bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multivariate Optimization of Chromatographic Conditions for Rapid Simultaneous Quantification of Antidiarrheal Drugs in Formulation Using Surface Response Methodology
Authors: Attimarad Mahesh , Venugopala Katharigatta Narayanaswamy , Chohan Muhammad S. , Shinu Pottathil , David Marysheela , Molina Effren II Plaza , Nair Anroop Balachandran , Sreeharsha Nagaraja , Altaysan Abdulrahman Ibrahim , Balgoname Abdulmalek Ahmed
Published: April 2022

A combination of antibiotics and antiprotozoal and antisecretory medicines has been prescribed for the treatment of diarrhea. A rapid, reproducible liquid chromatographic procedure was established for the concurrent analysis of metronidazole (MET), ofloxacin (OFL), and racecadotril (RAC) in suspension. The Box–Behnken design, a full factorial multivariate optimization technique, was utilized to optimize chromatographic parameters with fewer runs. The separation of MET, OFL, and RAC was accomplished within 3.2 min, using a Zorbax C18 high-performance liquid chromatography column with a simple mobile phase comprising acetonitrile (55 vol.%): methanol (10 vol.%):20 mM phosphate buffer (35 vol.%, pH 6, regulated with ortho-phosphoric acid). The mobile phase was pumped in the isocratic mode at a rate of 1.4 mL/min at ambient temperature. Analytes were monitored by adjusting the wavelength at 295 nm for MET and OFL and 231 nm for RAC. Validation of the proposed HPLC method exhibited linearity in the concentration of 20–250 µg/mL, 10–150 µg/mL, and 5–80 µg/mL for MET, OFL, and RAC respectively, along with an excellent regression coefficient (r2 > 0.999). The accuracy and precision of the chromatographic procedure were also evidenced by the low percent relative error and relative standard deviation. A Pareto chart developed by the two-factor interaction (2FI) study confirmed that the method was robust, as the slight variation in a single factor had no significant influence on the assay outcomes. Lastly, the developed HPLC process was utilized for the concurrent quantification of MET, OFL, and RAC in liquid oral preparation. Furthermore, when the assay results were compared to the described techniques, it was discovered that there was no significant difference in the accuracy and precision of the results. Hence, the developed rapid HPLC method could be employed for the quality control study of a preparation comprising of MET, OFL, and RAC in industries and regulatory authority laboratories.
A Closer Look at the Quest for an Inclusive Research Project: ‘I Had No Experience with Scientific Research, and then the Ball of Cooperation Started Rolling’
Authors: Zaagsma Miriam , Koning Mark , van Andel Christien , Volkers Karin , Schippers Alice , van Hove Geert
Published: April 2022

The original adage of the movement of people with disabilities ‘Nothing about us without us’ is fortunately more and more adopted in the research world. There is, for example, increasing recognition of the importance and value of actively involving people with intellectual disabilities in research projects on topics that are relevant to them. In a current doctoral research project, a co-researcher with an intellectual disability was recruited to work together with the doctoral researcher. Now that this project is nearing completion, it is time to look at some aspects of their collaboration and see what we can learn from this process. In several (joint) meetings, the researchers reflected on their personal experiences with working and researching together. Our reflections are presented using three overarching themes: preparations for the collaboration, collaborating as a complex process, and conducting research together. The discussion focuses on what can be inferred from these personal experiences with regard to the following three topics: how inclusive research can be organised best, the possible benefits of the collaboration for the researchers involved, and the possible impact of the collaboration on the quality of the research.
Psychological Adaptations to High-Intensity Interval Training in Overweight and Obese Adults: A Topical Review
Authors: Batrakoulis Alexios , Fatouros Ioannis G.
Published: April 2022

Regular exercise has been reported as a fundamental piece of the management and treatment puzzle of obesity, playing a vital role in numerous psychological indicators. However, it is unclear whether high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can improve critical psychological health markers such as adherence, exercise enjoyment, affective responses, health-related quality of life, anxiety, and depression in overweight and obese adults. The purpose of this topical review was to catalogue studies investigating the psychological responses to HIIT in order to identify what psychological outcomes have been assessed, the research methods used, and the results. The inclusion/exclusion criteria were met by 25 published articles investigating either a traditional, single-component (84%) or a hybrid-type, multi-component (16%) HIIT protocol and involving 930 participants with overweight/obesity. The present topical review on HIIT-induced psychological adaptations shows that this popular exercise mode, but also demanding for the masses, can meaningfully increase the vast majority of the selected mental health-related indices. These improvements seem to be equal if not greater than those observed for moderate-intensity continuous training in overweight and obese adults. However, further research is needed in this area, focusing on the potential mechanisms behind positive alterations in various psychological health parameters through larger samples and high-quality randomized controlled trials.
Exploring the Effects of Six Weeks of Resistance Training on the Fecal Microbiome of Older Adult Males: Secondary Analysis of a Peanut Protein Supplemented Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Moore Johnathon H. , Smith Kristen S. , Chen Dongquan , Lamb Donald A. , Smith Morgan A. , Osburn Shelby C. , Ruple Bradley A. , Morrow Casey D. , Huggins Kevin W. , McDonald James R. , Brown Michael D. , Young Kaelin C. , Roberts Michael D. , Frugé Andrew D.
Published: April 2022

The bacteria inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract contribute to numerous host functions and can be altered by lifestyle factors. We aimed to determine whether a 6-week training intervention altered fecal microbiome diversity and/or function in older males. Fecal samples were collected prior to and following a 6-week twice-weekly supervised resistance training intervention in 14 older Caucasian males (65 ± 10 years, 28.5 ± 3.2 kg/m2) with minimal prior training experience. Participants were randomized to receive a daily defatted peanut powder supplement providing 30 g protein (n = 8) or no supplement (n = 6) during the intervention. Bacterial DNA was isolated from pre-and post-training fecal samples, and taxa were identified using sequencing to amplify the variable region 4 (V4) of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Training significantly increased whole-body and lower-body lean mass (determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) as well as leg extensor strength (p < 0.05) with no differences between intervention groups. Overall composition of the microbiome and a priori selected taxa were not significantly altered with training. However, MetaCYC pathway analysis indicated that metabolic capacity of the microbiome to produce mucin increased (p = 0.047); the tight junction protein, zonulin, was measured in serum and non-significantly decreased after training (p = 0.062). Our data suggest that resistance training may improve intestinal barrier integrity in older Caucasian males; further investigation is warranted.
Report on the 9th National Congress AICPE (Associazione Italiana di Chirurgia Plastica Estetica) Held in Sorrento, Italy, 22–24 April 2022
Authors: Riggio Egidio
Published: April 2022

The annual congress of the Italian Association of Plastic Aesthetic Surgery (AICPE) is one of the most relevant conference meetings in Europe concerning aesthetic plastic surgery due to the number of participants and as parterre of invited speakers chosen for their renowned scientific value [...]
Decision Support Systems for Managing Construction Projects: A Scientific Evolution Analysis
Authors: Galjanić Kristina , Marović Ivan , Jajac Nikša
Published: April 2022

The dynamic nature and increasing complexity of construction projects impose many challenges for project planning and control. For years, there has been a debate about the success of construction projects and how to achieve them. A bibliometric study was developed based on 750 scientific papers on project success, decision support system, optimization, and project performance. Data are collected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases and cover the period from January 2000 to February 2022. Several types of analysis were made—data information, research growth, most productive country, most productive institution, most relevant source, most influential authors, collaborations between countries, institutions, authors, most relevant or most cited publication, highest frequency, and keyword occurrence. It is pointed out which are the important authors and journals and in which direction further research should be directed. This paper identifies that construction is one of the least digitized industries in the world. There is a great need for more studies on the organizational changes necessary for digitization and how to evaluate and implement digital technologies to support business on the construction site.
Occupants’ Satisfaction of Indoor Environment Quality in Non-Linear Minimum Buildings in Winter Based on the Role of Different Kinds of Perceptions
Authors: Liu Yi , Luo Wei , Chen Xing
Published: April 2022

Non-Linear Minimum Building (NLMB) is a sort of low-carbon building designed to meet the needs of the growing urban population around the world. This study investigates the perceptions of indoor environments among students whilst staying in NLMBs. The students were asked to participate in the subjective survey in order to gather their indoor environmental satisfaction votes. The objectives of this study are to know the importance of six human sensations inside NLMBs relative to indoor environmental satisfaction. The main findings indicated the great function of the humidity sensation in NLMBs, followed by the thermal sensation, the noise sensation, the visual sensation, the air freshness sensation and the draft sensation. Although the subjects were not very satisfied with the humidity sensation, the overall indoor environmental satisfaction was quite high under the relatively cold conditions in winter. Moreover, the studies, through in-depth interviews, showed that the majority of people felt comfortable, and some of them experienced good feelings or experiences when they stayed in NLMBs.
Balancing the Conservation and Poverty Eradication: Differences in the Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Protected Areas between Poor and Non-Poor Counties in China
Authors: Fan Luqiong , Feng Chunting , Wang Zhixue , Tian Jing , Huang Wenjie , Wang Wei
Published: April 2022

Understanding the spatial distribution characteristics of protected areas is the basis to balance the conservation and regional development. With the increasing number and area of protected areas, China has also made decisive progress in the fight against poverty. However, the spatial distribution characteristics of various types of protected areas in poor counties in China are still unclear and lacking further analysis on the differences compared to non-poor counties. Here, we first integrated the spatial distribution data of 8133 protected areas in China and overlaid them with 832 poor counties. Then we explored the spatial distribution characteristics of protected areas and the relationship with socio-economic and natural environment in poor and non-poor counties. The results showed that the area coverage of nature reserves in poor counties in China was significantly higher than that in non-poor counties (p < 0.001), while the area coverage of natural parks in non-poor counties was significantly higher than that in poor counties (p < 0.05). The area coverages of protected areas in poor counties in Northeast (p < 0.05), Southwest (p < 0.001), Central (p < 0.05), and East China (p < 0.01) were significantly higher than that in non-poor counties. Furthermore, the area coverage of nature reserves in poor counties was significantly positively correlated with mean elevation (p < 0.001), and the area coverage of natural parks in non-poor counties was significantly positively correlated with road network density (p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with the proportion of farmland (p < 0.001). This study can provide a reference to help China and other similar countries in the establishment of protected area systems to balance the conservation and poverty eradication for regional sustainable development.
One Approach to Quantifying Rainfall Impact on the Traffic Flow of a Specific Freeway Segment
Authors: Vidas Marijo , Tubić Vladan , Ivanović Ivan , Subotić Marko
Published: April 2022

Spatial constraints in urban areas very often lead to the application of traffic management measures to meet transport demands. Accordingly, it is very important to identify all potential impacts that could lead to reductions in the street network’s capacity. One such impact is weather conditions. The main motivation of this research is to analyze the impacts of rainfall on one of the most important segments of Belgrade’s street network that represents part of a freeway passing the city center. Our focus is on quantifying the impact of rainfall on speed and capacity. This paper proposes a new approach to analyzing the rainfall impact at the traffic lane level that provides additional possibilities to apply traffic management measures on the traffic lane level instead of at the direction level only. Functional dependences and differences in capacity and speed on traffic lanes were found under the influence of different rainfall intensities. Reductions in free-flow speed depend on the rain category and traffic lanes and vary from 4.5% to 11.58%, while reductions in traffic lane capacity range from 2.46% to 12.97%. We demonstrate the importance of considering the impact of rainfall at the traffic lane level, which could be quality input data for defining appropriate traffic management measures to mitigate the negative impacts.
Hydroecology of Argyroneta aquatica’s Habitat in Hantangang River Geopark, South Korea
Authors: Moon Jinah , Kim Heejung , Ryu Han-Sun
Published: April 2022

The water spider (Argyroneta aquatic) is the only known spider to live a fully aquatic life. Therefore, it has been the subject of a series of studies on various aspects of its unique biology such as its reproductive behavior, sexual dimorphism, physiology, genetics, and silk. However, there have been relatively few studies on the hydroecology of where water spiders live. The water spider habitat in Eundae-ri, Yeoncheon is the only habitat for A. aquatica, a globally rare species, in South Korea. In this region, the water level of the wetland is automatically adjusted to groundwater owing to continued drying. Here, the surface water, wetland, and groundwater near the A. aquatica habitat were studied using hydrochemical, microbiological, and correlation analyses. The hydrochemical properties—water temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), oxidation reduction potential, and turbidity—of the surface water and wetland were similar. The Piper diagrams revealed that the wetlands, surface water, and most of the groundwater portrayed Ca-HCO3-type properties, whereas only areas where the water level of the wetland was controlled displayed Na-HCO3-type properties. Furthermore, the NO3 content was too low to be detected in the wetland, indicating clean and non-polluted water conditions; additionally, heavier oxygen-hydrogen isotopes were observed because these regions were climatically affected by the wetland. The dominant bacteria were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, and Nitrospirae. The correlation analysis revealed that the major environmental control factors of the A. aquatica habitat were DO, temperature, and pH, and the related bacteria were Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia.
Enhancing the Prospect of Corporate Sustainability via Brand Equity: A Stakeholder Model
Authors: Winit Warat , Kantabutra Sooksan
Published: April 2022

Given that brand equity is increasingly recognized as a measure of corporate sustainability, in the present study, we examine the relationships among stakeholder benefits, stakeholder trust and brand equity. Derived from a sample of 433 stakeholders from 115 companies in Thailand, the findings indicate that functional benefits improve brand equity indirectly and directly via stakeholder trust and psychological benefits. On the other hand, psychological benefits improve brand equity indirectly and directly via stakeholder trust. Psychological benefits create more direct, positive effects on brand equity than functional benefits. The effects of functional benefits on brand equity are enhanced through psychological benefits. Directions for future studies and practical implications are also discussed.
Research on Cross-Correlation, Co-Integration, and Causality Relationship between Civil Aviation Incident and Airline Capacity in China
Authors: He Peng , Sun Ruishan
Published: April 2022

Aviation incident is a crucial approach for accident prevention and safety improvement. It is of remarkable practical significance to clarify the relationship between aviation incidents and airline capacity. In the present study, time-series analysis methods, such as cross-correlation, co-integration, and causality analysis are employed to explore the longitudinal relationship between airline capacity (measured by flight hours) and aviation incidents in seven different categories in China from 1994 to 2020. The obtained results indicate the existence of a substantial positive correlation between the total number of incidents and flight hours in China’s civil aviation. Among the incidents with various categories, there exists a remarkably positive correlation between flight hours and incidents caused by environmental factors, ground support, and other factors. Additionally, the maximum degree of positive correlation is detected between incidents caused by environmental factors and flight hours. However, a negative correlation between flight hours and incidents caused by aircrew, air traffic control, and aircraft maintenance is carefully displayed and discussed. More investigations reveal that there would be no co-integration relationship between the total number of incidents and flight hours. Among the incidents with different categories, a co-integration relationship between the number of incidents caused by ground support and flight hours is also reported, demonstrating a long-term equilibrium relationship between them. There is no Granger causality between the total number of incidents and flight hours; nevertheless, there is a one-way Granger causality between flight hours and incidents resulting from ground support and environmental factors. It implies that the flight hours can be exploited to explain and predict the variations of these two categories of incidents. This study clarifies the relationship between incidents and airline capacity from a statistical point of view and provides a solid reference for policymakers to implement safety management.
Predicting the Effects of Land Use Land Cover and Climate Change on Munneru River Basin Using CA-Markov and Soil and Water Assessment Tool
Authors: Loukika Kotapati Narayana , Keesara Venkata Reddy , Buri Eswar Sai , Sridhar Venkataramana
Published: April 2022

It is important to understand how changing climate and Land Use Land Cover (LULC) will impact future spatio-temporal water availability across the Munneru river basin as it aids in effective water management and adaptation strategies. The Munneru river basin is one of the important sub-basins of the Krishna River in India. In this paper, the combined impact of LULC and Climate Change (CC) on Munneru water resources using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is presented. The SWAT model is calibrated and validated for the period 1983–2017 in SWAT-CUP using the SUFI2 algorithm. The correlation coefficient between observed and simulated streamflow is calculated to be 0.92. The top five ranked Regional Climate Models (RCMs) are ensembled at each grid using the Reliable Ensemble Averaging (REA) approach. Predicted LULC maps for the years 2030, 2050 and 2080 using the CA-Markov model revealed increases in built-up and kharif crop areas and decreases in barren lands. The average monthly streamflows are simulated for the baseline period (1983–2005) and for three future periods, namely the near future (2021–2039), mid future (2040–2069) and far future (2070–2099) under Representation Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 climate change scenarios. Streamflows increase in three future periods when only CC and the combined effect of CC and LULC are considered under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. When compared to the CC impact in the RCP 4.5 scenario, the percentage increase in average monthly mean streamflow (July–November) with the combined impact of CC and LULC is 33.9% (near future), 35.8% (mid future), and 45.3% (far future). Similarly, RCP 8.5 increases streamflow by 33.8% (near future), 36.5% (mid future), and 38.8% (far future) when compared to the combined impact of CC and LULC with only CC. When the combined impact of CC and LULC is considered, water balance components such as surface runoff and evapotranspiration increase while aquifer recharge decreases in both scenarios over the three future periods. The findings of this study can be used to plan and develop integrated water management strategies for the basin with projected LULC under climate change scenarios. This methodology can be applied to other basins in similar physiographic regions.
Benefit Analysis of Economic and Social Water Supply in Xi’an Based on the Emergy Method
Authors: Guo Zihan , Wang Ni , Mao Xiaolian , Ke Xinyue , Luo Shaojiang , Yu Long
Published: April 2022

In order to manage regional water resources efficiently and sustainably and promote the rational utilization of water resources, it is necessary to evaluate the water-supply benefit reasonably. On the basis of emergy theory, this paper constructs the water-supply-benefit model of economic (industry, agriculture, and the tertiary industry) and social (domestic, employment security, entertainment, scientific research) systems. Taking Xi’an from 2014 to 2020 as an example, by analyzing the energy flow of each system and the multisource water transformities, the water contribution rate, the water-supply benefit, and the unit-water-resource value in each system are calculated. For the water-supply benefits: Industry > Agriculture > Domestic > Tertiary industry > Employment Security > Entertainment > Scientific research. For the unit-water-resource values: Industry > Tertiary industry > Agriculture > Domestic > Entertainment > Employment security > Scientific research. In the economic system, the water-supply benefit and the unit-water value of industry were always the largest, followed by agriculture and the tertiary industry. However, the Pearson correlation coefficient between the water contribution rate and the output of the industrial system was only 0.52, which was less than that of other production industries, which indicates that there might be a waste of water and that industrial water conservation needs to be further strengthened. In the social system, the domestic-water-supply benefits and the water-resource value were the largest. This is because water resources, as a basic resource, always affect people’s health and quality of life.
RETRACTED: Digital Entrepreneurship: Future Research Directions and Opportunities for New Business Model
Authors: Baig Umair , Hussain Batool , Meidute-Kavaliauskiene Ieva , Davidavicius Sigitas
Published: April 2022

Digital entrepreneurship is a technological advancement in infrastructure that creates various prospects for entrepreneurs. New digital enterprise models need attention in society, particularly concerning digital entrepreneurship opportunities, barriers, and success factors. Hence, this study gathers literature on digital entrepreneurship to compile methods and topics discussed by previous authors. Furthermore, this study illustrates research directions indicating opportunities for future scholars to work in this domain. A systematic approach across this study followed methodology and maintained a quality threshold by selecting 35 articles on digital entrepreneurship. Considering conceptual literature, the study identified six streams of digital entrepreneurship such as digital enterprise models, entrepreneurship procedure, strategical platform, ecosystem, entrepreneurship training, and social digital entrepreneurship. Hence, this study determines paths for recent research on digital entrepreneurship through a framework in different areas. Moreover, it also provides research opportunities through research directions to deeply understand the domain of digital entrepreneurship.
Life Cycle Analysis Challenges through Building Rating Schemes within the European Framework
Authors: Izaola Borja , Akizu-Gardoki Ortzi , Oregi Xabat
Published: April 2022

The decarbonisation of buildings is a crucial milestone if European cities mean to reach their mitigation targets. The construction sector was responsible for 38% of the GHG emissions in 2020. From these emissions, 11% is calculated to be currently embodied in building materials. In this context, an evaluation from a life cycle perspective is becoming increasingly necessary to achieve the objectives set. Currently, there are different building rating systems (BRS) at European level that allow the evaluation of the degree of sustainability of buildings. During this study, the authors have evaluated to what extent and how the most extended five BRS (NF Habitat HQE, VERDE, DGNB, BREEAM, and HPI systems) in the European framework have integrated the life cycle methodology during their evaluation process. Four methodologies have been used in the research in order to analyse these five systems: quantitative assessment, multi-level perspective, mapping–gap analysis, and expert interviews. Although each methodology has produced different results, the need to harmonise the evaluation criteria at the European level, the insufficient consistency of data software, and the availability of skilled LCA professionals for wider LCA market penetration, among others, should be highlighted. The quality and harmonised data of construction products is required for LCA to give aggregated and transformative results.
Investigating the Impact of Resilience, Responsiveness, and Quality on Customer Loyalty of MSMEs: Empirical Evidence
Authors: Saad Nourhan Ah. , Elgazzar Sara , Mlaker Kac Sonja
Published: April 2022

Due to the importance of the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) sector and the negative implications of COVID-19, which resulted in decreasing resource availability, shortages of supply, declining consumer demand and requirements, and a lack of consumer satisfaction and loyalty, this research investigates the impact of resilience, responsiveness, and quality on customer loyalty in MSMEs. An online questionnaire was conducted on MSMEs’ end consumers in the Egyptian context. The analysis was conducted through Amos and SPSS, and the research hypotheses were tested through covariance-based structural equation modelling for 891 valid questionnaires. The findings exposed that there is a positive significant impact for operational resilience (flexibility and technology adoption), responsiveness (delivery fulfillment and speed and after-sale service), and product/service quality on customer loyalty in terms of behavioral, attitudinal dimensions. It contributes to understanding how MSMEs could enhance their sustainable performance (resilience, responsiveness, quality) to reach better customer loyalty. This research presents insights on how the MSMEs sector can adapt to the dynamic business environment in terms of COVID-19 crisis and consumer behavior, which has changed the nature and needs of the market and consumers. In addition, this research extends the theories of Resource-Based View (RBV), Dynamic Capability View (DCV), and Theory of Consumption Value (TCV) in an empirical contribution through filling the gap in understanding consumers’ needs in terms of resilience, responsiveness, and quality.
Branding Built Heritage through Cultural Urban Festivals: An Instagram Analysis Related to Sustainable Co-Creation, in Budapest
Authors: Kádár Bálint , Klaniczay János
Published: April 2022

Global tourism is posing challenges on the environmental and social sustainability of host communities, while the industry itself has proven to be vulnerable to threats such as a global pandemic. Proximity tourism was demonstrated to be a more sustainable form in every aspect, especially when locals can co-create the experience and develop place attachment in urban environments through placemaking practices valuing previously underused urban heritage. An alternative urban festival in Budapest focusing on the built environment attracts locals annually to visit open houses providing visitors with genuine experiences. Residents are actively involved in the cultural placemaking practices of the event. As visitors documented the festival and the architectural heritage and uploaded hundreds of photos of their experience to social media platforms such as Instagram, they contributed to the branding process of the event and to the placemaking process involving less known heritage values. In this study, a dataset of more than ten thousand posts was retrieved by scraping Instagram posts based on hashtags related to the Budapest100 festival and analyzed from a temporal and spatial aspect. Returning visitors were identified, who contribute substantially to the sustainability of the event and to the branding of the built environment. Results suggest that community-based local urban festivals are a sustainable form of proximity tourism, resilient even to the COVID-19 pandemic. Place branding through urban festivals focusing on the local built heritage can also decrease the growing pressure on city centers in tourist-historic cities dealing with overtourism.
Causes of Consumer Materialistic and Green Value Conflict: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Markauskaitė Rita , Rūtelionė Aušra
Published: April 2022

In societies where considerable sectors of the population are materialistic consumers, there is a noticeable phenomenon of the conflict between the consumers’ materialistic and green values. The unsustainable consumption behavior of consumers is still a major issue in consumer behavior and environmental science. The topic of value conflict has caused great interest among psychology researchers. However, the research investigating the causes of the consumers’ materialistic and green value conflict is sparse. Therefore, the aim of this semi-systematic literature study (n = 25) is to identify the causes of the materialistic and green value conflict from the perspective of consumer behavior. Content analysis reveals seven possible causes which may influence the green and materialistic value conflict: dissonant information, environmental beliefs, environmental concern, impulsive buying, consumer confusion, anti-consumption, and decision evaluation. The analysis shows a probable relation between environmental beliefs and environmental concern, as well as a relationship between environmental beliefs and anti-consumption. The current research yields insights into the phenomenon of consumers’ materialistic and green value conflict, with attention being paid to the under-researched causes of the conflict. In the light of materialistic inclinations and sustainable consumption, new forms of sustainability campaigns, such as showing the benefits of anti-consumption and simpler lifestyles for materialistic consumers, are presented for marketers and policymakers.
The Phases Model of the Transformation to Sustainability (T2S)—Structuring through the Negotiation Perspective
Authors: Hernandez Ariel Macaspac
Published: April 2022

The complexity of linking sustainability with transformation necessitates a critical re-evaluation of the ways the actors, processes, issues, structures, and outcomes related to the transformation to sustainability (T2S) can be understood. At the same time, achieving T2S is highly dependent on policies based on technical solutions that can prompt needed behavioural change, whereas these technical solutions are not always compatible with both planetary and societal boundaries. Therefore, achieving T2S also calls for evaluating the normative foundations of policies and actions. This paper contends that T2S is significantly defined by the multiplicity of negotiation processes. This justifies a deeper look at T2S from the perspective of negotiation studies. T2S is composed of different phases, each of which has a different set of actors, resources, and audiences. This paper introduces a theoretical model as an analytical meta-framework to structure how T2S unfolds in an orchestrated manner. This model builds on negotiation theories to focus on the actors’ perspectives on T2S. It proposes the division of the transformation process into phases—entry point, learning, sequencing, disrupting, and fortifying. Each of these phases is analysed to determine the “quality” of cooperation that can help fulfil the tasks required to master the so-called “cognitive games” of T2S (ripeness game, power game, bargaining game, policy game, scaling game). Moreover, insights are presented to explain how the designated milestones can be achieved to indicate the advancement to the next phase and eventually entrench the transformation process. The findings resulting from the analysis of the phases of T2S present potential lessons and opportunities for both theorists and practitioners/policymakers.
Industrial Sectors’ Perceptions about the Benefits of Implementing ISO 14001 Standard: MANOVA and Discriminant Analysis Approach
Authors: Alsulamy Saleh , Dawood Shaik , Rafik Mohamed , Mansour Mohamed
Published: April 2022

The most frequent drawback of ISO 14001 observed in existing studies relates to the cost of certification and implementation process. This drawback requires scaling the benefits of adopting the standard to assign organizations limited resources based on each benefit scale. This paper reports the first research results that scale the benefits of adopting the standard. A quantitative method was adopted, where data were collected using a questionnaire survey. A total of 120 respondents were recruited from organizations operating in six industrial sectors to take part in the study. MANOVA and discriminant analysis methodologies were used to analyze the 14 most cited benefits in the literature on adopting the standard. A novel feature of our approach is the comprehensive statistical analysis of the collected data, which yields robust results due to assumption satisfaction. The results demonstrated that the mean vector of the benefits was not equal per each sector. Environmental management and indicator dimensions can discriminate sectors more than the environmental awareness dimension. This study provides insights into the necessity of assessing the benefits of ISO 14001 adaptation that helps organizations allocate their limited resources optimally and support the listing of standard key performance indicators in ISO 14001. In addition, it calls for combining ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018 in one standard.
Recommendations and Strategies to Mitigate Environmental Implications of Artificial Island Developments in the Gulf
Authors: Afzal Muhammad Salman , Tahir Furqan , Al-Ghamdi Sami G.
Published: April 2022

Artificial island development (AID) to tackle rampant urbanization on scarce land puts all marine biodiversity at huge risk and is recognized as a global conservation issue worldwide. This study critically reviews the gaps that undermined biodiversity and ecology during construction activities of the artificial islands in the Gulf region that could be alleviated if apposite environmental values and sustainable strategies of different regions of the world had paid enough heed to economic and social aspects. The method used for this study was an analytical descriptive literature survey, and the resources were chosen after three phases of quality assessment. This survey found various barricades to sustainable AID, such as lack of scientific data, adequate site selection, ineffective environmental evaluations, noncompliance with legislation, and economic gains over the environmental aspects. It was concluded that to protect the marine ecosystem from inevitable degradation, strict compliance with international and national legislation, research and baseline data collection, strengthening of the existing environmental assessment, continuous capacity building, and modern practices of different countries should be brought to the forefront. Furthermore, this study aims to provide guidance to policymakers and governmental organizations to mitigate emerging environmental issues during AID through strategic decision-making processes.
Livelihood Capitals, Income Inequality, and the Perception of Climate Change: A Case Study of Small-Scale Cattle Farmers in the Ecuadorian Andes
Authors: Torres Bolier , Cayambe Jhenny , Paz Susana , Ayerve Kelly , Heredia-R Marco , Torres Emma , Luna Marcelo , Toulkeridis Theofilos , García Antón
Published: April 2022

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of 2015 identify poverty, growth, and inequality as three key areas of intervention towards the UN 2030 Agenda for human well-being and sustainability. Herein, the predominant objectives are: (a) To determine the poverty groups by quintiles through the cattle income in households of small milk producers; (b) To characterize rural livelihoods by using capital theory; and (c) To assess the perception of climate change (CC) and the willingness to accept adaptation as well as mitigation measures. The current study was performed in communities that are located in the Ecuadorian Andes, where some 178 surveys were conducted with indigenous Kichwa and mestizo heads of households. From the total net income determined, five groups were organized. The Lorenz curve was applied as a general indicator of the relative inequality, as well as the Gini coefficient (G). On the basis of the theory of capital, the human, social, natural, physical, and financial characteristics were determined, and seven variables were considered to evaluate the perception and willingness to accept mitigation and adaptation actions of the given quintiles. The result of the Gini coefficient was 0.52, which indicates that the poorest 20% of the population only receives 3.40% of the income, while the richest 20% of the quintile obtain about 54% of the total income. It is evident that most producers know little about CC, but that they are willing to receive strengthening programs. Therefore, it is essential to establish strategic guidelines from public policy in order to reduce inequality and to improve the social welfare of producers, with a transversal axis in the strengthening of the capacities on the impact, mitigation, and adaptation to CC, as well as the provision of several tools, such as access to climate information.
Ecological Risk Evaluation and Source Identification of Heavy Metal Pollution in Urban Village Soil Based on XRF Technique
Authors: Liu Siqi , Peng Biao , Li Jianfeng
Published: April 2022

The rapid urbanization in China has resulted in significant differences between urban and rural areas. The emergence of urban villages is inevitable in this context, for which complex problems regarding land use, industrial management and ecological environment have arisen. This study performed a case study on a typical urban village, by assessing heavy metal pollution and ecological risk in soil. It detected a total of 80 basic units through portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrument. A total of 25 high-risk contaminated points were selected, sampled and analyzed in laboratory as confirmation. The results showed the mean concentrations of Pb, Cu, Zn and Ni in soil were significantly higher than background values. Pb, Zn and Ni showed obvious pairwise correlation, and the high-value zones could be attributed to automobile traffic and industrial activities. In addition, the pollution problem is complicated by a combination of agricultural activities, the absence of clear division between different functional zones, as well as a general lack of environmental awareness. All of these lead to increased ecological risk and are a serios threaten to public health.
Bio-Based Materials Riding the Wave of Sustainability: Common Misconceptions, Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward
Authors: Hairon Azhar Natasya Nabilla , Ang Desmond Teck-Chye , Abdullah Rosazlin , Harikrishna Jennifer Ann , Cheng Acga
Published: April 2022

Solid waste disposal, particularly of plastic and rubber, significantly impacts the environment and human health; thus, encouraging consumers to u sustainable alternatives is essential to ensure a resilient future. In recent decades, bio-based material research has primarily focused on bioplastics and, accordingly, current knowledge of alternative sustainable materials (such as biorubber) is fragmented, with consumer misconceptions posing a key challenge. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of bio-based materials, in addition to common misconceptions about them. The findings of a public survey that aimed to assess consumers’ attitudes towards, as well as their awareness and perceptions of, conventional and sustainable alternative materials, particularly oxo-biodegradable rubbers, are also reported in this paper. Despite their unfamiliarity with the terms ‘bio-based’ and ‘oxo-biodegradable’, most respondents had a positive view of bio-based products and expressed an interest in reducing their use of conventional products in favour of sustainable alternatives. The results also revealed that consumers are willing to spend more on sustainable alternatives because they are aware of the environmental issues associated with solid waste. This study provides new insights into knowledge gaps and challenges that must be addressed to promote the prudent use of sustainable materials in a fast-changing world.
Distribution, Concentration, and Ecological Risk Assessment of Trace Metals in Surface Sediment of a Tropical Bangladeshi Urban River
Authors: Nur-E-Alam Md. , Salam Mohammed Abdus , Dewanjee Sanchita , Hasan Md. Foysal , Rahman Hafizur , Rak Aweng Eh , Islam Abu Reza Md. Towfiqul , Miah Md. Yunus
Published: April 2022

Trace metal contamination in sediments is a global concern. This study aimed to assess the contamination level of trace metals, their sources, and ecological risk in surface sediments of Karnaphuli River—a tropical urban river in Bangladesh. Forty-five sediment samples were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) for Cu, Fe, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd, and Ni metals along with physicochemical parameters like pH and organic matter (OM). The pollution status and potential ecological risk were assessed by using the geo-accumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (CF), and potential ecological risk index (PERI). Source identification of trace metals was performed by correlation analysis, cluster analysis, and principal component analysis (PCA). The results show that the range of Cu, Fe, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd, and Ni concentrations were 0.62–1.61 mg/kg, 23.95–85.70%, 0.52–1.89 mg/kg, 7.99–12.90 mg/kg, 33.91–65.47 mg/kg, 0.77–1.17 mg/kg, and 2.73–5.36 mg/kg, respectively. The concentrations of Fe, Cd, and Cr were above the permissible limits while the contamination factor (CF) and geo-accumulation index (Igeo) values revealed that Fe and Cd were the most dominant pollutants. Cluster analysis and PERI exhibited significant anthropogenic intrusions of trace metals. A significant positive correlation between Fe-Cr, Cr-Ni, Fe-Ni, and Pb-Cd shows their common anthropogenic source and influences. PERI also revealed that Cr, Fe, and Cd have a significant contribution with a moderate to considerable potential threat.
Radio Frequency Fingerprint-Based DSRC Intelligent Vehicle Networking Identification Mechanism in High Mobility Environment
Authors: Chen Tianshu , Hu Aiqun , Jiang Yu
Published: April 2022

In recent years, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) vehicle interconnection technology has achieved mature development and broad applications, which is the key Vehicle to Everything (V2X) technology to realize transport intelligence. However, the openness of wireless transmission and the mobility of wireless terminals cause the identification mechanism of the DSRC system to face serious security threats. A radio frequency fingerprint (RFF)-based identification method can better resist the identity attack and spoofing by extracting the hardware characteristics formed by the differences of electronic components to authenticate different devices. Therefore, in this paper a novel RFF identification mechanism is proposed for IEEE 802.11p protocol-based DSRC intelligent vehicle networking devices suitable for a high mobility environment, in which the preamble field features of physical layer frames are extracted as device fingerprints, and the random forest algorithm and sequential detection method are used to distinguish and authenticate different devices. The experiment and simulation results demonstrate that the identification accuracy rates of the eight DSRC modules in the low-speed LOS and NLOS experimental states and up to 70 km/h high-speed simulations all exceed 99%, illustrating that this method has important application value in the field of identity authentication of V2X devices in high-speed scenarios.
Managing Risks Arising from Conservation Complexities of Forests: Insights from China’s “Chief Scheme” Practice
Authors: Li Huijie , Jia Ru , Renn Ortwin , Xu Tianjiao
Published: April 2022

Forests play a critical role in combating climate change. It takes China from timber production to ecosystem rehabilitation and then to the future of carbon neutrality. Even though China’s forestry has made great achievements, there remain many problems with its sustainable management, especially the difficult balance between rural livelihood and forest conservation. Under these circumstances, the forest chief scheme was transformed from local trials to a national mechanism. This article seeks to analyze the origin and evolution of the “forest chief” scheme and the complexities and challenges related to China’s sustainable forestry development. Taking the risk governance framework, this study provides a systematic overview of the functioning of the “forest chiefs” element integral to sustainable governance. It offers innovative ways of top-down participation in the specific context by integrating the adaptive risk governance approach, thereby provoking critical thinking about sustainable forest governance.