Citrus waste has been used as a source of bioplastic research in different ways. Because the juice industry produces significant amounts of residue each year, it would be advantageous to use the byproducts in the creation of new materials. For many years, researchers have been investigating an environmentally friendly way to take citrus and other organic waste and turn it into polymers that may be used, for instance, to produce bio-based and biodegradable films for food packaging. The goal of this study is to create biofilms from orange (OW) and ginger waste (GW) using an ultrafine grinder and study the films' properties. Since pectin has the ability to gel and because cellulosic fibres are strong, citrus waste has been studied for its potential to produce biofilms. After being washed, dried, and milled, orange and ginger waste were shaped into films using a casting process. Tensile testing was used to determine the mechanical properties of biofilms, while dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to determine their thermal properties. As the number of grinding cycles increased, the suspension's viscosity increased from 29 to 57 mPa.s for OW and from 217 to 376 mPa.s for GW while the particle size in the suspension significantly decreased. For OW and GW films, the highest tensile strength was 17 MPa and 15 MPa, respectively. The maximum strain obtained among all films was 4.8%. All the tested films were stable up to 150°C, and maximum degradation occurs after 300°C.

This is a paper of Political Economy and Economic Policies into the European Green Deal framework to improve the Recovery Plan post-COVID-19. This paper is focused on the green jobs opportunity for Europe, especially for Spain. It is offered a systematization of concepts and calculations in the issue (attending the international institutions and forums proposals) to harmonize the recovery plans, to apply them beyond the energy sector and to align public and private sector, as well other key stakeholders in achieving this goal. The obtained outcome gives the creation of around 350.000 new green jobs and the necessity of a new workforce reskilled. This result makes necessary to coordinate sectoral plans by the policymakers in which all the involved entities might express their needs and views on the best education approach to renewables sector and green jobs.

This study aims to investigate the interfacial tension, emulsion stability, and the impact on oil displacement effectiveness of mixed systems containing nonionic surfactants and amphoteric surfactants at different ratios. To achieve this, three different emulsion stability formulations were prepared by mixing betaine and nonionic surfactants in ratios of 1:1, 3:2, and 3:1 respectively. By adjusting the proportions of betaine and nonionic surfactants, variations in interfacial tension and emulsion formation among the three mixed systems were studied to analyze the mechanism of interaction between betaine and nonionic surfactants and evaluate their effects on crude oil displacement and enhanced oil recovery in reservoirs. Subsequently, microscopic and macroscopic oil displacement experiments were conducted on the three mixed systems, along with experiments on emulsion flow resistance. The aim was to verify the oil displacement effectiveness of different mixed systems and further understand their potential applications in reservoirs. By comprehensively analyzing the experimental results, optimal ratios and conditions for the mixed systems were determined. The experimental results indicate that the emulsification system formed by mixing betaine and nonionic surfactants at a ratio of 3:1 achieves molecular synergies through electrostatic interactions and mixed adsorption with betaine, resulting in a compact arrangement of interface membranes and demonstrating a synergistic effect in reducing interfacial tension to an ultra-low value of 10 -4 mN/m. Additionally, as the proportion of betaine surfactant increases, the viscosity of the aqueous phase liquid film increases, the rate of thinning of the liquid film slows down, the rate of water release slows down, and the stability of the emulsion increases. Microscopic oil displacement experiments verified that the three mixed systems increase oil washing efficiency through low interfacial tension and emulsification stripping action, thereby increasing the oil displacement mechanism's coefficient. Emulsion flow resistance experiments demonstrated that as the proportion of betaine surfactant increases, the system exhibits better plugging ability. However, macroscopic oil displacement experiments revealed differences in compatibility between different emulsion stability solutions and rocks with different permeabilities. The mixed system of betaine and nonionic surfactants at a ratio of 3:1 exhibits the best emulsification plugging ability in rocks with a permeability of 109mD, while the 1:1 mixed system performs best in rocks with a permeability of 12mD. This holds significant theoretical and practical significance for reservoir development and enhanced production.

Despite their limited spatial extent, freshwater ecosystems host remarkable biodiversity, including one third of all vertebrate species. This biodiversity is declining dramatically: globally, wetlands are vanishing three times faster than forests and freshwater vertebrate populations have fallen more than twice as steeply as terrestrial or marine populations. Threats to freshwater biodiversity are well- documented but co-ordinated action to reverse this decline is lacking. We present an Emergency Recovery Plan to “bend the curve” of freshwater biodiversity loss. Priorities for action include: 1) accelerating implementation of environmental flows, 2) improving water quality, 3) protecting and restoring critical habitats, 4) managing exploitation of freshwater species and riverine aggregates, 5) preventing and controlling non-native species invasions, and 6) safeguarding and restoring river connectivity. We recommend revised targets and indicators for the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Sustainable Development Goals, and investment in enabling conditions at national, river basin and local scales.

Nowadays the relationship between planning land use and actual land use is not so clear in general. A lot of efforts have been put in the failures of regulation for the expansion of construction land. However, it still lacks an integrated approach to study the effectiveness of land use regulation in terms of different land use types. Furthermore, the existing evaluation of land use plan mainly focuses on a general level, a detailed research on the regulation effectiveness of each construction land use type is absent. Therefore, this research tries to evaluate regulation effectiveness of land use plan, which takes Cangwu country, Guangxi Province as an example. The finding by analysis is that the total area of construction land expansion was about 3494.73 ha, nearly 1.1 times of the plan quota. Moreover, the effectiveness differs greatly in various construction land use types. Town, industrial/mining sites can be well regulated through the quota of land use plan. While, the quota regulation system is not as effective for other type of construction land. Thus, we suggest to improve the regulation effectiveness of construction land through different plan instruments.

This longitudinal study aimed to analyze the effects of a team rowing-based training program on physical fitness and anthropometric parameters in female breast cancer survivors (n=40; 56.78±6.38 years). Participants were divided into two groups: one rowed in fixed seat rowing (FSR) boats (n=20; 56.35±4.89 years) and the other in sliding seat rowing (SSR) boats (n=20; 57.20±7.7 years). Both groups engaged in two 75-minute sessions per week for 24 weeks. Significant improvements were observed in both groups in resting heart rate (FSR: -10.65 bpm; SSR: -8.45 bpm), heart rate at the beginning of the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) (FSR: -10.7 bpm; SSR: -11.25 bpm), and heart rate at the end of the test (FSR: -13.85 bpm; SSR: -20.35 bpm). Blood pressure improved significantly in both diastolic blood pressure (FSR: -12.35 mmHg; SSR: -19.25 mmHg) and systolic blood pressure (FSR: -13 mmHg; SSR: -16.95 mmHg). Additionally, both groups increased the distance covered in the 6MWT (FSR: +63.05 m; SSR: +93.65 m). These results suggest that a rowing training program is a viable and safe activity for female breast cancer survivors, improving cardiac function, blood pressure, and cardiorespiratory capacity, particularly in sliding seat boats.

With the ongoing amendment of the EU legislation on the treatment of urban wastewater, stricter requirements for the removal of pollutants are expected, which calls for the need for innovative wastewater treatment technologies. Biological systems are still the first choice. The survey of typical bioreactors applied in wastewater treatment is presented. Wastewater treatment objective, bio-chemical environment and microbial growth are selected as a main criterion for classification of these bioreactors. Hydraulic and kinetic aspects are considered, advantages and drawbacks of these bioreactors regarding the selection of appropriate type of the reactor as well as regarding operation of reactors are mentioned. The aim of this paper is to provide operators and designers with a brief overview of selected traditional and advanced processes, reactors, and technologies for nutrient removal from municipal wastewater. Another goal is to discuss the possibilities and limitations to comply with more strict effluent standards. From the evaluation of the published papers, it follows that the currently applied traditional methods of nutrients removal have the potential to convey also with the expected stricter limits.

Cities require flexible and participatory planning methodologies to address complex and evolving urban challenges. In Italy, the legislative framework is defined at the Regional level, according to the National laws and jurisprudence. The Lombardy region introduced the Planning Document (PD) in the Territorial Government Plan (PGT), as a strategic tool capable of adapting to changes. Based on a strategic vision, this document is useful to guide concrete actions for urban transformation, actively involving stakeholders, including citizens. The PD has the role to translate the political program into an urban planning design. So, the role it has is both technical and political. The political dimension is usually deepened in the strategic component of the document. Following the formation process of the whole city plan, the authors define the key strategies in the PD for a healthier urban future for the city of Voghera. It emerges as a balanced urban development that combines economic growth, environmental preservation, and community well-being. In the paper the authors synthesize the Voghera’s PD as an example of strategic planning that interacts with the practical planning actions and that guides both the public and the private decisions about the city development towards a healthier city.

The abundance of information in academic articles, reports, and studies can make it challenging for researchers to gain insights from the existing literature. To address this issue, there is a growing demand for tools that can help researchers effectively parse and analyze large volumes of data. One such tool is DataDiscoveryLab, a software system that utilizes computer vision algorithms and NLP techniques to parse academic articles into text and figures, creating three separate databases. These databases allow researchers to quickly identify articles that may be relevant to their research questions, gain a deeper understanding of the research presented, and analyze visual data. The integration of article mining and computer vision in the DataDiscoveryLab software system provides researchers with a powerful tool for navigating the vast amount of scientific literature available today. Yet, as we will discuss in the latter papers these databases’ purpose is to create a bridge between researchers’ data and practically unlimited scientific publications. Yet, in this article, we will discuss how we plan to do that, and our efforts on integrating deep learning modes. After all, unlike already existing AI models, DataDiscoveryLab can be their combination and the first Generative AI in academia that can encompass every part of the natural sciences.

Carbon dioxide (CO2)miscible fracturing huff and puff technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing the recovery rate of crude oil, particularly in reservoirs with challenging physical properties, strong water sensitivity, high injection pressure, and complex water injection dynamics. In this study, the oil-increasing mechanism and huff and puff effect of CO2 miscible fracturing fluid are investigated through a comprehensive experimental approach. Specifically, experiments on PVT gas injection expansion, minimum miscible pressure, and CO2 miscible fracturing huff and puff are conducted on the G fault block reservoir in J Oilfield. The findings demonstrate that injecting CO2 into reservoirs leads to oil volume expansion, viscosity reduction, and saturation pressure increase. Additionally, the inclusion of solubilizers and viscosity reducers further enhances the efficiency of crude oil extraction. Solubilizers not only improve oil recovery but also reduce the minimum miscible pressure required for effective CO2 dispersion. Furthermore, the shut-in time, permeability, and huff and puff method all have considerable impacts on huff and puff recovery rate. This study offers valuable technical insights, supporting the application of CO2 miscible fracturing huff and puff technology to enhance oil recovery in low-permeability reservoirs.

The valorization of aquaculture/fisheries processing by-products, as well as unavoidable/unwanted catches and discards in Greece is currently an underutilized activity despite the fact that there are several best practices in Northern Europe and overseas. One of the main challenges is to determine whether the available quantities for processing are sufficient to warrant valorization of discards and fish side streams. This is the first attempt to systematically record and analyze the available quantities of fish by-products and discards in Greece in a spatial and temporal way in an effort to create a national exploitation Master Plan for the valorization of this unavoidable and unwanted biomass. A thorough survey conducted within the VIOAXIOPIO project unveiled a substantial biomass of around 19,000 tonnes annually that could be harnessed for valorization. Furthermore, the production of various High Added Value Biomolecules (HAVB) was investigated, and experimental trials were conducted to assess the potential yields and the collected data were used to formulate four valorization scenarios.

This longitudinal study aimed to analyze the effects of a team rowing-based training program on physical fitness and anthropometric parameters in female breast cancer survivors (n=40; 56.78±6.38 years). Participants were divided into two groups: one rowed in fixed seat rowing (FSR) boats (n=20; 56.35±4.89 years) and the other in sliding seat rowing (SSR) boats (n=20; 57.20±7.7 years). Both groups engaged in two 75-minute sessions per week for 24 weeks. Significant improvements were observed in both groups in terms of weight (FSR: -1.93 kg, SSR: -1.75 kg), body mass index (FSR: -0.73 kg/m², SSR: -0.67 kg/m²), waist circumference (FSR: -2.83 cm, SSR: -3.66 cm), and hip circumference (FSR: -2.02 cm, SSR: -2.88 cm). Muscle strength improved in lower extremities (jump test: FSR: 2.99 cm, SSR: 3.11 cm) and upper extremities (dominant: FSR: 4.13 kgf, SSR: 4.34 kgf; non-dominant: FSR: 3.67 kgf, SSR: 3.32 kgf). Aerobic capacity also improved, with the SSR group showing a greater increase (FSR: 63.05 m, SSR: 93.65 m). Flexibility tests revealed better results in the SSR group for both dominant (SSR: 1.75 cm vs. FSR: -5.55 cm) and non-dominant limbs (SSR: 1.72 cm vs. FSR: -3.81 cm). These findings suggest that the type of rowing modality can influence physical fitness outcomes, with the SSR group showing superior improvements compared to the FSR group.

Iron is an essential nutrient for humans and microbes, such as bacteria. Iron deficiency occurs commonly in critically ill patients, but iron replacement therapy is not considered during the acute phase of critical illness, since it increases iron availability for invading microbes and oxidative stress. However, persistent iron deficiency in the recovery phase is harmful with potential adverse outcomes such as cognitive dysfunction, fatigue and cardiopulmonary dysfunction. Therefore, it is important to treat iron deficiency timely and efficiently. This article reviews current knowledge about iron-related biomarkers in critically ill patients and provides possible criteria to guide decision-making for iron supplementation in the recovery phase of critical illness.

Nowadays, the identification and characterization of grapevine cultivars resilient to climate and water stress while preserving quality traits is crucial for the wine industry. Therefore, the objective of this work was to characterize according to their aromatic potential 9 white and 6 red minority cultivars recently recovered from Castilla-La Mancha region (Spain), subjected at two different water deficit regimes: rainfed, with subsistence irrigation, and irrigated. For this, the varietal aromatic potential index (IPAv) and the detailed aromatic composition were analyzed by HS-SBSE-GC/MS, in extracts of two different ph. For IPAv values, red varieties did not show a clear trend with respect to irrigation. However, in white minority varieties, higher values were obtained under irrigation conditions. Thus, a clear differentiation of the minority varieties in comparison to the references was observed, primarily attributed to the content of esters and acids, in both white and red varieties. A notable contrast was observed at different pH, indicating a greater extractability of certain compounds like linalool, under more acidic conditions. This suggests that some recovered minority cultivars could be promising for cultivation in semi-arid regions with limited water, contributing to the wine sector sustainability in the future.

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to determine the effects of a rowing training program on physical fitness and body composition in female breast cancer survivors (56.78 ± 6.38 years). Over six months, the participants (n=40) performed two training sessions per week for an average of 75 minutes, combining resistance and muscle strength exercises with rowing. To evaluate the impact of the program, physical fitness tests and anthropometric measurements were carried out before and after the training protocol. The results show statistically significant improvements in measures such as weight (-1.84 kg), BMI (-0.7 kg/m2), hip (-3.24 cm) and waist circumference (-2.45 cm). In addition, variables associated with physical fitness also improved including leg strength (3.04 cm), dominant handgrip strength (4.24 kgf), non-dominant handgrip strength (3.49 kgf), aerobic endurance (78.35 m) and muscle flexibility (3.96 cm). We can therefore conclude that a rowing-based exercise program is an effective strategy to improve physical fitness in this type of population, yielding improvements in both anthropometric measurements and basic physical capacity variables, essential factors for better health and quality of life.

Since January, the disease caused by the Sars Cov-2 virus has spread and following pandemic. In a few months, the virus is seriously affecting the health systems of the various countries of the world and placing people in difficult psychological conditions. Few scientific resources on mental health have been published but still no one has proposed an action plan to cope the future psychological problems.This manuscript provides a plan to easily frame the priorities of mental health area related to COVID-19 to be taken into consideration which should be disseminated and that should be known by all health professionals and also by the major administrators of public health.

Academic procrastination, more than merely postponing tasks, represents a significant failure in the self-regulation process of learning. Research on study skills highlights academic time management as one of the crucial elements of learning strategies and sustainable education. These abilities will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals fourth goal. Therefore, this study aimed to understand how students plan time management in school activities and its influence on study procrastination, analyzing differences between genders and the hours students spend studying. The Time Management Planning Inventory, the Study Procrastination Questionnaire, and a personal and school data sheet were used. A sample of 506 students from elementary schools in northern Portugal was utilized. The results revealed that gender and study hours significantly influence how students plan time management for school tasks in the short and long term. This variable also showed a significant impact on the procrastination of study activities. The practical implications of this study are substantial, as they provide educators and researchers insights into the factors influencing academic procrastination and the role of time management planning and study hours. These insights can be applied to develop effective strategies to reduce academic procrastination and promote sustainable education.

A body plan is a stable configuration of characters for a major taxonomic group, such as chordates or arthropods. Despite widespread casual reliance on the concept for guiding comparisons within and between groups, the nature of body plans as well as the biological causes underlying their evolution have remained elusive. This paper proposes an abstract mechanistic model of body plan identity. We hypothesize that body plans are an evolutionary phenomenon that only applies to a relatively small subset of major clades, rather than being associated with each and every so-called “phylum.” Body plans arise in evolution by stepwise accretion, and require a level of developmental complexity that is only found in some animal clades. Further, we suggest that, parallel to the developmental mechanisms controlling character identity, there are “body plan identity mechanisms” (BpIMs) that maintain entire configurations of characters while possessing a mechanistic architecture that is itself stable and traceable through evolutionary change. These BpIMs, we suggest, are entrenched intercellular signaling networks operating between transient embryonic structures that are destined to differentiate into distinct individualized characters. The activity of a BpIM results in a transient long-range integration of the embryo that is highly sensitive to genetic and environmental perturbations, and that can be detected morphologically as a conserved phylotypic stage. This model is illustrated with detailed interpretations of the notochord signaling system and the segment polarity network as candidate BpIMs in vertebrates and arthropods, respectively. We conclude by contrasting the proposed developmental-mechanistic conception of body plans with the phylogenetic notion of ground plans, and sketch the general outlines of an empirical research program on body plan evolution.

Published data or available literature on sustainable building plan-design, construction, performance, and renovation criteria have covered some stages or some parts of each stage. These data usually have been published partially in many different papers―there have not been any papers that published these data together. Hence, this paper aims to collectively review these data and publish them together. The collection and review of these data were carried out by our twenty-five team members who specialized in sustainable urban, architectural, and civil engineering and construction management. The gathered and reviewed outputs were combined and validated based on a general group consensus. This consensus decision-making proceeded through two major group meetings with several follow-up meetings. The first major meeting was to combine and improve the gathered reviewed sustainable building criteria for Cambodia. The second major meeting was to validate the improved reviewed sustainable building criteria for Cambodia. The several follow-up meetings were to discuss the relevance and importance of the validated data “criteria and their classifications and descriptions” in all stages and more focused on their importance and applicability to Cambodia. The collective reviewed data in this paper would be useful to researchers in the fields. They could also be useful collective knowledge and information for policymakers from governmental agencies and development partners, particularly for sustainable building and construction companies.

A national green planning strategy has recently been introduced in the Italian urban planning sector, aimed at making all local initiatives undertaken nationwide consistent with each other. At a regional level, Friuli Venezia-Giulia has recently implemented a Landscaping Plan, which is of an urban planning and ecological nature at an intermediate level between national and local. This article describes the local green plan of Latisana, which has been entitled Ecopolitana, given that it is represents the experimental phase, at a regional level, of the possibilities offered by landscape planning and design. Specifically, it outlines the multi-disciplinary approach used, demonstrating how landscape planning can be compared to the sustainable development of cities, with specific regard to the agricultural sector. Regarding the agricultural sector, a low-intensity cropping model is also suggested, based on the principles of agroecology and landscape ecology, which has already been implemented in the historical rural landscape of Plasencis (UD) and developed through GIS analysis and remote sensing processes. Its aim is to be the starting point for the achievement of the goals set in the 2030 Agenda, and especially Goals 13 (Climate action) and 15 (Life on land), given the current scarcity of agroecological infrastructures in the area of Latisana (UD) and the high percentage of soil used for intensive cropping.

Water scarcity is a significant challenge facing Jordan today. It is a challenge in all areas that use water, and it has become certain that water is the critical factor in the population/resources equation. The water resources in Jordan have become limited with the noticeable increase in the population, mostly resulting from forced migrations in neighboring countries because of the wars and until our time. The rising natural population growth rate, along with the massive influx of refugees, has turned into a state of disproportion between the daily consumption of the population and the amount of water available. That Jordan shares most of its surface water resources with neighboring countries has exacerbated the situation. The current use of water already exceeds its renewable supply. Excessive withdrawal from aquifers, which leads to a lowering of the water table and deterioration in water quality, covered the deficit. This paper focuses on assessing the water situation in Jordan, mainly evaluating this problem and the solution being considered, the true basis for a sustainable water solution requires awareness by the population, and several governmental and non-governmental organizations are actively involved in educating residents about water shortages. The most important and 'actionable' elements of comprehensive water solutions are discussed in this paper, and these elements exist, develop extra water supplies, water harvesting, water desalination, proper wastewater reuse in the agricultural sector, and reduce the demand for drinking water. This research provides specific recommendations to address the shortage of water resources in the Kingdom and highlights the importance of water conservation and optimal use.

Using coherent optical detection and digital signal processing, laser phase noise and equalization enhanced phase noise can be effectively mitigated using the feed-forward and feed-back carrier phase recovery approaches. In this paper, theoretical analyses of feed-back and feed-forward carrier phase recovery methods have been carried out in the long-haul high-speed n-level phase shift keying (n-PSK) optical fiber communication systems, involving a one-tap normalized least-mean-square (LMS) algorithm, a block-wise average algorithm, and a Viterbi-Viterbi algorithm. The analytical expressions for evaluating the estimated carrier phase and for predicting the bit-error-rate (BER) performance (such as the BER floors) have been presented and discussed in the n-PSK coherent optical transmission systems by considering both the laser phase noise and the equalization enhanced phase noise. The results indicate that the Viterbi-Viterbi carrier phase recovery algorithm outperforms the one-tap normalized LMS and the block-wise average algorithms for small phase noise variance (or effective phase noise variance), while the one-tap normalized LMS algorithm shows a better performance than the other two algorithms for large phase noise variance (or effective phase noise variance). In addition, the one-tap normalized LMS algorithm is more sensitive to the level of modulation formats.

Precision metagenomic approaches using Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) sequencing has been shown to allow recovery of complete genomes of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from overnight enrichments of agricultural waters. This study tests the applicability of a similar approach for Cronobacter genome recovery from powdered infant formula (PIF) overnight enrichments, where Cronobacter typically dominates the overall microbiome (>90%). In this study, we aimed to test whether using ONT sequencing of overnight PIF enrichments could recover a completely closed Cronobacter genome for further genomic characterization. Ten PIF samples, each inoculated with different Cronobacter strains, covering Cronobacter sakazakii, C. muytjensii, C. dublinensis, C. turicensis, and C. universalis, were processed according to the Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) protocol. qPCR was used for initial screening (detection and quantification) of the overnight enrichments and confirmed that the spiked PIF samples after the overnight enrichment have high levels of Cronobacter (107 to 109 CFU/mL). DNA from overnight PIF enrichments was extracted from the enrichment broth and sequenced using ONT. Results showed that ONT sequencing could accurately identify, characterize, and close the genomes of Cronobacter strains from overnight PIF enrichments in 3 days, much faster than the nearly two weeks required by the current BAM method. Complete genome recovery and species differentiation were achieved. This suggests that combining qPCR with ONT sequencing provides a rapid, cost-effective alternative for detecting and characterizing Cronobacter in PIF, enabling timely corrective actions during outbreaks.

The main purpose of the study was to study the effects of a specific rowing ergometer training program on the athletic performance of young adolescents (n=56; 11.73 ± 1.4 years old) com-pared to a workout based on general strength training. Eight-week training program was im-plemented, with four sessions per week and two-hours per session. Sample was divided in two groups: a control group (CG) that performed circuit training with exercises aimed at building general strength and an experimental group (EG) who focused on specifically training on a rowing ergometer (rowing machine). The data obtained in a rowing meter test over the compe-tition distance were analyzed to obtain the average power attained (W) at the beginning of the training, at the middle (4 weeks), at the end of the training (8 weeks) and one year after the ex-perimentation. The results show that, although both forms of training improve the average W obtained in both categories, the EG subjects (+29.94W) obtained better averages in all phases of the study compared to the CG (+5.88W). Furthermore, this increase was greater in male rowers (+ 34.06W) than in female rowers (+24.54W). These results reveal that a specific rower rowing ergometer training program has a significant effect than a general strength program and these effects can even be observed a year after the intervention.

Despite being stored at 113 K and atmospheric pressure, LNG cold potential is not exploited to reduce green ships’ energy needs. An innovative system based on three Organic Ranking Cycles integrated into the regasification equipment is proposed to produce additional power and recover cooling energy from condensers. A first-law analysis identified ethylene and ethane as suitable working fluids for the first and the second ORC making available freshwater and ice. Propane, ammonia and propylene could be arbitrarily employed in the third ORC for air-conditioning. An environmental analysis that combines exergy efficiency, ecological indices and hazard aspects for marine environment and ship’s passengers, indicated propylene as safer and more environmentally friendly. The exergy analysis confirms more than 20% of the LNG potential can be recovered from every cycle to produce a net clean power of 76 kW, whereas 270 kW can be saved by recovering condensers' cooling power to satisfy some ship needs. Assuming the sailing mode, a limitation of 162 kg in LNG consumptions was determined, avoiding the emission of 1584 kg of CO2 per day. Marine thermal pollution is reduced by 3.5 times by recovering the working fluids' condensation heat for the LNG pre-heating.

Much of the debate on Plan S seems to concentrate on how to make toll access journals open access, taking for granted that existing open access journals are Plan S compliant. We suspected this was not so, and set out to explore this using DOAJ's journal metadata. We conclude that an overwhelmingly large majority of open access journals are not Plan S compliant, and that it is small HSS publishers not charging APCs that are least compliant and will face major challenges with becoming compliant. Plan S need to give special considerations to smaller publishers and/or non-APC-based journals.

The umbrella concept for the current efforts to digitize construction is known as Construction 4.0. One of its key concepts is cyber-physical systems. The construction industry is not only creating increasingly valuable digital assets (in addition to physical ones) but also the buildings and built infrastructures are increasingly monitored and controlled using digital technology. Both make construction a vulnerable target of cyber-attacks. While the damage to digital assets, such as designs and cost calculations, may result in economic damage, attacks on digitally-controlled physical assets may damage the well-being of occupants and, in worst-case scenarios, even damage (or death) to the users. The problem is amplified by the emerging cyber-physical nature of the systems, where the human checks may be left out. We propose that construction learns from the work done in the context of critical infrastructures (CI). First, a lot of CI is construction-related, and the process of designing and building it must be secured accordingly. Second, while most assets may not be critical in the CI sense, they are critical to the operations of a business and the lives of citizens. In the end, we recommend some steps so that well-established processes of critical infrastructure protection trickle down to make Construction 4.0 and the built environment more cyber-secure. With that in mind, we describe the possible inclusion of Construction 4.0 considerations into existing critical infrastructure protection (CIP) frameworks with minimum frictions. We also propose some suggestions regarding possible future courses of action to improve the increasingly vulnerable cyber-security environment of the built environment across all life cycle phases - design, construction, operation, maintenance, and end of life.

Counter-current spontaneous imbibition of water is a critical oil-recovery mechanism. In the laboratory, the Amott test is a widely used technique to assess efficacy of brine imbibition into oil-saturated core plugs. The classic Amott-cell methodology was designed to estimate ultimate oil recovery, but not the recovery dynamics that provides essential information about the imbibition mechanisms. Retention of oil droplets at the external core surface and delayed onset of oil production are the two key artifacts of the classic Amott experiment. This retention, referred to here as the ``external-surface oil holdup effect'', often results in stepwise recovery curves that obscure true dynamics of spontaneous imbibition. To address these holdup drawbacks of the classic Amott method, we modified the Amott cell and experimental procedure. For the first time, using water-wet Indiana limestone cores saturated with brine and mineral oil, we showed that our improvements of the Amott method enabled accurate and reproducible measurements of oil-recovery dynamics. We used the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) statistics to describe oil-production histories from water-wet heterogeneous limestone cores with finite initial water saturations, for the first time. We demonstrated that our four-parameter GEV model accurately described the recovery dynamics, and that optimal GEV parameter values systematically reflected the key characteristics of the oil-rock system, such as oil viscosity and rock permeability. These findings gave us a more fundamental understanding of spontaneous, counter-current imbibition mechanisms and insights into what constitutes a predictive model of counter-current water imbibition into oil-saturated rocks with finite initial water saturation.

The architectural configuration of the space plays a crucial role in the acoustics of Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). The design of the environment, the materials used in construction, and the organisation of noise sources within the room significantly influence the noise levels present in these critical areas. For this research, noise levels found in two hospitals, with different architectural configurations and sizes but similar construction materials, have been analyzed. Data were recorded at 1-second intervals over a period of more than 24 hours. The data collected in these hospitals confirm the magnitude of the noise problem in NICUs, highlighting the urgent need to address it effectively to ensure an appropriate and safe environment for the recovery of neonates. Good architectural planning can help mitigate noise, while poor configuration can exacerbate acoustic problems, negatively affecting both patients and healthcare staff. It is crucial to involve architects, acoustic engineers, and healthcare staff in the design and renovation of NICUs to create spaces that not only meet medical needs but also consider the auditory well-being of neonates.

The dynamic global automotive sector is characterized by an ever-evolving demand for high-quality vehicles and accessible prices. This research tackles the issue of scrap reduction in electric motor manufacturing for the automotive industry, specifically in a Chinese company, by employing the PDCA methodology. The paper delves into the company's background and current landscape, while pinpointing the problem: specific production lines segments experiencing hi-pot issues are the primary source of scrap. The overarching goal is to design and implement a strategy that, leveraging the PDCA approach, reduces scrap generated during the eight-months subassembly (armature) manufacturing process, from its current average of 2.92% to 0.7%, ultimately enabling the company to eliminate hi-pot defects.

Over the last twenty years, library publishing has emerged in higher education as a new class of publisher. Conceived as a response to commercial publishing practices that have strained library budgets and prevented scholars from openly licensing and sharing their works, library publishing is both a local service program and a broader movement to disrupt the current scholarly publishing arena. It is growing both in numbers of publishers and numbers of works produced. The commercial publishing framework which determines the viability of monetizing a product is not necessarily applicable for library publishers who exist as a common good to address the needs of their academic communities. Like any business venture, however, library publishers must develop a clear service model and business plan in order to create shared expectations for funding streams, quality markers, as well as technical and staff capacity. As the field is maturing from experimental projects to full programs, library publishers are formalizing their offerings and limitations. The anatomy of a library publishing business plan is presented and includes the principles of the program, scope of services, and staffing and governance requirements. Other aspects include production policies, financial structures, and measures of success.

The paper deals with the problem of choosing the best O&M strategy for wind power plants. Current maintenance theory considers just production opportunities and minimizes the maintenance costs, but with the liberalization of the electricity market also the electricity price has become an important variable to take into account in the O&M scheduling. Another important variables that is often neglected by the existing maintenance theory is the weather condition. This paper proposes a new strategy that takes into account the electricity price and weather conditions, improves the expected profit of the systems, and reduce the overall maintenance and logistic costs. The maintenance schedule is formalized as an optimization problem where the discounted cumulative profit of a wind generation portfolio in a fixed-time horizon (e.g. two years ahead), subject to the technologically-derived maintenance time constraints is optimized. Both the theoretical and computational aspects of the proposed O&M strategy are discussed. Results show that taking into account market and weather opportunities in the design of the maintenance strategy, it is possible to achieve a more complete scheduling for a given set of wind power plants.

The issue of when and how to return to business following COVID-19 lockdown is occupying the minds of policymakers, C-Suite executives and managers the world over. We are concerned by the extent to which it appears that these decisions are being taken on a wing and a prayer, while being pitched to the public as though they shouldn’t be questioned. In this paper, we compare the likely impact of COVID-19 infections from travellers coming from the main countries that visit Greece, to the revenues they generate for the Greek economy. We find that arrivals from some countries should be excluded but aren't, while arrivals from other countries that are excluded perhaps shouldn't be. We show that a rational choice around limitations on the reopening of tourist markets depends on the demand for travel to Greece. We conclude that the current policy is largely economically rational, with some exceptions, but also speculate that Greece may not be ready to handle the resulting infection load.

In an ever-evolving landscape of higher education institution, the College of Arts and Sciences at St. Michael's College, Iligan City, Philippines, embarked on a strategic journey to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the post-pandemic era. This study, conducted in August 2022, delves into the multifaceted dimensions of their strategic planning processes. Through qualitative methods that use intensive in-depth reviews of literature, informal interviews, observation, and thematic analysis, this research unveils a narrative of adaptation, innovation, and internationalization. It explores how the institution resiliently adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraged technological advancements to enhance educational delivery, fostered interdisciplinary collaboration at the nexus of arts and sciences, and embraced internationalization through partnerships and cultural exchange. Anchored in a robust theoretical framework, this study resonates with broader trends in higher education, echoing the global call for agile, student-centric, and forward-thinking institutions. As this institution's journey unfolds, its experiences and lessons resonate with academic leaders, administrators, faculty, students, and stakeholders, inviting reflection and dialogue on the future of higher education.

The acoustic conditions of open-plan office spaces influence wellbeing and productivity perceived by users, but with an inadequate evaluation for workspace, acoustic design in open-plan offices can be a factor that alters user performance. Such is the case in Mexico, where there are no adequate standards to evaluate specific acoustic conditions such as intelligibility. For this reason, this case study aims to evaluate different types of measurement methods for intelligibility. This study was carried out in a university in northern Mexico. The sound measurements were based on the Mexican standard for noise analysis and the ISO 3382- part 3 standards for acoustic measurements for open-plan offices. The psychoacoustic parameters evaluated were Reverberation and Intelligibility, using objective methods determined on S/N and subjective methods based on loss of consonant; where it was analyzed distance between sound source and zones classified by building design characteristics. The results indicated in which points the intelligibility effects increased, observing that Reverberation remained stable in this office, and that the subjective methods presented greater size of the measured sound effect than the objective methods. This finding establishes that subjective methods conformed to Lognormal behavior, which is applicable to other linguistic elements describing speech behavior.

Rapidly providing a definitive diagnostic test that can be used broadly by healthcare providers and members of the public in the setting of a disease emergency is critical to limit pathogen spread, develop and deploy medical countermeasures, and mitigate the social and economic harms of a serious epidemic or pandemic. There is extraordinary expertise within and outside of government working on these issues, and major accomplishments have been made to accelerate test development, expand laboratory testing capacity, and establish widespread point-of-care testing. Still, the United States does not have a plan to rapidly respond, to develop, manufacture, or deploy at national scale diagnostic testing in the earliest days of a new infectious disease crisis. Nor does the nation have a plan to sustain testing capacity at high volume over the course ofan enduring epidemic or pandemic. To address this gap, we are proposing a National Diagnostics Action Plan that describes the steps that are urgently needed to prepare for future infectious disease emergencies, as well as the actions we must take at the first signs of such events. These recommendations require substantial collaboration between the US government (USG) and the private sector to solve a series of challenges now, as well as to prepare for the massive and rapid scale-up of laboratory and point-of-care test development and testing capacity in future emergencies. The recommendations include establishing pre-event contracts; ensuring rapid access to clinical samples; creating a permanent public-private testing coordinating body to allow for rapid information sharing and improved cooperation among the USG, test developers, and clinical laboratories; and accelerating testing rollout at the beginning of an event—andthus, the effective public health management of a disease crisis. These recommendations were informed by extensive discussion with people who managed the COVID-19 and monkeypox responses, review of past reports written on diagnostic challenges, and the experiences of the authors.

Proteins are the primary effectors of function in biology, and thus complete knowledge of their structure and properties is fundamental to deciphering function in basic and translational research. The chemical diversity of proteins is expressed in their many proteoforms, which result from combinations of genetic polymorphisms, RNA splice variants and post-translational modifications. This knowledge is foundational for the biological complexes and networks that control biology, yet remains largely unknown. We propose here an ambitious initiative to define the human proteome; that is to generate a definitive reference set of the proteoforms produced from the genome. Several examples of the power and importance of proteoform-level knowledge in disease-based research are presented, along with a call for improved technologies in a two-pronged strategy to accomplish the Human Proteoform Project.

3D cell cultures have improved the evaluation of drugs for cancer therapy, due to their high similarity to solid tumors. In melanoma, autophagy appears to show a dual role depending on the progression of the disease. p62 protein has been proposed for the evaluation of autophagic flux since its expression is an indicator of the state of autophagy. Pentoxifylline (PTX) and Norcantharidin (NCTD) are drugs that have been shown to have anticancer effects in various types of cancer. In this work, B16F1 mouse melanoma cell line was used, from which two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cultures and three-dimensional (3D) organoids were carried out using the hanging drop technique. The expression of p62 was determined by western blot and immunofluorescences. Our results indicate that pentoxifylline reduces p62 expression in both types of culture. While Norcantharidin increases its expression in 3D cultures at 24 h. Therefore, these drugs could have a potential therapeutic use for the regulation of autophagy in melanoma, depending on the state of evolution of the disease.

A decanter centrifuge has been employed to successfully separated phosphoric acid and rare-earth-element (REE)-containing particles from phosphoric acid sludge with concentrations ranging from 1,000 to 2,200 ppm REEs. Operating efficiently with up to 35 wt.% solids, the centrifuge was demonstrated to achieve approximately 95% phosphoric acid recovery and 90% REEs recovery in a single pass, eliminating the need for additional processing steps. This breakthrough supports a proposed REEs oxide recovery process integrating phosphoric acid (PA), elemental phosphorus (P4), and REEs into two potential pathways: PA-REO and PA-P4-REO. These processes aim to reintroduce recovered phosphoric acid into the main product to significantly increase output and revenue. Post-separation, phosphorus-rich particles can be converted to P4, while REEs-containing solids undergo further treatment including acid leaching, extraction/stripping, precipitation, and calcination to produce a marketable rare-earth oxide (REO) material. Techno-economic analysis indicates promising profitability, with the PA-REO process showing a delta net present value (∆NPV) of $441.8 million and an expected return within a year of construction, while the PA-P4-REO process yields a ∆NPV of $178.7 million over a 12-year return period. Both pathways offer robust financial prospects and demonstrate the feasibility of commercial-scale REEs recovery from phosphoric acid sludge.

Abstract: Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are the major microbial metabolites produced in the gut through the fermentation of non-digestible fibers. SCFAs act through free fatty acid receptor 2 and 3 (FFAR2 and 3), which are known to be expressed on glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-secreting L-cells. This pathway is suggested to protect the intestinal mucosa. We aimed to investigate how lack of fiber affects the production of SCFAs and the vulnerability of the co-lon. Additionally, the involvement of FFAR2 and 3 in GLP-1 secretion and intestinal protection. SCFA concentrations in luminal contents from chow- or fiber-free diet-fed mice were analysed by LC‒MS. SCFAs were applied to isolated perfused colons from FFAR2/3 double KO and WT mice, and the secretion of GLP-1 was measured. Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) colitis was induced in chow- or fiber-free diet-fed mice as well as in FFAR2/3 KO and WT mice. The removal of die-tary fiber significantly decreased total colonic SCFA concentrations, with specific decreases in acetate, propionate, and butyrate. SCFAs significantly increased colonic GLP-1 secretion but not in FFAR2/3 KO mice. In the DSS model, the removal of dietary fiber increased the severity and delayed recovery. Colitis severity was independent of FFAR2 and FFAR3 signaling.

Background: The effect of rice bran arabinoxylan compound (RBAC), a plant-based immunomodulator, on the quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients and underlying physiological pathways remains unclear. Trial design: The RBAC-QoL study is a double-blind, randomised, controlled pilot feasibility study. The aim is to determine RBAC’s effects on QoL and the associated action mechanisms. Primary outcomes are the EORTC QLQ-C30 functional, symptom, and global QoL scores with inflammatory, nutritional, and cytokine parameters as secondary and exploratory outcomes. Methods: Recruitment targets adults diagnosed with solid organ tumours (≥ stage II) undergoing active treatment in several outpatient centres in New South Wales, Australia. Interventions are RBAC or matched placebo at 3g/day for 24 weeks allocated through stratified randomisation with participants, oncologists, and data collectors blinded. Data is collected from five study visits six weeks apart. The trial is ongoing. An interim intention-to-treat analysis was performed using repeated measure ANOVA with pairwise comparisons where statistical significance is observed and adjusted with covariates. Results: Global QoL scores from currently available data (n = 16; RBAC = 7, placebo = 9) were statistically different between groups (F[1,8] = 8.6, p = 0.019, eta2[g] = 0.267). Pairwise comparisons found significant differences at week 6 (p = 0.032, Cohen’s d = 1.454) and marginally at week 12 (p = 0.069, d = 1.427). Age-adjusted analysis showed a continuous upward trend in QoL improvement over time with RBAC, while the placebo group did not deviate from baseline QoL. Significant elevations of serum white blood cell count (week 18) and total protein (weeks 12 and 18) were detected in the RBAC group compared to placebo. The total protein levels correlated highly with white blood cell count (Pearson’s r = 0.539, p < 0.001) and moderately with the global QoL scores (r = 0.338, p = 0.01). No intervention-related adverse events were reported in both groups. Conclusions: RBAC improves QoL beyond placebo during active cancer treatment, possibly through the immuno-nutritional pathway. These findings are preliminary but valuable for future research. Funding and registration: Daiwa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Japan; BioMedica Nutraceuticals Pty Ltd., Australia. ANZCTR Reg No: ACTRN12619000562178p.

Inadequately managed agricultural waste significantly impacts the environment, health, and economy. This form of pollution arises from the underutilization, poor awareness, and insufficient treatment of agricultural waste. Fruit and vegetable wastes are valuable sources of bioactive compounds. This study aims to revalorize discarded waste from red habanero chili peppers (Capsicum chinense) by extracting bioactive compounds through different extraction processes: maceration (ME), maceration assisted by ultrasound (US), Soxhlet extraction (SE), supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), and supercritical fluid extraction with a co-solvent (SFEC). Extraction processes have significant effects on extraction efficiency and phytochemical profile (capsaicinoids and carotenoids recovery). The results indicate that the highest efficiency process is obtained with SFEC, also a high phytochemicals recovery (14.9 mg of total capsaicinoids and total carotenoids 292.09 µg per gram of sample). Concerning to phytochemical profile in the extract, the maceration process gets the highest concentration of compound followed by US and SFEC. These data reveal that the use of SFE and SFEC extraction is recommended for extraction of phytochemicals with biologically activity from red habanero chili pepper waste for diverse industries application.

The formation of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) in petroleum reservoirs by anaerobic microbial activity is called biogenic souring of reservoirs and is a risk in the oil and gas industry as the compound is extremely toxic, flammable and corrosive. In this paper, we present a workflow and the tools to assess biogenic souring from a pragmatic engineering perspective. The retention of H₂S in the reservoir due to the reactions with iron-bearing rock minerals (e.g. siderite) is shown in a theoretical approach here and supported with literature data. Cases are given for two fields under secondary (waterflooding) and tertiary flooding with microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The use of the Monte Carlo method as a numerical modelling tool to incorporate uncertainties in the measured physical/chemical/ biochemical data is demonstrated as well. A list of studies conducted with different chemicals alone or in combination with various biocides to mitigate biogenic souring provides an overview of potential inhibitors as well as possible applications. Furthermore, the results of static and dynamic inhibition tests using molybdate are presented in more detail due to its promising mitigation ability. Finally, a three-step workflow for the risk assessment of biogenic souring and its possible mitigation is presented and discussed.

The wind flow patterns and pressure distribution around a plus-shaped building are significantly influenced by the dimensions of its re-entrant corners and the overall building height. The present study aims to find the wind effects and study of the pressure distribution with different flow patterns. Plan area of the building is around 300 square meter while the height of the building is 50 meters by keeping the equal length of the re-entrant corners. The research is performed using ANSYS CFX academic version and the results are depicted in various forms such as pressure coefficient (Cpe), stream lines in both vertical as well as in specific surface and pressure contours. The analysis is carried out by varying the wind incident angles, from 0° to 90° at the interval of 15°. The building dimension are scale down to perform the test on length scale of 1:100. Since the considered building model exhibits symmetry along both the axes, present study mostly emphasis on examining re-entrant corners located in the building. This method yields valuable information about how air circulates and how pressure is distributed across a broad spectrum of wind angles. This study provides valuable insights into flow circulation and pressure distribution for a wide range of wind angles.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a tool to measure the performance of a Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) based on a Balanced Scorecard (BSC). The SAMP converts organizational objectives into asset management objectives, also specifies the role of the asset management system and brings support to achieve asset management objectives. The SAMP becomes the heart of the organization and integrates with long-term, medium-term, and short-term financial plans integrated with same term activity plans. In the SAMP, the balance among performance, costs and risks is also taken into consideration in order to achieve the organization’s objectives. On the other side, the SAMP is a guide to set the asset management objectives while describing the role of the Asset Management System (AMS) in meeting those objectives. While SAMP is the central figure of AMS, it is important to measure its performance and needs to be build and improved through an iterative process, what means that is not just a document, it is “the document”, and should be treated as a “living being” that needs to adapt to internal and external changes quickly. The BSC is an excellent tool where, through the appropriate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), the progress can be measured, and is supported by four perspectives: Financial; Customer; Internal Process; and Learning and Growth.

Object detection is one of the most critical tasks in the field of Computer vision. This task comprises identifying and localizing an object in the image. Architectural floor plans represent the layout of buildings and apartments. The floor plans consist of walls, windows, stairs, and other furniture objects. While recognizing floor plan objects is straightforward for humans, automatically processing floor plans and recognizing objects is a challenging problem. In this work, we investigate the performance of the recently introduced Cascade Mask R-CNN network to solve object detection in floor plan images. Furthermore, we experimentally establish that deformable convolution works better than conventional convolutions in the proposed framework. Identifying objects in floor plan images is also challenging due to the variety of floor plans and different objects. We faced a problem in training our network because of the lack of publicly available datasets. Currently, available public datasets do not have enough images to train deep neural networks efficiently. We introduce SFPI, a novel synthetic floor plan dataset consisting of 10000 images to address this issue. Our proposed method conveniently surpasses the previous state-of-the-art results on the SESYD dataset and sets impressive baseline results on the proposed SFPI dataset. The dataset can be downloaded from SFPI Dataset Link. We believe that the novel dataset enables the researcher to enhance the research in this domain further.

A fundamental question in biology is whether phenotypes can be predicted by ecological or genomic rules. At least five cases of convergent evolution of the crab-like body plan (with a wide and flattened shape, and a bent abdomen) are known in decapod crustaceans, and have, for over 140 years, been known as ‘carcinization’. The repeated loss of this body plan has been identified as ‘decarcinization’. In reviewing the field, we offer phylogenetic strategies to include poorly known groups, and direct evidence from fossils, that will resolve the history of crab evolution and the degree of phenotypic variation within crabs. Proposed ecological advantages of the crab body are summarized into a hypothesis of phenotypic integration suggesting correlated evolution of the carapace shape and abdomen. Our premise provides fertile ground for future studies of the genomic and developmental basis, and the predictability, of the crab-like body form.

This paper presents a new framework to classify floor plan elements and represent them in a vector format. Unlike existing approaches using image-based learning frameworks as the first step to segment the image pixels, we first convert the input floor plan image into vector data and utilize graph neural network. Our framework consists of three steps. (1) image pre-processing and vectorization of the floor plan image. (2) region adjacency graph conversion. (3) graph neural network on converted floor plan graphs. Our approach is able to capture different types of indoor elements including basic elements such as walls, doors, and symbols as well as spatial elements such as rooms and corridors. In addition, the proposed method can also detect element shapes. Experimental results show that our framework can classify indoor elements with an F1 score of 95%, with scale and rotation invariance. Furthermore, we propose a new graph neural network model that takes the distance between nodes into account, which is a valuable feature of spatial network data.

Failaka Island, located in the far east of Kuwait Bay, is about 20 km from the State of Kuwait’s coast, and represents a focal point for regional geography and history, with pristine beaches and archaeological sites dating to the Bronze, Iron, Hellenistic, Christian and Islamic periods. According to environmental data and in coordination with local authorities to develop an urban plan, the island is set to become the first tourist destination for the State of Kuwait. To achieve the Vision of Kuwait 2035, one of the planning objectives focuses around Urban Planning for the Establishment of Environmental Cities that Achieve (UPEECA) environmental sustainability criteria. The paper then, aims to propose the environmental urban plan for Failaka Island. Based around Environmental Analytical Hierarchical Processes (EAHP), and using the Field Calculator and ModelBuilder functions in ArcGIS, this research centres on the feasibility of carrying out an urban plan using suitability modelling that includes four factors and 13 criteria covering the island’s ecological and human composition. This study utilizes both remote sensing (UAVs for 3D imaging) and field study (ground truthing) to identify changes in land use and land cover – such as using sample analysis of the historical sites and soils for tracing evidence and creating/updating a soil map – and create the first GIS database for the island that can lead to generating a suitability model.

In passing maneuvers on two-lane highways, assessing the needed distance and the potential power reserve to ensure the required speed mode of the passing vehicle is a critical task of speed planning. This task must meet several mutually exclusive conditions that lead to successful maneuver. The paper addresses three main aspects. First, the issues of rational distribution of the speed of the passing vehicle for overtaking a long commercial vehicle on two-lane highways are discussed. The factors that affect maneuver effectiveness are analyzed, considering safety and cost. Second, a heuristic algorithm is then proposed based on the rationale for choosing the necessary space and time for overtaking. The initial prediction's sensitivity to fluctuations of current measurements of the position and speed of the overtaking participants is examined. Third, an optimization technique for passing vehicle speed distribution over the overtaking time using the finite element method is presented. The adaptive model predictive control is applied for tracking the references being generated. The presented model is illustrated using simulation.

The phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy is a growing threat to public health with far-reaching implications. The widening gap between the vaccinated and the proportion needed for herd immunity raises two critical research questions that are of interest to practitioners, researchers, and policymakers: (1) What determines one’s decision to be vaccinated? and (2) What is the implication of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy on economic recovery? In this study, we use empirical data in the context of South Africa to investigate factors affecting COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and their implications for economic recovery. Findings reveal key socio-demographic and institutional drivers of COVD-9 vaccine hesitancy, which include age (the youth are more hesitant), inadequate information on the vaccine (those who perceive they have adequate information are vaccinated), trust issues in government institutions, conspiracy beliefs, vaccine-related factors, and perceived side effects associated with the vaccine. Additionally, an individual’s decision to remain hesitant about COVID-19 vaccination has implications for businesses and the economy by limiting movement and trade, increasing unemployment, and causing a resurgence of new variants. Based on the findings, action plans such as information dissemination, convenience vaccination centers, consistency communications, and targeted campaign strategies are recommended for improving vaccine intakes and a positive economic recovery.

Due to production space and operating environment requirements, mine production equipment often breaks down, which seriously affects the mine’s production schedule. To ensure the smooth completion of the haulage operation plan under abnormal conditions, a model of the haulage equipment rescheduling plan based on the random simulation of equipment breakdowns is established in this paper. The model aims to accomplish both the maximum completion rate of the original mining plan and the minimum fluctuation of the ore grade during the rescheduling period. This model is optimized by improving the wolf colony algorithm and changing the location update formula of the individuals in the wolf colony. Then, the optimal model solution can be used to optimize the rescheduling of the haulage plan by considering equipment breakdowns. The application of the proposed method in an underground mine revealed that the completion rate of the mine’s daily mining plan reached 83.40% without increasing the number of the equipment, while and the ore quality was stable. Moreover, the improved optimization algorithm converged fast and was characterized by high robustness.

Recovery of forest after logging can be tested in many ways: the presence of particular species of fauna or flora, the similarity of the biodiversity of the recovering forest to that on neighbouring areas of undisturbed forest; or the characteristics of soils and streams whose conditions may have drastically changed during logging. Three cases of rainforest recovery after logging and clearance from Australia and Borneo exhibit different starting and different goals for recovery. Faunal indicators of recovery vary with size and with species dependence of the rainforest. Endemic forest species may have difficulty in recovering. Tree species richness and abundance may recover in two decades, but canopy closure takes longer. Compacted soils may retain low infiltration capacities for many decades. This diversity in recovery rates is confirmed when compared with those used elsewhere. Because the starting points for recovery vary, from damage by tropical cyclones and landslides, to clearance for shifting cultivation, pasture or agriculture, to post-logging conditions, universal indicators may be inappropriate. The desired endpoints of recovery also range from a “wilderness” state to a National Park for human enjoyment, biodiversity preservation, safeguarding rights of traditional forest-dwelling peoples, or a second round of selective logging.

This study presents preliminary findings on the physicochemical, calorific, and thermal properties of a newly discovered coal from Obomkpa town in Aniocha-North Local Government Area of Delta State in Nigeria. The Obomkpa (BMK) coal sample was subjected to fuel characterisation through ASTM standards and techniques for determining elemental, proximate, and calorific coal properties. The results indicated that BMK coal contains high carbon, oxygen, volatile matter, fixed carbon, and ash. The higher heating value of BMK was 19.66 MJ/kg, which indicates it could be ranked as either lignite A or subbituminous C coal. The thermal properties indicated that BMK experienced significant mass loss (M_L) under oxidative (combustion) and non-oxidative (pyrolysis) conditions due to thermal degradation of organic rock macerals (inertinite and vitrinite). Furthermore, BMK experienced mass loss (M_L=59.27%–76.56%) along with residual mass (R_M = 23.44–40.73%) under oxidative (combustion) and non-oxidative (pyrolysis) conditions. Thermal degradation occurred in three (3) stages; drying (30 °C to 200 °C), devolatilization (200 °C – 500 °C and 600 °C), and lastly, coke degradation and ash formation. Furthermore, the DTG peaks for the drying and devolatilization of BMK during the oxidative (combustion) process occurred at lower temperatures compared to the non-oxidative (pyrolysis) process. Hence, the results submit oxidative (combustion) is a more thermally efficient process compared to the non-oxidative (pyrolysis) process. Lastly, the findings indicate BMK is a potential feedstock material for future coal power generation, steel, iron ore or cement production.

The erosion of surface pipelines induced by proppant flowback during shale gas production is significant. The surface pipelines in a shale gas field in the Sichuan Basin experienced perforation failures after only five months of service. To investigate the erosion features of L360N, coatings, and ceramics and optimize the selection of two protective materials, a gas-solid two-phase flow jet erosion experimental device was used to explore the erosion resistance of L360N, coating, and ceramic under different impact velocities (15 m/s, 20 m/s, and 30 m/s). An energy dispersive spectroscope, a scanning electron microscope, and a laser confocal microscope were employed to analyze erosion morphologies. With the increase in flow velocity, erosion depth and erosion rate of L360N, coating, and ceramic increased and peaked under an impact velocity of 30 m/s. Maximum erosion rate and maximum erosion depth of L360N were respectively 0.0350 mg/g and 37.5365 µm. Its primary material removal mechanism was plowing of solid particles and microcracks were distributed on the material surface under high flow velocities. Maximum erosion rate and maximum erosion depth of coating were respectively 0.0217 mg/g and 18.9964 µm. Its primary material removal mechanism was the detachment of the binder phase Co caused by plowing. Maximum erosion rate and maximum erosion depth of ceramics were respectively 0.0108 mg/g and 12.4856 µm. The erosion mechanisms were micro-cutting and plowing. Under different particle impact velocity, different erosion morphologies were observed, but the primary erosion mechanism was the same. The erosion resistance of ceramics was higher than that of coating. Therefore, ceramic lining materials could be used to protect the easily eroded parts, such as pipeline bends and tees, and reduce the failure rate by more than 93%. The study provided the data and theoretical basis for the theoretical study on oil and gas pipeline erosion and pipeline material selection.

With the developments of smart technologies, the use of rare earth elements (REEs) knows a widespread use, thus, their importance as valuable and strategic metals boosted to levels never known before. Due to their scarcity in Earth crust, the recovery of these elements from secondary resources also knows further developments. Traditional pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processing, though of wide use, in the recovery of these REEs, have some environmental drawbacks, thus, the development of new recovery approaches are under developments. Here, Solvometallurgy appeared as a friendly environmental technology, and ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents re-sulted as a first-row chemicals to be used in the different unit operations used in solvometallurgical processing: leaching, liquid-liquid extraction, ion exchange (adsorption), precipitation and elec-trolysis. This manuscript reviewed the most recent literature concerning the use of ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents in the recovery of REEs from various sources.

This study assesses the biomethane (CH4) generation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from municipal solid waste landfilling in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with a focus on the impact of fugitive CH4 emissions and operation processes in four landfilling scenarios: simple dumping (S1), improved management with leachate treatment (S2), engineered landfill with flaring (S3), and engineered landfill with energy recovery (S4). The study also considered the environmental benefits of carbon sequestration and landfill gas utilization. The LandGEM and IPCC FOD models were used to calculate CH4 generation over the period of 2009-2022, and it was found that approximately 18 and 21 M kg/year of CH4 are released, respectively. The energy potential from CH4 recovery was 51–61 GWh/year. Overall GHG emissions in S2 were the highest, amounting to 409–509 M kg CO2-eq/year, while S1 had lower emissions at 397–496 M kg CO2-eq/year. Flaring captured CH4 in S3 could reduce GHG emissions by at least 55%, and using captured CH4 for electricity production in S4 could mitigate at least 83% of GHG emissions. Electricity recovery (S4) could avoid significant amounts of GHG emissions (˗104.5 kg CO2-eq/tMSW). The study suggests that landfill gas-to-energy could significantly reduce GHG emissions.

The coronavirus pandemic will deeply affect the tourism and travel sector. It is already clear now that its economic impact would be more severe that in the case of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2002-2003. Although not as deadly as SARS, coronavirus infection has a longer incubation period and leaves about 85% of the infected without any (or with just mild) symptoms which makes it more difficult to track and to contain. Moreover, it appears to be much more contagious than its predecessor. The goods news is that most people recover from the disease and develop antibodies that can protect them from getting infected again (natural vaccination). Those cured might become the key element for the post-virus recovery strategies of tourism organisations. People with the acquired immunity to the virus would be capable of travelling freely without spreading the disease. Airlines, hotels and gastronomy should aim at this group offering them discounts and special offers. However, the problem is how to effectively ensure that everyone who claims to be cured from COVID-19 is telling the truth. Health tracking bracelets, apps, and other advanced technological solutions should be put in place. Recent best practices from Hong Kong, mainland China, or India might be applied.

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 examined the economics of Philippine Lime or Calamansi production in selected Cities and Municipalities in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. The study was conducted within the rural farming households' framework, which constitutes the Philippine agricultural sector's backbone, producing about 5.8 percent of the total national agricultural output with the Central Luzon area, including the portion of the locale of the study. Using quota sampling, data collected from 50 selected calamansi grower- farmers from top 5 producing area in Nueva Ecija, the study measured the profitability of and the production efficiency of calamansi production in the area. Using a formal interview schedule, primary data was obtained from the sampled farming households. The study revealed that the typical calamansi farmer in the area as reflected in the instrument, thirty-two (32) or 64% which covers the majority of the respondents claimed that they fully owned the land they cultivated. Calamansi yield depends on its age as well. Fertilizer was found to harm output. Majority of them shared the same production and post–production practices, though a slight difference in terms of labor cost was observed. There were some who were already in the industry for quite a long time and learned other farming techniques and practices different from the conventional and were proven effective. For better efficiency, the land area cultivated, the farmers' educational status, accessibility to credit facility, and development of the rural areas and farmers' contact with the extension agents are some of the key issues to address. The local government in cities and municipalities may engage in an intensive campaign in encouraging capitalists to form cooperatives, processing and manufacturing houses to produce calamansi juice and other valuable products out of the calamansi fruit.

In Malaysia, as in many parts of the world, vocational education and training (VET) is frequently perceived as the solution to improving the opportunities of youths who lack the resources, skills or motivation to continue with higher education. The focus of the study falls on the effectiveness of the apprenticeship scheme during the 10^th Malaysia Plan. This study may provide an opportunity to find out how the related parties react towards the apprenticeship scheme. This is important, as feedbacks are central to the success or failure of any scheme. It is expected that the relevant government bodies, private sectors, trainers and trainees will have a valuable insight on the progress this far and what need to be done in the future based on the outcome of the research. This study follows snowballing sampling method and gathers the information from apprentices from variety of industrial sectors. The findings indicate effectiveness at some types of training but lacks comprehensiveness and efficient use of resources and future direction, especially during the 10^th Malaysia plan period from 2011 to 2016. This exploratory research is a first chapter of the deeper study in this niche.

This study aims to find a communication model of contingency plan for disaster risk management of Sinabung Volcano eruption, in North Sumatera. The object of the research is communication and coordination across the government, non-government organization, and community. This study used planning theory, the concept of communication planning, and types of disaster management plan as tools for analysing. Descriptive qualitative is used as the method. Data collection was obtained from the focus group discussion (FGD), in-depth interviews, observation, and study documentation. There are three stages in descriptive qualitative research that is data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion. An analysis was conducted qualitatively on the program and competence actors. The results found the communication model of disaster risk management through documents of contingency planning to overcome the threat of Mount Sinabung eruption. During the emergency response period a core model was used to reduce the impact of the Mount Sinabung eruption. The contingency plan becomes the Karo District Government’s document. This document were authorized by an authorized official and is ready to be applied to the Emergency Response Operation Plan. Plans for emergency response operations are carried out based on information regarding damage and the need to obtain results of a quick review. Contingency plans are submitted to the legislature for political commitment and support and budget allocation.

This paper presents the results of theoretical and applied research that employs methodological experimentation in a project for the protection and integrated transformation of the downtown area of the city of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The particular nature of this case relates to two factors: a) strategies and policies to protect and enhance the cultural heritage as a driver for tourism and the cultural development of the entire Emirate, from archaeological goods to the urban fabrics in historical centres (Sharjah and Korfakkhan), in contrast to the surrounding emirates; and b) the client’s request to define guidelines to manage the urban cultural heritage during a time of transition while awaiting the results of UNESCO candidacy. This unique fact denotes a sensitivity and long-term policies regarding the cultural heritage which view the recovery of the urban historical heritage, assuming the cultural component as the fourth dimension of sustainability. The methodological approach, the results of the research, and design are organized on the dual urban and building scale to understand the structure and elements of the historical centre. The actions and interventions are differentiated with respect to urban fabric, building, archaeological good, and landscape and translate the strategies of the guidelines into short-/mid-/long-term design actions.

This study aimed to explore the experiences of teachers in the recovery of educational skills. Specifically, ten teachers of Andap National High School are selected for the in-depth interview. This study employed a qualitative-phenomenological research design of which in-depth interview (IDI) was used in gathering the data. The study utilized phenomenological approach to study a particular phenomenon concerning the post-pandemic experiences of teachers in the implementation of the face-to-face classes. After gathering sufficient amount of data through the conduct of in-depth interviews, thematic analysis was used to analyse further the results and to check the disparities and similarities of all responses gathered. This was the time wherein responses were categorized and organized into themes. The findings of the study revealed that the challenges encountered of educational skills recovery were sources of learning materials, learning gaps, learners characteristics, difficulty with comprehension and lack of interest. It was also revealed that the most challenging teaching experiences in the recovery of educational skills were catching attention, learning gaps, communicating to students, need for remedial instruction, retroactive interference and difficulty in understanding English Language. They frequently have to quickly convert lesson material they had intended to teach in a classroom setting to any learning modality implemented. Further, adjust and learn new trend, provide opportunities to develop new skills, helps to manage stress, improved educational outcomes, become well-rounded teacher, networking and learning and continue doing responsibilities helped in these insights had in confronting challenges brought by the pandemic.

Based on a rich data set of recoveries donated by a debt collection business, recovery rates for non-performing loans taken from a single European country are modelled using linear regression, linear regression with Lasso, beta regression and inflated beta regression. We also propose a two-stage model: beta mixture model combined with a logistic regression model. The proposed model allows us to model the multimodal distribution we find for these recovery rates. All models are built using loan characteristics, default data and collections data prior to purchase by the debt collection business. The intended use of the models is to estimate future recovery rates for improved risk assessment, capital requirement calculations and bad debt management. They are compared using a range of quantitative performance measures under K-fold cross validation. Among all the models, we find that the proposed two-stage beta mixture model performs best.

The introduction of organic and inorganic substances to the environment is a result of human activities such as agriculture, domestic and industrial wastewater which leads to pollution. Treatment processes of these wastewaters are being conducted globally to eliminate easily settled materials and recover nutrients in an attempt to release clear and apparently clean effluent into natural waters. Lack of removing inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients is the greatest cause of eutrophication in water bodies which inhibits the life of other organisms as well as pose a threat to human life and loss of the economy. Different technologies have been applied and are being developed to recover nutrients as well as heavy metals from wastewater to meet the permissible limits before discharging effluents. Wastewater treatment using microalgae offers an opportunity to provide tertiary bio-treatment and production of valuable biomass. Microalgae use the available inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus for their growth which are then harvested for various uses. Additionally, they have the ability to remove heavy metals and some toxic compounds. The main specific microalgae species in this study is the Chlorella sorokiniana with the Aequorea victoria jellyfish This paper reviews some of the wastewater treatment processes and focus on the use of microalgae and some of the shortcomings of the technologies and how they can be improved to achieve maximum nutrient recovery economically with low energy demand.

The thermal degradation of brakes has a significant impact on the stability of pure electric commercial vehicles during long downhill braking. Based on road slope and using fuzzy control method, design strategies for motor regenerative braking force and friction braking force distribution, with the aim of reducing friction braking force, improving braking stability, and recovering braking energy. By establishing driving conditions on roads with different slopes and using numerical analysis methods to verify the proposed control strategy. the results show that under the 6% constant slope driving condition, the vehicle maintains a constant speed of 30km/h downhill driving, and the braking energy recovery rate reaches 50.93%; Under the condition of 3% -6% gradient driving, the vehicle speed fluctuates slightly, but it can still be maintained at a constant speed of 30km/h for downhill driving through the adjustment of the motor's reverse drag characteristic, with a braking energy recovery rate of 49.97%; During the process of driving downhill at a constant speed, the frictional braking force does not participate in braking; The braking energy recovery rate is determined by the slope and braking deceleration.

There are several forms of maintenance high-efficiency hemodialysis (HD) including hemodiafiltrations (HDF) in different technic modes and expanded HD using dialyzers with medium cut-off membranes. The aim of the study was to assess the intradialytic tolerance and length of dialysis recovery time (DRT) in these modalities. This is an exploratory, cross-over study in maintenance HD patients with low comorbidity and no clinical indications for the use of high-efficiency HD, who were exposed to five intermittent dialysis in random order: high flux hemodialysis (S-HD), expanded HD (HDx), pre-dilution HDF (PRE-HDF), mix-dilution HDF (MIX-HDF) and post-dilution HDF (POST-HDF). 24 dialysis sessions of each method were included in the analysis. Dialysis parameters including blood flow rate, dialysis fluid flow rate and temperature, and pharmacological treatment were constant. Average total convection volume for post-HDF, pre-HDF and mix-HDF were 25.6 (3.8), 61.5 (7.2) and 47.1 (11.4) l, respectively. During all therapies, patients had similar hydration status monitored using bioimpedance spectroscopy and similar variability over time in systemic blood pressure, cardiac output, and peripheral resistance monitored using impedance cardiography. The lowest frequency of all intradialytic adverse events were observed during HDx. Delayed DRT was the shortest during PRE-HDF. Patients were also more likely to report immediate recovery while receiving PRE-HDF. These differences did not reach statistical significance, however the study results suggest that, intradialytic tolerance and DRT may depend on the dialysis method used. This support the need of taking into account patient preferences and quality of life while individualizing high efficiency therapy in HD patients.

The recovery and recycling of metals that generate toxic ions in the environment is of particular importance, especially when these are tungsten and, in particular, thorium. The radioactive element thorium has unexpectedly accessible domestic applications (filaments of light bulbs and electronic tubes, welding electrodes, working alloys containing aluminum and magnesium), which lead to its appearance in electrical and electronic waste from municipal waste management platforms. The current paper proposes the simultaneous recovery of waste containing tungsten and thorium from welding electrodes. The simultaneous recovery is done by applying a hybrid membrane electrolysis technology coupled with nanofiltration. An electrolysis cell with sulphonated polyether–ether–ketone membranes (sPEEK) and a nanofiltration module with chitosan-polypropylene membranes (C–PHF–M) are used to carry out the hybrid process. The analysis of welding electrodes led to a composition of: W (tungsten) 89.4%; Th 7.1%; O2 2.5% and Al 1.1%. Thus, the parameters of the electrolysis process were chosen according to the speciation of the three metals suggested by the superimposed Pourbaix diagrams. At a constant potential of 20.0 V and an electrolysis current of 1.0 A, the pH is varied and the possible composition of the solution in the anodic workspace is analyzed. Favorable conditions for both electrolysis and nanofiltration were obtained at pH from 6 to 9, when the soluble tungstate ion, the aluminum hydroxide and solid thorium dioxide were formed. Through a first nanofiltration, the tungstate ion is obtained in the permeate, and thorium dioxide and aluminum hydroxide in the concentrate. By adding a pH 13 solution over the two precipitates, the aluminum is solubilized as sodium aluminate which will be found after the second nanofiltration in permeate, the thorium dioxide remaining integrally (within an error of ±0.1ppm) on the C–PHF–M membrane.

This exploratory study examined the impacts of COVID-19 and emerging challenges and opportunities from aviation recovery. Using archival and secondary data analysis, the study found that there are several challenges to aviation recovery chief among them are labour challenges and extreme weather events, which have been responsible for traffic disruptions in major aviation markets such as Europe and the USA. Other emerging challenges include high debt, inflation, interest rates, fuel, cost of labour, and general operational costs. The study recommends several interventions to address the sector’s challenges, including adopting risk disaster preparedness and management to foster sustainability.

This short communication reports on the initial results of a much larger, ongoing project, the aim of which is to investigate the question: could the skin microbiome, just like the gut microbiome, play a role in sports recovery and performance – and if so, could this role be as significant a one as that played by the gut microbiome? 17 high performance college athletes addressed their skin microbiome by minimizing contact with synthetic chemicals and by using topical skin supplements, shown previously to significantly increase skin microbiome biodiversity, for two weeks after training. 76% said their skin softness improved, 35% said their muscle stiffness and recovery after sport improved, 12% said their sleep quality improved, and 100% said they would be likely to use skin supplements again. Future work will use hundreds of athletes.

In recent years, CPU caches have revealed themselves as one of the most powerful sources of information leakage. This information leakage affects any implementation whose memory accesses, to data or instructions, depend on sensitive information such as private keys. In most cases, side-channel cache attacks do not require any specific permission and just need access to a shared cache. This fact, combined with the spread of cloud computing, where the infrastructure is shared between different customers, have made these attacks quite popular. In this paper, we present a novel approach to exploit the information obtained from the CPU cache. First, we introduce a non-access attack that provides a 97\% reduction in the number of encryptions required to obtain a 128-bit AES key. Next, this attack is adapted and extended in what we call the encryption-by-decryption cache attack or EBD, to obtain a 256-bit AES key. When EBD is applied to AES-256, we are able to obtain the 256 bits of the key with less than 10000 encryptions. These results make EBD, to the best of our knowledge, the first practical attack on AES-256 and also demonstrate that AES-256 is only about 3 times more complex to attack than AES-128 via cache attacks. In both cases the target is the AES T-table-based implementation, and we also demonstrate that our approach works in a cross-VM scenario.

Background There is increasing awareness of problems associated with global warming but a lack of a systematic approach on how to deliver more environmentally sustainable dental care. A sustainable world aims to ensure that basic needs and quality of life of everyone are met, now and for future generations. The carbon footprint is an indicator of environmental sustainability. Aim The aim is to suggest an environmental management change for the dental practice focusing on the objective of carbon footprint reduction. Environmental management change design The management change is based on the concept of “Plan-Do-Check-Act”, as recommended by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and described through the environmental aspects of the dental practice. The approach focuses on establishing and implementing environmental objectives, followed by monitoring results and taking actions to improve continually. The environmental aspects considered for the dental practice are activities causing an impact on the carbon footprint: energy use, travel, product purchasing, waste production, emission to air, water use, and contamination of land. Conclusions The “Plan-Do-Check-Act” ISO 14100-2015 model can be effectively integrated into the dental practice setting for its environmental management. A reduction of the carbon footprint of the dental practice is achieved by applying the environmental management change described for each activity.

This paper aims to present the method of producing visual media for communicating the Asinara Island National Park plan. These products are landscape visualizations able to foster landscape preservation both from the point of view of the management of the landscape and of the citizen's involvement in the communication of the historical and environmental values of the landscape. Starting from landscape information gathering, the research has experimented with an operative method for processing different graphic representations from the same geographic database, calibrating the outputs to different audiences, their needs, objectives, and literacy skills. Three different types of products are presented: the first is a digital, dynamic and multisectoral decision-making GIS tool for park management. The second is a 3D model, aimed to the virtual fruition. The third is a map of the zoning park plan drawn to be easily readable to the non-expert public. This case study emerges as a replicable method to process the landscape information to make different visualization tools from a single geographic model, to meet the different requirements that arise from a complex landscape planning process.

Background/Objectives: High-intensity anaerobic physical training frequently results in muscle damage among boxers and kickboxers, which can impede performance and recovery. Vibrational therapy (VT) and passive rest (PR) have been employed as methods to enhance muscular recovery and performance. This study evaluates the effectiveness of these two recovery methods on upper limb muscle strength and lactate levels in plasma after high-intensity exertion. Methods: Eighteen elite boxers and kickboxers, aged 19-32 years, underwent tests employing VT and PR as recovery methods in a controlled, crossover study. Muscle performance was assessed via isokinetic dynamometry, and lactate levels were measured pre-exercise, post-exercise, and post-recovery. The study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki guidelines and was approved by the relevant bioethics committee. Results: The results showed that VT led to a faster recruitment of muscle fibers and improved muscle endurance as indicated by decreased fatigue work indices compared to PR. However, no significant differences were observed in peak torque or lactate levels between the two recovery methods. The VT group exhibited quicker recovery times in torque generation and better performance in fatigue resistance. Conclusions: VT appears to provide superior muscular recovery compared to PR following intense anaerobic effort, particularly in terms of muscle strength endurance and activation speed. These findings support the potential of VT in sports recovery protocols, although similar lactate response suggests that metabolic recovery rates are not significantly affected.

Background: Tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy (TIC) is caused by prolonged tachycardia leading to left ventricular dilatation and systolic dysfunction with heart failure. Although TIC is more common in adult, it is rare in early infant. Methods: Clinical testing was performed as part of medical evaluation and management. Next gene se-quencing (NGS) was performed for a patient with TIC. Literature review about TIC was con-ducted. Results: The case was a 5-month-old infant referred the hospital due to symptoms with heart failure at least lasting two months. Heart rate was 200 beats per minute, left ventricular ejection fraction fell below 14%, and electrocardiograms showed atrial flutter, suggesting TIC. After cardiover-sion, there was no recurrence of atrial flutter, and cardiac function was improved at 98 days after tachycardia arrest. There were no pathogenic variants identified according to NGS. Literature review identified 8 early infantile cases with TIC reported. However, there were no previous re-ports such as our case with longer duration of TIC. Conclusions: Improvement of cardiac function depends on the duration of TIC. TIC should be considered in all patients with a dilated cardiomyopathy of uncertain origin and who have tachycardias such as atrial flutter.

Plastics, primarily microplastics, are among the greatest pollutants in aquatic environments. Their removal and/or degradation in these environments are crucial to ensure an optimal future of the ecosystems. In this work MnO2 particles were synthesized and characterized for the removal polystyrene microplastics as a model. MnO2 catalyzes the peroxide reaction, resulting in the formation of oxygen bubbles that propel the pollutants to the surface, achieving removal efficiencies of up to 80%. To achieve this, hydrothermal synthesis was employed using various methods. Parameters such as MnO2, microplastics and H2O2 concentrations were varied to determine the optimal conditions for microplastics recovering. The ideal conditions for a low microplastic concentrations of microplastics (10 g L-1) are 0.2 g L-1 MnO2, 1.6% of H2O2 and 0.01 triton as a surfactant. In these conditions the micromotors can recover approximately of 80% 300 nm sized polystyrene microplastic within 40 min.

More water utilities are adopting Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) to balance long-term water supply and demand. Due to large implementation and operation costs, ASR projects need to be optimized, particularly for energy use, which is a major operating expense. This study examines the relationships among energy use, recharge, and recovery at two ASR projects in the western United States. The major finding is an economy of scale for recovery processes, but not for gravity-fed recharge processes. The economy of scale found is as follows: the energy intensity recovered decreases with volume. This suggests it is more energy-efficient to recover large volumes of water in one interval instead of recovering smaller volumes at more frequent intervals. The H2Oaks recovery process experienced a 78% decrease in energy intensity from 0 to 50,000 m3 recovered, while the Sand Hollow site experienced a 43% decrease in energy intensity from 0 to 50,000 m3 recovered. Statistical analyses of the recovery process showed p values lower than 0.0001, R2 values between 0.43 and 0.57, and a RMSE value between 0.55 and 2.1, indicating the presence of a moderate correlation between energy and volume. This economy of scale has been observed in multiple instances in water and wastewater treatment. This finding not only has applications to ASR but also all recovery or recharge wells, whether or not they are paired with each other. Furthermore, this study confirms the need for more reliable and accessible energy data to fully understand the implications of the energy–water nexus.

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) encompasses technologies, services, and applications facilitating communication between vehicles (V2V) and between vehicles and fixed infrastructure (V2I and I2V). This mutual interaction constitutes a Vehicular Ad-Hoc Network (VANET) which supports a plethora of applications targeting critical transportation aspects, such as safety, mo-bility, and environmental considerations. Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC), op-erating on the 5.9 GHz band, is pivotal for such exchanges. We introduced an innovative algorithm designed to identify jamming attacks and transition the Safety Application to a secure fail-safe mode. This algorithm leverages a dual-metric strategy, incorporating both distance and PDR measurements. Field tests confirm that our algorithm adeptly recognizes the activities of deceptive jammers, ensuring a prompt shift of the safety application into its fail-safe state. This paper delves into these countermeasures, evaluating their efficiency via mathematical modelling, simulations, and on-ground testing. Findings acknowledge that these strategies bolster the reliability of safety applications in jamming scenarios. Furthermore, the approaches propounded align with ongoing standardization endeavours by relevant authorities, ensuring communication mediums remain unhindered.

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) refers to the various techniques used to increase the amount of crude oil that can be extracted from an oil field. These techniques are used after the primary and secondary recovery methods have been depleted. There are three main types of EOR: thermal, gas injection, and chemical. EOR techniques can be expensive and complex, but they can help to recover additional oil that would otherwise be left in the reservoir. EOR can also extend the life of an oil field and increase the overall production from a given field. The parameters affecting oil recovery are a major concern in EOR systems, and these parameters need more consideration with the factors affecting them. In this study, the influence of permeability variations on fluid flow in a sandstone reservoir was explored, as well as an up-to-date description of three states of EOR with thorough explanations of the methods utilized and the mechanisms driving their oil recovery application. The difficulties encountered in the use of the different standard EOR Mechanisms were noted, and solutions to these difficulties were proposed. Furthermore, the contemporary trend of adding nanotechnology and its synergistic effects on the stability and efficiency of traditional chemicals for EOR were examined and analysed. Finally, laboratory findings and field initiatives were discussed. The review went into detail about the transport of nanoparticles across reservoirs, as well as the evaluation of EOR, mobility ratio, and fluid displacement efficiency. This review provides thorough information on the uses of improved oil recovery mechanisms for sustainable energy production.

Pyrolysis is a thermochemical conversion process designed for biomass decomposition in an oxygen-free environment. It typically operates within a temperature window of 200 to 800°C and generates various byproducts, including gases, liquid fractions (both aqueous and organic) such as bio-oil, and solids like char. Bio-oil is a significant product of pyrolysis. It is characterised by a complex blend of organic compounds. The acidic nature of bio-oil primarily originates from volatile acids, such as acetic acid. The recovery of acetic acid from bio-oil facilitates the use of the extracted substance as a precious resource, hence enhancing its significance in the framework of a circular bioeconomy. Acetic acid finds widespread application in manufacturing commercially important chemicals like vinyl acetate monomers and formulating phytosanitary products due to its inherent herbicidal and antifungal properties. However, to be used, acetic acid has to be separate from the raw bio-oil. Separation methodologies, including nanofiltration and reverse osmosis, demonstrate potential in recovering acidic constituents from bio-oil due to their high selectivity and effective system management. This article offers a concise review about acetic production from lignocellulosic biomass from pyrolysis and its recovery through various membrane separation processes.

Although a slightly radioactive element, thorium is considered very toxic because its various species, which reach the environment, can constitute an important problem for the health of the population. The present paper aims to expand the possibilities of using membrane processes in the removal, recovery and recycling of thorium from industrial residues reaching the municipal waste processing platforms. The paper includes a short introduction on the interest shown for this element, a weak radioactive metal, followed by highlighting of some common (domestic) uses. In a distinct but concise part, the bio-medical impact of thorium is presented. The classic technologies for obtaining thorium are concentrated in a single schema, and then the speciation of thorium is presented with an emphasis on the formation of hydroxo-complexes and complexes with common organic reagents. The determination of thorium has been highlighted both on the basis of its radioactivity, but especially through methods that call for extraction followed by an established electrochemical, spectral or chromatographic method. Membrane processes are presented based on the electrochemical potential difference, rapidly presenting barro-membrane processes, electrodialysis, liquid membranes and hybrid processes. A separate sub-chapter is devoted to proposals and recommendations for the use of membranes in order to achieve some progress in urban mining for the valorization of thorium.

EOR is a process that helps maximize recoverable oil reserves, extend field life and increase recovery rates, and is an important tool for companies to maintain production and increase return on investment. In this article, the performance of nanoclay on aqueous phase viscosity, wettability, and recycled oil in core fluidization in polyacrylamide nanofluid has been investigated in different experiments and EOR. We have used polymers due to the properties of polymers in increasing rheology and effective mobility and controlling stability and variability to resume growth oil in nanofluids. Adding 5% by weight of salt to polymer-clay nanofluid has also been investigated in samples comparable to pure nano clay without salt. The viscosity of this suspension increases by about 50% by adding a certain amount of salt. If the same amount of salt is added to the polymer diluent, the viscosity decreases drastically. The results of the wettability test also show that clay has a better potential to change the wettability in the tendency to salt. In core fluidization tests, the highest efficiency of 30% was obtained in the third recycling in the combination of clay nanoparticles and sulfone copolymer. The highest efficiency was obtained in the third scenario in core fluidization tests, that is; A combination of resin nanoparticles and sulfone copolymer. Their detailed behavior in the characteristics of wettability, rheology, and core fluidization is analyzed in this article.

Significant amount of oil remains in the reservoir after primary and secondary operations and to recover the remaining oil, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) can be applied as one of the feasible options remaining nowadays. In this study new nano polymeric materials have been prepared from purple yam and cassava starches. The yield of purple yam nanoparticles (PYNPs) was 85% and that of cassava nanoparticles (CSNPs) is 90.53%. Synthesized materials were characterized through particle size distribution (PSA), zeta potential distribution, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The performance of PYNPs in recovering oil was better than CSNPs as found from recovery experiments. Zeta potential distribution results confirmed the stability of PYNPs over CSNPs (-36.3 mV for PYNPs and -10.7 mV for CSNPs). The optimum concentration for these nanoparticles has been found from interfacial tension measurements and rheological properties and it was 0.60 wt.% for PYNPs and 0.80 wt.% for CSNPs. More incremental recovery (33.46%) has achieved for the polymer that contained PYNPs in comparison to the other nano-polymer (31.3%). This opens the inception for a new technology for polymer flooding that may replace the conventional method that depends on partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM).

The temporal evolution of pandemics described by the susceptible-infectious-recovered (SIR)-compartment model is sensitively determined by the time dependence of the infection (a(t)) and recovery (u(t)) rates regulating the transitions from the susceptible to the infected and from the infected to the recovered compartment, respectively. Here approximated SIR-solutions for different time dependencies of the infection and recovery rates are derived which are based on the adiabatic approximation assuming time-dependent ratios k(t)=u(t)/a(t) varying slowly in comparison to the typical time characteristics of the pandemic wave. For such slow variations the available analytical approximations from the KSSIR-model, valid for a stationary value of the ratio k, are used to insert a-posteriori the adopted time-dependent ratio of the two rates. Instead of investigating endless different combinations of the time dependencies of the two rates a(t) and u(t) a suitably parameterized reduced time dependence of the ratio k(tau) is adopted. Together with the definition of the reduced time this parameterized ratio k(tau) allows us to cover a great variety of different time dependencies of the infection and recovery rates. The agreement between the solutions from the adiabatic approximation in its four different studied variants and the exact numerical solutions of the SIR-equations is remarkably good providing strong confidence in the accuracy of the proposed adiabatic approximation.

The challenge regarding COVID-19 is to prevent complications and fatal evolution. Azithromycin (AZM) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) have proven their antiviral effect in vitro. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of AZM alone or combined to HCQ, prescribed, at an early stage, in patients with Covid-19, in a primary care setting. Eighty-eight patients received either no or a symptomatic treatment (NST) (n=34) or AZM alone (n=34) or AZM+HCQ (n=20). The efficacy end point was the time to clinical recovery and the safety end point was the occurrence of cardiovascular events. The mean (SD) times to achieve clinical recovery were respectively 25.8 days (11.1), 12.9 days (13.4) and 9.2 days (9.3), showing a statistically significant difference between NST and AZM alone (p<0.0001) or AZM+HCQ (p<0.0001). To improve the evidence level, a case-control analysis was performed on a sample of 57 patients (19/group) matched for age, sex and BMI. The statistical difference between NST and AZM was confirmed (p=0.0149) as well as the difference with AZM+HCQ (p=0.0002). No cardiac toxicity was recorded in any patient. No statistical difference was shown between AZM and AZM+HCQ groups, although the dual therapy tended to be more effective in patients over 50 years, based on an analysis using the cox model. In conclusion, AZM and AZM+HCQ favourably impacted the course of the disease. We need trials, ideally prospective/double blind, to show if a statistical difference can be evidenced with a broader group, and clarify the indications of each treatment depending on initial clinical presentation.

Nutrients management is a mainspring in agricultural systems for sustained productivity, economy sustainability and environmental quality. Excessive and lesser nutrient application caused environmental pollution and reduced production, respectively impacting socio-economics of the entire ecosystems. Sustainable agricultural production thus demands supplementation of nutrients either through natural processes, application of animal by-products, and mineral fertilizers to crop fields. Technology application for treating useless agricultural wastes into useful source is a management strategy that prevents environment pollution. Crude animal manures triggered soil degradation, attenuation air and water quality, and resulted in higher concentrations of heavy metals. Primary nutrients, i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are used globally and are non-renewable. Augmented upsurge in prices of inorganic fertilizers and required discharge restrictions on nutrient has stimulated the technological developments including biochar, composting, vermicomposting, composting with biochar, pyrolysis, forward osmosis, and electro-dialysis to recover nutrients. Therefore, outlining the research gaps considering the present and imminent potential of these technologies for adaptation of nutrient recycling is of great importance. Thus, it’s need of an hour to fix our environment and for that scientists are trying to introduce and renovate the technologies which have immense potential to mitigate the negative effects of technology adversities on our environment.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often require frequent hospitalization due to worsening symptoms. Preventing prolonged hospital stay and readmission becomes a challenge for healthcare professionals treating patients with COPD. Although the integration of health and social care supports greater collaboration and enhanced patient care, organizational structure and poor leadership may hinder the implementation of patient-oriented goals. This paper presents a case of a 64-year-old chronic smoker with severe COPD who was to be discharged on long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT). It further highlights the healthcare decisions made to ensure the patient’s safety at home and further provides a long-lasting solution to the existing medical and social needs. The goal was accomplished through a discharge plan that reflects multidisciplinary working, efficient leadership, and change management using Havelock’s theory. While COPD is characterized by frequent exacerbation and hospital readmission, it was emphasized that most failed discharges could be attributed to bureaucratic organizational workflow which might not be in the patient’s best interest. It was further demonstrated that healthcare professionals are likely to miss the window of opportunity to apply innovative and long-lasting solutions to the patient’s health condition in an attempt to remedy the immediate symptoms of COPD

Background: Ongoing Primary and Secondary Education Development Program (PEDP & SEDP) has led to increase in enrollment of children in schools. This created a high demand for facilities such as classroom, chairs, laboratories, latrines and water supply. Water and latrines did not receive equal attention like others. National strategic plan for School Water Sanitation and Hygiene (SWASH) 2012-2017 was to address such challenges with objectives to improve SWASH by 2017. Hence this study aimed to evaluate the implementation of SWASH program in Ukerewe. Methodology: A cross sectional survey was done among 42 schools in the district with 40 schools being government owned. Systematic random sampling was used and data were collected using a structured interview which was pre-tested and amended prior to conducting fieldwork. UNICEF, WASH in Schools Monitoring Package observational check-list was used to assess sanitation facilities. Results: Findings from this study showed the latrine-hole to student ratio was 1:71 with only 31.3% of the latrines being in good clean condition and about half (59.5%) of the schools have no facilities for washing hands. For the schools with hand washing facilities only 21.4% have an effective hand washing practice (presence of soap and water). The most common source of water used was lake water (35.7%) with (42.9%) having water storage facilities. Conclusion: The study shows that most of the objectives of national strategic plan are yet to be implemented at Ukerewe. There is a need for minor repairs to complete new construction of SWASH facilities in Ukerewe.

Though nowadays germanium do not reach the range of popularity than other metals, i.e. rare earth elements, its utility in target industries makes of it also a strategic metal. Though germanium can be find in a series of raw materials, the principal source for its recovery is from secondary wastes of the zinc industry, and also, the recycle of germanium-bearing waste materials is becoming of interest. In this recovery, Hydrometallurgy is performing a key role to the successful achievement of this goal. The present work reviews the most recent applications (2023 and 2024 years) of hydrometallurgical operations on the recovery of germanium from different solid and liquid sources.

Background: Measuring vital signs has always been a central task for Critical Care Nurse´s (CCNs) and Registered Nurse Anesthetist`s (RNAs) providing care in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and a prerequisite for their decision-making. Properly measuring and understanding pediatric vital signs is a challenge in younger pediatric patients up to 36 months old. Purpose: gain a greater understanding of CCNs' and RNAs' perceptions of decision-making regarding the level of vital sign monitoring children require in the PACU. Method: A qualitative study design involving the critical-incident technique was used. Interviews were carried out with a purposeful sample of CCNs and RNAs (n=17) from two different hospitals. Findings: According to the nurses' experience, grounds for decisions concerning children’s need of vital-sign monitoring were both adequate and inadequate. They used actions to adjust the monitoring of vital signs to optimise conditions for assessment and the prospects of a safe recovery for the child. Conclusions: Evidence-based care and safety are compromised when the technology has limitations and is not adapted for children. Its use means that experience and clinical assessment are relied on to a greater extent. This not only makes experience important for reliable assessment, but also means that greater risks are accepted.

All fundamental Planck scale symmetries are restored on a global level when a new charge is postulated in a finite, closed, Euclidean discrete space. Gravity emerges as a residual effect of the electromagnetic force in this scenario, resulting in a deterministic toy universe driven by a single input parameter. The model is developed using a constructive approach. Randomness is identified using a Chaintin argument. Aleph0 definite value is tied to the size of the universe. This is not an interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, but a deeper attempt to describe nature.

All fundamental Planck scale symmetries are restored on a global level when a new charge is postulated in a finite, closed, Euclidean discrete space. Gravity emerges as a residual effect of the electromagnetic force in this scenario, resulting in a deterministic toy universe driven by a single input parameter. Randomness is identified using a Chaintin argument. Aleph0 definite value is tied to the size of the universe. This is not an interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, but a deeper attempt to describe nature.

Nanoparticles have been proposed for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The research has demonstrated marvelous effort to understand the mechanisms of nanoparticles-EOR. Nevertheless, gaps still exist in terms of understanding the improved fluids and fluid-rock interactions by nanoparticles, which are the key driving forces for oil mobilization. This paper investigates four types of polymer-coated silica nanoparticles as additives for water flooding oil recovery in water-wet reservoirs. A series of flooding experiments were performed with nanoparticles at 0.1 wt.% in seawater at ambient conditions. The dynamics of fluids, fluid-rock interface interactions and fluid flow behavior were characterized in order to understand oil recovery mechanisms of nanoparticles. Experimental results showed an increase in oil recovery up to 14.8%-point with nanofluid injection compared to an average of 40% of the original oil in place (OOIP) obtained from control water flood test. Moreover, the nanoparticles mobilized residual oil and incremented oil recovery up to 9.2% of the OOIP. Displacement studies show that no single mechanism could account for the EOR effect with the application of nanoparticles. Instead, the mobilization of oil seemed to occur through a combination of reduced oil/water IFT, change in the rock surface roughness and wettability to more water-wet, and microscopic flow diversion due to clogging of the pores.

Mining is one of the main economic activities of several developing countries as Chile. Due to the progressive fall of the ore grades and the increasingly refractory composition of minerals, concentrating plants have increased that has led to an increase in the generation of tailings. Tailings, especially those obtained in the past, have remaining copper and other valuable species in quantities that can potentially be recovered, such as gold, silver, vanadium and rare earth elements. This transforms this abundant waste into a potential source of precious or strategic metals for secondary mining. One of the techniques of solid-liquid separation that allows the processing of solutions with low concentrations of metals corresponds to the adsorption, and more recently the biosorption, which is based on the use of biological matrices that do not constitute an environmental liability after application. Biosorption occurs as a consequence of the wide variety of active functional groups present in the different types of biomass. Bacterial, fungal, plant and algal biomasses have been described as biosorbents, mainly for the treatment of diluted and simple solutions. This work aims to recover copper from leached tailings using biomass of the red algae Gracilaria chilensis as a biosorbent. The tailing samples were taken from an abandoned deposit in the north of Chile and after an acid leaching copper was biosorbed, for which the kinetics of adsorption and the equilibrium isotherms were studied, applying the Freundlich and Langmuir models. Operational parameters such as adsorbent dose, pH and initial metal concentration were studied.

This article focuses on the issue of urban development of cities and their residential development from the perspective of spatial planning. Spatial planning fundamentally determines, what kind of construction is feasible in cities. However, spatial plans often do not consider spatial limits, which often go against the proposed ways of using of the given sites, or make their use fundamentally difficult, for example by disproportionately increasing of the costs of residential construction, when it is necessary to remediate old burdens in the defined locality. The subject of the presented research was to examine the possibility of establishing an Index of Residential Development (IoRD), which evaluates the possibilities of residential development in the territory of urban agglomerations. The aim of the research, in the form of establishing of an Index of Residential Development (IoRD), was to assess, how it is possible to consider spatial limits associated with residential construction in urban intravilanes in order to identify the objectives of further spatial development planned by cities. Subsequently, the partial aim of the research was also to create a usable tool for support in the decision making of development organizations on the location of their project in a given space. Based on the results of the research, it was deduced that the limits associated with the residential development in intravilanes based on the IoRD could be considered. Clear links were also shown between the limits in the territory and the impaired possibility of construction in cities with zoning plans, which did not respond to the limits in the territory by adding other design zones, or completely ignored them. Although the methodology for determining of the Index of Residential Development (IoRD) was verified due to the availability of data in the case study carried out in the Czech Republic – the city of Brno, the methodology is applicable to any urban agglomeration even outside the Czech Republic when fulfilling the conditions defined in the article.

Background: Along with sarcopenia, delayed blood pressure (BP) recovery after standing and orthostatic hypotension (OH) are among key clinical challenges associated with ageing. Previous studies have reported an association between sarcopenia and delayed orthostatic BP recovery and OH. However, the haemodynamic mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Methods: 107 attendees to a falls and syncope clinic aged 50+ years underwent an active stand test with non-invasive beat-to-beat haemodynamic measurement. Hand grip strength and 5-chair stands time were measured. Muscle mass was estimated using bioelectrical impedance analysis, and participants were classified as non-sarcopenic and sarcopenic. Mixed effects models with linear splines were used to model the effect of sarcopenia status on Modelflow®-derived mean arterial pressure (MAP), cardiac output (CO), total peripheral resistance (TPR), stroke volume (SV) and heart rate (HR) after standing, while controlling for potential confounders. Results: Sarcopenia was associated with: attenuated recovery of MAP in the 10-20s period after standing (β -0.67, P<0.001); attenuated rise to peak (0-10s) and recovery from peak (10-20s) of CO (β -0.05, P<0.001; β 0.06, P<0.001); attenuated recovery (10-20s) of TPR from nadir (β -0.02, P<0.001) and attenuated recovery from peak (10-20s) of SV (β 0.54, P<0.001). HR was not significantly associated with sarcopenia status at any time interval after standing. Conclusion: The attenuated BP recovery after standing seen in sarcopenia appears to be driven by initial diminished peak of CO followed by attenuated recovery of CO from peak and TPR from nadir. The CO finding appears to be driven by SV rather than HR. Potential mechanisms for these findings include: cardio-sarcopenia, the effects of sarcopenia on the autonomic nervous system and/or the skeletal muscle pump.

As the application of cyber-physical systems (CPSs) becomes more and more widespread, its security is becoming a focus of attention. Currently, there has been much research on the security defense of the physical layer of the CPS. However, most of the research only focuses on one of the aspects, for example, attack detection, security state estimation or recovery control. Obviously, the effectiveness of security defense targeting only one aspect is limited. Therefore, in this paper, a set of security defense processes is proposed for the case that a CPS containing multiple sensors is subject to three kinds of stealthy attacks (i.e., zero-dynamics attack, covert attack, and replay attack). Firstly, the existing attack detection method based on improved residuals is used to detect stealthy attacks. Secondly, based on the detection results, an optimal state estimation method based on improved Kalman filtering is proposed to estimate the actual state of the system. Then, based on the optimal state, internal model control (IMC) is introduced to complete the recovery control of the system. Finally, the proposed methods are integrated to give a complete security defense process, and the simulation is verified for three kinds of stealthy attacks. The simulation results show that the proposed methods are effective.

This study describes the AMD impacted environments and critically discusses the effects of AMD, current prediction and prevention methods and treatment technologies. The study further, crit-ically analyses the case studies, gaps in AMD research and the challenges and opportunities of-fered by AMD. The study outlined future technological intervention aiming at a paradigm shift towards reducing the volume of sludge generated as well as the operating cost and improving AMD treatment efficiency. The integrated AMD treatment technologies that result in a holistic approach toward sustainable AMD treatment are a current need. As a result, a sustainable AMD treatment strategy has been made possible due to water reuse and rich resource recoveries such sulphuric acid, rare earth elements, and metals. The cost of AMD treatment can be decreased with the use of recovered water and resources, which is essential for developing a sustainable AMD treatment process.

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of exogenous proline on growth, biochemical responses, and plant recovery of drought-stressed oilseed rape plants after renewed irrigation. The experiment was conducted under controlled laboratory conditions. After 21 days of cultivation, 3-4 leaf stage seedlings were sprayed with proline (1 mM), then subjected to prolonged drought stress for 8 days to achieve a severe water deficit, then irrigation was resumed and recovery was assessed after 4 days. The results show that exogenous application of proline reduced drought-induced growth inhibition of seedlings while maintaining relative water content (RWC) and growth parameters closer to those of irrigated plants. Proline had a positive effect on chlorophyll accumulation and membrane permeability while decreasing ethylene, H2O2, and MDA levels. Moreover, after 4 days of recovery, the H2O2 content of the proline-treated plants was significantly lower (2-fold) and the MDA content was close to that of continuously irrigated plants. Thus, all these biochemical reactions influenced plant survival: after drought + proline treatment, the number of surviving plants was 2 times higher than that of drought-treated plants. The findings show that exogenous proline has antioxidant, osmotic, and growth-promoting properties that improve the drought tolerance of winter oilseed rape plants and is, therefore, beneficial for drought adaptation in oilseed rape.