Search Results (8,317)

Slope instability in urban road corridors can generate cascading effects on mobility, road safety, infrastructure functionality, and local response systems. This study assessed perceived urban vulnerability to landslide-related instability along the Vía de Integración Barrial corridor in Loja, Ecuador, using a hazard sources–exposed elements–response capacity framework. A cross-sectional perception-based survey was administered to corridor users and nearby actors. From 506 collected responses, 432 valid questionnaires were retained after informed-consent and attention-check screening. Categorical and ordinal data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Wilson confidence intervals, grouped perception-based indicators, exploratory Spearman correlations, and selected chi-square contrasts with Cramér’s V. The results showed that perceived vulnerability was closely associated with visible signs of physical deterioration, including roadway cracking, pavement subsidence, soil or mud falls, and visible runoff or seepage. In addition, 81.5% of respondents perceived landslide-related disruption during the next rainy season as likely or very likely. The most frequently prioritized interventions were drainage improvement (62.3%), slope stabilization and retaining works (43.3%), and control of unwanted water inputs (41.2%). Institutional response was perceived as weak, slow, or mainly reactive by 80.3% of respondents, while low trust in reporting channels was reported by 54.9%; responses indicating lack of knowledge about the responsible institution or reporting channel were retained separately. Broad willingness to engage in community-based monitoring reached 89.4%. The exploratory bivariate analyses indicated a consistent pattern of positive associations among perceived disruption likelihood, mobility impact, road-safety concern, institutional response, and reporting trust, without implying formal validation of a latent multidimensional construct. This study provides an applied framework for incorporating user-based evidence into slope-risk management, corridor maintenance, road-safety planning, and resilience-oriented urban governance in mountainous cities. Full article

Winter wheat is a cornerstone of China’s grain production, contributing substantially to national food security and overall cereal output. This study modeled the nonlinear associations between multitemporal remote sensing variables and winter wheat yield. To produce high-spatiotemporal-resolution inputs, we used the Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (ESTARFM) to integrate Sentinel-2 normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data with MODIS NDVI data, generating NDVI composites at 8-day intervals with a 10-m spatial resolution. The NDVI, actual evapotranspiration (ET), land surface temperature (LST), precipitation (PRE), and soil moisture (SM) were selected as predictors for yield estimation because they are closely associated with winter wheat growth and yield formation during primary growth stages. By integrating the local temporal feature-learning capacity of a one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1-D CNN) with the strength of a bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) model in capturing temporal dependencies within time series, a BiLSTM–CNN model was constructed for wheat yield estimation and prediction. The BiLSTM–CNN model showed higher estimation accuracy than individual BiLSTM and 1-D CNN models, with an R² of 0.69 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 478.68 kg/hm². The use of all the parameters produced the best estimation performance among all the parameter combinations. Approximately two months before harvest, the model still provided satisfactory yield prediction accuracy. This study provides an important theoretical basis for high-accuracy regional winter wheat yield estimation and pre-harvest forecasting. Full article

The development of green buildings is essential to the low-carbon transition of the construction industry. As an important financial instrument linking green insurance with green building development, green building performance insurance (GBPI) addresses the “performance gap” between the actual operational performance of buildings and design targets. However, it remains at the pilot stage, and stakeholders’ willingness to participate remains limited. Based on evolutionary game theory, this study establishes a tripartite evolutionary game model involving the local government, insurance companies, and construction enterprises. Through theoretical derivation and numerical simulation, the study examines how initial probabilities and key parameters influence the evolution of the three stakeholders’ behavioral strategies. Monte Carlo analysis is used to assess the robustness of the main evolutionary outcomes under parameter uncertainty. Sobol sensitivity analysis further examines parameter interactions. The model results indicate that the local government plays a pivotal role in promoting green building performance insurance. Higher premium subsidy rates are associated with a greater fiscal burden for the local government, whereas higher actual premium rates are associated with lower payoffs for construction enterprises. These findings suggest that effective promotion requires a dynamic balance among the local government’s fiscal capacity, the operational sustainability of insurance companies, and the affordability of premiums for construction enterprises. Full article

In recent years, traditional cast-in-place concrete construction for pre-drilling engineering in unconventional natural gas fields has generated large amounts of waste concrete, consumed significant resources, and prolonged project schedules. To address these issues, this study proposes a prefabricated pavement slab system as a green and low-carbon alternative. Based on vehicle load surveys at shale-gas well sites in southwestern China, three loading conditions (design, overload, and ultimate axle loads) were defined. Theoretical calculations were then performed for reinforcement design, crack-width control, and local bearing capacity verification. A full-scale precast slab (3000 × 1495 × 150 mm) was fabricated and tested under static monotonic loading to measure deflection, crack development, steel strain, and concrete strain until failure. Separately, a three-dimensional finite element model of a four-panel pavement system (including a mortar-leveling layer and soil subgrade) was developed in ANSYS to simulate static and, preliminarily, moving loads. The experimental slab reached an ultimate load of about 365 kN (based on a single specimen, and thus not statistically representative), with ductile bending failure and crack/deflection patterns typical of reinforced concrete. The numerical model reproduced the cracking load and peak capacity with deviations below 17% from the test data, though post-cracking deflections were underestimated. Overall, the results demonstrate that the proposed prefabricated system is structurally feasible for heavy-duty drilling sites. It enables factory production, rapid on-site assembly, and reuse after dismantling, thereby reducing construction waste, shortening timelines, and supporting energy conservation and emission-reduction goals in the context of China’s green building policies. Full article

The integration of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) into polymer matrices has created a versatile class of nanocomposites with potential applications in gas separation, water purification, food packaging, sensing, catalysis, energy systems, and environmental remediation. However, their performance is governed by complex and strongly coupled variables, including ZIF-8 particle size, morphology, defect density, surface chemistry, filler loading, polymer compatibility, interfacial adhesion, dispersion state, and processing conditions. To organize this complexity, the review introduces a hierarchical design framework that distinguishes controllable synthesis and processing inputs, experimentally measurable intermediate material states, and condition-dependent performance outputs, thereby providing a structured basis for machine-learning-ready data representation. Conventional trial-and-error approaches are therefore often inefficient and provide limited capacity to identify transferable structure–processing–property relationships. This review examines the emerging role of machine learning (ML) in the rational design and optimization of ZIF-8/polymer nanocomposites for sustainable applications. Particular attention is given to the construction of material descriptors, selection of predictive algorithms, interpretation of feature importance, optimization of synthesis and processing parameters, and prediction of mechanical, thermal, barrier, transport, adsorption, catalytic, and antimicrobial properties. The review further discusses how supervised learning, explainable artificial intelligence, active learning, Bayesian optimization, transfer learning, and physics-informed models can support material screening and multi-objective optimization across performance, cost, energy consumption, environmental impact, and end-of-life considerations. Current limitations, including small and heterogeneous datasets, inconsistent reporting, insufficient negative results, limited model interpretability, and weak experimental validation, are critically evaluated. A future framework is proposed that integrates standardized databases, high-throughput experimentation, multiscale characterization, life-cycle indicators, uncertainty quantification, and closed-loop machine learning. Such an approach could accelerate the transition from empirical formulation toward data-driven, interpretable, and sustainability-oriented design of ZIF-8/polymer nanocomposites. Full article

Climate-induced floods increasingly disrupt agricultural production systems, posing escalating threats to food security and economic stability in climate-exposed and trade-integrated regions. This study examines the relationship between flood shocks and agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) change across China and ten ASEAN economies and investigates whether public service capacity and structural conditions attenuate this negative association. A country–year panel dataset covering 1993–2024 is constructed by aggregating event-level flood records from EM-DAT and matching them with World Bank indicators of agricultural production, population, public services, and industrial structure. Agricultural TFP change is measured using the DEA-Malmquist index, with arable land, agricultural land, agricultural employment, fertilizer use, agricultural freshwater use, and rural electricity access as inputs and crop production and agricultural value added as outputs. A two-way fixed-effects model is then applied to examine the conditional association between flood mortality severity and agricultural TFP change. The empirical results show that greater flood mortality severity is significantly associated with lower agricultural TFP change. This negative contemporaneous association remains evident across the reported alternative specifications and sensitivity analyses. Current health expenditure per capita, energy use per capita, access to basic drinking-water services, and medium- and high-tech manufacturing value added are positively associated with an attenuation of the negative association between flood mortality severity and agricultural TFP change. These findings suggest that agricultural productivity performance under climate-related disturbances is shaped not only by exposure to flood shocks but also by policy-relevant capacities embedded in public service provision and structural conditions. A notable finding is that the marginal association becomes positive and statistically significant at high observed levels of health expenditure per capita and energy use per capita, whereas the corresponding estimates for drinking-water services and medium- and high-technology manufacturing remain statistically indistinguishable from zero. Full article

The geotextile bag retaining wall is a reinforced soil retaining structure that has been widely adopted in recent engineering practice; its construction method involves stacking geotextile bags along the slope surface to provide surface load support for the backfill. This structure is characterized by simple construction, low cost, excellent reinforcement performance, and environmental friendliness. However, traditional geotextile bag retaining walls often suffer from drawbacks such as excessive lateral deformation and localized slope instability. Therefore, this study proposes an improved composite retaining wall structure combining soil and geotextile bag systems with geogrid reinforcement; this structure represents an enhancement and optimization of existing geotextile bag support systems; this approach integrates the individual geotextile bags into a unified whole, thereby enhancing the structural bearing capacity. Then, using a simplified shear-strength-reduction scenario in FLAC3D, we analyzed the load-bearing performance of this modified geotextile bag retaining wall under rainfall conditions, offering recommendations for regions with frequent precipitation. It is emphasized that additional slope stabilization measures should be implemented when employing this configuration. The test results indicate that the ultimate bearing capacity varies from 132.09 kPa to 207.47 kPa under different slope ratios with fixed 1 m geogrid reinforcement length. The geogrid-wrapped configuration reduces wall-facing horizontal deformation significantly, and increases its load-bearing capacity. Full article

The escalating production of fetal bovine serum generates substantial quantities of fetal bovine hide as an underutilized byproduct. In this study, we extracted collagen from this source, characterized it as predominantly type I collagen with intact triple-helical features, and fabricated a series of composite sponge dressings by blending it with chitosan. The best-balanced formulation (COL₁/CS₁, 1:1 ratio) exhibited markedly superior physicochemical properties relative to pure collagen sponges, as evidenced by higher porosity (91.3%), water uptake (2010%), moisture retention (23.7%), and water vapor transmission rate (4169.02 ± 86.45 g/m²/day). We hypothesize that the intrinsically lower cross-linking density of fetal collagen may expose a greater abundance of carboxyl and hydroxyl moieties, thereby fostering electrostatic complexation and hydrogen bonding with chitosan’s amino groups. This molecular interplay appears to promote the genesis of a highly uniform, interconnective porous network. In vitro, the COL₁/CS₁ sponge elicited a hemolysis rate below 5%, a blood coagulation index as low as 7.02%, no cytotoxicity toward L929 and MRC-5 cells, and a pronounced capacity to stimulate cell proliferation and wound repopulation. In a murine full-thickness excisional wound model, the COL₁/CS₁ group achieved a 98.1% closure rate by day 14, significantly outpacing both the pure collagen and untreated controls. Histological examinations corroborated these findings, revealing accelerated granulation tissue deposition, robust neovascularization, and orderly collagen remodeling, with no overt toxicity observed in vital organs under the tested conditions. This work presents a viable valorization pathway for an agricultural byproduct into high-value biomedical constructs and provides insights into how source-dependent collagen attributes may influence the functional performance of biomaterials. Full article

To enhance renewable energy accommodation and operational flexibility under high renewable energy penetration, this study proposes a multi-objective optimal capacity configuration method for an electricity–heat–hydrogen integrated energy system incorporating a reversible solid oxide cell (RSOC). First, considering the bidirectional electricity–hydrogen conversion capability and waste heat recovery of the RSOC, an electricity–heat–hydrogen multi-energy complementary system is constructed, and efficiency correction models are established for key energy conversion devices to characterize their part-load characteristics. Second, representative source–load scenarios are generated using Latin hypercube sampling and K-means clustering, and a multi-objective optimal capacity configuration model is formulated to minimize the annualized total cost and the wind and photovoltaic power curtailment rate. Finally, given the limitations of the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) in complex capacity configuration problems, such as premature convergence to local optima and insufficient population diversity, an adaptive crossover and mutation mechanism, a local search strategy, and a dynamic selection mechanism based on comprehensive crowding distance are introduced to improve its optimization performance. A balanced configuration scheme is then selected based on the knee point of the Pareto front obtained by the algorithm. Case-study results show that the Pareto solution set obtained by the improved NSGA-II (INSGA-II) has better overall quality than those obtained by NSGA-II and multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO). The resulting balanced configuration scheme has an annualized total cost of CNY 422.9 million and a wind and photovoltaic curtailment rate of 2.797%. The proposed method effectively coordinates system economic performance and renewable energy accommodation, enhances the coordinated utilization of electricity, heat, and hydrogen energy flows, and provides a reference for capacity planning of integrated energy systems under high renewable energy penetration. Full article

Adaptive reuse is increasingly central to the conservation and enhancement of twentieth-century architectural heritage, where contemporary functions and regulatory requirements must be reconciled with architectural and cultural values. This study investigates how these demands are reconciled in four buildings of different scales, spatial configurations, and original functions within the UNESCO World Heritage site “Ivrea, Industrial City of the 20th Century”. A qualitative multiple-case study was carried out through archival and bibliographic research, architectural drawings, technical documentation, direct observation, and interviews. For each case study, the original configuration (T0) was systematically compared with the post-reuse current configuration (T1). The resulting transformations were assessed through a common interdisciplinary framework comprising eight indicators related to spatial and functional adaptability, social and urban impacts, heritage integrity and conservation, and environmental and technological performance. The cross-case analysis identified recurring strategies and context-specific differences in the adaptive reuse process. The findings suggest that continued use of contemporary heritage buildings depends not only on the preservation of their material fabric, but also on the capacity of reuse interventions to accommodate new or renewed programs without undermining the buildings’ spatial structure, constructional logic, architectural identity, and relationship with their wider urban context. The study therefore conceptualizes cultural continuity as a multidimensional condition encompassing material, spatial, functional, social, and territorial dimensions, and provides an operational framework for critically evaluating adaptive reuse interventions in modern architectural heritage. Full article

Diabetic refractory wounds are a prevalent and severe complication of diabetes, whose pathological progression is jointly mediated by multiple factors, including oxidative stress imbalance, chronic inflammation, impaired angiogenesis, bacterial infection, and biofilm formation. Current clinical hydrogel dressings generally suffer from drawbacks such as single-function performance, potential toxicity of nano-components, static networks incompatible with dynamic wound conditions, and the absence of bionic repair signals. Therefore, they cannot simultaneously satisfy the dual repair requirements of complex pathological microenvironments and dynamic mechanical properties for diabetic wounds. In this study, a multi-functional dynamically responsive composite hydrogel (MC group) with high-efficiency antioxidant, antibacterial, and pro-angiogenic capacities was fabricated. Using SDS-C₁₈ micelles as hydrophobic units, a rigid–flexible dual-network framework was constructed with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and methacrylated hyaluronic acid (HAMA). Manganese dioxide nanozymes were introduced to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitigate oxidative stress. Calcium-ion-mediated dynamic micelle reconstruction was adopted to regulate the hydrophilic–hydrophobic balance, while achieving antibacterial effects and facilitating tissue regeneration. In vitro experiments verified that the MC hydrogel possesses mechanical properties well-matched to human soft tissues (fracture stress: 25 kPa) and excellent biocompatibility (cell viability > 100%, hemolysis rate: only 0.13%). It also exhibits prominent antioxidant activity (DPPH radical-scavenging rate: 36.95%), antibacterial performance (>99.86% bactericidal rate against Staphylococcus aureus, survival rate of Escherichia coli reduced to 15.95%), and cell-migration-promoting activity (endothelial cell migration rate of 83.72% and mouse fibroblast migration rate of 90.88% within 24 h). In the full-thickness skin defect model of diabetic mice, the wound-healing rate reached 99% on day 16. Moreover, it promoted ordered collagen deposition, skin appendage regeneration, and functional microvascular reconstruction, thereby accomplishing high-quality tissue repair. This design synergistically intervenes in multiple pathological links of diabetic wounds, overcomes several key limitations of existing dressings, and provides an innovative strategy for developing smart dressings. Full article

Traditional brick masonry buildings in China are commonly constructed using fired clay grey bricks bonded with glutinous rice mortar, forming a unique historical masonry system with significant cultural value. During long-term service, these structures are vulnerable to environmental deterioration, material aging, and seismic actions, resulting in cracking, deformation, and degradation of structural integrity and load-carrying capacity. Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets have been increasingly applied for strengthening masonry structures due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and convenient installation. However, most existing studies on Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP)–masonry interfaces have focused on conventional masonry systems, while the interfacial bond behavior and load-transfer characteristics between CFRP sheets and traditional grey brick masonry bonded with glutinous rice mortar remain insufficiently investigated. This study investigates the interfacial bond behavior of CFRP-strengthened traditional grey brick masonry through combined experimental testing and numerical analysis. First, uniaxial compression tests were conducted to determine the mechanical properties of glutinous rice mortar and fired clay grey bricks. Subsequently, double-shear tests considering different CFRP bond widths, bond lengths, and interface integrity conditions were performed to characterize the failure modes, force–displacement responses, and interfacial load-carrying behavior. The effects of interface geometric and integrity conditions were considered to evaluate the load-transfer characteristics of the strengthened interface. Based on the experimental results, a finite element model considering interface behavior was established and verified through comparison with the experimental results, which was subsequently employed to investigate the influence of bond width on interfacial stress transfer behavior beyond the experimental conditions. The results show that interfacial debonding accompanied by near-surface masonry damage dominates the failure process of CFRP–glutinous rice mortar masonry interfaces. Increasing the CFRP bond width enhances the interfacial load-carrying capacity and initial stiffness, while the ultimate capacity exhibits an approximately linear relationship with bond width within the investigated range. Numerical analyses further demonstrate that increasing bond width expands the effective load-transfer region, redistributes interfacial stresses, and delays stiffness degradation. These findings improve the understanding of interfacial bond behavior and load-transfer characteristics in CFRP-strengthened traditional masonry systems and provide references for the design and performance evaluation of strengthening applications in historic masonry structures. Full article

Sodium metal anodes (SMAs) are regarded as the most promising anode materials for next-generation high-energy-density sodium metal batteries, owing to their ultrahigh theoretical specific capacity (1166 mAh g⁻¹) and low electrochemical potential (−2.71 V vs. SHEs). However, their practical application is severely hindered by a series of interrelated challenges, including unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) films, severe volume fluctuations arising from their hostless nature, uncontrollable dendrite growth, and the consequent low Coulombic efficiency and short cycle life. This review systematically summarizes recent progress in stabilizing SMAs through three major categories of strategies: current collector engineering, which involves the design of planar, three-dimensional, and gradient architectures to regulate the local current density and Na⁺ flux, thereby guiding uniform nucleation and enabling “bottom-up” dendrite-free deposition; electrolyte engineering, which focuses on optimizing solvents, salts, and functional additives to tailor the solvation structure, construct robust inorganic-rich SEI layers, and utilize electrostatic shielding effects to suppress dendrite formation; and artificial SEI engineering, which aims to pre-construct inorganic or inorganic–organic hybrid protective layers that establish a physicochemical barrier between the electrode and electrolyte, combining high ionic conductivity, superior mechanical strength, and sufficient flexibility. Finally, we provide a critical perspective on the remaining challenges and outline future research directions, emphasizing the importance of in situ/operando characterization, synergistic multi-strategy integration, breakthroughs in high areal capacity and high-rate performance, and artificial intelligence-driven material discovery for the practical implementation of SMAs. Full article

Destination Management and Marketing Organizations (DMMOs) shape the human resource and technological conditions under which tourism enterprises, including digital ventures, pursue resilience and growth, yet their structures are often designed as technical–administrative arrangements detached from the capacities of the destination community. This study investigates how participatory processes engaging local institutions, businesses and residents can inform the organizational and human resource design of contemporary DMMOs: their functional units, decision rights, participation routines and competency profile. Four Greek destinations of differing scale and type—Delphi, Meteora, Larisa and the Region of Epirus—each developing a DMMO under a nationally coordinated, recovery-funded programme, are examined through a qualitative, multiple-case design. Structural contingency and configurational fit serve as the primary lens; four mechanisms link participation to organizational form, with human resource capacity as a rate-limiting constraint. Expectations of a decision-making role vary with the custodial control exercised over core assets rather than with administrative scale. Endorsement of human resource development practices is near-invariant across contexts while expected resourcing scales with administrative level; the gap between the two is widest in small destinations. Technology priorities track perceived competency availability: ratings of AI-based tools are near-invariant across cases and do not rise with general technology enthusiasm, while training in data and digital skills is endorsed at uniformly high levels. Participatory organizational design is advanced as a theoretically grounded construct with stated scope conditions; its proposed consequences for configurational fit, legitimacy and entrepreneurial resilience are formulated as testable propositions rather than findings of this study. Full article

When the power-frequency short-circuit current flows through the armor rods segment on an overhead ground wire (OGW), the OGW at the segment may experience fracture failure due to high temperatures. Consequently, it is necessary to optimize the structural configuration of the armor rods segment. Based on the structural characteristics of the conventional armor rods segment, this paper proposes a stepped-type armor rods segment structure. First, an electromagnetic–thermal coupling simulation model for both types of armor rods segment is constructed, in which the conductor length is determined by the boundary conditions of both the electromagnetic field and the thermal field. The current density distribution and transient temperature distribution under power-frequency short-circuit current are analyzed using the simulation model. Subsequently, based on the simulation results, an evaluation method for the mechanical performance of the OGW considering non-uniform temperature distribution is proposed. This method is employed to compare the high-temperature mechanical properties of the OGW at the two types of ends. Finally, a transient temperature rise experiment is designed to validate the accuracy of the simulation model. The research results show that the simulation model has sufficient accuracy, with an error of no more than 6%. Compared with the conventional armor rods segment, the stepped-type structure effectively avoids the concentration of high-temperature zones. Under identical conditions, the mechanical load-bearing capacity of the OGW at the stepped-type end is higher than that at the conventional end, which can help prevent high-temperature fracture of the OGW to a certain extent. Full article