Smart monitoring of constructed wetlands to improve efficiency and water quality

The Smart monitoring of constructed wetlands to improve efficiency and water quality (SmarterCW) project aims to monitor biological wastewater treatment processes by gathering continuous data from remote water and environmental sensors. The acquired data can be processed and analysed through data science tools to better understand the complex and coupled phenomena underneath wastewater treatment, as well as, to monitor and optimize the system performance. The results will improve the efficiency and control of nature-based wastewater treatment technologies. The methodology comprises the following tasks and activities: Implementation of a set of electrochemical sensors in the input and output flow streams of pilot-scale constructed wetlands; Acquisition of water quality parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, temperature, and ionic compounds; Acquisition of environmental parameters, such as temperature and humidity; Application of data analysis tools to design and optimize conceptual models to correlate pollutants removal with operative parameters in green technologies for wastewater treatment. This methodology was applied to a patent-protected pilot-scale modular constructed wetland in which filling media consists of a mixture of solid waste. The system is complemented by a high-level IoT communication layer structure to support remote real-time water and environmental monitoring, system performance, and data dissemination. The project contributes to: Water and Environment through the efficient management and use of water resources and waste reduction, management, treatment, and valorisation; Materials and raw-materials through efficient, secure, and sustainable use of resources; and Environmental Education promoting environmental awareness and best environmental practices through the dissemination of scientific data and results using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tools and IoT platforms. The project also contributes to giving response to Societal Challenges, such as Environment protection, sustainable management of natural resources, water, biodiversity, and ecosystems; Enabling the transition to a green society and economy through eco-innovation.info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersio

Transcriptional activity, chromosomal distribution and expression effects of transposable elements in Coffea genomes

Plant genomes are massively invaded by transposable elements (TEs), many of which are located near host genes and can thus impact gene expression. In flowering plants, TE expression can be activated (de-repressed) under certain stressful conditions, both biotic and abiotic, as well as by genome stress caused by hybridization. In this study, we examined the effects of these stress agents on TE expression in two diploid species of coffee, Coffea canephora and C. eugenioides, and their allotetraploid hybrid C. arabica. We also explored the relationship of TE repression mechanisms to host gene regulation via the effects of exonized TE sequences. Similar to what has been seen for other plants, overall TE expression levels are low in Coffea plant cultivars, consistent with the existence of effective TE repression mechanisms. TE expression patterns are highly dynamic across the species and conditions assayed here are unrelated to their classification at the level of TE class or family. In contrast to previous results, cell culture conditions per se do not lead to the de-repression of TE expression in C. arabica. Results obtained here indicate that differing plant drought stress levels relate strongly to TE repression mechanisms. TEs tend to be expressed at significantly higher levels in non-irrigated samples for the drought tolerant cultivars but in drought sensitive cultivars the opposite pattern was shown with irrigated samples showing significantly higher TE expression. Thus, TE genome repression mechanisms may be finely tuned to the ideal growth and/or regulatory conditions of the specific plant cultivars in which they are active. Analysis of TE expression levels in cell culture conditions underscored the importance of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) pathways in the repression of Coffea TEs. These same NMD mechanisms can also regulate plant host gene expression via the repression of genes that bear exonized TE sequences. (Résumé d'auteur

Optoelectronic simulations for novel light management concepts in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

One of the trends making its way through the Photovoltaics (PV) industry, is the search for new application possibilities. Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin film solar cells stand out due to their class leading power conversion efficiency of 23.35 %, flexibility, and low cost. The use of sub-μm ultrathin CIGS solar cells has been gaining prevalence, due to the reduction in material consumption and the manufacturing time. Precise CIGS finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and 3D-drift diffusion baseline models were developed for the Lumerical suite and a 1D electrical model for SCAPS, allowing for an accurate description of the optoelectronic behavior and response of thin and ultrathin CIGS solar cells. As a result, it was possible to obtain accurate descriptions of the optoelectronic behavior of thin and ultrathin solar cells, and to perform an optical study and optimization of novel light management approaches, such as, random texturization, photonic nanostructures, plasmonic nanoparticles, among others. The developed light management architectures enabled to push the optical performance of an ultrathin solar cell and even surpass the performance of a thin film solar cell, enabling a short-circuit current enhancement of 6.15 mA/cm2 over an ultrathin reference device, without any light management integrated.publishe

A Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) Evaluation of Brazilian Sugarcane Expansion on Soil Quality

The Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) was developed to evaluate impacts of land use and management practices on soil quality (SQ), but its suitability for Brazilian tropical soils was unknown. We hypothesized that SMAF would be sensitive enough to detect SQ changes associated with sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) expansion for ethanol production. Field studies were performed at three sites across the south-central region of Brazil, aiming to quantify the impacts of a land use change sequence (i.e., native vegetation–pasture–sugarcane) on SQ. Eight soil indicators were individually scored using SMAF curves developed primarily for North American soils and integrated into an overall Soil Quality Index (SQI) and its chemical, physical, and biological sectors. The SMAF scores were correlated with two other approaches used to assess SQ changes, soil organic C (SOC) stocks and Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) scores. Our findings showed that the SMAF was an efficient tool for assessing land use change effects on the SQ of Brazilian tropical soils. The SMAF scoring curves developed using robust algorithms allowed proper assignment of scores for the soil chemical, physical, and biological indicators assessed. The SQI scores were significantly correlated with SOC stocks and VESS scores. Long-term transition from native vegetation to extensive pasture promoted significant decreases in soil chemical, physical, and biological indicators. Overall SQI suggested that soils under native vegetation were functioning at 87% of their potential capacity, while pasture soils were functioning at 70%. Conversions of pasture to sugarcane induced slight improvements in SQ, primarily because of improved soil fertility. Sugarcane soils are functioning at 74% of their potential capacity. Based on this study, management strategies were developed to improve SQ and the sustainability of sugarcane production in Brazil

In vitro and in vivo safety evaluation of Dipteryx alata Vogel extract

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Dipteryx alata </it>Vogel popularly known as "baru" is an important commercial leguminous tree species from the Brazilian Cerrado, which possess medicinal properties, besides its fruits consumption by animals and humans. The use of the "naturally occurring plants" as herbal remedies and foods mainly from leaves, seeds, flowers and roots of plants or extracts require precautions before ensuring these are safe and efficacious. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety of <it>D. alata </it>barks extract.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Vegetal drugs of <it>D. alata </it>barks were submitted to quality control assays and further to the safety assays under 1) <it>in vitro </it>parameter by <it>Salmonella </it>(Ames) mutagenicity, and 2) <it>in vivo </it>parameter on the pregnancy of rats.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The extract was non-mutagenic to any of the assessed strains TA97a, TA98, TA100 and TA102 even after metabolic activation (+S9). All <it>in vivo </it>parameters (reproductive ability evaluation, physical development of rat offsprings, and neurobehavioral development assays) showed no changes related to control group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>D. alata </it>barks extract is neither mutagenic by the Ames test nor toxic in the pregnancy of rats, with no physical-neurobehavioral consequences on the rat offsprings development.</p