Search Results (6,289)

Background: The relationship between general anesthesia (GA) exposure and cognitive function remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the association between GA exposure and cognitive severity, as measured using the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) and Global Deterioration Scale (GDS), across different diagnostic groups. Methods: We used a de-identified dataset from the Korea Dementia Research Center’s Trial Ready Registry (KDRC TRR). Participants were classified as having normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the variables associated with CDR-SB and GDS scores within each group. Linear regression analyses were also performed for the amyloid positron emission tomography standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs). Results: Among 688 participants, 258 were classified as having normal cognition, 245 as MCI, and 185 as dementia. In the normal group, GA exposure was associated with higher CDR-SB (OR = 2.33 [95% CI: 1.06–5.08, p = 0.032]) and GDS scores (OR = 2.29 [95% CI: 1.16–4.55, p = 0.017]). In addition, in this group, GA exposure was significantly associated with higher SUVRs in multivariable analyses (β = 0.09, 95% CI: 0.004–0.18, p = 0.040). No consistent associations were observed in the MCI or dementia groups. Conclusions: GA exposure after the age of 50 was associated with greater cognitive severity and higher amyloid burden in cognitively normal individuals. Prospective longitudinal studies incorporating detailed anesthetic, surgical, and perioperative data are required to clarify the nature of this association. Full article

The metalworking industry faces growing regulatory pressure to quantify and verify its product carbon footprint (PCF), driven by frameworks such as the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and emissions trading schemes (ETS). Traditional static accounting methods, based on generic emission factors and annual averages, are insufficient given the dynamic, multi-stakeholder nature of the sector’s supply chains. This study presents a systematic review conducted under the PRISMA 2020 protocol to identify, classify and critically evaluate the digital tools and technologies used to calculate, manage and verify PCF in this sector. From 495 records screened, 53 thematically relevant studies were analyzed and 5 sector-specific cases examined in depth. The results indicate that the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart sensor networks constitute the primary data-capture layer, while Machine Learning, Big Data and Digital Twins are the predominant processing technologies. Blockchain and verifiable digital credentials emerge as governance mechanisms that ensure the transparency, auditability and immutability of emissions inventories, enabling compliance through Digital Product Passports (DPPs). We conclude that digital decarbonization requires interoperable architectures integrating real-time capture, distributed traceability and common semantic standards; viability in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and interoperability across heterogeneous platforms remain the main research gaps. Full article

Agriculture is hypothesized by climate scientists as being the earliest contributor to the emergence of the Anthropocene—the human-induced geological epoch—due to related greenhouse gas emissions. The environmental effects of industrial agriculture since the eighteenth century support this hypothesis; however, when agriculture is understood in the context of family- and community-based farming in culturally and geographically specific places around the world, many of its regenerative approaches can be seen as land stewardship rather than as a cause of Anthropocenic climate change. Writing as a scholar-farmer, the author discusses the typically Christian religiosity found in the new agrarianism spoken through the works of Wendell Berry but finding its root in the Jeffersonian agrarian movement. The center of the discussion is on whether this Christianity-based religiosity is related to regenerative family farming in contemporary California. Walking with the reader through the Anthropogenic conditions of industrial agriculture from Europe to California and through the current state of religion and ecology, this article presents this case of family syntropic farming as a co-creative process with nature. It demonstrates that, in the multicultural and multi-religious context of California, it is challenging to adopt a single religious ecological knowledge from a single religious tradition. It concludes that advancing the farmers’ literacy of nature’s animacy is rather the foundation of the agrarian ecospirituality in the ethnically and religiously diverse California in the Anthropocene. Full article

Optimizing fuel injector geometry represents a critical pathway toward cleaner and more efficient diesel combustion. This study presents a comprehensive numerical investigation of the influence of the dual-hole nozzle injection angle on the primary atomization behavior and spray hydrodynamics of high-pressure diesel jets. The present analysis is deliberately restricted to cold-flow, near-nozzle primary breakup under isothermal conditions (293.15 K) so that the hydrodynamic and aerodynamic breakup mechanisms can be isolated in the immediate vicinity of the orifice before evaporation and combustion occur. Two-dimensional simulations are conducted using an Eulerian Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) framework with finite element discretization, three injection-angle configurations (0°, 5°, and 10°) under realistic engine conditions (injection pressure: 138 MPa; chamber pressure: 2.32 MPa; nozzle diameter: 100 µm). The numerical model was validated against the experimental and computational benchmark data of Ménard et al., showing reasonable qualitative agreement in jet morphology, although the 2D nature of the model leads to an exaggerated accumulation of liquid at the spray tip compared to the 3D reference. The validation therefore supports the qualitative trends and the relative angular comparison, but the absolute quantitative predictions remain subject to this 2D structural limitation. Results reveal that the injection angle exerts a decisive influence on the competition between axial momentum and radial dispersion. The neutral 0° configuration yields an overly concentrated jet with limited interfacial destabilization and poor air entrainment, whereas the 10° angle produces excessive radial spreading at the expense of axial penetration depth. By contrast, the 5° convergence angle provides the best trade-off among the three tested configurations under the studied conditions, promoting enhanced Rayleigh–Plateau instability growth, earlier ligament formation, and finer droplet generation—favorable to a more homogeneous air–fuel mixture. These findings provide quantitative guidance for dual-hole injector geometry design and demonstrate the suitability of high-fidelity VOF-based methods for resolving complex two-phase atomization phenomena relevant to low-emission diesel engine design. Quantitatively, the peak axial velocity is reached at the nozzle exit for all configurations; relative to the 0° baseline, the 5° convergence angle increases the fuel–air interfacial spreading by about 141% while retaining roughly 90% of its axial penetration at the monitoring positions P₁–P₃, whereas the 10° case loses about 26% of axial penetration for a comparable radial spread. Full article

To clarify the pollution characteristics and source composition of heavy metals in the paddy soils of the Yellow River irrigation district of Ningxia, a total of 515 surface soil samples were collected, and the concentrations of As, Hg, Pb, Cd, and Cr were measured. Regional-scale pollution assessment and source apportionment were conducted using the geo-accumulation index, spatial interpolation analysis, and the Positive matrix factorization (PMF) model. Based on the regional pollution assessment and spatial distribution patterns, a representative area with relatively elevated Cd accumulation and more pronounced anthropogenic influence was selected for local-scale isotope investigation. Eight paddy soil samples and potential end-member samples were collected, and, combined with literature-based end-member data, Pb and Cd isotopes were analyzed using the MixSIAR Bayesian (version 3.1.12) mixing model to further constrain the sources of Pb and Cd in village soils. The results showed that some sampling points in the study area exceeded the soil background values, but none of the points surpassed the screening values for agricultural soil pollution risk, indicating that the overall risk of paddy soils in the study area remained low. Geo-accumulation index results indicated that As, Pb, and Cr were predominantly classified as unpolluted, whereas Hg and Cd showed more pronounced accumulation, with most sampling points reaching unpolluted to moderately polluted or higher. PMF results revealed that heavy metals in the study area primarily originated from natural sources, agricultural activities, coal combustion-related sources, and industrial–traffic mixed sources. Cd was mainly influenced by agricultural sources, Hg was primarily affected by coal combustion and related industrial activities, and Pb exhibited a mixture of multiple sources. Local isotope analysis in the representative area further indicated that industrial and agricultural sources were the main contributors to soil Cd, accounting for 34.3% and 33.1%, respectively. Pb was primarily derived from agricultural activities (38.1%), while coal emissions, industrial sources, natural sources, and traffic contributed 19.2%, 18.3%, 16.9%, and 7.5%, respectively, indicating a complex mixture of agricultural, industrial, coal-combustion, natural, and traffic-related inputs. The combined application of PMF and Pb/Cd isotopes allowed for constraints on heavy metal sources at both regional and local scales, providing a scientific basis for pollution control and agricultural safety management in paddy soils of the Yellow River irrigation district. Full article

Environmental issues such as climate change and cumulative emissions have intensified debate on the effectiveness of public environmental protection expenditure. Traditional Pigouvian taxes and subsidies mainly target instantaneous flow externalities. However, it is difficult to resolve dynamic stock externalities that accumulate over many years, such as climate change and cumulative greenhouse gas emissions, through taxation policies alone. This situation requires the government to make direct environmental protection expenditure to support the ecosystem’s natural assimilation capacity and reduce the rate at which pollution accumulates. This study specifically examines the relationship between stock externalities and environmental protection expenditure within the context of the Turkish economy, which is highly industrialised and under pressure to comply with international environmental commitments such as the European Green Deal and the Paris Climate Agreement. In the study’s empirical analysis phase, long-term relationships between macroeconomic variables and pollution stocks were tested using Fourier cointegration methods and econometric time series analyses. The analysis revealed a long-term co-movement (cointegration) relationship between the series, indicating that public environmental protection expenditures and industrial emissions move in the same direction over the long term. FMOLS and DOLS estimates indicate that environmental protection expenditures are positively associated with industrial emissions in the long run (FMOLS coefficient = 2.1125; DOLS coefficient = 2.0375), whereas renewable energy consumption exerts a negative effect on emissions (FMOLS coefficient = −1.4391; DOLS coefficient = −1.4967). These results suggest that environmental protection expenditure in Türkiye is not independent of current production and industrialisation dynamics, and that its emission-reducing effects are influenced by technological transformation processes. Full article

Background: Infrared (IR) radiation constitutes the dominant component of the energy reaching the Earth’s surface and plays a significant role in the photochemical and thermal processes occurring in the skin. The aim of this study was to evaluate the photoprotective potential of selected cosmetic ingredients—ferulic acid, citrus pectin, and dextran—against IR radiation using the directional hemispheric reflectance (DHR) method in an ex vivo model. Methods: Formulations based on an amphiphilic carrier (Lekobaza) containing various concentrations of the tested substances were developed, and their optical and thermal properties were evaluated. Results: The results showed that the application of all formulations led to a statistically significant reduction in reflectance in the near- and mid-infrared range, indicating an increase in the absorption of radiation energy within the formulation layer. The strongest absorption effect was observed for ferulic acid, which—in addition to its antioxidant properties—exhibits the ability to absorb IR energy and dissipate it as heat. Pectin and dextran formed a water-binding hydrocolloid matrix on the surface, acting as a selective “water filter” for long-wavelength radiation (IR-B and IR-C). At the same time, all the tested systems increased the surface’s thermal emissivity, which promotes more efficient dissipation of absorbed energy through radiative cooling and may support the skin’s natural thermoregulation. Conclusions: The obtained data indicate that protection against IR radiation should not be defined solely as the physical reflection of radiation, but as a complex process of managing the skin’s energy balance, encompassing surface absorption, heat dissipation, and the neutralization of biological effects. The results support the development of hybrid photoprotective systems combining antioxidant and thermoregulatory mechanisms to prevent thermal aging-related changes. Full article

This study examines the effects of economic growth and energy consumption on environmental degradation in nine Southeast Asian countries from 1990 to 2022. By jointly employing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and the ecological footprint (EFP) within both symmetric and asymmetric panel ARDL frameworks, the study provides a more comprehensive assessment of environmental sustainability than previous studies that rely on a single environmental indicator or a linear specification. The empirical results indicate that economic growth and energy consumption remain key drivers of environmental degradation, although their effects vary with the environmental indicator used. Both the panel ARDL and NARDL estimates support the EKC hypothesis when environmental degradation is measured by CO₂ emissions, but reject it when the EFP is used, highlighting the importance of adopting multidimensional measures of environmental sustainability. Furthermore, the panel NARDL results reveal significant long-run asymmetric effects of energy consumption, with increases in energy use exerting stronger adverse impacts on both CO₂ emissions and the EFP than equivalent decreases. These contrasting findings suggest that improvements in carbon efficiency associated with economic growth do not necessarily alleviate broader pressures on natural resources and ecological systems. The robustness of the results is confirmed using FMOLS, DOLS, and CCR estimators, while the causality analysis identifies long-run bidirectional relationships among economic growth, energy consumption, and environmental degradation. These findings emphasize the need for integrated policy measures that promote renewable energy adoption, cleaner industrial development, improved energy efficiency, and stronger environmental governance to support sustainable economic growth and accelerate the transition toward net-zero emissions in Southeast Asia. Full article

This study examined the spatial carbon emission effects of new quality productive forces (NQPs) using provincial panel data from China during 2012–2021. A dynamic spatial Durbin model with instrumental variable generalized method of moments estimation was used to address endogeneity in assessing direct and spillover effects on carbon emission intensity. Results show that the direct effect (0.0072) and spatial spillover ($-0.0100$) are statistically insignificant, with no identifiable emission reduction during the sample period. Technology diffusion exhibits a J-curve left-sided feature with a short-term total effect of 0.0553, as general technology diffusion accompanies energy-intensive capacity expansion without crossing the turning point. The spatial environmental Kuznets curve reveals a positive intensification effect: neighboring per-capita gross domestic product increases local carbon emission intensity, with marginal effects rising from 0.084 to 0.168. Heterogeneity analysis shows that green-technology-oriented NQPs exhibit the most promising emission-reduction potential, while digital infrastructure generates carbon rebound. These findings challenge the presumptions that local income growth automatically reduces carbon and that technology diffusion naturally leads to reduced emissions. Cross-regional carbon compensation mechanisms, green technology market standards, and extended technology transformation evaluation periods are recommended. Full article

This PRISMA-guided scoping review examines the use of waste materials in civil engineering as a sustainable approach to reducing environmental impacts, conserving natural resources, and supporting circular economy principles. The rapid growth of urbanization, industrialization, mining, and agricultural activities generates large amounts of waste materials, including fly ash, ground granulated blast-furnace slag, bauxite residue, mining tailings, waste rock, acid-mine drainage sludge, waste plastics, post-consumer vulcanized rubber, recycled construction materials, and agricultural ashes. The disposal of these materials often creates serious environmental and land-use problems, making their reuse increasingly important. In this context, civil engineering is one of the most promising sectors for large-scale waste valorization because of its high material demand and its ability to use different waste streams into practical applications such as concrete and cementitious systems, pavement and asphalt engineering, geotechnical works, and other infrastructure sectors. This review critically evaluates the global availability, material characteristics, engineering applications, environmental and economic benefits, recent advances, and key challenges related to major industrial, mining, agricultural, polymeric, and construction-derived wastes. Although significant progress has been made in this field, wider implementation is still limited by variations in material properties, technical and environmental challenges, economic constraints, and limited field validation of long-term performance. By bringing together current knowledge from different waste streams and civil engineering sectors, this review highlights important research gaps and future directions to support more sustainable, resilient, and resource-efficient infrastructure development. The effective use of waste materials in civil engineering can play an important role in reducing carbon emissions, improving resource efficiency, and supporting global sustainability. Full article

Understanding olive tree metabolism and its interactions with biotic and abiotic factors is crucial for the sustainability and resilience of olive cultivation in a changing agroclimatic context. In response to biotic stress, plants activate complex signaling pathways that trigger the production of specialized metabolites, particularly volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This study investigates the volatolomic profile naturally emitted by whole olive fruits using an integrated metabolomic strategy that combines design of experiments (DoE), targeted and untargeted analyses, and multivariate statistics. Optimal headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) conditions were established using 30 g of sample, a 50 °C extraction temperature, a 50 min extraction time, and a 3 min injection at 250 °C, identifying extraction time and temperature as the most critical factors influencing VOC recovery. The data demonstrated significant cultivar-dependent variation in the volatile emissions from healthy olive fruit among six representative varieties. Furthermore, robust partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and random forest models provided a clear separation between healthy and damaged olive fruits, achieving high predictive accuracy (90%) and identifying key volatile biomarkers derived from the lipoxygenase (LOX) pathway. This novel multivariate optimization approach (SPME–GC/MS) represents a powerful tool for establishing a reliable chemical fingerprint of the olive fruit “volatilome” under evolving agroclimatic challenges. Full article

Food waste has emerged as one of the most pressing global sustainability challenges because of its environmental, economic, and social implications. Nearly one-third of the food produced worldwide is lost or wasted each year, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, depletion of natural resources, and increasing food insecurity. Advances in circular bioeconomy concepts and sustainable processing technologies have transformed food waste from an environmental liability into a valuable feedstock for producing biofuels, bioplastics, bioactive compounds, functional ingredients, prebiotics, and other high-value products. This review critically examines current strategies for converting food waste into value-added products, including green extraction technologies and biochemical, thermochemical, enzymatic, and microbial approaches. Attention is given to major agri-food by-products, such as fruit pomace, vegetable residues, oilseed meals, dairy by-products, and agro-industrial wastes. Emerging developments involving biorefinery concepts, artificial intelligence, digital biorefineries, synthetic biology, and carbon-neutral production systems are also discussed. Furthermore, the review highlights recent applications of waste-derived fibers, antioxidants, and polyphenols in functional foods, especially bakery products. Finally, key challenges related to feedstock heterogeneity, process scalability, regulatory frameworks, economic feasibility, and sustainability assessment are critically analyzed together with future research directions supporting the transition toward resilient circular bioeconomy systems. Full article

This study characterised the profiles of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the indoor air of hairdressing, beauty, and nail salons and assessed the associated incremental cancer risk (ILCR). A distinctly divergent exposure pattern, particular to the nature of the service, was exhibited: light PAHs, notably naphthalene, prevailed in nail salons, while in hairdressing salons, the profile was thermally conditioned, with a preponderance of polycyclic compounds such as fluoranthene, pyrene, and benzo(g,h,i)perylene. The most severe, carcinogenic profile (including benzo(a)anthracene and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene) and the highest individual ILCR value (3.3 × 10⁻⁶) were observed in a beauty salon, though nail salons also exhibited elevated risk levels (1.9 × 10⁻⁶). In all premises, however, ILCR remained below the 10⁻⁵ threshold. The findings are consistent with earlier reports indicating that beauty salons are complex microenvironments with multiple concurrent emission sources, with significant contributions from cosmetic products and thermal processes in determining pollutant concentrations. The findings underscore the necessity for preventive measures customised to the nature of the salon, such as product substitution and enhanced general and local ventilation. Moreover, they highlight the imperative for further research to be conducted into personal exposure over extended time frames. Full article

This study analyses the Environmentally Sustainable Human Development Index (ESHDI) across 42 municipalities in Puebla, Mexico, which share the same predominant biome, in 2010 and 2020. The objective was to compare four methods for constructing synthetic indices—Geometric Mean (GM), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and two variants of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA-CCR and DEA-SBM)—to identify the approaches most consistent with the ESHDI’s multidimensional nature. Considering the dimensions of Health, Education, Income, and per capita CO₂ emissions, the robustness of the classifications was evaluated using Kendall’s W, Spearman’s rho, and Kendall’s tau coefficients. The results reveal statistical convergence among the methods, as well as relevant structural differences in the weighting schemes and the generated rankings. While MG, ACP, and DEA-SBM assigned relatively balanced weights to the dimensions and produced similar rankings, DEA-CCR concentrated weights on the best-performing dimensions of each municipality, allowing a single dimension to exert a disproportionate influence on the aggregate index and compromise its multidimensional balance. Among the methods evaluated, DEA-SBM stood out for its ability to combine conceptual consistency with benchmarking capacity. In addition to measuring environmentally sustainable human development, the method enables the identification of reference municipalities, the establishment of realistic performance targets, and the diagnosis of specific inefficiencies in each dimension, thereby supporting the formulation of more effective and territorially contextualised public policies. The evidence reinforces the theoretical and empirical relevance of incorporating environmental sustainability into human development metrics and demonstrates that methodological choices in aggregation significantly influence the evaluation of territorial performance. Full article

Wetlands are the largest natural source of atmospheric methane, but the socioeconomic consequences of future wetland CH₄ emissions remain poorly quantified. We combined projected wetland CH₄ pathways with the PAGE-ICE integrated assessment model to estimate their contributions to atmospheric CH₄ concentration, radiative forcing, warming, and socioeconomic damages under SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5. By 2100, wetland CH₄ emissions increased atmospheric CH₄ concentrations by 782, 868, and 1207 ppb under the three pathways, respectively. The corresponding global warming increments were 0.190, 0.170, and 0.166 °C, showing that larger atmospheric CH₄ contributions do not translate linearly into larger temperature responses. Wetland-attributable annual global damages reached 2.79, 5.91, and 6.49 trillion USD per year⁻¹ by 2100, while discounted cumulative damages over 2020–2100 reached 79.96, 127.24, and 127.33 trillion USD under SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5. Regionally, Africa, the Middle East, and India accounted for the largest absolute damages, whereas Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union had the highest losses relative to GDP and population. A sensitivity analysis identified transient climate response, damage-function curvature, and the pure time preference rate as the main controls on valuation uncertainty. These results indicate that projected wetland CH₄ emissions can make a measurable marginal contribution to future climate damage and should be incorporated into sustainability assessments, methane-related climate-risk evaluations, and long-term adaptation planning. Full article