benefits of co-digestion of food waste and cattle slurry: a preliminary assessment

The research evaluated the feasibility of centralised pre-processing and pasteurisation of source-separated domestic food waste followed by transport to farms for anaerobic co-digestion with dairy cattle slurry. Data from long-term experiments on the co-digestion of these two substrates was used to predict gross energy yields; net yields were then derived from full system analysis using an energy modelling tool. The ratio of cattle slurry to food waste in the co-digestion was based on the nutrient requirements of the dairy farm and was modelled using both nitrogen and phosphorous as the limiting factor. The model was run for both medium-size and large farms in which the cattle were housed either all year round or for only 50% of the year. The results showed that the addition of food waste improved energy yields per digester unit volume, with a corresponding increased potential for improving farm income by as much as 50%. Data for dairy farms in the county of Hampshire UK, which has a low density of dairy cattle and a large population, was used as a stringent test case to verify the applicability of the concept. In this particular case the nutrient requirements of the larger farms could be satisfied, and further benefits were gained from the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions avoided through improved manure management and fertiliser imports. The results indicated that this approach offered major advantages in terms of resource conservation and pollution abatement when compared to either centralised anaerobic digestion of food waste or energy recovery from thermal treatmen

The Treadmill of Information: Development of the Information Society and Carbon Dioxide Emissions

The world is facing a crisis of global warming due to the release of CO2 and other greenhouse gasses by human activities. Many scholars and stakeholders argue that information and communication technology (ICT) development will mitigate CO2 emissions. Advocacy of technological solutions to CO2 mitigation is consistent with ecological modernization theory\u27s assertion that reflexive societies will modernize sustainably. In contrast, we define the “treadmill of information” as the unique contribution of ICT development to environmental degradation. We examine the impact of ICT development on total CO2 emissions and source-sector emissions from electricity, buildings, manufacturing, and transportation using a multilevel growth model for panel data from 113 countries split into the world, developed country, and less-developed-country samples. We find that the level of fixed telephone development is a strong predictor of higher CO2 emissions in less-developed countries, while internet use predicts higher CO2 emissions in developed countries. The effect of mobile telephone development is not significant. Thus, it appears that ICTs are not having an ameliorative effect on global warming as expected by ecological modernization theorists, and instead reinforce the treadmill of production\u27s negative effect

Professional practices, training, and funding mechanisms: A survey of pediatric primary care psychologists

The integration of mental health services in primary care settings has expanded rapidly in recent years with psychologists being at the forefront of efforts to promote healthy behaviors, reduce disease, and care for behavioral, emotional, and developmental needs to promote overall health and well-being for children and families (Asarnow, Kolko, Miranda,&Kazak, 2017; Stancin& Perrin, 2014). While there are many psychologists working in pediatric primary care (PPC), little is known about the specific activities that these psychologists engage in, the training they receive, or funding mechanisms that support their work. This study sought to address this gap in the literature through a survey of psychologists working in PPC. An anonymous online survey was disseminated to members of professional organizations and listservs who were identified as having interest in PPC. Psychologists (N-65) currently practicing in PPC completed the survey by reporting on clinical roles and practices, professional training, practice settings, and funding supports in PPC settings. Results indicate that psychologists assume a number of roles in PPC including providing individual and family therapy, conducting screenings for child mental health concerns, and providing consultation to medical colleagues. Many psychologists also provide supervision and offer educational opportunities for those in related fields, such as medicine and social work. Engagement in research activities was identified as a secondary activity. It was reported that a number of clinical activities were not billed for on a regular basis. Additional areas of research will be discussed along with implications for clinical services in PPC.. © 2017 American Psychological Association

Calpain mediates epithelial cell microvillar effacement by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli

A member of the attaching and effacing (AE) family of pathogens, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) induces dramatic changes to the intestinal cell cytoskeleton, including effacement of microvilli. Effacement by the related pathogen enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) requires the activity of the Ca(+2)-dependent host protease, calpain, which participates in a variety of cellular processes, including cell adhesion and motility. We found that EHEC infection results in an increase in epithelial (CaCo-2a) cell calpain activity and that EHEC-induced microvillar effacement was blocked by ectopic expression of calpastatin, an endogenous calpain inhibitor, or by pretreatment of intestinal cells with a cell-penetrating version of calpastatin. In addition, ezrin, a known calpain substrate that links the plasma membrane to axial actin filaments in microvilli, was cleaved in a calpain-dependent manner during EHEC infection and lost from its normal locale within microvilli. Calpain may be a central conduit through which EHEC and other AE pathogens induce enterocyte cytoskeletal remodeling and exert their pathogenic effects

A Fluorescent Probe Identifies Active Site Ligands of Inositol Pentakisphosphate 2-Kinase

Inositol pentakisphosphate 2-kinase catalyzes the phosphorylation of the axial 2-OH of myo-inositol 1,3,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate for de novo synthesis of myo-inositol hexakisphosphate. Disruption of inositol pentakisphosphate 2-kinase profoundly influences cellular processes; from nuclear mRNA export and phosphate homeostasis in yeast and plants, to establishment of left-right asymmetry in zebra fish. We elaborate an active site fluorescent probe that allows high throughput screening of Arabidopsis inositol pentakisphosphate 2-kinase. We show that the probe has a binding constant comparable to the Km values of inositol phosphate substrates of this enzyme, and can be used to prospect for novel substrates and inhibitors of inositol phosphate kinases. We identify several micromolar Ki inhibitors and validate this approach by solving the crystal structure of protein in complex with purpurogallin. We additionally solve structures of protein in complexes with epimeric higher inositol phosphates. This probe may find utility in characterization of a wide family of inositol phosphate kinases

Building Bridges in the Clouds: Connecting Researchers and Hidden Works

The work of two researchers, Mercedes Agullo and Rita Arditti, is the raw material for the development of two projects using cloud-based turn-key solutions. The resulting digital libraries bring together primary and secondary sources to a global audience of scholars and researchers that previously could not access these valuable yet hidden scholarly works. Mercedes Agulló y Cobo is a Spanish historian who, over the course of her career, has produced important scholarly reference works in the historiography of the book, painting, sculpture, and theater. The Library at UMass Boston was approached by a faculty member in Latin American & Iberian Studies interested in providing broad access to Agulló’s extensive, though largely inaccessible, body of work. In the 1990s, Argentine-born activist and educator Rita Arditti traveled to Buenos Aires from the U.S. to interview the Abuelas (Grandmothers) of the Plaza de Mayo, a group founded in 1977 to search for children who were abducted or born into captivity during the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983

Jobseekers Regime and Flexible New Deal, the Six Month Offer and Support for the Newly Unemployed evaluations: An early process study

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