Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: In a three years field experiment the effect of two energy crop rotations, including double cropping per year, and five tillage treatments on soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrients content were studied, under total aerial biomass removal. The five (5) tillage treatments tested were: conventional tillage (CT) by ploughing at depth 25-30 cm, reduced tillage using heavy cultivator (HC) at depth 20-25 cm, reduced tillage using a rotary cultivator (RC) at depth 12 -15 cm, reduced tillage using a disc harrow(DH/STR) at depth 5-8 cm for winter crops and strip tillage using a new design machine for the spring sown crop, and no till (NT) by direct sowing with no till seeders. At 0-15 cm depth for crop rotation A, SOM presented a statistically significant increase in the no-till (NT) and disc harrow/strip tillage (DH/STR) treatments while for crop rotation B, SOM increased statistically significantly for (NT), (DH/STR) and (RC) treatments. At the same soil layer, an increase of available P, Cu, Zn and Mn, was observed while K available forms were decreased, for both rotations. At the 15-30 cm soil depth in crop rotation A, no statistically significant differences of SOM were observed; in crop rotation B the rotary cultivator (RC), heavy cultivator (HC) and conventional tillage (CT) showed a statistically significantly higher SOM content, after three years of cultivation. At the 0-30 cm depth, soil organic matter (SOM) increased in both rotations and all tillage treatments, but only in the no-till (NT) treatment the difference was statistically significant. These results offer a solution to avoid soil degradation when all above ground biomass will be removed if second generation biofuels will offer an economic solution to energy shortages and environmental impact of GHG emissions from fossil fuels. Aggregate stability is very important to evaluate soil health which is especially related to soil organic matter. In this work the stability of soil aggregates was investigated under the five different tillage practices. In order to determine and evaluate the disintegration of soil aggregates and estimate the wet aggregate stability indices, two methods were applied in the aggregates.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Unlike urban utilities58,59, rural waterpoints are not supported by a network of storage infrastructure but are constrained by the capacity of the waterpoint to lift or pump groundwater. With handpumps often limited by around 1000 litres per hour, the risk of failing to meet local demand in extended dry periods is increased. The seasonality of waterpoint demand is clearly shown in our study. Across both payment modalities, dry season demand is far greater than during the wet season when alternative water sources become available, which are often favoured by rural people60. These insights are consistent with previous findings from Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda, and Uganda on seasonal interactions of water demand with temperature peaks and rainfall46,47,48,49. Demand for waterpoints in the dry season is further complicated by non-drinking water demand by livestock, small businesses, and other productive uses61,62,63. In such periods of high demand where multiple water uses intersect, handpumps come under extreme pressure, emphasising the importance of adapting rural water services to climate risks. The value of the measured water consumption data from Mali is that it reveals these patterns and peaks to inform policy and practice. For example, demand varies spatially, and future infrastructure investment may target locations under pressure as a priority. Equally, professional service providers ensure services are reliable in the dry season, for which they are held accountable, and thus can contribute to building resilience to the impacts of climate change1. Finally, understanding consumption patterns and payment behaviours may help to define appropriate subsidies. Second, a subsidy is required for most rural water service providers except those targeting a few waterpoints in high density, relatively wealthy areas with limited water alternatives5,31. The more taxing policy question is to determine an appropriate subsidy level which is affordable for a service level demanded by the population. Generally, tariff design in most rural contexts is a political decision based on limited or no data24,25,27. Here, we are unable to provide a detailed affordability analysis, but we can chart the challenges of collection efficiency and potential responses. The shift from volumetric to flat fee payments offers some insights for policy and practice. The considerable increase in water consumed and revenue collected in the short term of the study suggests a user preference for flat fees. However, monthly flat fees are not a “one-size-fits-all” approach to effectively collect user payments in all contexts given the revealed variability in collection efficiency across municipalities.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: 2003), indicating that perhaps archaeal pili and flagella are unable to retract. On the other hand, the PilB homologs might provide the necessary energy for both extension and retraction in archaea. Therefore, the structural similarities between the Aquifex aeolicus bacterial PilT and the Archaeoglobus fulgidus archaeal PilB homolog (GspE) are intriguing (Yamagata and Tainer 2007; Forest et al. 2004). Currently, these are the only solved structures available for PilB or PilT. Despite limited sequence similarities, these PilT and GspE structures have similar domain organization and subunit folding. In the hexameric PilT structure, four domains have open conformations and only a single subunit is clearly bound to an ADP. In the other two subunits, the N-terminal half of the protein twists away from the C-terminal half of the protein. This indicates that these ATPases may be extremely flexible, providing the potential for the leverage to pull pilins out of a pilus. In GspE, all subunits are nucleotide-bound (AMP–PNP), but exist in alternating open–closed conformations. Further studies of GspE have indicated that the N-terminal halves of subunits shift away from the hexameric ring in the open conformation. This provides the potential for significant movement upon ATP hydrolysis, which might promote pilus assembly as well as disassembly. Further insight into the significance of the structural conservation will be obtained from future studies of bacterial PilB structures. It should be noted that operons encoding flagellins also contain a gene that encodes a second protein that may be an ATPase, FlaH; however, while this potential ATPase contains a motif, it does not contain a recognizable motif. Therefore, FlaH hydrolysis of ATP must be demonstrated to confirm that this protein actually is an ATPase. Another possible function for this protein is to control the activity of FlaI. In addition to flagellins, the two ATPases and FlaJ, the flagellin operons encode additional flagella-operon specific accessory proteins; the functions of these proteins, which appear to be archaea-specific, are poorly understood. M.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: Interactions between soil organic matter dynamics and soil structure as affected by farm management M. Pulleman PE&RC Research output: Thesis › internal the last century, agriculture has focussed primarily on attaining maximum yields of crop production with the use of large amounts of fertilizers, biocides and pesticides. Growing public awareness of the detrimental effects of modern agriculture on soil productivity, food quality and the environment, however, resulted in a demand for "sustainable land management". Soil processes play a crucial role in determining the sustainability of land management. In agricultural land, soil organic matter (SOM) content is a key indicator of soil quality and sustainability for its effects on physical, chemical and biological soil properties that regulate crop yields, nutrient emissions, leaching of agrochemicals and the susceptibility to soil erosion. More recently, the elevated atmospheric CO 2 concentration and associated global warming receive much attention. Since SOM can act as a sink for atmospheric C, concern about the "greenhouse effect" provides a second reason to adopt management practices that increase SOM levels. The beneficial effects of SOM are partly indirect via its influence on soil structure. SOM binds mineral p1. Regression analysis showed that SOM content was increased by long-term grass, and to a lesser extent, by organic farming when compared to conventional arable farming. For more detailed study of management effects on the interactions between SOM dynamics and soil structure, three long-term farming systems (>70 yr) were selected: a permanent pasture (PP), a conventional arable system (CA), and an organic arable system (OA). Due to the lack of soil tillage and arable cropping, the soil under permanent pasture represents optimal conditions for this particular soil type in terms of organic inputs, soil structure and biological activity. The differences in management resulted in a significant increase in (i) the impact of earthworms on soil structure, (ii) stable macroaggregation, and (iii) C and N mineralization in the order: CA < OA < PP (10. 18174/2013 Publication statusPublished - 9 Oct 2002 Keywordssoil organic mattersoil structurefarm managementorganic farmingearthwormsland usemineralizationnetherlands output contributes to the following UN Goals (SDGs) Access to Document 10. 18174/2013 Files and links into the research topics of 'Interactions between soil organic matter dynamics and soil structure as affected by farm management'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Previous research8,42,53,64 shows that payment approaches and their respective revenue collection performance vary across local contexts due to multiple factors, such as the availability of alternative sources, user population size, social dynamics, and related coordination challenges, or established practices at the community level where multiple revenue collection approaches are likely to co-exist. Identifying which specific local characteristics affect collection efficiency across payment modalities could offer valuable insights for policy and practice and may ultimately inform rural water services that more adequately cater for local contexts. In addition, performance in collection efficiency across both payment modalities registers a downward trend, leading to declining revenues over time. While we can only speculate on the drivers for this behaviour in our analysis, findings from other studies suggest that sustaining payments at handpumps is challenging as service levels require users to invest in time and physical effort to pump water2,15,50,54. Nevertheless, the combined change in water used and payments made indicates a volumetric tariff is socially unacceptable for reliable rural water supplies delivered through handpumps, emphasising that tariff designs which are considered effective and efficient for urban areas may not necessarily respond to the specific challenges characterising rural water. Importantly, our insights on quantities of water used reflect similar findings from rural Kenya where volumetric payments result in lower income groups reducing water usage3. Further research at the household level should assess the implications of payment modalities on water demand, with water user diaries being a potential method of investigation65. The short-term effect of the switch from volumetric to flat fee payments is a 40% reduction in the subsidy required for local operating costs at handpumps. Assuming this trend holds, at scale, this effect is substantial with the positive social multipliers of higher volumes of water being consumed with likely health and welfare benefits1,66. While groundwater resources need to be correctly managed and monitored, the volumetric increase in usage will have limited impact on groundwater availability67,68. Our third reflection is on the role of professional service delivery providers. UDUMA is one of an emerging cohort of professional operators which is offering a utility-style service model based on performance metrics5,11,43,44. Professional service providers are not necessarily private companies and may be social enterprises or NGOs69,70,71. As in this case, they have incentives to develop more effective delivery by adapting their business models.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: maripaludis deletion mutants that lack lack any of the following: or FlaJ were not motile and did not have flagella, although the flagellin subunits were processed and present in cell membranes (Chaban et al. 2007; Thomas et al. 2002). FlaD and FlaE deletions could not be generated. While archaeal flagella rotate and are likely to drive swimming motility, the mechanisms controlling the rotation of archaeal flagella have not yet been elucidated. Determining and understanding the roles played by these proteins in flagella biosynthesis and/or function, is an exciting prospect (Kupper et al. 1994). Structures of flagella and type IV pilus-like structuresStructural studies of archaeal euryarchaeal and crenarchaeal flagella have shown that like type IV pili, archaeal flagella are thin right-handed helical filaments having central cores comprised of the conserved N-terminal hydrophobic domains of their constituent subunits (Cohen-Krausz and Trachtenberg 2008; Szabó et al. 2007a; Trachtenberg et al. 2005; Trachtenberg and Cohen-Krausz 2006). This is in contrast to bacterial flagella, which have a lumen with a diameter of 2 nm through which flagellins can be transported to the distal tip of the flagellum for assembly (Macnab 2004). While in all solved flagella structures, the exterior domain of the flagellins forms a dominant three-start helix that surrounds the inner core, the outer diameters seem to vary with the Halobacterium salinarium and S. solfataricus flagellum, which is 14 nm in contrast to 11 nm for the Sulfolobus shibatae flagella (Cohen-Krausz and Trachtenberg 2008; Szabó et al. 2007a; Trachtenberg et al. 2005). Interestingly, S. shibatae flagella also have stacked disk packing with C3 symmetry. Both symmetries are present in a single flagellum and result from slight changes in subunit packing (Fig. 2). These small structural changes might enable flagella to act as sensors that allow cells to detect environmental changes.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: Preprints AbstractDiscussion © Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under the Attribution 4. 0 License. © Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under the Attribution 4. 0 License. Preprints AbstractDiscussionMetrics 04 Sep 2023 | 04 Sep 2023 Cover crops improve soil structure and change organic carbon distribution in macroaggregate fractions örte Schwenecker, Ulf Feuerstein, Diana Heuermann, and Abstract. Soil structure is sensitive to intensive soil management. It can be ameliorated by a reduction in soil cultivation and stimulation of plant and microbial mediators for aggregate formation, latter a prerequisite and measure for soil quality. Cover crops (CC) are part of an integrated approach to stabilize or improve soil quality. Thereby, the incorporation of diverse CC mixtures is hypothesized to increase the positive effects of CC applications. This study entailed an investigation of the legacy effect of CC on soil aggregates after three crop rotations in the second main crop (winter wheat) after the last CC treatment. Four CCs (mustard, phacelia, clover, and oat) cultivated in pure stands and a fallow treatment were compared to a mixture of the four CC species (Mix4) and a highly diverse 12 plant species mixture (Mix12) in a long-term field experiment in Germany. The organic carbon (OC) distribution within macroaggregate fractions (16–8, 8–4, 4–2, 2–1 and < 1 mm) and their aggregate stability were measured by dry and wet sieving methods, and the mean weight diameter (MWD) was calculated from water-stable aggregates. The results showed that compared to the fallow, all CCs increased the MWD between 10 and 19 % in soil under the following main crop. The average MWD increase over the fallow was slightly higher for CC mixtures (16 %) than for single CCs (12 %). 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 a varying involvement in the formation of different aggregate fractions.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Here, we see the change in payment modality as a means to increase local revenues for reliable service provision. There are checks and balances in this professional approach with UDUMA being effectively regulated through contractual agreements with government oversight37,72. The performance data provided by professional service providers can support governments in having a clearer understanding of service provision. As noted, such insights reveal the seasonal patterns of water use which may influence what infrastructure investments may be appropriate. As capital investments for drinking water supplies are expected to increase in sub-Saharan Africa73, evidence is needed to guide their allocation and to ensure investments are effective over time. It is now more clearly documented that in comparison to professional service providers repairing failed waterpoints in a few days, communities can take months to complete repairs2,10,74, and that effectively maintaining existing infrastructure is cheaper than rehabilitating run-down assets75,76. Revenue collection and water consumption data can provide credible evidence to design tariffs and subsidies. Such empirical data will allow governments to more carefully assess if large loans without adequate consideration of subsidy requirements are the right approach. Equally, development banks focussed on providing loans may be under more scrutiny to provide value for money linking capital and operational expenditure to ensure sustainable services beyond short-term borrowing horizons. Such a combination of professional management models and adequate funding arrangements can contribute to ensuring that investments in water supply remain effective for the hardest to reach in rural Africa1. We have shown the implications of two prominent payment modalities for reliable rural water services on use and payment behaviours at handpumps in rural Mali. Our results indicate that flat fee payments contribute substantially to funding reliable service provision and stimulate water use. Yet, subsidies are still required to ensure rural people access safe water throughout the year, especially in periods of high demand. Increasing efforts in adaptation finance77 may constitute an opportunity for addressing the subsidy gap for vulnerable rural water users. As our findings from Mali suggest, successful adaptation remains conditional on professional service delivery. Therefore, we propose linking infrastructure provisions with clear service delivery approaches to deliver more sustainable outcomes. While this would mean changing current practices, it would guarantee that infrastructure investments are effective for those facing the greatest climate risks in rural Africa. Finally, we emphasise that our empirical evidence is not based on a formal experiment and that our data are constrained by the period of the study and only cover handpumps.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: In a recent study in Haloarcula marismortui, it was shown that selected strains contain only one of the two functional flagellins in assembled flagella (Pyatibratov et al. 2008). Interestingly, the flagella formed by FlaA2 are 20–22 nm in diameter, whereas flagella containing only FlaB are 16–18 nm in diameter. This suggests possible flagellin switching, which might be employed to protect cells from hypothetical flagellum-specific haloarchaeal phages. Fig. 2The three dimensional reconstruction of the S. shibatae flagellum: The filament exhibits two different symmetries. The surface rendered volume (a) and contoured cross-section (d) of the helical symmetry show strong interactions of the outer domains of the subunits. In stacked disk packing with C3 symmetry, there is continuity along the three-start helices in the rendered volume (c), but no contact of the outer domains in the cross-section (f). Both symmetries are found in one filament and connected by the state shown in (b) and (e). With permission from (Cohen-Krausz and Trachtenberg 2008)Full size image Using electron cryo-microscopy, the first archaeal pilus structure was recently solved. Similar to archaeal flagella, this structure, which has been proposed to consist of the EppA substrates (EpdA, B and/or C) (see above) can adopt either of two different symmetries, a C4 symmetry or a one-start helical symmetry that can be present in a single pilus filament; the transitions between symmetries is immediate (Wang et al. 2008). In contrast to archaeal flagella and bacterial type IV pili, this pilus has a central lumen, which is uniform in the portion of the pilus having one-start helical symmetry. The lumen is slightly smaller than that found in bacterial flagella and the type III secretion filament. Further research will be necessary to determine whether the lumen of this pilus is involved in the secretion of pilus subunits or other substances.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: 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 CC in agroecosystems. How to cite. Gentsch, N. , Riechers, F. L. , Boy, J. , Schwenecker, D. , Feuerstein, U. , Heuermann, D. , and Guggenberger, G. : Cover crops improve soil structure and change organic carbon distribution in macroaggregate fractions, EGUsphere [preprint], 2023. Received: 18 Aug 2023 – Discussion started: 04 Sep 2023 Publisher's note: remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors. Download & links Preprint (PDF, 939 KB) Notice on discussion status The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version. Preprint (939 KB) Supplement (1372 KB) Download & links The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version. Preprint (939 KB) Metadata XML Supplement (1372 KB) revised paper 10. 5194/soil-10-139-2024, 2024 Short summary Short summary Cover crops have substantial impacts on soil properties, but so far it is not clear how long a legacy effect of cover cropping will remain in the soil. We found that cover crops attenuate negative effects on soil structure that come from soil cultivation. The combination of plants with different litter qualities and rhizodeposits in biodiverse cover crop mixtures can improve the positive effects of cover cropping on soil structure amelioration.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Therefore, it is unknown how our findings will hold over time and whether they may apply to other types of infrastructure, such as piped-water systems and kiosks, which are expanding in sub-Saharan Africa. While future trends of use and payment behaviours remain unclear, the value of performance data is that it enables policy, practice, and research to track these, and thereby provide an evidence base for more effective policy design and rural water service delivery. MethodsStudy contextThe study site comprises the Region of Sikasso, located in south of Mali. The study utilises data from a private company, providing reliable rural water services in 30 rural municipalities, the lowest governmental level in Mali’s administrative structure37. Payment modalities, service levels, and volumetric tariffs are formally established in a management contract signed between UDUMA and local governments as service authorities. The provider delivers reliable maintenance services, guaranteeing high infrastructure uptime with short breakdown durations (less than 72 h). UDUMA manages manual pumps (two types of pumps are concerned: Vergnet-Hydro and 2) equipped with a water meter, making it possible to monitor and link volumetric water use and respective payments for each waterpoint, identified through a unique waterpoint identifier. The meter readings are conducted on a monthly basis by trained UDUMA field staff and validated by supervisors. The volumetric “pay-as-you-fetch” approach requires users to make direct payments to the caretaker at the waterpoint for every 20-litre container collected. For the monthly flat fee, field supervisors collect the monthly payment upfront from a representative of the user community. The community self-organises to pay the monthly flat fee. Data collection, availability, and variable definitionThe analysis is based on monthly use and payment records registered at individual waterpoints from November 2019 to April 2023. A total of 4447 monthly records across 177 unique waterpoints, situated in 23 municipalities, is available. The 177 individual waterpoints are never operational simultaneously due to UDUMA’s gradual extension of its service model to the waterpoints located in its service area and non-payments of monthly flat fees. Given that operations of the identified waterpoints started at different time periods, the panel dataset is unbalanced. For every individual waterpoint, at least two monthly volumetric use and payment records per payment modality are available.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: The differences between the signal peptides of EppA processed pilin-like proteins and flagellins may partially be responsible for the structural differences between archaeal flagella and this pilus. However, the negatively charged amino acid found at position +5 relative to the peptidase cleavage site in the EppA processed proteins is also found in bacterial type IV pilins, which has a structure that is distinct from both archaeal flagella and this pilus (Craig et al. 2006). Future analysis of archaeal pilus structures will provide more evidence of the diversity of cell surface structures, which may lead to important insights into structure–function relationships. Functional diversity of type IV pilus-like structuresWhile type IV pili play important functional roles in several bacterial cellular processes, such as twitching motility, surface adhesion, autoaggregation, conjugation and phage attachment and regress, closely related pilus-like structures, known as pseudopili, are involved in a wide-variety of distinct cellular processes such as protein transport across the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria (Bradley 1980; Filloux 2004; Hall-Stoodley et al. 2004; Mattick 2002; Merz et al. 2000; O’Toole and Kolter 1998; Vignon et al. 2003). Moreover, in Geobactre sulfurreducens, which generates energy via electron transfer to extracellular acceptors such as Fe(III) oxides, in addition to the functional roles typically played by type IV pili in processes such as surface adhesion and cell aggregation, type IV pili allow these bacteria to bind and capture a significant quantity of otherwise unavailable electron acceptors by extending the surface area of the cell (Reguera et al. 2005, 2007). Similarly, in natural competence systems of gram-positive bacteria, to efficiently acquire exogenous DNA, small pilin-like proteins and homologs of gram-negative pilus biosynthesis components are involved in assembling cell surface complexes that can bind DNA (Chen et al. 2006; Chung et al. 1998). Type IV pilus-like structures are also involved in a variety of distinct archaeal cellular processes.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: örte Schwenecker, Ulf Feuerstein, Diana Heuermann, and Interactive discussion Status: closed Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2023-1885', #1, 12 Oct 2023 The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: Citation: RC2: 'Reply on RC1', #2, 17 Oct 2023 The manuscript explores the changes in soil structure and carbon content through different cover crops, it is important for further increasing soil carbon content and improving soil structure. However, this manuscript needs be further revised and improved as shown the following issues:Although different CCs were selected in this manuscript, what is the basis for selecting these CCs? The role of different CCs was involved in the discussion, but this 10. 5194/egusphere-2023-1885-RC2 AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Norman Gentsch, 02 Nov 2023 The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: Citation: AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Norman Gentsch, 02 Nov 2023 The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: Citation: Report abuse × Please provide a reason why you see this comment as being abusive. You might include your name and email but you can also stay anonymous. Please provide a reason why you see this comment as being abusive. Please confirm reCaptcha. Comment* Name: Email: discussion Status: closed Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2023-1885', #1, 12 Oct 2023 The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: Citation: RC2: 'Reply on RC1', #2, 17 Oct 2023 The manuscript explores the changes in soil structure and carbon content through different cover crops, it is important for further increasing soil carbon content and improving soil structure. However, this manuscript needs be further revised and improved as shown the following issues:Although different CCs were selected in this manuscript, what is the basis for selecting these CCs? The role of different CCs was involved in the discussion, but this 10.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: AbstractEnsuring safe water supply for communities across the is a growing challenge due to aging infrastructure, impaired source water, strained community finances, etc. In 2019, about 6% of public water utilities in the U. S. had a health-based violation. Due to the high risk of exposure to various contaminants in drinking water, point-of-use (POU) drinking water treatment is rapidly growing in popularity in the U. S. and beyond. POU treatment technologies include various combinations of string-wound sediment filters, activated carbon, modified carbon, ion exchange and redox media filters, reverse osmosis membranes, and ultraviolet lamps depending on the contaminants of concern. While the technologies are well-proven, highly commoditized, and cost-effective, most systems offer little in the way of real-time performance monitoring or interactive technology like other smart home appliances (e. g. , thermostats, smoke detectors, doorbells, etc. ). Herein, we review water quality regulations and violations in the U. S. as well as state-of-the-art POU technologies and systems with an emphasis on their effectiveness at removing the contaminants most frequently reported in notices of violations. We conclude by briefly reviewing emerging smart water technologies and the needs for advances in the state-of-the-art technologies. The smartness of commercially available POU water filters is critiqued and a definition of smart water filter is proposed. Similar content being viewed by others Cross-national challenges and strategies for PFAS regulatory compliance in water infrastructure 1. Hippocrates, often referred to as the “father of medicine,” found that water could be made purer by filtering it and, in 500 BC, he designed a simple sediment filter by running water through cloth2. In modern times, sand filters were first documented as a water treatment device in 1804. By 1852, the Act in London required the use of sand filters in part of the city3. The filters removed suspended solids, but did not address pathogenic microorganisms or chemical contaminants since microbiology and analytical chemistry were not yet adequately established4. In the United States, drinking water standards were gradually developed over the 20th century, culminating in the passage of the Act (1972) and the (1974), which were part of a landmark decade of promulgating new environmental regulations. Water quality can be broken into numerous physical, biological, and chemical components5.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: For instance, as noted above, archaea are unique in using structures resembling type IV pili to drive swimming motility (Trachtenberg and Cohen-Krausz 2006; Jarrell and McBride 2008). In addition to their primary role in swimming motility, recent studies have revealed that certain archaeal flagella can also facilitate surface attachment. For example, deletions of genes that encode flagellin subunits not only render the crenarcheon S. solfataricus non-motile, they also prevent it from attaching to solid surfaces (Szabó et al. 2007a), unpublished results). Similarly, anti-flagella antibodies inhibit Pyrococcus furiosus binding to several types of abiotic surfaces (Nather et al. 2006). P. furiosus cells can also form connections with each other and establish a bi-species biofilm with Methanopyrus kandleri, processes that may involve P. furiosus flagella (Schopf et al. 2008). However, direct cell–cell interactions between these archaea have also been observed, possibly involving a distinct mechanism. Since FlaFind analyses have identified several genes that encode non-flagellin type IV pilin-like proteins, these close cell–cell interactions may also involve type IV pilus-like structures (Szabó et al. 2007b). In fact, although UV exposure can induce wild-type S. solfataricus cell–cell interactions, aggregates of these cells are drastically reduced in deletion mutants lacking the above-mentioned UV-induced pilins, UpsA and UpsB, suggesting that type IV pili-like structures are involved in facilitating cell–cell associations as they are in bacteria (Fröls et al. 2008). The genes encoding these proteins are also co-regulated with a helicase, suggesting that autoaggregation may mediate conjugation between UV-exposed cells, possibly facilitating the repair of UV-damaged chromosomal DNA. Interestingly, co-regulation of a helicase with type IV pilin subunits may not be restricted to Sulfolobales strains. Sequence analyses show that operons containing genes encoding FlaFind positives and a helicase are also found in all completed Pyrococcus genome sequences (Szabó et al. 2007b).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: 5194/egusphere-2023-1885-RC2 AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Norman Gentsch, 02 Nov 2023 The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: Citation: AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Norman Gentsch, 02 Nov 2023 The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: Citation: Peer review completion AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (12 Nov 2023) by The authors have addressed all the comments from the reviewers, and therefore I suggest publication. Hide AR by on behalf of the Authors (20 Nov 2023) Author's response Author's tracked changes Manuscript ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (24 Nov 2023) by The manuscript still needs minor revision for the statistics correction. Hide AR by on behalf of the Authors (28 Nov 2023) Author's response Author's tracked changes Manuscript ED: Publish as is (30 Nov 2023) by ED: Publish as is (12 Dec 2023) by Engracia Madejón Rodríguez (Executive editor) Dear authors, After reviewing the 10. 5194/soil-10-139-2024, 2024 Short summary Short summary Cover crops have substantial impacts on soil properties, but so far it is not clear how long a legacy effect of cover cropping will remain in the soil. We found that cover crops attenuate negative effects on soil structure that come from soil cultivation. The combination of plants with different litter qualities and rhizodeposits in biodiverse cover crop mixtures can improve the positive effects of cover cropping on soil structure amelioration. örte Schwenecker, Ulf Feuerstein, Diana Heuermann, and Supplement örte Schwenecker, Ulf Feuerstein, Diana Heuermann, and 10. 5194/soil-10-139-2024 Latest update: 30 Aug 2024 gentsch@ifbk. uni-hannover.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Since water quality degradation may occur in the distribution system, one solution could be widespread implementation of point-of-entry (POE) water treatment where a POE system is installed at a household’s or building’s water main intake ahead of the structure’s taps, faucets, or other dedicated outlets used to dispense water for drinking, cooking, and bathing. However, degradation can occur in premise plumbing (e. g. , copper pipes) in older buildings, and hence, it may make the most sense to deploy point-of-use (POU) water treatment just ahead of the tap, faucet or dispensing outlet. In this review, we focus on POU water treatment. Typical POU systems contain water treatment technologies such as media filtration, reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, UV disinfection, and remineralization (particularly after RO)11. Large p11. UV disinfection inactivates pathogenic microorganisms, rendering them non-infectious11. Remineralization after RO filtration is often used to add back the minerals removed by earlier stages to provide pH-buffered, better-tasting water11. In each step, there are various technologies available with different contaminant removal efficacies to satisfy a variety of situations and needs. In addition, emerging POU treatment technologies such as capacitive deionization (CDI) are attracting attention because of their selective contaminant removal12. The rapid development of Internet technologies has encouraged many home-appliance manufacturers to provide “smart” products, including “smart” POU filters. There are various definitions of smart home appliances13,14. The consensus is that if a product is smart, it is one that can be remotely controlled by the user via a smart phone, tablet, or other device. Connectivity and interaction with the user via an “app” is achieved using WiFi or Bluetooth® technology. Smart filter systems take many forms and have differing levels of sensor integration, but information on which filter media and sensors are included in home water treatment systems has been lacking. Moreover, different manufacturers seem to have different views on the smartness of water filters. Some products claim themselves to be “smart” because they can provide water with better quality, which does not satisfy the connectivity requirement of other smart home appliances. This study reviews U. S.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: Other than flagellins, the largest class of putative proteins identified by the FlaFind program contains putative SBPs (Szabó et al. 2007b). Of the archaea genomes analyzed, the one encoding the largest number of SBPs having predicted class III signal peptides is the crenarchaeon S. solfataricus. It is now known that three of 8 these proteins are involved in the transport of glucose, arabinose and trehalose (Zolghadr et al. 2007). The fact that these subunits have bona fide class III signal peptides and that deletion of the S. solfataricus genes encoding PilB and PilC paralogs impairs the uptake of these sugars strongly suggests that these proteins are involved in the biosynthesis and assembly of an SBP surface structure (Albers et al. 2003; Zolghadr et al. 2007). Similar to bacterial pili and pseudopili that bind substrates (e. g. Fe(III) oxides and DNA—see above), proposed archaeal bindosomes may facilitate the efficient uptake of nutrients by increasing their local concentration. A combination of biochemical and electron microscopic analyses of archaeal cell surfaces should reveal more about archaeal bindosomes that share characteristics with type IV pili. The majority of genes identified by FlaFind in silico analyses of twenty-two archaeal genomes encode putative proteins not closely related to any previously characterized protein (Szabó et al. 2007b). As previously noted, the organization of an operon can indicate possible functions for the proteins it encodes as is the case for the S. and Pyrococccus operons that contain a gene that encodes a helicase. However, functions for most putative archaeal type IV pilins cannot be easily predicted, due in part to the fact that other genes found in the same operons also encode proteins of unknown function. It is intriguing to note though that archaea often contain many genes encoding very distinctive putative pilin-like subunits and that these putative proteins appear to be differentially regulated, indicating that structures containing these subunits would have different functions.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: • Pesq. agropec. bras. 51 (9) • Sept 2016 • copy Soil organic matter as affected by management systems, phosphate fertilization, and cover crops Matéria orgânica do solo influenciada por sistemas de manejo, adubação fosfatada e plantas de cobertura objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of soil management systems, cover crops, and phosphate fertilization on soil humic fractions in a long-term experiment. The treatments consisted of conventional tillage and no-tillage with pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) or velvet bean (Mucuna aterrima) as cover crops, at two doses of phosphorous: 0 and 100 kg ha-1 P2O5 per year. Soil samples were taken 11 years after the establishment of the experiment and analyzed for soil total organic carbon and carbon content of humic fractions at 0. 00-0. 05, 0. 05-0. 10, and 0. 10-0. 20-m depths. The humic fractions are sensitive to soil management, except free fulvic acid, which was the only one that did not reduce its carbon contents on the surface layer (0. 00-0. 05 m) with conventional tillage. The main changes occurred on the soil surface layer, in which the no-tillage system with pearl millet as a cover crop provided the highest carbon levels in humic fractions. Long-term phosphate fertilization under no-tillage, with pearl millet as a cover crop, promotes the accumulation of organic carbon in soil humic fractions. Index terms:humic fractions; no-tillage; organic matter fractions; phosphate fertilization; soil fertility; soil quality objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos de sistemas de manejo do solo, de plantas de cobertura e da fertilização fosfatada nas frações húmicas do solo, em experimento de longa duração.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: federal and (several) state regulations, the frequency and nature of water quality violations in the U. S. , state-of-the-art POU water treatment technologies and their contaminant removal capabilities, especially emerging contaminants. Further, representative commercially available POU systems are compared, making note of filter types, any sensors employed, expected service life, and other details. Finally, the smartness of commercially available POU water filters is critiqued and a definition of smart water filter is proposed. Water quality regulations, violations, and hazards in the USAccess to clean drinking water is imperative because of the potential for both acute and chronic health risks associated with drinking contaminated water. Federal regulations serve the purpose of reducing the likelihood of becoming ill from drinking the tap water. The EPA regulates contaminants by establishing MCLs for microbiological, organic, and inorganic contaminants based on health guidelines, research, and feasibility15. These standards delineate the maximum amount of a contaminant that can be allowed in drinking water to minimize exposure. States may build on the EPA’s standards by adding additional contaminants not regulated at the federal level and by further reducing MCLs for federally regulated contaminants. Federal drinking water regulationsTo regulate drinking water, the EPA establishes primary and secondary drinking water standards. Primary standards are enforceable by law and apply to all the U. S. public water systems; their goal is to limit levels of harmful contaminants in drinking water. The EPA15 has a list of 88 contaminants regulated in the primary standards with the following contaminant categories and numbers: 3 disinfectants, 4 disinfection byproducts (DBPs), 16 inorganic chemicals, 8 microorganism categories, 53 organic chemicals, and 4 radionuclides. The EPA regulates most of these contaminants by establishing MCLs that can be present in the effluent of drinking water treatment plants. These MCLs are intended to keep people safe, but they are not necessarily safe. The maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) is the amount of a contaminant in drinking water at which there is no known or expected risk. MCLs are determined by feasibility of measurement, removal, and enforcement in combination with MCLGs, so there may be some health risks even with MCLs in place. To supplement the enforced primary standards, the EPA sets unenforced secondary drinking water standards. They are intended to improve aesthetic qualities of water such as taste, color, and odor.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: Consistent with this hypothesis, putative Haloferax volcanii type IV pilin-like subunits, which do not share sequence homology beyond the N-terminal signal peptide, are encoded by six differentially regulated operons (Hartman et al. in preparation). These predicted pili may be involved in several distinct biological processes that in bacteria are mediated by type IV pili. Interestingly, surface adhesion, autoaggregation, conjugation and twitching motility all appear to be flagella-independent in Hfx. volcanii (Pohlschröder, unpublished data). Relatively unique highly conserved domains have been identified in many archaeal pilin-like proteins. For instance, the EppA-recognition site had been identified as a PFAM domain of unknown function (Duf361) in a large number of putative euryarchaeal pilin-like proteins (a putative protein containing this domain has recently been identified in crenarchaea). Hence, as other conserved sequences are also likely to have conserved functions, identifying conserved domains in combination with other in silico, genetic, and biochemical analyses as well as gene expression data and phenotypic data derived from mutant strains may reveal novel structure–function relationships for type IV pilus-like structures. ConclusionsDespite the fact that only a few detailed studies of archaeal type IV pilus-like filaments have been completed, it is already clear that these structures play important roles in a variety of archaeal cellular processes. Although the core components of bacterial and archaeal type IV pilus biosynthesis machineries appear to be similar, the structures of these archaeal filaments appear to differ substantially from each other and those that have been identified in bacteria. This suggests that further characterization of archaeal type IV pilus-like structures will lead to the identification of novel functional roles for these surface structures. It should also be noted that archaea contain surface filaments that are distinct from type VI pili, such as the recently identified Methanothermobacter thermoautotrophicus pili, composed of subunits that lack class III signal peptides (Thoma et al. 2008).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: Os tratamentos consistiram de sistemas de preparo convencional e de plantio direto com milheto (Pennisetum glaucum) ou com mucuna-preta (Mucuna aterrima) como planta de cobertura, sob duas doses de fósforo: 0 e 100 kg ha-1 de P2O5 por ano. As amostras de solo foram coletadas após 11 anos da implantação do experimento e analisadas quanto aos teores de carbono orgânico total e de carbono das frações humificadas no solo, nas camadas de 0,00-0,05, 0,05-0,10 e 0,10-0,20 m de profundidade. As frações humificadas são sensíveis ao manejo do solo, exceto o ácido fúlvico livre, que foi a única que não diminuiu seus conteúdos de carbono na camada superficial do solo (0,00-0,05 cm) com o plantio convencional. As principais alterações ocorreram na camada superficial, em que o plantio direto com milheto como planta de cobertura promoveu os maiores teores de carbono nas frações húmicas. A fertilização fosfatada por longo tempo sob plantio direto, com milheto como planta de cobertura, promove o acúmulo de carbono orgânico nas frações húmicas do solo. Termos para indexação:frações húmicas; plantio direto; frações da matéria orgânica; fertilização fosfatada; fertilidade do solo; qualidade do solo use of technology is a key factor for obtaining high yields in Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) soils and also for preserving soil quality, by protecting soil organic matter (SOM) contents.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: According to the EPA, these standards are important because if water looks, tastes, or smells bad, people may not drink it even if it is perfectly safe. Some other secondary standards help control scaling, which restricts water flow and corrosion, which can cause pipes to wear out or dissolve harmful contaminants previously fixed within the mineral scale8. The EPA also maintains a contaminant candidate list (CCL) for compounds that are not currently regulated but are expected to be found in public water systems and may require regulation in the future16. The CCL serves an essential purpose in the process of enacting water quality regulations. Every 5 years, the EPA decides if it will regulate or not regulate at least five contaminants on the CCL. 2020, the EPA made preliminary decisions to regulate perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), but not to regulate six other chemicals including dichloroethane and acetochlor17. They make these decisions using data collected about these contaminants and compare it to the criteria for regulation under the (SDWA). The CCL must be updated every 5 years, and the contaminants with the greatest potential health risks in drinking water shall be placed on the list16. Once the EPA decides to regulate a contaminant, it can take years before a regulation is enacted. For example, the EPA decided to regulate perchlorate in 2011, but as of 2020, the EPA still has not set a MCL for perchlorate18. Because it takes many years to regulate a chemical that it deems to be unsafe for human consumption19, there may be chemicals present in drinking water for which negative healthy effects are known, but no action has yet been taken. State drinking water regulationsStates are required to have standards at least as strict as EPA standards for primary drinking water treatment20. Yet, state standards may vary from the EPA standards, providing room for states to regulate certain contaminants more strictly or address contaminants that are not yet federally regulated21,22. For example, in California, contaminants are regulated because of determinations made by the of Hazard Assessment, which sets public health goals based on the health impacts of individual contaminants23,24. For carcinogenic contaminants, they create regulations based on the risk of cancer from exposure to different amounts of the contaminant. Typically, the acceptable risk is for—at most—one person in a million to get cancer upon exposure over 70 years.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: Since in silico and in vivo systems for studying cren- and euryarchaeal genetics are now available, and biochemical methods are well established, a wealth of structural and functional information pertaining to archaeal pilus-like structures should soon be forthcoming. Although, as noted above, the structures and functions of many of these archaeal pili are likely to be unique, studying type IV pili in archaea may also lead to the identification and characterization of novel, related structures in bacteria. Finally, the lack of an outer membrane in archaea and hence a presumably simpler type IV pilus biosynthesis machinery, will facilitate the identification and characterization of components required for the assembly of these structures in all prokaryotes.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: Over the past three decades, the Cerrado region has been increasingly adopting advanced technologies that include conservational tillage systems combined with the use of cover crops (Carvalho et al. , 2012. M. de;. C. ;. A. ;. P. ; ÃES JÚNIOR, R. ;. C. Chemical composition of cover plants and its effect on maize yield in no-till systems in the Brazilian savanna. Crop and Pasture Science, v. 63, p. 1075-1081, 2012. DOI: 10. 1071/CP12272. ). Of these systems, the main and most comprehensive one is no-tillage, which provides several advantages that increase yield and reduce the impacts of farming on the environment (Ramos et al. , 2013. D. ;. F. da;. C. ;. H. de;. C. ;. E. de;. S. N. ;. do C. Stocks of carbon, total nitrogen and humic substances in soil under different cropping systems. Semina: Ciências Agrárias, v. 34, p. 2219-28, 2013. DOI: 10. 5433/1679-0359. 2013v34n5p2219. ; Sá et al. , 2015SÁ, J. C. de M. ; SÉGUY, L. ;. ; LAL, R. ;. ;. R. ;. ;. B. dos;. da;. G. ; ROSA, J. ;. Carbon depletion by plowing and its restoration by no-till cropping systems in Oxisols of subtropical and tropical agro-ecoregions in Brazil. and Development, v. 26, p. 531-543, 2015. DOI: 10. 1002/ldr. 2218. ). Typically, organic matter is the soil component that is most affected by the use of the no-tillage system (Nunes et al. , 2011. de S. ;. A. de C. ;. M. G. de;. de C.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: After proposing a standard based on current research, they consult a group of scientific experts, make further revisions, and finally allow public comment. After setting a goal, they can establish an enforceable standard that is as close as possible to the goal while considering economic and technical feasibility. This process is similar to how the EPA sets its MCLs, but because it is separate from the EPA, they can regulate chemicals of local concern such as agricultural contaminants25. Table S17,26,27,28 compares the EPA’s primary drinking water standards to the drinking water regulations of several states; it also displays the health effects of exposure and the origins of these contaminants. Alaska, Texas, and California exhibit an exemplary range of different state’s approaches to regulations, with California being the most stringent29. Exposure to regulated contaminants can cause a variety of health issues including cancer, kidney problems, nervous system problems and more, which is why these chemicals are regulated by the EPA and states. In addition, one clear commonality amongst the origins of these contaminants is that they frequently come from industrial operations that discharge waste into the environment. Violations of standardsEven though regulations exist to limit exposure to toxic contaminants, sometimes public water utilities violate existing standards. Public water utilities are categorized by the EPA as community water systems (CWSs), transient non-community water systems (TNCWSs), or non-transient non-community water systems () (Fig. S1). The EPA then classifies the size of these public water systems in categories of very small, small, medium, large, and very large (Table 1)30. Fig. S230 displays the amount of each type of public water system by size. It can be seen that CWSs represent a larger percentage of public water systems as the size of the population served increases, which means they end up serving residential communities, whereas smaller public water systems tend to be TNCWSs. Table 1 Size of public water system by population served30. Full size tableThe EPA publishes a database with information about the types and sizes of public water systems and the violations that occur within these public water systems. Violations required to be reported under SDWA of EPA are grouped into the following categories31: 1.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: AbstractThe development of sustainable and environmentally friendly industrial processes is becoming very crucial and demanding for the rapid implementation of innovative bio-based technologies. Natural extreme environments harbor the potential for discovering and utilizing highly specific and efficient biocatalysts that are adapted to harsh conditions. This review focuses on extremophilic microorganisms and their enzymes (extremozymes) from various hot springs, shallow marine vents, and other geothermal habitats in Europe and the Caucasus region. These hot environments have been partially investigated and analyzed for microbial diversity and enzymology. Hotspots like Iceland, Italy, and the Azores harbor unique microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. The latest results demonstrate a great potential for the discovery of new microbial species and unique enzymes that can be explored for the development of Circular Bioeconomy. Different screening approaches have been used to discover enzymes that are active at extremes of temperature (up 120 °C), pH (0. 1 to 11), high salt concentration (up to 30%) as well as activity in the presence of solvents (up to 99%). The majority of published enzymes were revealed from bacterial or archaeal isolates by traditional activity-based screening techniques. However, the latest developments in molecular biology, bioinformatics, and genomics have revolutionized life science technologies. Post-genomic era has contributed to the discovery of millions of sequences coding for a huge number of biocatalysts. Both strategies, activity- and sequence-based screening approaches, are complementary and contribute to the discovery of unique enzymes that have not been extensively utilized so far. Similar content being viewed by others Thermophiles and for Production 0. 2 to 12. One of the most fascinating group of microorganisms are thermophiles, including bacteria and archaea, that can survive at elevated temperatures from 50 up to 120 °C. They are present worldwide in high-temperature environments, which are caused by natural geothermal processes or man-made conditions (e. g. , hot water tubes, compost). Many of these habitats are geothermal springs, which are quite diverse and appear as water springs, geysers or fumaroles in terrestrial, shallow marine or deep sea habitats. and Caucasus region, such environments are spread over the whole continent.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: Sistemas de manejo e os estoques de carbono e nitrogênio em Latossolo de Cerrado com a sucessão soja-milho. de Ciência do Solo, v. 35, p. 1407-1419, 2011. DOI: 10. 1590/S0100-06832011000400035. ; Guareschi et al. , 2012. F. ;. G. ;. Deposição de resíduos vegetais, matéria orgânica leve, estoques de carbono e nitrogênio e fósforo remanescente sob diferentes sistemas de manejo no cerrado goiano. de Ciência do Solo, v. 36, p. 909-920, 2012. DOI: 10. 1590/S0100-06832012000300021. ; Gazolla et al. , 2015. R. ;. F. ;. ;. G. ;. Q. Frações da matéria orgânica do solo sob pastagem, sistema plantio direto e integração lavoura-pecuária. Semina: Ciências Agrárias, v. 36, p. 693-704, 2015. DOI: 10. 5433/1679-0359. 2015v36n2p693. ; Sá et al. , 2015SÁ, J. C. de M. ; SÉGUY, L. ;. ; LAL, R. ;. ;. R. ;. ;. B. dos;. da;. G. ; ROSA, J. ;. Carbon depletion by plowing and its restoration by no-till cropping systems in Oxisols of subtropical and tropical agro-ecoregions in Brazil. and Development, v. 26, p. 531-543, 2015. DOI: 10. 1002/ldr. 2218. ). Therefore, SOM plays an important role in evaluating the changes promoted by the use of no-tillage combined or not with other technologies, such as cover crops and phosphate fertilization.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Health-based, including 3 categories: (1) exceedances of the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) which specify the highest allowable contaminant concentrations in drinking water, (2) exceedances of the maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs), which specify the highest concentrations of disinfectants allowed in drinking water, and (3) treatment technique requirements, which specify certain processes intended to reduce the level of a contaminant31. 2. Monitoring and reporting: failure to conduct regular monitoring of drinking water quality, or to submit monitoring in time, as required by SDWA31. 3. Public notice: systems are required to alert consumers if there is a serious problem with their drinking water or if there have been other violations of system requirements, as required by SDWA31. 4. Others: violations of other requirements of SDWA, such as failing to issue annual consumer confidence reports31. Table 2 shows the number of serious violations by treatment plant size. A serious violation is when a public water system has unresolved serious, multiple, and/or continuing violations, which need to be returned to compliance or the system will be faced with formal enforcement action30. Many serious violators have violated monitoring and reporting guidelines; they fail to regularly monitor drinking water quality or promptly submit monitoring results to the EPA or a public health agency32. These violations indicate mismanagement or neglectful monitoring rather than an immediate health hazard. Table 2 Serious violators in 201930. Full size tableHowever, some violations are health-based violations where public water systems exceed MCLs, maximum residual disinfectant levels, or have an incorrect treatment technique that is put in place to remove certain contaminants30. Especially, those violations that can pose immediate health effects are called acute health-based violations. There were over 6. 5 million people affected by health-based violations in the in 2019. Violations including exceeding monthly allowed turbidity levels, treatment technique violations, Escherichia coli present in treated water, and nitrate violations have been reported30. Allaire et al. 33. evaluated spatial and temporal patterns in health-related violations of the SDWA using a panel dataset of 17,900 CWSs from 1982 to 2015. About 21 million people are affected by health-based water quality standard violations in the year 2015, according to the study33. During each year between 1982 and 2015, 9–45 million people, up to 28% of US population, were affected33.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: There are hotspots in separated insularity on the mid-Atlantic ridge (Iceland, Azores) as well as geothermal sites on the coastline of the (Italy, Greece) and central locations (Portugal, Spain, Caucasus mountains). In the last 50 years, archaea as well as bacteria have been isolated by classical enrichment methods. Bacteria being the majority probably due to the challenging cultivation of archaea (Suleiman et al. 2020). The latest development in molecular biology and bioinformatics including metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metabolomics contributed significantly to the exploration of such habitats in detail shedding light on biodiversity, metabolic pathways, and enzymology. Although many microbial species of hot springs seem to be globally distributed, isolated terrestrial habitats can lead to diversification of the genomes in correlation to the geographic distance (Erikstad et al. 2019). Therefore, investigation of different hot spring habitats can reveal multiple enzyme variants which were selected and improved by nature during evolution. The obtained sequence and structure variations are useful to understand their effects on the enzyme properties. This knowledge advances rational design in enzyme engineering and will contribute to design enzymes with desired properties for various applications (Watanabe et al. 2018; Ali et al. 2020). In this review, we will give an overview on the distribution of hot springs (above 50 °C) in Europe and Caucasus region and present information regarding their biodiversity and enzymology, which is of relevance to biotechnological processes. We will present the variety of methods applied in screening for novel thermostable enzymes and highlight the current trends and future perspectives. Hot springsLife is able to thrive under a variety of extreme conditions. Hot springs can be found all over the world and are the breeding pool for life itself (and Walter 2019). They form when groundwater is geothermally heated by the Earth's crust and rises to the surface. This process occurs in volcanic areas and also non-volcanic areas, by contact with magma or geothermal heat from the Earth’s interior, respectively (Mehta and Satyanarayana 2013). Extensive mineralization occurs while the heated water is ascending through the Earth and dissolving minerals on its way, leading to a saturation of different minerals, including H2S, CO2, CH4, H2, NH3, low-molecular-weight compounds, and trace elements (Brock 1978).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: da;. L. de;. Dinâmica da matéria orgânica de um Neossolo Quartzarênico de Cerrado convertido para cultivo em sucessão de soja e milheto. de Ciência do Solo, v. 37, p. 1245-55, 2013. DOI: 10. 1590/S0100-06832013000500014. ). Higher levels of these fractions are generally observed in soil managements that do not involve soil disturbance, such as no-tillage (Liaudanskiene et al. , 2013. ;. ;. ;. Distribution of organic carbon in humic and granulodensimetric fractions of soil as influenced by tillage and crop rotation. of Ecology, v. 62, p. 53-69, 2013. DOI: 10. 3176/eco. 2013. 1. 05. ; Sá et al. , 2015), as well as in soil management systems characterized by massive deposition of various plant residues (Arlauskiene et al. , 2010. ;. ;. Effect of cover crops and straw on the humic substances in the clay loam Cambisol. Agronomy Research, v. 8, p. 397-402, 2010. ). In addition to the role played by the humic fractions of organic matter on soil fertility, studies have shown that higher levels of stable SOM contribute significantly to reduce CO2 emissions (Kragt et al. , 2012. E. ;. J. ;. J. ;. Assessing costs of soil carbon sequestration by crop-livestock farmers in Western Australia. Agricultural Systems, v. 112, p. 27-37, 2012. DOI: 10. 1016/j. agsy. 2012. 06. 005. ), since the percentage of humic fractions in SOM indicates soil structural stability (Grinhut et al. , 2007. ;. ; CHEN, Y. Degradation and transformation of humic substances by saprotrophic fungi: processes and mechanisms. Reviews, v. 21, p. 179-189, 2007. DOI: 10. 1016/j. fbr. 2007. 09. 003. ). Although there are numerous studies on humification of SOM (Fontana et al. , 2010. ;. G. ;. H. C. dos;.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Health-based violation was observed in about 8. 0% of the 608,600 utility-year observations, while total coliform violation is observed in about 4. 6% of all observations33. In total, 95,754 health-based violations were observed, and 37% of all violations are the total coliform type (Fig. 1a). About 36% of violations are categorized as “other” contaminants, primarily DBPs. While violations of treatment rules and nitrate are less commonly observed (21% of total)33. Fig. 1: Health-related violations of the Water Act. a Number of health-based violations, and b total violations per water system. In total, 95,754 health-based violations were observed from 1982 to 2015, affecting up to 28% of US population. Rural areas have a larger compliance gap than suburban and urban areas; however, fewer violations with DBP violations were observed in rural areas with higher incomes (reprinted with permission from33; Copyright© PNAS, 2018). Full size imageThe number of violations per CWS (Fig. 1b) differs between rural and urban areas. Rural areas have a larger compliance gap than suburban and urban areas, however, fewer violations with DBP violations were observed in rural areas with higher incomes33. Differences between rural and suburban areas were exaggerated after new DBP rules in the early 2000s33, corresponding to the spike in Fig. 1b. Due to limited financial resources and technical expertise, regulatory compliance is a challenge for rural systems33. In contrast to large systems, small systems face restricted access to loans and outside financing34. Moreover, smaller customer base has less revenue for infrastructure improvements, repayment of debt, and salaries to attract technically skilled operators34. All these factors make the rural system operations and development challenging, and eventually may trigger the violations. Violations also vary geographically. The distribution of the total number of violations, from 1982 to 2015, per CWS in a given county is shown in Fig. 2A. The majority of violations are observed in rural areas, located in Texas, Oklahoma, and Idaho. Total coliform violations, as shown in Fig. 2B, are primarily observed in the West and Midwest. Differences of violations across counties can be attributed to the difference of quality of source water as well as the state-level enforcement33.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: In addition, reduced chemical compounds and other solutes are delivered to more oxidized surface environments, providing redox energy and nutrients (and Walter 2019). Thus, diverse chemical compositions and thermal gradients are created and are able to harbor a great diversity and abundance of microbial communities. Depending on the dissolved minerals and other solutes, the pH of a hot spring can vary from pH 0. 1 to pH 11, each with their own dominating organisms (Dodds and Whiles 2010). Besides hot water springs, other types of springs can be found. A geyser is a special kind of terrestrial hot spring which can generally be found near active volcanic areas (Mehta and Satyanarayana 2013). Surface water moves down and comes in contact with hot rocks at a depth of around 2000 m, leading to boiling of the pressurized water. Water and steam are then ejected through the geyser´s surface vent and can exceed heights of 115 m (Dodds and Whiles 2010; Reed et al. 2021). Another kind of terrestrial hot spring is the fumarole. A fumarole is a steam vent that emerges through an opening in the Earth’s crust like cracks or long fissures, emitting steam and gasses (i. e. , CO2, SO2, HCl, H2S), as well as on the surface of lava flows (Satyanarayana et al. 2013). If a fumarole emits sulfurous gasses, it is called a solfatara and can be found within so-called solfataric fields. Magma chambers located beneath these soils, mud pots, and sulfur-rich springs heat up these solfatara to temperatures of up to 100 °C (Satyanarayana et al. 2013). Black smokers are marine hydrothermal fumaroles able to heat the surrounding water above 400 °C (Stetter; Colín-García, 2016). These hydrothermal vents are a part of a subaqueous hydrothermal system which, much like terrestrial hot springs, are rich in nutrients and are also considered to be a potential cradle for the origin of life and can be found in the deep sea along mid ocean ridges (Mehta and Satyanarayana 2013; Colín-García, 2016; and Walter 2019).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: 1874-1881, 2014. DOI: 10. 1590/S0100-06832014000600022. ), its use as an indicator of changes in SOM quality by long-term soil management systems and by the use of cover crops and phosphate fertilization are still limited for the Cerrado region. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of soil management systems, cover crops, and phosphate fertilization on soil humic fractions in a long-term experiment. Materials and study was carried out in the experimental area of Embrapa Cerrados, in Planaltina, Brasília, DF, Brazil (15º36'S, 47º42'W, at 1,014-m altitude). The climate is Cwa according to Köppen, with mean annual temperature of 21. 3ºC and precipitation of 1,570 mm. The experiment was established in a distrófico, i. e. , an Oxisol, with a gently undulating relief (3% slope) and 571 g kg-1 clay, 72 g kg-1 silt, and 357 g kg-1 sand. The area was deforested in 1976 and used for pasture and grain production over 20 years. In 1996, prior to soybean (Glycine max L. ) sowing, lime was applied in the area for grain production. In the same agricultural year and in the following one (1997/1998), the area was cultivated with soybean with the application of 80 kg ha-1 P2O5 in the planting furrow, 80 kg ha-1 K2O as KCl, and 30 kg ha-1 sulfur as gypsum, broadcasted on the soil surface. In 1998/1999, corn was grown in the area and 80 kg ha-1 K2O, 30 kg ha-1 S, and 150 kg ha-1 N as urea were applied at corn (Zea mays L. ) planting, without phosphate fertilization. These three cultivation cycles were cropped in order to provide knowledge on area variability for selecting the experimental design and to achieve a state of high fertility for studying P management under this condition. The experimentation actually began in the 1999/2000 season, with appropriate chemical soil conditions, using corn-soybean succession, with winter cover crops sown at the end of the rainy season and mowed at the flowering stage.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: Other factors such as different temperatures at different seasons can also contribute to the regional difference of violations across the U. S. For instance, high summer temperatures might cause the Southwest region to be particularly susceptible to DBP violations. SDWA violations are mostly identified in Oklahoma and parts of Texas, based on local spatial autocorrelation, shown in Fig. 2C. 11% of the CWSs have repeat violations, including two or more subsequent years of a violation33. The states with the greatest proportion of CWSs with repeat violations are Oklahoma (43% of CWSs in the state), Nebraska (35%), and Idaho (33%)33. Fig. 2: Distribution of the total number of violations per CWS. A Total violations. B Total coliform violations. C Spatial clusters (hot spots) of health-based violations, 1982–2015. Violations also vary considerably across geographic locations. Some of the counties with the highest prevalence of violations are rural, located in Texas, Oklahoma, and Idaho (reprinted with permission from33, Copyright© PNAS, 2018). Full size imageTable S4 shows the breakdown of the size of treatment plants and the source of water. Larger treatment plants tend to use surface water, whereas smaller treatment plants predominantly use groundwater. From the above table and information about the different types and sources of violations of drinking water treatment plants, the percentage of violations by water source can be determined. The values in Table S5 were computed using the number of surface water and groundwater violations by size and comparing that to the total number of treatment plants using either surface water or groundwater as a source by size (data from Table S4). The percentages of and TNCWSs were computed as well, using the number of violations of those types by size and comparing that to the total numbers of treatment plants by type and size (data from Table S4). Table S5 shows that with every type of violation, treatment plants that use surface water as a source tend to have a higher percentage of violations than treatment plants that use groundwater as a source. As the size of the treatment plant increases, the percent of violations amongst public water systems that use surface water tends to decrease. The only exception seen here is for treatment plants of very large size. In addition, CWSs typically have slightly higher percentages of violations (Table S5).

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: Marine vents can also occur in shallow waters close to the shore, like at (Italy), where they exhibit temperatures of 80–105 °C at depths of 1–10 m (Stetter 2001). Depending on the tide, some of these shallow marine vents can lie dry or below the water surface, showing marine and terrestrial properties alike. Terrestrial hot springs can be found all over the world, with the most prominent sites being Iceland, New Zealand, Chile, Japan and specifically Kamchatka (Russia) and the Park (Wyoming, USA) (Satyanarayana et al. 2013). In 1969, Brock and Freeze isolated the thermophile Thermus aquaticus from a hot spring in Park, setting the starting point for research on thermophilic extremophiles (Brock and Freeze 1969). Following this pioneering research, the understanding of the upper temperature limit for life grew, as Fiala and Stetter isolated Pyrococcus furiosus from geothermally heated marine sediment, an archaeon with an optimal temperature of growth at 100 °C (Fiala and Stetter 1986). Pyrolobus fumarii, isolated from a black smoker wall, exhibited an even higher temperature of growth with 113 °C (Blöchl et al. 1997). However, the archaeon “strain 121”, also isolated from a black smoker, is able to grow at a temperature of 121 °C, defining the upper limit for life to date (Kashefi and Lovley 2003). Strategies for enzyme screeningThermophilic microorganisms from hot springs are a valuable source of stable enzymes for biotechnological applications. For the identification of these enzymes, versatile approaches have been developed in the last decades (Fig. 1). Enzymes were discovered directly from the isolated microorganisms itself or by screening for enzyme-encoding genes. The latter technique was a milestone for recombinant enzyme production in optimized expression strains like E. coli as well as for understanding of their sequence and function relationship. Screening for enzyme-encoding genes can be achieved by different approaches, optionally including enrichment strategies followed by either activity-based or sequence-based screening methods. According to different publication analyses, the vast majority of enzymes in the past was screened by function-based screening approaches (Ferrer et al. 2016; Berini et al. 2017).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: 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. Figure 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. Management systems: NTv, no-tillage + velvet bean (Mucuna aterrima) as cover crop; NTm, no-tillage + pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) as cover crop; and CTm, conventional tillage + pearl millet as cover crop. P fertilization doses: P0, 0. 00 kg ha-1 P2O5 per year; and P1, 100 kg ha-1 P2O5 per year, as triple superphosphate applied in the planting furrow. 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. The FA fraction showed the highest contents in the NTm and NTv systems, but with stratified distribution between the soil layers, with higher contents in the surface layers. Both FFA and FA fractions were more evenly distributed between the soil depths in NT. Moreover, CT showed lower FA contents than the other systems. This more even distribution in the soil upper profile, along with the lower content of FA in CT, can be explained by the greater soil disturbance in this system, which becomes more susceptible to decomposition (Sá et al. , 2015SÁ, J. C. de M. ; SÉGUY, L. ;. ; LAL, R. ;. ;. R. ;. ;. B. dos;. da;. G.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: This analysis, presented in Table 3, shows that CWSs tend to have a higher percentage of surface water sources compared to and TNCWSs. Table 3 Type of system vs. source in different size of treatment plants30. Full size tableNon-grid-tied water resourcesDomestic wells (private or homeowner wells) are the dominant source of drinking water for people living in rural parts of the United States35. Population distribution using domestic supply wells per square kilometer is shown in Fig. 3a. Over 43 million people, 15% of the U. S. population, rely on domestic (private) wells as their source of drinking water36. These private wells are not regularly tested for known contaminants, and thus, may pose unknown health risks. The water safety of domestic wells is not regulated by the Act or, in most cases, by state laws. Instead, individual homeowners are responsible for maintaining and monitoring their own wells36. Fig. 3: Distribution of the population using domestic wells. a Population using domestic wells, and b domestic wells affected by arsenic. Over 43 million people, 15% of the U. S. population, rely on domestic (private) wells as their source of drinking water. About 2. 1 million people in the conterminous U. S. were using water from private wells with predicted arsenic concentration >10 μg/L (reprinted with permissions from35,36; Copyright© Elsevier, 2017; Copyright© ACS, 2017). Full size imageIn a study of 2100 domestic wells, water in about 20% of the wells is contaminated with one or more contaminants at a concentration greater than MCLs35,36. Table 4 summarized some common contaminants in domestic wells which frequently exceeding health standards (MCLs regulated by USEPA or U. S. (USGS) Health-Levels) in tests. The most common contaminants that were found to exceed health standards were metals including lead and arsenic, radionuclides, and nitrates37. Nitrates in drinking water supplies can cause harm such as methemoglobinemia in young children, but nitrates rarely cause direct harm to adults36. Microbial contaminants (for example, bacteria) were found in about 30% of wells tested, about 400 wells in total36. Ayotte et al. 35.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: Nevertheless, in the last few years, function-based screening is increasingly replaced by the cheaper and even faster sequence-based approaches (Kelly et al. 2020). The starting point for all these strategies is isolated DNA either from a single species (genomic DNA) or from a microbial community of an environmental sample or enrichment cultures (metagenomic DNA). In addition, RNA for (meta-)transcriptome analysis or proteins for (meta-)proteome analysis can be used as well. Fig. 1Overview of different strategies for activity-based and sequence-based screening of enzymes starting from environmental samplesFull size imageEnrichment and strain isolationThis classical approach has been implemented for more than a half-century and led to the discovery of unique microorganisms, metabolic pathways, and enzymes. An enrichment culture of an environmental sample can support the growth of suitable microorganisms found in a consortium. Samples are taken from an environment and incubated in a medium containing growth requiring nutrients. Moreover, the cultivation of aerobic and anaerobic microorganism requires special methods and media. By adding a selected substrate, specialized microorganisms are enriched. Beside the classical cultivation of microorganisms in laboratory, in situ enrichments are an attractive strategy. Hereby, the desired substrates and an inoculum are within a membrane locked compartment, which is directly added to the hot spring sampling sites to enable exchange of minerals and conditions. Such in situ enrichments were performed, for example, in two hot springs in Iceland with starch prior to screening of starch- and pullulan-modifying enzymes (Labes et al. 2008) as well as with diverse biopolymers in Russia and Iceland for screening of thermostable hydrolases (Wohlgemuth et al. 2018). As shown in Fig. 1, an enrichment culture can be further treated and isolation of pure cultures can be achieved by classical microbiology methods. In the beginning of the era of enzyme discovery, classical enrichment and isolation followed by activity assays were the key strategies for identifying enzyme-producing microorganisms. This approach has been successful in the discovery of various classes of heat stable enzymes including carbohydrases, proteases, and lipases in the last decades. With plant polymers as substrates, microbial species producing thermostable enzymes like cellulases, xylanases, and oxidoreductases were identified. However, recombinant production or enzyme improvement require the corresponding gene sequences.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: in the same experiment. Arlauskiene et al. (2010). ;. ;. Effect of cover crops and straw on the humic substances in the clay loam Cambisol. Agronomy Research, v. 8, p. 397-402, 2010. reported a significant increase in HA levels after the introduction of cover crops in the evaluated systems, with increasing tendency over the years. HU values were lower in CT compared to NT, indicating that even this more recalcitrant fraction is affected by soil management (Fontana et al. , 2011b. ;. F. da;. G. ; LOSS, A. ;. J. de;. de M. Avaliação dos compartimentos da matéria orgânica em área de Mata Atlântica. Acta Scientiarum. Agronomy, v. 33, p. 545-550, 2011b. DOI: 10. 4025/actasciagron. v33i3. 5169. ). Phosphate fertilization (P1) raised the levels of FA, HA, and HU (Figure 2). This increase was significant for FA and HU in the 0. 00-0. 05-m layer, and for HA in the first two layers. This can be attributed to the fact that phosphate fertilization in soil management systems tends to increase the amount of dry matter added to the surface layers, favoring continuous decomposition (Fontana et al. , 2001. ;. G. ;. B. do;. H. C. dos;. G. Matéria orgânica em solos de tabuleiros na região norte Fluminense-RJ. Floresta e Ambiente, v. 8, p. 114-119, 2001. ). Furthermore, P is exported by the crops with harvest and, since it is not restored in the absence of P fertilization, the nutrient is depleted in the soil, resulting in lower grain yield and higher accumulation of biomass in the soil (Nunes et al. , 2011. de S. ;. A. de C. ;. M. G. de;. de C. Sistemas de manejo e os estoques de carbono e nitrogênio em Latossolo de Cerrado com a sucessão soja-milho.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: developed a logistic regression model of the probability of having arsenic >10 μg/L (“high arsenic”) from 20,450 domestic wells in the U. S. As shown in Fig. 3b, approximately 2. 1 million people in the conterminous U. S. were using water from private wells with predicted arsenic concentration >10 μg/L35. Some states have both relatively large population, over 1 million people, and high percentages, over 1%, of total state populations with arsenic >10 μg/L. It is noteworthy that 60% of all counties with the largest population with high-arsenic wells are located in New England; other top-10 counties are located in Ohio, North Carolina, California, and Idaho, respectivly35. Considering the high risk of exposure to the various contaminations, it is therefore imperative to apply additional treatments, such as POU, before using the well water in households. Table 4 Contaminants in domestic wells exceeding health standards and removal methods. Full size tableContaminants of emerging concern with no regulationsContaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are chemicals or microorganisms that are not commonly monitored in drinking water because they do not have established MCLs38. A USGS study found that over 80% of streams in the U. S. contained some form of emerging contaminant including pharmaceuticals, hormones, detergents, plasticizers, fire retardants, pesticides, and more. Although these were generally found at low concentrations, a growing number of research report their close relationships with some human diseases39,40. In addition, a more recent study found that about 8% of groundwater sources used for drinking water contain hormones and pharmaceuticals41. The unregulated status of these contaminants makes them unmonitored by treatment plants in many cases. It is also unknown how much of them end up in drinking water after drinking water treatment. Thus, there is potential health risk for people consuming these contaminants in drinking water. Table 5 shows the features of several typical CEC types in drinking water. N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is a semi-volatile organic compound used to help produce liquid rocket fuel, antioxidants, and additives for lubricants. Animal studies have found that NDMA causes cancer in the liver, respiratory tract, kidneys, and blood vessels39.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Astrobiologists study extremophiles like Thermophiles to understand life's potential on Mars. [SEP] Text: In this regard, additional activity-based screening of (meta-)genomic libraries or sequence-based screening techniques are necessary. Therefore, enrichment strategies are often applied prior to activity- or sequence-based screening of enzyme-encoding genes. By this, they can increase screening success and reduce the screening costs and effort. Moreover, they can be useful when target substrates occur in low concentrations in nature or for hardly degradable substrates. Recently, this approach was also successful for the enrichment of microorganisms capable of metabolizing the hardly biodegradable PET which was the origin for the identification of PET-degrading enzyme classes (Yoshida et al. 2016). Activity-based screeningActivity-based screening of thermophilic isolates marked the beginning of the discovery and characterization of thermostable enzymes. For decades, this strategy was state of the art and during this time, many of the fundamental concepts of plate-based activity assays were developed. Well-established and common assays utilize dye-coupled polymers (e. g. , polysaccharides and polypeptides) or pH shifts. These techniques provided a basis for the later emerging screening of (meta-)genomic libraries as well. (Meta)-genomic libraries are necessary for identifying the enzyme-encoding genes. The encoding genes are required for the heterologous overexpression in production hosts (e. g. , E. coli, Bacillus sp. ) as well as to determine sequence motifs, domain structures, and an enzyme classification system. For constructing (meta)-genomic libraries, genomic or metagenomic DNA has to be isolated, fragmented and subcloned into appropriate vectors. Plasmids, fosmids, phagemid, cosmid, or BAC-based systems are available whereas fosmid and plasmid libraries are often preferred (Berini et al. 2017). Vectors have then to be transferred to a screening host to induce gene expression whereby almost exclusively E. coli is used. Typical bottlenecks like promoter recognition, codon usage, and proper folding for enzyme activation have led to alternative expression systems like Thermus thermophilus (Angelov et al. 2009; Leis et al. 2015). The main advantage of activity-based screening is the identification of totally new enzyme classes or enzymes with unknown domain structures.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure and organic matter. [SEP] Text: The lower percentages of FFA in soil OC indicate that the enhanced addition of OC by the cover crops favored the continuous decomposition of SOM, along with this easily biodegradable fraction, as reported by Fontana et al. (2001). ;. G. ;. B. do;. H. C. dos;. G. Matéria orgânica em solos de tabuleiros na região norte Fluminense-RJ. Floresta e Ambiente, v. 8, p. 114-119, 2001. . 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. . The percentages of the less stable fractions, that is, FFA and FA, in soil OC increased in deeper layers, in all management systems and in the native environment, showing the greater mobility of these fractions (Table 3). In turn, the percentages of HA and HU in OC decreased in deeper layers, except for the more homogeneous percentage of HU in native Cerrado. The smaller percentage of HA in relation to FA in OC indicates a different formation dynamics of these acids, possibly due to the lower stabilization of SOM in the studied environments (Kleber et al. , 2007. ;. ;. A conceptual model of organo-mineral interactions in soils: self-assembly of organic molecular fragments into zonal structures on mineral surfaces. Biogeochemistry, v. 85, p. 9-24, 2007. DOI: 10. 1007/s10533-007-9103-5. ) The resultant low HA/FA ratio, which ranged from 0. 2 to 0. 9 (mean 0. 5), indicates a poorly stabilized organic matter (Table 4).

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Everyone has equal access to clean drinking water regardless of geography. [SEP] Text: NDMA is also expected to be carcinogenic to humans42, while EPA has not set a MCL for NDMA yet. However, it has been placed on the fourth contaminant candidate list (CCL4). Also, several states have guidelines (not regulations) for levels of NDMA that could exist in water. In California, several nitrosamines have guidelines set that were above a specified level (in the instance of NDMA, 300 ng/L), and a response is recommended. Potential treatments for NDMA include photolysis with UV radiation43, biological treatment, microfiltration, and RO treatment. Despite these treatments, it may still be present in water because it is a byproduct of chlorination, which occurs after treatment39. Table 5 Features of several CECs in drinking water. Full size tablePharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are commonly found in sources of drinking water and enter these sources through domestic wastewater, hospital discharges, improper manufacturer disposal, and wastewater treatment plants44. PPCPs typically enter wastewater through human excrement or bathing and washing activities45. The amounts of PCCPs found in these treatment plants is low with concentrations between ng/L and μg/L. However, their long-term health effects are unknown and they can cause health issues through accumulation in the food chain46. In addition, some PPCPs containing amine groups demonstrate the potential to react with chloramines in the disinfection process to form toxic nitrosamines such as NDMA, which is not federally regulated and can cause adverse health effects as stated before47. 1,4-dioxane is another concerning contaminant given its classification as a probable human carcinogen. Approximately 30 million people in the U. S. have levels of 1,4-dioxane exceeding the health reference level for cancer, which indicates that it poses a serious risk to human health48. It is currently on the EPA’s CCL4 and has been on prior CCLs, which indicates 1,4-dioxane’s recognition as an emerging contaminant39. The problems with 1,4-dioxane include that it is highly soluble in water and does not react easily with other chemicals. In addition, AC filters do not absorb it. The best-known removal method appears to be RO48.

Output: contrast