Articles

Update on the state of food security and safety in Afghanistan: A review

Elsevier,

Food and Humanity, Volume 5, December 2025

Afghanistan faces severe food insecurity, with millions suffering hunger and malnutrition, especially children, due to economic hardship, climate change, and poor infrastructure. Improving agricultural practices, healthcare, and safety standards is crucial for enhancing the country's food security and well-being.
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SDG:

Goal 2: Zero hunger

Tags:

Food security and nutrition, Middle East

Assessment of food and nutrition security practices of the artisanal and small-scale mining communities in Nigeria

Elsevier,

World Development Sustainability, Volume 7, December 2025

This study explores the food and nutrition security practices among artisanal and small-scale mining communities in Nigeria, revealing both strengths, such as access to local foods and purchasing power, and significant challenges, including meal skipping, poor water quality, and limited healthcare access. The findings emphasize the need for comprehensive interventions to improve nutrition, healthcare infrastructure, and social protection, which are essential for the well-being and sustainable development of these mining communities.
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SDG:

Goal 1: No poverty; Goal 2: Zero hunger; Goal 3: Good health and well-being; Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation; Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure; Goal 10: Reduced inequalities; Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production

Tags:

Food security and nutrition, Global

Evaluating the real-world scale-up of the CRADLE Vital Signs Alert intervention into routine maternity care in Sierra Leone (CRADLE-5): a stepped-wedge, type 2 hybrid implementation–effectiveness, cluster-randomised controlled trial

Elsevier,

The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women's Health, Volume 1, Issue 4, December 2025, Pages e270-e280

CRADLE-5 is the first pragmatic stepped-wedge trial of a Vital Signs Alert device in a low-income country, evaluating its effectiveness and scale-up across eight districts in Sierra Leone, where maternal mortality rates remain one of the highest globally. The study involved over 93,000 deliveries, trained 2,100+ health workers, and assessed outcome variations across districts and facilities.

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SDG:

Goal 3: Good health and well-being; Goal 5: Gender equality

Tags:

Gender equality and women's empowerment, Africa

Advances and challenges in energy and climate alignment of AI infrastructure expansion

Elsevier, Advances in Applied Energy, Volume 20, December 2025
This paper reviews existing analyses on AI infrastructure’s energy and climate implications and proposes quantitative scenario-based frameworks, highlighting key research challenges at the intersection of AI-driven energy demand, region-specific clean energy strategies and their economic competitiveness, strategic levers in energy sourcing decisions, and policy dynamics.
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SDG:

Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy; Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure; Goal 13: Climate action

Tags:

Energy, Global

Price formation and intersectoral distributional effects in a fully decarbonised European electricity market

Elsevier, Advances in Applied Energy, Volume 20, December 2025
This study develops a capacity expansion model with grid operational detail and high spatial resolution to examine decadal pathways to carbon neutrality by 2060 considering localized and temporal impacts.
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SDG:

Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy

Tags:

Energy, Asia

Policy implications of net-zero emissions: A multi-model analysis of United States emissions and energy system impacts

Elsevier, Energy and Climate Change, Volume 6, December 2025
Many countries, subnational jurisdictions, and companies are setting net-zero emissions goals; however, questions remain about strategies to reach these targets, policy measures, technology gaps, and economic impacts. We investigate the potential policy implications of reaching economy-wide net-zero CO2 emissions across the United States by 2050 using results from a multi-model comparison with 14 energy-economic models.
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SDG:

Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy; Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure; Goal 13: Climate action

Machine learning-enhanced gas sensor technology identifies ovarian and endometrial cancer of all stages through plasma volatile organic compound patterns

Elsevier, eBioMedicine, Volume 122, December 2025
Background: Ovarian cancer presents with non-specific symptoms that make early diagnosis challenging and the prognosis poor. Ovarian and endometrial cancers exhibit similar genomic mutations and biomarker profiles. Endogenous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are products of metabolic activity. In cancer, metabolites increase due to tumour necrosis, leading to cancer-specific VOC patterns. The aim of this study was to evaluate VOC analyses in plasma as diagnostic tests for early diagnosis of ovarian and endometrial cancer.
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SDG:

Goal 3: Good health and well-being

Balancing heat and pulse width in laser texturing of Al-Mg alloy: Superhydrophobicity with wear, icing, and corrosion control

Elsevier, Surface and Coatings Technology, Volume 518, 15 December 2025
Superhydrophobic coatings are sought for outdoor components that must repel water while enduring abrasion, icing, and corrosive media; however, the role of substrate temperature and laser fluence during laser texturing in balancing these properties is insufficiently mapped. The key challenge is to raise wear robustness without sacrificing anti-icing performance or triggering crack formation and corrosion.
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Global

Issues in teaching mathematics due to switching to English as a medium of instruction within primary schools of Rwanda

Elsevier,

The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, Volume 80, December 2025, 101270

This qualitative study explored challenges faced by upper primary mathematics teachers in Rwanda following the switch to English as the medium of instruction.

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SDG:

Goal 4: Quality education; Goal 10: Reduced inequalities

Tags:

Education, Africa

Vocal smile is recognized but not embodied in autistic adults

Elsevier,

iScience, Volume 28, 21 November 2025

The study found that while autistic adults accurately recognized vocal smiles, they did not exhibit the same motor resonance (facial muscle activity) as neurotypical adults in response to emotional prosody.
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SDG:

Goal 3: Good health and well-being

Tags:

Science, Europe

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