Summary

Environmental science emerged from the fields of natural history and medicine during the Enlightenment. Today, it provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems. Environmental studies are incorporating more of the social sciences in order to understand human relationships, perceptions and policies towards the environment. This entry collection features information about design and technology for improving environmental quality in every aspect.

Expand All
Entries
Topic Review
Shallow Marine Sediments
Geological structure changes, including deformations and ruptures, developed in shallow marine sediments are well recognized but were not systematically reviewed in previous studies. These structures, generally developed at a depth less than 1000 m below seafloor, are considered to play a significant role in the migration, accumulation, and emission of hydrocarbon gases and fluids, and the formation of gas hydrates, and they are also taken as critical factors affecting carbon balance in the marine environment.
  • 1.6K
  • 25 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Biogas Desulphurisation
The agriculture and livestock industry generate waste used in anaerobic digestion to produce biogas containing methane (CH4), useful in the generation of electricity and heat. However, although biogas is mainly composed of CH4 (~65%) and CO2 (~34%), among the 1% of other compounds present is hydrogen sulphide (H2S) which deteriorates engines and power generation fuel cells that use biogas, generating a foul smell and contaminating the environment. As a solution to this, anoxic biofiltration, specifically with biotrickling filters (BTFs), stands out in terms of the elimination of H2S as it is cost-effective, efficient, and more environmentally friendly than chemical solutions. BTFs are a devices in which a microbial biofilm (mainly bacteria) formed on a packing material, degrades the pollutants (in this case hydrogen sulphide).
  • 1.1K
  • 23 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Seawater
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) is a term used to represent petroleum (crude oil) that consists of a blend of thousands of compounds. They are referred to as hydrocarbons because almost all consist of hydrogen and carbon. A crude oil spill is a common issue during offshore oil drilling, transport and transfer to onshore. Second, the production of petroleum refinery effluent is known to cause pollution due to its toxic effluent discharge. Sea habitats and onshore soil biota are affected by TPH as a pollutant in their natural environment. Crude oil pollution in seawater, estuaries and beaches requires an efficient process of cleaning. To remove crude oil pollutants from seawater, various physico-chemical and biological treatment methods have been applied worldwide. A biological treatment method using bacteria, fungi and algae has recently gained a lot of attention due to its efficiency and lower cost.
  • 3.0K
  • 23 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Carbon Nanofibers
Carbon nanofibers are nano-sized fibers that have a high degree of crystalline orientation. In recent years, ecological issues have led to the search for new green materials from biomass as precursors for producing carbon materials. Such green materials are more attractive than traditional petroleum-based materials, which are environmentally harmful and non-biodegradable.
  • 1.4K
  • 02 May 2021
Topic Review
Nanoimpact in Plants
Transcriptomics studies are available to evaluate the potential toxicity of nanomaterials in plants, and many highlight their effect on stress-responsive genes. However, a comparative analysis of overall expression changes suggests a low impact on the transcriptome. Environmental challenges like pathogens, saline, or drought stress induce stronger transcriptional responses than nanoparticles. Clearly, plants did not have the chance to evolve specific gene regulation in response to novel nanomaterials; but they use common regulatory circuits with other stress responses. 
  • 555
  • 22 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Vitamin K2 in “Bone-Vascular Crosstalk”
Osteoporosis (OP) and vascular calcification (VC) represent relevant health problems that frequently coexist in the elderly population. Traditionally, they have been considered independent processes, and mainly age-related. However, an increasing number of studies have reported their possible direct correlation, commonly defined as “bone-vascular crosstalk”. Vitamin K2 (VitK2), a family of several natural isoforms also known as menaquinones (MK), has recently received particular attention for its role in maintaining calcium homeostasis.
  • 731
  • 14 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Spinal Robotic Orthoses
Osteoporotic spine fractures (OSF) are common sequelae of osteoporosis. OSF are directly correlated with increasing age and incidence of osteoporosis. OSF are treated conservatively or surgically. We review the current state of the art in the field of wearable robots for trunk support.
  • 931
  • 19 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Medicinal Mushroom Therapeutic Use
Medicinal mushrooms have important health benefits and exhibit a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, including antiallergic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, antiviral, cytotoxic, immunomodulating, antidepressive, antihyperlipidemic, antidiabetic, digestive, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, nephroprotective, osteoprotective, and hypotensive activities. 
  • 908
  • 02 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Physical Activity in Older Adults
Healthy aging makes the practice of physical activity (PA) a necessity. However, PA guidelines achievement in older adults is scarce. The use of behavioral theories such as Transtheoretical Model (TTM), helps in older adults PA promotion. The aim of this review was to identify the use of TTM for PA in older adults (>60 years). PubMed, SPORTdiscus, and Medline databases were used to conduct the search. All steps of the process followed the recommendations of the PRISMA flow-diagram. We identified eight studies: Six were descriptive cross-sectional studies, one prospective-cohort study and one with a quasi-experimental design. Only two papers evaluated the four behavior change dimensions within the same study, three evaluated the processes of change and the decisional balance, four evaluated the exercise self-efficacy and all assessed the stages of change for PA behavior. 
  • 688
  • 24 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Tau Oligomers Neurotoxicity
Although the mechanisms of toxic activity of tau are not fully recognized, it is supposed that the tau toxicity is related rather not to insoluble tau aggregates but to its intermediate forms. It seems that neurofibrillar tangles (NFTs) themselves, despite being composed of toxic tau, are probably neither necessary nor sufficient for tau-induced neuronal dysfunction and toxicity. Tau oligomers (TauOs) formed during the early stages of tau aggregation are the pathological forms that play a key role in eliciting the loss of neurons and behavioral impairments in several neurodegenerative disorders called tauopathies. They can be found in tauopathic diseases, the most common of which is Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Evidence of co-occurrence of b-amyloid, α-synuclein, and tau into their most toxic forms, i.e., oligomers, suggests that these species interact and influence each other’s aggregation in several tauopathies. The mechanism responsible for oligomeric tau neurotoxicity is a subject of intensive investigation.
  • 703
  • 21 Jan 2021
  • Page
  • of
  • 106

Featured Entry Collections

>>