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Life after herbarium digitisation: physical and digital collections, curation and use
Get PDFSocietal Impact StatementCollections of dried plant specimens (herbaria) provide an invaluable resource for the study of many areas of scientific interest and conservation globally. Digitisation increases access to specimens and metadata, enabling efficient use across a broad spectrum of research. The value of physical specimens is enhanced by digitisation, but these specimens remain fundamental for the study of traits not yet captured digitally. We investigate the requirements for physical access and the curation and facilities needed to maximise specimen use and value. We present recommendations to ensure that specimens and data are both fully accessible to support research into global challenges.SummaryHerbarium management has traditionally focused on providing direct access to the physical specimens, but this scope must now expand to also embrace digital collections. Advances in technologies such as artificial intelligence and high‐throughput genomics are increasing the amount of information that can be extracted from specimens, and it is becoming commonplace to provide digital access to specimen images and collection metadata. These developments are facilitating the use of herbarium collections to inform conservation planning and in studies plant and fungal taxonomy, distribution and evolution. This paper examines how herbaria are transitioning from physical specimen‐centric collection management practices to increasingly digitised curation, and the effects that digital availability of data are having on demands for physical access. We provide a set of recommendations to institutions holding herbarium collections. We emphasise the critical importance of further digitising herbaria of all sizes; the need to ensure that historical inequalities in deposition of specimens are not perpetuated; and that the capacity to utilise new technologies must be further developed, especially in biodiverse regions from which most herbarium collections are derived.To improve access to collection data, herbarium managers need to more rigorously adopt community‐agreed data standards, and more strongly support open access platforms such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility either directly or through regional coalitions. As digitisation and open data access increase, herbaria will need to offer users with seamless hybrid access to physical and digital records while continuing to develop their collections to advance research and conservation
Tenants’ ESG: influence on preferences and rent premiums for green buildings in commercial real estate
No full textThis paper investigates the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations on occupiers’ preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainable
buildings in commercial real estate. Using lease transactions of office and retail spaces in London, combined with ESG scores from the Refinitiv database, we analyse whether ESG-conscious firms are more likely to choose green-labelled properties, and how their WTP for such spaces varies according to their ESG profiles. Our findings indicate that publicly listed companies, which are more likely to emphasise ESG considerations, are more likely to occupy BREEAM-certified offices. Office tenants with higher Governance scores also exhibit a stronger preference for BREEAM-certified buildings. In contrast, these relationships are not observed in the retail sector. Although tenants’ overall ESG scores are not significantly associated with WTP for green-labelled properties in either market, retailers with strong Governance scores are willing to pay a premium for BREEAM-certified spaces. The link between tenants' ESG scores and their demand for green-certified buildings appears to be stronger in recent years, reflecting the growing emphasis on ESG considerations. Our findings
underscore the diverse priorities of tenants across the real estate market and offer valuable insights for property owners in developing effective leasing strategies
Removal of high concentrations of zinc, cadmium, and nickel heavy metals by Bacillus and Comamonas through microbially induced carbonate precipitation
Get PDFHeavy metal pollution in urban freshwater, driven by anthropogenic activities, poses significant risks to aquatic ecosystems and human health due to its toxicity and persistence. Recently, urease-producing bacteria have gained attention for their ability to remove heavy metals through microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP). In this study, eight urease-producing bacteria were exposed to individual solutions of zinc (Zn2+), cadmium (Cd2+), and nickel (Ni2+) at concentrations ranging from 0 to 6 mM to assess their resistance. Three strains—Bacillus subtilis HMZC1 (B2), Bacillus sp. HMZCSW (B6), and Comamonas sp. HMZC (B11)—survived at 4 mM and 6 mM, while most others could not tolerate 4 mM. Their urea-degrading ability was tested at different pH levels, identifying an optimal pH of 7 for MICP. Heavy metal carbonate precipitation experiments at 4 mM and 6 mM revealed that all three strains achieved > 93% removal of Zn2+, Ni2+, and Cd2+ within 72 h. Comamonas sp. HMZC exhibited the highest efficiency, achieving > 95% removal of certain heavy metals at 6 mM. Statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) in heavy metal removal efficiencies among the strains for certain treatment conditions (Cd2+ and Zn2+ at 4 mM), although not all comparisons reached statistical significance. Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray Diffraction confirmed the morphology and composition of the precipitated heavy metal carbonates. Our findings demonstrate that urease-producing bacteria can effectively immobilize multiple heavy metals, highlighting the MICP process as a practical and sustainable biological approach for ecological restoration and wastewater treatment
Pole‐to‐pole vertical ionospheric profiles at Jupiter from JWST
Get PDFWe present the first pole-to-pole observations of Jupiter's ionosphere, capturing dawn and dusk vertical structure up to 5,000 km altitude using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), simultaneous to Juno's radio occultation experiments (ROX) in September 2023. We produce vertical
temperature global maps showing largely constant temperatures with altitude. Mean temperatures range from
650 K at low latitudes to
800 K at high latitudes. Auroral emissions were observed at the north and south pole, with northern temperature profiles showing signatures of localized heating (up to 1900 K) at low altitudes. Temperature-latitude gradients exhibit steeper slopes at dusk compared to dawn at all altitudes, particularly between 1,500 and 1,700 km. We also produce the first pole-to-pole vertical
volumetric number density map, with auroral densities of up to
peaking near 1,500 km altitude. We find a dawn-dusk asymmetry at sub-auroral and equatorial latitudes, with higher densities at dawn (
) compared to dusk (
) between 1,500 and 1,700 km. While photochemical equilibrium (PCE) theory predicts higher densities at dusk, the presence of enhanced dawn densities implies that additional processes—such as particle precipitation and plasma transport, particularly at high and mid latitudes—play a significant role in shaping the ionospheric structure
CATS: the climate aware task scheduler
Get PDFThe environmental impact of research computing is increasingly a topic of concern for researchers. One of the main contributors of compute-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
is the production of electricity to power digital research infrastructures (DRIs). The carbon
footprint per unit of electricity consumption (called carbon intensity) depends mostly on the
grid’s energy mix, i.e., the share of renewable vs. high-carbon production methods, which varies
greatly with time and location. Here, we describe the Climate Aware Task Scheduler (CATS),
which lets researchers schedule computing when low-carbon electricity is available. CATS
leverages carbon intensity forecasts, e.g., from power grid operators, to find the best window
of time to run a particular job with minimal climate cost. CATS also provides an assessment
of the carbon savings due to delaying compute as opposed to running it immediately. We
demonstrate how the tool benefits researchers in the UK using forecasts of the National Grid’s
regional carbon intensity
(Don’t) click here: hyperlinks as a quasi-objectification strategy in epistemic legitimisation in extremists’ blog posts on sexual violence
Get PDFHyperlinks in blog posts play an important role in supporting and legitimising the claims made by bloggers,
particularly on sites associated with polarisation, extremism and echo chambers. Links containing discursive
elements and which are embedded as part of the text – known as anchor text – have, as yet, remained underexplored as a discourse strategy in epistemic positioning and studies on legitimisation. This paper draws on Hart’s (2011) work on subjectification and objectification categories of epistemic positioning to examine how anchor text hyperlinks in a corpus of blog posts, written by bloggers associated with the Alternative Right (Alt-Right) and Men’s Rights Activists, are used to substantiate claims related to sexual violence against women. The results of the study show a lack of transparency in the claims supported through anchor text, which I argue, can be considered a quasi-objectification category of epistemic legitimisation in the hypertexts in the dataset. The study employs a cognitive linguistic approach to examine evidentiality in the anchor text and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the ways assertions are legitimised in polarising texts online
East Asian aerosol cleanup has likely contributed to the recent acceleration in global warming
Get PDFGlobal surface warming has accelerated since around 2010, relative to the preceding half century 1–3 . This has coincided with East Asian efforts to reduce air pollution through restricted atmospheric aerosol and precursor emissions 4,5 . A direct link between the two has, however, not yet been established. Here we show, using a large set of simulations from eight Earth System Models, how a time-evolving 75% reduction in East Asian sulfate emissions partially unmasks greenhouse gas-driven warming and influences the spatial pattern of surface temperature change. We find a rapidly evolving global, annual mean warming of 0.07 ± 0.05 °C, sufficient to be a main driver of the uptick in global warming rate since 2010. We also find North-Pacific warming and a top-of-atmosphere radiative imbalance that are qualitatively consistent with recent observations. East Asian aerosol cleanup is thus likely a key contributor to recent global warming acceleration and to Pacific warming trends
In vitro effects of bakery by-products on rumen degradation, fermentation, and methane yield
No full textA gameboard from Gerulata (Bratislava-Rusovce) in the context of Roman-period gaming finds in the north of the Carpathian Basin
Get PDFThis article examines a Roman period gameboard (Gameboard 1) from Gerulata (modern Bratislava-Rusovce, Slovakia),
a military settlement on the Danube frontier in Pannonia. The board was carved into a tile and features a 7 × 8 grid layout.
A much smaller fragment of another possible gameboard or fragment of wall tile (Possible gameboard/tile 2) was also
recovered from the site, though this identification is less secure. This study explores the archaeological context, typology, and potential identification of the board(s). Gameboard 1 was probably used for playing the game known as ludus
latrunculorum, even if other possibilities should not be entirely discarded. Analysis of published and unpublished finds
from the Northern Carpathian basin and neighbouring regions – which we present together for the first time – indicates
that this gameboard belongs to a wider ludic culture, which was particularly visible among Roman soldiers and military
communities. Portable elements of Roman-style material culture (dice, counters) but not bulky gameboards have been
recovered in parts of Slovakia that were in the Barbaricum, and this suggests some cultural diffusion across borders in
the Roman period. These objects appear to be prestige finds, since they are commonly associated with elite sites, but
we cannot be sure that they were used to play ‘Roman’ games. The article argues that such objects offer a valuable lens
into the social and cultural life of Roman soldiers and civilians on the frontier. It also highlights the methodological
challenges of identifying and interpreting gameboards in provincial contexts
