https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/25432 Sat, 18 Jul 2026 03:27:38 GMT 2026-07-18T03:27:38Z https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33591 Title: Hydrophobic CNF/MXene composite aerogels with synergistic structure–interface engineering for reliable flexible sensing Authors: Li, A; Xu, J; Xu, D; Zhang, Z; Zhou, S; Chen, H; Chen, K; Fan, M Abstract: Flexible piezoresistive aerogels are promising for wearable electronics and sensing in complex environments, yet their practical application is often limited by structural collapse during compression and moisture-induced conductive instability. Herein, an ultralight hydrophobic CNF/MXene composite aerogel is developed through synergistic structure–interface engineering. Directional freeze-casting creates vertically aligned lamellar channels that effectively confine compressive deformation and guide the assembly of MXene into continuous conductive pathways. Meanwhile, in situ vapor-phase deposition of methyltrichlorosilane (MTS) establishes a stable hydrophobic interface that suppresses moisture-induced softening and conductive fluctuations. Benefiting from the synergy between ordered structural regulation and interfacial stabilization, the resulting aerogel exhibits an ultralow density of 1.7 mg cm⁻³, a water contact angle of 146.1°, and a high sensitivity of 438.65 kPa⁻¹ over 0-98 kPa, together with stable operation over 1000 compression cycles. Reliable sensing performance is maintained under coupled high-temperature, high-humidity, and dynamic compression conditions. In addition, the aerogel demonstrates rapid photothermal conversion capability, reaching 179.6°C under light irradiation. This work provides a practical strategy for constructing environmentally reliable porous conductive aerogels and offers new insights into the cooperative regulation of deformation behavior and interfacial stability for flexible sensing applications. Description: Data availability: Data will be made available on request.; Supplementary data are available online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359836826004981?via%3Dihub#sec18 . Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33591 2026-06-05T00:00:00Z https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33572 Title: Environmental assessment of chemical contamination from abandoned coal and mineral mines Authors: Ekhareafo, Ushemegbe Rita Abstract: Abandoned mine lands (AMLs) are enduring sources of environmental pollution due to the release of toxic substances like metals, metalloids, organic and organometallic pollutants into the environment. These substances are transported through various processes such as acid mine drainage that aid the movement of pollutants across compartments and are driven by the pollutants' physicochemical properties, environmental conditions and the physical state of the abandoned mine. Chemicals released can be toxic, bioaccumulate, and persist; hence, highly polluted mine lands may pose significant ecological and human health risks. Worldwide, it is estimated that there are over a million abandoned mines. Nigeria is no exception, with over 1500 abandoned mines identified to date across many states, and so far, only a few have been reclaimed due to the high cost of restoration. This research focused on the environmental assessment of chemical contamination from abandoned coal and mineral mines in Nigeria. A systematic evidence map protocol was developed to evaluate current methods for assessing chemical contamination risks from abandoned coal and lead-zinc mines. The protocol was applied to review the evidence, which revealed that current AML risk assessment methods use contaminated land risk indices to evaluate chemical risk. Furthermore, the review identified evolving data-driven and probabilistic risk assessment methods, including logistic and linear regression models, which are emerging risk assessment approaches in AML chemical risk assessment. At the same time, Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR), cumulative probability distribution analyses for HI, and Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk (ILCR) have been reported for mixture risk assessment, and the study showed the relevance of bioindicator-based assessments for validating predictions from chemical-based assessments. A major aim of the project was to assess the chemical contamination and associated ecological and human health risks at coal and lead-zinc mines in Nigeria. In this phase of the research, environmental samples were collected from two abandoned lead-zinc mines at the Gimbi/Rikaya site in Plateau and the Abakaliki site in Ebonyi. The case study on abandoned coal mines was undertaken in Enugu, Nigeria. Site-specific contamination and ecological risk assessment at the Abakaliki and Gimbi/Rikaya sites revealed that both sites were heavily contaminated with Pb, Zn, and Cd, with higher concentrations at Abakaliki. Spatial distributions followed the pattern tailings > sediment > soil, with tailings as the primary contamination source. Sequential extraction confirmed that Pb, Cd, and Zn occur mainly in the exchangeable and reducible fractions, indicating high mobility and bioavailability, particularly in Abakaliki soils, where >34% of Pb occurred in mobile forms. In contrast, Pb mobility was lower at Gimbi, with only about 6% of F1 in the soil. Dissolved metals, Pb, Zn, Ni, Cu, and Mn in surface water at Abakaliki exceeded the environmental quality standards (EQS) and also the Biotic Ligand Model (BLM) bioavailability values. In contrast, only Zn exceeded EQS and bioavailability values at Gimbi. Ecological risk indices (Er, RI) and cumulative risk scores (CRS) indicated very high risk at Abakaliki and considerable risk at Gimbi, with Cd, Pb, and Zn as the dominant risk drivers. Chemical contamination and human health risk assessment (HHRA) at the Onyeama abandoned coal mine revealed the presence of both heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil, tailings, and water at varying concentrations. Fe, Mn, Zn, and Pb were the dominant metals of concern, reflecting inputs from historical mining residues and secondary weathering. The ΣBaPeq value (0.86 mg TEQ/kg) exceeded the Canadian Soil Quality Guideline (0.6 mg TEQ/kg), with BaP and DBA contributing substantially to the toxic load. The HHRA indicated ingestion and dermal contact as the dominant exposure pathways. Waterborne exposure contributed the highest non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk, with cumulative HI and CR values exceeding acceptable thresholds, particularly for children, highlighting their vulnerability. In contrast, soil and tailings contamination presented relatively lower cumulative HI and CCR. Overall, these findings confirm that abandoned Pb/Zn and coal mines pose both ecological and human health risks to inhabitants living on or near abandoned mines, pointing to the need for targeted management measures, including the containment of tailings, remediation of contaminated sediments, and monitoring of surface and groundwater pathways, to mitigate long-term ecological and human health impacts. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33572 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33571 Title: Food web complexity underlies biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning Authors: Barnes, AD; Brose, U; Eisenhauer, N; Berti, E; Brauns, M; Eggert, SL; Garcia-Callejas, D; Giling, DP; Hall, RO; Hines, J; Jochum, M; Korobushkin, DI; Kortsch, S; Kratina, P; Manca, M; Mor, J-R; Nordström, MC; O’Gorman, EJ; Ott, D; Perkins, DM; Rosenbaum, B; Saifutdinov, RA; Saito, VS; Tanentzap, AJ; Vinagre, C; Gauzens, B Abstract: Biodiversity change has elicited widespread concern over the consequences for functions and services provided by ecosystems¹ ² ³. Despite extensive evidence for a positive effect of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning within a single trophic level⁴ ⁵, how this biodiversity effect varies with multi-trophic food web structure remains unresolved⁶ even though most ecosystems contain two to six trophic levels⁷. We investigate how food web complexity modulates biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships in nature by quantifying energy fluxes as proxies for two principal ecosystem functions⁸ —primary consumption and predation—in 318 highly resolved, complex food webs from marine, lake, stream and soil ecosystems. Ecosystem functioning increased consistently with taxon richness across all trophic levels and ecosystems, which arose from greater vertical diversity (that is, maximum trophic level⁹) and trophic complementarity of predators in more taxonomically diverse food webs. Furthermore, predator trophic complementarity¹⁰ ¹¹ increased predation fluxes in all freshwater ecosystem types. These findings highlight the threat of trophic downgrading to critical ecosystem functions (for example, biological control and maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem stability) provided by predators¹² ¹³, which are typically most vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbances¹⁴ ¹⁵. Our study demonstrates that the consequences of biodiversity change are deeply entangled within the web of life, emphasizing the need to conserve the trophic complexity underlying biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships. Description: Data availability: All data used in this study are available at Zenodo (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20130985). Source data (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10710-5#Sec12) are provided with this paper.; Code availability: Code for computing food web properties, energy fluxes, stability, NPP and statistical analyses is available at Zenodo (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20130985).; Supplementary information is available online at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10710-5#Sec15 .; Acknowledgements: This work was initiated from the Food web Structure, Ecosystem functioning and Diversity across ecosystems (FuSED) workshop at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle–Jena–Leipzig, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG–FZT 118, 202548816). Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33571 2026-07-01T00:00:00Z https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33562 Title: Antimony: a cryptic metabolism disruptor ubiquitous in food contact materials Authors: Wang, L; Gerassimidou, S; Geueke, B; Groh, KJ; Iacovidou, E; Majid, A; Martin, O; Muncke, J; Parkinson, LV; Weiss, MC; Sargis, RM Abstract: Antimony (Sb) is a group 15 metalloid that is used as a catalyst in the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, a common food contact material (FCM). PET accounts for over 44% of single-use beverage packaging units and is also used in the production of food trays, storage containers, and other items. Due to its frequent co-occurrence with other metals, Sb is also a common contaminant in crystalware, ceramics, and metal FCMs. In light of the increasing use of Sb-containing FCMs in modern society, a thorough evaluation of Sb's potential effect on public health is warranted. Burgeoning evidence suggests Sb is linked to common cardiometabolic conditions, including dyslipidemia, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Thus, this review aims to (1) perform a comprehensive systematic assessment of Sb migration from FCMs into foodstuffs and food simulants, (2) obtain an overview of antimony-related health risks, and (3) inform the generation of harm-reduction guidelines at the individual and systems levels. Description: Data availability: Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study. Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33562 2026-01-22T00:00:00Z