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Topic Review
Effects of Ionizing Radiation on Fukushima Flora
After the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) accident in March 2011 much attention was focused to the biological consequences of ionizing radiation and radionuclides released in the area surrounding the nuclear plant. This unexpected mishap led to the emission of radionuclides in aerosol and gaseous forms from the power plant, which contaminated a large area, including wild forest, cities, farmlands, mountains, and the sea, causing serious problems. Large quantities of 131I, 137Cs, and 134Cs were detected in the fallout. People were evacuated but the flora continued to be affected by the radiation exposure and by the radioactive dusts’ fallout. 
  • 956
  • 28 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Water–Energy–Food Nexus Research in Africa
The nexus of water, energy and food (hereafter WEF nexus) is undoubtedly complex, yet critical, for it mediates numerous issues that humankind faces today. These three resource systems are intimately interlinked and essential to the livelihoods of mankind, whereby actions in one sector are likely to have reciprocal impacts on other sectors, resulting in conflicts or competition.
  • 955
  • 12 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Management in Coastal Louisiana Restoration
Louisiana has lost over 4800 km2 of coastal land since 1932, and a large-scale effort to restore coastal Louisiana is underway, guided by Louisiana’s Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast.
  • 955
  • 07 Jun 2021
Topic Review
ROS and Antioxidants in Halophytes
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are excited or partially reduced forms of atmospheric oxygen, which are continuously produced during aerobic metabolism like many physiochemical processes operating throughout seed life. Previously, it was believed that ROS are merely cytotoxic molecules, however, now it has been established that they perform numerous beneficial functions in plants including many critical roles in seed physiology. ROS facilitate seed germination via cell wall loosening, endosperm weakening, signaling, and decreasing abscisic acid (ABA) levels. Most of the existing knowledge about ROS homeostasis and functions is based on the seeds of common plants or model ones.
  • 955
  • 30 Aug 2023
Topic Review
QR/IoT-Assisted Trash Collection System
Effective waste management is of paramount importance as it contributes significantly to environmental preservation, mitigates health hazards, and aids in the preservation of precious resources. Conversely, mishandling waste not only presents severe environmental risks but can also disrupt the balance of ecosystems and pose threats to biodiversity. The emission of carbon dioxide, methane, and greenhouse gases (GHGs) can constitute a significant factor in the progression of global warming and climate change, consequently giving rise to atmospheric pollution. This pollution, in turn, has the potential to exacerbate respiratory ailments, elevate the likelihood of cardiovascular disorders, and negatively impact overall public health. Hence, efficient management of trash is extremely crucial in any society. It requires integrating technology and innovative solutions, which can help eradicate this global issue. The internet of things (IoT) is a revolutionary communication paradigm with significant contributions to remote monitoring and control. IoT-based trash management aids remote garbage level monitoring but entails drawbacks like high installation and maintenance costs, increased electronic waste production (53 million metric tons in 2013), and substantial energy consumption for always-vigilant IoT devices. 
  • 951
  • 19 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Sustainable Development and Mangroves
Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees that inhabit the mid and upper intertidal coastal fringes (mainly estuaries and deltas) of tropical and subtropical regions. Rainfall, tidal height, salinity, soil characteristics (nutrients and oxygen content, grain composition and humidity), and biotic factors, like herbivory, are among the main ecological factors determinant of their development, diversity, and high biomass . 
  • 944
  • 08 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Landscape Changes in Protected Areas in Poland
Land-Use Cover Changes (LUCCs) are one of the main problems for the preservation of landscapes and natural biodiversity. Protected Areas (PAs) do not escape this threat. Poland is among the European leaders in terms of the variety of landscapes and the share of an area designated as a protected area. However, as many as 78% of the habitats have poor or bad conservation status based on EEA reports. The changes in PAs were usually smaller than in the surrounding buffer zones, which may indicate their effectiveness. The scale of land-cover flows (LCFs) changed within particular forms of protected areas, though afforestation and deforestation predominating in all area types. National reserves and parks were the most stable in terms of land cover structures. However, human settlements increased around the protected areas, potentially increasing threats to their ecological integrity.
  • 944
  • 23 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Community-Based Organisations in Post-Disaster Transformative Adaptation
Disasters result where hazards and vulnerabilities intersect. The concept of vulnerability itself is mainly a social construct and the extent to which this can be overcome while transforming disaster-prone systems has often been emphasised in the critical hazard literature. However, the extent to which community-based organisations contribute to post-disaster transformation at the community level remains unexamined. 
  • 944
  • 28 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Outdoor Acid Air Pollutants
Outdoor acid air contaminants are mainly generated by human activities and to a much lesser extent by natural sources such as volcanic activity. Acid air pollutants are known to cause acid deposition which damages the environment. Epidemiological studies have also shown that air pollutants have a harmful impact on human health, by increasing total, respiratory and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution. The emission limits imposed by some governments have been helpful, but not conclusive. Outdoor acid air pollutants mainly derive from the combustion of fossil fuels by industrial plants and vehicles. This releases acid gases (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide) and particulate matter (PM). It contributes to global warming and the spread of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
  • 943
  • 01 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Technological Innovation for Climate Change Mitigation
}} Climate change has worsened at the hands of human activity for centuries, and many scientific efforts have been made since the first political acknowledgment. In order to avoid the ongoing and potential impacts of climate change, mitigation technologies have been developed in order to adapt to the issue, each invention belonging to one of four specific groups of effort. These groups include energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy (RE), nuclear power/energy (NE), and carbon capture storage (CCS). However, concerns regarding mitigating and adapting to climate change commonly have a priority focus on the groups of carbon capture storage and renewable energy efforts. Traditionally, areas of western civilization around the world have the resources and finances to successfully develop and maintain technological mitigators to climate change. The research and development of these technologies require funding and incur high costs. There is a global inconsistency in producing these inventions, leaving developing countries without the means to defend themselves against the issue of climate change. Ironically, some of these areas are powerless enough while being the most inflicted by climate change in the world. Climate change was mentioned as early as 1896 by Swedish chemist, Svante Arrhenius. The topic did not emerge as a political issue until the 1950s. Public policy is its own actor in the business of climate innovations through its control over the activity of emitting and reducing pollution inventions. Predominantly, legislature works to control the innovations particularly through placing restrictions on the amount of pollution that can be produced, and time crunches on when certain changes by companies using polluting inventions need to be completed by. It is up to the state that is implementing policy and the pollution-contributing businesses to work towards the implemented legal requirements in order to reach environmental goals by a set date.
  • 943
  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in Water Environment
Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are a particularly dangerous group because they have estrogenic activity. Among EDCs, the alkylphenols commonly used in households deserve attention, from where they go to sewage treatment plants, and then to water reservoirs.
  • 941
  • 02 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Sea Water and Cement-Based Materials
The use of blast furnace cement is an effective way to meet the requirements of sustainable development. However, CEM III/C is characterized by slow strength gain. The problem can be worse for plasticized reinforced blast furnace cement concretes mixed with sea water in view of shorter durability. The mitigation of corrosion in plasticized blast furnace cement concretes mixed with sea water can be provided through a composition of minor additional constituents, with percentage by mass of the main constituents: alkali metal compounds, 2…3; calcium aluminate cement, 1; clinoptilolite, 1. The alkali metal compounds are known to activate hydraulic properties of ground granulated blast furnace slag. A calcium aluminate cement promotes the accelerated chemical binding of Cl− and SO42−-ions with the formation of Kuzel’s salt. A clinoptilolite occludes these aggressive ions. The positive effects of the mentioned minor additional constituents in the blast furnace cement were supported by the increased early strength gain and the higher structural density, as well as by a good state of steel reinforcement, in the plasticized concretes mixed with sea water.
  • 940
  • 28 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Interactions of Nanoplastics with Freshwater Phytoplankton Species
Nano-sized plastics (NPLs, size < 100 nm) are characterized by a very small size and high reactivity, allowing them to interact with diverse phytoplankton species. The processes governing the interactions of NPLs with phytoplankton cells include absorption onto cell, penetration into cells via endocytosis or physical damage, and the obstruction of substance and energy exchange with the surrounding medium. Upon association with the cells, elevated concentrations of NPLs can reduce phytoplankton growth and photosynthesis,  trigger overproduction of reactive oxygen species and damages, as well as alter cellular metabolic activity. NPLs can influence toxin production by cyanobacteria and  release of extracellular polymeric substances by different phytoplankton species. Conversely, phytoplankton species can modulate NPL fate by secreting biomolecules that form an eco-corona around the NPLs, as well as taking part in the NPLs biotransformation.
  • 939
  • 11 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Effects of Waste Derived Biobased Products in Plants
Cultivating plants is a human activity involving several sectors. Agriculture deals with cultivation of crops for human consumption as well as animal production. Horticulture strictly involves the cultivation of plants for food consumption, as well as plants not for human consumption. Common farming practice is to boost plant production with a fertilizer dose higher than that adsorbed by soil and plant. Soluble bioorganic substances (SBS) obtained from urban and agriculture biowastes have both biostimulant and antifungal properties. 
  • 938
  • 11 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Ecological–Health Risk Assessments of Copper in the Sediments
The ecological and children’s HRA were assessed in all CCDITS (Cited Cu Data in The Sediments). Generally, local point Cu sources (8%) and lithogenic sources were the main controlling factors of Cu concentrations. 
  • 937
  • 26 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Carbon Polygons and Carbon Offsets
The most important area of study concerning carbon polygons is the problem of assessing the reserves and trends in the stability of organic matter in the soil of natural ecosystems. An adequate assessment of these stocks should be based on verified methods for determining the content of organic matter (direct and indirect methods and the problem of the correlation of results) and on unified ideas about the depth and regularity of sampling within soil profiles and monitoring sites. This problem is particularly relevant to the development of a spatial network of carbon polygons in the Russian Federation.
  • 931
  • 17 Nov 2021
Topic Review
High-Solid Anaerobic Digestion
High-solid anaerobic digestion (HS-AD) and solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) are technologies presenting an outstanding capacity for treating organic wastes and requiring lower digester volumes. 
  • 931
  • 17 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Roadkills for Monitor Raccoon Dog Populations
The raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is a highly invasive species, therefore knowledge regarding the population size, trends and spatial distribution is important for species assessment and for the planning of control measures. And the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is one of the most frequently killed species on Lithuanian roads.
  • 928
  • 12 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Toxicity of PFASs to Aquatic Invertebrates
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), recognized worldwide as emerging pollutants. Its accumulation in living organisms and foods has accentuated the importance of investigations into aquatic organisms at the bottom of the food chain, as the stability and integrity of the food web as well as the population quantity and structure of the aquatic ecosystem may be affected. In aquatic ecosystems, invertebrates, planktons, and microorganisms are essential for material circulation and energy flow. As such, the toxicity and bioaccumulation effects on aquatic organisms directly determine the survival of all other animals along this food chain, making them important study species.
  • 926
  • 04 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Biosafety of Genome Editing Applications
In the European Union plants developed by novel genomic techniques for directed mutagenesis are have to undergo an Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) prior to release or placing on the market. However, specific guidance for such an ERA is still lacking. In this review we discuss the limited suitability of general denominators of risk/safety to predict the risks associated with individual genome edited (GE) plants and argue that there is no safety by default for whole groups of GE applications encompassing different individual GE organisms. We suggest integrating the following two sets of considerations into the ERA to address particular characteristics of GE plants: considerations related to the traits developed by GE and considerations addressing the assessment of method-related unintended effects, e.g. due to off-target modifications. In conclusion, we recommend that further specific guidance for the ERA and monitoring should be developed to facilitate a focused assessment approach for GE plants. 
  • 925
  • 08 Jul 2021
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