Information technology as a change actant in sustainability innovation: Insights from Uppsala

This study investigates the effects of a sustainability initiative in a Swedish municipality viewed through the lens of actor network theory. The focus is on the consequences of committing to the implementation of a reporting and analysis system for IT-supported sustainability. This commitment involves several actor networks, both internal and external to the municipality. The study shows that, to implement successfully a sustainability initiative, a thorough understanding of organizational routines and standards is required to enrol the affected stakeholders. Information systems can play a central role as tools for improving sustainability indicators and routines, thereby constituting important change actants.     

The Scent of the Fly

(Z)-4-undecenal (Z4-11Al) is the volatile pheromone produced by females of the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster. Female flies emit Z4-11Al for species-specific communication and mate-finding. A sensory panel finds that synthetic Z4-11Al has a characteristic flavour, which can be perceived even at the small amounts produced by a single female fly. Since only females produce Z4-11Al, and not males, we can reliably distinguish between single D. melanogaster males and females, according to their scent. Females release Z4-11Al at 2.4 ng/h and we readily sense 1 ng synthetic Z4-11Al in a glass of wine (0.03 nmol/L), while a tenfold concentration is perceived as a loud off-flavour. This corroborates the observation that a glass of wine is spoilt by a single D. melanogaster fly falling into it, which we here show is caused by Z4-11Al. The biological role of Z4-11Al or structurally related aldehydes in humans and the basis for this semiochemical convergence remains yet unclear.     

Wide range three-dimensional roughness measuring system

A wide range three-dimensional roughness measuring system is described. A precision x-y traversing table moves the sample and surface asperity heights are measured with a conventional stylus profilometer. The system can measure an area of $\text{300}\text{mm × 400 mm}$ and divide the area into $\text{5 × 19}{}^9$ different locations. A new plot program which gives a true perspective picture is used, a new way of presenting the bearing area is shown and possibilities for studying exactly the same spot between experiments are given. A method for eliminating the vibrations from the system is also given.     

A clip-on electroosmotic pump for oscillating flow in microfluidic cell culture devices

Recent advances in microfluidic devices put a high demand on small, robust and reliable pumps suitable for high-throughput applications. Here we demonstrate a compact, low-cost, directly attachable (clip-on) electroosmotic pump that couples with standard Luer connectors on a microfluidic device. The pump is easy to make and consists of a porous polycarbonate membrane and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) electrodes. The soft electrode and membrane materials make it possible to incorporate the pump into a standard syringe filter holder, which in turn can be attached to commercial chips. The pump is less than half the size of the microscope slide used for many commercial lab-on-a-chip devices, meaning that these pumps can be used to control fluid flow in individual reactors in highly parallelized chemistry and biology experiments. Flow rates at various electric current and device dimensions are reported. We demonstrate the feasibility and safety of the pump for biological experiments by exposing endothelial cells to oscillating shear stress (up to 5 dyn/cm²) and by controlling the movement of both micro- and macroparticles, generating steady or oscillatory flow rates up to ± 400 μL/min.     

Dempster–Shafer clustering using Potts spin mean field theory

 In this article we investigate a problem within Dempster–Shafer theory where 2 ^q −1 pieces of evidence are clustered into q clusters by minimizing a metaconflict function, or equivalently, by minimizing the sum of weight of conflict over all clusters. Previously one of us developed a method based on a Hopfield and Tank model. However, for very large problems we need a method with lower computational complexity. We demonstrate that the weight of conflict of evidence can, as an approximation, be linearized and mapped to an antiferromagnetic Potts spin model. This facilitates efficient numerical solution, even for large problem sizes. Optimal or nearly optimal solutions are found for Dempster–Shafer clustering benchmark tests with a time complexity of approximately O(N ²log² N). Furthermore, an isomorphism between the antiferromagnetic Potts spin model and a graph optimization problem is shown. The graph model has dynamic variables living on the links, which have a priori probabilities that are directly related to the pairwise conflict between pieces of evidence. Hence, the relations between three different models are shown.     

Pheromone differences between sibling taxaDiachrysia chrysitis (linnaeus, 1758) andD. tutti (Kostrowicki, 1961) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

The noctuid sibling taxaDiachrysia chrysitis s. str. andD. tutti, of yet uncertain taxonomic status, have previously been shown to possess differences in morphology and to be attracted to different mixtures of the two presumed pheromone components (Z)-5-decenyl acetate and (Z)-7-decenyl acetate. TypicalD. tutti males (clearly broken forewing marking) are known to respond to a 2: 100 mixture of the two isomers, whereasD. chrysitis males (unbroken marking) are attracted to a 100: 10 mixture. We investigated female pheromone production and male electroantennographic (EAG) response inDiachrysia families raised in the laboratory from field-collected gravid females. Extracts of individual females from typicalD. tutti andD. chrysitis families were subjected to gas chromatography with simultaneous flame ionization and electroantennographic detection. All females produced mixtures of Z5- and Z7-10:OAc, but femaleD. chrysitis produced predominantly Z5-10:OAc and the antennae of their brothers responded more strongly to the Z5 peak than to the Z7-10:OAc peak, whereas the opposite was true forD. tutti families. The pheromone components were shown to be biosynthesized from hexadecanoic and tetradecanoic acid, respectively by Z11-desaturation followed by chain shortening, reduction, and acetylation. The EAG responses of males trapped with the typicalD. tutti andD. chrysitis blends, as well as with an intermediate blend, were investigated. Males trapped with theD. tutti mixture almost exclusively had a clearly broken wing marking and showed strongest EAG response to Z7-10:OAc. The intermediate blend and theD. chrysitis mixture gave more mixed catches, but with a prevalence of males with an unbroken (or almost unbroken) wing marking and with a higher mean response to Z5-10:OAc. Some males with typicalD. tutti EAG responses were attracted in the field to theD. chrysitis pheromone. In the flight tunnel someD. chrysitis males were attracted also to theD. tutti mixture. This indicates that cross attraction may take place between the two taxa under natural conditions.     

Laser-induced incandescence for soot particle size measurements in premixed flat flames

Measurements of soot properties by means of laser-induced incandescence (LII) and combined scattering-extinction were performed in well-characterized premixed ethylene-air flames. In particular, the possibility of using LII as a tool for quantitative particle sizing was investigated. Particle sizes were evaluated from the temporal decay of the LII signal combined with heat balance modeling of laser-heated particles, and these sizes were compared with the particle sizes deduced from scattering-extinction measurements based on isotropic sphere theory. The correspondence was good early in the soot-formation process but less good at later stages, possibly because aggregation to clusters began to occur. A critical analysis has been made of how uncertainties in different parameters, both experimental and in the model, affect the evaluated particle sizes for LII. A sensitivity analysis of the LII model identified the ambient-flame temperature as a major source of uncertainty in the evaluated particle size, a conclusion that was supported by an analysis based on temporal LII profiles.     

Room temperature wafer bonding of silicon, oxidized silicon, and crystalline quartz

The use of plasma immersion as preparation for room temperature wafer bonding has been investigated. Silicon wafers have been successfully bonded at room temperature after exposure to oxygen or argon plasma. Oxidized silicon wafers and crystalline quartz have been bonded after exposure to oxygen plasma. The bonded interfaces exhibit very high surface energies, comparable to what can be achieved with annealing steps in the range of 600–800°C using normal wet chemical activation before bonding. The high mechanical stability obtained after bonding at room temperature is explained by an increased dynamic in water removal from the bonded interface allowing covalent bonds to be formed. Electrical measurements were used to investigate the usefulness of plasma bonded interfaces for electronic devices.     

Urea complexation for the rapid, ecologically responsible fractionation of fatty acids from seed oil

Urea complex formation is a classic method for fractionating fatty acids from seed and other oils. The method’s simplicity, ease of scaling, and ecological friendliness suggest its reevaluation in regard to modern fractionation challenges. In keeping with this, a simple, quick, inexpensive, robust, and environmentally friendly procedure was developed for reducing the saturated free fatty acid (FFA) content of saponified low-erucic acid rapeseed oil (LEAR). The process involves formation of a homogeneous 65°C solution of FFA and urea in 95% ethanol (5% water), followed by cooling of the resultant urea complex slurry to room temperature. The urea complex and liquid phases are separated by gravity filtration, and the urea isolated in each phase is removed by extraction with 60°C water. Saturated LEAR oil FFA preferentially formed urea complexes easily separated from the noncomplexed, mostly unsaturated FFA, the main product of interest. The effects of single- vs. double-stage fractionations and several other variables (component mass or volume ratios, temperature, ethanol solvent to water ratio) were preliminarily evaluated. Results demonstrated the robustness, reproducibility, and simplicity of the method.     

Behavioral Response of Female Codling Moths, Cydia pomonella, to Apple Volatiles

Apple volatiles stimulated pheromone release, oviposition, and upwind orientation in female codling moths, Cydia pomonella. Green apples increased the percentage of virgin females calling, the duration of female calling, and advanced the onset of egg-laying in gravid females. In a tube olfactometer, both virgin and mated females were more active in the presence of apple volatiles than in clean air. They responded by walking while wing-fanning; mated females showed a stronger attraction response than unmated females.