Search Results (7,794)

The sex ratio of the rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker), is important for assessing reproductive potential and outbreak risk, but automated sex classification in field trap images is hindered by small targets, variable postures, subtle morphological differences and complex backgrounds. An edge–cloud collaborative system was developed for fine-grained sex classification of the rice stem borer. The edge terminal performs image acquisition, target detection, ROI extraction, and foreground enhancement, while the cloud platform conducts sex classification and result management. To improve small-target localization, YOLO-CSNet was constructed by integrating a global attention mechanism and adaptive spatial feature fusion into YOLO11n. Within detection-constrained ROIs, Haar-like features and an AdaBoost discriminator were used to suppress tray textures, shadows and non-target regions. For sex classification, DRS-ViT combines convolutional patch embedding, a discriminative-region soft-weighting module and a KANsformer encoder to represent weak sex-related cues and model global structural relationships. YOLO-CSNet achieved precision, recall, mAP@0.5, and mAP@0.5:0.95 values of 94.36%, 93.19%, 95.32%, and 73.95%, respectively. DRS-ViT achieved accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score values of 93.93%, 94.68%, 93.29%, and 93.91%, respectively. In a temporally independent field deployment conducted at one Shandong site from May to June 2026, the system achieved an image-upload success rate of 91.7% and an end-to-end accuracy of 87.9%. The field results support the feasibility of the workflow under the tested conditions. Future work will extend field validation across multiple sites and seasons to evaluate system generalizability. Full article

Road pavement construction generates a significant initial carbon footprint, mainly related to material production, transport and construction processes. This study comparatively assesses the “cradle-to-site” carbon footprint of selected road pavement structures, with the aim of supporting low-carbon pavement design choices. The analysis was carried out using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, modelled with the open-source software OpenLCA^®, adopting a “cradle-to-site” approach limited to the production and construction phases. Several scenarios were examined by varying the percentages of recycled material content (RAP—Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement) used in asphalt mixtures, the functional road category and the pavement structural type. The results show that the reference flexible pavements produce approximately 70 kg CO₂ eq/m², with asphalt mixtures accounting for the largest share. The use of RAP enables emission reductions of up to 14%, although marginal benefits decrease as the recycled material increases. Impacts also vary according to the functional road category, ranging from approximately 50 to more than 90 kg CO₂ eq/m² when moving from local roads to motorways. Within the adopted cradle-to-site boundary, the LCA model supports the early-stage comparison of alternative pavement designs. Full article

Rivers and riparian zones support a variety of woody plant species and play an important role in riverine ecosystems and fluvial processes. Rapid establishment of herbaceous and woody vegetation occurs in unvegetated river channels, mainly because of dam construction and hydrological alterations. However, repeated monitoring of the three-dimensional structure over broad river corridors remains challenging. We aimed to assess the applicability of RGB-derived canopy-height models (CHMs) inferred using Depth Anything V2 for monitoring riparian woody vegetation. A monocular depth-estimation framework was trained using the National Agriculture Imagery Program-CHM dataset and applied to three Korean riverine environments. The inferred CHMs were evaluated against the LiDAR-derived CHMs and further tested using two application-oriented assessments: individual tree detection (ITD) and woody vegetation area classification. The RGB-derived CHMs reproduced the overall spatial patterns of the riparian canopy height, although the accuracy varied with vegetation structure and image acquisition conditions. The mean absolute error between RGB- and LiDAR-derived CHMs was approximately 0.96 m across the study sites. In the ITD assessment, the RGB-derived CHM achieved an F1 score of 0.73, compared with 0.80 for the LiDAR-derived CHM. For woody vegetation area classification, the RGB-derived CHM showed high pixel-level accuracy, while Dice coefficient and IoU varied depending on the canopy-height threshold and study site. These results suggest that the RGB-derived CHMs can serve as supplementary data for monitoring riparian woody vegetation when LiDAR acquisition is limited. Full article

Rainwater Collection System (RWCS) is a sustainable water management technology suitable for the collection and storage of rainwater from roofs and surfaces for reuse to promote sustainable water resource management. This study investigated four RWCSs to be used in public schools across the Philippines. These RWCSs are: (1) Aboveground Steel Tank (A-S), (2) Aboveground Polyethylene Tank (A-P), (3) Underground Reinforced Concrete Tank (U-C), and (4) Underground Polyethylene Tank (U-P). Life Cycle Assessment was utilized to consider the environmental performance of four RWCSs with the use of SimaPro (10.5.0.1). A cradle-to-site system boundary was adopted encompassing two life cycle stages: manufacturing and installation. The results showed that the Underground Concrete Tank system (U-C) consistently exhibited the lowest environmental impact across all impact categories, and the Aboveground Steel Tank system (A-S) demonstrated the highest impacts, primarily due to the significant use of reinforcing and structural steel for its base and foundation. In particular, the global warming potential (GWP) and human carcinogenic toxicity (HCT) of U-C are lower than those of the other RWCSs from 47.3% to 59.4% and 44.1% to 93.3%, respectively. In addition, the construction cost of U-C is 20.4% to 35.1% lower than that of the other RWCSs. Future research is recommended to expand the system boundary to include use and end-of-life stages, which may influence the comparative outcomes. Full article

In response to the escalating challenges of global climate change and extreme meteorological events, this study addresses the critical issue of low disaster resistance in socialist-built heritage (SBH, i.e., built cultural heritage constructed during China’s socialist construction stage from 1949 to 1978). Focusing on Henan Province, China, with meteorological observation datasets spanning 1990–2023 and 1362 SBH sites constructed from 1949 to 1978, we innovatively construct a four-dimensional risk assessment model integrating Meteorological–Environmental Hazard (H), Exposure (E), Vulnerability (V), and Ecological Resilience (R). By synthesizing Spearman correlation analysis, Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) diagnostics, and piecewise regression, this research elucidates the spatial differentiation and driving mechanisms of meteorology-induced compound disaster risks. Key findings identify Zhengzhou and Kaifeng as core high-risk zones and precisely quantify a critical hazard threshold of 0.4 with a 95% breakpoint confidence interval [0.372, 0.428], passing the Chow test p < 0.001 and validated via historical heritage damage records (R² = 0.78). Variable-importance analysis proves that extreme precipitation (32.7%) and annual strong-wind days (28.1%) are the dominant meteorological–environmental drivers, alongside the significant buffering effect of ecological resilience. Ultimately, this study refines the disaster risk assessment framework for SBH, providing robust theoretical support and a decision-making basis for adaptive conservation strategies in similar regions. The average disaster risk of SBH in Henan is 0.421 ± 0.153; for each 0.1 growth of H-E-V coupling term above the threshold of 0.4, disaster risk rises by 37.2%. Full article

Arid-zone agricultural heritage systems (AHSs) face severe challenges from ecological fragility, water scarcity, and socioeconomic pressures; scientifically understanding their system resilience is a critical prerequisite for achieving sustainable development. This study constructs a three-dimensional resilience evaluation indicator system following the Pressure–State–Response (PSR) framework tailored to arid oasis conditions. Drawing on the entropy weight method, GIS spatial analysis, the ARIMA model, and the obstacle degree model, it adopts statistical and remote sensing data of Xinjiang from 2015 to 2024 to systematically analyze the resilience levels, spatiotemporal evolution characteristics, future development trends, and core obstacle factors of six AHSs. The results reveal that the overall resilience of AHSs in Xinjiang exhibited a fluctuating upward trend over the decade, showing an obvious spatial differentiation pattern of “high in Northern Xinjiang, low in Eastern and Southern Xinjiang.” ARIMA forecasting indicates that resilience will maintain a positive growth trajectory from 2025 to 2028, yet inter-site hierarchical gaps persist. The primary constraints hindering resilience improvement include industrial structure upgrading index, per capita regional GDP, annual NDVI, vegetation coverage, and the number of intangible cultural heritage items, with a clear differentiation between long-term structural bottlenecks and temporary short-term constraints. The study concludes that, although the resilience of AHSs in Xinjiang possesses long-term improvement potential, persistent challenges such as fragile ecological foundations, low-end industrial structures, and insufficient cultural inheritance remain prominent. Targeted differentiated strategies—short-term emergency regulation, medium-term industrial–cultural integration, and long-term adaptive governance—are therefore required to enhance systemic resilience in the future. These findings enrich empirical research on AHS resilience in arid regions and provide case references for the scientific conservation, revitalized utilization, and sustainable development of AHSs in Xinjiang and other global dryland areas. Full article

Conventional biosensor coatings face considerable challenges in reconciling high loading capacity, antifouling performance, and long-term stability. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), with their ultrahigh surface areas, tunable pores, and abundant unsaturated metal sites, have become important functional coating materials for advanced sensing interfaces. This review focuses on interface engineering strategies for MOF-based biosensor coatings and systematically compares three core construction approaches, namely defect engineering, MOF-on-MOF heterostructures, and interface-assisted fabrication, examining their distinct interfacial regulation logics and applicability under engineering constraints including substrate compatibility, film uniformity, and scalability. The multifaceted interfacial roles of MOF coatings are then categorized across electrochemical, photoelectrochemical, colorimetric, optical fiber, and dual-signal biosensors, covering enrichment-confinement, catalytic transduction, biorecognition protection, and smart gating. Notably, most reported systems remain at the proof-of-concept stage, with insufficient validation in complex biofluids, ambiguous signal transduction mechanisms, and a notable deficiency in systematic assessments of coating adhesion and durability. Future efforts should focus on establishing standardized failure evaluation protocols, adopting AI-driven rational design, and advancing toward multi-target integrated and flexible wearable platforms to bridge the gap between laboratory research and practical diagnostic applications. Full article

Background: Stroke is the third leading cause of death and a major cause of long-term disability in Malaysia, where the continuity of post-stroke care depends heavily on unpaid, untrained informal family caregivers. These caregivers face a well-documented “discharge cliff,” assuming complex medical and rehabilitative responsibilities with minimal preparation. The locally developed “CaknaStrok” mobile health (mHealth) application was designed to bridge this support gap. However, the existence of a tool does not guarantee its use; sustained adoption depends on whether caregivers find the application acceptable and are willing to integrate it into an already demanding caregiving routine. Objectives: This protocol describes a study designed to determine the levels of acceptability and willingness to use the CaknaStrok application, to examine the associated predictors (effort expectancy, ability, digital health literacy, and intervention coherence), and to test the central mediating role of acceptability through a novel Integrated Acceptability–Willingness (IAW) Framework. Methods: An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design will be conducted at the Stroke Ward of Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM), a World Stroke Organization-certified Advanced Stroke Centre. In Phase I, a target of 200 informal primary caregivers will be recruited through consecutive sampling and surveyed using a validated, bilingual (Malay/English) self-administered questionnaire that operationalises the IAW constructs through three established instruments (UTAUT, the Digital Health Literacy Instrument, and the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability). Following a standardised facilitated onboarding, caregivers use the application ad libitum for four to six weeks before completing the questionnaire. Expected Results: The study will quantify caregiver acceptability and willingness to use, identify which factors most strongly drive acceptance, and empirically test whether acceptability mediates the relationship between the predictors and willingness to use. Qualitative themes will contextualise the statistical pathways, surfacing culturally specific mechanisms of adoption that single-method designs typically miss. Ethical approval was obtained from the UKM Research Ethics Committee (JEP-2024-392). Conclusions: This study is expected to generate context-sensitive evidence to guide the design of caregiver-facing mHealth interventions and inform future multi-site implementation and policy development efforts within the Malaysian stroke-care pathway. Full article

In-transit vehicle malfunctions during material transportation in water conservancy construction can cause delivery delays, disrupt subsequent tasks, and lead to duplicate material requisitions. To address these issues, this study develops a material transportation scheduling optimization model that explicitly incorporates vehicle-malfunction response. The model minimizes total transportation cost subject to vehicle capacity, resource compatibility, time-window, and non-duplicate-requisition constraints. Two response strategies are considered: continued transportation after on-site repair and relay transportation using an external temporary emergency vehicle. The failed task and its affected subsequent tasks are dynamically rescheduled. An adaptive hill-climbing genetic algorithm (AHCGA) is employed to coordinate transportation-batch generation, task sequencing, and resource assignment. The case study shows that, under the no-malfunction baseline scenario, all transportation batches complete unloading within their acceptable time windows. Across 30 runs, AHCGA achieves a mean total cost of CNY 9179.86; Wilcoxon signed-rank tests indicate statistically significant cost differences between AHCGA and both GA and HCGA (p < 0.001). The best AHCGA run yields a total transportation cost of CNY 8794.40 with zero total delay. Multi-scenario comparisons and sensitivity analyses further show that neither on-site repair nor external relay is universally dominant. Their relative suitability depends jointly on failed-task characteristics, on-site response and repair time, emergency-vehicle response time, transshipment efficiency, and call-out cost. The proposed model provides quantitative decision support for material transportation organization, vehicle-malfunction response, and post-malfunction rescheduling in water conservancy construction. Full article

Routine construction-dewatering logs can support monitoring decisions when their processing rules and inferential scope are explicitly defined. This study audited 594 well-period records from 11 wells at a single urban construction site in Loja, Ecuador. Reading dates span 618 days (15 July 2024–25 March 2026), with the first monitoring interval beginning on 10 July 2024. Construction drawings indicate well lengths of 15.5–19.0 m. Reconstructed quality-control rules classified 406 records as Valid, 113 as Valid with caution, and 75 as Not recommended. Among 519 usable observation pairs, 509 (98.1%) had non-five-day intervals, resulting in a median bias of +60.0% when a default five-day divisor was applied. The inclusive 13-date panel comprised 111 Valid and 32 caution observations and showed pronounced inter-well ordering (Kendall’s W = 0.946). Sensitivity analyses based on quality thresholds and reduced-well configurations quantified the dependence of results on record-retention rules. Ordinary Theil–Sen screening was complemented by an irregular-time, dependence-aware log-GLS analysis and conditional detectability estimates; therefore, temporal signals are interpreted as exploratory rather than diagnostic. Recalculated Hydro-Operational Monitoring Priority Scores (HOMPS) placed Wells 10, 2, 8, and 5 in the highest sample-defined priority tier. Well 10 remained the highest-priority well under every component-omission scenario, providing partial support for H3. The study provides a transparent and reproducible framework for auditing routine dewatering records and prioritizing monitoring attention while explicitly avoiding unsupported inference about aquifer stress. Full article

The Australian construction industry generated approximately 29.2 million metric tonnes (Mt) of construction and demolition waste (C&DW) in 2022–2023, of which about 23.7 Mt (81.2%) was recovered, primarily through recycling (80.6%). Recovery concentrated on concrete, bricks, and rubble from large constructions, while C&DW from smaller projects was often directed to landfills. Most recovered materials are downcycled, have low market demand and contribute to unstable markets and continued reliance on virgin materials. To investigate these gaps, nine semi-structured expert interviews, two case studies, and a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis were conducted. The findings were organised into four clusters: (1) regulatory and governance, (2) operational and technological, (3) procurement, cost and market, and (4) stakeholder management barriers significantly impact C&D waste management practices. The study recommends four drivers and six enablers to enhance circular economy 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) practices, including standardisation and harmonisation of reused and recycled products’ quality and cost, mandating circular procurement, increasing incentives and penalties, on-site sorting, awareness and capacity building, and digital technology application for data management. This integrated approach can guide policymakers and practitioners in strengthening C&DW reduction practices and developing an economically viable market for reused and recycled products. Full article

Environmental footprint assessment is increasingly used to characterize the secondary impacts of contaminated site remediation. However, many established green and sustainable remediation tools rely on U.S.-based emission inventories and background data, raising questions about how their estimates change when applied under other regional conditions. This study proposes a three-way evaluation framework that examines Sitewise™ and SEFA outputs alongside a Sitewise-informed China-localized recalculation using domestic emission factors. The framework was applied to an excavation-and-transport brownfield remediation project in northern China using five indicators: greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), energy use, NO_x, SO_x, and particulate matter. In this case, Sitewise™ and SEFA produced numerically similar GHG estimates and moderately different energy estimates, with pairwise differences of 7% and 27%, respectively. Under the assumptions of this case, their GHG estimates were 26% and 20% lower, respectively, than the localized recalculation. A screening counterfactual using a common U.S. reference grid factor indicated that grid factor substitution accounted for 19.2% of the Sitewise-to-localized numerical difference and 24.5% of the SEFA-to-localized numerical difference. Air pollutant results showed stronger pathway dependence: NO_x estimates differed by up to approximately eightfold, and the localized result fell between the two tool estimates under the stated assumptions. Within the tested epistemic ranges, the localized GHG result remained above both fixed tool outputs, the NO_x result remained between them, and the SO_x result remained below both in every draw; the baseline PM relationship was retained in 92.7% of draws, while localized energy equaled the Sitewise™ result by construction. Across the native tool runs and a transparent localized transport linkage screen, a 25% reduction in haul distance was associated with a 12.5–22% reduction in total GHG estimates. The comparison harmonized the remediation program and comparison unit, but not the complete background life cycle boundary; the results therefore represent defined-boundary pathway estimates rather than fully boundary-harmonized LCA results. Because the localized pathway retains the Sitewise-derived fuel–energy balance and activity category shares, it is interpreted as a case-specific factor localization recalculation rather than an independently documented project inventory or external comparison standard. The observed directional differences characterize the present case and tested assumptions and do not support a general judgment about the relative performance of the tools. The framework may be adaptable to other jurisdictions, but its transferability should be evaluated using additional sites, remediation technologies, and independently documented activity inventories. Full article

Inverter-interfaced distributed generation (DG) can provide voltage support in unbalanced distribution feeders; however, sequential, phase-selective siting and sizing under local interconnection constraints have received limited attention. This study proposes a constructive Volt/VAR planning method that allocates DG according to the apparent demand and voltage-deficient phases at each candidate bus. A descending reactive power feasibility test rejects solutions that cause non-convergence, overvoltage, or deterioration of the minimum system voltage. The method was implemented through automated unbalanced three-phase power-flow simulations and tested on the IEEE 13-node feeder and the real 3849-bus CHIRIPA medium-voltage network in Honduras, using active power allocation factors of 0.7 and 0.9. The selected configurations were evaluated over 24 h profiles for representative sunny and rainy days, annualized, and assessed economically over a 25-year horizon. Annual energy losses decreased by 25.8% and 26.4% in the IEEE feeder, although local capacity constraints prevented all phase voltages from reaching the 0.95–1.05 p.u. range. In CHIRIPA, all medium-voltage bus-phase voltages satisfied this range at maximum demand, although this improvement persisted only during solar hours; annual losses fell by 15.1% and 18.7%. The economic feasibility threshold in CHIRIPA depended primarily on installed capacity (approximately 6.5–6.6 MW), rather than unit count. These results provide a reproducible framework for prioritizing phase-specific DG investments under technical and economic constraints. Full article

The reuse of post-mining infrastructure for pumped-storage hydropower may reduce new underground construction while supporting the repurposing of decommissioned mines. This study presents a site-specific preliminary technical and pumping-energy assessment of an underground pumped-storage system using Budryk Shaft II as the lower reservoir. The assessment integrated shaft geometry, hydraulic conditions, turbine–generator selection, pressure-pipeline configuration, structural adaptation, hydraulic isolation, and staged water return. A working water volume of 12,000 m³ was adopted. The proposed generation unit comprises a vertical Pelton turbine operating at a gross design head of 900 m, a rated net head of 837.81 m, and a discharge of 0.71 m³/s. The rated turbine output is 5287 kW, and the turbine is coupled to a 6.3 kV synchronous generator. The three-stage pumping calculation yielded energy demands of 7.037, 19.600, and 37.371 MWh, giving a total of 64.008 MWh. These values are calculation-based estimates derived from the listed nominal pump capacities and powers using a simplified proportional power–flow assumption. At the rated turbine output, the calculated generation time of 4.695 h corresponds to 24.822 MWh of mechanical energy at the turbine shaft. Because verified generator-efficiency data are unavailable, the generated electrical energy and electrical round-trip efficiency cannot be determined exactly. The ratio of turbine-shaft energy to the calculated pumping-energy demand gives an upper-bound energy-return indicator of approximately 38.8%. Further work must verify pump operating points, generator performance, hydraulic transients, structural integrity, shaft sealing, auxiliary-energy demand, and the complete hydraulic connection to the upper reservoir. Full article

Background/Objectives: Rural populations in the United States experienced consistently lower COVID-19 vaccination rates than urban populations during the pandemic. While barriers to vaccination have been well documented, less is known about facilitators of uptake in rural settings. This study aimed to identify facilitators of COVID-19 vaccination in rural communities from the perspectives of Washington State University (WSU) Extension personnel and to examine these factors using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) Outer Setting domain. Methods: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted using semi-structured key informant interviews with WSU Extension personnel. Twenty-one participants representing 34 of 40 Extension offices across Washington State were interviewed in Fall 2023. Interviews were transcribed, de-identified, and analyzed using deductive thematic analysis. Findings were organized into the seven CFIR Outer Setting constructs: critical incidents, local attitudes, local conditions, partnerships and connections, policies and laws, financing, and external pressures. Results: Perceived facilitators of COVID-19 vaccination were identified across all CFIR Outer Setting constructs. Trust emerged as a central theme, with participants reporting that vaccine acceptance was higher when information was delivered by trusted local sources, including Extension personnel, healthcare providers, community leaders, and informal networks. Participants described leveraging partnerships with public health agencies, schools, faith-based organizations, and community groups as enhancing outreach and information dissemination. Additional facilitators identified by participants included no-cost vaccine and personal protective equipment availability, accessible community-based vaccination sites, culturally appropriate educational materials, and coordinated communication systems. Conclusions: Rural vaccination efforts were supported by trust, strong community partnerships, and locally tailored strategies. These findings may inform future public health emergency responses in rural communities. Full article