Soil-less systems vs. soil-based systems for cultivating edible plants on buildings in relation to the contribution towards sustainable cities

Food production and consumption for cities has become a global concern due to increasing numbers of people living in urban areas, threatening food security. There is the contention that people living in cities have become disconnected with food production, leading to reduced nutrition in diets and increased food waste. Integrating food production into cities (urban agriculture) can help alleviate some of these issues. Lack of space at ground level in high-density urban areas has accelerated the idea of using spare building surfaces for food production. There are various growing methods being used for food production on buildings, which can be split into two main types, soil-less systems and soil-based systems. This paper is a holistic assessment (underpinned by the triple bottom line of sustainable development) of these two types of systems for food production on buildings, looking at the benefits and limitation of each type in this context. The results illustrate that soil-less systems are more productive per square metre, which increases the amount of locally grown, fresh produce available in urban areas. The results also show that soil-based systems for cultivation on buildings are more environmentally and socially beneficial overall for urban areas than soil-less systems.

How important is the coast? A survey of coastal objectives in an Australian regional city

Defining goals and objectives is a critical component of adaptive management of natural resources because they provide the basis on which management strategies can be designed and evaluated. The aims of this study are: (i) to apply and test a collaborative method to elicit goals and objectives for inshore fisheries and biodiversity in the coastal zone of a regional city in Australia; (ii) to understand the relative importance of management objectives for different community members and stakeholders; and (iii) to understand how diverse perceptions about the importance of management objectives can be used to support multiple-use management in Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef. Management goals and objectives were elicited and weighted using the following steps: (i) literature review of management objectives, (ii) development of a hierarchy tree of objectives, and (iii) ranking of management objectives using survey methods. The overarching goals identified by the community group were to: (1) protect and restore inshore environmental assets; (2) improve governance systems; and (3) improve regional (socio-economic) well-being. Interestingly, these goals differ slightly from the usual triple-bottom line objectives (environmental, social and economic) often found in the literature. The objectives were ranked using the Analytical Hierarchical Process, where a total of 141 respondents from industry, government agencies, and community from across Queensland State undertook the survey. The environment goal received the highest scores, followed by governance and lastly well-being. The approach to elicit and rank goals and objectives developed in this study can be used to effectively support coastal resource management by providing opportunities for local communities to participate in the setting of regional objectives.

How important is the coast? A survey of coastal objectives in an Australian regional city

Defining goals and objectives is a critical component of adaptive management of natural resources because they provide the basis on which management strategies can be designed and evaluated. The aims of this study are: (i) to apply and test a collaborative method to elicit goals and objectives for inshore fisheries and biodiversity in the coastal zone of a regional city in Australia; (ii) to understand the relative importance of management objectives for different community members and stakeholders; and (iii) to understand how diverse perceptions about the importance of management objectives can be used to support multiple-use management in Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef. Management goals and objectives were elicited and weighted using the following steps: (i) literature review of management objectives, (ii) development of a hierarchy tree of objectives, and (iii) ranking of management objectives using survey methods. The overarching goals identified by the community group were to: (1) protect and restore inshore environmental assets; (2) improve governance systems; and (3) improve regional (socio-economic) well-being. Interestingly, these goals differ slightly from the usual triple-bottom line objectives (environmental, social and economic) often found in the literature. The objectives were ranked using the Analytical Hierarchical Process, where a total of 141 respondents from industry, government agencies, and community from across Queensland State undertook the survey. The environment goal received the highest scores, followed by governance and lastly well-being. The approach to elicit and rank goals and objectives developed in this study can be used to effectively support coastal resource management by providing opportunities for local communities to participate in the setting of regional objectives.

Regional Diversification and Performance: Conceptualization and Competing Strategic Objectives

This dissertation comprised of three essays provides justification for the need to pursue research on multinationality and performance with a more fine-grained approach. Essay one is a conceptual response to an article written by Jean-Francois Hennart in 2011 which questions the need and approach toward future research in this domain. I argue that internalization theory does not render multinationality and performance research meaningless and identify key areas where methodological enhancements can be made to strengthen our research findings with regard to Hennart’s call for more content validity. Essay two responds to the need for more-fine grained research on the consequences of multinationality by introducing non-traditional measures of performance such as social and environmental performance and adopting a more theoretically relevant construct of regionalization to capture international diversification levels of the firm. Using data from the world’s largest 600 firms (based on sales) derived from Bloomberg and the Directory of Corporate Affiliates; I employ general estimating equation analysis to account for the auto-correlated nature of the panel data alongside multivariate regression techniques. Results indicate that regionalization has a positive relationship with economic performance while it has a negative relationship with environmental and social performance outcomes, often referred to as the “Triple Bottom-Line” performance. Essay three builds upon the work in the previous essays by linking the aforementioned performance variables and sample to corporate reputation which has been shown to be a beneficial strategic asset. Using Structural Equation Modeling I explore economic, environmental and social signals as mediators on relationship between regionalization and firm reputation. Results indicate that these variables partially mediate a positive relationship between regionalization and firm reputation. While regionalization positively affects the reputation building signal of economic performance, it aids in reputation building by reducing environmental and social disclosure effects which interestingly impact reputation negatively. In conclusion, the dissertation submits opportunities for future research and contributes to research by demonstrating that regionalization affects performance, but the effect varies in accordance with the performance criterion and context. In some cases, regional diversification may produce competing or conflicting outcomes among the potential strategic objectives of the firm.

La sostenibilità nei processi d'acquisto: un caso aziendale nel settore bancario

I problemi ambientali che oggi ci troviamo ad affrontare sono senza precedenti e richiedono l’intervento di tutte le parti coinvolte, in ogni tipo di organizzazione.È il momento di allargare i propri orizzonti e di rivolgere l’attenzione oltre le mura aziendali. Per una crescita sostenibile, in linea con l’Agenda 2030 e i Sustainable Development Goals, è fondamentale guardare all’intera catena del valore e di approvvigionamento; non solo la dedizione verso il lato downstream deve essere perseguita, ma anche quella in upstream. Collaborare con fornitori che condividono gli stessi valori è di grande impatto sia per il business che per il raggiungimento degli obiettivi in termini di sostenibilità. Questa sostenibilità non è intesa soltanto da un punto di vista strettamente ambientale, ma in accordo con gli SDGs, abbraccia temi più ampi, rivolgendosi anche al settore sociale, di governance ed economico. La triple bottom line è alla base per il raggiungimento del fine ultimo comune a tutte le attività legate alla transizione ecologica. Per adempiere all’obiettivo, si propone di selezionare accuratamente gli acquisti seguendo i Criteri Ambientali Minimi italiani ed europei. In più, la capacità di spingersi oltre assume sempre maggiore importanza; anticipare le regolamentazioni è tipico delle aziende proattive che guidano il mercato. A tal proposito, il progetto esemplificativo descritto nell’elaborato, vede protagonista un ufficio acquisti all’avanguardia che ha individuato autonomamente ulteriori cluster, da affiancare ai criteri citati precedentemente. contrattuale. [...]

(Table 1) Composition of organic matter from sediments of the triple junction area in the Indian Ocean

Bituminous substances in metalliferous sediments from the region of the triple junction in the Indian Ocean were studied. Specific peculiarities of their structure confirming location in "hot conditions" were revealed. Hydrocarbons are genetically connected with hydrothermal matter, and thus they could be considered as a geochemical indicator of hydrothermal processes in the ocean.

(Supplement Table1) Abundances of major elements from KH93-3_DR10 at the Southwest Indian Ridge near the Rodriguez Triple Junction

Petrographic and geochemical analyses of basaltic rocks dredged from the first segment of the Southwest Indian Ridge near the Rodriguez Triple Junction have been completed in order to investigate water-rock interaction processes during mid-ocean ridge (MOR) hydrothermal alteration in the Indian Ocean. In the study area, we have successfully recovered a serial section of upper oceanic crust exposed along a steep rift valley wall which was uplifted and emplaced along a low angle normal fault. On the basis of microscopic observation, dredged samples are classified into three types: fresh lavas, low-temperature altered rocks, and high-temperature altered rocks. The fresh lavas have essentially the same chemical composition as typical N-MORB, although LILE and Nb are slightly enriched and depleted, respectively. Low temperature alteration brought about the enrichment of K2O, Rb, and U due to the presence of K-rich celadonite and U-adsorption onto Fe-oxyhydroxide and clay minerals. On the other hand, chloritization, albitization, and addition of base metals by high temperature hydrothermal alteration result in enrichments of MnO, MgO, Na2O, Cu, and Zn and depletions of CaO, K2O, Cr, Co, Ni, Rb, Sr, and Ba. In addition, U-enrichment is also observable in the high temperature altered rocks probably due to the decrease of uranite solubility in the reducing high-temperature hydrothermal solution. These petrological and geochemical features are comparable to those of the volcanic zone to transition zone rocks in the DSDP/ODP Hole 504B, indicating that our samples were recovered from the upper ~1000 m section of the oceanic crust. Only the alteration minerals related to off-axis alteration are absent in our samples dredged from near the spreading axis. The similarity of alteration between our samples from the Indian Ocean and the Hole 504B rocks from the Pacific Ocean suggests that MOR hydrothermal systems are probably similar across all world oceans.

Microbial Evaluation Of Traumatized Teeth Treated With Triple Antibiotic Paste Or Calcium Hydroxide With 2% Chlorhexidine Gel In Pulp Revascularization.

Revascularization outcome depends on microbial elimination because apical repair will not happen in the presence of infected tissues. This study evaluated the microbial composition of traumatized immature teeth and assessed their reduction during different stages of the revascularization procedures performed with 2 intracanal medicaments. Fifteen patients (7-17 years old) with immature teeth were submitted to the revascularization procedures; they were divided into 2 groups according to the intracanal medicament used: TAP group (n = 7), medicated with a triple antibiotic paste, and CHP group (n = 8), dressed with calcium hydroxide + 2% chlorhexidine gel. Samples were taken before any treatment (S1), after irrigation with 6% NaOCl (S2), after irrigation with 2% chlorhexidine (S3), after intracanal dressing (S4), and after 17% EDTA irrigation (S5). Cultivable bacteria recovered from the 5 stages were counted and identified by means of polymerase chain reaction assay (16S rRNA). Both groups had colony-forming unit counts significantly reduced after S2 (P < .05); however, no significant difference was found between the irrigants (S2 and S3, P = .99). No difference in bacteria counts was found between the intracanal medicaments used (P = .95). The most prevalent bacteria detected were Actinomyces naeslundii (66.67%), followed by Porphyromonas endodontalis, Parvimonas micra, and Fusobacterium nucleatum, which were detected in 33.34% of the root canals. An average of 2.13 species per canal was found, and no statistical correlation was observed between bacterial species and clinical/radiographic features. The microbial profile of infected immature teeth is similar to that of primarily infected permanent teeth. The greatest bacterial reduction was promoted by the irrigation solutions. The revascularization protocols that used the tested intracanal medicaments were efficient in reducing viable bacteria in necrotic immature teeth.

Primary Relapse Site Pattern In Women With Triple-negative Breast Cancer.

Despite the remarkable improvements in breast cancer (BC) characterization, accurate prediction of BC clinical behavior is often still difficult to achieve. Some studies have investigated the association between the molecular subtype, namely the basal-like BC and the pattern of relapse, however only few investigated the association between relapse pattern and immunohistochemical defined triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the pattern of relapse in patients with TNBC, namely the primary distant relapse site. One-hundred twenty nine (129) invasive breast carcinomas with follow-up information were classified according to the molecular subtype using immunohistochemistry for ER, PgR and Her2. The association between TNBC and distant relapse primary site was analyzed by logistic regression. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis patients with TNBC displayed only 0.09 (95% CI: 0.00-0.74; p=0.02) the odds of the non-TNBC patients of developing bone primary relapse. Regarding visceral and lymph-node relapse, no differences between in this cohort were found. Though classically regarded as aggressive tumors, TNBCs rarely development primary relapse in bone when compared to non-TNBC, a clinical relevant fact when investigating a metastasis of an occult or non-sampled primary BC.

Analysis Of The Contribution Of Immunologically-detectable Her2, Steroid Receptors And Of The Triple-negative" Tumor Status To Disease-free And Overall Survival Of Women With Epithelial Ovarian Cancer."

We assessed associations between steroid receptors including: estrogen-alpha, estrogen-beta, androgen receptor, progesterone receptor, the HER2 status and triple-negative epithelial ovarian cancer (ERα-/PR-/HER2-; TNEOC) status and survival in women with epithelial ovarian cancer. The study included 152 women with primary epithelial ovarian cancer. The status of steroid receptor and HER2 was determined by immunohistochemistry. Disease-free and overall survival were calculated and compared with steroid receptor and HER2 status as well as clinicopathological features using the Cox Proportional Hazards model. A mean follow-up period of 43.6 months (interquartile range=41.4 months) was achieved where 44% of patients had serous tumor, followed by mucinous (23%), endometrioid (9%), mixed (9%), undifferentiated (8.5%) and clear cell tumors (5.3%). ER-alpha staining was associated with grade II-III tumors. Progesterone receptor staining was positively associated with a Body Mass Index≥25. Androgen receptor positivity was higher in serous tumors. In stand-alone analysis of receptor contribution to survival, estrogen-alpha positivity was associated with greater disease-free survival. However, there was no significant association between steroid receptor expression, HER2 status, or TNEOC status, and overall survival. Although estrogen-alpha, androgen receptor, progesterone receptor and the HER2 status were associated with key clinical features of the women and pathological characteristics of the tumors, these associations were not implicated in survival. Interestingly, women with TNEOC seem to fare the same way as their counterparts with non-TNEOC.

Use Of Experimental Design To Optimize A Triple-potential Waveform To Develop A Method For The Determination Of Streptomycin And Dihydrostreptomycin In Pharmaceutical Veterinary Dosage Forms By Hplc-pad.

An HPLC-PAD method using a gold working electrode and a triple-potential waveform was developed for the simultaneous determination of streptomycin and dihydrostreptomycin in veterinary drugs. Glucose was used as the internal standard, and the triple-potential waveform was optimized using a factorial and a central composite design. The optimum potentials were as follows: amperometric detection, E1=-0.15V; cleaning potential, E2=+0.85V; and reactivation of the electrode surface, E3=-0.65V. For the separation of the aminoglycosides and the internal standard of glucose, a CarboPac™ PA1 anion exchange column was used together with a mobile phase consisting of a 0.070 mol L(-1) sodium hydroxide solution in the isocratic elution mode with a flow rate of 0.8 mL min(-1). The method was validated and applied to the determination of streptomycin and dihydrostreptomycin in veterinary formulations (injection, suspension and ointment) without any previous sample pretreatment, except for the ointments, for which a liquid-liquid extraction was required before HPLC-PAD analysis. The method showed adequate selectivity, with an accuracy of 98-107% and a precision of less than 3.9%.

Short-term triple therapy with azithromycin for Helicobacter pylori eradication: Low cost, high compliance, but low efficacy

Background: The Brazilian consensus recommends a short-term treatment course with clarithromycin, amoxicillin and proton-pump inhibitor for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori). This treatment course has good efficacy, but cannot be afforded by a large part of the population. Azithromycin, amoxicillin and omeprazole are subsidized, for several aims, by the Brazilian federal government. Therefore, a short-term treatment course that uses these drugs is a low-cost one, but its efficacy regarding the bacterium eradication is yet to be demonstrated. The study's purpose was to verify the efficacy of H. pylori eradication in infected patients who presented peptic ulcer disease, using the association of azithromycin, amoxicillin and omeprazole. Methods: Sixty patients with peptic ulcer diagnosed by upper digestive endoscopy and H. pylori infection documented by rapid urease test, histological analysis and urea breath test were treated for six days with a combination of azithromycin 500 mg and omeprazole 20 mg, in a single daily dose, associated with amoxicillin 500 mg 3 times a day. The eradication control was carried out 12 weeks after the treatment by means of the same diagnostic tests. The eradication rates were calculated with 95% confidence interval. Results: The eradication rate was 38% per intention to treat and 41% per protocol. Few adverse effects were observed and treatment compliance was high. Conclusion: Despite its low cost and high compliance, the low eradication rate does not allow the recommendation of the triple therapy with azithromycin as an adequate treatment for H. pylori infection.

Measurement of Bottom Versus Charm as a Function of Transverse Momentum with Electron-Hadron Correlations in p plus p Collisions at s=200 GeV

The momentum distribution of electrons from semileptonic decays of charm and bottom quarks for midrapidity |y|< 0.35 in p+p collisions at s=200 GeV is measured by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider over the transverse momentum range 2 < p(T)< 7 GeV/c. The ratio of the yield of electrons from bottom to that from charm is presented. The ratio is determined using partial D/D -> e(+/-)K(-/+)X (K unidentified) reconstruction. It is found that the yield of electrons from bottom becomes significant above 4 GeV/c in p(T). A fixed-order-plus-next-to-leading-log perturbative quantum chromodynamics calculation agrees with the data within the theoretical and experimental uncertainties. The extracted total bottom production cross section at this energy is sigma(bb)=3.2(-1.1)(+1.2)(stat)(-1.3)(+1.4)(syst)mu b.

Electronic properties of liquid ammonia: A sequential molecular dynamics/quantum mechanics approach

The electronic properties of liquid ammonia are investigated by a sequential molecular dynamics/quantum mechanics approach. Quantum mechanics calculations for the liquid phase are based on a reparametrized hybrid exchange-correlation functional that reproduces the electronic properties of ammonia clusters [(NH(3))(n); n=1-5]. For these small clusters, electron binding energies based on Green's function or electron propagator theory, coupled cluster with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations, and density functional theory (DFT) are compared. Reparametrized DFT results for the dipole moment, electron binding energies, and electronic density of states of liquid ammonia are reported. The calculated average dipole moment of liquid ammonia (2.05 +/- 0.09 D) corresponds to an increase of 27% compared to the gas phase value and it is 0.23 D above a prediction based on a polarizable model of liquid ammonia [Deng , J. Chem. Phys. 100, 7590 (1994)]. Our estimate for the ionization potential of liquid ammonia is 9.74 +/- 0.73 eV, which is approximately 1.0 eV below the gas phase value for the isolated molecule. The theoretical vertical electron affinity of liquid ammonia is predicted as 0.16 +/- 0.22 eV, in good agreement with the experimental result for the location of the bottom of the conduction band (-V(0)=0.2 eV). Vertical ionization potentials and electron affinities correlate with the total dipole moment of ammonia aggregates. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Magnetoresistance oscillations in multilayer systems: Triple quantum wells

Magnetoresistance of two-dimensional electron systems with several occupied subbands oscillates owing to periodic modulation of the probability of intersubband transitions by the quantizing magnetic field. In addition to previous investigations of these magnetointersubband (MIS) oscillations in two-subband systems, we report on both experimental and theoretical studies of such a phenomenon in three-subband systems realized in triple quantum wells. We show that the presence of more than two subbands leads to a qualitatively different MIS oscillation picture, described as a superposition of several oscillating contributions. Under a continuous microwave irradiation, the magnetoresistance of triple-well systems exhibits an interference of MIS oscillations and microwave-induced resistance oscillations. The theory explaining these phenomena is presented in the general form, valid for an arbitrary number of subbands. A comparison of theory and experiment allows us to extract temperature dependence of quantum lifetime of electrons and to confirm the applicability of the inelastic mechanism of microwave photoresistance for the description of magnetotransport in multilayer systems.