Dental evidence for variation in diet over time and space in the Arctic fox, Vulpes lagopus

Studies of the effects of variation in resource availability are important for understanding the ecology of high-latitude mammals. This paper examines the potential of dental evidence (tooth wear and breakage) as a proxy for diet and food choice in Vulpes lagopus, the Arctic fox. It presents a preliminary study of dental microwear, gross wear score, and tooth breakage in a sample (n = 78 individuals) from the Yamal Peninsula of the Russian Arctic. While these measures have each been associated with feeding ecology in larger carnivorans (e.g., proportion of bone in the diet), they have yet to be combined in any study and have rarely been applied to smaller species or those from high latitudes. Arctic foxes from the north and south of the peninsula, and those from rodent peak and trough density periods, are compared to assess impact of changes in food availability across space and time. Results indicate that microwear textures vary in dispersion, with more variation in texture complexity, including higher values (suggesting more consumption of bone), in the rodent-poor period in the north of Yamal. Gross wear scores and tooth breakage are also significantly higher for the north of Yamal than the south. These data together suggest that dental evidence can provide important insights into variation in the feeding ecology of Arctic foxes and potentially into the impacts of changes in food abundance across space and time

Dental evidence for variation in diet over time and space in the Arctic fox, Vulpes lagopus

Studies of the effects of variation in resource availability are important for understanding the ecology of high-latitude mammals. This paper examines the potential of dental evidence (tooth wear and breakage) as a proxy for diet and food choice in Vulpes lagopus, the Arctic fox. It presents a preliminary study of dental microwear, gross wear score, and tooth breakage in a sample (n = 78 individuals) from the Yamal Peninsula of the Russian Arctic. While these measures have each been associated with feeding ecology in larger carnivorans (e.g., proportion of bone in the diet), they have yet to be combined in any study and have rarely been applied to smaller species or those from high latitudes. Arctic foxes from the north and south of the peninsula, and those from rodent peak and trough density periods, are compared to assess impact of changes in food availability across space and time. Results indicate that microwear textures vary in dispersion, with more variation in texture complexity, including higher values (suggesting more consumption of bone), in the rodent-poor period in the north of Yamal. Gross wear scores and tooth breakage are also significantly higher for the north of Yamal than the south. These data together suggest that dental evidence can provide important insights into variation in the feeding ecology of Arctic foxes and potentially into the impacts of changes in food abundance across space and time

Biological Earth observation with animal sensors.

Space-based tracking technology using low-cost miniature tags is now delivering data on fine-scale animal movement at near-global scale. Linked with remotely sensed environmental data, this offers a biological lens on habitat integrity and connectivity for conservation and human health; a global network of animal sentinels of environmen-tal change

Biological Earth observation with animal sensors

Space-based tracking technology using low-cost miniature tags is now delivering data on fine-scale animal movement at near-global scale. Linked with remotely sensed environmental data, this offers a biological lens on habitat integrity and connectivity for conservation and human health; a global network of animal sentinels of environmen-tal change

Toward Catalytic Ketonization of Volatile Fatty Acids Extracted from Fermented Wastewater by Adsorption

Volatile fatty acids (VFA) produced by fermentation of organic-rich wastewater streams can, after efficient recovery from the dilute fermentation broth, serve as a circular source of carbon and be catalytically upgraded into various valuable platform molecules. Waste-derived VFA, that is, a mixture of acetic, propionic, and butyric acids, can thus be converted into mixed ketones, which in turn are valuable intermediates for light aromatics synthesis. Here, an integrated process is presented for the recovery and in-line catalytic conversion of VFA extracted from a fermentation broth by adsorption on a nonfunctionalized resin adsorbent. Gas-phase ketonization of the VFA was studied with and without co-fed water, which is inevitably coextracted from the broth, over TiO2 anatase catalysts to assess catalyst performance, including stability as a function of time on stream. While VFA conversion over bare TiO2 at 375 °C proceeded at 90% conversion with 100% selectivity to ketones, the presence of water in the feed resulted in an activity drop to 40%. Catalyst stability toward water could be greatly improved by dispersing the titania on a hydrophobic carbon support. The carbon-supported catalyst showed superior performance in the presence of excess water, providing a quantitative yield toward ketones at 400 °C. The approach thus allows coupling of VFA recovery from a fermentation broth with successful catalytic upgrading to mixed ketones, thus providing a novel route for the production of value-added products from waste streams

Toward Catalytic Ketonization of Volatile Fatty Acids Extracted from Fermented Wastewater by Adsorption

Volatile fatty acids (VFA) produced by fermentation of organic-rich wastewater streams can, after efficient recovery from the dilute fermentation broth, serve as a circular source of carbon and be catalytically upgraded into various valuable platform molecules. Waste-derived VFA, that is, a mixture of acetic, propionic, and butyric acids, can thus be converted into mixed ketones, which in turn are valuable intermediates for light aromatics synthesis. Here, an integrated process is presented for the recovery and in-line catalytic conversion of VFA extracted from a fermentation broth by adsorption on a nonfunctionalized resin adsorbent. Gas-phase ketonization of the VFA was studied with and without co-fed water, which is inevitably coextracted from the broth, over TiO2 anatase catalysts to assess catalyst performance, including stability as a function of time on stream. While VFA conversion over bare TiO2 at 375 °C proceeded at 90% conversion with 100% selectivity to ketones, the presence of water in the feed resulted in an activity drop to 40%. Catalyst stability toward water could be greatly improved by dispersing the titania on a hydrophobic carbon support. The carbon-supported catalyst showed superior performance in the presence of excess water, providing a quantitative yield toward ketones at 400 °C. The approach thus allows coupling of VFA recovery from a fermentation broth with successful catalytic upgrading to mixed ketones, thus providing a novel route for the production of value-added products from waste streams

Tandem catalytic aromatization of volatile fatty acids

The transition towards a circular economy requires closing the carbon loop, e.g. by the development of new synthesis routes to valuable intermediates and products from organic-rich waste streams. Volatile fatty acids (VFA) can be fermentatively produced from wastewater and serve as circular platform chemicals. We show that these VFA can be catalytically upgraded to light aromatics (i.e., benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes, BTEX) via a tandem catalytic reaction involving TiO2-catalyzed ketonization and zeolite ZSM-5 catalyzed aromatization. Including this intermediate ketonization step is demonstrated to be much more efficient than direct VFA aromatization, as direct acid conversion mainly gave rise to short-chain olefins by decarboxylation and low BTEX yields of 1%. A one-reactor, tandem catalytic conversion instead significantly improved the yield to 45% when zeolite Ga/ZSM-5 was used. Furthermore, the effect of VFA-derived ketone composition, a process parameter set by the fermentation process, on aromatics production efficiency and product distribution was found to be very pronounced for zeolite Ga/ZSM-5, but not for non-promoted zeolite HZSM-5. This suggests a different reaction mechanism to dominate on zeolite Ga/ZSM-5, involving dehydration on the Brønsted acid sites and cyclization/aromatization on the Ga sites. Finally, water, expected to be present in the feed during VFA upgrading, caused the activity of zeolite Ga/ZSM-5 to drop reversibly, but also led to lower coke buildup. Analysis of the spent catalyst with solid-state 27Al nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and temperature-programmed reduction with H2 showed that the catalyst structure remained intact, also with water present in the feed. Together, the results demonstrate that catalytic ketonization/aromatization is an attractive circular approach for converting waste-derived carboxylic acids into renewable aromatics

Crystal Phase Effects on the Gas-Phase Ketonization of Small Carboxylic Acids over TiO2 Catalysts

Invited for this month′s cover is the group of Pieter Bruijnincx from Utrecht University. The image shows an imaginary police line-up of two molecules suspected to be involved as intermediates in the catalytic ketonization reaction. Based on the evidence collected, depicted on the pinboard on the wall, the scientist discusses the impact of all this with somebody interested in catalysis that converts waste, wastewater-derived volatile fatty acids in this case, to value-added circular chemicals. The Full Paper itself is available at 10.1002/cssc.202100721

Determination of material's tightening force with chipper knife

Chippers designed for chopping wood at the sawmill waste, produce of wood chips could be used in agriculture; they used at development of lands derived from the rotation overgrown with undergrowth and bushes. The improvement and optimization of parameters of chipper RB-750 with a combined working body, the effectiveness of which depends on a number of structural factors: the angle tightening angle pinch location shearbar and others is conducted in Vyatka State Agricultural Academy. Angle of incidence in the cutting process changes its value and affects the strength of the material tightening with knife. The maximum value of a tightening force is possible at the smallest impact angle, but it degrades the quality of the finished product. To justify the design parameters of the working body theoretical research were conducted with the consideration of two major cases: when the angle of incidence is less and more than 90°. The obtained dependences allow to determine the parameters of the cutting pair providing material delay at changing cutting conditions: the ratio of the components of the cutting force; the coefficient of friction of material on the surface of working bodies. Experimental studies on confirming of the theoretical assumptions were made in a laboratory machine which allows to register the effect of a tightening of sample material with knives of grinding drum of the working body. Completed experiments yielded a regression model that characterizes the effect of investigated factors on the strength of a material tightening with knives. The experimental results confirm the theoretical assumptions put forward and allow to draw conclusions about the optimal values of the factors: angle of delaying у = 4.5...4.8°; location of shearbar below the horizontal axis of the drum on 20...21 mm; angle of crushing material х = 30°