Deepening the uncertainty dimension of environmental Life Cycle Assessment: addressing choice, future and interpretation uncertainties.

LCA has become an important method to study environmental impacts of human activities. Still, there are several methodological issues in LCA that can adversely affect the results reliability. Three of these issues relate to a) allocation, b) the representation of the time dimension and c) the interpretation of results in LCA. Uncertainties play a fundamental and underlying role for these issues. It is widely-agreed that correctly dealing with these different uncertainty sources is a vital step towards increasing the usefulness and reliability of LCA results. Practical ways to deal with uncertainty are needed. The aim of this thesis is to deepen the understanding of the uncertainty dimension of current LCA. By means of addressing different sources of uncertainty not yet addressed, with new methods, a clearer picture of the implications of different sources of uncertainty in LCA is provided. This thesis departed from broad domains of uncertainty including risk, uncertainty as conventionally described, ignorance and indeterminacies. The selected sources of uncertainty are in the domains of risk and conventional uncertainty i.e. those due to incomplete scientific knowledge and that are to some extent quantifiable. This does not mean that all can be known or quantified as ignorance and indeterminacies exist. Industrial Ecolog

The RGB Colors Impact Li-Fi Data Transmission in Both Indoor and Outdoor Environments

This study investigates how LED light colors influence Li-Fi data transmission and sound clarity responsiveness. Employing a quantitative experimental design, the research systematically assesses the impact of various color treatments on Li-Fi performance in indoor and outdoor settings. Significant variations are observed in background noise levels and clarity of transmitted sound, with white LED consistently outperforming other colors. In alignment with existing literature, the study contributes valuable insights into Li-Fi connectivity. Despite unexpected results in responsiveness evaluation, proposed future experiments aim to refine understanding and enhance the practical applications of Li-Fi technology. This research comprehensively examines Li-Fi performance under diverse conditions, contributing to the advancement of efficient and adaptable data transmission solutions

Tunable resonators for quantum circuits

We have designed, fabricated and measured high-Q $\lambda/2$ coplanar waveguide microwave resonators whose resonance frequency is made tunable with magnetic field by inserting a DC-SQUID array (including 1 or 7 SQUIDs) inside. Their tunability range is 30% of the zero field frequency. Their quality factor reaches up to 3$\times10^4$. We present a model based on thermal fluctuations that accounts for the dependance of the quality factor with magnetic field.Comment: subm. to JLTP (Proc. of LTD12 conference

A pseudo-statistical approach to treat choice uncertainty: the example of partitioning allocation methods

Purpose Despite efforts to treat uncertainty due to methodological choices in life cycle assessment (LCA) such as standardization, one-at-a-time (OAT) sensitivity analysis, and analytical and statistical methods, no method exists that propagate this source of uncertainty for all relevant processes simultaneously with data uncertainty through LCA. This study aims to develop, implement, and test such a method, for the particular example of the choice of partitioning methods for allocation in LCA, to be used in LCA calculations and software. Methods Monte Carlo simulations were used jointly with the CMLCA software for propagating into distributions of LCA results, uncertainty due to the choice of allocation method together with uncertainty of unit process data. In this study, a methodological preference is assigned to each partitioning method, applicable to multi-functional processes in the system. The allocation methods are sampled per process according to these preferences. A case study on rapeseed oil focusing on three greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their global warming impacts is presented to illustrate the method developed. The results of the developed method are compared with those for the same case similarly quantifying uncertainty of unit process data but accompanied by separate scenarios for the different partitioning choices. Results and discussion The median of the inventory flows (emissions) for separate scenarios varies due to the partitioning choices and unit process data uncertainties. Inventory variations are reflected in the global warming results. Results for the approach of this study vary with the methodological preference assigned to the different allocation methods per multi-functional process and with the continuous distribution of unit process data. The method proved feasible and implementable. However, absolute uncertainties only further increased. Therefore, it should be further researched to reflect relative uncertainties, more relevant for comparative LCAs. Conclusions Propagation of uncertainties due to the choice of partitioning methods and to unit process data into LCA results is enabled by the proposed method, while capturing variability due to both sources. It is a practical proposal to tackle unresolved debates about partitioning choices increasing robustness and transparency of LCA results. Assigning a methodological preference to each allocation method of multi-functional processes in the system enables pseudo-statistical propagation of uncertainty due to allocation. Involving stakeholders in determining these methodological preferences allows for participatory approaches. Eventually, this method could be expanded to also cover other ways of dealing with allocation and to other methodological choices in LCA.  Industrial Ecolog

Multiple year influences of the aflatoxin biocontrol product AF-X1 on the A. flavus communities associated with maize production in Italy

Open Access JournalAF-X1 is a commercial aflatoxin biocontrol product containing the non-aflatoxigenic (AF-) strain of Aspergillus flavus MUCL54911 (VCG IT006), endemic to Italy, as an active ingredient. The present study aimed to evaluate the long-term persistence of VCG IT006 in the treated fields, and the multi-year influence of the biocontrol application on the A. flavus population. Soil samples were collected in 2020 and 2021 from 28 fields located in four provinces in north Italy. A vegetative compatibility analysis was conducted to monitor the occurrence of VCG IT006 on the total of the 399 isolates of A. flavus that were collected. IT006 was present in all the fields, mainly in the fields treated for 1 yr or 2 consecutive yrs (58% and 63%, respectively). The densities of the toxigenic isolates, detected using the aflR gene, were 45% vs. 22% in the untreated and treated fields, respectively. After displacement via the AF- deployment, a variability from 7% to 32% was noticed in the toxigenic isolates. The current findings support the long-term durability of the biocontrol application benefits without deleterious effects on each fungal population. Nevertheless, based on the current results, as well as on previous studies, the yearly applications of AF-X1 to Italian commercial maize fields should continue

Quantified Uncertainties in Comparative Life Cycle Assessment: What Can Be Concluded?

Industrial Ecolog

Accounting for inventory data and methodological choice uncertainty in a comparative life cycle assessment: the case of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture in an offshore Mediterranean enterprise

Industrial Ecolog

Inheritance of OCT4 predetermines fate choice in human embryonic stem cells

It is well known that clonal cells can make different fate decisions, but it is unclear whether these decisions are determined during, or before, a cell's own lifetime. Here, we engineered an endogenous fluorescent reporter for the pluripotency factor OCT4 to study the timing of differentiation decisions in human embryonic stem cells. By tracking single-cell OCT4 levels over multiple cell cycle generations, we found that the decision to differentiate is largely determined before the differentiation stimulus is presented and can be predicted by a cell's preexisting OCT4 signaling patterns. We further quantified how maternal OCT4 levels were transmitted to, and distributed between, daughter cells. As mother cells underwent division, newly established OCT4 levels in daughter cells rapidly became more predictive of final OCT4 expression status. These results imply that the choice between developmental cell fates can be largely predetermined at the time of cell birth through inheritance of a pluripotency factor

Aflatoxin biocontrol effectiveness in the real world-Private sector-led efforts to manage aflatoxins in Nigeria through biocontrol-centered strategies

Open Access Journal; Published online: 02 Sep 2022Aflatoxins are toxic compounds produced by several Aspergillus species that contaminate various crops. The impact of aflatoxin on the health of humans and livestock is a concern across the globe. Income, trade, and development sectors are affected as well. There are several technologies to prevent aflatoxin contamination but there are difficulties in having farmers use them. In Nigeria, an aflatoxin biocontrol product containing atoxigenic isolates of A. flavus has been registered with regulatory authorities and is now being produced at scale by the private company Harvestfield Industries Limited (HIL). The current study reports results of biocontrol effectiveness trials in maize conducted by HIL during 2020 in several locations across Nigeria and compared to untreated maize from nearby locations. Also, maize was collected from open markets to assess levels of contamination. All treated maize met tolerance thresholds (i.e., <4 ppb total aflatoxin). In contrast, most maize from untreated fields had a higher risk of aflatoxin contamination, with some areas averaging 38.5 ppb total aflatoxin. Maize from open markets had aflatoxin above tolerance thresholds with even an average of up to 90.3 ppb. Results from the trials were presented in a National Workshop attended by key officers of Government agencies, farmer organizations, the private sector, NGOs, and donors. Overall, we report (i) efforts spearheaded by the private sector to have aflatoxin management strategies used at scale in Nigeria, and (ii) deliberations of key stakeholders to ensure the safety of crops produced in Nigeria for the benefit of farmers, consumers, and industries

Large-amplitude driving of a superconducting artificial atom: Interferometry, cooling, and amplitude spectroscopy

Superconducting persistent-current qubits are quantum-coherent artificial atoms with multiple, tunable energy levels. In the presence of large-amplitude harmonic excitation, the qubit state can be driven through one or more of the constituent energy-level avoided crossings. The resulting Landau-Zener-Stueckelberg (LZS) transitions mediate a rich array of quantum-coherent phenomena. We review here three experimental works based on LZS transitions: Mach-Zehnder-type interferometry between repeated LZS transitions, microwave-induced cooling, and amplitude spectroscopy. These experiments exhibit a remarkable agreement with theory, and are extensible to other solid-state and atomic qubit modalities. We anticipate they will find application to qubit state-preparation and control methods for quantum information science and technology.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure