Eco-innovation in enterprises as an instrument of the development of resource efficient and low emission economy

Artykuł podejmuje problematykę ekoinnowacji przedsiębiorstw w kontekście budowy zasobooszczędnej i niskoemisyjnej gospodarki. Ukazane zostały zależności pomiędzy projektowaniem i wdrażaniem innowacji środowiskowych, jako kluczowego instrumentu pozwalającego na unowocześnianie społeczeństw i gospodarek a pozytywnym wpływem na jakość środowiska naturalnego. Przedstawiony został również przegląd pojęć i założeń związanych z koncepcją zasobooszczędnej i niskoemisyjnej gospodarki w Unii Europejskiej, koncepcji zrównoważonego rozwoju oraz definicji i typologii innowacji środowiskowych.The paper discusses the issue of eco-innovation in enterprises in the context of the development of resource efficient and low emission economy. The relationships between design and implementation of environmental innovations as key instruments contributing to modernization of societies and economies and positive impact on the quality of the natural environment are presented. Selected concepts and assumptions related to resource efficient and low emission economy in the European Union, the problem of sustainable development as well as definitions and typology of environmental innovations are reviewed

Ecological costs of the development of special economic zones and economic activity zones in Poland

Artykuł podejmuje problematykę środowiskowych kosztów rozwoju Specjalnych Stref Ekonomicznych SSE oraz Stref Aktywności Gospodarczej SAG w Polsce. Autorzy przedstawiając genezę tych obszarów, ich postępujący rozwój oraz stan obecny koncertują się na określeniu możliwości analizy „ekologicznych efektów zewnętrznych” związanych z ich funkcjonowaniem. Ponadto ukazują oni specyfikę i wybrane uwarunkowania prawne funkcjonowania tych obszarów. Jednocześnie przedstawiają syntetyczne propozycje działań systemowych, zmierzających do ułatwienia procesu analizy tych bardzo ważnych z punktu widzenia skutecznego prowadzenia „polityki zrównoważonego rozwoju” aspektów.The paper discusses the issue of environmental costs of the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and Economic Activity Zones (EAZ) in Poland. The authors present the origins of the zones and their progressive development as well as their current status and focus on the analysis of ‘external ecological effects’ related to their functioning. Furthermore, they demonstrate the specific nature and legal conditions of the functioning of the zones. At the same time they present synthetic proposals of system actions facilitating the process of the analysis of these significant aspects of efficient implementation of the ‘policy of sustainable development’

Evaluation of 11 terrestrial carbon-nitrogen cycle models against observations from two temperate Free-Air CO2 Enrichment studies

We analysed the responses of 11 ecosystem models to elevated atmospheric [CO₂] (eCO₂) at two temperate forest ecosystems (Duke and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Free-Air CO₂ Enrichment (FACE) experiments) to test alternative representations of carbon (C)-nitrogen (N) cycle processes. We decomposed the model responses into component processes affecting the response to eCO₂ and confronted these with observations from the FACE experiments. Most of the models reproduced the observed initial enhancement of net primary production (NPP) at both sites, but none was able to simulate both the sustained 10-yr enhancement at Duke and the declining response at ORNL: models generally showed signs of progressive N limitation as a result of lower than observed plant N uptake. Nonetheless, many models showed qualitative agreement with observed component processes. The results suggest that improved representation of above-ground-below-ground interactions and better constraints on plant stoichiometry are important for a predictive understanding of eCO₂ effects. Improved accuracy of soil organic matter inventories is pivotal to reduce uncertainty in the observed C-N budgets. The two FACE experiments are insufficient to fully constrain terrestrial responses to eCO₂, given the complexity of factors leading to the observed diverging trends, and the consequential inability of the models to explain these trends. Nevertheless, the ecosystem models were able to capture important features of the experiments, lending some support to their projections.20 page(s

Increases in the flux of carbon belowground stimulate nitrogen uptake and sustain the long-term enhancement of forest productivity under elevated CO2

The earth’s future climate state is highly dependent upon changes in terrestrial C storage in response to rising concentrations of atmospheric CO2. Here we show that consistently enhanced rates of net primary production (NPP) are sustained by a C-cascade through the root-microbe-soil system; increases in the flux of C belowground under elevated CO2 stimulated microbial activity, accelerated the rate of soil organic matter decomposition and stimulated tree uptake of N bound to this SOM. This process set into motion a positive feedback maintaining greater C gain under elevated CO2 as a result of increases in canopy N content and higher photosynthetic N-use efficiency. The ecosystem-level consequence of the enhanced requirement for N and the exchange of plant C for N belowground is the dominance of C storage in tree biomass but the preclusion of a large C sink in the soil

Increases in the flux of carbon belowground stimulate nitrogen uptake and sustain the long-term enhancement of forest productivity under elevated CO₂.

The earth's future climate state is highly dependent upon changes in terrestrial C storage in response to rising concentrations of atmospheric CO₂. Here we show that consistently enhanced rates of net primary production (NPP) are sustained by a C-cascade through the root-microbe-soil system; increases in the flux of C belowground under elevated CO₂ stimulated microbial activity, accelerated the rate of soil organic matter decomposition and stimulated tree uptake of N bound to this SOM. This process set into motion a positive feedback maintaining greater C gain under elevated CO₂ as a result of increases in canopy N content and higher photosynthetic N-use efficiency. The ecosystem-level consequence of the enhanced requirement for N and the exchange of plant C for N belowground is the dominance of C storage in tree biomass but the preclusion of a large C sink in the soil

Rational identification of a colorectal cancer targeting peptide through phage display

Colorectal cancer is frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage due to the absence of early clinical indicators. Hence, the identification of new targeting molecules is crucial for an early detection and development of targeted therapies. This study aimed to identify and characterize novel peptides specific for the colorectal cancer cell line RKO using a phage-displayed peptide library. After four rounds of selection plus a negative step with normal colorectal cells, CCD-841-CoN, there was an obvious phage enrichment that specifically bound to RKO cells. Cell-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to assess the most specific peptides leading to the selection of the peptide sequence CPKSNNGVC. Through fluorescence microscopy and cytometry, the synthetic peptide RKOpep was shown to specifically bind to RKO cells, as well as to other human colorectal cancer cells including Caco-2, HCT 116 and HCT-15, but not to the normal non-cancer cells. Moreover, it was shown that RKOpep specifically targeted human colorectal cancer cell tissues. A bioinformatics analysis suggested that the RKOpep targets the monocarboxylate transporter 1, which has been implicated in colorectal cancer progression and prognosis, proven through gene knockdown approaches and shown by immunocytochemistry co-localization studies. The peptide herein identified can be a potential candidate for targeted therapies for colorectal cancer.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2019 unit and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte and the Project FCOMP-01–0124-FEDER-021053 (PTDC/SAU-BMA/121028/2010). Débora Ferreira is recipient of a fellowship supported by a doctoral advanced training (call NORTE-69-2015-15) funded by the European Social Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Franklin L. Nobrega, Sara Granja and Ligia R Rodrigues acknowledge FCT for the grants SFRH/BD/86462/2012, SFRH/BPD/117858/2016 and SFRH/BSAB/142991/2018, respectively. Catarina Barbosa-Matos also acknowledge her research grant UMINHO/BI/395/2018info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio