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- Serge, M. A., et al.
(författare)
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Testing the Effect of Relative Pollen Productivity on the REVEALS Model : A Validated Reconstruction of Europe-Wide Holocene Vegetation
- 2023
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Ingår i: Land. - : MDPI. - 2073-445X. ; 12:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Reliable quantitative vegetation reconstructions for Europe during the Holocene are crucial to improving our understanding of landscape dynamics, making it possible to assess the past effects of environmental variables and land-use change on ecosystems and biodiversity, and mitigating their effects in the future. We present here the most spatially extensive and temporally continuous pollen-based reconstructions of plant cover in Europe (at a spatial resolution of 1 degrees x 1 degrees) over the Holocene (last 11.7 ka BP) using the 'Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites' (REVEALS) model. This study has three main aims. First, to present the most accurate and reliable generation of REVEALS reconstructions across Europe so far. This has been achieved by including a larger number of pollen records compared to former analyses, in particular from the Mediterranean area. Second, to discuss methodological issues in the quantification of past land cover by using alternative datasets of relative pollen productivities (RPPs), one of the key input parameters of REVEALS, to test model sensitivity. Finally, to validate our reconstructions with the global forest change dataset. The results suggest that the RPPs.st1 (31 taxa) dataset is best suited to producing regional vegetation cover estimates for Europe. These reconstructions offer a long-term perspective providing unique possibilities to explore spatial-temporal changes in past land cover and biodiversity.
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| 4. |
- Zaldua, N., et al.
(författare)
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The role of PLLA-g-montmorillonite nanohybrids in the acceleration of the crystallization rate of a commercial PLA
- 2016
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Ingår i: CrystEngComm. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 1466-8033. ; 18:48, s. 9334-9344
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Employing the hydroxyl groups on the surface of Cloisite® 30B montmorillonite (Cl30B), the ring-opening polymerization of l-lactide was performed with a metal-free catalyst to yield a PLLA-g-Cl30B nanohybrid with low Mn grafted PLLA chains (i.e., 9 kg mol-1). This nanohybrid was then melt mixed with PLA 4032D from NatureWorks, which is a slow-crystallizing PLA as it contains 2% d-isomers and has a high Mn value (i.e., 123 kg mol-1). The samples were characterized by TEM, WAXS, SAXS, DSC and Polarized Light Optical Microscopy (PLOM) in order to study their crystallization kinetics in depth. The dispersion of the nanoclay was excellent and much better in the PLA/PLLA-g-Cl30B nanocomposites in comparison to PLA/Cl30B blends prepared as reference. In order to ascertain the role of the nanoclay, analogue PLA/PLLA blends without Cl30B were also prepared. The spherulitic crystallization kinetics from the melt was determined for all samples. The growth rate of neat PLA was accelerated approximately 3 times by incorporating the PLLA-g-Cl30B nanohybrid with an inorganic content of 5%. The overall crystallization kinetics from the glassy state of PLA was also accelerated in a similar way by the nanohybrid addition. Nevertheless, the PLA/PLLA blends crystallized even faster indicating that the dominant effect that causes the acceleration of the crystallization of PLA is the plasticization of PLA by the low Mn PLLA molecules. The changes in Tg of PLA also support this explanation. In the case of the PLA/PLLA-g-Cl30B nanocomposites, even though the plasticizing effect of the PLLA chains still dominates, their action is counterbalanced by their tethering on one end, as they are grafted to the surface of the exfoliated clay nanoplatelets.
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| 5. |
- Craglia, Massimo, et al.
(författare)
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Digitranscope: The governance of digitally-transformed society
- 2021
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This volume presents the key outcomes and research findings of the Digitranscope research project of the European Commission Joint Research Centre. The project set out to explore during the period 2017-2020 the challenges and opportunities that the digital transformation is posing to the governance of society. We focused our attention on the governance of data as a key aspect to understand and shape the governance of society. Data is a key resource in the digital economy, and control over the way it is generated, collected, aggregated, and value is extracted and distributed in society is crucial. We have explored the increasing awareness about the strategic importance of data and emerging governance models to distribute the value generated more equitably in society. These findings contribute to the new policy orientation in Europe on technological and data sovereignty and the sharing of data for the public interest. The digital transformation, the rise of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things offer also new opportunities for new forms of policy design, implementation, and assessment providing more personalised support to those who need it and being more participative throughout the policy cycle. The use of digital twins, gaming, simulation, and synthetic data is just beginning but promises to change radically the relationships among all the stakeholders in governance of our society.
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