| 1. |
- Broekman, Maarten J. E., et al.
(author)
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Evaluating expert-based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS-tracking data
- 2022
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In: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 31:8, s. 1526-1541
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: Macroecological studies that require habitat suitability data for many species often derive this information from expert opinion. However, expert-based information is inherently subjective and thus prone to errors. The increasing availability of GPS tracking data offers opportunities to evaluate and supplement expert-based information with detailed empirical evidence. Here, we compared expert-based habitat suitability information from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with habitat suitability information derived from GPS-tracking data of 1,498 individuals from 49 mammal species.Location: Worldwide.Time period: 1998-2021.Major taxa studied: Forty-nine terrestrial mammal species.Methods: Using GPS data, we estimated two measures of habitat suitability for each individual animal: proportional habitat use (proportion of GPS locations within a habitat type), and selection ratio (habitat use relative to its availability). For each individual we then evaluated whether the GPS-based habitat suitability measures were in agreement with the IUCN data. To that end, we calculated the probability that the ranking of empirical habitat suitability measures was in agreement with IUCN's classification into suitable, marginal and unsuitable habitat types.Results: IUCN habitat suitability data were in accordance with the GPS data (> 95% probability of agreement) for 33 out of 49 species based on proportional habitat use estimates and for 25 out of 49 species based on selection ratios. In addition, 37 and 34 species had a > 50% probability of agreement based on proportional habitat use and selection ratios, respectively.Main conclusions: We show how GPS-tracking data can be used to evaluate IUCN habitat suitability data. Our findings indicate that for the majority of species included in this study, it is appropriate to use IUCN habitat suitability data in macroecological studies. Furthermore, we show that GPS-tracking data can be used to identify and prioritize species and habitat types for re-evaluation of IUCN habitat suitability data.
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| 2. |
- Grigoroglou, C., et al.
(author)
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Effectiveness of collaborative care in reducing suicidal ideation: An individual participant data meta-analysis
- 2021
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In: General Hospital Psychiatry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0163-8343. ; 71, s. 27-35
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To assess whether CC is more effective at reducing suicidal ideation in people with depression compared with usual care, and whether study and patient factors moderate treatment effects. Method: We searched Medline, Embase, PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, CENTRAL from inception to March 2020 for Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) that compared the effectiveness of CC with usual care in depressed adults, and reported changes in suicidal ideation at 4 to 6 months post-randomisation. Mixed-effects models accounted for clustering of participants within trials and heterogeneity across trials. This study is registered with PROSPERO, CRD42020201747. Results: We extracted data from 28 RCTs (11,165 patients) of 83 eligible studies. We observed a small significant clinical improvement of CC on suicidal ideation, compared with usual care (SMD, 0.11 [95%CI, 0.15 to 0.08]; I-2, 0.47% [95%CI 0.04% to 4.90%]). CC interventions with a recognised psychological treatment were associated with small reductions in suicidal ideation (SMD, 0.15 [95%CI -0.19 to 0.11]). CC was more effective for reducing suicidal ideation among patients aged over 65 years (SMD, 0.18 [95%CI -0.25 to 0.11]). Conclusion: Primary care based CC with an embedded psychological intervention is the most effective CC framework for reducing suicidal ideation and older patients may benefit the most.
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| 3. |
- Hollander, A., et al.
(author)
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Assessing the Relative Importance of Spatial Variability in Emissions Versus Landscape Properties in Fate Models for Environmental Exposure Assessment of Chemicals
- 2012
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In: Environmental Modelling and Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1420-2026 .- 1573-2967. ; 17:6, s. 577-587
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Multimedia mass balance models differ in their treatment of spatial resolution from single boxes representing an entire region to multiple interconnected boxes with varying landscape properties and emission intensities. Here, model experiments were conducted to determine the relative importance of these two main factors that cause spatial variation in environmental chemical concentrations: spatial patterns in emission intensities and spatial differences in environmental conditions. In the model, experiments emissions were always to the air compartment. It was concluded that variation in emissions is in most cases the dominant source of variation in environmental concentrations. It was found, however, that variability in environmental conditions can strongly influence predicted concentrations in some cases, if the receptor compartments of interest are soil or water-for water concentrations particularly if a chemical has a high octanol-air partition coefficient (K-oa). This information will help to determine the required level of spatial detail that suffices for a specific regulatory purpose.
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| 4. |
- Huijbregts, L. J., et al.
(author)
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The optimal structure-conductivity relation in epoxy-phthalocyanine nanocomposites
- 2006
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In: Journal of Physical Chemistry B. - : American Chemical Society. - 1520-6106 .- 1520-5207. ; 110:46, s. 23115-23122
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Phthalcon-11 (aquocyanophthalocyaninatocobalt (III)) forms semiconducting nanocrystals that can be dispersed in epoxy coatings to obtain a semiconducting material with a low percolation threshold. We investigated the structure-conductivity relation in this composite and the deviation from its optimal realization by combining two techniques. The real parts of the electrical conductivity of a Phthalcon-11/ epoxy coating and of Phthalcon-11 powder were measured by dielectric spectroscopy as a function of frequency and temperature. Conducting atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) was applied to quantify the conductivity through the coating locally along the surface. This combination gives an excellent tool to visualize the particle network. We found that a large fraction of the crystals is organized in conducting channels of fractal building blocks. In this picture, a low percolation threshold automatically leads to a conductivity that is much lower than that of the filler. Since the structure-conductivity relation for the found network is almost optimal, a drastic increase in the conductivity of the coating cannot be achieved by changing the particle network, but only by using a filler with a higher conductivity level.
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| 5. |
- Cherubini, F., et al.
(author)
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Bridging the gap between impact assessment methods and climate science
- 2016
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In: Environmental Science and Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-6416 .- 1462-9011. ; 64, s. 129-140
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Life-cycle assessment and carbon footprint studies are widely used by decision makers to identify climate change mitigation options and priorities at corporate and public levels. These applications, including the vast majority of emission accounting schemes and policy frameworks, traditionally quantify climate impacts of human activities by aggregating greenhouse gas emissions into the so-called CO2-equivalents using the 100-year Global Warming Potential (GWP100) as the default emission metric. The practice was established in the early nineties and has not been coupled with progresses in climate science, other than simply updating numerical values for GWP100. We review the key insights from the literature surrounding climate science that are at odds with existing climate impact methods and we identify possible improvement options. Issues with the existing approach lie in the use of a single metric that cannot represent the climate system complexity for all possible research and policy contexts, and in the default exclusion of near-term climate forcers such as aerosols or ozone precursors and changes in the Earth's energy balance associated with land cover changes. Failure to acknowledge the complexity of climate change drivers and the spatial and temporal heterogeneities of their climate system responses can lead to the deployment of suboptimal, and potentially even counterproductive, mitigation strategies. We argue for an active consideration of these aspects to bridge the gap between climate impact methods used in environmental impact analysis and climate science.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Schipper, Aafke M., et al.
(author)
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Contrasting changes in the abundance and diversity of North American bird assemblages from 1971 to 2010
- 2016
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In: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 22:12, s. 3948-3959
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although it is generally recognized that global biodiversity is declining, few studies have examined long-term changes in multiple biodiversity dimensions simultaneously. In this study, we quantified and compared temporal changes in the abundance, taxonomic diversity, functional diversity, and phylogenetic diversity of bird assemblages, using roadside monitoring data of the North American Breeding Bird Survey from 1971 to 2010. We calculated 12 abundance and diversity metrics based on 5-year average abundances of 519 species for each of 768 monitoring routes. We did this for all bird species together as well as for four subgroups based on breeding habitat affinity (grassland, woodland, wetland, and shrubland breeders). The majority of the biodiversity metrics increased or remained constant over the study period, whereas the overall abundance of birds showed a pronounced decrease, primarily driven by declines of the most abundant species. These results highlight how stable or even increasing metrics of taxonomic, functional, or phylogenetic diversity may occur in parallel with substantial losses of individuals. We further found that patterns of change differed among the species subgroups, with both abundance and diversity increasing for woodland birds and decreasing for grassland breeders. The contrasting changes between abundance and diversity and among the breeding habitat groups underscore the relevance of a multifaceted approach to measuring biodiversity change. Our findings further stress the importance of monitoring the overall abundance of individuals in addition to metrics of taxonomic, functional, or phylogenetic diversity, thus confirming the importance of population abundance as an essential biodiversity variable.
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| 10. |
- Shahmohammadi, Sadegh, et al.
(author)
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Comparative Greenhouse Gas Footprinting of Online versus Traditional Shopping for Fast-Moving Consumer Goods: A Stochastic Approach
- 2020
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In: Environmental Science & Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 54:6, s. 3499-3509
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Variability in consumer practices and choices is typically not addressed in comparisons of environmental impacts of traditional shopping and e-commerce. Here, we developed a stochastic model to quantify the variability in the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprints of product distribution and purchase of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) via three prevalent retail channels in the United Kingdom (U.K.). We found that shopping via bricks and clicks (click and fulfillment via physical store delivery) most likely decreases the GHG footprints when substituting traditional shopping, while FMCGs purchased through pure players with parcel delivery often have higher GHG footprints compared to those purchased via traditional retail. The number of items purchased and the last-mile travel distance are the dominant contributors to the variability in the GHG footprints of all three retail channels. We further showed that substituting delivery vans with electric cargo bikes can lead to a GHG emission reduction of 26% via parcel delivery. Finally, we showed the differences in the "last mile" GHG footprint of traditional shopping in the U.K. compared to three other countries (China, Netherlands, and the United States), which are primarily caused by the different shares of modes of transport ( walking and by car, bus, and bike).
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| 11. |
- Golsteijn, Laura, et al.
(author)
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Assessing predictive uncertainty in comparative toxicity potentials of triazoles
- 2014
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In: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. - : Wiley. - 0730-7268 .- 1552-8618. ; 33:2, s. 293-301
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Comparative toxicity potentials (CTPs) quantify the potential ecotoxicological impacts of chemicals per unit of emission. They are the product of a substance's environmental fate, exposure, and hazardous concentration. When empirical data are lacking, substance properties can be predicted. The goal of the present study was to assess the influence of predictive uncertainty in substance property predictions on the CTPs of triazoles. Physicochemical and toxic properties were predicted with quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs), and uncertainty in the predictions was quantified with use of the data underlying the QSARs. Degradation half-lives were based on a probability distribution representing experimental half-lives of triazoles. Uncertainty related to the species' sample size that was present in the prediction of the hazardous aquatic concentration was also included. All parameter uncertainties were treated as probability distributions, and propagated by Monte Carlo simulations. The 90% confidence interval of the CTPs typically spanned nearly 4 orders of magnitude. The CTP uncertainty was mainly determined by uncertainty in soil sorption and soil degradation rates, together with the small number of species sampled. In contrast, uncertainty in species-specific toxicity predictions contributed relatively little. The findings imply that the reliability of CTP predictions for the chemicals studied can be improved particularly by including experimental data for soil sorption and soil degradation, and by developing toxicity QSARs for more species. (c) 2013 SETAC
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