Latest Articles
-
Section: Archaeology ; Topics: History, Computer sciences ; Conference: CAA2025
Pioneering Preventive Preservation: The role of remote sensing in Cultural Heritage
10.24072/pcjournal.728 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e64
Get full text PDFIn Europe, the preventive preservation of cultural heritage sites has emerged as a pressing priority in response to the escalating challenges posed by climate change. The current climate crisis, marked by unprecedented temperature fluctuations and a surge in severe climate-related impacts, poses serious risks to these cultural landmarks. Factors such as rising temperatures, extreme weather events, sea level rises, and shifting precipitation patterns accelerate degradation, heighten erosion and flooding risks, compromise the static integrity of monuments, and foster the growth of biodeterioration agents that can further burden these landmarks. In this context, it is recognized that remote sensing as a means of preventive preservation can be a critical tool for proactive heritage preservation, ensuring that these invaluable sites endure for future generations. This paper aims to present the current state of the art regarding remote sensing in cultural heritage through relevant case studies and projects, with a primary focus on the European-funded ARGUS project, which integrates remote sensing data with digital twins to develop non-destructive, scalable monitoring strategies for remote built heritage. Through a comparative analysis, the paper will also attempt to explore the existing limitations and challenges in employing remote sensing technologies for the proactive conservation of cultural heritage sites. Moreover, the paper emphasizes the critical importance of interdisciplinary collaboration among conservation experts, technologists, heritage stakeholders, and policymakers. Such partnerships are vital for addressing existing gaps and driving innovation in cultural heritage preservation. Significant progress has already been made at the European level, fostering initiatives that unite diverse projects into a collaborative ecosystem. These consortia facilitate the exchange of knowledge and best practices, identify opportunities for joint dissemination and communication efforts, and provide cohesive, actionable recommendations to policymakers within the European Union and beyond. In conclusion, this paper examines the potential of integrating remote sensing technologies into the proactive preservation of cultural heritage in response to the escalating challenges of climate change. By tackling these issues, it aspires to outline a multi-faceted approach that combines advancements in remote sensing with robust interdisciplinary collaboration and targeted policy recommendations. Ultimately, the goal is to provide actionable insights that can enhance the resilience and sustainability of cultural heritage sites ensuring their protection for future generations in an increasingly vulnerable environmental context.
-
Section: Ecotoxicology & Environmental Chemistry ; Topics: Ecology, Physiology
Influence of organs, body size and growth on domoic acid depuration in the king scallop, Pecten maximus
10.24072/pcjournal.751 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e63
Get full text PDFSince 1995, European fisheries of Pecten maximus faced the presence of Pseudo-nitzschia species, which are able to produce the neurotoxin domoic acid responsible for Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP). As filter-feeders, scallops can accumulate and retain domoic acid much longer than most of the other bivalves, from months to years. When concentrations exceed the regulatory threshold, fisheries are closed leading to economic crisis. Inter-individual variability increases the difficulty to predict the depuration dynamics. Quantifying the correlations between domoic acid depuration in P. maximus and individual physiological traits, particularly body size, could improve the understanding of contamination and depuration. In this study, toxin dynamics in organs were analysed and the effects of body size and growth were assessed. This analysis was based on two datasets, one experimental and one in situ, of depuration monitoring of P. maximus exposed to a natural bloom of toxic P. australis. Results show that the distribution of domoic acid shifted among organs between the contamination and after two months of depuration. Toxin concentrations negatively correlate with body size during contamination and after two months of depuration, but shift to a positive correlation after 7 months of depuration. This shift suggests that the smaller scallops accumulate more domoic acid and depurate it faster. Thus, dilution by growth can explain the reversal of the correlation between domoic acid and body size throughout depuration. These results yield useful information for modelling such mechanisms, providing valuable tools for scallop fishery management facing ASP.
-
Section: Archaeology ; Topics: Archaeology
Exploring Celtic Weighing Metrology through archaeological and written sources
10.24072/pcjournal.749 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e62
Get full text PDFThis paper explores the question of Celtic weighing metrology through a combined analysis of archaeological and written sources. While the Iron Age has long been considered poorly documented with regard to measurement practices, recent studies, particularly those focusing on weighing equipment, have provided new evidence that allows a more nuanced assessment. Archaeological evidence suggests the existence of structured practices in several domains, particularly concerning weight ; whether they do not demonstrate the existence of a single unified “Celtic” system of measurement, they nevertheless suggest a degree of metrological coherence across large areas of Celtic Europe, allowing practical equivalences between different units. The article also reassesses the long-standing hypothesis that the Celts used a vigesimal counting system. By reviewing and discussing the demonstration of this idea, it shows that the evidence supporting a specifically “Gallic” vigesimal system remains weak, while the archaeological record nor the available historical sources provide convincing support for such a model.
-
Section: Nutrition ; Topics: Health sciences
Co-creation of nutrition interventions in higher education settings: proposals from a student citizens’ assembly
10.24072/pcjournal.752 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e61
Get full text PDFBackground: Improving student diet is a public health priority, yet interventions often fail to address the structural barriers students face, particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged settings. This study aimed to assess how students involved in a co-creation process (i.e. a student citizens’ assembly) conceptualise and prioritise solutions to improve students’ access to healthier, more climate-friendly diets. Methods: This participatory research took place at a French university (Sorbonne Paris Nord) located in socioeconomically disadvantaged suburbs of Paris. A student citizens’ assembly was conducted with the aim to co-create concrete proposals that would enhance students’ access to sustainable diets and physical activity. The assembly involved 27 students randomly selected among a pool of volunteers. Over three days in November 2024, students received awareness-raising and training, deliberated among themselves then with institutional and local stakeholders, and formulated proposals. For each proposal, students were asked to rate anonymously their approval on a 10-point scale. Proposals related to diet (i.e. not physical activity) were analysed a posteriori using two complementary frameworks: the DONE framework classifying determinants of diet (individual, interpersonal, environmental/policy) and the FAO dimensions of sustainable diets (health, ecological, socioeconomic, cultural). Results: Overall, 31 proposals were formulated, of which 77% targeted environmental and policy determinants of diet (e.g. institutional regulations, university policies, food assistance solutions, improved food affordability and availability, food labelling). Other proposals referred to individual (19%) and interpersonal determinants (3%). In addition, 39%, 29%, 23% and 10% proposals addressed the health, socio-economic, ecological and cultural dimensions, respectively. Mean approval ratings (SD) for each proposal ranged from 6.7 (4.0) to 9.7 (0.9), with a mean (SD) value for all proposals of 8.6 (0.7). Proposals addressing the socio-economic dimension received the highest approval ratings (mean [SD] 9.0 [0.6], vs 8.4 [0.6], 8.4 [0.8] and 7.9 [0.4] for the health, ecological and cultural dimensions, respectively). Conclusion: The predominance of environmental and policy measures targeting economic access to food highlights the importance of co-creation and its value to align interventions with participants’ needs and expectations. One major challenge that warrants further investigation is the capacity of stakeholders to implement such proposals, and to evaluate their effectiveness. Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov (NCT06580795)
Sections
- Animal Science 33
- Archaeology 43
- Ecology 145
- Ecotoxicology & Environmental Chemistry 16
- Evolutionary Biology 110
- Forest & Wood Sciences 10
- Genomics 62
- Health & Movement Sciences 12
- Infections 39
- Mathematical & Computational Biology 32
- Microbiology 22
- Network Science 6
- Nutrition 3
- Neuroscience 13
- Organization Studies 4
- Paleontology 14
- Plants 1
- Psychology 2
- Statistics & Machine learning 0
- Registered Reports 3
- Zoology 29
Membership
Image Credits
The network image was drawn by Martin Grandjean: A force-based network visualization CC BY-SA