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Abstract Background The Sto. Niño site in Benguet province, Philippines was once a mining area that has now been transformed into an agricultural land. In this area, there has been significant integration of the three indigenous people (IPs) Ibaloi, Kankanaeys and Kalanguyas with the Ilocano community. These IPs safeguard biodiversity and traditional knowledge, including medicinal plant use. However, the documentation of these plant species and their medicinal applications has not been systematic, with the resultant loss of knowledge across generations. This study aims to document the medicinal and ritual plants used by the indigenous communities at the site, in order to preserve and disseminate traditional medicinal knowledge that would otherwise be lost. Methods Ethnobotanical data were collected in Sto. Niño, Brgy. Ambassador, Municipality of Tublay, Benguet, Philippines, and collected through semi-structured interviews, together with focus group discussions (FGD). A total of 100 residents (39 male and 61 female) were interviewed. Among them, 12 were key interviewees, including community elders and farmers, while the rest were selected through the convenience and snowball technique. Demographic information collected from the interviewees included age, gender, and occupation. Ethnobotanical information collected focused on medicinal plants, including the specific parts of plants used, methods of preparation, modes of treatment, and the types of ailments treated. Ethnobotanical quantitative indices of the relative frequency of citations (RFC) and informant consensus factor (ICF) were calculated to evaluate the plant species that were utilized by the community. Results A total of 28 medicinal plants from 20 different families and 6 ritual plants from 5 different families were documented. Asteraceae, Poaceae, and Lamiaceae (10.71%) family are the most mentioned medicinal plant species, followed by Myrtaceae and Euphorbiaceae (7.14%). The most widely used growth form were herbs (46.4%), while leaves (61.5%) were the most utilized plant part, and the preparation of a decoction (62.2%) was the most preferred method of processing and application. The medicinal plants were most commonly utilized for wound-healing, cough and colds, stomachache and kidney trouble, whereas ritual plants were largely used for healing, protection, and funeral ceremonies. Conclusion This study marks the first report on the medicinal and ritual plants used by a group of indigenous communities in Sto. Niño, Brgy. Ambassador, Tublay, Benguet Province. The data collected show that plant species belonging to the Asteraceae, Poaceae, and Lamiaceae family were the most mentioned and should be further evaluated by pharmacological analysis to assess their wider use for medicinal treatment.

Energy storage systems (ESS) are essential in establishing renewable energy systems. The implementation of ESS, particularly in countries that have only recently begun their shift toward renewable energy, however, is far from fully realized. Hence, this presents an opportunity to compare different types of ESS using the SPELL framework that identifies criteria based on the social, political, economic, legal, and logistic factors that influence the successful implementation of such systems in countries with developing energy infrastructures, and this is explored in the Philippine context. This study proposes a multi-criteria decision-making method built on a hybridized Best-Worst Method, Analytic Network Process, and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (BWM-ANP-DEMATEL) framework, allowing the interdependence in evaluating the importance of criteria such as price perception, public understanding of ESS, legal frameworks, and supply chain readiness to be considered in the design of the model. It was found that the levelized cost under the economic factors is considered as the most critical criterion for implementation based on both BWM-ANP-DEMATEL (w = 0.1565) and BWM (0.2027) only, representing the methods performed with and without considering influence, while perceived health under social factors is the least critical (0.0477, 0.0286). Application of the selection model on various types of ESS showed that battery-based energy storage systems, particularly lithium-ion batteries, are prioritized, followed by pumped hydro storage due to their relatively affordable cost and more widely available infrastructure compared to most other ESS considered in the study. Meanwhile, flywheel storage is the lowest ranked due to lower familiarity and legal framework for its implementation.

Given the growing need to decarbonize the Philippines’ energy sector at a faster pace, nuclear power has reemerged as a well-developed energy solution, serving as a transitional mechanism towards renewable energy. This study thus proposes the AHP-TOPSIS approach to evaluate systematically the low-carbon energy systems feasible in the country. The illustrative case study compares the rehabilitation of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in the Philippines with other low-carbon energy system alternatives, including solar, wind, and natural gas. The proposed Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) framework integrates various quantitative and qualitative factors, such as technological readiness, reliability, cost, environmental impact, public approval, and government policy. Data derived from the System Advisor Modelling software and published sources were analysed, with expert inputs from the academic, commercial, and governmental fields informing the trade-off analysis in the evaluation process. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to assess the robustness of the ranking results from the decision model. Indications suggest that the rehabilitation of BNPP is the most favourable option, primarily due to its strong performance in environmental impact and reliability. This was followed by wind, solar, and LNG, which scored better in technological readiness and social factors. Sensitivity analysis showed the resilience of nuclear power for most scenarios, except for wind in social factors and LNG in technological readiness. Future studies involving new modular nuclear technologies may also utilize this methodology framework to compare against traditional alternatives.

Abstract While technologies for multiplexed imaging have provided an unprecedented understanding of tissue composition in health and disease, interpreting this data remains a significant computational challenge. To understand the spatial organization of tissue and how it relates to disease processes, imaging studies typically focus on cell-level phenotypes. However, images can capture biologically important objects that are outside of cells, such as the extracellular matrix. Here, we describe a pipeline, Pixie, that achieves robust and quantitative annotation of pixel-level features using unsupervised clustering and show its application across a variety of biological contexts and multiplexed imaging platforms. Furthermore, current cell phenotyping strategies that rely on unsupervised clustering can be labor intensive and require large amounts of manual cluster adjustments. We demonstrate how pixel clusters that lie within cells can be used to improve cell annotations. We comprehensively evaluate pre-processing steps and parameter choices to optimize clustering performance and quantify the reproducibility of our method. Importantly, Pixie is open source and easily customizable through a user-friendly interface.

Abstract Cellular organization and functions encompass multiple scales in vivo. Emerging high-plex imaging technologies are limited in resolving subcellular biomolecular features. Expansion Microscopy (ExM) and related techniques physically expand samples for enhanced spatial resolution, but are challenging to be combined with high-plex imaging technologies to enable integrative multiscaled tissue biology insights. Here, we introduce Expand and comPRESS hydrOgels (ExPRESSO), an ExM framework that allows high-plex protein staining, physical expansion, and removal of water, while retaining the lateral tissue expansion. We demonstrate ExPRESSO imaging of archival clinical tissue samples on Multiplexed Ion Beam Imaging and Imaging Mass Cytometry platforms, with detection capabilities of > 40 markers. Application of ExPRESSO on archival human lymphoid and brain tissues resolved tissue architecture at the subcellular level, particularly that of the blood-brain barrier. ExPRESSO hence provides a platform for extending the analysis compatibility of hydrogel-expanded biospecimens to mass spectrometry, with minimal modifications to protocols and instrumentation.

This paper proposes a novel problematique analysis to understand the barriers in adopting blockchain-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) in smart cities. The method integrates the Bayesian best-worst method (BWM) with the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique and Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM). The BWM is used to rank barriers based on their perceived urgency from the group of experts, while the integrated DEMATEL-ISM approach provides a structural model to capture the problem complexity, showcasing the interrelationships among the identified barriers through causal diagrams and hierarchical digraphs. This combination allows for a comprehensive metric to rank each barrier, considering both its inherent sense of urgency and its importance from strength of influence over other barriers. A numerical example is presented using a case study in Phnom Penh, Cambodia where the respondents highlight crucial barriers such as the inadequate government policy and regulatory framework on wider adoption of blockchain-IoT solutions as it drives interrelated challenges on scalability, interoperability, and integration of these technologies, and sustainability due to lack of financing and private investments. Through this transparent and systematic approach, policymakers and stakeholders can gain valuable insights to develop effective strategies or interventions for successful adoption of blockchain-based IoT in smart cities in line with Society 5.0 vision.

Several issues related to designing and operating wastewater and sanitation systems have become more complex in emerging economies like the Philippines. The challenge of such sustainable wastewater management or a lack thereof is characterized by interrelated political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors where rapidly growing population and urbanization are exacerbating the challenges. The selection of the most appropriate technique to assess the system’s current state and design a resilient and sustainable wastewater system is deemed necessary. This paper aims to provide a PRISMA-guided systematic review to synthesize and analyse the existing literature on the application of planning models to wastewater management systems. A comprehensive search of relevant databases, such as Scopus and Google Scholar, is applied to identify initially relevant studies. A total of 3178 studies were identified from the search for the last 15 years (2007-2022) using the keywords “planning model” AND "wastewater management systems" OR “planning models” AND “wastewater management” OR “waste_water management.” The result of the systematic review shows limited planning methodologies that could address uncertainty in the design of wastewater management systems.

In the midst of growing concern about global warming, which has become of great importance more than ever, a concerted international effort is needed to limit the temperature rise to around 1.5 degrees Celsius. To mitigate the worst impact of climate change, a global effort to achieve net zero by 2050 is a must, which is essential to cut the emissions to close to zero while the rest is captured from the atmosphere. This ambitious goal would not be possible without proper coordination and active participation from the waste management sector and industries, which significantly contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions. It is necessary that the net zero is aligned with all the actors to cover the scope of controlling emissions occurring at the source and emissions associated with the production of energy consumed by the industry. This also includes the indirect emissions derived from the industry's activities from sources that are not managed by the industry itself. It is understood that at this global scale, the collection of data, processing, and analytics to reach the targeted net zero becomes nearly impossible for humans to handle. The application of artificial intelligence (AI), especially machine learning and deep learning, among other subsets, could be instrumental in collecting, processing, and analysing big data in real-time with automation and optimisation and elucidating trends and patterns of emission and waste generation from industries, to name a few. This study aims to systematically assess and map the research trend, potentials of AI toward accomplishing net zero, and barriers to AI application in pollution reduction and waste management. This systematic review and mapping as complementary approaches could offer vital insights for further decision-making among inter-governmental agencies.

Cement manufacturing is an energy-intensive industry and is the third largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter accounting for 8 % of the world’s total emissions. There are mitigations to limit its carbon footprint through process optimization and using alternatives to fossil-derived fuels. Another technological option to meet the higher carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction target is carbon capture. The post-combustion process is considered the most straightforward and widely studied among carbon capture technologies (CCTs) in advanced stages of development for industrial application. However, the progress of CCTs on an industrial scale has been hindered by low profitability due to the high capital necessary to upscale the technology and retrofit industrial plants. Sales from utilizing the captured CO2 and carbon taxing and trading benefit the application of these technologies. This paper proposes a methodology built from the P-graph and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to aid in the planning of retrofitting cement plants with post-CCTs in a cap-and-trade environment utilizing an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Three alternative post-combustion technologies were considered, namely monoethanolamine (MEA) absorption technology, chilled ammonia process (CAP), and membrane-assisted liquefaction (MEM). The criteria used to prioritize alternatives are the net CO2 avoided, profitability, and the retrofitability of the technology to an existing plant. The results suggest that CAP is the most profitable based on P-graph calculation. However, MEA is the most optimal network considering the importance of net CO2 avoided and the level of retrofitability. Further sensitivity analysis of the model shows that CAP is the most applicable technology once the profitability score exceeds 0.8341. CAP and MEA will have an equal ranking at a retrofitability score of 0.0632. More than this score, the latter outranked the other two technologies. Finally, MEM surpassed CAP and MEA at a minimum net CO2 avoided score of 0.7079.

Multiplex imaging is a powerful tool to analyze the structural and functional states of cells in their morphological and pathological contexts. However, hypothesis testing with multiplex imaging data is a challenging task due to the extent and complexity of the information obtained. Various computational pipelines have been developed and validated to extract knowledge from specific imaging platforms. A common problem with customized pipelines is their reduced applicability across different imaging platforms: Every multiplex imaging technique exhibits platform-specific characteristics in terms of signal-to-noise ratio and acquisition artifacts that need to be accounted for to yield reliable and reproducible results. We propose a pixel classifier-based image preprocessing step that aims to minimize platform-dependency for all multiplex image analysis pipelines. Signal detection and noise reduction as well as artifact removal can be posed as a pixel classification problem in which all pixels in multiplex images can be assigned to two general classes of either I) signal of interest or II) artifacts and noise. The resulting feature representation maps contain pixel-scale representations of the input data, but exhibit significantly increased signal-to-noise ratios with normalized pixel values as output data. We demonstrate the validity of our proposed image preprocessing approach by comparing the results of two well-accepted and widely-used image analysis pipelines.

Natural fiber reinforcement in cementitious matrices is being explored to provide an environment-friendly solution for lowering the overall carbon footprint of construction materials while giving the matrix much-needed tensile strength. Short bamboo fibers extracted from Bambusa blumeana or Kawayan tinik using 5% sodium hydroxide solution and treated with 10% aluminum sulfate solution are used to reinforce zero-cement geopolymer mortars. Bamboo fibers with varying lengths of 10 mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm are mixed with mill-scale – fly ash-based geopolymer in varying 0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2% fiber loading per weight of specimen sample. Compressive strength and split tensile strength tests are administered to small cylinder samples, 50 mm in diameter by 100 mm in height, in accordance with ASTM C780. An optimum fiber length of 20 mm and fiber loading of 1.4% by weight is determined using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The addition of bamboo fibers increased the unconfined compressive strength up to 292.41% compared to specimens without bamboo fibers. The split tensile strength also improved by up to a 355.82% increase compared to control samples. The corresponding high-strength and low-strength samples are also subjected to Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy – Attenuated Total Reflectance (FTIR-ATR) to investigate and compare the stretching of bands between the raw materials and tested specimens. Scanning Electron Microscopy – Energy Dispersive X-Ray analysis (SEM-EDX) is used to show microscopic images and the elements present in the selected samples. The implications of the results on the material development of bamboo fiber-reinforced geopolymer mortar for construction are discussed.

The rehabilitation of legacy mines continues to be a big challenge because of the difficulties in returning them to safe and stable conditions and ensuring that the mined-out areas become productive to support the economic activity of the host community. Previous efforts are often focused on purely technical and environmental aspects, leading to resistance from the local community due to their exclusion from the rehabilitation process. To address the issues associated with legacy mines and lack of participation of the community, we have developed a project, Biodiversity Positive Mining For The Net Zero Challenge (Bio + Mine), focusing on the abandoned Sto. Niño copper mine (Benguet, Philippines). The mine was closed in 1982 without a plan involving local stakeholders and leaving a significant ongoing negative legacy. Using the social-ecological-technological system framework, we will explore the intersections of the structure and functions of socio-economicdemographic, ecological, and technological data useful in devising a more inclusive mitigation strategy for the reconstruction of the supporting ecosystem. We aim to develop a site-specific system, underpinned by the local community's knowledge and practices, that can be a model for wider implementation in other legacy and active mines worldwide.

This study explored self-healing in geopolymer mortar cured at ambient temperature using polypropylene fibers and bacterial co-cultures of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus megaterium. Damage degree, compressive strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), strength-regain percentage, and self-healing percentage were evaluated. A full factorial design was used, which resulted in an eight-run complete factorial design with four levels in the first factor (polypropylene content: 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, and 0.75%) and two levels in the second factor (bacteria concentration: 0 (without) and 1 (with)). The results indicate that increasing the polypropylene fiber content enhanced strength regains up to 199.97% with 0.75% fibers and bacteria. The bacteria alone improved strength-regain percentages by 11.22% through mineral precipitation. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed no interaction between fibers and bacteria, but both independently improved the compressive strength. Only bacterial samples exhibited positive self-healing, ranging from 16.77 to 147.18%. The analysis using a scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) also revealed greater calcite crystal formation in bacterial samples, increasing the strength-regain and self-healing percentages. The results demonstrate that polypropylene fibers and bacteria cultures could substantially enhance the strength, durability, and self-healing percentage of geopolymer mortars. The findings present the potential of a bio-based self-healing approach for sustainable construction and repair materials.

The study evaluated the bioactive components and antioxidant properties of sugarcane phenolic extracts (SCPE) against lipid oxidation in raw ground pork and beef during refrigerated storage conditions. Results showed that SCPE has a high total phenolic content of 35.9 g GAE/100 g sample majority of which are vanillic (799.77 mg/100 g), sinapic (434.38 mg/100 g), and coumaric (342.37 mg/100 g) acids. These phenolic compounds exhibited strong radical scavenging activities against DPPH (191.00 mg TE/g) and ABTS (359.80 mg TE/g) radical, ferric reducing capacity (97.80 mg TE/g), and lipid peroxidation inhibition (120.20 mg TE/g) activities which are comparable to BHT. Supplementation of SCPE at 400 mg/kg fresh weight of ground pork and ground beef improved the antioxidant activities of meat samples, leading to the delay in TBARS formation, lower reduction in heme iron content, and minimal increase in metmyoglobin content during 14-day refrigerated storage as compared to BHT-treated and control. Moreover, the redness of meat was preserved in SCPE- and BHT-treated samples as measured by a* color value. Correlation heat maps showed that TBARS, metmyoglobin, and ΔE are positively correlated with each other, and at the same time showed negatively correlated with heme iron and a*. This study revealed that antioxidant extracts from sugarcane presented a positive effect on the oxidative stability of raw ground pork and beef during refrigerated storage.

Centralised wastewater systems are considered as conventional means for wastewater treatment, however, the implementation of large-scale systems and expansion of sewerage networks in developing countries prove to be challenging due to political, social, financial, technical, and environmental factors. Several studies identified decentralised wastewater management (DWM) systems as a promising solution due to its benefits including resource recovery for energy and agricultural applications. The successful implementation of DWM systems in developing countries contributes to the main objective of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 6 which is to provide basic sanitation access to all. A low carbon society can also be promoted through energy recovery from wastes and reducing energy requirement in the transport and handling of wastewater and sludge. The paper provides an overview of the barriers and potential resource recovery and reuse applications to implement decentralised wastewater management systems in developing countries. The initial review showed that there are existing technologies already used for resource recovery such as anaerobic systems for biogas production, nature-based systems for crop cultivation and water reuse, and mechanised systems like moving bed bioreactors for wastewater treatment and reuse. However, developing countries are faced with several barriers in the planning and implementation of sustainable wastewater management systems. The information from the literature review is used as a guide to determine interventions for key barriers and to draft a policy guidance manual on technology selection for decision-makers in the Philippi

Patwa, Yamashita et al. utilize multiplexed imaging to demonstrate that profiling cell-to-cell interactions in the microenvironment can reveal predictors of recurrence and overall survival in triple-negative breast cancer, especially highlighting the relevance of immunoregulatory proteins. The authors also use multivariate analysis to provide additional prognostic information compared to clinical variables.

Proper radioactive waste management is one of the many critical factors for a successful and safe nuclear power program. Technologies to contain such waste must be available to reduce the environmental burden attributed to the nuclear power plant and ensure public safety. Engineered or technical barriers for nuclear waste disposal have commonly employed cementitious materials for long-term containment in surface and underground geological radioactive waste repositories. One of the promising emerging materials that can be used as an alternative is the geopolymer. This is an emerging cementitious material with lower embodied energy and carbon footprint compared to conventional Portland cement-based materials. This study aims to assess the scope of the extent, range, and nature of research activity around geopolymer and radioactive waste management. The results revealed geopolymer can be an alternative material for immobilization and encapsulation of radioactive waste. Moreover, understanding the chemistry and the mechanism of how radioactive wastes are bounded to the matrix is necessary to aid in evaluating the long-term performance of such an alternative.

Energy storage can help in solving the problem of intermittency associated with renewable energy as well as provide a reliable and stable energy supply in the transition to a low carbon society. Energy storage technologies (EST) that are available in the market and in the process of development have their specific strengths and weaknesses. The selection of an EST for a specific application requires the evaluation of its various characteristics. The development of sustainable energy storage necessitates a multi-criteria approach and robust decision support systems. The factors to consider in selecting the best EST from multiple alternatives are energy density, specific energy, cycle efficiency, power density, specific power, technology readiness level (TRL), power/energy capital cost, and lifespan. This study proposes a fuzzy multicriteria decision-making method in a multi-agent environment. A consensus measure is incorporated in the decision model where the evaluation of criteria or alternatives is vague or imprecise. A case study is presented to demonstrate the use of such ranking methodologies which could guide decision-makers in selecting the best EST for stationary power application.

Water security is one of the pressing challenges in sustainable cities of the future as the demand for freshwater increases along with the environmental stresses caused by climate change. For example, Metro Manila, Philippines, experienced a water crisis brought by increasing demand and lasting impacts of climate change in 2019. In response, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), together with its water concessionaires, Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad), and Manila Water Company, Inc. (Manila Water), laid out a water infrastructure plan to bridge the water deficit. However, the decision-making process can be iterative and participatory characterized by uncertainty. This study thus proposed decision-making framework to explore the possibility of alternative sustainable water supply networks in Metro Manila through P-graph and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Alternatives considered were saltwater desalination, rainwater harvesting, and non-revenue water (NRW) recovery. A sustainable network was defined as having low operational (OPEX) and capital expenses (CAPEX), high water security, and low global warming potential (GWP). Relative weights of sustainability, derived through AHP, showed that water security was the most important sustainability criterion among the surveyed experts in water supply construction and operations. P-graph simulations yielded optimal and near-optimal solutions indicating the possibility of not including the controversial water supply infrastructure project (Kaliwa dam) as a prioritized management option. Instead, sustainable supply networks relied on desalination, rainwater harvesting, and NRW recovery are identified as the main components of the optimal water supply network. Overall, the study suggests that better planning and accounting for sustainability is needed to identify and implement projects that do not only serve the short-term needs but also integrate well into the long-term plans.

Understanding the resources nexus such as food, energy, water, and land will play a crucial role in our progress towards sustainability and resilience. For example, food production is the main driver behind the excessive global use of mineral fertilisers. Though these fertilisers provide critical nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous, they also contribute significantly to the carbon footprint and embodied energy of the agri-food systems. In addition, these nutrients from agricultural runoff and sewage may also pollute and cause dead zones in our water bodies. On the one hand, phosphorous scarcity and food security could also pose an existential risk against the backdrop of feeding ten billion people by 2050. One emerging sustainability pathway is the green circular bioeconomy that encourages nutrient recycling from biowastes such as that agricultural waste, food waste, and domestic wastewater.

Geopolymer is an emerging material that is known to have excellent properties. Numerous applications of geopolymer have been reported in various studies, for example, in the construction and building sector, nuclear waste management, and wastewater treatment industry. It gains popularity in the wastewater treatment sector as it can effectively adsorb pollutants (e.g., heavy metals). However, the performance of this material varies depending on different factors such as the type of precursors, mix formulation, process conditions, etc. Moreover, optimal selection should also consider the potential environmental impact and safety to the general public before field application. The utilization of coal fly ash and other potential material was investigated to develop a pervious geopolymer. In this study, selection of optimized geopolymer mix for heavy metal removal using TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) and AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) with a spherical fuzzy approach was employed. An illustrative case study is presented for the proposed decision modeling technique in optimally selecting pervious geopolymer mix.

The increasing number of proposed technologies for the active treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD) raises a problem for decision-makers during the selection process. Selecting the optimum treatment technology requires extensive analysis to determine the best possible treatment based on multiple and often conflicting criteria. The introduction of multi-decision criteria analysis (MCDA) provides a systematic approach to problem-solving based on both quantitative and qualitative data. In this study, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) as an MCDA tool was used to select the optimum treatment option for AMD in a local copper mining site in the Philippines. Three treatment technologies were found to be the most applicable – a combination of Conventional Lime Neutralization and Sulfidogenic Bioreactor (CLN + SB), High-Density Sludge (HDS) Process, and a combination of Two-Step Neutralization Ferrite Formation and Sulfidogenic Bioreactor (TSNFF + SB). Three criteria – technical, economic, and environmental – and eight sub-criteria were used to evaluate and analyze the three alternatives systematically. The overall ranking of the alternatives was TSNFF + SB > HDS > CLN + SB. However, sensitivity analysis showed that HDS was the most stable treatment technology when equal weights were given for each criterion. Implications from this study could provide a more reliable information for possible technology adoption to sustainably address problems on AMD which is one of the leading global environmental problems today.

Water scarcity is one of the pressing challenges that we are facing as the demand for freshwater increases more than twice the rate of human population growth. As environmental stress of climate change and pollution of freshwater sources are exacerbated by rapid urbanization, there is also a growing interest in developing low-cost technologies to increase the water filtration and desalination capacity in water-scarce regions. For example, the inorganic filtration type of membranes is reported to be advantageous over the polymer-based filtration system in terms of high-temperature stability, low maintenance requirement, and fouling resistance. Thus, this study investigates the potential of cement-structured zeolite produced from corn stover ash to serve as the membrane for the electrodialysis (ED) desalination system. Response surface method was applied using the central composite design to determine the optimal value of sodium ion removal as a function of cement binder-zeolite ratio of 85:15, applied ED voltage of 15 V, and the number of stacked cell pairs of 3. The optimization of the ED desalination system indicates that utilizing synthetic zeolite A from corn stover ash into a zeolite composite membrane is effective at removing sodium ions from the prepared salt solution, yielding an 80.7 percent removal efficiency.

A water poverty index (WPI) is a multi-criterion indicator that assesses water stress and scarcity that integrates the physical estimates of water availability with the socioeconomic drivers of poverty. However, the decision-making process can be a participatory, iterative process that is characterized by uncertainty due to ambiguity, impreciseness, or incomplete information. This study focuses on the development of a fuzzy ranking index based on the T-Spherical Fuzzy Set under a multi-criteria framework. An illustrative case study on measuring the WPI is presented in the ranking of the vulnerability of a municipality, in tLuzon Island, Philippines. In this assessment, the main contributors to water poverty in the area include water availability, lack of access to safe water and capacity to manage the development of water sources. This linguistic approach to score indicators was found appealing and took into consideration the uncertainty in assigning linguistic assessments by participants. There remain other aspects of the decision-making process that can be improved such as compositing several sub-indicators of each WPI; building consensus among multi-stakeholders and using the same process to rank alternatives to reduce water poverty.

Hydrogen has been attracting interest as a clean and potentially sustainable energy vector for a multisectoral transition toward low-carbon emissions-based systems and economies. Recent trends in developing a hydrogen economy highlight the importance of hydrogen solid-state storage, along with production, distribution, and utilization. For purposes of storage, ongoing research efforts have considered several nanoporous materials such as carbonaceous materials, metal-organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, zeolites, inter-metallic hydrides, and others as promising materials. In this study, metal organic frameworks, carbonaceous materials, metal hydrides, and complex hydrides were evaluated using the fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (FMCDM) technique to identify the optimal material in terms of surface area, capacity, dehydrogenation temperature, and stability for hydrogen storage. The method combined both quantitative and qualitative criteria in the decision structure wherein linguistic assessment under uncertainty is integrated into the decision model. A novel approach is proposed utilizing a normal distribution for the degree of indeterminacy in the linguistic scale. An illustrative case study is presented to rank the said materials for hydrogen solid-state storage. Results indicate that metal organic frameworks are the best alternative attributed to their relatively high surface area and excellent dehydrogenation temperature, while metal hydrides are the worst attributed to their relatively low surface area and sorption capacity. Sensitivity analysis was performed wherein a new approach to quantify ranking invariance and robustness is also introduced. Higher robustness values can be acquired by screening specific materials with tighter assessment virtues for selection or by narrowing down the domain of weights.

By 2030, more than two-thirds of the global population will live in an urban environment, and an additional 70 M or more are projected to live in ASEAN cities. Sustainable urbanization will thus play an important role in the green economic growth of the ASEAN region, including Phnom Penh City, i.e., one of Southeast Asia's newest commercial hubs. However, rapid urbanization poses many prominent challenges such as waste management, energy management, and other environmental stresses that may lead to unsustainability. With the emergence of the fourth industrial revolution, building smart cities is an opportunity to embed and leverage technologies such as blockchain to promote sustainability, innovation, and inclusivity. Hence, this study focuses on understanding the problematique of blockchain adoption in the waste management sector through a systematic problem analysis using a novel T-Spherical Neutrosophic Fuzzy DEMATEL method. Potential barriers are identified through literature review and expert opinion. Linguistic assessments from the group of experts are aggregated to elucidate the causal map of the problematique. These present findings underscore the need for policy intervention to attract the initial capital investment for the physical blockchain infrastructure and strengthen the implementation of the legal framework of data privacy. Public awareness to increase the market acceptance of blockchain technology and the development of trustful cybersecurity systems are of great necessity. Further investigation should be done to understand how to attract the initial capital investment in high-tech industries by systematically analyzing the interaction among barriers in Cambodia's new context of science, technology, and innovation development.

vincent_pilien@dlsu.edu.phFrom past decades since Joseph Davidovits introduced geopolymer, this innovative green technology as alternative for cement mortar have been studied and proven its strength, effectiveness, and potential to many applications. Likewise, crack proneness due to lack of reinforcement, occurrence of efflorescence and curing methods are issues on geopolymer. This paper focused on the effects of treated banana fibres (BF) using 4 % sodium hydroxide (NaOH) soaked within 2, 4 and 6 h which served as reinforcement on the geopolymer mortar with different parameters to eliminate macro cracks and two curing methods were used to address efflorescence. Fiber reinforced geopolymer mortar (FRGM) can lessen the massive utilization of conventional construction materials due to sustainability of geopolymer and provide crack bridging in the matrix. Compressive and split tensile strength test of geopolymer cube and cylinder samples for burlap and saran wrapped method of ambient curing were determined using universal testing machine (UTM). The flowability, weight loss of samples during curing period and the occurrence of efflorescence were observed as well. In Design Mixture - 1 (DM1), there are 13-design mixtures (DM) with 5 - 50x50x50 mm cubes and 5 -100x200 mm cylinder specimens each reinforced with BF while 8 DMs for DM1 are plain geopolymer mortar (PGM) to obtain the mixture with the highest compressive and split tensile strength for both FRGM and PGM. FRGM and PGM with the highest mechanical strength are further explored reinforcing with treated and untreated BFs. Mechanical strengths, flowability, efflorescence and weight loss of samples were recorded. The optimum FRGM shows that there is no significant difference in compressive and split tensile strength when reinforced with 4 % NaOH treated within 2 and 6 h compared to 4 h of treatment which has the highest strengths. Finally, the governing BF with 4 % NAOH treated within 4 h was used to reinforce the PGM to investigate the strength variation provided by BFs which gave up to 22.43 % increment in terms of compressive strength.

The rapid urbanization in major cities, e.g., Phnom Penh, Cambodia, increases the concern for the integrated waste management of municipal solid waste and sewage as a social responsibility toward the public welfare. While high-income countries are gearing toward integrating waste management into the circular economy, low-to-middle income countries are still facing various challenges ranging from infrastructure investment to societal acceptance. Despite all barriers, mining the potential opportunity from the circular economy framework in waste management in terms of nutrient recycling from bio-wastes such as food waste and human excreta is yet to be explored; the difficulty and complexity in co-managing the urban bio-wastes anchor in switching from linear to circular thinking. This study aims to understand the barriers to implementing such co-management of organic waste and human excreta in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, using the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) methodology. The results show that the lack of regulatory enforcement and implementation to control the illegal disposal of municipal solid waste and septage waste is the key cause barrier. The highly linked barrier is the lack of appropriate collection, storage, and treatment system for municipal solid waste and septage waste. Thus, this study could provide insights into developing actionable policy recommendations to solve the issue of waste management while achieving SDG goals and exploring the benefit of a circular economy in Cambodia.

Building insulation materials play an important role in improving the energy efficiency of the construction and building sector. These insulation materials may also have environmental impacts attributed to the use of non-renewable raw materials and fossil-based energy consumption. Waste valorization provides an opportunity to use secondary materials for these building insulation materials. Thus, the selection of sustainable building insulation materials should not only consider the thermal properties such as heat and fire resistance but also environmental factors, among others. This paper proposes a decision modeling approach to optimally select the appropriate building insulation material even at the early design stage where the level of uncertainty will be high. The decision model integrates the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) with spherical fuzzy sets to model ambiguous human opinion during the evaluation process. A case study is presented to illustrate the method in the prioritization of the insulation materials that include the use of waste materials and geopolymer. Indication suggests a foamed coal fly ash-based geopolymer is ranked 1st among the insulation materials being considered as it performs better in terms of thermal capacitance, embodied carbon and fire rating.

The development of environmentally friendly construction materials is stimulated by the need for construction with a minimal carbon footprint. The development includes the usage of abundant industrial wastes such as Mill Scale waste (MS) and Fly-ash (FA) to replace Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) concrete which greatly contributes to the reduction of carbon emission. The MS waste produced from rolling mills of steel bars can be used as partial replacement for FA based geopolymer mix. In this study, partial replacement of 20 %, 30 % and 40 % MS by weight of low calcium (Class F) FA for developing geopolymer paste with varying sodium hydroxide-to-sodium silicate (NaOH-to-WG) ratio of 1:2.5, 1:2 and 1:1, in 50 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm cube specimens were tested under unconfined compressive strength (UCS) test to evaluate their mechanical performance. It is observed that the specimens with 20 % MS-to-FA ratio and 1:2.5 NaOH-to-WG ratio gives the higher UCS value. The setting time of the geopolymer mixes is also recorded to show its relationship to the varying design mixes. Regression models are generated through Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to provide coefficients in obtaining desired UCS values.

There is utmost urgency to decarbonize the various industry sectors to keep the global temperature increase within adaptable levels. The P-graph framework is a tool that can support the network design and optimization of new and integrated decarbonization and carbon management systems. An advantage of the P-graph is the capability to determine optimal and near-optimal network solutions that aid decision-making. P-graph is commonly applied in planning supply chain networks and designing reaction pathways and mechanisms but can also be used in designing and optimizing systems to reduce carbon emissions. This work surveys the P-graph literature on decarbonization and Carbon Management Networks (CMNs). Bibliometric analysis is used to identify the trends, knowledge gaps, and potential future research areas. P-graph studies related to biomass and renewable energy are dominant research areas in this sub-area of study. Emerging topics include bio-hydrogen renewable energy, Negative Emissions Technologies (NETs), and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). Trend analysis suggests that P-graph approaches to biorefineries, product design, uncertainty, and risk analysis will continue to grow. Other combined techniques with P-graph such as the use of sustainability indicators, reliability and criticality analysis, multi-criterion decision analysis (MCDA), Life Cycle Optimization (LCO), and Monte Carlo simulation extend the capabilities of P-graph. A knowledge gap exists in P-graph approaches to green ammonia, solar, hydroelectric, and other renewable energy sources and products, which points to potential research opportunities.

This study investigates the strategies for learning Cantonese that are adopted by non-Chinese English-speaking ethnic minority (EM) university students in Hong Kong. The aim is to identify the challenges these students face in applying their strategies to learn Cantonese and to explore their learning experiences when implementing them. Drawing on questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews with 30 EM students at a university in Hong Kong, this study identifies these learners’ strategies, elicits their views on the use of these strategies and examines their learning experiences. The findings suggest that EM students are “medium strategy users,” with social strategies being their most commonly used types of learning strategies, followed by compensation and metacognitive strategies. The more proficient Cantonese users tend to use metacognitive strategies that promote planning and are goal-oriented. Taken together, this study sheds light on the complex interplay of sociocultural variables in shaping EM university students’ Cantonese learning experience in Hong Kong. It also highlights the importance of analysing EM students’ linguistic repertoire and the local language ecology in understanding Cantonese learning in a multilingual context like Hong Kong.

Carbon footprint analysis of geopolymer concrete can be used to determine its advantages over conventional Portland cement concrete. However, the influence of allocation assumptions has been neglected in previous geopolymer life cycle assessment studies. This research gap is addressed here through an analysis of the effect of allocation scenarios in the assessment of self-healing geopolymer concrete made from coal fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag feedstocks. In addition, an empirical, variable-mix “gray box” model was integrated into the life cycle assessment to allow different blends that meet product property specifications to be considered. The cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment was done using OpenLCA and MS Excel, using inventory data from databases and literature. The allocation assumptions are found to significantly affect the results, with carbon footprints ranging from 208.72 kg eq. CO2 to 395.72 kg eq. CO2 per cubic meter of concrete. Using allocation based on economic value, the price of coal fly ash has a greater effect than that of ground granulated blast furnace slag. The implications of this result on the commercial use of geopolymer concrete are discussed, as well as the potential application of the “gray box” approach as a generic methodology in life cycle assessment.

Old structures that are made of adobe or brick walls are usually unreinforced and not designed for lateral forces. In-plane loads applied to unreinforced masonry walls (URM) are the usual cause of damage and failure of old buildings. In this research, small unreinforced brick masonry wallettes, 350 mm × 350 mm and 50 mm in thickness, are strengthened using bamboo fiber textile and plastered to the face of the walls using short bamboo fiber-reinforced geopolymer mortar. The wallettes are subjected to diagonal shear tests as described by ASTM E519 to investigate the in-plane shear performance of the strengthening method. The performances of 5 wallettes strengthened on one-side with mortar only, 5 wallettes on both-sides with mortar only, 5 wallettes with textile plastered on one-side only, and another 5 wallettes with textile plastered on both-sides, are compared to 5 control specimens without any strengthening. It is observed that the wallettes strengthened on one side and both sides with textile yield an increase in shear of about 24% and 35% in average, respectively. Failure modes show that the usual failure for URM is running bond failure and for strengthened URM is columnar failure. The implications of the results can be used in developing textile-reinforced geopolymer mortar systems to strengthen URM walls.

As the world transition towards a low-carbon future through renewable energy, mining of minerals and metals to attain this goal is substantial. The Philippines will play an important role in such global economy as it is the world’s fifth most mineral-rich country. However, their exploitation has not been maximized to benefit society. Benefits from the mineral resources sector remain less than 2 % of the country’s GDP since 2006, and the mining and mineral processing, including abandoned or legacy mines, are perceived negatively by the public. In low- and middle-income countries with weak implementation of mining and environmental legislation, the mining industry still operates in a linear system which is considered unsustainable. The mining, mineral extraction and processing, and metal extraction are designed to maximize profits with little plan on how to effectively manage mine wastes, protect the environment, transform post-mining land for beneficial use and empower impacted communities. This paper, thus, proposes a systems approach toward greener eco-efficient mineral extraction and sustainable land use management (SAGES). This approach will facilitate a paradigm shift, which is necessary to manage the country’s mineral endowments sustainably without compromising future land use of mining areas while at the same time supporting the needs and aspirations of the impacted host communities. It envisions extending the usability of mining areas beyond the life of the mine and integrating circular economy principles in addressing holistically mine waste management problems. The multi-R framework, originally developed in waste management (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) and extended to circular economy strategies, has potential applications in mine waste management in the Philippines. An illustrative case study is then presented that employs a multi-R framework to address the mine waste in an operating Ni-laterite mining site.

Geopolymer, also referred to as “alkali-activated material” or “zeocement”, is an emerging sustainable material to replace Portland cement-based binder. It requires a straightforward process and has the potential for large-scale waste valorisation and utilisation and a lower carbon footprint. Several aluminosilicate materials as geopolymer precursors have been explored, such as coal fly ash and metakaolin, among others. However, the characteristics of raw materials vary depending on the source. Hence, this study aims to synthesise geopolymer composite from raw materials that are available locally. Coal fly ash and nickel laterite mine spoils were explored as a potential geopolymer precursor. Optimal mix formulation of 50 % nickel laterite mine spoils / 50 % coal fly ash, sodium hydroxide to sodium silicate ratio of 1:2, and activator to precursor ratio of 0.44:1 yielded a 28 d compressive strength of 22.1 ± 4.4 MPa and a 180 d compressive strength of 32.3 ± 7.4 MPa. The result implies that this eco-friendly geopolymer material can be potentially used for pedestrian pavers, light traffic pavers, and plain concrete for levelling and structural applications. Before any field-scale application, investigating the leachability of material is imperative. Hence, the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) was employed to evaluate the leachability behaviour of both the raw materials and developed geopolymer composite in this study. The results revealed that the concentration of the trace metals released pose no significant environmental and leaching hazard into the soil, surface, and groundwater sources based on the threshold limit as defined by USEPA.

Reducing the embodied carbon footprint caused by construction projects is being pushed by many countries. One potential solution is the large-scale use of low-carbon building materials like geopolymers (GPs). GPs result from the chemical activation of aluminosilicate materials using an alkaline liquid, resulting in an inorganic polymeric network; it can also allow repurposing of the waste or by-products of industries. The sustainability of this new type of material is assessed here using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This study quantifies the cradle-to-gate environmental impacts of a localized geopolymer process in the Philippines and contrasts the impacts of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). The Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) analysis was performed using OpenLCA software and Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) using IPCC 2013 methodology. LCA results show that GP concrete with an RHA-based activator has a similar Global Warming Potential (GWP) as GP made using a commercial activator. The main contributors to the impacts are the production of the alkali activators, which indicates that the electricity generation mix has a significant influence on the environmental sustainability of GP.

Alternative low-carbon cementitious binders such as geopolymers are rapidly garnering scientific interest to replace Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). Industrial waste by-products such as coal fly ash (CFA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) are usually utilized for this material. Microcapsules can also be added to geopolymers to enhance its self-healing capability as it has potential environmental benefits aside from cost savings. This study thus focuses on the cradle-to-gate LCA of geopolymer concrete containing microcapsules for self-healing. Two different microcapsules were considered: Urea-formaldehyde (UF)/Dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) and Poly(urea-urethane) (PUU)/Alkali-activator (AA). Three different geopolymer precursors were studied: CFA, GGBS and CFA/GGBS. OpenLCA software was used for the calculations and analysis, and the inventory data were obtained from Ecoinvent and OzLCI2019 supplemented by literature data. An impact assessment was carried out using CML 2001. Self-healing geopolymer concrete is better in terms of lower global warming potential but performs worse in other impact categories than conventional OPC concrete. Of the geopolymer concrete assessed, GGBS concrete has the lowest impacts. On the other hand, of the two self-healing microcapsules, UF/DCPD is better for the environment. The primary factor for this difference is the solvent used in microcapsule synthesis. From this result, it has been shown that self-healing GGBS concrete containing UF/DCPD microcapsules has the lowest impacts of the self-healing concrete assessed.

One potential enabling factor in emerging economies toward their transition to the circular economy is promoting public-private partnership (3Ps). Such collaboration will bring about such a systemic transition wherein not only large business entities, but also small and medium enterprises (SMEs) could develop innovative business models following the circular economy principles. However, policymakers need to understand the complex challenges faced by SMEs to create an appropriate supportive policy framework. Interrelationships among barriers in promoting SMEs must be elucidated. This work thus presents the spherical fuzzy extension of the analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) integrated with the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) as a tool for problem analysis to analyze these barriers systematically. A case study in Cambodia to identify the barriers to promoting SMEs through 3Ps is presented. Implications from this study could provide prioritization of the interventions to address these barriers. Thus, such analysis can be used for the development of policy recommendations to promote not only SMEs but also in implementing circular economy through a 3Ps scheme.

Geopolymers are one of the emerging sustainable materials for the building and construction industry. They are inorganic polymers produced from aluminosilicate waste materials such as coal fly ash and have been shown to have a lower carbon footprint as compared with Portland cement. However, geopolymers are a cementitious material like Portland cement-based concrete and are thus brittle and prone to develop cracks. The use of microorganisms has recently been considered as an approach to improve the self-healing capability of geopolymers through microbial-induced calcite precipitation. The application of X-ray microtomography to observe the potential of self-healing of bio-geopolymers is explored in this study. Bio-geopolymers were produced from the alkali activation of coal fly ash and mixed with self-healing agents using a form of biochar-immobilized spores of B. sphaericus and B. thuringiensis. These bio-geopolymers were then scanned using micro-focus XCT to obtain a visualization of the microstructure of the material via a non-destructive 3D imaging technique after self-healing. Coupled with image analysis, quantification of the segmented data allowed further investigation of self-healing through comparison with the other self-healing characterization method.

Vegetable oils can be used as feedstock for the production of a large class of oleochemical products. Unfortunately, price disparities among different kinds of vegetables oils provide an incentive for adulteration by using cheaper substitutes while still claiming otherwise. In this paper, a chemical forensics method for detecting whether or not such an adulteration has been committed is proposed and demonstrated in two case studies, each involving a batch of soap products supposedly produced using 100 % coconut oil and from 75 % coconut oil with 25 % palm oil. The concentration profiles of the fatty acids from soap samples were cross-referenced against known fatty acid concentration fingerprints for coconut oil and for palm oil from the Lipid Handbook through a linear programming model. Executing the model on the sample concentration profiles yielded the back-calculated concentrations of coconut oil and of palm oil used as feedstock with excellent agreement in both cases. The confirmation exhibited in these hypothetical case studies indicates that the procedure can be used in detecting adulteration in other oleochemical products of similar nature, and that the model can be used as a basis in the development of other adulteration detection methods.

Geopolymer has recently gained popularity as an eco-friendly material because of its potential to valorize waste. It is a new class of inorganic material formed upon dissolution of aluminosilicate in the presence of an activating solution. The aluminosilicate minerals become reactive and then form into aluminosilicate oligomers. While most of the study in geopolymer research is focused on cement and concrete industry, it also gained attention as an alternative material for solving environmental pollution in water. This study thus explores the use of combining coal fly ash and bagasse fly ash as the aluminosilicate source to produce pervious geopolymer for the treatment of copper-contaminated water. While coal fly ash (CFA) is a by-product of a coal-fired power plant, bagasse fly ash (BFA) is a waste product of the co-generation plant of sugar mills from burning bagasse. These raw materials were mixed with coarse aggregates and activating solution composed of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate to produce a pervious geopolymer. The effects of the mix proportions of CFA and BFA on the compressive strength, porosity, and permeability of pervious geopolymer were investigated. Moreover, the copper removal efficiency of pervious geopolymer was determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The findings revealed that pervious geopolymer is a promising material that could remove copper at 67–87% efficiency.

Over two billion (109) people have no or limited access to sanitation and more than two-thirds of these unserved people are also found in the rural communities. As still many areas in the Philippines use septic tank systems, most effluent is likely to be discharged without proper treatment and contributes to “nutrient pollution” to water bodies. Those poorly designed or maintained septic tanks may also result in an increased incidence of waterborne diseases in rural areas. Eco-toilet system (ETS) offers an innovative solution for nutrient recovery on a household or community level. Large-scale implementation of eco-toilet systems can contribute towards water footprint reduction and increased availability of nutrients for the cultivation of food crops. Such implementation is challenging as this requires high social acceptance due to the transition from a water-dependent facility to waterless technology. To address this challenge, key social, behavioral, and political barriers are needed to be identified. Influential barriers are needed to be determined and prioritized to increase implementation scale; however, uncertainties are present, and evaluating these barriers will be a problem. In this study, a neutrosophic Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach is used to identify and analyze the barriers to implementing ETS. Neutrosophic sets have been used to represent uncertainties by accounting for incomplete, vague, inconsistent, inaccurate, and subjective data or expert judgment. The uncertainty is addressed by treating responses in terms of their membership, non-membership, and indeterminacy towards the intended meaning of the response. A case study is presented to illustrate the approach.

Current construction developments are trending towards more sustainable practices with greener alternative materials such as geopolymers. Geopolymers are a class of cementitious materials based on inorganic polymers, which are promising substitutes for ordinary Portland cement (OPC). However, studies have shown that geopolymers are more prone to crack propagation, which leads to reduced durability and serviceability. This study assesses the environmental impacts of a method for self-healing in geopolymers. The proposed self-healing method makes use of embedded microcapsules containing alkali-activators in geopolymer concrete. This study aims to quantify the expected additional environmental impacts brought about by adding self-healing microcapsules to geopolymers. Life cycle assessment (LCA) of the self-healing geopolymer is important to justify its use from an environmental viewpoint. The system boundaries for this LCA focuses on a cradle-to-gate perspective. The life-cycle inventory analysis (LCI) was done using databases in the OpenLCA software and literature. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) was carried out using the CML-IA methodology. Self-healing geopolymer concrete was better in global warming potential but worse in other environmental impact categories than conventional OPC concrete. The main contributors of the impacts are the alkali-activator production and the self-healing microcapsules. For microcapsule production, the solvent and the wall-forming monomer are the primary contributors to the assessed environmental impacts. Based on the LCA, areas for improvement of self-healing for geopolymers are also discussed.

Summary: Immune checkpoint blockade using PD-1 inhibition is an effective approach for treating a wide variety of cancer subtypes. While lower gastrointestinal (GI) side effects are more common, upper gastrointestinal adverse events are rarely reported. Here, we present a case of nivolumab-associated autoimmune gastritis. To elucidate the immunology underlying this condition, we leverage multiplexed ion beam imaging by time-of-flight (MIBI-TOF) to identify the presence and proportion of infiltrating immune cells from a single section of biopsy specimen. Using MIBI-TOF, we analyze formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human gastric tissue with 28 labels simultaneously. Our analyses reveal a gastritis characterized by severe mucosal injury, interferon gamma (IFN-γ)-producing gastric epithelial cells, and mixed inflammation that includes CD8 and CD4 T cell infiltrates with reduced expression of granzyme B and FOXP3, respectively. Here, we provide a comprehensive multiplexed histopathological mapping of gastric tissue, which identifies IFN-γ-producing epithelial cells as possible contributors to the nivolumab-associated gastritis.

This study aimed to investigate the unconscious connection between the Visayan gods and goddesses and their sacred animals based on the archives of Felipe Landa Jocano’s Outline of Philippine Mythology, Francisco Demeterio’s Towards a Survey of Philippine Folklore and Mythology, and Luzviminda’s blog Visayan Mythologies of the Philippines. The psychoanalytical frameworks of totemism and the collective unconscious drew connections that delineated the cultural symbolism of the animal to its respective deity and linked it further to the values and spheres each deity imparts on the communities that worship it. Through the lens of this theoretical approach, a deep, direct nature of association was extracted between the gods and their sacred animals. Thus, the pre-colonial Visayan communities viewed their animal neighbors as manifestations or totems of divine power that in turn, governs their affairs. An animal that was defined as sacred formed a very essential component of a deity’s identity, and, in consequence, the identity of his or her mortal believers.

Mass Based Imaging (MBI) technologies such as Multiplexed Ion Beam Imaging by time of flight (MIBI-TOF) and Imaging Mass Cytometry (IMC) allow for the simultaneous measurement of the expression levels of 40 or more proteins in biological tissue, providing insight into cellular phenotypes and organization in situ. Imaging artifacts, resulting from the sample, assay or instrumentation complicate downstream analyses and require correction by domain experts. Here, we present MBI Analysis User Interface (MAUI), a series of graphical user interfaces that facilitate this data pre-processing, including the removal of channel crosstalk, noise and antibody aggregates. Our software streamlines these steps and accelerates processing by enabling real-time and interactive parameter tuning across multiple images.

Geopolymer materials are increasing in scientific interest due to their flexibility in various applications. The geopolymer precursor is a mineral source with reactive Si and Al that is synthesized either mechanically or thermally to improve its cementitious activity. It was found out in previous literature that Nickel-laterite mine waste (NMW) is a prospective geopolymer precursor. However, this potentiality has not been explored in the Philippines, albeit the massive generation of NMW, which is merely dumped as a mining industry downstream process. This paper thus investigates the potential of the NMW as a raw material for geopolymer synthesis. Mechanical activation was performed using a ball mill with the following factors: ball-to-NMW ratio (4:1 and 10:1), mill speed (200 and 500 ​rpm), and grinding duration (30 and 120 minutes). Thermal activation was performed using a furnace treated at temperatures of 600, 700, and 800 ​°C. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) of the mechanical activation shows that a ball-to-NMW ratio of 10:1, mill speed of 443 ​rpm, and grinding duration of 120 minutes achieved optimized leachability of Si and Al. Thermal analysis results showed that NMW could be thermally activated from 600 to 800 ​°C. The results showed that both activation methods enhanced cementitious activity; hence, NMW could be utilized in geopolymer synthesis after thermal and mechanical activations.