Fine-tuning RNA extraction protocols for polysaccharide-rich freshwater red algae (Rhodophyta).

Freshwater red algae are important primary producers, widely distributed, contributing significantly to nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems. Recent studies have focused on identifying the effect of different environmental conditions such as light on the gene expression in photosynthesis pathways. However, obtaining the necessary RNA quantity and quality for sequencing from these algae has been challenging. Although RNA extractions have been optimized for model organisms, RNA extraction for non-model organisms, such as gelatinous (polysaccharide-rich) red algae, requires considerable troubleshooting. The common freshwater red alga, Batrachospermum gelatinosum , was used to test protocols. The extraction efficiency of various sample disruption methods in combination with seven RNA extraction kits was compared. Using a 2-minute disruption procedure with a modification of TRIzol ™ Plus RNA Purification Kit (PureLink ™ RNA Mini Kit + Trizol ™ ) protocol resulted in significantly higher RIN scores (p < 0.05) and high RNA concentration, compared to other methods. The fine-tuned protocol yielded quality RNA (RIN>7) in high concentrations for subsequent sequencing.

Sustainable pathways for attaining net-zero emissions in European emerging countries - the nexus between renewable energy sources and ecological footprint.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between renewable energy and ecological footprint during the period of 1994-2018 from selected developing countries in Europe (Czechia, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Romania, and Turkey). In this context, the ecological footprint (EF), which has recently been the most widely used environmental indicator in the literature and is known as the most comprehensive because it includes many environmental factors, has been determined as the dependent variable. As independent variables, renewable energy consumption (REC), energy-related tax revenue (ETR), and energy productivity (EP) are included in the model. GDP and development of environment-related technologies (DET), which affect the ecological footprint in the model, are determined as control variables. As a result of the panel data analysis, according to the Durbin-Hausman cointegration test result, a long-term relationship between the variables was determined. According to the CCE estimator analysis, it can be said that there is a positive relationship between ETR and GDP variables and EF. For the AMG estimator analysis, it can be said that there is a positive relationship between GDP and EP variables and EF. Finally, according to the results of the Konya Causality test, a unidirectional causality relationship is detected from environmental technologies to the ecological footprint in Turkey, and a unidirectional causality relationship from the ecological footprint to GDP in Czechia, Romania, and Turkey. Furthermore, no causality relationship is detected between other variables. Based on the results, several policy implications are suggested.

Understanding the Green Procurement Behavior of Household Appliance Manufacturing Industry: An Empirical Study of the Enablers.

Green procurement, as a crucial green supply chain practice, contributes to sustainability achievement and reduces carbon emissions by selecting sustainable suppliers or outsourcing partners. The green procurement of household appliance manufacturing can reduce carbon emissions from the source and increase the competitiveness of products. To help better understand the driving powers and influential mechanism of green purchasing behavior for household appliance manufacturers, the green procurement mechanism is investigated by presenting an empirical study considering both endogenous and exogenous factors. A survey-based questionnaire is designed, and a semistructured interview is conducted for data collection. Besides, the structural equation model (SEM) approach is employed to test the supposed hypotheses and proposed assumptions based on the collected 529 questionnaire responses. The empirical results show that exogenous driving powers are more inclined to encourage household appliance manufacturers to perform green procurement strategy compared with endogenous factors. Additionally, the business strategy, governmental regulations, and customer awareness show greater influence on green purchasing behavior, while the corporate culture, production system, and suppliers have little impact. Taxation policies, environmental awareness, and green strategies are the three main driving factors for promoting green procurement from the governmental, individual, and organizational dimensions. This empirical study assists to investigate potential factors affecting green purchasing behavior and helps to disclose the influential mechanisms from a systematic viewpoint. Results derived from the empirical analysis could assist to achieve sustainability by better understanding green purchasing behavior and better promoting green procurement strategies.

Assessing the EKC hypothesis by considering the supply chain disruption and greener energy: findings in the lens of sustainable development goals.

This paper investigates the effect of the supply chain disruption, greener energy consumption, and economic growth on carbon emissions in advanced economies and emerging markets from 1997 to 2021 using panel quantile autoregressive distributed lags (QARDL) and the panel quantile regression (QR). The results of the two models confirm, on the one hand, the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis and, on the other hand, the role of renewable energy consumption in mitigating carbon emissions in advanced and developing economies. Furthermore, the finding shows that the supply chain disruption for the long run is positive at all quantiles, indicating the evidence of association at the extreme low and high quantiles than at the intermediate quantile. In addition, the effect of the supply chain decreases at the lower quantile. It turns negative at the upper 90th quantile in the short run, indicating that the supply chain disruption reduces the environmental degradation under the bearish market conditions. In the future, the increasing supply chain disruptions due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and further COVID-19 worldwide can consider sluggish economic growth and play an essential role in promoting renewable energy abundance and reducing CO2 emissions. Practical implications are reported in the lens of carbon neutrality and structural changes.

Internet of things for perishable inventory management systems: an application and managerial insights for micro, small and medium enterprises.

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) operating in the food retailing sector encounter two main concerns with respect to their perishable inventory management system, i.e., the product's shelf life and investment in warehouse monitoring systems. New technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), automated inventory control platforms, and automatic storage and retrieval systems offer effective solutions to these issues. However, MSMEs are reluctant to adopt these technologies due to their prior perception of higher implementation costs and the expected benefits. The present study aims to optimize IoT implementation in MSMEs' inventory management systems and to provide tangible proof of its feasibility and usefulness. In so doing, we propose a mathematical model and analyze the impact of IoT through two case studies. The model provides a cost-benefit analysis of IoT investments that aim to increase products' shelf life. We adopted the fractional program method, solved by particle swarm optimization on MATLAB software. The findings demonstrate the positive correlation between adopting IoT and reduced inventory costs supporting IoT deployment for improved perishability performance in MSMEs. The study offers several insights and practical guidelines in considering IoT deployment in MSMEs.

Land Use Change Increases Wildlife Parasite Diversity in Anamalai Hills, Western Ghats, India.

Anthropogenic landscape changes such as land use change and habitat fragmentation are known to alter wildlife diversity. Since host and parasite diversities are strongly connected, landscape changes are also likely to change wildlife parasite diversity with implication for wildlife health. However, research linking anthropogenic landscape change and wildlife parasite diversity is limited, especially comparing effects of land use change and habitat fragmentation, which often cooccur but may affect parasite diversity substantially differently. Here, we assessed how anthropogenic land use change (presence of plantation, livestock foraging and human settlement) and habitat fragmentation may change the gastrointestinal parasite diversity of wild mammalian host species (n = 23) in Anamalai hills, India. We found that presence of plantations, and potentially livestock, significantly increased parasite diversity due possibly to spillover of parasites from livestock to wildlife. However, effect of habitat fragmentation on parasite diversity was not significant. Together, our results showed how human activities may increase wildlife parasite diversity within human-dominated landscape and highlighted the complex pattern of parasite diversity distribution as a result of cooccurrence of multiple anthropogenic landscape changes.

Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Civets of Fragmented Rainforest Patches in Anamalai Hills, Western Ghats, India.

: Parasitism, driven by anthropogenic habitat modifications, is being increasingly recognized as a major threat to wildlife. Unfortunately, even baseline parasite data for most wildlife species are lacking in India, including the civets, which are particularly vulnerable due to their proximity to human habitations. Civet fecal samples were collected from 10 forest fragments that vary in size and disturbance level in Anamalai Hills, Western Ghats, India. These samples were screened for the presence of gastrointestinal parasites using fecal floatation and fecal sedimentation techniques. From a total of 180 civet fecal samples, 15 gastrointestinal parasite taxa were recovered, and these species are also known to infect domesticated animals. Additionally, small, disturbed forest fragments recorded higher mean gastrointestinal parasite taxa and greater prevalence when compared to large, undisturbed forest fragments, indicating a potential relationship between anthropogenic activities and gastrointestinal parasitism of civets in the Anamalai Hills.

Mammalian gastrointestinal parasites in rainforest remnants of Anamalai Hills, Western Ghats, India.

Habitat fragmentation is postulated to be a major factor influencing infectious disease dynamics in wildlife populations and may also be responsible, at least in part, for the recent spurt in the emergence, or re-emergence, of infectious diseases in humans. The mechanism behind these relationships are poorly understood due to the lack of insights into the interacting local factors and insufficient baseline data in ecological parasitology of wildlife. Here, we studied the gastrointestinal parasites of nonhuman mammalian hosts living in 10 rainforest patches of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, India. We examined 349 faecal samples of 17 mammalian species and successfully identified 24 gastrointestinal parasite taxa including 1 protozoan, 2 trematode, 3 cestode and 18 nematode taxa. Twenty of these parasites are known parasites of humans. We also found that as much as 73% of all infected samples were infected by multiple parasites. In addition, the smallest and most fragmented forest patches recorded the highest parasite richness; the pattern across fragments, however, seemed to be less straightforward, suggesting potential interplay of local factors.