Unfavorable Environment Research Articles

SiO2-Based Nanofluids for the Inhibition of Wax Precipitation in Production Pipelines.

Wax deposition in high-wax (waxy) crude oil has been an important challenge in the oil and gas industry due to the repercussions in flow assurance during oil extraction and transportation. However, the nanotechnology has emerged as a potential solution for the optimization of conventional wax removal and/or inhibition processes due to its exceptional performance in the alteration of wax morphology and co-crystallization behavior. In this sense, this study aims to study the performance of two commercial wax inhibitor treatments (WT1 and WT2) on the wax formation and crystallization due to the addition of SiO2 nanoparticles. Differential scanning calorimetry experiments and cold finger tests were carried out to study the effect of the WT on wax appearance temperature (WAT) and the wax inhibition efficiency (WIE) in a scenario with an initial temperature difference. In the first stage, the behavior of both WT in the inhibition of wax deposition was achieved, ranging in the concentration of the WT in the waxy crude (WC) oil from 5000 to 50,000 mg·L-1. Then, NanoWT was prepared by the addition of SiO2 nanoparticles on WT1 and WT2 for concentrations between 1000 and 500 mg·L-1, and the performance of the prepared NanoWT was studied at the best concentration of WIT in the absence of nanoparticles. Finally, the role of the nanofluid concentration in wax inhibition was accomplished for the best NanoWT. Selected NanoWT with nanoparticle dosage of 100 mg·L-1 added to WC oil at 5000 mg·L-1 displays reductions in WAT and WIE of 15.3 and 71.6 for NanoWT1 and -2.2 and 42.5% for NanoWT2. In flow loop experiments for the crude oil at temperatures above (30 °C) and below (16 °C), the WAT value indicates an increase of 8.3 times the pressure drops when the crude oil is flowing at a temperature below the WAT value. Therefore, when NanoWT1 is added to the crude oil, a reduction of 31.8% was found in the pressure drop in comparison with the scenario below the WAT value, ensuring the flow assurance in the pipeline in an unfavorable environment. Based on the pressure-drop method, a reduction greater than 5% in the wax deposit thickness confirms the wax deposition inhibitory character of the designed NanoWT.

Sustainability of a Rainfed Wheat Production System in Relation to Water and Nitrogen Dynamics in the Soil in the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia

Rainfed wheat production systems are usually characterized by low-fertility soils and frequent droughts, creating an unfavorable environment for sustainable crop production. In this study, we used a processed-based biophysical numerical model to evaluate the water balance and nitrogen (N) dynamics in soils under rainfed wheat cultivation at low (219 mm, Pygery) and medium rainfall (392 mm, Yeelanna) sites in south Australia over the two seasons. Estimated evapotranspiration components and N partitioning data were used to calibrate and validate the model and to compute wheat’s water and N use efficiency. There was a large disparity in the estimated water balance components at the two sites. Plant water uptake accounted for 40–50% of rainfall, more at the low rainfall site. In contrast, leaching losses of up to 25% of seasonal rainfall at the medium rainfall site (Yeelanna) indicate a significant amount of water evading the root zone. The model-predicted N partitioning revealed that ammonia–nitrogen (NH4–N) contributed little to plant N nutrition, and its concentration in the soil remained below 2 ppm throughout the crop season except immediately after the NH4–N-based fertilizer application. Nitrate–nitrogen (NO3–N) contributed to most N uptake during both seasons at both locations. The N losses from the soil at the medium rainfall site (3.5–20.5 kg ha−1) were mainly attributed to NH4–N volatilization (Nv) and NO3–N leaching (NL) below the crop root zone. Water productivity (8–40 kg ha−1 mm−1) and N use efficiency (31–41 kg kg−1) showed immense variability induced by climate, water availability, and N dynamics in the soil. These results suggest that combining water balance and N modeling can help manage N applications to optimize wheat production and minimize N losses in rainfed agriculture.

Horizontal Learning: Challenges for Changes in the Professional Development of School Teachers and Preschool Teachers

The authors of this paper start from the position that horizontal learning implies a reflective dialogue among participants in the learning process within the professional development of teachers and preschool teachers, critical examination, observation, and understanding of theory and practice from different perspectives, building common knowledge, skills, and values based on which the necessary changes in practice can be planned and implemented. The findings of several types of research indicate that horizontal learning, despite the recognized benefit by the participants of the process, is still poorly represented in practice. The research aims to examine the factors that, according to school teachers and educators, negatively affect their motivation to participate in horizontal learning and at the analysis of their proposals on how to overcome the existing problems and difficulties in the current practice of horizontal learning in the Republic of Serbia. The combined method was applied in the research. The research sample included preschool teachers, subject and classroom teachers employed in institutions from several cities in the Republic of Serbia. For the quantitative part of the research, a questionnaire was constructed (N=330), while the qualitative part of the research was carried out through a semi-structured interview (N=30). Based on the obtained research findings, we can conclude that an unfavorable social environment for learning is the dominant factor that determines the motivation of teachers and educators to participate in horizontal learning activities. In this regard, the research findings indicate that with a higher level of support for horizontal learning in the institutions where the respondents are employed, their motivation to participate in horizontal learning activities also increases. Teachers and preschool teachers recognize the director of the institution as a leader of changes and development of the institution, but also as a manager who provides conditions for the realization of horizontal learning. Research findings and concluding considerations contribute to mapping current practice and a more complete understanding of the process of horizontal learning, providing a basis for creating future policies for the professional development of employees in education.

Stagnation and renewable growth of enterprises: an empirical analysis by sectors of the Russian economy

An unfavorable external environment requires an emphasis shift in economic researches of enterprise development from factors and mechanisms of growth to the analysis of stagnation processes and the search for mechanisms to enter the path of growth after stagnation. The purpose of this work is to study the intensity of the processes of stagnation and subsequent renewable growth of enterprises in the context of a wide range of sectors of the Russian economy. Signs of stagnation or drop in sales are revealed for 2013–2017, renewable growth – within 4 years after the stagnation period. The research methods are the calculation of economic coefficients and the identification of differences between them using methods of mathematical statistics. It was found that in an unfavorable external environment, significant proportion of Russian enterprises showed signs of stagnation or drop in sales. Certain advantages are shown by high-tech industries, in which the intensity of business stagnation was lower. The most acute period of the crisis was the period 2013–2016. In 2017, there was an adaptation of business to unfavorable environmental conditions, and the share of stagnating enterprises decreased significantly. Calculations showed that the share of enterprises demonstrating long-term renewable growth was at a low level. It reduces their attractiveness to private investors. The “age” factor can be recommended as a significant criterion for investors when choosing firms for financing: young enterprises are less susceptible to stagnation and more likely to enter the path of growth after stagnation.

How does plant sex alter microbiota assembly in dioecious plants?

Plant microbiota can greatly impact plant growth, defense, and health in different environments. Thus, it might be evolutionarily beneficial for plants to be able to control processes related to microbiota assembly. Dioecious plant species display sexual dimorphism in morphology, physiology, and immunity. These differences imply that male and female individuals might differently regulate their microbiota, but the role of sex in microbiota assembly has been largely neglected so far. Here, we introduce the mechanism of how sex controls microbiota in plants analogically to the sex regulation of gut microbiota in animals, in particular in humans. We argue that plant sex imposes selective pressure on filtering and constructing microbiota in the rhizosphere, phyllosphere, and endosphere along the soil-plant continuum. Since male plants are more resistant than female plants to environmental stresses, we suggest that a male host forms more stable and resistant plant microbiota that cooperate more effectively with the host to resist stresses. Male and female plants can distinguish whether a plant is of the same or different sex, and males can alleviate stress-caused damage in females. The impact of a male host on microbiota would protect female plants from unfavorable environments.

Extracellular polymeric substances sustain photoreduction of Cr(VI) by Shewanella oneidensis-CdS biohybrid system.

Photosensitized biohybrid system (PBS) enables bacteria to exploit light energy harvested by semiconductors for rapid pollutants transformation, possessing a promising future for water reclamation. Maintaining a biocompatible environment under photocatalytic conditions is the key to developing PBS-based treatment technologies. Natural microbial cells are surrounded by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that either be tightly bound to the cell wall (i.e., tightly bound EPS, tbEPS) or loosely associated with cell surface (i.e., loosely bound EPS, lbEPS), which provide protection from unfavorable environment. We hypothesized that providing EPS fractions can enhance bacterial viability under adverse environment created by photocatalytic reactions. We constructed a model PBS consisting of Shewanella oneidensis and CdS using Cr(VI) as the target pollutant. Results showed complete removal of 25mg/L Cr(VI) within 90min without an electron donor, which may mainly rely on the synergistic effect of CdS and bacteria on photoelectron transfer. Long-term cycling experiment of pristine PBS and PBS with extra EPS fractions (including lbEPS and tbEPS) for Cr(VI) treatment showed that PBS with extra lbEPS achieved efficient Cr(VI) removal within five consecutive batch treatment cycles, compared to the three cycles both in pristine PBS and PBS with tbEPS. After addition of lbEPS, the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was greatly reduced via the EPS-capping effect and quenching effect, and the toxic metal internalization potential was lowered by complexation with Cd and Cr, resulting in enhanced bacterial viability during photocatalysis. This facile and efficient cytoprotective method helps the rational design of PBS for environmental remediation.

Performance-Oriented Design for Intelligent Reflecting Surface-Assisted Federated Learning

-1To efficiently exploit the massive amounts of raw data that are increasingly being generated in mobile edge networks, federated learning (FL) has emerged as a promising distributed learning technique by collaboratively training a shared learning model on edge devices. The number of resource blocks when using traditional orthogonal transmission strategies for FL linearly scales with the number of participating devices, which conflicts with the scarcity of communication resources. To tackle this issue, over-the-air computation (AirComp) has emerged recently which leverages the inherent superposition property of wireless channels to perform <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">one-shot</i> model aggregation. However, the aggregation accuracy in AirComp suffers from the unfavorable wireless propagation environment. In this paper, we consider the use of intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRSs) to mitigate this problem and improve FL performance with AirComp. Specifically, a novel performance-oriented long-term design scheme that integrated design multiple communication rounds to minimize the optimality gap of the loss function is proposed. We first analyze the convergence behavior of the FL procedure with the absence of channel fading and noise. Based on the obtained optimality gap which characterizes the impact of channel fading and noise in different communication rounds on the ultimate performance of FL, we propose both online and offline schemes to tackle the resulting design problem. Simulation results demonstrate that such a long-term design strategy can achieve higher test accuracy than the conventional isolated design approach in FL. Both the theoretical analysis and numerical results exhibit a “later-is-better” principle, which demonstrates the later rounds in the FL procedure are more sensitive to aggregation error, and hence more resources are required over time.

Comparative indexing of early-maturing corn hybrids in multi-environment trial

The article shows the results of a multi-environment trial which was conducted in 2022 to determine the adaptability of corn hybrids and identify genotypes which are better to choose for a short growing season. Ten new early-maturing (FAO 130-150) corn hybrids were studied in 6 plant breeding organisations – ecological sites in 4 soil-climatic zones of Russia such as the Central Black Earth region, North Caucasus, Urals, West Siberia. The corn hybrids were evaluated by plasticity (bi), stability (σd2) and selection indices: the breeding value of the cultivar (Svc), the selection index (Si) and the selection value index of the cultivar (Ssvi). Nalchik (Ij = +1.51), Belgorod (Ij = +0.18) and Voronezh (Ij = +0.04) had favourable environmental conditions, unfavourable environments were in Chelyabinsk (Ij = -1.09), Omsk (Ij = -0.56) and Pyatigorsk (Ij = -0.08). Hybrid 140/26 had the highest grain yield (6.50 t/ha) on average, it exceeded the best standard by 1.15 t/ha. The hybrids 140-28 had the highest mean yield (7.66 t/ha) and 140/24 (7.65 t/ha) under favourable conditions, hybrid 100/28 was the best (5.42 t/ha) in unfavourable environments. Hybrids 100/24 (18.7 %), 140/25 (19.0 %), 100/27 (20.5 %) had the lowest grain moisture at harvest. Hybrids 140/24 (bi = 1.82, σd2 = 0.08), 140/28 (bi = 1.54, σd2 = 0.09), 100/26 (bi = 1.45, σd2 = 0.17) with high ecological plasticity and stability were recommended to grow under intensive growing conditions. It was shown that the application of the technique for evaluating corn hybrids by selection indices makes it possible to identify regionally oriented genotypes. It is better to grow hybrids 100/28 (Svic = 8.44) и 100/27 (Svic = 8.26), which had an optimal balance of environmental stability, grain yield and grain moisture at harvest, in unfavourable conditions with a short growing season.

Synergetic effect on fouling alleviating of membrane distillation in urine resource recovery by thermally activated peroxydisulfate pretreatment

Given that the spontaneous precipitation of minerals caused by urea hydrolysis and abundant organic compounds, membrane fouling became a major obstacle for urine recovery by membrane distillation (MD). Herein, this study developed a combined system (TAP-MD) by integrating thermally activated peroxydisulfate (TAP) and MD process to inhibit membrane fouling and improve separation efficiency. Based on the TAP-MD system, the separation performance was improved significantly, improving nutrient recovery efficiency and quality of reclaimed water. More than 80% of water could be recovered from urine, and about 94.13% of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), 99.02% of total nitrogen (TN), 100% of total phosphate (TP), and 100% of K+ were rejected. The mechanism for alleviating urine-induced fouling was systematically and intensively studied. With TAP pretreatment, the TAN concentration of pretreated urine was kept at a low level steadily and the pH was at neutral or weakly acidic. Hence, inorganic scaling represented by carbonate and phosphate precipitates were significantly inhibited by creating unfavorable solvent environment for crystallization with TAP pretreatment. Additionally, aromatic proteins were found as the main organic foulants. According to the secondary structure of protein, the proteins were degraded by the cleavage of peptide bonds by TAP pretreatment. Meanwhile, the hydrophilicity of protein increased, which reduced the hydrophobic interaction of protein and membrane surface and thus alleviated protein-induced membrane fouling. This study revealed the inorganic and organic foulants in urine that caused membrane fouling and demonstrated the mechanism of membrane fouling alleviation by TAP-MD system. The experimental results will be instrumental in better understanding the mechanisms of membrane fouling induced by urine and optimize MD process for resource recovery from urine.

Transcriptional Regulators of Plant Adaptation to Heat Stress.

Heat stress (HS) is becoming an increasingly large problem for food security as global warming progresses. As sessile species, plants have evolved different mechanisms to cope with the disruption of cellular homeostasis, which can impede plant growth and development. Here, we summarize the mechanisms underlying transcriptional regulation mediated by transcription factors, epigenetic regulators, and regulatory RNAs in response to HS. Additionally, cellular activities for adaptation to HS are discussed, including maintenance of protein homeostasis through protein quality control machinery, and autophagy, as well as the regulation of ROS homeostasis via a ROS-scavenging system. Plant cells harmoniously regulate their activities to adapt to unfavorable environments. Lastly, we will discuss perspectives on future studies for improving urban agriculture by increasing crop resilience to HS.

Nicotine perturbs the microbiota of brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens stål Hemiptera: Delphinidae)

Bacterial symbionts exhibiting co-evolutionary patterns with insect hosts play a vital role in the nutrient synthesis, metabolism, development, reproduction, and immunity of insects. The brown planthopper (BPH) has a strong ability to adapt to various environmental stresses and can develop resistance to broad-spectrum insecticides. We aimed to investigate whether gut symbionts of BPH play a major role in the detoxification of insecticides and host fitness in unfavorable environments. Nicotine-treated rice plants were exposed to BPH (early stage) and the gut microbiome of the emerging female adults were analyzed using high throughput sequencing (HTS). Nicotine administration altered the diversity and community structure of BPH symbionts with significant increases in bacterial members such as Microbacteriaceae, Comamondaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, and these changes may be associated with host survival strategies in adverse environments. Furthermore, the in-vitro study showed that four intestinal bacterial strains of BPH (Enterobacter NLB1, Bacillus cereus NL1, Ralstonia NLG26, and Delftia NLG11) could degrade nicotine when grown in a nicotine-containing medium, with the highest degradation (71%) observed in Delftia NLG11. RT-qPCR and ELISA analysis revealed an increased expression level of CYP6AY1 and P450 enzyme activities in Delftia NLG11, respectively. CYP6AY1 increased by 20% under the action of Delftia and nicotine, while P450 enzyme activity increased by 18.1%. After CYP6AY1 interference, nicotine tolerance decreased, and the mortality rate reached 76.65% on the first day and 100% on the third day. Moreover, Delftia NLG11 helped axenic BPHs to increase their survival rate when fed nicotine in the liquid-diet sac (LDS) feeding system. Compared with axenic BPHs, the survival rate improved by 25.11% on day 2% and 6.67% on day 3. These results revealed an altered gut microbiota and a cooperative relationship between Delftia NLG11 and CYP6AY1 in nicotine-treated BPH, suggesting that insects can adapt to a hostile environment by interacting with their symbionts and providing a new idea for integrated pest management strategies.

Competitive Adsorption Mechanism of Defect‐Induced d‐Orbital Single Electrons in SrRuO3 for Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

AbstractIn the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the dissociation energy barrier of water, and the easy adsorption of OH on the catalyst are key factors that limit the catalytic activity. This work proposes a novel competing adsorption mechanism driven by dz2 electrons in the context of the alkaline HER. The high concentration of oxygen vacancies in Co doped SrRuO3 (V‐SRCO) results in the electron filling in the Ru 4dz2 orbital. Under alkaline conditions, the V‐SRCO exhibits a low overpotential of only 57.8 mV with a Tafel slope of 35 mV dec−1. Moreover, it exhibits sustained high activity for 60 h. The high HER activity of V‐SRCO can be attributed to the presence of a single electron in the dz2 orbital, which reduces the energy barrier for water dissociation. More importantly, the active electrons in the dz2 orbital can inject into the antibonding orbitals of OH, creating an unfavorable environment for OH adsorption on the catalyst. This work provides favorable conditions for efficient HER.

Longitudinal relationship between child maltreatment, bullying victimization, depression, and nonsuicidal self-injury among left-behind children in China: 2-year follow-up.

Left-behind childre (LBC) in China are deeply concerned by society because of their high risk of emotional and behavioral problems. Depression and nonsuicidal self-injury are the most harmful and worrying negative emotional and behavioral problems in LBC. Unfortunately, LBCs are in unfavorable environments for a long time and are prone to negative interpersonal interactions. Child maltreatment and bullying victimization, as the two most typical negative interpersonal interactions in family and school environments, maybe the key risk factors for depression and nonsuicidal self-injury among LBCs. However, we are less known of the longitudinal effects of child maltreatment and bullying victimization on LBC's depression and nonsuicidal self-injury and their underlying mechanisms. This study used a two-year longitudinal design with three-time points to investigate the longitudinal effects of child maltreatment and bullying victimization on depression, nonsuicidal self-injury, and the mediating role of negative thoughts and self-compassion. A sample of 592 LBC (390 were males, Mage at time 1 = 9.56, SDage = 0.65; 202 were females, Mage at time 1 = 9.43, SDage = 0.63) completed a set of questionnaires at three-time points. This study used SPSS software (version 25.0) and MPLUS software (version 8.3) for all analyses. (1) Child maltreatment not only affects depression and nonsuicidal self-injury but also affects depression and nonsuicidal self-injury through negative thoughts. Child maltreatment affects depression through self-compassion and does not affect nonsuicidal self-injury. (2) Bullying victimization affects depression and nonsuicidal self-injury through negative thoughts and bullying victimization further affects depression through self-compassion but does not affect nonsuicidal self-injury. This study revealed the effects of negative interpersonal interactions (child maltreatment, bullying victimization) on LBC's adverse emotions and behaviors, and their underlying mechanisms, which helps to provide parents, schools, and psychoeducational workers with a new perspective on intervention.

Comparative Assessment Of Job Satisfaction Among Frontline Health Care Workers In A Tertiary Hospital In South East Nigeria

Background: Job satisfaction cuts across facets of mental perception and responses individuals make towards their jobs. They include cognitive, affective, and behavioral components. In light of reducing workforce in the Nigerian healthcare, this study was aimed at comparing the outlook of job satisfaction among healthcare workers in Nnamdi Azikiwe University teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Nigeria. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study design with a sample size of 281 healthcare personnel consisting of doctors, nurses, medical laboratory scientists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, and radiographers using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Statistical significance was set at p≤0.05. Results: The study showed that Radiographers and Physiotherapists averagely had the best job satisfaction scores in comparison to other healthcare personnel. Doctors and Nurses were noted to have the worst average scores in relation to other personnel. Conclusion: The disparity in job satisfaction among different professional cadres may be a reflection of disproportionate work expectations, outlooks, and rewards experienced by different professionals in the course of their duties. Favorable and unfavorable work environments and policies may be weighted differently in the work experience of different professionals.

International Clones of High Risk of Acinetobacter Baumannii-Definitions, History, Properties and Perspectives.

Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative coccobacillus with exceptional survival skills in an unfavorable environment and the ability to rapidly acquire antibiotic resistance, making it one of the most successful hospital pathogens worldwide, representing a serious threat to public health. The global dissemination of A. baumannii is driven by several lineages named 'international clones of high risk' (ICs), two of which were first revealed in the 1970s. Epidemiological surveillance is a crucial tool for controlling the spread of this pathogen, which currently increasingly involves whole genome sequencing. However, the assignment of a particular A. baumannii isolate to some IC based on its genomic sequence is not always straightforward and requires some computational skills from researchers, while the definitions found in the literature are sometimes controversial. In this review, we will focus on A. baumannii typing tools suitable for IC determination, provide data to easily determine IC assignment based on MLST sequence type (ST) and intrinsic blaOXA-51-like gene variants, discuss the history and current spread data of nine known ICs, IC1-IC9, and investigate the representation of ICs in public databases. MLST and cgMLST profiles, as well as OXA-51-like presence data are provided for all isolates available in GenBank. The possible emergence of a novel A. baumannii international clone, IC10, will be discussed.

Associations among stressors, perceived stress, and psychological distress in nursing students: a mixed methods longitudinal study of a Hong Kong sample.

Nursing students are at risk for high-stress levels and psychological distress. Limited longitudinal studies have been conducted examining factors associated with stress levels and psychological distress of nursing students in their course of study. The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of stress and corresponding stressors, particularly those predicting psychological distress, among nursing students over their 5 years of study. A longitudinal design, using questionnaires and focus group interviews of a single cohort of nursing students in Hong Kong and following them over their 5 years of training. The Stressors in Nursing Students Scale-Chinese version and the Chinese version of General Health Questionnaire-12 were used to assess stress levels and psychological distress, respectively. Ninety-seven participants completed the questionnaires 5 times. Quantitative findings revealed that the overall stress levels of the nursing students increased over 5 years (from mean = 3.08 to 3.33), with the highest levels in the second wave (mean = 3.33). Nursing students experienced higher stress during years 2 (p = 0.006) and 4 (p = 0.037). Psychological distress was the highest in year 3 (sum score = 18.47) (p = 0.002) but declined from year 4 (p < 0.001). Thematic analysis revealed that academic performance issues, coping challenges, unfavorable learning environments, relationships were identified as the stressors. However, nursing students also used positive coping strategies to pursue success and seek support. This study suggests that the year of study is a significant predictor of stress levels among nursing students, especially during the first and senior years due to heavy academic workload. Psychological distress was observed among nursing students, and those who worked more part-time jobs tended to report higher levels of distress. The junior year was associated with higher levels of distress related to financial and time-related stress, while academic and personal problems were more prevalent during the senior year.

THE SPECIFICITY OF THE IMAGE OF THE CITY IN THE LINGUISTIC CONSCIOUSNESS OF ITS RESIDENTS AS A BASIS FOR SOLIDING SUSTAINABLEREGIONAL COMPONENTS

The article presents an analysis of the associative responses of residents of Chelyabinsk and guests of the city, associated with the perception of the urban environment, urban objects, well-known places, famous personalities, the image of the city and its residents in general. It is important to find out the associative core and peripheral meanings of the city image because it can be used to solve the problems of socio-cultural adaptation when introduced into the school educational system. Acquaintance with famous places and people, knowledge of historical facts and unique features of the city and region can have a positive impact on the formation of the image of a Russian citizen in the linguistic consciousness of the younger generation. The material presented in this study shows a complex, contrasting attitude towards the city, primarily due to the fact that current generations do not perceive Chelyabinsk as a city of labour merit, as one of the key elements of the stronghold of the country, but note serious environmental problems and an unfavorable external environment for human life (two sides of the same coin). This study can form the basis for identifying specific unique regional lexical components associated with Chelyabinsk and the Chelyabinsk Region, which can contribute to the formation of a positive image of this location.

Simulation Study on Outdoor Wind Environment of Residential Complexes in Hot-Summer and Cold-Winter Climate Zones Based on Entropy-Based TOPSIS Method

Driven by a large digital simulation environment, CFD calculation software is used to simulate test results so that they can be effectively applied to engineering practice. This paper explores the suitable outdoor wind environment for residential areas in the hot summer and the cold winter. Taking Xishan Huijing in Changsha as an example, the most unfavorable wind field environment is used as the boundary condition, and the optimal design mode for this residential area is explored based on the Butterfly platform. The research in this paper is mainly divided into five steps: (1) using Rhino 7.0 to establish a 3D model; (2) using the Butterfly 0.0.05 platform to simulate the wind field and export the data at the same time, and to realize the preview through the visualization method; (3) processing the exported simulation data and the calculation of related indices; (4) applying the entropy-based TOPSIS method on the MATLAB 2020 platform to rank the preferred scheme and obtain the corresponding index weights; and (5) using a K-means cluster analysis on SPSS 26 software to optimize the scheme. The results show that (1) the wind environment quality will be overestimated in the summer if the influence of neighboring buildings on the site is not considered, while the opposite is true in the winter, with the error of both reaching two times. (2) The weights of the indicators determined by the TOPSIS entropy weighting method indicate that wind protection in the winter should be prioritized over natural ventilation in the summer in this area. The maximum wind speed in the winter has the most significant weight, reaching 0.287, and the uniformity of the wind field in the summer is the most important, reaching 0.1102. (3) In the layout design of the residential district, the staggered layout of the 60 m high slab houses in the northern, northeastern, and northwestern directions of the site creates a better wind field environment, which attains the highest score by the TOPSIS entropy weighting method, reaching 0.1539, with the second highest score, reaching 0.1511, for the layout method. The research results will provide a scientific basis for the design of residential buildings in the hot-summer and cold-winter regions in China, and also help designers to better grasp the outdoor wind environment of residential buildings in the pre-design stage.

Enrichment of Anammox Bacteria Using Anammox Sludge as a Primer Combined with Ordinary Activated Sludge

Anaerobic ammonia oxidation bacteria (AnAOB) are difficult to cultivate due to their long start-up time and sensitivity to environmental conditions. In this study, anammox granular sludge was cultured with ordinary activated sludge under influent dissolved oxygen concentrations of 6–8 mg/L, successfully enriching AnAOB. The presence of multiple microorganisms in the activated sludge enabled the anammox system to resist the unfavorable influent environment and sustain system stability. The total nitrogen removal rate reached a maximum of 81%, and the TN effective load increased from 0.1 to 1.5 kg N/m3/d. The results showed that the dissolved oxygen present in the influent did not lead to a breakdown in the anammox system. The protein in the sludge extracellular polymeric substances played an important role in the enrichment of AnAOB, and the sludge settling performance at the bottom of the reactor was better than that at the top of the reactor, with protein/polysaccharide in the range of 5–6.3. Candidatus brocadia and Candidatus kuenenia were the main anammox functional bacteria in the system. On 153 d of reactor operation, their relative abundances were 8.51 and 5.68%, respectively. This study shows that microorganisms in activated sludge contribute to the stability of the anammox system when the influent conditions are appropriate. This provides a new idea for the rapid start-up of the anammox system and enrichment of AnAOB.

Evaluation of Rhizobium along with Multifunctional Rhizobacteria for Improving the Growth and Yield of Black Gram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper

Background: Indigenous rhizobial populations may be unable to achieve successful symbiosis in the field due to rare population and unfavourable soil environment. Introduced plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are frequently linked to faster growth, development, and yield of plant with synergetic effect on indigenous Rhizobium bacteria. Furthermore, co-inoculating legumes with both Rhizobium and PGPR is proven more effective for improving nodulation as well as growth and development of legumes. Methods: The experiment was conducted at research farm of TCA, Dholi Muzaffarpur a campus of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University, Pusa, Bihar during kharif season of 2021 to investigate the “Evaluation of Rhizobium along with multifunctional Rhizobacteria for improving the growth and yield of black gram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper]”. There were eight number of treatments and replicated thrice in a randomized block design. The treatment comprised as T1- control, T2- Rhizobium (Bradyrhizobium spp.), T3- Rhizobium + PUK-171 (Stenotrophomonas rhizophila), T4- Rhizobium + NE 10 (Bacillus cereus), T5-Rhizobium + Pseudomonas spp., T6-Rhizobium + LMSR 45 (Pantoea agglomerans), T7-Rhizobium + Methylobacterium, T8-N as per RDF. Result: The result revealed that co-inoculation of Rhizobium + PUK-171 (Stenotrophomonas rhizophila) significantly increase the plant height, number of leaves plant-1, number of branches plant‑1, plant dry weight, crop growth rate, and in nodule studies number of nodules plant-1, dry weight of nodules recoded significantly higher result as compare to T1, T2, and T8 and found at par with rest of treatment. In yield attributing character number of pods plant-1 recorded significantly higher result in co-inoculation of Rhizobium + PUK-171 (Stenotrophomonas rhizophila) and rest of character did not produce significant effect, in case of seed yield similar trends was followed, while in case of stover yield co-inoculation of Rhizobium along with Rhizobium + NE 10 (Bacillus cereus) recorded significantly higher result as compare to T1 and T8 and at par with rest of treatments. Harvest index did not produce significant effect.