Small-Scale Hydroelectric Power for Remote Communities

The Pico-Hydro Energy Project (PHEP) focuses on providing affordable electric power for off-grid communities in developing countries. The work that PHEP is doing involves the design, optimization, and experimental testing of small hydroelectric generators provided by our project partner Engineering Ministries International.https://mosaic.messiah.edu/engr2020/1000/thumbnail.jp

Design of a Transradial Myoelectric Prosthesis

Due to the rapid growth of children and the high cost of myoelectric technology, children are not given the same opportunities to use myoelectric prosthetics as adults. The Muscle Activated Prosthesis (MAP) team is developing an affordable, transradial, myoelectric prosthetic for a thirteen-year-old girl. The MAP team is designing a myoelectric prosthetic that will cost under $1,000, over 90% less than custom myoelectric devices on the market. This device has an EMG sensor, a microprocessor, a printed circuit board (PCB), linear actuator motors, and a battery organized within a 3D-printed transradial prosthesis to open and close the hand grip when the EMG detects electrical signals via muscle contractions in the client’s flexor carpi radialis. Currently, the team has fully assembled a prosthetic prototype and will obtain feedback from the partner, Ability Prosthetics, and the client to deliver a final prototype. This poster details the recent mechanical and electrical design optimizations, grip strength testing, and integration of mechanical and electrical components to build the current functioning prosthesis.https://mosaic.messiah.edu/engr2021/1009/thumbnail.jp

Spatial and temporal variations in Pb concentrations and isotopic composition in road dust, farmland soil and vegetation in proximity to roads since cessation of use of leaded petrol in the UK

Results are presented for a study of spatial distributions and temporal trends in concentrations of lead (Pb) from different sources in soil and vegetation of an arable farm in central Scotland in the decade since the use of leaded petrol was terminated. Isotopic analyses revealed that in all of the samples analysed, the Pb conformed to a binary mixture of petrol Pb and Pb from industrial or indigenous geological sources and that locally enhanced levels of petrol Pb were restricted to within 10 m of a motorway and 3 m of a minor road. Overall, the dominant source of Pb was historical emissions from nearby industrial areas. There was no discernible change in concentration or isotopic composition of Pb in surface soil or vegetation over the decade since the ban on the sale of leaded petrol. There was an order of magnitude decrease in Pb concentrations in road dust over the study period, but petrol Pb persisted at up to 43% of the total Pb concentration in 2010. Similar concentrations and spatial distributions of petrol Pb and non petrol Pb in vegetation in both 2001 and 2010, with enhanced concentrations near roads, suggested that redistribution of previously deposited material has operated continuously over that period, maintaining a transfer pathway of Pb into the biosphere. The results for vegetation and soil transects near minor roads provided evidence of a non petrol Pb source associated with roads/traffic, but surface soil samples from the vicinity of a motorway failed to show evidence of such a source

Introducing GLUSEEN: A New Open Access and Experimental Network in Urban Soil Ecology

Peer reviewe

Metagenomics Reveals Bacterial and Archaeal Adaptation to Urban Land-Use : N Catabolism, Methanogenesis, and Nutrient Acquisition

Urbanization results in the systemic conversion of land-use, driving habitat and biodiversity loss. The "urban convergence hypothesis" posits that urbanization represents a merging of habitat characteristics, in turn driving physiological and functional responses within the biotic community. To test this hypothesis, we sampled five cities (Baltimore, MD, United States; Helsinki and Lahti, Finland; Budapest, Hungary; Potchefstroom, South Africa) across four different biomes. Within each city, we sampled four land-use categories that represented a gradient of increasing disturbance and management (from least intervention to highest disturbance: reference, remnant, turf/lawn, and ruderal). Previously, we used amplicon sequencing that targeted bacteria/archaea (16S rRNA) and fungi (ITS) and reported convergence in the archaeal community. Here, we applied shotgun metagenomic sequencing and QPCR of functional genes to the same soil DNA extracts to test convergence in microbial function. Our results suggest that urban land-use drives changes in gene abundance related to both the soil N and C metabolism. Our updated analysis found taxonomic convergence in both the archaeal and bacterial community (16S amplicon data). Convergence of the archaea was driven by increased abundance of ammonia oxidizing archaea and genes for ammonia oxidation (QPCR and shotgun metagenomics). The proliferation of ammonia-oxidizers under turf and ruderal land-use likely also contributes to the previously documented convergence of soil mineral N pools. We also found a higher relative abundance of methanogens (amplicon sequencing), a higher relative abundance of gene sequences putatively identified as Ni-Fe hydrogenase and nickel uptake (shotgun metagenomics) under urban land-use; and a convergence of gene sequences putatively identified as contributing to the nickel transport function under urban turf sites. High levels of disturbance lead to a higher relative abundance of gene sequences putatively identified as multiple antibiotic resistance protein marA and multidrug efflux pump mexD, but did not lead to an overall convergence in antibiotic resistance gene sequences.Peer reviewe

Earthworm assemblages in urban habitats across biogeographical regions

In urban landscapes, humans are the most significant factor determining belowground diversity, including earthworms. Within the framework of the Global Urban Soil Ecology and Education Network (GLUSEEN), a multi-city comparison was carried out to assess the effects of soil disturbance on earthworms. In each of five cities (Baltimore, USA; Budapest, Hungary; Helsinki and Lahti, Finland; Potchefstroom, South Africa), covering four climatic and biogeographical regions, four habitat types (ruderal, turf/lawn, remnant and reference) were sampled. The survey resulted in 19 species belonging to 9 genera and 4 families. The highest total species richness was recorded in Baltimore (16), while Budapest and the Finnish cities had relatively low (5–6) species numbers. Remnant forests and lawns supported the highest earthworm biomass. Soil properties (i.e. pH and organic matter content) explained neither earthworm community composition nor abundance. Evaluating all cities together, earthworm communities were significantly structured by habitat type. Communities in the two adjacent cities, Helsinki and Lahti were very similar, but Budapest clearly separated from the Finnish cities. Earthworm community structure in Baltimore overlapped with that of the other cities. Despite differences in climate, soils and biogeography among the cities, earthworm communities were highly similar within the urban habitat types. This indicates that human-mediated dispersal is an important factor shaping the urban fauna, both at local and regional scales.Peer reviewe

Előzetes eredmények városi talajok lebontó hatásfokának vizsgálatáról (GLUSEEN-Projekt, Budapest)

A „Global Urban Soil Ecology and Education” hálózat előkészítő kutatása második éve folyik – a világ 4 régiójának 5 helyszínén –, Magyarország részvételével. A kutatás célja az ún. „konvergencia hipotézis” tesztelése különböző minőségű/zavartságú városi talajok szerves anyag lebontási hatásfokán keresztül. A konvergencia hipotézis szerint a természetes ökoszisztémák az urbanizáció hatására hasonló irányú változást mutatnak globális szinten. A cél mind tudományos igényű kutatások, mind az érdeklődő lakosság bevonására alkalmas egyszerű, könnyen kivitelezhető, költséghatékony módszerek kidolgozása, tesztelése. A kutatás során 4 élőhelytípust (5–5 ismétlésben) jelöltünk ki: 1) erősen zavart (ruderális), 2) városi gyep, 3) az urbanizáció eredményeként fragmentálódott erdőfoltok és 4) referenciaként szolgáló természetközeli erdők területei. A szervesanyag bomlásának mértékét 2013-ban leásott teafilterekkel vizsgáltuk, amelyeket 4, 6, 10, 12 hónap után gyűjtöttünk vissza. Eredményeink szerint a 6. hónaptól szignifikáns különbség mutatkozott az élőhelytípusok között a lebontási sebességben (F = 11,238; p < 0,0001), ami a városi gyepeken és ruderális élőhelyeken volt a legnagyobb. Ez összhangban van a többi 4 városban kapott eredménnyel, ami alátámasztja a konvergencia hipotézist: a különböző éghajlatú, alapkőzetű talajok kémhatása és humusztartalma az erősen zavart és városi gyep élőhelyek esetén azonos irányú változást mutatnak világszerte

Down by the riverside: urban riparian ecology

Riparian areas are hotspots of interactions between plants, soil, water, microbes, and people. While urban land use change has been shown to have dramatic effects on watershed hydrology, there has been surpris- ingly little analysis of its effects on riparian areas. Here we examine the ecology of urban riparian zones, focusing on work done in the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, a component of the US National Science Foundation's Long Term Ecological Research network. Research in the Baltimore study has addressed how changes in hydrology associated with urbanization create riparian "hydrologic drought" by lowering water tables, which in turn alters soil, vegetation, and microbial processes. We analyze the nature of past and cur- rent human interactions with riparian ecosystems, and review other urban ecosystem studies to show how our observations mirror those in other cities

Urban community gardeners' knowledge and perceptions of soil contaminant risks

Although urban community gardening can offer health, social, environmental, and economic benefits, these benefits must be weighed against the potential health risks stemming from exposure to contaminants such as heavy metals and organic chemicals that may be present in urban soils. Individuals who garden at or eat food grown in contaminated urban garden sites may be at risk of exposure to such contaminants. Gardeners may be unaware of these risks and how to manage them. We used a mixed quantitative/qualitative research approach to characterize urban community gardeners' knowledge and perceptions of risks related to soil contaminant exposure. We conducted surveys with 70 gardeners from 15 community gardens in Baltimore, Maryland, and semi-structured interviews with 18 key informants knowledgeable about community gardening and soil contamination in Baltimore. We identified a range of factors, challenges, and needs related to Baltimore community gardeners' perceptions of risk related to soil contamination, including low levels of concern and inconsistent levels of knowledge about heavy metal and organic chemical contaminants, barriers to investigating a garden site's history and conducting soil tests, limited knowledge of best practices for reducing exposure, and a need for clear and concise information on how best to prevent and manage soil contamination. Key informants discussed various strategies for developing and disseminating educational materials to gardeners. For some challenges, such as barriers to conducting site history and soil tests, some informants recommended city-wide interventions that bypass the need for gardener knowledge altogether