Population ageing and demographic shifts in the European Union are placing increasing strain on traditional pension systems, shifting greater responsibility to individuals to ensure their own retirement preparedness. In this context, identifying factors that strengthen individuals’ confidence in their retirement readiness has become increasingly important. This study examines the role of trust in financial advisors in shaping retirement preparedness and investigates a serial mediation mechanism through financial behavior and financial resilience. Drawing on the financial capability framework, the study emphasizes the importance of behavioral and capacity-building processes that translate trust into improved retirement outcomes. Using a large-scale dataset from European Union member states, the proposed relationships are empirically tested using PROCESS Model 6. The results show that trust in financial advisors is positively associated with retirement preparedness, both directly and indirectly through financial behavior and financial resilience. By integrating trust, financial behavior, and resilience into a unified analytical framework, this study contributes to the literature on household finance and retirement planning. The findings also offer practical implications for policymakers and financial service providers seeking to improve retirement readiness in ageing societies.
The workflows of digital microbiology are becoming more and more based on the production of large-scale data, automation, and collaboration between institutions, which brings up critical issues regarding the security, integrity, and trust of data. The blockchain technology provides a decentralized and non-tamper able system, which can be used to overcome these issues because of the ability to share data securely, transparent provenance history, and automated control through smart contracts. This chapter discusses how blockchain-based systems of data security and trust in digital microbiology can be used and applied, and the various areas of implementation in clinical, environmental, and industrial settings. Ethical, legal, and regulatory issues are also mentioned, as well as future outlooks of integrating blockchain into a robust and reliable digital microbiology ecosystem.
The biosphere is undergoing an unprecedented biodiversity crisis, marking the Sixth Mass Extinction and threatening ecosystem stability and vital services such as climate regulation, pollination, water purification, and food security. This chapter examines the major anthropogenic drivers of biodiversity loss, including habitat destruction and fragmentation, overexploitation of natural resources, climate change, pollution, and invasive alien species. It highlights how these stressors interact synergistically, accelerating species decline, disrupting ecological processes, and reducing ecosystem resilience. The chapter emphasizes the urgent need for integrated conservation strategies, sustainable resource management, habitat restoration, stronger environmental policies, and community participation. Addressing these interconnected threats is essential to conserving biodiversity, sustaining ecosystem functions, and securing the long-term health of the planet.
Low-cost, carbon-free electrodes that stay stable over long cycling are hard to make without conductive scaffolds such as graphene or carbon nanotubes. We report 2D Ni(OH)2/SnO2 hybrid nanostructures prepared by a single-step hydrothermal route, in which ultrathin β-Ni(OH)2 nanosheets grow on SnO2 nanoparticles. XRD shows no peak shift, so the two phases form a heterointerface without lattice substitution. In a three-electrode cell in 1 M KOH, cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge give consistent capacitances when both are referred to the same active mass: bare Ni(OH)2 reaches 127 F g−1 (CV) and 97.8 F g−1 (GCD, 0.31 A g−1), while the SnO2/Ni(OH)2 composite gives 39 F g−1 by both methods. The composite does not exceed bare Ni(OH)2 in gravimetric capacitance; its advantage is durability, holding 92.6% of its initial capacitance after 6000 cycles. Impedance analysis returns a low, similar solution resistance (Rs ≈ 0.9–1.0 Ω) for all three electrodes, with the charge-transfer resistance not resolvable within the measured frequency window. Oxide–hydroxide coupling without lattice substitution gives a stable, carbon-free electrode; we report the CV- and GCD-derived capacitances on a common basis rather than a record value.
Carbon dots/poly(methyl methacrylate) composite nanofibers (CDs/PMMA-CNFs) were fabricated via electrospinning for ultraviolet (UV) photoconductive sensing applications. Carbon dots were synthesized through a microwave-assisted method using citric acid and urea precursors and subsequently embedded within a PMMA nanofibrous matrix. Structural and morphological characterization was performed using FTIR, XRD, and SEM analyses, confirming successful incorporation of CDs into uniform nanofibers. Optical investigations using UV–Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy revealed characteristic π–π* and n–π* transitions and excitation-independent emission centered near 495 nm. The fabricated composite exhibited measurable photoconductive response under UV illumination ( 395 nm), with current increasing from 4.48 × 10−8 A (dark) to 4.83 × 10−8 A (UV), corresponding to approximately 7.8
