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Does nature still matter in sport? In the balancing between natural and scientific training, Swedish upper-secondary ski schools have played an important role. This paper deals with specific landscape features for testing at three Swedish ski schools: Hallstatestet in Sollefteå, Hovfjällsracet in Torsby, and Stoltjonastestet in Järpen. The following questions will be addressed: How do the coaches at each school use local tests to analyze performance? How is the importance of local tests articulated, and what roles do history and nature play in this process? The paper concludes that the use of local landscapes to articulate elite performance connects ideas of measurability and scientization to the lingering tradition of natural training. Local landscapes thereby become a mediator between scientific and experiential knowledge about sport performance and point out how local sport heritage can be used for addressing environmental issues in sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the trade-offs in the decarbonisation of the energy sector by analysing the legal arguments in favour of and against hydropower in EU law. It contends that the EU regimes in climate, energy and environmental law each value the advantages and disadvantages of energy production in different ways. In contrasting the approaches in these three areas of EU law, the article analyses how EU law governs the decarbonisation process in the context of hydropower. The analysis reveals a promising opportunity to reconcile the friction among climate, energy and environmental law while improving the ecological sustainability of hydropower production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1966, the Johnson administration established the largest poverty law agency in the nation: the California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA). From the agency's creation onward, Mexican American farmworkers in rural California directed CRLA staff to significant cases of injustice, many of which involved their communities' disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards in and around produce fields, CRLA litigation helped lead to bans on dangerous pesticides such as Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and 1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP), and it forced growers to be more transparent in their use of agrochemicals. Furthermore, the work of the CRLA helped lead to statewide regulations that required growers to provide portable toilets, washing facilities, and safe drinking water in the fields. Litigation on these matters, which CRLA attorneys later labeled "environmental poverty law," helped expand the focus of reform from workers in the field to entire farmworker communities and helped lay the legal groundwork for the environmental justice movement in rural California. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Should current unmitigated emissions continue, there is a growing chance of collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, one of the planetary climate tipping points at greatest risk of being crossed. Such a collapse would subject the world to an increase of several metres in average global sea-level rise over just a few centuries. In this context, there is an academic debate about the potential of supporting glacial stability through artificial infrastructures such as an undersea 'curtain'. However, this 'ice sheet conservation' would come with significant yet unforeseeable technical and environmental risks. Moreover, in this debate governance risks have been either neglected or understated. We argue that the proposed infrastructures could negatively implicate the 'peaceful purposes only' obligation enshrined in the Antarctic Treaty. By affecting contentious areas of Antarctic geopolitics, such as authority, sovereignty and security, there is a significant risk that the project would make the Antarctic 'the scene or object of international discord'. Even if the ice curtain idea were to be technically feasible and environmentally harmless, it would still create significant political and legal challenges for the current governance arrangements in the Antarctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performative law is law 'just for show'. Where the law expresses a commitment to targets, objectives and aspirations which are, in a strict sense, legally binding, but which are ultimately hard to formally enforce, it can take on a highly symbolic or gestural appearance. Environmental law is particularly vulnerable to performativity. This is because of the nature of the environment as an object of law and because of the features found in much modern environmental legislation. This article shows this by considering examples from the Environment Act 2021, one of the foundational legislative environmental instruments adopted in recent years. Despite its potential, this article argues that key parts of the Act display a highly performative nature. The article shows that whilst this performativity is a feature of design rather than accident in the Act itself, it is a characteristic which is often found in environmental law more generally even though performativity need not necessarily be a bad thing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submissions on enforcement matters (SEMs) allow civil society members to assert that one party to a free trade agreement (FTA) is failing to enforce its domestic environmental laws. Submissions that survive every step of the SEM process result in a 'factual record' prepared by a secretariat on enforcement matters. Relying on qualitative comparative analysis and an original dataset compiling the 158 SEMs submitted under the framework of US FTAs, I investigate what conditions make submissions more likely to succeed in leading to a factual record. I find that the existence of previous submissions dealing with the same facts, submissions against developing countries, and the presence of at least one non-governmental organization as a submitter contribute to a submission's success, but only in conjunction with other conditions and for a limited number of cases. This result provides overall evidence that secretariats' decisions are unbiased by the factors examined in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on the Minnesota Court of Appeals' ruling that limits actions against counties under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act. Topics include the court's interpretation of Minnesota Statutes Section 116B.10, the application of the "no-action clause" in Minnesota Statutes Section 116B.03, and the rejection of environmental claims against Pope County's highway reconstruction project.

The article focuses on the evolving regulatory framework for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances at the state and federal levels. Topics include Minnesota's regulatory approach to preventing, managing, and cleaning up per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances contamination, legislative efforts to ban products containing these substances, and federal actions such as United States Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water standards and reporting requirements under Toxic Substances Control Act.

Copyright of Journal of Babylon Center for Humanities Studies is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Literary theory as a whole examines the relationship between authors, texts, and the world. In most literary theories, "world" is synonymous with community - the social sphere. Environmental critique and green studies extend the concept of "world" to include the whole environment. If we agree with the first law of the environment, that everything has to do with something else, we must say that literature as a linguistic text does not float at a higher level than the physical world, as an aesthetic element, but literature actually plays a role in a complex world. It plays a world in which energy, objects and ideas interact. For this reason, today, language and how it is used can serve as a metaphorical and symbolic representation of nature, as well as have a critical orientation towards environmental crises. This article, which is a qualitative research, has dealt with the relationship between linguistic text and the environment through analytical methods, and by analyzing the intellectual and theoretical frameworks of environmental critique, has also considered the issue of environmental linguistics. Examples discussed in this article include examples of poetic literature and dramatic literature. In fact, the main issue of this article is related to the key question of how the linguistic text (literature) can deal with the environmental crises of the contemporary world beyond the classical methods of literary criticism. It is an important human issue to assume linguistic responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legal judgment prediction is a common basic task in the field of Legal AI, aimed at using deep domain models to predict the outcomes of judicial cases, such as charges, legal provisions, and other related tasks. This task has practical applications in environmental law, including legal decision assistance and legal advice, offering a promising and broad prospect. However, most previous studies focus on using high-quality labeled data for strong supervised training in criminal justice, often neglecting the rich external knowledge contained in various charges and laws. This approach fails to accurately simulate the decision-making steps of judges in real scenarios, overlooking the semantic information in case descriptions that significantly impacts judgment results, leading to biased outcomes. In judicial environmental protection, the high overlap and similarity between different charges can cause confusion, and there is a lack of relevant judicial decision labeling datasets. To address this, we propose the External Knowledge-Infused Cross Attention Network (EKICAN), which leverages the robust semantic understanding capabilities of large models. By extracting information such as fact descriptions and court opinions from documents of criminal, civil, and administrative cases related to judicial environmental protection, we construct the Judicial Environmental Law Judgment Dataset (JELJD). We address data imbalance in this dataset using the text generation capabilities of judicial large models. Finally, EKICAN fuses semantic information from different parts with external knowledge to output prediction results. Experimental results show that EKICAN achieves state-of-the-art performance on the JELJD compared to advanced models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of human activities in recent decades, the state of the earth's environment has faced irreparable damage. This issue has compelled governments to formulate and implement various environmental laws and regulations across all dimensions. The aim of this article is to examine the foundations of states obligating to adhere to international environmental rules and regulations, with an emphasis on the unilateralism of certain states regarding their withdrawal from environmental treaties. The results indicate that the Paris Agreement focuses primarily on developing countries, while the highest levels of environmental pollution are generated by developed countries. The breach of commitment by some countries, such as the United States, China, and Russia, and their withdrawal from and disregard for this treaty clearly demonstrate that these countries have not fulfilled their commitments adequately. Consequently, addressing these existing challenges in the world requires the cooperation of all governments, the private sector, and civil society to prioritize risk reduction, as well as fairness and justice in decision-making and investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the study of legal problems of environmental security under martial law in the context of land use and protection management. Martial law significantly changes the legal regime that regulates the use of natural resources, in particular land. The article analyzes the impact of martial law on the legal regulation of land relations, identifying the main problems that arise in the field of environmental protection, and suggests ways to solve these problems. In particular, the need to improve environmental and land legislation, adapt regulatory acts to wartime conditions, and develop new mechanisms for effective land resource management is emphasized. The provisions of the current legislation in the field of land use and protection under the legal regime of martial law are analyzed. The features of regulatory and legal regulation that affect land resource management under armed conflict are considered. The main legislative acts that regulate land use are identified, their effectiveness is assessed, and gaps that complicate the protection of land resources are identified. Particular attention is paid to the problems of legal support for the assessment of damage to soils, land restoration and financing of rehabilitation programs. Ways are proposed to improve the legislative framework, in particular, the creation of a comprehensive state strategy for land management adapted to the conditions of crisis situations. Innovative approaches to solving these problems are proposed, in particular, the creation of a land monitoring system, the introduction of damage assessment methods, economic incentives for rational land use, as well as the development of a comprehensive land protection strategy. The results of the study are aimed at improving land management to ensure environmental safety and sustainable development of the country in times of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1948 to 1972 the idea of the environment gained solidity within the sciences and in global politics, as a thing or a concept, which spoke of a need to save humanity from the harms it was inflicting on the natural world. As historians Warde, Robin and Sörlin explain, the idea brought about a revolution in the sciences, casting scientists as environmental problem solvers, fundamentally changing the way they worked. In this paper we connect law and lawyers to this history. We ask, did lawyers contribute new meanings to the idea of the environment when they first presented laws and parts of legal practice as 'environmental'? Were they mere translators of the scientists' ideas? And did they envisage the emergence of new environmental legal experts, who might change legal culture? We examine the early environmental law textbooks in five countries (Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand and the US) and devise ideal types to explain the associations, values and choices which underpinned their presentation of the ideas of 'the environment', 'environmental law' and 'environmental law expert'. We consider that these types are useful conceptual tools which raise ongoing questions about the relationship between environmental law and its broader context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on Slovakia's compliance performance in the EU law implementation since its accession in 2004. It explores the use of the infringement procedure launched by the European Commission against the Slovak Republic. The article pursues three primary objectives. Firstly, it evaluates Slovakia's non-compliance since joining the EU, using quantitative indicators to compare non-compliance with EU directives in various policy areas. Secondly, it examines if factors known to impact compliance in existing literature also apply to Slovakia. Thirdly, the study delves into environmental infringements in Slovakia, underlining the prominence of environmental concerns and the country's substantial number of related infringement proceedings, including those involving the Court of Justice of the European Union. This analysis contributes insights into understanding compliance gaps within problematic policy areas, specifically environmental policy like waste management, in the Slovak context. The authors' findings indicate that the roots of environmental non-compliance can be traced to how the environmental agenda is prioritised by political elites and officials within the state administration, as well as the interplay of various factors emanating from wider political and social landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Environmental Law Review 2024 Quarterly comment by Trinity Chambers discusses recent weather events and government activities related to climate change and the environment. It highlights new Bills focusing on climate change and environmental issues, as well as legal cases and legislative developments. The document also includes updates on domestic and EU legislation, consultations, select committee reports, and news on environmental issues and policies. The report provides a comprehensive overview of recent environmental law developments and initiatives. [Extracted from the article]

In 2021, the United States Supreme Court issued a controversial opinion with the potential to constrict the standing doctrine. TransUnion v. Ramirez appeared to alter standing's "concrete harm" requirement, which would significantly restrict plaintiffs' ability to invoke the jurisdiction of federal district courts. Building off its 2016 case, Spokeo v. Robins, the Court declared that intangible harms are only concrete when "plaintiffs have identified a close historical or common-law analog[] for their asserted injury." The "common-law analog[]" required a "close relationship to harms traditionally recognized as providing a basis for lawsuits in American courts." The Court mandated this requirement even for statutory harms, despite Congress's long-held power to elevate harms to the level of concrete. The Court applied this rationale to a statutory right to information, implying that such informational harms are not concrete on their own, absent adverse effects. Subsequently, the circuits split on the status of informational harms, and prominent scholars warned of the holding's detrimental effects on important areas of law. One area of impact is environmental law, where cases can involve harm to statutory rights created by modern pollution control and natural resources statutes. This Comment addresses the implications of TransUnion, detailing how a broad reading of the case would drastically limit standing in environmental lawsuits. It argues that the broad interpretation of TransUnion would fundamentally conflict with historical precedent and the separation of powers, and offers a more natural approach to understanding TransUnion that would not seriously affect environmental law. This Comment concludes that a narrow reading of TransUnion better reconciles the case's essential holding with prior precedent and Congress's powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental crimes threaten ecosystems, public health, and global economic stability, necessitating enhanced law enforcement strategies. This study critically examines the role of the criminal police in combating these crimes, focusing on evaluating the effectiveness of police interventions and identifying key factors influencing success. A mixed-methods approach was employed, incorporating a thematic analysis of investigative materials, a quantitative assessment of crime statistics, and qualitative interviews with law enforcement officers and environmental experts. Additionally, spatial analysis using Geographic Information Systems was utilized to identify crime hotspots. The study's findings reveal a clear negative correlation between enhanced policing efforts and environmental crime rates, with spatial analysis highlighting concentrated areas of illegal activity. Qualitative results indicate opportunities for refining enforcement strategies, particularly through technology integration and interagency collaboration. The study's contribution lies in its comprehensive approach, combining statistical, spatial, and qualitative data to assess the effectiveness of policing strategies. Future research should focus on long-term evaluations and crossjurisdictional comparisons to optimize global enforcement practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption in Indonesia's natural resource sector is a significant issue with far-reaching consequences for environmental sustainability. Despite the detrimental effects of corrupt practices on the environment, law enforcement penalties for corruption often fail to compensate for their environmental impact. The aim of the study is to explore how the use of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) strengthens law enforcement efforts and increase penalties for corrupt practices in Indonesia's natural resource sector. The method used is to collect and analyze regulations, policies, and corruption study cases to examine the relationship between EIA and corruption penalties. The results showed that EIA can help corruption cases investigation and corruption cases involving EIA receive heavier penalties. This study concluded that the Indonesian government needs to reformulate its law enforcement approach by incorporating EIA into corruption investigations and using more severe penalties to deter corruption in the natural resource sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Crónica Tributaria is the property of Instituto de Estudios Fiscales, Ministerio de Hacienda y Funcion Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper offers an attempt to conceptualize the specificity of a cultural trauma and victim as media constructs. The first part discusses the role of media technologies in the contemporary biopolitical context. It is emphasized that the control over communication within the new power paradigms is exercised by the netocratic elite, a new element of cybertechnological superpanopticism. The significance of mediology in the new system of worldview models and social relations is analysed. The second part explores the features of mediating trauma and victim processes, built in accordance with media environment laws. It is shown that in the context of deep mediatization, cultural trauma and victimhood are primarily the products of information technologies designed to reproduce biopolitical imperatives. It is emphasized that the mass media form of collective body representation intensifies the victim status attractiveness in a liberal democratic society. The nature of the fight for the right to be called a victim is determined by the increasing uncertainty of modern economic, political, environmental and other processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a contemporary model of applying interim measures by the Court of Justice of the European Union, drawing on an increasingly rich body of case law in Polish cases. The disputes that the European Commission has engaged in with the Polish government, along with the non-standard obstruction in compliance with EU law, have become the basis for a new approach to this ancillary procedure offered by the Rules of Procedure of the Court. The article focuses on two sensitive areas where judicial intervention has proved necessary, the protection of the natural environment and ensuring the rule of law, especially in the operation of the national judiciary. There is no doubt that this body of work constitutes a significant contribution to the overall development of EU law, as it has led to the adoption of a completely new interpretation of Article 279 TFEU. According to the latest case law, the possibility of imposing financial penalties on member states is not limited to cases provided for in Article 260 TFEU, that is, non-compliance with a judgment finding a breach of EU law; these penalties can also be imposed in cases of non-compliance with the Court's interim orders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Note explores the relationship between California's severe housing supply crisis and the exploitation of its environmental laws to obstruct housing development. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has come under heightened scrutiny for the ways it is used to challenge residential development. However, comparatively little attention has been paid to how the California Coastal Act of 1976--which created the California Coastal Commission as a specialized land use regulator for the coast--has also contributed to the state's housing shortage and affordability issues. This Note examines the California Coastal Act and the California Coastal Commission--reviewing their history, structure, and legal authorities-- and evaluates the ways this regulatory model has contributed to the state's housing crisis by limiting housing development in some of California's most economically productive and af!uent areas. The Commission's unique regulatory structure grants it near absolute control over coastal development, combining broad discretionary permitting powers with extensive appellate jurisdiction, further reinforced by the Coastal Act's requirement for liberal statutory construction. The Commission's plenary land use authority extends over California's Coastal Zone, an area containing roughly one million people. While the Coastal Act was well-intentioned in its attempt to protect the state's coastline, substantial evidence indicates it has served exclusionary ends and contributed to an increasingly more af!uent and demographically homogeneous Coastal Zone. Ironically, a statute that commendably mandated maximal public access to the coast has been wielded as a tool to prevent people from residing within it. Moreover, the Act enables housing to be blocked for reasons completely unrelated to environmental protection. Despite growing recognition of the role of the coastal land use regulatory regime in exacerbating California's housing crisis, legislative reform efforts have faced tough resistance, with even modest proposals to harmonize coastal-specific rules with statewide housing laws failing to pass. This Note also analyzes two of the rare judicial decisions to consider the structural con!icts between the Coastal Act, which grants the Coastal Commission broad discretion over coastal development, and California's housing enforcement laws, which aim to limit discretion in rejecting housing proposals. In 2016, Kalnel Gardens, LLC v. City of Los Angeles initially subordinated statewide housing laws to the Coastal Act but was overturned in part by the legislature with respect to the Density Bonus Law. In 2024, New Commune DTLA v. City of Redondo Beach partially affirmed the applicability of the Housing Accountability Act's "Builder's Remedy" in the Coastal Zone, albeit with significant limitations. These cases highlight a stark contrast: while recent reforms have curtailed municipalities' power to block certain housing development, the Coastal Commission retains such authority within the Coastal Zone. This creates a de facto exemption for some of California's most desirable areas; the Coastal Act serves as a regulatory haven for coastal NIMBYism. The Note argues that California's courts and policymakers have been too deferential to the Coastal Act, undermining efforts to mitigate the housing crisis and risking the entrenchment of the coast as a state-sanctioned gated community under the misleading guise of environmental conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nuclear Safety is the property of Nuclear & Radiation Safety Center and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Opole Studies in Administration & Law (OSAO) / Opolskie Studia Administracyjno-Prawne (OSAP) is the property of University of Opole / Uniwersytet Opolski and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The new "Environmental Protection Law" (abbreviated as NEPL) holds milestone significance for the construction of China's ecological legal system. However, evidence regarding the impact of NEPL on sustainable environmental strategy (abbreviated as SES) still lacks empirical analysis. This study aims to examine the mechanisms and boundary conditions through which the NEPL influences SES. Utilizing a difference‐in‐differences approach, an empirical analysis is conducted on the data of listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A‐shares from 2008 to 2021. The findings are as follows: (1) NEPL has significantly promoted both the substantive environmental strategy (abbreviated as SUB) and symbolic environmental strategy (abbreviated as SYM) of heavily polluting enterprises. Compared with SYM, the impact of NEPL on SUB is more significant. (2) Analyst coverage plays a significantly positive moderating role in the relationship between NEPL and SUB, while managerial myopia plays a significantly positive moderating role in the relationship between NEPL and SYM. (3) Environmental legitimacy pressure exerts a mediating effect on the relationship between NEPL and SES. The research findings enrich existing theories related to strategic choice and environmental policy under government intervention and provide policy recommendations for enterprises to achieve sustainable development in the context of NEPL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract As the world faces growing environmental challenges, understanding the nature of microplastics—such as Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and Polyurethane (PU)—and their transformation in water-based environments is necessary for predicting and mitigating their effects. In this study, we investigated their physicochemical characteristics, presence of impurities, colloidal behavior, and sorption capacity to understand better how microplastics behave and transform in the environment, including their role in transporting heavy metals. The two types of microparticles investigated fall into distinct size ranges, approximately 70 microns for PE particles and around 5 microns for PU particles. Both samples showed a spherical morphology and an evident surface micro-roughness. The elemental and thermal analysis did not show the presence of any significant metal impurities. The zeta-potential measurements as a function of pH provided insights into the dispersion behavior of microplastics (MPs) in freshwaters, suitable for the growth of Zebrafish (Egg water) and Daphnia magna (Elendt M7 Water). Both materials showed in bidistilled water negative zeta potential (ZP) at natural pH (ZP = − 51.0 ± 4.3 mV at pH = 6.6 and ZP = − 29.5 ± 1.4 mV at pH = 5.6 for LDPE and PU, respectively), justified by the presence of surface-active charged impurities. In saline media, ZP vs. pH curves were flatter, with ZP values near 0 mV, confirming the reduced colloidal stability from higher ionic strength and double-layer compression. Finally, we assessed the metal adsorption capacity to establish the role of microplastics in the transport of heavy metals in the environment. We observed selective adsorption for Cu2⁺ ions, which was both medium-dependent (more ions adsorbed in Elendt M7) and plastic-dependent, with PU showing a stronger affinity for Cu2⁺ in MilliQ and Egg water. On the contrary, both plastics showed similar adsorption capacity for Fe3⁺ ions across all media.

Abstract Background The rise of antibiotic resistance has become a critical global health concern, resulting in numerous fatalities annually. Among resistant pathogens, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) poses a particularly severe and expanding threat. However, there is a lack of comprehensive studies on the prevalence, patterns, and contributing factors of MRSA resistance within mainland China. Methods In this study, the data of MRSA antimicrobial resistance in 31 provinces from 2014 to 2021 were obtained from the China Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (CARSS). Environment and medical care data were obtained either from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) database or the National Ministry of Ecology and Environment (NMEE). Multiple linear regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) was used to explore the potential influencing factors of MRSA antibiotic resistance rate (AMR). Results Significant positive associations were identified between MRSA AMR and various factors, including cadmium pollution, soybean and poultry production, and oil consumption. Conversely, an inverse J-shaped relationship was observed between tap water coverage and MRSA resistance. Other noteworthy correlations included the effects of corn and pork production, as well as antibiotic use intensity. Our predictive model explained 52.7% of the variability in MRSA AMR, demonstrating strong predictive capability. Conclusions This study highlights the significant role of environmental, agricultural, and healthcare factors in influencing MRSA AMR in China. The findings emphasize the need for integrated strategies addressing regional environmental and healthcare quality in combating antibiotic resistance. Extending this research globally could enhance understanding of MRSA resistance dynamics on a broader scale. Graphical Abstract

Abstract The safety of the use of microbial plant protection products (PPP) is assessed before the products can be placed on the market. Due to large differences amongst microbial PPP a case-by-case approach is needed for this assessment. We propose to use the problem formulation approach based on pathways to harm to tailor the assessment to individual microbial PPP and to harmonise this approach when possible. The steps in problem formulation are described and examples are given of how the approach can be used for case-by-case assessments of microbial PPP. We also describe which other elements are needed to fully optimise the risk assessment of microbial PPP and how our approach fits in with the current EU regulatory framework and ongoing activities.

Abstract Background The use of biodegradable mulch films has an advantage over non-biodegradable ones, as it offers degradation by microbes under environmental conditions. Nevertheless, less is known about the microbial colonization of different biodegradable plastics under different agricultural systems and climate change conditions. In the current study, the plastic degradation experiment was conducted at the Global Change Experimental Facility platform, specifically in conventional and organic farming systems, both under ambient and future climatic conditions. In this study, we investigated the early fungal colonizers associated with polybutylene-succinate (PBS) and polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) with polyethylene (PE) as a reference in comparison to the initial soil fungal community. Results We found a distinct pattern between soil and plastisphere fungi. Soil fungi were dominated by Sordariomycetes (mainly Gibellulopsis, Fusarium, and Gibberella), and fungi in plastics were dominated by Dothideomycetes (mainly Mycosphaerella, Alternaria, and Cladosporium). These microbes were previously reported as plastic colonizers and potential plastic degraders. We found that agricultural systems affect both fungal richness and community composition of the plastisphere. Plastic type significantly affected the fungal richness, but not the fungal community composition. The two different agricultural systems undergo different treatments, including crop rotation and fertilization, which in turn impact the fungal colonization of the biodegradable plastics. Conclusions This study provides new insights into factors that affect early fungal colonization of different biodegradable plastics under real field conditions using high-throughput sequencing. These data are of high relevance to evaluate the plastic composition for adjusted rate of plastic biodegradation for upcoming mulch film products.

Abstract RNAi-based applications aim to inhibit the expression of specific essential genes in target organisms by uptake and processing of double-stranded RNA and subsequent degradation of target gene mRNA. While the research on RNAi-based pesticides was initially limited to endogenous applications (i.e., production of the dsRNA by the crop), the development of technologies for exogenous applications like RNAi sprays in particular has increased in recent years. Due to the assumed beneficial properties of RNA molecules, such as degradability or target specificity, RNAi technology receives increasing attention in the development of plant protection products, as evidenced by a steadily increasing number of publications. A horizon scan was conducted with a specific emphasis to identify and illustrate the current state of RNAi developments and applications in crop protection as well as their biomanufacturing readiness levels. In this study, more than 180 publications were evaluated. Furthermore, we identified 268 patent families on this topic. A large variety with regard to treated crops, targeted pest species and target gene functions as well as application types was observed. In total, RNAi applications for more than 30 different pest species were identified, most of which belonged to the insect orders Lepidoptera, Hemiptera and Coleoptera. In addition, applications targeting fungi and viruses were found. RNAi applications were identified to be an upcoming topic in crop protection and, therefore, are becoming increasingly relevant for environmental risk assessment, due to the high number of targeted pest species as well as the variety of novel application types. With this review, we inform future work aimed to develop further adequate concepts and methods for environmental risk assessment of RNAi-based applications.

Abstract Background Due to their intrinsic biological activity biocides can pose an unintended threat to various aquatic organisms. Monitoring data on the spatial distribution and temporal trends are needed to evaluate potential risks and the effectiveness of mitigation measures, but these are scarce for biocides in aquatic environments. In particular, even though many biocides tend to sorb to particles, there are only few studies investigating the contamination of suspended particulate matter (SPM). The aim of this study was to obtain an overview of the temporal trends of selected biocides in SPM using German rivers as an example. For this purpose, SPM from the German Environmental Specimen Bank was used for a retrospective trend assessment of a broad spectrum of biocides in integrated SPM samples (yearly composite) in six large German rivers between 2008 and 2021. Results Overall 16 of 23 analyzed biocides were found, whereof 10 substances were detected in all samples. Highest concentrations were found for quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs, the sum of four analyzed QACs were up to 8.7 µg/g) and methyl-triclosan (up to 280 ng/g), a transformation product of the bactericide triclosan. Considerably lower concentrations in the range of 0.08 to 88 ng/g and

Abstract The aquaculture sector is facing environmental issues because of rising chemical pollution of aquatic systems, which may be caused by man-made or natural causes. The combined action of these mixtures can produce an effect that is either severalfold higher or severalfold lower than the overall toxicity of the individual components. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of three individual toxicants: lead (Pb 0.088 mg L−1), mercury (Hg 0.084 mg L−1), and pendimethalin (PM 0.355 mg L−1) and their combinations on the behavior, oxidative stress, immunology, biochemistry, and histopathological changes in Nile tilapia. The results show that mortality was evident across all treatment groups and was highest in the mixture (MIX) group, at 33.4%. Some of these behavioral changes included increased mucus secretion, fin rot, and dark skin coloration of the fish, all of which were evidently exacerbated in the MIX group. The erythrocyte and hemoglobin indices presented marked reductions in the MIX and PM groups in comparison to the control group. The MIX group had higher levels of serum creatinine and urea, as well as the liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase, aspartate transaminase, and alkaline phosphatase. They also had higher levels of malondialdehyde and lower levels of total antioxidant capacity, which showed oxidative stress. The stress biomarkers, cortisol and glucose, showed greater impact on the MIX and PM groups. The neurobehavioral assessment demonstrated noticeable decreased acetylcholinesterase levels in PM and MIX-exposed groups. In the serum immunological parameters, levels of nitric oxide and lysozyme were lower, especially in the MIX and PM groups. In all experimental groups, especially the MIX group, the levels of spleen pro-inflammatory cytokine genes were higher. The histopathological examination revealed marked lesions in the gills, liver, and brains in the form of inflammation, necrosis, and circulatory alterations. Among the exposed groups, the MIX group exhibited the highest histopathological changes. Collectively, our findings demonstrated significant toxic effects of heavy metals and herbicides on Nile tilapia, revealing a synergistic impact on both physiological and histopathological responses resulting from combined exposures. The data evidently indicate the ecological hazards associated with heavy metals and herbicides in aquatic ecosystems.

Abstract Background Diethyl phthalate (DEP), used as a plasticizer, is more prevalent in the aquatic environment due to its widespread usage in plastics, cosmetics, and numerous pharmaceutical industries. It is a potential endocrine disruptor, but the underlying mechanism in fish needs to be investigated. The present study evaluated the toxic impacts of DEP exposure for 30 days on commercially important fish Labeo catla (Catla). Alterations at multiple level endpoints of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis (HPG axis) were assessed. DEP-induced changes in oxidative stress, histopathological changes (liver, kidney and brain) and bioaccumulation in fish muscle were also evaluated. Results DEP exposure to 1/10th (1.62 mg/L) and 1/50th (0.32 mg/L) LC50 dose for 30 days to Catla revealed that it stimulated the expression of kisspeptin (Kiss 1 and Kiss 2) genes in the hypothalamus, leading to an increased GnRH concentration (36.75%) in the higher dose. The brain FSH levels increased by 11.24 and 55.42% times than control in both the doses. This led to an increase in circulating sex steroids E2 (41.62%) and 11 KT (24.59%) and eventually triggered hepatic Vtg production (23.90%) in a dose-dependent manner. DEP exposure lowered the concentration of antioxidants superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), the effect being more pronounced in the higher dose. The histopathological alterations, such as hepatocyte vacuolization, sinusoidal congestion, loss of brush border, degeneration of lumen, infiltration of eosinophilic cells in liver, kidney and brain, respectively, were noted. Conclusions This pioneering study could provide detailed insight into the endocrine disruptive potential of DEP in fish, as evidenced by its impact at multiple endpoints, even at low doses after 30 days of exposure. The output of this investigation thus emphasized the need for regular monitoring of DEP for ecological risk assessment.

Abstract Background This article provides an overview of the iMulch joint project, which analysed the use of polyethylene (PE) and biodegradable mulch films made of a polylactide (PLA) and polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) on agricultural land as a source of microplastic. The development of a detection methodology using Raman spectroscopy and thermo-extraction desorption gas chromatography mass–spectrometry (TED-GC–MS), the adsorption behaviour, ageing in drainage water and soil, their transport behaviour in lysimeters, ecotoxicity, uptake in plants, a life cycle assessment (LCA) and upcycling were considered. Results The PE film tested showed hardly any degradation or fragmentation during the ageing tests. The biodegradable films showed incipient degradation after 8 weeks in drainage water and initial degradation after 12 weeks in soil ageing experiments. Additionally no degradation could be detected in the lysimeter test within the 24 months analysed. The biodegradable films could be metabolized in laboratory tests with some microorganisms present in the soil. This indicates that these films can be degraded in the environment if the conditions for degradation are optimal. No microorganisms or fungi that could degrade the PE film within a respective period of time were detected in the soil. Adsorption of the tested substances was not observed. Incorporated in soil, mulch film microplastic showed retention of extractable pesticides. In the ecotoxicological tests, both film types showed no acute toxic effects in the earthworm Eisenia fetida and the springtail Folsomia candida. Endocrine activity was observed in eluate samples from both films. However, aged films showed fewer effects than non-aged films. Conclusion Both types of film show no transport or degradation in the tests under real conditions, which means that they remain in the upper soil layer, where they are available to soil organisms and can lead to high concentrations in the future. As the biodegradable film could be degraded, at least under ideal conditions, we recommend its use. However, proof of degradation must first be verified under real field conditions. In addition, we recommend the use of thicker conventional mulch films to minimize the emission of plastic particles. For this purpose, a minimum lower limit for the material thickness should be defined. Graphical Abstract