Search Results (437)

Complex landslides have characteristics and parameters that are difficult to analyze. The landslide on 16 June 2024 in the rural community of Quilloturo (Tungurahua, Ecuador) caused severe damage (14 deaths, 24 injuries, and hundreds of affected families) related to the area’s geological, social, and anthropogenic conditions. Its location in the eastern foothills of Ecuador’s Cordillera Real exacerbated the effects of a landslide involving various processes (mud and debris flows, landslides, and rock falls). This event was preceded by intense rainfall lasting more than 10 h, which accumulated and caused natural damming of the streams prior to the event. The lithology of the investigated area includes deformed metamorphic and intrusive rocks overlain by superficial clayey colluvial deposits. The relationship between the geological structures found, such as fractures, joints, schistosity, and shear, favored the formation of blocks within the flow, making mass movement more complex. Geomorphologically, the area features a relief with steep slopes, where ancient landslides or material movements, composed of these colluvial deposits, have already occurred. At the foot of these steep slopes, on plains less than 300 m wide and bordered by the Pastaza River, there are human settlements with less than 60 years of emplacement and a complex history of territorial occupation, characterized by a lack of planning and organization. The memory of the inhabitants identified mass movements that have occurred since the mid-20th century, with the highest frequency of occurrence recorded in the last decade of the present century (2018, 2022, and 2024). Furthermore, it was possible to identify several factors within the knowledge of the inhabitants that can be considered premonitory of a mass movement, specifically a flood, and that must be incorporated as critical elements in decision-making, both individual and collective, for the evacuation of the area. Full article

Fenestrations of mammalian skull bones are rare and poorly understood, particularly within the parietal bone. In bats—a group characterised by advanced sensory specialisation and echolocation—superficial modifications of the cranial vault may have functional significance, yet their occurrence and organisation remain insufficiently documented. In this study, we describe an exceptional fenestrated complex in the posterolateral parietal bone of Plecotus auritus, comprising structural elements not previously recorded within Vespertilionidae. The aim of the study was to characterise in detail the morphology, topography, and variability of the surface structure termed Fenestras Elisabeth (nova structura), with particular emphasis on its relationship with the auditory region and its potential biomechanical–acoustic significance. The material consisted of ten skulls of P. auritus, examined using micro-CT scanning, 3D reconstruction, and qualitative analysis of fenestrated structures and their topographic relationships. Within the posterolateral parietal region, we identified an extensive and repeatable fenestrated complex comprising numerous fenestrae parietales Elisabeth, paired fenestrula Elisabeth, a central depression (recessus acousticus parietalis), and a bordering fissure (fissura occipitalis mastoidea, nova structura topographica). The complex exhibited a stable spatial organisation despite individual variation in the number and shape of the openings. All fenestrations were confined to the posterolateral zone, and the contact between the fenestrae and the fissura occipitalis mastoidea represented a diagnostic feature. Our analysis suggests that the Fenestras Elisabeth complex may be associated with combined biomechanical and acoustic constraints: (1) a biomechanical role—reducing strain in the parietal lamina during movements of the extremely mobile and elongated pinnae; and (2) an acoustic role—modulating micro-vibrations transmitted to the inner-ear structures. Individual variability and lateral asymmetry of fenestration patterns indicate a high degree of adaptive plasticity in this region of the skull. This study provides the first documentation of a large, structurally organised parietal-bone fenestration complex in Plecotus auritus, expanding current knowledge of bat cranial morphology and suggesting a likely functional significance for these previously unknown bony structures. Full article

The insurance sector plays a crucial role in maintaining economic stability and the financial security of households; however, the level of demand for insurance products remains lower than would be expected based on consumers’ actual risk exposure. Previous research indicates that insurance purchasing decisions are shaped not only by economic factors but also by psychological and behavioral mechanisms. The aim of this article is to identify and systematize the most important determinants influencing consumer demand for insurance products, with particular emphasis on cognitive barriers and attitudes that reduce purchase propensity. The study employs an extensive literature review and structural equation modeling (SEM-PLS), enabling the simultaneous analysis of the relationships between attitudes, knowledge, beliefs, experiences, risk perception, and actual insurance ownership. From a sustainable development perspective, this mechanism fosters a “culture of responsibility”—insurance becomes a permanent and predictable element. The results demonstrate that insurance decisions are the result of a complex interaction of multiple factors (cognitive, normative, emotional, and relational) rather than simply a response to risk levels. The most important determinants of insurance policy ownership are as follows: (1) internal standards of responsibility, (2) product competence, (3) quality of experience, (4) lack of cognitive barriers, and (5) a sense of trust in the institution and advisor. From a sustainability perspective, these results suggest that the insurance market is in a “partially balanced” phase: strong elements promoting sustainable resilience are visible (standards of responsibility, the growing importance of knowledge, the role of positive experiences), but at the same time, clear barriers remain (lack of trust, underestimation of risk, postponement of decisions), which limit the full potential of insurance as a tool for socioeconomic stabilization. Full article

Communal Reverie, a group practice designed to facilitate the cultivation of collective imaginal attunement, has been framed a “collective wisdom technology.” It draws significant influence from the philosophy and practical protocols informing Collective Presencing, a modality of “we-space” practice developed by Ria Baeck. It is further informed by philosophical, mystical, and psychological traditions that advance various conceptions concerning the autonomous imagination’s value, both as a source of knowledge and a crucial element in transformative practice. Communal Reverie, to my present knowledge, is a distinctive practice modality insofar as it applies the technique of sourcing in service of a collective modality of imaginal encounter. The aspirations guiding the continual refinement of Communal Reverie’s theoretical and practical foundations are informed, most fundamentally, by thought traditions emphasizing engagement with the imaginal as a means toward advancing the evolutionary emergence of a modality of consciousness capable of assuming a co-creative and participatory role in relationship with transrational influences of a spiritual nature. The achievement of such participation may, furthermore, entail fundamental transformations in the phenomenal experience of both selfhood and time. Full article

In high-mountain canyon areas, complex geological environments lead to frequent cascading disasters with unclear triggering mechanisms, posing severe threats to human life and property. Existing knowledge graph research in geology predominantly focuses on single-hazard types or general geological entities, lacking structured modeling and specialized datasets for cascading disaster processes, particularly the evolutionary chains in high-mountain canyon settings. To address this gap, this study proposes a method for constructing a knowledge graph tailored to cascading disasters in high-mountain canyon regions. First, a three-layer schema framework—comprising concept, relation, and instance layers—was designed to systematically characterize the knowledge elements and evolutionary relationships of disaster chains. To address the lack of a knowledge dataset for cascade disasters, this paper integrates multi-source heterogeneous data to construct a high-mountain canyon cascading disasters entity–relation dataset (DCER-MC), providing a reliable benchmark for related tasks. Based on this dataset, we implemented the knowledge graph and conducted disaster chain analysis. Experiments and applications demonstrate that the constructed knowledge graph effectively supports structured storage, centralized management, and scenario-based application of regional cascading disaster information. The main contributions of this work are (1) proposing a targeted schema framework for cascading-disaster knowledge graphs; (2) releasing a specialized dataset for cascading disasters in high-mountain canyon regions; and (3) establishing a complete pipeline from data to knowledge to scenario-based services, offering a novel knowledge-driven paradigm for disaster chain risk identification, inference prediction, and emergency decision-making in these areas. Full article

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative pathology defined by specific, distinctive signs, primarily the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons (DAergic) in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), associated with gliosis phenomena. The mechanisms that trigger the degeneration of DAergic neurons are not yet fully elucidated, although it is recognized that the interaction between genetic and environmental factors acts as a critical modulator of neuronal vulnerability. Strong evidence points to glial reactivity as a central element in PD pathophysiology; however, it remains a controversial topic whether this activation has a protective effect or, on the contrary, whether it contributes to exacerbating DAergic neuronal loss. The use of MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine)—a neurotoxic substance—represented a turning point in Parkinson’s research, allowing the clarification of various molecular mechanisms of the disease. The primary aim of this review is to explore the current state of knowledge regarding the role of astrocytes in the processes of DAergic neurodegeneration, neuroprotection, and neurorepair. We focused on the relationship between astrocytic origin factors and neurogenic signals that mediate MPTP-induced plasticity in DAergic neurons of the nigrostriatal system. The contribution of reactive astrocytes in promoting DAergic neurogenesis starting from Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells (NPCs) present in the adult midbrain is also analyzed. Among the mediators released by astrocytes, we have previously identified the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway as a fundamental element capable of positively influencing neuroplasticity and dopaminergic neuronal repair induced by the toxic MPTP. In conclusion, deciphering the intrinsic plasticity of nigrostriatal DAergic neurons and signals that facilitate communication between astrocytes and NPCs is crucial for the identification of potential therapeutic targets aimed at stimulating neuronal repair. Full article

Building upon a theoretical framework, this study utilized 126 field survey questionnaires from farmers in Shouyang County, Shanxi Province, China, coupled with corresponding farmland soil heavy metal monitoring data, to investigate the extent of heavy metal pollution and its mechanistic relationship with farmers’ behavior. The single-factor pollution index (P_i), Nemerow composite pollution index (P_N), and geographical detector were employed to assess pollution levels and elucidate the underlying mechanisms linking farmer practices to soil heavy metal accumulation. Analysis revealed that the mean concentrations of Cu, Ni, Cr, Pb, Cd, and Zn (25.54, 31.47, 98.50, 16.63, 0.16 and 76.92 mg/kg, respectively) in the farmland soil exceeded the background values for soil elements in Shanxi Province, whereas As (1.92 mg/kg) levels were lower. Assessment using P_i indicated that Cr, Pb, Cd, Ni, Cu, and Zn (1.78, 1.13, 1.55, 1.05, 1.07 and 1.21, respectively) were predominantly in a state of mild pollution. Similarly, the P_N (1.50) suggested an overall mild level of composite heavy metal pollution in the soil. Geographical detector(Geo-Detector) analysis demonstrated that the explanatory power (q-value) of interactions among factors-including agricultural film and fertilizer application intensity, farmland fragmentation degree, per capita annual household income, farmland area, and years engaged in farming-on soil heavy metal accumulation was significantly enhanced compared to that of individual behavioral factors. While individual farmers’ behaviors are associated with heavy metal accumulation, the interaction effects among multiple behaviors constitute the dominant factor influencing localized accumulation in farmland soil. Consequently, local authorities should enhance farmers’ requisite knowledge, skills, and practices for mitigating soil heavy metal accumulation through strategies such as promoting large-scale farming, implementing agricultural input reduction initiatives, and intensifying technical and environmental protection training. The Geo-Detector exhibits significant advantages in identifying nonlinear influencing factors and analyzing factor interactions, yielding more comprehensive insights compared to conventional linear models. Full article

Limited accessibility, mountainous geography, and seismic conditions have posed challenges to both the preservation and the transmission of knowledge inherited from the Incas. Therefore, this research aims to analyze the ancestral Inca construction systems and their relationship with the Inca worldview through an architectural and structural study of the archaeological site of Choquequirao, located in Cusco, Peru. The research integrates geographic, climatic, spatial, functional, and constructive dimensions, applying digital 3D modeling tools (AutoCAD 2025, SketchUp 2024, and Sun-Path 2024) to assess the orientation, stability, and symbolic configuration of the main sectors. The results of the functional and constructive analysis reveal that Choquequirao incorporates adaptive principles in response to seismic and microclimatic conditions, as well as constructive typologies planned from an integral architectural perspective. These elements allow a clearer understanding of the spatial organization of the site and its cultural significance. Moreover, the study covers ten sectors distributed across 1800 hectares. The upper sector (4 ha) stands out for its architecture and political–ceremonial function; the lower sector (4 ha) includes ritual, administrative, residential, and storage areas for camelids; the southern sector (5 ha) contains the ushnu and priestly enclosures on terraces; and the eastern (7 ha) and western (2 ha) slopes integrate agricultural and residential uses. The study of Choquequirao highlights its complex organization and addresses contemporary challenges in terms of conservation and development. These findings provide essential insights for future restoration and conservation strategies that respect traditional construction systems and their environmental adaptation. Full article

The present paper focuses on the transformation of energy and its connection with one of the areas of sustainable development, namely environmental sustainability. Energy and environmental sustainability are complex and multidimensional processes. Transitioning to more sustainable energy sources, such as renewable energy, has a significant impact on reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, improving energy efficiency, a key element of the energy transition, contributes to reducing overall energy demand and is therefore consistent with environmental sustainability goals. A fundamental goal of environmental sustainability is to minimise the carbon footprint. In this way, the fields of energy transition and environmental sustainability mutually reinforce each other. The objective of the present study is to evaluate territorial differentiation and to analyse the interdependence of energy and environmental sustainability in the European Union (EU). The study period covers the years from 2015 to 2022. The TOPSIS method, a multidimensional comparative analysis method, was used in the research procedure. Moreover, the paper undertakes an examination of the existence of a statistically significant relationship between energy and environmental sustainability. The study demonstrates that there is considerable territorial differentiation in both energy and environmental sustainability in the EU. The present study makes a contribution to the growth of existing knowledge in the field by highlighting the importance of energy and environmental sustainability. The results of this study could prove of assistance to policymakers, governments, and legislators. Full article

In this study, we employed a Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) framework and Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) model to explore respondents’ emotional and behavioral responses to threats posed by climate change in high mountain areas. Data were collected from 391 valid questionnaires and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to rigorously test the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that threat appraisal and coping appraisal are significantly associated with stronger tourist intentions toward climate change mitigation, as they foster positive emotional responses. Specifically, the pathway involves awe as a self-transcendent emotion, which appears to play a crucial role in predicting climate change mitigation behavioral intentions. Climate change knowledge is found to negatively moderate the relationship between threat appraisal and awe. These findings provide new insights by revealing the psychological mechanisms underlying mountain tourists’ behaviors against climate change. Practically, they highlight the need to use diverse audiovisual elements to evoke awe among viewers and communication messages that focus on the severity of the threats posed by climate change in highly mountainous areas. Full article

A landform is a physical feature of the Earth’s surface with its own recognizable shape. Most current automated landform identification methods use Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) techniques. Such methods segment the terrain into landform elements and assemble them into topographic objects and landforms. Usually, these methods are specific to the landform to be identified. However, geomorphologist experts can contextually recognize any landform on the Earth’s surface in relation to its environment. They have a holistic view of the landscape, adopting a physiographic approach for the interpretation of the observed regions, the objects that they contain and their relationships. Moreover, geomorphological processes leave marks on the Earth’s surface that enable geomorphologists to identify homogeneous regions by recognizing features known as structural elements. In this paper, we show that the physiographic approach can be formalized and that the context of appearance of a landform and its association with other types of landforms can be represented as a landsystem. We propose a conceptual model that organizes the main concepts and relationships characterizing the physiographic approach: they are used to formalize landsystems, landforms and structural elements. The approach is illustrated using a case study of the identification of landsystems characteristic of mountainous glacial valleys. We developed a software to automatically identify landsystems, in a way that is compatible with the geomorphologists’ physiographic approach. The core of this system is a knowledge base implemented as a Neo4j graph database. We also provide details about the logical transformation of the conceptual model and the corresponding ontologies in Noe4j structures. The tool automates the identification of landsystems in accordance with geomorphological practices, facilitating the integration of expert knowledge in the computational workflows. Full article

Curiosity is viewed as an essential element playing a key role in the learning process, driving learners to proactively identify and bridge knowledge gaps. However, the interaction between instructional strategies and psychological factors in nurturing curiosity is not well-understood. This study sought to explore connections between student-driven instruction and curiosity, with particular focus on the role of agency. This research employed structural equation modeling (SEM) using the Survey of Social and Emotional Skills (SSES), encompassing 46,084 student records. Results show that student-driven instruction is a positive predictor of both agency (β = 0.094, p < 0.001) and curiosity (β = 0.043, p < 0.001). Additionally, a strong positive correlation was observed between agency and curiosity (β = 0.78, p < 0.001). The mediation analysis identified student agency as a significant mediator, influencing the relationship between student-driven instruction and curiosity (β = 0.073, p < 0.001). Findings uncover valuable insights into instructional practices that prioritize student agency, contributing to the understanding of inter-and intra-personal factors influencing curiosity development. Full article

Emergency response to construction safety accidents is the focus of this study. Despite the abundance of data and materials available for emergency response in construction safety, the unstructured nature of the knowledge and the disordered state of storage have limited the timely application of this knowledge in decision-making for emergency response. In this study, scenario-response theory, natural language processing, and deep learning technologies were employed to construct a domain knowledge graph for emergency response in the field of safety accidents. First, based on scenario-response theory and domain-specific materials, four categories of scenario domains and 14 types of scenario elements were identified. Second, according to the mapping relationships between scenario elements and emergency response knowledge, 14 entity types and 10 relationship types were determined, thereby forming the knowledge structure pattern of this field. Subsequently, 4877 entities and 5783 relationships were extracted by means of the BERT-BiLSTM-CRF model and the BERT-CNN model, with F1 values reaching approximately 0.8. Finally, the Neo4j graph database was adopted for data storage, and a domain knowledge graph was constructed. Based on this graph, services such as knowledge association, knowledge retrieval, and intelligent question-answering were implemented. These services effectively addressed key challenges in information acquisition and decision support for on-site safety management, thereby significantly enhancing response efficiency and quality while strengthening overall safety management practices within the construction industry. Full article

Religion has played a significant role in shaping social cohesion by providing stability and support that transcends the human capacity to resolve individual desires, aspirations, and concerns while contributing to national identity and unity. Religion has also become an inseparable element of human history, and the human desire to embody religious imagery has been with human history. Art has historically visualized the complex and subtle relationship between humans and religion directly and profoundly. In this way, religious works have provided a lens for examining how religious ideas permeate everyday life and influence cultural practices. This study explores how Buddhist philosophy and esthetics have influenced and coexisted in contemporary Korean artistic expression to emphasize the rich intersections between Buddhism and modern and contemporary Korean artworks. The concept of consilience, which refers to the integration of knowledge across diverse domains, aims to explain how Buddhist thought has transcended human conflict and promoted harmonious coexistence within Korean visual culture. The dynamic interplay between traditional Buddhist values and contemporary visual practices produces a rich cultural synthesis that highlights the importance of preserving Korea’s artistic heritage and expands and fosters the development of global visual culture today. Full article

Collagen is a family of large, fibrous biomacromolecules common in animals, distinguished by unique molecular, structural, and functional properties. Despite the relatively low complexity of their sequences and the repetitive conformation of the triple helix, which is the defining feature of this family, unraveling sequence–stability and structure–function relationships in this group of proteins remains a challenging task. Considering the importance of the structural aspects in collagen chain recognition and selection, we reviewed our current knowledge of the heterotrimeric structures of non-collagenous (NC) regions that lack the triple helix sequence motif, Gly-X-Y, and are crucial for the correct folding of the functional states of these proteins. This study was conducted by simultaneously surveying the current literature, mining the structural database, and making predictions of the three-dimensional structure of these domains using highly reliable approaches based on machine learning techniques, such as AlphaFold. The combination of experimental structural data and predictive analyses offers some interesting clues about the structural features of heterotrimers formed by collagen NC regions. Structural studies carried out in the last decade show that for fibrillar collagens (types I, V, XI, and mixed V/XI), key factors include the formation of specific disulfide bridges and electrostatic interaction patterns. In the subgroup of collagens whose heterotrimers create supramolecular networks (types IV and VIII), available structural information provides a solid ground for the definition of the basis of the molecular and supramolecular organization. Very recent AlphaFold predictions and structural analyses of type VI collagen offer strong evidence of the specific domains in the NC region of the protein that are involved in chain selection and their staggering. Insightful crystallographic studies have also revealed some fundamental elements of the chain selection process in type IX collagen. Collectively, the data reported here indicate that, although some aspects (particularly the quantification of the relative contribution of the NC and triple helix regions to correct collagen folding) are yet to be fully understood, the available structural information provides a solid foundation for future studies aimed at precisely defining sequence–structure–function relationships in collagens. Full article