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Stationary battery storage systems are becoming a critical energy infrastructure around the world. Therefore, responsible handling of battery materials is a fundamental precondition to avoid future social, environmental, and political conflicts. Global battery regulations support sustainable batteries to drive new business models on reuse, remanufacturing and recycling. With strict environmental market entry barriers, the EU will set minimum sustainability standards with the new EU-Battery Directive. The US Inflation Reduction Act provides financial incentives for a scale-up of the domestic battery industry. A hotspot analysis for the residential storage system VARTA.wall shows that a combination of reuse and recycling strategies can reduce the climate change impact by up to 45% and mineral resource use by up to 50% compared to initial battery designs. However, specific sustainability criteria and manufacturer-independent standards need to be set up by politics and industry organizations to bring the necessary technical and logistic infrastructure to the market. The challenge is to set up sustainability criteria strict enough to ensure responsible material handling but still allow cost-effective, practical solutions as well as affordable battery standards. Therefore, our analysis shows the limits of current and the need for future regulations to shift market incentives to sustainable batteries and their infrastructure. more...

Objectives: The direct approach for determining reference intervals (RIs) is not always practical. This study aimed to generate evidence that a real-world data (RWD) approach could be applied to transfer free thyroxine RIs determined in one population to a second population, presenting an alternative to performing multiple RI determinations. Design and methods: Two datasets (US, n = 10,000; Europe, n = 10,000) were created from existing RWD. Descriptive statistics, density plots and cumulative distributions were produced for each data set and comparisons made. Cumulative probabilities at the lower and upper limits of the RIs were identified using an empirical cumulative distribution function. According to these probabilities, estimated percentiles for each dataset and estimated differences between the two sets of percentiles were obtained by case resampling bootstrapping. The estimated differences were then evaluated against a pre-determined acceptance criterion of ≤7.8% (inter-individual biological variability). The direct approach was used to validate the RWD approach. Results: The RWD approach provided similar descriptive statistics for both populations (mean: US = 16.1 pmol/L, Europe = 16.4 pmol/L; median: US = 15.4 pmol/L, Europe = 15.8 pmol/L). Differences between the estimated percentiles at the upper and lower limits of the RIs fulfilled the pre-determined acceptance criterion and the density plots and cumulative distributions demonstrated population homogeneity. Similar RI distributions were observed using the direct approach. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that a RWD approach can be used to transfer RIs determined in one population to another. more...

The present study proves the construct validity of the German versions of the Feeling Scale (FS) and the Felt Arousal Scale (FAS) for measuring the affective responses (affective valence and arousal) for a moderate-intensity jogging (JG) exercise. In previous studies, both scales were validated for a high-intensity bicycle ergometer exercise and for relaxation techniques. In the present study, 194 participants performed the JG exercise for 45 min and completed the FS and the FAS, as well as the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM), for a self–other comparison in a pre-test-intervention-post-test design. The results of the correlation analyses replicated the previous findings for the high-intensity bicycle ergometer exercise and the relaxation techniques, revealing significant positive correlations for the valence dimension between the FS and the SAM-Pleasure subscale (r = 0.50) and for the arousal dimension between the FAS and the SAM-Arousal subscale (r = 0.16). These findings suggest that the German versions of the FS and the FAS are also suitable for exercises of moderate intensity. more...

Many fish species are dependent on migration through river systems. Weirs are an obstacle to downstream migration, which can lead to obstruction as well as injury and mortality. The current level of knowledge about downstream migration over weirs is limited, and the current assessment of this is uncertain. This study uses a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method for assessing the damage potential of the downstream migration over the weir, evaluating the effectiveness of the current recommendations. Two test cases were simulated using OpenFOAM® and an interFoam-based solver, extended with Lagrangian particles to represent passively transported fish. The results of the simulations show that adherence to the recommendation for a necessary tailwater level has no significant impact on the relevant hydraulic stressors, shear stress, pressure changes and collisions in certain situations. A thick nappe, however, leads to a significant reduction in collisions, especially of particles initialized near the surface. The CFD method used in this study proves to be suitable for evaluating downstream fish passage with certain limitations. This means that qualitative comparisons of different situations are possible, but not the determination of the damage potential of a specific situation. Further investigations are necessary to identify factors for safe downstream fish passage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The aim of the present study is to prove the construct validity of the German versions of the Feeling Scale (FS) and the Felt Arousal Scale (FAS) for a progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) exercise. A total of 228 sport science students conducted the PMR exercise for 45 min and completed the FS, the FAS, and the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) in a pre-test–post-test design. A significant decrease in arousal (t(227) = 8.296, p < 0.001) and a significant increase in pleasure (t(227) = 4.748, p < 0.001) were observed. For convergent validity, the correlations between the FS and the subscale SAM-P for the valence dimension (r = 0.67, p < 0.001) and between the FAS and the subscale SAM-A for the arousal dimension (r = 0.31, p < 0.001) were significant. For discriminant validity, the correlations between different constructs (FS and SAM-A, FAS and SAM-P) were not significant, whereas the discriminant analysis between the FS and the FAS revealed a negative significant correlation (r = −0.15, p < 0.001). Together, the pattern of results confirms the use of the German versions of the FS and the FAS to measure the affective response for a PMR exercise. more...

Given the dire consequences of the present global climate crisis, the need for alternative ecologically based economic models could not be more urgent. The economic and environmental concerns of the circular economy are well-developed in the literature. However, there remains a gap in research concerning the circular economy’s impact on culture and social equity. The underdeveloped social and cultural pillars of the circular economy, along with universal policy goals calling for a context- and need-based framework, makes it necessary to bridge natural and social science objectives in the circular economy. Islands can serve as model systems for studying the circular economy. We examine how Hawaiʻi, through the philosophy of aloha ʻāina, the Hawaiian ancestral circular economy, and contemporary community approaches toward advancing Indigenous economic justice can be one model system for understanding principles of circularity and policy advocacy. We introduce the concept of the ancestral circular economy and how aspects of this Indigenous institution can inform the development of universal circular economy policy goals. Furthermore, we present aloha ʻāina as a framework for reciprocal care between human–environment relations while addressing the social and cultural pillars that aid in the development of these dimensions of the circular economy. more...

Salt marshes in the southern North Sea are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Wadden Sea, the largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats in the world. They provide a very high nature value while significantly contributing to coastal flood and erosion risk management as a nature-based element of flood and erosion risk management systems for densely populated coastal areas. Climate change-induced sea-level rise is a significant concern: an integrated approach to salt marsh management adapted to the effects of climate change necessitates an understanding of the impact of different management strategies. This review commences with a description of the biogeomorphological conditions and processes in salt marshes for a better understanding of the natural dynamics and how they are influenced by management and climate change. Next, the impact of salt marshes on hydrodynamic processes and their role as nature-based elements of flood and erosion risk management is presented; management options and implementation methods are discussed and analysed concerning coastal flood management and nature conservation requirements. In conclusion, targeted salt marsh management needs to consider the initial conditions and the development aims of the specific site are integrated into a conceptual framework. Salt marshes have the potential to adapt to sea-level rise, thereby contributing to the long-term protection of coastal areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The complexity of social indicators and their subjective and often qualitative nature render their inclusion into quantitative optimization models for network design and strategic decision‐making challenging. The social dimension is thus often implemented only rudimentarily, thwarting a holistic sustainability assessment and neglecting many of the social issues addressed in the sustainable development goals (SDGs). This work presents a structured process for including a comprehensive set of social aspects by selecting applicable quantitative and regionalized social indicators. This approach is applied to the case of second‐generation bioethanol production in the EU. Based on inter alia the Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products and Organizations, the Social Hotspots Database, state‐of‐the‐art literature, as well as previous work, we compile 9 social objective functions and 25 functions for social hotspot identification. They are evaluated alongside 1 economic and 21 environmental LCA‐based objective functions in a mixed‐integer linear programming (MILP) model. Key results show that social optimization either leads to large, labor‐intensive or regionally focused, indicator‐driven networks. Injuries and fatalities in the feedstock sectors of Central and Eastern European countries is the primary social hotspot. On the level of the overarching SDGs, SDG13 is most congruent with other goals, while SDG7 is hindered by pursuing other goals. This study's approach is novel in strategic network design and the European bioeconomy, and, by operationalizing the social dimension, enables a more holistic life cycle sustainability assessment and the consideration of the SDGs. This article met the requirements for a gold‐gold JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

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