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In cyanobacteria, cytochrome c6 and plastocyanin are able to replace each other as redox carriers in the photosynthetic and respiratory electron transport chains with the synthesis of one or another protein being regulated by the copper concentration in the culture medium. However, the presence of a third unidentified electron carrier has been suggested. To address this point, we have constructed two deletion mutants of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, each variant lacking either the petE or petJ gene, which respectively codes for the copper or heme protein. The photoautotrophic and heterotrophic growth rate of the two mutants in copper-free and copper-supplemented medium as well as their photosystem I reduction kinetics in vivo were compared with those of wild-type cells. The two mutant strains grow at equivalent rates and show similar in vivo photosystem I reduction kinetics as wild-type cells when cultured in media that allow the expression of just one of the two electron donor proteins, but their ability to grow and reduce photosystem I is much lower when neither cytochrome c6 nor plastocyanin is expressed. These findings indicate that the normal functioning of the cyanobacterial photosynthetic and respiratory chains obligatorily depends on the presence of either cytochrome c6 or plastocyanin. ; Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology BMC2003-458 ; European Union HPRNCT1999-00095 ; Andalusian Government CVI-0198

Theorists of border externalization have portrayed aid in border control cooperation as a bargaining chip that the European Union uses to "buy" the cooperation of countries of "origin" and "transit." More recent scholarship, instead, has depicted aid as a rent that Southern actors try to extract from Northern donors by capitalizing on the presence of foreign, "undesirable" populations within their own borders. Both explanations overlook the manifold ways countries of "origin" and "transit" maneuver aid in diplomatic relations over border control, thus failing to conceptualize aid beyond the incentive/rent binary. This paper analyses the implementation of three aid-funded projects in the field of migration in Morocco. Building on postcolonial international relations and organizational sociology, I argue that countries of "origin" and "transit" do not always welcome aid in the field of migration with open hands. Rather, they decide to cooperate (or not) with Global North donors and their subcontracting partners depending on how specific aid-funded projects fit into their broader domestic and international foreign policy strategy. I identify a three-tiered typology of engagement (facilitation, negotiation, and obstruction) to argue that aid rather works as a terrain where countries of "origin" and "transit" display, contest, and renegotiate diplomatic relations with Northern partners in situations of power asymmetry.

Research on the quality of surface waters has been erformed in Italy during the development of large urban areas, and in Rome this has been the duty of the Istituto di Igiene of the Sapienza University since 1890. Using MedLine - along with traditional consultation of papers printed before 1968 - we identified 100 articles published in the period from 1890-2010. Thirty of them met the inclusion criteria (to have been written by researchers of Roman universities and to contain microbiological information about the surface waters of Rome). The majority of papers identified (46.6%) were published during the Sixties and Seventies, and 30% in the twenty years that followed (1980-1999). The most frequent microbiological descriptors were "Total coliforms" and "Streptococci". The body of waters most frequently investigated were the river Tiber and the coastal waters around Fiumicino, where the Tiber flows into the Tyrrhenian sea. The quality of surface waters has always been of central interest to the researchers of the Roman School of Hygiene. The excellent quality of past research, and the renovated interest of International Organizations and of the European Union, should encourage public health researchers to persist in this strategic field of investigation which has strong interconnections with the protection of individual well-being and community health, as well as with environmental preservation.

This 34th volume of the International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management includes papers from the 2021 conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environmental Systems (SDEWES) held October 10-15, 2021, in Dubrovnik, Croatia as well as the 7th International Conference on Smart Energy Systems held September 21-22 in Copenhagen, Denmark and two normal papers. A focus area of this issue is district heating and district cooling systems, with articles addressing resources for district heating and cooling systems, impacts of having individual district heating metres for consumers and approaches to analysing district heating systems. Another focus area is stakeholder involvement where two groups of researchers focus on stakeholders from an energy island perspective as well as from a positive energy district perspective. Both groups note the importance of factoring in stakeholders when devising transition plans. Plans for increasing the penetration of renewable energy sources for the Estonian, Latvia and Lithuanian systems are analysed using the Backbone model, finding modest increases in system costs. Lastly, an article sets up an indicator system for assessing environmental performance of European Union member states ranking, e.g., Estonian, Latvia and Lithuanian as moderate (Estonia and Latvia) to weak (Lithuania) in terms of sustainable energy performance score, based on 2019 data.

Starting in 2016, many countries enacted digital services taxes (DSTs), a turnover tax that applies to digital companies regardless of whether they have a physical presence in the taxing jurisdiction. After the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Inclusive Framework reached final agreement on its two-pillar solution to tax challenges in a global digital economy, these unilateral measures went on pause. This Note reflects on the recent DST phenomenon, reconceptualizing the DST debate as part of a broader discourse on global governance and globalization. Although DSTs first emerged in developed countries in the European Union, this Note analyzes developing country DSTs against the backdrop of vocal U.S. opposition. This Note demonstrates that the DST discourse confirms long-held suspicions of developing countries regarding the international economic law that shapes the course and outcomes of economic globalization more broadly. Nonetheless, this Note argues that the DST debate and the resulting Pillar One solution reflect important positive changes to the archetypal globalization and global governance narratives. Taking stock of these changes, this Note concludes that DSTs are and were a powerful negotiating tool for developing countries in their attempt to reorient the principles of international tax toward a more equitable distribution of taxing rights and to recognize broader tax goals beyond economic profit.

8 Páginas.-- 6 Figuras ; In an attempt to investigate the carbonyl-trapping abilities of 5-alkylresorcinols, this study describes the role of these compounds in inhibiting the formation of the 2,5-dialkylpyridines (5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine, 5-butyl-2-propylpyridine, and 5-hexyl-2-pentylpyridine) produced by 2-alkenals (crotonaldehyde, 2-hexenal, and 2-octenal) in the presence of ammonia. 5-Alkylresorcinols (as well as orcinol and olivetol) inhibited the formation of pyridines to an extend that depended on the 2-alkenal involved and the reaction conditions. This inhibition was consequence of the trapping of 2-alkenals by the phenolics. Thus, the major adducts produced between the C21:0 alkylresorcinol and crotonaldehyde were isolated and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS). These results confirm that, in addition to their free radical scavenging abilities, 5-alkylresorcinols also trap reactive carbonyls. Because trapped carbonyls are involved in the formation of flavors and processing-induced antioxidants, 5-alkylresorcinols might be implied in some of the observed differences between whole and refined grain products. ; This study was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCIN) from Spain, the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) from Spain, and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (ERDF, a way of making Europe) from the European Union (Project RTI2018-096632-B-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). ; Peer reviewed

Knowledge about human exposure and health effects associated with non-routinely monitored disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water is sparse. ; This project has been funded by Ajuntament de Barcelona (Institut de Cultura, Pla Barcelona Ciencia 2019. #19S01446-006), and partly funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III and co-funded by European Union (ERDF) "A way to make Europe" (PI20/00829). We acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and State Research Agency through the "Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023" Program (CEX2018-000806-S and CEX2018-000794-S, for ISGlobal and IDAEA-CSIC, respectively), and support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program. MJF acknowledges her Ramón y Cajal fellowship (RyC-2015-17108), from the AEI-MICIU. We thank Alexandra Paraian, Eva Maria Herrera (IDAEA-CSIC), Natalia Lopo, Lourdes Arjona and Antonia Valentín (ISGlobal) for their technical assistance during the sampling, analytical measurements and data analysis. The HAAs analyses in urine were carried out in the framework of the final master's thesis (Universitat de Barcelona) by Paula Villasante. We also thank Patricia González, Anna Gómez, Sònia Navarro, and Laia Font-Ribera (Public Health Agency of Barcelona) for providing valuable information on Barcelona's drinking water supplies. We finally would like to acknowledge all the volunteers that participated in the project. ; Peer reviewed

Multinational, technology-intensive companies routinely use globally distributed R&D teams, but COVID-19 represented an additional challenge. Lockdowns and home-office working severely limit human interaction and can impact the communication, social interaction, and knowledge sharing critical to successful R&D. Our study investigated how COVID-19 affected R&D processes at three global companies, using a project complexity perspective. Although R&D managers responsible for global projects are accustomed to the challenges of managing communications, the fact that teams were forced into home-office working made new product development more difficult in several ways. Ensuring that technical details are understood by all members of dispersed teams is crucial. Of particular note, and central to our findings, is the emphasis that R&D managers placed on maintaining a high level of social interaction in their teams, and special efforts were needed to keep interactions at a sufficient level to foster the generation and transfer of tacit knowledge. The findings have strong implications for the way that R&D project management is likely to be conducted in a post-COVID-19 world, and we demonstrate how the complexity framework we used can benefit managers in navigating this and other challenges. ; European Union funding: 810329 (KEEN)

China is in the late stages of developing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which is essentially a digital, sovereign currency lacking convertibility to physical cash. This initiative is a significant innovation in currency systems, not yet implemented by any other country. China will face unique challenges in its CBDC project. As a first mover in this space, Chinese leaders are no longer able to study the successes and failures of other nations who have previously attempted to launch a CBDC. Yet, Beijing leadership may draw on experiences from its own prior reforms and governance challenges. This article will highlight three governance principles, developed through the reforms of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, that will give Beijing a unique advantage as a first mover in the CBDC race: (1) dual-track transition systems, (2) regional experimentation, and (3) rapid construction of regulatory systems. This paper hopes to show how China is taking a distinct approach to the initiative compared to competing states, an approach that is engrained in China's governance experience since the late 1970s. In conclusion, I argue that China's recent experience in a variety of transformation initiatives provides its leadership and institutions unique principles that will advantage China's CBDC project, especially when compared to competitors working to establish their own CBDC such as the United States and European Union.

To determine the incidence of antimicrobial residues in bovine meat using a microbiological method, 209 samples of bovine meat (imported: 153; 56 locals: 56) were collected through various retail outlets in Tizi-Ouzou area, Algeria. The collected samples were tested according to the European Union four-plates method (EU4pt), using Bacillus subtilis and Micrococcus luteus ATCC 9341. Only 60 (34/56 local meat and 26/153 imported meat) samples were free from antibiotics residues. Higher prevalence of residues was observed in imported bovine meat (83.01%) than local produced bovine meat (39.29%). High frequencies of contamination for all classes of antibiotics were observed in imported meat rather than local produced meat. From this latter, contamination with β-lactams and/or tetracyclines and sulfonamides was observed in 23.21% and 19.64% respectively. Sulfonamides were the most detected residues in the imported meat with 81.05%. 59.73% of samples were contaminated at least with two families of antibiotics residues, but in proportion that significantly (p<0.05) differ between imported (67.71%) and local produced meat (13.64%). Besides, one antibiotic residue family was detected in most (86.36%) of the contaminated bovine meat produced in Algeria. Our results confirm the non-respect of the withdrawal period between the treatment and slaughter of bovines. For this, further procedures for rational use of antibiotics in livestock and food quality control are required.

Support schemes have been central to the expansion of renewable electricity globally and in the European Union. As technologies mature, individual member states may decide to phase out these policies. While previous research has shown that such policy changes affect investors' decisions, we investigate how they affect pathways and electricity prices by simulating investment decisions in an agent-based model in two case countries. This paper contributes and applies an adapted investment decision algorithm that incorporates empirically observed technology and return preferences and is calibrated by return observations. The new algorithm yields more refined and stronger effects compared to its predecessor. Results show that the phase-out of auctions in Germany and the Netherlands slows down their deployment of renewable capacity by up to ∼60% and ∼35%, respectively. With the exception of photovoltaics and onshore wind projects in the Netherlands, the targeted capacities can only be reached by continuing support in both countries. Furthermore, ending support in a large country like Germany leads to higher electricity prices and fosters a market-driven but insufficient capacity expansion in smaller neighbours like the Netherlands. As the electricity grids in many countries are strongly interconnected, such cross-border effects are of international relevance. Our findings suggest that continued auctions may be necessary and that countries should coordinate policy changes to stay on track for meeting their renewables targets.

ABSTRACT: The ambitious targets of the European Union (EU) for a greater penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) in all areas of activity have led to power systems with growing levels of variable RES (VRES) all over the EU. Considering these targets, the EU countries presented their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECP) with their expected capacity until 2030. The NECPs considered a relevant increase in the VRES capacity and in some cases a decrease in the capacity of dispatchable power plants. VRES have near-zero marginal costs and increase the volatility of the net-load due to the stochastic profile of their production. These characteristics increase the need to maintain fast-response dispatchable power plants to guarantee the security of supply and also decrease market prices. Thus, governments promote externalities, as capacity mechanisms and other incentives to these players, guaranteeing their economic sustainability. This study presents the optimization of the non-RES thermal capacity of the Iberian power system by 2030, considering the least-cost algorithm. Considering a cooperative scenario between Portugal and Spain, it is possible to reduce the system costs by 17.40%, the curtailments quantity by 21.93%, the number of market-splitting hours by 43.26% and the dioxide carbon emissions by 4.76%. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This paper examines the impact of special tariffs between China and the United States (US) on their indirect trade partners via spillover effects. We applied a Value-Added Real Effective Exchange Rate (VA-REER) index to simulate how an increase in tariffs induces changes in demand for goods from Indonesia and selected Asian partners. We used the Input–Output Database (WIOD) to simulate the spillover effects across partners via the Global Value Chain (GVC) using data from 2000 to 2014. The results suggest that demand is doubly more responsive to prices (tariffs) when value-added (VA-REER) index is used instead of the conventional REER index (gross trade). We found that US tariffs on Chinese goods have a negative spillover impact on Indonesia's exports. Meanwhile, the Chinese tariffs on American goods lead to small increased demand for Indonesian exports. We also found that US and China become equally crucial for Indonesia under the Value-Added REER scheme, concluding that the conventional REER approach may have underestimated the impact of US tariffs on Chinese goods. Finally, we found that Indonesia would be at risk to trade shocks if the US applies tariffs on China, Asian partners (Japan and South Korea), and the European Union (EU).

Overwintering impacts common carp performance, yet the nature of changes is not known. The aim of the study was to compare the zootechnical and key performance indicators (KPI) of Cyprinus carpio wintering in a pond with no supplementary feeding (MCF), in a Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) fed typical (30% of protein and 8% of fat) carp diet (AFC), and in a RAS fed high protein (42%) and fat (12%) diet (ABF). The analysis showed that ABF fish had the highest final body weight and the Fulton's condition factor, as well as the lowest food conversion rate compared with AFC and MCF fish. Histomorphological assessment revealed that MCF fish had thinner skin layers, a depleted population of mucous cells in skin, an excessive interlamellar mass in the gills, and no supranuclear vacuoles in the intestine compared to fish from RAS. At the molecular level, higher transcript levels of il-1β and il-6 transcripts were found in the gills of MCF than in fish from RAS. The transcript level of the intestinal muc5b was the highest in ABF fish. Relative expression of il-1β and il-6 in gills were presumably the highest due to lamellar fusions in MCF fish. Described KPIs may assist carp production to ensure sustainability and food security in the European Union.

Traditionally, infrastructure has been considered an essential component of a country's development. Therefore, European Union (EU) Member States (MS) invest heavily in this area. A lot of support for infrastructure development is also directed from the EU Structural Funds (SF). However, the results of previous studies do not fully reveal whether the development of infrastructure contributes to EU MS' economic growth and what factors mediate this effect. Considering the limitations of previous studies, this article aims to examine whether the development of different types of infrastructure (transport, information and communication technologies (ICT), energy, and water and sanitation) contribute to economic growth and to assess whether government quality affects the growth outcomes of infrastructure. Empirical estimations are based on neoclassical specifications and cover 28 EU countries from 2000 to 2019. Estimates revealed that all types of infrastructure positively correlate with growth but not all correlations are significant. Only mobile cellular, which proxies ICT infrastructure, electricity production, which proxies energy infrastructure, and pipeline transport infrastructure significantly affect economic growth. Water and sanitation infrastructure development do not significantly contribute to EU MS' economic growth. The institutional environment, i.e., less corruption, has a considerable positive effect on the growth outcomes of electricity production and pipeline transport infrastructure.