Search results

Buildings could be led to adverse impacts on environment, such as generation of construction and demolition waste, and emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). Therefore, promotion on development of green buildings is in need. With the increasing awareness in sustainable development, various rating tools are promoted to evaluate the performance of green buildings. Nowadays, these tools function as a guideline for green building development. There are various green building rating tools developed worldwide, and various countries follow different rules, incentives and regulations. However, despite of promotion of green building rating tools, environmental issues from buildings are still significant in Australia. This research compared green building rating tools in Australia and other countries or regions around the world. This research found that rating tools in Australia lack of (1) mandatory criteria and (2) regulations and incentives. This paper recommended that governmental incentives should be promoted.

It is shown that the differences in the isotopic composition of carbon in the water-soluble and water-insoluble fractions of plant leaf biomass, as well as phloem, are evolutionarily determined. They associated with metabolic reactions during assimilation and photorespiration and do not depend on the illumination mode and on the spectral ranges of headlights used in illumination. The above isotopic shifts are the cause of isotopic differences in assimilatory and photorespiratory carbon stocks that feed various metabolic processes. Due to the strict temporal and spatial organization of metabolism, carbon fluxes from the funds retain isotopic differences without complete mixing. The differences in the isotopic composition of carbon of the water-soluble fraction of biomass and carbon of phloem juice from carbon of the water-insoluble fraction are small (1–3%), but they are quite stable and easily fixed. The carbon of the water-soluble fraction is very close in isotopic composition to the carbon of the phloem and is noticeably enriched with the isotope 13C relative to the water-insoluble fraction, which makes it possible to use it as a marker in the study of assimilate transport in plants, especially during budding and fruiting. It is shown that the reason for the enrichment of autotrophic organs and tissues with isotope 12C relative to carbon of heterotrophic parts of the plant is the predominant participation in their formation of an isotopically light assimilation fund, whereas an isotopically heavy photorespiratory fund takes part in the formation of heterotrophic organs. It is shown that the manifestation of the formation of two isotopically different funds is the discovered relationship of the carbon isotope composition of leaves with their age.

The study of the biochemical mechanisms of the effect of additional lighting on the
growth and early development of salmonids in aquaculture allows to identify patterns of slow or accelerated growth, as well as the onset of the smoltification. In this study, the results of changes in lipid status in parr and smolts of Atlantic salmon after the "winter window" (December-January) are presented. These results were obtained from three experimental groups exposed to different lighting and feeding regimes at the fingerlings stage. The changes in lipid composition of the studied young salmon indicate the onset of smoltification in all experimental groups. However, this effect is the most pronounced in the fish previously reared under continuous lighting during the summer-autumn season.

The influence of incident wavelengths of four ranges: short-wave red (623–641 nm), long-wave red (646–667 nm), far red (727–751 nm) and blue (452–477 nm) on the carbon isotopic composition of lettuce biomass (Lactica sativa L.) of the Aficion variety was studied. Lettuce was grown in climatic chambers, lighting was provided by irradiators based on narrow-band LEDs. Monochromatic blue and red light have the strongest multidirectional influence. Radiation from the blue range shifts the carbon isotopic composition of lettuce biomass towards enrichment in 12C. Radiation from the red range shifts the carbon isotopic composition of lettuce biomass towards enrichment in 13C. Based on the previously developed model of carbon isotope fractionation in a photosynthesizing cell, carbon isotopic shifts of plant leaf biomass were analyzed. It is shown that in the dark period the biomass is enriched in 12C. This is a consequence of dark respiration, during which the plant loses CO2 enriched in 13C. It is shown that the reason for the observed isotopic differences between the water-soluble and water-insoluble fractions of the leaf biomass is a result of the different participation of the assimilatory carbon flux, enriched in 12C, and the photorespiratory carbon flux, enriched in 13C, in the formation of these fractions during photosynthesis.

Amulet-pendants made of jaws and teeth of predatory mammals are recorded by
archaeologists almost everywhere in the northern part of Eurasia, from the Paleolithic
to the Late Middle Ages. Traditionally, they are considered an integral part of hunting
magic, zoolatria pagan attitudes and distinctive signs of the social status of their
owners. Such finds allow us to trace the echoes and remnants of pre-monotheistic beliefs
in Late Medieval societies. A small amulet in the form of a pendant made of a bronze
clip with a part of the lower jaw of a predatory animal was discovered in burial 9
during excavations of the cemetery Solyony II on the territory of the Taman Peninsula
(Russia). Chronological attribution of the cemetery by the assemblage of finds refers
this burial to the time of the Crimean Khanate (17 th —18 th centuries). Taxonomic
examination has established the origin of the lower mandible from the skull of an old
fox (Vulpes vulpes), for which the status of a tamed animal is not excluded. The
specific characteristics of the amulet and the archaeological context of its location
emphasizes the uniqueness of this artifact. The following are discussed in detail: the
belonging of the amulet to a relatively rich burial complex of a deceased young woman;
the using of a sacred skeletal element (lower jaw) in the amulet; and the fox, which in
the medieval period was perceived as one of the female ongons. The variants of the
semantic load for the amulet under discussion are considered on the basis of the verbal
epos, myths and zoolatry tradition preserved among the multi-ethnic population of the
Caucasus.