Complete Life Cycle Research Articles

Defining an effective “plastics treaty” through national perspectives and visions during early negotiations

Abstract With increased international concern over the pervasive plastic pollution problem, early negotiations to develop a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution (“the Plastics Treaty”) were supported by 175 member countries toward a sustainable plastics future. Defining features of the plastics treaty by UNEP member countries began in Punta del Este, Uruguay in November 2022 during the first session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-1). However, INC-1 ended with many unanswered questions regarding the structure, scope, and targets of the treaty. Sixty-seven member countries, including members of the High Coalition Ambition, submitted their objectives, guiding principles, and expectations for the treaty before the INC-2 negotiations while also suggesting measures for its effective implementation. This paper compiles submissions of the 67 member countries and evidence-based policymaking approaches that have been described in peer-reviewed and gray literature following INC-1, but before the INC-2 negotiations in Paris, France in June 2023. Recommendations for developing an effective plastics treaty by most member countries include incorporating the complete life cycle of plastics, promotion of transparency in global trade through uniform labeling measures, capping virgin plastic production, incorporating extended producer responsibility to develop a circular economy, and addressing hazardous chemicals in plastics. Suggested implementation measures include building a multilateral fund, supporting smaller countries with technology transfer, improving local stakeholder engagement, developing subsidiary bodies, and regular national reporting. Encouragingly, many of these national plans were proposed in the Zero Draft document released in September 2023 before INC-3 in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2023 and further developed in the revised draft text which served as the provisional agenda at INC-4 in April 2024 in Ottawa, Canada.

From light to hydrogen: the complete life cycle of free charges in photocatalytic nanoparticles

A complete picture of charge generation over 11 orders of magnitude in time in the high-performance PM6:Y6 organic-semiconductor blend from donor and acceptor excitation is obtained using ultrafast spectroscopy and kinetic modeling.

Together till the end: endosymbiosis of the annelid Haplosyllides floridana in the giant barrel-shaped sponge Xestospongia muta throughout the Tropical Atlantic

Abstract The symbiotic relationship between the syllid polychaete, Haplosyllides floridana Augener, 1922, and the barrel-shaped sponge Xestospongia muta (Schmidt, 1870), originally documented solely in the Caribbean, is presumed to be species-specific. Recently, the host sponge has been found as a single species distributed across approximately 8000 km (from 26°N to 22°S). Herein we addressed new spatial and bathymetric population records of H. floridana to question the persistence of the association with X. muta, and whether, in the case of an association, the polychaete remains as a single species throughout this extensive distribution. Our findings change the restricted distribution of H. floridana, revealing a remarkable association with X. muta from Tropical north-western to south-western Atlantic including records in the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago and the Almirante Saldanha Seamount, at 270 m deep. The populations analysed in this study are morphologically consistent. The study underscores the need for further investigations into the connectivity of Xestospongia species, the presence of Haplosyllides in other ocean basins, and the shared evolutionary history between Xestospongia and Haplosyllides. The observed life cycle completion of H. floridana within the host sponge suggests a potential co-evolutionary relationship, offering insights into the intricate dynamics of symbiotic associations in marine ecosystems.

Equations for early-stage design embodied carbon estimation for concrete floors of varying loading and strength

Building designers are increasingly tasked with tracking and reducing the embodied carbon of structural systems, including concrete floor slabs. Design decisions that affect both the structural performance and the embodied carbon of a concrete floor are often made in the early design stages without complete structural analyses and life cycle assessments, which are commonly finalized in later stages. In this study, we employ polynomial regression models to estimate the embodied carbon for ten concrete floors to guide practitioners toward environmentally-informed design decisions. Six reinforced concrete (RC) and four post-tensioned (PT) floors are evaluated with varying five structural parameters including the span length, concrete strength, live and dead loads, and deflection limit, equating to 41,328 design scenarios for the RC systems and 27,552 design scenarios for the PT systems, while also considering 32,440 different concrete mix Environmental Product Declarations. The analytical equations are deployed in a web-app intended for practitioners to quickly evaluate and compare different design scenarios and floors. By estimating the embodied carbon of concrete floors while accounting for design and material uncertainty, these equations are ready for immediate use to reduce the carbon footprint of future buildings.

Heartworm and seal louse: Trends in prevalence, characterisation of impact and transmission pathways in a unique parasite assembly on seals in the North and Baltic Sea

The ectoparasitic seal louse, Echinophthirius horridus infects harbour (Phoca vitulina) and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in the North and Baltic Sea. The endoparasitic heartworm Acanthocheilonema spirocauda parasitizes the right heart and blood vessels of harbour seals. The complete lifecycle of the heartworm is not entirely understood although the seal louse is assumed to serve as vector for its transmission. Knowledge about the impact of both parasite species on host health are scarce. In this study, necropsy data and archived parasites of harbour and grey seals in German waters were analysed to determine long-term seal louse (SLP) and heartworm prevalence (HWP) from 2014 to 2021. Histology, microbiology and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were applied on seal louse infected and uninfected skin to investigate associated lesions and the health impact. During the study period, HWP in harbour seals was 13%, the SLP in harbour seals was 4% and in grey seals 10%. HWP of harbour seals was significantly higher during the winter months compared to the summer. SLP in adults was significantly higher in comparison to juvenile harbour seals. SLP varied significantly between grey seals from the North and Baltic Sea. Filarial nematodes were detected in the haemocoel, pharynx, and intestine of E. horridus highlighting the seal louse as vector for heartworms. Alopecia and folliculitis were associated with the attachment posture of E. horridus and microbiological investigations isolated bacteria commonly associated with folliculitis.

Glutathione is required for growth and cadmium tolerance in the amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a lethal amphibian pathogen, partly due to its ability to evade the immune system of susceptible frog species. In many pathogenic fungi, the antioxidant glutathione is a virulence factor that helps neutralise oxidative stressors generated from host immune cells, as well as other environmental stressors such as heavy metals. The role of glutathione in stress tolerance in Bd has not been investigated. Here, we examine the changes in the glutathione pool after stress exposure and quantify the effect of glutathione depletion on cell growth and stress tolerance. Depletion of glutathione repressed growth and release of zoospores, suggesting that glutathione is essential for life cycle completion in Bd. Supplementation with <2 mM exogenous glutathione accelerated zoospore development, but concentrations >2 mM were strongly inhibitory to Bd cells. While hydrogen peroxide exposure lowered the total cellular glutathione levels by 42 %, glutathione depletion did not increase the sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide. Exposure to cadmium increased total cellular glutathione levels by 93 %. Glutathione-depleted cells were more sensitive to cadmium, and this effect was attenuated by glutathione supplementation, suggesting that glutathione plays an important role in cadmium tolerance. The effects of heat and salt were exacerbated by the addition of exogenous glutathione. The impact of glutathione levels on Bd stress sensitivity may help explain differences in host susceptibility to chytridiomycosis and may provide opportunities for synergistic therapeutics.

Stability-enhanced perovskite heterointerfaces and solar cells via strongly anchored and sterically hindered ligands

The inherent dynamic behavior observed in 2D‐3D interfaces in perovskite solar cells (PSC), driven by ion diffusion and migration, poses a significant challenge in establishing a stable passivation and barrier interface that can fulfill the device's complete lifecycle requirements. In this work, we construct large sterically hindered one-dimensional (1D) perovskite crystals integrated with the perovskite surface and observed their evolution during accelerated aging for the first time. The results show that this strong interfacial bonding not only effectively passivates surface defects but also prevents interface reconstruction due to migration, even under elevated temperatures. Moreover, it serving as an effective barrier can significantly suppress the interdiffusion between the copper electrode and the perovskite layer. Resultantly, our approach attained a remarkable efficiency of 23.3% via a scalable coating process in FA0.3MA0.7PbI3 PSC device. Notably, these devices exhibited significantly enhanced operational stability (T95 ≈1200 h, 55 ± 5 °C) and thermal stability (T90 ≈700 h, 85 °C).

Detection of echinostomatid trematode eggs at the forest-oil palm interface in Sabah, Malaysia.

In this study, we report the occurrence of echinostomatid eggs in feces of wildlife, domestic animals and humans frequenting the forest–oil palm plantation interface in the Kinabatangan (Sabah, Malaysia), and discuss potential implications for public health. Using microscopy, we detected echinostomatid eggs in six host species, including Asian palm civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus [13/18]), leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis [3/4]), long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis [1/10]), domestic dogs [3/5] and cats [1/1], and humans [7/9]. Molecular analysis revealed a close genetic proximity of civet echinostomatids to Artyfechinostomum malayanum, a zoonotic parasite of public health relevance. The intermediate hosts for A. malayanum have been reported in at least 3 districts in Sabah, suggesting that all the necessary elements required for the completion of the parasite's life cycle are present. Our findings point at the presence of zoonotic trematodes in an area with high human–wildlife interaction and highlight the potential public and animal health concern of zoonotic trematode infection in the context of Southeast Asia's rapidly changing ecosystems.

Construction of Software Supply Chain Threat Portrait Based on Chain Perspective

With the rapid growth of the software industry, the software supply chain (SSC) has become the most intricate system in the complete software life cycle, and the security threat situation is becoming increasingly severe. For the description of the SSC, the relevant research mainly focuses on the perspective of developers, lacking a comprehensive understanding of the SSC. This paper proposes a chain portrait framework of the SSC based on a resource perspective, which comprehensively depicts the threat model and threat surface indicator system of the SSC. The portrait model includes an SSC threat model and an SSC threat indicator matrix. The threat model has 3 levels and 32 dimensions and is based on a generative artificial intelligence model. The threat indicator matrix is constructed using the Attack Net model comprising 14-dimensional attack strategies and 113-dimensional attack techniques. The proposed portrait model’s effectiveness is verified through existing SSC security events, domain experts, and event visualization based on security analysis models.

Innovative baggage handling solutions to enhance passenger experience

It does not matter if the passenger experience is quick, convenient and totally effortless. It can all count for nothing because of a lost bag. Mishandled baggage on arrival can completely ruin the passenger experience, even if all the other elements of the journey were perfect. This paper offers a comprehensive study of the reasons behind bag mishandling (delayed, damaged, missing items or lost baggage); innovative technologies with focus on gentle and reliable baggage handling; impact of COVID-19, which further necessitates innovative technologies for efficient handling of bags. The paper further dives down into green, efficient and sustainable technologies, with focus on overall costs of the baggage handling system in its complete life cycle. It outlines the importance of innovation in baggage handling to minimise mishandled bags with the ultimate aim of putting a smile on the faces of passengers at baggage arrival. Baggage handling is one of the critical systems of airports and airlines and is affected by many factors such as transfer/arrival mishandling, ticketing error, security, customs, weather, space-weight restriction, tagging error, etc. This paper focuses more on baggage sortation, which is a core element of any baggage handling system, and its efficiency has significant impact in reducing mishandled bags and improving passenger experience. Moreover, the manpower crisis across the aviation industry, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, is having a profound impact on baggage success rates; innovative baggage handling technologies with advanced automation can significantly reduce pressure on manpower demand.

Vehicular network processor design for scalability & automation: Elastic Gateway SoC concept & builder

Application specific processors are now entering the world of automotive communications. Autonomous and connected vehicles bring with them new requirements in terms of reliability and performance that can no longer be met with traditional general purpose processing units. The challenge now is not only to design the right processor that can meet the requirements available today, but also to make this design suitable for the future. For this reason, the modularity, flexibility, scalability and configurability of these future processors take, more than ever, a starring role in the early design stages. In this work, we introduce a design methodology for the automatic design of network processors based on the elastic Gateway (eGW) SoC architecture. Elastic Gateway SoC is a novel HW-centric architecture specifically designed to meet the requirements of future network processors. The architecture was introduced and evaluated from a functional perspective in previous work. Now, we are providing the complete lifecycle methodology for the design and validation of different network processing products based on this architecture. We also provide a scalability analysis in terms of HW cost and power consumption, where we see that eGW is able to provide a high level of performance at a reasonable cost.

Establishment of cell culture model and humanized mouse model of chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Approximately 257 million people worldwide have been infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), and HBV infection can cause chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and even liver cancer. The lack of suitable and effective infection models has greatly limited research in HBV-related fields for a long time, and it is still not possible to discover a method to completely and effectively remove the HBV genome. We have constructed a hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, HLCZ01, that can support the complete life cycle of HBV. This model can mimic the long-term stable infection of HBV in the natural state and can replace primary human hepatocytes for the development of human liver chimeric mice. This model will be a powerful tool for research in the field of HBV.

Critical add-on SEM observations on oral armature and life cycle of raphidascaridoid worm, Indospinezia multispinatum Jaiswal and Malhotra (2017)

Additional observations of taxonomic significance with unique life cycle details were recorded after the publication of specialized liver-inhabiting roundworms, Indospinezia multispinatum Jaiswal and Malhotra (2017) in the Gangetic gar-fish, Xenentodon cancila from Prayagraj riverine ecosystems. Typically strong musculature supporting triangularly placed one dorsal and two ventro-lateral lips has been observed and their characteristics recorded. The muscular complement that comprised each of the 3 lips, was 3-layered, each of which was stacked one over the other, around a medial furrow. The 2nd stage larva armed with cephalic tooth was the specific discovery which was extracted by Pepsin Digestion method, during compilation of various larval stages that made up complete life-cycle of the roundworm under study. Presumption based conclusions derived on larval stages in the life cycle of Goezia bangladeshi by Akther,1 et al led to erroneous interpretations and hence made the taxonomic position of Goezia bangladeshi circumspect unless appropriate larvae are studied. Therefore, Goezia bangladeshi is termed as species inquirendae pending complete description of its larvae.

A Decade Review of Research Trends Using Waste Materials in the Building and Construction Industry: A Pathway towards a Circular Economy

The construction industry is among the most prominent contributors to global resource consumption, waste production, and greenhouse gas emissions. A pivotal step toward mitigating these sectoral impacts lies in the adoption of a circular production and consumption system. The use of alternative waste materials can mitigate landfill accumulation and the associated detrimental environmental effects. To highlight unconventional materials, this study began with a bibliometric assessment via a bibliography analyzis software called “Bibliometrix” (version 4.1.3). The outputs from the analyzis can assist in identifying research trends, gaps in literature and benchmark research performance. The search engine used for sourcing publications was Scopus, using the main criteria as “Waste materials used in building and construction”. The time-period analysed was from 2013 to 2023. The results included publications obtained in journal articles, book chapters and conference proceedings. The assessment reviewed 6238 documents from 1482 sources. The results revealed an array of waste materials; however, rubber, textiles, and ceramics had a significant reduction in research attention. Rubber waste presents promising opportunities in civil concrete construction methods. The preparatory steps of textile fibres in composite materials are frequently disregarded, resulting in structural issues for the end-product. Obstacles persist in ceramic technology due to the absence of transparency, primarily because industry entities closely safeguard proprietary information. While sustainability research often emphasizes emissions, practical trials commonly revolve around integrating materials into current systems. A more comprehensive approach, contemplating the complete lifecycle of materials, could provide deeper insights into fostering sustainable construction practices. Researchers can use these findings when determining trends, research gaps, and future research directions.

Dynamic energy budget model for the complete life cycle of chub mackerel in the Northwest Pacific

Chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) in the Northwest Pacific is an important pelagic fishery resource and a significant target species in purse seine fisheries. However, the catch of chub mackerel fluctuates greatly from year to year, and recent studies have shown that the Tsushima stock may be overfished. Therefore, research on the biology and population dynamics of this species is required to provide sufficient scientific support for the development of reasonable management and recovery plans and for the increased sustainable use of resource fisheries. In this study, a dynamic energy budget (DEB) model was constructed based on DEB theory for the complete life cycle of chub mackerel in the Northwest Pacific by using biological data to simulate processes, including growth, reproduction, and death. The key results were as follows. 1) The DEB model accurately simulated the complete life cycle of chub mackerel, with a good fit for the relationships between age and length as well as length and weight, while accurately estimating annual absolute fecundity, aging, and death and predicting the metamorphosis time of larval fish. 2) The DEB model can incorporate the effects of temperature and food to describe the effects of marine environmental conditions on chub mackerel growth. 3) The DEB model involved multiple interrelated parameters; however, owing to a lack of observational data, there was a certain degree of uncertainty in estimated parameter values. The DEB model provides a basis for establishing correlations and intrinsically unifying biological processes, including growth, sexual maturation, reproduction, aging, and death, thereby guiding studies of growth, reproduction, and population dynamics of chub mackerel in the Northwest Pacific.

JCISE Editorial Board - Year 2023

Abstract The Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering (JCISE) publishes articles related to scientific computing methods (e.g., modeling, simulation, representation, algorithm) and computational tools (e.g., high-performance computing, virtual and augmented reality) that aim to improve engineering products and systems for their complete lifecycle (e.g., design, manufacturing, operation, maintenance, disposal, and recycling). The interest areas include computational geometry, computer-aided design and manufacturing, cyber-physical systems, human-machine interface, machine intelligence, machine learning, modeling and simulation, precision engineering, product lifecycle management, reverse engineering, and systems engineering.

Mining and Analysis of Production Characteristics Data of Tight Gas Reservoirs

The production characteristics of gas reservoirs are one of the important research subjects in gas reservoir development. To better guide the production development and strategy formulation of tight gas reservoirs, it is necessary to utilize data mining techniques to clarify the production characteristics of different reserves types of tight gas reservoirs. The production varies with the size of the recoverable reserves. In this study, 261 tight gas reservoirs worldwide were divided into three categories based on the size of their recoverable reserves. By considering the complete lifecycle of tight gas reservoirs, the production variations were classified into 16 production features, and these features were compiled into a dataset. Three algorithms, namely random forest, LightGBM, and CatBoost, were trained separately to analyze the relationship between the production characteristics and the size of the recoverable reserves of tight gas reservoirs. The objective was to define the production characteristics of tight gas reservoirs with different reserve sizes. Consequently, a set of production characteristic judgment rules that align with the size of the recoverable reserves of tight gas reservoirs was established. The findings revealed that LightGBM provided accurate predictions for the development characteristics of tight gas reservoirs with different reserve sizes. The production characteristics of large-scale tight gas reservoirs are as follows: the cumulative production at the end of the production increase phase ranges from 10 to 115.8 billion cubic meters, while the cumulative production at the end of the stable production phase ranges from 7.9 to 154.9 billion cubic meters. The peak production ranges from 2.3 to 3.8 billion cubic meters, and the decline period is estimated to last between 40 to 51 years. For medium-scale tight gas reservoirs, the production characteristics are as follows: the cumulative production at the end of the production increase phase ranges from 2.5 to 10 billion cubic meters, while the cumulative production at the end of the stable production phase ranges from 2.4 to 7.9 billion cubic meters. The peak production ranges from 0.8 to 2.3 billion cubic meters, and the decline period ranges from 20 to 40 years. As for small-scale tight gas reservoirs, the production characteristics are as follows: the cumulative production at the end of the production increase phase ranges from 0.1 to 2.5 billion cubic meters, while the cumulative production at the end of the stable production phase ranges from 0.2 to 2.4 billion cubic meters. The peak production ranges from 0.005 to 0.8 billion cubic meters, and the decline period ranges from 3 to 20 years. This study can provide potential references for the formulation of development technology policies for tight gas reservoirs and the assessment of reservoir production potential.

Age and Adaptive Changes in the Photosynthetic Apparatus of Leaves in Winter Green Herbaceous Plant Ajuga reptans L. in the Natural Conditions of the Taiga Zone

The formation and functioning of the photosynthetic apparatus (PSA) is under the general control of the plant organism and constantly changing environmental conditions. The authors studied age-related and adaptive changes in the pigment complex, spectral properties, and the state of photosystem II (PSII) leaves of partial shoots of a summer-winter-green herbaceous perennial Ajuga reptans L. (bugle) in connection with overwintering. Rosette leaves of a new generation appearing in May–June quickly accumulated photosynthetic pigments and formed PSA with a maximal quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) and actual quantum yield of PSII (ФPSII). In autumn (September–October), the content of chlorophylls was 10 mg/g dry weight, the value of Fv/Fm was 0.8 rel. units, and the level of ФPSII at PAR 130 µmol quanta/(m2 s) was approximately 0.7 rel. units. Overwintered leaves contained half as much photosynthetic pigments, accumulated a significant amount of anthocyanins, and were characterized by low photochemical activity and a high level of de-epoxidation of pigments of the violaxanthin cycle. With the resumption of active vegetation of plants (May), a partial restoration of the pigment pool and the repair of PSA of overwintered leaves were noted, as evidenced by an increase in the quantum yield PSII. The completion of the leaf life cycle was accompanied by a decrease in ФPSII up to 0.5 rel. units and a sharp increase in the thermal dissipation of absorbed excitation energy (NPQ) to 0.9 rel. units. Seasonal changes of spectral properties of leaves and photochemical reflectance indices generally corresponded to the dynamics content pigments and the efficiency of the use of light in photosynthesis. The results obtained indicate a significant transformation of the structural and functional organization of PSA in the ontogeny of overwintering leaves. The genetically fixed property of winter green plants to preserve leaves is based on the ability of their PSA to restore functional activity after the shock impact of overwintering, which is facilitated by a complex of adaptive and protective mechanisms.

Life Cycle Assessment of the new Solar Thermal Power Plant SolarCAD II connected to a District Heating Network in Geneva, Switzerland

This paper presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the solar heat injected in a District Heating Network (DHN) by a new solar thermal power plant in Geneva. An environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is conducted according to ISO 14040, ISO 14044 and SN EN 15804+A2:2019. The scope of the study includes the complete life cycle of the solar power plant heat generation system. The baseline GHG emissions results show that the solar heat injected is responsible of about 15 to 18 gCO2-eq per kWh depending on whether we account for the environmental impacts of the steel gratings or not. This value is mostly determined by the manufacturing and use stages. Different sensitivity analyses are then performed in order to test the robustness of the main influential parameters (e.g., lifetime, efficiency, electricity mix) and better quantify the variability of the GHG emissions. Finally, this LCA study of a solar thermal plant connected to a Swiss DHN provides a first value of the solar heat in comparison with other heat production routes for DHN already provided in LCA databases such as the Swiss KBOB 2009/1:2022 platform for LCA in the construction sector.

Performance Appraisal System

The processes for appraising organizational performance have become more complex. However, studies have focused on specific stages in the development of Performance Appraisal Systems, disregarding their completeness. This research seeks to describe how the evolutionary stages of a Performance Appraisal System (PAS) develop in the Brazilian public port context. A one-year case study was carried out, during which time the System went through the stages of the Life Cycle proposed by Bourne et al. (2000). To develop the System, data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the decision-maker of a public port holding company, guided by the Constructivist Multi Criteria Decision Aid (MCDA-C) methodology. The results of this research show how a PAS is designed, implemented, used and updated, offering contributions to the field of research, which is criticized for the lack of evidence demonstrating the complete Life Cycle of PAS. The study also provides evidence on the construction of knowledge generated during the stages of the System Life Cycle. In this way, it was possible to contribute by providing the organization with a model capable of measuring and supporting management activities and decision-making. The combination of theoretical contributions with the knowledge derived from the illustrated empirical results corroborates the area of Performance Appraisal research on the validity of the PAS Life Cycle and contributes to leveraging the organization's performance.