As the integration of inverter-based resources (IBRs) is rapidly increasing in regard to the existing power system, switching from grid-following (GFL) to grid-forming (GFM) inverter control is the solution to maintain grid resilience. However, additional overcurrent protection, especially during fault transition, is required due to limited overcurrent capability and the high magnitude of spikes during fault recovery in IBRs, specifically in the GFM control mode. Furthermore, the power system stability should not be compromised by the employment of additional fault ride through (FRT) schemes. This article presents the design and implementation of an adoptive fault ride through (FRT) scheme for grid-forming inverters under symmetrical fault conditions. The proposed adoptive FRT scheme is comprised of two cascaded power electronic-based circuits, i.e., fault current ride through and a spikes reactor. This adoptive FRT scheme optimizes the fault variables during the fault time and suppresses the fault clearing spikes, without affecting system stability. A three-bus inverter-based grid-forming model is used in MATLAB/Simulink for the implementation of the proposed scheme. Further, a conventionally used FRT scheme, which includes fault current reactors, is simulated in the same test environment for justification of the proposed adoptive scheme. The adoptive FRT scheme is simulated for both time domain and frequency domain to analyze the response of harmonic distortion with the suppression of the fault current. Moreover, the proposed scheme is also simulated under the GFL mode of IBRs to justify the reliability of the scheme. The overall simulation results and performance evaluation indices authenticate the optimal, fault tolerant, harmonic, and spike-free behavior of the proposed scheme at both the AC and DC side of the grid-forming inverters. Full article

The innovative transportation system is a pertinent need for the mining industry. Truck haulage is currently the most common mode of mineral transportation between the excavation sites and end use plants. However, besides being resource-intensive and inefficient, this mode of transportation accounts for a high number of accidents and injuries. In order to reduce the occurrence of accidents, it is important to first understand the primary contributors to truck-related occupational risks and then develop strategies to eliminate such risks. The available literature predominantly advocates for the use of statistical or probabilistic methodologies that suffer from considerable limitations. This paper utilizes the Fuzzy DEMATEL (Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial Evaluation Laboratory) approach to conduct an in-depth assessment of the critical factors that result in mining accidents involving trucks and the relationships between these factors, presented using a cause-and-effect diagram. The study also includes a sensitivity analysis for validating the robustness of the fuzzy model. The results show that high speed and aggressive driving is the most important causal factor behind accidents. The negative impact on socio-economic conditions of local community members is also discussed. Among other preventive measures, the paper emphasizes the pipe conveyor system as an alternate and safer mineral transportation system. Full article

This study aims to select fungi isolates to reduce olive mill wastewater (OMWW) chemical oxygen demand (COD) and phenolic compounds (PC), as well as their genotoxicity effect. Treatment with mold, isolated by an innovative technique using phenolic compound-selective media, showed a reduction rate of about 4% for COD and 2% for PC during one month of incubation without optimization of the treatment conditions. Whereas this percentage reached 98% and 96% for COD and PC, respectively, after only 12 days of treatment, when the C:N ratio was adjusted to 30 by adding urea as a nitrogen source at 150 rpm agitation speed. Genetic sequence homology of the most efficient mold isolate showed 100% similarity to Penicillium chrysogenum. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis of phenolic extracts of untreated OMWW showed the presence of five compounds—hydroxytyrosol at 1.22 g.L⁻¹, tyrosol at 0.05 g.L⁻¹, caffeic acid at 0.16 g.L⁻¹, p-coumaric acid at 0.05 g.L⁻¹ and oleuropein at 0.04 g.L⁻¹—that were eliminated during the degradation process at 88.82%. Genotoxicity, assessed by the Vicia-faba root cell, showed a significant decrease in micronucleus frequency of about 96% after fungal treatment. These results confirm the positive role of fungal treatment of OMWW to eliminate genotoxicity and their ability to improve the agronomic potential. Full article

Seabass (Lates calcarifer) is one of the top farmed and raised fish in Taiwan, and fish scales are the main by-product after processing. Fish scales contain high amounts of collagen, which can chelate with minerals and enhance mineral absorption in the human body. Hence, fish scales from seabass were enzymatically hydrolyzed to obtain seabass scale collagen peptide (SBSCP). Calcium, the most consumed mineral supplement, was chelated with SBSCP to form SBSCP-Ca. The optimal conditions for chelation were a peptide/calcium ratio: 1:1 (w/w), pH 5.0, and 50 °C for 20 min. The conjugated sites were carboxyl and amino groups based on Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Scanning electronic microscope/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) evidently showed the alternation of SBSCP’s molecular structure after chelation and increased concentrations of metal ions. SBSCP-Ca was stable up to 90 °C and from pH 2.0 to 5.0. The retention rate was 70%, as determined after in vitro digestion. The extracts of blackcurrant or berry-grape seeds were added to neutralize the fishy odor and provide antioxidant ability for commercialization. This is the first complete study of the characteristics of SBSCP-Ca as well as their commercialization. Full article

The round-arch solar greenhouse (RASG) is widely used in the alpine and high latitude areas of China for its excellent performance. Common high temperature and high humidity environments have adverse effects on plants. It is extremely important to explore a reasonable and efficient ventilation system. A three-dimensional numerical simulation model of greenhouse ventilation considering crop canopy airflow disturbance was established. A robust statistical analysis to determine the validity of the model was calculated to thoroughly validate its overall performance. Microclimate distribution characteristics of nine kinds of exhaust configuration in greenhouse in summer were analyzed comparatively. It was determined that the highest ventilation efficiency could be achieved by adopting the combined configuration of rolling film at the south corner of the greenhouse and pivoting the window at the north side of the roof. In winter, the opening angle of ventilation window at the north side of the roof was less than 40° to ensure the rapid cooling of the interior of the greenhouse without the crops being affected by the cold environment. Through optimization analysis, the ventilation configuration with a deviation angle of 25° and a width of 900 mm is more reasonable (10 m span). The research results provide theoretical guidance for the design of the ventilation structure in RASG and further improve the sustainable development of the facility’s plant production. Full article

Plastic debris is considered an emerging aquatic pollutant as an alarming number of reports are indicating the environmental contamination with such agents. Ichthyofauna has been subjected to increasing plastic pollution over the past years, which has led to detrimental effects in the food chain, and consequently to the general health of ecosystems. In this study, we exposed juvenile specimens of Oreochromis niloticus to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in powder form. Specimens and water parameters were closely monitored for 40 days before tissue samples were collected for histological and biochemical analysis. Structural hepatic alterations were observed in specimens from the exposed groups, such as intercellular corridors, dilation of sinusoidal capillaries, hyperchromatic nuclei, nuclear hypertrophy, and cytoplasm vacuolization. Low catalase activity was observed in the case of 1000 mg of PVC/kg feed group, as well as high levels of malondialdehyde compared to the control group, indicating oxidative stress. Glutathione peroxidase activity was also significantly decreased in the 500 and 1000 mg/kg feed group compared to the control group. These findings suggest that a midterm exposure to PVC particles can significantly affect the activity of antioxidative enzymes in O. niloticus specimens and induce changes of hepatic tissue structure. Full article

Educational tasks for the development of competencies on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) pose a challenge to educators due to the multidisciplinary and complex nature of these goals. It is necessary to develop innovative educational resources and tools that holistically account for this complexity and highlight the environmental and social components of these goals on an equal footing. A learning tool based on the serious games methodology, called BotBusters, is used to inoculate this type of knowledge and skills among young Europeans through a specific news verification activity. This game has been designed to collect interaction data (logs) and thus perform an analysis of players’ behavior, which allows us to understand their preferences and knowledge of the SDGs (specifically 3, 12, 13 and 15). The data collected yield interesting conclusions about the educational needs of young people in this field, showing their preferences for topics related to the environmental SDGs. This indicates that there is a need to promote awareness of the SDGs on social issues, especially those that require a more collective type of agreement and intervention. Full article

This study intends to make a characterization of the main tasks and skills needed to face the Industry 4.0. Moreover, it gives special attention to the different company’s hierarchical levels. To achieve the goals of this paper, a methodology based on Collaborative Decision Making method was used. Firstly, thirty participants were interviewed to understand their point of views. Next, they were split into Group Works to refine the results. Finally, a Group Concordance took place to create the final list of tasks and skills. The skills were organized into four categories: Technical, Social, Methodological and Personal. The results show different requirements in each level. In the Workers level, due to the presence of more technical tasks, eight of the top ten skills belong to the Technical category. In the Middle Managers level, there are tasks of both leading and analyzing nature and thus the top ten skills needed are split through the four categories. Finally, in the Top Managers level, due to the presence of mainly strategy tasks, the top ten skills are split between the Methodological and Social categories. To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to use a Collaborative Decision Making methodology to develop a set of tasks and skills that future work environments will demand on the different hierarchical levels of the organization. Full article

Urban resilience is one of the crucial components of sustainable urban development, yet challenges to sustainable urban development are created by the dangers of uncertainty in the context of global urbanization. Based on the perspective of the economic, social, ecological, infrastructural, and institutional components, this research constructs an indicator system to assess urban resilience. Using seven megacities in China as the research area, the evolution of the resilience level of China’s megacities is investigated, and its influencing factors are examined. The findings demonstrate an upward trend from 2010 to 2021 in the resilience of China’s seven megacities. Furthermore, the rising trend in the contribution of urban institutional resilience to overall resilience is most evident during the 2010–2021 period. Urban ecological resilience’s contribution to overall resilience declines most noticeably between 2010 and 2021. The contribution of each megacity subsystem resilience to overall resilience varies in different cities. Industry structure, market capacity, and urban maintenance positively affect the overall resilience of cities. Additionally, this work offers a strong, practical theoretical foundation for sustainable urban development. The research contents and findings of this study can support the decision-making procedures in the development of megacities. Full article

In this article, meteorological and agricultural droughts across the Erbil province, Iraq, were assessed using remote sensing data and satellite products. To this end, the long-term (2000–2022) Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration index (SPEI) at 1- and 3-month accumulation periods (SPEI-1 and SPEI-3) as well as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) across Erbil were utilized. While the former was retrieved from the global SPEI data repository, the latter was derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products. The spatiotemporal variations in the SPEI indices indicated that two to nine extreme drought events occurred in the province with an increasing northward pattern. An increasing trend in the long-term NDVI series was also detected, having more diversity in vegetation coverage in the northern part of the province. The relationship between the SPEI and MODIS-NDVI was found to be positive but insignificant. Thus, we concluded that short-term meteorological droughts were not the only reason for the agricultural droughts in Erbil. Furthermore, the climate characteristics related to the cumulative water balance over a previous season is not an important trigger for the spatial variation in vegetation coverage across the province. Full article

The information technology industry as a new engine driving China’s economy has made more and more contributions to Chinese sustainable development. At present, it has overtaken real estate as the new cradle of Chinese billionaires. The information technology industry not only has its own characteristics of high economic, social benefits, and small impact on the ecological environment, but also can enable the green development of the economy and society. So it is the core industry to support the realization of the “double carbon” goal. This paper evaluated the innovation efficiency of 80 enterprises in the software and information technology service from 2017 to 2018 by constructing a three-stage DEA model. It puts forward countermeasures, which points out the direction for the development of environmental protection and green low-carbon industry. Empirical results show that environmental variables have different effects on innovation efficiency. After excluding the influence of environmental and random factors, the increase in innovation efficiency, while generally significant, is not high. Low innovation efficiency is caused by both pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency, especially pure technical efficiency. Enterprises’ adjusted scale returns are mostly increasing; the innovation investment scale is not optimal. Regional differences of enterprise innovation exist; the East and Midwest have obvious polarization both in quantity and quality. These results quantify the effect of the factors affecting enterprise innovation efficiency and put forward policies and suggestions for promoting the development of China’s information technology industry accordingly. Full article

Perovskite photovoltaics have the potential to significantly lower the cost of producing solar energy. However, this depends on the ability of the perovskite thin film and other layers in the solar cell to be deposited using large-scale techniques such as slot-die coating without sacrificing efficiency. In perovskite solar cells (PSCs), Spiro-OMeTAD, a small molecule-based organic semiconductor, is commonly used as the benchmark hole transport material (HTL). Despite its effective performance, the multi-step synthesis of Spiro-OMeTAD is complex and expensive, making large-scale printing difficult. Copper indium disulfide (CIS) was chosen in this study as an alternative inorganic HTL for perovskite solar cells due to its ease of fabrication, cost-effectiveness, and improvements to the economic feasibility of cell production. In this study, all layers of perovskite solar cell were printed and compared to a spin-coating-based device. Various parameters affecting the layer quality and thickness were then analyzed, including substrate temperature, print head temperature, printing speed, meniscus height, shim thickness, and ink injection flow rate. The small print area achieved spin-coating quality, which bodes well for large-scale printing. The printed cell efficiencies were comparable to the reference cell, having a 9.9% and 11.36% efficiency, respectively. Full article

Digital economy is a vital driving force for countries to promote economic recovery, rebuild competitive advantages and enhance governance capacity. Extensive research has been conducted in this field. In this paper, the text analysis tool of Bicomb2.04 and the knowledge graph visualization tool of CiteSpace are applied to analyze the digital economy research from 1992 to 2022, and a total of 7874 articles retrieved from the SSCI and SCI of the WOS core database are collected as the research data. The analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the research status of the digital economy, including the distribution of literature, research institutions and regions, research funds and publications, research authors, and cooperation networks. The core progress and frontier of international research are further analyzed according to the evolution of hot keywords, core system clustering, and the hot emergent words frontier. The results show that (1) the academic circle has a good overall research trend on the digital economy, which can be divided into three steadily rising research stages. The researchers take digital innovation as the core and extend it to the application of digital innovation, which has made groundbreaking theoretical contributions, but has not yet formed a team with field influence. (2) The evolution of hot keywords can be divided into four stages. Through hot clustering analysis, a basic theoretical system is constructed with digital technology and innovation as the core and digital governance, digital application, and digital path as the means. (3) The analysis of frontier areas also identified the digital platform economy, big data technology innovation, digital economy statistics, and the gig economy as potential research directions for the future. This study provides a guide for researchers to promote further research on the digital economy and is of great significance for promoting digital development level and constructing global digital ecosystem. Full article

This study examines the response of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in local currency to the COVID-19 pandemic using monthly data (March 2020–February 2022), comparatively for six European countries. We have introduced a model of multivariate adaptive regression that considers the quasi-periodic effects of pandemic waves in combination with the global effect of the economic shock to model the variation in the price of crude oil at international levels and to compare the induced effect of the pandemic restriction as well and the oil price variation on each country’s CPI. The model was tested for the case of six emergent countries and developed European countries. The findings show that: (i) pandemic restrictions are driving a sharp rise in the CPI, and consequently inflation, in most European countries except Greece and Spain, and (ii) the emergent economies are more affected by the oil price and pandemic restriction than the developed ones. Full article

The accumulation of solid organic waste is reaching critical levels in almost all regions of the world. It must be managed sustainably to avoid the depletion of natural resources, minimize risks to human health, reduce environmental burdens, and maintain an overall balance in the ecosystem. This research focuses on the anaerobic digestion of bovine and swine excreta with and without applying beneficial microorganisms as a viable option for recycling agricultural solid wastes. Three greenhouse gases (GHGs)—methane, carbon dioxide, and ammonia—produced by cattle and swine excreta that were treated with and without beneficial microorganisms in bioreactors were quantified. A monitoring and gas concentration measurement system was implemented inside the bioreactors. The behavior of the GHGs and the efficiency of the beneficial microorganisms in treating the farm animal waste were analyzed according to the phases of anaerobic digestion. Average reductions in the concentration in units of ppm of CH₄ during the composting process of 46.95% and 34.48% were observed for the cattle and swine excreta treatments, respectively. It was concluded that the studied GHGs had different behaviors in the anaerobic digestion of the treatments in cattle and swine excreta with and without beneficial microorganisms due to the different types of feeding. However, it must be emphasized that beneficial microorganisms are an essential tool for reducing GHGs in anaerobic digestion. Full article