The study assesses the direct effects of climate change by 2060, including extreme events, on the productivity of regional crop farming and livestock in Greece, and the broader socio-economic effects on the agri-food and other sectors. Different approaches (i.e., agronomic models, statistical regression models, equations linking thermal stress to livestock output) were combined to estimate the effects on productivity from changes in the average values of climatic parameters, and subsequently the direct economic effects from this long-term climate change. Recorded damages from extreme events together with climatic thresholds per event and crop were combined to estimate the direct economic effects of these extremes. The broader socio-economic effects were then estimated through input-output analysis. Under average levels of future extreme events, the total direct economic losses for the Greek agriculture due to climate change will be significant, from €437 million/ year to €1 billion/ year. These losses approximately double when indirect effects on other sectors using agricultural products as inputs (e.g., food and beverage, hotels, restaurants) are considered, and escalate further under a tenfold impact of extreme events. Losses in the GDP and employment are moderate at the national level, but significant in regions where the contribution of agriculture is high.

Our paper deals with an advanced statistical tool for the volatility prediction problem in financial (crypto) markets. Firstly, we consider the conventional GARCH involved volatility models. We next extend the corresponding GARCH based forecasting and calculate a specific probability associated with the predicted volatility levels. Since the probability evaluation is based on a stochastic model, we next develop an additional data-driven estimation of this probability. The proposed advanced statistical estimation uses real (historical) market data. The obtained theoretic results for the statistical probability of levels are also discussed in the framework of the integrated volatility concept. A possible application of the established probability estimation to the volatility clustering problem is also mentioned. Our paper includes a concrete practical implementation of the resulting (combined) volatility prediction tool and considers a novel module for trading and volatility estimation in crypto markets recently developed by 1ex Trading Board group in collaboration with the GoldenGate Venture. Moreover, we discuss shortly a possible using of the proposed model based and data-driven volatility prediction methodology in the financial risk management.

This study presents a critical literature review on the models of users' adoption of blockchain applications in supply chains. This review pertaining to blockchain technology adoption by supply chain stakeholders is significant as it is a pre-requisite for the technical sustainability of blockchain technology in supply chains. Through a critical literature review, the previous studies related to technology adoption models were analyzed to explore practices brought about by blockchain applications for supply chain management. This study examined the suitability of the existing models (e.g., the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, task technology fit (TTF), unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT)) of technology adoption for blockchain applications in supply chains and came up with a new unified model, namely, TOE-TTF-UTAUT. This review provides implications for a more appropriate research design using mixed methods. When adopting the TOE-TTF-UTAUT model in a study, two phases of research using mixed methods can be performed. The first phase is an exploratory sequential design in which a qualitative approach to explore the TOE and supply chain task constructs is followed by a quantitative approach using a survey and quantitative analyses to investigate the factors affecting blockchain adoption in supply chains. The second phase adopts explanatory sequential design in which the quantitative findings from the first phase are reviewed for follow-up by qualitative interviews to obtain explanations.

Ecosystemic services are those that provide material or immaterial benefits to the inhabitants of a landscape from its water, food, medicines and raw materials. They are classified into four types: provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural. The latter can be defined as those non-material benefits that humans obtain through ecosystems. They include educational value, cultural diversity, sources of inspiration, spirituality and religious values, aesthetic value, social relations, rootedness or belonging, cultural heritage, recreational and ecotourism services, and scientific knowledge, among others. Characterising such diverse factors requires a systematisation in study facets for their management. We propose three: memory, image and socio-system, as differentiated spheres of approach to the urban landscape. The memory facet would include the ecosystemic services of belonging, cultural heritage and, in certain themes, cultural diversity, sources of inspiration and religious values. The image facet includes the aesthetic value and perceptual aspects of ecotourism. In the socio-system we would study the educational value, scientific knowledge and recreational or spirituality services, reflected in the endowments; but also social relations, rootedness and another vision of ecotourism.

This critical study examines the social consequences of neoliberal urbanism, with a focus on housing policies by implementing qualitative approach. The main goal of the study is to identify downsides of the neoliberalism in residential areas and shed light on the potential social challenges caused by this. After reviewing the existing literature in this field and introducing some cases, the findings highlight that the prioritization of market mechanisms in urban development, which is the key characteristic of neoliberalism, has led to unaffordable housing, gentrification, and displacement of marginalized communities, exacerbating socio-economic inequalities. The commodification of housing under neoliberal urbanism has transformed homes into financial assets, and instead of addressing the structural roots of housing insecurity, strategies such as implementing public-private partnerships (PPPs), urban mega projects and deregulation, have perpetuated housing crises in urban areas. The results suggest that alternative methods such as inclusionary zones for having a mix of market-rate and affordable housing in new developments, as well as strengthening tenant protections through rent control, and tenant rights advocacy programs, can remarkably help address systemic inequalities. By prioritizing the needs of vulnerable populations, policymakers can work towards mitigating the detrimental social effects of neoliberal urbanism and fostering more just and inclusive urban environments. Finally, critical engagement with social justice issues is essential to creating diverse and inclusive urban communities.

Membrane gas absorption technology and solar-assisted regeneration system are two promising approaches to reduce high energy consumption associated with carbon dioxide capture from coal fired power plants. In the present study, a solar-assisted hollow fiber membrane contactor (SOL-HFMC) power plant is proposed to capture and desorb CO₂ in hollow fiber membrane contactors with the assistance of solar thermal collectors. Techno-economic assessment and sensitivity analysis of the proposed system is carried out in three studied locations with different weather conditions for a 580 MWe pulverized coal power plant. Research results show that, the output capacity and net efficiency of the SOL-HFMC power plant are significantly higher than those of the reference power plant regardless whether TES system is applied or not. In addition, CEI of the SOL-HFMC power plant with TES system is 4.36 kg CO₂/MWh, 4.45 kg CO₂/MWh and 4.66 kg CO₂/MWh lower than that of the reference power plant. The prices of membrane, vacuum tube collector and phase change material should be reduced to achieve lower LCOE and COR values. Specifically for SOL-HFMC power plant with TES system, the corresponding vacuum tube collector price shall be lower than 25.70 $/m² for Jinan, 95.20 $/m² for Xining, and 128.70 $/m² for Lhasa, respectively. To be more competitive than solar-assisted ammonia-based post-combustion CO₂ capture power plant, the membrane price in Jinan, Xining and Lhasa shall be reduced to 0.012 $/m, 0.015 $/m and 0.016 $/m for the sake of LCOE, and 0.03 $/m, 0.033 $/m and 0.034 $/m for the sake of COR, respectively. The findings can provide guidance for decision-making and risk management strategies.

Health comprises physical, mental and social dimensions whose interactions influence users’ experiences. Health experiences are within the context of environments. These contexts are definitive contributors to experiences – primarily because of the link to social dimensions as human beings - psychological and economic. Therefore, the study aims to investigate health resort users’ psycho-social and socio-economic characteristics to improve their access to quality healthcare. The objectives are identifying the socio-economic characteristics of an inclusive health resort, analysing the psycho-social characteristics of the inclusive health resort user, and analysing the effects of users’ psycho-social and socio-economic characteristics on their access to healthcare. The study employs the mixed research method (qualitative and quantitative). The researchers engaged in a pragmatic research philosophy that underscores positivist and interpretivist paradigms. The data collection instruments include survey questionnaires, an interview guide with a digital recorder, a direct participant observation schedule, field notes and photographs. The data analysis process involves the clustering and categorisation of data and examining concepts and themes. The research findings show a correlation between the users’ socio-economic status and access to quality healthcare in an inclusive health resort. The result further reveals that psycho-social and socio-economic characteristics of health resort users are quality healthcare access predictors. Therefore, the users’ social, psychological, and economic status should play a vital role in the design of an inclusive health resort by all stakeholders.

The study focused on the technical and scale efficiency of smallholder pineapple farmers in the Central Region of Ghana. The input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to estimate technical, pure and scale efficiencies of the smallholder pineapple farmers, of which a random sampling procedure was used to select 320 respondents. The study revealed that the farmers were technically inefficient with mean technical efficiency under Constant Returns to Scale (CRS), pure efficiency under Variable Returns to Scale (VRS) and the Scale Efficiency levels of 0.505, 0.641 and 0.772, respectively, due to farmers’ inability to exploit fully the available technology while experiencing evident post-harvest losses resulting from low adoption of post-harvest technologies. Such findings are meaningful and could help the farming communities and relevant policymakers to understand the issues in farming production and hence undertake necessary actions to potentially improve farmers’ technical and scale efficiencies in the study area.

A burgeoning body of scholarship identifies and discusses botanic gardens as increasingly important centres of biodiversity conservation and sustainability. Notwithstanding the high quality and richness of this literature, it encompasses relatively autonomous fields of expertise that are neither designed nor expected to promote cross-disciplinary, integrative, accounts of botanic gardens as institutions of conservation and sustainability. Bridging key aspects of the botanic garden literature, this article brings into conversation historical accounts with contemporary scholarship on the matter. In so doing, it unveils dilemmas and challenges faced by botanic gardens as they grapple with their historic legacies, but also renew their relevance in nurturing sustainable socio-environmental futures. The article proceeds by covering three focal points. First, it summarizes the scholarly literature on the history of botanic gardens. Second, it presents accounts of current scientific and biodiversity conservation endeavours as reflexive engagements with their historical legacies. Third, it addresses the recent emergence of socio-cultural missions at botanic gardens as a significant step beyond their historical focus on plants and plant ecosystems.

The Mara River basin (MRB) has a world-famous ecosystem, but the vegetation has been damaged due to economic development in recent years, and there is little known about the area that will experience severe vegetation damage in the future. Based on the vegetation vulnerability system, principal component analysis, and three CMIP6 scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP5-8.5), vegetation vulnerability was calculated in the base period (2010-2019), near-term period (2020-2059) and long-term period (2060-2099) in the MRB. The spatial cluster of vegetation vulnerability was revealed by spatial correlation analysis, and the transition of vegetation vulnerability of different periods was analyzed by stochastic matrix. The results showed that in all periods, the vulnerability showed a high-high cluster in the east, and a low-low cluster midstream and downstream. From the stochastic matrix, the area of high vulnerability increased the least under the SSP1-2.6, while it increased the most under the SSP5-8.5. The vegetation vulnerability upstream increased the most from the base period to the near-term period and long-term period in the MRB. By comparing the vegetation vulnerability under different scenarios, and pointing out the areas with the highest vulnerability increase, this study can better provide comprehensive decision-making for vegetation protection in the MRB.

This study aims to analyse the technical viability and economic feasibility of rainwater harvesting systems for single and multifamily residential buildings in the city of Florianópolis, Brazil. Simulations were conducted for representative buildings in the city under different water usage scenarios and system designs, in a total of 36 simulation scenarios. An economic analysis was performed for four scenarios over a twenty-year period. Both initial and operational costs were considered and net present value, internal rate of return and payback used as feasibility indicators. Almost all of the cases simulated were technically viable for the group of houses, and up to 78.9% for flats. As for the economic analysis, for houses, between 60.1% and 74.8% of the cases were economically feasible, achieving a discounted payback period ranging from 6.2 to 8.6 years. For flats, between 57.8% and 64.2% of the cases were economically feasible, achieving a discounted payback period ranging from 4.8 to 5.6 years. As the water tariff in the city underwent changes recently, the former and current tariff formats were compared. The current tariff format provides more economic benefits for saving potable water, and leads to a higher net present value and a shorter discounted payback period.

Tourism is increasingly becoming one of the most important components of the economy. Coastal tourism is of particular importance in our country, this is because Albania has a very favorable geographical position. The tourist destination chosen for study in this paper is Durrës. It is analyzed as a complex dynamic system that evolves with a series of techniques and methods drawn from the area of network theory. The main objective of this paper is the comparison of technological and socio-economic networks, through different methods and techniques. The methodology of this research includes different data collection methods for both networks and their analysis. 504 nodes were taken into consideration. A significant part of the research is based on network theory, using algorithms and network analysis techniques to reveal their static and dynamic characteristics. Through this paper we show that the internet network and the socio-economic network of Durrës are similar in some aspects and have a great impact on the development of the tourist destination. The analysis of these two networks provides a deeper picture of the relations between the actors of the destination and helps to improve the tourism strategies and the economic development of the area. Thus, the research is an attempt to better understand the impact of technological and socio-economic networks in the development of the tourist destination of Durrës and uses different ways of network analysis to discover the similarities and differences between them.

This paper presents the results of quantitative research examining the impacts of demographic and socioeconomic factors on community resilience to disasters. The survey was carried out utilising a questionnaire distributed and subsequently collected online from 321 participants during January 2024. The study employed an adapted version of the '5S' social resilience framework, encompassing five sub-dimensions – social structure (10 variables), social capital (9 variables), social mechanisms (17 variables), social equity and diversity (13 variables), and social belief (13 variables). This customized framework includes 62 indicators, providing a thorough assessment of community (social) disaster resilience in the research context. To explore the relationship between predictors and community (social) disaster resilience in Serbia, their attitudes towards the mentioned five sub-dimensions, as well as their engagement in preventive measures and their perception of resilience to various disasters with a particular focus on demographic and socio-economic impacts, statistical methods including t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation, and multivariate linear regression were employed. The results of the multivariate regressions across various community disaster resilience subscales indicate that age emerged as the most significant predictor for the social structure subscale. At the same time, education stood out as the primary predictor for the social capital subscale. Additionally, employment status proved to be the most influential predictor for both social mechanisms and social equity-diversity subscales, with property ownership being the key predictor for the social beliefs sub-scale. Despite being considered in the analyses, gender, marital status, income level, and number of household members did not emerge as the most significant predictors across the investigated community (social) disaster resilience subscales. The determined mean value of the community (social) disaster resilience index is M = 2.62, and the findings reveal that participants assigned the highest ratings to the social beliefs subscale (M = 2.76), while the lowest values were observed in the social structure subscale (M = 2.46). Findings can be used to create strategies and interventions aimed at enhancing the resilience of communities in Serbia by addressing the intricate interplay between demographic characteristics, socio-economic factors, and their ability to withstand, adapt to, and recover from different disasters.

Abstract: This study investigates the transition to sustainable shipping industry within the framework of the IMO's 2050 carbon neutrality objective, focusing on socio-technical systems analysis. The research delves into the sustainable paradigm shift towards alternative marine fuels such as LNG, methanol, ammonia, and hydrogen from a socio-technical transition perspective, analyzing the multi-level per-spective challenges and opportunities. Specifically, it scrutinizes the implications of adopting these al-ternative fuels for global shipping, identifying technical uncertainties, financial constraints, and infra-structure needs. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature on ship emissions and alterna-tive fuels, coupled with socio-technical transition theory, the study addresses the multifaceted chal-lenges and opportunities in meeting the IMO's environmental objectives. It emphasizes the necessity of collaborative governance, innovative niche strategies, and a holistic approach to leverage the current window of opportunity in facilitating the maritime industry's transition to sustainable fuel options. Fi-nally, this research enhances our understanding of the intricate interplay between technological, social, industrial, and cultural dynamics in the greening of shipping and offers insights into the strategic adop-tion of environmentally friendly marine fuels for a sustainable future.

The worldwide competition to vaccinate against COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of immunization measures in containing the virus. Saudi Arabia, like the rest of the globe, must assess socio-demographic subtleties, chronic illnesses, vaccination effects, and public health policy implications as it navigates this complicated environment. This cross-sectional study examined Saudi COVID-19 vaccine in many ways. It examined the socio-demographic makeup of vaccine recipients, the prevalence of chronic conditions in this population, vaccine administration patterns, post-vaccination side effects, and vaccine-infection rates. A questionnaire-based online survey of 401 participants ensured gender, nationality, age, weight, and educational diversity. We analyzed vaccine manufacturer choice for each dosage, side effects after the first and second doses, and chronic diseases in the sample. Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines are preferred for all three doses, reflecting worldwide vaccination acceptance patterns. Side effects were not significantly different between vaccination kinds. Interestingly, immunization reduced infection rates, demonstrating the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. The data fills important information gaps and illuminates Saudi COVID-19 vaccination kinetics. These data support the global preference for mRNA vaccines, demonstrating the faith in this breakthrough technology. They also sponsor COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness studies. The dramatic drop in infection rates among vaccinated people shows how vaccinations suppress the pandemic. These findings inform Saudi Arabia's immunization efforts. As booster doses become more common, long-term vaccination research is crucial. Vaccine reluctance, especially in certain demographics, must be addressed. Due to vaccines' protective potential, equitable vaccine distribution and large immunization programs are essential for herd immunity and pandemic management. This thorough cross-sectional study helps policymakers and healthcare practitioners build successful and inclusive COVID-19 immunization regimens in Saudi Arabia.

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.

AbstractThe escalating impact of artificial intelligence (AI) has birthed the fascinating technology of deepfakes, capable of meticulously crafting hyper-realistic audio-visual manipulations. Within the realm of healthcare, this technology presents a double-edged sword, brimming with potential for revolutionizing various facets of care delivery while simultaneously harboring significant ethical and practical challenges. This research delves into the complex narrative surrounding AI deepfakes in healthcare, meticulously analyzing both the exciting opportunities they offer, and the inherent risks associated with their implementation.Background:Traditional healthcare practices face limitations in patient engagement, accessibility, and training efficacy. Deepfakes, with their ability to simulate real-world scenarios and interactions, emerge as a potential solution, offering personalized patient education, immersive mental health interventions, remote consultations with virtual avatars, and realistic training simulations for medical professionals.Objective:This research aims to comprehensively understand the multifaceted impact of AI deepfakes in healthcare systems. It seeks to: Identify and analyze the potential benefits of deepfakes in specific healthcare applications. Assess the ethical and practical challenges associated with deepfake implementation in healthcare settings. Propose recommendations for safe, responsible, and ethical integration of deepfakes within the healthcare system.Results/Conclusion:The research findings illuminate a landscape replete with opportunities and challenges. Deepfakes offer the potential to enhance patient education, personalize mental health interventions, facilitate remote consultations, and revolutionize medical training. However, concerns regarding misinformation, ethical breaches, data privacy, and technical limitations pose significant challenges.The conclusion emphasizes the need for a balanced approach that capitalizes on the innovative potential of deepfakes while mitigating potential harm. Collaborative efforts involving healthcare professionals, technologists, and policymakers are crucial for establishing ethical frameworks, ensuring responsible development, and harnessing the positive power of deepfakes to build a future where healthcare benefits from cutting-edge technology while prioritizing patient well-being and ethical principles.

In the context of the coordinated development of digital economy and environmental protection, we take the strategy of "Broadband China" as a quasi-natural experiment, adopts the panel data of 284 cities from 2007 to 2020, and evaluates the policy effect of digital economy on total factor energy efficiency through the progressive DID model. The results show that: The construction of "Broadband China" demonstration city has significantly promoted the improvement of the total factor energy efficiency of the demonstration city, but there is also significant urban heterogeneity, which is manifested in the significant improvement of the total factor energy efficiency of the eastern city, the southern city, the big city and the non-resource-based city. It has no significant effect on the total factor energy efficiency of central and western cities, northern cities, small and medium-sized cities and resource-based cities. The construction of "Broadband China" demonstration cities can improve total factor energy efficiency by promoting technological progress and strengthening environmental regulations. Therefore, we should further strengthen the construction of digital infrastructure and give full play to its positive effects. Different cities should seek differentiated development paths based on their own resource endowments and development conditions, so that the digital economy can effectively improve the total factor energy efficiency.

In agriculture, the intricate relationship between innovation, productivity, and entrepreneurship is underexplored. Despite the widely recognised role of innovation in driving productivity, concrete indicators and comprehensive farm-level studies are lacking. This research aims to unravel this complexity by exploring the impact of innovation, specifically in agricultural entrepreneurship, on transformative changes in farm productivity. Using a two-stage analysis with the Malmquist Index (MI) of total factor productivity (TFP) on cereal farms from the Farm Business Survey (FBS) over 11 years, the study identifies innovators and, it assesses changes in productivity, technical efficiency, and economic efficiency. The second stage decomposes the MI to understand factors enabling innovation, including changes in technology scale. Objectives include a literature review to map innovation variables, integrating FBS data for validation and assessing productivity impacts from asset enhancements and changes in farming scale. Results reveal significant productivity variation and a moderate overall improvement. Future research directions emphasize expanded data collection on managerial behaviours and technology investments' role in efficiency frontier shifts. The study concludes by emphasising nuanced agricultural policies that leverage farmers' knowledge for innovation through enhanced management efficiency. It advocates for a departure from the 'bigger is better' mentality, proposing educational programs and support services to encourage informed decision-making. This forward-looking approach aims to inform future policies and enhance understanding of the intricate dynamics between agricultural innovation, productivity, and entrepreneurship.

This study sought to spatially characterise and explain the differences of peoples’ perceptions on the impact of COVID-19 based on the socio-economic disparities in Gauteng, using choropleth mapping and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). Results indicate that respondents from relatively vulnerable municipalities like Merafong, Mogale City and Lesedi reported life being worse, information scant, and overall despondency being high since COVID-19. These are areas that fall under the High to Very High categories in terms of the Socio-economic Risk Index. GWR results, however, did not show a high explanatory power on the COVID-19 variables se-lected for the research, based on R2 values. For instance, the residual in overall satisfaction with life after COVID-19 was the lowest (-0.5 to 0.5) in the less affluent districts of the Rand West City and Sedibeng. Residual variables on life changes after COVID-19 were also the lowest in the southern parts of the same districts, with other low values almost evenly distributed throughout the province for the variable ‘Government information on COVID-19 was scant’. Although overestimation and underestimation existed, most were relatively low falling between -1.5 to -0.5 and distributed evenly across the province. In sum, however, the findings point to the complexity of socio-economic factors in spatially characterising social risk and vulnerability. Additionally, the negative sentiments expressed by people from the more vulnerable locations in the province emphasise the need for more targeted interventions by government to cushion the residents of the province to the continued negative impacts of COVID-19.

(1) Background: The aim of study was to investigate the salt consumption by children and adolescents from the Silesian Province (Poland), taking into account the region’s dietary traditions and number of years of school education. (2) Methods : 300 students aged 10–18 from different types of schools, were enrolled in the study and divided into groups in terms of: school, sex, the state of nutrition. The survey questionnaire about dietary habits, including the frequency and serving size with respect to 12 salty products was used. On the basis of the frequency and the amount of consumed products, as well as the data on salt content, the amount of total daily intake of salt was estimated.; (3) Results: The mean daily intake of salt by children and adolescents was 1.083 g ( 0.433 g of sodium); children aged 10–12 consumed the highest amount of salt (1.296 g/day) compared to pupils aged 13–15 (1.131 g of sodium) and adolescents aged 16–18 (0.863 g/day); (4) Conclusions: With age, as a result of various factors, the consumption of salt declines. The parents impact and the familial socio-environmental factors begin to wane, and other factors start to have influence, e.g. school education of healthy lifestyle, health behavior of peers.

Cultures in Mediterranean climate zones (MCZs) around the world have long been reliant on groundwater and springs as freshwater sources. While their ecology and cultural sustainability are recognized as critically important, inter-relationships between springs and culture in MCZs has received little attention. Here we augmented a global literature review with case studies in MCZ cultural landscapes to examine the intensity of cultural and socio-economic impacts on springs ecohydrogeology. MCZs are often oriented on the west and southern coasts in tectonically active landscapes, which control aquifer structure, the prevalence of westerly winds, and aridity, and generally expose associated habitats to harsh, afternoon sunlight. Cultural appreciation and appropriation of springs ranges widely, from their use as subsitence supplies to profound traditions, such as Greco-Roman nymphs, and Asian and Abrahamic spiritual cleansing and baptism. Commoditization of water resources for agriculture, industry (e.g., mining, water bottling, geothermal resorts), and urban needs is placing ever-increasing, non-sustainable demands on aquifers and springs. When economic values approach or exceed cultural values, these irreplaceable aquatic resources are degraded and lost. Sustainable stewardship of springs and the aquifers that support them are a little-recognized, but central conservation challenge for modern society facing global climate changes.

This research investigates the socio-economic impact of rattan cane processing on the livelihoods of practitioners in Ibadan Metropolis. It comprehensively assesses raw material availability, examines factors influencing demand and supply, and evaluates sales to determine the profitability of rattan processors. With the snowball and total enumeration sampling methods, the study engages with a diverse group of rattan processors. The study reveals a concerning 36% acknowledgement of a decline in the availability of canes attributed to deforestation and over-exploitation. Notably, it emphasizes that rattan product manufacturing in Ibadan Metropolis operates at a craft level, employing tools like saws, hammers, knives, gas cylinders, pinches, and tape rules, impacting production efficiency and product longevity. Additionally, the research underscores the absence of government support and credit facilities reported by all respondents. The Market Margin analysis highlights varying profitability levels across rattan products, with chairs exhibiting notably higher profitability (32.22%) than others. Individual profit margins for specific products, such as chairs (145.00%), underscore the significance of processing costs, production time, and market demand. The study offers strategic recommendations, advocating for district-level service centres for training, technology transfer, and support to enhance skills and technical efficiency. It calls for government intervention through incentives, facilities, tax breaks, and policies to fortify the rattan trade, improving production standards and unlocking export market potential. Furthermore, financial support, technical assistance, and mechanization should be employed to reduce production costs and time, ultimately elevating income generation in the rattan industry. This research contributes valuable insights to the discourse on sustainable livelihoods and economic viability within the rattan sector.

Запропонована методика спрямована на визначення та прогнозування технічного стану елементів мосту, що може слугувати прогресивним інженерним інструментом для оцінки надійності та довговічності. Розроблено на основі фундаментальних досліджень, які узагальнюють досвід вивчення фізико-механічних і фізико-хімічних властивостей матеріалів мостових конструкцій, що експлуатуються в реальних умовах. Теоретичною основою методики є модель надійності та прогнозування залишкового ресурсу елементів мосту на основі теорії Маркова. Розроблена методика призначена для оцінки технічного стану окремих елементів мосту з подальшою комплексною оцінкою всієї конструкції. За показник технічного стану прийнята надійність при експлуатації. Цей кількісний показник надійності в моделі є критерієм для: оцінки рівня безпеки елементів мосту; ранжування елементів мосту за необхідністю для конкретних видів ремонту, реконструкції або заміни; стратегічне планування витрат на ремонт або реконструкцію в умовах обмеженого фінансування; прогнозування залишкового ресурсу елементів. Для застосування розробленої методики запропоновано алгоритм оцінки та прогнозування технічного стану мостів. Було проведено математичний експеримент розробленої методики, який підтвердив адекватність висунутої гіпотези, тобто використання моделі надійності та прогнозування залишкового ресурсу елементів мосту. По-перше, запропоновано триступеневий механізм уточнення технічного стану мосту, суттєво підвищення точності розрахунків. Тому розроблена методика має практичне значення і може слугувати основою для інформаційно-аналітичних систем управління станом мостів.

The study provide insights into the technological characteristics of green practices adoption and the potential benefits they offer in terms of socio-economic development, environmental and public health. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect quantitative data from the participants. The questionnaire include closed-ended questions, Likert scale items, and demographic questions. Both stratified and simple random sampling techniques were employed to select the study participants (government officials, employees, managers, and community members). A total of 321 copies of questionnaires were duly filled and returned. The collected data were analyze using descriptive statistics, such as frequencies, percentages, mean, and standard deviation, were used to summarize the data and provide an overview of the key variables related to green practices adoption. The findings indicate that the manufacturing company in Ogun State, Nigeria, has shown moderate commitment to adopting green practices. While there is room for improvement in certain areas, such as waste-to-energy technologies and green building practices. Additionally, green practices have positively influenced employee well-being and community health, while aligning with the company's commitment to safeguarding the environment and public health.

The following are three successful case studies that affected humanity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The key to their success was their swift adaptability to the new confinement regulations and the unyielding determination of those carrying out their plans. Various extraordinary and prompt efforts were required to make the essential logistical preparations and practice for distance learning a reality. The research activities were also reorganized so the thesis students might carry out a few simple experiments at home under the strict supervision of their advisers and supervisors. The findings revealed that the students who participated in these projects applied all the abilities they had gained before the epidemic. In addition, they included crucial knowledge about the project, problem-based, and research-based learning. Furthermore, because they were the primary implementers of the trials, they learned by planning and performing experiments. The culmination of these efforts was displayed in three scientific publications that were published in index journals with a high level of impact. This latter factor is essential for the prestige and visibility of the university, in addition to the acquisition of financing and grants for scientific research.

Understanding aspects of maritime/underwater cultural heritage (MUCH) and the associated cultural values and integrating them into maritime spatial planning (MSP) endeavors, is a new global challenge, alongside the rapid increase of human activities at sea and climate change impacts on the seas and the oceans. The article highlights the significance of cultural values in shaping human interactions with the marine environments, and how MSP can address the cultural dimensions of marine resources management. To this end, a systematic literature review was carried out to address the research question on how maritime/underwater cultural heritage is incorporated into MSP and map relevant academic literature. Following, a methodology that entailed an academic database search and the application of exclusion criteria, 346 articles resulted from Scopus. These articles were classified using science mapping techniques (i.e the VOSviewer Software ) and several categories (clusters) were created. The research showed a diversity of literature addressing the relationship between MUCH and MSP with a strong focus on sustainability, the significance of cultural ecosystem services (CES) and cultural values, the role of indigenous and local communities, but also of local stakeholders, the transfer of traditional knowledge to MSP and the participatory approaches and tools. The article concludes that for MSPlans to be innovative and acceptable by local communities, the “missing layer”of socio-cultural values and data is indispensable. In the MSP process, MUCH should be understood within this broader framework of socio-cultural considerations and values.

Nanofiber-based systems have emerged as a groundbreaking approach in the field of regenerative medicine, offering immense potential for tissue engineering and regenerative therapies. These systems, composed of nanoscale fibers, provide a unique platform for mimicking/bio-mimicking the complex structures and functionalities of native tissues, enabling the regeneration of injured tissues. This letter aims to provide a brief overview of nanofiber-based systems in regenerative medicine, discovering their importance, design, and fabrication techniques, characterization, biocompatibility, applications, challenges, and future directions as well as discussing key concepts and techniques involved in the development of this innovative tool.

Traditional shipping ships abbreviated as Pelra have a different character from conventional ships. Hypothetically, the application of Safety Management System (SMS) on Pelra is influenced by technical and non-technical factors. These factors are control variables and determinants of action priorities if SMS is applied to the safety of traditional shipping, so that it has implications as a basis for formulating and developing safety policies for traditional shipping transportation in an effort to reduce the risk of accidents. This research uses Structural Equation Modeling by analyzing expert opinions. The results of the analysis show that technical and non-technical factors have a direct and interconnected effect on Pelra safety management. The dominant influences are non-technical factors of authority and responsibility of the company and crew as well as the feasibility of ship construction as technical and environmental factors..

Background Frequent presenters (FPs) define a group of individual who visit hospital emergency depart-ment (ED) frequently for urgent care. Many among the group present with main diagnosis of mental health conditions. This group of individual tend to use ED resources disproportionally and significantly affect overall healthcare outcome. No previous reviews have examined the profiles of FPs with mental health conditions. Aims This study aims to identify the key socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who frequently present to ED with mental health primary diagnosis by performing systemic review from existing literature. Method PRISMA guideline was used. PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) were searched in May 2023. A manual search on reference list of included articles were conducted at same time. Covidence was used to perform extraction and screening, completed by two authors independently. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined. Results The abstracts of 3341 non-duplicate articles were screened with 40 full texts assessed for eligi-bility. 20 studies were included from 2004-2022 conducted in 6 countries with total patient number of 25688 (52% male, 48% female, mean age 40.7 years old). 27% were unemployed, 20% married, 41% homeless, and 17% had tertiary or above education. 44% had history of substance abuse or alcohol dependence. Top 3 diagnosis are found to be anxiety disorders (44%), depressive disorders (39%) and schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders (33%). Conclusion On average, FPs are middle aged and equally prevalent in both gender. Current data lacks rep-resentation for gender diverse group. They are significantly associated with high rate of unem-ployment, homelessness, lower than average education level, and being single. Anxiety disor-der, depressive disorder, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders are the most common clinical diagnosis associated with the group.

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.

The aim of this study was to determine the technical potential of the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone and to identify potential areas for offshore wind development. The paper proposes a GIS-based methodology in which a unique set of constraint-related criteria was employed to select the bests sites. These criteria included wind velocity, water depth, distance from nature conser-vation areas, distance from submarine cables and gas pipelines, distance from shipping routes, distance from fishing areas, distance from shipwrecks, distance from coastline. The Analytic Hi-erarchy Process was employed to indicate the best locations. Accordingly, the total suitable marine area of 16218.67 square kilometers was divided into three parts, in which the highly suitable area accounted for 17.55%, the moderately suitable area was 48.56%, and the marginally suitable area was 10.26%. Two different spatial configurations for the deployment of individual wind turbines were considered to assess the offshore wind potential. First configuration could accommodate 3664 turbines with overall electrical capacity equal to 54.96 GW, whereas the second one 2347 turbines with overall electrical capacity equal to 35.2 GW. The technical potential only in highly suitable areas was equal to 15.24 GW and 9.15 GW, respectively. The results were presented in the form of maps over the domain covering with spatial resolution of 1 km x 1 km.

In this study, the objective is to analyze the economic viability of municipal household solid waste (organic matter + paper) for the production of gas, coke and biofuel through the pyrolysis and distillation process. The waste was collected in the city of Belém do Pará-Brazil and pre-treated at UFPA. The analyzed fraction (organic matter + paper) was subjected to pre-treatment of drying, crushing, sieving and was subsequently subjected to proximate characterization and finally pyrolysis of the organic fraction (organic matter + paper) in a fixed bed reactor. Initially, it was necessary to review the literature and with the yields obtained by pyrolysis of the frac-tion, economic feasibility analyzes were carried out. The economic indicators for evaluating the most viable pyrolysis process were: simple payback, discounted payback, net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and profitability index (IL). The analysis of the indicators showed the economic viability considering an analysis horizon of 10 years, of materials based on organic material and paper. The break-even point obtained was 0.96 US$/L and the minimum biofuel sales price (MFSP – “Minimum Fuel Sale Price”) obtained in this work was 1.30 US$/L. The sensitivity analysis demonstrated that material costs (organic matter + paper), bio-oil yield, total project investment and electricity, respectively, are the variables that most affect the mini-mum biofuel sales price (MFSP).

The study is devoted to analyzing the economic sustainability of the town of Amherst, MA. The city's top employer and core enterprise is the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with over 32,000 students and almost 2,000 staff members. Based on a literature review, a hypothesis was put forward that a university city should have a high level of economic sustainability. To assess economic sustainability, the USCESI Index was developed. It evaluates sustainability in three groups of parameters: society, economy, and ecology. The first group includes the level of racial diversity, the level of education of the population, and the access to medical services. The second group consists of the Gini coefficient by income level, the median cost of housing, and the unemployment rate. The environmental situation is assessed according to the Air Quality Index developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. For comparison, the town of Braintree, MA, was taken. The USCESI was calculated for both locations. The analysis showed that both Amherst and Braintree have a high degree of economic sustainability. However, it was revealed that proximity to a significant economic center has a more powerful positive impact on economic sustainability than the location of a large university.

This paper aims to analyze the intellectual structure and research fronts in application information security in smart cities to identify research boundaries, trends, and new opportunities in the area. It applies bibliometric analyses to identify the main authors and their influences on the information security and smart city area. Moreover, this analysis focuses on journals indexed in Scopus databases. The results indicate that there is an opportunity for further advances in the adoption of information security policies in government institutions. Moreover, the production indicators presented herein are useful for the planning and implementation of information security policies, and the knowledge of the scientific community about smart cities. The bibliometric analysis provides support for the visualization of the leading research technical collaboration networks among authors, co-authors, countries, and research areas. The methodology offers a broader view of the application information security in smarty city areas and makes it possible to assist new research that may contribute to further advances. The smart city topic has been receiving much attention in recent years, but to the best of our knowledge, there is no research on reporting new possibilities for advances. Therefore, this article may contribute to an emerging body of literature that explores the nature of application information security and smart city research productivity to assist researchers in better understanding the current emerging of the area.

Among the leading immersive technologies, Augmented Reality is one of the most promising and empowering to support designers in production environments. This research investigates the application of mobile augmented reality, based on the Web, as a mediation tool focused on cognitive activities of reading and understanding of Technical Drawings in the production and assembly for Tailor Made projects of the scenographic industry. In this context, the research presents a method to use the WebAR to improve the reading of technical drawings, seeking efficiency on the visualization of models and the exchange of information between professionals, involved in the processes of design, production and assembly of products, in the scope of scenography. This mediation tool was developed using Web AR platforms, compatible with native libraries (ARCore and ARKit) to ensure, first, compatibility with commonly used devices that workers or businesses can access, and secondly, to leverage hybrid tracking techniques that combine vision and sensors to improve the reliability of augmented reality viewing. The proposed solution adopts multiple tracking and navigation techniques in order to expand Space Skills components to provide greater exploratory freedom to users. The research process took place in the light of the Design Science Research Methodology and the DSR-Model, since it aimed to develop a solution to a practical problem, as well as to produce knowledge from this process. Field experiments were conducted in two real companies, with end users on their respective mobile devices, in order to evaluate usability and behavioral intent, through the Acceptance, Intent and Use of Technology questionnaires; and perceived mental workload, NASA-TLX. The experimental results show that the adoption of this tool reduces the cognitive load in the process of reading technical drawings and project´s understanding. In general, it´s usability and intent to use provide significant levels of satisfaction, being positively accepted by all participants involved in the study.

Leishmaniasis is one of the Neglected tropical diseases. Studies show that the poor knowledge about epidemiological aspects of Leishmaniasis within communities causes the collapse of existing disease control programs. Therefore, the present study focuses on a detailed survey of the existing awareness among the threatened population in the Medawachchiya PHI Area in the Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka aiming to assist the health staff to organize community-based vector control programs effectively in the future. Assessment of the awareness of the two hundred and seventy households (n=270) residents from ten GNDs was carried out by using a structured questionnaire. Among 143 females and 134 males, only 75.1% have knowledge about the disease. 5.8%(n=16) of the participants know only about the vector and 28.9% (n=80) know their control methods. The study shows a shortage of a considerable amount of awareness about the disease among the studied population The study found that age and education levels had significant impacts on knowledge, attitudes, and practices. However, factors like gender, marital status, occupation, income, and expenses did not show significant correlations. The present study suggests the huge scope for community-related vector control methods for greater achievements in vector control methods by implementing a continuous educational program.

This research undertakes a quantitative exploration of the impact of procurement mo-dalities on economic efficiency and inclusive procurement within the Dominican Repub-lic's public sector. Applying data science methodologies and machine learning techniques, this study analyzes a rich dataset of public procurement contracts spanning from 2018 to 2023. A focus is placed on understanding how different procurement modalities affect contract amounts and processing times—two key indicators of economic efficiency. Machine learning models, including Random Forest and Gradient Boosting, are em-ployed to predict these essential metrics across different procurement modalities. The findings indicate a significant positive correlation between certain procurement modali-ties and economic efficiency. The machine learning models reveal that procurement strategies focused on local sourcing and transparent bidding processes tend to yield high-er economic returns and more equitable outcomes. This research underscores the poten-tial of quantitative analysis to inform procurement policies, fostering a more economi-cally efficient and inclusive procurement ecosystem in the Dominican Republic's public sector. The insights garnered from this study could have significant implications for the design of more inclusive procurement strategies, contributing to socio-economic growth and corruption reduction in the Dominican Republic.

The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2019 reveals an increasing prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) from 1990 to 2019. This study delves into the role of dietary risk factors across different demographic and socioeconomic groups. Utilizing data from the GBD 2019, it analyzes age-adjusted T2DM metrics—death counts, Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), and Age-Standardized Rates (ASR)—stratified by age, sex, and region. The study employed Estimated Annual Percentage Changes (EAPCs) to track trends over time. Results show that in 2019, 26.07% of T2DM mortality and 27.08% of T2DM DALYs were attributable to poor diets, particularly those low in fruits and high in red and processed meats. Geographic variations in T2DM trends were significant, with regions like Southern Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia experiencing the most substantial increases in Age-Standardized Mortality Rate (ASMR) and Age-Standardized DALY Rate (ASDR). A positive correlation was noted between Socio-Demographic Index (SDI) and T2DM burden due to dietary risk factors. The study concludes that targeted public health initiatives promoting dietary changes could substantially reduce the global T2DM burden.

Diabetes is one of the fatal diseases that play a vital role in the growth of other diseases in the human body. Controlling and curing diabetes in its early stages is the most significant technique to avoid its effects of diabetes. However, lack of awareness and expensive clinical tests are the primary reasons to skip clinical diagnosis and take preventive methods in lower-income countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. From this perspective, the study aims to build an automated machine learning (ML) model, which will predict diabetes at an early stage using socio-demographic characteristics rather than clinical attributes. Because clinical features are not always known to all people from lower-income countries. To find the best fit supervised ML classifier of the model, we applied six classification algorithms and found that RF outperformed with an accuracy of 99.36%. In addition, the most significant risk factors were found based on the SHAP value by all the applied classifiers. The study reveals that polyuria, polydipsia, and delayed healing are the most significant risk factors for growing diabetes. The findings indicate that the proposed model is highly capable of predicting diabetes in the early stages.

The main purpose of the work is to indicate the effects of the implementation of the concept of sustainable production from the perspective of the well-being of employees. The diagnosis was made among manufacturers operating in the sector of agricultural technical means of transport (production of parts and subassemblies). Achieving the main goal required the formulation and implementation of partial goals, which the authors included: (C1) analysis of the concept of sustainable production from the perspective of employees' well-being (theoretical plane); (C2) compiling a research model in the form of an evaluation sheet being the result of a literature query and an expert study (theoretical and design layer); attention was paid to the articulation of categories relevant to the content and scope of research; (C3) verification of the research model (indication of the effects of the implementation of the concept of sustainable production (the perspective of employee well-being) by the surveyed enterprises).

The overexploitation of forest resources in the charcoal production basin of the city of Lubum-bashi (DR Congo) is reducing the resilience of miombo woodlands and threatening the survival of the riparian as well as urban human populations that depend on it. We assessed the socio-economic value and availability of plant-based non-timber forest products NTFPs in the rural area of Lubumbashi through ethnobotanical (100 respondents) and socio-economic (90 respondents) interviews, supplemented with floristic inventories, in two village areas selected on the basis of the level of forest degradation. The results show that 60 woody species, including 46 in the degraded forest (Maksem) and 53 in the intact forest (Mwawa), belonging to 22 families are used as sources of NTFPs in both villages. Among these species, 25 are considered priority species. NTFPs are collected for various purposes, including handcrafting, hut building, and traditional medicine. Moreover, the ethnobotanical lists reveal a similarity of almost 75%, indicating that both local communities surveyed use the same species for collecting plant-based NTFPs, despite differences in the level of degradation of the miombo woodlands in the two corresponding study areas. However, the plant-based NTFPs that are collected from miombo woodlands and traded in the urban markets have significant economic value, which ranges from 0.5 to 14.58 USD per kg depending on the species and uses. NTFPs used for handicraft purposes have a higher economic value than those used for other purposes. However, the sustainability of this activity is threatened due to unsustainable harvesting practices that include stem slashing, root digging, and bark peeling of woody species. Consequently, there is a low availability of plant-based NTFPs, particularly in the village area where forest degradation is more advanced. It is imperative that policies for monitoring and regulation of harvesting, and promoting sustainable management of communities’ plant-based NTFPs priority, be undertaken to maintain their resilience.

This paper reports aligned activities to promote energy and resource-efficient construction practice in Vietnam. First, the governance framework is introduced, including government decrees and technical standards. Then, a laboratory with building physics measurement technology is designed and partly set up at the local partner Vietnam Institute for Building Materials (VIBM), which can be used to determine the essential characteristic values required for the implementation of energy standards. The basis for the prioritization of the characteristic values are the requirements of the National technical regulation on energy efficient buildings of Vietnam – QCVN09:2017/BXD. Furthermore, basic characteristic values from international standards are described, which can also be used for calculations to optimize the energy consumption of buildings. In order to be able to carry out transient hygrothermal computer simulations, special characteristic values were also included. These are particularly useful for the research and development of new building materials and the evaluation of entire buildings in terms of thermal and moisture protection In order to communicate the material properties to the market and enable informed decision making by the stakeholders, a labeling system has been developed. Thereby, the practical means for implementing governance instruments are provided, and the related technical applications are supported.

Over the last few decades, contemporary museums have undergone a radical change into public places that promote socio-economic sustainability by impeding recreation, commercial, and cultural activities. This shift altered public perception of museums globally and had a profound impact on today's museums, resulting in new prototypes that differed significantly from prior ones. The study tries to answer the following questions: How far have Egyptian museums been evolving over the last decade? To what degree the radical transformation in the museum design can assist in fulfilling Egypt’s SDGs? To answer these questions the study attempts to explore how far Egyptian museums have adapted to this fundamental change by tracing the evolution of Egyptian museum design compared with the findings of the author's previous thesis in 2012 and Egypt’s SDGs The study used qualitative methods which began with a thorough literature review followed by a comparative analysis of the selected case studies. . The findings revealed that the contemporary design of the recent Egyptian museums by including the social and economic activities, significantly support the national and global agenda in term of SDG. The article provides architects, designers, and policy makers with clear design criteria to enhance the social and economic role of museums towards fulfilling SDGs.

In addition to identifying and prosecuting cyber attackers, attack attribution activities can provide valuable information guiding the defenders’ security procedures and giving them greater confidence in incident response and remediation. However, technical analysis involved in cyberattack attribution requires high skills, experience, access to up-to-date Cyber Threat Intelligence, and significant investigators’ effort. Attribution results are not always reliable, and skilful attackers often work hard to cover their traces and mislead or confuse investigators. In this article, we present a tool designed to support technical attack attribution and implemented as a machine learning model extending the OpenCTI platform. We also discuss the tool’s performance in the investigation of a recent cyberattack.

children is challenging. An important advance is the 15-questions Pictorial Personality Traits Questionnaire for Children. A study on students from 10 to 13 years old in Poland validated the questionnaire but with some observations. Thus, there is a need for replication and stronger evi-dence in this age group. In Chile, we replicated the study with 3,423 4th-graders (9 to 12 years old). Teachers, in regular sessions, applied the questionnaire to their entire classes. We found similar results, including that asexual pictograms worked well in both genders. We also found positive relationships between conscientiousness, openness, and extraversion with mathematical performance. Furthermore, a combination of these three traits has a relationship with math performance twice as big as each trait alone. Moreover, students with the lowest scores in this combination of personality traits (6.6% of students) have 0.27 standard deviations less in mathematical performance than those with the highest score, which is 74.3% of students. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a study finds a strong relationship between a combination of personality traits gathered with a 15-question questionnaire and fourth-graders´ math perfor-mances.

Individual investors often struggle to predict stock prices due to the limitations imposed by the computational capacities of personal laptop Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) when running intensive deep learning models. This study proposes solving these GPU constraints by integrating deep learning models with technical analysis methods. This integration significantly reduces analysis time and equips individual investors with the ability to identify stocks that may yield potential gains or losses in an efficient manner. Thus, a comprehensive buy and sell algorithm, compatible with average laptop GPU performance, is introduced in the study. This algorithm offers a lightweight analysis method that emphasizes factors identified by technical analysis methods, thereby providing a more accessible and efficient approach for individual investors. To evaluate the efficacy of this approach, we analyzed the performance of eight deep learning models: LSTM (4 layers), CNN, BiLSTM (4 layers), CNN Attention, BiGRU CNN BiLSTM Attention, BiLSTM Attention CNN, CNN BiLSTM Attention, and CNN Attention BiLSTM. These models were used to predict stock prices for Samsung Electronics and Celltrion Healthcare. The CNN Attention BiLSTM model displayed superior performance among these models, with the lowest validation mean absolute error value. In addition, an experiment was conducted using WandB Sweep to determine the optimal hyperparameters for four individual hybrid models. These optimal parameters were then implemented in each model to validate their back-testing rate of return. The CNN Attention BiLSTM hybrid model emerged as the highest-performing model, achieving an approximate rate of return of 5 percent. Overall, this study offers valuable insights into the performance of various deep learning and hybrid models in predicting stock prices. These findings can assist individual investors in selecting appropriate models that align with their investment strategies, thereby increasing their likelihood of success in the stock market.

The current study is to examine the disparities in physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB), and stress levels in Korean adolescents concerning changes in their perception of family socio-economic status (SES) during COVID-19. Among a total of 6144 Korean adolescents aged 12 to 18, the participants were categorized into two groups based on their responses regarding changes in their family SES during COVID-19: Lower SES (n = 3072) and Non-changed SES (n = 3072), with matching in terms of age, gender, and BMI. All variables were assessed using the 16th year (2020) of the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 26.0 version, employing independent t-tests to examine anthropometrics’ differences and multinominal logistic regression to predict the impact of perception of family SES on PA, SB, and stress while comparing the two groups. The significance level was set at α = 0.05. Adolescents in the Lower SES group were less likely to engage in vigorous-intensity PA (VPA) and muscular strength activities compared to those in the Non-changed SES group (p < 0.001) and were 2.3 times more likely to experience a very-severe stress level than the Non-changed SES group (p < 0.001). These results shed light on the importance of promoting VPA and muscular strength activities in adolescents for their physical and mental well-being, particularly during potential future pandemics. Understanding the impact of perceived SES changes on health behaviors can inform targeted interventions and support strategies to improve the health outcomes of adolescents during challenging times.

Machine Learning can be used for social good. In this paper, we discuss how it can be used to combat climate change and facilitate land management and farming in developing countries and in particular in Côte d’Ivoire. This paper explores models that improve land and water management and agricultural farming cultivation to contrast climate change. Côte d’Ivoire is the largest producer of cocoa beans (43%) in the world, but deforestation, lack of rainfall, drought, and climate change threaten crops and the already fragile economy of Ivorian farmers. It is important to combat climate change with methods and techniques that are affordable to the local farmers and also induce positive effects in production. We discuss the use of low-cost sensors to collect data on the soil and open data and open source software to develop AI tools. We show that using deep neural networks (YOLOv5m) is effective for detecting healthy plants and pods of cocoa from damaged ones only using mobile phone images. Focusing on a single land is not enough to combat climate change, which has different causes and involves also knowledge at a higher scale. We propose a new method of forecasting for the analysis of remote sensors. Remote sensor data come from GRACE NASA Mission and ERA5 produced by the Copernicus Climate Change Service at ECMWF. We implement a new deep neural network architecture named CIWA-net. It is based on a Fully Convolutional Neural Network (FCN) [ 1] and it is a U-net like architecture [2]. The aim of CIWA-net is to forecast Total Water Storage Anomalies (TWSA). We show the quality of our model with a comparison to a vanilla Convolutional Neural Network. CIWA-net could be used also for the detection of lands that interfere with agricultural work and yields, such as deserted areas, water-soaking soil areas, zones at risk of desertification, and poor land use. The employment of AI at the service of agriculture can decrease crop losses and waste, lower the inputs onto the soil of fertilizers, responsible for the increase of Greenhouse Gases. It could be useful to help the small farmers (at a local scale) and also the policy-makers and farmers’ cooperatives (at the regional scale) to take valid and coordinated countermeasures to improve the correct use of the lands, helping to contrast and adapt to climate change.

Aging involves several changes depending on genetic and behavioural factors, such as lifestyle and number and quality of social relationships, which in turn can be influenced by empathy. Here, the change in the perceived social support across the life span as a function of empathy was investigated, considering the mediating role of the empathy, after controlling for gender and education. 441 people (18-91 years old) filled in the Italian short version of the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL-12) and the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ6) as well as the Empathy Questionnaire (EQ) and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (RMET). The mediation analyses with ISEL-12 showed that age and the EQ fully mediated the relationship between age and Appraisal, Belonging and Tangible scores. Further, the EQ fully mediated only the relationship between age and SSQ6-People. These results showed that empathic skills play a key role in the relationships between age and social support. This suggests: empathy can trigger social support and ultimately well-being if stimulated across the lifespan, especially since young age; this would help to form the socio-emotional competence across the years, as a sort of cushion that can be useful in the elderly to fulfil active aging.

In the end, this paper analyzed the economy from the investment in plant construction, raw material collection, product production and product sales. The resulting products include pyrolytic carbon, pyrolytic oil, pyrolysis gas. The results showed that when the treatment scale was 1 ton h−1, the pyrolysis plants with three loading modes will always be in a state of loss during the 20-year running time. When the processing scale was 9 ton h−1, the pyrolysis plant can be profitable in the first year. In the sensitivity analysis, the influence of three pyrolysis products on the total return on investment was explored. The results showed that the price change of pyrolysis oil has the greatest influence on the total return on investment (Total ROI) under the three loading methods, The price change of pyrolysis gas has minimal impact on the Total ROI. This study provides basic data and basis for the commercialization of coal-biomass co-pyrolysis technology and investment in plant construction.

In the last decades, climate and environmental changes have highlighted the fragility and vulnerability of the landscape, especially in mountain areas where the effects are most severe. The strategy for hazard mitigation must deploy synergistic actions based on a thorough knowledge of the territory and its phenomena to enable integrated and effective land planning and management through suitable communication tools. This study promotes the methodological setup of a Landscape Digital Twin to establish a multi-disciplinary and multi-scalar hazards overview according to a matrix framework implementable over time and space. The original contribution to the research addresses a holistic vision that combines meaningfully qualitative with quantitative approaches to generate risk maps by integrating various indicators within a multi-hazard framework from the socio-economic perspective. This contribution presents road network risk analysis by exploiting flooding and landslide scenarios. The critical road segments or nodes most vulnerable or impacted by network performance and accessibility can be identified with minimal preprocessing from credible open-source sources. The method's applicability is tested in a Piedmont Region, northern Italy case study. The integration proposed will help generate comprehensive risk analysis maps that effectively portray the interconnectedness among natural hazards, infrastructure, and socio-economic factors fostering more resilient decision-making processes.

Micromobility has gained attention from policymakers, industry stakeholders, and academia; however, a comprehensive conceptualization of micromobility is still missing. Existing definitions are largely vehicle-centric: either listing modes or detailing vehicle characteristics. This paper addresses this gap by developing a ‘beyond vehicles’, multi-dimensional conceptualization of micromobility, accompanied by a novel socio-technical definition. Through a review of related concepts, combined with an analysis of the use and definitions of the term micromobility in publications, this study establishes a new conceptualization of micromobility. It incorporates human, social, and cultural dimensions, considers environmental, economic, infrastructure, vehicle technology, regulatory and policy aspects, and considerations for public health. Our definition of micromobility encompasses a wide range of mobility options typically used for shorter trips and manoeuvrable by an individual without motor assistance, at least for short distances. These modes are characterized by their ‘micro’ attributes, including low energy demand, environmental impact, and road space use relative to automobility. The conceptualization incorporates a range of micromobility modes, including fully human-powered (including walking), partially motor-assisted, and fully powered options. These modes typically operate at speeds not exceeding 25 to 32 kilometres per hour (or 45 km/h for faster options), weigh (typically substantially) below 350 kilograms and often yield significant (public) health benefits. Trip length is generally less than 15 kilometres, and daily distances under 80 kilometres. Importantly, our definition includes the practices, policies, cultures, and infrastructures that emerge around the use of micromobility options and shape their uptake. This proposed conceptualization significantly broadens the prevailing vehicle-focus in micromobility debates towards a socio-technical perspective. Embracing a widely accepted conceptualisation of micromobility would offer several advantages, including robust design standards, legislation, and evaluation metrics and methods. Additionally, this paper highlights the pivotal role micromobilities can play in transcending the limitations of automobility, towards more sustainable and equitable mobility futures.

Purpose- Betel nut (Areca catechu) is one of the major plantation crops grown in Assam. However, due to inefficiency in production, the productivity of betel nuts in the state is very low. Therefore, this study attempted to measure the level of technical efficiency and the factors affecting the technical inefficiency of betel nut growers in the Nagaon district of Assam.Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were collected from 240 households in the Nagaon district of Assam. Based on the Cobb-Douglas Production function for betel nut growers, the present study uses stochastic frontier analysis to estimate the production frontier and examine the effects of exogenous variables on farm-level technical inefficiency. Findings - The findings of the study reveal that, on average, 85 per cent of betel nut growers are technically efficient in the study area. Moreover, experience in betel nut plantations and gender have a significantly negative effect on technical inefficiency. In contrast, the age of the grower had a positive and significant effect on the technical inefficiency of betel nut cultivation. The findings suggest the availability of space for an increase in the productivity of betel nut plantations in the study area and scope for increasing the level of output through technical efficiency without raising inputs.Originality/Value: This study contribute to the estimation of the technical efficiency of betel nut growers and examines the factors responsible for technical inefficiency.The dataset is original and was especially collected for the present study.

The transportation sector significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, thus imposing sig-nificant environmental hazards. In response, many nations have begun promoting Electric Vehicles (EVs) as an ecologically sustainable substitute for traditional combustion vehicles. Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs), characterized by their high energy density, extended lifespan, and relatively low self-discharge rate, have become the suitable energy storage system for EVs, advancing the field of sustainable transportation. The decreasing cost of LIB production has primarily driven this progression, realized through a combination of economies of scale, advancements in electrode materials and cell design, and re-finements in manufacturing processes. All these elements collectively contribute to the cost reduc-tion of LIBs. A foreseeable implication of this trend is an expected surge in LIBs that will exhaust their operational lifespan and, consequently, be cast away into the environment. One mitigating strategy for this impending environmental issue involves collecting these spent EV batteries, re-configuring them, and repurposing them for applications with less rigorous weight, performance, and size prerequisites. This approach would not only prolong the utility life of the batteries but also ameliorate their environmental impacts. Nevertheless, second-life batteries are anticipated to exhibit a higher rate of gas evolution, necessitating comprehensive testing and readjustments to ensure safe operation in secondary ap-plications. The regulatory framework encompassing the second-life battery sector still needs to be defined regarding norms, technical standards, and legislation. This paper aims to elucidate the primary regulations and technical standards proposed thus far in the second-life battery marketplace. The results underscore the exigency for neutral evaluative entities, such as universities, research centers, and governmental institutions, to perform an unbi-ased assessment of the second-life battery market. This would pave the way for novel technical standards and legislative measures specifically tailored to this emerging sector.

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 infection was first reported in 2019 and has since spread throughout the world. This is a cross-sectional study in cooperation with 118 Department of Pre-Hospital and Territorial Emergency (118 SET) of Taranto City and the University of Bari, Aldo Moro, and the School of Medicine from Italy. We conducted a study on how the COVID-19 epidemics evolved and how it was contained by different countermeasures by taking into account data showing socio-demographic and that older persons, as well as individuals with comorbidities and poor metabolic health, and people coming from economically depressed areas with lower quality of life in general, are more likely to develop severe COVID-19 infection. Objective: Examine the association between county-level socio-demographic risk factors and COVID-19 incidence and mortality, determining the possible emo-biological markers, ferritin, and lymphocytes, that could be indicative of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study on 600 patients examined and treated at general hospital Ninh Thuan from January to September 2022. Results: 33/600 patients were confirmed to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 (5.5%), males 4.8% and females 5.8%, the median age of infected patients is 36 years. Most infections were mild (75.8%). Our results revealed that the structure and the spatial arrangement of socio-demographic arrangements are important either as epidemiological determinants or as disease markers. Conclusion: Approximately 5.5% of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 come to examination and treatment at the hospital, these findings suggested that possible infection rate in the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sociodemographic risk factors, and their root causes must be addressed. In addition, lab results obtained from affected patients showed that lymphocytes and ferritin could be considered traits of mild COVID-19 infection.

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.

The main characteristics of blockchains, such as security and traceability, have enabled their use in many distinct scenarios, such as the rise of new cryptocurrencies and decentralized applications (dApps). However, part of the information exchanged with the typical blockchains is public, which can lead to privacy issues. To avoid or mitigate these issues, some blockchains are applying mechanisms to deal with data privacy. Trusted Execution Environments, the basis of confidential computing, and secure Multi-party Computation are two technologies that can be applied in that sense. In this paper, we analyzed seven blockchain technologies that apply mechanisms to improve data privacy. We defined seven technical questions related to common requirements for decentralized applications and, to answer each question, we reviewed the available documentation and gathered information from chat channels. We briefly present each blockchain technology and the answers to each technical question. Finally, we present a table summarizing the information and showing which technologies are more prominent.

Climate change complies firms to introduce various measures to enhance both their competitiveness and sustainability, particularly energy efficiency measures (EEMs). Energy efficiency is particularly important in energy-intensive sectors such as the industrial sector. However, EEMs within the industrial firms are hindered by several internal barriers such as competing interests within firms, the lack of information regarding energy efficiency opportunities, and the low technical competence. In this regard, energy audit aims to improve energy efficiency in facilities and to tackle internal barriers to energy efficiency. We construct a model which aims to explore the importance of energy audit in implementing EEMs and reducing the intensity of internal barriers to energy efficiency. Our research model was empirically tested through survey data gathered from 193 industrial firms in Morocco. Results show that competing interests, the lack of information and the low technical competence hinder the adoption of EEMs within industrial firms. In addition, energy audits enhance EEMs, and mitigate the negative effect of the lack of information and the low technical competence on the adoption of EEMs. However, energy audits do not attenuate the negative effect of competing interests on EEMs. This study reinforces previous studies with additional confirmation regarding the importance of energy audits for tackling the lack of information, and the low technical competence within firms. Furthermore, our study extends prior research as we found that energy audits do not reduce the intensity of competing interests within firms regarding EMMs’ implementation.

In the present research, chronic viral hepatitis in children is approached from a multidisciplinary point of view, considering social status, economic and medical aspects. We conducted a 4-year observational prospective study. A questionnaire regarding the socio-economic status of pediatric patients diagnosed with chronic viral hepatitis B or C was applied. In total, 159 patients were included, 52 % from urban areas, 2.5 % coming from centres for abandoned children. Among 119 school-aged children, 66% were attending classes. All patients are registered with a general practitioner. Regarding the monthly income per family, 49% had less than 1000 RON (5 RON = 1$), of which 17% had no income, 28% had an income ranging between 1000 and 2000 RON and in only 23% of cases the income exceeded 2000 RON (5% had more than 4000 RON). There were between 3 and 12 members per family. Concerning parents` educational level, the average years of study for mothers was 7.8, while for fathers, it was 8.2. For 17 % of children, at least one of the parents was illiterate, and for 5.6 %, both parents were illiterate. For a third of patients, both parents were unemployed. Regarding social living conditions, 38.4% did not have water facilities or sewerage, and 32 % used personal objects (scissors, nail clippers) in common. The socio-economic level can have a significant impact on disease epidemiology (infectiousness) and access to treatment, and it is tightly related to educational level and access to information, which are critical factors in disease prevention through general and specific measures and in disease management (treating infected patients and limiting the transmission).

Over the years, machine learning has emerged as a tool for automated translation and has been studied relentlessly for decades. RBMT, SMT, and NMT models have been used to achieve machine translation and the results have drastically improved from when research in this field first began. Although a few general-purpose translators such as Google Translate or Microsoft Translator have accurate translations compared to that of a human translator, many pieces of text containing highly technical terms or homonyms are often mistranslated completely. When considering the necessity and importance of translating technical patents from different domains, accuracy in translation is not something that can be compromised. This motivates the need to improve the performance of machine translation further. The scope of this paper covers three open-source machine translation models for the purpose of patent documentation translation from English to Japanese, evaluates their performance on patent data, and proposes a methodology that enabled us to improve one of the model’s BLEU score by 41.22%, achieving a BLEU score of 46.18.

ChatGPT, a groundbreaking natural language processing technology released just three months ago, has attracted significant attention due to its remarkable capabilities. This AI milestone has urged researchers, industry, decision-makers, and governments to examine this technology, including its implications, threats, and benefits. Despite the short period since its release, several researchers have examined ChatGPT from different perspectives. This paper presents a comprehensive review of ChatGPT, highlighting its technical novelties compared to previous models and analyzing existing research from various perspectives. We followed a rigorous methodology to conduct a critical review of existing research on ChatGPT and developed a taxonomy for the different areas of study. Additionally, we identify future challenges and research trends associated with ChatGPT. Our paper is the first critical review of ChatGPT literature, providing valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers. This paper serves as a reference for researchers seeking to advance research on ChatGPT, including its applications and development.

With a worldwide growing concern for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their impact on human health and the environment, transportation has become a central theme in mitigation, responsible for 14% of human GHG emissions. To build endurance to climate change, transportation services must adapt to the current scenario and act quickly to avert future changes. Deeply rooted changes in socio-technical systems will be necessary to achieve significant CO2 reduction and secure the well-being of future generations. This study's objective is to comprehensively review the current state of carbon mitigation in the transportation sector. This is done through a systematic literature review engrained in the socio-technical transition theory and the structural theory of contingency. Twenty-six review papers covering 2,983 original articles are selected for full-text examination concerning carbon emissions in transportation. Enablers, barriers, benefits, disadvantages and metrics in carbon emissions reduction are identified, and a comprehensive framework is built. Results provide a view of the current sustainability scenario in transportation and allow a better understanding of the factors influencing carbon emission initiatives in transportation and its outcomes.

Hosting FIFA World Cup obviously produce immense socio-economic impacts to a nation. Proximal non-host city perception to mega event was frequently explored, while distal non-host city perception has less investigated. This study assessed the socio-economic impacts of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Chon Buri Sports City residents. Participants were 422 Chon Buri Sports City residents from eleven districts. Perception on socio-economic impacts of hosting FWC Qatar 2022 was measured from the translated Scale of Perceived Social Impacts. Extracted seven dimensions by confirmatory factor analysis is consistent with empirical data. Positive impact dimensions are Community Development, Community Pride, Economic Benefits. Negative impact dimensions are Traffic Problems, Security Risks, Economic Costs, and Environmental Concerns. Chon Buri Sports City residents perceived fewer negative impacts than other non-host city residents. Positive impacts of hosting FWC Qatar 2022 has more influenced on Chon Buri Sports City residents’ perception than negative impacts. These findings advantage for sport stakeholders to deeper understand the impacts of mega event hosting.

This work aims to investigate systematically the tecno-economic feasibility of ther-mos-catalytic cracking process for two solid waste materials, a lipid-base material (re-sidual fat/scum from retention box of the University Restaurant of UFPA) and a lig-nin-cellulosic material Açaí seed (Euterpe oleracea. Mart). The thermo-catalytic process-es were carried out in pilot scale (THERMTEK/LEQ/UFPA/IME/RJ), and their economic feasibility analyzed. The yields of biofuels produced by fractional distillation were al-so studied. The physicochemical characteristics of the raw materials, the organic liquid product (bio-oil) and the chemical composition of kerosene, light-diesel and heavy-diesel from the lipid-base material, as well as those of kerosene and light-diesel from the Açaí seed were also determined. The economic indicators for the evaluation of the most viable cracking (pyrolysis) and distillation process of bio-oils were: a) the sim-ple payback criterion, b) discounted payback, c) net present value (NPV), d) internal rate of return (IRR), and e) index of profitability (IP). The analysis of the indicators showed the economic viability of crude palm oil (Elaeis guineensis, Jacq) and unfeasibil-ity for the palm oil neutralization. The minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) obtained is this work for the biofuels was of 1.34 US$/L) and the breakeven point obtained was of 1.28 US$/L. The sensibility analysis demonstrated that the pyrolysis and distillation yields are the most important variables to affect the minimum fuel selling price (MFSP).

The size of the home is considered the most critical issue affecting the quality of life. This can be measured by the quality of the house and its environment. This paper highlights the housing quality index at the urban axis level in Bistrita-Nasaud county and the impact of socioeconomic activities on the index. The Household Quality of Life Index (HQLI) was calculated based on 11 variables. Household quality of life comprises two distinctive indices: the Housing Conditions Index (HCI) and the Asset Possession Index (API). The study found a variation in the housing condition variables across the urban focus areas. The impact of the socioeconomic environments is disproportionately dependent on the social-economic profile of the urban environments that make up the Urban Axis and the related economic activities that take place in the area of influence in the administrative-territorial units and the variability of the Housing Conditions Index This can be measured by the quality of the house and its environment. This paper highlights the housing quality index at the urban axis level in Bistrita-Nasaud county and the impact of socioeconomic activities on this index. The study area comprises territories in the municipality of Bistrita. The socio-economic context of the area has been the basis for understanding the patterns of evolution identified in the urban landscape, and being a driver in ongoing urban transformations and processes. The impact of the socio-economic is disproportionate to the socioeconomic profile of the urban environments that make up the Urban Axis and the economic activities related to the economic activities taking place in the catchment area in the administrative-territorial units, hence the variability of the Housing Conditions Index which is a system Housing Quality Indicator (HQI) is a tool for measuring and evaluating housing systems based on quality and not just cost.

This article presents the implementation of a model to estimate the future price of commodities in the Brazilian market from time series of short-term technical evaluation. For this, data from two databases were used, one referring to the foreign market (opening values, maximum, minimum, closing, closing adjustment and volume) and the other, from the Brazilian market (the price of the day), considering commodities, sugar, cotton, corn, soybean and wheat. Subsequently, the technical indicators were calculated from the TA-Lib technical analysis library. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was applied, records with low correlation were removed, and then the database was consolidated. From the pre-processed data, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) recurrent neural networks were used to perform data prediction at the one and three day interval. These models were evaluated using the mean square error (MSE), obtaining results between 0.00010 and 0.00037 on test data one day ahead, and from 0.00017 to 0.00042 three days ahead. However, based on the results obtained, it was observed that the developed model obtained a promising forecasting performance for all the commodities evaluated. As a main contribution, there is the consolidation of databases that can be used in future scientific research. Furthermore, based on its interpretation, it can assist in decision making regarding the buying and selling of commodities to increase financial gains.

Coastal areas are highly vulnerable to climate change hazards (e.g., sea-level rise, flooding, coastal erosion), which can lead to significant impacts at the ecosystem and societal level. Interest in Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is gaining importance due to its potential multiple benefits, including social and environmental aspects, when compared to more traditional approaches such as hard engineering interventions. When assessing EbA strategies, further understanding of the nature-society functions, processes, values, and benefits is needed to increase its application. This study contributes to a better knowledge of EbA by developing a systematic literature review of studies performing socio-economic assessments of climate change adaptation in coastal areas. The analysis of 54 publications revealed that most of the studies assessed adaptation solutions through cost-benefit analysis, followed by multi-criteria analysis, and other techniques. Hybrid adaptation strategies based on different combinations of hard, soft and EbA interventions were considered as potential optimal solutions in a significant part of the assessments. This study suggests the potential co-benefits of EbA in the form of ecosystem services, livelihood diversification or biodiversity conservation, but also stresses the need for further research on this topic, as well as on evaluating how EbA perform in the long-term under climate changing conditions scenarios.

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.

Non-woody forest products play a vital role in the economic uplifts of the local communities living in forest areas. This study was conducted in the Shishikoh Valley, district Chital to identify the economic importance of the Chilghoza nuts. The study was based on interviews and questionnaires, and a total of 50 questionnaires were collected from the whole valley. The results showed that before 2003, the people were unaware of the high economic value of the Chilghoza nuts, they used to sell the Chilghoza nuts at a very low price (US$ 1.7 to 2.4 per bag: approximately 5 Kg) and harvest it for fuelwood purposes. After the IPRP interventions, training and awareness, the local people started conservation of Chilghoza trees and sustainable cone harvesting. The total collection and sell out of Chilghoza nuts in the Shishikoh valley jumped to 87.9 tons and US$ 7.64/kg in 2005 from 32.7 tons and US$ 0.34-0.48/kg, respectively. This study concludes that IPRP interventions improved the economic values of Chilghoza nuts as well as the living standards of the local people.

This paper presents the development and implementation of a machine learning model to estimate the future price of commodities in the Brazilian market from technical analysis indicators. For this, two databases were obtained regarding the commodities sugar, cotton, corn, soybean and wheat, which were submitted to the steps of data cleaning, pre-processing and subdivision. From the pre-processed data, recurrent neural networks of the long short-term memory type were used to perform the prediction of data in the interval of 1 and 3 days ahead. These models were evaluated using mean squared error, obtaining an accuracy between 0.00010 and 0.00037 on the test data for 1 day ahead and 0.00015 to 0.00041 for 3 days ahead. However, based on the results obtained, it can be stated that the developed model obtained a good prediction performance for all commodities evaluated.

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.

This work aims to investigate systematically the tecno-economic feasibility of ther-mos-catalytic cracking process for two solid waste materials, a lipid-base material (re-sidual fat/scum from retention box of the University Restaurant of UFPA) and a lig-nin-cellulosic material Açaí seed (Euterpe oleracea. Mart). The thermo-catalytic process-es were carried out in pilot scale (THERMTEK/LEQ/UFPA/IME/RJ), and their economic feasibility analyzed. The yields of biofuels produced by fractional distillation were al-so studied. The physicochemical characteristics of the raw materials, the organic liquid product (bio-oil) and the chemical composition of kerosene, light-diesel and heavy-diesel from the lipid-base material, as well as those of kerosene and light-diesel from the Açaí seed were also determined. The economic indicators for the evaluation of the most viable cracking (pyrolysis) and distillation process of bio-oils were: a) the sim-ple payback criterion, b) discounted payback, c) net present value (NPV), d) internal rate of return (IRR), and e) index of profitability (IP). The analysis of the indicators showed the economic viability of crude palm oil (Elaeis guineensis, Jacq) and unfeasibil-ity for the palm oil neutralization. The minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) obtained is this work for the biofuels was of 1.34 US$/L) and the breakeven point obtained was of 1.28 US$/L. The sensibility analysis demonstrated that the pyrolysis and distillation yields are the most important variables to affect the minimum fuel selling price (MFSP).

The World Health Organization estimates that every year air pollution kills seven million people worldwide. As it is expected that climate change will affect future air quality patterns, the full understanding of the links between air pollution and climate change, and how they affect human health, are challenges of future research. In this scope, a methodology to assess the air quality impacts on health was developed. The WRF-CAMx modelling framework was applied for the medium-term future climate (considering the SSP24.5 scenario) and for the recent past (considered as baseline). Following the WHO recommendations, mortality health indicators were used to estimate health impacts of long-term exposures. For that, the Aveiro Region, in Portugal, was considered as a case study. Future climate results indicate the occurrence of higher temperatures, and lower total precipitation. Despite that, improvements in the main pollutants’ concentrations, and consequently in the reduction of the related premature deaths are foreseen, mainly due to the reduction of pollutants emissions imposed by the European legislation for the upcoming years. The applied approach constitutes an added value in this research field, being crucial to anticipate the effects of climate change on air quality and evaluate their impacts on human health.

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.

A 57-year-old male with a history of hyperlipidemia and mild pulmonary hypertension presented for a left inguinal hernia repair. Preoperative electrocardiogram showed severe right axis deviation at 177 degrees and abnormal repolarization. Right ventricular hypertrophy secondary to pulmonary hypertension was the primary differential but was quickly ruled out due to the patient being asymptomatic and having great exercise tolerance. Dextrocardia was also ruled out due to normal progression on the precordial leads. The simultaneous severe right axis deviations of P, R, and T waves raised suspicion for erroneous lead placement. The repeat electrocardiogram confirmed the diagnosis.

Hepatitis is the eighth highest cause of mortality globally and second-highest in Pakistan. The purpose of this study was to determine frequency of Hepatitis B and C and related lifestyle and socio-demographic risk factors among adults. The data were collected though questionnaire from Hepatitis B and C patients from Mayo and Jinnah hospital Lahore. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 18. There were 5095 patients with Hepatitis B and C out of which 146 patients (67 males and 79 females) filled questionnaire. The frequency of hepatitis C was higher than hepatitis B. The significant risk factors associated with hepatitis B and C were education, marital status, family history, household income, and type of food consumed. Therefore, socio-demographic and lifestyle risk factors related interventions are needed to reduce frequency of Hepatitis B and C.

PrEP uptake in the Netherlands is growing but remains at suboptimal levels. Hence, the analysis of hurdles is paramount. Given the initial focus of PrEP provision among men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) via a demonstration project that was launched in June 2015, AmPrEP in Amsterdam, and pharmacies in the main urban areas (so called “Randstad”, entailing Amsterdam, Utrecht, Leiden, The Hague and Rotterdam), investigating regional differences is necessary. This study seeks to unravel regional differences jointly with psycho-social determinants of PrEP uptake. This cross-sectional study included 3,232 HIV-negative Dutch MSM recruited via the EMIS survey in late 2017. Prevalence and standardized prevalence ratio (SPR) of PrEP awareness, intention and uptake were measured on a regional level (Randstad vs. the rest of the country). Multilevel logistic modelling was conducted to identify the association of PrEP uptake with PrEP awareness and intention, sociodemographic, psycho-social determinants, and random effects from regional differences. MSM from the Randstad used more PrEP (SPR=1.4 vs. 0.7) compared to the rest of the country, but there were minor differences for awareness and intention. The regional distinction was estimated to explain 4.6% of the PrEP use variance. We observed a greater influence from PrEP intention (OR=4.5, 95%CI 2.0-10.1), while there was limited influence from the awareness of PrEP (OR=0.4, 95%CI 0.04-4.4). Lower education (OR=0.4, 95%CI 0.2-0.9) was negatively associated with PrEP uptake, however, no significant difference was found between middle and high education (OR=1.2, 95%CI 0.7-2.0). We showed that regional differences – MSM in non-urban regions – and other psycho-social determinants account for lower PrEP uptake. Based on these findings, more fine-tuned PrEP access with a focus on non-urban regions can be implemented, and tailored campaigns increasing intention/use can be conducted among target populations.

Following the development and dissemination of new climate-smart agricultural technologies to farmers globally, there has been an increase in the number of socio-economic studies on the adoption of climate-smart integrated pests’ management (CS-IPM) technologies over the years. In this study, we review empirical evidence on adoption determinants of CS-IPM technologies and identify possible science-policy interfaces. Generally, our review shows that socioeconomic and institutional factors are influential in shaping CS-IPM adoption decisions of farmers. More specifically, income was found to positively influence the adoption of CS-IPM technologies while land size owned influences CS-IPM adoption negatively. Registered land tenure (registered secure rights) positively influences CS-IPM technologies’ adoption, implying that efficient land markets that enable competitive and fair distribution and access to land, more so by the vulnerable but efficient smallholder producers do indeed increase the adoption of CS-IPMs technologies. Social capital, achieved via farmers’ organizations is also central in fostering CS-IPM technologies’ adoption, just as markets reforms that minimize market failures regarding access to credit, labor, and agricultural information, which could indirectly hinder farmers’ use of CS-IPM practices. Functional extension systems that improve farmers’ awareness of CS-IPM do also improve CS-IPM technologies’ adoption. However, the adoption of CS-IPM technologies in Ghana and Benin is slow-paced because of factors like lack of access to farm inputs that facilitate uptake of these technologies, lack of credit facilities, and limited extension services among others. Interestingly, our review confirms that CS-IPM technologies do indeed reduce and minimize the intensity of pesticide usage and foster ecosystem (environmental and human) health. Therefore, this review unearths strategic determinants of CS-IPM adoption and makes fundamental guidance around climate-smart innovations transfer and environmental policies that should be prioritized to curb environmental pollution and ensure agricultural ecosystems’ sustainability.

Nowadays, determining the socioeconomic factors' influence on environmental quality is a crucial issue for policymakers. We aim to explore the impact of socioeconomic factors i.e., ethnic conflicts inform ethnic fragmentation, institutions quality effectiveness, and energy consumption on environmental quality by testing the various hypotheses (Pollution Halo Hypothesis, IPAT, and EKC) in 40 selected Asian countries throughout 1993-2019. We also use a set of control variables which are gross domestic product per capita, foreign direct investment inflows, and population growth to determine their impact on environmental quality. We use the Panel Quintile Regression Method of 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 to analyze the results. We find ethnic conflict negatively affects the environmental quality at all quantiles. The institution's variables regulatory quality and rule of law negatively influence the environmental quality. Our result supports Porter's hypothesis because the effect of direct foreign investment on the amount of CO2 emissions is negative and significant at 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 quantiles which states that foreign direct investment in the host country supports environmental quality. Furthermore, our results support the IPAT hypothesis in selected Asian countries.

Mechanization is an important factor to improve the green total factor productivity of planting industry, which is the key way to realize the sustainable development and high-quality development of agriculture. Using the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2001 to 2019, this paper uses the stochastic frontier analysis method of output oriented distance function to measure the green total factor productivity of planting industry based on net carbon sink, and empirically studies the impact of mechanization on the planting green total factor productivity. The empirical analysis finds that mechanization can significantly promote the planting green total factor productivity, and this basic conclusion is still robust after using instrumental variables, sub sample regression. Further research found that the path of mechanization on planting green total factor productivity is mainly reflected in technology progress and spatial spillover. The mechanism of operation scale expansion, factor allocation optimization and technical efficiency change is not significant. Given these findings, the paper adds considerable value to the empirical literature and also provides various policy- and practical implications.

The review of previous works shows this study is the first attempt to analyse the lockdown effect using Natural Language Processing Techniques, particularly sentiment analysis methods applied at large scale. On the other hand, it is also the first of its kind to analyse the impact of COVID 19 on the university community jointly on staff and students and with a multi-country perspective. The main overall findings of this work show that the most often related words were family, anxiety, house and life. On another front, it has also been shown that staff have a slightly less negative perception of the consequences of COVID in their daily life. We have used artificial intelligence models like swivel embedding and the Multilayer Perceptron, as classification algorithms. The performance reached in terms of accuracy metric are 88.8% and 88.5%, for student and staff respectively. The main conclusion of our study is that higher education institutions and policymakers around the world may benefit from these findings while formulating policy recommendations and strategies to support students during this and any future pandemics.

Socio-ecologic, socio-economic, and socio-technical transitions are opportunities that require fundamental changes in the system. These will encounter matters associated with security, service adoption by end-users, infrastructure and availability. The purpose of this study is to examine and overcome the risks to take advantage of opportunities through the novel Risky-Opportunity Analysis Method (ROAM). A novel quantitative method is designed to determine when, after making some changes, the risks become acceptable so that the opportunity does not deviate from the objectives. The approach provided a quantitative evaluation of the possible changes in parallel with digitization, towards providing a green Service Supply Chain (SSC). The result of ROAM shows that the most cost-effective change to increase the resilience of the system is a solution (SMS) which is different from that identified by a TOPSIS multi-criteria method. Real-word decisions in change management should tackle the complexity of systems and uncertainty of events during and after transition through a careful analysis of the alternatives. A case-study was carried out to evaluate the alternatives of an ancillary service in the Payment Service Providers (PSP). The comparison of the ROAM results with the traditional TOPSIS of the case-study unveils the priority of the ROAM in practice when the alternatives are Risky-Opportunities. The existing risk assessment tools do not take advantage of risky opportunities. To this aim, the current article introduces the term Risky-Opportunity, and two indexes Stress and Strain of the alternatives that are designed to be employed in the new quantitative ROAM approach.

This study measures the technical and scale efficiency of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) and input slacks using Data Envelop Analysis (DEA) model and identifies the determinants of efficiencies of MSEs by employing ordinary least square (OLS) econometrics model. A sample of 375 randomly selected MESs are included in the study. The study found that the average technical and scale efficiency of MSEs are relatively low; technical efficiency averaged at 30 percent and 38.4 percent under constant returns to scale (CRS) and variable returns to scale (VRS) assumptions, respectively. Besides, the overall average scale efficiency score of MSEs was estimated at 77.8 percent. The highest mean technical and scale efficiencies were registered in the construction (71.8 percent) and manufacturing (85.7 percent) sectors, respectively. Whereas, the lowest technical and scale efficiency goes to urban agriculture sector and service sector, with 38.9 percent and 67.2 percent, respectively. The level of inputs, enterprise age and sector, human capital, labor productivity variables significantly affect relative technical efficiency level of MSEs with different directions while variables such as start-up capital, gender of the enterprise manager and availability of support from the government identified statistically not significant in determining the MSEs’ technical efficiency.

Forest enterprise has been identified as a means of generating income among people; plays a vital role in enhancing the quality of life of forest-dependent people. Despite the opportunities timber marketing offers the people, the disparities in the income generation of the marketers in the Bodija sawn wood Market and the effect of socio-economic factors on income generation of the marketers is not well understood. This study was conducted to assess the socio-economic determinants of contributions of timber marketing to the income of timber merchants in Bodija sawn-wood Market. One hundred structured questionnaires were administered randomly in five zones of the sawn wood Market to obtain information on the socio-economic background of the sawn wood marketers and the contribution of timber trade to their incomes. The result indicated that 99.0% of the respondents were male while females constituted 1.00%. Seventy-five percent of the marketers had post-primary education and 25% had primary education. Two percent of the marketers had below 10 years of marketing experience, twenty-six percent had between 11 and 20 years, 57.00% had between 21 and 30 years, and 15.00% had more than 30years experience. Fifty-eight percent of the respondents earned between ₦10000-₦60000 (1US$ = 360.00) from timber marketing, thirty-one percent earned between ₦60001 and ₦110000, 7% earned between ₦110001 and ₦160000, while 4% earned above ₦160000 per month. Chi-square analysis of the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and income generation at α level of 0.05 indicated that ethnicity (0.001) and years of experience (0.009) significantly influenced income while the level of education (0.101), age (0.122), and religion (0.745) had no significant influence on the incomes of marketers. Experience is an important factor in sawn wood marketing and a major determinant of the contribution of timber marketing to the income of timber marketers in Bodija sawn wood Market.

Growth benefits of high speed rail (HSR) for enterprises are not automatic, but require a buoyant local economy and a robust strategy. Against above background, main objectives of ex-ante case study have been to investigate local socio-economic and spatial impacts of proposed HSR project around Ahmedabad station area on Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR corridor, analyze the opportunities and challenges of HSR development and draw policy implications. Qualitative research methodology has been used to elicit the perceptions and perspectives of randomly selected 43 small, medium and large enterprises. Data has been analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study reveals that HSR induced greater human interaction will activate local economy, improve business efficiency and generate employment. Frequent travels on business trips can influence enterprises decision to settle near HSR station for easy access and likely to promote realty development. The proposed HSR project should be developed in synergy with urban dynamics of cities in transition and metropolitan service cities. Poor public transport connectivity is likely to be a major challenge in improving HSR accessibility and enhancing overall impacts of HSR, which can be improved by developing an integrated urban transport system, for which cooperation of all stakeholders and coherence with firms’ strategies is essential.

The doctoral defense, which is an essential requirement for the doctoral degree, is considered to have three dimensions: the scholarly dimension, the emotional (affective) dimension, and the cultural dimension. In this work, I explore the link between sociodemographic factors and students’ perception of the doctoral defense. In particular, I focus on gender, ethnicity, and age at time of defense, as well as current position, and field of study. To address the influence of these aspects on the affective dimension of the doctoral defense, I first reviewed the literature on these socio-demographic aspects as well as the affective dimension of the defense. I then carried out an international survey on doctoral defenses, defense formats, and students’ perceptions and analyzed the 204 completed surveys for this study using quantitative and qualitative methods. The analysis included cross-correlations between students’ perceptions and the studied sociodemographic aspects. The main results of these analyses are that gender affects various aspects of the students’ perception of the doctoral defense and long-term perception, and that female candidates experience more issues with their committee. Ethnicity is important as well, although the participations of non-white respondents in this survey was limited. The influence of age at the defense is limited, and only for the youngest and oldest age groups I observe some differences in perception. There is no relation between current position and perception of the candidates during the defense. Finally, field of study is correlated for various aspects of student perception, committee issues, and long-term perception. The conclusion of this work is that socio-demographic aspects, and in particular gender, ethnicity, and field of study, influence how doctoral candidates experience their defense.

Public Transport has been seen since ages as the most environmentally sustainable mode of transport. The users of public transport are diverse and have different socio-economic character. Hence the public transport which is not only supposed to be environmentally sustainable but also envisaged to ensure equity amongst various stakeholders of society like the females, elderly and other vulnerable groups through its service. Gender in binary terms of being differentiated based on men and women is a social construct. Public transport systems in developing countries like India witness socio-cultural factors that shape the experience of women in public spaces by social norms extant in society. Along with this, gender-based issues related to public transport are social and behavioural shortcomings as a consequence of a lack of gender sensitivity. On similar lines, elderly have a negative experience involving safety threats, physical and psychological discomfort while accessing public transport systems. The literature published regarding such issues on the gender and elderly question in public transport systems have been studied and has been brought forth under a stand- alone narrative literature review. A literature review is a prerequisite to conducting either stand-alone reviews or as a preliminary study to be supported with quantitative or qualitative analysis. Here, a stand-alone literature review concerning issues in the public transport system in India has been performed. A narrative type of review is conducted to provide an overview of pre- existing published literature. Narrative overviews are useful educational articles as they help present a broad perspective on a topic and often define the development of a problem and/or ways to manage it. The semi-systematic or narrative-review approach is designed for topics that have been theorized differently and studied within diverse disciplines making it unfavourable to study under a full systematic-review process which majorly caters to reviewing quantitative researches. As narrative-styled literature reviews prefer a semi- systematic data collection method, utmost care has been taken to include perspectives from diverse disciplines. The scope of this review is restricted to summarizing the Indian policies, schemes of public transport in light of socio-equity consideration while narrowing the inherent discrepancies within the socio-cultural ethos of the Indian society which influences socio-equity consideration in public spaces in general and the modes of public transport in particular. Research articles from electronic databases were selected based on relevance to understand the issues this viewpoint, their essential findings and possible recommendations are formulated to provide a comprehensive summary of previous researches.

Due to the increasing global importance of decarbonizing human activities, especially the production of electricity, the optimal deployment of renewable energy technologies will play a crucial role in future energy systems. To accomplish this, particular attention must be accorded to the geospatial and temporal distribution of variable renewable energy sources (VRES) such as wind and solar radiation in order to match electricity supply and demand. This study presents a techno-economical assessment of four energy technologies in the hypothetical context of Mexico in 2050, namely: onshore and offshore wind turbines, and open-field and rooftop photovoltaics. A land eligibility analysis incorporating physical, environmental, and socio-political eligibility constraints and individual turbine and photovoltaic park simulations, drawing on 39 years of climate data, is performed for individual sites across the country in an effort to determine the installable potential and the associated levelized costs of electricity. The results reveal that up to 54 PWh of renewable electricity can be produced as a cost of less than 70 EUR/MWh. Around 91% (49 PWh) of this would originate from 23 TW of open-field photovoltaic parks that could occupy up to 578,000 km2 of eligible land across the country. The remaining 9% (4.8 PWh) could be produced by 1.9 TW of onshore wind installations allocated to approximately 68,500 km2 of eligible land that is almost fully adjacent to three mountainous zones. The combination of rooftop photovoltaic and offshore wind turbines account for a very small share of less than 0.03% of the overall techno-economical potential.

Theoretic and empirical studies show that social surroundings experienced by male insects during their larval or adult stage can influence their testicular investment in diverse ways. Although insect pupae do not feed and crawl, they can communicate using sex-specific and/or non-sex specific cues. Yet, it is unknown, in any insect, whether and how male pupae can fine-tune their resource allocation to sperm production and testis size in response to socio-sexual environment. We investigated this question using a moth, Ephestia kuehniella, which produces fertile eupyrene sperm and unfertile apyrene sperm. We held male pupae individually or in groups with different sex ratios, and dissected adults upon eclosion, measured their testis size, and counted both types of sperm. We demonstrated that after exposure to conspecific pupal cues regardless of sex, male pupae increased production of eupyrenes and apyrenes at the same rate but kept testis size unchanged. We suggest that testis size is fixed after pupation because most morphological traits are formed during the larval stage, allowing little room for pupae to adjust testis size. Like adults, male pupae with fully grown testes have sufficient resources to produce more sperm of both types according to the perceived increase of sperm competition risk.

This study compares lifestyles behaviour in Italian and Latvian university students, to assess if there are differences for sex, age, university or studies specialties. An online questionnaire investigating 8 lifestyle dimensions has been compiled by 156 (43,6 % females) from Italy and 105 from Latvia (82,9% females). Answers were collected between April and December 2020. Presence of smokers are negligible. The questionnaire showed to have a good internal consistency (Cronbach α =.929). On the total group, significant statistically differences were found for all the dimensions regarding age, sex, study specialty and university. Physical activity was associated with healthier lifestyles choices. Geographical-induced differences were found (eating and sleep behaviours, alcohol awareness) as well as socio-economic differences. Female students shown to be more stressed than males. Occupational wellness increased by age. Sport students shown more health awareness. Many of the differences found in the total group disappeared when comparing only sport students of the two university, showing females increasing their scores. This result can be explained by a masculinization effect of sport.

Concurrent waves of Coronavirus disease, Ebola virus disease, avian influenza A and black fungus are jeopardizing the lives in some parts of Africa and Asia. From this point of view, this review aims to summarize both socio-economic and public health implications of these parallel outbreaks along with their best possible management approaches. Various online databases were used to collect the necessary information regarding these outbreaks. Based on the reports published and analyses done so far, the long-lasting damages caused by these simultaneous outbreaks on global socio-economical and public health status can be conceived from the past experiences of outbreaks, especially the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, prolonged restrictions by the local government may lead to food insecurity, global recession, and an enormous impact on the mental health of people of all ages, specifically in developing countries. Such overwhelming effects already have been reported to be declining national growth of the economy as well as increasing political insecurity and shortage of basic needs. Although various actions have already been taken including vaccination, clinical management, and further research, social distancing, and lockdown, etc. to improve the situation, the emerging variants and associated genetic mutations may make the containment difficult worsening the situation again. Considering the current mutational dynamics of the pathogens and the past experiences, perpetual preparedness along with updated clinical management backed by epidemiological studies and innovating scientific effort are inevitable to combat the simultaneous waves of multiple infectious diseases.

Social interaction is essential for life and is impaired in many psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, au-tism, depression and major anxiety disorder. Monoamine transmission plays a key role in social behavior and both genetic and epigenetic modifications of dopamine and noradrenaline neurotransmission-related genes can affect the levels of social interaction. Since heterozygous individuals for a specific genetic trait possess only one mutant allele of that trait, in order to better evaluate the role of the interaction between genetics and epigenetics in unmasking latent genetically-determined predispositions, our interest has focused on studying the interplay between genetics and epigenetics influences on social behavior in male rats obtained by two different breeding schemes: a first group by breeding of knock-out (KO) male rats with wild-type (WT) female dams (homogeneous heterozygous offspring, termed MAT-HET), and a second group of heterozygous DAT male offspring by breeding of KO male and DAT-heterozygous female subjects (to obtain comparable control pups, termed MIX-HET). Their social behavior was then assessed by partner preference, social preference and elicited preference tests. In the first test MIX-HET and MAT-HET male mice had choice between two WT females one in estrous and the other not in estrous. In the second test they met either a MIX-HET or a WT male rodent. Also, the expression of the noradrenaline transporter (NET) was assessed in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and hypothalamus of MAT, MIX and WTs by immunofluorescence in order to estimate its involvement in the expression of social behavior. Our results show that MIX-HET focal rodents tend to have an asocial behavior when in contact with a female in estrous, and their behavior is similar to when the stimulus is a MIX-HET male. MAT-HET male rodents, instead, tend to be very attracted by the female in estrous, but they ignore the MIX-HET stimulus. MIX-HET progeny showed a lower expression of noradrenaline transporter in both hypothalamus and hippocampus with respect to MAT-HET rats, whereas MAT-HET rats displayed increased noradrenaline transporter immunofluorescence in the hypothalamus and in the hippocampus with respect to WT rats, while no difference was observed in the prefrontal cortex. Therefore we can hypothesize that the differences observed between the two heterozygous groups may be attributable to an epigenetic factor: the different maternal care received. These data can open new perspectives towards increased the preclinical knowledge about autism and bipolar disorder.

Open-plan office (OPO) layouts emerged to allow organizations to adapt to changing workplace demands. We explore the potential for OPOs to provide such adaptive capacity to respond to two contemporary issues for organizations: the chronic challenge of environmental sustainability, and the acute challenges emerging from the great COVID-19 homeworking experiment. We apply a socio-technical systems perspective and green ergonomics principles to investigate the relationship between an OPO environment and the occupants working within it. In doing so, we consider the relevant technical and human factors such as green technology and employee green behavior. We also consider how a green OPO might provide non-carbon benefits such as improving occupant wellbeing and supporting the emergence of a green organizational culture. Our investigation highlights several avenues through which an OPO designed with green ergonomic principles could benefit occupants, the organizations they work for, and the natural environment of which they are a part and on which they depend. We find reason to suspect that green OPOs could play an important role in sustainable development; and offer a research agenda to help determine whether in fact OPOs are another example of how going green is good business.

This study compares lifestyles behaviour in Italian and Latvian university students, to assess if there are differences for sex, age, university or studies specialties. An online questionnaire investigating 8 lifestyle dimensions has been compiled by 156 (43,6 % females) from Italy and 105 from Latvia (82,9% females). Answers were collected between April and December 2020. Presence of smokers are negligible. The questionnaire showed to have a good internal consistency (Cronbach α =.929). On the total group, significant statistically differences were found for all the dimensions regarding age, sex, study specialty and university. Physical activity was associated with healthier lifestyles choices. Geographical-induced differences were found (eating and sleep behaviours, alcohol awareness) as well as socio-economic differences. Female students shown to be more stressed than males. Occupational wellness increased by age. Sport students shown more health awareness. Many of the differences found in the total group disappeared when comparing only sport students of the two university, showing females increasing their scores. This result can be explained by a masculinization effect of sport.

Clinical education is a method that is applied to formal nurse education as a step to provide real and direct learning experiences in the nursing environment correctly and effectively. The success of education in a clinical setting certainly requires the support of teaching nurses (clinical instructors) who have credibility and competence in terms of knowledge, attitudes and skills and are actively involved in professional activities. The diversity of backgrounds of nurses and students, including patients, certainly contributes to a shift in paradigms and perspectives for the nursing environment both in education and in clinical settings in health services. Responding to this cultural diversity, it is important to prepare knowledge and understanding related to transcultural nursing issues, intercultural communication and clinical education which explores the socio-cultural elements in the implementation of staff, students and patients. Purpose: The purpose of this literature review is to identify the extent to which nurse educators play a role by including socio-cultural and transcultural aspects in efforts to develop the quality of education in clinical practice environments in the millennium era. Method: The method of writing this article uses 11 literature review, the publication year period 2019,2020 and 2021 with sources from 4 databases such as science Direct, Scopus, ProQues and Elsevier. The review guidelines used are based on Prisma and the Joanna Briggs Institutute. The level of eligibility is identified through the title, abstract, research methodology as well as the type of scholarly journal and full text. Results: The results of the reviews found are presented in a narrative form. The results of the review study found that there were 11 articles explaining the competence of clinical education based on the socio-cultural approach, which is an educational strategy in the clinical area that integrates transcultural elements of nursing, intercultural communication, collaboration, self-directed with the principles of openness, honesty, and mutual respect in the implementation of team interaction and collaboration. The development of interpersonal relationships is also an important role that educators must have in helping to introduce the nurse orientation process to the organizational environment and other professional teams so that the achievement of satisfaction with clinical education is able to improve the performance of nurses and students perfectly. Conclusion: Clinical education which is supported by the competence of nurse educators (clinical instructors) who have individual and professional competences has a role to play in improving clinical learning outcomes by both students and nurses with a socio-cultural and transcultural strategic approach that will create satisfaction with the achievement of clinical competence and performance effectively.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the different types of bricks as a construction material. In this study, monitoring different technical specification or characteristics of the bricks. At the end of study, Brick Quality Index (BQI) evaluated. According to BQI, bricks were classified poor to excellent quality.

Secure development is a proactive approach to cyber security. Rather than building a technological solution and then securing it in retrospect, secure development strives to embed good security practices throughout the development process and thereby reduces risk. Unfortunately, evidence suggests secure development is complex, costly, and limited in practice. This article therefore introduces security-focused prototyping as a natural precursor to secure development that embeds security at the beginning of the development process, can be used to discover domain specific security requirements, and can help organisations navigate the complexity of secure development such that the resources and commitment it requires are better understood. Two case studies–one considering the creation of a bespoke web platform and the other considering the application layer of an Internet of Things system–verify the potential of the approach and its ability to discover domain specific security requirements in particular. Future work could build on this work by conducting case studies to further verify the potential of security-focused prototyping and even investigate its capacity to be used as a tool capable of reducing a broader, socio-technical, kind of risk.

This paper presents the results of quantitative research regarding the examination of the levels of efficiency of the fire protection system and the training of employees in Electrical power distribution of Serbia for fire protection, ie the analysis of the manner of implementation of fire protection measures, and determining whether these measures are adequately applied. Following the subject set in this way, the aim of the research was set, and that is the scientific analysis of the manner of application of fire protection measures. The results of this research showed that the employees of Electro distribution Belgrade perceive the preparedness of their company highly positively and certain socio-demographic characteristics also affect certain attitudes, especially those related to the experience with fire, the knowledge of employees to react in case of fire, and the choice of the appropriate response, assessment of the readiness of the company and the employees themselves. It was found that knowledge of how to react in case of fire is influenced by gender and level of education; the choice of one of the methods of action in case of fire is influenced by gender; the assessment of the readiness of the employees themselves is influenced by the marital status; the desire of employees to participate in training to increase their preparedness for fires is influenced by gender. The results of the research can be used to improve the preparedness of employees in various organizations to respond to disasters caused by fires.

This observational study aims to depict the impact of gender and socio-economic issues on the health status of Italian Orthopaedic patients during the COVID-19 lockdown. An Ad Hoc ques-tionnaire was developed and online administered. The following data were extracted from the questionnaire: age, body mass index (BMI), education level, distance from hospital, orthopaedic disease, concomitant medical comorbidities, living status (with/without cohabitants) and physical activity level (according to Tegner Activity Scale). The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown was studied analyzing differences related to the above-mentioned parameters. A significant increase of the call number to general practitioner and to the orthopaedic surgeon was observed during the COVID-lockdown, especially in patients with higher education level. Nonetheless, a reduced compliance in drugs assumption was observed in patients with higher education level during lockdown (p=0.007). Almost all the analyzed items were significantly in-fluenced by the distance between patient’s domicile and the nearest hospital. However, no sig-nificant differences were observed comparing pre-COVID to COVID lockdown. In the present study patients’ gender and education level revealed a significant impact on the social behavior during the COVID lockdown, compared with the pre-COVID period.