Display omitted
•New software tool for techno-ecological simulation of local food-energy-water systems.•Advanced nexus tools by explicit dynamic modelling of techno-ecological ...interactions.•Demonstrated the tool by assessing a local synergistic nexus system in a UK eco-town.•Synergistic design shown to improve local nutrient balance.•Local integration boosts carbon capture, water reuse, and local energy and food sufficiency.
The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus concept highlights the importance of integrative solutions that secure resource supplies and meet demands sustainably. There is a need for translating the nexus concept into clear frameworks and tools that can be applied to decision making. A simulation and analytics framework, and a concomitant Nexus Simulation System (NexSym) is presented here. NexSym advances the state-of-the-art in nexus tools by explicit dynamic modelling of local techno-ecological interactions relevant to WEF operations. The modular tool integrates models for ecosystems, WEF production and consumption components and allows the user to build, simulate and analyse a “flowsheet” of a local system. This enables elucidation of critical interactions and gaining knowledge and understanding that supports innovative solutions by balancing resource supply and demand and increasing synergies between components, while maintaining ecosystems. NexSym allowed assessment of the synergistic design of a local nexus system in a UK eco-town. The design improved local nutrient balance and meets 100% of electricity demand, while achieving higher carbon capture and biomass provisioning, higher water reuse and food production, however with a remarkable impact on land use.
The role of vitamin D3 and its metabolites in cancer and especially as a treatment option has been widely disputed. Clinicians noting low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 25(OH)D3 levels in their patients, ...recommend vitamin D3 supplementation as a method of reducing the risk of cancer; however, data supporting this are inconsistent. These studies rely on systemic 25(OH)D3 as an indicator of hormone status, but 25(OH)D3 is further metabolized in the kidney and other tissues under regulation by several factors. This study examined if breast cancer cells also possess the ability to metabolize 25(OH)D3, and if so, whether the resulting metabolites are secreted locally; if this ability reflects ERα66 status; and if they possess vitamin D receptors (VDR). To address this question, estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) positive (MCF-7) and ERα negative (HCC38 and MDA-MB-231) breast cancer cell lines were examined for expression of ERα66, ERα36, CYP24A1, CYP27B1, and VDR as well as for local production of 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 24,25(OH)2D3 and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 1,25(OH)2D3 after treatment with 25(OH)D3. The results showed that independent of ER status, breast cancer cells express the enzymes CYP24A1 and CYP27B1, which are responsible for converting 25(OH)D3 into its dihydroxylated forms. Moreover, these metabolites are produced at levels comparable to the levels observed in blood. They are positive for VDR, indicating that they can respond to 1α,25(OH)2D3, which can upregulate CYP24A1. These findings suggest that vitamin D metabolites may contribute to the tumorigenicity of breast cancer via autocrine and/or paracrine mechanisms.
•Breast cancer cells can produce their own active vitamin D metabolites.•Serum levels of vitamin D may not be the same as what’s observed in tissue levels.•Vitamin D levels produced by the tissue may be enough to have an effect on cells.
Greeks settled in the ancient emporium of Huelva manufactured Archaic gray pottery inspired by Aeolian prototypes.Results of Neutron Activation Analysis showed that seven out of 11 specimens analyzed ...had a chemical composition similar to the loamy clay from local deposits traditionally used in pottery. This gray pottery must have found a good acceptance not only among the resident Greeks, but also among the non-Greek population long before familiarized with the so called “orientalizing gray pottery”, whose coloration and production by reduction firing are similar to the Aeolian one. In the same settlement, two other groups of Archaic Greek pottery manufactured in situ had already been identified: one of them characterized by a yellowish-green paste and the other one, conventionally named “Group H”, decorated with red slips comparable to the Phoenician ceramics.
This study analyses a specific category of Roman ceramic vessels identified in the funerary inventories from Alburnus Maior: 26 coarse ware jugs present in the graves from the cemeteries at Tăul ...Corna, Tăul Găuri – Hop, Tăul Secuilor/Pârâul Porcului and in the area of the circular funerary monument. They all share specific morphological and technological characteristics, and at least a part of them are imitations in ceramic of bronze vessels. From a functional point of view they can be framed in the category of cooking ware and were produced from coarse fabrics. The vessels were produced locally, during the 4th – 6th/7th? decades of the 2nd century AD and all of them were used for boiling water. Their presence in the graves might be regarded as an identity marker of a group who used them in everyday life and, as part of the funerary ritual, could show a predilection for consuming hot drinks during the funerary banquet.
Centralised production of essential products and services based on fossil fuels and large scale distribution infrastructures has contributed to a plethora of issues such as deterioration of ...ecosystems, social-economic injustice and depletion of resources. The establishment of local production systems that deliver various products for local consumption (e.g. food, energy and water) by making the best use of locally available renewable resources can potentially alleviate unsustainable resource consumption. The main objective of this work is to develop process systems engineering tools combined with the concept of resource accounting using exergy for the design of such local production systems. A general design framework comprising an optional preliminary design stage followed by a simultaneous design stage based on mathematical optimisation is proposed. The preliminary design stage considers each supply subsystem individually and allows insights into the potential interactions between them. The simultaneous design stage yields an optimal design of the local production system and has the capacity to include all design integration possibilities between the subsystems and generate a truly integrated design solution. The proposed methodology, which reflects generalised principles for designing local production systems, has been illustrated through a case study on the integrated design of the food-energy-water nexus for a designated eco-town in UK. It demonstrates the advantages of an integrated design of a system making use of local resources to meet its demands over a system relying on centralised supplies and a design without considering integration opportunities between subsystems.
•Mathematical approach proposed to design local integrated production systems.•Use of locally available resources to meet local demands sustainably.•Cumulative exergy consumption used an as indicator of resource intensity.•Design of local food, energy and water production system based on the nexus concept.•Demonstrated that local integrated system can be more resource efficient than centralised system.
Cereals products enriched with leguminous or oleaginous are used in Burkina Faso as food complement or to avoid infant malnutrition. Infant formulas from cereals are consumed as food supplements ...after the weaning age. They are produced in Burkina Faso with a mixture of several cereals (maize, millet, rice, or sorghum), leguminous (bean), oleaginous (peanut, soya or sesame), sugar or salt and sometimes milk powder. The production is artisanal or semi-industrial. These infant foods from cereals should be free from mycotoxins and pathogenic bacteria. The objective of this work was to determine the occurrence of mycotoxins like aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and fumonisins in infant formulas and grains in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). The mycotoxins (aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and fumonisins) were determined by HPLC-FLD in 248 samples of infant formulas produced by the Recovery and Nutrition Education Centers (CRENs) and sold on the market places in Burkina Faso.
Results showed that the majority of samples of infant formulas presented high levels of mycotoxins. The frequency of contaminated samples by aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A and fumonisins in analyzed samples were 83.9% (167/199), 7.5% (15/199) and 1.5% (3/199), respectively. The highest values registered in infant formulas were 900, 6 and 3 times higher for aflatoxin B1 (EU limit: 0.1 μg/kg), ochratoxin A (EU limit: 0.5 μg/kg) and fumonisins (EU limit: 200 μg/kg), respectively, than the EU regulation limits (1881/2006). This study presents the first results concerning the safety assessment of infant formulas regarding mycotoxins in Burkina Faso.
•Cereals enriched are used in Burkina Faso as infant formulas after weaning age.•The majority of samples of studied infant formulas presented high level of mycotoxins.•The levels of mycotoxins were higher than the European Commission regulation limits.•It's the first safety assessment regarding mycotoxins in infant formulas in Burkina.
Terracotta tiles are a characteristic objects of Russian culture in the 17th century. These terracotta tiles are intended for facing stoves. The article deals with tiles and stamps for making tiles ...found during the archaeological study of the historical part of Tsaryovokokshaysk. A stove faced with tiles was a luxury item for the upper strata of the population. That is why the findings of tiles are more interesting in the territory of a small town, where wealthy people made up a small percentage of the population. The technology of manufacturing tiles speaks in favor of the presence of local production. Stamps found on the territory of the town for applying a pattern on tiles also indicate the presence of such production in Tsaryovokokshaysk of the 17th century. Stamps are quite rare finds on the territory of Russia, and those ones found far from the centers of tile production are of even greater value. Tsaryovokokshaysk stamps have a more complicated and varied pattern than those found in other regions earlier. The revealed tiles were described and grouped according to the composition of the drawing. In 2021 there was found a tile that had been made using a stamp found in 2015. This fact also proves the presence of local production in the town during the 17th century. The production of tiles in Tsaryovokokshaysk ceased in the 18th century due to socio-economic reasons.
Edible flowers can be a fresh addition to main dishes, side dishes, desserts, and drinks. Their value stems from their visual appeal, taste, nutritional content, and medicinal properties. This 7-page ...document examines the production and distribution of edible flowers in Florida. Written by Caroline de Favari Tardivo and Geoffrey Meru and published by the UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department, August 2018. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1321
The North Street of Stratonikeia, one of the important monuments of the ancient city, starts from the North City Gate and Fountain and extends towards the city centre; in addition to daily use, it ...served actively in the processions related with the Hecate cult at Lagina and Zeus cult at Panamara. Studies conducted have shown that this street was in use during the Hellenistic and Roman periods as well as Late Antiquity. Excavations on the eastern side of the street have brought to light finds from the last quarter of the second millennium BC. In the course of restoration and conservation work carried out in the main axis of the street, a 90-m-long stretch of the main sewage channel was excavated. During the cleaning and excavation works in the sewer system, a total of 45 pieces of ceramics were contained. Among of these ceramics, pieces with good condition, profile and scratchables were selected and 35 samples were handled within the scope of the study. These specimens are categorised based on their clay-slip, form and ware groups; furthermore, it was endeavoured to identify their period, local production or imports in comparison with similar sherds. Most of the pottery finds from the sewage channel date to the 5th-7th centuries AD; however, some specimens are attributed to the Bronze Age; thus, the finds evince the long service life of the North Street and its environs. Furthermore, the density of potsherds indicates that difference in clay, slip and typology stand out instead of the popular red slip wares popular in Late Antiquity. These differences suggest that locally produced pottery of less expensive production was preferred in the region.
PDF
