Designing Sustainable Manufacturing Networks: The Role of Exclusive Species in Achieving Ecosystem-Type Cycling

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Layton ◽  
Bert Bras ◽  
Marc Weissburg
Keyword(s):  
Food Webs ◽  
Sustainable Manufacturing ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
Potential Influence ◽  
Relationship Formation ◽  
System Boundary ◽  
Industrial Networks ◽  
Manufacturing Networks ◽  
Ecological Principles

Ecology is proving to be an innovative source for design principles. Studies have examined how ecological principles can enhance sustainability in industrial networks. Ecologically-inspired manufacturing networks tend to focus on supporting symbiotic relationship formation, creating a cyclical flow structure that has been shown to result in efficiency and resource consumption improvements. Despite successes, bio-inspired manufacturing networks still fail to accurately mimic ecosystem cycling. The roles of exclusive actors and specialized predators in achieving the high cycling characteristic of ecosystems is investigated here. Exclusive actors participate in the network as either only a consumer (predator) or only a producer (prey). Specialized predators consume only one producer inside the system boundary. The populations of these special actors in manufacturing networks versus ecological food webs speaks to the potential influence these roles have on the cycling the network achieves. The trends shown here suggest less exclusivity is necessary for achieving ecologically-strong network cycling.

scholarly journals Ecological Principles and Metrics for Improving Material Cycling Structures in Manufacturing Networks

2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Layton ◽  
Bert Bras ◽  
Marc Weissburg
Keyword(s):  
Manufacturing Systems ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Sustainable Manufacturing ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Industrial Systems ◽  
Manufacturing Networks ◽  
Industrial Parks ◽  
Ecological Principles ◽  
Material Cycling ◽  
Internal Cycling

A key element for achieving sustainable manufacturing systems is efficient and effective resource use. This potentially can be achieved by encouraging symbiotic thinking among multiple manufacturers and industrial actors and establish resource flow structures that are analogous to material flows in natural ecosystems. In this paper, ecological principles used by ecologists for understanding food web (FW) structures are discussed which can provide new insight for improving closed-loop manufacturing networks. Quantitative ecological metrics for measuring the performance of natural ecosystems are employed. Specifically, cyclicity, which is used by ecologists to measure the presence and strength of the internal cycling of materials and energy in a system, is discussed. To test applicability, groupings of symbiotic eco-industrial parks (EIP) were made in terms of the level of internal cycling in the network structure (high, medium, basic, and none) based on the metric cyclicity. None of the industrial systems analyzed matched the average values and amounts of cycling seen in biological ecosystems. Having detritus actors, i.e., active recyclers, is a key element for achieving more complex cycling behavior. Higher cyclicity values also correspond to higher amounts of indirect cycling and pathway proliferation rate, i.e., the rate that the number of paths increases as path length increases. In FWs, when significant cycling is present, indirect flows dominate direct flows. The application of these principles has the potential for novel insights in the context of closed-loop manufacturing systems and sustainable manufacturing.

scholarly journals The Role of Gut, Vaginal, and Urinary Microbiome in Urinary Tract Infections: From Bench to Bedside

Diagnostics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Tomislav Meštrović ◽  
Mario Matijašić ◽  
Mihaela Perić ◽  
Hana Čipčić Paljetak ◽  
Anja Barešić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urinary Tract ◽  
Urinary Tract Infections ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Potential Influence ◽  
Urinary Microbiome ◽  
Important Field ◽  
Tract Infections ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Current Paradigm

The current paradigm of urinary tract infection (UTI) pathogenesis takes into account the contamination of the periurethral space by specific uropathogens residing in the gut, which is followed by urethral colonization and pathogen ascension to the urinary bladder. Consequently, studying the relationship between gut microbiota and the subsequent development of bacteriuria and UTI represents an important field of research. However, the well-established diagnostic and therapeutic paradigm for urinary tract infections (UTIs) has come into question with the discovery of a multifaceted, symbiotic microbiome in the healthy urogenital tract. More specifically, emerging data suggest that vaginal dysbiosis may result in Escherichia coli colonization and prompt recurrent UTIs, while urinary microbiome perturbations may precede the development of UTIs and other pathologic conditions of the urinary system. The question is whether these findings can be exploited for risk reduction and treatment purposes. This review aimed to appraise the three aforementioned specific microbiomes regarding their potential influence on UTI development by focusing on the recent studies in the field and assessing the potential linkages between these different niches, as well as evaluating the state of translational research for novel therapeutic and preventative approaches.

BENEFITS OF NITROGENFIXATION TO THE NITROGENFIXING BACTERIA

2021 ◽  
pp. 42-43
Author(s):  
Shriya Phadnis
Keyword(s):  
Soil Bacteria ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Nitrogen Starvation ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Symbiotic Association ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
Enzymatic Conversion ◽  
Mutualistic Symbiosis ◽  
Biological Nitrogen

The state of some plants being deprived from the availability of nitrogen causing nitrogen starvation leads to the phenomenon of Biological Nitrogen Fixation . Microorganisms are employed to enhance the availability of nitrogen to these plants. The major N2 - xing systems involve the symbiotic association between rhizobia soil bacteria and legumes. The enzymatic conversion of free nitrogen to ammonia occurs as a part of this symbiotic relationship. The signicant role of this phenomenon is enhancing the fertility of the soil and in the growth of the host plant that would otherwise be nitrogen limiting. This process has fascinated researchers in the agricultural sector for the yield of legume crops. This review article focuses on the benets that Rhizobium earns on being in mutualistic symbiosis with the leguminous plants.

Austerity, Women and the Role of the State

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki Dabrowski
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
Class Relations ◽  
Everyday Lives ◽  
Gendered Politics ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Everyday Experiences ◽  
The Uk

Using interviews with women from diverse backgrounds, the author of this book makes an invaluable contribution to the debates around the gendered politics of austerity in the UK. Exploring the symbiotic relationship between the state's legitimization of austerity and women's everyday experiences, the book reveals how unjust policies are produced, how alternatives are silenced and highlights the different ways in which women are used or blamed. By understanding austerity as more than simply an economic project, the book fills important gaps in existing knowledge on state, gender and class relations in the context of UK austerity. Delivering a timely account of the misconceptions of policies, discourses and representations around austerity in the UK, the book illustrates the complex ways through which austerity is experienced by women in their everyday lives.

scholarly journals Pengembangan pendidikan teknologi dan kejuruan dan hubungan dunia kerja

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Nizwardi Jalinus
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
Technical Education ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
Technical Schools ◽  
The World ◽  
Entire Country ◽  
Work World ◽  
The Common

DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND WORK WORLD RELATIONSBased on universal issues in the era of globalization, this article describes some phenomena how essential the role of Vocational and technical education in recent year to support the development of work forces in Indonesia. The wise government policies are needed to run various program of Vocational and technical educationin entire country, which is based on world-work needs. The common problem appeared is how to build the "mutual symbiotic" relationship between vocational and technical schools and the world of work.

scholarly journals Complex interactions in legume/cereal intercropping system: role of root exudates in root-to-root communication

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinshan Jiao ◽  
Entao Wang ◽  
Wenfeng Chen ◽  
Donald L. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Root Exudates ◽  
Faba Bean ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Corn Root ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Root Interactions ◽  
Ecological Principles

Dear Editor,Legume/cereal intercropping systems have been regarded as the practical application of basic ecological principles such as diversity, competition and facilitation. In a recent PNAS paper, Li et al. (1) describe the novel finding that maize exudates promote faba bean nodulation and nitrogen fixation by upregulating genes involved in (iso)flavonoids synthesis (chalcone–flavanone isomerase) within faba bean, resulting in production of more genistein, a legume-to-rhizobia signal during establishment of the faba bean N2–fixing symbiosis. Although we salute the authors’ methodological efforts, there is another mechanism that could be responsible for the effect of corn root exudates on faba been nitrogen fixation observed in this article (1). The authors may misunderstand their data and the signalling role of maize exudates, thus got a defective model for the root interactions between faba bean and maize.

scholarly journals Organizational Practices and Workplace Relationships in Precarious Work: New Survey Evidence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Organizational Practices ◽  
Workplace Relationships ◽  
Relationship Formation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Regular Contact ◽  
Retail Workers

Organizational practices are important dimensions of the social contexts that shape relationship formation. In workplaces, the formation of relationships among coworkers are resources for personal outcomes, and they can be channels through which workers might identify common grievances, form workplace solidarity, and engage in collective action. Using a unique dataset of retail workers across the United States, The Shift Project, this paper examines two potential pathways by which organizational practices common in precarious jobs in the retail industry in the U.S. might shape the formation of workplace relationships. I find evidence of the role of both pathways: practices that limit the opportunities for regular contact and practices that negatively impact the conditions of contact among employees are both associated with fewer workplace ties. I discuss the implications of these findings for the study of collective action, and network ecology.

scholarly journals Role of microhabitats in food webs of benthic communities in a mangrove forest

2007 ◽  
Vol 340 ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Kon ◽  
H Kurokura ◽  
K Hayashizaki
Keyword(s):  
Food Webs ◽  
Mangrove Forest ◽  
Benthic Communities

scholarly journals DNA methylation regulates transcriptional homeostasis of algal endosymbiosis in the coral modelAiptasia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Li ◽  
Yi Jin Liew ◽  
Guoxin Cui ◽  
Maha J Cziesielski ◽  
Noura Zahran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Model System ◽  
Epigenetic Mechanism ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
Epigenetic Mechanisms ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Spurious Transcription ◽  
Coral Reef Ecosystems

The symbiotic relationship between cnidarians and dinoflagellates is the cornerstone of coral reef ecosystems. Although research is focusing on the molecular mechanisms underlying this symbiosis, the role of epigenetic mechanisms, which have been implicated in transcriptional regulation and acclimation to environmental change, is unknown. To assess the role of DNA methylation in the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis, we analyzed genome-wide CpG methylation, histone associations, and transcriptomic states of symbiotic and aposymbiotic anemones in the model systemAiptasia. We find methylated genes are marked by histone H3K36me3 and show significant reduction of spurious transcription and transcriptional noise, revealing a role of DNA methylation in the maintenance of transcriptional homeostasis. Changes in DNA methylation and expression show enrichment for symbiosis-related processes such as immunity, apoptosis, phagocytosis recognition and phagosome formation, and unveil intricate interactions between the underlying pathways. Our results demonstrate that DNA methylation provides an epigenetic mechanism of transcriptional homeostasis during symbiosis.

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