Search Results (852)

Background/Objectives: Dengue prevention in rural Amazonian communities is shaped by knowledge, household feasibility, sociocultural dynamics, institutional continuity, and trusted communication. This study explored behavioral, sociocultural, and institutional barriers to dengue prevention and control in rural communities of the Peruvian Amazon. Methods: An exploratory qualitative study with an ethnographic orientation, informed by the Communication for Behavioural Impact (COMBI) framework, was conducted in three anonymized rural settlements in San Martín, Peru. The qualitative corpus included 120 adults, 84 in-depth interviews, six focus group discussions with 36 participants, 22 household and community observation records, 13 institutional communication materials, and seven local operational documents. Data were analyzed using an inductive thematic approach and triangulated across participant profiles, settlements, and sources. Results: Dengue was widely recognized as a mosquito-borne disease, but the central finding was a gap between general awareness and practical, routine application. Participants’ understanding of breeding sites, warning signs, and feasible source reduction was uneven. Prevention was mainly reactive, increasing after nearby cases, alerts, or fumigation, but weakening when risk was not visible. Irregular water supply, water storage, waste accumulation, gendered domestic labor, competing household priorities, reluctance to confront neighbors, and intermittent institutional action limited sustained prevention. Fumigation was perceived as the most visible institutional response, while communication was more credible when mediated by trusted local actors. Conclusions: Dengue prevention requires locally feasible household practices, safe water-storage guidance, trusted communicators, neighborhood coordination, continuous pre-outbreak engagement, and intersectoral support. Full article

This study presents a gate-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of an industrial sweet cherry sorting and packing facility in Greece, directly addressing environmental sustainability in agri-food supply chains through data-driven impact quantification and improvement pathways in post-harvest operations. The assessment focuses on a gate-to-gate system boundary encompassing all processes inside the cherry sorting and packing facility, while upstream cherry production and downstream waste management are modeled and reported separately to provide system-level context. Core-stage hotspots are then analyzed in detail in the Results section, highlighting the dominant role of electricity use compared with packaging materials. The functional unit is defined as 1 kg of packed, market-ready cherries at the factory gate. Primary data are obtained from high-resolution, batch-level measurements of mass flows, energy use, water consumption, packaging materials and waste streams over a full processing season, structured as virtual sensor outputs. These sensor-informed operational data are combined with secondary life cycle inventory information from established databases to quantify climate change impacts and identify environmental hotspots across materials, energy, water, and waste, thereby delivering a quantified picture of environmental performance in the post-harvest stage. The results show that corrugated cardboard and associated packaging components are among the main contributors within the facility-level, gate-to-gate system, while the Core stage accounts for 28.43% of total GWP100. Upstream cherry production dominates the overall Upstream–Core–Downstream climate footprint with 70.61% of total impacts. Moreover, practical mitigation scenarios are modeled, including packaging optimization, partial substitution of grid electricity with photovoltaic generation, and increased water recirculation. Ιn the combined mitigation scenario, where packaging optimization, low-carbon electricity and improved water management are implemented simultaneously, total GWP100 decreases from 114,207.32 to 92,500.27 kg CO₂-eq (−19.0%) relative to the baseline, providing actionable sustainability improvements for industry stakeholders and supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to climate action and resource efficiency. In addition, the proposed virtual sensor architecture and data workflow support continuous monitoring, eco-efficiency management and near-real-time LCA implementation in post-harvest agri-food systems, enabling operational sustainability. Full article

Jiaodong Peninsula is one of the regions with the most abundant medium–low-temperature convective geothermal resources in the eastern coastal area of China. Analyzing geothermal fluid characteristics can help understand its hydrochemical discharge characteristics and renewal capacity, and these characteristics also exhibit distinct geochemical symmetry that reflects the genesis and evolution of geothermal systems. In this study, we conducted a water quality analysis of 15 natural hot spring geothermal fluids, as well as their adjacent bedrock and Quaternary water, in the Jiaodong Peninsula. We measured deuterium and oxygen isotopes, and the γ Na/γ Cl and γ SO₄/γ Cl ratios of geothermal fluids, focusing on the geochemical symmetry of these indicators to reveal the evolutionary rules of geothermal fluids. The hydrochemical types of geothermal fluids in the Jiaodong Peninsula included Cl–Na, Cl–Na·Ca, HCO₃·SO₄–Na, and SO₄·HCO₃–Na, with mineralization degrees of 0.45–7.68 g/L and pH values of 7.3–8.63. The geothermal fluid primarily originated from the infiltration recharge of atmospheric rainfall and had no hydraulic connection with the shallow Quaternary water and adjacent bedrock water near the geothermal field. The geothermal fluid in the study area had not yet reached water–rock equilibrium. For geothermal fields with higher γ Na/γ Cl and γ SO₄/γ Cl ratios, the corresponding geothermal fluid circulation depth was relatively shallow, indicating a poorly sealed hydrodynamic environment with strong renewal capacity, where the geothermal fluid is in a continuous supply–runoff–discharge process. The γ Na/γ Cl and γ SO₄/γ Cl ratios of some geothermal fields were close to those of seawater; this symmetric difference was caused by the large circulation depth and long residence period of the geothermal fluid, which had experienced a high degree of decarbonization. Our findings on the hydrochemical characteristics and geochemical symmetry of medium–low-temperature geothermal fluids in the Jiaodong Peninsula will help deepen the understanding of the formation and evolutionary mechanism of this type of geothermal resource. Full article

To improve the efficiency of jet-based fire suppression for high-rise building façade fires, this study experimentally investigates the liquid film formation characteristics and fire suppression behavior of water jets impinging on insulated vertical surfaces. The effects of operating pressure (flow rate), nozzle-to-wall distance, and jet inclination angle on liquid film spreading morphology, wetted area, and effective water supply rate are systematically analyzed. The results show that increasing the flow rate significantly enlarges the wetted area, while reducing the effective water supply rate. As the nozzle-to-wall distance increases, the liquid film gradually develops a “top-wide and bottom-narrow” morphology. Although increasing the jet inclination angle decreases the wetted area, it enhances the continuity and stability of wall-adhering liquid film flow, thereby improving cooling efficiency near the flame root region. During the fire suppression experiments, low-flow-rate jets exhibit insufficient suppression stability, whereas high-flow-rate horizontal jets are capable of suppressing the flame to a residual burning state near the bottom of the façade. Further increasing the jet inclination angle enables complete flame extinguishment. This study reveals the relationship between jet parameters, liquid film behavior, and fire suppression performance, providing experimental evidence for the optimization of jet-based façade fire suppression strategies. Full article

Arid regions are ecologically fragile and occupy a substantial portion of the global terrestrial surface. In these regions, ecosystem services (ESs) are strongly constrained by water availability and, more importantly, by the balance between water supply and demand. However, the nonlinear responses and threshold mechanisms linking water supply–demand balance to ES dynamics remain unclear. Taking the Kubuqi Desert in the “Great Bend” of the Yellow River as the study area, this study quantified the Comprehensive Ecosystem Service Index (CESI) and the Water Supply–Demand Ratio (WSDR) by integrating the InVEST model, RWEQ model, the RUSLE model, Water Balance Method, and so on. The dual-constraint line method and elasticity coefficient approach were integrated to identify the constraint effects and critical thresholds of WSDR on CESI. Ecological management zones were further delineated by integrating the inflection-point intervals of the dual-constraint lines with the threshold intervals identified by elasticity coefficients. The results showed that CESI remained relatively low, with a maximum value of approximately 0.5, suggesting that the overall ES level was still limited, but exhibited a continuous increasing trend. The regional water supply–demand pattern gradually shifted from deficit toward relative balance, although agricultural water use still accounted for about three-quarters of total consumption. CESI showed a nonlinear threshold response to WSDR: mild water deficit suppressed CESI growth, whereas moderate water surplus promoted CESI recovery by alleviating water constraints and improving ecosystem functioning. Thresholds identified by elasticity coefficients mainly occurred near critical transitions between water deficit and surplus. Based on ES supply and threshold sensitivity, nine ecological management zones were identified, with priority enhancement areas accounting for approximately 75%. These findings provide a threshold-based basis for ecological zoning and differentiated restoration in arid regions. Full article

Efficient water resource management is critically important for arid regions such as southern Kazakhstan. This paper presents a hybrid Internet of Things (IoT) and Vision-based Internet of Things (VIoT) architecture for real-time monitoring of water levels in irrigation channels. The proposed system integrates an ultrasonic water-level sensor, an IP camera with edge-based computer vision processing on a Raspberry Pi, wireless communication, an autonomous solar power supply, and discharge estimation using Manning’s equation. The VIoT subsystem applies image processing techniques, including gauge calibration, Canny edge detection, and pixel-to-metric conversion, to automatically estimate water level from captured video frames. Water-level measurements obtained from IoT sensors and video-based analysis are combined through synchronised data fusion to improve monitoring accuracy and reliability. The hybrid approach leverages the complementary strengths of IoT and VIoT by combining continuous quantitative sensing with visual verification capabilities. Field experiments conducted on the Merke River in the Zhambyl region of Kazakhstan over a 14-day observation period demonstrated stable real-time operation with RMSE = 0.311 cm, MAE = 0.279 cm, and Pearson r = 0.99 between the ultrasonic sensor and the vision-based estimates. Sensitivity analysis indicated that water level is the most influential parameter in Manning-based discharge estimation, confirming the importance of accurate level detection. The proposed system improves reliability by cross-checking independent data sources, making it applicable to monitoring water levels in agricultural regions. Full article

The management of water availability in urban areas has become progressively more complex due to adverse climatic conditions and the continuous growth in water demand. These concerns have driven the search for alternative water supply sources, such as desalination, as well as the need for a deeper understanding of the hydraulic and operational behavior of water distribution systems (WDS) in the face of these challenges. This study presents an exploratory and integrative literature review on the modeling and calibration of WDS, with an emphasis on their application to the analysis of hydraulic and operational impacts associated with the integration of desalinated water into large-scale WDS. The results, supported by bibliometric analysis and a comparative assessment of 28 real-world calibration studies, highlight advances in modeling and calibration techniques and identify engineering-based trends and research gaps related to desalinated water integration in WDS. These include increased pressure heterogeneity associated with desalinated water injection points, challenges related to intermittent operation, and the need for properly managed storage reservoirs. Overall, the findings reinforce hydraulic modeling and calibration as central tools for the integrated assessment of desalination impacts in large-scale water distribution systems. Full article

Although South Africa has an extensive water infrastructure, it continues to face significant water scarcity due to its semi-arid climate, increasing urbanisation, ageing infrastructure, and pollution. These challenges, coupled with climate change and increasing water demand, have led to inefficiencies across the water value chain, particularly in rural areas. This review paper evaluates the current adoption of predictive analytics in South Africa’s water management system through a systematic literature review. It identifies the current applications, implementation gaps, and key system components that are suitable candidates to enhance efficiency, resource planning, and long-term sustainability in the sector. The findings show that while predictive models are being applied in urban systems for demand forecasting and proactive maintenance, only 15% of the reviewed studies address their actual adoption in rural or under-resourced contexts. This underscores the need for more inclusive development strategies to ensure equitable water service delivery. Although strides have been made in research and innovation, a major barrier is the slow transition from research to operational deployment, which hinders the full realisation of these technologies’ benefits that are essential for water supply sustainability and availability. Full article

Geopolitical conflicts continue to disrupt global energy supply chains, causing sharp changes in energy prices. These changes reshape the cost structure and efficiency levels of grain circulation. Based on panel data from 30 Chinese provinces covering 2011–2022, this study constructs a proxy for grain circulation efficiency using a resource misallocation framework and counterfactual decomposition. We employ panel threshold regression and double machine learning methods to systematically examine the nonlinear impact of energy price levels on grain circulation efficiency and to reveal regional differences. The findings are as follows: (1) Energy price levels exhibit a significant single-threshold effect. When energy prices remain within a low range, rising prices exert a positive technology push effect; beyond the threshold, a cost-squeeze suppression dominates. (2) The eastern region shows the highest tolerance for price increases, whereas the western region has the lowest tolerance, with the central region falling in between. (3) Double machine learning feature importance analysis reveals that research and experimental development investment and economic development are the dominant factors affecting agricultural product circulation efficiency in the eastern region; water consumption and capital stock are the key factors in the central region; and energy prices, foreign trade dependence, and infrastructure are the most sensitive factors in the western region. This study provides empirical evidence for designing differentiated regional circulation policies and enhancing the resilience of the grain circulation system. Full article

This study presents a short-term, IoT-enabled sensor-based assessment of treated municipal water and decentralized groundwater in Bragança, northeastern Portugal. Two drinking-water supply contexts were compared: treated surface-water-derived municipal water from the public supply system and groundwater from a decentralized supply system serving part of a higher education campus. Five sampling points were monitored during three campaigns between January and March 2026. At each point, pH, electrical conductivity, temperature, oxidation–reduction potential, and total dissolved solids were recorded at 10 s intervals over approximately 10 min monitoring windows using a multiparameter probe integrated into an IoT-enabled data acquisition workflow. Microbiological analyses were performed on groundwater samples as complementary information. Treated municipal water showed lower mineralization, narrower parameter ranges, and higher oxidation–reduction potential, reflecting source-water characteristics, treatment, and operational control. Groundwater showed higher mineralization, lower oxidation–reduction potential, and greater variability among sampling points and campaigns, consistent with stronger local hydrogeochemical and operational influences. The repeated short-interval readings provided more detailed physicochemical profiles than isolated spot measurements, although the short monitoring windows do not represent continuous long-term high-frequency monitoring. Overall, the results support standardized IoT-enabled sensor-based monitoring as a complementary tool for short-term water-quality assessment and indicate the need for longer seasonal datasets and laboratory confirmation. Full article

Ultrasound coupling technology is pivotal to ensuring high-quality diagnostic imaging, yet conventional water-based gels face persistent challenges, including acoustic impedance mismatch, air-bubble formation, dehydration, messiness, and cross-contamination risks. This review presents a comprehensive analysis of the evolution, materials science, and clinical performance of ultrasound gel pads, an advanced alternative engineered for superior acoustic transmission, hygiene, and patient comfort. Historical progression from early coupling agents to modern polymeric and hydrogel-based pads is traced, highlighting breakthroughs such as bilayer hydrogels, nanocomposite reinforcements, metamaterial-inspired designs, and patient-specific 3D-printed pads. Comparative evaluations demonstrate that gel pads, particularly those integrating nanotechnology, rival but often outperform traditional gels in transmission efficiency, near-field resolution, and adaptability to complex anatomical surfaces, while offering reusability and reduced environmental impact. For instance, solid gel pads achieved 92.3% stone disintegration, compared with 45.5% for semi-liquid gel, in ESWL phantom studies (p < 0.001). Materials, including polyacrylamide, silicone, and advanced hydrogels, are analyzed for mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and sustainability, with emphasis on biodegradable and locally sourced alternatives. Manufacturing innovations ranging from continuous casting to additive manufacturing enable customization, functional integration, and scalable production, although cost, supply chain stability, and regulatory compliance remain critical barriers. By uniting advances in materials engineering, nanotechnology, and precision manufacturing, ultrasound gel pads have demonstrated strong potential to advance coupling media for diagnostic, therapeutic, and wearable ultrasound applications, enabling higher diagnostic accuracy, streamlined workflows, and patient-centered care across diverse clinical and resource-limited settings. Full article

The Source Region of the Yellow River (YRSR) is a key ecological barrier and a major water supply area, where water conservation is highly sensitive to ongoing climate change (CC) and land use/cover change (LUCC). However, the relative roles of CC and LUCC in regulating water conservation remain insufficiently quantified. In this study, we applied the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to simulate the spatiotemporal dynamics of water conservation in the YRSR and to disentangle the respective contributions of CC and LUCC using a fixing–changing approach, in which one driver is fixed and the other is varied across paired scenarios, followed by projections driven by CMIP6 forcing under SSP2–4.5 and SSP5–8.5. Water conservation showed a pronounced southeast–northwest contrast and increased over 2000–2019 (+4.56 mm/year). Attribution analysis revealed that CC dominated changes in water conservation, whereas LUCC exerted a weak net negative influence. Most increasing regions were precipitation-driven, whereas declining regions were concentrated where evapotranspiration and surface runoff increased concurrently. Under SSP2–4.5, water conservation is projected to continue increasing (+1.16 mm/year). In contrast, under SSP5–8.5, water conservation is projected to slightly decline (−0.26 mm/year). These findings highlight the primary role of climate in regulating water conservation in the YRSR and provide scientific support for adaptive watershed management under a changing climate. Full article

Near-bit multi-parameter MWD (measurement while drilling) is a key technology for achieving precise and efficient directional drilling in underground and tunnel engineering. The near-bit multi-parameter MWD method was studied, and a “center + side wall” distributed measurement scheme was proposed, based on an analysis of special application scenarios in underground and tunnel engineering. The transmission characteristics of Bluetooth wireless signals in water were investigated. An analysis of the underwater Bluetooth signal link was conducted. When the transmission distance is 100 mm, the received signal strength is −17.5 dBm, and the link margin is 69.5 dB. Wireless Bluetooth was used to transmit the near-bit data. A Bluetooth wireless communication simulation model was established using ANSYS software, and the influence of transmission power, transmission medium, and transmission distance on the Bluetooth signal strength was analyzed. The results indicate that: (1) the received signal strength increases with transmission power, and appropriately increasing the transmission power can improve the effect of Bluetooth wireless communication and extend the communication distance. (2) When the transmission medium is water, the received signal is unstable, and the echo loss curve shows a high and low oscillation form, presenting a frequency shift feature; when the transmission medium is air, the received signal is relatively stable, and the echo loss curve shows a parabolic form. The echo loss of Bluetooth wireless signal in water transmission is significantly higher than that in air transmission, indicating that the Bluetooth signal attenuates more rapidly when transmitted in water. (3) When the transmission distance increases near the optimal transmission frequency of 2.4 GHz, the echo loss increases accordingly, and the received signal strength of the wireless receiving module gradually decreases. The theoretical analysis, simulation, and indoor test results are in good agreement. The reasonable Bluetooth transmission power is 1 mW, and the transmission distance is 100 mm. After completing the overall scheme design and simulation analysis optimization, the structure, circuit, and program development were carried out, and the near-bit multi-parameter MWD device was developed. A laboratory water supply test was conducted, and the power supply, collection, and wireless transmission were all normal. A drilling test was carried out at an underground engineering of a coal mine in Wuhai City, achieving a drilling depth of 2328 m. A continuous and stable collection of various parameters such as WOB (weight on bit), torque, rotation speed, vibration, and gamma was carried out. A wireless transmission channel for near-bit data was established across the screw drilling tool. It can provide key technical support for the research and development of near-bit MWD in underground and tunnel engineering. Full article

Honey bees are constantly exposed to various environmental threats, among which pesticide pollution, including fungicides, is one of the most serious. The bees were 3 days old when they received the experimental solution. This study aimed to evaluate the behavior and mortality of honey bee workers exposed to a commercial formulation of the fungicide tebuconazole (Tebu^® EW, a.i. 25.8%; HELM, Hamburg, Germany). The experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions and lasted 7 days for all experimental groups. The fungicide solution was prepared by adding 6.25 mL of Tebu^® EW per 1 L of water, corresponding to 156.25 mg of tebuconazole (active ingredient) in the prepared solution of sugar syrup. The solution was served in 5 mL dispensers (=group feeding) placed in the cages. This concentration was used for the acute-exposure group (24 h). After 24 h bees were supplied with untreated sugar syrup for the remainder of the experiment. For the chronic-exposure group (168 h), the solution was a 1000-fold dilution of the acute solution, containing 0.15625 mg tebuconazole, dissolved in sugar syrup, provided continuously for 7 days with daily replacement. After 7 days, bee behavior was recorded using a camera and analyzed with Noldus Observer XT software (12.5: Windows 7 64-bit (SP1) version) Five basic honey bee behaviors were examined: walking, flight, self-grooming, contact between individuals and stillness. The results showed statistically significant differences between the experimental groups and the control group (α = 0.05) in the duration of walking, contact between individuals and self-grooming, and the frequency of walking and flight. This was particularly evident for self-grooming; the longer the group was exposed to tebuconazole, the less time the bees spent on this behavior (the acute group spent 47% less time self-grooming and the chronic group spent 88.8% less time self-grooming compared to the control group). Meanwhile, the frequency of walking and flying increased significantly with increasing exposure. No significant differences were observed in the survival between the groups. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the fungicide containing tebuconazole significantly affects the behavior of honey bee workers. Full article

This paper presents a theoretical engineering feasibility analysis of the RK-X photocatalytic process for In Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) on Mars. Experimental validation under simulated Martian conditions is the essential next step before any mission deployment claim can be made. The RK-X process converts the two most abundant Martian resources, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) and subsurface water ice (H₂O), into formic acid (HCOOH) and oxygen (O₂) through a fulvic acid-based photocatalytic cycle validated at the industrial scale in Hungary. A reference module processing 10 tonnes of CO₂ per Earth year yields 10.459 tonnes of formic acid and 3.636 tonnes of oxygen, sufficient to sustain a six-person crew for approximately two Earth years with a 198% safety margin over nominal respiratory demand. The economic analysis indicates that importing equivalent oxygen from Earth costs $1.82–$3.64 million per year; equivalent energy storage (Li-ion) costs $30.5–$61 million for one-time use. Formic acid stores 15.25 MWh of energy in ambient-stable liquid form at a round-trip efficiency of 68.64% without cryogenic infrastructure. A photovoltaic array of 55.37 m² provides the primary energy source; a kilowatt-class nuclear fission reactor constitutes the strategic opportunity for continuous, dust-storm-immune operation with free thermal co-generation. Three critical research gaps have been identified requiring laboratory validation before Mars deployment: (i) catalyst performance at the Martian CO₂ partial pressure (p(CO₂) < 10 mbar, T = 15 °C); (ii) water ice and dry ice extraction at an operational scale; and (iii) integrated closed-loop system demonstration. Built on Earth-proven chemistry with identified, addressable development pathways, the RK-X process theoretically resolves the problems of oxygen supply, seasonal energy storage, water management, and cryogenic infrastructure within a single closed-loop chemical cycle. Full article