Advances in Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Production, Volume 2

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910404081203321
• Autore: Koller Martin
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2020
• ISBN: 3-03928-641-2
• Descrizione fisica: 1 electronic resource (202 p.)
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Sommario/riassunto: Nowadays, we are witnessing highly dynamic research activities related to the intriguing field of biodegradable materials with plastic-like properties. These activities are stimulated by the strengthened public awareness of prevailing ecological issues connected to growing piles of plastic waste and increasing greenhouse gas emissions; this goes hand-in-hand with the ongoing depletion of fossil feedstocks, which are traditionally used to produce full carbon backbone polymers. Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolyesters, a family of plastic-like materials with versatile material properties, are increasing considered to be a future-oriented solution for diminishing these concerns. PHA production is based on renewable resources and occurs in a bio-mediated fashion through the action of living organisms. If accomplished in an optimized way, PHA production and the entire PHA lifecycle are embedded into nature´s closed cycles of carbon. Sustainable and efficient PHA production requires understanding and improvement of all the individual process steps. Holistic improvement of PHA production, applicable on an industrially relevant scale, calls for, inter alia, consolidated knowledge about the enzymatic and genetic particularities of PHA-accumulating organisms, an in-depth understanding of the kinetics of the bioprocess, the selection of appropriate inexpensive fermentation feedstocks, tailoring of PHA composition at the level of its monomeric constituents, optimized biotechnological engineering, and novel strategies for PHA recovery ; from biomass characterized by low energy and chemical requirements. This Special Issue represents a comprehensive compilation of articles in which these individual aspects have been addressed by globally recognized experts.

Animal Narratology

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910557108103321
• Autore: Jacobs Joela
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Basel, Switzerland, : MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2020
• Descrizione fisica: 1 electronic resource (454 p.)
• Soggetti: Research & information: general; Biology, life sciences; Animals & society
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Sommario/riassunto: Animal Narratology interrogates what it means to narrate, to speak—speak for, on behalf of—and to voice, or represent life beyond the human, which is in itself as different as insects, bears, and dogs are from each other, and yet more, as individual as a single mouse, horse, or puma. The varied contributions to this interdisciplinary Special Issue highlight assumptions about the human perception of, attitude toward, and responsibility for the animals that are read and written about, thus demonstrating that just as “the animal” does not exist, neither does “the human”. In their zoopoetic focus, the analyses are aware that animal narratology ultimately always contains an approximation of an animal perspective in human terms and terminology, yet they make clear that what matters is how the animal is approximated and that there is an effort to approach and encounter the non-human in the first place. Many of the analyses come to the conclusion that literary animals ; give readers the opportunity to expand their own points of view both on themselves and others by adopting another’s perspective to the degree that such an endeavor is possible. Ultimately, the contributions call for a recognition of the many spaces, moments, and modes in which human lives are entangled with those of animals—one of which is located within the creative bounds of storytelling.