Search Results (183)

The article presents a systematic and critical theoretical–methodological review and conceptual synthesis of the region as a fundamental analytical category and the central subject matter of regional geography. The primary objective of the study is to critically re-examine and conceptually redefine the region through an ontological and epistemological analysis of classical and contemporary geographical paradigms. The study is based on a qualitative interpretative methodology that combines analytical–synthetic, historical–genetic, comparative, critical, and conceptual approaches in order to examine the ontological and epistemological foundations of the region within classical and contemporary geographical thought. The region is conceptualized as a complex, multilayered, and dynamic socio-spatial entity whose ontological status has continuously evolved—from the essentialist notion of an objective spatial reality characteristic of classical geographic paradigms toward a relational and constructivist concept shaped by the interaction of social practices, political processes, and identity articulations within contemporary theoretical frameworks. Attention is also given to the epistemological foundations of regional knowledge, linking various modalities of the production and interpretation of scientific knowledge. Furthermore, the paper examines the roles of power, knowledge, identity, and institutionalization in the formation of regions, as well as the significance of centripetal and centrifugal forces in maintaining or destabilizing regional coherence. The research challenges traditional concepts of the region and proposes its redefinition in accordance with contemporary approaches that conceptualize it as an open, fluid, and context-dependent analytical framework. In conclusion, from the perspective of new regional geography, the region is interpreted as an emergent relational configuration whose understanding requires a broad interdisciplinary and critical approach. Full article

Decommissioned airfields are increasingly recognized as strategic sites for ecological regeneration, climate adaptation, and the creation of new public spaces. However, research on their transformation has predominantly focused on the environmental performance of Nature-based Solutions (NBS), often overlooking the role of inherited spatial morphology in structuring regeneration processes and outcomes. This paper proposes an AI-assisted, morphology-based proto-ontological framework for analyzing and designing post-airfield architecture. The framework was developed through the inductive and comparative analysis of a corpus of 32 urban post-airfield regeneration projects, from which recurrent inherited morphologies, transformation actions, spatial devices, and NBS were identified and structured into a relational sequence. The framework was then applied to two contrasting case studies: Maurice Rose Airfield Park (Frankfurt) and Xuhui Runway Park (Shanghai); these were selected for their different transformation logics. The results show that similar airfield morphologies can generate markedly different climatic, ecological, social, and memory-related outcomes depending on how they are transformed and linked to NBS. The study demonstrates that inherited airfield morphologies are not passive remnants but operative spatial structures, and that NBS should be understood as spatially embedded and form-generating design components. The proposed proto-ontology offers a transferable analytical model and a basis for future computational and generative design applications. Full article

This article argues that lotus and dharma wheel motifs in the Dunhuang Mogao Caves function not merely as decorative symbols but as active visual apparatuses that generate embodied religious experience through a mechanism we term “totemic mediation.” Drawing on Lévi-Strauss’s structuralist reading of totemism, Descola’s ontological framework, Gell’s theory of art as agency, Meyer’s “sensational form,” and Varela’s neurophenomenology, we define totemic mediation as a triadic mechanism encompassing material–spatial arrangement, ontological transformation of experiential states, and value structure generation. We analyze motifs from Mogao Caves 285, 329, and 361 using a five-step analytic framework: formal–visual description, reconstructed embodied viewing, doctrinal identification, mediation mechanism analysis, and evaluative assessment. The analysis demonstrates that the lotus mediates ontologically along a spatial axis, building a vertical channel between the worldly and the divine through ceiling configurations and upward gazes, while the dharma wheel mediates teleologically across the temporal axis, neutralizing linear temporality through rotational dynamics. Together, these motifs constitute “visual prajñā”—a nonconceptual, embodied cognitive effect that bypasses discursive reasoning to enable direct apprehension of śūnyatā (emptiness). This article offers a replicable analytic framework for examining how religious images operate simultaneously as visual apparatuses and ontological mediators. Full article

This article interrogates the ontological paradox of Jordan’s abandoned vernacular villages (kirbeh), which persist as “villages of two times”—simultaneously abandoned yet present for nearby communities. Existing heritage frameworks, focused on material authenticity and physical integrity, cannot fully account for places that endure through absence rather than preservation. In response, we propose a biaxial ontological framework that explains how fragmentation generates new significance over time—a process conventional fragmentation theory overlooks because it treats breakage as loss rather than as what we term “productive fragmentation.” Specifically, the biaxial framework reveals that as material fragments decay and disperse (horizontal axis), they simultaneously acquire temporal depth and existential meaning (vertical axis). This dual process, which we term “productive fragmentation,” is the paper’s core contribution. Drawing on twenty-four semi-structured interviews across five villages, the study advances this biaxial framework by fusing fragmentation theory with concepts of deep urbanity, generative decay, time rupture, and existential displacement. The key finding is that disintegration generates new significance: fragments become more, not less, meaningful as they decay. The framework distinguishes a horizontal axis (spatial dispersal as collage and palimpsest) from a vertical axis (coexistence of multiple temporalities and anchoring of identity across generations). The implication is a paradigm shift: abandoned vernacular heritage embodies a distinct form of life—lived in the enduring presence of absence. By this phrase, we mean that community members experience the abandoned village not as a dead past but as an active presence—through memories, return visits, stories, and portable fragments like soil or keys—even as its material fabric decays. Absence here is not emptiness but a different mode of being present. Full article

Automated compliance checking (ACC) integrated with Building Information Modeling (BIM) requires regulatory texts that can be translated into machine-executable rules. Existing studies have largely focused on rule extraction techniques and ontology-based modeling within single jurisdictions, leaving the upstream question of regulatory readiness underexplored. This study introduces a clause-level framework for assessing the formalizability of building regulations and applies it to four documents covering accessibility and fire safety in the United Kingdom and Kazakhstan. The corpus was decomposed into 2361 enforceable clauses, classified using a ten-category semantic taxonomy, and evaluated against four formalizability criteria: explicit scope, measurable requirement, deterministic outcome, and design-stage data availability. Clauses were classified as formalizable only when satisfying all four criteria simultaneously. UK documents reached 85% formalizability for accessibility and 90% for fire safety, compared with 77% and 51% for the corresponding Kazakh standards. The largest gap was observed in fire safety, where the Kazakh corpus contained fewer BIM-oriented and spatially explicit checks and a higher share of clauses lacking evidential specification. The proposed framework supports clause-level diagnosis of regulatory automation readiness, and a four-stage roadmap links linguistic structure to digital maturity in both jurisdictions. Full article

As a form of living heritage, Historic Urban Landscapes (HULs) have long been limited by the static perspectives and reductionist tendencies of conventional conservation and research approaches. Although the geological and archaeological concept of “stratification” offers a methodological basis for understanding the diachronic evolution of heritage, its unidimensional temporal lens fails to capture the inherent complexity and systemic nature of historic urban landscapes. To address this gap, this study proposes a “multidimensional stratification” theoretical framework through theoretical critique and paradigm reconstruction. The framework introduces innovations at the ontological, epistemological, and methodological levels, positing that the evolution of historic urban landscapes emerges from the nonlinear interaction and dynamic interweaving of four core dimensions: time, space, society, and value. It further systematizes five intrinsic attributes of such landscapes: authenticity, integrity, continuity, adaptability, and dynamism. Building on this foundation, the paper constructs a systematic analytical pathway—elements–processes–patterns–modes–drivers–characteristics—that enables dynamic analysis from micro-level identification to macro-level generalization, offering a scalable tool for HUL conservation and regeneration. To demonstrate the framework’s applicability, the historic urban area of Shenyang—a nationally designated historical and cultural city—is selected as a case study. Its urban landscape comprises four core districts: the Shengjing City District, the South Manchuria Railway Concession District, the Commercial Port District, and the Tiexi Industrial District, representing historical strata from the Qing dynasty capital, modern colonial planning, commercial opening, to industrial heritage. Using the multidimensional stratification approach, this study elucidates the spatial complexity, temporal nonlinearity, social dynamism, and value pluralism embedded in Shenyang’s historic urban area. Corresponding conservation strategies grounded in holism, dynamism, and differentiation are proposed. The research not only advances the theoretical understanding of HUL but also provides a novel paradigm—integrating holistic, dynamic, and operational perspectives—for the conservation, renewal, and regenerative practice of historic urban landscapes worldwide. Full article

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other lower respiratory tract diseases (LRTDs), including bacterial pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, share overlapping clinical features but arise from distinct pathophysiological mechanisms. The molecular signatures that distinguish these diseases remain insufficiently characterized in African populations, where genetic background, endemic infections, and environmental exposures may substantially shape immune responses. We integrated spatially resolved single-cell transcriptomic profiles from lung autopsy specimens of 30 Malawian patients, including 10 with COVID-19, 12 with other LRTDs, and 8 non-LRTD controls. In total, 61,391 cells representing 15 cell types and 36,602 gene expression features were analyzed. Using an integrated machine learning framework that combined nine feature-ranking algorithms with incremental feature selection, we identified potential molecular signatures that could discriminate among disease states within this cohort. The optimal classification models achieved weighted F1 scores greater than 0.94, demonstrating a robust capacity to differentiate COVID-19 from other LRTDs in our dataset. Notably, the macrophage-associated state in COVID-19 was dominated by an IFN-γ response with upregulation of CD163 and HLA-DQA2, contrasting sharply with the type I/III interferon signature reported in European cohorts. In addition, we observed cell-type-specific COVID-19 signatures, including downregulation of CAV1 in AT1 cells, consistent with epithelial damage; dysregulation of SFTPC in AT2 cells, suggesting surfactant dysfunction; and upregulation of NFKBIA in neutrophils, indicating altered inflammatory regulation. Gene Ontology enrichment further revealed universal disruption of protein synthesis machinery, along with cell-type-specific alterations in immune activation, epithelial repair, and inflammatory signaling pathways. Full article

This study addresses the critical challenge of translating the profound social, spatial, and cultural dynamics of the traditional introverted Persian house into more tangible design metrics for contemporary Iranian housing. Relying on qualitative data from twenty-four diverse expert interviews across architecture, urban planning, and policy, the research demonstrates a broad consensus that the notion of replicating historical form is unsustainable. Instead, it indicates that the introverted configuration is likely a context-specific ontological imperative—viewed here as a fundamental socio-spatial requirement—rooted in measurable performance, serving simultaneous social, cultural, psychological, and environmental paradigms. The main findings show that preserving cultural continuity requires a shift from aesthetic conservation to prescriptive configuration. This logic is synthesised into a consolidated socio-spatial framework, whose originality lies in introducing three regulatory design instruments: (1) the sequenced depth and filtration protocol for spatial arrangement; (2) the controlled visual and environmental parameters for façade performance; and (3) the cultural adaptability and resilience requirement for functional programming. The framework’s prescriptive metrics, such as minimum space syntax values and the visual filtering coefficient, provide regulatory bodies with the precise technical tools necessary to enforce cultural protocols like privacy and dignity in high-density urban developments. While these metrics serve as an operationally promising model, they represent a theoretical framework that requires further empirical validation in diverse contemporary residential settings before mandatory regulatory adoption. This framework offers a pragmatic pathway for safeguarding Iranian housing’s cultural identity, ensuring future developments are certified not only for safety and structure, but for their adherence to the fundamental socio-spatial contract of the Persian dwelling. Full article

Spatial and temporal ontologies play a foundational role in modeling dynamic real-world phenomena across domains such as geographic information systems, artificial intelligence, and the Semantic Web. Although decades of research have advanced spatial reasoning, temporal logic, and ontology engineering, fully integrated spatio-temporal frameworks remain fragmented across disciplinary traditions. This paper presents a comprehensive review of spatial, temporal, and spatio-temporal ontologies, examining their conceptual foundations, formal logical models and Semantic Web standards. The literature is analyzed to classify major modeling paradigms and to evaluate their theoretical assumptions, representational capabilities, and computational trade-offs. The review proposes a taxonomy distinguishing foundational ontologies, spatial-centric models, temporal-centric frameworks, integrated spatio-temporal systems. Comparative discussion highlights tensions between logical expressiveness and scalability, as well as challenges related to interoperability and dynamic reasoning. The analysis identifies persistent gaps, including limited native temporal support in description logics, complexity in modeling evolving spatial relations, absence of unified spatio-temporal standards, and lack of standardized evaluation benchmarks. The paper concludes by outlining research directions focused on hybrid ontology–knowledge graph architectures, multi-scale modeling, event-driven semantics, and neuro-symbolic integration. By synthesizing theoretical and applied perspectives, this review provides a structured foundation for advancing interoperable and scalable spatio-temporal knowledge systems capable of supporting next-generation intelligent applications. Full article

Emergency evacuation in complex and dynamic building environments requires robust and adaptive routing strategies capable of responding to evolving hazards, blocked passages, and changing crowd behaviour. Most existing evacuation planners rely on static geometric representations and lack semantic awareness of the environment, limiting their ability to perform informed re-planning and backtracking when routes become unsafe. This paper proposes a neuro-symbolic evacuation planning framework that integrates Lifelong Planning A* (LPA*) with ontology-driven semantic reasoning and a Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) prediction model. The building’s spatial and semantic knowledge is represented using the Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Resource Description Framework (RDF), enabling automated inference of implicit connections and enforcement of safety policies. The BiLSTM model learns temporal patterns from ontology-consistent evacuation trajectories and provides guidance for remaining-cost estimation and early prediction of routes likely to require backtracking, which is combined with a bounded semantic heuristic to preserve admissibility and optimality guarantees. Simulation results in a multi-floor academic building show that the proposed BiLSTM-guided semantic LPA* framework reduces average evacuation time by up to 9.6%, decreases node expansions by up to 32%, and increases evacuation success rates to 96.2% compared with a purely semantic baseline. The BiLSTM model also achieves strong predictive performance, with a test AUC of 0.92 for backtracking prediction and a next-state accuracy of 87.1%. The proposed framework is designed to support explainable, policy-compliant, and incrementally adaptable evacuation guidance under rapidly evolving emergency conditions. Full article

The study reconsiders the architectural production associated with Russian Suprematism (which was speaking of “the supremacy of pure artistic sensation” rather than the veritable figurative depiction of real-life subjects) in the early Soviet period as a coherent and conceptually rigorous mode of speculative world-making rather than as a marginal or unrealized appendix to avant-garde art history and theory. By examining the architectural propositions articulated by Kazimir Malevich and then elaborated by his younger colleagues Lazar Khidekel, Ilya Chashnik, and Nikolai Suetin, the study advances the claim that Russian Suprematist architecture constituted an epistemic experiment aimed at redefining the very ontological premises of architecture. Far from functioning as a mere transposition of abstract pictorial language into three-dimensional form, Suprematist planits, architectons, and aerocentric projects operated as instruments for thinking spatiality beyond terrestrial gravity, anthropocentric utility, and historical typology. Situating these projects within the intellectual horizon of Russian cosmism and early aerospace thought, the article demonstrates how Suprematist architecture intersected with contemporary philosophical, scientific, and technological discourses that envisioned humanity’s active participation in the reorganization of cosmic space. The architectural imagination of Suprematism emerges here as inseparable from broader debates on excitation, non-objectivity, transformation of matter, and the reconfiguration of human corporeality. Through close analysis of formal strategies, pedagogical frameworks, and theoretical writings, the paper reveals the internal plurality of avant-garde Suprematist architectural inquiry, ranging from ecological proto-urbanism and hovering settlements to magnetic and cruciform spatial systems. Ultimately, the paper argues that the historical non-realization of these projects should not be interpreted as a failure but as an intrinsic feature of their speculative methodology. Suprematist architecture is thus redefined as an anticipatory practice whose unresolved propositions continue to resonate with contemporary discussions on space habitation, planetary design, ecological responsibility, and post-human architectural thought, challenging inherited assumptions about the scope and function of architecture as such. Full article

In many non-tourism historical districts in China, property division has subdivided traditional dwellings into multi-household units. While such subdivision reshapes spatial sequences and connections, its consequences for everyday space use and circulation are rarely documented with continuous in situ evidence, partly because residential behaviour is temporally continuous and difficult to observe directly. This study examines two typical subdivision patterns in Subu Old Street: a longitudinal, single-axis serial dwelling (Case A) and a transversal, courtyard-centred dwelling (Case B). We formalize spatial units, connections, and operational nodes using a semantic ontology and map day-long Ultra-Wideband (UWB) trajectories to quantify occupancy and transition characteristics. Case A concentrates both staying and passing at the entrance-end kitchen, where activities overlap with through-movements and transition durations are short in most events but highly volatile with a long tail. Case B channels most transitions through the courtyard hub, keeping indoor rooms mainly for staying and producing longer but more stable transition durations. This study is positioned as a comparative exploratory case study of two representative subdivision patterns identified in Subu Old Street. Semantic ontology modelling, UWB-based behavioural tracking, and behavioural indicators are used together in a comparative analytical approach for examining how subdivision reorganises spatial structure and everyday residential behaviour. The results reveal pattern-specific differences in occupancy concentration, transition organisation, and movement duration. These findings are analytical observations derived from two representative cases. They provide a basis for spatial adjustment and micro-regeneration in still-inhabited subdivided traditional dwellings. Full article

Street seating serves as a critical medium for stimulating spatial vitality and holds substantial design value in the refined planning of commercial upgrading and quality enhancement in aging districts. As urban regeneration and the optimization of existing built environments have become dominant paradigms in global urban development, the improvement of street quality—given its role as the primary setting for everyday public life—has increasingly depended on the fine-grained design and precise regulation of micro-scale environmental elements. This study takes Pingdeng Street in Zhengzhou, China, and its 33 seating installations as an empirical case. A multi-level analytical framework—comprising the seating ontology level, the seating space level, and the street environment level—was developed to quantitatively examine the relationships between multi-level spatial elements and street vitality intensity. Through correlation and regression analyses, the study systematically investigated the mechanisms by which seating-related elements at different levels influence street vitality. The results indicate that the Green View Index (GVI) is the core driver of street vitality, with the most significant enhancement observed when GVI ranges between 28% and 35%. The synergistic coupling of multi-level seating elements is essential for maximizing street vitality, while optimization pathways vary across different functional seating types. In design practice, high-comfort seating with backrests is recommended, with seating continuity controlled within 0.63–0.90. Seating spaces should adopt moderately enclosed spatial forms, such as eave-covered areas, and be supplemented with adequate lighting facilities. At the street environment level, a GVI of 28–35% and spatial openness of 9–18% should be maintained. The multi-level analytical framework and quantified indicator thresholds established in this study offer a new perspective on the mechanisms linking seating and street vitality. The findings provide a scientific theoretical basis and offer context-sensitive design guidance for the refined renewal of aging urban districts under comparable conditions. Full article

Background: In an earlier murine model of myocardial infarction (MI), we showed that CD8 cells and myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) infiltrate the infarcted myocardium within the first week. However, in humans, the spatial interplay between CD8⁺ T cells and dendritic cells in the spatial context of human myocardial infarction remains underexplored. Objective: In the present study, we applied spatial transcriptomics and functional assays to characterize immune–stromal dynamics in infarcted myocardium and peripheral blood. Methods & Results: Spatial transcriptomics analysis of infarcted human myocardium at days 2 and 6 post-MI, combined with peripheral blood flow cytometry and EPC colony-forming assays, was performed. Cell composition, pathway enrichment, and cell-to-cell communication analyses were conducted to map immune–stromal cells’ dynamics across time points. Spatial mapping identified dynamic shifts in immune, fibroblast, and endothelial populations, with fibroblasts and endothelial cells remaining abundant throughout. CD8⁺ T cells accumulated in ischemic regions while their circulating levels declined. Gene Ontology and pathway analyses of CD8A⁺ transcripts revealed enrichment of proinflammatory and NF-κB survival programs. ITGAX/CD33/THBD⁺ APCs progressively increased within infarct zones, activating antigen-presentation and leukocyte chemotaxis pathways. Early (day 2) APC–endothelial crosstalk showed the strongest predicted recruitment signals for CD8⁺ T cells, which diminished by day 6. Finally, EPC colony-forming capacity showed a tendency for reduction in MI patients and inversely correlated with coronary lesion burden, indicating impaired vascular repair potential. Conclusions: This integrative spatial and functional study demonstrates that APC-driven CD8⁺ recruitment and EPC dysfunction are key features of human MI. Immune–endothelial niches facilitate early cytotoxic T-cell infiltration, while progenitor depletion limits vascular regeneration. These findings provide mechanistic insight into immune–vascular imbalance during infarct healing and highlight potential therapeutic targets to modulate inflammation and restore vascular repair. Full article

Background: The progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) involves distal airway remodeling and bronchiolization; however, the mechanisms driving these changes, particularly the contributions of epithelial stem cells, are not fully understood. K13⁺ hillock cells, normally quiescent in proximal airways, were examined for their potential contribution to IPF pathogenesis. Methods: Spatial immunofluorescence was used to profile K13 expression along the airway axes in IPF and control lungs. Multiplex staining complemented by ex vivo culture assays was used to test expression stability. Single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data were re-analyzed to identify cell subclusters and pathway enrichments. Meanwhile, cell–cell communication was inferred by using CellChat. Results: K13 was ectopically upregulated in IPF honeycomb cysts, triggering a proximal-like pseudostratified phenotype. This shift was marked by surges in K13⁺ regionally overlapping expression patterns (K5⁺, ~9%; CC10⁺, ~53%; ACE-TUB⁺, ~44%; MUC5AC⁺, ~23%) and a decline in SOX2 expression (~95% to ~64%), with ~70% of residual SOX2^low cells exhibiting elevated K13. Accompanying the expansion of K13⁺ subclusters (basal: 1.8% to 41.5%; club: 10.7% to 31.5%), it was observed that the profibrotic markers (K17, S100A2, LGALS7, IGFBP6) and ontologies related to RNA processing, stress response, and senescence were also enriched. These subclusters also amplified pro-fibrotic signaling (e.g., TGF-β, SEMA3, and GALECTIN-9) associated with epithelial subtypes and HAS1^high fibroblasts. Conclusions: Here, we demonstrate that K13⁺ cell activation is a pivotal event, driving the dysregulated proximalization of distal airways in IPF through fate reprogramming and epithelial-mesenchymal crosstalk. Thus, elucidating these K13-mediated fate dynamics provides a critical framework for understanding IPF pathogenesis. Full article