Search Results (648)

In 1961, Los Angeles experienced the disastrous Bel Air fire, which swept through an affluent neighborhood situated in a hilly, WUI (wildland–urban interface) location. In January 2025, the city was devastated again by a nearly-simultaneous series of wildfires, the most severe of which took place close to the 1961 fire location. Disastrous WUI fires are, unfortunately, an anticipatable occurrence in many U.S. cities. A number of issues identified earlier remained the same. Some were largely solved, while other new ones have emerged. The paper examines the Palisades Fire of January, 2025 in this context. In the intervening decades, the population of the city grew substantially. But firefighting resources did not keep pace. Very likely, the single-most-important factor in causing the 2025 disasters is that the Los Angeles Fire Department operational vehicle count shrank to 1/5 of what it was in 1961 (per capita). This is likely why critical delays were experienced in the initial attack on the Palisades Fire, leading to a runaway conflagration. Two other crucial issues were the management of vegetation and the adequacy of water supplies. On both these issues, the Palisades Fire revealed serious problems. A problem which arose after 1961 involves the unintended consequences of environmental legislation. Communities will continue to be devastated by wildfires unless adequate vegetation management is accomplished. Yet, environmental regulations are focused on maintaining the status quo, often making vegetation management difficult or ineffective. House survival during a wildfire is strongly affected by whether good vegetation management practices and good building practices (“ignition-resistant” construction features) have been implemented. The latter have not been mandatory for housing built prior to 2008, and the vast majority of houses in the area predated such building code requirements. California has also suffered from a highly counterproductive stance on insurance regulation. This has resulted in some residents not having property insurance, due to the inhospitable operating conditions for insurance firms in the state. Because of the historical precedent, the details in this paper focus on the Palisades Fire; however, many of the lessons learned apply to managing fires in all WUI areas. Policy recommendations are offered, which could help to reduce the potential for future conflagrations. Full article

Traffic conditions are a key factor in our society, contributing to quality of life and the economy, as well as access to professional, educational, and health resources. This emphasizes the need for a reliable road network to facilitate traffic fluidity across the nation and improve mobility. Reaching these characteristics demands good traffic volume prediction methods, not only in the short term but also in the long term, which helps design transportation strategies and road planning. However, most of the research has focused on short-term prediction, applied mostly to short-trip distances, while effective long-term forecasting, which has become a challenging issue in recent years, is lacking. The team proposes a traffic prediction method that leverages K-means clustering, long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network, and Fourier transform (FT) for long-term traffic prediction. The proposed method was evaluated on a real-world dataset from the U.S. Travel Monitoring Analysis System (TMAS) database, which enhances practical relevance and potential impact on transportation planning and management. The forecasting performance is evaluated with real-world traffic flow data in the state of California, in the western USA. Results show good forecasting accuracy on traffic trends and counts over a one-year period, capturing periodicity and variation. Full article

Authentic learning opportunities that simulate full-scale design and construction using real materials provide valuable experiential learning environments for construction and civil engineering students by challenging students to apply building concepts in practical settings. These activities challenge students to apply theoretical concepts in a realistic, hands-on context. However, the excessive cost of real building materials required for this mode of education limits access to the vast majority of students. As a result, educational researchers have explored potential alternatives to provide cost-effective experiential learning through activities using mock-up materials (e.g., plastic straws and popsicle sticks) and a simulation of experiences using immersive technologies (e.g., virtual reality or augmented reality). While some of these alternatives approximate the environment and others provide physical interaction with mock-up materials, the lack of authenticity in the building materials used introduces some apparent differences between the “authentic” learning environments and their cost-effective approximations. Therefore, this research aims to identify the learning processes reported by students and faculty who participated in authentic learning experiences to understand the ways in which this mode of education offers unique value to construction education. Their interview responses illustrated characteristics of authentic learning experiences that were believed to be critical to the learning process, some of which included working in groups; interdisciplinary participants; and the use of real construction materials. Although some of these characteristics are intrinsically linked to the use of real materials, others do not explicitly refer to interaction with real materials. This may point to specific aspects of authentic learning that educational researchers can replicate or enhance to provide cost-effective learning environments, such as virtual or augmented reality. The contribution of this paper is in identifying the characteristics of authentic learning experiences that may guide educational investment and research innovations that aim to replicate some of these learning experiences through more accessible learning environments. Full article

Social work has long operated at the intersection of care and control—nowhere is this more apparent than in its treatment of sex-working parents. This article draws on participatory research with thirteen sex-working parents in California to examine how the child welfare system, family court, and public benefit infrastructures extend punitive surveillance under the guise of support. Utilizing the framework of prison industrial complex abolition, the analysis identifies three key findings: first, family policing systems often mirror the coercive dynamics of abusive relationships that sex work helped participants to escape; second, access to social services is contingent on the performance of respectability, with compliance met not with care but with suspicion and deprivation; and third, sex-working parents enact abolitionist praxis by creating new systems of safety and stability through mutual aid when state systems fail. As social work reckons with its complicity in the carceral state, the everyday practices of sex-working parents offer a powerful blueprint for care rooted in trust, unconditional positive regard, and self-determination. Full article

Increasing concern over climate change has made Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) an important tool. Operators use deep geologic reservoirs as a form of favorable geological storage for long-term CO₂ sequestration. However, the success of CCS hinges on the integrity of wells penetrating these formations, particularly legacy wells, which often exhibit significant uncertainties regarding cement tops in the annular space between the casing and formation, especially around or below the primary seal. Misalignment of cement plugs with the primary seal increases the risk of CO₂ migrating beyond the seal, potentially creating pathways for fluid flow into upper formations, including underground sources of drinking water (USDW). These wells may not be leaking but might fail to meet the legal requirements of some federal and state agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC), California CalGEM, and Pennsylvania DEP. This review evaluates the impact of CO₂ exposure on cement and casing integrity including the fluid transport mechanisms, fracture behaviors, and operational stresses such as cyclic loading. Findings revealed that slow fluid circulation and confining pressure, primarily from overburden stress, promote self-sealing through mineral precipitation and elastic crack closure, enhancing well integrity. Sustained casing pressure can be a good indicator of well integrity status. While full-physics models provide accurate leakage prediction, surrogate models offer faster results as risk assessment tools. Comprehensive data collection on wellbore conditions, cement and casing properties, and environmental factors is essential to enhance predictive models, refine risk assessments, and develop effective remediation strategies for the long-term success of CCS projects. Full article

Understanding the trends and drivers of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is vital to making effective climate mitigation strategies and benefiting human health. In this study, we investigate carbon dioxide (CO₂) trends in the top three emitting states in the U.S. (i.e., Texas, California, and Florida) using column-averaged CO₂ concentrations (XCO₂) from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) from 2010 to 2022. Annual XCO₂ enhancements are derived by removing regional background values (XCO_{2, enhancement}), and their interannual changes (ΔXCO_{2, enhancement}) are analyzed against key influencing factors, including population, gross domestic product (GDP), nonrenewable and renewable energy consumption, and normalized vegetation difference index (NDVI). Overall, interannual changes in socioeconomic factors, particularly GDP and energy consumption, are more strongly correlated with ΔXCO_{2, enhancement} in Florida. In contrast, NDVI and state-specific environmental policies appear to play a more influential role in shaping XCO₂ trends in California and Texas. These differences underscore the importance of regionally tailored approaches to emissions monitoring and mitigation. Although renewable energy use is increasing, CO₂ trends remain primarily influenced by nonrenewable sources, limiting progress toward atmospheric CO₂ reduction. Full article

While racial inequalities in assortative mating and fertility have been well documented, the role of neighborhoods has frequently been overlooked in explaining these disparities. In this study, I use restricted birth record data from the state of California with neighborhood-level socioeconomic and demographic data to explore the roles of neighborhoods and structural neighborhood inequality in mediating racial inequality in assortative mating and fertility in 2018 and 2019. Overall, neighborhood disadvantage, particularly disadvantage measured in a neighborhood’s mobility network, mediated a substantial proportion of the disparity in fathers’ educational attainment between White and Black or Hispanic mothers in California in 2018 and 2019. Additionally, while I observe evidence of Black and Hispanic neighborhoods having significantly greater fertility rates than White neighborhoods, this gap can be entirely explained by neighborhood disadvantage. Lastly, a significant share of the fertility gap between less-educated White and Black women is mediated by neighborhood disadvantage. This study motivates more research at the intersection of assortative mating and fertility at the neighborhood scale. Full article

Research on access to healthcare for transgender populations in California remains mostly focused on the major city centers, leaving out many rural and poorer areas of the state. Understanding the barriers to gender-affirming healthcare in a largely rural, agricultural, and low-income area is critical in creating effective policies and programs to address significant gaps in transgender healthcare. This is especially true in regions like Fresno County, which sits within the heart of the Central Valley of California, that are mostly rural and agricultural. This study conducted a community health assessment using a mixed-methods approach, focusing on transgender communities’ experience of accessing healthcare and gender-affirming healthcare in Fresno County and on the various existing barriers and critical needs. The study reveals the critical deficits in accessing gender-affirming healthcare in Fresno County, especially regarding doctors providing gender-affirming care, as well as the larger implications this has on the health and well-being of transgender individuals living in the Central Valley. Full article

Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen characterized by high levels of antifungal drug resistance and hospital outbreaks in a global distribution. Since introduction to the United States, it has been identified most frequently in New York, Illinois, California, Florida, and Nevada. Its surge poses significant risk as a nosocomial infection with multi-drug resistance, with clades bearing resistance to fluconazole, micafungin, and amphotericin B. Within the state of Nevada, and specifically the greater Las Vegas area in the southern part of the state, there are ongoing outbreaks from clade I and clade III, with 1728 confirmed clinical cases identified as of January 2025. In northern Nevada, three clinical cases have been identified to date, with two occurring at our facility. Both patients had been hospitalized at facilities in Las Vegas, Nevada. The C. auris strains isolated from these two cases have been identified as belonging to clade III and demonstrate resistance to fluconazole. Genome sequencing of the C. auris isolates indicates close genetic identity to strains from the Las Vegas outbreak. These data indicate that the spread of these clonal isolates is due to hospitalization and subsequent patient relocation to northern Nevada, revealing the ongoing importance of screening for geographic spread. Full article

The realities of climate change are here, and in the absence of encompassing U.S. federal policies directing action, it is left to the states to help set our course for the future. At the forefront of state action is Michigan, which in 2023 passed sweeping legislation requiring the state to achieve climate neutrality, a significant investment in electric vehicle infrastructure, and a commitment to environmental justice. The bold climate-forward actions by the state have been described by many as vaulting the state of Michigan into a national leader on climate policy. This perspective uses Michigan’s novel collection of climate-related policies to examine the connections between infrastructure, environmental justice, and climate change in Michigan. The legislation was passed with strong Democratic support, but Republicans and some environmentalists are concerned about the feasibility of the state to implement the legislation, especially when some states like California are having to back down from their green energy goals. We find that the legislation focuses on the triple bottom line by supporting economic growth in the state, advancing the interests of rural and urban communities alike, and embracing ambitious environmental goals. Michigan is already seeing successful implementation of this policy, and the lessons of this action can help provide a roadmap for other states seeking to move forward on climate policy. This novel perspective demonstrates the unique qualities Michigan is bringing to climate legislation, and the newness of the policies opens new research opportunities for a variety of scholarship interests. Full article

Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) rebate programs incentivize the transition from fossil fuels to alternative fuels. Unfortunately, research on the people who are rebate program recipients is more evident than research on the places where the programs distribute rebates. To that end, this study retrospectively analyzes rebates in a statewide, AFV rebate program known as the California Vehicle Rebate Program (CVRP), from 2011 to 2022, to explore the statewide distribution of rebates. The specification of novel multilevel models nests rebates within different levels of analysis to control for programmatic income eligibility changes for rebate recipients as well as infrastructural, racial, transactional, environmental, and demographic differences between census tracts. The different levels of analysis include spatial attributes of the CVRP as well as temporal attributes of the CVRP to control for implicit heterogeneity in the outcomes of interest. Results suggest that the CVRP does not distribute rebates to places where infrastructure is accessible, but the CVRP does distribute rebates to places where pollution is burdensome and people are socioeconomically vulnerable. Full article

Classroom engagement, a critical factor in enhancing learning outcomes and personal development, serves as a direct manifestation of students’ agency in learning. Understanding its developmental trajectory facilitates the efficient implementation of pedagogical activities. It also promotes students’ holistic development. This study aims to delineate the dynamic evolution of classroom engagement by constructing a network-based knowledge map, thereby revealing overarching research trends and shifts in this field. Systematically reviewing literature on classroom engagement since 1975, this research employs CiteSpace to visualize 919 articles sourced from the Web of Science Core Collection, offering valuable insights for theoretical exploration and practical applications in this domain. Key findings indicate: (1) a consistent increase in classroom engagement research over the past five decades; (2) the United States as the leading contributor; (3) Arizona State University, Texas A&M University College Station, and the University of California System as the most prolific institutions; (4) Fitzpatrick C as the most representative high-output author, with Fredricks JA being the most frequently cited scholar; (5) core journals including Journal of Educational Psychology, Review of Educational Research, and Child Development; and (6) emerging research hotspots such as flipped classroom, language, online education, and three focal themes: students with disabilities, interpersonal relationships, and student engagement. Full article

Background: Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome (MCR), defined by the co-occurrence of subjective cognitive complaints and slow gait, is recognized as a preclinical risk state for cognitive decline. However, not all individuals with MCR experience cognitive deterioration, making early and individualized prediction critical. Methods: This study included 80 participants aged 60 and older with MCR who underwent baseline assessments including plasma biomarkers (β-amyloid, tau), dual-task gait measurements, and neuropsychological tests. Participants were followed for one year to monitor cognitive changes. Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers with different kernel functions were trained to predict cognitive decline. Feature importance was evaluated using the weight coefficients of a linear SVM. Results: Key predictors of cognitive decline included plasma β-amyloid and tau concentrations, gait features from dual-task conditions, and memory performance scores (e.g., California Verbal Learning Test). The best-performing model used a linear kernel with 30 selected features, achieving 88.2% accuracy and an AUC of 83.7% on the test set. Cross-validation yielded an average accuracy of 95.3% and an AUC of 99.6%. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the feasibility of combining biomarker, motor, and cognitive assessments in a machine learning framework to predict short-term cognitive decline in individuals with MCR. The findings support the potential clinical utility of such models but also underscore the need for external validation. Full article

The stabilization of expansive soils is crucial for the construction projects to mitigate swelling, shrinkage, and bearing capacity issues. This study investigates the synergistic effects of cement and clinoptilolite zeolite on stabilizing high-plasticity clay (CH) soil from Kano State, Nigeria. A total of 30 admixture combinations—cement (0–8%) and zeolite (0–15%)—were tested via standardized laboratory methods to evaluate their free swell index (FSI), swell percentage, swell pressure, shrinkage, and California Bearing Ratio (CBR). Principal component (Lasso) “least absolute shrinkage and selection operator” regression modeled interactions between admixtures and soil properties. The key results include the following: (1) 6% cement + 12% zeolite reduced the FSI by 60% (45 → 18); (2) 8% cement + 15% zeolite decreased the swell percentage by 47.8% (22.5% → 11.75%); (3) 6% cement + 12% zeolite lowered swell pressure by 54.2% (240 kPa → 110 kPa); (4) 8% cement + 12% zeolite reduced shrinkage by 50% (5.6% → 2.8%); and (5) 6% cement + 9% zeolite achieved an unsoaked CBR of 80.01% and soaked CBR of 72.79% (resilience ratio: 0.8010). PCLR models explained 93.5% (unsoaked) and 75.0% (soaked) of the CBR variance, highlighting how zeolite’s mediation analysis indicates that zeolite improves the bearing capacity mainly by reducing the free swell index (path coefficient = −0.91429, p < 0.0001), while conditional process modeling provided greater explanatory power (R² = 0.745) compared to moderation-only analysis (R² = 0.618). This study demonstrates that zeolite–cement blends optimize strength and resilience in expansive soils, with implications for sustainable infrastructure in arid and semi-arid regions. Full article

The herpetofaunal diversity of northwestern Mexico, encompassing the Californian, Baja California, and Sonoran Desert biogeographic provinces, is characterized by relatively low species richness but a high degree of endemism. This region, particularly the islands of the Gulf of California, is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot. However, amphibian and reptile species in this area, especially those on the Gulf islands, are facing significant threats to their survival, including non-native species, habitat loss, and climate change. These factors pose considerable challenges to their conservation. In this study, we compiled updated lists of amphibian and reptile species across these three provinces, assessed their conservation status, identified the threats they face, and compared them with those in neighboring biogeographic provinces. Our analysis recorded a total of 228 species, comprising 29 amphibians and 199 reptiles, with a notable proportion of endemics, particularly in Baja California. Amphibians, due to the region’s arid conditions, are underrepresented and generally face a lower level of conservation concern. In contrast, reptiles, especially those on the islands, are at higher risk, primarily due to habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change. Of the 228 species, one amphibian and 21 reptiles are classified in a category of conservation concern (Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. In addition, 47 species (one amphibian and 46 reptiles) are listed as threatened (A) or at risk of extinction (P) by the Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT). These findings emphasize the urgent need for conservation strategies, particularly for island reptile species, that involve collaboration among scientists, local communities, and federal and state authorities to address these threats and safeguard the region’s herpetofauna. Similarity analysis revealed significant ecological connectivity among the amphibian and reptile communities across the three provinces. The similarity in species between the Californian, Baja California, and Sonoran Desert provinces highlights the role of historical climatic events, geographic barriers, and ecological factors in shaping species distributions of amphibians and reptiles in northwestern Mexico. Full article