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24 pages, 384 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Market Requirements for Smart and Traditional Ageing Housing Units: A Mixed Methods Approach

by Rita Yi Man Li, Miao Shi, Derek Asante Abankwa, Yishuang Xu, Amy Richter, Kelvin Tsun Wai Ng and Lingxi Song

Smart Cities 2022, 5(4), 1752-1775; https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities5040088 - 5 Dec 2022

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5856

Abstract

The world’s population is getting older these days. Frailty, a gerontologic health condition associated with ageing, has serious consequences. One crucial remedy for the elderly population is the development of ageing-in-place infrastructures. To better understand the market requirements for ageing housing units, the causes of downsizing and the governmental measures to ameliorate the situation, face-to-face in-depth individual and focus group interviews were conducted in this study. Elderly residents of two significant ageing-in-place institutions in Hong Kong, along with their caregivers, were interviewed. The method of methodological triangulation was used to combine interviews, records, and communication tools to increase the reliability and trustworthiness of the findings. The provision of facilities for the elderly has successfully established a pathway for creating and making housing spaces available to families who need larger homes, while the elderly typically downsize from larger homes and relieve their financial needs. It is also found that a digital divide exists; some respondents suggested that they do not know about computers and do not use smart facilities in their homes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities, Smart Homes and Sustainable Built Environment)

10 pages, 1940 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Use of Environmental DNA to Detect Grass Carp Spawning Events

by Cari-Ann Hayer, Michael F. Bayless, Amy George, Nathan Thompson, Catherine A. Richter and Duane C. Chapman

Fishes 2020, 5(3), 27; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes5030027 - 27 Aug 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4608

Abstract

The timing and location of spawning events are important data for managers seeking to control invasive grass carp populations. Ichthyoplankton tows for grass carp eggs and larvae can be used to detect spawning events; however, these samples can be highly debris-laden, and are expensive and laborious to process. An alternative method, environmental DNA (eDNA) technology, has proven effective in determining the presence of aquatic species. The objectives of this project were to assess the use of eDNA collections and quantitative eDNA analysis to assess the potential spawning of grass carp in five reservoir tributaries, and to compare those results to the more traditional method of ichthyoplankton tows. Grass carp eDNA was detected in 56% of sampling occasions and was detected in all five rivers. Concentrations of grass carp eDNA were orders of magnitude higher in June, corresponding to elevated discharge and egg presence. Grass carp environmental DNA flux (copies/h) was lower when no eggs were present and was higher when velocities and discharge increased and eggs were present. There was a positive relationship between grass carp eDNA flux and egg flux. Our results support the further development of eDNA analysis as a method to detect the spawning events of grass carp or other rheophilic spawners. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology and Control of Invasive Fishes)

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