Search Results (139)

The Fernald Feed Materials Production Center (FMPC), located in Fernald, Ohio, USA, released radon (Rn) as a byproduct of the processing of uranium materials during the years from 1951 to 1989. Rn is a colorless, odorless gas that emits charged alpha radiation that interacts with cells in the lung and trachea-bronchial tree, leading to DNA damage, mutations, and tumor initiation. The purpose of this project was to use evidence collected by the Fernald Dosimetry Reconstruction Project and other sources to estimate the outdoor Rn exposure to individuals in the community immediately surrounding the FMPC during the years of plant operation. Using previously tabulated source terms, diffusion and meteorological data, and self-reported detailed residential histories, we estimated radon exposure for approximately 9300 persons who lived at more than 14,000 addresses. The results indicated that a portion of the population cohort experiences mean annual Rn exposure exceeding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) action limit of 4 pCiL⁻¹. These exposure estimates support the analysis of the incidence of lung cancer in the Fernald Community Cohort (FCC). Full article

The rapid urbanization and technological advancements in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have placed its modern architectural heritage from the 1970s and 1980s at increasing risk of being unrecognized and lost, particularly in Dubai following the discovery of oil. This research addresses the critical need for the documentation and heritage representation of Dubai’s modern heritage, a city undergoing rapid transformation within a globalized urban landscape. Focusing on the Nasser Rashid Lootah Building (Toyota Building), an iconic early 1970s residential high-rise representing the modern architecture of Dubai and a significant milestone in its architectural history, this study explores a replicable and cost-effective approach to digitally document and conserve urban heritage under threat. The existing building was meticulously documented and analyzed to highlight its enduring value within the fast-changing urban fabric. Through the innovative combination of drone photography, ground-based photography, and HBIM, a high-resolution 3D model and a semantically organized HBIM prototype were generated. This research demonstrates a replicable measure for identifying architectural values, understanding modernist design typologies, and raising local community awareness about Dubai’s modern heritage. Ultimately, this study contributes toward developing recognition criteria and guiding efforts in documenting modern high-rise buildings as vital heritage worthy of recognition, documentation, and future conservation in the UAE. Full article

This study aims to photograph, design, and digitally document the surviving residential buildings on the island of Halki (Heybeliada), within the Princes’ Islands. This documentation focuses on the architectural, urban, and historical aspects of Halki, highlighting the significant material evidence of the Greek social and economic presence. It also examines the urban cultural heritage as depicted in Turkish literature of that period to understand how Turkish writers perceived and presented Halki, referencing the Princes’ Islands only for background context. The methodology includes the collection of material from residents through bibliographic and field research conducted on Halki. Based on these findings, a mobile augmented reality (AR) application was developed using the TaleBlazer platform, designed specifically for use on Halki. The application provides a virtual tour with multimedia-supported thematic layers of architectural and historical information. Its usability and learnability were evaluated using a questionnaire completed by students. The results showed high usability, user satisfaction, and perceived value of learning, with the majority of results close to a median score of 4 out of 5. The students identified the occurrence of immersive experience, ease of use, and the emotional stimulation created by the integration of spatial storytelling and multimedia. This paper also shows how the convergence of cultural content (history, architecture, and literature) can enhance interpretations and experiences with mobile AR technologies. Full article

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) have steadily become a serious environmental problem, especially regarding brownfields chosen for reuse, e.g., as a residential area. “Norra Hamnstaden” in Lidköping (Sweden) has a long history of industrial activity, including porcelain production with the resultant industrial waste deposited close by resulting in elevated levels of metals used for porcelain glazes, especially lead. To estimate the bioavailability of twelve PTEs (As, Ba, Pb, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Mn, Mo, Ni, V, Zn), their uptake by birches (Betula pendula) as well as Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris) was investigated through analyzing their leaves. Sampling was carried out on five trees once per month in the period from May to August. Different uptake patterns were observed for birches and pines, for the latter even varying with age. The birch samples showed higher contents of nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, and lead compared to the reference trees. Also, the pine needles had elevated lead levels, although by a lower factor. Birch leaves revealed surprising patterns of elevated element bioaccumulation factors, with barium reaching up to eight, offering the possibility to limit analyses to plant material for risk assessments instead of soil analysis. Full article

Public spaces in historical and cultural cities not only provide places for social interaction in people’s daily lives but also help visitors engage with local history and culture. Although extensive research has been conducted on the use of public spaces, little has been conducted on cities in developing countries, such as cities in Xinjiang, China. Therefore, this research selected a public space in a traditional Uyghur residential area in Yining, which is located in the northwest of Xinjiang, to investigate the current usage of public space in the context of the growing tourism industry. We employed behaviour mapping as the primary method for data collection and analysed it using ArcGIS. A total of 3052 data points were collected over a five-day observation period. We found that while a wide range of activities were observed at the study site, only a few took place with high frequency. The influence of the facilities at the study site on users’ behaviour is significant. In terms of spatial distribution, the number and diversity of activities also show a concentrated distribution in a certain sub-area. Therefore, the conclusions suggest that it is important to conduct post-use evaluations to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of local residents. Full article

Objective: To describe the characteristics and outcomes of using the Oldfry technology application in older adults, analyzing changes in frailty and fall risk after its implementation. Design and Methods: Observational, analytical, prospective, cross-sectional, and multicenter study conducted in residential centers in Plana Baja (Castellón, Spain). A total of 156 older adults over 65 years old participated, selected based on specific criteria and voluntary consent. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, and clinical variables were collected, including fall history, sensory problems, medication use, and standardized cognitive, nutritional, and functional assessment scales. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Universitat Jaume I. Results: The sample included 156 individuals (median age: 84 years). Women showed greater functional dependence (Barthel scale) and cognitive impairment (Pfeiffer scale). The Oldfry device detected frailty with statistically significant differences. A direct relationship was found between greater functional dependence and higher fall risk, as well as between higher comorbidity and increased fall risk. An adequate nutritional status was associated with a lower fall risk. Conclusion: The use of Oldfry is crucial for assessing frailty and fall risk in older adults. Factors such as functionality, comorbidities, and nutritional status directly influence fall prevention, highlighting the importance of technological tools in monitoring these risks. Full article

The traditional folk houses in Pengcheng Town preserve the architectural style of the southern part of Hebei Province and integrate local living customs and cultural traditions. These folk houses reflect the deep cultural origins of Pengcheng and the Cizhou Kiln. “Wang’s Old House” is the largest and tallest building among numerous residential settlements in Pengcheng Town. It is not only the residence of the Wang family but also the epitome of Cizhou Kiln culture. Taking “Wang’s Old House” in Pengcheng Town as an example of a location in the process of restoration, this paper uses field investigation, oral history methods, and digital technology, combined with an analysis of the overall architectural style of Handan folk houses, oral historical materials, and existing architectural sites, to carry out detailed research and prediction on the plane layout, facade modeling, construction structure, and decorative details of Wang’s Old House, in order to restore the original appearance of Wang’s Old House. This study provides valuable information on and experience in restoring traditional dwellings in the vicinity of Cizhou Kiln, so that we can have a deeper understanding of traditional dwellings’ historical and cultural connotations. Full article

Performance-based seismic design (PBD) has emerged as a key approach for rationalizing prescriptive code provisions and improving the explicit assessment of structural performance. In Chile, where reinforced concrete shear wall buildings are the predominant structural typology, evaluating their seismic response beyond traditional linear methodologies is crucial. This study assesses the seismic performance of a representative Chilean shear wall residential building using the ACHISINA manual’s performance-based seismic design framework. A nonlinear static (pushover) analysis is performed to verify compliance with prescribed design criteria, incorporating capacity design principles and a moment envelope approach to prevent premature yielding in upper stories. The results confirm that the building meets the performance objectives for both Immediate Occupancy and Additional Deformation Capacity limit states. The application of capacity design effectively controls shear demand, preventing brittle failure, while the flexural design ensures the formation of the yielding mechanism (plastic hinge) at the intended critical section. Additionally, the study highlights the limitations of pushover analysis in capturing higher-mode effects and recommends complementary nonlinear time-history analysis (NLTHA) for a more comprehensive assessment. The computed response reduction factors exceed those used in the prescriptive design, suggesting a conservatively safe approach in current Chilean practice. This research reinforces the need to integrate performance-based methodologies into Chilean seismic design regulations, particularly for shear wall structures. It provides valuable insights into the advantages and limitations of current design practices and proposes improvements for future applications. Full article

The automatic identification and three-dimensional reconstruction of house plans has emerged as a significant research direction in intelligent building and smart city applications. Three-dimensional models reconstructed from two-dimensional floor plans provide more intuitive visualization for building safety assessments and spatial suitability evaluations. To address the limitations of existing public datasets—including low quality, inaccurate annotations, and poor alignment with residential architecture characteristics—this study constructs a high-quality vector dataset of raster house plans. We collected and meticulously annotated over 5000 high-quality floor plans representative of urban housing typologies, covering the majority of common residential layouts in the region. For architectural element recognition, we propose a key point-based detection approach for walls, doors, windows, and scale indicators. To improve wall localization accuracy, we introduce CPN-Floor, a method that achieves precise key point detection of house plan primitives. By generating and filtering candidate primitives through axial alignment rules and geometric constraints, followed by post-processing to refine the positions of walls, doors, and windows, our approach achieves over 87% precision and 88% recall, with positional errors within 1% of the floor plan’s dimensions. Scale recognition combines YOLOv8 with Shi–Tomasi corner detection to identify measurement endpoints, while leveraging the pre-trained multimodal OFA-OCR model for digital character recognition. This integrated solution achieves scale calculation accuracy exceeding 95%. We design and implement a house model recognition and 3D reconstruction system based on the WebGL framework and use the front-end MVC design pattern to interact with the data and views of the house model. We also develop a high-performance house model recognition and reconstruction system to support the rendering of reconstructed walls, doors, and windows; user interaction with the reconstructed house model; and the history of the house model operations, such as forward and backward functions. Full article

Using Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) as a therapeutic tool is more feasible than previously thought. While role-playing games (RPGs) have existed for decades, their application in therapy can be challenging for those unfamiliar with tabletop gaming. This article explores the history of D&D, its therapeutic applications, and case studies of five individuals (ages 7–19) using RPGs addressing anxiety, depression, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), and nightmares. It also examines group therapy settings for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), LGBTQ adolescents exploring identity, and women in residential treatment for substance use and trauma recovery. Each case study highlights both the successes and challenges of integrating RPGs into therapy, demonstrating how D&D fosters social skills, identity exploration, trauma recovery, and emotional growth. The findings suggest that RPGs are flexible and effective tools for addressing diverse mental health concerns by encouraging emotional exploration and personal development. While the results are promising, further research is needed to assess the long-term impact of RPGs in therapy and their broader clinical applications. Expanding this research could solidify D&D’s role as a valuable therapeutic intervention across various mental health settings. Full article

This study explores the transport mechanisms and pollutant dynamics influencing particulate matter concentrations at the Pomigliano d’Arco monitoring site, situated in a densely urbanized and industrialized region near Naples, Southern Italy, where daily PM₁₀ averages consistently exceed EU thresholds. Exploiting an innovative residence time analysis, based on backward-trajectory analysis with the HYSPLIT model, we investigated air mass histories from 2018 to 2023 to identify predominant pollutant transport pathways and their temporal dynamics. Seven distinct airflow clusters were identified, with the most frequent originating from the western and northeastern directions, influenced by local circulation and long-range transport from the central Mediterranean and northern Africa. Seasonal variations revealed elevated PM₁₀ levels during winter months, attributed to increased residential heating and temperature inversions, as well as summer peaks linked to Saharan dust transport and secondary aerosol formation. The residence time analysis highlighted regions within the central Mediterranean and northern Africa as significant contributors to high PM₁₀ concentrations at the monitoring site, emphasizing the role of both local emissions and transboundary pollution. These findings provide critical insights for policymakers and air quality managers to develop targeted mitigation strategies aimed at reducing PM pollution in urban and industrialized areas, thereby enhancing public health and environmental sustainability. Full article

Objective: Working physical activity, physical fitness and energy intake were studied for their effect on all-cause mortality and age at death in residential cohorts followed-up for 61 years. Material and Methods: There were two residential cohorts of middle-aged men examined in 1960 with a total of 1712 subjects, and three indexes were measured, i.e., physical activity by a questionnaire (three classes—sedentary, moderate, vigorous: Phyac), physical fitness, estimated by combining arm circumference, heart rate, and vital capacity by Principal Component Analysis, whose score was divided into three tertile classes (low, intermediate, and high: Fitscore), and energy intake in Kcalories, estimated by dietary history divided into three tertile classes (low, intermediate, high: Calories), plus five traditional cardiovascular risk factors (age, cigarette smoking, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and serum cholesterol). Cox models were used to predict all-cause mortality as a function of those adjusted indexes. Multiple linear regression models were used to predict age at death as a function of the same co-variates and a larger number of them. At the 61-year follow-up, 1708 men had died. Results: There were large correlations across the three indexes. Prediction of all-cause mortality showed the independent and complementary roles of the three indexes to all be statistically significant and all protective for their highest levels. However, the Fitness score outperformed the role of Phyac, while the role of Calories was unexpectedly strong. The same outcome was found when predicting age at death, even in the presence of 25 covariates representing risk factors, personal characteristics, and prevalent major diseases. Conclusions: Working physical activity, a score of physical fitness and energy intake, seems directly related to lower all-cause mortality and to higher age at death, thus suggesting a large part of independence. Full article

This study investigated the effectiveness of nature-based solutions (NBSs) as a resilient strategy for mitigating urban flood risks in a developing hot arid country. The research method included the following steps: (a) performing a flood hazard risk assessment for the Fifth Settlement district in New Cairo, Egypt, (b) selecting best-fit NBSs, and (c) performance assessment. The process started with flood hazard analysis using hydrological data, topographical maps, urban planning, and land use maps, in addition to the history of storm events. This step defined the urban areas located in flood depth zones and categorized their flood hazard level. Exposure assessment considered the number and characteristics of population and buildings exposed to flood hazards. Vulnerability assessment determined the vulnerable characteristics of exposed populations and buildings to flood risk. The result of this assessment step indicated that there were 2000 buildings distributed in almost twenty neighborhood areas facing high flood risk. One of these urban areas with 72 building units, including residential, public, and services buildings, was selected to test the potential of integrating NBSs for flood-resilient land use planning and disaster preparedness. The selection of best-fit NBSs was based on a weighted-average sum matrix considering their climatic and contextual suitability and applicability. As a final step, numerical simulation models helped assess the efficiency of the selected NBSs for stormwater runoff reduction and the percentage of the volume capture goal. Five simulation models tested the efficiency of each NBS individually. Rain gardens achieved the highest stormwater capture percentage, while green roofs performed the least effectively, with capture rates of 43.6% and 9.9%, respectively. Two more simulation models were developed to evaluate the efficiency of NBSs when implemented in combination compared to the base case of using no NBSs. Permeable paving demonstrated the highest effectiveness in volume capture. The result indicated that applying combined measures of NBSs over 54.1% of the total site area was able to capture 8% more than the required volume capture goal. Consequently, this study underscores the necessity of adopting tailored solutions and integrated approaches using NBSs for flood risk mitigation. This necessitates testing their performance under site-specific conditions and future climate projections. Full article

Background: Lower socioeconomic status (SES) has been associated with increased mortality from coronary heart disease. This excess risk, relative to affluent patients, may be due to a combination of more adverse cardiovascular-risk factors, inequalities in access to cardiac investigations, longer waiting times for cardiac revascularisation and lower use of secondary prevention drugs. We sought to investigate whether socio-economic status influenced long-term all-cause mortality after PCI in a large metropolitan city (London), which serves a population of 11 million people with a mixed social background over a 10-year period. Methods: We conducted an observational cohort study of 123,780 consecutive PCI procedures from the Pan-London (United Kingdom) PCI registry. This data set is collected prospectively and includes all patients treated between January 2005 and December 2015. The database includes PCI performed for stable angina and ACS (ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and unstable angina). Patient socio-economic status was defined by the English Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) score, according to residential postcode. Patients were analysed by quintile of IMD score (Q1, least deprived; Q5, most deprived). Median follow-up was 3.7 (IQR: 2.0–5.1) years and the primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Results: The mean age of the patients was 64.3 ± 12.1 years and 25.2% were female. A total of 22.4% of patients were diabetic and 27.3% had a history of previous myocardial infarction. The rates of long-term all-cause mortality increased progressively across quintiles of IMD score, with patients in Q5 showing significantly higher long-term mortality rates compared with patients in Q1 (p = 0.0044). This persisted following the inclusion of a propensity score in the proportional hazard model as a covariate (HR for Q5 compared to Q1: 1.15 [95% CI: 1.10–1.42]). Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that low SES is an independent predictor of adverse clinical outcomes following PCI in the large, diverse metropolitan city of London. There clearly are inequalities in cardio-vascular risk factors, time to access to medical treatment/PCI, access to complex imaging and devices during PCI, access to secondary prevention after PCI, and even race differences. Hence, attention to reducing the burden of cardiovascular risk factors and improving primary prevention, particularly in patients with lower SES, is required. Full article

Urbanisation poses significant challenges to urban ecosystems and public health. Urban blue–green spaces are integral to urban ecosystems and play a crucial role in enhancing public health through ecological and social pathways. This paper systematically reviewed research progress on the health benefits of urban blue–green infrastructure from 2014 to 2024, using CiteSpace. By analysing 2346 publications, it revealed the development history and emerging trends in the field. Over the past decade, relevant publications have increased, with two major research groups dominated by China and Western countries but with less cooperation. This lack of collaboration may restrict diverse population inclusion, reduce research generalizability, and hinder bridging policy and cultural gaps. Findings focused on “Ecosystem services”, “physical activity”, and “residential green areas” and also highlighted a shift in research focus from foundational theories to investigating the health mechanisms of blue–green spaces, issues of environmental justice, and the impact of exposure levels on well-being. However, the synergistic effects of blue–green spaces and environmental justice issues require further investigation. Future research should prioritise interdisciplinary and international collaboration, advancing policies and applications to integrate blue–green spaces into health promotion and sustainable urban planning. Full article