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Globalization has changed the way global society addresses common and global problems.

Le Meillour & Sinet-Mathiot et al. 2024 Increasing sustainability in palaeoproteomics by optimizing digestion times for large-scale archaeological bone analyses DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109432 MALDI-ToF MS data (raw data: mzML files, merged spectra: msd files) used for the ZooMS analysis of the bone material from Baishiya Karst Cave (China) and La Draga (Spain), along with the R codes for merging triplicates into one msd file. 

Responses to recent climatic changes in the sediment of subarctic Lake Saanajärvi in northwestern Finnish Lapland are studied by comparison of various biological and sedimentological proxies with the 200-year long climate record, specifically reconstructed for the site using a data-set of European-wide meteorological data. The multi-proxy evidence of simultaneously changing diatom, Cladocera, and chrysophyte assemblages along with the increased rates of organic matter accumulation and pigment concentrations suggest that the lake has undergone a distinct typological change starting from the turn of the 20th century. This change, indicating an increase in lake productivity, parallels a pronounced rise in the meteorologically reconstructed mean annual and summer temperatures in the region between ca. 1850 and 1930's. We postulate that, during the Little Ice Age, the lake was not, or was only weakly, thermally stratified during summer, whereas the subsequent increase in air and hence epilimnetic water temperatures resulted in the development of the present summer stratification. The increased thermal stability of the lake created more suitable conditions for the growth of phyto- and zooplankton and changed the overall primary production from benthos to plankton. Mineral magnetic and carbonaceous particle records suggest long-distance pollution, particularly since the 1920's, yet the observed changes in lake biota and productivity can hardly be explained by this very minor background pollution; the 20th century species configurations are typical of neutral waters and do not indicate any response to pollution.

The energy crop sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is raising considerable interest as a source of either fermentable free sugars or lignocellulosic feedstock with the potential to produce fuel, food, feed and a variety of other products. Sweet sorghum is a C4 plant with many potential advantages, including high water, nitrogen and radiation use efficiency, broad agro-ecological adaptation as well as a rich genetic diversity for useful traits. For developing countries sweet sorghum provides opportunities for the simultaneous production of food and bioenergy (e.g. bio-ethanol), thereby contributing to improved food security as well as increased access to affordable and renewable energy sources. In temperate regions (e.g. in Europe) sweet sorghum is seen as promising crop for the production of raw material for 2nd generation bio-ethanol. The project SWEETFUEL (Sweet Sorghum: An alternative energy crop) is supported by the European Commission in the 7th Framework Programme to exploit the advantages of sweet sorghum as potential energy crop for bio-ethanol production. Thereby, the main objective of SWEETFUEL is to optimize yields in temperate and semi-arid regions by genetic enhancement and the improvement of cultural and harvest practices. Proceedings of the 18th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 3-7 May 2010, Lyon, France, pp. 200-206

Scientific evidence and evidence-based reasoning are likely to face epistemological challenges when brought into societal debate if their foundational assumptions generate cognitive dissonance among key elements of the community. The risk of dissonance is even greater when scientific demonstrations and models are concerned with the decisions and behaviours of people interacting with an environment of interest. In this case, scientific information is often perceived as distorted or biased due to the inherent uncertainties attached to human ecosystems Human ecosystems are complex and adaptive, largely due to our individual cognitive capacities and communication skills. Complex systems science aims to track uncertainties attached to these systems by exploring metaphoric models of reality.

Slides presented at the 102 Annual American Meteorological Society Meeting, as part of the session "Major Weather Events and Impacts of 2021" (paper 6.3 - It's Getting Hot in Here: Real-Time Climate Fingerprints Applied to the 2021 Extreme Heat Season) For more information, please reach out to Daniel Gilford at dgilford@climatecentral.org. Presentation Abstract: Extreme heat was observed and experienced across large portions of the United States in 2021, including during notable record-breaking events in the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, and along the East coast. The contiguous US experienced its hottest June on record, and excess heat related deaths stretched into the thousands. While more frequent and intense periods of extreme heat are expected consequences of anthropogenic climate change, rapidly and continuously assessing the degree to which human emissions of greenhouse gases increase the likelihood of a specific event remains a challenging technical process. In this study we introduce the Realtime Climate attribution framework and illustrate its application through an analysis of observed 2021 extreme heat events. The framework implements one model-based and two observation-based approaches to produce three distinct attribution assessments, including best estimates and uncertainties. The framework is designed to be flexible across a range of variables and scales, computationally lightweight, and adaptable for impact studies. Using a suite of global climate models, observed global mean temperatures, and local observed daily temperatures, we quantify the extent to which human-driven climate change made 2021 maximum and minimum daily temperature extremes more likely across the United States. Results confirm the continued and growing influence of human-driven climate change in local weather extremes. For instance, we find that the record-breaking high temperatures in June near Phoenix, AZ, were at least 3.25 times more likely because of human activity. Through this framework, we are building the capacity to produce attribution estimates while an event is unfolding. Furthermore, the ability to estimate attribution levels continuously will enhance studies of extreme heat impacts on human health, along with other socioeconomic or influences.

| openaire: EC/FP7/307315/EU//SOLARX Light-and elevated temperature-induced degradation (LeTID) is a detrimental effect observed under operating conditions in p-Type multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cells. In this contribution, we employ synchrotron-based techniques to study the dissolution of precipitates due to different firing processes at grain boundaries in LeTID-Affected mc-Si. The synchrotron measurements show clear dissolution of collocated metal precipitates during firing. We compare our observations with degradation behavior in the same wafers. The experimental results are complemented with process simulations to provide insight into the change in bulk point defect concentration due to firing. Several studies have proposed that LeTID is caused by metal-rich precipitate dissolution during contact firing, and we find that the solubility and diffusivity are promising screening metrics to identify metals that are compatible with this hypothesis. While slower and less soluble elements (e.g., Fe and Cr) are not compatible according to our simulations, the point defect concentrations of faster and more soluble elements (e.g., Cu and Ni) increase after a high-Temperature firing process, primarily due to emitter segregation rather than precipitate dissolution. These results are a useful complement to lifetime spectroscopy techniques, and can be used to evaluate additional candidates in the search for the root cause of LeTID. Peer reviewed

Non-food biomass production has developed significantly in the latest decades to meet the needs of the bio-economy, and should expand in the future. Concerns around the consequences on land-use prompted a surge in scientific publications over the past 10 years. Attributing LUC to biomass production and ultimately the rising demand for its end-products (eg, biofuels) requires the elicitation of mechanisms relating feedstock production to land use or management changes, and their impacts on the environment. They may be analysed as a three-step causal chain starting with the identification of factors driving feedstock production, the assessment of LUC occurring in response to this demand, and the associated environmental impacts. A key question is whether or not the inclusion of LUC effects in this balance may negate their potential benefits over fossile-based products. Here we surveyed the scientific literature on LUC in general between 1975 and 2014, and retrieved a body of about 240 references which were analysed in details in terms of scope, LUC types, methodologies employed, and overall outcomes. Liquid biofuels accounted for 75% of the bio-based end-products analysed, the remaining 25% being dominated by combustion applications and a marginal contribution of biomaterials and chemicals. The predominant types of LUC included the conversion of annual crops or grassland to perennial crops and grassland to annual crops, followed by the conversion of forests. Although it was difficult to separate between direct and indirect LUC, it was surprising to note that the majority of these changes (60%) occurred in Europe and North America, whereas South America only accounted for 19% of those. In terms of methodologies economic and biophysical models dominated for LUC assessment, and so did life-cycle assessment for the environmental impacts. However, a large fraction of studies relied on much simpler methods. The emissions of greenhouse gases was the first impact category studied, while the impact on biodiversity was rarely evaluated (only 5% of the articles dealt with it), as was the impact on air quality or human health. Overall, the substitution of fossile fuels by biofuels was deemed beneficial even when factoring in LUC effects, but a significant fraction of the studies concluded to the opposite, or to variable outcomes depending on the characteristics of the bio-based value-chain assessed. Some clear-cut trends emerged, such an adverse impact of biomass development on biodiversity or an increase in water consumption. Establishing perennial species presented a more favorable profile than other types of feedstocks. There is a need to widen the scope of LUC studies beyond liquid biofuels, to assess multiple criteria simultaneously, and to improve and harmonize the assessment methodologies. Proceedings of the 25th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 12-15 June 2017, Stockholm, Sweden, pp. 1471-1475

Hydrogenases catalyze the formation of hydrogen. The cofactor ('H-cluster') of [FeFe]-hydrogenases consists of a [4Fe-4S] cluster bridged to a unique [2Fe] subcluster whose biosynthesis in vivo requires hydrogenase-specific maturases. Here we show that a chemical mimic of the [2Fe] subcluster can reconstitute apo-hydrogenase to full activity, independent of helper proteins. The assembled H-cluster is virtually indistinguishable from the native cofactor. This procedure will be a powerful tool for developing new artificial H-2-producing catalysts. AuthorCount:13;