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1. Change Management using Generative Modeling on Digital Twins

   https://doi.org/10.1109/ISI58743.2023.10297181  

   Das, Nilanjana; Kotal, Anantaa; Roseberry, Daniel; Joshi, Anupam (October 2023, IEEE International Conference on Intelligence and Security Informatics)

   A key challenge faced by small and medium-sized business entities is securely managing software updates and changes. Specifically, with rapidly evolving cybersecurity threats, changes/updates/patches to software systems are necessary to stay ahead of emerging threats and are often mandated by regulators or statutory authorities to counter these. However, security patches/updates require stress testing before they can be released in the production system. Stress testing in production environments is risky and poses security threats. Large businesses usually have a non-production environment where such changes can be made and tested before being released into production. Smaller businesses do not have such facilities. In this work, we show how “digital twins”, especially for a mix of IT and IoT environments, can be created on the cloud. These digital twins act as a non-production environment where changes can be applied, and the system can be securely tested before patch release. Additionally, the non-production digital twin can be used to collect system data and run stress tests on the environment, both manually and automatically. In this paper, we show how using a small sample of real data/interactions, Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) models can be used to generate testing scenarios to check for points of failure. 

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2. Microbial biofilms for electricity generation from water evaporation and power to wearables

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32105-6  

   Liu, Xiaomeng; Ueki, Toshiyuki; Gao, Hongyan; Woodard, Trevor L.; Nevin, Kelly P.; Fu, Tianda; Fu, Shuai; Sun, Lu; Lovley, Derek R.; Yao, Jun (December 2022, Nature Communications)

   Abstract Employing renewable materials for fabricating clean energy harvesting devices can further improve sustainability. Microorganisms can be mass produced with renewable feedstocks. Here, we demonstrate that it is possible to engineer microbial biofilms as a cohesive, flexible material for long-term continuous electricity production from evaporating water. Single biofilm sheet (~40 µm thick) serving as the functional component in an electronic device continuously produces power density (~1 μW/cm 2 ) higher than that achieved with thicker engineered materials. The energy output is comparable to that achieved with similar sized biofilms catalyzing current production in microbial fuel cells, without the need for an organic feedstock or maintaining cell viability. The biofilm can be sandwiched between a pair of mesh electrodes for scalable device integration and current production. The devices maintain the energy production in ionic solutions and can be used as skin-patch devices to harvest electricity from sweat and moisture on skin to continuously power wearable devices. Biofilms made from different microbial species show generic current production from water evaporation. These results suggest that we can harness the ubiquity of biofilms in nature as additional sources of biomaterial for evaporation-based electricity generation in diverse aqueous environments. 

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3. Indoor Vegetable Production: An Alternative Approach to Increasing Cultivation

   https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11212843  

   Ampim, Peter A.; Obeng, Eric; Olvera-Gonzalez, Ernesto (November 2022, Plants)

   As the world’s population is increasing exponentially, human diets have changed to less healthy foods resulting in detrimental health complications. Increasing vegetable intake by both rural and urban dwellers can help address this issue. However, these communities often face the challenge of limited vegetable supply and accessibility. More so, open field vegetable production cannot supply all the vegetable needs because biotic and abiotic stress factors often hinder production. Alternative approaches such as vegetable production in greenhouses, indoor farms, high tunnels, and screenhouses can help fill the gap in the supply chain. These alternative production methods provide opportunities to use less resources such as land space, pesticide, and water. They also make possible the control of production factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide, as well as extension of the growing season. Some of these production systems also make the supply and distribution of nutrients to crops easier and more uniform to enhance crop growth and yield. This paper reviews these alternative vegetable production approaches which include hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics and soilless mixes to reveal the need for exploring them further to increase crop production. The paper also discusses facilities used, plant growth factors, current challenges including energy costs and prospects. 

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4. The role of endoplasmic reticulum stress on reducing recombinant protein production in mammalian cells

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2024.109434  

   Splichal, R Chauncey; Chen, Kevin; Walton, S Patrick; Chan, Christina (October 2024, Biochemical Engineering Journal)

   Chen, W (Ed.)

   Therapeutic recombinant protein production relies on industrial scale culture of mammalian cells to produce active proteins in quantities sufficient for clinical use. The combination of stresses from industrial cell culture environment and recombinant protein production can overwhelm the protein synthesis machinery in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). This leads to a buildup of improperly folded proteins which induces ER stress. Cells respond to ER stress by activating the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR). To restore proteostasis, ER sensor proteins reduce global protein synthesis and increase chaperone protein synthesis, and if that is insufficient the proteins are degraded. If proteostasis is still not restored, apoptosis is initiated. Increasing evidence suggests crosstalk between ER proteostasis and DNA damage repair (DDR) pathways. External factors (e.g., metabolites) from the cellular environment as well as internal factors (e.g., transgene copy number) can impact genome stability. Failure to maintain genome integrity reduces cell viability and in turn protein production. This review focuses on the association between ER stress and processes that affect protein production and secretion. The processes mediated by ER stress, including inhibition of global protein translation, chaperone protein production, degradation of misfolded proteins, DNA repair, and protein secretion, impact recombinant protein production. Recombinant protein production can be reduced by ER stress through increased autophagy and protein degradation, reduced protein secretion, and reduced DDR response. 

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5. Inclusivity, Capacity‐Building, Trust, and Respect: An Introduction to the Special Issue Equity in Co‐Production

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2025CSJ000156  

   Timm, Kristin_M F; Akerlof, K L; Thornton, Thomas F; Sheats, Jylana L (December 2025, Community Science)

   Abstract Co‐production is becoming an increasingly important approach to facilitating integrated climate, environmental, social and earth systems research to achieve societal impact. Across the research and science‐policy ecosystem, there are multiple indicators of its growing prominence as means to engage the public and generate research that is more likely to address real‐world problems and community priorities. Power plays a key role in co‐production, as power imbalances can affect participation, decision‐making, and the distribution of benefits. Addressing power imbalances, through a focus on equity in co‐production, helps to ensure past harms are addressed and participants have the resources and opportunities to contribute effectively. This special issue includes articles that explore equity in co‐production. Articles describe the results of projects that used co‐production approaches, social scientific findings that can inform equitable co‐production, and some that do both. Across the submissions, inclusive decision‐making, strengthening capacity at multiple levels, and fostering trust and respect were key themes. The collection provides practical lessons and future directions to advance equity in co‐production processes, meeting the urgent demand for more inclusive and impactful environmental science practices. 

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