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The interplay between excitatory pyramidal neurons and GABAergic interneurons is the basic building block of neocortical microcircuits and plays a critical role in carrying out higher cognitive functions. Cortical circuits are deeply and permanently disrupted by exposure to alcohol during brain development, the main non-genetic cause of intellectual disability. Here, I review experimental studies of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, dealing with permanent cellular and molecular alterations of neocortical neurons and their connections.

Climate change is altering ecosystems worldwide. While shifting environmental conditions are complex, it has been hypothesised that the impact of climate change are directly leading to increases in fungal infections across the globe. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events are thought to be driving the adaptation of fungal pathogens to new climates, expanding their geographical range and posing a growing threat to human health and agriculture. This review highlights how climate change may impact key pathogens, including Candida auris, Candida orthopsilosis, Cryptococcus deuterogattii, and resistant strains of Aspergillus fumigatus, which have emerged as significant public health concerns. Their spread is accelerated by globalisation, urbanisation, and the intensifying use of agricultural fungicides, which further increase antifungal resistance. The growing prevalence of resistant strains and emergence of novel fungal pathogens is likely linked to anthropogenic climate change, underscoring the urgent need for action and for more robust data collection.

Digitalization trends in building management increasingly emphasize the creation of Digital Twins (DTs) for building management but often neglect how occupants interact with these technologies. This paper aims to explore the functionalities of building management systems based on occupant interactions with DTs. To achieve this, occupant preferences are investigated through a questionnaire survey conducted with 106 respondents from two case studies. The survey investigated participants’ interest in using DTs for various building management tasks, their familiarity with DTs and their demographic factors. Analysis results revealed that occupant’s interest in DTs is not significantly influenced by their prior knowledge or gender. Instead, providing access to DTs increased their interest in areas beyond their job roles, particularly in aspects related to comfort and environmental management. Younger participants showed a heightened interest in using DTs for environmental and energy management issues. The study also suggests that promoting occupant interaction with DTs can enhance productivity and satisfaction. This paper underscores the need for additional research to integrate smart technologies into building management with a focus on occupant involvement. It highlights the potential of DTs to improve real-time monitoring and support sustainability initiatives and thus, offers a more inclusive and effective alternative to traditional management tools. This work was supported by the Association Nationale de la Recherche et de la Technologie (ANRT) under the Grant CIFRE 2017/1782. Peer Reviewed

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are a promising technology for grid-level energy storage. The ability to decouple energy and power, as well as the potential for low-cost and safe materials, make them particularly suited to this application. However, there is a lack of viable organic catholytes for RFBs and research thus far has primarily focussed on anolytes. Research in this thesis focuses on novel catholytes, degradation studies and electrolyte optimisation for aqueous organic redox flow batteries (AORFBs), the most challenging and yet the most promising area of this technology. In the first results chapter (Chapter 3), a series of triarylamines was synthesised. Initial electrochemical testing (using cyclic voltammetry) revealed one of these candidates, amino-functionalised 4-amino-trisphenyl amine, proved to be the most promising. However, battery cycling with this as the catholyte results in extensive polymerisation, leading to rapid capacity fade. This rapid capacity fade was improved by electrolyte optimisation, and utilising a mixed-salt system of 0.5 M HCl and 0.5 M H3PO4 it was possible to decrease capacity fade, increase coulombic efficiency and access more theoretical capacity. Chapter 4 explores commercially available phenothiazine dyes. Nicotinamide (NA) was used to increase solubility, specifically, the solubility of the most promising candidate explored, azure-a (AA), was doubled from 1 M to ca. 2 M. When cycled with NA in the supporting electrolyte, AA, had relatively stable cycling performance, though only half of the theoretical capacity was reached. Evidence suggests that this is the result of dimerisation of AA-based redox species. An extensive study using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed that NA prevents a thick, charge-transfer blocking, film from forming on interphases in the cell (i.e. the electrode or membrane), thus improving the cycling performance. Chapter 5 further investigated both the dimerisation of AA-based species and their interaction with NA which leads to the observed improved performance. Through spectroscopic studies (NMR, EPR and UV/vis) it was found that there are at least four dimeric AA-based species in solution (most likely different dimer conformations). The role of pH on AA aggregation is also explored here for the first time. Finally, the origin of the improvement in battery performance using AA is shown to be preferential hydrogen-bonding with NA which intercepts AA aggregate, therefore reducing dimerisation and subsequent polymerisation. The final research chapter (Chapter 6) explores synthetic modification of phenothiazine, which is otherwise insoluble in aqueous conditions. A sulfonated propyl chain was found to improve solubility up to 1.15 M in 1 M HCl. However, upon cycling the sulfonate group was lost and an emulsion formed, leading to rapid capacity loss. This was improved by utilising NA as an additive (as shown previously in Chapters 4 and 5). Overall, this thesis has found that synthesising novel compounds presents many challenges, especially as the performance of candidate catholytes cannot be accurately predicted before experimental cycling. Ultimately the greatest improvements in cycling performance were achieved through electrolyte optimisation rather than synthetic changes in a particular catholyte family. It is therefore recommended to focus future research efforts on optimisation of the supporting electrolyte as the means for improving battery performance.

This dissertation is an investigation of the gendered dynamics of sustainable agriculture practiced by women operating commercial-scale, sustainable farms in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, with a focus on women's agency and freedoms within the agricultural sector. Women operate 26% of farms in Jaffna, yet women are notably absent from agricultural development policies. As climate change threatens the livelihoods and security of farmers in Jaffna, establishing data on the opportunities, barriers, and experiences of women as farmers is crucial for developing an accurate contextual understanding necessary to inform effective policies that ensure sustained food production and livelihood security. Using the capabilities approach as a conceptual framework and 50 individual interviews of with women farm operators in 2021, during COVID, this research examines the socio-cultural, economic, and policy-driven barriers that constrain women's agency and freedoms as primary farm operators. The study identifies a duality in women's experiences: while they demonstrate remarkable agency in sustainable agricultural practices within their farms, they face significant systemic barriers in engaging with external economic systems. A central insight of the research is the contrasting roles played by middle operators, who exploit women’s dependency to access external markets, and cooperatives, which serve as transformative bridges by fostering collective empowerment and expanding women's capabilities across both spheres. The study further highlights the innovative localized strategies women employ to adapt to climate vulnerabilities and systemic constraints. By blending traditional ecological knowledge with modern agricultural technologies, women have developed integrated farm management systems that optimize productivity, enhance biodiversity, and build resilience to environmental shocks. These findings challenge the conventional image of farmers as solely men battling nature and instead position women as central agents of ecological stewardship and sustainability.

The climate crisis is the biggest threat to the health, development, and wellbeing of the current and future generations. While there is extensive evidence on the direct impacts of climate change on human livelihood, there is little evidence on how children and young people are affected, and even less discussion and evidence on how the climate crisis could affect violence against children.In this commentary, we review selected research to assess the links between the climate crisis and violence against children.We employ a social-ecological perspective as an overarching framework to organize findings from the literature and call attention to increased violence against children as a specific, yet under-examined, direct and indirect consequence of the climate crisis.Using such a perspective, we examine how the climate crisis exacerbates the risk of violence against children at the continually intersecting and interacting levels of society, community, family, and the individual levels. We propose increased risk of armed conflict, forced displacement, poverty, income inequality, disruptions in critical health and social services, and mental health problems as key mechanisms linking the climate crisis and heightened risk of violence against children. Furthermore, we posit that the climate crisis serves as a threat multiplier, compounding existing vulnerabilities and inequities within populations and having harsher consequences in settings, communities, households, and for children already experiencing adversities.We conclude with a call for urgent efforts from researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to further investigate the specific empirical links between the climate crisis and violence against children and to design, test, implement, fund, and scale evidence-based, rights-based, and child friendly prevention, support, and response strategies to address violence against children.

The production of fuels and other value-added chemicals from sunlight is one of the proposed sustainable pathways to fulfil the constantly increasing energy demand while pushing towards a carbon-neutral circular economy. Photocatalytic (PC) and photo(electro)catalytic (PEC) systems, based on a semiconductor/liquid electrolyte junction, are capable of converting and storing the energy from the sun into chemical bonds. Over the years, poly(heptazine imide) ionic carbon nitride, a cheap, non-toxic, noble metal-free polymeric semiconductor has been exploited mainly as photocatalyst, and more recently, as photoelectrocatalyst. Although the performance of this material in PEC systems has been improving, its application is still hindered by low photocurrent response and poor long-term stability due to its notably high recombination rates, inefficient charge separation and transport, and consequent photo-degradation. Moreover, its compatibility with bio-based systems for green fuel and chemical production has been poorly exploited and rationalised. This thesis tackles these challenges by introducing a versatile and facile method to synthesise highly performant carbon nitride photoanodes, which can be interfaced with metal- and enzyme-based catalysts for CO2-reduction and hydrogen production with record photocurrents and stabilities. State-of-the-art cyanamide-functionalised poly(heptazine imide) (PHI) ionic carbon nitride (NCNCNx) electrodes were produced by co-deposition with indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles, binding agents and conductive bridges, on a thin alumina-coated FTO glass substrate. The Al2O3|ITO:NCNCNx photoelectrodes displayed remarkably low onset potential and an outstanding 1.4 ± 0.2 mA cm–2 at 1.23 V vs the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) when selectively oxidising 4-methylbenzyl alcohol. Detailed spectroscopic studies shine a light on electron extraction kinetics within the photoanode and show that the addition of the ITO nanoparticles significantly improves the extraction of electrons from the carbon nitride, which otherwise remain trapped in the material, whilst the alumina underlayer reduces the electrical resistance between the ITO nanoparticles and the FTO substrate leading to record photocurrents. Furthermore, record stability of over 51 hours under continuous operation was achieved by systematically studying the effect of applied potential and light intensity on the ITO:NCNCNx photoanode long-term performance. Voltage-dependent spectroscopic analysis revealed irreversible changes in the carbon nitride morphology and electrochemical behaviour after applying any potential higher than 0.4 V vs RHE and low light intensity. Moreover, operating under concentrated solar light proved fundamental in ensuring high stability. To take advantage of the local temperature increase, the photoanode was coupled to a thermoelectric (TEG) unit, capable of converting the otherwise wasted heat into additional voltage, and employed in a TEG-PEC cell to drive glycerol oxidation coupled to CO2-to-CO reduction for over 70 hours under no external applied bias. As a proof of concept, the ITO:NCNCNx photoanode was also employed in an unassisted 2-electrode photoelectrochemical setup wired to a formate dehydrogenase (FDH) enzyme bio-cathode to perform selective CO2-to-formate conversion. Even under 1 sun, the bio-hybrid PEC system could withstand 10 hours of operation. Finally, the use of a [FeFe]-hydrogenase (H2-evolving enzyme) possessing a positive surface charge around the active site made it possible to directly interface it to the negatively charged cyanamide-modified graphitic carbon nitride (NCNCNx) as photocatalyst powder in solution, without the need for an electron mediator. In conclusion, this thesis showcases significant advancements in addressing the inherent challenges of poly(heptazine imide) ionic carbon nitride for photo(electro)catalytic applications. Through a systematic and fundamental approach, state-of-the-art photoanodes with record-breaking photocurrents and long-term stability were developed for the selective oxidation of organic waste-derived substrates. The integration of NCNCNx in PEC devices and a bio-hybrid PC system demonstrated its potential to drive un-assisted CO2 reduction to green fuels. By improving the efficiency, stability, and versatility of this promising carbon-based polymeric semiconductor, this thesis aims to serve as a platform for further research on – and application of - carbon nitride materials for photo(electro)catalytic and biohybrid systems.

Approximately 30% of people worldwide, regardless of social status, are deficient in one or more key micronutrient, which underpins associated morbidity and mortality rates. This, in conjunction with the global population, set to reach more than 9 billion by the year 2050, is challenging conventional means for ensuring global food security. Sustainable provision of diets high in protein, omega-3 and key micronutrients is crucial and marine bivalve molluscs offer an especially attractive solution for delivering this need. However, high quality marine coastal ecosystems, which are required for bivalve spawning and production, are falling under increasing pressures, which include climate change, over-exploitation and environmental pollution. This thesis builds on a growing interest within the marine fish aquaculture sector by considering whether the development of marine bivalve aquaculture within a controlled urban setting can help to provide a dependable, scalable and cost-effective source of sustainable, nutrient-rich food which negates the requirement for high quality coastal environments. Through a review of current bivalve farming practices and industry I highlight the complete dependency of marine bivalve operations on the oceans and identify the untapped potential of farming in landlocked regions. In this chapter, I also argue that as current food systems grapple with widescale population health challenges, urban bivalve aquaculture offers a novel solution to supply essential micronutrients to currently hard to reach locations. Beyond market expansion, I also argue that farming in controlled systems in urban buildings will mitigate or heavily reduce current health risks associated with bivalve consumption, which include toxicity resulting from bioaccumulation of pesticides, heavy metals, toxic algal bloom products, viruses and bacteria. In my next chapter, I investigate how Pacific oysters, a keystone species for the aquacul- ture industry, will fare under projected climate change-induced stressors. Through this work, I demonstrate that prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures and low pH hinders their growth and metabolic function. With the industry’s sole dependency on offshore farming, the risks posed by climate change on both ecosystems and the wider aquaculture industry only highlight the need for diversified farming methods, such as urban marine bivalve aquaculture. Understanding the short shelf-life that bivalve molluscs have, and that the development of functional urban bivalve farms will take time, I assessed the implementation of novel freezing preservation methods. Comparing gold-standard conventional blast freezing and a novel acoustic freezing method, I demonstrate greater preservation of gross tissues, micronutrients, and lipids, particularly omega-3, compared to conventional freezing methods. Part of this study also included the fortification of the mussels with exogenous vitamin A to support population vitamin A deficiency, fortification which remained stable in vivo following both freezing methodologies. This study therefore demonstrates the promise acoustic freezing car- ries as a technological advancement in the seafood industry, offering improved preservation of the nutritional and functional qualities of blue mussels, which may enhance distribution to wider markets, addressing current food security and transportation challenges. Finally, to understand consumer interest and demand for bivalves, I implemented an intervention study at one of the University of Cambridge Canteens. Beyond understanding consumer interest in mussel meals, the purpose of this study was to assess the levels to which mussel meals may or may not displace less sustainable fish and meat meals. The results of this study revealed that during the intervention period, a period in which mussel meals replaced either fish or meat options, both meat and fish meal consumption significantly increased. However, vegetarian and vegan meal proportions significantly decreased during the same intervention period. Though mussel meals were unable to displace fish and meat meals, the significant displacement of vegetarian and vegan meals is of equal importance. The results highlight a consumer interest of mussel incorporation into daily diets, and a potential for mussels to become a more prominent food choice for a section of the population at higher risks of nutrient deficiencies. The conclusion of this thesis summarizes the main findings of this thesis, and also provides an introduction to the preliminary analysis of the economic and environmental feasibility of operating closed loop marine bivalve aquaculture facilities. Together, the results of this thesis have assessed several key components of bivalve aquaculture and highlight the need for diversification of the industry towards urbanisation as a protective measure that also will enhance nutritious food availability for the growing population, helping to secure global food security.

Policymakers and academics are increasingly discussing the need for innovation in the energy sector to support the societal transition toward net-zero. To this end, mobilizing finance for novel energy technologies is a significant challenge. Remarkably, the scientific literature about the financing mechanisms for novel energy technologies often neglects the difference between invention, radical innovation, and incremental innovation. Recognizing the difference is essential to defining ad hoc financing mechanisms, increasing the likelihood of developing and implementing such technologies, which can contribute to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, SDG 9, and SDG 13. This paper highlights the need for a critical rethinking of the approach and the vocabulary related to the financing mechanisms for novel energy technologies. Leveraging a multiple longitudinal case study, the paper provides empirical evidence of the different financing mechanisms for the transition from invention to innovation in the energy sector. By bringing together the findings and existing literature, this paper provides a novel analytical framework to link financing mechanisms and the different phases of the innovation process in the energy sector. The framework is also a starting point for future research on the different phases of the innovation process and related financing mechanisms.