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The effects of clinostating on physiological processes and biochemical characteristics of wheat plants (Triticum aestivum L.) both healthy and infected by the wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) were studied. In six experiments, each lasting over 30 days, healthy and infected plants of the dwarf Apogee variety were grown under conditions of continuous horizontal and vertical clinostating with 2 rpm at 21 +/- 2 degrees C and 6000 1x (the optimal moisture of a substrate being maintained). The control variants (healthy and infected) were simultaneously grown under the same conditions of temperature and illumination in stationary containers and in open pots. During the experiment, visual observations were carried out over the state of tested plants. After completing the experiment, biometric indices, pigment, carbohydrate and dry matter contents were determined in all the plants. It was shown that clinostating sharply reduced the reproductive function of healthy plants and considerably affected their biomass (productivity) and concentration of chlorophylls and sugars. The viral infection resulted in further reduction of these characteristics. In control variants the viral effect was more significant. We speculate that clinostating reduced the rate of reproduction and spread of the virus.

PurposeThe world society as a whole and Ukraine are realizing that climate change and decarbonization are critical issues. This study aims to determine whether the aviation and transportation industries in Ukraine have rearranged their priorities as a result of this investigation. The process of decarbonization and adaptation begins with a legislative point of view and then moves on to technology, improvements, infrastructure, energy and emissions stages to meet the primary goals.Design/methodology/approachAn analysis of the content of the literature about decarbonization and the legislation and application processes for airport de-carbonization in Ukraine. The study focuses on the landing and take-off cycle of the airports. The statistics on the transportation of the Ukrainian territory have been looked at over time to determine whether or not there have been any shifts.FindingsThere are significant reduction figures found in the Poltava region. Double-figure emissions reductions in four years of series are 5.9%, 41.0% and 19.3%, in the respective years of 2018, 2019 and 2020, which is a 55.3% reduction compared with 2020 to 2017.Practical implicationsBecause the transportation industry and aviation generate a significant amount of carbon dioxide, steps must be taken to cut emissions. The decarbonization process ought to proceed in the form of a series of actions to achieve carbon reduction goals with a broader range of participants. In addition, an aviation subsidy for biofuels may be required to initiate the shift by having the taxation change.Originality/valueAs far as the literature surveys, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first comprehensive Ukrainian decarbonization analysis that considers legislation, technology, improvements, infrastructure, energy and emissions in addition to just those four categories.

A model of conductivity of nanocomposite ceramics consisting of solid-electrolyte and dielectric phases is proposed based on the assumption that the conductivity of grain boundaries between the solid-electrolyte and dielectric phases is higher than the conductivity of the volume of particles in the solid-electrolyte phase and its grain boundaries. Taking into account the size of particles, the thickness of grain boundaries, and the bulk and grain-boundary conductivities, the grain size of composite ceramics for which the conductivity may exceed the conductivity of single-phase solid-electrolyte ceramics is assessed. For testing this model, the composite samples are synthesized based on dielectric magnesium oxide and solid-electrolyte cerium oxide doped with samarium oxide. It is shown that introduction of 50 mol % magnesium oxide into composite ceramics has virtually no effect on its conductivity as compared with single-phase solid-electrolyte ceramics. This result can be explained by assuming the appearance of accelerated transport routes for oxygen ions in grain boundaries between dielectric and solid-electrolyte phases. Further dispersion, optimization of the ratio, and increase in distribution homogeneity of components can confirm the validity of the proposed conductivity model and open up the possibility of preparation of oxide solid-electrolyte materials with higher conductivity.

Abstract This study was carried out in order to reveal the usability of municipal and agricultural origin organic wastes as a growing media in green wall applications and to examine the effects of this use on thermal insulation. For this purpose, the growing media were prepared by mixing the main materials, peat and municipal solid waste compost, with 12.5, 25, 50% (v/v) of rice hull and perlite. Some physical properties of the prepared growing media were examined and it was determined that the compost was composed of very small particles, its volume weight was high, and its porosity could not provide the desired values in ideal growing media. When these values are mixed with rice hull and perlite, it has been determined that they approach the ideal values. However, in order to determine the thermal effects were constructed model test buildings (100 × 100 × 100 cm) made of concrete panels (200 mm) and the green wall system was installed. A model building without green walls was used as a control application. The temperature measurements were carried out in green wall applications with and without plants. The results obtained in growing media containing compost are similar to those using peat. In addition, the highest thermal isolation effect was found in the growing media consisting of peat and perlite mixture. When all the obtained results are examined together, it is concluded that the green wall applications have an important role in providing thermal insulation of model buildings, besides the shading provided by the plants, the growing media also plays an important role.

The Ghana Nuclear Power Agenda is a program laid out by the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission in collaboration with the government of Ghana to guide and facilitate the installation of Ghana’s first ever nuclear power plant. The nuclear power plant is expected to generate between 1000 and 12,800 MW of electricity from its inception to the final installations in a span of 20 years. Ghana's Third National Communication (TNC) Report to the UNFCCC indicates 59 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (MtCO2e) emission in 2011. Between 1991 and 2011, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions grew by 20% as energy intensity of the economy rose alongside with a growing demand in industry, transport and households. If nothing is done to curtail GHG emissions from its major sources such as transport and fossil-source energy in Ghana, the looming catastrophe of the changing climate will occur faster than we imagine. Nuclear power has been cited as environmentally friendly (zero-to-low carbon emission), efficient and sustainable source of energy that works down on CO2 emission. It offers current and future energy needs without burdening future generations with a broken environment. Using Crystal Ball simulation model, the current study estimates a cumulative increase (35%) in CO2 emission in a span of ten years without nuclear power in Ghana’s energy mix. With the inclusion of nuclear power in the country’s energy mix, the model estimates CO2 emission cut by 12.5% for the same period, and 18.2% in 20 years. Thus, given the same period of time, the rate of emission of CO2 was found to be more than twice its reduction.

X-ray structural analysis and electron microscopy have been employed to study the sizes and crystalline structures of particles of very fine iron powders produced in a two-layer bath using direct and pulsed currents and in a bath with an ultrasound-emitting cathode. The study has demonstrated that the superposition of an additional perturbance (an ultrasonic field or a pulsed current supply) on the electrolysis process restricts the growth of microcrystals and decrease their size variation compared with particles produced by electrolysis using a direct current. The character of curves of some structural characteristics of very fine iron powders plotted against the parameters of electrolysis in a two-layer bath with the use of a direct current, an ultrasound emitting cathode, and a pulsed current is evidence that iron particle formation in these variants of the electrolytic process occurs through different mechanisms.

Abstract This paper studies the effect of mechanical pretreatment of NPKCa-containing waste (vegetable waste VW and thickened sewage activated sludge TSAS) on biogas production and agronomic quality of the digestates. The efficiency of this process was evaluated by the yield of methane during anaerobic co-digestion with bioadditive (cheese whey), as well as the nutrients content in digestates by using an agrochemical test. It was found that with increasing comminution intensity the particle size of the substrate decreases from 50 to 16 μm which causes an increase in biogas yield by ~30%. As a result, the carbon content in the digestates decreases from 72 to 44%, whereas nutrients content increases by, %TS: N – 3.4; P – 3.7; K – 3.7; Ca – 7.6. The grinded substrate was used for anaerobic digestion with the addition of various amounts of cheese whey. Obtained digestates have a stimulating effect on the growth of barley and peas plants. In particular, digestion with 3 wt% of whey had the maximum impact on plant yield (+0.3–0.4 t ha−1 compared to control). Moreover, the combination of vigorous comminution with the addition of whey leads to a significant reduction in the fermentation duration (up to 4 times) and increases biogas production by 41%. Obtained digestates can be considered as organo-mineral fertilizers since they contain up to 43% of the total amount of NPKCa and meet the requirements for the content of heavy metals under Ukrainian legislation.

Building on recent insights in exploring material circularity, this study attempts to develop a methodological approach toward allocating an available circularity potential based on modeling the optimal chain of products in a manner that ensures utilizing the same material as many times as possible. The allocation of available circularity potential implies limitations on the use of specific primary materials for manufacturers of certain products by establishing access to the appropriate quality material used previously only for the modeled chain, thereby providing the greatest possible number of turns for a particular material in the economic system. This study adds to the current understanding of methods to maximize material looping in a circular economy by keeping the application range of specific materials as wide as possible, thereby preserving its long-term value. The findings contribute to the operationalization of a recycling strategy justified by its limitations on the use of primary materials for manufacturers of certain products to avoid wastage. Furthermore, the findings present a novel future research agenda for managing circularity potential with regard to continuous build-up and optimal allocation to save the value of material in the system as long as possible by increasing the number of its revolutions.

A prospective class of intramolecular fluorescence energy transfer substrates (IFETS) is described. In contrast to the known chromogenic and fluorogenic substrates that are used widely in the scientific and medical research, IFETS allow to control the enzymatic cleavage at any point of the peptide chain and thus permit simultaneous studies of enzymes of different specificity. We discuss the main types of donor and acceptor, their advantages and drawbacks and the effectiveness of exited-state energy transfer between them. High sensitivity and selectivity of IFETS in the assay of proteinases was demonstrated. They prove to be a very useful and very promising instrument for enzymology and medicine.