Performance Efficiency of Conventional Treatment Plants and Constructed Wetlands towards Reduction of Antibiotic Resistance

Domestic and industrial wastewater discharges harbor rich bacterial communities, including both pathogenic and commensal organisms that are antibiotic-resistant (AR). AR pathogens pose a potential threat to human and animal health. In wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), bacteria encounter environments suitable for horizontal gene transfer, providing an opportunity for bacterial cells to acquire new antibiotic-resistant genes. With many entry points to environmental components, especially water and soil, WWTPs are considered a critical control point for antibiotic resistance. The primary and secondary units of conventional WWTPs are not designed for the reduction of resistant microbes. Constructed wetlands (CWs) are viable wastewater treatment options with the potential for mitigating AR bacteria, their genes, pathogens, and general pollutants. Encouraging performance for the removal of AR (2–4 logs) has highlighted the applicability of CW on fields. Their low cost of construction, operation and maintenance makes them well suited for applications across the globe, especially in developing and low-income countries. The present review highlights a better understanding of the performance efficiency of conventional treatment plants and CWs for the elimination/reduction of AR from wastewater. They are viable alternatives that can be used for secondary/tertiary treatment or effluent polishing in combination with WWTP or in a decentralized manner.

Cryosphere Services to Support SDGs in High Mountains

The cryosphere is able to provide a variety of services for the benefit of human well-being and underpins regional sustainable development. The cryosphere deterioration induced by climate change is impacting the services and will subsequently impede the efforts to meet sustainable development goals (SDGs) in high mountain societies. Here, we detail the context of cryosphere services and establish a dataset for its linkage to SDGs. This allows us to uncover its roles in supporting SDGs, directly by a causal connection and indirectly through either cascading effects or interconnection among SDGs. We find that the SDGs in association with the basic needs of high mountain societies are mostly affected by the cryosphere services. The different types of services pitch in with distinctions to be embraced by various SDGs, whilst some play a prominent role in the contribution to a broad range of SDGs. We further investigate how the services behave in their contributions to SDGs, by taking a view via the lens of a network that deciphers the relationship between the services and SDG targets as well as the interconnections among SDG targets. With an insight into the centrality and modularity of services in the network, we then delineate the inherent criticality of services to SDG targets as a whole, and reveal the specificity of services that co-contribute to a cluster of SDG targets in each network community. We take out the services from the network and maintain their interlinks to the targets of each underlying SDG system represented in six key entry points, so that the services critical to the transformation pathways in the entry points for SDGs in high mountains can be identified. Finally, we discuss the trade-offs that can occur in high mountains, which is unique for the cryosphere services. It creates more complexity in the assessment of overall benefits that the cryosphere services may provide to SDGs, and urges the balance that has to be maintained in attaining those services for the transformation.

Shear strain-induced structure relaxation of Ni Σ17 [110](223) grain boundary: A molecular dynamics simulation

The stabilization of grain boundaries (GBs) is beneficial for improving the stability and mechanical properties of nanocrystalline (NC) metals. Molecular dynamics (MD) calculations were performed to investigate the shear response of Ni [Formula: see text]17 [110](223) symmetrical tilt GB. It was found that under the action of shear, the nucleation and evolution of the GB source Shockley partial dislocations ultimately result in the low-energy-state transformation of the GB structure units (SUs). However, the Ag atom contained in the GB increases the shear stress and strain required for the GB relaxation, and the strain range for the GB relaxation is expanded, indicating the inhibitory effect of the Ag atom on the structural relaxation of Ni [Formula: see text]17 [110](223) GB. As the temperature increases from 10 K to 250 K, the structural relaxation of Ni [Formula: see text]17 [110](223) GB becomes easier to proceed. In addition to segregation-induced GB stabilization, strain-induced GB relaxation and the roles of foreign atom and temperature clarified in this work could provide several new entry points for stabilizing high-energy GBs.

Research on the Relationship between Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy and Entrepreneurial Intention

Entrepreneurship is a key concept to understand the rapid development of China’s economy since the reform and opening-up. It is related to the revitalization of the Chinese nation. Formulating effective entrepreneurial policies and measures, carrying out entrepreneurship education, and promoting entrepreneurial actions are important issues that government agencies, educational institutions, and the society at all levels are paying attention to. The key lies in the insight into the psychological cognitive mechanism and motivation source of entrepreneurs in starting a business. Upon reviewing previous studies, this article believes that entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions are the key concepts and entry points connecting entrepreneurial characteristics, entrepreneurial behavior, and cognitive research. This study explores the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention from five dimensions: entrepreneurial planning efficacy, entrepreneurial resource acquisition, relationship coordination efficacy, risk-taking efficacy, as well as innovation and reform efficacy. Suggestions and strategies have been proposed in this article to integrate the entrepreneurial ecology of universities, society and the government, reform the entrepreneurial education model, as well as improve the entrepreneurial willingness of college students.

Foresight for income and employment: What can we learn for agricultural research for development

Challenges related to poverty, hunger, nutrition, health, and the environment are widespread and urgent. One way to stress the urgency of making the right decisions about the future of the global food systems now is to better understand and more clearly articulate the alternative scenarios that food systems face. Developing, synthesizing, and presenting such alternatives to decision makers in a clear way is the ultimate goal of e CGIAR Foresight team.No single source of information focuses regularly and systematically on the future of food and agriculture, and challenges facing developing countries. Our work aims to fill that gap with a focus on agricultural income and employment.group systematically collects information about past, on-going and planned foresight activities across CGIAR centers and their partners, spanning the global agricultural research for development arenaWe present a comprehensive overview and synthesis of the results of relevant foresight research, which through the tagging with metadata allows for customized investigations in greater detail. The cross-cutting nature of this work allows for a more comprehensive picture and assessments of possible complementarities/trade-offs.Potential users of this report and associated activities include CGIAR science leaders and scientists as well as the broader research community, national and international development partners, national governments and research organizations, funders, and the private sector.The approach developed by the CGIAR foresight group is used to make foresight study results accessible across organizations and domains in order to aid policy and decision makers for strategic planning. The approach allows visualization of both the available information across multiple entry points as well as the identification of critical knowledge gaps.

Piezoelectric Sensing Element-Assisted Ceramic Art Process Optimization and Visual Quantitative Characterization

In this paper, piezoelectric sensing elements are used to assist in the study and analysis of ceramic art process optimization and visual quantization characteristics. A series piezoelectric element impedance sensor is designed based on the resonant frequency characteristics of the series piezoelectric element. Combining the resonant frequency characteristics of the series piezoelectric element and the basic principle of the impedance method, a multisensing impedance method based on the series piezoelectric element impedance sensor is proposed. The feasibility of the multisensing impedance method for monitoring the grout compactness was verified experimentally, and the basic principle of the method was further investigated by finite element simulation. The vase-type porcelain vessels were classified according to symmetry elements to find the characteristic points, the abdominal morphology was used as the basis for classification, and the screened samples were extracted from the contours to exclude the influence of other factors on the vessel shape. By the symmetrical elements of each type of ware, the classification principle of the ware type was designed and divided into six types, and each type was further subdivided into various types to establish a typological map of Qing dynasty bottle porcelain. The information entropy redundancy that describes the uniformity of the code appearance probability and the visual redundancy that describes the human eye’s sensitivity to image content or details are all entry points that can be considered for image coding. The experimental results show that the LBP-HOG fusion features can digitally express the information of ancient ceramic ornamentation and dig and verify the evolution of ceramic ornamentation with the times from the digital quantity. The GRNN model has an excellent performance in processing small samples of ancient ceramic data.

Repercussions of the COVID-19 Health Crisis In the Peruvian Informal Sector

After the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic, the Peruvian government took preventive measures to counteract the spread of the virus by issuing Supreme Decree No. 008-2020-SA. This decree contains prevention and control measures aimed at ports, airports, land entry points, educational centers, transportation and workplaces.

Looking beyond the obvious to figure out the Entry Points of Racial Awareness and Bias in Children: A Commentary of Waxman (2021)

In “Racial Awareness and Bias Begin Early: Developmental Entry Points, Challenges, and a Call to Action”, Waxman (2021) argues that there is a dramatic overestimation by the community when it comes to evidence of the time-frame when it should be discussed with children (p. 898). To counter this problem, they promote the intention of identifying “the developmental roots of these prejudices, forces that sustain them, and pathways to reduce them” (p. 893). The goal of Waxman is to advance the entry points of this bias, especially in our infants and children, as there are obvious and apparent damaging consequences to the children, their communities and the society as a whole. They advocate the use of a more “comprehensive research agenda”, specifically the use of larger empirical base, methodological tool-kit, and psychological-science framework to identify the preliminary stages of the acquisition of racial bias. They look back into the large body of experimental and empirical evidence to provide an overview of the development of racial bias in young children and infants. They then provide a substantially comprehensive framework to tackle this issue. Finally, Waxman argues that the strongest tool to advance the understanding and tackling of early racial bias is by arming the parents, teachers, and other policymakers with strong empirical evidence and evidence-based recommendations, which would allow for better conversations within the families and classrooms.

Southeast Asia’s Colonial Port Cities in the 19th and 20th Centuries

Southeast Asia’s colonial ports often supplanted early trading emporiums within Asia, and by the 19th century a number of ports played important roles in European imperial networks, making them significant hubs not only regionally but also in global networks. Such ports included the British-administered Straits Settlement of Singapore, Penang, Malacca (now more commonly referred to as Melaka); the Dutch-administered Batavia, Semarang, and Makassar (in the Java Sea); the French-administered Saigon; and the Spanish (later American) administered Manila (in the South China Sea). Importantly, some of these ports had earlier histories as trading emporiums, but reached a highpoint of connectivity with global networks in the 19th and 20th centuries. These colonial port cities were not only hubs for trade and travelers but served as gateways or imperial bridgeheads connecting maritime centers to the peoples and economies of the port hinterlands, drawing them into a global (imperial) economy. The economic, political, and technological frameworks in colonial ports served to reinforce European control. Colonial port cities also played a role in knowledge circulations and the introduction of technologies, which changed transport and modes of production and urban planning. The colonial port cities of Southeast Asia were also important in terms of the strategic defense of European interests in the region. Regarded as entry points for technology and colonial capitalism, and often modeled with elements of European aesthetics and design, port cities could also be sites of urban development and planning. The development of residential enclaves, ethnic quarters, and commercial districts served to shape the morphology of the colonial ports of Asia. Colonial port city communities were oftentimes regarded as important sites of cultural exchange and hybridity. These port cities were often built on existing indigenous trading centers or fishing villages. Cosmopolitan in nature, and open to the movement of trading diasporas, port cities served as entry points for not only commercial communities, but in the 19th century saw the increased movement of European colonial administrators, scientists, writers, and travelers between ports. Another important influx was labor (convict, indentured, and free) throughout Southeast Asia’s ports. By the early 20th century, colonial ports were sites of new intellectual and social currents, including anticolonial sentiment, in part driven by the circulation of news and press and also, by diasporic community influences and interests. Following World War II, many colonial ports were revived as national ports. By exploring the colonial port cities of Southeast Asia along a number of themes it is possible to understand why scholars have often described the colonial port city as a “connecting force” (or bridgehead) linking ports and port communities (and economies) to the European imperial project and the global economy. An examination of the colonial port city of Southeast Asia offers scholars the potential to bridge numerous historical fields including, but not restricted to, imperial history, Southeast Asian history, maritime history, urban and sociocultural histories, and economic and labor histories.

Looking beyond the obvious to figure out the Entry Points of Racial Awareness and Bias in Children: A Commentary of Waxman (2021)

In “Racial Awareness and Bias Begin Early: Developmental Entry Points, Challenges, and a Call to Action”, Waxman (2021) argues that there is a dramatic overestimation by the community when it comes to evidence of the time-frame when it should be discussed with children (p. 898). To counter this problem, they promote the intention of identifying “the developmental roots of these prejudices, forces that sustain them, and pathways to reduce them” (p. 893). The goal of Waxman is to advance the entry points of this bias, especially in our infants and children, as there are obvious and apparent damaging consequences to the children, their communities and the society as a whole. They advocate the use of a more “comprehensive research agenda”, specifically the use of larger empirical base, methodological tool-kit, and psychological-science framework to identify the preliminary stages of the acquisition of racial bias. They look back into the large body of experimental and empirical evidence to provide an overview of the development of racial bias in young children and infants. They then provide a substantially comprehensive framework to tackle this issue. Finally, Waxman argues that the strongest tool to advance the understanding and tackling of early racial bias is by arming the parents, teachers, and other policymakers with strong empirical evidence and evidence-based recommendations, which would allow for better conversations within the families and classrooms.