UMD study suggests supporting Indonesian women in conservation supports biodiversity

Researchers explore the motivations and challenges of Indonesian women in conservation sciences

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

Research News

 

IMAGE: LEARNING CONSERVATION FIELDWORK IN INDONESIA view more 

CREDIT: ERIN POOR, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

In a new study published in Conservation Science and Practice, researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) partnered with Indonesian experts to explore the motivations and challenges of women pursuing a career in conservation sciences in Indonesia. Given that Indonesia is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet but is simultaneously experiencing extreme rates of deforestation, it is an important target country for the conservation of global biodiversity. Conservation work remains male-dominated in Indonesia, especially fieldwork, so gaining a better understanding of the cultural norms and barriers in place for Indonesian women aspiring to a career in conservation represents an important step in supporting women in this field. With more diverse faces and voices representing global conservation, the country and others like it can tap into the full potential of their intellectual and creative resources to help solve grave global challenges like dwindling biodiversity.

"We are facing huge challenges in the conservation of biodiversity globally," says Erin Poor, postdoctoral researcher in Environmental Science and Technology (ENST) at UMD and leader of this work. "Climate change, habitat loss and encroachment, an increasing human population putting stress on natural landscapes, increased agriculture - these are all large, complex, multidisciplinary challenges. The more intelligent minds we have working to identify creative solutions that benefit humans and wildlife, the better. This means enabling and creating space for women and other underrepresented groups to voice their ideas for conservation solutions."

In order to explore this idea while also practically supporting Indonesian women in conservation, Poor developed and facilitated a workshop in Riau Province, central Sumatra, Indonesia due to its importance in global conservation. Working closely with Indonesian leaders at the World Wildlife Fund-Indonesia (WWF) and the Universitas Gadjah Mada, Poor and the UMD team identified a need for culturally appropriate training and mentorship for women wanting to conduct conservation fieldwork. The workshop was held from September 13-15, 2019, with the goal of providing participants with networking opportunities and offering a setting in which more experienced women in conservation could mentor less experienced women and train them on practical fieldwork skills. As a pilot workshop, 11 Indonesian early-career women attended the workshop, with 3 established Indonesian women providing mentorship and instruction.

"The young women in our workshop were excited and passionate about conservation," says Poor. "We seemed to pick up on the lack of technical training for these women (which may also be an issue among men), and the lack of encouragement and support evidenced by discouragement from family members, a lack of female mentors and networks, and societal perceptions about female roles. Women are excited and passionate about conservation work, they just need to be given the support and tools to be effective."

Documenting the motivations and challenges of these women and their unique experiences represents an important step in making sure women in conservation have the support they need, explains Jennifer Mullinax, assistant professor with ENST and co-author.

"It was telling to see the limited information that existed on the paths, support, and limitations of women in STEM in Indonesia. This is one of the first bricks in the wall of knowledge we need to build a more inclusive and diverse conservation discipline in the global south."

Mullinax provided support for the trip to Indonesia, which was in many ways a continuation of work that Poor had started while pursuing her PhD. "I believe strongly in uplifting and supporting women, especially women in STEM," stresses Mullinax. "As Erin was describing her experiences in Sumatra and her intentions of having the training workshop, I suggested this may be an opportunity to survey the participants and start documenting the needs and barriers of women pursuing STEM in Indonesia. Everyone was on board and considered it a great opportunity as well as potential justification for doing more, larger training and surveys in the future."

To assist with the survey development and analysis, Poor and Mullinax reached out to Jen Shaffer, assistant professor in Anthropology with the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS). Shaffer identified a key motivator for the women in this study as a love of nature and a passion for the environment, while challenges were mainly related to gender and cultural norms.

"Although I was unable to participate in the workshop, I really appreciated the opportunity to document the motivations and challenges that established and early career Indonesian women working in conservation science expressed," says Shaffer. "Some of their challenges are unique, and others are experienced by women scientists regardless of where they live and work. Reading their motivation responses to work in conservation was also very uplifting. I saw lots of parallels with discussions I've had with students and colleagues working in conservation science, and it shows our common feelings of passion for, excitement about, and care for nature. We are all working towards a common goal."

"The women in our study expressed some of the same sentiments that I experienced," adds Poor. "First, conservation advertisements often advertise for men - expressing inherent doubt in the physical capabilities of women to do field work. Secondly, Indonesia is extremely diverse in religious, ethnic, and social beliefs, but a belief persists in some geographic regions and in some parts of society that women should be in less physical jobs or be family and household caretakers. Another factor impacting women in the field is that some people also still believe that unmarried men and women should not be alone together."

Poor experienced some of these issues firsthand during her time in Indonesia as a doctoral student. "For me, this was extremely personal," says Poor. "I spent two years in Indonesia doing field work for my PhD research. Almost all of my female friends and I faced sexual harassment and discrimination repeatedly. The field teams I worked with were all male (who were all excellent professionals), and I tried to recruit women to join my team but I only found one woman who actually was able and willing to come to the field. She ended up being hired by WWF as a field team leader (only the second woman in central Sumatra) after my research, and I count that as one of the biggest successes of my research. After experiencing persistent doubt about my abilities as a woman in Indonesia, working to get more women in the field became a personal passion of mine."

Despite these challenges, Poor and the team are hopeful for the future of women in conservation and have plans to expand this work. Poor has been elected as the Vice President of Membership for the Society for Conservation Biology, and she hopes to reach out to young women to increase their involvement in the field. She and the team also hope to continue their research and training efforts on a broader scale.

"I hope this spurs others to take a look at recruitment and retention of women scientists in other areas as well," adds Poor. "By identifying the challenges and motivations women are facing, especially in understudied biodiverse areas in the global south, we can work to remove these challenges and encourage motivations. However, this must be done at the request and with the coordination of scientists in those locations. I am hoping that in Indonesia specifically, those involved with this study will begin thinking about and implementing similar workshops and events specifically geared towards young women conservation biologists."

###

This paper is entitled "Increasing diversity to save biodiversity: Rising to the challenge and supporting Indonesian women in conservation" and is published in Conservation Science and Practice, DOI: 10.1111/csp2.395.

Gender discrimination threatens crop yield among smallholder farmers in Africa, researchers say

Studies conducted in Tanzania and drawing on case studies across East Africa show that policies giving women better access to resources and information must be prioritized to reverse the trend.

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR TROPICAL AGRICULTURE (CIAT)

Research News

 

IMAGE: WOMEN ARE OFTEN 'INVISIBLE' IN AGRICULTURE, RESEARCHERS SAY. view more 

CREDIT: GEORGINA SMITH

A study examining bean productivity among smallholder farmers in Tanzania, has found that on average, yields are 6% lower among female than male farmers. Women are often 'invisible' in agriculture, researchers say, due to social structural barriers and national agricultural policies, which do not address discriminatory land rights; education and agricultural information and decision making, which must be tackled to reverse this trend.

The paper 'What Does Gender Yield Gap Tell Us about Smallholder Farming in Developing Countries?' published in the open access scientific journal Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing (MDPI), analyzed data from southern region in Tanzania since 2016 and also drew on research from case studies conducted in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe among other countries in the region.

Eileen Nchanji, Gender Specialist at the Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (The Alliance), said: "We think this six percent drop in productivity is significant, because it shows that with access to the right information and resources, and if we are intentional about making gender part of new interventions, women will be able to increase their yields significantly."

"Our case studies from Burundi and Zimbabwe have shown that, when women have access to improved seeds and information, they can double their yields," she added. By bringing the public and private sector together, and targetting women, youth and men together with improved seed varieties and better knowledge about agricultural practices and collective decision making on farm operations, productivity among the whole community increases.

Researchers highlight that issues of more concern to women are often ignored at policy level. They include providing more nutritious food crops such as beans for the family instead of relying on staples like maize which may fetch more income but offer less nutritional value; selection of varieties with attributes such as faster cook-times or easier processing attributes; as well as overall household food security.

Among the challenges women face in boosting crop yields are land rights and ownership. Even if women have gained access to better seeds and knowledge on how to plant them to increase yields, they may not have the power to implement changes if the land is not theirs. Similarly, while women contribute around 65% more on-farm labor than men, they do not always have the same access to information or technology, resulting in lower yields.

Agness Nduguru, a researcher at the Agricultural Research Institute Uyole, Mbeya, Tanzania, said that a key solution at community level is to ensure the co-distribution of end resources to both women and men. "Even if we conduct training about gender constraints and differences, and communities are aware about production and yield gaps, at policy-level, if we want to eliminate poverty, women have to be able to make their own decisions."

The Alliance's Agricultural Economist, Enid Katungi, said: "We researched on who manages the land or makes decisions about the plot; what age and sex they are; what information and knowledge they have access to. We found structural differences; women tend to cultivate more degraded land, highlighting power differences within households when it comes to resources. So it's clear we need interventions to address those differences at both developmental and policy level, involving all decision makers in the community at all levels."

The study also reveals that women who engaged their families in decisions on varieties to plant often had better yields, and that access to improved varieties boosted productivity by 35% compared to growing indigenous or local varieties, implying that access to better information and resources for both men and women is key. Yet a woman's age, family size, years of schooling and how they spend income from beans or other crops all restrict a woman's ability to produce more food and nutritious family meals in general.

Key recommendations in the paper to tackle gender inequality for improved agricultural yields include gender-specific support to close the yield gap, ensuring equal income distribution and reduced poverty among female farmers. These include deliberate women empowerment strategies through trainings and free improved seed provision, participatory plant breeding that considers variety attributes that appeal to women; national policy on gender issues in agriculture and general public support to finance women's agriculture.

###

Mysteries of malaria infections deepen after human trial study

Scientists have discovered that tracking malaria as it develops in humans is a powerful way to detect how the malaria parasite causes a range of infection outcomes in its host

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

Research News

 

IMAGE: A VOLUNTEER BEING INJECTED WITH MALARIA PARASITES. view more 

CREDIT: PROFESSOR ALEX ROWE, PERSONAL CHAIR OF MOLECULAR MEDICINE, INSTITUTE OF INFECTION AND IMMUNOLOGY RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

Scientists have discovered that tracking malaria as it develops in humans is a powerful way to detect how the malaria parasite causes a range of infection outcomes in its host.

The study, found some remarkable differences in the way individuals respond to malaria and raises fresh questions in the quest to understand and defeat the deadly disease.

Malaria, caused by the parasite - Plasmodium falciparum - is a huge threat to adults and children in the developing world. Each year, around half a million people die from the disease and another 250 million are infected. Malaria parasites are spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes.

The outcomes that follow a malaria infection can vary from no symptoms to life-threatening disease and death. The precise reasons why people respond in different ways to the same parasite infection are still unknown, experts say.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with teams at the Universities of Oxford and Glasgow and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, explored infection outcomes in 14 volunteers who were injected with malaria parasites.

Scientists studied how the volunteers responded to the parasites over the course of 10 days. The group were then treated with antimalarial drugs to cure the infection before there was any risk of them developing severe symptoms.

The study, published in eLife, found that the immune systems in about half of the volunteers were rapidly alerted to the presence of parasites and began to produce signals to mobilise host defences.

These volunteers began to suffer symptoms of malaria such as fever and headache. The other volunteers, however, either showed no sign of immune activation, or else started to develop responses to dampen their body's immune response. These volunteers did not develop malaria symptoms.

Dr Phil Spence, Sir Henry Dale Fellow, Institute of Infection and Immunology Research, University of Edinburgh and one of the project leads, said: "It looks like most of the variation in malaria is due to intrinsic differences between people in how they respond to infection.

"We need to do further work to tease out the underlying factors responsible for immune variation, such as investigating human genetics and prior experience of other infections."

The study also asked whether variation in parasite growth rate, the rate at which a parasite replicates within the body, or virulence factors, the properties of a parasite thought to make an infection more severe, were different in the volunteers and if this had a bearing on infection outcomes.

Surprisingly, the researchers found that although parasite growth rates did vary substantially between volunteers, this was not linked to outcomes. For example, a volunteer could have a small number of parasites with a strong immune reaction or have a large number with no symptoms.

Furthermore, monitoring the parasite virulence factors through time, in particular a family of molecules called group A var genes, showed no differences between volunteers and no changes over the course of infection.

Professor Alex Rowe, Personal Chair of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Infection and Immunology Research, University of Edinburgh and project co-lead, said: "The biggest surprise from our study was that there was no variation in expression of the parasite virulence factors.

"Current theory, based on data from infected patients in malarious countries, suggested that parasites expressing group A var genes would rapidly come to dominate as the infection progressed, but this was not seen in our volunteers.

"There are many possible reasons for this - maybe a parasite collected more recently from a field site would give a different result, or maybe longer infection times are needed so the host immune response can influence these changes."

The unexpected results from this study shows the power of human volunteer studies to raise new questions and give novel insights into diseases that have been studied in other ways for many decades, according to the team.

###

The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust and the UK Medical Research Council.

For further information, please contact: Rhona Crawford, Press and PR Office, 0131 650 2246, rhona.crawford@ed.ac.uk

 JITTERBUG PERFUME

Changes in mouth bacteria after drinking beetroot juice may promote healthy ageing

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

Research News

 

Drinking beetroot juice promotes a mix of mouth bacteria associated with healthier blood vessels and brain function, according to a new study of people aged 70-80.

Beetroot - and other foods including lettuce, spinach and celery - are rich in inorganic nitrate, and many oral bacteria play a role in turning nitrate to nitric oxide, which helps to regulate blood vessels and neurotransmission (chemical messages in the brain).

Older people tend to have lower nitric oxide production, and this is associated with poorer vascular (blood vessel) and cognitive (brain) health.

In the new study, by the University of Exeter, 26 healthy older people took part in two ten-day supplementation periods: one with nitrate-rich beetroot juice and another with nitrate-free placebo juice, which they drank twice a day.

The results showed higher levels of bacteria associated with good vascular and cognitive health, and lower levels of bacteria linked to disease and inflammation.

Systolic blood pressure dropped on average by five points (mmHg) after drinking the beetroot juice.

"We are really excited about these findings, which have important implications for healthy ageing," said lead author Professor Anni Vanhatalo, of the University of Exeter.

"Previous studies have compared the oral bacteria of young and older people, and healthy people compared to those with diseases, but ours is the first to test nitrate-rich diet in this way.

"Our findings suggest that adding nitrate-rich foods to the diet - in this case via beetroot juice - for just ten days can substantially alter the oral microbiome (mix of bacteria) for the better.

"Maintaining this healthy oral microbiome in the long term might slow down the negative vascular and cognitive changes associated with ageing."

The researchers ran tests to identify clusters (or "modules") of oral bacteria that tend to thrive together in similar conditions.

A module (Prevotella-Veillonella) that has been associated with inflammation was reduced after nitrate supplementation, including a decrease of Clostridium difficile (which can infect the bowel and cause diarrhoea).

Professor Vanhatalo stressed that more research is needed to confirm the findings and see whether similar effects are found in other groups.

"Our participants were healthy, active older people with generally good blood pressure," she said. "Dietary nitrate reduced their blood pressure on average, and we are keen to find out whether the same would happen in other age groups and among people in poorer health.

"We are working with colleagues in the University of Exeter Medical School to investigate interactions between the oral bacteria and cognition to better understand the how diet could be used to delay cognitive decline in older age."

Much research has been conducted into the benefits of a healthy gut microbiome, but far less is known about the oral microbial community, which plays a crucial role in "activating" the nitrate from a vegetable-rich diet.

###

The study was funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust, and the research team included Cardiff University.

The paper, published in the journal Redox Biology, is entitled: "Network analysis of nitrate-sensitive oral microbiome reveals interactions with cognitive function and cardiovascular health across dietary interventions."

JITTERBUG PERFUME BY TOM ROBBINS

A (FANTASTIC) NOVEL ABOUT BEET ROOT AND IMMORTALITY 

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjlt_jV4djvAhVIj54KHYhtDKsQFjAJegQIQBAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.penguinrandomhouse.ca%2Fbooks%2F155516%2Fjitterbug-perfume-by-tom-robbins%2F9780553348989%2Fexcerpt&usg=AOvVaw3LojHsh7ZITcGZceNKWTNR

Jitterbug Perfume

Author: Tom Robbins
Publisher: Bantam
Publication date: 1990
Pages: 352
ISBN: 9780553348989
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy, Humor

Synopsis: Jitterbug Perfume is an epic.

Which is to say, it begins in the forests of ancient Bohemia and doesn’t conclude until nine o’clock tonight (Paris time).

It is a saga, as well. A saga must have a hero, and the hero of this one is a janitor with a missing bottle.

The bottle is blue, very, very old, and embossed with the image of a goat-horned god.

If the liquid in the bottle actually is the secret essence of the universe, as some folks seem to think, it had better be discovered soon because it is leaking and there is only a drop or two left.

Jitterbug Perfume | Review | Dueling Librarians

 SPROUTS POPULAR

Growing appetite for meat alternatives in Brussels

University of Bath press release

UNIVERSITY OF BATH

Research News

 

Increasing numbers of people in Belgium are turning away from meat in favour of plant-based alternatives, according to new research from psychologists at the University of Bath, in collaboration with Belgian animal welfare organisation GAIA.

New analysis finds that in 2020, over half of Belgians (51%) were 'satisfied' with meat alternatives - a figure that has increased from 44% since 2019.

The results of the research which gauged responses from a representative sample of 1,000 people in Belgium over two years (in 2019 and 2020) highlights concerns around animal agriculture and the environment that are impacting individuals' dietary choices.

Additional findings from the study published in the journal Appetite, suggest there has been no significant change in attitudes towards cultured meat (e.g. meat produced by in-vitro cell culture of animal cells, instead of from slaughtered animals) over the two years. Roughly 40% of Belgians said they would buy cultured meat in both waves of the survey.

Deeper analysis revealed that plant-based alternatives were more appealing to women, whilst cultured meat was more appealing to men. Both cultured meat and plant-based meat were also more appealing to younger consumers and those in the northern, predominantly Dutch-speaking region of Flanders.

Lead researcher Dr Chris Bryant from the University of Bath explains: "In many ways, this survey data confirms what many of us can see in the supermarkets: plant-based alternatives to meat and animal products are on the rise.

"In just one year, we saw a significant increase in the number of Belgian consumers satisfied with plant-based alternatives with the key figure moving to just over half in 2020."

The research comes as a report from Boston Consulting Group predicted that Europe and the US would hit 'peak meat' in 2025, with consumers increasingly favouring plant-based and other more sustainable alternatives.

"We know that meat production is a key driver of a whole range of ethical, environmental and public health problems," said study co-author Hermes Sanctorum, consultant for GAIA. "It is good news that we are seeing consumers turn towards alternatives. What we have already - plant-based alternatives - are increasingly popular. What is to come - cultured meat - has a stable potential. And both options seem to be complementary as a solution, according to our study, since they are appealing to different consumer categories."

Scrutiny around meat consumption has been growing. The Dasgupta Review, published earlier this year by the Treasury, is the latest high-profile report to call for a reduction in meat consumption for the sake of the planet. Meanwhile, animal product alternatives are attracting record investments - over $3 billion in 2020, according to The Good Food Institute.

###

 #NOFEAR

New COVID-19 research: How to make people follow restrictions without appealing to fear

"Many countries are hit by a third wave of infections and authorities may be tempted to induce fear to make people follow guidelines. Our findings provide policy makers with an alternative." - Michael Bang Petersen, professor, Aarhus University, Denmark

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: PROFESSOR MICHAEL BANG PETERSEN, AARHUS UNIVERSITY, DENMARK view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO: IDA MARIE JENSEN, AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Making people fear the coronavirus may motivate us to wash our hands, keep our distance and wear a face mask. But fear also takes a heavy toll on our mental health and is fertile ground for discrimination and prejudice. New research shows a different path.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit the world in the spring of 2020, feelings of being capable or efficacious against the virus were a key factor in driving compliance with the authorities' guidelines. This is the result of a new study based on large surveys across eight Western democracies, published in British Journal of Health Psychology.

The extent to which we personally felt informed and capable of acting clearly affected the extent of our behaviour to prevent infection, e.g. by keeping our distance and refraining from handshakes.

"These are important findings because they show a pathway to public compliance with pandemic health advice which is not driven by personal fear. Today, in the spring of 2021, many countries are hit by a third wave of infections and authorities may be tempted to induce fear to make people follow guidelines. Our findings provide policy makers with an alternative," says Michael Bang Petersen, one of three authors behind the study, and a professor of political science at Aarhus University, Denmark.

Tell us what to do, and we will do it

In fact, the study shows that when people feel capable of handling the crisis, the impact of fear is no longer important. Those who feel efficacious comply with the authorities' guidelines regardless of whether they are worried about the health of themselves and their families. And they also comply regardless of whether they trust their government and their fellow citizens.

"Our study shows that in the first stage of the pandemic, a sense of urgency emerged and made people put aside individual considerations and political differences. This sense caused people across the world to say: 'Tell us what to do, and we will do it,'" says Professor Michael Bang Petersen.

26,000 participants from the UK, the USA and six EU countries

The study is based on representative surveys conducted in Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. A total of 26,508 people participated from March to May 2020 as the early events were unfolding.

"The study provides a unique insight into behaviour during the first wave of an unprecedented crisis, which we can utilise both in the present and in the long term. Often, decision-makers are worried that the population will panic. But our data shows that authorities do not need to fear this. Instead, they should tell people as clearly as possible about the actual challenges and how people should act," Michael Bang Petersen concludes.

###

The new findings are part of a large-scale data-driven research project entitled HOPE - How Democracies Cope with COVID-19. The project is financed by the Carlsberg Foundation and headed by Professor Michael Bang Petersen. He co-authored the study with Frederik Jørgensen and Alexander Bor, two fellow researchers at the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University.

Contact:
Michael Bang Petersen, professor of political science and head of the HOPE project
Aarhus BSS, Aarhus University
Email: michael@ps.au.dk
Twitter: @M_B_Petersen

Water splitting for solar energy conversion

SHINSHU UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: PT-MODIFIED BATAO2N PHOTOCATALYSTS view more 

CREDIT: CITED FROM WANG, Z., LUO, Y., HISATOMI, T. ET AL. SEQUENTIAL COCATALYST DECORATION ON BATAO2N TOWARDS HIGHLY-ACTIVE Z-SCHEME WATER SPLITTING. NAT COMMUN 12, 1005 (2021). COPYRIGHT © 2021, THE AUTHORS....

In order to enable large-scale hydrogen production using solar energy, particulate photocatalysts are being researched as a simple and cost-effective solution to splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. It is necessary to develop a photocatalyst that can efficiently use visible light, which accounts for a large part of solar energy, in the water decomposition reaction. Barium tantalum oxynitride (BaTaO2N) is an oxynitride semiconductor material that absorbs visible light up to 650 nm and has a band structure capable of decomposing water into hydrogen and oxygen. Until very recently, it had not been possible to load BaTaO2N granules with co-catalyst fine particles, which are reaction active sites, with good adhesion and high dispersion.

In this study led by the Research Initiative for Supra-Materials of Shinshu University, the co-catalyst fine particles were found to be highly dispersed on the surface of the single crystal fine particles of BaTaO2N synthesized by the flux method when the impregnation-reduction method and the photodeposition method were sequentially applied (Fig. 1). As a result, the efficiency of the hydrogenation reaction using the BaTaO2N photocatalyst has been improved to nearly 100 times that of the conventional one, and the efficiency of the two-step excitation type (Z scheme type) water decomposition reaction in combination with the oxygen generation photocatalyst has also been improved. Transient absorption spectroscopy reveals that the Pt-assisted catalyst microparticles supported by the new method are less likely to induce recombination of electrons and holes because they efficiently extract electrons from the BaTaO2N photocatalyst (Fig. 2).

By supporting a small amount of Pt co-catalyst by the impregnation-reduction method in advance, the reduction reaction on the photocatalyst is promoted without agglutination of Pt fine particles. As a result, Pt cocatalyst fine particles are evenly supported by photodeposition on BaTaO2N particles. As a result, it is considered that the extraction of electricity by Pt co-catalyst fine granules proceeded efficiently.

It was also confirmed that the use of BaTaO2N, which is synthesized using an appropriate flux and has a low density of defects, is also important for supporting a highly dispersed Pt co-catalyst. This study dramatically improved the activity of the BaTaO2N photocatalyst and clarified its mechanism. The results of this research are expected to lead to the development of long-wavelength-responsive photocatalysts that drive the water decomposition reaction with high efficiency.

###

This research was conducted in collaboration with the Japan Technological Research Association of Artificial Photosynthetic Chemical Process (ARPChem), and is part of the "Artificial Photosynthesis Project" of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

Sequential cocatalyst decoration on BaTaO2N towards highly-active Z-scheme water splitting

Authors: Zheng Wang, Ying Luo, Takashi Hisatomi, Junie Jhon M. Vequizo, Sayaka Suzuki, Shanshan Chen, Mamiko Nakabayashi, Lihua Lin, Zhenhua Pan, Nobuko Kariya, Akira Yamakata, Naoya Shibata, Tsuyoshi Takata, Katsuya Teshima, and Kazunari Domen

Journal: Nature Communications, (2021)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21284-3

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Artificial Photosynthesis Project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). A part of this work was conducted at the Advanced Characterization Nanotechnology Platform of the University of Tokyo, supported by the Nanotechnology Platform of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), Japan (grant number: JPMXP09A-19-UT-0023). The authors thank Ms. Michiko Obata of Shinshu University for her assistance with XPS measurements.

CAPTION

Schematic of sequential Pt-cocatalyst deposition on BaTaO2N

CREDIT

Cited from Wang, Z., Luo, Y., Hisatomi, T. et al. Sequential cocatalyst decoration on BaTaO2N towards highly-active Z-scheme water splitting. Nat Commun 12, 1005 (2021). Copyright © 2021, The Authors.

Groundwater discharge affects water quality in coastal waters

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG

Research News

 

IMAGE: GROUNDWATER DISCHARGE CAN DRIVE NITROGEN IN COASTAL WATERS. IN THE PICTURE, RESEARCHERS ARE WALKING ON GROUNDWATER DISCHARGING TO THE OCEAN AT LOW TIDE. view more 

CREDIT: ISAAC SANTOS

Water quality management in the ocean often targets visible pollution sources such as sewage, rivers or ships. A new global study, led by researchers at the University of Gothenburg, reveals that invisible groundwater discharges may be just as important driving nitrogen into coastal waters.

As we enter the United Nations' Decade of the Oceans, a new research study shed light on an often overlooked source of impact on the coastal ecosystems.

The study, which examined groundwater discharges at more than 200 locations worldwide, showed that groundwater is the major source of nitrogen and phosphorus to the ocean at many locations, including some areas in the Baltic Sea.

"Groundwater is essentially invisible and difficult to investigate. That is why coastal water quality managers often overlook groundwater discharges to the oceans," says Isaac Santos, professor in marine chemistry at the University of Gothenburg, who led the study in collaboration with thirteen worldwide universities.

"Nitrogen pollution is a major threat to marine biodiversity and a worldwide concern. Surprisingly, our global analysis revealed that groundwater nitrogen discharge exceeds river nitrogen discharge at 60 percent of the sites where both sources have been quantified."

Groundwater accumulates nitrogen from fertilisers used on crops, and may take decades to release this nitrogen to the ocean. When the nitrogen reaches the ocean, it increases algal biomass and decreases marine biodiversity and eventually fisheries.

Many lakes and rivers are connected to groundwater aquifers, geological formations that store groundwater. This high connectivity has prompted legislation to protect those groundwater-dependent ecosystems at the national and European level.

"However, this study shows that the coastal ocean is also highly connected to aquifers, so we need to consider groundwater aquifers as well when managing coastal water quality. For example, the Baltic Sea and many other coastal areas have suffered from nitrogen pollution for decades," says Stefano Bonaglia, a marine chemist at the University of Gothenburg who also participated in the study

They both emphasise that the management of groundwater discharges to the coastal ocean is challenging and may require decades of work. At the University of Gothenburg marine researchers will continue to investigate submarine groundwater discharge with a number of international research projects.

"Climate change, sea level rise and land use change will modify the chemistry of coastal aquifers, and we are now trying to understand how this will have long term impacts on submarine groundwater discharge", says Isaac Santos.

About the research

Title: Submarine groundwater discharge impacts on coastal nutrient biogeochemistry
Scientific journal: Nature Reviews Earth & Environment
Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-021-00152-0

 #AIRPOLLUTION

Urban and transport planning linked to 2,000 premature deaths per year in Barcelona and Madrid

BARCELONA INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH (ISGLOBAL)

Research News

 

Failure to comply with international exposure recommendations for air pollution, noise, heat and access to green space is associated with more than 1,000 deaths per year in Barcelona and more than 900 in Madrid, accounting for 7% and 3% of overall premature mortality, respectively.

This is the conclusion of a new study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation. This study is the first to estimate premature mortality impacts and the distribution by socioeconomic status of multiple environmental exposures related to urban planning and transport in the two cities.

Today, more than half of the global population lives in cities. In Spain, this trend is even more pronounced, with 80% of the population living in urban areas. Madrid and Barcelona are two of Europe's most populous cities, and they also have some of the highest rates of socioeconomic inequality among inhabitants. Recent studies in European cities such as Vienna, Bradford and Barcelona have shown that a considerable proportion of the premature mortality burden--between 8% and 20%--is associated with poor urban and transport planning.

The new study, published in Environmental Research, estimated the impact of non-compliance with international exposure level recommendations for air pollution--fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)--as well as excess heat, traffic noise and lack of green space on residents over 20 years of age in Barcelona and Madrid, cities with different urban planning practices. Whereas Madrid is structured around a central nucleus where most economic activity is concentrated, Barcelona is a compact city whose economic activity is distributed across different neighbourhoods.

The study focused on identifying environmental inequities. "Our goal was to identify the population groups that were most exposed and most vulnerable to the effects of poor urban and transport planning," commented ISGlobal researcher Tamara Iungman, lead author of the study. As for methodology, the researchers used a tool called Urban and Transport Planning Health Impact Assessment (UTOPHIA), which was developed by a team at ISGlobal. "We compared current exposure levels with international recommendations and estimated the fraction of preventable premature deaths that could be avoided if we were to comply with those recommendations," explained Iungman.

Attributable Deaths

The findings showed that non-compliance with WHO's exposure recommendations for air pollution, noise, and access to green space, along with excess heat, were associated with 1,037 premature deaths per year in Barcelona (1). Fine particulate air pollution was the exposure associated with the highest premature mortality, accounting for 524 deaths per year (48% of total attributable deaths), followed by lack of green space (277 deaths), exposure to traffic noise (124 deaths), heat (112 deaths) and exposure to NO2 (12 deaths).

For Madrid, the total number of deaths attributable to non-compliance with international recommendations was 902. Lack of green space was the exposure associated with the highest premature mortality (337 deaths per year), followed by excessive heat (244 deaths), NO2 air pollution (207 deaths), PM2.5 air pollution (173 deaths) and noise (148 deaths).

An earlier ISGlobal study attributed 20% of premature mortality in Barcelona to poor urban and transport planning. "The lower values obtained in this health impact assessment of Barcelona and Madrid--7.1% and 3.4%, respectively--could be attributed to the fact that physical activity was not included in this study, in addition to improvements in adverse exposure levels in recent years, as well as the different methodology used to estimate the mortality attributable to noise," commented Iungman.

Differences Between Barcelona and Madrid

With better urban and transport planning, Barcelona could avoid nearly twice as many deaths as Madrid: 72 versus 33 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. "This difference can be partly explained by the fact that the scientific evidence associates higher mortality with exposure to PM2.5, which is higher in Barcelona; another explanation would be the greater traffic and population density in Barcelona than in Madrid, given that its area represents 1/6th of Madrid's", explained ISGlobal researcher Natalie Mueller, coordinator of the study.

With an annual average of 15 μg/m3, Barcelona exceeded the maximum level recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for PM2.5 (10 μg/m3). For NO2 levels, however, the city's annual average of 37 μg/m3 was under the recommended maximum of 40 μg/m3. Madrid exceeded the WHO recommendations on both counts, with an annual average of 11 μg/m3 for PM2.5 and 42 μg/m3 for NO2.

The main difference between the two cities was in air pollutants. The findings showed higher levels of fine particulate matter in Barcelona and NO2 in Madrid, as well as different spatial distributions: high levels of PM2.5 throughout Barcelona and higher levels of NO2 in the centre of the Spanish capital. "While the main source of NO2 emissions is local motor-vehicle traffic, fine particulate matter has a higher dispersion capacity and is also associated with other combustion sources besides traffic," commented Mueller. "The port and the large industrial areas near Barcelona could influence the high levels of fine particulate matter in the city."

As for green space, the vast majority of the population in Madrid and Barcelona--84% and 95%, respectively--did not have adequate access to these natural environments according to the standards of the WHO, which recommends that people should live within 300 metres of a green space measuring at least half a hectare. This widespread lack of access to green space shows that "in order for green spaces to have health benefits--in addition to mitigating other exposures such as noise and excess heat--it is necessary to consider not only their availability in the city, but also their distribution so that residents can access them on foot," commented Mueller.

With regard to noise, 97% of the population of Madrid and 96% of the population of Barcelona were exposed to traffic noise levels higher than the WHO's recommended values. "Both cities had a considerable mortality burden attributable to traffic noise, which underscores how important it is to reduce noise to improve the health of the population," argued Mueller.

Although there are no specific guidelines for heat, the researchers calculated the temperature corresponding to the smallest number of heat-related deaths in each city: 22.5°C for Barcelona and 21.5°C for Madrid and estimated the impacts of a potential reduction of 1º. "The two cities had similar attributable mortality rates and we found correlations between less green space and higher levels of heat and noise," added Iungman.

Environmental Inequities

The findings show that poor urban and transport planning in Barcelona is associated with higher mortality in census tracts with lower socioeconomic status, whereas in Madrid the attributable mortality burden varied by environmental exposure. Although air pollution, lack of green space and excessive heat are widespread problems in Barcelona, attributable mortality rates were overall higher in the most deprived areas. Thus, populations in the most deprived census tracts had a mortality risk 1.26 times higher than that of the least deprived groups, probably because of an already higher underlying vulnerability.

In Madrid, the most deprived neighbourhoods had higher exposure to PM2.5 and heat than the least deprived neighbourhoods, while the inverse was true for NO2 and noise. This is probably due to the fact that lower socioeconomic population subgroups reside more peripheral and closer to industrial areas, where the cost of living is cheaper -and thus they are more exposed to PM2.5 and heat-, while middle and upper middle socioeconomic population reside in Madrid highly trafficked city center, with greater exposure to NO2 and traffic noise. With respect to green spaces, lack of access affected people of both low and middle socioeconomic status. This pattern was also reflected in its attributable mortality, where only the least deprived areas were the ones having less adverse impacts, probably due to lower underlying vulnerability and better general health status.

Co-author Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Director of the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative at ISGlobal, commented: "This analysis is in line with previous research showing that people living in more deprived neighbourhoods tend to be more exposed to harmful environmental exposures compared to those living in wealthier areas, although this inequity varies according to the design characteristics and historical development of each city."

"This study shows that environmental exposures have a large impact on premature mortality and underscores the importance of designing cities with health impacts in mind, valuing the specificities of each urban environment and prioritising disadvantaged populations," concluded Nieuwenhuijsen. "Health impact assessments are a powerful tool for guiding policymakers towards cities that are healthy, sustainable and fair for all residents."

###

Reference

Tamara Iungman, Sasha Khomenko, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Evelise Pereira Barboza, Albert Ambròs, Cindy M. Padilla, Natalie Mueller. The impact of transport and urban planning practices on health: Assessment of the attributable mortality burden in Madrid and Barcelona and its distribution by socioeconomic status. Environmental Research. March 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.110988

(1) In order to avoid potential double counting of the effects of the air pollutants, this global number only included PM2.5 impacts, which has a greater strength of association with mortality than NO2. Currently, there is a lack of evidence on the independence of mortality effects for NO2 and PM2.5.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.