Implementing circular economy in a regional context: a systematic literature review and a research agenda

Regions are the most important administrative units of the EU's development policies and so far, have been extensively used for framing and implementing strategic priorities. However, when it comes to regional implementation of the circular economy (CE), there is lack of systematicity both in academic literature and policy documents. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of the regional adoption of CE, by systematically reviewing and synthesises the current academic literature in this emerging field, unveiling research gaps and discussing a future research agenda. The review was conducted by identifying relevant academic papers from leading journals using the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Overall, 82 relevant papers were identified through the review, which proceeded to descriptive, bibliometric and content analysis. This study has found that generally, the adoption of the circular economy on the regional level is underexplored, which was supported by the dearth of relevant academic contributions detected at the beginning of the process. To the best of the researchers' knowledge, this is the first attempt to provide a holistic systematic literature review in the regional circular economy domain. Hence, the present study is considered as a crucial initial contribution in the direction of establishing robust conceptual frameworks which involve the constructs of regional circular economy and laying the groundwork for future studies in this field

JRU METROFOOD-MK AS A PART OF THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PROMOTING METROLOGY IN FOOD AND NUTRITION

The METROFOOD-RI is European research infrastructure for promoting metrology in food and nutrition. This infrastructure is aimed to promote scientific excellence in the field of food quality and safety. JRU METROFOOD-MK is Joint Research Unit i.e. Macedonian Node which belongs to METROFOOD-MK infrastructure and consisted of two institutions, Institute of Public Health (IJZRSM) and Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food - Skopje (FASF). The METROFOOD-RIincludes physical infrastructure (P-RI) and electronic infrastructure (e-RI). The P-RI covers facilities for realization of different analyses related to food quality and safety such as: contaminants and ecotoxicology, food quality control, trace elements analysis, chemical analysis of primary agricultural and processed products. The e-RI represents a state of the art web platform enabling sharing and integrating information and data on availability of metrological tools for food analysis. METROFOOD-RI will be of great scientific importance for following user categories: researchers, policy makers, food inspection and control experts and organizations, food business operators and citizens

Implementing regional circular economy policies : a proposed living constellation of stakeholders

The transition towards the circular economy (CE) entails transformative and system‐wide changes, implying involvement, alignment, and cooperation between all stakeholders at all levels. However, debate continues around how best to achieve this. Additionally, little attention has been paid to developing models for identifying and mobilising all relevant stakeholders to implement CE policies at the regional level. This study sought to remedy these issues by analysing the relevant academic literature and policy documents and making the first attempt to adjust existing models— not only for the purpose of stakeholder mapping, but also for the proposition of a living constellation of stakeholders who should be considered when designing the transition towards a CE in a regional scenario. The CE‐centric quintuple‐helix model developed and proposed here promotes the emergence and deployment of trilateral networks, hybrid organisations, and development/co-operation platforms. This model adopts a balanced, participatory approach that requires a new constellation of stakeholders. Its foundations are built on the traditional industry–government–aca-demia nexus and enlarged by the inclusion of the civil society sphere and the environmental sub-system. The environment is represented as the nucleus of the model, inspiring and triggering ac-tions by the remaining four subsystems. The model is then implemented into two European regions with CE initiatives (Spain and Greece) to demonstrate its practical application

Multilab EcoFAB study shows highly reproducible physiology and depletion of soil metabolites by a model grass

There is a dynamic reciprocity between plants and their environment: soil physiochemical properties influence plant morphology and metabolism, and root morphology and exudates shape the environment surrounding roots. Here, we investigate the reproducibility of plant trait changes in response to three growth environments. We utilized fabricated ecosystem (EcoFAB) devices to grow the model grass Brachypodium distachyon in three distinct media across four laboratories: phosphate-sufficient and -deficient mineral media allowed assessment of the effects of phosphate starvation, and a complex, sterile soil extract represented a more natural environment with yet uncharacterized effects on plant growth and metabolism. Tissue weight and phosphate content, total root length, and root tissue and exudate metabolic profiles were consistent across laboratories and distinct between experimental treatments. Plants grown in soil extract were morphologically and metabolically distinct, with root hairs four times longer than with other growth conditions. Further, plants depleted half of the metabolites investigated from the soil extract. To interact with their environment, plants not only adapt morphology and release complex metabolite mixtures, but also selectively deplete a range of soil-derived metabolites. The EcoFABs utilized here generated high interlaboratory reproducibility, demonstrating their value in standardized investigations of plant traits

Selenium, Selenoenzymes, Oxidative Stress and Risk of Neoplastic Progression from Barrett's Esophagus: Results from Biomarkers and Genetic Variants

Clinical trials have suggested a protective effect of selenium supplementation on the risk of esophageal cancer, which may be mediated through the antioxidant activity of selenoenzymes. We investigated whether serum selenium concentrations, selenoenzyme activity, oxidative stress and genetic variation in selenoenzymes were associated with the risk of neoplastic progression to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA) and two intermediate endpoints, aneuploidy and tetraploidy. In this prospective cohort study, during an average follow-up of 7.3 years, 47 EA cases, 41 aneuploidy cases and 51 tetraploidy cases accrued among 361 participants from the Seattle Barrett's Esophagus Research Study who were free of EA at the time of blood draw and had at least one follow-up visit. Development to EA was assessed histologically and aneuploidy and tetraploidy by DNA content flow cytometry. Serum selenium concentrations were measured using atomic absorption spectrometry, activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) 1 and GPX3 by substrate-specific coupled test procedures, selenoprotein P (SEPP1) concentrations and protein carbonyl content by ELISA method and malondialdehyde concentrations by HPLC. Genetic variants in GPX1-4 and SEPP1 were genotyped. Serum selenium was not associated with the risk of neoplastic progression to EA, aneuploidy or tetraploidy (P for trend = 0.25 to 0.85). SEPP1 concentrations were positively associated with the risk of EA [hazard ratio (HR) = 3.95, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.42–10.97 comparing the third tertile with the first] and with aneuploidy (HR = 6.53, 95% CI = 1.31–32.58), but not selenoenzyme activity or oxidative stress markers. No genetic variants, overall, were associated with the risk of neoplastic progression to EA (global p = 0.12–0.69). Our results do not support a protective effect of selenium on risk of neoplastic progression to EA. Our study is the first to report positive associations of plasma SEPP1 concentrations with the risk of EA and aneuploidy, which warrants further investigation

Battle of Water Demand Forecasting

As part of the Battle of Water Networks competition series, the Battle of Water Demand Forecasting (BWDF) was organized in the context of the 3rd Water Distribution Systems Analysis and Computing and Control in the Water Industry (WDSA-CCWI) joint conference held in Ferrara (Italy) in 2024. In line with the previous editions of the Battle of Water Networks—the main objective of which was to address a specific problem related to the design and operation of water distribution networks—the BWDF aims to compare the effectiveness of methods for the short-term forecast of urban water demand in a set of real district metered areas. During the conference, 31 teams across the world participated in the BWDF and presented their approaches. The results obtained demonstrate the importance of (1) considering integrated approaches for short-term water demand forecasting; and (2) evaluating their performance in relation to more than one metric, case study, and period

Effects of oxygen, growth state, and senescence on the antioxidant responses of WI-38 fibroblasts

Mitotically active, growth-arrested cells and proliferatively senescent cultures of human fetal lung fibroblasts (WI-38) were exposed to six different oxygen tensions for various lengths of time and then analyzed to determine the responses of their antioxidant defense system. Glutathione (GSH) concentration increased as a function of ambient oxygen tension in early passage cultures; the effect was larger in exponentially growing cultures than in those in a state of contact-inhibited growth arrest, but was absent in senescent cells. Conversely, the activity of glutathione disulfide reductase was greater in growth-arrested cultures than in mitotically active cells irrespective of oxygen tension. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was lowest in log-phase cells exposed to different oxygen tensions for 24 h and in senescent cells. Both hypoxia and hyperoxia depressed selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity in early passage cultures, while the activity of the enzyme progressively declined with increasing oxygen in senescent cells. The GSH S-transferase activity was unresponsive to changes in ambient oxygen tension in either young or senescent cultures. Manganese-containing superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) activity was unaffected by oxygen tension, but was elevated in young confluent cultures as compared with cultures in log-phase growth. MnSOD activity was significantly higher in senescent cultures than in early passage cultures and was also responsive to increased oxygen tension in senescent cultures. Copper–zinc-containing superoxide dismutases activity was not affected by oxygen tension or the passage of time, but it declined in senescent cultures