Synthetic biology: Novel approaches for microbiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Padilla-Vaca, Felipe; Anaya-Velázquez, Fernando; Franco, Bernardo

2015-06-01

In the past twenty years, molecular genetics has created powerful tools for genetic manipulation of living organisms. Whole genome sequencing has provided necessary information to assess knowledge on gene function and protein networks. In addition, new tools permit to modify organisms to perform desired tasks. Gene function analysis is speed up by novel approaches that couple both high throughput data generation and mining. Synthetic biology is an emerging field that uses tools for generating novel gene networks, whole genome synthesis and engineering. New applications in biotechnological, pharmaceutical and biomedical research are envisioned for synthetic biology. In recent years these new strategies have opened up the possibilities to study gene and genome editing, creation of novel tools for functional studies in virus, parasites and pathogenic bacteria. There is also the possibility to re-design organisms to generate vaccine subunits or produce new pharmaceuticals to combat multi-drug resistant pathogens. In this review we provide our opinion on the applicability of synthetic biology strategies for functional studies of pathogenic organisms and some applications such as genome editing and gene network studies to further comprehend virulence factors and determinants in pathogenic organisms. We also discuss what we consider important ethical issues for this field of molecular biology, especially for potential misuse of the new technologies. Copyright© by the Spanish Society for Microbiology and Institute for Catalan Studies.

A Statistical Approach For Modeling Tropical Cyclones. Synthetic Hurricanes Generator Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pasqualini, Donatella [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-05-11

This manuscript brie y describes a statistical ap- proach to generate synthetic tropical cyclone tracks to be used in risk evaluations. The Synthetic Hur- ricane Generator (SynHurG) model allows model- ing hurricane risk in the United States supporting decision makers and implementations of adaptation strategies to extreme weather. In the literature there are mainly two approaches to model hurricane hazard for risk prediction: deterministic-statistical approaches, where the storm key physical parameters are calculated using physi- cal complex climate models and the tracks are usually determined statistically from historical data; and sta- tistical approaches, where both variables and tracks are estimated stochastically using historical records. SynHurG falls in the second category adopting a pure stochastic approach.

Data-driven approach for creating synthetic electronic medical records

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moniz Linda

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background New algorithms for disease outbreak detection are being developed to take advantage of full electronic medical records (EMRs that contain a wealth of patient information. However, due to privacy concerns, even anonymized EMRs cannot be shared among researchers, resulting in great difficulty in comparing the effectiveness of these algorithms. To bridge the gap between novel bio-surveillance algorithms operating on full EMRs and the lack of non-identifiable EMR data, a method for generating complete and synthetic EMRs was developed. Methods This paper describes a novel methodology for generating complete synthetic EMRs both for an outbreak illness of interest (tularemia and for background records. The method developed has three major steps: 1 synthetic patient identity and basic information generation; 2 identification of care patterns that the synthetic patients would receive based on the information present in real EMR data for similar health problems; 3 adaptation of these care patterns to the synthetic patient population. Results We generated EMRs, including visit records, clinical activity, laboratory orders/results and radiology orders/results for 203 synthetic tularemia outbreak patients. Validation of the records by a medical expert revealed problems in 19% of the records; these were subsequently corrected. We also generated background EMRs for over 3000 patients in the 4-11 yr age group. Validation of those records by a medical expert revealed problems in fewer than 3% of these background patient EMRs and the errors were subsequently rectified. Conclusions A data-driven method was developed for generating fully synthetic EMRs. The method is general and can be applied to any data set that has similar data elements (such as laboratory and radiology orders and results, clinical activity, prescription orders. The pilot synthetic outbreak records were for tularemia but our approach may be adapted to other infectious

Data-driven approach for creating synthetic electronic medical records.

Science.gov (United States)

Buczak, Anna L; Babin, Steven; Moniz, Linda

2010-10-14

New algorithms for disease outbreak detection are being developed to take advantage of full electronic medical records (EMRs) that contain a wealth of patient information. However, due to privacy concerns, even anonymized EMRs cannot be shared among researchers, resulting in great difficulty in comparing the effectiveness of these algorithms. To bridge the gap between novel bio-surveillance algorithms operating on full EMRs and the lack of non-identifiable EMR data, a method for generating complete and synthetic EMRs was developed. This paper describes a novel methodology for generating complete synthetic EMRs both for an outbreak illness of interest (tularemia) and for background records. The method developed has three major steps: 1) synthetic patient identity and basic information generation; 2) identification of care patterns that the synthetic patients would receive based on the information present in real EMR data for similar health problems; 3) adaptation of these care patterns to the synthetic patient population. We generated EMRs, including visit records, clinical activity, laboratory orders/results and radiology orders/results for 203 synthetic tularemia outbreak patients. Validation of the records by a medical expert revealed problems in 19% of the records; these were subsequently corrected. We also generated background EMRs for over 3000 patients in the 4-11 yr age group. Validation of those records by a medical expert revealed problems in fewer than 3% of these background patient EMRs and the errors were subsequently rectified. A data-driven method was developed for generating fully synthetic EMRs. The method is general and can be applied to any data set that has similar data elements (such as laboratory and radiology orders and results, clinical activity, prescription orders). The pilot synthetic outbreak records were for tularemia but our approach may be adapted to other infectious diseases. The pilot synthetic background records were in the 4

Synthetic biology approaches to fluorinated polyketides.

Science.gov (United States)

Thuronyi, Benjamin W; Chang, Michelle C Y

2015-03-17

The catalytic diversity of living systems offers a broad range of opportunities for developing new methods to produce small molecule targets such as fuels, materials, and pharmaceuticals. In addition to providing cost-effective and renewable methods for large-scale commercial processes, the exploration of the unusual chemical phenotypes found in living organisms can also enable the expansion of chemical space for discovery of novel function by combining orthogonal attributes from both synthetic and biological chemistry. In this context, we have focused on the development of new fluorine chemistry using synthetic biology approaches. While fluorine has become an important feature in compounds of synthetic origin, the scope of biological fluorine chemistry in living systems is limited, with fewer than 20 organofluorine natural products identified to date. In order to expand the diversity of biosynthetically accessible organofluorines, we have begun to develop methods for the site-selective introduction of fluorine into complex natural products by engineering biosynthetic machinery to incorporate fluorinated building blocks. To gain insight into how both enzyme active sites and metabolic pathways can be evolved to manage and select for fluorinated compounds, we have studied one of the only characterized natural hosts for organofluorine biosynthesis, the soil microbe Streptomyces cattleya. This information provides a template for designing engineered organofluorine enzymes, pathways, and hosts and has allowed us to initiate construction of enzymatic and cellular pathways for the production of fluorinated polyketides.

In situ biomolecule production by bacteria; a synthetic biology approach to medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Flores Bueso, Yensi; Lehouritis, Panos; Tangney, Mark

2018-04-10

The ability to modify existing microbiota at different sites presents enormous potential for local or indirect management of various diseases. Because bacteria can be maintained for lengthy periods in various regions of the body, they represent a platform with enormous potential for targeted production of biomolecules, which offer tremendous promise for therapeutic and diagnostic approaches for various diseases. While biological medicines are currently limited in the clinic to patient administration of exogenously produced biomolecules from engineered cells, in situ production of biomolecules presents enormous scope in medicine and beyond. The slow pace and high expense of traditional research approaches has particularly hampered the development of biological medicines. It may be argued that bacterial-based medicine has been "waiting" for the advent of enabling technology. We propose that this technology is Synthetic Biology, and that the wait is over. Synthetic Biology facilitates a systematic approach to programming living entities and/or their products, using an approach to Research and Development (R&D) that facilitates rapid, cheap, accessible, yet sophisticated product development. Full engagement with the Synthetic Biology approach to R&D can unlock the potential for bacteria as medicines for cancer and other indications. In this review, we describe how by employing Synthetic Biology, designer bugs can be used as drugs, drug-production factories or diagnostic devices, using oncology as an exemplar for the concept of in situ biomolecule production in medicine. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Designing green derivatives of β-blocker Metoprolol: a tiered approach for green and sustainable pharmacy and chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Rastogi, Tushar; Leder, Christoph; Kümmerer, Klaus

2014-09-01

The presences of micro-pollutants (active pharmaceutical ingredients, APIs) are increasingly seen as a challenge of the sustainable management of water resources worldwide due to ineffective effluent treatment and other measures for their input prevention. Therefore, novel approaches are needed like designing greener pharmaceuticals, i.e. better biodegradability in the environment. This study addresses a tiered approach of implementing green and sustainable chemistry principles for theoretically designing better biodegradable and pharmacologically improved pharmaceuticals. Photodegradation process coupled with LC-MS(n) analysis and in silico tools such as quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) analysis and molecular docking proved to be a very significant approach for the preliminary stages of designing chemical structures that would fit into the "benign by design" concept in the direction of green and sustainable pharmacy. Metoprolol (MTL) was used as an example, which itself is not readily biodegradable under conditions found in sewage treatment and the aquatic environment. The study provides the theoretical design of new derivatives of MTL which might have the same or improved pharmacological activity and are more degradable in the environment than MTL. However, the in silico toxicity prediction by QSAR of those photo-TPs indicated few of them might be possibly mutagenic and require further testing. This novel approach of theoretically designing 'green' pharmaceuticals can be considered as a step forward towards the green and sustainable pharmacy field. However, more knowledge and further experience have to be collected on the full scope, opportunities and limitations of this approach. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fuzzy Axiomatic Design approach based green supplier selection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kannan, Devika; Govindan, Kannan; Rajendran, Sivakumar

2015-01-01

proposes a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach called Fuzzy Axiomatic Design (FAD) to select the best green supplier for Singapore-based plastic manufacturing company. At first, the environmental criteria was developed along with the traditional criteria based on the literature review......Abstract Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) is a developing concept recently utilized by manufacturing firms of all sizes. All industries, small or large, seek improvements in the purchasing of raw materials, manufacturing, allocation, transportation efficiency, in curbing storage time, importing...... responsible in addition to being efficiently managed. A significant way to implement responsible GSCM is to reconsider, in innovative ways, the purchase and supply cycle, and a preliminary step would be to ensure that the supplier of goods successfully incorporates green criteria. Therefore, this paper...

Two approaches to forecast Ebola synthetic epidemics.

Science.gov (United States)

Champredon, David; Li, Michael; Bolker, Benjamin M; Dushoff, Jonathan

2018-03-01

We use two modelling approaches to forecast synthetic Ebola epidemics in the context of the RAPIDD Ebola Forecasting Challenge. The first approach is a standard stochastic compartmental model that aims to forecast incidence, hospitalization and deaths among both the general population and health care workers. The second is a model based on the renewal equation with latent variables that forecasts incidence in the whole population only. We describe fitting and forecasting procedures for each model and discuss their advantages and drawbacks. We did not find that one model was consistently better in forecasting than the other. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthetic biology approaches in cancer immunotherapy, genetic network engineering, and genome editing.

Science.gov (United States)

Chakravarti, Deboki; Cho, Jang Hwan; Weinberg, Benjamin H; Wong, Nicole M; Wong, Wilson W

2016-04-18

Investigations into cells and their contents have provided evolving insight into the emergence of complex biological behaviors. Capitalizing on this knowledge, synthetic biology seeks to manipulate the cellular machinery towards novel purposes, extending discoveries from basic science to new applications. While these developments have demonstrated the potential of building with biological parts, the complexity of cells can pose numerous challenges. In this review, we will highlight the broad and vital role that the synthetic biology approach has played in applying fundamental biological discoveries in receptors, genetic circuits, and genome-editing systems towards translation in the fields of immunotherapy, biosensors, disease models and gene therapy. These examples are evidence of the strength of synthetic approaches, while also illustrating considerations that must be addressed when developing systems around living cells.

Synthetic biology approaches for protein production optimization in bacterial cell factories

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rennig, Maja; Andersen, Mikael Rørdam

devices and their fusion to antibiotic selection markers enables subsequent selection of high-expressing constructs. The approach is a simple and inexpensive alternative to advanced screening techniques. In addition, a second synthetic biology approach provides the means for fast and efficient plasmid...

Survey of Approaches to Generate Realistic Synthetic Graphs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lim, Seung-Hwan [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Lee, Sangkeun [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Powers, Sarah S [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Shankar, Mallikarjun [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Imam, Neena [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2016-10-01

A graph is a flexible data structure that can represent relationships between entities. As with other data analysis tasks, the use of realistic graphs is critical to obtaining valid research results. Unfortunately, using the actual ("real-world") graphs for research and new algorithm development is difficult due to the presence of sensitive information in the data or due to the scale of data. This results in practitioners developing algorithms and systems that employ synthetic graphs instead of real-world graphs. Generating realistic synthetic graphs that provide reliable statistical confidence to algorithmic analysis and system evaluation involves addressing technical hurdles in a broad set of areas. This report surveys the state of the art in approaches to generate realistic graphs that are derived from fitted graph models on real-world graphs.

Tsunami excitation by inland/coastal earthquakes: the Green function approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. B. Yanovskaya

2003-01-01

Full Text Available In the framework of the linear theory, the representation theorem is derived for an incompressible liquid layer with a boundary of arbitrary shape and in a homogeneous gravity field. In addition, the asymptotic representation for the Green function, in a layer of constant thickness is obtained. The validity of the approach for the calculation of the tsunami wavefield based on the Green function technique is verified comparing the results with those obtained from the modal theory, for a liquid layer of infinite horizontal dimensions. The Green function approach is preferable for the estimation of the excitation spectra, since in the case of an infinite liquid layer it leads to simple analytical expressions. From this analysis it is easy to describe the peculiarities of tsunami excitation by different sources. The method is extended to the excitation of tsunami in a semiinfinite layer with a sloping boundary. Numerical modelling of the tsunami wavefield, excited by point sources at different distances from the coastline, shows that when the source is located at a distance from the coastline equal or larger than the source depth, the shore presence does not affect the excitation of the tsunami. When the source is moved towards thecoastline, the low frequency content in the excitation spectrum ecreases, while the high frequencies content increases dramatically. The maximum of the excitation spectra from inland sources, located at a distance from the shore like the source depth, becomes less than 10% of that radiated if the same source is located in the open ocean. The effect of the finiteness of the source is also studied and the excitation spectrum is obtained by integration over the fault area. Numerical modelling of the excitation spectra for different source models shows that, for a given seismic moment, the spectral level, as well as the maximum value of the spectra, decreases with increasing fault size. When the sources are located in the

Green Supplier Evaluation by Using an Integrated Fuzzy AHP- VIKOR Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehdi HakimiAsl

2016-08-01

Full Text Available In the previous decade, fossil energy resources shortage and environmental challenges such as air and water pollution, global warming, and greenhouse-gas emissions, etc. have increased environmental concerns considerably. Since, one of the most practical and useful solutions to decrease environmental pollutants is to deploy green purchasing and clean energies by organizations or even governments. Thus, the construction of renewable-energy power plants and, consequently, the green supplier selection for these plants’ equipment has become more important. With this respect, this article presents a novel approach to assess and select green suppliers of a solar power plant. The proposed approach integrates Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process and VIKOR (Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje methodologies. The results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach as a practical tool to assist managers and CEOs (Chief Executive Officers of electric power industry in assessing suppliers of solar power plant’s equipment.

Synthetic biology, inspired by synthetic chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Malinova, V; Nallani, M; Meier, W P; Sinner, E K

2012-07-16

The topic synthetic biology appears still as an 'empty basket to be filled'. However, there is already plenty of claims and visions, as well as convincing research strategies about the theme of synthetic biology. First of all, synthetic biology seems to be about the engineering of biology - about bottom-up and top-down approaches, compromising complexity versus stability of artificial architectures, relevant in biology. Synthetic biology accounts for heterogeneous approaches towards minimal and even artificial life, the engineering of biochemical pathways on the organismic level, the modelling of molecular processes and finally, the combination of synthetic with nature-derived materials and architectural concepts, such as a cellular membrane. Still, synthetic biology is a discipline, which embraces interdisciplinary attempts in order to have a profound, scientific base to enable the re-design of nature and to compose architectures and processes with man-made matter. We like to give an overview about the developments in the field of synthetic biology, regarding polymer-based analogs of cellular membranes and what questions can be answered by applying synthetic polymer science towards the smallest unit in life, namely a cell. Copyright © 2012 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The algorithms for calculating synthetic seismograms from a dipole source using the derivatives of Green's function

Science.gov (United States)

Pavlov, V. M.

2017-07-01

The problem of calculating complete synthetic seismograms from a point dipole with an arbitrary seismic moment tensor in a plane parallel medium composed of homogeneous elastic isotropic layers is considered. It is established that the solutions of the system of ordinary differential equations for the motion-stress vector have a reciprocity property, which allows obtaining a compact formula for the derivative of the motion vector with respect to the source depth. The reciprocity theorem for Green's functions with respect to the interchange of the source and receiver is obtained for a medium with cylindrical boundary. The differentiation of Green's functions with respect to the coordinates of the source leads to the same calculation formulas as the algorithm developed in the previous work (Pavlov, 2013). A new algorithm appears when the derivatives with respect to the horizontal coordinates of the source is replaced by the derivatives with respect to the horizontal coordinates of the receiver (with the minus sign). This algorithm is more transparent, compact, and economic than the previous one. It requires calculating the wavenumbers associated with Bessel function's roots of order 0 and order 1, whereas the previous algorithm additionally requires the second order roots.

Novel green synthetic strategy to prepare ZnO nanocrystals using rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L.) peel extract and its antibacterial applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuvakkumar, R; Suresh, J; Nathanael, A Joseph; Sundrarajan, M; Hong, S I

2014-08-01

In the present investigation, we report a sustainable novel green synthetic strategy to synthesis zinc oxide nanocrystals. This is the first report on sustainable biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanocrystals employing Nephelium lappaceum L., peel extract as a natural ligation agent. Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanocrystals was carried out via zinc-ellagate complex formation using rambutan peel wastes. The successful formation of zinc oxide nanocrystals was confirmed employing standard characterisation studies. A possible mechanism for the formation of ZnO nanocrystals with rambutan peel extract was also proposed. The prepared ZnO nanocrystals were coated on the cotton fabric and their antibacterial activity were analyzed. ZnO nanocrystals coated cotton showed good antibacterial activity towards Escherichia coli (E. coli), gram negative bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), gram positive bacteria. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Green Buildings in Denmark – From radical ecology to consumer oriented market approaches?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jesper Ole; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten

2004-01-01

Gram-Hanssen and Jensen explore the development of green buildings in Denmark over the last three decades, identifying differences in design philosophies and techniques. They look at four approaches to green buildings: as energy-saving devices, as ecological grassroots alternatives, as subsidised...... large-scale urban projects, and as consumer products in a market approach. Using detailed case descriptions, the chapter asks to what extent it is possible to define some buildings or some approaches as more 'green' than others. The authors suggest that in order to more fully understand sustainable...... buildings we must account for the social structuring of both the identification of environmental problems and their resulting embodiment in built form....

Antibodies, synthetic peptides and related constructs for planetary health based on green chemistry in the Anthropocene.

Science.gov (United States)

C Caoili, Salvador Eugenio

2018-03-01

The contemporary Anthropocene is characterized by rapidly evolving complex global challenges to planetary health vis-a-vis sustainable development, yet innovation is constrained under the prevailing precautionary regime that regulates technological change. Small-molecule xenobiotic drugs are amenable to efficient large-scale industrial synthesis; but their pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, interactions and ultimate ecological impact are difficult to predict, raising concerns over initial testing and environmental contamination. Antibodies and similar agents can serve as antidotes and drug buffers or vehicles to address patient safety and decrease dosing requirements. More generally, peptidic agents including synthetic peptide-based constructs exemplified by vaccines can be used together with or instead of nonpeptidic xenobiotics, thus enabling advances in planetary health based on principles of green chemistry from manufacturing through final disposition.

Synthetic Approach to biomolecular science by cyborg supramolecular chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurihara, Kensuke; Matsuo, Muneyuki; Yamaguchi, Takumi; Sato, Sota

2018-02-01

To imitate the essence of living systems via synthetic chemistry approaches has been attempted. With the progress in supramolecular chemistry, it has become possible to synthesize molecules of a size and complexity close to those of biomacromolecules. Recently, the combination of precisely designed supramolecules with biomolecules has generated structural platforms for designing and creating unique molecular systems. Bridging between synthetic chemistry and biomolecular science is also developing methodologies for the creation of artificial cellular systems. This paper provides an overview of the recently expanding interdisciplinary research to fuse artificial molecules with biomolecules, that can deepen our understanding of the dynamical ordering of biomolecules. Using bottom-up approaches based on the precise chemical design, synthesis and hybridization of artificial molecules with biological materials have been realizing the construction of sophisticated platforms having the fundamental functions of living systems. The effective hybrid, molecular cyborg, approaches enable not only the establishment of dynamic systems mimicking nature and thus well-defined models for biophysical understanding, but also the creation of those with highly advanced, integrated functions. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Biophysical Exploration of Dynamical Ordering of Biomolecular Systems" edited by Dr. Koichi Kato. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthetic biology approaches in drug discovery and pharmaceutical biotechnology.

Science.gov (United States)

Neumann, Heinz; Neumann-Staubitz, Petra

2010-06-01

Synthetic biology is the attempt to apply the concepts of engineering to biological systems with the aim to create organisms with new emergent properties. These organisms might have desirable novel biosynthetic capabilities, act as biosensors or help us to understand the intricacies of living systems. This approach has the potential to assist the discovery and production of pharmaceutical compounds at various stages. New sources of bioactive compounds can be created in the form of genetically encoded small molecule libraries. The recombination of individual parts has been employed to design proteins that act as biosensors, which could be used to identify and quantify molecules of interest. New biosynthetic pathways may be designed by stitching together enzymes with desired activities, and genetic code expansion can be used to introduce new functionalities into peptides and proteins to increase their chemical scope and biological stability. This review aims to give an insight into recently developed individual components and modules that might serve as parts in a synthetic biology approach to pharmaceutical biotechnology.

Norbadione A: synthetic approach and cesium complexation studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desage - El Murr, M.

2003-10-01

This work was dedicated to the study of the synthesis and complexation studies of norbadione A: a pigment originating from a mushroom. A synthetic approach, based on a double Suzuki-Miyaura coupling, was developed. This strategy was applied with high yields to the synthesis of various norbadione A analogues, as well as to the synthesis of simple pulvinic acids. Access to functionalized precursors of the molecule was also studied and the final coupling remains to be done. Besides, a speciation study based on electro-spray ionization mass spectrometry was conducted with norbadione A and one of the analogues. This study allowed the assessment of the cesium complexation abilities of each molecule. Structural data was also obtained and complexation constants were calculated. Finally, norbadione A and various synthetic products have been tested via high-throughput screening methods and strong antioxidant properties were observed. Other biological results are also reported. (author)

[Treatment approaches for synthetic drug addiction].

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Ohji

2015-09-01

In Japan, synthetic drugs have emerged since late 2000s, and cases of emergency visits and fatal traffic accidents due to acute intoxication have rapidly increased. The synthetic drugs gained popularity mainly because they were cheap and thought to be "legal". The Japanese government restricted not only production and distribution, but also its possession and use in April 2014. As the synthetic drug dependent patients have better social profiles compared to methamphetamine abusers, this legal sanction may have triggered the decrease in the number of synthetic drug dependent patient visits observed at Kanagawa Psychiatric Center since July 2014. Treatment of the synthetic drug dependent patients should begin with empathic inquiry into the motives and positive psychological effects of the drug use. In the maintenance phase, training patients to trust others and express their hidden negative emotions through verbal communications is essential. The recovery is a process of understanding the relationship between psychological isolation and drug abuse, and gaining trust in others to cope with negative emotions that the patients inevitably would face in their subsequent lives.

Synthetic approaches to aromatic belts: building up strain in macrocyclic polyarenes.

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenberg, David; Shenhar, Roy; Rabinovitz, Mordecai

2010-08-01

This tutorial review discusses synthetic strategies towards aromatic belts, defined here as double-stranded conjugated macrocycles, such as [n]cyclacenes, [n]cyclophenacenes, Schlüter belt, and Vögtle belt. Their appeal stems, firstly, from the unique nature of their conjugation, having p orbitals oriented radially rather than perpendicular to the plane of the macrocycle. Secondly, as aromatic belts are model compounds of carbon nanotubes of different chiralities, a synthetic strategy towards the buildup of structural strain in these compounds could finally open a route towards rational chemical synthesis of carbon nanotubes. The elusiveness of these compounds has stimulated fascinating and ingenious synthetic strategies over the last decades. The various strategies are classified here by their approach to the buildup of structural strain, which is the main obstacle in the preparation of these curved polyarenes.

Evaluation of Green IT services with Fuzzy Screening approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sajjad Shokouhyar‎

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Regarding development of Information Technology, the world of industry has inordinately benefited, albeit that has some losses. Unless the losses are considered, advanced losses will be seen after progress with which is more difficult to cope. Neglecting the future and the risk involved in the industry, not to mention the lack of knowledge in dealing with sudden alterations, compel irrecoverable loss. In this context, information technology services in organizations are aimed to be cost-effective and have minimum environmental impact, according to green information technology strategies. Concerning significance of the issue, purpose of this research is assessment of information technology services with respect to greenness level in a general contractor organization by combination of Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process and Fuzzy Screening Procedure to enhance the greenness level of IT services. The effectiveness of using this approach is including qualitative, quantitative, and uncertainty nature of the problem. In this paper, to consider the Green IT services criteria, literatures have been studied by meta-synthesis method, then the importance of the criteria has been determined by questionnaires so as to rank Green IT criteria. Eventually, the organization level has been concluded in terms of the greenness level of IT services. As a case study, IT experts and managers of KAYSON Inc. organization are considered as statistical population of this research. The reduction had the highest weight among other criteria- recycling and reusing - in KAYSON Inc. organization. Finally, the organization greenness level was determined moderate in terms of IT services.

An eco-sustainable green approach for the synthesis of ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

sustainable green approach for the synthesis of propargylamines using LiOTf as a reusable catalyst under solvent-free condition. Someshwar D Dindulkar Baek Kwan Kwon Taek Lim Yeon Tae Jeong. Volume 125 Issue 1 January 2013 pp 101- ...

Green gas (SNG) in the Dutch energy infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boerrigter, H.

2006-04-01

The presentation on the title subject comprises Motivation for Green Gas; Potential and application; Green Gas and SNG implementation; Biomass availability and import; Economy of SNG production; and the SNG development trajectory. SNG stands for Synthetic Natural Gas

Green Walls as an Approach in Grey Water Treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Rysulova, Martina; Kaposztasova, Daniela; Vranayova, Zuzana

2017-10-01

Grey water contributes significantly to waste water parameters such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (Ptotal), total nitrogen (Ntotal), ammonium, boron, metals, salts, surfactants, synthetic chemicals, oils and greases, xenobiotic substances and microorganisms. Concentration of these pollutants and the water quality highlights the importance of treatment process in grey water systems. Treatment technologies operating under low energy and maintenance are usually preferred, since they are more cost effective for users. Treatment technologies based on natural processes represent an example of such technology including vegetated wall. Main aim of this paper is to introduce the proposal of vegetated wall managing grey water and brief characteristic of proposed system. Is expected that prepared experiment will establish the purifying ability and the potential of green wall application as an efficient treatment technology.

Multi-criteria decision making approaches for green supply chains

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Banasik, Aleksander; Bloemhof-Ruwaard, Jacqueline M.; Kanellopoulos, Argyris; Claassen, G.D.H.; Vorst, van der Jack G.A.J.

2016-01-01

Designing Green Supply Chains (GSCs) requires complex decision-support models that can deal with multiple dimensions of sustainability while taking into account specific characteristics of products and their supply chain. Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approaches can be used to quantify

Green Chemistry Challenge: 2017 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Green Chemistry Challenge 2017 award winners, Merck, developed a novel asymmetric aza-Michael cyclization, employing a chemically stable and fully recyclable organocatalyst to make Letermovir, an antiviral drug

Saccharide-based Approach to Green Metallic Nanostructure Synthesis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engelbrekt, Christian; Sørensen, Karsten Holm; Jensen, Palle Skovhus

A green approach to solution synthesis of metallic nanoparticles has been developed using harmless and bioapplicable chemicals as well as moderate temperatures. Metal precursors are reduced by glucose/buffers and sterically stabilized by starch. The saccharide based procedure is highly diverse pr...... producing specifically a wide range of spherical, anisotropic, metallic, semi - conductor and core-shell nanostructures....

Green chemistry for nanoparticle synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Haohong; Wang, Dingsheng; Li, Yadong

2015-08-21

The application of the twelve principles of green chemistry in nanoparticle synthesis is a relatively new emerging issue concerning the sustainability. This field has received great attention in recent years due to its capability to design alternative, safer, energy efficient, and less toxic routes towards synthesis. These routes have been associated with the rational utilization of various substances in the nanoparticle preparations and synthetic methods, which have been broadly discussed in this tutorial review. This article is not meant to provide an exhaustive overview of green synthesis of nanoparticles, but to present several pivotal aspects of synthesis with environmental concerns, involving the selection and evaluation of nontoxic capping and reducing agents, the choice of innocuous solvents and the development of energy-efficient synthetic methods.

Green Synthesis of Iron Nanoparticles and Their Environmental Applications and Implications

Science.gov (United States)

Saif, Sadia; Tahir, Arifa; Chen, Yongsheng

2016-01-01

Recent advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology have also led to the development of novel nanomaterials, which ultimately increase potential health and environmental hazards. Interest in developing environmentally benign procedures for the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles has been increased. The purpose is to minimize the negative impacts of synthetic procedures, their accompanying chemicals and derivative compounds. The exploitation of different biomaterials for the synthesis of nanoparticles is considered a valuable approach in green nanotechnology. Biological resources such as bacteria, algae fungi and plants have been used for the production of low-cost, energy-efficient, and nontoxic environmental friendly metallic nanoparticles. This review provides an overview of various reports of green synthesised zero valent metallic iron (ZVMI) and iron oxide (Fe2O3/Fe3O4) nanoparticles (NPs) and highlights their substantial applications in environmental pollution control. This review also summarizes the ecotoxicological impacts of green synthesised iron nanoparticles opposed to non-green synthesised iron nanoparticles. PMID:28335338

Green Synthesis of Iron Nanoparticles and Their Environmental Applications and Implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sadia Saif

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Recent advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology have also led to the development of novel nanomaterials, which ultimately increase potential health and environmental hazards. Interest in developing environmentally benign procedures for the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles has been increased. The purpose is to minimize the negative impacts of synthetic procedures, their accompanying chemicals and derivative compounds. The exploitation of different biomaterials for the synthesis of nanoparticles is considered a valuable approach in green nanotechnology. Biological resources such as bacteria, algae fungi and plants have been used for the production of low-cost, energy-efficient, and nontoxic environmental friendly metallic nanoparticles. This review provides an overview of various reports of green synthesised zero valent metallic iron (ZVMI and iron oxide (Fe2O3/Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs and highlights their substantial applications in environmental pollution control. This review also summarizes the ecotoxicological impacts of green synthesised iron nanoparticles opposed to non-green synthesised iron nanoparticles.

Synthetic Biology of Cyanobacteria: Unique Challenges and Opportunities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bertram M Berla

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Photosynthetic organisms, and especially cyanobacteria, hold great promise as sources of renewably-produced fuels, bulk and specialty chemicals, and nutritional products. Synthetic biology tools can help unlock cyanobacteria’s potential for these functions, but unfortunately tool development for these organisms has lagged behind that for S. cerevisiae and E. coli. While these organisms may in many cases be more difficult to work with as ‘chassis’ strains for synthetic biology than certain heterotrophs, the unique advantages of autotrophs in biotechnology applications as well as the scientific importance of improved understanding of photosynthesis warrant the development of these systems into something akin to a ‘green E. coli’. In this review, we highlight unique challenges and opportunities for development of synthetic biology approaches in cyanobacteria. We review classical and recently developed methods for constructing targeted mutants in various cyanobacterial strains, and offer perspective on what genetic tools might most greatly expand the ability to engineer new functions in such strains. Similarly, we review what genetic parts are most needed for the development of cyanobacterial synthetic biology. Finally, we highlight recent methods to construct genome-scale models of cyanobacterial metabolism and to use those models to measure properties of autotrophic metabolism. Throughout this paper, we discuss some of the unique challenges of a diurnal, autotrophic lifestyle along with how the development of synthetic biology and biotechnology in cyanobacteria must fit within those constraints.

Synthetically modified nano-cellulose for the removal of chromium: a green nanotech perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Priyanka; Varshney, Shilpa; Srivastava, Shalini

2017-02-01

Existing processes for the decontamination of heavy metals from water are found to be cost-prohibitive and energy-intensive which is totally against the sustainable concept of development. Green nanotechnology for water purification for ecosystem management, agricultural and industry is an emerging as leading global priority and occupies better position over the current state of water purification. Herein, the diafunctionalised polyaniline modified nanocellulose composite sorbent (PANI-NCC) has been used to introduce amine and imine functionalities for the removal of trivalent and hexavalent chromium from water bodies. The fabricated nanobiomaterial has been authenticated by modern spectroscopic, microscopic techniques. The modified PANI-NCC is rod-like in shape, ~60 nm in size. The roughness and crystallinity index is also quantified and found to be 49.67 nm and 84.18%, respectively. The optimised experimental finding provides the efficient removal of trivalent [Cr(III)] (47.06 mg/g; 94.12%) and hexavalent [Cr(VI)] (48.92 mg/g; 97.84%) chromium from synthetic waste water. The fabricated nano biosorbent is deemed to be a potent biosorbent for technological development to remove the toxic metals in the real environmental water samples.

Designing synthetic networks in silico: a generalised evolutionary algorithm approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Robert W; van Sluijs, Bob; Fleck, Christian

2017-12-02

Evolution has led to the development of biological networks that are shaped by environmental signals. Elucidating, understanding and then reconstructing important network motifs is one of the principal aims of Systems & Synthetic Biology. Consequently, previous research has focused on finding optimal network structures and reaction rates that respond to pulses or produce stable oscillations. In this work we present a generalised in silico evolutionary algorithm that simultaneously finds network structures and reaction rates (genotypes) that can satisfy multiple defined objectives (phenotypes). The key step to our approach is to translate a schema/binary-based description of biological networks into systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The ODEs can then be solved numerically to provide dynamic information about an evolved networks functionality. Initially we benchmark algorithm performance by finding optimal networks that can recapitulate concentration time-series data and perform parameter optimisation on oscillatory dynamics of the Repressilator. We go on to show the utility of our algorithm by finding new designs for robust synthetic oscillators, and by performing multi-objective optimisation to find a set of oscillators and feed-forward loops that are optimal at balancing different system properties. In sum, our results not only confirm and build on previous observations but we also provide new designs of synthetic oscillators for experimental construction. In this work we have presented and tested an evolutionary algorithm that can design a biological network to produce desired output. Given that previous designs of synthetic networks have been limited to subregions of network- and parameter-space, the use of our evolutionary optimisation algorithm will enable Synthetic Biologists to construct new systems with the potential to display a wider range of complex responses.

Crops: a green approach toward self-assembled soft materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Vemula, Praveen Kumar; John, George

2008-06-01

. Importantly, an enzyme triggered drug-delivery model for hydrophobic drugs was demonstrated by using these supramolecularly assembled hydrogels. Following a similar biocatalytic approach, vitamin C amphiphiles were synthesized with different hydrocarbon chain lengths, and their ability to self-assemble into molecular gels and liquid crystals has been studied in detail. Such biobased soft materials were successfully used to develop novel organic-inorganic hybrid materials by in situ synthesis of metal nanoparticles. The self-assembled soft materials were characterized by several spectroscopic techniques, UV-visible, infrared, and fluorescence spectrophotometers, as well as microscopic methods including polarized optical, confocal, scanning, and transmission electron microscopes, and thermal analysis. The molecular packing of the hierarchically assembled bilayer membranes was fully elucidated by X-ray analysis. We envision that the results summarized in this Account will encourage interdisciplinary collaboration between scientists in the fields of organic synthesis, soft materials research, and green chemistry to develop functional materials from underutilized crop-based renewable feedstock, with innovation driven both by material needs and environmentally benign design principles.

Robust synthetic biology design: stochastic game theory approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bor-Sen; Chang, Chia-Hung; Lee, Hsiao-Ching

2009-07-15

Synthetic biology is to engineer artificial biological systems to investigate natural biological phenomena and for a variety of applications. However, the development of synthetic gene networks is still difficult and most newly created gene networks are non-functioning due to uncertain initial conditions and disturbances of extra-cellular environments on the host cell. At present, how to design a robust synthetic gene network to work properly under these uncertain factors is the most important topic of synthetic biology. A robust regulation design is proposed for a stochastic synthetic gene network to achieve the prescribed steady states under these uncertain factors from the minimax regulation perspective. This minimax regulation design problem can be transformed to an equivalent stochastic game problem. Since it is not easy to solve the robust regulation design problem of synthetic gene networks by non-linear stochastic game method directly, the Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model is proposed to approximate the non-linear synthetic gene network via the linear matrix inequality (LMI) technique through the Robust Control Toolbox in Matlab. Finally, an in silico example is given to illustrate the design procedure and to confirm the efficiency and efficacy of the proposed robust gene design method. http://www.ee.nthu.edu.tw/bschen/SyntheticBioDesign_supplement.pdf.

News: Green Chemistry & Technology

Science.gov (United States)

A series of 21 articles focused on different features of green chemistry in a recent issue of Chemical Reviews. Topics extended over a wide range to include the design of sustainable synthetic processes to biocatalysis. A selection of perspectives follows as part of this colu

Spatially controlled immobilisation of biomolecules: A complete approach in green chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Grinenval, Eva; Nonglaton, Guillaume; Vinet, Françoise

2014-01-01

The development of 'green' sensors is a challenging task in the field of biomolecule sensing, for example in the detection of cardiac troponin-I (cTnI). In the present work a complete approach in green chemistry was developed to create chemically active patterns for the immobilisation of biological probes. This key technology is discussed on the basis of the twelve green chemistry principles, and is a combination of surface patterning by spotting and surface chemistries modified by molecular vapour deposition. The (1H,1H,2H,2H)-perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (FDTS) was used as a novel anti-adsorption layer while the 3,4-epoxybutyltrimethoxysilane (EBTMOS) was used to immobilise probes. Oligonucleotides and the anti-cTnI antibody were studied. The spatially controlled immobilisation of probes was characterised by fluorescence. The demonstrated surface modification has broad applications in areas such as diagnostics and bio-chemical sensing. Moreover, the environmental impacts of surface patterning and surface chemistry were discussed from a 'greenness' point of view.

Green Goggles: Designing and Teaching a General Chemistry Course to Nonmajors Using a Green Chemistry Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Prescott, Sarah

2013-01-01

A novel course using green chemistry as the context to teach general chemistry fundamentals was designed, implemented and is described here. The course design included an active learning approach, with major course graded components including a weekly blog entry, exams, and a semester project that was disseminated by wiki and a public symposium.…

Green infrastructure: a natural systems approach to stormwater in the city

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathaniel S. Cormier

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents diverse typologies of urban open space designed as green infrastructure in the american cities of Seattle and Portland. In these cities of the Pacific Northwest, landscape design is viewed as much more than mere beautification of the urban environment, but as pieces of a high-performance infrastructure that protects and even improves urban hydrology, climate, and ecology. Green infrastructure is a landscape approach that creates a distinctive local landscape identity and a more sustainable urban environment.

GreenSynFuels. Economical and technological statement regarding integration and storage of renewable energy in the energy sector by production of green synthetic fuels for utilization in fuel cells. Final project report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lebaek, J. (Danish Technological Institute, Aarhus (Denmark)); Boegild Hansen, J. (Haldor Topsoee, Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)); Mogensen, Mogens (Technical Univ. of Denmark, Risoe National Lab. for Sustainable Energy, Roskilde (Denmark)) (and others)

2011-03-15

The purpose of the project is to select and validate technology concepts for the establishment of a Danish production of green synthetic fuels primarily for fuel cells. The feasibility of the selected concepts is assessed trough a techno-economical calculation, which includes mass and energy balances and economics including CAPEX and OPEX assessments. It is envisioned by the project partners that a production of green synthetic fuels, such as methanol, can 1) bring stability to a future electricity grid with a high share of renewable energy, 2) replace fossil fuels in the transport sector, and 3) boost Danish green technology export. In the project, two technology concepts were derived through carefully considerations and plenum discussions by the project group members: Concept 1): Methanol/DME Synthesis based on Electrolysis assisted Gasification of Wood. Concept 2): Methanol/DME synthesis based on biogas temporarily stored in the natural gas network. Concept 1) is clearly the most favored by the project group and is therefore analyzed for its techno-economic feasibility. Using mass and energy balances the technical perspectives of the concept were investigated, along with an economic breakdown of the CAPEX and OPEX cost of the methanol production plant. The plant was technically compared to a traditional methanol production plant using gasified biomass. The project group has decided to focus on large scale plants, as the scale economics favor large scale plants. Therefore, the dimensioning input of the concept 1) plant is 1000 tons wood per day. This is truly a large scale gasification plant; however, in a methanol synthesis context the plant is not particularly large. The SOEC electrolyzer unit is dimensioned by the need of hydrogen to balance the stoichiometric ratio of the methanol synthesis reaction, which will result in 141 MW installed SOEC. The resulting methanol output is 1,050 tons methanol per day. In comparison to a traditional methanol synthesis plant

MinION™ nanopore sequencing of environmental metagenomes: a synthetic approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Bonnie L; Watson, Mick; Minot, Samuel S; Rivera, Maria C; Franklin, Rima B

2017-03-01

Environmental metagenomic analysis is typically accomplished by assigning taxonomy and/or function from whole genome sequencing or 16S amplicon sequences. Both of these approaches are limited, however, by read length, among other technical and biological factors. A nanopore-based sequencing platform, MinION™, produces reads that are ≥1 × 104 bp in length, potentially providing for more precise assignment, thereby alleviating some of the limitations inherent in determining metagenome composition from short reads. We tested the ability of sequence data produced by MinION (R7.3 flow cells) to correctly assign taxonomy in single bacterial species runs and in three types of low-complexity synthetic communities: a mixture of DNA using equal mass from four species, a community with one relatively rare (1%) and three abundant (33% each) components, and a mixture of genomic DNA from 20 bacterial strains of staggered representation. Taxonomic composition of the low-complexity communities was assessed by analyzing the MinION sequence data with three different bioinformatic approaches: Kraken, MG-RAST, and One Codex. Results: Long read sequences generated from libraries prepared from single strains using the version 5 kit and chemistry, run on the original MinION device, yielded as few as 224 to as many as 3497 bidirectional high-quality (2D) reads with an average overall study length of 6000 bp. For the single-strain analyses, assignment of reads to the correct genus by different methods ranged from 53.1% to 99.5%, assignment to the correct species ranged from 23.9% to 99.5%, and the majority of misassigned reads were to closely related organisms. A synthetic metagenome sequenced with the same setup yielded 714 high quality 2D reads of approximately 5500 bp that were up to 98% correctly assigned to the species level. Synthetic metagenome MinION libraries generated using version 6 kit and chemistry yielded from 899 to 3497 2D reads with lengths averaging 5700 bp with up

Sustainable green urban planning: the Green Credit Tool

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cilliers, E.J.; Diemont, E.; Stobbelaar, D.J.; Timmermans, W.

2010-01-01

Purpose – The Green Credit Tool is evaluated as a method to quantify the value of green-spaces and to determine how these green-space-values can be replaced or compensated for within urban spatial planning projects. Design/methodology/approach – Amersfoort Local Municipality created the Green Credit

PENINGKATAN PRODUKTIVITAS PROSES BUDIDAYA KARET ALAM DENGAN PENDEKATAN GREEN PRODUCTIVITY: STUDI KASUS DI PT. XYZ (The Increase of Natural Rubber Plantations Productivity with Green Productivity Approach: a Case Study at PT. XYZ

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marimin Marimin

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Indonesia is the second largest natural rubber producer in the world with 28% of the total world production in 2010. In line with the growth of the world’s automotive industry, the needs of natural rubber as a complementary synthetic rubber products will also increase. The main objective of this research was to find the best alternative strategy to increase the productivity of the natural rubber plantations through the green productivity (GP approach. The case study was conducted at PT. XYZ, a private company which runs the plantation and processing of natural rubber businesses. The material flow analysis was performed to identify the seven green wastes. The best alternative strategy was determined by using the  analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP model developed into several improvement scenarios. The measurement of  the alternative strategy performance was rated as the future Green Productivity Index (GPI and compared with the value of current GPI, which had been calculated in the PT. XYZ, as the case study. The results of this research was  able to provide the best productivity improvement strategy, the level of company’s productivity which has been achieved, and the productivity levels of the implementation of the strategy chosen. Keywords: aHP, green productivity,  green wastes, natural rubber, green productivity index, latex   ABSTRAK Indonesia merupakan negara kedua penghasil karet alam terbesar di dunia dengan produksi sebesar 28% dari total produksi dunia di tahun 2010. Sejalan dengan bertumbuhnya industri otomotif dunia, kebutuhan karet alam sebagai produk komplementer karet sintetik akan turut mengalami peningkatan. Tujuan utama penelitian ini adalah untuk merumuskan alternatif strategi terbaik pada peningkatan produktivitas proses budidaya karet alam melalui pendekatan konsep Green Productivity (GP. Studi kasus dilakukan di PT. XYZ, perusahaan swasta yang bergerak dibidang usaha perkebunan dan pengolahan karet alam. analisis

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2014 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2014 award winner, Solazyme, engineered microalgae to produce oils tailored to customers’ needs that can mimic or enhance properties of traditional vegetable oils.

Cognitive neuroscience robotics A synthetic approaches to human understanding

CERN Document Server

Ishiguro, Hiroshi; Asada, Minoru; Osaka, Mariko; Fujikado, Takashi

2016-01-01

Cognitive Neuroscience Robotics is the first introductory book on this new interdisciplinary area. This book consists of two volumes, the first of which, Synthetic Approaches to Human Understanding, advances human understanding from a robotics or engineering point of view. The second, Analytic Approaches to Human Understanding, addresses related subjects in cognitive science and neuroscience. These two volumes are intended to complement each other in order to more comprehensively investigate human cognitive functions, to develop human-friendly information and robot technology (IRT) systems, and to understand what kind of beings we humans are. Volume A describes how human cognitive functions can be replicated in artificial systems such as robots, and investigates how artificial systems could acquire intelligent behaviors through interaction with others and their environment.

A New Dynamic Multicriteria Decision-Making Approach for Green Supplier Selection in Construction Projects under Time Sequence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shi Yin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, due to the lack of natural resources and environment problems which have been appearing increasingly, green building is more and more involved in the construction industry. The evaluation and selection of green supplier are a significant part of the development of green building. In this paper, we propose a new dynamic multicriteria decision-making approach in construction projects under time sequence to deal with these problems. First, the paper establishes 4 main criteria and 17 subcriteria for green supplier selection in construction projects. Then, a method considering interaction between criteria and the influence of constructors subjective preference and objective criteria information is proposed. It uses the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy geometric weighted Heronian means (IVIFGWHM operator and multitarget nonlinear programming model to calculate the comprehensive evaluation results of potential green suppliers. The proposed method is much easier for constructors to select green supplier and make the localization of green supplier more practical and accurate in construction projects. Finally, a case study about a green building project is given to verify practicality and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2001 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2001 award winners, Bayer Corporation and Bayer AG, developed a waste-free manufacturing process for sodium iminodisuccinate (Baypure CX), a biodegradable, nontoxic chelating agent.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1999 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1999 award winner, Lilly Research Laboratories, developed a low-waste drug synthesis using yeast for a stereospecific reduction, reducing solvent amounts, and replacing chromium oxide.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2004 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2004 award winner, Bristol-Myers Squibb, manufactures paclitaxel, the active ingredient in the anticancer drug, Taxol, using plant cell fermentation and extraction to replace synthesis.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2000 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2000 award winner, Roche Colorado, developed a greener synthesis for gancyclovir (Cytovene, a potent antiviral drug) that uses a second-generation Guanine Triester (GTE) process.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1997 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1997 award winner, BHC Company, developed a highly atom-efficient method to make ibuprofen, a common painkiller, using three catalytic steps instead of six stoichiometric ones.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2007 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2007 award winners, Professor Kaichang Li, Columbia Forest Products, and Hercules, developed an adhesive for wood composites based on soy flour instead of resins with formaldehyde.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2009 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2009 award winner, Eastman Chemical Co., makes esters for emollients and emulsifiers in cosmetics with immobilized enzymes, saving energy and avoiding strong acids and organic solvents.

Systems and synthetic biology approaches to alter plant cell walls and reduce biomass recalcitrance.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalluri, Udaya C; Yin, Hengfu; Yang, Xiaohan; Davison, Brian H

2014-12-01

Fine-tuning plant cell wall properties to render plant biomass more amenable to biofuel conversion is a colossal challenge. A deep knowledge of the biosynthesis and regulation of plant cell wall and a high-precision genome engineering toolset are the two essential pillars of efforts to alter plant cell walls and reduce biomass recalcitrance. The past decade has seen a meteoric rise in use of transcriptomics and high-resolution imaging methods resulting in fresh insights into composition, structure, formation and deconstruction of plant cell walls. Subsequent gene manipulation approaches, however, commonly include ubiquitous mis-expression of a single candidate gene in a host that carries an intact copy of the native gene. The challenges posed by pleiotropic and unintended changes resulting from such an approach are moving the field towards synthetic biology approaches. Synthetic biology builds on a systems biology knowledge base and leverages high-precision tools for high-throughput assembly of multigene constructs and pathways, precision genome editing and site-specific gene stacking, silencing and/or removal. Here, we summarize the recent breakthroughs in biosynthesis and remodelling of major secondary cell wall components, assess the impediments in obtaining a systems-level understanding and explore the potential opportunities in leveraging synthetic biology approaches to reduce biomass recalcitrance. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Repeat Purchase Intention of Starbucks Consumers in Indonesia: A Green Brand Approach

OpenAIRE

Naili Farida; Elia Ardyan

2015-01-01

This study develops and tests the repeat purchase intention model (with a green brand approach). The model considers four determinants; perceived image, satisfaction, trust, and attitude. The model is tested using data and a survey of 203 Starbucks customers in Indonesia. The analysis was carried out by employing Structural Equation Modeling. The data was processed with AMOS 21. The results confirm that the company’s green brand image is positively and significantly related to consumer satisf...

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1998 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1998 award winner, Flexsys America, developed nucleophilic aromatic substitution for hydrogen to eliminate waste from a common reaction and to produce 4-ADPA, a high-volume chemical.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1996 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1996 award winner, Monsanto Company, developed a safer synthesis for DSIDA, a key building block for the herbicide RoundUp. The synthesis uses no ammonia, cyanide, or formaldehyde.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2010 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2010 award winners, Dow and BASF, jointly developed a route to make propylene oxide from hydrogen peroxide that eliminates almost all waste and greatly reduces water and energy use.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2016 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2016 award winners, Albemarle and CB&I, developed a safer technology to produce alkylate, a clean gasoline component by replacing liquid acid catalysts with a lower environmental impact catalyst

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2008 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2008 award winner, Battelle, developed a biobased soy toner for laser printers and copiers. The technology saves energy and improves de-inking, allowing more paper fiber to be recycled.

Synthetic Cannabinoids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aslihan Okan Ibiloglu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Synthetic cannabinoids which is a subgroup of cannabinoids are commonly used for recreational drug use throughout the whole world. Although both marijuana and synthetic cannabinoids stimulate the same receptors, cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1 and cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2, studies have shown that synthetic cannabinoids are much more potent than marijuana. The longer use of synthetic cannabinoids can cause severe physical and psychological symptoms that might even result in death, similar to many known illicit drugs. Main treatment options mostly involve symptom management and supportive care. The aim of this article is to discuss clinical and pharmacological properties of the increasingly used synthetic cannabinoids. [Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry 2017; 9(3.000: 317-328

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2002 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2002 award winner, Pfizer, improved its synthesis of sertraline, the active ingredient in its drug, Zoloft, to double the yield and reduce the use of raw materials, energy, and water.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2003 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2003 winner, Sud-Chemie, developed a synthesis for solid oxide catalysts used to make hydrogen and clean fuels. The process creates little wastewater, no nitrates, and no or little NOx.

A strategic approach to a green economy.

Science.gov (United States)

Trumka, Richard L

2009-01-01

The crash has happened and we face dual market failures: climate change and the greatest economic crisis of our lifetimes. American labor believes that we must have a strategic approach to greening the economy centered on domestic investment in new technologies, the creation of good jobs, and leading a shared international response to both these issues. The nay-sayers are the same financial and industrial interests that advised the world economy into chaos. Their advice to us is more of the same: no rules, no regulations, free markets, and free trade. But now is the time for real change.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2012 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2012 award winner, Codexis and Professor Yi Tang, developed a synthesis for the high cholesterol drug, simvastatin, using an engineered acyltransferase enzyme and a low-cost acyl donor as a feedstock.

Green synthetic route for perfumery compound (2-methoxyethyl ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

POOJA R TAMBE

2017-11-16

Nov 16, 2017 ... oil is a clear light yellow liquid highly soluble in water. ... fore, inventing a green catalytic route for the synthesis of PEME is desirable ... But there are no reports on the synthesis of PEME using. DMC as ... The reactor was heated to attain a tempera- .... of gases (CO2 and N2) during the combustion pro- cess.

External Audit Green Deal Approach. Final report; Externe Audit Green Deal Aanpak. Eindrapport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Mil, B.P.A.; Gooskens, B.J.F.; Van Schelven, R.M.; Stutje, A.

2013-10-15

External audit of the effectiveness of the Green Deals, based on the question how the Green Deal contributes to green growth. The central idea of this new tool is that the Dutch government facilitates initiatives of businesses, societal organisations, local governments and citizens by removing bottlenecks as much as possible [Dutch] Externe audit over (de effectiviteit van) de Green Deal aanpak, op basis van de volgende onderzoeksvraag: 'Hoe draagt de Green Deal aanpak bij aan het bevorderen van groene groei?' De centrale gedachte van dit nieuwe instrument is dat de overheid initiatieven van bedrijven, maatschappelijke organisaties, decentrale overheden en burgers faciliteert door het wegnemen van knelpunten.

``Green's function'' approach & low-mode asymmetries

Science.gov (United States)

Masse, Laurent; Clark, Dan; Salmonson, Jay; MacLaren, Steve; Ma, Tammy; Khan, Shahab; Pino, Jesse; Ralph, Jo; Czajka, C.; Tipton, Robert; Landen, Otto; Kyrala, Georges; 2 Team; 1 Team

2017-10-01

Long wavelength, low mode asymmetries are believed to play a leading role in limiting the performance of current ICF implosions on NIF. These long wavelength modes are initiated and driven by asymmetries in the x-ray flux from the hohlraum; however, the underlying hydrodynamics of the implosion also act to amplify these asymmetries. The work presented here aim to deepen our understanding of the interplay of the drive asymmetries and the underlying implosion hydrodynamics in determining the final imploded configuration. This is accomplished through a synthesis of numerical modeling, analytic theory, and experimental data. In detail, we use a Green's function approach to connect the drive asymmetry seen by the capsule to the measured inflight and hot spot symmetries. The approach has been validated against a suite of numerical simulations. Ultimately, we hope this work will identify additional measurements to further constrain the asymmetries and increase hohlraum illumination design flexibility on the NIF. The technique and derivation of associated error bars will be presented. LLC, (LLNS) Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Decolorization of synthetic brilliant green carpet industry dye through fungal co-culture technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumari, Simpal; Naraian, Ram

2016-09-15

Aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficiency of fungal co-culture for the decolorization of synthetic brilliant green carpet industry dye. For this purpose two lignocellulolytic fungi Pleurotus florida (PF) and Rhizoctonia solani (RS) were employed. The study includes determination of enzyme profiles (laccase and peroxidase), dye decolorization efficiency of co-culture and crude enzyme extracts. Both fungi produced laccase and Mn peroxidase and successfully decolorized solutions of different concentrations (2.0, 4.0, 6.0, & 8.0(w/v) of dye. The co-culture resulted highest 98.54% dye decolorization at 2% (w/v) of dye as compared to monocultures (82.12% with PF and 68.89% with RS) during 12 days of submerged fermentation. The lower levels of dyes were rapidly decolorized, while higher levels in slow order as 87.67% decolorization of 8% dye. The promising achievement of the study was remarkable decolorizing efficiency of co-culture over monocultures. The direct treatment of the mono and co-culture enzyme extracts to dye also influenced remarkable. The highest enzymatic decolorization was through combined (PF and RS) extracts, while lesser by monoculture extracts. Based on the observations and potentiality of co-culture technology; further it can be exploited for the bioremediation of areas contaminated with hazardous environmental pollutants including textile and other industry effluents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2013 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2013 award winner, Life Technologies, developed a one-pot synthesis for polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which is a much more efficient process that prevents about 1.5 million pounds of hazardous waste a year.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2015 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2015 award winner, LanzaTech Inc. developed a method to utilize gas streams with a range of CO and H2 compositions to produce fuels such as ethanol and chemicals at high selectivities and yields

MICROCOSM STUDY OF DEGRADATION OF CHLORINATED SOLVENTS ON SYNTHETIC GREEN RUST MINERALS

Science.gov (United States)

Green rust minerals contain ferrous ion in their structure that can potentially serve as a chemical reductant for degradation of chlorinated solvents. Green rusts are found in zerovalent iron based permeable reactive barriers and in certain soil and sediments. Some previous labor...

Evaluating an ensemble classification approach for crop diversityverification in Danish greening subsidy control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chellasamy, Menaka; Ferre, Ty; Greve, Mogens Humlekrog

2016-01-01

Beginning in 2015, Danish farmers are obliged to meet specific crop diversification rules based on total land area and number of crops cultivated to be eligible for new greening subsidies. Hence, there is a need for the Danish government to extend their subsidy control system to verify farmers......’ declarations to war-rant greening payments under the new crop diversification rules. Remote Sensing (RS) technology has been used since 1992 to control farmers’ subsidies in Denmark. However, a proper RS-based approach is yet to be finalised to validate new crop diversity requirements designed for assessing...... compliance under the recent subsidy scheme (2014–2020); This study uses an ensemble classification approach(proposed by the authors in previous studies) for validating the crop diversity requirements of the new rules. The approach uses a neural network ensemble classification system with bi-temporal (spring...

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2008 Small Business Award

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2008 award winner, SiGNa Chemistry, stabilized highly reactive sodium and lithium by encapsulating them in porous, sand-like powder, maintaining their usefulness in synthetic reactions.

Green Imidazolium Ionics-From Truly Sustainable Reagents to Highly Functional Ionic Liquids.

Science.gov (United States)

Tröger-Müller, Steffen; Brandt, Jessica; Antonietti, Markus; Liedel, Clemens

2017-09-04

We report the synthesis of task-specific imidazolium ionic compounds and ionic liquids with key functionalities of organic molecules from electro-, polymer-, and coordination chemistry. Such products are highly functional and potentially suitable for technology applications even though they are formed without elaborate reactions and from cheap and potentially green reagents. We further demonstrate the versatility of the used synthetic approach by introducing different functional and green counterions to the formed ionic liquids directly during the synthesis or after metathesis reactions. The influence of different cation structures and different anions on the thermal and electrochemical properties of the resulting ionic liquids is discussed. Our goal is to make progress towards economically competitive and sustainable task-specific ionic liquids. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Directional synthetic aperture flow imaging using a dual stage beamformer approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Ye; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2011-01-01

. The new method has been studied using the Field II simulations and experimental flow rig measurements. A linear array transducer with 7 MHz center frequency is used, and 64 elements are active to transmit and receive signals. The data is processed in two stages. The first stage has a fixed focus point......A new method for directional synthetic aperture flow imaging using a dual stage beamformer approach is presented. The velocity estimation is angle independent and the amount of calculations is reduced compared to full synthetic aperture, but still maintains all the advantages at the same time....... In the second stage, focal points are considered as virtual sources and data is beamformed along the flow direction. Then the velocities are estimated by finding the spatial shift between two signals. In the experimental measurements the angle between the transmit beam and flow vessel was 70 and a laminar flow...

Systematic Analysis of the Multiple Bioactivities of Green Tea through a Network Pharmacology Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shoude Zhang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available During the past decades, a number of studies have demonstrated multiple beneficial health effects of green tea. Polyphenolics are the most biologically active components of green tea. Many targets can be targeted or affected by polyphenolics. In this study, we excavated all of the targets of green tea polyphenolics (GTPs though literature mining and target calculation and analyzed the multiple pharmacology actions of green tea comprehensively through a network pharmacology approach. In the end, a total of 200 Homo sapiens targets were identified for fifteen GTPs. These targets were classified into six groups according to their related disease, which included cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease, cardiovascular disease, muscular disease, and inflammation. Moreover, these targets mapped into 143 KEGG pathways, 26 of which were more enriched, as determined though pathway enrichment analysis and target-pathway network analysis. Among the identified pathways, 20 pathways were selected for analyzing the mechanisms of green tea in these diseases. Overall, this study systematically illustrated the mechanisms of the pleiotropic activity of green tea by analyzing the corresponding “drug-target-pathway-disease” interaction network.

A Synthetic Approach to the Transfer Matrix Method in Classical and Quantum Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Pujol, O.; Perez, J. P.

2007-01-01

The aim of this paper is to propose a synthetic approach to the transfer matrix method in classical and quantum physics. This method is an efficient tool to deal with complicated physical systems of practical importance in geometrical light or charged particle optics, classical electronics, mechanics, electromagnetics and quantum physics. Teaching…

Multi element synthetic aperture transmission using a frequency division approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gran, Fredrik; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2003-01-01

transmitted into the tissue is low. This paper describes a novel method in which the available spectrum is divided into 2N overlapping subbands. This will assure a smooth broadband high resolution spectrum when combined. The signals are grouped into two subsets in which all signals are fully orthogonal...... can therefore be used for flow imaging, unlike with Hadamard and Golay coding. The frequency division approach increases the SNR by a factor of N2 compared to conventional pulsed synthetic aperture imaging, provided that N transmission centers are used. Simulations and phantom measurements...

Green IT in Practice How One Company is Approaching the Greening of Its IT

CERN Document Server

Hird, Gary

2010-01-01

Green IT in Practice, Second edition provides guidance on how to implement a Green IT programme. It will help you to formulate a Green IT policy, curb demand for data storage capacity, and lower the electricity consumption of the datacentre.

Repeat Purchase Intention of Starbucks Consumers in Indonesia: A Green Brand Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naili Farida

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This study develops and tests the repeat purchase intention model (with a green brand approach. The model considers four determinants; perceived image, satisfaction, trust, and attitude. The model is tested using data and a survey of 203 Starbucks customers in Indonesia. The analysis was carried out by employing Structural Equation Modeling. The data was processed with AMOS 21. The results confirm that the company’s green brand image is positively and significantly related to consumer satisfaction, trust, and attitude. On the other hand, consumer satisfaction and trust are shown to have insignificant influence on repeat purchase intention.

An Efficient and Green Procedure for the Preparation of Acylals from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An Efficient and Green Procedure for the Preparation of Acylals from Aldehydes Catalyzed by Alum [KAl(SO 4 ) 2 .12H 2 O] ... South African Journal of Chemistry ... mild reaction conditions, short reaction times and excellent yields, and offers a green synthetic solution by avoiding toxic catalysts and hazardous solvents.

Creating biological nanomaterials using synthetic biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rice, MaryJoe K; Ruder, Warren C

2014-01-01

Synthetic biology is a new discipline that combines science and engineering approaches to precisely control biological networks. These signaling networks are especially important in fields such as biomedicine and biochemical engineering. Additionally, biological networks can also be critical to the production of naturally occurring biological nanomaterials, and as a result, synthetic biology holds tremendous potential in creating new materials. This review introduces the field of synthetic biology, discusses how biological systems naturally produce materials, and then presents examples and strategies for incorporating synthetic biology approaches in the development of new materials. In particular, strategies for using synthetic biology to produce both organic and inorganic nanomaterials are discussed. Ultimately, synthetic biology holds the potential to dramatically impact biological materials science with significant potential applications in medical systems. (review)

Creating biological nanomaterials using synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, MaryJoe K; Ruder, Warren C

2014-02-01

Synthetic biology is a new discipline that combines science and engineering approaches to precisely control biological networks. These signaling networks are especially important in fields such as biomedicine and biochemical engineering. Additionally, biological networks can also be critical to the production of naturally occurring biological nanomaterials, and as a result, synthetic biology holds tremendous potential in creating new materials. This review introduces the field of synthetic biology, discusses how biological systems naturally produce materials, and then presents examples and strategies for incorporating synthetic biology approaches in the development of new materials. In particular, strategies for using synthetic biology to produce both organic and inorganic nanomaterials are discussed. Ultimately, synthetic biology holds the potential to dramatically impact biological materials science with significant potential applications in medical systems.

Estimating variability in functional images using a synthetic resampling approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maitra, R.; O'Sullivan, F.

1996-01-01

Functional imaging of biologic parameters like in vivo tissue metabolism is made possible by Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Many techniques, such as mixture analysis, have been suggested for extracting such images from dynamic sequences of reconstructed PET scans. Methods for assessing the variability in these functional images are of scientific interest. The nonlinearity of the methods used in the mixture analysis approach makes analytic formulae for estimating variability intractable. The usual resampling approach is infeasible because of the prohibitive computational effort in simulating a number of sinogram. datasets, applying image reconstruction, and generating parametric images for each replication. Here we introduce an approach that approximates the distribution of the reconstructed PET images by a Gaussian random field and generates synthetic realizations in the imaging domain. This eliminates the reconstruction steps in generating each simulated functional image and is therefore practical. Results of experiments done to evaluate the approach on a model one-dimensional problem are very encouraging. Post-processing of the estimated variances is seen to improve the accuracy of the estimation method. Mixture analysis is used to estimate functional images; however, the suggested approach is general enough to extend to other parametric imaging methods

Green chemistry for chemical synthesis

OpenAIRE

Li, Chao-Jun; Trost, Barry M.

2008-01-01

Green chemistry for chemical synthesis addresses our future challenges in working with chemical processes and products by inventing novel reactions that can maximize the desired products and minimize by-products, designing new synthetic schemes and apparati that can simplify operations in chemical productions, and seeking greener solvents that are inherently environmentally and ecologically benign.

Green chemistry for chemical synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chao-Jun; Trost, Barry M

2008-09-09

Green chemistry for chemical synthesis addresses our future challenges in working with chemical processes and products by inventing novel reactions that can maximize the desired products and minimize by-products, designing new synthetic schemes and apparati that can simplify operations in chemical productions, and seeking greener solvents that are inherently environmentally and ecologically benign.

Facile and Green Synthesis of Saturated Cyclic Amines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arruje Hameed

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Single-nitrogen containing saturated cyclic amines are an important part of both natural and synthetic bioactive compounds. A number of methodologies have been developed for the synthesis of aziridines, azetidines, pyrrolidines, piperidines, azepanes and azocanes. This review highlights some facile and green synthetic routes for the synthesis of unsubstituted, multisubstituted and highly functionalized saturated cyclic amines including one-pot, microwave assisted, metal-free, solvent-free and in aqueous media.

Metal nanoparticles via the atom-economy green approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalidindi, Suresh Babu; Sanyal, Udishnu; Jagirdar, Balaji R

2010-05-03

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) of Cu (air-stable), Ag, and Au have been prepared using an atom-economy green approach. Simple mechanical stirring of solid mixtures (no solvent) of a metal salt and ammonia borane at 60 degrees C resulted in the formation of metal NPs. In this reaction, ammonia borane is transformed into a BNH(x) polymer, which protects the NPs formed and halts their growth. This results in the formation of the BNH(x) polymer protected monodisperse NPs. Thus, ammonia borane used in these reactions plays a dual role (reducing agent and precursor for the stabilizing agent).

Chelation technology: a promising green approach for resource management and waste minimization.

Science.gov (United States)

Chauhan, Garima; Pant, K K; Nigam, K D P

2015-01-01

Green chemical engineering recognises the concept of developing innovative environmentally benign technologies to protect human health and ecosystems. In order to explore this concept for minimizing industrial waste and for reducing the environmental impact of hazardous chemicals, new greener approaches need to be adopted for the extraction of heavy metals from industrial waste. In this review, a range of conventional processes and new green approaches employed for metal extraction are discussed in brief. Chelation technology, a modern research trend, has shown its potential to develop sustainable technology for metal extraction from various metal-contaminated sites. However, the interaction mechanism of ligands with metals and the ecotoxicological risk associated with the increased bioavailability of heavy metals due to the formation of metal-chelant complexes is still not sufficiently explicated in the literature. Therefore, a need was felt to provide a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of all aspects associated with chelation technology to promote this process as a green chemical engineering approach. This article elucidates the mechanism and thermodynamics associated with metal-ligand complexation in order to have a better understanding of the metal extraction process. The effects of various process parameters on the formation and stability of complexes have been elaborately discussed with respect to optimizing the chelation efficiency. The non-biodegradable attribute of ligands is another important aspect which is currently of concern. Therefore, biotechnological approaches and computational tools have been assessed in this review to illustrate the possibility of ligand degradation, which will help the readers to look for new environmentally safe mobilizing agents. In addition, emerging trends and opportunities in the field of chelation technology have been summarized and the diverse applicability of chelation technology in metal extraction from

A green and facile hydrothermal approach for the synthesis of high-quality semi-conducting Sb{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Meng; Gong, Yongshuai; Li, Zhilin; Dou, Meiling, E-mail: douml@mail.buct.edu.cn; Wang, Feng, E-mail: wangf@mail.buct.edu.cn

2016-11-30

Highlights: • A green and facile hydrothermal approach for Sb{sub 2}S{sub 3} films was developed. • The film possessed a relatively ideal S/Sb atomic ratio and a compact surface. • The grain size of Sb{sub 2}S{sub 3} was increased by high temperature annealing. • The film annealed at 450 °C showed the improved optical and electrical performance. - Abstract: High-quality semi-conducting antimony sulfide (Sb{sub 2}S{sub 3}) thin films were directly deposited on the indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates by a green and facile one-step approach based on a hydrothermal reaction and post-annealing process without any assistance of complexing agents. The obtained Sb{sub 2}S{sub 3} films possessed a relatively ideal S/Sb atomic ratio and a compact and continuous surface as the grain size of Sb{sub 2}S{sub 3} was increased by high temperature annealing. The Sb{sub 2}S{sub 3} film annealed at 450 °C exhibited the improved optical and electrical performances, with a narrow band gap of 1.63 eV, an electrical resistivity of 1.3 × 10{sup 4} Ω cm, a carrier concentration of 7.3 × 10{sup 13} cm{sup −3} and a carrier mobility of 6.4 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1}. This environmentally friendly synthetic route is promising for the preparation of high-quality Sb{sub 2}S{sub 3} films to be used as absorber layer materials for high-performance solar cells.

Hybrid Broadband Ground-Motion Simulations: Combining Long-Period Deterministic Synthetics with High-Frequency Multiple S-to-S Backscattering

KAUST Repository

Mai, Paul Martin

2010-09-20

We present a new approach for computing broadband (0-10 Hz) synthetic seismograms by combining high-frequency (HF) scattering with low-frequency (LF) deterministic seismograms, considering finite-fault earthquake rupture models embedded in 3D earth structure. Site-specific HF-scattering Green\\'s functions for a heterogeneous medium with uniformly distributed random isotropic scatterers are convolved with a source-time function that characterizes the temporal evolution of the rupture process. These scatterograms are then reconciled with the LF-deterministic waveforms using a frequency-domain optimization to match both amplitude and phase spectra around the target intersection frequency. The scattering parameters of the medium, scattering attenuation ηs, intrinsic attenuation ηi, and site-kappa, as well as frequency-dependent attenuation, determine waveform and spectral character of the HF-synthetics and thus affect the hybrid broadband seismograms. Applying our methodology to the 1994 Northridge earthquake and validating against near-field recordings at 24 sites, we find that our technique provides realistic broadband waveforms and consistently reproduces LF ground-motion intensities for two independent source descriptions. The least biased results, compared to recorded strong-motion data, are obtained after applying a frequency-dependent site-amplification factor to the broadband simulations. This innovative hybrid ground-motion simulation approach, applicable to any arbitrarily complex earthquake source model, is well suited for seismic hazard analysis and ground-motion estimation.

A new Markov-chain-related statistical approach for modelling synthetic wind power time series

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pesch, T; Hake, J F; Schröders, S; Allelein, H J

2015-01-01

The integration of rising shares of volatile wind power in the generation mix is a major challenge for the future energy system. To address the uncertainties involved in wind power generation, models analysing and simulating the stochastic nature of this energy source are becoming increasingly important. One statistical approach that has been frequently used in the literature is the Markov chain approach. Recently, the method was identified as being of limited use for generating wind time series with time steps shorter than 15–40 min as it is not capable of reproducing the autocorrelation characteristics accurately. This paper presents a new Markov-chain-related statistical approach that is capable of solving this problem by introducing a variable second lag. Furthermore, additional features are presented that allow for the further adjustment of the generated synthetic time series. The influences of the model parameter settings are examined by meaningful parameter variations. The suitability of the approach is demonstrated by an application analysis with the example of the wind feed-in in Germany. It shows that—in contrast to conventional Markov chain approaches—the generated synthetic time series do not systematically underestimate the required storage capacity to balance wind power fluctuation. (paper)

Progress report on Green Deals 2012; Voortgangsrapportage Green Deals 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-10-15

In the Dutch governmental coalition agreement the Green Deal approach was announced in the autumn of 2010. The focus of the Green Deals is for people and companies to develop sustainable initiatives that contribute to economic growth. This progress report provides an overview of the deals that this bottom-up approach has yielded. The report also provides information on the progress of the deals and the interim results of the approach and the individual deals. Also attention is paid to how the 131 Green Deals score on innovation and entrepreneurship [Dutch] In het regeerakkoord van het kabinet is in het najaar van 2010 de Green Deal-aanpak aangekondigd. Centraal in de aanpak staat dat mensen en bedrijven zoveel mogelijk ruimte krijgen voor eigen duurzame initiatieven die bijdragen aan economische groei. Deze voortgangsrapportage geeft een overzicht van de deals die deze bottom-up aanpak heeft opgeleverd. De rapportage informeert bovendien over de voortgang van de deals en over de tussentijdse resultaten van zowel de aanpak als de afzonderlijke deals. Ook wordt gekeken hoe de 131 Green Deals scoren op innovatief vermogen en ondernemerschap.

Green Approaches to Extract Astaxanthin from Shrimp Waste

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Razi Parjikolaei, Behnaz; Errico, Massimiliano; El-Houri, Rime Bahij

2016-01-01

Sunflower oil and its methyl ester have recently been shown as potential green solvents which could substitute traditional organic solvents. This study investigates the economic feasibility of using these green solvents to extract astaxanthin from shrimp processing waste. The feasibility of comme......Sunflower oil and its methyl ester have recently been shown as potential green solvents which could substitute traditional organic solvents. This study investigates the economic feasibility of using these green solvents to extract astaxanthin from shrimp processing waste. The feasibility...

Dominant ultraviolet-blue photoluminescence of ZnO embedded into synthetic opal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abrarov, S.M.; Yuldashev, Sh.U.; Kim, T.W.; Lee, S.B.; Kwon, H.Y.; Kang, T.W.

2005-01-01

The temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of zinc oxide (ZnO) embedded into the voids of synthetic opal were studied. ZnO was infiltrated into opal from aqueous solution with zinc nitrate precursor followed by thermal annealing. The PL spectra of the ZnO powder exhibit very high and broad emission peaks in the green region due to crystal defects, such as oxygen vacancies and zinc ion interstitials. In contrast to the PL spectra of ZnO powder, nanocrystals of ZnO embedded into the voids of FCC packed opal matrix exhibit dominant ultraviolet (UV)-blue and rapidly decreasing green PL emissions with decreasing temperature. The temperature-dependent PL characteristics show that the green band suppression in the ZnO nanocrystals is due to the influence of photonic crystal. The infiltration of nanoparticles into synthetic opal may be used for the fabrication of polycrystalline ZnO with dominant UV-blue PL. These results indicate that the luminescent materials embedded into photonic crystal may be promising for the fabrication of the RGB pixels in full-color displays

Evaluating green infrastructure in urban environments using a multi-taxa and functional diversity approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinho, Pedro; Correia, Otília; Lecoq, Miguel; Munzi, Silvana; Vasconcelos, Sasha; Gonçalves, Paula; Rebelo, Rui; Antunes, Cristina; Silva, Patrícia; Freitas, Catarina; Lopes, Nuno; Santos-Reis, Margarida; Branquinho, Cristina

2016-05-01

Forested areas within cities host a large number of species, responsible for many ecosystem services in urban areas. The biodiversity in these areas is influenced by human disturbances such as atmospheric pollution and urban heat island effect. To ameliorate the effects of these factors, an increase in urban green areas is often considered sufficient. However, this approach assumes that all types of green cover have the same importance for species. Our aim was to show that not all forested green areas are equal in importance for species, but that based on a multi-taxa and functional diversity approach it is possible to value green infrastructure in urban environments. After evaluating the diversity of lichens, butterflies and other-arthropods, birds and mammals in 31 Mediterranean urban forests in south-west Europe (Almada, Portugal), bird and lichen functional groups responsive to urbanization were found. A community shift (tolerant species replacing sensitive ones) along the urbanization gradient was found, and this must be considered when using these groups as indicators of the effect of urbanization. Bird and lichen functional groups were then analyzed together with the characteristics of the forests and their surroundings. Our results showed that, contrary to previous assumptions, vegetation density and more importantly the amount of urban areas around the forest (matrix), are more important for biodiversity than forest quantity alone. This indicated that not all types of forested green areas have the same importance for biodiversity. An index of forest functional diversity was then calculated for all sampled forests of the area. This could help decision-makers to improve the management of urban green infrastructures with the goal of increasing functionality and ultimately ecosystem services in urban areas. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multiconfigurational Green's function approaches in quantum chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeager, D.L.

1984-01-01

The author discusses multiconfigurational Green's function techniques and generalizations. In particular he is interested in developing and applying these techniques for isolated atoms and small molecules. Furthermore, he develops formalisms that are fairly clear, accurate, and capable of being applied to open-shell and highly-correlated systems as well as to closed-shell systems with little electronic correlation. The two kinds of Green's functions that this article discusses are the single-particle Green's function and the retarded two-time Green's function in the energy representation. The poles of the former give the ionization potentials and electron affinities while the poles of the latter give the excitation energies. The multiconfigurational approximations are known as the multiconfigurational electron propagator (MCEP) and the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree-Fock (MCTDHF) (also known as the multiconfigurational random phase approximation (MCRPA) or the multiconfigurational linear response), respectively. 44 references

Tracking the emergence of synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Shapira, Philip; Kwon, Seokbeom; Youtie, Jan

2017-01-01

Synthetic biology is an emerging domain that combines biological and engineering concepts and which has seen rapid growth in research, innovation, and policy interest in recent years. This paper contributes to efforts to delineate this emerging domain by presenting a newly constructed bibliometric definition of synthetic biology. Our approach is dimensioned from a core set of papers in synthetic biology, using procedures to obtain benchmark synthetic biology publication records, extract keywords from these benchmark records, and refine the keywords, supplemented with articles published in dedicated synthetic biology journals. We compare our search strategy with other recent bibliometric approaches to define synthetic biology, using a common source of publication data for the period from 2000 to 2015. The paper details the rapid growth and international spread of research in synthetic biology in recent years, demonstrates that diverse research disciplines are contributing to the multidisciplinary development of synthetic biology research, and visualizes this by profiling synthetic biology research on the map of science. We further show the roles of a relatively concentrated set of research sponsors in funding the growth and trajectories of synthetic biology. In addition to discussing these analyses, the paper notes limitations and suggests lines for further work.

Determination of green, blue and yellow artificial food colorants and their abuse in herb-coloured green Easter beers on tap.

Science.gov (United States)

Stachová, Ivana; Lhotská, Ivona; Solich, Petr; Šatínský, Dalibor

2016-07-01

Beer is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages worldwide. For consumer acceptance, significant factors are its taste, flavour and colour. This study determines selected synthetic green, blue and yellow food colorants in popular Easter herb-coloured green beers on tap produced in breweries on Holy Thursday. The abuse of beer colouring with Tartrazine (E 102), Quinoline yellow (E 104), Sunset yellow (E 110), Patent blue (E 131), Indigo carmine (E 132), Brilliant blue FCF (E 133), Green S (E 142) and Fast green FCF (E 143) was assessed in 11 green beer samples purchased in local restaurants. HPLC was used for the separation and detection of artificial colorants with diode-array detection and a Chromolith Performance CN 100 × 4.6 mm column with guard pre-column Chromolith CN 5 × 4.6 mm. Separation was performed in gradient elution with mobile phase containing methanol-aqueous 2% ammonium acetate at pH 7.0. The study showed that eight beers (70%) marketed in the Czech Republic contained artificial colorants (Tartrazine and Brilliant blue FCF). The concentration of colorants found in analysed green herb-coloured beers ranged from 1.58 to 3.49 mg l(-)(1) for Tartrazine, 0.45-2.18 mg l(-)(1) for Brilliant blue, while Indigo carmine was detected only once at concentration 2.36 mg l(-)(1). Only three beers showed no addition of the synthetic colorants. However, the levels of artificial colorants found in beers marketed in the Czech region were very low and did not show a serious risk for consumers' health.

Dynamic integration of residential building design and green energies : the Bireth approach : building integrated renewable energy total harvest approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheung, K.P. [Hong Kong Univ., Hong Kong (China). Dept. of Architecture; Luk, C.L.P. [Chu Hai College of Higher Education, Hong Kong (China). Dept. of Architecture; Wong, S.T. [Hong Kong Univ., Hong Kong (China). Div. of Arts and Humanities, SPACE; Chung, S.L.; Fung, K.S.; Leung, M.F. [Hong Kong Inst. of Vocational Education, Hong Kong (China)

2006-07-01

Renewable energy sources that are commonly used in buildings include solar energy, wind energy and rainwater collection. High quality environmentally responsive residential buildings are designed to provide good insulation in winter and solar shading in summer. However, this study demonstrated that the green energy design in residential buildings is not usually well integrated. For example, windows with clear double or triple glazed glass, allow good penetration of sunlight during the day in winter, but are not further dynamically insulated for when the sun goes down to avoid heat loss from the building. Additionally, good solar static shading devices often block much needed daylight on cloudy winter days. These examples emphasize the lack of an integrated approach to gain the best advantage of green energies and to minimize energy costs in residential buildings. This study addressed issues facing the integrated approach with particular reference to the design of a small residential building in rural Beijing. The design included a new approach for interpreting a traditional Beijing court yard house in the modern Beijing rural context, while integrating multi-responding innovative green energy applications derived from first principles. This paper also presented a proposal for a village house in Hong Kong to harvest as much renewable energies as possible, primarily wind energy and solar energy, that come into contact with the building. The purpose was to work towards a renewable energy approach for buildings, namely the Bireth approach, which will benefit practically all houses by making them zero energy houses. The paper described the feasibility of integrating renewable energies in buildings to fulfill performance requirements such improving ventilation, providing warm interiors, drying clothes, or storing solar and wind energies into power batteries. The challenges facing the development of a proposed micro solar hot air turbine were also presented. 15 refs., 6

Progress report on Green Deals 2013; Voortgangsrapportage Green Deals 2013

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-11-15

In the Dutch governmental coalition agreement the Green Deal approach was announced in the autumn of 2010. The focus of the Green Deals is for people and companies to develop sustainable initiatives that contribute to economic growth. The Green Deal approach started with the theme energy, but has been extended with the themes biobased economy, climate, resources, buildings, food, mobility, water and biological diversity. This progress report provides an overview of the deals that this bottom-up approach has yielded. The report also provides information on the progress of the deals and the interim results of the approach and the individual deals. Also attention is paid to how the 146 Green Deals score on innovation and entrepreneurship [Dutch] In het regeerakkoord van het kabinet is in het najaar van 2010 de Green Deal-aanpak aangekondigd. Centraal in de aanpak staat dat mensen en bedrijven zoveel mogelijk ruimte krijgen voor eigen duurzame initiatieven die bijdragen aan economische groei. De aanpak is gestart vanuit het thema energie, maar beslaat inmiddels ook de thema's biobased economy, klimaat, grondstoffen, bouw, voedsel, mobiliteit, water en biodiversiteit. Deze voortgangsrapportage geeft een overzicht van de deals die deze bottom-up aanpak heeft opgeleverd. De rapportage informeert bovendien over de voortgang van de deals en over de tussentijdse resultaten van zowel de aanpak als de afzonderlijke deals. Ook wordt gekeken hoe de 146 Green Deals scoren op innovatief vermogen en ondernemerschap.

Green Energy for a Green City—A Multi-Perspective Model Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jarosław Wątróbski

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The basis for implementing demands for a green city is the use of, among other things, innovative “clean” technologies. However, it is mostly and directly connected to the increased use of electric energy. Green transport is an appropriate example of this. By contrast, conventional sources of energy (e.g., based on coal have a very negative impact on people and the environment. Therefore, this article mentions an attempt to solve a complex problem of employing renewable energy sources (RES as an element of the “green city” system. The research was carried out on the basis of a feasibility study (decision game for the location of a wind farm in the vicinity of the city of Szczecin, Poland. When constructing the decision models, multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA methods were applied, especially analytic hierarchy process (AHP and preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation (PROMETHEE.

A Fuzzy-Grey Multicriteria Decision Making Approach for Green Supplier Selection in Low-Carbon Supply Chain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qinghua Pang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Due to the increasing awareness of global warming and environmental protection, many practitioners and researchers have paid much attention to the low-carbon supply chain management in recent years. Green supplier selection is one of the most critical activities in the low-carbon supply chain management, so it is important to establish the comprehensive criteria and develop a method for green supplier selection in low-carbon supply chain. The paper proposes a fuzz-grey multicriteria decision making approach to deal with these problems. First, the paper establishes 4 main criteria and 22 subcriteria for green supplier selection. Then, a method integrating fuzzy set theory and grey relational analysis is proposed. It uses the membership function of normal distribution to compare each supplier and uses grey relation analysis to calculate the weight of each criterion and improves fuzzy comprehensive evaluation. The proposed method can make the localization of individual green supplier more objectively and more accurately in the same trade. Finally, a case study in the steel industry is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Going Green: The Business Case for Greening your Energy Company

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lavery, Greg

2007-07-01

We are all familiar with the challenges facing the energy industry: supply security, climate change, emerging cleaner technologies, retail competition, staffing, and the quest for growth. This paper demonstrates how a proactive environmentally considered ('green') corporate approach addresses these issues and unlocks four tangible areas of value addition for energy companies. Based on over a decade of experience by the author in this emerging field, this paper provides some golden rules for companies considering the green approach and showcases an Australian market leading energy company who is unlocking green value. (auth)

Synthetic approaches to uniform polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Monzur; Brocchini, Steve

2006-12-30

Uniform polymers are characterised by a narrow molecular weight distribution (MWD). Uniformity is also defined by chemical structure in respect of (1) monomer orientation, sequence and stereo-regularity, (2) polymer shape and morphology and (3) chemical functionality. The function of natural polymers such as polypeptides and polynucleotides is related to their conformational structure (e.g. folded tertiary structure). This is only possible because of their high degree of uniformity. While completely uniform synthetic polymers are rare, polymers with broad structure and MWD are widely used in medicine and the biomedical sciences. They are integral components in final dosage forms, drug delivery systems (DDS) and in implantable devices. Increasingly uniform polymers are being used to develop more complex medicines (e.g. delivery of biopharmaceuticals, enhanced formulations or DDS's for existing actives). In addition to the function imparted by any new polymer it will be required to meet stringent specifications in terms of cost containment, scalability, biocompatibility and performance. Synthetic polymers with therapeutic activity are also being developed to exploit their polyvalent properties, which is not possible with low molecular weight molecules. There is need to utilise uniform polymers for applications where the polymer may interact with the systemic circulation, tissues or cellular environment. There are also potential applications (e.g. stimuli responsive coatings) where uniform polymers may be used for their more defined property profile. While it is not yet practical to prepare synthetic polymers to the same high degree of uniformity as proteins, nature also effectively utilises many polymers with lower degrees of uniformity (e.g. polysaccharides, poly(amino acids), polyhydroxyalkanoates). In recent years it has become possible to prepare with practical experimental protocols sufficient quantities of polymers that display many aspects of uniformity. This

Regulatory risk assessment approaches for synthetic mineral fibres.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Paul; Holmes, Philip; Bevan, Ruth; Kamps, Klaus; Levy, Leonard; Greim, Helmut

2015-10-01

Exposure to synthetic mineral fibres (SMF) may occur in a number of workplace scenarios. To protect worker health, a number of different organisations worldwide have assessed the health risk of these materials and established workplace exposure limits. This paper outlines the basic principles of risk assessment and the scientific methods used to derive valid (justifiable) occupational exposure limits (OELs) and goes on to show how, for SMF, and particularly for refractory ceramic fibre (otherwise known as aluminosilicate wool, RCF/ASW), the methods used and the associated outcomes differ widely. It is argued that the resulting differences in established OELs prevent consistent and appropriate risk management of SMF worldwide, and that development of a transparent and harmonised approach to fibre risk assessment and limit-setting is required. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Molecular Imaging in Synthetic Biology, and Synthetic Biology in Molecular Imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilad, Assaf A; Shapiro, Mikhail G

2017-06-01

Biomedical synthetic biology is an emerging field in which cells are engineered at the genetic level to carry out novel functions with relevance to biomedical and industrial applications. This approach promises new treatments, imaging tools, and diagnostics for diseases ranging from gastrointestinal inflammatory syndromes to cancer, diabetes, and neurodegeneration. As these cellular technologies undergo pre-clinical and clinical development, it is becoming essential to monitor their location and function in vivo, necessitating appropriate molecular imaging strategies, and therefore, we have created an interest group within the World Molecular Imaging Society focusing on synthetic biology and reporter gene technologies. Here, we highlight recent advances in biomedical synthetic biology, including bacterial therapy, immunotherapy, and regenerative medicine. We then discuss emerging molecular imaging approaches to facilitate in vivo applications, focusing on reporter genes for noninvasive modalities such as magnetic resonance, ultrasound, photoacoustic imaging, bioluminescence, and radionuclear imaging. Because reporter genes can be incorporated directly into engineered genetic circuits, they are particularly well suited to imaging synthetic biological constructs, and developing them provides opportunities for creative molecular and genetic engineering.

Commercial Flight Crew Decision-Making during Low-Visibility Approach Operations Using Fused Synthetic/Enhanced Vision Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, Lynda J.; Bailey, Randall E.; Prinzel, Lawrence J., III

2007-01-01

NASA is investigating revolutionary crew-vehicle interface technologies that strive to proactively overcome aircraft safety barriers that would otherwise constrain the full realization of the next-generation air transportation system. A fixed-based piloted simulation experiment was conducted to evaluate the complementary use of Synthetic and Enhanced Vision technologies. Specific focus was placed on new techniques for integration and/or fusion of Enhanced and Synthetic Vision and its impact within a two-crew flight deck on the crew's decision-making process during low-visibility approach and landing operations. Overall, the experimental data showed that significant improvements in situation awareness, without concomitant increases in workload and display clutter, could be provided by the integration and/or fusion of synthetic and enhanced vision technologies for the pilot-flying and the pilot-not-flying. During non-normal operations, the ability of the crew to handle substantial navigational errors and runway incursions were neither improved nor adversely impacted by the display concepts. The addition of Enhanced Vision may not, unto itself, provide an improvement in runway incursion detection without being specifically tailored for this application. Existing enhanced vision system procedures were effectively used in the crew decision-making process during approach and missed approach operations but having to forcibly transition from an excellent FLIR image to natural vision by 100 ft above field level was awkward for the pilot-flying.

A combinatorial approach to synthetic receptors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Timmerman, P.; Reinhoudt, David

1999-01-01

Antibodies, the workhorses of every living organisms immune system, are characterized by their extraordinarily high binding affinity and selectivity for a particular antigen. Despite numerous efforts to mimic these binding properties in synthetic molecules, chemists have so far not been able to

Synthetic lubricating oils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodriguez Jurado, J

1953-01-01

A yellow solid petroleum paraffin d/sup 60/ 0.808, I number 3.5, average molecular weight 350, chlorinated and condensed with benzene, xylene, or naphthalene by the Friedel and Crafts reaction, in the presence of anhydrous AlCl/sub 3/ or activated Al, gave synthetic lubricating oils. Xylene was the preferred aromatic compound, naphthalene required the use of less completely chlorinated paraffin, benzene produced resins difficult to remove and gave darker oils with excessive green fluorescence. Activated Al rather than anhydrous AlCl/sub 3/ gave darker oils with higher viscosity and Conradson C values. Tar from the low-temperature distillation of lignite, used as a source of a paraffin fraction melting 40/sup 0/ to 48/sup 0/ (chlorinated to 26.5 percent Cl) and an aromatic fraction, 45 percent aromatic compounds by volume (mainly polysubstituted benzenes), I number 10, was converted to a similar synthetic lubricant with the following properties: Kinematic viscosity at 210/sup 0/ F., 50.4 centistokes; viscosity index, 92; Conradson C, 1.5 percent; solidification point, 9/sup 0/; S, 0.41 percent.

Green Suppliers Performance Evaluation in Belt and Road Using Fuzzy Weighted Average with Social Media Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuo-Ping Lin

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A decision model for selecting a suitable supplier is a key to reducing the environmental impact in green supply chain management for high-tech companies. Traditional fuzzy weight average (FWA adopts linguistic variable to determine weight by experts. However, the weights of FWA have not considered the public voice, meaning the viewpoints of consumers in green supply chain management. This paper focuses on developing a novel decision model for green supplier selection in the One Belt and One Road (OBOR initiative through a fuzzy weighted average approach with social media. The proposed decision model uses the membership grade of the criteria and sub-criteria and its relative weights, which consider the volume of social media, to establish an analysis matrix of green supplier selection. Then, the proposed fuzzy weighted average approach is considered as an aggregating tool to calculate a synthetic score for each green supplier in the Belt and Road initiative. The final score of the green supplier is ordered by a non-fuzzy performance value ranking method to help the consumer make a decision. A case of green supplier selection in the light-emitting diode (LED industry is used to demonstrate the proposed decision model. The findings demonstrate (1 the consumer’s main concerns are the “Quality” and “Green products” in LED industry, hence, the ranking of suitable supplier in FWA with social media information model obtained the difference result with tradition FWA; (2 OBOR in the LED industry is not fervently discussed in searches of Google and Twitter; and (3 the FWA with social media information could objectively analyze the green supplier selection because the novel model considers the viewpoints of the consumer.

Simultaneous identification of synthetic and natural dyes in different food samples by UPLC-MS

Science.gov (United States)

Mandal, Badal Kumar; Mathiyalagan, Siva; Dalavai, Ramesh; Ling, Yong-Chien

2017-11-01

Fast foods and variety food items are populating among the food lovers. To improve the appearance of the food product in surviving gigantic competitive environment synthetic or natural food dyes are added to food items and beverages. Although regulatory bodies permit addition of natural colorants due to its safe and nontoxic nature in food, synthetic dyes are stringently controlled in all food products due to their toxicity by regulatory bodies. Artificial colors are need certification from the regulatory bodies for human consumption. To analyze food dyes in different food samples many analytical techniques are available like high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), thin layer chromatography (TLC), spectroscopic and gas chromatographic methods. However all these reported methods analyzed only synthetic dyes or natural dyes. Not a single method has analyzed both synthetic and natural dyes in a single run. In this study a robust ultra-performance liquid chromatographic method for simultaneous identification of 6 synthetic dyes (Tartrazine, Indigo carmine, Briliant blue, Fast green, malachite green, sunset yellow) and one natural dye (Na-Cu-Chlorophyllin) was developed using acquitic UPLC system equipped with Mass detector and acquity UPLC HSS T3 column (1.8 μm, 2.1 × 50 mm, 100Å). All the dyes were separated and their masses were determined through fragments’ masses analyses.

Green area loss in San Juan's inner-ring suburban neighborhoods: a multidisciplinary approach to analyzing green/gray area dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis E. Ramos-Santiago

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The loss of green areas and vegetation in suburban neighborhoods poses short- and long-term consequences associated with environmental changes and socioeconomic decline that can propel such developments to an unsustainable state. We summarize an interdisciplinary investigation aimed at identifying the drivers of green area loss, green cover loss, and quantifying the impact on three inner-ring suburban neighborhoods located along the Rio Piedras watershed in San Juan, Puerto Rico. An inductive approach to social-ecological research was undertaken because it provides a flexible platform for interdisciplinary collaboration on this complex and dynamic subject. The three developments selected for the study were constructed in the mid-20th century under paradigms of modernity that included providing conditions for a better and more dignified way of living, among which green areas played a central role. The green area change analysis was undertaken first, by way of using building footprint growth as a proxy, which represents a minimal estimate of change, and transferring the information from aerial photographs, original development plans, construction drawings, and GIS maps to AutoCAD to quantify building footprint change for each neighborhood. The period of analysis started from the time of the construction of each development to the year 2010. The second estimation was performed using orthorectified infrared aerial imagery to quantify green cover in year 2008 and contrast that information with the conditions at the time the developments were constructed. Green-gray area dynamics were thus analyzed together with longitudinal socioeconomic data to help in the assessment of effects. The investigation revealed long-term socioeconomic declining trends in two of the neighborhoods, weak governance of the built environment, substantial increase in automobile ownership, and distinct physical-spatial characteristics as drivers behind the changes observed. The

Productivity improvement with green approach to palm oil factory productivity

Science.gov (United States)

Matondang, N.

2018-02-01

The palm oil factory (POF) processes fresh fruit bunches into crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO) by products in the form of liquid and solid waste. One of the solid wastes produced in POF Tanjung Kasau is empty fruit bunches of palm oil (FBPO) which have been burned completely on incinerator tubes so that potentially produces pollutants that pollute the environment. If FBPO waste is managed properly, it will improve the productivity of the company. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a study to find out how far the increased productivity of the company can reduce their impact on the environment, if FBPO is used as raw material of liquid smoke. The productivity improvement approach is done by Green Productivity concept, by looking at three aspects: environmental, social and economical. Green Productivity aims to protect the environment simultaneously by increasing the productivity of the company. One way is to turn FBPO waste into liquid smoke product is by pyrolysis process. The results showed that turning FBPO solid waste into liquid smoke will increase productivity by 18.18%. Implementation of Green Productivity can improve productivity through the improvement of FBPO waste treatment process which has been done by perfect combustion by pyrolysis process so that waste can be minimized to create environment industry POF clean and friendly environment.

A Fuzzy MCDM Approach for Green Supplier Selection from the Economic and Environmental Aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hsiu Mei Wang Chen

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Due to the challenge of rising public awareness of environmental issues and governmental regulations, green supply chain management (SCM has become an important issue for companies to gain environmental sustainability. Supplier selection is one of the key operational tasks necessary to construct a green SCM. To select the most suitable suppliers, many economic and environmental criteria must be considered in the decision process. Although numerous studies have used economic criteria such as cost, quality, and lead time in the supplier selection process, only some studies have taken into account the environmental issues. This study proposes a comprehensive fuzzy multicriteria decision making (MCDM approach for green supplier selection and evaluation, using both economic and environmental criteria. In the proposed approach, a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP is employed to determine the important weights of criteria under vague environment. In addition, a fuzzy technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS is used to evaluate and rank the potential suppliers. Finally, a case study in Luminance Enhancement Film (LEF industry is presented to illustrate the applicability and efficiency of the proposed method.

Computational approaches in the design of synthetic receptors - A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Cowen, Todd; Karim, Kal; Piletsky, Sergey

2016-09-14

The rational design of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) has been a major contributor to their reputation as "plastic antibodies" - high affinity robust synthetic receptors which can be optimally designed, and produced for a much reduced cost than their biological equivalents. Computational design has become a routine procedure in the production of MIPs, and has led to major advances in functional monomer screening, selection of cross-linker and solvent, optimisation of monomer(s)-template ratio and selectivity analysis. In this review the various computational methods will be discussed with reference to all the published relevant literature since the end of 2013, with each article described by the target molecule, the computational approach applied (whether molecular mechanics/molecular dynamics, semi-empirical quantum mechanics, ab initio quantum mechanics (Hartree-Fock, Møller-Plesset, etc.) or DFT) and the purpose for which they were used. Detailed analysis is given to novel techniques including analysis of polymer binding sites, the use of novel screening programs and simulations of MIP polymerisation reaction. The further advances in molecular modelling and computational design of synthetic receptors in particular will have serious impact on the future of nanotechnology and biotechnology, permitting the further translation of MIPs into the realms of analytics and medical technology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Living GenoChemetics by hyphenating synthetic biology and synthetic chemistry in vivo.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Sunil V; Tong, Xiaoxue; Pubill-Ulldemolins, Cristina; Cartmell, Christopher; Bogosyan, Emma J A; Rackham, Emma J; Marelli, Enrico; Hamed, Refaat B; Goss, Rebecca J M

2017-08-09

Marrying synthetic biology with synthetic chemistry provides a powerful approach toward natural product diversification, combining the best of both worlds: expediency and synthetic capability of biogenic pathways and chemical diversity enabled by organic synthesis. Biosynthetic pathway engineering can be employed to insert a chemically orthogonal tag into a complex natural scaffold affording the possibility of site-selective modification without employing protecting group strategies. Here we show that, by installing a sufficiently reactive handle (e.g., a C-Br bond) and developing compatible mild aqueous chemistries, synchronous biosynthesis of the tagged metabolite and its subsequent chemical modification in living culture can be achieved. This approach can potentially enable many new applications: for example, assay of directed evolution of enzymes catalyzing halo-metabolite biosynthesis in living cells or generating and following the fate of tagged metabolites and biomolecules in living systems. We report synthetic biological access to new-to-nature bromo-metabolites and the concomitant biorthogonal cross-coupling of halo-metabolites in living cultures.Coupling synthetic biology and chemical reactions in cells is a challenging task. The authors engineer bacteria capable of generating bromo-metabolites, develop a mild Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction compatible with cell growth and carry out the cross-coupling chemistry in live cell cultures.

Accessibility of green space in urban areas: an examination of various approaches to measure it

OpenAIRE

Zhang, Xin

2007-01-01

In the present research, we attempt to improve the methods used for measuring accessibility of green spaces by combining two components of accessibility-distance and demand relative to supply. Three modified approaches (Joseph and Bantock gravity model measure, the two-step floating catchment area measure and a measure based on kernel densities) will be applied for measuring accessibility to green spaces. We select parks and public open spaces (metropolitan open land) of south London as a cas...

Green and Sustainable Separation of Natural Products from Agro-Industrial Waste: Challenges, Potentialities, and Perspectives on Emerging Approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Zuin, Vânia G; Ramin, Luize Z

2018-01-17

New generations of biorefinery combine innovative biomass waste resources from different origins, chemical extraction and/or synthesis of biomaterials, biofuels, and bioenergy via green and sustainable processes. From the very beginning, identifying and evaluating all potentially high value-added chemicals that could be removed from available renewable feedstocks requires robust, efficient, selective, reproducible, and benign analytical approaches. With this in mind, green and sustainable separation of natural products from agro-industrial waste is clearly attractive considering both socio-environmental and economic aspects. In this paper, the concepts of green and sustainable separation of natural products will be discussed, highlighting the main studies conducted on this topic over the last 10 years. The principal analytical techniques (such as solvent, microwave, ultrasound, and supercritical treatments), by-products (e.g., citrus, coffee, corn, and sugarcane waste) and target compounds (polyphenols, proteins, essential oils, etc.) will be presented, including the emerging green and sustainable separation approaches towards bioeconomy and circular economy contexts.

Connected Green function approach to symmetry breaking in Φ1+14-theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haeuser, J.M.; Cassing, W.; Peter, A.; Thoma, M.H.

1995-01-01

Using the cluster expansions for n-point Green functions we derive a closed set of dynamical equations of motion for connected equal-time Green functions by neglecting all connected functions higher than 4 th order for the λΦ 4 -theory in 1+1 dimensions. We apply the equations to the investigation of spontaneous symmetry breaking, i.e. to the evaluation of the effective potential at temperature T=0. Within our momentum space discretization we obtain a second order phase transition (in agreement with the Simon-Griffith theorem) and a critical coupling of λ crit /4m 2 =2.446 ascompared to a first order phase transition and λ crit /4m 2 =2.568 from the Gaussian effective potential approach. (orig.)

Synthetic Aperture Flow Imaging Using a Dual Beamformer Approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Ye

Color flow mapping systems have become widely used in clinical applications. It provides an opportunity to visualize the velocity profile over a large region in the vessel, which makes it possible to diagnose, e.g., occlusion of veins, heart valve deficiencies, and other hemodynamic problems....... However, while the conventional ultrasound imaging of making color flow mapping provides useful information in many circumstances, the spatial velocity resolution and frame rate are limited. The entire velocity distribution consists of image lines from different directions, and each image line...... on the current commercial ultrasound scanner. The motivation for this project is to develop a method lowering the amount of calculations and still maintaining beamforming quality sufficient for flow estimation. Synthetic aperture using a dual beamformer approach is investigated using Field II simulations...

Improved green strength of high CIS polyisoprene via electron beam irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, K.M.

1984-01-01

It appears possible to introduce sufficient crosslinks into synthetic polyisoprene or compounds derived from it to give significant increases in green strength without rendering the materials unmixable or unprocessable. It must be admitted that the balance between adequate green strength and satisfactory processability is a delicate one and further work is required to determine if such techniques are viable on an industrial scale. (author)

Synthetic biology: programming cells for biomedical applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Hörner, Maximilian; Reischmann, Nadine; Weber, Wilfried

2012-01-01

The emerging field of synthetic biology is a novel biological discipline at the interface between traditional biology, chemistry, and engineering sciences. Synthetic biology aims at the rational design of complex synthetic biological devices and systems with desired properties by combining compatible, modular biological parts in a systematic manner. While the first engineered systems were mainly proof-of-principle studies to demonstrate the power of the modular engineering approach of synthetic biology, subsequent systems focus on applications in the health, environmental, and energy sectors. This review describes recent approaches for biomedical applications that were developed along the synthetic biology design hierarchy, at the level of individual parts, of devices, and of complex multicellular systems. It describes how synthetic biological parts can be used for the synthesis of drug-delivery tools, how synthetic biological devices can facilitate the discovery of novel drugs, and how multicellular synthetic ecosystems can give insight into population dynamics of parasites and hosts. These examples demonstrate how this new discipline could contribute to novel solutions in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Synthetic algae and cyanobacteria: Great potential but what is the exposure risk?

Science.gov (United States)

Green algae and cyanobacteria (hereafter, algae) have the attractive properties of relatively simple genomes, rapid growth rates, and an ability to synthesize useful compounds using solar energy and carbon dioxide. They are attractive targets for applications of synthetic biology...

Evaluation of Fused Synthetic and Enhanced Vision Display Concepts for Low-Visibility Approach and Landing

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Randall E.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Wilz, Susan J.

2009-01-01

NASA is developing revolutionary crew-vehicle interface technologies that strive to proactively overcome aircraft safety barriers that would otherwise constrain the full realization of the next generation air transportation system. A piloted simulation experiment was conducted to evaluate the complementary use of Synthetic and Enhanced Vision technologies. Specific focus was placed on new techniques for integration and/or fusion of Enhanced and Synthetic Vision and its impact within a two-crew flight deck during low-visibility approach and landing operations. Overall, the experimental data showed that significant improvements in situation awareness, without concomitant increases in workload and display clutter, could be provided by the integration and/or fusion of synthetic and enhanced vision technologies for the pilot-flying and the pilot-not-flying. Improvements in lateral path control performance were realized when the Head-Up Display concepts included a tunnel, independent of the imagery (enhanced vision or fusion of enhanced and synthetic vision) presented with it. During non-normal operations, the ability of the crew to handle substantial navigational errors and runway incursions were neither improved nor adversely impacted by the display concepts. The addition of Enhanced Vision may not, of itself, provide an improvement in runway incursion detection without being specifically tailored for this application.

Biological activity and toxicitiy of imported and synthetic metal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... of green alga Scendesmus obliquus. The toxicity of surfactants to Scendesmus obliquus are arranged in the order: imported fluid > Synthetic fluid > S+ D > I+A> S+B> I+ C> I+B > I+D > I+D >S+A > I+4. These results prove that, the toxicity of fluids depends on its chemical structure. Egyptian Journal of Biotechnology Vol.

Approach of the Two-way Influence Between Lean and Green Manufacturing and its Connection to Related Organisational Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Salvador

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Initiatives toward Lean and Green Manufacturing are given mainly due to organisational response to current market’s economic and environmental pressures. This paper, therefore, aims to present a brief discussion based on a literature review of the potential two-way influence between Lean and Green Manufacturing and its role on the main organisational areas with a closer relationship to such approaches, which were observed to be more extensively discussed in the literature. Naturally lean practises seem more likely to deploy into green outcomes, though the other way around can also occur. There is some blur on the factual integration of both themes, as some authors suggest. Notwhithstanding, they certainly present certain synergy. Thereupon, further research is needed to unveil the real ties, overlaps and gaps between these approaches.

Blueprints for green biotech: development and application of standards for plant synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Patron, Nicola J

2016-06-15

Synthetic biology aims to apply engineering principles to the design and modification of biological systems and to the construction of biological parts and devices. The ability to programme cells by providing new instructions written in DNA is a foundational technology of the field. Large-scale de novo DNA synthesis has accelerated synthetic biology by offering custom-made molecules at ever decreasing costs. However, for large fragments and for experiments in which libraries of DNA sequences are assembled in different combinations, assembly in the laboratory is still desirable. Biological assembly standards allow DNA parts, even those from multiple laboratories and experiments, to be assembled together using the same reagents and protocols. The adoption of such standards for plant synthetic biology has been cohesive for the plant science community, facilitating the application of genome editing technologies to plant systems and streamlining progress in large-scale, multi-laboratory bioengineering projects. © 2016 The Author(s). published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Virtually going green: The role of quantum computational chemistry in reducing pollution and toxicity in chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Jonathan

2017-07-01

Continuing advances in computational chemistry has permitted quantum mechanical calculation to assist in research in green chemistry and to contribute to the greening of chemical practice. Presented here are recent examples illustrating the contribution of computational quantum chemistry to green chemistry, including the possibility of using computation as a green alternative to experiments, but also illustrating contributions to greener catalysis and the search for greener solvents. Examples of applications of computation to ambitious projects for green synthetic chemistry using carbon dioxide are also presented.

Synthetic strong ground motions for engineering design utilizing empirical Green`s functions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hutchings, L.J.; Jarpe, S.P.; Kasameyer, P.W.; Foxall, W.

1996-04-11

We present a methodology for developing realistic synthetic strong ground motions for specific sites from specific earthquakes. We analyzed the possible ground motion resulting from a M = 7.25 earthquake that ruptures 82 km of the Hayward fault for a site 1.4 km from the fault in the eastern San Francisco Bay area. We developed a suite of 100 rupture scenarios for the Hayward fault earthquake and computed the corresponding strong ground motion time histories. We synthesized strong ground motion with physics-based solutions of earthquake rupture and applied physical bounds on rupture parameters. By having a suite of rupture scenarios of hazardous earthquakes for a fixed magnitude and identifying the hazard to the site from the statistical distribution of engineering parameters, we introduce a probabilistic component into the deterministic hazard calculation. Engineering parameters of synthesized ground motions agree with those recorded from the 1995 Kobe, Japan and the 1992 Landers, California earthquakes at similar distances and site geologies.

Synthetic Genetic Targeting of Genome Instability in Cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sajesh, Babu V.; Guppy, Brent J.; McManus, Kirk J.

2013-01-01

Cancer is a leading cause of death throughout the World. A limitation of many current chemotherapeutic approaches is that their cytotoxic effects are not restricted to cancer cells, and adverse side effects can occur within normal tissues. Consequently, novel strategies are urgently needed to better target cancer cells. As we approach the era of personalized medicine, targeting the specific molecular defect(s) within a given patient’s tumor will become a more effective treatment strategy than traditional approaches that often target a given cancer type or sub-type. Synthetic genetic interactions are now being examined for their therapeutic potential and are designed to target the specific genetic and epigenetic phenomena associated with tumor formation, and thus are predicted to be highly selective. In general, two complementary approaches have been employed, including synthetic lethality and synthetic dosage lethality, to target aberrant expression and/or function associated with tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes, respectively. Here we discuss the concepts of synthetic lethality and synthetic dosage lethality, and explain three general experimental approaches designed to identify novel genetic interactors. We present examples and discuss the merits and caveats of each approach. Finally, we provide insight into the subsequent pre-clinical work required to validate novel candidate drug targets

Synthesis and characterization of N-demethylated metabolites of malachite green and leucomalachite green.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Bongsup P; Yang, Tianle; Blankenship, Lonnie R; Moody, Joanna D; Churchwell, Mona; Beland, Frederick A; Culp, Sandra J

2003-03-01

Malachite green (MG), a triphenylmethane dye used to treat fungal and protozoan infections in fish, undergoes sequential oxidation to produce various N-demethylated derivatives (monodes-, dides(sym)-, dides(unsym)-, trides-, and tetrades-) both before and after reduction to leucomalachite green (LMG). The close structure resemblance of the metabolites with aromatic amine carcinogens implicates a potential genotoxicity from exposure to MG. The availability of the synthetic standards is important for metabolic and DNA adduct studies of MG. This paper describes a simple and versatile method for the synthesis of MG, LMG, and their N-demethylated metabolites. The synthesis involves a coupling of 4-(dimethylamino)benzophenone or 4-nitrobenzophenone with the aryllithium reagents derived from appropriately substituted 4-bromoaniline derivatives, followed by treatment with HCl in methanol. The resulting cationic MG and their leuco analogues showed systematic UV/vis spectral and tandem mass fragmentation patterns consistent with sequential N-demethylation. The extensive (1)H and (13)C spectral assignments of the metabolites were aided by the availability of (13)C(7)-labeled MG and LMG. The results indicate the existence of a resonance structure with the cationic charge located in the central methane carbon (C(7)). The synthetic procedure is general in scope so that it can be extended to the preparation of N-demethylated metabolites of other structurally related N-methylated triphenylmethane dyes.

Exposure assessment of synthetic colours approved in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Ha, M-S; Ha, S-D; Choi, S-H; Bae, D-H

2013-01-01

The dietary intakes of nine synthetic food colours--amaranth, erythrosine, Allura Red, Ponceau 4R, tartrazine, Sunset Yellow FCF, Fast Green FCF, Brilliant Blue FCF and indigo carmine--permitted in Korea were estimated based on food consumption data for consumers and their concentrations in processed foods. The estimated daily intakes (EDIs) by Korean consumers were compared with the acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) of the colours. Among 704 foods sampled, 471 contained synthetic colours. The most highly consumed synthetic colours were Allura Red and tartrazine; the highest EDI/ADI ratios were found for amaranth, erythrosine and Allura Red. The EDIs of infants and children were higher than those of adults. The main food categories containing colours were beverages and liquor for adults, and beverages, chocolate and ice cream for infants and children. For average Korean consumers, the EDIs were not greater than 2.5% of their corresponding ADIs, although the EDI of a conservative consumer in the upper 95th percentile reached 37% of the ADI.

Green chemistry approach for the synthesis of biocompatible graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Gurunathan, Sangiliyandi; Han, Jae Woong; Kim, Jin-Hoi

2013-01-01

Background Graphene is a single-atom thick, two-dimensional sheet of hexagonally arranged carbon atoms isolated from its three-dimensional parent material, graphite. One of the most common methods for preparation of graphene is chemical exfoliation of graphite using powerful oxidizing agents. Generally, graphene is synthesized through deoxygenation of graphene oxide (GO) by using hydrazine, which is one of the most widespread and strongest reducing agents. Due to the high toxicity of hydrazine, it is not a promising reducing agent in large-scale production of graphene; therefore, this study focused on a green or sustainable synthesis of graphene and the biocompatibility of graphene in primary mouse embryonic fibroblast cells (PMEFs). Methods Here, we demonstrated a simple, rapid, and green chemistry approach for the synthesis of reduced GO (rGO) from GO using triethylamine (TEA) as a reducing agent and stabilizing agent. The obtained TEA reduced GO (TEA-rGO) was characterized by ultraviolet (UV)–visible absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), particle size dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results The transition of graphene oxide to graphene was confirmed by UV–visible spectroscopy. XRD and SEM were used to investigate the crystallinity of graphene and the surface morphologies of prepared graphene respectively. The formation of defects further supports the functionalization of graphene as indicated in the Raman spectrum of TEA-rGO. Surface morphology and the thickness of the GO and TEA-rGO were analyzed using AFM. The presented results suggest that TEA-rGO shows significantly more biocompatibility with PMEFs cells than GO. Conclusion This is the first report about using TEA as a reducing as well as a stabilizing agent for the preparation of biocompatible graphene. The proposed safe and green method offers substitute routes for large-scale production of graphene

Building HIA approaches into strategies for green space use: an example from Plymouth's (UK) Stepping Stones to Nature project.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, J; Goss, Z; Pratt, A; Sharman, J; Tighe, M

2013-12-01

The health and well-being benefits of access to green space are well documented. Research suggests positive findings regardless of social group, however barriers exist that limit access to green space, including proximity, geography and differing social conditions. Current public health policy aims to broaden the range of environmental public health interventions through effective partnership working, providing opportunities to work across agencies to promote the use of green space. Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a combination of methods and procedures to assess the potential health and well-being impacts of policies, developments and projects. It provides a means by which negative impacts can be mitigated and positive impacts can be enhanced, and has potential application for assessing green space use. This paper describes the application of a HIA approach to a multi-agency project (Stepping Stones to Nature--SS2N) in the UK designed to improve local green spaces and facilitate green space use in areas classified as having high levels of deprivation. The findings suggest that the SS2N project had the potential to provide significant positive benefits in the areas of physical activity, mental and social well-being. Specific findings for one locality identified a range of actions that could be taken to enhance benefits, and mitigate negative factors such as anti-social behaviour. The HIA approach proved to be a valuable process through which impacts of a community development/public health project could be enhanced and negative impacts prevented at an early stage; it illustrates how a HIA approach could enhance multi-agency working to promote health and well-being in communities.

A Prospective Randomized, Double-Blind, Two-Period Crossover Pharmacokinetic Trial Comparing Green Coffee Bean Extract-A Botanically Sourced Caffeine-With a Synthetic USP Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Morton, Kayce; Knight, Katelin; Kalman, Douglas; Hewlings, Susan

2018-04-16

Coffee is a primary dietary source of the chlorogenic acids (CGAs) of phenolic compounds. Coffee contains caffeine and other phytonutrients, including CGAs. Caffeine on its own has been well characterized and descried pharmacokinetically in the literature, less so for CGAs. The purpose of this double-blind crossover study was to determine the comparative pharmacokinetics of CGAs with caffeine (natural extract) with synthetic caffeine (US Pharmacopeia [USP] standard). Sixteen healthy male subjects were randomly assigned to take 1 dose of product 1, 60 mg of botanically sourced caffeine from 480 mg of green coffee bean extract, or product 2, 60 mg of synthetic USP caffeine, with 5 days between. Blood analysis was done to determine the levels of CGA compounds, more specifically 3-, 4-, and 5-caffeoylquinic acid (CQA), and serum caffeine. The natural caffeine extract exhibited mean peak concentrations (C max ) of 3-CQA (11.4 ng/mL), 4-CQA (6.84 ng/mL), and 5-CQA (7.20 ng/mL). The mean systemic 4-hour exposure (AUC 0-4 h ) was 3-CQA (27.3 ng·h/mL), 4-CQA (16.1 ng·h/mL), and 5-CQA (15.7 ng·h/mL). The median t max was 3-CQA (1.00 hour), 4-CQA (1.00 hour), and 5-CQA (1.50 hours). The t max of caffeine was 0.75 hours (natural extract) and 0.63 hours (synthetic caffeine). C max and AUC 0-4 h of serum caffeine were statistically equivalent between products. The geometric least-squares mean ratios (GMRs) of C max and AUC 0-4 h of caffeine were 97.77% (natural extract) and 98.33% (synthetic caffeine). It would appear that CGA compounds from the natural caffeine extract are bioavailable, and 3-CGA may be the compound most absorbed. In addition, caffeine sourced from natural extract versus synthetic were statistically similar for pharmacokinetic parameters. There were no adverse events or safety concerns. © 2018 The Authors. Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The American College of Clinical Pharmacology.

Green Logistic Practices: A Theoretical Approach of the Theme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emanuele Engelage

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study aims to identify the main practices of green logistic considered in national and international academic literature. Using standard techniques for selection of previous studies, this study firts presents the definition of green logistic term in order to differentiate it from other concepts commonly treated similarly, as circular economy, the green chain management (GSCM, the reverse logistics and the environmental certifications (ISO 14001, to obtain clarity about their delimitations, scopes and depth. The study also organizes a taxonomy that involves different functional areas of the company, giving direction to the sustainable conduct, resulting in nine components of green logistic that serve as subsidy for the classification of the identified practices. Based on this conceptual definition and taxonomy, lists 112 practices of green logistic, among which 85 are enterprise ambit, 24 governmental and 3 towards consumers. Regarding the quantity of identified practices and the number of citations, both in business sphere as well as in governmental, the most representative part is related to green  Among the most cited practices are the search by more efficient deliveries, using intermodal and multimodal transport that are less polluting and the programming and optimization of flows deliveries. The survey also revealed that although the concept of green logistics is consolidated in the literature, the majority of studies, especially the empirical, concentrates on some of its components, in particular transport and reverse logistic.

Urban green spaces assessment approach to health, safety and environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Akbari Neisiani

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The city is alive with dynamic systems, where parks and urban green spaces have high strategic importance which help to improve living conditions. Urban parks are used as visual landscape with so many benefits such as reducing stress, reducing air pollution and producing oxygen, creating opportunities for people to participate in physical activities, optimal environment for children and decreasing noise pollution. The importance of parks is such extent that are discussed as an indicator of urban development. Hereupon the design and maintenance of urban green spaces requires integrated management system based on international standards of health, safety and the environment. In this study, Nezami Ganjavi Park (District 6 of Tehran with the approach to integrated management systems have been analyzed. In order to identify the status of the park in terms of the requirements of the management system based on previous studies and all Tehran Municipality’s considerations, a check list has been prepared and completed by park survey and interview with green space experts. The results showed that the utility of health indicators were 92.33 % (the highest and environmental and safety indicators were 72 %, 84 % respectively. According to SWOT analysis in Nezami Ganjavi Park some of strength points are fire extinguishers, first aid box, annual testing of drinking water and important weakness is using unseparated trash bins also as an opportunities, there are some interesting factors for children and parents to spend free times. Finally, the most important threat is unsuitable park facilities for disabled.

Design of Organic Transformations at Ambient Conditions: Our Sincere Efforts to the Cause of Green Chemistry Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Brahmachari, Goutam

2016-02-01

This account summarizes our recent efforts in designing a good number of important organic transformations leading to the synthesis of biologically relevant compounds at room temperature and pressure. Currently, the concept of green chemistry is globally acclaimed and has already advanced quite significantly to emerge as a distinct branch of chemical sciences. Among the principles of green chemistry, one principle is dedicated to the "design of energy efficiency" - that is, to develop synthetic strategies that require less or the minimum amount of energy to carry out a specific reaction with optimum productivity - and the most effective way to save energy is to develop strategies/protocols that are capable enough to carry out the transformations at ambient temperature! As part of on-going developments in green synthetic strategies, the design of reactions under ambient conditions coupled with other green aspects is, thus, an area of current interest. The concept of developing reaction strategies at room temperature and pressure is now an emerging field of research in organic chemistry and is progressing steadily. This account is aimed to offer an overview of our recent research works directly related to this particular field of interest, and highlights the green chemistry practice leading to carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond-forming reactions of topical significance. Green synthetic routes to a variety of biologically relevant organic molecules (heterocyclic, heteroaromatic, alicyclic, acyclic, etc.) at room temperature and pressure are discussed. © 2015 The Chemical Society of Japan & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Imaging with Synthetic Aperture Radar

CERN Document Server

Massonnet, Didier

2008-01-01

Describing a field that has been transformed by the recent availability of data from a new generation of space and airborne systems, the authors offer a synthetic geometrical approach to the description of synthetic aperture radar, one that addresses physicists, radar specialists, as well as experts in image processing.  

Synthetic biology approaches: Towards sustainable exploitation of marine bioactive molecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Seghal Kiran, G; Ramasamy, Pasiyappazham; Sekar, Sivasankari; Ramu, Meenatchi; Hassan, Saqib; Ninawe, A S; Selvin, Joseph

2018-06-01

The discovery of genes responsible for the production of bioactive metabolites via metabolic pathways combined with the advances in synthetic biology tools, has allowed the establishment of numerous microbial cell factories, for instance the yeast cell factories, for the manufacture of highly useful metabolites from renewable biomass. Genome mining and metagenomics are two platforms provide base-line data for reconstruction of genomes and metabolomes which is based in the development of synthetic/semi-synthetic genomes for marine natural products discovery. Engineered biofilms are being innovated on synthetic biology platform using genetic circuits and cell signalling systems as represillators controlling biofilm formation. Recombineering is a process of homologous recombination mediated genetic engineering, includes insertion, deletion or modification of any sequence specifically. Although this discipline considered new to the scientific domain, this field has now developed as promising endeavor on the accomplishment of sustainable exploitation of marine natural products. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Green Logistic Practices: A Theoretical Approach of the Theme

OpenAIRE

Emanuele Engelage; Altair Borgert; Marcos Antonio De Souza

2016-01-01

This study aims to identify the main practices of green logistic considered in national and international academic literature. Using standard techniques for selection of previous studies, this study firts presents the definition of green logistic term in order to differentiate it from other concepts commonly treated similarly, as circular economy, the green chain management (GSCM), the reverse logistics and the environmental certifications (ISO 14001), to obtain clarity about their delimitati...

Research of features and structure of electoral space of Ukraine in 2014 with the use of synthetic approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. M. Shelemba

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The article is aimed at the ground of expediency of the use of synthetic authorial model for research of features and structure of electoral space of Ukraine in 2014 year. Methodological principles of the use of synthetic model are expounded with the use of quality and quantitative methods researches of electoral space, among that methods of factor and cross­correlation analysis. A synthetic model (approach that is built on the basis of the use of the best scientific approaches takes into account features and progress of electoral space of Ukraine trends. The analysis of features and structure of electoral space of Ukraine is conducted in 2014 with the use of an offer model. The application author synthetic model allows the study of the use of association factor and correlation analysis to justify support to political parties during election campaigns, respectively, depending on the factors and the most important correlates. It was found that electoral choice depends on the actions of those factors in the highest degree the expectations of the region. This article has shown that the use of Ukraine at this stage of the investigated during election campaigns as the most significant social correlates of «Human Development Index» is reasonable and one that makes it possible to obtain reliable results. It is proved that a high level of correlation holds at a high level of support the party and, consequently, high sense of social correlates all variants of expert research.

A multitemporal and non-parametric approach for assessing the impacts of drought on vegetation greenness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carrao, Hugo; Sepulcre, Guadalupe; Horion, Stéphanie Marie Anne F

2013-01-01

This study evaluates the relationship between the frequency and duration of meteorological droughts and the subsequent temporal changes on the quantity of actively photosynthesizing biomass (greenness) estimated from satellite imagery on rainfed croplands in Latin America. An innovative non-parametric...... and non-supervised approach, based on the Fisher-Jenks optimal classification algorithm, is used to identify multi-scale meteorological droughts on the basis of empirical cumulative distributions of 1, 3, 6, and 12-monthly precipitation totals. As input data for the classifier, we use the gridded GPCC...... for the period between 1998 and 2010. The time-series analysis of vegetation greenness is performed during the growing season with a non-parametric method, namely the seasonal Relative Greenness (RG) of spatially accumulated fAPAR. The Global Land Cover map of 2000 and the GlobCover maps of 2005/2006 and 2009...

Stabilisation of phytosterols by natural and synthetic antioxidants in high temperature conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kmiecik, Dominik; Korczak, Józef; Rudzińska, Magdalena; Gramza-Michałowska, Anna; Hęś, Marzanna; Kobus-Cisowska, Joanna

2015-04-15

The aim of the study was to assess the potential applicability of natural antioxidants in the stabilisation of phytosterols. A mixture of β-sitosterol and campesterol was incorporated into triacylglycerols (TAGs). The following antioxidants were added to the prepared matrix: green tea extract, rosemary extract, a mix of tocopherols from rapeseed oil, a mix of synthetic tocopherols, phenolic compounds extracted from rapeseed meal, sinapic acid and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Samples were heated at a temperature of 180 °C for 4 h. After the completion of heating, the losses of phytosterols were analysed, as well as the contents of β-sitosterol and campesterol oxidation products. The total content of phytosterol oxidation products in samples ranged from 96.69 to 268.35 μg/g of oil. The effectiveness of antioxidants decreased in the following order: phenolic compounds from rapeseed meal>rosemary extract>mix of tocopherols from rapeseed oil>mix of synthetic tocopherols>green tea extract>sinapic acid>BHT. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2005 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award (Merck & Co., Inc.)

Science.gov (United States)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2005 award winner, Merck, designed an atom-economical, energy- and water-saving, convergent synthesis for aprepitant, the active ingredient in Emend, a drug for nausea and vomiting.

Analysing the Effects of Flood-Resilience Technologies in Urban Areas Using a Synthetic Model Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reinhard Schinke

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Flood protection systems with their spatial effects play an important role in managing and reducing flood risks. The planning and decision process as well as the technical implementation are well organized and often exercised. However, building-related flood-resilience technologies (FReT are often neglected due to the absence of suitable approaches to analyse and to integrate such measures in large-scale flood damage mitigation concepts. Against this backdrop, a synthetic model-approach was extended by few complementary methodical steps in order to calculate flood damage to buildings considering the effects of building-related FReT and to analyse the area-related reduction of flood risks by geo-information systems (GIS with high spatial resolution. It includes a civil engineering based investigation of characteristic properties with its building construction including a selection and combination of appropriate FReT as a basis for derivation of synthetic depth-damage functions. Depending on the real exposition and the implementation level of FReT, the functions can be used and allocated in spatial damage and risk analyses. The application of the extended approach is shown at a case study in Valencia (Spain. In this way, the overall research findings improve the integration of FReT in flood risk management. They provide also some useful information for advising of individuals at risk supporting the selection and implementation of FReT.

Modelling Lean and Green Supply Chain

Science.gov (United States)

Duarte, Susana Carla Vieira Lino Medina

The success of an organization depends on the effective control of its supply chain. It is important to recognize new opportunities for organization and its supply chain. In the last few years the approach to lean, agile, resilient and green supply chain paradigms has been addressed in the scientific literature. Research in this field shows that the integration of these concepts revealed some contradictions among so many paradigms. This thesis is mainly focused on the lean and green approaches. Thirteen different management frameworks, embodied in awards, standards and tools were studied to understand if they could contribute for the modelling process of a lean and green approach. The study reveals a number of categories that are common in most management frameworks, providing adequate conditions for a lean and green supply chain transformation. A conceptual framework for the evaluation of a lean and green organization`s supply chain was proposed. The framework considers six key criteria, namely, leadership, people, strategic planning, stakeholders, processes and results. It was proposed an assessment method considering a criteria score for each criterion. The purpose is to understand how lean and green supply chain can be compatible, using principles, practices, techniques or tools (i.e. elements) that support both, a lean and a green approach, in all key criteria. A case study in the automotive upstream supply chain was performed to understand more deeply if the elements proposed for the conceptual framework could be implemented in a real-scenario. Based on the conceptual framework and the case study, a roadmap to achieve a lean-green transformation is presented. The proposed roadmap revealed its contribution to the understanding on how and when an organization`s supply chain should apply the lean and green elements. This study is relevant to practice, as it may assist managers in the adoption of a lean and green supply chain approach, giving insights for the

Amine-derived synthetic approach to color-tunable InP/ZnS quantum dots with high fluorescent qualities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Woo-Seuk; Lee, Hye-Seung; Lee, Ju Chul; Jang, Dong Seon; Choi, Yoonyoung; Choi, Moongoo; Yang, Heesun

2013-01-01

High-quality, Cd-free InP quantum dots (QDs) have been conventionally synthesized by exclusively selecting tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphine (P(TMS) 3 ) as a phosphorus (P) precursor, which is problematic from the standpoint of green and economic chemistry. Thus, other synthetic chemistries adopting alternative P sources to P(TMS) 3 have been introduced, however, they could not guarantee the production of satisfactorily fluorescence-efficient, color-pure InP QDs. In this study, the unprecedented controlled synthesis of a series of band-gap-tuned InP QDs is demonstrated through a hot-injection of a far safer and cheaper tris(dimethylamino)phosphine in the presence of a key coordinating solvent of oleylamine that enables successful QD nucleation/growth. Effects of the co-existence of Zn additive, the core growth temperature, and the amount of P source injected on the growth behaviors of InP QD are investigated. After ZnS overcoating by a successive injection of 1-dodecanethiol only, high-fluorescence-quality, green-to-red color emission-tunable core/shell QDs of InP/ZnS are obtained. The fluorescent characteristics of different color-emitting QDs desirably exhibit little fluctuations in quantum yield and emission bandwidth, specifically ranging 51–53 % and 60–64 nm, respectively. Lastly, the utility of the introduction of a secondary shelling process in rendering the QDs are more bright, photostable is also proved.

Amine-derived synthetic approach to color-tunable InP/ZnS quantum dots with high fluorescent qualities

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Woo-Seuk; Lee, Hye-Seung; Lee, Ju Chul; Jang, Dong Seon; Choi, Yoonyoung; Choi, Moongoo; Yang, Heesun

2013-06-01

High-quality, Cd-free InP quantum dots (QDs) have been conventionally synthesized by exclusively selecting tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphine (P(TMS)3) as a phosphorus (P) precursor, which is problematic from the standpoint of green and economic chemistry. Thus, other synthetic chemistries adopting alternative P sources to P(TMS)3 have been introduced, however, they could not guarantee the production of satisfactorily fluorescence-efficient, color-pure InP QDs. In this study, the unprecedented controlled synthesis of a series of band-gap-tuned InP QDs is demonstrated through a hot-injection of a far safer and cheaper tris(dimethylamino)phosphine in the presence of a key coordinating solvent of oleylamine that enables successful QD nucleation/growth. Effects of the co-existence of Zn additive, the core growth temperature, and the amount of P source injected on the growth behaviors of InP QD are investigated. After ZnS overcoating by a successive injection of 1-dodecanethiol only, high-fluorescence-quality, green-to-red color emission-tunable core/shell QDs of InP/ZnS are obtained. The fluorescent characteristics of different color-emitting QDs desirably exhibit little fluctuations in quantum yield and emission bandwidth, specifically ranging 51-53 % and 60-64 nm, respectively. Lastly, the utility of the introduction of a secondary shelling process in rendering the QDs are more bright, photostable is also proved.

Amine-derived synthetic approach to color-tunable InP/ZnS quantum dots with high fluorescent qualities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Woo-Seuk; Lee, Hye-Seung [Hongik University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Ju Chul; Jang, Dong Seon; Choi, Yoonyoung; Choi, Moongoo [LGE Advanced Research Institute, LG Electronics, Materials and Devices Laboratory (Korea, Republic of); Yang, Heesun, E-mail: hyang@hongik.ac.kr [Hongik University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Korea, Republic of)

2013-06-15

High-quality, Cd-free InP quantum dots (QDs) have been conventionally synthesized by exclusively selecting tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphine (P(TMS){sub 3}) as a phosphorus (P) precursor, which is problematic from the standpoint of green and economic chemistry. Thus, other synthetic chemistries adopting alternative P sources to P(TMS){sub 3} have been introduced, however, they could not guarantee the production of satisfactorily fluorescence-efficient, color-pure InP QDs. In this study, the unprecedented controlled synthesis of a series of band-gap-tuned InP QDs is demonstrated through a hot-injection of a far safer and cheaper tris(dimethylamino)phosphine in the presence of a key coordinating solvent of oleylamine that enables successful QD nucleation/growth. Effects of the co-existence of Zn additive, the core growth temperature, and the amount of P source injected on the growth behaviors of InP QD are investigated. After ZnS overcoating by a successive injection of 1-dodecanethiol only, high-fluorescence-quality, green-to-red color emission-tunable core/shell QDs of InP/ZnS are obtained. The fluorescent characteristics of different color-emitting QDs desirably exhibit little fluctuations in quantum yield and emission bandwidth, specifically ranging 51-53 % and 60-64 nm, respectively. Lastly, the utility of the introduction of a secondary shelling process in rendering the QDs are more bright, photostable is also proved.

Designing Green Stormwater Infrastructure for Hydrologic and Human Benefits: An Image Based Machine Learning Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Rai, A.; Minsker, B. S.

2014-12-01

Urbanization over the last century has degraded our natural water resources by increasing storm-water runoff, reducing nutrient retention, and creating poor ecosystem health downstream. The loss of tree canopy and expansion of impervious area and storm sewer systems have significantly decreased infiltration and evapotranspiration, increased stream-flow velocities, and increased flood risk. These problems have brought increasing attention to catchment-wide implementation of green infrastructure (e.g., decentralized green storm water management practices such as bioswales, rain gardens, permeable pavements, tree box filters, cisterns, urban wetlands, urban forests, stream buffers, and green roofs) to replace or supplement conventional storm water management practices and create more sustainable urban water systems. Current green infrastructure (GI) practice aims at mitigating the negative effects of urbanization by restoring pre-development hydrology and ultimately addressing water quality issues at an urban catchment scale. The benefits of green infrastructure extend well beyond local storm water management, as urban green spaces are also major contributors to human health. Considerable research in the psychological sciences have shown significant human health benefits from appropriately designed green spaces, yet impacts on human wellbeing have not yet been formally considered in GI design frameworks. This research is developing a novel computational green infrastructure (GI) design framework that integrates hydrologic requirements with criteria for human wellbeing. A supervised machine learning model is created to identify specific patterns in urban green spaces that promote human wellbeing; the model is linked to RHESSYS model to evaluate GI designs in terms of both hydrologic and human health benefits. An application of the models to Dead Run Watershed in Baltimore showed that image mining methods were able to capture key elements of human preferences that could

Towards green loyalty: the influences of green perceived risk, green image, green trust and green satisfaction

Science.gov (United States)

Chrisjatmiko, K.

2018-01-01

The paper aims to present a comprehensive framework for the influences of green perceived risk, green image, green trust and green satisfaction to green loyalty. The paper also seeks to account explicitly for the differences in green perceived risk, green image, green trust, green satisfaction and green loyalty found among green products customers. Data were obtained from 155 green products customers. Structural equation modeling was used in order to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings show that green image, green trust and green satisfaction has positive effects to green loyalty. But green perceived risk has negative effects to green image, green trust and green satisfaction. However, green perceived risk, green image, green trust and green satisfaction also seems to be a good device to gain green products customers from competitors. The contributions of the paper are, firstly, a more complete framework of the influences of green perceived risk, green image, green trust and green satisfaction to green loyalty analyses simultaneously. Secondly, the study allows a direct comparison of the difference in green perceived risk, green image, green trust, green satisfaction and green loyalty between green products customers.

Synthetic Biology and Personalized Medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, K.K.

2013-01-01

Synthetic biology, application of synthetic chemistry to biology, is a broad term that covers the engineering of biological systems with structures and functions not found in nature to process information, manipulate chemicals, produce energy, maintain cell environment and enhance human health. Synthetic biology devices contribute not only to improve our understanding of disease mechanisms, but also provide novel diagnostic tools. Methods based on synthetic biology enable the design of novel strategies for the treatment of cancer, immune diseases metabolic disorders and infectious diseases as well as the production of cheap drugs. The potential of synthetic genome, using an expanded genetic code that is designed for specific drug synthesis as well as delivery and activation of the drug in vivo by a pathological signal, was already pointed out during a lecture delivered at Kuwait University in 2005. Of two approaches to synthetic biology, top-down and bottom-up, the latter is more relevant to the development of personalized medicines as it provides more flexibility in constructing a partially synthetic cell from basic building blocks for a desired task. PMID:22907209

An Asymmetric Synthetic Approach to the A-ring of the Taxol Family of Anti-Cancer Compounds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. L. Marin

1998-02-01

Full Text Available A synthetic route developed for the preparation of the A-ring of Taxol family of molecules is reported. By means of an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction an asymmetric approach to this ring has been accomplished. Also, initial studies to prepare the A ring using an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction have been successful.

Green roof rainfall-runoff modelling: is the comparison between conceptual and physically based approaches relevant?

Science.gov (United States)

Versini, Pierre-Antoine; Tchiguirinskaia, Ioulia; Schertzer, Daniel

2017-04-01

Green roofs are commonly considered as efficient tools to mitigate urban runoff as they can store precipitation, and consequently provide retention and detention performances. Designed as a compromise between water holding capacity, weight and hydraulic conductivity, their substrate is usually an artificial media differentiating significantly from a traditional soil. In order to assess green roofs hydrological performances, many models have been developed. Classified into two categories (conceptual and physically based), they are usually applied to reproduce the discharge of a particular monitored green roof considered as homogeneous. Although the resulted simulations could be satisfactory, the question of robustness and consistency of the calibrated parameters is often not addressed. Here, a modeling framework has been developed to assess the efficiency and the robustness of both modelling approaches (conceptual and physically based) in reproducing green roof hydrological behaviour. SWMM and VS2DT models have been used for this purpose. This work also benefits from an experimental setup where several green roofs differentiated by their substrate thickness and vegetation cover are monitored. Based on the data collected for several rainfall events, it has been studied how the calibrated parameters are effectively linked to their physical properties and how they can vary from one green roof configuration to another. Although both models reproduce correctly the observed discharges in most of the cases, their calibrated parameters exhibit a high inconsistency. For a same green roof configuration, these parameters can vary significantly from one rainfall event to another, even if they are supposed to be linked to the green roof characteristics (roughness, residual moisture content for instance). They can also be different from one green roof configuration to another although the implemented substrate is the same. Finally, it appears very difficult to find any

Economising subsidies for green housing features: A stated preference approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yung Yau

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In light of the enormous amounts of energy and resources consumed by housing development and operations, many governments have started recognising the urgent need to promote green or eco-friendly housing with the aim of achieving sustainable development. Apart from regulations, governments can offer incentives to developers to provide green features in their developments by offering subsidies in various forms. However, such subsidisation is often uneconomical. In theory, market forces can lead to green housing provision without any government intervention if the market players are willing to pay extra for the green features of housing. Against this background, this article presents the findings of a study that compared potential homebuyers’ willingness to pay (WTP for various green housing features based on findings from a structured questionnaire survey in Macau. The housing attributes under investigation included uses of green materials (e.g., sustainable forest products and construction methods (e.g., prefabrication, energy-efficient technologies (e.g., LED lighting and water-saving devices (e.g., grey-water recycling systems. Results indicate that the respondents’ WTP was mainly motivated by economic incentives. Green housing attributes that can offer direct financial benefits corresponded to greater WTP. The policy implications of the research findings then follow.

Effectiveness of a consistently formulated diffusion-synthetic acceleration differencing approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalil, H.

1988-01-01

A consistently formulated differencing approach is applied to the diffusion-synthetic acceleration of discrete ordinates calculations based on various spatial differencing schemes. The diffusion ''coupling'' equations derived for each scheme are contrasted to conventional coupling relations and are shown to permit derivation of either point- or box-centered diffusion difference equations. The resulting difference equations are shown to be mathematically equivalent, in slab geometry, to equations derived by applying Larsen's four-step procedure to the S/sub 2/ equations. Fourier stability analysis of the acceleration method applied to slab model problems is used to demonstrate that, for any S/sub n/ differencing scheme (a) the upper bound on the spectral radius of the method occurs in the fine-mesh limit and equals that of the spatially continuous case (0.22466), and (b) the spectral radius decreases with increasing mesh size to an asymptotic value <0.13135. This model problem performance is somewhat superior to that of Larsen's approach, for which the spectral radius is bounded by 0.25 in the wide-mesh limit. Numerical results of multidimensional, heterogeneous, scattering-dominated problems are also presented to demonstrate the rapid convergence of accelerated discrete ordinates calculations using various spatial differencing schemes

Synthetic biology of polyketide synthases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yuzawa, Satoshi; Backman, Tyler W.H.; Keasling, Jay D.

2018-01-01

). The modules are composed of enzymatic domains that share sequence and functional similarity across all known PKSs. We have used the nomenclature of synthetic biology to classify the enzymatic domains and modules as parts and devices, respectively, and have generated detailed lists of both. In addition, we...... realize the potential that synthetic biology approaches bring to this class of molecules....

Green chemistry approach for the synthesis of biocompatible graphene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gurunathan S

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Sangiliyandi Gurunathan, Jae Woong Han, Jin-Hoi Kim Department of Animal Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea Background: Graphene is a single-atom thick, two-dimensional sheet of hexagonally arranged carbon atoms isolated from its three-dimensional parent material, graphite. One of the most common methods for preparation of graphene is chemical exfoliation of graphite using powerful oxidizing agents. Generally, graphene is synthesized through deoxygenation of graphene oxide (GO by using hydrazine, which is one of the most widespread and strongest reducing agents. Due to the high toxicity of hydrazine, it is not a promising reducing agent in large-scale production of graphene; therefore, this study focused on a green or sustainable synthesis of graphene and the biocompatibility of graphene in primary mouse embryonic fibroblast cells (PMEFs. Methods: Here, we demonstrated a simple, rapid, and green chemistry approach for the synthesis of reduced GO (rGO from GO using triethylamine (TEA as a reducing agent and stabilizing agent. The obtained TEA reduced GO (TEA-rGO was characterized by ultraviolet (UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD, particle size dynamic light scattering (DLS, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM. Results: The transition of graphene oxide to graphene was confirmed by UV–visible spectroscopy. XRD and SEM were used to investigate the crystallinity of graphene and the surface morphologies of prepared graphene respectively. The formation of defects further supports the functionalization of graphene as indicated in the Raman spectrum of TEA-rGO. Surface morphology and the thickness of the GO and TEA-rGO were analyzed using AFM. The presented results suggest that TEA-rGO shows significantly more biocompatibility with PMEFs cells than GO. Conclusion: This is the first report about using TEA as a reducing as well as a stabilizing agent for the

Green toxicology.

Science.gov (United States)

Maertens, Alexandra; Anastas, Nicholas; Spencer, Pamela J; Stephens, Martin; Goldberg, Alan; Hartung, Thomas

2014-01-01

Historically, early identification and characterization of adverse effects of industrial chemicals was difficult because conventional toxicological test methods did not meet R&D needs for rapid, relatively inexpensive methods amenable to small amounts of test material. The pharmaceutical industry now front-loads toxicity testing, using in silico, in vitro, and less demanding animal tests at earlier stages of product development to identify and anticipate undesirable toxicological effects and optimize product development. The Green Chemistry movement embraces similar ideas for development of less toxic products, safer processes, and less waste and exposure. Further, the concept of benign design suggests ways to consider possible toxicities before the actual synthesis and to apply some structure/activity rules (SAR) and in silico methods. This requires not only scientific development but also a change in corporate culture in which synthetic chemists work with toxicologists. An emerging discipline called Green Toxicology (Anastas, 2012) provides a framework for integrating the principles of toxicology into the enterprise of designing safer chemicals, thereby minimizing potential toxicity as early in production as possible. Green Toxicology`s novel utility lies in driving innovation by moving safety considerations to the earliest stage in a chemical`s lifecycle, i.e., to molecular design. In principle, this field is no different than other subdisciplines of toxicology that endeavor to focus on a specific area - for example, clinical, environmental or forensic toxicology. We use the same principles and tools to evaluate an existing substance or to design a new one. The unique emphasis is in using 21st century toxicology tools as a preventative strategy to "design out" undesired human health and environmental effects, thereby increasing the likelihood of launching a successful, sustainable product. Starting with the formation of a steering group and a series of workshops

Sustainable Practices in Medicinal Chemistry Part 2: Green by Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Aliagas, Ignacio; Berger, Raphaëlle; Goldberg, Kristin; Nishimura, Rachel T; Reilly, John; Richardson, Paul; Richter, Daniel; Sherer, Edward C; Sparling, Brian A; Bryan, Marian C

2017-07-27

With the development of ever-expanding synthetic methodologies, a medicinal chemist's toolkit continues to swell. However, with finite time and resources as well as a growing understanding of our field's environment impact, it is critical to refine what can be made to what should be made. This review seeks to highlight multiple cheminformatic approaches in drug discovery that can influence and triage design and execution impacting the likelihood of rapidly generating high-value molecules in a more sustainable manner. This strategy gives chemists the tools to design and refine vast libraries, stress "druglikeness", and rapidly identify SAR trends. Project success, i.e., identification of a clinical candidate, is then reached faster with fewer molecules with the farther-reaching ramification of using fewer resources and generating less waste, thereby helping "green" our field.

Binary operators and their Green's functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheff, J.R.

1982-01-01

Three topics are considered. First, the Langevin approach to neutron noise is used as a basis and guide to develop solutions and solution techniques for the ChapmanKolmogorov forward equation approach to neutron noise. The approach followed throughout this first part is that of solution by means of Green's functions. A particular form for the binary operator Green's function was picked on the basis of the Langevin method. Second, the basic solution technique using the particular Green's function form mentioned above is proven to be a correct and a general result. It is proven that the binary operator is always separable and that the Green's function could be written as the product of two single operator Green's functions. This is a new result. Third and finally, the forward equation approach of Chapman-Kolmogorov is generalized to include time allowing differential equations for second and higher order correlation functions to be developed directly. The principal result of the last section, the differential equation for correlation function of the neutron density, is new. Its derivation is really outside of or broader than the scope indicated by the title of the paper

Health safety issues of synthetic food colorants.

Science.gov (United States)

Amchova, Petra; Kotolova, Hana; Ruda-Kucerova, Jana

2015-12-01

Increasing attention has been recently paid to the toxicity of additives used in food. The European Parliament and the Council published the REGULATION (EC) No. 1333/2008 on food additives establishing that the toxicity of food additives evaluated before 20th January 2009 must be re-evaluated by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The aim of this review is to survey current knowledge specifically on the toxicity issues of synthetic food colorants using official reports published by the EFSA and other available studies published since the respective report. Synthetic colorants described are Tartrazine, Quinoline Yellow, Sunset Yellow, Azorubine, Ponceau 4R, Erythrosine, Allura Red, Patent Blue, Indigo Carmine, Brilliant Blue FCF, Green S, Brilliant Black and Brown HT. Moreover, a summary of evidence on possible detrimental effects of colorant mixes on children's behaviour is provided and future research directions are outlined. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The chemopreventive properties and therapeutic modulation of green tea polyphenols in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ui-Lyong; Choi, Sung-Weon

2011-01-01

Chemoprevention is a relatively novel and promising approach for controlling cancer that uses specific natural products or synthetic agents to suppress, reverse, or prevent premalignancy before transformation into invasive cancer. Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) represents a large, worldwide health burden with approximately 274,000 cases diagnosed annually worldwide. Smoking and alcohol consumption are major inducers of OCSCC. Recently, the human papilloma virus was also shown to potentially be an etiologic factor. Due to its easily identifiable risk factors and the presence of premalignant regions, oral cancer makes a good candidate for chemoprevention. Green tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, and it has received considerable attention because of its abundant, scientifically proven, beneficial effects on human health. In this review, we discuss the role of green tea in oral cancer chemoprevention with regard to the multiple molecular mechanisms proposed in various in vitro, in vivo, and clinical trials.

Green roofs : a watertight perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Honza, D. [Honza Group Inc., Columbia, MD (United States)]|[Barrett Co., Millington, NJ (United States)

2005-07-01

While there is a growing acceptance of the ecological benefits of green roofs, many roofing contractors view green roofs with suspicion. The roofing industry is a high-volume, low-margin cost-driven industry which promotes a minimum standard commodity mentality. Roofing and waterproofing is the largest source of claims against architects and engineers. This paper suggested that architectural firms and engineering firms can reduce many issues associated with roofing problems by investigating and understanding materials, demands of projects, and preparing thorough specifications. Long-term exposure to the sun's rays will impact the chemical make-up of the roofing material, and water can break down the surface molecular structure of the membrane. Daily, yearly and event-related temperature variations can subject membranes to thermal induced stresses. Many roofs leak as a result of abuse during construction. Understanding and anticipating the performance problems of membranes can give green roof designers the ability to address limitations through good design. The membrane for a green roof should have superior abuse resistance; elastic properties, and resistance to long-term wet or saturated environments. Flashings for green roofs must exceed minimum standards. Membranes should be tested for watertightness before components are installed using electronic field vector mapping. Overburden should be installed after the membrane installation is proven to be watertight. It was concluded that higher design standards are required for green roofs, as many traditional roof membranes fail prematurely. A review of widely used membranes in the roofing and waterproofing industry included modified bitumen; built-up roofing; cured synthetic rubber sheets; thermalplastic membranes; self-adhering modified bitumen; and rubberized asphalt. 6 refs., 2 tabs., 6 figs.

Green product innovation strategy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Driessen, P.H.

2005-01-01

Over the last decades, companies have started to incorporate green issues in product innovation strategies. This dissertation studies green product innovation strategy, its antecedents and its outcomes. A three-stage approach is followed. In the first stage, the topic is explored and a preliminary

Green's function approach to the anisotropic Kondo-necklace lattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rezania, H.; Langari, A.; Thalmeier, P.

2007-01-01

Full text: We have studied the effect of anisotropy on the quantum phase transition of the 2D anisotropic Kondo necklace lattice [1] within a Green's function approach [2]. In the disordered phase the ground state is the product of all singlet bonds between itinerant and localized spins. It is separated by a finite energy gap from the triplet excited states. The quantum phase transition to the antiferromagnetically ordered phase takes place where the gap vanishes. In this approach we use the bond operator formalism introduced in Ref.[3] where each bond is represented by the singlet and triplet operators. The Kondo necklace Hamiltonian in the bond operator representation is composed of the kinetic energy and pairing part (H2), the two particle interaction (H4) of the boson gas and a term which includes three boson operators (H3). In order to ensure that the physical states are either singlets or triplets we impose the hard-core condition by introducing an infinite on-site repulsion between triplet bosons (H U ). The scattering vertex in the ladder approximation satisfies the Bethe-Salpeter equation [4]. By calculating the scattering vertex function we obtain the self energy contribution of the Hamiltonian H U . We have added the second order contribution of the self energy of H3 to the self energy of H U . It should be noted that the non conservation of triplet boson numbers requires the inclusion of the anomalous Green's functions. We treat H 4 in mean-field theory, by splitting the quartic operator into all possible pairs. Finally we obtain the renormalization of coefficients in the H 2 Hamiltonian and calculate the energy gap. Indeed at the critical point a condensation of triplet bosons occurs. We have numerically found the critical point of this model and compared our results with the corresponding mean field values [5]. Moreover, the critical exponent of the energy gap can be obtained more accurately than the mean field results. (authors)

A living foundry for Synthetic Biological Materials: A synthetic biology roadmap to new advanced materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Feuvre, Rosalind A; Scrutton, Nigel S

2018-06-01

Society is on the cusp of harnessing recent advances in synthetic biology to discover new bio-based products and routes to their affordable and sustainable manufacture. This is no more evident than in the discovery and manufacture of Synthetic Biological Materials , where synthetic biology has the capacity to usher in a new Materials from Biology era that will revolutionise the discovery and manufacture of innovative synthetic biological materials. These will encompass novel, smart, functionalised and hybrid materials for diverse applications whose discovery and routes to bio-production will be stimulated by the fusion of new technologies positioned across physical, digital and biological spheres. This article, which developed from an international workshop held in Manchester, United Kingdom, in 2017 [1], sets out to identify opportunities in the new materials from biology era. It considers requirements, early understanding and foresight of the challenges faced in delivering a Discovery to Manufacturing Pipeline for synthetic biological materials using synthetic biology approaches. This challenge spans the complete production cycle from intelligent and predictive design, fabrication, evaluation and production of synthetic biological materials to new ways of bringing these products to market. Pathway opportunities are identified that will help foster expertise sharing and infrastructure development to accelerate the delivery of a new generation of synthetic biological materials and the leveraging of existing investments in synthetic biology and advanced materials research to achieve this goal.

A living foundry for Synthetic Biological Materials: A synthetic biology roadmap to new advanced materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosalind A. Le Feuvre

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Society is on the cusp of harnessing recent advances in synthetic biology to discover new bio-based products and routes to their affordable and sustainable manufacture. This is no more evident than in the discovery and manufacture of Synthetic Biological Materials, where synthetic biology has the capacity to usher in a new Materials from Biology era that will revolutionise the discovery and manufacture of innovative synthetic biological materials. These will encompass novel, smart, functionalised and hybrid materials for diverse applications whose discovery and routes to bio-production will be stimulated by the fusion of new technologies positioned across physical, digital and biological spheres. This article, which developed from an international workshop held in Manchester, United Kingdom, in 2017 [1], sets out to identify opportunities in the new materials from biology era. It considers requirements, early understanding and foresight of the challenges faced in delivering a Discovery to Manufacturing Pipeline for synthetic biological materials using synthetic biology approaches. This challenge spans the complete production cycle from intelligent and predictive design, fabrication, evaluation and production of synthetic biological materials to new ways of bringing these products to market. Pathway opportunities are identified that will help foster expertise sharing and infrastructure development to accelerate the delivery of a new generation of synthetic biological materials and the leveraging of existing investments in synthetic biology and advanced materials research to achieve this goal. Keywords: Synthetic biology, Materials, Biological materials, Biomaterials, Advanced materials

Plant Extract Synthesized PLA Nanoparticles for Controlled and Sustained Release of Quercetin: A Green Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Yadav, Sudesh Kumar

2012-01-01

Background Green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) has been extensively carried out by using plant extracts (PEs) which have property of stabilizers/ emulsifiers. To our knowledge, there is no comprehensive study on applying a green approach using PEs for fabrication of biodegradable PLA NPs. Conventional methods rely on molecules like polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, D-alpha-tocopheryl poly(ethylene glycol 1000) succinate as stabilizers/emulsifiers for the synthesis of such biodegradable NPs which are known to be toxic. So, there is urgent need to look for stabilizers which are biogenic and non-toxic. The present study investigated use of PEs as stabilizers/emulsifiers for the fabrication of stable PLA NPs. Synthesized PLA NPs through this green process were explored for controlled release of the well known antioxidant molecule quercetin. Methodology/Principal Findings Stable PLA NPs were synthesized using leaf extracts of medicinally important plants like Syzygium cumini (1), Bauhinia variegata (2), Cedrus deodara (3), Lonicera japonica (4) and Eleaocarpus sphaericus (5). Small and uniformly distributed NPs in the size range 70±30 nm to 143±36 nm were formed with these PEs. To explore such NPs for drugs/ small molecules delivery, we have successfully encapsulated quercetin a lipophilic molecule on a most uniformly distributed PLA-4 NPs synthesized using Lonicera japonica leaf extract. Quercetin loaded PLA-4 NPs were observed for slow and sustained release of quercetin molecule. Conclusions This green approach based on PEs mediated synthesis of stable PLA NPs pave the way for encapsulating drug/small molecules, nutraceuticals and other bioactive ingredients for safer cellular uptake, biodistribution and targeted delivery. Hence, such PEs synthesized PLA NPs would be useful to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of encapsulated small molecules/drugs. Furthermore, different types of plants can be explored for the synthesis of PLA as well as other

State of the Art High-Throughput Approaches to Genotoxicity: Flow Micronucleus, Ames II, GreenScreen and Comet

Science.gov (United States)

State of the Art High-Throughput Approaches to Genotoxicity: Flow Micronucleus, Ames II, GreenScreen and Comet (Presented by Dr. Marilyn J. Aardema, Chief Scientific Advisor, Toxicology, Dr. Leon Stankowski, et. al. (6/28/2012)

Green Approach in the Bio-removal of Heavy Metals from wastewaters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gani Paran

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Cultivation of microalgae has been suggested as a green approach for a sustainable wastewater treatment especially heavy metal bioremediation. This study investigated the bio-removal of zinc (Zn, iron (Fe, cadmium (Cd and manganese (Mn from domestic wastewater (DW and food processing wastewater (FW using green microalgae, Botryococcus sp.. The total of five treatments represented by five different cell concentrations (1×103, 1×104, 1×105, 1×106 and 1×107 cells/mL of Botryococcus sp. in the wastewaters medium. The results revealed high removal efficiency of Zn, Fe, Cd and Mn after 18 days of the culture compared to control (wastewaters without algae. In DW , Zn, Fe, Cd and Mn were successfully removed at the highest efficiencies up to 71.5%, 51.2%, 83.5% and 97.2%, respectively while in FW, the same metal concentrations were reduced by up to 64.4%, 53.3%, 52.9% and 26.7%, respectively. Overall, most of the algae cell concentrations tested were successfully reducing the metals contaminant presence in both wastewaters and provides a baseline for further phycoremediation coupled with biomass production.

An integrated MCDM approach to green supplier selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morteza Yazdani

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Supplier selection management has been considered as an important subject for industrial organizations. In order to remain on the market, to gain profitability and to retain competitive advantage, business units need to establish an integrated and structured supplier selection system. In addition, environmental protection problems have been big solicitudes for organizations to consider green approach in supplier selection problem. However, finding proper suppliers involves several variables and it is critically a complex process. In this paper, the main attention is focused on finding the right supplier based on fuzzy multi criteria decision making (MCDM process. The weights of criteria are calculated by analytical hierarchical process (AHP and the final ranking is achieved by fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS. TOPSIS advantage among the other similar methods is to obtain the best solution close to ideal solution. The paper attempts to express better understanding by an example of an automobile manufacturing supply chain.

Synthetic Self-Assembled Materials in Biological Environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Versluis, F.; van Esch, J.H.; Eelkema, R.

2016-01-01

Synthetic self-assembly has long been recognized as an excellent approach for the formation of ordered structures on the nanoscale. Although the development of synthetic self-assembling materials has often been inspired by principles observed in nature (e.g., the assembly of lipids, DNA,

Development of Green Business as an Approach to Financing the Greening of Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natal’ya Nikolaevna Yashalova

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The issues of green economy development are in the focus of attention of Russian and foreign scientists. Its formation was influenced by environmental activities financing sources. The article presents the description of budgetary and extra-budgetary environmental protection financing. Special attention is paid to the need to strengthen private financial support of environmentally determined activities, which can be implemented as part of development of ecopreneurship. The purpose of this article is to identify the trends in budgetary and extra-budgetary environmental protection financing and resource conservation in the Russian Federation and to rationalize theoretically the necessity of business participation in financing of environment-related business ideas, which is aimed at supporting the greening of economic activity at the regional level. The methods of empirical and statistical research, systematization and generalization of information have been used. SWOT analysis has identified the strengths and weaknesses of green business, as well as the opportunities for and threats to its development. The study systematizes the information on the sources of financing of environment-related activities, identifies their strengths and weaknesses, and analyzes statistical data on financial aspects of environmental protection. It has been established that the financing of environmental activities in the regions is carried out according to the residual principle; most of the sources of environment financing are unavailable to economic entities; indirect assistance in the implementation of environment-related management finds absolutely no application. The material presented in this paper can be used by public authorities in the development of measures to facilitate the transition to green economy and may also be applicable in the educational process. The authors conclude that the successful transition of Russian regions to the path of sustainable

Green synthetic strategy of BCNO nanostructure and phosphor-based light – Emitting diodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Yue [The Quartermaster Research Institute of General Logistics Department, Beijing 100010 (China); Yuan, Bo [Chemical Defense Institute of China, Beijing 100010 (China); Zhang, Dongjiu [Key Laboratory of Space Launching Site Reliability Technology, Hainan 570100 (China); Ma, Tian; Huang, Xiancong [The Quartermaster Research Institute of General Logistics Department, Beijing 100010 (China); Chu, Zengyong [College of Science, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073 (China); Lai, Kan [The Quartermaster Research Institute of General Logistics Department, Beijing 100010 (China)

2016-11-15

BCNO phosphor has been paid much attention due to their unique physical, electronic and optical properties. Here we have successfully obtained BCNO nano-particle phosphor by microwave treating from boric acid, urea, and glucose at low temperatures and in short reaction time. Glucose decomposed into graphene quantum dots (GQDs), which facilitated the formation of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). Through our method, GQDs domains were uniformly incorporated into h-BN, leading to the formation of BCNO and decrease of bandgap. BCNO demonstrated excellent performance in light emitting diodes (LEDs) with green and blue light. We envision that this BCNO phosphor will enable the next generation blue and green LED devices due to the easiness of large scale fabrication at an economic cost.

Green synthetic strategy of BCNO nanostructure and phosphor-based light – Emitting diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Yue; Yuan, Bo; Zhang, Dongjiu; Ma, Tian; Huang, Xiancong; Chu, Zengyong; Lai, Kan

2016-01-01

BCNO phosphor has been paid much attention due to their unique physical, electronic and optical properties. Here we have successfully obtained BCNO nano-particle phosphor by microwave treating from boric acid, urea, and glucose at low temperatures and in short reaction time. Glucose decomposed into graphene quantum dots (GQDs), which facilitated the formation of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). Through our method, GQDs domains were uniformly incorporated into h-BN, leading to the formation of BCNO and decrease of bandgap. BCNO demonstrated excellent performance in light emitting diodes (LEDs) with green and blue light. We envision that this BCNO phosphor will enable the next generation blue and green LED devices due to the easiness of large scale fabrication at an economic cost.

PREditOR: a synthetic biology approach to removing heterochromatin from cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Molina, Oscar; Carmena, Mar; Maudlin, Isabella E; Earnshaw, William C

2016-12-01

It is widely accepted that heterochromatin is necessary to maintain genomic stability. However, direct experimental evidence supporting this is slim. Previous studies using either enzyme inhibitors, gene knockout or knockdown studies all are subject to the caveat that drugs may have off-target effects and enzymes that modify chromatin proteins to support heterochromatin formation may also have numerous other cellular targets as well. Here, we describe PREditOR (protein reading and editing of residues), a synthetic biology approach that allows us to directly remove heterochromatin from cells without either drugs or global interference with gene function. We find that removal of heterochromatin perturbs mitotic progression and causes a dramatic increase in chromosome segregation defects, possibly as a result of interfering with the normal centromeric localization of the chromosomal passenger complex.

Extractive spectrophotometric determination of uranium with malachite green

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubey, S.C.; Nadkarni, M.N.

1977-01-01

A sensitive spectrophotometric method based on the extraction of a uranium-benzoate-Malachite Green complex by chlorobenzene is described. The absorption maximum is at 635 nm and the molar absorptivity is 8.3 x 10 4 1. mole -1 cm -1 . A preliminary separation of uranium by extraction with methyl isobutyl ketone from acid-deficient aluminium nitrate solution is used to avoid interferences. An aliquot of the extract in then diluted with chlorobenzene and shaken with benzoate buffer containing Malachite Green (MG). The method has been applied for the determination of uranium in a synthetic leach solution. The complex extracted is probably [U0 2 (C 6 H 5 C00 3 - ][MG + ]. (author)

Enacting Green Consumers: The Case of the Scandinavian Preppies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Fuentes

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to develop and illustrate an analytic approach that brings the active making and makings of green consumer images to the fore. Efforts to "know" the green consumers have generated multiple representations. Enactments of the green consumer are not innocent but also play a role in shaping how we understand and approach sustainable consumption. Because of this it is important to examine and critically discuss how green consumers are enacted today. This paper develops an approach that allows us to examine how green consumers are enacted and discuss the consequences these constructions might have for sustainability. Theoretically, a performativity approach drawing on theories from Science and Technology Studies (STS and economic sociology is used to discuss the enactment of green consumers. Empirically, focus is on Boomerang � a Swedish fashion retailer, brand, and producer � and its marketing practices. The analysis shows how the marketing work of the Boomerang Company leads to the enactment of the Green Scandinavian Preppy. This specific version of the green consumer is a combination of the knowledgeable green connoisseur - a consumer that knows quality when he/she sees it - and the green hedonist in search of the good life. The Green Scandinavian Preppy wants to enjoy nature, go sailing, and do so wearing fashionable quality clothes. This is a consumer that knows quality, appreciates design, and has the means to pay for both. While this is a version of the green consumer that might be appealing and thus have the potential to pro-mote a version of green consumption, it is also a green consumer image that has lost much of its political power as green consumption is framed as simply another source of pleasure and identity-making.

Carbon nanospheres derived from Lablab purpureus for high performance supercapacitor electrodes: a green approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Gomaa A M; Divyashree, A; Supriya, S; Chong, Kwok Feng; Ethiraj, Anita S; Reddy, M V; Algarni, H; Hegde, Gurumurthy

2017-10-17

Carbon nanospheres derived from a natural source using a green approach were reported. Lablab purpureus seeds were pyrolyzed at different temperatures to produce carbon nanospheres for supercapacitor electrode materials. The synthesized carbon nanospheres were analyzed using SEM, TEM, FTIR, TGA, Raman spectroscopy, BET and XRD. They were later fabricated into electrodes for cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy testing. The specific capacitances were found to be 300, 265 and 175 F g -1 in 5 M KOH electrolyte for carbon nanospheres synthesized at 800, 700 and 500 °C, respectively. These are on a par with those of prior electrodes made of biologically derived carbon nanospheres but the cycle lives were remarkably higher than those of any previous efforts. The electrodes showed 94% capacitance retention even after 5200 charge/discharge cycles entailing excellent recycling durability. In addition, the practical symmetrical supercapacitor showed good electrochemical behaviour under a potential window up to 1.7 V. This brings us one step closer to fabricating a commercial green electrode which exhibits high performance for supercapacitors. This is also a waste to wealth approach based carbon material for cost effective supercapacitors with high performance for power storage devices.

Identifying Green Infrastructure from Social Media and Crowdsourcing- An Image Based Machine-Learning Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Rai, A.; Minsker, B. S.

2016-12-01

In this work we introduce a novel dataset GRID: GReen Infrastructure Detection Dataset and a framework for identifying urban green storm water infrastructure (GI) designs (wetlands/ponds, urban trees, and rain gardens/bioswales) from social media and satellite aerial images using computer vision and machine learning methods. Along with the hydrologic benefits of GI, such as reducing runoff volumes and urban heat islands, GI also provides important socio-economic benefits such as stress recovery and community cohesion. However, GI is installed by many different parties and cities typically do not know where GI is located, making study of its impacts or siting new GI difficult. We use object recognition learning methods (template matching, sliding window approach, and Random Hough Forest method) and supervised machine learning algorithms (e.g., support vector machines) as initial screening approaches to detect potential GI sites, which can then be investigated in more detail using on-site surveys. Training data were collected from GPS locations of Flickr and Instagram image postings and Amazon Mechanical Turk identification of each GI type. Sliding window method outperformed other methods and achieved an average F measure, which is combined metric for precision and recall performance measure of 0.78.

Biogenic synthesis of metallic nanoparticles and prospects toward green chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Adil, Syed Farooq; Assal, Mohamed E; Khan, Mujeeb; Al-Warthan, Abdulrahman; Siddiqui, Mohammed Rafiq H; Liz-Marzán, Luis M

2015-06-07

The immense importance of nanoparticles and their applications is a strong motivation for exploring new synthetic techniques. However, due to strict regulations that manage the potential environmental impacts greener alternatives for conventional synthesis are the focus of intense research. In the scope of this perspective, a concise discussion about the use of green reducing and stabilizing agents toward the preparation of metal nanoparticles is presented. Reports on the synthesis of noble metal nanoparticles using plant extracts, ascorbic acid and sodium citrate as green reagents are summarized and discussed, pointing toward an urgent need of understanding the mechanistic aspects of the involved reactions.

Synthetic biology platform technologies for antimicrobial applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Braff, Dana; Shis, David; Collins, James J

2016-10-01

The growing prevalence of antibiotic resistance calls for new approaches in the development of antimicrobial therapeutics. Likewise, improved diagnostic measures are essential in guiding the application of targeted therapies and preventing the evolution of therapeutic resistance. Discovery platforms are also needed to form new treatment strategies and identify novel antimicrobial agents. By applying engineering principles to molecular biology, synthetic biologists have developed platforms that improve upon, supplement, and will perhaps supplant traditional broad-spectrum antibiotics. Efforts in engineering bacteriophages and synthetic probiotics demonstrate targeted antimicrobial approaches that can be fine-tuned using synthetic biology-derived principles. Further, the development of paper-based, cell-free expression systems holds promise in promoting the clinical translation of molecular biology tools for diagnostic purposes. In this review, we highlight emerging synthetic biology platform technologies that are geared toward the generation of new antimicrobial therapies, diagnostics, and discovery channels. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

True Green and Sustainable University Campuses? Toward a Clusters Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giulia Sonetti

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Campus greening is often the first step universities take towards sustainability. However, the diffusion of sustainability reporting methodologies and rankings is still at an early stage, and is biased in mainly measuring energy efficiency indicators while omitting basic features enabling meaningful comparisons among centers or addressing social (users aspects related to long term sustainability transitions. This paper aims to introduce a critical perspective on sustainability university frameworks through: (i a review of current Campus Sustainability Assessments (CSAs; (ii performing and comparing the results obtained from the application of two internationally recognized CSAs (namely, Green Metric and ISCN to two case studies (the Politecnico di Torino, in Italy, and the Hokkaido University, In Japan and, finally, (iii proposing a new CSA approach that encompasses clusters of homogeneous campus typologies for meaningful comparisons and university rankings. The proposed clusters regard universities’ morphological structures (campuses nested within city centers versus outside of a city compact ones, climatic zones and functions. At the micro scale, the paper introduces the need for indicators beyond measuring pure energy efficiency, but which are attentive to local and societal constraints and provide long-term tracking of outcomes. This, better than a sheer record of sustainability priority actions, can help in building homogenous university case studies to find similar and scalable success strategies and practices, and also in self-monitoring progress toward achieving truly sustainable university campuses.

Development of multi-functional streetscape green infrastructure using a performance index approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiwary, A.; Williams, I.D.; Heidrich, O.; Namdeo, A.; Bandaru, V.; Calfapietra, C.

2016-01-01

This paper presents a performance evaluation framework for streetscape vegetation. A performance index (PI) is conceived using the following seven traits, specific to the street environments – Pollution Flux Potential (PFP), Carbon Sequestration Potential (CSP), Thermal Comfort Potential (TCP), Noise Attenuation Potential (NAP), Biomass Energy Potential (BEP), Environmental Stress Tolerance (EST) and Crown Projection Factor (CPF). Its application is demonstrated through a case study using fifteen street vegetation species from the UK, utilising a combination of direct field measurements and inventoried literature data. Our results indicate greater preference to small-to-medium size trees and evergreen shrubs over larger trees for streetscaping. The proposed PI approach can be potentially applied two-fold: one, for evaluation of the performance of the existing street vegetation, facilitating the prospects for further improving them through management strategies and better species selection; two, for planning new streetscapes and multi-functional biomass as part of extending the green urban infrastructure. - Highlights: • A performance evaluation framework for streetscape vegetation is presented. • Seven traits, relevant to street vegetation, are included in a performance index (PI). • The PI approach is applied to quantify and rank fifteen street vegetation species. • Medium size trees and evergreen shrubs are found more favourable for streetscapes. • The PI offers a metric for developing sustainable streetscape green infrastructure. - A performance index is developed and applied to fifteen vegetation species indicating greater preference to medium size trees and evergreen shrubs for streetscaping.

Chromatin regulation at the frontier of synthetic biology

Science.gov (United States)

Keung, Albert J.; Joung, J. Keith; Khalil, Ahmad S.; Collins, James J.

2016-01-01

As synthetic biology approaches are extended to diverse applications throughout medicine, biotechnology and basic biological research, there is an increasing need to engineer yeast, plant and mammalian cells. Eukaryotic genomes are regulated by the diverse biochemical and biophysical states of chromatin, which brings distinct challenges, as well as opportunities, over applications in bacteria. Recent synthetic approaches, including `epigenome editing', have allowed the direct and functional dissection of many aspects of physiological chromatin regulation. These studies lay the foundation for biomedical and biotechnological engineering applications that could take advantage of the unique combinatorial and spatiotemporal layers of chromatin regulation to create synthetic systems of unprecedented sophistication. PMID:25668787

Penilaian Implementasi Green Supply Chain Management di UKM Batik Pekalongan dengan Pendekatan GreenSCOR

OpenAIRE

Aries Susanty; Haryo Santosa; Fani Tania

2017-01-01

This article assesses the implementation level of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices in SMEs Pekalongan batik business with GreenSCOR approach and mapped out the results with an approach of importance peformance analysis (IPA). The article also devised a strategy to improve the implementation of GSCM practices. Data collection was done by distributing questionnaires and interviews. This article shows that the level of GSCM implementation in small-scale batik SMEs is in the poor ca...

GREEN APPROACH TO BULK AND TEMPLATE-FREE SYNTHESIS OF THERMALLY STABLE REDUCED POLYANILINE NANOFIBERS FOR CAPACITOR APPLICATIONS

Science.gov (United States)

An extremely simple green approach is described that generates bulk quantities of nanofibers of the electronic polymer polyaniline in fully reduced state (leucoemeraldine form) in one step without using any reducing agent, surfactants, and/or large amounts of insoluble templates....

Green Manufacturing Fundamentals and Applications

CERN Document Server

2013-01-01

Green Manufacturing: Fundamentals and Applications introduces the basic definitions and issues surrounding green manufacturing at the process, machine and system (including supply chain) levels. It also shows, by way of several examples from different industry sectors, the potential for substantial improvement and the paths to achieve the improvement. Additionally, this book discusses regulatory and government motivations for green manufacturing and outlines the path for making manufacturing more green as well as making production more sustainable. This book also: • Discusses new engineering approaches for manufacturing and provides a path from traditional manufacturing to green manufacturing • Addresses regulatory and economic issues surrounding green manufacturing • Details new supply chains that need to be in place before going green • Includes state-of-the-art case studies in the areas of automotive, semiconductor and medical areas as well as in the supply chain and packaging areas Green Manufactu...

WISB: Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre.

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, John

2016-06-15

Synthetic biology promises to create high-impact solutions to challenges in the areas of biotechnology, human/animal health, the environment, energy, materials and food security. Equally, synthetic biologists create tools and strategies that have the potential to help us answer important fundamental questions in biology. Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology (WISB) pursues both of these mutually complementary 'build to apply' and 'build to understand' approaches. This is reflected in our research structure, in which a core theme on predictive biosystems engineering develops underpinning understanding as well as next-generation experimental/theoretical tools, and these are then incorporated into three applied themes in which we engineer biosynthetic pathways, microbial communities and microbial effector systems in plants. WISB takes a comprehensive approach to training, education and outreach. For example, WISB is a partner in the EPSRC/BBSRC-funded U.K. Doctoral Training Centre in synthetic biology, we have developed a new undergraduate module in the subject, and we have established five WISB Research Career Development Fellowships to support young group leaders. Research in Ethical, Legal and Societal Aspects (ELSA) of synthetic biology is embedded in our centre activities. WISB has been highly proactive in building an international research and training network that includes partners in Barcelona, Boston, Copenhagen, Madrid, Marburg, São Paulo, Tartu and Valencia. © 2016 The Author(s).

Computational approaches in the design of synthetic receptors – A review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cowen, Todd, E-mail: tc203@le.ac.uk; Karim, Kal; Piletsky, Sergey

2016-09-14

The rational design of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) has been a major contributor to their reputation as “plastic antibodies” – high affinity robust synthetic receptors which can be optimally designed, and produced for a much reduced cost than their biological equivalents. Computational design has become a routine procedure in the production of MIPs, and has led to major advances in functional monomer screening, selection of cross-linker and solvent, optimisation of monomer(s)-template ratio and selectivity analysis. In this review the various computational methods will be discussed with reference to all the published relevant literature since the end of 2013, with each article described by the target molecule, the computational approach applied (whether molecular mechanics/molecular dynamics, semi-empirical quantum mechanics, ab initio quantum mechanics (Hartree-Fock, Møller–Plesset, etc.) or DFT) and the purpose for which they were used. Detailed analysis is given to novel techniques including analysis of polymer binding sites, the use of novel screening programs and simulations of MIP polymerisation reaction. The further advances in molecular modelling and computational design of synthetic receptors in particular will have serious impact on the future of nanotechnology and biotechnology, permitting the further translation of MIPs into the realms of analytics and medical technology. - Highlights: • A review of computational modelling in the design of molecularly imprinted polymers. • Target analytes and method of analysis for the vast majority of recent articles. • Explanations are given of all the popular and emerging techniques used in design. • Highlighted examples of sophisticated analysis of imprinted polymer systems.

Computational approaches in the design of synthetic receptors – A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cowen, Todd; Karim, Kal; Piletsky, Sergey

2016-01-01

The rational design of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) has been a major contributor to their reputation as “plastic antibodies” – high affinity robust synthetic receptors which can be optimally designed, and produced for a much reduced cost than their biological equivalents. Computational design has become a routine procedure in the production of MIPs, and has led to major advances in functional monomer screening, selection of cross-linker and solvent, optimisation of monomer(s)-template ratio and selectivity analysis. In this review the various computational methods will be discussed with reference to all the published relevant literature since the end of 2013, with each article described by the target molecule, the computational approach applied (whether molecular mechanics/molecular dynamics, semi-empirical quantum mechanics, ab initio quantum mechanics (Hartree-Fock, Møller–Plesset, etc.) or DFT) and the purpose for which they were used. Detailed analysis is given to novel techniques including analysis of polymer binding sites, the use of novel screening programs and simulations of MIP polymerisation reaction. The further advances in molecular modelling and computational design of synthetic receptors in particular will have serious impact on the future of nanotechnology and biotechnology, permitting the further translation of MIPs into the realms of analytics and medical technology. - Highlights: • A review of computational modelling in the design of molecularly imprinted polymers. • Target analytes and method of analysis for the vast majority of recent articles. • Explanations are given of all the popular and emerging techniques used in design. • Highlighted examples of sophisticated analysis of imprinted polymer systems.

Identification of a green rust mineral in a reductomorphic soil by Mossbauer and Raman spectroscopies

Science.gov (United States)

Trolard, F.; Génin, J.-M. R.; Abdelmoula, M.; Bourrié, G.; Humbert, B.; Herbillon, A.

1997-03-01

Mössbauer and Raman spectroscopies are used to identify for the first time a green rust as a mineral in a reductomorphic soil from samples extracted in the forest of Fougères (Brittany-France). The Mossbauer spectrum displays two characteristic ferrous and ferric quadrupole doublets, the abundance ratio Fe(II)/Fe(Ill) of which is close to 1. Comparison with synthetic mixed valence Fe(II)Fe(HI) hydroxides supports the conclusion that the most probable formula is Fe2(OH)5, i.e., according to the pyroaurite-like crystal structure [Fe(n1Fe1III)(OH),]+o [OH] -. The microprobe Raman spectrum exhibits two bands at 518 and 427 cm-' as for synthetic green rusts. When exposed to the air, the new mineral goes rapidly from bluish-green to ochrous. The formula is compatible with the values of ionic activity products Q for equilibria between aqueous iron species and minerals obtained from soil waters, which suggests that this new mineral is likely to control the mobility of Fe in the environment.

Water for greening the economy

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

De Lange, Willem J

2015-03-01

Full Text Available ] for such an overview). The focus here falls on a discussion aimed to improve alignment between water resource management and the principles of a green economy. Previous chapters have made it clear that a green economy requires a holistic approach towards policy...

Green's function approach to neutron flux discontinuities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saad, E.A.; El-Wakil, S.A.

1980-01-01

The present work is devoted to the presentation of analytical method for the calculation of elastically and inelastically slowed down neutrons in an infinite non-absorbing medium. On the basis of the central limit theory (CLT) and the integral transform technique the slowing down equation including inelastic scattering, in terms of the Green function of elastic scattering, is solved. The Green function is decomposed according to the number of collisions. Placzec discontinuity associated with elastic scattering in addition to two discontinuities due to inelastic scattering are investigated. Numerical calculations for Fe 56 show that the elastic discontinuity produces about 41.8% change in the collision density whilst the ratio of the inelastic collision density discontinuity at qsub(o)sup(+) to the Placzec discontinuity at usub(o) + 1n 1/oc gives 55.7 percent change. (author)

The Green City Car. A holistic approach for NVH abatement of city cars

OpenAIRE

Bein, Thilo; Mayer, Dirk; Elliott, Steve; Ferrali, Leonardo; Casella, Mauro; Saemann, Ernst-Ulrich; Kropp, Wolfgang; Nielsen, Finn Kryger; Meschke, Jens; Pisano, Emanuel

2014-01-01

Pursuing the different passive and active concepts in a holistic approach, the FP7 project Green City Car demonstrates the feasibility of applying active systems to NVH-related problems light city cars from a system point-of view. During the project, a city car equipped with a small engine has been considered equipped with the latest technology in terms of safety aspects related to pedestrian’s impact and car-to-car compatibility, which are of major importance in an urban environment. The noi...

Extractive spectrophotometric determination of uranium with malachite green

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dubey, S C; Nadkarni, M N [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay (India). Fuel Reprocessing Div.

1977-04-01

A sensitive spectrophotometric method based on the extraction of a uranium-benzoate-Malachite Green complex by chlorobenzene is described. The absorption maximum is at 635 nm and the molar absorptivity is 8.3 x 10/sup 4/1. mole /sup -1/ cm/sup -1/. A preliminary separation of uranium by extraction with methyl isobutyl ketone from acid-deficient aluminium nitrate solution is used to avoid interferences. An aliquot of the extract in then diluted with chlorobenzene and shaken with benzoate buffer containing Malachite Green (MG). The method has been applied for the determination of uranium in a synthetic leach solution. The complex extracted is probably (U0/sub 2/(C/sub 6/H/sub 5/C00/sub 3//sup -/)(MG/sup +/).

Frugal Innovation and Green Business Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Maj Munch

2015-01-01

The literature on ‘green business models’ is rapidly developing these years. This paper suggests that much existing work on green business models lacks a deeper theoretical understanding of eco-innovation and the green economy. The paper forwards an evolutionary economic perspective on green...... business models. This perspective departs in important ways from other approaches to green business models the implications of which are sought clarified and discussed in the paper. The paper argues for the need to link up green business model innovation to aggregate green economic change. The paper posits...... that the greening of the economy has reached such a stage of maturity where a generic ‘green business model’ is apparent. The paper points to eight characteristics of eco-innovation on the basis of which key changes to the business model are identified and schematised for the different stages of the green economic...

Greening of electricity in Europe: challenges and developments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Midttun, Atle; Koefoed, Anne Louise

2003-01-01

Against the background of underlying ecological challenges and rapid de-regulation of energy markets, the article explores commercial and political dimensions of greening of electricity in Europe. The article has a dual economic and political focus: From a commercial point of view it argues that the European green electricity approaches can be sorted into two types based on a classical distinction between standardised commodification and specialised segmentation. From a political point of view, it argues that the European green electricity approaches can be sorted into two categories, EU- and nationally-orientated renewable energy policies. Drawing on examples from the other case studies presented in this volume, supplemented with other material, the article analyses greening of electricity industry under various market-politics combinations and discusses strengths and weaknesses of each approach as it is applied in the European context. In a final section the article relates the discussion of political and commercial organisation of greening of electricity industry to underlying ecological challenges and the need for a locational differentiation of greening policies

Green competitiveness research on Chinese automotive enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuanhui Li

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose: More and more executives of automobileindustry in China start to recognize the concept of green competitiveness recently. However, relatively less research attention has been devoted to the consideration of measurement. This paper aims to find empirical approach to quantify green competitiveness for automotive enterprises. The connotation of green competitiveness is explored and one suite of evaluation index system has been proposed with four dimensions including environmental, resource, capability and knowledge.Design/methodology/approach: By introducing the factor analysis method, green competitiveness has been measured through an empirical analysis of 24 automotive enterprises within China.Findings: The results indicate that those elements, such as enterprise resource possession and utilization; environment, responsibility and knowledge; profitability; management efficiency, have significant effect on the green competitiveness for automotive enterprises. The further analysis also unveils the advantages and disadvantages of green competitiveness for each company and the direction for improvement.Research limitations/implications: Guide regulators and managers of automobile industry to take some measures to enhance their green competitive advantage.Practical implications: Provide practical methods to measure green competitiveness for automotive enterprises.Originality/value: This paper proposes an evaluation index system of green competitiveness for automotive enterprises. The suggestions of our research will be beneficial to enterprise executives and industry regulators.

Philosophy of Systems and Synthetic Biology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Green, Sara

2017-01-01

This entry aims to clarify how systems and synthetic biology contribute to and extend discussions within philosophy of science. Unlike fields such as developmental biology or molecular biology, systems and synthetic biology are not easily demarcated by a focus on a specific subject area or level...... of organization. Rather, they are characterized by the development and application of mathematical, computational, and synthetic modeling strategies in response to complex problems and challenges within the life sciences. Proponents of systems and synthetic biology often stress the necessity of a perspective...... that goes beyond the scope of molecular biology and genetic engineering, respectively. With the emphasis on systems and interaction networks, the approaches explicitly engage in one of the oldest philosophical discussions on the relationship between parts and wholes, or between reductionism and holism...

Defining the Synthetic Biology Supply Chain.

Science.gov (United States)

Frazar, Sarah L; Hund, Gretchen E; Bonheyo, George T; Diggans, James; Bartholomew, Rachel A; Gehrig, Lindsey; Greaves, Mark

Several recent articles have described risks posed by synthetic biology and spurred vigorous discussion in the scientific, commercial, and government communities about how to best detect, prevent, regulate, and respond to these risks. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's (PNNL) deep experience working with dual-use technologies for the nuclear industry has shown that analysis of supply chains can reveal security vulnerabilities and ways to mitigate security risk without hindering beneficial research and commerce. In this article, a team of experts in synthetic biology, data analytics, and national security describe the overall supply chain surrounding synthetic biology to illustrate new insights about the effectiveness of current regulations, the possible need for different screening approaches, and new technical solutions that could help identify or mitigate risks in the synthetic biology supply chain.

New Integrated Quality Function Deployment Approach Based on Interval Neutrosophic Set for Green Supplier Evaluation and Selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luu Huu Van

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Green supplier evaluation and selection plays a crucial role in the green supply chain management of any organization to reduce the purchasing cost of materials and increase the flexibility and quality of products. An interval neutrosophic set (INS—which is a generalization of fuzzy sets, intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFS and neutrosophic sets (NS—can better handle the incomplete, indeterminate and inconsistent information than the other sets. This paper proposes a new integrated Quality Function Deployment (QFD in support of the green supplier evaluation and selection process. In the proposed approach, INS is used to assess the relative importance of the characteristics that the purchased product should have (internal variables “WHATs” in order to satisfy the company’s needs, the relevant supplier assessment criteria (external variables “HOWs”, the “HOWs”-“WHATs” correlation scores, the resulting weights of the “HOWs” and the impact of each potential supplier. The normalized weighted rating is then defined and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS method is developed to obtain a final ranking of green suppliers. A case study is applied to demonstrate the efficiency and computational procedure of the proposed method.

Lipoprotein processing is essential for resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to malachite green.

Science.gov (United States)

Banaei, Niaz; Kincaid, Eleanor Z; Lin, S-Y Grace; Desmond, Edward; Jacobs, William R; Ernst, Joel D

2009-09-01

Malachite green, a synthetic antimicrobial dye, has been used for over 50 years in mycobacterial culture medium to inhibit the growth of contaminants. The molecular basis of mycobacterial resistance to malachite green is unknown, although the presence of malachite green-reducing enzymes in the cell envelope has been suggested. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of lipoproteins in resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to malachite green. The replication of an M. tuberculosis lipoprotein signal peptidase II (lspA) mutant (DeltalspA::lspAmut) on Middlebrook agar with and without 1 mg/liter malachite green was investigated. The lspA mutant was also compared with wild-type M. tuberculosis in the decolorization rate of malachite green and sensitivity to sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) detergent and first-line antituberculosis drugs. The lspA mutant has a 10(4)-fold reduction in CFU-forming efficiency on Middlebrook agar with malachite green. Malachite green is decolorized faster in the presence of the lspA mutant than wild-type bacteria. The lspA mutant is hypersensitive to SDS detergent and shows increased sensitivity to first-line antituberculosis drugs. In summary, lipoprotein processing by LspA is essential for resistance of M. tuberculosis to malachite green. A cell wall permeability defect is likely responsible for the hypersensitivity of lspA mutant to malachite green.

The emerging age of cell-free synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Mark Thomas; Wilding, Kristen M; Hunt, Jeremy M; Bennett, Anthony M; Bundy, Bradley C

2014-08-25

The engineering of and mastery over biological parts has catalyzed the emergence of synthetic biology. This field has grown exponentially in the past decade. As increasingly more applications of synthetic biology are pursued, more challenges are encountered, such as delivering genetic material into cells and optimizing genetic circuits in vivo. An in vitro or cell-free approach to synthetic biology simplifies and avoids many of the pitfalls of in vivo synthetic biology. In this review, we describe some of the innate features that make cell-free systems compelling platforms for synthetic biology and discuss emerging improvements of cell-free technologies. We also select and highlight recent and emerging applications of cell-free synthetic biology. Copyright © 2014 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optical spectroscopy and high pressure on emeralds: synthetic and natural

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Alejo, M. A.; Hernández-Alcántara, J. M.; Flores Jiménez, C.; Calderón, T.; Murrieta S., H.; Camarillo García, E.

2011-09-01

Emerald, natural and synthetic, are the subject of study by means of optical spectroscopy techniques. Particularly, natural emeralds have been considered as a gemstone in jewelry not being so the synthetic ones. But, in general, the properties of these are very good for applications, for instance as a laser system, due to the impurities control. In this work a comparison between natural and synthetic emeralds is done. Chromium ions are the main responsible of the characteristic fascinating green color of these gemstones, entering in the crystals in octahedral sites. Absorption at room temperature show up two broad bands in the visible region and two narrow bands called the R-lines. That spectrum corresponds to trivalent chromium ions in an octahedral site, as it happens in ruby and alexandrite. On other hand, photoemission arises in the range 640-850 nm. at room temperature . It is shown that the luminescence spectra changes as the temperature is lowered. The effect on the main peak of luminescence when high pressure is applied on small samples of emerald shows as a linear function.

Is synthetic biology mechanical biology?

Science.gov (United States)

Holm, Sune

2015-12-01

A widespread and influential characterization of synthetic biology emphasizes that synthetic biology is the application of engineering principles to living systems. Furthermore, there is a strong tendency to express the engineering approach to organisms in terms of what seems to be an ontological claim: organisms are machines. In the paper I investigate the ontological and heuristic significance of the machine analogy in synthetic biology. I argue that the use of the machine analogy and the aim of producing rationally designed organisms does not necessarily imply a commitment to mechanical biology. The ideal of applying engineering principles to biology is best understood as expressing recognition of the machine-unlikeness of natural organisms and the limits of human cognition. The paper suggests an interpretation of the identification of organisms with machines in synthetic biology according to which it expresses a strategy for representing, understanding, and constructing living systems that are more machine-like than natural organisms.

One-step green synthesis of cuprous oxide crystals with truncated octahedra shapes via a high pressure flux approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Benxian; Wang Xiaofeng; Xia Dandan; Chu Qingxin; Liu Xiaoyang; Lu Fengguo; Zhao Xudong

2011-01-01

Cuprous oxide (Cu 2 O) was synthesized via reactions between cupric oxide (CuO) and copper metal (Cu) at a low temperature of 300 deg. C. This progress is green, environmentally friendly and energy efficient. Cu 2 O crystals with truncated octahedra morphology were grown under high pressure using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) with a molar ratio of 1:1 as a flux. The growth mechanism of Cu 2 O polyhedral microcrystals are proposed and discussed. - Graphical Abstract: The Cu 2 O crystals with truncated octahedral shape were one-step synthesized in high yield via high pressure flux method for the first time, which is green and environmentally friendly. The mechanisms of synthesis and crystal growth were discussed in this paper. Highlights: → Cuprous oxide was one-step green synthesized by high pressure flux method. → The approach was based on the reverse dismutation reactions between cupric oxide and copper metal. → This progress is green, environmentally friendly and energy efficient. → The synthesized Cu2O crystals were of truncated octahedra morphology.

Green Transformational Leadership and Green Performance: The Mediation Effects of Green Mindfulness and Green Self-Efficacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Shan Chen

2014-09-01

Full Text Available No prior literature explores the influence of green transformational leadership on green performance, thus, this study develops a novel research framework to fill the research gap. This study investigates the influence of green transformational leadership on green performance and discusses the mediation effects of green mindfulness and green self-efficacy by means of structural equation modeling (SEM. The results indicate that green transformational leadership positively influences green mindfulness, green self-efficacy, and green performance. Moreover, this study demonstrates that the positive relationship between green transformational leadership and green performance is partially mediated by the two mediators: green mindfulness and green self-efficacy. It means that green transformational leadership can not only directly affect green performance positively but also indirectly affect it positively through green mindfulness and green self-efficacy. Therefore, firms need to raise their green transformational leadership, green mindfulness, and green self-efficacy to increase their green performance.

Biophysical Approach to Mechanisms of Cancer Prevention and Treatment with Green Tea Catechins

OpenAIRE

Masami Suganuma; Atsushi Takahashi; Tatsuro Watanabe; Keisuke Iida; Takahisa Matsuzaki; Hiroshi Y. Yoshikawa; Hirota Fujiki

2016-01-01

Green tea catechin and green tea extract are now recognized as non-toxic cancer preventives for humans. We first review our brief historical development of green tea cancer prevention. Based on exciting evidence that green tea catechin, (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in drinking water inhibited lung metastasis of B16 melanoma cells, we and other researchers have studied the inhibitory mechanisms of metastasis with green tea catechins using biomechanical tools, atomic force microscopy (AF...

Queueing-Based Synchronization and Entrainment for Synthetic Gene Oscillators

Science.gov (United States)

Mather, William; Butzin, Nicholas; Hochendoner, Philip; Ogle, Curtis

Synthetic gene oscillators have been a major focus of synthetic biology research since the beginning of the field 15 years ago. They have proven to be useful both for biotechnological applications as well as a testing ground to significantly develop our understanding of the design principles behind synthetic and native gene oscillators. In particular, the principles governing synchronization and entrainment of biological oscillators have been explored using a synthetic biology approach. Our work combines experimental and theoretical approaches to specifically investigate how a bottleneck for protein degradation, which is present in most if not all existing synthetic oscillators, can be leveraged to robustly synchronize and entrain biological oscillators. We use both the terminology and mathematical tools of queueing theory to intuitively explain the role of this bottleneck in both synchronization and entrainment, which extends prior work demonstrating the usefulness of queueing theory in synthetic and native gene circuits. We conclude with an investigation of how synchronization and entrainment may be sensitive to the presence of multiple proteolytic pathways in a cell that couple weakly through crosstalk. This work was supported by NSF Grant #1330180.

Parity-Time Synthetic Phononic Media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Johan; Willatzen, Morten; Velasco, V. R.

2016-01-01

media, have been devised in many optical systems with the ground breaking potential to create nonreciprocal structures and one-way cloaks of invisibility. Here we demonstrate a feasible approach for the case of sound where the most important ingredients within synthetic materials, loss and gain......, are achieved through electrically biased piezoelectric semiconductors. We study first how wave attenuation and amplification can be tuned, and when combined, can give rise to a phononic PT synthetic media with unidirectional suppressed reflectance, a feature directly applicable to evading sonar detection....

Synthetic Approaches to the Lamellarins—A Comprehensive Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dennis Imbri

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The present review discusses the known synthetic routes to the lamellarin alkaloids published until 2014. It begins with syntheses of the structurally simpler type-II lamellarins and then focuses on the larger class of the 5,6-saturated and -unsaturated type-I lamellarins. The syntheses are grouped by the strategy employed for the assembly of the central pyrrole ring.

Sulfanyl Radical Addition to Alkynes: Revisiting an Old Reaction to Enter the Novel Realms of Green Chemistry, Bioconjugation, and Material Chemistry

OpenAIRE

Monesi, Alessandro

2012-01-01

In the last decade considerable attention has been devoted to the rewarding use of Green Chemistry in various synthetic processes and applications. Green Chemistry is of special interest in the synthesis of expensive pharmaceutical products, where suitable adoption of “green” reagents and conditions is highly desirable. Our project especially focused in a search for new green radical processes which might also find useful applications in the industry. In particular, we have explored the po...

Green chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warner, John C.; Cannon, Amy S.; Dye, Kevin M.

2004-01-01

A grand challenge facing government, industry, and academia in the relationship of our technological society to the environment is reinventing the use of materials. To address this challenge, collaboration from an interdisciplinary group of stakeholders will be necessary. Traditionally, the approach to risk management of materials and chemicals has been through inerventions intended to reduce exposure to materials that are hazardous to health and the environment. In 1990, the Pollution Prevention Act encouraged a new tact-elimination of hazards at the source. An emerging approach to this grand challenge seeks to embed the diverse set of environmental perspectives and interests in the everyday practice of the people most responsible for using and creating new materials--chemists. The approach, which has come to be known as Green Chemistry, intends to eliminate intrinsic hazard itself, rather than focusing on reducing risk by minimizing exposure. This chapter addresses the representation of downstream environmental stakeholder interests in the upstream everyday practice that is reinventing chemistry and its material inputs, products, and waste as described in the '12 Principles of Green Chemistry'

Biophysical Approach to Mechanisms of Cancer Prevention and Treatment with Green Tea Catechins.

Science.gov (United States)

Suganuma, Masami; Takahashi, Atsushi; Watanabe, Tatsuro; Iida, Keisuke; Matsuzaki, Takahisa; Yoshikawa, Hiroshi Y; Fujiki, Hirota

2016-11-18

Green tea catechin and green tea extract are now recognized as non-toxic cancer preventives for humans. We first review our brief historical development of green tea cancer prevention. Based on exciting evidence that green tea catechin, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in drinking water inhibited lung metastasis of B16 melanoma cells, we and other researchers have studied the inhibitory mechanisms of metastasis with green tea catechins using biomechanical tools, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and microfluidic optical stretcher. Specifically, determination of biophysical properties of cancer cells, low cell stiffness, and high deformability in relation to migration, along with biophysical effects, were studied by treatment with green tea catechins. The study with AFM revealed that low average values of Young's moduli, indicating low cell stiffness, are closely associated with strong potential of cell migration and metastasis for various cancer cells. It is important to note that treatments with EGCG and green tea extract elevated the average values of Young's moduli resulting in increased stiffness (large elasticity) of melanomas and various cancer cells. We discuss here the biophysical basis of multifunctions of green tea catechins and green tea extract leading to beneficial effects for cancer prevention and treatment.

Enabling technologies and green processes in cyclodextrin chemistry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giancarlo Cravotto

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The design of efficient synthetic green strategies for the selective modification of cyclodextrins (CDs is still a challenging task. Outstanding results have been achieved in recent years by means of so-called enabling technologies, such as microwaves, ultrasound and ball mills, that have become irreplaceable tools in the synthesis of CD derivatives. Several examples of sonochemical selective modification of native α-, β- and γ-CDs have been reported including heterogeneous phase Pd- and Cu-catalysed hydrogenations and couplings. Microwave irradiation has emerged as the technique of choice for the production of highly substituted CD derivatives, CD grafted materials and polymers. Mechanochemical methods have successfully furnished greener, solvent-free syntheses and efficient complexation, while flow microreactors may well improve the repeatability and optimization of critical synthetic protocols.

A combinatorial approach to synthetic transcription factor-promoter combinations for yeast strain engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dossani, Zain Y.; Apel, Amanda Reider; Szmidt-Middleton, Heather

2018-01-01

regions, we have built a library of hybrid promoters that are regulated by a synthetic transcription factor. The hybrid promoters consist of native S. cerevisiae promoters, in which the operator regions have been replaced with sequences that are recognized by the bacterial LexA DNA binding protein....... Correspondingly, the synthetic transcription factor (TF) consists of the DNA binding domain of the LexA protein, fused with the human estrogen binding domain and the viral activator domain, VP16. The resulting system with a bacterial DNA binding domain avoids the transcription of native S. cerevisiae genes...... levels, using the same synthetic TF and a given estradiol. This set of promoters, in combination with our synthetic TF, has the potential to regulate numerous genes or pathways simultaneously, to multiple desired levels, in a single strain....

A Facilities Manager's Guide to Green Building Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Simpson, Walter

2001-01-01

Explains how the "green building" approach to educational facilities design creates healthy, naturally lit, attractive buildings with lower operating and life cycle costs. Tips on getting started on a green design and overcoming the barriers to the green design concept are discussed. (GR)

Synthetic biology analysed tools for discussion and evaluation

CERN Document Server

2016-01-01

Synthetic biology is a dynamic, young, ambitious, attractive, and heterogeneous scientific discipline. It is constantly developing and changing, which makes societal evaluation of this emerging new science a challenging task, prone to misunderstandings. Synthetic biology is difficult to capture, and confusion arises not only regarding which part of synthetic biology the discussion is about, but also with respect to the underlying concepts in use. This book offers a useful toolbox to approach this complex and fragmented field. It provides a biological access to the discussion using a 'layer' model that describes the connectivity of synthetic or semisynthetic organisms and cells to the realm of natural organisms derived by evolution. Instead of directly reviewing the field as a whole, firstly our book addresses the characteristic features of synthetic biology that are relevant to the societal discussion. Some of these features apply only to parts of synthetic biology, whereas others are relevant to synthetic bi...

The evolution of green jobs in Scotland: A hybrid approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Connolly, Kevin; Allan, Grant J; McIntyre, Stuart G

2016-01-01

In support of its ambitious target to reduce CO_2 emissions the Scottish Government is aiming to have the equivalent of 100% of Scottish electricity consumption generated from renewable sources by 2020. This is, at least in part, motivated by an expectation of subsequent employment growth in low carbon and renewable energy technologies; however there is no official data source to track employment in these areas. This has led to a variety of definitions, methodologies and alternative estimates being produced. Building on a recent study (Bishop and Brand, 2013) we develop a “hybrid” approach which combines the detail of “bottom-up” surveys with “top-down” trend data to produce estimates on employment in Low Carbon Environmental Goods and Services (LCEGS). We demonstrate this methodology to produce estimates for such employment in Scotland between 2004 and 2012. Our approach shows how survey and official sources can combine to produce a more timely measure of employment in LCEGS activities, assisting policymakers in tracking, consistently, developments. Applying our approach, we find that over this period employment in LCEGS in Scotland grew, but that this was more volatile than aggregate employment, and in particular that employment in this sector was particularly badly hit during the great recession. - Highlights: • A “hybrid” approach estimates green jobs from bottom-up detail and top-down data. • Illustrative results show the evolution of such jobs in Scotland from 2004 to 2012. • Method provides policymakers a timely measure of the jobs success of energy policy.

Biophysical Approach to Mechanisms of Cancer Prevention and Treatment with Green Tea Catechins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masami Suganuma

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Green tea catechin and green tea extract are now recognized as non-toxic cancer preventives for humans. We first review our brief historical development of green tea cancer prevention. Based on exciting evidence that green tea catechin, (−-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG in drinking water inhibited lung metastasis of B16 melanoma cells, we and other researchers have studied the inhibitory mechanisms of metastasis with green tea catechins using biomechanical tools, atomic force microscopy (AFM and microfluidic optical stretcher. Specifically, determination of biophysical properties of cancer cells, low cell stiffness, and high deformability in relation to migration, along with biophysical effects, were studied by treatment with green tea catechins. The study with AFM revealed that low average values of Young’s moduli, indicating low cell stiffness, are closely associated with strong potential of cell migration and metastasis for various cancer cells. It is important to note that treatments with EGCG and green tea extract elevated the average values of Young’s moduli resulting in increased stiffness (large elasticity of melanomas and various cancer cells. We discuss here the biophysical basis of multifunctions of green tea catechins and green tea extract leading to beneficial effects for cancer prevention and treatment.

TOWARDS GREEN THROUGH LEAN/LEAN SIX SIGMA APPROACHES: A LITERATURE REVIEW AT SERVICE INDUSTRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

RODRIGO GOYANNES GUSMÃO CAIADO

2017-08-01

Full Text Available In the last decades, sustainable development have increasingly gained importance to service industry and lean/Six Sigma approaches are becoming more and more outstanding in order to improve sustainability performance. In the post-modern era the integration between those approaches are necessary in order to aid organisations to balance the need for operational efficiency in their production and service systems with environmental commitment and social fairness. Because of that, Lean Six Sigma practices are progressively becoming widespread in studies about service, as way to improve quality, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of services. The purpose of this paper is to critically review the Lean and Lean Six Sigma (L6σ methodologies and highlight their importance to achieve sustainable development in service industry. To do this, a systematic literature review (SLR of the subjects under investigation was conducted. We examine the compatibility and divergences of the green, lean and Six Sigma concepts and implications regarding its sustainable implementation in service industry. The study has two major contributions. First, it is one of the first researches that investigate the potential benefits of integrating green, lean and Six Sigma in service sector. Second, it supports and expands current literature, providing both academicians and practitioners a better panorama to understand the present status of L6σ for achieving sustainability in service sector.

Assembly of MreB filaments on liposome membranes: a synthetic biology approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Maeda, Yusuke T; Nakadai, Tomoyoshi; Shin, Jonghyeon; Uryu, Kunihiro; Noireaux, Vincent; Libchaber, Albert

2012-02-17

The physical interaction between the cytoskeleton and the cell membrane is essential in defining the morphology of living organisms. In this study, we use a synthetic approach to polymerize bacterial MreB filaments inside phospholipid vesicles. When the proteins MreB and MreC are expressed inside the liposomes, the MreB cytoskeleton structure develops at the inner membrane. Furthermore, when purified MreB is used inside the liposomes, MreB filaments form a 4-10 μm rigid bundle structure and deform the lipid vesicles in physical contact with the vesicle inner membrane. These results indicate that the fibrillation of MreB filaments can take place either in close proximity of deformable lipid membrane or in the presence of associated protein. Our finding might be relevant for the self-assembly of cytoskeleton filaments toward the construction of artificial cell systems.

Synthetic biology meets tissue engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Jamie A; Cachat, Elise

2016-06-15

Classical tissue engineering is aimed mainly at producing anatomically and physiologically realistic replacements for normal human tissues. It is done either by encouraging cellular colonization of manufactured matrices or cellular recolonization of decellularized natural extracellular matrices from donor organs, or by allowing cells to self-organize into organs as they do during fetal life. For repair of normal bodies, this will be adequate but there are reasons for making unusual, non-evolved tissues (repair of unusual bodies, interface to electromechanical prostheses, incorporating living cells into life-support machines). Synthetic biology is aimed mainly at engineering cells so that they can perform custom functions: applying synthetic biological approaches to tissue engineering may be one way of engineering custom structures. In this article, we outline the 'embryological cycle' of patterning, differentiation and morphogenesis and review progress that has been made in constructing synthetic biological systems to reproduce these processes in new ways. The state-of-the-art remains a long way from making truly synthetic tissues, but there are now at least foundations for future work. © 2016 Authors; published by Portland Press Limited.

Modeling for Green Supply Chain Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elham Falatoonitoosi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Green supply chain management (GSCM has become a practical approach to develop environmental performance. Under strict regulations and stakeholder pressures, enterprises need to enhance and improve GSCM practices, which are influenced by both traditional and green factors. This study developed a causal evaluation model to guide selection of qualified suppliers by prioritizing various criteria and mapping causal relationships to find effective criteria to improve green supply chain. The aim of the case study was to model and examine the influential and important main GSCM practices, namely, green logistics, organizational performance, green organizational activities, environmental protection, and green supplier evaluation. In the case study, decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory technique is applied to test the developed model. The result of the case study shows only “green supplier evaluation” and “green organizational activities” criteria of the model are in the cause group and the other criteria are in the effect group.

Hybrid Broadband Ground-Motion Simulations: Combining Long-Period Deterministic Synthetics with High-Frequency Multiple S-to-S Backscattering

KAUST Repository

Mai, Paul Martin; Imperatori, W.; Olsen, K. B.

2010-01-01

We present a new approach for computing broadband (0-10 Hz) synthetic seismograms by combining high-frequency (HF) scattering with low-frequency (LF) deterministic seismograms, considering finite-fault earthquake rupture models embedded in 3D earth structure. Site-specific HF-scattering Green's functions for a heterogeneous medium with uniformly distributed random isotropic scatterers are convolved with a source-time function that characterizes the temporal evolution of the rupture process. These scatterograms are then reconciled with the LF-deterministic waveforms using a frequency-domain optimization to match both amplitude and phase spectra around the target intersection frequency. The scattering parameters of the medium, scattering attenuation ηs, intrinsic attenuation ηi, and site-kappa, as well as frequency-dependent attenuation, determine waveform and spectral character of the HF-synthetics and thus affect the hybrid broadband seismograms. Applying our methodology to the 1994 Northridge earthquake and validating against near-field recordings at 24 sites, we find that our technique provides realistic broadband waveforms and consistently reproduces LF ground-motion intensities for two independent source descriptions. The least biased results, compared to recorded strong-motion data, are obtained after applying a frequency-dependent site-amplification factor to the broadband simulations. This innovative hybrid ground-motion simulation approach, applicable to any arbitrarily complex earthquake source model, is well suited for seismic hazard analysis and ground-motion estimation.

Building a Green Economy: Employment Effects of Green Energy Investments for Ontario

OpenAIRE

Robert Pollin; Heidi Garrett-Peltier

2009-01-01

In this study of Ontario’s green economy, Robert Pollin and Heidi Garrett-Peltier present an approach to realistically estimate the employment effects of green investments in Ontario. They focus on two alternative investment scenarios for the province: a baseline program of $18.6 billion invested in conservation and demand management; hydroelectric power; on-shore wind power; bioenergy; waste energy recycling; and solar power over 10 years, and a more ambitious $47.1 billion 10-year investmen...

Facile green synthesis of graphene-Au nanorod nanoassembly for on-line extraction and sensitive stripping analysis of methyl parathion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Wenxin; Liu, Wei; Li, Tianbao; Yue, Xiaoyue; Liu, Tao; Zhang, Wentao; Yu, Shaoxuan; Zhang, Daohong; Wang, Jianlong

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: Schematic illustration for the facile green fabrication of GN-AuNRs/GCE and its application for the extraction and electroanalysis of MP. - Highlights: • This paper described a facile green electrochemical approach to synthesize graphene-AuNRs nanocomposite. • The as-synthesized sensor shows low LOD and wide linear concentration range towards MP. • The sensor can be well used for the determination of MP in water and kiwi fruits samples. • This paper further enlarges the scope of facile green synthetic methods of GN-based hybrids. - Abstract: This paper described a facile green electrochemical approach to synthesize graphene-AuNRs nanocomposite (GN-AuNRs) onto glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for electrocatalytic analysis of methyl parathion (MP). This electrochemical synthesis of GN-AuNRs hybrid is environmentally friendly for not involving the chemical reduction of graphene oxide (GO) and facile for just on the basis of electrostatic interaction between GO and AuNRs, as well as electrochemical reduction of GO-AuNRs to GN-AuNRs. Combined the high conductivity, large surface area, good adsorption capacity towards aromatic rings and high catalytic ability of graphene with the excellent electronic properties and adsorption capacity of AuNRs, the high sensitive methyl parathion sensor was fabricated with the GN-AuNRs nanocomposite. The limit of detection (LOD) of the proposed sensor was calculated to be 0.82 ng/mL, which was lower than many previously reported enzyme or nonenzyme-based sensors. In the meantime, the linear detection range of this sensor was from 10 to 500 ng/mL and 750 to 4000 ng/mL, which was also wider than many other enzyme or enzymeless sensors. Furthermore, the facile and green electrochemical reduction strategy provided here could also be used to construct more GN-based hybrids. And the GN-based hybrid might be a new and highly efficient SPE factor, which opens new opportunities for green, facile and sensitive analysis of

Green times

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasenclever, W.D.; Hasenclever, C.

1982-01-01

The authors, founding members of the ''Green Party'' have in mind to make a very personal contribution to a better understanding of the present political situation which, although it seems to have reached a deadlock, still offers positive chances and prospects. New approaches in policy are mentioned which may help to overcome the present state of resignation of many adolescents and adults. Among other things, they describe themselves setting out for new pathways, the ''Greens'' in Parliament, prospect for the future, opportunities of the ecologically oriented economic policy. Finally, they call upon the reader to think and develop further under the motto ''What we all can do''. (HSCH) [de

Green Transformational Leadership and Green Performance: The Mediation Effects of Green Mindfulness and Green Self-Efficacy

OpenAIRE

Yu-Shan Chen; Ching-Hsun Chang; Yu-Hsien Lin

2014-01-01

No prior literature explores the influence of green transformational leadership on green performance, thus, this study develops a novel research framework to fill the research gap. This study investigates the influence of green transformational leadership on green performance and discusses the mediation effects of green mindfulness and green self-efficacy by means of structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that green transformational leadership positively influences green min...

Quick Green Scan: A Methodology for Improving Green Performance in Terms of Manufacturing Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aldona Kluczek

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The heating sector has begun implementing technologies and practices to tackle the environmental and social–economic problems caused by their production process. The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology, “the Quick-Green-Scan”, that caters for the need of quick assessment decision-makers to improve green manufacturing performance in companies that produce heating devices. The study uses a structured approach that integrates Life Cycle Assessment-based indicators, framework and linguistic scales (fuzzy numbers to evaluate the extent of greening of the enterprise. The evaluation criteria and indicators are closely related to the current state of technology, which can be improved. The proposed methodology has been created to answer the question whether a company acts on the opportunity to be green and whether these actions are contributing towards greening, maintaining the status quo or moving away from a green outcome. Results show that applying the proposed improvements in processes helps move the facility towards being a green enterprise. Moreover, the methodology, being particularly quick and simple, is a practical tool for benchmarking, not only in the heating industry, but also proves useful in providing comparisons for facility performance in other manufacturing sectors.

Synthetic Sediments and Stochastic Groundwater Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, J. L.

2002-12-01

For over twenty years the groundwater community has pursued the somewhat elusive goal of describing the effects of aquifer heterogeneity on subsurface flow and chemical transport. While small perturbation stochastic moment methods have significantly advanced theoretical understanding, why is it that stochastic applications use instead simulations of flow and transport through multiple realizations of synthetic geology? Allan Gutjahr was a principle proponent of the Fast Fourier Transform method for the synthetic generation of aquifer properties and recently explored new, more geologically sound, synthetic methods based on multi-scale Markov random fields. Focusing on sedimentary aquifers, how has the state-of-the-art of synthetic generation changed and what new developments can be expected, for example, to deal with issues like conceptual model uncertainty, the differences between measurement and modeling scales, and subgrid scale variability? What will it take to get stochastic methods, whether based on moments, multiple realizations, or some other approach, into widespread application?

GREEN PACKAGING, GREEN PRODUCT, GREEN ADVERTISING, PERSEPSI, DAN MINAT BELI KONSUMEN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Imam Santoso

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Environmental problems become one of the strategic issues in achieving global competitiveness. One of the issues is products that are made from environmental friendly materials or known as green product. Furthermore, in green products marketing, the company also uses green packaging and green advertising concept. This study aimed to analyze the effect of green packaging, green products, and green advertising on consumer perception and purchasing intention. The study was conducted in Ketawanggede Village, Lowokwaru Sub-district, Malang City. The sampling method used nonprobability accidential sampling techniques. The numbers of respondents were 113 consumers in study site. Data were collected by interview using questionnaires. The method of analysis used Generalized Structured Component Analysis (GSCA. The analysis showed that the green packaging, green products, and green advertising had positive significant influence on consumer perceptions. Meanwhile, green product and consumer perception had positive significant influence on purchasing interest, but the green packaging and green advertising has not found sufficient evidence in influencing purchasing intention.

Space-time PM2.5 mapping in the severe haze region of Jing-Jin-Ji (China) using a synthetic approach.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Junyu; Christakos, George

2018-05-07

Long- and short-term exposure to PM 2.5 is of great concern in China due to its adverse population health effects. Characteristic of the severity of the situation in China is that in the Jing-Jin-Ji region considered in this work a total of 2725 excess deaths have been attributed to short-term PM 2.5 exposure during the period January 10-31, 2013. Technically, the processing of large space-time PM 2.5 datasets and the mapping of the space-time distribution of PM 2.5 concentrations often constitute high-cost projects. To address this situation, we propose a synthetic modeling framework based on the integration of (a) the Bayesian maximum entropy method that assimilates auxiliary information from land-use regression and artificial neural network (ANN) model outputs based on PM 2.5 monitoring, satellite remote sensing data, land use and geographical records, with (b) a space-time projection technique that transforms the PM 2.5 concentration values from the original spatiotemporal domain onto a spatial domain that moves along the direction of the PM 2.5 velocity spread. An interesting methodological feature of the synthetic approach is that its components (methods or models) are complementary, i.e., one component can compensate for the occasional limitations of another component. Insight is gained in terms of a PM 2.5 case study covering the severe haze Jing-Jin-Ji region during October 1-31, 2015. The proposed synthetic approach explicitly accounted for physical space-time dependencies of the PM 2.5 distribution. Moreover, the assimilation of auxiliary information and the dimensionality reduction achieved by the synthetic approach produced rather impressive results: It generated PM 2.5 concentration maps with low estimation uncertainty (even at counties and villages far away from the monitoring stations, whereas during the haze periods the uncertainty reduction was over 50% compared to standard PM 2.5 mapping techniques); and it also proved to be computationally very

Mapping Urban Green Infrastructure: A Novel Landscape-Based Approach to Incorporating Land Use and Land Cover in the Mapping of Human-Dominated Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Dennis

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Common approaches to mapping green infrastructure in urbanised landscapes invariably focus on measures of land use or land cover and associated functional or physical traits. However, such one-dimensional perspectives do not accurately capture the character and complexity of the landscapes in which urban inhabitants live. The new approach presented in this paper demonstrates how open-source, high spatial and temporal resolution data with global coverage can be used to measure and represent the landscape qualities of urban environments. Through going beyond simple metrics of quantity, such as percentage green and blue cover, it is now possible to explore the extent to which landscape quality helps to unpick the mixed evidence presented in the literature on the benefits of urban nature to human well-being. Here we present a landscape approach, employing remote sensing, GIS and data reduction techniques to map urban green infrastructure elements in a large U.K. city region. Comparison with existing urban datasets demonstrates considerable improvement in terms of coverage and thematic detail. The characterisation of landscapes, using census tracts as spatial units, and subsequent exploration of associations with social–ecological attributes highlights the further detail that can be uncovered by the approach. For example, eight urban landscape types identified for the case study city exhibited associations with distinct socioeconomic conditions accountable not only to quantities but also qualities of green and blue space. The identification of individual landscape features through simultaneous measures of land use and land cover demonstrated unique and significant associations between the former and indicators of human health and ecological condition. The approach may therefore provide a promising basis for developing further insight into processes and characteristics that affect human health and well-being in urban areas, both in the United

Synthetic aggregates from combustion ashes using an innovative rotary kiln.

Science.gov (United States)

Wainwright, P J; Cresswell, D J

2001-01-01

This paper describes the use of a number of different combustion ashes to manufacture synthetic aggregates using an innovative rotary 'Trefoil' kiln. Three types of combustion ash were used, namely: incinerated sewage sludge ash (ISSA); municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash (MSWIBA-- referred to here as BA); and pulverised fuel ash (Pfa). The fine waste ash fractions listed above were combined with a binder to create a plastic mix that was capable of being formed into 'green pellets'. These pellets were then fired in a Trefoil kiln to sinter the ashes into hard fused aggregates that were then tested for use as a replacement for the natural coarse aggregate in concrete. Results up to 28 days showed that these synthetic aggregates were capable of producing concretes with compressive strengths ranging from 33 to 51 MPa, equivalent to between 73 and 112% of that of the control concrete made with natural aggregates.

Chemical characterization of Lippia alba essential oil: an alternative to control green molds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jasmina Glamočlija

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The essential oil of Lippia alba is reported as an antifungal against human pathogenic microorganisms but few articles report its use as an alternative to synthetic fungicides on green mould control. The objective of this study was to determine chemical characteristics of L. alba essential oil and its antifungal activity against green molds as an alternative to synthetic fungicides. Essential oil was extracted by Clevenger hydrodistillation, characterized by GC-MS analysis, and the structure of the main compounds confirmed by ¹H and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. Microdilution assays evaluated the essential oil minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC. Commercial fungicides Ketoconazole and Bifonazole were used as control. Essential oil yield is of 0.15% and the major components are neral (33.32% and geranial (50.94%. The L. alba essential oil has MIC of 0.300-1.250 mg/mL and MFC of 0.600-1.250 mg/mL. Ketoconazole and Bifonazole show MIC ranging from 0.025-0.500 to 0.100-0.200 mg/mL, and MFC ranging from 0.250-0.100 to 0.200-0.250 mg/mL, respectively. L. alba essential oil is classified as citral type and the results indicate that it is a potential alternative to synthetic fungicides.

Planning the Green Walkable City: Conceptualizing Values and Conflicts for Urban Green Space Strategies in Stockholm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hélène Littke

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Urban green spaces are essential elements of cities, contributing to the quality of life in numerous ways. However, densification strategies create a complex relationship between urban development and the quality, as well as the quantity, of urban green space. This paper examines the Green Walkable City Programme in Stockholm, a document developed to supplement the comprehensive plan as a strategic backbone for green urban planning. Based on interviews and content analysis, this paper identifies and discusses concerns raised in the development of the planning programme, and addresses the importance of urban green space for citizens’ well-being. The new comprehensive plan has introduced a shift in the attitude towards the urban green space in Stockholm. The need for urban growth is used to justify development of green fields, and a focus on the quality, rather than the quantity, of urban green space is promoted. Despite this progress, the public requests definitions for this quality approach and fears that nature within the city will be “parkified”. Therefore, this paper offers a critical reflection on the role of the Green Walkable City Programme, its situation within the context of Swedish green urban planning, and various areas of concern that have been highlighted.

Penerapan Green Marketing Pada Upaya Membentuk Brand Image Dalam Menciptakan Corporate Image Go Green (Studi Pada PT. Cabot Indonesia, Jakarta)

OpenAIRE

Khoirudin, Miftah; Hidayat, Kadarisman; Yulianto, Edy

2016-01-01

This research uses descriptive research with qualitative approach, with two formulation of the problem, namely; How does the process of implementing green marketing PT Cabot Indonesia as an effort to build the brand image?; How does the brand image of green marketing PT Cabot Indonesia in creating a corporate image go green? These results indicate that; Process of green marketing according to Peattie divided into 7 implementation of internal and 7 implementation of external and 4 indicators o...

A grey DEMATEL-based approach for modeling enablers of green innovation in manufacturing organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Himanshu; Barua, Mukesh Kumar

2018-04-01

Incorporating green practices into the manufacturing process has gained momentum over the past few years and is a matter of great concern for both manufacturers as well as researchers. Regulatory pressures in developed countries have forced the organizations to adopt green practices; however, this issue still lacks attention in developing economies like India. There is an urgent need to identify enablers of green innovation for manufacturing organizations and also to identify prominent enablers among those. This study is an attempt to first identify enablers of green innovation and then establish a causal relationship among them to identify the enablers that can drive others. Grey DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) methodology is used for establishing the causal relationship among enablers. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that no study has been done in the past to identify the enablers of green innovation and then establishing the causal relationship among them. A total of 21 enablers of green innovation have been identified; research indicates developing green manufacturing capabilities, resources for green innovation, ease of getting loans from financial institutions, and environmental regulations as the most influential enablers of green innovation. Managerial and practical implications of the research are also presented to assist managers of the case company in adopting green innovation practices at their end.

Synthetic multicellular oscillatory systems: controlling protein dynamics with genetic circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koseska, Aneta; Volkov, Evgenii; Kurths, Juergen

2011-01-01

Synthetic biology is a relatively new research discipline that combines standard biology approaches with the constructive nature of engineering. Thus, recent efforts in the field of synthetic biology have given a perspective to consider cells as 'programmable matter'. Here, we address the possibility of using synthetic circuits to control protein dynamics. In particular, we show how intercellular communication and stochasticity can be used to manipulate the dynamical behavior of a population of coupled synthetic units and, in this manner, finely tune the expression of specific proteins of interest, e.g. in large bioreactors.

Synthetic tsunami waveform catalogs with kinematic constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Baptista, Maria Ana; Miranda, Jorge Miguel; Matias, Luis; Omira, Rachid

2017-07-01

In this study we present a comprehensive methodology to produce a synthetic tsunami waveform catalogue in the northeast Atlantic, east of the Azores islands. The method uses a synthetic earthquake catalogue compatible with plate kinematic constraints of the area. We use it to assess the tsunami hazard from the transcurrent boundary located between Iberia and the Azores, whose western part is known as the Gloria Fault. This study focuses only on earthquake-generated tsunamis. Moreover, we assume that the time and space distribution of the seismic events is known. To do this, we compute a synthetic earthquake catalogue including all fault parameters needed to characterize the seafloor deformation covering the time span of 20 000 years, which we consider long enough to ensure the representability of earthquake generation on this segment of the plate boundary. The computed time and space rupture distributions are made compatible with global kinematic plate models. We use the tsunami empirical Green's functions to efficiently compute the synthetic tsunami waveforms for the dataset of coastal locations, thus providing the basis for tsunami impact characterization. We present the results in the form of offshore wave heights for all coastal points in the dataset. Our results focus on the northeast Atlantic basin, showing that earthquake-induced tsunamis in the transcurrent segment of the Azores-Gibraltar plate boundary pose a minor threat to coastal areas north of Portugal and beyond the Strait of Gibraltar. However, in Morocco, the Azores, and the Madeira islands, we can expect wave heights between 0.6 and 0.8 m, leading to precautionary evacuation of coastal areas. The advantages of the method are its easy application to other regions and the low computation effort needed.

Study on Green Supply Chain Management Based on Circular Economy

Science.gov (United States)

Ying, Jiang; Li-jun, Zhou

The article starts with circular economy and the connotation of green supply chain, then analyzes the difference between green supply chain and traditional supply chain and elaborates the content of green supply chain management. On that basis, the approach to implement green supply chain management in china shall be put forward.

A cautionary approach in transitioning to 'green' energy technologies and practices is required.

Science.gov (United States)

Matatiele, Puleng; Gulumian, Mary

2016-06-01

Renewable energy technologies (wind turbines, solar cells, biofuels, etc.) are often referred to as 'clean' or 'green' energy sources, while jobs linked to the field of environmental protection and energy efficiency are referred to as 'green' jobs. The energy efficiency of clean technologies, which is likely to reduce and/or eliminate reliance on fossil fuels, is acknowledged. However, the potential contribution of green technologies and associated practices to ill health and environmental pollution resulting from consumption of energy and raw materials, generation of waste, and the negative impacts related to some life cycle phases of these technologies are discussed. Similarly, a point is made that the green jobs theme is mistakenly oversold because the employment opportunities generated by transitioning to green technologies are not necessarily safe and healthy jobs. Emphasis is put on identifying the hazards associated with these green designs, assessing the risks to the environment and worker health and safety, and either eliminating the hazards or minimizing the risks as essential elements to the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green technologies. The perception that it is not always economically possible to consider all risk factors associated with renewable energy technologies at the beginning without hampering their implementation, especially in the poor developing countries, is dismissed. Instead, poor countries are encouraged to start implementing environmentally sound practices while transitioning to green technologies in line with their technological development and overall economic growth.

Pollution prevention initiatives at US EPA: 'Green Lights'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawson, J.; Kwartin, R.

1991-01-01

US EPA is initiating a pollution prevention approach to supplement its historic command-control, regulatory approach to environmental protection. EPA believes polllution prevention, where applicable and possible, represents a quicker, less expensive and even profitable strategy for environmental protection. Most clearly, energy-efficiency provides an opportunity to prevent significant amounts of pollution related to the inefficeint generation and use of electricity. EPA's first energy productivity and pollution prevention program is Green Lights. Beyond its own merits, Green Lights will also provide important experience to EPA as it develops its Green Machines program to accelerate the market for efficient appliances and equipment

Porosity structure of green polybag of medium density fiberboard from seaweed waste

Science.gov (United States)

Alamsjah, M. A.; Subekti, S.; Lamid, M.; Pujiastuti, D. Y.; Kurnia, H.; Rifadi, R. R.

2018-04-01

The last decade shown that the needs Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) rapidly growing in Asia Pacific and Europe up to more 15 % per year. MDF made up of fibers lignoselulosa which combined with synthetic resin or tied other suitable but high temperatures and pressure. Technology engineering for green polybag of MDF from seaweed waste of Kappaphycus alvarezii and Gracilaria verrucosa is an alternative effort for ecosystem stability and technological innovations that is environmentally friendly. Structure porosity from the shape of green polybag shows that performance seaweed waste of K. alvarezii is better than seaweed waste of G. verrucosa. The circulation of water happened more optimal in green polybag formed from MDF of seaweed waste of K. alvarezii with size porosity 3.976 µm, while size porosity of seaweed waste of G. verrucosa measurable 4.794 µm. Structure of green polybag of MDF from seaweed waste showed that C components greater 50 % to K. alvarezii while C components less than 50 % to G. verrucosa. This resulted in the ties to structure of MDF stronger found in green polybag derived from seaweed waste of K. alvarezii than G. verrucosa.

US Competitiveness in Synthetic Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Gronvall, Gigi Kwik

2015-01-01

Synthetic biology is an emerging technical field that aims to make biology easier to engineer; the field has applications in strategically important sectors for the US economy. While the United States currently leads in synthetic biology R&D, other nations are heavily investing in order to boost their economies, which will inevitably diminish the US leadership position. This outcome is not entirely negative--additional investments will expand markets--but it is critical that the US government take steps to remain competitive: There are applications from which the US population and economy may benefit; there are specific applications with importance for national defense; and US technical leadership will ensure that US experts have a leading role in synthetic biology governance, regulation, and oversight. Measures to increase competitiveness in S&T generally are broadly applicable for synthetic biology and should be pursued. However, the US government will also need to take action on fundamental issues that will affect the field's development, such as countering anti-GMO (genetically modified organism) sentiments and anti-GMO legislation. The United States should maintain its regulatory approach so that it is the product that is regulated, not the method used to create a product. At the same time, the United States needs to ensure that the regulatory framework is updated so that synthetic biology products do not fall into regulatory gaps. Finally, the United States needs to pay close attention to how synthetic biology applications may be governed internationally, such as through the Nagoya Protocol of the Convention on Biological Diversity, so that beneficial applications may be realized.

Customer Aggregation: An Opportunity for Green Power?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holt, E.; Bird, L.

2001-02-26

We undertook research into the experience of aggregation groups to determine whether customer aggregation offers an opportunity to bring green power choices to more customers. The objectives of this report, therefore, are to (1) identify the different types of aggregation that are occurring today, (2) learn whether aggregation offers an opportunity to advance sales of green power, and (3) share these concepts and approaches with potential aggregators and green power advocates.

Green competitiveness research on Chinese automotive enterprises

OpenAIRE

Li, Yuanhui

2014-01-01

Purpose: More and more executives of automobileindustry in China start to recognize the concept of green competitiveness recently. However, relatively less research attention has been devoted to the consideration of measurement. This paper aims to find empirical approach to quantify green competitiveness for automotive enterprises. The connotation of green competitiveness is explored and one suite of evaluation index system has been proposed with four dimensions including environmental, resou...

Synthetic biology era: Improving antibiotic's world.

Science.gov (United States)

Guzmán-Trampe, Silvia; Ceapa, Corina D; Manzo-Ruiz, Monserrat; Sánchez, Sergio

2017-06-15

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogen microorganisms is problematic in the context of the current spectrum of available medication. The poor specificity and the high toxicity of some available molecules have made imperative the search for new strategies to improve the specificity and to pursue the discovery of novel compounds with increased bioactivity. Using living cells as platforms, synthetic biology has counteracted this problem by offering novel pathways to create synthetic systems with improved and desired functions. Among many other biotechnological approaches, the advances in synthetic biology have made it possible to design and construct novel biological systems in order to look for new drugs with increased bioactivity. Advancements have also been made in the redesigning of RNA and DNA molecules in order to engineer antibiotic clusters for antibiotic overexpression. As for the production of these antibacterial compounds, yeasts and filamentous fungi as well as gene therapy are utilized to enhance protein solubility. Specific delivery is achieved by creating chimeras using plant genes into bacterial hosts. Some of these synthetic systems are currently in clinical trials, proving the proficiency of synthetic biology in terms of both pharmacological activities as well as an increase in the biosafety of treatments. It is possible that we may just be seeing the tip of the iceberg, and synthetic biology applications will overpass expectations beyond our present knowledge. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

GREEN PACKAGING, GREEN PRODUCT, GREEN ADVERTISING, PERSEPSI, DAN MINAT BELI KONSUMEN

OpenAIRE

Imam Santoso; Rengganis Fitriani

2016-01-01

Environmental problems become one of the strategic issues in achieving global competitiveness. One of the issues is products that are made from environmental friendly materials or known as green product. Furthermore, in green products marketing, the company also uses green packaging and green advertising concept. This study aimed to analyze the effect of green packaging, green products, and green advertising on consumer perception and purchasing intention. The study was conducted in Ketawangg...

Origins of Singlet Fission in Solid Pentacene from an ab initio Green's Function Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Refaely-Abramson, Sivan; da Jornada, Felipe H.; Louie, Steven G.; Neaton, Jeffrey B.

2017-12-01

We develop a new first-principles approach to predict and understand rates of singlet fission with an ab initio Green's-function formalism based on many-body perturbation theory. Starting with singlet and triplet excitons computed from a G W plus Bethe-Salpeter equation approach, we calculate the exciton-biexciton coupling to lowest order in the Coulomb interaction, assuming a final state consisting of two noninteracting spin-correlated triplets with finite center-of-mass momentum. For crystalline pentacene, symmetries dictate that the only purely Coulombic fission decay process from a bright singlet state requires a final state consisting of two inequivalent nearly degenerate triplets of nonzero, equal and opposite, center-of-mass momenta. For such a process, we predict a singlet lifetime of 30-70 fs, in very good agreement with experimental data, indicating that this process can dominate singlet fission in crystalline pentacene. Our approach is general and provides a framework for predicting and understanding multiexciton interactions in solids.

An approach for generating synthetic fine temporal resolution solar radiation time series from hourly gridded datasets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Perry

2017-06-01

Full Text Available A tool has been developed to statistically increase the temporal resolution of solar irradiance time series. Fine temporal resolution time series are an important input into the planning process for solar power plants, and lead to increased understanding of the likely short-term variability of solar energy. The approach makes use of the spatial variability of hourly gridded datasets around a location of interest to make inferences about the temporal variability within the hour. The unique characteristics of solar irradiance data are modelled by classifying each hour into a typical weather situation. Low variability situations are modelled using an autoregressive process which is applied to ramps of clear-sky index. High variability situations are modelled as a transition between states of clear sky conditions and different levels of cloud opacity. The methods have been calibrated to Australian conditions using 1 min data from four ground stations for a 10 year period. These stations, together with an independent dataset, have also been used to verify the quality of the results using a number of relevant metrics. The results show that the method generates realistic fine resolution synthetic time series. The synthetic time series correlate well with observed data on monthly and annual timescales as they are constrained to the nearest grid-point value on each hour. The probability distributions of the synthetic and observed global irradiance data are similar, with Kolmogorov-Smirnov test statistic less than 0.04 at each station. The tool could be useful for the estimation of solar power output for integration studies.

Silver/polysaccharide-based nanofibrous materials synthesized from green chemistry approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Rodríguez, M A; Garza-Navarro, M A; Moreno-Cortez, I E; Lucio-Porto, R; González-González, V A

2016-01-20

In this contribution a novel green chemistry approach for the synthesis of nanofibrous materials based on blends of carboxymethyl-cellulose (CMC)-silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) composite and polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) is proposed. These nanofibrous materials were obtained from the electrospinning of blends of aqueous solutions of CMC-AgNPs composite and PVA, which were prepared at different CMC/PVA weight ratios in order to electrospin nanofibers applying a constant tension of 15kV. The synthesized materials were characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy; as well as Fourier-transform infrared, ultraviolet and Raman spectroscopic techniques. Experimental evidence suggests that the diameter of the nanofibers is thinner than any other reported in the literature regarding the electrospinning of CMC. This feature is related to the interactions of AgNPs with carboxyl functional groups of the CMC, which diminish those between the later and acetyl groups of PVA. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Novel Integrated Approach for Green Supplier Selection with Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Uncertain Linguistic Information: A Case Study in the Agri-Food Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hua Shi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available With strengthening global consciousness of environmental protection, green supply chain management plays an increasingly important role in modern enterprise production operation management. A critical means to implement green supply chain management is incorporating environmental requirements into the supplier selection practices. In this paper, we put forward a novel integrated approach by using interval-valued intuitionistic uncertain linguistic sets (IVIULSs and grey relational analysis (GRA-technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS method for the evaluation and selection of green suppliers. First, various qualitative assessments of alternatives provided by decision makers are described by the IVIULSs. Then, the GRA-TOPSIS method is extended and employed to prioritize the alternative suppliers. The proposed model can handle the uncertainty and fuzziness of decision makers’ subjective evaluations more easily and get a more realistic and accurate ranking of green suppliers. Finally, an illustrative example in the agri-food industry is presented to verify the proposed green supplier selection model and demonstrate its practicality and effectiveness.

Natural - synthetic - artificial!

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Peter E

2010-01-01

The terms "natural," "synthetic" and "artificial" are discussed in relation to synthetic and artificial chromosomes and genomes, synthetic and artificial cells and artificial life.......The terms "natural," "synthetic" and "artificial" are discussed in relation to synthetic and artificial chromosomes and genomes, synthetic and artificial cells and artificial life....

Novel Protein-Protein Inhibitor Based Approach to Control Plant Ethylene Responses: Synthetic Peptides for Ripening Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mareike Kessenbrock

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Ethylene signaling is decisive for many plant developmental processes. Among these, control of senescence, abscission and fruit ripening are of fundamental relevance for global agriculture. Consequently, detailed knowledge of the signaling network along with the molecular processes of signal perception and transfer are expected to have high impact on future food production and agriculture. Recent advances in ethylene research have demonstrated that signaling of the plant hormone critically depends on the interaction of the ethylene receptor family with the NRAMP-like membrane protein ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE 2 (EIN2 at the ER membrane, phosphorylation-dependent proteolytic processing of ER-localized EIN2 and subsequent translocation of the cleaved EIN2 C-terminal polypeptide (EIN2-CEND to the nucleus. EIN2 nuclear transport, but also interaction with the receptors sensing the ethylene signal, both, depend on a nuclear localization signal (NLS located at the EIN2 C-terminus. Loss of the tight interaction between receptors and EIN2 affects ethylene signaling and impairs plant ethylene responses. Synthetic peptides derived from the NLS sequence interfere with the EIN2–receptor interaction and have utility in controlling plant ethylene responses such as ripening. Here, we report that a synthetic peptide (NOP-1 corresponding to the NLS motif of Arabidopsis EIN2 (aa 1262–1269 efficiently binds to tomato ethylene receptors LeETR4 and NR and delays ripening in the post-harvest phase when applied to the surface of sampled green fruits pre-harvest. In particular, degradation of chlorophylls was delayed by several days, as monitored by optical sensors and confirmed by analytical methods. Similarly, accumulation of β-carotene and lycopene in the fruit pulp after NOP-1 application was delayed, without having impact on the total pigment concentration in the completely ripe fruits. Likewise, the peptide had no negative effects on fruit quality. Our molecular

Green tribology: principles, research areas and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Nosonovsky, Michael; Bhushan, Bharat

2010-10-28

In this introductory paper for the Theme Issue on green tribology, we discuss the concept of green tribology and its relation to other areas of tribology as well as other 'green' disciplines, namely, green engineering and green chemistry. We formulate the 12 principles of green tribology: the minimization of (i) friction and (ii) wear, (iii) the reduction or complete elimination of lubrication, including self-lubrication, (iv) natural and (v) biodegradable lubrication, (vi) using sustainable chemistry and engineering principles, (vii) biomimetic approaches, (viii) surface texturing, (ix) environmental implications of coatings, (x) real-time monitoring, (xi) design for degradation, and (xii) sustainable energy applications. We further define three areas of green tribology: (i) biomimetics for tribological applications, (ii) environment-friendly lubrication, and (iii) the tribology of renewable-energy application. The integration of these areas remains a primary challenge for this novel area of research. We also discuss the challenges of green tribology and future directions of research.

PENGARUH PENERAPAN GREEN ACCOUNTING TERHADAP KINERJA PERUSAHAAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanifa Zulhaimi

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to analyze the implementation of green accounting and to find an impact of application of green accounting toward earning and stock price growth in Indonesian Industri. Industri activities oftentimes give some bad impact to environment surroundings such as natural devastation and the changes of culture, social and economic. Green accounting is a realization of corporate social responsibility to relieve the impact. The implementation of green accounting can give good image for the company however preliminary research found not many companies are implementing green accounting. This research will use quantitave approach and different test or  paired T-test will use for statistical testing, in order to test the research assumptions. Variable of this research are Green accounting, Earning per Shares and Stock Price Growth. This research is expected will contribute for the development of green accounting theory and enhancement of the implementation of green accounting especially in Indonesian Industri on Asian Economic community era.

Arid Green Infrastructure for Water Control and Conservation ...

Science.gov (United States)

Green infrastructure is an approach to managing wet weather flows using systems and practices that mimic natural processes. It is designed to manage stormwater as close to its source as possible and protect the quality of receiving waters. Although most green infrastructure practices were first developed in temperate climates, green infrastructure also can be a cost-effective approach to stormwater management and water conservation in arid and semi-arid regions, such as those found in the western and southwestern United States. Green infrastructure practices can be applied at the site, neighborhood and watershed scales. In addition to water management and conservation, implementing green infrastructure confers many social and economic benefits and can address issues of environmental justice. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) commissioned a literature review to identify the state-of-the science practices dealing with water control and conservation in arid and semi-arid regions, with emphasis on these regions in the United States. The search focused on stormwater control measures or practices that slow, capture, treat, infiltrate and/or store runoff at its source (i.e., green infrastructure). The material in Chapters 1 through 3 provides background to EPA’s current activities related to the application of green infrastructure practices in arid and semi-arid regions. An introduction to the topic of green infrastructure in arid and semi-arid regions i

Greens of the European Green Capitals

Science.gov (United States)

Cömertler, Seval

2017-10-01

Well established and maintained green areas have a key role on reaching the high quality of life and sustainability in urban environments. Therefore, green areas must be carefully accounted and evaluated in the urban planning affairs. In this context, the European Green Capitals, which attach a great importance to the green areas, have a great potential to act as a role model for both small and big cities in all around the world. These leading cities (chronologically, Stockholm, Hamburg, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Nantes, Copenhagen, Bristol, Ljubljana, Essen and Nijmegen) are inspiring for the other cities which seek to achieve more sustainable and environmentally friendly places through green areas. From this point of view, the aim of this paper was to investigate the green areas of the European Green Capitals. The paper covered whole European Green Capitals, and the application form of each Green Capital was used as a primary data source. Consequently, the paper put forwarded that the European Green Capitals have considerably large amount and high proportion of green areas. Further, these cities provide an excellent access to the public green areas. As a result of abundant provision and proper distribution, the almost all citizens in most of the Green Capitals live within a distance of 300 meters to a green area. For further researches, the paper suggested that these green capitals should be investigated in terms of their efforts, measures, goals and plans, policies and implications to administer, to protect, to enhance and to expand the green areas.

NASA Green Flight Challenge: Conceptual Design Approaches and Technologies to Enable 200 Passenger Miles per Gallon

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Douglas P.

2011-01-01

The Green Flight Challenge is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s Centennial Challenges designed to push technology and make passenger aircraft more efficient. Airliners currently average around 50 passenger-miles per gallon and this competition will push teams to greater than 200 passenger-miles per gallon. The aircraft must also fly at least 100 miles per hour for 200 miles. The total prize money for this competition is $1.65 Million. The Green Flight Challenge will be run by the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation September 25 October 1, 2011 at Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport in California. Thirteen custom aircraft were developed with electric, bio-diesel, and other bio-fuel engines. The aircraft are using various technologies to improve aerodynamic, propulsion, and structural efficiency. This paper will explore the feasibility of the rule set, competitor vehicles, design approaches, and technologies used.

Steady state conductance in a double quantum dot array: the nonequilibrium equation-of-motion Green function approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Tal J; Rabani, Eran

2013-04-28

We study steady state transport through a double quantum dot array using the equation-of-motion approach to the nonequilibrium Green functions formalism. This popular technique relies on uncontrolled approximations to obtain a closure for a hierarchy of equations; however, its accuracy is questioned. We focus on 4 different closures, 2 of which were previously proposed in the context of the single quantum dot system (Anderson impurity model) and were extended to the double quantum dot array, and develop 2 new closures. Results for the differential conductance are compared to those attained by a master equation approach known to be accurate for weak system-leads couplings and high temperatures. While all 4 closures provide an accurate description of the Coulomb blockade and other transport properties in the single quantum dot case, they differ in the case of the double quantum dot array, where only one of the developed closures provides satisfactory results. This is rationalized by comparing the poles of the Green functions to the exact many-particle energy differences for the isolate system. Our analysis provides means to extend the equation-of-motion technique to more elaborate models of large bridge systems with strong electronic interactions.

Computational protein design-the next generation tool to expand synthetic biology applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Gainza-Cirauqui, Pablo; Correia, Bruno Emanuel

2018-05-02

One powerful approach to engineer synthetic biology pathways is the assembly of proteins sourced from one or more natural organisms. However, synthetic pathways often require custom functions or biophysical properties not displayed by natural proteins, limitations that could be overcome through modern protein engineering techniques. Structure-based computational protein design is a powerful tool to engineer new functional capabilities in proteins, and it is beginning to have a profound impact in synthetic biology. Here, we review efforts to increase the capabilities of synthetic biology using computational protein design. We focus primarily on computationally designed proteins not only validated in vitro, but also shown to modulate different activities in living cells. Efforts made to validate computational designs in cells can illustrate both the challenges and opportunities in the intersection of protein design and synthetic biology. We also highlight protein design approaches, which although not validated as conveyors of new cellular function in situ, may have rapid and innovative applications in synthetic biology. We foresee that in the near-future, computational protein design will vastly expand the functional capabilities of synthetic cells. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Novel Green Synthesis and Characterization of Nanopolymer ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: To develop a novel approach to green synthesis of nano-polymer porous gold oxide nanoparticles, and examine the effects of the temperatures on their surface. Methods: Green synthesis of nano-polymer porous gold oxide nanoparticles (GONPs) using cetyle trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant with a ...

Green infrastructure planning for cooling urban communities: Overview of the contemporary approaches with special reference to Serbian experiences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marić Igor

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates contemporary approaches defined by the policies, programs or standards that favor green infrastructure in urban planning for cooling urban environments with special reference to Serbian experiences. The research results reveal an increasing emphasis on the multifunctionality of green infrastructure as well the determination to the development of policies, guidelines and standards with the support of the overall community. Further, special importance is given to policies that promote ‘cool communities’ strategies resulting in the increase of vegetation-covered areas, what has contributed in adapting urban environments to the impacts of climate change. In addition, this research indicates the important role of local authorities and planners in Serbia in promoting planning policies and programs that take into consideration the role of green infrastructure in terms of improving climatic conditions, quality of life and reducing energy needed for cooling and heating. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 36035: Spatial, ecological, energy, and social aspects of developing settlements and climate change - mutual impacts i br. 43007: The investigation of climate change and its impacts, climate change adaptation and mitigation

International experience of green development in Western China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhen, Lin; Hu, Jie; Du, Bingzhen; Liu, Jiyuan; Sun, Chuanzhun; Wu, Ruizi; Long, Xin; Zhang, Qiang

2015-01-01

Green development emphasizes co-development between economic and environmental dimensions, and is a peoplecentered sustainable development approach. Western China demands green development, and international experience could provide necessary, unique and important help and support for Western

Green Chemistry Approach for Synthesis of Effective Anticancer Palladium Nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurunathan, Sangiliyandi; Kim, EunSu; Han, Jae Woong; Park, Jung Hyun; Kim, Jin-Hoi

2015-12-15

The purpose of this study was to design and synthesize Palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) using an environmentally friendly approach and evaluate the in vitro efficacy of PdNPs in human ovarian cancer A2780 cells. Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy was used to monitor the conversion of Pd(II) ions to Pd(0)NPs. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed the crystallinity of the as-synthesized PdNPs and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) further confirmed the role of the leaf extract of Evolvulus alsinoides as a reducing and stabilizing agent for the synthesis of PdNPs. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the average size of the NPs was 5 nm. After a 24-h exposure to PdNPs, cell viability and light microscopy assays revealed the dose-dependent toxicity of the PdNPs. Furthermore, the dose-dependent cytotoxicity of the PdNPs was confirmed by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, activation of PdNPs-induced autophagy, impairment of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), enhanced caspase-3 activity, and detection of TUNEL-positive cells. Our study demonstrates a single, simple, dependable and green approach for the synthesis of PdNPs using leaf extracts of Evolvulus alsinoides. Furthermore, the in vitro efficacy of PdNPs in human ovarian cancer cells suggests that it could be an effective therapeutic agent for cancer therapy.

Synthetic Biology and Metabolic Engineering Approaches and Its Impact on Non-Conventional Yeast and Biofuel Production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Madhavan, Aravind [Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Trivandrum (India); Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Trivandrum (India); Jose, Anju Alphonsa; Binod, Parameswaran; Sindhu, Raveendran, E-mail: sindhurgcb@gmail.com; Sukumaran, Rajeev K. [Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Trivandrum (India); Pandey, Ashok [Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Trivandrum (India); Center for Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing, Mohali, Punjab (India); Castro, Galliano Eulogio [Dpt. Ingeniería Química, Ambiental y de los Materiales Edificio, Universidad de Jaén, Jaén (Spain)

2017-04-25

The increasing fossil fuel scarcity has led to an urgent need to develop alternative fuels. Currently microorganisms have been extensively used for the production of first-generation biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass. Yeast is the efficient producer of bioethanol among all existing biofuels option. Tools of synthetic biology have revolutionized the field of microbial cell factories especially in the case of ethanol and fatty acid production. Most of the synthetic biology tools have been developed for the industrial workhorse Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The non-conventional yeast systems have several beneficial traits like ethanol tolerance, thermotolerance, inhibitor tolerance, genetic diversity, etc., and synthetic biology have the power to expand these traits. Currently, synthetic biology is slowly widening to the non-conventional yeasts like Hansenula polymorpha, Kluyveromyces lactis, Pichia pastoris, and Yarrowia lipolytica. Herein, we review the basic synthetic biology tools that can apply to non-conventional yeasts. Furthermore, we discuss the recent advances employed to develop efficient biofuel-producing non-conventional yeast strains by metabolic engineering and synthetic biology with recent examples. Looking forward, future synthetic engineering tools’ development and application should focus on unexplored non-conventional yeast species.

Synthetic Biology and Metabolic Engineering Approaches and Its Impact on Non-Conventional Yeast and Biofuel Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raveendran Sindhu

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The increasing fossil fuel scarcity has led to an urgent need to develop alternative fuels. Currently microorganisms have been extensively used for the production of first-generation biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass. Yeast is the efficient producer of bioethanol among all existing biofuels option. Tools of synthetic biology have revolutionized the field of microbial cell factories especially in the case of ethanol and fatty acid production. Most of the synthetic biology tools have been developed for the industrial workhorse Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The non-conventional yeast systems have several beneficial traits like ethanol tolerance, thermotolerance, inhibitor tolerance, genetic diversity, etc., and synthetic biology have the power to expand these traits. Currently, synthetic biology is slowly widening to the non-conventional yeasts like Hansenula polymorpha, Kluyveromyces lactis, Pichia pastoris, and Yarrowia lipolytica. Herein, we review the basic synthetic biology tools that can apply to non-conventional yeasts. Furthermore, we discuss the recent advances employed to develop efficient biofuel-producing non-conventional yeast strains by metabolic engineering and synthetic biology with recent examples. Looking forward, future synthetic engineering tools’ development and application should focus on unexplored non-conventional yeast species.

Synthetic Biology and Metabolic Engineering Approaches and Its Impact on Non-Conventional Yeast and Biofuel Production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madhavan, Aravind; Jose, Anju Alphonsa; Binod, Parameswaran; Sindhu, Raveendran; Sukumaran, Rajeev K.; Pandey, Ashok; Castro, Galliano Eulogio

2017-01-01

The increasing fossil fuel scarcity has led to an urgent need to develop alternative fuels. Currently microorganisms have been extensively used for the production of first-generation biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass. Yeast is the efficient producer of bioethanol among all existing biofuels option. Tools of synthetic biology have revolutionized the field of microbial cell factories especially in the case of ethanol and fatty acid production. Most of the synthetic biology tools have been developed for the industrial workhorse Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The non-conventional yeast systems have several beneficial traits like ethanol tolerance, thermotolerance, inhibitor tolerance, genetic diversity, etc., and synthetic biology have the power to expand these traits. Currently, synthetic biology is slowly widening to the non-conventional yeasts like Hansenula polymorpha, Kluyveromyces lactis, Pichia pastoris, and Yarrowia lipolytica. Herein, we review the basic synthetic biology tools that can apply to non-conventional yeasts. Furthermore, we discuss the recent advances employed to develop efficient biofuel-producing non-conventional yeast strains by metabolic engineering and synthetic biology with recent examples. Looking forward, future synthetic engineering tools’ development and application should focus on unexplored non-conventional yeast species.

An Appraisal Model Based on a Synthetic Feature Selection Approach for Students’ Academic Achievement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ching-Hsue Cheng

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Obtaining necessary information (and even extracting hidden messages from existing big data, and then transforming them into knowledge, is an important skill. Data mining technology has received increased attention in various fields in recent years because it can be used to find historical patterns and employ machine learning to aid in decision-making. When we find unexpected rules or patterns from the data, they are likely to be of high value. This paper proposes a synthetic feature selection approach (SFSA, which is combined with a support vector machine (SVM to extract patterns and find the key features that influence students’ academic achievement. For verifying the proposed model, two databases, namely, “Student Profile” and “Tutorship Record”, were collected from an elementary school in Taiwan, and were concatenated into an integrated dataset based on students’ names as a research dataset. The results indicate the following: (1 the accuracy of the proposed feature selection approach is better than that of the Minimum-Redundancy-Maximum-Relevance (mRMR approach; (2 the proposed model is better than the listing methods when the six least influential features have been deleted; and (3 the proposed model can enhance the accuracy and facilitate the interpretation of the pattern from a hybrid-type dataset of students’ academic achievement.

Special Forest Products on the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests: a research-based approach to management

Science.gov (United States)

Marla R. Emery; Clare. Ginger

2014-01-01

Special forest products (SFPs) are gathered from more than 200 vascular and fungal species on the Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF) and Finger Lakes National Forest (FLNF). This report documents those SFPs and proposes an approach to managing them in the context of legislation directing the U.S. Forest Service to institute a program of active SFP management. Based...

From green architecture to architectural green

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Earon, Ofri

2011-01-01

that describes the architectural exclusivity of this particular architecture genre. The adjective green expresses architectural qualities differentiating green architecture from none-green architecture. Currently, adding trees and vegetation to the building’s facade is the main architectural characteristics...... they have overshadowed the architectural potential of green architecture. The paper questions how a green space should perform, look like and function. Two examples are chosen to demonstrate thorough integrations between green and space. The examples are public buildings categorized as pavilions. One......The paper investigates the topic of green architecture from an architectural point of view and not an energy point of view. The purpose of the paper is to establish a debate about the architectural language and spatial characteristics of green architecture. In this light, green becomes an adjective...

Drainage area characterization for evaluating green infrastructure using the Storm Water Management Model

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Joong Gwang; Nietch, Christopher T.; Panguluri, Srinivas

2018-05-01

Urban stormwater runoff quantity and quality are strongly dependent upon catchment properties. Models are used to simulate the runoff characteristics, but the output from a stormwater management model is dependent on how the catchment area is subdivided and represented as spatial elements. For green infrastructure modeling, we suggest a discretization method that distinguishes directly connected impervious area (DCIA) from the total impervious area (TIA). Pervious buffers, which receive runoff from upgradient impervious areas should also be identified as a separate subset of the entire pervious area (PA). This separation provides an improved model representation of the runoff process. With these criteria in mind, an approach to spatial discretization for projects using the US Environmental Protection Agency's Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) is demonstrated for the Shayler Crossing watershed (SHC), a well-monitored, residential suburban area occupying 100 ha, east of Cincinnati, Ohio. The model relies on a highly resolved spatial database of urban land cover, stormwater drainage features, and topography. To verify the spatial discretization approach, a hypothetical analysis was conducted. Six different representations of a common urbanscape that discharges runoff to a single storm inlet were evaluated with eight 24 h synthetic storms. This analysis allowed us to select a discretization scheme that balances complexity in model setup with presumed accuracy of the output with respect to the most complex discretization option considered. The balanced approach delineates directly and indirectly connected impervious areas (ICIA), buffering pervious area (BPA) receiving impervious runoff, and the other pervious area within a SWMM subcatchment. It performed well at the watershed scale with minimal calibration effort (Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient = 0.852; R2 = 0.871). The approach accommodates the distribution of runoff contributions from different spatial components and

Green corridors in freight logistics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Panagakos, George

of the performance of a green corridor in terms of pre-specified Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The thesis builds on previous own work under the EUfinanced SuperGreen project and applies the new methodology on the GreCOR corridor extending from Oslo to Rotterdam. The scope of the two other objectives relates...... the rationale for a performance monitoring scheme has been established, the thesis critically reviews the SuperGreen methodology which consists of: (i) decomposing the corridor into transport chains, (ii) selecting a sample of typical chains, (iii) assessing these chains through a set of KPIs, and (iv......) aggregating the chain-level KPIs to corridor-level ones using proper weights. Unlike SuperGreen that suggests a study-based approach for constructing the corridor sample, the thesis proposes founding the selection of typical chains on the outcome of specialised transport models. The periodic collection...

Multiscale-Driven approach to detecting change in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Gens, R.; Hogenson, K.; Ajadi, O. A.; Meyer, F. J.; Myers, A.; Logan, T. A.; Arnoult, K., Jr.

2017-12-01

Detecting changes between Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images can be a useful but challenging exercise. SAR with its all-weather capabilities can be an important resource in identifying and estimating the expanse of events such as flooding, river ice breakup, earthquake damage, oil spills, and forest growth, as it can overcome shortcomings of optical methods related to cloud cover. However, detecting change in SAR imagery can be impeded by many factors including speckle, complex scattering responses, low temporal sampling, and difficulty delineating boundaries. In this presentation we use a change detection method based on a multiscale-driven approach. By using information at different resolution levels, we attempt to obtain more accurate change detection maps in both heterogeneous and homogeneous regions. Integrated within the processing flow are processes that 1) improve classification performance by combining Expectation-Maximization algorithms with mathematical morphology, 2) achieve high accuracy in preserving boundaries using measurement level fusion techniques, and 3) combine modern non-local filtering and 2D-discrete stationary wavelet transform to provide robustness against noise. This multiscale-driven approach to change detection has recently been incorporated into the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) Hybrid Pluggable Processing Pipeline (HyP3) using radiometrically terrain corrected SAR images. Examples primarily from natural hazards are presented to illustrate the capabilities and limitations of the change detection method.

Synthetic biology between technoscience and thing knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Gelfert, Axel

2013-06-01

Synthetic biology presents a challenge to traditional accounts of biology: Whereas traditional biology emphasizes the evolvability, variability, and heterogeneity of living organisms, synthetic biology envisions a future of homogeneous, humanly engineered biological systems that may be combined in modular fashion. The present paper approaches this challenge from the perspective of the epistemology of technoscience. In particular, it is argued that synthetic-biological artifacts lend themselves to an analysis in terms of what has been called 'thing knowledge'. As such, they should neither be regarded as the simple outcome of applying theoretical knowledge and engineering principles to specific technological problems, nor should they be treated as mere sources of new evidence in the general pursuit of scientific understanding. Instead, synthetic-biological artifacts should be viewed as partly autonomous research objects which, qua their material-biological constitution, embody knowledge about the natural world-knowledge that, in turn, can be accessed via continuous experimental interrogation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is It Time for Synthetic Biodiversity Conservation?

Science.gov (United States)

Piaggio, Antoinette J; Segelbacher, Gernot; Seddon, Philip J; Alphey, Luke; Bennett, Elizabeth L; Carlson, Robert H; Friedman, Robert M; Kanavy, Dona; Phelan, Ryan; Redford, Kent H; Rosales, Marina; Slobodian, Lydia; Wheeler, Keith

2017-02-01

Evidence indicates that, despite some critical successes, current conservation approaches are not slowing the overall rate of biodiversity loss. The field of synthetic biology, which is capable of altering natural genomes with extremely precise editing, might offer the potential to resolve some intractable conservation problems (e.g., invasive species or pathogens). However, it is our opinion that there has been insufficient engagement by the conservation community with practitioners of synthetic biology. We contend that rapid, large-scale engagement of these two communities is urgently needed to avoid unintended and deleterious ecological consequences. To this point we describe case studies where synthetic biology is currently being applied to conservation, and we highlight the benefits to conservation biologists from engaging with this emerging technology. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The Influence of Proactive Green Innovation and Reactive Green Innovation on Green Product Development Performance: The Mediation Role of Green Creativity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Shan Chen

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This study fills the research gap in the exploration of the relationships between both proactive and reactive green innovations and green product development performance, and examines the mediating effect of green creativity. Structural equation modeling (SEM is utilized to test the hypotheses. From the sample of 146 valid respondents, the results show that proactive green innovation positively affects green creativity and green product development performance, and green creativity positively affects green product development performance. In addition, our findings also indicate that the relationship between proactive green innovation and green product development performance is partially mediated by green creativity. Accordingly, green creativity plays a critical role for companies to achieve a great green product development performance. However, reactive green innovation does not significantly influence green creativity and green product development performance. Companies should develop proactive green innovation rather than reactive green innovation in order to enhance their green creativity and increase their product development performance.

Matrix Model for Choosing Green Marketing Sustainable Strategic Alternatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cătălina Sitnikov

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Green marketing examines the symbiotic role played by marketing in ensuring sustainable business, exploring issues concerning the environment and the way strategic decisions can influence it. At present, the environmental issues concern more and more the competitive approach any organization can implement. Based on this approach, organizations can gain competitive advantage by managing environmental variables and by developing and implementing green marketing strategies. Considering the importance and impact of green marketing, by using theoretical concepts and defining a set of research directions, the paper and the research conducted were focused on creating a matrix model for choosing the optimal green marketing strategy, oriented towards competitive advantage. The model is based on the correlation that can be established among the generic strategies of competitive advantage, the variables of extended marketing mix (7Ps and the green marketing strategy matrix. There are also analyzed the implications that may be generated within a company by the adoption of a green marketing strategy and its role in promoting the environmental benefits of products.

Goodness of Fit of Skills Assessment Approaches: Insights from Patterns of Real vs. Synthetic Data Sets

Science.gov (United States)

Beheshti, Behzad; Desmarais, Michel C.

2015-01-01

This study investigates the issue of the goodness of fit of different skills assessment models using both synthetic and real data. Synthetic data is generated from the different skills assessment models. The results show wide differences of performances between the skills assessment models over synthetic data sets. The set of relative performances…

Pengaruh Green Marketing Hotel Terhadap Green Consumer Behavior

OpenAIRE

Yo Fernandez, Eunike Christe; Tjoanda, Evelyn

2017-01-01

Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui pengaruh dari green marketing hotel terhadap green consumer behavior. Green marketing memiliki 3 dimensi, yaitu green product, green price, dan green promotion. Penelitian ini melibatkan 272 responden masyarakat Surabaya dan menggunakan metode regresi linear berganda. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa green product dan green price berpengaruh secara positif dan signifikan sedangkan green promotion berpengaruh namun tidak signifikan terhadap green con...

Quantum thermodynamics: a nonequilibrium Green's function approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Esposito, Massimiliano; Ochoa, Maicol A; Galperin, Michael

2015-02-27

We establish the foundations of a nonequilibrium theory of quantum thermodynamics for noninteracting open quantum systems strongly coupled to their reservoirs within the framework of the nonequilibrium Green's functions. The energy of the system and its coupling to the reservoirs are controlled by a slow external time-dependent force treated to first order beyond the quasistatic limit. We derive the four basic laws of thermodynamics and characterize reversible transformations. Stochastic thermodynamics is recovered in the weak coupling limit.

GREEN BANKING IN ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dumitrascu Mihaela

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The paper investigates the green banking in Romania, a new approach of conducting the banking business through considering the corporate social responsibility and environmental aspects. Nowadays, it is difficult to face the globalization and competition in order to asssure the implementation of the green banking practices. The aim of the present study is to identify corporations that have sustainability concerns. To achieve this objective, we set some hypothesis and after this we showed that the corporations are more likely to be included in the list of top banks in the world. Our study is relevant for future research in this area, because of the importance of such aspects in corporations nowadays.The conclusions of our study is that green banking practices in Romania is in an incipient stage

The Role of Green Infrastructure Solutions in Urban Flood Risk Management

OpenAIRE

Soz, Salman Anees; Kryspin-Watson, Jolanta; Stanton-Geddes, Zuzana

2016-01-01

This Knowledge Note explores the role of green infrastructure solutions in urban flood risk management. Green infrastructure solutions represent an approach that focuses on using natural processes for managing wet weather impacts while delivering environmental, social, and economic benefits. Green infrastructure solutions, such as wetlands, bioshields, buffer zones, green roofing, street s...

Multielement Synthetic Transmit Aperture Imaging Using Temporal Encoding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gammelmark, Kim; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2003-01-01

A new method to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of synthetic transmit aperture imaging is investigated. The approach utilizes multiple elements to emulate a spherical wave, and the conventional short excitation pulse is replaced by a linear frequency-modulated (FM) signal. The approach i...

Plant synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wusheng; Stewart, C Neal

2015-05-01

Plant synthetic biology is an emerging field that combines engineering principles with plant biology toward the design and production of new devices. This emerging field should play an important role in future agriculture for traditional crop improvement, but also in enabling novel bioproduction in plants. In this review we discuss the design cycles of synthetic biology as well as key engineering principles, genetic parts, and computational tools that can be utilized in plant synthetic biology. Some pioneering examples are offered as a demonstration of how synthetic biology can be used to modify plants for specific purposes. These include synthetic sensors, synthetic metabolic pathways, and synthetic genomes. We also speculate about the future of synthetic biology of plants. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Customer Aggregation: An Opportunity for Green Power?; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holt, E.; Bird, L.

2001-01-01

We undertook research into the experience of aggregation groups to determine whether customer aggregation offers an opportunity to bring green power choices to more customers. The objectives of this report, therefore, are to (1) identify the different types of aggregation that are occurring today, (2) learn whether aggregation offers an opportunity to advance sales of green power, and (3) share these concepts and approaches with potential aggregators and green power advocates

The evolution of green food products and retailers’ eco-strategizing and green competitiveness in the Danish and Brazilian grocery sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mazzero, Marcelo Fernando

2017-01-01

investigates the role of retail groups in the development of the green food market in Denmark and Brazil. Accordingly, it investigates the rate and direction of the greening of this process in those markets as well as their sectoral convergence of retailers’ eco-strategizing. Using the dynamic capabilities...... business case. Finally, changes in their business models have become a central competitive driver to retailers in both countries, which enabled them to sustain competitive advantage on the greening of their food markets.......Grounded on the evolutionary approach, this thesis adds an understanding about the dynamics of the greening of the economy, particularly highlighting the neglected demand side aspect of the greening of markets. Since the emergence of green food markets in the 1980s and 1990s, this study...

Urban Green Infrastructure: German Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Olegovna Dushkova

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The paper presents a concept of urban green infrastructure and analyzes the features of its implementation in the urban development programmes of German cities. We analyzed the most shared articles devoted to the urban green infrastructure to see different approaches to definition of this term. It is based on materials of field research in the cities of Berlin and Leipzig in 2014-2015, international and national scientific publications. During the process of preparing the paper, consultations have been held with experts from scientific institutions and Administrations of Berlin and Leipzig as well as local experts from environmental organizations of both cities. Using the German cities of Berlin and Leipzig as examples, this paper identifies how the concept can be implemented in the program of urban development. It presents the main elements of green city model, which include mitigation of negative anthropogenic impact on the environment under the framework of urban sustainable development. Essential part of it is a complex ecological policy as a major necessary tool for the implementation of the green urban infrastructure concept. This ecological policy should embody not only some ecological measurements, but also a greening of all urban infrastructure elements as well as implementation of sustainable living with a greater awareness of the resources, which are used in everyday life, and development of environmental thinking among urban citizens. Urban green infrastructure is a unity of four main components: green building, green transportation, eco-friendly waste management, green transport routes and ecological corridors. Experience in the development of urban green infrastructure in Germany can be useful to improve the environmental situation in Russian cities.

Green's functions potential fields on surfaces

CERN Document Server

Melnikov, Yuri A

2017-01-01

This book is comprehensive in its classical mathematical physics presentation, providing the reader with detailed instructions for obtaining Green's functions from scratch. Green's functions is an instrument easily accessible to practitioners who are engaged in design and exploitation of machines and structures in modern engineering practice. To date, there are no books available on the market that are devoted to the Green's function formalism for equations covered in this volume. The reader, with an undergraduate background in applied mathematics, can become an active user of the Green's function approach. For the first time, Green's functions are discussed for a specific class of problems dealing with potential fields induced in thin-wall structures and therefore, the reader will have first-hand access to a novel issue. This Work is accessible to researchers in applied mathematics, mechanics, and relevant disciplines such as engineering, as well as to upper level undergraduates and graduate students.

Parameter sensitivity analysis of the mixed Green-Ampt/Curve-Number method for rainfall excess estimation in small ungauged catchments

Science.gov (United States)

Romano, N.; Petroselli, A.; Grimaldi, S.

2012-04-01

With the aim of combining the practical advantages of the Soil Conservation Service - Curve Number (SCS-CN) method and Green-Ampt (GA) infiltration model, we have developed a mixed procedure, which is referred to as CN4GA (Curve Number for Green-Ampt). The basic concept is that, for a given storm, the computed SCS-CN total net rainfall amount is used to calibrate the soil hydraulic conductivity parameter of the Green-Ampt model so as to distribute in time the information provided by the SCS-CN method. In a previous contribution, the proposed mixed procedure was evaluated on 100 observed events showing encouraging results. In this study, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to further explore the feasibility of applying the CN4GA tool in small ungauged catchments. The proposed mixed procedure constrains the GA model with boundary and initial conditions so that the GA soil hydraulic parameters are expected to be insensitive toward the net hyetograph peak. To verify and evaluate this behaviour, synthetic design hyetograph and synthetic rainfall time series are selected and used in a Monte Carlo analysis. The results are encouraging and confirm that the parameter variability makes the proposed method an appropriate tool for hydrologic predictions in ungauged catchments. Keywords: SCS-CN method, Green-Ampt method, rainfall excess, ungauged basins, design hydrograph, rainfall-runoff modelling.

Urban Green Infrastructure: German Experience

OpenAIRE

Diana Olegovna Dushkova; Sergey Nikolaevich Kirillov

2016-01-01

The paper presents a concept of urban green infrastructure and analyzes the features of its implementation in the urban development programmes of German cities. We analyzed the most shared articles devoted to the urban green infrastructure to see different approaches to definition of this term. It is based on materials of field research in the cities of Berlin and Leipzig in 2014-2015, international and national scientific publications. During the process of preparing the paper, consultations...

Managing green spaces of the deceased

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjøller, Christian Philip

2012-01-01

Cemeteries in Denmark are managed by the national church; they are green spaces of high standard, with an important role as burial places for members of the society. Previous studies elsewhere indicate that cemetery management operates with special approaches on the fringe of other public service...... the dissimilarity of cemetery administration from other public administrations and green space management in particular. Further research however is required....

Synthetic Biology Platform for Sensing and Integrating Endogenous Transcriptional Inputs in Mammalian Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Angelici, Bartolomeo; Mailand, Erik; Haefliger, Benjamin; Benenson, Yaakov

2016-08-30

One of the goals of synthetic biology is to develop programmable artificial gene networks that can transduce multiple endogenous molecular cues to precisely control cell behavior. Realizing this vision requires interfacing natural molecular inputs with synthetic components that generate functional molecular outputs. Interfacing synthetic circuits with endogenous mammalian transcription factors has been particularly difficult. Here, we describe a systematic approach that enables integration and transduction of multiple mammalian transcription factor inputs by a synthetic network. The approach is facilitated by a proportional amplifier sensor based on synergistic positive autoregulation. The circuits efficiently transduce endogenous transcription factor levels into RNAi, transcriptional transactivation, and site-specific recombination. They also enable AND logic between pairs of arbitrary transcription factors. The results establish a framework for developing synthetic gene networks that interface with cellular processes through transcriptional regulators. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Synthetic Biology: Tools to Design, Build, and Optimize Cellular Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Eric; Alper, Hal

2010-01-01

The general central dogma frames the emergent properties of life, which make biology both necessary and difficult to engineer. In a process engineering paradigm, each biological process stream and process unit is heavily influenced by regulatory interactions and interactions with the surrounding environment. Synthetic biology is developing the tools and methods that will increase control over these interactions, eventually resulting in an integrative synthetic biology that will allow ground-up cellular optimization. In this review, we attempt to contextualize the areas of synthetic biology into three tiers: (1) the process units and associated streams of the central dogma, (2) the intrinsic regulatory mechanisms, and (3) the extrinsic physical and chemical environment. Efforts at each of these three tiers attempt to control cellular systems and take advantage of emerging tools and approaches. Ultimately, it will be possible to integrate these approaches and realize the vision of integrative synthetic biology when cells are completely rewired for biotechnological goals. This review will highlight progress towards this goal as well as areas requiring further research. PMID:20150964

Synthetic Biology: Tools to Design, Build, and Optimize Cellular Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Young

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The general central dogma frames the emergent properties of life, which make biology both necessary and difficult to engineer. In a process engineering paradigm, each biological process stream and process unit is heavily influenced by regulatory interactions and interactions with the surrounding environment. Synthetic biology is developing the tools and methods that will increase control over these interactions, eventually resulting in an integrative synthetic biology that will allow ground-up cellular optimization. In this review, we attempt to contextualize the areas of synthetic biology into three tiers: (1 the process units and associated streams of the central dogma, (2 the intrinsic regulatory mechanisms, and (3 the extrinsic physical and chemical environment. Efforts at each of these three tiers attempt to control cellular systems and take advantage of emerging tools and approaches. Ultimately, it will be possible to integrate these approaches and realize the vision of integrative synthetic biology when cells are completely rewired for biotechnological goals. This review will highlight progress towards this goal as well as areas requiring further research.

Synthetic biology: tools to design, build, and optimize cellular processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Eric; Alper, Hal

2010-01-01

The general central dogma frames the emergent properties of life, which make biology both necessary and difficult to engineer. In a process engineering paradigm, each biological process stream and process unit is heavily influenced by regulatory interactions and interactions with the surrounding environment. Synthetic biology is developing the tools and methods that will increase control over these interactions, eventually resulting in an integrative synthetic biology that will allow ground-up cellular optimization. In this review, we attempt to contextualize the areas of synthetic biology into three tiers: (1) the process units and associated streams of the central dogma, (2) the intrinsic regulatory mechanisms, and (3) the extrinsic physical and chemical environment. Efforts at each of these three tiers attempt to control cellular systems and take advantage of emerging tools and approaches. Ultimately, it will be possible to integrate these approaches and realize the vision of integrative synthetic biology when cells are completely rewired for biotechnological goals. This review will highlight progress towards this goal as well as areas requiring further research.

Green(ing) infrastructure

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Van Wyk, Llewellyn V

2014-03-01

Full Text Available the generation of electricity from renewable sources such as wind, water and solar. Grey infrastructure – In the context of storm water management, grey infrastructure can be thought of as the hard, engineered systems to capture and convey runoff..., pumps, and treatment plants.  Green infrastructure reduces energy demand by reducing the need to collect and transport storm water to a suitable discharge location. In addition, green infrastructure such as green roofs, street trees and increased...

Green Materials Science and Engineering Reduces Biofouling: Approaches for Medical and Membrane-based Technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kerianne M Dobosz

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Numerous engineered and natural environments suffer deleterious effects from biofouling and/or biofilm formation. For instance, bacterial contamination on biomedical devices pose serious health concerns. In membrane-based technologies, such as desalination and wastewater reuse, biofouling decreases membrane lifetime and increases the energy required to produce clean water. Traditionally, approaches have combatted bacteria using bactericidal agents. However, due to globalization, a decline in antibiotic discovery, and the widespread resistance of microbes to many commercial antibiotics and metallic nanoparticles, new materials and approaches to reduce biofilm formation are needed. In this mini-review, we cover the recent strategies that have been explored to combat microbial contamination without exerting evolutionary pressure on microorganisms. Renewable feedstocks, relying on structure-property relationships, bioinspired/nature-derived compounds, and green processing methods are discussed. Greener strategies that mitigate biofouling hold great potential to positively impact human health and safety.

Green's function approach to calculate spin injection in quantum dot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, S.G.; Jalil, M.B.A.; Liew, Thomas; Teo, K.L.

2006-01-01

We present a theoretical model to study spin injection (η) through a quantum dot system sandwiched by two ferromagnetic contacts. The effect of contact magnetization on η was studied using Green's function descriptions of the density of states. Green's function models have the advantages that coherent effects of temperature, electron occupation in the QD, and lead perturbation on the state wave function and hence the current can be formally included in the calculations. In addition, self-consistent treatment of current with applied electrochemical potential or lead conductivity, a necessary step which has not been considered in previous works, has also been implemented in our model

Green synthesis, structure and fluorescence spectra of new azacyanine dyes

Science.gov (United States)

Enchev, Venelin; Gadjev, Nikolai; Angelov, Ivan; Minkovska, Stela; Kurutos, Atanas; Markova, Nadezhda; Deligeorgiev, Todor

2017-11-01

A series of symmetric and unsymmetric monomethine azacyanine dyes (monomethine azacyanine and merocyanine sulfobetaines) were synthesized with moderate to high yields via a novel method using microwave irradiation. The compounds are derived from a condensation reaction between 2-thiomethylbenzotiazolium salts and 2-imino-3-methylbenzothiazolines proceeded under microwave irradiation. The synthetic approach involves the use of green solvent and absence of basic reagent. TD-DFT calculations were performed to simulate absorption and fluorescent spectra of synthesized dyes. Absorption maxima, λmax, of the studied dyes were found in the range 364-394 nm. Molar absorbtivities were evaluated in between 40300 and 59200 mol-1 dm3 cm-1. Fluorescence maxima, λfl, were registered around 418-448 nm upon excitation at 350 nm. A slight displacements of theoretically estimated absorption maxima according to experimental ones is observed. The differences are most probably due to the fact that the DFT calculations were carried out without taking into account the solvent effect. In addition, the merocyanine sulfobetaines also fluorescence in blue optical range (420-480 nm) at excitation in red range (630-650 nm).

Green Chemistry Approach for Synthesis of Effective Anticancer Palladium Nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sangiliyandi Gurunathan

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to design and synthesize Palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs using an environmentally friendly approach and evaluate the in vitro efficacy of PdNPs in human ovarian cancer A2780 cells. Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis spectroscopy was used to monitor the conversion of Pd(II ions to Pd(0NPs. X-ray diffraction (XRD revealed the crystallinity of the as-synthesized PdNPs and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR further confirmed the role of the leaf extract of Evolvulus alsinoides as a reducing and stabilizing agent for the synthesis of PdNPs. Dynamic light scattering (DLS and transmission electron microscopy (TEM showed that the average size of the NPs was 5 nm. After a 24-h exposure to PdNPs, cell viability and light microscopy assays revealed the dose-dependent toxicity of the PdNPs. Furthermore, the dose-dependent cytotoxicity of the PdNPs was confirmed by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS generation, activation of PdNPs-induced autophagy, impairment of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP, enhanced caspase-3 activity, and detection of TUNEL-positive cells. Our study demonstrates a single, simple, dependable and green approach for the synthesis of PdNPs using leaf extracts of Evolvulus alsinoides. Furthermore, the in vitro efficacy of PdNPs in human ovarian cancer cells suggests that it could be an effective therapeutic agent for cancer therapy.

Functional mining of transporters using synthetic selections

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Genee, Hans Jasper; Bali, Anne Pihl; Petersen, Søren Dalsgård

2016-01-01

transporters, PnuT, which is widely distributed across multiple bacterial phyla. We demonstrate that with modular replacement of the biosensor, we could expand our method to xanthine and identify xanthine permeases from gut and soil metagenomes. Our results demonstrate how synthetic-biology approaches can......-responsive biosensor systems that enable selective growth of cells only if they encode a ligand-specific importer. We developed such a synthetic selection system for thiamine pyrophosphate and mined soil and gut metagenomes for thiamine-uptake functions. We identified several members of a novel class of thiamine...

BrisSynBio: a BBSRC/EPSRC-funded Synthetic Biology Research Centre.

Science.gov (United States)

Sedgley, Kathleen R; Race, Paul R; Woolfson, Derek N

2016-06-15

BrisSynBio is the Bristol-based Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)/Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)-funded Synthetic Biology Research Centre. It is one of six such Centres in the U.K. BrisSynBio's emphasis is on rational and predictive bimolecular modelling, design and engineering in the context of synthetic biology. It trains the next generation of synthetic biologists in these approaches, to facilitate translation of fundamental synthetic biology research to industry and the clinic, and to do this within an innovative and responsible research framework. © 2016 The Author(s).

Green approaches in sample preparation of bioanalytical samples prior to chromatographic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Filippou, Olga; Bitas, Dimitrios; Samanidou, Victoria

2017-02-01

Sample preparation is considered to be the most challenging step of the analytical procedure, since it has an effect on the whole analytical methodology, therefore it contributes significantly to the greenness or lack of it of the entire process. The elimination of the sample treatment steps, pursuing at the same time the reduction of the amount of the sample, strong reductions in consumption of hazardous reagents and energy also maximizing safety for operators and environment, the avoidance of the use of big amount of organic solvents, form the basis for greening sample preparation and analytical methods. In the last decade, the development and utilization of greener and sustainable microextraction techniques is an alternative to classical sample preparation procedures. In this review, the main green microextraction techniques (solid phase microextraction, stir bar sorptive extraction, hollow-fiber liquid phase microextraction, dispersive liquid - liquid microextraction, etc.) will be presented, with special attention to bioanalytical applications of these environment-friendly sample preparation techniques which comply with the green analytical chemistry principles. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hazards in hanging gardens: A report on failures of recognition by green turtles and their conservation implications.

Science.gov (United States)

de Carvalho-Souza, Gustavo Freire; de A Miranda, Daniele; Pataro, Luciano

2016-04-15

Marine species are experiencing unprecedented global impacts due to anthropogenic debris. Many recent studies have pointed out the hazards associated with marine litter ingestion, especially plastic debris - the most abundant and ubiquitous items in coastal and oceanic environments worldwide. In this study we provide the first in situ evidence of consumption of non-discarded synthetic rope fragments by green turtles. We explored the environmental risks to this endangered species associated with the grazing and consumption of anthropogenic debris in zones of human activity. Efforts to combat debris ingestion and reduce anthropogenic debris discharged into the world's oceans should be a priority for decision-makers and will need to involve multiple-approaches and the adoption of more environmentally friendly products and practices by the international community. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Promotion Strategy of Green Construction Materials: A Path Analysis Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chung-Fah Huang

2015-10-01

Full Text Available As one of the major materials used in construction, cement can be very resource-consuming and polluting to produce and use. Compared with traditional cement processing methods, dry-mix mortar is more environmentally friendly by reducing waste production or carbon emissions. Despite the continuous development and promotion of green construction materials, only a few of them are accepted or widely used in the market. In addition, the majority of existing research on green construction materials focuses more on their physical or chemical characteristics than on their promotion. Without effective promotion, their benefits cannot be fully appreciated and realized. Therefore, this study is conducted to explore the promotion of dry-mix mortars, one of the green materials. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. First, through a case study, the potential of reducing carbon emission is verified. Then a path analysis is conducted to verify the validity and predictability of the samples based on the technology acceptance model (TAM in this study. According to the findings of this research, to ensure better promotion results and wider application of dry-mix mortar, it is suggested that more systematic efforts be invested in promoting the usefulness and benefits of dry-mix mortar. The model developed in this study can provide helpful references for future research and promotion of other green materials.

The Promotion Strategy of Green Construction Materials: A Path Analysis Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chung-Fah; Chen, Jung-Lu

2015-10-14

As one of the major materials used in construction, cement can be very resource-consuming and polluting to produce and use. Compared with traditional cement processing methods, dry-mix mortar is more environmentally friendly by reducing waste production or carbon emissions. Despite the continuous development and promotion of green construction materials, only a few of them are accepted or widely used in the market. In addition, the majority of existing research on green construction materials focuses more on their physical or chemical characteristics than on their promotion. Without effective promotion, their benefits cannot be fully appreciated and realized. Therefore, this study is conducted to explore the promotion of dry-mix mortars, one of the green materials. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. First, through a case study, the potential of reducing carbon emission is verified. Then a path analysis is conducted to verify the validity and predictability of the samples based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) in this study. According to the findings of this research, to ensure better promotion results and wider application of dry-mix mortar, it is suggested that more systematic efforts be invested in promoting the usefulness and benefits of dry-mix mortar. The model developed in this study can provide helpful references for future research and promotion of other green materials.

Identification of green skills acquisition in Indonesian TVET curricula

Science.gov (United States)

Setiawan, Agus

2017-09-01

Recently, many countries have put the focus on green growth which specifically aims at achieving a resilient, low-carbon, and resource-efficient economy model that leads to higher quality of life. Environmental pollution and climate change are negatively affecting the sustainability of various economical activities across the world, with Indonesia being one of them. To mitigate the environmental problems, the existing economy should be shifted to a greener economy model which will create green jobs and greening the existing occupation in the industries. Green jobs require workers with green skills. Therefore, development of green skills in TVET institutions is urgently needed. By referencing the existing green skills frame work, green skills acquisition has not been clearly integrated into the existing Indonesian TVET curriculum. However, approach to integrate green skills into TVET curriculum can be carried out through the development of hard skills and soft skills in the domain of knowledge, abilities, and attitudes where green skills is an imparting of both hard skills and soft skills.

Contribution of microreactor technology and flow chemistry to the development of green and sustainable synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Fanelli, Flavio; Parisi, Giovanna; Degennaro, Leonardo; Luisi, Renzo

2017-01-01

Microreactor technology and flow chemistry could play an important role in the development of green and sustainable synthetic processes. In this review, some recent relevant examples in the field of flash chemistry, catalysis, hazardous chemistry and continuous flow processing are described. Selected examples highlight the role that flow chemistry could play in the near future for a sustainable development.

Monitoring cotton root rot by synthetic Sentinel-2 NDVI time series using improved spatial and temporal data fusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Mingquan; Yang, Chenghai; Song, Xiaoyu; Hoffmann, Wesley Clint; Huang, Wenjiang; Niu, Zheng; Wang, Changyao; Li, Wang; Yu, Bo

2018-01-31

To better understand the progression of cotton root rot within the season, time series monitoring is required. In this study, an improved spatial and temporal data fusion approach (ISTDFA) was employed to combine 250-m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Different Vegetation Index (NDVI) and 10-m Sentinetl-2 NDVI data to generate a synthetic Sentinel-2 NDVI time series for monitoring this disease. Then, the phenology of healthy cotton and infected cotton was modeled using a logistic model. Finally, several phenology parameters, including the onset day of greenness minimum (OGM), growing season length (GLS), onset of greenness increase (OGI), max NDVI value, and integral area of the phenology curve, were calculated. The results showed that ISTDFA could be used to combine time series MODIS and Sentinel-2 NDVI data with a correlation coefficient of 0.893. The logistic model could describe the phenology curves with R-squared values from 0.791 to 0.969. Moreover, the phenology curve of infected cotton showed a significant difference from that of healthy cotton. The max NDVI value, OGM, GSL and the integral area of the phenology curve for infected cotton were reduced by 0.045, 30 days, 22 days, and 18.54%, respectively, compared with those for healthy cotton.

RNA and RNP as Building Blocks for Nanotechnology and Synthetic Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohno, Hirohisa; Saito, Hirohide

2016-01-01

Recent technologies that aimed to elucidate cellular function have revealed essential roles for RNA molecules in living systems. Our knowledge concerning functional and structural information of naturally occurring RNA and RNA-protein (RNP) complexes is increasing rapidly. RNA and RNP interaction motifs are structural units that function as building blocks to constitute variety of complex structures. RNA-central synthetic biology and nanotechnology are constructive approaches that employ the accumulated information and build synthetic RNA (RNP)-based circuits and nanostructures. Here, we describe how to design and construct synthetic RNA (RNP)-based devices and structures at the nanometer-scale for biological and future therapeutic applications. RNA/RNP nanostructures can also be utilized as the molecular scaffold to control the localization or interactions of target molecule(s). Moreover, RNA motifs recognized by RNA-binding proteins can be applied to make protein-responsive translational "switches" that can turn gene expression "on" or "off" depending on the intracellular environment. This "synthetic RNA and RNP world" will expand tools for nanotechnology and synthetic biology. In addition, these reconstructive approaches would lead to a greater understanding of building principle in naturally occurring RNA/RNP molecules and systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Green's functions in Bianchi type-I spaces. Relation between Minkowski and Euclidean approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bukhbinder, I.L.; Kirillova, E.N.

1988-01-01

A theory is considered for a free scalar field with a conformal connection in a curved space-time with a Bianchi type-I metric. A representation is obtained for the Green's function G∼ in in in the form of an integral of a Schwinger-DeWitt kernel along a contour in a plane of complex-valued proper time. It is shown how as transition may be accomplished from Green's functions in space with the Euclidean signature to Green's functions in space with Minkowski signature and vice versa

Green IT engineering components, networks and systems implementation

CERN Document Server

Kondratenko, Yuriy; Kacprzyk, Janusz

2017-01-01

This book presents modern approaches to improving the energy efficiency, safety and environmental performance of industrial processes and products, based on the application of advanced trends in Green Information Technologies (IT) Engineering to components, networks and complex systems (software, programmable and hardware components, communications, Cloud and IoT-based systems, as well as IT infrastructures). The book’s 16 chapters, prepared by authors from Greece, Malaysia, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, are grouped into four sections: (1) The Green Internet of Things, Cloud Computing and Data Mining, (2) Green Mobile and Embedded Control Systems, (3) Green Logic and FPGA Design, and (4) Green IT for Industry and Smart Grids. The book will motivate researchers and engineers from different IT domains to develop, implement and propagate green values in complex systems. Further, it will benefit all scientists and graduate students pursuing research in computer science with a focus on green ...

Worldline Green functions for multiloop diagrams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, M.G.; Heidelberg Univ.; Schubert, C.

1994-03-01

We propose a multiloop generalization of the Bern-Kosower formalism, based on Strassler's approach of evaluating worldline path integrals by worldline Green functions. Those Green functions are explicitly constructed for the basic two-loop graph, and for a loop with an arbitrary number of propagator insertions. For scalar and abelian gauge theories, the resulting integral representations allow to combine whole classes of Feynman diagrams into compact expressions. (orig.)

Greening Existing Buildings in Contemporary Iraqi Urban Reality/ Virtual Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saba Jabar Neama Al-Khafaji

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The approach of greening existing buildings, is an urgent necessity, because the greening operation provides the speed and optimal efficiency in the environmental performance, as well as keeping up with the global green architecture revolution. Therefore, greening existing buildings in Iraq is important for trends towards renewable energies, because of what the country went through economic conditions and crises and wars which kept the country away from what took place globally in this issue. The research problem is: insufficient knowledge about the importance and the mechanism of the greening of existing buildings, including its environmental and economic dimensions, by rationalization of energy consumption and preserving the environment. The research objective is: clarifying the importance of greening existing buildings environmentally and economically, providing a virtual experience for greening the presidency building of Baghdad University, through advanced computer program. The main conclusions is: there is difference representing by reducing the disbursed thermal loads amount for cooling in summer and heating in winter through the use of computerized program (DesignBuilder and that after the implementation of greening operations on the building envelope, which confirms its effectiveness in raising the energy performance efficiency inside the building. Hence, the importance of the application of greening existing buildings approach in Iraq, to bring back Iraqi architecture to environmental and local track proper.

Improving the urban green system and green network through the rehabilitation of railway rust areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hutter Dóra

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The Industrial Revolution had a negative impact on both the city and the environment. By the second half of the 19th century, the urban erosion of industrial cities cried for direct intervention and curing. The methods developed either along an urban or an anti-urban philosophy: they resulted in the new models of green belt systems aimed at solving all the main urban problems with restructuring the urban fabric, controlling the urban spread into the rural landscape, the lack of green areas and open spaces for recreation and social life, and the lack of green spaces for ventilation. Nowadays, the major cities and capitals around the globe are competing for titles such as healthier, more liveable or even greener city. Given the unfortunate attributes of the urban structure in the historical cities, the development of new transportation sites or green areas is an extremely difficult issue. On the other hand, in the big cities, the brownfield sites are considered as reserve areas for sustainable urban development. Reusing the brownfields and rust areas is already a land saving urban development approach and in case of a complex and ecological urban rehabilitation it can underlie the development of an efficient urban green system and green network.

Agent-based modelling in synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorochowski, Thomas E

2016-11-30

Biological systems exhibit complex behaviours that emerge at many different levels of organization. These span the regulation of gene expression within single cells to the use of quorum sensing to co-ordinate the action of entire bacterial colonies. Synthetic biology aims to make the engineering of biology easier, offering an opportunity to control natural systems and develop new synthetic systems with useful prescribed behaviours. However, in many cases, it is not understood how individual cells should be programmed to ensure the emergence of a required collective behaviour. Agent-based modelling aims to tackle this problem, offering a framework in which to simulate such systems and explore cellular design rules. In this article, I review the use of agent-based models in synthetic biology, outline the available computational tools, and provide details on recently engineered biological systems that are amenable to this approach. I further highlight the challenges facing this methodology and some of the potential future directions. © 2016 The Author(s).

Growing your green chemistry mindset

Science.gov (United States)

Kosmas, Steven

2017-08-01

The purpose of this article is not to delineate the steps to move across the continuum to being a greener chemist, but to analyse the cognitive processes involved in fostering a green chemistry growth mindset (GCGM) [Dweck C. (2006) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York, NY: Ballatine]. The focus is on changing the mindset, which inevitably will lead to a more mindful approach to chemistry practices before the laboratory begins. A green chemistry fixed mindset (GCFM) is closed to making improvements, since the attitude is that the techniques and processes in the laboratory are already employing a green chemistry mindset [Dweck C. (2006) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York, NY: Ballatine]. The problem with the GCFM is that it precludes the possibility of making improvements. However, the GCGM employs a continuous, intentional focus on the attitude towards green chemistry, with the ultimate goal being a change in chemistry practices that is greener. The focus of this article will be on the GCGM.

Temperature-dependent striped antiferromagnetism of LaFeAsO in a Green's function approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Guibin; Liu Banggui

2009-01-01

We use a Green's function method to study the temperature-dependent average moment and magnetic phase-transition temperature of the striped antiferromagnetism of LaFeAsO, and other similar compounds, as the parents of FeAs-based superconductors. We consider the nearest and the next-nearest couplings in the FeAs layer, and the nearest coupling for inter-layer spin interaction. The dependence of the transition temperature T N and the zero-temperature average spin on the interaction constants is investigated. We obtain an analytical expression for T N and determine our temperature-dependent average spin from zero temperature to T N in terms of unified self-consistent equations. For LaFeAsO, we obtain a reasonable estimation of the coupling interactions with the experimental transition temperature T N = 138 K. Our results also show that a non-zero antiferromagnetic (AFM) inter-layer coupling is essential for the existence of a non-zero T N , and the many-body AFM fluctuations reduce substantially the low-temperature magnetic moment per Fe towards the experimental value. Our Green's function approach can be used for other FeAs-based parent compounds and these results should be useful to understand the physical properties of FeAs-based superconductors.

Trendy v oblasti podnikových IS - Green IT

OpenAIRE

Vojtková, Erika

2011-01-01

The theme of this thesis is one of the latest trends in IT -- Green IT. For companies implementation of green IT means not only acknowledging its responsibility towards society and environment, but also substantial financial benefits and improved public perception of their business. There are several motivations for companies to go green. Green IT initiatives are increasingly supported by the legislation and various standards. Different procedures and approaches to help companies in their tra...

Cfd modeling of a synthetic jet actuator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dghim, Marouane; Ben Chiekh, Maher; Ben Nasrallah, Sassi

2009-01-01

Synthetic jet actuators show good promise as an enabling technology for innovative boundary layer flow control applied to external surfaces, like airplane wings, and to internal flows, like those occurring in a curved engine inlet. The appealing characteristics of a synthetic jet are zero-net-mass flux operation and an efficient control effect that takes advantages of unsteady fluid phenomena. The formation of a synthetic jet in a quiescent external air flow is only beginning to be understood and a rational understanding of these devices is necessary before they can be applied to the control of flows outside of the laboratory. The synthetic jet flow generated by a planar orifice is investigated here using computational approach. Computations of the 2D synthetic jet are performed with unsteady RANS modeled with the Realizable κ - ε turbulence model available in FLUENT environment. In this present work, the ability of the first order turbulence model, employed in our computations, to model the formation of the counter-rotating-vortex pair (CVP) that appears in the flow-field was investigated. Computational results were in good agreement with experimental measurements. The effectiveness of such control actuator was tested on separated boundary layer. Preliminary investigation were presented and discussed

[From synthetic biology to synthetic humankind].

Science.gov (United States)

Nouvel, Pascal

2015-01-01

In this paper, we propose an historical survey of the expression "synthetic biology" in order to identify its main philosophical components. The result of the analysis is then used to investigate the meaning of the notion of "synthetic man". It is shown that both notions share a common philosophical background that can be summed up by the short but meaningful assertion: "biology is technology". The analysis allows us to distinguish two notions that are often confused in transhumanist literature: the notion of synthetic man and the notion of renewed man. The consequences of this crucial distinction are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

A fuzzy multi criteria approach for evaluating green supplier's performance in green supply chain with linguistic preferences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shen, Lixin; Olfat, Laya; Govindan, Kannan

2013-01-01

Today's international business environment has forced many firms to focus on supply chain management to gain a competitive advantage. During recent years, supplier selection process in the supply chain has become a key strategic consideration. With the growing worldwide awareness of environmental...... protection and the corresponding increase in legislation and regulations, green purchasing has become an important issue for companies to gain environmental sustainability. Traditionally, companies consider criteria such as price, quality and lead time, when evaluating supplier performance and do not give...... enough attention to environmental criteria as a means to evaluate suppliers. Now, many companies have begun to implement green supply chain management (GSCM) and to consider environmental issues and the measurement of their suppliers' environmental performance. This paper examines GSCM to propose a fuzzy...

A Game Theoretic Approach for Improving Environmental and Economic Performance in a Dual-Channel Green Supply Chain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weimin Ma

2018-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we investigate economic performance and environmental performance of a dual-channel green supply chain (GSC. Given that most relevant literature still focus on the descriptive aspect of GSC, we adopt game theoretic approach rather than qualitative analysis method to address the following problems: (1 How can the integration of environmental and economic sustainability goals be achieved in GSC? (2 What is the impact of customer environmental awareness on the green level and profitability of the GSC? (3 How does the market demand changes in the presence of the online direct channel in addition to the traditional one? We establish four game models, which are decentralized scenario, centralized scenario, retailer-led revenue-sharing scenario and bargaining revenue-sharing scenario. In the decentralized scenario, participants in a GSC make individual decisions based on their specific interests. In the centralized scenario, the GSC is regarded as a whole and the participants make collective decisions to maximize the overall profit of the GSC. In addition, in the two revenue-sharing scenarios, revenue-sharing contracts as the important profit coordination systems are set up and the revenue-sharing ratio is determined either by the retailer or through bargaining. Moreover, the cost of green product research and development, customer environmental awareness and price sensitivity are also taken into account in the four scenarios. By comparing and analyzing the four game models, we recommend the two revenue-sharing scenarios as the optimum choice and improving green awareness as a feasible strategy to achieve the integration of economic and environmental goals of the GSC. Additionally, we find that online sales has become a major distribution channel of the GSC.

Tunable promoters in synthetic and systems biology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dehli, Tore; Solem, Christian; Jensen, Peter Ruhdal

2012-01-01

in synthetic biology. A number of tools exist to manipulate the steps in between gene sequence and functional protein in living cells, but out of these the most straight-forward approach is to alter the gene expression level by manipulating the promoter sequence. Some of the promoter tuning tools available......Synthetic and systems biologists need standardized, modular and orthogonal tools yielding predictable functions in vivo. In systems biology such tools are needed to quantitatively analyze the behavior of biological systems while the efficient engineering of artificial gene networks is central...... for accomplishing such altered gene expression levels are discussed here along with examples of their use, and ideas for new tools are described. The road ahead looks very promising for synthetic and systems biologists as tools to achieve just about anything in terms of tuning and timing multiple gene expression...

Thermal transport in isotopically disordered carbon nanotubes: a comparison between Green's functions and Boltzmann approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoltz, G; Lazzeri, M; Mauri, F

2009-01-01

We present a study of the phononic thermal conductivity of isotopically disordered carbon nanotubes. In particular, the behaviour of the thermal conductivity as a function of the system length is investigated, using Green's function techniques to compute the transmission across the system. The method is implemented using linear scaling algorithms, which allow us to reach systems of lengths up to L = 2.5 μm (with up to 200 000 atoms). As for 1D systems, it is observed that the conductivity diverges with the system size L. We also observe a dramatic decrease of the thermal conductance for systems of experimental sizes (roughly 80% at room temperature for L = 2.5 μm), when a large fraction of isotopic disorder is introduced. The results obtained with Green's function techniques are compared to results obtained with a Boltzmann description of thermal transport. There is a good agreement between both approaches for systems of experimental sizes, even in the presence of Anderson localization. This is particularly interesting since the computation of the transmission using Boltzmann's equation is much less computationally expensive, so that larger systems may be studied with this method.

Customers’ Intention to Use Green Products: the Impact of Green Brand Dimensions and Green Perceived Value

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doszhanov Aibek

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to identify the relationships between green brand dimension (green brand awareness, green brand image, and green brand trust, green perceived value and customer’s intention to use green products. Data was collected through structured survey questionnaire from 384 customers of three hypermarkets in Kuala-Lumpur. Data was analyzed based on multiple regression analysis. The results indicate that there are significant relationships between green brand awareness, green brand trust, green perceived value, and customer’s intention to use green products. However, green brand image was not found to have significant relationship with customer’s intention to use green products. The discussion presented suggestions for marketers and researchers interested in green branding.

Using hybrid method to evaluate the green performance in uncertainty.

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, Ming-Lang; Lan, Lawrence W; Wang, Ray; Chiu, Anthony; Cheng, Hui-Ping

2011-04-01

Green performance measure is vital for enterprises in making continuous improvements to maintain sustainable competitive advantages. Evaluation of green performance, however, is a challenging task due to the dependence complexity of the aspects, criteria, and the linguistic vagueness of some qualitative information and quantitative data together. To deal with this issue, this study proposes a novel approach to evaluate the dependence aspects and criteria of firm's green performance. The rationale of the proposed approach, namely green network balanced scorecard, is using balanced scorecard to combine fuzzy set theory with analytical network process (ANP) and importance-performance analysis (IPA) methods, wherein fuzzy set theory accounts for the linguistic vagueness of qualitative criteria and ANP converts the relations among the dependence aspects and criteria into an intelligible structural modeling used IPA. For the empirical case study, four dependence aspects and 34 green performance criteria for PCB firms in Taiwan were evaluated. The managerial implications are discussed.

Applying green chemistry to the photochemical route to artemisinin

Science.gov (United States)

Amara, Zacharias; Bellamy, Jessica F. B.; Horvath, Raphael; Miller, Samuel J.; Beeby, Andrew; Burgard, Andreas; Rossen, Kai; Poliakoff, Martyn; George, Michael W.

2015-06-01

Artemisinin is an important antimalarial drug, but, at present, the environmental and economic costs of its semi-synthetic production are relatively high. Most of these costs lie in the final chemical steps, which follow a complex acid- and photo-catalysed route with oxygenation by both singlet and triplet oxygen. We demonstrate that applying the principles of green chemistry can lead to innovative strategies that avoid many of the problems in current photochemical processes. The first strategy combines the use of liquid CO2 as solvent and a dual-function solid acid/photocatalyst. The second strategy is an ambient-temperature reaction in aqueous mixtures of organic solvents, where the only inputs are dihydroartemisinic acid, O2 and light, and the output is pure, crystalline artemisinin. Everything else—solvents, photocatalyst and aqueous acid—can be recycled. Some aspects developed here through green chemistry are likely to have wider application in photochemistry and other reactions.

Applying green chemistry to the photochemical route to artemisinin.

Science.gov (United States)

Amara, Zacharias; Bellamy, Jessica F B; Horvath, Raphael; Miller, Samuel J; Beeby, Andrew; Burgard, Andreas; Rossen, Kai; Poliakoff, Martyn; George, Michael W

2015-06-01

Artemisinin is an important antimalarial drug, but, at present, the environmental and economic costs of its semi-synthetic production are relatively high. Most of these costs lie in the final chemical steps, which follow a complex acid- and photo-catalysed route with oxygenation by both singlet and triplet oxygen. We demonstrate that applying the principles of green chemistry can lead to innovative strategies that avoid many of the problems in current photochemical processes. The first strategy combines the use of liquid CO2 as solvent and a dual-function solid acid/photocatalyst. The second strategy is an ambient-temperature reaction in aqueous mixtures of organic solvents, where the only inputs are dihydroartemisinic acid, O2 and light, and the output is pure, crystalline artemisinin. Everything else-solvents, photocatalyst and aqueous acid-can be recycled. Some aspects developed here through green chemistry are likely to have wider application in photochemistry and other reactions.

The Influence of Proactive Green Innovation and Reactive Green Innovation on Green Product Development Performance: The Mediation Role of Green Creativity

OpenAIRE

Yu-Shan Chen; Tai-Wei Chang; Chun-Yu Lin; Pi-Yu Lai; Kuan-Hung Wang

2016-01-01

This study fills the research gap in the exploration of the relationships between both proactive and reactive green innovations and green product development performance, and examines the mediating effect of green creativity. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is utilized to test the hypotheses. From the sample of 146 valid respondents, the results show that proactive green innovation positively affects green creativity and green product development performance, and green creativity positivel...

Green technology meets ecotoxicology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristina Radošević

2016-01-01

Full Text Available By applying concept and principles of green chemistry into different technological processes, green technologies are developed. The environmental and economic benefits of “green” approach is achieved through several directions, such as the use of renewable raw materials, creation of economic efficiency, the use of alternative reaction conditions, as well as the application of non-conventional solvents. From the point view of green chemistry, alternative solvents, in order to be a “green“ substitution to hazardous organic solvents, should be: non-volatile, non-flammable, stabile, synthesized by an environmentally friendly procedure, nontoxic and biodegradable. The toxic impact of all newly synthesized chemicals, such as alternative solvents, could be determined by methods and techniques of ecotoxicology. Ecotoxicology, an interdisciplinary scientific field, can serve as a way of monitoring the greenness of the processes. In vivo and in vitro experiments are used to study the effects of chemicals on different levels of organizations, from molecules to communities and ecosystem. The usage of in vitro methods is encouraged by a scientific community and regulatory agencies as an alternative to in vivo studies in order to reduce the number of laboratory animals used in the toxicological studies. Therefore, in this paper we gave a brief overview on the usage of animal cell cultures within the field of green chemistry and technology.

Yeast synthetic biology toolbox and applications for biofuel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Ching-Sung; Kwak, Suryang; Turner, Timothy L; Jin, Yong-Su

2015-02-01

Yeasts are efficient biofuel producers with numerous advantages outcompeting bacterial counterparts. While most synthetic biology tools have been developed and customized for bacteria especially for Escherichia coli, yeast synthetic biological tools have been exploited for improving yeast to produce fuels and chemicals from renewable biomass. Here we review the current status of synthetic biological tools and their applications for biofuel production, focusing on the model strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae We describe assembly techniques that have been developed for constructing genes, pathways, and genomes in yeast. Moreover, we discuss synthetic parts for allowing precise control of gene expression at both transcriptional and translational levels. Applications of these synthetic biological approaches have led to identification of effective gene targets that are responsible for desirable traits, such as cellulosic sugar utilization, advanced biofuel production, and enhanced tolerance against toxic products for biofuel production from renewable biomass. Although an array of synthetic biology tools and devices are available, we observed some gaps existing in tool development to achieve industrial utilization. Looking forward, future tool development should focus on industrial cultivation conditions utilizing industrial strains. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.

Finding very small near-Earth asteroids using synthetic tracking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shao, Michael; Nemati, Bijan; Zhai, Chengxing; Turyshev, Slava G.; Sandhu, Jagmit; Hallinan, Gregg; Harding, Leon K.

2014-01-01

We present an approach that significantly increases the sensitivity for finding and tracking small and fast near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). This approach relies on a combined use of a new generation of high-speed cameras which allow short, high frame-rate exposures of moving objects, effectively 'freezing' their motion, and a computationally enhanced implementation of the 'shift-and-add' data processing technique that helps to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for detection of NEAs. The SNR of a single short exposure of a dim NEA is insufficient to detect it in one frame, but by computationally searching for an appropriate velocity vector, shifting successive frames relative to each other and then co-adding the shifted frames in post-processing, we synthetically create a long-exposure image as if the telescope were tracking the object. This approach, which we call 'synthetic tracking,' enhances the familiar shift-and-add technique with the ability to do a wide blind search, detect, and track dim and fast-moving NEAs in near real time. We discuss also how synthetic tracking improves the astrometry of fast-moving NEAs. We apply this technique to observations of two known asteroids conducted on the Palomar 200 inch telescope and demonstrate improved SNR and 10 fold improvement of astrometric precision over the traditional long-exposure approach. In the past 5 yr, about 150 NEAs with absolute magnitudes H = 28 (∼10 m in size) or fainter have been discovered. With an upgraded version of our camera and a field of view of (28 arcmin) 2 on the Palomar 200 inch telescope, synthetic tracking could allow detecting up to 180 such objects per night, including very small NEAs with sizes down to 7 m.

Finding very small near-Earth asteroids using synthetic tracking

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shao, Michael; Nemati, Bijan; Zhai, Chengxing; Turyshev, Slava G.; Sandhu, Jagmit [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-0899 (United States); Hallinan, Gregg; Harding, Leon K. [California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

2014-02-10

We present an approach that significantly increases the sensitivity for finding and tracking small and fast near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). This approach relies on a combined use of a new generation of high-speed cameras which allow short, high frame-rate exposures of moving objects, effectively 'freezing' their motion, and a computationally enhanced implementation of the 'shift-and-add' data processing technique that helps to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for detection of NEAs. The SNR of a single short exposure of a dim NEA is insufficient to detect it in one frame, but by computationally searching for an appropriate velocity vector, shifting successive frames relative to each other and then co-adding the shifted frames in post-processing, we synthetically create a long-exposure image as if the telescope were tracking the object. This approach, which we call 'synthetic tracking,' enhances the familiar shift-and-add technique with the ability to do a wide blind search, detect, and track dim and fast-moving NEAs in near real time. We discuss also how synthetic tracking improves the astrometry of fast-moving NEAs. We apply this technique to observations of two known asteroids conducted on the Palomar 200 inch telescope and demonstrate improved SNR and 10 fold improvement of astrometric precision over the traditional long-exposure approach. In the past 5 yr, about 150 NEAs with absolute magnitudes H = 28 (∼10 m in size) or fainter have been discovered. With an upgraded version of our camera and a field of view of (28 arcmin){sup 2} on the Palomar 200 inch telescope, synthetic tracking could allow detecting up to 180 such objects per night, including very small NEAs with sizes down to 7 m.

[Application of synthetic biology to sustainable utilization of Chinese materia medica resources].

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Lu-Qi; Gao, Wei; Zhou, Yong-Jin

2014-01-01

Bioactive natural products are the material bases of Chinese materia medica resources. With successful applications of synthetic biology strategies to the researches and productions of taxol, artemisinin and tanshinone, etc, the potential ability of synthetic biology in the sustainable utilization of Chinese materia medica resources has been attracted by many researchers. This paper reviews the development of synthetic biology, the opportunities of sustainable utilization of Chinese materia medica resources, and the progress of synthetic biology applied to the researches of bioactive natural products. Furthermore, this paper also analyzes how to apply synthetic biology to sustainable utilization of Chinese materia medica resources and what the crucial factors are. Production of bioactive natural products with synthetic biology strategies will become a significant approach for the sustainable utilization of Chinese materia medica resources.

Penilaian Implementasi Green Supply Chain Management di UKM Batik Pekalongan dengan Pendekatan GreenSCOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aries Susanty

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This article assesses the implementation level of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM practices in SMEs Pekalongan batik business with GreenSCOR approach and mapped out the results with an approach of importance peformance analysis (IPA. The article also devised a strategy to improve the implementation of GSCM practices. Data collection was done by distributing questionnaires and interviews. This article shows that the level of GSCM implementation in small-scale batik SMEs is in the poor category; Whereas, the level of GSCM implementation in medium-scale batik SMEs is in the average category. The results of the mapping show that, for batik SMEs there are indicators that are in quadrant A. Preparation of strategies to improve GSCM practices in batik SME Pekalongan more focused on improving the performance of indicators of use of environmentally friendly raw materials.

Contribution of microreactor technology and flow chemistry to the development of green and sustainable synthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flavio Fanelli

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Microreactor technology and flow chemistry could play an important role in the development of green and sustainable synthetic processes. In this review, some recent relevant examples in the field of flash chemistry, catalysis, hazardous chemistry and continuous flow processing are described. Selected examples highlight the role that flow chemistry could play in the near future for a sustainable development.

Synthetic analog computation in living cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Daniel, Ramiz; Rubens, Jacob R; Sarpeshkar, Rahul; Lu, Timothy K

2013-05-30

A central goal of synthetic biology is to achieve multi-signal integration and processing in living cells for diagnostic, therapeutic and biotechnology applications. Digital logic has been used to build small-scale circuits, but other frameworks may be needed for efficient computation in the resource-limited environments of cells. Here we demonstrate that synthetic analog gene circuits can be engineered to execute sophisticated computational functions in living cells using just three transcription factors. Such synthetic analog gene circuits exploit feedback to implement logarithmically linear sensing, addition, ratiometric and power-law computations. The circuits exhibit Weber's law behaviour as in natural biological systems, operate over a wide dynamic range of up to four orders of magnitude and can be designed to have tunable transfer functions. Our circuits can be composed to implement higher-order functions that are well described by both intricate biochemical models and simple mathematical functions. By exploiting analog building-block functions that are already naturally present in cells, this approach efficiently implements arithmetic operations and complex functions in the logarithmic domain. Such circuits may lead to new applications for synthetic biology and biotechnology that require complex computations with limited parts, need wide-dynamic-range biosensing or would benefit from the fine control of gene expression.

Metaphysical green

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Earon, Ofri

2011-01-01

to adapt to urban environment. It explores the potential of Sensation of Green in the city. The paper questions whether the Sensation of Green could introduce a new spectrum of greens, beside the real green. It develops the term of metaphysical green – does green have to be green or can it be only...

When can a green entrepreneur manage the local environment?

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Urs Steiner; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

2016-12-01

How do we deal with environmental management issues at the local level? Traditionally, the approach proposed from an environmental management perspective has involved various kinds of "top-down" regulatory measures, such as defining a standard that must be satisfied or a tax on pollution. Conversely, there has been less focus on the analysis of local, bottom-up approaches, as for example the effectiveness of various ways of organizing a local environmental transition process. Our focus is on analyzing of under what conditions it is possible for a "green entrepreneur" (GE) to manage a transition from brown to green energy? Theoretically, we consider four entrepreneurial skills, at least two of which must be present for the GE to succeed. In the case of the Danish island of Samsø and its rapid introduction of renewable energy, three of these skills are found to be present: profits, communication, and trustworthiness. The GE, however, failed to activate the fourth skill concerning the ability to persuade local non-green actors regarding the value of the green component. Thus, a main result is that it is crucial to convince non-green locals about the profitability of local environmental management rather than its potentially green components. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Data Integration and Mining for Synthetic Biology Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Mısırlı, Göksel; Hallinan, Jennifer; Pocock, Matthew; Lord, Phillip; McLaughlin, James Alastair; Sauro, Herbert; Wipat, Anil

2016-10-21

One aim of synthetic biologists is to create novel and predictable biological systems from simpler modular parts. This approach is currently hampered by a lack of well-defined and characterized parts and devices. However, there is a wealth of existing biological information, which can be used to identify and characterize biological parts, and their design constraints in the literature and numerous biological databases. However, this information is spread among these databases in many different formats. New computational approaches are required to make this information available in an integrated format that is more amenable to data mining. A tried and tested approach to this problem is to map disparate data sources into a single data set, with common syntax and semantics, to produce a data warehouse or knowledge base. Ontologies have been used extensively in the life sciences, providing this common syntax and semantics as a model for a given biological domain, in a fashion that is amenable to computational analysis and reasoning. Here, we present an ontology for applications in synthetic biology design, SyBiOnt, which facilitates the modeling of information about biological parts and their relationships. SyBiOnt was used to create the SyBiOntKB knowledge base, incorporating and building upon existing life sciences ontologies and standards. The reasoning capabilities of ontologies were then applied to automate the mining of biological parts from this knowledge base. We propose that this approach will be useful to speed up synthetic biology design and ultimately help facilitate the automation of the biological engineering life cycle.

A comparative study of two statistical approaches for the analysis of real seismicity sequences and synthetic seismicity generated by a stick-slip experimental model

Science.gov (United States)

Flores-Marquez, Leticia Elsa; Ramirez Rojaz, Alejandro; Telesca, Luciano

2015-04-01

The study of two statistical approaches is analyzed for two different types of data sets, one is the seismicity generated by the subduction processes occurred at south Pacific coast of Mexico between 2005 and 2012, and the other corresponds to the synthetic seismic data generated by a stick-slip experimental model. The statistical methods used for the present study are the visibility graph in order to investigate the time dynamics of the series and the scaled probability density function in the natural time domain to investigate the critical order of the system. This comparison has the purpose to show the similarities between the dynamical behaviors of both types of data sets, from the point of view of critical systems. The observed behaviors allow us to conclude that the experimental set up globally reproduces the behavior observed in the statistical approaches used to analyses the seismicity of the subduction zone. The present study was supported by the Bilateral Project Italy-Mexico Experimental Stick-slip models of tectonic faults: innovative statistical approaches applied to synthetic seismic sequences, jointly funded by MAECI (Italy) and AMEXCID (Mexico) in the framework of the Bilateral Agreement for Scientific and Technological Cooperation PE 2014-2016.

The housing development process: green homes in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fazdliel Aswad Ibrahim

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Green building has been adopted and became an accepted norm in the developed countries like USA, UK, Canada and Australia. Despite the good efforts shown by the developed countries on how to build green building, the developing and less developed countries inclusive Malaysia seem lag behind in this aspect. The issue of sustainable approach in building industry in Malaysia is still new and there are a little of housing projects are meeting the criteria of green buildings. The housing developers are exposed to the risk of uncertainty demand from the house buyers if they are interested to develop green homes. This paper discuss the development of concept and design of green homes by using product development process model in the manufacturing and building industry in order to assist the housing developers to reduce the risk associated with this new product such this green homes.

Green Care: a Conceptual Framework. A Report of the Working Group on the Health Benefits of Green Care

OpenAIRE

Berget, B.; Braastad, B.; Burls, A.; Elings, M.; Hadden, Y.; Haigh, R.; Hassink, J.; Haubenhofer, D.K.

2010-01-01

‘Green Care’ is a range of activities that promotes physical and mental health and well-being through contact with nature. It utilises farms, gardens and other outdoor spaces as a therapeutic intervention for vulnerable adults and children. Green care includes care farming, therapeutic horticulture, animal assisted therapy and other nature-based approaches. These are now the subject of investigation by researchers from many different countries across the world.

One-step, simple, and green synthesis of tin dioxide/graphene nanocomposites and their application to lithium-ion battery anodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Zaixing; Zhang, Dongjie; Li, Yue; Cheng, Hao; Wang, Mingqiang; Wang, Xueqin; Bai, Yongping; Lv, Haibao; Yao, Yongtao; Shao, Lu; Huang, Yudong

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A one-step, simple and green approach to synthesis SnO 2 /graphene nanocomposites was proposed using a supercritical CO 2 method. • The SnO 2 /graphene nanocomposites was used as an anode, which exhibit extreme high lithium storage capacity and well cycling performance. - Abstract: Graphene with extraordinary thermal, mechanical and electrical properties offers possibilities in a variety of applications. Recent advances in the synthesis of graphene composites using supercritical fluids are highlighted. Supercritical fluids exhibit unique features for the synthesis of composites due to its low viscosity, high diffusivity, near-zero surface tension, and tunability. Here, we report the preparation of tin dioxide (SnO 2 )/graphene nanocomposite through supercritical CO 2 method. It demonstrates that the SnO 2 nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed on the surface of graphene sheets with a particle size of 2.3–2.6 nm. The SnO 2 /graphene nanocomposites exhibit higher lithium storage capacity and better cycling performance compared to that of the similar CNT nanocomposites. The reported synthetic procedure is straightforward, green and inexpensive. And it may be readily adopted to produce large quantities of graphene based nanocomposites

KPI Building Blocks For Successful Green Transport Corridor Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prause Gunnar

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The green transport corridor concept represents a cornerstone in the development of integrated and sustainable transport solutions. Important properties of green corridors are their transnational character and their high involvement of large numbers of public and private stakeholders, including political level, requiring sophisticated approaches for implementation, management and governance. The current scientific discussion focusses on Key Performance Indicators (KPI for monitoring and management of green transport corridor performance emphasizing the operational aspects.

The dream of a green economy: cover story

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Musvoto, Constansia D

2015-12-01

Full Text Available and relevant information to guide implementation, the green economy could just be a pipe dream, says Constansia Musvoto. T he green economy, an ambitious economic approach for a developing nation such as South Africa, is a tool for achieving sustainable.... And without any yardstick it is difficult to plan and The dream of a green economy 12|1 2016 19 implement a project with certainty, and it is impossible to measure success or identify areas for improvement. Specific information and guidance on how...

Fibrils from designed non-amyloid-related synthetic peptides induce AA-amyloidosis during inflammation in an animal model.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Per Westermark

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Mouse AA-amyloidosis is a transmissible disease by a prion-like mechanism where amyloid fibrils act by seeding. Synthetic peptides with no amyloid relationship can assemble into amyloid-like fibrils and these may have seeding capacity for amyloid proteins. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Several synthetic peptides, designed for nanotechnology, have been examined for their ability to produce fibrils with Congo red affinity and concomitant green birefringence, affinity for thioflavin S and to accelerate AA-amyloidosis in mice. It is shown that some amphiphilic fibril-forming peptides not only produced Congo red birefringence and showed affinity for thioflavin S, but they also shortened the lag phase for systemic AA-amyloidosis in mice when they were given intravenously at the time of inflammatory induction with silver nitride. Peptides, not forming amyloid-like fibrils, did not have such properties. CONCLUSIONS: These observations should caution researchers and those who work with synthetic peptides and their derivatives to be aware of the potential health concerns.

BOOK REVIEW: ESTUARINE SCIENCE: A SYNTHETIC APPROACH TO RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Science.gov (United States)

This book is the product of fifty leading estuarine scientists most of whom attended a workshop convened for the purpose of "put[ting] together the case for synthesis of estuarine data and to show the capabilities of synthetic methods of research" (p. 2). The editor, John E. Hob...

Artificial intelligence and synthetic biology: A tri-temporal contribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Bianchini, Francesco

2016-10-01

Artificial intelligence can make numerous contributions to synthetic biology. I would like to suggest three that are related to the past, present and future of artificial intelligence. From the past, works in biology and artificial systems by Turing and von Neumann prove highly interesting to explore within the new framework of synthetic biology, especially with regard to the notions of self-modification and self-replication and their links to emergence and the bottom-up approach. The current epistemological inquiry into emergence and research on swarm intelligence, superorganisms and biologically inspired cognitive architecture may lead to new achievements on the possibilities of synthetic biology in explaining cognitive processes. Finally, the present-day discussion on the future of artificial intelligence and the rise of superintelligence may point to some research trends for the future of synthetic biology and help to better define the boundary of notions such as "life", "cognition", "artificial" and "natural", as well as their interconnections in theoretical synthetic biology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

On Green's function for 3-D wave-body interaction in a channel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xia, Jinzhu

1997-01-01

series of images is evaluated accurately based on an asmptotic analysis. It is demonstrated that the Green's function has a square-root singular behaviour due to the side walls when the wave frequency approaches one of the resonant frequencies. The numerical results for the Green's function has a square......An analytical and numerical study is presented for efficient evaluation of the Green's function that satisfies the linear free surface condition and the non-penetration condition on the channel bottomand the side walls. the formulation is based on the open-sea green's function and the complete......-root singular behaviour due to the side walls when the wave frequency approaches one of the resonant frequencies. The numerical results for the Green's funciton presented in the present paper are believed to have an absolute accuracy of 10-5....

Phenolic compounds of green tea: Health benefits and technological application in food

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Manuel Lorenzo

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Green tea has been an important beverage for humans since ancient times, widely consumed and considered to have health benefits by traditional medicine in Asian countries. Green tea phenolic compounds are predominately composed of catechin derivatives, although other compounds such as flavonols and phenolic acids are also present in lower proportion. The bioactivity exerted by these compounds has been associated with reduced risk of severe illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Particularly, epigallocatechin gallate has been implicated in alteration mechanisms with protective effect in these diseases as indicated by several studies about the effect of green tea consumption and mechanistic explanation through in vitro and in vivo experiments. The biological activity of green tea phenolic compounds also promotes a protective effect by antioxidant mechanisms in biological and food systems, preventing the oxidative damage by acting over either precursors or reactive species. Extraction of phenolic compounds influences the antioxidant activity and promotes adequate separation from green tea leaves to enhance the yield and/or antioxidant activity. Application of green tea phenolic compounds is of great interest because the antioxidant status of the products is enhanced and provides the product with additional antioxidant activity or reduces the undesirable changes of oxidative reactions while processing or storing food. In this scenario, meat and meat products are greatly influenced by oxidative deterioration and microbial spoilage, leading to reduced shelf life. Green tea extracts rich in phenolic compounds have been applied to increase shelf life with comparable effect to synthetic compounds, commonly used by food industry. Green tea has great importance in general health in technological application, however more studies are necessary to elucidate the impact in pathways related to other diseases and food

Green knowledge management to support environmental sustainability; Green knowledge management zur Unterstuetzung oekologischer Nachhaltigkeit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dornhoefer, Mareike-Jessica

2017-01-24

Sustainability, environmental management and green initiatives are topics which gradually developed into trends since the late 1980s, not only in research institutions, but also in public and private organizations. While the usage of energy and other resources are increasing, these organizations search for new possibilities to reduce the economic, ecologic and social burdens and consequences of office and production environments for employees and nature. While certified environmental management systems were established already in the 1990s, green approaches and technologies are only about 10 years old and steadily developing. Decisions about a fitting strategy and the support of suitable measures inside an organization always require knowledge provided for the decision makers. Furthermore it is of importance to record the environmental consequences of the operational business and to not only record data and information, but to create a context and deduce the knowledge for future activities. Based on this situation, the work addresses the main research question of how �classical'' knowledge management might be further developed or transformed into Green Knowledge Management and how it addresses the goals of sustainability, especially ecological sustainability, environmental management and green approaches alike? The definition of Green Knowledge Management consists of five factors, which are discussed systematically, explored conceptually and documented with the help of practical examples. Different knowledge management models and their respective building blocks are analyzed to deduce how knowledge processes might interact with environmental ones as well as green aspects. Also different types of knowledge management systems are analysed for their application possibilities. A planning and decision making tool in form of a three dimensional cube, the ''Green Knowledge Management Cube'' is introduced on a conceptual level and documented

How to Turn an Industry Green: Taxes versus Subsidies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schröder, Philipp J.H.; Dröge, Susanne

2005-01-01

Environmental policies frequently target the ratio of dirty to green output within the same industry. To achieve such targets, the green sector may be subsidized or the dirty sector be taxed. We show that in a monopolistic competition setting, the two policy approaches have different welfare...

True or False: Consumer Perception to Green Consumer Retail

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergio Silva Braga Junior

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of greenwshing in consumer awareness for green consumption in retail. Under this approach was evaluated if the greenwashing confuses consumers about what is to be green consumption and if it relies on green consumption. For the verification of the objective proposed by this work, an exploratory survey was conducted quantitative, through a survey with a sample of 359 respondents of São Paulo/Brazil. As for the justification of the method used, the exploratory research, with a non-probabilistic convenience sampling and quantitative nature, are characterized by a field approach seeking situational characteristics presented by respondents to generate quantitative measures of the attributes observed by them. For data collection was used a specialized company and market research and thus were collected data from real consumers. As a result it was observed that the greenwashing confuses consumed and does not influence the confidence of the green product.

Coalescence towards exceptional contours in synthetic phononic media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Johan

2016-01-01

Parity-time symmetric media, also referred to as synthetic media, have been devised in many optical systems with the ground breaking potential to create non-reciprocal structures and one-way cloaks of invisibility. Here we demonstrate a feasible approach for the case of sound where gain and loss...... are induced via the acousto-electric effect in electrically biased piezoelectric semiconductors. We study how wave attenuation and amplification can be tuned, and when combined, can give rise to phononic synthetic media with unidirectional suppressed reflectance, a feature directly applicable to evading sonar...

An integrated approach to place Green Infrastructure strategies in marginalized communities and evaluate stormwater mitigation

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Cuerva, Laura; Berglund, Emily Zechman; Rivers, Louie

2018-04-01

Increasing urbanization augments impervious surface area, which results in increased run off volumes and peak flows. Green Infrastructure (GI) approaches are a decentralized alternative for sustainable urban stormwater and provide an array of ecosystem services and foster community building by enhancing neighborhood aesthetics, increasing property value, and providing shared green spaces. While projects involving sustainability concepts and environmental design are favored in privileged communities, marginalized communities have historically been located in areas that suffer from environmental degradation. Underprivileged communities typically do not receive as many social and environmental services as advantaged communities. This research explores GI-based management strategies that are evaluated at the watershed scale to improve hydrological performance by mitigating storm water run off volumes and peak flows. GI deployment strategies are developed to address environmental justice issues by prioritizing placement in communities that are underprivileged and locations with high outreach potential. A hydrologic/hydraulic stormwater model is developed using the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM 5.1) to simulate the impacts of alternative management strategies. Management scenarios include the implementation of rain water harvesting in private households, the decentralized implementation of bioretention cells in private households, the centralized implementation of bioretention cells in municipally owned vacant land, and combinations of those strategies. Realities of implementing GI on private and public lands are taken into account to simulate various levels of coverage and routing for bioretention cell scenarios. The effects of these strategies are measured by the volumetric reduction of run off and reduction in peak flow; social benefits are not evaluated. This approach is applied in an underprivileged community within the Walnut Creek Watershed in Raleigh, North

Single-particle properties from Kohn-Sham Green's functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhattacharyya, Anirban; Furnstahl, R.J.

2005-01-01

An effective action approach to Kohn-Sham density functional theory is used to illustrate how the exact Green's function can be calculated in terms of the Kohn-Sham Green's function. An example based on Skyrme energy functionals shows that single-particle Kohn-Sham spectra can be improved by adding sources used to construct the energy functional

Synthetic Botany.

Science.gov (United States)

Boehm, Christian R; Pollak, Bernardo; Purswani, Nuri; Patron, Nicola; Haseloff, Jim

2017-07-05

Plants are attractive platforms for synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. Plants' modular and plastic body plans, capacity for photosynthesis, extensive secondary metabolism, and agronomic systems for large-scale production make them ideal targets for genetic reprogramming. However, efforts in this area have been constrained by slow growth, long life cycles, the requirement for specialized facilities, a paucity of efficient tools for genetic manipulation, and the complexity of multicellularity. There is a need for better experimental and theoretical frameworks to understand the way genetic networks, cellular populations, and tissue-wide physical processes interact at different scales. We highlight new approaches to the DNA-based manipulation of plants and the use of advanced quantitative imaging techniques in simple plant models such as Marchantia polymorpha. These offer the prospects of improved understanding of plant dynamics and new approaches to rational engineering of plant traits. Copyright © 2017 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved.

Nucleon polarizabilities from deuteron Compton scattering within a Green's function hybrid approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hildebrandt, R.P.; Hemmert, T.R. [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Institut fuer Theoretische Physik (T39), Physik-Department, Garching (Germany); Griesshammer, H.W. [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Institut fuer Theoretische Physik (T39), Physik-Department, Garching (Germany); Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg, Institut fuer Theoretische Physik III, Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultaet I, Erlangen (Germany); The George Washington University, Center for Nuclear Studies, Department of Physics, Washington DC (United States)

2010-10-15

We examine elastic Compton scattering from the deuteron for photon energies ranging from zero to 100MeV, using state-of-the-art deuteron wave functions and NN potentials. Nucleon-nucleon rescattering between emission and absorption of the two photons is treated by Green's functions in order to ensure gauge invariance and the correct Thomson limit. With this Green's function hybrid approach, we fulfill the low-energy theorem of deuteron Compton scattering and there is no significant dependence on the deuteron wave function used. Concerning the nucleon structure, we use the chiral effective field theory with explicit {delta} (1232) degrees of freedom within the small-scale expansion up to leading-one-loop order. Agreement with available data is good at all energies. Our 2-parameter fit to all elastic {gamma} d data leads to values for the static isoscalar dipole polarizabilities which are in excellent agreement with the isoscalar Baldin sum rule. Taking this value as additional input, we find {alpha}{sub E}{sup s} = (11.3{+-}0.7(stat){+-}0.6(Baldin){+-}1(theory)){sup .}10{sup -4} fm{sup 3} and {beta}{sub M}{sup s} = (3.2{+-}0.7(stat){+-}0.6(Baldin){+-}1(theory)){sup .}10{sup -4} fm{sup 3} and conclude by comparison to the proton numbers that neutron and proton polarizabilities are the same within rather small errors. (orig.)

Extraction of thermal Green's function using diffuse fields: a passive approach applied to thermography

Science.gov (United States)

Capriotti, Margherita; Sternini, Simone; Lanza di Scalea, Francesco; Mariani, Stefano

2016-04-01

In the field of non-destructive evaluation, defect detection and visualization can be performed exploiting different techniques relying either on an active or a passive approach. In the following paper the passive technique is investigated due to its numerous advantages and its application to thermography is explored. In previous works, it has been shown that it is possible to reconstruct the Green's function between any pair of points of a sensing grid by using noise originated from diffuse fields in acoustic environments. The extraction of the Green's function can be achieved by cross-correlating these random recorded waves. Averaging, filtering and length of the measured signals play an important role in this process. This concept is here applied in an NDE perspective utilizing thermal fluctuations present on structural materials. Temperature variations interacting with thermal properties of the specimen allow for the characterization of the material and its health condition. The exploitation of the thermographic image resolution as a dense grid of sensors constitutes the basic idea underlying passive thermography. Particular attention will be placed on the creation of a proper diffuse thermal field, studying the number, placement and excitation signal of heat sources. Results from numerical simulations will be presented to assess the capabilities and performances of the passive thermal technique devoted to defect detection and imaging of structural components.

Synthetic biology for pharmaceutical drug discovery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trosset JY

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Jean-Yves Trosset,1 Pablo Carbonell2,3 1Bioinformation Research Laboratory, Sup’Biotech, Villejuif, France; 2Faculty of Life Sciences, SYNBIOCHEM Centre, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; 3Department of Experimental and Health Sciences (DCEXS, Research Programme on Biomedical Informatics (GRIB, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF, Barcelona, Spain Abstract: Synthetic biology (SB is an emerging discipline, which is slowly reorienting the field of drug discovery. For thousands of years, living organisms such as plants were the major source of human medicines. The difficulty in resynthesizing natural products, however, often turned pharmaceutical industries away from this rich source for human medicine. More recently, progress on transformation through genetic manipulation of biosynthetic units in microorganisms has opened the possibility of in-depth exploration of the large chemical space of natural products derivatives. Success of SB in drug synthesis culminated with the bioproduction of artemisinin by microorganisms, a tour de force in protein and metabolic engineering. Today, synthetic cells are not only used as biofactories but also used as cell-based screening platforms for both target-based and phenotypic-based approaches. Engineered genetic circuits in synthetic cells are also used to decipher disease mechanisms or drug mechanism of actions and to study cell–cell communication within bacteria consortia. This review presents latest developments of SB in the field of drug discovery, including some challenging issues such as drug resistance and drug toxicity. Keywords: metabolic engineering, plant synthetic biology, natural products, synthetic quorum sensing, drug resistance

Synthetic strategies for plant signalling studies: molecular toolbox and orthogonal platforms

KAUST Repository

Braguy, Justine

2016-05-26

Plants deploy a wide array of signalling networks integrating environmental cues with growth, defence and developmental responses. The high level of complexity, redundancy and connection between several pathways hampers a comprehensive understanding of involved functional and regulatory mechanisms. The implementation of synthetic biology approaches is revolutionizing experimental biology in prokaryotes, yeasts and animal systems and can likewise contribute to a new era in plant biology. This review gives an overview on synthetic biology approaches for the development and implementation of synthetic molecular tools and techniques to interrogate, understand and control signalling events in plants, ranging from strategies for the targeted manipulation of plant genomes up to the spatiotemporally resolved control of gene expression using optogenetic approaches. We also describe strategies based on the partial reconstruction of signalling pathways in orthogonal platforms, like yeast, animal and in vitro systems. This allows a targeted analysis of individual signalling hubs devoid of inter-connectivity with endogenous interacting components. Implementation of the interdisciplinary synthetic biology tools and strategies is not exempt of challenges and hardships but simultaneously most rewarding in terms of the advances in basic and applied research. As witnessed in other areas, these original theoretical-experimental avenues will lead to a breakthrough in the ability to study and comprehend plant signalling networks. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Designing Green Networks and Network Operations Saving Run-the-Engine Costs

CERN Document Server

Minoli, Daniel

2011-01-01

In recent years the confluence of socio-political trends toward environmental responsibility and the pressing need to reduce Run-the-Engine (RTE) costs has given birth to a nascent discipline of Green IT. A clear and concise introduction to green networks and green network operations, this book examines analytical measures and discusses virtualization, network computing, and web services as approaches for green data centers and networks. It identifies some strategies for green appliance and end devices and examines the methodical steps that can be taken over time to achieve a seamless migratio

Green synthesis of palm oil mill effluent-based graphenic adsorbent for the treatment of dye-contaminated wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Teow, Yeit Haan; Nordin, Nadzirah Ilyiani; Mohammad, Abdul Wahab

2018-05-12

Textile wastewater contains methylene blue (MB), a major coloring agent in textile industry. Activated carbon (AC) is the most widely used adsorbent in removing dyes from industrial wastewater. However, high production cost of AC is the major obstacle for its wide application in dye wastewater treatment. In this study, a sustainable approach in synthesizing graphenic adsorbent from palm oil mill effluent (POME), a potential carbonaceous source, has been explored. This new development in adsorption technique is considered as green synthesis as it does not require any binder during the synthesis process, and at the same time, it helps to solve the bottleneck of palm oil industry as POME is the main cause contributed to Malaysia's water pollution problem. The synthesized GSC was characterized through XRD, FESEM, and EDX. The adsorption performance of the synthesized GSC was evaluated by adsorption of MB. The effect of initial concentration of synthetic MB solution (1-20 mg/L) and weight of GSC (5-20 g) were investigated. A remarkable change in color of synthetic MB solution from blue to crystal clear was observed at the end of adsorption study. High efficiency of the synthesized GSC for dye-contaminated wastewater treatment is concluded.

A target group-specific approach to ''green'' power retailing: students as consumers of renewable energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gossling, S.; Kunkel, T.; Schumacher, K.; Heck, N.; Birkemeyer, J.; Froese, J.; Naber, N.; Schliermann, E.

2005-01-01

An extensive body of literature exists on the obstacles that have to be overcome in green power retailing. In this article, target group-specific marketing is evaluated as a strategy to increase the share of residential customers of green power. A sample of students in the city of Freiburg, Germany was interviewed in order to assess their awareness of environmental issues, their willingness to change to green power products, and to better understand individual hindrances in changing the power supplier. The analysis shows that students are highly positive towards green power products, but for several reasons difficult to reach in marketing campaigns. Aspects to be considered in addressing this consumer-group include the students' particular expectations towards green products, their living-conditions, price sensitivity, and their perception of the relative effort involved in changing the power provider. (author)

Definition of natural T cell antigens with mimicry epitopes obtained from dedicated synthetic peptide libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiemstra, H S; van Veelen, P A; Schloot, N C; Geluk, A; van Meijgaarden, K E; Willemen, S J; Leunissen, J A; Benckhuijsen, W E; Amons, R; de Vries, R R; Roep, B O; Ottenhoff, T H; Drijfhout, J W

1998-10-15

Progress has recently been made in the use of synthetic peptide libraries for the identification of T cell-stimulating ligands. T cell epitopes identified from synthetic libraries are mimics of natural epitopes. Here we show how the mimicry epitopes obtained from synthetic peptide libraries enable unambiguous identification of natural T cell Ags. Synthetic peptide libraries were screened with Mycobacterium tuberculosis-reactive and -autoreactive T cell clones. In two cases, database homology searches with mimicry epitopes isolated from a dedicated synthetic peptide library allowed immediate identification of the natural antigenic protein. In two other cases, an amino acid pattern that reflected the epitope requirements of the T cell was determined by substitution and omission mixture analysis. Subsequently, the natural Ag was identified from databases using this refined pattern. This approach opens new perspectives for rapid and reliable Ag definition, representing a feasible alternative to the biochemical and genetic approaches described thus far.

The Influence of Environmental Friendliness on Green Trust: The Mediation Effects of Green Satisfaction and Green Perceived Quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Shan Chen

2015-07-01

Full Text Available As global green trends became more prevalent, green marketing also developed into an important issue. Although prior literature explored the main factors affecting green trust, it was inconclusive as to how environmental friendliness could affect the green trust in green marketing. This study aims to focus on the positive influence of environmental friendliness on green trust, and explore the mediation effects of green satisfaction and green perceived quality. This study undertakes an empirical study by means of questionnaire survey. The respondents are consumers who have experience purchasing green products. This study applies structural equation modeling (SEM to test the hypotheses. The findings of this study indicate that (1 environmental friendliness has a significant positive impact on green satisfaction, green perceived quality, and green trust; (2 both green satisfaction and green perceived quality positively affect green trust; and (3 green satisfaction and green perceived quality partially mediate the positive relationship between environmental friendliness and green trust.

Skin bioprinting: a novel approach for creating artificial skin from synthetic and natural building blocks.

Science.gov (United States)

Augustine, Robin

2018-05-12

Significant progress has been made over the past few decades in the development of in vitro-engineered substitutes that mimic human skin, either as grafts for the replacement of lost skin, or for the establishment of in vitro human skin models. Tissue engineering has been developing as a novel strategy by employing the recent advances in various fields such as polymer engineering, bioengineering, stem cell research and nanomedicine. Recently, an advancement of 3D printing technology referred as bioprinting was exploited to make cell loaded scaffolds to produce constructs which are more matching with the native tissue. Bioprinting facilitates the simultaneous and highly specific deposition of multiple types of skin cells and biomaterials, a process that is lacking in conventional skin tissue-engineering approaches. Bioprinted skin substitutes or equivalents containing dermal and epidermal components offer a promising approach in skin bioengineering. Various materials including synthetic and natural biopolymers and cells with or without signalling molecules like growth factors are being utilized to produce functional skin constructs. This technology emerging as a novel strategy to overcome the current bottle-necks in skin tissue engineering such as poor vascularization, absence of hair follicles and sweat glands in the construct.

Managing Green Business Model Transformations

CERN Document Server

Sommer, Axel

2012-01-01

Environmental sustainability creates both tremendous business opportunities and formidable threats to established companies across virtually all industry sectors. Yet many companies tackle the issue in a superficial or passive way through increased environmental reporting, the use of “greenspeak” in their corporate communication activities or isolated efforts to create green products or reduce pollution. In contrast, there are a small but increasing number of firms that employ a holistic approach to sustainability and consider fundamental changes to their existing business models. By ignoring the opportunities of Green Business Model Transformations, companies exclude themselves from a large variety of potential means to create economic value. In addition to ordinary product and process innovations, they can change “the rules of the game” within an industry towards environmental sustainability. This can facilitate the commercialisation of new green products that would not be competitive otherwise targ...

Urban Green Network Design: Defining green network from an urban planning perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Tulisi

2017-08-01

Full Text Available From the theoretical context of Smart City various studies have emerged that adopt an analytical approach and description of urban phenomena based on the principles of “network design”; this line of research uses the network systems theory to define the principles that regulate the relationships among the various elements of urban sub-systems in order to optimize their functionality. From the same theoretical basis, urban greenspaces have also been studied as networks, by means of the creation of models capable of measuring the performance of the system in its entirety, posing the basis of a new multy-disciplinary research field called green network. This paper presents the results of research aimed at clarifying the meaning of green network from an urban planning perspective through a lexical analysis applied to a textual corpus of more than 300 abstracts of research papers that have dealt with this topic over the last twenty years. The results show that the concept of green network appears still fuzzy and unclear, due to the different meaning given to the term “green” and to an incorrect use of the term “network”, often referred to as a generic set of natural areas present in a city, without any reference to the network system theory or to the basic rules linking these elements together. For this reason, the paper proposes a unique definition of green network from an urban planning perspective that takes into account the contribution of other research areas to effective green infrastructure planning. This is the concept of “urban green network design” defined as “an urban planning practice, supported by decision support tools able to model green infrastructure as network, composed by natural and semi-natural areas, whose connections are modelled according to specific variables, in order to deliver an equal distribution of public services for enhancing the quality of life as well as a wide range of ecosystem services”.

satl based lesson for teaching grignard reagents in synthetic organic

African Journals Online (AJOL)

IICBA01

Traditionally, Grignard reagent has been very vital component of such synthetic ... knowledge, the systemic methodology of teaching and learning is the key point. Chemistry is ... chosen in particular to enlighten the students about effectiveness of systemic approach to .... Lectures through Systemic Approach to Teaching and.

Green power certification: environmental and consumer protection benefits of the Green-e programme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wingate, M.; Hamrin, J. [Center for Resource Solutions (United States); Rabago, K. [Rocky Mountain Inst. (United States); Wiser, R. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (United States)

2000-06-01

This article gives details of the Green-e environmental certification programme which certifies electricity generated from renewable energy sources in the US. This first non-profit certification programme originally was set up for California, and has now spread to other regions. The objectives of the Green-e programme, the need for the electricity product to meet minimum criteria to qualify, marketer requirements, verification of product claims, administration of the programme, and the second year programme results are discussed. The way in which the Green-e programme fits in with other programmes such as those set up by the state and federal customer protection agencies to help consumers select environmentally superior power is described.

The Influence of Legitimacy on a Proactive Green Orientation and Green Performance: A Study Based on Transitional Economy Scenarios in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baoshan Ge

2016-12-01

Full Text Available With environmental pollution, climate change and resource scarcity being serious global issues, green entrepreneurship is increasingly seen as an approach to simultaneously address economic performance, environmental impact and social responsibility. As green entrepreneurship needs to consider both venture performance and social responsibility, it will be subject to legitimacy constraints at the system level. Whether these legitimacy constraints are favorable to green enterprise is not yet clear from current research. Especially for transition economies, the problem of whether proactive green enterprises facing legitimacy constraints under institutional uncertainty can achieve green performance requires further study. Thus, a theoretical model to determine the relationship between green proactiveness orientation (GPO, green performance, legitimacy, and transitional economics was proposed. Based on the data from 235 new Chinese green firms, the empirical results suggest that green startups launch with a green proactiveness orientation, which enables them to acquire a green performance advantage over their competitors. Improvements in green performance is also shown to be driven by the pressure from institutional legitimacy. Better green performance can be easily achieved if green startups have a higher level of legitimacy. However, against the background of transitional economies, the increase in institutional uncertainty will damage the promotion of political legitimacy and make the enterprises that are subject to political legitimacy constraints lose their green performance. Currently, political legitimacy is no longer an impetus. However, the increase in institutional uncertainty will strengthen the promotion of commercial legitimacy and cause green-oriented startups to pursue more commercial interests. Thus, to a certain extent, it will lead to market uncertainty. The conclusion of this study not only provides guidance for startups in

Analysis of implementation of Tradable Green Certificates system in a competitive electricity market: a game theory approach

Science.gov (United States)

Ghaffari, Meysam; Hafezalkotob, Ashkan; Makui, Ahmad

2016-06-01

This paper investigates three models to implement Tradable Green Certificates (TGC) system with aid of game theory approach. In particular, the competition between thermal and renewable power plants is formulated in three models: namely cooperative, Nash and Stackelberg game models. The price of TGC is assumed to be determined by the legislative body (government) which is fixed. Numerical examples presented in this paper include sensitivity analysis of some key parameters and comparison of the results of different models. In all three game models, the parameters that influence pricing of the TGC based on the optimal amounts are obtained. The numerical examples demonstrate that in all models: there is a reverse relation between the price of electricity and the TGC price, as well as a direct relation between the price of electricity and the share of green electricity in total electricity generation. It is found that Stackelberg model is an appropriate structure to implement the TGC system. In this model, the supply of electricity and the production of green electricity are at the highest level, while the price of electricity is at the lowest levels. In addition, payoff of the thermal power plant is at the highest levels in the Nash model. Hence this model can be an applicatory structure for implementation of the TGC system in developing countries, where the number of thermal power plants is significantly greater than the number of renewable power plants.

Pseudo Jahn–Teller origin of ferroelectric instability in BaTiO{sub 3} type perovskites: The Green's function approach and beyond

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Polinger, V., E-mail: polinv@uw.edu [Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1560 (United States); Garcia-Fernandez, P. [Ciencias de la Tierra y Física de la Materia Condensada, Universidad de Cantabria, Avenida de los Castros s/n, E-39005 Santander (Spain); Bersuker, I.B. [Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-0165 (United States)

2015-01-15

The local origin of dipolar distortions in ABO{sub 3} perovskite crystals is reexamined by means of a novel approach, the Green's function method augmented by DFT computations. The ferroelectric distortions are shown to be induced by the pseudo Jahn–Teller effect (PJTE). The latter involves vibronic hybridization (admixture) of the ground state to same-spin opposite-parity excited electronic bands. Similar to numerous molecular calculations, the PJT approach provides a deeper insight into the nature of chemical bonding in the octahedral cluster [BO{sub 6}] and, in particular, reveals the local origin of its polar instability. This allows predicting directly which transition ions can create ferroelectricity. In particular, the necessary conditions are established when an ABO{sub 3} perovskite crystal with an electronic d{sup n} configuration of the complex ion [BO{sub 6}] can possess both proper ferroelectric and magnetic properties. Distinguished from the variety of cluster approaches to local properties, the Green's function method includes the influence of the local vibronic-coupling perturbation on the whole crystal via the inter-cell interaction responsible for creation of electronic and vibrational bands. Calculated Green's functions combined with the corresponding numeric estimates for the nine electronic bands, their density of states, and the local adiabatic potential energy surface (APES) confirm the eight-minimum form of this surface and feasibility of the PJT origin of the polar instability in BaTiO{sub 3}. We show also that multicenter long-range dipole–dipole interactions critically depend on the PJTE largely determining the magnitude of the local dipoles. DFT calculations for the bulk crystal and its clusters confirm that the dipolar distortions are of local origin, but become possible only when their influence on (relaxation of) the whole lattice is taken into account. The results are shown to be in full qualitative and

Forest biomass, canopy structure, and species composition relationships with multipolarization L-band synthetic aperture radar data

Science.gov (United States)

Sader, Steven A.

1987-01-01

The effect of forest biomass, canopy structure, and species composition on L-band synthetic aperature radar data at 44 southern Mississippi bottomland hardwood and pine-hardwood forest sites was investigated. Cross-polarization mean digital values for pine forests were significantly correlated with green weight biomass and stand structure. Multiple linear regression with five forest structure variables provided a better integrated measure of canopy roughness and produced highly significant correlation coefficients for hardwood forests using HV/VV ratio only. Differences in biomass levels and canopy structure, including branching patterns and vertical canopy stratification, were important sources of volume scatter affecting multipolarization radar data. Standardized correction techniques and calibration of aircraft data, in addition to development of canopy models, are recommended for future investigations of forest biomass and structure using synthetic aperture radar.

Stress-based fatigue assessment of major component in NPP using modified Green's function approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ko, Han Ok; Jhung, Myung Jo; Choi, Jae Boong

2013-01-01

In this paper, the modified GFA which can consider temperature-dependent material properties is proposed by using a neural network (NN) and weight factor. To verify the modified GFA, thermal stresses by the proposed method are compared with those by FEM. Finally, pros and cons of the new method as well as technical findings from the assessment are discussed to show applicability of them. In this paper, the modified GFA considering temperature-dependent material properties is proposed by using NN and weight factor. To verify the proposed method, thermal stresses by the modified Green's function are compared with those by FEM and the results between two methods show a good agreement. Finally, it is anticipated that more precise fatigue evaluation is performed by using the proposed method. Recently, 434 nuclear reactors are being operated in the world. Among them, about 40% reactors are being operated beyond their design life or will be approaching their life. During the long term operation, various degradation mechanisms are occurred. Fatigue damage caused by alternating operational stresses in terms of temperature or pressure change is the one of important damage mechanisms in the nuclear power plants (NPPs). Although components important to safety were designed to withstand the fatigue damage, cumulative usage factor (CUF) at some locations can exceed the design limit beyond the design life. So, it is necessary to monitor the fatigue damage of major components during the long term operation. Researches on fatigue monitoring system (FMS) have been widely performed. In USA, the FatiguePro was developed by EPRI and was applied to the CE, WEC, B and W and GE type reactors. In Korea, the Kori unit 1 which started commercial operation in 1978 is being operated beyond its design life. At the stage of the license renewal, various plans for degradation mechanisms were established and reviewed. And, in case of fatigue damage, to monitor the fatigue damage of major components

The green building envelope : Vertical greening

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ottelé, M.

2011-01-01

Planting on roofs and façades is one of the most innovative and fastest developing fields of green technologies with respect to the built environment and horticulture. This thesis is focused on vertical greening of structures and to the multi-scale benefits of vegetation. Vertical green can improve

Development of multi-functional streetscape green infrastructure using a performance index approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwary, A; Williams, I D; Heidrich, O; Namdeo, A; Bandaru, V; Calfapietra, C

2016-01-01

This paper presents a performance evaluation framework for streetscape vegetation. A performance index (PI) is conceived using the following seven traits, specific to the street environments - Pollution Flux Potential (PFP), Carbon Sequestration Potential (CSP), Thermal Comfort Potential (TCP), Noise Attenuation Potential (NAP), Biomass Energy Potential (BEP), Environmental Stress Tolerance (EST) and Crown Projection Factor (CPF). Its application is demonstrated through a case study using fifteen street vegetation species from the UK, utilising a combination of direct field measurements and inventoried literature data. Our results indicate greater preference to small-to-medium size trees and evergreen shrubs over larger trees for streetscaping. The proposed PI approach can be potentially applied two-fold: one, for evaluation of the performance of the existing street vegetation, facilitating the prospects for further improving them through management strategies and better species selection; two, for planning new streetscapes and multi-functional biomass as part of extending the green urban infrastructure. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Synthetic Biology Framework for Programming Eukaryotic Transcription Functions

Science.gov (United States)

Khalil, Ahmad S.; Lu, Timothy K.; Bashor, Caleb J.; Ramirez, Cherie L.; Pyenson, Nora C.; Joung, J. Keith; Collins, James J.

2013-01-01

SUMMARY Eukaryotic transcription factors (TFs) perform complex and combinatorial functions within transcriptional networks. Here, we present a synthetic framework for systematically constructing eukaryotic transcription functions using artificial zinc fingers, modular DNA-binding domains found within many eukaryotic TFs. Utilizing this platform, we construct a library of orthogonal synthetic transcription factors (sTFs) and use these to wire synthetic transcriptional circuits in yeast. We engineer complex functions, such as tunable output strength and transcriptional cooperativity, by rationally adjusting a decomposed set of key component properties, e.g., DNA specificity, affinity, promoter design, protein-protein interactions. We show that subtle perturbations to these properties can transform an individual sTF between distinct roles (activator, cooperative factor, inhibitory factor) within a transcriptional complex, thus drastically altering the signal processing behavior of multi-input systems. This platform provides new genetic components for synthetic biology and enables bottom-up approaches to understanding the design principles of eukaryotic transcriptional complexes and networks. PMID:22863014

Developments in the Tools and Methodologies of Synthetic Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Kelwick, Richard; MacDonald, James T.; Webb, Alexander J.; Freemont, Paul

2014-01-01

Synthetic biology is principally concerned with the rational design and engineering of biologically based parts, devices, or systems. However, biological systems are generally complex and unpredictable, and are therefore, intrinsically difficult to engineer. In order to address these fundamental challenges, synthetic biology is aiming to unify a “body of knowledge” from several foundational scientific fields, within the context of a set of engineering principles. This shift in perspective is enabling synthetic biologists to address complexity, such that robust biological systems can be designed, assembled, and tested as part of a biological design cycle. The design cycle takes a forward-design approach in which a biological system is specified, modeled, analyzed, assembled, and its functionality tested. At each stage of the design cycle, an expanding repertoire of tools is being developed. In this review, we highlight several of these tools in terms of their applications and benefits to the synthetic biology community. PMID:25505788

Developments in the tools and methodologies of synthetic biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard eKelwick

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Synthetic biology is principally concerned with the rational design and engineering of biologically based parts, devices or systems. However, biological systems are generally complex and unpredictable and are therefore intrinsically difficult to engineer. In order to address these fundamental challenges, synthetic biology is aiming to unify a ‘body of knowledge’ from several foundational scientific fields, within the context of a set of engineering principles. This shift in perspective is enabling synthetic biologists to address complexity, such that robust biological systems can be designed, assembled and tested as part of a biological design cycle. The design cycle takes a forward-design approach in which a biological system is specified, modeled, analyzed, assembled and its functionality tested. At each stage of the design cycle an expanding repertoire of tools is being developed. In this review we highlight several of these tools in terms of their applications and benefits to the synthetic biology community.

Green Chemistry Challenge: 2017 Academic Award

Science.gov (United States)

Green Chemistry Challenge 2017 award winner, Professor Schelter, developed a new, targeted approach for separating mixtures of rare earth metals obtained from consumer waste streams comprising mixtures of Nd/Dy and Eu/Y

GREEN MANAGEMENT: THE REALITY OF BEING GREEN IN BUSINESS

OpenAIRE

Tran, Ben

2009-01-01

Green management and going green are not as clear cut and easy as hyped by the general media. While going ecologically green is indeed beneficial and appropriate, the process and procedure of becoming green is anything but easy. Firstly, turning green is largely not a legal requirement, but a voluntary process. Thus, even though LEED (which is by far the more publicly known green certification standard) governs the certification of the green management effort, it is not a compulsory condition...

Generating synthetic wave climates for coastal modelling: a linear mixed modelling approach

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, C.; Lark, R. M.

2013-12-01

(spherical) model, it cuts off at a temporal range. Having fitted the model, multiple realisations were generated; the random effects were simulated by specifying a covariance matrix for the simulated values, with the estimated parameters. The Cholesky factorisation of the covariance matrix was computed and realizations of the random component of the model generated by pre-multiplying a vector of iid standard Gaussian variables by the lower triangular factor. The resulting random variate was added to the mean value computed from the fixed effects, and the result back-transformed to the original scale of the measurement. Realistic simulations result from approach described above. Background exploratory data analysis was undertaken on 20-day sets of 30-minute buoy data, selected from days 5-24 of months January, April, July, October, 2011, to elucidate daily to weekly variations, and to keep numerical analysis tractable computationally. Work remains to be undertaken to develop suitable models for synthetic directional data. We suggest that the general principles of the method will have applications in other geomorphological modelling endeavours requiring time series of stochastically variable environmental parameters.

"Green" electronics: biodegradable and biocompatible materials and devices for sustainable future.

Science.gov (United States)

Irimia-Vladu, Mihai

2014-01-21

"Green" electronics represents not only a novel scientific term but also an emerging area of research aimed at identifying compounds of natural origin and establishing economically efficient routes for the production of synthetic materials that have applicability in environmentally safe (biodegradable) and/or biocompatible devices. The ultimate goal of this research is to create paths for the production of human- and environmentally friendly electronics in general and the integration of such electronic circuits with living tissue in particular. Researching into the emerging class of "green" electronics may help fulfill not only the original promise of organic electronics that is to deliver low-cost and energy efficient materials and devices but also achieve unimaginable functionalities for electronics, for example benign integration into life and environment. This Review will highlight recent research advancements in this emerging group of materials and their integration in unconventional organic electronic devices.

Green Chemistry with Microwave Energy

Science.gov (United States)

Green chemistry utilizes a set of 12 principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture, and applications of chemical products (1). This newer chemical approach protects the environment by inventing safer and eco-friendl...

From Policy to Training: The Conundrum of Green Jobs

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, Amy D.

2013-01-01

This journal issue about green jobs resulted from a preconference held at the 2011 American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. Interested in exploring the ways that green jobs training is being approached in the United States, this preconference seemed like an excellent way to introduce two new…

Synthetic biology approaches to engineering the nitrogen symbiosis in cereals.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Christian; Oldroyd, Giles E D

2014-05-01

Nitrogen is abundant in the earth's atmosphere but, unlike carbon, cannot be directly assimilated by plants. The limitation this places on plant productivity has been circumvented in contemporary agriculture through the production and application of chemical fertilizers. The chemical reduction of nitrogen for this purpose consumes large amounts of energy and the reactive nitrogen released into the environment as a result of fertilizer application leads to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as widespread eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems. The environmental impacts are intensified by injudicious use of fertilizers in many parts of the world. Simultaneously, limitations in the production and supply of chemical fertilizers in other regions are leading to low agricultural productivity and malnutrition. Nitrogen can be directly fixed from the atmosphere by some bacteria and Archaea, which possess the enzyme nitrogenase. Some plant species, most notably legumes, have evolved close symbiotic associations with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Engineering cereal crops with the capability to fix their own nitrogen could one day address the problems created by the over- and under-use of nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture. This could be achieved either by expression of a functional nitrogenase enzyme in the cells of the cereal crop or through transferring the capability to form a symbiotic association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. While potentially transformative, these biotechnological approaches are challenging; however, with recent advances in synthetic biology they are viable long-term goals. This review discusses the possibility of these biotechnological solutions to the nitrogen problem, focusing on engineering the nitrogen symbiosis in cereals.

From “Green Building” to Architecture Integrated with Nature: Regeneration principle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Logvinov

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The article analyses different approaches to ‘green building’ and architecture integrated with nature. It gives definition to the regeneration principle and observes the genesis of world and national experience in roof- and facade greening and ‘hanging gardens’. The article denounces myths and misbeliefs that prevent the wide application of green roofs and facades in Russia.

Important motivators for buying green products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kamyar Kianpour

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To addresses the main motivators that influence customers to buy green products as well as well as profiling the decisions that shape their behavior. Design/methodology/approach: The authors have conducted a review of the major research related to consumers to identify motivational factors, to draw conclusions about their impact on buying green products.   Factor analysis is conducted on the collected data to find the underlying factors that motivate consumers to buy green products and most importantly motivational factors were identified by T test. Findings: Results show that 1 Environmental Concern, Perceived Consumer Effectiveness, Consumer Knowledge 2 Laws and regulation and 3 Promotional Tools’ were the most important of motivators. Practical implications: The results could help companies, authorities, governments, producers, sellers to know what motivate customers to buy green products and persuade the customers for buying them. Social implications: Furthermore this research will indirectly contribute to increase the customers and public intention for buying green products which in turn will help to solve some of environmental issues and make less environmental side effect caused by products. It is notable that motivated consumers for buying green product will finally expect to have healthy life and clean environment which leads to a healthy and clean society. Originality/value: This article contributes to the literature on the customers’ intention for buying green products by filling the gap in the concrete issues of the customers’ motivation.

Synthetic vision systems: operational considerations simulation experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, Lynda J.; Williams, Steven P.; Bailey, Randall E.; Glaab, Louis J.

2007-04-01

Synthetic vision is a computer-generated image of the external scene topography that is generated from aircraft attitude, high-precision navigation information, and data of the terrain, obstacles, cultural features, and other required flight information. A synthetic vision system (SVS) enhances this basic functionality with real-time integrity to ensure the validity of the databases, perform obstacle detection and independent navigation accuracy verification, and provide traffic surveillance. Over the last five years, NASA and its industry partners have developed and deployed SVS technologies for commercial, business, and general aviation aircraft which have been shown to provide significant improvements in terrain awareness and reductions in the potential for Controlled-Flight-Into-Terrain incidents / accidents compared to current generation cockpit technologies. It has been hypothesized that SVS displays can greatly improve the safety and operational flexibility of flight in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) to a level comparable to clear-day Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC), regardless of actual weather conditions or time of day. An experiment was conducted to evaluate SVS and SVS-related technologies as well as the influence of where the information is provided to the pilot (e.g., on a Head-Up or Head-Down Display) for consideration in defining landing minima based upon aircraft and airport equipage. The "operational considerations" evaluated under this effort included reduced visibility, decision altitudes, and airport equipage requirements, such as approach lighting systems, for SVS-equipped aircraft. Subjective results from the present study suggest that synthetic vision imagery on both head-up and head-down displays may offer benefits in situation awareness; workload; and approach and landing performance in the visibility levels, approach lighting systems, and decision altitudes tested.

Synthetic Vision Systems - Operational Considerations Simulation Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, Lynda J.; Williams, Steven P.; Bailey, Randall E.; Glaab, Louis J.

2007-01-01

Synthetic vision is a computer-generated image of the external scene topography that is generated from aircraft attitude, high-precision navigation information, and data of the terrain, obstacles, cultural features, and other required flight information. A synthetic vision system (SVS) enhances this basic functionality with real-time integrity to ensure the validity of the databases, perform obstacle detection and independent navigation accuracy verification, and provide traffic surveillance. Over the last five years, NASA and its industry partners have developed and deployed SVS technologies for commercial, business, and general aviation aircraft which have been shown to provide significant improvements in terrain awareness and reductions in the potential for Controlled-Flight-Into-Terrain incidents/accidents compared to current generation cockpit technologies. It has been hypothesized that SVS displays can greatly improve the safety and operational flexibility of flight in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) to a level comparable to clear-day Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC), regardless of actual weather conditions or time of day. An experiment was conducted to evaluate SVS and SVS-related technologies as well as the influence of where the information is provided to the pilot (e.g., on a Head-Up or Head-Down Display) for consideration in defining landing minima based upon aircraft and airport equipage. The "operational considerations" evaluated under this effort included reduced visibility, decision altitudes, and airport equipage requirements, such as approach lighting systems, for SVS-equipped aircraft. Subjective results from the present study suggest that synthetic vision imagery on both head-up and head-down displays may offer benefits in situation awareness; workload; and approach and landing performance in the visibility levels, approach lighting systems, and decision altitudes tested.

Synergy between the Multiple Supply Chain and Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) approaches: an initial analysis aimed at fostering supply chain sustainability

OpenAIRE

Ana Lima de Carvalho; Livia Rodrigues Ignácio; Kleber Francisco Esposto; Aldo Roberto Ometto

2016-01-01

The concept of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) was created in the 90s to reduce the environmental impacts of productive systems. This approach seeks to improve the environmental performance of all the participants in a supply chain, from the extraction of raw materials to the use and final disposal of the product, through relationships of collaboration or conformity between the parties. The multiple supply chains approach established by Gattorna (2009) brought to light different supply c...

Green bionanocomposite based on kefiran and cellulose nanocrystals produced from beer industrial residues.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahabi-Ghahfarrokhi, Iman; Khodaiyan, Faramarz; Mousavi, Mohammad; Yousefi, Hossein

2015-01-01

Environmental concern about synthetic polymers and nanoparticles bring about development of the green bionanocomposite. Nanocellulose (NC) as safe nanofiller was prepared from beer industrial residues by acid hydrolysis in this study. ATR-FTIR spectrum showed no change in chemical structure of kefiran and NC after mixing. However, mechanical, visual, and WVP properties of kefiran/NC films improved with NC, but thermal properties and water sensitivity of them declined, simultaneously. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Learning from biology: synthetic lipoproteins for drug delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Huang; Cruz, William; Chen, Juan; Zheng, Gang

2015-01-01

Synthetic lipoproteins represent a relevant tool for targeted delivery of biological/chemical agents (chemotherapeutics, siRNAs, photosensitizers, and imaging contrast agents) into various cell types. These nanoparticles offer a number of advantages for drugs delivery over their native counterparts while retaining their natural characteristics and biological functions. Their ultra-small size (lipoprotein receptors, i.e., low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) and Scavenger receptor class B member 1 (SRB1) that are found in a number of pathological conditions (e.g., cancer, atherosclerosis), make them superior delivery strategies when compared with other nanoparticle systems. We review the various approaches that have been developed for the generation of synthetic lipoproteins and their respective applications in vitro and in vivo. More specifically, we summarize the approaches employed to address the limitation on use of reconstituted lipoproteins by means of natural or recombinant apolipoproteins, as well as apolipoprotein mimetic molecules. Finally, we provide an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches and discuss future perspectives for clinical translation of these nanoparticles. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Toxicological effects of benzo(a)pyrene, DDT and their mixture on the green mussel Perna viridis revealed by proteomic and metabolomic approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Qinqin; Chen, Hao; Li, Yuhu; Zhou, Hailong; Han, Qian; Diao, Xiaoping

2016-02-01

Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) are persistent organic pollutants and environmental estrogens (EEs) with known toxicity towards the green mussel, Perna viridis. In this study, the toxic effects of BaP (10 µg/L) and DDT (10 µg/L) and their mixture were assessed in green mussel gills with proteomic and metabolomic approaches. Metabolic responses indicated that BaP mainly caused disturbance in osmotic regulation by significantly decrease in branched chain amino acids, dimethylamine and dimethylglycine in gills of male green mussels after exposure for 7 days. DDT mainly caused disturbance in osmotic regulation and energy metabolism by differential alteration of betaine, dimethylamine, dimethylglycine, amino acids, and succinate in gills of male green mussels. However, the mixture of BaP and DDT didn't show obvious metabolite changes. Proteomic analysis showed different protein expression profiles between different treatment groups, which demonstrated that BaP, DDT and their mixture may have different modes of action. Proteomic responses revealed that BaP induced cell apoptosis, disturbance in protein digestion and energy metabolism in gills of green mussels, whereas DDT exposure altered proteins that were associated with oxidative stress, cytoskeleton and cell structure, protein digestion and energy metabolism. However, the mixture of BaP and DDT affected proteins related to the oxidative stress, cytoskeleton and cell structure, protein biosynthesis and modification, energy metabolism, growth and apoptosis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Building biological foundries for next-generation synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Ran; Yuan, YongBo; Zhao, HuiMin

2015-07-01

Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary field that takes top-down approaches to understand and engineer biological systems through design-build-test cycles. A number of advances in this relatively young field have greatly accelerated such engineering cycles. Specifically, various innovative tools were developed for in silico biosystems design, DNA de novo synthesis and assembly, construct verification, as well as metabolite analysis, which have laid a solid foundation for building biological foundries for rapid prototyping of improved or novel biosystems. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art technologies for synthetic biology and discusses the challenges to establish such biological foundries.

Designing synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Agapakis, Christina M

2014-03-21

Synthetic biology is frequently defined as the application of engineering design principles to biology. Such principles are intended to streamline the practice of biological engineering, to shorten the time required to design, build, and test synthetic gene networks. This streamlining of iterative design cycles can facilitate the future construction of biological systems for a range of applications in the production of fuels, foods, materials, and medicines. The promise of these potential applications as well as the emphasis on design has prompted critical reflection on synthetic biology from design theorists and practicing designers from many fields, who can bring valuable perspectives to the discipline. While interdisciplinary connections between biologists and engineers have built synthetic biology via the science and the technology of biology, interdisciplinary collaboration with artists, designers, and social theorists can provide insight on the connections between technology and society. Such collaborations can open up new avenues and new principles for research and design, as well as shed new light on the challenging context-dependence-both biological and social-that face living technologies at many scales. This review is inspired by the session titled "Design and Synthetic Biology: Connecting People and Technology" at Synthetic Biology 6.0 and covers a range of literature on design practice in synthetic biology and beyond. Critical engagement with how design is used to shape the discipline opens up new possibilities for how we might design the future of synthetic biology.

Expedited patent examination for green inventions: Developing countries' policy choices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Bingbin

2013-01-01

Innovation in green technology is important. Patent rights can provide incentives for green technology research and development. Expedited patent examination for green inventions has emerged as a policy instrument to provide such incentives. Developing countries were never opposed to patents for green technologies. China and Brazil have led the way by offering expedited examinations for green patent applications. More developing countries are expected to follow. Expedited examination for green technologies is consistent with the intellectual property system objectives and is justified by the clear social benefit from green technologies. Introducing such expedited programs in developing countries has sufficient advantages. Existing models of expedited programs for green technologies are analyzed to generalize key issues and to discern suitable policy choices for developing countries. When introducing such programs, a balanced definition for green technology is preferred; a special classification requirement is premature and is not recommended; a pre-examination search requirement is generally recommended to balance patent office workloads, and a green patent database is recommended. - Highlights: • There is no north–south divide in promoting green technologies. • Earlier issuance of green patents has its great social benefit. • Green patent application should receive expedited examination. • Developing countries should introduce such expedited programs. • A suitable approach for developing countries is searched and recommended

A disruptive approach for a green field smart grid installation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bishnoi, Peeush [Siemens Technology and Services Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore (India); Klein, Wolfram; Kuntschke, Richard; Speh, Rainer; Waszak, Michal-Wolfgang [Siemens AG, Muenchen (Germany)

2012-07-01

The current trend towards increasingly decentralized power generation including renewable generation such as photovoltaic or wind power calls for a new concept for future power supply systems. The future power grid has to incorporate numerous distributed and comparatively small-sized generation facilities in addition to the larger centralized power plants currently in operation. Consumers will turn into prosumers that consume as well as produce electrical power. Thus, power will no longer flow exclusively from power plants to consumers such as households and industrial plants, but also between consumers, requiring new solutions, e.g., for protection within the power grid. In this paper, we propose a disruptive approach for a green field smart grid installation solving the issues arising from the increasing use of decentralized power generation. The new power supply system proposed can handle up to 100 % of volatile renewable generation and allows dynamic growth of the power grid with little effort. It is therefore suitable for building up new power supply systems in previously non-electrified regions, e.g., in rural areas in developing countries. At the same time, the system also offers solutions for the issues arising from the advent of the new energy age in developed countries. (orig.)

A FUZZY LOGIC-BASED APPROACH FOR THE DETECTION OF FLOODED VEGETATION BY MEANS OF SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Tsyganskaya

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper an algorithm designed to map flooded vegetation from synthetic aperture radar (SAR imagery is introduced. The approach is based on fuzzy logic which enables to deal with the ambiguity of SAR data and to integrate multiple ancillary data containing topographical information, simple hydraulic considerations and land cover information. This allows the exclusion of image elements with a backscatter value similar to flooded vegetation, to significantly reduce misclassification errors. The flooded vegetation mapping procedure is tested on a flood event that occurred in Germany over parts of the Saale catchment on January 2011 using a time series of high resolution TerraSAR-X data covering the time interval from 2009 to 2015. The results show that the analysis of multi-temporal X-band data combined with ancillary data using a fuzzy logic-based approach permits the detection of flooded vegetation areas.

Synthesis of carbon nanoparticles using one step green approach and their application as mercuric ion sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roshni, V.; Ottoor, Divya, E-mail: divya@chem.unipune.ac.in

2015-05-15

Carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) have been evolved as a promising candidate for the metal sensing applications due to their synthesis from naturally occurring and easily available non-toxic molecular precursors by green chemistry. A simple and one step procedure is reported here for the synthesis of CNPs from coconut milk by thermal pyrolysis at a temperature of 120–150 °C for 2–5 min without using any carbonizing or passivating agent. On pyrolysis the coconut oil is separated from the carbon rich residue and the residue when dissolved in water showed blue fluorescence under UV light. The CNPs produced are found to show an emission maximum at 440 nm when excited at 360 nm. Synthesis by green approach makes CNPs a promising substitute for the metal sensing applications. Series of metal ions which have a hazardous impact on the ecological system have been taken for the analysis and it is observed that the fluorescence of CNPs gets remarkably quenched by mercuric ions. Fluorescence quenching was studied using standard Stern–Volmer quenching model. Limit of detection was found to be 16.5 nM Hg{sup 2+} concentration. - Highlights: • Green and economical synthesis of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) from naturally abundant material. • Coconut milk is used as molecular precursor, which on thermal pyrolysis at 120 °C yielded CNPs. • Highly fluorescent CNPs show an emission maxima of 440 nm when excited at 360 nm. • Application of CNPs for metal ion sensing using fluorescence quenching phenomena. • Hg{sup 2+} is most effectively sensed with a detection limit of 16.5 nM.

Synthesis of carbon nanoparticles using one step green approach and their application as mercuric ion sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roshni, V.; Ottoor, Divya

2015-01-01

Carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) have been evolved as a promising candidate for the metal sensing applications due to their synthesis from naturally occurring and easily available non-toxic molecular precursors by green chemistry. A simple and one step procedure is reported here for the synthesis of CNPs from coconut milk by thermal pyrolysis at a temperature of 120–150 °C for 2–5 min without using any carbonizing or passivating agent. On pyrolysis the coconut oil is separated from the carbon rich residue and the residue when dissolved in water showed blue fluorescence under UV light. The CNPs produced are found to show an emission maximum at 440 nm when excited at 360 nm. Synthesis by green approach makes CNPs a promising substitute for the metal sensing applications. Series of metal ions which have a hazardous impact on the ecological system have been taken for the analysis and it is observed that the fluorescence of CNPs gets remarkably quenched by mercuric ions. Fluorescence quenching was studied using standard Stern–Volmer quenching model. Limit of detection was found to be 16.5 nM Hg 2+ concentration. - Highlights: • Green and economical synthesis of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) from naturally abundant material. • Coconut milk is used as molecular precursor, which on thermal pyrolysis at 120 °C yielded CNPs. • Highly fluorescent CNPs show an emission maxima of 440 nm when excited at 360 nm. • Application of CNPs for metal ion sensing using fluorescence quenching phenomena. • Hg 2+ is most effectively sensed with a detection limit of 16.5 nM

Urban Green Infrastructure as a tool for urban heat mitigation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Saaroni, H.; Amorim, J.H.; Hiemstra, J.A.; Pearlmutter, D.

2018-01-01

The combined trends of urban heat island intensification and global warming are focusing attention on greening of cities as a tool for urban heat mitigation. Our study examines the range of research approaches and findings regarding the role of urban green infrastructure (UGI) in mitigating urban

Fungal Microbiomes Associated with Green and Non-Green Building Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Coombs, Kanistha; Vesper, Stephen; Green, Brett J; Yermakov, Mikhail; Reponen, Tiina

2017-01-01

Water-damaged buildings can lead to fungal growth and occupant health problems. Green building materials, derived from renewable sources, are increasingly utilized in construction and renovations. However, the question as to what fungi will grow on these green compared to non-green materials, after they get wet, has not been adequately studied. By determining what fungi grow on each type of material, the potential health risks can be more adequately assessed. In this study, we inoculated green and non-green pieces of ceiling tile, composite board, drywall, and flooring with indoor dust containing a complex mixture of naturally occurring fungi. The materials were saturated with water and incubated for two months in a controlled environment. The resulting fungal microbiomes were evaluated using ITS amplicon sequencing. Overall, the richness and diversity of the mycobiomes on each pair of green and non-green pieces were not significantly different. However, different genera dominated on each type of material. For example, Aspergillus spp. had the highest relative abundance on green and non-green ceiling tiles and green composite boards, but Peniophora spp. dominated the non-green composite board. In contrast, Penicillium spp. dominated green and non-green flooring samples. Green gypsum board was dominated by Phialophora spp. and Stachybotrys spp., but non-green gypsum board by Myrothecium spp. These data suggest that water-damaged green and non-green building materials can result in mycobiomes that are dominated by fungal genera whose member species pose different potentials for health risks.

An ISM approach for the barrier analysis in implementing green supply chain management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mathiyazhagan, K.; Govindan, Kannan; NoorulHaq, A.

2013-01-01

As customers are becoming more environmental conscious and governments are making stricter environmental regulations, the industries need to reduce the environmental impact of their supply chain. Indian auto component manufacturing industries especially SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises......) are focused to cleaner production by implementing Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) in their industries. But they are struggling to implement GSCM concept. The present research analyzes the barriers for the implementation of GSCM concept which has been divided into two phases such as identification...... dominant one for the adoption of green supply chain management and this result is helpful for industries to make easier the adoption of green concept in their supply chain by removing the dominant barrier. It indicates that different Indian auto component manufacturing industries have differing barriers...

Greening the global water system

Science.gov (United States)

Hoff, H.; Falkenmark, M.; Gerten, D.; Gordon, L.; Karlberg, L.; Rockström, J.

2010-04-01

SummaryRecent developments of global models and data sets enable a new, spatially explicit and process-based assessment of green and blue water in food production and trade. An initial intercomparison of a range of different (hydrological, vegetation, crop, water resources and economic) models, confirms that green water use in global crop production is about 4-5 times greater than consumptive blue water use. Hence, the full green-to-blue spectrum of agricultural water management options needs to be used when tackling the increasing water gap in food production. The different models calculate considerable potentials for complementing the conventional approach of adding irrigation, with measures to increase water productivity, such as rainwater harvesting, supplementary irrigation, vapour shift and soil and nutrient management. Several models highlight Africa, in particular sub-Saharan Africa, as a key region for improving water productivity in agriculture, by implementing these measures. Virtual water trade, mostly based on green water, helps to close the water gap in a number of countries. It is likely to become even more important in the future, when inequities in water availability are projected to grow, due to climate, population and other drivers of change. Further model developments and a rigorous green-blue water model intercomparison are proposed, to improve simulations at global and regional scale and to enable tradeoff analyses for the different adaptation options.

GREEN CHEMISTRY APPLICATION FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF (1-N-4’-METHOXYBENZYL-1,10-PHENANTHROLINIUM BROMIDE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maulidan Firdaus

2010-06-01

Full Text Available A simple, energy-efficient, and relatively quick synthetic procedure for the synthesis of (1-N-4'-methoxybenzyl-1,10-phenanthrolinium bromide, based on green chemistry principles has been carried out. The synthesis was started by solvent-free reduction of p-anisaldehyde with NaBH4 to give 4-methoxybenzyl alcohol in 98% yield to be followed by solvent-free treatment of the resulted alcohol with PBr3 to yield 4-methoxybenzyl bromide (86%. Furthermore, the obtained bromide was reacted with 1,10-phenanthroline in acetone at reflux for 12 h to give the phenanthrolinium salt target in 68% yield.   Keywords: green chemistry, p-anisaldehyde, (1-N-4'-methoxybenzyl-1,10-phenanthrolinium bromide

Exploring Synthetic and Systems Biology at the University of Edinburgh.

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Liz; Rosser, Susan; Elfick, Alistair

2016-06-15

The Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology ('SynthSys') was originally established in 2007 as the Centre for Integrative Systems Biology, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Today, SynthSys embraces an extensive multidisciplinary community of more than 200 researchers from across the University with a common interest in synthetic and systems biology. Our research is broad and deep, addressing a diversity of scientific questions, with wide ranging impact. We bring together the power of synthetic biology and systems approaches to focus on three core thematic areas: industrial biotechnology, agriculture and the environment, and medicine and healthcare. In October 2015, we opened a newly refurbished building as a physical hub for our new U.K. Centre for Mammalian Synthetic Biology funded by the BBSRC/EPSRC/MRC as part of the U.K. Research Councils' Synthetic Biology for Growth programme. © 2016 The Author(s). published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Synthetic biology in cell-based cancer immunotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Chakravarti, Deboki; Wong, Wilson W

2015-08-01

The adoptive transfer of genetically engineered T cells with cancer-targeting receptors has shown tremendous promise for eradicating tumors in clinical trials. This form of cellular immunotherapy presents a unique opportunity to incorporate advanced systems and synthetic biology approaches to create cancer therapeutics with novel functions. We first review the development of synthetic receptors, switches, and circuits to control the location, duration, and strength of T cell activity against tumors. In addition, we discuss the cellular engineering and genome editing of host cells (or the chassis) to improve the efficacy of cell-based cancer therapeutics, and to reduce the time and cost of manufacturing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plant synthetic biology: a new platform for industrial biotechnology.

Science.gov (United States)

Fesenko, Elena; Edwards, Robert

2014-05-01

Thirty years after the production of the first generation of genetically modified plants we are now set to move into a new era of recombinant crop technology through the application of synthetic biology to engineer new and complex input and output traits. The use of synthetic biology technologies will represent more than incremental additions of transgenes, but rather the directed design of completely new metabolic pathways, physiological traits, and developmental control strategies. The need to enhance our ability to improve crops through new engineering capability is now increasingly pressing as we turn to plants not just for food, but as a source of renewable feedstocks for industry. These accelerating and diversifying demands for new output traits coincide with a need to reduce inputs and improve agricultural sustainability. Faced with such challenges, existing technologies will need to be supplemented with new and far-more-directed approaches to turn valuable resources more efficiently into usable agricultural products. While these objectives are challenging enough, the use of synthetic biology in crop improvement will face public acceptance issues as a legacy of genetically modified technologies in many countries. Here we review some of the potential benefits of adopting synthetic biology approaches in improving plant input and output traits for their use as industrial chemical feedstocks, as linked to the rapidly developing biorefining industry. Several promising technologies and biotechnological targets are identified along with some of the key regulatory and societal challenges in the safe and acceptable introduction of such technology.

Going green with eco-friendly dentistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Avinash, Bhagyalakshmi; Avinash, B S; Shivalinga, B M; Jyothikiran, S; Padmini, M N

2013-07-01

Eco-friendly dentistry is currently transforming the medical and dental field to decrease its affect on our natural environment and reduce the amount of waste being produced. Eco-friendly dentistry uses a sustainable approach to encourage dentists to implement new strategies to try and reduce the energy being consumed and the large amount of waste being produced by the industry. Many reasonable, practical and easy alternatives do exist which would reduce the environmental footprint of a dental office were it to follow the 'green' recommendations. Dentist should take a leading role in the society by implementing 'green' initiatives to lessen their impact on the environment. This article provides a series of 'green' recommendations that dentists around the world can implement to become a leading Stewards of the environment.

Organic additives stabilize RNA aptamer binding of malachite green.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yubin; Chi, Hong; Wu, Yuanyuan; Marks, Robert S; Steele, Terry W J

2016-11-01

Aptamer-ligand binding has been utilized for biological applications due to its specific binding and synthetic nature. However, the applications will be limited if the binding or the ligand is unstable. Malachite green aptamer (MGA) and its labile ligand malachite green (MG) were found to have increasing apparent dissociation constants (Kd) as determined through the first order rate loss of emission intensity of the MGA-MG fluorescent complex. The fluorescent intensity loss was hypothesized to be from the hydrolysis of MG into malachite green carbinol base (MGOH). Random screening organic additives were found to reduce or retain the fluorescence emission and the calculated apparent Kd of MGA-MG binding. The protective effect became more apparent as the percentage of organic additives increased up to 10% v/v. The mechanism behind the organic additive protective effects was primarily from a ~5X increase in first order rate kinetics of MGOH→MG (kMGOH→MG), which significantly changed the equilibrium constant (Keq), favoring the generation of MG, versus MGOH without organic additives. A simple way has been developed to stabilize the apparent Kd of MGA-MG binding over 24h, which may be beneficial in stabilizing other triphenylmethane or carbocation ligand-aptamer interactions that are susceptible to SN1 hydrolysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sheffield's Green Roof Forum: a multi-stranded programme of green roof infrastructure development for the UK's greenest city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunnett, N.

2006-01-01

Sheffield, United Kingdom (UK) was the world centre for the steel and cutlery industries. However, those industries have been in decline and the city has been in the process of re-inventing itself over the past 20 years. Sheffield is now known as the UK's greenest city in terms of the amount of woodland, parkland and open spaces within its city limits. The city of Sheffield has also developed a unique partnership approach to promote green roof infrastructure as the most visible and high-profile signal of intent and symbol of low environmental impact building design and construction. This partnership involves Sheffield's Green Roof Forum, comprising the University of Sheffield's multi-disciplinary centre of excellence in green roof research; Sheffield City Council; Groundwork Sheffield, an urban economic and environmental regeneration agency; and city Architects and developers. This partnership meets six times a year to raise the profile of green roofs within the city and region, and to develop strategies to increase the uptake and implementation of green roof infrastructure in the region. This paper discussed the partnership, the Green Room Forum, accomplishments to date in promoting green roofs in the city, and the strategy for the Sheffield region to become a leader in green roof implementation and associated green technologies. The strategy is presented in two parts: consultation and research to identify the nature of market failure and devising methods to overcome that failure. The green roof strategy is being implemented through a program entitled Building Greener, Building Smarter and consists of four inter-linked strands. These strands were discussed in detail and included getting buy-in, demonstrating benefit, establishing the business case, and changing plans and practices. 3 tabs., 1 ref

METABOLIC MODELLING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CELL FACTORIES BY SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Jouhten

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Cell factories are commonly microbial organisms utilized for bioconversion of renewable resources to bulk or high value chemicals. Introduction of novel production pathways in chassis strains is the core of the development of cell factories by synthetic biology. Synthetic biology aims to create novel biological functions and systems not found in nature by combining biology with engineering. The workflow of the development of novel cell factories with synthetic biology is ideally linear which will be attainable with the quantitative engineering approach, high-quality predictive models, and libraries of well-characterized parts. Different types of metabolic models, mathematical representations of metabolism and its components, enzymes and metabolites, are useful in particular phases of the synthetic biology workflow. In this minireview, the role of metabolic modelling in synthetic biology will be discussed with a review of current status of compatible methods and models for the in silico design and quantitative evaluation of a cell factory.

Green space branding in Denmark in an era of neoliberal governance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gulsrud, Natalie Marie; Gooding, Saskia; Konijnendijk, Cecil Cornelis

2013-01-01

City place branding, an entrepreneurial urban development scheme, aims to differentiate cities from their national and international competitors based on strengths and competitive advantage. One such strength is quality urban green space which has been shown to make cities more attractive...... and liveable places, drawing people and investments to urban centres. Applying a place branding approach, this paper presents the results of a survey of Danish municipalities and their place branding in terms of crafting green city, or environmentally sustainable, profiles. Based on survey responses from both...... municipal green space and communication staff, an overview is presented of the status of `green' municipal place branding, with emphasis on branding through green spaces such as parks. Findings show that green concepts such as environmentally sustainable policies as well as biophysical assets such as green...

When Green Goes Bad: An interdisciplinary approach to better understand cyanobacteria, nutrients, and lakes

Science.gov (United States)

The current connotation within the environmental protection arena is that "Green is Good." While that is very often true, in the case of lakes and ponds when they suddenly go green, it is most likely the result of an algae bloom. These blooms increasingly contain many harmful s...

Analysis of recent policy developments in green education in The Netherlands