Oyster study nets $1.4 million NSF grant

University of Virginia College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

 

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Associate Professor Max Castorani, a marine ecologist in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia’s College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, will launch a new NSF-funded study focused on understanding how environmental changes impact the success of restored oyster populations.

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Credit: Evan Kutsko

At the start of the 20th century, over 500 million oysters were harvested annually from the Chesapeake Bay, making it one of the most valuable fisheries in the United States. However, by 2000, overfishing and disease had all but wiped out the wild oysters.

Recent efforts by governments and nonprofits to restore oyster habitats have shown promise in reversing this decline. But despite significant investments in rebuilding oyster reefs, the success of these restoration efforts has been mixed. This month, Associate Professor Max Castorani, a marine ecologist in the Department of Environmental Sciences at UVA’s College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, will launch a new study focused on understanding how environmental changes impact the success of restored oyster populations. By partnering with The Nature Conservancy, Castorani aims to inform habitat recovery planning across Virginia’s coastal bays. His innovative research has won him a CAREER Award, the National Science Foundation’s top honor for early-career faculty who serve as academic role models in research and education.

Since 1987, UVA’s Virginia Coast Reserve Long Term Ecological Research program, based on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, has collaborated with The Nature Conservancy and several partner universities to produce science that helps local communities from Assateague Island to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel respond to a wide range of environmental challenges that directly impact their lives and the future of the seashore. Castorani is among the scientists leading this program, working to advance coastal science and environmental solutions. His new CAREER Award will leverage decades of knowledge and partnerships developed through the program.

Where Ecology Meets Economy

Adult oysters can’t move, but when they spawn, their larvae float in the water for about two weeks at the whim of currents, tides, and wind until they are able to sink down into a spot suitable to support them for the rest of their lives. The larvae may end up back near where they started or drift miles away, sometimes landing in a favorable spot and sometimes not. Castorani’s research focuses on understanding the factors that affect this journey to predict where oyster offspring are likely to settle. Bringing these predictions together with data on how many oyster larvae are produced, and how well they grow and survive in their new home, he can assess the effectiveness of restoration efforts. A key question in his research is whether restoring reefs in strategic locations can enable thriving oyster populations to support struggling ones by sharing large numbers of larvae.

Castorani is collaborating with UVA oceanographer Patricia Wiberg and Will White, a fisheries scientist from Oregon State University, to develop mathematical models that forecast the outcomes of restoration efforts. The team hopes their work will help habitat restoration experts on the Eastern Shore to build reefs in places that support healthy oyster populations while minimizing the risks associated with a changing climate.

“My role is to produce the best scientific information possible to guide restoration practices and help managers maximize the return on investment with limited time and resources,” Castorani said. “The project will reveal how larvae connect oyster populations across Virginia’s seaside bays and use that information to guide where managers should restore oysters to create resilient and productive reefs for the future.”

Castorani is also working closely with Bo Lusk, who leads The Nature Conservancy’s marine restoration efforts in the region. “This work helps us plan strategically as The Nature Conservancy designs oyster reef restoration projects to enhance the production of many of our local fisheries, protect our shorelines from erosion and preserve this essential part of the local Eastern Shore culture and history,” Lusk said.

Castorani noted that pilot data crucial to this project’s success were made possible through seed funding from the College. This support facilitated earlier studies by former postdoctoral researcher Rachel Smith and recent Ph.D. graduates Kinsey Tedford and Qingguang Zhu, who will continue to contribute to the new research.

The $1.4 million grant will fund a five-year field campaign, allowing Castorani and a team of students to collect long-term data from coastal waterways. They will also gather information about local goals and challenges to develop restoration resources that positively impact the region’s residents and maritime economy.

Oyster restoration is gaining momentum across the U.S., from the East Coast to the Gulf of Mexico. The United Nations has declared 2021–2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, emphasizing efforts to prevent or reverse ecosystem degradation on every continent to regain lost biodiversity, combat climate change, and promote sustainable economic development.

“Globally, there’s growing attention to coastal restoration, including oyster reefs, and this work is accelerating,” Castorani said. “My goal is to use what we learn in Virginia to inspire restoration science and planning worldwide.”

Oysters in the Classroom

In addition to funding groundbreaking research, the highly competitive CAREER Award also recognizes exceptional educators. For Castorani, the grant will enable a team of undergraduates to gain hands-on research experience, an important component of UVA’s world-class education. He will also develop a new course in restoration ecology that will take UVA students to the field to collect data used in the research.

The grant also provides the opportunity for Castorani to work with K–12 and community-college educators on the Eastern Shore to develop research-inspired curricula that engage students with coastal restoration and its potential impact on the future of their communities.

Having grown up in Delaware, Castorani has a personal connection to the challenges facing the Bay and the communities that depend on it, making this award especially meaningful.

“I feel fortunate and grateful to be supported by the National Science Foundation,” Castorani said. “This award allows for sustained research over a long period of time, leading to discoveries than are hard to achieve with short-term funding.”

 

Sustaining oyster farming with sturdier rafts

Affordable polyethylene rafts found 5 times more durable that usual bamboo ones

Osaka Metropolitan University

 

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Researchers propose using this affordable, sturdier raft than conventional rafts made from bamboo.

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Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University

Amid the rising human population and pressure on food supplies, the world can’t be everyone’s oyster. But perhaps there might be more oysters to eat if an Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team’s findings mean sturdy plastic rafts will be used in their farming.

Conventional oyster farming uses bamboo rafts with additional flotation devices such as Styrofoam. Though relatively affordable, these rafts can be damaged in typhoons. The OMU-led researchers propose a polyethylene raft that keeps costs manageable but is about five times more durable than a bamboo raft.

OMU Graduate School of Engineering Associate Professor Yasunori Nihei led the team in running the numerical analysis and verifying the performance by building a test model of the polyethylene raft.

“The numerical analysis technique developed in this research is expected to be applicable not only to oysters, but also to the performance evaluation of aquaculture ponds,” Professor Nihei proclaimed. “We hope our efforts will contribute greatly to the future growth of the aquaculture industry.”

The findings were published in Ocean Engineering.

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About OMU 

Established in Osaka as one of the largest public universities in Japan, Osaka Metropolitan University is committed to shaping the future of society through “Convergence of Knowledge” and the promotion of world-class research. For more research news, visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ and follow us on social media: X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

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Journal

Ocean Engineering

DOI

10.1016/j.oceaneng.2024.118537 

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of R

esearch

Not applicable

Article Title

Motion characteristics and deformation performance of highly flexible polyethylene rafts for oyster farming

 

Sol-gel transition effect based on thermosensitive hydrogel for photo-assisted uranium extraction

This study provides a promising solution for developing high-performance intelligent photocatalytic hydrogels for treating uranium-containing wastewater.

Science China Press

 

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Through a series of characterizations of γ-FeOOH microgel and γ-FeOOH/KGM(Ga)/PNIPAM thermosensitive hydrogel, it is demonstrated that the composite thermosensitive hydrogel has been successfully synthesized, and that the γ-FeOOH/KGM(Ga)/PNIPAM thermosensitive hydrogel exhibits a tunable phase transition effect based on temperature changes. Photo credit: Wenkun Zhu and Tao Chen.

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Credit: Photo credit: Wenkun Zhu and Tao Chen.

To achieve carbon reduction goals, reducing emissions is crucial, and nuclear power plays a key role in providing reliable, low-carbon electricity, aiding carbon neutrality. However, the nuclear industry faces the significant challenge of managing uranium-containing wastewater, a byproduct of fuel production, nuclear plant operations, and facility decommissioning. Due to the strong coordination properties of uranyl ions (UO22+) with carbonate ligands, carbonate-containing complexes easily form in wastewater, complicating uranium enrichment and removal. Therefore, new uranium extraction technologies are needed to replace traditional adsorption and membrane separation techniques for removing and recovering uranium from carbonate-containing uranium wastewater.

Photo-assisted uranium extraction is an emerging technology that uses photo-generated electrons to drive accelerated extraction kinetics and selectively extract uranium from carbonate-containing uranium wastewater, avoiding non-reductive coexisting ions. Traditional photocatalysis mainly relies on powdered nano-photocatalysts, which are difficult to separate from the reaction medium, limiting practical application. To address this issue, the research team led by Wenkun Zhu and Tao Chen investigated hydrogels as photocatalytic carriers, combining a novel strategy with intelligent thermosensitive materials that dynamically change their physical state at different temperatures. This approach resolves the contradiction between high contact area during the reaction and easy recovery afterward.

The researchers demonstrated that the introduction of the thermosensitive material PNIPAM enables the dynamic phase transition of γ-FeOOH/KGM(Ga) microgels from a dispersed state with high specific surface area at low temperatures to a stable aggregated state at high temperatures. The γ-FeOOH/KGM(Ga)/PNIPAM thermosensitive hydrogel exhibited an excellent ability to remove up to 92.3% of uranium from carbonate-containing wastewater. Even in uranium mine wastewater, it maintained over 90% uranium removal efficiency. Using electron spin resonance (ESR) and radical trapping experiments, the researchers confirmed that the γ-FeOOH/KGM(Ga)/PNIPAM thermosensitive hydrogel captures dissociated uranyl ions through oxygen-rich functional groups and subsequently reduces and immobilizes uranium via reactive species such as e– and ∙O2–.

 This study provides a promising solution for developing high-performance intelligent photocatalytic hydrogels for treating uranium-containing wastewater.

See the article:

Xudong Wu, Tong Liu, Huimin Li, Yizhou He, Guolin Yang, Wenkun Zhu, Tao Chen. Sol-gel transition effect based on konjac glucomannan thermosensitive hydrogel for photo-assisted uranium extraction. Science Bulletin, 2024, 69(19). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2024.07.005

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Journal

Science Bulletin

DOI

10.1016/j.scib.2024.07.005 

The performance of γ-FeOOH/KGM(Ga)/PNIPAM thermosensitive hydrogel was tested in carbonate-containing wastewater and real uranium mine wastewater. The results showed that γ-FeOOH/KGM(Ga)/PNIPAM thermosensitive hydrogel exhibited excellent uranium removal capability in both carbonate-containing wastewater and real uranium mine wastewater. Photo credit: Wenkun Zhu and Tao Chen.

The adsorption-reduction-nucleation-crystallization mechanism of uranium on γ-FeOOH/KGM(Ga)/PNIPAM thermosensitive hydrogel was revealed by electron spin resonance, free radical capture, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and so on. Photo credit: Wenkun Zhu and Tao Chen.

Credit

Photo credit: Wenkun Zhu and Tao Chen.

Pusan National University researchers reveal the causes for Greenland’s abnormal warming

The climate factors revealed in the study shed new light on Greenland’s climate and can help predict the future development of Greenland’s ice sheet

Pusan National University

 

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The results of the study reveal the clear-sky downwelling longwave radiation from the atmosphere and the resulting surface albedo feedback due to the melting of ice as the dominant factors for abnormal temperatures of Greenland.

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Credit: Professor Kyung-Ja Ha from Pusan National University, South Korea

Global warming, driven by human activities, has led to rising average temperatures worldwide. However, Greenland has been warming at an even faster rate than the rest of the world, leading to accelerated ice sheet melting. This intensified warming in the northern regions, known as Arctic Amplification, has the potential to raise sea levels significantly, posing a threat to coastal areas and ecosystems globally. Understanding the drivers behind this phenomenon is crucial for predicting future climate impacts.

Studies have previously attributed Arctic Amplification to local climate feedback processes, heat release from the Arctic Ocean, and energy transport from the south. Melting sea ice during summers further amplifies warming trends through a process known as surface albedo feedback, where less ice leads to less sunlight being reflected into space. Additionally, the Greenland blocking index—a climate mode indicating the strength of high-pressure blocking conditions over Greenland—has been linked to temperature trends in the region. However, past studies have primarily focused on overall warming trends, often overlooking the specific causes of extreme year-to-year temperature events and relying mainly on energy balance models.

To address these gaps, a team of researchers from Korea, led by Professor Kyung-Ja Ha, from the Department of Climate System at Pusan National University, including Manuel Tobias Blau, also from Pusan National University, and Dr. Eui-Seok Chung from the Division of Atmospheric Sciences at Korea Polar Research Institute, investigated the anomalous warming trends in Greenland from 1979 to 2021. “In this study, we focused on the year-to-year perturbations of the surface energy budget to explain Greenland’s extreme temperature,” explains Prof. Ha. Their study was published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment on July 28, 2024.

The researchers employed a surface energy budget framework, which separates the contributions of radiative and non-radiative sources, to analyze temperature anomaly events over Greenland. Their findings revealed that increases in clear-sky downwelling longwave radiation—the heat radiated by the atmosphere to the surface on clear-sky days—and the resulting surface albedo feedback were the dominant factors in Greenland’s surface warming.

The researchers also investigated the mechanism for this increase in clear-sky radiation and found an increase in atmospheric temperature as the primary driver. Specifically, in warm years, the combination of increased surface temperatures and tropospheric warming led to turbulent heat exchange between the atmosphere and the surface. This process also enhanced moisture transport from the south to Greenland and contributed to the formation of a high-pressure system, resembling a blocking anticyclone, which trapped and sustained warm conditions. These dynamics resulted in intense ice melting, creating a feedback loop that further amplified the warming effects. Moreover, different modes of natural climate variability, particularly those related to the blocking index, can either amplify or moderate these warming trends, leading to extreme temperature events.

“The results suggest a significant impact of natural variability in explaining the atmospheric anomalies leading to extreme summers over Greenland,” says Prof. Ha. Highlighting the importance of the study, she adds, “Considering climate change, the extreme summer temperature over Greenland will further accelerate the ice sheet melting, leading to a rapid sea level rise.”

By shedding light on the drivers of Greenland's extreme summer temperatures, this study offers crucial insights that could help project the future development of the Greenland ice sheet and inform strategies to prevent further degradation.

 

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Reference

 

DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01549-7          

 

About the institute
Pusan National University, located in Busan, South Korea, was founded in 1946 and is now the No. 1 national university of South Korea in research and educational competency. The multi-campus university also has other smaller campuses in Yangsan, Miryang, and Ami. The university prides itself on the principles of truth, freedom, and service, and has approximately 30,000 students, 1200 professors, and 750 faculty members. The university is composed of 14 colleges (schools) and one independent division, with 103 departments in all.

Website: https://www.pusan.ac.kr/eng/Main.do

 

About the authors
Professor Kyung-Ja Ha is a climate physicist at IBS Center for Climate Physics and Institute for Future Earth of Pusan National University from South Korea. She has been a Professor at the Department of Climate System (~2016) and the Department of Atmospheric Sciences (~1994) at Pusan National University and leads the Global Monsoon Climate Lab (GMCL). She received her M.S. from Seoul National University, Korea, in 1984 and her Ph.D. from Yonsei University in 1992. She was a member of the presidential Science and Technology advisory committee and president of Korea Meteorological Society at South Korea. She has published over 300 articles and has been cited over 7,000 times. Her research interests include climate physics, monsoon dynamics, planetary boundary layer modeling, hydroclimate, and tropical-extratropical interaction.

She has co-authored this article with Manuel Tobias Blau and Dr. Eui-Seok Chung.

Mr. Manuel Blau is a graduate student in the interdisciplinary Department of Climate System at Pusan National University. He is pursuing his Ph.D. degree under the supervision of Prof. Ha.

Dr. Eui-Seok Chung is working on the detection and attribution of climate change over the polar regions at the Korea Polar Research Institute.

Lab website: https://ibsclimate.org http://gmcl.pusan.ac.kr

ORCID id: 0000-0003-1753-9304

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Journal

Communications Earth & Environment

DOI

10.1038/s43247-024-01549-7 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Extreme summer temperature anomalies over Greenland largely result from clear-sky radiation and circulation anomalies

 

Insights from satellite data pave the way to better solar power generation

Scientists investigate fluctuations of solar irradiance in time and space over the Asia Pacific region to help guide plans for solar power plants

Chiba University

 

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These maps display spatial heterogeneity in solar irradiance and the impact of the umbrella effect on the Asia Pacific region during different times of the year. Using these data, the optimal location of solar power plants can be derived in terms of obtaining a stable and reliable power supply; these regions should have both low heterogeneity and a low umbrella effect index.

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Credit: Kalingga Titon Nur Ihsan from Chiba University and Institut Teknologi Bandung

Amidst the ongoing energy crisis and under the threat of climate change, exploiting renewable energy sources has quickly become a global necessity. Though our options are varied, solar energy seems to be our best bet—experts estimate that it may become our main energy source well before the turn of the century.

Despite its clear advantages, solar energy generation has some limitations. Much like the wind, solar irradiance in a given region can vary quickly depending on weather conditions, causing fluctuations in power output. These fluctuations not only pose a problem for power grids but also imply that meeting energy demands may not always be a guarantee. Thus, having a clear understanding of the possible variations in solar irradiance in time and space is crucial to determining the optimal locations for solar power plants.

Against this backdrop, a research team led by Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Hideaki Takenaka from the Center for Environmental Remote Sensing, Chiba University, set out to extend our knowledge of solar irradiance over the Asia Pacific region. In their latest study, made available online on June 13, 2024, and published in Volume 276 of Solar Energy in July 2024, they conducted an in-depth analysis of solar irradiance data gathered from geostationary satellites. Other team members included Kalingga Titon Nur Ihsan, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, and Atsushi Higuchi, Center for Environmental Remote Sensing, both from Chiba University, as well as Anjar Dimara Sakti and Ketut Wikantika from the Center for Remote Sensing at Institut Teknologi Bandung.

The data for the analysis came from Himawari-8 and Himawari-9, two Japanese satellites that collect images with high temporal and spatial resolution over the Asia Pacific region. The researchers used AMATERASS solar radiation data obtained from quasi-real time analysis of solar radiation synchronized with geostationary satellite observation. They were developed by Dr. Takenaka and colleagues to accurately estimate solar irradiance via high-speed radiative transfer calculations using neural networks. AMATERASS operation started in July 2007, and analysis data was archived continuously for over 16 years. This data was made publicly available by the Chiba University, CEReS DAAC (Distributed Active Archive Center), downloaded 186,465,724 times, and used in various research and Japanese national projects. By leveraging this technology, the team estimated solar irradiance variability in terms of spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Simply put, they calculated how drastically solar radiation varies in space and time by analyzing solar irradiance data over a 20 km by 20 km grid every ten minutes.    

Their analysis revealed interesting facts about solar irradiance over the region. For example, the team found that locations near the equator experienced lower fluctuations in solar irradiance over time compared to higher latitude regions due to the effects of rain and cloud activity. Moreover, regions of higher elevation exhibited higher heterogeneity due to higher cloud activity. The area around the Tibetan Plateau showed high seasonal changes in the magnitude of the ‘umbrella effect,’ which quantifies how much solar energy is reflected back to space. “Our evaluations based on spatiotemporal data revealed characteristics that would’ve been impossible to achieve using a traditional approach that relies on simple long-term averages or TMY (Typical Meteorological Year) as a typical solar irradiance data,” highlights Dr. Takenaka.

In addition to these insights, the research team assessed the performance of over 1,900 existing solar power plants using annual and seasonal data. They found that, due to umbrella effects caused by clouds, the production of a large portion of these plants is not optimum from June to August. This implies that the most affected zones should not rely entirely on solar power to meet increased demands during these months. 

Finally, the researchers also investigated the optimal format for future solar power plants, concluding that more widely distributed solar energy generation is superior to more localized efforts. “Based on the spatial and temporal characteristics of solar irradiance, we suggest that it should be possible to suppress rapid fluctuations in solar power generation output by distributing small photovoltaic systems over a wide area rather than relying on large solar power plants,” explains Dr. Takenaka. “Worth noting, these conclusions come from weather and climate research, not an engineering perspective.” One way to achieve this vision might be through the use of rooftop solar panels, which is a growing trend in many countries.

Overall, the findings of this study will help us plan for the short- and long-term future of solar energy generation in the Asia Pacific region, bolstering sustainable energy technologies and aiding in our fight against climate change.

About Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Hideaki Takenaka
Hideaki Takenaka obtained a Ph.D. degree from Chiba University in 2009. He currently holds a special research and teaching position at the Center for Environmental Remote Sensing at Chiba University. His work focuses on solar energy, satellite remote sensing, solar radiation monitoring, and weather and climate science. He has published over 40 papers on these topics.

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Journal

Solar Energy

DOI

10.1016/j.solener.2024.112678 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Solar irradiance variability around Asia Pacific: Spatial and temporal perspective for active use of solar energy

 

USTC makes breakthrough in water pollution control using single-atom catalysis

University of Science and Technology of China

 

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Morphological and Structural Characteristics of Nanoconfined Single-Atom Catalysts and Catalytic Reaction Mechanism.

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Credit: Yan Meng et.al

Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Suzhou Institute for Advanced Study have made a discovery in the field of water pollution control. They have developed a new technique using single-atom catalysts (SACs) within a Fenton-like catalytic system that significantly improves the efficiency of breaking down pollutants in water. Their findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Single-atom catalysts are tiny, powerful tools in chemical reactions that can help clean water by breaking down harmful pollutants. However, their efficiency has been limited by the slow movement of reactants to the catalyst's surface and the high amount of oxidants needed. Previous research attributed efficiency improvements in nanoconfined SACs to the surface enrichment of pollutants and oxidants. However, the exact mechanisms were not fully understood.

The research team discovered that by confining these catalysts within tiny, nanometer-sized pores in silica particles, they could dramatically speed up the reaction and use oxidants more efficiently. Their experiments showed that, apart from the local enrichment of reactants, the catalytic pathway itself changed. Instead of relying on singlet oxygen (a reactive form of oxygen), the reaction shifted to a direct electron transfer process, which is much more efficient for breaking down pollutants.

This new method resulted in an astonishing 34.7-fold increase in the rate of pollutant degradation compared to traditional methods. The efficiency of oxidant use also improved significantly, from 61.8% to 96.6%. The system proved to be highly effective in degrading various electron-rich phenolic compounds, demonstrating robustness in different environmental conditions and maintaining high performance in real lake water tests.

This research provides a deeper understanding of how nanoconfined catalysts work and opens up new possibilities for developing low-carbon, efficient water purification technologies. It offers a promising direction for further innovations in advanced oxidation processes and other applications in environmental science.

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-49605-2 

Article Title

Nanoconfinement steers nonradical pathway transition in single atom fenton-like catalysis for improving oxidant utilization

The UJI and the company Semicrol launch a platform for the exchange of experimental samples that will reduce the number of animals for scientific purposes

ARUKON allows the reuse of the countless samples stored in experimental laboratories

Universitat Jaume I

 

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Professor Javier S. Burgos from the Applied Biomedicine Research Group (BIOTRANSFER-UJI) presented this new technological solution at the 17th Congress of the Spanish Society for Laboratory Animal Sciences (SECAL)

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Credit: Universitat Jaume I de Castellón

The Universitat Jaume I of Castelló and the company Semicrol, S.L. are developing a research project with the aim of creating an innovative platform to reuse the innumerable animal experimentation samples stored in research laboratories and rationalise their use in order to significantly reduce the number of animals used for scientific purposes.

Animal research plays a fundamental role in understanding the biological mechanisms involved in diseases and in the development of medical treatments, although it involves a high cost for the animals. Without them, most of the medicines, antibiotics, vaccines and surgical techniques used in human and veterinary medicine would not be available.

Funded by the R&D&I Programme in Strategic Lines in public-private collaboration of the Spanish Research Agency of the Ministry of Science and Innovation in the 2022 call for proposals, the ARUKON tool is intended to revolutionise scientific research through the reuse of samples, at a time when society is searching for ethical alternatives to reduce the number of animals in experimentation.

With the completion of the first part of the project, the first module of the free global sample manager has been made available to research staff, which will allow a progressive reduction in the number of animals used in science, but without compromising the impact and benefits of biomedical research.

The ARUKON platform offers innovative solutions to the different publics involved in the process, such as research staff, through collaboration and synergy between groups, by optimising their resources and adding value to the samples already extracted; or public and private institutions, by reducing their costs with income from the sale of unused samples and optimising storage space in laboratories.

It will also favour the deployment of innovative policies in public administrations to effectively reduce the use of experimental animals and will respond to citizens' demands for a reduction in the number of animals sacrificed for scientific purposes.

The ARUKON project, led by the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló in collaboration with the company Semicrol, S.L., combines scientific knowledge and industrial experience to promote ethical and efficient research. The consultancy firm Ayming participates as the project's technical office, ensuring efficient execution and providing comprehensive support.

Professor Javier S. Burgos from the Applied Biomedicine Research Group (BIOTRANSFER-UJI) presented this new technological solution at the 17th Congress of the Spanish Society for Laboratory Animal Sciences (SECAL) held in Santiago de Compostela at the end of 2023.

The animal experimentation carried out at the UJI complies with legal standards and is reviewed by an ethical committee for animal experimentation that promotes the use of alternative methods, the reduction of the number of animals used and the refinement of experimental procedures. It adheres to the 2016 Agreement on Transparency in Animal Experimentation, promoted by the Confederation of Spanish Scientific Societies (COSCE), with the collaboration of the European Association for Animal Research (EARA).

More information: arukoninfo@gmail.com

 

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Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of Research

Animals

 

UofL Green Heart Louisville Project study shows reduced inflammation in residents after adding trees to their neighborhoods

Inflammation is associated with increased risk of heart disease and cancer

Reports and Proceedings

University of Louisville

 

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A residential area showing trees and shrubs added for the Green Heart Louisville Project. 

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Credit: Mike Wilkinson for The Nature Conservancy

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville’s groundbreaking Green Heart Louisville Project has found that people living in neighborhoods where the number of trees and shrubs was more than doubled showed lower levels of a blood marker of inflammation than those living outside the planted areas. General inflammation is an important risk indicator for heart disease and other chronic diseases.

The Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute launched the first-of-its-kind project in 2018 in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Washington University in St. Louis, Hyphae Design Laboratory and others to study whether and how living among more densely greened surroundings contributes to better heart health. The design of the study closely mirrors clinical trials which test whether medical treatments are effective. The team applied the treatment – the addition of large trees and shrubs – to some participants’ neighborhoods but not to others. They then compared residents’ health data to see how the addition of the trees affected their health.

“The Green Heart Louisville Project is an excellent example of how our university’s innovative and collaborative researchers are working to improve lives in our community and far beyond,” UofL President Kim Schatzel said. “Trees are beautiful, but these results show that the trees around us are also beneficial to individual and community health. Through this and many other projects, the Envirome Institute is improving health at the community level, not just for individuals, but for everyone living in a neighborhood.”

To understand the state of community’s health at the start of the study, researchers took blood, urine, hair and nail samples and documented health data from 745 people living in a four-square-mile area of south Louisville. The researchers also took detailed measurements of tree coverage and levels of air pollution in the area.

Following this baseline data collection, the Envirome Institute worked with The Nature Conservancy and a host of local partners and contractors to plant more than 8,000 large trees and shrubs in designated neighborhoods within the project area. Those living in the greened area were considered the treated population and the results obtained from this population were compared with residents of adjacent neighborhoods, where the project team did not plant any trees.

After the plantings, the research team reassessed residents’ health. They found that those living in the greened area had 13-20% lower levels of a biomarker of general inflammation, a measure called high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) than those living in the areas that did not receive any new trees or shrubs. Higher levels of hsCRP are strongly associated with a risk of cardiovascular disease and are an even stronger indicator of heart attack than cholesterol levels. Higher CRP levels also indicate a higher risk of diabetes and certain cancers.

A reduction of hsCRP by this percentage corresponds to nearly 10-15% reduction in the risk of heart attacks, cancer or dying from any disease.

“These results from the Green Heart Louisville Project indicate that trees contribute more to our lives than beauty and shade. They can improve the health of the people living around them,” said Aruni Bhatnagar, director of the Envirome Institute and UofL professor of medicine. “Although several previous studies have found an association between living in areas of high surrounding greenness and health, this is the first study to show that a deliberate increase in greenness in the neighborhood can improve health. With these results and additional studies that we hope to report soon, we are closer to understanding the impact of local tree cover on residents’ health. This finding will bolster the push to increase urban greenspaces.”

As more is known about the health impacts of increased tree cover, increased greening in cities may emerge as a key method to improve public health.

“Most of us intuitively understand that nature is good for our health.  But scientific research testing, verifying and evaluating this connection is rare,” said Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist of The Nature Conservancy. “These recent findings from the Green Heart Project build the scientific case for the powerful connections between the health of our planet and the health of all of us.”

Earlier in August, the Green Heart Louisville Project was awarded an additional $4.6 million in funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to support continued research over the next five years.

These findings were presented by Daniel Riggs, UofL assistant professor of environmental medicine, at the 36th Annual Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology in Santiago, Chile on Aug. 26.

 

Before and after image of area where trees were planted along Watterson Expressway/Interstate 264 in Louisville, KY for the Green Heart Louisville Project.

Aruni Bhatnagar, director of the University of Louisville Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, standing amid some of the 8,000 trees and shrubs planted for the project.

Credit

Mike Wilkinson for The Nature Conservancy

Map of the Green Heart Louisville Project area showing neighborhoods where trees were planted and those where no trees were planted for the project.

Credit

University of Louisville