Mitigating risk of exceeding environmental limits requires ambitious food system interventions

Transforming the global food system is necessary to avoid exceeding planetary boundaries. A robust evidence base is crucial to assess the scale and combination of interventions required for a sustainable transformation. We developed a risk assessment framework, underpinned by a meta-regression of 60 global food system modeling studies, to quantify the potential of individual and combined interventions to mitigate the risk of exceeding the boundaries for land-system change, freshwater use, climate change, and biogeochemical flows by 2050. Limiting the risk of exceedance across four key planetary boundaries requires a high but plausible level of ambition in all demand-side (diet, population, waste) and most supply-side interventions. Attaining the required level of ambition for all interventions relies on embracing synergistic actions across the food system

Bending the curve of terrestrial biodiversity needs an integrated strategy

Increased efforts are required to prevent further losses to terrestrial biodiversity and the ecosystem services that it provides1,2. Ambitious targets have been proposed, such as reversing the declining trends in biodiversity3; however, just feeding the growing human population will make this a challenge4. Here we use an ensemble of land-use and biodiversity models to assess whether—and how—humanity can reverse the declines in terrestrial biodiversity caused by habitat conversion, which is a major threat to biodiversity5. We show that immediate efforts, consistent with the broader sustainability agenda but of unprecedented ambition and coordination, could enable the provision of food for the growing human population while reversing the global terrestrial biodiversity trends caused by habitat conversion. If we decide to increase the extent of land under conservation management, restore degraded land and generalize landscape-level conservation planning, biodiversity trends from habitat conversion could become positive by the mid-twenty-first century on average across models (confidence interval, 2042–2061), but this was not the case for all models. Food prices could increase and, on average across models, almost half (confidence interval, 34–50%) of the future biodiversity losses could not be avoided. However, additionally tackling the drivers of land-use change could avoid conflict with affordable food provision and reduces the environmental effects of the food-provision system. Through further sustainable intensification and trade, reduced food waste and more plant-based human diets, more than two thirds of future biodiversity losses are avoided and the biodiversity trends from habitat conversion are reversed by 2050 for almost all of the models. Although limiting further loss will remain challenging in several biodiversity-rich regions, and other threats—such as climate change—must be addressed to truly reverse the declines in biodiversity, our results show that ambitious conservation efforts and food system transformation are central to an effective post-2020 biodiversity strategy

Mortality in patients with epilepsy : A study of patients in long-stay residential care

Contains fulltext : 20665___.PDF (publisher's version ) (Open Access

The linear naevus sebaceus syndrome

Item does not contain fulltex

An adult female patient with ring chromosome 21: Behavioural phenotype and results of high-resolution molecular characterisation

Contains fulltext : 90684.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Objective: A female adult patient with mild to moderate mental retardation and minor dysmorphisms was referred for neuropsychiatric examination because of psychotic and autistic symptoms and impulsive behaviours. Methods: Standardized neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological assessment as well as detailed somatic and neurological examination was performed. For genetic analysis, karyotyping, whole genome array analysis, and high-resolution detailed analysis of chromosome 21 were carried through. Results: Karyotyping showed a de novo ring chromosome 21: 46,XX,der(21)r(21)(p11q22.3). High-resolution array analysis demonstrated a complex aberration consisting of an interstitial duplication in 21q21.1, an interstitial deletion in 21q22.2q22.3, an interstitial deletion in 21q22.3 and a terminal deletion of 21q22.3. Apart from mild dysmorphisms, visual and auditory impairments, and infertility, no somatic or neurological abnormalities were found. A formal psychiatric diagnosis could not be established. The behavioural problems and the supposed psychiatric symptoms could be related to her disharmonic social cognitive profile. The behaviour normalized after the patient returned to a stable and structured living environment. Conclusion: High-resolution micro-array analysis techniques are essential to substantiate the genotype-phenotype correlation in patients with r(21) and other genetic disorders. Moreover, the results of this study stress the importance of the recognition of alexithymia as a potential cause for behavioural problems and psychiatric symptoms in patients with mental retardation in general.7 p

The climate change mitigation potential of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage

Contains fulltext : 225080.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access