Explore the vast range of titles available.

During the Great Depression, the proliferation of local taxpayers' associations was dramatic and unprecedented.The justly concerned members of these organizations examined the operations of state, city, and county governments, then pressed local officials for operational and fiscal reforms.

President Biden said on July 29 that the U.S. would not have an “extreme court” as it does right now with an 18-year term limit for Supreme Court justices.

Our study aimed to explore the factors limiting the development of the organic food sector in Poland from the perspective of processing, distributing, and retailing companies. We used a qualitative approach with in-depth semi-structured interviews with the management board representatives of 17 large- and medium-sized enterprises and the owners of 10 small and medium companies. The potential limiting factors, including legal, economic, technological, and environmental factors, were identified by reviewing the corporate and market reports of processing and retailing companies operating in the Polish organic sector. We used a thematic analysis recommended in the literature to analyze qualitative data. The main factors indicated by the managers were the legal concerns, limitations resulting from a lack of constant supply of organic raw materials, and increased competition on domestic and international markets. In addition, business activities in the Polish organic sector were affected by the instability of the financial situation in terms of financial liquidity, adequate cost, capital structure, and credits. The results of the study may be of value for policymakers to ensure sustainable development of the organic food sector in Poland.

Alkaline water electrolysis is a key technology for large-scale hydrogen production powered by renewable energy. As conventional electrolyzers are designed for operation at fixed process conditions, the implementation of fluctuating and highly intermittent renewable energy is challenging. This contribution shows the recent state of system descriptions for alkaline water electrolysis and renewable energies, such as solar and wind power. Each component of a hydrogen energy system needs to be optimized to increase the operation time and system efficiency. Only in this way can hydrogen produced by electrolysis processes be competitive with the conventional path based on fossil energy sources. Conventional alkaline water electrolyzers show a limited part-load range due to an increased gas impurity at low power availability. As explosive mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen must be prevented, a safety shutdown is performed when reaching specific gas contamination. Furthermore, the cell voltage should be optimized to maintain a high efficiency. While photovoltaic panels can be directly coupled to alkaline water electrolyzers, wind turbines require suitable converters with additional losses. By combining alkaline water electrolysis with hydrogen storage tanks and fuel cells, power grid stabilization can be performed. As a consequence, the conventional spinning reserve can be reduced, which additionally lowers the carbon dioxide emissions.

Biofilms have significant potential for value-added biosynthesis in the biotechnology industry and agriculture.Major challenges include mass transfer limitations, genetic regulation, and scale-up.Control of biofilm thickness and cooperative interactions in biofilms increases productive biofilm efficiency.Ecological interactions in mixed-species biofilms can be harnessed to control biofilm productivity and stability.Monitoring and control of biofilms at microscale is needed to advance industrial applications.Biofilms with programmable traits can be designed using synthetic biology tools to overcome mass transfer limitations.Support materials with chemically modified surfaces can improve biofilm attachment, stability, and product yield. Biofilms, complex and structured microbial communities encased within extracellular polymeric substances, represent an emerging area of interest in bioprocesses for the production of value-added chemicals. The properties of biofilms offer potential benefits for productivity and cost efficiency, yet the implementation of pilot- and large-scale productive biofilm processes remains a challenge due to their structural, ecological, metabolic, and physicochemical complexities. This review analyzes the key bottlenecks that limit the application of biofilms in productive bioprocesses, including mass transfer dynamics, ecological interactions, and bioreactor inefficiencies. It also highlights case studies of biofilm-based production and outlines key design principles for next-generation bioreactors. By identifying existing knowledge gaps and technological barriers, we anticipate that this review will facilitate the application of biofilms in industrial bioprocesses. Biofilms, complex and structured microbial communities encased within extracellular polymeric substances, represent an emerging area of interest in bioprocesses for the production of value-added chemicals. The properties of biofilms offer potential benefits for productivity and cost efficiency, yet the implementation of pilot- and large-scale productive biofilm processes remains a challenge due to their structural, ecological, metabolic, and physicochemical complexities. This review analyzes the key bottlenecks that limit the application of biofilms in productive bioprocesses, including mass transfer dynamics, ecological interactions, and bioreactor inefficiencies. It also highlights case studies of biofilm-based production and outlines key design principles for next-generation bioreactors. By identifying existing knowledge gaps and technological barriers, we anticipate that this review will facilitate the application of biofilms in industrial bioprocesses.

• Growth of plants in terrestrial ecosystems is often limited by the availability of nitrogen (N) or phosphorous (P) Liebig’s law of the minimum states that the nutrient in least supply relative to the plant’s requirement will limit the plant’s growth. An alternative to the law of the minimum is the multiple limitation hypothesis (MLH) which states that plants adjust their growth patterns such that they are limited by several resources simultaneously. • We use a simple model of plant growth and nutrient uptake to explore the consequences for the plant’s relative growth rate of letting plants invest differentially in N and P uptake. • We find a smooth transition between limiting elements, in contrast to the strict transition in Liebig’s law of the minimum. At N : P supply ratios where the two elements simultaneously limit growth, an increase in either of the nutrients will increase the growth rate because more resources can be allocated towards the limiting element, as suggested by the multiple limitation hypothesis. However, the further the supply ratio deviates from these supply rates, the more the plants will follow the law of the minimum. • Liebig’s law of the minimum will in many cases be a useful first‐order approximation.

Industrial processes are characterized by energy losses, such as heat streams rejected to the environment in the form of exhaust gases or effluents occurring at different temperature levels. Hence, waste heat recovery (WHR) has been a challenge for industries, as it can lead to energy savings, higher energy efficiency, and sustainability. As a consequence, WHR methods and technologies have been used extensively in the European Union (EU) (and worldwide for that matter). The current paper revisits and reviews conventional WHR technologies, their use in all types of industry, and their limitations. Special attention is given to alternative “new” technologies, which are discussed for parameters such as projected energy and cost savings. Finally, an extended review of case studies regarding applications of WHR technologies is presented. The information presented here can also be used to determine target energy performance, as well as capital and installation costs, for increasing the attractiveness of WHR technologies, leading to the widespread adoption by industry.

This article updates trends from five national U.S. surveys to determine whether the prevalence of activity limitations among the older population continued to decline in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Findings across studies suggest that personal care and domestic activity limitations may have continued to decline for those ages 85 and older from 2000 to 2008, but generally were flat since 2000 for those ages 65-84. Modest increases were observed for the 55- to 64-year-old group approaching late life, although prevalence remained low for this age group. Inclusion of the institutional population is important for assessing trends among those ages 85 and older in particular.

When can we realistically expect ordinary people to check the authoritarian ambitions of elected politicians? An answer to this question is key to understanding the most prominent development in the dynamic of democratic survival since the end of the Cold War: the subversion of democracy by elected incumbents and its emergence as the most common form of democratic breakdown. This article proposes an explanation according to which political polarization undermines the public's ability to serve as a democratic check: In polarized electorates, voters are willing to trade off democratic principles for partisan interests. The article presents evidence that supports this claim; raises questions about the real-world relevance of conventional measures of support for democracy; and highlights the importance of understanding the role that ordinary people play in democratic backsliding.