bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Climate Change Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Feedback Hypothesis: A Comparison of Lower-Middle, Upper-Middle, and High-Income Countries
Authors: Saeed Sahrish , Makhdum Muhammad Sohail Amjad , Anwar Sofia , Yaseen Muhammad Rizwan
Published: February 2023

Governments and policymakers are increasingly concerned about climate change. To cope with this inevitable issue, the SDGs-13 target underscores the importance of developing adaptation measures that reduce its adverse effects and ultimately safeguard both society and the environment. This issue is critical in developing countries, which are unable to counter climate-related risks because they lack adaptive capacity, suitable infrastructure, technology and, most importantly, human and physical capital. By contrast, resource-endowed developed countries have succeeded in integrating adaptative and protective policies into their developmental agenda using human power, technology, and especially investment. Keeping these facts in mind, this study is framed to examine the nexus between climate change, adaptation measures, and economic development across different income groups (lower-middle, upper-middle, and high income), using the Driscoll–Kraay (D/K) standard errors method for panel data from the period of 1995 to 2020. This study incorporates two indices (i.e., adaptive capacity and adaptation readiness) in the adaptation framework. The results demonstrate that developed countries such as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the USA, and the UK are highly adaptive countries due to their readiness for adaptation. Developing countries with very low levels of readiness have a lower adaptive capacity and are, therefore, more vulnerable to climate change. Additionally, a non-causality test demonstrates that a one-way causality runs from readiness, ecological footprint, GDP, renewable energy, FDI, and natural resource investment to the adaptive capacity in all panels. The developed countries are less vulnerable to climate change because of their well-established economies, rich capital resources, good governance, and timely and effective readiness strategies. Adaptation readiness is a vital tool in capacity building for societal adaptation to minimize the effects of disasters on the living standard of communities.
Effect of Base Grouting on the Bearing Capacity of Bored Piles
Authors: Wang Weiguo , Dai Guoliang , Wei Jiabei , Rahimi Arezoo , Zhai Qian
Published: February 2023

Post-grouting is a widely used technology for ground improvement and the strengthening of bored pile foundations. In situ experiments have shown that post-grouting is effective in improving the bearing capacity of bored piles. However, due to the cost and complexity of the in situ tests, the total number of test piles is limited. Therefore, it is not surprising that uncertainty is always associated with the collected data. This may significantly affect the conclusion of analyses, and most current studies have neglected this effect. In this paper, statistical analyses were carried out in order to investigate the effect of uncertainties in the data and the impact of post-grouting on the bearing behaviors of bored piles. The results show that post-grouting can significantly improve the bearing behavior of piles. This study is expected to provide technical guidance for post-grouting in foundation engineering.
Towards a Decoupling between Economic Expansion and Carbon Dioxide Emissions of the Transport Sector in the Yellow River Basin
Authors: Zhang Shiqing , Li Yaping , Liu Zheng , Kou Xiaofei , Zheng Wenlong
Published: February 2023

Realizing the decoupling development between the economic expansion and carbon dioxide emissions of the transport sector is of great importance if the Yellow River basin is to achieve green and low-carbon development. In this paper, we adopt the Tapio decoupling index to examine the decoupling relationship within the transport sector in the Yellow River basin, and then introduce the standard deviational ellipse to dynamically analyze the spatial heterogeneity of carbon emissions and economic growth at the provincial level. Furthermore, based on the decoupling method, we expand the traditional logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition (LMDI) model to decompose the decoupling index into eight sub-indices, and we identify the impact of each factor on the decoupling relationship. The results indicate that the carbon emissions of the transport sector in the Yellow River basin show the non-equilibrium characteristics of “upstream region < midstream region < downstream region”. The decoupling state of the transport sector shows obvious spatial differences. The less-developed regions are more likely to present non-ideal decoupling states. The growth rate of carbon emissions in Sichuan, Qinghai, and Shandong provinces is relatively fast, and the azimuth of the transport sector’s carbon emissions shows a clockwise trend. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of urbanization on decoupling in the Yellow River basin are much greater than the non-urbanization factors. In addition to the effect of urbanization, the transport structure has a major negative effect on decoupling development in the upstream and midstream regions, while energy intensity and energy structure are key to realizing a decoupled status in the downstream region. Finally, we propose some differentiated policy recommendations.
Multiple Monitoring Stations in Big Cities: First Example of Three Spore Traps in Rome
Authors: Miraglia Annarosa , Brighetti Maria Antonia , Franco Denise De , Di Menno di Bucchianico Alessandro , Froio Francesca , Travaglini Alessandro
Published: February 2023

(1) Background: Rome is a municipality with an area of 1287 km2 and presents floristic-vegetational complexity that is reflected in the composition of aerospora, which are responsible for pollinosis. The presence of airborne pollen can be detected by pollen monitoring. The large extent of the city’s territory makes it possible to verify possible changes in pollen composition in different sites of the city. With this in mind, a study was conducted to assess the differences in airborne pollen concentration, considering phenological and production indicators at three different sites in the city. (2) Methods: Pollen data of eight taxa were considered, Alnus spp., Castanea sativa Miller, Cupressaceae-Taxaceae, Olea europaea L., Platanaceae, Poaceae, Quercus spp., and Urticaceae, during 2020 and 2021, using three monitoring samplers. The airborne pollen concentration and the seasons of the three centers were calculated and compared with each other. (3) Results: The diversity between the three samplers shows a phenological succession in accordance with the microclimatic diversity present in the city. The heterogeneity of the airborne pollen concentration reflects the floristic-vegetational diversity, while qualitative and quantitative parameters indicate a homogeneous flowering trend reflecting the seasonality of the various species. (4) Conclusions: The present work and the Italian geographic context suggest the need for a greater number of sampling points to guarantee a true localization of the data. Having several sampling stations also contributes to the protection of health and green areas, which are difficult to manage, conserve, and maintain.
The Crossover Cooperation Mode and Mechanism of Green Innovation between Manufacturing and Internet Enterprises in Digital Economy
Authors: He Ziqing , Liu Qin
Published: February 2023

Under the background of the digital economy, manufacturing seeks to improve green manufacturing and the level of greenness of products through digital empowerment. However, there exists a certain degree of technical difficulty and cost pressures for independent transformation to enhance green innovation performance through digitalization. How to conduct crossover cooperation with Internet enterprises needs to be explored. Taking automobile manufacturing enterprises as the case background, this paper constructs an evolutionary game model of green innovation crossover cooperation between traditional automobile manufacturing and Internet enterprises in the context of carbon credit policy. From the perspective of the extra effort cost of manufacturing enterprises and the excess income of Internet enterprises, this paper analyzes the mode selection strategy of green innovation crossover cooperation between the two types of subjects, and also analyzes the crossover cooperation mechanism of green innovation from three aspects: income distribution mechanism, carbon credit trading mechanism, and R&D subsidy mechanism. The results show that (1) Reducing the cost of digital green innovation transformation in manufacturing and the excess returns obtained under the free-riding behavior of Internet enterprises will help promote in-depth cooperation among crossover entities. (2) The benefit distribution dominated by manufacturing enterprises is helpful to evolve toward the direction of the alliance cooperative innovation mode and improve the benefits of green innovation cooperation. (3) Under the government’s single weak intervention management mechanism, optimizing carbon credit accounting and assessment standards can effectively guide manufacturers and Internet companies to conduct alliance green innovation cooperation, but they still need to be matched with appropriate R&D subsidies to form a compound strong intervention guidance mechanism to obtain higher social and ecological benefits.
Shattering Effect Study of Aramid–Steel Composite Target Plates under Localized Blast Loading
Authors: Gao Zhen , Chen Yeqing , Wang Zhenqing , Li Shutao , Wei Wanli , Chen Jialin
Published: February 2023

With the extensive application of composite laminates in protective structures, new materials and new structures have been developed rapidly. As an excellent impact-resistant material, aramid fiber is widely used in the field of protective structures. Aramid laminates show excellent performance in anti-penetration, but there is no research on its anti-explosive characteristics. In this paper, a kind of aramid–steel composite target (ASCT) plate protective structure is proposed innovatively. The failure mode and damage mechanism of three kinds of ASCT plates with equal area density and single-layer steel plates under a local explosion load are studied, and the most effective composite mode is given. The results show that the aramid laminates stuck on the back explosion surface ASCT (SA) exhibit the best anti-explosion effect, which is center deflection reduced by 12% and 18% compared with a single-layer steel plate (S-1) and an equal-thickness steel plate (S-2), respectively. Plate ASCT (SA), plate ASCT (AS), and ASCT (SAS) plate center tear failure did not occur. The analysis shows that different combinations change the propagation of stress waves in the structure, which in turn affects the failure of the composite plate. The critical failure dose of different structural configuration plates is obtained by simulation. The influence of explosion center distance, explosive charge, and bonding thickness of aramid laminate on the central deflection of steel plate was discussed by dimensional analysis, and the empirical formula of central deflection of the aramid–steel composite target plate was obtained. The research results can provide a theoretical basis and reference for the lightweight and efficient protection of composite structural armor.
An Exploratory Study Examining the Key Aspects and Actions for Universities to Achieve High Sustainability Rankings
Authors: Mejía-Manzano Luis Alberto , Vázquez-Villegas Patricia , Smith Anthony , Soeiro Alfredo , Kálmán Anikó , Atabarut Tamer , Otaduy-Rivera Nicolás , Membrillo-Hernández Jorge , Caratozzolo Patricia
Published: February 2023

Understanding the concept of sustainability and its implementation in specific actions is necessary for today’s societies, and part of this responsibility falls on Higher Education Institutions. How these institutions have tried to address this issue has been diverse. To standardize, homogenize, and validate these sustainable practices, a few years ago, the University of Indonesia Green Metric positioned itself as the internationally accepted ranking; however, other rankings have begun to emerge, such as the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking, which also addresses the search for compliance of the SDGs. For a novel or incipient university to establish the politics and actions to fulfill sustainability and SDGs or stay on track may represent a disorienting and challenging task, particularly when these rankings have different origins or criteria. So, this research aimed to review the top ten universities and their actions in the University of Indonesia Green Metric and Times Higher Education Impact Ranking, along with the organizational initiatives in education, to clarify the key measures and actions adopted by universities toward sustainability and their participation in the rankings, to pursue the SDGs related to social and environmental impacts in universities. Additionally, as a case study, we analyzed in detail the actions performed by the Tecnologico de Monterrey (located at the 274th and 100–200th places of the University of Indonesia Green Metric and the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking, respectively) and compared them with those of Top Ten Higher Education Institutions in both rankings. As a result, a summary guide of the actions is suggested to guide higher education institutions in adopting the required level of sustainability development indicated in the rankings.
Vertical-Longitudinal Coupling Effect Investigation and System Optimization for a Suspension-In-Wheel-Motor System in Electric Vehicle Applications
Authors: Zhao Ze , Zhang Lei , Wu Jianyang , Gu Liang , Li Shaohua
Published: February 2023

In-wheel-motor-drive electric vehicles have attracted enormous attention due to its potentials of improving vehicle performance and safety. Road surface roughness results in forced vibration of in-wheel-motor (IWM) and thus aggravates the unbalanced electric magnetic force (UEMF) between its rotor and stator. This can further compromise vertical and longitudinal vehicle dynamics. This paper presents a comprehensive study to reveal the coupled vertical–longitudinal effect on suspension-in-wheel-motor systems (SIWMS) along with a viable optimization procedure to improve ride comfort and handling performance. First, a UEMF model is established to analyze the mechanical–electrical–magnetic coupling relationship inside an IWM. Then a road–tire–ring force (RTR) model that can capture the transient tire–road contact patch and tire belt deformation is established to accurately describe the road–tire and tire–rotor forces. The UEMF and the RTRF model are incorporated into the quarter-SIWMS model to investigate the coupled vertical–longitudinal vehicle dynamics. Through simulation studies, a comprehensive evaluation system is put forward to quantitatively assess the effects during braking maneuvers under various road conditions. The key parameters of the SIWMS are optimized via a multi-optimization method to reduce the adverse impact of UEMF. Finally, the multi-optimization method is validated in a virtual prototype which contains a high-fidelity multi-body model. The results show that the longitudinal acceleration fluctuation rate and the slip ratio signal-to-noise ratio are reduced by 5.07% and 6.13%, respectively, while the UEMF in the vertical and longitudinal directions varies from 22.2% to 34.7%, respectively, and is reduced after optimization. Thus, the negative coupling effects of UEMF are minimized while improving the ride comfort and handling performance.
Exploring Human–Wildlife Conflict and Implications for Food Self-Sufficiency in Bhutan
Authors: Wangchuk Sangay , Bond Jennifer , Thwaites Rik , Finlayson Max
Published: February 2023

The conflict between humans and wildlife is a global issue in the increasingly shared landscape. Human–Wildlife Conflict (HWC) is often viewed as a threat to most of the rural populace of the world, as crop losses to wildlife remove the household’s food supply, and are an economic drain on the homestead. In this paper, we study the extent of crop damage by wild animals in two districts of Bhutan: Trashiyangtse and Tsirang. We surveyed 431 respondents from the two districts and interviewed 40 central and local government officials and residents. The vast majority of respondents from both study districts (Trashiyangtse = 98.7%; Tsirang = 92.2%) reported having experienced conflicts with wild animals from 2017 to 2019. On average, respondents’ households lost over half a month to more than a month’s worth of household food requirements, with some households claiming to have lost over six months’ worth of household food requirements, annually to wild animals. The loss of crops to wild animals removes households’ food supply and discourages farming, resulting in increased fallow lands. The fallow lands which are close to human settlements, then become habitats for wild animals, aggravating the incidence of HWC, and as such are directly linked to reduced food production.
Impact of Water Circularity on Climate Change: Removal of Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) from Water Using Green and Simple Extraction Methods
Authors: Lagos Andrés S. , Landázuri Andrea C.
Published: February 2023

Climate change is impacting the severity of water pollution, and polluted water bodies have an impact on climate change. Increased precipitation and atmospheric temperature changes affect the flow of water bodies, causing interactions in the chemical kinetics of the contaminants present in water that should not be present in the first place. Likewise, anthropogenic activities and their waste management require urgent actions for the mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Fats, oils and grease (FOG) present in water are difficult to remove and affect the drinking water or wastewater treatment trains; that is, FOG can aggregate and clog subsequent operations and are susceptible to temperature changes. Relevant advances in FOG removal using oleic acid as a model compound submitted to a liquid–liquid extraction under menthol:lactic acid deep eutectic solvent (DES) mixture is presented.
Agricultural Interventions in the Bhutanese Context for Sustainability—A Documentary Analysis Using a Thematic Conceptual Framework
Authors: Dorji Kinley , Miller Judith , Wu Shubiao
Published: February 2023

Innovation contexts and associated elements determine the type of innovation and adoption. This study aimed at the understanding of the innovation policy and intervention mechanism within the Bhutanese Department of Agriculture (DoA). We developed a conceptual model from the themes and the OECD evaluation criteria based on the conceptual model. The national issues and opportunities related to the agriculture and forestry of Bhutan were defined, and policy gaps were identified between the national plan and the institutional programs that were implemented. A total of 67 government documents from the relevant agencies were collected, of which, 33 documents were included, based on the inclusion criteria that matched with the conceptual, thematic analytical model. Our results from the document analysis show that the institutional innovative interventions appeared relevant to the Bhutanese context; however, inadequate coherence (mapping and alignment) of the institutional intervention programs with the national issues and goals suggested the need for the Bhutanese agricultural innovation system to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the program results. Similarly, coordination and collaboration were found to be necessary to extract the synergistic impact of the innovative interventions at the various levels of administrative hierarchy. Institutional accountability and interventional coherence at different organisational levels needs reviewing in order to achieve the sustainability of the outcome in Bhutanese agricultural research.
Water Pollution Abatement in Olive Oil Industry in Morocco: Cost Estimates and Policy Implications
Authors: Bounadi Imane , Allali Khalil , Fadlaoui Aziz , Dehhaoui Mohammed
Published: February 2023

This article discusses the challenges of water scarcity and industrial water pollution in developing countries, specifically in Morocco, where the olive oil industry is a significant contributor to organic water pollution. The Moroccan government has implemented regulations and economic incentives to address this issue, but enforcement has been hindered by a lack of information on environmental damage and pollution abatement costs. This study aims to improve the knowledge of public decision makers on the costs of the depollution of oil mills and to use this information to develop tools for the reinforcement of the current regulation mechanism. To meet our research objective, the Translog hyperbolic distance function is used to represent the environmental technology generating three undesirable outputs (SS, BOD, and COD) and to estimate the olive oil mills’ specific pollution abatement cost (shadow price). Finally, pollutant-specific taxes are computed using the tax-standard method. The results showed that oil mills must renounce the production of olive oil totaling MAD 13,314, MAD 4706, and MAD 5786 for the reduction of one ton of SS, BOD, and COD, respectively, and that there are economies of scale in the treatment of olive mill wastewater. After calculating the rate of the environmental tax, we conclude that implementing the tax according to current emission standards can be very restrictive for oil mills, as it would represent 22% of the total annual turnover of the olive oil industry. These findings suggest a redesign of the regulation mechanism, including the implementation of environmental monitoring systems, the consideration of economies of scale in pollution control, and the use of better-targeted green subsidies and effective environmental tax. However, further research is needed to understand the impact of these measures on the economic performance of the olive oil industry.
A Bibliometric Analysis of Neighborhood Sense of Community
Authors: Wang Wei , Gao Yun , Pitts Adrian , Dong Lili
Published: February 2023

The literature on neighborhood sense of community (NSOC) has undergone a period of rapid growth in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to explore the current state of knowledge on NSOC by mapping the knowledge domain and identifying the development trends of this field. A total of 1214 articles that were obtained from the Web of Science core collection between the years 1986 and 2022 served as the data sample, and Citespace was used as the tool for bibliometric analysis and visualization for this study. The results indicated: (1) NSOC research continued to attract the attention of scholars in recent years; (2) NSOC research covered a wide range of subject categories, including urban studies, public health, environmental studies, social work, and urban planning; (3) the Journal of Community Psychology appears to be among the most influential journals, with the greatest infiltration in NSOC research; (4) the collaboration networks of authors and institutions need to be strengthened, and the USA is the country that had the most publications and the strongest influence; (5) the knowledge framework was mainly based around 10 clusters, including place attachment; social life; urban form; community organization; exploring adolescents’ sense; psychological sense; cultural capital; Perth, Western Australia; mental well-being; and neighborhood planning. The scope of existing NSOC research covers a wide range of subject areas, including the concepts of NSOC, the measurement scales of NSOC, the impact of the neighborhood built environment on NSOC, the meditating role of NSOC between the built environment and residents’ mental health and subjective well-being, and the relationship between NSOC and other social factors. NSOC research in rural areas, NSOC research of immigration populations, NSOC research in the context of smart communities and cites, and the relationship between NSOC and health will be the focuses in future studies.
Comprehensive Case Study on the Ecologically Sustainable Design of Urban Parks Based on the Sponge City Concept in the Yangtze River Delta Region of China
Authors: Ji Lifeng , Rao Fei
Published: February 2023

Owing to widespread urbanization, previously elastic and permeable ecological foundations are being continuously hardened, sealed, and channelized, leading to problems such as intensified urban convergence, water pollution, seasonal rain, and flood disasters. Urban parks and large green spaces, as rare large, cavernous bodies in cities, can effectively address the abovementioned urbanization problems. This study holistically analyzed and discussed the current developments in the sponge city concept using several case studies of recent ecologically sustainable designs for urban parks in the Yangtze River Delta region of China. Under basic conditions of the same hydrological characteristics and considering the differences in other external conditions and the environment, sponge city construction aims to address the actual characteristics and needs of specific projects, develop applicable goal-oriented sponge city constructions, and ensure design practices around a goal-oriented method. Practical problems associated with identifying specific design features, priorities, and measures were then identified according to the project location, goals, and characteristics. Thus, this study details various goal-oriented sponge city designs and their application methods to inform future design efforts.
Bacterial Diseases of Bioenergy Woody Plants in Ukraine
Authors: Goychuk Anatolyj , Kulbanska Ivanna , Shvets Maryna , Pasichnyk Lidiia , Patyka Volodymyr , Kalinichenko Antonina , Degtyareva Larysa
Published: February 2023

In this study, the characterization of several bacterial diseases affecting silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.), common ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.), white poplar (Populus alba L.), and white willow (Salix alba L.) in Ukraine were described. The typical symptoms, features of pathogenesis, and characteristics of the causative agents of the most common bacterial diseases of these tree species were shown. The following types of bacterioses were noted to be especially dangerous, namely, bacterial wetwood, fire blight, bacterial canker, and tuberculosis. Bacterial necrosis of the bark was a less dangerous disease. At the same time, all of the listed types of bacterioses were registered within the forest areas of the investigated region. The study revealed that bacterial wetwood of birch and poplar was caused by Lelliottia nimipressuralis; the bacterial canker of poplar is Pseudomonas syringae (Pseudomonas syringae f. populi and Pseudomonas cerasi); the fire poplar blight is caused by Pseudomonas cerasi (P. syringae); the common ash tuberculosis is caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. savastanoi; and the bacterial wilt of the willow is caused by Brenneria salicis. The phenomenon of the introduction of microorganisms of different functional orientations as well as the formation of conditions for their activity in the rhizosphere of plants have been studied. In the future, it will provide the development of effective methods for the rapid identification of causative agents of bacterioses and plant protection measures based on multi-functional microbiological preparations based on highly effective strains of microorganisms.
The Impact of Agricultural Insurance on Farmers’ Enthusiasm for Sugarcane Production: Evidence from Guangxi, China
Authors: Zhu Ming , Yang Ruihua
Published: February 2023

Improving farmers’ enthusiasm for sugarcane production is of significance for maintaining the stability of sugarcane cultivation, as well as ensuring the sustainability and security of the national sugar supply. Based on rural household survey data from five major sugarcane producing counties in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in 2018, this paper analyzes the impact of agricultural insurance on farmers’ enthusiasm to grow sugarcane using Probit, IV-Probit, and 2SLS methods, examines the problem of heterogeneity due to differences in farmers’ degree of part-time occupation, and analyzes the mechanisms of agricultural insurance in affecting farmers’ enthusiasm for sugarcane production through income effect and substitution effect pathways. The findings of the study are as follows: first, participation in agricultural insurance significantly increases farmers’ enthusiasm for sugarcane production; second, the impact of agricultural insurance on farmers’ enthusiasm for sugarcane production is heterogeneous depending on the degree of part-time farming, and the intensity of the impact decreases as the degree of part-time farming increases; finally, agricultural insurance increases farmers’ enthusiasm for sugarcane production through income effects such as increased farm income and income expectations on the one hand, and positively influences farmers’ enthusiasm for sugarcane production through competitive crop substitution effects at both agricultural and non-farm levels on the other. Based on these findings, policy measures are proposed in this paper, including increasing the level of sugarcane insurance coverage, improving the pricing strategy of sugarcane, and accelerating the mechanization of the entire sugarcane production process.
Directions of Carsharing Development in Poland—Analysis of the Need to Expand the Carsharing Zone
Authors: Drobiazgiewicz Joanna , Pokorska Agnieszka
Published: February 2023

One of the basic challenges of contemporary transportation policy is to reduce the share of passenger cars used as the primary means of transportation. This problem is particularly important in urban areas, where congestion generates significant economic costs and carries certain risks for the environment and air quality, and, as a result, has a negative impact on the health of residents. In recent decades, many solutions have been developed to support the reduction of car traffic, many of which are part of the concept of sustainable and shared mobility, such as public transport systems and carsharing and bike-sharing systems. The authors have focused on an in-depth analysis of the carsharing phenomenon in both theoretical and practical terms. The aim of the following considerations is to fill the gap in knowledge about the directions of global trends in the development of carsharing and to relate them to the situation in Poland. In addition, the authors carried out an analysis aimed at characterising the degree of activity of using carsharing services at the border of the zone and indicating whether there may be a connection between the location of cars in the border zone and the possibility of transferring to other means of transport. The authors also point out whether increasing the area of carsharing, in this case, seems justified. The research was conducted based on the literature, an analysis of the activities of companies providing carsharing services, an analysis of open public data in this area, and observations.
Interpretive Structural Modeling: Research Trends, Linkages to Sustainable Development Goals, and Impact of COVID-19
Authors: Sreenivasan Aswathy , Ma Suresh , Nedungadi Prema , Sreedharan V. Raja , Raman R. Raghu
Published: February 2023

Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is widely used to understand the complex connections between different components. This study presents a bibliometric overview of ISM research, with a focus on its linkages to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the impact of COVID-19. The study analyzed 1988 publications on ISM published between 2012 and 2021, of which 1202 were directly mapped to the SDGs and 59 were related to COVID-19. The study identified key authors, institutions, countries, and journals involved in the research and their linkages to the SDGs. The results showed that ISM research is strongly linked to SDG 12 (on responsible consumption and production) and SDG 9 (on industry, innovation, and infrastructure). We also identified influential SDGs on the basis of centrality measures such as betweenness and eigenvector. The top four countries contributing to ISM publications were India, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The most frequently cited journals were Benchmarking: An International Journal, Sustainability, the Journal of Modelling in Management, and the Journal of Cleaner Production. Four main clusters were identified in the ISM research, including (1) integration with AHP and fuzzy logic for promoting sustainability alignment, (2) ISM-based strategy development for various stakeholders, (3) ISM-based decision-making in various fields, and (4) ISM-based risk evaluation. For the first time, studies that used the ISM approach to understand the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 were identified, and their key findings were discussed. The study also identified several emerging topics for future ISM research, such as blockchain and IoT, environmental management systems, climate change adaptation, smart cities, and humanitarian logistics and their potential linkages to the SDGs.
The Effect of Outward FDI on Capabilities of Sustained Innovation: Evidence from China
Authors: Ye Yunxin , Zhao Shiyong
Published: February 2023

Based on theoretical analysis, this paper examines the impact of China’s outward foreign direct investment on regional capabilities of sustainable innovation. Empirical tests are used to analyze the mechanism of OFDI in regional capabilities of sustainable innovation. OFDI’s impact on sustainable innovation is tested through the fixed effect, mediation effect, and threshold effect models by using provincial panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2008 to 2019. The results show that OFDI promotes regional capabilities of sustained innovation. Moreover, the effect of OFDI on sustainable innovation is found to be mediated by regional human capital accumulation. Furthermore, this study also finds that regional absorptive capacity and financial market development are two significant threshold variables in the process by which OFDI affects sustainable innovation. Before the threshold variables exceed the threshold level, OFDI encourages sustainable innovation, but this positive association becomes stronger after threshold variables reach the threshold level. The results have strong policy implications, which will be useful for local governments to make policies with the aim to maximize the benefits of OFDI and encourage sustainable innovation.
Pomological and Olive Oil Quality Characteristics Evaluation under Short Time Irrigation of Olive Trees cv. Chemlali with Untreated Industrial Poultry Wastewater
Authors: Oueslati Amira , Dabbou Samia , Methneni Nosra , Montevecchi Giuseppe , Nava Vincenzo , Rando Rossana , Bartolomeo Giovanni , Antonelli Andrea , Di Bella Giuseppa , Ben Mansour Hedi
Published: February 2023

The aim of this work was the investigation of the effect of wastewater generated from the poultry meat industry on the irrigation of olive trees, during a short time period, in order to evaluate its impact on pomological criteria and olive oil quality. Olive trees were subjected to irrigation with different water qualities: (i) poultry wastewater (PWW), (ii) poultry wastewater diluted with tap water 50:50 (v/v) (PWTWW), (iii) rain-fed cultivation system (control). The results showed that PWTWW contains the optimal mineral proportions, leading to improved pomological criteria. However, the highest significant pulp oil content was obtained using poultry wastewater irrigation (69.51%), while this was 66.71% using diluted poultry wastewater, and 58.03 % for the control. Poultry wastewater irrigation yielded the best results in oil standard quality indices. In addition, an enrichment in oil total polyphenols content was achieved. The oil fatty acid profile was not affected following irrigation with poultry wastewater. Nevertheless, there was a significant increase in the contents of oleic acid and alcohols, accompanied by a decrease in total sterols. However, heavy metals accumulation was observed in both fruits and olive oil. In conclusion, our results suggest that among the three water qualities, poultry wastewater is the best alternative to improve olive oil quality.
A Numerical-Hierarchical Framework for Predicting Volume Changes in Expansive Soils under Variable Surface and Weather Conditions
Authors: Huang Qihang , Azam Shahid
Published: February 2023

This research developed a numerical-hierarchical framework that captured surface conditions and climate parameters. Volume changes under distinct scenarios of surface boundary, antecedent moisture, and meteorological parameters were predicted using a coupled seepage-deformation model. Risk was hierarchically based on expert judgment for surface scenarios (Stage-I indices) and normal distribution for antecedent moisture and atmospheric parameters scenarios (Stage-II indices). Results indicated seasonal volumetric changes with minor variations of −5 mm from January to April, a steady settlement of −17 mm by June, and a gradual heave of +8 mm by December. All Stage-I indices showed similar trends such that the fluctuations were highest for vegetation, followed by slope, then by cover, and lowest for loading. Volume changes gradually reduced with depth and diminished at 3.1 m. Similar seasonal and profile trends were generally found for most Stage-II indices. Nonetheless, different trends under wet and dry conditions were observed for initial water content, precipitation, and air temperature. For the datum scenario, risk was non-existent till February, increased to 2.3 by June, diminished by October, and rose back to 1.0 by December. Similar values of cyclic variations in risk were found in most urban facilities. Volume changes were found to be two times higher in parks, insignificant for roads, half for five story buildings, and one-fourth for pipes under roads. Among the Stage-II indices, risk for the initial water content inhibited seasonal variations whereas that for precipitation was about half with a wider distribution; all the other indices showed about one-third the values. Under a higher occurrence probability of 0.129, a magnified risk was observed for all the indices such that the most critical were the initial water content and precipitation.
Waste Generation Predictions and On-Site Waste Management: A Danish Perspective
Authors: Lindhard Søren Munch , Wyke Simon , Mahami Hadi , Vaezzadeh Seyyed Saeed , Svidt Kjeld
Published: February 2023

Multiple methodologies exist for the calculation, estimation, and simulation of waste generation in the construction industry as means for planning and conducting waste management. The reliability and usability of such methods has, nonetheless, not previously been evaluated. This study, therefore, investigated the existing methodologies for waste prediction through a literature review and an analysis of the identified methods using two construction cases from Denmark. Semi-structured interviews were, additionally, utilised to explain how and why waste behaviour is the way it is in the Danish construction industry. The results showed that waste management is affected by multiple factors, which are not reflected in the current methodologies for waste estimation, and that waste behaviour as well as organisational factors are key contributors. In addition, the study concluded that existing estimation methodologies for waste generation tend to be either high in complexity or low in accuracy, limiting the benefits achievable from using them, and that projects of the same type within close proximity can be significantly different from another, highlighting a clear limitation for the development of waste estimation methodologies.
Effects of Nitrogen Source and Concentration on the Growth and Biochemical Composition of the Red Seaweed Grateloupia turuturu (Halymeniaceae, Rhodophyta)
Authors: Wang Qiaohan , Lan Lan , Li Huiru , Gong Qingli , Gao Xu
Published: February 2023

Seaweeds, as biofilters that remediate seawater eutrophication, have been widely applied in integrated cultivations for both ecological and economic benefits. Although Grateloupia turuturu (Rhodophyta) is considered as a qualified species in integrated maricultivation, its growth and biochemical performance under different nitrogen conditions are still unknown. Here, we cultured G. turuturu under two nitrogen sources (nitrate and ammonium) at six concentrations (0, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 µM) to investigate its growth and nitrogenous compounds (total and inorganic nitrogen, soluble protein, amino acids, and pigments) as well as the allocation pattern of nitrogen storage pools. Our results showed that G. turuturu was well acclimated to high concentrations of both nitrogen sources, and algal age played an important role in the preference of nitrogen sources. Most of the biochemical compositions in G. turuturu increased significantly with the increased concentrations of nitrogen, except for the protein and nitrate contents. Protein and residual organic nitrogen (RON, mainly amino acids) were found to be the two main nitrogen storage pools in G. turuturu. Our study revealed that G. turuturu can produce more profitable compositions at high nitrogen concentrations, making it a profitably promising biofilter to remediate eutrophication.
Evaluation of the Rheological and Durability Performance of Sustainable Self-Compacting Concrete
Authors: Mathews Mervin Ealiyas , Kiran Tattukolla , Nammalvar Anand , Anbarasu M. , Kanagaraj Balamurali , Andrushia Diana
Published: February 2023

Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) is a special concrete that can flow easily across congested reinforcements. Also, it is easy to work with and does not segregate. The present investigation aims at the design and development of sustainable SCC with the employment of industrial by-products such as Fly Ash (FA), Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS), and Expanded Perlite Aggregate (EPA). Four SCC mixes were developed to attain a target strength of 30 MPa. Workability tests (slump flow, J-ring, and V-funnel tests) were performed following the EFNARC guidelines to ensure fresh SCC properties. Detailed experiments were conducted to evaluate the durability characteristics of the developed SCC, such as water absorption, sorptivity, acid attacks (sulphuric, nitric, sulphate, and chloride), the Rapid Chloride Penetration Test (RCPT), and finally, the elevated temperature test. Weight loss, strength loss, and physical observations of the acid and temperature effects of SCC mixes were evaluated. Also, the study focuses on the cost and sustainable index of SCC mixes and compares them with OPC mixes. From the experimental data analysis, it was observed that the developed SCC showed excellent physical and mechanical properties with a considerable reduction in cement content. SCC specimens with FA and EPA exhibit excellent acid and temperature resistance. Following the sustainable analysis, it was noted that SCC mixes reduce about 15–17.2% of carbon emissions compared to the OPC mix.
Biofuel Production Plant Location Selection Using Integrated Picture Fuzzy Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment Framework
Authors: Hezam Ibrahim M. , Cavallaro Fausto , Lakshmi Jyoti , Rani Pratibha , Goyal Subhanshu
Published: February 2023

As an alternative for sustainable transportation and economic development, biofuels are being promoted as renewable and climate-friendly resources of energy which can help to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, some pollutant emissions and mitigate the climate change impact from transport. With the successful development of the biofuel industry, the location selection for biofuel production plant is one of the major concerns for the governments and policymakers. Finding locations for the construction of new biofuel production plants includes several dimensions of sustainability, including economic, social and environmental; therefore, this selection process can be considered a complex multi-criteria decision-making problem with uncertainty. As an advanced version of fuzzy set, picture fuzzy set (PiFS) is one of the comprehensive tools to handle the uncertainty with the account of truth, abstinence and falsity membership degrees. Thus, this work proposes a new decision-making methodology based on the weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) approach and similarity measure with picture fuzzy information. By using picture fuzzy numbers, the proposed methodology can effectively address the uncertain information and qualitative data that often occurs in practical applications. In this methodology, a picture fuzzy similarity measure-based weighting model is proposed to find the criteria weights under picture fuzzy environment. For this purpose, a new similarity measure is introduced to measure the degree of similarity between picture fuzzy numbers. Moreover, the rank of the options is determined based on an integrated WASPAS approach under a PiFS context. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework, a case study of biofuel production plant location selection is presented from the picture fuzzy perspective. Further, a comparison with existing methods is conducted to test the validity and applicability of the obtained results. The sensitivity analysis is performed with respect to different values of decision parameter, which proves the stability, robustness, and practicality of the proposed approach. The presented picture fuzzy WASPAS approach feasibly enables the policymakers to identify the most desirable location for a biofuel production plant by considering the social, environmental and economic aspects of sustainability.
Survey on the Biomedical Text Summarization Techniques with an Emphasis on Databases, Techniques, Semantic Approaches, Classification Techniques, and Similarity Measures
Authors: Pawar Dipti , Phansalkar Shraddha , Sharma Abhishek , Sahu Gouri Kumar , Ang Chun Kit , Lim Wei Hong
Published: February 2023

Biomedical text summarization (BTS) is proving to be an emerging area of work and research with the need for sustainable healthcare applications such as evidence-based medicine practice (EBM) and telemedicine which help effectively support healthcare needs of the society. However, with the rapid growth in the biomedical literature and the diversities in its structure and resources, it is becoming challenging to carry out effective text summarization for better insights. The goal of this work is to conduct a comprehensive systematic literature review of significant and high-impact literary work in BTS with a deep understanding of its major artifacts such as databases, semantic similarity measures, and semantic enrichment approaches. In the systematic literature review conducted, we applied search filters to find high-impact literature in the biomedical text summarization domain from IEEE, SCOPUS, Elsevier, EBSCO, and PubMed databases. The systematic literature review (SLR) yielded 81 works; those were analyzed for qualitative study. The in-depth study of the literature shows the relevance and efficacy of the deep learning (DL) approach, context-aware feature extraction techniques, and their relevance in BTS. Biomedical question answering (BQA) system is one of the most popular applications of text summarizations for building self-sufficient healthcare systems and are pointing to future research directions. The review culminates in realization of a proposed framework for the BQA system MEDIQA with design of better heuristics for content screening, document screening, and relevance ranking. The presented framework provides an evidence-based biomedical question answering model and text summarizer that can lead to real-time evidence-based clinical support system to healthcare practitioners.