Search Results (869)

This study presents a reproducible simulation-based framework for visual-comfort and energy-optimised lighting design in UK residential buildings using DIALux Evo. Circadian and biophilic principles inform the conceptual approach, specifically colour temperature selection aligned with occupant comfort—but the study measures only photopic illuminance (lux) and electrical energy consumption (kWh), explicitly excluding biological circadian metrics, dynamic controls, and daylight harvesting. A controlled comparative design evaluates twenty matched lighting scenes in one-bedroom flats, compliant with EN 12464-1 and CIBSE LG9. The DIALux-optimised designs, incorporating LED luminaires in place of CFL luminaires used in existing manual designs, reduced mean energy consumption from 10.25 kWh to 8.68 kWh—a statistically significant reduction of 15.3% (t = 5.12, p = 1.2 × 10⁻⁵, d = 1.61)—while increasing mean illuminance from 165.86 lux to 205.14 lux (t = 3.084, p = 1.0 × 10⁻⁶, d = 0.81), improving CIBSE LG9 compliance across scenes. The framework offers a standards-aligned reproducible methodology with direct relevance to UK Net Zero objectives, Part L compliance, and residential retrofit policy, providing actionable guidance for architects, engineers, and policymakers. It is acknowledged that the observed gains reflect the combined benefit of an integrated LED-plus-simulation workflow; the absence of a same-technology comparison condition is identified as the primary design limitation. Full article

Children’s everyday routes to school are increasingly recognised as important environments shaping physical and mental well-being. Yet, their emotional dimension remains insufficiently integrated into health-oriented urban design research, particularly in cities without formalised School Street policies. This study examines how children in Belgrade perceive and emotionally experience their everyday school routes and how such evidence can inform context-sensitive urban design. A mixed-method, child-centred participatory approach was applied with primary school pupils, combining participatory evaluation boards, cognitive route mapping, photo documentation, and facilitated classroom discussion. The material was analysed through qualitative coding, triangulation, and a health-oriented reinterpretation of the SCORELINE framework (h_SCORELINE). The findings reveal recurring stress nodes associated with traffic-dominated streets, complex crossings, obstructed sidewalks, and poorly legible route segments, which children linked to fear, discomfort, and insecurity. By contrast, greenery, recognisable landmarks, visually calm environments, and wider pedestrian spaces emerged as joy nodes associated with comfort, enjoyment, and emotional ease. These patterns suggest that children’s emotional-spatial evidence can enrich the assessment of school-route environments beyond conventional traffic indicators alone. By linking children’s lived experiences with health-oriented urban design, the study provides evidence-based support for the gradual introduction of School Streets in Belgrade. It offers a transferable framework for integrating child-centred experiential knowledge into healthier street design. Full article

Understanding how climate change alters the thermal environment experienced by dairy cattle is critical for guiding adaptation in rapidly warming regions. Using meteorological data from 1961 to 2020, this study quantified long-term trends in temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and wind speed across Jiangsu Province, China, and assessed their impacts on thermal stress using a temperature–humidity index (THI). The results reveal pronounced spatial heterogeneity in climatic change, with accelerated warming in southern and coastal prefectures, and continued winter cold stress in the northern plain. Over the past six decades, the annual number of heat-stress days (THI > 72) increased substantially and expanded northward, while cold-stress days (THI ≤ 38) declined but remained non-negligible in northern Jiangsu. Although the total number of thermally comfortable days changed little at the provincial scale, their seasonal distribution became increasingly compressed between longer summer heat-stress periods and shorter winter cold-stress windows, indicating a narrowing of the effective comfort range for dairy cattle. To link historical analysis with operational applications, a forecasting platform was developed to generate short-term predictions of THI and associated meteorological conditions, enabling spatially explicit visualization and early identification of periods with elevated thermal risk. Overall, these findings demonstrate an intensification and redistribution of thermal stress in Jiangsu, while also illustrating a transferable climate-risk mechanism relevant to other warming, humid dairy regions worldwide. Full article

The accelerated aging of the population in vulnerable urban contexts poses significant challenges for architecture, particularly with regard to the quality of life of older adults. Within this framework, the present study aimed to analyze the association between sensory architecture and the quality of life of older adults and to translate this empirical evidence into context-informed design criteria for the development of a comprehensive center for older adults. The study adopted a quantitative approach with a non-experimental, cross-sectional, and correlational design. A structured questionnaire on sensory architecture and quality of life was administered to family members and caregivers acting as proxy respondents, demonstrating high internal consistency (Cronbach’s $\mathit{\alpha }>0.90$). Given the ordinal nature of the data, inferential analysis was conducted using Spearman’s rho coefficient. Within the analyzed dataset, the results revealed a statistically significant and strong association between sensory architecture and the quality of life of older adults ($\rho$ > 0.80). At the dimensional level, visual and tactile stimuli exhibited the highest associations, followed by the social relationships dimension, while therapeutic environments showed a moderate association, allowing the identification of an empirical hierarchy among the analyzed dimensions within this dataset. These findings support the interpretation of sensory architecture as a construct statistically associated with indicators of quality of life, from a non-causal perspective. Based on this hierarchy, the results were articulated into an evidence-based architectural structure, serving as analytical input to inform context-specific criteria for spatial organization, materiality, comfort, orientation, and social interaction derived from the observed statistical associations. The study contributes a methodological approach that systematically connects correlational quantitative findings with architectural design considerations, particularly in urban contexts characterized by limited specialized infrastructure. However, a key limitation is the use of proxy respondents (family members and caregivers), which should be considered when interpreting the results. Full article

People spend most of their time indoors, highlighting the importance of indoor environmental quality for health and wellbeing. While previous studies have shown that exposure to nature can benefit wellbeing, much of this research has focused on outdoor environments, and less is known about how indoor plants and their spatial characteristics influence human perceptions and experiences. This paper reports on a survey study exploring how perceived health and wellbeing are influenced by indoor plants and human preferences for their characteristics, spatial arrangement, and other features within indoor environments. Indoor plants serve as visual and multisensory environmental stimuli. By examining the relationship between indoor plants, preferences, perceptions, visual comfort, multisensory experiences, and wellbeing, the study aims to understand these influences. The questionnaires include multiple-choice questions, yes-no questions, and open-ended questions, allowing the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. The survey findings highlight the unique benefits of indoor plants, emphasising their potential to enhance wellbeing in ways that outdoor nature may not fully replicate in indoor settings. One significant finding of this study is that scattering indoor plants throughout a space can enhance the connection to nature through three-dimensional spatial interaction, potentially improving wellbeing. This arrangement may serve as a bridge to the outdoors, providing a psychological link to the natural environment. Crucial preference factors also include the complexity and coherence of indoor plants’ appearance, such as colour, shape, and size. The results further indicate that students prefer indoor plants over other elements such as cut flowers, fake plants, or artificial plant representations. The findings indicate that caring for indoor plants may foster emotional engagement, a sense of fulfilment, and place attachment through everyday interaction. In public spaces, plants may also enhance feelings of refuge and perceived security. These findings provide practical recommendations for designing indoor environments that enhance student wellbeing and human–environment interaction. Full article

Noise disturbances can cause conflicts in several areas, such as residences, civil constructions, highways, subways, and airports, measured by different scales of acoustic comfort for community well-being evaluation. These disturbances also have signatures such as frequency, amplitude, and temporal patterns to compare acoustic comfort with real-time parameters. In addition, acoustic sensors should be chosen based on accuracy, price, and calibration method, and acoustic insulation should be applied with the aim of achieving reliable measurements in indoor and outdoor environments for sustainable urban living. In some situations, the lack of noise control can lead to several human disorders, from hearing loss to cardiovascular complications. Therefore, legislation and regulation should be carefully studied and applied to achieve an equilibrium between energy-efficient and healthy building designs in entertainment, work, and rest activities with measured parameters visualized through the design of interface tools that should enable the collection and organization of sound data, with proper presentation for the final user. Finally, intellectual property registrations bring recent industrial applications with aspects of noise mitigation. All these features constitute noise disturbance mitigation in a multi-dimensional integration framework of technology, health, and law to improve the quality of life in human-centric environments. Full article

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) significantly impacts people’s comfort, health, and productivity in buildings, and modern green rating systems are primarily focused on energy efficiency rather than the direct user experience. This paper analyses the relationship between IEQ and the perceived quality of life (QoL) of certified and conventional office buildings in Malaysia using a mixed-methods design. The questionnaires were completed by 162 employees working in four open-plan offices: two were certified under the Green Building Index (GBI) established in Malaysia, and two were traditional. This was supplemented by 14 semi-structured interviews and 2 focus groups. The factors of IEQ were divided into ambient, designed, and behavioral environments. It was statistically determined that behavioral factors, such as visual privacy, personalization, ergonomics, and control, exhibited the strongest correlations with overall QoL, compared to ambient factors such as air quality or thermal comfort. Green buildings performed better in terms of daylighting and esthetics than conventional buildings, though they did not always deliver higher occupant satisfaction. The results indicate that current green certification frameworks pay insufficient attention to occupant-centered aspects. The proposed research adds a validated IEQ-QoL framework that predicts the incorporation of subjective user experience into building performance indicators, which can be important for certification reform, post-occupancy evaluation (POE), and human-centered sustainable design approaches. Full article

Highway landscape quality is important for visual comfort, environmental coordination, and infrastructure management. However, conventional assessment methods rely heavily on manual inspection and qualitative judgment, which are subjective and inefficient for large-scale applications. To address this issue, this study proposes an AI-based quantitative evaluation framework for highway landscape quality using an improved Panoptic-DeepLab model for panoramic image segmentation. The model identifies major landscape elements in highway scenes, including vegetation, sky, roads, buildings, and billboards. Based on the segmentation results, the proportions of natural elements, spatial openness, and artificial interference are integrated into a landscape quality score (LQS) model for quantitative assessment. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves reliable segmentation performance and stable convergence in complex highway environments. Comparative analysis further shows that the method provides competitive accuracy with good computational efficiency. The proposed framework offers an effective tool for highway landscape evaluation and can support highway planning, landscape optimization, and visual environment management. Full article

Background/Objections: One of the most common surgical procedures performed internationally is the cesarean section. It is known to be associated with intense postoperative pain and a slow recovery process. Focusing on surgical techniques, especially the type of fascial closure, is an area that has received very little attention when it comes to postoperative pain and rapid recovery. Using a mixed-methods approach, the primary objective of this study was to assess the impact of guide-suture-assisted modified fascial closure on postoperative pain and early mobilization after cesarean sections. Methods: Women undergoing elective cesarean sections with Pfannenstiel’s incision were the study participants of this prospective, single-center, randomized mixed-methods study. Participants were enrolled in the study and randomized to either classical continuous fascial closure or guide-suture-assisted modified fascial closure, which was carried out in a 1:1 ratio. Quantitative data assessed postoperative pain through the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), and functional recovery was assessed through walking distances at postoperative 6, 12, 24, and 48 h. Qualitative data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed through conventional content analysis to understand the patients’ perceptions of pain and recovery experiences. Results: The first 24 h postoperative period pain levels were significantly lower for the modified fascial closure group versus the classical closure group (p < 0.05). Moreover, the modified closure group had a significantly better functional recovery, evidenced by walking greater distances at 12, 24, and 48 h postoperative. Qualitative results indicated improved comfort and stronger early mobilization confidence, in addition to less movement apprehension, consistent with the above results, among those with the modified technique. Conclusions: The modified fascial closure technique with guide suture was linked to less pain in the early postoperative period and better functional recovery after cesarean section. This technique is a good candidate for addition to standard obstetric procedures since it is cost effective, easily added, and surgical practice will improve comfort for mothers and assist with early mobilization. Full article

Retail environments are increasingly discussed within social sustainability frameworks, yet the in-store experiences of families with children remain underexamined in empirical retail design research. This study investigates how families with children experience department store interiors from an inclusive design perspective. A cross-sectional mixed-methods survey was conducted with 100 parents who had previously visited a department store with their child. The survey questionnaire generated both quantitative and qualitative data through 15 closed-ended Likert-type items and open-ended written responses. The findings indicate that family-inclusive retail experience should be understood as a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by accessibility and perceptibility; physical circulation and access comfort; auditory and sensory comfort; and visual perception and lighting. Across the results, physical circulation emerged as the most persistent friction domain, especially in relation to stroller maneuverability, waiting areas, and resting provision. Qualitative responses reinforced this pattern, highlighting congestion, circulation bottlenecks, sensory overload, and wayfinding difficulty. Overall, this study reframes family retail experience through the concept of spatial friction and proposes an exploratory framework for experiential inclusivity in department store interiors aligned with social sustainability objectives. Full article

Sleep quality is essential for maintaining physical health and psychological resilience. Because sleepwear remains in direct contact with the skin throughout the night, it may affect thermoregulation and comfort and, thereby, influence sleep. This randomized two-period, two-sequence crossover study investigated whether sleepwear infused with nanodiamond and nanoplatinum particles (DPV576) could improve sleep quality and promote fatigue recovery under free-living conditions. Fourteen healthy men (23.9 ± 1.7 years) wore DPV576 sleepwear and visually indistinguishable standard polyester sleepwear for one week each, separated by a one-week washout. Sleep was assessed using a wearable ECG-based actigraphy device; trained researchers additionally performed manual rescoring to verify automated outputs, including independent determination of sleep onset latency. Subjective sleep was assessed daily using the Sleep Quality Index of Daily Sleep and a visual analog scale; exploratory outcomes included voice-derived biomarkers and pre-/post-sleep grip strength. In manual rescoring, DPV576 was associated with higher sleep efficiency (93.0 ± 0.9% vs. 89.5 ± 1.5%, p < 0.05), fewer awakenings (8.4 ± 1.3 vs. 10.7 ± 1.4, p < 0.01), and shorter wake after sleep onset (30.4 ± 4.7 vs. 41.6 ± 6.0 min, p < 0.01), whereas total sleep time did not differ significantly (p = 0.096). These findings suggest that one-week use of DPV576 sleepwear may improve wearable ECG-derived sleep consolidation in young men, supporting a nonpharmacological wearable strategy to enhance sleep efficiency in everyday settings. Full article

Although many studies have demonstrated the positive effects of natural visual and auditory stimuli on human physiological and psychological states, there is limited empirical evidence on the effects on subjective comfort under different thermal environments. This study used a climatic chamber experiment to evaluate the impact of three types of natural stimuli (visual, auditory, and combined audio-visual) on physiological and psychological responses under three operative temperature conditions (26 °C, 28 °C, and 32 °C). In total, 24 participants were recruited. Physiological indicators, including heart rate variability, skin conductance level (SCL), skin temperature (ST), and blood pressure, as well as psychological indicators including thermal sensation (TSV), thermal comfort (TCV), visual comfort (VCV), and acoustic comfort (ACV), were collected. The results show that TCV was significantly and positively correlated with both VCV and ACV. The visual stimuli produced the most significant decrease in TSV and the greatest increase in TCV, while combined audio-visual stimuli had the most significant impact on physiological responses. At 26 °C, the combined audio-visual stimuli group reduced heart rate by 6.08%. However, at 32 °C, most physiological and psychological restoration indicators showed no significant changes. These findings provide theoretical references for health-oriented multisensory environmental design in urban areas. Full article

Background: Peripheral venous cannulation is one of the most common clinical procedures, yet it often causes significant pain, anxiety, and discomfort for patients. While pharmacological methods exist, non-pharmacological interventions offer a low-cost, low-risk alternative that eliminates waiting times for anesthetic onset. The aim of this review is to synthesize the various nonpharmacological interventions for procedural pain reduction during PIVC in adults, covering interventions ranging from psychological distraction to advanced procedural support technologies. Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) framework. Databases including PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched for studies published between 2015 and 2025. Inclusion criteria focused on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies involving adult patients undergoing PIVC. Results: Thirty studies (29 randomized controlled trials and one experimental study) were included in the final analysis. The interventions were categorized into three primary groups: distraction techniques, physical methods, and behavioral techniques. The application of virtual reality (VR), optical illusion cards, and music therapy significantly reduced pain scores and enhanced patient satisfaction. Similarly, physical methods, such as thermomechanical stimulation (e.g., the Buzzy^® device), local heat application, and vibration, were found to be effective in lowering pain intensity compared to standard care. Behavioral techniques, including the “cough trick,” diaphragmatic breathing, and the Valsalva maneuver, consistently demonstrated efficacy in reducing both procedural pain and anxiety. Notably, while most interventions successfully reduced pain, certain methods—such as near-infrared (NIR) vein visualization—improved procedural success rates without significantly altering the subjective perception of pain. Conclusions: Findings from this review suggest that non-pharmacological interventions may serve as effective, safe, and feasible adjuncts for pain management during peripheral venous cannulation. Techniques such as the cough trick and vibration-based devices are particularly recommended due to their ease of integration into routine nursing practice, potentially improving patient comfort and clinical outcomes. Full article

Dry electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes enable rapid, gel-free setups, which are crucial for point-of-care diagnostics, but often face challenges with comfort and signal quality—especially in a clinical context. Novel “flower” dry electrodes are a special type of reusable scalp electrodes for dry EEG, featuring a distinct flower-like shape with angled pins in three intertwined layers. While the new electrode design has been validated in an in vivo study on healthy volunteers, we tested its clinical applicability in a proof-of-concept study involving three patients diagnosed with epilepsy and delirium. The recordings were of high diagnostic quality, enabling the reliable identification of pathological patterns, such as generalized spike–wave complexes and intermittent delta activity, with a signal-to-noise ratio comparable to prior reports for sponge-based EEG systems (limited case series). The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) proved to be sufficiently high for clinical diagnostic purposes, resulting in visually clear and interpretable EEG data that enabled effective assessment of patients’ neurophysiological signals. Consequently, our findings demonstrate that the comfortable flower-electrode design is a viable and effective tool for epilepsy diagnostics, extended recording, and clinical neurophysiology. It represents a significant step towards patient-centered and gel-free EEG technology, specifically in point-of-care and emergency applications, without compromising the diagnostic quality of the recordings. Full article

In the 21st century, rapid urban development during global urbanization has led to high-density environments. These settings have become a significant cause of stress-related health problems for residents. Healing street design plays an important role in helping address mental health challenges caused by this process. Current research often focuses on healing elements and methods from only a single field. As a result, it lacks the integration of multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder perspectives. To address this gap, this paper formed a Delphi expert panel with multidisciplinary scholars, urban managers, and practicing designers. The panel developed a quantitative evaluation model. This model covers four core dimensions: Safety (0.3210), Attractiveness (0.1080), Friendliness (0.2155), and Comfort (0.3553). It also includes eleven healing elements, such as Pedestrian Right-of-Way (0.4131), Night Lighting (0.3209), Visual Landscape (0.759), Street Furniture (0.4000), and Street Scale (0.3274). Using this model, the healing potential of Jingliu Road in Zhengzhou was assessed. The analysis identified the overall healing potential, core healing dimensions, and shortcomings of the street. This finding provides a clear direction for future healing-oriented street design. This paper builds a healing system for pedestrian spaces in high-density urban streets in China. It thus offers an evidence-based scientific tool for environmental design. Healing environments have expanded from less accessible spaces, such as squares and parks, to interactive and accessible streets. This transition enhances urban spaces’ capacity to address residents’ mental health concerns and promotes public health. Additionally, this paper offers specific recommendations for planners and policymakers to prioritize healing elements in urban renewal projects. Full article