Microcosm trial of the use of detergent for mitigation of crude oil toxicity for optimal growth of maize (Zea mays, L)

Study on the use of detergent as an ameliorating agent in crude oil polluted soil on hydrocarbon reduction and optimal growth of maize was carried out at the Centre for Ecological Studies, University of Port Harcourt. Pollution level of 3% w/v was remediated with 20 g detergent and 40 g detergent alongside a control (polluted soil without amendment). The amended soil was allowed for 4 weeks before maize seeds were planted in them. Soil total hydrocarbon content (THC) was determined at initial and end of the experiment. Measurements of growth parameters of maize were done monthly for three (3) months. Significant reduction in THC was observed in the treatment soils in the order of 20 g detergent (44.2%)> control (28.0%) > 40 g detergent (19.9%). Maize parameters such as germination, plant height, root length, leaf number, leaf area, fresh and dry weights and chlorophyll content showed significant (P=0.05) increase in 20 g detergent treatment than 40 g detergent and control treatments, except in moisture content (%) and shoot/root ratio which recorded highest level in the 40 g detergent. Therefore, low concentration of detergent is effective for the remediation of crude oil polluted soil for optimal growth performance of maize.Keywords: detergent, crude oil, toxicity, remediation, maize, hydrocarbo

Managing biomass feedstocks: selection of satellite storage locations for different harvesting systems

Biomass feedstocks including switchgrass and corn stover are currently being considered for use in direct combustion systems, and for value-added products such as ethanol. A major roadblock associated with utilization of biomass feedstocks is the high cost of handling and storage due to low bulk density of these feedstocks. A wide variety of existing harvest systems creates logistics difficulties for bioenergy industries. The utilization of herbaceous biomass materials requires low-cost handling systems to collect, store, and transport year round. This then requires selecting the most economical methods from various existing handling systems for loose and baled biomass materials. How these different harvesting systems can be integrated into a cost-effective supply system is a challenge. A method of selecting lowest cost harvest and handling machine system was proposed; the model developed could calculate costs of different systems so as to assist field managers to select the best handling method for every point in a given location of a biorefinery plant. The results of the model calculation can provide users a map which shows the lowest-cost handling scenario for all handling systems analyzed by this program. This result will enable biorefinary industries and landowners to determine the most cost-effective way to harvest, store, and transport biomass materials according to the size of the biorefinery plant

Effect of detergent and sawdust addition on hydrocarbon reduction and growth of Abelmoschus esculentus L (Okra) in a petroleum-contaminated soil

A study to investigate the effect of sawdust and detergent on hydrocarbon reduction and the growth of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) in petroleum polluted soil was carried out. The study was conducted at the Centre for Ecological Studies, University of Port Harcourt. Bonny light crude (300 ml) was used to pollute 10 kg soil. Detergent (20 g), sawdust (200 g) and sawdust: detergent (200 g: 20 g) were used as the amendment materials alongside a control (pollution but un-remediated) arranged in a completely randomized design of 12 replications. After 30 days post-amendment, 3 seeds of okra (var: V35-45 days) were grown in each treatment pot for 6 weeks. Soil Total Hydrocarbon Content (THC) and okra growth performance (shoot length, leaf number, root length, total fresh weight, dry weight, leaf area and leaf area ratio) were analyzed. Results showed significant (p=0.05) reductions in THC of 44.23%, 26.5%, 70.80% and 10.79%, in detergent (20 g), sawdust (200 g), sawdust (200 g) + detergent (20 g) and control, respectively. Improved growth performances of okra were observed in the amended soil as compared to the control. Okra growth performance was in the order of: 200 g sawdust + 20 g detergent combination > 200 g sawdust > 20 g detergent. This implies that these two materials are good bio-stimulation materials especially when used in combined form for THC reduction and growth of okra.Keywords: Abelmoschus esculentus L., contamination, crude oil, sawdust, total hydrocarbon conten

Accountability and legitimacy of NGOs under authoritarianism: the case of China

How non-governmental organisations (NGOs) craft accountability and legitimacy in authoritarian states is poorly understood. We put forward a framework of analysis for capturing the processes of making accountability and legitimacy. We introduce the ideas of first- and second-order accountability and stocks of accountability capital. In authoritarian regimes, building second-order accountability through the accumulation of stocks of accountability is crucial for NGOs’ survival and organisational development and as a path towards gaining first-order accountability. Drawing on a decade of fieldwork on child welfare NGOs in China from 2007 to 2017, we select three case studies with long operational trajectories to illustrate processes of crafting legitimacy and accountability. The research contributes empirically and theoretically to the understanding of accountability in NGOs in authoritarian states through the novel analytic framework and case study of China

Daily Practice1: Ethics In Leadership

The classic question, “Should business schools teach ethics?” is not often asked anymore given the drip, drip, drip of business corruption reported in the news. Even skeptics allow that business ethics education could not hurt and might improve the ethics of business leaders. Furthermore, universities, colleges, and business accrediting agencies prominently represent their ethics for all to see in standards, codes, handbooks, and advertisements. They seem to promote ethical conduct at their institutions. But how do faculty and administrators actually behave? And if not ethically, what are the educational lessons new professionals take to the workplace?&nbsp

Delivering organisational adaptation through legislative mechanisms: Evidence from the Adaptation Reporting Power (Climate Change Act 2008)

There is increasing recognition that organisations, particularly in key infrastructure sectors, are potentially vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events, and require organisational responses to ensure they are resilient and adaptive. However, detailed evidence of how adaptation is facilitated, implemented and reported, particularly through legislative mechanisms is lacking. The United Kingdom Climate Change Act (2008), introduced the Adaptation Reporting Power, enabling the Government to direct so-called reporting authorities to report their climate change risks and adaptation plans. We describe the authors' unique role and experience supporting the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) during the Adaptation Reporting Power's first round. An evaluation framework, used to review the adaptation reports, is presented alongside evidence on how the process provides new insights into adaptation activities and triggered organisational change in 78% of reporting authorities, including the embedding of climate risk and adaptation issues. The role of legislative mechanisms and risk-based approaches in driving and delivering adaptation is discussed alongside future research needs, including the development of organisational maturity models to determine resilient and well adapting organisations. The Adaptation Reporting Power process provides a basis for similar initiatives in other countries, although a clear engagement strategy to ensure buy-in to the process and research on its long-term legacy, including the potential merits of voluntary approaches, is required

Interleukin-2 druggability is modulated by global conformational transitions controlled by a helical capping switch.

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a small α-helical cytokine that regulates immune cell homeostasis through its recruitment to a high-affinity heterotrimeric receptor complex (IL-2Rα/IL-2Rβ/γc). IL-2 has been shown to have therapeutic efficacy for immune diseases by preferentially expanding distinct T cell compartments, and several regulatory T cell (Treg)-biasing anti-IL-2 antibodies have been developed for combination therapies. The conformational plasticity of IL-2 plays an important role in its biological actions by modulating the strength of receptor and drug interactions. Through an NMR analysis of milliseconds-timescale dynamics of free mouse IL-2 (mIL-2), we identify a global transition to a sparse conformation which is regulated by an α-helical capping "switch" at the loop between the A and B helices (AB loop). Binding to either an anti-mouse IL-2 monoclonal antibody (mAb) or a small molecule inhibitor near the loop induces a measurable response at the core of the structure, while locking the switch to a single conformation through a designed point mutation leads to a global quenching of core dynamics accompanied by a pronounced effect in mAb binding. By elucidating key details of the long-range allosteric communication between the receptor binding surfaces and the core of the IL-2 structure, our results offer a direct blueprint for designing precision therapeutics targeting a continuum of conformational states

Warm water temperature regimes in eelgrass beds (Z. marina and Z. japonica) of Padilla Bay, WA

Padilla Bay, WA has over 3300 hectares of eelgrass with vast areas of intermixed beds of the native Zostera marina and non-native Zostera japonica. Water temperature is thought to be one of the primary influences on eelgrass distribution, and long term monitoring shows that temperatures in Padilla Bay have increased substantially (mean increase \u3e2°C) from 2011 through 2016. We were interested to see if changes in eelgrass distribution were correlated with the changes we observed in water temperature in Padilla Bay, however, our long term temperature monitoring station is located in a shallow channel within the eelgrass beds. Because of this sensor placement, we first needed to determine if these data were representative of temperatures experienced by eelgrass on the vegetated flats. To test this, we deployed 45 temperature loggers throughout the intertidal and subtidal distribution of Z. marina and Z. japonica. We found that temperatures recorded at our long term monitoring site greatly underestimated the high temperatures experienced by the intertidal eelgrass. In Padilla Bay, Zostera marina was exposed to temperatures above 8°C, the optimal temperature reported for Z. marina growth in the PNW, for over 90% of the time during the peak growing season (March – Sept.). Furthermore, Z. marina experienced extended periods of time above 15°C, temperatures thought to cause stress to local plants. Despite these elevated temperatures, Z. marina remain robust, suggesting that Z. marina in Padilla Bay may have a higher tolerance for warmer water temperatures than other beds in the PNW or may be living near the upper limits of tolerance for PNW plants. This study characterizes – on a fine spatial scale – the duration and intensity of temperatures extremes that eelgrass experience in shallow systems and ultimately provides insight into the health and performance of eelgrass in a warmer future ocean