• Energy Research
• 2021-2025close
• 13. Climate action close
• 15. Life on land close
• University of North Texas close

Abstract Lignin is considered as a renewable and sustainable resource for producing value-added aromatic chemicals and functional carbon materials. Herein, we develop a one-step catalyst-free depolymerization strategy to convert lignin into aryl monomers and carbon nanospheres simultaneously. Importantly, microwave-assisted depolymerization (MAD) in conjunction with dichloromethane (CH2Cl2) vapors is developed. The total mass yield of guaiacols reached the highest amount of 225.1 mg/g at 600 °C, and the highest yields of phenols (49.0 mg/g) and aromatic hydrocarbons (155.1 mg/g) were obtained at 700 °C. Hydrogen radicals and hydrogen chloride (HCl) are in-situ formed from CH2Cl2, significantly decreasing the activation barrier and reforming pyrolysis vapors to promote the formation of aryl monomers. Interestingly, uniform carbon nanospheres with an average size of 140 nm were produced as co-products at 700 °C. The microwave “hot-spots”, allied with the continuous surface erosion and the decrease in surface energy of lignin-derived carbon precursors by CH2Cl2 vapor, can be considered the driving force for the ultimate formation of carbon nanospheres. The CH2Cl2/MAD system produces aryl monomers (26.8 wt% yield) and carbon nanospheres (36.6 wt% yield) at 700 °C. We provide a facile, intriguing and scalable approach to convert lignin to valuable aryl monomers and sustainable carbon materials that can be applied in the chemistry, energy and environmental fields.

Abstract Climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts, heat waves, and their combinations, diminishing agricultural productivity and destabilizing societies worldwide. We recently reported that during a combination of water deficit (WD) and heat stress (HS), stomata on leaves of soybean (Glycine max) plants are closed, while stomata on flowers are open. This unique stomatal response was accompanied by differential transpiration (higher in flowers, while lower in leaves) that cooled flowers during a combination of WD + HS. Here, we reveal that developing pods of soybean plants subjected to a combination of WD + HS use a similar acclimation strategy of differential transpiration to reduce internal pod temperature by approximately 4 °C. We further show that enhanced expression of transcripts involved in abscisic acid degradation accompanies this response and that preventing pod transpiration by sealing stomata causes a significant increase in internal pod temperature. Using an RNA-Seq analysis of pods developing on plants subjected to WD + HS, we also show that the response of pods to WD, HS, or WD + HS is distinct from that of leaves or flowers. Interestingly, we report that although the number of flowers, pods, and seeds per plant decreases under conditions of WD + HS, the seed mass of plants subjected to WD + HS increases compared to plants subjected to HS, and the number of seeds with suppressed/aborted development is lower in WD + HS compared to HS. Taken together, our findings reveal that differential transpiration occurs in pods of soybean plants subjected to WD + HS and that this process limits heat-induced damage to seed production.

Agriculture Cyber-Physical System (A-CPS) is becoming increasingly important in enhancing crop quality and productivity by utilizing minimum cropland. This paper introduces the innovative idea of the Internet-of-Agro-Things (IoAT) with an explanation of the automatic detection of plant disease for the development of ACPS. Majority of the crops were infected by microbial diseases in conventional agriculture. Also, the constantly mutating pathogens cannot be known to the knowledge of the farmer, due to which, there arises a demand to develop a disease prediction system. To prevent this, we use a trained Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model to perform an analysis of the crop image captured by a health maintenance system. The image capturing along with continuous sensing and intelligent automation is performed by the solar sensor node. The sensor node houses a developed soil moisture sensor which has a high longevity compared to its peers. A real time implementation of the proposed system is demonstrated using a solar sensor node with a camera module, a microcontroller and a smartphone application using which a farmer can monitor the field. The prototype was deployed for three months and has achieved a robust performance by remaining rust-free and sustaining the varied weather conditions. An accuracy of 99.24% is achieved by the proposed plant disease prediction framework.

Animals from embryos to adults experiencing stress from climate change have numerous mechanisms available for enhancing their long-term survival. In this review we consider these options, and how viable they are in a world increasingly experiencing extreme weather associated with climate change. A deeply understood mechanism involves natural selection, leading to evolution of new adaptations that help cope with extreme and stochastic weather events associated with climate change. While potentially effective at staving off environmental challenges, such adaptations typically occur very slowly and incrementally over evolutionary time. Consequently, adaptation through natural selection is in most instances regarded as too slow to aid survival in rapidly changing environments, especially when considering the stochastic nature of extreme weather events associated with climate change. Alternative mechanisms operating in a much shorter time frame than adaptation involve the rapid creation of alternate phenotypes within a life cycle or a few generations. Stochastic gene expression creates multiple phenotypes from the same genotype even in the absence of environmental cues. In contrast, other mechanisms for phenotype change that are externally driven by environmental clues include well-understood developmental phenotypic plasticity (variation, flexibility), which can enable rapid, within-generation changes. Increasingly appreciated are epigenetic influences during development leading to rapid phenotypic changes that can also immediately be very widespread throughout a population, rather than confined to a few individuals as in the case of favorable gene mutations. Such epigenetically-induced phenotypic plasticity can arise rapidly in response to stressors within a generation or across a few generations and just as rapidly be “sunsetted” when the stressor dissipates, providing some capability to withstand environmental stressors emerging from climate change. Importantly, survival mechanisms resulting from adaptations and developmental phenotypic plasticity are not necessarily mutually exclusive, allowing for classic “bet hedging”. Thus, the appearance of multiple phenotypes within a single population provides for a phenotype potentially optimal for some future environment. This enhances survival during stochastic extreme weather events associated with climate change. Finally, we end with recommendations for future physiological experiments, recommending in particular that experiments investigating phenotypic flexibility adopt more realistic protocols that reflect the stochastic nature of weather.

A nuclear leakage or tactical nuclear weapon use in a limited war could cause immense and long-lasting ecological consequences beyond the direct site of exposure. We call upon all scientists to communicate the importance of the environmental impacts of such an event to all life forms on Earth, including humankind. Changes to ecosystem structure and functioning and species extinctions would alter the biosphere for an unknown time frame. Radiation could trigger cascade effects in marine, atmospheric and terrestrial ecosystems of a magnitude far beyond human capabilities for mitigation or adaptation. Even a “tactical nuclear war” could alter planet Earth’s living boundaries, ending the current Anthropocene era.

La dengue est liée au changement climatique dans les pays tropicaux et subtropicaux, notamment en République démocratique populaire lao (Laos) et en Thaïlande. La connaissance de ces problèmes et les mesures préventives peuvent affecter l'incidence et le risque d'épidémie de dengue. Par conséquent, la présente étude a été menée pour déterminer les connaissances, les attitudes et les pratiques (cap) parmi les communautés urbaines et rurales et les responsables gouvernementaux sur le changement climatique et la dengue au Laos et en Thaïlande. Une enquête transversale sur le changement climatique et la dengue a été menée auprès de 360 ménages au Laos (180 urbains et 180 ruraux), 359 ménages en Thaïlande (179 urbains et 180 ruraux) et 20 représentants du gouvernement (10 dans chaque pays) à l'aide de questionnaires structurés. L'analyse des données a été entreprise en utilisant des méthodes descriptives, l'analyse en composantes principales (ACP), le test du Chi carré ou le test exact de Fisher (le cas échéant) et la régression logistique. Des différences significatives entre les communautés sélectionnées dans les deux pays ont été trouvées en termes d'âge, de niveau d'éducation, de statut socio-économique, de niveau d'attitude face au changement climatique et de niveau de cap de la dengue (P < 0,05 ; IC à 95 %). Dans l'ensemble, le cap des participants sur le changement climatique et la dengue était faible, à l'exception du niveau d'attitude pour la dengue dans les deux pays. Le niveau de sensibilisation des responsables gouvernementaux à la relation climatique avec la dengue était également faible. Dans les ménages laotiens, les connaissances des participants sur le changement climatique et la dengue étaient significativement associées au niveau d'éducation et au statut socio-économique (SSE) (P < 0,01). Leurs attitudes à l'égard du changement climatique et de la dengue étaient associées au niveau d'éducation et à l'utilisation d'Internet (P < 0,05). Les pratiques liées au changement climatique des ménages étaient associées au SSE (P < 0,01) et les pratiques liées à la dengue étaient associées au niveau d'éducation, au SSE, à l'expérience antérieure de la dengue et à l'utilisation d'Internet (P < 0,01). En Thaïlande, les connaissances des participants sur le changement climatique étaient associées au niveau d'éducation et au SSE (P < 0,01). Leurs attitudes à l'égard du changement climatique étaient associées au statut de résidence (urbain/rural) et à l'utilisation d'Internet (P < 0,05) ; les pratiques liées au changement climatique étaient associées au niveau d'éducation et au SSE (P < 0,05). Les connaissances liées à la dengue des participants étaient associées au SSE et à l'expérience antérieure de la dengue (P < 0,05) ; les attitudes et les pratiques liées à la dengue des participants étaient associées au niveau d'éducation (P < 0,01). Les résultats appellent à des programmes de sensibilisation intégrés et urgents pour augmenter les niveaux de cap concernant l'adaptation au changement climatique, l'atténuation et la prévention de la dengue afin d'améliorer la santé et le bien-être des populations de ces deux pays et des pays similaires où la dengue est endémique. El dengue está relacionado con el cambio climático en países tropicales y subtropicales como la República Democrática Popular Lao (Laos) y Tailandia. El conocimiento sobre estos problemas y las medidas preventivas pueden afectar la incidencia y el riesgo de brote de dengue. Por lo tanto, el presente estudio se realizó para determinar el conocimiento, las actitudes y las prácticas (CAP) entre las comunidades urbanas y rurales y los funcionarios gubernamentales sobre el cambio climático y el dengue en Laos y Tailandia. Se realizó una encuesta Cap transversal sobre el cambio climático y el dengue en 360 hogares en Laos (180 urbanos y 180 rurales), 359 hogares en Tailandia (179 urbanos y 180 rurales) y 20 funcionarios gubernamentales (10 en cada país) utilizando cuestionarios estructurados. El análisis de datos se realizó utilizando métodos descriptivos, análisis de componentes principales (PCA), prueba de Chi-cuadrado o prueba exacta de Fisher (según corresponda) y regresión logística. Se encontraron diferencias significativas entre las comunidades seleccionadas en ambos países en términos de edad de los participantes del hogar, nivel de educación, nivel socioeconómico, nivel de actitud ante el cambio climático y nivel Cap de dengue (P < 0,05; IC del 95%). En general, la Cap de los participantes sobre el cambio climático y el dengue fue baja, excepto el nivel de actitud para el dengue en ambos países. El nivel de conciencia entre los funcionarios gubernamentales con respecto a la relación climática con el dengue también fue bajo. En los hogares de Laos, el conocimiento de los participantes sobre el cambio climático y el dengue se asoció significativamente con el nivel de educación y el nivel socioeconómico (ses) (P < 0,01). Sus actitudes hacia el cambio climático y el dengue se asociaron con el nivel educativo y el uso de internet (P < 0.05). Las prácticas relacionadas con el cambio climático de los hogares se asociaron con el ses (P < 0,01) y las prácticas relacionadas con el dengue se asociaron con el nivel educativo, el ses, la experiencia previa con el dengue y el uso de Internet (P < 0,01). En Tailandia, el conocimiento de los participantes sobre el cambio climático se asoció con el nivel de educación y el ses (P < 0,01). Sus actitudes hacia el cambio climático se asociaron con el estado de residencia (urbano/rural) y el uso de Internet (P < 0.05); las prácticas relacionadas con el cambio climático se asociaron con el nivel educativo y el ses (P < 0.05). El conocimiento relacionado con el dengue de los participantes se asoció con el ses y la experiencia previa del dengue (P < 0,05); las actitudes y prácticas relacionadas con el dengue de los participantes se asociaron con el nivel educativo (P < 0,01). Los hallazgos exigen programas de concientización integrados que se necesitan con urgencia para aumentar los niveles de Cap con respecto a la adaptación al cambio climático, la mitigación y la prevención del dengue para mejorar la salud y el bienestar de las personas en estos dos países y en países similares donde el dengue es endémico. Dengue is linked with climate change in tropical and sub-tropical countries including the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) and Thailand. Knowledge about these issues and preventive measures can affect the incidence and outbreak risk of dengue. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among urban and rural communities and government officials about climate change and dengue in Laos and Thailand. A cross-sectional KAP survey about climate change and dengue were conducted in 360 households in Laos (180 urban and 180 rural), 359 households in Thailand (179 urban and 180 rural), and 20 government officials (10 in each country) using structured questionnaires. Data analysis was undertaken using descriptive methods, principal component analysis (PCA), Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test (as appropriate), and logistic regression. Significant differences among the selected communities in both countries were found in terms of household participant's age, level of education, socioeconomic status, attitude level of climate change and KAP level of dengue (P < 0.05; 95% CI). Overall, participants' KAP about climate change and dengue were low except the attitude level for dengue in both countries. The level of awareness among government officials regarding the climatic relationship with dengue was also low. In Lao households, participants' knowledge about climate change and dengue was significantly associated with the level of education and socioeconomic status (SES) (P < 0.01). Their attitudes towards climate change and dengue were associated with educational level and internet use (P < 0.05). Householders' climate change related practices were associated with SES (P < 0.01) and dengue related practices were associated with educational level, SES, previous dengue experience and internet use (P < 0.01). In Thailand, participants' knowledge about climate change was associated with the level of education and SES (P < 0.01). Their attitudes towards climate change were associated with residence status (urban/rural) and internet use (P < 0.05); climate change related practices were associated with educational level and SES (P < 0.05). Dengue related knowledge of participants was associated with SES and previous dengue experience (P < 0.05); participants' dengue related attitudes and practices were associated with educational level (P < 0.01). The findings call for urgently needed integrated awareness programs to increase KAP levels regarding climate change adaptation, mitigation and dengue prevention to improve the health and welfare of people in these two countries, and similar dengue-endemic countries. ترتبط حمى الضنك بتغير المناخ في البلدان الاستوائية وشبه الاستوائية بما في ذلك جمهورية لاو الديمقراطية الشعبية (لاوس) وتايلاند. يمكن أن تؤثر المعرفة بهذه القضايا والتدابير الوقائية على حدوث وخطر تفشي حمى الضنك. لذلك، أجريت هذه الدراسة لتحديد المعرفة والمواقف والممارسات (KAP) بين المجتمعات الحضرية والريفية والمسؤولين الحكوميين حول تغير المناخ وحمى الضنك في لاوس وتايلاند. وأجريت دراسة استقصائية مستعرضة للمعارف والمواقف والممارسات بشأن تغير المناخ وحمى الضنك في 360 أسرة معيشية في لاوس (180 في المناطق الحضرية و 180 في المناطق الريفية)، و 359 أسرة معيشية في تايلند (179 في المناطق الحضرية و 180 في المناطق الريفية)، و 20 مسؤولا حكوميا (10 في كل بلد) باستخدام استبيانات منظمة. تم إجراء تحليل البيانات باستخدام الأساليب الوصفية، وتحليل المكونات الرئيسية (PCA)، واختبار مربع كاي أو اختبار فيشر الدقيق (حسب الاقتضاء)، والانحدار اللوجستي. تم العثور على اختلافات كبيرة بين المجتمعات المختارة في كلا البلدين من حيث عمر المشارك في الأسرة، ومستوى التعليم، والوضع الاجتماعي والاقتصادي، ومستوى الموقف من تغير المناخ ومستوى المعرفة والتعلم والتعلم والتعلم من حمى الضنك (P < 0.05 ؛ 95 ٪ CI). بشكل عام، كانت المعارف والمواقف والممارسات للمشاركين حول تغير المناخ وحمى الضنك منخفضة باستثناء مستوى الموقف تجاه حمى الضنك في كلا البلدين. كما كان مستوى الوعي بين المسؤولين الحكوميين فيما يتعلق بالعلاقة المناخية مع حمى الضنك منخفضًا. في أسر لاو، كانت معرفة المشاركين حول تغير المناخ وحمى الضنك مرتبطة بشكل كبير بمستوى التعليم والوضع الاجتماعي والاقتصادي (P < 0.01). ارتبطت مواقفهم تجاه تغير المناخ وحمى الضنك بالمستوى التعليمي واستخدام الإنترنت (P < 0.05). ارتبطت الممارسات المتعلقة بتغير المناخ لدى الأسر بالخدمات الاجتماعية والاقتصادية (P < 0.01) وارتبطت الممارسات المتعلقة بحمى الضنك بالمستوى التعليمي، والخدمات الاجتماعية والاقتصادية، وتجربة حمى الضنك السابقة واستخدام الإنترنت (P < 0.01). في تايلاند، ارتبطت معرفة المشاركين بتغير المناخ بمستوى التعليم و SES (P < 0.01). ارتبطت مواقفهم تجاه تغير المناخ بوضع الإقامة (حضري/ريفي) واستخدام الإنترنت (P < 0.05 )؛ ارتبطت الممارسات المتعلقة بتغير المناخ بالمستوى التعليمي و SES (P < 0.05). ارتبطت معرفة المشاركين المتعلقة بحمى الضنك بالخدمات البيئية والاجتماعية وتجربة حمى الضنك السابقة (P < 0.05 )؛ وارتبطت مواقف المشاركين وممارساتهم المتعلقة بحمى الضنك بالمستوى التعليمي (P < 0.01). تدعو النتائج إلى برامج توعية متكاملة مطلوبة بشكل عاجل لزيادة مستويات المعارف والمواقف والممارسات فيما يتعلق بالتكيف مع تغير المناخ والتخفيف من آثاره والوقاية من حمى الضنك لتحسين صحة ورفاهية الناس في هذين البلدين، والبلدان الموبوءة بحمى الضنك المماثلة.

Environmental air pollution remains a major contributor to negative health outcomes and mortality, but the relationship between socially vulnerable populations and air pollution is not well understood. Although air pollution potentially affects everyone, the combination of underlying health, socioeconomic, and demographic factors exacerbate the impact for socially vulnerable population groups, and the United States Clean Air Act (CAA) describes an obligation to protect these populations. This paper seeks to understand how air pollution monitor placement strategies and policy may neglect social vulnerabilities and therefore potentially underestimate exposure burdens in vulnerable populations. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the association between being in an ozone-monitored area or not on 15 vulnerability indicators. It was found that the odds of not being in an ozone-monitored area (not covered, outside) increased for the predictor mobile homes (OR = 4.831, 95% CI [2.500–9.338] and OR = 8.066, 95% CI [4.390–14.820] for the 10 and 20 km spatial units, respectively) and decreased for the predictor multiunit structures (OR = 0.281, 95% CI [0.281–0.548] and OR = 0.130, 95% CI [0.037, 0.457] for the 10 and 20 km spatial units, respectively) and the predictor speaks English “less than well” (OR = 0.521, 95% CI [0.292–0.931] for 10 km). These results indicate that existing pollution sensor coverage may neglect areas with concentrations of highly vulnerable populations in mobile homes, and future monitoring placement policy decisions must work to address this imbalance.