Decoding cryptocurrency regulation in the legibility framework

Researchers present a new framework to discuss the controversial regulation of cryptocurrency across different countries

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WASEDA UNIVERSITY

 

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LEGIBILITY IS A USEFUL CONCEPT THAT CAN EXPLAIN HOW MARKET REGULATIONS EVOLVE OVER TIME THROUGH THE INTERPLAY OF MARKET DEMAND FOR AND STATE SUPPLY OF REGULATION. IT CAN EXPLAIN THE PUZZLING CROSS-NATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN CRYPTOCURRENCY REGULATION.

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CREDIT: JACK SEDDON FROM WASEDA UNIVERSITY AND MILES KELLERMAN FROM LEIDEN UNIVERSITY

Since its introduction, cryptocurrency governance has been one of the most controversial global financial topics. While some countries have established elaborate regulations for cryptocurrencies, many countries are still reluctant to oversee the markets, and some have outright banned them. Most studies suggest that public agencies naturally want to regulate markets and bring them into their purview. However, the significant differences in cryptocurrency regulation over the world call this view into question. Moreover, these differences cannot be explained by the development of the financial market and capacity of the state. This naturally leads to the question - what is the cause of these differences and what drives market regulation?

To answer these questions, Associate Professor Jack Seddon from the School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University and Associate Professor Miles Kellerman from Leiden University’s Institute of Security and Global Affairs introduce the concept of ‘legibility’ to the analysis of financial markets. “The widespread debate over the extent to which cryptocurrencies should be regulated can be better understood as a political battle over whether to make private markets "legible" to the state. Our framework conceptualizes this dynamic as a balance of two variables: market demand for regulation and state supply,” explained Dr. Seddon. Their novel framework was presented in a study published in the journal Business and Politics on February 05, 2024. The study was funded by The Law, Politics and Economics of Financial Benchmarks: JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 20K13438.

In this innovative framework, the supply and demand variables together determine the ideal-typical states of market legibility. The demand side represents the competing interests of the various market actors over seeking legibility and the supply side shows how likely the state is to regulate a specific market. When both demand and supply are low, the markets are in a state of pure illegibility with no regulation. In contrast, when both demand and supply are high, as is the case for most real markets, the markets are in a state of collaborative legibility.

Additionally, when the state supply is high and market demand is low, the markets enter contested legibility, where the state wants to bring the market into the legal purview, but market actors resist it. Alternatively, when the demand is high and the state supply is low, contested illegibility occurs. The researchers also presented an expected progression of markets through these legibility states, over time. According to this framework, most markets start in the state of pure illegibility and over time go through either contested legibility or illegibility to finally attain collaborative legibility.

They utilized this framework to study the evolution of the cryptocurrency market in the United States, European Union, and Japan. Their analysis revealed that all three went through the expected stages of legibility, albeit at different rates. The United States, for example, is currently in the stage of contested legibility, while the EU progressed from contested legibility to collaborative legibility. Japan, unlike the other two, quickly transitioned from pure illegibility to collaborative legibility. Furthermore, the findings also showed that once the final state is achieved, markets do not tend to regress.

These results suggest that legibility is a powerful concept that can also be applied to understand other markets. In the future, the researchers aim to study other markets and countries to realize their full generalizability. Emphasizing the significance of this study, Dr. Kellerman said, “This study is highly relevant to pressing regulatory concerns. For example, a prolonged state of contested legibility in the crypto market can delay the introduction of regulations that protect consumers. By mapping patterns of contestation over legibility, our framework takes a first step towards better understanding the political economy of financial regulation.”

 

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Reference

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/bap.2023.38

Authors: Miles Kellerman1 and Jack Seddon2

Affiliations         

1Institute of Security and Global Affairs, Leiden University, Netherlands

2School of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University, Japan

 

About Waseda University

Located in the heart of Tokyo, Waseda University is a leading private research university that has long been dedicated to academic excellence, innovative research, and civic engagement at both the local and global levels since 1882. The University has produced many changemakers in its history, including nine prime ministers and many leaders in business, science and technology, literature, sports, and film. Waseda has strong collaborations with overseas research institutions and is committed to advancing cutting-edge research and developing leaders who can contribute to the resolution of complex, global social issues. The University has set a target of achieving a zero-carbon campus by 2032, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015. 

To learn more about Waseda University, visit https://www.waseda.jp/top/en  

 

About Associate Professor Jack Seddon

Jack Seddon is currently the Associate Professor of International Political Economy at the School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University, Japan. He received his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Oxford in 2012 and 2016, respectively. He is also the Principal Investigator of the Sterling Area Revisited Project, funded by an ESRC New Investigator Grant. His research focuses on international political economy and economic history. He has also co-authored book chapters on finance and governance, published by Oxford University Press, London: Edward Elgar and Cambridge University Press.

 

About Associate Professor Miles Kellerman

Miles Kellerman is currently the Assistant Professor of International Organization and Multi-level Governance at Leiden University’s Institute of Security and Global Affairs. He received his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Oxford in 2015 and 2020, respectively. His research primarily focuses on economic crime. His other research interests include economic statecraft, multilateral development banking, and the regulation of global capital markets. Outside academia he has worked professionally on financial crime prevention both within a global bank and as a consultant in London, New York, Washington D.C., and Amsterdam.

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JOURNAL

Business and Politics

DOI

10.1017/bap.2023.38 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Case study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Into the ether or the state? Legibility theory and the cryptocurrency markets

 

Ammonia-powered engines: A path to cleaner and more efficient transportation

By optimizing air–fuel mixing conditions for efficient ammonia combustion, the study brings us closer to viable ammonia-fueled vehicles

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SOPHIA UNIVERSITY

 

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SWIRLING FLOWS, INITIATED WHEN THE TANGENTIAL PORT OPENING EXCEEDS 25%, HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ENHANCE THE MIXING OF AIR AND FUEL. THIS CAN RESULT IN A MORE HOMOGENEOUS MIXTURE, LEADING TO IMPROVED COMBUSTION EFFICIENCY AND REDUCED EMISSIONS.

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CREDIT: MITSUHISA ICHIYANAGI FROM SOPHIA UNIVERSITY

While the transportation sector has witnessed a dramatic shift toward electric vehicles (EVs), the idea of using hydrogen as a clean and efficient fuel for transportation has been explored for many decades. These vehicles emit water on combustion, and since they are based on the production of existing engine vehicles, they are expected to have a lower manufacturing carbon footprint than EVs. However, storing and transporting hydrogen requires high pressures and low temperatures, which are energy-intensive processes. To address this, ammonia has been considered as a potential carrier of hydrogen for fuel cells or combustion engines. But ammonia is a hard-to-burn fuel and requires mixing with gasoline for efficient combustion.

 

Since 2019, Professor Mitsuhisa Ichiyanagi from the Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the Faculty of Science and Technology at Sophia University, along with Emir Yilmaz and Takashi Suzuki, also from Sophia University, has been working to design engines where ammonia can be used as a standalone fuel. Their work focuses on intake port opening conditions that enhance the mixing of air with fuel inside the engine cylinder for a more efficient combustion. In a study published in the journal Energies on 17 December 2023, the researchers determine intake port opening conditions that would lead to swirling flow conditions within the cylinder of an engine.

 

“Airflow within cylinders profoundly affects combustion and emissions by influencing the air–fuel mixing phenomenon,” says Prof. Ichiyanagi. “With the aim of burning only ammonia, we have basically investigated the relationship between the engine's intake system and the flow inside cylinders.”

 

 

Swirling flow refers to a vortex-like pattern of air–fuel mixture entering the engine’s cylinder. This is advantageous as it promotes better mixing of air and fuel, creating a more homogenous mixture, leading to improved combustion and reduced emissions. The researchers conducted their investigation in an optical single-cylinder diesel engine with a glass cylinder and piston. For air intake, the engine used conventional tangential and helical intake ports.

 

To visualize the air flows in the engine, the researchers introduced silica particles with diameters of 4.65 µm as tracers during the intake stroke and monitored their movement in the engine with a high-speed CMOS camera. Air entering through the helical port develops into swirling patterns, while air from the tangential port initially produces no vortical structure. However, when redirected by the cylinder walls, it eventually generates swirling structures.

In their earlier experiments, the researchers observed that airflow velocity remained relatively constant across various helical port openings. So, leaving the helical port completely open, they varied the opening of the tangential port to 0 %, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% to determine its effect on intake and in-cylinder flows during the intake and compression strokes.

 

The researchers noted the successful generation of swirl flows in the early stage of the compression stroke when the opening of the tangential port was more than 25%. The formation of swirl flows was observed to correlate with low variances of turbulent kinetic energy during the intake stroke and low variances of the swirl center position during the compression stroke. The observation of swirl flows in the cylinder opens the door to efficient ammonia combustion in the engine. The researchers intend to apply the findings from this study to investigate the combustion characteristics of an ammonia–gasoline mixture or only ammonia in the engine.

 

Driven mostly by EVs, the demand for lithium is expected to exceed 2.4 million metric tons by the 2030s, a significant increase from the 130,000 metric tons produced in 2022. According to the International Energy Agency, this could lead to potential lithium shortages as early as 2025. In such a situation, ammonia emerges as a promising alternative clean fuel.

 

Although there are challenges to overcome before ammonia-fueled vehicles become a reality, this research holds promise for achieving current and future decarbonization goals. “The development of ammonia-fueled engine vehicles is expected to not only reduce carbon dioxide emissions from engines but also contribute to realizing a hydrogen energy society,” says Prof. Ichiyanagi.

 

Reference

Title of original paper:	Experimental Investigation of the In-Cylinder Flow of a Compression Ignition Optical Engine for Different Tangential Port Opening Areas
Journal:	Energies
DOI:	10.3390/en16248110
Authors:	Mitsuhisa Ichiyanagi 1, *, Emir Yilmaz 1, Kohei Hamada 2, Taiga Hara 2, Willyanto Anggono 3, and Takashi Suzuki 1
Affiliations:	1 Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Sophia University 2 Graduate School of Science and Technology, Sophia University 3 Mechanical Engineering Department, Petra Christian University

 

About Sophia University

Established as a private Jesuit affiliated university in 1913, Sophia University is one of the most prestigious universities located in the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Imparting education through 29 departments in 9 faculties and 25 majors in 10 graduate schools, Sophia hosts more than 13,000 students from around the world.

Conceived with the spirit of “For Others, With Others,” Sophia University truly values internationality and neighborliness, and believes in education and research that go beyond national, linguistic, and academic boundaries. Sophia emphasizes on the need for multidisciplinary and fusion research to find solutions for the most pressing global issues like climate change, poverty, conflict, and violence. Over the course of the last century, Sophia has made dedicated efforts to hone future-ready graduates who can contribute their talents and learnings for the benefit of others, and pave the way for a sustainable future while “Bringing the World Together.”

Website: https://www.sophia.ac.jp/eng/

 

About Professor Mitsuhisa Ichiyanagi from Sophia University

Professor Mitsuhisa Ichiyanagi graduated from the Department of System Design Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, and received his Ph.D. in Engineering after completing the doctoral program at the university’s Graduate School of Science and Technology. Took on several positions—such as project researcher at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Engineering as well as assistant professor and associate professor at the Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Sophia University—before assuming current position in 2022.

 

Funding information

This research was funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 19K04244).

 

 

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JOURNAL

Energy

DOI

10.3390/en16248110 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Experimental Investigation of the In-Cylinder Flow of a Compression Ignition Optical Engine for Different Tangential Port Opening Areas

 

Deep learning tool may help cut emissions caused by air resistance

Peer-Reviewed Publication

KTH, ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

 

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A DEEP LEARNING TOOL DEVELOPED BY RESEARCHERS IN SWEDEN, THE U.S. AND SPAIN COULD REDUCE EMISSIONS FROM AIRCRAFT AND OTHER FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION. 

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CREDIT: DAVID CALLAHAN

Deep learning tools have revolutionized aerodynamic engineering for planes, cars and ships, enabling these vehicles to be more fuel efficient and structurally refined. A new computational model pushes the science of reproducing airflow further yet, by relying on neural network architecture to generate accurate predictions while saving time, cost and energy.

Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, along with collaborators in the U.S. and Spain, published the model in Nature Communications, reporting that it delivers a high degree of accuracy in predicting aerodynamic drag with a substantially lower computational cost.

Simple in its design and built using data obtained from more complex simulations, the framework is what’s known as a reduced order model (ROM). As the name implies, they retain the most essential features of more elaborate models while omitting less important details.

“The point is to reduce computational complexity and make simulations or analyses more efficient,” says Ricardo Vinuesa, lead researcher and fluid mechanics associate professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. “Design engineering requires is the ability to run many different scenarios at a low computational cost.

“Using this model, we can get quite accurate predictions of many scenarios.”

The use of neural networks is what elevates the model beyond those which engineers have typically used to make predictions out of the chaos of airflow, Vinuesa says

Standard reduced order modeling in fluidics relies on linear computation that—in the most simple terms—produces predictions through adding and scaling values.

By contrast, neural networks are based loosely on the function of the brain.

“Very loosely,” Vinuesa cautions. “That doesn’t mean the model can think for itself, as many people assume.” But what they can do—unlike linear models—is learn and map intricate relationships between input and output data. This is regarded as a valuable capability when attempting the notoriously complex task of predicting and modeling air friction close to the surface of an airplane wing or a train engine.

“We can better predict how the flow around an airplane wing changes over time. If we can predict this better we can control the flow to reduce the drag, and also we can better improve the aerodynamic design of the wing.”

The new model can capture most of the original physics in a flow prediction, 90 percent or more, with relatively little processing complexity, Vinuesa says. By comparison, reaching that level of accuracy is much more complex an operation for state-of-the-art linear models such as proper-orthogonal decomposition (POD) and dynamic-mode decomposition (DMD).

“Linear models basically represent their predictions in a very simple way, by relationships that can be simplified to straight lines and planes,” he says. “But reality is more complicated. That’s why having models that are not based on straight lines, but all kinds of other shapes, enables us to get better predictions.”

Which is important considering that aerodynamic drag is a significant contributor to global emissions.

If used in aerodynamic control, this technology can lead to reductions of the drag of 20, 30 or even 50 percent,” he says. “It can have a significant environmental impact and help determine the type of world warm-up scenario we end up at in the future.

"The environmental and economic consequences are huge.”

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-45578-4 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

β-Variational autoencoders and transformers for reduced-order modelling of fluid flows

 

The Technological challenge of non-stick pans: Teflon is still more effective than others coatings

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CÓRDOBA

 

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RESEACHERS GUILLERMO GUERRERO AND OSCAR RODRIGUEZ

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CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF CORDOBA

A protocol designed by the University of Cordoba yields a simple and robust evaluation of the efficiency and durability of different commercial non-stick coatings used for food preparation

By the time a dish reaches a table, science has already been applied to a myriad of processes. From growing techniques that achieve sustainable, high- quality food, to technology that prevents food from sticking to the cookware used to prepare it. In fact, non-stick coatings have been enhancing the relationship between pans and food for more than 60 years thanks to the invention of polytetrafluoroethylene, better known by its trade name: Teflon.

These fluoropolymer coatings, standing out for their anti-adhesive power seem to have their days numbered, however, as the European Union's medium-term strategy is to reduce or eliminate their use due to possibly harmful effects on health and the environment produced during their manufacture, though this is still being debated in the international scientific community. Thus, a team in the Mechanics Department at the University of Cordoba has evaluated the anti-adhesive power and durability of two traditional fluoropolymer coatings relative to those of two new ceramic coatings, developing a simple and effective evaluation protocol.

Turning the lab into a kitchen, researchers Guillermo Guerrero, Francisco Comino, and Óscar Rodríguez used a very sticky pancake dough comprised of rice flour, lots of sugar, and eggs. "We cooked the pancakes on the different coatings, repeating the action up to 90 times for each option," Guillermo Guerrero explains. "We used a special spatula with a dynamometer to measure the peeling force, and we also evaluated how the surface changed with use over time," he continues.

After measuring the slip angle (the angle at which a drop, usually of water, deposited on a slowly sloping surface begins to slip), and the roughness and the wearing of the surface after cooking the dough, it was clear: Teflon is still more effective than the new ceramic coatings. The peel force required to lift the dough was between 7 and 14 times less when Teflon was used. In short, Teflon is less sticky.

"The sol-gel ceramic coatings do not feature optimal anti-adherence, but they have other properties: they are very tough and very resistant to scratching and temperatures, but they demold worse, so we are facing the technological challenge of looking for good solutions to the absence of fluoropolymers," said the researcher. In addition to its routine use in food, there are more demanding areas, such as in Industry, where an efficient alternative is decisive.

The team, which is also exploring what improvements the new coatings need to implement, makes this non-stick evaluation procedure available; one that is cost-effective, easy to perform and suitable for industrial applications. In the meantime, the search for the ultimate "non-stick" continues.

References

Guerrero‐Vaca, G., Comino, F., & Rodríguez‐Alabanda, Ó. (2024). Evaluation of the effectiveness and durability of commercial non-stick coatings. Journal of Food Engineering, 370, 111959. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2024.111959 

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DOI

10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2024.111959 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Evaluation of the effectiveness and durability of commercial non-stick coatings. Journal of Food Engineering

 

Food web flexibility through time

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PNAS NEXUS

 

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SPECIES’ CONTRIBUTIONS TO NETWORK REWIRING. FOR EACH SPIDER SPECIES OR PREY OPERATIONAL TAXONOMIC UNIT, THE MAXIMUM VALUE OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO NETWORK REWIRING EFFECTS [MAX(∆𝛽RW,𝑖 ′)] IS REPRESENTED BY VERTEX (NODE) SIZE WITHIN THE META-NETWORK. AMONG THE SPIDERS, OXYOPES SERTATUS AND ARGIOPE BRUENNICHI SHOWED THE HIGHEST CONTRIBUTIONS TO NETWORK REWIRING. LIKEWISE, AMONG THE PREY, OPERATIONAL TAXONOMIC UNITS OF CHIRONOMUS (H_0042) AND HOMIDIA (H_0046) DISPLAYED THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO NETWORK REWIRING. THE THICKNESS OF EDGES (LINKS) INDICATES PREY DETECTION COUNTS. NETWORK ORDINATION WAS OPTIMIZED WITH THE FORCEATLAS2 ALGORITHM.

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CREDIT: TOJU ET AL

A theoretical experiment characterized the network architecture of a species-rich ecosystem over 8 months. Predator–prey interaction networks play a key role in structuring ecosystems, but ecological research has often treated such networks as static, despite the broadly accepted understanding of ecosystems as dynamic. Hirokazu Toju and colleagues followed the complex food webs between 50 predatory spider species and 974 prey species, including midges, springtails, mosquitoes, and aphids, for eight months. The studied ecosystem is a warm-temperate grassland located at the Center for Ecological Research at Kyoto University, Japan. In a previous study, spiders were collected by sweeping with an insect net for a few days each month. Then the spiders’ prey was identified by DNA metabarcoding of spiders’ gut contents. The network created from this data shifted between consecutive months from April to November. Some species left, others appeared, and—most impactfully—some predators switched prey. In the current study, the authors use these data to create a framework for identifying which species contribute to the flexibility of the overall network architecture, species which they designate as “network coordinators.” Network coordinators, such as the sit-and-wait predatory spider Oxyopes sertatus and the web-weaving spider Argiope bruennichi, can shift to new relationships in response to biotic or abiotic environmental changes, and thus offer a measure of stability to the network as a whole. Detritivore prey such as nonbiting midges (Chironomus) and springtails (Homidia) also showed high contributions to network flexibility, suggesting that a stable above-ground ecosystem may rely on the stability of the soil ecosystem beneath it. According to the authors, ecology must consider the dynamism of networks if the discipline hopes to understand mechanisms determining community stability—an important question for those who might want to conserve ecosystems as they weather the unprecedented environmental changes of the Anthropocene. 

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JOURNAL

PNAS Nexus

ARTICLE TITLE

Interaction network rewiring and species’ contributions to community-scale flexibility

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

5-Mar-2024

COI STATEMENT

HT is the founder and director of Sunlit Seedlings Ltd.

 

Wild bees develop tolerance to veterinary drugs

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PNAS NEXUS

 

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POTENTIAL ROUTE OF AVERMECTIN EXPOSURE IN STINGLESS BEE COLONIES LOCATED IN LIVESTOCK DOMINATED LANDSCAPES. WHEN IVERMECTIN IS APPLIED TO CATTLE TO TREAT ENDO AND ECTOPARASITES, RESIDUES END UP IN THE URINE AND FECES, WHICH FLOWERING PLANTS CAN ABSORB. INSIDE THE PLANT, IVERMECTIN CAN BIOTRANSFORM INTO ABAMECTIN THROUGH DESATURASE ENZYMES AND CONTAMINATE THE POLLEN. BEES FORAGE CONTAMINATED POLLEN THAT IS TRANSPORTED TO THEIR COLONIES.

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CREDIT: OBREGON ET AL

Stingless bees in the Colombian Andes are adapting to a derivative of the ubiquitous insecticide ivermectin, which the bees ingest along with pollen from pasture flowers, according to a study. 

Over four months, Diana Obregón and her colleagues gathered bee bread from 16 wild colonies of the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula. Colony growth was measured by colony weight changes over time. Bee bread is the compressed packet of pollen that bees create to carry back to the hive. The authors performed palynological and pesticide analysis on the bee bread, and found abamectin in 59.3% of the samples, with concentrations ranging from 9.6 to 1856 µg/kg. Concentrations at the high end of this range are thought to be lethal to bees, but colonies with high levels of abamectin were growing at similar rates to colonies with low levels of abamectin. Through manipulative experiments, the authors determined that the bees in areas where much of the land was pasture were developing tolerance to abamectin—and that the abamectin ultimately derived from the cattle anti-parasite medication ivermectin. Abamectin differs from ivermectin by only one double bond in its chemical structure. When cattle excrete ivermectin, it is taken up by plants from the soil. The plants then transform it into abamectin via desaturase enzymes. In part due to their tolerance to abamectin, bee colonies in areas with a high proportion of pasture were found to grow at the same rates as colonies in low-pasture areas, according to the authors.

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JOURNAL

PNAS Nexus

ARTICLE TITLE

Route of exposure to veterinary products in bees: Unraveling pasture’s impact on avermectin exposure and tolerance in stingless bees

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

5-Mar-2024

 

Possible ‘Trojan Horse’ found for treating stubborn bacterial infections

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY

 

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TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE (TEM) IMAGE OF THE BACTERIAL CELL WITH AN EXTRACELLULAR VESICLE ATTACHED.

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CREDIT: WSU

PULLMAN, Wash. – Bacteria can be tricked into sending death signals to stop the growth of their slimy, protective homes that lead to deadly infections, a new study demonstrates.

The discovery by Washington State University researchers could someday be harnessed as an alternative to antibiotics for treating difficult infections. Reporting in the journal, Biofilm, the researchers used the messengers, which they named death extracellular vesicles (D-EVs), to reduce growth of the bacterial communities by up to 99.99% in laboratory experiments.

“Adding the death extracellular vesicles to the bacterial environment, we are kind of cheating the bacteria cells,” said Mawra Gamal Saad, first author on the paper and a graduate student in WSU’s Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering. “The cells don’t know which type of EVs they are, but they take them up because they are used to taking them from their environment, and with that, the physiological signals inside the cells change from growth to death.”

Bacterial resistance is a growing problem around the world. In the U.S., at least 2 million infections and 23,000 deaths are attributable to antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. When doctors use antibiotics to treat a bacterial infection, some of the bacteria can hide within their tough-to-penetrate, slimy home called a biofilm. These subpopulations of resistor cells can survive treatment and are able to grow and multiply, resulting in chronic infections.

“They are resistant because they have a very advanced and well-organized adaptive system,” said Saad. “Once there is a change in the environment, they can adapt their intracellular pathways very quickly and change it to resist the antibiotics.” 

In their new study, the researchers discovered that the extracellular vesicles are key to managing the growth of the protective biofilm. The vesicles, tiny bubbles from 30 to 50 nanometers or about 2,000 times smaller than a strand of hair, shuttle molecules from cells, entering and then re-programming neighboring cells and acting as a cell-to-cell communications system. 

As part of this study, the researchers extracted the vesicles from one type of bacteria that causes pneumonia and other serious infections. They determined that the bacteria initially secrete vesicles, called growth EVs, with instructions to grow its biofilm, and then later, depending on available nutrients, oxygen availability and other factors, send EVs with new instructions to stop growing the biofilm. 

The researchers were able to harness the vesicles with the instructions to stop growth and use them to fool the bacteria to kill off the biofilm at all stages of its growth. Even when the biofilms were healthy and rapidly growing, they followed the new instructions from the death EVs and died. The death EVs can easily penetrate the biofilm because they are natural products secreted by the bacteria, and they have the same cell wall structure, so the cells don’t recognize them as a foreign enemy.

“By cheating the bacteria with these death EVs, we can control their behavior without giving them the chance to develop resistance,” said Saad. “The behavior of the biofilm just changed from growth to death.”

WSU Professor and corresponding author Wen-Ji Dong, who has been studying the vesicles for several years initially thought that all of the bacterial-secreted vesicles would promote cell growth. The researchers were surprised when they found that older biofilms provided instructions on shutting themselves down. 

“So now we’re paying attention to the extracellular vesicles secreted by older biofilms because they have therapeutic potential,” he said. 

The researchers are applying for research funding from the National Institutes of Health to continue investigating exactly how the messengers work and how well the process works with other bacterial types or fungi. They are working with WSU’s Office of Commercialization and have applied for a provisional patent. 

 

 

 

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JOURNAL

Biofilm

DOI

10.1016/j.bioflm.2024.100183 

ARTICLE TITLE

Dual roles of the conditional extracellular vesicles derived from Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms: Promoting and inhibiting bacterial biofilm growth

 

Revolutionizing urban landscapes: The eco-metropolis model

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CHINESE SOCIETY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

In a revolutionary stride toward sustainable urban development, researchers have introduced the eco-metropolis model. This innovative approach seamlessly integrates ecological conservation with urban agglomeration, promising a future where cities thrive in harmony with nature.

The concept of the metropolitan area is pivotal in studying innovation economics and ecological conservation. Recent scholarly perspectives challenge the traditional view of urban development as merely spatial expansion. Instead, they highlight the role of innovative agglomeration, redefining the essence of urban studies. This shift calls for a new paradigm: the eco-metropolis model.

The news (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ese.2023.100342) published in Volume 19 of the journal Environmental Science and Ecotechnology, researchers from Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen propose the eco-metropolis model as a revolutionary approach to urban development. This model integrates ecological conservation with the concept of innovative agglomeration, challenging traditional urban expansion methods and highlighting the synergistic potential of combining green technologies with urban growth.

This model challenges the conventional expansionist urban planning methods, advocating for a sustainable growth strategy that harmonizes with nature. By emphasizing the importance of green technologies and ecological preservation within the urban fabric, the study showcases how cities can evolve into vibrant, sustainable environments. It details the mechanisms through which urban areas can achieve economic growth and innovation without compromising ecological integrity, offering a comprehensive framework for policymakers and urban planners to adopt.

Highlights

• Economists have identified contemporary urban development as innovative agglomeration, instead of linear expansion.
• Conservation should go beyond natural infrastructure and find new ways for agglomerative factors to coexist with ecology.
• Technological innovation makes conservation cost-efficient and coordinates public debate with conservation initiatives.
• Service industries in an agglomeration economy is critical in coordinating public and private sectors to finance conservation.

Dr. H. Li, the study's lead author, states, "The eco-metropolis model redefines urban development by prioritizing ecological conservation alongside innovation and economic growth. It represents a critical shift towards creating sustainable, livable cities for future generations."

The eco-metropolis model presents a visionary approach to urban development, marrying ecological conservation with economic and technological innovation. Its implementation could redefine the future of urban living, making cities more sustainable, resilient, and vibrant places to live.

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References

DOI

10.1016/j.ese.2023.100342

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ese.2023.100342

About Environmental Science and Ecotechnology

Environmental Science and Ecotechnology (ISSN 2666-4984) is an international, peer-reviewed, and open-access journal published by Elsevier. The journal publishes significant views and research across the full spectrum of ecology and environmental sciences, such as climate change, sustainability, biodiversity conservation, environment & health, green catalysis/processing for pollution control, and AI-driven environmental engineering. The latest impact factor of ESE is 12.6, according to the Journal Citation ReportTM 2022.

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JOURNAL

Environmental Science and Ecotechnology

DOI

10.1016/j.ese.2023.100342 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Eco-metropolis: Re-interpreting ecological conservation in the context of innovative agglomeration