(IOP, 2025) Moreno Jiménez, Víctor; Sánchez-Montañés Macías, Benito; Rey Álvarez, Belén; Historia, Teoría y Composición Arquitectónicas
Environmental certification systems like the VERDE standard by Green Building Council Espan a (GBCe) have contributed significantly to reducing CO₂ emissions in the construction sector. However, this sector is now immersed in a dual transformation: a shift from product-based to service-oriented models covering the entire building life cycle, and the growing integration of digital technologies for monitoring and decision-making.
Current certification methodologies still rely heavily on static data from early project phases, overlooking the dynamic flows of information generated throughout a building’s operational life. This limitation affects both the accuracy of environmental assessments and the system’s potential as a tool for education
and continuous improvement.
This study explores the role of blockchain technology as a support infrastructure for more transparent, secure, and traceable environmental data within certification processes. Focusing on the VERDE standard, selected for its alignment with the EU Level(s) framework, the paper analyses how digital identities, Internet of Things (IoT) integration, and decentralised data management can enhance the credibility and educational impact of certification.
The results suggest that blockchain enables a transition towards dynamic, life - cycle-based environmental certifications. This shift not only improves methodological rigour but also facilitates long-term value creation in circular and digitally managed construction
(European Food Safety Authority, 2025-12-16) EFSA NDA Panel (EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens); Turck, Dominique; Bohn, Torsten; Cámara, Montaña; Castenmiller, Jacqueline; De Henauw, Stefaan; Jos Gallego, Ángeles Mencía; Maciuk, Alexandre; Mangelsdorf, Inge; Hirsch-Ernst, Karen Ildico; Nutrición y Bromatología, Toxicología y Medicina Legal
Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) was asked to deliver an opinion on the extension of use of galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) as a novel food (NF) pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. The NF is produced from milk-derived lactose using β-galactosidases. The applicant proposed to extend the use of GOS to several food categories (non-alcoholic beverages, confectionery, chewing gum, cocoa and chocolate-based products and protein products). The target population is the general population. GOS is already authorised and included in the Union list of NFs for use in several foods, including infant formula, and in food supplements. The Panel estimated that the proposed extension of use would result in a highest 95th percentile intake of GOS from all food uses, of up to 48.5 g/day in adults. As compared to the exposure to GOS from the currently authorised food uses (at the highest P95), the proposed extension of use is expected to result in an increase in intake of GOS of up to 17%. The information provided on the proposed use levels and anticipated intake does not raise safety concerns. The Panel concludes that the proposed extension of use of GOS is safe under the proposed conditions of use.
(Wiley, 2025-06-11) Gardner, Margaret; Shinohara , Russell T.; Bethlehem , Richard A. I.; Romero García, Rafael; Warrier, Varun; Chen, Andrew A.; Fisiología Médica y Biofísica; Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBIS); Junta de Andalucía; Agencia Estatal de Investigación. España
Recent study has leveraged massive datasets and advanced harmonization methods to construct normative models of neuroanatomical features and benchmark individuals' morphology. However, current harmonization tools do not preserve the effects of biological covariates including sex and age on features' variances; this failure may induce error in normative scores, particularly when such factors are distributed unequally across sites. Here, we introduce a new extension of the popular ComBat harmonization method, ComBatLS, that preserves biological variance in features' locations and scales. We use UK Biobank data to show that ComBatLS robustly replicates individuals' normative scores better than other ComBat methods when subjects are assigned to sex-imbalanced synthetic “sites.” Additionally, we demonstrate that ComBatLS significantly reduces sex biases in normative scores compared to traditional methods. Finally, we show that ComBatLS successfully harmonizes consortium data collected across over 50 studies. R implementation of ComBatLS is available at https://github.com/andy1764/ComBatFamily.
