Search Results (6,681)

Understanding how dams restructure fish diversity is critical for biodiversity conservation and reservoir management. Here, we integrated species, taxonomic, and functional diversity within a unified framework to assess fish community responses to the Datengxia Water Conservancy Project impoundment on the Hongshui River (Pearl River basin). Based on surveys before (2013) and after (2020–2022) impoundment across upstream, downstream, and tributary reaches, we recorded 162 species, including four nationally protected, four endangered, two critically endangered, and 19 exotic taxa. Our three-dimensional assessment uncovered three key patterns: (1) a marked community shift toward limnophilic and slow-flowing species, with three new dominants (Ptychidio jordani, Culter alburnus, and Oreochromis mossambicus) emerging, while rheophilic and migratory forms contracted; (2) trait-selective diversity losses—locomotion-related functional richness (FRic) declined substantially (up to 42.1% at Wuxuan), whereas feeding-related FRic increased markedly (up to 55.1% at Laibin), and reproduction-related traits exhibited stable compositional profiles (spring-dominated spawning, demersal-adhesive eggs) with heterogeneous index responses across sections; taxonomic diversity revealed closer taxonomic relatedness and structural imbalance; (3) a consistent spatial gradient (tributary > downstream > upstream), with downstream assemblages exhibited lower spatial variation in diversity indices. These community shifts were observed alongside habitat modification (lotic habitat shrinkage and fragmentation) and coincided with exotic invasions and over-dominance of resident species. These patterns should be interpreted as descriptive findings given the observational design. This three-dimensional assessment framework provides complementary insights for evaluating dam-related ecological impacts, generating testable hypotheses for future research and conservation planning. Full article

The use of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) for remote sensing continues to increase, and, in missions such as search and rescue (SAR) and landmine detection, a vision-based detector with high recall is critical. Flying at a higher altitude covers a larger area in each pass but enlarges the ground sample distance, reducing recall and precision. Recall can be maintained by lowering the detector’s confidence threshold, at the cost of precision. In those instances, any additional false positives can be resolved by a verification flight. This work compares two strategies for completing a survey in the minimum time while maintaining high recall. Strategy 1 surveys the entire area at a constant low altitude, where precision is high enough that flagged locations need no verification. Strategy 2 performs a rapid high-altitude survey, then visits each flagged location on a low-altitude verification flight, ordered efficiently by a Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) solver. Experimental results indicate that Strategy 1 is more effective when targets are dense, and Strategy 2 when targets are sparse, provided its survey altitude is well above the verification altitude. Our approach also generates a decision table and a break-even altitude ratio that mission planners can use to select the better strategy from the estimated target density and the detector’s measured false-positive rate. Full article

Purpose: Sustainable herbal food products represent a growing yet under-researched segment of the green food market, particularly in fragile developing economies where consumer awareness and food marketing infrastructures remain nascent. Drawing on an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study examines how the green food marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and place) shapes consumer attitudes, and how attitude, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and subjective norms jointly predict green purchase intention toward sustainable herbal food products. This study further evaluates whether green perceived value and environmental consciousness moderate these psychological pathways. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional survey collected data from 640 domestic tourists across three Yemeni cities. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypothesized relationships, complemented by importance–performance map analysis to identify managerial priorities for food marketers. Findings: All four dimensions of the green food marketing mix were significantly associated with tourist attitudes, with green promotion emerging as the strongest antecedent. Attitude, PBC, and subjective norms each significantly predicted purchase intention toward sustainable herbal food products. Green perceived value and environmental consciousness significantly amplified the influence of attitude and PBC on intention, whereas subjective norms operated independently of these moderators. Originality/value: This study advances the green food consumption literature by integrating external food marketing stimuli with internal psychological and value-based mechanisms within a single TPB-based framework. It offers novel evidence from a fragile economy context and provides actionable insights for food producers, marketers, and policymakers seeking to promote sustainable herbal food consumption in emerging and under-studied markets. Full article

Despite the rising interest in examining factors associated with body mass index (BMI), little longitudinal evidence can be found regarding its associations with the built environment (BE) and commute, which are closely related to sustainable urban development. Employing two rounds of nationwide survey data in China, this research assesses the links between BE, commute, and BMI in both cross-sectional and longitudinal ways. The findings indicate that non-motorized commute duration is negatively associated with BMI in both analyses. Switching from non-motorized to motorized modes is positively associated with BMI change, whereas switching in the opposite direction is negatively associated with BMI change. Among BE factors, increases in density, diversity, and green coverage are negatively associated with BMI change. Additionally, the research highlights the role of urbanization and suggests a nonlinear association with BMI that is consistent with an inverted-U pattern. The findings highlight the potential relevance of non-motorized commuting to overweight prevention and sustainable mobility. This research provides implications for integrating transport planning, public health, and sustainable urban development. Full article

Pipeline leakage acoustic signals are governed by the coupled effects of leakage excitation, acoustic–structural interaction, and propagation filtering, while the physical relationship between leakage conditions and measurable spectral characteristics remains insufficiently understood. In this study, a three-dimensional numerical framework combining leakage flow simulation, acoustic–structural coupling analysis, and dual-hydrophone experiments was developed to investigate the formation and propagation mechanisms of leak-induced acoustic signals in water pipelines. The investigated steel pipeline had an inner diameter of 50 mm, with leak hole diameters of 1–4 mm (d/D = 0.02–0.08). The leakage flow remained turbulent, with a Reynolds number of approximately 7.0 × 10³, and the dominant acoustic response corresponded to Strouhal numbers of 1.7 × 10⁻³–2.1 × 10⁻². The results show that supply pressure mainly controls leakage excitation intensity through hydraulic power, whereas the leak hole diameter primarily modifies the frequency-band distribution. A narrow-band pipe wall vibration enhancement was identified near 280 Hz, which was associated with the coupled pipe–water mode at 278.97 Hz. Experimental measurements further demonstrated strong propagation-induced frequency filtering, with more than 97% of far-field signal energy retained within the 20–250 Hz band. These findings establish a continuous relationship between hydraulic leakage input, local acoustic–structural response, and measurable leakage spectra, providing physical insights into acoustic-based pipeline leak detection. Full article

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being integrated into cardiovascular medicine, with potential applications across image analysis, procedural planning, risk stratification, decision support, and workflow optimization. However, its adoption in interventional cardiology remains heterogeneous and may be influenced by several factors. We aimed to conduct a nationwide survey to assess attitudes towards AI among Italian interventional cardiologists. Methods: We conducted a nationwide, cross-sectional, web-based survey of Italian interventional cardiologists. A structured questionnaire collected information on professional characteristics, familiarity with and current use of AI, perceived clinical applications, expected benefits, trust, implementation barriers, and training needs. Conditional branching was used to obtain additional details from respondents who reported current use of AI-based tools, while all responses were collected voluntarily and analyzed in anonymized, aggregate form. Categorical variables and Likert-scale responses were summarized using descriptive statistics, with exploratory comparisons performed across prespecified professional and institutional subgroups. Results: Among 129 respondents, 70.5% reported at least moderate familiarity with AI and 77.5% reported some current use, although only 60.5% reported regular or occasional professional use, and applications were concentrated mainly in research, education, and information synthesis rather than direct procedural support. Nearly half (48.1%) expected AI to become standard in many procedures within 5 years, while 69.0% anticipated either routine use or particular value in complex cases. Attitudes were broadly favorable, with 85.3% agreeing that AI could improve diagnostic and procedural precision, 86.8% expressing strong interest in future use, and 76.7% stating that AI should support rather than replace physician judgment. The leading barriers were medico-legal uncertainty (45.0%), poor integration with existing clinical systems (34.9%), and cultural resistance or operator distrust (29.5%), whereas preservation of physician control was the most frequently cited requirement for adoption (58.9%). Greater AI familiarity was independently associated with current AI use (p < 0.001) and good or high trust (p < 0.001). Compared with no prior training, one and multiple AI training experiences were independently associated with good or high familiarity (both p < 0.05). Conclusions: Italian interventional cardiologists showed substantial exposure to AI, strong interest in future adoption, and generally favorable expectations regarding its contribution to diagnostic precision, workflow, and procedural support. Acceptance remained conditional on physician oversight, stronger clinical validation, reliable interoperability, and clear medico-legal governance, and previous AI-focused education appeared independently associated with greater familiarity. Full article

This study aims to evaluate young people’s perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors regarding food waste in the North-West region of Romania. It seeks to identify key factors influencing awareness and practices, quantify the attitude–behavior gap, and propose targeted educational and policy interventions. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between July and October 2024 using a 17-item questionnaire. Snowball sampling via social media and educational networks yielded 955 valid responses from participants aged 14–33 across six counties. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Kruskal–Wallis tests with Dunn’s post hoc comparisons, Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses, and effect size calculations were performed, guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior. Respondents showed high knowledge (89.47% aggregated positive responses) and strongly positive attitudes (>90% on all items). However, a significant attitude–behavior gap emerged: while 93.51% intended to reduce food waste, only 50.05% consistently adapted portions to appetite. Family was the primary source of awareness (42.41%), whereas formal schooling contributed minimally (3.35%), despite 92.46% supporting school-based education. Knowledge correlated strongly with attitudes (r = 0.624) but only moderately with practice (r = 0.326). Results highlight the need to integrate food waste education into formal curricula and develop targeted programs bridging the gap between positive attitudes and actual behavior change among Romanian youth. Full article

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are among the key enabling technologies driving intelligent logistics and industrial automation. Despite their widespread adoption and rapid technological evolution, the literature often addresses AGV and AMR systems in a fragmented manner, lacking a structured methodological perspective that highlights their architectural foundations, levels of autonomy, and technological maturity. This paper presents a methodological survey of AGV and AMR technologies, focusing on system-level architectures and core functional components rather than isolated algorithms. The survey systematically analyzes key technological dimensions, including sensing and perception, localization and positioning strategies, navigation and path-planning approaches, communication infrastructures, and multi-robot coordination mechanisms. A clear distinction is drawn between classical AGV systems, which rely on fixed infrastructure and predefined routes, and AMR systems, which exhibit adaptive, perception-driven, and self-configuring behaviors enabled by artificial intelligence techniques. Rather than proposing new algorithms, this paper organizes existing approaches into a coherent framework that highlights technological transitions from infrastructure-dependent guidance to autonomous, data-driven navigation. Recent trends such as cloud–edge integration, learning-based navigation, scalable fleet management architectures, and cooperative multi-robot systems are reviewed and discussed from a methodological standpoint, emphasizing their role in increasing flexibility, robustness, and operational efficiency in industrial and logistics environments. The survey also addresses cross-cutting challenges, including system transparency, safety and certification, interoperability, and sustainability. Finally, this paper outlines research directions aligned with the principles of Industry 5.0, highlighting the need for human-centered, resilient, and scalable AMR and AGV systems capable of safe and explainable operation in complex industrial contexts. Full article

The successful deployment of shared autonomous vehicle (SAV) technologies is of great significance for improving road traffic safety and road capacity. Nevertheless, the practical implementation of SAV technologies is hindered by ambiguous user acceptance intentions and complicated multi-stakeholder decision-making processes. Existing studies mostly conduct static analyses of user willingness with fragmented variable selection, lacking integrated frameworks that integrate public opinion mining, behavioral modeling, and evolutionary game theory. Different from existing studies that predominantly rely on static questionnaire-based willingness analysis with subjectively selected variables, this study integrates social-media text mining, an extended Theory of Planned Behavior, and a tripartite evolutionary game model to jointly investigate user psychological mechanisms and multi-stakeholder dynamic interactions. To explore the long-term development trajectory of SAVs, this study crawls 23,943 short-video comment datasets. The Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model is adopted to preliminarily identify eight core factors affecting users’ adoption of SAVs, based on which a questionnaire survey on SAV adoption intention is designed. A total of 724 valid questionnaires were collected. Expanding the classic Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study incorporates additional latent variables including perceived risk, employment impacts, and government attitudes to construct an extended TPB model, which quantifies the correlations between latent constructs and adoption intention. The empirical results reveal that government attitudes (β = 0.497, p < 0.001) and employment conditions (β = 0.434, p < 0.001) exert significantly positive effects on perceived risk. Perceived ease of use indirectly determines adoption intention through three mediating paths: attitude toward behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. Furthermore, stakeholders are categorized into three groups (users, enterprises, and governments), and a tripartite evolutionary game model for SAV stakeholders is established to derive evolutionary stable strategies (ESS) via numerical simulation. The simulation results indicate that the strategy combination of economic incentives and small-scale pilot programs (adopted by governments) paired with the adoption strategy (adopted by potential SAV users) constitutes the evolutionary stable strategy. Variations in governments’ economic incentive costs and small-scale pilot operation costs significantly alter the decision-making behaviors of potential SAV users. This study integrates behavioral modeling and game-theoretic analysis. It delivers theoretical foundations for research on SAV adoption behaviors and provides quantitative decision-making evidence for governments to formulate phased incentive policies and for service platforms to control pilot operation costs. Full article

Population decline is reshaping rural development and requiring village planning to balance land-use efficiency with changing community needs. This study examines planning-led land-use restructuring in Gushanqian Village, a shrinking peri-urban village in Shandong Province, China. Under the Village Spatial Plan (2021–2035), commercial service land was reduced from 9.35 to 1.66 ha and industrial land increased from 1.42 to 10.30 ha, while the total area of construction land remained unchanged. By integrating planning-document analysis with a questionnaire survey of 132 villagers, the study connects documented statutory land-use adjustments with residents’ multidimensional perceptions, residential retention intention, and overall planning satisfaction. Firth logistic regression was used to analyse retention intention, while multiple linear regression was applied to planning satisfaction, with age and residential status included as covariates. More favourable perceptions of planning information, agricultural space, ecological space, and residential space were positively associated with retention intention, whereas industrial expansion perception was negatively associated with retention intention but showed the strongest positive association with overall planning satisfaction. This divergence highlights that support for an industrially oriented planning direction does not necessarily translate into a stronger intention to remain. The case demonstrates the value of examining the social implications of stock-oriented land reallocation alongside its spatial outcomes and provides a non-Western basis for comparison in research on planning responses to rural shrinkage. Full article

Dog ownership is rising quickly across dense Asian cities, coinciding with increasing competition for scarce urban green space. However, the cognitive factors associated with residents’ acceptance of human–dog shared park use remain poorly understood. Most existing evidence comes from low-density cities that rely on dedicated off-leash dog parks and therefore provides limited insight into dense, multi-use park systems where spatial segregation is difficult to implement. This study examines and tests a model of public acceptance of human–dog shared use in Shanghai, integrating the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) paradigm with the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). PLS-SEM was applied to 1045 cross-sectional intercept-survey responses collected across 229 parks in all 16 districts of Shanghai. Perceived risk and incivility were negatively associated with attitude toward shared use, whereas perceived social friction was not significantly associated with attitude. The two conflict constructs explained 12.5% of the variance in attitude. Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control made positive and statistically significant formative contributions to the higher-order pro-sharing cognition composite (PSC). PSC was strongly and positively associated with acceptance intention (β = 0.796) and explained 63.3% of its variance. The findings suggest that acceptance intention is associated with a multidimensional pro-sharing cognitive orientation encompassing favourable evaluation, perceived social approval, and perceived manageability. Supplementary variance decomposition indicated that ATT, SN, and PBC made broadly balanced contributions to the model’s explanatory power. The study provides a locally adapted analytical framework for examining human–dog shared park acceptance and offers a basis for comparative research in other high-density cities. Full article

Background/Objectives: A cancer diagnosis forces a rapid, often unwelcome reorganization of a patient’s sense of self, routines, and future plans, and patients vary considerably in how far they progress toward accepting that new reality. Personality is a candidate explanation for this variability, and although the Five-Factor Model has been linked to cancer-related distress and coping in several large cohorts, its relationship to illness acceptance specifically, alongside disease duration, treatment self-assessment, and perceived social support, has not been jointly examined in a single, diagnostically broad oncology sample. Methods: We surveyed 114 outpatients with a confirmed malignant tumor diagnosis, combining a study-specific questionnaire with the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and the Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS). Because several study variables were non-normally distributed and the study-specific measures were ordinal, associations were examined using Spearman’s correlation, the Kruskal–Wallis H test, and the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: Illness acceptance was moderate on average (mean [M] = 26.55, standard deviation [SD] = 7.34); 22 patients (19.30%) were classified as having low acceptance, 76 (66.67%) as average acceptance, and 16 (14.04%) as high acceptance. All five personality domains correlated with acceptance, led by a strong negative association with neuroticism (ρ = −0.632, p < 0.001) and moderate positive associations with extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience (all p < 0.001). Longer disease duration and a more favorable self-rated treatment outcome were both associated with higher acceptance, and patients who felt supported by close relatives scored higher than those who found support difficult to gauge. Conclusions: Personality traits, particularly neuroticism, were associated with illness acceptance. Brief psychosocial assessment may help identify patients reporting greater difficulties in psychological adjustment to cancer. Full article

Environmental management and monitoring are essential for translating sustainability goals into operational practices in port systems. However, empirical evidence on how these processes are implemented in African ports remains limited, partly because comparable environmental management data are rarely available across ports. This exploratory study examines reported sustainability priorities, EMS-related organisational practices, and environmental monitoring arrangements in African ports using a structured practitioner-based self-diagnosis survey. Data were collected from 18 environmental managers, each representing one port, during a dedicated professional workshop. The analysis combines importance scoring of predefined sustainability items, binary self-reported information on EMS-related practices, and qualitative coding of open-ended responses on monitoring indicators, responsible entities, methodologies, and implementation challenges. The results should not be interpreted as statistically representative of African ports as a whole. Rather, they provide preliminary, practitioner-based evidence on recurring patterns and constraints reported by the participating ports. The findings suggest that core EMS-related elements, such as objectives, legal compliance, operational control, and monitoring, are more frequently reported than strategic and resource-intensive practices, including climate change integration, sustainability planning, and green services to shipping. Monitoring practices appear largely compliance-oriented, periodic, and dependent on external actors, reflecting reported constraints related to finance, technical expertise, equipment, and institutional coordination. The study contributes exploratory evidence from an under-researched regional context and develops tentative propositions for future research on environmental management capacity, monitoring integration, and sustainability transitions in African port systems. Full article

Slope instability in urban road corridors can generate cascading effects on mobility, road safety, infrastructure functionality, and local response systems. This study assessed perceived urban vulnerability to landslide-related instability along the Vía de Integración Barrial corridor in Loja, Ecuador, using a hazard sources–exposed elements–response capacity framework. A cross-sectional perception-based survey was administered to corridor users and nearby actors. From 506 collected responses, 432 valid questionnaires were retained after informed-consent and attention-check screening. Categorical and ordinal data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Wilson confidence intervals, grouped perception-based indicators, exploratory Spearman correlations, and selected chi-square contrasts with Cramér’s V. The results showed that perceived vulnerability was closely associated with visible signs of physical deterioration, including roadway cracking, pavement subsidence, soil or mud falls, and visible runoff or seepage. In addition, 81.5% of respondents perceived landslide-related disruption during the next rainy season as likely or very likely. The most frequently prioritized interventions were drainage improvement (62.3%), slope stabilization and retaining works (43.3%), and control of unwanted water inputs (41.2%). Institutional response was perceived as weak, slow, or mainly reactive by 80.3% of respondents, while low trust in reporting channels was reported by 54.9%; responses indicating lack of knowledge about the responsible institution or reporting channel were retained separately. Broad willingness to engage in community-based monitoring reached 89.4%. The exploratory bivariate analyses indicated a consistent pattern of positive associations among perceived disruption likelihood, mobility impact, road-safety concern, institutional response, and reporting trust, without implying formal validation of a latent multidimensional construct. This study provides an applied framework for incorporating user-based evidence into slope-risk management, corridor maintenance, road-safety planning, and resilience-oriented urban governance in mountainous cities. Full article

Urbanization is widely recognized as a major driver of biodiversity loss; however, cities can also provide important refuges for pollinators when diverse and continuous floral resources are available. This study assessed the diversity of spontaneous insect-pollinated flora and its associated pollinator communities across five major urban habitat types (grasslands, road verges, artificial surfaces, wooded areas, and wetlands) in the Mediterranean cities of Pisa, Livorno, and Lucca (central Italy). During a three-year field survey, spontaneous flowering plant species were systematically recorded, and pollinator visitation rates were quantified using standardized sampling protocols. Approximately 150 spontaneous insect-pollinated plant species were identified, providing a continuous supply of nectar and pollen throughout the flowering season. Pollinator assemblages included honey bees (Apis mellifera), solitary bees, bumblebees, Diptera, and Lepidoptera, with bees representing the dominant group across all habitats. Pollinator visitation rates differed significantly among habitat types, reaching their highest values in grasslands, road verges, and wetlands, whereas wooded habitats and artificial surfaces supported significantly lower pollinator activity. Numerous plant species belonging to diverse botanical families attracted a broad range of pollinator taxa, revealing complex plant–pollinator interactions and demonstrating the ecological value of spontaneous urban vegetation for sustaining pollinator diversity. In summary, the present study shows that spontaneous flora constitutes a fundamental component of urban green infrastructure, supporting pollination services and enhancing ecological connectivity within cities. Biodiversity-friendly management strategies that conserve and promote spontaneous flowering vegetation should therefore be considered a key element of sustainable urban planning and the ecological resilience of Mediterranean urban landscapes. Full article