South Europe Research Articles

Assessing cancer prevention literacy among European population: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Cancer prevention literacy (CPL) is essential for empowering individuals to make health-informed decisions and adopt preventive measures to reduce their cancer risk. This study aims to measure CPL among the European population. Methods A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted from February to March 2024 among European residents over 18 years old (N = 2312) in the context of BUMPER Project (https://bumper.cancer.eu/). An online self-administered questionnaire was developed including: sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, country of residence, educational level), and CPL (general and by European Code Against Cancer -ECAC- topics). A descriptive analysis was performed and the chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis test were calculated to examine the relationship between CPL and sociodemographic variables. Results 44.2% showed a high level of CPL, followed by 39.5% with medium, and 16.3% with low level. 61.1% of participants are not aware of ECAC. ECAC topics with higher levels of knowledge are: UV exposure (88.3%), pollution (81.6%), tobacco (78.7%), second-hand smoking (60.9%). ECAC topics with lower levels are: hormone replacement therapy (47.9%), breastfeeding (41.6%), and vaccination (32.9%). Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) are observed in CPL level by gender, country of residence, and educational level. Those with a higher % of low CPL levels are men (22.8%), people from West and South Europe (20.8% and 18.1%), and primary education level (34.7%). Conclusions CPL level is medium-high among the European population, with social and gender inequalities. Further studies are needed to delve into these inequalities. Key messages • The cancer prevention literacy level is medium-high among the European population, with social and gender inequalities. • There is a need of tailored interventions to address social inequalities in cancer prevention literacy among European population.

“Home out of home”: South Africa, Central Europe, and “dark nostography”

The essay provides a comprehensive discussion of South African nostographies which are concerned with the nostographers’ return to their Central European father/motherland. The paper not only explores the poetics of nostographic writing but also attempts to identify specific generic signposts that characterise South African nostos narratives about Central European homecoming. Having analysed – with the support of archival records – several notable examples of second-generation nostographies by South African writers of Central European descent (Gordimer, Zwi, Jacobson), the essay focuses on the first nostos narrative by a second generation South African Pole, i.e. Blood and Silver by Jan Glazewski (2022). The proposed reading of Glazewski’s book pays special attention to the way in which the Polish/Ukrainian “home” to which the author returns partakes in negotiating the “anachronoid” identity of the auto/biographical (homecoming) subject – especially in the context of the subject’s multiple dislocations; and in revealing a new, essentially transnational geography of historical and ideological connections between Central Europe and South Africa. Additionally, the essay argues that Glazewski’s book should be recognised as a specimen of “dark nostography,” i.e. a homecoming narrative in which one’s double home (South African and Central Europe) is acknowledged as a site of trauma, while the homecomer is considered the subject implicated in the past and present forms of injustice and violence.

Sex estimation using metrics of the innominate: A test of the DSP2 method.

Sex estimation is a critical component of the biological profile, and forensic anthropologists may use a variety of sex estimation methods depending upon the degree of completeness and state of preservation of the skeletal remains being analyzed. The innominate is widely accepted to be the most sexually dimorphic skeletal element. The Diagnose Sexuelle Probabiliste (DSP) method, which uses 10 measurements of the innominate, was introduced in 2005 and updated as DSP2 in 2017. While DSP2 has been reported to have high classification accuracy rates in studies of South American and European populations, the method has not been widely tested in US samples, and few US practitioners incorporate this method into their casework. The goal of this study was to test the reliability and accuracy of DSP2 using a large, modern sample from the US (n = 174). Two observers, blinded from demographic information associated with each specimen, collected the DSP2 metrics. Intra- and interobserver error analyses showed acceptable levels of agreement for all measurements, except for IIMT. Classification accuracies exceeded 95%, with minimal sex bias, for both observers and using various measurement combinations; however, an inclusivity sex bias occurred with more males reaching the 0.95 posterior probability threshold required by DSP2 to provide a sex classification estimate. Based on its high accuracy, forensic anthropologists in the US may consider incorporating DSP2 into their casework, although we recommend excluding IIMT and using SPU with caution. Additional methods will continue to be needed when the posterior probability threshold is not reached.

The development and progression of albuminuria in South Asians with type 2 diabetes compared with Western Europeans. Results from the HinDu the Hague diabetes study.

Although South Asians have an increased risk to develop diabetes, data on the difference in development and progression of diabetic nephropathy between ethnic groups are not consistent. The aim of this study was to evaluate possible differences in the development and progression of albuminuria in South Asians and Western Europeans (WE) with type 2 diabetes in a large closed cohort of South Asians with type 2 diabetes. Data on 1269 South Asians and 2272 Dutch adults with type 2 diabetes who were treated in our diabetes clinic in 2006 or referred thereafter were extracted from electronic medical records. Microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria were defined separately for men and women based on albumin/creatinine ratios in early morning urine samples. We defined 3 outcomes: (1) no albuminuria, (2) persistent microalbuminuria and (3) macroalbuminuria at the end of follow-up. Cox proportional hazard models were used to discriminate differences in time from diabetes diagnosis until development and progression of albuminuria between the two ethnic groups, adjusted for retinopathy, hypertension, smoking and age at diabetes diagnosis. South Asians have a higher adjusted risk for developing microalbuminuria: HR 1.4, (95% CI 1.2, 1.6) and macroalbuminuria: HR: 1.2 (1.0, 1.4) compared to Western Europeans. However, mean time to progress from micro- to macroalbuminuria was not different between the ethnic groups (3.9 ± 4.0 yrs vs. 3.4 ± 3.9 yrs respectively). South Asians have a higher adjusted risk to develop micro- and macroalbuminuria compared with Western Europeans. When microalbuminuria is present, time to progression from micro- to macroalbuminuria is not different between the two groups.

Assessing Solutions for Resilient Dairy Farming in Europe.

The objective of the EU project Resilience for Dairy (R4D) is to develop and strengthen a self-sustainable Thematic Network on resilient dairy farms in 15 European countries. This article focusses on those solutions (practices and techniques) that are assessed contributing to a resilient dairy farming sector. The opinions of experts, farmers, and stakeholders were collected and scored through surveys and in a series of local workshops. Six key contributing knowledge fields are included: economic and social resilience, technical efficiency, environment, animal welfare and health, and societal perception. Assessing these knowledge fields proved to be a good predictor for measuring resilience. Only the impact fields of animal welfare and health and societal perception overlapped each other in response. This study shows differences in the choice of solutions across Europe. Experts from South and East Europe are more positive about the contribution of solutions to resilience than their colleagues from North and West Europe, except for social life items. Expert and farmer/stakeholder opinions differ regarding several of the solutions. Technical efficiency is a leading strategy. Priority topics of interest are communication with society, renewable energy production, strategic hoof trimming, early detection of diseases, monitoring fertility and health, and calf rearing. Besides resilience, attractiveness and readiness of the solutions were also assessed.

South Africa as a Donor of Its Native and Exotic Species to the International Pet Trade

The global pet trade is a thriving multibillion-dollar industry, involving the international exchange of various species and regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). South Africa plays a significant role as both an importer and exporter within this market. By analysing over 13 million records from the CITES database, spanning from 1975 to 2023, we aimed to access South Africa’s role in the international pet trade and to analyse trade volume and trends over time. Our findings indicate that alien species dominate exports, particularly birds and mammals, while native species are traded in lower volume, involving only a few species. The top 10 traded species for birds and mammals belong to the genera Agapornis and Callithrix, while 80% of reptile exports were native, with Stigmochelys pardalis being the most exported species. Bird and mammal exports are primarily composed of captive-bred individuals, whereas both captive-bred and wild-sourced individuals contribute to reptile exports. Approximately 100 countries import various species from South Africa, with Asia and Europe as major importers of birds. The extensive exportation of South Africa’s native species, particularly reptiles, raises significant conservation concerns regarding the potential impact on local biodiversity.

Modeling and empirical evidence of the impact of implementation of sugar sweetened-beverages tax to reduce non-communicable diseases prevalence: a systematic review.

The surge in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has been linked to excessive sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption. In response, the World Health Organization advocates for SSB taxes as a preventive measure. This study conducts a systematic literature review, encompassing simulation modeling and empirical evidence, to evaluate the effectiveness of SSB taxes in diminishing NCD prevalence. A systematic search from August 2002 to August 2022, utilizing databases like ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar, Wiley Online Library, Springer, and ResearchGate, identified 29 relevant articles worldwide following PRISMA 2020. The Critical Appraisal Skill Programme (CASP) 2018 tool was employed for economic evaluation. Among the selected articles, 22 utilized simulation models in group of countries such as South Africa, the US, the UK, Asia (Philippines, India, Indonesia, Thailand), Australia, and Europe (Germany), while seven were based on US and UK evidence. Simulation modeling consistently demonstrated that SSB taxes significantly reduced NCD incidence, prevalence, and mortality, also bolstering government revenue. Tax rates in simulations ranged from 10 to 25%. However, empirical evidence indicated a limited impact, primarily due to low tax rates. Notably, a UK-specific tax led to a 2.7% reduction in SSB sugar purchases and 40.2% higher purchases of no-levy drinks. The findings suggest that while simulation models demonstrate the potential effectiveness of SSB taxes in reducing NCDs, empirical evidence reveals there is no significant effect of the SSB tax, Based on the study conducted in this study, the SSB tax is not effective in reducing the prevalence of NCDs due to consumer preferences that have not changed. , likely due to the implementation of lower tax rates and failure to fulfill the assumption of subtitution product, physical activity, and so on. The study highlights that SSB tax is not effective in reducing the prevalence of NCDs due to consumer preference that have not change. Multi-actions are needed to support the sustainability of the implementation of the SSB tax, including education and promotion of healthy lifestyles and encouragement to reformulate SSB products by industry.

Current summer heat waves impair rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) spermatogenesis: Implications for future fish farming management practices in South Europe

Freshwater environments provide different ecosystem services for human well-being, and are one of the most important natural sources of healthy animal protein. Climate change and extreme temperature events, among other factors, represent a growing concern for their sustainable use. In contrast to the research effort to elucidate how global warming affects these aquatic environments, few studies pay attention to the potential effects of heat waves, a current phenomenon with direct effects on contemporaneous organisms. Here, the potential effects of a single heat wave event on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) males, mimicking a recorded environmental event, have been evaluated by means of biometric, redox and stress response, plasma testosterone, histopathology and transcriptomic analyses. Environmental monitoring showed how, during the last 4 years, mean water temperature increased (2–4 °C; from April to October), heat wave duration progressively increased (from 15 to 100 days), and mean intensities ranged 1.7–3.8 °C with a maximum of 8.0 °C. An experimentally recreated heat wave lasting only 16 days, with mean and maximum intensities of 2.7 and 6.7 °C, induced a decrease in body weight and total antioxidant status, but increased blood plasma cortisol levels and redox enzyme activity. The induced heat wave decreased testosterone plasma levels and sperm quality, arrested spermatocyte type I and II differentiation and increased spermatozoa apoptosis. These effects were correlated with a differential expression of 1156 genes (116 up- and 1040 down-regulated genes) in exposed fish when compared to Control fish, reflecting an alteration in cell apoptosis and spermatozoa maturation processes. These results not only increase concern about current heat wave events, recreating a real scenario, but also unveil for the first time the particular molecular mechanisms of subsequent spermatogenesis disruption, opening new avenues for designing urgent and necessary strategies to mitigate the effects of extreme climate change conditions on freshwater aquaculture.

Temporal change in minimum mortality temperature under changing climate: A multicountry multicommunity observational study spanning 1986–2015

Background: The minimum mortality temperature (MMT) or MMT percentile (MMTP) is an indicator of population susceptibility to nonoptimum temperatures. MMT and MMTP change over time; however, the changing directions show region-wide heterogeneity. We examined the heterogeneity of temporal changes in MMT and MMTP across multiple communities and in multiple countries. Methods: Daily time-series data for mortality and ambient mean temperature for 699 communities in 34 countries spanning 1986–2015 were analyzed using a two-stage meta-analysis. First, a quasi-Poisson regression was employed to estimate MMT and MMTP for each community during the designated subperiods. Second, we pooled the community-specific temporally varying estimates using mixed-effects meta-regressions to examine temporal changes in MMT and MMTP in the entire study population, as well as by climate zone, geographical region, and country. Results: Temporal increases in MMT and MMTP from 19.5 °C (17.9, 21.1) to 20.3 °C (18.5, 22.0) and from the 74.5 (68.3, 80.6) to 75.0 (71.0, 78.9) percentiles in the entire population were found, respectively. Temporal change was significantly heterogeneous across geographical regions (P < 0.001). Temporal increases in MMT were observed in East Asia (linear slope [LS] = 0.91, P = 0.02) and South-East Asia (LS = 0.62, P = 0.05), whereas a temporal decrease in MMT was observed in South Europe (LS = −0.46, P = 0.05). MMTP decreased temporally in North Europe (LS = −3.45, P = 0.02) and South Europe (LS = −2.86, P = 0.05). Conclusions: The temporal change in MMT or MMTP was largely heterogeneous. Population susceptibility in terms of optimum temperature may have changed under a warming climate, albeit with large region-dependent variations.

Money Politics in a Democratic Political System: A Case study of South Korea and European Countries

The issue of money politics in Indonesia has severely undermined democratic integrity, affecting equality in political participation, increasing the risk of corruption, creating disparities in political access, influencing public policy-making, and damaging public perceptions of the political system’s credibility. This study aimed to explore how other countries address the challenges of money politics and offered concrete solutions to strengthen democratic integrity. Using a comparative approach, the study examined money politics policies and practices, as well as assessed the effectiveness of anti-corruption and transparency measures in South Korea and Europe. The findings revealed that strict regulations on campaign financing and oversight by independent bodies have effectively mitigated money politics practices in these countries. Consequently, Indonesia is encouraged to adopt a similar approach by establishing an independent oversight body and fostering active public participation to address the challenges of money politics and high political costs, promote equitable political participation, and strengthen democratic integrity.

Climate change effects on the diversity and distribution of soybean true bugs pests.

Climate change and pests are two major factors in the reduction of global soybean yields. The diversity and geographic distribution of soybean true bug pests vary across soybean production areas worldwide, and climate change impacts are different across species and regions. Therefore, we integrated spatial and temporal predictions at the global scale to predict the impact of global warming on the distribution of 84 soybean true bug pests by the maximum entropy niche model (MaxEnt) under present (1970-2000) and future (2041-2060) scenarios. We produced an ensemble projection of the potential distribution of pests and crop production areas to estimate how and where climate warming will augment the threat of soybean true bug pests to soybean production areas. Our results indicated that Southeast North America, Central South America, Europe and East Asia were the regions with the higher richness of soybean true bug and the most vulnerable areas to invasion threats. Climate change would promote the expansion of the distribution range and facilitate pest movement pole wards, affecting more soybean cultivated areas located in mid-latitudes. Moreover, species with different distribution patterns responded differently to climate change in that large-ranged species tended to increase in occupancy over time, whereas small-ranged species tended to decrease. This result indicates that some pests that have not yet become notable may have the chance to develop into serious pests in the future due to the expansion of their geographical range. Our findings highlight that soybean cultivated regions at mid-latitudes would face general infestations from soybean true bug pests under global warming. These results will further facilitate the formulation of adaptation planning to minimize local environmental impacts in the future. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Motivating Mechanisms of the South Asian Jet Wave Train by Disturbances over the North Atlantic in Winter

Abstract This study investigated the motivation of the South Asian jet wave train (SAJW) and its underlying mechanism, by distinguishing different evolutions of disturbance sources over the North Atlantic. The disturbance sources propagate along the SAJW toward the western North Pacific in the propagating cases, while they are constrained over the North Atlantic and Europe in the interrupted cases. The possible motivating mechanisms are disclosed in the perspectives of energy dispersion and background potential vorticity gradient (PVG) affecting energy attraction. In the propagating cases, wave energy propagates eastward over the North Atlantic and converges into the Mediterranean Sea and Middle East, leading to the amplification and development of the wave train. The enhancement of PVG over south Europe–Mediterranean Sea is a key factor attracting such eastward propagation, which is associated with the positive PV anomaly over north Europe driven by the diabatic heating of precipitation. In the interrupted cases, energy dispersion is more divergent over the North Atlantic because of the weaker PVG, resulting in the failure of the SAJW excitement. The impacts of the SAJW on the temperature and precipitation along its path are evident, with the modulated snow depth agreeing more with temperature rather than precipitation except over the Tibetan Plateau. Hence, understanding the motivating mechanism of the SAJW is essential for improving weather forecasts over subtropical Eurasia by using the disturbances over the North Atlantic.

Associations between accurate measures of adiposity and fitness, blood proteins, and insulin sensitivity among South Asians and Europeans.

South Asians (SAs) may possess a unique predisposition to insulin resistance (IR). We explored this possibility by investigating the relationship between 'gold standard' measures of adiposity, fitness, selected proteomic biomarkers, and insulin sensitivity among a cohort of SAs and Europeans (EURs). A total of 46 SAs and 41 EURs completed 'conventional' (lifestyle questionnaires, standard physical exam) as well as 'gold standard' (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scan, cardiopulmonary exercise test, and insulin suppression test) assessments of adiposity, fitness, and insulin sensitivity. In a subset of 28 SAs and 36 EURs, we also measured the blood-levels of eleven IR-related proteins. We conducted Spearman correlation to identify correlates of steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG) derived from the insulin suppression test, followed by multivariable linear regression analyses of SSPG, adjusting for age, sex and ancestral group. Sixteen of 30 measures significantly associated with SSPG, including one conventional and eight gold standard measures of adiposity, one conventional and one gold standard measure of fitness, and five proteins. Multivariable regressions revealed that gold standard measures and plasma proteins attenuated ancestral group differences in IR, suggesting their potential utility in assessing IR, especially among SAs. Ancestral group differences in IR may be explained by accurate measures of adiposity and fitness, with specific proteins possibly serving as useful surrogates for these measures, particularly for SAs.

Co-parasitization effect of Anagyrus pseudococci (Girault) and Coccidoxenoides perminutus Girault (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) on the vine mealybug Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) and their intrinsic interspecific larval competition

BackgroundThe vine mealybug Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is a cosmopolitan species that causes economic damage to grapevines, especially in Mediterranean countries, South Africa, North and South America and Europe. In this study, the co-parasitization effect of Anagyrus pseudococci (Girault) and Coccidoxenoides perminutus Girault (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) on the vine mealybug Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) and their intrinsic interspecific larval competition were investigated under laboratory conditions.ResultsIn non-choice experiments, the highest parasitism value (11.75 ± 0.87) was obtained on 2nd instar mealybug nymphs in containers with only C. perminutus, while the highest parasitism value (11.20 ± 0.59) in choice experiments was obtained on female mealybugs in containers with both parasitoids. It was determined that C. perminutus parasitized the 1st, 2nd and 3rd nymph stages, while A. pseudococci parasitized the 2nd, 3rd nymph and female stages of vine mealybug. These mean that mealybug populations can be controlled more effectively by parasitizing all mealybug stages in the environment when parasitoids are together. In intrinsic interspecific larval competition experiments on the mealybugs 2nd and 3rd nymph stages, where both parasitoids can parasitize, it was determined that C. perminutus generally won the competition, even though A. pseudococci had a three-day parasitism priority. The highest A. pseudococci emergence rate in competition trials occurred on 2nd instar mealybug nymphs when A. pseudococci had 72 h parasitism priority (36.09%). In addition, head capsule width and tibia lengths of A. pseudococci and C. perminutus adults obtained from intrinsic interspecific larval competition were measured, and it was determined that the head capsule width and tibia length of adult parasitoids generally increased as the host period progressed. In addition, it has been determined that there may be some differences in the measured characteristics of the adult parasitoids obtained due to intrinsic interspecific competition compared to the control.ConclusionsUsing these two parasitoids together in the biological control of vine mealybugs will allow parasitizing all mealybug nymph stages and females in the environment and provide more effective pest control.

Addressing Technology-Assisted Child Sexual Abuse During an Initial Clinical Assessment: A modified Delphi Study.

Technology-assisted child sexual abuse (TA-CSA) is defined as any type of sexual abuse with an online element occurring under the age of 18. The literature suggests that victims often experience difficulty in finding support that adequately addresses the online elements of TA-CSA. Research also suggests that practitioners are unsure about how to best approach TA-CSA during initial assessments. This modified Delphi study with healthcare professionals and researchers as experts was conducted to understand best practice principles on how to approach the topic of TA-CSA when a young person presents to clinical services. An online, two round modified Delphi study was completed. Round 1 consisited of statements generated from existing published TA-CSA literature. One hundred and twelve participants were invited to complete Round 1. Twenty-four participants responded to Round 1, and of those responders, 15 completed Round 2. All healthcare professionals (10) and eight researchers were located in the United Kingdom. The remaining researchers were based in North and South America, Australia and Europe. Participants agreed that there is a need to provide practitioners with guidance on how to approach TA-CSA and that asking general questions about online life can help ease into the topic of TA-CSA. Additionally, a clear multi-agency approach and adequate training can provide practitioners confidence in their ability in managing risk and disclosure of TA-CSA. This study provides important initial findings in approaching TA-CSA within an initial assessment. However, future research is necessary in understanding the transferability of these findings to clinical settings.

Opicapone for the treatment of early wearing-off in levodopa-treated Parkinson’s disease: pooled analysis of patient level data from two randomized open-label studies

BackgroundThe wearing-off phenomenon is a key driver of medication change for patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) treated with levodopa. Common first-line options include increasing the levodopa dose or adding a catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor, but there are no trials comparing the efficacy of these approaches. We evaluated the effectiveness of adjunct opicapone versus an additional 100 mg levodopa dose in PD patients with early wearing-off using pooled data from 2 randomized studies.MethodsThe ADOPTION study program included two similarly designed 4-week, open-label studies conducted in South Korea (NCT04821687) and Europe (NCT04990284). Patients with PD, treated with 3–4 daily doses of levodopa therapy and with signs of early wearing-off were randomized (1:1) to adjunct opicapone 50 mg or an additional dose of levodopa 100 mg. Patient-level data from the two studies were pooled.ResultsThe adjusted mean [SE] change from baseline to week 4 in absolute OFF time (key endpoint) was − 62.8 min [8.8] in the opicapone group and − 33.8 min [9.0] in the levodopa 100 mg group, the difference significantly favoring opicapone (− 29.0 [− 53.8, − 4.2] min, p = 0.02). Significant differences in the Movement Disorder Society—Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Part III subscore (− 4.1 with opicapone vs − 2.5 with levodopa 100 mg), also favored opicapone (− 1.7 [− 3.3, − 0.04], p < 0.05). Dyskinesia was the most frequently reported adverse event (opicapone 7.2% vs. levodopa 100 mg 4.2%).ConclusionsIn these short-term trials, introducing adjunct opicapone was more effective at reducing OFF time than adding another 100 mg levodopa dose in PD patients with early signs of wearing-off.

Sieving the weeds from the grains: an R based package for classifying archaeobotanical samples of cereals and pulses according to crop processing stages

AbstractThe R package CropPro is an open-access resource to classify archaeobotanical samples as products and by-products of different stages of the crop processing sequence for large-seeded cereal and pulse crops in south west Asia, Europe and other Mediterranean regions. It builds on ethnographic research and analysis conducted by Jones (Plants and ancient man: studies in palaeoethnobotany. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 43–61, 1984), (J Archaeol Sci 14:311–323, 1987), (Circaea 6:91–96, 1990) and a modified method by Charles (Environ Archaeol 1:111–122, 1998). CropPro provides functions, which allow users to construct triplots, to conduct discriminant analysis comparing archaeobotanical samples with ethnographic crop processing stages and to plot the discriminant analysis results. This paper provides two worked examples of the use of CropPro: the early medieval site of Stafford in the UK and the Bronze Age site of Tell Brak in Syria. These examples illustrate the use of the package for identifying crop-processing stages, and for assessing the relevance of taphonomic pathways other than crop processing.

Flexibility exploitation in Net-Zero Energy Factories. A technical and economic study case for dairy systems located in Central and South Europe

The decarbonization of energy systems (electric, thermal, gas, and transportation) requires flexibility to integrate power generated by volatile and renewable energy sources (vRES). Industrial systems can contribute to exploiting the flexibility needed to integrate the electricity generated by vRES into energy systems. Designing industrial systems as Net-Zero Energy Factories (NZEF) offers the possibility of exploiting the flexibility that could be used internally to integrate the power generated by renewable energy sources. This study addresses, on one hand, the presentation of a methodology to identify and quantify the flexibility potential of continuous processes typical in dairy systems. On the other hand, it aims to demonstrate a methodology for designing additional flexibility options to operate dairy systems as NZEF. A model has been developed in which the energetic and material flows of conventional diary systems are simulated. The model allows for the design of conventional dairy systems as NZEF and the evaluation of their potential to exploit flexibility. Two different European climate zones have been investigated: Bari (Italy) and Magdeburg (Germany). This study is relevant for designers and facility managers who are following their decarbonization plans, aiming to operate their industrial facility as Net-Zero Energy. The results of this study show that for dairy systems designed as Net-Zero Energy Factories and located in southern Europe (Bari, Italy), the operational costs are much lower than those operating in central Europe (Magdeburg, Germany). Specifically, integrating an 800 kW PV system reduced operational costs by 16.3 % in Bari, compared to 3.8 % in Magdeburg. Additionally, achieving 97 % vRES integration in Bari requires a 1000 kWh thermal storage capacity, whereas in Magdeburg, a 500 kWh capacity is sufficient. These findings suggest that NZEF designs can be optimized based on regional climatic conditions to maximize cost efficiency and vRES integration. The analysis indicates that sensible heat storage systems should be preferred over electrochemical batteries when designing additional flexibility options, considering both technical and economic criteria.

Cocoseae: A dominant arecoid palm element in the Deccan K-Pg flora of Madhya Pradesh, Central India

Here, we report the occurrence of a large number of fossil fruits with distinctive germination pores along with a petrified stem, resembling morphologically and anatomically the extant palm tribe Cocoseae Mart. ex Dumort. of the subfamily Arecoideae. The permineralized fruits and locule casts, assigned to Palmocarpon drypeteoides (Mehrotra, Prakash, and Bande) Manchester et al., and the stem of Palmoxylon sp. were recovered from the Deccan Intertrappean Beds (late Mastrichtian–early Danian sediments; c. 66–65 Ma) of Umariya Ryt. village in Dindori District, Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Using micro–computed tomography (mCT) and standard thin section methods, we observed for the first time that these fossil palm fruits have a persistent basal trimerous perianth. These fossils, along with other reports in the literature, suggest that cocosoid palms were dominant among the arecoid palms of the Deccan Intertrappean beds in Madhya Pradesh. At present, the modern relatives do not grow in the same area but they occur in tropical forests of southeastern and eastern India as well as other regions including parts of South America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. The expansions and retraction of the cocosoid palms likely coincide with climate change. The recovery of cocosoid fossils (present and earlier reported) and previously described tropical elements from the same fossil locality suggest the existence of tropical climatic conditions during the period of depositions. We also revisit the historical phytogeography of the cocosoid palms.

A synopsis of Carex subgenus Psyllophorae, sect. Junciformes (Cyperaceae) in South America

Abstract This is the second study of a series of thorough studies into the taxonomy and systematics of Carex in South America. Here, we present the systematic placement, taxonomic account, formal typifications, and summarized distributions for the 31 accepted South America species of Carex subg. Psyllophorae, all belonging to sect. Junciformes. We have conducted an exhaustive revision of literature, more than 400 specimens from 32 South and North American and European herbaria have been studied, and a Sanger phylogenetic study with four DNA regions and morphometric analyses for the C. phalaroides group have been performed. We present an enlarged phylogenetic study where sect. Junciformes sampling has increased by 11 species regarding previous studies, only lacking four species of the group (C. herba-alpacae, C. moorei, C. nelmesiana, and C. transandina). South American species of sect. Junciformes are grouped into four major lineages: C. camptoglochin Clade, Aciculares Clade (South America and Australia–New Zealand), C. phalaroides group, and Junciformes Clade. We have resolved the C. phalaroides complex into six independent species with a clear geographic structure. We successfully unravelled the systematic placement of three species included here for the first time (C. boelckeiana, C. reicheana, and C. manuelbarrosii). An identification key is provided for the studied species. We propose 30 new typifications, and four new species are described (C. herba-alpacae, C. manuelbarrosii, C. melliza, and C. via-montana).