As a new plant slope protection technology, living stumps can effectively improve slope stability. The current study attemptes to investigate the mechanical characteristics of the root system of living stumps and their reinforcement mechanism on slopes by carrying out a three-dimensional living stump slope modeling test. Using ABS materials, a 3D model of a living elm stump was created by 3D printing and a slope model test was carried out. The reinforcement mechanism of the living stump was studied through a combination of model testing and numerical simulation. The results indicate that, due to the presence of living stumps in the lower and middle parts of the slope, the maximum shear stress area of the soil moved to a deeper direction. The stress state of the soil around the living stump was effectively improved due to the existence of the lateral root system.Living stumps in the lower part of the slope cross the potential sliding surface and transferred the soil shear stress gradually to the root system through root-soil interaction. Moreover, the tap roots and lateral roots of living stumps form a robust spatial structure that bears the shear stress of soil together, thus increasing the stability of the slope.

This study investigates why young adults live with their parents in Sweden. As young adults’ living arrangements affect decisions about marriage, education, childbirth, and participation in the workforce, more knowledge for policy makers is crucial to implementing effective policies to support young adults and promote financial independence and well-being. Using a data set from 1998 to 2021 at the municipal level in Sweden, we used a spatial autoregressive panel data model to examine the proportion of young adults living at home and regional disparities. The study uncovers intraregional variations, illustrating how different municipalities within Sweden exhibit different patterns of young adults living at home. Our findings reveal that economic factors, such as unemployment, significantly impact this pattern. The dynamics of the housing market, demographic factors, cultural differences, and location-specific characteristics also play an essential role in explaining this pattern. The findings suggest that the key drivers are the lack of rental housing, high unemployment rates, a high degree of urbanisation, interregional migration, and lack of social capital.

The concept of collecting data of people using a domestic space is not novel. However, the methods and processes used to decipher this raw data and transform it into useful and appropriate information (i.e., sequence, duration, and timing derived from domestic activities) have been challenging and the focus of many research groups. But how are the results of the decoded transposition received, interpreted and used by the various professionals (e.g., occupational therapists and architects) who consume the information? This paper describes the inclusive evaluation process undertaken, which involved architects, engineers and end-users (not the occupant, but the care team managing the occupant). Finally, our study evidence the importance of making accessible to a multidisciplinary audience spatial, temporal and sequential aspects derived from people's domestic routines. Shedding light on how a systematic approach to collecting, processing and mapping low-level sensor data into higher forms and representations can be a valuable source of knowledge for improving the domestic living experience.

In South Korea, the residential real estate market is influenced not just by traditional supply and demand dynamics, but also by external factors such as housing policies and macroeconomic conditions. Given the significant role of housing assets in individual wealth, market fluctuations can have profound implications. While prior research has utilized variables like GDP growth rate, patent issuance, and birth rates, and employed models like LSTM and ARIMA for housing price predictions, many overlook key localized factors. Notably, the impact of subway stations and living SOC facilities on housing prices, especially in metropolitan areas, remains underexplored. This study addresses these gaps by analyzing usage trends across subway stations, assessing the influence of living SOC facilities on housing values, and identifying the optimal machine learning model for price predictions near transport hubs. Through a comparative analysis of machine learning techniques, we aim to provide insights for more informed housing price determinations, promoting a more stable real estate market.

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19, working from home has become the norm for millions of workers worldwide. The current research focuses on the benefits and challenges of teleworking in the administrative sectors of greek healthcare units, with a view to harnessing the knowledge gained through experience, in order to create the frame for sustainable behaviors. Anyways, the implementation of teleworking requires complex and dynamic changes in technical and behavioral aspects. Therefore, a systematic review was also conducted to identify the relationships between telecommuting and organizational behavior, with the aim of achieving sustainable development in businesses. Moreover, an important positive aspect of telework that emerged from this literature review appears to create opportunities for potential direct or indirect linkages between telework and many SDGs areas, based on the fact that telework appears to be a community-friendly form of work. In summary, this research strongly suggests that leaders facilitate telecommuters to adopt green practices and volunteerism that can consequently contribute to the SDGs. However, in order to meet the challenges arising from unprecedented times, the leaders of the organizations will have to redesign their policies, while the states will have to focus on guaranteeing the rights and freedoms of the workers.

Elevated indoor CO2 levels might have adverse effects on human health. However, the introduction of outdoor air to lower indoor CO2 concentrations results in significant HVAC energy consumption. Aligning with office hours and the natural light cycle, the utilization of photosynthesis in living walls offers an energy-efficient and sustainable solution for the mitigation of high CO2 levels in office spaces. This study experimentally investigates the impacts of the carbon fixation pathways, light intensity, and substrate moisture content on the CO2 removal rate of living walls at the room scale. Furthermore, the fresh air energy-saving effects of living walls under different scenarios are accurately simulated in EnergyPlus. The results demonstrate that choosing C3 plants over CAM plants in living walls yields higher CO2 removal efficiency. In a 30-m2 office room accommodating 2-3 occupants, living walls can reduce the demand for fresh air by 12.3%-27.8% and decrease fresh air energy consumption by 11.2%-28.2%. The city with the highest energy savings has energy savings that are 4.5 times greater than those of the city with the lowest energy savings. The findings of this research promote the application and development of living walls, thus providing a viable solution for improving indoor air quality.

Introduction: There are unique technical and management challenges associated with living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for Budd-Chiari Syndrome (BCS). The outcomes of LDLT for BCS in comparison to other indications remains unclear and warrants elucidation. Methods: Data of 24 BCS patients who underwent LDLT between January 2012 and June 2019 were analyzed. There were 20 adults and 4 children. The early and long-term outcomes of adult LDLT BCS patients were compared to a control group of LDLT patients for other indications and matched using propensity scoring methodology. Results: Primary BCS was observed in 22(91.7%) patients. Caval replacement was performed in 7(29.1%) patients. Early and late hepatic venous outflow tract (HVOT) complications were seen in 1(5.5%) and 3(16.7%) patients. Preoperative acute kidney injury was identified as a risk factor for mortality in the BCS cohort (p =0.013). On comparison, BCS recipients were younger with fewer comorbidities, more large volume ascites and higher rates of PVT. They also had longer cold ischemia time, increased blood loss and transfusion requirements, increased hospital stay, and higher late outflow complications. The 1-year and 3-year survivals were similar to non-BCS cohort (84.2% vs 94% and 70% vs 91.9%, respectively, log rank test p=0.09). Conclusion: LDLT is remains a good option for symptomatic BCS who have failed non-transplant interventions. The clinical and risk factor profile of BCS recipients is distinct from non-BCS recipients. By following an algorithmic management protocol, we show on propensity-score matched analysis that outcomes of LDLT for BCS are similar to non-BCS indications.

Uniform water soluble MoS2 quantum dots (WS-MSQDs) are synthesized via a sequential combination of sintering/etching/exfoliation method and solvothermal route. The obtained WS-MSQDs with average size of approximately 3.4 nm exhibit sufficient water solubility and remarkable fluorescence properties. The WS-MSQDs have been utilized as a probe for detection of Fe3+ ions with high selectivity and specificity. Furthermore, the WS-MSQDs exhibit high fluorescence stability under different conditions. Finally, the WS-MSQDs are successfully applied for the fluorescence imaging of Fe3+ in living cells, which exhibited practical potential for biomedical applications.

This study aims to contribute to the characterization of Katangese Copperbelt's mining wastes and soils polluted with trace metals, using pollution indices and direct concentration measurements. The study also evaluated the use of these indices in assessing the success of remediation projects. Analytical data from previous studies and samples collected from six types of discharge and one polluted soil were used to address the first objective. Soil and plant samples were collected at Kipushi and Penga Penga for the second objective. The results revealed very high concentrations of As, Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn in all mine tailings and polluted soils, compared with local references. The degree of contamination (DC) values (from 72 to 5440) and potential ecological risk (RI) values (from 549 to 162 091) indicate very high-risk situations associated with polluted discharges and soils. Regarding revegetation trials, the results show lower concentrations and RIs in tree rhizospheres compared with unamended areas at both sites. However, trace metal concentrations are higher in tree rhizospheres compared with local references, and RI values are in the considerable risk range for Penga Penga (RI = 533) and very high (>1500) for Kipushi. Bioconcentration factor values are below 1, indicating low accumulation in roots, wood, and leaves, and low risk of contamination of the trophic chain. In this context, it seems that the pollution indices used are unsuitable for assessing the effectiveness of phytotechnology processes based on metal stabilization. Direct plant performance measurements combined with direct measurements of metals in substrates and plants to assess transfer and efficiency are more appropriate.

Myocastor coypus is a pest animal present in Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia that causes agricultural and ecological damages. Moreover, it has to be considered as a potential risk for public health. Forty-four Nutrias from the “Parco Naturale La Mandria” (Piedmont region, Northwest Italy) have been analysed. A complete necropsy and a whole histological evaluation of liver, kidney and lung have been carried out on all the animals. Moreover, the positivity to Hepatitis E Virus (HEV), Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), Francisella spp., Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum have been investigated. None of the animal resulted positive for HEV, EMCV, Francisella spp. or Neospora caninum. Two animals tested positive for Toxoplasma gondii. A high presence of histological lesions has been identified in different organs, suggesting that lesions could be induced by different pathogens. As previously reported, Nutria can act as a host for several pathogens, including important agents for human and animal health, and surveillance is necessary, to fully understand the biological role and the importance of coypu as a disease reservoir in our country.

The high-mountain and arctic plants are considered especially sensitive to the climate changes because of close adaptations to the cold environment. Kalmia procumbens, the typical arctic-alpine species reaches southernmost European localities in the Pyrenees and Carpathians. The aim of the study was the assessment and comparison of K. procumbens current potential niche areas in the Pyrenees and Carpathians and their possible reduction due to climate change, depending on the scenario. Realized niches of K. procumbens in the Pyrenees are compact while in the Carpathians dispersed. In both mountain chains, the species occurs in the alpine and subalpine vegetation belts, going down to elevations of about 1500-1600 m, while the most elevated localities in the Pyrenees are at ca 3000 m, about 500 m higher than in the Carpathians. The localities of K. procumbens in the Carpathians have a more continental climate than in the Pyrenees, with lower precipitation and temperatures but higher seasonality of temperature and of precipitation. The species covered a larger area of geographic distribution during Last Glacial, and reduced area during mid Holocene. Due to the climate warming, the strong reduction of potential area of occurrence to 2100 is expected in the Carpathians and moderate reduction in in the Pyrenees.

The change of habitat pattern is one of the key factors affecting the survival of moose population. The study of habitat landscape pattern is the key to protect Chinese cold temperate forest moose population and monitor the global distribution of moose. By means of MaxEnt model, landscape index calculation and ecological risk assessment model, combined with field survey and infrared camera monitoring data from April 2014 to January 2023, the author evaluated the habitat suitability of moose population in Nanwenghe National Nature Reserve of the Great Khingan Mountains, and divided the range of moose habitat based on the logical threshold of the model. The landscape pattern index of moose habitat was calculated by Fragstats software and a landscape ecological risk assessment model was established to analyze the landscape pattern and ecological risk dynamic changes of moose habitat in 2015 and 2020. The results showed that under the premise of global warming, the habitat landscape contagion index decreased by 4.53 and the split index increased by 4.86 from 2015 to 2020. In terms of ecological risk: the area of low ecological risk areas increased by 0.88%; the area of medium ecological risk areas decreased by 1.11%; and the area of higher ecological risk areas increased by 0.23%. The fragmentation risk of landscape pattern of moose habitat tends to increase, the preferred patch type is dispersed, the degree of aggregation is low, and the risk of patch type transformation increases. And the middle and high ecological risk areas are mainly concentrated in the river area and its nearby forests, showing a fine and scattered distribution. Under the interference of global warming and human activities, the fragmenta-tion trend of moose habitat in the study area is increasing, and the habitat quality is declining, which is likely to cause moose population migration. For this reason, the author believes that the whole cold temperate forest is likely to face the risk of increasing the transformation trend of dominant patch types in the cold temperate coniferous forest region mainly caused by global warming, resulting in an in-crease in the risk of habitat fragmentation. While the distribution range of moose is reduced, it has a significant impact on the diversity and ecological integrity of the whole cold temperate forest ecosystem. This study is helpful for human beings to strengthen their awareness of forest and river protection, avoid further intervention in more human activities, and formulate a reasonable plan for forest protec-tion and sustainable development in cold temperate zones. to provide theoretical reference for effective monitoring and protection of cold temperate forest and moose population dynamics.

Dioscorea composita is a plant native to México and Central America with a high concentration of diosgenin precursors. Currently, México is one of the two most important countries producers of this yam; however, climate change is altering the environmental conditions of its natural habits, threatening its preservation and productivity. This is why this research was focused to characterize the eco-geography of D. composita and predict its potential geographic distribution under climate change scenarios in México-Central America. A collection of 408 geo-referenced accessions was used to determine its climatic adaptation, ecological descriptors, and the current and future potential geographic distribution, which was modeled with MaxEnt model through the Kuenm R-package. For future climate scenarios, an ensemble of the GCMs HadGEM-ES and CCSM4 was used. Results showed that D. composita adapts to warm humid and very humid agro-climates and that the most contributing variables for its presence are annual and seasonal moisture availability indices, seasonal photoperiod, annual thermal range, Bio14 and Bio11. The year 2050 RCP 4.5 climate scenario would contract the potential distribution of D. composita, whilst the 2050 RCP 8.5 scenario would expand it, indicating that this species could be a good crop option under this scenario of emissions.

The historic western edge of bison (Bison bison) range and the ecological processes that caused its formation are frequently debated with important implications for bison restoration across North America. We test the hypothesis that a combination of bottom-up habitat suitability and top-down harvest pressure from humans were important processes in forming the western edge of bison distribution. Using 9,384 historical journal observations from 1691 – 1928, we employ MaxEnt ecological niche modelling to identify suitable bison habitat across the Western Cordillera from bottom-up climatic, land cover, and topographic factors. We then use mixed-effect logistic regression to test if bison occurrence in journal records can be in part explained by the abundance of Indigenous humans, wolves, or grizzly bears, in addition to MaxEnt-derived habitat suitability. We find support for our hypothesis because of the limited suitable habitat in the Rocky Mountains that likely prevented westward bison dispersal from core habitat, and there was a negative relationship between bison occurrence and human harvest pressure. On this basis, we propose that intensive human harvest from large populations in the Western Cordillera, subsidized by other wildlife, salmon, and vegetation resources, is an underappreciated socioecological process that needs to be restored alongside bison populations. Co-managing bison with Indigenous people will also mitigate the adverse effects of overabundant bison and maximize the ecological and cultural benefits of bison restoration.

Background: Affective states play a role in dietary behaviors. Yet, little research has studied within-subjects associations between affect and diet during pregnancy. We examined the acute bidirectional relationships between affect and food intake and moderation by pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) in low-income, Hispanic pregnant women using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Methods: Women (N=57) completed four days of EMA during their first trimester. Women responded to five random prompts per day about their current affect and past two-hour food intake. Results: Higher positive affect (PA) or lower negative affect (NA) predicted greater likelihood of fruit/vegetable consumption in the next two hours in women with lower pre-pregnancy BMI and lower likelihood in women with higher pre-pregnancy BMI. Higher PA predicted less likelihood of fast food consumption in the next two hours in women with lower pre-pregnancy BMI and slightly higher likelihood in women with higher pre-pregnancy BMI. Women with lower pre-pregnancy BMI had higher PA when they reported consuming chips/fries in the past two hours, and women with higher pre-pregnancy BMI had lower PA when they reported consumption of chips/fries in the past two hours. Conclusions: Results showed differential relationships between affect and food intake as a function of pre-pregnancy BMI.

The compelling effects of climate change on forests may have been underestimated in the past few decades in practical forestry. Although the first attempts to draw attention to this complex problem appeared almost half a century ago, the debate has been conceptual rather than experimental and applicative. At first glance, the con-cerns were mainly related to sustainable forest management (SFM) issues, which obviously needed attention. Over time, the effects of climate change have been mainly considered in the context of the SFM; they started from various and somewhat different scales and goals. Over time, more research and awareness of the im-portance of SFM under the pressure of climate change have led to the development of a clearer field that can be defined as ‘adaptive forest management’ - to climate change. One of the characteristics of this discipline is to be featured by the absence of univocal methods and / or objectives to be pursued but to identify, verify, and adapt methods to the various climatic and forest types and conditions found in the field. Therefore, this work shows some phases of forest planning and management concepts and criteria over time and recalls some innovative and / or adaptive methods related to the approach to forest planning and management under climate change

The estimation of ecological service system value of water resources in Tarim river basin is of great significance for resource allocation management and ecological protection. However, there is still no unified and complete evaluation method for ecological service system value of inland river in China. Based on the perspective of the whole value chain, the study classifies its ecological service functions, and divides 11 sub-categories into 4 categories (supply, regulation, culture and support) as evaluation indicators to carry out quantitative evaluation. The results showed that the total value of ecological service system in Tarim river basin in 2018 was 4156.5247×108 Yuan, and the value of regulating function, cultural function, supporting function and supply function were successively from high to low, which were as follows: 2565.6825×108 Yuan, 1009.5471×108 Yuan, 884.0770×108 Yuan, 20.3350×108 Yuan, among which the value of regulation function is dominant.

As an emerging discipline, Design Morphology, with the advantage of "Form Study", has been integrated with many disciplines, and gradually formed its collaborative innovation paradigm. The inclusion of "Ecology" into Design Morphology is expected to promote the research of Design Morphology with the help of the systematic thinking and methods of ecology. The ecosystem of Design Morphology includes the natural ecosystem and the quasi-ecosystem closely related to human beings, and also put forward the concept of "Form Community" for the first time in the design field. In fact, this is exactly the research scope of Design Morphology. Advocating the ecological view of Design Morphology, can not only help to design researchers improve their values and world view, with new thinking and method to engage in "Form Study", but also contribute to the theoretical construction and thinking expansion of Design Morphology, and play a positive role in promoting interdisciplinary collaborative innovation led by Design Morphology. In addition, it can be used to evaluate the overall research and future development trend of Design Morphology, and provide the new research ideas and approaches for the development of design.

Tinnitus is an auditory phantom perception in the ears or head in the absence of a corresponding external stimulus. There is currently no effective treatment available that reliably reduces tinnitus. Educative counseling is a treatment approach that aims to educate patients and inform them about possible coping strategies. For this feasability study, we implemented educational material and self-help advice in a smartphone app. Participants used the educational smartphone unsupervised during their daily routine over a period of 4 months. Comparing the tinnitus outcome measures before and after smartphone-guided treatment, we measured changes in the tinnitus-related distress, but not in tinnitus loudness. Improvements on the Tinnitus Severity numeric rating scale reached an effect size of .408, while the improvements on the THI were much smaller with an effect size of .168. Analysis on the user behavior showed that frequent and intensive use of the app is a crucial factor for treatment success: participants that used the app more often and interacted with the app intensively, reported a stronger improvement of the tinnitus. Between study allocation and final assessment, 26 of 52 participants dropped out of the study. Reasons for the dropouts and lessons for future studies are discussed in this paper.

Salinity acts as a critical environmental filter on microbial communities in natural systems, negatively affecting microbial diversity. However, how salinity affects the community assembly remains unclear. This study used Wendeng multi-pond saltern as a model to evaluate the prokaryotic community composition and diversity and quantify the relative importance of ecological processes across salinity gradients. Results showed that low saline salterns (45-80 g/L) exhibited higher bacterial diversity than those in high saline salterns (175-265 g/L). The relative abundance of taxa assigned to Halanaerobiaceae, Haloferacaceae, Desulfohalobiaceae, Phormidiaceae, Rohodobacteraceae, and Nitrococcaceae was higher with increasing salinity. Salinity and pH were the primary environmental factors that directly or indirectly determined the composition and diversity of prokaryotic communities. Microbial co-occurrence network dynamics were more complex in the sediment than in water of salterns. An infer Community Assembly Mechanisms by Phylogenetic-bin-based null model analysis (iCAMP) showed that microbial community assembly in sediment and water differed. Our findings provide more information about microbial community structure and the importance of various ecological processes in controlling microbial community diversity and succession along salinity gradients in water and sediment environments.

Aedes scapularis is a neotropical mosquito known to transmit pathogens of medical and veterinary importance. Its recent establishment in southeastern Florida has potential public health implications. We used an ecological niche modeling approach to predict the abiotic environmental suitability for Ae. scapularis across much of the Americas and Caribbean Islands. Georeferenced occurrence data obtained from the Global Biodiversity Inventory Facility and recent collection records of Ae. scapularis from southern Florida served as input for model calibration. Environmental layers included bioclimatic variables provided in 2000 to 2010 average Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications climatic (MERRAclim) data. Models were run in the software program Maxent. Isothermality values found often in costal environments contributed strongest to model performance. Model projections suggested areas predicted suitable for Ae. scapularis across portions of the Amazon Basin, the Yucatán Peninsula, the Florida Peninsula, and multiple Caribbean Islands. Additionally, model predictions suggested connectivity of highly suitable or relatively suitable environments spanning the United States Gulf Coast, which may facilitate geographic expansion of this species. At least sixteen Florida counties were predicted highly suitable for Ae. scapularis, suggesting vigilance is needed by vector control and public health agencies to recognize further spread of this vector.

Some herbicides exert hormetic or biphasic non-monotonic dose-response (NMDR), which is one of the major challenges for ecological risk assessment (ERA) of pesticides pollution. In this study, fish embryo toxicity test (FET) with Javanese medaka (Oryzias javanicus) to sublethal concentration of diuron was determined. Inverted U-shape heart rate was observed at 3 days post-exposure (dpe) and 7 dpe. However, at 13 dpe the heart rate (104 ± 2.90 heartbeat/min.) decreased in 10.00 mg.L-1 exposed-embryos. At 20 dpe, hatchability and survival rate were reduced in 5.00 mg.L-1 and 10.00 mg.L-1 exposed groups. Hormetic developmental deformities were observed in embryo-larvae of Javanese medaka. The results revealed a biphasic effect of low concentrations of diuron on some morphological and physiological features of Javanese medaka embryo-larvae, which might be attributed to endocrine disruption of this herbicide. Further studies to support these effects were recommended.

Taking capital, manpower, and natural resources as inputs, regional GDP as expected output, and industrial pollution as undesired output, this study measures the ecological efficiency of various regions in China through the Global-Malmquist model. The results show a trend of an initial sharp decline in ecological efficiency followed by a gradual increase in the time dimension, but there is no significant correlation in the spatial dimension. Using the gravity model to quantify the attractiveness of the regions’ capital and human resources for collaborative innovation, it estimates the impact of collaborative innovation on eco-efficiency through the system-Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model. The results show that technological innovation capital in other regions has a negative “U” relationship with local ecological efficiency, while scientific and technological innovation human resources have a positive “U” relationship. In addition, government financial support in science and technology and the ecological efficiency of the previous period serve as promoting factors of the current local ecological efficiency, while the introduction of foreign technological innovation is likely to inhibit improvements in ecological efficiency. Based on these findings, this study puts forward corresponding policy recommendations for local governments to advance their development agendas alongside their environmental priorities in line with their specific circumstances.

The Social-Ecological Systems (SES) framework serves as a valuable framework to explore and understand social and ecological interactions, and pathways in water governance. Yet, it lacks a robust understanding of change. We argue an analytical and methodological approach to engaging global changes in SES is critical to strengthening the scope and relevance of the SES framework. Relying on SES and resilience thinking, we propose an institutional and cognitive model of change that institutions and natural resources systems co-evolve to provide a dynamic understanding of SES that stands on three causal mechanisms: institutional complexity trap, rigidity trap, and learning processes. We illustrate how Data Cube technology could overcome current limitations and offer reliable avenues to test hypothesis about the dynamics of social-ecological systems and water security by offering to combine spatial and time data with no major technical requirements for users.

If the world’s countries seriously tackle the climate targets agreed in Paris, their citizens are likely to experience substantial changes in production, consumption and employment. We present a long-run post-Keynesian model for studying the potential implications of a major transition on macroeconomic stability and employment. It is a demand-led model in which firms have considerable but not absolute freedom to administer prices, while household consumption exhibits inertia. Firms continually seek input-saving technological improvements that, in the aggregate, tie technological progress to firms' cost structure. Together with firm pricing strategies and wage setting, the productivities of different inputs determine the functional income distribution. Saving and investment, and production and purchase of consumption goods, are undertaken by different economic actors, driven by income and capacity utilization, with the possibility that productive capacity exceeds, or falls short of, effective demand. The model produces business cycles and long waves driven by technological change. We present results for a “downshifting” scenario in which households voluntarily withdraw labor and discuss the implications of downshifting for stability, growth, and employment. We contrast the downshifting scenario with ones in which households reduce consumption without withdrawing from the labor pool.

Leishmaniasis is the third most common vector-borne disease and a very important protozoan infection. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the most common types of leishmaniasis infectious diseases with up to 2 million occurrences of new cases each year worldwide. A dynamic transmission multivariate time series model was applied to the data to account for overdispersion and evaluate the effects of three environmental layers as well as seasonality in the data. Furthermore, ecological niche modeling was used to investigate the geographical suitable conditions for cutaneous leishmaniasis using temperature, precipitation and altitude as environmental layers, together with the leishmaniasis presence data. A retrospective analysis of the cutaneous leishmaniasis spatial data in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2009 indicates a steady increase from 2003 to 2007, a small decrease in 2008, then another increase in 2009. An upward trend and regularly repeating patterns of highs and lows was observed related to the months of the year which suggests seasonality effect in the data. Two peaks were observed in the disease occurrence-- January to March and September to December -- which coincide with the cold period. Ecological niche modelling indicates that precipitation has the greatest contribution to the potential distribution of leishmaniasis.

The well-being and sociability of individuals have always been part of modernity. The development of new technologies that meet these aspirations is receiving increasing attention. Thus, strengthening the desired objectives of these tools and minimizing their undesirable side effects is the subject of a growing commitment. The present contribution aims, in this context, to evaluate and analyze the desired and undesirable effects of the interaction of electromagnetic fields with living tissues in general. This involves routines reinforcing expected functions as well as those controlling and protecting against undesirable effects. First, the interactions of electromagnetic fields with tissues are analyzed, involving their thermal biological effects of desired and undesired exposures. The roles of blood and sap fluids in bio-affected tissues are then analyzed. Secondly, the governing electromagnetic, bio-heat equations, and their coupled solution are studied. Third, the thermal behavior of tissues and the exposure adverse effects are examined. Next, monitoring and defending of the effects of exposures are discussed. This contribution illustrates and discusses mathematical modeling routines based on a generalized interaction of electromagnetic fields with living tissues.

A typical solid-state quantum sensor can be developed based on negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV-) centers in diamond. The electron spin state of NV- can be controlled and read at room temperature. Through optical detection magnetic resonance (ODMR) technology, temperature measurement inside living cells can be achieved at the nanoscale. The key to ODMR technology is to apply microwave resonance to manipulate the electron spin state of NV-. Therefore, the microwave field characteristics formed near the NV- have a crucial impact on the sensitivity of ODMR measurement. This article mainly focuses on the temperature situation in cellular applications, and simulates the influence of structural parameters of double open loop resonant (DOLR) microwave antennas and broadband large-area (BLA) microwave antennas on the microwave field’s resonance frequency, quality factor Q, magnetic field strength, uniformity, etc. The parameters are optimized to have sufficient bandwidth, high signal-to-noise ratio, low power loss, and high magnetic field strength in the temperature range of 36 ℃ to 42.5 ℃. Finally, the ODMR spectra are used for effect comparison, and the signal-to-noise ratio and Q values of the ODMR spectra are compared when using different antennas. We have provided an optimization method for the design of microwave antennas and it is concluded that the DOLR microwave antenna is more suitable for living cell temperature measurement in our study.

With the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there is a need for efficient management of patients with mild or no symptoms, which account for the majority. The aim of this study is to introduce the structure and operation protocol of a living and treatment support centre (LTSC) operated by Seoul National University Hospital in South Korea. The existing accommodation facility was converted into a 'patient centre' where patients was isolated. A few Medical staff here performed medical tests and responded to emergencies. Another part of the LTSC was 'remote monitoring centre'. In this center, patients’ self-measured vital signs and symptoms were monitored twice a day, and the medical staff staying here provided video-consultation via a smartphone. During the 3 weeks from March 5 to March 26, 2020, 113 patients were admitted and treated. LTSC could be an efficient alternative to hospital admission in pandemic situation like COVID-19.

It is proposed that the primary living cells (“probionts”) cannot emerge of organic substance simply by continuous chemical complication of prebiotic macromolecules and microsystems. The complication must be accompanied by the radical thermodynamic transformation (“jump”) of prebiotic microsystems that resulted in the acquired ability to extract free energy from the environment and export entropy. This transformation is called “the thermodynamic inversion” The inversion may occur by means of the efficient (intensified) response of the microsystems on the oscillations of physic-chemical parameters in hydrothermal environment. In this case the surplus available free energy within a microsystem, when combined with the informational modality, facilitates its conversion into a new microsystem—a living probiont. It is shown the schematic representation of an oscillating prebiotic microsystem that is transforming into a living probiont. A new kind of laboratory and computational experiments on prebiotic chemistry under oscillating conditions is offered to verify the inversion concept.

Universities can do more to deliver against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), working with faculty, staff and students as well as their wider stakeholder community and alumni body. They play a critical role in helping shape new ways for the world, educating global citizens and delivering knowledge and innovation into society – universities can be engines of societal transformation. Here, using a case study approach, different ways of strategizing sustainability in a university setting are explored with an example from the UK, Europe and USA. The first case is a public UK university that adopted enterprise and sustainability as its academic mission to secure differentiation in a disrupted and increasingly marketized global higher education sector which then became a source of inspiration for change in regional businesses and the local community. The second case study is a business sector-led sustainability-driven transformation working with a private university in Bulgaria to catalyze economic regeneration and social innovation. Finally, the case of Harvard’s Office for Sustainability engagement program is given to show how this approach connects faculty and students with institutional sustainability plans and external partners. Each case is a living lab, positioning sustainability as an intentional strategy. Leadership at all levels, and by students, was key to success in acting with purpose. Partnerships within and with universities can help accelerate delivery of the SDGs, with higher education making a fuller contribution to sustaining the economic, cultural and intellectual well-being of our global communities.

Alternative fertilizations are essential to minimize the deteriorating effects of chemical fertilizers on soil and water quality/health. Accordingly, the present work investigated the effects of combined organic-inorganic fertilization (COIF) on wheat and rice yields, soil nutrients, and soil Cd accumulation. Hence, seven different treatments were set up: control (CK); conventional fertilization (CF); optimized fertilization (OF); organic fertilizer replacing 25% (T1) and 50% (T2) of OF; and organic nitrogen (N) replacing 25% (M1) and 50% (M2) of OF-N. Overall, significant increases occurred in the yields of COIF crops. Compared with the CF, the highest wheat and rice yields happened in M1 treatment (approximately by18.5%) (P < 0.05). COIF slightly alleviated soil acidification, and improved the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the study soils. Besides, COIF treatments significantly increased the contents of total phosphorus, total potassium, available phosphorus, and available potassium by 6.35 to 16.9 %, 3.17 to 10.9 %, 5.53 to 28.7 %, and 2.6 to 12 %, respectively (P <0.05). Nevertheless, negligible increases took place in Cd content of COIF soils compared with the CK. Altogether, our results concluded on 25% replacement of OF-N by organic N (M1) to effectively improve the fertility/ecological sustainability of the study soils.

In the present work, a study has been carried out on the contamination of heavy metals in urban dust deposited on the roads of the city of Cartagena (Spain), in order to know the content of metals such as Ni, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr and Cu. Likewise, the possible relationship of the concentration of heavy metals with the color of the sample, level of magnetism and traffic density was studied. Contamination was evaluated using several indices such as contamination factor (CF), enrichment factor (EF), geoacumulation index (Igeo), pollutant load index (PLI) and ecological risk index (RI). A total of 88 samples were taken in the urban area of Cartagena, and the metals were determined by acid digestion and measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The concentration of heavy metals in urban dust from Cartagena was Zn (672 mg/kg) > Cu (248.9 mg/kg) > Pb (227 mg/kg) > Cr (82.7 mg/kg) > Ni (47.7 mg/kg) > Cd (4.1 mg/kg). Contamination levels were high in Pb, Zn, Cd and Cu, according to environmental indices. A correlation was found between magnetism and metal concentration, which was repeated for all metals except Cd. Dark-colored samples contained higher metal concentrations than light-colored samples. Meanwhile, streets with medium and low traffic intensity were found to have higher concentrations of heavy metals. This study's objective was to identify pollution hotspots caused by heavy metals in dust in the urban ecosystem of Cartagena city.

Climate change impacts threaten sustainable development efforts. The magnitude of the impacts, however, varies with socio-ecological characteristics of locations. This is the reason there is con-sensus on the necessity for climate change adaptive capacity building that is country driven, based on and responsive to local needs. However, information on context specific capacity building needs in developing countries is not readily available. The objective of this study was to establish location specific awareness, training, educational, research and technology capacity building needs for climate change adaptation among small-holder farmers in Uganda. Structured interviews were undertaken with 465 households from five agro-ecological zones selected based on the level of vulnerability of agricultural systems to the main climate variation and change hazards. Results reveal substantial capacity building needs in all the zones. Majority of the farmers needed capacity building for interventions on soil water conservation practices for adapting to drought and un-predictable rainfall. For all zones, education, research, and technology were perceived as key needs. However, the needs varied among zones. These results demonstrate the importance of context specificity in adaptation efforts. The study provides agro-ecological and social system specific in-formation for climate change adaptation planning and policy interventions for effective capacity building

It is essential to consider the factors that affect early childhood development because doing so can help identify potential risks and window of opportunity for intervention to improve outcomes for children. However, identifying risk and protective factors in early childhood requires careful consideration of several challenges and an integrated approach that recognises the complex and dynamic nature of development. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the prevalent psychosocial risk and protective factors in the early childhood development phase, using an ecological perspective. The study employed a quantitative cross-sectional study using a random sampling technique. The final sample consisted of 505 caregivers of children aged 5 years old and younger. This study revealed that the most prevalent protective factors include child self-regulation, parent-child warmth, family management and collective efficacy but more importantly social support. While risk factors may exist this is mitigated by social support as it moderates and buffers against the effects of risk factors, as indicated by the various research studies cited.

The management and classification of solid waste is one of the most important challenges around the world, in order to sustain economic growth and preserve the environment. The objective is to propose the use of Smart Ecological Points as a strategy to address the problem related to the solid waste management system at the source, which has become one of the biggest problems globally and Colombia is no exception. The article describes the current state of the problem in the country and in turn, presents the possibility of developing a prototype corresponding to a low-cost Smart Ecological Point supported by the use of an experimental capacitive sensor and Machine Learning algorithms, which will reduce the time necessary for the classification of recyclable and non recyclable waste, minimizing the health risks and increasing the percentage of waste that can be reused, by reducing the probability of being contaminated at the source, an aspect that is very common when done manually. According to the results obtained, it was evident that the proposed prototype made an adequate classification of waste, generating the possibility of being manufactured with existing technology in the environment, in order to promote adequate waste classification at the source.

This work focused on Diplectanum aequans, a gill parasite of Dicentrarchus labrax. Analyzes allowed us to detect factors regulating parasites distribution on Corsican fish-farms, and to highlight the ecological structure of D. aequans communities on gills of fish. The study of parasite distribution showed that bigger fish appear more parasitized and that the infection dynamics of D. aequans can be explained by several factors such as biotic factors or farm environment conditions. The study of gill repartition of D. aequans showed that parasites tend to have a homogeneous distribution with no statistically significant difference in infection between two sides on each fish. However, the distribution of the number of parasites on gill arches varies according to the total number of parasites. Results differ depending on infection degree and host weight. When parasites are numerous, the individuals are distributed on the gill arches according to an antero-posterior gradient, while with low rates of infection, the parasites are randomly distributed on the 4 arches. The spatial distribution of D. aequans appears to be determined by the differential action of water flow through gill arch and the size of anterior arches. We also proposed a tool in order to reduce the sampling effort and allow optimal exploitation for fish farmers.

Dioscorea remotiflora, a perennial climbing herbaceous plant wild and native to México, bears tubers of important ethnobotanical and nutritional value. However, the information for its production and use is precarious. The objective of this research was to characterize the adaptation habitats of D. remotiflora in order to determine its ecological descriptors and current distribution, as well as to model its potential distribution. A comprehensive database encompassing 481 geo-referenced accessions was assembled. Using the Agroclimatic Information System for México and Central America (SIAMEXCA), 42 environmental variables were formulated. The MaxEnt model within the Kuenm R-package was employed to predict the species distribution. The findings reveal a greater presence of D. remotiflora in harsh environments, characterized by arid to semi-arid conditions, poor soils, and hot climates with long dry periods. The plant's nutritional and medicinal attributes, combined with its ecological adaptability, suggest its viability within evolving regional cropping systems under the influence of climate change. Niche modeling revealed that seven key variables determine the geographical distribution of D. remotiflora: precipitation of the warmest quarter, precipitation of the driest month, minimum temperature of the coldest month, November-April solar radiation, annual mean relative humidity, annual moisture availability index, and May-October mean temperature. Favorable regions for D. remotiflora coincide with its current presence sites, while other suitable areas, such as the Yucatan Peninsula, Northeast region, and Gulf of México, offer potential expansion opportunities for the species distribution. The characterization obtained for D. remotiflora, together with the description of its edaphic and climatic adaptation habitats, will enable an efficient design of strategies for its use and conservation in the near future.

Large terrestrial carnivores play a crucial role in top-down control within terrestrial ecosystems, maintaining ecosystem stability and biodiversity. However, intense interspecific competition often arises among sympatric large carnivores, leading to population reductions or even extinctions. Spatial partitioning through divergent habitat selection helps mitigate such competition. In Xinlong County, Sichuan Province, we used 293 infrared cameras for monitoring from September to May 2016 and March to October 2022. By employing the Generalized Linear Model (GLM) and the Maximum Entropy Model (MaxEnt), we developed an ensemble model predicting the suitable habitat distribution of leopards (Panthera pardus) and wolves (Canis lupus). We analyzed the main environmental factors influencing habitat selection and the fragmentation of suitable habitats. We found that suitable habitat distribution differed significantly between them. Both species preferred areas with gentle slopes close to settlements. While leopards' habitat selection primarily depended on the distance from settlements, the slope was predominant for wolves. Suitable habitats displayed aggregation, yet wolves exhibited higher fragmentation and more complex patch shapes, indicating greater susceptibility to human activities. These results suggest that sympatric large carnivores, such as leopards and wolves, can reduce spatial competition intensity and promote spatial partitioning by selecting divergent suitable habitats, thereby facilitating species coexistence.

The durability of ecological concrete in a marine environment was studied. Specimens of a six-year-old submerged ecological concrete from a breakwater located in the East Mediterranean sea were analyzed for their biological carbonate deposition cover, chloride effective diffusion, carbonation, and mineralogy. About 57% of the surface was found to be covered by biogenic-deposited carbonates. The effective chloride diffusion coefficient and the carbonation rate were found to be reduced proportionally to the biogenic-carbonate cover. Most of the aluminates were found in non-crystalline minerals. No evidence of a sulfate attack was found.

This article investigates the dynamics of socio-ecological systems (SESs) unsustainability. By adopting a theoretical standpoint grounded in systems’ theory, the analysis shows how SESs’ teleology (or final cause) is of the utmost relevance for understanding unsustainability and how it is pivotal for envisioning possible evolutionary trajectories towards sustainability. Building on the contributions of both system and social scientists, the study argues that SES’s teleology is determined by dominant social ontologies that require a dialectical lens to be properly dealt with. The article therefore proposes the adoption of the adaptive cycle heuristic complemented by an historical-geographical approach based on world-ecology theory as a means to dynamically model of SESs’ behaviour. Such a perspective allows for the direct comparison between the four stages of the panarchy cycle (reorganization, exploitation, conservation, and release) and the four stages theorized by the world-ecology dialectics (expansion, appropriation, capitalization, crisis). In conclusion, the article claims that both system and social scientists would benefit from including in their analysis concepts and definitions from the other field, since both provide valuable insights about SESs' processes of change and both are necessary to envision transition pathways towards sustainability.

The ageing transformation of digital health services faces issues of how to distinguish influencing factors, redesign services, and effectively promote measures and policies. In this study, in-depth interviews are conducted and grounded theory applied to open coding, main axis coding, and selective coding to form concepts and categories. Trajectory equifinality modeling clarified the evolution logic of digital transformation. Based on the theory of service ecology, a digital health service ageing model is constructed from the "macro-medium-micro" stages and includes governance, service, and technology transformation paths. The macro stage relies on organizational elements to promote the institutionalization of management and guide the transformation of governance for value realization, including the construction of three categories: mechanism, indemnification, and decision-making. The meso stage relies on service elements to promote service design and realize service transformation suitable for aging design, including the construction of three categories: organization, resources, and processes. The micro stage relies on technical elements to practice experiencing humanization, including the construction of three categories: target, methods, and evaluation. These results deepen the understanding of the main behaviors and roles of macro-organizational, meso-service, and micro-technical elements in digital transformation practice and have positive significance for health administrative agencies to implement action strategies.

Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) greatly enhances the livability of cities by reducing urban heat buildup, mitigating stormwater runoff, and filtering airborne particulates, among other ecological services. These benefits, combined with the relative ease of measuring tree cover from aerial imagery, have led many cities to adopt management strategies based on UTC goals. In this study, we conducted canopy analyses for the 300 largest cities in Florida to assess the impacts of development practices, urban forest ordinances, and hurricanes on tree cover. Within the cities sampled, UTC canopy ranged from 5.9% to 68.7% with a median canopy coverage of 32.3% Our results indicate that the peak gust speeds recorded during past hurricanes events were a significant predictor of canopy coverage (P-value = <0.001) across the sampled cities. As peak gust speeds increased from 152 km/h (i.e., a lower-intensity Category 1 storm) to 225 km/h (lower-intensity Category 4 and the maximum gusts captured in our data), predicted canopy in developed urban areas decreased by 7.7%. Beyond the impacts of hurricanes and tropical storms, we found that historic landcover and two out of eight urban forest ordinances were significant predictors of existing canopy coverage (P-landcover <0.001; P-tree preservation ordinance = 0.02, P-heritage tree ordinance = 0.03). Results indicate that local policies and tree protections can protect or enhance urban tree canopy, even in the face of rapid development and periodic natural disturbances.

Recent work on heavy metal pollution in Manila Bay suggests elevated concentration in the surface sediments. It is critical to identify the sources of these heavy metals to effectively rehabilitate the bay. Our study investigated the sources of the heavy metal pollution that ended up in Manila Bay and the risks associated with these toxic metals based on a recent survey conducted. Surface sediment samples with higher heavy metal concentrations were found in the upper to middle parts of the bay while lower concentrations were in the southeast areas. Multivariate analyses such as hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and Pearson correlation analysis were used to identify the sources of the heavy metals. The heavy metal pollution in Manila Bay is attributed to several rivers draining northeast of Manila Bay, particularly the Marilao-Meycauayan-Obando River System (MMORS) which is cited as one of the 30 dirtiest river systems in the world. The ecological risks associated with heavy metals in the sediments found higher incidences of toxicity in north and middle parts of Manila Bay. Cu and Cr posed the highest risks of toxicities than any other heavy metals. Based on our analysis, the counterclockwise water gyre of the bay can explain the distribution and ecological risks associated with the heavy metals as supported by the findings of the PCA. Given the high priority by the Philippine government to rehabilitate the bay, our study strongly shows that efforts to restore the ecological status of Manila Bay will only succeed if the pollution from major rivers draining to it will be properly addressed.

Problem gambling among young people is an emerging trend globally. The online environment in particular offers various possibilities for gambling engagement. This is the first cross-national survey study using the social ecological model to analyze problem gambling, especially in the online context. The aim was to analyze how different social ecological spheres explain problem gambling. Participants were young people aged 15–25 in the United States (n = 1,212), South Korea (n = 1,192), Spain (n = 1,212), and Finland (n = 1,200). The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) instrument was used as a measure for problem gambling. Regression models predicted problem gambling with measures of intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, and societal spheres. Spanish participants had the highest SOGS score for problem gambling. Out of the spheres, organizational-sphere measures best explained the variation in problem gambling in all countries (26%) when compared to the societal (3%), interpersonal (5%) and intrapersonal (11%) spheres. In the full model, organizational-sphere measures had strong associations with problem gambling. These included consumer debt, online gambling community participation, online casino participation, and exposure to online pop-up advertisements. Other robust predictors of problem gambling included conformity to group norms in the interpersonal sphere and male gender and impulsivity in the intrapersonal sphere. Cross-national results were similar in different countries. The online context plays a major role in problem gambling behavior. The social ecological model is a useful tool by which to tackle problem gambling and develop preventative measures.

The paper addresses an analysis of the efficiency and profitability of the operation of a photovoltaic installation located in the geometric centre of Europe (near Białystok, Poland), where the intensity of solar irradiation is not too high compared to other European countries. It is calculated that in that place average solar irradiation being lower even by approx. 26 kWh than that for the whole Europe, which results in a 26% drop in the economic potential of the utilisation of solar energy for its conversion. A case study and an economic analysis show that without minimum funding amounting to 50% of the investment costs paid for the modernisation of a central heating system assisted by PV cells, the time of return of pecuniary expenditures exceeds 7 years. Apart from the Simple Pay-Back Time SPBT, discount indicators determined in the paper also include the net present value NPV and the internal rate of return IRR. Moreover, a direct ecological effect has been determined for such an investment.

This paper reports on the changing dynamics of a small town’s social-ecological system (SES) concerning oil and gas industry boom-bust economic cycles and both the vulnerability and resilience of the town over the past 30 years. With the goal to understand how resource-based single industry impact social-ecological systems, we developed indicators of human and environmental well-being and assessed them. Seven indicators include labor force distribution, education, oil price, household income, water quality, air quality, and land cover land use. Over this period, Drayton Valley, Canada quadrupled in size, with more than 20% of the population working in the oil and gas sector. Median income rose to 42% above the national average despite the population lagging national benchmarks for educational attainment. There have also been dramatic fluctuations in levels of fluoride, phosphorus, and other chemicals in water quality samples, implying a correlation with fossil fuel extractive activities over this period. Land cover land use change analysis shows a decreased area of water bodies, wetland, and forests, and increased built capital and agricultural land. While economic boom cycles have led to cash inflows, an exclusive focus on the benefits of the oil and gas industry may leave those dependent on the industry vulnerable to social and environmental risk factors during bust cycles that are beyond their control in the everchanging global oil economy. This phenomenon which has been referred to as the “resource curse” suggests the need to anticipate cyclical (or more sustained) periods of low levels of oil and gas production. These results suggest that single boom-bust economies impact every aspect of social-ecological systems. Therefore, a sustainable development plan that comprehensively considers not only economic growth, but also diversification, environment protection, and strategic land use planning is indispensable to ensure the long-term development of communities that depend upon extractive industries.

Geoscientists developed geoethics, an intra-disciplinary field of applied philosophical studies, during the last decade. Reaching beyond the sphere of professional geosciences, it led to professional, cultural, and philosophical approaches to handle the social-ecological structures of our planet ‘wherever human activities interact with the Earth system’. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 and considering geoscientists’ experiences dealing with disasters (related to hazards like tsunamis, floods, climate changes.), this essay (1) explores the geoethical approach, (2) re-casts geoethics within western philosophical systems, such as the Kantian imperatives, Kohlberg scale of moral adequacy, Jonas’ imperative of responsibility, and (3) advances a ‘geoethical thesis’. The latter takes the form of a hypothesis of a much broader scope of geoethics than initially envisioned. That hypothesis appears by suspecting a relationship between the relative successes in the COVID-19 battle with the positioning of agents (individual, collective, institutional) into ethical frameworks. The turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, calls for the transfer of experiences between different disciplinary domains to further sustainable governance, hence generalising the geoethical approach. It is emphasized that only when behaving as responsible and knowledgeable citizens, then people of any trade (including [geo-]scientists) can transgress the boundaries of ordinary governance practices with legitimacy.

Unplanned urbanisation and industrialisation have severely degraded natural ecosystems, particularly wetlands. The Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin support 630 million inhabitants; yet continue to be altered rapidly, jeopardizing the region’s social and ecological integrity. By conducting qualitative interviews and participant observation in a wetland dependent village located in the Lower Gangetic Floodplains we investigated how degrading wetlands in sub-urban landscapes were affecting socio-ecological systems. Not only did the wetlands provide livelihood options, mainly fishing and farming, but also provided prestige and autonomy. Vulnerable sections of the society across class, age and gender were solely dependent on the wetland. In absence of political will to safeguard wetland health, industries emerged by altering wetlands, which hampered local community’s livelihood and lifestyle. Further, our study demonstrated that local ecological knowledge could provide qualitative baseline information for fast-tracking identification of important wetlands and creating inventories to initiate wetland conservation and management. Finally, we recommend local governance structures should be strongly tied to international or national wetland policies so that wetland functions along with human health and well-being could be sustained. We strongly advocate that contradictions in policies be resolved to strengthen efforts to conserve wetlands which provide resilience to marginal communities in the face of calamities.

Global environmental and societal changes threaten the cultures of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC). Despite the importance of IPLC worldviews and knowledge systems to human well-being and biodiversity, risks to these cultural resources are commonly simplified or neglected in environmental impact assessments, in part because cultural impacts are often indirect and therefore difficult to demonstrate. Here, we show that dependency of a culture on the environment can be mapped through human connections with biophysical elements in their environment. We illustrate a rich variety of cultural values that connect an indigenous Māori tribe in New Zealand with their local environment, then evaluate the resilience of this socio-environmental value system to environmental changes. Our results detail how loss of access to key environmental elements can have extensive direct and cascading impacts on multiple facets of indigenous cultural heritage. Consequently, considering only direct effects of environmental change on cultural heritage, or treating the richness of IPLC environmental relations simplistically, can severely underestimate the seriousness of environmental impacts on IPLC culture. Thus, protecting Earth’s cultural and biological diversity requires inclusion of human-environment relationships in environmental impact assessments.

Ghana has had a long-standing problem of illegal gold mining that has led to the destruction of the environment. The government of Ghana is taking steps to not only curb illegal mining but also to restore destroyed lands that resulted from illegal mining. The government intends to spend financially in the area of ecological restoration to returned disturbed lands to their natural states possible, but the question remains whether restoring those disturbed lands will be beneficial to the country. The study was undertaken in Bekwai Municipal Area in the Ashanti region of Ghana where most locals are farmers. The research studies whether the benefits of ecological restoration outweigh the cost of ecological restoration? The research deployed a quantitative data collection. The data collected was analyzed using benefit-Cost ratio. The result shows that the benefit of ecological restoration outweighs the cost incurred as dependent on the land use as a carbon sequestration project. In conclusion, investment in ecological restoration is a step in the right direction for a country endowed with gold resources. This will spur growth and at the same time improve and protect the country’s natural resources and environment.

Research subjects of this study are four representative locations in the industrial complex, in the city of Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (∑16PAHs), humus and pH were determined. The main objective of the paper is to determine the concentration levels, to assess the probable sources of PAHs contamination in soil and groundwater and to determine the ecological risk. The ∑16PAHs in soil (at depths of 30 cm, 100 cm, 200 cm, 300 cm and 400 cm) ranged from 0.99 to 2.24 mg/kg, from 0.34 to 0.46, from 0.24 to 0.32, from 0.13 to 0.27 and from 0.13 to 0.47, with mean values of 1.70 mg/kg, 0.40 mg/kg, 0.28 mg/kg, 0.20 mg/kg and 0.26 mg/kg, respectively. The ∑16PAHs in groundwater ranged from 0.23 to 4.50 mg/m³, with a mean value of 1.42 mg/m³. Surface soil and groundwater are heavily contaminated. All values of ∑PAHs in soil layers were lower in the depths of the soil. Factor analysis indicates three sources of contamination, i.e. principal component (PC) PC1 (pyrogenic), PC2 (petrogenic) and PC3 (biomass), with 52.39%, 26.14% and 8.46% of the total variance, respectively. ∑PAH and PAHs indicate high ecological risk for most PAHs, which decreases with soil depth.

This study analyzes the natural and social factors influencing the emergence and publicization of the invasive status of a fast growing bush, gorse (Ulex europaeus), by comparison between countries on a global scale. We used documents collected on the web in a standardized way. The results show that in all the countries studied, there are several public statuses attributed to gorse. The invasive status is the one that is most shared. The other most frequently encountered status are those of noxious weed, and of economically useful. The invasive status is publicized in nearly all countries, including those where gorse is almost absent. We quantified the publicization of the invasive gorse status of gorse by an indicator with 5 levels, and then performed a multivariate analysis that combines natural and social explanatory variables. The results lead us to propose the concept of invasive niche: the set of natural and social parameters that allow a species to be considered invasive in a given socio-ecosystem.

Conservation of natural habitats in human-dominated landscapes is critical for halting biodiversity loss. Maintaining habitat quantity and connectivity requires landscape-level collective action, which results from environmental decisions made by individual land owners. We investigate how individual decision making in a rural collective translates into quantitative differences in landscape-level environmental outcomes. Behavioral science has become a critical domain of knowledge in conservation, but little attention has been paid to how multiple behavioral drivers determine the success of collective environmental action. We developed a social-ecological model for landscape-level conservation using a detailed data set of 600 land owners in New Zealand. With the model, we tested whether the effect of social influence networks on collective conservation action was altered by their interplay with land owners’ personal characteristics, connections to cross-scale actors and local environmental contexts. Interactions between multiple behavioral drivers determined the environmental outcomes of collective action in unexpected ways by modifying, muting or amplifying the effects of single drivers. Importantly, we detected a social-ecological mechanism for rapid change in the extent of protected habitats, which can explain highly successful or failed environmental outcomes of collective conservation. Further, when environmentally desirable and undesirable behaviors spread simultaneously through the social network, homophily and network cohesion hinder desirable environmental outcomes. This effect can be modified by other drivers such as social responses to local environmental change. Thus, understanding how the antagonistic and synergistic effects of behavioral drivers can be best utilized in conservation will benefit biodiversity and ensure benefits that humans obtain from biodiversity.

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.

Conservation scientists recognize that additional protected areas are needed to maintain biological diversity and ecological processes. As regional conservation planners embark on recommending additional areas for protection in formal conservation reserves, it is important to evaluate candidate lands for their role in building a resilient protected areas system of the future. Here, we evaluate North Carolina’s Mountain Treasures with respect to their (i) ecological integrity, (ii) role in connecting existing core protected areas, (iii) potential to diversify the ecosystem representation of reserves, and (iv) role in maintaining hotspots of biologically-rich areas not well protected. Mountain Treasures represent a citizen inventory of roadless areas and serve as candidates for elevated levels of conservation protection on U.S. federal lands. We compared Mountain Treasures to other candidate lands throughout the country to evaluate their potential national significance. While the Mountain Treasures tended to be more impacted by human modifications than other roadless areas, they are as important as other roadless areas with respect to their role in connecting existing protected areas and diversifying representation of ecosystems in conservation reserves. However, Mountain Treasures tended to have a much higher biodiversity priority index than other roadless areas leading to an overall higher composite score compared to other roadless areas. Our analysis serves as an example of how using broad-scale datasets can help conservation planners assess the national significance of local areas.

Violence against women or gender-based violence (GBV) is a major public health issue facing women and girls in different settings and is reported to have worsened globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on increased violence against women in general, which has been reported in many settings globally, there is a paucity of evidence of its impact on violence against highly vulnerable women living with HIV or tuberculosis (TB). Using a qualitative design, this study aimed to explore the views and experiences of women living with HIV (n=19) or TB (n=23) in Timor Leste regarding the GBV they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were recruited using the snowballing sampling technique. Data were collected using one-on-one in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The five steps of qualitative data analysis suggested in Ritchie and Spencer’s analysis framework were employed to guide the analysis of the findings. Findings indicated that women in this study experienced intensified physical, verbal, sexual and psychological violence by their partners, spouses, in-laws, and parents or other family members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several prominent risk factors that worsened violence against women during the pandemic were (i) HIV or TB-positive status, (ii) traditional gender roles or responsibilities and expectations, (iii) economic and financial difficulties reflected in the loss of jobs and incomes due to the pandemic, and (iv) individual factors such as jealousy and increased alcohol drinking developed during the lockdowns. The findings underscore the urgent need for multifaceted interventions to address GBV, which should encompass challenging traditional gender norms, addressing economic inequalities, and targeting individual-level risk factors. The findings also indicate the need for the development of robust monitoring and evaluation systems to assess the effectiveness of policies and interventions addressing GBV where the results can inform future improvement. The findings also indicate the need to include GBV in the protocol or guidelines for HIV and TB management. Future large-scale quantitative studies to capture the magnitude and specific drivers of GBV against women living with HIV and TB during the pandemic are recommended.

Introduction. Self-sampling has the potential to increase cervical cancer screening (CCS) among women living with HIV (WLWH) in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, our understanding of how HPV self-collection studies have been conducted in WLWH is limited. The purpose of this scoping review was to examine the extent to which the HPV self-sampling has been applied among WLWH in LMICs. Method: We conducted multiple searches in several databases for articles published between 2000 and January 2022. With the combination of keywords relating to HPV self-sampling, LMICs, and WLWH, we retrieved over 9,000 articles. We used pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria to select relevant studies for this review. Once a study met the inclusion criteria, we created a table to extract each study’s characteristics and classified them under common themes. We used a qualitative descriptive approach to summarize the scoping results. Results: A total of 12 articles were included in the final review. Overall, 3,178 women were enrolled in those studies and 2,105 (66%) of them were WLWH. The self-sampling participation rate was 92.6%. The findings of our study show that 43% of the WLWH in 8 of the studies reviewed tested positive for high-risk HPV (hr-HPV) genotypes, indicating 4 out of 10 WLWH in the studies are at risk of cervical cancer. The prevalence of the hr-HPV in WLWH was 18% higher than that of HIV-negative women. Most women in the study found the self-sampling experience acceptable, easy to use, convenient, and comfortable. Self-sampling performance in detecting hr HPV genotypes is comparable to clinician-performed sampling. However, limited access (i.e., affordability, availability, transportation), limited knowledge about self-screening, doubts about the credibility of self-sampling results, and stigma remain barriers to wide acceptance and implementation of self-sampling. In conclusion, the findings of this review highlight that (a) cervical cancer is a threat to every sexually active woman but for WLWH the threat increases, (b) self-sampling laboratory performance is similar to clinician performed sampling, (c) self-sampling is associated with an increase in cervical cancer screening uptake and (d) WLWH reported a positive experience with self-sampling. However, personal, environmental, and structural barriers challenge the application of self-sampling in LMICs, and these need to be addressed. Keywords: keyword 1; keyword 2; keyword 3 (List three to ten pertinent keywords specific to the article yet reasonably common within the subject discipline.)

Background: Absolute uterine factor infertility (AUFI) is a kind of infertility that is completely attributable to uterine absence (surgical or congenital for women with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome: MRKH) or anatomic or functional abnormality that prevents embryo implantation or completion of pregnancy to term. Until recently, the only viable option to parenthood for couples with AUFI were adoption or surrogacy. Since a first attempt of uterus transplant (UTx) in 2000, nine babies were born from women with a transplanted uterus from 2014, eight of which in Sweden, and one in the United States. These promising results are raising immense hopes for the women with AUFI and there is optimism about the possibility for UTx to become part of clinical care even though, besides encouraging results, the procedure has also resulted in increased risks and harms for both the donors and recipients and increased risks of premature birth for the fetus. At present UTx is still considered as experimental and requiring more research and safety assessment before becoming a therapeutic option for AUFI. The transition from experimental procedure to therapeutic care would result in less strict ethical scrutiny for UTx and in the possibility for patients to get reimbursement for the procedure by the relevant healthcare insurance or public healthcare providers. In turn, an increase in the number of UTx performed yearly by specialized surgical teams would result in a general improvement of the “field strength”. However, at present it is difficult to establish the amount of evidence that we need in order to consider UTx as no longer experimental but routine clinical practice. The literature on UTx provides recommendations on the different outcomes that should be monitored in this experimental phase but no study is anticipating the number of subjects that should be followed and for how long. Conclusion: As for other transplants that have become routine practice, like renal transplant and heart transplant, it is likely that the decision on “routine practice readiness” will result from available cumulated evidences, from expert capacity to find a consensus on best practices and on political considerations as well, including pressures form patients and patient groups.

Aims and Background: People living with mental disorders experience a disproportionately higher burden of tobacco-related disease than the general population. Long-term substitution with less harmful nicotine products could reduce the tobacco-related harm among this population. This study investigated the views and preferences of people with mental health disorders about different nicotine products and their use as long-term substitutes for cigarettes. Methods: Semi-structured focus group discussion followed by a brief questionnaire. The discussion transcripts were analysed for content and themes and quantitative data summarised with descriptive statistics. Results: Twenty-nine participants took part in four focus groups. Vaping devices were the most acceptable nicotine products discussed, however preferences for nicotine products were idiosyncratic and varied along aesthetic, pragmatic, sensory and symbolic dimensions. The concept of tobacco harm reduction was unfamiliar to participants, however they generally agreed with the logic of replacing cigarettes with less harmful nicotine products. Barriers to activating tobacco harm reduction included the symbolism of smoking and quitting; the importance placed on health; the consumer appeal of alternatives; and cost implications. Discussion and Conclusion: Engaging this population in tobacco harm reduction options will require communication that challenges black and white thinking (a conceptual framework in which smoking cigarettes or quitting all nicotine are the only legitimate options) as in practice this serves to support the continuance of smoking. Consumers should be encouraged to trial a range of nicotine products to find the most acceptable alternative to smoking that reduces health harms. Providing incentives to switch to nicotine products could help overcome barriers to using less harmful nicotine products among mental health consumers.

Based on the demographic shift and the related challenges resulting from the growing number of elderly and persons with chronic diseases, the idea of smart home that supports its inhabitants in the daily life, gains importance. The purpose of this paper was to examine in a prototypic Ambient Assisted Living environment if users after interaction with different health-supporting applications intend to use such in the future. Two experimental studies exemplary show possible applications of home-integrated technology that can support, assist and accompany the target group in different contexts, and examine to what extent participants are willing to future use such sophisticated technology at home. The results show that people in general, but especially the old and chronically ill ones are quite fascinated of health-supporting ambient technology and the majority intends to use such ambient assistance in the future (study I). Moreover, serious games for healthcare are shown as a hedonic use of technology in smart homes that have a great potential to retain or improve the physical health, mobility and the overall well-being of the inhabitants (study II). The article provides two examples of ambient technology to leverage the demographic change and presents important user factors for facilitating high user acceptance.

Smart Living, an increasingly prominent concept, entails incorporating sophisticated technologies in homes and urban environments to elevate the quality of life for citizens. A critical success factor for Smart Living services and applications, from energy management to healthcare and transportation, is the efficacy of human action recognition (HAR). HAR, rooted in computer vision, seeks to identify human actions and activities using visual data and various sensor modalities. This paper extensively reviews the literature on HAR in Smart Living services and applications, amalgamating key contributions and challenges while providing insights into future research directions. The review delves into the essential aspects of Smart Living, the state of the art in HAR, and the potential societal implications of this technology. Moreover, the paper meticulously examines the primary application sectors in Smart Living that stand to gain from HAR, such as smart homes, smart healthcare, and smart cities. By underscoring the significance of the four dimensions of Context Awareness, Data Availability, Personalization, and Privacy in HAR, this paper serves as a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners striving to advance Smart Living services and applications.

Smart living, a concept that has gained increasing attention in recent years, revolves around integrating advanced technologies in homes and cities to enhance the quality of life for citizens. Sensing and human action recognition are crucial aspects of this concept. Smart living applications span various domains, such as energy consumption, healthcare, transportation, and education, which greatly benefit from effective human action recognition. This field, originating from computer vision, seeks to recognize human actions and activities using not only visual data but also many other sensor modalities. This paper comprehensively reviews the literature on human action recognition in smart living environments, synthesizing the main contributions, challenges, and future research directions. This review selects five key domains: Sensing Technology, Multimodality, Real-time Processing, Interoperability, and Resource-Constrained Processing, as they encompass the critical aspects required for successfully deploying human action recognition in smart living. These domains highlight the essential role that sensing and human action recognition play in successfully developing and implementing smart living solutions. This paper serves as a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners seeking to explore further and advance the field of human action recognition in smart living.

Human activities (e.g., exploitation, utilization, and conservation) exert substantial impact on forest ecological functions (FEF). The human influence on FEF significantly varies across developmental stages, which are attributed to the temporal and spatial in nature. This study evaluates some notable FEF indices (FEFI) in the 448 counties within the Yellow River basin (YRB) using panel data from the Seventh to Ninth National Forest Inventory. Data analysis involves employing the residual trends, geographical and temporal weighted regression. Results indicate that, firstly, the overall forest ecological function in the YRB is moderate to inferior, with superior FEF in counties endowed with more natural forest resources. Afforestation demonstrates a short-term improvement, but its effectiveness diminishes over time. Secondly, the positive spatial correlation is stronger among counties, characterized by both high-high and low-low agglomeration effects. Scattered planting, simple stand structure, and concentrated harvesting of forests at the identical stand ages hinder the formation of complex and large-scale FEF agglomerations. Thirdly, significant spatial-temporal differences exist in the impact of human activities on FEF. In the upper reaches of the basin, increased vegetation coverage through agricultural and forestry production benefited FEF, however, some over-exploitation of forests and grasslands is observed there. In the middle reaches, the economic development, expanding population and the greening activities help to improve FEF effectively, but excessive water using in agricultural production brought more difficulties to FEF improvement. In the lower reaches of the basin, improved wastelands and forest protection positively influence FEF. This study recommends that county governments should prioritize forest management with multi-species and multi-layered complex forests. Each county should define its position in regional development and ecological protection, considering the potential impacts on neighboring regions. This holistic approach promotes more effective integrated regional management.

In this paper we introduce an ODE system to model the interaction between nature resources and human exploitation in a rich consumeristic society. In this model the rate of change of population depends on wealth per capita, and the rate of consumption has a quadratic growth with respect to population and wealth. As in our previous work \cite{BaCra_1}, we distinguish between renewable and non renewable resources, and we introduce a replenishment term for non renewable resources. We first get some information on the asymptotic behaviour of wealth and population, then we compute all the equilibria of the system and we study their stability when the parameter of exploitation of resources is small. Some numerical simulations confirm the theoretical results, and give suggestions for future research.

In Mexico, the evaluations of environmental flows are regulated by the Mexican Norm NMX-AA-159-SCFI-2012 and they warrant the establishment of water reserves for the environment. Yet, the pressure for water use limits the establishment of said reserves. This research aimed to evaluate the changes through time of the variables that serve as a basis for the implementation strategy by the Mexican government. A geographical information system was built with updated variables, the desired conservation status was analyzed, and the potential reserves were estimated based on the reference values for all basins nationwide. The results were examined according to their historical, current, and potential contribution to the conservation of natural protected areas and their connectivity. The outcomes point towards an administrative implementation strategy with positive outcomes despite the growing pressure for water use, with a change rate higher than the one for the creation of new protected areas. Currently, basins with low pressure and high conservation value have the potential to contribute to 86–88% of the goal set by the present administration without affecting water availability. Finally, reserving water in the priority basins would guarantee the legal protection of the flow regime in 48–50% of the hydrographic network in a desired conservation status, 45–49% of wetlands of international importance, and other natural protected areas in 85–89% of the global ecoregions represented in Mexico.

The European Fish Index EFI+ is the only fish-based multimetric index for the assessment of the ecological status of running waters validated and thus applicable across the European Union. Metrics of the index rely on several attributes of the species present in the fish assemblage, irrespective of their native/alien status. The abundance of alien fish, together with other anthropogenic impacts, is one of the most important threats to the conservation of native fish and ecosystem health and is also an indicator of degraded stream conditions. Therefore, to improve the performance and utility of the EFI+ in regions with high incidence of alien species, the EFI+ was adapted to include the alien fish pressure by averaging the two original metrics with a new metric that reflects the number of alien species as well as the proportional abundance of alien individuals. The application of the adapted index (A-EFI+) is illustrated with data from several Iberian Mediterranean basins and showed similar or stronger correlations than the original EFI+ with anthropogenic pressure (land-use variables) and with other regional fish indices. EFI+ has been invaluable to intercalibrate fish indices across Europe and A-EFI+ is similar but explicitly includes the alien pressure, thus helping to provide a more comprehensive assessment of ecosystem health and to communicate it to society.

At the Rio Conference in 1992, the sustainable development agenda promised a new era for natural resource management, where the well-being of human society would be enhanced through the sustainable use of natural capital. Several decades on, economic growth continues unabated at the expense of natural capital, as evidenced by biodiversity loss, climate change and further environmental issues. Why is this happening and what can be done about it? In this research, we present three Agent-Based Models that explore the social, economic and governance factors driving (un)sustainability in complex social-ecological systems. Our modelling results reinforce the idea that the current economic system does not protect the natural capital on which it depends. This is due to a disjunction between the economic and environmental elements upon which the sustainable development paradigm is founded. Additionally, various factors appear to enhance social-ecological system unsustainability: the role of financial entities and monetary debt; economic speculation; technological development and efficiency; lack of long-term views and late government interventions; inefficient tipping point management; and the absence of strong top-down and bottom-up conservation forces. Interestingly, alternative scenarios showed that these same factors could be redirected to enhance sustainable development. The current economic system may, therefore, not be inherently unsustainable, but rather specific economic mechanisms, agents’ decision-making, and the kinds of links between economic and natural systems could be at the root of the problem. We argue that short- and medium-term sustainability can be enhanced by implementing mechanisms that shift capitalist forces to support environmental conservation. Long-term sustainability, however, requires further paradigm change: where the economy integrates, and fully accounts for, externalities and recognises the actual value of natural capital.

The brick manufacturing sector in Bangladesh is experiencing rapid growth, leading to notable environmental and health concerns. The primary objective of this research is to examine the Savar Upazila, a region of significant economic significance owing to its favorable brick manufacturing conditions and proximity to Dhaka city. Brick kilns, among other sources, constitute significant contributors to air pollution. The study utilized primary and secondary data to examine brick kiln emissions' effects on the surrounding area's environment and public health. The collection of primary data was conducted in multiple zones within Savar Upazila, which is home to a significant number of brick kilns. The utilization of secondary data provided valuable insights regarding the toxic pollutants discharged by these kilns and the corresponding health risks they pose. The participants provided accounts of various health ailments, such as dermatological conditions, optical difficulty, and respiratory complications, further aggravated by brick kilns' incidents. The prevalence of crop losses, soil degradation, and reduced agricultural yields was confirmed by 74% of the respondents. The trees and crops in the surrounding area experienced adverse effects due to the deposition of dust particles. During periods of inactivity, the concentrations of sulfur oxide (SOx) were between 6 and 9 times lower compared to periods of operation. Similarly, nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels were observed to be 4 to 6 times lower during non-operational phases. The degradation of water quality in adjacent bodies has been attributed to the deposition of dust and ash originating from brickfields, resulting in substantial repercussions on aquaculture. A significant proportion of participants indicated experiencing diverse health issues, notwithstanding the employment prospects generated by brick kilns, thereby underscoring the adverse consequences on both the environment and the local economy.

Traditional marketing tactics have been significantly challenged by marketers, especially in the food sector. Companies have been engaging in covert and overt advertisements as an emerging marketing communication strategy to circumvent customer skepticism, build a good image, and create value for the brand. But there is a lack of literature regarding integrating traditional and new marketing tactics in building intention and ecologically conscious consumer behavior. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to provide empirical evidence concerning the integration of different marketing tactics, i.e., Green Product Features, Green Pricing, Covert Advertisement, Overt Advertisement and Guerrilla Marketing, and their effects on Purchase Intention and Ecologically Conscious Consumer Behavior. The study also employs moderation of Brand Evangelism, Environmental Knowledge and Habitat Attitude between intention and behavior building. A visual appraisal technique was used by showing a video or picture as a sample of covert or overt marketing tactics before filling out a close-ended questionnaire to get accurate responses. The data from 568 customers of the frozen food industry were analyzed using the co-variance-based structure equation modeling technique with the help of AMOS. The findings of the study elaborate that parallel to the significant impact of conventional marketing mix tactics, covert, overt and guerrilla marketing are strong antecedents for intention building, which eventually develops Ecologically Conscious Consumer Behavior (ECCB). The results also affirm that intention can lead to ECCB significantly through brand evangelism and environmental knowledge. These findings reflect the importance of shifting marketers from conventional marketing tactics to novel hidden marketing techniques.

Anthropogenic disturbances interacting with natural disturbances, ecological and socio-economic factors can provoke forest degradation and modulate ecosystem resilience. In Haiti, protected areas recently created to reduce forest loss, require studies about forest dynamics and land use to assure the development of sustainable management policies. We combine field interview with Landsat satellite images of the Macaya National Park collected between 1985 and 2021 to investigate: 1) how much of the original forest area has been converted into agricultural or logged area since 1985; and 2) how do elevation and slope influence the expansion of human-induced land-use changes. Our results indicate an increase of 11.36% in forest cover and a reduction of 75.34% in agriculture class cover, despite the passage of seven hurricanes in the region. Forest recovery was apparently unrelated to elevation and slope, and likely reflected the implementation of new environmental laws and policies with the creation of the Macaya National Park in 1983. Restoration and protection programs contributed to ensure access to financial resources, technical assistance and new technology, thus promoting a shift into a more resilient forest system. This study brings hope for forest conservation in Haiti by showing that positive results can be achieved through inclusive collaboration.

In this paper, the quality change of scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) in the process of anhydrous storage and transportation after cold-acclimation and induced dormancy was studied, and the regulation mechanism of quality degradation in the storage and transportation in the process of gradient chilling stress and drying exposure was further explored. The results show that while being transferred from anhydrous storage and transportation from hydrous storage and transportation, the breathing pattern of scallops were changed from aerobic to anaerobic. Their gill filaments were altered, and the apparent vitality was constantly declining, which was reflected by the edge shrinkage of pallium and the direct proportion between the edge reduction rate and the stimulus response period. After being in the anhydrous state for 4d, the AEC value dropped to 67.59%. At this time, if they were under hydration again, they would resume a nice growth state. By virtue of proteomics, it was revealed from the analysis that cold acclimation and dry exposure mainly led to changes in biological functions and pathways such as mitochondrial inner membrane and ATP hydrolysis activity. In addition, it can be seen from the functional annotation and enrichment analysis of the metabolite KEGG that cold acclimation promoted the purine metabolism of scallops, while dry exposure inhibited the metabolism of saturated fatty acids. Besides, in this study, the infrared sensing mode was used for the first time to record the heart rate changes of the scallops during circulation, which provides feasibility for the nondestructive vitality monitoring of Lamellibranchia.

Forest resources are an important material basis for ecological protection and economic devel-opment, and are responsible for the dual mission of guaranteeing national ecological safety and grain safety. Forest land is an important carrier of forest resources, and forest landowner is a direct component of forest land management. Forest landowners’ willingness to engage in forest man-agement affects whether the important value function of forest resources can be implemented. Are there differences in the willingness and behavior of forest management between ethnic minority foresters and ordinary foresters? How to stimulate the forest management willingness and behavior of forest farmers in ethnic minority areas?These questions will be about the realization of the value of forest resources. Through the analysis of 185 questionnaires in Yunnan Province, this paper clarifies the current situation of forest management of forest farmers in minority areas. Then, using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, we select three indicators including the socio-economic at-tributes of individual farmers, the cognition and experience of forest landowners, and policy guidance. And we use the binary logistic regression model to analyze the factors affecting the willingness of forester to participate in forest management. Through the above analysis, we find that: (1) Forest landowners' willingness to engage in forest management in minority regions is relatively high, at 71.98%. (2) Individual farmers’ socioeconomic attributes have the most significant degree of influence on willingness to engage in forest management, while forest landowners' cognitive and related experiences, policy guidance and other related variables influence willingness to engage in forest management at the macro level. (3) Literacy has a significant positive contribution to man-agement intentions, while forest land area, living standard, whether they are compensated by public welfare forest, and whether they participate in the project of returning farmland to forest and grass have a significant negative effect on management intentions. (4) There are significant differences between forest landowners' willingness to engage in forest management and the influencing factors between minority regions and non-minority regions. Finally, we suggest to improve the willingness to engage in forest management and forestry industry development in minority regions through innovative management methods, concentrated and continuous large-scale management, en-couraging capital investment and driving forest landowners to "nearby employment", optimizing the logging quota system and raising the compensation standard for public welfare forests. This study has important practical significance for promoting the realization of forest ecological products value, consolidating the achievement of poverty alleviation in forest areas and realizing rural re-vitalization in China.

Among Crustacea, Decapoda Brachyura represent a good candidate for studies on the dispersal capability of coastal benthos by means of larvae. One oceanographic cruise allowed us to describe larvae dispersal routes in the South Adriatic Sea thanks to a multidisciplinary approach. In May 2013 a swarm of zoeae (11 Brachyura taxa, mostly at first instar, with Xantho granulicarpus at 87%) was recorded in the neuston of the Italian side of the basin. Complementary collections of zooplankton, in the same cruise, demonstrated that Decapoda larvae were not abundant below the neuston and concentrated in the first 20-30 m surface layer, with which probably they drift together. The availability of four satellite-tracked surface drifters in the same area and period of the larvae presence, represented a possibility to discuss the geographic dispersal of larvae on the basis of the surface circulation in successive days. During the studied period, only one drifter crossed the south Adriatic passing from the Italian to the Balkan neritic area, employing about 40 days. The daily vertical migration of larvae suggest that they can only employ more time to cross the basin, subtracting and re-entering the surface moving waters. The actual genetic homogeneity of populations of many Brachyura coastal species on the opposite sides of the Adriatic Sea suggests the existence of a genetic connection which, however, should not rely exclusively upon larvae circulation and needs to be fueled by additional strategies of biological communication.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) - working with and enhancing nature to address societal challenges - are increasingly being featured in climate change adaptation policy and plans. While there is growing evidence that NbS can reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts in general, there is a lack of understanding on the mechanisms through which this can be achieved, particularly in the Global South. To address this, we analyse 85 nature-based interventions in rural areas across the Global South, and factors mediating their effectiveness, based on a systematic map of peer-reviewed studies encompassing a wide diversity of ecosystems, climate impacts, and intervention types. We develop and apply an analytical framework of people’s social-ecological vulnerability to climate change, in terms of six pathways of vulnerability reduction: social and ecological exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Most cases (95%) report a reduction in vulnerability, primarily by lowering ecosystem sensitivity to climate impacts (73% of interventions), followed by reducing social sensitivity (52%), reducing ecological exposure (36%), increasing social adaptive capacity (31%), increasing ecological adaptive capacity (19%) and/or reducing social exposure (14%). An analysis of mediating factors shows that social dimensions are equally important as technical factors in NbS to achieving equitable and effective outcomes. Attention to the distinct social and ecological pathways through which vulnerability is reduced helps to harness the multiple benefits of working with nature in a warming world.

Ecological ternary cements (ECP) were perpared with powders of phosphogypsum (PG), fly ash (FA) and portland cement (PC). The evolution mechanism of the hydration product structure was characterized through macro and micro experiments.The thermodynamic characteristics of solid phase, solid solution phase and aqueous solution in process of hydration about phosphogypsum-fly ash-cement ternary cementitious system were studied based on the Gibbs-free-energy C-S-H thermodynamic model and GEM-Selektor software, and compared with experimental results. The results show that in the hydration reaction the thermodynamic interaction between mineral single-phase and hydration products plays an important role in the spatio-temporal distribution of ions in the cementitious system. The values of CaO、SiO2Hand H2Ohyd gradually increased with the increase of Ca/Si ratio, while the values of CaOext and H2OOH showed a positive proportional relationship, and the values of SiO2H and SiO2 showed an inverse proportional relationship. GEM-Selektor is accurate in the simulation calculation of the total amount of AFt and AFm mineral phases which quantitatively analysis the correlation between C-S-H gels formation and C3S with complex decomposition ion groups.

A healthy park-people relation depends essentially on the fair and sustainable maintenance of rural livelihood. When protected area is designated, rural people may face restrictions of access to land and resource use for multiple ecosystem services. In Wuyishan of China, we analysed the role of traditional tea cultivation during consistent protected area management to find ways to maintain stability of this social-ecological system in the new national park era. We used an intensive social survey to investigate tea’s role, perception of ecosystem services and impacts on tea cultivation from consistent conservation policies. Results showed that tea cultivation brought major household income and associated with multiple culture services. Protected area management affected land use and conservation outcomes were more obvious to farmers than economic and social ones. From the perspective of a social-ecological system, tea cultivation in national should be conservation-compatible activities from which the potentially lost economic value is remedied by ecological and cultural valorisation. To sustain the resilience of the social-ecological system, we proposed a three-scale management framework to regulate biophysical elements at land plot scale, to link production and market at the mountain level, and to secure tenure and encourage community participation at the landscape level.

Background: In Switzerland, Aedes albopictus is well established in Ticino, south of the Alps, where surveillance and control are implemented. The mosquito has also been observed in Swiss cities north of the Alps. Decision-making tools are urgently needed by the local authorities in order to optimize surveillance and control. Methods: A regularized logistic regression was used to link the long-term dataset of Ae. albopictus occurrence in Ticino with socio-environmental predictors. The probability of establishment of Ae. albopictus was extrapolated to Switzerland and more finely to the cities of Basel and Zurich. Results: The model performed well, with an AUC of 0.86. Ten so-cio-environmental predictors were selected as informative, including the road-based distance in minutes of travel by car from the nearest cell established in the previous year. The risk maps showed high suitability for Ae. albopictus establishment in the Central Plateau, the area of Basel and the lower Rhone Valley in the Canton of Valais. Conclusions: The areas identified as suitable for Ae. albopictus establishment are consistent with the actual current findings of tiger mosquito. Our approach provides a useful tool to prompt authorities’ intervention in the areas where there is higher risk of introduction and establishment of Ae. albopictus.

Biodiversity conservation questions human practices towards biodiversity and, therefore, largely conflicts with ordinary societal aspirations. Decisions on the location of protected areas, one of the most convincing conservation tools, reflect such a competitive endeavor. Operations Research (OR) brings a set of analytical models and tools capable of resolving the conflicting interests between ecology and economy. Recent technological advances have boosted the size and variety of data available to planners, thus challenging conventional approaches bounded on optimized solutions. New models and methods are requested to use such a massive amount of data in integrative schemes addressing a large variety of concerns. Here, we provide an overview on the past, present and future challenges that characterize spatial conservation models supported by OR. By enlarging the spatial, temporal, taxonomic and societal horizons of biodiversity conservation planners navigate around multiple bio-socioeconomic equilibria and are able to decide on cost-effective strategies to improve biodiversity persistence.

The decline in Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica in the introduction area has had a high profile in recent years. For the ecological restoration, management and silvicultural design of Mongolian pines in the introduction area, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth study on the ecological adaptation mechanism of Mongolian pines in provenances. The ecological process of water and nutrient accumulation as well as the influence of environmental factors on the photosynthetic physiology are the key to revealing the ecological adaptation mechanism of Mongolian pines. According to the differences of climate in the distribution area of Mongolian pines, sampling sites were set up, the effects of environmental factors on leaf δ13C and the relationship between leaf δ13C and nutrient content were analyzed. The results showed that leaf δ13C values were ranging from - 29.7 ‰ to - 23.76 ‰. The ecological stoichiometry, including LC (522.81 mg·g-1), LN (16.04 mg·g-1), LP (1.19 mg·g-1) and L-N:P (13.56), indicated that leaf photosynthesis and water use efficiency is greatly affected by environmental conditions, Mongolian pines had strong ability of carbon fixation, and its growth was obviously restricted by nitrogen. Although there was no significant correlation between δ13C with stoichiometric parameters in leaf, photosynthesis was the key link in the process of carbon fixation. It also showed that Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica was a stomatal limited plant. Leaf δ13C had significant correlation with climatic factors. VPD is the dynamic factor affecting the photosynthetic physiological process in leaves. Air and soil moisture are the dominate factors affecting the leaf stomatal conductance and determines leaf δ13C value, while other factors indirectly affect leaf δ13C by its impact on relative humidity or soil water content. Soil phosphorus content affected by clay is a key factor affecting soil water availability and soil nutrient cycling. Photosynthetic process in leaf is the dynamic process affecting the nutrient accumulation.

3D printing is described as the third industrial revolution: its impact is global in industry and progresses every day in society. It presents a huge potential for ecology and evolution, sciences with a long tradition of inventing and creating objects for research, education and outreach. Its general principle as an additive manufacturing technique is relatively easy to understand: objects are created by adding material layers on top of each other. Although this may seem very straightforward on paper, it is much harder in the real world. Specific knowledge is indeed needed to successfully turn an idea into a real object, because of technical choices and limitations at each step of the implementation. This article aims at helping scientists to jump in the 3D printing revolution, by offering a hands-on guide to current 3D printing technology. We first give a brief overview of uses of 3D printing in ecology and evolution, then review the whole process of object creation, split into three steps: (1) obtaining the digital 3D model of the object of interest, (2) choosing the 3D printing technology and material best adapted to the requirements of its intended use, (3) pre- and post-processing the 3D object. We compare the main technologies available and their pros and cons according to the features and the use of the object to be printed. We give specific and key details in appendices, based on examples in ecology and evolution.

Trigonella foenum is one of the oldest medicinal plants that grow in many parts of Iran with the diverse ecological situation. Employing this plant for treating diabetes and high cholesterol has a long history, because of some metabolites. Due to the habitat of fenugreek is a wide range of climatic conditions, it may have power to cope with climate variation. The main intention of this inquiry was to understand the effect of the environmental variables on this therapeutic plant features. It was also interesting for us to understand which environment variables are more impressive for enhancing of trigonelline and 4-hydroxy isoleucine content as the most important metabolites of this plant. For achieving this goal, environmental information and vegetal data were analyzed to discover the role of nature on the seed part of fenugreek life in 50 different regions of Iran. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) displayed that high content of metabolites and some morphological characteristics happened in high temperature and solar irradiation. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) and path analysis used to find the best predictors and direct and indirect effect of all variables on 4-hydroxy isoleucine and trigonelline. Ecological condition were the best predictors and had the highest direct and indirect impact on 4-hydroxy isoleucine. However, for trigonelline, the environment did not play a senior role. It seems that the reaction of components of fenugreek does not follow the same way. Studying on morphological, primary and secondary metabolites, and surrounding environment of fenugreek, helped us to have a more precise judgment about the life of this plant.

Sustainable agriculture is essential to provide food security for a growing world population without further sacrificing the integrity of the environment. To make progress towards agricultural sustainability we must consider ecological and socioeconomic processes within the agricultural socio-ecosystem and involve stakeholders in the research process. We propose an innovative experimental approach for examining how natural regulation of ecosystems may provide an alternative to increasing external inputs in agriculture while improving the socio-economic welfare of farmers. These “social-ecological experiments” go further to participatory action research by not only involving stakeholders in the research process but also by manipulating simultaneously socioeconomic and ecological processes under real field conditions to give a faster route to sustainability. Social-ecological experiments are undertaken in real field conditions, explicitly involving stakeholders, and help untangle the drivers of social-ecological dynamics under various land management and farming practices. Social-ecological experiments are distinct from adaptive management and scenario-planning approaches as they highlight the interactions between ecological and social processes, manipulate the social and ecological processes shaping the system and show causal links between patterns and processes. As an example, we describe a social-ecological experiment for reducing herbicide use. Social-ecological experiments offer great opportunities for increasing stakeholders’ acceptance of environmental policies implemented through adaptive management. These experiments may help to identify management practices that optimize multiple objectives, deliver a portfolio of ecosystem services and satisfy key stakeholders.

The sustainability of agriculture depends as much on the natural resources required for production as it does on the stakeholders that manage those resources. It is thus essential to understand the variables that influence the decision-making process of agricultural stakeholders to design educational programs, interventions, and policies geared towards their specific needs, a required step to enhance agricultural sustainability. We examined the perceptions, experiences, and priorities that influence management decisions of five major groups of agricultural stakeholders (conventional small grain producers, organic small grain producers, organic vegetable producers, extension agents and agro-industry crop consultants, and researchers) across the Montana, United States. Results revealed that while stakeholder groups have distinct perceptions, experiences, and priorities, there were similarities across groups. Specifically, organic vegetable and organic small grain producers showed similar responses that were, in turn, divergent of conventional producers, researchers, and crop consultants. Conventional small grain producers and researchers showed overlapping response patterns while crop consultants formed an isolated group. Our results reinforce the need for agricultural education and programs that address unique and shared experiences, priorities, and concerns of multiple stakeholder groups. This study endorses the call for a paradigm shift from the traditional top-down agricultural extension model to one that accounts for participants’ socio-ecological contexts to facilitate the adoption of sustainable agricultural systems that support environmental and human wellbeing.

Increased attention has been paid to the influence of coal mining subsidence on ecological environment. Restoration of ecosystem in damaged mining area is critical for restoring disturbed environment. The comparing of plant communities and microbial communities in the artificial restoration and natural restoration areas provides an effective method for evaluating the restoration effects. However, such studies are limited in coal mining subsidence restoration areas. Subsidence area in Shendong mining area, located in the semi-arid region of Western China, was restored from 2003 with 5 ecological restoration plant species. In July 2017, the comparison and analysis of plant and microbial communities were conducted at the artificial restoration areas (AR) and the natural remediation areas (NR). The results showed that the artificial ecological restoration in Shendong mining area has achieved some success, but it has not recovered to a similar ecosystem before the destruction. A higher plant species, coverage and bacterial community diversity were observed in AR. However, these features have lower similarity compared with those in NR sites. Potential soil factors, such as pH, moisture content, total carbon content, organic matter, nitrogen and bulk density, have a greater impact on soil bacterial community structure and diversity. In the ecological restoration of the mining area, attention should be paid to the restoration of soil properties in the mining area. This study can provide theoretical guidance for more scientific ecological restoration in the damaged mining area.

The ecological background condition of the semi-arid steppe region (SASR) is extremely fragile. It is recognized that the development of coal and electricity power is a kind of strong human interference behavior for regional landscape ecology. Landscape ecological classification (LEC) is the premise of landscape ecology research of the mining area. The current research on the SASR and grassland LEC of coal-power base is relatively less, but still remains uncertainty concerning how to stratify and classify urban mining landscapes into units of ecological significance at spatial scales appropriate for management. This study is based on hierarchy theory, scale theory, landscape process, the patch-corridor-matrix model, the network, the theory of multiple planning integration and the principle of remote sensing. According to the comprehensive principle, principles of the combining of structure and function, principle of the combining human-ominated and natural landscape, principle of emphasis, and principle of combining qualitative analysis with quantitative research of LEC in large-scale coal-power base(LSCPB). On the basis of occurrence method land classification, fully consider the ecological attributes of the land, integration pattern, processes and function theory of the landscape ecology, the LEC system of the LSCPB in the SASR has been constructed by using top-down decomposition classification method. Empirical research of the Victory and Mindong No.1 mining areas of Shenhua Group shows that the classification system constructed in this paper can meet the requirements of LEC and fully reflect the status of landscape ecology of LSCPB in SASR. This study can provide theoretical guidance for the landscape ecology of LSCPB, while also supporting a theoretical reference for the LEC research.

Green spaces in residential community is important, yet understudied, feature as an urban ecological system. While large urban parks and remnant wildlands in urban areas tend to receive a public attention from conservation and management perspectives, less is known for the importance of spatial and ecological characteristics of the community-scale landscapes. This study investigates natural elements in four planned communities in Phoenix metropolitan area, Arizona, two of which represent conventional type of neighborhood and the other two exemplify the community development with a proclaimed vision of sustainability. These distinct type of communities, which capture variations in age, location, open space type, and a cross-section of housing density, are compared with regard to landscape connectivity as a means of gauging ecological condition for community sustainability. Using Geographical Information System and landscape connectivity indices, each community’s landscape features including size, physical connectedness and ecological potential were examined. Furthermore, a questionnaire survey was performed to examine the perceptional differences between the two types of community residents. The findings demonstrate that the green spaces in conventional communities are more physically connected than the counterparts, but the naturalness and ecological quality manifested by the amount of the land that may serve as potential urban desert habitats were higher in the sustainable communities. The results of the survey indicated that the respondents inhabiting in sustainable communities possess a higher level of satisfaction than the people in conventional type of community due mainly to the amount of, easy access to, and perceived ecological values of, green spaces in their neighborhoods and surrounding areas. The study concludes that careful community design with ecological consideration can help create sustainable communities which can benefit both site-scale ecosystems and perceived human well-being.

According to known laws of physics, chronic positive mass balance is the actual etiology of obesity, not positive energy balance. The relevant physical law in terms of body mass regulation is the Law of Conservation of Mass, not the Law of Conservation of Energy. A recently proposed mass balance model (MBM) describes the temporal evolution of body weight and body composition under a wide variety of feeding experiments, and it seems to provide a highly accurate description of the very best experimental human feeding data. By shifting to a mass balance paradigm of obesity, a deeper understanding of this disease may follow in the near future. The purpose of this living review is to present the core issues of the upcoming paradigm shift as well as some practical applications related to the topic.

In Europe we can see a change in the social structure in the last period. Average life expectancy has increased dramatically over the last 50 years. Because of the improved life situation and advanced level of health care, older people are slower. With advancing age, the likelihood of experiencing a variety of constraints such as visual impairment, reduced hearing or physical ability increases. In such a life stage tenants are often forced to leave their long-term living space because these homes can not serve "new" individual needs and the resulting personal protection goal. This transition from the privacy of their home to the new environment often appears to be a painful change. They will take their familiar and well-known surroundings, because their homes can not be adapted to serve new needs. It must be the policy’s role to create a new inclusive social space and the requirement for architects and designers to create new goals for the design of an adaptable environment. This is a comprehensive approach to the design of the outer and inner space that could serve people even if there is an unexpected situation and changes in movement and physiological limitations of older people. The contribution shows the results of the survey conducted in Germany and Slovakia. In the survey respondents expressed their opinion on what they considered important in creating an adaptive environment. Results are processed graphically with explanation. The results were mainly for designers and developers of the indoor environment. Based on the results of the questionnaire survey, studies of possible modifications in the interior of the flats were then prepared. The contribution yielded these results in three age groups of respondents; i. people aged 35, 50 and over 50.

Last Chance Tourism (LCT) is an increasingly popular phenomenon whereby tourists seek encounters with vanishing landscapes, cultures, and endangered species. However, there are concerns that it is not sufficiently ecologically informed, has a large carbon footprint, and may put further pressure on vulnerable ecosystems and communities. The Arctic has emerged as a major global frontier for LCT, and at the same time is at the forefront of disruptive and accelerating climate change. Here a review of important LCT literature is combined with a review of key insights from the concept of Ecological Grief, which calls for explicitly mourning the losses of formerly ecologically rich landscapes, species diversity, and traditional knowledge. While there is currently insufficient engagement with grief and mourning in LCT, Ecological Grief can provide a new research focus as well as a pathway to share empathy, concern, and sorrow between scientists, communities, and visitors—thereby offering an alternative way to critically reflect upon our connections with the vanishing cryosphere in the Anthropocene.

Despite ample warning and significant lead time, global society has not acted sufficiently to combat climate change, and global carbon dioxide emissions are now about 60% higher today than in 1990 [1]. This paper uses marine fisheries as an analog model to compare with the many similar management issues faced with global climate change. Both marine fisheries and global climate change are complex systems that have similar properties that make management very difficult. A simple fishery prototype model is used to educate citizens about similar issues of dynamic complexity found in climate change models. We highlight how our slow reaction time to global climate change can be thought of as a mismatch between our cognitive abilities and the nature of global collective problems. Understanding the history and system structure of marine fisheries can provide insight into managing global climate change. We suggest ways to improve communication between science and citizens for updating mental models and changing climate policy.

Microplastic contamination, defined as plastic particles less than 5 mm in size, has become a major global environmental concern. This study synthesizes findings from carefully chosen studies undertaken in a variety of geographical areas and ecosystems, offering light on the multifaceted issues posed by microplastic pollution. These articles show the global prevalence of microplastics in both land and marine ecosystems. Seasonal fluctuations in microplastic abundance highlight the cyclical nature of this pollution, with larger amounts being reported during the summer months. Tourism, industrialization, and urbanization have all been highlighted as significant contributors to microplastic contamination, stressing the impact of man-made influences. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been identified as hotspots for microplastic release into aquatic habitats, emphasizing the need for enhanced treatment procedures. Because microplastics can build up in the food chain, it underlines the possible health problems connected with microplastic pollution for both aquatic creatures and human consumers. Longitudinal studies, geographical variety, in-depth health and ecological impact evaluations, standardization, and effective mitigation methods should be prioritized in future studies. To address this worldwide issue, interdisciplinary collaboration among scientists, health professionals, politicians, and industrial stakeholders is required.

Climate change, one of the severest environmental threats to humankind, disproportionately affects low-income developing countries in the global South. Having no feasible mitigation alternatives, these countries resort to adaptation efforts in addressing the climate perturbations. Climate change adaptation (or resilience) is primarily a localized course of action that depends on individuals, social networks, economies, ecologies, political structures, and the capabilities of all those to work collectively to absorb, learn from and transform in the face of new realities. With a view to controlling the floods that shattered the life and economy of the then East Pakistan, which is Bangladesh now, during the mid-twentieth century, the coastal embankment project (CEP) was instituted as an adaptation strategy to natural disasters in southwestern Bangladesh. Based on the qualitative analysis of primary and secondary data, this paper seeks to critically evaluate the efficacy of the CEP in terms of the space for feasible action and ecological modernization. The findings of this research indicate that the CEP has become an unrealistic venture that hinders the growing economic activity of shrimp aquaculture in the area. This paper is expected to contribute to generate further theoretical and empirical discourse on evaluating similar development projects around the globe.

Anarchic urbanization and land artificialization expose urban ecosystems and Ecosystem Services (ES) to the threat. Urban ecosystems and trees play a crucial role in improving urban environments, and their management depends on the perceptions and preferences of urban residents. An assessment of the socio-ecological factors determining the perception of the actors allows for the proper design and planning of ecological urban policies and urban adaptation to climate change. In this study, we assessed the perception and discriminating variables of the different stakeholders of urban ES provided in the city of Cotonou. Thus, 381 city dwellers were individually interviewed after statistical sampling. Focus group discussions with the stakeholders also made it possible to highlight the ES provided in the different Land Use Units (LU). The results show that 73.23% of the city dwellers agreed that they were aware of ecosystem services. The hierarchical classification shows two homogeneous groups of perceivers with ethnicity, age and education as statistically discriminating sociological variables (pv˂0.001). Urban dwellers in the city of Cotonou perceived more SEs in the cultural and regulatory services category significantly (pv<0.001; v-test>3). The principal component analysis (PCA) reveals the varying availability of ES according to the different LU in the city. This study adds scientific value in the application of urban ecology to decision-making in climate and environment policy planning for sustainable cities in Africa and all over the world.

Species diversity has been shown to be influenced by environmental factors, but the mechanism underlying their relationship remains unclear across spatial scales. Based on field investigation data collected from 3,077 sample plots in temperate forest ecosystems, we compared tree species richness, evenness and dominance at 10 km × 10 km, 30 km × 30 km and 90 km × 90 km spatial scales. Then, we detected the scale dependence of changes in tree species composition on climate, topography and forest structure using variation partitioning and quantified their contribution to tree diversity with gradient boosted models (GBMs) and fitted their relationships. The magnitude of tree richness, evenness and dominance significantly increased with spatial scale. Ecological factors jointly accounted for 24.3%, 26.5% and 38.5% of the variation in tree species composition at the three spatial scales, respectively. Annual mean temperature had a strong impact on tree richness, evenness and dominance and peaked at an intermediate scale. Tree evenness and dominance increased with the variation of temperature but had upper and lower limits. Tree richness obviously increased with annual precipitation on multiple scales and decreased with annual sunshine duration at large spatial scale. Tree richness, evenness and dominance obviously increased with the variation elevation and diameter at breast height at large scales and small scales, respectively. Tree dominance decreased with tree height in a hump at small scale. The dependence of tree diversity on ecological factors increased with spatial scales. Furthermore, different factors exert various controls on tree diversity at different spatial scales, representing a comprehensive mechanism regulating tree diversity.

Plants do need a fixed proportion of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) elements to maintain normal metabolic activities. The P fertilizers are widely used to supplement nutrients in subtropical plantations. Stoichiometric homeostasis reflects the strategy of plants to cope with various environments (including P fertilizer supply rate). It is thus of great significance to understand C:N:P stoichiometry in the plant-litter-soil system under P addition and stoichiometric homeostasis of plant tissues for fertilization management of slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm) plantations. We measured the C, N and P contents in root, branch, needle, litter and soil in slash pine plantations fertilized with four treatments - P1 (25 kg P ha−1 yr−1), P2 (50 kg P ha−1 yr−1), P3 (100 kg P ha−1 yr−1), and a control (CK) in subtropical China and calculated stoichiometric homeostasis of plant tissues. Results showed that P addition increased the capacity of needle to obtain C, N and P elements and altered the C:N:P stoichiometry of plant tissues, as well promoted the accumulation of C and P elements in soil, but had no significant effect on soil stoichiometry. The nutrient contents of needle and branch were higher than those of root and litter, indicating that slash pine was more inclined to allocate nutrient to the aboveground tissues. The stoichiometric homeostasis of C, N and P among plant tissues was ranked as follows: root > branch > needle, and homeostasis of nutrient elements in the needle was C > N > P. This indicated that the C, N and P stoichiometric homeostasis was various among plant tissues and elements types under P addition. These findings suggest P addition would alleviate the P limitation of slash pine growth in subtropical regions. In the future, long-term observation experiments should be conducted and the trade-off between P addition rates and economic and ecological benefits should be considered.

Despite the abundance of tree diversity in the natural world, and generally high tree species richness in urban areas, urban forests continue to be dominated by a limited number of species. As socio-ecological systems, urban forests are shaped by historical and current management efforts and decision-making of a wide range of human actors. Drawing on past research, we offer a conceptual framework for describing the complex interactions among tree producers and consumers as trees are selected, grown, specified, and planted in private and public urban areas. We illustrate how multiple layers of selection criteria filter down the entirety of potential local tree diversity to a handful of commonly used and accepted tree species. We detail the actors and decision makers who impact tree composition and diversity across several land types. Finally, we identify research, education and outreach needs as they relate to creating more diverse and resilient urban forest ecosystems.

In this paper, industrial structure distortion, two-way FDI and carbon emission intensity are brought into a unified research framework, and based on China's panel data from 2011 to 2020, empirical tests are conducted employing Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA), spatial econometric model and intermediary effect test. The results show the following. Firstly, China's industrial structure distortion index shows a downward trend. The industrial structure distortion index is the highest in the west, followed by the middle, and the lowest in the East. Secondly, the relationship between carbon emission intensity and economic development shows a "decoupling" effect and keeps decreasing year by year. The spatial disparity is remarkable, showing the pattern of "the east leading, the middle catching up and the west lagging ". At the provincial level, except in Xinjiang province, the carbon emission intensity of other provinces showed different degrees of decline. In terms of spatial distribution, the polarization characteristics of carbon emission intensity are significant, and the traditional spatial distribution pattern has been broken. Thirdly, there is a positive spatial correlation between China's industrial structure distortion, two-way FDI and carbon emission intensity. The distortion of industrial structure will not only lead to the increase of local carbon emission intensity but also produce reverse spillover to adjacent areas. IFDI and OFDI provide a strong driving force for the decline of carbon emission intensity. IFDI promotes the decline of carbon emission intensity in adjacent areas, while OFDI will increase the carbon emission intensity in surrounding areas. The interaction of IFDI and OFDI can significantly reduce the carbon emission intensity of local and adjacent areas. Fourthly, the results of intermediary effect analysis show that two-way FDI is the two channels of industrial structure distortion affecting carbon emission intensity. Industrial structure distortion can affect the transmission mechanism of carbon emission intensity by affecting two-way FDI.

According to the Water Framework Directive, the Ecological Flow (Eflow) is assumed to be the minimum water discharge required to achieve and maintain the environmental objectives of “good quality status” in a natural water body. It is highly recognized that, the hydrological regime of natural flow plays a primary and crucial role influencing the physical conditions of habitats, which in turn determines the biotic composition and sustainability of aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, the simple assumption to supply a minimum instream during dry periods is not enough any longer in order to protect the river environment. The recent hydro-ecological understanding states that all flow components might be considered as operational targets for water management, starting from base flows (including low flows) to high and flood regimes in terms of magnitude, frequency, duration, timing and rate of change. Several codes have been developed and applied on different case studies in order to define common tools to be implemented for the Eflow assessment. The study proposes the application of the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration methodology (IHA by TNC) coupled to the valuation of the Index of Hydrological Regime Alteration (IARI by ISPRA) as an operative tool to define the ecological flow in each monitoring cross section to support the sustainable water resources management and planning. The case study of Agri River, in Basilicata (Southern Italy) is presented. The analyses have been carried out on monthly discharge data derived applying the HEC-Hydrological Modelling System at the basin scale using the daily rain data measurements obtained by the regional rainfall gauge stations and calibrated through the observed inlet water discharge registered at the Lago del Pertusillo reservoir station.

Contemporary climate change is exposing plant populations to novel combinations of temperatures, drought stress, [CO₂] and other abiotic and biotic conditions. These changes are rapidly disrupting the evolutionary dynamics of plants. Despite the multifactorial nature of climate change, most studies typically manipulate only one climatic factor. In this opinion piece, we seek to explore how climate change factors interact with each other and with biotic pressures to alter evolutionary processes. We first explore the ramifications of climate change for key life history stages (germination, growth and reproduction). We then examine how mating system variation influences population persistence under rapid environmental change and propose that mixed mating could be advantageous in future climates. Furthermore, we discuss how spatial and temporal mismatches between plants and their mutualists and antagonists could promote or constrain adaptive responses to climate change. For example, plant-virus interactions vary from highly pathogenic to mildly facilitative, and are partly mediated by temperature, moisture availability and [CO₂]. Will host plants exposed to novel, stressful abiotic conditions be more susceptible to viral pathogens? Finally, we propose novel experimental approaches that could illuminate how plants will cope with unprecedented global change, such as resurrection studies combined with experimental evolution, genomics or epigenetics.