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In order to identify a potential surrogate of planktonic ciliate communities for marine bioassessments and evaluating biological conservations, the different taxonomic/numerical resolutions and taxa as surrogates were studied in Jiaozhou Bay, northern China during a 1-year cycle (June 2007-May 2008).Samples were collected biweekly from a depth of 1 m at each of five sites. A range of physicochemical parameters were also measured in order to determine water quality.The genus- and family-level resolutions maintained sufficient information to evaluate the ecological patterns of the ciliate communities in response to environmental status. The non-loricate oligotrichous ciliate assemblages in both abundance and occurrence may be used as a surrogate of planktonic ciliate communities. Heavy data transformations were an optimal strategy for the species level of planktonic ciliates, while mild data transformations were for the higher. The ordination patterns based on species biomass, occurrence, and biomass/abundance ratio matrices were significantly consistent with that of species abundance data.The results suggest that the use of simplifications at both taxonomic and numerical resolutions are time-efficient and would allow improving sampling strategies of large spatial/temporal scale monitoring programs and biological conservation researches in the marine ecosystem with a relative paucity of scientists.

In this study, the freshwater microalgae Selenastrum sp. was assessed for the effective degradation of pyrene and simultaneous production of biodiesel from pyrene-tolerant biomass. The growth of algae was determined based on the cell dry weight, cell density, chlorophyll content, and biomass productivity under different pyrene concentrations. Further, lipids from pyrene tolerant culture were converted into biodiesel by acid-catalyzed transesterification, which was characterized for the total fatty acid profile by gas chromatography. Increased pyrene concentration revealed less biomass yield and productivity after 20 days of treatment, indicating potent pyrene biodegradation by Selenastrum sp. Biomass yield was unaffected till the 20 mg/L pyrene. A 95% of pyrene bioremediation was observed at 20 days of culturing. Lipid accumulation of 22.14%, as evident from the estimation of the total lipid content, indicated a marginal increase in corroborating pyrene stress in the culture. Fatty acid methyl esters yield of 63.06% (% per 100 g lipids) was noticed from the pyrene tolerant culture. Moreover, fatty acid profile analysis of biodiesel produced under 10 mg/L and 20 mg/L pyrene condition showed escalated levels of desirable fatty acids in Selenastrum sp., compared to the control. Further, Selenastrum sp. and other freshwater microalgae are catalogued for sustainable development goals attainment by 2030, as per the UNSDG (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) agenda. Critical applications for the Selenastrum sp. in bioremediation of pyrene, along with biodiesel production, are enumerated for sustainable and renewable energy production and resource management.

Saffron, also known as “the golden spice”, is one of the most expensive crops in the world. The expensiveness of saffron comes from its rarity, the tedious harvesting process, and its nutritional and medicinal value. Different countries of the world are making great economic growth due to saffron export. In India, it is cultivated mostly in regions of Kashmir owing to its climate and soil composition. The economic value generated by saffron export can be increased manyfold by studying the agronomical factors of saffron and developing a model for artificial cultivation of saffron in any season and anywhere by monitoring and controlling the conditions of its growth. This paper presents a detailed study of all the agronomical variables of saffron that have a direct or indirect impact on its growth. It was found that, out of all the agronomical variables, the important ones having an impact on growth include corm size, temperature, water availability, and minerals. It was also observed that the use of IoT for the sustainable cultivation of saffron in smart cities has been discussed only by very few research papers. An IoT-based framework has also been proposed, which can be used for controlling and monitoring all the important growth parameters of saffron for its cultivation.

AbstractThis study aimed to identify drought‐mediated differences in amino nitrogen (N) composition and content of xylem and phloem in trees having different symbiotic N2‐fixing bacteria. Under controlled water availability, 1‐year‐old seedlings ofRobinia pseudoacacia(nodules withRhizobium),Hippophae rhamnoides(symbiosis withFrankia) andBuddleja alternifolia(no such root symbiosis) were exposed to control, medium drought and severe drought, corresponding soil water content of 70–75%, 45–50% and 30–35% of field capacity, respectively. Composition and content of amino compounds in xylem sap and phloem exudates were analysed as a measure of N nutrition. Drought strongly reduced biomass accumulation in all species, but amino N content in xylem and phloem remained unaffected only inR. pseudoacacia. InH. rhamnoidesandB. alternifolia, amino N in phloem remained constant, but increased in xylem of both species in response to drought. There were differences in composition of amino compounds in xylem and phloem of the three species in response to drought. Proline concentrations in long‐distance transport pathways of all three species were very low, below the limit of detection in phloem ofH. rhamnoidesand in phloem and xylem ofB. alternifolia. Apparently, drought‐mediated changes in N composition were much more connected with species‐specific changes in C:N ratios. Irrespective of soil water content, the two species with root symbioses did not show similar features for the different types of symbiosis, neither in N composition nor in N content. There was no immediate correlation between symbiotic N fixation and drought‐mediated changes in amino N in the transport pathways.

The torrefaction of lignocellulose biomass was conducted to produce biochar with properties compatible with coal. Two lignocellulose biomasses, pearl millet (PM) and walnut shell (WS), were torrefied at different process temperatures (230-300 °C), residence times (30-90 min), and different compositional biomass blends to improve the characteristics of the biochar product. The resulting biochar product exhibited favorable changes in their properties. The pure biomasses and their blends obtained a high biochar yield (41-91%). The gross calorific value (GCV) ranged from 22 to 27 MJ/kg, showing an increase of 22-59% compared to the raw biomass. The torrefaction temperature had the most notable effect on the biochar quantity and quality. The biochar samples obtained from the torrefaction of different blends showed a higher GCV and other physicochemical characteristics than the pure biomasses. Scanning electron microscopy showed that these products might also be used for other applications.

Early studies have shown that biofuels in powder form burn like a gas. In addition, they are less pollutants and renewable source. In this study, powder biofuel is investigated as a direct solid fuel in internal combustion engine. The biofuel is applied in a cylindrical shape and micron-size, with length between 75–5800 μm and diameter 30–1380 μm. Several mathematical models were investigated including different stages of biomass powder combustion in the engine. The mathematical models include drying, shrinkage, and volatilization processes. The modelling tools also investigated the movement of the fuel powder in the cylinder upon injection, how it is distributed, and its performance before combustion. The proposed models are simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools and validated against experiments. The results showed that all models can represent the biomass powder combustion reasonably. However, some models are least expensive in calculations and time. Results also displayed that the powder are traced in different groups based on sizes and flow responses and that takes about 0.2 s. The biomass powder gasification is completed at temperature 1050 K and extra temperature has no meaning.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging technology and provides connectivity among physical objects with the support of 5G communication. In recent decades, there have been a lot of applications based on IoT technology for the sustainability of smart cities, such as farming, e-healthcare, education, smart homes, weather monitoring, etc. These applications communicate in a collaborative manner between embedded IoT devices and systematize daily routine tasks. In the literature, many solutions facilitate remote users to gather the observed data by accessing the stored information on the cloud network and lead to smart systems. However, most of the solutions raise significant research challenges regarding information sharing in mobile IoT networks and must be able to stabilize the performance of smart operations in terms of security and intelligence. Many solutions are based on 5G communication to support high user mobility and increase the connectivity among a huge number of IoT devices. However, such approaches lack user and data privacy against anonymous threats and incur resource costs. In this paper, we present a mobility support 5G architecture with real-time routing for sustainable smart cities that aims to decrease the loss of data against network disconnectivity and increase the reliability for 5G-based public healthcare networks. The proposed architecture firstly establishes a mutual relationship among the nodes and mobile sink with shared secret information and lightweight processing. Secondly, multi-secured levels are proposed to protect the interaction with smart transmission systems by increasing the trust threshold over the insecure channels. The conducted experiments are analyzed, and it is concluded that their performance significantly increases the information sustainability for mobile networks in terms of security and routing.

This study explores the relationship between digital marketing practices, customer satisfaction, customer involvement, and purchase intention. The focus is on the life insurance digital marketing strategies during a pandemic and the resultant lockdown and shutdown. This work sought to analyze the digital transformation of marketing practices and the customers’ resultant purchase intentions. COVID-19 was taken as the prevailing pandemic and its impact on the digital transformation of marketing strategies. Five dimensions of digital marketing strategies with eighteen items and three items each of customer satisfaction and purchase intention were considered for practical purposes. It used structural equation modeling to study 535 responses of life insurance customers. Findings indicate that SEM/SEO, display, and E-CRM practices significantly impacted customer satisfaction and purchase intention. Further, a mediation-cum-moderation approach was undertaken. Customer satisfaction significantly affected purchase intention and played a good mediator between digital marketing practices and purchase intention. Additionally, customer involvement moderated the relationship between content marketing and communication with purchase intention. This research work helps life insurance marketers in general. The digital channel managers expressly understand their key areas of strengths regarding the five dimensions of digital marketing strategies. Accordingly, they frame their plans for decision-making to improve customer satisfaction and resultant purchase intentions. It provides a direction for future adoption of specific marketing strategies during a pandemic and consequent shutdown and lockdowns.