Indirect Transformation Research Articles

Direct and indirect switch from semiconductor to metallic behavior defined by the competition between Cation–Anion–Cation and Cation–Cation interactions leading to an important technological aspect of perovskite systems

We discuss in this work the key interactions that explain the possible electrical behaviors in different perovskite systems. Multi-behavior observation characterizes each frequency and temperature dependence of various perovskite systems. We classify such observations according to the temperature regimes. Indeed, a direct switch from semiconductor to metallic feature describes the conductivity evolution indicating the direct change from the localized (cation–anion–cation interactions) to delocalized (cation–cation interactions) state. The metallic character is reached due to the reinforcement of charge delocalization effect at high temperatures and frequencies. An indirect transformation separated by a frequency-independent regime is equally observed and discussed. Subsequently, a mixed regime is described by the conductivity temperature-independence which is explored at a specific frequency. Such investigations lead to demonstrate basic and common rules relevant for oxide-perovskites multi-behavior. Equally, important technological aspects are confirmed for systems that displays such multi-behavior character according to the temperature range.

Effect of tensile and compressive strains on the electronic structure of O-atom-doped monolayer MoS2

We investigate the effects of biaxial tensile and compressive strains on the electronic structure of O-doped monolayer MoS2 by density functional theory (DFT) in this paper. O-doped monolayer MoS2 is an exothermic reaction. The doping of O leads to the transformation of the system from direct bandgap to indirect, and the bonding of Mo and O causes a large amount of charge transfer. The application of tensile strain leads to a decrease in the stability of the doped system, and the system always maintains the nature of indirect bandgap. The degree of interatomic charge transfer and bandgap value gradually decrease with the increase of tensile strain. The application of compression strain improves the stability of the doped system, and as the compressive strain increases, the bandgap of the doped system completes the indirect–direct–indirect transformation. The bandgap value shows a trend of increasing and then decreasing. Additionally, the degree of charge transfer between atoms is strengthened.

Wavelength-dependent direct and indirect photochemical transformations of organic pollutants

Sunlight-induced photochemical transformations greatly affect the persistence of organic pollutants in natural environment. Whereas sunlight intensity is well-known to affect pollutant phototransformation rates, the reliance of pollutant phototransformation kinetics on sunlight spectrum remains poorly understood, which may greatly vary under different spatial-temporal, water matrix, and climatic conditions. Here, we systematically assessed the wavelength-dependent direct and indirect phototransformations of 12 organic pollutants. Their phototransformation rates dramatically decreased with light wavelength increasing from 375 to 632 nm, with direct photolysis displaying higher wavelength-dependence than indirect photolysis. Remarkably, UV light dominated both direct (90.4–99.5 %) and indirect (64.6–98.7 %) photochemical transformations of all investigated organic pollutants, despite its minor portion in sunlight spectrum (e.g., 6.5 % on March 20 at the equator). Based on wavelength-dependent rate constant spectrum, the predicted phototransformation rate of chloramphenicol (4.5 ± 0.7 × 10−4 s−1) agreed well with the observed rate under outdoor sunlight irradiation (4.3 ± 0.0 × 10−4 s−1), and there is no significant difference between the predicted rate and the observed rate (p-value = 0.132). Moreover, rate constant and quantum yield coefficient (QYC) spectrum could be applied for facilely investigate the influence of spectral changes on the phototransformation of pollutants under varying spatial-temporal (e.g., season, latitude) and climatic conditions (e.g., cloud cover). Our study highlights the wavelength-dependence of both direct and indirect phototransformation of pollutants, and the UV part of natural sunlight plays a decisive role in the phototransformation of pollutants.

Tobacco Plant: A Novel and Promising Heterologous Bioreactor for the Production of Recombinant Bovine Chymosin.

The natural source of chymosin, a key enzyme in the dairy industry, is insufficient for rapidly growing cheese industries. Large-scale production of recombinant proteins in heterologous hosts provides an efficient alternative solution. Here, the codon-optimized synthetic prochymosin gene, which has a CAI index of 0.926, was subcloned from a cloning vector (pUC57-bCYM) into the pBI121 vector, resulting in the construct named pBI121-bCYM. CAI ranges from 0 to 1 and higher CAI improves gene expression in heterologous hosts. The overexpression of the prochymosin gene was under the control of constitutive CaMV 35S promoter and NOS terminator and was transferred into the tobacco via A. tumefaciens strain LBA4404. Explant type, regeneration method, inoculation temperature, cell density (OD600) of Agrobacterium for inoculation, and acetosyringone concentration were leaf explants, direct somatic embryogenesis, 19 °C, 0.1, and 100 µM, respectively. The successful integration and expression of the prochymosin gene, along with the bioactivity of recombinant chymosin, were confirmed by PCR, RT-PCR, and milk coagulation assay, respectively. Overall, this study reports the first successful overexpression of the codon-optimized prochymosin form of the bovine chymosin enzyme in the tobacco via indirect transformation. Production of recombinant bovine chymosin in plants can be an easy-to-scale-up, safe, and inexpensive platform.

Grain-level effects on in-situ deformation-induced phase transformations in a complex-phase steel using 3DXRD and EBSD

A novel complex-phase steel alloy is conceived with a deliberately unstable austenite, γ, phase that enables the deformation-induced martensitic transformations (DIMT) to be explored at low levels of plastic strain. The DIMT was thus explored, in-situ and non-destructively, using both far-field Three-Dimensional X-ray Diffraction (3DXRD) and Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction (EBSD). Substantial α′ martensite formation was observed under 10% applied strain with EBSD, and many ɛ grain formation events were captured with 3DXRD, indicative of the indirect transformation of martensite via the reaction γ→ɛ→α′. Using ɛ grain formation as a direct measurement of γ grain stability, the influence of several microstructural properties, such as grain size, orientation and neighbourhood configuration, on γ stability have been identified. Larger γ grains were found to be less stable than smaller grains. Any γ grains oriented with {100} parallel to the loading direction preferentially transformed with lower stresses. Parent ɛ-forming γ grains possessed a neighbourhood with increased ferritic/martensitic volume fraction. This finding shows, unambiguously, that the nearby presence of α and α′ promotes ɛ formation in neighbouring grains. The minimum strain work criterion model for ɛ variant prediction was also evaluated, which worked well for most grains. However, ɛ-forming grains with a lower stress were less well predicted by the model, indicating crystal-level behaviour must be considered for accurate ɛ formation. The findings from this work are considered key for the future design of alloys where the deformation response can be controlled by tailoring microstructure and local or macroscopic crystal orientations.

METHODS OF GENETIC TRANSFORMATION: MAJOR EMPHASIS TO CROP PLANTS

Advancements in gene transfer technology have indeed opened up exciting possibilities for more effectively manipulating the genetic makeup of live organisms, ranging from microorganisms to plants and animals. Direct and indirect transformations are the two basic types of gene transfer techniques. Indirect method comprises Agrobacterium mediated method as it involves intermediate host between gene of interest and target and this method is most opted one out of all present. Direct gene transformation methods, on the other hand, do not involve the use of an intermediate host organism. Instead, they rely on physical means to transfer genes between cells. Biolistic transformation uses high-velocity particles to deliver DNA into target cells, while microinjection and macroinjection involve the direct injection of DNA into cells. Protoplast fusion combines the genetic material of two different cells by fusing their protoplasts. Natural methods for gene transfer encompass mechanisms that occur naturally in various organism, includes transposition, conjugation, phage and retroviral transductions and bacterial transformation. Chemical techniques utilize chemical agents to facilitate gene transfer, such as calcium phosphate-mediated transformation, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated transformation, DEAE (Diethylethanolamine)-Dextran-mediated transformation. Genes can be also being transferred using electrical techniques such as electroporation and electrofusion. Crop improvement and trait improvement are now being hastened by the fast-rising number of sequenced plant genomes, information from functional genomics data to understand gene function, innovative gene cloning, and tissue culture techniques. Despite being indispensable, its progress is still hindered by the fact that many plant species and agricultural genotypes exhibit low transformability or are resistant to established tissue culture and regeneration conditions. Here, we review the techniques employed in plant transformation and provide a concise overview of their evolution in agricultural crops, from their first inception to present time.

ANTHROPOGENIC TRANSFORMATION OF TERRAIN IN THE NORILSK INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT

The scale of anthropogenic terrain transformation within the Norilsk industrial region was quantified and a classification of its consequences has been elaborated. The work is based on the results of 2021 expeditionary geomorphologic studies, interpretation and analysis of remote sensing materials and digital elevation models. It has been established that the total area of direct terrain transformation during the territory development was about 122,4 km2, and that of indirect transformation - 23,6 km2. The volume of anthropogenic landforms is at least 1,8 billion m3; accumulative forms account for 93% of the area and 72,6% of the volume of direct landform transformations. The types of anthropogenic landforms were identified, it was found that the largest area is occupied by embankments for industrial development and tailings, and the largest volume is characteristic of slope dumps. Indirect terrain transformation is mainly activation of gravitational processes, linear erosion, suffusion, thermokarst, heaving and deflation. The mass displacement of slope dumps by landslides or stone glaciers are the most dangerous for infrastructure facilities. Separate areas of indirect transformations are mainly limited to the lacustrine-alluvial lowlands and the bottoms of river valleys. Among them, the largest area (up to 20 km2) is occupied by segments of river valleys affected by spills of oil products and tailings. It has been established that the accumulation of pollutants in river valleys of the Norilsk industrial region occurs within the internal deltas and ice glades where the longitudinal slope decreases. Three stages of anthropogenic development of the territory are distinguished (I - 1920-1953; II - 1953-1986; III - 1986-2021); the most significant increment in the area of anthropogenic terrain occurred from 1953 to 1986. The average rate of anthropogenic terrain area increment over the past 36 years amounted to 0,81 km2/year. The highest rates of area growth are characteristic of the Kayerkan and Talnakh regions, which is associated with ongoing mining.

The impacts of Cape porcupines on woody plant mortality

AbstractIn terrestrial ecosystems, the activities of semi‐fossorial animals such as Cape porcupines have important landscape effects that may manifest in the dry season when the availability of above‐ground forage becomes limiting. We investigated the effects of foraging activities of Cape porcupines on savanna landscapes. We measured the size (surface area and depth) of foraging holes of porcupines located at the base of trees in the dry season in two mesic savanna sites at Roodeplaat Farm and Bisley Valley Nature Reserve in South Africa. We also recorded plant and animal activities inside the foraging holes for 3 months. The depth of foraging holes beneath small trees (Vachellia nilotica) was greater than depths beneath old trees (V. robusta and D. rotundifolia). This resulted in the subsequent death of most (>50%) small impacted trees in the dry season at Bisley. The surface area of foraging holes for older trees was greater than that for small trees and even greater for old holes. This study showed that porcupines kill trees or expose them to secondary attacks. The physical impacts of semi‐fossorial herbivores in savannas can be significant, with contributions to direct and indirect landscape transformation and restoration.

Hydrogen embrittlement behavior in FeCCrNiBSi TRIP steel

The effect of plastic deformations on the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) of transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel was studied. In situ tensile tests showed that with increasing hydrogen current density, total elongation loss was raised to 36.8% as compared to an uncharged specimen. The electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) observation indicated that hydrogen charging decreased stacking fault energy (SFE), resulting in the formation of more α′- martensite by both indirect and direct transformation. The α′- martensite volume fraction at the same degree of deformation in uncharged and charged samples was 31% and 39%, respectively. With plastic deformation, reversible trap sites were raised because of the increased dislocation density and the formation of α′- martensite, which was obtained from EBSD characterization and had a good correlation with the results of the thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) analysis.

Advancements and Challenges in Reductive Conversion of Carbon Dioxide via Thermo-/Photocatalysis.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the major greenhouse gas and also an abundant and renewable carbon resource. Therefore, its chemical conversion and utilization are of great attraction for sustainable development. Especially, reductive conversion of CO2 with energy input has become a current hotspot due to its ability to access fuels and various important chemicals. Nowadays, the controllable CO2 hydrogenation to formic acid and alcohols using sustainable H2 resources has been regarded as an appealing solution to hydrogen storage and CO2 accumulation. In addition, photocatalytic CO2 reduction to CO also provides a potential way to utilize this greenhouse gas efficiently. Besides direct CO2 hydrogenation, CO2 reductive functionalization integrates CO2 reduction with subsequent C-X (X = N, S, C, O) bond formation and indirect transformation strategies, enlarging the diverse products derived from CO2 and promoting CO2 reductive conversion into a new stage. In this Perspective, the progress and challenges of CO2 reductive conversion, including hydrogenation, reductive functionalization, photocatalytic reduction, and photocatalytic reductive functionalization are summarized and discussed along with the key issues and future trends/directions in this field. We hope this Perspective can evoke intense interest and inspire much innovation in the promise of CO2 valorization.

CRISPR Cas12a-based "sweet" biosensor coupled with personal glucose meter readout for the point-of-care testing of Salmonella.

Salmonella is a pathogen that comes from different animal-originated foods and poses a significant threat to human health. The present detection methods for Salmonella are time-consuming and labor-intensive and requires skilled workers and specialized instruments. In this study, the conservative invA was selected as the target gene, and a quantitative detection method for Salmonella with wide availability and user-friendliness was established based on CRISPR Cas12a and a personal glucose meter (PGM). The indirect signal transformation from the original target DNA to the final glucose signal was achieved through RAA, CRISPR Cas12a reaction, enzymic reaction, and glucose signal reading by a PGM (accu-chek type from Roche). This PGMs-CRISPR assay showed a detection sensitivity of Salmonella as low as 5 colony-forming units (CFU)/reaction in either pure culture or artificially contaminated food samples and exhibited specificity between Salmonella isolates and non-Salmonella isolates. Furthermore, quantitative detection of Salmonella in spiked milk samples was also achieved within the range from 1 to 1 × 103 CFU/reaction. Subsequently, the correlation and consistency between the PGMs-CRISPR assay and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in detection of Salmonella in spiked milk samples were achieved. Therefore, a highly sensitive, portable, quantitative, and user-friendly detection method based on CRISPR Cas12a and PGMs was developed in this study for Salmonella detection and identification. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: A sensitive, rapid, user-friendly, and quantitative detection method based on CRISPR Cas12a for Salmonella in food has been developed in this study, which is of great significance to food safety supervision and management.

A Real-Time In Situ Demonstration of Direct and Indirect Transformation Pathways in CdTe Magic-Size Clusters at Room Temperature.

The transformations of colloidal semiconductor magic-size clusters (MSCs) are expected to occur with only discrete, step-wise redshifts in optical absorption. Here, we challenge this assumption presenting a novel, conceptually different transformation, for which the redshift is continuous. In the room-temperature transformation from CdTe MSC-448 to MSC-488 (designated by the peak wavelengths in nanometer), the redshift of absorption monitored in situ displays distinctly continuous and/or step-wise behavior. Based on conclusive evidence provided by real-time experiments, the former transformation is apparently direct and intra-cluster with a relatively large energy barrier. The latter transformation is indirect and assisted by MSC precursor compounds (PCs). The former transformation follows the latter often, being predominant at a relatively high temperature. The present findings encourage a reconsideration of the absorption redshift reported previously for transformations of binary II-VI MSCs, together with the pathway associated without the increase of cluster mass.

A Real‐Time In Situ Demonstration of Direct and Indirect Transformation Pathways in CdTe Magic‐Size Clusters at Room Temperature

AbstractThe transformations of colloidal semiconductor magic‐size clusters (MSCs) are expected to occur with only discrete, step‐wise redshifts in optical absorption. Here, we challenge this assumption presenting a novel, conceptually different transformation, for which the redshift is continuous. In the room‐temperature transformation from CdTe MSC‐448 to MSC‐488 (designated by the peak wavelengths in nanometer), the redshift of absorption monitored in situ displays distinctly continuous and/or step‐wise behavior. Based on conclusive evidence provided by real‐time experiments, the former transformation is apparently direct and intra‐cluster with a relatively large energy barrier. The latter transformation is indirect and assisted by MSC precursor compounds (PCs). The former transformation follows the latter often, being predominant at a relatively high temperature. The present findings encourage a reconsideration of the absorption redshift reported previously for transformations of binary II–VI MSCs, together with the pathway associated without the increase of cluster mass.

Achieving surface-sealing of hematite nanoarray photoanode with controllable metal–organic frameworks shell for enhanced photoelectrochemical water oxidation

Surface engineering of hematite (α-Fe2O3) photoanode by coupling electrocatalytically active metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is an efficient way of boosting surface charge transfer for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation. However, the precise and controllable coating of conformal MOFs overlayer through a facile approach on photoelectrode still faces a challenge. In this work, NiFe metal–organic frameworks (NiFe-MOFs) are conformally deposited on zirconium-doped hematite (Zr-Fe2O3) by a novel indirect ligand-assisted transformation method, in which the well-coupled NiFe-layered double hydroxides (NiFe-LDHs) on photoanode act as self-templates due to their special layered structure and suitable interlayer spacing to provide with large specific area for the in-situ etching and coordinating, thus achieving the in-situ transformation of NiFe-LDHs layer into conformal NiFe-MOFs shell. Then, detailed investigations reveal that this conformal NiFe-MOFs shell endows the photoanode with a larger electrochemical active area, higher stability, and longer charge carrier lifetime compared to that of crystalline NiFe-MOFs on Zr-Fe2O3 from traditional solvothermal, resulting in outstanding PEC water oxidation performance of the target core–shell Zr-Fe2O3@NiFe-MOFs photoanode.

An MDE-based methodology for closed-world integrity constraint checking in the semantic web

Ontology-based data-centric systems support open-world reasoning. Therefore, for these systems, Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL) are not suitable for expressing integrity constraints based on the closed-world assumption. Thus, the requirement of integrating the open-world assumption of OWL/SWRL with closed-world integrity constraint checking is inevitable. SPARQL, recommended by World Wide Web (W3C), is a query language for RDF graphs, and many research studies have shown that it is a perfect candidate for closed-world constraint checking for ontology-based data-centric applications. In this regard, many research studies have been performed to transform integrity constraints into SPARQL queries where some studies have shown the limitations of partial expressivity of knowledge bases while performing the indirect transformations, whereas others are limited to a platform-specific implementation. To address these issues, this paper presents a flexible and formal methodology that employs Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) to model closed-world integrity constraints for open-world reasoning. The proposed approach offers semantic validation of data by expressing integrity constraints at both the model level and the code level. Moreover, straightforward transformations from OWL/SWRL to SPARQL can be performed. Finally, the methodology is demonstrated via a real-world case study of water observations data.

Peroxyl radicals from diketones enhanced the indirect photochemical transformation of carbamazepine: Kinetics, mechanisms, and products

In surface waters, photogenerated transients (e.g., hydroxyl radicals, carbonate radicals, singlet oxygen and the triplet states of dissolved organic matter) are known to play a role in the transformation of biorecalcitrant carbamazepine (CBZ). Small diketones, such as acetylacetone (AcAc) and butanedione (BD), are naturally abundant and have been proven to be effective precursors of carbon and oxygen centered radicals. However, the photochemical kinetics and mechanisms of coexisting diketones and CBZ are barely known. Herein, the effects of AcAc and BD on the photochemical conversion of CBZ were investigated compared with H2O2 which was the main ·OH precursor in the environment. An enhancing effect was observed for the degradation of CBZ by the addition of diketones. The enhancing effect of diketones was pH-dependent and much more significant than H2O2 under simulated solar irradiation. On the basis of the identification of transient species and the competition kinetic model, organic peroxyl radicals were found to play a dominant role in CBZ photodegradation, and the second-order rate constants of the reaction between CBZ and peroxyl radicals were determined to be approximately 107–108 M–1s–1. Furthermore, mutagenic acridine was found to be the major cumulative intermediate with a yield of > 30% in the presence of diketones, which might be an environmental concern. This work indicates that the coexistence of diketones and persistent organic pollutants might lead to some detrimental effects on aquatic environments if the water is exposed to sunlight.

A New Method to Study Goldbach Conjecture

This paper does not claim to prove the Goldbach conjecture, but it does provide a new way of proof (LiKe sequence); And in detailed introduces the proof process of this method: by indirect transformation, Goldbach conjecture is transformed to prove that, for any odd prime sequence (3, 5, 7, …, Pn), there must have no LiKe sequence when the terms must be less than 3 × Pn. This method only studies prime numbers and corresponding composite numbers, replaced the relationship between even numbers and indeterminate prime numbers. In order to illustrate the importance of the idea of transforming the addition problem into the multiplication problem, we take the twin prime conjecture as an example and know there must exist twin primes in the interval [3Pn, P2n]. This idea is very important for the study of Goldbach conjecture and twin prime conjecture. It’s worth further study.

Метод непрямого приховування інформації в процесі стиснення відеозображень

It is substantiated that steganographic systems should be used to ensure the protection of special information resources in conditions of its prompt delivery. Here, steganographic technologies are an integral part of complex information protection systems. Simultaneously, for steganographic systems, there is a contradiction between the density of embedded data and level of information compaction of video container (level of reduction of volume bit volume of compact presented video image concerning bit volume of an initial video image). It leads to the fact that under the conditions of the required quality (reliability) of digital video information, the bit rate level of the covert channel is insufficient. Consequently, the scientific-applied problem concerns the necessity to increase the integrity (the level of correspondence of the hidden information before its embedding in a video container and after its extraction) and bit rate of the hidden channel of special information transmission. It is relevant. The solution of the described problem in the field of application of steganographic transformations can be realized based on the application of two different approaches. The first approach is based on methods of direct message embedding. But this approach is characterized by introducing distortions in the video images used as a container. Therefore, changes in structural and statistical patterns in the syntactic description of the video container happen. It reduces the potential for video container compaction. The second approach to creating steganographic transformation methods is based on information hiding using indirect embedding technique. Here, the embedding process exploits the functional dependency between the elements of the video container and the elements of the embedded message. Setting a specific dependency between the elements in the video container corresponds to the embedded element with a value of "0" or "1". However, the existing indirect steganographic transformation methods have a disadvantage. It consists of an insufficient value of embedded data density. To eliminate these disadvantages, it is proposed to develop an approach that allows using not only psychovisual but also structural redundancy of video container for concealment. Therefore, the research objective of this paper is to develop a method for indirect information withholding in the video container compression process to increase the bit rate of the hidden message channel. In the process of research, a steganographic multiagent system is constructed, which allows embedding hidden message elements without loss of information based on the indirect approach by modifying the active bases of the multiagent basis considering their uncertainty. To select transformants (data sets) as containers for information embedding, the requirement of the existence of a base system with all active bases is taken into account. The number of embedded bits of the hidden message is equal to the number of active bases in the base system of the multiadic space. Because of the made experiments, the following results have been received: in the process of embedding messages based on the created method distortions in a video container is not brought; for the created method the additional increase in the hidden channel bit rate in average 5 … 7 times are reached.

Designing Electrospun Composite Carbon Nanofiber (CNF) Photoelectrodes for Photoelectrochemical Transformation of Emerging Drinking Water Pollutants

Novel nanomaterials, such as carbon nanofibers (CNFs), present a unique opportunity to advance photoelectrochemical drinking water treatment by integrating a photocatalyst to improve material properties and performance. To this end, we have fabricated electrospun CNF-TiO2 composite photoelectrodes with high surface area, conductivity, chemical stability, and mechanical strength for use in photoelectrochemical water treatment applications. The CNF-TiO2 physical, chemical, and electrical properties can be tailored to influence drinking water pollutant transformation pathways by selectively varying fabrication parameters (e.g. TiO2 content, carbonization temperature). Integrating the photocatalyst into the nonwoven CNF framework provides a material that transforms emerging organic pollutants with diverse chemical properties via photochemical (UV/Vis radiation), electrochemical (applied potential) and photoelectrochemical (UV/Vis radiation + applied potential) processes at circumneutral pH. The favored transformation pathway is primarily influenced by carbonization temperature, which controls the CNF-TiO2 electrical conductivity and crystal structures. Electrical resistance decreases almost logarithmically with increasing carbonization temperatures (450 to 1000 °C) to produce composites with more orderly carbon structure (graphitic) and more conductive photocatalyst (rutile TiO2). At higher carbonization temperatures (≥ 1000 °C), pollutants with diverse chemical properties (e.g. log Kow) rapidly sorb to the composite electrode surface. The effect of CNF-TiO2 composite structure on pollutant sorption dramatically overwhelms sorption effects due to pollutant chemical properties. At lower carbonization temperatures (< 1000 °C), composite properties provide minimal pollutant sorption. While composites processed at higher carbonization temperatures encourage direct electrochemical pollutant transformation at photoelectrode surface, lower carbonization temperatures suggest composites are well-suited for indirect photochemical pollutant transformation. Herein we present photoelectrodes carbonized at different temperatures and their performance in transforming model organic pollutants. Outcomes of this work will help identify the types and properties of next-generation photoelectrode materials that are most promising for improving photoelectrochemical cells purposed for drinking water treatment.

Environmental Assessment of Healthcare Facilities in the Global South -- A Case Study from Pakistan

Pakistan is a resource-constrained country, poor in municipal and healthcare facilities. Existing healthcare structures in the country are often over-crowded, and an effective monitoring and assessment of their sustainability is therefore crucial. In this study, a systemic approach is outlined to evaluate the environmental sustainability of the largest and sole public hospital in the major city of Gujranwala, in the Punjab region of Pakistan. The Emergy (spelled with ``m'') Accounting (EMA) method is applied. Its operationalization allows to keep track of the amount of energy that was consumed in direct and indirect transformations to make a product or service. Relevant data include the hospital requirements in terms of energy, water, products, labor, and services. The EMA results offer a supply-side geobiosphere-oriented perspective. Emergy indicators show that the hospital is indirectly responsible for a significant stress on the environment, that might be decreased by an increased efficiency in the resource use. On the other hand, a hospital is a complex system, depending on skilled laborforce as well as on several fine imported medical products and related services, making it dependent on external socio-economic systems. The presented results address the geography dependent characteristics of the hospital, and can be used for benchmarking and future evaluation of similar hospitals within and across the region.