Search Results (20,471)

Blockchain technology (BCT) is often discussed as digital support for timber traceability in the context of the EU Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EUDR), which requires operators and traders to demonstrate legality, deforestation-free production, geolocation at the forest parcel level, and verifiable supply chain documentation from 30 December 2026, with an extended timeline for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) until 30 June 2027. This study assesses where BCT can realistically add value in timber supply chains under operational forestry conditions and identifies the necessary technical, organizational, and legal prerequisites. A combination of a targeted literature review and empirical input from experts in the forestry and timber industry, including guided expert web-conferencing interviews (n = 41), an online survey (n = 69 completed responses), and a transdisciplinary workshop (n = 18) was utilized to obtain a comprehensive overview of industry perspectives. Qualitative data from interviews and workshop sessions were analyzed using structured qualitative content analysis, while survey data were evaluated using descriptive statistics. The expected benefits are associated with the introduction of tamper-proof timber harvesting practices and cross-organizational verification mechanisms. To address the discrepancy between biological uncertainty and digital rigidity, the study proposes a dynamic allocation model adapted from the energy sector that distinguishes between fixed and variable wood capacities to automate logistical planning via smart contracts. However, respondents emphasize that practical obstacles, such as limited digital maturity in forestry, fragmented data infrastructures across the supply chain, and unresolved issues of data sovereignty hinder the implementation of BCT. BCT alone is unable to resolve the problem of weak physical-digital identity continuity, a phenomenon widely known as the oracle problem; however, coupling the ledger with physical or biological anchors (e.g., photo-optical, automated inkjet marking identification) can re-establish this physical–digital continuity and thereby resolve the oracle problem. The results demonstrate that blockchain acts most plausibly as a supporting component within hybrid traceability architectures that prioritize event-based authentication, off-chain data processing where appropriate, and integration with existing certification systems. The study highlights the necessity of defining distinct organizational roles and responsibilities while integrating user-centric digital solutions tailored specifically to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Full article

The shortage of protein-rich foods is a major challenge due to the rapid growth of the world’s population. For this reason, efforts are being made to achieve sustainability in the food system to produce nutritious foods with better qualities. The present study aimed to utilize a combination of widely consumed legumes with nutritional properties—such as lentils, chickpeas, and beans—considering their physicochemical and functional characteristics, to produce tempeh as a model. A simple mixture design was employed to develop a legume-based product through the production of fermented flour using Rhizopus oligosporus ATCC 22959. For this purpose, proximate composition, water absorption index (WAI), pH, phenolic content, and antioxidant capacity, via the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) radicals, were determined in the raw legumes. Optimal fermentation conditions were determined through digital image analysis, and fermentations were carried out according to the design. The crude and soluble protein content, phenolic content, and DPPH of the fermented samples were determined, and a statistical optimization was performed by maximizing each variable. Through optimization, it was found that a formulation of 80.81% lentil and 19.19% chickpea presented the best desirability (D = 0.75) according to the criteria mentioned above. These results were also compared with those obtained from the preparation of an original soy tempeh using the microorganism Rhizopus oligosporus; it was found that the protein differences between the original tempeh and the one made from the legume blend were 19 g/100 g dry matter for the original tempeh and 27.5 g/100 g dry matter for the one made with the legume blend, demonstrating that the combination of legumes exerts a favorable interaction within the mixture model on the physicochemical properties of tempeh and could represent significant potential for the production of flours applicable to the development of food products as part of alternative protein sources. Full article

This review summarizes recent advances in intelligent spraying systems for precision agriculture. It focuses on the three interconnected components of perception, decision-making, and actuation, and compares the sensing characteristics of 2D planar field crops and three-dimensional orchard canopies. Particular emphasis is placed on evaluating the target recognition capabilities and physical limitations of machine vision, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), ultrasound, and active fluorescence spectroscopy under complex field conditions. At the actuation level, the dynamic response characteristics of Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM), proportional control valves, and adaptive control algorithms are critically reviewed, revealing the influence mechanism of hydraulic transient phenomena, including water hammer effects induced by high-frequency valve switching, on droplet size distribution (DSD). The review further discusses the coupling effects between Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) airflow fields, Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) motion disturbances, and spray deposition performance, and summarizes reported improvements in pesticide reduction, water conservation, and drift mitigation. Finally, the potential of cyber–physical systems (CPS) and digital twin-based frameworks for developing adaptive and closed-loop intelligent spraying systems is discussed to provide insights into future all-weather and autonomous agricultural operations. Full article

Point clouds are widely used to represent 3D visual content in immersive media, digital twins, and autonomous systems, but acquisition, compression, transmission, and rendering can introduce visible geometry and attribute distortions. Full-reference point cloud quality assessment (FR-PCQA) aims to predict the perceptual quality of a distorted point cloud by comparing it with a reference. A reliable FR-PCQA model should consider both the perception of 3D content by the human visual system via projected views and the manifestation of quality degradation in the point cloud geometry, color, and spatial structure. In this paper, we propose a multi-view projection and 3D feature fusion model for FR-PCQA. The proposed model integrates two complementary branches. In the projection branch, DISTS is applied to multi-view renderings aligned with the reference to capture perceptual similarity, and an additional six groups of geometric and photometric fidelity features (e.g., occupancy, depth fidelity and gradient domain fidelity) are developed to describe explicit geometric and photometric differences in the projected observations. In the 3D Feature Fusion branch, PCQM measures local geometry and color degradation, while a global structural descriptor with eight groups covering point count, position, scale, spatial distribution, and density is constructed to characterize the global properties of point clouds. Finally, a gradient boosting regression tree (GBRT) regressor is employed to predict the final quality score. Extensive experimental results show that the Spearman rank order correlation coefficient (SROCC) values are 0.91537, 0.9101, and 0.9778 on the SJTU-PCQA, WPC, and ICIP2020 datasets, respectively, outperforming the existing PCQA methods. These results indicate that the proposed multi-view projection and 3D feature fusion model provides an accurate and interpretable solution for FR-PCQA. Full article

In recent decades, the digital transformation has increasingly influenced structures and practices in community social services in Spain and other European countries. The progressive integration of telecare systems, home automation, mobile applications, and digital tools into the community sphere has enabled the optimisation of certain interventions, but it has also generated ethical dilemmas and new forms of inequality. This article examines how technologies are incorporated into community social services and home care practices in Spain within a context marked by gender, class, and age inequalities. Drawing on qualitative research involving thirty-two interviews with care recipients, carers, and representatives of social organisations, we analyse the socio-technological networks that mediate care, their impact on self-determination, and the limits and resistance to digitalisation. Our findings indicate that, within the community sphere, technologies can only contribute effectively to greater well-being when they are integrated into an ethical framework that prioritises human accompaniment, social co-responsibility, and the recognition of care as a right. We further discuss the tensions faced by cooperative and community organisations in providing sustained inclusive and dignified services within a precarious socio-economic context that highlights shared responsibility. Finally, we offer reflections on technological innovation, advocating for interdisciplinary collaboration that strengthens community networks and advances social justice. Full article

Cyber–physical systems (CPSs) increasingly rely on complex software components whose vulnerabilities may affect both digital services and physical processes. Fuzzing is a practical technique for discovering such vulnerabilities in CPS-facing parsers, protocol handlers, and edge services. Distributed fuzzing improves throughput, but outsourcing fuzzing tasks to multiple untrusted nodes introduces privacy risks: valuable seeds, especially crash-triggering samples, may reveal vulnerability information before affected users are protected. In this paper, we propose PrivFuzz, a privacy-preserving collaborative fuzzing framework. PrivFuzz allows organizations and individuals to collaborate and receive rewards while keeping fuzzing seeds confidential and enabling controlled encrypted seed reuse among untrusted fuzzing nodes. The key idea is to combine trusted execution environments (TEEs) with blockchain-based smart contracts to support confidentiality and fair reward settlement. We give game-based definitions and reduction-style arguments for seed confidentiality, worker soundness, outsourcer atomicity, and duplicate-claim resistance under an attested execution model. We implement a PrivFuzz prototype and evaluate it on four open-source parsing targets. Separately, native AFL++ sanity checks suggest that CPS-facing industrial protocol parsers such as Modbus and OPC UA fall within the same fuzzable target domain. Demonstrating end-to-end PrivFuzz on CPS control programs is left as future work. Using PrivFuzz, we discovered nine bugs and reported them to the developers. Full article

The rapid digitalisation of healthcare has accelerated the adoption of telemedicine, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), and the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), transforming healthcare delivery into a highly interconnected and patient-centric ecosystem. In response to growing concerns about data security, privacy, and interoperability, blockchain technology has emerged as a promising solution for its decentralization, immutability, auditability, and secure access control. However, many existing blockchain infrastructures rely on classical cryptographic primitives, including RSA- or elliptic-curve-based public-key mechanisms and cryptographic hash functions such as SHA-256, whose relevant security properties may be affected by sufficiently powerful quantum attacks. This review investigates the convergence of blockchain and quantum technologies to address emerging security threats in e-health systems. A structured literature review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines using the IEEE Xplore, PubMed, ACM Digital Library, Google Scholar, and Crossref databases, covering studies published between January 2018 and June 2025. Following a systematic screening and eligibility-verification process, 57 relevant studies were selected and analyzed. The review evaluates quantum-resilient security mechanisms, including Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), Quantum Random Number Generation (QRNG), and NIST-standardized Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms specified in FIPS 203, FIPS 204, and FIPS 205. Based on the identified research gaps in the state of the art, this study also proposes a novel four-layer Quantum-Blockchain Security Architecture (QBSA) designed for secure healthcare environments. The analysis further reveals significant challenges associated with lightweight PQC deployment for IoMT devices, interoperability standardization, quantum hardware limitations, and regulatory compliance in cross-institutional healthcare systems. The findings highlight the necessity of integrating quantum-resilient cryptographic frameworks with blockchain infrastructures to support the development of secure, scalable, and patient-centric next-generation e-health ecosystems. Full article

Firmware forms the persistent software layer controlling embedded and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, industrial controllers, automotive systems, and cyber-physical infrastructure. Vulnerabilities in firmware enable remote compromise, supply-chain attacks, and long-lived implants that survive operating-system reinstallation. This review synthesises 118 works published from 2014 to 2026—comprising 78 primary research studies; 23 surveys and systematisations of knowledge; and 17 benchmarks, tools, and background references—covering the full firmware reverse engineering (FRE) pipeline: physical acquisition (including fault injection and side-channel extraction), format analysis and unpacking, static analysis (binary code similarity detection, protocol reverse engineering, and patch diffing), dynamic analysis and hardware emulation, fuzzing-based vulnerability discovery, and artificial intelligence (AI) and large language model (LLM)-assisted analysis. Three additional dimensions are surveyed: digital twin-assisted firmware security testing; secure boot, trusted execution environment (TEE), and over-the-air (OTA) update security; and firmware rootkit and implant detection. Coverage spans two axes—the firmware class (Linux-based IoT, microcontroller-unit bare-metal, RTOS, UEFI/BIOS, PLC/ICS, and automotive ECU) and analysis depth (surface scanning to exploit-validated vulnerability chains). We identify ten structural gaps, including the absence of unified evaluation benchmarks, fragmented peripheral modelling, the scalability–fidelity trade-off in re-hosting, and insufficient grounding of LLM tools in firmware-specific realities. We conclude with six research directions for trustworthy, scalable, and infrastructure-aware firmware analysis. Full article

Soft magnetic materials determine the efficiency, size, thermal burden, and reliability of transformers, inductors, electrical machines, electromagnetic interference (EMI) components, and magnetic sensors. This review differs from property-by-property surveys by using a condition-aware, application-driven framework: magnetic performance is compared only together with frequency, peak magnetic flux density, temperature, waveform, direct current (DC) bias, geometry, and processing route. After a concise treatment of coercivity, permeability, saturation polarization, magnetostriction, and loss mechanisms, the major material families are quantitatively compared in terms of magnetic performance, processing, cost, and industrial maturity. The review then maps these families onto grid transformers, high-speed electrical machines, wide-bandgap power converters, integrated magnetics, wireless power transfer, aerospace electrical systems, and radiofrequency components. Particular attention is given to the trade-offs among saturation polarization, permeability, core loss, mechanical strength, thermal stability, manufacturability, and sustainability. Recent advances in strong and ductile soft magnets, wide-temperature ferrites, vortex and easy-plane composites, mixed-powder soft magnetic composites, nanocrystalline flake-ribbon cores, and additive manufacturing are assessed by technology maturity. A prioritized roadmap identifies near-term needs for standardized condition-specific data and manufacturing control, medium-term opportunities in magnetic–thermal co-design and digital twins, and longer-term prospects for adaptive, self-healing, and GHz magnetic architectures. The resulting framework is intended to support both material development and defensible industrial material selection. Full article

Background: Mobile health interventions offer a potential solution to adherence challenges, yet evidence regarding their collective efficacy in schizophrenia spectrum disorders has not been formally synthesized. This systematic review evaluates the impact of mobile health (mHealth) interventions on medication adherence as a primary outcome and on daily functioning and psychotic symptoms as secondary outcomes in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Methods: Using the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome (PICO) framework, a systematic search was conducted across multiple databases to identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating mHealth strategies for medication adherence in adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and JBI databases were searched from inception until 24 February 2026, using combinations of search terms such as “Schizo” OR “Psychos” AND “mHealth” OR “Digital Health” AND “Medication Adherence”. Data extraction was conducted using a standardized data extraction table and narratively synthesized. This review adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, ensuring structured and comprehensive reporting of the findings. Results: Fourteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 1717 participants were included in this review. Four studies evaluated text messaging interventions, four employed phone call interventions, three used electronic medication monitoring systems, and three used mobile applications. Nine of the fourteen studies reported statistically significant improvements in medication adherence. For secondary outcomes, the results were highly inconsistent: only three studies demonstrated significant reductions in psychotic symptoms, and none showed benefits for daily functioning. While various theoretical frameworks, such as the Health Belief Model and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and intervention modalities, were utilized, the overall evidence was limited by high clinical heterogeneity and a lack of robust long-term data. Conclusions: mHealth interventions, particularly text messaging and mobile applications, demonstrate clear potential to improve medication adherence in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Given the high heterogeneity and lack of long-term evidence, future research should prioritize standardized outcome measurements, rigorous designs, and extended follow-up periods to confirm clinical utility. Full article

Digital human resource management (HRM) systems can expand employees’ access to information, development opportunities, and organisational services, but their employee-level implications remain insufficiently understood in manufacturing settings. This cross-sectional study examines whether perceived digital HRM accessibility is associated with organisational justice, psychological contract fulfilment, employee voice behaviour, and innovative work behaviour in Morocco’s automotive manufacturing sector. Survey data from 180 employees across five manufacturers were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Perceived accessibility was positively associated with organisational justice (β = 0.521, p < 0.001) and psychological contract fulfilment (β = 0.551, p < 0.001). Organisational justice was associated with voice (β = 0.339, p < 0.001), and psychological contract fulfilment was associated with innovative work behaviour (β = 0.439, p < 0.001). The specific indirect associations were β = 0.177 through justice and β = 0.242 through psychological contract fulfilment. For the justice–voice route, both the indirect and direct associations were statistically significant; for the psychological-contract–innovation route, only the indirect association was significant. The findings concern employee-level perceptions and behaviours; they do not establish objective digital inequality, causal effects, or supply-chain-level outcomes. Full article

The digital divide in developing economies persists as a multidimensional challenge encompassing infrastructure access, digital skills, usage patterns, and social inequality. This paper presents a structured literature review of 63 peer-reviewed articles (2018–2025) examining how intelligent connectivity, the convergence of fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT), can contribute to bridging this divide. The findings reveal that intelligent connectivity offers transformative potential across agriculture, healthcare, education, and financial services. However, its impact is contingent upon enabling governance, institutional capacity, and digital skills. Three contributions emerge: (1) a conceptual framework specifying directional pathways from enabling conditions to intelligent connectivity deployment and inclusive outcomes; (2) a comparative regional analysis (Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America) identifying context-specific barriers and opportunities; and (3) a socio-technical model positioning intelligent connectivity as an integrated system rather than a purely technological solution. A key limitation is acknowledged: only 16% of the reviewed corpus addresses developing economies, necessitating triangulation with institutional reports from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA). The paper concludes with open research challenges and policy recommendations for inclusive digital transformation. Full article

Recent advances in Digital Twin technology focus on visualization, operator training, and real-time machine simulation, aligning with the Industry 4.0 paradigm. However, the transition toward Industry 5.0 demands human-centric approaches that integrate workers not merely as observers but as active, monitorable parts of the system. Despite growing research interest, mature end-to-end methodologies for creating and deploying reliable Human Digital Twins (HDTs) in industrial environments are still lacking. This paper introduces Industrial Meta-Human (IMHU), an end-to-end human-centered Digital Twin methodology designed to bridge this gap. By spanning the entire lifecycle, from human modeling to production deployment, IMHU leverages Unreal Engine simulation to generate accurate human models and synthetic data, allowing safe replication of hazardous scenarios without disrupting ongoing operations. The methodology integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enable real-time monitoring and support data-driven decision-making. Deployed on a fully operational production line, IMHU includes a system integration layer based on a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), enabling seamless interoperability with legacy Industry 4.0 infrastructures. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and confirm the effectiveness of real-time human-state tracking, and underscore its potential to advance scalable, human-centered Digital Twin systems for Industry 5.0. Full article

To address the challenges of low efficiency, high labour intensity, severe fish damage, and insufficient intelligence in adult fish harvesting within industrialised aquaculture systems, this study developed an integrated harvesting and sorting system incorporating bottom-drain fish collection, automatic herding, a modified screw-lifting mechanism, and digital grading. The system employs a bottom-discharge port on the culture tank—controlled by an electric ball valve—to replace manual net-herding, enabling simultaneous fish-and-water drainage. An automatic herding cart with a retractable net (equipped with surface floats and bottom weights) achieves bottom-hugging herding to prevent fish escape. A multi-column convolutional neural network (MCNN) fish-density recognition model was deployed above the collection tank to adaptively adjust the push-board position, thereby avoiding compression injury. The screw blade head was modified by removing the inlet-edge portions to eliminate the fish-cutting zone, reducing the mean damage rate from 1.8% to 1.32% (N = 12; 66.7% of trials recorded zero damage). Twelve repeated full-scale harvesting trials were conducted using largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides; body length 20–30 cm, body mass 300–500 g) in a 2.5 m diameter PP circular tank. Results showed a mean collection efficiency of 95.94 ± 3.33% (p < 0.001), a mean damage rate of 1.32 ± 1.96%, and a mean sorting accuracy of 96.83 ± 2.50% (p = 0.014). The MCNN model attained a recognition accuracy of 78–85%. The proposed system realises automated, intelligent, and low-damage fish harvesting, providing technical support for fully automated production-line aquaculture. Full article

Walking tourism is increasingly supported by a wide range of digital technologies that are crucial for mitigating environmental impacts and promoting sustainable territorial development, yet their adoption remains fragmented and rarely interpreted within a unified infrastructure perspective. While systemic infrastructure perspectives are well-established in smart city and transport literature, existing studies on walking trails still tend to focus on individual tools or user-oriented applications. Drawing upon broader smart mobility concepts, this paper proposes a system-level framework, the SmartTrail Framework (STF), for the classification, functional interpretation and integration assessment of digital technologies in walking trail infrastructures. The framework is conceived as a transferable analytical and operational instrument applicable both to academic literature and to real-world trail systems, supporting infrastructure assessment, planning and digital maturity evaluation. Following an initial bibliometric analysis of a broader Scopus dataset comprising 1697 records, a structured literature review of 253 publications was conducted to operationalise and illustrate the framework through the systematic classification of digital technologies, the mapping of functional requirements, and the assessment of Integration Levels (IL). The STF integrates three analytical dimensions: a technology domain taxonomy (six categories), a functional requirement model (five infrastructure functions) and an IL scheme (IL0–IL3) that characterises the degree of systemic coherence among digital components. The results reveal a critical functional imbalance in current digitalisation: while user-oriented navigation and information services are widely adopted, backend infrastructure functions, particularly safety and operational logistics, remain severely underdeveloped, keeping most trail systems trapped in low-integration configurations. Applied to real-world trail systems, the framework enables the identification of architectural gaps, the prioritisation of integration investments and the definition of development pathways towards intelligent trail ecosystems. The paper aims to contribute to field research by providing a structured interpretative framework for understanding digital technologies as infrastructural components of walking trails. This supports a shift from tool-based thinking to system-based infrastructure design and offers practical implications for planners, managers and policymakers involved in the development of smart, resilient and environmentally sustainable trail infrastructures. Full article