Use of Geographic Information Systems for Creation of Electronic Database of Anthrax Burial sites in the Stavropol Territory

Objective of the study was to use geographic information systems to create an electronic database of anthrax burials and electronic cadastres in the Stavropol Territory. Materials and methods. ESRI - ArcGIS10 software was used as a GIS platform. Results and discussion. A retrospective analysis of the epizootiologic and epidemiological situation on anthrax in the Stavropol Territory was carried out. It was revealed that 352 anthrax stationary potentially hazardous sites were located in the territory of all 26 districts, in 16 of which 52 were abandoned anthrax burials. The greatest epidemiological risk is posed by 22 cattle burial grounds, in which animal corpses were buried (42.3 %). 30 cattle burial grounds with ash burials (57.7 %) pose a lower potential danger. The arrangement of anthrax burial sites in the Stavropol Territory has a number of disadvantages, only 23 cattle burial grounds (44.2 %) have a satisfactory veterinary and sanitary state. Based on the information obtained, an electronic geographic information database of anthrax cattle burial grounds was created for each district of the Stavropol Territory. The structure of the database is presented in the form of a table, which contains all the basic information about the burial, including geographical coordinates. The information was then entered into the ArcGIS10 program, using the geographical method. Each point, plotted on the map, contains the description of the animal burial ground, presented in the table. Thus, the main layer of the geographic information system is created. It can be overlaid with other layers that carry information about the location of the anthrax stationary potentially hazardous sites, the nature of the soil, objects located in the territory. In addition, electronic cadastral atlases of the location of anthrax cattle burials in each district of the Stavropol territory have been created. Electronic cadastral atlases are easier to use, do not require specialized personnel and applicable computer GIS system, but at the same time can give the necessary information about a particular burial in the Stavropol Territory

Carbon Dioxide Utilisation -The Formate Route

UIDB/50006/2020 CEEC-Individual 2017 Program Contract.The relentless rise of atmospheric CO2 is causing large and unpredictable impacts on the Earth climate, due to the CO2 significant greenhouse effect, besides being responsible for the ocean acidification, with consequent huge impacts in our daily lives and in all forms of life. To stop spiral of destruction, we must actively reduce the CO2 emissions and develop new and more efficient “CO2 sinks”. We should be focused on the opportunities provided by exploiting this novel and huge carbon feedstock to produce de novo fuels and added-value compounds. The conversion of CO2 into formate offers key advantages for carbon recycling, and formate dehydrogenase (FDH) enzymes are at the centre of intense research, due to the “green” advantages the bioconversion can offer, namely substrate and product selectivity and specificity, in reactions run at ambient temperature and pressure and neutral pH. In this chapter, we describe the remarkable recent progress towards efficient and selective FDH-catalysed CO2 reduction to formate. We focus on the enzymes, discussing their structure and mechanism of action. Selected promising studies and successful proof of concepts of FDH-dependent CO2 reduction to formate and beyond are discussed, to highlight the power of FDHs and the challenges this CO2 bioconversion still faces.publishersversionpublishe

Frontiers, Opportunities, and Challenges in Biochemical and Chemical Catalysis of CO 2

Two major energy-related problems confront the world in the next 50 years. First, increased worldwide competition for gradually depleting fossil fuel reserves (derived from past photosynthesis) will lead to higher costs, both monetarily and politically. Second, atmospheric CO2 levels are at their highest recorded level since records began. Further increases are predicted to produce large and uncontrollable impacts on the world climate. These projected impacts extend beyond climate to ocean acidification, because the ocean is a major sink for atmospheric CO2.1 Providing a future energy supply that is secure and CO2-neutral will require switching to nonfossil energy sources such as wind, solar, nuclear, and geothermal energy and developing methods for transforming the energy produced by these new sources into forms that can be stored, transported, and used upon demand