Digital-based differential amplifiers (DDA) are particularly suitable to low voltage digital integrated circuit technologies. This paper presents an exhaustive analysis of the digital-based analog amplifiers to take advantage of today's high-performance digital technologies and of computer-aided design (CAD) commonly employed to design integrated circuits. The operating principle and the main mathematical relations of the digital-based differential amplifiers are discussed along with an exhaustive explanation of its operating regions and of the corresponding power consumption. Finally, a detailed description of the design procedure of in UMC 180nm standard CMOS technology is shown.

HER2-low and ultra-low breast cancer (BC) have been recently proposed as new subcategories of HER2 BC, re-considering the immunohistochemical negative score of 0, 1+ or score of 2+/in situ hybridization (ISH) negative phenotype. In the present review we have outlined the needed criteria to exactly distinguish HER2 low and ultra-low BC. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated significant clinical benefits of novel HER2 directing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in treating these group sof tumors. In particular, Trastuzumab-deruxtecan (T-Dxd), a HER2-directing ADC has been recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as the first targeted therapy to treat HER2-low BC. Furthermore, ongoing trials, such as the DESTINY-Breast06, are currently evaluating ADCs in patients with HER2-ultra low BC. Finally we hope that new guidelines may help to codify HER2 low and ultra-low BC, increasing our knowledge of tumor biology and improving a targetable new therapeutical treatment.

Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) is the most active field in the design of current complex system engineering, which is possessed with such two difficulties as subsystem information exchange and analytical and computational complexity of systems. Therefore, an improved collaborative optimization algorithm based on ANN (artificial neural network) response surface was proposed dependent on the consistency constraint algorithm and concurrent subspace algorithm. As an optimization method with secondary structure, it satisfied only local constraints in discipline layer, but provided a coordinated mechanism for interdisciplinary conflict in system layer. Finally, it was applied in the multidisciplinary design optimization of autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). As shown from the result, the MDO convergence stability and reliability of low resistance, low noise and high maneuvering performance of the AUV shape can be ensured by the improved collaborative optimization algorithm, thus verifying the effectiveness of the algorithm.

Many studies utilize sensors to measure foot plantar pressure and analyze gait patterns, often focusing on assessing weight-bearing symmetry or asymmetry compared to control groups. However, a critical question arises: does the selection of the control group significantly impact study outcomes? Does chronic low back pain affect foot plantar pressure measurements? This experimental study involved 23 participants, including healthy individuals and those without foot disorders but with chronic low back pain. Dynamic foot pressure measurements were conducted using the Ortopiezometr, and data were analyzed using the "Steps" program. Participants were divided into two groups: Group 1 comprised completely healthy individuals, while Group 2 consisted of individuals without foot problems but with moderate chronic low back pain. The findings highlight a prevalence of energy release in the forefoot sensors compared to the hindfoot for both the right and left legs in most cases. Even among healthy volunteers, achieving perfect symmetry in the maximum values on the sensors for the right and left feet was a challenge. Results showed no statistically significant differences in energy released on specific sensors or duration of gait phases between the groups. Essentially, this suggests that foot pressure patterns are comparable between healthy individuals and those with low back pain. The use of sensor-equipped inserts for pedobarographic examinations indicates that, in cases of degenerative changes in the lumbar and sacral spine without accompanying acute pain, gait patterns resemble those of the healthy population.

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) is a major public health problem in low-income countries. Infants born with LBW are at increased risk of neonatal mortality, have poorer school performance, and are more likely to develop respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. Methods: An unmatched case–control study was conducted in five maternity wards in the Kenge Health Zone, involving 159 mother–newborn pairs. Data analysis was performed using STATA 18.0 software. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine the associations between independent variables and LBW. Results: Determinants of low birth weight were maternal short stature (height < 155 cm) (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 3.90; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.66–9.13), maternal non-indigenous Yaka ethnic group (AOR: 2.39; 95% CI: 1.01–5.66), having attended fewer antenatal care (ANC) sessions (AOR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.53–0.99), and inadequate maternal dietary diversity (AOR: 3.97; 95% CI: 1.25–12.62). Conclusions: Increased education and awareness of dietary diversity as an indicator of dietary quality in women of childbearing age, especially during pregnancy, along with regular follow-up of antenatal care visits and behavior change communication targeting pregnant women, can help health professionals address dietary taboos and reduce the incidence of LBW.

For underwater vehicles navigating in Arctic Sea ice-covered waters, fatigue damage is a crucial issue. Many scholars have conducted low-temperature fatigue analysis on low-temperature ma-terials and substrate platforms for ships, and the results show that low-temperature is beneficial for improving the mechanical properties of materials. However, they mainly focus on low-temperature performance experiments and simulation analysis of standard components of materials, and there are very few fatigue life experimental studies on underwater vehicle me-chanical structures. This paper conducts experimental investigations on a scaled model of an underwater vehicle rudder mechanism in a polar environment laboratory. Using a comparative analysis method involving simulations and experiments, the low-temperature fatigue test data of the scaled underwater vehicle rudder mechanism are analyzed, and the quantified analysis be-tween fatigue and different low-temperature loading cycles, as well as the influence of icing on the fatigue life, is explored. It is indicated that the arctic environment can decrease the fatigue life of the underwater vehicle rudder mechanism by deteriorating its material properties. The paper builds the foundation for the fatigue life of an underwater vehicle rudder mechanism in arctic low-temperature environments.

Poly(2,6-dimethyl phenyl oxide) (PPO) is known for its low dissipation factor. To achieve insulating materials with low dissipation factor for high-frequency communication application, a monomer-type benzoxazine (P-APPO) and a main-chain-type benzoxazine (BPA-APPO) were prepared from an amine end-capped oligo (2,6-dimethyl phenylene oxide) (APPO). The APPO was prepared from a nucleophilic substitution of a phenol-end capped oligo (2,6-dimethyl phenylene oxide) (a commercial product, SA 90) with fluoronitrobenzene, and followed by catalytic hydrogenation. After self-curing or curing with a dicyclopentadiene-phenol epoxy (HP 7200), thermosets with high-T_g and low-dissipation factor can be achieved. Furthermore, the resulting epoxy thermosets show better thermal and dielectric properties than those of epoxy thermoset cured from its precursor SA90, demonstrating it is a successful modification in simultaneously enhancing the thermal and dielectric properties.

To achieve rapid post-earthquake repair of self-centering ribbed floor flat beam frame structures, a ductile hybrid joint consisting of dog bone weakened energy dissipating steel bars connected to the upper and lower column sections through high-strength threads based on the damage control design concept is proposed. By moving the ductile energy dissipating zone out to the locally weakened section of the energy dissipating steel bars and the locally unbonded prestressed steel bars in the core area, the residual deformation was limited and the seismic performance was improved. Based on the working principle of hybrid joints, low cycle loading tests were conducted on two joint specimens to analyze the influence of lateral prestress on the seismic performance of the hybrid joints. Numerical modeling methods were used to compare the position of the energy-consuming steel bars in the composite layer and the friction performance of joints. The research results indicated that the hybrid joint had stable load-bearing, deformation, and energy dissipation capabilities, with damage primarily concentrated on the energy-consuming steel bars. Even at an inter-story displacement angle of 5.5%, the upper and lower column segments remained elastic. After unloading, the connection seam at the joint was closed, and the self-centering performance was good. When the inter-story displacement angle reached 5.5%, the lateral prestress increased from 150 kN to 250 kN, the ultimate bearing capacity of the joint increased by 16.3%, and the cumulative energy consumption increased by 30.0%. The influence of the friction coefficient of the joint surface on the structural performance was set at a threshold of 0.7. When it was less than the threshold, the ultimate bearing capacity and initial stiffness of the joint increased with an increase in the friction coefficient. After reaching the threshold, the increase in the ultimate bearing capacity of the joint slowed down, and the rate of stiffness degradation gradually accelerated. This joint had excellent seismic performance and can also achieve post-earthquake repair of structures.

The influence of the Fe2O3 addition amount on the dephosphorization of hot metal at 1623 K with the slag of the low basicity (CaO/SiO2) of about 1.5 was investigated by using high-temperature laboratorial experiments. With increasing the Fe2O3 addition amount, the contents of [C], [Si], [Mn] and [P] in hot metal at the end of dephosphorization decrease, and the corresponding removal ratios increase. The P2O5 content in slag increases, and the CaO and SiO2 contents in slag decrease. The phosphorus mainly exists in the form of the nCa2SiO4-Ca3(PO4)2 solid solution in the phosphorus-rich phase and the value of coefficient n decreases from 20 to 1 with increasing the Fe2O3 addition amount from 5 g to 30 g. With increasing the Fe2O3 addition amount, the oxygen potential and activity at the interface between the slag and hot metal increase. When the oxygen potential and the oxygen activity at the interface are greater than 0.72×10-12 and 7.1×10-3, respectively, the dephosphorization ratio begins to increase rapidly. With increasing the Fe2O3 addition amount to 30 g, the ratio of the Fe2O3 addition amount to theoretical calculation consumption is around 175%, and the dephosphorization ratio reaches the highest value of 83.3%.

Recent advances in nanomaterials have been heavily influenced by low-dimensional nanocarbon allotropes. In particular, carbyne has attracted attention for its potential as a true one-dimensional carbon chain with sp1 hybridization. To maximize the capabilities of this material, we employ a focused data-driven inverse design approach based on the carbon nanomaterials genome concept. This involves using deep learning neural network models to identify key descriptors tied to desired properties, enabling property prediction and reverse engineering of nanocarbons. Our iterative approach entails: (i) gathering growth/property data on nanostructures; (ii) identifying informative numerical/categorical predictors; (iii) developing deep learning models mapping descriptors to properties; (iv) refining models with new insights; (v) determining required descriptors/conditions for target properties via inverse mapping; (vi) validating models by synthesizing predicted nanostructures; and (vii) enhancing models with validation data. This allows uncovering hidden growth-property connections, precisely tuning nanocarbons for desired attributes. We introduce new methodologies including exciting synergistic effects, synchronizing atomic vibrations, active screen plasma, energy-driven transformations, surface acoustic micro/nano-manipulation, doping and directed self-assembly to expose relationships and integrate insights into the inverse design flow. This research promises to accelerate discovery of next-generation low-dimensional nanocarbons with exceptional properties and applications.

The study addresses the challenges companies face in increasingly complex environments, which traditional Human Resource Management (HRM) models struggle to address. It proposes a Viable Model of HRM (MV-HRM) based on systems thinking and complex adaptive systems to enhance flexibility and adaptability. This model integrates five interconnected systems: operational processes, information systems, operational control, strategic planning, and governance. The methodology used includes a qualitative literature review to identify existing research gaps and the subsequent design of the MV-HRM using Beer's Viable System Model (VSM). The results show that MV-HRM enhances organizational resilience by promoting self-organization and interaction between systems, which supports agile decision-making in response to external changes. The model highlights the importance of aligning HRM with dynamic environments through effective communication, feedback, and a systemic approach to human capital management. The findings emphasize the need for HR leaders to adopt holistic strategies that integrate internal processes with environmental demands, ensuring long-term sustainability and competitive advantage. The study concludes that understanding HRM as a viable system is essential for addressing the complexity of modern organizational environments.

Mexican yuca (Yucca decipiens Trel.) is native to the semidesert region across north-central Mexico. Based on its empirical medicinal uses, the flour produced from leaves and stems of yuca was evaluated to determine its agro-industrial and medicinal uses (food, beer, and mezcal). The flour was characterized based on the granulometry, rheology, texture, and functional properties, which were analyzed with the RStudio software. The results indicate that the water absorption capacity of yuca flour (data here) is similar to wheat flour; however, it absorbs half the volume of oil than wheat flour. Therefore, it has a hydrophilic behavior similar to that of wheat and a lower oil requirement for formulas. The expansion capacity of yuca flour is like that of wheat flour, showing an ideal gluten content for agro-industrial purposes (food) that require this structural component. The flour had a remarkable foam formation, high stability, and low-fat content. These results are particularly important for foods that require foaming properties. Fermentation matched the parameters of the 56-60 Physicochemical Test Methods of the Cereal & Grains Association; consequently, their flours are classified as equal to flours produced from soft and weak wheat, supporting their use for fermentation processes. The internal friction values (0.85-0.92) suggest a limited flow; however, its high density shows a fine granulometry that facilitates the sacking, handling, and storing of the flour, complying with the Mexican standards, and allowing it to be added to combinations aimed to enrich food.

This research introduces a novel approach to evaluate energy utilization in agribusiness within a cost-based framework, addressing the complexities associated with uncertain input energy content. The study focuses on the agricultural sector in Latin America, with particular emphasis on banana plantations, examining the sector's growing dependence on energy-intensive methods and inputs. We differentiate between technical and allocative efficiency, employing a frontier-based methodology. The analysis encompasses data from 21 state-owned banana plantations in Latin America, revealing significant room for improvement in energy efficiency. Our findings indicate an average Technical Efficiency of 0.69, Allocative Efficiency of 0.91, and overall Energy Efficiency of 0.59, suggesting potential reductions in input and energy consumption of up to 38%. The study underscores the importance of addressing both input mismanagement and misallocation to enhance energy efficiency. While the proposed methodology offers valuable insights for public sector enterprises, particularly in agriculture, further research is necessary to extend this approach to scenarios with uncertain input energy content, potentially incorporating stochastic frontier analysis or fuzzy logic methodologies.

The decline in global pollinator populations has raised serious concerns about the sustainability of ecosystems and agricultural productivity. Urban environments, often characterized by habitat loss and environmental stressors, are considered challenging habitats for pollinators. However, urban green spaces, including street and ornamental trees, can play a crucial role in supporting pollinators by providing essential food resources. This study aimed to evaluate the sugar and amino acid production of eight urban tree species to determine their potential contributions to pollinator nutrition. Our findings revealed significant variability among species regarding nectar volume, sugar content, and amino acid composition, emphasizing the importance of considering multiple factors when assessing the utility of floral resources. Consequently, Tilia amurensis, Heptacodium miconioides, Aesculus turbinata, and Wisteria floribunda demonstrated superior potential in supporting urban pollinator communities. Contrastingly, Sorbus commixta, Styrax japonicus, and Cornus kousa, often favored for their aesthetic appeal, showed less potential. This study underscores the need for urban tree selection that prioritizes species that provide diverse and abundant nutritional resources for pollinators while balancing aesthetic and ecological values. Our results offer a foundation for better-informed urban biodiversity management and contribute to creating pollinator-friendly urban environments.

This study examines the impact of natural resource exploitation, renewable energy consumption, economic growth, biocapacity, and information and communication technologies (ICT) on the ecological footprint of BRICS+ nations using panel data from 1991 to 2019. Advanced econometric techniques, including FMOLS, DOLS, CCR, and GMM, reveal significant findings relevant to sustainability-focused policymakers. The results show that natural resource exploitation significantly contributes to environmental degradation, while renewable energy consumption mitigates these effects to varying degrees across the studied countries. Although economic growth is crucial, it worsens ecological footprints unless accompanied by sustainable practices. ICT and biocapacity emerge as key factors in promoting environmental sustainability, with ICT enhancing innovation and efficiency to reduce ecological impacts. The study emphasizes the need for tailored policy frameworks that align economic growth with environmental sustainability, advocating for the adoption of renewable energy, eco-innovations, and green finance initiatives suited to the unique conditions of BRICS+ nations. The findings aim to guide policymakers in advancing sustainable development and mitigating the adverse environmental impacts of rapid industrialization and urbanization, while contributing to the global discourse on achieving a balance between economic growth and ecological well-being in developing countries.

Agriculture is the largest sector of Nepalese economy among the south-Asian developing countries that contributed 26.98 % share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the year 2018/19. The capacity to derive maximum output by per unit of resource is resource use efficiency. Resource use efficiency of a producer explains the comparison between inputs and output value. Potato is staple vegetable in every parts of Nepal. Cobb-Douglas production function is used to predict the significance of inputs in income from cash crops. Due to lack of optimum utilization of available resources in cultivation of vegetable like lack of technical knowledge, low education level, and extensive service the productivity and production is low in Nepalese economy. It ensures vegetable security in Nepal. Though, there are extensive researches on the resource use efficiency and productivity issues on agriculture, very few papers explored in the case of Sudurpaschim province of Nepal OBJECTIVE: This study had the specific purposes: (1) To identify the factors affecting in resource use efficiency and productivity of potato production (2) to utilize the resource use efficiency and productivity in potato production and (3) to show the type of returns to scale in potato production. METHODS: Applying post-positivist paradigm and quantitative causal survey research design, it explored the resource use efficiency and productivity through the semi-structured questionnaire from 140 households by random sampling. Data analysis was carried out by multiple regression model using Cobb-Douglas production function. SPSS software was used to find quantitative results. From the analysis of data using mean, and SD, t-test, analysis of variance, Durbin-Waston test, Marginal Value Product and marginal Factor cost, findings of this research was emerged. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The major findings: education level, extension service, farm size and pesticide cost were significant variables in potato production; seed, hired labor, Family Yard Manure and pesticide cost were overused and needed to decrease their cost for optimum allocation and there was decreasing returns to scale in production. This study emphasized on increasing education level, extensive service and farm size for optimum utilization of resources and increasing returns to scale. SIGNIFICANCE: Barriers to Indian potatoes and increasing returns to scale are only possible through protection policy of government. For optimum use of resources and increasing returns to scale, government can introduce capital intensive technique. This study can be implied in policy making and improving existing situation of agriculture, and allocating budget.

Iron tailings are solid waste generated after the mining of iron mines, which have caused serious damage to the surrounding ecology and environment and have attracted widespread attention. By analyzing the formation causes, main components, and environmental effect mechanisms of iron tailings, the article systematically elaborates on the degree and mechanism of the harm of iron tailings to water bodies, atmosphere, soil, and ecosystems, and evaluates its impact on human health and sustainable development of society. On this basis, specific prevention and control measures have been proposed to reduce iron tailings emissions, realize resource recycling, and restore ecosystems. Research shows that iron tailings containing heavy metals can widely pollute the environment through dissolution and migration, and have significant biological toxicity effects. The research results can provide a theoretical reference for decision-making departments to formulate scientific and reasonable iron tailings disposal and ecological protection policies. It is recommended to strengthen specific research on the infiltration of toxic and harmful components in tailings in the future, and develop efficient and stable solidification technology, and vegetation-microbial joint restoration models to further reduce the ecological and environmental risks of iron tailings.

This study draws on both the theory of resource-based view and the theory of stakeholders to investigate the effects of Green Human Resource Management (Green HRM) practices on Sustainability and Employee Health Orientation (EHO) through the mediating effect of Environmental Performance (EP). Based on a cross-sectional survey questionnaire, the data were collected from 318 service and manufacturing firms across India. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to determine the link among constructs. The findings of the empirical evidence reveal that Green HRM practices have positive and significant effects on EP, Sustainability and EHO. Also, the findings demonstrate that EP partially mediates the link between Green HRM practices and Sustainability. Similarly, the findings establish that EP partially mediates the link between Green HRM practices and EHO. Finally, the potential implications of this research and future research for practitioners and scholars are addressed.

The healthcare situation in Africa is characterized by limited resources and a high burden of disease, presenting significant challenges to the healthcare systems in the region. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in African healthcare holds immense potential for addressing these challenges and improving health outcomes. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current healthcare landscape in Africa and the urgent need for AI-driven solutions.In addition to discussing the potential applications of AI in African healthcare, such as disease diagnosis, treatment planning, and medical imaging analysis, this manuscript seeks to shed light on the specific challenges hindering the implementation of AI in the region. By providing detailed examples and case studies, we aim to offer insights into the obstacles that need to be overcome and potential solutions that can be pursued.By leveraging AI technologies, Africa has the opportunity to revolutionize its health systems, bridging the gap in access to quality healthcare across the continent. The objective of this review article is to not only highlight the potential benefits that AI can bring to African healthcare but also to emphasize the urgent need for action and collaboration in implementing and scaling up AI innovations in the region. By doing so, African countries can pave the way for improved health outcomes and ensure that their populations receive the healthcare services they deserve.

Classroom resource allocation is a challenging problem in educational institutions. The use of cloud computing can aid in the optimization of this process by allowing resource providers to allocate resources to users in a timely and efficient manner. In this paper, we propose a modified Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA) to optimize the allocation of classroom resources. The proposed approach involves generating a population of salps representing potential solutions to the resource allocation problem and updating the positions of the salps iteratively based on a fitness function and mathematical equations. We conducted simulations of the proposed algorithm on various numbers of tasks and sources to evaluate its performance. The results indicate that the modified SSA algorithm can efficiently allocate classroom resources, achieving lower completion time of tasks (makespan) with lower costs. This paper contributes to the literature by introducing an effective approach to solve the classroom resource allocation problem.

Diopatra neapolitana (Delle Chiaje, 1841) is one of the most exploited polychaete species in European waters, particularly in Ria de Aveiro, a coastal lagoon in mainland Portugal, where the overexploitation of this resource has led to a generalized decline of local populations. In an attempt to reduce the impact of harvesting, several management actions were implemented, but, illegal poaching still fuels a parallel economy that threats the sustainable use of this marine resource. The present study evaluated the combination of fatty acid profiles and elemental fingerprints of the whole body and jaws, respectively, of D. neapolitana collected from four harvesting locations within Ria de Aveiro in order to determine if their geographic origin could be correctly assigned post-harvesting. Results showed that both fatty acid profiles and elemental fingerprints differ significantly among locations, discriminating the geographic origin with higher accuracy when combining these two natural barcodes than when employing each individually. The present work can therefore contribute for the implementation of an effective management plan for the sustainable use of this marine resource, making possible to detect if D. neapolitana was sourced from no take zones and if it was collected from the place of origin claimed by live baits traders.

Cells execute biological functions to support phenotypes such as growth, migration, and secretion. Complementarily, each function of a cell has resource costs that constrain phenotype. Resource allocation by a cell allows it to manage these costs and optimize their phenotypes. In fact, the management of resource constraints (e.g., nutrient availability, bioenergetic capacity, and macromolecular machinery production) shape activity and ultimately impact phenotype. In mammalian systems, quantification of resource allocation provides important insights into higher-order multicellular functions; it shapes intercellular interactions and relays environmental cues for tissues to coordinate individual cells to overcome resource constraints and achieve population-level behavior. Furthermore, these constraints, objectives, and phenotypes are context-dependent, with cells adapting their behavior according to their microenvironment, resulting in distinct steady-states. This review will highlight the biological insights gained from probing resource allocation in mammalian cells and tissues.

Tigrai region is one of the potential beekeeping areas in Ethiopia, which is endowed with diversified honeybee plant species. However, its honeybee plants are deforested and degraded due to natural and anthropogenic pressures. Area exclosures (AEs) has been practicing for the last three decades restore degraded habitats of the plant species in Ethiopia. Empirical data on the effectiveness of AE is still limited for restoration of honey bee plant species; this study was conducted to assess the roles of AE for species composition, density, and diversity and regeneration status of honeybee floras. Sixty quadrats were installed, 36 in AE and 24 in CGL (communal grazing lands) using a systematic sampling method. The study showed that a total of 42 honey bee plant species belonging to 23 families in AE and 33 species belonging to 17 families in CGL were recorded. The study also indicated a significant increase in the abundance, diversity, regeneration and the structure of the honey bee plant species was found in the AEs. The list presented herein provides a guide to stakeholders in establishing of AE for the foraging resource of honeybee in order to enhance the abundance, diversity and regeneration and structure. Thus, AE has made a significant contribution to solving the shortage of honeybee forages in the beekeeping industry. Therefore, the development of beekeeping is integrated with conservation of natural resources.

The circular economy is based on maintaining a circular flow of resources. Policymakers face difficulties in balancing national security and circular economy aspects in the field of mineral resources policy. With a uniquely expanded input-output table, this study estimates the final destination of several critical minerals (lithium, cobalt, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, neodymium and dysprosium) and base metals (iron, copper and aluminum) in the Japanese economy for 2015. Our model shows quite a good similarity between the estimated composition and the actual data of products. The results reveal a detailed distribution of critical minerals and indicate prioritized implementation for creating and maintaining a circular flow of critical minerals. Developed decision flow guidance provides a comprehensive approach to national security and circular economy aspects for policymakers. For further actions, inclusive indicator development is required for policymakers to support the determination of implementation possibilities from social and technological aspects.

The current organisation is facing intensifying competition in the global business world with loads of challenges and tries to sustain itself in the market through innovation and cost-cutting. The scientific community has a growing interest in management to make a niche in the global competitive era. They have started focusing on the expediency of green human resource management (GHRM) to steer the way to excel the organizations and their employees for sustainability. Green HRM tries to build an organization that encourages employees to adopt environmentally friendly workplace behaviours and minimize costs. The aim of this study is to identify and analyse the comprehensive research advances made in the field of green human resource management through bibliometric analysis. The Scopus database has been used to conduct the research. A total of 551 documents were inferred from Scopus, considering the department time period, 2004 to 2023. The outcomes of the study shed light on the eminence of green HRM research, identifying prolific authors and co-authorship patterns, commonly used keywords, country-wise and organization-wise analysis, research themes, theoretical foundations and simple statistics. This comprehensive exploration has provided valuable insights into the concept of green HRM, its objectives, and its potential benefits for businesses and society as a whole.

For an enterprise, the most critical aspect of development is resource management, which has a significant impact on all aspects of the enterprise. Therefore, enterprises must pay attention to resource management allocation, which can better promote the sustainable development of the enterprise and obtain optimal benefits. In the production and development of modern enterprises, the acquisition of benefits also involves the allocation of resources in enterprise management. This paper proposed a benefit optimization scheduling algorithm based on a macroeconomic prediction model under auction mechanism and a grid resource scheduling algorithm driven by a benefit function to allocate resources reasonably. This article used macroeconomic forecasting models to fully understand the resource needs of various departments and the resources held by enterprises, and rationally allocate various resources in various departments. This can improve the work efficiency of various departments, thereby reducing the cost of the enterprise, and achieving optimal benefits for the enterprise. The experimental results in this paper showed that the cost of resource management allocation for the benefit optimization scheduling algorithm and the grid resource scheduling algorithm based on the benefit function driven under the auction mechanism was 105.6 yuan and 46.8 yuan respectively when the task volume was 125 under the multi user environment. The time allocated for resource management was 36.6s and 18.9s respectively. It can be seen that the efficiency function driven grid resource scheduling algorithm had a lower cost and time for resource management allocation, so the efficiency function driven grid resource scheduling algorithm can achieve enterprise efficiency optimization.

Nature provides plenty of good examples for simple and very efficient joint assemblies. One example is the enormously flexible cervical spine of American barn owls, which consists of 14 cervical vertebrae. Each pair of vertebrae produces a comparatively small individual movement in order to provide a large overall movement of the entire cervical spine. The biomimetic replication of such joints is difficult due to the delicate and geometric unrestricted joint shapes as well as the muscles that have to be mimicked. Using X-ray as well as micro computed tomography images and with the utilisation of additive manufacturing, it is possible to produce the owl neck vertebrae in scaled-up form, to analyse them and then to transfer them into technically usable joint assemblies. The muscle substitution of these joints is realised by smart materials actuators in the form of shape memory alloy wire actuators. This actuator technology is outstanding for its muscle-like movement and for its enormous energy density [1,2]. The disadvantage of this wire actuator technology is the low rate of contraction, which means that a large length of wire has to be installed to generate adequate movement. For this reason, the actuator wires are integrated into additively manufactured carrier components to mimic the biological joints. This results in joint designs that compensate for the disadvantages of the small contraction of the actuators by intelligently installing large wire lengths on comparatively small installation spaces, while also providing a sufficient force output. With the help of a test rig, the developed technical joint variants are examined and evaluated. This demonstrates the technical applicability of this bionic joints.

The article deals with human resource management and selected personnel indicators in 10 sustainable development. The main goal of this paper is to analyse and describe human resource 11 management focused on audit of workload, motivation of employees, the competence of staff, their 12 knowledge and experience. The article shows how the selected personnel indicators are examined 13 in selected establishments of multinational company in Slovakia, as an attractive employer inter-14 ested in growth of its employees, thus employer branding. For research methods, a case study meth-15 odology is used. Data collection was carried out through a questionnaire survey with employees in 16 the company as well as an interview with sale advisors and managers. The research aimed to point 17 out a case study of the investigation of selected personnel indicators in human resources manage-18 ment in a selected company and to examine the perception of the performance of employees in 19 connection with their financial evaluation and their satisfaction in the selected company with an 20 impact on employees´ performance. Furthermore, the research aimed to determine whether there 21 was a dependence between the subjectively perceived performance of the employees and selected 22 aspects. Further indicators were calculated, such as employment rate, proportion of wasted time 23 and labour productivity.

The article deals with human resource management and selected personnel indicators in sus-tainable development. The main goal of this paper is to analyse and describe human resource management focused on audit of workload, motivation of employees, the competence of staff, their knowledge and experience. The article shows how the selected personnel indicators are examined in selected establishments of multinational company in Slovakia, as an attractive em-ployer interested in growth of its employees, thus employer branding. For research methods, a case study methodology is used. Data collection was carried out through a questionnaire survey with employees in the company as well as an interview with sale advisors and managers. The research aimed to point out a case study of the investigation of selected personnel indicators in human resources management in a selected company and to examine the perception of the per-formance of employees in connection with their financial evaluation and their satisfaction in the selected company with an impact on employees´ performance. Furthermore, the research aimed to determine whether there was a dependence between the subjectively perceived performance of the employees and selected aspects. Further indicators were calculated, such as employment rate, proportion of wasted time and labour productivity.

Wild Chinese prickly ash with elevated antioxidants is a valuable genetic resource for Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim improvement. There are rich wild germplasm resources in the Qinling Mountains. In a study with wild germplasm resources from different altitudes and six cultivated varieties, the phenolic and flavonoid compounds were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The chromatograms of them were basically the same, although their chemical composition content was greatly different. The thirty samples were divided into three categories through the hierarchical clustering analysis. And catechin, hyperoside and quercitrin were considered to be key compound for the quality evaluation, by contrast, the wild samples with an altitude of 2300±50 m (Ⅳ group) had the highest content of key compounds, and showed stronger antioxidant activity and antibacterial ability, indicating that these wild samples could be used as an excellent breeding resource. This is the first time to evaluate the quality of wild Chinese prickly ash in different altitude areas of Qinling Mountains. These excellent wild germplasm resources provided substantial potential accessions for use directly in Chinese prickly ash breeding programs.

This paper discusses the use of a participatory approach to assess the level of understanding of the Water-Energy-Climate Change nexus in South Africa. The aim is to facilitate the development of well-coordinated, systematic, and holistic strategies for efficient management of the nexus and its implications in the country. The assessment was guided by the broader Integrated Water Resource Management framework, which promotes a participatory approach in the administration of water resources. The paper argues that despite the reasonable level of understanding of WECC, there is still a lack of integrated policy development and planning among key stakeholders. This is exacerbated by limited coordination and consultation among these stakeholders, particularly policymakers. This necessitates the urgent adoption of holistic and systems thinking approaches, and the promotion of collaboration among different stakeholders mandated to manage WECC sectors. Until such approaches are adopted, the WECC nexus will continue to impede the country’s socio-economic development and environmental wellbeing.

The impact that new technologies have on all aspects of our lives, work, and businesses is significant and growing over time. Blockchain and artificial intelligence, among other innovative technologies, are having a profound effect on practically all business functions, including most human resources (HR) tasks. The HR sector is currently facing a variety of challenges as HR departments invest many hours in vetting candidates' applications and authenticating records to decrease the chances of imperfect recruiting. Nowadays, more technologically based processes are utilised for talent search, selection and management, as well as for accumulating, retaining, and integrating new talents into a company. These HR practices are far more effective compared to traditional methods but can also be more expensive if the transactional costs are considered. This paper consists of two parts. Following an introduction, the first part discusses the trust and confidentiality that can be attained, while the second part examines security, fraud prevention and the productivity gained from using blockchain technology in HR activities. Finally, there is a concluding section, discussing the implications of blockchain technology for firms who choose to employ it.

The paper is to examine the influence of business innovation, business expansion, product and service development, working capital, machinery and equipment on financing choices in the western part of Nigeria. To determine the effect on financing choices, a logistic regression analysis was used. The results in an impressive manner indicate that entrepreneur, essentially with working capital (WC), machinery and equipment (ME) requirement and business innovation (BI) used internal funding sources while business expansion (BE) and product and service development (PS) lean toward external funding sources and the more established and larger firm utilizes debt financing. The approach and the experiential findings offer an unprecedented degree of investigation from an academic point of view through the previous study on Nigeria entrepreneur. Similarly, the experimental results will strengthen the entrepreneur's knowledge, awareness and perception. Through the capabilities of the entrepreneurs, they can prepare and adapt in accordance with the business condition they conduct business and to help them in their choice procedure regarding the capital structure of their organization in the midst of an interval when the fuss of entrepreneur funding is gradually elicited in the Nigerian climate.

Growing evidence about the negative socio-environmental consequences of plastic pollution led to various initiatives for better plastic scrap governance and its trade. At the same time, an examination of recent data shows that plastic scrap represents only a fraction of recyclable materials which are traded internationally and are also subject to similar problems of cross-border environmental governance. A limited analysis comparing plastics, textiles, paper and ferrous metals suggests that ongoing momentum for improvement of plastic scrap governance and circularity should also be framed to consider other types of secondary materiais.

Cloud infrastructure provides computing services where computing resources can be adjusted on-demand. However, the adoption of cloud infrastructures brings concerns like reliance on the service provider network, reliability, compliance for service level agreements (SLAs), etc. Software-defined networking (SDN) is a networking concept that suggests the segregation of a network’s data plane from the control plane. This concept improves networking behavior. In this paper, we present an SDN-enabled resource-aware topology framework. The proposed framework employs SLA compliance, Path Computation Element (PCE) and shares fair loading to achieve better topology features. We also present an evaluation, showcasing the potential of our framework.

This paper aims to propose a new approach of territorial competitiveness assessment revisited from the resource-based view, as the combination of location-specific resources and capabilities can improve the territorial socio-economic development. A territorial competitiveness index is calculated in order to assess the potential of renewable energy sources to improve the sustainable development in islands. Different sources of information and methodologies have been employed to measure the variables included in the model, thus ensuring a rigorous process in the index calculation. In order to quantify the basic resources, for example, a methodology based on a multicriteria analysis (MCA) with geographic information system (GIS) is suggested, with the objective of obtaining an indicator called index of available territorial resources. This index synthesizes the map information through a numerical value that allows integrating the territorial resource with other indicators of the model. The results of the study show that capability development is a key factor to better exploit the territorial resource endowment in order to achieve a competitive advantage.

Crop production is a major livelihood activity of smallholders in Ethiopia. However, it is often characterized by low performance. In an effort to improve crop production, a series of agricultural extension programs have been running in Ethiopia since the 1950s. Nevertheless, the performance of agriculture is still low. In this study, it is argued that the limited attention given to cropland allocation methodologies is one of the major causes of low performance of crop production and increased environmental degradation. This study used linear programming to examine the role and impacts of cropland allocation methods on performance of crop production. The data for this study was drawn from household survey of 75 randomly selected households combined with focus-grouped discussion, key informant interview, and secondary data. In the current conventional cropland allocation, households were not able to meet their household consumption. The average profitability of farms under current practice was found significantly below than estimated optimal level of profit that could be realized using linear programming. In addition, it uncovered that low performance of crop production (in terms of meeting household consumption demand and profitability) is the primary cause that limited the effort of households to participate in environmental and natural resource management. This study suggests the use of linear programming-based cropland allocation to enhance the profit performance of smallholder crop production, meeting household consumption requirement, and thereby promote sustainable utilization of natural and environmental resources.

This study analyses the case study of a deconstruction project called the ‘Whole House Reuse’ (WHR) which aimed, firstly, to harvest materials from a residential house, secondly, to produce new products using the recovered materials, and thirdly, to organize exhibition for the local public to promote awareness on resource conservation and sustainable deconstruction practices. The study applies characterization of recovered materials through deconstruction. In addition to the material recovery, the study assesses the embodied energy saving and greenhouse gas emission abatement of the deconstruction project. Around twelve tonnes of various construction materials were harvested through a systematic deconstruction approach, most which would otherwise be disposed to landfill in the traditional demolition approach. The study estimates that the recovered materials could potentially save around 502,158MJ of embodied energy and prevent carbon emission of around 27,029kg (CO2e). Deconstruction could eventually contribute to New Zealand’s national emission reduction targets. In addition, the project successfully engages local communities and designers to produce 400 new products using the recovered materials and exhibited to the local people. The study concludes that there is a huge prospect in regard to resource recovery, emission reduction, employment and small business opportunities using deconstruction of the old house. The socio-cultural importance of the WHR project is definitely immense; however, the greater benefits of such projects are often ignored and remain unreported to wider audiences as most of the external and environmental costs have not been considered in the traditional linear economy. It is acknowledged that under a favourable market condition and with appropriate support from local communities and authorities, deconstruction could contribute significantly to resource conservation and environmental protection despite its requirement of labour intensive efforts.

Theory of the Thermal Response Testing (TRT) is a well-known part of sizing process of the geothermal exchange system. Multiple parameters influence accuracy of effective ground thermal conductivity measurement; like testing time, variable power, climate interferences, groundwater effect etc. To improve accuracy of the TRT we introduced procedure to additionally analyze falloff temperature decline after power test. Method is based on a premise of analogy between TRT and petroleum well testing, since origin of both procedures lies in diffusivity equation with solutions for heat conduction or pressure analysis during radial flow. Applying pressure build-up test interpretation technique to the borehole heat exchanger testing, greater accuracy could be achieved since ground conductivity could be obtained from this period. Analysis was conducted on coaxial exchanger with five different power steps, and with both direct and reverse flow regime. Each test was set with 96hr of a classical TRT, followed by 96hr of temperature decline, making it almost 2000 hours of cumulative borehole testing. Results showed that ground conductivity value could vary as much as 25% depending on test time, seasonal period and power fluctuations while thermal conductivity obtained from a falloff period gives more stable values with only 10% value variation.

Packaged water consumption has grown rapidly in urban areas of many low and middle income countries, but particularly in Ghana. However, the sources of water used by this growing packaged water industry and its implications for water resource management and transport-related environmental impacts have not been described. This study aimed to assess the spatial distribution of regulated packaged water production in Ghana, both in relation to demand and for natural mineral water, to hydrogeological characteristics. 764 addresses for premises licenced to produce packaged water from 2009-2015 were mapped and compared to regional sachet water consumption and beverage import/export data examined. We find evidence to suggest packaged water is transported shorter distances in Ghana than in developed countries. For natural mineral waters, producers should be able to address the most widespread water quality hazards (including high salinity, iron and nitrates) in aquifers used for production through reverse osmosis treatment. The study suggests there is scope to integrate beverage product and groundwater regulatory databases to support groundwater management.

The domain of construction engineering and management is evolving rapidly. Optimizing resource positioning is crucial for meeting the challenges of efficiency and productivity. This research presents a novel methodology that incorporates Agent-Based Modeling (ABM), Building Information Modeling (BIM), and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technologies, augmented with a Client Early Warning System (CEWS) and a Decision Support System (DSS). What makes this study unique is that it provides a real-time methodology for resource allocation and project management, tailored to address the complexities of modern construction projects. The application of this integrated technological framework marks a significant leap in construction management, empowering data-driven decision-making and significantly improving project efficiency. Empirically validated through a case study at Helwan University's College of Engineering and substantiated by expert surveys, this research showcases a transformative model for resource management. The findings not only underscore the practical applicability of this approach but also open new horizons for its adoption in global construction practices, offering insights for future research endeavors focused on expanding these methodologies to a wider range of resources.

Low 25 OH vitamin D (25(OH)D) in preterm infants is a risk factor of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), but increased supplementation failed to demonstrate beneficial effect on BPD. In neonatal animal models, deficiency and excessive vitamin D exposure have been associated with increased mortality and lung histological alterations evocative of BPD. Our hypothesis is that 25(OH)D levels ≥ 120nmol/L is also a risk factor for BPD or death. This retrospective single-center cohort study included all infants born <31 weeks gestational age without major malformation with at least a determination of 25(OH)D <36 weeks corrected age and no determination <50 nmol/L. Routine 25(OH)D determination was performed at 1 month and monthly thereafter. A total of 175 infants were included. Infants with BPD or who died had a significantly lower term and weight, but a similar frequency of 25(OH)D ≥120nmol/L (50.5% vs 43.9%, p=0.53). The logistic regression identified weight (OR 0.997, 95%CI [0.995-0.998]) and term (OR 0.737, 95%CI [0.551-0.975]) as significantly associated with BPD or death; the occurrence of excessive 25(OH)D was not significantly associated (OR 1.029, 95%CI [0.503-2.093]). The present study did not demonstrate any significant association between excessive 25(OH)D after one month of age and BPD or death.

An accurate flux measurement of low-energy charged particles trapped in the magnetosphere is necessary for space weather characterization and to study the coupling between the lithosphere and magnetosphere, which allows for the investigation of the correlations between seismic events and particle precipitation from Van Allen belts. In this work, the project of a CubeSat space spectrometer, the Low-Energy Module (LEM), is shown. The detector will be able to perform an event-based measurement of the energy, arrival direction, and composition of low-energy charged particles down to 0.1 MeV. Moreover, thanks to a CdZnTe mini-calorimeter, the LEM spectrometer also allows for photon detection in the sub-MeV range, joining the quest for the investigation of the nature of Gamma-ray bursts. The particle identification of the LEM relies on the ΔE−E technique performed by thin silicon detectors. This multipurpose spectrometer will fit within a 10 × 10 × 10 cm3 CubeSat frame, and it will be constructed as a joint project between the University of Trento, FBK, and INFN-TIFPA. To fulfil the size and mass requirements, an innovative approach, based on active particle collimation, was designed for the LEM; this avoids the heavy/bulky passive collimators of previous space detectors. In this paper, we will present the LEM geometry, its detection concept, the results from the developed GEANT4 simulation, and some characterisations of a candidate silicon detector for the instrument payload.

Water resource management in agriculture faces complex challenges due to increasing scarcity, exacerbated by climate change, and the intensification of conflicts among various user groups. This study addresses the issue of predicting and managing these conflicts in the Longaví River Basin, Chile, by considering the intricate interactions between hydrological, social, and economic factors. A socio-hydrological agent-based model (SHABM) was developed, integrating hydrological, economic, and behavioral data. The methodology combined fieldwork with computational modeling, characterizing three types of agents (selfish, neutral, and cooperative) and simulating scenarios with varying levels of water availability and oversight across three Water User Organizations (WUOs). The key findings revealed that: (1) selfish agents are more likely to disregard irrigation schedules under conditions of scarcity and low supervision; (2) high supervision (90%) significantly reduces conflicts; (3) water scarcity exacerbates non-cooperative behaviors; (4) high-risk conflict areas can be identified; and (5) behavioral patterns stabilize after the third year of simulation. This work demonstrates the potential of SHABM as a decision-making tool in water management, enabling proactive identification of conflict-prone areas and evaluation of management strategies.

Previous studies on the water-energy nexus mainly focused on the calculation and comparison of resource consumption at the national or regional level, lacking interprovincial sector-sector transfer analysis. In this study, the intensity of water and energy consumption of various sectors in China were calculated, the key nodes and paths of resource networks were identified, and countermeasures for resource conservation were proposed from the new perspective of the “dual saving” and “bidirectional saving” of water and energy. The results showed that the metallurgical industry (Me) in Jiangsu and the chemical industry (Ch) in Hebei and Jiangsu had high node strength in the water and energy network and were key sectors in China with “dual saving” effects of water and energy. The construction industry, Ch, Me in Jiangsu, electricity and hot water production and supply industry in Beijing, and Me in Hebei had high node strength in the water-related energy network and energy-related water network, significantly supporting the “bidirectional saving” effect of water and energy in China. The electrical equipment industry (El) in Jiangsu→El in Zhejiang, El in Zhejiang→El in Shanghai frequently appeared in key paths, which could effectively reduce the resource consumption of the entire network.

Droughts have a substantial effect on water resources, agriculture, and ecosystems on a worldwide scale. In the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, droughts exacerbated by climate change are significantly endangering the region's agricultural sustainability and output. Conventional forecasting techniques frequently do not capture the intricate dynamics of meteorological phenomena associated to drought effectively, prompting the exploration of more advanced methodologies. This work utilises artificial intelligence, par-ticularly machine learning methods like Gradient Boosting and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), to enhance drought pre-diction in the Mekong Delta. The study utilises data from 11 meteorological stations spanning from 1990 to 2022 to create and evaluate Machine Learning models based on several climatic factors. We utilise Gradient Boosting and XGBoost algorithms to estimate the Standardised Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and evaluate their effectiveness in comparison to con-ventional forecasting techniques. The results show that Machine Learning, particularly XGBoost, surpasses traditional approaches in predicting SPEI accuracy at various time scales. XGBoost demonstrates skill in understanding the complex relationships between climatic factors, with R² values falling between 0.90 and 0.94 for 1-month forecasts. The progress highlights the potential of Machine Learning in improving drought management and adaptation tactics, proposing the incorporation of Machine Learning forecasting models into decision-making processes to enhance drought resistance in susceptible areas.

Abstract: Dispersal strategies of a species can affect its invasion success. Investigation into the dispersal strategies of invasive species in relation to different factors helps our understanding of the invasion mechanisms and provides knowledge for population management and invasion evaluation. Tetranychus ludeni Zacher (Acari: Tetranychidae) is an invasive species, which is native to Europe but now cosmopolitan. Here, we examined the effects of age and density on dispersal in mated females. Our results show that older females with more eggs were more likely to disperse and moved longer distances than younger ones with fewer eggs. Older females spread most of their eggs out of the natal habitats and over longer distances, which reduced competition and increased offspring fitness. Females significantly increased dispersal probability and distance with the increase of population density to avoid crowding. The synchronization of dispersal and reproduction, along with the positive density-dependent dispersal strategy, may facilitate habitat colonization and invasion speed of T. ludeni.

In this paper, in order to reduce the energy consumption and delay of data transmission, the non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and edge caching technologies are jointly considered. As for the cache-assisted vehicular NOMA-MEC networks, a problem of minimizing the energy consumed by vehicles (mobile devices, MDs) is formulated under the latency and resource constraints, which jointly optimizes the computing resource allocation, subchannel selection, device association, offloading and caching decisions. To solve the formulated problem, we develop an effective joint computation offloading and task caching algorithm based on the twin delayed deep deterministic policy gradient (TD3) algorithm. Such a TD3-based offloading (TD3O) algorithm includes a designed action transformation (AT) algorithm used for transforming continuous action space into a discrete one. In addition, to solve the formulated problem in a non-iterative manner, an effective heuristic algorithm (HA) is also designed. As for the designed algorithms, we provide some detailed analyses of computation complexity and convergence, and give some meaningful insights through simulation. Simulation results show that the TD3O algorithm may achieve lower local energy consumption than several benchmark algorithms, and HA may achieve a lower one than the completely offloading algorithm and local execution algorithm.

Dye-containing effluent generated in textile industries is polluting and complex wastewater. It should be managed adequately before the final destination. The up-flow anaerobic blanket (UASB) reactor application is an eco-friendly and cost-competitive treatment. The present study briefly reviews the UASB application for dye wastewater valorization. Bioenergy and clean water production potential during dye-containing wastewater treatment are emphasized to promote resource recovery in textile industries. Efficiencies of color and chemical oxygen demand of 50–97% and 60–90% are reported in bench-scale UASB studies. A biogas yield of 0.36–36.04 L d-1 in UASB, which treats dye-containing effluents, is documented. Bioenergy production and water reuse allow environmental and economic benefits. However, data on full-scale UASB treating dye wastewater are missing. Besides, studies on combined systems integrating membrane processes, such as ultrafiltration and nanofiltration, and pretreatment of wastewater and sludge for improvements in biogas production might realize the complete potential for resource recovery of UASB technology.

Oil agents produced from degreasing treatment of synthetic fibers are typical pollutants in printing and dyeing wastewater, which may cause large-scale environmental pollution without proper treatment. How to purify oily dye wastewater with low cost is a key problem at present. In this study, the biochar microspheres with oil removal ability were prepared deriving from waste bamboo chips using hydrothermal method. The structure of biochar microsphere was regulated by the activation and modification processes. The biochar microspheres were characterized and their adsorption behaviors for oily dye wastewater were explored. The results showed that the adsorption efficiency of biochar microspheres for oily dye wastewater (DTY) was improved significantly after the secondary pyrolysis and lauric acid grafting reaction. The maximum COD removal quantity of biochar microspheres for DTY was 889 mg/g with removal rate of 86.06% in 30 min. Besides, the kinetics showed that the chemisorption was the main adsorption manner. The application of biochar microspheres can decrease the costs of oily wastewater treatment and avoid environmental pollution.

In Ghana, rice remains a critical crop, representing 15% of the country's GDP. However, production has been hindered by limited water access, degraded soil, pests and diseases, and ineffective pesticide use. These issues have impeded industry growth while adversely affecting the environment and impairing socioeconomic development. To combat these challenges, it is necessary to implement sustainable production strategies that emphasize environmental protection, resource management, and socioeconomic progress. This study evaluates sustainable rice production in Ghana, taking into account its consequences on the environment, socioeconomic growth, and food security. It pinpoints gaps and offers advice for stakeholders, policymakers, and scholars to transition to sustainability. The study illuminates the increasing significance of rice in Ghana and its role in food security, illustrating increased output due to widened land rather than higher yields. It underscores the necessity of fulfilling surging demand while implementing environmentally friendly practices. The paper scrutinizes the difficulties encountered by the rice sector, such as restricted water supplies and soil degradation, along with the adverse impacts of pests, diseases and inefficient pesticide utilization. Sustainable methods are imperative for Ghana's agribusiness, environmental protection, and socioeconomic progress. By embracing green techniques, prioritizing resource management, and investing in research, Ghana can surmount production issues. This review provides invaluable insight and suggestions for policymakers, academicians, and stakeholders alike to ensure sustainable rice production for current and future generations.

To effectively estimate airport terminal area capacity and assess the maximum throughput the sector can achieve when the capacity is given, this research proposes an approach to assess the terminal area capacity from the viewpoint of service provision resources. Terminal area capacity is optimized based on the equilibrium of air traffic service resource supply and demand. The supply-demand nexus is examined in consideration of terminal area route structure, traffic flow characteristics, and safety regulations. A flight service probability matrix and a terminal area demand and supply service time model are constructed to quantify resource expenditure at varied capacity levels. A optimization model is then developed to apportion maximal capacity under resource limitations. Model computation and computation results demonstrate the deviation between estimated and amended capacities is under 0.3 flight sorties per hour. The outcomes are congruent with historical statistics, thereby validating the accuracy and reliability of the model proposed in this study. Given capacity parameters, the model can deduce the maximal aircraft quantity served concurrently in terminal areas during peak periods. These revelations indicate the submitted model furnishes theoretical foundation and reference for terminal area sector partition and traffic alerting.

Disruptive selection arises when extreme phenotypes have a fitness advantage compared to more intermediate phenotypes. Theory and evidence suggest that intraspecific resource competition is a key driver of disruptive selection. However, while competition can be indirect (exploitative) or direct (interference), the role of interference competition in disruptive selection has not been tested, and most models of disruptive selection assume exploitative competition. We experimentally investigated whether the type of competition affects the outcome of competitive interactions using a system where disruptive selection is common: Mexican spadefoot toads (Spea multiplicata). Spea tadpoles develop into alternative resource-use phenotypes: carnivores, which consume fairy shrimp and other tadpoles, and omnivores, which feed on algae and detritus. Tadpoles intermediate in phenotype have low fitness when competition is intense, as they are outcompeted by the specialized tadpoles. Our experiments revealed that the presence of carnivores significantly decreased foraging behavior in intermediate tadpoles, and that intermediate tadpoles had significantly lower growth rates in interference competition treatments with carnivores but not with omnivores. Interference competition may therefore be important in driving disruptive selection. As carnivore tadpoles are also cannibalistic, the ‘fear’ effect may have a greater impact on intermediate tadpoles than exploitative competition alone, similarly to non-consumptive effects in predator-prey or intraguild relationships.

River flow prediction is a pivotal task in the field of water resource management during the era of rapid climate change. The highly dynamic and evolving nature of the climatic variables e.g., precipitation has a significant impact on the temporal distribution of the river discharge in recent days making the discharge forecasting even more complicated for diversified water-related issues e.g., flood prediction and irrigation planning. To predict the discharge, various physics-based numerical models are used using numerous hydrologic parameters. Extensive lab-based investigation and calibration are required to reduce the uncertainty involved in those parameters. However, in the age of data-driven predictions, several deep learning algorithms showed satisfactory performance in dealing with sequential data. In this research, Long Short-term Memory (LSTM) neural network regression model is trained using over 80 years of daily data to forecast the discharge time series up to 3 days ahead of time. The performance of the model is found satisfactory through the comparison of the predicted data with the observed data, visualization of the distribution of the errors and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) value of 0.09. Higher performance is achieved through the increase in the number of epochs and hyper parameter tuning. This model can be transferred to other locations with proper feature engineering and optimization to perform univariate predictive analysis and potentially be used to perform real-time river discharge prediction.

The concept of green energy is now at the forefront of development discourse, with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7, 11, and 12 all aimed at promoting green energy consumption to combat the three planetary crises: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Similarly, issues regarding Africa’s natural resource curse have caused a stir in the growth and development literature for some time now and there is no sign that it will die out. This study, the first of its kind, simultaneously assesses the impact of green energy consumption and Africa’s natural resources rents on economic growth by applying the Feasible Generalized Least Square (FGLS) estimator and the dynamic panel models of the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) and Mean Group (MG) estimators on data from 1990 to 2020 for 24 selected African countries. The results show that green energy consumption has a short-run growth-limiting effect and a long-run growth-enhancing effect in Africa. The study also found evidence of the natural resource curse phenomenon in Africa. The study, therefore, calls for the advancement and usage of green energy for both domestic and industrial production in Africa. The study further calls for a revamp in the global tax policy to curb illicit financial activities and strengthening institutional quality for transparency and accountability in the entire value chain of natural resource management in Africa.

In the context of the pandemic caused by Covid-19, an important aspect that was affected and changed was the way people communicate. Communication efficiency can be improved by using modern technologies, for example: mobile devices, digital audio and video platforms, text platforms, social media and more. For further economic success, digital skills are needed not only for executives, but also for managers, in order to be able to lead teams and avoid situations of stress and tension in the virtual environment. This scientific paper includes a primary research of how the pandemic affected the communication at the workplace. For this a qualitative analysis was first performed, in which the interview was used as a working tool. Next, on the basis of a questionnaire, a hypothesis was formulated and validated afterwards through multiple linear regression. This research highlighted the particularly important role of communication and, in this context, the role of the remote team leader. In order to keep the team motivated and interested in the virtual environment, the manager must use modern tools to motivate, support and express his appreciation when the team, respectively the members of his team, achieve their goals successfully.

Background: With new challenges to the health system, many new competencies within the scope of teaching public health need to be addressed in medical schools’ curricula such as disaster risk management and health system science. The aims of this study were to identify the needs of public health competencies for medical doctors in Thailand and to assess the level of integration for technical collaboration in teaching public health. Method: A total of 17 out of 21 Thai medical schools participated in the national survey. Qualitative inquiries applied focus group interviews of community representatives from ten sample villages and in-depth interviews of representatives from stakeholder organizations particularly employers. The list of public health competencies framework recommended by WHO-SEARO was applied. Quantitative analysis applied descriptive analysis using STATA 15 and qualitative findings were validated by interrelating the meaning of themes from Word Clouds created in NVivo12. Data integration applied a mixed-method Quan-qual approach. Results: 17 medical schools returned the questionnaires (80.95 % yield). The most common regionally-defined public health competencies (in over 70% of schools) were shown to be: Biostatistics, Community Medicine, Epidemiology, Family Medicine, Medical Ethics and Professional Laws, Preventive Medicine, Health Promotion, Holistic Care, and Research. The curriculum in only one medical school lacked Health Economics, whilst Disaster Management was lacking in two other schools. Discipline-based subjects were found to be more prevalent than interdisciplinary competencies. A variety of methods were being applied for teaching public health. The majority of the schools applied lecture as the main teaching method and multiple-choice questions as the main assessment method. Thai communities expect the doctors to get in touch with the community more often, lead the primary health care team through training the health professionals and community health volunteers, and educate the community for better health. Conclusion: Human resource is the main challenge in addressing interdisciplinary competencies. It is necessary to establish a collaborating mechanism among the big and small medical schools and the faculties of public health to improve the teaching of public health to undergraduate students in medical schools. There is also a need to strengthen the health system science and leadership so that future MDs can lead health service delivery according to the needs of their employers such as the Ministry of Public Health and the Rural Doctors Association. The findings of this study may help to identify a national framework of public health core competencies for medical schools and create a common platform for interdisciplinary collaborations.

Based on the institutional theory and resource-based theory and the "institution-strategy-performance" research paradigm, this research explores the mechanism of institutional support on the innovation performance of new ventures, focusing on the mediating role of entrepreneurs and the moderating role of innovative resource acquisition. An empirical analysis based on 278 survey samples shows that: ① (formal/informal) institutional support positively affects the innovation performance of new ventures; ② entrepreneurial orientation plays an intermediary role between institutional support and innovation performance of new ventures; ③ innovation resource acquisition not only positively regulates the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and innovation performance of new ventures, but also enhances the mediation of entrepreneurial orientation between institutional support and innovation performance. The conclusion shows that institutional support plays an important role in the innovation practice of new ventures, and can provide guidance for the innovation management practices of new ventures.

Zoos are increasingly putting in place formalized animal welfare assessment programs to allow monitoring of welfare over time, as well as to aid in resource prioritization. These programs tend to rely on assessment tools that incorporate resource-based and observational animal- focused measures since it is rarely feasible to obtain measures of physiology in zoo-housed animals. A range of assessment tools are available which commonly have a basis in the Five Domains framework. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted to bring together recent studies examining welfare assessment methods in zoo animals. A summary of these methods is provided with advantages and limitations of the approach es presented. We then highlight practical considerations with respect to implementation of these tools into practice, for example scoring schemes, weighting of criteria, and innate animal factors for consideration. It is concluded that would be value in standardizing guidelines for development of welfare assessment tools since zoo accreditation bodies rarely prescribe these. There is also a need to develop taxon or species- specific assessment tools to inform welfare management.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) purport to report holistically on progress towards sustainability and do so using more than 231 discrete indicators with a primary objective to achieve a balance between the environment, social and economic aspects of development. The research question underpinning the analyses presented in this paper is: are the indicators in the SDGs sufficient and fit-for-purpose to assess the trajectory of natural resources towards sustainability? We extracted the SDG indicators that monitor the state of natural resources, or alternately support policy or governance for their protection, and determined if these are adequate to provide the essential data on natural resources to achieve the aims of the SDGs. The indicators are clustered into four natural resource categories; land, water (both marine and freshwater), air and biodiversity. Indicators for monitoring land resources show that the most comprehensive land resource indicator, for degraded land, is not fully implemented and that missing from land monitoring is an evaluation of vegetation health outside of forests and mountains, the condition of soils, and most importantly the overall health of terrestrial ecosystems. Indicators for monitoring water resources have substantial gaps, unable to properly monitor water quality, water stress, many aspects of marine resources and most significantly, the health of fresh and salt water ecosystems. Indicators for monitoring of air have recently become more comprehensive, but linkage to IPCC results would benefit both programmes. Monitoring of biodiversity is perhaps the greatest weakness of the SDG Agenda, having no comprehensive assessment even though narrow aspects are monitored. Again, deliberate linkages to other global biodiversity programmes (e.g. CBD and the Post 2020 Biodiversity Framework; IPBES; Living Planet, etc.) are recommended on condition that data can be defined at a country level. While the SDG list of indicators in support of natural resource is moderately comprehensive, it lacks holistic monitoring in relation to evaluation of ecosystems and biodiversity to the extent that these missing but vital measures of sustainability threaten the entire SDG Agenda. In addition, an emerging issue is that even where there are appropriate indicators, the amount of country-level data remains inadequate to fully evaluate sustainability. This signals the delicate balance between the extent and complexity of the SDG Agenda and uptake at a country level

Organ transplantation centers set criteria for candidate qualification, which has led to disparate healthcare resource allocation practices affecting those with a substance use history. These individuals are denied organ transplants by committees and healthcare providers who assign them lower priority status. The lower priority argument claims that healthcare resources should not be provided equally to individuals failing to share responsibility for not doing enough in addressing the diseases associated with substance use. The purpose of this work is to explore the interrelatedness between the ethics of a merit-based system of moral responsibility and lower priority setting involved in healthcare resource allocation pertaining to those with substance use histories. An integral approach to the argument against the lower prioritists with a focus on the relationship between different organ allocation practices affecting substance users and the justification for resource allocation practices in healthcare and transplant committees. Lower priority setting is challenged, and an argument offered in which substance users are assigned higher priority when relying on “doing enough” in a merit-based system of moral responsibility. It is determined that one cannot substantiate assigning a lower priority status since a lack of success in rehab does not imply a lack of effort. Additionally, neither to confirmatory behavior, nor to non-conforming behavior may freedom be justifiably ascribed in a merit-based system of responsibility because freedom to choose can neither be established a priori, nor a posteriori with respect to meritorious behavior.

The optimization of the production process of metal mines has been traditionally driven only by economic benefits while ignoring resource efficiency. However, it has become increasingly aware of the importance of resource efficiency since mineral resource reserves continue to decrease while the demand continues to grow. To better utilize the mineral resources for sustainable development, this paper proposes a multi-objective optimization model of the production process of metal mines considering both economic benefits and resource efficiency. Specifically, the goals of the proposed model are to maximize the profit and resource utilization rate. Then, the fast and elitist Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) is used to optimize the multi-objective optimization model. The proposed model has been applied to the optimization of the production process of a stage in the Huogeqi Copper Mine. The optimization results provide a set of Pareto-optimal solutions that can meet varying needs of decision makers. Moreover, compared with those of the current production indicators, the profit and resource utilization rate of some points in the optimization results can increase respectively by 2.99% and 2.64%. Additionally, the effects of the decision variables (geological cut-off grade, minimum industrial grade and loss ratio) on objective functions (profit and resource utilization rate) were discussed using variance analysis. The sensitivities of the Pareto-optimal solutions to the unit copper concentrate price were studied. The results show that the Pareto-optimal solutions at higher profits (with lower resource utilization rates) are more sensitive to the unit copper concentrate prices than those obtained in regions with lower profits.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the SDGs, are high on the agenda for most countries of the world. In its publication of the SDGs, the UN has provided the goals and target descriptions that, if implemented at a country level, would lead towards a sustainable future. The IAEG (InterAgency Expert Group of the SDGs) was tasked with disseminating indicators and methods to countries that can be used to gather data describing the global progress towards sustainability. However 2030 Agenda leaves it to countries to adopt the targets with each government setting its own national targets guided by the global level of ambition but taking into account national circumstances. At present, guidance on how to go about this is scant, but it is clear that the responsibility is with countries to implement and that it is actions at a country level that will determine the success of the SDGs. SDG reporting by countries takes on two forms 1) global reporting using prescribed indicator methods and data; 2) National Voluntary Reviews where a country reports on its own progress in more detail but is also able to present data that are more appropriate for the country. For the latter, countries need to be able to adapt the global indicators to fit national priorities and context, thus the global description of an indicator could be reduced to describe only what is relevant to the country. Countries may also, for the National Voluntary Review, use indicators that are unique to the country but nevertheless contribute to measurement of progress towards the global SDG target. Importantly, for those indicators that relate to the security of natural resources security (e.g. water) indicators, there are no prescribed numerical targets/standards or benchmarks. Rather countries will need to set their own benchmarks or standards against which performance can be evaluated. This paper presents a procedure that would enable a country to describe national targets with associated benchmarks that are appropriate for the country. The procedure focusses on those SDG targets that are natural resource-security focussed e.g. extent of water-related ecosystems (6.6), desertification (15.3) etc., because the selection of indicator methods and benchmarks is based on the location of natural resources, their use and present state and how they fit into national strategies.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) severing as the relay is an effective technology method to extend the coverage. It can also alleviate the congestion and increase the throughput, especially applied in UAV networks. However, since the energy of UAVs is limited and the resources in UAV networks are scarce, how to optimize the network delay performance under these constraints should be well investigated. Besides, the relationship among different resources, e.g. power and bandwidth, is coupled which makes the optimization more complex. This article investigates the problem of joint power and bandwidth allocation in UAV backhaul networks, which considers both the delay performance and the resource utilization efficiency. Considering the heterogeneous locations characteristics of different UAVs, we formulate the optimization problem as a Stackelberg game. The relay UAV acts as the leader and extended UAVs act as followers. Their utility functions take both the delay durance and the resource consumption into account. To capture the competitive relationship among followers, the sub-game is proved to be an exact potential game and exists Nash equilibriums (NE). The Stackelberg Equilibrium (SE) is proved afterwards. We utilize a hierarchical learning algorithm (HLA) to find out the best resource allocation strategies, which also reduces the computational complexity. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

The world is progressing towards a more advanced society where end-consumers have access to local renewable-based generation and advanced forms of information and technology. Hence, it is in a current state of transition between the traditional approach to power generation and distribution, where end-consumers of electricity have typically been inactive in their involvement with energy markets and a new approach that integrates their active participation. This new approach includes the use of distributed energy resources (DER) such as renewable-based generations and demand response (DR), which are being rapidly adopted by end-consumers, where incentives are strong. This paper presents the role of DR aggregator to effectively integrate DER technologies as a new source of energy capacity, into the electricity networks using information communication technology and industry knowledge. This framework based on DR aggregators will facilitate renewable energy integration and customer engagement in electricity market efficiently. To this aim, advantages and disadvantages of DR aggregators are discussed in this paper from political, economic, social and technological (PEST) point of views. Based on this analysis, a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis for a typical DR aggregator is presented.

Urbanization and industrialization processes in Mongolia have been significant and rapid for the last half-century. During this period, changes in political and economic systems, growth in the population, and the occasional harsh climate conditions were subject to fluctuations in the natural resource usage. The total Ecological Footprint (EF) in Mongolia has increased from 6.8 million global hectares (gha) in 1961 to 14.6 million gha in 2012. However, Biocapacity (BC) has decreased from 50.6 million gha in 1961 to 39.0 million gha in 2012. The study shows that grazing land Footprint and carbon uptake land Footprint are the two major contributors of the recent intensified use of biological resources. To ensure stable economic development and sustainable use of natural resources, environmental planning is required to consider both the population’s pressure on the environment and the ecosystem’s regeneration capacity, simultaneously. We have proposed a few possible strategies for sustainable utilization of grazing land Footprint and carbon Footprint. For grazing land Footprint, efficient management of both herding practice and number of animals should be considered. In case of carbon Footprint, it is estimated that with the improved combustion efficiencies of coal-based power plants and the maximum use of renewable energy, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in Mongolia can be reduced up to 30% compared to the base line business as usual case in 2030.

The move towards a new Circular Economy (CE) economic model has been advocated and supported in Portugal, however, there is limited research on this topic. To address this gap, a quantitative research based on an online survey was carried out among 99 Portuguese organizations, encompassing a wide range of sectors and sizes. The results show that CE is regarded as a strategic and relevant issue for profitability and value creation. Furthermore, the perception that it requires the adoption of new business models in addition to the classical “reduce, reuse, and recycle” approach is growing. Moreover, based on the hypotheses raised, results suggest that the level of CE adoption is positively impacted by the status of the EMS (Environmental Management System) certification and the willingness to improve the environmental performance and achieve a sustainable business model. However, CE activities are still relatively modest and a friendlier context (fiscal, legal, organizational, etc.) and the stronger support from supply chain agents and consumers are required. Future research should focus on how to design and shape the transition from a linear to a CE economy, and to ascertain if the positive attitude towards CE is materialized in changing the way business is done.

The physical and economic sustainability of using Built Environment Wind Turbine (BEWT) systems depends on the wind resource potential of the candidate site. Therefore, it is crucial to carry out a wind resource assessment prior to deployment of the BEWT. The assessment results can be used as a referral tool for predicting the performance and lifespan of the BEWT in the given built environment. To date, there is limited research output on BEWTs in South Africa with available literature showing a bias towards utility-scale or conventional ground based wind energy systems. This study aimed to assess wind power generation potential of BEWT systems in Fort Beaufort using the Weibull distribution function. The results show that Fort Beaufort wind patterns can be classified as fairly good and that BEWTs can best be deployed at 15m for a fairer power output as roof height wind speeds require BEWT of very low cut-in speed of at most1.2ms⁻¹.

Emerging risk factors for childhood (<5 years) anemia cases in low-income countries have not been limited to COVID-19 and the spread of infectious diseases, hidden hunger, and other economic factors. Yet the effects of climatic factors, such as ambient temperatures, on child anemia have been in its infancy. In this population-based study, we study the region-specific associations between child anemia and ambient temperatures in 43 countries of Africa from 2000-2019. Using generalized linear regression models, we found that after adjusting for key covariates, the risk that temperatures pose on child anemia varies across the four African regions (Western, Eastern, Central, and Southern). This suggests that ambient temperatures have varying effects on child anemia by region. Other studies are needed in other low-income settings to expand our findings.

Umbria is an Italian region with a highly fragmented water supply, with many small water distribution systems fed by local sources. The chlorination in these small water systems faces many difficulties related to the high demand variation, low economic relevance, and access to infrastructures. As a result, there are many noncompliances with the quality of the supplied water, which causes a decrease in the performance indicators and tariff. This research investigates the possibility of using a low-cost chlorination system to consider different environmental conditions (e.g., temperature variations of water and environment, pH, ...) and discontinuous consumption. A device for this specific use is developed and tested by laboratory tests and is ready for use in the field.

Tropical rock lobsters (Panulirus ornatus) are a highly cannibalistic species with intermoult animals predominantly attacking animals during ecdysis (moulting). Rapid, positive characterisation of pre-ecdysis lobsters may open a pathway to disrupt cannibalism. Ecdysial suture line development is considered for pre-ecdysis recognition with suture line definition compared for lobsters emerged and immerged, using white, near ultraviolet (365 nm), near infrared (850 nm) and spe-cialty Osram SFH 4737 broadband IR LEDs against a reference of intermoult lobsters with no suture line development. An alternative pre-ecdysis recognition strategy used a novel low-cost spectral camera composed of the Sony IMX219, AMS AS7265x spectral sensors and Osram SFH 4737 broadband infrared LEDs. Images and data using the novel low-cost spectral camera was acquired from intermoult, pre-ecdysis, and post-ecdysis lobsters. Compared with the white light appear-ance, suture line definition was enhanced under 850 nm, 365 nm, and SFH 4737 LEDs for immerged lobsters, while the 850 nm LED achieved the best suture line definition of emerged lobsters. The spectral camera was unable to characterise pre-ecdysis. A least squares regression for binary classification decision boundary successfully separated 86.7% of post-moult lobsters. Achieving post-moult characterisation validated the speculative exploratory approach in developing this novel low-cost spectroscopy tool.

GNSS is nowadays a standard tool for monitoring and studying the Earth’s dynamic environment. However, the development of dense GNSS measurements remains limited in many experiments by the cost of geodetic-class equipments allowing to achieve the high precision required by many applications. Recently, multi-constellation, multi-frequency, low-power and, above all, less expensive GNSS electronic chips have become available. We present a prototype of a low-cost, open-source multi-GNSS station. Our prototype comprises a dual-frequency GNSS chip, a calibrated antenna, a Raspberry Pi card and a 4G key for data transmission. The system is easy to deploy in the field and allows precise positioning in real time and post-processing. We assess the performance of our prototype in terms of raw data quality, and quality of the obtained high rate and daily position one-year-long time series. Our results demonstrate a quality equivalent to geodetic-class equipment and better quality than other low-cost systems proposed so far.

The manufacturing geometrical variability in axial compressors is a stochastic source of uncertainty, implying that the real geometry differs from the nominal design. This causes the real geometry to lose the ideal axial symmetry. Considering the aerofoils of a stator vane, the geometrical variability affects the flow traversing it. This impacts the downstream rotor, especially when considering the aeroelastic excitation forces. Optical surface scans coupled with a parametrization method allow for acquiring the information relative to the real aerofoils geometries. The measured data are included in a multi-passage and multi-stage CFD setup to represent the mistuned flow. In particular, low excitation harmonics on the rotor vane are introduced due to the geometrical deviations of the upstream stator. The introduced low engine orders as well as their amplitude depend on the stator geometries and their order. A method is proposed to represent the phenomena in a reduced CFD domain, limiting the size and number of solutions required to probabilistically describe the rotor excitation forces. The resulting rotor excitation forces are reconstructed as a superposition of disturbances due to individual stator aerofoils geometries. This indicates that the problem is linear in in the combination of disturbances from single passages.

Disseminated or military tuberculosis (TB) is defined as the presence of at least two non-contiguous sites of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, occurring as a result of progressive primary infection, reactivation and spread of a latent focus or due to iatrogenic origin. Disseminated TB represents a life-threatening condition, especially in at-risk children and when the diagnosis and treatment are delayed. We report on a case of a 3-year old boy who presented with long-lasting unrecognised disseminated TB that was successfully managed in a low-resource setting.

This paper presents high-resolution digital measurements at low cost, combining oversample and averaging. Experiments of processing data between samples and between multiple temperature sensors in the same environment are conducted. They provide results with effective increase in the analog to digital converter bits, in correspondence with the minimization on the effects of noise. It is shown that averaging a set of small, low-cost sensors at a small microcontroller can give flexible access to improved measurement accuracy.

The production and secretion of very-low density lipoproteins (VLDL) by hepatocytes has a direct impact on liver fat content as well as the concentration of cholesterol and triglycerides in the circulation and thus affects liver and cardiovascular health, respectively. Importantly, excess caloric intake and lack of physical activity are associated with overproduction of VLDL, hepatic steatosis, and increased levels of atherogenic lipoproteins. Cholesterol as well as triglycerides in remnant particles after VLDL lipolysis are risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and have garnered increasing attention over the last few decades. To date, however, increased risk of ASCVD is not the only concern when considering today’s cardiometabolic patients, as they often also suffer from hepatic steatosis. This notion highlights the importance of understanding the molecular regulation of VLDL biogenesis. Fortunately, there has been a resurgence of interest in the intracellular assembly, trafficking, degradation, and secretion of VLDL by hepatocytes, that has led to many exciting new molecular insights, the topic of this review. We think that increasing our understanding of the biology of this pathway will help improve the health of the cardiometabolic patient in the long term.

Two modal decomposition techniques, including proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and dynamic mode decomposition (DMD), are used to identify the wake patterns past single and two crossing cylinders in 60° and 90° arrangements with gap ratio G = 4. The flow is simulated using direct numerical simulations (DNS) for Reynolds numbers Re = 100. The spatial scale of flow decreases with increasing modal frequency from the modal analysis. Two main modes are identified in the wake of the cylinders, namely spatially antisymmetric and symmetric modes. Antisymmetric and symmetric modes are related to cylinders’ vortex shedding and shedding vortices’ shift motion, respectively, whose frequencies are odd and even multiples of cylinders’ lift force frequency. In addition, a low-frequency mode concerning the shadowing effect of the downstream cylinder (DC) in 90° arrangement is found in the wake of the DC centre.

The present work aimed to validate a low-cost passive monitoring procedure. For its validation, the monitoring of atmospheric organic pollutants - polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) was carried out in a capital of the central-western region of Brazil. The sensors were fixed on poles intended for electrification during the dry season. After 15 days, samples were extracted by solvent extraction and analysed by High-Resolution Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization Detector (HRGC-FID). For the validation of the procedure, PAHs monitored and standardised by the American Environmental Agency (EPA), a benchmark for environmental monitoring of air quality by several countries, were analysed. The results demonstrated that the low-cost passive monitoring method was effective in the quantification of PAH in the environment-air, capable of being used by countries that do not have many resources for monitoring air quality.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat associated with high morbidity and mortality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Inappropriate use of antimicrobials is one of the major drivers of the AMR pandemic. This study aims to evaluate the rate and quality of antimicrobial prescription and use at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali, a tertiary referral and teaching hospital. A point prevalence survey (PPS) of antimicrobial prescription was conducted using the Global PPS tool, including the healthcare-acquired infections (HAI)-module. On the day of PPS, 39.3% (145/369) of the patients were prescribed at least one antimicrobial. Out of 259 prescribed antimicrobials, 232 (89.6%) were antibacterials of which 151 (65.1%) belonged to the Watch-group of the WHO AWaRe classification. Top three antibiotics prescribed were cefotaxime (87; 37.5%), parenteral metronidazole (31; 13.4%); and meropenem (23; 9.9%). Stop/review of the prescribed antimicrobials was documented in 27/259 prescriptions (10.4%). Surgical prophylaxis (SP) was prescribed for more than one day in 83.3% of 61. Samples for culture were sent for 27.1% (63/232) of all prescribed antibiotics. This PPS showed a high usage of Watch antibiotics, prolonged surgical prophylaxis and other poor-quality indicators. Therefore, there is an urgent need for antimicrobial stewardship interventions.

This article introduces the design and analysis of a slope detection circuit tailored for on-chip sensing of the load current in DC-DC converters. The novel indirect sensing approach is grounded in measuring the output voltage slope across the filtering capacitor during discharge phases. Consequently, this slope data can be effectively harnessed to control the converter switches. The slope detector circuit was designed in standard 65 nm CMOS technology using the nominal supply voltage of 1.2 V and can be used for current sensing within the range from one to hundreds of mA. Since the proposed circuit has mainly digital character, the robustness to process, temperature and supply voltage variations can be ensured rather conveniently.

Background: Protein CCDC186 is involved in the maturation of dense core vesicles in the trans-Golgi network in neurons and endocrine cells. To date, only one patient, within a large sequencing study of 1000 cases, and a single case report with variants in CCDC186 had previously been described. However, no functional studies in any of these two cases had been performed. Methods: Exome sequencing from one affected individual of each family was performed. In addition, Sanger sequencing of the parents and one of the affected siblings was also performed. CCDC186 protein was assessed in cultured fibroblasts or muscle tissue by western blot. Transcriptomic analysis was done by means of RNA sequencing. Results. We identified three patients from two gypsy families, unrelated to each other, with the same homozygous mutations in CCDC186 gene. Clinically, all patients presented with seizures, frontotemporal atrophy, hypomyelination, recurrent infections, and endocrine disturbances such as severe non ketotic hypoglycemia. Low levels of cortisol, insulin or growth hormone could only be verified in one patient. All of them had a neonatal onset and died between 7 months and 4 years of age. WES identified a homozygous variant in CCDC186 gene (c.2215C>T, p.Arg739Ter) in the index patients of both families. Protein expression studies demonstrated that the CCDC186 was practically undetectable in fibroblasts and muscle tissue. These observations correlated perfectly with the transcriptomic analysis performed in fibroblasts in one of the patients, which showed a significant reduction of CCDC186 mRNA levels. Conclusion. Our study provides functional evidence that mutations in this gene have a pathogenic effect on the protein and reinforces CCDC186 as a new disease-associated gene. In addition, mutations in CCDC186 could explain the combined endocrine and neurologic alterations detected in our patients

This paper aims at trying to answer the question of whether a low cost drone equipped with a regular camera can serve as a simple device to estimate the size of objects. Ad-ditionally, it assesses if the accuracy of measurement is good enough for using a drone for measurements, relying solely on GPS position and camera. A review of the literature pertaining to ground object measurements was conducted. The availability of such in-struments was evaluated in terms of purchase and rental costs, the number of instru-ments on the market, and the time to obtain them. The most common measurement methods were considered and their unit costs were reviewed. The cost of professional surveying and measuring equipment was compared to the possibility of using low-cost, non-commercial drones to measure objects and surfaces. The quality of the images ob-tained was compared with high-resolution satellite systems. Is an ordinary drone with a standard camera suitable for length measurement without professional measuring equipment? Should the results be considered only in the category of size estimation?

One of the key issues in sustainable tourism research is the gap between tourists' expressed friendly attitudes towards sustainable behaviors and their actual behaviors. Although many "low-carbon" themed restaurants have emerged during the low-carbon transformation of the Chinese tourism industry, low-carbon food services have not been significantly improved. This study takes food as the entry point to explore tourists' behavior and attitudes towards low-carbon tourism in relation to food. We conducted two interviews. The first interview was a semi-structured contextual interview with 120 tourists who had experiences in food streets, aim-ing to identify the core user group: low-carbon attitude-friendly tourists with high-carbon food behaviors. The second interviews was an in-depth interview based on grounded theory with 29 core users, analyzing the four main reasons for their high-carbon food behaviors and their re-quirements for low-carbon food services in tourism. Based on this, we extracted four design ele-ments for low-carbon tourism food services: low-carbon information show service, low-carbon service product attractiveness improvement, low-carbon food environment atmosphere creation, and service providers' low-carbon behaviors. Through these four service elements, we constructed a low-carbon tourism food service design framework based on the core users' needs, discussed the mechanism of service elements, and provided service design suggestions accordingly. The re-search results serve tourism providers, low-carbon tourism researchers, and designers.

Chronic pain is a serious health concern and potentially debilitating condition, leading to anxiety, depression, reduced productivity and functionality, and poor quality of life. This condition can be even more detrimental and incapacitating in the pediatric patient population. In low and middle income countries (LMICs), pain services are inadequate or unavailable, leaving most of the world's pediatric population with chronic pain untreated. Many of these children in LMICs are suffering without treatment, and often die in pain. Awareness and advocacy for this population must be prioritized. We reviewed the available literature on the chronic pediatric pain burden in LMICs, barriers to treatments, and current efforts to treat these patients.

The establishment of Ministry of Natural Resources and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, marks integrated installation of centralized and unified supervision of agricultural natural resources assets. The value goal of comprehensive supervision of agricultural natural resource assets should include process-oriented, multi-participation, assets accretion and technological innovation. However, different supervision departments have different objectives and interest gambling. From the perspective of game equilibrium, effective balance between development and use and comprehensive supervision of agricultural natural resource assets, promote the reconstruction of structure of rights(powers), form a practical systematic selection. Take comprehensive supervision legislation as solution path, take central and local comprehensive cohesion as realization mechanism, highly integrated and coordinate in legislation, to implement institution allocation which efficient use of agricultural natural resources assets and rural green ecological environment protection are considered.

This research paper presents a detailed analysis of a Lightweight Block Cipher’s power consumption and security features (LWBC), specifically designed for IoT applications. To accurately measure energy consumption during the execution of the LWBC algorithm, we utilised the Qoitech Otii Arc, a specialised tool for optimising energy usage. Our experimental setup involved using the Otii Arc as a power source for an Arduino NodeMCU V3, running the LWBC security algorithm. Our methodology focused on energy consumption analysis using the shunt resistor technique. Our findings reveal that the LWBC is highly efficient and provides an effective solution for energy-limited IoT devices. We also conducted a comparative analysis of the proposed cipher against established LWBCs, which demonstrated its superior performance in terms of energy consumption per bit. The proposed LWBC was evaluated based on various key dimensions such as power efficiency, key and block size, rounds, cipher architecture, gate area, ROM, latency, and throughput. The results of our analysis indicate that the proposed LWBC is a promising cryptographic solution for energy-conscious and resource-limited IoT applications.

This study evaluates how automation and digital transformation affect Human Resource Development (HRD) strategies, focusing on AI-driven training programs, the effectiveness of remote work technologies, and the challenges related to digital transformation fatigue. Employing a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative surveys (n=500) and qualitative interviews (n=30), the study offers comprehensive insights. Key findings reveal that 75% of respondents noted improved skill acquisition through AI, 60% expressed satisfaction with remote work technologies despite some challenges, and 55% reported experiencing digital transformation fatigue. The study suggests strategic investments in AI, robust remote work infrastructure, and wellness programs to mitigate fatigue, emphasizing the importance of balancing technological advancements with employee well-being.

(1) Background: The rapid development of information technology has changed the traditional concept of space, gradually shifting the "container space" to the "relational space" . The constraints of geographical spatial elements are diminishing, and the theory of virtual agglomeration is gaining attention. (2) Methods: In this study, we constructed an evaluation system for virtual agglomeration, comprising four primary indicators: virtual infrastructure level, virtual output level, virtual input level, and virtual service level. The TOPSIS method was used to calculate the virtual agglomeration level for each province, and the DEA-Malmquist method was employed to measure provincial total factor productivity (TFP) in China. Using panel data from 30 provincial regions in China from 2013 to 2021, we examined the mechanism and impact path of virtual agglomeration on TFP. (3) Result: There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between virtual agglomeration and TFP in China. The overall development level of virtual agglomeration is relatively low, within the range where the marginal effect of virtual agglomeration on TFP is positive but diminishing, indicating significant potential for further development. The impact of virtual agglomeration on TFP is stronger in the Yangtze River Economic Belt compared to non-Yangtze River areas, and the highest stable point of TFP is higher in central provinces than in eastern and western provinces. (4) Conclusions: This study provides a theoretical basis and practical reference for improving the level of virtual agglomeration.

This study explored the intricate nexus between public service provision and land use planning, with a specific focus on the conservation of local plant species in Tambon Khao Phanom, Amphoe Khao Phanom, Krabi Province. Rooted in commitment. The research framework encompasses three fundamental activities: resource survey and collection, resource conservation and utilization, and resource development planning for public services, emphasizing land use planning for local plant species conservation. This multidisciplinary approach integrates the one-map method and draws data from the Department of Land Development to formulate a comprehensive land utilization plan that optimizes land use for biodiversity conservation. This study underscores the critical synergy between public service delivery and land use planning, highlighting their collective potential to advance community well-being and sustainable development.

This paper proposes a heuristic approach for managing complex construction projects. The tool incorporates with Primavera P6 EPPM and Synchro 4D, enabling proactively clash detection and resolution of spatial conflicts during concurrent tasks. Additionally, it performs resource verification for sufficient allocation before task initiation. This integrated approach facilitates the generation of conflict-free and feasible construction schedules. By adhering to project constraints and seamlessly integrating with existing industry tools, the proposed solution offers a comprehensive and robust approach for construction project management. This constitutes to our knowledge the first dynamic digital twin for the delivery of a complex project.

Inclusive and sustainable development has become an important part of China's sustainable development agenda, the self-recovery and stability of China's economy cannot be achieved without the macro-governance of the government. Figuring out the internal logic of digital finance and economic resilience is an important part of effective government governance. Based on the panel data of 193 counties in five provinces in northwest China from 2014 to 2021, the paper tested digital finance and county-level economic resilience by using two-way fixed-effect model, intermediary-effect model and threshold-effect model, to test whether financial development promotes government governance in underdeveloped regions. The results prove that digital inclusive finance significantly enhances the resilience of county economies by improving capital allocation efficiency, stimulating entrepreneurship and employment, and reducing pollution emissions. In addition, there are dual threshold effects between capital allocation efficiency and employment vitality, in which capital allocation efficiency has a gradually increasing threshold effect, and entrepreneurship and employment vitality have a fluctuating increasing threshold effect. Therefore, "Digital inclusive finance" in underdeveloped regions is an indispensable part of financial globalization；promoting the healthy development of digital finance is the basis and premise for providing a good financial environment for government management; deepening the reform in the financial field and promoting the green and sustainable development of finance are the future trend and direction of efforts.

Keywords: conservation; cultural pluralism; environmental regulation; community-based natural resource management; Indigenous law

This paper performs a comprehensive analysis of the wind energy potential of onshore regions in Greece with emphasis on quantifying the volume risk and the spatial covariance structure. Optimization techniques are employed to derive efficient wind capacity allocation plans (also known as generation portfolios) incorporating different yield aspirations. The generation profile of minimum variance and other optimal portfolios along the efficient frontier are subject to rigorous evaluation using a fusion of descriptive and statistical methods. In particular, principal component analysis is employed to estimate factor models and investigate the spatiotemporal properties of wind power generation, providing valuable insights into the persistence of volume risk. The overarching goal of the study is to employ a set of statistical and mathematical programming tools guiding investors, aggregators and policy makers in their selection of wind energy generating assets. The findings of this research challenge the effectiveness of current policies and industry practices, offering a new perspective on wind energy harvesting with a focus on the management of volume risk.

Marked changes in temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) content, and nutrient content typically occur in marine thermoclines, which are key factors that affect the corrosion of metals. Offshore platforms have required marine metals to be exposed to deep-sea environments and have thus increased their penetration into the marine thermocline. This study investigates the galvanic corrosion of E690 steel in a marine thermocline using a simulated marine thermocline (SMT). Specifically, the corrosion of E690 steel was analyzed using the wire beam electrode (WBE) technique, linear polarization (LP), corrosion morphology, and weight loss measurement. Results indicated that the SMT had a stable multilayer structure, and the variations of temperature, DO, pH and nutrient concentration in the SMT were similar to those in the natural marine thermocline. Galvanic corrosion occurred after the intrusion of E690 steel into the marine thermocline. The driver of galvanic corrosion was the of E690 steel at various depths of the marine thermocline. The Ecorr of E690 steel was influenced by the temperature, pH and DO of seawater, and the order was DO >> T > pH. The continuous reduction of Ecorr with depth contributed to the large-scale galvanic corrosion, and the oscillation variation of Ecorr with depth was the reason for small-scale galvanic corrosion. The primary anodic regions of galvanic corrosion were located in the area with the fastest temperature variation in the thermocline. The proportion of galvanic corrosion in the average corrosion rate could increase up to approximately 80% in the stable anodic region. There were many deep corrosion pits in the long-term and stable anodic region of galvanic corrosion.

Along with the economic growth, the companies must contribute to social progress and promote environmental sustainability in equal harmony. Sustainable human resource management (SHRM) strategies make it possible to attain the economic, social and environmental goals of a firm. In this regard, a survey method is discussed using the literature review and online questionnaire to identify the main factors/indicators during the SHRM evaluation of manufacturing firms in India. Uncertainty is commonly occurred in the assessment of SHRM factors. As a generalized version of fuzzy sets, single-valued neutrosophic set (SVNS) has been demonstrated as a valuable tool to illustrate the indeterminate, inconsistent and uncertain data of realistic decision-making problems. Considering the idea of SVNSs, this study develops a hybrid multi-criteria group decision-making (MCGDM) approach for assessing the SHRM of manufacturing firms under uncertainty settings. For this purpose, an SVN-alternative ranking order method accounting for two-step normalization (AROMAN) is proposed based on VIFI-score function-based decision experts’ (DEs’) weighting tool and integrated criteria weight-determining model to solve the MCGDM problems with fully unknown DEs and criteria weights. In this regard, we develop new SVN-distance measure to compute the degree of difference between SVNSs. Some examples are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of developed measure over the existing ones. In addition, new criteria weight-determination model is presented with the integration of objective weights through IVIF-distance measure-based model and subjective weights through ranking comparison (RANCOM) tool on SVNSs. The proposed ranking method is applied to an empirical study of SHRM assessment for manufacturing firms in India, which shows its applicability and feasibility. In this study, the evaluation criteria are characterized into social, environmental and economic aspects with DE’s opinions. Comparative and sensitivity analyses are made to show the strength and steadiness of presented approach. This study provides an innovative MCGDM analysis framework, which makes a significant contribution to the SHRM assessment problem under indeterminate, inconsistent and uncertain setting.

Purpose, This research aimed to examine the effect of green logistics (GL) and green human resource management (GHRM) on the performance of environmentally friendly manufacturing industries oriented towards sustainable development of organizations (SDO) through the role of sustainable production (SP) as a mediating variable. Methodology, A quantitative approach was employed through a standardized questionnaire to obtain data from 110 manufacturing industries in Indonesia that implemented environmentally friendly practices. Advanced statistical techniques, such as Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and data analysis using Smart PLS (Partial Least Square) version 4 were utilized to analyze the collected data. Findings, The results showed that the model supported the statistical significance of all seven hypotheses and confirmed the direct and mediating effects of GL, GHRM, and SP on SDO. Practical implications, This research added critical insights into the theory and practice of GL and GHRM to realize SDO through the role of SP as a mediator in environmentally friendly manufacturing industries. Originality, This research contributd to the existing literature by adding to the effect of SP mediation on the relationship of GL and GHRM on SDO. There was no previous research that discussed the important role of SP mediation in influencing the relationship between GL and GHRM on SDO.

Environmental regulation has dual effects on water resource utilization performance through various channels such as the "three red lines" and the "Porter hypothesis". Based on the detailed analysis of the impact path of environmental regulation on water resource utilization performance, the two-step system GMM method was adopted to test the dual effects of environmental regulation on water resource utilization performance by using panel data of 30 provinces and cities from 2004 to 2020. The results show that: (1) Environmental regulation has a significant direct impact on water resource utilization performance, and is currently in the stage of positive relationship of an inverted u-shaped relationship. (2) Environmental regulation has a significant indirect impact on water resource utilization Environmental regulation has dual effects on water resource utilization performance through various channels such as the "three-red lines" and the "Porter hypothesis". In accordance with a detailed examination of the influence path of environmental regulation on the performance of water resource utilization, the double effects of environmental regulation on water resource utilization performance were examined using panel statistics from 30 provinces and cities from 2004 to 2020 using the two-step system GMM approach. The results demonstrate that: (1) Environmental regulation has a direct effect on water resource utilization performance which is currently in the stage of the positive relationship of an inverted u-shaped relationship. (2) The influence of environmental regulation on water resource utilization performance through government intervention and industrial structure adjustment is indirect, among which government intervention can significantly improve water resource utilization performance, while the growth of the tertiary industry as a percentage can lower water resource utilization performance. (3) Both direct and indirect impacts indicate that enhancing the efficiency of the use of water resources is sustainable, and the water resource utilization performance of the preceding period had a major positive impact over the present phase. Therefore, the paper sets out a few policy suggestions, such as choosing reasonable environmental regulation tools, actively guiding the market-oriented reform with constraints, and upgrading the industrial structure in a green way.

Heritage conservation area designation is often resisted by communities due to concerns with overly strict regulations for property alterations and negative impacts on property values. This paper addresses these concerns by examining Freemans Bay and Onehunga – two Special Character Areas (SCAs) in Auckland, New Zealand. A property value analysis was used to assess the impact of SCA designation on property values and an online questionnaire survey gathered information on homeowners’ experiences and levels of satisfaction with living in an SCA. The results indicate that designated SCA properties have higher average values than non-designated properties and homeowners are overwhelmingly satisfied with living in a SCA. The main benefits are a sense of community and having certainty around the look and feel of their neighbourhood into the future. The main issue identified by respondents is the requirement for Resource Consent. The majority of people who had gone through the process found it to be a negative experience because of the high cost in terms of time and money. A historic urban landscape approach to the development of management plans and design guidelines is recommended to improve the implementation of the Special Character Areas in Auckland and beyond.

Based on the Organizational Support Theory, this study examines the relationship between human resource management practices and service performance of sharing workers by demonstrating the mediation role of work engagement. We tested this theoretical model using an in-person interview questionnaire survey of 318 downwind drivers. Results showed that: (1) the main effect of human resource management practices of sharing workers on service performance was significant; (2) work engagement played a prominent mediation role between human resource management practices and service performance of sharing workers; (3) the mediation role of employee vigor between the platform incentives and the performance of employee services was significant; (4) employee dedication had an obvious and indirectly positive mediating effect between sharing workers' dimensions of human resource management practice and their service performance; (5) employee absorption on the mediation role between the various dimensions of the sharing human resources management practices (platform support, platform incentives and platform constraints) and employee service performance was significant. This study has important value for the study on human resource management practices in the context of sharing economy, and provides practical enlightenment for employee management of the sharing economy platform.

Extreme environmental variations (EV), as a phenomenon deriving from climate change (CC), led to an exacerbated uncertainty on water availability and increased the likelihood of conflicts regarding water-dependent activities such as agriculture. In this paper, we investigate the role of conflict resolution mechanisms -one of Ostrom’s acclaimed Design Principles (DPs)- when social-ecological systems (SESs) are exposed to physical external disturbances. The theoretical propositions predict that SESs with conflict-resolution-mechanisms will perform better than those without them. We tested this proposition through a framed-field-experiment that mimicked an irrigation system. In this asymmetric setting, farmers were exposed to two (2) dilemmas: (i) how much to invest in the communal irrigation system’s (CIS) maintenance and (ii) how much water to extract. The setting added a layer of complexity: water availability did not only depend on the investment but also on the environmental variability. Our findings largely confirmed the theoretical proposition: groups with stronger institutional robustness are able to cope with EV better than those with weaker robustness. However, we also found that some groups, despite lacking conflict-resolution-mechanisms, were also able to address EV. We explored potential explanatory variables to these unexpected results. We found that subjects’ and groups’ attributes might address uncertainty and avert conflict. Thus, SESs’ capacity to respond to external disturbances, such as EV, might not only be a question of DPs. Instead, it might also be strongly related to group members' attributes and group dynamics. Our results pave the way for further research, hinting that some groups might be better equipped for mitigation measures, while others might be better equipped for adaptation measures.