Difference between revisions of "Team:Nanjing-China/Human Practices"

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<h3>★  ALERT! </h3>
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<p>This page is used by the judges to evaluate your team for the <a href="https://2018.igem.org/Judging/Medals">medal criterion</a> or <a href="https://2018.igem.org/Judging/Awards"> award listed below</a>. </p>
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<p> Delete this box in order to be evaluated for this medal criterion and/or award. See more information at <a href="https://2018.igem.org/Judging/Pages_for_Awards"> Instructions for Pages for awards</a>.</p>
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<h1>Human Practices</h1>
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At iGEM we believe societal considerations should be upfront and integrated throughout the design and execution of synthetic biology projects. “Human Practices” refers to iGEM teams’ efforts to actively consider how the world affects their work and the work affects the world. Through your Human Practices activities, your team should demonstrate how you have thought carefully and creatively about whether your project is responsible and good for the world. We invite you to explore issues relating (but not limited) to the ethics, safety, security, and sustainability of your project, and to show how this exploration feeds back into your project purpose, design and execution.
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</p>
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      <ul><li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Human_Practices">HP</a></li></ul></div>
 
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      <ul>
 
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    <li><a href="#overview">Overview</a></li>
 
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  <li><a href="#brochure">Brochure</a></li>
<p>For more information, please see the <a href="https://2018.igem.org/Human_Practices">Human Practices Hub</a>. There you will find:</p>
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  <li><a href="#background">Background</a></li>
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    <li><a href="#integrated">Integrated</a></li>
<ul>
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  </ul>
<li> an <a href="https://2018.igem.org/Human_Practices/Introduction">introduction</a> to Human Practices at iGEM </li>
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<div class="sub">
<li>tips on <a href="https://2018.igem.org/Human_Practices/How_to_Succeed">how to succeed</a> including explanations of judging criteria and advice about how to conduct and document your Human Practices work</li>
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      <ul><li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Safety">Safety</a></ul></li></div>
<li>descriptions of <a href="https://2018.igem.org/Human_Practices/Examples">exemplary work</a> to inspire you</li>
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<div class="sub">
<li>links to helpful <a href="https://2018.igem.org/Human_Practices/Resources">resources</a></li>
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      <ul><li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Collaborations">Collaboration</a></ul></li></div>
<li>And more! </li>
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</ul>
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<p>On this page, your team should document all of your Human Practices work and activities. You should write about the Human Practices topics you considered in your project, document any activities you conducted to explore these topics (such as engaging with experts and stakeholders), describe why you took a particular approach (including referencing any work you built upon), and explain if and how you integrated takeaways from your Human Practices work back into your project purpose, design and/or execution. </p>
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<p>If your team has gone above and beyond in work related to safety, then you should document this work on your Safety wiki page and provide a description and link on this page. If your team has developed education and public engagement efforts that go beyond a focus on your particular project, and for which would like to nominate your team for the Best Education and Public Engagement Special Prize, you should document this work on your Education and Education wiki page and provide a description and link here. </p>
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<p>The iGEM judges will review this page to assess whether you have met the Silver and/or Gold medal requirements based on the Integrated Human Practices criteria listed below. If you nominate your team for the <a href="https://2018.igem.org/Judging/Awards">Best Integrated Human Practices Special Prize</a> by filling out the corresponding field in the <a href="https://2018.igem.org/Judging/Judging_Form">judging form</a>, the judges will also review this page to consider your team for that prize.
 
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<div id="for_judge" align="center"><div class="i"><ul><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/For_Judges"><strong>For_judges</strong></a></ul></div></div>
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        <ul>
 
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  <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China">N<font size="-1"><sub>2</sub></font> CHASER</a>
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    <ul>
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        <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Team">Team</a></li>
<h3>Silver Medal Criterion #3</h3>
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            <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Members">Members</a></li>
<p>Convince the judges you have thought carefully and creatively about whether your work is responsible and good for the world. Document how you have investigated these issues and engaged with your relevant communities, why you chose this approach, and what you have learned. Please note that surveys will not fulfill this criteria unless you follow scientifically valid methods. </p>
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                <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Attributions">Attributions</a></li>
 
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            <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/For_Judges">For_Judges</a></li>
 
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</ul>
<h3>Gold Medal Criterion #1</h3>
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    </li>
<p>Expand on your silver medal activity by demonstrating how you have integrated the investigated issues into the purpose, design and/or execution of your project. Document how your project has changed based upon your human practices work.
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        <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Background">PROJECT</a>
</p>
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    <ul>
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            <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Background">Background</a></li>
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        <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Design">Design</a></li>
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                <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Results">Results</a></li>
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                <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Demonstrate"><font size="-0.1">Demonstrate</font></a></li>
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                <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Hardware">Hardware</a></li> 
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                <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/InterLab">InterLab</a></li>
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</ul>
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        </li>
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    <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Parts">PARTS</a>
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        <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Basic_Part">Basic_Part</a></li>
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        <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Composite_Part">Composite</a></li>
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            <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Improve">Improve</a></li>
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</ul>
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            </li>
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    <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Model">MODELING</a></a>
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      </li>
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    <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Human_Practices">PRACTICES</a>
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    <ul>
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        <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Human_Practices"><font size="-1">Human_Practices</font></a></li>
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                <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Safety">Safety</a></li>
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                <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Collaborations"><font size="-0.1">Collaboration</font></a></li>
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</ul>
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    </li>
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    <li><a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Notebook">NOTEBOOK</a></li>
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      </ul>
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    <h2>Overview</h2>
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    <p>Our  project lays emphasis on a vital aspect of energy utilization, thus it is  crucial that we have thought carefully and creatively about the impact of our  work and acquired the guidance of the design and experimental methods in our  project from the interaction with stakeholders and experts.</p>
 
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    <p>Firstly, we designed special brochures  to enlarge our team.</p>
 
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<p>The next section, <em>Background</em>, is  about the development of nitrogenous fertilizer production in China as well as  the fact that free nitrogen, though substantial in the air, needs to overcome  considerable obstacle to react with other substances at normal temperature.  These have motivated us to further explore the actual effect of fertilizer.</p>
 
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<p>By meeting with  stakeholders and experts, we were able to initiate the original idea of utilizing  solar energy to fix nitrogen, modify the experimental methods and reform our  design of device to be more relevant and responsible. The section of <em>Integrated  Human Practices </em>alsodemonstrateshow our project advanced as  the interactions with stakeholders and experts went on over time.</p>    </div>
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<h3>Best Integrated Human Practices Special Prize</h3>
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    <h2>Brochure</h2>
 
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    <div class="word-1" align="center">
<p>To compete for the Best Integrated Human Practices prize, please describe your work on this page and also fill out the description on the judging form. </p>
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    <div class="word-2" style="width:60%;"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/f/f5/T--Nanjing-China--hp-19.png" width="95%" ></div>
 
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        <div class="word-2" style="width:40%;">
<p>How does your project affect society and how does society influence the direction of your project? How might ethical considerations and stakeholder input guide your project purpose and design and the experiments you conduct in the lab? How does this feedback enter into the process of your work all through the iGEM competition? Document a thoughtful and creative approach to exploring these questions and how your project evolved in the process to compete for this award!</p>
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        <object width="100%" height="340px" data="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/e/e2/T--Nanjing-China--hp.pdf" type="application/pdf"> 
<p>You must also delete the message box on the top of this page to be eligible for this prize.</p>
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Initially, to spread iGEM and get  more students on board with us, we printed and sent out brochures designed by  our team, which ultimately attracted students from different majors, equipping  our team with various talents. </p>
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<p>You can click <a href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/e/e2/T--Nanjing-China--hp.pdf">here</a> to  download the PDF file of our brochure. </p>
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    <div class="word" id="background">
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    <h2>Background</h2>
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    <p>Nitrogenous  fertilizer production has been playing a pivotal role since the 20th  century. Yet, the fact is that the average soil nitrogenous fertilizer storage  all around the world is rather small. What&rsquo;s more, the accumulation of nitrogen  in the soil is a tough process, and modern intensive agriculture leads to the  excessive loss of organic matter and nitrogen in the soil. Under most conditions,  the production of nitrogen in yield per unit is higher than that of phosphorus  and potassium nutrients.</p>
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    <p>In  the past decades, the industry of nitrogenous fertilizer in China has made  remarkable achievements through unremitting efforts, with capacity for indigenous innovation constantly increasing. By 2017, China has become the largest  producer and consumer of nitrogenous fertilizer, greatly contributing to the  development of fertilizer industry and agriculture around the world.</p>
 +
    <p>With  the implementation of China's &quot;five-in-one&quot; policy, a large number of  contaminating factories have been shut down. We noted that Yantai Wuzhou Feng  Fertilizer Plant is located in the water conservation area of  Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Province, and its traditional method of producing nitrogenous  fertilizer consumes massive energy, meanwhile, causing large quantities of  pollution, which severely affects water and soil resource in the environment.</p>
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    <div class="word" id="integrated">
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    <h2>Integrated Human Practices</h2>
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    <h3>Xiaohe Bei Village </h3>
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    <p>We  visited farmers in Xiaohe Bei Village, Ju County, Rizhao City, Shandong  Province, so that we could communicate with the users, direct stakeholders, of nitrogenous  fertilizer.</p>
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<div class="word-1" align="center"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/2/2f/T--Nanjing-China--hp-12.png" width="70%" ></div>
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<p>During the  conversation with them, we were informed that the nitrogenous fertilizer sold  on the market is of high cost, and the quality of it couldn&rsquo;t be guaranteed.  Farmers are in urgent need of fertilizer products with guaranteed quality and  affordable prices.</p>
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    <div class="word-1" align="center"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/7/78/T--Nanjing-China--hp-14.png" width="80%"></div>
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    <p><strong>Based on our previous work (Nanjing-China 2016) on  photosynthetic hydrogen production, we wondered whether we could utilize solar  energy to fix nitrogen, which is an environmentally-friendly and economical  method for production.</strong> </p>
 +
    <h3>Yantai Wuzhou Feng Fertilizer Plant</h3>
 +
      <p>With  the idea of photosynthetic&nbsp;nitrogen&nbsp;fixation, we contacted Yantai Wuzhou  Feng Fertilizer Plant. </p>
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<div class="word-1" align="center"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/b/bc/T--Nanjing-China--hp-13.png" width="60%"></div>
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<p>During  the course of the exchange, the manager of Yantai Wuzhou Fertilizer Plant, Mr  Li, told us the technical bottlenecks encountered so far. The main production  of nitrogenous fertilizer, urea, was still following traditional methods, with  liquid ammonia and carbon dioxide as raw materials and then urea directly  synthesized under conditions of high temperature and pressure. </p>
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<div class="word-1" align="center"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/d/d1/T--Nanjing-China--hp-7.png" width="70%"></div>
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    <div class="word-1" align="center"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/3/34/T--Nanjing-China--hp-15.png" width="80%"></div>
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    <p>After fully understanding the current production and demand of nitrogenous fertilizer, we introduced our project to them, and proposed applying synthetic biology to realize photosynthetic nitrogen fixation, which would not only cut down cost but also effectively reduce environmental pollution. They expressed great interest in the application of synthetic biology for nitrogen fixation and the use of solar energy, a clean energy source for production. </p>
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    <div class="word-1" align="center"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/6/69/T--Nanjing-China--hp-16.png" width="80%"></div>
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    <p>Yet,  they raised some problems that might arise in the production process as well,  such as the contamination of cadmium sulfide, semiconductor materials attached  to the surface of <em>Escherichia coli</em>, whether cadmium sulfide would affect  the physiological activity of <em>Escherichia coli</em> or not, how to convert  nitrogen fixation inside engineered bacteria into mass production of nitrogenous  fertilizer and so on. We carefully collected these problems above. </p>
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<div class="word-1" align="center"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/8/82/T--Nanjing-China--hp-17.png" width="80%"></div>
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    <h3>Improvement of our project</h3>
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<p>When  we came back, we seriously considered these practical problems in experimental  design and continuously improved experimental method.</p>
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  <p>Firstly,  toxicity test was conducted to determine the maximum amount of Cd2+  that is agreeable for<em> E. coli </em>growth.</p>
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  <p>For  further information about this experiment, please check it out on our&nbsp;<a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Notebook">protocol</a> and <a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Results">result</a> page. </p>
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  <p>Moreover,  in order to apply our nitrogen fixation system to practical use, maybe into  mass production in the future, we also came up with an idea of designing a device  for the growth of engineered strain<em>. </em>Our integrated human practices  strategy helped us to look at how we could make our device as user-friendly as  possible. </p>
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  <h3>Interactions with microbial researchers</h3>
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      <p>At  the beginning, we designed a device consisting of 3 modules: incubation,  illumination, control, which is suitable for engineered strain to grow and  participate in reaction under adjustable light conditions.</p>
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<div class="word-1" align="center"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/2/26/T--Nanjing-China--hp-18.png" width="80%"></div>
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<p>Our  interactions with microbial researchers shaped our final design and made it  possible for practical application. When xenon modulator tube is illuminating,  it would heat the air inside incubator, thus making the environment unfavorable  for our engineered strain.<br />
 +
To  solve this problem, we were advised to place a reflux condenser to cool the  xenon modulator tube, keeping the most suitable temperature.</p>
 +
For further information about this device, please  check it out on our&nbsp;<a href="https://2018.igem.org/Team:Nanjing-China/Hardware">hardware</a> page.        </div>
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<div class="footer">
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      <div class="f">
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        <div class="f-word"><p><strong><u>Address</u></strong></p>
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            <p>Life Science Department<br />
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              #163 Xianlin Blvd, Qixia District<br />
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              Nanjing University<br />
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              Nanjing, Jiangsu Province<br />
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              P.R. of China<br />
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              Zip: 210046
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            </p></div>
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          <div class="f-word">
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            <p><strong><u>Email</u></strong></p>
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            <p>nanjing_china@163.com</p>
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            <p><strong><u>Social media</u></strong></p>
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            <p>Twitter button: <br/>
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            <a href="https://twitter.com/Guja1501">iGEM Nanjing-China@nanjing_china</a></p>
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Latest revision as of 03:34, 18 October 2018

Nanjing-China2018

Overview

Our project lays emphasis on a vital aspect of energy utilization, thus it is crucial that we have thought carefully and creatively about the impact of our work and acquired the guidance of the design and experimental methods in our project from the interaction with stakeholders and experts.

Firstly, we designed special brochures to enlarge our team.

The next section, Background, is about the development of nitrogenous fertilizer production in China as well as the fact that free nitrogen, though substantial in the air, needs to overcome considerable obstacle to react with other substances at normal temperature. These have motivated us to further explore the actual effect of fertilizer.

By meeting with stakeholders and experts, we were able to initiate the original idea of utilizing solar energy to fix nitrogen, modify the experimental methods and reform our design of device to be more relevant and responsible. The section of Integrated Human Practices alsodemonstrateshow our project advanced as the interactions with stakeholders and experts went on over time.

Brochure

Initially, to spread iGEM and get more students on board with us, we printed and sent out brochures designed by our team, which ultimately attracted students from different majors, equipping our team with various talents.

You can click here to download the PDF file of our brochure.

Background

Nitrogenous fertilizer production has been playing a pivotal role since the 20th century. Yet, the fact is that the average soil nitrogenous fertilizer storage all around the world is rather small. What’s more, the accumulation of nitrogen in the soil is a tough process, and modern intensive agriculture leads to the excessive loss of organic matter and nitrogen in the soil. Under most conditions, the production of nitrogen in yield per unit is higher than that of phosphorus and potassium nutrients.

In the past decades, the industry of nitrogenous fertilizer in China has made remarkable achievements through unremitting efforts, with capacity for indigenous innovation constantly increasing. By 2017, China has become the largest producer and consumer of nitrogenous fertilizer, greatly contributing to the development of fertilizer industry and agriculture around the world.

With the implementation of China's "five-in-one" policy, a large number of contaminating factories have been shut down. We noted that Yantai Wuzhou Feng Fertilizer Plant is located in the water conservation area of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Province, and its traditional method of producing nitrogenous fertilizer consumes massive energy, meanwhile, causing large quantities of pollution, which severely affects water and soil resource in the environment.

Integrated Human Practices

Xiaohe Bei Village

We visited farmers in Xiaohe Bei Village, Ju County, Rizhao City, Shandong Province, so that we could communicate with the users, direct stakeholders, of nitrogenous fertilizer.

During the conversation with them, we were informed that the nitrogenous fertilizer sold on the market is of high cost, and the quality of it couldn’t be guaranteed. Farmers are in urgent need of fertilizer products with guaranteed quality and affordable prices.

Based on our previous work (Nanjing-China 2016) on photosynthetic hydrogen production, we wondered whether we could utilize solar energy to fix nitrogen, which is an environmentally-friendly and economical method for production.

Yantai Wuzhou Feng Fertilizer Plant

With the idea of photosynthetic nitrogen fixation, we contacted Yantai Wuzhou Feng Fertilizer Plant.

During the course of the exchange, the manager of Yantai Wuzhou Fertilizer Plant, Mr Li, told us the technical bottlenecks encountered so far. The main production of nitrogenous fertilizer, urea, was still following traditional methods, with liquid ammonia and carbon dioxide as raw materials and then urea directly synthesized under conditions of high temperature and pressure.

After fully understanding the current production and demand of nitrogenous fertilizer, we introduced our project to them, and proposed applying synthetic biology to realize photosynthetic nitrogen fixation, which would not only cut down cost but also effectively reduce environmental pollution. They expressed great interest in the application of synthetic biology for nitrogen fixation and the use of solar energy, a clean energy source for production.

Yet, they raised some problems that might arise in the production process as well, such as the contamination of cadmium sulfide, semiconductor materials attached to the surface of Escherichia coli, whether cadmium sulfide would affect the physiological activity of Escherichia coli or not, how to convert nitrogen fixation inside engineered bacteria into mass production of nitrogenous fertilizer and so on. We carefully collected these problems above.

Improvement of our project

When we came back, we seriously considered these practical problems in experimental design and continuously improved experimental method.

Firstly, toxicity test was conducted to determine the maximum amount of Cd2+ that is agreeable for E. coli growth.

For further information about this experiment, please check it out on our protocol and result page.

Moreover, in order to apply our nitrogen fixation system to practical use, maybe into mass production in the future, we also came up with an idea of designing a device for the growth of engineered strain. Our integrated human practices strategy helped us to look at how we could make our device as user-friendly as possible.

Interactions with microbial researchers

At the beginning, we designed a device consisting of 3 modules: incubation, illumination, control, which is suitable for engineered strain to grow and participate in reaction under adjustable light conditions.

Our interactions with microbial researchers shaped our final design and made it possible for practical application. When xenon modulator tube is illuminating, it would heat the air inside incubator, thus making the environment unfavorable for our engineered strain.
To solve this problem, we were advised to place a reflux condenser to cool the xenon modulator tube, keeping the most suitable temperature.

For further information about this device, please check it out on our hardware page.