Search Results (1,046)

Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) have emerged as a prominent and rapidly expanding strategic approach for addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and socio-ecological resilience in cities, especially within European sustainability agendas where NBS are embedded in EU policy frameworks. Nevertheless, their practical implementation remains uneven across the globe, with relatively strong mainstreaming in Europe but more fragmented uptake in other regions. These disparities stem from a gap between policy-oriented NBS discourse and its translation into design and spatial practice. This study investigates how governance-related NBS research can be more effectively translated into landscape architecture and design practice. It integrates insights from narrative literature reviews, project-based experiences, and international conference sessions. We argue that effective NBS implementation requires alignment with landscape architecture (systems-multi-scale planning, design, site-specific ecological materialization and aesthetic mediation) and governance integration. Through comparative analysis of Global North and South contexts, we identify differences in institutional capacity, socio-cultural perception of nature, and knowledge systems that shape NBS implementation. We propose a multi-scale, co-creative framework connecting environmental knowledge, governance interface, and design practice. The findings demonstrate that NBS cannot succeed solely as a science and policy approach; instead, they must be spatially translated through culturally responsive and ecologically informed landscape design processes and maintenance. Full article

Urban parks can mitigate residents’ mental health risks. Although bamboo landscapes are widespread in Chinese parks, evidence for their stress-relief benefits remains limited, and current evaluation media are constrained. This study assessed the feasibility of virtual reality 180° (VR180) for landscape evaluation and examined the stress-relief benefits of bamboo landscapes in urban parks. A pilot study (n = 232) compared perceptual realism and psychological perception across four presentation modes (on-site scene, binocular 3D video, binocular 3D photograph, and two-dimensional photograph). A main experiment (n = 280) examined the stress-relief benefits of six bamboo landscape types (bamboo–terrain, bamboo–architecture, bamboo–environmental furniture, bamboo–pavement, bamboo–water, and bamboo–plant landscapes) using pre- and post-viewing changes in skin conductance level (SCL), heart rate variability indices, including high-frequency power (HF) and the LF/HF (low-frequency/high-frequency) ratio, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), with urban block landscapes as the control. VR180 outperformed two-dimensional photographs in perceptual realism and psychological perception and showed relatively high substitutability for on-site evaluation, with binocular 3D videos performing better than binocular 3D photographs. Urban park bamboo landscapes generally elicited stress-relief benefits, whereas urban block landscapes showed the opposite pattern. Bamboo–water and bamboo–plant landscapes showed the most favorable overall responses, with bamboo–water ranking higher, whereas bamboo–pavement ranked lowest. Overall, bamboo landscapes combined with naturalized elements tended to produce more favorable stress-relief responses, while hard elements may partly influence these benefits through cultural expression. This study provides a methodological option for landscape evaluation in small-scale scenes and offers physiological evidence for understanding the health value of urban park bamboo landscapes. Full article

The search for sustainable and ethical alternatives to conventional protein production has become increasingly important due to climate change, population growth, and the need to reduce the environmental impact of food systems. This work explores the development of animal-free proteins produced in laboratory settings using innovative technologies such as precision fermentation, submerged fermentation, plant cell culture, and molecular engineering. These methods enable the production of high-quality proteins without relying on animal farming or large-scale traditional agriculture. In addition to reviewing traditional plant-based protein sources and their nutritional limitations, the study highlights novel protein sources derived from fungi, algae, and bacteria, focusing on their nutritional profiles, production methods, and challenges related to digestibility, safety, and consumer perception. Special attention is given to downstream processing techniques that preserve protein functionality and enhance key food attributes such as texture, flavor, and stability. The use of agro-industrial residues is also discussed as a strategy to improve sustainability and economic viability. Key barriers to large-scale implementation, including production costs, regulatory approval, and consumer acceptance, are addressed, alongside emerging applications beyond food, such as cosmetics, animal nutrition, and biodegradable materials. Overall, animal-free proteins represent a promising path toward a more sustainable, resilient, and ethical global food system. Full article

Guided forest bathing is increasingly incorporated into resort wellness portfolios, yet tourism evaluations often report average programme outcomes without examining how guests differ at entry or what the findings imply for product and service design. This prospective one-group pre–post field study examined a three-day guided forest bathing programme delivered as part of the organised wellness offer of a forest-rich Northern Adriatic resort. Of 150 enrolled adults, 132 provided matched questionnaires. Six study-specific experiential and relational dimensions were assessed before and after the programme: nature connectedness, restorative perception, sensory awareness, environmental-ethical sensitivity, planetary health orientation, and intention to continue nature-based self-care. All six post-programme scores were higher after Holm adjustment. The largest standardised differences were observed for sensory awareness (mean difference = 0.91, Cohen’s dz = 1.42), restorative perception (mean difference = 0.61, Cohen’s dz = 1.17), and future nature-based self-care (mean difference = 0.59, Cohen’s dz = 1.04). Change in sensory awareness correlated with change in restorative perception (r = 0.62) and nature connectedness (r = 0.58). Previous nature contact, nature-related hobbies, and spiritual-existential orientation predicted baseline nature connectedness, whereas integrative health orientation, wellness self-care, spirituality, and expectations predicted baseline future self-care. In baseline-adjusted models, lower previous forest contact was associated with higher post-programme sensory awareness. Because the study had no control group, these differences cannot be attributed specifically to guided forest bathing rather than to the wider resort stay, time away from routine, recreation, social interaction, expectancy, or repeated measurement. Co-created restorative value is proposed only as an interpretive framework and was not measured as a construct. For tourism and hospitality management, the findings generate testable decisions concerning guest onboarding, adaptive facilitation, guide training, expectation management, and the development of low-infrastructure nature-based wellness products. Full article

Consumer electronics are important for global energy use, material extraction, and toxic exposures. Within consumer behavior, End-of-Current-Use (EoCU) decisions (e.g., to resell, donate, recycle, or throw away) particularly are a planetary health concern, not just a waste management problem. The goal of this work is to inform interventions that nudge users toward more sustainable and data-secure choices. We surveyed 4000 U.S. users on their attitudes, knowledge, and planned EoCU choices, and constructed a Random Forest model to simulate planned behavior as a function of reported knowledge and attitudes. The key result is identification of behavioral “tipping points”, i.e., incremental shifts in knowledge or attitude that produce large changes in sustainable behavior. For example, moving the level of agreement relating to “reselling is worthwhile” from “Neutral” to “Agree” increases the probability of resale by 26%, with stronger agreement yielding minimal further gains, suggesting relatively small changes in perception may thus produce large behavioral changes. The model also identifies trade-offs, with increases in agreeing that resale is worthwhile leading to to decreases in giving away (−14%) and recycling (−10%). Economic considerations drive reselling decisions, while environmental concerns drive recycling. Identifying these critical thresholds enables efficient intervention design, as modest attitude changes at transition points may prove more effective than maximizing positive attitudes. These finding challenge assumptions of linearity of behavioral responses, informing circular economy and other policies. They also relate to managing planetary health issues raised by EoCU electronics, such as human and ecological well being, digital equity, and environmental justice. The framework is broadly applicable to identifying behavioral tipping points in other domains, e.g., healthcare, energy efficiency, and data security. Full article

The accelerating urgency of global public health challenges, biodiversity loss, and climate change has driven rapid innovation in novel foods and alternative proteins, including cultured cells, fermentation-derived components, plant-based meats, insects, and algae, which promise nutritious, sustainable, and ethical dietary choices with lower environmental footprints. Although technologies have advanced, consumer perception and preferences remain key hindrances due to perceptual, cultural, and sensory challenges. This semi-systematic narrative literature review aims to incorporate interdisciplinary studies (2020–2025) that span sensory science, AI-driven marketing, behavioral economics, and policy analysis to explore consumer incentives, barriers, and intervention approaches associated with novel food categories. Of 1260 initial records, 310 duplicates were removed, 530 were excluded at title/abstract screening, 233 were excluded at full-text review, leaving 197 studies for the final synthesis. The focus is on understanding cultural contexts, cognitive biases, digital and social influences, and the global framing impacts that shape consumer adoption. Consumer perceptions and preferences are primarily influenced by health benefits, ethical concerns, and environmental sustainability; however, neophobia, sensory unfamiliarity, trust deficits, and price temper these factors. Preliminary evidence suggests that AI-generated personalization, transparent labeling, behavioral nudges, and social norms may be useful tools for overcoming resistance to change, though the effectiveness of AI-driven personalization in actual purchasing behavior is not yet firmly established. Cultural diversity affects acceptance routes, with culturally established insect consumption differing from Western neophobia. Future studies should integrate interdisciplinary methodologies, longitudinal cross-cultural analyses, and innovative technologies to enhance communication and product design. Full article

Background and Objectives: Dengue is emerging as a multifaceted public health challenge that extends beyond traditional vector-borne disease frameworks. Climate change, rapid urbanisation, environmental transformation, global mobility, and digital ecosystems are progressively reshaping transmission dynamics, outbreak patterns, and preparedness needs worldwide. This narrative review aimed to examine dengue from an integrated public health perspective, focusing on climate-sensitive transmission, urban health, surveillance and preparedness, digital epidemiology, artificial intelligence (AI), and health communication. Materials and Methods: A structured narrative review was conducted through targeted literature searches in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science between April and May 2026. To this end, a series of separate thematic search strategies were developed to explore the principal conceptual domains addressed in the review. The synthesis was organised around five interconnected preparedness domains: climate change and environmental transformation; urbanisation and urban health; surveillance, vaccination, and integrated preparedness; digital health, artificial intelligence, and mathematical modelling; and health communication and community engagement. The retrieved literature was analysed using a thematic narrative synthesis approach. Results: The retrieved evidence indicated the progressive expansion and redefinition of dengue risk across both endemic and historically non-endemic regions. Climate variability, environmental transformation, rapid urbanisation, and increasing human mobility have emerged as interconnected drivers capable of influencing vector ecology, transmission dynamics, outbreak frequency, and healthcare system vulnerability. Urbanisation has been frequently associated with infrastructural inequalities, environmental degradation, inadequate water and waste management, and territorial conditions favourable to vector proliferation. The extant literature has also placed significant emphasis on the growing importance of integrated surveillance systems and early warning approaches combining epidemiological, environmental, climatic, entomological, and mobility-related data. Digital epidemiology, AI-based predictive models, and digital surveillance tools may contribute to strengthening outbreak forecasting and preparedness capacity, although important limitations related to data quality, interoperability, interpretability, and implementation remain. In parallel, misinformation, risk communication challenges, and digital communication ecosystems emerged as relevant factors influencing public perception, preventive behaviours, institutional trust, and adherence to public health interventions. Conclusions: Dengue is a systems-level public health challenge shaped by climate change, urbanisation, environmental disruption, human mobility, health-system preparedness, and digital ecosystems. Conventional vector-control strategies alone are unlikely to adequately address this growing complexity. Strengthening dengue preparedness should therefore be considered a broader indicator of public health resilience and long-term health-system adaptation. Full article

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is recognized as one of the most urgent global health threats, demanding coordinated, multisectoral responses under the OH framework. Among the multidisciplinary tasks aimed at collectively tackling the AMR crisis, surveillance, research and education stand as major priorities. Education is a strategic pillar of the World Health Organization Global Action Plan, yet a comprehensive synthesis of educational initiatives explicitly grounded in One Health (OH) remains limited. Previous reviews have examined AMR educational interventions focusing on specific strategies, regions, professional groups, or pedagogical tools, but without an OH perspective. This review is the first to comprehensively synthesize educational programmes that explicitly integrate OH principles across different educational levels, target audiences, and learning settings. It also examines the pedagogical strategies used to promote AMR awareness, prevention, and responsible antimicrobial use. A structured literature search (2015–2025) was conducted in Scopus and complemented by institutional sources and citation tracking. Educational initiatives incorporating OH principles, addressing multiple sectors, or promoting interdisciplinary AMR education were narratively synthesized. School-based programmes (e.g., e-Bug, ISGlobal initiatives, Ambientech); public awareness and community education via national strategies such as PRAN; programmes for university students; professional training, and continuing education (e.g., ESCMID, AMR EDUCare); and international online platforms including FAO e-learning programmes and the OH Workforce Academy were examined. Programmes were analysed according to target population, pedagogical approach, sectoral integration, and evaluation methods. Active and experiential methodologies, such as service-learning (e.g., Tiny Earth, MicroMundo) game-based learning, gamification, and interdisciplinary and systems thinking-based learning, consistently enhance knowledge acquisition, systems thinking skills, and awareness of cross-sectoral AMR transmission pathways. Despite all these initiatives, studies on knowledge, perceptions and attitudes about AMR point to clear errors and deficiencies. Key gaps, such as inconsistent curriculum integration, limited integration of environmental dimension and scarce rigorous impact evaluations, persist. Strengthening OH-oriented AMR education requires policy-level curriculum inclusion, cross-sector collaboration, standardized competencies, and robust evaluation frameworks. Embedding education within national AMR strategies is essential to fostering sustained behavioural change and preserving antimicrobial effectiveness across human, animal, and environmental systems. Full article

Indoor companion, rehabilitation, logistics, laboratory transport, and service robot scenarios require mobile platforms that can follow a human operator safely and flexibly under lighting changes, occlusion, texture-poor corridors, and dynamic pedestrian environments. Vision-, LiDAR-, and UWB-based following systems can provide high perception capability, but their deployment cost, environmental dependence, and sensing complexity remain limiting factors for low-perception-dependence applications. This paper presents a passive following system for a Mecanum-wheel mobile platform based on gimbal posture perception and orthogonal odometry fusion. A rope-tensioned two-axis gimbal is mounted above a 300 mm × 300 mm × 150 mm omnidirectional chassis, and a six-axis inertial sensor installed at the top of the gimbal detects pitch and roll changes induced by user traction. A piecewise posture-to-velocity mapping model with a dead zone, saturation, low-pass filtering, and acceleration limiting converts the user’s traction intention into planar velocity commands in the vehicle coordinate frame. To reduce pose errors caused by Mecanum-wheel slip and discontinuous roller-ground contact, two orthogonal passive odometry wheels and inertial attitude estimation are fused to provide planar position feedback for closed-loop following. A prototype was implemented using an Infineon TRAVEO CYT4BB77 controller, TI DRV8701E motor drivers, six-axis IMUs, magnetic encoders, and an embedded display interface. Experiments evaluated attitude estimation accuracy, planar localization accuracy, passive following performance, gyroscope compensation, and open-loop/closed-loop following. The compensated attitude module achieved a static yaw drift of 0.45 deg/h and a dynamic attitude RMSE below 0.56 deg. Orthogonal odometry fusion produced an average positioning error of 3.8 mm over a 3000 mm linear displacement, reducing error by approximately 84.6% compared with pure Mecanum-wheel drive odometry. In a 5000 mm forward traction task, closed-loop following reduced the average distance error from 38.6 mm to 11.5 mm compared with open-loop attitude mapping. The results indicate that the proposed gimbal-orthogonal odometry architecture provides a compact, intuitive, and environment-robust solution for passive following on omnidirectional mobile platforms. Full article

Livestock farming is a key socioeconomic activity on Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos (Ecuador); however, its development within a fragile ecological context poses significant challenges for biodiversity conservation. This study analyzes the perceptions of livestock producers regarding the effects of livestock production on key components of biodiversity on Santa Cruz Island. It also examines the relationship between these perceptions and sociodemographic and productive variables, while identifying mitigation strategies from the perspective of local stakeholders. A structured survey was conducted with 92 producers, covering sociodemographic profiles, environmental perceptions, perceived effects on soil, water, and fauna, as well as mitigation strategies. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression were used to examine relationships between production characteristics and perceived impacts. The results indicate that producers primarily associate biodiversity decline with livestock expansion, intensification, and land-use change driven by deforestation. Producers with greater experience more frequently reported changes in native species, with significant associations between these perceptions and reported effects on water quality and soil degradation. Nevertheless, some cumulative environmental effects were inconsistently recognized, highlighting gaps in the understanding of island ecological dynamics. Regarding mitigation, 80% of respondents supported subsidies for sustainable practices, and 60% expressed willingness to receive training; in contrast, the implementation of these strategies could be limited by technical, economic, and institutional constraints. Overall, the results reflect heterogeneous perceptions of livestock-related impacts, highlighting the importance of incorporating local knowledge into the design of management strategies, while not replacing the need for direct ecological assessments. Full article

Bats (Chiroptera) account for approximately 25% of all known mammalian species and provide essential ecological services, including insect regulation, pollination, and seed dispersal. Despite their importance, they face significant conservation threats and persistently negative social perceptions. Owing to their innate immunity and tolerance, bats constitute a particularly efficient natural reservoir for a wide variety of potentially zoonotic viruses. Over the past two decades, bat-associated viruses have been central to multiple outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases. From severe acute respiratory syndromes to filoviral hemorrhagic fevers, bats have consistently acted as key reservoirs in pathogen emergence. This has further damaged the public perception of bats as dangerous animals and vectors of serious diseases, in some cases leading to increased persecution of their populations. However, spillover events should not be attributed to bats, but rather to human-driven environmental changes—including deforestation, land-use transformation, agricultural intensification, urban expansion, biodiversity loss, wildlife trade and research biosecurity—that amplify contact among humans, livestock, and wildlife or their potential zoonotic pathogens. Safeguarding bat populations, minimizing direct interactions with wildlife, and preserving intact ecosystems are critical not only for bat conservation but also for reducing zoonotic spillover risk. Furthermore, it is essential to strengthen social communication regarding the importance of bats, in order to counteract their negative reputation and promote greater public understanding of their ecological value. This article reviews health, sociological, and conservation dimensions of the issue, situating them within a broader context to provide an integrated, multidisciplinary understanding. Potential solutions and priority directions for future research are also discussed. Full article

Tree Bark-Derived bio-based polymers are promising renewable materials for sustainable coatings, surface protection, adhesives, and functional films. This review aims to clarify how harvesting processes affect raw-material quality and coating performance. The materials discussed include Raw Lacquer, pine resin-derived rosin, turpentine, and tree gums. Key harvesting factors, such as incision depth, tapping frequency, collection method, environmental conditions, and tree physiological status, can influence yield stability, impurity content, enzyme activity, viscosity, chemical composition, and batch consistency. These changes further affect film formation, curing behavior, adhesion, barrier properties, corrosion resistance, water sensitivity, and durability. Traditional manual harvesting is flexible but labor-intensive, skill-dependent, and difficult to standardize. Recent precision and intelligent harvesting technologies, including controlled-depth cutting, low-damage incision, multi-sensor perception, adaptive trajectory planning, and closed collection, provide new approaches for improving harvesting efficiency, reducing contamination, protecting tree health, and supplying coating-grade raw materials. This review establishes a framework linking feedstock characteristics, harvesting parameters, raw-material quality, and coating film performance, and outlines future directions for sustainable, automated, and low-damage harvesting to support high-quality bio-based coatings. Full article

Human spaceflight in microgravity induces profound physiological adaptations, yet its effects on the sensory system remain comparatively underexplored. While musculoskeletal and cardiovascular changes are well documented, sensory alterations pose equally important challenges to astronaut safety, performance, and post-mission recovery. Calcium ions (Ca²⁺), as universal intracellular messengers, play central roles in sensory transduction, neurotransmitter release, and adaptive signaling across all sensory modalities. Emerging evidence suggests that microgravity may influence Ca²⁺ homeostasis and Ca²⁺-dependent cellular processes, potentially affecting the functional integrity of sensory pathways. In this review, we synthesize current findings on the impact of microgravity on Ca²⁺-dependent processes in the five classical senses. Evidence from spaceflight studies, ground-based analogs, and related physiological models suggests possible alterations in taste receptor signaling, Ca²⁺-binding protein expression, mechanotransduction pathways, and vestibular function. However, direct evidence for microgravity-induced disruption of Ca²⁺ signaling remains limited for several sensory modalities. Collectively, these changes are associated with altered taste and smell perception, visual disturbances, reduced tactile sensitivity, and vestibular imbalance. By integrating both direct evidence and mechanistic hypotheses across sensory systems, this review highlights Ca²⁺ signaling as a potential unifying mechanism underlying sensory adaptation to microgravity. We further identify key knowledge gaps and discuss potential directions for developing targeted countermeasures aimed at preserving sensory function during long-duration missions. Beyond spaceflight, these insights contribute to a broader understanding of Ca²⁺-mediated sensory physiology under extreme environmental conditions. Full article

Yaks have long inhabited the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. This region features low-oxygen, frigid temperatures and pronounced seasonal variation in nutrient availability. They have evolved adaptive phenotypes centered on energy metabolism reprogramming, tissue structure remodeling, and stress homeostasis maintenance. In recent years, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been confirmed as an important component of the yak’s post-transcriptional regulatory network. They play a key bridging role between environmental stress perception and phenotypic output through mechanisms such as influencing RNA splicing, stability, translation activity, and constructing competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks. This article systematically reviews the biogenesis pathways and core regulatory patterns of circular RNAs (circRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). It focuses on summarizing the expression profile characteristics and dynamic spatiotemporal changes of these three types of ncRNAs in physiological contexts such as muscle and fat deposition, mammary gland lactation, testicular development, and hypoxia response in the heart, lungs, and vascular system of yaks. Current research evidence indicates that the regulatory network of yaks ncRNAs shows significant convergence on multiple key signaling pathways, mainly concentrating on lipid metabolism (PPAR/AMPK), nutrition and growth signals (PI3K-Akt/MAPK/mTOR), extracellular matrix remodeling (ECM-receptor interaction, Wnt/TGF-β), and cell stress fate determination (apoptosis, oxidative stress/ferroptosis) modules. Among them, some core circRNA and lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory axes have been functionally validated in vitro. Despite the phased progress, current research on ncRNA in yaks still faces bottlenecks: the multi-omics molecular atlases (encompassing genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) of key high-altitude adaptive organs remain incomplete, analysis processes lack sufficient standardization, and most studies stay at the association network level with limited causal mechanism validation. To address these limitations, future research should focus on building a standardized evidence chain, integrating multi-omics and single-cell/spatial transcriptome technologies, and conducting mechanism verification for traits in independent populations, thereby providing a solid theoretical basis for understanding the extreme environmental adaptation mechanisms of yaks and molecular breeding improvement. Full article

Agricultural reconversion has become a key strategy for the continuity and competitiveness of primary-sector productive units, confronting scenarios such as low profitability, environmental pressures, and changes in agri-food markets. The objective of this study was to identify the economic, social, and environmental factors that influenced the agricultural reconversion to lemon cultivation (Citrus limon) in production units in the municipality of Calvillo, Aguascalientes, Mexico. During 2023 and 2024, a total of 32 semi-structured interviews were conducted with producers who had undertaken restructuring processes, from which perception variables were constructed across three dimensions: economic, social, and crop management. Through cluster analysis, three distinct profiles were identified based on their perceptions, resource use, and organizational characteristics (p < 0.05). Results indicate that economic factors are the main driver of productive change (low crop profitability p = 0.0035); however, environmental dimension and efficient resource management, particularly water, are crucial to consolidating the conversion. Furthermore, government support, production experience, and membership in organizations influence perceptions of viability and the prospects of the new crop. The findings suggest that agricultural production restructuring does not follow a uniform pattern, but is shaped by structural, perceptual, and contextual factors, highlighting the importance of targeted public policies and integrated strategies for technical and organizational support. Full article