Rapid removal of emerging endocrine disruptors in wastewater using high-performance single-atom catalysts

Developing high-performance single-atom catalysts through chemical-free dry processes and computational science. Rapid removal of bisphenol, an endocrine disruptor, in water treatment process

National Research Council of Science & Technology

 

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Schematic illustration of the synthetic process of Co single-atom catalyst using arc plasma deposition.

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Credit: Korea Institute of Science and Technology(KIST)

Bisphenols are widely used as the main raw material for plastics such as receipts, water bottles, water containers, and vinyl due to their heat-resistant and mechanochemical properties. Among bisphenols, bisphenol A (BPA) that we often refer to as an "endocrine-disrupting chemicals" has been linked to adverse effects on reproduction, development, intelligence, and various metabolic diseases. Bisphenol F (BPF), a recently developed alternative to BPA Bisphenol A has also been reported in the literature to cause neurological disruption and various health risks.

Dr. Jong Min Kim of the Materials Architecturing Research Center, Dr. Sang Soo Han of the Computational Science Research Center, Dr. Sang Hoon Kim of the Extreme Materials Research Center at Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and Professor Byeong-Kwon Ju of the School of Electrical Engineering at Korea University have fabricated high-performance cobalt single-atom catalysts through a chemical-free and environmentally friendly dry-based arc plasma deposition process. The team applied it to an electro-Fenton process based on electrochemical hydrogen peroxide synthesis to remove harmful bisphenols from aqueous solutions in a short time.

The arc plasma process vaporizes metals or ceramics with repeated pulsed voltages in a vacuum, depositing them as a thin film on the surface of the substrates, and the number of pulses can be controlled to create a deposited layer with the desired thickness or properties. The cobalt single-atom catalyst fabricated by the arc plasma process exhibited the world's highest metal single-atom loading (2.24 wt%) compared to previously reported single-atom loading of dry processes (around 1 wt%). The coordination structure and active sites of the prepared Co single-atom catalyst were characterized by various material analyses including computational science, and electrochemical measurements confirmed that it is an excellent single-atom catalyst for electrochemical hydrogen peroxide production.

The researchers applied the Co single-atom catalyst as an electrode to supply hydrogen peroxide in real time in the electro-Fenton water treatment process, and found that it could rapidly degrade 100% of BPF at a targeted concentration of 20 ppm in aqueous solution within 5 minutes. Through repeated experiments and wastewater treatment tests, the stability of the catalyst and the removal of bisphenol compounds were verified, and based on this, it is expected to be applied to the removal of emerging pollutants in wastewater treatment plants in large cities or specific industrial wastewater treatment facilities.

"This achievement is significant in that we have produced high-performance single-atom catalysts in a dry process that does not use harmful chemicals and applied them to the water treatment field," said Dr. Jong Min Kim of KIST, while Dr. Sang Hoon Kim of KIST said, "Research on the production of metal nanoparticles by arc plasma deposition is widely known, but this is the first study to show that single-atom deposition is possible.“

  

Images of a Co single-atom catalyst prepared using arc plasma deposition (APD) and comparison of loading amount of single atoms using a conventional dry process.

Identification of the active sites of electrochemical hydrogen peroxide production reaction on Co single-atom catalyst using computational science and its application to the rapid removal of bisphenol F (BPF), an organic pollutant, using electro-Fenton.

High-performance Co single-atom catalyst supported on carbon nanofibers developed by KIST researchers through a dry-based arc plasma deposition process.

Credit

Korea Institute of Science and Technology(KIST)

KIST was established in 1966 as the first government-funded research institute in Korea. KIST now strives to solve national and social challenges and secure growth engines through leading and innovative research. For more information, please visit KIST’s website at https://eng.kist.re.kr/

The research was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Lee Jong-ho) through the KIST Major Project and Nanomaterial Technology Development Project (NRF-2022M3H4A7046278) and the Ministry of Environment. This research was published online on July 5 in the SCI journal Carbon Energy (IF: 19.5, JCR: 3.8%).

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Journal

Carbon Energy

DOI

10.1002/cey2.582 

Article Title

Arc plasma deposited Co single atom catalysts supported on aligned carbon nanofiber for hydrogen peroxide electrosynthesis and an electro-Fenton process

 

Veterans transitioning to civilian life deserve better support

Flinders University

Australia is falling short in supporting military veterans once they leave service – with researchers expressing concern about blinkered approaches to their care and wellbeing.

Flinders University and La Trobe University researchers say that too much emphasis is put on psychiatric and psychological support and medical interventions for mental health care, while not enough is done to ensure veterans have basics such as a home, a job and a support network.

“One of the most significant challenges for our veterans is the transition process when they leave service.  This is an opportune moment to identify any challenges and put in place proper supports as they re-enter civilian life,” says Professor Ben Wadham from The Open Door Initiative.

“The concern we have is that the current transition service has an overwhelming focus on traditional methods of treatment for mental health but little or no support for the other areas that contribute to quality of life.

“By providing resources like housing, employment and education, as well as mental health services, we can help set them up for a healthy and happy life after service.

“If veterans leave service and have nowhere to live, no employment or no support network this will exacerbate any mental health issues they have,” he says.

The study reviewed the current research and methods used to support Australian military veterans’ psychological, physical and social well-being – and the results raise serious concerns.

“Many of the current programs and services for veterans haven't been designed with the veterans' own experiences and needs in mind but instead rely heavily on treating symptoms like anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) without considering other factors at play,” says Professor Wadham.

“Social, organisational, and environmental factors play a huge role in a successful transition into civilian life alongside mental health factors.

“We want to see a greater diversity of approaches to veteran health to deliver holistic tailored programs in a more meaningful way.

“As a nation we seem to be underestimating the challenges of rehabilitation into the community.  We need to be mindful of how institutionalised veterans can become whilst in service, and that the transition back into the community can be very difficult,” he says.

The findings in this study have important ramifications for how the sector moves forward to improve the mental health and wellbeing of veterans says Professor Wadham from the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work.

“The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide (DCDVS) delivers its final report in September and one of the key findings is that the research into defence and veteran trauma and wellbeing lacks diversity in terms of the methods used and the people involved,” says Professor Wadham.

“Our findings demonstrate that Australian research into veteran wellbeing has been limited in scope and is dominated by a focus on diagnostics and treatment at the expense of preventative programs and interventions.

“The sector needs greater diversity and more focus on social determinants that affect veterans’ health and wellbeing such as their social relationships, cultural background and life circumstances.

“Going forward, it's vital that we listen to the stories and lived experiences of veterans and their families and collaborate with them to create solutions that are based on what they need.

“By doing so, we can help ensure that our veterans receive the support they deserve after serving their country,” Professor Wadham adds.

The article, ‘A Scoping Review of Interventions Targeting the Mental Health of Australian Veterans’ by Ben Wadham, Lisa Andrewartha, Sharon Lawn, Ilke Onur and Laura Catherine Edney has been published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2024), DOI: 10.3390/ijerph21060796

Acknowledgements: The authors greatly acknowledge the contribution of Shannon Brown, research librarian at Flinders University, for developing the extensive search strategy employed.

Open Door Initiative: The Open Door: Understanding and Supporting Service Personnel and their Families research initiative at Flinders University is an Australasian research hub that brings together veterans, scholars and practitioners together around key research, service provision  and policy/legislation initiatives. 

Professor Wadham is Director of The Open Door Initiative.

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Journal

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

DOI

10.3390/ijerph21060796 

Method of Research

Literature review

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

A Scoping Review of Interventions Targeting the Mental Health of Australian Veterans’

 

Mechanism of longer and deeper sleep after an all-nighter

Inhibitory neurons in cerebral cortex induce sleep according to the intensity of sleepiness

Japan Science and Technology Agency

 

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The model of sleep homeostasis regulation proposed in this study. Prolonged wakefulness activates CaMKII in PV-expressing neurons. The activated CaMKII then activates PV-expressing neurons, leading to rebound sleep.

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Credit: Department of Systems Pharmacology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo

Professor Hiroki R. Ueda (RIKEN Center for Functional Biology, concurrently team lead), Dr. Kazuhiro Kon (at the time of the research, currently a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University) and their colleagues at Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, have elucidated the importance of proper regulation of the activity of parvalbumin (PV)-expressing neurons, the major inhibitory neurons*1 in the cerebral cortex, in the long, deep sleep (rebound sleep) that occurs after prolonged wakefulness.

We have all experienced at one time or another that when we are sleep deprived, such as when we pull an all-nighter, we feel a strong sense of sleepiness, and our subsequent sleep is longer and deeper than usual. This indicates that the brain has a mechanism (sleep homeostasis) that records the history of wakefulness and compensates for the sleep needed based on that history. However, the mechanism of sleep homeostasis in the brain is not well understood.

 

By experimentally depriving mice of sleep, this research group showed that PV-expressing neurons in the cerebral cortex are activated when sleepiness increases and rebound sleep occurs. Furthermore, they elucidated that the activation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII)*2, a protein phosphorylation enzyme, causes rebound sleep by activating PV-expressing neurons in response to sleepiness.

This study reveals a part of the molecular and neural mechanisms of sleep homeostasis, one of the major mysteries of sleep science. These results are expected to lead to the development of methods to appropriately control sleepiness while quantitatively monitoring it.

This result was obtained from JST Strategic Basic Research Programs ERATO: Research Project “UEDA Biological Timing.” The project aims to elucidate the biological timing mechanisms underlying sleep-wake cycles by applying state-of-the-art technology in mouse genetics and human sleep measurement techniques.

*1 Inhibitory and excitatory neurons

Inhibitory and excitatory neurons are the two primary types of neurons in the nervous system, and they have different functions. Excitatory neurons release neurotransmitters (mainly glutamate) that increase the probability of action potential generation and promote target cell activity. Meanwhile, inhibitory neurons inhibit target cell activity by releasing neurotransmitters (mainly GABA) that reduce the probability of action potential generation.

*2 CaMKII

It is abundant in neurons and is activated by calcium/calmodulin binding. The α, β, δ, and γ subtypes are known, and these subunits form a dodecamer. As a kinase, it phosphorylates other proteins and forms complexes with various proteins to regulate neuronal function.

 

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-50168-5 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Cortical parvalbumin neurons are responsible for homeostatic sleep rebound through CaMKII activation

 

SIAT researchers reveal systemic health impact of microplastic exposure using fruit fly model

Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

 

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Cover image: Depicts the systematic health risks of microplastic exposure using Drosophila melanogaster as a model. (Image by SIAT)

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Credit: LI Lei

A research team led by Prof. LI Lei and Prof. LIU Chang from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has revealed the significant systemic health impact of microplastic (MP) exposure, using the terrestrial model organism Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly). The study was published in Zoological Research on Mar. 23.

Plastics, including microplastics, have become pervasive in our environment. According to the United Nations, more than 400 million tons of plastic are produced globally each year, with tens of millions of tons of plastic waste polluting oceans worldwide. Addressing plastic pollution has become a critical global imperative.

In this study, the researchers assessed the systemic toxicity of MPs in fruit flies by concentrating on key aspects of general health, including sleep patterns, lifespan, and fecundity. The fruit flies were fed diets spiked with two distinct concentrations of MPs: 1×MPs at 0.02 mg/mL and 10×MPs at 0.2 mg/mL. The exposure periods encompassed various developmental stages, spanning from 2 days to 10 weeks.

Experimental results showed that MP exposure led to intestinal damage, disrupted sleep patterns, reduced ovary size, shortened lifespan, and genotoxic effects revealed by RNA-seq analysis.

Moreover, while microplastics did not penetrate the brain or ovaries, transcriptome analysis showed genotoxic effects impacting inflammation, circadian regulation, and metabolic processes in the ovary, proteolysis, and carbohydrate metabolism processes in the brain.

"Our research indicates that microplastics pose a comprehensive threat to the health and longevity of organisms, extending far beyond the previously understood organ-specific effects," said Prof. LI and Prof. LIU.

This underscores the urgency of addressing environmental microplastic pollution, given its widespread detrimental impacts on health and ecological systems, LI added.

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Journal

动物学研究

DOI

10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2024.038 

Method of Research

Commentary/editorial

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Microplastic exposure disturbs sleep structure, reduces lifespan, and decreases ovary size in Drosophila melanogaster

 

Rising mercury pollution in soil could be related to climate change, study says

American Chemical Society

In 2017, the Minamata Convention on Mercury went into effect, designed to help curb mercury emissions and limit exposure across the globe. However, a new study of mercury levels in soil suggests that the treaty’s provisions might not be enough. The study published in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology estimates that soil stores substantially more mercury than previously thought, and it predicts that increases in plant growth due to climate change may add even more.

Mercury is a persistent environmental pollutant, moving through air, water and soil, and accumulating within plants and animals. Soil is the primary reservoir for mercury, storing three times the amount found in the oceans and 150 times the amount found in the atmosphere. Typically, the heavy metal naturally moves through these reservoirs, but humans have altered this cycling. Human-caused climate change increases carbon dioxide levels, promoting vegetation growth and most likely depositing more mercury in the soil when the vegetation decomposes. Previous studies on soil mercury levels have mostly focused on small, regional scales. But Xuejun Wang, Maodian Liu and colleagues wanted to develop a more accurate, worldwide model of soil mercury levels that could take into account the effects of a continuously warming climate.

The team began by compiling nearly 19,000 previously published soil mercury measurements, producing one of the largest databases of its kind. The dataset was fed into a machine learning algorithm to estimate the global distribution of mercury in both topsoil and subsoil. They found that the total amount of mercury stored in the first 40 inches (around 1 meter) of soil is approximately 4.7 million tons. This value is double what some previous estimates concluded, though some of those studies accounted for a shallower depth of soil. The team’s model identified the highest levels of mercury in plant-dense areas such as low latitudes of the tropics, but also in permafrost and areas with high human density. Conversely, bare land such as shrubland or grassland had relatively low levels of soil mercury.

To understand how climate warming could affect mercury soil levels, the researchers combined their initial model with datasets of environmental factors representing future climate scenarios. Their model predicts that as temperatures increase around the globe, vegetation growth will be promoted as well, which could raise soil mercury levels in turn. This symbiotic effect would outweigh the reduction efforts proposed by current worldwide control schemes, like those in the Minamata Convention. Though additional research and observations are needed, the researchers say that this work emphasizes the need for stricter, long-term and simultaneous control of mercury and carbon dioxide emissions.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China; the High-Performance Computing Platform of Peking University; the Beijing Natural Science Foundation; the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation; and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Peking University.

The paper’s abstract will be available on Aug. 14 at 8 a.m. Eastern time here: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.4c01923

For more of the latest research news, register for our upcoming meeting, ACS Fall 2024. Journalists and public information officers are encouraged to apply for complimentary press registration by completing this form.

###

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Registered journalists can subscribe to the ACS journalist news portal on EurekAlert! to access embargoed and public science press releases. For media inquiries, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note: ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.

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Journal

Environmental Science & Technology

DOI

10.1021/acs.est.4c01923 

Article Title

“Warming-Induced Vegetation Greening May Aggravate Soil Mercury Levels Worldwide”

Article Publication Date

14-Aug-2024

 

Rice-built reactor yields green ammonia and purified water

New reactor system could decarbonize ammonia production, treat nitrate-contaminated water

Rice University

 

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Haotian Wang (left) and Feng-Yang Chen

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Credit: (Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

HOUSTON – (Aug. 12, 2024) – Ammonia plays a critical role in sustaining food production for the world’s growing population, but making it accounts for about 2% of global energy consumption and 1.4% of carbon dioxide emissions. Rice University engineers have developed a revolutionary reactor design that could decarbonize ammonia production while also mitigating water pollution.

In a study published in Nature Catalysis, a team of Rice engineers led by Haotian Wang described the development of a new reactor system that converts nitrates — common pollutants found in industrial wastewater and agricultural runoff — into ammonia, a vital chemical used not only in fertilizers, but also in a wide range of industrial and commercial products, from household cleaners to plastics, explosives and even fuel.

Currently, ammonia is one of the most widely produced chemicals in the world, with global demand surpassing 180 million tons annually. The main way to make ammonia is the Haber-Bosh process, which entails a reaction between hydrogen and nitrogen that occurs under high temperature and pressure conditions and is dependent on large-scale centralized infrastructure. One alternative to this process is electrochemical synthesis, which involves the use of electricity to drive chemical reactions.

“Electrochemistry can occur at room temperature, is more amenable to scalable formats for different infrastructure systems, and has the capacity to be powered by decentralized renewable energy,” said Feng-Yang Chen, a Rice graduate student who is the lead author on the study. “However, the current challenge for this technology is that large quantities of additive chemicals are required during the electrochemical conversion process. The reactor we developed uses recyclable ions and a three-chamber system to improve the reaction’s efficiency.”

One of the key innovations lies in the use of a porous solid electrolyte, which eliminates the need for high concentrations of supporting electrolytes — an issue that has hampered previous attempts to convert nitrates to ammonia sustainably. Moreover, powering the conversion process with renewable energy would essentially render ammonia production carbon neutral.

“We conducted experiments where we flowed nitrate-contaminated water through this reactor and measured the amount of ammonia produced and the purity of the treated water,” said Chen, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering under Wang’s supervision. “We discovered that our novel reactor system could turn nitrate-contaminated water into pure ammonia and clean water very efficiently, without the need for extra chemicals. In simple terms, you put wastewater in, and you get pure ammonia and purified water out.”

The new reactor system makes possible an electrochemical nitrate-to-ammonia conversion pathway that would eliminate the need for denitrification ⎯ the process by which wastewater treatment plants remove nitrates from contaminated water, generating nitrogen that gets fed into the Haber-Bosch process. In addition to bypassing both the traditional denitrification and Haber-Bosch routes, this approach provides an effective water decontamination method.

“Nitrate is one of the priority pollutants that most frequently violates drinking water standards, and it is a is a significant concern in growing cities as farmland with nitrate-contaminated groundwater supplies is converted to urban development,” said Pedro Alvarez, the George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, director of the Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT) and the Water Technologies Entrepreneurship and Research (WaTER) Institute at Rice.

According to Alvarez, “conventional nitrate removal in drinking water treatment involves ion exchange or membrane filtration by reverse osmosis, which generates brines and transfers the nitrate problem from one phase to another.”

“Professor Wang’s innovation is very timely and important, as it offers a solution that eliminates nitrate toxicity and associated liability without the need to add treatment chemicals,” Alvarez said.

The implications of this work extend beyond ammonia production. The design of the reactor and the study’s accompanying techno-economic assessment can help inform further research into other eco-friendly chemical processes, potentially transforming how industries address environmental challenges.

“Our findings suggest a new, greener method of addressing both water pollution and ammonia production, which could influence how industries and communities handle these challenges,” said Wang, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, materials science and nanoengineering, and chemistry at Rice. “If we want to decarbonize the grid and reach net-zero goals by 2050, there is an urgent need to develop alternative ways to produce ammonia sustainably.”

The research was supported by Rice University and the National Science Foundation through NEWT (1449500). The content in this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the supporting entities.

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This news release can be found online at news.rice.edu.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Click here to read the online press release.

Download associated media files.

Peer-reviewed paper:

“Electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia with cation shuttling in a solid electrolyte reactor” | Nature Catalysis | DOI: 10.1038/s41929-024-01200-w

Authors: Feng-Yang Chen, Ahmad Elgazzar, Stephanie Pecaut, Chang Qiu, Yuge Feng, Sushanth Ashokkumar, Zhou Yu, Chase Sellers, Shaoyun Hao, Peng Zhu and Haotian Wang

About Rice:

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of architecture, business, continuing studies, engineering, humanities, music, natural sciences and social sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 4,574 undergraduates and 3,982 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction, No. 2 for best-run colleges and No. 12 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

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Journal

Nature Catalysis

DOI

10.1038/s41929-024-01200-w 

Article Title

“Electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia with cation shuttling in a solid electrolyte reactor”

Article Publication Date

12-Aug-2024

 

Amelioration of habitat since the early Holocene contributed to the origin of agriculture in the farming-pastoral zone of northern China

Science China Press

 

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The Yumin Site is located in a small mountain basin in the hills

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Credit: ©Science China Press

The beginning of agriculture is one of the most significant events in human history. The origin and spread of agriculture accelerated the development of human society and economy and fundamentally altered humans’ role in the Earth’s ecosystem. This allows humans to transform nature while increasing food production and stability, laying the groundwork for human reproduction and civilizational development. China is one of the world’s three largest agricultural production centers. Our ancestors domesticated dryland crops, such as millet, in northern China as early as 10,000 years ago.

Archaeologists have proposed a variety of hypotheses about the origins of agriculture in northern China over the last several decades. Among them, three types of hypotheses are commonly used: stress caused by climatic instability, socioeconomic competition, and human-environment coevolution. In general, the debates over the factors driving the origin of millet cultivation in northern China highlight the importance of locating an archaeological site to investigate human use of plant resources, reconstruct the climate and vegetation evolution process before and during human presence, and further investigate why humans began to practice agriculture in northern China around the middle Holocene.

Archaeological work in northern China’s farming-pastoral zone since 2015 has led to the recognition of the Yumin Culture (~8 ka BP) as the start of Neolithic culture in Inner Mongolia. Several archaeological sites have been excavated, including Yumin, Simagou, Xinglong, and Sitai. These archaeological sites have yielded a large number of pottery and agricultural stone tools, as well as some animal bones and plant remains, providing evidence for the origins of agriculture in northern China’s farming-pastoral zone. The Yumin site in northern China’s farming-pastoral zone offers a new perspective on human-environmental interactions during the early Neolithic period, and studying the origins of agriculture in this area is critical to understanding the formation of northern China’s traditional dryland farming system.

To better explain the relationship between the formation of the traditional dryland agricultural system and the changes in the geographical environment in northern China, Xin Jia and Zhiping Zhang of the Nanjing Normal University and Yonggang Sun of the Chifeng University led a research team composed of the Nanjing University, Lanzhou University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology CAS, Institute of Archaeology CASS, Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Ulanqab Museum to examine the relationship between the origins of agriculture and climate change by combining high-resolution ancient environmental records from the Yumin Cultural Circle in Northern China. The team conducted quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating on the sedimentary profiles of Yumin and Banan sites belonging to the Yumin culture. They obtained soil samples via flotation and collected and identified carbonized plant seeds during the excavation of the Yumin site. The team also employed multiple proxies such as fossil pollen, magnetic susceptibility, grain size, and chemical elements to analyze the above-mentioned sedimentary profiles. Then, information about agricultural activities and climate change was obtained at the Yumin site. Their research findings were recently published in Science China Earth Sciences.

Their research illustrates that agriculture had already begun in northern China’s farming-pastoral zone during the Yumin culture period (around 8,000 years ago), as evidenced by carbonized millet at the house site (F6) of the Yumin site and combined with agricultural production and processing tools discovered during excavation, as well as 16 representative residences. The origin of agriculture at the Yumin site occurred later than a significant increase in precipitation during the early Holocene but coincided with a substantial rise in vegetation around 8.4 ka. Their findings indicate that the gradual improvement of hydrothermal conditions since the beginning of the Holocene has resulted in the gradual conversion of the land surface from infertile sand to organic-rich soil, providing an appropriate environmental foundation for the origin of dryland farming in northern China around 8.4 ka. The “accumulative environmental effects” during the early Holocene played an essential role in the origin of agriculture in northern China, and it provided a reference for agricultural management in the face of future climate change.

 

Jia X, Zhang Z, Sun Y, Jiang R, Yi S, Chen W, Sun J, Li G, Wang S, Li E, Hu X, Bao Q, Lee H F, Lu H. 2024. Amelioration of habitat since the early Holocene contributed to the origin of agriculture in the farming-pastoral zone of northern China. Science China Earth Sciences, 67(8): 2535-2546, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-023-1316-9

Carbonized foxtail millet seed identified from F6 in the Yumin site 

Caption

Two sides of the same carbonized foxtail millet seed.

The climate records of the Yumin Site and others in the surrounding areas indicated a significant increase of precipitation during the early Holocene (Figure a-f), while the soil formation (Figure g), increased woody plants (Figure h) and organic matter (Figure i), and agricultural origin (Figure j) in the Yumin Site and its surrounding areas were discovered in the middle Holocene.

Credit

©Science China Press

Journal

Science China Earth Sciences

DOI

10.1007/s11430-023-1316-9 

 

Delivery robots’ green credentials make them more attractive to consumers

Washington State University

PULLMAN, Wash. – The smaller carbon footprint, or wheel print, of automatic delivery robots can encourage consumers to use them when ordering food, according to a Washington State University study.

The suitcase-sized, self-driving electric vehicles are much greener than many traditional food delivery methods because they have low, or even zero, carbon emissions. In this study, participants who had more environmental awareness and knowledge about carbon emissions were more likely to choose the robots as a delivery method. The green influence went away though when people perceived the robots as a high-risk choice—meaning they worried that their food would be late, cold or otherwise spoiled before it arrived.

The findings, reported in the International Journal of Hospitality Management, indicate a way to promote the use of delivery robots.

“Much of the marketing focus has been on the functionality and the convenience of these automatic delivery robots, which is really important, but it would enhance these efforts to promote their green aspects as well,” said lead author Jennifer Han, a doctoral student in WSU’s Carson College of Business.

Working with WSU researchers Hyun Jeong Kim and Soobin Seo, Han conducted an online survey with 418 adult participants recruited through MTurk, Amazon’s crowdsourcing platform. More than half were from urban areas, and many were already familiar with delivery robots, which are gaining in popularity in big cities. The participants watched short videos about automatic delivery robots and answered questions about carbon emissions as well as the robots themselves.

The researchers found a strong correlation between high ranked statements related to carbon emissions and the willingness to use the automatic delivery robots or ADRs. That connection broke, however, among people who thought using the technology was risky.

“When people had a higher perceived risk about using the ADRs, they didn’t really care about the environmental concerns, but people who had less perceived risk were more strongly attached to this decision mechanism,” said Han. “So, it was pretty clear that all these essential functional features have to work. Then the environmental issues come after that.”

The pandemic pushed an increase in online food ordering by 63%, according to Statista, which has in turn resulted in increased congestion and carbon emissions as more gas-powered vehicles hit the road to deliver the food. Many automatic delivery robots, which can travel on sidewalks and roads, are electric, and some rely on renewable energy sources like solar power. Other research has estimated that ADR-use can reduce congestion by 29% and carbon emissions by 16%.

More food service businesses are turning to automatic delivery robots to do so-called “last mile” delivery. Some companies like Dominos already have their own delivery fleets, but smaller restaurants are using them as well through services such as Grubhub and Starship Technologies.

ADRs may appeal to businesses simply because they help meet the growing demand for delivery services, but as this study indicates, their ability to curb carbon emissions may also prove a powerful motivator for consumers.

Han suggested that companies could highlight the delivery robots’ green credentials by displaying a calculation of the emissions of each delivery method.

“They could show consumers that they are reducing this much of carbon footprint through the delivery robot service. That would be one cue to promote those purchasing behaviors, if consumers have a big interest in environmental issues,” she said.

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Journal

International Journal of Hospitality Management

DOI

10.1016/j.ijhm.2024.103804