Urbanization-induced land use transition results in a decline in ecosystem services, which has implications for regional ecological security. In order to explore the relationship between ecosystem services and land use transition, this paper utilizes the InVEST model, geographically weighted regression model to examine the impact of land use transition on ecosystem services in the Dongting Lake area (DLA). The results showed that (1) During the period 2000-2020, the intensity and motivation of land-use transition showed obvious spatial and temporal heterogeneity with the variation of urbanization development. (2) Habitat quality and Carbon sequestrations showed a downward trend. In contrast, food supply followed an upward trend; soil conservation and water yield services initially increased and dropped later. The overall spatial changes in habitat quality and Carbon sequestration appear to be insignificant. Food supply shows significant differences in the plains compared to other areas; while soil conservation and water yield service shows significant changes in places other than the DLA. (3) From 2000 to 2020, land use transition dynamics, population density, GDP density, night lighting and transition intensity had mainly negative effects on ecosystem services. Only the Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI) showed a positive effect on ecosystem services. The results of the research will provide valuable references for the development and implementation of spatial ecological restoration planning and land use policies in the national territory.

The morphological aspects of urban growth on wetlands in Africa are under-researched. Using the Densu Delta Ramsar site in Accra, Ghana, as a case study, this paper analyses the morphological patterns and drivers of urban growth and its impact on wetlands. Data were obtained through remote-sensing, ground truthing and limited key informant interviews. The analysis combined land use/land cover, building coverage and multiple regression techniques, with the aid of GIS and STATA software. The findings reveal that urban growth at the Ramsar site follows discernible spatial patterns consistent with the spreading pancake, village magnet and ribbon development models. However, the primary force behind these patterns is growing demand for land to meet housing needs, aided by the failure of state institutions to perform their land use control and wetland protection functions. To achieve sustainable urban development, there is an urgent need to ensure effective wetland management by enforcing existing land use, development control and wetland protection measures. This calls for the strengthening, resourcing and closer collaboration between the various state agencies responsible for urban planning and wetland management. There is also the need to engage and sensitise political leaders to increase their commitment to implementing wetland protection and pro-environmental policies.

With the increasingly online exposure of urban public spaces, the new concept of "Internet-celebrity cities" has emerged in China. The online internet-famous sites are the main characteristics of "Internet-celebrity cities". To fully understand online users' preferences in such kind of public spaces, this article took 27 typical riverfront internet-famous sites (RIFS) in Changsha city (China), as an example. Through the online images and review comments on social media platform "Xiaohongshu", the study analyzed users’ perception of RIFS specially on visual and emotional preferences. It revealed the following findings:(1) The popularity of RIFS had a significant head effect and there were far more positive emotions than neutral and negative emotions in review comments. (2) According to 5 different categories of RIFS: modern buildings with river views, restaurants with strong visual impact became the main attractions on commercial RIFS. The art exhibition RIFS attracted visitors to experience traditional culture and highlight their aesthetic pursuits. In the historical and cultural RIFS, people preferred to see the historical buildings with surrounding natural environment, as well as river and mountains views. Ecological Recreational RIFS showed the similar results with the uncultivated RIFS, for the main focus was on the ecological environment, a broader vision and the specific atmosphere. Moreover, the uncultivated RIFS showed more diversified attraction points. This study can provide a new perspective on the waterfront vitality and can offer a targeted and attractive manner for waterfront regeneration that are different from traditional methods.

Abstract: Transcription factors are crucial pre-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that can modulate the expression of downstream genes by binding to their promoter regions. DOF (DNA binding with One Finger) proteins are a unique class of transcription factors with extensive roles in plant growth and development. Our previous research indicated a decrease in iron content in chlorotic bamboo leaves. However, to our knowledge, genes related to iron metabolism pathways in bamboo species have not yet been studied. Therefore, in the current study, we identified iron metabolism-related (IMR) genes in bamboo and determined the transcription factors that significantly influence them. Among these, DOFs were found to have widespread effects and potentially significant impacts on their expression. We identified specific DOF members in Dendrocalamus latiflorus with binding abilities through homology with Arabidopsis DOF proteins, and established connections between some of these members and IMR genes using RNA-seq data. Additionally, molecular docking confirmed the binding interactions between these DlDOFs and the DOF binding sites in the promoter regions of IMR genes. The co-expression relationship between the two gene sets was further validated using q-PCR experiments. This study paves the way for research into iron metabolism pathways in bamboo and lays the foundation for understanding the role of DOF transcription factors in D. latiflorus.

Tremor is a prevalent neurological disorder characterized by involuntary shaking or trembling of body parts. This condition impairs fine motor skills and hand coordination to varying degrees and can even affect overall body mobility. As a result, tremors severely disrupt the daily lives and work of those affected, significantly limiting their physical activity space. This study developed an innovative Spatial Augmented Reality (SAR) system aimed at assisting individuals with tremor disorders to overcome their physical limitations and expand their range of activities. The system integrates eye-tracking and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, enabling users to smoothly control objects in the real world through eye movements. It employs a virtual stabilization algorithm for stable interaction with objects in the real environment. The study comprehensively evaluated the system's performance through three experiments: 1) assessing the effectiveness of the virtual stabilization algorithm in enhancing the system's ability to assist individuals with tremors in stable and efficient interaction with remote objects; 2) evaluating the system's fluidity and stability in performing complex interactive tasks; 3) investigating the precision and efficiency of the system in remote interactions within complex physical environments. The results demonstrate that the system significantly improves the stability and efficiency of interactions between individuals with tremor and remote objects, reduces operational errors, and enhances the accuracy and communication efficiency of interactions.

The present study investigated the effect of art on promoting the meaning of the urban space. In this regard, after considering the semantic dimension of the urban space and the mechanism of transferring the meanings of art through the views of experts, a model is presented for examin-ing the art’s cooperation in promoting urban space meaning in Tehran. In this study, a mixed method was used. In the first stage, the categories of space meanings influenced by art were ex-tracted through using the qualitative method of interpretive phenomenology and by examining 61 in-depth interviews in six urban spaces eligible for urban art in Tehran. In the second stage, these categories were surveyed in these spaces through 600 questionnaires after converting to the questionnaire items. Based on the results, "the possibility of the experience and perception", "social participation", and "the relationship with the context" were the main themes of the se-mantic relationship of art and urban space. Further, the lower scores related to the theme of "so-cial participation" in the quantitative investigations indicated that this theme was weaker than the other themes in promoting the meaning of the urban space through the art in the selected urban spaces.

The paper focuses on the application of a multilevel, integrative and territorial approach to the protection of cultural heritage through planning instruments in Serbia. It points out the problems of the sectoral approach and discusses international recommendations that can be integrated into the planning methodology. The case study is the area of Djerdap National Park, which has an already established international and national importance. The research suggests that the cultural heritage in the area, with the exception of the Roman limes, is still recognized at the level of individual localities. The study emphasizes the importance of aligning all levels of governance to safeguard the whole spatial entity rather than focusing solely on its particular areas. The interna-tional and national importance of the planning area contributes to the strengthening of awareness of heritage and its institutional protection. However, the vitality of the area, which is key to its sustainable development, comes from the local level. Planning documents contribute to the inte-gration of local values and local communities into development programs and projects.

In recent decades, the creation and availability of Voluntary Geographic Information (VGI) has changed the paradigm associated with the production of Geospatial Information (GI), since due to its free access, citizens can view, analyse, process, and validate this type of data. One of the most popular examples of VGI is the collaborative OpenStreetMap (OSM) project which covers a wide range of themes or characteristics associated with the real world. One of these themes is the feature “waterway” that represents watercourses. The quality of OSM data characteristics is an issue that has been published by many authors in recent years, particularly on the analysis of the completeness indicator. However, few references are found in literature to studies that analyse the completeness of OSM watercourses. This study presents an analysis of the variation over time in completeness/coverage of the OSM "waterway" feature in the epochs of 2014 and 2023 in a mountainous region included in the Mondego River basin, located in Inland of Portugal. The results show that the completeness of this OSM feature (waterway) has a slight increase, considering the amplitude of this period (nine years) and the fact that, nowadays, digital mobile devices enable access to satellite images, therefore allowing in an easy way the digitalization of entities or objects of the real world remotely. Regarding the indicator’s altitude, slope and location/proximity of settlements, it was not possible to observe their influence on the evolution of the completeness of this geographic entity (OSM waterway).

Historically, urban development has always been centered on coastal areas – with access to waterbodies – seas, rivers and canals being a significant advantage for movement and trade. With most of the world’s megapolises located on coasts, land reclamation offers a solution for the expansion of city centers which are otherwise restricted by the coastline. The current understanding of urban regeneration and development on reclaimed lands is defined in this study, answering the basic questions of what, why and how. This study aims to assess the urban regeneration on reclaimed coastal land based on the principles of sustainable development defined by existing studies. The literature review establishes a theoretical framework and defines performance-based benchmarks identifying the spatial indicators of urban development. Composite indicators namely open space coverage, land use mix, percentage of coast for people, accessibility to public transportation and amenities, availability of pedestrian paths and cycling tracks and adequate road networks are considered for this framework. The conclusions are drawn based on the results of the analysis of spatial layout using GIS as a tool to map and empirically measure each indicator. The framework is validated using a major land reclamation project, West Bay, in the coastal urban area of ​​the city of Doha. The results determine that West Bay has achieved a good level of sustainability, although there are areas that could be enhanced to further improve the overall sustainability of urban development. These findings can serve as a guide for policymakers and various stakeholders for sustainable urban planning on reclaimed coastal lands.

The Ethnographic Museum in Dubrovnik holds an extensive textile collection that includes a range of dress and costume from Croatia and neighbouring countries. Until recently, the costumes were displayed on mannequins created by the academic artist Zvonimir Lončarić (1927–2004). His sculptures are expressive forms constructed from terracotta, fibreglass, wood, metal, acrylic paint and other materials selected for their visual appeal. Due to their importance, the museum considered the mannequins as protected artworks in the permanent exhibition, however, they had a harmful effect on the costumes displayed. In 2018, after completing a series of conservation-restoration projects within the collection, it was decided to replace the existing mounts with new, museum–quality mannequins. Two project–based learning workshops were organised, led by a team of textile conservators from the University of Dubrovnik and the Croatian Conservation Institute, in cooperation with the curator of the Ethnographic Museum. This case study highlights the challenges of exhibiting ethnographic costumes by discussing past presentation methods and how new solutions have been implemented conforming with the modern conservation-restoration profession. The new solutions consider ethics, decision–making processes, and the understanding of contemporary materials and methodology.

This paper is focused on typical rural settlements in the Stara Planina Mountain area in Serbia. They are distinguished by their authenticity, identity and character, and they have still not been destroyed by inappropriate development as is the case in some other mountain areas in Serbia, where the effects of urbanization, globalization and homogenization are obvious. Consequently, there is a need to prevent these effects in mountain areas where there is a threat of disbalance between development and the inherited natural and cultural values. The paper starts from several important concepts that relate contemporary approaches to cultural heritage preservation, place morphology and planning future development. The concept definitions from recent documents from related fields are used. These concepts are then applied to the area of Stara Planina Mountain and its rural settlements. The necessity for an integrative approach to planning this area with significant natural and anthropogenic potential is pointed out, including its integration into international programs of sustainable development.

Questions：SAP in mountainous cities of China serve as crucial carriers for species and wild food, constituting potential green infrastructure. These patches should be recognized as locally specific resources. This study investigates the transformation characteristics of the landscape patterns of SAP, along with their elements, across urban-rural gradients, providing foundational support for the planning of conservation and utilization strategies. Location: Yongchuan area of Chongqing in southwest China. Methods: The study investigated urban-rural gradient-based transformation of SAP. A four-direction transect space was selected and divided into uniform sample squares. Fragstats 4.3 calculated the landscape index of SAP, and Spearman correlation coefficients in SPSS were used to evaluate the influence of landform and artificial factors on agroforestry patch transformation. Results: 1) Patch area (PA), Plaque density (PD), and CLUMPY of SAP systematically transform, showing increased SAP areas and higher connectivity with greater distance from the city, resulting in reduced patch fragmentation. However, Edge density (ED) and Largest plaque index (LPI) exhibit irregular transformation patterns. 2) With increased distance from the city, woodland patch area and connectivity increase, leading to decreased fragmentation, dispersal, and lower fractal dimensions. Conversely, Cultivated land follows the opposite trend. garden land patch area, fractal dimension, fragmentation, and dispersal all increase, while connectivity decreases. 3) Landscape pattern transformations of SPA are significantly influenced by artificial factors. Woodland patches are influenced similarly by landform and artificial factors. In contrast, cultivated land and garden land patches are more significantly impacted by artificial factors. Conclusions: SAP exhibit differentiated conservation and utilization measures across urban-rural gradients. Small patches located far from urban centers may benefit from systematic conservation measures to prevent further fragmentation and erosion in peri-urban areas.

In the last decades, the impacts of urbanization on the hydrological cycle have led to an increase in the frequency and magnitude of urban flooding events, also amplified by the effects of climate change. Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) provide a revolutionary change in this field, improving the sustainability and resilience of cities. This research explores the integration of different SuDS with the aim of significantly reducing both flow volume and celerity of floods in a residual urban catchment area of metropolitan city of Querétaro (Mèxico), where extreme rainfall frequently occurs. This catchment is a representative suburb of urban pressure and environmental degradation problems. Currently, managing storm water under climate uncertainty through a multi-disciplinary approach is a major concern in this urban area. A 1D-2D coupling model of shallow water equations, finite volume method, unstructured meshing method, and hybrid parallel computing application defined the optimal configuration of SuDS at catchment scale to reduce the flood vulnerability in Querétaro. Specifically, in this paper we explore the management issues of the proposed SuDS configuration that acts as a water resource system with multiple purposes. A generic simulation model called MODSIM was applied to simulate the designed urban drainage system under a balanced IPCC future climate scenario in terms of reliability, resilience and vulnerability against water scarcity.

Bicycle transport stands at the forefront of sustainable mobility initiatives, a cornerstone of European Union policy. While support for cycling is crucial, its advancement hinges upon the presence of high-quality, secure infrastructure for cyclists. Safety emerges as a paramount concern, influencing the viability of cycling as a mode of transportation, yet its perception varies among user demographics. Considering this, this article endeavours to examine and contrast cycling infrastructure across various European nations, alongside analysing statistics pertaining to fatal traffic accidents involving cyclists. In our paper, we have chosen the Netherlands as a representative of building quality cycling infrastructure with many years of experience, and two countries that are developing conditions for cyclists, Slovakia and Poland. We have applied a correlation between the length of the transport infrastructure and the number of cyclists killed. The findings point to the substantial correlation between the quality of cycling infrastructure and the incidence of accidents. This correlation underscores the pressing need for robust infrastructure development and safety measures to bolster cycling as a safe and viable transportation option. We have employed the Shapiro-Wilk test for normal distribution to verify the input data and process the Pearson correlation to investigate the correlation between cycling infrastructure and road accident fatalities of cyclists.

Residential segregation refers to the phenomenon where people of different socioeconomic backgrounds live in spatially separated areas. It is essential to ensure equitable access to urban amenities for all residents in pursuit of the normative values in urban planning. To achieve this planning goal, the disparity in accessibility to urban amenities needs to be appropriately diagnosed. Private apartments and public rental apartments are representative types of residences where residential segregation is likely to occur in the context of South Korea, since these two types show considerable differences in the education, income, and occupations. The objective of this study is to develop an analysis framework for diagnosing the difference in accessibility to urban amenities between the two residential types, and to empirically demonstrate their utility in the planning process. The empirical analysis conducted on Seoul revealed that not only were there significant local variations in accessibility between the two segregated residential areas, but the overall differences across the entire area were also pronounced. The proposed framework is useful in supporting decision-making processes for locating new public facilities or identifying regional priorities for guiding the placement of private amenities, with the aim of mitigating differences between segregated residential areas.

Channel bends are one of the most important characteristic features of natural streams. These bends often create the conditions for a hyporheic zone, which has been recognized as a critical component of stream ecosystems. The streambed vertical hydraulic conductivity (K_v), vertical hydraulic gradient (VHG) and Darcian flux (DF) in the hyporheic zone were estimated at 61 locations along a channel bend of the Beiluo River during July 2015 and January 2016. All the streambed attributes showed great spatial variability along the channel bend. Both upward fluxes and downward fluxes occurred during the two test periods, most of studied stream sections were controlled by downwelling, indicating stream water discharge into the subsurface. The average downward flux was higher at the downstream side than at the upstream side of the channel bend, especially in July 2015. The distribution of streambed sediment grain size has a significant influence on the variability of K_v; high percentages of silt and clay sediments generally lead to low K_v values. Higher K_v at the depositional left bank at the upstream site shifted toward the erosional right bank at the downstream site, with K_v values positively correlated with the water depth. This study suggested that the variabilities of K_v and VHG were influenced by the stream geomorphology and that the distribution of K_v was inversely related, to a certain extent, to the distribution of VHG across the channel bend. K_v and VHG were found to have opposite effects on the DF, and the close relationship between K_v and DF indicated that the water fluxes were mainly controlled by K_v.

In order to study the effect of explosion load on the flexural performance of RC beams, two RC beams of the same size were carried out explosion test and bearing capacity test successively. Piezoelectric intelligent aggregate was embedded in the beams in advance to monitor the damage state of the beams, which realized the whole process of damage monitoring of the concrete inside the structure from explosion damage to compression damage.Based on wavelet packet analysis and residual bearing capacity damage evaluation criteria, the beam damage was quantitatively evaluated, and the bending bearing capacity of RC beam after explosion damage was compared and analyzed.The results show that the change of concrete strain gauge signal, the phenomenon of crack development and the increase of internal crack development index indicate that the RC beam is damaged by explosion load.After explosion damage, the damage index of the beam increases and the residual bending capacity decreases, which proves that the piezoelectric intelligent aggregate sensor can effectively monitor the bending capacity change of the component after explosion damage.

Confronting the dual challenges of rapid urbanization and climate change, although extensive research has investigated the influencing factors and practical strategies of urban carbon emissions and urban vibrancy, respectively, the unclear mutual nexus between them and the development strategy of collaborative optimization requires further in-depth analysis. This study explores the delicate balance between urban vibrancy and low-carbon sustainability within the confines of Beijing’s Fifth Ring Road. By integrating OpenStreetMap, land use, population, and building carbon emission data, we have developed a reproducible method to estimate total carbon emission and emission intensity per capita. Furthermore, we have introduced vibrancy index data to distinguish the vibrancy evaluation of residential and non-residential land and applied cross-combinational classification technology to dissect the spatial correlation between urban carbon emissions and urban vibrancy. The results reveal that the four combination typologies show more significant differences and regularity in residential land. Based on the discovery of spatial correlation, this study puts forward corresponding development strategy suggestions for each typology based on geographical location and the requirements of urban development policies of these four combination typologies. In conclusion, our study highlights the importance of integrating carbon emissions and urban vibrancy comprehensively in sustainable urban planning and proposes that various land use combinations need targeted development strategies to achieve this goal, which need to consider population, energy, service facilities, and other diverse aspects.

Globalization, knowledge economy, information technology advancements, and the rise of learning societies contribute to the concept of a learning city. The study examines the economic indicators of Yazd city, Iran, in the context of learning city development. A descriptive-analytical approach with a survey method and cluster sampling was employed. Data analysis involved Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test, single-sample T-test, simple linear regression, and Kendall's W test. The normality test confirmed data normality. The T-test indicated that experts perceived the current state of most variables in Yazd as undesirable. Regression analysis revealed a significant positive association between the economic index and independent variables. Kendall's W test prioritized areas based on economic indicators, with the top 7 and bottom 5 areas identified for focused interventions. The study emphasizes the need to prioritize areas within Yazd based on their economic indicators. This prioritization informs strategies for enhancing social and legal aspects of Yazd's transformation into a learning city. Further research should explore effective methods to cultivate a full-fledged learning environment in the city.

The European Union Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC; WFD) aims to achieve a good ecological and chemical status of all bodies of surface water by 2027. The development of an integrated guidance on surface water chemical monitoring (e.g. WFD Guidance Document No. 7/19) has been transferred into national German law (Ordinance for the Protection of Surface Waters, OGewV). For the majority of compounds, this act requires a monthly sampling frequency to assess the chemical water quality status of a surface water body. To evaluate the representativeness of the sampling strategy under the OGewV, high-frequency online monitoring data is investigated under different sampling scenarios and compared with current, monthly grab sampling strategy. About 23 million data points were analyzed for this study, three chemical parameters (dissolved oxygen, nitrate-nitrogen, chloride concentration) and discharge data were selected from four catchment of different sizes ranging from 51391 km² to 84 km² (Elbe, Vereinigte Mulde, Neiße and two stations at Lockwitzbach). In this paper we proposed short-term online-monitoring (STOM) as a sampling alternative. STOM considers the placement of online sensors over a limited duration and return interval. In general we: (I) compare the results of conventional grab sampling with STOM, (II) investigate the different performance of STOM and grab sampling using discharge data as proxy for analyzing event-mobilized pollutants and (III) investigate the related uncertainties and costs of both sampling methods. Results show, that STOM outperforms grab sampling for parameters where minimum/maximum concentrations are required by law as the probability to catch a single extreme value is higher with STOM. Furthermore, parameters showing a pronounced diurnal pattern, like dissolved oxygen, are also captured considerably better. The performance of STOM showed no substantial improvements for parameters with small concentration variability, as nitrogen-nitrate The analysis of discharge events as a proxy parameter for event-mobilized pollutants proved that the probability of capturing samples during events is significantly increased by STOM.

The personalist ethics of Edith Stein and her feminist thought are intrinsically interrelated. This unique connection constitutes perhaps the main novelty of Stein’s ethical thought that makes her a forerunner of some recent developments in feminist ethics, particularly ethics of care. A few scholars noticed the resemblance between Stein’s feminist personalism and care ethics, yet none of them have properly explored it. This paper offers an in-depth discussion of the overlaps and differences between Stein’s ethical insights and the core ideas of care ethics. It argues that both Stein and care ethicists relocate a certain set of practices, values and attitudes from the periphery to the center of ethical reflection. This includes relationality, emotionality and care. The paper finally argues that it is plausible and fruitful to read Stein’s advocacy of ‘woman’s values and attitudes’ in a critical feminist way, rather than as an instance of essentialist difference feminism.

Although, promotion of urbanization culture in recent decades has made inevitable development of cities in the world, however, the development can be guided in a direction that leave, to the extent possible, minimum socioeconomic and environmental impacts. For this, it is required to first forecast auto-spreading orientation of cities and suburbs in rural areas over time and then avoid shapeless growth of cities. This paper is an attempt to develop a dynamic hybrid model based on logistic regression (LR), Markov chain (MC), and cellular automata (CA) for prediction of future urban sprawl in fast-growing cities. The model was developed using 12 widely-used urban development criteria, whose significant coefficient was determined by logistic regression, and validated by relative operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The validated model was run in Guilan, a tourist province in northern Iran with a very high rate of urban development. For this, changes in the area of urban land use were detected over the period of 1989 to 2013 and then, future sprawl of the province was forecasted by the years 2025 and 2037. The analysis results revealed that the area of urban land use was increased by more than 1.7 % from 36012.5 ha in 1989 to 59754.8 ha in 2013, and the area of Caspian Hyrcanian forestland was reduced by 31628 ha. The results also predicted an alarming increase in the rate of urban development in the province by the years 2025 and 2037, during which urban land use is predicted to develop 0.9 % and 1.38 %, respectively. The development pattern is expected to be uneven and scattered, without following any particular direction. The development will occur close to the existing or newly-formed urban basements as well as around major roads and commercial areas. This development, if not controlled, will lead to the loss of 13863 ha of Hyrcanian forests and if the trend continues, 21013 ha of Hyrcanian forests and 20208 ha of Barren/open lands are expected to be destroyed by the year 2037. In general, the proposed model is an efficient tool for the support of urban planning decisions and facilitates the process of sustainable development of cities by providing decision-makers with an overview on future development of cities where the growth rate is very fast.

Commuting is a vital travel channel for college students throughout their higher education career; nevertheless, excessive commute time negatively impacts students’ school satisfaction, academic achievement, health, and quality of life. Meanwhile, few studies have explored students’ commute time, covering a large population and scope. Therefore, this study analyzes the dwelling type that influences college and graduate students’ school commute times in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, using data from the 2016 Household Travel Diary Survey. This study uses spatial data on housing development to classify five dwelling types (i.e., new town, housing site development, Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do). A multiple linear regression model empirically analyses students’ household and personal characteristics. The results reveal that dwelling type significantly affects students’ commute time. Specifically, Students living in Seoul have a shorter commute to school than those living in new towns. Socioeconomic characteristics have less effect on college and graduate students' school commute time. This study discusses the problem of excessive commuting of college and graduate students in new towns.

Rural landscapes are acknowledged for their potential to restore human health due to their natural characteristics. However, few studies have systematically analysed the impact of naturalness, landscape types, and combinations of landscape elements on restorativeness using both subjective and objective measurements. This study investigated the restorative effects of various rural landscapes in Guangzhou, employing electroencephalography and eye-tracking technologies to record physiological responses and using the Restorative Components Scale and the Perceived Restorativeness and Naturalness Scale to evaluate psychological responses. The results indicated the following: (1) There was a significant positive correlation between perceived naturalness and restorativeness, surpassing the impact of actual naturalness. (2) Different landscape types had a varying impact on mental health at the equal perceived naturalness. Natural forest landscapes and artificial forest landscapes exhibited the most substantial restorative effects among the natural and semi-natural landscapes examined, respectively, while settlement landscapes showed the highest restorative potential among the artificial landscapes. (3) Restorative properties varied across landscape elements, with identical elements yielding different benefits in different environments. Trees and water significantly enhanced restorativeness, whereas constructed elements such as roads and infrastructure reduced it. This study provides a scientific basis for restorative rural landscape design to enhance mental health and well-being.

Nitrogen (N) is an essential macro nutrient for crop growth; therefore, N deficit can greatly limit crop growth and production. In the North China Plain (NCP), winter wheat is one of the main food crops, and its yield has increased from approximately 4000 kg ha-1 to 6000 kg ha-1 in the last two decades. Determining the proper N application rates at different growth stages and in all seasons is very important for the sustainable and high production of wheat in the NCP. A field experiment with five N application rates (250, 200, 150, 100, and 40 kgN·ha-1, designated as N250, N200, N150, N100, and N40, respectively) was conducted during the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 winter wheat seasons to investigate the effects of the N application rate on water- and fertiliz-er-utilization efficiency, and on the crop growth and yield of winter wheat under sprinkler fer-tigation conditions. The results showed that, in the N application range of 40-200 kg ha-1, crop yield and water- and fertilizer-use efficiencies increased as the N application rate increased; however, further increases in the N application rate did not have additional benefits. The N up-take after regreening of winter wheat linearly increased with crop growth. Considering the wheat yield and N-use efficiency, the optimal N application range was 200 kg ha-1, and the best top-dressing strategy was equal amounts of N applied at the regreening, jointing, and grain-filling stages. The results of this study will be useful for optimizing field N management to achieve high wheat yield production in the NCP and in regions with similar climatic and soil environment conditions.

Today's city needs more than ever methodological devices that ensure a specific urbanism, in keeping with the complexity of relationships that occur in the urban space. Networks or systems of diverse nature must be activated to achieve a certain success of the city, even more so in its fragile central fabrics. The study is focused on the historic neighborhoods of the city of Jaén (Spain), which have a high vulnerability index. The aim is to establish a strategy to revitalize their urban and social capital and improve their articulation with the rest of the urban and territorial structure. A methodological proposal for the analysis of vulnerability factors and an urban and cartographic analysis of the public space is addressed through an interweaving of a triple network: environmental, social, and urban. For this purpose, the configuration of this overlapping network of analysis and formulation of criteria is presented, which considers the urban multiplicity and promotes new dynamics for the integrated urban regeneration of the area and for the activation of public and collective urban spaces.

Hyperspectral imaging, a rapidly evolving technique, furnishes exhaustive information on Earth's surface reflectance over an extensive spectrum of wavelengths. We have developed a more precise method for analyzing spectral data by meticulously selecting plant leaf pixels and employing a relative reference approach. This enhanced technique correlates camera pixel values with light intensity, bypassing the need for complex equations and thereby providing clearer insights into vegetation vitality. The findings of this study not only enhance the precision of hyperspectral imaging but also bolster our capability for ecological monitoring and understanding environmental health. A novel algorithm based on the red-edge slope was established to classify images, exploiting the spectral reflectance data gleaned from the hyperspectral Liquid Crystal Tunable Filter (LCTF) camera. Compared with conventional SVM and K-means algorithms, our novel algorithm demonstrated commendable performance, achieving an overall accuracy of 90% with a Kappa Coefficient of 0.86. This comparison highlights the novel algorithm's relative strength and potential for large-scale satellite and drone imagery analysis applications. The advancements facilitated by this research are instrumental in ecological assessments, conservation efforts, and resource management strategies, signaling a leap forward in the era of environmental monitoring and analysis.

As argued by ‘Declaration of Concrete Environment (2010)’ of Korea and ‘Declaration of Asian Concrete Environment (2011)’ of six Asian countries, concrete as a single material has lately shown extremely large impact on environmental issues such as climate change. Assessment of environmental impact from concrete material and production has considerable importance. Concrete is a major material used in the construction industry that emits a large amount of substances with environmental impacts during its life cycle. Accordingly, technologies for the reduction in and assessment of the environmental impact of concrete from the perspective of Life Cycle Assessment must be developed. At present, the studies in relation to greenhouse gas emission from concrete are being carried out globally as a countermeasure against climate change. In this study, a sustainable concrete mix design algorithm was designed using correlation analyses, and its carbon emission and cost reduction performances were assessed. Using correlation analyses, the concrete strength, w/b and s/a ratios, and CO₂ emissions were identified as major variables of concrete mix design that influenced other variables. Also, this study aims to evaluate the CO₂ emission reduction performance of the algorithm-deduced sustainable concrete mix design, and therefore, the CO₂ emissions of the sustainable concrete mix design are compared with those of the actual concrete mix design applied to the construction of the office building A in South Korea.

Areas covered with vegetation play a key role for life on Earth and should be inventoried in a clear and complete manner in order to improve the process of its protection and development. Data showing the amount of greenery in areas most deformed by humans, i.e. urbanized areas, are particularly important. Local governments need to know how to invest theirs limited sources in the quality of life of residents by supplementing the urban fabric with additional vegetation. The article presents a proposal for how to calculate the degree of greenness of cities based on remote sensing data. Additionally, a novel method was proposed to help in planning the development of areas covered with vegetation, taking into account the spatial distribution of the local population. The result was a comprehensive method presenting the actual natural situation in a specific city.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment has become a common trend in capital markets, and many institutional investors have publicly declared their long-term ESG investment target (ESGIT). This study focuses on investors who conduct strategic asset allocation (SAA) using composite indices but establish their ESGIT outside the SAA process. A mismatch could arise between investors’ planned and actual portfolios because they must pursue their ESGIT by asset selection, which inevitably makes the constituents of their portfolios different from those of composite indices. To scrutinize the potential existence of a misalignment between their SAA and ESGIT, this study analyzes actual stock and bond indices over the past decade using traditional mean-variance optimization. The results reveal significant differences between the expected and realized performances, and the misalignment is more significant when the analysis period is divided into two sub-periods: stable and volatile. Specifically, the results indicate that the efficient frontier constructed using ESG indices significantly differs from that constructed using composite indices, and that the difference between these two efficient frontiers becomes more significant during volatile periods. Furthermore, the results show that investors cannot meet their targets if their ESGIT is established outside the SAA process.

Quantifying the landscape pattern change can effectively demonstrate the ecological progresses and the consequences of urbanization. Based on remotely sensed land cover data in 1994, 2000, 2006 and a gradient analysis with landscape metrics at landscape- and class- level, we attempted to characterize the individual and entire landscape patterns of Shanghai metropolitan during the rapid urbanization. We highlighted that a roadscape transect approach that combined the buffer zone method and the transect-based approach was introduced to describe the urban-rural patterns of agricultural, residential, green, industrial, and public facilities land along the railway route. Our results of landscape metrics showed significant spatiotemporal patterns and gradient variations along the transect. The urban growth pattern in two time spans conform to the hypothesis for diffusion–coalescence processes, implying that the railway is adaptive as a gradient element to analyze the landscape patterns with urbanization. As the natural landscape was replaced by urban landscape gradually, the urban fringe expanded radically. The results also showed that the desakota region expanded its extent widely. Satellite towns witnessed the continual transformation from the predominantly rural landscape to peri-urban landscape. Furthermore, the gap between urban and rural areas remained large especially in public service. More reasonable urban plans and land use policies should push to make more of an effort to transition from the urban-rural separation to coordinated urban-rural development. This study is a meaningful trial in demonstrating a new form of urban–rural transects to study the landscape change of large cities from a strategic viewpoint. By combining gradient analysis with landscape metrics, we addressed the process of urbanization both spatially and temporally, and provided a more quantitative approach to urban studies.

In the quest for more sustainable urban landscape development, the concept of ‘green infrastructure’ (GI) has become central in policy documents and as a multifunctional general planning tool. GI is not however a simple and unambiguous solution. While there in policy documents are claims for more and connected GI, actual urban development takes another direction. The densifying imperative is hard to combine with an increased and more connected GI. This paper argues for a critical and diversified approach to the concept of GI, to facilitate its implementation in urban planning and management. While GI most often is seen as a common asset and a public good, the actual land use negotiations and management responsibilities cannot be limited to a public service discourse, but should address more clearly a variety of actors. Linguistic as well as spatial definitions of the two relevant dichotomies of ‘green-grey’ and ‘public-private’ are crucial in GI location, design, construction and management, it is argued. Overarching representations of GI will be needed, but also – and linked to it – a spatial storm water plan and an overall plan for public space. The development over time will need an intersectorial implementation and management program. Thus some of the GI intentions may be implemented in planning processes, some through reorganisation and redesign of public space, and some by agreements with landowners.

Agricultural activities are the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon emissions from agricultural land use (CEALU) have become a hot issue across the world. However, few scholars explored the impact of agricultural land policies on carbon emissions, such as the High-standard farmland construction(HSFC) in China.Thus，by relying on provincial panel data for China for the period 2005-2017, the effect of the high-standard basic farmland construction policy on carbon emissions from agricultural land use per unit area and its regional differences were quantitatively analyzed using the difference-in-difference (DID) model. The results showed that: 1) China's CEALU per unit area presented a fluctuating upward trend during the period 2005-2017, from 392.58 kg/ha to 457.72 kg/ha, with an average annual growth rate of 1.31%. 2) The high-standard farmland construction(HSFC) policy produced a significant carbon emission reduction effect in agricultural land use, and reduced the CEALU per unit area by 10.80% on average. With the promotion of this policy, its carbon emission reduction effect in agricultural land use presented an overall increasing trend. 3) The carbon emission reduction effect of the high-standard farmland construction policy in agricultural land use was significant in central China, but non-significant in eastern China and western China.

During public health events, Active Mobility (walking and cycling) plays an important role in securing residents' travel. To enhance the resilience of urban transportation, this article integrates the travel environment elements for walking and cycling and constructs a travel environment for Active Mobility evaluation index system. This article uses survey data from the main urban area of Harbin in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2022, and combines the Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT) and Impact-Asymmetry Analysis (IAA) methods to analyze the satisfaction of the travel environment for Active Mobility. It proposes strategies for optimizing the travel environment for Active Mobility, ensuring residents' travel during public health events, guiding them to adopt Active Mobility, and improving urban transportation resilience. This research shows that Active Mobility can enhance urban transportation resilience. In addition, there are differences in resident demand for walking and cycling environments in the travel environment for Active Mobility. Residents are more concerned about the comfort of the walking environment, while they prioritize the convenience of the cycling environment.

As an active device, air source heat pumps (ASHP) are widely used for heating and cooling in buildings. However, in cold regions, their efficiency decreases, and frost formation becomes a significant issue during winter. This paper proposes a new scheme that couples air source heat pumps with passive heating. By using software simulations and mathematical models, the new scheme is compared to traditional ASHP systems to analyze its heating performance in rural homes during winter in China’s cold regions. According to the simulation and calculation analysis, on the coldest day of winter, the coupling scheme can provide approximately 99.41kWh of heat to the interior, surpassing the 86.67kWh required to maintain an indoor temperature of 20℃. The system’s power consumption is 36.96 kWh, which is 66.88% lower than that of traditional heat pump heating. The study shows that a coupled system of air source heat pumps and passive heating has better heating performance in cold regions. By incorporating phase change materials and heat storage media to address the shortage of solar energy at night, the system can meet the heating needs throughout the entire day.

This work describes the preparation of mesoporous silica by the green reaction of rice husk ash (RHA) with glycerol, followed by the modification and the potential use as a drug carrier. The reaction was carried out at 215 °C for 2 h. The solution was further hydrolyzed with deionized water and aged for various times (24, 48, 120, 360, 528 and 672 h) before calcinations at 500 oC for 24 h. Further treatment of prepared mesoporous silica was performed using trimethylmethoxysilane (TMMS) to obtain hydrophobic Mesoporous silica. For all synthesized silica, silica contents were as high as 95%wt, whereas organic residues were less than 3%wt. RHA-glycerol showed the highest specific surface area with smallest pore diameter (205.70 m2/g, 7.46 nm) when aged for 48 h. The optimal hydrolysis-ageing period of 120 h resulted in 500.7 m2/g BET surface area, 0.655 cm3/g pore volume and 5.23 nm pore diameter. The surface modification of RHA-glycerol was succeeded through the reaction with TMMS as confirmed by FTIR. Ibuprofen was selected as a model drug for the adsorption experiments. The adsorption under supercritical CO2 was carried out at isothermal temperature of 40 ˚C and 100 bar, % ibuprofen loading of TMMS modified mesoporous silica (TMMS-g-MS) was 6 times less than mesoporous silica aged for 24 h (MS-24h) due to the hydrophobic nature of modified mesoporous silica, not surface and pore characteristics. The release kinetics of ibuprofen-loaded mesoporous silicas were also investigated in vitro. The release rate of ibuprofen-loaded MS-24h was much faster than that of ibuprofen-loaded TMMS-g-MS, but comparable to the crystalline ibuprofen. The slower release rate was attributed to the diffusion control and the stability of hydrophobic nature of modified silica. This would allow the design for the controlled release drug delivery system.

Deep learning (DL) and machine learning (ML) methods have recently contributed to the advancement of models in the various aspects of prediction, planning, and uncertainty analysis of smart cities and urban development. This paper presents the state of the art of DL and ML methods used in this realm. Through a novel taxonomy, the advances in model development and new application domains in urban sustainability and smart cities are presented. Findings reveal that five DL and ML methods have been most applied to address the different aspects of smart cities. These are artificial neural networks; support vector machines; decision trees; ensembles, Bayesians, hybrids, and neuro-fuzzy; and deep learning. It is also disclosed that energy, health, and urban transport are the main domains of smart cities that DL and ML methods contributed in to address their problems.

The cutting of difficult-to-machine materials, including their preconditioning, often requires specialised tools and machinery. An alternative processing technology can be cutting materials with a water jet. From the initial stage, the selection of appropriate technological parameters will influence what further finishing treatments will be applied. Vibrations occurring during this process can negatively affect the quality of the cutting edges and surfaces. Therefore, this study analysed vibrations during water-jet cutting with variable technological parameters (speed vfi and pressure pi). To measure the vibrations, a three-axis accelerometer from SEQUOIA was used in water-jet cutting of three materials: aluminum alloy, titanium alloy, and steel. Based on the study, it was found that the maximum value of vibration amplitude reaches the lowest value of vibration acceleration for aluminum alloy (not exceeding 5 m/s2), regardless of the value of pressure during the cutting process. This, taking into account the material properties, indicates that aluminum alloy is the material most susceptible to the cutting process while maintaining a high quality of the cutting surface. Significantly higher values of vibration acceleration amplitude (reaching up to 60 m/s2) during cutting were registered for steel and titanium alloy in all zones and phases of the process (entry zone, cutting zone, and exit zones).

This study investigates the spatial and temporal dynamics of Paomo restaurants in Xi'an's central urban area from 2012 to 2023, leveraging Point of Interest (POI) data through a series of sophisticated analytical techniques. Methods including nearest neighbor distance, kernel density estimation, and band set statistical analysis were employed to thoroughly examine the evolutionary patterns and key drivers influencing the spatial distribution of these eateries. Our results highlight a notable trend of expansion from the central city to the periphery, characterized by significant spatial agglomeration. Initially concentrated in the city center, the distribution of Paomo restaurants has progressively shifted towards multiple distinct cores, reflecting the dual influence of urban policy initiatives and the dynamics of market competition. Furthermore, the research identifies several pivotal factors shaping this spatial distribution, particularly transportation access, residential quality of life, and the availability of commercial services. These findings demonstrate the profound effects of urban spatial reconfiguration and socioeconomic development on the specialized catering industry. The insights gleaned from this analysis offer valuable guidance for urban planners and policymakers, providing strategic recommendations for the spatial planning of specialty catering services to optimize urban layouts and foster sustainable economic progress.

Amid escalating urbanization, devising rational commercial space layouts is a critical challenge. Leveraging machine learning, this study uses a Back-propagation (BP) neural network to optimize commercial spaces in Weinan City's central urban area. The results indicate an increased number of commercial facilities with a trend of multi-centered agglomeration and outward expansion. Based on these findings, we propose a strategic framework for rational commercial space development emphasizing aggregation centers, development axes, and spatial guidelines. This strategy provides valuable insights for urban planners in small and medium-sized cities in the Yellow River Basin and metropolitan areas, ultimately showcasing the power of machine learning in enhancing urban planning.

In considering the question of machine as artist, the art object can be analytically separated from its making, and its making can be dualistically conceptualized as process on one hand and experience on the other. One of the reasons we value art is that there was an experience of its making. To better understand what is meant by the experience of art-making, this paper presents results from a qualitative, phenomenological study of a group of artists. These results appear in three groups: feeling, intention and lifeworld. Machines cannot experience art-making, at least not in the same way as humans, and thus they cannot create art but only art-like objects. Even so, in the present century, we should not be asking whether machines can be artists, but rather how machines can help more people experience art-making for themselves.

We investigated the sleep-wake rhythm of nursery school children with the aim of supporting their health and balanced mental/physical development. We analyzed 4881 children from infant to 6 years of age, using 2-week sleep tables recorded by their guardians. The table contains sleep onset times, wake times, nighttime/daytime sleep duration, and the differences in these between weekdays and weekends. The total sleep decrement of children with age is due to a decrease in daytime sleep only, and nighttime sleep duration remains almost unchanged at about 10 hours, and is therefore called the nighttime basic sleep duration (NBSD). While sleep onset time stabilizes at around 9:30 pm by the age of 2, wake-up times to be before 7 am, resulted in weekdays sleep insufficiency. This lack of sleep is compensated by long naps on weekdays and by catching up sleep on weekends morning, which may be the background to future social-jet-lag. Guardians are encouraged to know their children's exact NBSD and set an ap-propriate bedtime to maintain it on weekdays, which prevent sleep dept and form a daily rhythm of waking up at the same time both on weekdays/weekends. These conditions are believed to maintain balance in mental/physical development and school-social-adaptation.

Eosinophils are key therapeutic targets in severe asthma as they accumulate in tissues, resulting in local damage through the release of toxic mediators. Benralizumab is a monoclonal antibody with a direct anti-eosinophilic activity that has proved significant clinical efficacy in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma, and its use in real-life went well beyond what we had expected from the pivotal trials, especially in the reduction of asthma exacerbations and oral steroids usage. Benralizumab induces eosinophil apoptosis due to a mechanism of antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity by natural killer (NK) cells. Within this review, we will discuss benralizumab pharmacological and pharmacokinetic aspects in the treatment of severe asthma, with an emphasis on the novel immunological effects of benralizumab on NK cells. Overall, these findings account for the clinical efficacy and safety profile of benralizuamb, previously described in patients with an eosinophilic phenotype of the disease.

Earthquake events present a high risk in urban areas. Nador City is a Mediterranean city located in a dynamic zone with seismologic movement and a frequency of earthquake events per year. This worrying rate shows that earthquake risks can hinder the urban area and damage citizens and goods if urban risk management is not taken. This study defines the areas most threatened by seismic events to protect them as a priority. Using Geographic Information System, Corine Land Cover, seismic intensity, and socioeconomic vulnerability index, we mapped the urban vulnerability index. The adopted model determines urban vulnerability levels from urban land cover, topography, geologic factors, and geomorphologic factors. These approaches reveal that $70\%$ of Nador is under the damage of a seismic disaster. In addition, the main objective is to apply a new set of guidelines to map the intensity of risks and explain the distinct risk exposure level in Nador’s urban context.

The growing concerns about floods have highlighted the need for accurate and detailed precipitation data as extreme precipitation occurrences can lead to catastrophic floods, resulting in significant economic losses and casualties. Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM-IMERG) is a commonly used high-resolution gridded precipitation dataset and is recognized as trustworthy alternative sources of precipitation data. The aim of this study is to comprehensively evaluate the performance of GPM IMERG Early (IMERG-E), Late (IMERG-L), and Run Final (IMERG-F) in precipitation estimation and their capability in detecting extreme rainfall indices over southwestern Iran during 2001-2020. The Asfezari gridded precipitation data which are developed using a dense of ground-based observation were utilized as the reference dataset. The findings indicate that the IMERG-F performs reasonably well in capturing many extreme precipitation events (defined by various indices). All the three products showed a better performance in capturing fixed and non-threshold precipitation indices across the study region. The findings also revealed that both IMERG-E and IMERG-L have problems in rainfall estimation over elevated areas showing values of overestimations. Examining the effect of land cover type on the accuracy of the precipitation products suggest that both IMERG-E and IMERG-L show large and highly unrealistic overestimations over inland water bodies and permanent wetlands. The results of the current study highlight the potential of IMERG-F as a valuable source of data for precipitation monitoring in the region.

This short report extends our previous paper “Multiplicity of human scent signature” and transfers canine identification to digital processing of data. The question is whether current GCxGC-MS technology and computer-based identification can perform identification as well as canines. This would objectify the identification of persons. Working with digital scent samples enables the use of multiple scent signatures for more exact identification. More differently constructed signatures during the identification process may represent the key point in identification of persons in olfactronics. Several types of scent signatures were considered in this article. The digital scent signatures were constructed based on the relative contents of the chemical compounds in the samples and relative ratios of compounds in the samples. Further on the signatures were made from the parts of the original samples fractioned by the volatility of compounds and by the relative abundance of the compounds in the samples. These results confirm the scent multiplicity phenomenon in digital scent samples. Using differently constructed signatures may be the key point in identification of persons using digital scent samples. This approach enables a transition from subjectivity to objectivity and a change from physical olfactory to olfactronic processing of digital scent samples.

This study utilizes repeated geoacoustic mapping to quantify the morphodynamic response of the nearshore to storm-induced changes. The aim of this study was to quantitatively map the nearshore zone of Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS) to determine what changes in bottom sediments, benthic fauna and fish habitat are attributable to storm events including hurricane Sandy and the passage of hurricane Joaquin. Specifically, (1) the entire domain of the National Parks Service offshore area was mapped with side-scan sonar and multibeam bathymetry at a resolution comparable to that of the existing pre-storm survey, (2) a subset of the benthic stations were resampled that represented all sediment strata previously identified, and (3) newly obtained data were compared to that from the pre-storm survey to determined changes that could be attributed to specific storms such as Sandy and Joaquin. Capturing event specific dynamics requires rapid response surveys in close temporal association of the before and after period. The time-lapse between the pre-storm surveys for Sandy and our study meant that only a time and storm integrated signature for that storm could be obtained whereas with hurricane Joaquin we could identify impacts to the habitat type and geomorphology more directly related to that particular storm. This storm impacts study provides for the National Park Service direct documentation of storm-related changes in sediments and marine habitats on multiple scales: from large scale, side-scan sonar maps and interpretation of acoustic bottom types, to characterize as fully as possible habitats from 1 to 10 m up to many kilometer scales, as well as from point benthic samples within each sediment stratum and these results can help guide management of the island resources.

In 1998, the Lisbon Universal Exhibition – Expo'98 – led to an urban regeneration process on Lisbon’s waterfront. Following other cities, this event was a pretext to replace a depressed area and to re-connect it with the river, through the creation of a set of new spaces for common use along the water. For them, it was promoted a public art program, which can be considered quite innovative in the Portuguese context, and that resulted in a monumentalisation of Lisbon’s eastern riverfront, later extended to other areas. Behind this framework, this article aims to debate the relations between public art and the dynamics of urban regeneration at the end of the 20th century. For that, it will analyse: 1) the Expo'98’s public art program, comparing its initial assumptions with the final results; 2) the impact of this program, through the identification of public art’s placements before (1974-1998) and after (1999-2009) the event. As a result, it is possible to find that the placement of public art reveals the spaces that were "conquered" to the port system, and a dialectic between functional/economic and leisure/symbolic values. It is concluded that public art had a significant role in the urban processes of the late 20th century, which is quite evident in a discourse that considers it as a qualifying factor of urban space and a mean of economic and social development.

Music has the innate potential to reach all parts of the brain, stimulates certain brain areas which are not achievable through other modalities. Music Therapy (MT) is being used for more than a century to treat individuals who needs personalized care. MT optimizes motor, speech and language responsibilities of the brain and improves cognitive performance. Pervasive developmentdisorder (PDD) is a multifaceted, neuro developmental disorder and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) comes under PDD, which is defined by deficiencies in three principal spheres: social connection with others, communicative and normal movement skills. The conventional imaging studies illustrate reduced brain area connectivity in people with ASD, involving selected parts of the brain cortex. People with ASD express much interest in musical activities which engages the brain network areas and improves communication and social skills.The main objective of this review is to analyze the potential role of MT in treating the neurological conditions, particularly ASD. Evidence based studies have reported the extensive therapeutic application of music on various part of the brain in a nonverbal child with autism through hearing or making music.Hence we hypothesized that MT intervention can improve the communication capacity in people with ASD, than customary neurorestoration therapy alone.

The concept of economic self-reliance, widely known by Thai people as the philosophy of sufficiency economy, has been widely promoted in rural Thai societies. By practicing this philosophy, it is expected that the citizens’ quality of life and local environments could be sustainably improved. This study aims to explore the contribution of the community practices of the sufficiency economy philosophy to rural villagers’ quality of life improvement, and to investigate potential factors that determine the trust of villagers in the philosophy. With the purpose to propose strategies which could enhance trust and promote villagers’ practices of the philosophy, the study investigated influences of three relevant factors on trust towards the philosophy. Those factors included factors related to cognitive-based trust, factors related to emotional-based trust, and factors related to demographic characteristics. Questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews with community leaders and local villagers were conducted in the Ban Jamrung community, in Thailand’s Rayong province. The results of the statistical analysis revealed that the residents who applied the sufficiency economy philosophy in their daily lives experienced a relatively better quality of life. Additionally, it was found that trust in the philosophy could be predicted more by rational factors than by emotional factors. These findings could be utilized to develop strategies to maintain and enhance the trust of the people in the philosophy of sufficiency economy.

This research analyzes the phenomenon of the reduction of urban green spaces in the post-socialist city. Belgrade was selected as a post-socialist city of the former Yugoslavia. The article analyses the views of urban planners on the reasons for the reduction of urban green areas in the post-socialist city based on semi-structured interviews with representative samples for urban areas. This result research confirms the hypothesis that post-socialist city planning reduces urban green areas due to the lack of new mechanisms in documents for the planning of urban green space. The concept of sustainability should connect and balance the skills of urban planners and focus on how urban planners develop and apply standards and protect them in market-democratic systems. In other words, a new mechanism of post-socialist city planning implies a balance between the private and public sectors. In the planning document, urban planners should find a common denominator between the public interest, citizens, investors, and spheres determined by the sustainable principles of the development. City institutions should provide opportunities for the application of those standards. With the new approach, planning would imply work in the service of citizens in the concepts of a sustainable and green city.

This article uses a contemporary and revelatory case study to explore the relationship between three conversations in the innovation literature: design thinking, creativity in strategy and, the emerging area of art-thinking. Businesses are increasingly operating in a VUCA environment where they need to design better experiences for their customers and better outcomes for their firm and the Arts are no exception. Innovation, or more correctly growth through innovation, is a top priority for business and although there is no single, unifying blueprint for success at innovation, design thinking is the process that is receiving most attention and getting most traction. Design thinking teaches businesses to think with the creativity and intuition of a designer; to show a deep understanding of; and have empathy with the user. But design thinking has limitations. By placing the consumer at the very heart of the innovation process, design thinking can often lead to more incremental than radical ideas. Now there is a new perspective emerging, art-thinking, in which the objective is not to design a journey from current scenario; A to improved position: B. Art thinking requires the creation of B and spends more time in the open ended, problem space, staking out possibilities and looking for uncontested space. In Dublin, we examine a case of the oldest, largest and most prestigious fine art gallery and studio where most of the country’s best-known and successful visual artists both make, exhibit and sell their art. Graphic Studio Dublin is primarily a printmaking studio, established by artists over 60 years ago. It has facilities for woodblock, lino-print, silkscreen, intaglio and carborundum etching spread over four floors of a centrally located studio where the artists have access 24/7. But two years ago it found itself on the brink of collapse having borrowed heavily to invest in new facilities during the period of Ireland’s economic collapse. Its loans were sold to a vulture-fund who were about to foreclose in a move that would have seen a generation of Irish Artists displaced. A new board of directors was empaneled and they introduced some art thinking principles to bring the organisation back from the brink. They used an art-thinking mindset and design thinking tools to restore the fortunes of this venerable, artist-led institution and it worked.

Air pollution knows no boundaries, which means for a city or a region to attain clean air standards, must not only look at the emission sources within its own administrative boundary, but also at sources in the immediate vicinity and those originating from long-range transport. And there is a limit to how much area can be explored to evaluate, govern, and manage as designated airsheds for cities and larger regions. This paper discusses the need from an official airshed framework for India’s air quality management, urban airsheds designated for India’s 131 non-attainment cities under the national clean air programme, and proposes climatically and geographically appropriate regional airsheds to support long-term planning. Between 28 states, eight union territories, 36 meteorological sub-regional divisions, and six regional meteorological departments, establishing the proposed 15 regional airsheds for integrated and collaborative air quality management across India is a unique opportunity.

The exponential growth of user-contributed data provides a comprehensive basis for assessing collective perceptions of landscape change. A variety of possible public data sources exist, such as geospatial data from social media or Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI). Key challenges with such ‘opportunistic’ data sampling are variability in platform popularity and bias due to changing user groups and contribution rules. In this study, we use five case studies to demonstrate how intra- and inter-dataset comparisons can help to assess the temporality of landscape scenic resources, such as identifying seasonal characteristics for a given area, or testing hypotheses about shifting popularity trends observed in the field. By focusing on the consistency and reproducibility of temporal patterns for selected scenic resources and comparisons across different dimensions of data, we aim to contribute to the development of systematic methods for disentangling the perceived impact of events and trends from other technological and social phenomena included in the data. The proposed techniques may help to draw attention to overlooked or underestimated patterns of landscape change, fill in missing data between periodic surveys, or corroborate and support field observations. Despite limitations, the results already provide a comprehensive basis for developing indicators with a high degree of timeliness for monitoring perceived landscape change over time.

In air quality management, at urban and regional levels, road transport remains the cornerstone of residential, commercial, and industrial activities, and the vehicle exhaust emissions maintain the position of one of the key contributing sources. In Indian cities, big and small, vehicle exhaust emissions and dust from vehicle movement on the roads, contribute to as much as 50% of particulate matter pollution in a year. So, having access to a vehicle exhaust emissions inventory that is reliable and replicable is critical for air quality management and this exercise starts with access to vehicle stock numbers. These numbers are typically obtained from vehicle registration databases, traffic surveys, and other governmental records, and often require time consuming data cleaning protocols before they can used for emissions and pollution baseline analysis. This paper provides a cleaned and open-access vehicle stock database, as registered and in-use fleet, for the period covering 1993 and 2018, for all India and states, along with an estimate of age-mix of the vehicles using survival functions.

A correlation of basic science and clinical symptoms in the human to propose a new theory for how the vestibular system works Neil S. Longridge Professor Emeritus, Division of Otolaryngology Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC CANADA *Arthur I. Mallinson, Clinical Associate Professor, Division of Otolaryngology Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC CANADA NS Longridge † *AI Mallinson † These authors contributed equally to this work. ABSTRACT; Bipedalism is unique among mammals. Until modern times, a fall and resulting leg fracture could be fatal. Balance maintenance after a destabilizing event requires instantaneous decision-making. The vestibular system plays an essential role in this process, initiating an emergency response. The afferent otolithic neural response is the first directionally oriented information to reach the cortex, and can then be used to initiate an appropriate protective response. Some vestibular efferent axons feed directly into the type I vestibular hair cells. This allows for rapid vestibular feedback via the striated organelle (STO), which has been largely ignored in most texts. We propose that this structure is essential in emergency fall prevention, and also that the system of sensory detection and resultant motor response works by having efferent movement information transmitted to the maculae simultaneously with the movement commands. This results in the otolithic membrane positioning itself precisely for the planned movement, and any error is due to an unexpected external cause. Error is fed back via the vestibular afferent system. The efferent system through the STO causes macular otolithic membrane movement which occurs simultaneously with the initiating motor command. As a result, no vestibular afferent activity occurs unless an error must be dealt with.

As the world’s second largest economy, China ranks amount the world’s top nations when it comes to carbon emission, and therefore its attitude towards climate change is closely followed by all parties concerned. There have been few researches on the role of environmental governance in low-carbon city transformation process, especially the Chinese one. This paper analyses the role of government environmental regulation played in the low-carbon city transformation process by taking Shenzhen as the research object. One of the world's youngest super cities, it also happens to be the lowest carbon emission intensity city in China. Striving to explore green low-carbon development path for the whole country, Shenzhen provides practical experience for countries to cope with global climate change. However, its efforts to reduce the total carbon emissions failed, but it emphasized the carbon emission intensity, which is consistent with the international commitments made by the central government. China’s policy towards handling climate change relies on hierarchical governance arrangement. The strength of the NGOs in the country is weak and incomparable with the government’s, which has mastered most of the resources and is just a reality in China.

: This study examines the prospects of residential water demand management policy regulations in Ethiopia and their implications for sustainable water resource management. This study aims to evaluate the existing policy regulations and analyze their effectiveness in promoting efficient water use and conservation practices in residential areas. By considering the potential challenges and opportunities associated with these regulations, the research provides insights into the future of residential water demand management in Ethiopia and suggests strategies for enhancing sustainable water resource management. Integrated literature and policy document review, alongside observation and interviews, was used to assess the viability of residential water demand management policies. The assessment of current policy regulations for residential water demand management in Ethiopian urban towns has revealed significant shortcomings in promoting water conservation activities. Hence, there is a need for significant improvements in the current water resource policy guidelines, which lack specificity, particularly in residential water demand management conservation strategies. The lack of awareness among residents regarding the importance of conserving their limited water resources is evident. To address these challenges and ensure the sustainability of the water supply, the government and policy developers must engage with various stakeholders, including the community, in the process of revising current policy documents. A more precise and tailored approach is necessary for its effective implementation.

The current management of colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRCLM) patients involves a multidisciplinary approach with surgical resection remaining the primary curative option. The advances in liver surgery have improved outcomes, enabling more patients to undergo surgery successfully. In addition, the development of imaging software has improved the preoperative planning and patient selection for surgery and other interventions. Systemic therapies, such as targeted therapies and immunotherapies have enhanced the chances of complete resection. Targeted agents in combination with chemotherapy, have shown efficacy in downstaging tumors and increasing resectability.

Urban rail transit hub platform is the most important area for passenger flow distribution. In order to calculate passenger flow volume in platform and evaluate platform service level during rush hours, this paper presents a method for modeling and simulation of passenger flow distribution in platform. Passenger flow distribution model (PFDM) is proposed based on the basic analysis and the superposition principle of passenger flow. Simulation design for PFDM is proposed by Anylogic, which contains simulation process and simulation model. Experiment results show that PFDM and simulation design are effective and accordant with the reality scenario, and the simulation precision is comparatively ideal. This research could provide a beneficial reference for train scheduling and operation management under the viewpoint of traffic safety and service level.

The expression microarray technique was performed to investigate the differences in gene expression between Czech Large White pigs and wild boars in the longissimus lumborum et thoracis and biceps femoris muscle tissues. The NREP gene (neuronal regeneration related protein homolog) was selected for detailed study as an expressional and functional candidate gene. NREP plays a role in the transformation of neural, muscle and fibroblast cells and in smooth muscle myogenesis. Quantitative real-time PCR results confirmed that the porcine NREP gene was expressed in both skeletal muscles and significantly overexpressed in Czech Large White pigs compared to wild boars (P < 0.05). We identified 9 polymorphic sites in genomic DNA of NREP gene. Six of these polymorphisms were in complete linkage disequilibrium and therefore only 4 polymorphisms were informative. Associations of these 4 polymorphisms (HF571253:g.103G>A, HF571253:g.134G>A, HF571253:g.179T>C and HF571253:g.402_409delT) with meat performance traits were assessed in Czech Large White pigs. New polymorphisms in NREP gene were significantly associated with parameters of daily weight gain, lean meat and backfat thickness in Czech Large White pigs. Our primary study suggested that porcine NREP may play an important role in skeletal muscle growth, fat metabolism and meat performance traits.

The effects of climate change health impacts on urban health care systems and vulnerable populations are a researched topic with foundations on urban risk management, urban health methodologies, and sustainable urbanization. As climate change is a dynamic and transformative global issue the gap between adaptation and mitigation efforts and urban planning relies, among other things, in the limitations of previous studies of risk management structures tailored to the existing strategy to calculate the uncertainties and predict their influence on urban systems and subsystems. Moreover, as climate and health is a well-researched issue, it is also complex as the methodologies and strategic approach to minimize health risks of climate change is intrinsically contingent to risk methodologies and policy-making processes that are efficient with support of knowledge-based information. This paper emphasis the need for focusing on urban health risk management methods that serves to identify potential opportunities, and then manage and take action to prevent adverse health effects. It also emphasizes the probability of events and their consequences, which are measurable both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Over the last decade, a lot of research has been conducted on memristors. Most of this research focusses on using memristors for Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications and to fabricate non-volatile memory, but also the security aspects of memristors have been examined. The current study summarises and compares five reviews on the security aspects of memristors. These reviews cover two different perspectives: (1) security applications of memristors such as Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) or True Random Number Generators (TRNGs), and (2) potential threats when using memristors to train and store neural networks. The comparison of the reviews reveals that different sets of studies are included in the reviews and different characterisations of the studies are provided. This shows that different perspectives are necessary to get a comprehensive overview of the security aspects of memristors. By synthesising the perspectives of different reviews, this study helps to get such an overview.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the ways of visualization of hidden violence through a map of the city of violence called La Manada City, in its transformation from defensive to artistic strategies. For this analysis, firstly we propose the contextualization of the artwork and its authorship, and later, the research about the artistic and visual resources of the 257 items that make up the map and its guide street, in a sort of rustic hypertext of the emotions linked to the violence in the territory. The main findings of this study demonstrate the strength of the strategy used as a survival method in cases of bullying. As a conclusion, in spite of the therapeutic effects, this work cannot be understood as Art Therapy, but as combat art: it provides an understanding of the emotional city, of the disadvantaged groups that inhabit it, from the most local (as a transcript of the city of Seville) to global and universal effects on community life.

Forming a clustered network structure has been proposed as a solution to increase network performance, scalability, stability and manageability in an ad hoc network. A good clustering algorithm aims to select cluster heads among available nodes so that a number of specific constraints are satisfied; thus the cluster head selection problem is a multiobjective optimization problem. This paper proposes an algorithm on the basis of ant colony optimization (ACO) to be used to solve this problem. The proposed algorithm is a simple, one hop cluster formation algorithm, to form a clustered structure with the minimum number of clusters. The centralized ACO-based clustering algorithm is evaluated and compared with other clustering algorithms in ad hoc networks in terms of cluster density.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, highly aggressive skin cancer characterized by two etiologies: the first one, observed in most cases, is attributed to Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), a DNA tumor virus, while the second one is due to ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure. Currently, there are limited diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic biomarkers available for MCC. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNA molecules that do not code for proteins but regulate various cellular processes, including cell cycle progression, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The dysregulation of miRNAs has been associated with a wide range of cancers since they can act as either tumor suppressors or oncogenes. This paper aims to collect, summarize and re-organize the recent discoveries concerning miRNAs, whose dysregulation in the pathogenesis and progression of MCC is slowly emerging. Furthermore, the potential clinical applications of miRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers, possible differentiation between MCPyV-related and unrelated MCC, predictors of response to therapy and prognostics are also discussed. From this review, it emerges that miRNAs may have, in the near future, the potential to become clinically significant in improving the diagnostic accuracy, prognostic evaluation, and therapeutic options of MCCs. Finally, the new perspectives on the poorly explored field of artificial intelligence in MCC are provided.

Monitoring of clients living with HIV encompasses a specific array of activities that routinely check on various aspects of ART following its initiation depending on the availability of resources in that particular state, among other factors as per guidelines from the World Health Organisation. This is a significant practice as it promotes positive health outcomes for patients and efficient utilisation of ART regimens to reduce resistance to the medication – hence it is a measure to guard avoidable costs. It also forms a basis on which decisions are made from. It can be done clinically by assessing for signs e.g., skin rash and symptoms e.g., nausea and vomiting, checking vital organ function and measuring weights across all populations, or can be also be done by assessing specimens for their respective viral loads, white blood cell count, pregnancy status or other infections such as hepatitis B. There have not been any special indications required for one to be eligible for monitoring during ART in developing countries; all qualify for routine monitoring even though some may be more frequent than others in cases of comorbidities such as renal failure where medications can be attributed to exacerbating the condition.

With the ever-increasing popularity of unmanned aerial vehicles and other platforms providing dense point clouds, filters for identification of ground points in such dense clouds are needed. Many filters have been proposed and are widely used, usually based on the determination of an original surface approximation and subsequent identification of points within a predefined dis-tance from such surface. We present a new filter, Multi-view and shift rasterization algorithm (MVSR) is based on a different principle, i.e., on the identification of just the lowest points in in-dividual grid cells, shifting the grid along both planar axis and subsequent tilting of the entire grid. The principle is presented in detail and compared both visually and numerically to other commonly used ground filters (PMF, SMRF, CSF, ATIN) on three sites with different ruggedness and vegetation density. Visually, the MVSR filter showed the smoothest and thinnest ground profiles, with ATIN the only filter performing comparably. The same was confirmed when comparing ground filtered by other filters with the MVSR-based surface. The goodness of fit with the original cloud is demonstrated by the root mean square deviations (RMSD) of the points from the original cloud found below the MVSR-generated surface (ranging, depending on site, between 0.6-2.5 cm). The MVSR filter performed outstandingly at all sites, identifying the ground points with great accuracy while filtering out the maximum of vegetation/above-ground points. The filter dilutes the cloud somewhat; in such dense point clouds, however, this can be perceived rather as a benefit than as a disadvantage.

With the ever-increasing popularity of unmanned aerial vehicles and other platforms providing dense point clouds, universal filters for accurate identification of ground points in such dense clouds are needed. Many filters have been proposed and are widely used, usually based on the determination of an original surface approximation and subsequent identification of points within a predefined distance from such surface. In this paper, we present a new filter. This Multi-view and shift rasterization algorithm (MVSR) is based on an entirely different principle, i.e., on the identification of just the lowest points in individual grid cells, shifting the grid along both planar axis and subsequent tilting of the entire grid – after each of these steps, one lowest point per cell is detected. The principle is presented in detail and compared both visually and numerically to other commonly used ground filters (PMF, SMRF, CSF, ATIN) on three sites with different ruggedness and vegetation density. Visually, the MVSR filter showed the smoothest and thinnest ground profiles, with ATIN the only filter performing comparably (although the profiles were somewhat thicker and not as complete as MVSR-acquired ground). The same was confirmed when comparing ground filtered by other filters with the MVSR-based surface. The goodness of fit with the original cloud is demonstrated by the root mean square deviations (RMSD) of the points from the original cloud found below the MVSR-generated surface (ranging, depending on site, between 0.6-2.5 cm). ATIN again performed closest to MVSR, with RMSDs of ground filtered points found above MVSR-based surface at individual sites ranging between 4.5-7.4 cm. The remaining filters performed comparable in the simplest flat area but poorly in rugged and much-vegetated sites, with RMSDs above the MVSR surface ranging at such sites from 21 to 95 cm. In conclusion, the novel filter presented in this paper performed outstandingly at all sites, identifying the ground points with great accuracy while filtering out the maximum of vegetation/above-ground points. The filter dilutes the cloud somewhat; in such dense point clouds, however, this can be perceived rather as a benefit than as a disadvantage.

Cancer remains one of the main causes of death in the world due to its increasing incidence and treatment difficulties. Although several progresses have been done in this field, innovative approaches are needed to reduce tumor incidence, progression and spreading. In particular, the development of cancer vaccines is currently ongoing like both preventive and therapeutic strategy. This concept is not new, but few vaccines have been approved in oncology. Antigen-based vaccination emerges as a promising strategy, leveraging specific tumor antigens to activate the immune system response. However, challenges persist in finding suitable delivery systems and antigen preparation methods. Exosomes (EXs) are highly heterogeneous bilayered vesicles which carry several molecule types in the extracellular space. The peculiarity is that they may be released from different cells and may be able to induce a direct or indirect stimulation of immune system. In particular, EX-based vaccines may cause anti-tumor immune attack or produce memory cells recognizing cancer antigens and inhibit disease appearance. This review delves into EXs composition, biogenesis, and immune-modulating properties exploring their role as tool for prevention and therapy in solid tumors. Finally, here we describe future research directions to optimize vaccine efficacy and realize the full potential of EX-based cancer immunotherapy.

Previous studies separately addressed the impact of urban expansion on vegetation cover and thermal conditions, as well as its effect on moisture and drought indicators, using geospatial techniques. Some studies, such as those by Malah et al. (2021) and Niu and Li (2020), focused on assessing urban environmental quality using an environmental quality index without considering urban expansion. Meanwhile, other studies, like those conducted by Indrawati et al. (2020), primarily focused on evaluating urban environ-ments using an integrated environmental index consisting of four indicators (greenness, moisture, drought, and cumulative clustering). The study by Zhu et al. (2019) applied the same integrated environmental index (IEI) and, by comparing it with temperature, re-vealed a negative correlation illustrating the effects of the environmental index on land surface temperature (LST). These two studies could be utilized to construct an index assessing the environmental condition in Riyadh. This is the case in the present study, where the addition of a temperature indicator due to the hot desert nature of the study area created the Urban Environmental Thermal Index to evaluate the urban en-vironment and provide results suitable to this region. It is expected that the present study will align with the findings of previous relevant studies, showing a negative im-pact of urban expansion on urban environmental components.

Understanding the dynamics of land use and land cover (LULC) change in today's context of rapid urbanization is critical for sustainable urban planning and environmental conservation. Therefore, the research aim is to understand the LULC changes in Chattogram Metropolitan Area and to assess the policy implications of these changes for sustainable urban development. Through a comparative analysis of LULC maps for two periods (1997–2007; 2007–2017), we investigated the transformation of a detailed planning zone before and after detailed area plan (DAP) approval. Using a mixed-method approach integrating quantitative data with policy analysis, we elucidated the impacts of urbanization trends on local ecosystems—specifically the conversion of forest cover and waterscape use. The findings reveal a significant conversion of forested and waterscape areas to urban and peri-urban landscapes, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable planning interventions that focus on these peri-urban areas. The study further critiques the DAP's effectiveness, revealing a disconnect between regional policy implementation and local outcomes. This research proposes a validated, scalable framework for urban master plans that adapts to the complex socio-ecological contexts of rapidly urbanizing regions.

Since the 21st century, China's urbanization process has been rapid development, the concept and function of urban public space in the city has been gradually paid attention to. In order to guarantee life and water, most urban construction relies on rivers, and Bridges are the most important way to communicate between urban areas. The main functional part of the bridge is the span structure, that is, the bearing structure of the bridge, and the lower part of the "gray" space formed by the bridge structure. Considering the social level, with the economic growth and urbanization development, people have brought a better living environment and quality of life, and also improved the requirements for urban public environment. In the increasingly tense urban space, how to use and transform the space under the bridge is a problem that needs to be considered and solved. In view of this problem, in this study, we try to solve the micro-transformation of space under Bridges in cities through public art from the perspective of "regional culture" and "art for all". This paper analyzes the micro-transformation of space art under Bridges in two large cities of Shanghai and Foshan, namely, the space under Bridges under Songhong Road in Shanghai, the space under Bridges under Central Of Suzhou River and the space under Bridges under Pingsheng Bridge in Foshan. This paper discusses the cultural intervention of "regional culture" in the micro-transformation of the space under the bridge, and the influence and effect of "art for all" on the public art space under the bridge after the transformation to the community and the public.

Knowledge about the formation energies of compounds is essential to derive phase diagrams of multi-component phases with respect to elemental reservoirs. The determination of formation energies using common (semi-)local exchange-correlation approximations of density functional theory (DFT) exhibits well-known systematic errors if applied to oxide compounds containing transition metal elements. In this work, we generalize, reevaluate and discuss a set of approaches proposed and widely applied in the literature to correct for errors arising from the over-binding of the O2 molecule and from correlation effects of electrons in localized transition-metal orbitals. The DFT+U method is exemplarily applied to iron oxide compounds, and a procedure is presented to obtain U values, which lead to formation energies and electronic band gaps comparable to experimental values. Using such corrected formation energies, we derive the phase diagrams for LaFeO3, Li5FeO4 and NaFeO2, which are promising materials for energy conversion and storage devices. A scheme is presented to transform the variables of the phase diagrams from the chemical potentials of elemental phases to those of precursor compounds of a solid-state reaction, which represents the experimental synthesis process more appropriately. The discussed workflow of methods can directly be applied to other transition metal oxides.

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) epitomizes the nexus of technological evolution and manufacturing process enhancements, underpinned by four critical pillars: Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Digital Twins (DT), the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and Cloud Computing (CC). Through the lens of the German Reference Architectural Model Industrie (RAMI) 4.0, these components are integral to fostering Smart Manufacturing (SM) practices. In conjunction, the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) facilitates seamless inter-company communication and enables adaptability to fluctuating market demands. This paper delves into the structural intricacies of AAS and SM within the RAMI 4.0 framework, unveiling three distinct implementation strategies. Furthermore, it meticulously scrutinizes challenges that hinder the full realization of I4.0 potential, such as interoperability, security concerns, and standardized communication protocols. By examining these models and identifying current barriers, the study illuminates pathways for future research, particularly in enhancing the integration of AAS and SM systems, ensuring robust security measures, and advocating for the development of universal standards. This exploration aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse on I4.0, proposing avenues for advancing manufacturing technologies and operational frameworks in alignment with the principles of RAMI 4.0.

To improve carbon efficiency for urban logistics service system composed of a third-party logistics service provider (3PLs) and an e-business enterprise, low-carbon operation game between them was studied. Considering low carbon technology investment cost and sales expansion effect of low carbon level, profit functions for both players were constituted. Based on their different bargaining capabilities, totally 5 types of game scenarios were designed. Through analytical solution, Nash Equilibria under varied scenarios were obtained. By analyzing these equilibria, 4 major propositions were given, in which, some key variables and system performance index were compared. Results show that the best system yields could only be achieved under the fully cooperative situation; limited cooperation only for carbon emission reduction would not benefit the system performance improvement; E-business enterprise-leading game’s performance overtook 3PLs-leading ones.

The importance of contact with nature for human health was confirmed by numerous research. One of the sometimes neglected fields is the landscape design of hospital premises. This study focuses on the perception and preferences of prospective patients regarding the hospital site design. The methodology included anonymous survey with images and lists of adjectives. The online questionnaire was distributed using e-mails and social media from 4th May to 8th July 2024. The objective was to include all age groups. The results confirm previous studies and demonstrate the importance of landscape architecture design of hospital premises for the well-being of patients. The findings may inform the design of hospital sites.

This comprehensive article explores Massive MIMO (M-MIMO) design and its associated concepts, focusing on the seamless integration requirements for Beyond 5G (B5G) and 6G networks. Addressing critical aspects such as RF chain reduction, pilot contamination, Cell-Free MIMO, and security considerations, the article delves into the intricacies of M-MIMO in the evolving landscape of B5G. Moreover, the emerging MIMO concepts in this article include AI-enabled M-MIMO three-dimensional beamforming, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, visible light communication, and THz spectrum utilization. This review highlights challenges and open research issues, including Narrow Aperture Antenna Nodes, Plasmonic Antenna Arrays, Integrated Sensing with M-MIMO, and the application of Federated Learning in M-MIMO systems. By examining these cutting-edge developments, the article aims to contribute to advancing knowledge in the field and inspire future research directions in the exciting realm of B5G and 6G networks.

This study investigates the land surface temperature (LST) distribution from thermal infrared data for analyzing the characteristics of surface coverage using the Vegetation-Impervious-Soil (VIS) approach. A set of ten images, obtained from Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper, between 2001 and 2010, were used to study the urban environmental conditions of 47 neighborhoods of Porto Alegre city, Brazil. Porto Alegre has had the smallest population growth rate of all 27 state capitals in the last two decades in Brazil, with an increase of 11.55% in inhabitants from 1,263 million in 1991 to 1,409 million in 2010. We applied the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) theory in order to test the influence of the economically-related scenario on the spatial nature of social-environmental arrangement of the city at neighborhood scale. Our results suggest that the economically-related scenario exerts a non-negligible influence on the physically driven characteristics of the urban environmental conditions as predicted by EKC theory. The linear inverse correlation R2 between household income (HI) and LST is 0.36 and has shown to be comparable to all other studied variables. Future research may investigate the relation between other economically-related indicators to specific land surface characteristics.

Calcium sulphate (CS) is currently used as a bioabsorbable, completely synthetic and sterile material in the management of infected tissues and dead spaces (DS) mainly resulting from surgical procedures. Residual DS in the postoperative, may create an environment where hematomas fill up and bacteria can proliferate, leading to a high incidence of postoperative infections. Considering the available reviews in the literature, CS has been mainly studied in orthopedic surgery mostly giving brilliant results and low complication rates. Nowadays, orthopedists avail it in the form of pearls both as a bone void filler and as an “off-label” delivery agent for antibiotics in arthroplasty, chronic osteomyelitis and open fractures, paving the way of its application in many other contexts given its natural dis-position to biodegradation. In the last years, CS beads have been gaining ground in the general, vascular and endocrinological surgical specialties. Despite its clear potential and the increasing number of scientific evidences on the safety and effectiveness of CS application in the prophylaxis and treatment of infections, there are not many studies reporting on its application in fields other than orthopedics, with a substantial paucity in plastic and reconstructive surgery literature. This is some-how surprising, since reconstructive surgery often deals with complex wounds secondary to bone and soft tissue exposure, suture dehiscence, trauma, and surgical site infections. As far as we know this is the first updated systematic review assessing the state of the art, indications and new perspectives on the application of CS beads in plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Two decades after the antiretroviral therapy (ART) introduction, several challenges still prevail in maintaining people living with HIV (PLHIV), even with "Test and Treat" and/or "Rapid Start of ART" initiatives, as well as the scale-up of ART worldwide to promote access and adherence to treatment. This review examined articles on ART adherence in Africa between 2016 and 2023, published in English and indexed in PubMed. A total of 16 articles out of 2415 were eligible and included for analyses. Overall, ART adherence rates in SSA regions ranged from 43% to 84%. Rates in the centre of the SSA region ranged from 58% to 80%, in the north from 50% to 83%, in the south from 77% to 84%, in the west from 43% to 60% and in the east from 69% to 73%. Most African countries use the self-report to assess treatment adherence, although unreliable. The main factors with negative influence on ART adherence were comorbidities, lack of motivation, socioeconomic difficulties or side effects. Conclusion: Adherence to ART is a good indicator for controlling the spread of HIV. It is important to overcome the barriers that make it difficult to comply with ART and reinforce the factors that facilitate the accession of medication.

This study aims to spatially analyze the distribution characteristics of vacant homes in Asan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, and understand the differences in factors causing vacant homes by type. We use a variety of statistical methods to examine these factors and identify key influencing factors such as the number of vacant stores, changes in overall population, land use complexity, and physical characteristics of land and buildings. The findings reveal that the factors contributing to the occurrence of vacant homes vary significantly by region and property type, highlighting the need for region-specific policies. For instance, in old town areas, small lot ratios and land use complexity are significant, while in rural village, the average number of floors and land use complexity play a major role. This study underscores the diversity of factors influencing vacant homes, suggesting that policies should be tailored to the unique characteristics of different regions to effectively address this issue.

Cool roofs are roofing systems designed to reflect significant solar radiation, reducing heat absorption and subsequent cooling energy demands in buildings. This paper provides a comprehensive review of cool roof technologies, covering performance standards, material options, energy-saving potential, and hygrothermal considerations. The review examines provisions in current codes and standards, which specify minimum requirements for solar reflectance, thermal emittance, and solar reflectance index (SRI) values. These criteria often vary based on factors like roof slope, climate zone, and building type. Different cool roof materials are explored, including reflective paints and coatings that can be applied to existing roofs as cost-effective solutions. Several studies demonstrated the energy performance benefits of cool roofs, showing significant reductions in cooling loads, indoor air temperatures, peak cooling demand, and overall cooling energy consumption compared to traditional roofs. However, hygrothermal performance must be evaluated, especially in cold climates, to optimize insulation levels and avoid moisture accumulation risks, as reduced heat absorption can alter moisture migration patterns within the building envelope. While cool roofs provide substantial energy savings in hot climates, further research is needed to validate modeling approaches against real-world studies, investigate the impact of seasonality and green spaces on cool roof efficacy and urban heat island mitigation, and explore energy savings potential, moisture control, and condensation risks in cold and humid environments.

Effective solar forecasting has become a critical topic in the scholarly literature in recent years due to the rapid growth of photovoltaic energy production worldwide and the inherent variability of this source of energy. Due to the technological and econonomic limitations of energy storage solutions, using other, mosty conventional, sources to cover energy shortfalls and at the same time utilising solar surpluses production becomes necessary. The need to optimize energy systems, ensuring power continuity, and balancing energy supply and demand has led to the development of various forecasting methods and approaches based on meteorological data or photovoltaic plant characteristics. This article presents the results of a meta-review of the solar forecasting literature, including the current state of knowledge and methodological discussion. It presents a comprehensive set of forecasting methods, evaluates current classifications, and proposes a new synthetic typology. The article emphasizes the increasing role of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques in improving forecast accuracy, alongside traditional statistical and physical models. It explores the challenges of hybrid and ensemble models, which combine multiple forecasting approaches to enhance performance. The paper addresses the emerging trends in solar forecasting research, such as the integration of big data and advanced computational tools. Additionally, from a methodological perspective, the article outlines a rigorous approach to the meta-review research procedure, addresses the scientific challenges associated with conducting bibliometric research, and highlights best practices and principles. This includes defining research questions, selecting eligibility criteria, literature search, data extraction, synthesis, and assessing bias and quality. The article contributes to the solar forecasting field by providing up-to-date knowledge, along with insights on the emerging trends, future research directions, and anticipating implications for the theory and practicce.

An emissions baseline for a city is the foundation to building an informed clean air action plan. This includes an understanding of the sources and their intensities to device cost-effective measures with the least health impacts. In an urban environment, emissions from road transport is one of the major contributors to the air pollution problem, and accounting for this sector requires a detailed profile of in-use vehicles, covering their age-mix, usage, and fuel economy. In this paper, we present a simplified framework to survey at select fuel stations to establish the necessary inputs and use them to build a localized vehicle emissions inventory. The methodology is illustrated with an application in the city of Patna, India. Here, the FuSS was employed to profile the in-use passenger vehicle characteristics by 19 trained students, over nine days and at ten fuel stations, to collect 9,775 survey points. The methodology outlined in this paper, along with the tools and training framework, is also replicable in settings other than the fuel stations.

Considering characteristics of high river density, special underlying surface in plain river network region, and municipal drainage system function, river network drainage unit model is proposed, which is defined as a region surrounded by main river or embankment. Flood storage variety and control projects regulation of small rivers in each unit is simulated. With drainage catchment as an object, according to its drainage capacity, simplified municipal drainage model was developed. Coupling river network drainage unit model, simplified municipal drainage model and 2D flood routing model, urban flood analysis model for plain tidal river network region was developed, which could be applied to analyzing flood from upstream river, storm surge and local rainfall. Demonstration research was carried out in Puxi flood protected area in Shanghai.

It could be said with some precision, that in Antiquity the myth of the Argonauts and especially of Medea herself as a personage of this myth, has enjoyed popularity not only in Greece but also outside its territories. The first among the Italic tribes to be introduced to the personage of Medea no doubt were the Etruscans, who were the first to establish intensive contacts with the Greeks from Euboea founding a colony in Cumae, Italy. It is noteworthy that the first image of Medea in the World Art is seen on Etruscan ceramics. The paper gives detailed analyses of Etruscan artefacts on which Medea appears, providing a solid precondition for substantive conclusions. Some new versions of an interpretation expressed in relation to each of the artefacts on the basis of critical analysis of Etruscan archeological material, of classical texts and of previously undertaken modern research, are provided. Images of Medea in Etruscan art confirmed from the Orientalist era to the Hellenization period represent an original, local interpretation of Medea's image. Medea's magical art turned out to be familiar to the Etruscans, who were well known all throughout the Mediterranean for divination and being experts of magic. In contrast to the Greeks, they turned Medea into an object of cult worship, identifying her with the Etruscan sun god Cavatha.

During the Renaissance, Leonardo Da Vinci was the first person to successfully detail the anatomy of the aortic root and its adjacent structures. Ever since, novel insights into morphology, function and their interplay have accumulated resulting in advanced knowledge on complex functional characteristics of the aortic valve (AV) and root. This shifted the vision from the AV as being a static structure towards that of a dynamic interconnected apparatus within the aortic root as a functional unit, exhibiting a complex interplay with adjacent structures via both humoral and mechanical stimuli. This paradigm shift has stimulated surgical treatment strategies of valvular disease that seek to recapitulate healthy AV function, whereby AV disease can no longer be seen as an isolated morphological pathology which needs to be replaced. As prostheses still cannot reproduce the complexity of human nature, treatment of diseased AVs, whether stenotic or insufficient, has tremendously evolved with a similar shift towards treatments options that are more hemodynamically centered such as the Ross procedure and valve-conserving surgery. Native AV and root components allow for an efficient Venturi effect over the valve to allow for optimal opening during the cardiac cycle, while also alleviating the left ventricle. Next to that, several receptors are present on native AV leaflets, enabling messenger pathways based on their interaction with blood and other shear-stress related stimuli. Many of these physiological and hemodynamical processes are under acknowledged but may hold important clues for innovative treatment strategies, or as potential novel targets for therapeutic agents that halt or reverse the process of valve degeneration. A structured overview of these pathways and their implications for cardiothoracic surgeons and cardiologists is lacking. As such, we provide an overview on embryology, hemodynamics, and messenger pathways of the healthy and diseased AV and its implications for clinical practice, by relating this knowledge to current treatment alternatives and clinical decision-making.

Flavours of Glenroy (2013-4) was a socially engaged art research project focused on developing strategies to connect the diverse, mobile and transforming community of Glenroy through the theme of growing and distributing edible plants. The project was action research based, where artist researchers used creatively imagined mobile edible gardens to connect and engage with locals through project presentation and execution. The process of producing, presenting and conversing about edible gardening revealed Glenroy to be a transnational Australian dream suburb, reflecting the fluid globalising conditions of our cities. The project emphasized how social relations encouraged through art, has the capacity to transform social spaces, providing a platform to introduce new voices and narratives of a community and encourage inclusive participation in sustainable citizenship.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus that has re-emerged in recent decades, causing large-scale epidemics in many parts of the world. CHIKV infection leads to a febrile disease known as chikungunya fever (CHIKF), which is characterised by severe joint pain and myalgia. As many patients develop a painful chronic stage and neither antiviral drugs nor vaccines are available, the development of a potent CHIKV inhibiting drug is crucial for CHIKF treatment. A comprehensive summary of current antiviral research and development of small-molecule inhibitor against CHIKV is presented in this review. We highlight different approaches used for the identification of such compounds and further discuss the identification and application of promising viral and host targets.

In contrast to conventional non-destructive testing (NDT) and non-destructive evaluation (NDE) methodologies, including radiography, ultrasound, and eddy current analysis, the coplanar capacitive sensing technique emerges as a novel and promising avenue within the field. This paper endeavors to elucidate the efficacy of coplanar capacitive sensing, also referred to as capacitive imaging (CI), within the realm of NDT. Leveraging extant scholarly discourse, this review offers a comprehensive and methodical examination of the coplanar capacitive technique, encompassing its fundamental principles, factors influencing sensor efficacy, and diverse applications for defect identification across various NDT domains. Furthermore, this review deliberates on extant challenges and anticipates future trajectories for the technique. The manifold advantages inherent to coplanar capacitive sensing vis-à-vis traditional NDT methodologies not only afford versatility in application but also underscore its potential for pioneering advancements in forthcoming applications.

This article proposes a particular strategy to proceed with a progressive electrification of public transport systems in cities. Starting from a bus operation model, the possible electrification of two routes is analysed, one urban and another extra-urban in the city of Pisa. An estimate is made of the energy uses associated with certain operating modes. The maximum level of consumption is estimated at approximately 280 kWh per day per bus for the urban route and excluding some special days, less than 215 kWh per day for the extra-urban route, for which a hybrid bus is proposed. Starting from an estimate of the daily consumption for the management of the two routes, the sizing of a photovoltaic system distributed on some modular shelters which serves to power the same routes is carried out. The resulting system has a power of the order of 190-200 kW. The modular solution is also outlined, and an installation is proposed. The analyzed case lends itself to being easily replicated.

From a strategic and an economic point of view, patent prior art searches are very useful for several reasons such as avoiding the infringement of third parties’ rights, reinventing something already new in the state of the art, speeding up the prosecution of a patent application, and getting a patent granted with a lower associated cost. A prior art search is carried out in patent databases (free of charge or fee-based) through keywords or classification symbols, indexing codes (IPC – International Patent Classification or CPC – Cooperative Patent Classification), or a combination of these, using Boolean or proximity operators. The classification codes are independent of the language used and can increase the number of relevant documents retrieved. Patent databases are all incomplete and therefore a search in multiple sources is suggested.

Previous studies reported a reduction of the perceived effort and an improvement of the perfor-mances of healthy subjects and patients when a motor task was combined with artistic images with respect to non-artistic images. This phenomenon, called Michelangelo effect, could contribute to the efficacy of art therapy in neurorehabilitation. In this study, the possible occurrence of this effect was tested in a cognitive task by asking to 15 healthy subjects and 17 patients with stroke to solve a digital version of the classical memory card game. Three different types of images were used in a randomized order: French cards, artistic portraits, and photos of famous people (to compensate the possible effects of face recognition). Healthy subjects were involved to test the usability and the load demanding of the developed system, reporting no statistically significant differences among the three sessions (p > 0.05). Conversely, patients had a better performance in terms of time (p = 0.014) and number of trials (p = 0.007) needed to complete the task in presence of artistic stimuli, accompanied by a reduction of the perceived effort (p = 0.033). Furthermore, artistic stimuli, with respect to the other two types of images, seemed more associated to visuo-spatial control than to linguistic functions.

Cities are complex systems requiring urban design models that balance order and disorder. Collective creativity initiatives engage citizens in these processes, empowering bottom-up approaches that prioritize people and social well-being within urban development. This paper investigates an 'Urban Laboratory' as a case study, examining the potential of collective creativity to address urban complexity. The successful and ongoing project 'El Campo de Cebada' in Madrid, Spain, demonstrates how a community transformed a vacant lot into a vibrant social hub. The phases of this study include case selection, data collection, data analysis, and presentation of the results. This study identifies key enabling factors, including agents, management, social dynamics, infrastructure, and actions. These insights offer a methodological framework for designing future collaborative, resilient, and inclusive urban spaces, addressing the complex needs of communities within our cities.

We report the electrical characterization and the field emission properties of CVD-grown MoS₂ bilayers deposited on SiO₂/Si substrate. Current-voltage characteristics are measured in the back-gate transistor configuration, with Ti contacts patterned by electron beam lithography. We confirm the n-type character of as-grown MoS₂ and we report normally-on field effect transistors. Local characterization of field emission is performed inside a scanning electron microscope chamber with piezo-controlled tungsten tips working as the anode and the cathode. We demonstrate that an electric field of ~200 V/μm is able to extract current from the flat part of MoS₂ bilayers, which therefore can be conveniently exploited for field emission applications even in low field-enhancement configurations. We show that a Fowler-Nordheim model, modified to account for electron confinement in 2D materials, fully describes the emission process.

It is concerning that Cameroon's urban centers are experiencing an alarming rise in air pollution as a result of urbanization, population growth, industrial activity, and transportation emissions. We examined the causes, health impacts, research methodology, case studies, and government measures to address the urgent issue of air pollution in Cameroon's urban regions. We have emphasized how Cameroon's air pollution levels have significantly increased as a result of causes like population expansion, urbanization, industrial emissions, and automobile exhaust A thorough discussion of the negative health impacts of extended exposure to air pollution is included, with special attention to the sensitivity of the old and young. These effects include respiratory disorders, cardiovascular ailments, and early mortality. We emphasized the pressing need for all-encompassing strategies to address air pollution, such as increased public awareness campaigns, stronger emissions regulations, the development of renewable energy sources, and better waste management. The techniques employed in studies on air pollution, like as epidemiological research and air quality monitoring, are also explained to provide light on the unique health dangers that Cameroonian urban dwellers must contend with. We emphasized in our conclusion the significance of joint efforts by legislators, medical professionals, and the general people to reduce air pollution and protect public health in Cameroon in order to create a cleaner and healthier future. In order to protect public health in the future, it is imperative that Cameroon's air pollution be addressed.

The research presented here aims to determine how art education influences pupils' preferences for 20th-century art movements. The research was conducted on a sample of 200 pupils (N = 200) of an early school age in grade schools in Split, Croatia. We conducted an educational experiment throughout an entire school year, which included three types of intervention: observing works of art from the 20th century, introducing works of art using a puppet, and the pupils' art activities/artwork based on the 20th-century art movements. The results show that the model of art education is an important factor in changing pupils' preferences for 20th-century art movements. The students reacted positively to each kind of education, in the sense of a wider acceptance of 20th-century art (abstract, fauvism, cubism, pop art, and surrealism). The type of education did not much influence preferences when it came to classical art and visual works without artistic value. We concluded that puppets and independent creative work should be used more often in art education.

Reducing GHG emissions is a crucial challenge in urban areas, characterized by high energy consumption and reduced exposure to nature. In this context, the urban green system could play a pivotal role. In the literature, scholars analyzed both the ability of species-specific and layout-specific green infrastructures to increase carbon sequestration and the best location sites of new green infrastructures, to increase the provision of overall ecosystem services. There is a lack of studies helping green urban planners and designers choose where and which green infrastructure to implement, based on vegetation species-specific performance and local carbon emissions of city components. This paper uses tree inventory data from a medium-sized city in central Italy (Perugia) to develop a spatial analysis of the urban parks' performance in carbon sequestration. Then, the method evaluates the carbon emission of a public city building to generate a spatialized balance between buildings’ demand and trees’ supply, to support local decisions about the best locations for new green infrastructures and the choice between species. The paper contributes to GIS-based tools that vary the recommended location sites and species for new green infrastructures based on the demanded ecosystem service.

The main objective of this work is to investigate the temporal variation of PM10 concentrations within the urban area of Athens during the years 2001-2015. For this purpose, the time series of the particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 10μm (PM10) is recorded for a 15-year period (2001-2015) in two different monitoring stations located in the urban area of Athens. The results show a totally different behavior of PM10 concentrations between the Athens city center and the suburban areas. It seems that in the city center the main sources of PM10 are traffic and heating systems especially during the cold period of the year. Furthermore, in the city center a significant seasonal variation was found with high concentrations during the cold period of the year and lower concentrations during the warm period of the year. Moreover, it was found that during the weekends, there is a decrease in PM10 concentrations probably due to the fact that majority of people do not use their vehicles. Finally, for both locations a significant temporal decreasing trend of the mean annual PM10 concentrations was found which indicates that during the last years, there have been improvements towards a better air quality.