Global Opportunities to Increase Agricultural Independence Through Phosphorus Recycling

Food production hinges largely upon access to phosphorus (P) fertilizer. Most fertilizer P used in the global agricultural system comes from mining of nonrenewable phosphate rock deposits located within few countries. However, P contained in livestock manure or urban wastes represents a recyclable source of P. To inform development of P recycling technologies and policies, we examined subnational, national, and global spatial patterns for two intersections of land use affording high P recycling potential: (a) manure‐rich cultivated areas and (b) populous cultivated areas. In turn, we examined overlap between P recycling potential and nation‐level P fertilizer import dependency. Populous cultivated areas were less abundant globally than manure‐rich cultivated areas, reflecting greater segregation between crops and people compared to crops and livestock, especially in the Americas. Based on a global hexagonal grid (290‐km2 grid cell area), disproportionately large shares of subnational “hot spots” for P recycling potential occurred in India, China, Southeast Asia, Europe, and parts of Africa. Outside of China, most of the remaining manure‐rich or populous cultivated areas occurred within nations that had relatively high imports of P fertilizer (net P import:consumption ratios ≥0.4) or substantial increases in fertilizer demand between the 2000s (2002–2006) and 2010s (2010–2014). Manure‐rich cultivated grid cells (those above the 75th percentiles for both manure and cropland extent) represented 12% of the global grid after excluding cropless cells. Annually, the global sum of animal manure P was at least 5 times that contained in human excreta, and among cultivated cells the ratio was frequently higher (median = 8.9). The abundance of potential P recycling hot spots within nations that have depended on fertilizer imports or experienced rising fertilizer demand could prove useful for developing local P sources and maintaining agricultural independence

Quantitative study of molecular N_2 trapped in disordered GaN:O films

The structure of disordered GaN:O films grown by ion-assisted deposition is investigated using x-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. It is found that between 4 and 21 % of the nitrogen in the films is in the form of molecular N_2 that interacts only weakly with the surrounding matrix. The anion to cation ratio in the GaN:O host remains close to unity, and there is a close correlation between the N_2 fraction, the level of oxygen impurities, and the absence of short-range order in the GaN:O matrix.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Technologies for recovery and reuse of plant nutrients from human excreta and domestic wastewater: a protocol for a systematic map and living evidence platform

Background: Research and development on the recovery and reuse of nutrients found in human excreta and domestic wastewater has intensified over the past years, continuously producing new knowledge and technologies. However, research impact and knowledge transfer are limited. In particular, uptake and upscaling of new and innovative solutions in practice remain a key challenge. Achieving a more circular use of nutrients thus goes beyond technological innovation and will benefit from a synthesis of existing research being readily available to various stakeholders in the field. The aim of the systematic map and online evidence platform described in this protocol is threefold. First, to collate and summarise scientific research on technologies that facilitate the recovery and reuse of plant nutrients and organic matter found in human excreta and domestic and municipal wastewater. Second, to present this evidence in a way that can be easily navigated by stakeholders. Third, to report on new relevant research evidence to stakeholders as it becomes available.Methods: Firstly, we will produce a baseline systematic map, which will consist of an extension of two previous related syntheses. In a next stage, with help of machine learning and other automation technologies, the baseline systematic map will be transformed into 'living mode' that allows for a continually updated evidence platform. The baseline systematic map searches will be performed in 4 bibliographic sources and Google Scholar. All searches will be performed in English. Coding and meta-data extraction will include bibliographic information, locations as well as the recovery and reuse pathways. The living mode will mostly rely on automation technologies in EPPI-Reviewer and the Microsoft Academic database. The new records will be automatically identified and ranked in terms of eligibility. Records above a certain 'cut-off' threshold will be manually screened for eligibility. The threshold will be devised based on the empirically informed machine learning model. The evidence from the baseline systematic map and living mode will be embedded in an online evidence platform that in an interactive manner allows stakeholders to visualise and explore the systematic map findings, including knowledge gaps and clusters

The cohesin ring concatenates sister DNA molecules

Sister chromatid cohesion, which is essential for mitosis, is mediated by a multi-subunit protein complex called cohesin whose Scc1, Smc1, and Smc3 subunits form a tripartite ring structure. It has been proposed that cohesin holds sister DNAs together by trapping them inside its ring. To test this, we used site-specific cross-linking to create chemical connections at the three interfaces between the ring’s three constituent polypeptides, thereby creating covalently closed cohesin rings. As predicted by the ring entrapment model, this procedure produces dimeric DNA/cohesin structures that are resistant to protein denaturation. We conclude that cohesin rings concatenate individual sister minichromosome DNAs

Large Scale Job Management and Experience in Recent Data Challenges within the LHC CMS experiment

From its conception the job management system has been distributed to increase scalability and robustness. The system consists of several applications (called ProdAgents) which manage Monte Carlo, reconstruction and skimming jobs on collections of sites within different Grid environments (OSG, NorduGrid, LCG) and submission systems such as GlideIn, local batch, etc... Production of simulated data in CMS mainly takes place on so called Tier2s (small to medium size computing centers) resources. Approximately ~50% of the CMS Tier2 resources are allocated to running simulation jobs. While the so-called Tier1s (medium to large size computing centers with high capacity tape storage systems) will be mainly used for skimming and reconstructing detector data. During the last one and a half years the job management system has been adapted such that it can be configured to convert Data Acquisition (DAQ) / High Level Trigger (HLT) output from the CMS detector to the CMS data format and manage the real time data stream from the experiment. Simultaneously the system has been upgraded to facilitate the increasing scale of the CMS production and adapting to the procedures used by its operators. In this paper we discuss the current (high level) architecture of ProdAgent, the experience in using this system in computing challenges, feedback from these challenges, and future work including migration to a set of core libraries to facilitate convergence between the different data management projects within CMS that deal with analysis, simulation, and initial reconstruction of real data. This migration is important, as it will decrease the code footprint used by these projects and increase maintainability of the code base

Mapping phosphorus hotspots in Sydney's organic wastes: A spatially explicit inventory to facilitate urban phosphorus recycling

Phosphorus is an essential element for food production whose main global sources are becoming scarce and expensive. Furthermore, losses of phosphorus throughout the food production chain can also cause serious aquatic pollution. Recycling urban organic waste resources high in phosphorus could simultaneously address scarcity concerns for agricultural producers who rely on phosphorus fertilisers, and waste managers seeking to divert waste from landfills to decrease environmental burdens. Recycling phosphorus back to agricultural lands however requires careful logistical planning to maximize benefits and minimize costs, including processing and transportation. The first step towards such analyses is quantifying recycling potential in a spatially explicit way. Here we present such inventories and scenarios for the Greater Sydney Basin's recyclable phosphorus supply and agricultural demand. In 2011, there was 15 times more phosphorus available in organic waste than agricultural demand for phosphorus in Sydney. Hypothetically, if future city residents shifted to a plant-based diet, eliminated edible food waste, and removed animal production in the Greater Sydney Basin, available phosphorus supply would decrease to 7.25 kt of phosphorus per year, even when accounting for population growth by 2031, and demand would also decrease to 0.40 kt of phosphorus per year. Creating a circular phosphorus economy for Sydney, in all scenarios considered, would require effective recycling strategies which include transport outside of the Greater Sydney Basin. These spatially explicit scenarios can be used as a tool to facilitate stakeholders engagement to identify opportunities and barriers for appropriate organic waste recycling strategies

Recirkulering av näringsämnen mellan stad och land - vad vill gödselanvändaren ha?

Denna rapport sammanfattar resultatet av en workshop med olika sakägare kring frågan om gödselprodukter innehållande återvunnen näring från avloppsströmmar. Som underlag till workshopen har även en litteraturöversikt, intervjuer och enkäter med utvalda sakägare genomförts. Rapporten presenterar de behov sakägarna anser att dessa produkter måste eller bör uppfylla. Arbetet har genomförts gemensamt mellan den svenska näringsplattformen och forskningsprojektet End-of-Wastewater under år 2020. Svenska näringsplattformen är en plattform som samlar aktörer och kunskap inom kretslopp av näringsämnen med syfte att stödja, underlätta och överbrygga hinder för att möjliggöra en systemomställning där näringsämnena i avloppsströmmar är en del av ett rent kretslopp i synergi med de globala hållbarhetsmålen (https://www.ri.se/sv/svenskanaringsplattformen). Projektet End-of-Wastewater handlar om att utforska och sprida kunskap kring hur samhället kan ställa om till att hålla näringsämnen, såsom kväve och fosfor, men även kol i rena kretslopp. Omställningen syftar på att ansvarsfullt länka samman organiska restflöden från mänskliga samhällen till nyproduktion av grödor på jordbruksmark. I denna omställning finns diverse aktörer som redan är eller bör vara delaktiga för att skapa ett kretslopp. Projektet kommer att utveckla ett interaktivt verktyg för att stötta dessa aktörer med att hitta, navigera bland och förstå den gedigna evidensbaserade forskning som finns inom området för innovativa och hållbara lösningar (http://www.endofwastewater.net/)

Distributed Computing Grid Experiences in CMS

The CMS experiment is currently developing a computing system capable of serving, processing and archiving the large number of events that will be generated when the CMS detector starts taking data. During 2004 CMS undertook a large scale data challenge to demonstrate the ability of the CMS computing system to cope with a sustained data-taking rate equivalent to 25% of startup rate. Its goals were: to run CMS event reconstruction at CERN for a sustained period at 25 Hz input rate; to distribute the data to several regional centers; and enable data access at those centers for analysis. Grid middleware was utilized to help complete all aspects of the challenge. To continue to provide scalable access from anywhere in the world to the data, CMS is developing a layer of software that uses Grid tools to gain access to data and resources, and that aims to provide physicists with a user friendly interface for submitting their analysis jobs. This paper describes the data challenge experience with Grid infrastructure and the current development of the CMS analysis system

Sphenopalatine-sphenopalatine anastomosis: a unique cause of intractable epistaxis, safely treated with microcatheter embolization: a case report

Epistaxis is the most common emergency presenting to the ENT surgeon. Here we present a case of epistaxis arising from the sphenopalatine artery in a patient who had previously had the ipsilateral external carotid artery ligated due to previous epistaxis. On investigation the epistaxis was determined to arise from an anastamosis with the contralateral sphenopalatine artery. The anatomy was demonstrated with angiography and the epistaxis treated using microcatheter embolization. Anatomical variation can be a cause for failure of ligation as a permanent treatment for epistaxis. Embolization is used less frequently for epistaxis control due to concerns about the risks involved, but it can be a valuable treatment option in intractable epistaxis following a failure of arterial ligation