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Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture takes advantage of the mutualism between some detritivorous fish and phytoplankton. The fish recycle nutrients by consuming live (and dead) algae and provide the inorganic carbon to fuel the growth of live algae. In the meanwhile, algae purify the water and generate the oxygen required by fishes. Such mechanism stabilizes the functioning of an artificially recycling ecosystem, as exemplified by combining the euryhaline tilapia Sarotherodon melanotheron heudelotii and the unicellular alga Chlorella sp. Feed addition in this ecosystem results in faster fish growth but also in an increase in phytoplankton biomass, which must be limited. In the prototype described here, the algal population control is exerted by herbivorous zooplankton growing in a separate pond connected in parallel to the fish-algae ecosystem. The zooplankton production is then consumed by tilapia, particularly by the fry and juveniles, when water is returned to the main circuit. Chlorella sp. and Brachionus plicatilis are two planktonic species that have spontaneously colonized the brackish water of the prototype, which was set-up in Senegal along the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. In our system, water was entirely recycled and only evaporation was compensated (1.5% volume/day). Sediment, which accumulated in the zooplankton pond, was the only trophic cul-de-sac. The system was temporarily destabilized following an accidental rotifer invasion in the main circuit. This caused Chlorella disappearance and replacement by opportunist algae, not consumed by Brachionus. Following the entire consumption of the Brachionus population by tilapias, Chlorella predominated again. Our artificial ecosystem combining S. m. heudelotii, Chlorella and B. plicatilis thus appeared to be resilient. This farming system was operated over one year with a fish productivity of 1.85 kg/m2 per year during the cold season (January to April).

AbstractAimTo explore the concept of sustainability in nursing using social media as a vehicle for discussion on the topic.BackgroundThere is a need for an increased awareness among nurses of the issues that are crucial for the healthcare sector to prepare for climate change and contribute to sustainable development. However, topics about sustainability and climate change are not a requirement of nursing curricula in Europe; social media provides an opportunity to raise issues and promote discussion.DesignA thematic analysis of a Twitter discussion.MethodsA Twitter discussion session hosted by @WeNurses took place on 24 March 2015 over 1 hour. Data were gathered via this online discussion hosted on Twitter, a social media platform. Following the discussion a thematic analysis of the posted Tweets was conducted.FindingsOne hundred and nineteen people posted nine hundred and ninety six Tweets, a reach of 3,306,368. Tweets broadly followed the questions posted by the team. Several threads related to the sustainable use of healthcare resources and the need to reduce waste was evident. A Word Cloud of the Tweets highlighted prominent words in the discussion: sustainability, nursing/nurses, curriculum, important, waste, practice, resources, student, plastic, health, gloves.ConclusionSocial media is an effective way of engaging nurses and students in a discussion on challenging issues. Sustainability appears to be important for nurses, with a particular emphasis on resource use and the importance of sustainability topics in nurse education.

The effects of climate change are evident worldwide, from melting ice caps at the Poles to deforestation at the tropics, and to rising sea level along the world's coastal margins. The cause is due largely to atmospheric greenhouse activities. The anthropogenic emissions from fossil fuel have altered the compositional balance of carbon dioxide (an important greenhouse gas) in the atmosphere. The spread of climate change impact is wide and affect lands and peoples across national boundaries. Among the threatened are people who inhabit the vulnerable lands such as coastal barrier lands, troughs between highlands, marshlands, etc. For generations, the people who live by the coast of Cross River Estuary and the tributaries of Calabar, Imo and Great Kwa Rivers in Nigeria have practised their fishing occupation without serious hitches. This situation has changed of late due to uncertainties associated with unpredicted flooding attributed mainly to climate change. This paper examines a scenario of the likely effe...

AbstractRivers are basic natural resources supporting ecosystems and human societies, and the health of rivers is crucial to the Earth's sustainable development. Under the profound influence of climate change and human activities, great changes have recently occurred in the circulation and development of rivers, as well as the ways in which they are utilized. In this context, achieving an effective balance between river protection and human development is necessary. In this paper, the essential role of rivers is discussed from three aspects: the formation and evolution of rivers, the shaping of biodiversity, and the cultivation of human civilization. The paper analyzes the challenges brought to the sustainable development of rivers by climate change, human activities, and increased water demand, and proposes four dimensions of future research: scientifically balancing the relationship between river development and protection, improving the adaptability of river development and utilization in the context of climate change, improving the integrity and intelligence level of river management, and building a more fair and sustainable comprehensive river management model.

Biofloc technology (BFT) is gaining traction as a strategic aquaculture tool for boosting feed conversions, biosecurity, and wastewater recycling. The significant aspect of BFT is aquaculture with highest stocking density and minimal water exchange. It not only improves the water quality of a system by removing inorganic nitrogen from wastewater but also serves as a suitable feed supplement and probiotic source for cultured species. This technology is commonly used for shrimp and tilapia culture and can be used for both semi-intensive and intensive culture systems. Biofloc, when combined with formulated diets, forms a balanced food chain that improves growth performance. Nutrients in this system are continuously recycled and reused and form an efficient alternative system in aquaculture. In addition to the reduction in water exchange, it is also considered as a bio-security measure, since it prevents entry of disease from outside sources. Aquamimicry is an innovative concept that simulates natural estuarine conditions by developing copepods that act as supplementary nutrition especially for shrimp culture. The review highlights the process, significance, and development of BFT, its microbial interactions, nutritional value, transition from biofloc to copefloc, and concept of aquamimicry to sustainably improve aquaculture production.

World energy demand is expected to increase by up to 40% by 2035. Over this period, the global population is also expected to increase by a billion people. A challenge facing the global community is not only to increase the supply of fuel, but also to minimize fossil carbon emissions to safeguard the environment, at the same time as ensuring that food production and supply is not detrimentally impacted. Gas fermentation is a rapidly maturing technology which allows low carbon fuel and commodity chemical synthesis. Unlike traditional biofuel technologies, gas fermentation avoids the use of sugars, relying instead on gas streams rich in carbon monoxide and/or hydrogen and carbon dioxide as sources of carbon and energy for product synthesis by specialized bacteria collectively known as acetogens. Thus, gas fermentation enables access to a diverse array of novel, large volume, and globally available feedstocks including industrial waste gases and syngas produced, for example, via the gasification of municipal waste and biomass. Through the efforts of academic labs and early stage ventures, process scale-up challenges have been surmounted through the development of specialized bioreactors. Furthermore, tools for the genetic improvement of the acetogenic bacteria have been reported, paving the way for the production of a spectrum of ever-more valuable products via this process. As a result of these developments, interest in gas fermentation among both researchers and legislators has grown significantly in the past 5 years to the point that this approach is now considered amongst the mainstream of emerging technology solutions for near-term low-carbon fuel and chemical synthesis.

The global forestry industry after experiencing a market downturn during the past decade has now aimed its vision towards the integrated biorefinery. New business models and strategies are constantly being explored to re-invent the global wood and pulp/paper industry through sustainable resource exploitation. The goal is to produce diversified, innovative and revenue generating product lines using on-site bioresources (wood and tree residues). The most popular product lines are generally produced from wood fibers (biofuels, pulp/paper, biomaterials, and bio/chemicals). However, the bark and other tree residues like foliage that constitute forest wastes, still remain largely an underexploited resource from which extractives and phytochemicals can be harnessed as by-products (biopharmaceuticals, food additives and nutraceuticals, biopesticides, cosmetics). Commercially, Populus (poplar) tree species including hybrid varieties are cultivated as a fast growing bioenergy crop, but can also be utilized to produce bio-based chemicals. This review identifies and underlines the potential of natural products (phytochemicals) from Populus species that could lead to new business ventures in biorefineries and contribute to the bioeconomy. In brief, this review highlights the importance of by-products/co-products in forest industries, methods that can be employed to extract and purify poplar phytochemicals, the potential pharmaceutical and other uses of >160 phytochemicals identified from poplar species - their chemical structures, properties and bioactivities, the challenges and limitations of utilizing poplar phytochemicals, and potential commercial opportunities. Finally, the overall discussion and conclusion are made considering the recent biotechnological advances in phytochemical research to indicate the areas for future commercial applications from poplar tree species.

Design has an important role in shaping the modes of production, consumption and disposal. Decisions made early in the product, service and system development influence the majority of the environmental impact and social consequences. With sustainability emerging as the major challenge of our times, the creation of novel methodologies, economic models and innovative materials is critical. In this paper, we put forward a new methodology that aims to bridge the ecomodernist business-focused circular economy models with the expressive material driven design (MDD) approach. The ‘design out waste methodology’ (DOWM) bridges existing concepts, methods and practices, creating an innovative design and production process that redefines waste and sets it up as a subject of creative study. The purpose of this process is to help designers understand the importance of evaluating the entire life cycle of a product; it also enables local ‘degrowth’ by shifting our modes of production towards a human scale with local makers exchanging knowledge and expressing themselves through upcycled materials, while simultaneously eradicating the very concept of waste. The methodology has been developed in an iterative research-through-design process that combines experiential and tacit knowledge from local case studies with desk research of emerging case studies in MDD.