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Topic Review
Soil Component Affect Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in soil have become research hotspots in the fields of public health and environmental ecosystem. The soil environment is an important acceptor of many pollutants, including antibiotics. The external pressure of antibiotics and other pollutants can promote the proliferation and occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) in soil. Soil ARGs can spread in various ways, such as horizontal gene transfer (HGT) between soil microorganisms and vertical gene transfer (VGT) between parent and offspring, while soil components have important influence on the occurance and spread of ARGs.
  • 893
  • 05 May 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. 
  • 893
  • 19 Dec 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. 
  • 892
  • 08 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Smart Cities and Natural Disasters
Smart Cities are cities that use technology and data to improve the quality of life for their citizens, enhance sustainability, and increase efficiency in urban services. Natural disasters refer to events that occur in nature and cause significant damage or loss of life. Smart Cities have the potential to play a significant role in preparing for and responding to natural disasters. By using technology and data to monitor and manage urban infrastructure, cities can improve their resilience and ability to respond to disasters quickly and effectively. This research explores the potential benefits of Smart Cities in enhancing resilience during natural disasters, the challenges in implementing Smart City technologies, and the solutions to overcome these challenges.
  • 891
  • 22 May 2023
Topic Review
Radon Risk Perception, Awareness and Knowledge
Radon is a natural radioactive gas that is present in buildings and is the second cause of lung cancer after smoking. Risk perception has been studied from multiple perspectives, including social studies, anthropology, and medical disciplines, with psychology playing a primary role. Two main dimensions are involved in risk perception: a cognitive dimension, related to knowledge and understanding of risk, and an emotional dimension, which includes feelings; both are components of the reaction to risks, representations of immediate and/or future consequences and their implications, and how people decide how to behave accordingly. Perceived risk is therefore quantifiable and predictable: the psychometric paradigm has helped to clarify how certain elements and characteristics are specifically influential in people’s perception of the dangerousness of an activity, such as controllability, voluntariness, threat to future generations, and responsibility. The research for the implementation of evidence-based radon communication programs is progressing rapidly. Many countries have issued regulations or recommendations to ensure that radon concentration levels do not exceed certain threshold values. Following the results of numerous epidemiological studies conducted two decades earlier, in 2009 the World Health Organization proposed a reference level of 100 Bq m−3 to minimize health risks from indoor radon, adding that if this level could not be achieved due to country-specific conditions, the chosen reference level should not exceed 300 Bq m−3. According to the 2013 Euratom Directive, radon is an indoor pollutant monitored in workplaces and homes, with established limits and exposure control obligations but exposure continues to be very high in some situations.
  • 891
  • 31 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Managing World Heritage
World Heritage is the pinnacle of the recognition of the natural, aesthetic, and cultural value of a place on the planet. Since its inception in 1972, over 1100 sites have received World Heritage status. Many of these places are being challenged by the effects of climate change. Urgent action is needed to build the resilience and adaptive capacity of World Heritage sites in the face of climate change threats to come. The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area (WTWHA) is one of the most effectively regulated and managed protected Areas in the world. This includes the scientific evidence upon which that regulation and management is based. However, there is growing evidence that climate change impacts are a clear and present threat to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) upon which the listing is based. This challenges the very concept of OUV and points to the business-as-usual regulation and management not being sufficient to deal with the threat. It also calls for quantum changes in the approaches to protecting natural and cultural heritage and the OUV in World Heritage Areas.
  • 889
  • 15 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Ecological Land in Arid Hilly
Cities in hilly arid areas of northwest China have generally experienced a low level of economic development; they also have unique natural characteristics such as climate, soil, terrain, environment, and surface cover. High quality ecological lands are those that provide humans and the environment with relatively high levels of ecological services including soil, water, and air purification, adsorbing pollutants, or providing water or nutrients needed by plants. This paper uses an improved model to evaluate the importance of ecological land in the core urban area of Lanzhou with specific attention to natural ecology and human needs. The purpose of this research is mainly twofold: (1) to construct a significant evaluation system for ecological land in the northwest arid hilly area, via the study’s methodology; (2) to explore the structure and spatial distribution characteristics of ecological land in the core area of Lanzhou in a practical sense, to reveal the development characteristics of ur-ban ecological land in the arid hilly region of northwest China, and to provide some guidance for the long-term development of Lanzhou.
  • 889
  • 17 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Sustainable Valorization of Bioplastic Waste
Plastics-based materials have a high carbon footprint, and their disposal is a considerable problem for the environment. Biodegradable bioplastics represent an alternative on which most countries have focused their attention to replace of conventional plastics in various sectors, among which food packaging is the most significant one. The evaluation of the optimal end-of-life process for bioplastic waste is of great importance for their sustainable use.
  • 888
  • 29 May 2023
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. 
  • 885
  • 17 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), a nature-inspired, engineered stormwater management approach that mimics natural hydrological processes to improve water quality and reduce localized flooding events.
  • 883
  • 01 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Landscape and Climate Changes in Southeastern Amazonia
The upland lakes (ULs) in Carajás, southeastern Amazonia, have been extensively studied with respect to their high-resolution structural geology, geomorphology, stratigraphy, multielement and isotope geochemistry, palynology and limnology.
  • 883
  • 06 Apr 2023
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.
  • 881
  • 02 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Dualistic Nature of NOx Impact on Greenhouse Effect
Nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) emitted from a stationary combustion chamber (including waste to energy plants) or engines cause numerous undesirable environmental effects. These include negative influences on human and animal health, detrimental effects on plants and vegetation, acid rain, and smog. These negative influences are commonly accepted by the scientific community. However, the impact of NOx on the greenhouse effect (GHE) is not generally accepted by the scientific community.
  • 878
  • 03 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Groundwater Pollution by Nitrates
Groundwater pollution by nitrates from agricultural sources is a common environmental issue. Surpluses from nitrogen fertilization are leached and they reach groundwater.
  • 877
  • 10 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Geo-Environmental Characterization of High Contaminated Coastal Sites
Despite its remarkable geomorphological, ecological, and touristic value, the coastal sector of the Apulia region (Southern Italy) hosts three of the main contaminated Italian sites (Sites of National Interest, or SINs), for which urgent environmental remediation and reclamation actions are required. These sites are affected by intense coastal modification and diffuse environmental pollution due to the strong industrialization and urbanization processes that have been taking place since the second half of the XIX century. The Apulian coastal SINs, established by the National Law 426/1998 and delimited by the Ministerial Decree of 10 January 2000, include large coastal sectors and marine areas, which have been deeply investigated by the National Institution for the Environmental Research and Protection (ISPRA) and the Regional Agency for the Prevention and Protection of the Environment (ARPA) with the aim of obtaining a deep environmental characterization of the marine matrices (sediments, water, and biota). High-resolution and multidisciplinary investigations focused on the geo-environmental characterization of the coastal basins in the SIN Taranto site have been funded by the “Special Commissioner for the urgent measures of reclamation, environmental improvements, and redevelopment of Taranto”.
  • 877
  • 17 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Sampling System for Measurement of Vehicles Exhaust Particles
A sampling system that measures volatile particles needs appropriate design, dilution conditions and counting devices in order to capture the nucleation mode formation potential of the source (vehicle).
  • 875
  • 29 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Effects of Organic Amendments on Solanum tuberosum L.
The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the third most important food crop worldwide, after rice and wheat. The potato is one of the crops that produce more food per unit of time, water and area, even in more adverse climates in comparison with any other crop. It is also characterized by its extraordinary ability to adapt to different soil and climate conditions, occupying a leading role in the global food chain, and thus being considered by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as a food security crop. Likewise, the increase in world population leads to uncertainties in the food supply chain and it shows the need for high-yield crops.
  • 871
  • 02 Feb 2023
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.
  • 869
  • 04 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Horticulture 4.0 in Horticulture for Meeting Sustainable Farming
The United Nations emphasized a significant agenda on reducing hunger and protein malnutrition as well as micronutrient (vitamins and minerals) malnutrition, which is estimated to affect the health of up to two billion people. The UN also recognized this need through Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2 and SDG 12) to end hunger and foster sustainable agriculture by enhancing the production and consumption of fruits and vegetables. Previous studies only stressed the various issues in horticulture with regard to industries, but they did not emphasize the centrality of Industry 4.0 technologies for confronting the diverse issues in horticulture, from production to marketing in the context of sustainability. 
  • 868
  • 27 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Phyto-Beneficial Traits of Rhizosphere Bacteria
Beneficial interactions between plants and some bacterial species have been long recognized, as they proved to exert various growth-promoting and health-protective activities on economically relevant crops. As well, rhizosphere bacteria direct activity against some phytopathogenic fungal species (such as Aspergillus and Fusarium spp.) have been also observed, resulting highly interesting since these pathogens cause major yield losses in cereal crops and are well-known mycotoxin producers.
  • 866
  • 20 Jan 2022
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