Integrating Algaculture into Small Wastewater Treatment Plants: Process Flow Options and Life Cycle Impacts

Algaculture has the potential to be a sustainable option for nutrient removal at wastewater treatment plants. The purpose of this study was to compare the environmental impacts of three likely algaculture integration strategies to a conventional nutrient removal strategy. Process modeling was used to determine life cycle inventory data and a comparative life cycle assessment was used to determine environmental impacts. Treatment scenarios included a base case treatment plant without nutrient removal, a plant with conventional nutrient removal, and three other cases with algal unit processes placed at the head of the plant, in a side stream, and at the end of the plant, respectively. Impact categories included eutrophication, global warming, ecotoxicity, and primary energy demand. Integrating algaculture prior to activated sludge proved to be most beneficial of the scenarios considered for all impact categories; however, this scenario would also require primary sedimentation and impacts of that unit process should be considered for implementation of such a system

Ancient Celts: A reconsideration of Celtic Identity through dental nonmetric trait analysis.

Abstract The Celts are a collection of tribes and/or populations that inhabited much of Central Europe during the Iron Age and are still something of an enigma. The relationship among the spread of their material culture, the application of Celtic ethnicity, movements among the diverse populations possessing Iron Age Hallstatt and La Tène artefacts throughout Central Europe believed to have been spread by Celtic people, and/or spoken languages identified as Celtic have long been questioned by researchers. However, previous research has primarily focused only on chronological and typological descriptions and documentation of diachronic change. Diverse populations throughout Europe have been intrinsically linked based on perceived similarities in burial practice, art styles and material culture. Subsequently, these associations have resulted in the creation of the so-called La Tène=Celtic paradigm. Under this paradigm, the presence of La Tène artefacts designate a population as Celtic, which is still prevalent in the field of Celtic studies regardless of documented regional differences. The underlying biological diversity among presumed Celtic populations and processes driving the observed variation in artefacts, art styles and burial practices throughout the core and expansion regions (i.e., where the Hallstatt and La Tène material cultures initially developed versus those into which they subsequently spread during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC) are not well understood. The present study helps fill the void in the current understanding of underlying biological diversity among these populations in several ways. First, 36 morphological traits in 586 dentitions from 11 regional samples, from Britain and Europe, were collected using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropological System (ASUDAS). The above samples represent the core and expansion regions, along with a comparative European Iron Age sample outside the known range of Celtic expansion. Frequencies of occurrence for each dental and osseous nonmetric trait were recorded by sample. Second, the suite of traits was compared among samples using principal components analysis, (PCA) and the mean measure of divergence (MMD) distance statistic. Multidimensional scaling was subsequently employed on the symmetric MMD matrix to illustrate graphically inter-sample relationships. Phenetic patterns of overall biological similarity and dissimilarity among individuals and populations based on morphological traits were determined. MMD distances were then compared with geographic distances among samples, under the assumption that genetic affinity is inverse to spatial distance. The biological distance estimates suggest the following. First, populations in the expansion regions exhibit less biological diversity than those within the core. Specifically, two samples within these regions are biologically indistinguishable, the remaining two are biologically distinct, and all samples within the core are phenetically diverse. Thus, populations in the expansion regions are genetically distinct from those in the core and were likely acculturated, not genetically influenced by these groups. Limited intra-and-extra regional gene flow and genetic isolation explain the population structure within the above regions. Second, overall phenetic heterogeneity, biological diversity, and population discontinuity are indicated, as the majority of the samples within both regions are biologically distinct from one another. This diversity may also reflect genetic and linguistic boundaries among the samples. Third, waves of migration from the core during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC were not likely responsible for diachronic changes in material culture within the expansion regions. Fourth, the separation of populations and material culture into the core and expansion regions, and the application of Celtic ethnicity to diverse populations possessing artefacts and a spoken language(s) identified as Celtic may be a nominal association, i.e., in name only. Simply put, the comparative results suggest that these groups represent biologically distinct populations. These findings were compared with published archaeological, linguistic, genetic and bioarchaeological information to test for concordance between dental and other evidence. The present study does not support findings of previous studies and suggests there is more genetic diversity than previously assumed under the La Tène=Celtic paradigm. Thus, a combination of genetic isolation by distance, limited intra-and-extra-regional gene flow, trade, cultural diffusion and/or assimilation is likely responsible for the observed art style, burial practice, archaeological, genetic and linguistic diversity among populations possessing Hallstatt and La Tène artefacts and/or language(s). These diverse populations may have lost their cultural autonomy after being subsumed into a greater Celtic identity. Thus, the contemporary concept of Celts is likely a modern construct that has hindered understanding of the extent of regional diversity and cultural autonomy among diverse populations throughout Iron Age Europe

Global sensitivity analysis in environmental water quality modelling: Where do we stand?

Global sensitivity analysis (GSA) is a valuable tool to support the use of mathematical models for environmental systems. During the last years the water quality modelling field has embraced the use of GSA. Environmental water quality modellers have tried to transfer the knowledge and experience acquired in other disciplines. The main objective of this paper is to provide an informed problem statement of the issues surrounding GSA applications in the environmental water quality modelling field. Specifically, this paper aims at identifying, for each GSA method, the potential use, the critical issues to be solved and the limits identified in a comprehensive literature review. The paper shows that the GSA methods are not mostly applied by using the numerical settings as suggested in the literature for other application fields. However, some authors have emphasized that the modeller must take care in employing such \u201cdefault\u201d numerical settings because,for complex water quality models, different GSA methods have been shown to provide different results depending on the settings. Quantitative convergence analysis has been identified as a key element for GSA quality control that merits further investigations for GSA application in the environmental water quality modelling field

Can a multi-model approach improve hydrological ensemble forecasting? A study on 29 French catchments using 16 hydrological model structures

An operational hydrological ensemble forecasting system based on a meteorological ensemble prediction system (M-EPS) coupled with a hydrological model searches to capture the uncertainties associated with the meteorological prediction to better predict river flows. However, the structure of the hydrological model is also an important source of uncertainty that has to be taken into account. This study aims at evaluating and comparing the performance and the reliability of different types of hydrological ensemble prediction systems (H-EPS), when ensemble weather forecasts are combined with a multi-model approach. The study is based on 29 catchments in France and 16 lumped hydrological model structures, driven by the weather forecasts from the European centre for medium-range weather forecasts (ECMWF). Results show that the ensemble predictions produced by a combination of several hydrological model structures and meteorological ensembles have higher skill and reliability than ensemble predictions given either by one single hydrological model fed by weather ensemble predictions or by several hydrological models and a deterministic meteorological forecast

Non-stationary temporal characterization of the temperature profile of a soil exposed to frost in south-eastern Canada

The objective of this work was to compare time and frequency fluctuations of air and soil temperatures (2-, 5-, 10-, 20- and 50-cm below the soil surface) using the continuous wavelet transform, with a particular emphasis on the daily cycle. The analysis of wavelet power spectra and cross power spectra provided detailed non-stationary accounts with respect to frequencies (or periods) and to time of the structure of the data and also of the relationships that exist between time series. For this particular application to the temperature profile of a soil exposed to frost, both the air temperature and the 2-cm depth soil temperature time series exhibited a dominant power peak at 1-d periodicity, prominent from spring to autumn. This feature was gradually damped as it propagated deeper into the soil and was weak for the 20-cm depth. Influence of the incoming solar radiation was also revealed in the wavelet power spectra analysis by a weaker intensity of the 1-d peak. The principal divergence between air and soil temperatures, besides damping, occurred in winter from the latent heat release associated to the freezing of the soil water and the insulation effect of snowpack that cease the dependence of the soil temperature to the air temperature. Attenuation and phase-shifting of the 1-d periodicity could be quantified through scale-averaged power spectra and time-lag estimations. Air temperature variance was only partly transferred to the 2-cm soil temperature time series and much less so to the 20-cm soil depth

Propuesta de una sección de cultura regional en el diario la industria de Chiclayo a fin de difundir la identidad Lambayecana

La presente investigación tuvo por objetivo proponer una sección de cultura regional en el diario La Industria de Chiclayo a fin de difundir la identidad lambayecana mediante la línea del periodismo cultural. La propuesta parte de un diagnóstico de la realidad que consistió en la observación, el análisis de documentos, el empleo de entrevistas a profundidad a periodistas y otros especialistas en el tema y la aplicación de una encuesta al público lector del diario. En general se concluyó que la propuesta es innovadora en el sentido que ningún otro medio de prensa escrita de la región posee una agenda mediática enfocada en la cultura regional.Tesi

Complete breeding failures in ivory gull following unusual rainy storms in North Greenland

Natural catastrophic events such as heavy rainfall and windstorms may induce drastic decreases in breeding success of animal populations. We report the impacts of summer rainfalls on the reproductive success of ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) in north-east Greenland. On two occasions, at Amdrup Land in July 2009 and at Station Nord in July 2011, we observed massive ivory gull breeding failures following violent rainfall and windstorms that hit the colonies. In each colony, all of the breeding birds abandoned their eggs or chicks during the storm. Juvenile mortality was close to 100% at Amdrup Land in 2009 and 100% at Station Nord in 2011. Our results show that strong winds associated with heavy rain directly affected the reproductive success of some Arctic bird species. Such extreme weather events may become more common with climate change and represent a new potential factor affecting ivory gull breeding success in the High Arctic

Status report on emerging photovoltaics

\ua9 2023 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).This report provides a snapshot of emerging photovoltaic (PV) technologies. It consists of concise contributions from experts in a wide range of fields including silicon, thin film, III-V, perovskite, organic, and dye-sensitized PVs. Strategies for exceeding the detailed balance limit and for light managing are presented, followed by a section detailing key applications and commercialization pathways. A section on sustainability then discusses the need for minimization of the environmental footprint in PV manufacturing and recycling. The report concludes with a perspective based on broad survey questions presented to the contributing authors regarding the needs and future evolution of PV

Hormonal signaling in cnidarians : do we understand the pathways well enough to know whether they are being disrupted?

Author Posting. © The Author, 2006. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Ecotoxicology 16 (2007): 5-13, doi:10.1007/s10646-006-0121-1.Cnidarians occupy a key evolutionary position as basal metazoans and are ecologically important as predators, prey and structure-builders. Bioregulatory molecules (e.g., amines, peptides and steroids) have been identified in cnidarians, but cnidarian signaling pathways remain poorly characterized. Cnidarians, especially hydras, are regularly used in toxicity testing, but few studies have used cnidarians in explicit testing for signal disruption. Sublethal endpoints developed in cnidarians include budding, regeneration, gametogenesis, mucus production and larval metamorphosis. Cnidarian genomic databases, microarrays and other molecular tools are increasingly facilitating mechanistic investigation of signaling pathways and signal disruption. Elucidation of cnidarian signaling processes in a comparative context can provide insight into the evolution and diversification of metazoan bioregulation. Characterizing signaling and signal disruption in cnidarians may also provide unique opportunities for evaluating risk to valuable marine resources, such as coral reefs