107 research outputs found
The sharing economy is not always greener: a review and consolidation of empirical evidence
The digital sharing economy is commonly seen as a promising circular consumption model that could potentially deliver environmental benefits through more efficient use of existing product stocks. Yet whether sharing is indeed more environmentally benign than prevalent consumption models and what features shape platforms' sustainability remains unclear. To address this knowledge gap, we conduct a systematic literature review of empirical peer reviewed and conference proceeding publications. We screen over 2200 papers and compile a dataset of 155 empirical papers, and consolidate reported results on the environmental impacts of the sharing economy. We find that sharing is not inherently better from an environmental perspective. The type of resource shared, logistic operations, and the ways in which sharing influences users' consumption more broadly affect environmental outcomes. Sharing goods is generally associated with better environmental outcomes compared to shared accommodations or mobility. Within mobility, shared scooters and ride-hailing emerge as particularly prone to negative environmental outcomes. Contrary to previous suggestions, peer-to-peer sharing (vs. centralized ownership) does not seem to be a good proxy for environmental performance. As sharing becomes intertwined with urbanization, efforts to steer digital sharing towards environmental sustainability should consider system levels effects and take into account platform operations as well as potential changes in consumer behavior
On certain other sets of integers
We show that if A is a subset of {1,...,N} containing no non-trivial
three-term arithmetic progressions then |A|=O(N/ log^{3/4-o(1)} N).Comment: 29 pp. Corrected typos. Added definitions for some non-standard
notation and remarks on lower bound
Isoperimetric Inequalities in Simplicial Complexes
In graph theory there are intimate connections between the expansion
properties of a graph and the spectrum of its Laplacian. In this paper we
define a notion of combinatorial expansion for simplicial complexes of general
dimension, and prove that similar connections exist between the combinatorial
expansion of a complex, and the spectrum of the high dimensional Laplacian
defined by Eckmann. In particular, we present a Cheeger-type inequality, and a
high-dimensional Expander Mixing Lemma. As a corollary, using the work of Pach,
we obtain a connection between spectral properties of complexes and Gromov's
notion of geometric overlap. Using the work of Gunder and Wagner, we give an
estimate for the combinatorial expansion and geometric overlap of random
Linial-Meshulam complexes
On -vectors satisfying the Kruskal-Katona inequalities
We present examples of flag homology spheres whose -vectors satisfy
the Kruskal-Katona inequalities. This includes several families of well-studied
simplicial complexes, including Coxeter complexes and the simplicial complexes
dual to the associahedron and to the cyclohedron. In these cases, we construct
explicit simplicial complexes whose -vectors are the -vectors in
question. In another direction, we show that if a flag -sphere has at
most vertices its -vector satisfies the Kruskal-Katona
inequalities. We conjecture that if is a flag homology sphere then
satisfies the Kruskal-Katona inequalities. This conjecture is
a significant refinement of Gal's conjecture, which asserts that such
-vectors are nonnegative.Comment: 18 pages; Our main result and conjectures have been strengthened.
Also we now have explicit constructions of simplicial complexes whose
-vectors are the -vectors in questio
Diquat Derivatives: Highly Active, Two-Dimensional Nonlinear Optical Chromophores with Potential Redox Switchability
In this article, we present a detailed study of structure−activity relationships in diquaternized 2,2′-bipyridyl (diquat) derivatives. Sixteen new chromophores have been synthesized, with variations in the amino electron donor substituents, π-conjugated bridge, and alkyl diquaternizing unit. Our aim is to combine very large, two-dimensional (2D) quadratic nonlinear optical (NLO) responses with reversible redox chemistry. The chromophores have been characterized as their PF_6^− salts by using various techniques including electronic absorption spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Their visible absorption spectra are dominated by intense π → π^* intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) bands, and all show two reversible diquat-based reductions. First hyperpolarizabilities β have been measured by using hyper-Rayleigh scattering with an 800 nm laser, and Stark spectroscopy of the ICT bands affords estimated static first hyperpolarizabilities β_0. The directly and indirectly derived β values are large and increase with the extent of π-conjugation and electron donor strength. Extending the quaternizing alkyl linkage always increases the ICT energy and decreases the E_(1/2) values for diquat reduction, but a compensating increase in the ICT intensity prevents significant decreases in Stark-based β_0 responses. Nine single-crystal X-ray structures have also been obtained. Time-dependent density functional theory clarifies the molecular electronic/optical properties, and finite field calculations agree with polarized HRS data in that the NLO responses of the disubstituted species are dominated by ‘off-diagonal’ β_(zyy) components. The most significant findings of these studies are: (i) β_0 values as much as 6 times that of the chromophore in the technologically important material (E)-4′-(dimethylamino)-N-methyl-4-stilbazolium tosylate; (ii) reversible electrochemistry that offers potential for redox-switching of optical properties over multiple states; (iii) strongly 2D NLO responses that may be exploited for novel practical applications; (iv) a new polar material, suitable for bulk NLO behavior
Cholesterol Depletion in Adipocytes Causes Caveolae Collapse Concomitant with Proteosomal Degradation of Cavin-2 in a Switch-Like Fashion
Caveolae, little caves of cell surfaces, are enriched in cholesterol, a certain level of which is required for their structural integrity. Here we show in adipocytes that cavin-2, a peripheral membrane protein and one of 3 cavin isoforms present in caveolae from non-muscle tissue, is degraded upon cholesterol depletion in a rapid fashion resulting in collapse of caveolae. We exposed 3T3-L1 adipocytes to the cholesterol depleting agent methyl-β-cyclodextrin, which results in a sudden and extensive degradation of cavin-2 by the proteasome and a concomitant movement of cavin-1 from the plasma membrane to the cytosol along with loss of caveolae. The recovery of cavin-2 at the plasma membrane is cholesterol-dependent and is required for the return of cavin-1 from the cytosol to the cell surface and caveolae restoration. Expression of shRNA directed against cavin-2 also results in a cytosolic distribution of cavin-1 and loss of caveolae. Taken together, these data demonstrate that cavin-2 functions as a cholesterol responsive component of caveolae that is required for cavin-1 localization to the plasma membrane, and caveolae structural integrity
On Eigenvalues of Random Complexes
We consider higher-dimensional generalizations of the normalized Laplacian
and the adjacency matrix of graphs and study their eigenvalues for the
Linial-Meshulam model of random -dimensional simplicial complexes
on vertices. We show that for , the eigenvalues of
these matrices are a.a.s. concentrated around two values. The main tool, which
goes back to the work of Garland, are arguments that relate the eigenvalues of
these matrices to those of graphs that arise as links of -dimensional
faces. Garland's result concerns the Laplacian; we develop an analogous result
for the adjacency matrix. The same arguments apply to other models of random
complexes which allow for dependencies between the choices of -dimensional
simplices. In the second part of the paper, we apply this to the question of
possible higher-dimensional analogues of the discrete Cheeger inequality, which
in the classical case of graphs relates the eigenvalues of a graph and its edge
expansion. It is very natural to ask whether this generalizes to higher
dimensions and, in particular, whether the higher-dimensional Laplacian spectra
capture the notion of coboundary expansion - a generalization of edge expansion
that arose in recent work of Linial and Meshulam and of Gromov. We show that
this most straightforward version of a higher-dimensional discrete Cheeger
inequality fails, in quite a strong way: For every and , there is a -dimensional complex on vertices that
has strong spectral expansion properties (all nontrivial eigenvalues of the
normalised -dimensional Laplacian lie in the interval
) but whose coboundary expansion is bounded
from above by and so tends to zero as ;
moreover, can be taken to have vanishing integer homology in dimension
less than .Comment: Extended full version of an extended abstract that appeared at SoCG
2012, to appear in Israel Journal of Mathematic
Conserved synteny at the protein family level reveals genes underlying Shewanella species’ cold tolerance and predicts their novel phenotypes
© The Authors 2009. This article is distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License. The definitive version was published in Functional & Integrative Genomics 10 (2010): 97-110, doi:10.1007/s10142-009-0142-y.Bacteria of the genus Shewanella can thrive in different environments and demonstrate significant variability in their metabolic and ecophysiological capabilities including cold and salt tolerance. Genomic characteristics underlying this variability across species are largely unknown. In this study, we address the problem by a comparison of the physiological, metabolic, and genomic characteristics of 19 sequenced Shewanella species. We have employed two novel approaches based on association of a phenotypic trait with the number of the trait-specific protein families (Pfam domains) and on the conservation of synteny (order in the genome) of the trait-related genes. Our first approach is top-down and involves experimental evaluation and quantification of the species’ cold tolerance followed by identification of the correlated Pfam domains and genes with a conserved synteny. The second, a bottom-up approach, predicts novel phenotypes of the species by calculating profiles of each Pfam domain among their genomes and following pair-wise correlation of the profiles and their network clustering. Using the first approach, we find a link between cold and salt tolerance of the species and the presence in the genome of a Na+/H+ antiporter gene cluster. Other cold-tolerance-related genes include peptidases, chemotaxis sensory transducer proteins, a cysteine exporter, and helicases. Using the bottom-up approach, we found several novel phenotypes in the newly sequenced Shewanella species, including degradation of aromatic compounds by an aerobic hybrid pathway in Shewanella woodyi, degradation of ethanolamine by Shewanella benthica, and propanediol degradation by Shewanella putrefaciens CN32 and Shewanella sp. W3-18-1.This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Office of Biological and Environmental Research under the Genomics:
GTL Program via the Shewanella Federation consortium
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