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.

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Topic Review
Malaysian Palm Oil Industry
Oil palm is a highly productive oil crop as it produces up a yield up to ten times higher than other oilseed crops, such as soybean, sunflower and rapeseed, and has a productive life span of over 20 years. As such, oil palm plantations record the highest land productivity. With the growth in population and the surge in renewable energy, palm oil can address those demands by increasing the yield from the existing plantation areas.
  • 1.9K
  • 20 Oct 2021
Topic Review
A Connected Community Approach to Building Community Resilience
Urban resilience research is recognizing the need to complement a mainstream preoccupation with “hard” infrastructure (electrical grid, storm sewers, etc.) with attention to the “soft” (social) infrastructure issues that include the increased visibility of and role for civil society, moving from (top-down, paternalistic) government to (participatory) governance. Analyses of past shock events invariably point to the need for more concerted efforts in building effective governance and networked relations between civil society groupings and formal institutions before, during, and after crisis. However, the literature contains little advice on how to go about this. A Connected Communities Approach is advanced that offers the missing guidance, and it's key features are explained.
  • 2.4K
  • 20 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Wool Characteristics Variationacross of Alpacas in Poland
The quality of the fibers obtained from alpacas is primarily determined by the mean fiber diameter (MFD) and the presence of medullas. The staple length and crimping are also important. These parameters depend on many genetic and phenotypic factors, such as age, sex, and the color of the coat.Alpaca wool is luxurious and, hence, arouses great interest among consumers. However, the drawbacks of this wool are its variation in thickness and the proportion of medullated fibers. Knowing about variations in the quality characteristics of the wool on an animal’s body can help in properly evaluating and using this wool.
  • 1.1K
  • 21 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Plant Tolerance to Drought Stress
Increasing temperature leads to intensive water evaporation, contributing to global warming and consequently leading to drought stress. These events are likely to trigger modifications in plant physiology and microbial functioning due to the altered availability of nutrients. Plants exposed to drought have developed different strategies to cope with stress by morphological, physiological, anatomical, and biochemical responses.
  • 2.0K
  • 19 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Tougher Plastics Ban Policies in China
After the Chinese government's new plastics ban policies issued in 2020, another set of tougher plastics ban measures were introduced in Shanghai, China in 2021. The tougher plastic ban polices completely forbade the usage of plastic carrier bags and required all supermarkets to sell only cloth or nylon carrier bags priced from RMB 1.0 to 39.0. Tougher plastics ban policies are penalty-oriented. The tougher plastics ban policies produce positive plastics reducing effects by observing significantly decreased usage of charged carrier bags by 46%, and significantly increased usage of old plastic bags and reusable bags by 117% and 36%, respectively. Policy execution loopholes are found in some supermarkets which do not follow the tougher plastics ban measures. Fortunately, the spill-over effects from tougher-measure-executing supermarkets fix this issue to some extent. The tougher 2021 measures fail to be the most powerful impacting factor on people’s usage of each type of bag. To produce better plastics reducing results, other bag-targeted measures are necessary.
  • 2.1K
  • 19 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Cu/ZSM5-Geopolymer 3D-Printed Monoliths
Geopolymer-based monoliths manufactured by direct ink writing, containing up to 60% by weight of presynthesized ZSM5 with low Si/Al ratio, were investigated as structured catalysts for the NH3-SCR of NOx.
  • 970
  • 29 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Fungi in Pine Wilt Disease
Pine wilt disease (PWD) is a complex disease that severely affects the biodiversity and economy of Eurasian coniferous forests. Three factors are described as the main elements of the disease: the pinewood nematode (PWN) Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the insect-vector Monochamus spp., and the host tree, mainly Pinus spp. Nonetheless, other microbial interactors have also been considered.
  • 1.5K
  • 20 Oct 2021
Topic Review
EDCs and Prostate Disease
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) belong to a heterogeneous class of environmental pollutants widely diffused in different aquatic and terrestrial habitats. This implies that humans and animals are continuously exposed to EDCs from different matrices and sources. Moreover, pollution derived from anthropic and industrial activities leads to combined exposure to substances with multiple mechanisms of action on the endocrine system and correlated cell and tissue targets. For this reason, specific organs, such as the prostate gland, which physiologically are under the control of hormones like androgens and estrogens, are particularly sensitive to EDC stimulation. It is now well known that an imbalance in hormonal regulation can cause the onset of various prostate diseases, from benign prostate hyperplasia to prostate cancer.
  • 990
  • 21 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor in Atopic Dermatitis and Psoriasis
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)/AHR-nuclear translocator (ARNT) system is a sensitive sensor for small molecular, xenobiotic chemicals of exogenous and endogenous origin, including dioxins, phytochemicals, microbial bioproducts, and tryptophan photoproducts. AHR/ARNT are abundantly expressed in the skin. Once activated, the AHR/ARNT axis strengthens skin barrier functions and accelerates epidermal terminal differentiation by upregulating filaggrin expression. In addition, AHR activation induces oxidative stress. However, some AHR ligands simultaneously activate the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor-2 (NRF2) transcription factor, which is a master switch of antioxidative enzymes that neutralizes oxidative stress. 
  • 1.3K
  • 18 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Optimizing Sustainability Opportunities for Biochar
Biochar is most commonly considered for its use as a soil amendment, where it has gained attention for its potential to improve agricultural production and soil health. Twenty years of near exponential growth in investigation has demonstrated that biochar does not consistently deliver these benefits, due to variables in biochar, soil, climate, and cropping systems. While biochar can provide agronomic improvements in marginal soils, it is less likely to do so in temperate climates and fertile soils. Here, biochar and its coproducts may be better utilized for contaminant remediation or the substitution of nonrenewable or mining-intensive materials. 
  • 1.7K
  • 18 Oct 2021
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