A perspective on three sustainable hydrogen production technologies with a focus on technology readiness level, cost of production and life cycle environmental impacts.

Hydrogen will play an indispensable role as both an energy vector and as a molecule in essential products in the transition to climate neutrality. However, the optimal sustainable hydrogen production system is not definitive due to challenges in energy conversion efficiency, economic cost, and associated marginal abatement cost. This review summarises and contrasts different sustainable hydrogen production technologies including for their development, potential for improvement, barriers to large-scale industrial application, capital and operating cost, and life-cycle environmental impact.

Spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi host surprisingly diverse communities of endobacteria.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are ubiquitous plant root symbionts, which can house two endobacteria: Ca. Moeniiplasma glomeromycotorum (CaMg) and Ca. Glomeribacter gigasporarum (CaGg).

A perspective on methodologies and system boundaries to develop abatement cost for on-farm anaerobic digestion.

Marginal Abatement Cost Curves compare and assess greenhouse gas mitigation options available to various sectors of the economy. In the Irish agricultural sector, large anaerobic digestion facilities are currently considered a high-cost abatement solution. In prior studies of anaerobic digestion abatement costs, two options were assessed: the generation of heat and electricity from biogas (115 €/tCO) and the production of renewable heat from biomethane (280 €/tCO).

Design, Construction, and Concept Validation of a Laboratory-Scale Two-phase Reactor to Valorize Whiskey Distillery By-products.

The by-products generated from the whiskey distillation process consist of organic liquids with a high chemical oxygen demand (COD) and residues with a high solid content. Low-carbon strategies that repurpose and valorize such by-products are now imperative to reduce the carbon footprint of the food and beverage industries. The operation of a two-phase anaerobic digester to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and biogas may enable distilleries to transition toward a low-carbon bioeconomy.

Demand-driven biogas production from Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactors to balance the power grid.

Future energy systems necessitate dispatchable renewable energy to balance electrical grids with high shares of intermittent renewables. Biogas from anaerobic digestion (AD) can generate electricity on-demand. High-rate methanogenic reactors, such as the Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB), can react quicker to variations in feeding as compared to traditional AD systems.

Two-phase anaerobic digestion for enhanced valorisation of whiskey distillery by-products.

The valorisation of whiskey by-products was assessed and compared in three anaerobic digestion systems. The systems produced similar methane yields, which could satisfy up to 44% of the thermal energy demand at a distillery. Using methane generated from by-products would displace natural gas and reduce the distillery's carbon footprint.

Evidence of a selective and bi-directional relationship between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal and bacterial communities co-inhabiting plant roots.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) provide plants with vital mineral nutrients and co-exist inside the roots alongside a complex community of bacterial endophytes. These co-existing AMF and bacterial root communities have been studied individually and are known to be influenced in structure by different environmental parameters. However, the extent to which they are affected by environmental parameters and by each other is completely unknown.

A comparison of digestate management options at a large anaerobic digestion plant.

Increased biogas production from increasing numbers of anaerobic digestion (AD) facilities has increased the mass of digestate applied to agricultural land close to AD plants and has led to an oversupply in some regions. This necessitates long distance digestate transportation accompanied by economic, environmental, and social drawbacks. This work assesses the performance of three different digestate management options (MOs); land application of whole digestate (MO1), digestate separation (MO2), and digestate separation and evaporation (MO3), combined with centralised or decentralised digestate storage.

Trust Versus Content in Multi-functional Land Management: Assessing Soil Function Messaging in Agricultural Networks.

Growing sustainability demands on land have a high knowledge requirement across multiple scientific domains. Exploring networks can expose opportunities for targeting. Using mixed-methods combining social network analysis (SNA) and surveys, networks for key soil functions in case studies in Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands are explored.

Effect of contrasting phosphorus levels on nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions from temperate grassland soils.

Agricultural practices such as repeated fertilization impact carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycling and their relationships in the plant-soil continuum, which could have important implications for the magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions. However, little is known about the effect of C and N additions under contrasting soil P availability status on nitrous oxide (NO) and carbon dioxide (CO) emissions. In this study, we conducted a field-based experiment that investigated the impact of long-term (23 years) P management (no (P0, 0 kg P ha), low (P15, 15 kg P ha) and high (P45, 45 kg P ha) P inputs) on NO and CO emissions following two C + N application events in two managed grassland ecosystems with loam and sandy loam soils.

Emerging bioelectrochemical technologies for biogas production and upgrading in cascading circular bioenergy systems.

Biomethane is suggested as an advanced biofuel for the hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy transport. However, future systems that optimize the resource and production of biomethane have yet to be definitively defined. This paper assesses the opportunity of integrating anaerobic digestion (AD) with three emerging bioelectrochemical technologies in a circular cascading bioeconomy, including for power-to-gas AD (P2G-AD), microbial electrolysis cell AD (MEC-AD), and AD microbial electrosynthesis (AD-MES).

Biological hydrogen methanation systems - an overview of design and efficiency.

The rise in intermittent renewable electricity production presents a global requirement for energy storage. Biological hydrogen methanation (BHM) facilitates wind and solar energy through the storage of otherwise curtailed or constrained electricity in the form of the gaseous energy vector biomethane. Biological methanation in the circular economy involves the reaction of hydrogen - produced during electrolysis - with carbon dioxide in biogas to produce methane (4H + CO = CH + 2H), typically increasing the methane output of the biogas system by 70%.

Using machine learning to estimate herbage production and nutrient uptake on Irish dairy farms.

Nutrient management on grazed grasslands is of critical importance to maintain productivity levels, as grass is the cheapest feed for ruminants and underpins these meat and milk production systems. Many attempts have been made to model the relationships between controllable (crop and soil fertility management) and noncontrollable influencing factors (weather, soil drainage) and nutrient/productivity levels. However, to the best of our knowledge not much research has been performed on modeling the interconnections between the influencing factors on one hand and nutrient uptake/herbage production on the other hand, by using data-driven modeling techniques.

Functional Land Management: Bridging the Think-Do-Gap using a multi-stakeholder science policy interface.

Functional Land Management (FLM) is proposed as an integrator for sustainability policies and assesses the functional capacity of the soil and land to deliver primary productivity, water purification and regulation, carbon cycling and storage, habitat for biodiversity and recycling of nutrients. This paper presents the catchment challenge as a method to bridge the gap between science, stakeholders and policy for the effective management of soils to deliver these functions. Two challenges were completed by a wide range of stakeholders focused around a physical catchment model-(1) to design an optimised catchment based on soil function targets, (2) identify gaps to implementation of the proposed design.

The effects of introducing high-fidelity simulation to preclinical student respiratory therapists.

Introduction: This action research study examines the use of high-fidelity simulation (HFS) in a 3-year Respiratory Therapy advanced diploma program offered at a community college located in southwestern Ontario. It seeks to identify if the use of preclinical experiential learning offered through various HFS scenarios had an impact on learners' ability to transition into clinical practicum. The experiential learning theory provided the framework that guided this study as it sought to determine the effect, if any, of HFS on confidence and student anxiety.

Cascading biomethane energy systems for sustainable green gas production in a circular economy.

Biomethane is a flexible energy vector that can be used as a renewable fuel for both the heat and transport sectors. Recent EU legislation encourages the production and use of advanced, third generation biofuels with improved sustainability for future energy systems. The integration of technologies such as anaerobic digestion, gasification, and power to gas, along with advanced feedstocks such as algae will be at the forefront in meeting future sustainability criteria and achieving a green gas supply for the gas grid.

Biogas production generated through continuous digestion of natural and cultivated seaweeds with dairy slurry.

The technical feasibility of long term anaerobic mono-digestion of two brown seaweeds, and co-digestion of both seaweeds with dairy slurry was investigated whilst increasing the organic loading rate (OLR). One seaweed was natural (L. digitata); the second seaweed (S.

Optimised biogas production from microalgae through co-digestion with carbon-rich co-substrates.

Microalgae can be used to upgrade biogas to biomethane and subsequently be digested for biogas production. However, the low C:N ratio of species such as Arthrospira platensis may cause ammonia inhibition and low process stability during anaerobic digestion. This study investigates co-fermentation of A.

Methanosarcina Play an Important Role in Anaerobic Co-Digestion of the Seaweed Ulva lactuca: Taxonomy and Predicted Metabolism of Functional Microbial Communities.

Macro-algae represent an ideal resource of third generation biofuels, but their use necessitates a refinement of commonly used anaerobic digestion processes. In a previous study, contrasting mixes of dairy slurry and the macro-alga Ulva lactuca were anaerobically digested in mesophilic continuously stirred tank reactors for 40 weeks. Higher proportions of U.

Extracting body image symptom dimensions among eating disorder patients: the Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) approach.

The present study employs Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS), a procedure for extracting dimensions, in order to identify core eating disorder symptoms in a clinical sample. A large sample of patients with eating disorders (N=5193) presenting for treatment completed the Eating Disorders Inventory-2 (EDI-2; Garner, 1991), and PAMS was then employed to estimate individual profile weights that reflect the degree to which an individual's observed symptom profile approximates the pattern of the dimensions. The findings revealed three symptom dimensions: Body Thinness, Body Perfectionism, and Body Awareness.

A multisource feedback tool to assess ward round leadership skills of senior paediatric trainees: (1) Development of tool.

Background: Leading a ward round is an essential skill for hospital consultants and senior trainees but is rarely assessed during training.

Objectives: To investigate the key attributes for ward round leadership and to use these results to develop a multisource feedback (MSF) tool to assess the ward round leadership skills of senior specialist trainees.

Methods: A panel of experts comprising four senior paediatric consultants and two nurse managers were interviewed from May to August 2009.

A multisource feedback tool to assess ward round leadership skills of senior paediatric trainees: (2) Testing reliability and practicability.

Background: A five-domain multisource feedback (MSF) tool was previously developed in 2009-2010 by the authors to assess senior paediatric trainees' ward round leadership skills.

Objectives: To determine whether this MSF tool is practicable and reliable, whether individuals' feedback varies over time and trainees' views of the tool.

Methods: The MSF tool was piloted (April-July 2011) and field tested (September 2011-February 2013) with senior paediatric trainees.

Self-harm history predicts resistance to inpatient treatment of body shape aversion in women with eating disorders: The role of negative affect.

Although self-harm has been observed among patients with eating disorders, the effects of such tendencies on treatment outcomes are unclear. The current study employed structural equation modeling to (a) evaluate the relationship between self-harm and changes in body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness in a large sample of patients (n = 2061) who underwent inpatient treatment, and (b) to examine whether the relationship between self-harm and changes in body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness during inpatient treatment remains significant when controlling for change in negative affect during treatment. Results revealed that patients with a history of self-harm reported significantly less reduction in body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness following treatment.

Multiplex bisulfite PCR resequencing of clinical FFPE DNA.

Background: The clinical utility of DNA methylation as a predictive or prognostic biomarker requires scalable resequencing protocols for bisulfite-converted DNA. Key features of any validation method should be adaptability for low- or high-throughput needs and high reproducibility, and should only require minimal amounts of precious clinical sample as input material. Critically, this method should also deliver robust results when working with bisulfite-converted DNA extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks.

Optimisation of digester performance with increasing organic loading rate for mono- and co-digestion of grass silage and dairy slurry.

This study investigated the feasibility of mono-digesting grass silage, dairy slurry and the co-digestion of the two substrates at a range of concentrations with a specific focus on digester performance while increasing organic loading rate (OLR). The results show that the higher the proportion of grass silage in the substrate mix the higher the specific methane yield (SMY) achieved. Optimum conditions were assessed for 100% grass silage at an OLR of 3.