4,774 results match your criteria: "Institute for Environmental Studies[Affiliation]"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how daily rainfall characteristics—like intensity, duration, and frequency—affect mortality rates from all causes, cardiovascular issues, and respiratory problems across 34 countries from 1980 to 2020.
  • It utilizes a time series analysis to evaluate the association between daily mortality and rainfall events that occur at different return periods (one, two, and five years), including the effects of extreme rainfall with a 14-day lag.
  • The results indicate that extreme rainfall events (five-year return period) correlate with increased mortality rates, particularly for respiratory cases, while moderate rainfall shows protective effects, and the impact varies based on climate and vegetation.
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Advancing stem cell technologies for conservation of wildlife biodiversity.

Development

October 2024

Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Hopkins Building, Downing Site, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK.

Article Synopsis
  • Wildlife biodiversity helps keep ecosystems healthy and strong.
  • Scientists study this diversity to learn more about life and how it started.
  • Due to the rapid loss of various species, immediate action is needed from conservationists, and new techniques like stem cell technologies could help protect animal diversity.
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Mangrove plants, which have evolved to inhabit tidal flats, may adjust their physiological and morphological traits to optimize their growth in saline habitats. Furthermore, the confined distribution of mangroves within warm regions suggests that warm temperature is advantageous to their growth in saline environments. We analyzed growth, morphology and respiratory responses to moderate salinity and temperature in a mangrove species, Rhizophora stylosa.

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In global impact modeling, there is a need to address the heterogeneous characteristics of households and individuals that drive different behavioral responses to, for example, environmental risk, socio-economic policy changes and spread of diseases. In this research, we present GLOPOP-S, the first global synthetic population dataset with 1,999,227,130 households and 7,335,881,094 individuals for the year 2015, consistent with population statistics at an administrative unit 1 level. GLOPOS-S contains the following attributes: age, education, gender, income/wealth, settlement type (urban/rural), household size, household type, and for selected countries in the Global South, ownership of agricultural land and dwelling characteristics.

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Drivers of urban biodiversity in Mexico and joint risks from future urban expansion, climate change, and urban heat island effect.

PLoS One

October 2024

ICAyCC-Instituto de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y Cambio Climático, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.

Urbanization is a phenomenon where humans concentrate in high densities and consume more per capita energy than in rural areas, imposing high pressures on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Although Mexico is recognized as a megadiverse country and there is an understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes underlying this high diversity, only some efforts have been devoted to understanding how urban biodiversity has been shaped. Here, we compiled a set of socioeconomic and ecological variables to explore macroecological patterns in urban biodiversity across Mexican municipalities.

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Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitously found in environmental matrices, particularly affecting aquatic systems. While several marine species have been widely used to assess MP contamination, sponges (Porifera) are less used. The MPs contamination was assessed in the sun sponge (Hymeniacidon heliophila) along a gradient at the Santos Estuarine System (Brazil).

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Iodate reduction by marine aerobic bacteria.

Front Microbiol

September 2024

Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Matsudo, Japan.

Iodate reductase (Idr) gene cluster ( ) is involved in bacterial iodate (IO ) respiration under anaerobic conditions. Putative gene clusters are present in both anaerobic and aerobic bacteria; however, the specific physiological roles of genes in aerobic bacteria remain unclear. Therefore, in this study, three marine aerobic bacteria with putative gene clusters (, , and ) were grown in the presence of iodate to determine whether they can reduce iodate to iodide (I).

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Bisphenol A triggers activation of ocular immune system and aggravates allergic airway inflammation.

Clin Immunol

November 2024

Department of Immunology, Hyogo Medical University, School of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya 663-8501, Japan. Electronic address:

Article Synopsis
  • Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical found in many plastic products, and breathing or swallowing it can make allergies worse.
  • When exposed to BPA through eye drops, mice showed increased immune responses and allergic reactions in their bodies.
  • A special protein called DAP12 is important for helping the immune system react correctly to BPA when it touches the eyes.
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Article Synopsis
  • Heatstroke is a significant health issue in Japan, prompting the government's implementation of the "Heatstroke Alert" in 2021, which uses wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) for risk assessment.
  • A study used a random forest approach to analyze various meteorological indicators, including heat acclimatization factors, to better predict heatstroke cases across Japan's 47 prefectures.
  • Findings indicated that relative temperature (RelTemp) is the most effective predictor of heatstroke severity and location, highlighting its potential as a complementary indicator to WBGT, especially considering Japan's seasonal variations in heat acclimatization.
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The Antitumour Mechanisms of Carotenoids: A Comprehensive Review.

Antioxidants (Basel)

August 2024

Immunology, Cellular and Developmental Biology Group, Department of Biotechnology, University of Alicante, Ap. 99, E-03080 Alicante, Spain.

Carotenoids, known for their antioxidant properties, have garnered significant attention for their potential antitumour activities. This comprehensive review aims to elucidate the diverse mechanisms by which carotenoids exert antitumour effects, focusing on both well-established and novel findings. We explore their role in inducing apoptosis, inhibiting cell cycle progression and preventing metastasis by affecting oncogenic and tumour suppressor proteins.

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Uptake, Elimination and Metabolism of Brominated Dibenzofurans in Mice.

Toxics

September 2024

Material Cycles Division, NIES, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan.

Polybrominated dibenzofurans (PBDFs) are major brominated dioxins in the environment, but information on their bioaccumulation potential and toxicokinetics is limited. This study conducted oral exposure experiments with C57BL/6J mice to investigate the uptake ratios, distribution in the liver, plasma and brain, metabolism, and elimination kinetics of four bromine/chlorine-substituted dibenzofurans (TrBDF: 2,3,8-tribromo, TeBDF: 2,3,7,8-tetrabromo, PeBDF: 1,2,3,7,8-pentabromo, TrBCDF: 2,3,7-tribromo-8-chloro) in comparison with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). The hepatic uptake ratios of 2,3,7,8-substituted dibenzofurans were lower than that of TCDD (up to 84% of the administered doses) and decreased with the number of Br substitutions (42%, 33%, and 29% for TrBCDF, TeBDF, and PeBDF, respectively).

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Production of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate--3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) by Using Candy Industry Waste as Raw Materials.

Bioengineering (Basel)

August 2024

Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Edaphology and Agricultural Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, University of Alicante, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n-03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, E-03690 Alicante, Spain.

The haloarchaeon synthesizes poly(3-hydroxybutyrate--3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) under unfavorable nutritional conditions without the addition of any precursor to the culture, which is an advantage compared to other microbial counterparts able to synthesize polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). PHBV is a biodegradable polymer showing physiochemical properties of biotechnological and biomedical interest and can be used as an alternative to plastics made from chemical synthesis (which are not environmentally friendly). The versatile metabolism of makes the use of waste as a carbon source for cellular growth and PHA synthesis possible.

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Background: The prevalence of chronic disease in the US adult population varies across socioeconomic groups in the USA where approximately six in 10 adults have a chronic condition. Walking or cycling reduces the risk to many of these diseases and is influenced by the built environment, accessibility, and safety.

Methods: We performed multivariate logistic and linear regression on the Health-Oriented Transportation model parameters using the 2009 and 2017 US National Household Transportation surveys, restricted to adults in major metropolitan areas.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focused on identifying risk factors for Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) in young Japanese women and created a scoring system (ViDDPreS) to predict this deficiency.
  • - Factors like residential area, season, BMI, supplement use, and dietary habits were analyzed to establish VDD risk categories (low, medium, high) based on serum vitamin D levels.
  • - Results showed a high prevalence of VDD among certain demographics, prompting the need for preventive strategies and better treatment options for affected individuals.
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Temperature-mortality associations by age and cause: a multi-country multi-city study.

Environ Epidemiol

October 2024

Environment and Health Modelling (EHM) Lab, Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.

Background: Heterogeneity in temperature-mortality relationships across locations may partly result from differences in the demographic structure of populations and their cause-specific vulnerabilities. Here we conduct the largest epidemiological study to date on the association between ambient temperature and mortality by age and cause using data from 532 cities in 33 countries.

Methods: We collected daily temperature and mortality data from each country.

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Atmospheric concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and their emissions at a waste recycling facility producing refuse-derived paper and plastics densified fuel.

Sci Total Environ

December 2024

Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8564, Japan; Center for Material Cycles and Waste Management Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan.

To better understand the types and concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) emitted into the air from waste recycling facilities that produce refuse-derived paper and plastics densified fuel (RPF) from industrial waste, we conducted an air sampling campaign at a waste recycling facility in Japan. Both passive and active air sampling were conducted, and the samples collected were used to quantify the PFAS emitted into the air during the production of RPF. Overall, few ionic PFAS were detected in the air at the facility; however, high levels of neutral PFAS (8.

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Article Synopsis
  • Volvox sect. Volvox is a type of green algae known for its unique features and is found in ancient lakes worldwide, but species identification has been limited.
  • Researchers created clonal cultures from Lake Biwa in Japan and identified one species as Volvox kirkiorum using DNA sequencing, noting its bisexual reproductive structures and zygote characteristics.
  • They also discovered a second, new species called Volvox biwakoensis, which shows distinct genetic and morphological traits, marking it as the first endemic Volvox species identified from an ancient lake.
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Reducing uncertainty in the response of the Amazon rainforest, a vital component of the Earth system, to future climate change is crucial for refining climate projections. Here we demonstrate an emergent constraint (EC) on the future response of the Amazon carbon cycle to climate change across CMIP6 Earth system models. Models that overestimate past global warming trends, tend to estimate hotter and drier future Amazon conditions, driven by northward shifts of the intertropical convergence zone over the Atlantic Ocean, causing greater Amazon carbon loss.

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The interface between science and policy is a complex space, in theory and practice, that sees the interaction of various actors and perspectives coming together to enable policy-relevant evidence to support decision-making. Early Career Researchers (ECRs) are increasingly interested in working at the science-policy interface to support evidence-informed policy, with the number of opportunities to do so increasing at national and international levels. However, there are still many challenges limiting ECRs participation, not least how such a complex space can be accessed and navigated.

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Introduction: In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the number of cancer deaths is expected to double between 2020 and 2030; however, financial costs remain a barrier to accessing cancer treatment and care. There is an evidence gap on financial toxicity related to cancer care in SSA, both for the patient and for the family members providing care. Against this background, this review aims to analyse cancer care-related financial toxicity for the patient and family caregivers in SSA.

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There is growing global concern regarding the detrimental health impacts of PM emissions from traditional stoves that utilize polluting fuels. Conventional methods for estimating daily personal PM exposure involve personal air samplers and measuring devices placed in a waist pouch, but these instruments are cumbersome and inconvenient. To address this issue, we developed a novel neck-mounted PM monitoring device (Pocket PM Logger) that is compact, lightweight, and can operate continuously for 1 week without recharging.

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Pronounced spatial disparities in heatwave trends are bound up with a diversity of atmospheric signals with complex variations, including different phases and wavenumbers. However, assessing their relationships quantitatively remains a challenging problem. Here, we use a network-searching approach to identify the strengths of heatwave-related atmospheric teleconnections (AT) with ERA5 reanalysis data.

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