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Is aquaponics good for the environment?—evaluation of environmental impact through life cycle assessment studies on aquaponics systems
No full textAquaponics is often presented as a sustainable food production system that can reduce environmental costs of global food production; yet, its actual environmental effects are understudied. The aim of this research was to review the limited number of life cycle assessment studies dealing with aquaponics, and to highlight environmental cost and benefit of this practice. Our assessment highlights some of the problems, challenges, and advantages of aquaponics as a valuable food production system. We propose guidelines for future life cycle assessments of aquaponics that will facilitate policy and decision-making for farmers with respect to aquaponics
Short structural variants as informative genetic markers for ALS disease risk and progression
Get PDFThere is considerable variability in disease progression for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) including the age of disease onset, site of disease onset, and survival time. There is growing evidence that short structural variations (SSVs) residing in frequently overlooked genomic regions can contribute to complex disease mechanisms and can explain, in part, the phenotypic variability in ALS patients. Here, we discuss SSVs recently characterized by our laboratory and how these discoveries integrate into the current literature on ALS, particularly in the context of application to future clinical trials. These markers may help to identify and differentiate patients for clinical trials that have a similar ALS disease mechanism(s), thereby reducing the impact of participant heterogeneity. As evidence accumulates for the genetic markers discovered in SQSTM1, SCAF4, and STMN2, we hope to improve the outcomes of future ALS clinical trials
Impact of different cooking methods on the chemical profile of high-oleic acid peanut seeds
No full textHigh oleic acid (OA) peanut seeds (PS) can be beneficial for human health. However, chemical variations in high-OA PS after domestic cooking are not fully understood. In order to investigate the impact of different cooking methods on the chemical profile of high-OA PS, widely established metabolomics approach was employed to identify the relative contents of PS metabolites. Herein, 630 metabolites within 27 categories were characterized in PS, of which 141, 157, 402 differential metabolites were observed in each treatment group (boiling, baking, and frying) when compared to the raw seed. Accordingly, bioactive substances were maximally preserved in baked high-OA PS. Further conventional methods (HPLC-UV/GC–MS) quantified the absolute composition of amino and fatty acids, verifying the reliability of metabolomic analysis. Collectively, the understanding of the phytochemical substances in relation to the domestic cooking method established a foundation for future high-OA PS processing
A holistic approach to manta ray conservation in the Papuan Bird’s Head Seascape: Resounding success, ongoing challenges
No full textDespite a precipitous decline in global populations of sharks and rays over the past fifty years due to overfishing, and increasing concerns over the conservation status of manta and devil rays worldwide, manta ray populations in Raja Ampat in the Papuan Bird’s Head Seascape of Indonesia are seemingly thriving. Reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) in particular are abundant and have higher rates of pregnancy than have been recorded elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific, and have demonstrated a significant population increase over the past decade of monitoring. Here we document two decades’ of conservation efforts in the Bird’s Head Seascape (BHS) which, when considered in their entirety, represent an organically-developed, holistic approach to manta ray conservation that has demonstrated compelling evidence of success despite ongoing challenges. We provide detailed insights on the adaptive, continuously evolving approach used for manta ray conservation in the BHS in order that this approach might inform similar efforts towards elasmobranch conservation in other areas of the developing tropics
Advances in “Omics” Approaches for Improving Toxic Metals/Metalloids Tolerance in Plants
Get PDFFood safety has emerged as a high-urgency matter for sustainable agricultural production. Toxic metal contamination of soil and water significantly affects agricultural productivity, which is further aggravated by extreme anthropogenic activities and modern agricultural practices, leaving food safety and human health at risk. In addition to reducing crop production, increased metals/metalloids toxicity also disturbs plants’ demand and supply equilibrium. Counterbalancing toxic metals/metalloids toxicity demands a better understanding of the complex mechanisms at physiological, biochemical, molecular, cellular, and plant level that may result in increased crop productivity. Consequently, plants have established different internal defense mechanisms to cope with the adverse effects of toxic metals/metalloids. Nevertheless, these internal defense mechanisms are not adequate to overwhelm the metals/metalloids toxicity. Plants produce several secondary messengers to trigger cell signaling, activating the numerous transcriptional responses correlated with plant defense. Therefore, the recent advances in omics approaches such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, ionomics, miRNAomics, and phenomics have enabled the characterization of molecular regulators associated with toxic metal tolerance, which can be deployed for developing toxic metal tolerant plants. This review highlights various response strategies adopted by plants to tolerate toxic metals/metalloids toxicity, including physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses. A seven-(omics)-based design is summarized with scientific clues to reveal the stress-responsive genes, proteins, metabolites, miRNAs, trace elements, stress-inducible phenotypes, and metabolic pathways that could potentially help plants to cope up with metals/metalloids toxicity in the face of fluctuating environmental conditions. Finally, some bottlenecks and future directions have also been highlighted, which could enable sustainable agricultural production
Prevalence of Tritrichomonas foetus in beef bulls slaughtered at two abattoirs in northern Australia
Get PDFBovine trichomoniasis, caused by the protozoal parasite Tritrichomonas foetus, is a highly contagious venereal disease characterised by early pregnancy loss, abortion and pyometra. Persistently infected bulls and cows are the primary reservoirs of infection in infected herds. This research investigated the prevalence of T. foetus infection in bulls from properties located across northern Australia and New South Wales. Preputial samples were collected from 606 bulls at slaughter and tested for T. foetus using the VetMAX-Gold Trich Detection Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific). The apparent prevalence of T. foetus infection varied between regions, with northern regions in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia showing a prevalence of 15.4%, 13.8% and 11.4%, respectively. There was some evidence of an association between infection and postcode (P = 0.06) and increasing bull age (P = 0.054). This study confirms that T. foetus infection is likely to be present in many beef breeding herds and contributing to lower than expected reproductive performance, particularly across northern Australia
Microalgae-based circular economy approach to upcycle fire extinguisher powder waste
No full textFire extinguishers are used to contain the imminent risk posed by fire globally. Suitable disposal and utilization of fire extinguisher powder (FEP) waste have developed into a significant challenge due to high nitrogen and phosphorus content. Harnessing the waste as a secondary resource for integrated waste-to-profit enterprises, such as microalgae cultivation for high-value bio-based products, is considered crucial for sustainable production, resource conservation, and mitigating adverse effects on environments. This paper proposes an algae-based circular economy concept to recycle one of the most difficult to treat wastes globally by applying it as a nutrient resource for microalgae biomass production. Hydrophilizing the waste for nutrient release is critical to this valorization pathway due to its hydrophobicity. Ten solvents were tested, of which five, including ethanol/methanol-sodium hydroxide mixtures, acetate, isopropanol, and polysorbate-20, were effective in hydrophilizing the powder waste, without significant differences (p 0.05), except for Chaetoceros muelleri, which had 70% more biomass in control than in the waste medium. The protein and carbohydrate contents of Chlorella biomass cultivated in the waste were not significantly different, though significantly higher than carbohydrate (p < 0.001). FEP waste can act as nitrogen and/or phosphorus fertilizers for algal cultivation without significant growth inhibition. The resulting biomass can be valorized to high-value products such as pigments and animal/aquaculture feed due to more than 50% protein content if it meets permissible regulatory levels of contaminants
Correction to: Shoulder pain prevalence by age and within occupational groups: A systematic review
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IoT based health monitoring system and its challenges and opportunities
No full textWith the incarnation of novel COVID-19, health care is getting more preference in each country. IoT-based health monitoring systems might be the best option to monitor infected patients and be helpful for elderly population. In this paper, analyzed different IoT-based health monitoring systems and their challenges. Searched through established journal and conference databases using specific keywords to find scholarly works to conduct the analysis. Investigated unique articles related to this analysis. The selected papers were then sifted through to understand their contributions/research focus. Then tried to find their research gap and challenges, created them into opportunities and proposed a GSM-based offline health monitoring system that will conduct with the healthcare providers through communication networks. Hopefully, this model will work as an absolute pathway for the researchers to establish a sustainable IoT-based health monitoring system for humankind
CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and natural variation analysis demonstrate the potential for HvARE1 in improvement of nitrogen use efficiency in barley
No full textNitrogen is a major determinant of grain yield and quality. As excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer leads to environmental pollution and high production costs, improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is fundamental for a sustainable agriculture. Here, we dissected the role of the barley abnormal cytokinin response1 repressor 1 (HvARE1) gene, a candidate for involvement in NUE previously identified in a genome-wide association study, through natural variation analysis and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9)-mediated gene editing. HvARE1 was predominantly expressed in leaves and shoots, with very low expression in roots under low nitrogen conditions. Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of immature embryos (cv. Golden Promise) with single guide RNAs targeting HvARE1 generated 22 T0 plants, from which four T1 lines harbored missense and/or frameshift mutations based on genotyping. Mutant are1 lines exhibited an increase in plant height, tiller number, grain protein content, and yield. Moreover, we observed a 1.5- to 2.8-fold increase in total chlorophyll content in the flag leaf at the grain filling stage. Delayed senescence by 10–14 d was also observed in mutant lines. Barley are1 mutants had high nitrogen content in shoots under low nitrogen conditions. These findings demonstrate the potential of ARE1 in NUE improvement in barley