Toward multifunctional materials incorporating stepladder manganese(III) inverse-[9-MC-3]-Metallacrowns and anti-inflammatory drugs

The interaction of Mn(ClO4)2·6H2O with salicylaldoxime (H2sao) in the presence of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) sodium diclofenac (Nadicl) or indomethacin (Hindo) leads to the formation of the hexanuclear Mn(III) clusters [Mn6(O)2(dicl)2(sao)6(CH3OH)6] (1) and [Mn6(O)2(indo)2(sao)6(H2O)4] (2) both characterized as stepladder inverse-9-metallacrown-3 accommodating dicl- or indo- ligands, respectively. When the interaction of MnCl2·4H2O with Nadicl or Hindo is in the absence of H2sao, the mononuclear Mn(II) complexes [Mn(dicl)2(CH3OH)4] (3) and [Mn(indo)2(CH3OH)4] (4) were isolated. The complexes were characterized by physicochemical and spectroscopic techniques, and the structure of complexes 1 and 2 was characterized by X-ray crystallography. Magnetic measurements (dc and ac) were carried out in order to investigate the nature of magnetic interactions between the magnetic ions and the overall magnetic behavior of the complexes

Supplementary material for the article: Ristovic, M. S.; Zianna, A.; Psomas, G.; Hatzidimitriou, A. G.; Coutouli-Argyropoulou, E.; Lalia-Kantouri, M. Interaction of Dinuclear Cadmium(II) 5-Cl-Salicylaldehyde Complexes with Calf-Thymus DNA. Materials Science and Engineering C 2016, 61, 579–590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2015.12.054

Supplementary material: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2015.12.054]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/2052

Ventilation strategies and children\u27s perception of the indoor environment in Swedish primary school classrooms

This study explored the relationship between children\u27s subjective perception of indoor environmental quality in classrooms, measured thermal and air quality factors, and the type of ventilation. Environmental data were collected in 45 classrooms in 23 primary schools in Sweden during the heating season. Schools with three types of ventilation were recruited: natural or exhaust ventilation (category A), balanced supply-exhaust with constant air volume (category B), and balanced supply-exhaust with variable air volume or demand-controlled ventilation (category C). 796 children (8–14 years of age) answered a questionnaire about their perception of the classroom\u27s indoor environment. Based on ten dichotomous questions, the children\u27s overall perceptions and subjective well-being was scored (“Individual score”) from worst (0) to best (10) perception. A Perception Index (PI) was calculated as the arithmetic mean of the Individual scores from all children in a given classroom. We did not find statistically significant differences in the Individual scores or PI between the three ventilation categories. However, the PI of classrooms with ventilation category A, which also had lower ventilation rates and higher concentrations of pollutants, was noticeably lower than that in classrooms with ventilation category B or C. Correlations between the PI and most of the measured environmental parameters or the individual questions about perception were weak and not significant. The PI may be improved by including factors not considered in this study, such as those related to acoustic and lighting conditions

Supplementary material for the article: Ristovic, M. S.; Zianna, A.; Psomas, G.; Hatzidimitriou, A. G.; Coutouli-Argyropoulou, E.; Lalia-Kantouri, M. Interaction of Dinuclear Cadmium(II) 5-Cl-Salicylaldehyde Complexes with Calf-Thymus DNA. Materials Science and Engineering C 2016, 61, 579–590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2015.12.054

Supplementary material: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2015.12.054]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/2052

Meta Modeling for Business Process Improvement

Conducting business process improvement (BPI) initiatives is a topic of high priority for today’s companies. However, performing BPI projects has become challenging. This is due to rapidly changing customer requirements and an increase of inter-organizational business processes, which need to be considered from an end-to-end perspective. In addition, traditional BPI approaches are more and more perceived as overly complex and too resource-consuming in practice. Against this background, the paper proposes a BPI roadmap, which is an approach for systematically performing BPI projects and serves practitioners’ needs for manageable BPI methods. Based on this BPI roadmap, a domain-specific conceptual modeling method (DSMM) has been developed. The DSMM supports the efficient documentation and communication of the results that emerge during the application of the roadmap. Thus, conceptual modeling acts as a means for purposefully codifying the outcomes of a BPI project. Furthermore, a corresponding software prototype has been implemented using a meta modeling platform to assess the technical feasibility of the approach. Finally, the usability of the prototype has been empirically evaluated

Incorporating Ecosystems in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Current Perspective and Future Directions

Integrated approaches for managing natural resources are needed to meet the increasing demand for freshwater, energy and food, while, in parallel, mitigating and adapting to climate change, maintaining the integrity of ecosystems, and ensuring equitable access to resources. The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus has been proposed as a cross-sectoral approach to understand, analyse, and manage the complex trade-offs and exploit synergies that arise among these resource sectors. Although not initially included as a component of the Nexus, the importance of ecosystems in supporting water, energy and food security is increasingly recognised by the Nexus community of researchers and practitioners. However, attempts to conceptually integrate Ecosystems into the Nexus have yet to converge into a common framework. A group of natural resources management researchers, system thinkers and ecosystem services experts from the European network COST Action CA20138 NEXUSNET have compiled and investigated the various approaches for integrating ecosystems in the WEF Nexus. By combining literature analysis with interdisciplinary workshops – one of which was held in a hybrid format (in person and online) at the University of Oulu, Finland, in September 2022 – we reveal a multiplicity of concepts utilised to represent, partially or fully, ecosystems in the Nexus, namely “natural environment”, “ecosystem services” and “biodiversity”. Disparity was also found in the role attributed to ecosystems in the Nexus framework, being it an underlying layer from which resources for Nexus sectors are extracted or the pillar of an expanded Nexus system – i.e., the WEF-Ecosystems Nexus. Through this collaborative effort, we present possible advantages and disadvantages of adopting differential WEF-Ecosystems Nexus approaches, highlighting their potential complementarity and integration to support future advancement of Nexus research. In the oral presentation, we will show our preliminary findings and encourage the exchange of ideas and feedback from the different scientific disciplines present at the CEMEPE Conference.Tenth International Conference on Environmental Management, Engineering, Planning and Economics (CEMEPE) & SECOTOX Conference organized by: Division of Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Society of Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (SECOTOX), Skiathos island, Greece, 2023

Thresholds for adding degraded tropical forest to the conservation estate

Logged and disturbed forests are often viewed as degraded and depauperate environments compared with primary forest. However, they are dynamic ecosystems1 that provide refugia for large amounts of biodiversity2,3, so we cannot afford to underestimate their conservation value4. Here we present empirically defined thresholds for categorizing the conservation value of logged forests, using one of the most comprehensive assessments of taxon responses to habitat degradation in any tropical forest environment. We analysed the impact of logging intensity on the individual occurrence patterns of 1,681 taxa belonging to 86 taxonomic orders and 126 functional groups in Sabah, Malaysia. Our results demonstrate the existence of two conservation-relevant thresholds. First, lightly logged forests (68%) of their biomass removed, and these are likely to require more expensive measures to recover their biodiversity value. Overall, our data confirm that primary forests are irreplaceable5, but they also reinforce the message that logged forests retain considerable conservation value that should not be overlooked

Thresholds for adding degraded tropical forest to the conservation estate

Logged and disturbed forests are often viewed as degraded and depauperate environments compared with primary forest. However, they are dynamic ecosystems1 that provide refugia for large amounts of biodiversity2,3, so we cannot afford to underestimate their conservation value4. Here we present empirically defined thresholds for categorizing the conservation value of logged forests, using one of the most comprehensive assessments of taxon responses to habitat degradation in any tropical forest environment. We analysed the impact of logging intensity on the individual occurrence patterns of 1,681 taxa belonging to 86 taxonomic orders and 126 functional groups in Sabah, Malaysia. Our results demonstrate the existence of two conservation-relevant thresholds. First, lightly logged forests (68%) of their biomass removed, and these are likely to require more expensive measures to recover their biodiversity value. Overall, our data confirm that primary forests are irreplaceable5, but they also reinforce the message that logged forests retain considerable conservation value that should not be overlooked