Review of heavy metal bio-remediation in contaminated freeway facilitated by adsorption

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Chaocheng

2017-08-01

Toxicity around biological systems is a significant issue for environmental health in a long term. Recent biotechnological approaches for bio-remediation of heavy metals in freeway frequently include mineralization, bio-adsorption or even remediation. Thus, adequate restoration in freeway requiring cooperation, integration and assimilation of such biotechnological advances along with traditional and ethical wisdom to unravel the mystery of nature in the emerging field of bio-remediation was reviewed with highlights to better understand problems associated with toxicity of heavy metals and eco-friendly technologies.

Industrial applications using BASF eco-efficiency analysis: perspectives on green engineering principles.

Science.gov (United States)

Shonnard, David R; Kicherer, Andreas; Saling, Peter

2003-12-01

Life without chemicals would be inconceivable, but the potential risks and impacts to the environment associated with chemical production and chemical products are viewed critically. Eco-efficiency analysis considers the economic and life cycle environmental effects of a product or process, giving these equal weighting. The major elements of the environmental assessment include primary energy use, raw materials utilization, emissions to all media, toxicity, safety risk, and land use. The relevance of each environmental category and also for the economic versus the environmental impacts is evaluated using national emissions and economic data. The eco-efficiency analysis method of BASF is briefly presented, and results from three applications to chemical processes and products are summarized. Through these applications, the eco-efficiency analyses mostly confirm the 12 Principles listed in Anastas and Zimmerman (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2003, 37(5), 94A), with the exception that, in one application, production systems based on bio-based feedstocks were not the most eco-efficient as compared to those based on fossil resources. Over 180 eco-efficiency analyses have been conducted at BASF, and their results have been used to support strategic decision-making, marketing, research and development, and communication with external parties. Eco-efficiency analysis, as one important strategy and success factor in sustainable development, will continue to be a very strong operational tool at BASF.

The Role of Bio-productivity on Bio-energy Yields

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marc J. J. Janssens

2009-04-01

Full Text Available The principal photosynthetic pathways convert solar energy differently depending on the environmental conditions and the plant morphotype. Partitioning of energy storage within crops will vary according to environmental and seasonal conditions as well. Highest energy concentration is found in terpens like latex and, to a lesser extent, in lipids. Ideally, we want plant ingredients with high energy content easily amenable to ready-to-use bio-fuel. Generally, these crops are adapted to drier areas and tend to save on eco-volume space. Competition with food crops could be avoided by fetching energy from cheap agricultural by-products or waste products such as bagasse in the sugar cane. This would in fact mean that reducing power of agricultural residues should be extracted from the biomass through non-photosynthetic processes like animal ingestion or industrial bio-fermentation. Conversion and transformation efficiencies in the production chain are illustrated for some relevant crops in the light of the maximum power theorem.

Evaluation of potential bio-control agents on root-knot nematode ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Indigenous strains of Trichoderma viride (ITCC No. 6889), Pseudomonas fluorescens (ITCC No. B0034) and Purpureocillium lilacinum (ITCC No.6887) were isolated from undisturbed forest eco-system of Southern India. These three bio-mediators were evaluated for their antagonism towards root knot nematode, ...

Arkitektur

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kural, René

2006-01-01

Hanamadori Bunka Center , "Kulturcentret for blomster og grønt". Designet af Toyo Ito i samarbejde med bla. Kuwahara, Kanebako, Kankyo Engineering og Atelier Bow-Wow.......Hanamadori Bunka Center , "Kulturcentret for blomster og grønt". Designet af Toyo Ito i samarbejde med bla. Kuwahara, Kanebako, Kankyo Engineering og Atelier Bow-Wow....

Mixed Contaminants Removal Efficiency Using Bio-FeS Nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Hyunhee; Roh, Yul

2018-02-01

Advances in nanotechnology has provided diverse industrial applications including an environmental remediation field. In particular, bio-nanotechnology gives extended eco-friendly remediation practice. Among diverse bio-nanoparticles synthesized by microorganisms, the iron based nanoparticles (NPs) are of great interest because of their availability, low cost and toxicity to human health and the environment. In this study, iron based nanoparticles were biologically synthesized and mineralogically identified. Also, the removal efficiency of mixed contaminants, high As(III)-low Cr(VI) and high As(V)-low Cr(VI), using these bio-nanoparticles were conducted. As a result, biologically synthesized NPs were identified as FeS complex and their catalytic capacity showed highly effective to immobilize more than 97% of mixed contaminants by adsorption/mineralization.

Eco-epidemiological and pathological features of wildlife mortality events related to cyanobacterial biointoxication in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Bengis, R

2016-10-01

Full Text Available the victims of these bio-intoxication events. This publication discusses the eco-epidemiology and pathology of these clustered mortalities, as well as the management options considered and eventually used to address the problem....

Characterization of green composites from biobased epoxy matrices and bio-fillers derived from seashell wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fombuena, V.; Bernardi, L.; Fenollar, O.; Boronat, T.; Balart, R.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Calcium carbonate from seashell is an attractive bio-filler in polymeric industry. • We examine composition and thermal properties of calcium carbonate from seashell. • Used with eco-friendly epoxy matrices provides a high renewable content material. • Addition of 30 wt.% of seashell bio-filler increase of over 50% in flexural modulus. • Calcium carbonate from seashell leads higher thermal stability materials. - Abstract: The seashells, a serious environmental hazard, are composed mainly by calcium carbonate, which can be used as filler in polymer matrix. The main objective of this work is the use of calcium carbonate from seashells as a bio-filler in combination with eco-friendly epoxy matrices thus leading to high renewable contents materials. Previously obtaining calcium carbonate, the seashells were washed and grinded. The powder obtained and the resin was characterized by DSC, TGA, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), and rheology plate-plate. The results show that addition of 30 wt.% of seashell bio-filler increase mechanical properties as flexural modulus (over 50%) and hardness Shore D (over 6%) and thermal properties as an increase around 13% in glass transitions temperature. The results show that the addition of calcium carbonate from seashells is an effective method to increase mechanical properties of bio-composite and to reduce the residue of seashells from industrial production

Inhibition of Bio corrosion of steel coupon by sulphate reducing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ADOWIE PERE

Inhibition of Bio corrosion of steel coupon by sulphate reducing bacteria and Iron oxidizing bacteria using .... Ethanol for 24 h. The extract was ... with distilled water to get a zero reading from the meter before .... Ethanol extract of musa species peels as a green corrosion ... Eco friendly extract of banana peel as corrosion ...

Eco-marketing and eco-design of products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filipović Jovan

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Environmental marketing (Eco-marketing, as a relatively new movement, emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, is in the growing phase of its development. Eco-labeling and other ways/types of eco-marketing are attracting more attention of consumers, since they are aware of the necessity of nature conservation and environmental protection. There has been a lot of misunderstanding and miss leadings in interpretation and substantiation of ecomarketing claims in previous period of time. One of the most concrete improvements in eco-marketing was appearance and establishment of ISO 14020 guidelines. ISO 14020 guidelines are integral part of ISO 14000 series of standards, which could be implemented in eco-marketing. At the same time, development of "green" products and marketing of "green" products, are direct positive contributions to resources reduction, environmental protection and sustainable economic development. Companies designing this kind of products can expect better position on the market, improvement of competitiveness, reduction of expenses (less raw materials, less waste, less harmful effects on the environment, raising corporate social responsibility, higher export.

Environmentally safe system for treatment of bio corrosion of ETICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minarovičová Katarína

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Effects of microorganisms on building facades are responsible for aesthetic, bio-geophysical and biogeochemical deterioration. The process of cleaning of contaminated facades involves the removal and eradication of micro flora on the surface of insulation using chemical products, killing cells and eliminating all living mass, including organic ingredients. The removal of bio corrosion coating from ETICS structure by means of chemical and preservative substances (biocides is currently the only effective and most used technology. Uncontrolled leaching of the used biocides is unacceptable. Meantime, new technology for environmentally safe maintenance of ETICS is needed. Scientists have been working on replacement the biocides currently used in facades treatment with eco-friendly biocides that have no negative effects on the environment or human beings. While the eco- treatment will be available, safe dewatering of chemicals being leached from the surface of the facade could be provided by e.g. special drain systems adjusted to the building type, use and age. The paper gives an overview of the problem in context of Slovakia and examples of leaching systems designed for new and renovated buildings.

Bioconversion of nitrogen in an eco-technical system for egg production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Gencheva

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract. The present paper aims to assess nitrogen circulation in an eco-technical system for egg production. The experiments were conducted in modelled conditions in an anthropogenic ecosystem of the “mesocosm” type, in which the unit of the bio-consumers and three eco-technological chains modelling the unit of the bio-decomposers are modelled: manure storing for decontamination /a recommendation on good farming practices/, composting and anaerobic decomposition in an installation for biogas production. A new criterion was implemented for the assessment of the chemical heterogeneity in the biogenic nitrogen cycle in the modified trophic chain – retention coefficient /k/, which is defined as the ratio of nitrogen introduced into the system / nitrogen content in the feed: its quantity in the secondary biological production x 100. The chemical heterogeneity at the level of organisms /differences in the individual components of eggs/ and at the biocenotic level is established. The biogenic nitrogen cycle in the eco-technical chain for egg production is characterized by an uneven distribution in both products of the outflow. The largest amount of nitrogen is found in the egg whites (k = 0.45, while it decreases significantly in egg yolks (k = 0.17 and reaches k = 0.03 in the egg shell, a.k.a. heterogeneity on the level of organisms is established. The nitrogen compounds introduced through the feed ration are concentrated in manure (k = 25.33. Losses of nitrogen are established in two of the manure utilization technologies. The quantity of /k/ in the compost is 20.32, a.k.a. the loss of nitrogen compounds is 19.8%. The biggest losses are found in manure storage; according to the recommendations on good farming practices (k = 18.82 or the reduction of nitrogen is 25.7% compared with fresh manure. Due to redistribution of the chemical elements /a significant part of C, H and O are included in biogas/, there is nitrogen concentration in bio slime

From marine bio-corrosion to new bio-processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergel, A.; Dasilva, S.; Basseguy, R.; Feron, D.; Mollica, A.

2004-01-01

suitable marine bio-films can give to stainless electrodes the same properties as platinum for oxygen reduction. This discovery might open the way to unexpected innovative processes based on the exploitation of the 'corrosive' properties of bio-films. The same trend has been initiated with the approach of marine anaerobic bio-corrosion of carbon steels. In this case, iron sulphur deposits are known to exert a preponderant role in corrosion. Nevertheless, innovative results have put in light an unexpected coupling between the presence of phosphate species and the enzyme hydrogenase. Such a possible coupling has already been suggested in previous studies, but it has never been clearly stated. Deciphering this process may lead to new track in understanding bio-corrosion of carbon steels on the one side, but also to a new eco-friendly process for hydrogenase-catalysed carbon steel phosphating. Both cases represent different illustrations of the capabilities of marine bio-corrosion to be the source of unexpected innovative biotechnological processes. (authors)

Grandes desafíos de la bioética. Escenarios de futuro

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesc Torralba

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Partiendo de las múltiples definiciones de bioética, el autor realiza una serie de esbozos de futuro de la bioética entendida como bioética social y global que trasciende las fronteras de los países desarrollados. Desde aquí plantea ocho desafíos de futuro: la calidad de vida de los más vulnerables y la distribución justa de los recursos, la ética de la gestión del agua, la relación entre ecoética y bioética, los derechos de los seres no humanos, las fronteras entre lo humano y lo ético, la ética gerontológica, el transhumanismo y la eugenesia liberal.

EcoMark 2.0

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guo, Chenjuan; Yang, Bin; Andersen, Ove

2015-01-01

Eco-routing is a simple yet effective approach to substantially reducing the environmental impact, e.g., fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, of vehicular transportation. Eco-routing relies on the ability to reliably quantify the environmental impact of vehicles as they travel...... in a spatial network. The procedure of quantifying such vehicular impact for road segments of a spatial network is called eco-weight assignment. EcoMark 2.0 proposes a general framework for eco-weight assignment to enable eco-routing. It studies the abilities of six instantaneous and five aggregated models......, and experiments for assessing the utility of the impact models in assigning eco-weights. The application of EcoMark 2.0 indicates that the instantaneous model EMIT and the aggregated model SIDRA-Running are suitable for assigning eco-weights under varying circumstances. In contrast, other instantaneous models...

BioSig: the free and open source software library for biomedical signal processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Vidaurre, Carmen; Sander, Tilmann H; Schlögl, Alois

2011-01-01

BioSig is an open source software library for biomedical signal processing. The aim of the BioSig project is to foster research in biomedical signal processing by providing free and open source software tools for many different application areas. Some of the areas where BioSig can be employed are neuroinformatics, brain-computer interfaces, neurophysiology, psychology, cardiovascular systems, and sleep research. Moreover, the analysis of biosignals such as the electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocorticogram (ECoG), electrocardiogram (ECG), electrooculogram (EOG), electromyogram (EMG), or respiration signals is a very relevant element of the BioSig project. Specifically, BioSig provides solutions for data acquisition, artifact processing, quality control, feature extraction, classification, modeling, and data visualization, to name a few. In this paper, we highlight several methods to help students and researchers to work more efficiently with biomedical signals.

Evaluation of bio-accumulation stress in chicken by arsenite: haematological case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rasul, L.; Tufail, S.; Rasool, H.

2016-01-01

Water. This bio-accumulation disturbs the eco-physiological and blood parameters. Haematological studies of anti-coagulated and serum blood samples core parameters reveals that As (III) contamination in drinking water is the significant source of adverse disturbance of blood parameters of red blood cell, white blood cell, hemoglobin, packed cell volume, sodium, calcium, potassium ions, albumin, urea, creatinine and cholesterol, with a highly significant p value of less than 0.01 after 14th brooding day with bio-accumulation of 25.8 micro g/L of As (III) in blood samples. (author)

Bio-oils from biomass slow pyrolysis: a chemical and toxicological screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Cordella, Mauro; Torri, Cristian; Adamiano, Alessio; Fabbri, Daniele; Barontini, Federica; Cozzani, Valerio

2012-09-15

Bio-oils were produced from bench-scale slow-pyrolysis of three different biomass samples (corn stalks, poplar and switchgrass). Experimental protocols were developed and applied in order to screen their chemical composition. Several hazardous compounds were detected in the bio-oil samples analysed, including phenols, furans and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. A procedure was outlined and applied to the assessment of toxicological and carcinogenic hazards of the bio-oils. The following hazardous properties were considered: acute toxicity; ecotoxicity; chronic toxicity; carcinogenicity. Parameters related to these properties were quantified for each component identified in the bio-oils and overall values were estimated for the bio-oils. The hazard screening carried out for the three bio-oils considered suggested that: (i) hazards to human health could be associated with chronic exposures to the bio-oils; (ii) acute toxic effects on humans and eco-toxic effects on aquatic ecosystems could also be possible in the case of loss of containment; and (iii) bio-oils may present a marginal potential carcinogenicity. The approach outlined allows the collection of screening information on the potential hazards posed by the bio-oils. This can be particularly useful when limited time and analytical resources reduce the possibility to obtain detailed specific experimental data. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dossier Shell Eco-Marathon; Dossier Shell Eco-Marathon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matla, P.

2012-05-15

Three articles address subjects concerning the annual race with highly energy efficient cars: the Shell Eco-Marathon. [Dutch] In 3 artikelen wordt aandacht besteed aan de ontwerpen voor de jaarlijkse race met superzuinige auto's, de Shell Eco-Marathon.

Paying School Fees through Wastes: The Experiences of an Eco Scholar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauro Allan P. Amparado

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This case study explores the experiences of an Eco Scholar as he pays his school fees from the sales of recyclables under the Eco Scholarship of a university. This special non-academic scholarship of a university in Central Visayas, Philippines covers the tuition fees and allowance of the scholar and gives hope to an aspiring Marine Engineering student to finish the program. As the scholar segregates bio-degradable and non-biodegradable wastes in the Materials Recovery Facility, the student reminisces his experiences as a child from a poor broken family, his financial constraints in college, and the challenges and joys of his present work. The narratives of this case also revealed the personality of the scholar, the qualities that an Echo scholar should possess, and the difficulties he encountered while at work. The scholar shares the values he learned from solid waste management, his day-to-day struggle to make ends meet, and his dreams and aspirations for the family.

EcoBears

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Nick; Pedersen, Sandra Bleuenn; Sørensen, Jens Ager

2015-01-01

In this paper, we introduce the EcoBears concept that aims to augment household appliances with functional and aesthetic features to promote their "use'' and "longevity of use'' to prevent their disposal. The EcoBears also aim to support the communication of environmental issues in the home setting....... We present our initial design and implementation of the EcoBears that consist of two bear modules (a mother and her cub). We also present our preliminary concept validations and lessons learned to be considered for future directions....

Developing an eco-routing application.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

The study develops eco-routing algorithms and investigates and quantifies the system-wide impacts of implementing an eco-routing system. Two eco-routing algorithms are developed: one based on vehicle sub-populations (ECO-Subpopulation Feedback Assign...

Insect pests management of bt cotton through the manipulation of different eco-friendly techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, N.; Khan, M.H.; Tofique, M.

2011-01-01

This study was designed to manage insect pests of Bt cotton through the manipulation of different eco-friendly techniques. A perusal of data, based on the overall performance of different treatments reflected that lowest population of jassids (0.29) was observed in bio-control treated Bt cotton followed by bio-control treated conventional cotton (0.41). Mean per leaf population of thrips was found lowest in insecticide treated Bt cotton (0.97) which was statically at par with bi-control treated conventional cotton (0.95), biocontrol treated Bt cotton (1.09) and colour traps treated Bt cotton (1.50). In case of white flies, bio-control treated Bt cotton and bio-control treated conventional cotton again proved effective in maintaining the population at lower levels per leaf (0.33 and 0.35 respectively). No bollworms infestation was recorded in transgenic cotton whereas higher attack of the same was observed in the untreated conventional cotton block. The best results were achieved with the application of bio-control agents in combination with Bt cotton resulting in least infestation by insect pests and maximum seed yield of 3657 kg/ha. The population of Chrysoperla carnea was significantly higher in Bt and conventional cotton treated with bio-control agents as compared to the other treatments. The parasitism percentage of Trichogramma chilonis was observed significantly higher in bio-control treated conventional cotton. The studies manifested that combination of bio-control technology with Bt cotton effectively preserves the local beneficial insect fauna indicating its potential to be used as integrated management system against different insect pests of cotton. (author)

Sustainable Capital? The Neoliberalization of Nature and Knowledge in the European “Knowledge-based Bio-economy”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Theo Papaioannou

2010-09-01

Full Text Available As an EU policy agenda, the “knowledge-based bio-economy” (KBBE emphasizes bio-technoscience as the means to reconcile environmental and economic sustainability. This frames the sustainability problem as an inefficiency to be overcome through a techno-knowledge fix. Here ecological sustainability means a benign eco-efficient productivity using resources which are renewable, reproducible and therefore sustainable. The KBBE narrative has been elaborated by European Technology Platforms in the agri-food-forestry-biofuels sectors, whose proposals shape research priorities. These inform policy agendas for the neoliberalization of both nature and knowledge, especially through intellectual property. In these ways, the KBBE can be understood as a new political-economic strategy for sustainable capital. This strategy invests great expectations for unlocking the productive potential of natural resources through a techno-knowledge fix. Although eco-efficiency is sometimes equated with biological productivity, commercial success will be dependent upon new combinations of “living” and “dead” labour.

Bio-remediation in actual use and environmental impairment liability insurance. Bio remediation no jissai to kankyo hoken

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ooka, K [AIU Insurance Company, Tokyo (Japan)

1993-08-01

This paper introduces the American International Group (AIG) which makes conceptions and risks of bio-remediation its business, as to how the Group is really working on the business. Features of the continuing remediation involving corporations managed by AIG include the following: It has economical superiority; in-situ purification of contaminated soils is possible; and it can solve contamination issues in a short time, and makes reuse of lands possible. The remediation uses a principle of promoting the contamination purifying actions of the natural world. It activates microorganisms by supplying oxygen, water, and nutrients in suitable amounts for microbial activities to decompose chemical wastes and converts them into harmless substances such as CO2. Objects of purification include petroleum-based substances, herbicides, insecticides, and solvents. Establishing optimal parameters before purification (mediator variables and population parameters) and protocols is important. The system goes through the following steps: Hydraulic and geological experts identify patterns and levels of contamination; microorganism experts find optimal parameters in laboratories; engineers design treatment systems; and site technicians operate the system. 6 refs., 3 figs.

Modelling Of Eco-innovation Diffusion: The EU Eco-label

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

KIJEK TOMASZ

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to carry out a theoretical and empirical analysis of the process of eco-label diffusion. Eco-labels allow consumers to identify products and services that have a reduced environmental impact during their life cycle. Thus, they are aimed at diminishing the information gap between sellers and buyers. The results of the estimation using the Bass model indicate that the diffusion of the EU eco-label has been most dynamic in countries such as Hungary, Poland, Denmark, Germany and France. In turn, the scope of diffusion (absolute saturation level reached the highest value for companies in France and Italy. In addition, the results of the study confirm the stimulating impact of the scope of eco-label diffusion on consumer awareness of environmental issues. This finding points to the need for environmental education among consumers, which could in turn encourage firms to undertake pro-environmental actions.

EcoGene 3.0.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Jindan; Rudd, Kenneth E

2013-01-01

EcoGene (http://ecogene.org) is a database and website devoted to continuously improving the structural and functional annotation of Escherichia coli K-12, one of the most well understood model organisms, represented by the MG1655(Seq) genome sequence and annotations. Major improvements to EcoGene in the past decade include (i) graphic presentations of genome map features; (ii) ability to design Boolean queries and Venn diagrams from EcoArray, EcoTopics or user-provided GeneSets; (iii) the genome-wide clone and deletion primer design tool, PrimerPairs; (iv) sequence searches using a customized EcoBLAST; (v) a Cross Reference table of synonymous gene and protein identifiers; (vi) proteome-wide indexing with GO terms; (vii) EcoTools access to >2000 complete bacterial genomes in EcoGene-RefSeq; (viii) establishment of a MySql relational database; and (ix) use of web content management systems. The biomedical literature is surveyed daily to provide citation and gene function updates. As of September 2012, the review of 37 397 abstracts and articles led to creation of 98 425 PubMed-Gene links and 5415 PubMed-Topic links. Annotation updates to Genbank U00096 are transmitted from EcoGene to NCBI. Experimental verifications include confirmation of a CTG start codon, pseudogene restoration and quality assurance of the Keio strain collection.

EcoGene 3.0

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Jindan; Rudd, Kenneth E.

2013-01-01

EcoGene (http://ecogene.org) is a database and website devoted to continuously improving the structural and functional annotation of Escherichia coli K-12, one of the most well understood model organisms, represented by the MG1655(Seq) genome sequence and annotations. Major improvements to EcoGene in the past decade include (i) graphic presentations of genome map features; (ii) ability to design Boolean queries and Venn diagrams from EcoArray, EcoTopics or user-provided GeneSets; (iii) the genome-wide clone and deletion primer design tool, PrimerPairs; (iv) sequence searches using a customized EcoBLAST; (v) a Cross Reference table of synonymous gene and protein identifiers; (vi) proteome-wide indexing with GO terms; (vii) EcoTools access to >2000 complete bacterial genomes in EcoGene-RefSeq; (viii) establishment of a MySql relational database; and (ix) use of web content management systems. The biomedical literature is surveyed daily to provide citation and gene function updates. As of September 2012, the review of 37 397 abstracts and articles led to creation of 98 425 PubMed-Gene links and 5415 PubMed-Topic links. Annotation updates to Genbank U00096 are transmitted from EcoGene to NCBI. Experimental verifications include confirmation of a CTG start codon, pseudogene restoration and quality assurance of the Keio strain collection. PMID:23197660

'Eco' For Whom? Envisioning Eco-urbanism in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city, China

OpenAIRE

Caprotti, Federico; Springer, Cecilia; Harmer, Nichola

2015-01-01

Eco-cities have attracted international attention from governments, corporations, academics and other actors seeking to use sustainable urban planning to reduce urban environmental impacts. China has devoted significant political will and economic resources to the development of new-build eco-city projects, reflecting the Chinese government's goals to build a 'harmonious society' in which environmental sustainability and social stability are mutually reinforcing. We critically analyse the cas...

[Review on enterprises'eco-innovation].

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Zhong Ju; Huang, Chao

2017-12-01

Eco-innovation is an important way to realize sustainable development. It has the dual positive externality of "knowledge spillover" and "environmental spillover", which has attracted much attention from theory and practice. In order to systematically grasp the current situation of eco-innovation, this study collected the relevant foreign literatures on eco-innovation in the past ten years, and made a systematic review of the definition, characteristics and dimensions of eco-innovation. Focusing on the theory of institutional theory, stakeholder theory and resource-based view, this paper explored the antecedents of eco-innovation. Then, this paper also demonstrated the positive and negative effects of eco-innovation on corporate financial performance, and the meditating and moderating mechanisms between eco-innovation and financial performance. Finally, based on the limitations of existing research, the future research direction was put forward.

Establishment of an eco-compensation fund based on eco-services consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Moucheng; Yang, Lun; Min, Qingwen

2018-04-01

Eco-compensation is a type of institutional arrangement that uses economic measures to adjust the relationships among stakeholders in order to conserve and/or sustainably use ecosystem services. The externality of the value of ecosystem services is one of the theoretical bases for eco-compensation. Different types of ecosystem services are consumed by people from different regions. Some are consumed by people living where the services originate, while some are carried by rivers, wind, vehicles or other natural or manmade means to other areas. Thus, the flow and consumption of ecosystem services should be seen as the basis for establishing eco-compensation funds. This paper uses satellite images of the Zhang-Cheng area near Beijing in 2013 to discuss how to establish an eco-compensation fund for stakeholders in this area. Firstly, six important types of ecosystem services in the Zhang-Cheng area were identified based on ecological function zoning, and the value of these ecosystem services was calculated based on ecological pricing methods. Secondly, the field intensity model from physics was used to analyze where Zhang-Cheng area ecosystem services flowed and calculate how much of these services were used by other areas. Thirdly, based on this analysis and calculation, the paper proposes the rates that different stakeholders should invest in the eco-compensation fund, based on their consumption of eco-services. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Eco-epidemiological and pathological features of wildlife mortality events related to cyanobacterial bio-intoxication in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roy Bengis

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Over the past decade, several clustered, multispecies, wildlife mortality events occurred in the vicinity of two man-made earthen dams in the southern and south central regions of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. On field investigation, heavy cyanobacterial blooms were visible in these impoundments and analysis of water samples showed the dominance of Microcystis spp. (probably Microcystis aeruginosa. Macroscopic lesions seen at necropsy and histopathological lesions were compatible with a diagnosis of cyanobacterial intoxication. Laboratory toxicity tests and assays also confirmed the presence of significant levels of microcystins in water from the two dams. These outbreaks occurred during the dry autumn and early winter seasons when water levels in these dams were dropping, and a common feature was that all the affected dams were supporting a large number of hippopotamuses (Hippopotamus amphibius. It is hypothesised that hippopotamus’ urine and faeces, together with agitation of the sediments, significantly contributed to internal loading of phosphates and nitrogen – leading to eutrophication of the water in these impoundments and subsequent cyanobacterial blooms. A major cause for concern was that a number of white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum were amongst the victims of these bio-intoxication events. This publication discusses the eco-epidemiology and pathology of these clustered mortalities, as well as the management options considered and eventually used to address the problem.

Bio-based composites from stone groundwood applied to new product development

OpenAIRE

Julián Pérez, Fernando; Méndez González, José Alberto; Espinach Orús, Xavier; Verdaguer Pujadas, Narcís; Mutjé Pujol, Pere; Vilaseca Morera, Fabiola

2012-01-01

This paper deals with the product design, engineering, and material selection intended for the manufacturing of an eco-friendly chair. The final product is expected to combine design attributes with technical and legal feasibility with the implementation of new bio-based materials. Considering the industrial design, a range of objectives and trends were determined after setting the market requirements, and the final concept was proposed and modeled. The product geometry, production technology...

New energy vision for Oita Prefecture. Toward the adoption of eco-energy; 2001 nendo Oita ken shin energy vision. Eco energy no donyu ni mukete

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2002-03-01

For contributing to the preservation of the global environment, studies were made to work out a new energy introduction vision fully exploiting the characteristic features of Oita Prefecture. Oita Prefecture's demand for energy in 1998 is estimated to be 408.6 times 10{sup 15} J, with coal-based energy covering 204,016 TJ, oil-based energy 160,192 TJ, electric power 37,721 TJ, and so forth. The consumption will result in the emission of 35.77 million tons of carbon dioxide. According to Oita Prefecture's prospect of its eco-energy adoption in 2010, there will be 319 MW from hydroelectric power, 155 MW from geothermal power, 52 MW from photovoltaic power, 46 MW from clean energy vehicles, 33 MW from refuse-fueled power, and so forth. To prepare plans for facilities to utilize eco-energy and for regional development in the future through the use of such facilities, introduction costs were predicted and effects were simulated for model businesses engaged in biomass power generation using livestock wastes, small-scale hydroelectric power generation, bio-diesel fuel production, wind power generation, and woody biomass power generation. (NEDO)

The Bio-Economy Concept and Knowledge Base in a Public Goods and Farmer Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Otto Schmidt

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Currently an industrial perspective dominates the EU policy framework for a European bio-economy. The Commission’s proposal on the bio-economy emphasises greater resource-efficiency, largely within an industrial perspective on global economic competitiveness, benefiting capital-intensive industries at higher levels of the value chain. However a responsible bio-economy must initially address the sustainable use of resources. Many farmers are not only commodity producers but also providers of quality food and managers of the eco-system. A public goods-oriented bio-economy emphasises agro-ecological methods, organic and low (external input farming systems, ecosystem services, social innovation in multi-stakeholder collective practices and joint production of knowledge. The potential of farmers and SMEs to contribute to innovation must be fully recognised. This approach recognises the importance of local knowledge enhancing local capabilities, while also accommodating diversity and complexity. Therefore the bio-economy concept should have a much broader scope than the dominant one in European Commission innovation policy. Socio-economic research is needed to inform strategies, pathways and stakeholder cooperation towards sustainability goals.

The Study of Critical Eco-Linguistic in Green Discourse: Prospective Eco-Linguistic Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tommi Yuniawan

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Eco-linguistic studies are influenced by one of the other interdisciplinary sciences, namely critical discourse analysis. The combination of these two sciences is called critical eco-linguistic studies. Critical eco-linguistic examines the discourse about the environment and various forms of discourse and their ideology which concerns people and the environment. The environmental discourse with all its manifestations (oral text, written text is called green discourse. To that end, critical eco-linguistic dictates the linguistic aspects contained in the green discourse. Utilization of lingual units in green discourse will affect the sense and logic of people involved in the discourse, ie the writers and readers or the speakers and the speakers. What is recorded in their cognition, will affect their attitudes and actions to the environment. If green discourse is constructive, then their attitude and actions to the environment are constructive. Conversely, if green discourse is more destructive and exploitative, then their attitudes and actions towards the environment will also be affected towards destruction and exploitation. For this reason, critical eco-linguistic studies in green discourse deserve to be given space as a form of prospective eco-linguistic analysis.

EcoCount

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phillip P. Allen

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Techniques that analyze biological remains from sediment sequences for environmental reconstructions are well established and widely used. Yet, identifying, counting, and recording biological evidence such as pollen grains remain a highly skilled, demanding, and time-consuming task. Standard procedure requires the classification and recording of between 300 and 500 pollen grains from each representative sample. Recording the data from a pollen count requires significant effort and focused resources from the palynologist. However, when an adaptation to the recording procedure is utilized, efficiency and time economy improve. We describe EcoCount, which represents a development in environmental data recording procedure. EcoCount is a voice activated fully customizable digital count sheet that allows the investigator to continuously interact with a field of view during the data recording. Continuous viewing allows the palynologist the opportunity to remain engaged with the essential task, identification, for longer, making pollen counting more efficient and economical. EcoCount is a versatile software package that can be used to record a variety of environmental evidence and can be installed onto different computer platforms, making the adoption by users and laboratories simple and inexpensive. The user-friendly format of EcoCount allows any novice to be competent and functional in a very short time.

The Role of Interaction Patterns with Hybrid Electric Vehicle Eco-Features for Drivers' Eco-Driving Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Arend, Matthias G; Franke, Thomas

2017-03-01

The objective of the present research was to understand drivers' interaction patterns with hybrid electric vehicles' (HEV) eco-features (electric propulsion, regenerative braking, neutral mode) and their relationship to fuel efficiency and driver characteristics (technical system knowledge, eco-driving motivation). Eco-driving (driving behaviors performed to achieve higher fuel efficiency) has the potential to reduce CO 2 emissions caused by road vehicles. Eco-driving in HEVs is particularly challenging due to the systems' dynamic energy flows. As a result, drivers are likely to show diverse eco-driving behaviors, depending on factors like knowledge and motivation. The eco-features represent an interface for the control of the systems' energy flows. A sample of 121 HEV drivers who had constantly logged their fuel consumption prior to the study participated in an online questionnaire. Drivers' interaction patterns with the eco-features were related to fuel efficiency. A common factor was identified in an exploratory factor analysis, characterizing the intensity of actively dealing with electric energy, which was also related to fuel efficiency. Driver characteristics were not related to this factor, yet they were significant predictors of fuel efficiency. From the perspective of user-energy interaction, the relationship of the aggregated factor to fuel efficiency emphasizes the central role of drivers' perception of and interaction with energy conversions in determining HEV eco-driving success. To arrive at an in-depth understanding of drivers' eco-driving behaviors that can guide interface design, authors of future research should be concerned with the psychological processes that underlie drivers' interaction patterns with eco-features.

Eco-feedback for non-consumption

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lim, V.; Jense, A.; Janmaat, J.; Funk, M.

2014-01-01

Eco-feedback is a strategy to increase awareness of resource use and to encourage conservation. We applied eco-feedback on household food waste with the prospective to increase awareness and explore its impact on food related decision-making. In this paper we present a prototype of an eco-feedback

Eco-friendly Development Of Industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An, Gi Cheol; Park, Hun; Lee, Dong Jin; Ryu, Sang Hui

1998-02-01

This book reports eco-friendly development of industry, which has summary on bring up the issue and research way and system of research. It deals with current state of affairs on eco-friendly development of industry and the case of developed countries such as necessity and meaning of eco-friendly development industry, prospect and change of the tendency, environmental issue by field in Korea like the steel industry, nonferrous metal industry, auto industry, and cement industry and general policy for eco-friendly development of industry.

Bio-lubricants derived from waste cooking oil with improved oxidation stability and low-temperature properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Weimin; Wang, Xiaobo

2015-01-01

Waste cooking oil (WCO) was chemically modified via epoxidation using H2O2 followed by transesterification with methanol and branched alcohols (isooctanol, isotridecanol and isooctadecanol) to produce bio-lubricants with improved oxidative stability and low temperature properties. Physicochemical properties of synthesized bio-lubricants such as pour point (PP), cloud point (CP), viscosity, viscosity index (VI), oxidative stability, and corrosion resistant property were determined according to standard methods. The synthesized bio-lubricants showed improved low temperature flow performances compared with WCO, which can be attributing to the introduction of branched chains in their molecular structures. What's more, the oxidation stability of the WCO showed more than 10 folds improvement due to the elimination of -C=C-bonds in the WCO molecule. Tribological performances of these bio-lubricants were also investigated using four-ball friction and wear tester. Experimental results showed that derivatives of WCO exhibited favorable physicochemical properties and tribological performances which making them good candidates in formulating eco-friendly lubricants.

Comparative study on nutrient removal of agricultural non-point source pollution for three filter media filling schemes in eco-soil reactors.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Fuyi; Xie, Qingjie; Fang, Longxiang; Su, Hang

2016-08-01

Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) from agricultural non-point source (NPS) pollution have been increasingly recognized as a major contributor to the deterioration of water quality in recent years. The purpose of this article is to investigate the discrepancies in interception of nutrients in agricultural NPS pollution for eco-soil reactors using different filling schemes. Parallel eco-soil reactors of laboratory scale were created and filled with filter media, such as grit, zeolite, limestone, and gravel. Three filling schemes were adopted: increasing-sized filling (I-filling), decreasing-sized filling (D-filling), and blend-sized filling (B-filling). The systems were intermittent operations via simulated rainstorm runoff. The nutrient removal efficiency, biomass accumulation and vertical dissolved oxygen (DO) distribution were defined to assess the performance of eco-soil. The results showed that B-filling reactor presented an ideal DO for partial nitrification-denitrification across the eco-soil, and B-filling was the most stable in the change of bio-film accumulation trends with depth in the three fillings. Simultaneous and highest removals of NH4(+)-N (57.74-70.52%), total nitrogen (43.69-54.50%), and total phosphorus (42.50-55.00%) were obtained in the B-filling, demonstrating the efficiency of the blend filling schemes of eco-soil for oxygen transfer and biomass accumulation to cope with agricultural NPS pollution.

ECO-DRIVING MODELING ENVIRONMENT

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-01

This research project aims to examine the eco-driving modeling capabilities of different traffic modeling tools available and to develop a driver-simulator-based eco-driving modeling tool to evaluate driver behavior and to reliably estimate or measur...

From “eco-pessimism” to “eco-optimism” ECOMOG And The West ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

From “eco-pessimism” to “eco-optimism” ECOMOG And The West African Integration Process. Emmanuel Kwesi Aning. Abstract. No Abstract African Journal of Political Science Vol.4(1) 1999: 21-39. Full Text: EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT.

Does Nationality Matter in Eco-Behaviour?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle Bonera

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Although many authors agree on the role of personal values in explaining the main determinants of eco-behaviour, disagreement about the effects of socio-demographic features exists, particularly about the effect of nationality. In an attempt to fill this gap in the literature, this paper contributes to the debate surrounding the main determinants of eco-behaviour, based on a cross-country analysis. To test the role of nationality and personal values in eco-behaviour, a linear regression model involving 353 Chinese and 333 Italian subjects was performed. A stepwise analysis was then conducted to identify the main significant effects. The explorative and stepwise analyses confirmed that nationality is significant when explaining individual eco-behaviour, for both Italian and Chinese people. Moreover, the linear regression model, as a stepwise analysis, showed that regulatory focus and universalism are the main personal values influencing ecological behaviour. Differences emerging from the analysis show significant differences in terms of eco-behaviour and eco-awareness, for the two countries involved in the analysis, that might lead companies to adopt different marketing strategies when promoting eco-products.

Eco-Innovation in Circular Agri-Business

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong-Her Shih

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This study constructs a theory of eco-innovation in circular agri-business. Although previous studies have discussed eco-innovation in circular agri-business, they did not address eco-innovation from the perspective of a closed-loop sustainable supply chain. Hence, this study applied the fuzzy TOPSIS method to conduct the analysis and determine the interrelationship between eco-innovation and the closed-loop concept. The results are consistent with the theory and a significant improvement in terms of the decisive attributes. The findings suggest that improving water management, relationships with suppliers, knowledge sharing, environmental management systems, and new product and service development are the most effective and efficient ways to build eco-innovation in circular agri-business. The managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.

Umberto Eco - autobiograf?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regina Lubas-Bartoszyńska

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This text shows that U. Eco is an autobiographer in only some sense of the word. He has not written an autobiobiographical text in which he would present a segment of his life. However, he told the history of his novelistic work and presented his intellectual train of thought in his essays, interviews, introductions to his works. There also exists an indirect autobiographism in Eco, which expresses signs of the author's life and of his personality dispersed in his interpretative and theoretical writings on literature, aesthetics, history, in his feuilletons and in his novels. Five types of autobiographism have been distinguished in Eco as well as five autobiographical strategies within the indirect autobiographism. The first strategy - a strong presence of autorial I in the text - is not sufficient and requires support of some other of the strategies discussed.

Quadratic nonlinear optics to assess the morphology of riboflavin doped chitosan for eco-friendly lithography

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Cédric; Caillau, Mathieu; Jonin, Christian; Benichou, Emmanuel; Moulin, Christophe; Salmon, Estelle; Maldonado, Melissa E.; Gomes, Anderson S. L.; Monnier, Virginie; Laurenceau, Emmanuelle; Leclercq, Jean-Louis; Chevolot, Yann; Delair, Thierry; Brevet, Pierre-François

2018-06-01

We report the use of the Second Harmonic Generation response from a riboflavin doped chitosan film as a characterization method of the film morphology. This film is of particular interest in the development of new and bio-sourced material for eco-friendly UV lithography. The method allows us to determine how riboflavin is distributed as a function of film depth in the sample. This possibility is of importance in order to have a better understanding of the riboflavin influence in chitosan films during the lithography process. On the contrary, linear optical techniques provide no information beyond the mere confirmation of the riboflavin presence.

Policy Instruments for Eco-Innovation in Asian Countries

OpenAIRE

Jang, Eun; Park, Mi; Roh, Tae; Han, Ki

2015-01-01

Eco-innovation globally emerged as an effort to implement sustainable development. States and firms established and implemented policies and strategies for eco-innovation as one route to achieving sustainable development. Eco-innovation has been facilitated in developed countries, specifically OECD members and European countries, through action plans. Recently, eco-innovation policies have emerged in developing countries. Thus, this study analyzes eco-innovation policies in Asian countries. ...

ECO-INNOVATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

RATIU Mariana

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Eco-innovation is any form of innovation resulting in or aiming at significant and demonstrable progress towards the goal of sustainable development, through reducing impacts on the environment, enhancing resilience to environmental pressures, or achieving a more efficient and responsible use of natural resources. States and governments of the world, different institutions and organizations actively involved and aware in public policies, strategies and actions, reaffirm their commitments and reassess actions in order to achieve a truly sustainable development. In the common vision and the resolutions and other documents of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, the words "environment", "innovation", "green economy" appear very often and almost always along the same context, to achieve the objectives of the sustainable development. The objectives of EU's Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, are being implemented through a number of Flagship Initiatives addressing the main challenges, like “Innovation for a sustainable Future - The Eco-innovation Action Plan (EcoAP”. Eco-innovation Observatory developed the Eco-Innovation index, the first tool to assess and illustrate eco-innovation performance across the EU Member States. Like in all fields, in textiles and leather field, eco-innovation is present and there are a lot of tools available that measure environmental damage and help manufacturers and brands become more sustainable. Eco-innovation is not just a trendy concept but a reality and a necessity nowadays, a way to achieve a sustainable future for ourselves and future generations.

Perspective on Eco-Hydrology Developing Strategy in China

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, J.

2017-12-01

China is one of developing countries with higher eco-environmental press in the world due to large population and its socio-economic development. In China, water is not only the sources for life, but also the key for production, and the foundation for eco-system. Thus, Eco-hydrology becomes a fundamental also an applied sciences related to describe the hydrologic mechanisms that underlie ecologic patterns and processes. This paper addresses the issue of Eco-hydrology Developing Strategy in China, supported by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Major contents include four aspects, namely: (1) Demands and frontier of eco-hydrology in the world; (2) Major theories and approaches of Eco-hydrology; (3) Perspective of future development on Eco-hydrology; (4) Enacting and proposal for China development strategy on Eco-hydrology. Application fields involves urban, rural area, wetland, river & lake, forest and special regions in China, such as the arid and semi-arid region and so on. The goal is to promote the disciplinary development of eco-hydrology, and serve for national demands on ecological civilization construction in China.

Feedback-Based Eco-Design for Integrating the Recency, Frequency, and Monetary Value of Eco-Efficiency into Sustainability Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Yang Chen

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Customer feedback is used to understand customer requirements. Early design phases require the consideration of items including manufacturing, the environment, and sustainability management. Therefore, it is crucial that eco-efficiency is taken into account in the early design phases. Traditionally, eco-efficiency is considered only in terms of eco-design issues, not customer requirements based on business values such as Recency, Frequency, and Monetary (RFM value. In the meantime, integrating innovation from eco-design is one important aspect. Here, I propose that customer feedback-based eco-efficiency and TRIZ-based innovation can be considered in early eco-design based on the RFM value for sustainability management. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP and fuzzy-based AHP were integrated to explore the relative weights of RFM variables for business value evaluation. The innovative method of the paper is using a TRIZ contradiction matrix associated with engineering parameters for eco-design. The experimental study has been carried out, and it meets the forecasting business value for green product usage. The business value was used as the decision-making factor in order to evaluate both environmental and marketing performance.

DEMONSTRATION BULLETIN: THE ECO LOGIC THERMAL DESORPTION UNIT - MIDDLEGROUND LANDFILL - BAY CITY, MI - ELI ECO LOGIC INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Science.gov (United States)

ECO Logic has developed a thermal desorption unit 0"DU) for the treatment of soils contaminated with hazardous organic contaminants. This TDU has been designed to be used in conjunction with Eco Logic's patented gas-phase chemical reduction reactor. The Eco Logic reactor is the s...

Microencapsulated bio-markers for assessment of stress conditions in aquatic organisms in vivo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadovoy, A; Teh, C; Korzh, V; Escobar, M; Meglinski, I

2012-01-01

Bio-compatible polyelectrolyte sub-micron micro-capsules have been developed and applied to deliver fluorescent dyes into zebrafish larvae heart via direct injection in pericardium in vivo. The capsules shell performed as a membrane is impermeable for florescence dyes suspended within the capsules and is permeable for the external environment. Thus, the direct contact of fluorescence dyes with cells/tissues is excluded and the issues associated with the toxicity of fluorescence dyes and their bio-compatibility can be omitted. The hybrid laser-scanning imaging system combined with the fluorescent microscope has been used to monitor the paths of micro-capsules within zebrafish circulation system. We demonstrate that micro-capsules circulate in tissues, including brain and trunk, with no blood flow disruptions or any other deleterious effect on its cardiac function. The developed approach has a great potential to use of encapsulated bio-markers as a diagnostic tool in vascular biology and medicine as well as for monitoring of aquatic pollution and ecological risk assessment in eco-toxicological studies

Eco-innovations in the functioning of companies.

Science.gov (United States)

Ociepa-Kubicka, A; Pachura, P

2017-07-01

The development of entrepreneurships in the 21st century cannot occur without taking care of the natural environment. The article presents issues related to eco-innovation. Despite the opportunities offered by eco-innovations, implementation of such initiatives remains to lead to various difficulties. They vary across countries and sectors. The insufficient number of enterprises in Poland and other European countries implement adequate level of eco-innovations. The main aim of this paper is to indicate the causes of this status and activities aimed to develop eco-innovativeness. The benefits and risks connected with implementation of innovative products and technologies were also discussed. Furthermore, the advantages of and barriers to their implementation into companies were analysed. The entrepreneurs from the least eco-innovative countries emphasize serious barriers, including uncertain demand from the market, uncertain return on investment or too long a payback period for eco-innovation, lack of funds within the enterprise, insufficient access to existing subsidies and fiscal incentive. They are especially afraid of the financial risks, which raises uncertainty and leads to refraining from innovative initiatives. The possibilities were indicated for the entrepreneurs who face problems with the implementation of innovative solutions. Particular attention was paid to the European Union activities for the development of eco-innovations. Numerous programs supporting their implementation were indicated. The article also presents examples of eco-innovation in water and sewage enterprises. It was emphasized that planning of eco-innovative solutions should be based on comprehensive information about actual benefits and possibility of threats to the environment which can be caused by implementation of eco-innovations. The study presents the example of threats resulting from different methods of sewage sludge management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights

On eco-planning for an eco-demonstration park (EDP) and sustainability-Case study of the Luhua EDP in the Chongming Island of Shanghai,China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2008-01-01

The background,concept,connotation,principles,and methods ofeco-planning for an Eco-Demonstration Park (EDP) and sustainability were examined based on a case study of the Luhua EDP in the Chongming Island of Shanghai,China,which is an important part of Shanghai Eco-city planning and construction in the 21st century.By analyzing natural,social and economic conditions,calculating population using the land capacity eco-model,eco-function zoning,and eco-construction,an innovative eco-industrial structure and technical chain were formulated.A comprehensive eco-planning scheme for the EDP was proposed,including planning and management strategies for subsystems of efficient industry,good quality human settlement,high standard eco-construction and eco-tourism as well as effective environmental protection and attractive landscape.The EDP should be an area with coordinated and sustainable economic,social and environmental subsystems.Eco-planning for the EDP should be a very important part of eco-city planning and sustainability.The paper aims to set up a theoretical framework and practical basis for eco-planning and promoting harmony between human and nature.

Eco-efficiency in industrial production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

von Raesfeld Meijer, Ariane M.; de Bakker, F.G.A.; Groen, Arend J.

2001-01-01

English AbstractThis report of the MATRIC project investigated 'Eco-efficiency in industrial production'. After a general introduction into the domain of eco-efficiency, the first part of this report further focusses on the organisation of Product-Oriented Environmental Management (POEM), which is

Eco-Schools campaign. The European projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanchini, P.; Marino, G.

1999-01-01

The Foundation for Environmental Education in Europe (FEEE) was established in 1981; since then it was been actively promoting and delivering education through a series of successful internationals programmes launched in 21 different European nations. The Eco-School Campaign aims to raise students' awareness of environment issues through classroom study, and provide an integrated system for environmental management of schools based on EMAS (with waste, water and energy management as priority areas). As a process of facilitating sustainable developpement at a local level, pupils are encouraged to take an active role in mental impact of the schools. The Eco-Schools Green Flag, awarded to schools with high achievement in their Programme, is a recognised and respected eco-label for environmental education and performance. In Italy the National Eco-Schools operator was asked to set up a ten-schools pilot programme in the region Friuli Venezia Giulia: these are very first national schools that are likely to become 'Eco-Schools'

The economic value of corporate eco-efficiency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Guenster, N.; Bauer, R.; Derwall, J.M.M.; Koedijk, C.G.

2011-01-01

This study adds new insights to the long-running corporate environmental-financial performance debate by focusing on the concept of eco-efficiency. Using a new database of eco-efficiency scores, we analyse the relation between eco-efficiency and financial performance from 1997 to 2004. We report

An R&D Management Framework for Eco-Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenji Sano

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Although research and development (R&D affects new value-added creation, including that related to environmental aspects, there is little literature dealing with the integration of R&D management and eco-value. Here, eco-value of technology is defined as the advantage of environmental competitiveness in the market. This paper proposes a framework of R&D management of eco-technology (RDMOET, consisting of: (1 future research for sustainability; (2 making an original eco-theme portfolio and roadmap; (3 gap analysis and implementation of new eco-themes; and (4 eco-value evaluation. (1 and (4 are new processes compared with conventional R&D management. Through practice at the Corporate R&D Center of Toshiba Corporation, the usefulness of the proposed framework is verified from the viewpoint of not only technological eco-innovation, but also that of organizational learning for environmental sustainability.

Eco-efficiency and control loop configuration for recycle systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Munir, Muhammad Tajammal; Yu, Wei; Young, Brent P. [The University of Auckland, Auckland (New Zealand)

2013-05-15

To integrate measurements of eco-efficiency with control loop configuration has become an important topic since all industrial processes/plants are requested to increase their eco-efficiency. The exergy eco-efficiency factor, a new measure of eco-efficiency for control loop configuration, has been developed recently. The exergy eco-efficiency factor is based on the thermodynamic concept of exergy, which can be used to analyze a process in terms of its efficiency. The combination of the relative gain array (RGA), NI, CN, dynamic RGA, and the exergy eco-efficiency factor will help guide the process designer to find the optimal control design with low operating cost/eco-efficiency. In this paper, we validate the proposed exergy eco-efficiency factor for processes with recycles which are very common industrially.

Eco-efficiency and control loop configuration for recycle systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munir, Muhammad Tajammal; Yu, Wei; Young, Brent P.

2013-01-01

To integrate measurements of eco-efficiency with control loop configuration has become an important topic since all industrial processes/plants are requested to increase their eco-efficiency. The exergy eco-efficiency factor, a new measure of eco-efficiency for control loop configuration, has been developed recently. The exergy eco-efficiency factor is based on the thermodynamic concept of exergy, which can be used to analyze a process in terms of its efficiency. The combination of the relative gain array (RGA), NI, CN, dynamic RGA, and the exergy eco-efficiency factor will help guide the process designer to find the optimal control design with low operating cost/eco-efficiency. In this paper, we validate the proposed exergy eco-efficiency factor for processes with recycles which are very common industrially

Bio-processing of solid wastes and secondary resources for metal extraction – A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jae-chun; Pandey, Banshi Dhar

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Review focuses on bio-extraction of metals from solid wastes of industries and consumer goods. ► Bio-processing of certain effluents/wastewaters with metals is also included in brief. ► Quantity/composition of wastes are assessed, and microbes used and leaching conditions included. ► Bio-recovery using bacteria, fungi and archaea is highlighted for resource recycling. ► Process methodology/mechanism, R and D direction and scope of large scale use are briefly included. - Abstract: Metal containing wastes/byproducts of various industries, used consumer goods, and municipal waste are potential pollutants, if not treated properly. They may also be important secondary resources if processed in eco-friendly manner for secured supply of contained metals/materials. Bio-extraction of metals from such resources with microbes such as bacteria, fungi and archaea is being increasingly explored to meet the twin objectives of resource recycling and pollution mitigation. This review focuses on the bio-processing of solid wastes/byproducts of metallurgical and manufacturing industries, chemical/petrochemical plants, electroplating and tanning units, besides sewage sludge and fly ash of municipal incinerators, electronic wastes (e-wastes/PCBs), used batteries, etc. An assessment has been made to quantify the wastes generated and its compositions, microbes used, metal leaching efficiency etc. Processing of certain effluents and wastewaters comprising of metals is also included in brief. Future directions of research are highlighted.

Practical Eco-Design and Eco-Innovation of Consumer Electronics—the Case of Mobile Phones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anders S. G. Andrae

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Annually, it is estimated that about 4 billion units of consumer electronics for mobile communications are produced worldwide. This could lead to various ecological imbalances unless the design and disposal of the products are handled optimally. To illustrate how industry looks at and responds to the increasing social awareness, this article describes how sustainability is successfully implemented in practice at a large Chinese company, developing and producing various kinds of electronic products used for communication. It also describes how a variety of eco-innovations and business models contribute to reducing the environmental impact; for example, through increased recovery and recycling. A new kind of eco-design procedure is presented along with a new methodology which shows how a mobile phone gradually becomes more sustainable from one generation to the next. The issues with and set-up of new eco-labeling schemes for mobile phones, eco-rating, is described in detail. The conclusion is that due to high competition between companies, the industry acts resourcefully and a lot is done to the save the ecological environment.

Understanding Eco-innovation and Green Business Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Maj Munch

2014-01-01

Eco-innovation is considered a still more important competitive strategy to maintain production in highcost economies such as the Danish one. Within the studies of economics of technological change only little research has been undertaken on the dynamics of eco-innovation. Rigorous statistics...... technologies which has taken a starting pointin the environmental effects of varies technologies. The seven categories are:1. Curative eco-innovations - add-on (clean-up, recycling and resource handling)2. Integrated continuous process and product eco-innovations (cleaner production and products)3. User...... and definitions of ecoinnovationare lacking leading to much confusion and methodologically weak empirical analyses. This paperseeks to remedy this by offering a definition and taxonomy of eco-innovations and discussing theimplications for green business model thinking, bringing in examples of Danish successful...

From an eco-industrial park towards an eco-city : a case study in Suzhou, China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yu, Chang; Dijkema, Gerard P. J.; de Jong, Martin; Shi, Han

2015-01-01

As eco-industrial park policies have been in place for years, many mature eco-industrial parks tend to acquire more than just industrial functions and become new urban districts. We investigated this development and conducted empirical research in Suzhou Industrial Park, to obtain insight in how a

Experimental characterisation of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottle Eco-bricks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taaffe, Jonathan; O’Sullivan, Seán; Rahman, Muhammad Ekhlasur; Pakrashi, Vikram

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Characterisation of a novel “Eco-brick” by recycling PET bottles and plastic waste. • Eco-bricks have properties for possible uses in construction. • Consistent manufacturing of Eco-bricks demonstrated to be possible. • Weight of Eco-bricks has a nearly linear relationship with mechanical strength. • Light passage and sound reduction potential of Eco-bricks shown to be good. - Abstract: This paper addresses the issue of recycling waste plastic by considering the feasibility of use of Eco-bricks for constructional purposes. The Eco-bricks are formed by packing plastic within Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles. Guidelines were provided for the construction of Eco-bricks. Experiments were carried out to characterise some of the properties of these bricks. Compression test, sound insulation assessment and light transmission were considered in this regard and compared with traditional construction materials and conditions. Possible applications of Eco-bricks were discussed. The paper presents the first attempt to characterise these bricks and the results encourage future use of them to a significantly wider extent and for various purposes

Determinants of eco-efficiency in the Chinese industrial sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujii, Hidemichi; Managi, Shunsuke

2013-12-01

This study measures productive inefficiency within the context of multi-environmental pollution (eco-efficiency) in the Chinese industrial sector. The weighted Russell directional distance model is applied to measure eco-efficiency using production technology. The objective is to clarify how external factors affect eco-efficiency. The major findings are that both foreign direct investment and investment for pollution abatement improve eco-efficiency as measured by air pollutant substances. A levy system for wastewater discharge improves eco-efficiency as measured by wastewater pollutant substances. However, an air pollutant levy does not significantly affect eco-efficiency as measured by air pollutants. Copyright © 2013 The Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The innovative application studty on eco-packaging design and materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cui Yong Min

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper solves the increasingly deteriorate environmental problems by positively exploring how to utilize and develop eco-packaging design reasonably. The paper explores an effective method that combines eco-packaging and environmental protection materials, hoping to define the sustainable development road of packaging design. The paper is centered on the design application of eco-packaging and environmental protection materials, applies and analyzes the method to obtain innovative design requirements and development tendency of eco-packaging design by analyzing status and significance of eco-packaging design, combining with the development and main types of eco-packaging packaging materials, and based on the achievements acquired by eco-packaging and environmental protection materials. Meanwhile, the paper also reveals mutual dependence and mutual promotion of eco-packaging design and eco-packaging materials.

Sustainable packaging: from eco-efficiency to eco-effectiveness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niero, Monia; Boas, Simon H.; Olsen, Stig Irving

2014-01-01

According to Verghese et al (2012) sustainable packaging should be: effective in delivering its functional requirements, efficient in its use of materials, energy, and water throughout its life cycle, cyclic in its use of renewable materials and recoverability at end-of-life, and safe for people...... and the natural environment. Companies in the packaging sector have traditionally been using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to fulfill these requirements. However, being inspired by the eco-efficiency principle, LCA aims to reduce the negative environmental footprint of human activities by optimizing...... and emissions can be taken up as nutrients by other processes instead of reducing the amount of waste as eco-efficiency advocates. From a company point of view, LCA and C2C are complementary approaches to develop sustainable andinnovative solutions for packaging, see Figure 1. We will illustrate the challenges...

User's guide to the biosphere code ECOS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kane, P.; Thorne, M.C.

1984-10-01

This report constitutes the user's guide to the biosphere model ECOS and provides a detailed description of the processes modelled and mathematical formulations used. The FORTRAN code ECOS is an equilibrium-type compartmental biosphere code. ECOS was designed with the objective of producing a general but comprehensive code for use in the assessment of the radiological impact of unspecified geological repositories for radioactive waste. ECOS transforms the rate of release of activity from the geosphere to the rate of accumulation of weighted committed effective dose equivalent (dose). Both maximum individual dose (critical group dose) and collective dose rates may be computed. (author)

Eco-marketing in industrial enterprise activities

OpenAIRE

N.M. Chupryna

2015-01-01

The aim of the article. The aim of the article is determination of the areas of industrial enterprise’s development and detection of the specificity of their activity in terms of environmental priorities. The results of the analysis. The analysis of the research and publications of the leading scholars on the eco-marketing’s problem was conducted. The main factors of eco-marketing’s mechanism use were considered. Eco-marketing was determined as an important tool of the enterprises’ modern ...

The Economic Value of Corporate Eco-Efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guenster, N.; Derwall, J.; Bauer, R.; Koedijk, K.

2006-08-01

This study adds new insights to the long-running corporate environmental-financial performance debate by focusing on the concept of eco-efficiency. Using a new database of eco-efficiency ratings, we analyze the relation between eco-efficiency and financial performance from 1997 to 2004. We report that eco-efficiency relates positively to operating performance and market value. Moreover, our results suggest that the market's valuation of environmental performance has been time variant, which may indicate that the market incorporates environmental information with a drift. Although environmental leaders initially did not sell at a premium relative to laggards, the valuation differential increased significantly over time. Our results have implications for company managers, who evidently do not have to overcome a tradeoff between eco-efficiency and financial performance, and for investors, who can exploit environmental information for investment decisions

An R&D Management Framework for Eco-Technology

OpenAIRE

Hideki Kobayashi; Masahiro Kato; Yukishige Maezawa; Kenji Sano

2011-01-01

Although research and development (R&D) affects new value-added creation, including that related to environmental aspects, there is little literature dealing with the integration of R&D management and eco-value. Here, eco-value of technology is defined as the advantage of environmental competitiveness in the market. This paper proposes a framework of R&D management of eco-technology (RDMOET), consisting of: (1) future research for sustainability; (2) making an original eco-theme p...

Integrating participatory community mobilization processes to improve dengue prevention: an eco-bio-social scaling up of local success in Machala, Ecuador.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell-Foster, Kendra; Ayala, Efraín Beltrán; Breilh, Jaime; Spiegel, Jerry; Wilches, Ana Arichabala; Leon, Tania Ordóñez; Delgado, Jefferson Adrian

2015-02-01

This project investigates the effectiveness and feasibility of scaling-up an eco-bio-social approach for implementing an integrated community-based approach for dengue prevention in comparison with existing insecticide-based and emerging biolarvicide-based programs in an endemic setting in Machala, Ecuador. An integrated intervention strategy (IIS) for dengue prevention (an elementary school-based dengue education program, and clean patio and safe container program) was implemented in 10 intervention clusters from November 2012 to November 2013 using a randomized controlled cluster trial design (20 clusters: 10 intervention, 10 control; 100 households per cluster with 1986 total households). Current existing dengue prevention programs served as the control treatment in comparison clusters. Pupa per person index (PPI) is used as the main outcome measure. Particular attention was paid to social mobilization and empowerment with IIS. Overall, IIS was successful in reducing PPI levels in intervention communities versus control clusters, with intervention clusters in the six paired clusters that followed the study design experiencing a greater reduction of PPI compared to controls (2.2 OR, 95% CI: 1.2 to 4.7). Analysis of individual cases demonstrates that consideration for contexualizing programs and strategies to local neighborhoods can be very effective in reducing PPI for dengue transmission risk reduction. In the rapidly evolving political climate for dengue control in Ecuador, integration of successful social mobilization and empowerment strategies with existing and emerging biolarvicide-based government dengue prevention and control programs is promising in reducing PPI and dengue transmission risk in southern coastal communities like Machala. However, more profound analysis of social determination of health is called for to assess sustainability prospects. © The author 2015. The World Health Organization has granted Oxford University Press permission for the

ECO-SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ROMANIAN TOURISM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARIANA BĂLAN

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In a changing world, the development of eco-sustainable tourism is manifested in the form of interaction of elements compatible with each other in various dimensions: economic, environmental, human, technological, environmental, ethical, etc. Through eco-sustainable tourism aims to satisfy the present needs of tourists in favor and not in detrimental to the interests of future generations, along with educating them in the spirit of reducing negative environmental impacts. This paper provides a brief overview of the tourism - ecology - sustainable development relationship, by highlighting the evolutionary theoretical considerations regarding the concept of tourism, the need for sustainable tourism development, the ecology as a priority in the development and integration of tourism activities within the coordinates the eco-sustainable development. It also discusses the main indicators used to characterize the tourism activities in Romania in the context of eco-sustainable development.

The analysis of ink jet printed eco-font efficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rastko Milošević

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Utilization of eco-font for office printing is one of sustainable, “green” printing concepts, which besides obvious economic benefits, as a result has a certain effect on environmental sustainability as well. The fundamental problem that this practice faces is decreased quality of text printed using eco-fonts comparing to those printed with regular fonts. The aim of this research is eco-font efficiency estimation, i.e. determination of toner usage reduction level of ink jet printed documents typed with this font type, as well as estimation of the extent humans perceive differences between text printed with eco-font and the one printed by its „non-eco“ equivalent. Combining instrumental measuring method and digital image analysis, it was found that this simple principle (eco-font utilization enables substantial toner usage reduction for an ink jet printing system, while visual test showed that visual experience of text printed using eco-font is sufficient. In addition, awareness of benefits that eco-font utilization brings, change users’ attitude towards eco-font quality.

Eco-Labeled Seafood: Determinants for (Blue Green Consumption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malin Jonell

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Eco-certification has become an increasingly popular market-based tool in the endeavor to reduce negative environmental impacts from fisheries and aquaculture. In this study, we aimed at investigating which psychological consumer characteristics influence demand for eco-labeled seafood by correlating consumers’ stated purchasing of eco-labeled seafood to nine variables: environmental knowledge regarding seafood production, familiarity with eco-labels, subjective knowledge, pro-environmental self-identification, sense of personal responsibility, concern for negative environmental impacts from seafood production, perceived consumer effectiveness, gender and education. Questionnaires were distributed to consumers in Stockholm, Sweden, and the data were tested with multiple regression analysis using linear modeling and model averaging (n = 371. Two variables were the best predictors of stated purchasing of eco-labeled seafood: (i recognition and understanding of eco-labels for seafood (Marine Stewardship Council, Fish for Life, Aquaculture Stewardship Council and KRAV; and (ii concern for negative environmental impacts associated with seafood production. Meanwhile, consumer environmental knowledge was a weaker predictor. Results from this study suggest that strengthening the emotional component of consumer decision-making and improving the level of consumer familiarity with seafood eco-labels could stimulate more pro-environmental seafood consumption.

Survey on bio-chemical complex harmonized with global environment. 3; Kankyo chowagata seibutsu kagaku konbinato ni kansuru chosa. 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-03-01

A survey was conducted of bio-chemical complex harmonized with the global environment for the purpose of constructing the material production process harmonized with the environment by the process fusion between biological conversion and chemical reaction. Palm oil was taken up as renewable raw material plant resource. The process utilizing bio-chemical reaction advances at normal temperature and pressure and is high in reaction specificity and selectivity. This is a recycling, circulation and environmental harmony type production technology which brings high yield, energy conservation, resource conservation, and low environmental loads. Waste water treatment and production of useful substances from sludge were thought as elementary technology. A possibility was studied of enzyme production by culturing solid waste, and the enzyme was applied to the hydrolysis process. The paper indicated trace components in the palm oil and the extraction method and proposed the production process of new derivatives for adding value to hydrolysate. A study was also made of the overall process flow which integrated these new processes and the material balance. The comprehensive evaluation of this new process was made from the aspect of the product structure, the market, construction cost, economical efficiency, and the environment. 133 refs., 65 figs., 56 tabs.

How To Develop Ngorongoro As An Eco Tourism Destination : Eco Tourism In Ngorongoro

OpenAIRE

Londo, Amwewa; Londo, Amwewa

2008-01-01

In the third World Countries there is a need to develop and promote Tourism industry. Tourism Sector needs to be promoted to push economic development and increase the number of employments This research aims to find out whether eco-tourism sector at Ngorongoro Conservation area generates suistanable profit to local people. Qualitative reasearch was used to analyze eco-tourism value that leads to better understanding of different supports methods being used by government to local peopl...

Multichannel wireless ECoG array ASIC devices.

Science.gov (United States)

DeMichele, Glenn A; Cogan, Stuart F; Troyk, Philip R; Chen, Hongnan; Hu, Zhe

2014-01-01

Surgical resection of epileptogenic foci is often a beneficial treatment for patients suffering debilitating seizures arising from intractable epilepsy [1], [2], [3]. Electrodes placed subdurally on the surface of the brain in the form of an ECoG array is one of the multiple methods for localizing epileptogenic zones for the purpose of defining the region for surgical resection. Currently, transcutaneous wires from ECoG grids limit the duration of time that implanted grids can be used for diagnosis. A wireless ECoG recording and stimulation system may be a solution to extend the diagnostic period. To avoid the transcutaneous connections, a 64-channel wireless silicon recording/stimulating ASIC was developed as the electronic component of a wireless ECoG array that uses SIROF electrodes on a polyimide substrate[4]. Here we describe two new ASIC devices that have been developed and tested as part of the on-going wireless ECoG system design.

Bio-inspired synthesis of Y2O3: Eu(3+) red nanophosphor for eco-friendly photocatalysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Prasanna kumar, J B; Ramgopal, G; Vidya, Y S; Anantharaju, K S; Daruka Prasad, B; Sharma, S C; Prashantha, S C; Premkumar, H B; Nagabhushana, H

2015-04-15

We report the synthesis of Y2O3: Eu(3+) (1-11 mol%) nanoparticles (NPs) with different morphologies via eco-friendly, inexpensive and simple low temperature solution combustion method using Aloe Vera gel as fuel. The formation of different morphologies of Y2O3: Eu(3+) NPs were characterized by PXRD, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, UV-Visible and PL techniques. The PXRD data and Rietveld analysis confirms the formation of single phase Y2O3 with cubic crystal structure. The influence of Eu(3+) ion concentration on the morphology, UV-Visible absorption, PL emission and photocatalytic activity of Y2O3: Eu(3+) nanostructures were investigated. Y2O3: Eu(3+) NPs exhibit intense red emission with CIE chromaticity coordinates (0.50, 0.47) and correlated color temperature values at different excitation ranges from 1868 to 2600 K. The control of Eu(3+) ion on Y2O3 matrix influences the photocatalytic decolorization of methylene blue (MB) as a model compound was evaluated under UVA light. Enhanced photocatalytic activity of conical shaped Y2O3: Eu(3+) (1 mol%) was attributed to dopant concentration, crystallite size, textural properties and capability of reducing the electron-hole pair recombination. The trend of inhibitory effect in the presence of different radical scavengers followed the order SO4(2-)>Cl(-)>C2H5OH>HCO3(-)>CO3(2-). These findings show great promise of Y2O3: Eu(3+) NPs as a red phosphor in warm white LEDs as well as eco-friendly heterogeneous photocatalysis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Eco-modernism, a third way for tomorrow's energy?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2017-01-01

Considering climate warming as an immediate threat for humanity, ecologists from the Eco-modernism movement not only approve but call for the presence of nuclear power in the energy mix. For them nuclear energy is a mature low-carbon energy that can be used to combine all renewable energies more efficiently. NGO like 'Environmental Progress', 'Energy for Humanity' or 'Save the Nukes' back the Eco-modernism movement. The Eco-modernism movement gathers unconventional ecologists who consider that modern technologies by using the eco-system more efficiently than previous technologies did, are a powerful tool to reduce the global impact of humane activities on the biosphere. The Eco-modernism movement is for agricultural intensification, the use of GMO, waste recycling and for increasing urbanization. (A.C.)

Business sustainability performance measurement: Eco-ratio analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Collins C. Ngwakwe

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Eco-aware customers and stakeholders are demanding for a measurement that links environmental performance with other business operations. To bridge this seemingly measurement gap, this paper suggests ‘Eco-Ratio Analysis’ and proposes an approach for conducting eco-ratio analysis. It is argued that since accounting ratios function as a tool for evaluating corporate financial viability by management and investors, eco-ratio analysis should be brought to the fore to provide a succinct measurement about the linkage between environmental performance and conventional business performance. It is hoped that this suggestion will usher in a nuance debate and approach in the teaching, research and practice of environmental management and sustainability accounting

Eco friendly expectations and limitations in daycare

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Husted, Mia

This presentation elaborates on expectations and limitations of eco-friendly pedagogical responses to the sustainability crisis. The pedagogical perspectives on eco-friendly responses originates from an action research project involving pedagogues in day care centers and teachers at a University ...... College in Denmark. As part of the project they were asked to explore, elaborate and develop new pedagogical actions and perspectives related to future relationships between human beings and our common nature......This presentation elaborates on expectations and limitations of eco-friendly pedagogical responses to the sustainability crisis. The pedagogical perspectives on eco-friendly responses originates from an action research project involving pedagogues in day care centers and teachers at a University...

ECO-INDUSTRIAL PARK - A TOOL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BUGNAR NICOLETA GEORGETA

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Local communities embracing the concept of Eco-industrial park are looking for some additional benefits for all the interested parties – both public and private: higher economic efficiency, the increase of competitivity by applying last minute technologies, generation of additional revenues through positive regulations at the community level, the creation of jobs, solving the conflict between economy and environment, diminishing the demand on the county infrastructure, decreasing the effects of pollution, using energy from regenerating sources and replacement materials. Communities and enterprises creating Eco-industrial parks will have common grounds for industrial development, which is much more competitive, more efficient and much cleaner than traditional industrial parks. Moreover, the new business niches will be open to recruitment or new incubators. Eco-industrial parks represent a special category compared to industrial parks, a category which is different from the classical ones due to the fact that they are designed in such a way so that they promote the collaboration between companies in order to reuse recyclable materials and green energy sources. A long-term vision must reflect the focus on the creation of collaboration networks between firms and the fact that an Eco-industrial park should be a business community, not only a mathematical sum of companies located in the same geographical area. The quality, continuity and interconnection of economic flows within the firms of an Eco-industrial park are important characteristics for the success of Eco-industrial networks. The following discussion tackles the way in which an Eco-industrial park is set-up: creating and implementing an Eco-industrial park in accordance with the principles of circular economy or transforming an already existing industrial park into an Eco- industrial park. The quality, the continuity, the number of interconnected firms, the flows of resources and the

ECOS: sorption, dose, consumption and miscellaneous data values

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kane, P.

1984-10-01

This report describes the nature of the data stored within the program ECOS, lists the values currently used and references the sources used. Also included are the element-specific equilibrium distribution coefficients (Ksub(D)) which are held in a data file external to ECOS. Nuclide-specific decay constants and dose factors are presented, as are certain plant- and animal-specific data not included in external files. Several miscellaneous items of data stored within ECOS are described. None of the data stored within ECOS are accessible to the user. (author)

Optimization of some eco-energetic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purica, I.; Pavelescu, M.; Stoica, M.

1976-01-01

An optimization problem of two eco-energetic systems is described. The first one is close to the actual eco-energetic system in Romania, while the second is a new one, based on nuclear energy as primary source and hydrogen energy as secondary source. The optimization problem solved is to find the optimal structure of the systems so that the objective functions adopted, namely unitary energy cost C and total pollution P, to be minimum at the same time. The problem can be modelated with a bimatrix cooperative mathematical game without side payments. We demonstrate the superiority of the new eco-energetic system. (author)

Shedding Light on Eco-Innovation in Tourism: A Critical Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria-del-Mar Alonso-Almeida

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The recent global increase in the competitiveness of tourism has made the implementation of eco-innovations a differentiating element among both the destinations and companies in the sector, with quality management and contribution to sustainable development being increasingly valued. However, the eco-innovations that have been developed and implemented in tourist industries have rarely been studied. In this study, the eco-innovations that have been developed and implemented by 57 tourism businesses worldwide are analysed. The identified eco-innovations are classified by using different qualitative methodologies. The obtained results shed light on the limited development of eco-innovations in the tourism industry and the industry focuses mainly on product eco-innovations. Several examples by the tourist sub-industry and types of eco-innovation are analysed. Furthermore, this study provides practical information about measures that both businesses and governmental organisations can adopt to promote eco-innovation in the sector.

Enabling Eco-Friendly Choices by Relying on the Proportional-Thinking Heuristic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cleotilde Gonzalez

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Ecological (eco taxes are promising mechanisms to enable eco-friendly decisions, but few people prefer them. In this study, we present a way in which eco-tax options may be communicated to general public to encourage their payment. Our implementation (called “information presentation” takes advantage of the non-linear relationship between eco-tax payments and CO2 emissions and the human reliance on the proportional-thinking heuristic. According to the proportional-thinking heuristic, people are likely to prefer a small eco-tax increase and judge larger eco-tax increases to cause proportionally greater CO2 emissions reductions. In an online study, participants were asked to choose between eco-tax increases in two problems: In one, a smaller eco-tax increase resulted in greater CO2 emissions reduction, while in the other, a smaller tax increase resulted in lesser CO2 emissions reduction. Although the larger eco-tax increase did not reduce CO2 emissions the most, across both problems, people judged larger eco-tax increases to cause proportionally greater reductions in CO2 emissions and preferred smaller tax increases. Thus, eco-tax policies would benefit by presenting information in terms of eco-tax increases, such that smaller eco-tax increases (which are more attractive and are likely to be chosen by people cause greater CO2 emissions reductions.

Evaluating Eco-Innovation of OECD Countries with Data Envelopment Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Mavi, Reza Kiani; Standing, Craig

2016-01-01

Government regulations require businesses to improve their processes and products/services in a green and sustainable manner. For being environmentally friendly, businesses should invest more on eco-innovation practices. Firms eco-innovate to promote eco-efficiency and sustainability. This paper evaluates the eco-innovation performance of…

ENTREPRENEURIAL ECO-SYSTEMS & REGIONAL ALLIANCES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joe ENGLISH

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The study of universities and their role in enterprise development, support and education is very mature. However when Isenberg coined the term ‘entrepreneurial ecosystem’ and suggested that higher education was one of the key foundation blocks of a regional eco-system it threw open the concept of the university having a wider role in the overall business, economic and civic life of a region. What is this wider role, and how do the universities themselves view their place in this evolving entrepreneurial eco-system? How do they fit into Regional Alliances set up to build regional economic development? This paper introduces two pilot Alliances that have been recently formed using both the education institutes and the wider eco-system to drive Innovation and Graduate Employability (The SHIP and REAL Alliances.

Bio-processing of solid wastes and secondary resources for metal extraction - A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jae-Chun; Pandey, Banshi Dhar

2012-01-01

Metal containing wastes/byproducts of various industries, used consumer goods, and municipal waste are potential pollutants, if not treated properly. They may also be important secondary resources if processed in eco-friendly manner for secured supply of contained metals/materials. Bio-extraction of metals from such resources with microbes such as bacteria, fungi and archaea is being increasingly explored to meet the twin objectives of resource recycling and pollution mitigation. This review focuses on the bio-processing of solid wastes/byproducts of metallurgical and manufacturing industries, chemical/petrochemical plants, electroplating and tanning units, besides sewage sludge and fly ash of municipal incinerators, electronic wastes (e-wastes/PCBs), used batteries, etc. An assessment has been made to quantify the wastes generated and its compositions, microbes used, metal leaching efficiency etc. Processing of certain effluents and wastewaters comprising of metals is also included in brief. Future directions of research are highlighted. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Triple helix interactions for eco-innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hermann, Roberto Rivas; Riisgaard, Henrik; Remmen, Arne

the role of science parks in promoting eco-innovation. This study uses qualitative data gathered in two units of analysis: Panama Canal Authority and City of Knowledge Science Park. The study examines how Triple Helix interactions have built the regional system of eco-innovation at the Panama Canal...

SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ECO-EFFICIENCY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana\tLUPAN

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The current economic and social contexts have brought forth the issues regarding growth and sustainability. The concept of growth has always been linked to an increase in consumption levels, and this inevitably led to pressures on the environment and on the resources that support human activity. Given these circumstances, the question whether we can avoid an environmental disaster while maintaining economic growth, has become more stringent. We chose to approach this aspect by examining the concept of eco-efficiency, a concept that embodies aspects of both economic efficiency and environmental efficiency. Eco-efficiency can be regarded as the effectiveness with which resources are used in order to create products and services that satisfy human needs. Based on this idea, the last decade has produced an increasing number of studies on eco-efficiency and how it can be measured and implemented in the production of goods and services, but also in the field regarding demand patterns. An analysis regarding the aspects of eco-efficiency at the macro level of the Romanian economy is in line with the current environmental concerns, thus I have chosen to cover these questions, as well as the evolution of the locale economy towards a more sustainable development. The outcome of the examined aspects shows that, in spite of an increase in eco-efficiency levels, energy and material consumption and emissions have increased. This raises the question if measuring economic and environmental efficiency by reporting to the GDP value is becoming obsolete and if there is a need to revaluate eco-efficiency indicators in order to measure the transition to a greener and more sustainable development from different points of view.

EcoMark: Evaluating Models of Vehicular Environmental Impact

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guo, Chenjuan; Ma, Mike; Yang, Bin

2012-01-01

The reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transporta- tion is essential for achieving politically agreed upon emissions re- duction targets that aim to combat global climate change. So-called eco-routing and eco-driving are able to substantially reduce GHG emissions caused by vehicular...... the vehicle travels in. We develop an evaluation framework, called EcoMark, for such environmental impact models. In addition, we survey all eleven state-of-the-art impact models known to us. To gain insight into the capabilities of the models and to understand the effectiveness of the EcoMark, we apply...

Bio energy: Bio fuel - Properties and Production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilhelmsen, Gunnar; Martinsen, Arnold Kyrre; Sandberg, Eiliv; Fladset, Per Olav; Kjerschow, Einar; Teslo, Einar

2001-01-01

This is Chapter 3 of the book ''Bio energy - Environment, technique and market''. Its main sections are: (1) Definitions and properties, (2) Bio fuel from the forest, (3) Processed bio fuel - briquettes, pellets and powder, (4) Bio fuel from agriculture, (5) Bio fuel from agro industry, (6) Bio fuel from lakes and sea, (7) Bio fuel from aquaculture, (8) Bio fuel from wastes and (9) Hydrogen as a fuel. The exposition largely describes the conditions in Norway. The chapter on energy from the forest includes products from the timber and sawmill industry, the pulp and paper industry, furniture factories etc. Among agricultural sources are straw, energy forests, vegetable oil, bio ethanol, manure

Eco-Material Selection for Auto Bodies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mayyas, Ahmad T [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Omar, Mohammed [Masdar Institute of Science & Technology; Hayajneh, Mohammed T. [Jordan University of Science and Technology

2017-09-25

In the last decades, majority of automakers started to include lightweight materials in their vehicles to meet hard environmental regulations and to improve fuel efficiency of their vehicles. As a result, eco-material selection for vehicles emerged as a new discipline under design for environment. This chapter will summarize methods of eco-material selections for automotive applications with more emphasis into auto-bodies. A set of metrics for eco-material selection that takes into account all economic, environmental and social factors will be developed using numerical and qualitative methods. These metrics cover products' environmental impact, functionality and manufacturability, in addition to the economic and societal factors.

Study for a simplified LCA methodology adapted to bio-products. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

Agricultural resources form a renewable stock of raw materials that can be used for various purposes: food supply, production of energy (including biofuels), bio-products and bio-based construction materials. The use of agricultural resources to produce bio-products is expanding in France and throughout the world, partly due to the presumed advantages of these products towards the environment. In this context, ADEME (the French Environment and Energy Management Agency) commissioned a study for the development of a methodological framework to evaluate the environmental impacts of bio-products. This study was also in charge of the identification of areas of improvement for the 'Bilan Produit', an environmental assessment tool developed by ADEME, in order to allow a future integration of bio-products. The first step of this study consisted of a comparative review of the existing bio-products' LCA (Life Cycle Assessment). This review underlined a deep heterogeneity among the methodologies used, as well as a lack of transparency in the results displayed. In a second step of the project, all the methodological issues in the evaluation of bio-products were studied, and recommendations for the resolution of each one of them have been proposed. These critical analyses are presented in individual fact-sheets, which detail the specific issues of each question, facts from the bibliographic review, the results of the tests conducted on three bio-products, and finally the methodological recommendations to answer the question. This project showed that some methodological recommendations had to be specified depending on the objective of the LCA: eco-design, environmental labeling or comparative LCA. The work conducted also identified some necessary improvements to the Bilan Produit tool, which come under four categories: addition of the missing inventories, integration of metadata regarding the inventories, consideration for the specific end-of-life scenarios of bio-products, and

Umberto Eco : olemise piire kombates / Marina Grishakova

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Grišakova, Marina, 1961-

2004-01-01

Arvustus: Eco, Umberto. Eilse päeva saar / tõlkinud Merike Pau. Tallinn : Eesti Raamat, 2003 ; Eco, Umberto. Baudolino / itaalia keelest tõlkinud [ja järelsõna:] Ülar Ploom. Tallinn : Varrak, 2003

Eco2 Cities : Ecological Cities as Economic Cities

OpenAIRE

Suzuki, Hiroaki; Dastur, Arish; Moffatt, Sebastian; Yabuki, Nanae; Maruyama, Hinako

2010-01-01

This book provides an overview of the World Bank's Eco2 cities : ecological cities as economic cities initiative. The objective of the Eco2 cities initiative is to help cities in developing countries achieve a greater degree of ecological and economic sustainability. The book is divided into three parts. Part one describes the Eco2 cities initiative framework. It describes the approach, be...

Snapshots from a leading eco-city

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mehlsen, Camilla

2009-01-01

The government of Singapore wants to make Singapore the leading Eco-city in Asia. Professor Kim Chuan Goh explains why this might be an achievable goal.......The government of Singapore wants to make Singapore the leading Eco-city in Asia. Professor Kim Chuan Goh explains why this might be an achievable goal....

Proposal for the Evaluation of Eco-Efficient Concrete

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taehyoung Kim

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The importance of environmental consequences due to diverse substances that are emitted during the production of concrete is recognized, but environmental performance tends to be evaluated separately from the economic performance and durability performance of concrete. In order to evaluate concrete from the perspective of sustainable development, evaluation technologies are required for comprehensive assessment of environmental performance, economic performance, and durability performance based on a concept of sustainable development called the triple bottom line (TBL. Herein, an assessment method for concrete eco-efficiency is developed as a technique to ensure the manufacture of highly durable and eco-friendly concrete, while minimizing both the load on the ecological environment and manufacturing costs. The assessment method is based on environmental impact, manufacturing costs, and the service life of concrete. According to our findings, eco-efficiency increased as the compressive strength of concrete increased from 21 MPa to 40 MPa. The eco-efficiency of 40 MPa concrete was about 50% higher than the eco-efficiency of 24 MPa concrete. Thus eco-efficiency is found to increase with an increasing compressive strength of concrete because the rate of increase in the service life of concrete is larger than the rate of increase in the costs. In addition, eco-efficiency (KRW/year was shown to increase for all concrete strengths as mixing rates of admixtures (Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag increased to 30% during concrete mix design. However, when the mixing rate of admixtures increased to 40% and 60%, the eco-efficiency dropped due to rapid reduction in the service life values of concrete to 74 (year/m3 and 44 (year/m3, respectively.

From Smart-Eco Building to High-Performance Architecture: Optimization of Energy Consumption in Architecture of Developing Countries

Science.gov (United States)

Mahdavinejad, M.; Bitaab, N.

2017-08-01

Search for high-performance architecture and dreams of future architecture resulted in attempts towards meeting energy efficient architecture and planning in different aspects. Recent trends as a mean to meet future legacy in architecture are based on the idea of innovative technologies for resource efficient buildings, performative design, bio-inspired technologies etc. while there are meaningful differences between architecture of developed and developing countries. Significance of issue might be understood when the emerging cities are found interested in Dubaization and other related booming development doctrines. This paper is to analyze the level of developing countries’ success to achieve smart-eco buildings’ goals and objectives. Emerging cities of West of Asia are selected as case studies of the paper. The results of the paper show that the concept of high-performance architecture and smart-eco buildings are different in developing countries in comparison with developed countries. The paper is to mention five essential issues in order to improve future architecture of developing countries: 1- Integrated Strategies for Energy Efficiency, 2- Contextual Solutions, 3- Embedded and Initial Energy Assessment, 4- Staff and Occupancy Wellbeing, 5- Life-Cycle Monitoring.

Eco-restoration of a high-sulphur coal mine overburden dumping site in northeast India: A case study

Science.gov (United States)

Dowarah, J.; Deka Boruah, H. P.; Gogoi, J.; Pathak, N.; Saikia, N.; Handique, A. K.

2009-10-01

Eco-restoration of mine overburden (OB) or abandoned mine sites is a major environmental concern. In the present investigation, an integrated approach was used to rejuvenate a high-sulphur mine OB dumping site in the Tirap Collieries, Assam, India, which is situated in the Indo-Burma mega-biodiversity hotspot. A mine OB is devoid of true soil character with poor macro and micronutrient content and contains elevated concentrations of trace and heavy metals. Planting of herbs, shrubs, cover crops and tree species at close proximity leads to primary and secondary sere state succession within a period of 3 to 5 years. A variety of plant species were screened for potential use in restoration: herbs, including Sccharum spontaneum, Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt (citronella), and Cymbopogon flexuosus (lemon grass) cover plants, including Mimosa strigillosa, M. striata, and M. pigra; shrubs, including Sesbania rostrata (dhaincha) and Cassia streata (cassia); and tree species, including Gmelina arborea (gomari) and Dalbergia sissoo (sissoo). Amendment with unmined soil and bio-organic matter was required for primary establishment of some plant species. Management of these plant species at the site will ensure long term sustainable eco-restoration of the coal mine-degraded land.

Eco-restoration of a high-sulphur coal mine overburden dumping site in northeast India: A case study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dowarah, J.; Boruah, H.P.D.; Gogoi, J.; Pathak, N.; Saikia, N.; Handique, A.K. [CSIR, Jorhat (India). North East Institute of Science & Technology

2009-10-15

Eco-restoration of mine overburden (OB) or abandoned mine sites is a major environmental concern. In the present investigation, an integrated approach was used to rejuvenate a high-sulphur mine OB dumping site in the Tirap Collieries, Assam, India, which is situated in the Indo-Burma mega-biodiversity hotspot. A mine OB is devoid of true soil character with poor macro and micronutrient content and contains elevated concentrations of trace and heavy metals. Planting of herbs, shrubs, cover crops and tree species at close proximity leads to primary and secondary sere state succession within a period of 3 to 5 years. A variety of plant species were screened for potential use in restoration: herbs, including Sccharum spontaneum, Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt (citronella), and Cymbopogon flexuosus (lemon grass) cover plants, including Mimosa strigillosa, M. striata, and M. pigra; shrubs, including Sesbania rostrata (dhaincha) and Cassia streata (cassia); and tree species, including Gmelina arborea (gomari) and Dalbergia sissoo (sissoo). Amendment with unmined soil and bio-organic matter was required for primary establishment of some plant species. Management of these plant species at the site will ensure long term sustainable eco-restoration of the coal mine-degraded land.

Eco-ethology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krebs, J.R.; Davies, N.B.

1981-01-01

Eco-ethology is the science of the effects of animal behaviour on animal environment and the effects of animal environment on animal behaviour, with the purpose to find out how natural selection within this control loop has formed and molded animals. N. Tinbergen was the first to make experiments on the evolution of patterns of behaviour which are influenced not only by the evolution of species but also by their adaptation to a changing environment. R.H. MacArthur then introduced mathematical modelling for better clarification of the function and adoptive value of behavioural patterns. The book gives a detailed description of both methods and a successful attempt at a synthesis. In surveys and specific contribution, an exemplary outline of eco-ethology is presented, with information, ideas and reflections that are of interest both to teachers and students. The book is addressed to biologists, zoologists, ecologists, sociologists, and evolutionary biologists and to students of these disciplines. (orig.) [de

Eco-design pilot project in China - Monsoon offer 2 upgrade

Science.gov (United States)

Thai, Roselyne; Liu, Guoguo

2017-11-01

During COP21, Schneider Electric has committed that 100% of our new products would be eco-designed to tackle climate change. Launched in 2015, this initiative ecoDesign WayTM was tested on some pilot projects. This project covers the first ecoDesign WayTM pilot in China on an overvoltage or under voltage protective device used in both residential and industrial sectors, called Monsoon. Under the name ecoDesign WayTM, a method and a process have been deployed. The 3 main ecoDesign WayTM phases are: phase 1 - Marketing & Technique handshake, Phase 2 - ecoDesign WayTM follow-up and Phase 3 - Marketing communication. During the project, EIME from Bureau Veritas CODDE and ecoDesign WayTM scorecard from EVEA consulting are two core tools for eco-design implementation. They are respectively used for life cycle assessment and eco-design performance comparison. Thanks to the approach, compared to previous range, pollution emissions and resource depletion along the whole life cycle of product have decreased (reduction of 55% for energy depletion and 85% for water depletion). Global warming potential has dramatically decreased by 98.4% and air pollution by 33%. Meanwhile, the recycling rate has been improved by 18%, and recycled PA is used. The ecoDesign WayTM scorecard is stored as referent document for any customer request. Moreover, customers can access RoHS certificate, REACh declaration, PEP and EoLI in Check a product, an online environmental data repository, available 24/7.

Eco Logic signs deal to destroy Japanese PCB stocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1997-01-01

According to a recent announcement, Eco Logic of Rockwood, Ontario, has entered into a partnership with the Japanese companies Tokyo Boeki and Nippon Sharyo for the destruction of stockpiled PCB materials in Japan, using Eco Logic's non-incineration technology. The deal is reported to be worth about $50 million in revenues to Eco Logic, spread over the next few years. The agreement includes provisions for the Japanese companies to purchase, or manufacture under licence, a number of Eco Logic's gas phase chemical reduction processing units to serve the Japanese market. In exchange for exclusive rights to the Japanese market, Eco Logic will receive license fees and royalties of up to nine per cent for the use of its process. Eco Logic is currently building a demonstration unit under contract with the two Japanese companies. The Japanese PCB waste destruction market is estimated to be worth as much as $400 million. Incineration, the conventional form of disposal, is strongly opposed by local governments

Engineering BioBrick vectors from BioBrick parts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Knight Thomas F

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The underlying goal of synthetic biology is to make the process of engineering biological systems easier. Recent work has focused on defining and developing standard biological parts. The technical standard that has gained the most traction in the synthetic biology community is the BioBrick standard for physical composition of genetic parts. Parts that conform to the BioBrick assembly standard are BioBrick standard biological parts. To date, over 2,000 BioBrick parts have been contributed to, and are available from, the Registry of Standard Biological Parts. Results Here we extended the same advantages of BioBrick standard biological parts to the plasmid-based vectors that are used to provide and propagate BioBrick parts. We developed a process for engineering BioBrick vectors from BioBrick parts. We designed a new set of BioBrick parts that encode many useful vector functions. We combined the new parts to make a BioBrick base vector that facilitates BioBrick vector construction. We demonstrated the utility of the process by constructing seven new BioBrick vectors. We also successfully used the resulting vectors to assemble and propagate other BioBrick standard biological parts. Conclusion We extended the principles of part reuse and standardization to BioBrick vectors. As a result, myriad new BioBrick vectors can be readily produced from all existing and newly designed BioBrick parts. We invite the synthetic biology community to (1 use the process to make and share new BioBrick vectors; (2 expand the current collection of BioBrick vector parts; and (3 characterize and improve the available collection of BioBrick vector parts.

Who needs cream and sugar when there is eco-labeling? Taste and willingness to pay for "eco-friendly" coffee.

Science.gov (United States)

Sörqvist, Patrik; Hedblom, Daniel; Holmgren, Mattias; Haga, Andreas; Langeborg, Linda; Nöstl, Anatole; Kågström, Jonas

2013-01-01

Participants tasted two cups of coffee, decided which they preferred, and then rated each coffee. They were told (in lure) that one of the cups contained "eco-friendly" coffee while the other did not, although the two cups contained identical coffee. In Experiments 1 and 3, but not in Experiment 2, the participants were also told which cup contained which type of coffee before they tasted. The participants preferred the taste of, and were willing to pay more for, the "eco-friendly" coffee, at least those who scored high on a questionnaire on attitudes toward sustainable consumer behavior (Experiment 1). High sustainability consumers were also willing to pay more for "eco-friendly" coffee, even when they were told, after their decision, that they preferred the non-labeled alternative (Experiment 2). Moreover, the eco-label effect does not appear to be a consequence of social desirability, as participants were just as biased when reporting the taste estimates and willingness to pay anonymously (Experiment 3). Eco labels not only promote a willingness to pay more for the product but also lead to a more favorable perceptual experience of it.

Who needs cream and sugar when there is eco-labeling? Taste and willingness to pay for "eco-friendly" coffee.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrik Sörqvist

Full Text Available Participants tasted two cups of coffee, decided which they preferred, and then rated each coffee. They were told (in lure that one of the cups contained "eco-friendly" coffee while the other did not, although the two cups contained identical coffee. In Experiments 1 and 3, but not in Experiment 2, the participants were also told which cup contained which type of coffee before they tasted. The participants preferred the taste of, and were willing to pay more for, the "eco-friendly" coffee, at least those who scored high on a questionnaire on attitudes toward sustainable consumer behavior (Experiment 1. High sustainability consumers were also willing to pay more for "eco-friendly" coffee, even when they were told, after their decision, that they preferred the non-labeled alternative (Experiment 2. Moreover, the eco-label effect does not appear to be a consequence of social desirability, as participants were just as biased when reporting the taste estimates and willingness to pay anonymously (Experiment 3. Eco labels not only promote a willingness to pay more for the product but also lead to a more favorable perceptual experience of it.

Development of Eco-Industry Sector

OpenAIRE

Mariana Ioviţu

2012-01-01

Measures to encourage development of Eco-industries represent an important part of the programs of many countries; analyses of different international organisms reveal a series of advantages of this sector for economy. According to OCDE “The environmental goods and services industry consists of activities which produce goods and services to measure, prevent, limit, minimize or correct environmental damage to water, air and soil, as well as problems related to waste, noise and Eco-systems”. Th...

Application of eco-economy regionalization in western China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaojun; Dong, Suocheng; Weihong, Yin

2008-08-01

Ecological economics crossed extensively with some disciplines such as ecology, geography, economics, etc in China. And it is promoting the relevant disciplines to develop effectively in depth fields. The key research direction of eco-economic regionalizing is eco-economic space pattern, rule of territorial differentiation and eco-economic topological optimization. Based on GIS spatial analyze, the article elaborates the main characteristics and the problems of every eco-economic zones, districts and regions with the comprehensive geographical statistic data. The western eco-economic regionalizing was delimited by analyzing the superposition for ecological environment value and human actives value, refer to the topography and administrative boundary between provinces and the cities, the attachment of the regionalizing plans and territorial the continuity. There have several main indexes used in the regionalizing and the results to show the main character of each region, which comprise precipitation, temperature, primary production potential, while the population carrying capacity, and the index of water resources, land resources, landscape degradation, urbanization, and economic development, etc. To each type of eco-economic region, there are other analyzes respectively from the social, economic, and natural environment aspects. The result shows that there does now have serious economic development in western China, while the environmental problem still cannot be ignored.

Eco-friendly dentistry: Need of future. An overview

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Savy Arora

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In today's world, it is very necessary to understand the importance of being eco-friendly in every facet of our lives. The color “green” has healing power and denotes renewal, growth, and hope. “Eco-friendly dentistry” attempts to reduce the detrimental impact of dental practices on the environment and promote environmental awareness and sustainability to patients. This paper attempts to cover all possible aspects of making a dental practice eco-friendly, both in a dental perspective as well as a general perspective. While establishing an eco-friendly dental workplace, the dentist needs to assess his choices in planning the infrastructure and purchasing of equipment and dental materials. Eco-friendly dentistry is a newly evolving practice of dentistry, which encompasses a simultaneous devotion to sustainability, prevention, precaution, and a minimally invasive patient-centric, as well as global-centric treatment. There are two main avenues for implementing eco-friendly dentistry: (1 appropriate policy development and implementation and (2 dentists taking responsibility/ownership in the absence of policies and regulations. Although in some cases, it may take a little extra effort or money; dentists throughout the world are doing their best to reduce the environmental impact of the dental practice. Although the commitment of one small dental office cannot save the planet, certainly, the collective efforts of many small offices as well as large dental hospitals/colleges can ensure that dentists, at least, will not be responsible for destroying it. This article discusses various factors that can be incorporated into dental practice that can help make dentistry eco-friendly.

Constraints in the Adoption of Eco Friendly Conservation Practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Murali Krishnan

2016-05-01

Insect pest and diseases management, Lack of awareness of agro environmental problems and farmer’s attitude towards the Eco Friendly Conservation Practices are the major constraints in the adoption of Eco Friendly Conservation Practices.The study suggests educational, extension & training strategies for fostering the adopted of ECO friendly Conservation Practices.

Eco-Efficiency Actions and Firm Growth in European SMEs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elisenda Jové-Llopis

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the effects of eco-efficiency actions on firm performance in terms of sales growth in an extensive sample of 11,336 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs located in 28 European countries. Our empirical results suggest that not all eco-strategies are positively related to better performance, at least not in the short term. We found that European companies using renewable energies, and recycling or designing products that are easier to maintain, repair, or reuse, perform better. Those that aim to reduce water or energy pollution, however, seemed to show a negative correlation to firm growth. Our results also indicate that high investment in eco-strategies improves firm growth, particularly in new members that joined the EU from 2004 onwards. Finally, we observed a U-shaped relationship between eco-strategies and firm growth, which indicates that a greater breadth of eco-strategies is associated with better firm performance. However, few European SMEs are able to either invest heavily or undertake multiple eco-strategies, thus leaving room for policy interventions.

[Research advances in eco-toxicological diagnosis of soil pollution].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Feng; Teng, Hong-Hui; Ren, Bai-Xiang; Shi, Shu-Yun

2014-09-01

Soil eco-toxicology provides a theoretical basis for ecological risk assessment of contaminated soils and soil pollution control. Research on eco-toxicological effects and molecular mechanisms of toxic substances in soil environment is the central content of the soil eco-toxicology. Eco-toxicological diagnosis not only gathers all the information of soil pollution, but also provides the overall toxic effects of soil. Therefore, research on the eco-toxicological diagnosis of soil pollution has important theoretical and practical significance. Based on the research of eco-toxicological diagnosis of soil pollution, this paper introduced some common toxicological methods and indicators, with the advantages and disadvantages of various methods discussed. However, conventional biomarkers can only indicate the class of stress, but fail to explain the molecular mechanism of damage or response happened. Biomarkers and molecular diagnostic techniques, which are used to evaluate toxicity of contaminated soil, can explore deeply detoxification mechanisms of organisms under exogenous stress. In this paper, these biomarkers and techniques were introduced systematically, and the future research trends were prospected.

Response of Surface Soil Hydrology to the Micro-Pattern of Bio-Crust in a Dry-Land Loess Environment, China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Wei

Full Text Available The specific bio-species and their spatial patterns play crucial roles in regulating eco-hydrologic process, which is significant for large-scale habitat promotion and vegetation restoration in many dry-land ecosystems. Such effects, however, are not yet fully studied. In this study, 12 micro-plots, each with size of 0.5 m in depth and 1 m in length, were constructed on a gentle grassy hill-slope with a mean gradient of 8° in a semiarid loess hilly area of China. Two major bio-crusts, including mosses and lichens, had been cultivated for two years prior to the field simulation experiments, while physical crusts and non-crusted bare soils were used for comparison. By using rainfall simulation method, four designed micro-patterns (i.e., upper bio-crust and lower bare soil, scattered bio-crust, upper bare soil and lower bio-crust, fully-covered bio-crust to the soil hydrological response were analyzed. We found that soil surface bio-crusts were more efficient in improving soil structure, water holding capacity and runoff retention particularly at surface 10 cm layers, compared with physical soil crusts and non-crusted bare soils. We re-confirmed that mosses functioned better than lichens, partly due to their higher successional stage and deeper biomass accumulation. Physical crusts were least efficient in water conservation and erosion control, followed by non-crusted bare soils. More importantly, there were marked differences in the efficiency of the different spatial arrangements of bio-crusts in controlling runoff and sediment generation. Fully-covered bio-crust pattern provides the best option for soil loss reduction and runoff retention, while a combination of upper bio-crust and lower bare soil pattern is the least one. These findings are suggested to be significant for surface-cover protection, rainwater infiltration, runoff retention, and erosion control in water-restricted and degraded natural slopes.

Response of Surface Soil Hydrology to the Micro-Pattern of Bio-Crust in a Dry-Land Loess Environment, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Wei; Yu, Yun; Chen, Liding

2015-01-01

The specific bio-species and their spatial patterns play crucial roles in regulating eco-hydrologic process, which is significant for large-scale habitat promotion and vegetation restoration in many dry-land ecosystems. Such effects, however, are not yet fully studied. In this study, 12 micro-plots, each with size of 0.5 m in depth and 1 m in length, were constructed on a gentle grassy hill-slope with a mean gradient of 8° in a semiarid loess hilly area of China. Two major bio-crusts, including mosses and lichens, had been cultivated for two years prior to the field simulation experiments, while physical crusts and non-crusted bare soils were used for comparison. By using rainfall simulation method, four designed micro-patterns (i.e., upper bio-crust and lower bare soil, scattered bio-crust, upper bare soil and lower bio-crust, fully-covered bio-crust) to the soil hydrological response were analyzed. We found that soil surface bio-crusts were more efficient in improving soil structure, water holding capacity and runoff retention particularly at surface 10 cm layers, compared with physical soil crusts and non-crusted bare soils. We re-confirmed that mosses functioned better than lichens, partly due to their higher successional stage and deeper biomass accumulation. Physical crusts were least efficient in water conservation and erosion control, followed by non-crusted bare soils. More importantly, there were marked differences in the efficiency of the different spatial arrangements of bio-crusts in controlling runoff and sediment generation. Fully-covered bio-crust pattern provides the best option for soil loss reduction and runoff retention, while a combination of upper bio-crust and lower bare soil pattern is the least one. These findings are suggested to be significant for surface-cover protection, rainwater infiltration, runoff retention, and erosion control in water-restricted and degraded natural slopes. PMID:26207757

Response of Surface Soil Hydrology to the Micro-Pattern of Bio-Crust in a Dry-Land Loess Environment, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Wei; Yu, Yun; Chen, Liding

2015-01-01

The specific bio-species and their spatial patterns play crucial roles in regulating eco-hydrologic process, which is significant for large-scale habitat promotion and vegetation restoration in many dry-land ecosystems. Such effects, however, are not yet fully studied. In this study, 12 micro-plots, each with size of 0.5 m in depth and 1 m in length, were constructed on a gentle grassy hill-slope with a mean gradient of 8° in a semiarid loess hilly area of China. Two major bio-crusts, including mosses and lichens, had been cultivated for two years prior to the field simulation experiments, while physical crusts and non-crusted bare soils were used for comparison. By using rainfall simulation method, four designed micro-patterns (i.e., upper bio-crust and lower bare soil, scattered bio-crust, upper bare soil and lower bio-crust, fully-covered bio-crust) to the soil hydrological response were analyzed. We found that soil surface bio-crusts were more efficient in improving soil structure, water holding capacity and runoff retention particularly at surface 10 cm layers, compared with physical soil crusts and non-crusted bare soils. We re-confirmed that mosses functioned better than lichens, partly due to their higher successional stage and deeper biomass accumulation. Physical crusts were least efficient in water conservation and erosion control, followed by non-crusted bare soils. More importantly, there were marked differences in the efficiency of the different spatial arrangements of bio-crusts in controlling runoff and sediment generation. Fully-covered bio-crust pattern provides the best option for soil loss reduction and runoff retention, while a combination of upper bio-crust and lower bare soil pattern is the least one. These findings are suggested to be significant for surface-cover protection, rainwater infiltration, runoff retention, and erosion control in water-restricted and degraded natural slopes.

Eco-industrial initiatives in Asia : issues and opportunities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chiu, A.S.F. [Industrial Ecology Asia Network, (China)

2002-07-01

This Power Point presentation discusses the impact of industry urban-suburban relocation. This relocation to industrial zones is on the rise in Asia, where there are now approximately 4,000 industrial estates, resulting from export-oriented businesses, cluster-based activities and collective management systems. Eco-industrial parks are zones that promote sustainable development through the combined benefits of environmental, social and economic initiatives. Eco-industrial parks enact environmental management laws and initiate eco-industrial development projects. Asia is diverse in access to natural resources, economics, politics, and level of development and access to natural resources. The paper describes how eco-business and a recycling-oriented economic society is being adopted in countries in Asia including China, Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and India. tabs., figs.

Eco-efficient Agriculture: Concepts, Challenges, and Opportunities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keating, B.A.; Carberry, P.S.; Bindraban, P.S.; Asseng, S.; Meinke, H.B.; Dixon, J.

2010-01-01

Eco-efficiency in the simplest of terms is about achieving more with less—more agricultural outputs, in terms of quantity and quality, for less input of land, water, nutrients, energy, labor, or capital. The concept of eco-efficiency encompasses both the ecological and economic dimensions of

Course Content for Life Cycle Engineering and EcoDesign

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jerswiet, Jack; Duflou, Joost; Dewulf, Wim

2007-01-01

There is a need to create an awareness of Life Cycle Engineering and EcoDesign in Engineering students. Topics covered in an LCE/EcoDesign course will create an awareness of environmental impacts, especially in other design course projects. This paper suggests that an awareness of product impact...... upon the environment must be created at an early stage in undergraduate education. Deciding what to include in an LCE/EcoDesign Course can be difficult because there are many different views on the subject. However, there are more similarities than differences. All LCE/ EcoDesign Engineering courses...

Who Needs Cream and Sugar When There Is Eco-Labeling? Taste and Willingness to Pay for “Eco-Friendly” Coffee

Science.gov (United States)

Sörqvist, Patrik; Hedblom, Daniel; Holmgren, Mattias; Haga, Andreas; Langeborg, Linda; Nöstl, Anatole; Kågström, Jonas

2013-01-01

Participants tasted two cups of coffee, decided which they preferred, and then rated each coffee. They were told (in lure) that one of the cups contained “eco-friendly” coffee while the other did not, although the two cups contained identical coffee. In Experiments 1 and 3, but not in Experiment 2, the participants were also told which cup contained which type of coffee before they tasted. The participants preferred the taste of, and were willing to pay more for, the “eco-friendly” coffee, at least those who scored high on a questionnaire on attitudes toward sustainable consumer behavior (Experiment 1). High sustainability consumers were also willing to pay more for “eco-friendly” coffee, even when they were told, after their decision, that they preferred the non-labeled alternative (Experiment 2). Moreover, the eco-label effect does not appear to be a consequence of social desirability, as participants were just as biased when reporting the taste estimates and willingness to pay anonymously (Experiment 3). Eco labels not only promote a willingness to pay more for the product but also lead to a more favorable perceptual experience of it. PMID:24324623

Combined analyses of costs, market value and eco-costs in circular business models : eco-efficient value creation in remanufacturing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vogtländer, J.G.; Scheepens, A.E.; Bocken, N.M.P.; Peck, D.P.

2017-01-01

Eco-efficient Value Creation is a method to analyse innovative product and service design together with circular business strategies. The method is based on combined analyses of the costs, market value (perceived customer value) and eco-costs. This provides a prevention-based single indicator for

Psychological predictors of eco-driving: A longitudinal study

OpenAIRE

Lauper Elisabeth; Moser Stephanie; Fischer Maja; Matthies Ellen; Kaufmann-Hayoz Ruth

2015-01-01

Eco-driving has well-known positive effects on fuel economy and greenhouse-gas emissions. Moreover, eco-driving reduces road-traffic noise, which is a serious threat to the health and well-being of many people. We investigated the psychological predictors of the adoption of eco-driving from the perspective of road-traffic noise abatement. The data came from 890 car drivers who participated in a longitudinal survey over four months. Specifically, we tested the effects of the intention to preve...

Eco-innovation: The opportunities for engineering design research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

O'Hare, Jamie Alexander; McAloone, Tim C.

2014-01-01

Eco-innovation is an approach that has the potential to deliver step change improvements in the environmental performance of products, but the uptake by industry to date has been disappointing. The paper presents a selective review of the academic literature, choosing examples of research that gi...... a flavour of the key trends and interesting topics that are emerging from the eco-innovation body of knowledge. We conclude by suggesting 10 areas where we see potential for the engineering design research community to contribute to the advancement of eco-innovation.......Eco-innovation is an approach that has the potential to deliver step change improvements in the environmental performance of products, but the uptake by industry to date has been disappointing. The paper presents a selective review of the academic literature, choosing examples of research that give...

Environmental Impact of Ionic Liquids: Recent Advances in (Eco)toxicology and (Bio)degradability.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Susana P F; Azevedo, Ana M O; Pinto, Paula C A G; Saraiva, M Lúcia M F S

2017-06-09

This Review aims to integrate the most recent and pertinent data available on the (bio)degradability and toxicity of ionic liquids for global and critical analysis and on the conscious use of these compounds on a large scale thereafter. The integrated data will enable focus on the recognition of toxicophores and on the way the community has been dealing with them, with the aim to obtain greener and safer ionic liquids. Also, an update of the most recent biotic and abiotic methods developed to overcome some of these challenging issues will be presented. The review structure aims to present a potential sequence of events that can occur upon discharging ionic liquids into the environment and the potential long-term consequences. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Eco-efficiency of grinding processes and systems

CERN Document Server

Winter, Marius

2016-01-01

This research monograph aims at presenting an integrated assessment approach to describe, model, evaluate and improve the eco-efficiency of existing and new grinding processes and systems. Various combinations of grinding process parameters and system configurations can be evaluated based on the eco-efficiency. The book presents the novel concept of empirical and physical modeling of technological, economic and environmental impact indicators. This includes the integrated evaluation of different grinding process and system scenarios. The book is a valuable read for research experts and practitioners in the field of eco-efficiency of manufacturing processes but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students.

Roles of Eco-labeling in Fisheries Conservation and Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olaniyi Alaba Olopade

2017-06-01

Full Text Available An important goal of fisheries management is to ensure that fish stocks are harvested at sustainable levels of fishing pressure. However, the classical maximum sustainable yield theory and its derivatives have not worked for fisheries management. A number of mitigating measures have been suggested of which eco -labeling is one. An ecolabel on a fish product is a distinctive mark or statement indicating that it has been harvested in compliance with preset sustainability standards. This paper examines eco labeling in fisheries as the new strategy to achieve fisheries conservation and sustainability. It emphasizes the importance of fish as critical food resources and new approach to fisheries management through the use of certification programs. It considers the benefits and problems that may accrue from eco-certification of fish harvesting and trade practices in fisheries. This paper, attention is focused on examining the likely option for development of eco-labeling scheme in Nigeria. The paper concludes that the increase awareness amongst stakeholders of the potential role of eco-labeling in conservation and sustainability tools should be established.   Keywords: Fisheries management, fish, conservation, eco-certification

Umberto Eco og fortolkningens semiotik

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frandsen, Finn

1997-01-01

En analyse af spørgsmålet om fortolkningens muligheder og grænser, sådan som det bliver formuleret og besvaret i den italienske semiotiker Umberto Ecos teoretiske forfatterskab. Problemstillingen - og dens transformationer hvad angår såvel metasprog, omfang, niveau og fokus - følges fra begyndelsen...... af 60'erne, hvor Eco er inspireret af fænomenologi og hermeneutik (f.eks. i Opera aperta), til begyndelsen af 90'erne, hvor han arbejder med tekstpragmatik og receptionssemiotik. (f.eks. i I limiti dell'interpretazione)...

Enabling time-dependent uncertain eco-weights for road networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hu, Jilin; Yang, Bin; Jensen, Christian S.

2017-01-01

travel costs. Based on the techniques above, different histogram aggregation methods are proposed to accurately estimate time-dependent GHG emissions for routes. Based on a 200-million GPS record data set collected from 150 vehicles in Denmark over two years, a comprehensive empirical study is conducted...... transportation. The foundation of eco-routing is a weighted-graph representation of a road network in which road segments, or edges, are associated with eco-weights that capture the GHG emissions caused by traversing the edges. Due to the dynamics of traffic, the eco-weights are best modeled as being time...... dependent and uncertain. We formalize the problem of assigning a time-dependent, uncertain eco-weight to each edge in a road network based on historical GPS records. In particular, a sequence of histograms is employed to describe the uncertain eco-weight of an edge at different time intervals. Compression...

RFM-based eco-efficiency analysis using Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy and AHP approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Ruiyang

2009-01-01

Eco-design is crucial to take environmental aspects into account in the phases of design. Few literature review that green product must meet market value. The development of models to predict market value is thus very useful because it can provide early eco-efficiency to the eco-design. For the eco-design engineer, when he tries to solve a customer feedback problem, he usually faces the eco-efficiency. There are, however, often other types of fuzziness uncertainty present, which are related to the quantity of eco-design conditions. In this paper, it is derived that analysis of eco-efficiency can be identified by using the RFM value for quantifying eco-design with Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy system on customer feedback problem. It clusters eco-efficiency into segments according to green product usages value expressed in terms of weighted RFM. This experiment examined the weighted RFM effect of overall average normalized, AHP and non-weighted for F1 metric. The experimental results show that the proposed methodology indeed can yield identification of higher quality

[Applications of eco-environmental big data: Progress and prospect].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Miao Miao; Zhao, Shi Cheng; Zhang, Li Yun; Zhao, Fen; Shao, Rui; Liu, Li Xiang; Zhao, Hai Feng; Xu, Ming

2017-05-18

With the advance of internet and wireless communication technology, the fields of ecology and environment have entered a new digital era with the amount of data growing explosively and big data technologies attracting more and more attention. The eco-environmental big data is based airborne and space-/land-based observations of ecological and environmental factors and its ultimate goal is to integrate multi-source and multi-scale data for information mining by taking advantages of cloud computation, artificial intelligence, and modeling technologies. In comparison with other fields, the eco-environmental big data has its own characteristics, such as diverse data formats and sources, data collected with various protocols and standards, and serving different clients and organizations with special requirements. Big data technology has been applied worldwide in ecological and environmental fields including global climate prediction, ecological network observation and modeling, and regional air pollution control. The development of eco-environmental big data in China is facing many problems, such as data sharing issues, outdated monitoring facilities and techno-logies, and insufficient data mining capacity. Despite all this, big data technology is critical to solving eco-environmental problems, improving prediction and warning accuracy on eco-environmental catastrophes, and boosting scientific research in the field in China. We expected that the eco-environmental big data would contribute significantly to policy making and environmental services and management, and thus the sustainable development and eco-civilization construction in China in the coming decades.

ACT NOW: Kindergarten children, eco citizens at its best - Pilot project in Algeria : Green Buds (Eco Bourgeons); AGIR MAINTENANT : Les enfants de la maternelle, eco citoyens par excellence -- Projet pilote en Algerie : Eco Bourgeons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zahid, Fatima Djalila; Stambouli, Amine Boudghene; Youcef, Reda Dali

2010-09-15

Based on originality, reproducibility, impact, duration and consistence of action, the Green Buds pilot program (Eco Bourgeons) in Algeria under the wings of the 'El Baraim' association has for slogan: 'Consume adequately, live better' ('Consommons juste, vivons mieux'). The long term objective: Introduce the ED as a subject in the national education program. [French] Inculquer des eco gestes a 672 enfants de la maternelle dans le sens de la ME a travers un programme educatif riche et adequat, c'est eduquer nos futurs citoyens (industriels, dirigeants, etc.) au respect de nos ressources energetiques et de l'environnement. Se basant sur les criteres de l'originalite, la reproductibilite, l'impact, la duree et la ''consistance'' de l'action, le projet 'Eco Bourgeons' pilote en Algerie sous tutelle de l'association 'El Baraim' a pour slogan : 'Consommons juste, vivons mieux'. L'objectif a long terme: Introduire la ME comme matiere dans le Programme de l'Education Nationale.

Revisiting eco-ethics and econ-ethics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Otto Kinne

2002-11-01

Full Text Available Modern humanity can survive only if traditional ethics are extended to include eco-ethics and econ-ethics. Success or failure in developing and implementing these new ethical constructs will affect the fate of our species Homo sapiens and that of millions of other forms of life. In the long run failure to accept and apply eco-ethics and econ-ethics would reduce the capacities of Planet Earth to support life.

Organic Foods: Do Eco-Friendly Attitudes Predict Eco-Friendly Behaviors?

Science.gov (United States)

Dahm, Molly J.; Samonte, Aurelia V.; Shows, Amy R.

2009-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether student awareness and attitudes about organic foods would predict their behaviors with regard to organic food consumption and other healthy lifestyle practices. A secondary purpose was to determine whether attitudes about similar eco-friendly practices would result in socially conscious…

BioCreative V BioC track overview: collaborative biocurator assistant task for BioGRID.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sun; Islamaj Doğan, Rezarta; Chatr-Aryamontri, Andrew; Chang, Christie S; Oughtred, Rose; Rust, Jennifer; Batista-Navarro, Riza; Carter, Jacob; Ananiadou, Sophia; Matos, Sérgio; Santos, André; Campos, David; Oliveira, José Luís; Singh, Onkar; Jonnagaddala, Jitendra; Dai, Hong-Jie; Su, Emily Chia-Yu; Chang, Yung-Chun; Su, Yu-Chen; Chu, Chun-Han; Chen, Chien Chin; Hsu, Wen-Lian; Peng, Yifan; Arighi, Cecilia; Wu, Cathy H; Vijay-Shanker, K; Aydın, Ferhat; Hüsünbeyi, Zehra Melce; Özgür, Arzucan; Shin, Soo-Yong; Kwon, Dongseop; Dolinski, Kara; Tyers, Mike; Wilbur, W John; Comeau, Donald C

2016-01-01

BioC is a simple XML format for text, annotations and relations, and was developed to achieve interoperability for biomedical text processing. Following the success of BioC in BioCreative IV, the BioCreative V BioC track addressed a collaborative task to build an assistant system for BioGRID curation. In this paper, we describe the framework of the collaborative BioC task and discuss our findings based on the user survey. This track consisted of eight subtasks including gene/protein/organism named entity recognition, protein-protein/genetic interaction passage identification and annotation visualization. Using BioC as their data-sharing and communication medium, nine teams, world-wide, participated and contributed either new methods or improvements of existing tools to address different subtasks of the BioC track. Results from different teams were shared in BioC and made available to other teams as they addressed different subtasks of the track. In the end, all submitted runs were merged using a machine learning classifier to produce an optimized output. The biocurator assistant system was evaluated by four BioGRID curators in terms of practical usability. The curators' feedback was overall positive and highlighted the user-friendly design and the convenient gene/protein curation tool based on text mining.Database URL: http://www.biocreative.org/tasks/biocreative-v/track-1-bioc/. Published by Oxford University Press 2016. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

The EcoCyc database: reflecting new knowledge about Escherichia coli K-12.

Science.gov (United States)

Keseler, Ingrid M; Mackie, Amanda; Santos-Zavaleta, Alberto; Billington, Richard; Bonavides-Martínez, César; Caspi, Ron; Fulcher, Carol; Gama-Castro, Socorro; Kothari, Anamika; Krummenacker, Markus; Latendresse, Mario; Muñiz-Rascado, Luis; Ong, Quang; Paley, Suzanne; Peralta-Gil, Martin; Subhraveti, Pallavi; Velázquez-Ramírez, David A; Weaver, Daniel; Collado-Vides, Julio; Paulsen, Ian; Karp, Peter D

2017-01-04

EcoCyc (EcoCyc.org) is a freely accessible, comprehensive database that collects and summarizes experimental data for Escherichia coli K-12, the best-studied bacterial model organism. New experimental discoveries about gene products, their function and regulation, new metabolic pathways, enzymes and cofactors are regularly added to EcoCyc. New SmartTable tools allow users to browse collections of related EcoCyc content. SmartTables can also serve as repositories for user- or curator-generated lists. EcoCyc now supports running and modifying E. coli metabolic models directly on the EcoCyc website. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Vegetarian Eco-feminist Consciousness in Carol Ann Duffy’s Poetry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie Zhou

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses vegetarian eco-feminist consciousness in Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry by close analysis of two poems, namely “The Dolphins” and “A Healthy Diet” from her poem collection Standing Female Nude. The former is a dramatic monologue of a dolphin, which is exploited by people, and the latter is a dramatic monologue of an omnipotent observer in a restaurant. Both poems criticized the species-ism, and together, they showed the poet’s vegetarian eco-feminist consciousness. A close reading of the two poems from the eco-feminist perspective helps the reader understand why Carol Ann Duffy is honored as the first woman poet laureate in British history, and better understand vegetarian eco-feminism and its influence in British society. Keywords: eco-feminism; consciousness, species-ism, vegetarian, animal, diet

Bio politics - The bio-environment - bio-culture of the Danube

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vlavianos-Arvanitis, A.

1997-01-01

The bio-environment has been the single most important correlation in human history and can successfully promote international co-operational co-operation and understanding. With the construction of a network for collaboration, the 'Danube Countries' can come together in celebration of their culture and heritage. As the Danube flows from the Black Forest to the Black Sea, it carries messages of peace, hope and co-operation. Applying these messages to every endeavour can improve our quality of life and lead to a brighter future. Since its inception in 1985, the Bio politics International Organization (B.I.O.) has been labouring to raise awareness of the urgent need to instate a new system of norms and principles, compatible with sound environmental management and with the most important task of ensuring global literacy on environmental issues. Along with critically re-assessing the concept of profit, the goal is to adopt a system of bio centric values, where respect for the bio-environment will govern our every action and thought

Research on environmental bioecosensing technology using ecological information; Seitaikei joho ni yoru kankyo bio eco sensing gijutsu ni kansuru chosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-03-01

The bioecosensing technology was studied which detects and identifies feeble signals generated by biosystem communication in wide biological environment. The following were reported as current notable environmental biosensing technologies: a quick measurement method of environmental contaminants using immunological measurement method, analysis method of ecological state of microorganism using DNA probes, observation of ecosystem by bioluminescent system, measurement method of environmental changes and contaminants using higher animals and plants, and detection method of chemical contaminants using chemotaxis of microorganism. As a result, the new bioecosensing/monitoring technology in molecular level was suggested for identifying comprehensive environmental changes which could not be measured by previous physical and chemical methods, as changes in ecosystem corresponding to environmental changes. As the wide area remote sensing technology of environmental ecological information, sensing technology on the earth, aircraft and satellite was also discussed. 247 refs., 55 figs., 17 tabs.

Assessment of eco-environmental quality of Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, He; Shi, Longyu

2016-05-01

Regional eco-environmental quality is the key and foundation to the sustainable socio-economic development of a region. Eco-environmental quality assessment can reveal the capacity of sustainable socio-economic development in a region and the degree of coordination between social production and the living environment. As part of a new development strategy for Fujian Province, the Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone (hereafter referred to as the Economic Zone) provides an important guarantee for the development of China's southeastern coastal area. Based on ecological and remote sensing data on the Economic Zone obtained in 2000, 2005, and 2010, this study investigated county-level administrative regions with a comprehensive index of eco-environmental indicators. An objective weighting method was used to determine the importance of each indicator. This led to the development of an indicator system to assess the eco-environmental quality of the economic zone. ArcGIS software was used to assess the eco-environmental quality of the economic zone based on each indicator. The eco-environmental quality index (EQI) of the county-level administrative regions was calculated. The overall eco-environmental quality of the Economic Zone during the period studied is described and analyzed. The results show that the overall eco-environmental quality of the Economic Zone is satisfactory, but significant intraregional differences still exist. The key to improving the overall eco-environmental quality of this area is to restore vegetation and preserve biodiversity.

Field testing of eco-speed control using V2I communication.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-04-15

This research focused on the development of an Eco-Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (EcoCACC) : System and addressed the implementation issues associated with applying it in the field. : The Eco-CACC system computes and recommends a fuel-efficient...

Eco-Innovation Manual

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

O'Hare, Jamie Alexander; McAloone, Tim C.; Pigosso, Daniela Cristina Antelmi

This tool is designed to support you in identifying companies that are more likely to be willing and able to benefit from eco-innovation services. The tool provides questions to guide your research analysis, starting at the industry sector level, before progressing through the market level, down ...

The Eco House

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hobbett, A. (Leicester Ecology Trust (United Kingdom))

The Eco House is a former park keeper's lodge on the periphery of Leicester's largest public park. Taken over by Leicester Ecology Trust in 1990, the Eco House was a successor to the Trust's earlier low energy house. This has been a local authority decant house, retrofitted to show the potential for increased energy efficiency in older buildings. Many of the ideas from the earlier project were adopted by the new with a widening of its remit to include all matters of environmental concern connected with people's homes. So in addition to energy efficiency, other issues addressed include conservation of resources, wildlife, organic gardening, food production, water, environmental consumerism, recycling and health. Given that the use of energy is regarded by many environmentalists to be the single most important environmental issue today, and one which is easiest for households to address, it remains the project's dominant theme. (author)

Eco-Innovation for Sustainability: Evidence from 49 Countries in Asia and Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jang-Hwan Jo

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Following the trend on focusing on a nation’s economic-growth, side effects such as resource exhaustion, environmental pollution, and social injustice have begun to appear. As a solution, eco-innovation has received a great amount of attention from European countries and as a result, many efforts to analyze the development of eco-innovation quantitatively have been made. This study aims to evaluate the validity of an eco-innovation index developed to support the sustainable development goal. For this purpose, four factors of eco-innovation—capacity, supportive environment, activity, and performance—were applied to three categories of the Triple-Bottom-Line (TBL concept in sustainability to compare the eco-innovation development level of 49 Asia-Europe Meeting countries. Factors for eco-innovation and TBL at the country level were organized in quartile and compared to see strength and weaknesses for each nation. In order to test if eco-innovation factors of a nation adequately reflect its sustainability, we used various comparisons of ANOVA. The results of this study are as follows: First, the one-way ANOVA tests present the scores for capacity, supportive environment, and performance as grouped into four quartiles in the same pattern as their economic, social, and environmental scores. The three-way ANOVA tests showed significance for the economic category. Scores for capacity, supportive environment, activity and performance were significant at a nation’s economic level. Lastly, the MANOVA test revealed that TBL significantly explains four eco-innovation factors. In addition, the eco-innovation performance level of European nations and Asian nations were compared. The possibility that many nations still have room to be competitive in their eco-innovation efforts was identified. Nations with unbalanced eco-innovation growth are urged to implement new strategies to balance their growth. Therefore, this research contributes to extending

The Application Potential of Eco-Efficiency for Greening Company

Science.gov (United States)

Prasaja, Lukman Eka; Hadiyanto

2018-02-01

Eco-Efficiency emerged in the 1990s as a measure of "the efficiency that ecological sources use to meet human needs." As a tool in economic and environmental integration, Eco-efficiency needs to be promoted further so that regulation in government and industrial management can include it as an important instrument. This paper provides several approaches that can help various industries to develop effective eco-efficiency principles. The approach used is to maximize the role of the Steering Committee of the company's internal environment. Utilization of natural resources such as water, forests, mines and energy needs need to be balanced with Eco-Efficiency so that natural exploitation can be well controlled so that sustainable development aspired by the world can be realized.

Eco-labelling of shampoos, shower gels and foam baths.

Science.gov (United States)

Klaschka, Ursula; Liebig, Markus; Knacker, Thomas

2007-01-01

Environmental issues of personal care products have been met with little attention in the past. Monitoring data as well as preliminary environmental risk assessments indicate that some ingredients in personal care products might be relevant pollutants in the environment. Following the precautionary principle, eco-labelling is proposed as an effective tool for source control of one major group of personal care products, shampoos, shower gels and foam baths (SSBs). Eco-labelling is a soft, but effective market driven and product specific approach to lower discharge of environmentally detrimental substances. Products that fulfil the criteria proposed help to minimise the impact of SSBs on the environment. Available assessment tools for dangerous substances (e.g. current legislation on environmental risk assessments and classification, and labelling, eco-labelling criteria for similar products, the calculation of the critical dilution volume) were adapted and integrated into the criteria for the eco-labelling of SSBs. A short outline of the eco-labelling criteria developed for SSBs is provided. The basic criteria concern the effects of the substances discharged into the waste water during and after use. Products with an eco-label award may exclusively contain substances for which basic information about their effects on the environment is available. They may not contain persistent, bioaccumulating, toxic or ecotoxicological substances. In addition, the basic criteria include requirements for the container and consumer information. The basic criteria for eco-labelling SSBs are based on the actual state of science and are at the same time as simple and transparent as possible to ensure the best applicability. SSBs that comply with the described basic criteria can contribute to a lower chemical burden of waste water treatment plants and surface water. The proposal for basic criteria described should stimulate discussion on eco-labelling of SSBs. It should help to pass

SOFT: smooth OPC fixing technique for ECO process

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hongbo; Shi, Zheng

2007-03-01

SOFT (Smooth OPC Fixing Technique) is a new OPC flow developed from the basic OPC framework. It provides a new method to reduce the computation cost and complexities of ECO-OPC (Engineering Change Order - Optical Proximity Correction). In this paper, we introduce polygon comparison to extract the necessary but possibly lost fragmentation and offset information of previous post-OPC layout. By reusing these data, we can start the modification on each segment from a more accurate initial offset. In addition, the fragmentation method in the boundary of the patch in the previous OPC process is therefore available for engineers to stitch the regional ECO-OPC result back to the whole post-OPC layout seamlessly. For the ripple effect in the OPC, by comparing each segment's movement in each loop, we much free the fixing speed from the limitation of patch size. We handle layout remodification, especially in three basic kinds of ECO-OPC processes, while maintaining other design closure. Our experimental results show that, by utilizing the previous post-OPC layout, full-chip ECO-OPC can realize an over 5X acceleration and the regional ECO-OPC result can also be stitched back into the whole layout seamlessly with the ripple effect of the lithography interaction.

O fundamento estrutural do pensamento de Umberto Eco

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Winfried Nöth

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Uma análise detalhada apresenta o método argumentativo a contrario, característico do artigo "Existe a contracultura?", de Umberto Eco, como paradigmático do princípio estruturalista da constituição do sentido por meio de oposições semânticas. O artigo argumenta que muitos dos escritos de Eco podem ser lidos como aplicações do princípio estruturalista de que apenas diferenças ou oposições carregam significação. A evidência do modo como o pensamento de Eco está sob o encanto do princípio das oposições e da dialética da presença e da ausência é apresentada através do levantamento dos escritos gerais de Eco e também da inspeção das obras A estrutura ausente e Semiótica e filosofia da linguagem. Além disso, o artigo revela que o pensamento de Eco é igualmente atraído tanto por processos nos quais oposições anulam ou dissolvem a si próprias quanto pela crítica pós-estruturalista do pensamento estruturalista.

Green Eco-Driving Effects in Non-Congested Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Francisco Coloma

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Despite technological advances in engines and fuels, the transportation sector is still one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gas (GHG. Driving patterns, including eco-driving techniques, are a complementary measure for saving GHG emissions. Most eco-driving studies so far have been conducted in large cities suffering chronic congestion problems. The aim of this research is therefore to analyse the potential of driver behaviour for reducing emissions in a small non-congested city. Driver performance parameters such as travel speeds, number of stops, revolutions per minute, and maximum acceleration-deceleration are also studied. The methodology is designed to measure the effect of both eco-driving and eco-routing under real traffic conditions. A campaign was carried out in the city of Caceres (Spain to collect data on various types of roads under different traffic conditions. This research concludes that eco-driving leads to CO2 savings on all routes and road types of 17% in gasoline engines and 21% in diesel, although travel times are increased by 7.5% on average. The shortest route is also the most ecological, regardless of the traffic volume and characteristics, implying that consumption in non-congested cities depends mainly on distance travelled rather than driving patterns in terms of number of stops, speed and acceleration.

First Image Products from EcoSAR - Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

Science.gov (United States)

Osmanoglu, Batuhan; Lee, SeungKuk; Rincon, Rafael; Fatuyinbo, Lola; Bollian, Tobias; Ranson, Jon

2016-01-01

Designed especially for forest ecosystem studies, EcoSAR employs state-of-the-art digital beamforming technology to generate wide-swath, high-resolution imagery. EcoSARs dual antenna single-pass imaging capability eliminates temporal decorrelation from polarimetric and interferometric analysis, increasing the signal strength and simplifying models used to invert forest structure parameters. Antennae are physically separated by 25 meters providing single pass interferometry. In this mode the radar is most sensitive to topography. With 32 active transmit and receive channels, EcoSARs digital beamforming is an order of magnitude more versatile than the digital beamforming employed on the upcoming NISAR mission. EcoSARs long wavelength (P-band, 435 MHz, 69 cm) measurements can be used to simulate data products for ESAs future BIOMASS mission, allowing scientists to develop algorithms before the launch of the satellite. EcoSAR can also be deployed to collect much needed data where BIOMASS satellite wont be allowed to collect data (North America, Europe and Arctic), filling in the gaps to keep a watchful eye on the global carbon cycle. EcoSAR can play a vital role in monitoring, reporting and verification schemes of internationals programs such as UN-REDD (United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) benefiting global society. EcoSAR was developed and flown with support from NASA Earth Sciences Technology Offices Instrument Incubator Program.

Looking for a Framework for Analyzing Eco-innovation Dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Yan

2011-01-01

Looking for a Framework for Analyzing Eco-innovation Dynamics: A Triple Helix Model of Innovation Perspective.......Looking for a Framework for Analyzing Eco-innovation Dynamics: A Triple Helix Model of Innovation Perspective....

Preparation, characterization and antibacterial effects of eco-friendly ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: To synthesize and characterize eco-friendly gold nanorods (Au-NRs) and to assess their effects against two bacterial strains. Methods: Synthesis of eco-friendly gold nanorods was done from an aqueous solution of chloroauric acid and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide by mixing Olea europaea fruit and Acacia ...

Eco-Innovation in the Value Chain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McAloone, Tim C.; Mougaard, Krestine; Restrepo-Giraldo, John Dairo

2010-01-01

processes is often reactive, resulting in a retrospective and insufficient approach. This paper describes the mechanisms, opportunities and barriers for the actual realisation of value chain based eco-innovation, together with a first indication of a methodical approach to realising eco-innovation.......It is well known that companies face challenges integrating environmental considerations into their product development processes and there is an established body of research focusing on ways and means to aid this. The approach for integrating environmental considerations into product development...

Modeling the Ecosystem Services Provided by Trees in Urban Ecosystems: Using Biome-BGC to Improve i-Tree Eco

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Molly E.; McGroddy, Megan; Spence, Caitlin; Flake, Leah; Sarfraz, Amna; Nowak, David J.; Milesi, Cristina

2012-01-01

As the world becomes increasingly urban, the need to quantify the effect of trees in urban environments on energy usage, air pollution, local climate and nutrient run-off has increased. By identifying, quantifying and valuing the ecological activity that provides services in urban areas, stronger policies and improved quality of life for urban residents can be obtained. Here we focus on two radically different models that can be used to characterize urban forests. The i-Tree Eco model (formerly UFORE model) quantifies ecosystem services (e.g., air pollution removal, carbon storage) and values derived from urban trees based on field measurements of trees and local ancillary data sets. Biome-BGC (Biome BioGeoChemistry) is used to simulate the fluxes and storage of carbon, water, and nitrogen in natural environments. This paper compares i-Tree Eco's methods to those of Biome-BGC, which estimates the fluxes and storage of energy, carbon, water and nitrogen for vegetation and soil components of the ecosystem. We describe the two models and their differences in the way they calculate similar properties, with a focus on carbon and nitrogen. Finally, we discuss the implications of further integration of these two communities for land managers such as those in Maryland.

Selectively improving the bio-oil quality by catalytic fast pyrolysis of heavy-metal-polluted biomass: take copper (Cu) as an example.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wu-Jun; Tian, Ke; Jiang, Hong; Zhang, Xue-Song; Ding, Hong-Sheng; Yu, Han-Qing

2012-07-17

Heavy-metal-polluted biomass derived from phytoremediation or biosorption is widespread and difficult to be disposed of. In this work, simultaneous conversion of the waste woody biomass into bio-oil and recovery of Cu in a fast pyrolysis reactor were investigated. The results show that Cu can effectively catalyze the thermo-decomposition of biomass. Both the yield and high heating value (HHV) of the Cu-polluted fir sawdust biomass (Cu-FSD) derived bio-oil are significantly improved compared with those of the fir sawdust (FSD) derived bio-oil. The results of UV-vis and (1)H NMR spectra of bio-oil indicate pyrolytic lignin is further decomposed into small-molecular aromatic compounds by the catalysis of Cu, which is in agreement with the GC-MS results that the fractions of C7-C10 compounds in the bio-oil significantly increase. Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses of the migration and transformation of Cu in the fast pyrolysis process show that more than 91% of the total Cu in the Cu-FSD is enriched in the char in the form of zerovalent Cu with a face-centered cubic crystalline phase. This study gives insight into catalytic fast pyrolysis of heavy metals, and demonstrates the technical feasibility of an eco-friendly process for disposal of heavy-metal-polluted biomass.

Newer polyanionic bio-composite anode for sodium ion batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Karuppiah, Saravanan; Vellingiri, Suganya; Nallathamby, Kalaiselvi

2017-02-01

NASICON frame work Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP), wrapped by nitrogen and sulfur doped bio-carbon matrix derived from human hair (HHC) has been investigated for its anode behavior in SIBs. Basically, NVP is bestowed with a crystal structure of 3D open framework and a moderate theoretical capacity of 118 mAh g-1, which are the twin advantages and motivation behind the selection of this material. Prepared through a simple, scalable and facile method, the key problems associated with pristine NVP electrode material, such as inferior conductivity and severe volume change have been mitigated to a great extent through the formation of a composite containing HHC. Herein, HHC is a cheap and eco-friendly composite additive, obtained from a universal bio-waste, viz., human hair and hence NVP/HHC qualifies itself as a green composite. Interestingly, NVP/HHC-10 (in-situ) and NVP/HHC-20 (ex-situ) anodes show excellent electrochemical performance in terms of cycling stability up to 500 cycles and rate capability @ 2 A g-1, which are superior than similar category NVP anodes reported in the literature. Further, post cycling structure and morphology of NVP/HHC composite anodes evidence the appreciable stability bestowed with the select composition, which is found to get maintained upon extended cycles and even after rate capability test.

Smart and eco cities in China and India

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Höffken, J.I.; Kneitz, A.

2016-01-01

The development of smart and eco cities in both China and in India has gained high political attention and momentum on the national policy agendas. Since 2014, China is officially building an “Ecological Civilization” for which eco-cities are believed to be strong pillars. India has announced a

Adapting adaptation: the English eco-town initiative as governance process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Tomozeiu

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Climate change adaptation and mitigation have become key policy drivers in the UK under its Climate Change Act of 2008. At the same time, urbanization has been high on the agenda, given the pressing need for substantial additional housing, particularly in southeast England. These twin policy objectives were brought together in the UK government's 'eco-town' initiative for England launched in 2007, which has since resulted in four eco-town projects currently under development. We critically analyze the eco-town initiative's policy evolution and early planning phase from a multilevel governance perspective by focusing on the following two interrelated aspects: (1 the evolving governance structures and resulting dynamics arising from the development of the eco-town initiative at UK governmental level, and the subsequent partial devolution to local stakeholders, including local authorities and nongovernmental actors, under the new 'localism' agenda; and (2 the effect of these governance dynamics on the conceptual and practical approach to adaptation through the emerging eco-town projects. As such, we problematize the impact of multilevel governance relations, and competing governance strategies and leadership, on shaping eco-town and related adaptation strategies and practice.

Eco-efficiency Analysis of Furniture Product Using Life Cycle Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ika Rinawati Dyah

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Furniture is one of Indonesia’s main commodities strategically role in economic growth and employment in Indonesia. In their production process there many wastes resulted, such as such as sawdust, cuttings - pieces of wood, components that do not conform to specifications and the edges of wood from a log. Contrast with requirement of timber for furniture industries, availability of raw material sources decrease because of limited forest areas. Beside that, using electricity and chemical material in furniture production process have impact to environment. This study aim to assess the eco-cost and eco-efficiency ratio of the product so strategic recommendations to improve the eco-efficiency of products can be designed. The results of data processing showed the environmental costs of the furniture production process amount Rp 30.887.84. Eco-efficiency index of furniture products studied was 4,79 with the eco-efficiency ratio of 79,12%. This result means that the measured furniture products already profitable and sustainable, as well as its production process is already fairly efficient. However, improved performance of the production process can still be done to improve the eco-efficiency by minimizing the use of raw materials.

Eco-efficiency Analysis of Furniture Product Using Life Cycle Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Rinawati, Dyah Ika; Sriyanto; Sari, Diana Puspita; Prayodha, Andana Cantya

2018-02-01

Furniture is one of Indonesia's main commodities strategically role in economic growth and employment in Indonesia. In their production process there many wastes resulted, such as such as sawdust, cuttings - pieces of wood, components that do not conform to specifications and the edges of wood from a log. Contrast with requirement of timber for furniture industries, availability of raw material sources decrease because of limited forest areas. Beside that, using electricity and chemical material in furniture production process have impact to environment. This study aim to assess the eco-cost and eco-efficiency ratio of the product so strategic recommendations to improve the eco-efficiency of products can be designed. The results of data processing showed the environmental costs of the furniture production process amount Rp 30.887.84. Eco-efficiency index of furniture products studied was 4,79 with the eco-efficiency ratio of 79,12%. This result means that the measured furniture products already profitable and sustainable, as well as its production process is already fairly efficient. However, improved performance of the production process can still be done to improve the eco-efficiency by minimizing the use of raw materials.

From an eco-fairy tale to an environmentally friendly lifestyle. An eco-friendly reading project by Agnieszka Marzęcka

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Kapusta

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The article is concerning on the eco-critical literary phenomenon on the perspective of new species polish eco-fairy tale. The fabulous tale about ecological style of life (The metaphorical ecology of human biography was ilustrated by the Agnieszka Marzęcka's modernity tune entitled The Victory of King of Cleanness.

Influence of operating conditions on the removal of brilliant vital red dye from aqueous media by bio-sorption using rice husk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rehman, R.; Anwar, J.; Mahmud, T.; Salman, M.; Shafique, U.

2011-01-01

Bio-sorption is emerging as an economical and eco friendly methodology for the removal of hazardous and toxic chemicals from waste water. The operating conditions have a great influence on the efficiency of this process. Conventional and indigenous bio sorbents like bagasse, wheat husk and rice husk have been evaluated for their removing efficiency of Brilliant Vital Red dye from water. Rice husk is proved better among them. The effect of important operating conditions for the removal of the dye using rice husk were studied. The observed optimum values for various factors are; 0.2 g of bio sorbent, 25 ppm initial dye concentration, 30 deg. C temperature, 15 minutes contact time, 300 rpm stirring speed and 2.0 ph. Langmuir adsorption isotherm model was also applied to evaluate maximum adsorption capacity of rice husk for Brilliant Vital Red dye. Q/sub max/ value was 15.06 which indicated that rice husk can effectively be used for the removal of Brilliant Vital Red dye from wastewater using the optimized operational conditions. This study would be accommodative with regard to practical wastewater treatment. (author)

Jordanian dentists' knowledge and implementation of eco-friendly dental office strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Al Shatrat, Sabha M; Shuman, Deanne; Darby, Michele L; Jeng, Hueiwang A

2013-06-01

To investigate the implementation of eco-friendly dental office strategies by Jordanian dentists. Self-designed questionnaires were provided to 150 dentists working in private dental practices in the city of Amman, the capital of Jordan. Dentists' names and addresses were obtained from the Jordanian Dental Association. Overall, the level of knowledge about eco-friendly dental offices strategies was high for amalgam, radiology, paper waste, infection control and energy and water conservation. In terms of implementation, the majority of Jordanian dentists apply few eco-friendly dental offices strategies. The most frequently identified barriers to implementation of eco-friendly dental offices strategies were cost and lack of incentives from the government. Most Jordanian dental practices are not eco-friendly. A continued focus on the impact of dental practices on the environment is needed through formal and continuing dental education. Results of this study can guide policy development to encourage implementation of eco-friendly strategies. © 2013 FDI World Dental Federation.

Theoretical Study of Watershed Eco-Compensation Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Dandan; Fu, Yicheng; Liu, Biu; Sha, Jinxia

2018-01-01

Watershed eco-compensation is an effective way to solve conflicts over water allocation and ecological destruction problems in the exploitation of water resources. Despite an increasing interest in the topic, the researches has neglected the effect of water quality and lacked systematic calculation method. In this study we reviewed and analyzed the current literature and proposedatheoretical framework to improve the calculation of co-compensation standard.Considering the perspectives of the river ecosystems, forest ecosystems and wetland ecosystems, the benefit compensation standard was determined by the input-output corresponding relationship. Based on the opportunity costs related to limiting development and water conservation loss, the eco-compensation standard was calculated.In order to eliminate the defects of eco-compensation implementation, the improvement suggestions were proposed for the compensation standard calculation and implementation.

Eco-Visualization: Promoting Environmental Stewardship in the Museum

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Tiffany

2007-01-01

Eco-visualizations are artworks that reinterpret environmental data with custom software to promote stewardship. Eco-visualization technology offers a new way to dynamically picture environmental data and make it meaningful to a museum population. The questions are: How might museums create new projects and programs around place-based information?…

Bio-films and processes of bio-corrosion and bio-deterioration in oil-and gas-processing industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kholodenko, V.P.; Irkhina, I.A.; Chugunov, V.A.; Rodin, V.B.; Zhigletsova, S.K.; Yermolenko, Z.M.; Rudavin, V.V. [State Research Center for Applied Microbiology, Obolensk, Moscow region (Russian Federation)

2004-07-01

As a rule, oil- and gas-processing equipment and pipelines are attacked by different microorganisms. Their vital ability determines processes of bio-deterioration and bio-corrosion that lead often to technological accidents and severe environmental contamination. Bio-films presenting a complex association of different microorganisms and their metabolites are responsible for most of damages. In this context, to study the role bio-films may play in processes of bio-damages and in efficacy of protective measures is important. We have developed method of culturing bio-films on the surface of metal coupons by using a natural microbial association isolated from oil-processing sites. Simple and informative methods of determining microbiological parameters of bio-films required to study bio-corrosion processes are also developed. In addition, a method of electron microscopic analysis of bio-films and pitting corrosion is offered. Using these methods, we conducted model experiments to determine the dynamics of corrosion processes depending on qualitative and quantitative composition of bio-films, aeration conditions and duration of the experiment. A harmful effect of soil bacteria and micro-mycetes on different pipeline coatings was also investigated. Experiments were conducted within 3-6 months and revealed degrading action of microorganisms. This was confirmed by axial tension testing of coatings. All these approaches will be used for further development of measures to protect gas- and oil-processing equipment and pipelines against bio-corrosion and bio-damages (first of all biocides). (authors)

The Effect of Eco-Schools on Children's Environmental Values and Behaviour

Science.gov (United States)

Boeve-de Pauw, Jelle; Van Petegem, Peter

2013-01-01

The study examines the effectiveness of eco-schools concerning their students' environmental values and environmental behaviour, and includes 1287 children from fifty-nine schools (thirty-eight eco-schools and twenty-one control schools) in Flanders. Controlling for effects of gender and socio-economic status, analyses show that eco-schools have…

Eco-design of power transmissions systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, W.

2011-01-01

The demand to preserve the environment and form a sustainable development is greatly increasing in the recent decades all over the world, and this environmental concern is also merged in electrical power industry, resulting in many eco-design approaches in Transmission and Distribution (T and D) industries. As a method of eco-design, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a systematic tool that enables the assessment of the environmental impacts of a product or service throughout its entire life cycle, i.e. raw material production, manufacture, distribution, use and disposal including all intervening transportation steps necessary or caused by the product's existence. In T and D industries, LCA has been done for a lot of products individually, in order to see one product's environmental impacts and to seek for ways of improving its environmental performance. This eco-design for product approach is a rather well-developed trend, however, as only a single electrical product cannot provide the electrical power to users, electrical system consists of a huge number of components, in order to investigate system's environmental profile, the entire environmental profiles of different composing products has to be integrated systematically, that is to say, a system approach is needed. Under this philosophy, the study 'Eco-design of Power Transmission Systems' is conducted in this thesis, with the purpose of analysing the transmission systems' environmental impacts, locating the major environmental burden sources of transmission systems, selecting and/or developing methodologies of reducing its environmental impacts. (author)

FoldEco: A Model for Proteostasis in E. coli

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evan T. Powers

2012-03-01

Full Text Available To gain insight into the interplay of processes and species that maintain a correctly folded, functional proteome, we have developed a computational model called FoldEco. FoldEco models the cellular proteostasis network of the E. coli cytoplasm, including protein synthesis, degradation, aggregation, chaperone systems, and the folding characteristics of protein clients. We focused on E. coli because much of the needed input information—including mechanisms, rate parameters, and equilibrium coefficients—is available, largely from in vitro experiments; however, FoldEco will shed light on proteostasis in other organisms. FoldEco can generate hypotheses to guide the design of new experiments. Hypothesis generation leads to system-wide questions and shows how to convert these questions to experimentally measurable quantities, such as changes in protein concentrations with chaperone or protease levels, which can then be used to improve our current understanding of proteostasis and refine the model. A web version of FoldEco is available at http://foldeco.scripps.edu.

Consumer Acceptance of Eco-Labeled Fish: A Mexican Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mónica Pérez-Ramírez

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Fish eco-labeling is a market-based incentive program for sustainable fisheries. This paper examines consumers’ acceptance of eco-labeled fish by using data from a pilot study conducted in a coastal area of northwestern Mexico. An ordered probit model was applied, using 364 observations. The results show that most respondents favor the idea of eco-labeled fish as a sustainable option and know that this is a costlier option. Income level, consumers’ occupation and frequency of fish consumption are factors taken into account in the buying decision. Price was not a statistically significant factor affecting purchase decision. The study suggests that employed consumers with knowledge of labels may prioritize their demand for eco-labeled fish. Thus, providing a clear definition of sustainability that increases consumer awareness might be a promising strategy in developing the market for eco-labeled fish. The results and their implications could be employed as an element for future development of consumer policies related to fish sustainability.

The innovative application studty on eco-packaging design and materials

OpenAIRE

Cui Yong Min; Ren Xin Guang

2016-01-01

The paper solves the increasingly deteriorate environmental problems by positively exploring how to utilize and develop eco-packaging design reasonably. The paper explores an effective method that combines eco-packaging and environmental protection materials, hoping to define the sustainable development road of packaging design. The paper is centered on the design application of eco-packaging and environmental protection materials, applies and analyzes the method to obtain innovative design r...

Bio-prospecting of distillery yeasts as bio-control and bio-remediation agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Ubeda, Juan F; Maldonado, María; Briones, Ana I; Francisco, J Fernández; González, Francisco J

2014-05-01

This work constitutes a preliminary study in which the capacity of non-Saccharomyces yeasts isolated from ancient distilleries as bio-control agents against moulds and in the treatment of waste waters contaminated by heavy metals-i.e. bio-remediation-is shown. In the first control assays, antagonist effect between non-Saccharomyces yeasts, their extracts and supernatants against some moulds, analysing the plausible (not exhaustive) involved factors were qualitatively verified. In addition, two enzymatic degrading properties of cell wall plant polymers, quitinolitic and pectinolitic, were screened. Finally, their use as agents of bio-remediation of three heavy metals (cadmium, chromium and lead) was analysed semi-quantitatively. The results showed that all isolates belonging to Pichia species effectively inhibited all moulds assayed. Moreover, P. kudriavzevii is a good candidate for both bio-control and bio-remediation because it inhibited moulds and accumulated the major proportion of the three tested metals.

Effect of natural fibers and bio-resins on mechanical properties in hybrid and non-hybrid composites

Science.gov (United States)

Fragassa, Cristiano

2016-05-01

The aim of the present experimental investigation was to perform a comparative analysis concerning the influence on mechanical properties of natural fibers and/or bio-resins in reinforced thermoset composites. Flax and basalt fibers were selected as natural reinforcements, as single constituents or in hybrid combination. Glass synthetic fibers were used for comparison. Eco-friendly matrixes, both epoxy or vinylester, were considered and compared with composites based on traditional resins. Samples were fabricated by hand lay-up and resin infusion techniques. Cures were accelerated and controlled by applying heat and pressure in autoclave. Tensile, flexural and impact tests were carried out according to ASTM standards.

Ballast water management that adapts to climate changes and reduces harmful bio-invasions in marine eco-systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Lauge Baungaard; Hansen, Mette Sanne

2015-01-01

food-webs and eco-systems. Economic impacts include reductions in fisheries production and algae blooms harmful for fish farms, tourism and human health. Due to the rising temperatures of the Oceans, organisms that prefer a warm climate may take roots in marine ecosystems that were previously too cold...... in marine ecosystem of changed factors in the shipping sector, for instance change of number, size, and design of vessels as well as treatment technologies of ballast water. New areas for shipping due to climate changes are also included. Our study would contribute to improve decision support tools, usable...... for them. In addition, future changes of temperature, storm patterns and sea-currents may also change shipping routes and ballast water management practices. Based on methods like stock taking, trend tracking and scenario modeling the paper aims to evaluate possible ecological and economic impacts...

Eco-innovation Dynamics at a Large State-Owned Wind Turbine Manufacture in China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Yan; YIN, Shoujun

This paper discloses the learning process and stakeholder relations in eco-innovation dynamics at a large state-owned wind turbine manufacture in China in the past 7 years. Based on an understanding of eco-innovation and eco-innovation dynamics, we propose an analytical framework of eco-innovatio......This paper discloses the learning process and stakeholder relations in eco-innovation dynamics at a large state-owned wind turbine manufacture in China in the past 7 years. Based on an understanding of eco-innovation and eco-innovation dynamics, we propose an analytical framework of eco......-innovation dynamics from a multi-perspective of learning, triple helix and path dependence. We find that, in case company’s developing wind turbine business: (1) individual and collective learning were characterized by a Do-Use-Interact mode in product innovation and assembly procedure innovation and diverse learning...... approaches were employed; (2)its product development, marketing strategy and stakeholder relations were considerably affected by central government and local government on policies, directives, regulations; (3) co-R&D with foreign companies provided it an important learning platform on product development...

Self-sustained photocatalytic power generation using eco-electrogenic engineered systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeruva, Dileep Kumar; Chiranjeevi, P; Butti, Sai Kishore; Mohan, S Venkata

2018-07-01

An eco-electrogenic engineered system (EES) was designed to mimic the functional role of natural aquatic ecosystems and evaluated their response to bio-electrogenic activity by cascadically interlinking three tanks with functionally diverse biota viz., floating macrophytes (Tank 1), submerged plants (Tank 2) and filter feeders (fish and snails) (Tank 3). Tank 1 showed efficient power generation (voltage (series): 0.86 V; current density (parallel): 37 mA/m 2 ) than Tank 2 (voltage (series): 0.76 V; current density (parallel): 34 mA/m 2 ) and Tank 3 (voltage (series): 0.65 V; current density (parallel): 22 mA/m 2 ). Integrating all three tanks enabled maximum power generation in parallel-series (P-S) connection (9.5 mW/m 2 ) than individual series and parallel connections (6.5/5 mW/m 2 ). Interaction of microbes and plants studied at the interface of electrochemical and engineering aspects illustrated the feasibility of EES as a self-sustainable system with innate diverse functional aquatic biota and rhizo-microbiome to produce bioelectricity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bio-optical properties of Porsnagerfjorden (Norway) waters based on data collected in 2014 and 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Białogrodzka, Jagoda; Stramska, Małgorzata; Burska, Dorota; Ficek, Dariusz; Stoń-Egiert, Joanna; Winogradow, Aleksandra

2016-04-01

Oceanographic data collected in the Arctic are valuable in view of the role of this region in the studies on global climate change and the fact that historically the number of in situ measurements is relatively low. Porsangerfjorden, Norway, is an example of oceanic basin with case 2 water according to the optical classification. Optical data from coastal seas are difficult in interpretation because the concentrations of optically important components can be high, variable, and not covarying with each other. Porsanger Fjord can be divided into three basins: inner, middle and outer, where physical and bio-optical properties of water masses differ. We collected optical data and water samples for phytoplankton pigments, dissolved organic matter, particulate (POC) and dissolved (DOC) organic carbon, and particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) during our two summer expeditions in 2014 and 2015. In this presentation we focus on data collected with WETLabs' ac-9 and ac-s spectrophotometers and ECO-Triplet and ECO-Triplet-w fluorometers. Concurrently with in situ optical measurements water samples were collected in situ and soon afterwards they were filtered in the laboratory at the station, stored and transported for further processing in Poland. Our analysis includes 146 of in situ measurements and discrete water samples: 62 of POC, 52 of PIC, 33 of DOC, 68 of dissolved organic matter and 89 of phytoplankton pigments. During our analysis we compare chlorophyll (Chl_a), dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and carbon concentrations with in situ collected inherent optical properties of sea water to find empirical proxies allowing to estimate various water component concentrations from optical data. Application of these proxies to available bio-optical data allowed us to derive spatial distribution of these water constituents and their variability. This work was funded by the Norway Grants (NCBR contract No. 201985, project NORDFLUX).

Consumer Acceptance of Eco-Labeled Fish: A Mexican Case Study

OpenAIRE

Pérez-Ramírez, Mónica; Almendarez-Hernández, Marco; Avilés-Polanco, Gerzaín; Beltrán-Morales, Luis

2015-01-01

Fish eco-labeling is a market-based incentive program for sustainable fisheries. This paper examines consumers’ acceptance of eco-labeled fish by using data from a pilot study conducted in a coastal area of northwestern Mexico. An ordered probit model was applied, using 364 observations. The results show that most respondents favor the idea of eco-labeled fish as a sustainable option and know that this is a costlier option. Income level, consumers’ occupation and frequency of fish consumption...

Constructing Ideologies and Valuing Nature in Two Eco-Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Eco-city development is flourishing as the scale and scope of environmental damage becomes increasingly clear. While there are no standard criteria of what constitutes an eco-city, the term has been increasingly applied to a number of different projects that straddle a broad arra...

Bio-fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

This report presents an overview of the technologies which are currently used or presently developed for the production of bio-fuels in Europe and more particularly in France. After a brief history of this production since the beginning of the 20. century, the authors describe the support to agriculture and the influence of the Common Agricultural Policy, outline the influence of the present context of struggle against the greenhouse effect, and present the European legislative context. Data on the bio-fuels consumption in the European Union in 2006 are discussed. An overview of the evolution of the activity related to bio-fuels in France, indicating the locations of ethanol and bio-diesel production facilities, and the evolution of bio-fuel consumption, is given. The German situation is briefly presented. Production of ethanol by fermentation, the manufacturing of ETBE, the bio-diesel production from vegetable oils are discussed. Second generation bio-fuels are then presented (cellulose enzymatic processing), together with studies on thermochemical processes and available biomass resources

PREFACE: International Symposium on Materials Science and Innovation for Sustainable Society - Eco-Materials and Eco-Innovation for Global Sustainability - The 21st Iketani Conference 2011

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Yasuo

2012-08-01

Conference logo The 21st century has been called the century of environmental revolution. Green innovations and environmentally friendly production systems based on physics, chemistry, materials science, and electronic engineering will be indispensable for ensuring renewable energy and establishing a sustainable society. In particular, production design, materials processing, and fabrication technologies such as welding and joining will be very important components of such green innovations. For these reasons, the International Symposium on Materials Science and Innovation for Sustainable Society - eco-materials and eco-innovation for global sustainability - (ECO-MATES 2011) was organized by the Joining and Welding Research Institute (JWRI) and the Center of Environmental Innovation Design for Sustainability (CEIDS), Osaka University. ECO-MATES 2011 was held at Hotel Hankyu Expo Park, Osaka, Japan from 28-30 November 2011. 435 participants from 20 countries around the world attended the symposium. 149 oral presentations including 60 invited talks and 160 posters were presented at the symposium to discuss the latest research and developments in green innovations in relation to environmental issues. The topics of the symposium covered all environmentally related fields including renewable energy, energy-materials, environment and resources, waste and biomass, power electronics, semiconductor, rare-earth metals, functional materials, organic electronics materials, electronics packaging, smart processing, joining and welding, eco-efficient processes, and green applied physics and chemistry. Therefore, 55 full papers concerning green innovations and environmentally benign production were selected and approved by the editorial board and the program committee of ECO-MATES 2011. All papers were accepted through peer review processes. I believe that all the papers have many informative contents. On behalf of the steering committee of the symposium, I would like to express

Chinese eco-cities, an integrated sectoral approach or an eco-cities approach?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.P. van Dijk (Meine Pieter)

2012-01-01

textabstractCities, aware of their environmental challenges, have introduced policies and programs to deal with issues like climate change and pollution. They want to become more ecological which would secure them the label of ‘eco-city’. Policies found in such cases are: closing the water cycle to

[Ecosystem service value and its aplication in evaluation of eco-economic harmonious development].

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jian-zhai; Li, Bo; Zhang, Xin-shi

2007-11-01

Based on the data of land use/cover and by using eco-economic harmony index (EEH) this paper studied the spatiotemporal characteristics of ecosystem service value on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains, and evaluated the harmony degree of eco-economic development in the region. The results showed that the total ecosystem service value on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains was increased from 319.93 x 10(8) yuan in 1989 to 321.26 x 10(8) yuan in 2000, with a net increment of 0.42%. The regional eco-economic development was overall at a low harmony level, being higher in eastern part than in middle and western parts, among which, eight counties had a positive value of EEH and their eco-economic development was harmonious, while seven counties had a negative value of EEH and their eco-economic development was inharmonic. The eco-economic development in the region was at the margin of harmony, and thus, more attention should be paid to strengthen the protection of eco-environment and promote the harmonious development of eco-economy to have a sustainable development.

[Eco-efficiency change and its driving factors in Tongling City of Anhui Province].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yi-Chen; Wang, Yuan; Zhu, Xiao-Dong; Wu, Xiao-Qing; Wang, Ke; Ren, Ke-Xiu; Lu, Gen-Fa

2011-02-01

This paper first applied material flow analysis (MFA) to construct three levels of regional eco-efficiency indicators, i.e., regional direct eco-efficiency (RDE), regional total eco-efficiency (RTE), and holistic eco-efficiency (HE), and adopted the newly developed data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the eco-efficiency of Tongling City during the period of 1990-2008. We also applied Malmquist productivity index (MPI) to explore the eco-efficiency change between two following years and its driving factors. The main results were summarized as 1) though the RDE of Tongling City in 1990-2008 kept an increasing trend, its mean eco-efficiency was not high (close to 0.8 in 80% of the years), being lower than that of the RTE and HE, and 2) the RDE change was closely relevant to the improvement in resource management and the technical input in environmental protection in recent years. In order to further improve the RDE of the City, it would be necessary to raise its eco-efficiency via expanding raw material input, reducing domestic extraction, promoting resources productivity, and taking more measures on environmental protection facilities construction.

Should spikes on post-resection ECoG guide pediatric epilepsy surgery?

Science.gov (United States)

Greiner, Hansel M; Horn, Paul S; Tenney, Jeffrey R; Arya, Ravindra; Jain, Sejal V; Holland, Katherine D; Leach, James L; Miles, Lili; Rose, Douglas F; Fujiwara, Hisako; Mangano, Francesco T

2016-05-01

There is wide variation in clinical practice regarding the role of electrocorticography immediately after resection (post-resection ECoG) for pediatric epilepsy surgery. Results can guide further resection of potentially epileptogenic tissue. We hypothesized that post-resection ECoG spiking represents a biomarker of the epileptogenic zone and predicts seizure outcome in children undergoing epilepsy surgery. We retrospectively identified 124 children with post-resection ECoG performed on the margins of resection. ECoG records were scored in a blinded fashion based on presence of frequent spiking. For patients identified as having additional resection based on clinical post-resection ECoG interpretation, these "second-look" ECoG results were re-reviewed for ongoing discharges or completeness of resection. Frequent spike populations were grouped using a standard scoring system into three ranges: 0.1-0.5Hz, 0.5-1Hz, >1Hz. Seizure outcomes were determined at minimum 12-month followup. Of 124 patients who met inclusion criteria, 60 (48%) had an identified spike population on post-resection ECoG. Thirty (50%) of these had further resection based on clinical interpretation. Overall, good outcome (ILAE 1) was seen in 56/124 (45%). Completeness of resection of spiking (absence of spiking on initial post-resection ECoG or resolution of spiking after further resection) showed a trend toward good outcome (OR 2.03, p=0.099). Patients with completeness of resection had good outcome in 41/80 (51%) of cases; patients with continued spikes had good outcome in 15/44 (35%) of cases. Post-resection ECoG identifies residual epileptogenic tissue in a significant number of children. Lower frequency or absence of discharges on initial recording showed a trend toward good outcome. Completeness of resection demonstrated on final ECoG recording did not show a significant difference in outcome. This suggests that post-resection discharges represent a prognostic marker rather than a remediable

The eco-efficiency of tourism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goessling, Stefan [Department of Service Management, Lund University, Box 882, 251 08 Helsingborg (Sweden); Peeters, Paul [NHTV Breda University, Centre for Sustainable Tourism and Transport, P.O. Box 3917, 4800 DX Breda (Netherlands); Ceron, Jean-Paul [Centre de Recherche en Droit de l' Environnement, de l' Amenagement et de l' Urbanisme (CRIDEAU), Universite de Limoges, 34 Rue Dupleix, 87000 Limoges (France); Dubois, Ghislain [Tourisme Environnement Consultants (TEC), 89 Rue de la Republique, 13002 Marseille (France); Patterson, Trista [University of Siena, Department of Science and Technology for Physical Chemistry in Biosystems, Via Della Diana 2A, 53100 Siena (Italy); Richardson, Robert B. [1024 Philip Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 (United States)

2005-09-15

The use of fossil energy is one of the major environmental problems associated with tourism and travel. Consequently, the need to limit fossil energy use has been highlighted as a precondition for achieving sustainable tourism development. However, tourism is also one of the most important sectors of the world economy, and fears have thus been expressed by the tourist industry and its organisations that increasing energy prices (for example, as a result of eco-taxes) could substantially decrease the economic welfare of countries and destinations. In this article, the interplay of environmental damage and economic gains is thus analysed within the context of tourism. Carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions are assessed in relation to the revenues generated, allowing for conclusions about the eco-efficiency of tourism.

The eco-efficiency of tourism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goessling, Stefan; Peeters, Paul; Ceron, Jean-Paul; Dubois, Ghislain; Patterson, Trista; Richardson, Robert B.

2005-01-01

The use of fossil energy is one of the major environmental problems associated with tourism and travel. Consequently, the need to limit fossil energy use has been highlighted as a precondition for achieving sustainable tourism development. However, tourism is also one of the most important sectors of the world economy, and fears have thus been expressed by the tourist industry and its organisations that increasing energy prices (for example, as a result of eco-taxes) could substantially decrease the economic welfare of countries and destinations. In this article, the interplay of environmental damage and economic gains is thus analysed within the context of tourism. Carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions are assessed in relation to the revenues generated, allowing for conclusions about the eco-efficiency of tourism

Estimation methods of eco-environmental water requirements: Case study

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

YANG Zhifeng; CUI Baoshan; LIU Jingling

2005-01-01

Supplying water to the ecological environment with certain quantity and quality is significant for the protection of diversity and the realization of sustainable development. The conception and connotation of eco-environmental water requirements, including the definition of the conception, the composition and characteristics of eco-environmental water requirements, are evaluated in this paper. The classification and estimation methods of eco-environmental water requirements are then proposed. On the basis of the study on the Huang-Huai-Hai Area, the present water use, the minimum and suitable water requirement are estimated and the corresponding water shortage is also calculated. According to the interrelated programs, the eco-environmental water requirements in the coming years (2010, 2030, 2050) are estimated. The result indicates that the minimum and suitable eco-environmental water requirements fluctuate with the differences of function setting and the referential standard of water resources, and so as the water shortage. Moreover, the study indicates that the minimum eco-environmental water requirement of the study area ranges from 2.84×1010m3 to 1.02×1011m3, the suitable water requirement ranges from 6.45×1010m3 to 1.78×1011m3, the water shortage ranges from 9.1×109m3 to 2.16×1010m3 under the minimum water requirement, and it is from 3.07×1010m3 to 7.53×1010m3 under the suitable water requirement. According to the different values of the water shortage, the water priority can be allocated. The ranges of the eco-environmental water requirements in the three coming years (2010, 2030, 2050) are 4.49×1010m3-1.73×1011m3, 5.99×10m3?2.09×1011m3, and 7.44×1010m3-2.52×1011m3, respectively.

Eco-Dimensionality as a Religious Foundation for Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan Power Bratton

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Academics have critiqued the Abrahamic faiths, particularly Christianity, as inadequate to respond to today’s environmental dilemmas due to abstract theological qualities like the concept of a unified or transcendent God. Christianity and Islam are the earth’s most populous religions, however, and they are growing in the global south. A literature review finds that both indigenous and world religions develop strategies for environmental sustainability. Examples include: Amazonian fisheries, Islamic gardens, monastic forest management, Baptist LEED certified buildings, and Christian agrarian stewardship. These cases share a characteristic termed eco-dimensionality, defined as the integrative expression of environmental values, caretaking norms and sustainable practices in all aspects of religion, that recognizes and specifically adapts to keystone environmental processes and ecosystemic or geo-physical diversity. Religious eco-dimensionality incorporates: inventorying biota and ecosystems, recognizing environmental spatial and temporal dynamics at multiple scales, understanding communitarian and anti-communitarian human behaviors, structuring social networks, adopting sustainable technologies, and developing an integrative repertoire of religious symbols, aesthetic endeavors and ceremonies. Eco-dimensionality can evolve to address new issues. Negatively stereotyping faith traditions can inhibit constructive conversations concerning environmental issues and development of religious symbols and practices enhancing eco-dimensionality.

The eco-driving effect of electric vehicles compared to conventional gasoline vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hideki Kato

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Eco-driving is attractive to the public, not only users of internal-combustion-engine vehicles (ICEVs including hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs but also users of electric vehicles (EVs have interest in eco-driving. In this context, a quantitative evaluation of eco-driving effect of EVs was conducted using a chassis dynamometer (C/D with an “eco-driving test mode.” This mode comprised four speed patterns selected from fifty-two real-world driving datasets collected during an eco-driving test-ride event. The four patterns had the same travel distance (5.2 km, but showed varying eco-driving achievement levels. Three ICEVs, one HEV and two EVs were tested using a C/D. Good linear relationships were found between the eco-driving achievement level and electric or fuel consumption rate of all vehicles. The reduction of CO2 emissions was also estimated. The CO2-reduction rates of the four conventional (including hybrid vehicles were 10.9%–12.6%, while those of two types of EVs were 11.7%–18.4%. These results indicate that the eco-driving tips for conventional vehicles are effective to not only ICEVs and HEVs but also EVs. Furthermore, EVs have a higher potential of eco-driving effect than ICEVs and HEVs if EVs could maintain high energy conversion efficiency at low load range. This study is intended to support the importance of the dissemination of tools like the intelligent speed adaptation (ISA to obey the regulation speed in real time. In the future, also in the development and dissemination of automated driving systems, the viewpoint of achieving the traveling purpose with less kinetic energy would be important.

Combining Bio-inspired Sensing with Bio-inspired Locomotion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shaikh, Danish; Hallam, John; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jakob

In this paper we present a preliminary Braitenberg vehicle–like approach to combine bio-inspired audition with bio-inspired quadruped locomotion in simulation. Locomotion gaits of the salamander–like robot Salamandra robotica are modified by a lizard’s peripheral auditory system model that modula......In this paper we present a preliminary Braitenberg vehicle–like approach to combine bio-inspired audition with bio-inspired quadruped locomotion in simulation. Locomotion gaits of the salamander–like robot Salamandra robotica are modified by a lizard’s peripheral auditory system model...

A case against bio markers as they are currently used in radioecological risk analyses: a problem of linkage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hinton, T.G.; Brechignac, F.

2005-01-01

Bio-markers are successfully used in human risk analyses as early indicators of contaminant exposure and predictors of deleterious effects. This has boosted the search for bio-markers in determining ecological risks to non-human biota, and particularly for assessments related to radioactive contaminants. There are difficulties, however, that prevent an easy transfer of the bio-marker concept from humans to non-human biota, as there are significant differences in endpoints of concern, units of observation and dose response relationships between human and ecological risk analyses. The use of bio-markers in ecological risk analyses currently lacks a linkage between molecular-level effects and quantifiable impacts observed in individuals and populations. This is important because ecological risk analyses generally target the population level of biological organisation. We highlight various examples that demonstrate the difficulties of linking individual responses to population-level impacts, such as indirect effects and compensatory interactions. Eco-toxicologists cope with such difficulties through the use of uncertainty or extrapolation factors. Extrapolation factors (EF) typically range from 1 to 1000 when linking effects observed in individuals to those predicted to occur in populations. We question what magnitude of EF will be required when going from a molecular level effect, measured by a bio-marker, all the way up to the population level of biological organisation. Particularly, we stress that a successful application of bio-markers to radioecological risk assessment can only be achieved once the connection has been made between changes in individual resource allocation-based life histories and population dynamics. This clearly emphasises the need to quantify the propagation of molecular and cellular level effects to higher levels of biological organisation, especially in the long-term via several generations of exposure. Finally, we identify pertinent research

Forest Ecosystem Services and Eco-Compensation Mechanisms in China

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Hongbing; Zheng, Peng; Liu, Tianxing; Liu, Xin

2011-12-01

Forests are a major terrestrial ecosystem providing multiple ecosystem services. However, the importance of forests is frequently underestimated from an economic perspective because of the externalities and public good properties of these services. Forest eco-compensation is a transfer mechanism that serves to internalize the externalities of forest ecosystem services by compensating individuals or companies for the losses or costs resulting from the provision of these services. China's current forest eco-compensation system is centered mainly on noncommercial forest. The primary measures associated with ecosystem services are (1) a charge on destructive activities, such as indiscriminate logging, and (2) compensation for individual or local activities and investments in forest conservation. The Compensation Fund System for Forest Ecological Benefits was first listed in the Forest Law of the People's Republic of China in 1998. In 2004, the Central Government Financial Compensation Fund, an important source for the Compensation Fund for Forest Ecological Benefits, was formally established. To improve the forest eco-compensation system, it is crucial to design and establish compensation criteria for noncommercial forests. These criteria should take both theoretical and practical concerns into account, and they should be based on the quantitative valuation of ecosystem services. Although some initial headway has been made on this task, the implementation of an effective forest eco-compensation system in China still has deficiencies and still faces problems. Implementing classification-based and dynamic management for key noncommercial forests and establishing an eco-compensation mechanism with multiple funding sources in the market economy are the key measures needed to conquer these problems and improve the forest eco-compensation system and China's forestry development in sequence.

Forest ecosystem services and eco-compensation mechanisms in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Hongbing; Zheng, Peng; Liu, Tianxing; Liu, Xin

2011-12-01

Forests are a major terrestrial ecosystem providing multiple ecosystem services. However, the importance of forests is frequently underestimated from an economic perspective because of the externalities and public good properties of these services. Forest eco-compensation is a transfer mechanism that serves to internalize the externalities of forest ecosystem services by compensating individuals or companies for the losses or costs resulting from the provision of these services. China's current forest eco-compensation system is centered mainly on noncommercial forest. The primary measures associated with ecosystem services are (1) a charge on destructive activities, such as indiscriminate logging, and (2) compensation for individual or local activities and investments in forest conservation. The Compensation Fund System for Forest Ecological Benefits was first listed in the Forest Law of the People's Republic of China in 1998. In 2004, the Central Government Financial Compensation Fund, an important source for the Compensation Fund for Forest Ecological Benefits, was formally established. To improve the forest eco-compensation system, it is crucial to design and establish compensation criteria for noncommercial forests. These criteria should take both theoretical and practical concerns into account, and they should be based on the quantitative valuation of ecosystem services. Although some initial headway has been made on this task, the implementation of an effective forest eco-compensation system in China still has deficiencies and still faces problems. Implementing classification-based and dynamic management for key noncommercial forests and establishing an eco-compensation mechanism with multiple funding sources in the market economy are the key measures needed to conquer these problems and improve the forest eco-compensation system and China's forestry development in sequence.

A distributed eco-hydrological model and its application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zong-xue Xu

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Eco-hydrological processes in arid areas are the focus of many hydrological and water resources studies. However, the hydrological cycle and the ecological system have usually been considered separately in most previous studies, and the correlation between the two has not been fully understood. Interdisciplinary research on eco-hydrological processes using multidisciplinary knowledge has been insufficient. In order to quantitatively analyze and evaluate the interaction between the ecosystem and the hydrological cycle, a new kind of eco-hydrological model, the ecology module for a grid-based integrated surface and groundwater model (Eco-GISMOD, is proposed with a two-way coupling approach, which combines the ecological model (EPIC and hydrological model (GISMOD by considering water exchange in the soil layer. Water interaction between different soil layers is simply described through a generalized physical process in various situations. A special method was used to simulate the water exchange between plants and the soil layer, taking into account precipitation, evapotranspiration, infiltration, soil water replenishment, and root water uptake. In order to evaluate the system performance, the Heihe River Basin in northwestern China was selected for a case study. The results show that forests and crops were generally growing well with sufficient water supply, but water shortages, especially in the summer, inhibited the growth of grass and caused grass degradation. This demonstrates that water requirements and water consumption for different kinds of vegetation can be estimated by considering the water-supply rules of Eco-GISMOD, which will be helpful for the planning and management of water resources in the future.

Eco-cities as an Assemblage of Worlding Practices

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Zack Lee

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Eco-cities are gaining attention in policy and academic circles over the past few years. Yet they pose difficulties as objects of study since they have been diversely defined and implemented. This paper argues that eco-cities are better understood as an assemblage of worlding practices. Combining these two concepts foregoes the emphasis on the eco-city’s physical structures and focuses more on its policy environment and its relations with other locations. The case study being examined is the Philippine’s Clark Green, the country’s first eco-city project. Its main proponent is an independent government agency, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA, tasked with developing former military locations for civilian uses. Their vision is to create a world-class project built by international stakeholders in order to elevate the status of the Philippines and the Filipinos. They have chosen to emulate the Songdo International Business District in South Korea as their benchmark model. Not only are they adopting the ideas of a smart city but also similar strategies to enter the international education and logistics industries. The paper will show how the BCDA uses the eco-city idea as a tool to enter various national and international discourses that extend beyond the project’s geographical boundaries. Yet the strategies and visions of an independent government-owned corporation are tempered by challenges from local stakeholders, conflicting national priorities, and failures from similar policies applied elsewhere. The paper highlights the need for worlding projects to be embedded in their own national context for greater policy coordination.

Decoding Finger Flexion From Band-specific ECoG Signals in Humans

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Nanying eLiang

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This article presents the method that won the BCI competition IV addressed to the pre- diction of the finger flexion from ECoG signals. ECoG-based BCIs have recently drawn the attention from the community. Indeed, ECoG can provide a higher spatial resolution, a higher signal quality and is more suitable for long-term use than classical EEG recordings. These characteristics allow to decode precise brain activities and to realize efficient ECoG-based neu- roprostheses. Signal processing is a very important task in BCIs research for translating brain signals into commands. Here, we present a linear regression method based on the amplitude modulation of band-specific ECoG including a short term memory for individual finger flexion prediction. The effectiveness of the method was proven by achieving the highest value of corre- lation coefficient between the predicted and recorded finger flexion values on data set 4 during the BCI competition IV.

Eco-ethology. Oeko-Ethologie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krebs, J.R.; Davies, N.B.

1981-01-01

Eco-ethology is the science of the effects of animal behaviour on animal environment and the effects of animal environment on animal behaviour, with the purpose to find out how natural selection within this control loop has formed and molded animals. N. Tinbergen was the first to make experiments on the evolution of patterns of behaviour which are influenced not only by the evolution of species but also by their adaptation to a changing environment. R.H. MacArthur then introduced mathematical modelling for better clarification of the function and adoptive value of behavioural patterns. The book gives a detailed description of both methods and a successful attempt at a synthesis. In surveys and specific contribution, an exemplary outline of eco-ethology is presented, with information, ideas and reflections that are of interest both to teachers and students. The book is addressed to biologists, zoologists, ecologists, sociologists, and evolutionary biologists and to students of these disciplines.

Synthesis of Constructs for Modeling Consumers’ Understanding and Perception of Eco-Labels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khan Md Raziuddin Taufique

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The term “eco-labeling” has become a buzzword in today’s sustainable business world. The use of eco-labeling in various forms has been increasing notably for past many years, sometimes as an environmental “requirement” and sometimes merely as a marketing tool. Questions arise about how well these eco-labels are attended and understood by consumers. However, though mentionable studies are found on various aspects of eco-labels, gaps exist in exploring an inclusive set of parameters for investigating consumer perceptions of eco-labels. This paper aims at preparing a synthesis of all the possible factors to be incorporated for measuring consumer perceptions of eco-labeling of products. For making such synthesis, all major works in the field have been thoroughly reviewed. The paper comes up with a total of 10 parameters that include consumer awareness, consumer knowledge, consumer involvement, consumer trust, design and visibility, credibility of the source, type and level of information, clarity of meaning, persuasiveness, and private benefits. This tentative, yet inclusive, set of parameters is thought to be useful for designing large scale future empirical researches for developing a dependable inclusive set of parameters to test consumer understanding and perceptions of eco-label. A framework is proposed for further empirical research.

Bio-fuel barometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

After a year of doubt and decline the consumption of bio-fuel resumed a growth in 2014 in Europe: +6.1% compared to 2013, to reach 14 millions tep (Mtep) that is just below the 2012 peak. This increase was mainly due to bio-diesel. By taking into account the energy content and not the volume, the consumption of bio-diesel represented 79.7% of bio-fuel consumption in 2014, that of bio-ethanol only 19.1% and that of biogas 1%. The incorporating rate of bio-fuels in fuels used for transport were 4.6% in 2013 and 4.9% in 2014. The trend is good and the future of bio-fuel seems clearer as the European Union has set a not-so-bad limit of 7% for first generation bio-fuels in order to take into account the CASI effect. The CASI effect shows that an increase of the consumption of first generation bio-fuels (it means bio-fuels produced from food crops like rape, soy, cereals, sugar beet,...) implies in fact a global increase in greenhouse gas release that is due to a compensation phenomenon. More uncultivated lands (like forests, grasslands, bogs are turned into cultivated lands in order to compensate lands used for bio-fuel production. In most European countries the consumption of bio-diesel increased in 2014 while it was a bad year for the European industry of ethanol because ethanol prices dropped by 16 %. Oil companies are now among the most important producers of bio-diesel in Europe.

A Sustainability Model for Bringing Core Villages into Eco-tourism

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Öztan TUĞUN

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Eco villages comprise a part of eco-tourism in rural regions, and are the destination of choice for those who wish to experience a taste of traditional life. In 2004, through a series of by-laws, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC initiated an eco-tourism movement in the Karpaz Peninsula. It was envisioned then that a planning approach within the framework of sustainability would be of importance to the island, and the project was developed using a sustainable planning approach with a view to contributing to the state’s initiative to incorporate core villages into tourism on the island. Eco-tourism and the eco-village were explored within the framework of environmental problems, sustainable development and environmental sustainability, and the concept of core village was explained, with an emphasis on its benefits for tourism on the island. To ensure sustainability of the villages, a conceptual framework based on the principles of sustainable planning was established, specifically, in this case, on the Wheeler principles. These are grouped as: a. Compact, efficient land use, b. Less automobile use, better access, c. Efficient use of resources, reduction of pollution and waste, d. Restoration of natural systems, e. Good housing and living environments, f. Healthy social ecology, g. Sustainable economics, h. Community participation, i. Preservation of local culture and wisdom. These are used as cross references in assessing the situation in Büyükkonuk Village, the place nominated as the pilot area for eco-tourism.

Energy sustainable cities. From eco villages, eco districts towards zero carbon cities

Science.gov (United States)

Zaręba, Anna; Krzemińska, Alicja; Łach, Janusz

2017-11-01

Minimizing energy consumption is the effect of sustainable design technics as among many others: designing buildings with solar access and natural ventilation, using climate responsive design materials and effective insulation. Contemporary examples of zero-carbon cities: Masdar City, United Arab Emirates and Dongtan, China, confirm technical feasibility of renewable energy by implementation of solar PV and wind technologies. The ecological city - medium or high density urban settlement separated by greenspace causes the smallest possible ecological footprint on the surrounding countryside through efficient use of land and its resources, recycling used materials and converting waste to energy. This paper investigates the concept of energy sustainable cities, examines, how urban settlements might affect building energy design in eco-villages, eco-districts (e.g. Vauban, Freiburg in Germany, Bo01 Malmo in Sweden), and discuss the strategies for achieving Zero Emission Cities principles in densely populated areas. It is focused on low energy architectural design solutions which could be incorporated into urban settlements to create ecological villages, districts and cities, designed with consideration of environmental impact, required minimal inputs of energy, water, food, waste and pollution.

An International Review of Eco-City Theory, Indicators, and Case Studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Nan [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Williams, Christopher [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2013-03-01

This report is intended to answer the question: “What international experiences with ‘eco-cities’ can help the central Chinese government evaluate the performance of Chinese cities that pursue ‘lowcarbon’ urban development?” To answer this question, we reviewed the literature on eco-cities and closely related concepts, surveyed performance indicators used to evaluate sustainable urban development around the world, and compiled case studies of exceptional eco- and sustainable cities.

Interface design considerations for an in-vehicle eco-driving assistance system

OpenAIRE

Jamson, AH; Hibberd, DL; Merat, N

2015-01-01

This high-fidelity driving simulator study used a paired comparison design to investigate the effectiveness of 12 potential eco-driving interfaces. Previous work has demonstrated fuel economy improvements through the provision of in-vehicle eco-driving guidance using a visual or haptic interface. This study uses an eco-driving assistance system that advises the driver of the most fuel efficient accelerator pedal angle, in real time. Assistance was provided to drivers through a visual dashboar...

Drivers of multidimensional eco-innovation: empirical evidence from the Brazilian industry.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva Rabêlo, Olivan; de Azevedo Melo, Andrea Sales Soares

2018-03-08

The study analyses the relationships between the main drivers of eco-innovation introduced by innovative industries, focused on cooperation strategy. Eco-innovation is analysed by means of a multidimensional identification strategy, showing the relationships between the independent variables and the variable of interest. The literature discussing environmental innovation is different from the one discussing other types of innovation inasmuch as it seeks to grasp its determinants and to mostly highlight the relevance of environmental regulation. The key feature of this paper is that it ascribes special relevance to cooperation strategy with external partners and to the propensity of innovative industry introducing eco-innovation. A sample of 35,060 Brazilian industries were analysed, between 2003 and 2011, by means of Binomial, Multinomial and Ordinal logistic regressions with microdata collected with the research and innovation department (PINTEC) from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística). The econometric results estimated by the Logit Multinomial method suggest that the cooperation with external partners practiced by innovative industries facilitates the adoption of eco-innovation in dimension 01 with probability of 64.59%, 57.63% in dimension 02 and 81.02% in dimension 03. The data reveal that the higher the degree of eco-innovation complexity, the harder industries seek to obtain cooperation with external partners. When calculating with the Logit Ordinal and Binomial models, cooperation increases the probability that the industry is eco-innovative in 65.09% and 89.34%, respectively. Environmental regulation and innovation in product and information management were also positively correlated as drivers of eco-innovation.

Do Eco-rating Schemes Improve the Environmental Performance of Ships?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poulsen, René Taudal; Hermann, Roberto Rivas; Smink, Carla K.

2018-01-01

of ships. Extending the private environmental governance literature into a mature service industry with global operations, the paper shows that concerns about eco-rating schemes’ effectiveness also have relevance here. Shipping eco-rating schemes fall short of best practices for design and governance...

Assessment of Eco-Environmental Stress in the Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Longyu Shi

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Eco-environmental stress refers to the pressure borne by the environment in sustaining the pre-existing non-industrialized state and/or in counteracting adverse impacts caused by natural and human factors. The present article introduces the concept, research progress, and method for assessing eco-environmental stress. An eco-environmental stress index (ESI is established to assess the eco-environmental stress of 13 cities in the Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone (hereafter referred to as the Economic Zone during the period from 2000 to 2010. The research provides a reference for the strategic planning of industrial development and environmental protection. The results show that the overall eco-environmental stress of the Economic Zone was slight and did not have significant change during the past 10 years. The cities with the most severe eco-environmental stress are distributed in the north and south of the Economic Zone. Most areas of Fujian Province have a low degree of eco-environmental stress, a situation that is being constantly improved. The regions with high atmospheric and water pollutant emissions are concentrated in the northern, middle, and southern coastal regions of the Economic Zone. The pollutant emissions of coastal cities are higher than those of inland cities. In the future, ecological restoration and compensation mechanisms should be established for regions where environmental protection and remediation is urgently needed.

ECO-DRIVING Europe - building the frame for a European market for eco-driving

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raimund, Willy; Fickl, Stephan

2003-01-01

Due to rapidly increasing greenhouse gas emissions, the transport sector is a key issue in any sustainability and climate strategy. Still, it is the one most difficult to deal with because of it's complexity and direct impact on everybody's life. Innovative transport technologies can significantly contribute to reducing emissions and energy use, but there is also a need for behavioural changes to turn down energy demand, especially in individual motorised transport. One of the most cost-effective measures in this field is Ecodriving, an energy efficient and road safety improving driving style. Nowadays, there are several stand-alone initiatives in Europe. But to strengthen Ecodriving and increase its market share it needs: - an overview of existing offers and facilities, - pilot projects with different target groups, - training courses (both for novice drivers and experienced road users), - quality standards, - scientific proof of the various benefits, - awareness raising and marketing. That's why ECO-DRIVING Europe has been initiated by the main stakeholders in Europe. It aims to change the behaviour of drivers by using technological developments, influencing legislation and supporting long term driving and mobility culture change. The Europe-wide ECO-DRIVING project (www.ecodrive.org ) tries to reach this goal by integrating Ecodriving into various policy fields such as energy, climate change, road safety, local environment, sustainable transport and legislation for driver licence procedures. By decreasing greenhouse gas emission by 10-20% compared to normal driving, Ecodriving can considerably contribute to reduce energy demand in transport and fight climate change. Keywords ECO-DRIVING, sustainable transport, energy efficiency, behavioural change, market penetration, environmental and economic benefits, road safety

Gesture Decoding Using ECoG Signals from Human Sensorimotor Cortex: A Pilot Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yue Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Electrocorticography (ECoG has been demonstrated as a promising neural signal source for developing brain-machine interfaces (BMIs. However, many concerns about the disadvantages brought by large craniotomy for implanting the ECoG grid limit the clinical translation of ECoG-based BMIs. In this study, we collected clinical ECoG signals from the sensorimotor cortex of three epileptic participants when they performed hand gestures. The ECoG power spectrum in hybrid frequency bands was extracted to build a synchronous real-time BMI system. High decoding accuracy of the three gestures was achieved in both offline analysis (85.7%, 84.5%, and 69.7% and online tests (80% and 82%, tested on two participants only. We found that the decoding performance was maintained even with a subset of channels selected by a greedy algorithm. More importantly, these selected channels were mostly distributed along the central sulcus and clustered in the area of 3 interelectrode squares. Our findings of the reduced and clustered distribution of ECoG channels further supported the feasibility of clinically implementing the ECoG-based BMI system for the control of hand gestures.

Development and Eco-Efficiency in the Information Society

OpenAIRE

Cristina Balaceanu; Diana Apostol

2012-01-01

I / dematerialization of economies is probably the main characteristic of the IST (Information Society Technology). We explore in this text the benefits of i / dematerialization in the terms of eco-efficiency and / or sustainable development. If the main contribution of IST / ICT (Information and Communication Technology) is demonstrated by the efforts of the economies to increase their intangible capital stocks and to restructure, i / dematerialization is not inherently eco-efficient and / o...

Ecological network analysis for carbon metabolism of eco-industrial parks: a case study of a typical eco-industrial park in Beijing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yi; Chen, Bin; Feng, Kuishuang; Hubacek, Klaus

2015-06-16

Energy production and industrial processes are crucial economic sectors accounting for about 62% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally in 2012. Eco-industrial parks are practical attempts to mitigate GHG emissions through cooperation among businesses and the local community in order to reduce waste and pollution, efficiently share resources, and help with the pursuit of sustainable development. This work developed a framework based on ecological network analysis to trace carbon metabolic processes in eco-industrial parks and applied it to a typical eco-industrial park in Beijing. Our findings show that the entire metabolic system is dominated by supply of primary goods from the external environment and final demand. The more carbon flows through a sector, the more influence it would exert upon the whole system. External environment and energy providers are the most active and dominating part of the carbon metabolic system, which should be the first target to mitigate emissions by increasing efficiencies. The carbon metabolism of the eco-industrial park can be seen as an evolutionary system with high levels of efficiency, but this may come at the expense of larger levels of resilience. This work may provide a useful modeling framework for low-carbon design and management of industrial parks.

Identifying Regional Key Eco-Space to Maintain Ecological Security Using GIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hualin Xie

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Ecological security and environmental sustainability are the foundations of sustainable development. With the acceleration of urbanization, increasing human activities have promoted greater impacts on the eco-spaces that maintain ecological security. Regional key eco-space has become the primary need to maintain environmental sustainability and can offer society with continued ecosystem services. In this paper, considering the security of water resources, biodiversity conservation, disaster avoidance and protection and natural recreation, an integrated index of eco-space importance was established and a method for identifying key eco-space was created using GIS, with Lanzhou City, China as a case study. The results show that the area of core eco-space in the Lanzhou City is approximately 50,908.7 hm2, accounting for 40% of the region’s total area. These areas mainly consist of geological hazard protection zones and the core zones of regional river systems, wetlands, nature reserves, forest parks and scenic spots. The results of this study provide some guidance for the management of ecological security, ecological restoration and environmental sustainability.

[Ecological demonstration activity and eco-civilization construction mode: review and prospects].

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Hui-ping; He, Xuan; He, Jia; Niu, Dong-jie; Bao, Cun-kuan

2013-04-01

Ecological civilization is to normalize human development behaviors to harmonize the relationships between social and ecological development and eco-environment protection. In this paper, a comparative analysis was made on the ecological demonstration activities of ecological demonstration areas led by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, exemplar cities of national environmental protection, and ecological provinces, cities, and counties. It was considered that all the ecological demonstration activities had the problems of lacking pertinence of construction goals, disordered construction subjects, inefficient construction processes, and lacking continuous incentive mechanisms of assessment. In the meantime, through the analysis of the connotations of eco-civilization, the relationships between eco-civilization and eco-demonstration constructions were approached, and the eco-civilization construction mode was put forward in terms of construction goal, construction subject, and construction processes and assessment. The construction mode included the construction goal based on regional characteristics; the synergistic cooperation of construction subjects, the expanding ways of public participation, and the establishment of evaluation system for comprehensively measuring the 'actions and results'.

ECO DESIGN IN DESIGN PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PRALEA Jeni

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Eco-design is a new domain, required by the new trends and existing concerns worldwide, generated by the necessity of adopting new design principles. New design principles require the designer to provide a friendly relationship between concept created, environment and consume. This "friendly" relationship should be valid both at present and in the future, generating new opportunities for product, product components or materials from which it was made. Awareness, by the designer, the importance of this new trend, permits the establishment of concepts that have as their objective the protection of present values and ensuring the legacy of future generations. Ecodesig, by its principles, is involved in the design process, from early stage, the stage of product design. Priority objective of the designers will consist in reducing the negative effects on the environment through the entire life cycle and after it is taken out of use. The main aspects of the eco-design will consider extending product exploitation, make better use of materials, reduction of emission of waste. The design process in the "eco"domein must be started by selecting the function of the concept, materials and technological processes, causing the shape of macro and micro geometric of the product through an analysis that involves optimizing and streamlining the product. This paper presents the design process of a cross-sports footwear concept, built on the basis of the principles of ecodesign

ECO-EFFICIENCY INDICATORS’ EVOLUTION IN ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camelia CAMASOIU

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Due to the importance of improving the environmental performance and of integrating the environmental protection policies in long-term strategies, the practical interest has increased for identifying, selecting and building the most expressive eco-efficiency indicators. The paper analyses the basic performance indicators for environment at micro-economic level, which might show progress on the sustainable development road. The study of the eco-efficiency was developed based on a financing pilot study of urban infrastructure investments in Calarasi county for a municipal association. The main objective was to improve gas and sewerage systems for four localities (Calarasi, Oltenita, Lehliu Gara and Budesti under the conditions of improving the economic and ecological efficiency of the proposed project.

BIOS Security Analysis and a Kind of Trusted BIOS

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zhenliu; Xu, Rongsheng

The BIOS's security threats to computer system are analyzed and security requirements for firmware BIOS are summarized in this paper. Through discussion about TCG's trust transitivity, a new approach about CRTM implementation based on BIOS is developed. In this paper, we also put forward a new trusted BIOS architecture-UTBIOS which is built on Intel Framework for EFI/UEFI. The trustworthiness of UTBIOS is based on trusted hardware TPM. In UTBIOS, trust encapsulation and trust measurement are used to construct pre-OS trust chain. Performance of trust measurement is also analyzed in the end.

Exploring Challenges and Opportunities for Eco-Feedback Technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Verdezoto, Nervo

This position paper explores challenges and opportunities for eco-feedback technology. Drawing on two design cases, I discuss the importance of supporting active participation as well as the articulation of work in everyday practices to facilitate reduction of consumption.......This position paper explores challenges and opportunities for eco-feedback technology. Drawing on two design cases, I discuss the importance of supporting active participation as well as the articulation of work in everyday practices to facilitate reduction of consumption....

Eco-genetic modeling of contemporary life-history evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunlop, Erin S; Heino, Mikko; Dieckmann, Ulf

2009-10-01

We present eco-genetic modeling as a flexible tool for exploring the course and rates of multi-trait life-history evolution in natural populations. We build on existing modeling approaches by combining features that facilitate studying the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of realistically structured populations. In particular, the joint consideration of age and size structure enables the analysis of phenotypically plastic populations with more than a single growth trajectory, and ecological feedback is readily included in the form of density dependence and frequency dependence. Stochasticity and life-history trade-offs can also be implemented. Critically, eco-genetic models permit the incorporation of salient genetic detail such as a population's genetic variances and covariances and the corresponding heritabilities, as well as the probabilistic inheritance and phenotypic expression of quantitative traits. These inclusions are crucial for predicting rates of evolutionary change on both contemporary and longer timescales. An eco-genetic model can be tightly coupled with empirical data and therefore may have considerable practical relevance, in terms of generating testable predictions and evaluating alternative management measures. To illustrate the utility of these models, we present as an example an eco-genetic model used to study harvest-induced evolution of multiple traits in Atlantic cod. The predictions of our model (most notably that harvesting induces a genetic reduction in age and size at maturation, an increase or decrease in growth capacity depending on the minimum-length limit, and an increase in reproductive investment) are corroborated by patterns observed in wild populations. The predicted genetic changes occur together with plastic changes that could phenotypically mask the former. Importantly, our analysis predicts that evolutionary changes show little signs of reversal following a harvest moratorium. This illustrates how predictions offered by

Redesigning the marketing mix for eco-friendly product consumption among non-purchasers in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chockalingam Senthil Nathan

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The present study was created in order to customise the marketing mix for non-purchasers of eco-friendly products by studying their perspectives on the introduction of eco-friendly variants of the regular products that they are using in particular product categories (personal care and home care. Overall previous literature reviews in this area imply that there is a gap in the scientific literature on the marketing mix formulation for converting non-purchasers into purchasers of eco-friendly products to augment eco-friendly product sales and adopt green marketing. As literature reviews had clearly indicated that green purchasers have a very low percentage when compared to non-purchasers, the purpose is to create new opportunities for successful green marketing as the study tries to convert non-purchasers into purchasers. We used descriptive research design to study a sample of 885 respondents, who were surveyed in 2 cities in the Tamil Nadu state in India, to acquire an in-depth understanding of consumer behaviour that would enable the consumption of eco-friendly products among non-purchasers. The results reveal the marketing mix requirement and the eco-friendly aspects needed by the non-purchasers in order to buy the eco-friendly variants. The research sheds light on the product, price and promotion components that will attract non-purchases of eco-friendly products to buy eco-friendly products, thus facilitating green marketing mix adaptation. The study will provide valuable input for further research in formulating the marketing mix necessary to enable consumption of eco-friendly products in different geographical locations and various product categories.

DOES ECO-EFFICENCY REDUCE THE COST OF EQUITY CAPITAL? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisa Alviani

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to examine the effect of eco-efficiency on the cost of equity capital. The study hypothesizes that the implementation of eco-efficiency reduces the cost of equity capital. Using manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange for the period 2010-2012 as data, and controlling for beta, company size, Book to Market ratio, and leverage; the study finds that the implementation of eco-efficiency may reduce the cost of equity capital. The findings suggest that companies should implement eco-efficency.

A Product Line Analysis for Eco-Designed Fashion Products: Evidence from an Outdoor Sportswear Brand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luo Wang

2017-07-01

Full Text Available With the increasing awareness of sustainability, eco-design has been an important trend in the fashion industry. Many fashion brands such as Nike, Adidas, and The North Face have developed sustainable fashion by incorporating eco-design elements. Eco-design is an important part of sustainable supply chains. In this paper, we conducted a product line analysis of eco-designed products from a famous outdoor sportswear brand, Patagonia. We collected Patagonia’s 2017 Spring Season product line data and analyzed the data through descriptive analysis, factor analysis and correlation analysis. We found that Patagonia mainly uses organic, recycled, and traceable materials in their eco-product line development. We identified that the usage of eco-materials may significantly affect the number of color choices and product weight as well as gender difference, pattern design, product fit and online reviewers’ opinions at Patagonia. We argued that Patagonia should focus on functionality more than aesthetics in eco-design. We discussed how sustainable fashion firms should manage eco-design in the supply chain.

Eco-efficiency analysis methodology on the example of the chosen polyolefins production

OpenAIRE

K. Czaplicka-Kolarz; D. Burchart-Korol; P. Krawczyk

2010-01-01

the chosen polyolefins production. The article presents also main tools of eco-efficiency analysis: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Net Present Value (NPV).Design/methodology/approach: On the basis of LCA and NPV of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) production, eco-efficiency analysis is conducted.Findings: In this article environmental and economic performance of the chosen polyolefins production was presented. The basis phases of eco-efficiency methodology...

Eco-evolutionary spatial dynamics in the Glanville fritillary butterfly.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanski, Ilkka A

2011-08-30

Demographic population dynamics, gene flow, and local adaptation may influence each other and lead to coupling of ecological and evolutionary dynamics, especially in species inhabiting fragmented heterogeneous environments. Here, I review long-term research on eco-evolutionary spatial dynamics in the Glanville fritillary butterfly inhabiting a large network of approximately 4,000 meadows in Finland. The metapopulation persists in a balance between frequent local extinctions and recolonizations. The genetic spatial structure as defined by neutral markers is much more coarse-grained than the demographic spatial structure determined by the fragmented habitat, yet small-scale spatial structure has important consequences for the dynamics. I discuss three examples of eco-evolutionary spatial dynamics. (i) Extinction-colonization metapopulation dynamics influence allele frequency changes in the phosphoglucose isomerase (Pgi) gene, which leads to strong associations between genetic variation in Pgi and dispersal, recolonization, and local population dynamics. (ii) Inbreeding in local populations increases their risk for extinction, whereas reciprocal effects between inbreeding, population size, and emigration represent likely eco-evolutionary feedbacks. (iii) Genetically determined female oviposition preference for two host plant species exhibits a cline paralleling a gradient in host plant relative abundances, and host plant preference of dispersing females in relation to the host plant composition of habitat patches influences immigration (gene flow) and recolonization (founder events). Eco-evolutionary spatial dynamics in heterogeneous environments may not lead to directional evolutionary changes unless the environment itself changes, but eco-evolutionary dynamics may contribute to the maintenance of genetic variation attributable to fluctuating selection in space and time.

Eco-Friendly Alternative Refrigeration Systems

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 6; Issue 10. Eco-Friendly Alternative Refrigeration Systems - Magnetic and ... Author Affiliations. S S Verma1. Deptartment of Physics, Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology Longowal, District Sangrur, Punjab 148 106, India.

A declaration of eco-ethics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Cairns Jr.

2002-11-01

Full Text Available Eco-ethics is the essential foundation for sustainable use of the planet. Such a foundation must consist of a series of value judgments to which humanity is committed. This declaration is a tentative attempt to provide some illustrative examples.

Eco-compensation in China: Theory, practices and suggestions for the future.

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Wenxiu; Gong, Yicheng; Wang, Zhongjing; Stewardson, Michael J

2018-03-15

Eco-compensation is the most important form of compensatory conservation in China. However, this compensatory mechanism is criticized for vague definition and massive government participation. For better understanding of eco-compensation in China, this paper compares theories and practices of compensatory mechanisms in China and abroad. The analysis of theoretical backgrounds shows that eco-compensation in China is a combination of 'ecological compensation' and 'payments for ecosystem services'. Ten compensatory projects in China and abroad are assessed to reveal characteristics and problems of eco-compensation in China. The results show that compensatory projects in China lagged behind mature foreign compensatory projects in clarity of property rights, responsibility fulfillment, executive efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and equality. The massive participation of the government is the major reason for the poor performance of compensatory projects in China. However, government participation is necessary at the present stage in China for the income gap and beneficiaries' low willingness to pay. For the improvement of eco-compensation in China, suggestions are given on the choice of non-market valuation methods, the creation of property rights and the establishment of market mechanisms. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does resilient mean eco-inefficient?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pizzol, Massimo

as long-term perfomance. Resilience is not explicitly taken into account within life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA determines the eco-efficiency of product systems, i.e. the ratio between the function provided by the product and its impact on the environment. The question is whether a product system which...... structure is improved or designed to be more resilient will not only be more inefficient, but also eco-inefficient, when studied by means of LCA. In this work a two steps approach is proposed to study resilience of product systems: 1) assessment of disturbance conditions and their inclusion within the scope......, because the redundant connections between elements of a system make it less efficient but also more flexible and adaptable and allow to perform a function even if some connections are interrupted or missing. Balancing between resilience and efficiency seems to be the key for sustainability intended...

The Eco-Innovation Variables which Influence the Performance of Creative Industries Center of Natural Stone Crafts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murti Astuti

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the eco-innovation variable which has the significant effecton creative industries center’s performance of marble and natural stone craft sector in Tulungagung, Indonesia. The object of the study is the creative industries center with the non-renewable raw material. Mostly, the companies are in form of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs which is ‘passive eco-innovator’ and their eco-innovation variables have not been investigated before in terms of their influenceon their performance. The respondents were 81 craftsmen taken from the population. The data were collected through questionnaires which were tested, processed and analyzed by using Consistent Partial Least Square (PLSc. The eco-innovation variables which significantly effecton innovative performance are eco-organizational innovation and eco-product innovation. Eco-process innovation and eco-marketing innovation don’t directly affecton innovative performance, but its significant effecton eco-product innovation may influence innovative performance. Improving innovative performance will impact on financial performance through improvement of production performance, but market performance does not significantly affect financial performance. The findings of this study could be a reference for creative industries center’s of marble and natural stone craft sector to prioritize which type of eco-innovation should be improved so that its impact on performance is more significant

Assessing ecological sustainability in urban planning - EcoBalance model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wahlgren, I., Email: irmeli.wahlgren@vtt.fi

2012-06-15

Urban planning solutions and decisions have large-scale significance for ecological sustainability (eco-efficiency) the consumption of energy and other natural resources, the production of greenhouse gas and other emissions and the costs caused by urban form. Climate change brings new and growing challenges for urban planning. The EcoBalance model was developed to assess the sustainability of urban form and has been applied at various planning levels: regional plans, local master plans and detailed plans. The EcoBalance model estimates the total consumption of energy and other natural resources, the production of emissions and wastes and the costs caused directly and indirectly by urban form on a life cycle basis. The results of the case studies provide information about the ecological impacts of various solutions in urban development. (orig.)

Nano-bio-sensing

CERN Document Server

Carrara, Sandro

2011-01-01

This book examines state-of-the-art applications of nano-bio-sensing. It brings together researchers from nano-electronics and bio-technology, providing multidisciplinary content from nano-structures fabrication to bio-sensing applications.

Study of bio-oil and bio-char production from algae by slow pyrolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaiwong, K.; Kiatsiriroat, T.; Vorayos, N.; Thararax, C.

2013-01-01

This study examined bio-oil and bio-char fuel produced from Spirulina Sp. by slow pyrolysis. A thermogravimetric analyser (TGA) was used to investigate the pyrolytic characteristics and essential components of algae. It was found that the temperature for the maximum degradation, 322 °C, is lower than that of other biomass. With our fixed-bed reactor, 125 g of dried Spirulina Sp. algae was fed under a nitrogen atmosphere until the temperature reached a set temperature between 450 and 600 °C. It was found that the suitable temperature to obtain bio-char and bio-oil were at approximately 500 and 550 °C respectively. The bio-oil components were identified by a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The saturated functional carbon of the bio-oil was in a range of heavy naphtha, kerosene and diesel oil. The energy consumption ratio (ECR) of bio-oil and bio-char was calculated, and the net energy output was positive. The ECR had an average value of 0.49. -- Highlights: •Bio-oil and bio-char fuel produced from Spirulina Sp. by slow pyrolysis. •Suitable temperature to obtained bio-oil and bio-char were at about 550 and 500 °C. •Saturated functional carbon of bio-oil was heavy naphtha, kerosene, diesel oil. •ECR had an average value of 0.49

ECO-FRIENDLY SYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

userpc

Keywords: Silver nanoparticles; UV-Visible Spectrophotometry; Dynamic Light Scattering;. Transmission ... The eco- friendly protocol developed led to the synthesis ... lamp for. 5 minutes. (Omidiet al.,. 2014).Authentication of the formation of.

Eco-Efficiency Assessment of Bioplastics Production Systems and End-of-Life Options

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kunnika Changwichan

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Bioplastics demand has been increased globally due to concerns regarding environmentally friendly consumption and production. Polylactic acid (PLA, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs, and polybutylene succinate (PBS are promising bioplastics with bio-based feedstocks and property of biodegradability. They are produced by bacterial fermentation of sugars from carbohydrate sources. With flexibility in their properties, PLA, PHAs, and PBS can potentially substitute conventional plastics such as polypropylene (PP, polyethylene terephthalate (PET, and polystyrene (PS. This study aims at evaluating the environmental and economic sustainability of bioplastics production together with end-of-life (EOL options. The combination of environmental and economic indicators, eco-efficiency (E/E, was selected to investigate the performance of PLA, PHAs, and PBS from sugarcane and cassava in comparison with PP. The environmental impacts were determined using life cycle assessment. The product cost was used to represent the economic value. The E/E results showed that the environmental and economic sustainability could be enhanced with 100% mechanical recycling of all kinds of studied plastics. It is also important to highlight that mechanical recycling showed a better performance in terms of E/E than composting of bioplastics.

Eco-anthropological Considerations on Terroir Reflexiones desde la eco-antropología sobre el terroir

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frédéric Duhart

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Terroir currently constitutes a key concept in the thought about the production of quality foods and drinks. In this text, we consider this notion from an eco-anthropological point of view, relying on examples taken from the past and present of certain wines. We successively study the construction of this notion, its uses (especially in the framework of denomination of origin processes and its representations.El Terroir constituye en la actualidad un concepto clave en el pensamiento sobre la producción de alimentos y de bebidas de calidad. En este texto, consideramos esta noción con un punto de vista eco-antropológico apoyándonos sobre ejemplos sacados principalmente de la historia y de la actualidad de ciertos vinos. Estudiamos sucesivamente su construcción, sus usos (en particular en el marco de los procesos de denominación de origen y sus representaciones.

Combined application of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (Bacillus strain MWT 14) improve the performance of bread wheat with low fertilizer input under an arid climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Tahir, Muhammad; Khalid, Umaira; Ijaz, Muhammad; Shah, Ghulam Mustafa; Naeem, Muhammad Asif; Shahid, Muhammad; Mahmood, Khalid; Ahmad, Naveed; Kareem, Fazal

2018-04-24

This study was aimed to investigate the effect of bio-organic phosphate either alone or in combination with phosphorus solubilizing bacteria strain (Bacillus MWT-14) on the growth and productivity of two wheat cultivars (Galaxy-2013 and Punjab-2011) along with recommended (150-100NPkgha -1 ) and half dose (75-50NPkgha -1 ) of fertilizers. The combined application of bio-organic phosphate and the phosphorous solubilizing bacteria strain at either fertilizer level significantly improved the growth, yield parameters and productivity of both wheat cultivars compared to non-inoculated control treatments. The cultivar Punjab-2011 produced the higher chlorophyll contents, crop growth rate, and the straw yield at half dose of NP fertilizer; while Galaxy-2013, with the combined application of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorous solubilizing bacteria under recommended NP fertilizer dose. Combined over both NP fertilizer levels, the combined use of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorous solubilizing bacteria enhanced the grain yield of cultivar Galaxy-2013 by 54.3% and that of cultivar Punjab-2011 by 83.3%. The combined application of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorous solubilizing bacteria also increased the population of phosphorous solubilizing bacteria, the soil organic matter and phosphorous contents in the soil. In conclusion, the combined application of bio-organic phosphate and phosphorous solubilizing bacteria offers an eco-friendly option to harvest the better wheat yield with low fertilizer input under arid climate. Copyright © 2018 Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

The planning and construction of Distributed Energy System in Qingdao Sino-German Eco-park

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Cun; Zhang, Gaijing; Song, Peipei

2018-04-01

This paper introduce the development and characteristics of new energy, Eco-city and Distributed Energy System in China, a case study of Qingdao Sino-German Eco-park, research on practical application about planning and construction of Distributed Energy System in Eco-city. Results show that: we must first do a good job in energy planning, giving full play to their own advantages, and Distributed Energy System based renewable energy resources is a promising option for reducing emissions from electricity generation in Eco-city.

Ecological Risk Assessment of Land Use Change in the Poyang Lake Eco-economic Zone, China

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Hualin; Wang, Peng; Huang, Hongsheng

2013-01-01

Land use/land cover change has been attracting increasing attention in the field of global environmental change research because of its role in the social and ecological environment. To explore the ecological risk characteristics of land use change in the Poyang Lake Eco-economic Zone of China, an eco-risk index was established in this study by the combination of a landscape disturbance index with a landscape fragmentation index. Spatial distribution and gradient difference of land use eco-risk are analyzed by using the methods of spatial autocorrelation and semivariance. Results show that ecological risk in the study area has a positive correlation, and there is a decreasing trend with the increase of grain size both in 1995 and 2005. Because the area of high eco-risk value increased from 1995 to 2005, eco-environment quality declined slightly in the study area. There are distinct spatial changes in the concentrated areas with high land use eco-risk values from 1995 to 2005. The step length of spatial separation of land use eco-risk is comparatively long—58 km in 1995 and 11 km in 2005—respectively. There are still nonstructural factors affecting the quality of the regional ecological environment at some small-scales. Our research results can provide some useful information for land eco-management, eco-environmental harnessing and restoration. In the future, some measures should be put forward in the regions with high eco-risk value, which include strengthening land use management, avoiding unreasonable types of land use and reducing the degree of fragmentation and separation. PMID:23343986

Facile fabrication of eco-friendly nano-mosquitocides: Biophysical characterization and effectiveness on neglected tropical mosquito vectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Govindarajan, Marimuthu; Hoti, S L; Benelli, Giovanni

2016-12-01

Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) vectors are solely responsible for transmitting important diseases such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, lymphatic filariasis and Zika virus. Eco-friendly control tools of Culicidae vectors are a priority. In this study, we proposed a facile fabrication process of poly-disperse and stable silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) using a cheap leaf extract of Ichnocarpus frutescens (Apocyanaceae). Bio-reduced Ag NPs were characterized by UV-vis spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The acute toxicity of I. frutescens leaf extract and green-synthesized Ag NPs was evaluated against larvae of the malaria vector Anopheles subpictus, the dengue vector Aedes albopictus and the Japanese encephalitis vector Culex tritaeniorhynchus. Compared to the leaf aqueous extract, Ag NPs showed higher toxicity against A. subpictus, A. albopictus, and C. tritaeniorhynchus with LC 50 values of 14.22, 15.84 and 17.26μg/mL, respectively. Ag NPs were found safer to non-target mosquito predators Anisops bouvieri, Diplonychus indicus and Gambusia affinis, with LC 50 values ranging from 636.61 to 2098.61μg/mL. Overall, this research firstly shed light on the mosquitocidal potential of I. frutescens, a potential bio-resource for rapid, cheap and effective synthesis of poly-disperse and highly stable silver nanocrystals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Research and Demonstration of‘Double-chain’Eco-agricultural Model Standardization and Industrialization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZHANG Jia-hong

2015-04-01

Full Text Available According to agricultural resource endowment of Jiangsu Province, this paper created kinds of double-chain eco-agricultural model and integrated supporting system based on 'waterfowl, marine lives, aquatic vegetable and paddy rice', 'special food and economic crops with livestock’and‘special food and economic crops with livestock and marine lives’, which were suitable for extension and application in Jiangsu Province. Besides, it set 12 provincial standards and established preliminary technical standard system of‘double-chain’eco-agricultural model. In addition, it explored that‘the leading agricultural enterprises (agricultural co-operatives or family farms+demonstration zones+farmer households’was adopted as operating mechanism of industrialization of eco-agricultural model, which pushed forward rapid development of standardization and industrialization of‘double-chain’eco-agricultural model.

Clash of the eco-sciences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blok, Anders

2011-01-01

South. The performativity programme, it is concluded, stands to gain from conceptualizing politics as dynamic assemblages of collective actors, sites of contestation and technologies of witnessing. Re-framing performativity in this direction allows for a reintegration of economics into a wider political...... ecology of contested eco-sciences....

D3.6 Report on implementation of the ECO Federated Search infrastructure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ternier, Stefaan; Loozen, Kjeld; Viñuales, Javier; Tejera, Sara; Tomasini, Alessandra; Unruh, Sören

2016-01-01

This document describes the implementation of the ECO federated search architecture. It presents an analysis of various architectures and defines based on this analysis an architectural solution for federated search in ECO.

Small and Shaping the Future Energy Eco-house System

Science.gov (United States)

Furukawa, Ryuzo; Takahashi, Hideyuki; Sato, Yoshinori; Sasaki, Hiroshi; Isu, Norifumi; Ohtsuka, Masuo; Tohji, Kazuyuki

2010-11-01

The objective of this research is to develop the elemental technology of the small and thin energy collection system from water, wind, and others in the house, and examine them at the eco-house which will be built at Tohoku University on March 2010. This small energy storage system will contribute to reduce 10% of greenhouse gas emission from household electricity. This project is done by three following groups. 1st group (NEC-Tokin Co. Ltd.) will develop the technologies on the accumulation of electric power pressured from low electric power in which electricity is generated and on the cooperation with AC power supply used for domestic use for this eco-house system. 2nd group (INAX Co. Ltd.) will develop the elemental technology of the slight energy collection system from tap water in the home using a small hydroelectric generator for this eco-house system. 3rd group (Shoei Co. Ltd.) will develop the technologies on existent magnetic gear device, health appliances (Exercise bike), wind power generator, for this eco-house system. Tokoku University compiles these groups. Furthermore, I develop a search of unused small energy and the use technology, and propose a new energy supply system using solar cell and Li ion secondary battery.

Can More Environmental Information Disclosure Lead to Higher Eco-Efficiency? Evidence from China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yantuan Yu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The present paper investigates the impact of pollution information transparency index (PITI on eco-efficiency using a novel panel dataset covering 109 key environmental protection prefecture-level cities in China over the period 2008–2015. We apply an extended data envelopment analysis (DEA model, simultaneously incorporating metafrontier, undesirable outputs and super efficiency into slack-based measure (Meta-US-SBM to estimate eco-efficiency. Then, the bootstrap Granger causality approach is utilized to test the unidirectional Granger causal relationship running from PITI to eco-efficiency. Results of DEA model show that there exist significant spatiotemporal disparities of eco-efficiency, on average, the eco-efficiency in eastern region is relative higher than those of central/western region. Estimates of ordinary least square (OLS method, quantile regression, and spatial Durbin model document that the evidence of an inverted-U-shaped relation between PITI and eco-efficiency is supported, and the turning points vary from 0.3370 to 0.4540 with different model specifications. Finally, supplementary analysis of panel threshold model also supports the robust findings. Policy implications are presented based on the empirical results.

Assessing eco-efficiency: A metafrontier directional distance function approach using life cycle analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beltrán-Esteve, Mercedes; Reig-Martínez, Ernest; Estruch-Guitart, Vicent

2017-01-01

Sustainability analysis requires a joint assessment of environmental, social and economic aspects of production processes. Here we propose the use of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), a metafrontier (MF) directional distance function (DDF) approach, and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), to assess technological and managerial differences in eco-efficiency between production systems. We use LCA to compute six environmental and health impacts associated with the production processes of nearly 200 Spanish citrus farms belonging to organic and conventional farming systems. DEA is then employed to obtain joint economic-environmental farm's scores that we refer to as eco-efficiency. DDF allows us to determine farms' global eco-efficiency scores, as well as eco-efficiency scores with respect to specific environmental impacts. Furthermore, the use of an MF helps us to disentangle technological and managerial eco-inefficiencies by comparing the eco-efficiency of both farming systems with regards to a common benchmark. Our core results suggest that the shift from conventional to organic farming technology would allow a potential reduction in environmental impacts of 80% without resulting in any decline in economic performance. In contrast, as regards farmers' managerial capacities, both systems display quite similar mean scores.

Assessing eco-efficiency: A metafrontier directional distance function approach using life cycle analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beltrán-Esteve, Mercedes, E-mail: mercedes.beltran@uv.es [Department of Applied Economics II, University of Valencia (Spain); Reig-Martínez, Ernest [Department of Applied Economics II, University of Valencia, Ivie (Spain); Estruch-Guitart, Vicent [Department of Economy and Social Sciences, Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain)

2017-03-15

Sustainability analysis requires a joint assessment of environmental, social and economic aspects of production processes. Here we propose the use of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), a metafrontier (MF) directional distance function (DDF) approach, and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), to assess technological and managerial differences in eco-efficiency between production systems. We use LCA to compute six environmental and health impacts associated with the production processes of nearly 200 Spanish citrus farms belonging to organic and conventional farming systems. DEA is then employed to obtain joint economic-environmental farm's scores that we refer to as eco-efficiency. DDF allows us to determine farms' global eco-efficiency scores, as well as eco-efficiency scores with respect to specific environmental impacts. Furthermore, the use of an MF helps us to disentangle technological and managerial eco-inefficiencies by comparing the eco-efficiency of both farming systems with regards to a common benchmark. Our core results suggest that the shift from conventional to organic farming technology would allow a potential reduction in environmental impacts of 80% without resulting in any decline in economic performance. In contrast, as regards farmers' managerial capacities, both systems display quite similar mean scores.

Analysis of the ECO Test Results for Vehicles in the Republic of Croatia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dražen Kovačević

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The work presents the classification of engines for theECO test requirement at the technical inspection of vehicles.The types of harmful components in the raw emission of internalcombustion engine are listed and described, as well asthe possibilities of their reduction. In accordance with theclassification of engines for the ECO test requirements the allowedvalues of harmful components according to the legallystipulated standards in Croatia are given. The study includedthe number of vehicles that passed the ECO test at technicalinspection in 2004 and these were then statistically processedand analyzed according to the type of vehicle, classification ofcar engines for the ECO test requirements and the year ofproduction.

Pilot Comparative Case Study on Eco-innovation Dynamics at firm level

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Yan; Du, Xiangyun; SHAO, Yunfei

2010-01-01

This paper pays special attention to eco-innovations dynamics at firm level. Triple helix twins are employed to disclose the complex collaborations within and across the case companies, as it provides us the possibilities of looking beyond the simpler, linear model of innovation and. Grundfos...... and environmental regulations. Dong Fang (China) is identified as a company at the very beginning of eco-innovation, as its compliance with environmental standards such as ISO 9001, ISO14001, OHSAS 18001 is absent at present; its collaborations with government and universities or research institutions...... helix twins and eco-innovation dynamics is addressed....

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.

Designing environmental performance indicators (EPIs) for eco-efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, B.

1997-01-01

Environmental performance indicators (EPI) were discussed and a method by which companies can design indicators to help measure their progress toward greater eco-efficiency was presented. EPIs are quantitative measures of environmental performance. EPIs can measure one attribute, such as effluent released to water, or they can be a complex index. EPIs track impacts on the environment and provide information for decision making. The need for more eco-efficient companies, i.e. companies that produce useful goods and services while reducing their consumption of resources and while making efforts to reduce pollution, was emphasized

Can Consumers Understand Sustainability through Seafood Eco-Labels? A U.S. and UK Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexis Gutierrez

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In the United States and the United Kingdom, over the last decade major retail chains have increasingly publicized their efforts to supply sustainably sourced and eco-labelled seafood. Debate exists over the extent of consumer demand for this product. Seafood eco-labels purportedly resolve the information asymmetry between producer and consumer, allowing consumers who care about sustainability to easily find and purchase these products. This paper discusses the idealized model of seafood eco-labelling in promoting sustainability and presents results of US and UK case studies based on consumer interviews and surveys, which found that consumers had often seen one or more seafood eco-labels. Two well-established eco-labels, dolphin-safe and organic, drove these rates of sustainable seafood awareness. These rates are interpreted in the context of consumer’s understanding of sustainable. The Sustainable Seafood Movement’s efforts to increase the supply of eco-labelled seafood and elaborate corporate buying policies for sustainable seafood are influencing consumer’s recognition and purchase of certified sustainable seafood products. However, eco-labels are a means to communicate messages about sustainable fisheries to consumers, not an end. Efforts to educate consumers about eco-labels should be a component of ocean literacy efforts, which educate the public about the need for sustainable fisheries.

On the Faces and Phases of Eco-innovation - on the Dynamics of the Greening of the Economy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Maj Munch

2010-01-01

that the concept of eco-innovation could represent the evolutionary economic analysis of the greening of industry and the economy. The paper seeks to contribute to the development of evolutionary eco-innovation theory starting with a fundamental discussion on defining eco-innovation. Hitherto eco-technologies...

ECoG sleep-waking rhythms and bodily activity in the cerveau isolé rat.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakata, K; Kawamura, H

1986-01-01

In rats with a high mesencephalic transection, isolating both the locus coeruleus and raphe nuclei from the forebrain, Electrocorticogram (ECoG) and Electromyogram (EMG) of the neck muscles were continuously recorded. Normal sleep-waking ECoG changes with a significant circadian rhythm reappeared in 4 to 9 days after transection. Neck muscle EMG and bodily movements were independent of the ECoG changes and did not show any significant circadian rhythm. In these high mesencephalic rats with sleep-waking ECoG changes, large bilateral hypothalamic lesions were made by passing DC current either in the preoptic area or in the posterior hypothalamus. After the preoptic area lesions the amount of low voltage fast ECoG per day markedly increased, whereas after the posterior hypothalamic lesions, the total amount of low voltate fast wave per day decreased showing long-lasting slow wave sleep pattern. These results support an idea that the forebrain, especially in the hypothalamus including the preoptic area, a mechanism inducing sleep-waking ECoG changes is localized.

A Product Line Analysis for Eco-Designed Fashion Products: Evidence from an Outdoor Sportswear Brand

OpenAIRE

Luo Wang; Bin Shen

2017-01-01

With the increasing awareness of sustainability, eco-design has been an important trend in the fashion industry. Many fashion brands such as Nike, Adidas, and The North Face have developed sustainable fashion by incorporating eco-design elements. Eco-design is an important part of sustainable supply chains. In this paper, we conducted a product line analysis of eco-designed products from a famous outdoor sportswear brand, Patagonia. We collected Patagonia’s 2017 Spring Season product line dat...

Eco-audit as basis for an integral environment management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sepp, H.M.

1994-01-01

The author explains in a summary the possibility of utilizing the Eco-Audit as enterprise-oriented analysis of its strengths and weaknesses of the ecologically oriented factors, as well as its tendency to standardization by the European Union. Furthermore, he deals with the execution of an Eco-Audit in phases and its manifold utilization potentials for the investigated operation, which - when utilized consequently - can be seen in the realization of an integral ecologically oriented management. (orig.) [de

Eco-evolutionary dynamics in a coevolving host-virus system.

Science.gov (United States)

Frickel, Jens; Sieber, Michael; Becks, Lutz

2016-04-01

Eco-evolutionary dynamics have been shown to be important for understanding population and community stability and their adaptive potential. However, coevolution in the framework of eco-evolutionary theory has not been addressed directly. Combining experiments with an algal host and its viral parasite, and mathematical model analyses we show eco-evolutionary dynamics in antagonistic coevolving populations. The interaction between antagonists initially resulted in arms race dynamics (ARD) with selective sweeps, causing oscillating host-virus population dynamics. However, ARD ended and populations stabilised after the evolution of a general resistant host, whereas a trade-off between host resistance and growth then maintained host diversity over time (trade-off driven dynamics). Most importantly, our study shows that the interaction between ecology and evolution had important consequences for the predictability of the mode and tempo of adaptive change and for the stability and adaptive potential of populations. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Comparative techno-economic analysis of biohydrogen production via bio-oil gasification and bio-oil reforming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yanan; Brown, Tristan R.; Hu, Guiping; Brown, Robert C.

2013-01-01

This paper evaluates the economic feasibility of biohydrogen production via two bio-oil processing pathways: bio-oil gasification and bio-oil reforming. Both pathways employ fast pyrolysis to produce bio-oil from biomass stock. The two pathways are modeled using Aspen Plus ® for a 2000 t d −1 facility. Equipment sizing and cost calculations are based on Aspen Economic Evaluation® software. Biohydrogen production capacity at the facility is 147 t d −1 for the bio-oil gasification pathway and 160 t d −1 for the bio-oil reforming pathway. The biomass-to-fuel energy efficiencies are 47% and 84% for the bio-oil gasification and bio-oil reforming pathways, respectively. Total capital investment (TCI) is 435 million dollars for the bio-oil gasification pathway and is 333 million dollars for the bio-oil reforming pathway. Internal rates of return (IRR) are 8.4% and 18.6% for facilities employing the bio-oil gasification and bio-oil reforming pathways, respectively. Sensitivity analysis demonstrates that biohydrogen price, biohydrogen yield, fixed capital investment (FCI), bio-oil yield, and biomass cost have the greatest impacts on facility IRR. Monte-Carlo analysis shows that bio-oil reforming is more economically attractive than bio-oil gasification for biohydrogen production. -- Highlights: ► Biohydrogen production via bio-oil reforming has higher energy efficiency compared to gasification. ► Hydrogen price, fixed capital cost, and feedstock cost most strongly affect IRR. ► Lower risk investment is biohydrogen production via bio-oil reforming

Exploring the Importance of Employing Bio and Nano-Materials for Energy Efficient Buildings Construction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mona Naguib

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The continued and increasing use of ordinary building materials to house the ever-growing world population ensures growing contributions of carbon (C to the active carbon cycle through carbon dioxide (C02 emissions from combustion and chemical reactions in the raw material to the atmosphere. To minimize this, materials should be conserved, reduce their unnecessary use, produce them more benignly and make them last longer, recycle and reuse materials. Thus, paper will focus on exploring alternative building materials and systems that can be developed in order to balance atmospheric carbon dioxide.  It also presents the Bio-inspired architecture approach that embraces the eco-friendly practices of using Biomaterials and Nano-materials for sustainable dwelling construction through a number of examples that shows how a building can be strongly related to its site.

EPA EcoBox Tools by Stressors

Science.gov (United States)

Eco-Box is a toolbox for exposure assessors. Its purpose is to provide a compendium of exposure assessment and risk characterization tools that will present comprehensive step-by-step guidance and links to relevant exposure assessment data bases

D-Amino acid oxidase bio-functionalized platforms: Toward an enhanced enzymatic bio-activity

Science.gov (United States)

Herrera, Elisa; Valdez Taubas, Javier; Giacomelli, Carla E.

2015-11-01

The purpose of this work is to study the adsorption process and surface bio-activity of His-tagged D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) from Rhodotorula gracilis (His6-RgDAAO) as the first step for the development of an electrochemical bio-functionalized platform. With such a purpose this work comprises: (a) the His6-RgDAAO bio-activity in solution determined by amperometry, (b) the adsorption mechanism of His6-RgDAAO on bare gold and carboxylated modified substrates in the absence (substrate/COO-) and presence of Ni(II) (substrate/COO- + Ni(II)) determined by reflectometry, and (c) the bio-activity of the His6-RgDAAO bio-functionalized platforms determined by amperometry. Comparing the adsorption behavior and bio-activity of His6-RgDAAO on these different solid substrates allows understanding the contribution of the diverse interactions responsible for the platform performance. His6-RgDAAO enzymatic performance in solution is highly improved when compared to the previously used pig kidney (pk) DAAO. His6-RgDAAO exhibits an amperometrically detectable bio-activity at concentrations as low as those expected on a bio-functional platform; hence, it is a viable bio-recognition element of D-amino acids to be coupled to electrochemical platforms. Moreover, His6-RgDAAO bio-functionalized platforms exhibit a higher surface activity than pkDAAO physically adsorbed on gold. The platform built on Ni(II) modified substrates present enhanced bio-activity because the surface complexes histidine-Ni(II) provide with site-oriented, native-like enzymes. The adsorption mechanism responsible of the excellent performance of the bio-functionalized platform takes place in two steps involving electrostatic and bio-affinity interactions whose prevalence depends on the degree of surface coverage.

One size does not fit all: Establishing the need for targeted eco-feedback

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khosrowpour, Ardalan; Xie, Yimeng; Taylor, John E.; Hong, Yili

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We examined occupants’ responses to an eco-feedback system in a commercial building. • We analyzed the impact of notifications on the level of engagement of participants. • We found notification effectiveness to be highly dependent on the type of feedback. • Occupant response to uniform normative comparison eco-feedback varied substantially. • This highlights the need for targeted eco-feedback based on consumption patterns. - Abstract: Despite all improvements in buildings shell, equipment, and design, CO_2 emissions from buildings are increasing. Since occupants spend more than 87% of their time indoors, they are inseparable and significant elements of building system dynamics. Hence, there is a great potential for energy efficiency in buildings using a wide range of programs such as intervention and eco-feedback. Despite the high level of individual differences and intra-class variability of occupants’ behaviors, the current state-of-the-art eco-feedback programs treat all the occupants uniformly and do not target and tailor the feedback. Therefore, it leaves an opportunity to increase the efficacy of eco-feedback systems through the designing of tailored and targeted programs. In this paper, we conducted a comprehensive analysis and tested hypotheses on occupants’ behavioral responses to a normative comparison feedback program, in addition to the impact of notifications on the level of engagement of each group of occupants. We categorized occupants who participated in the normative comparison feedback program into three groups (i.e. low, medium, and high energy consumers) based on their baseline energy consumption, and tested 9 hypotheses. A mixed-effect regression model (MRM) and a paired t-test was implemented to evaluate the proposed hypotheses. The hypotheses examine the variability of occupants’ responses under the same eco-feedback program, and the effectiveness of notifications on reinforcing occupants’ engagement in

Utilization of waste glass in ECO-cement: Strength properties and microstructural observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobolev, Konstantin; Tuerker, Pelin; Soboleva, Svetlana; Iscioglu, Gunsel

2007-01-01

Waste glass creates a serious environmental problem, mainly because of the inconsistency of the waste glass streams. The use of waste glass as a finely ground mineral additive (FGMA) in cement is a promising direction for recycling. Based on the method of mechano-chemical activation, a new group of ECO-cements was developed. In ECO-cement, relatively large amounts (up to 70%) of portland cement clinker can be replaced with waste glass. This report examines the effect of waste glass on the microstructure and strength of ECO-cement based materials. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigations were used to observe the changes in the cement hydrates and interface between the cement matrix and waste glass particles. According to the research results, the developed ECO-cement with 50% of waste glass possessed compressive strength properties at a level similar to normal portland cement

Eco-Efficiency Indicators for Urban Transport

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick Moriarty

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on urban passenger transport eco-efficiency, which can be defined as the production of maximum benefits to society while minimising environmental impacts from urban transport’s inputs of energy and materials. Researchers have intensively studied transport’s varied environmental impacts, particularly through Life Cycle Assessment; this paper argues that primary transport energy per capita is presently the best measure of impact. Although transport’s societal benefits have generally been regarded as self-evident, access to out-of-home activities, not passenger-km, should be considered as the fundamental useful output of an urban transport system, since transport is a derived demand. We argue that access levels are roughly similar in all high-income OECD cities, so that these cities can be ranked on transport eco-efficiency simply on the basis of per capita primary transport energy.

Eco-balance of a vacuum insulation panel (VIP); Oekobilanz eines Vakuum-Isolations-Paneels (VIP)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schonhardt, U.; Binz, A.; Wohler, M.; Dott, R. [Institut fuer Energie - Fachhochschule beider Basel, Muttenz (Switzerland); Frischknecht, R. [ESU-services, Uster (Switzerland)

2003-07-01

This report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) made by the Institute for Energy at the University of Applied Sciences in Muttenz and ESU Services in Uster, Switzerland, presents the results of an eco-balance made on the ecological impact of vacuum insulation panels. These panels are being used more and more instead of bulky, traditional insulation materials. The three eco-balance models used - Eco-Indicator 99, Ecological Scarcity UBP 97 and Cumulative Energy Use KEA - are introduced. Comparisons were made between vacuum insulation systems and glass-fibre and polystyrene insulation materials. The methods used are described and the results of the eco-balance analyses made are presented for the three types of insulation. In an appendix to the report, the influence of power generation methods and transport services on the eco-balance is discussed.

Effects of Eco-Drive Education on the Reduction of Fuel Consumption and CO2 Emissions

OpenAIRE

Barić, Danijela; Zovak, Goran; Periša, Marko

2013-01-01

Sustainable mobility is the basic and long-term goal of the traffic policy. Eco-driving represents one of 40 measures that should by 2050 contribute to 60% of traffic-generated emission reduction. The paper presents the significance of educating the drivers about eco-driving as well as eco-drive training with the aim of reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emission. During research the drivers were tested in three cycles, prior to education, immediately following the education and eco-training a...

La (desconexión mujeres y naturaleza: Propuestas eco y/o ciber-feministas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María José Guerra Palmero

2012-04-01

Full Text Available El objetivo de este texto es reivindicar el papel de la creatividad teórica y política eco y ciber-feminista para ofrecer nuevos imaginarios sociales liberadores como el del cyborg, un nuevo icono. Esto último responde a la subversión epistemológica y metodológica de los ecofeminismos y los ciberfeminismos, opciones teórico-políticas que dislocan y desafían los estériles tópicos de los discursos misóginos. Tales estrategias subversivas son hoy lugar común de los estudios culturales feministas. La reflexión sobre la hibridación y la monstruosidad se incardina en las obras de diferentes autoras de referencia como Donna Haraway o Sadie Plant. La conclusión a la que llegamos es que la utopía de un mundo postgenérico, propuesto desde un ímpetu liberador ligado a las bio/ciber/tecnologías, no puede renegar de la ecología y de la cultura de la vida. Evaluamos, por lo tanto, el giro posthumanista desde criterios normativos igualitaristas y sostenibles.

tmBioC: improving interoperability of text-mining tools with BioC.

Science.gov (United States)

Khare, Ritu; Wei, Chih-Hsuan; Mao, Yuqing; Leaman, Robert; Lu, Zhiyong

2014-01-01

The lack of interoperability among biomedical text-mining tools is a major bottleneck in creating more complex applications. Despite the availability of numerous methods and techniques for various text-mining tasks, combining different tools requires substantial efforts and time owing to heterogeneity and variety in data formats. In response, BioC is a recent proposal that offers a minimalistic approach to tool interoperability by stipulating minimal changes to existing tools and applications. BioC is a family of XML formats that define how to present text documents and annotations, and also provides easy-to-use functions to read/write documents in the BioC format. In this study, we introduce our text-mining toolkit, which is designed to perform several challenging and significant tasks in the biomedical domain, and repackage the toolkit into BioC to enhance its interoperability. Our toolkit consists of six state-of-the-art tools for named-entity recognition, normalization and annotation (PubTator) of genes (GenNorm), diseases (DNorm), mutations (tmVar), species (SR4GN) and chemicals (tmChem). Although developed within the same group, each tool is designed to process input articles and output annotations in a different format. We modify these tools and enable them to read/write data in the proposed BioC format. We find that, using the BioC family of formats and functions, only minimal changes were required to build the newer versions of the tools. The resulting BioC wrapped toolkit, which we have named tmBioC, consists of our tools in BioC, an annotated full-text corpus in BioC, and a format detection and conversion tool. Furthermore, through participation in the 2013 BioCreative IV Interoperability Track, we empirically demonstrate that the tools in tmBioC can be more efficiently integrated with each other as well as with external tools: Our experimental results show that using BioC reduces >60% in lines of code for text-mining tool integration. The tmBioC toolkit

EcoVillage: A Net Zero Energy Ready Community

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arena, L. [Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings, Norwalk, CT (United States); Faakye, O. [Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings, Norwalk, CT (United States)

2015-02-01

CARB is working with the EcoVillage co-housing community in Ithaca, New York, on their third neighborhood called the Third Residential EcoVillage Experience (TREE). This community scale project consists of 40 housing units --15 apartments and 25 single family residences. The community is pursuing certifications for DOE Zero Energy Ready Home, U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold, and ENERGY STAR for the entire project. Additionally, seven of the 25 homes, along with the four-story apartment building and community center, are being constructed to the Passive House (PH) design standard.

Eco-power from the holiday-corner of Switzerland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niederhauesern, A.

2005-01-01

This article takes a look at how the Swiss Raetia-Energie group markets ecologically produced power. As opposed to physically delivering the electricity to its eco-customers, Raetia Energie sells certificates for the production of this form of clean power. The price of the certificates reflects the difference between the higher price for the eco-electricity and normal, non-certified power. The article discusses this mechanism, which is successfully used for customers in Switzerland and Germany. Part of the earnings made from the 'Naturemade Star' certified electricity is used to finance ecological projects in the company's area, famous for its tourist attractions

Dead-end eco-state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schauerhammer, R.

1990-01-01

The author comes to the conclusion that, in its present form, the ecology movement is creating a conflict which is alienating man from nature. He investigates the validity of theories about the ozone hole, the greenhouse effect and general pollution. The author also shows that the arguments for environmental conservation favour nuclear technology. The political development of the Green Movement is depicted up to the eco-dictatorship. (DG) [de

Eco-Webbing: A Teaching Strategy to Facilitate Critical Consciousness and Agency

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Joseph M.; McMahon, H. George; Goodman, Rachael D.

2015-01-01

Eco-webbing is a teaching strategy that can be used to help counselor educators integrate a social justice focus into their courses. Preliminary data indicated increased critical consciousness and social justice agency as a result of using eco-webbing with counseling students (N = 17). The authors provide implications for counselor educators and…

Eco-innovation Dynamics and Green Economic Change: the role of sectoral-specific patterns

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Maj Munch; Faria, Lourenco

2015-01-01

This paper investigates the features of Green Economic Change process at the meso-level, the greening of industries. We posit that, as for “traditional” innovations, it is possible to identify sectoral eco-innovation patterns and that these represent key but neglected factors in the dynamics...... of green economic evolution. . The paper represents early speculative conceptual work. We have posited that, as for “general” innovations, it is possible to identify sectoral eco-innovation patterns and that these represent key but neglected factors in the dynamics of green economic chance. The paper...... identifies seven specific characteristics of eco-innovation which form the basis for identifying 4 core hypothesis which may explain sectoral heterogeneity and identify likely sectoral eco-innovation leaders....

Umberto Eco: Freedom and the limits of artwork interpretation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kršić Lamija

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In his study The Open Work (1962 Umberto Eco commenced his long term exploration of the nature of interpreting an artwork. The author problematizes the question of freedom and the limits of artwork interpretation in the context of semiology and theory of semiotics. Although the contemporary debates on interpreting art focus on interpretation and interpreter, that is to say, on unconditional openness of the work, Eco reminds us of the other side of the interpreting process - controllability of the interpretative activity and limitations of reading in new meanings. The paper points to the various theoretical basis on which Eco propagates the dialectics between the form and openness of a work of art, in other words, between intentio operis and intentio lectoris. This position enables him to differentiate art from nonart, as well as to consider interpretation of a work of art not as a self-sufficing process, but from the point of view of human experience.

Some challenges in eco-hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Porporato, A.

2007-12-01

The importance of the mutual interactions between biosphere in hydrosphere has become increasingly apparent in both the ecological and hydrological sciences. In hydrology, while the role of plants in controlling soil water balance has been recognized from some time, more subtle controls have also been realized, such as the impact of soil organic matter on soil water dynamics and soil properties, the plant control on infiltration, erosion, and geomorphology. Ecosystem dynamics and land-use changes have also been recognized to impact water availability and quality. On the other hand, biologists and ecologists have increased their attention towards the dynamics of the terrestrial water balance and its impact on plants (photosynthesis, plant growth and reproduction) as well as microbial life (and thus decomposition and the entire cycling of nutrients and carbon fluxes). In this eco-hydrological context, we discuss: (i) the need to distinguish complex from complicated eco- hydrologic behaviors, which are both expected to be present in systems with many degrees of freedom, spatial heterogeneity, nonlinearities and feedbacks (and with biological components). (ii) The use of ideas and tools from complex systems science and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics to explore possible emerging behaviors and patterns. (iii) The importance of intermittency and of the entire spectrum of eco-hydrologic fluctuations conferred by the system nonlinearities, and their connection to a possible theory of biologically- meaningful hydroclimatic extremes. (iv) The need for further research of basic questions yet unanswered (e.g., role of organic matter/roots on soil water balance and soil properties; vegetation control on infiltration; competition for water by plants; role of plant control on uptake (e.g., hydraulic lift)). (v) Ways to merge observations, minimalist models and complex numerical simulations as well as to increase communication of hydrologists with physicists, statisticians

Bio-oil fractionation and condensation

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Robert C; Jones, Samuel T; Pollard, Anthony

2013-07-02

A method of fractionating bio-oil vapors which involves providing bio-oil vapors comprising bio-oil constituents is described. The bio-oil vapors are cooled in a first stage which comprises a condenser having passages for the bio-oil separated by a heat conducting wall from passages for a coolant. The coolant in the condenser of the first stage is maintained at a substantially constant temperature, set at a temperature in the range of 75 to 100.degree. C., to condense a first liquid fraction of liquefied bio-oil constituents in the condenser of the first stage. The first liquid fraction of liquified bio-oil constituents from the condenser in the first stage is collected. Also described are steps for subsequently recovering further liquid fractions of liquefied bio-oil constituents. Particular compositions of bio-oil condensation products are also described.

A new method of regional eco-environmental quality assessment and its application.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaodan; Cao, Yingzi; Zhong, Xianghao; Gao, Pan

2012-01-01

Eco-environmental quality assessment (EQA) is an intricate and challenging task that must take into account numerous natural, economic, political, and social factors, which are subject to multiple conflicting criteria. In this paper, a methodological reference framework is developed for EQA that combines the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) with a geographic information system (GIS). The proposed method significantly improves the accuracy and reliability of evaluation results through the incorporation of fuzzy set theory. A GIS not only has the ability to store and analyze large amounts of spatial data from different sources but also provides a consistent visualization environment for displaying the input data and the results of EQA. Furthermore, unlike prior EQAs, the proposed method can support the dynamic estimation of regional eco-environmental quality by updating historical spatiotemporal data at little additional cost. A case study is presented for the western Tibetan Plateau. The study results show that worse, bad, and moderate eco-environmental quality classes comprised 16.58, 20.15, and 24.84% of the total area, respectively. Good and better eco-environmental quality classes accounted for 38.43%. This result indicates that nearly 62% of the total area is eco-environmentally vulnerable. The results verified the usefulness and feasibility of the proposed method. The EQA can also help local managers make scientifically based and effective decisions about Tibetan eco-environmental protection and land use. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Combinatorial Nano-Bio Interfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Pingqiang; Zhang, Xiaoqian; Wang, Ming; Wu, Yun-Long; Chen, Xiaodong

2018-06-08

Nano-bio interfaces are emerging from the convergence of engineered nanomaterials and biological entities. Despite rapid growth, clinical translation of biomedical nanomaterials is heavily compromised by the lack of comprehensive understanding of biophysicochemical interactions at nano-bio interfaces. In the past decade, a few investigations have adopted a combinatorial approach toward decoding nano-bio interfaces. Combinatorial nano-bio interfaces comprise the design of nanocombinatorial libraries and high-throughput bioevaluation. In this Perspective, we address challenges in combinatorial nano-bio interfaces and call for multiparametric nanocombinatorics (composition, morphology, mechanics, surface chemistry), multiscale bioevaluation (biomolecules, organelles, cells, tissues/organs), and the recruitment of computational modeling and artificial intelligence. Leveraging combinatorial nano-bio interfaces will shed light on precision nanomedicine and its potential applications.

Actualizing Communities of Practice (COPs and Situated Learning for A Sustainable Eco-Village

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Victoria Pineda

2016-05-01

Full Text Available An eco-village as defined by Robert Gilman is a “human-scale, full-featured settlement where you feel you know the others, and human activities are integrated with natural, biological systems.” Roland Mayerl argued that this maybe ideal, but there are huge challenges. He claims the challenges are at different levels—there is the physical layer that constitutes food production, animals, water and wastewater treatment. Other layers will be the built environment, the economic system and the governance in the village.This paper argues that one of the challenging layers is the human layer that was excluded in the modeling of many eco-village works. While there are many good models of an eco-village, sustainability will primarily be laid on the shoulders of the members of the community or the village for that matter. Sustainability should be espoused by the members of the eco-village. But how can sustainability be attained? What sustainability approach or strategy can be employed?“Communities of practice (COP are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavor.“ (Wenger, 2004 COPs are concepts commonly applied in organizations and virtual communities. Using this approach together with periphery participation and situated learning, this paper presents a human-based model of a sustainable eco-village and some useful examples.The paper also argues that an eco-village necessitates the support of technology in enhancing and preserving the shared practices. Hence, use of social media deployed in the web is one of the recommended ways that also permit collective action among members of the eco-village.

2010 World bio-energy conference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

After having evoked the bio-energy price awarded to a Brazilian for his works on the use of eucalyptus as energy source, this report proposes a synthesis of the highlights of the conference: discussions about sustainability, bio-energies as an opportunity for developing countries, the success of bio-energies in Sweden, and more particularly some technological advances in the field of biofuels: a bio-LPG by Biofuel-solution AB, catalysis, bio-diesel from different products in a Swedish farm, a second generation ethanol by the Danish company Inbicon, a large scale methanization in Goteborg, a bio-refinery concept in Sweden, bio-gases

Uma jornada histórica de Umberto Eco em busca da beleza

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elaine Cristina Senko

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Esta é uma resenha da importante obra de Umberto Eco "História da Beleza". ECO, Umberto. História da Beleza. Tradução de Eliana Aguiar. 3ª edição. Rio de Janeiro: Record, 2013, 438 p.

Eco-efficiency of intensification scenarios for milk production in New Zealand

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Basset-Mens, Claudine; Ledgard, Stewart; Boyes, Mark [AgResearch Limited, Ruakura Research Centre, East Street, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton (New Zealand)

2009-04-15

New Zealand (NZ) dairy farms used to be the lowest input and most efficient dairy farms of the world. However, intensification of the traditional pasture-based system has occurred over the last decade and has not always been accompanied by increased efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to produce an updated reference of the eco-efficiency of NZ dairy farm systems and to analyse the implications of intensification on their eco-efficiency. Results for an average NZ dairy farm system were compared with those for three dairy farmlet systems representing a wide range in intensification practices. A low input system (LI) (no N fertiliser, no brought-in feed supplement, stocking rate of 2.3 cows/ha) was compared with an N-fertilised farm system (NF) (170 kg fertiliser-N/ha/year, 3 cows/ha) representing a first level of intensification and with an N-fertilised and maize silage supplemented system (NFMS) (170 kg fertiliser-N/ha/year, 13 t DM maize silage/ha/year, 5.2 cows/ha), representing a possible future intensification option. Their eco-efficiency in terms of milk production and land use was compared using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. NZ dairy farm systems rely on favourable temperate climate conditions and long-term perennial ryegrass/white clover pasture, to achieve eco-efficient milk production and land use compared to European systems. However, intensification of NZ dairy farms was shown to be detrimental to their eco-efficiency in terms both of milk production and land use functions and could greatly reduce their advantage compared to European systems. The eco-efficiency of LI was very high whatever the functional unit which is remarkable from an LCA perspective. NF and NFMS had a similar eco-efficiency except for energy use which corresponded to the most critical hot spot of NFMS. All studied NZ systems presented some areas for improvement where some new technologies available for dairy farms might play a promising role in the future. Finally, it

[Eco-epidemiology: towards epidemiology of complexity].

Science.gov (United States)

Bizouarn, Philippe

2016-05-01

In order to solve public health problems posed by the epidemiology of risk factors centered on the individual and neglecting the causal processes linking the risk factors with the health outcomes, Mervyn Susser proposed a multilevel epidemiology called eco-epidemiology, addressing the interdependence of individuals and their connection with molecular, individual, societal, environmental levels of organization participating in the causal disease processes. The aim of this epidemiology is to integrate more than a level of organization in design, analysis and interpretation of health problems. After presenting the main criticisms of risk-factor epidemiology focused on the individual, we will try to show how eco-epidemiology and its development could help to understand the need for a broader and integrative epidemiology, in which studies designed to identify risk factors would be balanced by studies designed to answer other questions equally vital to public health. © 2016 médecine/sciences – Inserm.

Identification, characterization and potent antitumor activity of ECO-4601, a novel peripheral benzodiazepine receptor ligand.

Science.gov (United States)

Gourdeau, Henriette; McAlpine, James B; Ranger, Maxime; Simard, Bryan; Berger, Francois; Beaudry, Francis; Farnet, Chris M; Falardeau, Pierre

2008-05-01

ECO-4601 is a structurally novel farnesylated dibenzodiazepinone discovered through DECIPHER technology, Thallion's proprietary drug discovery platform. The compound was shown to have a broad cytotoxic activity in the low micromolar range when tested in the NCI 60 cell line panel. In the work presented here, ECO-4601 was further evaluated against brain tumor cell lines. Preliminary mechanistic studies as well as in vivo antitumor evaluation were performed. Since ECO-4601 has a benzodiazepinone moiety, we first investigated if it binds the central and/or peripheral benzodiazepine receptors. ECO-4601 was tested in radioligand binding assays on benzodiazepine receptors obtained from rat hearts. The ability of ECO-4601 to inhibit the growth of CNS cancers was evaluated on a panel of mouse, rat and human glioma cell lines using a standard MTT assay. Antitumor efficacy studies were performed on gliomas (rat and human), human breast and human prostate mouse tumor xenografts. Antitumor activity and pharmacokinetic analysis of ECO-4601 was evaluated following intravenous (i.v.), subcutaneous (s.c.), and intraperitoneal (i.p.) bolus administrations. ECO-4601 was shown to bind the peripheral but not the central benzodiazepine receptor and inhibited the growth of CNS tumor cell lines. Bolus s.c. and i.p. administration gave rise to low but sustained drug exposure, and resulted in moderate to significant antitumor activity at doses that were well tolerated. In a rat glioma (C6) xenograft model, ECO-4601 produced up to 70% tumor growth inhibition (TGI) while in a human glioma (U-87MG) xenograft, TGI was 34%. Antitumor activity was highly significant in both human hormone-independent breast (MDA-MB-231) and prostate (PC-3) xenografts, resulting in TGI of 72 and 100%, respectively. On the other hand, i.v. dosing was followed by rapid elimination of the drug and was ineffective. Antitumor efficacy of ECO-4601 appears to be associated with the exposure parameter AUC and/or sustained

CHOICE Internal report I-4: The current status of ICT R&D&I for Chinese Eco-Cities

OpenAIRE

Owens, TJ; Itagaki, T

2015-01-01

This report attempts to give a flavour of the current of status of ICT R&D&I for Chinese Eco-cities and thereby provide some insights into the potential of China’s emerging market for Eco-city solutions for EU- China collaborative ICT R&D&I. It addresses Eco-city standards development in China. Evaluation Centres for Eco-City software solutions, the context into which ICT for Chinese Eco-cities fits, Chinese ICT R&D in smart cities, EU-China collaboration in ICT R&D smart cities, EU Member st...

DOES ECO-EFFICENCY REDUCE THE COST OF EQUITY CAPITAL? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIA

OpenAIRE

Lisa Alviani; Mahfud Sholihin

2015-01-01

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of eco-efficiency on the cost of equity capital. The study hypothesizes that the implementation of eco-efficiency reduces the cost of equity capital. Using manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange for the period 2010-2012 as data, and controlling for beta, company size, Book to Market ratio, and leverage; the study finds that the implementation of eco-efficiency may reduce the cost of equity capital. The findings sugg...

A Transcriptome—Targeting EcoChip for Assessing Functional Mycodiversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Derek Peršoh

2011-10-01

Full Text Available A functional biodiversity microarray (EcoChip prototype has been developed to facilitate the analysis of fungal communities in environmental samples with broad functional and phylogenetic coverage and to enable the incorporation of nucleic acid sequence data as they become available from large-scale (next generation sequencing projects. A dual probe set (DPS was designed to detect a functional enzyme transcripts at conserved protein sites and b phylogenetic barcoding transcripts at ITS regions present in precursor rRNA. Deviating from the concept of GeoChip-type microarrays, the presented EcoChip microarray phylogenetic information was obtained using a dedicated set of barcoding microarray probes, whereas functional gene expression was analyzed by conserved domain-specific probes. By unlinking these two target groups, the shortage of broad sequence information of functional enzyme-coding genes in environmental communities became less important. The novel EcoChip microarray could be successfully applied to identify specific degradation activities in environmental samples at considerably high phylogenetic resolution. Reproducible and unbiased microarray signals could be obtained with chemically labeled total RNA preparations, thus avoiding the use of enzymatic labeling steps. ITS precursor rRNA was detected for the first time in a microarray experiment, which confirms the applicability of the EcoChip concept to selectively quantify the transcriptionally active part of fungal communities at high phylogenetic resolution. In addition, the chosen microarray platform facilitates the conducting of experiments with high sample throughput in almost any molecular biology laboratory.

Is the Eco Audit Ordinance an effective instrument for the protection of the environment?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hickmann, M.; Wasser, U.; Wolf, F.

1994-01-01

Mr. Adams' discussion of the Eco-Audit Ordinance needs to be supplemented to by pointed out that, different from producers, the gas and water utilities are excluded from a participation in this communal system as laid down by the current version of the Eco-Audit Ordinance. But utilities are welcomed to observe the introduction and practical implementation of the Eco-Audit System in active and constructive way. (orig.) [de

EcoDesign and future environmental impacts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeswiet, Jack; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2005-01-01

This paper describes the relation between EcoDesign and Life Cycle Engineering; both include Product Engineering as a focal point. Product Engineering includes both product design and manufacture, two fields which are changing quickly. In addition, this paper shows where future changes can be exp...

Eco-Technology Licensing under Emission Tax: Royalty vs. Fixed-Fee

OpenAIRE

Seung-Leul Kim; Sang-Ho Lee

2014-01-01

This article considers the licensing strategies of eco-technology when an innovator provides pollution abatement goods to oligopolistic polluting firms that produce consumption goods and emit environmental pollutants. In the presence of emission tax, two types of licensing contracts, royalty and fixed-fee, are examined to analyze market equilibrium and to compare their welfare consequences. We show that an eco-innovator provides a non-exclusive license under a royalty contract while it might ...

Does Eco-efficency Reduce the Cost of Equity Capital? Empirical Evidence From Indonesia

OpenAIRE

Alviani, Lisa; Sholihin, Mahfud

2015-01-01

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of eco-efficiency on the cost of equity capital. The study hypothesizes that the implementation of eco-efficiency reduces the cost of equity capital. Using manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange for the period 2010-2012 as data, and controlling for beta, company size, Book to Market ratio, and leverage; the study finds that the implementation of eco-efficiency may reduce the cost of equity capital. The findings sugg...

Eco-tourism potential along the Indian coasts

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Untawale, A.G.; Dhargalkar, V.K.

in India for creating awareness in education, research, conservation, sustainable utilization and management of flora and fauna. India has several biosphere reserves, marine parks and sanctuaries having different eco-biological components and uniqueness...

Pre-Service Teacher Opinions about Eco-Friendly Person Activity Package Developed to Raise Environmental Awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Candan, Sevcan; Erten, Sinan

2015-01-01

In this study, the effectiveness of Eco-Friendly Person Activity Package developed in order to raise environmental awareness in pre-service teachers and enable them to be an example of an eco-friendly teacher for their future students, and the responses about Eco-Friendly Person Activity Package were investigated. The study was conducted on 75…

Bio-oil and bio-char production from biomass and their structural analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kilic, Murat; Özsin, Gamzenur; Pütün, Ayşe E.; Pütün, Ersan

2015-01-01

Energy demand is increasing day by day because of the rapid developments in the population, industrialization and urbanisation. Since, fossil fuels will be at the verge of getting extinct, researches are mostly focused on the renewable sources, such as biomass, in recent years. This paper provides an environmentally friendly process to convert waste biomass samples to bio-oil and bio-char by pyrolysis. For this purpose, pyrolysis characteristics of pomegranate peels under inert atmosphere were studied by using both TGA to analysis decomposition behaviour and a batch reactor to investigate product yields and properties. The properties of bio-oil and bio-char were investigated by different analytical techniques such as GC-MS, FT-IR, SEM, He pycnometry and elemental analysis. As a consequence, it is possible to obtain bio-oil, which has similar properties like petroleum hydrocarbons, and to obtain bio-char, which can be further used as a solid fuel or a carbonaceous adsorbent material via pyrolysis process. (full text)

Analisis Pengaruh Eco-Label terhadap Kesadaran Konsumen untuk Membeli Green Product

OpenAIRE

Muslim, Erlinda; Indriani, Dyah Rusty

2014-01-01

. Pandangan manusia telah bergeser seiring dengan meningkatnya kepedulian terhadap lingkungan, sehingga menimbulkan tuntutan bagi pelaku bisnis untuk memberikan solusi dalam menghadapi berbagai permasalahan lingkungan melalui pengembangan green product. Eco-label sebagai jaminan mutu green product merupakan isu di dunia bisnis dan perdagangan global saat ini. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah menerapkan Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) untuk mengetahui pengaruh eco-label terhadap kesadaran kons...

EcoWellness & Guiding Principles for the Ethical Integration of Nature into Counseling

Science.gov (United States)

Reese, Ryan F.

2016-01-01

Connection with nature impacts human wellness, yet few resources currently exist in the international literature to help guide clinicians in the ethical integration of EcoWellness into therapeutic processes. Ethical principles for EcoWellness practice are introduced and linked to applicable portions of the American Counseling Association's (2014)…

Construction and curation of a large ecotoxicological dataset for the EcoTTC

Science.gov (United States)

The Ecological Threshold for Toxicological Concern, or ecoTTC, has been proposed as a natural next step to the well-known human safety TTC concept. The ecoTTC is particularly suited for use as an early screening tool in the risk assessment process, in situations where chemical h...

LOS ECO BUSINESS: EL PRESENTE Y FUTURO DE LOS NEGOCIOS INTERNACIONALES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Enrique Rodríguez Guevara

2013-06-01

Full Text Available El artículo busca describir lo que son los eco negocios en la actualidad, y su potencial en los mercados futuros. Para esta propuesta se desarrollan tres objetivos específicos: el primero iniciando con contextualizar los eco negocios y su importancia en el entorno global; el segundo, identificar experiencias significativas en los eco negocios internacionales, una mirada desde las tendencias de la oferta global, y desde las tendencias del comportamiento del consumidor. Un tercer objetivo, ilustrar la necesidad del comercio justo en la economía internacional, y la identificación de organizaciones que la promueven; por último, conclusiones y recomendaciones que permitan ampliar el análisis de los negocios internacionales y su tendencia.

The Role of Animals in Eco-functional Intensification of Organic Agriculture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vaarst, Mette

2015-01-01

Eco-functional intensification is understood as building synergies in multi-functional and resilient agricultural systems in harmony with their surrounding environment and human systems, to the benefit of diversified production of food and beyond, as in, for example, ecosystem services. Integration...... of animals into eco-functionally intensified agricultural systems to enhance agricultural, ecological and social systems, can contribute to driving a future sustainable development of organic agricultural and food systems. This approach may respond to challenges of an increasing industrialization...... to respond to current challenges in constantly changing environments, e.g., climate change. A necessary driver in transition towards more eco-functionally intensified agricultural and food systems is a governance system which protect the actors without a voice, e.g., ecosystems, pollinators, animals...

Trust and responsible eco managing. The case of state controlled repacking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rittenhofer, Iris

systems. It takes a postmodern stance and discusses the case from the perspective of trust, responsible management, cosmopolitanization, the ‘transparent society’ and ‘green growth’ strategies. In the concluding section, the implications for the further development of a concept ‘responsible management......The paper is concerned with a case of local management of eco certification. With outset in a case study, the paper explores the relation of eco certification to economy, society and culture. The paper emphasizes the multidimensional quality of local eco management of global organic agrifood......’ are discussed and suggestions for future research are made. The paper draws on multidisciplinary research from management and business studies, intercultural and cross-cultural communication, trust research, cultural studies, philosophy and discourse studies....

Community-centred eco-bio-social approach to control dengue vectors: an intervention study from Myanmar.

Science.gov (United States)

Wai, Khin Thet; Htun, Pe Than; Oo, Tin; Myint, Hla; Lin, Zaw; Kroeger, Axel; Sommerfeld, Johannes; Petzold, Max

2012-12-01

To build up and analyse the feasibility, process, and effectiveness of a partnership-driven ecosystem management intervention in reducing dengue vector breeding and constructing sustainable partnerships among multiple stakeholders. A community-based intervention study was conducted from May 2009 to January 2010 in Yangon city. Six high-risk and six low-risk clusters were randomized and allocated as intervention and routine service areas, respectively. For each cluster, 100 households were covered. Bi-monthly entomological evaluations (i.e. larval and pupal surveys) and household acceptability surveys at the end of 6-month intervention period were conducted, supplemented by qualitative evaluations. Intervention description: The strategies included eco-friendly multi-stakeholder partner groups (Thingaha) and ward-based volunteers, informed decision-making of householders, followed by integrated vector management approach. Pupae per person index (PPI) decreased at the last evaluation by 5·7% (0·35-0·33) in high-risk clusters. But in low-risk clusters, PPI remarkably decreased by 63·6% (0·33-0·12). In routine service area, PPI also decreased due to availability of Temephos after Cyclone Nargis. As for total number of pupae in all containers, when compared to evaluation 1, there was a reduction of 18·6% in evaluation 2 and 44·1% in evaluation 3 in intervention area. However, in routine service area, more reduction was observed. All intervention tools were found as acceptable, being feasible to implement by multi-stakeholder partner groups. The efficacy of community-controlled partnership-driven interventions was found to be superior to the vertical approach in terms of sustainability and community empowerment.

Computational modeling for eco engineering: Making the connections between engineering and ecology (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Bowles, C.

2013-12-01

Ecological engineering, or eco engineering, is an emerging field in the study of integrating ecology and engineering, concerned with the design, monitoring, and construction of ecosystems. According to Mitsch (1996) 'the design of sustainable ecosystems intends to integrate human society with its natural environment for the benefit of both'. Eco engineering emerged as a new idea in the early 1960s, and the concept has seen refinement since then. As a commonly practiced field of engineering it is relatively novel. Howard Odum (1963) and others first introduced it as 'utilizing natural energy sources as the predominant input to manipulate and control environmental systems'. Mtisch and Jorgensen (1989) were the first to define eco engineering, to provide eco engineering principles and conceptual eco engineering models. Later they refined the definition and increased the number of principles. They suggested that the goals of eco engineering are: a) the restoration of ecosystems that have been substantially disturbed by human activities such as environmental pollution or land disturbance, and b) the development of new sustainable ecosystems that have both human and ecological values. Here a more detailed overview of eco engineering is provided, particularly with regard to how engineers and ecologists are utilizing multi-dimensional computational models to link ecology and engineering, resulting in increasingly successful project implementation. Descriptions are provided pertaining to 1-, 2- and 3-dimensional hydrodynamic models and their use at small- and large-scale applications. A range of conceptual models that have been developed to aid the in the creation of linkages between ecology and engineering are discussed. Finally, several case studies that link ecology and engineering via computational modeling are provided. These studies include localized stream rehabilitation, spawning gravel enhancement on a large river system, and watershed-wide floodplain modeling of

Photobiology of Symbiodinium revisited: bio-physical and bio-optical signatures

Science.gov (United States)

Hennige, S. J.; Suggett, D. J.; Warner, M. E.; McDougall, K. E.; Smith, D. J.

2009-03-01

Light is often the most abundant resource within the nutrient-poor waters surrounding coral reefs. Consequently, zooxanthellae ( Symbiodinium spp.) must continually photoacclimate to optimise productivity and ensure coral success. In situ coral photobiology is becoming dominated by routine assessments using state-of-the-art non-invasive bio-optical or chlorophyll a fluorescence (bio-physical) techniques. Multiple genetic types of Symbiodinium are now known to exist; however, little focus has been given as to how these types differ in terms of characteristics that are observable using these techniques. Therefore, this investigation aimed to revisit and expand upon a pivotal study by Iglesias-Prieto and Trench (1994) by comparing the photoacclimation characteristics of different Symbiodinium types based on their bio-physical (chlorophyll a fluorescence, reaction centre counts) and bio-optical (optical absorption, pigment concentrations) ‘signatures’. Signatures described here are unique to Symbiodinium type and describe phenotypic responses to set conditions, and hence are not suitable to describe taxonomic structure of in hospite Symbiodinium communities. In this study, eight Symbiodinium types from clades and sub-clades (A-B, F) were grown under two PFDs (Photon Flux Density) and examined. The photoacclimation response by Symbiodinium was highly variable between algal types for all bio-physical and for many bio-optical measurements; however, a general preference to modifying reaction centre content over effective antennae-absorption was observed. Certain bio-optically derived patterns, such as light absorption, were independent of algal type and, when considered per photosystem, were matched by reaction centre stoichiometry. Only by better understanding genotypic and phenotypic variability between Symbiodinium types can future studies account for the relative taxonomic and physiological contribution by Symbiodinium to coral acclimation.

EcoTILLING in Capsicum species: searching for new virus resistances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nuez Fernando

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The EcoTILLING technique allows polymorphisms in target genes of natural populations to be quickly analysed or identified and facilitates the screening of genebank collections for desired traits. We have developed an EcoTILLING platform to exploit Capsicum genetic resources. A perfect example of the utility of this EcoTILLING platform is its application in searching for new virus-resistant alleles in Capsicum genus. Mutations in translation initiation factors (eIF4E, eIF(iso4E, eIF4G and eIF(iso4G break the cycle of several RNA viruses without affecting the plant life cycle, which makes these genes potential targets to screen for resistant germplasm. Results We developed and assayed a cDNA-based EcoTILLING platform with 233 cultivated accessions of the genus Capsicum. High variability in the coding sequences of the eIF4E and eIF(iso4E genes was detected using the cDNA platform. After sequencing, 36 nucleotide changes were detected in the CDS of eIF4E and 26 in eIF(iso4E. A total of 21 eIF4E haplotypes and 15 eIF(iso4E haplotypes were identified. To evaluate the functional relevance of this variability, 31 possible eIF4E/eIF(iso4E combinations were tested against Potato virus Y. The results showed that five new eIF4E variants (pvr210, pvr211, pvr212, pvr213 and pvr214 were related to PVY-resistance responses. Conclusions EcoTILLING was optimised in different Capsicum species to detect allelic variants of target genes. This work is the first to use cDNA instead of genomic DNA in EcoTILLING. This approach avoids intronic sequence problems and reduces the number of reactions. A high level of polymorphism has been identified for initiation factors, showing the high genetic variability present in our collection and its potential use for other traits, such as genes related to biotic or abiotic stresses, quality or production. Moreover, the new eIF4E and eIF(iso4E alleles are an excellent collection for searching for new resistance

ECO steam explosion experiments on the conversion of thermal into mechanical energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherdron, W.; Kaiser, A.; Schuetz, W.; Will, H.

2001-01-01

In case of a steam explosion, e.g. as a consequence of a severe reactor accident, part of the thermal energy of the melt is transferred into mechanical energy. At Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, so-called ECO experiments, are being directed to measure the conversion factor under well-defined conditions. In ECO, alumina from a thermite reaction is used as a simulating material instead of corium. Dimensions of the test facility as well as major test conditions, e.g. temperature and release mode of the melt, water inventory and test procedure, are based on the former PREMIX experimental series. In the paper, results of the first test, ECO 01, are given. (orig.)

EcoIS: An image serialization library for plot-based plant flowering phenology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Granados, Joel A.; Bonnet, Philippe; Hansen, Lars Hostrup

2013-01-01

they are produced by introducing an open source Python (www.python.org) library called EcoIS that creates image series from unaligned pictures of specially equipped plots. We use EcoIS to sample flowering phenology plots in a high arctic environment and create image series that later generate phenophase counts...

The important role of civil society groups in eco-innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Yan; Holgaard, Jette Egelund

2012-01-01

the role of civil society groups in eco-innovation by addressing the following research questions: Why is it necessary to stress that civil society groups are as important as university, industry and government in eco-innovation? What inspiration can “triple helix twins” and “quadruple helix” provide when...... groups are not only foundations for developing innovation – they can be actors themselves; the existence of semi-governmental organizations in the Chinese case company, which is categorized under the concept of NGOs, shows the limitations of the concept of civil society groups in exposing important......, as they are helpful not only to provide pressure and push industry onto a green track, but also as supporters and carriers of green business. Corporate social responsibility is proposed as a stepping-stone to engage civil society groups in broader eco-innovation activity. Originality/value – The paper starts...

Green Port / Eco Port Project - Applications and Procedures in Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Akgul, Burak

2017-12-01

As being the heartlands of international trade, sea ports are the junction points of land and sea routes. The growth of global trade has led to the development of number and capacity as well as the service quality of ports. The policies and procedures applied during construction, operation and development of ports under development with environmental considerations scope has evolved in accordance with the needs of global trends. Although maritime transportation provides the most ecofriendly transportation method, the reduction of potential environmental threats and continuous improvement of ports and their vicinity is paramount from environmental concerns with regards to the international environmental standards. In the context of the study, national and international legal regulations governing the control of the environmental impacts of the activity groups causing pollution in Turkey based sea ports were viewed. In addition, the models applied during the measurement and documentation of environmental impacts were investigated. The most important aspects in terms of the effectiveness of the environmental management models are legal regulations. However, the standards applied at the ports without any legal obligation, such as EcoPorts applications, ISO 14001 standard, and the EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) were sought in the scope of the study. The boundaries of the study were determined as the EU based Environmental Management Systems and the Green Port/Eco Port Project which is being administered by the Turkish Ministry of Transport, Maritime and Communication. “Marport”, which is Turkey’s first certified Green Port / Eco Port is designated as the experimental study site. In addition, the provisions in the ports of ESPO member countries are approached in order to compare the effectiveness and applicability of Green Port / Eco Port Project.

PLA/Bio-PE blends: effect of the Bio-PE content on the crystallinity rheological properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo, Aylanna P.M. de; Agrawal, Pankaj; Cavalcanti, Shirley N.; Alves, Amanda M.; Melo, Tomas J.A. de; Brito, Gustavo F.

2014-01-01

The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of the Bio-PE content on the crystallinity and rheological properties of PLA/Bio-PE blend. The blends containing 05 and 15% of Bio-PE were prepared by extrusion followed by injection molding and characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and rheological properties at low and high shear rates. XRD results indicated that the PLA present low crystallinity and this behavior was not changed with the addition of Bio-PE, regardless of Bio-PE content. Rheological properties results indicated that at low shear rates the viscosity of the PLA/Bio-PE increased with the increase in the Bio-PE content while at high shear rates the viscosities where almost similar, which may be ascribed to the orientation of Bio-PE particles in the flow direction or by the viscous dissipation. (author)

The Eco-Efficiency and Sustainable National Projects in Egypt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khaled Gaber EL Sakty

2015-08-01

Full Text Available As national mega projects, the Suez Canal Area Development Project and New Suez Canal have logistically imposed two main questions. First, how the project can spot the preferred solution for balancing the business and environmental concerns? Second, how the project can enhance the trade-off between those two dimensions. In order to answer these two questions, the efficient frontier between the profitability and the environmental impact needs to be investigated. Three Levels of Thinking has to be applied. In Marlog 2, the Operational Thinking has been discussed using different supply chain approaches including SCOR and Lean Thinking. In Marlog 3, the Tactical Thinking has been explained for global growth opportunities including thinking process and value chain philosophy. This year, the Strategic Thinking approach will be discussed for improving the Eco-efficiency in logistics clusters with the application for the Suez Canal Logistics Corridor project.  The main purpose of this paper is to explore the eco-efficiency solution and the concept of eco-topology for the national mega project to transfer the Suez Canal region into a global logistics corridor.

Eco-Anthropic Compatibility - a Multidisciplinary Model in Urban Ecology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARIANO L. BIANCA

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper I propose a multidisciplinary model of urban development which goes beyond the notion of ecological sustainability, by building on the concept of eco-anthropic compatibility. First of all I will sketch the historical development of human aggregations and I will underline the difference between ancient and modern aggregations. On the basis of this analysis, I will take into consideration the notion of sustainability and its possible application to present conurbations. I will underline several limits of the notion of sustainable development and I will propose a multidisciplinary model grounded on a broader and new notion: the eco-anthropic compatibility. Using this notion, which includes the idea of sustainability, it is possible to handle, within the model, the human factors and human living conditions inside an urban aggregation. Finally, I will state that the actual urban model is decaying and therefore, sooner or later, we will have to face the end of urban civilization; for this reason we can start imagining new future ways for human aggregations on the planet based on the notion of eco-anthropic compatibility.

Bio-fuels barometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2010-01-01

European Union bio-fuel use for transport reached 12 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe) threshold during 2009. The slowdown in the growth of European consumption deepened again. Bio-fuel used in transport only grew by 18.7% between 2008 and 2009, as against 30.3% between 2007 and 2008 and 41.8% between 2006 and 2007. The bio-fuel incorporation rate in all fuels used by transport in the E.U. is unlikely to pass 4% in 2009. We can note that: -) the proportion of bio-fuel in the German fuels market has plummeted since 2007: from 7.3% in 2007 to 5.5% in 2009; -) France stays on course with an incorporation rate of 6.25% in 2009; -) In Spain the incorporation rate reached 3.4% in 2009 while it was 1.9% in 2008. The European bio-diesel industry has had another tough year. European production only rose by 16.6% in 2009 or by about 9 million tonnes which is well below the previous year-on-year growth rate recorded (35.7%). France is leading the production of bio-ethanol fuels in Europe with an output of 1250 million liters in 2009 while the total European production reached 3700 million litters and the world production 74000 million liters. (A.C.)

[Application of extended exergy method in driving mechanism and efficiency of regional eco-economy].

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Xin Gang; Mi, Wen Bao; Hou, Jing Wei

2017-01-01

To analyze social-economic causes of the regional ecological degradation, and avoid such problems as the complex circulation network and difficulty to identify laws caused by extended exergy analysis (EEA) previously applied at the national scale, this paper reduced spatial scale to the county scale and took Pengyang County in Ningxia as an example. Eco-economic system in Peng-yang County was divided into seven interrelated sectors. The exergy value of circulations in the eco-economic system including materials, labor and capital were calculated respectively to analyze the extended exergy characteristics of the driving sectors, factors and paths and evaluate their ecological efficiency. The results showed that agriculture and households were the main driving sectors of the eco-economic system in Pengyang County. The average exergy value of 31 flow paths among the sectors was 0.80 PJ. There were only 8 flow paths whose exergy values were higher than the average value. Eco-economic system in Pengyang County development was driven by two continuous flow paths, labor output of the households sector and demands of the households sector supported by other sectors. The mineral resources were massively exploited, and then directly exported to the outside, which could not promote the local development from the inside, but, on the contrary, increase the ecological environment pressure because of the over-exploitation. The eco-efficiency of Pengyang County in 2014 was 68.1%, almost equivalent to the by-level of the national scale at home and abroad ten years ago, mainly because of the lower eco-efficiencies of the service sector and households sector. EEA had the advantage of networking and structuring, could specify the sectors, factors and driven paths, and break through the bottleneck of driving mechanism research of the eco-economic system. EEA had certain adaptability to explore the operational principle and optimal pattern of the regional eco-economic system. Compared

Power industry restructuring and eco-efficiency changes: A new slacks-based model in Malmquist–Luenberger Index measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arabi, Behrouz; Munisamy, Susila; Emrouznejad, Ali; Shadman, Foroogh

2014-01-01

Measuring variations in efficiency and its extension, eco-efficiency, during a restructuring period in different industries has always been a point of interest for regulators and policy makers. This paper assesses the impacts of restructuring of procurement in the Iranian power industry on the performance of power plants. We introduce a new slacks-based model for Malmquist–Luenberger (ML) Index measurement and apply it to the power plants to calculate the efficiency, eco-efficiency, and technological changes over the 8-year period (2003–2010) of restructuring in the power industry. The results reveal that although the restructuring had different effects on the individual power plants, the overall growth in the eco-efficiency of the sector was mainly due to advances in pure technology. We also assess the correlation between efficiency and eco-efficiency of the power plants, which indicates a close relationship between these two steps, thus lending support to the incorporation of environmental factors in efficiency analysis. - Highlights: • We introduce a new slack-based model incorporating bad outputs to measure eco-efficiency. • Eco-efficiency change of power plants is measured over a restructuring period. • A success to enhance the eco-efficiency is revealed. • A close relationship between efficiency and eco-efficiency is shown

Eco-logical grant recipient peer exchange report

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-15

On March 21-22, 2012, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Project Development and Environmental Review sponsored a two-day peer exchange to convene recipients of FHWA Eco-Logical grants whose projects achieved noteworthy accomplishmen...

Eco-Systemic Analysis of Anorexia Nervosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheppy, Margarette I.; And Others

1988-01-01

Tested eco-systemic approach to understanding of anorexia nervosa. Compared 30 anorexics and parents to 34 matched control subjects and parents. Found that, compared to controls, families of anorexics were less supportive, helpful, and committed to each other. Family interactions perceived by anorexics were characterized by overprotective,…

Eco-innovative Practices for Sustainable Consumption and Production: What are the Possible Benefits for Companies?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Rosa De Giacomo

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The paper aims to present some eco-innovative practices regarding Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP. The study also focuses on potential benefits for the actors who implement these practices, mainly with reference to companies. After a literature review on the actual importance of SCP and on the effects of eco-innovation tools and policies on companies, authors present the developed eco-innovation practices in three focus areas related to sustainable consumption and production. The aim of the study is to contribute to literature studies on SCP with the development of eco-innovative practices resulting by the integration of existing tools, by pointing out and valorizing their potentials and synergies. These practices have been pointing out in the framework of the international European project. Three focus areas are involved by the practices: sustainability of products and services, sustainability of production processes and sustainable management of industrial areas. Authors developed four eco innovative practices resulting from the integration of 15 existing tools. These practices offer many opportunities to many actors, mainly companies and public authorities, in order to achieve environmental and competitive benefits and implement eco-innovation principles with a cooperative and shared approach.

Utilization of municipal sewage sludge as additives for the production of eco-cement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Yiming; Zhou, Shaoqi; Li, Fuzhen; Lin, Yixiao

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and scanning electron micrograph (SEM) indicated that the major components in the eco-cement clinkers were similar to those in ordinary Portland cement. ► Though the C 2 S phase formation increased with the increase of sewage sludge contents. ► All the eco-cement pastes had a longer initial setting time and final setting time than those of plain cement paste, which increased as the sewage sludge contents in raw meal increased. ► All the eco-cement pastes had lower early flexural strengths and it increased with the increase of sewage sludge contents increased, while the compressive strengths decreased slightly. ► However, it had no significant effect on all the strengths at later ages. - Abstract: The effects of using dried sewage sludge as additive on cement property in the process of clinker burning were investigated in this paper. The eco-cement samples were prepared by adding 0.50–15.0% of dried sewage sludge to unit raw meal, and then the mixtures were burned at 1450 °C for 2 h. The results indicated that the major components in the eco-cement clinkers were similar to those in ordinary Portland cement. Although the C 2 S phase formation increased with the increase of sewage sludge content, it was also found that the microstructure of the mixture containing 15.0% sewage sludge in raw meal was significantly different and that a larger amount of pores were distributed in the clinker. Moreover, all the eco-cement pastes had a longer initial setting time and final setting time than those of plain cement paste, which increased as the sewage sludge content in the raw meal increased. All the eco-cement pastes had lower early flexural strengths, which increased as the sewage sludge content increased, while the compressive strengths decreased slightly. However, this had no significant effect on all the strengths at later stages. Furthermore, the leaching concentrations of all the types of eco

Marketing the Eco-Efficiency of a Finnish Product in Russia

OpenAIRE

Sattarova, Asiia

2016-01-01

The purpose of this qualitatitive research was to find the way for a Finnish company to market the eco-efficient characteristics as an advantage of their products and bring the message effectively to their consumers in Russia. The core objective was to create a strategic marketing plan; the goal was to work out an efficient strategy, practical marketing steps and effective solutions. The first theory part focused on the comparison of general eco-awareness in Europe and Russia. The part rev...

HUMAN CAPITAL IN ECO-ECONOMY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF ROMANIA

OpenAIRE

Ion PETRESCU

2013-01-01

The current modern civilization and, in this context, the Romanian one, faces a great challenge in finding the most effective and practical methods of implying the human capital in the process of ensuring the eco-economic progress and the sustainable development one in which people to live in communion with nature. In our communication we aim to analyze issues related to human capital involvement in eco-economy and sustainable development of Romania, based on the assessment of the impact of t...

Eco efficiency of urban form and transportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wahlgren, Irmeli

2007-01-01

Urban planning and transportation system solutions and decisions have a large-scale significance for eco efficiency, the consumption of energy and other natural resources, the production of greenhouse gas and other emissions, and the costs caused by communities.Planning solutions may impact on greenhouse gas emissions by 10 % at regional level, by 20 % at local community level and even by 200 % at local dwelling area level. Impact on emissions caused by transportation is even bigger: at least double compared to the impact on total emissions. Similarly large impacts can be seen concerning consumption of energy and other natural resources as well as costs.The most important factors in sustainable urban and transportation planning are at dwelling area level: location, structure, building density, house types, space heating systems, at community and regional level: area density, energy consumption and production systems, location of and distances between dwellings, working places and services, transportation systems, possibilities of walking and cycling, availability of public transport, and necessity for use of private cars. The presentation is based on the author's research and case studies from 1992 to 2006. The assessment method EcoBalance was developed to assess sustainability of communities and it has been applied at different planning levels: regional plans, local master plans and detailed plans. The EcoBalance model estimates the total consumption of energy and other natural resources, the production of emissions and wastes and the costs caused directly and indirectly by communities on a life-cycle basis

EPA EcoBox Tools by Exposure Pathways

Science.gov (United States)

Eco-Box is a toolbox for exposure assessors. Its purpose is to provide a compendium of exposure assessment and risk characterization tools that will present comprehensive step-by-step guidance and links to relevant exposure assessment data bases

EPA EcoBox Tools by Stressors - Chemical

Science.gov (United States)

Eco-Box is a toolbox for exposure assessors. Its purpose is to provide a compendium of exposure assessment and risk characterization tools that will present comprehensive step-by-step guidance and links to relevant exposure assessment data bases

EPA EcoBox Tools by Stressors - Physical

Science.gov (United States)

Eco-Box is a toolbox for exposure assessors. Its purpose is to provide a compendium of exposure assessment and risk characterization tools that will present comprehensive step-by-step guidance and links to relevant exposure assessment data bases

EPA EcoBox Tools by Stressors - Biological

Science.gov (United States)

Eco-Box is a toolbox for exposure assessors. Its purpose is to provide a compendium of exposure assessment and risk characterization tools that will present comprehensive step-by-step guidance and links to relevant exposure assessment data bases

Bio-oil and bio-char production from corn cobs and stover by fast pyrolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mullen, Charles A.; Boateng, Akwasi A.; Goldberg, Neil M.; Lima, Isabel M.; Laird, David A.; Hicks, Kevin B.

2010-01-01

Bio-oil and bio-char were produced from corn cobs and corn stover (stalks, leaves and husks) by fast pyrolysis using a pilot scale fluidized bed reactor. Yields of 60% (mass/mass) bio-oil (high heating values are ∼20 MJ kg -1 , and densities >1.0 Mg m -3 ) were realized from both corn cobs and from corn stover. The high energy density of bio-oil, ∼20-32 times on a per unit volume basis over the raw corn residues, offers potentially significant savings in transportation costs particularly for a distributed 'farm scale' bio-refinery system. Bio-char yield was 18.9% and 17.0% (mass/mass) from corn cobs and corn stover, respectively. Deploying the bio-char co-product, which contains most of the nutrient minerals from the corn residues, as well as a significant amount of carbon, to the land can enhance soil quality, sequester carbon, and alleviate environmental problems associated with removal of crop residues from fields.

Bio-methane & Bio-hydrogen. Status and perspectives of biological methane and hydrogen production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wijffels, R.H.; Janssen, M.G.J.

2003-01-01

Eerst wordt het kader geschetst voor de potentiële rol van bio-methaan en bio-waterstof in de energiehuishouding en de invloeden daarop van de ontwikkeling van eindgebruikstechnologie en infrastructuur, en het energiebeleid. Daarna wordt uitvoerig ingegaan op de technieken voor bio-methaan en

ECO-Report - Great issues, great diversions

Science.gov (United States)

Janie Canton-Thompson; Jim Saveland; Sharon Ritter; Yvette K Ortega; Dean F. Pearson; Mick Harrington; Elaine Kennedy Sutherland; Clint Cook; Greg Jones

2004-01-01

ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

Original Article. An evaluation of some eco-friendly biopesticides against Bemisia tabaci on two greenhouse tomato varieties in Egypt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdel-Razek Atef S.

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This study has two main approaches. First, it exploits the susceptibility of tomato cultivars as a prophylactic measure to detect auto resistance characters of the tested tomato varieties against Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae. Secondly, it evaluates the efficacy of different bio-rational insecticides against B. tabaci under greenhouse conditions. The results exhibited a special significance in B. tabaci infestation suitability between the two tomato varieties with a high infestation significance found in the Shifa F1 hybrid tomato variety compared to the Savera F1 hybrid tomato variety in the first plantation period. Subsequently, in the second plantation period, there was a significant difference between the two tomato varieties. Bemisia tabaci showed a preference for the Shifa F1 hybrid over the Savera F1 hybrid tomato variety. These differences occurred during the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 10th weeks. In the experimental trial for the efficacy of eco-friendly biorational insecticides, spinosad, azadirachtin, Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae, there were significant differences between the treated and untreated plants during the two plantation periods. A high efficacy of spinosad on the B. tabaci population was found. Bemisia tabaci infestation under all the applications was reduced from 50 to 94.61% for the two plantation periods. This obvious decrease in B. tabaci population increase attention to benefits of the different bio-rational insecticides.

Combining eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness for continuous loop beverage packaging systems: learnings from the Carlsberg Circular Community

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niero, Monia; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Hoffmeyer, Simon Boas

2017-01-01

Eco-efficiency (i.e., increasing value while reducing resource use and pollution) can with advantage be combined with eco-effectiveness (i.e., maximizing the benefits to ecological and economical systems) to address the challenges posed by the circular economy in the design of circular industrial......, the environmentally optimal beverage packaging life cycle scenario is identified, both in terms of defined use and reuse. Second, the limiting factors are identified for the continuous use of materials in multiple loops, meeting the two requirements in the C2C certification process that address the material level (i...... the most efficient and effective "upcycling" strategy for the beverage packaging, both from an environmental and an economic point of view. In the case of the aluminum cans, the main recommendation from both the LCA and C2C perspective is to ensure a system that enables can-to-can recycling....

USING THE ECO CONCEPT FOR SMART HOTEL PROMOTION CASE STUDY: HOTEL VEGA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NEACŞU NICOLETA ANDREEA

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In order to be competitive on the tourism market, hotels adopt different strategies. An intelligent and relatively new strategy that is adopted in the hotel market in Romania is the use of the ECO concept, the goal being to achieve sustainable development and sustainable tourism, involving a series of socio-economic benefits. One of the first accommodation units in Romania to use this strategy is Vega Hotel in Mamaia, a 5* hotel, which was awarded the Eco-Hotel Management System certification by Tuv-Rheinland Romania in the summer of 2009. This paper, through a market research, analyzes the views and attitudes of tourists on the use of the ECO concept in the hospitality industry.

Eco-efficiency assessment of dairy wastewater reuse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rygaard, Martin; Skrydstrup, Julie; Larsen, Sille Lyster

. To evaluate the eco-efficiency of new technologies we have developed a method that aligns assessment of environmental impacts and value creation within a life-cycle boundary of a food processing industry. Using standard life-cycle assessment and the concept of value added we have demonstrated the method......, but it comes at the cost of decreased value creation when considering the entire value chain. The applied eco-efficiency method showed the benefits and drawbacks of implementing a new technology for all involved stakeholders and the concept of value added resonates well with the commercial actors involved...... supply and wastewater management can limit the production capacity of an industrial facility, when local water resources are under stress or wastewater treatment capacity is limited. In such situations, the industry will seek to increase its water efficiency through implementation of new technology...

BioAir: Bio-Inspired Airborne Infrastructure Reconfiguration

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

must also minimize resource usage due to limitations on the amount of processing , memory and power onboard a node. BioAIR assumes the availability of...subsequent maintenance of tentacles, each node will take one of the following roles: “ orphan ”, “free”, “tip”, “backbone” or “extra”. The BioAIR...algorithm dictates that when a node is disconnected from the tentacle or origin it is an orphan , and as such it will change its target to the nearest

ECO-TECHNIQUE OF SEWER RENOVATION USING COMPOSITE ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2011-12-31

Dec 31, 2011 ... An eco-technical renovation of the sewage system is developed in this paper; this ... structural analysis of a typical shell unit with an ovoid form .... described by five fundamental equations, can be reduced to three equations.

USING ECO-EVOLUTIONARY INDIVIDUAL-BASED MODELS TO INVESTIGATE SPATIALLY-DEPENDENT PROCESSES IN CONSERVATION GENETICS

Science.gov (United States)

Eco-evolutionary population simulation models are powerful new forecasting tools for exploring management strategies for climate change and other dynamic disturbance regimes. Additionally, eco-evo individual-based models (IBMs) are useful for investigating theoretical feedbacks ...

Activist or Terrorist? Negotiating Discourses of Eco-Terror in "If a Tree Falls"

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Jade

2018-01-01

Environmentalist voices like the Earth Liberation Front have been labeled "eco-terrorists." The 2011 documentary film "If a Tree Falls" explores how "eco-terrorism" troubles the unstable border between activism and terrorism. This essay offers a textual analysis of the film's negotiation of the activism/terrorism…

Candidate eco-friendly gas mixtures for MPGDs

Science.gov (United States)

Benussi, L.; Bianco, S.; Saviano, G.; Muhammad, S.; Piccolo, D.; Ferrini, M.; Parvis, M.; Grassini, S.; Colafranceschi, S.; Kjølbro, J.; Sharma, A.; Yang, D.; Chen, G.; Ban, Y.; Li, Q.

2018-02-01

Modern gas detectors for detection of particles require F-based gases for optimal performance. Recent regulations demand the use of environmentally unfriendly F-based gases to be limited or banned. This review studies properties of potential eco-friendly gas candidate replacements.

Production of bio-energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gurtler, J.L.; Femenias, A.; Blondy, J.

2009-01-01

After having indicated the various possible origins of biomass, this paper considers the issue of bio-energies, i.e., energies produced with biomass related to forest or agriculture production. Some indicators are defined (share of renewable energies, share of biomass in the energy production and consumption, number of production units). Stake holders are identified. Then, major and emerging trends are identified and discussed. The major trends are: development and diversification of renewable energies, development of bio-fuels with the support of incentive policies, prevalence of the wood-energy sector on the whole renewable energies, increase of surfaces dedicated to bio-fuels since the end of the 1990's, a French biogas sector which is late with respect to other countries. The emerging trends are: the important role of oil price in the development of bio-fuels, a necessary public support for the development of biogas, mobilization of research and development of competitiveness poles for bio-industries. Some prospective issues are also discussed in terms of uncertainties (soil availabilities, environmental performance of bio-fuels, available biomass resource, need of a technological advance, and evolution of energy needs on a medium term, tax and public policy). Three hypotheses of bio-energy evolutions are discussed

Exploration and Practice of Green Building Management in Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Sun; Xiaofeng; Song; Kun; Liu; Jinxin

2016-01-01

This paper summarizes the current development status of green building management in China, and analyzes the problems existing in its present management pattern. It fi rstly introduces the background, procedures and achievements gained during the green building practice in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City, expounds the principles and methods of the establishment of the green building management system in this Tianjin Eco-City, and then focuses on practical experience and specifi c measures in separate parts of green building management system in the Tianjin EcoCity, which is constituted by laws, regulations and policies, technical standards, management process, product access, etc. Through exploration and practice, it took 8 years for the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City to preliminarily establish a set of management systems which were suited to its own characteristics. By introduction of the management system, this paper aims to provide reference for other cities to carry out green building practice and improve the quality of green buildings in China.

Moving Towards Eco Cultural Tourism Village (A Case Study of Pondok Cabe Village

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rina Kurniawati

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This study identifies some eco-cultural tourism attraction potentials that exist in PondokCabeUdik Village Tangerang Selatan Indonesia. In addition, it investigates local people’s opinion on tourism development. The objective is to provide a preliminary overview of eco-tourism development. This study is a descriptive study that uses three types of instrument in data collection method, including questionnaire, interview and field observation. The data is then analyzed using SWOT analysis. The result indicated that natural potential include farming, lake and fish pond, and chicken hatchery. Cultural potentials include cultural diversity that depicted in praying houses and culinary. 194 respondents involved are the locals. The result showed thatthere is positive view from the local community on the availability of tourism potentials and development in the future. It is proposed that environmental awareness, education, ecotourism development, and consensus buildingare needed to implement eco cultural tourism concept. Keywords: Tourism, Eco-Cultural, Village, Planning and Development

Sustainability assessment of sugarcane biorefinery and molasses ethanol production in Thailand using eco-efficiency indicator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silalertruksa, Thapat; Gheewala, Shabbir H.; Pongpat, Patcharaporn

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Sugarcane biorefinery in Thailand is evaluated using the eco-efficiency concept. • Green cane along with cane trash use for electricity yields highest eco-efficiency. • Proposed biorefinery system increases eco-efficiency by 20–70%. - Abstract: The study aims to evaluate the sugarcane biorefinery and molasses ethanol production in Thailand using the combined environmental and economic sustainability indicator, so called “Eco-efficiency”. Four sugarcane biorefinery scenarios in Thailand are evaluated. The total output values (US$) and the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (kg CO_2eq) are selected as the indicators for characterizing economic and environmental performance, respectively. The results show that the biorefinery system of mechanized farming along with cane trash utilization for power generation yields the highest eco-efficiency. The benefits come from the increased value added of the biorefinery together with the decreased GHG emissions of the biorefinery system. As compared to the base case scenario, the new systems proposed result in the eco-efficiency improvement by around 20–70%. The biorefinery concept induces reduction of GHG emissions attributed to molasses ethanol. Green cane production and harvesting results in further lowering of the GHG emissions. Integration of sugarcane biomass utilization across the entire sugarcane complex would enhance the sustainability of the sugarcane production system.

China's Development of Low-Carbon Eco-Cities and Associated Indicator Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Nan [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); He, Gang [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Williams, Christopher [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2012-07-01

China's urban population surpassed its rural population historically in 2011, when the number of Chinese living in towns and cities reached about 690 million1. In the years to come, cities in China will face major challenges as their rapidly increasing populations burden already crowded infrastructure systems and exacerbate environmental and climate change issues, threatening public health and quality of life. Low-carbon cities may be key to addressing those challenges, especially as regards mitigating and adapting to climate change. Government entities at both the central and local level have moved aggressively on building low-carbon eco-cities. According to statistics reported by the Chinese Society for Urban Studies, by February of 2011, China will have 230 cities at the prefecture-and-above level that have proposed to establish themselves as “eco-cities,” accounting for 80.1% of the 287 such cities nationally. Of those 230 cities, 133, or 46.3%, have established targets to develop specifically as “lowcarbon cities” (Chinese Society for Urban Studies 2011). Given the proposed scale of the effort, China’s potential success or failure in demonstrating and implementing low-carbon eco-cities could greatly affect how the world addresses both the climate change impacts of urbanization and the sustainable development of cities. Despite the multiple guidelines that have been developed, it remains unclear what defines a low-carbon eco-city. Additionally, although more than 100 indicators have been used or proposed for assessing such cities, few relate directly to energy use or carbon emissions. Nonetheless, policy makers and leaders continue to demand comprehensive toolboxes to facilitate development of low-carbon eco-cities. This paper presents the results of an extensive literature review of the development of low-carbon eco-cities in China. The paper also qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes 11 major indicator systems that researchers, planners

Tagetes erecta mediated phytosynthesis of silver nanoparticles: an eco-friendly approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ANIKET K. GADE

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Dhuldhaj UP, Deshmukh SD, Gade AK, Yashpal M, Rai MK. 2012. Tagetes erecta mediated phytosynthesis of silver nanoparticles:an eco-friendly approach. Nusantara Bioscience 4: 109-112. Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field having applications in the various fields like medicine, pharmacy, engineering and biotechnology. An important step in nanotechnology is to develop simple and eco-friendly method for the nanomaterial synthesis. Here we describe simple and eco-friendly method for synthesis of silver nanoparticles by extract of Tagetes erecta plant leaves. The phytosynthesis (synthesis by plant of silver nanoparticles was detected by color change from light-green to dark-brown. Synthesis of silver nanoparticles was confirmed by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, further characterization includes nanoparticle tracking analysis system (NTA (LM20 and transmission electron microscopy (TEM. TEM analysis confirms the synthesis of the polydispersed spherical silver nanoparticles of 20-50 n

Marketing eco-power - still lots to be done

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baettig, I.

2005-01-01

This article takes a look at the various eco-power offers that can currently be found on the Swiss electricity market. Various electricity utilities offer ecologically produced power in various qualities under several different names. These range from pure solar power through to various mixes of solar, wind and hydro power. The varying marketing approaches used are discussed. Local utilities have the most success in selling eco-power, whereas a large Swiss supermarket chain had difficulty selling its customers certificates for renewable electricity. This, according to the chain's speaker, was due to the difficulty of explaining the relationship between production certificates and the actual power drawn from the wall socket. The offers of various utilities and independent power producers are looked at and discussed with those responsible

A method to the impact assessment of the returning grazing land to grassland project on regional eco-environmental vulnerability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shao, Huaiyong; Sun, Xiaofei; Wang, Haoxue; Zhang, Xiaoxue; Xiang, Zhiying; Tan, Rui; Chen, Xuanyi; Xian, Wei; Qi, Jiaguo

2016-01-01

The Chinese government has conducted the Returning Grazing Land to Grassland Project (RGLGP) across large portions of grasslands from western China since 2003. In order to explore and understand the impact in the grassland's eco-environment during the RGLGP, we utilized Projection Pursuit Model (PPM) and Geographic Information System (GIS) to develop a spatial assessment model to examine the ecological vulnerability of the grassland. Our results include five indications: (1) it is practical to apply the spatial PPM on ecological vulnerability assessment for the grassland. This methodology avoids creating an artificial hypothesis, thereby providing objective results that successfully execute a multi-index assessment process and analysis under non-linear systems in eco-environments; (2) the spatial PPM is not only capable of evaluating regional eco-environmental vulnerability in a quantitative way, but also can quantitatively demonstrate the degree of effect in each evaluation index for regional eco-environmental vulnerability; (3) the eco-environment of the Xianshui River Basin falls into the medium range level. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and land use cover and change (LUCC) crucially influence the Xianshui River Basin's eco-environmental vulnerability. Generally, in the Xianshui River Basin, regional eco-environmental conditions improved during 2000 and 2010. The RGLGP positively affected NDVI and LUCC structure, thereby promoting the enhancement of the regional eco-environment; (4) the Xianshui River Basin divides its ecological vulnerability across different levels; therefore our study investigates three ecological regions and proposes specific suggestions for each in order to assist in eco-environmental protection and rehabilitation; and lastly that (5) the spatial PPM established by this study has the potential to be applied on all types of grassland eco-environmental vulnerability assessments under the RGLGP and under the similar

A method to the impact assessment of the returning grazing land to grassland project on regional eco-environmental vulnerability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shao, Huaiyong, E-mail: huaiyongshao@163.com [Key Laboratory of Geoscience Spatial Information Technology, Ministry of Land and Resources of China, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, Sichuan (China); Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48823, MI (United States); Sun, Xiaofei; Wang, Haoxue; Zhang, Xiaoxue [Key Laboratory of Geoscience Spatial Information Technology, Ministry of Land and Resources of China, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, Sichuan (China); Xiang, Zhiying [School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, Zhejiang (China); Tan, Rui; Chen, Xuanyi [Key Laboratory of Geoscience Spatial Information Technology, Ministry of Land and Resources of China, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, Sichuan (China); Xian, Wei [College of Resources and Environment, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu 610225, Sichuan (China); Qi, Jiaguo [Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48823, MI (United States)

2016-01-15

The Chinese government has conducted the Returning Grazing Land to Grassland Project (RGLGP) across large portions of grasslands from western China since 2003. In order to explore and understand the impact in the grassland's eco-environment during the RGLGP, we utilized Projection Pursuit Model (PPM) and Geographic Information System (GIS) to develop a spatial assessment model to examine the ecological vulnerability of the grassland. Our results include five indications: (1) it is practical to apply the spatial PPM on ecological vulnerability assessment for the grassland. This methodology avoids creating an artificial hypothesis, thereby providing objective results that successfully execute a multi-index assessment process and analysis under non-linear systems in eco-environments; (2) the spatial PPM is not only capable of evaluating regional eco-environmental vulnerability in a quantitative way, but also can quantitatively demonstrate the degree of effect in each evaluation index for regional eco-environmental vulnerability; (3) the eco-environment of the Xianshui River Basin falls into the medium range level. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and land use cover and change (LUCC) crucially influence the Xianshui River Basin's eco-environmental vulnerability. Generally, in the Xianshui River Basin, regional eco-environmental conditions improved during 2000 and 2010. The RGLGP positively affected NDVI and LUCC structure, thereby promoting the enhancement of the regional eco-environment; (4) the Xianshui River Basin divides its ecological vulnerability across different levels; therefore our study investigates three ecological regions and proposes specific suggestions for each in order to assist in eco-environmental protection and rehabilitation; and lastly that (5) the spatial PPM established by this study has the potential to be applied on all types of grassland eco-environmental vulnerability assessments under the RGLGP and under the

Spatial-temporal eco-environmental vulnerability assessment and its influential factors based on Landsat data

Science.gov (United States)

Anh, N. K.; Liou, Y. A.; Ming-Hsu, L.

2016-12-01

Regional land use/land cover (LULC) changes lead to various changes in ecological processes and, in turn, alter regional micro-climate. To understand eco-environmental responses to LULC changes, eco-environmental evaluation is thus required with aims to identify vulnerable regions and influential factors, so that practical measures for environmental protection and management may be proposed. The Thua Thien - Hue Province has been experiencing urbanization at a rapid rate in both population and physical size. The urban land, agricultural land, and aquaculture activities have been invasively into natural space and caused eco-environment deterioration by land desertification, soil erosion, shrinking forest resources,…etc. In this study, an assessment framework that is composed by 11 variables with 9 of them constructed from Landsat time series is proposed to serve as basis to examine eco-environmental vulnerability in the Thua Thien - Hue Province in years 1989, 2003, and 2014. An eco-environmental vulnerability map is assorted into six vulnerability levels consisting of potential, slight, light, medium, heavy, and very heavy vulnerabilities. Result shows that there is an increasing trend in eco-environmental vulnerability in general with expected evolving distributions in heavy and very heavy vulnerability levels, which mainly lying on developed land, bare land, semi bare land, agricultural land, and poor and recovery forests. In contrast, there is a significant decline in potential vulnerability level. The contributing factors of an upward trend in medium, heavy, and very heavy levels include: (i) a large natural forest converted to plantation forest and agriculture land; and (ii) significant expansion of developed land leading to difference in thermal signatures in urban areas as compared with those of the surrounding areas. It is concluded that anthropogenic processes with transformation on LULC has amplified the vulnerability of eco-environment in the study

Determining the bio-based content of bio-plastics used in Thailand by radiocarbon analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Ploykrathok, T.; Chanyotha, S.

2017-06-01

Presently, there is an increased interest in the development of bio-plastic products from agricultural materials which are biodegradable in order to reduce the problem of waste disposal. Since the amount of modern carbon in bio-plastics can indicate how much the amount of agricultural materials are contained in the bio-plastic products, this research aims to determine the modern carbon in bio-plastic using the carbon dioxide absorption method. The radioactivity of carbon-14 contained in the sample is measured by liquid scintillation counter (Tri-carb 3110 TR, PerkinElmer). The percentages of bio-based content in the samples were determined by comparing the observed modern carbon content with the values contained in agricultural raw materials. The experimental results show that only poly(lactic acid) samples have the modern carbon content of 97.4%, which is close to the agricultural materials while other bio-plastics types are found to have less than 50% of the modern carbon content. In other words, most of these bio-plastic samples were mixed with other materials which are not agriculturally originated.

Determining the bio-based content of bio-plastics used in Thailand by radiocarbon analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ploykrathok, T; Chanyotha, S

2017-01-01

Presently, there is an increased interest in the development of bio-plastic products from agricultural materials which are biodegradable in order to reduce the problem of waste disposal. Since the amount of modern carbon in bio-plastics can indicate how much the amount of agricultural materials are contained in the bio-plastic products, this research aims to determine the modern carbon in bio-plastic using the carbon dioxide absorption method. The radioactivity of carbon-14 contained in the sample is measured by liquid scintillation counter (Tri-carb 3110 TR, PerkinElmer). The percentages of bio-based content in the samples were determined by comparing the observed modern carbon content with the values contained in agricultural raw materials. The experimental results show that only poly(lactic acid) samples have the modern carbon content of 97.4%, which is close to the agricultural materials while other bio-plastics types are found to have less than 50% of the modern carbon content. In other words, most of these bio-plastic samples were mixed with other materials which are not agriculturally originated. (paper)

Bio-oil and bio-char production from corn cobs and stover by fast pyrolysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mullen, Charles A.; Boateng, Akwasi A.; Goldberg, Neil M.; Hicks, Kevin B. [Eastern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 600 E. Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, PA 19038 (United States); Lima, Isabel M. [Southern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70124 (United States); Laird, David A. [National Soil Tilth Laboratory, U.S. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2110 University Blvd., Ames, IA 50011 (United States)

2010-01-15

Bio-oil and bio-char were produced from corn cobs and corn stover (stalks, leaves and husks) by fast pyrolysis using a pilot scale fluidized bed reactor. Yields of 60% (mass/mass) bio-oil (high heating values are {proportional_to}20 MJ kg{sup -1}, and densities >1.0 Mg m{sup -3}) were realized from both corn cobs and from corn stover. The high energy density of bio-oil, {proportional_to}20-32 times on a per unit volume basis over the raw corn residues, offers potentially significant savings in transportation costs particularly for a distributed ''farm scale'' bio-refinery system. Bio-char yield was 18.9% and 17.0% (mass/mass) from corn cobs and corn stover, respectively. Deploying the bio-char co-product, which contains most of the nutrient minerals from the corn residues, as well as a significant amount of carbon, to the land can enhance soil quality, sequester carbon, and alleviate environmental problems associated with removal of crop residues from fields. (author)

Advanced scoring method of eco-efficiency in European cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Moutinho, Victor; Madaleno, Mara; Robaina, Margarita; Villar, José

2018-01-01

This paper analyzes a set of selected German and French cities' performance in terms of the relative behavior of their eco-efficiencies, computed as the ratio of their gross domestic product (GDP) over their CO 2 emissions. For this analysis, eco-efficiency scores of the selected cities are computed using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique, taking the eco-efficiencies as outputs, and the inputs being the energy consumption, the population density, the labor productivity, the resource productivity, and the patents per inhabitant. Once DEA results are analyzed, the Malmquist productivity indexes (MPI) are used to assess the time evolution of the technical efficiency, technological efficiency, and productivity of the cities over the window periods 2000 to 2005 and 2005 to 2008. Some of the main conclusions are that (1) most of the analyzed cities seem to have suboptimal scales, being one of the causes of their inefficiency; (2) there is evidence that high GDP over CO 2 emissions does not imply high eco-efficiency scores, meaning that DEA like approaches are useful to complement more simplistic ranking procedures, pointing out potential inefficiencies at the input levels; (3) efficiencies performed worse during the period 2000-2005 than during the period 2005-2008, suggesting the possibility of corrective actions taken during or at the end of the first period but impacting only on the second period, probably due to an increasing environmental awareness of policymakers and governors; and (4) MPI analysis shows a positive technological evolution of all cities, according to the general technological evolution of the reference cities, reflecting a generalized convergence of most cities to their technological frontier and therefore an evolution in the right direction.

Eco-Cities: Possible or Purely Utopian?

Science.gov (United States)

2009-12-01

00-2009 to 00-00-2009 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Eco-Cities: Possible or Purely Utopian? 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT...2005, Disney modified their building plans for Hong Kong Disneyland by shifting the angle of the front gate by twelve degrees in order to abide by

BioHack*Kolding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wilde, Danielle

Short Abstract BioHack*Kolding explores the potential of do-it-together biology to support community building in a town that lacks strong science representation, assisting participants to reflect on the bio-potential of their personal, social and political ecologies and to translate their ideas...... into action. Long Abstract Organisations that support lay people to practice bioscience alongside experts are proliferating. They enable interested people to join the global discussion on Bio Engineering by supporting them to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to do it themselves. Such organisations play...... an important role in facilitating informed debate around the biological sciences. Yet they cannot reach everyone. BioHack*Kolding asks how community-focused biology initiatives can reach people in smaller towns that lack science representation, so that they too can join the debate and ensure that its...

Eco-analytical Methodology in Environmental Problems Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Agienko, M. I.; Bondareva, E. P.; Chistyakova, G. V.; Zhironkina, O. V.; Kalinina, O. I.

2017-01-01

Among the problems common to all mankind, which solutions influence the prospects of civilization, the problem of ecological situation monitoring takes very important place. Solution of this problem requires specific methodology based on eco-analytical comprehension of global issues. Eco-analytical methodology should help searching for the optimum balance between environmental problems and accelerating scientific and technical progress. The fact that Governments, corporations, scientists and nations focus on the production and consumption of material goods cause great damage to environment. As a result, the activity of environmentalists is developing quite spontaneously, as a complement to productive activities. Therefore, the challenge posed by the environmental problems for the science is the formation of geo-analytical reasoning and the monitoring of global problems common for the whole humanity. So it is expected to find the optimal trajectory of industrial development to prevent irreversible problems in the biosphere that could stop progress of civilization.

Evaluating urban eco-tourism resources and environment: a case study in Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, China

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Qi; Yin, Jie

2018-02-01

In this paper, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, China has been selected as the study area. The overall status and the development conditions of resources and environment have been analyzed for the park. The eco-tourism resources and environment of Chenshan Botanical Garden were further evaluated synthetically by using expert analysis and questionnaire. A comprehensive evaluation system including 16 indices has been initially established from three aspects of tourism resource element value, resource development condition and eco-environment condition. The characteristics of eco-tourism resources and the score of each indicator for Chenshan Botanical Garden have subsequently been generated. The results show that the comprehensive evaluation score of eco-tourism resources and environment for Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden is 72.06, which belongs to third level of excellent tourism resources and environment. Finally, five suggestions are proposed for future development of its eco-tourism resources and environment.

Spatio-temporal variability of several eco-precipitation indicators in China

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, B. B.; Zhang, J.; Wang, F.

2016-12-01

Climate change is expected to have large impacts on the eco-hydrological processes. Precipitation as one of the most important meteorological factors is a significant parameter in ecohydrology. Many studies and precipitation indexes focused on the long-term precipitation variability have been put forward. However, these former studies did not consider the vegetation response and these indexes could not reflect it efficiently. Eco-precipitation indicators reflecting the features and patterns of precipitations and serving as significant input parameters of eco-hydrological models are of paramount significance to the studies of these models. Therefore we proposed 4 important eco-precipitation indicators—Precipitation Variability Index (PVI), Precipitation Occurrence Rate (λ), Mean Precipitation Depth (1/θ) and Annual Precipitation (AP). The PVI index depicts the precipitation variability with a value of zero for perfectly uniform and increases as precipitation events become more sporadic. The λ, 1/θ and AP depict the precipitation frequency, intensity and annual amount, respectively. With large precipitation and vegetation discrepancies, China is selected as a study area. Firstly, these indicators are calculated separately with 55-years (1961-2015) daily precipitation time-series from 693 weather stations in China. Then, the temporal trend is analyzed through Mann-Kendall (MK) test and parametric t-test in annual time scale. Furthermore, the spatial distribution is analyzed through the spatial interpolation tools ANUsplin. The result shows that: (1) 1/θ increased significantly (4.59cm/10yr) while λ decreased significantly (1.54 days/10yr), which means there is an increasing trend of extreme precipitation events; (2)there is a significant downward trend of PVI, which means the rhythm of precipitation has a uniform and concentrated trend; (3) AP increased insignificantly (0.57mm/10yr); and (4)the MK test of these indicators shows that there is saltation of �

La Democracia Líquida: exigencia de la sustentabilidad eco-política

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Francisco Aguirre Sala

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Se pretende demostrar por qué la Democracia Líquida es exigida por la sustentabilidad necesaria a la eco-política. Las premisas de argumento son: la justicia global y la soberanía ciudadana son exigencias de la sustentabilidad eco-política y, a su vez, la Democracia Líquida es el modelo que por excelencia promueve la justicia y la soberanía. El corolario es que la Democracia Líquida es la modalidad idónea para la consolidar también al eco-desarrollo. El argumento obliga a explicar conceptos medulares: sustentabilidad, uso de recursos, sentido del consumo. Para lo cual se destacan apreciaciones axiológicas de la biosfera: desde la teología hasta la economía. A su vez, el debate sobre el consumismo se enmarca en la sustentabilidad ampliada más allá de los límites de la ecología. Todo lo anterior suma argumentos a favor de la eco-política ejercida con la Democracia Líquida como la mejor instancia para la elaboración de las políticas ambientales.

Umberto Eco, l'esperanto, et le plurilinguisme de l'avenir (Umbert Eco, Esperanto, and the Multilingualism of the Future).

Science.gov (United States)

Ertl, Istvan; Lo Jacomo, Francois

1994-01-01

An interview with Umberto Eco, novelist and linguist, addresses issues in international communication of the future, and particularly the role of Esperanto in a rapidly changing, culturally diverse world society. Topics discussed include translation, native language and multilingualism, and politics of language. (MSE)

The problem of bio-concepts: biopolitics, bio-economy and the political economy of nothing

Science.gov (United States)

Birch, Kean

2017-12-01

Scholars in science and technology studies—and no doubt other fields—have increasingly drawn on Michel Foucault's concept of biopolitics to theorize a variety of new `bio-concepts'. While there might be some theoretical value in such exercises, many of these bio-concepts have simply replaced more rigorous—and therefore time-consuming—analytical work. This article provides a (sympathetic) critique of these various bio-concepts, especially as they are applied to the emerging `bio-economy'. In so doing, the article seeks to show that the analysis of the bio-economy could be better framed as a political economy of nothing. This has several implications for science education, which are raised in the article.

Identifying Critical Factors in the Eco-Efficiency of Remanufacturing Based on the Fuzzy DEMATEL Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qianwang Deng

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Remanufacturing can bring considerable economic and environmental benefits such as cost saving, conservation of energy and resources, and reduction of emissions. With the increasing awareness of sustainable manufacturing, remanufacturing gradually becomes the research priority. Most studies concentrate on the analysis of influencing factors, or the evaluation of the economic and environmental performance in remanufacturing, while little effort has been devoted to investigating the critical factors influencing the eco-efficiency of remanufacturing. Considering the current development of the remanufacturing industry in China, this paper proposes a set of factors influencing the eco-efficiency of remanufacturing and then utilizes a fuzzy Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL method to establish relation matrixes reflecting the interdependent relationships among these factors. Finally, the contributions of each factor to eco-efficiency and mutual influence values among them are obtained, and critical factors in eco-efficiency of remanufacturing are identified. The results of the present work can provide theoretical supports for the government to make appropriate policies to improve the eco-efficiency of remanufacturing.

Assessment of the disinfection capacity and eco-toxicological impact of atmospheric cold plasma for treatment of food industry effluents.

Science.gov (United States)

Patange, Apurva; Boehm, Daniela; Giltrap, Michelle; Lu, Peng; Cullen, P J; Bourke, Paula

2018-08-01

Generation of wastewater is one of the main environmental sustainability issues across food sector industries. The constituents of food process effluents are often complex and require high energy and processing for regulatory compliance. Wastewater streams are the subject of microbiological and chemical criteria, and can have a significant eco-toxicological impact on the aquatic life. Thus, innovative treatment approaches are required to mitigate environmental impact in an energy efficient manner. Here, dielectric barrier discharge atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) was evaluated for control of key microbial indicators encountered in food industry effluent. This study also investigated the eco-toxicological impact of cold plasma treatment of the effluents using a range of aquatic bioassays. Continuous ACP treatment was applied to synthetic dairy and meat effluents. Microbial inactivation showed treatment time dependence with significant reduction in microbial populations within 120 s, and to undetectable levels after 300 s. Post treatment retention time emerged as critical control parameter which promoted ACP bacterial inactivation efficiency. Moreover, ACP treatment for 20 min achieved significant reduction (≥2 Log 10 ) in Bacillus megaterium endospores in wastewater effluent. Acute aquatic toxicity was assessed using two fish cell lines (PLHC-1 and RTG-2) and a crustacean model (Daphnia magna). Untreated effluents were toxic to the aquatic models, however, plasma treatment limited the toxic effects. Differing sensitivities were observed to ACP treated effluents across the different test bio-assays in the following order: PLHC-1 > RTG-2 ≥ D. magna; with greater sensitivity retained to plasma treated meat effluent than dairy effluent. The toxic effects were dependent on concentration and treatment time of the ACP treated effluent; with 30% cytotoxicity in D. magna and fish cells observed after 24 h of exposure to ACP treated effluent for

Method to upgrade bio-oils to fuel and bio-crude

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, Philip H; Pittman, Jr., Charles U; Ingram, Jr., Leonard L; Gajjela, Sanjeev; Zhang, Zhijun; Bhattacharya, Priyanka

2013-12-10

This invention relates to a method and device to produce esterified, olefinated/esterified, or thermochemolytic reacted bio-oils as fuels. The olefinated/esterified product may be utilized as a biocrude for input to a refinery, either alone or in combination with petroleum crude oils. The bio-oil esterification reaction is catalyzed by addition of alcohol and acid catalyst. The olefination/esterification reaction is catalyzed by addition of resin acid or other heterogeneous catalyst to catalyze olefins added to previously etherified bio-oil; the olefins and alcohol may also be simultaneously combined and catalyzed by addition of resin acid or other heterogeneous catalyst to produce the olefinated/esterified product.

Bio-sorption of uranium and plutonium with Eichhornia crassipes (Water Hyacinth)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pulhani, Vandana; Dafauti, Sunita; Hegde, A.G.

2010-01-01

The continuous expansion in nuclear energy program and an aim of zero discharge makes waste management a challenging task. Waste effluents containing long-lived radionuclides such as 137 Cs, 90 Sr, 238+239+240 Pu and uranium along with other toxic elements have to he suitably treated to bring down the radioactivity levels before it is discharged in to the environment. Biological materials have emerged as an economic and eco-friendly option for removal of toxic heavy metals to an environmentally safe level. Bio-sorption is a phenomenon of rapid passive metal uptake, an ideal alternative for decontamination of metal containing effluents. Bio-sorption of uranium and plutonium from aqueous solutions by dried biomass of Eichhornia crassipes or water hyacinth, a hyper-accumulator, which can tolerate highly toxic condition, was studied. The adsorption of Pu by roots biomass was seen to be more in the pH range from 3-8 and a similar trend was shown by leaves. The adsorption of U by both roots and leaves was more in the pH range of 4-8. Distribution coefficient for Pu in roots and leaf was an average of 1349 ml/g and 3152 ml/g for uranium studied using a wide activity range from 10 Bq to 200 Bq. The presence of anions inhibited the uptake and showed the trend sulphate> nitrate> chloride>> carbonates. The effect of other cations on the absorption capacity was also checked. Effluent solutions from an effluent treatment plant were also subjected to remediation with this biomass. Biomass related metal removal processes may not necessarily replace existing treatment processes but may complement them. (author)

Restoration of badlands through applying bio-engineering techniques in active gully systems: Evidence from the Ecuadorian Andes

Science.gov (United States)

Borja, P.; Vanacker, V.; Alvarado, D.; Govers, G.

2012-04-01

A better insight in the processes controlling sediment generation, transport and deposition in badlands is necessary to enhance restoration of degraded soils through eco-engineering techniques. In this study, we evaluate the effect of different bio-engineering measures on soil and slope stability. Five micro-catchments (of 0.2 to 5 ha) were selected within a 3 km2 area in the lower part of the Loreto catchment (Southern Ecuadorian Andes). The micro-catchments differ only by land cover and degree of implementation of soil and water conservation measures. Bio-engineering techniques were used to construct dikes made of fascines of wooden sticks and earth-filled tires in active gully beds, where they are most efficient to reduce water and sediment transport. The experimental design consists of three micro-catchments within highly degraded lands: (DI) micro-catchment with bio-engineering measures concentrated in the active gully beds, (DF) with reforestation of Eucalyptus trees, and (DT) reference situation without any conservation measures. Two micro-catchments were monitored in agricultural lands with (AI) and without (AT) bio-engineering measures in the active gully beds. All catchments were equipped with San Dimas flumes to measure water flow, and sediment traps to monitor sediment export. In the (active) gully beds, various parameters related to gully stability (soil water content, bed elevation, vegetation cover, sedimentation/erosion) were monitored at weekly intervals. First results show that bio-engineering techniques are efficient to stabilize active gully beds through a reduction of the rapid concentration of excess rainfall and the sediment production and transfer. Fascines made of wooden sticks are far more efficient than earth-filled tires. Sediment deposition behind dikes is strongly dependent on precedent rainfall events, and the slope and vegetation cover of the gully floor. The sediment deposited facilitates colonization of the gully floor by native

Growing food, feeding change : Towards a holistic and dynamic approach of eco-city planning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vernay, A.B.H.; Salcedo Rahola, T.B.; Ravesteijn, W.

2010-01-01

In response to increasing environmental problems and consciousness in relation to urbanization, more and more cities are trying to become eco-cities. We can question, however, whether these cities can be considered as sustainable cities. The eco-city concept usually includes criteria regarding

ECO LOGIC INTERNATIONAL GAS-PHASE CHEMICAL REDUCTION PROCESS - THE REACTOR SYSTEM - APPLICATIONS ANALYSIS REPORT

Science.gov (United States)

The ELI Eco Logic International Inc. (Eco Logic) process thermally separates organics, then chemically reduces them in a hydrogen atmosphere, converting them to a reformed gas that consists of light hydrocarbons and water. A scrubber treats the reformed gas to remove hydrogen chl...

LCA as a Tool for Assessing Product and Process Oriented Eco-Innovations Undertaken by Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rybaczewska-Błażejowska Magdalena

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the application of life cycle assessment (LCA as an approach to foster the product and process oriented eco- innovation of enterprises, using the fruit and vegetable processing plant as an example. LCA, which is traditionally used to assess the impacts of a single product system on the environment, was applied in the enterprise context. This was made possible by forming an indicator describing the environmental profile of an enterprise, which is calculated by the sum of the multiplication of the environmental impact assessment (LCIA results for individual unit processes within a particular impact category and their weights reflecting the structure of production in an enterprise. In order to distinguish and indicate the direction in which an enterprise should undertake its eco-innovative actions (implementing eco-innovations within the product or production process the LCIA results are presented individually for products and production processes. The research was conducted in full compliance with the LCA methodology. LCA proved that the analysed enterprise has the largest negative impacts on the environment in the following impact categories: marine eco-toxicity, freshwater eco-toxicity, freshwater eutrophication, human toxicity and natural land transformation. They result primarily from the consumption of thermal and electric energy in the production processes. Therefore, to improve energy efficiency, the enterprise should take eco-innovative actions in the processes applied.

Human motor cortical activity recorded with Micro-ECoG electrodes, during individual finger movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, W; Degenhart, A D; Collinger, J L; Vinjamuri, R; Sudre, G P; Adelson, P D; Holder, D L; Leuthardt, E C; Moran, D W; Boninger, M L; Schwartz, A B; Crammond, D J; Tyler-Kabara, E C; Weber, D J

2009-01-01

In this study human motor cortical activity was recorded with a customized micro-ECoG grid during individual finger movements. The quality of the recorded neural signals was characterized in the frequency domain from three different perspectives: (1) coherence between neural signals recorded from different electrodes, (2) modulation of neural signals by finger movement, and (3) accuracy of finger movement decoding. It was found that, for the high frequency band (60-120 Hz), coherence between neighboring micro-ECoG electrodes was 0.3. In addition, the high frequency band showed significant modulation by finger movement both temporally and spatially, and a classification accuracy of 73% (chance level: 20%) was achieved for individual finger movement using neural signals recorded from the micro-ECoG grid. These results suggest that the micro-ECoG grid presented here offers sufficient spatial and temporal resolution for the development of minimally-invasive brain-computer interface applications.

MARKETING STRATEGY FOR START UP BUSINESS OF BROILER PEKING DUCK FARM WITH ECO-GREEN INTEGRATED

OpenAIRE

Silitonga N.; Syah T.Y.R.; Erni N.

2018-01-01

The increasing number and the rate of Banten population growth from year to year make it as a potential market which is quite large for the development of broiler duck farming business in the future. In this case, intensive system broiler Peking duck farming which is integrated, economic, and eco-green intensive, eco-green commonly utilizes Azolla microphylla and flour of pluchea leaves and other germ plasmas as the feed supplements. As a company in Peking duck farming with Eco Green concept,...

The comparison analysis of total factor productivity and eco-efficiency in China's cement manufactures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Long, Xingle; Zhao, Xicang; Cheng, Faxin

2015-01-01

This paper mainly compares total factor productivity and eco-efficiency in China's cement manufactures from 2005 to 2010. First, we evaluate total factor productivity and eco-efficiency of China's cement manufactures through distance function and directional slack-based measure (DSBM) respectively. Furthermore, we also explore the difference of total factor productivity and eco-efficiency. Last, we investigate the determinants of Malmquist, Mamlquist–Luenberger of China's cement manufactures through random-effect Tobit and bootstrap truncated econometric methods. We find that there are some gaps between Malmquist and Mamlquist–Luenberger of China's cement manufactures. Per labor cement industry value has U-shape relationship with both Malmquist and Malmquist–Luenberger. It is necessary to adopt advanced technology to reduce pollutant emissions. -- Highlights: •Eco-efficiency of cement manufactures is evaluated through slack-based measure. •Eco-efficiency of China's cement manufactures has biases with total factor productivity. •Environmental Kuznets curve is existed for China's cement manufactures

Bio diesel production from algae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khola, G.; Ghazala, B.

2011-01-01

Algae appear to be an emerging source of biomass for bio diesel that has the potential to completely displace fossil fuel. Two thirds of earth's surface is covered with water, thus alga e would truly be renewable option of great potential for global energy needs. This study discusses specific and comparative bio diesel quantitative potential of Cladophora sp., also highlighting its biomass (after oil extraction), pH and sediments (glycerine, water and pigments) quantitative properties. Comparison of Cladophora sp., with Oedogonium sp., and Spirogyra sp., (Hossain et al., 2008) shows that Cladophora sp., produce higher quantity of bio diesel than Spirogyra sp., whereas biomass and sediments were higher than the both algal specimens in comparison to the results obtained by earlier workers. No prominent difference in pH of bio diesel was found. In Pakistan this is a first step towards bio diesel production from algae. Results indicate that Cladophora sp., provide a reasonable quantity of bio diesel, its greater biomass after oil extraction and sediments make it a better option for bio diesel production than the comparing species. (author)

Bio-optofluidics and Bio-photonics: Programmable Phase Optics activities at DTU Fotonik

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bañas, Andrew Rafael; Palima, Darwin; Pedersen, Finn

We present ongoing research and development activities for constructing a compact next generation BioPhotonics Workstation and a Bio-optofluidic Cell Sorter (cell-BOCS) for all-optical micromanipulation platforms utilizing low numerical aperture beam geometries. Unlike conventional high NA optical...... tweezers, the BioPhotonics workstation is e.g. capable of long range 3D manipulation. This enables a variety of biological studies such as manipulation of intricate microfabricated assemblies or for automated and parallel optofluidic cell sorting. To further reduce its overhead, we propose ways of making...... the BioPhotonics Workstation platform more photon efficient by studying the 3D distribution of the counter propagating beams and utilizing the Generalized Phase Contrast (GPC) method for illuminating the applied spatial light modulators....

Fostering eco-innovation in SMEs through bridging research, education and industry for building a business oriented model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamburg Ileana

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Small and medium sized companies (SMEs assure economic growth in Europe. The Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP concentrated and mobilized Member State and stakeholder efforts bringing eco-innovation from research to market, improving market conditions, opening up global markets. Rapid and reinforced actions are now required, building on the experience of ETAP helping SMEs to have benefits by introducing eco-innovative approaches into their operations. Particularly start-ups, can be the ideal incubators for eco-innovation, and can bring to market new, less environmentally damaging products, services and processes. Generally many SMEs are struggling to survive in an ongoing global recession and often they are becoming reluctant to release innovation, particularly eco-innovation (Assante et al., 2016. In this paper we present first the differences between eco-innovation based business models and those based on regular innovations. Secondly we give some approaches tested in national and European projects with participation of the authors in order to help SMEs to develop business models of eco-innovations. The first one is to build cooperation between researchers, educators and SME staff in order to explain SMEs the advantages of such models and to implement models designed by researchers. Secondly we used practice oriented forms of training for SMEs like Problem Based Learning (PBL as an efficient form for SMEs and entrepreneurship education to learn to solve problems like the building of an eco-innovation business model. Thirdly we use in our projects eco-innovation biographies (EIBs reflecting the evolutionary character of such innovations and the dynamics of related policy streams.

The status of blood safety in ECO member states

Science.gov (United States)

Seighali, Fariba; Hosseini Divkolaye, Nasim S.; Koohi, Ebrahim; Pourfathollah, Ali A.; Rahmani, Ahmad M.

2015-01-01

Background Access to the information concerning blood safety is essential for managing problems and overcoming the challenges that are faced in any given region. Information on the availability and safety of blood in countries of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) is largely lacking. To address this problem, the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organisation, in collaboration with other ECO member states, initiated a research project in 2009 to collect, analyse and compare statistics on blood safety in the region. Materials and methods A modified and summarised version of the Global Database on Blood Safety (GDBS) questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire was sent to all ten countries in the ECO region. The heads of the national transfusion services or focal points were requested to complete the form. Related literature and websites were also reviewed. Results Only three countries (Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey) completed the questionnaire, while other countries provided their available data on some parts of the questionnaire. The number of donations per year varied from 5 to 27/1,000 population. The rate of donors positive for human immunodeficiency virus ranged from 0.003% to 0.2%. The rate of donors positive for hepatitis C virus antibody varied from 0.05% to 3.9% while that of hepatitis B virus surface antigen ranged from 0.15% to 3.91% respectively. Discussion There is very clear diversity in blood transfusion services among ECO member states. Most countries in the region do not have a data-recording system. It is generally estimated that the need for blood is much higher than the supply in this region. Deficiencies in donor screening and a high prevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections are other important challenges. PMID:26192779

Bio-energy status document 2012; Statusdocument bio-energie 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bles, M.; Schepers, B.L.; Van Grinsven, A.H.; Bergsma, G.C.; Croezen, H.C.

2013-05-15

In 2012 bio-energy contributed over 71 PJ to the Dutch energy supply, a rise of almost 2 PJ over 2011. This means that 75% of the renewable energy consumed in the Netherlands is now derived from biomass. The growth is due mainly to the increase in the mandatory biotransport fuel percentage from 4.25% to 4.5%. The use of energy from 'other biomass combustion' (incl. paper sludge, green waste and chicken excrement) recovered to the level of 2010, following a marked drop in 2011 due to plant maintenance, termination of the MEP ('Environmental Quality of Power Generation') subsidy scheme and high biomass prices. At large power stations there was a considerable decrease in co-incineration of biomass because of incidents (a fire at the Nijmegen coal-fired plant) and a maintenance backlog (at the Amer power station). These are some of the results reported in the 'Bio-energy status document 2012', prepared by CE Delft for NL Agency. In addition to a review and characterisation of the current situation, the report contains an update on government policies on bio-energy and a review of the sources and sustainability of the biomass used in the Netherlands [Dutch] De bijdrage van bio-energie aan de Nederlandse energievoorziening bedroeg in 2012 ruim 71 PJ, een stijging van bijna 2 PJ ten opzichte van 2011. Daarmee is 75% van het verbruik van hernieuwbare energie in Nederland afkomstig van bio-energie. De stijging wordt vooral veroorzaakt door de oplopende bijmengplicht van biotransportbrandstoffen van 4,25% naar 4,5%. Verbruik van energie uit 'overige biomassaverbranding' (o.a. papierslib, groenafval en kippenmest) herstelde zicht tot het niveau van 2010, na een forse daling in 2011 door onderhoud aan installaties, afloop van MEP-subsidies en hoge prijzen van biomassa. Het bij- en meestoken van biomassa in grote elektriciteitscentrales daalde juist aanzienlijk door calamiteiten en uitloop van onderhoud (brand kolencentrale bij Nijmegen

Study on eco-efficiency of industrial parks in China based on data envelopment analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Yupeng; Bai, Bingyang; Qiao, Qi; Kang, Peng; Zhang, Yue; Guo, Jing

2017-05-01

China's industrial parks have been playing a crucial role on driving regional economy development, but also been posing threats to local environment due to intensive resource consumption and waste emission. Chinese government facilitated eco-industrial development of industrial park, aiming to output more with less environmental burden. In our study, the eco-efficiency levels of 40 Chinese industrial parks in 2012 were assessed and ranked by Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). This paper applied indicators relevant to resource, economy, and environment from industrial parks which can well reflect the characteristics of eco-efficiency conforming to the concept of sustainability. This paper introduced how to adjust less sustainable parks to be more sustainable according to the DEA results. The roles of industrial added value per capita, industrial structure, environmental policy and development scale as influence factors of eco-efficiency were discussed. The results show that large differences exist in the eco-efficiency of different industrial parks. It is shown that 20% of the parks are relatively efficient. 47% of the study parks being inefficient in terms of scale efficiency show decreasing returns to scale. Policy implementations for the management of industrial parks were also discussed based on the results. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Market Intelligence Precursors for the Entrepreneurial Resilience Approach: The Case of the Romanian Eco-Label Product Retailers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrian Micu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The entrepreneurial resilience of eco-label product retailers emphasises their adaptive capability for renewal after the economic crisis. This paper explores the resilience of the market intelligence techniques adopted by the eco-label product retailers in order to contribute to sustainable development of this market in Romania. The research, conducted on a sample of Romanian retailers of eco-label products, analyses the main sources for gathering data about their competitors, the reasons for monitoring the strategic options of their competitors and the specific market intelligence techniques employed within the entrepreneurial resilience approach, aiming to overcome the negative crisis effects. The research outlines, from an entrepreneurial resilience perspective, several positioning opportunities of the eco-label product retailers after the crisis, which have affected the Romanian economy in the period 2008–2009 and have implicitly affected the eco-label market.

Utilization of oil palm tree residues to produce bio-oil and bio-char via pyrolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abnisa, Faisal; Arami-Niya, Arash; Wan Daud, W.M.A.; Sahu, J.N.; Noor, I.M.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • About 14.72% of the total landmass in Malaysia was used for oil palm plantations. • Oil palm tree residues were pyrolyzed to produce bio-oil and bio-char. • The process was performed at a temperature of 500 °C and reaction time of 60 min. • Characterization of the products was performed. - Abstract: Oil palm tree residues are a rich biomass resource in Malaysia, and it is therefore very important that they be utilized for more beneficial purposes, particularly in the context of the development of biofuels. This paper described the possibility of utilizing oil palm tree residues as biofuels by producing bio-oil and bio-char via pyrolysis. The process was performed in a fixed-bed reactor at a temperature of 500 °C, a nitrogen flow rate of 2 L/min and a reaction time of 60 min. The physical and chemical properties of the products, which are important for biofuel testing, were then characterized. The results showed that the yields of the bio-oil and bio-char obtained from different residues varied within the ranges of 16.58–43.50 wt% and 28.63–36.75 wt%, respectively. The variations in the yields resulted from differences in the relative amounts of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, volatiles, fixed carbon, and ash in the samples. The energy density of the bio-char was found to be higher than that of the bio-oil. The highest energy density of the bio-char was obtained from a palm leaf sample (23.32 MJ/kg), while that of the bio-oil was obtained from a frond sample (15.41 MJ/kg)

Understanding bio-economics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Patel, M.K.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/18988097X

2008-01-01

New plants for production of bio-based fuels, chemicals or plastics are being set up at an accelerating pace. However, this transition towards bio-based fuels, feedstocks and chemicals has not come without consequences. Increased demand has pushed up prices of key agricultural products such as maize

EcoBot-II: An artificial agent with a natural metabolism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris Melhuish

2008-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper we report the development of the robot EcoBot-II, which exhibits a primitive form of artificial symbiosis. Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs were used as the onboard energy supply, which consisted of bacterial cultures from sewage sludge and employed oxygen from free air for oxidation at the cathode. EcoBot-II was able to perform sensing, information processing, communication and actuation when fed (amongst other substrates with flies. This is the first robot in the world, to utilise unrefined substrate, oxygen from free air and exhibit four different types of behaviour.

Eco label and integrated product policies. Supporting companies by networking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frey, M.; Iraldo, F.

1999-01-01

In 1998 IEFE Bocconi University (Italy) carried out a project for the diffusion of the European Commission Eco label, the certification of the environmental quality of products. What clearly emerges from this experience is that some Italian SMEs, among the most innovative and market-oriented, are prone and ready to grasp the opportunities connected with the Eco label adoption. The more these enterprises are capable of starting up a network of socio-institutional actors eager to support them in promoting the environmental quality of their products, the more they succeed in exploiting the above mentioned opportunities [it

Application of eco-exergy for assessment of ecosystem health and development of structurally dynamic models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, J.; Gürkan, Zeren; Jørgensen, S.E.

2010-01-01

are developed using eco-exergy as the goal function, have been applied in explaining and exploring ecosystem properties and changes in community structure driven by biotic and abiotic factors. In this paper, we review the application of eco-exergy for the assessment of ecosystem health and development......Eco-exergy has been widely used in the assessment of ecosystem health, parameter estimations, calibrations, validations and prognoses. It offers insights into the understanding of ecosystem dynamics and disturbance-cl riven changes. Particularly, structurally dynamic models (SDMs), which...

Bio-inspired networking

CERN Document Server

Câmara, Daniel

2015-01-01

Bio-inspired techniques are based on principles, or models, of biological systems. In general, natural systems present remarkable capabilities of resilience and adaptability. In this book, we explore how bio-inspired methods can solve different problems linked to computer networks. Future networks are expected to be autonomous, scalable and adaptive. During millions of years of evolution, nature has developed a number of different systems that present these and other characteristics required for the next generation networks. Indeed, a series of bio-inspired methods have been successfully used to solve the most diverse problems linked to computer networks. This book presents some of these techniques from a theoretical and practical point of view. Discusses the key concepts of bio-inspired networking to aid you in finding efficient networking solutions Delivers examples of techniques both in theoretical concepts and practical applications Helps you apply nature's dynamic resource and task management to your co...

ShopGirls Shine in Eco-Marathon

Science.gov (United States)

Stowell, Shante

2011-01-01

The ShopGirls of Granite Falls (WA) High School are the first-ever all-female team to successfully design, build, and race a prototype diesel car in the Shell Eco-marathon. The team took first place in the diesel fuel-efficiency category with a vehicle that achieved 470 miles per gallon! The idea for the ShopGirls came when Vervia Gabriel, career…

Redealing the cards: How an eco-industry modifies the political economy of environmental taxes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canton, Joan

2008-01-01

This article presents a combined economic-political model of environmental taxation setting. The model introduces a third lobby group - the lobby of an eco-industry - in addition to the traditional lobbies of polluting firms and environmentalists. Pressure groups interact to influence the environmental tax chosen by a regulator maximizing its chances of being reelected. The eco-industry lobby adds a new political contribution toward a higher environmental tax. The imperfectly competitive structure of the eco-industry also modifies the incentives of the usual lobbies. When the foreign environmental policy is constant, environmentalists can be in favor of a decrease in the local tax in order to reduce foreign pollution. We also discuss the formation of alliances between the eco-industry and one of the other lobbies and their potential impact. In general, the impact of lobbying activities on the politically optimal tax is ambiguous and depends on the relative concentration of each pressure group. (author)

The reality of fiction: the ECO by Mathias Goeritz

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Quesada

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract This article covers the full biography of a building, the Experimental Museum El Eco, designed by Germanborn and Mexican émigré artist and architect Mathias Goeritz. It provides an approach intersecting the biography of the author, the history of the building, and prominent  individuals of the two cultural traditions, German and Mexican, who  participated in the creation of a very special and unique building: El Eco. On the one hand, the ethics of Expressionism, the interest in  non-European art, the cult of primitivism and the aesthetic system of the  pair of concepts abstraction-empathy, all stemming from German culture. On the other, the pantheistic religiosity of landscape, zoomorphism and anthropomorphism, the interest in masks, and the aesthetics of  monumental scale, stemming from pre-Cortesian Mexican culture. Taking  the stance of intertwining Mathias Goeritz parcours with those of individuals and issues from his German past and his Mexican future – highlighting the figures of Wilhelm Worringer, Paul Westheim, Luis Barragán, Edmundo O'Gorman, and Ida Rodríguez Prampolini – this article proposes a return  trip from fiction to reality, following in the footsteps of the author and  comparing them with the pathway of the very building El Eco.

The Silicon Valley Eco System. High-energetic in many ways; Het Silicon Valley Eco Systeem: hoogenergetisch in vele opzichten

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van den Heuvel, J.

2012-04-15

The highly commended Silicon Valley Eco System is bubbling with energy with regard to the subjects that are focused upon, including sustainable energy, or the widely available expertise that is needed for the developments, good ideas, capital and optimism, fed by frequent examples of extraordinarily successful companies. The sheer endlessness of network opportunities joins all these elements frequently. This article addresses several noteworthy interactions in the field of sustainable energy over the last period. [Dutch] Het veel geroemde Silicon Valley eco systeem bruist van energie in de vorm van de onderwerpen waar men zich op richt, waaronder duurzame energie, of de ruim aanwezige expertise die nodig is voor de ontwikkelingen, goede ideeen, kapitaal, en optimisme, gevoed door regelmatige voorbeelden van buitensporig succesvolle bedrijven. De schier oneindige netwerkmogelijkheden brengen al deze elementen met grote regelmaat bij elkaar. In dit artikel volgen enkele vermeldenswaardige interacties op het vlak van duurzame energie uit de afgelopen periode.

EcoHealth Student: Emerging Researcher Awards encourages ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2011-05-10

May 10, 2011 ... ... who were paired with EcoHealth board members or journal editors to score ... Students' work was evaluated based on its contribution to science and ecohealth. ... Through her previous epidemiological and medical research, and ... Her research findings have been surprising and run counter to global ...

Pyrolysis of waste animal fats in a fixed-bed reactor: Production and characterization of bio-oil and bio-char

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ben Hassen-Trabelsi, A., E-mail: aidabenhassen@yahoo.fr [Centre de Recherche et de Technologies de l’Energie (CRTEn), Technopôle Borj-Cédria, B.P 95, 2050, Hammam Lif (Tunisia); Kraiem, T. [Centre de Recherche et de Technologies de l’Energie (CRTEn), Technopôle Borj-Cédria, B.P 95, 2050, Hammam Lif (Tunisia); Département de Géologie, Université de Tunis, 2092, Tunis (Tunisia); Naoui, S. [Centre de Recherche et de Technologies de l’Energie (CRTEn), Technopôle Borj-Cédria, B.P 95, 2050, Hammam Lif (Tunisia); Belayouni, H. [Département de Géologie, Université de Tunis, 2092, Tunis (Tunisia)

2014-01-15

Highlights: • Produced bio-fuels (bio-oil and bio-char) from some animal fatty wastes. • Investigated the effects of main parameters on pyrolysis products distribution. • Determined the suitable conditions for the production of the maximum of bio-oil. • Characterized bio-oils and bio-chars obtained from several animal fatty wastes. - Abstract: Several animal (lamb, poultry and swine) fatty wastes were pyrolyzed under nitrogen, in a laboratory scale fixed-bed reactor and the main products (liquid bio-oil, solid bio-char and syngas) were obtained. The purpose of this study is to produce and characterize bio-oil and bio-char obtained from pyrolysis of animal fatty wastes. The maximum production of bio-oil was achieved at a pyrolysis temperature of 500 °C and a heating rate of 5 °C/min. The chemical (GC–MS analyses) and spectroscopic analyses (FTIR analyses) of bio-oil showed that it is a complex mixture consisting of different classes of organic compounds, i.e., hydrocarbons (alkanes, alkenes, cyclic compounds…etc.), carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones, esters,…etc. According to fuel properties, produced bio-oils showed good properties, suitable for its use as an engine fuel or as a potential source for synthetic fuels and chemical feedstock. Obtained bio-chars had low carbon content and high ash content which make them unattractive for as renewable source energy.

Pyrolysis of waste animal fats in a fixed-bed reactor: Production and characterization of bio-oil and bio-char

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ben Hassen-Trabelsi, A.; Kraiem, T.; Naoui, S.; Belayouni, H.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Produced bio-fuels (bio-oil and bio-char) from some animal fatty wastes. • Investigated the effects of main parameters on pyrolysis products distribution. • Determined the suitable conditions for the production of the maximum of bio-oil. • Characterized bio-oils and bio-chars obtained from several animal fatty wastes. - Abstract: Several animal (lamb, poultry and swine) fatty wastes were pyrolyzed under nitrogen, in a laboratory scale fixed-bed reactor and the main products (liquid bio-oil, solid bio-char and syngas) were obtained. The purpose of this study is to produce and characterize bio-oil and bio-char obtained from pyrolysis of animal fatty wastes. The maximum production of bio-oil was achieved at a pyrolysis temperature of 500 °C and a heating rate of 5 °C/min. The chemical (GC–MS analyses) and spectroscopic analyses (FTIR analyses) of bio-oil showed that it is a complex mixture consisting of different classes of organic compounds, i.e., hydrocarbons (alkanes, alkenes, cyclic compounds…etc.), carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones, esters,…etc. According to fuel properties, produced bio-oils showed good properties, suitable for its use as an engine fuel or as a potential source for synthetic fuels and chemical feedstock. Obtained bio-chars had low carbon content and high ash content which make them unattractive for as renewable source energy

Integrating reverse logistics and eco-design: a proposal for a new framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felipe Kich Gontijo

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The concepts of Reverse Logistics and Eco-design are discussed in this paper, suggesting that these applications are often treated differently, thus not being able to achieve a higher performance in relation to environmental sustainability. The reason is most reverse logistics applications have a repairer action, since their waste generation is not planned along with product design. The proposal shows how the two concepts can work together, describing the time of each application.Unfolding the two concepts into reverse channels concerning logistics and life cycle analysis of the product as per eco-design, an application model has been developed, promoting integration between the two practices, so that the reverse supply chain is planned along with the product.The result is the development of a model for implementing reverse logistics integrating eco-design, thus optimizing the reverse flow of waste.

EPA EcoBox Tools by Exposure Pathways - Air

Science.gov (United States)

Eco-Box is a toolbox for exposure assessors. Its purpose is to provide a compendium of exposure assessment and risk characterization tools that will present comprehensive step-by-step guidance and links to relevant exposure assessment data bases

EPA EcoBox Tools by Exposure Pathways - Soil

Science.gov (United States)

Eco-Box is a toolbox for exposure assessors. Its purpose is to provide a compendium of exposure assessment and risk characterization tools that will present comprehensive step-by-step guidance and links to relevant exposure assessment data bases

Advancing eco-driving strategies for drivers and automated vehicles traveling within intersection vicinities : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

Vehicle emissions occupy a considerable share of emission inventories in the United States. One of the approaches taken to minimize vehicle emissions is eco-driving. Supported by advanced ITS technologies, it is available to provide the real-time eco...

Roll forming of eco-friendly stud

Science.gov (United States)

Keum, Y. T.; Lee, S. Y.; Lee, T. H.; Sim, J. K.

2013-12-01

In order to manufacture an eco-friendly stud, the sheared pattern is designed by the Taguchi method and expanded by the side rolls. The seven geometrical shape of sheared pattern are considered in the structural and thermal analyses to select the best functional one in terms of the durability and fire resistance of dry wall. For optimizing the size of the sheared pattern chosen, the L9 orthogonal array and smaller-the-better characteristics of the Taguchi method are used. As the roll gap causes forming defects when the upper-and-lower roll type is adopted for expanding the sheared pattern, the side roll type is introduced. The stress and strain distributions obtained by the FEM simulation of roll-forming processes are utilized for the design of expanding process. The expanding process by side rolls shortens the length of expanding process and minimizes the cost of dies. Furthermore, the stud manufactured by expanding the sheared pattern of the web is an eco-friend because of the scrapless roll-forming process. In addition, compared to the conventionally roll-formed stud, the material cost is lessened about 13.6% and the weight is lightened about 15.5%.

Maxillary sinus floor augmentation with Bio-Oss or Bio-Oss mixed with autogenous bone as graft in animals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, T; Schou, S; Stavropoulos, Andreas

2012-01-01

The objective of the present systematic review was to test the hypothesis of no differences between the use of Bio-Oss or Bio-Oss mixed with autogenous bone as graft for maxillary sinus floor augmentation (MSFA) applying the lateral window technique, as evaluated in animals. A MEDLINE (Pub...... of the graft improved significantly with increased proportion of Bio-Oss. Bone regeneration, bone-to-implant contact (BIC), biomechanical implant test values, and biodegradation of Bio-Oss after MSFA with Bio-Oss or Bio-Oss mixed with autogenous bone have never been compared within the same study in animals....... Thus, the hypothesis of no differences between the use of Bio-Oss and Bio-Oss mixed with autogenous bone as graft for MSFA could neither be confirmed nor rejected based on existing animal studies....

The ECO European Project: A New MOOC Dimension Based on an Intercreativity Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Acedo, Sara Osuna; Cano, Lucía Camarero

2016-01-01

The ECO European Project funded by the European Commission is dedicated to bringing MOOCs to a new dimension by taking advantage of the new possibilities offered by the Social Web (O'Reilly, 2005). This paper focuses on the intercreative aspects of MOOCs. It takes a look at the characteristics of the new ECO MOOCs to see if they are designed and…

Navigating the Bio-Politics of Childhood

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Nick; Motzkau, Johanna

2011-01-01

Childhood research has long shared a bio-political terrain with state agencies in which children figure primarily as "human futures". In the 20th century bio-social dualism helped to make that terrain navigable by researchers, but, as life processes increasingly become key sites of bio-political action, bio-social dualism is becoming…

Toward the Eco-Narrative: Rethinking the Role of Conflict in Storytelling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corinne Donly

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Offered as a response to the increasingly popular call within the eco-humanities for stories that will help humankind adapt to catastrophic planetary conditions, this article proposes “the eco-narrative”—an approach to storytelling that strives to compose with, not for, its nonhuman characters. An extension of eco-critical projects that analyze stories for their depictions of nonhumanity, the theoretical research herein brings ecological analysis of narrative to the level of structure. In particular, it problematizes the dominant plot model of conflict/climax/resolution, suggesting that stories motivated by conflict reinforce dualistic and anthropocentric habits for approaching the animal other. Evaluating two narratives concerning the human practice of killing animals—the Pew Commission’s report on Industrial Farm Animal Production and Annette Watson and Orville H. Huntington’s “They’re here—I can feel them”—the article observes how the former’s efforts at animal rights advocacy are undermined by its very storytelling framework. Celebrating the latter story’s more playful approach to narrative instead, the article ultimately suggests that a theory of “infinite play,” as developed by James P. Carse, can be used to re-envision the dominant plot model. A template for cooperation in the absence of known outcome, infinite play thus becomes the basis for the eco-narrative—a storytelling framework flexible enough to cocreate with nonhumanity, even during an environmental moment characterized by crisis.

Prediction of three-dimensional arm trajectories based on ECoG signals recorded from human sensorimotor cortex.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yasuhiko Nakanishi

Full Text Available Brain-machine interface techniques have been applied in a number of studies to control neuromotor prostheses and for neurorehabilitation in the hopes of providing a means to restore lost motor function. Electrocorticography (ECoG has seen recent use in this regard because it offers a higher spatiotemporal resolution than non-invasive EEG and is less invasive than intracortical microelectrodes. Although several studies have already succeeded in the inference of computer cursor trajectories and finger flexions using human ECoG signals, precise three-dimensional (3D trajectory reconstruction for a human limb from ECoG has not yet been achieved. In this study, we predicted 3D arm trajectories in time series from ECoG signals in humans using a novel preprocessing method and a sparse linear regression. Average Pearson's correlation coefficients and normalized root-mean-square errors between predicted and actual trajectories were 0.44~0.73 and 0.18~0.42, respectively, confirming the feasibility of predicting 3D arm trajectories from ECoG. We foresee this method contributing to future advancements in neuroprosthesis and neurorehabilitation technology.

Design for a sustainable society utilizing information and communication technologies (ICT) - proposal: a new EcoDesign method and its application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujimoto, J. [Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the Univ. of Tokyo (Japan); Matsumoto, M. [Fundamental and Environment Labs., NEC Corp. (Japan)

2004-07-01

We discuss a new EcoDesign method, with a goal of improving the economy, and its application to a sustainable networked society. The new EcoDesign method differs from conventional EcoDesign in three respects: it utilizes a top-down approach, project-style research, and fact-finding and benchmarking. We systematize EcoDesign for a networked society from the viewpoint of technology and divide it into four components. Feasibility studies of the individual components reveal that if we promote ICT diffusion with EcoDesign in mind, we can suppress CO2 emissions and move towards a more sustainable society. (orig.)

Flexural fatigue failures and lives of Eco-Core sandwich beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hossain, Mohammad Mynul; Shivakumar, Kunigal

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Eco-Core sandwich beam is flexural fatigue tested to study its fatigue response. • The core showed three failure types: damage onset, progression and final failure. • These failures were found to be represented by 1%, 5% and 7% change in compliance. • The fatigue stress-life (S–N) relationship follows a power low, σ max /σ ct = A o N α . • The fatigue failure was by multiple vertical cracks followed by 45° shear failure. - Abstract: Eco-Core is a class of syntactic foam made from small volume of high char yield binder and large volume of a class of flyash for fire resistance application. Very little or no flexural fatigue data of this class of core material is reported in the open literature. This paper presents a flexural fatigue response of Eco-Core in a glass/vinyl ester composite face sheet sandwich beam. A four-point loaded flexural test specimen was designed and tested in static and fatigue loadings to cause tension failure in the core. The fatigue test was conducted at maximum cyclic stress (σ max ) ranged from 0.7σ ct to 0.9σ ct , where σ ct is the static flexural strength of the core. The sinusoidal loading frequency of 2 Hz with the stress ratio of 0.1 was used. Flexural fatigue failure modes of Eco-Core sandwich beam were classified: damage onset (single tension crack), damage progression (multiple tension cracks) and ultimate failure (a combination of tension and shear). These failures were characterized by 1%, 5% and 7% changes in compliance that corresponds to N 1% , N 5% and N 7% lives. The fatigue stress-life (S–N) relationship was found to follow the well-known power law equation, σ max /σ ct = A o N α . The constants A o and α were established for all three types of failures. The endurance limit was established based on 1 million cycles limit and it was found to be 0.65σ ct , 0.70σ ct and 0.71σ ct , respectively for the three modes of failure. Flexural fatigue and static failure modes of Eco-Core sandwich

CAD Instructor Designs Eco-Friendly Shed

Science.gov (United States)

Schwendau, Mark

2013-01-01

Dissatisfied with the options offered by big box stores--and wanting to save some money and go as green as possible--the author puts his design and construction skills to good use. In this article, he shares how he designed and built an eco-friendly shed. He says he is very pleased with the results of working with his own design, reducing waste,…

Scope for improved eco-efficiency varies among diverse cropping systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Carberry, Peter S; Liang, Wei-li; Twomlow, Stephen; Holzworth, Dean P; Dimes, John P; McClelland, Tim; Huth, Neil I; Chen, Fu; Hochman, Zvi; Keating, Brian A

2013-05-21

Global food security requires eco-efficient agriculture to produce the required food and fiber products concomitant with ecologically efficient use of resources. This eco-efficiency concept is used to diagnose the state of agricultural production in China (irrigated wheat-maize double-cropping systems), Zimbabwe (rainfed maize systems), and Australia (rainfed wheat systems). More than 3,000 surveyed crop yields in these three countries were compared against simulated grain yields at farmer-specified levels of nitrogen (N) input. Many Australian commercial wheat farmers are both close to existing production frontiers and gain little prospective return from increasing their N input. Significant losses of N from their systems, either as nitrous oxide emissions or as nitrate leached from the soil profile, are infrequent and at low intensities relative to their level of grain production. These Australian farmers operate close to eco-efficient frontiers in regard to N, and so innovations in technologies and practices are essential to increasing their production without added economic or environmental risks. In contrast, many Chinese farmers can reduce N input without sacrificing production through more efficient use of their fertilizer input. In fact, there are real prospects for the double-cropping systems on the North China Plain to achieve both production increases and reduced environmental risks. Zimbabwean farmers have the opportunity for significant production increases by both improving their technical efficiency and increasing their level of input; however, doing so will require improved management expertise and greater access to institutional support for addressing the higher risks. This paper shows that pathways for achieving improved eco-efficiency will differ among diverse cropping systems.

Glass fiber effect on mechanical properties of Eco-SCC

Science.gov (United States)

Prasad M. L., V.; Loksesh, G.; Ramanjaneyulu, B.; Venkatesh, S.; Mousumi, K.

2017-07-01

Sustainable Construction encouraging the use of recycled materials and implies adoption of fewer natural resources in buildings and other infrastructure. In this paper Quarry Dust (QD) is used as partial replacement for River Sand (RS) to make Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) of grade M40. Glass fiber is used as strengthening material to the developed concrete. The present study mainly focused to develop Eco-SCC using QD. In this study it was found that, for developing Eco-SCC, what is the optimum dosage of replacement of QD in RS. Fresh properties of SCC are satisfying the EFNARC specifications and also target strength is achieved. Further it is concluded that, with the glass fiber addition there is an improvement in the split and flexural strength values.

A Threefold Assessment of the Romanian Economy’s Eco-efficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viorel Niţă

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The present paper assesses the ecological sustainability of the Romanian economy from three different angles. The first two applications use the economy's energy and material consumption as proxy for its overall environmental impact. The third assessment approach is a qualitative and context-based one: the main obstacles to and opportunities for incorporating sustainability-competitiveness synergies into the Romanian industrial firms' management are identified. In the period 2000-2007, GDP growth was an important contributor to the Romanian economy's eco-efficiency levels, while the material and energy consumption remained constant or even increased. The predominance of competitive advantages based on low labour costs, high potential of increasing labour productivity, deficient environmental and industrial policies, and lack of awareness in both business and policy environment as to the beneficial role of resource productivity increase constitute significant obstacles to adopting competitive sustainability strategies. Fortunately, the relatively low levels of eco-efficiency and eco-innovation in industry offer in fact a wide scope of still unexploited win-win solutions. On the basis of the results, further research directions are sketched and several desirable public policy actions for enhancing the ecological sustainability of the Romanian economy are put forward.

The ECO computerized cognitive battery: collection of normative data using elderly New Zealanders.

Science.gov (United States)

Merrick, Paul I; Secker, David I; Fright, Renee; Melding, Pamela

2004-03-01

Computerized testing in the elderly has multiple advantages, including increased time-efficiency, a wider range of stimulus options and response forms, and increased psychometric reliability. The French-language ECO (Examen Cognitif par Ordinateur, Ritchie et al., 1993) computerized cognitive battery is investigated in this study. The purpose of the study was to yield normative data for an English-language version of the ECO, test the effects of age and education on test scores, to observe individual subtest sensitivity to cognitive impairment, and to examine participants' receptivity to this form of testing. A sample of 129 community-dwelling elderly with normal cognitive functioning and 56 cognitively impaired older adults living in both independent and supported accommodation were tested using the ECO at either their own residence or an outpatient facility. Standardized scores for three different age bands are given for both impaired and non-impaired groups. Age and education effects varied between subtests. A discriminant analysis of subtest-sensitivity to group prediction is reported using a stepwise regression model. The English version of the ECO appears to be a sensitive and practical cognitive battery that is highly acceptable to older people.

Ecos del Cosmos: A radio astroexperience at the Universitat de Valencia

Science.gov (United States)

Marco, E.; Ballesteros, F. J.; Ortiz-Gil, A.

2017-03-01

During the last three years Ecos del Cosmos has been a radio program dedicated to spreading astronomical hot news to the Universitat de València community and beyond, and also topics of general astronomical interest. To do this, this program by Ràdio Universitat has conducted live interviews with researchers, explored relationships of astronomy with humanities and society, performed contests and explained in a simple way the main monthly ephemerides. A version of Ecos del Cosmos was broadcasted in the Onda Cero’s summer program ''Jelo en verano''conducted by Arturo Tellez.

A novel water-based process produces eco-friendly bio-adhesive made from green cross-linked soybean soluble polysaccharide and soy protein.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Cheng; Chen, Mingsong; Luo, Jing; Li, Xiaona; Gao, Qiang; Li, Jianzhang

2017-08-01

In this study, an eco-friendly soy protein adhesive was developed that utilized two components from soybean meal without addition of any toxic material. A plant-based, water-soluble and inexpensive soybean soluble polysaccharide was used as the novel renewable material to combine with soy protein to produce a soy protein adhesive. Three-plywood was fabricated with the resulting adhesive, and its wet shear strength was measured. The results showed the wet shear strength of plywood bonded by the adhesive reached 0.99MPa, meeting the water resistance requirement for interior use panels. This improvement was attributed to the following reasons: (1) Combination of cross-linked soybean soluble polysaccharide and soy protein formed an interpenetrating network structure, improving the thermal stability and water resistance of the cured adhesive. (2) Adding CL-SSPS decreased the adhesive viscosity to 15.14Pas, which increased the amount of the adhesive that penetrate the wood's surface and formed more interlocks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bio-energy. Innovators talking; Bio-energie. Innovators aan het woord

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-02-15

Qualitative studies have been conducted of the results of completed projects focused on energy innovation, spread over the seven themes of the top sector Energy: Energy saving in industry, Energy conservation in the built environment, Gas, Bio-energy, Smart grids, Offshore Wind, Solar PV. This provides insight into the follow-up activities and lessons of some EOS (Energy Research Subsidy) completed projects with the aim to inspire, connect and strengthen the TKIs (Topconsortia for Knowledge and Innovation) and individual companies and researchers working on energy innovation. This report concerns the research on bio-energy [Dutch] Er is een kwalitatief onderzoek uitgevoerd naar de resultaten van afgeronde projecten gericht op energie-innovatie, verdeeld over de zeven thema's van de topsector Energie: Energiebesparing in de industrie; Energiebesparing in de gebouwde omgeving; Gas; Bio-energie; Smart grids; Wind op zee; Zon-pv. Daarmee wordt inzicht gegeven in de vervolgactiviteiten en lessen van een aantal afgesloten EOS-projecten (Energie Onderzoek Subsidie) met het oog op het inspireren, verbinden en versterken van de TKI's (Topconsortia voor Kennis en Innovatie) en individuele bedrijven en onderzoekers die werken aan energie-innovatie. Dit rapport betreft het onderzoek naar bio-energie.

Bio-energy. Innovators talking; Bio-energie. Innovators aan het woord

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-02-15

Qualitative studies have been conducted of the results of completed projects focused on energy innovation, spread over the seven themes of the top sector Energy: Energy saving in industry, Energy conservation in the built environment, Gas, Bio-energy, Smart grids, Offshore Wind, Solar PV. This provides insight into the follow-up activities and lessons of some EOS (Energy Research Subsidy) completed projects with the aim to inspire, connect and strengthen the TKIs (Topconsortia for Knowledge and Innovation) and individual companies and researchers working on energy innovation. This report concerns the research on bio-energy [Dutch] Er is een kwalitatief onderzoek uitgevoerd naar de resultaten van afgeronde projecten gericht op energie-innovatie, verdeeld over de zeven thema's van de topsector Energie: Energiebesparing in de industrie; Energiebesparing in de gebouwde omgeving; Gas; Bio-energie; Smart grids; Wind op zee; Zon-pv. Daarmee wordt inzicht gegeven in de vervolgactiviteiten en lessen van een aantal afgesloten EOS-projecten (Energie Onderzoek Subsidie) met het oog op het inspireren, verbinden en versterken van de TKI's (Topconsortia voor Kennis en Innovatie) en individuele bedrijven en onderzoekers die werken aan energie-innovatie. Dit rapport betreft het onderzoek naar bio-energie.

ECO LOGIC INTERNATIONAL GAS-PHASE CHEMICAL REDUCTION PROCESS - THE THERMAL DESORPTION UNIT - APPLICATIONS ANALYSIS REPORT

Science.gov (United States)

ELI ECO Logic International, Inc.'s Thermal Desorption Unit (TDU) is specifically designed for use with Eco Logic's Gas Phase Chemical Reduction Process. The technology uses an externally heated bath of molten tin in a hydrogen atmosphere to desorb hazardous organic compounds fro...

The BioC-BioGRID corpus: full text articles annotated for curation of protein–protein and genetic interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sun; Chatr-aryamontri, Andrew; Chang, Christie S.; Oughtred, Rose; Rust, Jennifer; Wilbur, W. John; Comeau, Donald C.; Dolinski, Kara; Tyers, Mike

2017-01-01

A great deal of information on the molecular genetics and biochemistry of model organisms has been reported in the scientific literature. However, this data is typically described in free text form and is not readily amenable to computational analyses. To this end, the BioGRID database systematically curates the biomedical literature for genetic and protein interaction data. This data is provided in a standardized computationally tractable format and includes structured annotation of experimental evidence. BioGRID curation necessarily involves substantial human effort by expert curators who must read each publication to extract the relevant information. Computational text-mining methods offer the potential to augment and accelerate manual curation. To facilitate the development of practical text-mining strategies, a new challenge was organized in BioCreative V for the BioC task, the collaborative Biocurator Assistant Task. This was a non-competitive, cooperative task in which the participants worked together to build BioC-compatible modules into an integrated pipeline to assist BioGRID curators. As an integral part of this task, a test collection of full text articles was developed that contained both biological entity annotations (gene/protein and organism/species) and molecular interaction annotations (protein–protein and genetic interactions (PPIs and GIs)). This collection, which we call the BioC-BioGRID corpus, was annotated by four BioGRID curators over three rounds of annotation and contains 120 full text articles curated in a dataset representing two major model organisms, namely budding yeast and human. The BioC-BioGRID corpus contains annotations for 6409 mentions of genes and their Entrez Gene IDs, 186 mentions of organism names and their NCBI Taxonomy IDs, 1867 mentions of PPIs and 701 annotations of PPI experimental evidence statements, 856 mentions of GIs and 399 annotations of GI evidence statements. The purpose, characteristics and possible future

Development of heat pump technology in eco-energy city project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Omata, Tomio [New Energy Development Organization (Japan); Ogisu, Yoshihiro [Office of Eco-Energy City Project, Energy Conservation Center (Japan)

1999-07-01

In the New Sunshine Project conducted by MITI Japan, Eco-Energy City-Project covers the research area of utilization of industrial and municipal waste heat. For the further utilization of waste heat, several research programs are carried out for recovery and conversion of waste heat, transportation and storage of waste heat and final use of rather low temperature heat transported. Various types of heat driven heat pumps are developed in the Eco-Energy City Project. Concept of the Project is to utilize industrial and municipal waste heat for the city where energy demand is increasing. These heat pumps will contribute for the reduction of CO{sub 2} emission. (orig.)

Landscape of Industry: Transformation of (Eco Industrial Park through history

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Archana Sharma

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The landscape of industry has been changing over time. Industry has transformed and many tangents have emerged from the sporadic home-based cottage industries to geographically scattered large manufacturing industries to co-located industrial parks to environment friendly eco-industrial parks. Curiosity about the catalysts that bring about the transformation of industrial landscape is the motivation of this article. Through the narrative on Industrial Park and the gradual shift towards Eco-Industrial Park, this article aims to shed light on the context and conditions that act as catalysts for industrial transformations, so as to serve as a reference for predicting future changes in industrial landscape.

Mobilizing the regional eco-economy: evolving webs of agri-food and rural development in the UK

OpenAIRE

Terry Marsden

2010-01-01

The paper traces the emergence of the regional eco-economy with reference to a new conceptual model called the rural web. These webs are embedded into the fabric of regional systems of production and consumption and provide a key driver for both rural development generally and eco-economic development more specifically. Relocalized agri-food networks are playing a key integrating role in mobilizing the web and the regional eco-economy more generally. The web concept is used to (i) assess the ...

Status and developmental strategy of nuclear agricultural sciences in researches of eco-environmental sciences in agriculture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hua Luo; Wang Xunqing

2001-01-01

The concept, research scopes, research progress and achievement of nuclear agricultural sciences in past several decades in China, as well as the relationship between nuclear agriculture research and eco-environmental sciences were described. The disciplinary frontier, major research fields and priority developmental fields of nuclear agriculture in eco-environmental sciences was displayed. Suggestions were made to improve and strengthen nuclear agriculture research. Those provided basic source materials and consideration for application developmental strategy of nuclear agriculture in eco-environmental sciences

¿Quién es el culpable? La semiótica de Eco

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iván Oñate

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Este artículo aborda un aspecto por el cual Umberto Eco no se hizo mundialmente famoso, pero que sin lugar a dudas habla de su erudición y sin cuyos antecedentes su novelística no tendría determinadas características que la identifican. Este aspecto es el que fundamentalmente dice que Umberto Eco es un semiólogo.

Bio-ethanol

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wenzel, Henrik

2007-01-01

, there is not enough biomass for 'everyone', not physically and not in terms of money to promote its use. This leads to the conclusion that any use of biomass for energy purposes will have to compare to the lost opportunity of using it for something else. In this perspective, the choice to use biomass for bio......-ethanol production will not lead to reduction but to increase in CO2 emission and fossil fuel dependency. Both first and second generation bio-ethanol suffer from a biomass-to-ethanol energy conversion efficiency as low as 30-40 %, and moreover external fossil fuels are used to run the conversion. There is only......, but they do not improve the energy balance enough for bio-ethanol to compete with alternative uses of the biomass. When using biomass to substitute fossil fuels in heat & power production, a close to 100% substitution efficiency is achieved. The best alternative for CO2 reduction and oil saving is, therefore...

Bio diesel, v. 15(58)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gicheva, Ljubitsa

2007-01-01

The history of bio-fuels/bio-diesel is more political and economical than it is technological. The technology of the production is the same as it was 200 years ago. The economy closed the usage of bio-fuels in the middies of the 20 Th century and put it back on the agenda of the world economy at the beginning of the 21 st century. With price of more then 70 US$ per barrel of grudge oil, production and usage of bio-fuels becomes more economical category rather than political and ecological. If we, additionally, add secondary, yet nowadays very important factors, as ecological protection, recycling the emission of poisonous gasses, exploitation of agro sector, then the reincarnation of bio-fuels is very interesting, and for Macedonia a potentially strategic category. The basics of the biography is to follow in the article paying special attention on the characteristics, standards, production, processing and usage of the bio-diesel fuel as well as the blended B20 and B5. (Author)

Bio diesel, v. 15(59)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gicheva, Ljubitsa

2007-01-01

The history of bio-fuels/bio-diesel is more political and economical than it is technological. The technology of the production is the same as it was 200 years ago. The economy closed the usage of bio-fuels in the middies of the 20 Th century and put it back on the agenda of the world economy at the beginning of the 21 st century. With price of more then 70 US$ per barrel of grudge oil, production and usage of bio-fuels becomes more economical category rather than political and ecological. If we, additionally, add secondary, yet nowadays very important factors, as ecological protection, recycling the emission of poisonous gasses, exploitation of agro sector, then the reincarnation of bio-fuels is very interesting, and for Macedonia a potentially strategic category. The basics of the biography is to follow in the article paying special attention on the characteristics, standards, production, processing and usage of the bio-diesel fuel as well as the blended B20 and B5. (Author)

The basis for a Platform Bio-Energy. Combining forces for the Dutch bio-energy business

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Halen, C.J.G.

1998-02-01

It appears that there is a need for a community of interests in the field of bio-energy to solve numerous problems and to answer many questions with respect to the development of businesses that are active in the field of bio-energy. The title study was carried out in the third and fourth quarter of 1997 by means of surveys and depth interviews among representatives of bio-energy businesses, interest groups and research institutes. The majority of the respondents supports the foundation of the Platform Bio-Energy and suggests many different activities

Eco-Tourism Development Strategy Balurannational Park in the Regency of Situbondo, East Java, Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Siswanto, Adil; Moeljadi

2015-01-01

Baluran National Park in the regency of Situbondo, East Java-Indonesia, highly prospective for development of sustainable tourism that can improve the welfare of local people. The suitable tourism type is eco-tourism with local people involvement. The purposes of this study are: 1) To know the local people involvement in eco-tourism development;…

Eco-innovation: reflections on an evolving research agenda

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhout, F.G.H.

2011-01-01

This short paper reviews some trends in social science research on eco-innovation, drawing attention to four trends in particular: better disaggregated empirical research on firms, research on knowledge and technology flows, linkage of economic and physical models and growing sophistication in the

Mg-Ca Alloys Produced by Reduction of CaO: Understanding of ECO-Mg Alloy Production

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, In-Ho; Lee, Jin Kyu; Kim, Shae K.

2017-04-01

There have been long debates about the environment conscious (ECO) Mg technology which utilizes CaO to produce Ca-containing Mg alloys. Two key process technologies of the ECO-Mg process are the chemical reduction of CaO by liquid Mg and the maintenance of melt cleanliness during the alloying of Ca. Thermodynamic calculations using FactSage software were performed to explain these two key issues. In addition, an experimental study was performed to compare the melt cleanliness of the Ca-containing Mg alloys produced by the conventional route with metallic Ca and the ECO-Mg route with CaO.

[Urban greenbelt eco-service value of Hangzhou City under effects of land use change: an evaluation with CITYgreen model].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Kan; Zhang, Jianying; Chen, Yingxu; Zhu, Yinmei

2006-10-01

Based on the Landset TM information of land use/cover change and greenbelt distribution in Hangzhou city in 1994 and 2004, and by using CITYgreen model, this paper estimated the eco-service value of urban greenbelt in the city under the effects of land use change and economic development. The results showed that in the 10 years from 1994 to 2004, the greenbelt area in the city decreased by 20. 4% , while its eco-service value increased by 168 million yuan. The annual increment of greenbelt eco-service value and GDP was 111.92% and 5. 32% , respectively. Suitable adjustment of land use pattern in the city harmonized the relationships between urban economic development and urban eco-function, and achieved higher eco-service efficiency of land utilization.

Self-regulated dynamical criticality in human ECoG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guillermo eSolovey

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Mounting experimental and theoretical results indicate that neural systems are poised near a critical state. In human subjects, however, most evidence comes from functional MRI studies, an indirect measurement of neuronal activity with poor temporal resolution. Electrocorticography (ECoG provides a unique window into human brain activity: each electrode records, with high temporal resolution, the activity resulting from the sum of the local field potentials of sim 10^5 neurons. We show that the human brain ECoG recordings display features of self-regulated dynamical criticality: dynamical modes of activation drift around the critical stability threshold, moving in and out of the unstable region and equilibrating the global dynamical state at a very fast time scale. Moreover, the analysis also reveals differences between the resting state and a motor task, associated with increased stability of a fraction of the dynamical modes.

SFRP conference days on 'Eco-toxicology, radioecology: situation and perspectives'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-06-01

Environment protection and biodiversity preservation are increasing human and society concerns. In this context, the Environment Section and the Research and Health section of the French Society of Radiation Protection (SFRP) have join their efforts to organize two scientific days with the aim to make a status of the environment protection awareness in the nuclear industry under the view of ecotoxicology and radioecology. This document gathers the presentations (slides) given during these 2 days: 1 - We cannot save mankind without saving the Earth (Boeuf, G.); 2 - CIPR and IUR: todays and tomorrow recommendations in radiologic protection of the environment (Brechignac, F.); 3 - The new Basic Safety Standards Directive and its Implications for the Protection of the Environment (Janssens, A.); 4 - Environment protection in the French law (Chevalier, S.); 5 - Uranium: towards an environmental quality standard for French rivers (Gilbin, R.); 6 - Ecological consequences of the Chernobyl accident: a still debated topic (Garnier-Laplace, J.); 7 - From bio-tests to field studies: eco-toxicity characterization tools (Thybaud, E.); 8 - A Strategic Research Agenda for Radioecology (Hinton, T.); 9 - The initial environmental state of the Cigeo geologic disposal facility (Perocheau, S.); 10 - Environmental risk evaluation: practical concepts and new developments (Andres, S.); 11 - Elements of reflection of the CEA about the environmental evaluation approach (Monfort, M.); 12 - Method of radioecological impact evaluation around EdF's nuclear power plants (Le Druillennec, T.); 13 - Evaluation of the potential impacts of ancient French uranium mining sites on ecosystems (Gibeaux, A.); 14 - UK Habitat Assessments for Radioactive Substances (Copplestone, D.); 15 - Impact of facilities effluents on the eco-complex of Cadarache area (Jourdain, F.); 16 - Radionuclides transfer from sea water to biological compartments: kinetic effects and operational modeling in accidental situation

Eco-efficiency of the world cement industry: A data envelopment analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oggioni, G., E-mail: oggioni@eco.unibs.i [University of Brescia, Faculty of Economics, Department of Quantitative Methods, IT-25122 Brescia (Italy); Riccardi, R., E-mail: riccardi@ec.unipi.i [University of Brescia, Faculty of Economics, Department of Quantitative Methods, IT-25122 Brescia (Italy); Toninelli, R., E-mail: roberta.toninelli@unifi.i [University of Pisa, Faculty of Economics, Department of Statistics and Applied Mathematics, IT-56124 Pisa (Italy)

2011-05-15

Chemical reactions and the combustion of dirty fuels, such as coal and petroleum coke (petcoke), that are used in cement production processes generate a significant amount of CO{sub 2} emissions. In this paper, we provide an eco-efficiency measure for 21 prototypes of cement industries operating in many countries by applying both a data envelopment analysis (DEA) and a directional distance function approach, which are particularly suitable for models where several production inputs and desirable and undesirable outputs are taken into account. To understand whether this eco-efficiency is due to a rational utilization of inputs or to a real carbon dioxide reduction as a consequence of environmental regulation, we analyze the cases where CO{sub 2} emissions can either be considered as an input or as an undesirable output. Empirical results show that countries where cement industries invest in technologically advanced kilns and adopt alternative fuels and raw materials in their production processes are eco-efficient. This gives a comparative advantage to emerging countries, such as India and China, which are incentivized to modernize their production processes.

Eco-efficiency of the world cement industry: A data envelopment analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oggioni, G.; Riccardi, R.; Toninelli, R.

2011-01-01

Chemical reactions and the combustion of dirty fuels, such as coal and petroleum coke (petcoke), that are used in cement production processes generate a significant amount of CO 2 emissions. In this paper, we provide an eco-efficiency measure for 21 prototypes of cement industries operating in many countries by applying both a data envelopment analysis (DEA) and a directional distance function approach, which are particularly suitable for models where several production inputs and desirable and undesirable outputs are taken into account. To understand whether this eco-efficiency is due to a rational utilization of inputs or to a real carbon dioxide reduction as a consequence of environmental regulation, we analyze the cases where CO 2 emissions can either be considered as an input or as an undesirable output. Empirical results show that countries where cement industries invest in technologically advanced kilns and adopt alternative fuels and raw materials in their production processes are eco-efficient. This gives a comparative advantage to emerging countries, such as India and China, which are incentivized to modernize their production processes.

Clinical application of bio ceramics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anu, Sharma, E-mail: issaranu@gmail.com; Gayatri, Sharma, E-mail: sharmagayatri@gmail.com [Department of Chemistry, Govt. College of Engineering & Technology, Bikaner, Rajasthan (India)

2016-05-06

Ceramics are the inorganic crystalline material. These are used in various field such as biomedical, electrical, electronics, aerospace, automotive and optical etc. Bio ceramics are the one of the most active areas of research. Bio ceramics are the ceramics which are biocompatible. The unique properties of bio ceramics make them an attractive option for medical applications and offer some potential advantages over other materials. During the past three decades, a number of major advances have been made in the field of bio ceramics. This review focuses on the use of these materials in variety of clinical scenarios.

Clinical application of bio ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anu, Sharma; Gayatri, Sharma

2016-01-01

Ceramics are the inorganic crystalline material. These are used in various field such as biomedical, electrical, electronics, aerospace, automotive and optical etc. Bio ceramics are the one of the most active areas of research. Bio ceramics are the ceramics which are biocompatible. The unique properties of bio ceramics make them an attractive option for medical applications and offer some potential advantages over other materials. During the past three decades, a number of major advances have been made in the field of bio ceramics. This review focuses on the use of these materials in variety of clinical scenarios.

„Bio-politics Reflexes” or something about what happens with Bio-politics today

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viorella Manolache

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Under the pressure dictated by Western modernity movements, life finally enters within strategic (long term relationships circuit. The present study establishes that, bio-politics and bio-power denounces the paradigm of politicization of the biological life. Foucault’s late writings confirm the subordination of bio-politics to the technologies of power, which integrate / reduce life to biological continuity of the species, to the objectification of individual body or investigation of self-techniques, that would allow (beyond the corset of the institutional, the (re affirmation of subjectivity as a force or a form of resistance. The present reactivation of the bio model establishes that we cannot evade Foucault’s view, in which, the biology- meeting – politics confirms that, none of the terms no longer retains its original meaning.

ECO TECH LINK: PT3 Grant Builds Technology Circles in the K-18 Community.

Science.gov (United States)

Klinger, Katie; Duckett, Jane; Medrano, Maria; Crow, Nedra; Stowers, Gwen

Through the vehicle of the PT3 grant program, ECO TECH LINK has built a strong consortium to support technology circles of government, education and business in order to raise student achievement scores, shorten the time it takes to earn a teaching credential, and enhance the quality of teacher credential courses. The ECO TECH LINK grant enables…

Bio fertilizer Application in a Fertigation System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad Nazrul Abd Wahid; Latiffah Noordin; Hoe, P.C.K.

2011-01-01

Bio fertilizers contain live beneficial microorganisms that provide nutrients and other benefits to crops. At present, bio fertilizers can be found in solid and liquid forms. Liquid bio fertilizer can be one of the alternatives to chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Liquid bio fertilizer is produced through culturing of microorganisms that are known to have specific capabilities in helping plant growth. However, application of bio fertilizers in the form of solution is more tedious than that of solid bio fertilizers, which can be applied directly to plants, whereas the liquid form requires several stages of preparation before it can be applied to crops. In Malaysian Nuclear Agency, a study on the distribution of liquid bio fertilizers to crops through the fertigation system has been conducted. In Malaysia, this study has not been conducted in depth, since the present fertigation system is associated to delivery of solubilised mineral fertilizers. This paper discusses the application of liquid bio fertilizers through a fertigation system. Discussions cover technical aspects of bio fertilizer preparation and its application via the said system. Tomato plant was used as test crop to determine the capability and efficiency of bio fertilizer application through the fertigation system. (author)

Unraveling Dutch citizens' perceptions on the bio-based economy : The case of bioplastics, bio-jetfuels and small-scale bio-refineries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lynch, Durwin H J; Klaassen, Pim; Broerse, Jacqueline E W

2017-01-01

Little is known about how citizens perceive the transition towards a bio-based economy (BBE), despite the fact that they are one of the most important actors in this transition. Citizens' perceptions of bio-based innovations can support policy-makers to improve the quality of decision-making and the

The BioC-BioGRID corpus: full text articles annotated for curation of protein-protein and genetic interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Islamaj Dogan, Rezarta; Kim, Sun; Chatr-Aryamontri, Andrew; Chang, Christie S; Oughtred, Rose; Rust, Jennifer; Wilbur, W John; Comeau, Donald C; Dolinski, Kara; Tyers, Mike

2017-01-01

A great deal of information on the molecular genetics and biochemistry of model organisms has been reported in the scientific literature. However, this data is typically described in free text form and is not readily amenable to computational analyses. To this end, the BioGRID database systematically curates the biomedical literature for genetic and protein interaction data. This data is provided in a standardized computationally tractable format and includes structured annotation of experimental evidence. BioGRID curation necessarily involves substantial human effort by expert curators who must read each publication to extract the relevant information. Computational text-mining methods offer the potential to augment and accelerate manual curation. To facilitate the development of practical text-mining strategies, a new challenge was organized in BioCreative V for the BioC task, the collaborative Biocurator Assistant Task. This was a non-competitive, cooperative task in which the participants worked together to build BioC-compatible modules into an integrated pipeline to assist BioGRID curators. As an integral part of this task, a test collection of full text articles was developed that contained both biological entity annotations (gene/protein and organism/species) and molecular interaction annotations (protein-protein and genetic interactions (PPIs and GIs)). This collection, which we call the BioC-BioGRID corpus, was annotated by four BioGRID curators over three rounds of annotation and contains 120 full text articles curated in a dataset representing two major model organisms, namely budding yeast and human. The BioC-BioGRID corpus contains annotations for 6409 mentions of genes and their Entrez Gene IDs, 186 mentions of organism names and their NCBI Taxonomy IDs, 1867 mentions of PPIs and 701 annotations of PPI experimental evidence statements, 856 mentions of GIs and 399 annotations of GI evidence statements. The purpose, characteristics and possible future

Introducing guidelines for eco-dynamic development and design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Koningsveld, M.; Van Raalte, G.H.

2011-01-01

One of the key activities within the Building with Nature innovation programme is the development of a guideline for Eco-dynamic Development and Design. This guidance will be focussed on implementation of the Building with Nature principles throughout all of the stages of hydraulic engineering

Policies and Strategies for Eco-Friendly Dairy Product

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ziggers, G.W.; Conte, F.; Del Nobile, M.A.; Faccia, M.; Zambrini, A.V.; Conte, A.

2017-01-01

Despite the growing interest in, and market for, eco-friendly dairy production, a large-scale transition is not taking place. This is partly explained by the institutional context, since dairy production is organized in supply chains that generate interdependencies and, in turn, are subject to

A GIS technology based potential eco-risk assessment of metals in urban soils in Beijing, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Meie; Bai Yanying; Chen Weiping; Markert, Bernd; Peng Chi; Ouyang Zhiyun

2012-01-01

Ecological risks of heavy metals in urban soils were evaluated using Beijing, China as an example. Cadmium, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr and Ni contents of 233 surface soils sampled by 1 min latitude × 1 min longitude grid were used to identify their spatial distribution patterns and potential emission sources. Throughout the city, longer the duration of urbanization greater was the accumulations of heavy metals especially, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn. The soil Zn mainly came from the wears of vehicular tires. Point source emissions of heavy metals were few and far in the downwind south–east quadrant of Beijing. The calculated risk indices showed potential median eco-risks in the ancient central city. No potential high eco-risk due to soil-borne heavy metals was found. The potential medium eco-risk areas in Beijing would expand from the initial 24 to 110 km 2 if soil pH were to reduce by 0.5 units in anticipation. - Highlights: ► Longer the time of urbanization, greater heavy metal accumulations were in the soils. ► Point source emissions of heavy metals are few in Beijing urban areas. ► The Zn enrichments in urban soils were caused by vehicle tires wearing. ► No high eco-risk areas were observed in Beijing. ► The decrease of soil pH will cause the expansion of medium eco-risk areas in Beijing. - Spatial distributions and potential eco-risks of soil-borne heavy metals in Beijing.

ECO-EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF LOW-CARBON CEMENT PRODUCTION BY REPLACING CLINKER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanay Ruíz Rosa

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This work carries out the environmental evaluation of the cement production in Siguaney Factory as well as the calculation of the Eco-efficiency indicators according to the ISO 14045 norms; the Recipe methodology was used including 18 impact categories and the SimaPro 8.1 software was also used. In order to evaluate the eco-efficiency indicators according to the ISO 14045 norm, the results of the impact categories are related to the monetary value indicators, allowing the evaluation of the current situation as well as the consequences of the suggested modifications. As a result, the environmental profiles of P-35 cement (base case were obtained as well as those of the low carbon ones (LC3-35 y LC3-50 resulting from the clinker substitution by kaolinitic clay after some studies carried out by CIDEM researchers; and the eco-efficiency profiles. The comparison made between P-35 cement and the low-carbon cements showed positive results in eight weather impact categories, however, toxicity-related ones rise due to the increase in electricity consumption connected to the grinding of materials to obtain burnt clay bringing about a greater amount of emissions of volatile organic compounds to the air. An improvement in the eco-efficiency of 6 out of 8 calculated indicators is observed due to a simultaneous decrease in the production costs and the environmental impacts. LC3-50 cement shows the best results. The methodology used permits to evaluate alternatives related to the material substitution in the construction sector.

Three-dimensional bio-printing.

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Gu, Qi; Hao, Jie; Lu, YangJie; Wang, Liu; Wallace, Gordon G; Zhou, Qi

2015-05-01

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has been widely used in various manufacturing operations including automotive, defence and space industries. 3D printing has the advantages of personalization, flexibility and high resolution, and is therefore becoming increasingly visible in the high-tech fields. Three-dimensional bio-printing technology also holds promise for future use in medical applications. At present 3D bio-printing is mainly used for simulating and reconstructing some hard tissues or for preparing drug-delivery systems in the medical area. The fabrication of 3D structures with living cells and bioactive moieties spatially distributed throughout will be realisable. Fabrication of complex tissues and organs is still at the exploratory stage. This review summarize the development of 3D bio-printing and its potential in medical applications, as well as discussing the current challenges faced by 3D bio-printing.

Form of an evolutionary tradeoff affects eco-evolutionary dynamics in a predator-prey system.

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Kasada, Minoru; Yamamichi, Masato; Yoshida, Takehito

2014-11-11

Evolution on a time scale similar to ecological dynamics has been increasingly recognized for the last three decades. Selection mediated by ecological interactions can change heritable phenotypic variation (i.e., evolution), and evolution of traits, in turn, can affect ecological interactions. Hence, ecological and evolutionary dynamics can be tightly linked and important to predict future dynamics, but our understanding of eco-evolutionary dynamics is still in its infancy and there is a significant gap between theoretical predictions and empirical tests. Empirical studies have demonstrated that the presence of genetic variation can dramatically change ecological dynamics, whereas theoretical studies predict that eco-evolutionary dynamics depend on the details of the genetic variation, such as the form of a tradeoff among genotypes, which can be more important than the presence or absence of the genetic variation. Using a predator-prey (rotifer-algal) experimental system in laboratory microcosms, we studied how different forms of a tradeoff between prey defense and growth affect eco-evolutionary dynamics. Our experimental results show for the first time to our knowledge that different forms of the tradeoff produce remarkably divergent eco-evolutionary dynamics, including near fixation, near extinction, and coexistence of algal genotypes, with quantitatively different population dynamics. A mathematical model, parameterized from completely independent experiments, explains the observed dynamics. The results suggest that knowing the details of heritable trait variation and covariation within a population is essential for understanding how evolution and ecology will interact and what form of eco-evolutionary dynamics will result.

Awareness of Eco-Friendly Dentistry among Dental Faculty and Students of King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia.

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Al-Qarni, Mohammed A; Shakeela, Nasim Vahid; Alamri, Mohammed Abdullah; Alshaikh, Yahya A

2016-10-01

Eco-friendly or green dentistry can be a reality by effectively designing dental clinics and using more eco-friendly materials in the clinical practice. To determine the awareness of eco-friendly dentistry among dental faculty and students in preparation for future implementation. Assessment of knowledge regarding eco-friendly dentistry was done using an 18 item self-administered questionnaire among 160 participants. After baseline data collection, the intervention was done by educating participants with a power point presentation. The post-intervention data was then collected for analysis. Statistical analysis was done using Wilcoxon's signed rank test and one-way ANOVA. The educational intervention increased the knowledge about eco-friendly dentistry confirming the importance of continuing education. There was a statistically significant gain in knowledge among the participants after the presentation. The gain was highest for department of Preventive Dental Sciences (PDS) followed by Substitute Dental Sciences (SDS), No specialty, Maxillofacial Dental Sciences (MDS), and Restorative Dental Sciences (RDS) respectively. (F=5.5091, p<0.05). Lack of knowledge of green dentistry amongst the dental fraternity is highly prevailing. The same can be substantiated with effective training in the respective fields if channelized through the curriculum in an educational set-up.

Toward Eco Product Development with Qualitative and CAE Design Process - Case Study of Flame Guiding Module

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Chen, W. L.; Chao, F. L.

2018-04-01

Sustainable products become increasingly important for company in addressing eco-performance to satisfy global environmental regulations. Case study of flame guiding module reviewed design process and concerns related to the torch design. For enhancing flame height, the torch was embedded with an airflow guidance structure. The design process and design methodologies were investigated as an eco-design case study. Combine qualitative and CAE simulation were proposed to fulfil its main and auxiliary functions including reduction of impact during use. The design guidelines help prevent mistake arrangements, CAE helps understand combustion phenomenon. The flow field simulation enables fine tune of geometric design. Functional test and measurement are carried out to confirm the product features. On Eco-performance, we choose 5 items for evaluation the status of previous and redesign module, namely function need, low impact material, few manufacturing steps, low energy consumption, and safety. The radar diagram indicates that eco-performance of redesign module is better. Life cycle assessment calculated the carbon footprint of the manufacturing and processing stage with Eco-it. By using recycled steel in the flame module, it reduces raw material stage carbon footprint significantly.

The More, the Merrier: Why and How Employee-Driven Eco-Innovation Enhances Environmental and Competitive Advantage

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Anke Buhl

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Innovative solutions are often conjured as a key factor for companies to come closer to the goal of ecological sustainability. Furthermore, proactive eco-innovation activities can encompass competitive advantages. Companies are therefore well advised to tap any available source of innovation. However, although employees’ innovative capacity has often been described, to date, their manifold potentials for eco-innovation processes have hardly been examined in detail. The overarching research questions guiding this conceptual paper are why and how employee participation in eco-innovation processes can entail environmental and competitive advantages for companies. The authors introduce the concept of employee-driven eco-innovation (EDEI, defined here as ordinary employees’ voluntary engagement in innovation activities within an organizational context that, intentionally or not, lead to environmental improvements. This paper complements previous literature on employee-driven innovation (EDI by applying it to the specific case of eco-innovation. In this context, employees’ comprehensive environmental competences resulting from “tacit knowledge”, “private consumer experience” and “green identity” are taken into account. In addition, we delineate critical intra-organizational factors for EDEI activities and illustrate green employees’ specific requirements in this regard.

Bio-Oil Analysis Laboratory Procedures | Bioenergy | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Bio-Oil Analysis Laboratory Procedures Bio-Oil Analysis Laboratory Procedures NREL develops laboratory analytical procedures (LAPs) for the analysis of raw and upgraded pyrolysis bio-oils. These standard procedures have been validated and allow for reliable bio-oil analysis. Procedures Determination

Sectoral patterns versus firm-level heterogeneity - The dynamics of eco-innovation strategies in the automotive sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Faria, Lourenco; Andersen, Maj Munch

2017-01-01

analysis using patent data from 1965 to 2012. Our findings suggest a process of co-evolution of firms' strategies and indicate that strong sectoral-specific patterns of eco-innovation are present in this sector from the mid-2000s onwards. For fuel cells technologies, however, we observe the formation......This paper sheds light on some important but underestimated elements of green industrial dynamics: the evolution of firms' eco-innovation strategies and activities within a sector. While eco-innovation sectoral case studies have taken place before, our analysis is distinct in investigating the rate......, direction and extent of eco-innovation in the automotive sector, represented here by the main automakers, in order to identify possibly sectoral-specific patterns in firms' strategies, as opposed to divergent strategic behaviors, grounded on evolutionary economic theory. We conduct a two-step empirical...

Revision and extension of Eco-LCA metrics for sustainability assessment of the energy and chemical processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shiying; Yang, Siyu; Kraslawski, Andrzej; Qian, Yu

2013-12-17

Ecologically based life cycle assessment (Eco-LCA) is an appealing approach for the evaluation of resources utilization and environmental impacts of the process industries from an ecological scale. However, the aggregated metrics of Eco-LCA suffer from some drawbacks: the environmental impact metric has limited applicability; the resource utilization metric ignores indirect consumption; the renewability metric fails to address the quantitative distinction of resources availability; the productivity metric seems self-contradictory. In this paper, the existing Eco-LCA metrics are revised and extended for sustainability assessment of the energy and chemical processes. A new Eco-LCA metrics system is proposed, including four independent dimensions: environmental impact, resource utilization, resource availability, and economic effectiveness. An illustrative example of comparing assessment between a gas boiler and a solar boiler process provides insight into the features of the proposed approach.

Bio-methane via fast pyrolysis of biomass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Görling, Martin; Larsson, Mårten; Alvfors, Per

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Pyrolysis gases can efficiently be upgraded to bio-methane. ► The integration can increase energy efficiency and provide a renewable vehicle fuel. ► The biomass to bio-methane conversion efficiency is 83% (HHV). ► The efficiency is higher compared to bio-methane produced via gasification. ► Competitive alternative to other alternatives of bio-oil upgrading. - Abstract: Bio-methane, a renewable vehicle fuel, is today produced by anaerobic digestion and a 2nd generation production route via gasification is under development. This paper proposes a poly-generation plant that produces bio-methane, bio-char and heat via fast pyrolysis of biomass. The energy and material flows for the fuel synthesis are calculated by process simulation in Aspen Plus®. The production of bio-methane and bio-char amounts to 15.5 MW and 3.7 MW, when the total inputs are 23 MW raw biomass and 1.39 MW electricity respectively (HHV basis). The results indicate an overall efficiency of 84% including high-temperature heat and the biomass to bio-methane yield amounts to 83% after allocation of the biomass input to the final products (HHV basis). The overall energy efficiency is higher for the suggested plant than for the gasification production route and is therefore a competitive route for bio-methane production

Functions that Protect Escherichia coli from Tightly Bound DNA-Protein Complexes Created by Mutant EcoRII Methyltransferase.

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Morgan L; Kreuzer, Kenneth N

2015-01-01

Expression of mutant EcoRII methyltransferase protein (M.EcoRII-C186A) in Escherichia coli leads to tightly bound DNA-protein complexes (TBCs), located sporadically on the chromosome rather than in tandem arrays. The mechanisms behind the lethality induced by such sporadic TBCs are not well studied, nor is it clear whether very tight binding but non-covalent complexes are processed in the same way as covalent DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs). Using 2D gel electrophoresis, we found that TBCs induced by M.EcoRII-C186A block replication forks in vivo. Specific bubble molecules were detected as spots on the 2D gel, only when M.EcoRII-C186A was induced, and a mutation that eliminates a specific EcoRII methylation site led to disappearance of the corresponding spot. We also performed a candidate gene screen for mutants that are hypersensitive to TBCs induced by M.EcoRII-C186A. We found several gene products necessary for protection against these TBCs that are known to also protect against DPCs induced with wild-type M.EcoRII (after 5-azacytidine incorporation): RecA, RecBC, RecG, RuvABC, UvrD, FtsK, XerCD and SsrA (tmRNA). In contrast, the RecFOR pathway and Rep helicase are needed for protection against TBCs but not DPCs induced by M.EcoRII. We propose that stalled fork processing by RecFOR and RecA promotes release of tightly bound (but non-covalent) blocking proteins, perhaps by licensing Rep helicase-driven dissociation of the blocking M.EcoRII-C186A. Our studies also argued against the involvement of several proteins that might be expected to protect against TBCs. We took the opportunity to directly compare the sensitivity of all tested mutants to two quinolone antibiotics, which target bacterial type II topoisomerases and induce a unique form of DPC. We uncovered rep, ftsK and xerCD as novel quinolone hypersensitive mutants, and also obtained evidence against the involvement of a number of functions that might be expected to protect against quinolones.

Functions that Protect Escherichia coli from Tightly Bound DNA-Protein Complexes Created by Mutant EcoRII Methyltransferase.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morgan L Henderson

Full Text Available Expression of mutant EcoRII methyltransferase protein (M.EcoRII-C186A in Escherichia coli leads to tightly bound DNA-protein complexes (TBCs, located sporadically on the chromosome rather than in tandem arrays. The mechanisms behind the lethality induced by such sporadic TBCs are not well studied, nor is it clear whether very tight binding but non-covalent complexes are processed in the same way as covalent DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs. Using 2D gel electrophoresis, we found that TBCs induced by M.EcoRII-C186A block replication forks in vivo. Specific bubble molecules were detected as spots on the 2D gel, only when M.EcoRII-C186A was induced, and a mutation that eliminates a specific EcoRII methylation site led to disappearance of the corresponding spot. We also performed a candidate gene screen for mutants that are hypersensitive to TBCs induced by M.EcoRII-C186A. We found several gene products necessary for protection against these TBCs that are known to also protect against DPCs induced with wild-type M.EcoRII (after 5-azacytidine incorporation: RecA, RecBC, RecG, RuvABC, UvrD, FtsK, XerCD and SsrA (tmRNA. In contrast, the RecFOR pathway and Rep helicase are needed for protection against TBCs but not DPCs induced by M.EcoRII. We propose that stalled fork processing by RecFOR and RecA promotes release of tightly bound (but non-covalent blocking proteins, perhaps by licensing Rep helicase-driven dissociation of the blocking M.EcoRII-C186A. Our studies also argued against the involvement of several proteins that might be expected to protect against TBCs. We took the opportunity to directly compare the sensitivity of all tested mutants to two quinolone antibiotics, which target bacterial type II topoisomerases and induce a unique form of DPC. We uncovered rep, ftsK and xerCD as novel quinolone hypersensitive mutants, and also obtained evidence against the involvement of a number of functions that might be expected to protect against quinolones.

The Rethinking of the Economic Activity Based on Principles of Eco-Efficiency

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Daniela VÎRJAN

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Drought, floods, damaging storms, heat waves, acid rain, climate changes are but a few of the consequences of human action upon the environment. Can we possibly live against the environment? The answer is NO, and as such we must run an economy which respects the principles of eco-efficiency because only so can economic progress go on. Green economy is a great opportunity for all of the world’s countries, and is a real economy which keeps the resource-needs and environment relation in balance, aims towards quality and not quantity, lays emphasis on regeneration, recycling, reuse and creativity. Eco-efficiency implies both innovation towards a high degree of product dematerialization, services and systems, alongside with greatly changing current production and consumption practices. If we produce based on the principle of eco-efficiency we can reduce the effects of the profound economic, ecological, socio-political and cultural-spiritual crisis which marks our planet and countries.

Development of an eco-efficient product/process for the vulcanising industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Becerra, M. B.

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the development of an eco-efficient product/process, which has improved mechanical properties from the introduction of natural fibres in the EPDM (Ethylene-Propylene-Diene-Terpolymer rubber formulation. The optimisation analysis is made by a fractional factorial design 211-7. Different formulations were evaluated using a multi-response desirability function, with the aim of finding efficient levels for the manufacturing time-cycle, improving the mechanical properties of the product, and reducing the raw material costs. The development of an eco-efficient product/process generates a sustainable alternative to conventional manufacturing.

Bio-threat microparticle simulants

Science.gov (United States)

Farquar, George Roy; Leif, Roald N

2012-10-23

A bio-threat simulant that includes a carrier and DNA encapsulated in the carrier. Also a method of making a simulant including the steps of providing a carrier and encapsulating DNA in the carrier to produce the bio-threat simulant.

Bio-threat microparticle simulants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farquar, George Roy; Leif, Roald

2014-09-16

A bio-threat simulant that includes a carrier and DNA encapsulated in the carrier. Also a method of making a simulant including the steps of providing a carrier and encapsulating DNA in the carrier to produce the bio-threat simulant.

Bio-fuel production potential in Romania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laurentiu, F.; Silvian, F.; Dumitru, F.

2006-01-01

The paper is based on the ESTO Study: Techno- Economic Feasibility of Large-Scale Production of Bio-Fuels in EU-Candidate Countries. Bio-fuel production has not been taken into account significantly until now in Romania, being limited to small- scale productions of ethanol, used mostly for various industrial purposes. However the climatic conditions and the quality of the soil are very suitable in the country for development of the main crops (wheat, sugar-beet, sunflower and rape-seed) used in bio-ethanol and bio-diesel production. The paper intended to consider a pertinent discussion of the present situation in Romania's agriculture stressing on the following essential items in the estimation of bio-fuels production potential: availability of feed-stock for bio-fuel production; actual productions of bio-fuels; fuel consumption; cost assessment; SWOT approach; expected trends. Our analysis was based on specific agricultural data for the period 1996-2000. An important ethanol potential (due to wheat, sugar-beet and maize cultures), as well as bio-diesel one (due to sun-flower and rape-seed) were predicted for the period 2005-2010 which could be exploited with the support of an important financial and technological effort, mainly from EU countries

Round table on bio-fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-11-01

The French ministers of agriculture and of industry have organized a meeting with the main French actors of agriculture, petroleum industry, car making and accessories industry and with professionals of agriculture machines to encourage the development of bio-fuels in France. This meeting took place in Paris in November 21, 2005. Its aim was to favor the partnerships between the different actors and the public authorities in order to reach the ambitious goals of the government of 5.75% of bio-fuels in fossil fuels by 2008, 7% by 2010 and 10% by 2015. The main points discussed by the participants were: the compatibility of automotive fuel standards with the objectives of bio-fuel incorporation, the development of direct incorporation of methanol in gasoline, the ethanol-ETBE partnership, the question of the lower calorific value of ETBE (ethyl tertio butyl ether), the development of new bio-fuels, the development of bio-diesel and the specific case of pure vegetal oils, and the fiscal framework of bio-fuels. This meeting has permitted to reach important improvements with 15 concrete agreements undertaken by the participants. (J.S.)