Search Results (40,434)

This study aimed to identify areas at risk of deforestation in the Cerrado biome of the Brazilian Midwest (states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Goiás) and to estimate potential soil losses due to water erosion under land-use change scenarios. The methodology integrated the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), spatializing rainfall erosivity (R), soil erodibility (K), topographic factor (LS), and cover-management factor (CP), with the ACEU (Accessibility, Cultivability, Extractability and Unprotected/protection status) model to assess deforestation risk based on accessibility, agricultural suitability, extractive activities, and legal protection status. Results indicated an average soil loss of 0.11 t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ under natural vegetation cover, with 90% of the area presenting losses below 0.25 t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. However, 27.5% of the remaining natural cover is located in areas classified as high or very high deforestation risk, indicating significant environmental vulnerability. Simulated scenarios of land-use conversion to pasture and annual crops revealed substantial increases in soil loss, particularly under annual cropping systems, potentially exceeding soil loss tolerance thresholds across millions of hectares. The findings demonstrate that integrating deforestation risk assessment with erosion modeling is a strategic tool for environmental planning, reinforcing the importance of preserving native vegetation to maintain ecosystem services and ensure long-term environmental sustainability. Full article

Flavor esters are valuable compounds widely used in the food, beverage, and cosmetics industries for their aroma and flavor-enhancing properties. Traditional methods of obtaining these compounds, such as extraction from natural sources or chemical synthesis, present challenges related to cost and toxicity, respectively. Enzymatic synthesis, particularly using immobilized lipases, offers a sustainable and efficient alternative. This study investigates the application of CRL immobilized on Diaion HP-20 for geranyl butyrate synthesis via esterification of geraniol and butanoic acid using Candida rugosa lipase (CRL) immobilized on Diaion HP-20 (CRL-DHP-20). The immobilization process resulted in a protein loading of 29.6 ± 2.2 mg/g support from an initial 40 mg/g, and the immobilized biocatalyst exhibited a hydrolytic activity of 124.0 ± 2.5 U/g using olive oil emulsion. Reaction conditions were optimized through a central composite design, evaluating the influence of biocatalyst concentration, temperature, and agitation on ester conversion. The optimal conditions (13.4% CRL-DHP-20, 48.2 °C, and 220.1 rpm) led to 85.4% conversion in 360 min. Additionally, CRL-DHP-20 retained 84% of its initial activity after six reaction cycles, indicating good operational stability. These findings highlight the potential of CRL-DHP-20 as an effective and reusable biocatalyst for green synthesis of flavor esters. Full article

Saudi Arabia currently lacks a nationally representative, multi-day National Household Travel Survey comparable to the US, UK, or New Zealand programmes; existing official data products focus on aggregate road-transport indicators or general household statistics rather than detailed day-to-day travel diaries. This study develops a benchmark-driven framework for NHTS–KSA by comparing Saudi demographic, geographic, infrastructure, climate, and mobility indicators with those of the United States, United Kingdom, and New Zealand, and by systematically assessing 15 survey-design indicators across their national household travel surveys. Context benchmarking identifies the United States as the closest for highway-oriented interurban structure and motorisation level, New Zealand for geography and demographic structure (in particular, near-identical physiological density on limited arable land), and the United Kingdom as the most aspirationally aligned benchmark for the multimodal mobility patterns Saudi Arabia aims to develop under Vision 2030. Design benchmarking shows that the three surveys are closely matched in aggregate similarity but lead on distinct elements: New Zealand on diary length and integrated passive tracking, the US on digital tools and emerging-behaviour modules, and the UK on interviewer-led recruitment and multimodal analysis, a pattern that proves robust to plausible variation in individual scores. The resulting NHTS–KSA blueprint specifies a statistically justified, stratified multistage annual household sample, a two-day diary with rolling 12-month fieldwork, interviewer-assisted recruitment, a digital-first diary with optional GPS tracking, and modules on long-distance travel, telework, e-commerce, gendered mobility, accessibility, safety, and environmental attitudes. While preserving international comparability, the framework provides the data foundation required to steer public-transport investment, demand-management measures, and land-use policies in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives for sustainable, inclusive, and smart mobility. Full article

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses an escalating threat to global health, agriculture, and the environment, demanding urgent multisectoral action under the One Health framework. Despite global awareness efforts, understanding of AMR among the general population remains insufficient, particularly in low- and middle-income countries such as Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions (KAP) of the Brazilian population regarding AMR. Methods: An online questionnaire was distributed through social media platforms between April and August 2025, resulting in 945 valid responses after data cleaning. Quasi-Poisson models were applied to identify demographic predictors of KAP scores while logistic regression models were used to assess the association between KAP scores and antibiotic use-related practices. Results: Education level was the strongest predictor of higher KAP scores, whereas age and gender showed inconsistent influence. Only 40.3% of respondents correctly identified antibiotics among commonly used medicines, and 25.9% reported proper disposal of antibiotic packaging. More than half (54.2%) were willing to pay more for antibiotic-free products, although only 26.7% had ever noticed such labeling. Network analysis of open-ended responses indicated that concerns about potential health risks and AMR awareness were the primary motivators for purchasing antibiotic-free products. Conclusions: These findings reveal significant gaps in public understanding of antibiotic use and resistance in Brazil, emphasizing the urgent need for targeted educational initiatives, improved public communication, and behavioral interventions to support antimicrobial stewardship and sustainable antibiotic use. Full article

The valorization of phosphogypsum (PG), a byproduct of phosphoric acid production, along with waste glass (WG) and silica fume (SF) into value-added materials has attracted growing attention in recent years. The present study aims to synthesize three types of porous geopolymers (GD, GDP, and GDG) using Tunisian clay and locally available mineral wastes, and to investigate their potential as low-cost adsorbents for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous solutions. The physicochemical characteristics of the raw precursors and the resulting porous geopolymers were analyzed using various techniques, including FTIR, XRD, BET, and SEM. Variations in Si/Al, Na/Al, and Ca/Al ratios play a critical role in the geopolymer structure. The high Ca/Al ratio in GDP (porous geopolymer from calcined clay and phosphogypsum) promotes the formation of C-A-S-H, leading to increased macroporosity, which favors adsorption capacity despite the presence of a more heterogeneous morphology. The results indicated that the maximum adsorption capacity (Qmax) for MB dye was obtained for the GDP sample, reaching 68 mg/g. Adsorption experiments revealed the successful removal of MB dye by geopolymers, with the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models adequately describing the adsorption process. The MB uptake by geopolymers was facilitated by weak physicochemical interactions, including electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding, and π–π interactions. This study proposes a simple and effective alkali activation strategy that combines different industrial wastes within a single geopolymer system, resulting in improved porosity and adsorption efficiency. Overall, the findings highlight the potential of these waste-derived geopolymers as promising and sustainable adsorbents for wastewater treatment applications. Full article

Accurate land use/land cover (LULC) mapping from remotely sensed data remains challenging in arid regions, particularly for spatial and seasonal generalization. This work proposes a novel exclude-one-city-out (EOCO) framework based on machine learning (ML) to achieve LULC generalization across summer and winter in arid environments. Four cities in Saudi Arabia witnessing rapid urban growth were selected: Riyadh, Madinah, Jeddah, and Dammam. The ML models were trained on three cities and tested on the unseen city. Sentinel-2 surface reflectance data for the visible (Blue, Green, and Red) and near-infrared bands (NIR, SWIR1, and SWIR2) were used. Spectral indices, texture features, and topographical data were used to form five feature sets, which were utilized as inputs for four ML algorithms: random forest, support vector machine, classification and regression trees, and K-nearest neighbors. Statistical tests (Friedman, Kendall’s W, and Wilcoxon signed rank) were conducted to assess differences across ML models, feature sets, and seasons. The random forest model consistently outperformed other models across the five feature sets, while the spectral texture and combined feature sets outperformed other feature combinations. Significant differences in feature importance were observed across cities and seasons for spectral texture during summer and winter (p-values: 1.25 × 10⁻⁴ and 9.2 × 10⁻⁵, respectively), with strong agreement (Kendall’s W = 0.9212 and 0.9424). The findings can support urban environmental monitoring in arid regions, contributing to sustainable urban development. Full article

Corporate sustainability and the reliability of ESG reporting have gained relevance in the evaluation of listed companies, particularly in emerging capital markets, where reporting practices are still in their early stages of development. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between the quality of ESG reporting, the risk of greenwashing estimated using a proxy derived from reported information, and the market value of companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The research employs a mixed-methods design, involving content analysis of annual reports, sustainability reports, and sustainability statements for 25 companies over the 2020–2024 period. The scores corresponding to the Environmental, Social, and Governance dimensions, as well as the proxy for greenwashing risk, were developed using an ordinal scoring grid, which was validated through inter-rater assessment. During the course of the study, the empirical relationships were tested using pooled OLS specifications on short panel data, incorporating the natural logarithm of market capitalization, financial controls, year effects, and sector dummy variables. The results highlight the presence of an association between the quality of ESG reporting and market value, particularly for environmental and social dimensions, while the greenwashing risk proxy exhibits a limited statistical influence. The study contributes to the literature on ESG reporting in emerging markets and highlights the need for a cautious interpretation of indicators constructed based on corporate disclosures. Full article

The escalating global climate crisis has increased scholarly and practical attention to green investment as a key driver of corporate sustainability. From a systems perspective, enterprises can be viewed as complex socio-technical systems in which green resource allocation, technological innovation, and digital transformation interact dynamically. Against this background, this study examines how green investment (GI) affects corporate digital value (DV) and whether green technological innovation (GTI) serves as a transmission mechanism in this relationship. Using panel data from 15,244 firm-year observations of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2024, this study applies panel data estimation methods to test the proposed relationships. The results show that GI significantly enhances DV, indicating that green resource allocation can strengthen firms’ digital value creation. GTI plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between GI and DV, suggesting that green investment contributes to digital value not only directly but also by stimulating technological innovation within the corporate system. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive effect of GI on DV is more pronounced among state-owned enterprises and firms located in eastern regions. These findings enrich the literature on green–digital transformation by highlighting the systemic linkage between green investment, green technological innovation, and digital value creation. They also provide practical implications for policymakers and corporate managers seeking to promote coordinated low-carbon and digital development through more effective green investment and innovation strategies. Full article

This study aims to address the need to operationalize Industry 5.0 (I5.0) by developing a comprehensive Assessment Framework for the adoption of the Human Centricity, Environmental Sustainability, and Industrial Resilience pillars. While existing models largely focus on technological maturity, they fail to provide measurable tools for evaluating I5.0 adoption. To bridge this gap, the paper proposes an Assessment Framework based on a structured set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) developed within the EU-funded PROSPECTS 5.0 project. The methodology combines an extensive literature review, a workshop with relevant stakeholders, a Delphi survey with experts, and empirical refinement conducted through workshops involving 14 companies across multiple sectors and of varying sizes. The results highlight that organizations predominantly measure traditional indicators such as health and safety, energy consumption, and supply chain robustness, while underestimating emerging dimensions such as human empowerment, social inclusion, circularity, and advanced human–machine collaboration. The framework introduces a set of KPIs for each of the I5.0 pillars, supporting structured assessment across different industrial contexts while allowing sector-specific adaptation. The findings reveal a gap between the perceived importance of several sustainability and human-centric metrics and their actual implementation. This framework allows organizations to self-assess their practices, guide strategic decisions, and align technological growth with societal and environmental goals. Full article

Groundwater flow is an integral part of the Earth’s water cycle and plays a key role in assessing groundwater resource potential, characterizing the upper limit of possible groundwater withdrawal over a long period without depletion. The objective of this study is a comprehensive regional assessment of groundwater flow and the natural and predicted resources of fresh and low-mineralized groundwater in Southern and Western Kazakhstan. This assessment is based on an analysis of hydrogeological conditions and water balance, taking into account climate variability and anthropogenic load, to justify sustainable water resources management in arid territories. This article provides a regional assessment and mapping of groundwater flow, taking into account climate and anthropogenic changes in Kazakhstan, to refine the predicted resources of fresh and low-mineralized groundwater. The basin balance calculation results indicate that in arid and semi-arid regions, the decline in groundwater recharge by the 2050s will generally not exceed 10%. The average layer of groundwater flow of renewable groundwater resources in the Kazakhstan part of the Zhaiyk-Caspian water management basin (WMB) is estimated at 33.4 mm/year, and the average modulus of groundwater flow is 1.06 L/s per 1 km². The average layer of groundwater flow of renewable groundwater resources in the Kazakhstan part of the Aral-Surdarya water management basin (WMB) is estimated at 14.8 mm/year, and the average modulus of groundwater flow is 0.47 L/s per 1 km². The average layer of groundwater flow of renewable groundwater resources in the Kazakhstan part of the Shu-Talas water management basin (WMB) is estimated at 26.5 mm/year, and the average modulus of groundwater flow is 0.84 L/s per 1 km². For mountainous and folded regions, the average layer of groundwater flow of renewable groundwater resources in the Balkhash-Alakol water management basin (WMB) system is estimated at 70.7 mm/year, and the average modulus of groundwater flow is 2.24 L/s per 1 km². For intermontane and foothill basins, the average layer of groundwater flow of renewable groundwater resources in the Balkhash-Alakol water management basin (WMB) is estimated at 54.3 mm/year, and the average modulus of groundwater flow is 1.72 L/s per km². Full article

Digital transformation has become an essential component of sustainable rural development, yet substantial inequalities persist in how communities access, adopt, and benefit from digital technologies. Understanding these disparities requires not only information about technological resources but also knowledge of the relational structures through which information, support, and opportunities circulate. This article presents a reproducible synthetic socio-digital network dataset designed to support the analysis of digital gaps in community-based tourism (CBT) environments. Rather than containing original respondent-level observations, the repository was computationally reconstructed from aggregate statistics derived from field studies conducted in three rural communities in the province of Guayas, Ecuador: Bucay (5 de Septiembre), Manglares Churute, and Ruta de los Chirijos. All node-level records, survey variables, and support relationships included in the repository were synthetically generated to preserve aggregate community characteristics while protecting participant confidentiality and preventing individual re-identification. The repository contains synthetic actor metadata, reconstructed socio-digital variables, directed support networks, graph representations in interoperable formats, and precomputed Social Network Analysis (SNA) indicators. The dataset includes 90 synthetic actors, more than one thousand generated support interactions distributed across multiple socio-digital dimensions, machine-readable metadata, and reusable scripts for preprocessing, validation, graph construction, and metric computation. The represented dimensions include financial assistance, training support, information exchange, technological support, social media promotion, institutional collaboration, trust, and emotional closeness. To facilitate reuse, all resources are distributed in standardized formats compatible with NetworkX, Gephi, Neo4j, and graph-learning frameworks. The repository follows FAIR principles and includes documentation intended to support transparency, reproducibility, and methodological benchmarking. Potential applications include social network analysis, graph mining, graph neural networks, digital inequality research, computational social science, community resilience studies, and educational activities. By providing an openly documented synthetic dataset and reproducible computational workflow, the repository contributes to the study of socio-digital systems, privacy-preserving data sharing, and community-level digital transformation processes. Full article

Circular economy principles are increasingly influencing tourism development strategies, particularly in rural destinations characterized by strong linkages between agriculture, gastronomy, and local economic systems. This study develops and empirically examines a conceptual model investigating the relationship between circular economy practices, gastronomy integration, perceived authenticity, and destination competitiveness within rural tourism economies. The research focuses on the role of gastronomy as a circular tourism resource capable of connecting local sourcing, sustainability, and experiential value creation. Data were collected through a stakeholder-based survey targeting tourism enterprises, local producers, destination management organizations, and hospitality providers operating in rural tourism destinations. The proposed relationships were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) implemented in SmartPLS 4 and bootstrapped mediation analysis. The findings indicate that circular economy practices positively influence gastronomy integration, while gastronomy integration significantly enhances perceived authenticity. Furthermore, authenticity demonstrates a strong positive effect on destination competitiveness. The mediation analysis confirms that gastronomy integration and perceived authenticity function as intermediary mechanisms through which circular economy practices contribute to competitiveness outcomes. The study contributes to tourism economics and destination competitiveness literature by developing and empirically testing a mediation-based framework linking circular gastronomy, authenticity, and rural tourism competitiveness. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for destination managers and policymakers seeking to strengthen sustainability, local value creation, and competitiveness through circular gastronomy strategies. Full article

Hypobaric hypoxia poses a serious threat to growth and development and can induce pronounced inflammatory responses. These effects are closely associated with the gut microbiota. However, the underlying mechanisms, particularly the role of gut microbiota in regulating hepatic metabolism under chronic hypoxic conditions, remain poorly understood. In this study, SD rats were used as recipients and assigned to three groups: a hypobaric hypoxia group (H), an antibiotic-treated group (HA), and an antibiotic-treated group receiving fecal microbiota transplantation from plateau zokors (HAM). All rats were maintained in a hypobaric hypoxia chamber simulating an altitude of 6000 m for 30 days. Subsequently, growth performance, routine hematological parameters, and multi-omics profiles were evaluated. Compared with the H group, both the HAM and HA groups showed significantly increased average daily gain (ADG) (p < 0.05), while the ADG/ADFI ratio was significantly higher in the HAM group than in the H group (p < 0.05). Monocyte count (Mon#) and monocyte percentage (Mon%) were significantly higher in the HA group than in both the H and HAM groups (p < 0.05). Microbiota analysis revealed significant enrichment of Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group in the HAM group, whereas Desulfovibrio was significantly enriched in the HA group (p < 0.05). Fecal metabolomics showed that ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) was significantly increased in the HAM group (p < 0.05). In the liver metabolome, the anti-inflammatory lipid FAHFA 18:1/20:3 was significantly elevated in the HAM group, whereas pro-inflammatory factors, including uric acid and leukotriene D4, were significantly reduced (p < 0.05). Correlation analysis further demonstrated that the abundance of Lachnospiraceae was positively correlated with FAHFA 18:1/20:3 and negatively correlated with uric acid and creatinine (p < 0.05). Collectively, these findings indicate that the gut microbiota can modulate gut–liver metabolism, alleviate inflammatory responses, and enhance the adaptation of rats to hypoxic environments. This study provides valuable insights into potential strategies for promoting sustainable animal health and adaptation under hypoxic conditions. Full article

Tourism digitalization is widely viewed as a tool for sustainable local development, yet whether policy-led digital transformation generates measurable improvements in tourism-economy quality remains insufficiently tested. Treating the staggered establishment of China’s National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zones as a quasi-natural experiment, a sustainability-oriented index of high-quality tourism-economy development was constructed using 2011–2019 provincial panel data, and the policy effect was estimated with difference-in-differences and propensity-score-matched difference-in-differences models. The results show that the pilot zones significantly improve the sustainability-oriented quality of the tourism economy, a finding supported by parallel-trends tests, placebo tests, and multiple robustness checks. Heterogeneity analyses indicate positive effects across regional contexts and relatively larger estimated responses in the innovation, green, and shared development dimensions. For pilot-zone type, a more precisely estimated positive effect is shown for regional pilot zones within the current sample. Mechanism-oriented analyses show empirical patterns consistent with improvements in digital infrastructure, digital industry development, and regional innovation capacity as plausible explanatory channels. Quasi-natural experimental evidence is thus provided on how digital policy supports sustainable tourism and local development, with implications for destination governance, tourism service quality, and responsible digital transformation. Full article

A novel sodium-oxide-fluxed slag is applied in the aluminothermic reduction of manganese ore. The slag’s high Al₂O₃ solubility facilitates the recycling of Al₂O₃ through hydrometallurgical processes, where NaAlO₂ serves as a water-leachable compound. Aluminothermic reduction is gaining renewed interest as an alternative processing route for the circular economy. In addition, CO₂ emissions in aluminium production via the electrochemical Hall–Héroult process can be reduced if the process electricity is sourced from non-fossil fuels. The unique Na₂O-fluxed MnO₂ ore formulation includes a small quantity of carbon reductant to ensure rapid pre-reduction to MnO. This approach negates the need for a pre-roasting step. Feed mixture variations with different collector metal additions (Si, Cr, Cu) were made to improve alloy–slag separation efficiency. The collector metals may influence the chemistry of the slag. This work compares the phase chemistry of slags formed during aluminothermic reduction to equilibrium phase chemistries calculated for the Na₂O-SiO₂-Al₂O₃-MnO-CaO system. The slag phase morphology consists of distinct alumina-rich strands (1.5% to 2.1%) embedded within a Na₂O-SiO₂-Al₂O₃-MnO-CaO glass matrix. The alumina-rich strands appear molten, indicating that the processing temperatures were higher than their liquidus temperatures (1537 °C to 1655 °C), as high as 1921 °C and 2053 °C. These findings contribute to sustainable practices in the circular economy through the production of low-carbon ferro-manganese complex alloys. Full article