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European Union's Green Deal is a legal obligation to EU countries to shift towards environment-friendly energy systems from fossil-fuel-based systems. This transition will bring significant global health benefits by combating climate change, but it is crucial to understand the so far understudied impacts on local communities' lives and, thus, on their health and well-being. The study proposes a novel conceptual framework based on socio-technical systems theory and the production of space theory to identify the interacting points between energy systems and health and well-being systems in the energy transition context. This framework is tested in Estonia's transitioning fossil fuel oil-shale-based energy system based on four focus group discussions, ten expert interviews, and document analysis. We innovatively pinpoint pathways, including feedback loops, through a causal loop diagram (CLD) impacting inhabitants' health and well-being from the interplay between energy and health and well-being systems. The analysis indicates that protecting and promoting health and well-being has been a challenge not only due to disruption created by the energy transition process but also due to the accumulated problems regarding socioeconomic conditions, environmental health impacts, and well-being at the local level. The compound effects of multiple existing and emerging issues, including the divergent interpretations of health and the lack of holistic support mechanisms for inhabitants to navigate the changes in sociocultural and economic space, can harm locals' health and well-being. The developed conceptual framework provides an important theoretical background to study the impacts on the mental and physical health, including social health and well-being, of the inhabitants living in the fossil-fuel-based industrial area. The CLD developed using this framework demonstrates the interacting points to avoid unintended consequences of energy transition. • Study assesses EU's energy transition impact on local health and well-being. • CLD shows the impact on inhabitants' health and well-being. • Low adaptability to socioeconomic changes creates uncertainties among inhabitants. • Local contextualized knowledge is needed in global sustainability efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor bacteria, mold, allergens, and selected volatile organic compounds (VOC) were measured at home in three Nordic cities. Data on self-reported tear film break-up time (SBUT), weekly oculo-nasal symptoms during the past three months, and allergic rhinitis of 159 adults were obtained. Among them, 58 % were females, 24.5 % were atopics, and 41 % reported home dampness. The median SBUT was 22.3 s. Oculo-nasal symptoms (15.3 %) and allergic rhinitis (32.7 %) were common. A higher level of 2-hexanone was linked to lower SBUT (p = 0.036). Higher levels of total mold (p = 0.038), allergen Fel d 1 from cat (p = 0.045), and allergen Der p 1 (p = 0.012) and Der f 1 (p = 0.036) from house dust mite (HDM), were related to more oculo-nasal symptoms. Higher levels of 3-methylfuran (p = 0.003), 2-hexanone (p = 0.037), 2-heptanone (p = 0.018), and 1-octen-3-ol (p = 0.001) were linked to oculo-nasal symptoms. Higher levels of viable bacteria (p = 0.015), 3-octanone (p = 0.049) and formaldehyde (p = 0.039) were linked to allergic rhinitis. The association between 2-heptanone and oculo-nasal symptoms (interaction p = 0.012), and between isobutyl acetate and allergic rhinitis (interaction p = 0.084) were more pronounced in women. The negative association between 2-hexanone and SBUT was stronger among atopics (interaction p = 0.098), and the links between viable bacteria and allergic rhinitis (interaction p = 0.003) and between Der f 1 and oculo-nasal symptoms (interaction p = 0.1) were more pronounced among non-atopics. In conclusion, airborne mold and bacteria, and allergens in dust were associated with oculo-nasal symptoms or allergic rhinitis. 3-Methylfuran, 2-hexanone, 1-octen-3-ol, and 2-heptanone were associated with adult oculo-nasal symptoms. Increased 3-octanone and formaldehyde were related to allergic rhinitis. [Display omitted] • Airborne mold, bacteria, and allergens in dust were related to oculo-nasal symptoms. • Some individual VOC in dwellings were associated with oculo-nasal symptoms. • Increased 3-octanone and formaldehyde in dwellings were related to allergic rhinitis. • Some VOC-related health associations were stronger among females and atopics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While ethics assessments have become a standard in many research areas as well as in disaster studies, the tools used to reflect on normative issues remain in many cases underspecified. In this article, we seek to provide an example of how to integrate ethics into an inter- and transdisciplinary research consortium. Disaster research regularly engages with sensitive issues. More often than not, it deals with vulnerability, marginalisation and (lacking) societal coping capacities. Those who provide us with information are in many cases those who suffered from the events we analyse. This situation creates the moral obligation for disaster researchers to reflect their work. While normative questions certainly differ between research projects, we hold that some principles are highly transferable – particularly within the field of disaster research. The article proceeds in three steps: First, and after briefly arguing for the importance of ethics in disaster research, we present the ethics framework developed in the project. Second, we sketch out how we transferred this framework into the practical research setting. Third, we reflect particular ethical challenges we witnessed in the research process. Rather than providing a one-size-fits-all approach, we hope to fuel the debate about the reflection of normative issues in disaster research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines how various policy approaches in countries may have influenced the material and mental well-being outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic among marginalised groups and people experiencing homelessness in Europe. In a structured country comparison case study approach, we combine country-based indicators, e.g., the level of infection, unemployment, and restrictions, with individual data from a cross-sectional survey with 226 participants from 6 European countries. Contrary to expectations, our results suggest that vulnerable people living in countries with low welfare expenditure report lower negative mental and material impact of the COVID-19 pandemic than people living in countries with high welfare expenditure countries. This unexpected result could be explained by higher expectations of the level of support they should have received during extraordinary times such as the pandemic among respondents in the studied high welfare expenditure countries. Due to our cross-sectional design across only six countries, we cannot generalise the trend to Europe and only speculate on the causal mechanisms behind the observed association. We also discuss factors like the accessibility of care organisations' support and pre-existing welfare policies. We suggest possible additional factors that may shed light on our results, noting that these issues need to be examined further in future studies with a more extensive study sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key to strong disaster management practices is to have a clear understanding of people's whereabouts in disaster areas. One novel method for retrieving this information near real time is mobile positioning data. The goals of this research were to develop a methodology for identifying de facto populations and population groups in potential disaster areas, evaluate their spatio-temporal variation, and assess the applicability of the associated statistics in disaster management. Population groups – residents and temporary residents, workers, foreign and domestic tourists, regular and transit visitors – were identified based on Estonian historical mobile positioning data, where the details of stays and trips are provided based on longitudinal mobility behaviour. The main findings included that population changes follow clear week-hourly rhythms for de facto populations, residents and workers, but not for tourists and temporary residents. There are distinctive and identifiable geographical differences in how population group presence changes over time. Rescue workers asserted that the methodology of population statistics enabled them to assess population presence and composition in areas more precisely than registry-based approaches. This should evacuation planning, resource allocation and communication activities while preparing for and responding to disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Measures continuities and ruptures in the landscape of industrial modernity. • Employs a multi-dimension, multi-domain and multi-source approach. • Finds a time-lagged shift in ideas, institutions, and practices. • Changes in the environmental domain are more extensive than in technoscience. • Calls for more attention to niches challenging industrial modernity. In order to address global environmental challenges many currently dominant societal ideas, institutions and practices related to the natural environment, science, technology and innovation need to be fundamentally rethought. Drawing on the recent Deep Transitions framework, this paper focuses on whether such shifts in the fabric of industrial societies can be detected during the past 120 years. Combining the text mining of newspapers with data from existing databases, we present empirical evidence on nine pervasive and durable traits of industrial societies from five G20 countries. We detect a sea-change in environmental discourse from the 1960s and an institutional rupture from the 1980s, but only a minor shift in practices. In contrast, technoscientific institutions have changed far less, whereas techno-optimist discourse has resurged in recent decades. In addition to alleviating environmental problems, we suggest that more attention should be turned to rethinking many societally dominant assumptions about science and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is little knowledge about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted people who are socially marginalised, including individuals who face barriers when attempting to access services such as social safety nets, the labour market, or housing. There is even less understanding about women living under these circumstances. The aims of this study are therefore to examine the material and mental impacts of COVID-19 among socially marginalised women (compared with socially marginalised men) as well as influencing factors. The study is based on survey data (N = 304) involving people who are clients of social care organisations in thirteen European countries. The sample includes clients: a) living in their homes, b) in facilities, and c) on the street and in temporary accommodations. Results indicate that although material impacts were not significantly different for female and male respondents, socially marginalised women have experienced more severe mental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic than socially marginalised men. Female respondents have been significantly more worried about COVID-19 infection than men, and they report significantly more PTSD-symptoms related to the pandemic. Quantitative results indicate that these differences are related to the fact that the female respondents worry more about health risks (e.g. falling ill). Female respondents also seem to be harder hit mentally by the material impacts of COVID-19. Among the free text survey answers regarding the biggest problem for the respondents after the outbreak of the pandemic, the most prevalent reply (among both men and women) was related to material impacts of the pandemic (39% of the respondents), particularly the loss of work (65%). While women reported deterioration of social relations more often, men mentioned lacking access to services more frequently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to examine the socioeconomic outcomes of COVID-19 for socially marginalised people who are clients of social care organisations (e.g. people experiencing homelessness), and the factors influencing these outcomes. We tested the role of individual and socio-structural variables in determining socioeconomic outcomes based on a cross-sectional survey with 273 participants from eight European countries and 32 interviews and five workshops with managers and staff of social care organisations in ten European countries. 39% of the respondents agreed that the pandemic has had a negative effect on their income and access to shelter and food. The most common negative socio-economic outcome of the pandemic was loss of work (65% of respondents). According to multivariate regression analysis, variables such as being of a young age, being an immigrant/asylum seeker or residing in the country without documentation, living in your own home, and having (in)formal paid work as the main source of income are related to negative socio-economic outcomes following the COVID-19 pandemic. Factors such as individual psychological resilience and receiving social benefits as the main source of income tend to "protect" respondents from negative impacts. Qualitative results indicate that care organisations have been an important source of economic and psycho-social support, particularly significant in times of a huge surge in demand for services during the long-term crises of pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social capital has become a major factor for analysing vulnerabilities and resilience in the context of disaster studies in recent years. Usually, it is studied along its three forms of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital, and it is often framed as a static characteristic that a person either has at his or her disposal or not. Based on the results of case studies conducted in Germany and Estonia focusing on four different crises (floods in Germany; long-term disruption of electricity due to a major storm in Estonia; a cyber-attack in Estonia; as well as the COVID-19 pandemic in both countries) we claim that this description and analysis of social capital does not allow for a comprehensive understanding of all the challenges disaster management has to deal with to decrease vulnerabilities and increase resilience. Using qualitative content analysis, we present a heuristic framework which not only asks whether bonding, bridging, and linking social capital is available to individuals, but also whether social capital is accessible and activatable when responding to or recovering from a disaster. In doing so, the paper helps to improve the overall usability of official or unofficial social support to cope with crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associations between measured specific VOC reported to be associated with dampness and microbial growth in dwellings and asthma, lung function were investigated in 159 adults (one adult/home) from three North European cities (Reykjavik, Uppsala and Tartu). Spirometry was performed and forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1) and FEV 1 /FVC were measured. Among 159 participants, 58% were females, 24.5% atopics, 25.8% current smokers and 41% reported dampness or mold at home. Dimethyl disulphide (p = 0.004), ethyl isobutyrate (p = 0.021) and ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (p = 0.035) were associated with asthma. Isobutanol (p = 0.043), 3-methyl-1-butanol (p = 0.020), 2-hexanone (p = 0.033), 1-octen-3-ol (p = 0.027), 2-methyl-1-butanol (p = 0.022) and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol (p = 0.045) were associated with lower FEV 1. Isobutanol (p = 0.004), 3-methyl-1-butanol (p = 0.001), 2-heptanone (p = 0.047) and 2-methyl-1-butanol (p = 0.002) were associated with lower FEV 1 /FVC. The association between dimethyl disulphide and asthma was more pronounced in females (p for interaction 0.099). The association between 1-butanol and lower FEV 1 was more pronounced in males (p for interaction 0.046). The associations between 3-octanone (p for interaction 0.064), 2-ethyl-1-hexanol (p for interaction 0.049) and lower FEV 1 , and between 2-heptanone (p for interaction 0.021), 3-octanone (p for interaction 0.008) and lower FEV 1 /FVC were stronger in homes with dampness/mold. Factor analysis identified one VOC factor related to asthma and two VOC factors related to lower lung function. Increased air concentrations of 2-heptanone, ethyl 2-methylbutyrate and ethyl isobutyrate were related to prescence of certain mold species (Aspergillus sp., Cladosporum sp. and Penicillium sp.) or building dampness. Some VOC were associated with type of dwelling, building age and pet keeping. In conclusion, some VOC reported to be associated with dampness and microbial growth can be associated with asthma and lower lung function in adults. Associations between these VOC and respiratory illness can be stronger in homes with dampness/mold. There can be gender differences in respiratory health effects when exposed to indoor VOC. [Display omitted] • Dimethyl disulphide, ethyl isobutyrate and ethyl 2-methylbutyrate were related to asthma. • Isobutanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol and 2-hexanone reduced lung function. • 2-Heptanone, 1-octen-3-ol and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol were associated with lower lung function. • Associations between some VOC and respiratory illness can be stronger in homes with dampness. • There can be gender difference in respiratory health effects when exposed to indoor VOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social service providers work to alleviate social disadvantages, which may particularly loom during crises. These organisations have a close understanding of the needs of their clients. However, this knowledge is rarely taken into account in tailoring crisis measures, which may lead to increased vulnerability and create additional suffering. In this paper, we take a novel look at the role of care organisations as intermediaries between their clients and the authorities in representing the needs and capabilities of vulnerable people and explore the factors hindering or facilitating this representation. We focused on care organisations in Europe and collected data from 32 interviews, followed by 5 workshops and an international colloquium with 6 language-based discussion groups with participants from organisations offering care services to socially marginalised individuals. The results demonstrate the role these organisations had in advocating their clients' needs to the authorities to adapt the crisis measures accordingly ("bottom-up approach"), and communicating official information about the risks and government rules to their clients ("top-down approach"). We found effective mediation to stem from long-term, trusting client relationship to be able to reflect on clients' needs, while the lack of collaboration protocol and tradition can be seen as the main barrier to inclusive crisis management. Networking with social care services to bring their expertise into crisis management systems is essential to promote the resilience of the diverse society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal volunteering is increasingly important in disaster management, but authorities remain cautious about collaborating with informal volunteers. Relatively little is known about the extent to which informal volunteers are integrated into European disaster management systems. We try to remedy this gap by examining Germany, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Estonia, focusing on (1) the policies and institutional arrangements for integrating informal volunteers, (2) the methods and tools used for their engagement, and (3) the presumed benefits and challenges of involving volunteers in disaster management. 95 expert interviews combined with desk research and four online table-top exercises in 2019–2020 involving analysis of 11 disaster cases show that disaster management systems in these countries are taking modest steps toward opening traditional command-and-control structures to informal volunteers. In Sweden and Norway, where volunteering is more common, the engagement of informal volunteers is somewhat regulated, providing an opportunity to formally insure them. In Belgium and Italy, the engagement of informal volunteers is not encouraged, but formal volunteering is encouraged. In Germany, Hungary, Finland, and Estonia, it is done on an ad hoc basis. In most of the countries studied, campaigns to raise volunteers' awareness of support possibilities are backed up by practical training that focuses primarily on first aid. In all countries, except Germany, social media has been used by disaster management authorities to inform, guide, or register informal volunteers on an ad hoc basis. The studied cases indicate that disaster response is more efficient when procedures for informal volunteer engagement exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although self-imposed social isolation is an important way of reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection, previous research indicates that this behaviour varies substantially between different groups and individuals. Socially marginalized people are generally less involved in protective health behaviours, but there are few studies of their COVID-19 protective behaviours. The aims of the paper are therefore to: 1) compare self-imposed social isolation to avoid COVID-19 among socially marginalized groups, and to 2) examine factors influencing this, focusing especially on the role of social capital, risk awareness and sources of information about COVID-19. The study is based on survey data (N = 173) from people who are clients of social care organisations in Estonia, Norway, Hungary and Portugal. The sample involves clients living: a) in their homes, b) in facilities, and c) on the street or under temporary arrangements. Results indicate that the level of social isolation among the marginalized groups is comparable to that of the general population in previous studies. As hypothesized, we find that respondents living on the street or under temporary arrangements engage in less self-imposed social isolation than e.g. the respondents living in their homes. We also find lower levels of risk awareness, social capital and trust in authorities' information about COVID-19 among people living on the street or under temporary arrangements. Only linking social capital and trust in authorities' information was significantly related to respondents' social isolation, and not worry for COVID-19 infection. Thus, it seems that respondents largely self-isolated because of "duty" and not worry for infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The aim of this study was to determine the level of support for the proposal to restrict ACGME-accredited fellowships to candidates who completed residencies accredited by the ACGME or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Perceptions of foreign-trained international medical graduates during and after fellowships were also assessed.Methods An e-mail survey was sent to the members of the organizations that represent academic chairpersons (the Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments) and radiology residency and fellowship program directors (the Association of Program Directors in Radiology) and to the program directors of the largest American radiology subspecialty society (the American Society of Neuroradiology). Results were analyzed separately for each of the 3 societies interviewed and then as a composite report for all 3 societies.Results Approximately 60% of the respondents said that they have offered at least one fellowship or faculty position to foreign-trained applicants in the past 5 years. More than 70% of the respondents said that these doctors performed equally to or better than American-trained ones both clinically and academically. The majority of members of all 3 societies responding opposed enactment of the rule, with the American Society of Neuroradiology being the most disapproving. The main concerns of those supporting the new rule were the inhomogeneous and sometimes unknown levels of training of the foreign-trained doctors and the need to favor American graduates. Those opposed were mostly worried about diminishing the quality of fellowship candidates, programs being unable to fill their positions, and a decrease in academic-oriented people.Conclusions Most respondents opposed the proposed rule. The majority were supportive of foreign-trained physicians continuing their training in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aim: We investigated the gender-specific control of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and subclinical vascular lesions in a founder population in Italy. Methods and Results: 6148 subjects were enrolled (aged 14–102years) from four towns. Hypertension (HT), diabetes mellitus (DM) and dyslipidemia (LIP) were defined in accordance with guidelines. A self-reported diagnosis defined awareness of these conditions, and the current use of specific medications as treatment. Prevalence was HT 29.2%, DM 4.8%, LIP 44.1% and was higher in men than in women. Disease prevalence increased with age for every CV risk factor. Men were less likely than women to take anti-HT drugs and to reach BP control (9.9% vs. 16%). Only 17.6% of HT >65years had a BP ≤140/90mmHg, though 48.5% were treated. The use of statins was very low (<1/3 of eligible subjects >65years, those with the highest treatment rate). The ratio of control-to-treated HT was lower in subjects with, than in those without, thicker carotid arteries (31.5% vs. 38.8%, p <0.05) or stiffer aortas (26.0% vs. 40.0%, p <0.05) or carotid plaques (26.3% vs. 41.1%, p <0.05). Conclusion: A large number of subjects at high CV risk are not treated and the management of subclinical vascular lesions is far from optimal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Provides a multi-dimensional and multi-domain measurement of industrial modernity. • Combines text mining of newspapers with data from various databases. • Finds evidence of major continuities in 3 countries (AU, GER, RUS) between 1900 and 2020. • Detects rupture in environmental discourse and institutions but less so in practices. • Changes in optimism about technological innovation are less visible in comparison. The world is confronted by a socio-ecological emergency, requiring rapid and deep decarbonization of a broad range of socio-technical systems. A recent Deep Transitions framework argues that this fundamentally unsustainable trajectory has been generated by the co-evolutionary dynamics of multiple systems during the last 250 years. Altering this direction requires transformation in industrial modernity – a set of most fundamental ideas, institutions, and practices characterizing every industrial society to date. Although the proponents of the framework suggest that this shift has been unfolding since the 1960s, no attempts have been made to operationalize the concept of industrial modernity and to assess this claim. This paper develops a comprehensive multi-dimensional and multi-domain approach for the measurement of industrial modernity. As such it seeks to provide empirical evidence of long-term continuities and emerging ruptures in the dominant ideas, institutions, and practices of industrial societies along the domains of environment and technology. Using a methodologically novel approach where the text mining of newspapers is combined with data from various databases the paper provides results from three countries – Australia, Germany, Soviet Union/Russia – between 1900 and 2020. Despite considerable country-level differences the results show shifts in public environmental discourse from the 1960s, followed by institutional changes from the 1980s but with only a modest change in practices. We also observe some change in the direction of innovative activities and their regulation coupled with a resurgent optimism in technology-environment discourse. The findings tentatively suggest that industrial modernity might be in the process of hollowing out along ideational and institutional dimensions in the environmental domain but less so in the domain of technology and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During emergencies, exposure to false information can increase individual vulnerability. More research is needed on how emergency management institutions understand the effects of false information and what are the various approaches to handling it. Our document analysis and 95 expert interviews in eight European countries – Germany, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Hungary, Norway, Finland, and Estonia – show that approaches vary considerably: some have instituted central management of identifying and tackling false information while others prioritise the spreading of accurate information. A review of national practices and an analysis of recent crisis cases show that both approaches may be necessary. The diffusion of false information is strongly affected by the lack of timely and verifiable information from governments. We also find that in several countries, the emergence of false information is often associated with malicious foreign influence activities. Our study contributes to a better understanding of how the effects of false information are mitigated by the emergency management systems in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of social vulnerability has been increasingly applied in disaster literature, but its communicative drivers have remained understudied. In this article, we put forward a heuristic framework for explaining how communication-related factors may adversely affect people's capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters. This will help researchers, policy makers, and practitioners in the field of disasters and crises to systematically identify individual, social-structural, and situational factors of vulnerability that shape how people access, understand, and act upon information about hazards. We integrate ideas from recent literature on information disorders – various forms and effects of false or harmful information that are characteristic to modern communication ecosystems – to improve our understanding of how the new media environments may transform the ways people learn about hazards and cope with disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general, the identification and protection of vulnerable groups in the case of hazards or when a crisis unfolds is an issue that any crisis and disaster risk management should address, since people have different levels of exposure to hazards and crises. In this article, we promote the application of the intersectionality perspective in the study of vulnerable groups, and we call for intersectionality as a guiding principle in risk and crisis management, to provide a better and more nuanced picture of vulnerabilities and vulnerable groups. This can help national and local authorities and agencies to formulate specific guides, to hire staff with the skills necessary to meet particular needs, and to inform vulnerable groups in a particular way, taking into account the differences that may coexist within the same group. Intersectionality allows us to read vulnerability not as the characteristic of some socio-demographic groups. It is rather the result of different and interdependent societal stratification processes that result in multiple dimensions of marginalisation. In this vein, we argue that research should focus on 1) self-perceived vulnerability of individuals and an intersectionality approach to unpack vulnerable groups; 2) cases of crises according to the level and/or likelihood of individual exposure to hazards, to better nuance issues of vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multicomponent reactions – reactions that combine three or more starting materials in one pot to give a single product that contains essentially all of the atoms of the reactants – offer many exciting opportunities for medicinal chemistry. Their most obvious application is in the drug discovery phase, where they can provide efficient access to large numbers of analogs for lead discovery or optimization. By contrast, the inherent ‘greenness’ of multicomponent reactions makes them of increasing importance in the sustainable production of pharmaceuticals. We will discuss recent advances in both fields as well as general drivers and barriers for the application of multicomponent reactions in a medicinal chemistry context. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The timing of the colonization of Sardinia by mammalian fauna and anatomically modern humans (AMH) is currently under debate. The understanding of the geological and palaeoclimatological conditions that characterized the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene is essential to investigate colonization processes and requires an integrated multidisciplinary approach. In this research we combine for the first time new radiometric dating, field evidence of relative sea-level changes (RSL), sea-level and glacial-isostatic adjustment modelling, stratigraphical, palaeontological, palaeoecological and isotope analyses that were performed on sites and finds from the Porto Conte and Capo Caccia area (Alghero, NW Sardinia). The most important Late Pleistocene fossiliferous deposits in Sardinia have been discovered in this part of the island. Modelled palaeogeographical reconstructions of the Porto Conte area combined with the inferred environmental context and chronology of Late Pleistocene faunal assemblages from Medusa-Dragonara Cave suggest that Homo sapiens did not inhabit this area before the Holocene. Our results support the hypothesis that human presence in Sardinia during the Last Glacial Maximum was at best sporadic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]