Search Results (145)

An expanded Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center Next Generation Attenuation Phase 2 (NGA-West2) ground motion database, compiled using shallow crustal earthquakes in active crustal regions (ACRs), was used to develop the closed-form GS24b backbone ground motion model (GMM) for the RotD50 horizontal components of peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV), and 5% damped elastic pseudo-absolute response spectral accelerations (SA). The GS24b model is applicable to earthquakes with moment magnitudes of 4.0 ≤ M ≤ 8.5, at rupture distances of 0 ≤ $R_{rup}$ ≤ 400 km, with time-averaged S-wave velocity in the upper 30 m of the profile at 150 ≤ $V_{S30}$ ≤ 1500 m/s, and for periods of 0.01 ≤ T ≤ 10 s. The new backbone model includes $V_{S30}$ site correction developed based on multiple representative S-wave velocity profiles. For crustal wave attenuation, we used the apparent anelastic attenuation of SA—Q_SA (f, M). In contrast to the GK17, the GS24b backbone is a generic ACR model designed specifically to be adjusted to any ACRs. The GS24bc is an example of a partially non-ergodic model created by adjusting the backbone GS24b model for magnitude M, S-wave velocity $V_{S30}$, and fault rupture distance residuals. Full article

Today’s power grids are being modernized with the integration of new technologies, making them increasingly efficient, secure, and flexible. One of these technologies, which is beginning to make great contributions to distribution systems, is solid-state transformers (SSTs), motivating the present technical and economic study of local level 2 distribution systems in Colombia. Taking into account Resolution 015 of 2018 issued by the Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission (CREG), which establishes the economic and quality parameters for the remuneration of electricity operators, the possibility of using these new technologies in electricity networks, particularly distribution networks, was studied. The methodology for developing this study consisted of creating a reference framework describing the topologies implemented in local distribution systems (LDSs), followed by a technical and economic evaluation based on demand management and asset remuneration through special construction units, providing alternatives for the digitization and modernization of the Colombian electricity market. The research revealed the advantages of SST technologies, such as reactive power compensation, surge protection, bidirectional flow, voltage drops, harmonic mitigation, voltage regulation, size reduction, and decreased short-circuit currents. These benefits can be leveraged by distribution network operators to properly manage these types of technologies, allowing them to be better prepared for the transition to smart grids. Full article

In recent years, the concept of the commons has gained relevance across academic, legal and civic spheres as an alternative framework for managing shared resources. Rooted in Elinor Ostrom’s seminal work on collective governance, contemporary debates on the commons increasingly challenge the traditional binary of private versus public ownership by foregrounding the social function of these resources and the role of their communities in their administration. Urban commons, in particular, have emerged as dynamic spaces of experimentation, where local actors reclaim underutilised or abandoned assets and activate them through bottom-up processes of care, cultural production, and civic innovation. While international literature provides a robust conceptual foundation for understanding commoning practices, their practical implementation mostly depends on local specificities, such as legal and social contexts. Despite the important milestone of the Rodotà Commission’s proposal (2007) and Law 168/2017 on collective domains, the Italian regulatory framework remains highly fragmented, with regional and municipal regulations pioneering policies and practices frequently driven by community-led efforts to redefine the use and governance of public assets. This paper contributes to the growing debate on urban commons by investigating how, since 2011, experiences of collaborative care of the commons in Southern Italy have rekindled interest in the issue raised in 2007, highlighting a strong connection between the regulatory and social dimensions of these processes. The study develops a methodological framework—the COMmons Places ASSessment (COMPASS)—to evaluate the enabling conditions and governance dynamics of these processes. The research specifically focuses on five case studies in the Campania region, where diverse actors have mobilised to reclaim and transform public heritage through cultural, social, and creative activities. From the results, insights on collective management practices emerge potentials and criticalities of the analysed governance, as well as of the designed decision-making process and their effectiveness for the open, participatory, and sustainable management of urban commons. Full article

Background: The escalating prevalence of food allergies, alongside the global call for environmentally sustainable dietary transitions, has drawn attention to plant-based dietary models—particularly those inspired by the EAT-Lancet Commission. These frameworks not only reduce reliance on animal-sourced foods, benefiting planetary health, but may also play a role in modulating immune tolerance and allergic responses. Methods: This scoping review followed PRISMA guidelines and included 53 peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2024, retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Eligible articles were classified into two thematic domains: prevention of food allergy onset (n = 31) and modulation of allergic symptoms in sensitized individuals (n = 22). Included studies comprised randomized controlled trials (n = 6), observational studies (n = 17), systematic reviews and meta-analyses (n = 11), and narrative/scoping reviews (n = 19). Results: Sustainable plant-based diets were consistently associated with a lower incidence of allergic sensitization and reduced symptom severity. These effects were partly due to the exclusion of common allergens (e.g., dairy, eggs, and shellfish) but more importantly due to immunomodulatory mechanisms. Fermentable fibers can enhance short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria (e.g., Faecalibacterium prausnitzii), elevating butyrate and acetate levels, which interact with G-protein-coupled receptors 43 and 109A (GPR43 and GPR109A) to induce regulatory T cells (Tregs) and reinforce epithelial integrity via tight junction proteins such as occludin and claudin-1. Polyphenols (e.g., quercetin and luteolin) can inhibit Th2-driven inflammation by stabilizing mast cells and downregulating IL-4 and IL-1. Conclusions: Following sustainable dietary guidelines such as those proposed by the EAT-Lancet Commission may confer dual benefits: promoting environmental health and reducing the burden of allergic diseases. By emphasizing plant-based patterns rich in fiber and polyphenols, these diets support microbiota-mediated immune education, mucosal barrier function, and immunological tolerance. When properly supervised, they represent a promising tool for allergy prevention and symptom management. Larger randomized trials and long-term population studies are needed to confirm and operationalize these findings in clinical and public health contexts. Full article

Introduction: The entry into force of a new education law (LOMLOE) in Spain introduces a regulatory framework that is committed to Health Education (HE) in the school context. Schools are considered strategic settings for acquiring healthy patterns that can last a lifetime, as confirmed by major European organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Commission (EC). The objective of this study was to conduct an expert consensus analysis of Decree 150/2022, on Early Childhood Education (ECE) curriculum in the region of Galicia (Spain), with regard to aspects related to HE. The analysis focused on issues related to physical, mental/emotional and social health and included comparisons with curricula from other regions of Spain and other European countries. Method: To this end, a panel of four experts (from the fields of nursing and physical education) was assembled to conduct a consensus analysis of the legislative document, using a mixed-method approach that combined the Delphi technique with structured face-to-face consensus meetings. Results: The summary of the final proposal reflects a document aligned with societal needs regarding children’s health while also addressing mental/emotional and social health. Conclusion: The proposal aims to promote the acquisition of healthy lifestyle habits that are sustained over time. However, the success of the document in terms of both content and practical application remains uncertain. Further studies will be needed in the coming years to analyze and provide concrete evidence regarding its outcomes and impact on students. Full article

The European Union (EU) is advancing a digital twin of its electricity grid as a flagship initiative to accelerate the dual transitions of decarbonization and digitalization. By creating a real-time virtual replica of the EU-27 power network, policymakers and industry stakeholders aim to enhance grid efficiency, resilience, and renewable energy integration. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the three critical dimensions shaping the digital twin’s development: (1) regulatory barriers, including fragmented policies, inconsistent data governance frameworks, and the need for harmonized standards and incentives across member states; (2) technological challenges, such as achieving interoperability, integrating real-time data, developing robust cybersecurity measures, and ensuring scalable infrastructure; and (3) economic opportunities, centered on potential cost savings, optimized asset management, new flexibility services, and pathways for innovation and investment. Drawing on European Commission policy documents, regulatory reports, academic studies, and industry projects like the Horizon Europe TwinEU initiative, this review highlights that significant groundwork has been laid to prototype and federate local grid twins into a cohesive continental system. However, achieving the full potential of a pan-European digital twin will require additional regulatory harmonization, more mature data-sharing protocols, and sustained financial commitment. This review concludes with an outlook on the strategic convergence of policy reforms, collaborative R&D, and targeted funding, emphasizing how institutional momentum, federated architectures, and cross-sector integration are advancing a secure, resilient, and economically viable digital twin that is envisioned as a foundational layer in the operational and planning infrastructure of Europe’s future electricity system. Full article

Accurate solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity estimation requires high-resolution, site-specific solar irradiance data to account for localized variability. However, global datasets, such as the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB), provide regional averages that fail to capture the fine-scale fluctuations critical for large-scale grid integration. This limitation is particularly relevant in the context of increasing distributed energy resources (DERs) penetration, such as rooftop PV. Additionally, it is critical to the implementation of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order 2222, which facilitates DER participation in U.S. bulk power markets. To address this challenge, this study evaluates Nearest-Neighbor Random Forest (NNRF) and Nearest-Neighbor Gaussian Process (NNGP) models for spatiotemporal downscaling of global solar irradiance data. By leveraging historical irradiance and meteorological data, these models incorporate spatial, temporal, and feature-based correlations to enhance local irradiance predictions. The NNRF model, a machine-learning approach, prioritizes computational efficiency and predictive accuracy, while the NNGP model offers a level of interpretability and prediction uncertainty by numerically quantifying correlations and dependencies in the data. Model validation was conducted using day-ahead predictions. The results showed that the average Goodness of Fit (GoF) of the NNRF model of 90.61% across all eight sites outperformed the GoF of the NNGP of 85.88%. Additionally, the computational speed of NNRF was 2.5 times faster than the NNGP. Finally, the NNGP displayed polynomial scaling while the NNRF scaled linearly with increasing number of nearest neighbors. Additional validation of the model on five sites in Puerto Rico further confirmed the superiority of the NNRF model over the NNGP model. These findings highlight the robustness and computational efficiency of NNRF for large-scale solar irradiance downscaling, making it a strong candidate for improving PV capacity estimation and real-time electricity market integration for DERs. Full article

The detection and quantification of mycotoxins in beer are critical for ensuring consumer safety and regulatory compliance. These contaminants, originating from barley and other grains, persist and potentially transform during the brewing process. This study presents an innovative analytical protocol using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-MS/MS) for the simultaneous qualitative and quantitative analysis of nine mycotoxins, including aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2), Ochratoxin A (OTA), Fumonisins (FB1, FB2), Deoxynivalenol (DON), and HT-2. The method leverages the efficiency of multi-mycotoxin immunoaffinity columns, providing streamlined sample preparation with high specificity and sensitivity. Validation was conducted using craft beers from Calabria, including freeze-dried samples to enhance analytical consistency and stability. The method’s accuracy was confirmed by using spiking samples with mycotoxins at concentrations compliant with the European Commission’s regulations (Recommendation 2024/1038/EU). The developed protocol delivers reliable results with minimized resource consumption, offering a robust tool for quality control and safety assessments in brewing. By addressing knowledge gaps in freeze-dried craft beer, this study contributes to advancing food safety standards in the brewing industry. Full article

Nuclear power plants increasingly utilize digitalized systems, including computer-based procedures (CBPs) and automation. These novel technologies require human factors’ evaluation to ensure safety. Potentially, automation contributes to safety by reducing workload, but automation may also induce a loss of situation awareness and trust miscalibration. The current study investigated workload during a simulated nuclear power plant (NPP) emergency operation procedure (EOP) executed using a CBP supported by automation. Two levels of automation (LOA) were compared within subjects: management-by-consent (lower LOA) and management-by-exception (higher LOA). Subjective workload and trust were assessed, together with objective psychophysiological and performance-based workload measures. LOA effects varied across the different workload measures. The hypothesis that workload would be reduced at the higher LOA was confirmed for a behavioral measure (secondary task response time). However, other metrics, including instantaneous self-assessment (ISA) and heart rate variability (HRV), showed increased workload at the higher LOA. Different LOAs may produce differing operator strategies that require multivariate workload assessment to evaluate. Effect sizes for the impact of LOA on workload were indexed by Cohen’s d. Several of these effect sizes were in the 0.4–0.6 range, indicating effects of medium magnitude. In addition, subjective workload data were compared with those from a previous study that simulated conventional NPP operations. As anticipated, workload tended to be lower with the automated procedure. The study suggests future directions for human factors research on plant modernization. Full article

Portable emission measurement systems (PEMS) are used onboard vehicles to determine the on-road real driving emissions of the vehicles for research or regulatory purposes. The assessment of a PEMS is carried out in a laboratory comparing it with laboratory grade systems (i.e., validation test). This procedure is described in the European Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1151 and there are limits that must be respected (permissible tolerances). A few inter-laboratory studies evaluated PEMS in the laboratories of different institutes. However, there are no on-road inter-laboratory studies of PEMS because there is no reference instrument available and the source (i.e., emissions of the vehicle) fluctuates significantly due to the variation of the trip characteristics, driver behavior, and environmental conditions, making meaningful evaluation challenging. Here, we present a concept of how such inter-laboratory studies could take place. The concept is that a ‘reference PEMS’ is evaluated first in the laboratory of one of the participating institutes. Then, the ‘reference PEMS’, with a reference vehicle (optionally) is sent to the other institutes to compare their ‘test PEMS’ with the ‘reference PEMS’ on-road. The difference (absolute or relative) of the two PEMS, corrected for any ‘bias’ of the ‘reference PEMS’, is used for the assessment of the ‘test PEMS’ (i.e., comparison with the permissible tolerances) or any statistical analysis (e.g., z-scores). Ideally, the selected reference PEMS should have negligible ‘bias’ (e.g., due to calibration uncertainties, drift), and for this reason, a thorough investigation at the beginning of the exercise is highly recommended. A statistical analysis can be made to confirm if there is bias. Using the differences (absolute or relative) of PEMS, the source (vehicle emissions) variability is cancelled out. The differences can then be compared with the permissible tolerances of the regulation, but up to 40% higher deviations should still be acceptable. We demonstrate the concept with experiments in our institute. Full article

The development of a system to store and share key information about product
lifecycles offers a key opportunity to improve the textile and apparel industry. The
introduction of the digital product passport (DPP) serves as an inclusive tool that enables
industry stakeholders—companies, suppliers, stakeholders, government organizations,
public institutions, and consumers—to more accurately track the journey, characteristics,
components, and environmental impact of products. This study explores the implementation
and potential of the DPP, highlighting its transformative role as a bridge between
technological innovation and sustainability in the textile and apparel sector. By providing
unprecedented transparency and traceability, the DPP disrupts conventional industry
paradigms and facilitates sustainable practices. The findings highlight the DPP’s ability to
consolidate disparate data into a unified system that provides stakeholders with actionable
insights that were previously unavailable. In addition, the study identifies regulatory and
operational gaps and positions the DPP as a pioneering solution to these challenges. This is
significant progress toward operationalizing the principles of the circular economy and
fostering innovation along the entire value chain. In line with the European Commission’s
2020 Circular Economy Action Plan, the DPP complements initiatives such as the Ecodesign
for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and improves product traceability. By providing
stakeholders with reliable, comparable data, it supports informed decision making and
promotes transparency, decarbonization, and sustainability. This analysis underlines the
potential of the DPP to transform the sector into a better informed and environmentally
conscious industry. Full article

The evolving regulatory landscape for microplastics—including the European Union’s Drinking Water Directive—underscores the importance of addressing the analytics of emerging contaminants in water, ensuring public health protection, and fostering scientific advancements in environmental monitoring. This work aims to contribute to these advancements by sharing the strategy of test material selection and characterisation for the validation of sample treatment protocols. The article describes a PVC-based representative test material of industrial origin, its physicochemical characterisation, and its application in density separation procedure evaluation, compatibly with the European Commission’s recommendations for quantifying microplastics in water for human consumption. The work shares our protocol for the durable fluorescent labelling of microplastic particles and for the centrifugal density separation of microplastics from other particulate contaminants in drinking water samples. It reports density and viscosity values for the zinc chloride solutions used to feed the theoretical calculations and recovery values achieved with the presented density separation protocol. Full article

Digital transformation is a key driver of economic and social growth, with the development of broadband infrastructure and fifth-generation (5G) technologies forming the foundation of the Gigabit Society under the framework of the “Digital Decade of Europe”. Digitization also plays a key role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) by contributing to the development of smart cities and improving resource management and citizens’ quality of life. This article critically analyzes Poland’s progress in achieving European digital objectives drawing on European Commission data, especially the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). Poland has expanded fiber optic technology (FTTP) and digital public services. However, barriers include limited 5G implementation, low digital skills, and minimal use of advanced technologies in business. The results indicate the need for further regulatory reforms, increased investment, and systemic support for digital education. This article contributes by linking digital policy and technology to sustainable economic and social development in national and European contexts. Full article

According to the scientific information reviewed, cheese is highly susceptible to contamination by mycotoxin-producing fungi, primarily species from the genera Aspergillus (A. niger, A. flavus) and Penicillium (P. commune, P. solitum, P. palitans, and P. crustosum). Studies on various types of cheese made from cow’s milk report an average concentration of Aflatoxin M1 (AFM₁) at 13,000 ng kg⁻¹, which is alarming since the regulatory limits for AFM₁ in cheese range from 250 to 500 ng kg⁻¹. For instance, limits set by Codex Alimentarius, the European Commission (EC), Turkey, and Iran are 250 ng kg⁻¹. In the Netherlands, the limit is 200 ng kg⁻¹, and in Italy, it is 450 ng kg⁻¹. However, the concentration of mycotoxins frequently exceeds these regulatory limits, including critical mycotoxins such as ochratoxin A, citrinin, and cyclopiazonic acid, which pose significant global health concerns. Therefore, this study aims to review the mycobiota responsible for producing key mycotoxins in cheese and to assess the influence of physicochemical factors on fungal growth and mycotoxin production. By incorporating control strategies such as hygiene practices, pasteurization, and the use of preservatives, this study seeks to improve methodologies in the cheese production chain and mitigate contamination by fungi and mycotoxins. Full article

The development of nanocomposite materials for food packaging applications requires a precise balance of material functionality, safety, and regulatory compliance. In this work, the design, manufacturing, optimization, feasibility, and safety profile of polylactic acid (PLA) nanofibers filled with biocompatible carbon nanoparticles (CNP) and copper-loaded (CNP-Cu) nanoparticles by electrospinning are presented. To ensure nanoparticle compatibility with the PLA solvent system and achieve a uniform dispersion of the nanoparticles within nanofibers, dynamic light scattering analysis was employed, while the incorporation efficiency was demonstrated by building a novel UV–vis spectroscopy analytical method. Morphological analysis, performed through FE-SEM and TEM, confirmed the homogeneous distribution of CNP and CNP-Cu nanoparticles without aggregation. Migration studies in aqueous food simulants were also carried out to assess the material’s safety profile. The results showed minimal nanoparticle release, and the calculated copper migration was well within the limits set by European Commission Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 for food contact materials. Full article