Organic Waste Management and Circular Bioeconomy: A Literature Review Comparison between Latin America and the European Union

The authors appreciate the support of the research group RNM-197 (Environmental Management and Technology) of the University of Granada. We are grateful to four anonymous referees for their comments and useful discussions.Worldwide, organic waste represents one of the most significant shares in the waste management system. Within the framework of circular bioeconomy, new and cutting-edge infrastructure has been developed at the European level to turn organic waste into valuable resources. The present paper aims to provide an exhaustive comparison between the European Union and Latin America regarding organic waste valorization. To this end, an introductive analysis about the state of the art circular bioeconomy in Latin America and Caribbean countries was developed. Subsequently, a systematic literature review in the context of South and Central America was conducted to detect differences and similarities in technologies and best practices for treating biowaste. The results show that the Latin American region is home to numerous bio-based infrastructures: biogas recovery, composting facilities and bioremediation strategies. Nevertheless, a conclusive remark underlines that some social, economic and political barriers are still encountered in the region, and therefore, new and locally-based studies are of paramount importance.Environmental Management and Technology) of University of Granada RNM-19

The effects of congruent versus incongruent music styles and high and low cognition ad copy on AAd and ABrand

This study examines the effects of music styles, which are congruent and incongruent with brand image, on attitude towards the advertisement (A\sb{\rm Ad}) and attitude towards the brand (A\sb{\rm Brand}). The intervening effects of high and low cognition processing situations are also examined. The experimental manipulation was accomplished using twelve radio ad treatments. The two brands, Rolex and Swatch, each had two voice-over versions (high cognition and low cognition). Each voice-over was produced in three versions: Classical music, Rock music, and no-music background. The 2 x 2 x 3 between subjects research design had twelve testing conditions (high/low cognition; Rolex/Swatch brands; Classical, Rock, and no-music conditions). For the analysis, the Rolex/Classical and Swatch/Rock music cells were collapsed to form the "congruent" condition, while the Rolex/Rock and Swatch/Classical music cells were collapsed to form the "incongruent" condition. Subjects (n = 381) were asked to listen to an advertisement/music combination and complete a questionnaire. In general, results indicated that the presence of music in ads did not affect A\sb{\rm Ad} and A\sb{\rm Brand}. Ads with brands paired with incongruent music style were perceived as more original. Ads with brands paired with congruent music style were considered to be the most interesting and elicited the happiest feelings. Moreover, high cognition ads were considered more interesting, original, and elicited positive feelings when music, congruent or incongruent, was present

Using Resonances to Control Chaotic Mixing within a Translating and Rotating Droplet

Enhancing and controlling chaotic advection or chaotic mixing within liquid droplets is crucial for a variety of applications including digital microfluidic devices which use microscopic ``discrete'' fluid volumes (droplets) as microreactors. In this work, we consider the Stokes flow of a translating spherical liquid droplet which we perturb by imposing a time-periodic rigid-body rotation. Using the tools of dynamical systems, we have shown in previous work that the rotation not only leads to one or more three-dimensional chaotic mixing regions, in which mixing occurs through the stretching and folding of material lines, but also offers the possibility of controlling both the size and the location of chaotic mixing within the drop. Such a control was achieved through appropriate tuning of the amplitude and frequency of the rotation in order to use resonances between the natural frequencies of the system and those of the external forcing. In this paper, we study the influence of the orientation of the rotation axis on the chaotic mixing zones as a third parameter, as well as propose an experimental set up to implement the techniques discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure

Problematizing profit and profitability:Discussions

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report the outcome of an interdisciplinary discussion, in this AAAJ special issue, on the concepts of profit and profitability and various ways in which we could potentially problematise these concepts. It is our hope that a much greater attention or reconsideration of the problematisation of profit and related accounting numbers will be fostered in part by the exchanges we include here.Design/methodology/approach: This paper adopts an interdisciplinary discussion approach. It also brings into conversation ideas and views of several scholars on problematising profit and profitability in various contexts and explores potential implications of such problematisation.Findings: An interdisciplinary approach to problematising profit and profitability has a lot to offer. While profit and profitability are stigmas that corporations need to address, they tend to make invisible the collective endeavour of people who work hard (mostly in backstage) to achieve a desired profit level for a division and/or an organisation. Profit tends to preclude the social process of debating about the potential contradictions of ends and indeed the means of collective activity. An inherent message that we can decipher from the contributions to this discussion is the increasing need to worry about how managers are socialised to think that critical theory and interpretive research have no lessons for them. It is the failure of positivist researchers and practitioners to learn from the lessons that are offered by critical research in contrast to the suffocating influence of neo-liberal economic ideas. The impact of a fixation with markets and associated neo-liberal ideas that has led to a situation where organisations are strongly distrusted and in instances reviled in their attempts to make profits, at times illicitly.Originality/value: In setting out a future research agenda, our paper fosters theoretical and methodological pluralism focussing on problematising profit and profitability in various settings. The discussion perspectives offered in this paper provides not only a basis for further research in this essential area of discourse and regulation on the role and status of profit and profitability, but also provides emancipatory potential for practitioners (to be reflective of their practices and the undesirable consequences of such practices) whose overarching focus is on these socially constructed accounting numbers.Impact: Problematising opens-up the potential for interesting and significant theoretical insights. A much greater pragmatic and theoretical reconsideration of profit and profitability will be fostered by the exchanges we include here.</div

The role of life cycle thinking-based methodologies in the development of waste management plans

The aim of this article is to examine how Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) contributes to the development of Waste Management Plans (WMPs). The case of Italy has been deeply investigated. The article first analyses whether and how the LCT methodologies were applied to the 21 regional WMPs; then, it draws indications for using LCT in the preparation of a WMP. Moreover, it outlines why the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology could be used as a powerful tool for regional planning in the waste field, analysing the indications for preparing a WMP that already exist at the European level and in the Italian National WM Programme. Results reveal that only four of the 21 regional WMPs include comprehensive and site-specific LCA studies. Building on these case study results, insights into the opportunities and benefits associated with incorporating LCT methodologies into WMP development and implementation are provided. This study underscores the critical importance of LCT and LCA in promoting sustainable waste management practices, ensuring compliance with European directives, and offering a foundation for more informed regional planning strategies

Small-Scale Palm Oil Production in Ghana: Practices, Environmental Problems and Potential Mitigating Measures

The environmental impact of small-scale palm oil processing mills in Ghana has come under serious questioning, especially the disposal of wastewater generated from their operations. This chapter describes the small-scale palm oil production operations in Ghana to highlight the associated environmental problems arising from the disposal of wastewater and other waste by-products. The chapter further discusses the effluent discharge permitting arrangements and possible modifications to the production practices and policy interventions that could improve their environmental compliance and encourage resource recovery. The data in this chapter was obtained from a survey of selected small-scale palm oil processing mills in Ghana, laboratory analysis of wastewater samples from processing mills and review of related literature. Wastewater generated from the processing activities is currently disposed of without any form of treatment. The characteristics of wastewater indicate the need for treatment before disposal. Treatment technologies that could achieve resource recovery (such as biogas, compost, earthworm biomass) and fit into the framework of circular economy should be explored

Quantifying Fluid Mixing with The Shannon Entropy

We introduce a methodology to quantify the quality of mixing in various systems, including polymeric ones, by adapting the Shannon information entropy. For illustrative purposes we use particle advection of two species in a two-dimensional cavity flow. We compute the entropy by using the probability of finding a suitable chosen group/complex of particles of a given species, at a given location. By choosing the size of the group to be in direct proportion to the overall concentration of the components in the mixture we ensure that the entropic measure is maximized for the case of perfect mixing, that is, when at each location the component concentration is equal to the corresponding overall component concentrations. The scale of observation role in evaluating mixing is analyzed using the entropic methodology. We also illustrate the effect of initial conditions on mixing in a laminar system, typical in operations involving polymers

Direct transfection of clonal organoids in matrigel microbeads : a promising approach toward organoid-based genetic screens

Organoid cultures in 3D matrices are relevant models to mimic the complex in vivo environment that supports cell physiological and pathological behaviors. For instance, 3D epithelial organoids recapitulate numerous features of glandular tissues including the development of fully differentiated acini that maintain apico-basal polarity with hollow lumen. Effective genetic engineering in organoids would bring new insights in organogenesis and carcinogenesis. However, direct 3D transfection on already formed organoids remains challenging. One limitation is that organoids are embedded in extracellular matrix and grow into compact structures that hinder transfection using traditional techniques. To address this issue, we developed an innovative approach for transgene expression in 3D organoids by combining single-cell encapsulation in Matrigel microbeads using a microfluidic device and electroporation. We demonstrate that direct electroporation of encapsulated organoids reaches up to 80% of transfection efficiency. Using this technique and a morphological read-out that recapitulate the different stages of tumor development, we further validate the role of p63 and PTEN as key genes in acinar development in breast and prostate tissues. We believe that the combination of controlled organoid generation and efficient 3D transfection developed here opens new perspectives for flow-based high-throughput genetic screening and functional genomic applications

A sustainable approach for plastic processing industry: focus on PVC

Il corpo dell'elaborato è lo studio e l'applicazione del 'Life Cycle Assessment' (LCA) per un granulo di PVC. La prima parte del lavoro è una valutazione dell'industria odierna della plastica, in particolar modo del PVC, dall' origine della risorsa, attraverso tutte le fasi industriali fino al prodotto finale. Seguendo viene presentato il carattere poco sostenibile dell'industria in questione e possibili soluzioni tecniche attualmente utilizzate o previste. Mediante l'uso del GaBi software è stato possibile applicare la metodologia dell'LCA, analizzando tecnicamente l'impatto ambientale del prodotto. Infine, l'ultima parte del lavoro comprende una sezione dedicata al 'Cost-Benefit Analysis', utilizzato per quantificare il rapporto tra i costi e i benefici dell'industria