Hasil untuk "Environmental Science"

Nicolas Page, Alireza Gholami, Qian Zhang

In response to the global challenge of climate change, financial institutions are increasingly called upon to assess and disclose their carbon emissions. Various global carbon quantification and reporting standards were developed, such as the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) and others. Unfortunately, the now diverse landscape of standards increases the complexity for institutions seeking to develop voluntary carbon quantification and reporting. This study addresses the complexity issue by developing a criteria-based tool that summarizes the various components and requirements of the carbon standards. We propose eight criteria that summarize the standards’ key elements, requirements and relevance to the financial industry. We analyze seven major carbon quantification and reporting standards, systematically evaluating them against our tool. By doing so, we provide financial institutions with valuable insights in selecting appropriate standards to inform their emissions quantification and reporting decisions.

Eduard Baladia, Manuel Moñino, Martina Miserachs et al.

Introduction: Perceptions and practices of healthcare professionals regarding the nutritional and dietary value of yogurt can play a crucial role in developing effective strategies to promote healthier and more sustainable dietary patterns. The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions, attitudes, and practices of nutrition professionals regarding yogurt and its role in a healthy diet. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study involving 355 nutrition professionals in Spain was conducted. The survey was administered online and explored professionals' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding yogurt. Statistical analysis included descriptive and correlational techniques, with a significance level set at p < 0,05 to validate observations. Results: The study revealed that 62,8% of participants recognized yogurt as a key food in a healthy diet, while 31,8% adopted a neutral position. In addition to its nutritional contribution, over 80% associated yogurt consumption with the prevention or treatment of some health outcomes. The most important factors for recommending yogurt consumption were its nutritional value and demonstrated health benefits (96,1% and 70,1%, respectively). Knowledge about yogurt was significantly associated (p < 0,05) with a greater willingness to include it in the diet, and a positive attitude correlated with more intensive recommendation practices. Conclusions: The study unveils a predominantly positive attitude towards yogurt among nutrition professionals, supported by knowledge of its nutritional value and health benefits. The need for specific national guidelines and greater ongoing education to guide professionals and the population towards healthier and more sustainable practices was highlighted. Additionally, there is a future interest in considering the environmental sustainability of yogurt as an important factor for decision-making. Funding: This research has been funded by DANONE. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: The research protocol was registered on the platform Open Science Framework (OSF): https://osf.io/ef97b

Ragavendran Chinnasamy, Kamaraj Chinnaperumal, Natarajan Devarajan et al.

Byomkesh Talukder, Nilanjana Ganguli, Eunice Choi et al.

The interconnectedness between humans and ecosystems highlights the need to protect ecosystems for the well-being of humans and the environment. This has led to the emergence of holistic and interdisciplinary concepts like Planetary Health, One Health, and EcoHealth. There is a growing interest in the differences and implementation of these concepts, including their founders, fundamental questions answered, focus, global distribution of studies, and alignment. This study addresses these issues to facilitate coordinated health interventions for people and ecosystems. Using electronic databases (Web of Science, PubMed, and ProQuest) and conducting a systematic literature review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), this paper compares the concepts of Planetary Health, One Health, and EcoHealth, providing a comprehensive overview of the findings and insights by examining each field's advocacy, conceptual application, and implementation levels and exploring the contributions of influential individuals and organizations. The results highlight each concept's global relation to applicability, challenges, and opportunities for further advancement. The study concludes by emphasizing the shared goals and interconnections among these fields in addressing complex health issues at the nexus of human health, environmental health, and ecosystem well-being.

Soo Ran Won, Yong Pyo Kim, Misheel Sainjargal et al.

In this study, 34 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were analyzed using an online VOCs instrument at 30-min intervals from November 16 to November 23, 2023, in Ulaanbaatar (UB), the capital of Mongolia for the first time. The average concentration of the 34 VOCs was 13.0 ± 11.1 ppb, with the top 10 compounds, such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), constituting 80 % of the total. The concentrations of n-hexane, n-heptane, and undecane tended to increase significantly during high-concentration episode period (HEP). Compared to other studies, BTEX concentration levels in UB were higher than those in Seoul and Beijing, but lower than in Southeast Asian cities. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) identified four VOCs sources: vehicle exhaust (33.8 %), industrial/coal combustion (25.3 %), secondary formation precursors (21.3 %), and solvent usage (19.6 %). Vehicle exhaust and industrial/coal combustion sources increased during rush hours and were strongly correlated with nitrogen oxides. During HEP, stagnant air mass led to increased contributions from vehicle exhaust and industrial/coal combustion sources, indicating a significant local impact. Solvent usage appeared to be influenced by building materials and exterior painting which increased with high relative humidity. Secondary formation precursors increased in concentration during daytime and were highly correlated with ozone. Among the measured compounds, benzene was assessed for lifetime health risk, showing that adults with the prolonged exposure exhibited higher risk than infants and children. However, during HEP, children were also at increased risk, despite their shorter exposure duration. Based on the concentration levels of VOCs and the associated health risks, the results highlight that the need for a policy on ambient VOCs management in UB, with a particular focus on local source management.

Ying Dou, Junling Guo, Junke Shao et al.

Abstract Over the past decade, the most fundamental challenges faced by the development of lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) and their effective solutions have been extensively studied. To further transfer LSBs from the research phase into the industrial phase, strategies to improve the performance of LSBs under practical conditions are comprehensively investigated. These strategies can simultaneously optimize the sulfur cathode and Li‐metal anode to account for their interactions under practical conditions, without involving complex preparation or costly processes. Therefore, “two‐in‐one” strategies, which meet the above requirements because they can simultaneously improve the performance of both electrodes, are widely investigated. However, their development faces several challenges, such as confused design ideas for bi‐functional sites and simplex evaluation methods (i. e. evaluating strategies based on their bi‐functionality only). To date, as few reviews have focused on these challenges, the modification direction of these strategies is indistinct, hindering further developments in the field. In this review, the advances achieved in “two‐in‐one” strategies and categorizing them based on their design ideas are summarized. These strategies are then comprehensively evaluated in terms of bi‐functionality, large‐scale preparation, impact on energy density, and economy. Finally, the challenges still faced by these strategies and some research prospects are discussed.

Andrés Alegría, Elvira Poloczanska, Sina Loeschke et al.

Abstract Climate risk assessments are crucial in quantifying and communicating risks in a clear and concise manner. In light of the rapidly proceeding climatic changes, there is a growing need for a more comprehensive integration and a more effective overview of available and relevant data that go into these assessments, particularly on the temporal and spatial dynamics of risk. In this paper, we describe the advantages, challenges and opportunities for increasing the accessibility of temporal and spatial data needed to support climate risk assessments through the development of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Atlas, integrated across IPCC Working Groups. We propose that using a climate risk framework to organise this Atlas will result in a more practical resource for understanding and informing risk assessments undertaken by the IPCC, and also make methodologies and results more accessible to a wider audience.

Shekhar Sharan Goyal, Raviraj Dave, Rohini Kumar et al.

Abstract Intensive agricultural practices have powered green revolutions, helping nations attain self-sufficiency. However, these fertilizer-intensive methods and exploitative trade systems have created unsustainable agricultural systems. To probe the environmental consequences on production hubs, we map the fate of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in India’s interstate staple crop trade over the recent decade. The nation’s food bowls, while meeting national food demand, are becoming pollution-rich, sustaining around 50% of the total surplus from trade transfer, accounting for 710 gigagrams of nitrogen per year and 200 gigagrams of phosphorus per year. In combination with water balance analysis, surplus nutrient conversion to a graywater footprint further highlights an aggravated situation in major producer regions facing long-term water deficits. Given India’s role in global food security, identifying the nation’s environmental vulnerability can help in designing appropriate policy interventions for sustainable development.

Ashley Williams, Kayla Schulte, Diana Varaden

Abstract Background Air pollution is of significant environmental and public health concern globally. While much research has historically focused on outdoor air pollution, indoor air pollution has been relatively under-explored despite its strong connection with health outcomes, particularly respiratory health. Studies on air pollution exposure mitigation consistently reveal a significant knowledge gap between the understanding of air pollution as a health risk among lay individuals and expert scientists. This study aimed to assess how people define and understand the concept of ‘clean air’ within their home setting. Methods We adopted a mixed-methods approach which used a guided questionnaire designed to elicit both quantitative and qualitative data, collected as digital voice notes. The total sample (n = 40) comprised data from two socially different sites of science and non-science events. We compared whether the notion of clean air inside homes differs between these two different social contexts and how views and ‘sense’ of indoor air pollution are formed. The concept of ‘place’ facilitated fluidity in our explorative analysis. Insights allowed us to assess the extent to which context mediates individuals’ perceptions of indoor air pollution and attitudes towards health risk. Results We found that individuals’ insights were embodied in repetitive day-to-day activities (e.g. cleaning and cooking). Three key themes emerged (1) Stimulative Effects, (2) Contextual Conditions, and (3) Risk Attitudes. Sensory perceptions such as sight, smell and temperature primarily motivated participants to assess air quality inside their homes. These perceptions were shaped by contextual conditions, influencing how individuals perceived their health risk and were subsequently motivated to spend personal time considering or seeking information about household air pollution, or improving their home air quality. Conclusions Our insights revealed that social, geographical, and contextual factors play a crucial role in individuals’ understandings of indoor air pollution. These dimensions should be integrated into designs of effective public health risk communication strategies. Our findings highlight that common lay perceptions and practices intended to improve air quality may pose health risks. Therefore, risk communication about household air pollution must extend beyond objective information by considering contextual factors that shape how people interpret and respond to air quality issues. Clinical trial number Not applicable.

Karen Anderson, Brandi M. Shabaga, Serge Wich et al.

Summary This journal (Drone Systems and Applications; DSA) conducted a targeted “horizon scan” during 2022 within our team of editors and associate editors. We asked—Which research areas currently under-represented in Drone Systems and Applications would you like to see more heavily represented in the future? The process highlighted five areas of interest and potential growth: Drones in the geosciences Aquatic drones Ground drones Drones within calibration/validation experiments Drones and computer vision Over the past two years (2020–22), the journal has published over 50 papers with a strong leaning towards aerial drones for ecology and also with an engineering focus. DSA is keen to receive new submissions addressing the five highlighted areas, which lie firmly within the aims and scope of the journal. Further to the horizon scan, we propose two special collections for the coming year—one addressing drone applications (drones in geoscience applications) and a second addressing drone systems (aquatic drone systems). We would like to hear from scientists and practitioners in these fields as both contributors and (or) collection editors.

Andreas Kokkvoll Tveit, Jon Hovi, Øyvind Stiansen

Enforcement and management scholars alike expect that countries participating in an international agreement will more likely achieve predetermined targets than nonparticipating countries will. The management school ascribes this expected association to a constraining effect of the treaty; the enforcement school ascribes it to a screening effect. If the latter conjecture is correct, the association between participation and target achievement should significantly weaken (or even vanish) when controlling for targets' ambition level and other confounding factors. We test this hypothesis on a new dataset comprising three protocols under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). Our results suggest that the positive association between participation and target achievement is robust to controlling for confounding factors; hence, our data suggests that these CLRTAP protocols have indeed constrained participating states.

Ye Yuan, Yongtong Zhu, Jiaqi Wang et al.

IntroductionSpiking neural networks (SNNs), inspired by biological neural networks, have received a surge of interest due to its temporal encoding. Biological neural networks are driven by multiple plasticities, including spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), structural plasticity, and homeostatic plasticity, making network connection patterns and weights to change continuously during the lifecycle. However, it is unclear how these plasticities interact to shape neural networks and affect neural signal processing.MethodHere, we propose a reward-modulated self-organization recurrent network with structural plasticity (RSRN-SP) to investigate this issue. Specifically, RSRN-SP uses spikes to encode information, and incorporate multiple plasticities including reward-modulated spike timing-dependent plasticity (R-STDP), homeostatic plasticity, and structural plasticity. On the one hand, combined with homeostatic plasticity, R-STDP is presented to guide the updating of synaptic weights. On the other hand, structural plasticity is utilized to simulate the growth and pruning of synaptic connections.Results and discussionExtensive experiments for sequential learning tasks are conducted to demonstrate the representational ability of the RSRN-SP, including counting task, motion prediction, and motion generation. Furthermore, the simulations also indicate that the characteristics arose from the RSRN-SP are consistent with biological observations.

K. Sydny Fujita, Zachary H. Ancona, Louisa A. Kramer et al.

Abstract Over 4,400 large-scale solar photovoltaic (LSPV) facilities operate in the United States as of December 2021, representing more than 60 gigawatts of electric energy capacity. Of these, over 3,900 are ground-mounted LSPV facilities with capacities of 1 megawatt direct current (MWdc) or more. Ground-mounted LSPV installations continue increasing, with more than 400 projects appearing online in 2021 alone; however, a comprehensive, publicly available georectified dataset including spatial footprints of these facilities is lacking. The United States Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Database (USPVDB) was developed to fill this gap. Using US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, locations of 3,699 LSPV facilities were verified using high-resolution aerial imagery, polygons were digitized around panel arrays, and attributes were appended. Quality assurance and control were achieved via team peer review and comparison to other US PV datasets. Data are publicly available via an interactive web application and multiple downloadable formats, including: comma-separated value (CSV), application programming interface (API), and GIS shapefile and GeoJSON.

Markéta Swiacká, Daniel J. Ingram, Torsten Bohm et al.

Abstract Habitat loss and overexploitation are the most severe threats to wild animals in Central Africa. One mammalian group under pressure from hunting is the Pholidota (pangolins), with three species of pangolin inhabiting the region. While local uses of pangolins have been investigated in several Central African countries, data originating from the Republic of the Congo are lacking. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a semistructured questionnaire survey in 65 rural communities around the Odzala‐Kokoua National Park. Our research focused on collecting baseline information on local knowledge of species ecology, and perceived economic values and uses of pangolins in local communities. We identified significant differences in our data corresponding to respondents' sociocultural and demographic profiles in the surveyed villages. Recognition of pangolins was high (98.2%), we recorded 22 traditional medicinal or cultural uses of pangolins by respondents, and the taste of pangolin meat was ranked highly (71.3%). Respondents based along the northern boundary of the park were more familiar with pangolins and the market value of their meat and scales, which could be due to better quality roads in the area and proximity to Cameroon. We then provide guidelines for further research to better understand the dynamics of local use, needed for conservation policy and actions.

T. E. Shaw, W. Yang, W. Yang et al.

<p>Near-surface air temperature (<span class="inline-formula"><i>T</i>_a</span>) is highly important for modelling glacier ablation, though its spatio-temporal variability over melting glaciers still remains largely unknown. We present a new dataset of distributed <span class="inline-formula"><i>T</i>_a</span> for three glaciers of different size in the south-east Tibetan Plateau during two monsoon-dominated summer seasons. We compare on-glacier <span class="inline-formula"><i>T</i>_a</span> to ambient <span class="inline-formula"><i>T</i>_a</span> extrapolated from several local off-glacier stations. We parameterise the along-flowline sensitivity of <span class="inline-formula"><i>T</i>_a</span> on these glaciers to changes in off-glacier temperatures (referred to as “temperature sensitivity”) and present the results in the context of available distributed on-glacier datasets around the world. Temperature sensitivity decreases rapidly up to 2000–3000 <span class="inline-formula">m</span> along the down-glacier flowline distance. Beyond this distance, both the <span class="inline-formula"><i>T</i>_a</span> on the Tibetan glaciers and global glacier datasets show little additional cooling relative to the off-glacier temperature. In general, <span class="inline-formula"><i>T</i>_a</span> on small glaciers (with flowline distances <span class="inline-formula">&lt;1000</span> <span class="inline-formula">m</span>) is highly sensitive to temperature changes outside the glacier boundary layer. The climatology of a given region can influence the general magnitude of this temperature sensitivity, though no strong relationships are found between along-flowline temperature sensitivity and mean summer temperatures or precipitation. The terminus of some glaciers is affected by other warm-air processes that increase temperature sensitivity (such as divergent boundary layer flow, warm up-valley winds or debris/valley heating effects) which are evident only beyond <span class="inline-formula">∼70</span> <span class="inline-formula">%</span> of the total glacier flowline distance. Our results therefore suggest a strong role of local effects in modulating temperature sensitivity close to the glacier terminus, although further work is still required to explain the variability of these effects for different glaciers.</p>

Karim Karimi, A. Hossain Farid, Sean Myles et al.

Abstract Aleutian disease (AD) is the most significant health issue for farmed American mink. The objective of this study was to identify the genomic regions subjected to selection for response to infection with Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) in American mink using genotyping by sequencing (GBS) data. A total of 225 black mink were inoculated with AMDV and genotyped using a GBS assay based on the sequencing of ApeKI-digested libraries. Five AD-characterized phenotypes were used to assign animals to pairwise groups. Signatures of selection were detected using integrated measurement of fixation index (FST) and nucleotide diversity (θπ), that were validated by haplotype-based (hap-FLK) test. The total of 99 putatively selected regions harbouring 63 genes were detected in different groups. The gene ontology revealed numerous genes related to immune response (e.g. TRAF3IP2, WDR7, SWAP70, CBFB, and GPR65), liver development (e.g. SULF2, SRSF5) and reproduction process (e.g. FBXO5, CatSperβ, CATSPER4, and IGF2R). The hapFLK test supported two strongly selected regions that contained five candidate genes related to immune response, virus–host interaction, reproduction and liver regeneration. This study provided the first map of putative selection signals of response to AMDV infection in American mink, bringing new insights into genomic regions controlling the AD phenotypes.

Wipapan Adulcharoen, Kallaya Suntornvongsakul, Yang-Soo Lee

Understanding the function of the ecological restoration of mangrove forests leads to appropriate sustainable utilization (SU) of ecosystem services (ES) during development stages of mangrove ecosystem for sustaining the local livelihood and maintaining the mangrove ecological production. The study aims to identify the SU which was changed relying a development of ES at Klong Khone (KK) Sub-district, Samut Songkhram Province, Thailand. The SU was collected by in-depth interview with 20 key respondents, questionnaires survey with 140 fishermen and statistical scientific data on developed mangrove forest areas. Descriptive statistics and event analysis were employed to analyze the data. The study found that bottom-up management tools based on a local people’s participation were applied to determine a way of harvest of ES. An application of these local tools including a common property right, land use zoning, application of local knowledge, human resources, and financial and technological transfer resulted in different utilizing activities of ES during the development of mangrove forest restoration stages. The results showed that the ES produced during mangrove stand initiation stage were mainly harvested for food (90%) and during the young forest regrowth stage (87%) (N = 140). They were also widely used for operating aquaculture during mangrove stand initiation stage (39%), but they were harvested with more concerns about environmental impacts during the young forest regrowth stage (47%) (N = 140). The cultural services during young forest regrowth stage were increasingly utilized for diversified incomes from ecotourism (46%) and education learning program (50%) (N = 140). The ES from developed mangrove forest were harvested effectively based on an application of SU tools which were locally developed by local people’s participation. The SU tools can be proposed and applied in other communities where have similar ecological, social and cultural conditions as KK sub-district to support the SU of ES.

Yasunori TSUJIMOTO, Kana FUJIKI, MD Emtiaj ALAM et al.

Piezo-actuated intracytoplasmic sperm injection (Piezo-ICSI) is used as an efficient in vitro fertilization method with various animals. With this method, elongated spermatids are collected from testicular tissues and are easier to obtain from animals that unexpectedly die than ejaculate sperm. Additionally, elongated spermatid injection often results in the development of embryos and offspring. To develop assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) for domestic cats, we examined the effects of oocyte activation on cleavage and embryo development after Piezo-ICSI with motile sperm (experiment 1) and after Piezo-ICSI with either testicular sperm or elongated spermatids (experiment 2). In experiment 1, the proportions of cleaved embryos, morulas, and blastocysts following Piezo-ICSI with ethanol activation were significantly higher (P &lt; 0.05) than in the non-activated groups. However, the proportion of blastocysts and the blastocyst quality did not differ significantly (P &gt; 0.05) between the ethanol-activated and non-activated groups. In experiment 2, the cleavage frequencies of oocytes after Piezo-ICSI of testicular sperm or elongated spermatids and ethanol activation were higher (P &lt; 0.05) than that of oocytes in the non-activated group, but the occurrence of blastocyst formation and quality of blastocysts did not differ between the activated and non-activated groups. In summary, cat embryos can be produced by Piezo-actuated microinjection of elongated spermatids. Ethanol activation increased the frequency of cleavage, but it affected neither the occurrence of blastocyst development nor the quality of blastocysts. These results represent an expansion in the repertoire of ARTs that are potentially applicable to both domestic and endangered species of cats.

Farzana Kastury, Silvia Placitu, John Boland et al.

In this study, an in vitro in vivo correlation (IVIVC) between Pb in vitro bioaccessibility (IVBA) and relative bioavailability (RBA) was explored to determine whether the efficacy of Pb immobilization in phosphate amended soils could be predicted using an in vitro approach. Mining/smelting impacted soil from Broken Hill, Australia (582–3536 mg/kg of Pb in the <250 μm soil particle fraction) was amended with Phosphoric Acid (PA), Mono Ammonium Phosphate (MAP) or Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) at Pb:P molar ratios of 1:1–1:5. Pb speciation in pre- and post-treated soil was assessed using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS), Pb IVBA was measured using the Solubility Bioaccessibility Research Consortium (SBRC) assay (gastric and intestinal phases), and Pb RBA was determined in mice using blood Pb concentration as the bioavailability endpoint. XAS analysis revealed a 3.75–6.00 fold increase in the weighted % of Pb phosphates in soil containing >1000 mg/kg Pb while treatment effect ratios of 0.89–0.99 (SBRC-G), 0.09–0.71 (SBRC-I) and 0.27–0.80 (RBA) were observed in PA amended soil (Pb:P = 1:5). Although significant (p < 0.05) correlation were obtained between Pb RBA and IVBA (%) determined using SBRC-G (r = 0.64) and SBRC-I (r = 0.67), the strengths of the relationships were weak (r2 = 0.41–0.45). This research highlights the complexities associated with the prediction of Pb RBA in phosphate amended soil. Keywords: Pb immobilization, Bioaccessibility, Relative bioavailability, Phosphate amendment, In situ remediation, In vitro in vivo correlation

A. Muhammad, A. Muhammad, K. Goda et al.

This study develops tsunami evacuation plans in Padang, Indonesia, using a stochastic tsunami simulation method. The stochastic results are based on multiple earthquake scenarios for different magnitudes (<i>M</i>_w 8.5, 8.75, and 9.0) that reflect asperity characteristics of the 1797 historical event in the same region. The generation of the earthquake scenarios involves probabilistic models of earthquake source parameters and stochastic synthesis of earthquake slip distributions. In total, 300 source models are generated to produce comprehensive tsunami evacuation plans in Padang. The tsunami hazard assessment results show that Padang may face significant tsunamis causing the maximum tsunami inundation height and depth of 15 and 10 m, respectively. A comprehensive tsunami evacuation plan – including horizontal evacuation area maps, assessment of temporary shelters considering the impact due to ground shaking and tsunami, and integrated horizontal–vertical evacuation time maps – has been developed based on the stochastic tsunami simulation results. The developed evacuation plans highlight that comprehensive mitigation policies can be produced from the stochastic tsunami simulation for future tsunamigenic events.