The transboundary impacts of regional war on global food trade remain underexplored, particularly regarding disruptions to production and trade networks. Here we address this gap by developing a rapid assessment framework that integrates remote sensing, policy monitoring, and network analysis to evaluate the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war on global winter cereal production and trade. Using satellite data, we estimated yield reductions for wheat, barley, and oats and analyzed the effects of export-ban policies enacted since February 24, 2022. Our findings indicate that lower- and middle-income countries were disproportionately impacted, as trade networks became fragmented, forming isolated clusters that threatened food accessibility. Geographically distant countries experienced greater disruptions than those near the conflict. This framework provides insights into the cascading effects of conflict on global food systems and offers a predictive tool for policymakers to address food availability challenges during future crises.
1 April 2025 in Journal of Environmental Management
Exposure to air pollutants of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a major threat to human health. Research on PM2.5 exposure has been on the rise in recent years, but there has been a lack of systematic literature analysis in this field. To address this research gap, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of the existing publications on PM2.5 exposure over the past three decades and analyzed the current state and historical trends of research using the open-access tool, KNIME. Our results show that the number of publications on PM2.5 exposure has been increasing at an accelerating rate over the last 30 years. The authors of the publications are primarily from developed nations, such as countries in North America, Europe, East Asia, and Oceania. Published research is mainly from the fields of Environmental Sciences and Ecology, Environmental Sciences, and Public, Environmental and Occupational Health. The main research hotspots are exposure, air pollution, and PM2.5. Research is trending toward the intersection and integration of multiple subjects. Our results highlight the rapid growth of PM2.5-related research and provide insights into the structure, impact, and trends of this interdisciplinary field.
Plant-derived natural compounds are significant resources for the discovery of potential anticancer drugs. While research in the plant-based anticancer field has surged in recent years, systematic bibliometric analyses covering a longer period and containing up-to-date publications remain scarce. Here, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of literature on the anticancer properties of plant natural compounds over the past three decades, leveraging the bibliometric framework and open-access platform, KNIME. Our findings showed that the number of plant anticancer-related publications underwent an accelerating growth from 1992 to 2023. The country and institution analyses revealed that countries with traditional medical systems contributed a large portion of publications in the plant anticancer field, such as India, China, and South Korea. This study also highlighted the top ten eminent researchers and publications, assisting researchers in identifying pivotal literature. The primary publications were domains of chemistry and biology-related fields, such as Pharmacology & Pharmacy, Plant Sciences, and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. Additionally, we noted that flavonoids have been focal plant compounds in anticancer, with strong anticancer potential. Our study provides new insights into the progress and trends in the plant anticancer field and will assist researchers in grasping the future research direction.
Seaweed aquaculture produces enormous economic and ecological service benefits, making significant contributions to achieving global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, large-scale development of seaweed aquaculture and the unreasonable use of aquaculture rafts may trigger green tide, bringing negative ecological, social, and economic impacts. Therefore, it is vital to monitor the seaweed aquaculture industry accurately. Here, we mapped 10-m-resolution seaweed aquaculture along the Jiangsu coast of China based on active and passive remote sensing (Sentinel-1/2) and Random Forest using Google Earth Engine. The results demonstrate satisfactory model performance and data accuracy. The square seaweed aquaculture in the Lianyungang Offshore (Mode-I) has gradually expanded to the deep sea since 2016, with a maximum area of 194.06 km2 in 2018. Between 2021 and 2022, the area of the strip-shaped seaweed aquaculture in Subei radiation shoals (Mode-II) was considerably reduced, with most of the reduced land lying on the east side of the Dafeng Elk National Nature Reserve. In general, the area of the seaweed aquaculture in the prohibited breeding area was reduced from 20.32 km2 to 3.13 km2, and the area of the seaweed aquaculture in the restricted breeding area was reduced from 149.71 km2 to 33.15 km2. Results show that under the policy restriction, the scale of unsustainable seaweed aquaculture along the Jiangsu coast has been greatly reduced within seven years. This study can provide an efficient approach for the medium-scale extraction of seaweed aquaculture and provide decision support for the sustainable development of marine aquaculture.