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Industrial production and domestic discharge produce a large amount of oily wastewater, which seriously affects the stability of the ecological environment. Membrane separation technology provides another path to treating oily wastewater. And appropriate surface modification of the membrane helps to achieve high efficiency of treating oily wastewater. With green, economy and stability been more concerned. The focal research reports a completely biodegradable all cellulose composite filter paper (ACCFP) composed of I-cellulose macrofibers and II-cellulose matrix. It is a simple one-step impregnation method to adjust the surface microstructure of the pristine filter paper (PFP), and it does not involve with chemical reaction. The pre-wetted ACCFP consist of II-cellulose hydrogel and I-cellulose reinforcement in the process of oil-water separation. This layer of hydrogel is the fundamental to underwater superoleophobicity, which determines their eligibility for applications of efficient oil-water mixture or oil-in-water (oil/water) emulsion separation. The separation efficiency of oil-water mixture and oil/water emulsion exceed 95% and 99.9%, respectively. In addition, excellent mechanical properties of ACCFP in dry and wet conditions ensure its stability in service and prolong service life in applications. The focal study provides a new method for high-performance oil-water separation and it is more in line with sustainable chemistry.

The importance of engaging students with complex societal challenges has led to the adoption of various interdisciplinary teaching and learning practices in both K-12 and higher education. However, interdisciplinary learning is one of the most complex domains of contemporary educational practice, and, despite its significance, remains significantly undertheorized and under-researched. This Special Issue highlights empirical research efforts toward understanding interdisciplinary learning in its complexity. It simultaneously aims to (1) advance ecological perspectives that encompass concepts and methodologies for studying complex heterogeneous learning practices and (2) apply these perspectives to the research of interdisciplinary learning - of how people learn across and beyond disciplines. This introduction provides a historical context for interdisciplinary learning, introduces an ecological stance toward researching learning across and beyond disciplines, and reviews critical theoretical and methodological challenges within interdisciplinary learning, arguing that the field of the learning sciences is well-positioned to address these challenges. It discusses how the contributions presented in this special issue shed light on theoretical, methodological, empirical, and design aspects of interdisciplinary learning and offer a basis for further design work and research.

Low-cost, flexible and safe battery technology is the key to the widespread usage of wearable electronics, among which the aqueous Al ion battery with water-in-salt electrolyte is a promising candidate. In this work, a flexible aqueous Al ion battery is developed using cellulose paper as substrate. The water-in-salt electrolyte is stored inside the paper, while the electrodes are either printed or attached on the paper surface, leading to a lightweight and thin-film battery prototype. Currently, this battery can tolerate a charge and discharge rate as high as 4 A g−1 without losing its storage capacity. The charge voltage is around 2.2 V, while the discharge plateau of 1.6–1.8 V is among the highest in reported aqueous Al ion batteries, together with a high discharge specific capacity of ∼140 mAh g−1. However, due to the water electrolysis side reaction, the faradaic efficiency can only reach 85% with a cycle life of 250 due to the dry out of electrolyte. Benefited from using flexible materials and aqueous electrolyte, this paper-based Al ion battery can tolerate various deformations such as bending, rolling and even puncturing without losing its performance. When two single cells are connected in series, the battery pack can provide a charge voltage of 4.3 V and a discharge plateau as high as 3–3.6 V, which are very close to commercial Li ion batteries. Such a cheap, flexible and safe battery technology may be widely applied in low-cost and large-quantity applications, such as RFID tags, smart packages and wearable biosensors in the future.

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) introduce research leading to skills acquisition and increased persistence in the major. CUREs generate enthusiasm and interest in doing science and serve as an intervention to increase equity and participation of historically marginalized students. In the second-semester laboratory of our introductory sequence for biology and marine science majors at California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB), instructors updated and implemented a field-based CURE. The goals of the CURE were to promote increased scientific identity, systems thinking, and equity at a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI). Through the CURE, students engaged in scientific writing through a research paper with a focus on information literacy, critical thinking, and quantitative reasoning as important elements of thinking like a scientist. Course exams also revealed that students showed gains in their ability to evaluate a new biological system using systems thinking. More broadly, because such field-based experiences demonstrate equity gains among Latinx students and a much greater sense of scientific identity, they may have impacts beyond introductory biology including in students' personal and professional lives.

Habitat spatial structure has a profound influence on bacterial life, yet there currently are no low-cost equipment-free laboratory techniques to reproduce the intricate structure of natural bacterial habitats. Here, we demonstrate the use of paper scaffolds to create landscapes spatially structured at the scales relevant to bacterial ecology. In paper scaffolds, planktonic bacteria migrate through liquid-filled pores, while the paper's cellulose fibres serve as anchor points for sessile colonies (biofilms). Using this novel approach, we explore bacterial colonisation dynamics in different landscape topographies and characterise the community composition of Escherichia coli strains undergoing centimetre-scale range expansions in habitats structured at the micrometre scale. The bacteria-in-paper platform enables quantitative assessment of bacterial community dynamics in complex environments using everyday materials., (© 2019 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by CNRS and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Abstract Adopting a scoping review method, we examined peer‐reviewed academic papers published about human–lion conflict (HLC) (including coexistence) and identified knowledge gaps. We searched papers published between January 1981 and December 2023 using academic databases, with the key terms African lion, human–lion conflict, human–lion coexistence, and human–lion interaction. This produced 485 records, reduced to 137 after using additional criteria. Ninety‐eight papers were focused on lions in Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. Ten pan‐African studies were identified in our review. Our inductive analysis identified four themes related to HLC: attitudes and perceptions toward lions, causes of HLC, consequences of HLC, and mitigating HLC. Some limitations identified in systematic reviews of human–wildlife conflict have been addressed in recent years, such as broadening the geographical scale of research. However, some knowledge gaps remain, including a lack of assessment of mitigation strategies and studies on climate changes impact on human–lion conflict. Addressing the knowledge gaps highlighted in this review will require diversifying the disciplinary composition of the research teams and increasing researcher reflexivity.

The water-, and energy footprints of the processes in the pulp and paper industry are sizable enough to warrant investment of money and commitment of time truncate the same. Besides, there is also a nexus between water and energy here, with optimisation of the use of one of these resoruces enabling that of the other too. This streamlined review focuses on journal publications (originating from different parts of the world, and targeted at researchers and decision-makers in the industry) which train the lens on the optimisation of water use in this particular sector of the (forestry) bioeconomy. The synergies and complementarities which exist among different sustainable development goals (SDGs) , promise positive ripple effects, caused by attending to the truncation of the water footprint. The articles, in general, recommend effective in-plant wastewater treatment in combinaton with recirculating the treated effluent, and looking upon the water streams as carriers or bearers of valorisable substances – organics which can yield a host of bio-products in bio-refineries, including bio-energy. Availing of water-pinch analysis as a tool to uncover possibilities of water use in a cascade (depending upon the requirements imposed on the water, by processes downstream in the cascade), has been shown to aid in the optimisation of both water use and energy demand within the plant. One case study, for example, showed that the demand for steam can be decreased by about 4 GJ per ton of output, by recovering the waste heat in the water streams.

Rock-paper-scissors games metaphorically model cyclic dominance in ecology and microbiology. In a static environment, these models are characterized by fixation probabilities obeying two different "laws" in large and small well-mixed populations. Here, we investigate the evolution of these three-species models subject to a randomly switching carrying capacity modeling the endless change between states of resources scarcity and abundance. Focusing mainly on the zero-sum rock-paper-scissors game, equivalent to the cyclic Lotka-Volterra model, we study how the coupling of demographic and environmental noise influences the fixation properties. More specifically, we investigate which species is the most likely to prevail in a population of fluctuating size and how the outcome depends on the environmental variability. We show that demographic noise coupled with environmental randomness "levels the field" of cyclic competition by balancing the effect of selection. In particular, we show that fast switching effectively reduces the selection intensity proportionally to the variance of the carrying capacity. We determine the conditions under which new fixation scenarios arise, where the most likely species to prevail changes with the rate of switching and the variance of the carrying capacity. Random switching has a limited effect on the mean fixation time that scales linearly with the average population size. Hence, environmental randomness makes the cyclic competition more egalitarian, but does not prolong the species coexistence. We also show how the fixation probabilities of close-to-zero-sum rock-paper-scissors games can be obtained from those of the zero-sum model by rescaling the selection intensity., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Papers including articles that are produced because of the activities of LifeWatch ERIC, in the context of its second implementation period (2022 - 2026) and through the implementation of its new Strategic Working Plan, are published in this special collection. The articles include data papers, papers describing the development and functioning of analytical services and papers describing any other research outcome, produced either by LifeWatch ERIC or by any collaboration with any other ERIC, Research Infrastructure, global aggregator or other legal entity.

Fossil-plastics or paper? Or for that matter, bio-plastics and paper? This is a well-entrenched question in academic research, industrial, social and policy-making circles. As environmental life-cycle analyses (or more appropriately, sustainability analyses) show time and again, no single product or process or mode of operation is a ‘total villain’. There are goods and bads, and at times, more of the one than the other. This paper, which is based on a course-report written by the first author at Karlstad University (Sweden), restricts itself to a review of publications which have opted to compare paper bags with low density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic bags, on the basis of their environmental impacts. Environmental impact categories include the global warming potential, energy demand, fossil fuel depletion, water usage, acidification, eutrophication, and a range of toxicities – human, terrestrial, freshwater-aquatic and marine-aquatic. The articles were obtained through Google Scholar, read and reviewed to glean the results presented therein. The ‘What’, ‘How’ and ‘Where’, so to say were studied carefully to understand the reasons behind any differences or similarities detected. On the basis of this focused review, even though no new knowledge is being added, the common belief that the paper bag is environmentally superior to the LDPE alternative is further consolidated. However, if one focuses on water usage and would assign a high weightage to that environmental impact, LDPE perhaps may score a few ‘brownie points’ over paper. One must also not forget that plastics (LDPE in this instance) can be recycled without significant deterioration in its functional properties. In a circular economy (the bioeconomy part of which gradually will expand over time), while introducing more and more bio-based products into the technosphere by way of trans-materialization is recommended, plastics will still continue to exist – albeit in much smaller amounts – and it would be perfectly fine if the degree of recycling is augmented significantly. Speaking of a holistic sustainability analysis, the socio-economic aspects of a choice between LDPE and paper bags must also be factored in, and studied. Much-desired change happens when the top-down meets the bottom-up somewhere midway.

Inorganic polymeric ferric chloride (POFC) coagulant with proposed structure of Fe4 (Cl2.2OH0.8)4 is synthesized using waste materials and characterized by different tools; XRD, FTIR and SEM. In the current work scrutinized efficiency of POFC for paper mill wastewater (PMW) treatment using response surface methodology (RSM) with central Composite Design (CCD) modeling. Different factors; dose, rapid mixing speed, and rapid mixing time are used for optimize the coagulation process using POFC for treating PMW. The indicators are used for assessing POFC efficiency are turbidity, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals. The obtained result of XRD confirms the production of new material of inorganic polymeric coagulants. Based RSM modelling, there is a high correlation between the experimental and predicated removal of turbidity and COD removals. Subsequently, the model is significantly applied for predicating COD and turbidity removals. Conclusively, the obtained results proposed for practical application of POFC coagulant for treatment of paper mill wastewater for COD and turbidity elimination. And the applied RSM with CCD is talented model for optimizing treatment of PMW.

We study a three-species cyclic model whose organisms are vulnerable to contamination with an infectious disease which propagates person-to-person. We consider that individuals of one species perform a self-preservation strategy by reducing the mobility rate to minimise infection risk whenever an epidemic outbreak reaches the neighbourhood. Running stochastic simulations, we quantify the changes in spatial patterns induced by unevenness in the cyclic game introduced by the mobility restriction strategy of organisms of one out of the species. Our findings show that variations in disease virulence impact the benefits of dispersal limitation reaction, with the relative reduction of the organisms’ infection risk accentuating in surges of less contagious or deadlier diseases. The effectiveness of the mobility restriction tactic depends on the deceleration level and the fraction of infected neighbours which is considered too dangerous, thus triggering the defensive strategy. If each organism promptly reacts to the arrival of the first viral vectors in its surroundings with strict mobility reduction, contamination risk decreases significantly. Our conclusions may help biologists understand the impact of defensive strategies in ecosystems during an epidemic.

This paper considers a twelve-year period (2008-2019) and examines to what extent conference presentations and journal publications from three leading literacy and language professional organizations addressed the topic of climate change. Despite it being perhaps the most significant "mega-problem" of the 21st century (Martin, 2007), findings from this study demonstrate that climate change was largely invisible across the thousands of presentations and publications in this data set. It is time literacy and language educators and corresponding professional associations reckon with this troubling reality.

Abstract The value of large‐scale collaborations for solving complex problems is widely recognized, but many barriers hinder meaningful authorship for all on the resulting multi‐author publications. Because many professional benefits arise from authorship, much of the literature on this topic has focused on cheating, conflict and effort documentation. However, approaches specifically recognizing and creatively overcoming barriers to meaningful authorship have received little attention. We have developed an inclusive authorship approach arising from 15 years of experience coordinating the publication of over 100 papers arising from a long‐term, international collaboration of hundreds of scientists. This method of sharing a paper initially as a storyboard with clear expectations, assignments and deadlines fosters communication and creates unambiguous opportunities for all authors to contribute intellectually. By documenting contributions through this multi‐step process, this approach ensures meaningful engagement by each author listed on a publication. The perception that co‐authors on large authorship publications have not meaningfully contributed underlies widespread institutional bias against multi‐authored papers, disincentivizing large collaborations despite their widely recognized value for advancing knowledge. Our approach identifies and overcomes key barriers to meaningful contributions, protecting the value of authorship even on massively multi‐authored publications.

This paper investigates the influence of thermal pretreatment on kinetic parameters based on four kinetic models: Modified Gompertz, transference and logistic functions and first order equation. The kinetic modeling was applied on experimental results of previous study on producing methane from anaerobic digestion of Recycled Pulp and Paper Sludge (RPPS) under mesophilic conditions. We observed that the thermal pretreatment improve considerably improved the kinetic parameters mainly the methane production rate and the lag phase. Indeed, it can be noted that methane production rate μ increases significantly from a value of 4.72 to 16.27 Nml/h using logistic function for 1 g VS/L added load. Then the lag phase parameter λ has dramatically decreased from 5.46 to 1.04 h using logistic function for 1,5g VS/L added load. This means that the thermal pretreatment of RPPS accelerates the methane production process and saves time.

This paper gave a definition of ecological industry chain of renewal resources, and according to this definition designed the ecological industry chain of paper making industry of China; presented a basic principle of designing and ecological industry chain of renewal resources and five necessary conditions to establish an ecological industry chain of renewal resources, i.e. imitating the ecological closed-circuit system, increasing stock of renewal resources, getting benefits from resource productivity, developing long-run social demand and engaging in systematic innovation. It was found that the ecological industry chain of paper making industry was a representative example of ecological industry chain of renewal resources. The ecological industry chain of paper making industry solved three difficult constrain problems and offered an effective way to change the paper making industry of China from pollution industry into ecological industry.

Intransitive competition, typically represented by the classic rock-paper-scissors game, provides an endogenous mechanism promoting species coexistence. As well known, species dispersal and interaction in nature might occur on complex patch networks, with species interacting in diverse ways. However, the effects of different interaction modes, combined with spatial heterogeneity in patch connectivities, have not been well integrated into our general understanding of how stable coexistence emerges in cyclic competition. We thus incorporate network heterogeneity into the classic rock-paper-scissors game, in order to compare ecosystem stability under two typical modes of interaction: species compete to fill empty sites, and species seize each other’s colony sites. On lattice-structured regular networks, the two interaction modes produce similar stability patterns through forming conspecific clusters to reduce interspecific competition. However, for heterogeneous networks, the interaction modes have contrasting effects on ecosystem stability. Specifically, if species compete for colony sites, increasing network heterogeneity stabilizes competitive dynamics. When species compete to fill empty sites, an increase in network heterogeneity leads to larger population fluctuations and therefore a higher risk of stochastic extinctions, in stark contrast to current knowledge. Our findings strongly suggest that particular attention should be devoted to testing which mode of interaction is more appropriate for modeling a given system.

Abstract Vigilant animals detect and respond to threats in the environment, often changing posture and movement patterns. Vigilance is modulated not only by predators but also by conspecific threats. In social animals, precisely how conspecific threats alter vigilance behavior over time is relevant to long‐standing hypotheses about social plasticity. We report persistent effects of a simulated conspecific challenge on behavior of wild northern paper wasp foundresses, Polistes fuscatus. During the founding phase of the colony cycle, conspecific wasps can usurp nests from the resident foundress, representing a severe threat. We used automated tracking to monitor the movement and posture of P. fuscatus foundresses in response to simulated intrusions. Wasps displayed increased movement, greater bilateral wing extension, and reduced antennal separation after the threat was removed. These changes were not observed after presentation with a wooden dowel. By rapidly adjusting individual behavior after fending off an intruder, paper wasp foundresses might invest in surveillance of potential threats, even when such threats are no longer immediately present. The prolonged vigilance‐like behavioral state observed here is relevant to plasticity of social recognition processes in paper wasps.

It is estimated that more than 500 species of insects have been introduced to the Galápagos Islands via human activities. One of these insect invaders is the yellow paper wasp, Polistes versicolor (Olivier) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), a social wasp native to continental South America. In Galápagos, these wasps are voracious predators of insect larvae, compete with native species for insect prey or for floral resources and are a human nuisance. Wasp suppression methods currently in use are inefficient and attract non-target species, calling for the development of species-specific attractants that can be used in baits to lure and kill wasps. To evaluate the potential for using wasp semiochemicals in baits, we determined the biochemical composition of the head, thorax, Dufour’s and venom glands of P. versicolor foragers via gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Male and female wasps were tested for behavioral responses to body segment extracts from both sexes. Female body extracts consistently elicited more behavioral responses in both male and female wasps than male extracts. Females reacted to female head, thorax and abdomen (the Dufour’s and venom glands are located in the abdomen) extracts, whereas males reacted significantly to female head and thorax extracts. One male body extract, the head, elicited two significant behaviors: female wasps groomed more often, and males touched the filter paper more often compared to the blank control. Head extracts consistently changed the behavior of female and male wasps and, together with female thorax extracts, have potential as species-specific lures for yellow paper wasps. Heads were mainly composed of hydrocarbon lipids and oleamide, a ligand for odorant-binding proteins. The thorax consisted of fatty aldehydes, long-chain alkanes and fatty amide lipids. Field trials of blends of these compounds in high wasp density areas of Galápagos are the next step to confirm if any of these compounds are attractive to P. versicolor.

This paper highlights and honors the connectivity among protistan researchers, using my own research journey as a backdrop, with attention to the supply chain of ideas, supporters, and other influencers who helped to shape and guide my career by sharing their ideas, protocols, skills, and enthusiasm. In looking back at the journey, the supply chain in my career has also included changes in the conceptual framework for my research studies, converging with a continuous flow of ideas and support from colleagues and mentors. To illustrate the complex map of ideas and supporters, this paper will examine technological advances, paradigm shifts in ecological constructs, geographical considerations, breakthroughs in peritrich biology, and the importance of an integrated perspective as we navigate the changing realities of today's scientific challenges., (© 2024 International Society of Protistologists.)

As data and computing power have surged in recent decades, statistical modeling has become an important tool for understanding ecological patterns and processes. Statistical modeling in ecology faces two major challenges. First, ecological data may not conform to traditional methods, and second, professional ecologists often do not receive extensive statistical training. In response to these challenges, the journal Ecology has published many innovative statistical ecology papers that introduced novel modeling methods and provided accessible guides to statistical best practices. In this paper, we reflect on Ecology's history and its role in the emergence of the subdiscipline of statistical ecology, which we define as the study of ecological systems using mathematical equations, probability, and empirical data. We showcase 36 influential statistical ecology papers that have been published in Ecology over the last century and, in so doing, comment on the evolution of the field. As data and computing power continue to increase, we anticipate continued growth in statistical ecology to tackle complex analyses and an expanding role for Ecology to publish innovative and influential papers, advancing the discipline and guiding practicing ecologists., (© 2024 The Authors. Ecology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.)

This paper examines the Confucian concept of learning, or xue ([character omitted]), from the perspective of ecological humanism. Through a comparative interpretation, this paper attempts to disclose the significance of Confucian xue conceived as a practice of aesthetic appreciation and creativity, emphasizing in particular its function within an eco-centric worldview. The author reviews the relevant concepts of ecological humanism as expressed in the ideas of John Dewey and Thomas Alexander, then applies these as a theoretical framework for interpreting xue and its related concepts and practices as they appear in the Confucian text the Lunyu ([characters omitted] ). It is argued that xue is a process of developing and expressing virtuosity and artistry in the "arts of life," and that its practice was understood as a direct participation in the creative development of nature. The significance of such a concept of learning for contemporary educational philosophy is discussed in conclusion.