Search Results (39,172)

Background/Objectives: The healthcare sector accounts for an estimated 1–5% of the global environmental footprint, and hospitals concentrate a large share of that impact. As the largest professional group, nurses are pivotal to the transition toward green and regenerative hospitals. This review aimed to map the sustainable nursing practices implemented in hospitals internationally and to characterise the contribution of nursing to reducing the environmental footprint of care. Methods: A scoping review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, SciELO and Dialnet were searched for studies published between 2021 and 2026, complemented by grey and institutional literature, citation searching and hand-searching. Records were screened in duplicate against predefined eligibility criteria, and the evidence was charted into six thematic categories aligned with the review objectives. Results: Twenty-five sources were included—11 reviews and 14 primary studies, most of them descriptive. Waste management emerged as the domain most sensitive to nursing action, whereas energy and water use were only minimally nurse-sensitive. Education, leadership and nurse engagement were the main enablers; insufficient training, resistance to change and limited investment were the recurrent barriers. Only one study explicitly addressed the regenerative transition, from a governance perspective. Conclusions: Embedding sustainable practices in nursing can reduce the environmental impact of hospitals while preserving quality of care. Nurse-sensitive environmental indicators and the integration of sustainability competencies into curricula and hospital governance are key levers for this transition, whose regenerative dimension remains incipient and requires primary, comparative research. Full article

The growing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and the increasing need for coordinated charging and energy management have highlighted the importance of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technologies within battery management systems (BMSs). However, existing studies often treat EVs as idealized storage systems, overlooking battery and BMS-related operational constraints, and typically analyze driving, charging, and bidirectional energy exchange in isolation, limiting realistic, end-to-end evaluation of daily operation scenarios. This paper addresses these gaps by analyzing how advanced, BMS-integrated V2X capabilities can be deployed in real-world EV operation, focusing on battery utilization, operational performance, and system-level energy interactions. A unified, scenario-based methodology combines mobility demand, AC/DC charging behavior, and bidirectional V2X services within a single daily operational framework. Representative use cases for both passenger EVs and electric light commercial vehicles (eLCVs) are developed to capture realistic driving patterns, environmental conditions, and energy exchange scenarios. The results indicate that V2X operation can provide substantial gross economic value in the investigated scenarios. For the eLCV cases, the estimated increase in equivalent full cycle (EFC) throughput rate ranges from approximately 14.3% to 30.3%, while combined summer–winter cumulative avoided electricity purchase cost reaches approximately EUR 4033 for the higher-power charging strategy, equivalent to 57.0% of the adopted battery cost reference. The analysis also highlights the strong influence of ambient temperature and usage patterns on energy consumption, charging strategies, and overall system performance. Overall, this work provides a holistic and practical evaluation framework for V2X-enabled BMS operation, demonstrating its potential to improve grid support, enhance energy efficiency, and support sustainable EV integration while balancing economic and battery-lifetime trade-offs. Full article

Ammonia, as a hydrogen carrier and carbon-free alternative fuel, shows great potential in future low-carbon energy systems. This study uses dimethyl ether (DME) as a combustion promoter for ammonia to enhance the combustion performance of ammonia-fueled engines. To address the issue of unburned ammonia emissions, the original combustion chamber geometry was optimized by removing the squish area to enhance flame propagation. At an ammonia energy ratio (AER) of 60%, the modified combustion chamber (MCC) reduces unburned ammonia (uNH₃) emissions by up to 85.46% and improves indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) by 1.93% compared to the original combustion chamber (OCC). Furthermore, to achieve higher thermal efficiency and lower pollutant emissions, the DME injection strategy was redesigned based on the MCC. The results show that adjusting the single injection timing (SIT) and injection angle (INA) of DME can effectively improve the homogeneity of the in-cylinder combustible mixture and enhance combustion efficiency; however, overly concentrated injection can lead to rapid heat release and increase the risk of knock. The split injection strategy enables more controllable combustion phasing, significantly reduces the maximum pressure rise rate (MPRR) and ringing intensity (RI), and mitigates knocking tendency. When the main injection timing (MIT) is −5 °CA ATDC, pilot injection timing (PIT) is −30 °CA ATDC, and the pilot injection ratio (PIR) is 60%, the ITE reaches 49.98%, which is 3.53% higher than that of the pure diesel mode. Greenhouse gas (GHG) and NO_x emissions are reduced by 45.94% and 62.49%, respectively, with uNH₃ emissions as low as 4.16 g/kW·h. Full article

Metabolic resistance is commonly attributed to the overexpression of detoxification enzymes, whereas the metabolic systems that sustain detoxification remain less well resolved. Here, we integrated widely targeted metabolomics and transcriptomics to compare the clothianidin-resistant brown planthopper strain CLR with the susceptible strain CLS and validated candidate genes in an independent nitenpyram-resistant background. CLR and CLS exhibited distinct metabolomic profiles. Differential genes and metabolites converged on carbon metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, glutathione metabolism, pentose and glucuronate interconversions, cytochrome P450-mediated xenobiotic metabolism, and ABC transporters. These changes were summarized into four interconnected modules involving glycolytic energy supply, protective sugar-derived metabolites, pyruvate–TCA–malate metabolism, and UGT-mediated glycosylation. Expression analysis identified a mitochondrial NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase gene and UDP-glucosyltransferase 2 (UGT2) as consistently upregulated in both resistant backgrounds. Silencing NADP reduced the LC₅₀ of nitenpyram and clothianidin by 1.84- and approximately 1.81-fold, respectively, whereas UGT2 silencing produced corresponding reductions of 1.89- and 1.83-fold. These findings indicate that neonicotinoid resistance in Nilaparvata lugens is supported by coordinated remodelling of central metabolism and detoxification and identify two candidate metabolic nodes for further resistance management research. Full article

This study evaluates the effects of hydrogen enrichment of compressed natural gas (HCNG, CNG) on particle number emissions and particle size distribution in a dual-fuel compression-ignition (CI) engine. The experiments were conducted using a Fiat 1.3 MultiJet engine operated with conventional diesel fuel, diesel–CNG, and diesel–hydrogen-enriched CNG. Measurements were performed over a range of engine speeds, loads, and energy-substitution conditions. The hydrogen volume fraction in the gaseous fuel ranged from 5–10 vol.% to 53 vol.%. Particle size distributions were measured using an ELPI+ impactor. The use of CNG and hydrogen generally reduced soot-particle emissions in the accumulation mode, particularly within the particle-diameter range of approximately 0.03–0.2 µm. However, under some operating conditions, the number of ultrafine particles increased, particularly in the sub-23 nm range. This finding indicates a transition from a particle-formation mechanism dominated by soot formation and agglomeration to one dominated by nucleation and condensation. This phenomenon is associated with suppressed soot-precursor formation, enhanced soot oxidation by OH radicals, and a reduction in the surface area available for the condensation of volatile components. The effect of hydrogen depended on the engine operating point (EOP) and did not always scale linearly with hydrogen concentration. The results confirm that evaluating alternative fuels solely on the basis of particulate mass is insufficient. Particle number, particle size distribution, and the sub-23 nm fraction must also be considered. Full article

Rectangular reinforced concrete (RC) hollow bridge piers may exhibit significant shear participation after flexural cracking and yielding, whereas their seismic responses are commonly evaluated using flexure-dominated numerical models. This study investigates the effects of axial–flexure–shear interactions on the cyclic response and seismic fragility of rectangular RC hollow bridge piers. Cyclic loading tests on seven one-eighth-scale specimens were analyzed to characterize the effects of the shear-span ratio and reinforcement configuration. The experimental results were then used to assess a conventional flexure model and an axial–flexure–shear interaction model, denoted as AFSI–MBTEM. Full-scale piers with heights of 16, 24, and 32 m were subsequently analyzed under cyclic loading and representative near-fault ground motions. Finally, 7200 nonlinear time-history analyses were conducted using 80 records divided into non-pulse and short-, medium-, and long-period pulse-like groups, while seismic fragility curves were developed using displacement ductility as the demand parameter. The tests indicated flexure-dominated but distinctly shear-sensitive behavior, particularly for specimens with low shear-span ratios. Compared with the flexure model, AFSI–MBTEM reproduced pinching, post-peak deterioration, and hysteretic energy more accurately, reducing the mean absolute error in hysteretic energy from 23.57% to 13.29%. For the full-scale piers, model differences generally decreased as the pier height and shear-span ratio increased together, although the effects on large-deformation stability and seismic response remained configuration- and ground-motion-dependent. AFSI–MBTEM predicted higher fragility in 46 of the 48 height–motion–damage-state comparisons. At the upper analyzed intensity of PGA = 1.5 g, it also produced higher DS4 exceedance probabilities in the examined critical cases. Within the investigated section configurations, axial-load ratios, and coupled height–shear-span cases, the results indicate that neglecting axial–flexure–shear interactions may lead to nonconservative fragility estimates, particularly for configurations with greater shear participation. Full article

The construction sector is a complex industry whose growth and development are closely associated with overall economic expansion and the circular economy. Within this sector, Building Energy Simulation (BES) is widely employed to evaluate and compare the energy performance of proposed office buildings under both baseline conditions and with alternative heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) and domestic hot water (DHW) system configurations. The primary objective of this research was to conduct an energy performance assessment of administrative buildings located in Bratislava, Slovakia. A progressive methodology based on dynamic heat transfer simulation algorithms was applied to evaluate five alternative scenarios (C1–C5). Building performance and heat flow behavior were modeled and analyzed using DesignBuilder software (Version 7). The simulation results revealed that Scenario C5 represents the most effective solution for both administrative building A and administrative building B. From an economic standpoint, Scenario C5 also achieved the lowest energy costs when the DD3 electricity tariff was applied. The DD3 tariff is a dual-rate electricity pricing scheme intended for consumers with higher levels of electricity consumption during off-peak (low-tariff) periods. The findings indicate that a high level of energy sustainability in office buildings can be achieved through the effective implementation of optimized HVAC and DHW systems. Moreover, the integration of energy-efficiency measures contributes to enhanced economic performance by reducing overall energy consumption and associated operating costs. Full article

As offshore wind development moves toward deeper waters, floating offshore wind turbines have become essential for carbon-neutral energy systems. This study experimentally investigates the hydrodynamic coefficients of typical column–heave-plate components under forced oscillations, focusing on the influence of pitch-induced inclination. A circular column without a heave plate and a circular column equipped with a hexagonal heave plate were tested under heave and surge motions with varying periods, amplitudes, and static inclination angles. The static inclinations were used to represent the attitude variation of platform components during large-amplitude pitch responses. Added mass and damping coefficients were identified using the least squares method. The results show that for the heave-plate-equipped column, increasing the inclination from 0° to 5° and 10° reduced the nondimensional heave added mass by approximately 4.3% and 5.9%, respectively, and reduced the nondimensional heave damping by approximately 7.1% and 6.8%. The corresponding reductions in surge added mass were approximately 5.3% and 10.5%, whereas the reductions in surge damping reached approximately 8.2% and 16.4%, indicating that the surge damping is most sensitive to static inclination. These variations may be associated with the altered geometric projection and disturbed flow symmetry of the inclined component, which may affect the attached-fluid volume and energy-dissipation process during forced oscillation. Future studies should further verify the corresponding local separation and vortex-formation mechanisms through detailed flow-field measurements, PIV, or CFD. Full article

Magnesium oxychloride (MOA) adhesive plywood represents a novel inorganic matrix panel technology that eliminates organic volatile compounds from the adhesive system and avoids high-temperature hot pressing, potentially offering significant carbon footprint advantages. This study presents a comparative life cycle carbon footprint assessment of conventional urea–formaldehyde (UF) plywood and MOA plywood manufactured in China, using 1 m³ of a finished panel as the functional unit under a cradle-to-grave system boundary, comprising the production stage (Modules A1–A3)—explicitly including forestry operations (silviculture, felling, extraction/forwarding, loading and log haulage) and veneer manufacture within Module A1, now reported as a disaggregated inventory and delimited in a system boundary diagram—and the end-of-life stage (Modules C2–C4), evaluated across three end-of-life (EOL) scenarios: incineration, landfill, and mechanical recycling. Foreground data (process energy, adhesive formulation, transport distances) are metered/primary data collected over a full production year at a single large-scale plywood plant in Suqian, Jiangsu; background data are from ecoinvent v3.9.1 (cut-off), characterised with IPCC AR6 GWP100. Results indicate that MOA plywood generates approximately 253 kg CO₂-e/m³ at the production stage (A1–A3), compared with 301 kg CO₂-e/m³ for UF plywood, a reduction of 15.8% (47.5 kg CO₂-e/m³). Contribution analysis attributes virtually the entire gap to process energy (steam 65.7%, electricity 34.3%), while adhesive raw materials and inbound transport cancel to within rounding, demonstrating that the advantage is a process energy rather than a green chemistry phenomenon. A parameter-specific one-at-a-time analysis and a 200,000-run Monte Carlo simulation with triangular distributions show no reversal of the UF–MOA ranking in any of the 200,000 realisations within the adopted uncertainty ranges, with an approximately 56 kg CO₂-e/m³ median advantage (5th–95th percentile of about 31–85). Under EOL incineration, MOA plywood retains a substantial advantage even after the newly quantified burden of flue gas HCl neutralisation (13.3 kg CO₂-e/m³) and inorganic residue management (0.9 kg CO₂-e/m³) arising from the chloride content of the Sorel cement binder are charged to the MOA system. Under landfill, both products behave similarly, as wood carbon dynamics dominate. A break-even analysis shows that the service life of MOA plywood would have to fall below 25.3 years (against a 30-year reference) for its cradle-to-gate advantage to be erased. These findings clarify the lifecycle trade-offs of inorganic adhesive plywood and provide actionable data for environmental product declarations and procurement frameworks. Full article

As cities accelerate climate adaptation and decarbonisation, municipally owned companies (MOCs) play an important role in delivering sustainable urban infrastructure, accessing transition finance, and supporting Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). However, the expansion of sustainability reporting requirements under the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) raises questions about the preparedness of public infrastructure providers to meet evolving sustainability-information demands. This study examines ESG reporting readiness among Polish MOCs, focusing on current reporting activity, reporting intentions, regulatory awareness, indirect ESG information pressures, sustainable-finance and investment plans, and potential transition-risk exposure. The analysis is based on a Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing survey of 226 municipal enterprises conducted in August 2025. The results indicate substantial reporting gaps. Only 8% of surveyed MOCs had already prepared or planned to prepare a non-financial report. When companies planning EU Taxonomy reporting only were also included, 14% of the sample had some form of current or planned reporting, while the remaining 86% had neither current nor planned non-financial or EU Taxonomy reporting. Reporting readiness was lower among smaller companies, while indirect ESG information pressures arising from business relationships, stakeholder requests, and financing plans were also evident across the surveyed sample. The findings suggest that limited reporting preparedness, when combined with external sustainability-information demands, may contribute to potential transition-risk exposure relevant to municipal investment and financing processes. More broadly, ESG reporting readiness represents an organisational capability relevant to sustainable finance, municipal climate investment, and the development of PEDs and smart cities. Full article

The mechanical characteristics and the rupture behavior of dry paper and papers immersed in pure water or a carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) aqueous solution were investigated by measuring the shape changes due to the immersion and by uniaxial tensile tests. The weight changes and dimensional changes for these samples due to the immersion were evaluated by the gravimetric method and image analysis, respectively. The absorption ratio of the paper was 2.3 for pure water, and it increased up to 2.7 with the CMC concentration. A deformation of 5% at maximum was observed in the direction perpendicular to the fiber orientation due to the absorption. All the samples demonstrated similar stress–strain curves in the regions of linear viscoelasticity and plastic deformation. The peak stress, Young’s modulus, and strain energy density of CMC wet paper showed lower values than those of water wet paper, while the peak strain was the same for both samples. Similar behavior was found in the cross direction, although the difference was not significant. These results strongly indicate that the penetration and adsorption of CMC molecules lead to a large expansion, resulting in the disentanglement of paper fibers and a significant reduction in the mechanical properties due to the strong fluid lubrication effect. Full article

Adoption of peer-to-peer (P2P) trading is very challenging, mainly due to numerous issues and limitations such as lack of trust in the concept and awareness of the technical, economic and social benefits. This paper aims to understand how blockchain technology can address the current issues/limitations of P2P distributed solar energy (DSE) trading. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 community energy stakeholders to confirm and expand the stakeholder issues identified in the literature review. A case representing community energy projects was selected to (1) develop and implement a blockchain system and (2) evaluate its ability to eliminate (or reduce) stakeholder issues and meet stakeholder expectations. A blockchain-enabled P2P trading platform was developed using an Ethereum backend. The system clearly demonstrated its ability to deliver full or partial solutions to 12 stakeholder issues. Two stakeholder issues are unable to be addressed via the blockchain platform since they uncovered the weaknesses of blockchain technology. The P2P trading platform has also demonstrated its ability to facilitate decentralized trading and data management. The outcome of this study indicates the areas of P2P trading projects that can be improved by the application of blockchain technology. Full article

This study aims to investigate the feasibility of ethanol-digested calcium oxide (CaO-E) as a novel dechlorination sorbent for the efficient removal of hydrogen chloride (HCl) from coal-fired flue gas and further evaluate its influence on mercury speciation and transformation in flue gas, thereby addressing the low efficiency and limited multi-pollutant control capability of conventional dry dechlorination technologies. Based on a laboratory-scale injection reaction system, ethanol-digested calcium-based sorbents were injected into simulated coal-fired flue gas to systematically examine the effects of key factors, including Ca/Cl molar ratio, SO₂, and fly ash, on dechlorination efficiency. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were further employed to elucidate the reaction mechanisms. Meanwhile, mercury-laden flue gas was introduced to investigate the removal characteristics of elemental mercury (Hg⁰) and oxidized mercury (Hg²⁺) by CaO-E. The experimental results demonstrated that ethanol-digested CaO exhibited significantly superior performance compared with untreated samples, and the formation of a porous calcium hydroxide structure was identified as the key factor responsible for its high dechlorination efficiency. When the Ca/Cl molar ratio reached 4.0, the dechlorination efficiency could be stably maintained above 80%. SO₂ showed a pronounced inhibitory effect on the dechlorination process, whereas fly ash exhibited a slight promoting effect. Mercury removal experiments revealed that CaO-E had limited removal capability toward Hg⁰ but effectively reduced the concentration of Hg²⁺. Specifically, when the Ca/Cl molar ratios were 3 and 5, the Hg²⁺ concentrations decreased to 1.4 and 0.6 μg/m³, respectively. This behavior can be attributed to the fact that Hg²⁺ mainly exists in chlorinated forms such as HgCl₂, which possess strong polarity and can be readily adsorbed by the alkaline active sites on the CaO-E surface. In addition, as the dechlorination process proceeded, chlorine-containing species in the flue gas were gradually consumed, suppressing the oxidation conversion of Hg⁰ to Hg²⁺ and thereby further reducing the Hg²⁺ concentration. Theoretical calculations indicated that both HCl and SO₂ could undergo chemisorption on calcium active sites, while HCl possessed a lower reaction energy barrier and therefore dominated the competitive adsorption process, exhibiting preferential reactivity. Overall, ethanol-digested calcium oxide not only demonstrates excellent HCl removal performance, but also shows the capability to regulate mercury speciation in flue gas to a certain extent, providing both theoretical insights and technical support for the synergistic control of multiple pollutants in coal-fired flue gas. Full article

Maritime transport is a major component of global supply chains, but reducing its atmospheric emissions remains essential to improving the environmental sustainability of shipping. This study analyzes onboard emission data reported for the MV Ilshin Green Iris under real-world operating conditions to assess how fuel selection affects the direct-emission performance of a dual-fuel marine propulsion system. The vessel is equipped with a MAN B&W 6G50ME-C9.5-GI engine employing high-pressure dual-fuel (HPDF) technology. A quantitative comparison between heavy fuel oil (HFO) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) was performed at 50% of the maximum continuous rating (MCR). At 50% MCR, LNG reduced CO₂ emissions by 27.0%, NOx emissions by 20.7%, and CO emissions by 18.2% relative to HFO, while PM showed an indicative reduction of approximately 69%; its precise magnitude remains uncertain because a complete PM uncertainty budget was unavailable. Over the 900 s measurement period, the estimated reduction in CO₂ mass was 154 kg. During LNG operation, the specific CH₄ emission at 50% MCR was approximately 0.6 g/kWh. Using a 100-year global warming potential of 29.8 for fossil CH₄, this corresponds to approximately 17.9 g CO₂-eq/kWh, equivalent to about 10.5% of the direct CO₂ reduction between HFO and LNG at this operating point. The results are representative of the analyzed stabilized operating point rather than of the vessel’s complete operational profile. The main contribution of this study is a structured matched-load analysis of HFO and LNG emissions from the same HPDF marine engine. The analysis combines measurement-derived specific emissions with energy-based mass estimates, methane-related limitations, data-quality considerations, and regulatory and sustainability implications. Because both fuels were evaluated in the same engine at the same 50% MCR operating point, the study provides a consistent basis for assessing fuel-related differences within the limits of the available dataset. Full article

Traditional bone plates provide reliable fracture fixation; however, their high stiffness can cause stress shielding, thereby reducing mechanical stimulation of the bone tissue and slowing its regeneration. The biomechanical performance of a titanium plate with a localized porous structure for osteosynthesis of the radial shaft was investigated in this study. Three designs were considered: a solid plate and two plates with localized porous regions measuring 10 × 10 mm and 10 × 15 mm. The finite element analysis of the bone–plate system was performed using MSC Patran/Nastran, with rigid fixation of the proximal end of the bone and sequential application of an axial compressive load of 100 N, bending, and torsion with a moment of 1 N·m. Biomechanical performance was evaluated based on von Mises equivalent stress, fragment displacement (FD), interfragmentary movement (IFM), interfragmentary strain (IFS), and strain energy density (SED). To confirm the manufacturability of the design, the plate was fabricated from Ti–6Al–4V alloy using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), and the geometry of the porous structure was verified by scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the localized porous structure altered the load distribution between the plate and the bone, resulting in an increase in local stresses in the bone under the investigated loading conditions. These changes indicate an alteration in the mechanical environment within the bone, which may potentially affect conditions related to fracture healing. Among the investigated configurations, the plate with a 10 × 10 mm porous insert demonstrated the most balanced mechanical characteristics in terms of stresses in the implant, stress distribution in the bone, and structural stability. Full article