Search Results (120)

Deep-sea mining presents a critical sustainability paradox; it offers access to essential minerals for the technologies of the green transition (e.g., batteries, wind turbines, electric vehicles) yet threatens fragile marine ecosystems. As the terrestrial sources of these materials face mounting geopolitical, environmental, and ethical constraints, undersea deposits are increasingly being viewed as alternatives. However, the extraction technologies remain unproven at large scales, posing risks related to biodiversity loss, sediment disruption, and altered oceanic carbon cycles. This paper explores how deep-sea mining might be reconciled with sustainable development, arguing that its viability hinges on addressing five interdependent challenges—technological readiness, environmental protection, economic feasibility, robust governance, and social acceptability. Progress requires parallel advancements across all domains. This paper reviews the current knowledge of deep-sea resources and extraction methods, analyzes the ecological and sociopolitical risks, and proposes systemic solutions, including the implementation of stringent regulatory frameworks, technological innovation, responsible terrestrial sourcing, and circular economy strategies. A precautionary and integrated approach is emphasized to ensure that the securing of critical minerals does not compromise marine ecosystem health or long-term sustainability objectives. Full article

Background/Objectives: Auditory capacity plays a fundamental role in human emotional development from prenatal stages and persists as the last sensory modality to fade during terminal phases. In palliative sedation, uncertainty about preserved hearing—despite potential unconsciousness—underscores the need to evaluate current care recommendations for this critical sensory dimension. This review examines European guidelines to (i) assess auditory care integration in palliative sedation protocols and (ii) propose humanization strategies for sensory-preserving end-of-life care. Methods: Narrative review of evidence from the European Palliative Sedation Repository and the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC). Results: Three key findings emerged: (i) lack of explicit protocols for auditory care despite acknowledging environmental sound management (e.g., music, family communication); (ii) limited consensus exists regarding hearing preservation during unconsciousness. Conclusions: Although auditory perception during palliative sedation remains scientifically uncertain, the precautionary principle warrants integrating auditory care into palliative sedation through (i) family education on potential hearing preservation; (ii) therapeutic sound protocols; and (iii) staff training in sensory-inclusive practices. This approach addresses current gaps in the guidelines while enhancing patient dignity and family support during end-of-life care. Further research should clarify auditory perception thresholds during sedation. Full article

Due to the extensive types of etiologies and risks causing over 600 types of mental health issues, to convene adequate recommendations in primary care is a difficult assignment. The starting point for preventive interventions on neurologic disorders involves scrutinizing the risk factors while targeting multiple hazards in order to increase the success of an early precautionary mediation plan of action. The primary risk factor for most neurodegenerative diseases is the increasing worldwide median age, although one in seven youngsters also experience a mental disability, namely depression, representing a decline in well-being and conferring a considerable global public health challenge. The brain operates optimally when supported by a holistic approach engaging several aspects, and diet is becoming an integral part of care strategies. Treatment is presently dominated by pharmacotherapy, but additional strategies are needed to prevent and treat mental disorders. Dietary modification can prove to be a cost-effective strategy for the prevention and, in certain conditions, treatment of neurological disorders. Molecules of dietary ingredients, micronutrients, phytonutrients, and additives may modulate depression associated biomarkers. Nutritional exposure during the early developmental stages and maternal impact, lifestyles, and the modulation of the gut microbiota through diet as novel therapies for the treatment of various neuropsychiatric conditions is gaining interest for maintaining brain health. Bioactive substances present in different mushroom species have been ascribed to both direct and indirect mechanisms of influence on neurobehavior, and here we support the recognition of mushroom nutrition as an influential dietary element in prevention and management of some neurologic concerns. Scientific evidence demonstrating the unequivocal link between nutritional mushrooms and cognitive health is only beginning to emerge, and nutritional medicine should be considered as an integral part of mental care. Full article

Ship collisions pose a significant threat to maritime safety, especially in congested precautionary areas with high vessel traffic density. Traditional collision risk assessment methods, such as distance to closest point of approach (DCPA) and time to closest point of approach (TCPA), often overlook environmental uncertainties and variations in human response. To address these limitations, this study proposes a novel approach for collision risk assessment using automatic identification system (AIS) data. AIS data from vessels in precautionary areas are resampled to synchronize their temporal frameworks, enabling the systematic identification of ship encounters. Each encounter is analyzed by evaluating critical parameters, including the minimum ship encounter distance (MSED), relative azimuth angles, and trajectories, within a customized ship domain model that incorporates vessel characteristics such as ship length and course. Key metrics, such as intrusion depth and time, are calculated based on vessels’ entry and exit points during each encounter. A set of collision risk indices, which integrates both intrusion depth and time, is introduced, with particular emphasis on intrusion depth due to its heightened sensitivity to proximity danger and constrained maneuvering space. An extensive analysis of vessel interactions in the precautionary area establishes a holistic collision risk index. A case study using AIS data from Ningbo–Zhoushan Port, involving a dataset of 1000 ship encounters, demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method. Specifically, the holistic collision risk in the No.2 precautionary area is 0.456, while the No.3 precautionary area shows a risk value of 0.443. These results confirm the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method for evaluating and classifying collision risks, offering a more precise and reliable framework for collision risk assessment in complex navigational environments. Full article

Background: Despite the widespread use of precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) by manufacturers, PAL is not always used consistently and can be a source of misinterpretation by consumers and allergists. Although its use is not specifically regulated in Canada, some voluntary guidelines exist. The aims of this study were to investigate allergic consumers’ and clinicians’ understanding of PAL, to describe consumers’ attitudes towards products with PAL, and to examine recommendations given by clinicians to their patients about these products. We also compared two groups of consumers enrolled in this study, since the majority of them (72%) were registered in the Food Allergy Canada database and the others (28%) came from representative consumers of the general population. Methods: An online survey was sent from 2 to 28 December 2021 to allergic consumers registered with Food Allergy Canada’s database and to a group of allergic consumers extracted from a panel representative of the general population and not registered with Food Allergy Canada (third-party panel). All consumer participants had a food allergy or were a parent/caregiver of a child with food allergy and had to be diagnosed by a medical professional. Considering that consumers registered via the Food Allergy Canada database could be more informed about labelling than the third-party consumer panel, we conducted a multivariate analysis (logistic regression) on the key variables related to PAL allowing to compare these two groups of participants. In addition, a separate online survey was sent to allergist members of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and provincial associations to investigate their understanding of PAL from 12 November 2021 to 16 January 2022. Results: A total of 1080 consumers and 63 allergists (29% of allergists in Canada) responded to the surveys. Fifty percent of consumers were adults with food allergy, and 50% were a parent/caregiver of a child with food allergy. Food allergy was diagnosed most commonly by an allergist in 76% of the cases. Fifty-four percent of consumers purchased products with a PAL statement at least occasionally, and more than half of consumers (53%) considered PAL a very useful tool. Most surveyed individuals (59%) had not heard of the term “individual allergen threshold” or had heard the term but did not know what it meant. The same allergic consumers were reluctant to buy food products with even a small amount of their allergen (i.e., a dose that would not trigger an allergic reaction in the vast majority of them). Half of allergists reported PAL was not useful in its current form, and 83% supported the consumption of foods with PAL to their patients in some circumstances. Conclusion: While most consumers are somewhat confident in the accuracy of ingredient information on pre-packaged foods, interpretation of PAL remains confusing by many allergic consumers. If changes are to be made based on allergen thresholds, a multi-stakeholder approach will be required with greater consumer and allergist education on risk assessment concepts to facilitate the implementation of allergen population thresholds into the application of PAL. Full article

Accurate catch data are essential for effective fisheries management. This study reconstructs the historical recreational catch of hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) in Korean waters by incorporating unreported catches to improve stock assessment accuracy. Using a Bayesian state-space surplus production model, we conducted a multi-fishery stock assessment by integrating abundance indices from eight major fisheries. The multigear mean standardization (MGMS) method was applied to derive standardized CPUE indices for each fishery, providing a more comprehensive evaluation of stock trends. The results indicate that excluding recreational catches and multiple CPUE indices may lead to biased stock assessments of hairtail in Korean waters. Models using an integrated CPUE index (SMSC) yielded higher MSY and biomass estimates, suggesting a more optimistic stock condition, whereas fishery-specific CPUE models (MSC) provided more precautionary estimates. The Kobe plot analysis indicates recent stock recovery, but continued monitoring and adaptive management are required to ensure long-term sustainability. This study highlights the importance of integrating recreational catch data and multi-fishery approaches in stock assessments, particularly under data-limited conditions, to enhance resource management and policy decision-making. Full article

Occupational accidents in the construction sector are a significant concern for government agencies and enterprises globally. A detailed assessment of the potential consequences of accidents is essential for supervisory teams. This study presents a novel multidimensional safety assessment optimization model that assesses the cost–benefit relationship of safety measures, considering their impact on workers, company reputation, project cost, project duration, society, and the environment. First, safety risks and measures for primary work items in a typical building construction were determined. The experts subsequently assessed these risks based on precautions. Then, an optimization model was designed using a genetic algorithm and implemented for the risk assessment of a building construction project to identify the optimal measures for reducing risk scores and precautionary costs. Despite the total risk score achieved using the developed approach increased by 17.86% compared to the traditional risk assessment technique, the precautionary measures cost was reduced by 43.60%. Comparing the proposed model with the traditional risk assessment approach, it is observed that the model provides near-optimal risk scores and precautionary costs. The study offers significant implications for both practice and theory by examining risks from multiple perspectives and providing flexibility to users. Full article

Water problems extend beyond the watershed of local communities and single countries. A novel governance approach must comprise coordination and institutional arrangements at the global scale, and rely on a set of axioms that guide the decision-making and actions of various stakeholders involved in water-related issues. These principles must reflect the awareness of water paradigms across history and geography, as well as the economic, social, environmental, and ethical dimensions of water, aiming at ensuring its sustainable and equitable use, driving governance towards recognizing the value of water for public health and social cohesion, the link of landscape and identity values to water bodies, the social, aesthetic-recreational, and symbolic values of water across the world, and the functions of water in nature. The principles presented here include the human right to water, ecosystem centrality, the principles of shared integration, precautionary, responsibility, and subsidiarity, along with the concept of the common good. The assessment of principles of water governance is essential for implementing any guideline of water management aimed not only at efficiency and security, but at equity and sustainability of water supply and flood mitigation in a globalized and conflict-ridden world. Full article

In an era where security concerns are ever-increasing, the need for advanced technology to detect visible and concealed weapons has become critical. This paper introduces a novel two-stage method for concealed handgun detection, leveraging thermal imaging and deep learning, offering a potential real-world solution for law enforcement and surveillance applications. The approach first detects potential firearms at the frame level and subsequently verifies their association with a detected person, significantly reducing false positives and false negatives. Alarms are triggered only under specific conditions to ensure accurate and reliable detection, with precautionary alerts raised if no person is detected but a firearm is identified. Key contributions include a lightweight algorithm optimized for low-end embedded devices, making it suitable for wearable and mobile applications, and the creation of a tailored thermal dataset for controlled concealment scenarios. The system is implemented on a chest-worn Android smartphone with a miniature thermal camera, enabling hands-free operation. Experimental results validate the method’s effectiveness, achieving an mAP@50-95 of 64.52% on our dataset, improving state-of-the-art methods. By reducing false negatives and improving reliability, this study offers a scalable, practical solution for security applications. Full article

This paper outlines the specific provisions of Italian legislation regarding workers’ exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from 0 Hz to 300 GHz compared to the minimum health and safety requirements set in European Directive 2013/35/EU. In particular, the path to be followed to assess and manage occupational exposure to EMFs is outlined in relation to the distinction between ‘professional’ and ‘non-professional’ exposure of workers, as well as to the precautionary limits regarding exposures from power lines (50 Hz) and broadcast and telecommunication fixed systems (100 kHz–300 GHz) established by Italian regulations. The reasons underlying such an approach—mainly relying on the intent to reconcile scientific evidence with risk perception in public opinion—are analysed and discussed with the aim of increasing the knowledge of national regulatory provisions on occupational risk assessment, which may be more stringent than the requirements envisaged by international guidelines and community regulations. Full article

Roundabouts are widely used in road transport to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion by enabling continuous movement in a circular pattern, minimizing stops, enhancing safety, and reducing delays compared to that of signaled intersections. However, roundabouts are rarely used in marine traffic. This study investigates the feasibility of redesigning existing rectangular precautionary areas within traffic separation schemes (TSSs) into circular roundabouts using marine traffic data incorporating both the number of ships passing and crossing, as well as microscopic movement data to further analyze the follow-up times and gaps based on ship domains. This study further assesses the overall performance of the proposed design, drawing on notable formulas and best practices in road transport. The Lombok Strait TSS, in Indonesia, is used as the study area, which is a particularly sensitive sea area and one of the critical “chokepoints” in the maritime supply chain. The results indicate that replacing rectangular areas with circular roundabouts in a TSS can significantly improve traffic management and navigation safety. This study offers a practical approach for redesigning rectangular precautionary areas into circular roundabouts and provides valuable insights for maritime authorities and policymakers aiming to develop more efficient TSS designs in the future. Full article

The Massarosa wildfire, which occurred in July 2022 in Northwestern Tuscany (Italy), burned over 800 hectares, leading to significant environmental and geomorphological issues, including an increase in soil erosion rates. This study applied the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model to estimate soil erosion rates with a multi-temporal approach, investigating three main scenarios: before, immediately after, and one-year post-fire. All the analyses were carried out using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform with free-access geospatial data and satellite images in order to exploit the cloud computing potentialities. The results indicate a differentiated impact of the fire across the study area, whereby the central parts suffered the highest damages, both in terms of fire-related RUSLE factors and soil loss rates. A sharp increase in erosion rates immediately after the fire was detected, with an increase in maximum soil loss rate from 0.11 ton × ha⁻¹ × yr⁻¹ to 1.29 ton × ha⁻¹ × yr⁻¹, exceeding the precautionary threshold for sustainable soil erosion. In contrast, in the mid-term analysis, the maximum soil loss rate decreased to 0.74 ton × ha⁻¹ × yr⁻¹, although the behavior of the fire-related factors caused an increase in soil erosion variability. The results suggest the need to plan mitigation strategies towards reducing soil erodibility, directly and indirectly, with a continuous monitoring of erosion rates and the application of machine learning algorithms to thoroughly understand the relationships between variables. Full article

Infantile occult exposure to cocaine in domestic environments represents a complex clinical and medico-legal problem, which can be associated with abuse and neglect and with potential short- and long-term health risks for children. The authors present a retrospective study on 764 children under 14 years old who accessed the Emergency Department of IRCCS Meyer from 2016 to 2023 and were included in the GAIA (Child and Adolescent Abuse Group) protocol for suspected maltreatment and abuse, and for which a urine toxicology analysis was performed. The aim is to discuss the medico-legal implications and highlight the need for a thorough evaluation and management of such situations. Urine screening tests for substances of abuse (e.g., cocaine, opiates, etc.) were performed with an EMIT^® Siemens VIVA-E drug testing system (Siemens, Newark DE) in 124 cases for which the child’s clinical condition raised suspicion of intoxication, or the family context indicated distress or substance abuse dependency. The screening results revealed the presence of cocaine and its main metabolite, benzoylecgonine, in the urine of 11 children. In one case, a single girl was brought to the Emergency Department by staff from the facility where she and her mother were staying. In most of the cases, children were brought to the Emergency Department by their parents who accessed the Emergency Department due to various clinical manifestations (drowsiness, agitation, seizures, hypotonia, diarrhea, vomiting, etc.), except for one case of eye trauma suspected to be caused by abuse or neglect by one of the parents. Three of the children did not have signs or symptoms attributable to substance exposure, whilst eight of the cases presented some of the symptoms associated with occult infant exposure to cocaine, such as neurological manifestations, seizures, gastrointestinal symptoms, and respiratory depression. The probable mode of intake was mostly through breastfeeding and continuous environmental exposure due to domestic contamination or inhalation of “crack”. In the case of a 12-hour-old infant, there was probable prenatal in utero exposure. All the children were hospitalized, some for medical reasons and others solely as a precautionary measure for proper care. In all cases, a report was made to the Prosecutors as required by the Italian Penal Code, as well as to the Court of Minor. The study highlighted the importance of a multidisciplinary approach involving pediatricians, social workers, and forensics, as well as close collaboration with the relevant authorities, as the Gaia service at IRCCS Meyer offers. The occasional detection of cocaine in cases that showed no suspicion of intoxication led to a modification of the procedure and the development of a standardized protocol at IRCCS Meyer both in terms of prevention and in the detection and interception of hidden cases, in order to intervene early and initiate the necessary care pathways (secondary prevention). This protocol includes routine toxicological urine testing in all suspected or confirmed cases of child abuse, not just in those where symptoms might suggest a suspicion of intoxication. Full article

Concerns over the life cycle impacts of fluoropolymers have led to their inclusion in broad product restriction proposals for per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), despite their non-bioavailable properties and low exposure potential in complex, durable goods such as non-consumer electrical products. Based on the hypothesis that manufacturers are most able to manage the environmental impacts of their products, practical engineering approaches to implementing life cycle fluoropolymer stewardship are evaluated to bridge the ongoing debate between precautionary and risk-based approaches to PFAS management. A life cycle thinking approach is followed that considers product design and alternatives, as well as the product life cycle stages of material sourcing, manufacturing, field deployment, and end-of-life. Over the product life cycle, the material sourcing and end-of-life stages are most impactful in minimizing potential life cycle PFAS emissions. Sourcing fluoropolymers from suppliers with fluorosurfactant emissions control and replacement minimizes the potential emissions of bio-available PFAS substances. A stack-as-service approach to electrolyzer operations ensures a takeback mechanism for the recycling of end-of-life fluoropolymer materials. Retaining electrolytic hydrogen’s license to operate results in over USD 2 of environmental and health benefits per kilogram of hydrogen produced from reduced greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions compared to conventional hydrogen production via steam methane reforming. Full article

Job burnout (as an independent variable) and job performance (as a dependent variable) are often correlated, and one of the main arguments is that psychological counseling can mitigate job burnout, which in turn influences job performance. This article aims to introduce a new perspective on the subject by establishing a new paradigm in the field. It also explores the role of psychological counseling as a precautionary measure. Furthermore, it aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 and 8, which seek to enhance public health, collective well-being, and decent work or at least equitable workplace conditions. Adopting a quantitative analysis method, this study used panel data from 2020 to 2023 and group regression to analyze these data. The instruments comprise job performance (KPI) and mental health records. This study revealed that job burnout as experienced by academics is regulated by their job performance (β = −0.013, p < 0.001. This study revealed that academics’ job performance remained unchanged despite the number of psychological counseling and interventions conducted, so consequently, psychological counseling and interventions do not affect performance directly. This research contributes to the literature by utilizing a novel measurement approach. It is concluded that competency is the key to having a decent work environment and staff experiencing collective well-being. Full article