The supply of safe medical devices is of critical importance; however, many devices are increasing in complexity to reflect patient needs and for regulatory compliance. Single use devices (SUDs) have been extensively used in healthcare for various reasons including user convenience and perception of higher material quality, enhanced safety, and better mitigation of patient risk for device-associated infections. However, where appropriate, use of cleaned and processed medical devices are equally effective to that of using SUDs. Use of disposables has created considerable medical waste management issues globally. Consequently, this perspective review paper addresses key initiatives and recommendations for potentially improving a culture of medical device reuse and recycling in healthcare ranging from meeting scalability and predictability in supply chain to promoting green design thinking and regulation across micro, meso and macro levels of stakeholder engagement. Building such a comprehensive ecosystem, addressing core responsibilities, resource allocation, sustainable safe handling, segregation and disposal of medical device waste is likely to a long-term process, sustained by gradual incremental improvements and by increased stakeholder engagements. This integrated approach is likely to be supported and enabled by effective tailored strategies and systems, along with strong oversight and regulation, with the ultimate goal of informing national and international appropriate standards.

Floods, as natural disasters, have a profound impact on society. Assessing them is highly complex due to the interplay of factors such as meteorology, topography, and land cover. Accurate forecasting is essential to reduce disaster risks, guide emergency response strategies, and minimize economic and social losses. Recent advancements in machine learning have significantly improved the accuracy of flood predictions, offered more cost-effective solutions and enhanced decision-making processes. This paper reviews the most common and recent advancements in machine learning applications for flood hazard assessment and forecasting and compares their performance with traditional approaches such as numerical modelling and remote sensing. While numerical models provide detailed predictions, they are computationally demanding and depend on precise data inputs. While remote sensing provides valuable large-scale data for flood monitoring, it often faces limitations in real-time responsiveness and accuracy, particularly under rapidly changing flood conditions. Machine learning addresses these limitations by leveraging historical data to identify patterns and refine predictions, improving both accuracy and efficiency. Challenges such as the variability of model performance across different regions and the requirement for high-quality data remain. This paper explores both long-term and short-term flood forecasting and the hazard assessment, shows that combining different methods in hybrid models can improve accuracy by reducing data uncertainties. Future research should prioritize refining machine learning algorithms for diverse environments, improving data processing techniques, and developing integrated methodologies. These advancements will lead to more reliable flood predictions, ultimately helping to mitigate the risks and impacts of flood disasters.

This study evaluates microplastic (MPs) contamination in table sugar packaged in sachets consumed in 24 countries, 18 from Europe, five from America, and one in Asia, emphasizing the ubiquity of MPs in food products. The samples were obtained in a sampling effort involving several people. 100 samples of 3 g of sugar were analyzed (3 replicates each) in a stereoscope with and attached camera, revealing a 100% contamination rate, with 3977 MPs particles identified. Filaments (56.63%) predominated over fragments (43.37%), with blue and black particles being the most frequent. Polymer analysis using Raman spectroscopy identified polyurethane (PU—predominant), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene (PE) as the main types of MPs. Considering estimated dietary intake (EDI) values calculated by EDI = (SgC × MPp)/SM, Brazil and the USA ranked as the countries with the highest levels of total MPs intake. These findings highlight sugar as an important pathway for dietary exposure to MPs, raising critical concerns about the risks to human health and food safety. Regulatory interventions and improved processing protocols are imperative to mitigate MP contamination in sugar and other widely consumed processed foods.

Rill erosion is a critical form of soil degradation, characterized by the concentrated flow of water that scours soil and transports sediments downhill, significantly impacting agricultural productivity and water quality. This review synthesizes current literature to elucidate the dynamics of rill erosion, emphasizing the multifaceted factors that influence its formation, including rainfall, soil properties, topography, vegetation cover, and land use. After discussing various erosion forms, the paper outlines the physics of rill erosion and presents methodologies for measuring and monitoring this process, highlighting both traditional and innovative techniques. Furthermore, it examines soil conservation practices aimed at mitigating rill erosion and their effectiveness. Modeling approaches, distinguishing between empirical and process-based models, are also explored, and gaps in current predictive capabilities are identified. In conclusion, the review advocates for integrated research that combines ecological, hydrological, and socio-economic perspectives. This research should develop sustainable land management strategies and enhance predictive accuracy regarding rill erosion under changing climate conditions. This comprehensive understanding is vital for combating soil degradation and preserving ecosystem services.

Dynamic shifts in global temperatures have increased the intensity of extreme weather events over many decades, leading to an increase in wildfires, drought, floods, intense hurricanes, longer hurricane seasons, damaging dust storms, humidity changes, decreasing foliage canopy, and altering crop patterns. Accelerated environmental changes can cause negative impacts on everyday human activities and living conditions leading to an increase in the likelihood of human exposure to anthropogenic chemicals: i.e., microplastics; insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides; and biological chemicals: i.e., algal toxins, these exposures are defined collectively as the “exposome”. Every human being is unique in their genetic makeup; therefore, individuals will respond differently to those chemical exposures. Intersecting with climate change is a global increase in neurodegenerative disorders. Exposure to specific compounds has been linked to various neurological diseases, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.

We aimed to select reliable biomarkers of metal exposure in the eurhalyne guppy Poecilia vivipara. Individuals were exposed to three different sites in a coastal bay (i.e., Linguado Channel, Babitonga Bay, Southern Brazil), a coastal environment with a long history of metal contamination. Temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved organic carbon) were measured in seawater from the exposure sites. After exposure, fish were anesthetized and their tissues (i.e., gill and liver) were dissected to evaluate the Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn concentrations, as well as a suite of biomarkers: antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals (ACAP), antioxidant enzyme activities (catalase and glutathione S-transferase), metallothionein-like protein (MTLP) concentration, and lipid peroxidation level (LPO). Seawater physicochemical conditions were similar in the exposure sites. Metal concentrations in tissues did not differ significantly between exposure sites. Principal component analysis indicated close correlations between Ni and ACAP, Ag/Cd and MTLPs, and Zn and LPO in the gills. In the liver, there was a close correlation between Pb and LPO. These findings highlight the importance and need for selecting relevant and suitable tissues and biomarkers for biomonitoring programs that aim to assess and monitor fish exposure to metal contamination in coastal waters. The findings also point to the need for future research focused on the response of oxidative stress‒related biomarkers to long-term in situ exposure of fish to coastal waters contaminated with metals and other inorganic and organic pollutants.

The management of bauxite residue (BR) generated during alumina production, is techno-economically challenging due to its colloidal slurry form, high alkalinity, and elevated concentrations of heavy metals and radionuclides. For every tonne of aluminum produced, 2-3 tonnes of BR are generated, leading to an annual global accumulation of approximately 180 million tonnes. At present, dry disposal (“dry stacking”) has become the most widely adopted management practice, although wet disposal of slurry remains in use in several regions. In this context, the present study assesses the environmental impact and the associated energy consumption of BR management following three different management and valorization practices: the wet disposal of the residue (baseline scenario), the dry disposal followed by the partial use of the dried BR in cement clinkering (current practice of the Greek aluminum industry) and the dry disposal followed by the partial use of the dried BR in a geopolymerization process. Results show that impact categories such as acidification (AC), freshwater eutrophication (FC), ozone depletion (OD), and photochemical ozone formation (POF) decrease by 21.6-77.7% under drying/valorization compared with the baseline. Dry disposal/geopolymer manufacturing presents the lowest possible environmental impact. However, the decrease of the global warming (GW) (by 12.8%), is relatively limited, while CED increases by 54.2% due to geopolymerization. Given the limited number of LCA studies available on bauxite residue management, this study explores key environmental challenges posed by current practices and identifies opportunities for improving sustainability and resource efficiency within the aluminum industry.

Water has shaped the Earth’s surface into catchments that support a diversity of ecosystem services, such as water and nutrient cycling, soil formation and habitat. Besides supporting, catchments regulate services like flood attenuation and water quality improvements through organism-mediated chemical processes. Catchments are also the geosphere where the water is stored in lakes, wetlands, reservoirs or underground, to be later provided as service to the economic activities such as agriculture or industry, as well as to the humans as drinking water. Finally, catchments may incorporate unique landscapes that leverage recreational and cultural services targeting tourism and social well-being. But catchments are also the geographical domain where humans and meteorological agents dynamize ecosystem services though land use changes and climate shifts. Consequently, catchments are disturbed through amplified soil erosion, water balance reconfigurations, etc., and eventually adapt overtime, either evolving towards a pre-disturbance condition or towards new landscapes. Disturbance and adaption are research questions in the spotlight, with growing published literature on the subject. Thus, a review focused on the latest findings (last couple of years) is worth of consideration and was the motivation to write this opinion paper. While gathering relevant papers from the Science Direct, Web of Science and Scopus databases, we realized that current research essentially shows how disturbance and natural feedbacks of catchments challenge the sustainable physical Earth by shaking support, regulation and provision hydrologic services. Thus, using the PRISMA methodolgy we assembled papers on these dimensions and discussed their roles in separate sections. Key results retrieved from the reviewed articles (41 in total, including contributions from all the continents) comprised new methods of preferential flow and turnover times in the soil layer and concurrent impacts on stream flow generation, including intermittence analyses. Important results also comprehended global assessments of lake contamination related to urbanization, as well as reports about exacerbation of water-rock interactions caused by increasing temperatures and concomitant raise of stream water solute concentrations. A common headlight to most articles was reforestation as measure to improve catchment water storage and quality, with focuses put on catchment’s physico-chemical processes such as infiltration, properties such as porosity or root development, and water yields, depending on whether the reviewed article was dealing with support, regulation or provision services, respectively. Articles on wetlands and climate shifts were not forgotten and exposed the need to expand mangrove systems to handle water purification in lowlands, as well as the role of mediation among competing interests to mitigate water shortfalls resulting from extreme and prolonged and prolonged droughts. We believe that, altogether, the findings reported in the selected papers and summarized in the discussion allowed a panoramic view over catchments as pools of cycling water and elements, as well as on the services and disservices they can be linked to.

This review provides a comprehensive analysis of recent developments in sustainable paper-based sensors for ammonia detection, emphasizing their potential as low-cost, portable, and environmentally benign alternatives to conventional analytical techniques. It systematically evaluates principal sensing strategies including colorimetric, electrochemical, and chemiresistive modalities that utilize natural dyes, engineered nanomaterials, and conductive polymers to achieve enhanced sensitivity and rapid signal transduction. With operational lifespans of 30 to 45 days, colorimetric platforms based on plant extracts and anthocyanins can detect as little as 0.5 mg L⁻¹ in aqueous medium, which makes them ideal for low-cost, disposable applications. WS₂-PANI hybrids and CNT/PPy/Pt are examples of chemiresistive nanocomposite sensors that exhibit ppb-level detection (down to 5 ppb) in gaseous environments, fast response-recovery periods (less than 45 s and about 80 s, respectively), and stability for more than 60 days in ambient humidity. Advances in fabrication methodologies such as additive manufacturing and three-dimensional microstructured platforms have facilitated the creation of mechanically flexible devices with capabilities for smartphone-based signal acquisition and real-time analytical performance across diverse application domains. These include environmental surveillance, food quality assessment, occupational safety, and clinical diagnostics, wherein sensor efficacy approaches or surpasses that of standard instrumentation. The review also addresses critical limitations such as analyte selectivity and temporal stability, and explores emerging directions involving integration with internet of things frameworks, use of fully biodegradable substrates, and simultaneous detection of multiple chemical targets. The collective progress reflects a paradigm shift toward the deployment of accessible and ecologically responsible sensing technologies aligned with global health and environmental sustainability objectives.

This opinion paper highlights the concept of transboundary transitional waters (TTW)—A socio-ecosystem category at the interface of freshwater and marine environments that straddle international borders. The central message of the paper is that while the European Union’s Water Framework Directive (WFD) has advanced the recognition and protection of transitional waters, it is insufficient to capture the socio-ecological and political complexities of TTW, especially in regions where countries outside the EU are involved. The sustainable governance of TTW requires recognition of their unique ecological, socio-economic, cultural, and geopolitical dimensions. The paper delivers three main insights. First, it introduces the Emerald Economy as a new concept that integrates Blue and Green Economy principles, establishing an ecosystem-based, transboundary framework to address the ecological, economic, and governance challenges of TTW. Second, the study highlights the methodological principles of combining remote sensing, geostatistical analysis, and spatiotemporal modelling to overcome data fragmentation, identify development patterns, vulnerabilities, and risks in 123 TTW worldwide and reinforce their transboundary monitoring and decision-making. Third, the paper also highlights the critical transboundary governance barriers of political tensions, illicit cross-border activities, and uneven data quality as pivotal yet often overlooked factors that obscure the real picture of cross-border connections, thereby distorting management outcomes. The paper’s concluding statement is that TTW are not only vital ecological corridors but also contested geopolitical spaces, and that their sustainability and resilience, reducing the risks of ecological degradation and geopolitical confrontation, depend on harmonized environmental policies, coordinated mosaic governance, shared scientific research and monitoring platforms, and management strategies that transcend political boundaries.