Search Results (8,343)

Cultural heritage assets in seismic metropolitan regions are increasingly exposed to interacting natural hazards, yet disaster risk assessments for historic buildings often remain limited to single-hazard interpretations. This study addresses this gap by developing a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based multi-hazard risk assessment for Ferhatpaşa Mosque, a sixteenth-century Ottoman heritage asset located in Çatalca, Istanbul. Eight spatial parameters were evaluated at the neighborhood scale: slope, elevation, aspect, precipitation, distance to fault lines, distance to hydrological features, land use, and soil capability. The model was developed through Weighted Overlay analysis and interdisciplinary expert-based weighting. Distance to fault lines and precipitation received the highest weights, each accounting for 17.22% of the model, followed by distance to hydrological features and soil capability, each weighted at 13.89%. The final risk map classified 71.99% of the study area as medium risk, 28% as low risk, and 0.02% as high risk. Ferhatpaşa Mosque was located within the medium-risk zone, approximately 29,600 m from active fault lines, 250 m from the nearest dry streambed, 800 m from the nearest stream, and 320 m from the nearest high-risk zone. These findings demonstrate that the mosque’s risk profile is shaped not by seismic proximity alone, but by the cumulative interaction of topography, precipitation, hydrology, soil conditions, and land-use characteristics. The proposed model provides a spatial decision-support framework for integrating cultural heritage conservation into sustainable disaster risk reduction and local risk mitigation planning. Full article

Non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) produced by the aminolysis of cyclic carbonates are often presented as safer and more sustainable alternatives to conventional polyurethanes. Their monomer sourcing and synthetic pathways are by now fairly well explored, but the physical principles controlling their properties remain much less understood. This perspective challenges the notion that these materials follow the paradigm of conventional polyurethanes. Emphasis is placed on the hydroxyl group formed next to the urethane moiety, which distinguishes these materials from conventional polyurethanes and makes them more precisely poly(hydroxy urethanes). The available evidence indicates that this pendent hydroxyl is not a minor structural detail but a central actor affecting hydrogen bonding, microphase separation, and through them, many macroscopic physical properties of NIPUs, such as glass transition, mechanical response, water uptake and reprocessability. In addition, it enables thermally activated bond-exchange reactions, which dynamically change chain connectivity and, in networks, topology. As a result, concepts borrowed from conventional segmented polyurethanes cannot be transferred directly to non-isocyanate ones. Instead, a new, physics-oriented predictive framework is the necessary next step for the rational design of non-isocyanate polyurethanes. Such a framework should take bond-exchange reactions into account and connect molecular structure and thermal history with the macroscopic physical properties. Full article

Traditional approaches to urban real estate green value assessment rely heavily on single structured data sources. Such methods often provide limited interpretability and fail to capture multidimensional green attributes accurately. To address these limitations, this study constructs a multimodal assessment framework that integrates image, text, and spatial information. A housing price prediction model is developed based on a Multi-Layer Perceptron architecture. Results show that the proposed method is superior to traditional models (such as the Hedonic pricing model, Ridge regression, and eXtreme Gradient Boosting, as well as single-modality control models). The core evaluation metric, mean squared error, reaches 0.0505 ± 0.0021. SHapley Additive exPlanations analysis shows that the text modality provides the largest contribution to model prediction, accounting for 51.45% of the global contribution. However, this dominance reflects the model’s dependence on textual green signals rather than the establishment of causal relationships. The result may also be influenced by marketing language bias and symbolic sustainability signals. The image modality contributes 38.48%, while the spatial modality contributes 10.07%, indicating a complementary relationship among the three modalities. Green premium analysis confirms that the model achieves higher prediction accuracy for high-priced residences and effectively captures differences in green premium across housing price tiers. This study provides a new technical pathway for real estate green value assessment. Full article

Rainfall variability strongly influences both flood and drought hazards, especially in climatic transition zones where precipitation is highly seasonal and spatially heterogeneous. This study assessed long-term changes in rainfall patterns and compound flood–drought hazard in the Huaihe River Basin, China, using ERA5-Land-derived daily precipitation series at 174 spatial sampling locations during 1950–2025. Rainfall pattern indicators, flood-related rainfall extremes, and SPI-3-based drought indicators were calculated to characterize rainfall amount, frequency, intensity, dry–wet persistence, heavy rainfall events, and meteorological drought conditions. The Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator were used to detect long-term trends, and a compound flood–drought hazard classification framework was developed based on a flood-related rainfall hazard index (FHI) and a drought-related hazard index (DHI). The results showed that annual total precipitation, wet days, and consecutive wet days decreased significantly, indicating reduced rainfall occurrence and wet spell persistence. Flood-related rainfall indicators generally showed decreasing tendencies, with more evident declines in persistent multi-day extremes than in single-day rainfall. In contrast, mean SPI-3 showed a significant drying tendency, although drought frequency, severe drought frequency, and drought intensity did not exhibit significant monotonic trends. Spatially, rainfall pattern, flood-related, and drought-related indicators showed clear heterogeneity across the basin. The compound hazard classification identified flood-dominated and drought-dominated areas as the two major hazard types, each accounting for 31.03% of the spatial sampling locations, while low compound hazard and compound flood–drought hazard areas each accounted for 18.97%. These findings indicate that flood- and drought-related hazards coexist but vary spatially across the Huaihe River Basin. The proposed framework provides preliminary rainfall-based information for differentiated flood–drought hazard assessment, climate-adaptive water resources planning, and the sustainable management of water resources in regions facing spatially heterogeneous hydroclimatic hazards. Full article

Agile teams often struggle to translate business requirements into maintainable, high-quality software due to the persistent ambiguity in the roles and relationships of behavior-driven development (BDD), Acceptance Test-driven Development (ATDD), and Test-driven Development (TDD). These approaches are frequently misunderstood, inconsistently applied, and only loosely connected within a unified delivery lifecycle. This article introduces BLOW (Behavior-Driven Development in a Layered Organization of Work-Centers), a systematic approach that establishes BDD as the coordinating methodology between ATDD (business-focused) and TDD (technology-focused). BLOW structures scenario-driven development across layered domains of accountability with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, organizing delivery through nested work-centers that transform user stories into executable specifications and production code. This approach integrates two complementary collaboration practices: the Three Amigos for discovering and formulating business scenarios, and the proposed Technical Three Amigos for linking those scenarios to Technical Domain Contexts, identifying required Enablers, and deriving technical scenarios when additional architectural support is needed. The proposed operating model emphasizes observability through executable scenarios as first-class artifacts, introducing native, test-anchored metrics that support reasoning about progress, technical effort, and value delivery within scenario-driven development. An exploratory longitudinal case study, consisting of a single-sprint proof of concept followed by an 18-month production deployment, reports patterns in which technical enablement precedes business value delivery and reusable infrastructure supports sustained growth of business scenarios over time. The findings also indicate that changes in the applied operating model are associated with measurable shifts in scenario evolution and internal quality indicators. Overall, BLOW provides a governance-compatible, end-to-end approach for organizing scenario driven development and improving alignment between stakeholder intent and technical implementation in complex software systems. Full article

Land use/land cover (LULC) is one of the core driving factors affecting terrestrial ecosystem carbon storage and exacerbating global warming. As an area with the most intense land–sea interactions, China’s coastal zone has experienced drastic LULC transition and carbon storage fluctuations during the rapid urbanization process. Based on the InVEST model, this study analyzes the spatiotemporal dynamics of LULC and carbon storage (CS) in China’s coastal regions from 2000 to 2024, and simulated multi-scenario carbon storage trajectories for 2050 integrating the SSP-RCP scenarios of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). Furthermore, the XGBoost-SHAP and generalized additive models (GAMs) were introduced to deeply analyze the nonlinear characteristics and temporal heterogeneity of the driving mechanisms of CS evolution. The results show the following: (1) During the study period, the LULC structure of the coastal region was dominated by cropland and forestland consistently accounting for over 85%, but exhibited a competitive pattern characterized by the continuous expansion of built-up land severely squeezing ecological spaces. (2) The total regional CS showed an overall phased downward trend, accompanied by increasing fragmentation of high carbon sink areas. Notably, as the core carbon pool, the reduction in forest area was the dominant factor causing regional net carbon losses. (3) CS remained relatively stable under SSP1-2.6, representing a sustainable development pathway with low greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5 exhibited more pronounced declines in carbon storage by 2050, indicating that SSP1-2.6 is the most favorable pathway for maintaining long-term carbon storage stability in China’s coastal regions. (4) The driving mechanism of CS has undergone a profound shift from being dominated by natural ecological baselines to human activities. Land use intensity (LUI) has emerged as the strongest predictor in the model, and the nonlinear impacts of human activities have grown increasingly complex over time. This study highlights the complex impacts of high-intensity human disturbances on the coastal carbon cycle, providing a scientific basis for formulating differentiated carbon management strategies and adaptive spatial land-use planning oriented toward the “Dual Carbon” goals. Full article

Digital activities of statutory bodies are an emerging area in environmental governance and green information systems (Green IS) research. Copyright societies in India, under Section 33 of the Copyright Act, 1957, are crucial gatekeepers of the cultural economy and manage royalties on behalf of millions of creators through vital web portals. In this study, we examine the interface between their statutory role and digital environmental accountability, filling a research void at the interface of information management, sustainability, and policymaking. The researcher undertook website carbon auditing to determine the emissions of all seven registered copyright societies and found that 66.7% have high-emitting websites, with an average emission rate of 2.49 g CO₂ per page view, compared to the benchmark of 0.615 g CO₂ per page view for compliant websites. Significantly, there is a policy void: while societies are subject to detailed rules on financial and tariff matters, there is no statutory requirement on the sustainability of their digital operations. Our analysis shows that green hosting is insufficient and that there is a risk of symbolic compliance, thereby extending Green IS theory to statutory digital ecosystems. The researcher recommends theoretically informed interventions that include amending the Copyright Rules to require digital carbon statements, using existing corporate social responsibility (CSR) requirements, green procurement, and developing a Green IS governance model that is applicable to digital infrastructure in the public sector. Full article

Background: Acne vulgaris affects up to 80% of individuals aged 11–30 years and frequently results in permanent scarring with significant psychosocial impact. This prospective single-arm case series evaluated the safety and high-frequency ultrasound-assessed morphological changes in a combined protocol integrating subcision, PEGDE-crosslinked hyaluronic acid supplemented with calcium hydroxyapatite (CaHA), and fractional 1470 nm diode laser therapy in patients with facial atrophic acne scars. Methods: Twenty patients (aged 18–42 years, Fitzpatrick phototypes I–II) with moderate-to-severe atrophic acne scars underwent subcision of fibrotic adhesions using a 22G cannula combined with a single subcutaneous injection of 2 mL PEGDE-crosslinked hyaluronic acid with CaHA microparticles on day 0, followed by two sessions of fractional 1470 nm diode laser therapy on days 7 and 28. Scar depth and diameter were assessed using high-frequency ultrasound (48 MHz) at baseline and on days 28, 49, 77, and 139. Results: All participants completed the protocol without serious adverse events. High-frequency ultrasound demonstrated progressive reductions in mean scar depth (from 0.35 to 0.05 mm; −86%) and scar diameter (from 4.27 to 1.06 mm; −75%) by day 139, with reductions continuing beyond the active treatment phase. In linear mixed-effects models accounting for within-patient clustering of the two lesions assessed per participant, the reductions in both depth and diameter were statistically significant at every follow-up timepoint relative to baseline (all p < 0.001). These ultrasound findings were not corroborated by a control group, blinded assessment, validated clinical grading, or patient-reported outcomes. Conclusions: In this single-arm case series, the combined subcision, PEGDE-crosslinked HA–CaHA filler, and fractional 1470 nm diode laser protocol was well tolerated and associated with progressive, sustained reductions in high-frequency ultrasound-measured scar depth and diameter. As an uncontrolled, unblinded study without validated clinical grading or patient-reported outcomes, these findings are preliminary and require confirmation in larger, controlled trials. Full article

The significant CO₂ emissions from cement manufacturing and overuse of natural aggregates, especially river sand mining, have been a global environmental concern for decades. This is a review study that aimed to evaluate the solution by reviewing past studies on the incorporation of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) and recycled aggregates (RAs) to produce sustainable concrete (SC). Regarding environmental consequences, the results highlighted that the cement industry accounts for a 5–8% carbon footprint. Concurrently, the demand for high-quality river sand has escalated, leading to widespread river degradation, altered channel morphology, and effects on river ecosystems. Past studies’ experimental results indicate that silica fume (SF), as an effective SCM, enhances the strength and durability of sustainable concrete to its optimal levels. However, the higher RA content resulted in reductions in engineering properties. The published studies also reported that lower percentages of SF combined with RAs had a positive effect on the strength and durability of design mix concrete, thereby further strengthening the findings of this review. This factor was found to be missing in most studies. A cost–benefit analysis for combined SCMs and RAs was introduced in this study. This review study evaluated the cost–benefit analysis of 1 m³ of sustainable concrete. The highest benefit was observed at 20.97% in a study when optimized 10%SF + 100 RAs were combined. It showed that the combined use of SCMs with RAs at optimal levels satisfied the strength and durability requirements. In addition, the benefits of sustainable concrete were achieved without any cost increase, a new outcome revealed by this review. Full article

The aim of the present study is to propose a new mathematical model of compartment type for an epidemic problem using fractional order derivatives. This epidemic model takes into account vaccination, hospitalization, asymptomatic infection, and health awareness programs. Caputo fractional derivatives are used to model the temporal non-locality of epidemic phenomena in the proposed model. The qualitative analysis of the model includes the characterization of equilibrium points and their stability. The disease-free equilibrium (DFE) is shown to be locally asymptotically stable when the basic reproduction number $R_0<1$, and unstable otherwise. Conversely, an endemic equilibrium emerges when $R_0>1$, corresponding to the instability of the DFE. Periodic oscillation is observed for a higher rate of infection transmission. A fractional optimal control problem is formulated to minimize disease prevalence through vaccination, hospitalization, and treatment strategies, supported by sustained awareness campaigns. The results emphasize the role of vaccination, treatment and awareness campaign in controlling Mpox outbreaks, showing their success in minimizing the epidemic. In addition, a fractional optimal control model is proposed to reduce disease prevalence using preventive measures such as vaccinations and treatments coupled with awareness impacts. From these results, one can clearly understand that vaccinations and continuous public health awareness are essential in reducing Mpox cases, which help flatten epidemic trends. Full article

This study investigates the dynamic interplay among CO₂ emissions, electricity consumption, and economic growth in Japan following the 2016 electricity market liberalization. The purpose is to determine whether the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and Energy-Environmental Kuznets Curve (EEKC) hypotheses hold when accounting for spatial dependencies across Japan’s 47 prefectures, and how the 2016 market reforms have influenced these relationships. We test two primary hypotheses: first, that Japan has surpassed the EKC turning point, resulting in a downward trajectory where CO₂ emissions decline as economic growth continues; and second, that liberalization has facilitated the adoption of renewable energy, leading to an inverted U-shaped relationship between growth and electricity consumption. Using spatial econometric methods, the analysis reveals that Japan has successfully decoupled growth from emissions, while finding an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and electricity consumption. These findings suggest that policymakers should emphasize regional integration and sector-specific green innovation to sustain this progress. Full article

Fishery production in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region faces growing threats from overfishing, climate change, marine pollution, and habitat degradation, which reduce stock regeneration and ecosystem stability. Inadequate management systems and limited technological adoption further constrain productivity, posing risks to food security and economic stability. This study examines the dynamic impact of climate change shocks on fishery sustainability in GCC countries, using the Panel Vector Autoregression (PVAR) framework to examine both short- and long-run interactions between climate variables and fishery production. The study observed a long-run cointegration between total fisheries production and climate variables. Results reveal strong dynamic linkages, with temperature and carbon emissions exhibiting stable long-term trends and relatively low forecast errors. In contrast, precipitation and fishery output show higher volatility and greater sensitivity to short-term shocks. Temperature shocks have a significant negative effect on fishery production, highlighting the need for climate adaptation policies that protect marine ecosystems, enhance monitoring, and promote sustainable fishing practices. The findings highlight the importance of considering climate variability and adaptive strategies to ensure sustainable fisheries in the region. The novelty of this study is applying a dynamic PVAR approach to GCC fisheries, accounting for short-run and long-run climate impacts and providing region-specific policy-relevant insights that address sustainability under climate variability. Full article

Background: Despite sustained public-health efforts, measles continues to re-emerge in Europe. According to the ECDC, 1045 measles cases were reported in Italy in 2024. We describe epidemiological trends and characteristics of measles cases in the Tuscany Region from 2019 to 2024. Methods: We conducted a population-based retrospective study using cases reported through the national surveillance system (PREMAL). Incidence rates were calculated using demographic data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT). Cases were stratified by year, sex, age group, vaccination status (2024), and hospital admission; temporal, demographic, and clinical trends were analysed. Results: From 2019 to 2024, 204 cases were reported, corresponding to a mean annual incidence of 0.93 per 100,000 population (95% CI: 0.80–1.07) and a cumulative incidence of 5.58 per 100,000 (95% CI: 4.78–6.31). Females accounted for 63.2% of cases (n = 129). After a peak in 2019 (n = 116), with an incidence of 3.13 per 100,000 (95% CI: 2.56–3.71), cases sharply declined during 2020–2023, followed by a resurgence in 2024 (n = 75), with an incidence of 2.05 per 100,000 (95% CI: 1.59–2.51). Children aged 0–4 years represented 7.4% of cases but had the highest age-specific incidence (12.19 per 100,000). Adults aged 25–64 years accounted for 70.1% of all cases, indicating the greatest absolute burden. Incidence was higher among individuals aged 25–44 years (11.56 per 100,000) than among those aged 45–64 years (4.30 per 100,000). Overall, 41.7% of cases required hospitalization. In 2024, most cases occurred in unvaccinated individuals (n = 56), while vaccination status was unknown for five cases. Conclusions: The 2024 measles resurgence in Tuscany mainly affected unvaccinated adults. These findings highlight persistent immunity gaps among adults, suggesting that protection and prevention measures are also needed in the population (0–4 y). Full article

The purpose of this study is to explore how Zimbabwean firms use Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) and climate risk disclosure amid climate policy uncertainty and how managers perceive these practices as relevant to organisational resilience and long-term sustainability within a volatile institutional and macroeconomic context. The study was couched in the interpretivist research philosophy and adopted the inductive research approach. A case study research design, which aligns with a qualitative research design, was chosen for the study. The study employed in-depth interviews with management accountants, finance executives, and industry leaders across firms in Harare. The study adopted the cross-sectional time horizon and analysed data using thematic analysis to develop insights into the role of EMA and climate risk disclosure in times of policy uncertainty. The findings suggest that participants perceived climate policy uncertainty as influencing organisational efforts to reconfigure management accounting practices through greater environmental performance monitoring, adaptive budgeting, and scenario-based planning. The findings of this study suggest that organisational actors interpreted climate policy uncertainty as a condition requiring greater flexibility in budgeting, environmental monitoring, and strategic planning. Participants in this study associated EMA with improved environmental cost visibility and more adaptive approaches to investment appraisal and risk management under uncertain policy conditions. Similarly, participants perceived climate risk disclosure as increasingly crucial for strengthening organisational legitimacy, stakeholder confidence, and institutional credibility. While respondents linked sustainability-oriented accounting adaptation to broader organisational resilience and long-term sustainable growth aspirations, these relationships were understood through managerial perceptions and organisational experiences rather than as directly measurable macroeconomic outcomes. The study contributes to the sustainability accounting literature by providing qualitative, context-sensitive insights into how managers in an emerging economy interpret climate policy uncertainty and adapt EMA and climate risk disclosure practices within volatile institutional conditions. The study further contributes by integrating sensemaking theory and institutional theory to explain how organisational interpretations of uncertainty shape sustainability-oriented accounting adaptation and perceptions of organisational resilience. It is therefore recommended that the regulatory institutional pillar be strengthened to reduce uncertainty and enhance the EMA’s strategic adaptation. Full article

With the continuous reductions in anthropogenic NOx emissions and persistent surface O₃ pollution in China, soil NO emissions have become an increasingly important component of the regional NOx budget. In this study, an updated Berkeley–Dalhousie Soil NO Parameterization model driven by MERRA-2 reanalysis data was used to develop a 20-year soil NO emission inventory for China from 2001 to 2020. Multiple sensitivity scenarios were designed to quantify the relative contributions of nitrogen fertilizer application, meteorological variations, land use changes, and canopy factors on the interannual variations in soil NO emissions. The results showed that soil NO emissions exhibited an overall pattern of initial increase followed by fluctuating decline, with an average annual emission of 0.92 ± 0.05 Tg N year⁻¹ and a peak of 0.98 Tg N year⁻¹ in 2014. Summer was the dominant emission season, accounting for 57.7–61.9% of annual emissions. Spatially, emissions were concentrated in agriculturally intensive regions, particularly East China and Central China. With the decline in anthropogenic NOx emissions, the relative contribution of soil NO to total NOx emissions showed a recovery after 2012, indicating its increasing importance in future NOx budget assessments. Driver attribution analysis showed that nitrogen fertilizer application determined the long-term emission potential, whereas meteorological conditions regulated interannual and seasonal variability. These findings highlight the need to incorporate soil NO emissions into sustainable nitrogen management and ozone-related air quality assessments. Full article