Environmental Shaping Research Articles

Exploring youth eco-literacy through lived experiences. ‘When you purchase a pair of jeans, you bear the burden of child labor in South Asia’

This study explores youth eco-literacy and its role in addressing the climate crisis, consumption, and socio-political challenges. Eco-literacy involves environmental understanding, skills, and critical perspectives, enabling active engagement and informed decision-making. Through geo-social lenses, I examine how Turkish youth participate politically, both online and offline, in climate change and consumerism dialogues, considering local, global, and planetary perspectives. The analysis focuses on young people’s interpretive agency, creatively expressing environmental ideologies and shaping values with a political stance characterized by reflexivity, agency, and commitment to daily activism and eco-friendly lifestyles. Qualitative data collection included discussions on daily environmental practices and essays on environmental citizenship, covering eco-literacy sources, responsible actors, and ecological awareness strategies. Findings illustrate how young participants address opportunities and disparities, utilizing the research environment for collective learning and action. The study further investigates young people’s showcase of their eco-literacies and advocacy for a public (eco) pedagogy beyond traditional education.

Environmental factors and particle size shape the community structure of airborne total and pathogenic bacteria in a university campus.

Given the dense population on university campuses, indoor and outdoor airborne bacterial contamination may lead to the rapid spread of diseases in a university environment. However, there are few studies of the characteristics of airborne and pathogenic bacterial communities in different sites on a university campus. In this study, we collected particulate matter samples from indoor and outdoor locations at a university in Bengbu City, Anhui Province, China, and analyzed the community characteristics of airborne and pathogenic bacteria using a high-throughput sequencing technique. The results showed that the composition of the dominant airborne and pathogenic bacterial communities was consistent among sites at the phylum and genus levels, with differences in their relative abundance. There were significant differences in the structure of the airborne and pathogenic bacterial communities between indoor and outdoor sites (p < 0.05). An analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) indicated that the structure of airborne bacterial communities in indoor sites was influenced by the room occupancy rate, ventilation conditions, and the extent of indoor furnishing (p < 0.05), while the structure of pathogenic bacterial communities was influenced by the number of individuals and spatial dimensions (p < 0.05). The impact of particle size on the structure of airborne and pathogenic bacterial communities was relatively minor. A total of 194 suspected pathogenic bacterial species were identified, accounting for 0.0001-1.3923% of the total airborne bacteria, all of which were conditional pathogens. Among them, Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula, Acinetobacter johnsonii, and Moraxella osloensis exhibited relatively high relative abundance, accounting for 24.40, 16.22, and 8.66% of the total pathogenic bacteria, respectively. Moreover, 18 emerging or re-emerging pathogenic bacterial species with significant implications for human health were identified, although their relative abundance was relatively low (0.5098%). The relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria in indoor environments was significantly higher than outdoors, with the laboratory and dormitory having the highest levels. The findings of this study provide valuable guidance for the prevention and control of airborne bacterial contamination and the associated health risks in both a campus environment and other public spaces with high occupancy rates.

Perspectives from the pandemic epicenter: Sexual and reproductive health of immigrant women in New York City.

The United States' response to COVID-19 created a policy, economic, and healthcare provision environment that had implications for the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of racialized and minoritized communities. Perspectives from heterogenous immigrant communities in New York City, the pandemic epicenter in the United States (US), provides a glimpse into how restrictive social policy environments shape contraception, abortion, pregnancy preferences, and other aspects of SRH for marginalized immigrant communities. We conducted in-depth interviews in 2020 and 2021 with 44 cisgender immigrant women from different national origins and 19 direct service providers for immigrant communities in New York City to explore how immigrants were forced to adapt their SRH preferences and behaviors to the structural barriers of the COVID-19 pandemic. We coded and analyzed the interviews using a constant comparative approach. Pandemic-related fears and structural barriers to healthcare access shaped shifts in contraceptive use and preferences among our participants. Immigrant women weighed their concerns for health and safety and the potential of facing discrimination as part of their contraceptive preferences. Immigrants also described shifts in their pregnancy preferences as rooted in concerns for their health and safety and economic constraints unique to immigrant communities. Understanding how immigrant women's SRH shifted in response to the structural and policy constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic can reveal how historically marginalized communities will be impacted by an increasingly restrictive reproductive health and immigration policy landscape.

The Role of Neighbourhood Social and Built Environments – Including Third Places – in Older Adults’ Social Interactions

ABSTRACT Neighbourhood environments shape older adults’ social interactions. This research conceptualises a comprehensive set of perceived and objective measures of neighbourhood social and built environments, including third places, with older adults’ social interactions. In Melbourne, based on the person-environment fit framework, mediation analyses showed that the perceived social environment measures of community spirit, participation in community groups and belonging to suburb, were the strongest predictors of social interactions, followed by a few types of perceived third places. Our findings suggest that policymakers should focus on how the objective environment characteristics are interpreted as levers when planning for changes.

Navigating Risks: How External Environments Shape Non-Performing Loans in Vietnam's Commercial Banks

Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to analyze the factors influencing Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) in Vietnam's banking sector. It aims to shift the focus from traditional perspectives centered on macroeconomic indicators towards considering external environmental factors, such as global economic shifts, digital transformation, and industry-specific changes. Moreover, it seeks to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on NPL dynamics in Vietnamese commercial banks. Methods: The study employs empirical data collected from various Vietnamese commercial banks. Robust statistical methods are applied to analyze the data and explore the relationships between external environmental factors and NPLs. The research challenges conventional risk assessment models by advocating for a more comprehensive approach that integrates a broader spectrum of external influences beyond internal and macroeconomic variables. Results: The findings of the study suggest that external environmental factors, including global economic shifts, digital transformation, and industry-specific changes, significantly affect NPLs in Vietnam's banking sector. The analysis reveals the intricate dynamics of NPLs, especially under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contrary to traditional perspectives, the research underscores the importance of considering a wider range of factors in assessing and managing NPL risk. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study contributes significantly to the understanding of NPL dynamics in Vietnam's banking sector. The research highlights the need for banking executives and policymakers to adopt dynamic risk management strategies that account for external environmental factors. By recognizing the influence of global economic shifts, digital transformation, and industry-specific changes, stakeholders can enhance banking resilience and stability in emerging markets like Vietnam. The study underscores the importance of embracing a holistic approach to risk management in an era characterized by rapid global changes and uncertainties.

Environment-specific virocell metabolic reprogramming.

Viruses impact microbial systems through killing hosts, horizontal gene transfer, and altering cellular metabolism, consequently impacting nutrient cycles. A virus-infected cell, a "virocell," is distinct from its uninfected sister cell as the virus commandeers cellular machinery to produce viruses rather than replicate cells. Problematically, virocell responses to the nutrient-limited conditions that abound in nature are poorly understood. Here we used a systems biology approach to investigate virocell metabolic reprogramming under nutrient limitation. Using transcriptomics, proteomics, lipidomics, and endo- and exo-metabolomics, we assessed how low phosphate (low-P) conditions impacted virocells of a marine Pseudoalteromonas host when independently infected by two unrelated phages (HP1 and HS2). With the combined stresses of infection and nutrient limitation, a set of nested responses were observed. First, low-P imposed common cellular responses on all cells (virocells and uninfected cells), including activating the canonical P-stress response, and decreasing transcription, translation, and extracellular organic matter consumption. Second, low-P imposed infection-specific responses (for both virocells), including enhancing nitrogen assimilation and fatty acid degradation, and decreasing extracellular lipid relative abundance. Third, low-P suggested virocell-specific strategies. Specifically, HS2-virocells regulated gene expression by increasing transcription and ribosomal protein production, whereas HP1-virocells accumulated host proteins, decreased extracellular peptide relative abundance, and invested in broader energy and resource acquisition. These results suggest that although environmental conditions shape metabolism in common ways regardless of infection, virocell-specific strategies exist to support viral replication during nutrient limitation, and a framework now exists for identifying metabolic strategies of nutrient-limited virocells in nature.

Ethnic inequality between Arabs and Jews in Israel in global life satisfaction: A social determinants examination among young adults.

Global life satisfaction (GLS), a core construct of subjective well-being, plays a vital role in positive development among young adults. Persistent inequality in subjective well-being across minority versus majority groups is a growing public health concern. However, research evidence on the minority-majority disparity in GLS among representative samples of young adults is scarce. Based on national data from Israel (N = 2,405), this study examines (a) the association of multiple forms of economic (not in education, employment, or training status, subjective socioeconomic status indicators), social-relational (trust, discrimination, loneliness), and environmental determinants (neighborhood conditions) with GLS among young adults from a minority-majority (Israeli Arabs-Israeli Jews) perspective; (b) whether minority-majority disparity in GLS can be explained by differential health returns for the determinants considered across participants from the two groups; (c) whether minority-majority disparities in GLS persist when controlling for these determinants, suggesting the effect of ethnicity per se. Significant disparities in GLS by ethnicity were found, with young Arab adults far less likely to be satisfied or very satisfied with their lives. Hierarchical logistic regression indicated that economic, social-relational, and environmental determinants shape GLS, but these factors do not eliminate the adverse effect of minority status on GLS. While social-relational and environmental factors uniformly affect GLS across minority and majority participants, economic factors were less influential among the Arab minority, suggesting lower health returns for economic resources among young Arab adults. Implications for policies aimed at promoting health equity and social justice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Financing sustainability: How environmental disclosures shape bank lending decisions in emerging markets

AbstractAs global awareness of environmental responsibilities intensifies, the significance of corporate Environmental information disclosure (EID) in decision‐making becomes increasingly prominent. However, its influence on bank lending decisions, especially in emerging markets like China, remains debated. Using 27,095 firm‐year observations between 2008 and 2020, this study examines the impact of both voluntary and mandatory EID on bank lending decisions. Findings indicate that banks incorporate EID into their lending decisions, offering favorable bank loan terms, both in terms of size and costs to firms with strong EID. To mitigate endogeneity concerns, we employ propensity score matching and a difference‐in‐difference methodology grounded in China's newly amended Environmental Protection Law, with consistent results across both tests. Our research identifies two possible economic mechanisms to explain why EID influences bank loan features: EID's potential to reduce firm‐specific risks and its alignment with local governmental incentives for green finance. Furthermore, our research suggests that voluntary EID, previously overlooked, proves more valuable than mandatory EID. We also find that the effectiveness of EID relies on banks' evaluations of the firm's sincerity and incentives behind the disclosure. Banks show a preference for voluntary EID from firms with minimal adverse selection concerns and mandatory EID from those highly motivated to disclose voluntarily. Moreover, we identify a synergy between EID and bank loans in fostering green innovation. This research not only bridges gaps in the existing bank financing literature but also offers insights into how EID can drive sustainable economic activities in developing economies.

Population genetic variation and geographic distribution of suitable areas of Coptis species in China.

The rhizomes of Coptis plants have been used in traditional Chinese medicine over 2000 years. Due to increasing market demand, the overexploitation of wild populations, habitat degradation and indiscriminate artificial cultivation of Coptis species have severely damaged the native germplasms of species in China. Genome-wide simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed using the genomic data of C. chinensis. Population genetic diversity and structure of 345 Coptis accessions collected from 32 different populations were performed based on these SSRs. The distribution of suitable areas for three taxa in China was predicted and the effects of environmental variables on genetic diversity in relation to different population distributions were further analyzed. 22 primer pairs were selected as clear, stable, and polymorphic SSR markers. These had an average of 16.41 alleles and an average polymorphism information content (PIC) value of 0.664. In the neighbor-joining (N-J) clustering analysis, the 345 individuals clustered into three groups, with C. chinensis, C. chinensis var. brevisepala and C. teeta being clearly separated. All C. chinensis accessions were further divided into four subgroups in the population structure analysis. The predicted distributions of suitable areas and the environmental variables shaping these distributions varied considerably among the three species. Overall, the amount of solar radiation, precipitation and altitude were the most important environmental variables influencing the distribution and genetic variation of three species. The findings will provide key information to guide the conservation of genetic resources and construction of a core reserve for species.

Environmental Factors Shape the Differences in Biodiversity-Area Relationships in Riverine Macroinvertebrates of Two Rivers in the Tibetan Plateau in China

The species-area relationship (SAR) is a well-established, globally recognized ecological pattern, and research on SAR has expanded to include the phylogenetic diversity-area relationship (PDAR). However, this research has generally been limited to terrestrial systems. Using data on freshwater macroinvertebrates, the log–log form of the SAR and PDAR power models were compared between the Lhasa River and the Niyang River on the Tibetan Plateau in China. The study reveals that there is a significant difference in the slopes of SAR and PDAR between the two rivers, with the Lhasa River having a considerably higher slope. The beta diversity calculations in these two basins support this pattern, with the Lhasa River exhibiting significantly higher numbers of species and greater total phylogenetic beta diversity than the Niyang River. Regarding species replacement, the turnover component was the primary driver of both species and phylogenetic beta diversity in both rivers. These differences in the beta diversity components were mainly driven by dispersal constraints because spatial distance had a large effect on total beta diversity and turnover fractions. In addition, the nestedness component was more affected by climate and land cover, indicating that highland rivers are subject to the threats of anthropogenic disturbance and climate change. Therefore, spatial factors play a crucial role in determining the distribution of passively dispersed benthic organisms as the scale of change in rivers increases from local to regional effects.

Complement System Response to Adeno-Associated Virus Vector Gene Therapy.

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors represent a novel tool for the delivery of genetic therapeutics and enable the treatment of a wide range of diseases. Success of this new modality is challenged, however, by cases of immune-related toxicities that complicate the clinical management of patients and potentially limit the therapeutic efficacy of AAV gene therapy. While significant progress has been made to manage immune-related liver enzyme elevations following systemic AAV delivery in humans, recent clinical trials utilizing high vector doses have highlighted a new challenge to AAV gene transfer-activation of the complement system. While current in vitro models implicate AAV-specific antibodies in the initiation of the classical complement pathway, evidence from in vivo pre-clinical and clinical studies suggests that the alternative pathway also contributes to complement activation. A convergence of AAV-specific, environmental, and patient-specific factors shaping complement responses likely contributes to differential outcomes seen in clinical trials, from priming of the adaptive immune system to serious adverse events such as hepatotoxicity and thrombotic microangiopathy. Research focused on the interplay of patient-specific and AAV-related factors driving complement activation is needed to understand and identify critical components in the complement cascade to target and devise strategies to mitigate vector-related immune responses.

Archetypes of community-based pond aquaculture in Indonesia: applying the social-ecological systems framework to examine sustainability tradeoffs

We analyze archetypes of farmer groups conducting pond aquaculture across the province of Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia using Ostrom’s social-ecological systems framework. Pond aquaculture farmers share coastal irrigation infrastructure as common property, among other resources, and are encouraged by the government to organize into groups with varying sets of evolved rules, norms, social practices and environmental conditions shaping what they produce, how and how much. Yet little is known about the diversity of these pond aquaculture communities, or what factors—both social and ecological—shape production trends and sustainability outcomes. We designed a standardized survey to collect data on 26 indicators from 85 diverse community-based fish farmer groups across the province. Data included indicators on ownership, rules, history, production trends, demographics, government involvement, livelihood dependence, environmental characteristics and risks. Clustering analysis was applied to identify five unique archetypes of pond aquaculture communities, each distinguished by a different set of development challenges and opportunities. Our findings highlight the need to move beyond a ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy approach. We suggest moving towards a locally adapted capacity building strategy that can recognize contextual needs so that policy programs can better target and differentiate between farmer groups that face similar challenges. We further discuss how empowering collective action among the farmers can reduce risks associated with producing blue food for local consumption and regional markets.

Exploring the Gut Microbiome and Metabolome in Individuals with Alopecia Areata Disease.

In recent years, heightened attention has been devoted to unravelling the intricate interplay between genetic and environmental factors shaping the gut microbiota and its significance for human health. This study delves into exploring the plausible connection between Alopecia Areata (AA), an autoimmune disease, and the dynamics of the gut microbiome. Examining a cohort of healthy adults and individuals with AA, both the gut microbiota composition and volatile organic compound (VOC) metabolites from faeces and urine were analysed. While overall microbiota composition showed no significant differences, intra-individual variability revealed distinctions related to age, gender, and pathology status, with AA individuals exhibiting reduced species richness and evenness. Differential abundance analysis identified microbial biomarkers for AA, notably Firmicutes, Lachnospirales, and Blautia, while Coprococcus stood out for healthy individuals. The Data Integration Analysis for Biomarker discovery using Latent Components (DIABLO) method further supported these findings including metabolite biomarkers, such as esters of branched chain fatty acids and branched chain amino acids as predictors for AA, suggesting potential links to oxidative stress. Despite certain limitations, the study highlights the complexity of the gut microbiome and its metabolites in the context of AA, while the biomarkers identified could be useful starting points for upcoming studies.

Divergent bacterial landscapes: unraveling geographically driven microbiomes in Atlantic cod

Establishing microbiome signatures is now recognized as a critical step toward identifying genetic and environmental factors shaping animal-associated microbiomes and informing the health status of a given host. In the present work, we prospectively collected 63 blood samples of the Atlantic cod population of the Southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence (GSL) and characterized their 16S rRNA circulating microbiome signature. Our results revealed that the blood microbiome signature was dominated at the phylum level by Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria, a typical signature for fish populations inhabiting the GSL and other marine ecosystems. At the genus level, however, we identified two distinct cod groups. While the microbiome signature of the first group was dominated by Pseudoalteromonas, a genus we previously found in the microbiome signature of Greenland and Atlantic halibut populations of the GSL, the second group had a microbiome signature dominated by Nitrobacter and Sediminibacterium (approximately 75% of the circulating microbiome). Cods harboring a Nitrobacter/Sediminibacterium-rich microbiome signature were localized in the most southern part of the GSL, just along the northern coast of Cape Breton Island. Atlantic cod microbiome signatures did not correlate with the weight, length, relative condition, depth, temperature, sex, and salinity, as previously observed in the halibut populations. Our study provides, for the first time, a unique snapshot of the circulating microbiome signature of Atlantic cod populations and the potential existence of dysbiotic signatures associated with the geographical distribution of the population, probably linked with the presence of nitrite in the environment.

Carrot or stick, or both? Examining U.S. presidents' use of counterterrorism tools in Pakistan, 2001–2020

AbstractWithin the context of eliciting partner country cooperation and interests alignment, U.S. presidents and their administrations have a wide array of policy tools at their disposal to mitigate terrorist threats emanating from other countries. Yet, the factors that account for variation in American presidents' and their administrations' specific counterterrorism policy choices to influence target states' behavior remain underexplored. To understand the underlying factors that influence the adoption of different U.S. counterterrorism tools within a given country, and their variation across administrations in the post‐9/11 era, we examine the case of Pakistan—a challenging yet enduring partner in the U.S.‐led Global War on Terror. Categorizing the counterterrorism policies and tools adopted by Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump as punitive or nonpunitive policy decisions, we explore the extent to which each president's policy choices during the Global War on Terror were largely a continuation of predecessors or responded to specific shifting patterns of terrorism within Pakistan. Our study yields important insights regarding the extent to which path dependency or evolving security environments shape choices of counterterrorism tools.

The hidden biotic face of microbialite morphogenesis – a case study from Laguna de Los Cisnes, southernmost Patagonia (Chile)

ABSTRACTMicrobialites provide geological evidence into Earth's early ecosystems, recording long‐standing interactions between co‐evolving life and the environment. Yet, after more than 100 years of research, the complex interplay between environmental and biological forces involved in microbialite growth is still debated. Laguna de Los Cisnes, located in Chilean Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia, provides a unique opportunity to study these interactions. This lake, which became ice‐free around 10 000 years ago, features carbonate microbialites developed by algal–microbial communities. Macroscopically, the organo‐sedimentary deposits exhibit a consistent primary crater‐like architecture, showcasing macrostructural variations such as dish‐shaped, hemispherical, columnar and lenticular morphologies. This study explores the environmental and biological factors shaping microbialite macrostructure by analysing the distribution of dominant morphotypes across the basin. Concurrently, it examines the internal mesostructure and microstructure of microbialites in association with prevailing algal–microbial communities. The incremental development of these communities contributes to the distinct crater‐like morphology observed in microbialites from Laguna de Los Cisnes. The mineral encrustation of the green alga Percursaria percursa emerges as a primary driver of lithification, evidenced by the preservation of microfossils within the microstructure of the microbialites. Simultaneously, physical environmental factors, including waves, Langmuir cells and accommodation space influence the location of the algal–microbial carbonate factory, determining the spatial distribution and temporal succession of different crater architecture variants. Laguna de Los Cisnes, hosting well‐preserved subfossil outcrops and living microbialites, serves as a remarkable living laboratory for understanding microbialite morphogenesis. This study contributes to a novel model that captures the fundamental role of algal–microbial communities in determining the primary macrostructural architecture of microbialites before environmental factors come into play, merely reshaping this architecture into different morphotypes.

Occurrence Characteristics of Microplastics in Multi-environmental Media and Bellamya aeruginosa of Manao River

Microplastic pollution poses threats to aquatic ecosystems and human health. In this study, in order to investigate the characteristics of microplastic occurrence in different environmental media, the abundance, particle size, shape, color, and composition types of microplastics in the water column, sediment, riparian zone soil, and the benthic snail Bellamya aeruginosa of the Manao River were analyzed using field sampling, microscopic observation, and Fourier infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that the average abundance of microplastics in the surface water of the Manao River was (5.9±0.26) n·L-1; the abundance of microplastics in the upper sediment (by dry weight) was (1.35±0.1) n·g-1, and that in the lower sediment (by dry weight) was (0.93±0.12) n·g-1. The abundance of microplastics in the near riparian zone soil (by dry weight) was (0.68±0.16) n·g-1, and that in the far riparian zone soil (by dry weight) was (0.69±0.14) n·g-1, and the abundance of microplastics in the B. aeruginosa was (2.06±0.25) n·g-1. The analysis results showed that the abundance of microplastics in the upper and lower sediments were positively correlated; the abundance of microplastics in B. aeruginosa was positively correlated with the abundance of microplastics in the upper and lower sediments, respectively; and the abundance of microplastics in the near and far riparian zone soils were also correlated. Most of the microplastics within each environmental medium and B. aeruginosa were <0.1 mm in size, mainly in the form of fibers and fragments, mainly blue and black in color, and mainly composed of polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE). It was found that microplastics in riparian zone soils mainly originated from the fragmentation and decomposition of agricultural plastic films. The results of this study shed light on the accumulation of microplastics in macrobenthic organisms through the investigation of microplastics in multi-environmental media and in the B. aeruginosa, which helps us to understand the potential ecological risk of microplastics in a comprehensive manner.

Integrating Perceptions, Physical Features and the Quality of the Walking Route into an Existing Accessibility Tool: The Perceived Environment Walking Index (PEWI)

Perceptions of the environment shape individual mobility decisions and represent the ‘lived reality’ of accessibility and walkability. Yet recent common walkability analyses and instruments try to include perceptions of different population groups without integrating them into practical tools. However, there is a need for a holistic tool as a basis for transport planners and researchers to integrate the various aspects of walkability into one instrument. This paper investigates multiple relations between different walkability concept parameters and presents the development of the Perceived Environment Walking Index (PEWI). To achieve this, we used a multi-method study design and developed and tested the PEWI in two urban neighbourhoods in Hamburg in three steps. First, we calculated the objective walking accessibility using GIS based on the well-known Walk Score®. Second, we integrated 18 indicators representing physical features and the quality of the walking route, alongside subjective perceptions of walking accessibility broken down into the categories of functionality, safety and security as well as pleasantness and attractiveness. Key results imply that integrating these indicators into an existing accessibility tool is a promising, nuanced method for an improved picture of walkability and accessibility whereas indices focusing only on distances or travel times are not sufficient to represent the lived reality. The implications of our results are discussed with regard to future research gaps and policy.

Global environmental assessments and transformative change: the role of epistemic infrastructures and the inclusion of social sciences

The gap between what is known about climate change and the action taken to prevent it has instigated debates around how to reconfigure global environmental assessment organizations to better inform and foster transformative change. One recurring request involves the need for a broader and better inclusion of social scientific knowledge. However, despite such intentions, the inclusion of social scientific research remains limited. How can this be explained? Through a detailed analysis of the IPCC special report on limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, this article reveals how the institutional conditions of global environmental assessments condition and shape what knowledge is included in these assessments, as well as how this knowledge is represented. It discusses how and why the understanding of social processes and structures remains underdeveloped, despite such knowledge being critical for transformative change. To integrate such knowledge into environmental assessments would require substantial changes to the current epistemic infrastructure used by global environmental assessments. It is therefore time to think beyond global environmental assessments and consider complementary institutional science–policy relations through which social scientific research can assist policy actions to promote deep transformative change.

Subicular neurons encode concave and convex geometries

Animals in the natural world constantly encounter geometrically complex landscapes. Successful navigation requires that they understand geometric features of these landscapes, including boundaries, landmarks, corners and curved areas, all of which collectively define the geometry of the environment1–12. Crucial to the reconstruction of the geometric layout of natural environments are concave and convex features, such as corners and protrusions. However, the neural substrates that could underlie the perception of concavity and convexity in the environment remain elusive. Here we show that the dorsal subiculum contains neurons that encode corners across environmental geometries in an allocentric reference frame. Using longitudinal calcium imaging in freely behaving mice, we find that corner cells tune their activity to reflect the geometric properties of corners, including corner angles, wall height and the degree of wall intersection. A separate population of subicular neurons encode convex corners of both larger environments and discrete objects. Both corner cells are non-overlapping with the population of subicular neurons that encode environmental boundaries. Furthermore, corner cells that encode concave or convex corners generalize their activity such that they respond, respectively, to concave or convex curvatures within an environment. Together, our findings suggest that the subiculum contains the geometric information needed to reconstruct the shape and layout of naturalistic spatial environments.