Sustainable Green Nanotechnologies for Innovative Purifications of Water: Synthesis of the Nanoparticles from Renewable Sources

Polluting the natural water resources is a serious global issue, which is confirmed by the fact that today at least 2 billion people consume water from contaminated sources. The conventional wastewater treatment methods cannot effectively remove the persistent pollutants (e.g., drugs, organic dyes, pesticides) from the aqueous environment. Heterogeneous photocatalysis is a promising and sustainable alternative for water remediation. It is based on the interaction between light irradiation and the semiconductors (e.g., TiO2, ZnO) as photocatalysts, but these compounds, unfortunately, have some disadvantages. Hence, great attention has been paid to the nanotechnology as a possible way of improvement. Nanomaterials have extraordinary properties; however, their conventional synthesis is often difficult and requires a significant amount of dangerous chemicals. This concise topical review gives recent updates and trends in development of sustainable and green pathways in the synthesis of nanomaterials, as well as in their application for water remediation. In our review we put emphasis on the eco-friendly, mostly plant extract-based materials. The importance of this topic, including this study as well, is proved by the growing number of publications since 2018. Due to the current serious environmental issues (e.g., global warming, shortage of pure and quality water), it is necessary for the traditional TiO2 and ZnO semiconductors to be replaced with the harmless, non-toxic, and more powerful nanocomposites as photocatalysts. Not only because of their higher efficiency as compared to the bulk semiconductors, but also because of the presence of biomolecules that can add up to the pollutant removal efficiency, which has been already confirmed in many researches. However, despite the fact that the application of heterogeneous photocatalysis together with green nanotechnology is absolutely the future in water purification, there are some challenges which have to be overcome. The exact effects of the biomolecules obtained from plants in the synthesis of nanoparticles, as well as in the photocatalytic processes, are not exactly known and require further investigation. Furthermore, heterogeneous photocatalysis is a well-known and commonly examined process; however, its practical use outside the laboratory is expensive and difficult. Thus, it has to be simplified and improved in order to be available for everyone. The aim of our review is to suggest and prove that using these bio-inspired compounds it is possible to reduce human footprint in the nature.

The Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve Is Partially Effective in Mitigating Human Pressures

Protected areas play significant roles in protecting biodiversity by mitigating human activities. As an indicator for human activities, the human footprint (HF) can be used to assess the effectiveness of protected areas. We developed a HF dataset for the Sanjiangyuan region in China after localizing the global HF model. Then we used it to assess the effectiveness of Sanjiangyuan nature reserve (SNR) in mitigating human pressures. Our results suggest that the HF value for the Sanjiangyuan region was generally low from 1995 to 2015, with a fluctuating increasing trend. The SNR is partially effective in mitigating human pressures. For 2005–2010, the HF values decreased both within and outside the reserve with more decreases for the outside. For the three functional zones of the SNR, our results show that the HF values decreased during 2005–2010 for all of them, with the largest decrease in the experimental area, and increased during 2010–2015, with the lowest increase in the core areas. The results we obtained are consistent with ecological indicator-based assessments. It is a challenge for the government to balance conservation and development in establishing Sanjiangyuan National Park.

Utility of Human Footprint Pressure Mapping for Large Carnivore Conservation: The Kafue-Zambezi Interface

Proxies and indicators to monitor cumulative human pressures provide useful tools to model change and understanding threshold pressures at which species can persist, are extirpated, or might recolonize human-impacted landscapes. We integrated modelling and field observations of human pressure variables to generate a site-specific, fine scale Human Footprint Pressure map for 39,000 km2 of rangelands at the Kafue–Zambezi interface—a key linkage in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. We then modelled Human Footprint Pressure against empirically derived occurrence data for lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus), and spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) to generate Human Footprint Pressure threshold ranges at which each species were persisting or extirpated within ten wildlife managed areas linking Kafue National Park to the Zambezi River. Results overcame many limitations inherent in existing large-scale Human Footprint Pressure models, providing encouraging direction for this approach. Human Footprint Pressure thresholds were broadly similar to existing studies, indicating this approach is valid for site- and species-specific modelling. Model performance would improve as additional datasets become available and with improved understanding of how asymmetrical and nonlinear threshold responses to footprint pressure change across spatial-temporal scales. However, our approach has broader utility for local and region-wide conservation planning where mapping and managing human disturbance will help in managing carnivore species within and without protected area networks.

HUMAN IDENTIFICATION BASED ON FOOT IMAGE RECOGNITION USING CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK

A human footprint is a human biometric system. Each of them has specific footprints. It can be used instead of password authentication in security systems such as user authentication for financial transactions. The password-based system cannot verify that the person entering the password is valid. Therefore, a biometric system is more secure than a password-based system. In this seminar, a new identification system using CNN was presented. In addition, a new foot image data set was created by collecting foot images from 150 people. The presented proposed method presented 100% accuracy when compared with previous studies.

Changes of Tree and Stand Growth: Review and Implications

In this chapter, we review the current long-term growth trends and short-term growth reaction to single or repeated stress events on tree and stand level in Europe. Based on growth trend analyses, the chapter reveals the strong human footprint on forest ecosystems.First, we use long-term experiments and increment cores to show change in growth trends within the last centuries. Growth reactions are caused by deposition and climate change rather than by silvicultural measures. Second, we look closer on regional-specific deviations from the general trend. Climate change, drought events, acid rain and O3 are causing regional-specific growth reaction patterns. Third, we assess stress events and the resilience and resistance of monospecific and mixed stands against biotic and abiotic stress in view of the ongoing growth trends.The revealed tree and stand growth behaviours are highly relevant, as any changes of forest growth and structure have strong impacts on the provision of goods and ecosystem services. The results underline the importance of biomonitoring and suggest counteracting measures by forest planning, adaptation of silvicultural guidelines for existing forest and innovative design of future forests stands.

Trends in United States Human Footprint Revealed by New Spatial Metrics of Urbanization and Per Capita Land Change

Accelerations in population growth and urban expansion are transforming landscapes worldwide and represent a major sustainability challenge. In the United States, land conversion to impervious surfaces has outpaced population increases, yet there are few spatial metrics of urbanization and per capita land change available nationwide for assessing local to regional trends in human footprint. We quantified changes (2000–2010) in housing density, imperviousness, per capita land consumption, and land-use efficiency for block groups of the contiguous U.S. and examined national patterns and variation in these metrics along the urban–rural gradient and by megaregion. Growth in housing (+13.6%) and impervious development (+10.7%) resulted in losses of rural lands, primarily due to exurbanization and suburbanization. Mean per capita consumption increased in all density classes but was over 8.5 times greater in rural lands than in exurban, suburban, and urban areas. Urban and suburban areas had significantly lower mean consumption, yet change was unsustainable in 60% of these areas. Megaregions across the sprawling Sun Belt, spanning from Arizona to North Carolina, grew most unsustainably, especially compared to regions in the Pacific Northwest and Front Range. This work establishes 21st-century benchmarks that decision-makers can use to track local and regional per capita land change and sustainable growth in the U.S.; however, these metrics of the form, extent, rate, and efficiency of urbanization can be applied anywhere concurrent built-up area and population data are available over time. Our web mapping application allows anyone to explore spatial and temporal trends in human footprint and download metrics, and it is designed to be easily updatable with future releases of validated developed land cover, protected areas, and decennial Census data.

Report of erucism caused by Automeris egeus Cramer (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) and a brief update on caterpillar envenomation in Brazil

We report a case of erucism provoked by the Automeris egeus Cramer caterpillar and update the distribution of caterpillar poisoning in Brazil, showing the regions with the highest incidence rates. We also correlated the incidence rate with anthropic impact rates in all Brazilian municipalities, taking as a reference the Human Footprint Index. The victim presented erucism, burning pain, itching, and local hyperthermia. The highest incidence rates were in southern Brazil. We suggest including A. egeus in the Brazilian list of animals with medical importance, and that Brazilian Ministry of Health indicates the genus of the animals involved in envenomation events on its platform.

Effect of climate change on the potential distribution of Heloderma alvarezi (Squamata, Helodermatidae)

Climate change represents a real threat to biodiversity conservation worldwide. Although the effects on several species of conservation priority are known, comprehensive information about the impact of climate change on reptile populations is lacking. In the present study, we analyze outcomes on the potential distribution of the black beaded lizard (Heloderma alvarezi Bogert & Martin del Campo, 1956) under global warming scenarios. Its potential distribution, at present and in projections for the years 2050 and 2070, under both optimistic and pessimistic climate change forecasts, were computed using current data records and seven bioclimatic variables. General results predict a shift in the future potential distribution of H. alvarezi due to temperature increase. The optimistic scenario (4.5 W/m2) for 2070 suggests an enlargement in the species’ distribution as a response to the availability of new areas of suitable habitat. On the contrary, the worst-case scenario (7 W/m2) shows a distribution decrease by 65%. Moreover, the range distribution of H. alvarezi is directly related to the human footprint, which consequently could magnify negative outcomes for this species. Our research elucidates the importance of conservation strategies to prevent the extinction of the black beaded lizard, especially considering that this species is highly threatened by aversive hunting.