A Comparison of Ammonia Inhibition on the Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Acids Between Digestate from Anaerobic Co- and Mono-Digestion Systems [presentation]

Undergraduate thesis presentation

Do Open Access Mandates Work ? A Systematized Review of the Literature on Open Access Publishing Rates

Cet article évoque le fait d’encourager le partage de la recherche. Toutefois, ce n’est pas clair. Une équipe de bibliothécaires a effectué un examen systématique de la documentation (une recherche exhaustive de plusieurs bases de données savantes et de sources de littérature grise). Toutefois, seulement cinq articles répondaient aux critères. Cet échantillon a montré que dans la littérature ont été corrélés avec une augmentation subséquente de la publication Libre Accès ou le partage de données, la présence de divers facteurs de confusion et les différentes méthodes de collecte et d’analyse des données utilisées par les auteurs des études a rendu impossible l’établissement d’une relation causale

Maker Competencies and the Undergraduate Curriculum

The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries was awarded a $50,000 planning grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for FY 2017-2018 allowing us to develop a pilot program to explore course integration of makerspaces into the undergraduate curriculum. The goal of the pilot is to fashion case studies for integrating academic library makerspaces into undergraduate coursework. A minimum of two case studies at each of four selected partner sites (University of Nevada, Reno, UMass Amherst, Boise State University, and UNC Chapel Hill), as well as at our home institution, are currently under evaluation. Each case study represents a unique undergraduate course, faculty member, curricula, and group of students. Coordinators at each partner site identified faculty who were not only willing to integrate making into their courses, but who were also willing to include assessment of student learning over a range of competencies believed to be acquired when students complete project-based assignments in makerspaces. Upon successful completion of our pilot, faculty will provide the grant team ample feedback about the assigned projects, the learning that took place, and how they assessed that learning. Participating faculty come from wide variety of disciplines including Architecture, Art, Biology, Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Education, English, Geology, History, Industrial Engineering, Mathematics, Philosophy, and Public Administration

List of Maker Competencies, Including Preamble and AcknowledgmentsMaker Competencies

Maker competencies are the skills, talents and dispositions that one acquires or improves upon while problem-solving and working on projects in makerspaces or similar learning environments. However, while learners can develop any number of technology-specific competencies while working in makerspaces, dependent on the types of technology made available within the specific makerspace, this list of competencies is better defined as the higher-level, technology-agnostic, transferable skills and talents that one may acquire or strengthen when working in makerspaces. A quick review of the list of competencies will reveal no mention of 3D printers, Arduinos, or any of the other popular technologies commonly found in makerspaces today; what one will find are competencies related to collaboration, communication, critical thinking, design thinking, and project management. These competencies may be considered universal in their application across disciplines and industries, are highly sought by employers, and are often referred to as 21st Century Competencies, Soft Skills, or otherwise technology-independent aptitudes

Maker Competencies and the Undergraduate Curriculum Final Performance Report

The list of maker-based competencies compiled in 2016 by UTA Libraries\u27 Maker Literacies Task Force provides a framework for assessing the learning that results when making and design thinking are integrated into curricula. The proof-of-concept pilot funded by this planning grant integrates these competencies into the curricula of a diverse selection of 17 undergraduate courses spread across five institutions. This final performance report includes a list of activities completed, links to project deliverables, explanations of variance from our original project plan, a discussion of lessons learned, and next steps for growing and sustaining the Maker Literacies program

Wastewater Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 on College Campuses: Initial Efforts, Lessons Learned, and Research Needs

Wastewater surveillance for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging approach to help identify the risk of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. This tool can contribute to public health surveillance at both community (wastewater treatment system) and institutional (e.g., colleges, prisons, and nursing homes) scales. This paper explores the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from initial wastewater surveillance efforts at colleges and university systems to inform future research, development and implementation. We present the experiences of 25 college and university systems in the United States that monitored campus wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 during the fall 2020 academic period. We describe the broad range of approaches, findings, resources, and impacts from these initial efforts. These institutions range in size, social and political geographies, and include both public and private institutions. Our analysis suggests that wastewater monitoring at colleges requires consideration of local information needs, sewage infrastructure, resources for sampling and analysis, college and community dynamics, approaches to interpretation and communication of results, and follow-up actions. Most colleges reported that a learning process of experimentation, evaluation, and adaptation was key to progress. This process requires ongoing collaboration among diverse stakeholders including decision-makers, researchers, faculty, facilities staff, students, and community members

Standardizing data reporting in the research community to enhance the utility of open data for SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance

SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in wastewater is being rapidly developed and adopted as a public health monitoring tool worldwide. With wastewater surveillance programs being implemented across many different scales and by many different stakeholders, it is critical that data collected and shared are accompanied by an appropriate minimal amount of meta-information to enable meaningful interpretation and use of this new information source and intercomparison across datasets. While some databases are being developed for specific surveillance programs locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally, common globally-adopted data standards have not yet been established within the research community. Establishing such standards will require national and international consensus on what meta-information should accompany SARS-CoV-2 wastewater measurements. To establish a recommendation on minimum information to accompany reporting of SARS-CoV-2 occurrence in wastewater for the research community, the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Coordination Network on Wastewater Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 hosted a workshop in February 2021 with participants from academia, government agencies, private companies, wastewater utilities, public health laboratories, and research institutes. This report presents the primary two outcomes of the workshop: (i) a recommendation on the set of minimum meta-information that is needed to confidently interpret wastewater SARS-CoV-2 data, and (ii) insights from workshop discussions on how to improve standardization of data reporting

Wastewater surveillance for bacterial targets: current challenges and future goals

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) expanded rapidly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the public health emergency has ended, researchers and practitioners are looking to shift the focus of existing wastewater surveillance programs to other targets, including bacteria. Bacterial targets may pose some unique challenges for WBE applications. To explore the current state of the field, the National Science Foundation-funded Research Coordination Network (RCN) on Wastewater Based Epidemiology for SARS-CoV-2 and Emerging Public Health Threats held a workshop in April 2023 to discuss the challenges and needs for wastewater bacterial surveillance. The targets and methods used in existing programs were diverse, with twelve differentdifferentdifferenttargets and nine different methods listed. Discussions during the workshop highlighted the challenges in adapting existing programs and identified research gaps in four key areas: choosing new targets, relating bacterial wastewater data to human disease incidence and prevalence, developing methods, and normalizing results. To help with these challenges and research gaps, the authors identified steps the larger community can take to improve bacteria wastewater surveillance. This includes developing data reporting standards and method optimization and validation for bacterial programs. Additionally, more work is needed to understand shedding patterns for potential bacterial targets to better relate wastewater data to human infections. Wastewater surveillance for bacteria can help provide insight into the underlying prevalence in communities, but much work is needed to establish these methods

Transformation of PVP coated silver nanoparticles in a simulated wastewater treatment process and the effect on microbial communities

Extent: 18p.Background: Manufactured silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are one of the most commonly used nanomaterials in consumer goods and consequently their concentrations in wastewater and hence wastewater treatment plants are predicted to increase. We investigated the fate of AgNPs in sludge that was subjected to aerobic and anaerobic treatment and the impact of AgNPs on microbial processes and communities. The initial identification of AgNPs in sludge was carried out using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The solid phase speciation of silver in sludge and wastewater influent was then examined using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The effects of transformed AgNPs (mainly Ag-S phases) on nitrification, wastewater microbial populations and, for the first time, methanogenesis was investigated. Results: Sequencing batch reactor experiments and anaerobic batch tests, both demonstrated that nitrification rate and methane production were not affected by the addition of AgNPs [at 2.5 mg Ag L-1 (4.9 g L-1 total suspended solids, TSS) and 183.6 mg Ag kg -1 (2.9 g kg-1 total solids, TS), respectively]. The low toxicity is most likely due to AgNP sulfidation. XAS analysis showed that sulfur bonded Ag was the dominant Ag species in both aerobic (activated sludge) and anaerobic sludge. In AgNP and AgNO3 spiked aerobic sludge, metallic Ag was detected (~15%). However, after anaerobic digestion, Ag(0) was not detected by XAS analysis. Dominant wastewater microbial populations were not affected by AgNPs as determined by DNA extraction and pyrotag sequencing. However, there was a shift in niche populations in both aerobic and anaerobic sludge, with a shift in AgNP treated sludge compared with controls. This is the first time that the impact of transformed AgNPs (mainly Ag-S phases) on anaerobic digestion has been reported. Conclusions: Silver NPs were transformed to Ag-S phases during activated sludge treatment (prior to anaerobic digestion). Transformed AgNPs, at predicted future Ag wastewater concentrations, did not affect nitrification or methanogenesis. Consequently, AgNPs are very unlikely to affect the efficient functioning of wastewater treatment plants. However, AgNPs may negatively affect sub-dominant wastewater microbial communities.Casey L Doolette, Mike J McLaughlin, Jason K Kirby, Damien J Batstone, Hugh H Harris, Huoqing Ge and Geert Corneli