Articles

Matching policy and science: Rationale for the ‘4 per 1000 - soils for food security and climate’ initiative

Elsevier, Soil and Tillage Research, Volume 188, May 2019
At the 21st session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, COP21), a voluntary action plan, the ‘4 per 1000 Initiative: Soils for Food Security and Climate’ was proposed under the Agenda for Action. The Initiative underlines the role of soil organic matter (SOM) in addressing the three-fold challenge of food and nutritional security, adaptation to climate change and mitigation of human-induced greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions. It sets an ambitious aspirational target of a 4 per 1000 (i.e.
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SDG:

Goal 15: Life on land; Goal 2: Zero hunger; Goal 13: Climate action

Tags:

Biodiversity and ecosystems; Food security and nutrition and sustainable agriculture, Europe

Scale dependency of dispersal limitation, environmental filtering and biotic interactions determine the diversity and composition of oribatid mite communities

Elsevier, Pedobiologia, Volume 74, May 2019
It has long been established that the spatial scale of inquiry affects the ecological patterns that are revealed. However, studies of the ecological drivers underlying the assembly of soil animal communities rarely adopt a multi-scale perspective. Here, we quantified the distribution of oribatid richness along a chronosequence of temperate hardwood forests in a deglaciated region of eastern North America and analyzed variation in oribatid community structure at two grain sizes: 0.1 m2 and 900 m2, and two spatial extents: 20–150 m and 80–420 km.
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SDG:

Goal 15: Life on land

Tags:

Biodiversity and ecosystems, North America

Nursing pay by gender distribution in the UK - does the Glass Escalator still exist?

Elsevier, International Journal of Nursing Studies, Volume 93, May 2019
Aims and objectives/background: Nursing is a predominantly female profession. This is reflected in the demographic of nursing around the world. Some authors have noted that despite being a gendered profession men are still advantaged in terms of pay and opportunity. The aim of this study was to examine if the so called glass escalator in which men are advantaged in female professionals still exists.
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SDG:

Goal 5: Gender equality; Goal 10: Reduced inequalities

Tags:

Diversity and inclusion; Access to justice; Gender equality and women's empowerment

Review of lead-free halide perovskites as light-absorbers for photovoltaic applications: From materials to solar cells

Elsevier, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Volume 193, May 2019
Metal halide perovskite materials have revolutionized the solution-processed solar cells and become the vanguard of research focus with an unprecedented improvement of power conversion efficiencies up to 23.3%, which pose a remarkable challenge to thin film and multicrystalline silicon photovoltaics. Nevertheless, for conventional perovskite solar cells based on lead, it is ineluctable to take the toxicity of lead and the long-term stability of the devices into consideration when the deployment of this technology in mass production is put on the agenda.
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SDG:

Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production; Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy; Goal 13: Climate action

Tags:

Sustainable consumption and production; Technology; Energy, Global

“Build back better” approach to disaster recovery: Research trends since 2006

Elsevier,

Progress in Disaster Science, Volume 1, May 2019

The “build back better” (BBB) approach to disaster recovery was first introduced in 2006 by the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, former US President William Clinton. In 2015, BBB became the second half of Priority 4 of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, in recognition of its widespread use and adoption among disaster risk management practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers.

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SDG:

Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure; Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities; Goal 17: Partnership for the goals

Tags:

Disaster risk reduction; National Sustainable Development Strategies (NSDS); Information for integrated Decision-Making & Participation; Multi-stakeholder partnerships; Disaster Recovery, Global

Traffic-related particulate matter exposure induces nephrotoxicity in vitro and in vivo

Graphical abstract of article
Elsevier,

Free Radical Biology and Medicine, Volume 135, 1 May 2019

Traffic emission is responsible for most small-sized particulate matter (PM) air pollution in urban areas. Several recent studies have indicated that traffic-related PM may aggravate kidney disease. Furthermore, exposure to particulate air pollution may be related to the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been adequately addressed. In the present study, we studied the mechanisms of renal damage that might be associated with exposure to PM.

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SDG:

Goal 3: Good health and well-being

Tags:

Health and wellbeing; Traffic Congestion, Europe

Optimizing Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus to foster collective resilience in urban-rural systems

Figure showing the spatio-temporal viewpoint of FEW nexus thinking.
Elsevier,

Progress in Disaster Science, Volume 1, May 2019

This study identifies the key barriers to operationalizing FEW nexus at ground level and underlines the need for urban-rural shared perspectives in resource management.
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SDG:

Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation

Tags:

Water and sanitation; Urban Resilience, Global

VMP35 MNC, a novel iron-free supplement, enhances cytoprotection against anemia in human subjects: a novel hypothesis

Food Nutr Res. 2019 May 9;63. doi: 10.29219/fnr.v63.3410. eCollection 2019.

Contributing to SDG 3, this clinical investigation assessed the efficacy of novel patent-pending VMP35 multi-nutrient complex, a non-iron containing liquid nutraceutical supplement, in 38 male and female volunteers (age: 22-82) on anemia and blood properties.
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SDG:

Goal 3: Good health and well-being

Tags:

Health and wellbeing; Science; Health and population; Hypothesis Development, Global

21st Century Climate Change Impacts on Key Properties of a Large-Scale Renewable-Based Electricity System

Elsevier, Joule, Volume 3, 17 April 2019
Falling prices and significant technology developments currently drive an increased weather-dependent electricity production from renewables. In light of the changing climate, it is relevant to investigate to what extent climate change directly impacts future highly weather-dependent electricity systems. Here, we use three IPCC CO 2 concentration pathways for the period 2006–2100 with six high-resolution climate experiments for the European domain.
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SDG:

Goal 13: Climate action; Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy

Tags:

Energy, Europe

Combining Reclaimed PET with Bio-based Monomers Enables Plastics Upcycling

Elsevier, Joule, Volume 3, 17 April 2019
PET is a ubiquitous material because of its robust properties. Today, less than 30% of PET bottles and few carpets are recycled in the United States, leading to the majority of PET being landfilled. The low PET reclamation rate is due to the fact that PET bottle recycling today is mechanical, resulting in a devalued product. Here, reclaimed PET (rPET) bottles are converted to fiberglass-reinforced plastics (FRPs), which sell for more than twice that of rPET. When monomers derivable from biomass are incorporated, rPET-FRPs with superior properties are achieved.
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SDG:

Goal 14: Life below water; Goal 15: Life on land; Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Tags:

Chemicals and waste; Biodiversity and ecosystems; Oceans & Seas; Technology, Global

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