Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: -19 PreprintsProtocolsVideosJournalsTools & a 10. 21203/rs. 3. rs-4384267/v1This work is licensed under a CC BY 4. 0 LicenseStatus:Published31 Jul, 2024Read the published version in →Version 1posted 10You are reading this latest preprint versionAbstractAlthough plastic mulching films can help increase agricultural productivity, their removal poses a significant environmental danger. The use of biodegradable plastic mulches is an appealing eco-sustainable solution to environmental contamination problems for agroecosystems. Because the biodegradation of plastic pieces in soil is strongly dependent on microbial populations, it is critical to investigate whether and how microbial communities affect different types of mulch residuals in the soil. Through the study of the degradation of different mulches residues and of the microbial dynamics for a 6-month incubation of soil trial at three different incubation temperatures (room temperature, 30°C and 45°C) it was possible to evidence that biodegradation of mulch residual depending on of the catabolic activities of specific microbial population and the temperature of incubation. In particular, the increase of temperature up to 45°C determined a reduction of the degradation capacity for all types of mulch considered. Moreover, high-throughput sequencing bacterial alpha diversity was primarily influenced by plastic type and temperature, while fungal populations were mainly affected by temperature. Beta diversity was impacted by all experimental variables. Predicted functional genes crucial for degrading complex substrates, including those encoding hydrolases, cutinases, cellobiosidases, and lipases, were derived from 16S rRNA gene sequencing data. Cluster analysis based on predicted enzyme-encoding gene abundance revealed two clusters, mainly linked to sampling time. Finally, core microbiome analysis identified dominant bacterial and fungal ASVs in various soil-plastic ecosystems during degradation, pinpointing species potentially involved in plastic breakdown. FiguresFigure 1Figure 2Figure 3Figure 4Figure 5on the practical qualities of plastics and their wide range of uses, 391 metric tons (Mt) of it were produced only in 2021 [1, 2]. This huge production along with ineffective plastic management techniques comprises a notable amount of plastic residues in the environment [3]. Several studies showed that severe plastic pollution compromises environmental protection [4–6].

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: 09, Figure 4A) supporting further the existence of only one complex. We discovered that the absolute area of the golden colouration increased with unpalatability (controlling for the effect of phylogeny and body size: GLS, F1,91 = 21. 1, p<0. 0001, Figure 4B) supporting the hypothesis that the golden colour is an aposematic signal. Figure 4 Download asset Open asset Effect of unpalatability. (A) Histogram of unpalatability of the mimetic complex with horizontal boxplots for each ring. (B) Relationship between the absolute area of dorsal golden colouration of mimics and their unpalatability. (C) Relationship between unpalatability and post-attack response of skinks to the six prey species from being eaten (0), to cleaning its mouth (0. 5) and spitting out the prey item (1). Predation pressure by a community of predators We quantified predation of mimics by the 12 most abundant predatory species that co-occurred with 13 sympatric mimetic species belonging to the complex (Table 2). We analysed gut content or faeces of these predators (553 spiders, 50 skinks, and 48 birds), representing three different guilds, using Sequencing, which allows identification of prey to species. We found that individuals of all predatory species were positive for primers targeting the DNA of ants, spiders, and mutillid wasps. The frequency of captured mimics was not significantly different from their availability in the environment (X212 = 1. 5, p=0. 99) because mimics were very rare in the field. Only three mimetic species (Camponotus aeneopilosus, Myrmarachne erythrocephala, Myrmarachne luctuosa) were detected in the faeces/gut of predators. Visually-oriented and non-visually oriented euryphagous (ant-adverse) predators captured mimics at less than 4% frequency, whereas specialized ant-eating predators captured mostly Batesian mimics (Table 2). The overall attack rate estimated for all predators was marginally significantly negatively related to the unpalatability of mimics when it included two Batesian mimics (GAM, F3. 8,4. 6 = 3. 8, p=0. 045, Figure 5A).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Ventilation systems improve air quality by circulating fresh air indoors. [SEP] Text: It is the most efficient method to ventilate and is used in so called “clean rooms”. The idea is to achieve a laminar flow by supplying slightly colder air from the roof and letting it fall vertically to the floor where it is extracted. Ideally, all air packages entering from the whole area of the roof fall at the same speed and reach the floor simultaneously. This means that all air packages have exactly the same residence time in the zone. It is easy to show that the residence time only depends on Q and V, regardless of the shape of the zone, and is given byτrplugflow=VQ≡τnE8where the nominal time constant of the ventilation system τn is defined. For plug flow the average residence time is equal to the nominal time constant. Since the air packages follow the shortest route from the roof to the floor in plug flow, the nominal time constant can be interpreted as the shortest possible residence time. It is also easy to determine the local age of the air packages in the interior of the zone. It must increase linearly from age zero at the roof to an age equal to the residence time at the floor. Consider an arbitrarily small volume element within the zone. It will contain many air packages with ages that vary linearly with height. The local mean age of air τ¯ is defined as the average age of the air packages within the small volume element. The local mean age of air can be interpreted in terms of how well the ventilation system delivers fresh air to the volume element. As the packages of air enters the zone, they start to equilibrate by diffusion with the concentrations of contaminants in the local environment and start to become less fresh. The older the air, the less fresh it is. Now let the volume element be as small as one package of air. The average local mean age of air with respect to the entire zone must then be equal to the local mean age at half the height.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: Although aquatic environments represented the focus of several studies addressing plastic pollution [7–10], it is important to provide consideration to soil ecosystems, particularly in agricultural soils. The use of plastic in agriculture (referred to as "agri-plastics") began in 1948, replacing conventional materials previously employed, like glass and paper, and allowing enhanced production yield in terms of quantity, quality, and crop conservation [11]. It was recently estimated that the agriculture industry, including gardening and farming, accounted for 4% of the global plastic market in 2021 [2]. The estimated rate of agri-plastic is expected to rise by about 64% by 2030 to meet the growing population demand for food [2]. Plastic mulching films, pivotal in agricultural practices, significantly boost crop production and quality, with approximately 6500 km2 of cropland employing these films for agricultural purposes [12]. Polyethylene (PE) or low-density polyethylene (LDPE) mulch plastic films are typically used in agriculture, for example, for soil solarization. Nevertheless, since they require over 100 years to decompose, they have a significant negative influence on the environment [13]. Their disposal methods include burning, burying, and recycling [14, 15]. However, because of soil contamination, recycling can be challenging and costly [16]. The use of biodegradable plastic mulches (BDMs) is an attractive eco-sustainable alternative approach to overcome the environmental pollution problems caused by the use of plastic films [17], because they can be degraded progressively in the soil without releasing toxic residues [18]. After the growing season, if, as stated, PE or LDPE films should be removed from the soil's surface, BDMs could instead be tilled in and biodegraded by microorganisms. BDM fragments provide both a physical and biogeochemical input. This feature is specific to BDMs; therefore, research on non-biodegradable polymers like PE cannot be used to forecast the potential effects of BDMs on soil ecology and functioning. [19]. BDMs tilled into soil, provide a carbon input, several studies showed that soil microorganisms respond to these inputs even if tiny; especially in agricultural soil where microbial development is carbon limited. Previous research demonstrated that BDMs increased microbial biomass, and enzyme activity [20, 21], and altered soil microbial community structure [22, 23].

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: Table 2 The percentage of predator individuals found with DNA (Sequencing) of mimics in their gut/faeces. The primer specific for ants amplified on average 9. 3% individuals of predators, the primer specific for Myrmarachne spiders amplified 3. 9% individuals of predators, and the primer specific for mutillids amplified 9. 2% individuals of predators. The predators (553 spiders, 50 skinks, 48 birds) were collected on the campus. They are grouped according to their guild. N gives the number of individual predators screened. The mimics are arranged from the most to the least palatable (left to right). Predatory guild Species (Family)P. ornata P. vermiculosa P. aurea P. ammon P. erato M. piliventris M. tepperi C. aeneopilosus E. aurata D. cephalotes D. nigricans M. erythrocephala M. luctuosa NVisually-oriented euryphagous Eulamprus quoyii (Scincidae)000000000000050Manorina melanocephala (Meliphagidae)00000000. 020000. 04048Sandalodes superbus (Salticidae)000000000000037Holoplatys planissima (Salticidae)000000000000012Ocrisiona sp. (Salticidae)000000000003. 83. 826Specialised ant-eating Servaea incana (Salticidae)0000000000001. 8114Euryopis umbilicata (Theridiidae)000000000009. 98. 6101Euryopis sp. (Theridiidae)000000000000012Hemicloea sp. 1 (Gnaphosidae)00000005. 00000020Hemicloea sp. 2 (Gnaphosidae)00000002. 40002. 42. 442Non-visually oriented euryphagous Lampona murina (Lamponidae)000000000002. 24. 346Clubionia robusta (Clubionidae)0000000000001. 758Clubiona sp. (Clubionidae)000000000002. 42. 485 Figure 5 Download asset Open asset Relationship between unpalatability and predation pressure.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Ventilation systems improve air quality by circulating fresh air indoors. [SEP] Text: Solving for ct in Eq. (2) givesct=c∞1−e−QtV=c∞1−e−tτnE13where Eqs. (3) and (8) were used. In the field of statistics, ct/c∞ is an example of a cumulative distribution function. By analogy, it is also the cumulative distribution function for the ages of the air packages. A probability distribution function is obtained by taking the time derivative of the cumulative distribution function. Thus, it is evident that, for a completely mixed zone, the ages of the individual air packages accumulated within a volume element at steady state are exponentially distributed according tofτit=1τne−tτnE14Now the average local mean age of air for a volume element (and for the whole zone) can be evaluated to τn. This gives the following relations for a completely mixed systemτ¯mixed=τn,τrmixed=2τn,εamixed=50%. E15The average air change efficiency of a mixing ventilation system is at best 50% as compared to plug flow. In analogy with the nominal air change rate N (or ACH) being given as the inverse of the nominal time constant τn asN=QV=1τn,E16An effective local air exchange rate of the zone can be defined asNeff=1τ¯E17where Neff is the effective air exchange rate and note that the local mean age of air average is spatial and taken over the zone. It can be interpreted as the local ability of the ventilation system to dilute contaminants with fresh outdoor air in the point p. This an important property from an exposure viewpoint. The aim of the above theoretical exercises for two mixing models is mainly to introduce the concept of local mean age of air and its properties. The fact that it is a local property that can be determined experimentally by tracer gas techniques [55] means that interior points of any ventilated zone can be characterized by it. In particular, in means that the distribution of fresh air to the occupied volumes of a zone can be tested. The insights from this subsection can now be summarized. It has been shown that requiring a specific ventilation rate is not a guarantee for good performance of a ventilation system. The supplied air must also be distributed efficiently and this capacity should be evaluated.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: The addition of residual plastic film in soil seemed to harm the bacterial community's richness and diversity on plastic surfaces, but it did not influence on the surrounding soil community [24]. Other studies found increased fungus abundances in soil as a result of BDMs incorporation [20, 23]. Nevertheless, the microbial response to BDMs is influenced by environment, soil type, and/or management practices. Confirming this, Li et al. , [20] find enrichment of fungus in one location and of Gram-positive bacteria in another. On the other hand, the action of microorganisms on biodegradable polymers in soil is well known and can be simplified into three steps: (i) microbial colonization of the polymer surface, (ii) enzymatic depolymerization of polymers, and (iii) microbial assimilation and utilization of the monomers and oligomers released from polymers by enzymatic hydrolysis [25]. Other enzymes typically related to plastic breakdown include those from the esterase family, both bacterial and fungal, such as cutinases and lipases [25]. In this scenario, microbial populations emerge as pivotal players in the degradation of plastic fragments within the soil environment. Critical gaps remain in our understanding effects of BDMs on soil ecosystems; also due to the absence of studies including a direct comparison of PE with BDMs to determine whether they affect soils differently. The presented study aimed to assess the degradation potential and microbial dynamics associated with biodegradable (MB and TMB) and non-biodegradable (LDPE) plastic mulch residues when mixed in soil under various temperature conditions. Evaluation of plastic degradation involves separating and weighing large plastic fragments at the end of the experiment. Furthermore, high-throughput sequencing was used to analyze changes in bacterial and fungal communities throughout, and the predicted functions of the trials, shedding light on the intricate interactions between plastic mulches and soil microbiota. Materials and methods Soil samples and plastic mulch residuals preparation Soil samples (pH-H2O 7. 21; electrical conductivity 263. 5 µS cm− 1; CaCO3 4%; organic matter 9. 30%; organic carbon 5. 39%; total nitrogen 0. 47%; C/N ratio 11. 42%; phosphorus available 475. 16 ppm; potassium exchangeable 716. 87 ppm) were collected in a rural area of Castellammare di Stabia (NA) (40.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: (A) Relationship between unpalatability and the total predation pressure (K-value) on 13 mimics by three guilds of predators (visually-oriented euryphagous, specialized ant-eating, non-visually-oriented ant-adverse). Estimated non-parametric regression model (GAM) is displayed. 2 for unpalatability of mimics. (B) Relationship between unpalatability of five mimics and total predation pressure (K-value) from three representatives of predators (see Table 3 for unpalatability of mimics). A high K-value indicates high predation while a low K-value indicates low predation. Solid symbols = Batesian mimics, hollow symbols = Müllerian mimics. Trials with selected predators We exposed five species of mimics (ants, spiders and bugs) of varying unpalatability (Table 3) and one non-mimic (spider) to one representative of each of three guilds of naïve predator species (euryphagous skink, ant-adverse spider, ant specialist spider). Eastern water skinks (N = 26) are visually-oriented generalist predators and captured (i. e. ate) non-mimetic spiders at significantly higher frequency than members of the mimetic complex such as ants, spiders and bugs (GEE-b, X25 = 125. 8, p<0. 0001, Figure 6). In accordance with our classification of unpalatability, we found a strong positive relationship between prey unpalatability and the post-attack response of skinks (GLM, F1,4 = 19. 4, p=0. 012, Figure 4C). Mimic or non-mimic spiders were immediately eaten, but skinks showed an adverse response to mimic ants and bugs. These prey were clearly distasteful because the skinks immediately cleaned their mouths and frequently spat the prey out. Table 3 A list of traits used to assess the unpalatability of five mimics. Values are means (±SE) estimated from 10 measurements. The species are arranged from the most to the least palatable. SpeciesFrequency of bitingSpray chemicalsNumber of spinesTotal spines length [mm]Cuticle thickness [mm]Total body size [mm]Mandible size [mm]Gland size [mm2]P.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Ventilation systems improve air quality by circulating fresh air indoors. [SEP] Text: ConclusionsMost legislations concerning ventilation are based on perceived air quality, but ventilation is also important for the health of the occupants. Perceived air quality can be viewed as a pragmatic tool to achieve an adequate ventilation for precautionary health measures. From a perceived air quality and health perspective, the ventilation rate and an efficient air distribution are both important for achieving a healthy and comfortable indoor environment. Yet, most legislative requirements focus on the ventilation rate. This is not enough, and it is recommended that legislation also address the air distribution with equal zeal. In particular, verifying the efficient distribution of fresh air to the occupied zones or the concentrations of pollutants in the occupied zones. Because there are clear links between ventilation and health, [3, 4, 50, 51, 60], it is extremely worrying that the “energy efficiency first” principle advocated in EPBD has led to decreasing ventilation requirements in the EU legislations, at the same time as the objective is to aggressively tighten the envelopes of the building stock. A second consequence of EPBD is probably that many naturally ventilated buildings will be retrofitted with mechanical ventilation systems. It is not clear that this would be the more sustainable solution in the long run. Every citizen’s right to a healthy indoor environment has been suggested to be a basic by WHO [65]. Adequate ventilation is at the heart of the solutions to reach this commendable goal. The mantra “build tight – ventilate right” [66] is a good one, but do not forget the second part! Advertisement 1. European Union. 2010/31/EU of the and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings. of the European Union, 53. Brussels, Belgium: European Union; 2010. Available at: [Accessed: 2021-02-05]2. Allen J. of Buildings, Global Health, and the U. N. Goals. In: Proceedings of the 16th on Quality and Climate (Virtual); 1 Nov-4 August 2020; Seoul. South Korea: ISIAQ; 2020. PL03-01. 3. Smith KR. National burden of disease in India from indoor air pollution. PNAS. 2000;97(24):13286–13293. DOI: 10. 1073/pnas. 97. 24. 132864. Morawska L. Indoor Air: Utopia, or Around the Corner?

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: After 3 months at RT, soils treated with TMB had ~ 43% of Cyanobacteria. The extension of the incubation time to 6 months determined similar profiles of bacterial communities in soil treated with TMB or MB (Fig. 2A). After three months at RT, the percentage of Cyanobacteria and Acidobacteria in LDPE-treated soil decreased (from 64. 84–23. 85%, and from 2. 42–0. 77% respectively), while an increase of Actinobacteria (from 14. 20–29. 43%), Proteobacteria (8. 47–23. 93%, Chloroflexi (from 4. 10–7. 50%), Planctomycetes (from 2. 07–3. 85%), and Firmicutes (from ~ 1–1. 78%), was detected. By 6 months, the bacterial composition returned similar to the control (Fig. 2A), except stable Gemmatimonadetes population at ~ 3%. At 30°C, significant change in bacterial community structure occurred after 3 months of incubation for the MB and TMB soil samples (Fig. 2A) that showed similar profiles, characterized by the higher presence of Proteobacteria (36. 79% and 29. 76%, respectively), Actinobacteria (30. 46% and 31. 0%, respectively) followed by Chloroflexi (11. 56% and 13. 16%), Planctomycetes (6. 62% and 8. 45%), Acidobacteria (5. 29% and 7. 57%), Gemmatimonadetes (about 3. 5%) and Firmicutes (2. 92% and 3. 52%). After six months the bacterial profile returned close to the control (Fig. 2A). The bacterial community associated with LDPE at 30°C showed the increase of Actinobacteria (from 14. 20–29. 61%), Proteobacteria (from 8. 47–36. 79%), Chloroflexi (from 4. 10–11. 04%), Gemmatimonadetes (from 1. 14–3. 19%), Planctomycetes (from about 2. 00–4. 12%) and Firmicutes (from about 1% to about 2%), and a decrease in Cyanobacteria (from 64. 84–22. 23%), after 3 months of incubation.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: ammon 0. 1143. 54 (0. 08) 0. 04 (0. 002) 9. 04 (0. 08) 1. 00 (0. 02) 2. 84 (0. 16) P. vermiculosa 0162. 96 (0. 08) 0. 03 (0. 002) 5. 98 (0. 05) 0. 71 (0. 03) 1. 62 (0. 06) C. aeneopilosus 0. 31000. 02 (0. 001) 8. 04 (0. 17) 0. 84 (0. 02) 2. 43 (0. 09) D. nigricans 00000. 02 (0. 0002) 7. 40 (0. 14) 00. 57 (0. 03) M. luctuosa 00000. 02 (0. 001) 7. 04 (0. 28) 00 Figure 6 Download asset Open asset Capture of mimics by three predators. Comparison of frequency of attacks on five mimics and one non-mimic by skinks (euryphagous visually-oriented predator); Lampona spiders (ant-adverse non-visually oriented predators), and Servaea spiders (specialised ant-eating predators). We found similar patterns in the non-visually oriented ant-adverse Lampona spiders (N = 25), which captured non-mimic spiders significantly more frequently than all mimics (Cochran test, X25 = 104, p<0. 0001, Figure 6), showing no differentiation between the mimics. By contrast, the visually oriented ant-eating specialist Servaea spiders (N = 27) readily attacked and captured mimics as well as non-mimics. Although these spiders readily attacked the mimics they did appear to differentiate between their levels of defence (attack: GEE-b, X24 = 15763, p<0. 0001, Figure 6). The most unpalatable ant was attacked at a significantly lower frequency than other mimics (contrasts, p<0. 008) and moderately unpalatable ant species were captured at a significantly lower frequency than bug and spider mimics (contrasts, p<0. 006).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Ventilation systems improve air quality by circulating fresh air indoors. [SEP] Text: , 2005; Tsai et al. , 2004; Baker et al. , 2001; Ahmad et al. , 2005 ) and densely built-up areas (Ahmad et al. , 2005, Bady et al. , 2008). However, based on these studies, it is thought that the determination of pollutant concentrations alone is insufficient to obtain a complete picture of the air quality in urban domains. In other words, if the pollutant source changes, the concentration distributions will also change. In such case, it is difficult to comprehend the removal capacity of pollutants by the wind within urban domains. In order to obtain a complete evaluation for the removal efficiency of pollutants by the natural wind within such domains, other parameters have to be considered in addition to the concentration. Consequently, there is a need to set an index (or a group of indices) that completely describes the air quality of the domain. Such index (or indices) may be used as a guide while designing new areas, or when the evaluation of air quality for urban domains is needed. At the same time, there is a concept of ventilation efficiency (VE) for indoor environments, which indicates the removal capacity of pollutants within indoor domains. This concept is thought to be suitable for evaluating the air quality of urban domains as well. Indeed, the air flow characteristics within outdoor environments are different from those of indoor environments as a result of the unsteadiness caused by fluctuations of wind in both speed and direction. This means that; some additional indices might be needed to evaluate outdoor air quality due to wind variations. In another study by our group (Bady et al. , 2008), the fluctuations of wind conditions within urban sites is considered and investigated using the exceedance probability concept. Such probability was introduced as a parameter or as a measure of the ventilation performance of the applied wind within a domain when the wind conditions of the site are varying. The air quality of indoor domains in terms of VE indices has been studied by many researchers, such as (Sandberg, 1992; Ito et al. , 2000; Kato et al. , 2003). With respect to outdoor environments (Uehara et al. , 1997) studied experimentally the diffusion of pollutants emitted from a line source located within an urban street canyon and they defined a concept similar to purging flow rate (PFR).

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: Thermoanaerobaculum aquaticum MP-01, Arthrobacter nitrophenolicus SJCon, Pseudarthrobacter phenanthrenivorans Sphe3, Sphaerobacter thermophilus DSM 20745, and Neobacillus endophyticus BRMEA1 were detected only in the microbiota of soil with MB degradation (Table 1, Supplementary Fig. 2A). Other species present only in soils with LDPE belonged to the phyla Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Gemmatimonadetes, and Proteobacteria (Table 1). Soil with TMB was characterized by three species Dehalogenimonas alkenigignens IP3-3, Thermoflavimicrobium daqui FBKL4. 011, and Hydrogenispora ethanolica LX-B, shared with soils containing MB and LDPE (Table 1, Supplementary Fig. 2A). All fungal shared core members of the TMB-treated soil were in common with the other two mulch types (Table 2 Supplementary Fig. 2B). Between them, Lophiotrema rubi, unclassified Nectriaceae, and unclassified Agaricaceae were shared with both MB and LDPE soils. Cheilymenia sp. and Solicoccozyma aeria, were common between TMB and MB treated soils. Whereas TMB and LDPE shared Gibberella sp. , Preussia flanaganii, and Preussia flanaganii. Finally, Metacordyceps chlamydospore, Niesslia mucida, Unclassified Fusarium, and Unclassified Mortierellaceae, were detected only in the core microbiota of LDPE-treated soils (Table 2). degradation The findings of this study provide important insights into the biodegradation dynamics of various mulch films at different temperatures. The considerable degradation of biodegradable plastic mulch films (MB and TMB) during six months at RT demonstrates their promise as long-term alternatives to non-biodegradable options (LDPE). The biodegradation of TMB by 51. 36% and MB mulch by 69.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: In summary, euryphagous and ant-adverse predators were less likely to capture a mimic than a non-mimic while the ant-specialist attacked the ants and ant-mimics alike but the likelihood of attack varied according to the mimic’s actual unpalatability. There was no relationship between levels of unpalatability and the sum of predation pressure (K-values) exerted by the three predatory guilds (LM, F1,3 = 1. 83, p=0. 27, Figure 5B). have not been considered in Müllerian mimetic rings, which is perhaps surprising given their diversity and the number of known ant-mimics. The lack of ant fauna in mimetic rings possibly reflects an overall lack of conspicuous defensive coloration in ants. However, our study supports a species rich mimicry complex of golden coloured ant models and mimics, adding to the small number of documented large-scale complexes. Mimetic complexes (among several families of beetles) were first recognised by Nicholson (1927) for Australian insect fauna. Such complexes are presumably far more widespread than appreciated, but have only been subject to more intensive study relatively recently. Many more large-scale mimetic complexes among ants and other animals (particularly arthropods) are likely to be described in future. The species richness of this golden complex exceeds those of fish or millipedes (Marek and Bond, 2009; Alexandrou et al. , 2011) but is currently smaller than in mutillid wasp (Wilson et al. , 2012, 2015), heliconid butterfly (Mallet and Gilbert, 1995) and bumblebee (Williams, 2007) complexes. The key members in the golden complex are ants but the complex is taxonomically broad and includes species with distant phylogenetic origins. Beside the species mentioned, it may include a few other groups, such as bees, flies, and cerambycid beetles, in which some species also have a golden colouration. This is in contrast to complexes of similar scale that only include members from a single order. The distribution of the majority of the ten putative mimetic rings in the complex overlapped with at least one other ring. Although the cluster analysis distinguished rings, the distances between the rings were not large suggesting that the entire complex is just a single ring.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Ventilation systems improve air quality by circulating fresh air indoors. [SEP] Text: 0 (c) D/H = 1. 5 (d) D/H = 2. 0 Figure 5. Concentration fields for different widths of the street domain (y/W = 0. 5). (a) D/H = 0. 6 (b) D/H = 1. 0 (c) D/H = 1. 5 (d) D/H = 2. 0 Figure 5 shows the concentration fields within the study domain for the same values of D/H. The figure shows that the level of pollutants within the domain was decrease as D increased, due to the variation of the wind flow characteristics within the street domain with the variation of its width as explained above. Also, the figure shows that the size of the region of influence (Mfula et al. , 2005) at which the pollutants disperse becomes larger as the street widens. The wide spread of such region is referred to the increase of the circulation strength (which is generated inside the domain), which improves the wind removal efficiency for purging the pollutants towards the domain exit (Bady et al. , 2008). Effect of street width on the average concentration within the domain is shown in Figure 6. From this figure, it is obvious that the increase of D has a desirable effect on the concentration, since the concentration decreases as the street widens. As the street width becomes 20 m (i. e. D/H = 2. 0), the concentration level was reduced by about 50 % of its value at D/H = 0. 6. This note reflects the fact that the street width is very important parameter in controlling the air quality of urban domains. However, increasing the widths of urban streets depends primarily on the space availability of the construction sites. Figure 6. Effect of street width D on the domain averaged concentration. Figure 7 shows the influence of D on the wind removal efficiency for the domain’s pollutants in terms of the ventilation efficiency indices. The figure shows the normalized PFR and also the air exchange rate which represents the rate at which the total volume of air inside the study domain is replaced with fresh air (AER is calculated through dividing PFR by the volume of the corresponding domain, AER = PFR/V). As mentioned previously, PFR represents how much fresh air is supplied to the domain which means that PFR has strong dependence on the domain size.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: 15% indicates their ability to decompose over time, concerning LDPE mulch recalcitrant to biological decomposition during the six-month trial, according to previous establishment [13]. Further, the impact of temperature on degradation rates is an important inquiry. The rapid breakdown seen at 30°C, particularly with MB mulch (88. 90%) as well as no degradation at 45°C, indicates that temperature impact on biodegradation efficiency is linked to microbial catabolic activity. Sintim et al. [40], observed that mulch films' biodegradability in soil field conditions varied with temperature, and higher temperatures considerably increased the biodegradability of polymers. Nevertheless, our study demonstrated that the increasing of temperatures up to 45°C affects survival rate of mesophilic bacterial population, corresponding to the non-degradation of mulch residue [41]. This evidence concerning the impact of temperatures emphasizes the need to consider this environmental variable to optimize the degradation rates based on local climate. Nevertheless, it must be considered that in a real scenario, the temperature along with other biotic (variety of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and Archaea) and abiotic factor (e. g. light, oxygen concentrations, humidity, and acidity) affects polymer biodegradability [42, 43]. Microbial community composition and diversity This work elucidated the impact of biodegradable mulch films tilled in soil ecosystems comparing the effects of biodegradable and non- biodegradable mulch film residues on soil microbial community diversity and functionality. Within the presented study, MB and TMB amended soils showed similar trends with general decreases of Cyanobacteria and Planctomycetes after 3 months of incubation, whereas bacterial composition was dominated by Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Acidobacteria, confirming the observations of other research on plastics in different environments [44–46]. Previous research showed that biodegradable plastic mulches enrich Proteobacteria [19, 23]. This phylum has a strong correlation with the total N and organic C levels of soil, indicating its involvement in biogeochemical cycles [47]. The phylum Bacteroidetes is widely dispersed throughout various ecosystems and serves a functional role in the degradation of complex organic materials [48].

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: Our findings are not unlike those from other complexes that include rings of different colour pattern, which overlap in geographic distribution (Williams, 2007; Wilson et al. , 2012, 2015). An overlap of golden rings or actually their non-existence potentially suggests that the variable golden colour patterns produce similar aposematic signals. Large mimetic complexes include taxa of close and distant phylogenetic origins (e. g. , Linsley et al. , 1961; Rodriguez et al. , 2014) in which the colour pattern is not only a product of common ancestry but also of convergence. A shared ancestry is apparent for two species of Myrmarachne spiders (Pekár et al. , 2017), three species of Daerlac bugs (Casis and Symonds, 2012), and several species of Polyrhachis ants (Robson et al. , 2015). The majority though, including Camponotus, Diacamma, Pachycondyla, and Iridomyrmex ants, other spider species, Eurymela treehopers, and Ephutomorpha wasps, have converged on the same phenotype as evidenced by their isolation within lineages of non-mimetic colour patterns. The diversity and geographic pattern of the golden phenotype is likely a result of co-divergence as found in other complexes (e. g. , Rodriguez et al. , 2014). Species in Müllerian rings described to date, e. g. heliconid butterflies, use a single defensive trait to teach predators that they are distasteful (e. g. , Brower, 1958). The lesser-defended individuals in this context are less distasteful. Species in our golden complex use multiple defensive traits including a variety of structural and chemical defences. To understand how these traits interplay with the aposematic signal we created an index that summed all traits known to serve a defensive function. We acknowledge this approach is somewhat simplistic as various traits are differentially effective against various predators. For example, a thick cuticle is effective against arthropod predators but ineffective against vertebrates (Evans and Sanson, 2005). On the other hand, spines are effective against vertebrates but ineffective in the defence against arthropod predators (Mikolajewski et al. , 2006). Different species of closely related predators may also use a variety of adaptations to deal with the defences of prey.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Ventilation systems improve air quality by circulating fresh air indoors. [SEP] Text: Consequently, it is expected that increasing the domain volume increases PFR. This conclusion agrees exactly with the simulation result as shown in Figure 7, where PFR increases in nearly a linear way with the domain volume. The second index of the ventilation efficiency indices is the visitation frequency. Figure 7(c) shows that, increasing the width of the street decreases the visitation frequency of the pollutants to it. The trend of VF can be interpreted as follows: the increase of D increases the area subjected to the inlet flux from the boundaries of the domain, which increases the domain inlet fluxes. As a first thinking, increasing the total inlet flux is expected to increase the value of VF as given by Equation (2). This conclusion is not absolutely true because the value of VF depends on the value of the inlet flux as well as the value of the domain volume. The ratio between these two quantities determines the value of VF. Regarding the residence time of pollutants, Figure 7(d) shows that the greater the street width, the smaller the time the pollutants stay within the domain. This behaviour is referred to the increased purging capability of the domain wind for pushing the pollutants towards the outside as its volume increases, which reduces the time it takes towards the exit. The above results for the VE indices supported absolutely that increasing urban streets widths purposefully reduces the air pollution levels (and hence improves the air quality) in the most heavily used streets by enhancing ventilation from the prevailing winds (Bady et al. , 2008). Figure 7. Effect of street width on the VE indices within the study domain (H = 10 m). (a) Purging flow rate; (b) Air exchange rate; (c) Visitation frequency; (d) Residence time 5. 2. Effect of street buildings height (H) The other parameter that affects the air flow characteristics in urban domain is the height of street buildings. Figure 8 displays the configuration of the velocity field for four selected cases of H/D (D = 5 m). It can be observed that, as the buildings height increases, a large clockwise vortex circulation is generated along the void between the buildings. The airflow at the center of the vortex circulation is slow and it becomes faster when it approaches the wall of the buildings and the ground level. Changing the height H affects the characteristics of the vortex circulation inside the domain, which in turn affects the diffusion process of the pollutants. Figure 8.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: Members of the Bacteroidetes family, including Flavobacterium, can facilitate the breakdown and use of complex polysaccharides [49], hence influencing the process of denitrification [50]. Evidence that biodegradable plastics tilled in agricultural soils contribute a little amount of carbon is another factor supporting these shifts. Soil bacteria in agricultural settings are often limited by carbon availability, therefore these inputs cause a response [19]. Furthermore, main variations were at RT and 30°C supporting the results of plastic breakdown and highlighting that burial of biodegradable plastics can lead to changes in soil microbial community structures [20, 22, 23]. LDPE treated soil showed slight changes in its bacterial community composition, as well as its profile was comparable to the control after six months. Otherwise, according to the phyla found, the literature suggests that microplastic cultures were enriched in polyethylene (or other polymers) degrading taxa, such as Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria [51, 52]. All samples incubated at 45°C showed a stable bacterial composition up to 6 months, probably due to bacterial decrease in activity with higher temperature occurrences [41], aligning with the absence of plastic degradation No fluctuations in the abundance of predominant fungal phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mortierellomycota were observed at RT and 30°C. Previous research showed that the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were responsible for the breakdown of oil-based polymeric polymers [19, 23, 53]. Therefore, these findings suggest that, at least throughout the 6-month trial, no mesophilic fungal communities linked to plastic degradation emerged. Otherwise, the shifts observed at 45° C in fungal community composition highlight the influence of both plastic and temperature on fungal dynamics, in absence of plastic degradation. In all samples, the Ascomycota and Aphelidiomycota decreased, and the unclassified fungi increased. These last can be assumed that the thermophilic phyla selected by the plastic and temperature are responsible for the shift in fungal profiles at 45°C.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: For example, some spiders are able to catch ants even with a thick cuticle while others are not (Pekár and Toft, 2015). A true index of unpalatability requires an estimation of the total effectiveness of a combination of defensive structures, such as spines and thick cuticle and the toxicity of chemical compounds for each predator-prey combination. Estimates including spines and cuticle thickness may be relatively straight forward but information on the toxicity of chemical compounds is largely not available (see Although our approach is simplistic, the positive relationship between the index of unpalatability and the response of skinks strongly suggests that the measure is a good proxy for unpalatability. Some of the defensive traits were strongly correlated with body size. Body size alone is an anatomical constraint that may prevent predation, thus it is difficult to separate the effect of pure body size from the relative size of some defensive traits (e. g. , spines). A strong correlation between body size and the size of defensive traits is natural, because larger spines, for example, require a larger body to support them. It is, however, the absolute size of defences not their relative size that is ecologically important (e. g. , a skink will swallow larger spines with greater difficulty than smaller ones). Whatever their single effect is, all these traits together, add to an overall unpalatability of mimics. Our study describes a new complex with a golden/black colour combination. This combination is somewhat similar to the classic aposematic yellow/black phenotype (Ruxton et al. , 2004; Williams, 2007). Accordingly, our findings support the idea the coverage of golden colour acts as an honest signal of aposematism. All the predators in staged trials exhibited an aversion to the prey with the greatest coverage of golden colour. Furthermore, golden individuals were rarely found in the diet of natural populations of predators. Honest signalling is further supported by the positive correlation between the extent of the golden colour and unpalatability, controlling for body size in the analyses via phylogenetic correlation or as a covariate. The theory of honest signalling, however, predicts such a relationship within rather than across species. However, recent evidence shows that this relationship can also exist across closely related aposematic species (Cortesi and Cheney, 2010; María Arenas et al. , 2015).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Ventilation systems improve air quality by circulating fresh air indoors. [SEP] Text: In the cases θ = 30o, 45o, and 60o, the concentration field increased to cover a wide area outside the study domain due to pollutant diffusion towards the outside in the same wind direction. As the maximum concentration area decreases with increasing θ, the canyon averaged concentrations are expected to be lower than the concentration of the case of normal wind as clean air continuously comes into the canyon from outside and dilutes the domain polluted air. Also, it is observed that, very low concentrations exist in the lower part of the figure where clean air arrives. In the case of θ = 90o, a large percentage of the maximum concentration area is shifted outside the canyon, which indicates that the domain average concentration in this case has the lowest value among all of the cases. The three figures below presents the effects of the applied wind direction on the domain average wind speed, domain pollutant concentrations and on the PFR, inside the study domain. All quantities were normalized by the similar quantities evaluated at the case of normal wind. Figure 13 displays the variation of the air quality parameters with the inflow wind angle. The concentration decrease significantly to about 80% of its value as the flowing wind angle changes from 0o to 90o. That behaviour can be attributed to the increased domain average wind speed. That figure indicates that the domain average speed increases as the wind angle increases it reaches to about 2. 5 times as the flow becomes parallel. As the average concentration inside the study domain decrease with increasing the applied wind angle, while the domain volume is kept constant, the PFR is expected to increase. The figure shows that the PFR increases by more than 6 times as the wind flow changes from 0o to 90o. In addition, the trends of VF and TP demonstrate that the ventilation effectiveness within the domain increases as the inflow wind angle increases. Figure 13. Air quality parameters within the study domain for variable wind directions; (a) Domain averaged concentration, (b) Purging flow rate, (c) Visitation frequency, (d) Average residence time. 5. 4. Effect of computational domain height (h) This section is concerned with investigating the effect of the computational domain height (h) on the VE indices of such domain. The height of the domain was started from 2 m and increased gradually until 10 m, while the width D and the building height H were kept constant at 6 m and 10 m respectively.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: The clustering of predicted functions demonstrated that potential gene abundances were strongly affected by sampling time since two major clusters were observed: I) samples collected after three months of incubation at 30°C and RT tilled with biodegradable mulch residues (MB and TMB), comprising three exceptions: t3-TMB_T 45°C, t6-C_T30°C and t3-LDPE_T 30°C; and II) all remaining samples. The increase in several encoding genes in cluster I, like cutinase (K08095) and esterase/lipase (K01066) suggests a potential active response to the presence of plastic residues [55, 57]. These enzymes are known to cleave the ester bonds and degrade polyurethane substrate, and therefore can act also on non-biodegradable plastics [56]. Cutinase can hydrolyze a broad variety of synthetic polymer esters, both soluble and insoluble, that are structurally related to cutin [57]. The increase of cellulose 1,4-beta-cellobiosidase (K01225, cluster I) that hydrolyze cellulose releasing cellobiose, was probably induced by the presence of biodegradable mulch residues in soil [58]. Cluster II comprises all samples at the latter sampling time, controls, and samples incubated at 45°C. In particular, the presence of MB and TMB from later sampling times where plastic degradation occurred, suggests that there may be significant differences in some metabolic activities compared to the same samples after three months of incubation. This confirms that changes in the activities of bacterial populations over time reflect the dynamics of plastic degradation in soil. Over time, polymers degrade enzymatically, and microorganisms assimilate and utilize the degradation products, potentially causing shifts in the predicted coding genes [25]. Core microbiota associated with mulch plastic residues The microbial core investigation aimed to provide hints of potential microorganisms involved in plastic breakdown. The analysis was performed on all plastic-type soil systems at temperatures where breakdown occurred (RT and 30°C). There is still a lack of literature, on information on microbial species known for their ability to degrade plastics. Thus, core members found in this work could be evaluated based on their enzymatic kit to assess their potential action on natural and non-natural polymers.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: It remains to be tested what speciation process and selection forces have driven this pattern. Given the fact, that the complex is composed of many unrelated taxonomic groups that occur in different micro-habitats, the processes are likely to vary. It is necessary to investigate whether such a relationship between species holds for other known mimetic complexes. Unlike the classic yellow/black combination, members of the golden complex are defined by a metallic golden sheen. This sheen reflects brightly under direct sunlight making the animals very conspicuous, at least to a human observer. Just how important this sheen is in deterring a predator over and above just a matt colour has yet to be determined for this system. In other systems though, reflective iridescence has a significant additive effect (e. g. Fabricant et al. , 2014) so it is likely that the sheen enhances the detectability of the signal. A possible additional benefit, or even an alternative explanation, is that the sheen is important for reflecting harmful radiation and dissipating heat (Shi et al. , 2015). Irrespective of the explanation the importance of this colour variant, further experimental investigation is warranted. The aversion to prey with golden colour was apparent irrespective of the predator’s visual sensitivity. Visually- and non-visually orienting predators equally avoided the golden prey suggesting that golden mimics advertise their unpalatability via multiple sensory modalities. The non-visual predator still proportionally avoided the mimics despite not being able to detect the visual signal. This is an area of promising future investigation. Some non-visual predators potentially recognize mimics via the patterns of vibrations generated by their movements (Pekár et al. , 2011). Predators typically use multisensory modalities to identify prey (Bro-Jørgensen, 2010) such as movement, shape and defensive chemicals they emit. Our measure of unpalatability suggested that the highest proportion of individuals was moderately defended and defensiveness is distributed from highly defended to weakly defended. This is in agreement with previous claims that mimicry rings are dominated by moderately defended species (Sherratt, 2008). With a predominance of moderately defended prey, there is an expectation that their presence will erode the effectiveness of the model. Our findings, based on a limited number of mimics, multiple predatory guilds when taking into account, did not support this notion.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Ventilation systems improve air quality by circulating fresh air indoors. [SEP] Text: The results of such example show that the ventilation performance of the natural wind within a domain may be changed for the same domain at different conditions of the incident flow. In addition; the results shown confirm that the ventilation efficiency indices are able to reflect the flow characteristics within urban domains very well. Figure 18. Air quality parameters within selected domains for the two building arrays; (a) Domain averaged concentration, (b) Air exchange rate, (c) Visitation frequency, (b) Average staying time. Advertisement 6. efficiency indices of indoor environments were applied in evaluating the air quality of urban domains. There are many indices which represent the ventilation efficiency of indoor domains but three indices only are considered here: purging flow rate, visitation frequency and residence time. The calculations of these indices were carried out based on the average flow field analysis using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Five case studies for evaluating the air quality of urban domain in terms of the VE indices were considered. In the first and second cases, effects of the geometry of an isolated urban street (street width and street building height) on the air quality within the street domain were investigated. In the third one, the influence of wind direction on the air quality was investigated. In the fourth case, the effect of the computational domain height was investigated. Finally, in the fifth case, the effect of building arrangements on the air quality in dense urban areas was studied. In conclusions, it can be said that the ventilation efficiency indices of indoor environments appear to be a promising tool in evaluating the air quality of urban domains as well. One of the features of applying these indices is that it is not necessary to consider the location of the pollutant source within the study domain. In addition, the VE indices are able to describe the pollutant behavior within the domain, which is very important for obtaining a complete assessment for the wind ventilation performance within urban domains. 1. Chock D. 1977 A simple line-source model for dispersion near roadways, Atmospheric Environment, 12 4), 823 829. 2. Sandberg M. 1992 Ventilation effectiveness and purging flow rate- A review, Proceedings of the on Convection and Ventilation Effectiveness; 1 21 Tokyo, Japan. 3. Ito K. Kato S. Murakami S.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: Among the identified bacterial species, Hydrogenispora ethanolica LX-B isolated from the mesophilic (35°C) anaerobic fermentation process of sludge, can ferment substrates with different carbon sources, including starch, glucose, maltose, and fructose [59], suggesting its potential involvement in the degradation of starch-based plastics. The species Thermoflavimicrobium daqui FBKL4. 01, a thermophilic bacterium isolated from the Daqu used to produce Chinese liquor Moutai, can ferments pure wheat [60], confirming its involvement in the degradation of starch and cellulose. The analysis of fungal core revealed 12 different species. Among them, Solicoccozyma aeria (Cryptococcus aerius) is known for its ability to produce amylases at 30°C, to digest raw starch [61]. These three microbial species were found in soils amended with MB and TMB and could therefore be of interest for the biodegradation of starch-based plastics. ConclusionsSustainable agricultural systems require to minimize the accumulation of plastic waste in soils through transitioning to effective biodegradable alternatives. This study examines how integrating both biodegradable and non-biodegradable mulch types into soil affects the microbial community over a six-month trial period. providing a direct comparison among the mulch sheets applied under the same conditions. The research observed a notable reduction in the weight of biodegradable plastics (MB and TMB), which is related to changes in bacterial community dynamics and their associated functions under mesophilic conditions. By analyzing the core microbiota of the plastic-influenced soil ecosystem, the study offers insights into identifying microbial groups with potential roles in plastic degradation. Nevertheless, the degradation of plastics in agricultural settings should take into account both biotic and abiotic factors, necessitating further study to inform and guide more sustainable agricultural management practices. DeclarationsAuthor ContributionI. R. and M. S. carried out the experiments and data analysis. I. R. wrote the main manuscript text. G. M. data analysis. V. V. reviewed and edited the manuscript. I. R. and V. V. participated in the experimental design. O. P. reviewed and edited the manuscript, conceived the concepts of the study and participated in its design. Data AvailabilityThe datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: Instead, all mimics investigated in our predator-prey trials experienced significantly lower mortality than the non-mimetic species, and this was irrespective of the coverage of gold. We found the skinks were more likely to attack the lesser-defended individuals but when the suite of predators was taken into account there was little variation in the overall predation pressure. This is potentially because some predators may not use the visual signal as a reference and are cuing in on other signals. Diet analyses of several potential predators also showed predators of all guilds, including non-visually oriented predators, captured mimics with very low frequency. The predators that we used are known to feed on non-mimetic prey too (Jackson and Harding, 1982; Daniels, 1987; Platnick, 2000; Higgins et al. , 2001; McGinley et al. , 2015). Indeed, they fed on prey related to the mimics as evidenced by the positive results of designed primers targeting the mimics. We did not measure the availability of alternative prey so we do not have an absolute indication of relative encounter rates. However, birds learn to avoid both Müllerian models and mimics irrespective of the availability of alternative prey (Lindström et al. , 2004). In addition, there are multiple species of ant and ant models distributed across the sampling habitat occupying both terrestrial and arboreal habitats. The majority of the species in the complex are also ants and ants are typically super abundant due to their sociality. So it seems likely the predators would see these animals on a regular basis. Using a multi-disciplinary approach here, we faced several constraints. For example, measurements of mimic colour were based on photographs as we were unable to collect all mimics. To correct for inherent differences in illumination used during photographing mimics, the obtained RGB values were standardized but not linearised, and thus should be interpreted with caution. Similarly, the results of experiments with skinks must be interpreted with caution due to constrained randomisation used (Müllerian mimics first). The response of skinks could be affected by the constrained prey order (due to some kind of habituation). Yet, other predators used showed similar response to mimics as skinks, though the order of offered prey was fully randomised. Here we present the first account of the golden mimetic complex, which we believe is an exciting model for future research.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Carbon dioxide monitors can help manage indoor air quality in enclosed spaces. [SEP] Text: Policy: ASTM International prohibits the entry of ASTM standards and related ASTM intellectual property (“”) into any form of (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT. Additionally, creating ----derivatives of using AI is also prohibited without express written permission from ASTM’s President. In the case of such use, ASTM will suspend a licensee’s access to and further legal action will be considered. Meetings & | Meetings & & & Standards and Papers & STPs Manuals, Monographs, & of ® (SOP) (TMA) and & & & & and ASTM What is and to to News and & -11. 07 Committee D22 $ 76. 00 In stock and Use 5. 1 Indoor CO2 concentrations have been used as indicators of IAQ for many years, involving both appropriate and inappropriate interpretations of indoor CO2 concentrations (1). 5 Appropriate uses include estimating expected levels of occupant comfort in terms of human body odor perception, studying occupancy patterns, investigating the levels of contaminants that are related to occupant activity, and screening for the sufficiency of ventilation rates. Inappropriate uses include estimating outdoor air ventilation rates per person from indoor CO2 concentrations without properly applying mass balance methods, including verifying the assumptions upon which those methods are based, and using indoor CO2 concentrations as a comprehensive indicator of IAQ. 5. 2 Outdoor air ventilation rates affect airborne contaminant levels in buildings and occupant perceptions of the acceptability of the indoor environment. Minimum rates of outdoor air ventilation are specified in building codes and standards, for example, 62. 1 for non-residential buildings. Compliance of outdoor air ventilation rates with relevant codes and standards is often assessed as part of IAQ investigations and energy audits in buildings. Outdoor air ventilation rates of a building depend on the size and distribution of envelope air leakage sites, pressure differences induced by wind and temperature, mechanical system design and operation, and occupant behavior. 5. 3 The measurement of CO2 concentrations has been used to estimate outdoor air ventilation rates. One common approach, referred to in this guide as equilibrium analysis, is based on a steady-state, single-zone mass balance of CO2 in the building but is too often presented with little or no discussion of its limitations and the assumptions on which it is based. As a result, the technique has been misused and misinterpreted.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: (2019) LDPE microplastic films alter microbial community composition and enzymatic activities in soil. 254:112983. (2020) Ecological influences of the migration of micro resin p1020. (2022) Deciphering the diversity and functions of plastisphere bacterial communities in plastic-mulching croplands of subtropical China. J 422:126865. (2020) Effects of co-loading of polyethylene microplastics and ciprofloxacin on the antibiotic degradation efficiency and microbial community structure in soil. Environ 741:140463. Wolińska A, Kuźniar A, et al (2017) Bacteroidetes as a sensitive biological indicator of agricultural soil usage revealed by a culture-independent approach. Ecol 119:128–137. (2010) Bacterial diversity at different stages of the composting process. BMC Microbiol 10:1–11. (2013) Diversity of bacterial isolates during full scale rotary drum composting. 33:1595–1601. (2017) Plastics in the garbage patch: A boat-microbe for hitchhikers and plastic degraders. Environ 599–600:1222–1232. (2018) Effects of soil residual plastic film on soil microbial community structure and fertility. 229:1–11 (2023) Mulches for Agroecosystem Sustainability: A Comprehensive Review. Agriculture 13 Patel H, (2021) Chap. 5 - Thermophilic fungi: Diversity, physiology, genetics, and applications. In: -N and FD in MB and B (eds). Elsevier, pp 69–93 Sharma H, Neelam DK (2023) Understanding challenges associated with plastic and bacterial approach toward plastic degradation. J 63:292–307. (2013) Communities of Associated with Biodegradation of Plastics. J 21:575–579. (2023) A review on cutinases enzyme in degradation of microplastics. J 347:119193. (2015) Microbial degradation of plastic: a review. J 6:952–961 Liu Y, Qiao J-T, Yuan X-Z et al (2014) Hydrogenispora ethanolica gen. nov. , sp. nov.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: Our work to date is mainly descriptive, and it requires more explicit experimental approaches to generate robust conclusions about the evolution of this golden aposematic signal. For example, the relationship between the level of unpalatability and the quality of the golden signals needs rigorous testing with a greater number of mimics. This would also help in deciphering the role of less-defended mimics in the protection of the entire complex. Similarly, exploring the function of non-visual signals in deterring predators will elucidate how this mimicry ring works. In conclusion, we present the first account of the golden mimicry complex. It consists of species that show considerable variation in their level and mode of defence, ranging from undefended Batesian mimics to highly defended Müllerian mimics, with most members of the complex somewhere in between. Our data suggest that all members of the golden mimicry complex receive quite similar net protection from a variety of predators presumably because they have a variety of defensive traits. We predict that mimetic complexes that incorporate a range of different forms of defence are not only more common than previously believed, but also more likely result in mutualism among the unequally defended members of the complex. Materials and methods Description of the mimetic complex Request a detailed protocol Arthropod species forming the complex were selected based on the presence of a golden colour pattern on the dorsal side of their body and body size falling within the range 3–15 mm. ants, and known ant-like mimics, were examined for a dorsal golden appearance. The specimens we examined were either field collected by the authors (outback, NSW eastern coast, Queensland eastern coast) or from museum collections (Australian Museum, Sydney). All other specimens we viewed were images from AntWiki (www. antwiki. org), Atlas of (www. ala. org. au), or taxonomic papers (Ogata and Taylor, 1991; Shattuck and Barnett, 2006; McArthur, 2007; Kohout, 2010a, 2010b, 2012, 2013a, 2013b; Heterick and Shattuck, 2011; Casis and Symonds, 2012; Shattuck and Marsden, 2013). The dorsal colour pattern was estimated from digital images of specimens (Figure 7) as performed in other studies on mimetic complexes (Wilson et al. , 2012, 2015; Rodriguez et al. , 2014).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Carbon dioxide monitors can help manage indoor air quality in enclosed spaces. [SEP] Text: However, when the assumptions upon which equilibrium analysis is based are valid and the technique is applied properly, it can yield reliable estimates of outdoor air ventilation rates. 5. 4 Indoor CO2 concentrations can be used to determine other aspects of building ventilation when used properly. For example, by applying a mass balance at an air handler, the percent outdoor air intake in the supply airstream can be determined based on the CO2 concentrations in the supply, return, and outdoor air. This percentage can be multiplied by the supply airflow rate of the air handler to yield the outdoor air intake rate of the air handler. In addition, the decay of indoor CO2 concentrations can be monitored in a building after the occupants have left to determine the outdoor air change rate of the building. 5. 5 Continuous monitoring of indoor CO2 concentrations can be used to study some aspects of ventilation system performance, the quality of outdoor air, and building occupancy patterns. Continuous monitoring has been used to evaluate overall IAQ. However, at best, indoor CO2 concentrations can serve as indicators of indoor contaminants emitted at rates that depend on the number of occupants. They do not serve as a comprehensive indicator of IAQ given the many contaminants that do not depend on the number of occupants, such as those entering from outdoors and those emitted by materials, furnishings, cleaning agents, and personal care products. 5. 6 Indoor CO2 regulations and guideline values have been promulgated by multiple organizations, however the justifications for the limits are not necessarily included with the values. They are likely based on either CO2 as an indicator of ventilation rates, or on the health and performance impacts of CO2 exposure. There is some evidence of the latter impacts at commonly observed indoor CO2 concentrations, but it is not consistent and requires further study. 5. 7 Measurement of indoor CO2 concentrations is being promoted as a ventilation indicator in guidance to reduce the risk of infectious aerosol exposure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In most cases, this application is based on the equilibrium approach to estimating outdoor air ventilation rates per person, although the technical basis for the values is not always well explained. In other cases, CO2 is proposed as an indicator of exposure to infectious aerosols emitted by other occupants and the associated risk of disease, although such applications involve numerous assumptions regarding the similarity between the fate and transport of airborne CO2 and infectious aerosols. 5. 8 Health and of CO2 Exposure: 5. 8.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: Recent trends in microbial and enzymatic plastic degradation: a solution for plastic pollution predicaments access Published: 12 August 2024 Recent trends in microbial and enzymatic plastic degradation: a solution for plastic pollution predicaments Dhali1, Dinesh Parida1, Bikash Kumar1 & …Kiran Bala1 Show authors Biotechnology for 400. 3 million tonnes in 2022 [2]. India, the third largest consumer of plastics, used approximately 21 million tonnes of plastic in 2021 [3]. If unorganized plastic waste disposal and inadequate recycling techniques continue, it is estimated that annual emissions may increase by up to 53 million tons per year by 2030 [4]. Countries worldwide accumulate waste indiscriminately due to the steep cost of waste disposal. The most common techniques for discarding plastic waste are landfilling, and incineration. Landfilling in India requires 120 ha of land per year and only 21% of the landfills are properly managed, leading to greenhouse gas emissions, obnoxious gas production, and fire hazards [5]. In contrast, developed countries including Japan, France, Germany, and the use thermal waste-to-energy plants to recover energy from plastic wastes. However, developing countries are lagging due to the colossal investment required, and fear of mishandling toxic byproducts (including dioxins and furans) [6]. A report stated that the combustion of plastic packaging resulted in the discharge of approximately 16 million metric tons of CO2 emissions [7]. Plastic materials steadily break down to generate tiny p0. 1 µm) and nanoplastics (NPs) (ranging from 0. 1 µm to 100 nm) [8]. These emerging pollutants are a nuisance to the environment and humans. MPs and NPs are now distributed in freshwater sources, oceans, drinking water [9], soil [10], atmosphere, food, as well as in the human body [11]. Due to their small sizes, both are easily mistaken for food and are devoured by or attached to aquatic organisms (rotifers, fish, shrimp, algae, zooplankton, etc. ) causing them to potentially travel into humans through the food chain [12, 13]. When ingested, MPs cause severe health complications in the human body such as tissue damage, abnormal lipid metabolism, inflammation, and even cancer [14] Thus, the removal of plastic p6. 62-fold increase in degradation kinetics [81]. Fig.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: Field collected specimens (of 41 species) were killed by ethylacetate and arranged in their natural body position. Photographs were taken with a HF G10 against a white background and lit from above by two full spectrum light bulbs (2. 0 UVB, Eko Terra). Photographs of the remaining species (59 species) were obtained mostly from the personal collection of R. Kohout, followed by AntWiki, and Atlas of Living Australia. Prior to taking measurements all photographs were calibrated for the white and/or black colour within ImageJ to correct for different lighting conditions. The average value of each RGB colour component was estimated on the following body parts: dorsal side of head, appendages (femur II), pronotum, mesonotum, metanotum, petiole, first segment of the gaster, and the remaining segments of the gaster/abdomen in ants and wasps using ImageJ. Likewise, for hemipterans and spiders the average colour value of each RGB colour component of corresponding body parts (to that of ants) were examined including the pedipalps/chelicera, frontal third of prosoma, second third and last third of the prosoma, legs (femur III), the first half of the abdomen and the second half of the abdomen. In each species, we also measured the length of each body part (listed above) and an absolute area of the golden colouration on the dorsal side using ImageJ. Figure 7 Download asset Open asset Selected list of 100 species representing the ten putative mimetic rings. Species are arranged within each ring from the most to the least unpalatable (left to right). Some pictures of ants are displayed with the permission of AntWiki and R. Kohout. To assess colour pattern similarity among mimics and to find how many rings there are, we subjected 24 measures of the colour pattern, body size and area of golden patch of 100 mimics (Pekár et al. , 2016) to the Non-Scaling based on Bray-Curtis distance matrix. Because various body parts have different area and are thus differently conspicuous to predators, we used weighting of the measures by their relative size. Then we estimated the number of putative rings via k-means clustering using the vegan R package (Oksanen et al. , 2013).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Carbon dioxide monitors can help manage indoor air quality in enclosed spaces. [SEP] Text: 1 Indoor CO2 concentrations have been prominent in discussions of ventilation and IAQ since the 18th century when suggested that CO2 build-up rather than oxygen depletion was responsible for “bad air” indoors. About one hundred years later, von Pettenkofer suggested that biological contaminants from human occupants were the source of bad indoor air, not CO2 (2). More recent research, starting in the 1930s, showed the relationship of indoor CO2 concentrations to occupant perceptions of odor intensity associated with human bioeffluents as discussed in 7. 1 (3). 5. 8. 2 Indoor CO2 concentrations are typically on the order of 1000 ppm(v) in non-industrial spaces with excursions up to about 3000 ppm(v) when outdoor air ventilation rates are low relative to the number of occupants. CO2 is considered to be non-toxic at these levels, with occupational limits of 5000 ppm(v) over a 40 h workweek (4) and 30 000 ppm(v) for short term (15 min) exposures (5). These and other limits are discussed in more detail in 5. 9. Toxicological studies have been conducted on the effects of CO2 exposure in humans and animals, including respiratory, neurologic, reproductive, and cardiovascular impacts, with these studies showing impacts at concentrations of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of ppm(v). 5. 8. 3 Research results from the 1980s and later found associations between indoor CO2 levels and occupant health symptoms (in some cases referred to as sick building syndrome symptoms) and school absenteeism. These studies often highlight increases in symptom prevalence and absenteeism at concentrations above 1000 ppm(v). However, these studies did not control for other contaminants that were presumably elevated in association with the reduced per person ventilation rates that led to elevated CO2 concentrations. Thus, while elevated CO2 correlated with symptoms and absenteeism, elevated concentrations of other chemicals or biological agents may be the actual cause. More recent studies have examined the impacts of pure CO2 at concentrations from 600 ppm(v) to 5000 ppm(v) on cognitive performance. For example, some studies have shown reduced cognitive function at concentrations on the order of 1000 ppm(v), while others have not. Based on these inconsistencies, further investigation is merited, including research on potential mechanisms for these impacts. 5. 9 Indoor CO2 Limits in : 5. 9.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: On the other hand, non-hydrolysable polymers such as PE, PVC, and PP are difficult to degrade by enzymes. It has been observed that non-hydrolysable polymers have a backbone similar to that of lignin. Hence, enzymes that are efficient at degrading lignin can also degrade non-hydrolysable polymers [84, 85]. Additionally, similar major factors influencing plastic decomposition are discussed below. Abiotic factorsThe environmental conditions surrounding plastics play a crucial role in the process of plastic breakdown, and biodegradation is influenced by the interaction of abiotic and biological factors. Since a major portion of the plastic litter end up in water bodies, several studies focus on the degradation of plastics in natural and stimulated aquatic (marine water and freshwater) environments [86,87,88]. Plastic p33. 70% to 27. 68% after 24 h of incubation, which in turn increased enzymatic degradation of up to one order of magnitude [108]. Mechanical forces can also expedite enzymatic plastic degradation by making the surface of the polymer more bioavailable for enzymatic action. For example, a study was performed using an ultrahigh-speed twin-screw extruder to inflict physical damage to PET as a test plastic. Pretreatment with a low mechanical shear of 200 rpm caused more than 70% weight loss after 72 hr of incubation with a cutinase enzyme [109]. Finally, both thermal and thermochemical processes involve the use of heat to increase the biodegradation rate of recalcitrant plastics. Thermal and thermochemical treatments aid in fragmentation, generating oligomers that are easily accessible to the enzyme. For example, polyether PU foam (PUR), a particularly recalcitrant polymer, showed better enzymatic degradation by a lipase from Candida rugosa after thermochemical pretreatment by hydrothermal liquefaction. The results determined by -MS, and HPLC-UV-Vis analysis showed the possibility of the recovery of precursors for a circular economy [110]. Since biological treatments are slower than chemical and mechanical plastic degradation, pretreatments can be used in conjunction with other techniques to make the process economically and industrially feasible. The promise of a circular economy of plastic and the opportunity to develop closed-loop upcycling technologies is driving increasing research into this domain.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: This method used the simple structure index (ssi) as a partition criterion (Legendre and Legendre, 1998) as AIC is not available. Blue (RBG) contrast was estimated using 55 species of mimics. It was computed as the sum of differences in red, green, and blue values representing the golden and black colouration found on the body of mimics. The phylogenetic relationship at the genus level among the golden mimics was reconstructed from a combination of published phylogenies (Moreau et al. , 2006; Regier et al. , 2010; Robson et al. , 2015; Pekár et al. , 2017). If species level phylogeny was not available, we used polytomic splitting at the species level. To test for phylogenetic inertia of classification to putative rings we used generalised least squares (GLS) with Pagel’s phylogenetic correlation structure (Paradis, 2006), in which low value of λ indicates low phylogenetic signal. The mode by which the animals generated the golden colour (pigments or structural colours) was determined via microscopy. One specimen of each species from each genus (Ephutomorpha aurata, Camponotus aeneopilosus, Daerlac nigricans, Dolichoderus doriae, Polyrhachis ammon, P. vermiculosa, Ligonipes illustris, Myrmarachne luctuosa, Myrmecia tepperi, Eurymela rubrolimbata) was further examined via SEM. The golden gaster/abdomen was dried at a room temperature for 10 days, then mounted on a stub and coated with gold prior to viewing under a 648OLA. The presence of pigments on the gaster/abdomen was examined in ethanol-preserved specimens under Olympus stereomicroscope SZX9 and photographed with a digital camera mounted on the stereomicroscope.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Carbon dioxide monitors can help manage indoor air quality in enclosed spaces. [SEP] Text: 1 Several organizations have issued indoor CO2 concentration limits over the years, though in many cases the rationales for the limits are not documented. In some cases, published limits are based on CO2 being an indicator of low outdoor air ventilation rates per person and the corresponding exposure to elevated concentrations of other indoor-generated contaminants. An online database of indoor environmental quality guidelines6 contains several national and organizational limits for indoor CO2 ranging from about 500 ppm(v) above outdoor concentrations to much higher limits for occupational environments. A Canadian residential indoor CO2 guideline also contains a table of guidelines and standards for indoor CO2 concentrations (6). Occupational exposure limits for CO2 in the U. S. are 5000 ppm(v) for an 8 h time weighted average (4) and 30 000 ppm(v) for a 15 min exposure (5). However, these limits are of limited applicability to general indoor environments as they are intended to control exposure to levels that protect worker health, they are not intended to eliminate all effects such as unpleasant odors and irritation and are not based on consideration of the general population that covers a range of age and health status. 5. 9. 2 More recently, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, additional CO2 limits have been promulgated as recommendations and in some cases requirements. For example, the U. S. Centers for and Prevention (7), the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Associations (8) in Europe; and Group and on Behaviours (9) in the have issued recommended indoor CO2 limits to assess the adequacy of ventilation rates for infection control, with technical rationales for these recommendations discussed in these 7. 3. 5. 9. 3 In the context of these indoor CO2 limits, it is important to note that 62. 1, Ventilation and Air Quality, contains no such limit and has not since 1989. The 2016 version of the standard did note, in an informative 7. 5 L/s per person, the steady-state indoor CO2 concentration will be about 700 ppm(v) above outdoors and that maintaining indoor concentrations at or below this level “will indicate that a substantial majority of visitors entering a space will be satisfied with respect to human bioeffluents (body odor). ” The relationship between indoor CO2 concentrations and the perception of bioeffluents is discussed in 7. 1. 62.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: Microbial consortia for synergistic action on plastic for efficient degradationAxenic microbial cultures are commonly used to test their potential to degrade plastics. However, reports prove the occurrence of various bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes in environments polluted with plastics. The action of consortia is faster than that of monocultures due to synergistic activity [111]. In a microcosm experiment, plastic-degrading microbial consortia were enriched by the gradual enrichment of LLDPE plastic. After 105 days of incubation, the microbial weight decreased by 2. 2-5. 5%, and the microbial diversity decreased. Several potent strains were identified molecularly and enzymatically characterized. The participating species demonstrated a degree of enzymatic complementarity, which can be further enhanced for better biodeterioration of plastic materials [112]. Another study was performed to test the ability of the rumen microbial community to degrade several synthetic plastics (PET, polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate, polyethylene furanoate). HPLC results indicated the presence of the hydrolysis products of both plastics, and SEM provided visual confirmation of plastic degradation. Compared to data for enzymatic degradation from single microorganisms, the polyester-hydrolyzing activity of the rumen consortia was relatively high due to the synergistic activity of various esterases, lipases, and cutinases [113]. Recent bioinformatic studies, specifically metabolic engineering, has promoted the degradation of complex plastic pollutants. On the contrary, microbial consortium does not offer universally enhanced performance. Inhibitory interactions within the consortium can impede their efficacy. For example, a recent experiment on residual mulch film degradation in soil screened and identified plastic-degrading microbes. It was observed that the monocultures of the bacterial species (Burkholderia cepacia, Burkholderia diffusa, Chrysebacterium nepalense, and Burkholderia aenigmatica) showed greater weight loss (1. 58-2. 44%) than the monocultures (1. 34-1. 62%) after 90 days of incubation. Hence, they concluded that inhibitory interactions among microbes in the mixed culture [45]. To overcome this problem, Cao et. al. , suggest the division of metabolic pathways to minimize cross-reactions, ultimately reducing the metabolic burden.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: The distribution of mimics across Australia was estimated using occurrence records from collections made by the authors, taxonomic papers (Ogata and Taylor, 1991; Shattuck and Barnett, 2006; McArthur, 2007; Kohout, 2010a, 2010b, 2012, 2013a, 2013b; Heterick and Shattuck, 2011; Casis and Symonds, 2012; Shattuck and Marsden, 2013), museum material deposited in the and records stored in the database of the Atlas of Living Australia. To test for an association between colour similarity and distribution overlap of species in each mimicry-ring in Australia we used a grid cell of 400 × 400 km. Within each grid occurrence of a species was classified as 1 (if present) or 0 (if not recorded) (Pekár et al. , 2016). Then a distance matrix was created from the data using the Bray-Curtis method (Legendre and Legendre, 1998). Using the colour pattern data, we created a matrix and generated a distance matrix between species using Euclidean distance. To test a hypothesis that putative rings overlap in their geographic distribution, we studied the association between the geographical occurrence of mimics and colour similarity matrices by means of a Mantel test based on the Pearson correlation coefficient. Mimetic unpalatability Request a detailed protocol We estimated unpalatability in 100 mimics (workers and adults) from the complex using the following seven traits (xi): length of the sting, number of spines, total length of spines, size of mandibles, cuticle thickness, size of poison/pygidial gland, and performance of a communal attack (Pekár et al. , 2016). Size, number of spines and size of mandibles were measured in one individual from each species. Cuticle thickness and size of the poison/pygidial gland could only be measured from freshly collected specimens. So we collected the mimics (workers in the case of ants) from a variety of places across Australia (). In total, 75 specimens belonging to 41 species, eight genera, and four subfamilies were collected alive. Individuals were killed by freezing at −20°C. Cuticle thickness was measured by slicing the thorax (mesosoma) perpendicularly using a blade and then measuring it under a stereomicroscope to the nearest 0. 01 mm.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Carbon dioxide monitors can help manage indoor air quality in enclosed spaces. [SEP] Text: 1 does not contain indoor CO2 limits, it does “specify minimum ventilation rates and other measures intended to provide IAQ that is acceptable to human occupants and that minimizes adverse health effects. ”Scope 1. 1 This guide describes the relationship of indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations to indoor air quality (IAQ) and building ventilation. 1. 2 This guide contains background information on the health, comfort, and performance impacts of indoor CO2 exposure, as well as indoor CO2 limits contained in various standards and regulations. 1. 3 This guide describes the estimation of CO2 generation rates from people as a function of sex, age, body mass, and level of physical activity. 1. 4 This guide describes the relationship of CO2 to IAQ, including how CO2 relates to the perception of human body odor, limitations on the application of CO2 as a metric of IAQ, and the relationship of CO2 to the risk of infectious aerosol exposure. 1. 5 This guide describes how CO2 concentration measurements can be used to evaluate building ventilation including mass balance analysis to determine the percent outdoor air intake at an air handler, tracer gas decay measurements to estimate whole building air change rates, and use of the constant injection tracer gas technique at equilibrium to estimate whole building air change rates. 1. 6 This guide discusses concentration measurement issues, such as calibration and sensor location, and continuous indoor concentration monitoring but does not include specific test methods for either application. 1. 7 This guide discusses the use of indoor CO2 concentrations for demand control ventilation (DCV) but does not contain detailed application guidance. 1. 8 Units—The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard. 1. 9 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. 1. 10 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee. Version D6245-24 Active D6245-18 D6245-12 D6245-07 D6245-98R02 D6245-98 is a Redline?

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Bacterial degradation of plastic will eliminate plastic pollution globally. [SEP] Text: Consequently, the creation of an artificial microbial consortium is often simpler and can be tailored for different target products [114]. Future studies may benefit from employing metabolic engineering and proteomics to map the detailed pathway of polymer degradation by these consortia. This approach would provide a more comprehensive understanding of the products, intermediates, and associated enzymes causing this observed inhibition. Challenges with microbial and enzymatic plastic degradationThe commercialization of microbial and enzymatic plastic recycling/upcycling is a very difficult path due to several challenges associated with it. The challenges associated with the same are as follows (a) detection and isolation of synthetic polymer-degrading microbes is a tedious, expensive, and time-consuming process (b) enzymatic catalysis of synthetic polymers is generally a slow process (b) enzymes cannot tolerate harsh reaction conditions (d) the variety of plastics usable as substrates are less since it is still limited to polymers containing carbonyl groups in their backbone (including and PA) (e) since most plastic polymers are not soluble, the enzymatic reaction has to ensue via an interfacial mechanism, requiring improvements in technology to increase the substrate’s contact area with the biocatalyst (f) the result may be inconsistent with changing intrinsic plastic properties (degree of crystallinity, melting temperature, and additives) [29]. Future prospects for sustainable plastic degradation using advanced toolsDespite the disadvantages, the enzymatic technique can compete with the production of virgin petrochemical plastics because of the possibility of closed-loop or open-loop recycling. Plastic waste recycling and valorization involving microbes and enzymes to attain a circular bioeconomy presents an innovative and green approach [77]. Utilization of next-generation bioinformatics and computational tools for mining PDM and PDE, protein engineering for improving enzyme stability, efficacy, and enzyme-substrate binding for better plastic degradation efficacy is the key to reaching sustainable development goals. Bioinformatics and computational tools for the detection of plastic-degrading microbes and enzymesIn silico studies have emerged as a comprehensive and unconventional way of detecting novel microbes capable of PDE secretion. Through the investigation of metagenomic sequences, enzyme folding patterns, and other computational biology techniques, the detection of potential polymer-degrading microbes and the molecular basis of plastic degradation through enzymes can be determined.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Ants are the most intelligent species on Earth. [SEP] Text: To measure the size of the gland, the gland was dissected from the gaster (thorax in bugs) using fine forceps, placed on a glass slide in a drop of water, and covered with a coverslip. The gland was approximately oval; thus the two perpendicular lengths of the gland were measured using an ocular ruler. We estimated gland area assuming a regular ellipsoid shape. We measured the sting length after pulling it from the abdomen using forceps. In each of these individuals we also measured the gaster/abdomen length, and thorax length. The ability to perform a communal attack (i. e. attack by several individuals) was taken from the literature and was assumed to be consistent throughout each genus. To estimate these traits for the remaining ant species that we failed to collect we used an interpolation based on proxy measures using 55 specimens: the size of both the poison/pygidial gland and sting length were regressed (using a linear model) from the size of the gaster, and cuticle thickness was regressed from the size of the thorax. These regression models (Figure 8) were then used to predict values for species we were unable to sample. The gland content varies among species of ants from different subfamilies: Formicinae ants possess formic acid (O'Rourke, 1950; Stumper, 1952), Dolichoderinae ants possess terpens, such as iridodial and dolichodial (Cavill, 1960; Cavill and Hinterberger, 1960), and Myrmeciinae ants possess indole (Jackson et al. , 1990). The metathoracic scent gland in true bugs produces pungent pyrazines and alkenals (Millar, 2005). As the relative potency of these chemicals is unknown, we considered all these chemicals to be similarly noxious. Figure 8 Download asset Open asset Relationship between cuticle thickness and thorax length. (A) poison/pygidial gland area and gaster length (B) sting length and gaster length (C) with estimated linear regression models. Various defensive traits measured here are not similarly effective against predators. Yet we assumed that their effect is similar because different predators adapted to deal with different defences of prey. We further assumed that the effect of these traits on predators is additive.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Carbon dioxide monitors can help manage indoor air quality in enclosed spaces. [SEP] Text: Policy: ASTM International prohibits the entry of ASTM standards and related ASTM intellectual property (“”) into any form of (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT. Additionally, creating ----derivatives of using AI is also prohibited without express written permission from ASTM’s President. In the case of such use, ASTM will suspend a licensee’s access to and further legal action will be considered. Meetings & | Meetings & & & Standards and Papers & STPs Manuals, Monographs, & of ® (SOP) (TMA) and & & & & and ASTM What is and to to News and & -11. 07 Committee D22 $ 83. 00 In stock Significance and CO2 concentrations have been described and used by some people as an indicator of indoor air quality. These uses have included both appropriate and inappropriate interpretations of indoor CO2 concentrations. Appropriate uses include estimating expected levels of occupant comfort in terms of human body odor, studying occupancy patterns, investigating the levels of contaminants that are related to occupant activity, and screening for the sufficiency of ventilation rates relative to occupancy. Inappropriate uses include the application of simple relationships to determine outdoor air ventilation rates per person from indoor CO2 concentrations without verifying the assumptions upon which these relationships are based, and the interpretation of indoor CO2 concentrations as a comprehensive indicator of indoor air quality. Outdoor air ventilation rates affect contaminant levels in buildings and building occupants' perception of the acceptability of the indoor environment. Minimum rates of outdoor air ventilation are specified in building codes and indoor air quality standards, for example, 62. The compliance of outdoor air ventilation rates with relevant codes and standards are often assessed as part of indoor air quality investigations in buildings. The outdoor air ventilation rate of a building depends on the size and distribution of air leakage sites, pressure differences induced by wind and temperature, mechanical system operation, and occupant behavior. Given all of this information, ventilation rates are predictable; however, many of these parameters are difficult to determine in practice. Therefore, measurement is required to determine outdoor air change rates reliably. The measurement of CO2 concentrations has been promoted as a means of determining outdoor air ventilation rates per person.

Output: corroborate