Search Results (362)

Background/Objectives: This study examines gender differences in the relationship between multidimensional poverty and depression among single-parent families, drawing on the concepts of the feminization of poverty and dual vulnerability to inform gender-sensitive policy. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, this study analyzed data from the 2024 Korean National Survey on Single-Parent Families, with a sample size of 3315 single-parent families. Multidimensional poverty was assessed across five domains: income, employment, housing, health, and social relations. Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Results: Poverty levels were highest in income, followed by housing, health, social relations, and employment. Female single parents experienced significantly higher poverty in income, employment, and social domains compared to males, while male single parents showed higher asset poverty. The proportion of respondents in the depressed group did not differ significantly by gender, though male and female single parents reached this similar overall level through partly different configurations of risk. Employment, health, and discrimination were common predictors of depression across genders, while lower education was an additional risk factor specific to female single parents. Depression scores rose in a linear, dose-dependent manner with the accumulation of multidimensional poverty for both genders, with a formal test indicating no significant overall difference in this pattern by gender. Conclusions: The findings suggest a critical need to shift policy from simple cash transfers to an integrated, multidimensional paradigm encompassing housing, employment, health, and stigma reduction. Policy interventions must prioritize gender-sensitive approaches tailored to the distinct risk configurations identified for male and female single parents. Full article

This paper presents a detailed analysis of the operating parameters of a solar active installation with seven photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) collectors with a total area of 14 m² in a single-family house. A comparative analysis of the work parameters was carried out for the following two locations: Warsaw (Poland) and Andravida (Greece), based on the research of the solar system model created in the TRNSYS 16 program. Considering the months with the best sunshine, from May to August, the average monthly electricity yield in PV/T solar collectors was 206 kWh (Warsaw) and 248 kWh (Andravida). In July, the monthly generation-to-consumption ratio of the PV/T system under the Polish climate conditions was 82%, and under the Greek climate conditions—99%. The heat recovery from PV/T solar collectors in July in the climate of Greece was estimated at 264 kWh and is 29% higher compared to the heat recovery in a hybrid solar installation located in Poland. The generation of electricity in the PV/T solar system instead of a coal-fired power plant can contribute to the avoidance of the annual emissions of pollutants by: 14.00–19.11 kg of SO₂, 2.72–3.72 kg of NO_X, 5.44–7.43 kg of CO, 1330.86–1816.79 kg of CO₂, and 1.09–1.49 kg of particulate matter, depending on the location. Full article

Rapid conversion of agricultural land into low-density housing reshapes local water balances at a time when climate change is intensifying hydrological extremes in Central Europe. This study evaluates the rooftop rainwater harvesting (RWH) potential of a newly urbanized housing estate in Rokietnica (Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland) using a publicly available true orthophoto (5 cm ground sampling distance) as a reliable geometric data source. Roof footprints of 41 single-family buildings (5305 m² in total) were manually vectorized in QGIS and combined with monthly precipitation recorded at the nearest meteorological station (Złotniki) in a simplified volumetric model (V = A × R × C, with C = 0.95). To place the single reference year (2021) in its climatic context, the full 72-year precipitation record (1952–2023) was analyzed using the Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator. The results indicate a harvestable volume of approximately 2642 m³ in 2021 (53–73 m³ per building; mean 64 m³), with May and August jointly accounting for almost one-third of the annual total. Annual precipitation at Złotniki exhibits a statistically significant increasing trend (+1.29 mm yr⁻¹; p = 0.028) concentrated in winter and early spring, while summer totals remain trendless but highly variable. A monthly storage simulation driven by the recent 30-year record (1994–2023) shows that summer garden irrigation, the dominant practical application of harvested rainwater in Polish households, is considerably harder to meet from the roof alone than year-round indoor non-potable uses: a 5 m³ tank covers approximately 73% of the seasonal demand of a 100 m² garden plot, while a 3–5 m³ tank would theoretically secure 91–98% of toilet-flushing demand for a four-person household. Under Poland’s national rainwater co-financing scheme (formerly “Moja Woda,” active 2020–2024, succeeded by “Mikroretencja” from June 2026), simple payback periods of roughly 3–7 years make household installations financially defensible. The findings suggest that true orthophotos enable rapid, low-cost RWH assessments in dynamically developing suburbs, and that storage sizing should anticipate the ongoing seasonal redistribution of precipitation under climate change. To our knowledge, this is the first study to combine free national true-orthophoto imagery, a 72-year Mann–Kendall trend analysis, and a subsidy-linked storage-reliability simulation within a single suburban rainwater-harvesting assessment. Full article

This study provides evidence on the impact of a heavy rail-based suburban metro station in Fremont, California, on house prices using geographically weighted regression (GWR) and multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR). The dataset comprises sale price, sale date, and property and locational characteristics for single-family houses sold during the January 2000–April 2018 period within two miles of the Warm Springs Station on the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system. The results demonstrate that, relative to the referent period (2000–2001): (a) the station-led house price impacts are spatially heterogeneous—the house price increased in one pocket only, comprising less than one-tenth of the dataset, not across the entire 0–2 mile station area, (b) the price increase in that pocket began right after the project announcement period, and (c) the price impacts indicated by the MGWR model markedly differ from baseline ordinary least square regression (OLS) estimates. Overall, the study’s findings highlight the need to move beyond average estimation techniques, such as OLS, to those that account for spatially heterogeneous price impacts, such as GWR and MGWR. Full article

Increasingly stringent regulations regarding climate policy and the sustainable development paradigm determine the transformation of contemporary multi-family housing typology, manifested by a growing share of single-aspect micro-apartments (units with exterior exposure on only one facade). This article identifies the phenomenon of the energy-efficiency paradox, wherein highly insulated buildings successfully trap winter heat but inadvertently escalate summer cooling demands. Consequently, the primary operational challenge becomes limiting excessive solar heat gains in summer, which directly translates into high cooling energy demand, rather than solely mitigating heat losses in winter. Sustainable construction requires moving beyond the narrowly defined reduction of envelope thermal transmittance towards holistic adaptation to climate change and ensuring adequate indoor environmental quality. The methodology is based on a coupled energy-economic analysis, evaluating thermal balances and their direct financial implications for end-users. The variant analysis of solar heat gains conducted for a reference 30 m² dwelling in Warsaw proves that architectural optimization should not be determined solely by short-term investment profit maximization. Effective engineering optimization in construction requires the implementation of a full building life cycle perspective. Unfavorable glazing orientation and the lack of cross-ventilation necessitate the use of energy-intensive air-conditioning systems, which directly increases the building’s carbon footprint and generates hidden operating costs (differences reaching over 145 PLN annually for heating and approximately 70 PLN for cooling). The findings highlight the necessity for a critical reevaluation of design priorities for compact apartments, integrating social justice (by reducing information asymmetry in the real estate market, where buyers are often unaware of these future cooling burdens) with long-term economic rationality and the resilience of the built environment to extreme weather events. Full article

Residential buildings must now be designed and retrofitted as adaptive climate–health–work systems rather than as static housing units. This structured literature review synthesises peer-reviewed journal and conference evidence on residential taxonomy, ventilation, indoor environmental quality, overheating, airborne infection resilience, post-pandemic occupancy changes and future performance benchmarks. The review shows that single-family and multifamily buildings remain the most practical first-order categories because they differ in envelope exposure, ventilation pathways, system ownership, governance, retrofit feasibility and occupant control. Single-family dwellings generally provide greater household autonomy, roof-based renewable potential and room-level intervention flexibility, but can also carry higher envelope losses, lower density and stronger dependence on occupant operation. Multifamily buildings benefit from compactness and shared infrastructure, yet face additional risks from common services, vertical shafts, stack effects, corridor pressurisation, inter-zonal airflow and collective maintenance. Ventilation evidence indicates that natural, exhaust-only, supply, balanced heat-recovery, hybrid, demand-controlled and filtration-based strategies cannot be ranked universally; their effectiveness depends on climate, airtightness, pollutant source, occupancy, maintenance and governance. This review further shows that overheating, cooling-demand growth, airborne infection preparedness and remote work are shifting residential performance from winter-centric energy efficiency toward year-round thermal resilience, clean-air delivery and prolonged-occupancy functionality. A future taxonomy is therefore proposed around adaptive performance attributes, including thermal resilience, clean-air capacity, ventilation controllability, energy flexibility, remote-work readiness, vulnerability and retrofit potential. The core contribution is a hypothesis-generating, decision-support and benchmark-development framework for aligning residential design, retrofit and policy with health, indoor environmental quality, energy efficiency and carbon performance. Full article

The Tabanidae fauna of Uruguay has historically received limited attention, with most records dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries and concentrated near Montevideo. Here, we provide an updated synthesis of the Uruguayan Tabanidae fauna based on a comprehensive review of the literature, examination of historical material, recent field surveys, and validated records from citizen science. We recognized 52 valid species in 15 genera and six tribes, representing approximately 1% of the world diversity of the family. Four species are currently considered to be endemic to Uruguay. Since the last national revision, species richness has increased by 12%, largely through overlooked bibliographic records, the re-examination of museum specimens, and new distributional data. The fauna is dominated by the subfamily Tabaninae, particularly the tribes Diachlorini and Tabanini, whereas Pangoniinae is poorly represented. Males are described for 62% of the species, but immature stages are known for fewer than 20%, highlighting significant gaps in knowledge. Distributional data reveal a strong spatial bias: nearly half of the species are known from a single department, and four departments still lack records. A comparison with the Brazilian Pampa suggests that only slightly more than half of the species are shared, indicating that the regional fauna remains incompletely documented. Primary-type specimens are predominantly housed in European institutions, reflecting the historical development of Neotropical dipterology and the absence of resident specialists. Overall, our results suggest that the apparent modest diversity of Uruguayan Tabanidae likely reflects historical sampling bias, rather than true faunal impoverishment. Expanded field surveys and integrative taxonomic approaches are essential to clarify species limits, document immature stages, and better understand the biogeography of horse flies in the Pampa biome. Full article

The environmental performance of residential buildings depends not only on envelope quality but also on the choice of heating, domestic hot water, and ventilation systems. This study presents a comparative assessment of eight technology packages for a reference single-family house located in Warsaw, Poland, using a harmonised framework under Polish EPC calculation assumptions, with identical building parameters, system boundaries, and functional assumptions for all variants. Operational performance was evaluated using Energy Performance Certificate indicators, including useful energy, final energy, non-renewable primary energy, operational CO₂ emissions, and the share of renewable energy sources. In addition, a comparative 50-year scenario of operational CO₂ emissions was developed, and a screening life-cycle carbon assessment of the reference building fabric and major building components was performed to provide a material and construction-related carbon context for the operational comparison. The embodied impacts of package-specific technical systems were excluded from the LCA scope. The results showed that fossil-dominated packages generated the highest primary energy demand and operational emissions, whereas renewable-supported and hybrid configurations substantially improved environmental performance. Under the adopted EPC-based accounting assumptions, the fully renewable packages achieved the lowest operational indicators; however, these variants should be interpreted as upper-bound theoretical scenarios rather than as demonstrated real-life zero-emission solutions. Therefore, they were not used as the main basis for the practical ranking. Among the practically comparable mixed configurations, the most favourable operational results were obtained for renewable-supported heat-pump-based packages. The screening life-cycle assessment indicated that a substantial part of the total environmental burden was associated with the product and construction stages of the reference building. The results confirm that the interpretation of residential technical packages depends strongly on the adopted assessment perspective and that operational indicators should be considered together with at least a screening-level carbon context for the building fabric. According to the calculation results, the EP value ranges from 0 to 90.8 kWh/(m²·year), depending on the technology package. Full article

Previous research demonstrates that housing security and quality influence physical and mental health. Despite a rich literature on housing and health, less is known about the processes through which housing mobility programs directly affect family health. We use a single-case design to examine how the health of families with children is impacted by Families Flourish, a mobility program that combines three years of rental assistance with life coaching and placement in safe, well-resourced neighborhoods. Drawing on developmental and formative evaluation data, including longitudinally collected surveys, interviews, and administrative records, we trace families’ experiences over time. Our analysis identifies distinct pathways through which mobility improves mental and physical health—via improved indoor air quality, reduced environmental and parental stress, and enhanced access to resources. Initial health gains are subsequently leveraged to improve educational and economic outcomes. We observe a temporal sequence in outcomes, with early physical health gains and later mental health improvements as stability and safety increase. We conclude by situating these identified pathways within existing scholarship and discussing implications for planning and fair housing practice. Full article

Smartphone-based portable slit lamp microscopes are increasingly used as low-cost tools for anterior segment imaging in teleophthalmology, yet the literature combines heterogeneous study designs, comparator standards, and deployment contexts. Because the evidence base spans engineering reports, basic science, clinical validation studies, implementation research, and case-based telemedicine, we structured a narrative review rather than a pooled meta-analysis. We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, and DOAJ for literature available on or before 28 February 2026, supplemented by manual reference list screening and targeted retrieval of relevant technical standards. Peer-reviewed English original studies formed the core evidence base; contextual non-English and gray literature sources were retained only when explicitly labeled as non-core. To improve interpretability, the results were grouped by synthesis domain, clinical task, comparator standard, telemedicine scenario, and artificial intelligence (AI) dataset/validation characteristics. The highest-confidence evidence concerned nuclear cataract grading, tear film breakup time and corneal staining assessment, anterior chamber depth screening, tear meniscus height measurement, allergic conjunctival grading, and selected corneal disorders. Agreement with conventional slit lamp examination or anterior segment optical coherence tomography was generally moderate to high within task-specific comparisons, and telemedicine deployment was feasible for screening, follow-up, remote consultation, emergency triage, house visits, and outreach. However, illumination reporting remains inconsistent, explicit ISO-aligned dosimetry is sparse, and most AI studies remain retrospective, single-center, and device family-specific. Current evidence, therefore, supports smartphone-based portable slit lamp microscopes primarily as adjunctive teleophthalmology tools rather than replacements for comprehensive in-clinic microscopy. The synthesis clarifies where conclusions are supported by comparative validation data, where they remain exploratory, and which methodological gaps should be prioritized in future multicenter studies. Full article

This study examines the environmental implications of envelope material choices for Nearly-Zero-Energy Building (NZEB) single-family houses in carbon-intensive energy contexts. Using a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based on EN 15804+A2, a 100 m² house was analysed over a 50-year lifespan across three archetypes: ceramic masonry (Design 1), solid log (Design 2), and timber–straw (Design 3). By maintaining a common steady-state thermal standard (U ≤ 0.20 W/(m²·K)) across all variants, the study provides a controlled comparison in which differences in GWP and non-renewable primary energy use primarily reflect material choices rather than insulation level. While both biogenic designs achieved negative embodied Global Warming Potential (GWP) in modules A1–A3 due to carbon sequestration, the results also show that structural concept and detailing strongly influence resource efficiency. Design 3 required substantially less timber volume than Design 2 while maintaining a comparable thermal standard and the lowest PENRT_A1–A3. Under the fixed operational assumptions adopted in this comparative study, module B6 remained the dominant single life-cycle contributor in all variants. The timber–straw system is therefore interpreted here as the more resource-efficient envelope strategy, whereas the solid-log solution primarily maximises timber-based carbon storage. Full article

This study evaluates the performance of evaporative cooling (EC)-assisted residential HVAC systems within the broader context of improving energy efficiency in U.S. housing. Using whole-building energy simulation in OpenStudio, a representative single-family house was analyzed across multiple climate zones under three configurations: (1) a baseline air-source heat pump, (2) EC applied at the outdoor air intake, and (3) EC applied at the heat pump inlet. Annual energy use, indoor temperature and humidity, thermal comfort (PMV), water consumption, and economic performance were assessed. Results indicate that system configuration exerts a stronger influence on performance than climate variability. Specifically, the EC at the heat pump inlet configuration reduced annual energy consumption by up to 5.1%, whereas the EC at the outdoor air intake configuration yielded negligible or inconsistent savings (generally within ±1%). The heat pump inlet EC configuration consistently reduced annual energy consumption and showed favorable economic performance in 10 of 16 climate zones, whereas outdoor air intake configuration yielded limited energy savings and was not economically viable. Indoor temperature control remained stable across all cases, while relative humidity increased with EC operation but remained within acceptable limits under appropriate control strategies. The findings indicate that EC integration can improve residential HVAC performance when properly configured, with system placement and humidity control being critical determinants of effectiveness. Full article

This study investigates the impact of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect on building energy performance and the optimization of passive design strategies in six Moroccan climate zones: Agadir, Tangier, Fez, Ifrane, Marrakech, and Errachidia. A computer simulation approach combined with multi-objective optimization using the NSGA-II algorithm was employed to improve energy efficiency while maintaining thermal comfort for a single-family house. The optimum solutions include several passive design parameters, such as insulation materials and thickness, glazing types, window-to-wall ratio (WWR), ventilation rates, shading devices, building orientation, and heating and cooling set point temperatures. The analysis was studied under both standard climate data and UHI scenarios to evaluate the impact of increased urban temperatures on building performance. The results show that under standard climate conditions, the optimal design can achieve up to 76% energy savings throughout all the climate zones, while Marrakech can save 67% and Errachidia 64%; however, under UHI scenarios, these energy savings dropped by 8–30% depending on the climate zone. For example, Agadir drops from 76% to 49% under a 5°C UHI scenario, and Marrakech drops from 67% to 56% under a 3.5 °C UHI scenario, highlighting the significant impact of urban overheating on buildings. These findings emphasize that integrating the UHI effect is essential for accurately assessing passive design performance and for ensuring that selected design solutions truly minimize energy consumption under realistic urban conditions, while also underscoring the importance of integrating passive design strategies into residential buildings. These strategies promote sustainable building practices in Morocco by reducing energy consumption and improving occupant thermal comfort. Full article

The decarbonization of the residential sector is a critical component of the European Green Deal, particularly in transition economies like Poland. This study proposes a comprehensive techno-economic optimization of a deeply retrofitted single-family house aiming for net-zero energy building (NZEB) status. The research specifically focuses on the Polish coastal climate zone, characterized by distinct humidity, wind, and temperature profiles compared to inland regions, which significantly influence the efficiency of air-to-water heat pumps (ASHP). Based on a real-world energy audit, the study simulates the synergy between a deep thermal envelope upgrade and a hybrid system comprising an ASHP, photovoltaics (PV), and battery energy storage (BES). This paper presents a detailed economic analysis of such hybrid systems under the new Polish ‘net-billing’ prosumer mechanism. The study evaluates the impact of electricity tariff structures (flat-rate G11 vs. time-of-use G12w) on the investment’s profitability. By calculating key performance indicators—including the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), net present value (NPV), and self-sufficiency ratio (SSR)—the research assesses various system configurations. The initial evaluation indicates that while deep retrofitting significantly reduces heating demand, integrating battery storage plays a critical role in enhancing economic returns under the net-billing framework. The analysis demonstrates that the optimized hybrid system (9.0 kWp PV + 10 kWh BESS) achieves an average annual self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) of 49.8% and reduces the non-renewable primary energy (EP) indicator to 0.0 kWh/(m²·year). Economically, the investment yields a positive NPV of €3194, an IRR of 5.25%, and a LCOE of €0.184/kWh, which is 34% lower than projected grid prices. Furthermore, switching to a time-of-use tariff (G12w) generates an additional 11% (€139) in annual savings. These quantitative findings provide actionable guidelines for policymakers and investors, confirming the financial viability and environmental benefit (annual reduction of 6.12 MgCO₂) of NZEB standards in coastal areas. Full article

Air-to-water heat pumps (ASHPs) are a key technology for residential heating decarbonization; however, their seasonal performance is highly sensitive to outdoor temperature variability. Although thermal energy storage (TES) is widely recognized as a means of improving system efficiency, reported performance gains vary due to differences in climatic datasets, control strategies, and modeling assumptions. This study presents a systematic multi-year assessment of the impact of a water-based TES tank on the seasonal performance of a residential ASHP under measured microclimatic conditions. Hourly simulations were conducted for a single-family house at three locations in eastern Croatia using eight years (2018–2025) of measured meteorological data. Building characteristics, system configuration, and operating strategy were kept identical to isolate the influence of storage volume. TES integration reduced annual electricity consumption by 4.8–9.1%, with a multi-year average reduction of 7.02%, and consistently increased the seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP) across all analyzed years and locations. The highest relative improvements occurred under less favorable microclimatic conditions, emphasizing the importance of diurnal temperature distribution rather than seasonal averages alone. A parametric analysis identified an optimal storage volume of approximately 1000–1500 L when both energy and economic indicators are considered. The results demonstrate that stable and reproducible seasonal efficiency gains can be achieved through a simple, non-predictive operating strategy under continental climatic variability. Full article