Summary

Environmental science emerged from the fields of natural history and medicine during the Enlightenment. Today, it provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems. Environmental studies are incorporating more of the social sciences in order to understand human relationships, perceptions and policies towards the environment. This entry collection features information about design and technology for improving environmental quality in every aspect.

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Topic Review
Chenopodium quinoa (Willd.) Diseases
The journey of the Andean crop quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) to unfamiliar environments and the combination of higher temperatures, sudden changes in weather, intense precipitation, and reduced water in the soil has increased the risk of observing new and emerging diseases associated with this crop. Several diseases of quinoa have been reported in the last decade. These include Ascochyta caulina, Cercospora cf. chenopodii, Colletotrichum nigrum, C. truncatum, and Pseudomonas syringae. The taxonomy of other diseases remains unclear or is characterized primarily at the genus level. Symptoms, microscopy, and pathogenicity, supported by molecular tools, constitute accurate plant disease diagnostics in the 21st century. This review aims to compile the existing information and make accurate associations between specific symptoms and causal agents of disease. In addition, we place an emphasis on downy mildew and its phenotyping, as it continues to be the most economically important and studied disease affecting quinoa worldwide. 
  • 2.3K
  • 29 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Bioenergy Supply Chain Resilience
Learning about the new concept of bioenergy supply chain resilience is necessary to have continues development in renewable energy industries. In this regard, realizing the relevant research gap(s), suggestion(s), future directions, etc. play the undeniable roles in optimizing the quality and quantity of managerial and non-managerial performance in the relevant fields.
  • 1.1K
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Application of CMAQ during SOAS
Formation of aerosol from biogenic hydrocarbons relies heavily on anthropogenic emissions since they control the availability of species such as sulfate and nitrate, and through them, aerosol acidity (pH). To elucidate the role that acidity and emissions play in regulating Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA), we utilize the 2013 Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) dataset to enhance the extensive mechanism of isoprene epoxydiol (IEPOX)-mediated SOA formation implemented in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model (Pye et al., 2013), which was then used to investigate the impact of potential future emission controls on IEPOX OA.
  • 1.2K
  • 29 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Porphyrin and Zn-Phtalocyanine as Optical-Sensor
In the detection of molecular species, optical sensing methods are very attractive. Planar Optical Waveguide (POWG) sensor represents an interesting system that consists of a waveguide layer, that usually is a potassium-ion-exchange glass substrate, and a sensor layer; the response of this sensor depends on the evanescent wave principle of laser light. The detection of the molecule is based on two important factors: the absorbance of the film, that is affected by the interaction with the analyte molecules and the change of the reflected light intensity from the POWG thin film that is related to the absorbance changes.
  • 934
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Korea's Environmental Life Cycle Assessment
The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as an environmental-impact assessment method is gaining increasing attention all over the world due to the urgent need for the preservation and sustainability of the environment. Commonly utilized in the environmental analysis of businesses, industries, products, and services, this assessment method promoted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Life Cycle Initiative, the Forum for Sustainability through Life Cycle Assessment (FSLCI), International reference Life Cycle Database System (ILCD), the European reference Life Cycle Database system (ELCD), and a host of others aims at improving environmental performance towards the achievement of economically viable, safe, and sustainable societies. In Korea, LCA has drawn much attention from both industry and academia since the mid-90s, hence this study assessed the status of environmental LCA studies as it concerns the country. The Life Cycle Assessment technique serves as an important means of identifying the environmental impact of products or services throughout their entire life cycle stages. 
  • 1.9K
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Drought and Salinity in Citriculture
Among the various abiotic stresses, drought is the major factor limiting crop productivity worldwide. Citrus has been recognized as a fruit tree crop group of great importance to the global agricultural sector since there are 140 citrus-producing countries worldwide. The majority of citrus-producing areas are subjected to dry and hot summer weather, limited availability of water resources with parallel low-quality irrigation water due to increased salinity regimes. Citrus trees are generally classified as “salt-intolerant” with high water needs, especially during summer. Water scarcity negatively affects plant growth and impairs cell metabolism, affecting the overall tree growth and the quality of produced fruit. Key factors that overall attempt to sustain and withstand the negative effect of salinity and drought stress are the extensive use of rootstocks in citriculture as well as the appropriate agronomical and irrigation practices applied.
  • 1.3K
  • 29 Jun 2021
Topic Review
CRISPR, Livestock, Sustainable Food Production
The growing demand for animal source foods to feed people has been pushing the livestock industry to increase productivity, a tendency that will continue throughout this century. The challenge for the coming years is to increase the food supply to ensure equity in access to high quality food, while maintaining global sustainability including combating climate change, avoiding deforestation, and conserving biodiversity, as well as ensuring animal health and welfare. The question is, how do we produce more with less? Classical methods to enhance livestock productivity based on the improvement of animal health, nutrition, genetics, reproductive technologies and management have made important contributions; however, this is not going to be enough and thus disruptive approaches are required. Genome editing with CRISPR may be a powerful contributor to global livestock transformation. 
  • 1.6K
  • 28 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Rangeland Biodiversity and Climate Variability
Rangeland biodiversity related closely with climate variability. Rainfall plays an important role in arid rangeland restoration. Under favorable conditions, one-year grazing exclusion considerably enhanced species richness and evenness diversity compared to longer resting durations under dry to average rainfall conditions. The decision to how long livestock grazing exclusion would last should not be decided upfront as it depends on the climatic and the site-specific conditions.
  • 1.1K
  • 27 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Legionella and Biofilms
Legionella is responsible for the life-threatening pneumonia commonly known as Legionnaires’ disease or legionellosis. Legionellosis is known to be preventable if proper measures are put into practice. Despite the efforts to improve preventive approaches, Legionella control remains one of the most challenging issues in the water treatment industry. Legionellosis incidence is on the rise and is expected to keep increasing as global challenges become a reality. This puts great emphasis on prevention, which must be grounded in strengthened Legionella management practices. The perpetuation of a water focused monitoring approach and the importance of protozoa and biofilms are bottom-line questions for reliable Legionella real-field surveillance. Under this scope an integrated monitoring model is proposed to study and control Legionella at water systems, by combining discrete and continuous information about water and biofilm. Although the successful implementation of such model requires a broader discussion across the scientific community and practitioners, this might be a starting point to build more consistent Legionella management strategies that can effectively mitigate legionellosis risks by reinforcing a pro-active Legionella prevention philosophy.
  • 917
  • 23 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Microbial Degradation of Rubber: Actinobacteria
Rubber is an essential part of our daily lives with thousands of rubber-based products being made and used. Natural rubber undergoes chemical processes and structural modifications, while synthetic rubber, mainly synthetized from petroleum by-products are difficult to degrade safely and sustainably. The most prominent group of biological rubber degraders are Actinobacteria. Rubber degrading Actinobacteria contain rubber degrading genes or rubber oxygenase known as latex clearing protein (lcp). Rubber is a polymer consisting of isoprene, each containing one double bond. The degradation of rubber first takes place when lcp enzyme cleaves the isoprene double bond, breaking them down into the sole carbon and energy source to be utilized by the bacteria. Actinobacteria grow in diverse environments, and lcp gene containing strains have been detected from various sources including soil, water, human, animal, and plant samples. 
  • 2.7K
  • 23 Jun 2021
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