Levels of non-essential trace metals and their impact on placental health: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - According to recent research, even low levels of environmental chemicals, particularly heavy metals, can considerably disrupt placental homeostasis....     

Antifungal efficiency assessment of the TiO2 coating on façade paints

The work studies the photocatalytic activity and the antifungal efficiency of the TiO₂/Zn-Al coatings placed on the target commercial façade paints. The photocatalytic active nanocomposite based on TiO₂ and Zn-Al-layered double hydroxides (ZnAl-LDHs) was synthesized by a wet impregnation technique with 3 % w/w TiO₂. The freshly prepared suspension was applied by spray technique on the surfaces of the white façade paints. The goal of the work was to develop a method that quickly quantifies the antifungal activity of the commercial façade paints with and without biocidal components covered with a photocatalytic coating. The essence of the proposed method is the monitoring of the fungal growth (artificial ageing conditions) and the quantification of its development (UV-A 0.13 mWcm^?2) on the façade paint surfaces. A special fungus nutrient (potato dextrose agar (PDA)) was inoculated with the spores of the Aspergillus niger ATCC 6275, and the test samples (façade paints with and without photocatalytic coating) were placed on the inoculated nutrient in the petri dishes. The images of the fungal growth on the samples of the facade paints, during a period of 5 days, were imported into Matlab R2012a where they were converted to binary images (BW), based on the adequate threshold. The percentage of the surface coverage was calculated by applying the specifically written program code which determines the ratio of the black and white pixels. The black pixels correspond to the surface covered with hyphae and mycelia of the fungus.     

Incorporating stakeholders’ preferences into a multi-criteria framework for planning large-scale Nature-Based Solutions

Hydro-meteorological risks are a growing issue for societies, economies and environments around the world. An effective, sustainable response to such risks and their future uncertainty requires a paradigm shift in our research and practical efforts. In this respect, Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) offer the potential to achieve a more effective and flexible response to hydro-meteorological risks while also enhancing human well-being and biodiversity. The present paper describes a new methodology that incorporates stakeholders’ preferences into a multi-criteria analysis framework, as part of a tool for selecting risk mitigation measures. The methodology has been applied to Tamnava river basin in Serbia and Nangang river basin in Taiwan within the EC-funded RECONECT project. The results highlight the importance of involving stakeholders in the early stages of projects in order to achieve successful implementation of NBSs. The methodology can assist decision-makers in formulating desirable benefits and co-benefits and can enable a systematic and transparent NBSs planning process.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01419-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.