Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: Knowledge of sequences or protein structures is not required, though sensitive and selective intelligent screening assays have to be available. Beside plate-based activity screening of (meta-)genomic libraries, microtiter plate-based liquid assays, which are photometrically accessible, have been successfully applied. Multiple assays in parallel, robotics, and/or cell-free expression can increase hit rates and minimize material input and time (Maruthamuthu et al. 2016; Dixit et al. 2021; Rolf et al. 2019; Markel et al. 2020). Challenges with novel target substrates like, for example, artificial plastic polymers are mastered with model substrates like oligomers or functionalized esters for PET degradation (Charnock 2021; Pirillo et al. 2021). Sequence-based screening approachesThis approach focuses on DNA sequences that are generated by sequencing of pure microbial strains, mixed cultures or environmental samples. DNA and RNA can be isolated from these samples without an active microbial population. From this data, information regarding the biodiversity in different habitats and enzymology can be analyzed in detail. With an increasing number of enzyme sequences in databases and improved prediction tools, sequence-based screening approaches are advancing dramatically. The first approaches started with degenerated primers based on sequence alignments with subsequent PCR and genome walking (Kotik 2009). This was an expedient but laborious strategy for creating a collection of similar genes which is nowadays almost completely replaced by next generation sequencing methods. For this, a tool box has been developed which could be adapted to the particular environment and screening approach. A comprehensive overview of the principles of library preparation (DNA extraction, fragmentation, adapter insertion), sequencing platforms (Roche 454, ), and tools for quality control, genome assembly as well as taxonomic and functional annotation is given by Almeida and Martinis (2019). A detailed comparison of tools and strategies for sequence data analysis is reported by Pal et al. (2018) and Robinson et al. (2021). Compared to the activity-based screening approaches mentioned above, sequence-based screening can reach a much higher number of putative enzyme candidates in shorter times (Ferrer et al. 2016). Preselection processes need to be applied like in silico function and structure prediction or even a combination with activity-based approaches to identify the most promising enzyme candidates.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: In general, higher values were observed with the application of 100 kg ha-1 P2O5 per year. This reinforces the idea that the use of fertilizers, crop rotation, and cover crops is related to higher concentrations of biomass in soil surface layers, and, therefore, to higher levels of C in humic fractions, contributing to a more stable ecosystem. no-tillage system tends to promote the stratification of soil organic carbon and of humic substances according to soil depth, whereas conventional tillage promotes a more even distribution of total carbon within soil layers. The main changes in organic carbon levels occur in the surface soil layer (0. 00-0. 05 m), in which the no-tillage system with pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) as cover crop provides the highest carbon levels in the humic fractions. The use of phosphate fertilization, for 11 years under no-tillage, using pearl millet as a cover crop, promotes the accumulation of organic carbon in soil humic fractions. 2010. . C. ;. B. G. dos S. ;. G. S. ; ARAÚJO, Q. R. ;. J. ; INÁCIO, E. dos S. B. Fracionamento químico e físico do carbono orgânico total em um solo de mata submetido a diferentes usos. de Ciência do Solo, v. 32, p. 1471-1478, 2008. DOI: 10. 1590/S0100-06832008000400011. ». M. ;. ;. L. O. de A. Extração e fracionamento quantitativo de substâncias húmicas do solo: um procedimento simplificado de baixo custo. Rio de Janeiro: Embrapa Solos, 2003. 7p. (Embrapa Solos. Comunicado técnico, 16). . ;. S. V. J. ;. de C. ;. C. F. dos;. ;. Matéria seca, carbono e nitrogênio de raízes de soja e milho em plantio direto e convencional. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira, v.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is an additive used in gasoline, designed for more efficient fuel combustion thus to improve overall air quality. It can cause liver, kidney, immune system, testicular, central nervous system, uterine, headache, and lung problems40. Like other CECs, no regulations have been established for MTBE by the EPA. In California, an established MCL for drinking water is 13 μg/L and a secondary maximum contaminant level (SMCL) is 5 μg/L49. The SMCL was established for water quality aesthetic properties such as taste and odor42. Perfluorinated compounds such as PFOS are extremely hazardous emerging contaminants that enter the environment through their applications in the metal industry, firefighting foam, coatings on paper and textiles, and semiconductor production50. They can also occur due to biotransformation of dipolyfluoroalkyl, phosphates, fluorotelomer alcohols, and other chemicals51. They are persistent in the environment and tend to accumulate in red blood cells48. PFCs can cause pancreatic, liver, and Leydig cell cancers40. They are frequently found in treated drinking water with levels of up to 1000 ng/L, and over 6 million people receive water from systems that exceed health advisory levels for PFAS48. Studies have concluded that people who drink water with PFAS in it have higher levels of PFAS in their blood, indicating the contaminant’s health risk48. PFOS are easily removed by using granular activated carbon (GAC) filters which can remove over 90% of them and ROMs which can remove more than 99% of them44. The EPA decided in 2020 to regulate PFOA and PFOS in drinking water, but it may take many years before a MCL can be established as was the case with other contaminants taking over 10 years between the decision to be regulated and actual regulation44. Antibiotics are another concerning contaminants that can be found in water. Antibiotics in water can cause the rise of antibiotic-resistant genes and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This can make the use of antibiotics less effective against human and animal pathogens. As of now, there are approximately 2 million people who die in the U. S. from antibiotic-resistant bacteria per year, which is why it is important for them not to end up in aquatic environments48.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: Multi- “omic” approaches can overcome limitations in activity prediction and the enormous number of putative enzyme candidates (Krüger et al. 2020). By combining data from metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, or metaproteomics, more detailed information regarding biodiversity and enzymology of microbial communities can be presented. Such a strategy has been already applied for biogas plant analysis (Bremges et al. 2015) and analysis of hot spring communities (Busch et al. 2021). The bottleneck is the successful production of recombinant enzymes in expression strains such as E. coli, Bacillus sp. or yeasts. Gene synthesis can overcome codon usage limitations whereas proper folding of proteins from thermophiles can be improved by thermophilic expression strains like Thermus thermophilus (Moreno et al. 2003; Fujino et al. 2020), Saccharolobus solfataricus (Albers et al. 2006), Sulfolobus acidocaldarius (Suzuki and Kurosawa 2016) or Geobacillus thermodenitrificans (Daas et al. 2018). Screening of hot springs in Europe and CaucasusHot springs caused by geothermal activities are spread worldwide. Like other continents, Europe and Caucasus regions harbor a vast abundance of terrestrial hot springs that have been analyzed to gain fundamental knowledge in microbiology by isolation of strains or metagenomic analysis. Accompanied with that, the screening of thermoactive enzymes was performed in parallel or based on the microbial isolates or metagenomic datasets. Analyzed terrestrial springs with temperatures above 50 °C that harbor thermophilic microorganisms are mainly found in (Fig. 2). Due to the drifting of tectonic plates on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, hotspots of terrestrial hot springs are present on Iceland and the Azores (Portugal) as well. Europe like Romania, hot springs were mainly artificially generated by drilling holes. In other regions, geothermal springs exhibit mostly temperatures below 50 °C or no corresponding scientific publications are available so far and were, therefore, not included in this review. Fig. 2Countries in Europe classified by the number of publications about microbial and enzymatic investigations of hot springs. The classification is based on the results of literature research on sampled hot springs above 50 °C.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: 3 Carbon in soil humic fractions in relation to total organic carbon (TOC) at different soil depths of an Oxisol cultivated for 11 years under different soil management systems and cover crops – velvet bean (Mucuna aterrima) or pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) –, at the P fertilization dose of 100 kg ha per year P2O5(1) (1) FFA, free fulvic acid; FA, fulvic acid; HA, humic acid; and HU, humin. . 4 Values of the ratio between humic acid and fulvic acid (HA/FA) at different soil depths of an Oxisol cultivated for 11 years under different soil management systems, cover crops – velvet bean (Mucuna aterrima) or pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) –, and P fertilization levels(1) (1) NT, no-tillage system; CT, conventional tillage system; P0, 0. 00 kg ha-1 per year P2O5; and P1, 100 kg ha-1 per year P2O5, as triple superphosphate applied in the planting furrow. Figure. ×1 Distribution of the free fulvic acid (FFA) fraction at different soil depths of an Oxisol cultivated for 11 years under different soil management systems: NTv, no-tillage + velvet bean (Mucuna aterrima) as a cover crop; NTm, notillage + pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) as a cover crop; and CTm, conventional tillage + pearl millet as a cover crop. Means followed by equal letters, lowercase for depths and uppercase for systems at the same depth, do not differ by Student’s test, at 5% probability. ×2 Distribution of the fulvic acid (FA), humic acid (HA), and humin (HU) fractions at different soil depths of an Oxisol cultivated for 11 years under different soil management systems and at different P fertilization doses.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Antibiotics can be detected at very low levels across the in the sources of drinking water (levels of between 20 and 60 ng/L)52. They are rarely detected in treated drinking water, and if they are detected, the levels are even lower (5–20 ng/L), and thus present little risk to human consumption themselves53. Another concerning area of emerging contaminants is DBPs which are produced when chemical oxidants (e. g. , chlorine, ozone, chloramine, etc. ) are used for disinfecting microbes in drinking water. Over 700 DBPs have been identified by EPA, while only 11 types are regulated48. DBPs have been known to cause cancer and birth defects48. Thus, they too pose a risk to human health despite regulations that exist. In summary, although well-intended and well-developed, the U. S. ’s drinking water regulations do not fully assure the quality of tap water to prevent either short-term or long-term illness from drinking it. Improving upon water treatment technologies and moving them closer to the POU is a way to help remove contaminants that are not regulated yet or are introduced during distribution from the treatment plant to the tap. radiation, and combinations of the above are all advanced water treatment technologies that remove emerging contaminants effectively. Although there has been much research on the mechanics and removal efficacies of these water treatment technologies, little information is available on their application in POU water treatment. POU water treatment technologiesPOU drinking water treatment systems are installed on the water supply lines ahead of water taps, showers, and dispensers to provide on-site purification of water for drinking, bathing, or cooking. A wide range of POU technologies have emerged in the past two decades including AC, redox media, ROMs, UV disinfection, CDI, and others. They are usually combined in a specific sequence to form a POU system (Fig. 4). The systems are thus expected to remove hazardous contaminants exceeding regulation limits while keeping those substances that are healthy and essential for human health. Fig. 4: Examples of POU water treatment technology sequences. A wide range of point-of-use technologies have emerged in the past two decades including activated carbon, redox media, RO membranes, UV disinfection, CDI, and others.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: (low: no reference to sampled hot springs was found, medium: 1–10 hot springs were found, high: > 10 hot springs were found)Full size imageResearch on thermophiles in Europe was often organized in large clusters funded by the European Union. First attempts on extremophiles in general started in 1983 with the first Biotechnology program (Aguilar 1996). The base for extremophile research was created by establishing huge European network projects “Extremophiles as cell factories” and “Biotechnology of extremophiles” with more than 58 laboratories from all across the EU including isolation of novel extremophiles and their enzymes (Aguilar et al. 1998). Moreover, two large network European projects were initiated and coordinated by G. Antranikian (TUHH), which had a significant impact on the research in the field of extremophiles and their enzymes: 'Extremophiles as Cell Factories’ (58 partners including 13 industries, 1993–1996) and “Biotechnology of Extremophiles” (39 partners, 1997–1999). The next 8. 6) are geothermal hot springs in central Portugal which have attracted the interest of microbiologists (Tenreiro et al. 1995; et al. 2001; Alves et al. 2003) (Fig. 4). From these hot springs, several thermophilic isolates have been generated by filtering of water combined with classical plating techniques, including Calidithermus chliarophilus, Thermus oshimai, Deinococcus murrayi, Tepidimonas species, Thermomonas hydrothermalis, Calidithermus timidus, Porphyrobacter cryptus and Raineya orbicola (Tenreiro et al. 1995; Welch and Williams 1996; Ferreira et al. 1997; Moreira et al. 2000; Alves et al. 2003; Rainey et al. 2003; Pires et al. 2005; Albuquerque et al. 2018, 2020). Thermus oshimai was further analyzed for the production of a thermostable β-galactosidase (Gezgin et al. 2013). Later on, an extremely thermostable amylosucrase from Calidithermus timidus was identified by sequence-based screening of the genome and subsequent recombinant production and characterization (Tian et al. 2019).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: 10. 5194/soil-10-139-2024 © Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under the Attribution 4. 0 License. © Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under the Attribution 4. 0 License. 67. 9 % on average) was stored in the <1 mm aggregate fraction, highest in the topsoil and decreasing with soil depth. The intermediate fractions (8–4 mm, 4–2 mm, 2–1 mm) stored 8. 5 %, 10. 5 %, and 11. 0 % of the total OC, while 2. 1 % was stored in the 16–8 mm fraction. Higher MWD improvement at the 20–30 cm depth also indicates additional benefits from a reduction in the cultivation depth. Structural equation modelling (SEM) suggests that single CCs were more likely to increase OC storage in small macroaggregates <1 mm, while CC mixtures were more likely to increase OC in the largest fraction (8–16 mm). Different individual CC species or mixtures exhibited varying involvement in the formation of different aggregate fractions. We provide evidence that litter quality, root morphology, and rhizosphere input, which affect microbial mediators of aggregate formation, might be the main reasons for the observed differences between CC treatments. Cover crops are valuable multifunctional tools for sustainable soil management. Here, we showed that they contribute to structure amelioration in arable soils. Increasing the functional diversity of plant species in CC mixtures could be a strategy to further enhance the positive effects of CCs in agroecosystems. Download & links 10. 5194/soil-10-139-2024, 2024. Received: 18 Aug 2023 – Discussion started: 04 Sep 2023 – Revised: 28 Nov 2023 – Accepted: 12 Dec 2023 – Published: 15 Feb 2024 1 soil structure is one of the most important tasks in terms of sustainable soil management and adaptation of cropping systems to climate change (Lal, 2015; Williams and Petticrew, 2009; Obalum et al. , 2017). In recent decades, soil structure degradation has been widespread and has been observed due to the loss of aggregate stability and changes in aggregate size distribution towards smaller aggregate classes (Boix-Fayos et al. , 2001).

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: It is thus highly efficient in rejecting dissolved organic and inorganic contaminants (Table 9). Even for pollutants with low molecular weight, only trace concentrations exist after RO filtration, and the values are typically below health limits88. ROMs also completely reject pathogens, with no E. coli or viruses detectable in RO permeate89. Moreover, with the feedwater concentration ranging from 0. 5 to 1500 mg/L, over 99% of PFOS can be rejected by ROMs90. However, ROMs may not be as effective for carcinogenic nitrogen DBPs, as only 50–65% or less NDMA may be removed by RO91. Currently, UV treatment is an effective method for removal of NDMA. NDMA in aqueous solutions undergoes direct photolysis upon UV exposure, which further leads to dimethylamine, and nitrite and nitrate ions as the major degradation products92. A combination of RO and UV disinfection is thus preferred to improve efficiency to 59–75%91. The previously mentioned emerging carcinogen 1,4-dioxane can also be reduced by nearly 96% by a removal system combining RO and GAC93. Table 9 Rejection rates of various pollutants by RO membranes191,192. Full size tableWhile ROMs are common in POU water filters, they are more expensive than GAC and sediment filters. Many consumers find less expensive filters sufficient for their needs. However, RO units produce purer water than other commercially available technologies. Also, pre-treatment is necessary during this process; otherwise, membrane fouling or damage can quickly occur. Given sufficient pressure, nearly all dissolved solutes can theoretically be removed, but realistic removal rates on the order of 90–99% are possible for contaminants that cannot be removed by other filtration methods. RO systems are thus in demand among those with a high standard for water quality. Some water filter companies address differing customer standards by selling versions of systems that differ only in the inclusion of a ROM. UV disinfectionUV irradiation has been increasingly used in water disinfection to inactivate microorganisms because it adds no chemicals, does not produce harmful DBPs, and does not cause disinfectant resistance in bacteria94. The radiation penetrates the microorganisms and results in photochemical damage by impairing nucleic acids (DNA or RNA). Such damage further disables microorganisms from replication and infection.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: Nevertheless, diversity analysis or metagenomic sequencing has not been published from these habitats so far. The only approach for gaining new enzymes directly from these sampling sites was performed by Bataillon and coworkers. By plating on arabinoxylan-containing medium, a xylanolytic Bacillus strain could be received which produces a thermoactive xylanase with highest activity at 75 °C under the given conditions (Bataillon et al. 1998). Fig. 4Major sampling sites of geothermal springs in Portugal and the AzoresFull size imageAnother spa and hot spring region in northern Portugal is Vizela, which was less intensively sampled (vent temperature 56 °C, pH 8. 9, Tenreiro et al. 1995). No further microbiological investigations have been performed so far, except for the isolation of Meiothermus silvanus and investigation of several Thermus isolates revealing a Thermus scotoductus strain (Santos et al. 1989; Tenreiro et al. 1995). The geothermal area of Chaves, located at the northern border of Portugal mainland is another microbial unexplored region. Although this region holds the hottest geothermal waters on the Portuguese mainland with 77 °C discharge temperature at a drilling site and furthermore a natural hot spring with 66 °C (Marques et al. 2019), no microbial investigations have been published so far. The most prominent hot spot for geothermal springs in Portugal is the archipelago of the Azores, located on the mid-Atlantic ridge. On the main island, São Miguel, hot springs can be found at several locations including shallow marine vents at and Ferraria. The most prominent terrestrial hot springs are located in the interior of the island at Furnas geothermal area (Fig. 4). In comparison to other terrestrial hot springs, metatranscriptomic analysis of filamentous mats of these hot springs revealed dominance of Sulfurihydrogenibium azorense which metabolizes sulfur compounds under microaerophilic conditions (Hamamura et al. 2013). In addition, analysis of thermoacidophilic Verrucomicrobia methanotrophs indicated that the isolated location of terrestrial geothermal springs like in Azores promote the allopatric speciation of microbes (Erikstad et al. 2019). Sahm et al.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: The causes of soil structure degradation have been attributed to intensification of soil cultivation (Williams and Petticrew, 2009), loss of organic matter (OM) and soil biological functions (Obalum et al. , 2017), and unilateral crop rotation and mineral fertilization (Lal, 2009). Aggregate stability can provide important information about soil functioning, which defines soil quality and soil health in agroecosystems (Seybold and Herrick, 2001; J. Lehmann et al. , 2020). Stable soil aggregates are more stress resistant, decrease soil erodibility, and increase the OM protection capacity (Dungait et al. , 2012; Six et al. , 2000) and climate resilience of soils (Allen et al. , 2011; Six and Paustian, 2014). Aggregation and the arrangement of the aggregates into a defined pattern, i. e. the soil structure, depend on several parameters and are a product of the interactions between the quantity and quality of organic residues entering the soil, indigenous soil organic matter (OM), mineral constituents, soil organisms, and land use history (Tisdall and Oades, 1982). Plants are of particular importance in the management of the soil structure, as the farmer — with the selection of the cultivated plant — can directly intervene in plant-microbial-mediated soil processes. There are four pathways through which plants can directly and indirectly influence aggregate formation: (1) functional root characteristics such as root morphologies vary between plant species and differently affect soil parameters, such as soil pore connectivity, (macro)porosity, or aggregate stability (Kutschera et al. , 2009; Bacq-Labreuil et al. , 2019; Hudek et al. , 2022). (2) Litter quality controls the decomposition of root and shoot litter and provides polysaccharides as binding agents for aggregates (Liu et al. , 2005). (3) Rhizodeposits (root fragments, cell debris, exudates, mucilage) can act as binding materials. (4) Plants have a strong impact on soil biota by shaping the microbial community with their rhizosphere inputs (Reinhold-Hurek et al. , 2015). Soil biota is a key factor for aggregate formation, where bacteria and fungi appear to be more important than soil fauna (Lehmann et al. , 2017).

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Product water after remineralization not only makes RO-treated water more palatable, but also non-corrosive105, fulfilling the following water quality criteria: pH between 6. 5 and 8. 5; alkalinity >80 mg/L as CaCO3, and calcium carbonate precipitation potential (CCPP) range of 80 < CCPP < 120 mg/L as CaCO3106,107. Figure 7 gives an example of a 5-in-1 alkaline, remineralization, and far-infrared filter108. There is a bit of marketing mythology surrounding some remineralization filters with statements such as “Like the flow of a mountain spring, water passes through mineral rocks in sequence. ” For other media, such as the stone (a. k. a. , “Japanese & Stone”), product claims include “releasing beneficial microelements, stabilizing water pH, and absorbing chlorine and heavy metals, Maifan stone is widely used in traditional Chinese treatments of many conditions like digestive problems and high blood pressure”84. The “alkaline ceramic ball” claims a “capacity to break down a big water molecule groups into smaller ones” and to “activate water”100. Another claim is that ceramics can generate far-infrared rays (FIR), and hence, the alkaline ceramic ball offers enhanced filter performance in antibacterial, activation, absorption, and water purification100. We find no scientific evidence supporting any of the above claims and assume they are largely marketing stories; however, such 5-in-1 remineralizing filters appear popular following ROMs in high-end POU filtration systems. Fig. 7: Schematic of 5-in-1 remineralization filter. Remineralization aims to adjust the alkalinity of RO-filtered water by re-introducing healthy minerals; tap water RO permeate is deficient in healthy minerals, has a slightly dry, burning feeling to the tongue, and is slightly corrosive with pH < 6. 0 (reprinted with permission from108; Copyright© 2020). Full size imageEmerging technologies: an example of CDIApart from the above technologies, a growing number of novel water treatment technologies have emerged to meet the increasing removal needs for emerging contaminants and from higher regulatory requirements.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: (2013) investigated the biodiversity of two hydrothermal springs in Furnas valley by next generation sequencing with 16S rRNA gene analysis and FISH of bacteria and archaea. Related to the results of Hamamura and coworkers, chemolithoautotrophic Sulfurihydrogenibium species were identified but additionally high abundance of heterotrophic prokaryotes of bacterial genera like Caldicellulosiruptor, Dictyoglomus and Fervidobacterium was demonstrated (Hamamura et al. 2013). A high content of organic carbon sources may have caused a natural enrichment of polymer-degrading microorganisms which are a promising source for thermostable polymer-degrading enzymes (Sahm et al. 2013). Further investigations underlined the capacity for obtaining novel biotechnologically relevant enzymes. Enrichment cultures with spent coffee ground and its different polymeric components revealed remarkable shifts in the community composition depending on the substrate indicating substrate-specialized genera (Suleiman et al. 2019). Earlier enrichments on feathers have already revealed keratinase-producing strains (Friedrich and Antranikian 1996; Riessen and Antranikian 2001). Many isolates from the Azores have been substrate-independently gained mainly by the group of Da Costa, including slightly thermophilic strains (Albuquerque et al. 2012) and Thermus isolates (Manaia and da Costa 1991). Based on isolated strains of the Azores, restriction enzymes and a xylanase were identified (Marques et al. 1998; Welch et al. 1998). In addition, genome analysis of Truepera radiovictrix and Sulfurihydrogenibium azorense resulted in the discovery of an amylosucrase (Zhu et al. 2018) and the most catalytically effective alpha-carbonic anhydrase investigated so far (et al. 2013). Other approaches for identification of novel biotechnologically relevant enzymes were based on the activity-based screening of metagenomic libraries. Schröder and coworkers identified an archaeal beta-glucosidase in an E. coli hosted library (Schröder et al. 2014). Remarkably, the thermophilic screening host Thermus thermophilus BL03 provides an effective alternative for successful screening for esterases from hot springs compared to conventional E.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: In this context, the sequence of cultivated plants in crop rotation plays a crucial role in the legacy of microbial processes and OM inputs from litter, roots, or microbial residues in arable soils. Therefore, crop rotation and crop history have a strong impact on aggregate formation and stability (Wright and Anderson, 2000; Zhou et al. , 2020) and appear to be important tools for soil structure amelioration in arable systems. Cover crops (CCs) are cultivated for purposes of soil degradation protection, nutrient leaching, and remediation of soil quality (Thorup-Kristensen et al. , 2003; Williams and Petticrew, 2009). The CC biomass is either harvested as fodder for energy production or acts as green manure for the following crop. Previous studies have demonstrated strong positive impacts of CCs on soil structure formation and aggregate stability (Mendes et al. , 1999; Dabney et al. , 2001; Liu et al. , 2005; Blanco-Canqui and Ruis, 2020; Stegarescu et al. , 2021). Moreover, root activity was found to be the major driver of higher aggregate stability during CC growth (Stegarescu et al. , 2021). A recent study examined functional root traits as a basis for classifying seven different cover crops to improve physical soil properties, including aggregate stability (Hudek et al. , 2022). The authors demonstrated that the positive effect of macroporosity and aggregate stability during CC growth depended on the morphology of the individual plant root systems. Four out of seven tested species showed positive trends. Biodiverse CC mixtures can compensate for the weaknesses of single components and improve the multifunctional positive effects of CC (Couëdel et al. , 2019). Cover crop mixtures can have higher root biomass than single components (Heuermann et al. , 2019), increase the rhizosphere C input, and thereby stimulate microbial biomass and activity (Gentsch et al. , 2020; Chavarría et al. , 2016). The biogeochemical cycling rate and particularly the fungal community composition appeared to be strongly affected by CC species or mixtures (Cloutier et al. , 2020; Thapa et al. , 2021; Gentsch et al. , 2020).

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Water treatment based on electrochemical principles is one promising technology, which is presently emerging. Electrochemical water treatment technologies include electro-oxidation, electro-reduction, electro-coagulation, electro-flotation, electro-decantation, capacitive deionization (CDI), and others109. In this section, CDI is chosen as an exemplar electrochemical water treatment technology. Its working principles, developing history, and comparison between different types are discussed. CDI, and its various derivatives, are promising POU water treatment technologies that use applied electric fields to separate dissolved ions by various mechanisms. Ions in feed water can be immobilized to two paired porous electrodes by applying a low-voltage electric field between the electrodes110. This process generally follows electric double layer theory where the charge on the electrode surfaces (from the applied potential) is neutralized by the accumulation of counterions from solution111. Positively charged ions such as Ca2+, Mg2+, and Na+ will be adsorbed to the negative cathode, while negatively charged ions such as Cl− and SO42− will be adsorbed to the positive anode. The electrodes are regenerated (e. g. , ions released) by reversing the applied potential releasing electrosorbed ions. After years of research and development, different architectures of the CDI module have been developed with various advantages and disadvantages (Table 10). Flow between electrodes is the most conventional format of CDI designed by Blair and Murphy in 1960112. The desalination efficiency of CDI was improved through an innovation by Johnson et al. 113. by pumping feed water through the porous electrodes rather than between the solid electrodes. Researchers are devoted to combining CDI with existing filtration technologies such as membranes114,115 or modifying the surface and material for the electrodes116,117,118. However, high manufacturing cost limits widespread deployment of CDI-based POU water treatment products. Table 10 Common types of CDI developed for desalination.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: coli screening host (Leis et al. 2015). Moreover, sequence-based screening of metagenomes opens new possibilities for host-independent screening. By this, thermostable enzymes like an alpha-galactosidase and a laminarinase were obtained from metagenomic datasets of Azorean hot springs (Schröder et al. 2017; Burkhardt et al. 2019). The probability to find high-active substrate-specific enzymes was further increased by a multi-omic screening approach. Using anaerobic enrichments in the presence of green coffee beans, metagenomic and metatranscriptomic screening approaches identified 14 promising hydrolase-coding genes. Four of them were recombinantly expressed and the enzymes were characterized as active thermostable endoglucanase, endomannanase or beta-glucosidase (Busch et al. 2021). This demonstrates that multi-omic approaches are efficient tools for the identification of novel active enzymes from hot spring environments. SpainSpain has a series of hot springs with temperatures below 50 °C distributed throughout the country. These are mainly used as spas. The region of Galicia in the North-West of Spain is rich in geothermal springs. Besides a large number of thermal springs with temperature below 50 °C, hot springs like As Burgas, Lobios, A Chavasqueira, and Tinteiro in the province of Ourense show temperatures above 50 °C (Fig. 5). Several of these hot springs have been investigated as potential sources for enzymes from thermophilic microorganisms. Fig. 5Location of the hot springs As Burgas, A Chavasqueira, Tinteiro and Lobios in SpainFull size imageIn 2013, Deive and colleagues analyzed the abovementioned hot springs to isolate lipolytic enzyme-producing thermophilic microorganisms from thermal spots, where biodiversity has never been investigated so far (Deive et al. 2013). With agar plate cultures, they identified 12 strains with potential lipolytic activity and, moreover, nine of them were described as true lipase producers. In addition, using submerged culture techniques, two strains from A Chavasqueira hot spring, CH6A and CH6B, showed remarkable extracellular enzyme activity. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed highest homology with Bacillus sp. and Anoxybacillus gonensis.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: Furthermore, litter from multispecies CC crop mixtures increased the molecular diversity of OM inputs to the soil and the number of substrate niches for microbes (Drost et al. , 2020). In concluding the recent research on CC mixtures as compared to single-CC cultivars, all four pathways in aggregate formation by plant communities (as outlined above) might have a stronger effect in CC mixtures. However, the question of whether biodiverse CC mixtures are able to increase plant-derived soil structure remediation has not yet been investigated. Further, direct root effects of CCs on soil structure formation during their growth have already been documented (Hudek et al. , 2022; Blanco-Canqui and Ruis, 2020), but there is still a lack of information on how long term these changes are. Here, we refer to the long-term effect that a CC has on the soil beyond its active growing period as the legacy effect. We hypothesize that CCs alter soil structure according to their root morphology so that CC mixtures which combine diverse functional root traits enhance aggregate stability as compared to single species. We further hypothesize that consecutive cover cropping results in a legacy effect of soil structure improvement for the subsequent main crops. Therefore, we investigated the aggregation pattern of four single and two CC mixtures of 4 and 12 species, respectively, in comparison to a fallow treatment in a long-term field experiment in Germany. We aimed to explore the legacy effect of CC on soil structure in the second main crop rotation following CC treatments. 2 Materials and methods 2. 1 Long-term experimental site and soil sampling The samples were collected from a long-term field trial at the Asendorf field station of the AG (DSV), 70 km north of Hanover, Germany (49 m above sea level; 52∘45′48. 4′′ N, 9∘01′24. 3′′ E). The climate is temperate oceanic with an annual mean temperature of 9. 3 ∘C and a mean annual precipitation of 751 mm (long-term mean, 1981–2010). The soil developed from a shallow loess cover over glaciofluvial sand (>50 cm) and was classified as a according to the Base (2022). Soil texture was a silty loam with low heterogeneity across the field site (Table S1 in the Supplement). The soil pH was slightly acidic (pH 6.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Kinetico claims to use a smart reminder, but its products simply use a flow counter to shut off the system when a prespecified number of gallons have been used156. Flow sensors record the rotation of an impeller wheel as water moves through the device157. Brita pitchers use a different method: a sensor in the lid counts how many times the lid has been opened to fill the pitcher, approximating the output of a flow sensor. Some sensors, such as those used in PUR faucets158, track both time and water flow. While more sophisticated than a time-based reminder, a flow-based reminder still does not use actual water quality information to assess filter performance or treated-water quality. Moreover, water quality can vary considerably between different households in different regions with different water quality and based on the age of premise plumbing. Pre-programmed filter change reminders have limited ability to adapt to local water quality or assess whether a system is functioning as designed. It seems obvious to incorporate smart technology and elements into POU water filters, in particular, to reliably notify the user when to replace the filter. Conductivity, pH, and ORP sensors are widely available and some for less than $10 (presumably even less when purchased in bulk). However, we find limited evidence of such technologies in any commercially available POU products. A filter’s ability to remove lead, arsenic, and other harmful contaminants may be well-advertised, but it is not clear for how long that performance persists in a given household installation. A time- or flow-based change reminder is consistent in that a manufacturer can expect attentive customers to buy a replacement at predictable time intervals. This increases the ability of the manufacturer to plan their production and finances. Many customers may never replace their filter cartridges due to inconvenience or switching to a different filter brand. Customers in this group would also be unlikely to benefit from a more intelligent reminder system. It seems likely that most consumers who will eventually replace their filters would prefer to do so when their system wears out or breaks rather than at a predefined time interval. If a product is developed which includes this feature, perhaps including sensors more sophisticated than TDS (total dissolved solids) (conductivity), then these capabilities could prove attractive. Users could be warned that contaminants have reached unacceptably high levels at the filtration system’s output, providing a more compelling reason to replace one or more components.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: Later on, the biodiversity of Bullicame hot spring was investigated culture dependent (plate-based isolation) and culture independent (16S rRNA gene sequencing) and showed a higher biodiversity in the microbial mats compared to the water samples which was composed of aerobic and anaerobic heterotrophs as well as phototrophs (Valeriani et al; 2018). Moreover, from Bullicame hot spring, the thermophilic Caloramator viterbensis was isolated and described (Seyfried et al. 2002). One hot spot for hot springs in Italy is the area of Naples harboring multiple terrestrial geothermal hot springs, solfatara, and shallow marine vents around the city as well as on (Fig. 6). Menzel et al. analyzed the microbial diversity of two terrestrial hot springs in the area of Pisciarelli (86 °C, pH 5. 5) and Pozzuoli (76 °C, pH 3. 0). The microbial composition of both samples differs as Pisciarelli was dominated by archaea from Acidianus and Pyrobaculum species whereas Pozzuoli was mainly dominated by bacteria of the genus Acidithiobacillus. (Menzel et al. 2015). Metagenomic sequences of Pozzuoli samples were also used for in silico screening of thermostable amine transferases (Ferrandi et al. 2017). Additionally, two hydrothermal mud/water pools of the solfatara Pisciarelli with temperatures of 85 and 92 °C and acidic conditions of pH 5. 5 and 1. 5 were later on investigated by Strazzulli and coworkers (Strazzulli et al. 2020). The datasets of the metagenomic analysis could be nearly exclusively assigned to sequences of archaeal origin which was also observed by Menzel et al. (2015). However, the pools in this study were dominated by species of the Sulfolobales order whereby interestingly up to two-thirds of the reads had no match to known sequences in the NCBI database (Strazzulli et al. 2020). Functional classification of the ORFs revealed the highest amount for carbohydrate metabolism. The remarkably high number of carbohydrate active enzymes including glycoside hydrolases, polysaccharide lyases, and carbohydrate esterases may be caused by rich vegetation around the hot springs (Strazzulli et al. 2017).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: The variability of OC distribution within aggregates was quite large between (Fig. 1) but also within CC treatments (Fig. S8). Thus, only a few of the observed trends were significantly different by pairwise comparison of treatments (Fig. S8). For example, the largest differences among CC treatments were found in the top 0–10 cm, between oat and Mix12, Mix4, and fallow. Of all treatments, oat led to the highest proportion of OC in the <1 mm fraction (Fig. 1), which was a significant difference from Mix12 (p=0. 038) in the uppermost layer (Fig. S8). All pure cultivated CCs tended to store more OC in the <1 mm fraction in the 0–10 cm increment, whereas mixtures stored a greater proportion in the 16–8 mm fraction. In the soil increments below 20 cm, the data variability was large between treatments. Here, only Mix4 led to approximately 1 % more OC in the 2–1 mm fraction than oat at the 30–40 cm depth (Fig. S8). Figure 1Relative proportion of OC in different soil fractions relative to the fallow level. Fallow as 100 % is marked by the black polygon in the background. Polygons represent the means of three replicates, and statistical evaluation of the graph is shown in Fig. S8. Download 3. 3 Aggregate stability indicators The MWD varied among treatments and soil depths (Fig. 2a). A larger MWD indicates that more large-scale aggregates are present after wet sieving. When focusing on individual soil horizons, pairwise comparison indicated significantly higher MWD compared to the fallow for clover at 0–10 cm (18. 8 % higher, p=0. 017), Mix12 at 20–30 cm (37. 6 % higher, p=0. 049), and phacelia (17. 0 % higher, p=0. 018) and Mix4 (12. 8 % higher, p=0. 037) at 30–40 cm. A comprehensive data evaluation of the LMMs indicated that the MWD increased with soil depth and was significantly higher in the CC treatments than in the fallow treatment (Fig. 2b).

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: 9: Electrically based nanosensor architecture for environmental analyte detection. A glassy carbon electrode was functionalized via multiple steps, including the treatment with reduced graphene oxide, electro polymerization of pyrrole, electrodeposition of gold, and the co-deposition of silica and acetylcholinesterase (reprinted with permission from182; Copyright© RSC, 2014). Full size imageIn contrast to the electrochemical method, magnetic transduction shows less background signal and therefore can detect contaminants with low concentrations177. The analytes that can then be detected are magnetically isolated via the functionalization of nanomaterials with analyte-specific biomolecules174,178. Figure 10 illustrates representative magnetically based nanosensor architecture for environmental analyte detection. Combined magneto-fluorescence approach is applied to sense and detect bacteria via fluorophore labeled magnetic nanop179. However, the challenges associated with transitioning novel nanosensors into POU system are particularly vexing due to the lack of capital sources powering product research, development, and marketing. In general, if a novel technology is to gain a foothold then the potential profits associated with it have to be considerable, while the risks of adoption must be acceptable174. Concluding remarksCurrent household tap water quality in the is as good as anywhere else where drinking water is treated to regulated quality. That said, violations for a wide array of regulated contaminants by public water systems, unregulated non-grid-tied groundwater wells, and unregulated emerging contaminants still pose serious acute and chronic health risks. For example, some very-high-profile cases of impaired municipal drinking water have occurred in recent years (e. g. , lead in Flint, Michigan and Newark, New Jersey). Moreover, long timelines for implementing new regulations in the U. S. cause some concern over the purity and healthfulness of municipal drinking water, especially with so many toxic, carcinogenic, endocrine disrupting, and pharmaceutically active chemicals known to be in drinking water’s source waters. Treatment plants that use surface water as a source tend to have a higher frequency of violations compared to those using groundwater. For smaller systems, many of the violations are for lack of reporting versus reports of known violations, so the potential risk to the populations served is difficult to assess.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: Altogether, the findings exhibit these hot springs as valuable resources for novel thermostable enzymes of biotechnological interest. Moreover, many microbial isolates were gained from the Pisciarelli area which are interesting candidates for biotechnological applications. One famous example is Saccharolobus solfataricus also known as Sulfolobus solfataricus from which many different biotechnologically relevant enzymes were screened by cultivation experiments or in silico genome analysis including thermostable polymerase, proteases, esterase/lipases, aldolase, lactonase, and various glycoside hydrolases (McDonald et al. 2006; Rémy et al. 2016; Quehenberger et al. 2017; Curci et al. 2021). Another interesting example is the discovery of a new α-glucosidase from an unknown hyperthermophilic archaeon characterized by a temperature optimum of 95 °C by a combination of a culture-dependent approach and metagenomics (Iacono et al. 2022). However, due to geothermal activity, the Pisciarelli region is subject to ongoing changes influencing the microbial community composition by temperature, pH, and in situ chemistry. Iacono and coworkers analyzed three newly formed sampling sites and demonstrated their differences in biodiversity and composition of carbohydrate active enzymes indicating the unexplored potential of this area (Iacono et al. 2020). The influence of earthquakes on the microbial community was also the subject of a study on with its manyfold hot springs next to Naples. Although the autochthone thermophilic community of the hot spring was augmented by bacteria from soil, sediments, sea, freshwater, and wastewaters, the conditions have not changed and a natural restoration process to the original community was observed after a few months (Valeriani et al. 2020). One of the best examined microbial hot spots in whole Europe is as part of the Aeolian archipelago in the southern part of Italy. For decades, microbiologists have analyzed the thermophilic microorganisms of the hydrothermal system and gained many thermophilic marine isolates. This resulted in an impressive number of isolates.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: The LMMs across soil depths indicated that all CCs increased the MWD from 10 % for oat and up to 19 % for Mix12 compared to fallow (Table 1, model 1). Only the increase from oat was not significant. A second model on CC type (Table 1, model 2) indicated that CC mixtures showed a higher MWD increase (16 %) than single species (12 %). We explored the relationship between MWD and the soil parameters' OC content, texture, and BD. None of the parameters showed a significant relationship to MWD (see R markdown file in the data repository). The CC litter C:N ratio was significantly negatively related to the MWD in the topsoil (R2=0. 35, p=0. 01, Fig. S9) but not in the subsoil (data on CC C:N ratios were published in Gentsch et al. (2022) and Table S3 in the Supplement). Similar trends were also found with GMD (see R markdown file in the data repository). Figure 2Mean weight diameter (MWD) of soil aggregates after wet sieving from different soil depths. Lowercase letters in (a) denote significant differences between CC treatments by pairwise comparison for each soil depth independently. Lowercase letters in (b) denote overall effects of CC from a LMM. Transparent points represent the individual measurements, and full colours are mean values (± SE). Single refers to pure cultivated CCs, and Mix refers to CC mixtures. 1Results of two LMMs with MWD as the response and CC variant or CC type as the predictor variable. Soil depth was set as a random variable. Interpretation: the estimated mean of fallow is the reference group, and changing the treatment from fallow to mustard will increase the MWD by 0. 33 mm, which represents an increase of 12. 4 %. Version | we tested the relationship between MWD and OC in different aggregate size fractions (Fig. S9). There was a significant positive correlation between MWD and OC in the 8–4 mm fraction (R2=0. 25, p<0. 001), a slightly positive but significant trend with 16–8 mm sized aggregates (Fig. S9), and a negative correlation with OC in the <1 mm fraction (R2=0. 19, p<0. 001).

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: As the size of treatment plants increase, the percent of violations and, in particular, those that use surface water both tend to decrease; however, the number of people potentially at risk is quite high due to the large populations served. These well-documented drinking water violations, unregulated off-grid groundwater wells, and emerging contaminants all give rise to consumers’ lack of confidence in drinking water quality and justify the use of POU drinking water treatment systems. Although there has been much research on the mechanisms and removal efficacies of the types of water treatment technologies employed in POU applications, most peer-reviewed studies are framed in the context of large-scale municipal or industrial treatment applications and few independent studies have evaluated their efficacy in POU water treatment applications. Components in commercially available POU water filter systems are highly commoditized and standardized across the industry. (either GAC or ACB), RO, remineralization, and UVS are the most commonly employed technologies. This level of homogeneity in the production of filter systems is good in that it drives down costs to the consumer making POU water treatment widely accessible; however, the lack of regulations, monitoring and control of POU systems make it difficult to know if and when a POU system stops working as it was designed. The smartness of POU water filters may be defined as their ability to perform tasks such as monitoring and reporting water quality, monitoring filter performance and expected lifetime, controlling filtration remotely, and connecting with consumers through personal smart devices. By this definition, currently there are no commercially available water filtration products. Sensors providing water quality information is an essential feature for a water filter to become SMART. However, a SMART water filter is also expected to be connected to WiFi or Bluetooth and deliver the information to a mobile app. Interaction and control through the use of Internet is a key characteristic of any smart home technology. Future design and production of water treatment systems should consider moving beyond timers and counters to flow meters and (at least) basic water quality sensors (e. g. , EC/pH/ORP) along with Internet connectivity and interactive consumer apps. Finally, these technological innovations must be accomplished at very low cost to assure widespread accessibility for the most vulnerable and underprivileged populations. Data availability The authors declare that no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study. Change history06 April 2022A Correction to this paper has been published: (2017). EPA.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: One of the best studied hyperthermophilic species is Pyrococcus furiosus which type strain Vc 1 was isolated already in the 1980s from a submarine solfataric field in a depth between 2 and 10 m (Fiala and Stetter 1986). Many other isolates of the order Thermococcales were gained in the following years from the shallow marine vents of Vulcano Island. The enzyme potential of Thermococcales is huge and many thermostable enzymes have been characterized for biotechnological application fields exhausting a large portion of it. An extensive overview about these DNA polymerases, carbohydrate and protein hydrolases and many other enzymes relevant for biocatalysis is given by Schut et al. (2014). Methods for enzyme identification from Thermococcales isolates range from classical activity-based screening of genomic libraries in E. coli to restriction-independent cloning of a gene expression library based on the genome sequence of P. furiosus (Yuan et al. 2015). Another industrial relevant isolate gained from geothermally heated marine sediments from is the type strain Thermotoga maritima MSB8, which produces enzymes for the degradation of diverse polysaccharides (Conners et al. 2006). Among all thermophilic genomes sequenced so far, the genome of T. maritima possesses with 7% the highest proportion of glycoside hydrolases (Chhabra et al. 2002; Sadaqat et al. 2021). As for many other isolates, genome sequencing of T. maritima has opened a new era for sequence-based enzyme discovery, for example coming up with thermostable esterase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, and cellulase/mannanase (Levisson et al. 2007; Myung et al. 2010; Sadaqat et al. 2021). After the great era of gaining microbial isolates from Vulcano Island, the focus switched to the exploration of the microbial consortia to investigate even unculturable microorganisms. As already expected from the huge amounts of isolated strains, metagenomic analyses confirmed the rich biodiversity of thermophilic microorganisms in the area of Vulcano Island. The microbial analysis of crater with fumaroles and comparison with other sampling sites at indicated a potential correlation between the microbiome and the emitted gas composition (Fagorzi et al.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: Similar trends to what we identified for the MWD were also observed for the GMD, but the evaluation with an LMM showed significantly higher GMD compared to fallow only for mixed CC (Fig. S11 in the Supplement). 3. 4 Impacts on aggregate OC distribution The impact of soil parameters and CC type on aggregate OC distribution was evaluated by SEM (Fig. 3). The overall fit parameters indicated that the model fit the data satisfactorily (χ2=28. 7, p=0. 12, RMSEA=0. 08). The r square of the SEM variables indicated that 70 % of the variance in aggregate OC distribution is explained by the model (see R markdown file in the data repository). The regression parameters in the SEM indicated that all of the selected predictor variables showed a significant impact on aggregate OC distribution (p<0. 02). The standardized estimates of the predictors indicated that MWD had the highest impact on aggregate OC distribution, followed by soil parameters, and CC type (Fig. 3). The factor CC type was composed of three factors in the order mix, fallow, and single. The interpretation of the CC type in SEM is visualized in the R markdown file (see R markdown file in the data repository). By the change in the CC type from mix to fallow to single CCs, the OC distribution is affected positively, which means that OC in the <1 mm fraction increases, while OC in the larger fractions decreases. Figure 3Structural equation model (SEM) investigating the impact of parameters on aggregate OC distribution. Latent variables (blue) are predicted by grey-arrowed observed variables. Dashed lines indicate covariance variables. Numbers show standardized estimates with p values as asterisks. All model parameters are shown in the R markdown file (Supplement). MWD refers to mean weight diameter, and BD refers to bulk density. Download 4 Discussion 4. 1 Changes in aggregate stability The MWD and the GMD both serve as aggregate stability indices assuming that more of the larger aggregates resist wet-sieving treatment. The results indicated that the repeated application of CC (Table 1, Fig. 2b) increased the average size of soil aggregates and their stress resistance compared to fallow. Larger aggregates consist of subunits of smaller aggregates that are internally bound more strongly to each other as the MWD and GMD indices increase (Nimmo and Perkins, 2002).

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: AbstractCoagulation is a simple and cost-effective water treatment method that does not work well in removing multiple cationic and anionic heavy metals simultaneously from drinking water. Titanium potassium oxalate (K2TiO(C2O4)2), a fur tanning reagent, was found to be able to efficiently remove arsenite (As(III)), arsenate (As(V)), and Cd simultaneously. A dose of 120 µmol/L K2TiO(C2O4)2 could remove more than 90% of As and Cd to meet the drinking water standards when their initial concentrations were 10 times their maximum concentration limits, whereas traditional coagulants, such as Fe2(SO4)3 and Al2(SO4)3, failed to meet the drinking water standards. Additionally, K2TiO(C2O4)2 coagulation consumes natural water hardness (Ca2+/Mg2+) to produce softer water and releases healthy K+ as a by-product. The mechanism study indicated that K2TiO(C2O4)2 reacted with natural calcium ions in drinking water to form calcium oxalate, while residual titanium was hydrolyzed with water to form hydrous titanium oxide. Arsenic was removed primarily via complexation with hydrous titanium oxide, while Cd was removed via the combined effect of adsorption by hydrous titanium oxide and mixed-crystal formation by calcium oxalate. This study provides an efficient coagulant for removing multiple heavy metals simultaneously, which can be applied in water treatment to provide safe and healthy drinking water. Similar content being viewed by others Electrocoagulation/flotation process for removing copper from an aqueous environment 1. Arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) are common toxic heavy metals that primarily exist as inorganic anionic and cationic ions in natural environments, respectively2,3. They can be frequently found together in acid mine drainage, the smelting industry, fuel combustion, and other sources4,5,6. As and Cd co-contamination poses a severe threat to drinking water supply systems7,8,9. Health Organization, the Agency of the United States, and many other countries have set strict standards for drinking water supply, e. g.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: 2019). However, the best studied site of is the hydrothermal area in which was investigated at multiple sites by next generation sequencing (Antranikian et al. 2017; Fagorzi et al. 2019). Moreover, enrichment cultures on cellulose were performed and revealed a shifted community with high abundance of archaea and the presence of Paleococcus and Thermococcus species compared to the original samples (Antranikian et al. 2017). Surprisingly, the abundance of Thermotoga species which could not be detected in the original sample underlines the relevance of enrichment cultures for gaining substrate-specific enzymes from environmental samples. A culture-independent screening approach for novel enzymes was performed by Placido and coworkers. From metagenomic DNA of a shallow marine vent in Levante Bay, a fosmid library was constructed followed by an activity-based screening for lipases/esterases/lactamases, haloalkane and haloacid dehalogenases and glycoside hydrolases. The evaluation of positive clones revealed 200 enzyme-encoding genes with high biotechnological potential and elucidates the enzymatic diversity which is far from being fully explored (Placido et al. 2015). Even on the neighboring island of the Aeolian archipelago, hydrothermal vents are present. Maugeri and coworkers analyzed two vents on and came upon a complex microbial community composed of phototrophs and chemolithotrophs. Attempts to investigate the enzyme potential have not been done yet (Maugeri et al. 2009). Furthermore, in the very south of Italy is harboring the fumarolic field of with temperatures of up to 111. 6 °C. Two sampling sites were compared by next generation sequencing. Although the two sites were closely neighbored, their microbial communities differed significantly (Gagliano et al. 2016). These results demonstrate the microbial variety and enzyme potential for biotechnological applications of even closely neighbored sampling sites. GreeceDue to the subduction of the African plate under the Eurasian plate, Greece harbors a variety of geothermal areas, most of them located along the coastal areas or in the form of shallow marine vents, and on islands in the (Duriez et al. 2008).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: We found no correlation between the MWD and soil texture, BD, or bulk soil OC content (see R markdown file in the data repository). This suggested that factors other than soil properties determine differences in aggregate stability at the experimental site. The average MWD increase over fallow was slightly higher for CC mixtures (16 %) than for single CCs (12 %). Despite a partially large variability of the data (Fig. 2a), some CC species appeared to have a stronger effect at a specific soil depth than others. Clover significantly increased the MWD in the 0–10 cm increment, while phacelia increased the MWD in the 30–40 cm increment compared to the fallow (Fig. 2a). As both species are part of the mixtures, these trends can also be observed in the mixtures. Clover, however, was usually only a minor component in Mix4 (<1 %–5 % of the total root biomass, Heuermann et al. , 2019), and the effect in the 0–10 cm increment was not present in Mix4. Differences in root morphology between species at the sampling site are well documented in Heuermann et al. (2019) and might be one factor for differences in MWD between species. Clover has its maximum root biomass in the upper 20 cm soil depth, while phacelia can root approximately 70 cm and deeper. Clover also showed the highest root-to-shoot ratio of all CC treatments (Table S4 in the Supplement). In a recent study, total root length and root surface area correlated positively with aggregate stability, and it was shown that several different CCs led to higher aggregate stability in the topsoil (0–15 cm, Hudek et al. , 2022). Our models indicated that the largest differences in MWD (Fig. 2b) and particularly in GMD (Fig. S10b in the Supplement) between CC and the fallow occurred in the 20–30 cm soil layer. As the maximum cultivation depth during the experiment was 15–20 cm, this indicates that the layers below the cultivation depth benefit most from CC treatments. Soil cultivation and tillage have a strong impact on aggregate stability and soil structure, resulting in lower MWD (Obalum et al. , 2019) and lower connectivity of the pore network (Lucas et al. , 2019).

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: , the maximum contaminant levels (MCL) for As and Cd are 10 and 5 μg/L, respectively, according to the drinking water quality standard of China (GB 5749–2006); however, millions of people, mostly in the developing world, still suffer from excess heavy metal uptake through contaminated water being used for drinking, cooking, and other domestic purposes10,11,12. As such, there is a need to develop a simple method that is effective for removing As and Cd from drinking water. Many advanced technologies have been developed for efficient heavy metal sequestration from drinking water, including adsorption13, ion exchange14, and membrane separation15. For example, Fe-modified mesoporous carbon has been developed for the efficient removal of As (V) from water16. Microporous stannosilicate AV-6 has been reported as an efficient ion-exchange material for Cd removal17. The Ti3C2TX-ethylenediamine nanofiltration membrane showed comprehensive rejection rates higher than 93% for multiple heavy metals, including Cd2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, and Pb2+18. Although these technologies are efficient for heavy metal sequestration, they rely on expensive materials and professional operations, such as the regeneration and disposal of used sorbents and ion exchange resins, control of biofouling, and replacement of membrane assemblies19. Traditional coagulation is still the most widely applied water treatment process in removing heavy metals from drinking water because it is simple and cost-effective20,21. Fe and Al reagents are the most frequently used coagulants in drinking water treatment22. By adding aluminum polychloride, zeolite, powdered activated carbon, and sodium hypochlorite to As(V)-contaminated tap water, the combined coagulation/adsorption process removed low concentrations of As(V) in the range of 25–100 μg/L with a removal efficiency of up to 85. 9%23. Ferrous sulfate was successfully used for the simultaneous removal of As(V) and chromate (Cr(VI)) from ground and surface waters; residual As(V) and Cr(VI) concentrations were both below 10 μg/L, from initial concentrations of 50 μg/L24. Organic coagulants, mainly polyacrylamide, were also used in heavy metal removal.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: Shallow marine vents provide a variety of thermal gradients and are rich in nutrients and minerals, located, among other sites, in the in the south-east of the island Milos in the (Fig. 7). First analyses of thermophilic bacterial consortia around shallow marine vents in the started in 1999 with a cultivation-based approach and molecular methods such as DGGE analysis of amplified 16S rRNA gene fragments (Sievert et al. 1999). The first isolated microorganisms of said shallow marine vent system were the hyperthermophilic archaea Thermococcus aegaeicus and Staphylothermus hellenicus growing optimally at 90 °C and 85 °C, respectively (Arab et al. 2000). Furthermore, Sievert and Kuever isolated the thermophilic sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfacium hydrothermale from heated sediment of the same shallow marine vent system (Sievert and Kuever 2000). Fig. 7Location of geothermal areas and hot springs in GreeceFull size imageGreece is a country rich in terrestrial hot springs, although most exhibit temperatures below 50 °C. hot spring on the island of Lesvos has been investigated for its microbial diversity at temperatures of up to 89 °C (Kormas et al. 2009; Mizerakis et al. 2017). The archaeal community consisted of only two phylotypes, Crenarchaeota (93. 9% dominance) and Archaeoglobus fulgidus, while the most abundant bacterial phylotype was identified as Hydrogenophilus thermoluteolus (Kormas et al. 2009). At the outflow of Polichnitos hot spring, 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed bacterial species commonly detected in hot springs (Mizerakis et al. 2017). However, strains related to species never observed in hot environments but in marine habitats were identified as well, indicating a unique bacterial community. Bacterial and archaeal diversity have also been investigated at Edipsos hot spring by sequencing the 16S rRNA encoding genes, resulting in the dominant archaeal phylotype Crenarchaeota (43. 2%) and dominant bacterial phylotype Persephonella hydrogeniphila (61. 9%) (Kormas et al. 2009).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: Plant activity, on the other hand, has been demonstrated to establish stable and connected biopore systems within 6 years (Lucas et al. , 2019). Here, we demonstrate that, 6 years after the last ploughing to 30 cm depth (see Sect. S1 in the Supplement), the incorporation of CC resulted in a faster improvement of MWD and GMD in comparison to fallow treatments. Therefore, reduced soil cultivation can be even more beneficial for soil structure amelioration if CCs are incorporated into the crop rotation. The significantly higher MWD and GMD values of Mix12 at 20–30 cm might indicate additional benefits for aggregate stability when more biodiverse CC mixtures are grown. Apart from root morphology, the quality and quantity of root exudates and plant litter (root and shoot) can be quite different between CC plant species. The metabolite profiling of the four single CCs at the sampling site revealed that every plant species showed a characteristic pattern of chemical compounds that are released into the soil (Heuermann et al. , 2023). In particular, secondary metabolites with signalling functions were closely related to certain plant species. For example, the presence of phenylpropanoids, which regulate interactions between plants and their microbial associations, was largely confined to clover (Heuermann et al. , 2023). The authors found various plant-specific secondary metabolites with functions for improving iron availability: as chemotactic agents for microbes, as plant-microbial signalling, as signals in plant–plant communication, as allelochemicals, as biotic defence, or as nitrogen sources for neighbours. Also the total carbon in field root exudates differed strongly between CCs and was highest for phacelia. Plants shape the microbial community in their rhizosphere by the composition of their root exudates (Reinhold-Hurek et al. , 2015; Ulcuango et al. , 2021). Root biomass and root exudates are linked to higher fungal and bacterial biomass (Eisenhauer et al. , 2017). The study of Thapa et al. (2021) indicated that CCs resulted in a 41 % greater fungal community than the fallow. But also the fungal community composition and their functional traits are strongly affected by the CC type (Cloutier et al. , 2020).

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: 3% Cd2+ can form the only stable precipitation as Cd4(OH)6SO4 at pH 5, 7 and 9, respectively. Additional experimental results indicate that no precipitate was formed between As and Cd at the present conditions (9). In a comparing experiment, preformed CaC2O4 solid, K2C2O4 solution, and K2TiO(C2O4)2 solution were added to tap water spiked with 50 μg/L Cd, respectively. As shown in 10, there was no significant difference in Cd concentration between control and CaC2O4 treatment, indicating preformed CaC2O4 can’t effectively adsorb Cd2+. Importantly, in situ formed CaC2O4 (K2C2O4 treatment) precipitated 40% of Cd2+, and K2TiO(C2O4)2 precipitated 98% of Cd2+, suggesting occlusion with in situ formed CaC2O4 and electrostatic adsorption by negatively charged Ti(OH)4 maybe the two main pathways of Cd2+ removal by K2TiO(C2O4)2. Based on these results, a possible mechanism was proposed. After addition of K2TiO(C2O4)2 to drinking water, it hydrolyzes and reacts with the natural Ca2+ in water to form hydrous TiO2 (or TiO(OH)2) and crystalline CaC2O4 (Eqs. 1 and 2). As(III) and As(V) are adsorbed on the TiO(OH)2 p3. Coagulation using K2TiO(C2O4)2 consumes a part of the natural water hardness and releases healthy K+ as a byproduct. Thus, softened and healthy drinking water could be obtained. Heavy metal removal efficiency can be successfully predicted using a responsive surface function, which has potential applications in automatic or intelligent water treatment. In short, this study provides a candidate functional coagulant for the removal of multiple heavy metals from drinking water, which cannot be realized using existing Al or Fe salt coagulants. K2TiO(C2O4)2 may have potential applications in water treatment, alone or in combination with existing coagulants, to provide safer and healthier drinking water.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: Besides microbial diversity analyses of shallow marine vents and a few hot springs, research targeted more toward novel biocatalysts from these communities has not been performed until now. With its richness of microbial diversity, Greece harbors great potential for further investigation when it comes to extremozymes. Eastern Europeharbors many geothermal areas, often used as spas or energy sources. Except for Bulgaria and Romania, for the majority of these hot springs to our knowledge, no publication about the microbial diversity or potential biotechnologically relevant strains and enzymes is available. Hence, still harbors a great potential for the discovery of new industrially relevant biocatalysts. BulgariaOver 700 springs from about 140 natural deposits can be found in Bulgaria, with cold water springs in the North and warm or hot water springs located more toward the South of the country. The hyperthermal mineral waters in the Rhodopes mountains and in the valley of the rivers Struma and Mesta, the big Rupi basin (94. 2 ha) and 56 hot springs around Velingrad are among the most well-known terrestrial hot water sources in Bulgaria (Kambourova 2018). With more than 80 registered thermal springs of different geotectonic origin and physico-chemical properties, Bulgaria shows great potential for the discovery of novel thermophilic microorganisms and enzymes for industrial application (Ivanova et al. 2011). The starting point for research on thermophiles from Bulgarian hot springs was set in 1993 by the isolation of several thermophilic Bacillus strains with lipase or xylanase activity from samples of a hot spring in South-Fig. 8. rupiensis and Anoxybacillus bogrovensis isolated from the Rupi basin and Dolni Bogrov, further novel thermophilic bacteria were characterized in the early 2000s (Derekova et al. 2007; Atanassova et al. 2008). Fig. 8Major sampling sites of geothermal areas and hot springs in BulgariaFull size imageIn 2011, attention shifted more toward microbial diversity, and hence the unseen potential of hot springs in Bulgaria, since only a small fraction of microorganisms can be cultivated in the laboratory. While some studies focused primarily on archaeal diversity, others were studying the diversity of bacterial and archaeal consortia altogether (Ivanova et al. 2011; Stefanova et al. 2015; Strunecký et al. 2019).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: Therefore, we suggest that the significantly higher impact of clover in the 0–10 cm layer was derived from the higher rhizosphere input and attraction of microbial mediators suitable for aggregate formation, such as fungi (A. Lehmann et al. , 2020). This might also explain the better performance of CC mixtures for aggregate formation compared to single species and the differences between CC treatments in the subsoil. Previous experiments at the same site showed higher photoassimilate C transport rates to the rhizosphere for CC mixtures, prolonged mean residence times of these compounds in the soil, and the connection to higher fungal activity compared to single CC (Gentsch et al. , 2020). Additionally, Baumert et al. (2018) found significant promotion of particular fungi by greater exudate release, which have the largest impact on macroaggregate formation in the subsoil. The OM chemistry that is incorporated into the soil plays an important role in the aggregation process. A recent meta-analysis indicated that plant residue amendments and the type of plant material have a strong positive impact on MWD (Husain and Dijkstra, 2023). In a study of different OM types, Sarker et al. (2018) used 13C NMR spectroscopy to evaluate the impact on MWD (referred to as the aggregation index in the study). The authors found that materials with high protein contents and low C:N ratios, such as alfalfa litter, showed a rapid positive response to MWD. With a similar approach, Halder et al. (2021) showed a positive correlation of MWD to alkyl and carbonyl C and soluble sugars that were highest in legume litter (alfalfa, vetch species) with low C:N ratios. Both of the former studies also showed that materials such as maize litter or wheat straw, rich in cellulose and hemicellulose, with wide C:N ratios but being poor in soluble fractions, had an intermediate but persistent response to MWD. Plant C:N ratios strongly correlate with the quantity of cellulose and hemicellulose in plant residues (Jensen et al. , 2005).

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: AbstractRainfall variability and socioeconomic shocks pose a revenue risk for drinking water services in rural Africa. We examine the year-on-year and seasonal relationship between rainfall and remotely monitored water usage from rural piped schemes in four sub-Saharan countries to identify patterns that warn of a threat to operational sustainability. Continuous monitoring of socio-climatic interactions can reveal distributions and magnitudes of risk and guide policy action to safeguard rural water services. Similar content being viewed by others Comparative performance of rural water supplies during drought 1. 5 °C 1. Inadequate water supply persists in part due to climate variability that compounds financial and operational risks2. Fluctuating availability of rainwater sources influences domestic water demand, typically leading to a reduction in the volume of water households collect from other improved water sources during higher rainfall periods3,4,5. This behaviour can reduce revenue generated from user payments in the wet season with financial implications for operational sustainability of rural waterpoints6,7. Rainfall dynamics are intensified by ancillary events such as disease outbreaks that stress the low and variable incomes of rural households. For example, economic and travel restrictions enacted to prevent and limit the spread of COVID-19 have affected household livelihoods and ability to pay for water and sanitation services8. Response measures such as providing free water to vulnerable populations and suspending service disconnections resulting from lack of payment in urban areas have led to as much as 70% reduction in revenue collection from utility customers9. It is difficult to anticipate when, where, and how shocks will converge to threaten viability of rural drinking water services because cost, complexity, and timeliness often prevent the measurement of direct indicators. However, analysis of the interactions between socioeconomic and climatic variables that are readily available can signal relative susceptibility while accounting for spatial heterogeneity10. Emerging evidence demonstrates data from in situ waterpoint sensors and from global rain gauge and satellite observation systems can be leveraged to predict drought, famine, and groundwater depletion11,12,13,14. It may be possible to synthesise these data to generate warning signals of revenue risk for rural water supplies. We explore how year-on-year and seasonal changes in rainfall and metered water usage can be interpreted to anticipate a revenue risk for rural drinking water services arising from the convergence of socioeconomic and climatic shocks.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: With a culture-independent approach, archaeal diversity of a hot spring near the city Valvara in South-was investigated by 16S rRNA gene analysis. 35 archaeal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected, belonging to three archaeal phyla with the majority (23) affiliating to Crenarchaeota. The bacterial and archaeal diversity in two geographically separated hot springs Levunovo and Vetren Dol, South Bulgaria, was investigated by Stefanova and coworkers by sequencing the 16S rRNA and GH-57 genes of the samples. The archaeal diversity was shown to be significantly higher in the hotter spring Levunovo (82 °C) with 28 sequence types belonging to five archaeal groups from Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota, while bacterial diversity was higher in the hot spring (68 °C) (Stefanova et al. 2015). Thermophilic isolates were specifically chosen for their ability to metabolize specific carbon sources such as xylan, gellan, and other carbohydrates, since at temperatures above 60 °C carbohydrate solubility is high and viscosity of the reaction mixture is reduced (Emanuilova et al. 2000; Derekova et al. 2006, 2008). The first approach was to screen samples from hot springs for microorganisms with a specific enzymatic activity through cultivation-based methods. Emanuilova and coworkers found lipase, as well as xylanase producing Bacillus sp. using this approach (Emanuilova et al. 1993, 2000). Derekova and coworkers were using samples from various hot springs in Bulgaria for diversity analyses and screening for carbohydrases simultaneously (Derekova et al. 2008). A gellan lyase and a superoxide dismutase were produced by Geobacillus stearothermophilus from Sapareva banja hot spring and Bacillus licheniformis from Dolna banja hot spring, respectively (Derekova et al. 2006; Boyadzhieva et al. 2010). Bulgaria is a country rich in geothermal areas that have been investigated for diversity and valuable enzyme producing isolates as well. Nevertheless, further investigation utilizing sequence-based approaches in combination with the already used culture-based approaches can bring out the full potential of these microbial communities and their enzymes.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: Thus, cover crops with wider C:N ratios such as oat, mustard, or oilseed radish typically show higher quantities of cellulose and hemicellulose than litters with low C:N ratios, such as legumes (Ţîţei, 2002; Oliveira et al. , 2016; Halder et al. , 2021). In our study, we found a significant negative correlation between MWD and the C:N ratio of CC litter in the 0–10 cm increment but not in the deeper layers (Fig. S9). This suggested that the litter quality of CC residues plays an important role in aggregate stability when incorporated into the topsoil. The C:N ratios were ranked in the order of clover, Mix12, phacelia, mustard, Mix4, and oat, suggesting that the positive impact of CC on MWD in the topsoil decreased from clover to oat. The low-quality litter input from clover or Mix12 might also help to decompose the more structure-rich residues of the previous winter wheat straw more efficiently (Barel et al. , 2019). Below the cultivation depth, factors other than litter quality, such as root exudates, might be more prominent for aggregate formation. Fresh plant residues induce the formation of macroaggregates as a result of higher microbial activity (Six et al. , 2000). Litter quality exerts control on the decomposer community composition, which will change as a result of decomposition (Marschner et al. , 2011; Berg and McClaugherty, 2014). These processes result in microbial-derived organic substances that are key to building up soil aggregates. We conclude that the combination of plants with different litter qualities and rhizodeposits might explain the better performance of CC mixtures, as well as differences between CC species for soil aggregate amelioration. Consecutive integration of CC in the crop rotation resulted in a positive legacy effect on aggregate stability. Reduced cultivation depth in combination with CC mixtures might be an additional benefit to improve the soil structure in the subsoil. 4. 2 OC distribution in aggregates The impact of various parameters on aggregate OC distribution was explored by SEM. The model indicates that the MWD and soil properties had the strongest direct effect on aggregate OC distribution (Fig. 3). Soil properties are well known for their contribution to soil aggregate formation.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: We combine 29 years of geospatial, monthly total rainfall estimates with 299 months of metered, remotely transmitted water usage records between 2016 and 2020 corresponding to 25 rural piped schemes in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda. April 2020 is chosen as a reference month when socioeconomic shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic were emerging in Africa. The first COVID-19 cases in Africa were reported in early March 202015 and by the end of the month, cases had been confirmed in more than 70% of the countries on the continent16. The analysis compares water usage data from January through April 2020 with April 2020, and historical periods between 2016 and 2019. We also examine operational and environmental factors that may explain observed changes in water usage including geography, scheme type and size, whether schools or healthcare facilities are served, payment modality, and rainfall. Payment modality is of particular interest because of its direct modifying effect on rural water use and revenue collection. Two approaches were employed to collect user payments among the observed schemes: “pay-as-you-fetch” (PAYF), where cash transactions are made at the waterpoint for every 20-litre container collected, and monthly fees that place no restriction on the volume of water used when a fixed payment is made. Our results show mean water usage rates during the first four months of 2020 did not differ from historical averages (2016–2019) across any of the observed operational factors. We also do not find notable differences in water usage rate in April 2020 across all combined records, from schemes that serve schools or healthcare facilities, or in records grouped by scheme type and size (see 1). These findings suggest restrictions related to COVID-19 were not affecting water usage from the observed schemes in April 2020. However, the onset of COVID-19 in early 2020 occurred at the same time as unusually high rainfall across areas of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda while below average rainfall occurred further south (Fig. 1). The observed schemes straddle these two climate regimes enabling the effect of rainfall extremes on water use to be examined. Fig. 1: Analysis of rainfall anomalies during the period from January to April 2020 against 1983–2012 climatology indicates unusually high rainfall in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania and low levels of rainfall in Malawi. Green dots indicate locations of piped schemes where the PAYF payment modality is employed.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: RomaniaIn the of Romania, over 500 drillings were made between the 1960–1980s in the search of thermo-mineral springs that could be further used as an energy source (Coman et al. 2011). The resulting drilling sites harbor a great abundance of biomats, and thus microbial diversity. In 2011 and 2013, Coman and coworkers investigated the microbial diversity of different biomats from drilling sites in Romania. With a cultivation-based approach, the cyanobacterial diversity from a drilling site in Marghita with a temperature of 67 °C was determined (Coman et al. 2011) Fig. 9. This resulted in eight cyanobacterial taxa with Oscillatoriales, Phormidium, and Leptolyngbya being the most abundant. Another drilling site with a temperature of 55 °C was studied using a similar approach. 16S rDNA gene libraries were created and sequenced. Only a low diversity of archaea was observed with three represented taxa Methanomethylovorans thermophila, Methanomassiliicoccus luminyensis, and Methanococcus aeolicus, while bacterial diversity was higher, with Cyanobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Proteobacteria being dominant (Coman et al. 2013). From the Romania hot spring Tășnad, the thermophile Anoxybacillus flavithermus was isolated and its esterase/lipase was biochemically characterized (Chiş et al. 2013). Fig. 9Major sampling sites of geothermal areas in RomaniaFull size imageRomania is not as rich in natural terrestrial hot springs as other European countries, but harbors geothermal areas that were used for energy production. These sites can be further investigated to deepen the understanding of its microbial diversity and use of biocatalysts for industrial applications. Caucasus regionregion is located between Europe and Asia, and it is known for its rich culture, diverse landscapes, and natural hot springs. There are many hot springs located throughout the region, each with its unique features and benefits. Mountains include the in the north and in the south. Mountains formed largely as the result of a tectonic plate collision between the Arabian plate moving northwards with respect to the Eurasian plate (Reilinger et al. 1997).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: Schweizer et al. (2019), for example, showed the dependency of macroaggregate formation on clay content, while Blanco-Canqui and Lal (2004) emphasized the role of OM quality and quantity in aggregate formation and OC sequestration. A lower but significant effect on the OC distribution was found for the CC type (Fig. 3), suggesting that it matters if we grow CC instead of fallow as mixtures or single species. Although difficult to detect in pairwise comparisons, mixtures tended to increase OC in the 16–8 mm fraction, while single species supported OC in the <1 mm fraction, at least in the topsoil (Figs. 1, S7, and S8 in the Supplement). The SEM supports these trends and suggests that, with the change in the treatments from CC mixtures to fallow to single CC, OC in the <1 mm fraction will increase, while OC in the larger fractions will decrease. The tendency towards more OC in larger soil fractions might be one of the reasons for the increasing MWD after mixed CC treatments and the positive linear relationship between MWD and OC content in fractions 4–8 and 8–16 mm (Fig. S9). These correlations also underscore that OC stored in the two largest fractions is more stable to withstand induced forces from our wet-sieving treatment. Management practices were found to have a strong impact on OC distribution within aggregates, and a reduction in tillage resulted in higher OC storage in macroaggregates compared to conventionally tilled soils (Blanco-Canqui and Lal, 2004). Here, we demonstrated that crop history has a legacy effect on the OC distribution and that the incorporation of CC can change the OC distribution within aggregate classes. Classical concepts (such as Tisdall and Oades, 1982) indicate that plants and crop management are strong factors in macroaggregate formation, where the number of stable macroaggregates decreases when rhizosphere products and hyphae are decomposed and not replaced. Later studies confirmed the role of crop rotation in the management of aggregate binding agents (Chan and Heenan, 1999; Blanco-Canqui and Lal, 2004). Overall, our results demonstrate that CC incorporation attenuates negative effects on soil structure that come from soil cultivation. The compensation effect was even stronger when biodiverse CC mixtures were applied.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Magenta dots indicate locations of piped schemes where the monthly fee payment modality is employed. Full size imageThe changes in water usage rates in April 2020 appear to align with transitions between wet and dry seasons and are moderated by payment modality (Fig. 2), reflecting known patterns in rural water source choice and payment behaviour. Schemes in Malawi saw decreased rainfall in April 2020 relative to the already unusually low levels experienced earlier in the year. These schemes generally saw increased usage in April 2020 because alternative rain-fed water sources were not available to users. In contrast, schemes in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda experienced a transition to unusually high levels of rainfall in April 2020. Schemes utilising the PAYF approach in these areas experienced a mean 22% decrease in monthly water usage in April 2020 relative to the first four months of the year as users shifted to collecting water from alternative rain-fed sources. and Tanzania this corresponded to an average decrease of 47 (p =. 033) and 30 cubic metres per month (p =. 034), respectively. Furthermore, it appears the dynamic relationship between rainfall, payment modality, and water usage in Tanzania and Uganda was amplified in 2020 compared to historical averages (see 1), indicating the observed schemes in these countries are experiencing a new threat not seen in the past five years. The observed schemes that utilise monthly fees, all of which are in Kenya, experienced a reversal of this seasonal effect. These schemes saw an average increase in water usage of 90 cubic metres (p = 0. 048) in April 2020 despite high corresponding levels of rainfall. Fig. 2: Changes in water usage by payment modality and season in April 2020 compared to the period mean from January to April 2020. Where the PAYF payment modality is employed, increased rainfall and subsequent availability of alternative surface water sources during the wet season appears to buffer water demand from piped schemes. Box plot elements: mean marker, median centre line, upper and lower quartile box limits, 1. 5× interquartile range whiskers, data points. Full size imageOur findings indicate monthly fees facilitate revenue collection from rural waterpoints during wet periods when demand would otherwise decrease. Monthly fees have been associated with greater social inclusion but lower rates of revenue generation compared to other payment modalities7. An analysis of detailed financial records from over 2800 rural waterpoints in four African countries reports similar revenue dynamics17.

Output: contrast