Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale.

Through experiments, we have determined the mechanical and thermal properties of samples. This allowed us to determine the most optimal formulations. Therefore, we have prepared samples constituted by two basic materials, clay and laterite, mixed with rice straw. Thus, agriculture is among the economic sectors that produce more waste. The latter are mainly the straw of the three most-produced cereals in the world: wheat, corn and rice. Concerning rice straw, its high content of cellulose makes it difficult to digest. So, few animals are able to use it as food. Most of the straws are lost, buried, burned or used as litter. Moreover, clay and laterite formations represent the most abundant materials resources in Africa. So, this study has allowed us to show that the integration of rice straw in lateritic and clay soils for its use as building materials will allow, in addition to its recycling, to greatly reduce the social habitat cost and to improve the thermal comfort.

Polyethersulfone (PES) films are widely employed in the construction of membranes where there is a desire to make the surface more hydrophilic. Therefore, UV photo-oxidation was studied in order to oxidize the surface of PES and increase hydrophilicity. UV photo-oxidation using low pressure mercury lamps emitting both 253.7 and 184.9 nm radiation were compared with only 253.7 nm photons. The modified surfaces were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and water contact angle (WCA) measurements. Both sets of lamps gave similar results, showing an increase of the oxygen concentration up to a saturation level of ca. 29 at.% and a decrease in the WCA, i.e., an increase in hydrophilicity, down to ca. 40°. XPS detected a decrease of sp2 C-C aromatic group bonding and an increase in the formation of C-O, C=O, O=C-O, O=C-OH, O-(C=O)-O, and sulphonate and sulphate moieties. Since little change in surface roughness was observed by AFM, the oxidation of the surface caused the increase in hydrophilicity.

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Since polybenzimidazole (PBI) is often used in the aerospace industry, high-temperature fuel cells, and in redox flow batteries, this research investigated the surface modification of PBI film with 253.7 and 184.9 nm UV photo-oxidation. As observed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the oxygen concentration on the surface increased up to a saturation level of 20.2 ± 0.7 at %. With increasing treatment time, there were significant decreases in the concentrations of C-C sp2 and C=N groups and increases in the concentrations of C=O, O-C=O, O-(C=O)-O, C-N, and N-C=O containing moieties due to 253.7 nm photo-oxidation of the aromatic groups of PBI and reaction with ozone produced by 184. 9 nm photo-dissociation of oxygen. Because no significant changes in surface topography were detected by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and SEM measurements, the observed decrease in the water contact angle down to ca. 44°, i.e., increase in hydrophilic, was due to the chemical changes on the surface.