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Topic Review
Epigenetic Regulation in Chromium-Induced Carcinogenesis
Chromium (Cr)is a naturally occurring heavy metal widely distributed in soil, rocks, and living organisms. Cr primarily exists in two stable valence states: trivalent chromium [Cr(III)] or Cr(VI). Cr(VI) exposure can cause a series of adverse effects on the respiratory system (including asthma, bronchitis, and respiratory tract irritation), skin (including contact dermatitis, skin burns, blisters, and skin ulcers), gastrointestinal (GI) tract (including gastric ulcers and gastritis), and kidneys (acute tubular necrosis and renal failure).
  • 1.2K
  • 09 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Hexavalent Chromium Removal by Electrochemical Processes
Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is a toxic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and carcinogenic species. Its origin is in industrial activities. Therefore, its effective control is realized on a source basis. Although chemical methods proved effective in removing Cr(VI) from wastewaters, more economic solutions with a minimum sludge production have been sought. Among them, the use of electrochemical processes has emerged as a viable solution to the problem. Much research was conducted in this area.
  • 1.2K
  • 15 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Past Developments of Carpathian Forests
The Carpathians are the second largest mountain range in Europe and provide multiple ecosystem services of enormous regional importance. The Carpathians belong to seven Central and Eastern European countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, and Serbia), whose share of forest land is among the lowest in Europe (27%). With a total area of 9.92 million hectares, Carpathian forests constitute over 70% of the total forested land in Slovakia and Romania, with Romania alone harboring more than 45% of all Carpathian forests. Most of the Carpathian forests are dominated by European beech (Fagus sylvatica), Norway spruce (Picea abies), oak (Quercus robur, Quercus petraea), and silver fir (Abies alba) stands, covering over 70% of the altitudinal range (with the highest point being Gerlachovský štít, 2655 m a.s.l., in the Slovakian Tatra Mountains). The Carpathian Mountains were characterized in terms of their forests in the period starting from Holocene deglaciation. Climate fluctuations and human activities have led to substantial changes in forest systems, and anthropogenic activities, such as logging, fire activities, and grazing, have shaped the distribution and structure of present-day Carpathian forests. The rapid climate change in recent decades adds uncertainty to the future development of these forest systems.
  • 1.2K
  • 17 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Quick Approaches for Assessing Ocular Toxicity with Zebrafish
The presence of contaminants in the environment has increased, and studies have demonstrated that these contaminants have the ability to penetrate the blood–retinal barrier and directly affect the visual systems of organisms. Zebrafish are recognized as an ideal model for human eye diseases due to their anatomical and functional similarities to the human eye, making them an efficient and versatile organism for studying ocular toxicity caused by environmental contaminants in the field of environmental toxicology. Meanwhile, zebrafish exhibit a diverse repertoire of visually mediated behaviors, and their visual system undergoes complex changes in behavioral responses when exposed to environmental contaminants, enabling rapid assessment of the ocular toxicity induced by such pollutants. 
  • 1.2K
  • 30 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Land Use and Global Environmental Change
Global environmental changes are multifactorial and affected by multiple forms of land use. Land use is closely linked to the global dynamics of the urbanization process, especially in recent decades in which the world has gone through intense migratory processes moving from rural to the urban setting. The dynamics that involve the urbanization process have multiple aspects and presuppose multiple ways of using the land and their linking to the economic aspect.
  • 1.2K
  • 05 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Soil Fungal Diversity of the Aguarongo Andean Forest
Fungi represent an essential component of ecosystems, functioning as decomposers and biotrophs, and they are one of the most diverse groups of Eukarya. In the tropics, many species are unknown. In this work, high-throughput DNA sequencing was used to discover the biodiversity of soil fungi in the Aguarongo forest reserve, one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in Ecuador. The rDNA metabarcoding analysis revealed the presence of seven phyla: Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mortierellomycota, Mucoromycota, Glomeromycota, Chytridiomycota, and Monoblepharomycota. A total of 440 identified species were recorded. They mainly belonged to Ascomycota (263) and Basidiomycota (127). In Mortierellomycota, 12 species were recorded, among which Podila verticillata is extremely frequent and represents the dominant species in the entire mycobiota of Aguarongo. 
  • 1.2K
  • 20 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Wood-based pellets in Southeastern US
Effects of pellet production on selected Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) are evaluated using industry information, available energy consumption data, and published research findings. Challenges associated with identifying relevant SDG goals and targets for this particular bioenergy supply chain and potential deleterious impacts are discussed. We find that production of woody pellets in the SE US and shipments to displace coal for energy in Europe generate positive effects on affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), industry innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), and life on land (SDG 15). Primary strengths of the pellet supply chain in the SE US are the provisioning of employment in depressed rural areas and the displacement of fossil fuels. Weaknesses are associated with potential impacts on air, water, and biodiversity that arise if the resource base and harvest activities are improperly managed. The SE US pellet supply chain provides an opportunity for transition to low-carbon industries and innovations while incentivizing better resource management.
  • 1.2K
  • 31 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems Monitoring
In order to protect traditional agricultural systems of global importance, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched an initiative for the conservation of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) in 2002. After nearly two decades of development, the number of GIAHS has increased from the initial 5 in 2005 to the current 65 in 22 countries around the world. Despite the remarkable increase in the number of GIAHS, many countries are now facing the difficult task of dynamic conservation and adaptive management of GIAHS. As an important element of heritage management, monitoring plays an important role in improving the level of heritage management. Scientific and effective monitoring can not only achieve the conservation of the heritage itself and the maintenance of its value, but also the sustainable development of the heritage site.
  • 1.2K
  • 02 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Black Fungi and Hydrocarbons
Environmental pollution with alkylbenzene hydrocarbons such as toluene is a recurring phenomenon. Their toxicity and harmful effect on people and the environment drive the search for sustainable removal techniques such as bioremediation, which is based on the microbial metabolism of xenobiotic compounds.
  • 1.2K
  • 11 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Hyperspectral Imaging Applied to Sediment Core Analysis
The color analysis of sediment in the laboratory has followed important technological developments in closely related fields, such as the analysis of soils and sedimentary rocks, as well as in more distant fields, such as remote sensing. This has led to the development of sensors allowing the analysis of color and, more generally, of the electromagnetic spectrum of light to answer problems of rapidity, high resolution, automation, and increasing the amount of interesting information remotely without affecting the sample. The hyperspectral imaging sensor will be the focus of this practical guide. 
  • 1.2K
  • 23 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Multiscapes on an Urbanising Planet
The two most significant signatures of the Anthropocene—agriculture and urbanisation— have yet to be studied synoptically. The term periurban is used to describe territory where the urbanising trend of the planet extends into multiscapes. A periurban praxis is required that spatially reconciles urbanisation and agriculture, simultaneously permitting urban growth and the enhance- ment of critical ecosystem services provided by agricultural hinterlands.
  • 1.2K
  • 18 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Safe Reuse of Wastewater Irrigation
Due to climate change, two-thirds of mankind will face water scarcity by 2025, while by 2050, global food production must increase by at least 50% to feed 9 billion people. To overcome water scarcity, 15 million m3/day of untreated wastewater is used globally for crop irrigation, polluting the soil with pathogens, heavy metals and excess salts. Since 10% of the global population consumes food from crops irrigated with wastewater, pathogens transmitted through the food chain cause diseases especially in young children and women. We emphasize that irrigation offers real perspectives for large-scale recovery of wastewater, helping to reduce the deficit and conserve water resources, and increasing food safety, with the express mention that investments must be made in wastewater treatment plants and wastewater must be properly treated before recovery, to limit the risks on human health and the environment. 
  • 1.2K
  • 23 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Llanquihue Glaciation
The last glacial period and its associated glaciation is known in southern Chile as the Llanquihue glaciation (Spanish: Glaciación de Llanquihue). Its type area lies west of Llanquihue Lake where various drifts or end moraine systems belonging to the last glacial period have been identified. The glaciation is the last episode of existence of the Patagonian Ice Sheet. The preceding interglacial is known as the Valdivia interglacial after its type locality of Valdivia.
  • 1.2K
  • 31 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Ecotoxicological Assessment of Microplastics
Microplastics (MPs) are tiny plastic particles (<5 mm). They have been classified as contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) recently. Microplastics is a commonly used term, the more detailed classification includes: mesoplastics (1–5 mm), microplastics (0.0001–1 mm), and nanoplastics (<0.1 µm).
  • 1.2K
  • 14 May 2021
Topic Review
Exposure to Plastic Monomer and Plasticizer Bisphenol A
The plastic monomer and plasticizer bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the most widely used chemicals. BPA is present in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins, commonly used in food storage and industrial or medical products. However, the use of this synthetic compound is a growing concern, as BPA is an endocrine-disrupting compound and can bind mainly to estrogen receptors, interfering with different functions at the cardiovascular level.
  • 1.2K
  • 21 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Techniques for Micro(Nano)Plastics Measurement
Plastics have been massively produced since the 1940s, when society started to consume large quantities of plastics in every segment of our lives, including industry, agriculture, healthcare, and others. The production of plastics has been expanded in the last decades because of their favored characteristics, such as lightness, durability, flexibility, versatility, and cost-effectiveness.
  • 1.2K
  • 14 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Decision Support Systems in Forestry and Tree-Planting Practices
Using deep neural networks (DNNs), a decision support system (DSS) can be trained to learn from a large dataset of tree data, including information about tree species, climate, soil conditions, and other factors that influence tree growth and survival. This is because the use of neural networks was proposed three decades ago to solve forest management problems by integrating forest knowledge with artificial intelligence (AI). AI greatly benefits sustainability and the preservation of ecosystem values, as increasing disruptions in a changing world can only be managed beyond human intelligence. Furthermore, despite the various DSSs and AI systems used, the appointment of appropriate project managers is crucial to the execution and subsequent success of a project.
  • 1.2K
  • 04 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Extremely Acidic Eukaryotic (Micro) Organisms
Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) results from sulfide oxidation, which incorporates hydrogen ions, sulfate, and metals/metalloids into the aquatic environment, allowing fixation, bioaccumulation and biomagnification of pollutants in the aquatic food chain. Acidic leachates from waste rock dams from pyritic and (to a lesser extent) coal mining are the main foci of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) production. 
  • 1.2K
  • 14 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Land Cover Change Detection
Land cover patterns in sub-Saharan Africa are rapidly changing. This study aims to quantify the land cover change and to identify its major determinants by using the Drivers, Pressures, State, Impact, Responses (DPSIR) framework in the Ethiopian Gozamin District over a period of 32 years (1986 to 2018). Satellite images of Landsat 5 (1986), Landsat 7 (2003), and Sentinel-2 (2018) and a supervised image classification methodology were used to assess the dynamics of land cover change. Land cover maps of the three dates, focus group discussions (FGDs), interviews, and farmers’ lived experiences through a household survey were applied to identify the factors for changes based on the DPSIR framework. Results of the investigations revealed that during the last three decades the study area has undergone an extensive land cover change, primarily a shift from cropland and grassland into forests and built-up areas. Thus, quantitative land cover change detection between 1986 and 2018 revealed that cropland, grassland, and bare areas declined by 10.53%, 5.7%, and 2.49%. Forest, built-up, shrub/scattered vegetation, and water bodies expanded by 13.47%, 4.02%, 0.98%, and 0.25%. Household surveys and focus group discussions (FGDs) identified the population growth, the rural land tenure system, the overuse of land, the climate change, and the scarcity of grazing land as drivers of these land cover changes. Major impacts were rural to urban migration, population size change, scarcity of land, and decline in land productivity. The outputs from this study could be used to assure sustainability in resource utilization, proper land use planning, and proper decision-making by the concerned government authorities.
  • 1.2K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Mountain Permafrost Hydrology
Mountain Permafrost Hydrology can be defined as “the geoscience that describes and predicts the occurrence, circulation, and distribution of the water within high and cold mountainous terrain”.
  • 1.2K
  • 30 Jan 2022
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