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This article considers the potential of including farmers in the governance, organization and execution of biodiversity monitoring. More specifically, we consider the opportunities for farmer involvement in biodiversity data collection through an explorative empirical analysis of the governance of biodiversity monitoring activities in agricultural landscapes within the Netherlands. We identify practical obstacles to farmer participation, assess the role of environmental NGOs in this process, and consider the extent to which this data leads to increasingly adaptive land management decisions to promote biodiversity. The governance of agri-environmental subsidy contracts with farmer collectives in the Netherlands, we conclude, could be used as an important vehicle to incentivize both biodiversity data collection and science-based land management decisions.

Objectives Pet robots are technology-based substitutes for live animals that have demonstrated psychosocial benefits for people living with dementia in long-term care. However, little research has been conducted to understand how pet robots should be implemented in routine care. This study aims to identify, contextualize, and achieve expert consensus on strategies to implement pet robots as part of dementia care in long-term care facilities. Design A 2-round modified Delphi study. Settings and Participants An international panel of 56 experts from 14 countries, involving care professionals, organizational leaders, and researchers. Methods A list of potentially relevant strategies was identified, contextualized, and revised using empirical data and through stakeholder consultations. These strategies constituted statements for Round 1. Experts rated the relative importance of each statement on a 9-point scale, and free-text fields allowed them to provide justifications. Consensus was predefined as ≥75% agreement. Statements not reaching an agreement were brought forward to Round 2. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and textual data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Results Thirteen strategies reached consensus; 11 were established as critical: (1) assess readiness and identify barriers and facilitators, (2) purposely reexamine the implementation, (3) obtain and use residents' and their family's feedback, (4) involve residents and their family, (5) promote adaptability, (6) conduct ongoing training, (7) conduct educational meetings, (8) conduct local consensus discussions, (9) organize clinician implementation team meetings, (10) provide local technical assistance, and (11) access new funding. Other strategies received differing extents of agreement. Reasons for variations included contextual differences, such as resource availability, organizational structures, and staff turnover. Conclusions and Implications This study identified the most relevant strategies that can be used by technology developers, care providers, and researchers to implement pet robots in long-term care facilities for dementia care. Further development, specification, and testing in real-world settings are needed. peer-reviewed 2024-01-03

Atmospheric ammonia (NH3) released from agriculture is contributing significantly to acidification and atmospheric NH3 may have on human health is much less readily available. The potential direct impact of NH3 on the health of the general public is under-represented in scientific literature, though there have been several studies which indicate that NH3 has a direct effect on the respiratory health of those who handle livestock. These health impacts can include a reduced lung function, irritation to the throat and eyes, and increased coughing and phlegm expulsion. More recent studies have indicated that agricultural NH3 may directly influence the early on-set of asthma in young children. In addition to the potential direct impact of ammonia, it is also a substantial contributor to the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) fraction (namely the US and Europe); where it accounts for the formation of 30% and 50% of all PM2.5 respectively. PM2.5 has the ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and cause long term illnesses such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and lung cancer. Hence, PM2.5 causes economic losses which equate to billions of dollars (US) to the global economy annually. Both premature deaths associated with the health impacts from PM2.5 and economic losses could be mitigated with a reduction in NH3 emissions resulting from agriculture. As agriculture contributes to more than 81% of all global NH3 emissions, it is imperative that food production does not come at a cost to the world's ability to breathe; where reductions in NH3 emissions can be easier to achieve than other associated pollutants. Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The unprecedented development, growth, and widespread pervasiveness of digital Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have coincided with ever-increasing levels of consumption and the climate emergency. Digital ICTs, once lauded for their potential to dematerialize society, are now imposing additional burdens on the planet. The widespread consumption of personal electronics continues to grow at an enormous rate, while recycling of the scarce rare-earth minerals that are crucial to their development is negligible. As digital technologies become ubiquitous, the need for additional energy to power our ever-increasing number of digital devices and services must also keep pace. Moreover, despite their public veneer as progressives, digital tech companies are collaborating with fossil fuel companies to render oil and gas extraction more profitable and with greater speed, fuelling climate breakdown. Online social platforms are also being misused as podiums for dis/misinformation and falsehoods counter to the scientific consensus of anthropogenic climate change, allowing the digital tech sector to abdicate any social responsibility and denying the dire consequences of inaction. This review article explores the growing consumption demands and the ecological threat from digitalization and the digital tech sector: demands that will only intensify with our insatiable appetite for digital tech services and products. Such a review aims to draw closer attention to some ways such technology can be used to assist ecological research and conservation, but also to expand upon our understanding of the negative environmental aspects of a relentless push toward a Digital Society. In uncritically accepting Big Tech's virtuous credentials, we are choosing to ignore the immense power and influence they have over our lives, and the ways they may be propelling our environment toward collapse.

Turkey is a laggard in terms of the achievement of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and one of the primary issues it faces is environmental deterioration. Therefore, a policy-level reorientation may be needed to address this relevant issue. From this standpoint, this research assesses the impact of renewable energy (RE) use and financial development on the emissions of CO2 as well as the role of urbanization and agriculture, utilizing a dataset stretching between 1985 and 2019. By applying the innovative quantile-on-quantile regression (QQR) and non-parametric Granger causality in quantiles techniques, the study assesses the ways in which the quantiles of the independent variables affect the quantiles of CO2 emissions. The outcomes from the QQR show that in all quantiles, financial development, economic growth, urbanization, and agriculture impact CO2 emissions positively, while in the middle quantiles, the influence of renewable energy use on CO2 is negative. Furthermore, the outcomes from the non-parametric Granger causality test disclosed that in mean and variance, all the variables could predict CO2 emissions at different quantiles. A complete SDG-oriented policy framework has been proposed based on the research’s findings so that Turkey may move toward reaching its SDG 13 and SDG 7 targets.

The applications of the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies connect multiple devices directly and through the Internet. Autonomous vehicles utilise connectivity when updating their algorithms based on user data, interact with the infrastructure to get environmental information, communicate with other vehicles. They exchange information with pedestrians using mobile devices and wearables and provide information about the traffic attributes and data collected by the vehicle sensors. The connected and automated vehicles (CAV) require a significant quantity of collecting and processing data and through IoT applications and services the autonomous vehicles share information about the road, the present path, traffic, and how to navigate around different obstacles. This information can be shared between IoT connected vehicles and uploaded wirelessly to the cloud or/and edge system to be analysed and operated improving the levels of automation and the autonomous driving (AD) functions of each vehicle. This chapter gives an overview of the integration of IoT devices contributing to automated/autonomous driving, and the IoT infrastructure deployed and seamlessly integrated into the AUTOPILOT project use cases and pilot demonstrators, including the IoT platforms integration.

Sleep deficiency is now considered an emerging global epidemic associated with many serious health problems, and a major cause of financial and social burdens. Sleep and mental health are closely connected, further exacerbating the negative impact of sleep deficiency on overall health and well-being. A major drawback of conventional treatments is the wide range of undesirable side-effects typically associated with benzodiazepines and antidepressants, which can be more debilitating than the initial disorder. It is therefore valuable to explore the efficiency of other remedies for complementarity and synergism with existing conventional treatments, leading to possible reduction in undesirable side-effects. This review explores the relevance of microalgae bioactives as a sustainable source of valuable phytochemicals that can contribute positively to mood and sleep disorders. Microalgae species producing these compounds are also catalogued, thus creating a useful reference of the state of the art for further exploration of this proposed approach. While we highlight possibilities awaiting investigation, we also identify the associated issues, including minimum dose for therapeutic effect, bioavailability, possible interactions with conventional treatments and the ability to cross the blood brain barrier. We conclude that physical and biological functionalization of microalgae bioactives can have potential in overcoming some of these challenges.