Search Results (11,638)

In this article, we analyze the relationship between agricultural support measures and food import dependency for a 52-country sample from 1985 to 2017 using databases from the World Bank, the Center for Systemic Peace, and the Groningen Center for Growth and Development. Using an instrumental variable framework, we apply a continuous treatment effect and control for endogeneity to describe the extent of food import dependency in response to domestic support for agriculture. Our results suggest heterogeneous associations for aggregate food import dependency at different levels of political aid intensity, while our analysis further reveals nonlinear dose–response patterns, suggesting that moderate levels of agricultural support are associated with lower food import dependency, whereas very high support intensities are not systematically associated with additional reductions. Although estimates of dose–response functions confirm that countries providing moderate support to agriculture tend to exhibit lower levels of agri-food import dependency, these findings should nevertheless be interpreted cautiously given the potential limitations regarding instrument validity and data availability. The primary contribution of our study is the explicit modeling of heterogeneous treatment intensity effects and potential endogeneity. These findings should therefore be interpreted as conditional empirical associations rather than definitive causal effects. Full article

Urban heat islands (UHIs) significantly influence microclimatic conditions, energy consumption, and public health. This research leverages ensemble models and correlation analysis based on Landsat 5-8 satellite data to forecast LST and explore its environmental relationships. This study employed the XGBoost machine learning algorithm to model seasonal LST dynamics in three rapidly urbanizing Arkansas cities, including Fort Smith, Little Rock, and Northwest Arkansas, using Landsat imagery from 2001 to 2021. The results show significant increases in urban heat, particularly in the summer, with Fort Smith seeing an increase in the area classified in higher-temperature bins (35–45 °C) from approximately 33% in 2001 to more than 83% by 2021. Model validation showed high predictive performance (R² = 0.74–0.78, RMSE ≤1.46 °C), indicating reliable project-based estimation of spatial LST variability for 2026 and 2031. The results revealed a substantial intensification of built-up area expansion, to 9.8% by 2026 and 20.7% by 2031, accompanied by cropland reductions of 13.2% and 25.5%, respectively. This rapid urban growth is projected to elevate summer LSTs above 45 °C across more than 700 km² combined, and winter LSTs to ≥25 °C across nearly 125 km² in the region by 2031. The integration of Landsat time series data and machine learning provide valuable insights for urban planners and policymakers, underscoring the critical importance of targeted climate-resilient strategies and sustainable urban development practices. Full article

This study analyzes the transition toward anticipatory public administration through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite the growing deployment of predictive models, a clear research gap remains regarding the socio-technical prerequisites—such as institutional trust, data infrastructure, and ethical–legal frameworks—that condition their success. To address this, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, retrieving 68 open-access articles published between 2020 and 2025 from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Data synthesis was performed using descriptive bibliometric mapping and qualitative thematic analysis. The results show that scientific interest has experienced accelerated growth since 2024, highlighting a preference for machine learning systems that automate service delivery. While AI enables significant benefits, including a 40% reduction in budgetary errors and early fraud detection, progress is hindered by algorithmic opacity (“black box” models), the risk of structural bias, and civil servants’ confirmation bias. The study concludes that technological complexity must be subordinated to democratic safeguards. To this end, a research agenda is proposed alongside practical implications, recommending that public institutions implement mandatory independent algorithmic audits, enforce strict interpretability standards in public procurement, and adopt hybrid regulatory frameworks to ensure fair and accountable governance. Full article

This work describes an efficient and environmentally friendly method for the synthesis of silver-based nanostructures through a green route using Aloe vera extract as a reducing agent, silver nitrate (AgNO₃) as a precursor, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP, 10 kDa molecular weight) as a stabilizing agent. The formation of these structures was supported by UV–Vis spectroscopy, where a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band was observed between 425 and 460 nm. Scanning electron microscopy revealed predominantly spherical features in the 300–500 nm range; however, the distinction between primary nanoparticles and aggregates cannot be conclusively established from SEM alone. EDX analysis indicated a silver content of 59.96 wt%. Antibacterial assays performed in Z8 medium demonstrated a reduction in cyanobacterial growth with increasing dosage, with complete inhibition observed at ≥20 $\mu$L (nominal MIC = 1.77 mg mL⁻¹, based on precursor estimation). Total dissolved solids and absorbance measurements exhibited a decreasing trend with increasing concentration (effect size = 0.87, $p<0.001$), supporting an inhibitory effect under the tested conditions. These findings suggest potential antibacterial activity. However, this study should be considered exploratory, and further work is required to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Full article

Carbonation-induced pH reduction is a key factor triggering steel depassivation and corrosion initiation in reinforced concrete. However, the influence of pore solution chemistry on passive film (PF) stability remains unclear. In this study, ordinary Portland cement simulated pore solution (OPC-SCP) and ferrite-aluminate cement simulated pore solution (FAC-SCP) were used to investigate the evolution of PF formed at pH 12.5 and subsequently exposed to pH 11.0 and 9.5 environments. Electrochemical and microscopic techniques were employed to investigate the degradation behavior of PF under reduced alkalinity. The results show that PF in both systems degraded with decreasing pH, but exhibited markedly different stability. In the OPC-SCP system, the PF resistance decreased slightly from 4.24 × 10⁶ to 2.85 × 10⁵ Ω·cm², indicating that the steel remained in a highly passive state. In contrast, the PF resistance in the FAC-SCP system dropped significantly from 1.13 × 10⁶ to 5.57 × 10³ Ω·cm². AFM and SEM observations further revealed greater surface roughness and more severe local damage in the FAC-SCP system. The superior stability of PF in OPC-SCP may be attributed to the higher Ca²⁺ concentration, which is likely beneficial for the formation of a relatively dense and protective film. Conversely, the higher SO₄²⁻ concentration and lower Ca²⁺ content in FAC-SCP may facilitate defect growth and local dissolution, thereby contributing to depassivation. These findings highlight the critical role of pore solution chemistry in regulating PF stability under reduced alkalinity conditions. Full article

The field study was conducted between 2016 and 2018 by the Department of Agronomy at Poznań University of Life Sciences. The experiment took place at the fields of the Research and Education Centre in Gorzyń, Złotniki branch. It was a single-factor trial involving six different sowing dates of an ultra-early maize cultivar: A1—12 April, A2—26 April, A3—10 May, A4—24 May, A5—7 June, and A6—21 June. The cultivar ‘Pyroxenia’ was used in the study. It is characterized by very early maturity (FAO 130), rapid early growth, and intensive stem elongation. In the present study, the optimal sowing time for the maize variety ‘Pyroxenia’ was late April (A2) and early May (A3). Later sowing of this variety resulted in a reduction in fresh and dry matter yields, as well as a reduction in the quality of the feed. The difference between the first (A1) and the last sowing date (A6) resulted in a 47% reduction in fresh weight and a 49% reduction in dry weight yield. No effect of sowing date was observed on starch content or structural carbohydrates, including crude fiber and its fractions (NDF, ADF, and ADL), in maize forage intended for ensiling. Data analysis for the years 2016–2018 showed that air temperature and precipitation had a significant effect on fresh and dry straw weight yields. Partial factor productivity of nitrogen (PFPF_N) decreased with delayed sowing of maize. On average, this parameter for maize sown in June compared with April, was lower by 38.8% for straw dry yield, 54.5% for ear dry yield, and 46.3% for whole-plant dry yield. Full article

Steam injection is an energy-intensive enhanced-oil-recovery method for high-viscosity reservoirs, and its performance is controlled by coupled heat delivery, steam condensation, temperature-dependent viscosity reduction, mobility change and reservoir filtration response. This study develops an experimentally validated physics-motivated residual-learning framework for forecasting oil production and selecting thermally rational steam-supply regimes. The model combines a physics-motivated semi-empirical baseline describing useful steam-related heat input, calibrated viscosity transformation, mobility growth, steam–oil ratio and a thermal-energy efficiency index with a residual-learning block fitted to measured regime-level records. The supervised forecasting task was performed at the regime level using 200 operating-regime records treated as the effective modelling units, with nested logs aggregated within regimes and within-group dependence examined through campaign-, reservoir-state- and well-availability-based checks. The 4800 steam-injection log entries and 4800 production-response log entries were treated as nested time-resolved measurements used only for regime-level aggregation, feature construction and quality-control checks; they were not counted as independent training samples. Blind-test validation produced R² values of 0.974 for oil rate, 0.988 for cumulative oil production, 0.731 for steam–oil ratio and 0.828 for the thermal-energy efficiency index; the corresponding MAPE values were 4.56%, 3.86%, 4.48% and 3.29%, respectively. The error structure shows higher uncertainty for composite indicators than for direct production responses, which is consistent with the measurement chain. Response-surface and Pareto analyses identify bounded steam-supply operating regions where production gain remains balanced against specific steam consumption and the thermal-energy efficiency index. Full article

Against the backdrop of the “storing grain in land and technology” strategy and pressing food security challenges, understanding biased technological progress in grain production is crucial. This study constructs a three-factor Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) production function—incorporating agricultural machinery, chemical fertilizer, and labor—and employs a normalized supply-side system with Nonlinear Seemingly Unrelated Regression (NLSUR) to analyze biased technological progress across 26 Chinese grain-producing provinces from 2004 to 2023. Total factor productivity (TFP) is also decomposed to assess this progress’s contribution. The results indicate that first, technological progress generally evolves along a “machinery–fertilizer–labor” path. Recently, the primary driver shifted from machinery to fertilizers, aligning with fertilizer reduction and green development policies. Second, TFP growth exhibits phased characteristics, declining during the post-agricultural tax reform period (2005–2013) and rising amid supply-side structural reforms and the “storing grain in technology” strategy (2014–2023). Third, marketization, demand, and digitalization promote fertilizer-oriented progress; specialization drives machinery-oriented progress; and road infrastructure facilitates labor-oriented progress. These results offer empirical evidence for policy evaluation and guidance for optimizing factor allocation, advancing the green transition, and safeguarding food security. Full article

Inflation has become a major global economic issue, affecting household welfare and poverty reduction efforts, especially in developing countries. Despite growing scholarly attention, understanding of its conceptual foundations, emerging themes, and future research directions remains limited. This review analyzes international studies on inflation and household poverty from 2015 to 2025. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, 147 peer-reviewed English-language articles were selected from an initial pool of 659 records in the Scopus database and analyzed using the Biblioshiny package in R for performance metrics and science mapping. The findings reveal a rapidly growing and diverse research area, with an average annual growth rate of 20.77%, involving 362 authors across 147 journals. Most research focuses on high-income nations such as the United States, China, and the UK, while regions heavily affected by inflation-driven poverty, such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia, are less represented. Thematic analysis identifies five key areas: macroeconomic instability and inequality; household well-being and food security; energy poverty and commodity prices; COVID-19 and external economic threats; and multidimensional poverty combined with social policies. Around 30% of the publications feature international collaboration, reflecting increased global cooperation. Life-cycle analysis indicates the field is in a growth phase and may reach maturity around 2036. Overall, this review provides a detailed overview of the development and structure of research on inflation and household poverty, highlights notable geographic and thematic gaps, and offers valuable insights for future studies and policies aimed at reducing inflation’s adverse effects on vulnerable economies. Full article

Fermented foods and beverages based on plant-derived ingredients are of growing technological interest, especially when they are designed as alternatives to conventional dairy products. This study evaluated the effects of herbal extracts from Verbascum thapsus L., Cnicus benedictus L., and Fumaria officinalis L. on lactic acid bacteria growth, acidification kinetics, and viable cell counts during the fermentation of organic milk, coconut beverage, and soy beverage. The extracts were characterized for extraction yield, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity before use in fermentation trials. Mixtures of organic solvents and water produced extracts with higher total phenolic content and antioxidant activity than water alone. The highest values were obtained for F. officinalis extracts prepared with water and methanol or water and acetone, while for C. benedictus, the most effective solvents were water and acetone or water and ethanol. The agar well-diffusion assay showed no relevant antibacterial activity against the tested LAB strains under the applied conditions. No biologically relevant inhibition zones were observed in any of the 84 extract-strain combinations under the tested conditions. The only borderline response was observed for Lactobacillus acidophilus La-14 exposed to the 70% ethanolic extract of C. benedictus. The clear halo did not exceed 1.50 mm outside the 5 mm well and was treated as a weak, strain-specific screening result. Fermentation kinetics depended mainly on the food matrix. The coconut beverage acidified most rapidly, reaching pH 4.38 to 4.79 after 6 h, whereas the soy beverage required 24 h to reach pH 4.31 to 4.56. Organic milk showed the slowest acidification, and selected C. benedictus extracts delayed pH reduction. All analyzed fermented samples contained more than 7 log CFU/mL of viable LAB. These results indicate that selected herbal extracts can be used in fermented milk and plant-based beverages without reducing LAB survival, but their suitability should be assessed separately for each strain and matrix. Full article

In modern livestock production, a reliable supply of high-quality forage is essential for sustaining animal productivity and product quality. Although nitrogen (N) fertilization can promote forage growth, excessive N inputs often result in low agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (NAUE) and increased environmental risks. Biochar, owing to its porous structure, high specific surface area, and physicochemical stability, can improve soil physical properties, enhance water and nutrient retention, and regulate soil N availability. However, the mechanisms by which biochar combined with reduced N rate fertilization affects NAUE in artificial grasslands remain insufficiently quantified. A two-year field experiment was conducted at the Grassland Science Experimental Station of Xinjiang Agricultural University on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang, China. Eight treatments were established using a factorial design with two biochar rates (0 and 20 t·ha⁻¹; B0 and B20) and four N application rates (0, 75, 150, and 225 kg·ha⁻¹; N0, N75, N150, and N225). Results showed that biochar application significantly decreased soil bulk density and increased soil water content and electrical conductivity. It also elevated soil total carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, NH₄⁺–N, and NO₃⁻–N concentrations, with B20N150 exhibiting the highest overall nutrient status. Plant community diversity indices did not differ significantly among treatments (p > 0.05), though B20 slightly enhanced Shannon–Wiener and Simpson indices under N0 and N75. Moderate N application significantly increased hay yield, whereas the highest N rate (225 kg·ha⁻¹) did not further improve yield and reduced NAUE. Biochar combined with N75 or N150 improved NAUE, and B20N150 achieved the best balance of high hay yield and high NAUE. Structural equation modeling revealed that soil water content (path coefficient = 0.45), NH₄⁺–N (0.27), and plant community diversity (0.20) were key positive drivers of NAUE, with biochar exerting indirect effects primarily via improving soil water and available N. Collectively, applying 20 t·ha⁻¹ biochar with 150 kg·ha⁻¹ N (B20N150) is recommended as an optimal strategy for N rate reduction and NAUE enhancement in artificial grasslands of arid and semiarid regions. Full article

The design of compliant mechanisms is a multidisciplinary field that integrates structural optimization, kinematics, and materials science to develop systems capable of generating motion through elastic deformation. Over the past six decades, research on compliant mechanisms has grown quickly, encompassing applications ranging from micro- and nano-manipulation to soft robotics and precision engineering. This study presents a comprehensive historical and thematic overview of compliant mechanism design methods through a bibliometric analysis conducted in accordance with the PRISMA methodology. A bias reduction method is proposed for bibliometric analysis, and its limitations are discussed. A total of 10,425 documents published between 1966 and 2025 were retrieved from the Scopus database, revealing an average annual growth rate of 10.35%. The analysis was performed using the Bibliometrix and VOSviewer software packages to conduct performance analysis and science mapping, enabling the identification of influential authors, key publications, and emerging research clusters. The performance analysis results allow, among other things, the identification of the most cited authors and works, which, in turn, facilitates faster identification of the original authors and ideas that gave rise to subsequent thematic branches. Science mapping identified dominant thematic fields underlying past, present, and future trends in compliant mechanisms and their applications. A reader beginning their exploration of the field of compliance mechanisms will find in this work a guide refined by statistical methods, free from the personal bias of its authors. On the other hand, those seeking to understand thematic trends in the field of compliant mechanisms, as well as niche research opportunities, can use the networks and tables generated to explore new possibilities. Full article

Using panel data from 282 prefecture-level and above cities in China, this study employs a difference-in-differences (DID) model to examine the impact of the National Sustainable Development Plan for Resource-Based Cities on carbon emission efficiency, as well as its underlying mechanisms and heterogeneous effects. The results indicate that the implementation of the Plan significantly improves carbon emission efficiency. This conclusion remains robust after a series of robustness tests, including the propensity score matching difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) approach. Mechanism analysis further reveals that technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and reductions in energy consumption constitute the primary channels through which the Plan enhances carbon emission efficiency. In addition, economic growth pressure and the degree of marketization exert negative and positive moderating effects, respectively, on the relationship between the Plan and carbon emission efficiency. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive effect of the Plan is significant only in resource-based cities located in eastern China, southern China, or southeast of the Hu Huanyong Line. In terms of city size, the positive effect is observed only in medium-sized cities and Type II large cities. Full article

Anthropogenic CO₂ emissions have perturbed the global carbon cycle and increased atmospheric carbon concentrations to critical levels, making carbon capture and storage (CCS) a key strategy for mitigating climate warming. Natural carbon sequestration has operated continuously in marine environments throughout Earth history. Here, we investigate the growth mechanisms and carbon-sink significance of calcite concretions in the Mesoproterozoic Xiamaling Formation from the Zhaojiashan section and the Zhenzhuquan section in the North China Craton, using petrographic, elemental geochemical and C-O-Re-Os isotopic evidence. The presence of erosional surfaces and local truncation of host-rock laminae suggests that these concretions formed synsedimentarily or during early diagenesis near the sediment-water interface. The δ¹³C values (−5.05‰ to 1.54‰) of samples, together with δ¹⁸O-δ¹³C relationships, indicate a marine carbonate affinity and suggest that dissolved inorganic carbon was the dominant carbon source. In addition, the concretions display initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios as low as 0.136, close to the mantle Os end-member, implying a contribution from mantle-derived material during concretion formation. The middle rare earth element and yttrium (MREYs)-enriched patterns and slight positive Ce anomalies further indicate that concretion growth occurred mainly within the Mn- and Fe-reduction zones. We estimate that the calcite-concretion-bearing interval of the Xiamaling Formation sequestered 70.24 Gt C, equivalent to 257.56 Gt CO₂, serving as an archive of marine carbon burial in the Mesoproterozoic ocean. Microbially mediated carbonate precipitation may represent an effective carbon immobilization mechanism in marine sediments and has potential implications for the development of subseafloor carbon storage strategies, especially where biocatalysts and/or brine could accelerate seawater CO₂ mineral trapping to industrially relevant rates. Full article

China’s road transport, especially private vehicles, has experienced continuous growth in energy consumption and carbon emissions in recent years. Electrification-driven net-zero pathways and their impacts on the power sector have drawn broad concern. Current research insufficiently explores vehicle-to-grid (V2G) advantages and fails to update data and assumptions aligned with the latest policies. This study establishes a provincial bottom-up model to calculate the energy demand and carbon emissions of private vehicles and evaluates decarbonization paths and their impacts on the power sector across different scenarios. Private vehicle ownership will rise first and then fall, hitting around 453 million by 2060. Near-term improvements in energy efficiency combined with the long-term diffusion of new energy vehicles can drive private transport toward net-zero emissions after 2050. Vehicle electrification raises electricity consumption remarkably, whereas V2G effectively mitigates carbon shift and offsets over half of cumulative power generation emissions. Marked regional disparities prevail in vehicle usage and emissions, with eastern China presenting higher values compared with western regions. Decarbonization of road transport is more than just addressing carbon shifting, and V2G facilitates cross-sector coordinated emission reduction. Future research is needed to explore the technical, economic and institutional potential for deepening decarbonization. Full article