Search Results (434)

This pilot study investigated an automated pilot plant for removing microplastics (MPs) from industrial wastewater that are generated during packaging production. MP removal is based on organosilane-induced agglomeration-fixation (clump & skim technology) followed by separation. The wastewater had high MP loads (1725 ± 377 mg/L; 673 ± 183 million particles/L) and an average COD of 7570 ± 1339 mg/L. Over 25 continuous test runs, the system achieved consistent performance, removing an average of 97.4% of MPs by mass and 99.1% by particle count, while reducing the COD by 78.8%. Projected over a year, this equates to preventing 1.7 tons of MPs and 6 tons of COD from entering the sewage system. Turbidity and photometric TSS measurements proved useful for process control. The approach supports water reuse—with water savings up to 80%—and allows recovery of agglomerates for recycling and reuse. Targeting pollutant removal upstream at the source provides multiple financial and environmental benefits, including lower overall energy demands, higher removal efficiencies, and process water reuse. This provides financial and environmental incentives for industries to implement sustainable solutions for pollutants and microplastic removal. Full article

Using waste biomass as a raw material for the combined production of electricity and heat offers corresponding energy, economic, environmental and resource efficiency benefits. The study examines both the performance of a system for combined energy production based on the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) utilizing wood biomass and the market interest in its deployment within Bulgaria. Its objective is to propose a technically and economically viable solution for the recovery of waste biomass through the combined production of electricity and heat while simultaneously assessing the readiness of industrial and municipal sectors to adopt such systems. The cogeneration plant incorporates an ORC module enhanced with three additional economizers that capture residual heat from flue gases. Operating on 2 t/h of biomass, the system delivers 1156 kW of electric power and 3660 kW of thermal energy, recovering an additional 2664 kW of heat. The overall energy efficiency reaches 85%, with projected annual revenues exceeding EUR 600,000 and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of over 5800 t/yr. These indicators can be achieved through optimal installation and operation. When operating at a reduced load, however, the specific fuel consumption increases and the overall efficiency of the installation decreases. The marketing survey results indicate that 75% of respondents express interest in adopting such technologies, contingent upon the availability of financial incentives. The strongest demand is observed for systems with capacities up to 1000 kW. However, significant barriers remain, including high initial investment costs and uneven access to raw materials. The findings confirm that the developed system offers a technologically robust, environmentally efficient and market-relevant solution, aligned with the goals of energy independence, sustainability and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Full article

The ongoing degradation of global forests has severely weakened ecosystem service functions, and traditional judicial remedies have struggled to quantify intangible ecological losses. China has become an important testing ground for restorative justice through the establishment of specialized environmental courts and the practice of environmental public interest litigation. Since 2015, China has actively explored and institutionalized the application of the concept of restorative justice in its environmental justice reform. This concept emphasizes compensating environmental damages through actual ecological restoration acts rather than relying solely on financial compensation. This shift reflects a deep understanding of the limitations of traditional environmental justice and an institutional response to China’s ecological civilization construction, providing critical support for forest ecosystem restoration and enabling ecological restoration activities, such as replanting and re-greening, habitat reconstruction, etc., to be enforced through judicial decisions. This study conducts a qualitative analysis of judicial rulings in forest restoration cases to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of restorative justice in compensating for losses in forest ecosystem service functions. The findings reveal the following: (1) restoration measures in judicial practice are disconnected from the types of ecosystem services available; (2) non-market values and long-term cumulative damages are systematically underestimated, with monitoring mechanisms exhibiting fragmented implementation and insufficient effectiveness; (3) management cycles are set in violation of ecological restoration principles, and acceptance standards lack function-oriented indicators; (4) participation of key stakeholders is severely lacking, and local knowledge and professional expertise have not been integrated. In response, this study proposes a restorative judicial framework oriented toward forest ecosystem services, utilizing four mechanisms: independent recognition of legal interests, function-matched restoration, application of scientific assessment tools, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. This framework aims to drive a paradigm shift from formal restoration to substantive functional recovery, providing theoretical support and practical pathways for environmental judicial reform and global forest governance. Full article

This study employs k-means clustering to analyze local organizations responsible for land improvement in Greece, identifying four distinct groups with consistent geographic patterns but divergent financial and operational characteristics. By integrating unsupervised machine learning with spatial analysis, the research offers a novel perspective on irrigation water pricing and cost recovery. The findings reveal that organizations located on islands, despite high water costs due to limited rainfall and geographic isolation, tend to achieve relatively strong financial performance, indicating the presence of adaptive mechanisms that could inform broader policy strategies. In contrast, organizations managing extensive irrigable land or large volumes of water frequently show poor cost recovery, challenging assumptions about economies of scale and revealing inefficiencies in pricing or governance structures. The spatial coherence of the clusters underscores the importance of geography in shaping institutional outcomes, reaffirming that environmental and locational factors can offer greater explanatory power than algorithmic models alone. This highlights the need for water management policies that move beyond uniform national strategies and instead reflect regional climatic, infrastructural, and economic variability. The study suggests several policy directions, including targeted infrastructure investment, locally calibrated water pricing models, and performance benchmarking based on successful organizational practices. Although grounded in the Greek context, the methodology and insights are transferable to other European and Mediterranean regions facing similar water governance challenges. Recognizing the limitations of the current analysis—including gaps in data consistency and the exclusion of socio-environmental indicators—the study advocates for future research incorporating broader variables and international comparative approaches. Ultimately, it supports a hybrid policy framework that combines data-driven analysis with spatial intelligence to promote sustainability, equity, and financial viability in agricultural water management. Full article

Background/Objectives: Despite advancements in surgery, esophagectomy remains one of the most challenging and complex gastrointestinal surgical procedures, burdened by significant perioperative morbidity and mortality rates, as well as high financial costs. Recognizing the need for standardized care provided by a multidisciplinary healthcare team, the EUropean PErioperative MEdical Networking (EUPEMEN) initiative developed a dedicated protocol for perioperative care of patients undergoing esophagectomy, aiming to enhance recovery, reduce morbidity, and homogenize care delivery across European healthcare systems. Methods: Developed through a multidisciplinary European collaboration of five partners, the protocol incorporates expert consensus and the latest scientific evidence. It addresses the entire perioperative pathway, from preoperative preparation to hospital discharge and postoperative recovery, emphasizing patient-centered care, risk mitigation, and early functional restoration. Results: The implementation of the EUPEMEN esophagectomy protocol is expected to improve patient outcomes through a day-by-day structured prehabilitation plan, meticulous intraoperative management, and proactive postoperative rehabilitation. The approach promotes reduced postoperative complications, earlier return to oral intake, and shorter hospital stays, while supporting multidisciplinary coordination. Conclusions: The EUPEMEN protocol for esophagectomy provides a comprehensive guideline framework for optimizing perioperative care in esophageal surgery. In addition, it serves as a practical guide for healthcare professionals committed to advancing surgical recovery and standardizing clinical practice across diverse care environments across Europe. Full article

Since the early 21st century, urban shrinkage has become a significant global phenomenon. Dongguan, in Guangdong Province, China, is known as a “world factory”. It experienced notable urban shrinkage following the 2008 financial crisis. However, the city demonstrated remarkable recovery and ongoing development in subsequent years. On that basis, this study focuses on the following three points: (1) identifying the spatiotemporal factors contributing to the growth and shrinkage of manufacturing cities, taking Dongguan as an example; (2) explaining the influencing factors of the growth and shrinkage of Dongguan City during three critical periods, 2008–2014 (post-crisis), 2015–2019 (as machinery replaced human work), and 2020–2023 (the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery); and (3) selecting representative towns and streets for on-site observation and investigation, analyzing the measures they have taken to cope with growth and shrinkage during different periods. The key findings include the following: (1) The spatial dynamics of growth and shrinkage in Dongguan show significant temporal patterns, with traditional manufacturing areas shrinking from 2008 to 2014, central urban areas recovering from 2015 to 2019, and renewed shrinkage from 2020 to 2023. However, some regions maintained stability through strategic innovations. (2) Various factors, particularly industrial upgrading and technological innovation, drove the urban dynamics, enhancing economic resilience. (3) The case study of Houjie Town revealed successful adaptive mechanisms supported by policy while facing challenges like labor mismatches and inadequate R&D investment. This research offers insights for improving urban resilience and promoting sustainable development in Dongguan. Full article

In the era of big data, the security of information encryption systems has garnered extensive attention, particularly in critical domains such as financial transactions and medical data management. While traditional Shamir’s Secret Sharing (SSS) ensures secure integer sharing through threshold cryptography, it exhibits inherent limitations when applied to floating-point domains and high-precision numerical scenarios. To address these issues, this paper proposes an innovative algorithm to optimize SSS via type-specific coding for real numbers. By categorizing real numbers into four types—rational numbers, special irrationals, common irrationals, and general irrationals—our approach achieves lossless transmission for rational numbers, special irrationals, and common irrationals, while enabling low-loss recovery for general irrationals. The scheme leverages a type-coding system to embed data category identifiers in polynomial coefficients, combined with Bernoulli-distributed random bit injection to enhance security. The experimental results validate its effectiveness in balancing precision and security across various real-number types. Full article

Background: Optimizing critical care sedation is an important and complex task. Although intravenous sedatives are widely used, they do have limitations compared to volatile sedatives, such as faster awakening and minimal accumulation. However, volatiles are still rarely used due to technical barriers and costs. We intended to conduct an economic evaluation on the workload and efficiency of short-term volatile sedation. Methods: Retrospective secondary data analysis of the cost of 60 min sedation after cardiac valve surgery performed at a tertiary center (n = 94), including assessment of material turnover, substance consumption and personnel expenses combined on a monetary basis. Results: The time required for bedside preparation was extended from almost 18 min (i.v. sedation) to an additional 9–10 min when applying volatile sedatives. We calculated a median sevoflurane consumption of 23 mL using MIRUS^TM and 14 mL using Sedaconda, resulting in an average price of EUR 38.43 for propofol, EUR 13.24 for sevoflurane under Sedaconda, and EUR 15.03 using MIRUS^TM for application in the monetary evaluation. The total prices were calculated based on an additionally optimized scenario of weekly use of a MIRUS^TM reflection device system, at EUR 128.99 versus EUR 119.73 (Sedaconda) versus EUR 48.44 for conventional propofol-based sedation. Conclusions: The use of volatile sedation in intensive care has a higher price in short-term use due to the cost of the single-use reflector of the anesthetic conserving device, which is difficult to offset financially against the pharmacological benefits in terms of faster recovery. However, the additional setup times are relatively short. Clinical benefits such as faster recovery were not included in the cost analysis. Full article

In the context of macroeconomic recovery and accelerating digital transformation in the post-pandemic era, the hotel industry in China is undergoing profound structural changes. This research investigates the core competencies required for hotel managers to navigate these challenges. Data was collected via a quantitative survey involving a structured questionnaire, was conducted among hotel managers in Shanghai, China, resulting in 404 valid responses. Employing exploratory factor analysis using SPSS, this study identifies seven key competency dimensions encompassing 36 ranked items, including interpersonal communication, leadership, operational knowledge, human resource management, financial analysis, technology, and administrative management. The results show that economic recovery has brought new opportunities but also challenges to the hotel industry, and that managers must possess a diverse set of core competencies to adapt to the demanding new market changes. The novelty of this research lies in its empirical grounding and its focus on the intersection of digitalization and economic recovery within China’s hotel industry. It pioneers a dynamic strategic competency framework tailored to the evolving demands of the hotel industry during a period of economic volatility, providing empirical evidence and advice for optimizing the industry’s talent training systems. Simultaneously, it brings a new perspective for dealing with the recovery path for the hotel enterprises in other urban and travel destinations, aiming to promote industry sustainability and competitive advantages. Future research could extend the proposed framework by exploring its applicability across different cultural and economic contexts. Full article

Specialized and special new “little giant” enterprises are characterized by specialization, refinement, uniqueness, and innovation. They have relatively strong innovation capabilities and enterprise vitality. However, they also face problems such as high innovation costs, long investment recovery cycles, and high risks of investment returns, which lead to information asymmetry and financing difficulties. Government venture capital is a policy fund provided by the government and established with the participation of local governments, financial institutions, and private capital. They can utilize fiscal policies to attract market funds and support the development of key industries. Therefore, in this study, the first through sixth batches of specialized and special new “little giant” enterprises listed on the A-share and New Third Board from 2013 to 2023 were taken as samples, and their investment behavior and investment effects were empirically studied using the multiple linear regression method. The investment behavior of government venture capital tends to target strategic emerging industries. The intervention of government venture capital can enhance the innovation of “little giant” enterprises and has an impact through the intermediary mechanism of R&D investment. This paper draws conclusions and puts forward relevant policy suggestions for supporting the development of “little giant” enterprises. Full article

The growing global demand for sustainable energy solutions has spurred interest in hybrid renewable energy systems, particularly those combining photovoltaic (PV) solar and wind power. This study records the technical and financial feasibility of establishing hybrid solar photovoltaic and wind power stations in Iraq, Al-Rutbah and Al-Nasiriya, with a total power of 60 MW for each, focusing on optimizing energy output and cost-efficiency. The analysis evaluates key technical factors, such as resource availability, system design, and integration challenges, alongside financial considerations, including capital costs, operational expenses, and return on investment (ROI). Using the RETScreen program, the research explores potential locations and configurations for maximizing energy production and minimizing costs, and the evaluation is performed through the calculation Internal Rate of Return (IRR) on equity (%), the Simple Payback (year), the Net Present Value (NPV), and the Annual Life Cycle Savings (ALCSs). The results show that both PV and wind technologies demonstrate significant energy export potential, with PV plants exporting slightly more electricity than their wind counterparts. Al Nasiriya Wind had the highest output, indicating favorable wind conditions or better system performance at that site. The results show that the analysis of the proposed hybrid system has a standardizing effect on emissions, reducing variability and environmental impact regardless of location. The results demonstrate that solar PV is significantly more financially favorable in terms of capital recovery time at both sites, and that financial incentives, especially grants, are essential to improve project attractiveness, particularly for wind power. The analysis underscores the superior financial viability of solar PV projects in both regions. It highlights the critical role of financial support, particularly capital grants, in turning renewable energy investments into economically attractive opportunities. Full article

This study investigates the relationship between the business environment and the financial performance of companies engaged in mergers and acquisitions (M&As), with a particular emphasis on how “ease of doing business” (EDB) indicators affect post-merger outcomes, as measured by return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and profit margin (PM). We consider a sample of 230 firms from fifteen European countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain) grouped according to COFACE criteria for five years (2015–2019). By applying panel data methods, the research highlights that, three years after the merger in low-risk countries, there is an increase in return on equity, better asset recovery, and economies of scale, largely due to effective government policies. The study highlights the differentiated effects of specific EDB sub-indicators, providing insight into how tailored regulatory frameworks can enhance M&A success across varying economic contexts. The business environment can stimulate the performance of firms after mergers and acquisitions if the regulations are friendly to the firms and are adapted to the state of the country’s economy. Full article

The assessment of company performance requires a holistic approach, encompassing both financial and non-financial metrics. Accordingly, we develop a comprehensive airline performance evaluation model utilizing the Balanced Scorecard (BSC)-based multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework. Based on contingency theory, we use 30 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) derived from the literature and develop a novel performance model by combining the BSC framework with the Method based on the Removal Effects of Criteria (MEREC) for KPI weighting and the Combined Compromise Solution (CoCoSo) for ranking. The focus on Turkish Airlines, serving as a comparative benchmark, over the period 2020–2023 reveals that while financial KPIs hold the greatest weight, non-financial KPIs have the most significant impact on performance. The lowest performance is recorded in 2020, most probably attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a remarkable recovery in 2021. We offer a methodological contribution for managers, decision-makers, and scholars—an objective, data-driven tool to assess airline performance. Furthermore, we furnish policymakers with tangible data for more effective industrial incentives and convenient regulatory strategies. In contrast to most of the literature emphasizing financial indicators and subjective weighting approaches that might yield biased rankings, we suggest a novel integrated performance evaluation model tailored for the airline industry. Full article

This study develops a novel framework for supply chain financial resilience (SCFR) by integrating complex adaptive systems theory with supply chain finance and resilience concepts. To explore how disruption risks propagate through the supply chain, we propose an SEIJR epidemic model that categorizes node enterprises into five distinct states: susceptible (S), exposed (E), infected (I), quarantined (J), and recovered (R). Transitions between these states are captured using differential equations. Through numerical simulations linking this epidemiological approach to financial resilience metrics, we demonstrate several key findings: first, disruption risks temporarily reduce resilience; second, properly managed risk propagation through timely isolation and effective mitigation can transform disruptions into opportunities for systemic improvement; third, isolation measures need to work alongside recovery mechanisms to significantly improve the overall resilience of supply chain finance. Our results show that optimal isolation strategies enable the system to reach a risk-free equilibrium while simultaneously elevating the supply chain’s long-term financial resilience above initial levels. These findings offer theoretical and practical guidance for dynamic, adaptive risk management strategies in supply chain finance. Empirical validation and other research topics will be explored in subsequent studies. Full article

The paper presents the financial potential of recycling waste electronic equipment (WEE) in the form of printed circuit boards, hard drives, and lithium-ion batteries. Metal contents in selected types of WEE were presented, as well as their price and importance from an environmental, economic, and geopolitical perspective using indicators of relative supply risk and abiotic depletion potential (ADP). The potential benefits that recycling can bring to the company and the environment were presented. Furthermore, the mass balance and value of recovered metals were estimated for southern Poland, and potential possibilities for the management of the remaining separation products were presented. Finally, verified physical recycling methods for the presented WEE were described. Full article