Dual functionalization of carboxymethyl cellulose and alginate via Passerini three-component reaction to graft two hydrophobic moieties: Toward modular thin films.

Passerini reaction was advantageously exploited to hydrophobize carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and alginates (ALG) by employing various hydrophobic aldehydes and isocyanides. The Passerini reaction, carried out in ecofriendly conditions, allowed to design never described twofold hydrophobized polysaccharide derivatives via the covalent grafting of two hydrophobic moieties. The modified CMC and ALG products were in-depth characterized to guaranty the success of the modification and to calculate the degrees of substitution (DS).

Can the Middle East-North Africa region mitigate the rise of its food import dependency under climate change?

Unlabelled: The dependence on imports of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for its food needs has increased steadily since the early 1960s, from 10% to about 40%. This import dependence could continue to rise in coming decades due to the projected MENA population growth and the expected negative impacts of climate change on the region's natural resources and agricultural performances. To what extent the food import dependency of the MENA region will continue to increase up to 2050 and how the region could mitigate its rising reliance on food imports is both a key question for the region itself and a crucial geopolitical issue for the world as a whole.

Systematic review of candidate prognostic factors for falling in older adults identified from motion analysis of challenging walking tasks.

The objective of this systematic review is to identify motion analysis parameters measured during challenging walking tasks which can predict fall risk in the older population. Numerous studies have attempted to predict fall risk from the motion analysis of standing balance or steady walking. However, most falls do not occur during steady gait but occur due to challenging centre of mass displacements or environmental hazards resulting in slipping, tripping or falls on stairs.

The ongoing nutrition transition thwarts long-term targets for food security, public health and environmental protection.

The nutrition transition transforms food systems globally and shapes public health and environmental change. Here we provide a global forward-looking assessment of a continued nutrition transition and its interlinked symptoms in respect to food consumption. These symptoms range from underweight and unbalanced diets to obesity, food waste and environmental pressure.

Shared Socio-economic Pathways for European agriculture and food systems: The Eur-Agri-SSPs.

Scenarios describe plausible and internally consistent views of the future. They can be used by scientists, policymakers and entrepreneurs to explore the challenges of global environmental change given an appropriate level of spatial and sectoral detail and systematic development. We followed a nine-step protocol to extend and enrich a set of global scenarios - the Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) - providing regional and sectoral detail for European agriculture and food systems using a one-to-one nesting participatory approach.