bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predicting the Potential Distribution of Hylomecon japonica in China under Current and Future Climate Change Based on Maxent Model
Authors: Cao Zhen , Zhang Lei , Zhang Xinxin , Guo Zengjun
Published: October 2021

Hylomecon japonica is considered a natural medicinal plant with anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antibacterial activity. The assessment of climate change impact on its habitat suitability is important for the wild cultivation and standardized planting of H. japonica. In this study, the maximum entropy model (Maxent) and geographic information system (ArcGIS) were applied to predict the current and future distribution of H. japonica species, and the contributions of variables were evaluated by using the jackknife test. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) value confirmed the accuracy of the model prediction based on 102 occurrence records. The predicted potential distributions of H. japonica were mainly concentrated in Jilin, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Henan, Heilongjiang and other provinces (adaptability index > 0.6). The jackknife experiment showed that the precipitation of driest month (40.5%), mean annual temperature (12.4%), the precipitation of wettest quarter (11.6%) and the subclass of soil (9.7%) were the most important factors affecting the potential distribution of H. japonica. In the future, only under the shared socioeconomic Pathway 245 (SSP 245) scenario model in 2061–2080, the suitable habitat area for H. japonica is expected to show a significant upward trend. The area under other scenarios may not increase or decrease significantly.
Life Cycle Assessment of District Heating Systems in Europe: Case Study and Recommendations
Authors: Jeandaux Camille , Videau Jean-Baptiste , Prieur-Vernat Anne
Published: October 2021

District heating systems are a way to integrate renewable energies into the heating sector, with the primary aim of decarbonizing this final use. In such systems, renewable energy sources are centrally managed with cutting-edge technological equipment, efficient maintenance rates and service guarantees. Both the decarbonization effect and the centralization lead to environmental benefits, which can go beyond the climate change indicator. In this study, life cycle assessment was used to assess the environmental sustainability of district heating solutions compared to standalones. The study aimed to examine a diverse set of options for large-scale district heating systems across Europe and to compare them to different standalone solutions. Eight technologies (five district-level and three standalone solutions) were analyzed in two densities of habitats and four areas of Europe. This study aimed to understand the drivers of district heating environmental performance and to provide guidelines for accounting said performance. The analysis showed better performance for district heating scenarios compared to isotechnology standalones for every environmental impact category: the climate change impact category were reduced from 5 to 90%, while respiratory inorganics were reduced from 45 to 64%, depending on the considered climatic area. This statement was true under key parameters, both technical and methodological—efficiencies and complement rates, but also the neutral carbon principle for biomass energy accounting and allocation rules.
Experimental Investigation on Axial Compression of Resilient Nail-Cross-Laminated Timber Panels
Authors: Nehdi Moncef L. , Zhang Yannian , Gao Xiaohan , Zhang Lei V. , Suleiman Ahmed R.
Published: October 2021

Conventional cross-laminated timber is an engineered wood product consisting of solid-sawn lumber panels glued together. In this study, the structural behavior of solid wood panels of Nail-Cross-Laminated Timber (NCLT) panels connected with nails instead of glue was studied. The failure mode and nail deformation of the novel NCLT panels under axial compression load using eight full-scale NCLT panels was investigated. The effects of four key design parameters, namely, the nail type, number of nails, nail orientation angle, and nail slenderness ratio on axial compression performance of NCLT panels were also analyzed. In addition, a formula for predicting the axial compression bearing capacity of NCLT panels was developed. For calculation of the slenderness ratio, the moment of inertia of the full section or the effective section was determined based on the nail type, number of nails, angle of nail orientation and number of layers of the plate. Results showed that specimens connected by tapping screws had best compressive performance.
Hydrogeochemical Characteristics of Uranium and Radon in Groundwater from the Goesan Area of the Ogcheon Metamorphic Belt (OMB), Korea
Authors: Cho Byong-Wook , Kim Dong-Soo , Kim Moon-Su , Hwang Jae-Hong , Choo Chang-Oh
Published: October 2021

Uranium and radon concentrations in groundwater from the Goesan area of the Ogcheon Metamorphic Belt (OMB), central Korea, whose bedrock is known to contain the highest uranium levels in Korea, were analyzed from 200 wells. We also measured the uranium concentrations in the bedrock near the investigated wells to infer a relationship between the bedrock geology and the groundwater. The five geologic bedrock units in the Goesan area consist of Cretaceous granite (Kgr), Jurassic granite (Jgr) and three types of metasedimentary rocks (og1, og2, and og3). The percentages of the groundwater samples over 30 μg/L (maximum contaminant level, MCL of US EPA) were 2.0% of the 200 groundwater samples; 12% of Kgr and 1.8% of Jgr exceeded the MCL, respectively. Overall, 16.5% of the 200 groundwater samples exceeded 148 Bq/L (alternative maximum contaminant level, AMCL of US EPA); 60.0% of Kgr and 25.0% of Jgr exceeded the AMCL, but only 0% of og1, 7.9% of og2, and 2.6% of og3 exceeded the value, respectively. No direct correlation was found between uranium concentration and radon concentration in water samples. Radon has a slightly linear correlation with Na (0.31), Mg (−0.30), and F (0.36). However, uranium behavior in groundwater was independent of other components. Based on thermodynamic calculation, uranium chemical speciation was dominated by carbonate complexes, namely the Ca2UO2(CO3)3(aq) and CaUO2(CO3)32− species. Although uraniferous mineral phases designated as saturation indices were greatly undersaturated, uranium hydroxides such as schoepite, UO2(OH)2 and U(OH)3 became possible phases. Uranium-containing bedrock in OMB did not significantly affect radioactive levels in the groundwater, possibly due to adsorption effects related to organic matter and geochemical reduction. Nevertheless, oxidation prevention of uranium-containing bedrock needs to be systematically managed for monitoring the possible migration of uranium into groundwater.
Beyond Operational Energy Efficiency: A Balanced Sustainability Index from a Life Cycle Consideration
Authors: Hu Ming
Published: October 2021

Most deep energy renovation projects focus only on an operating energy reduction and disregard the added embodied energy derived from adding insulation, window/door replacement, and mechanical system replacement or upgrades. It is important to study and address the balance and trade-offs between reduced operating energy and added embodied energy from a whole life cycle perspective to reduce the overall building carbon footprint. However, the added embodied energy and related environmental impact have not been studied extensively. In response to this need, this paper proposes a holistic sustainability index that balances the trade-off between reduced operating energy and added embodied energy. Eight case projects are used to validate the proposed method and calculation. The findings demonstrate that using a balanced sustainability index can reveal results different from a conventional operating energy-centric approach: (a) operating energy savings can be offset by the embodied energy gain, (b) the operating energy savings do not always result in a life cycle emissions reduction, and (c) the sustainability index can vary depending on the priorities the decision makers give to operating carbon, embodied carbon, and operating cost. Overall, the proposed sustainability score can provide us with a more comprehensive understanding of how sustainable the renovation works are from a life cycle carbon emissions perspective, providing a more robust estimation of global warming potential related to building renovation.
Effective Strategies for Promoting Physical Activity through the Use of Digital Media among School-Age Children: A Systematic Review
Authors: Navarra Giovanni Angelo , Thomas Ewan , Scardina Antonino , Izadi Mohammad , Zangla Daniele , De Dominicis Stefano , Cataldo Pietro , Proia Patrizia , Bellafiore Marianna
Published: October 2021

Digital media are widespread among school-age children, and their incorrect use may lead to an increase in sedentary levels and the consequences associated with it. There are still few studies that have investigated whether physical activity levels could be increased through their use. The aim of this study was to systematically review the scientific literature in order to identify whether digital strategies and technologies are capable of increasing the level of physical activity. A literature search was performed using the following databases: Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The main outcomes evaluated the increase in physical activity levels, the number of steps, and the reduction of sedentary behaviors. Two trained researchers independently assessed eligible studies against eligibility criteria, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias. The Downs and Black checklist was used to assess the quality of the included studies. A total of 15 studies (1122 children) were included in this systematic review, with a mean age of 8.45 ± 0.70 years. Quality assessment of the studies observed a “moderate quality” of the included records. The results of this systematic review highlight that digital media can be applied as a way to improve the levels of physical activity in children to contrast a sedentary lifestyle. The main limitations of the study are the heterogeneity within the exercise protocols and the paucity of studies involving school-age children. More research is needed to confirm our findings also due to continuing technological progress.
The Scope of Climate Assemblies: Lessons from the Climate Assembly UK
Authors: Elstub Stephen , Carrick Jayne , Farrell David M. , Mockler Patricia
Published: October 2021

In recent times we have seen a spate of climate assemblies across Europe as the climate emergency gains increasing prominence in the political agenda and as the citizens’ assembly approach to public engagement gains popularity. However, there has been little empirical research on how the scope of citizens’ assemblies affects the internal logic of the assembly process and its impacts on external policy actors. This is a significant oversight given the power of agenda setting. It is also of particular importance for climate assemblies given the exceptional scale and complexity of climate change, as well as the need for co-ordination across all policy areas and types of governance to address it. In this paper, we start to address this gap through an in-depth case analysis of the Climate Assembly UK. We adopt a mixed methods approach, combining surveys of the assembly members and witnesses, interviews with the assembly members, organisers, MPs, parliamentary staff, and government civil servants, and non-participant observation of the process. We find that attempts to adapt the assembly’s scope to the scale of the climate change issue compromised assembly member learning, the co-ordination of the resulting recommendations, assembly member endorsement of the recommendations, and the extent of their impact on parliament and government. We argue that more democratization in setting the agenda could help combat these issues.
A TOPSIS—Risk Matrix and Monte Carlo Expert System for Risk Assessment in Engineering Projects
Authors: Koulinas Georgios K. , Demesouka Olympia E. , Sidas Konstantinos A. , Koulouriotis Dimitrios E.
Published: October 2021

In this paper, we propose a process that combines the Risk Matrix approach with the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and the Monte Carlo Simulation for assessing risk factors that have an impact on the duration of a construction project’s activities and predict if it is feasible to terminate the project within the prescribed deadlines. Initially, we identified the risks affecting each task of the specific project, and then, we applied the risk matrix approach for determining the probability and impact of every risk to each activity. The resulting ranking is used to assign uncertainty to activities’ durations and estimate the probability of on-time project completion, employing the Monte Carlo Simulation approach. The main contribution of this paper is the development of an innovative framework that coordinates an established qualitative and quantitative risk classification approach, with a popular multicriteria method and a powerful simulation approach, to effectively predict time deviations while executing complex construction projects under uncertainty. The proposed framework was applied to estimate the possibility of a timely execution of an artificial lake real project on the island of Alonissos, Greece. The analysis results illustrate that this approach clearly could help the project risk manager proactively perform risk mitigation measures while allocating budget and programming a project with a significant impact on the quality of life of residents and tourists of a small island.
Multi-Scenario Simulation of Urban Growth under Integrated Urban Spatial Planning: A Case Study of Wuhan, China
Authors: Wang Haofeng , Liu Yaolin , Zhang Guangxia , Wang Yiheng , Zhao Jun
Published: October 2021

Although many publications have noted the impact of urban planning on urban development and land-use change, the incorporation of planning constraints into urban growth simulation has not been adequately addressed so far. This study aims to develop a planning-constrained cellular automata (CA) model by combining cell-based trade-off between urban growth and natural conservation with a zoning-based planning implementation mechanism. By adjusting the preference parameters of different planning zones, multiple planning-constrained scenarios can be generated. Taking the Wuhan Urban Development Area (WUDA), China as a case study, the planning-constrained CA model was applied to simulate current and future urban scenarios. The results show a higher simulation accuracy compared to the model without planning constraints. With the weakening of planning constraints, urban growth tends to occupy more ecological and agricultural land with high conservation priority. With the increase in preference on urban growth or natural conservation, the future urban land pattern will become more fragmented. Furthermore, new urban land beyond the planned urban development area can be captured in future urban scenarios, which will provide certain early warning. The simulation of the current urban spatial pattern should help planners and decisionmakers to evaluate the past implementation of urban planning, and scenarios simulation can provide effective support for future urban planning by evaluating the consequences.
From Ethical Leadership to Team Creativity: The Mediating Role of Shared Leadership and the Moderating Effect of Leader–Member Exchange Differentiation
Authors: Wang Jue , Kim Hae-Ryong , Kim Byung-Jik
Published: October 2021

Alongside ethical leadership’s effectiveness on team creativity, the superiority of shared leadership has been emphasized in the literature. Based on role theory, social information processing theory, and allocation preferences theory, this study suggests that shared leadership functions as a critical intermediating mechanism to explain the influence of ethical leadership on team-level creativity. Moreover, the dispersion value of leader–member exchange (LMXD) moderates the influence of ethical leadership on shared leadership. To empirically test our hypotheses, this paper used multisource samples and team-level data with moderated mediation model with PLS-SEM method. This study targeted a sample of 30 leaders and 233 team members who work at HRD Korea where a team structure is utilized. The results of structural equation modeling showed that ethical leadership increased shared leadership, and ethical leadership and shared leadership both positively affected team creativity. Shared leadership functioned as a crucial mediating factor in the ethical leadership–team creativity link. Moreover, the team-level LMXD moderated ethical leadership effectiveness on creativity via shared leadership.
Development of Functional Rubber-Based Impact-Absorbing Pavements for Cyclist and Pedestrian Injury Reduction
Authors: Makoundou Christina , Sangiorgi Cesare , Johansson Kenth , Wallqvist Viveca
Published: October 2021

Cyclists, pedestrians and elderly people’s specific needs in urban road infrastructures are often neglected. They rarely benefit from safety measures or innovations. Inspired by playgrounds and aiming to reduce vulnerable road users (VRUs) injuries, the development of the rubber-based impact-absorbing pavements (IAP) offers a possibility to rethink the design of urban pavements and address safety on roads, which constitutes a major challenge in terms of attaining more sustainable, resilient, and safe cities. Therefore, bituminous mixtures with four different crumb rubber contents, 0%, 14%, 28%, and 33% (in total weight), were produced by partial aggregates substitution using the dry process. After the assessment of the geometrical and volumetric properties, the mechanical performances were evaluated. Finally, the samples were tested to measure the abrasion and impact attenuation with the well-known head injury criterion (HIC), at different temperatures from −10 to 40 °C, to obtain a wide range of values referring to possible weather conditions. A significant effect of the rubber percentage and layer thickness on impact attenuation was observed. All observations and results confirm the feasibility of the IAP concept and its positive effect on future injury-prevention applications.
Exploring Social Sustainability Handprint—Part 1: Handprint and Life Cycle Thinking and Approaches
Authors: Husgafvel Roope
Published: October 2021

Sustainable development and sustainability encompass a strong focus on the advancement of sustainable societies, social sustainability, and overall well-being of people both now and in the future. These goals also highlight sustainable social/society–environment relationships and interfaces to promote sustainable development of both people and the planet. The promotion of social sustainability requires leadership, management, and assessment by organizations and people. This study explored social sustainability handprints from the perspective of handprint and life cycle thinking and approaches using qualitative research approaches. It addressed a clear gap in research and aimed at exploring, discovering, analyzing and synthetizing the main implications of these frameworks for the creation and assessment of the social sustainability handprint development. It was recognized that there are multiple ways to create social sustainability handprints, such as positive changes, actions, innovations, and impacts. The same applies to assessments that can be based on, for example, handprint and life cycle thinking and approaches, sustainability management, assessment and indicators, and sustainability science. The findings highlight the broadness and diversity of approaches, opportunities, and possibilities related to both the creation and assessment of social sustainability handprints. Additionally, they suggest that particular focus is needed, for example, on comprehensive approaches that take into account specific contexts, locations, cultures, scales, conditions, characteristics, perspectives, and stakeholders.
Truck Impact on Buried Water Pipes in Interdependent Water and Road Infrastructures
Authors: Uddin Shihab , Lu Qing , Nguyen Hung
Published: October 2021

In the development of sustainable and resilient infrastructures to adapt to the rapidly changing natural and social environment, the complexity of the dependencies and interdependencies within critical infrastructure systems need to be fully understood, as they affect various components of risk and lead to cascading failures. Water and road infrastructures are highly co-located but often managed and maintained separately. One important aspect of their interdependence is the impact of vehicle loading on a road on underlying water pipes. The existing studies lack a comprehensive evaluation of this subject and do not consider possible critical failure scenarios. This study constructed finite element models to analyze the responses of buried water pipes to vehicle loads under an array of scenarios, including various loads, pipe materials, pipe dimensions, and possible extreme conditions, such as corrosion in pipes and a sinkhole under the pipe. The results showed negligible impact of heavy trucks on buried water pipes. The pipe deflection under a maximum allowable truck load in the worst condition was still within the allowable range specified in standards such as those from the American Water Works Association. This implies that the impact of heavy vehicles on water pipes may not need to be considered in the context of the interdependency between water and road infrastructures, which leads to a more unidirectional dependency between these two infrastructures.
Whose Happiness in Which Cities? A Quantile Approach
Authors: Morrison Philip S.
Published: October 2021

The proposition that living in the largest urban agglomerations of an advanced economy reduces the average wellbeing of residents is known as the urban wellbeing paradox. Empirical tests using subjective wellbeing have produced mixed results and there are two reasons for being cautious. Firstly, the default reliance on the conditional mean can disguise uneven effects across the wellbeing distribution. Secondly, relying on respondents to define their settlement size does not ensure a consistent measure of the agglomeration. I therefore apply quantile regression to the life satisfaction and happiness measures of wellbeing as collected by the 2018 European Social Survey (ESS9) and employ a consistent local labour market-based definition of agglomeration—The Functional Urban Area (FUA). I compare three countries as proof of concept: one with a known strong negative (respondent defined) agglomeration effect (Austria), one with a slight negative effect (Czech Republic), and one where living in the main agglomeration is positively associated with average wellbeing (Slovenia). The uneven wellbeing effect of living in the largest agglomeration in each country raises questions about who benefits in which cities.
Social Consideration in Product Life Cycle for Product Social Sustainability
Authors: Rezaei Kalvani Somayeh , Sharaai Amir Hamzah , Abdullahi Ibrahim Kabir
Published: October 2021

Social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) is an emerging and pivotal tool for sustainability evaluation of products throughout their life cycle. Understanding deeply published papers helps to modify methods and identify research gaps. The aim of this study is to discover the existing gap in the S-LCA of products and to find the weaknesses of the approach. The method of performing the review was a narrative review where published papers from 2006 to 2020 were included through the use of the Web of Science and Scopus databases. S-LCA is considered to be relevant to a majority of sectors and processes (agricultural, industrial, technology, energy, and tourism). However, there is not sufficient research on evaluation of S-LCA on cereal crops and livestock output. It is indicated that, in the present S-LCA studies, there has been a lack of attention paid to the society and value chain actors and final consumer stakeholders. The elements of sexual harassment and employment relationships are not considered in SLCA studies. Italy has the largest amount of cases of S-LCA studies. The major challenges of applying S-LCA (by using site specific data) is data collection, which is time-consuming. It is recommended to evaluate a comprehensive sustainability assessment by adding cost of social assessment to LCA since there has been a lack of attention on assessment of cost in S-LCA.
Evaluating Metal(loid)s Contamination in Soil of a Typical In-Dustry Smelting Site in South Central China: Levels, Possible Sources and Human Health Risk Analysis
Authors: Liu Chengai , Yi Liwen , Lu Anhuai , Xie Binggeng , Peng Hanfang
Published: October 2021

Soil pollution by metal(loid)s caused by smelting activities is a severe problem posing a great threat to environmental and human health. In this study, the concentrations, sources and human health risks posed by six potentially toxic elements (Cr, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cd, and As) were determined in the soil of a typical alloy smelting site in South Central China. The results showed that the concentrations of metal(loid)s were in the descending order of Mn > Cr > Zn > Pb > As > Cd. Additionally, the selected elements were classified into different pollution degrees using geo-accumulation index and pollution load index. The entire study area had a high pollution level with relatively severe and extensive contamination by Cr, Cd, and Mn. The combined application of principal component analysis and positive matrix decomposition model revealed that the major sources of these elements include smelting activities (48.68%), waste residue stacking (22.95%), and natural sources (28.37%). According to the results of the human health risk assessment, the non-carcinogenic risk was insignificant as a whole; however, the carcinogenic risk had an unacceptable level. Among them, Cr was the main driver of carcinogenic risk, which needs special attention.
Service Value Co-Creation in Digital Platform Business: A Case of Xianyu Idle Trading Platform
Authors: Yao Ge , Miao Jianming
Published: October 2021

With the emerging digital platform economy, consumption activities are increasingly integrated in the production process of service platforms, and the development of e-commerce platforms shows a new realm for solving sustainability issues such as resource wasting and urban pollution. This paper investigates the service value co-creation processes in the digital platform context and recognizes the service value output categories under different stages among platform business, platform buyers, and sellers. Using an emergent and representative digital platform, the Xianyu idle trading platform, and adopting an embedded case study design and social media analysis approach, this paper illustrates the service value co-creation practices and value categories among users in each stage of purchase. We find that platform business not only facilitates value co-creations but is also an active participant. This study contributes to both value co-creation and platform business literature, and it sheds light on achieving sustainability in the platform economy and moving toward an environmentally friendly society.
Contextual, Personal and Family Factors in Explaining Academic Achievement: A Multilevel Study
Authors: Ortiz-de-Villate Carla , Rodríguez-Santero Javier , Torres-Gordillo Juan-Jesús
Published: October 2021

Academic success and excellence in marks are not only due to the students’ intrinsic abilities or skills. A multitude of contextual variables is involved in the teaching and learning process. This study identifies and analyses the contextual variables that most significantly affect students’ academic performance. We used census data from the ESCALA tests and context questionnaires for the 2016/17 school year, both carried out by the Andalusian Agency for Educational Assessment. Hierarchical Linear Models were used in the data analysis, as they facilitate the control and description of contextual factors. In addition, differences in performance were studied according to the contextual variables that the family dimension encompasses. At all times, a contextualised cross-sectional perspective was considered, taking as a criterion the covariates with significance values lower than 0.01 in the multilevel models and contrast tests. Finally, a list of contextual variables contributing to the explanation of performance is presented. The socio-economic and cultural conditions of families, their expectations towards their children’s education, and their level of involvement in schools have a significant influence on the academic success of primary school students. Academic success is higher among students with families who play an active role and have positive expectations regarding learning.
Effects of COVID-19 on the Australian Economy: Insights into the Mobility and Unemployment Rates in Education and Tourism Sectors
Authors: Munawar Hafiz Suliman , Khan Sara Imran , Ullah Fahim , Kouzani Abbas Z. , Mahmud M. A. Parvez
Published: October 2021

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected global economies due to lockdowns, business closures, and travel and other restrictions. To control the spread of the virus, several countries, including Australia, imposed strict border restrictions and lockdown measures. Accordingly, international borders have been closed, and all incoming international passengers are mandated to a 14-day hotel quarantine. Residents’ movements and businesses have been limited to essential services only. Employees have been directed to work from home while businesses moved to a remote working model. Due to such stringent measures, small and medium businesses such as cafes, restaurants, hotels, childcare centers, and tourism-based institutions incurred heavy losses, pushing a considerable portion of such small businesses to close. The airlines, education, tourism, and hospitality sector were the worst impacted among all. Due to such closures and associated effects of COVID-19, the unemployment rates are assumed to be significantly increased in countries like Australia. However, a study investigating this unemployment and reporting its status does not exist for Australia. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of COVID-19 control measures such as travel restriction and lockdown on Australia’s employment status and labor markets. The data for the local transport network, unemployment rates and impacts on the tourism industry in Australia were extracted from the public data sources to assess the unemployment rates at both national and state-wide levels. Further, we also looked into the rehabilitation measures by the Australian government, such as the Job Keeper and Job Seeker programs in March 2020, that aim to provide support to people who are unable to run their businesses or have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Overall, we observed that despite the global crisis, the Australian unemployment rate has reduced in the last year.
An Integrated Approach to Improve Seismic and Energetic Behaviour of RC Framed Buildings Using Timber Panels
Authors: Smiroldo Francesco , Paviani Isabella , Giongo Ivan , Zanon Stefano , Albatici Rossano , Piazza Maurizio
Published: October 2021

In the present paper, an integrated intervention system applicable to concrete-framed buildings is presented. The purpose of the intervention is to improve both the seismic and the energetic behaviour of such buildings using cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels. Two alternative intervention configurations with different levels of invasiveness are described. Considering a double-wythe masonry-infilled frame, the most invasive configuration consists in the replacement of the external masonry wythe with the CLT panel, while the least invasive configuration consists in the arrangement of the CLT panel from the outside without removing the wythes. The technical details and implementation procedures were studied, considering functionality and disturbance to occupants. An isolated one-storey-one-bay frame was used as a reference for the seismic and thermal analyses. Subsequently, the two intervention configurations were applied to a case-study building by identifying two alternative intervention strategies. The obtained results showed that the proposed integrated intervention approach can significantly reduce both the seismic vulnerability and the energy consumption of concrete buildings.
Developing a Parametric Cash Flow Forecasting Model for Complex Infrastructure Projects: A Comparative Study
Authors: Msawil Mahir , Elghaish Faris , Seneviratne Krisanthi , McIlwaine Stephen
Published: October 2021

Forecasting the cash flow for infrastructure projects has not received much attention in the existing models. Moreover, disregarding the cost flow behaviour and proposing models that entail a relatively high dimensionality of inputs have been the main drawbacks of the existing models. This study proposes a heuristic cash flow forecasting (CFF) model for infrastructure projects, and it explores the underlying behaviour of the cost flow. The proposed model was validated by adopting a case study approach,the actual cost flow datasets were mined from a verified data system. The results invalidated the employment of a dominant heuristic rule with regard to a cost-flow-time relationship in infrastructure projects. On the other hand, a mathematical parameter-based comparison between the trends analysed from previous studies revealed that the cost flows of infrastructure projects procured through a design-bid-build (D-B-B) route behaved in a similar manner to building projects procured through a construction management route. This research contributes to the body of knowledge providing a method to enable infrastructure contractors to accurately forecast the required working capital through adding a new dimension for project classification by coining the term “the quaternary flow percentage”. In addition, this study indicates the importance of identifying the impact of root risks on the individual cost flow components rather than on the aggregated cost flow, which is a recommendation for future research.
Breathing Artifacts of Urban BioClimatic Layers for Post-Anthropocene Urban Environment
Authors: Davidová Marie
Published: October 2021

This article seeks the qualitative synthesis of schools of thought from extreme climate regions that could support urban biodiversity and climate change adaptation through architectural design. It proposes that climate comfort and biodiversity are closely related. This article suggests a possible systemic urban metabolism within a built environment that can support a transition to post-Anthropocene, where humans and other species live together in synergy. This article exemplifies and seeks systemic relations and reflections of gathered field studies documentation of case studies of breathing walls, envelopes, and screens generating bioclimatic layers in the cultural landscape, selected for their penetrability and performance. The samples from diverse study journeys that were codesigned through vernacular cultures and the author’s research by design speculations on the responsive screen ‘Ray’ are investigated and speculated upon through gigamapping (visual complexity mapping). This gigamapping is not to present any hard data model but to relate, inform and speculate on the investigated field that is grounded in research by design on cross-species coliving. This is approached through possible architectures and architectural and urban design parasites, transitioning towards synergetic landscapes of our envisioned colived and cocreated futures.
Numerical Study on Natural Ventilation Characteristics of a Partial-Cylinder Opening for One-Sided-Windcatcher of Variable Air-Feeding Orientations in Taif, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Balabel Ashraf , Alwetaishi Mamdooh , El-Askary Wageeh A. , Fawzy Hamza
Published: October 2021

To provide a clean and cheap source of natural ventilation in windy and arid zones, a windcatcher facility is the best option. This paper aims to study the effect of the inlet opening angle of a new windcatcher model with different values ranging from 60° to 90° for three different feeding orientations at leading-down, central-up, and trailing-down locations. The ventilation performance of the new one-sided windcatcher is numerically examined using CFD simulations, where the 3D RANS and k-epsilon equations are applied at different wind speeds. The flow features of the new models are analyzed and compared with a basic traditional model based on the induced air distribution, aerodynamic losses, and ventilation rates. Results revealed that the sharp edge of the inlet opening leads to an increase in the flow separation and recirculation zone, especially when the opening angle is increased. The highest pressure coefficient is achieved by the trailing-down model compared with the other windcatcher models at an opening angle of 90°. The total pressure drop and ventilation rates increase in all the new windcatcher models due to the increase in the opening angle from 60° to 90°. At identical conditions, with an opening angle of 90° and wind speed of 5 m/s, the trailing-down model achieved a higher pressure coefficient than the leading-down and central-up models by 20.55% and 37.37%, respectively. Furthermore, the trailing-down model could provide higher ventilation rates than the central-up and leading-down models by 31% and 42%, respectively. Finally, the trailing-down windcatcher model can be recommended as the best choice to provide natural ventilation at Taif City in Saudi Arabia.
Food Waste Behaviour at the Consumer Level: Pilot Study on Czech Private Households
Authors: Kubíčková Lea , Veselá Lucie , Kormaňáková Marcela
Published: October 2021

The issue of food waste is a problem that affects the whole society. Food is wasted throughout the food chain. Households are great contributors to the problem. A detailed analysis of municipal waste from the production of 900 Czech households was performed. These datasets allowed for comprehensive insides. The analyses of mixed municipal waste were performed every quarter of the year (summer 2019–spring 2020). The method of municipal waste analysis was supplemented by questionnaire survey among households and 10 in-depth interviews aimed at identifying the main causes of waste. One of the periods in which food waste was measured was affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic. This finding has also been confirmed by findings from other countries. The climatic crisis multiplied by the impacts of COVID-19 has highlighted the need to actively address the issue of food waste.
Leveraging Japanese Sado Island Farmers’ GIAHS Inclusivity by Understanding Their Perceived Involvement
Authors: Maharjan Keshav Lall , Gonzalvo Clarisse Mendoza , Aala Wilson Florendo
Published: October 2021

Sado Island in the Niigata prefecture is among the first Globally Important Agriculture Heritage Systems (GIAHSs) in Japan and among developed countries worldwide. Recent studies have pointed out the need to incorporate culture and farmer opinions to further strengthen GIAHS inclusivity in rural farming. In connection to this, this study explored whether farmer visibility, which is highlighted by GIAHS designation, actually translates to farmers’ actual perceptions of GIAHS involvement. A survey was conducted among Sado Island farmers to determine their knowledge and perception of their GIAHS involvement, in connection to their perspectives on youth involvement, Sado Island branding, and tourism management. Results showed that 56.3% of Sado Island farmers feel uninvolved or unsure towards the GIAHS, which is in stark contrast with the prevalent farming method in the area, special farming (which complies with GIAHS regulations) (77.3%). Further analyses revealed that farmers who feel that the GIAHS does not promote youth involvement, Sado Island branding, and tourism management have a higher predisposition to perceive themselves as uninvolved towards the GIAHS. This study highlights the need for careful reevaluation and integration of farmer insights and needs into the current GIAHS implementation in Sado Island and in other GIAHSs as well.
A Preliminary Analysis of the Perception Gap between Employers and Vocational Students for Career Sustainability
Authors: Rizwan Ali , Serbaya Suhail H. , Saleem Muhammad , Alsulami Hemaid , Karras Dimitrios A. , Alamgir Zobia
Published: October 2021

(1) Background: Nowadays, technological advancement plays a key role in the economic uplift of developing countries, and it is paramount that the youth of these countries are well-equipped with both vocational and technical skills to bring about sustainability in their careers. (2) Methods: The present study aims to investigate the perception gap between vocational students and industrial employers with regard to employability skills. In this regard, data were collected from 683 vocational students from urban/rural areas studying in the public/private vocational institutions of a developing country. Similarly, 82 vocational employers were contacted about their perception of employability skills. A questionnaire comprising 20 questions was administered online to both students and employers for registering their responses. Data were analyzed with the help of descriptive statistics, interval plots, and an Ishikawa diagram. (3) Results: The findings reveal that vocational employers give maximum importance to interpersonal, technical, and entrepreneurial skills, while students perceive that their technical and computing skills are vital for sustainable careers. Similarly, the rural/public students showed minimum levels of competency in these skills as compared with their counterparts living in rural areas and studying in the private institutions. Furthermore, structured interviews were conducted with the concerned stakeholders to develop a remedial framework for the sustainable careers of these vocational students. (4) Conclusions: The results of the study not only bring sustainability to the vocational sector of developing countries, but to all those countries enjoying similar socioeconomic backgrounds.
The Altes Family of Log-Periodic Chirplets and the Hyperbolic Chirplet Transform
Authors: Daly Donnacha , Sornette Didier
Published: October 2021

This work revisits a class of biomimetically inspired waveforms introduced by R.A. Altes in the 1970s for use in sonar detection. Similar to the chirps used for echolocation by bats and dolphins, these waveforms are log-periodic oscillations, windowed by a smooth decaying envelope. Log-periodicity is associated with the deep symmetry of discrete scale invariance in physical systems. Furthermore, there is a close connection between such chirping techniques, and other useful applications such as wavelet decomposition for multi-resolution analysis. Motivated to uncover additional properties, we propose an alternative, simpler parameterisation of the original Altes waveforms. From this, it becomes apparent that we have a flexible family of hyperbolic chirps suitable for the detection of accelerating time-series oscillations. The proposed formalism reveals the original chirps to be a set of admissible wavelets with desirable properties of regularity, infinite vanishing moments and time-frequency localisation. As they are self-similar, these “Altes chirplets” allow efficient implementation of the scale-invariant hyperbolic chirplet transform (HCT), whose basis functions form hyperbolic curves in the time-frequency plane. Compared with the rectangular time-frequency tilings of both the conventional wavelet transform and the short-time Fourier transform, the HCT can better facilitate the detection of chirping signals, which are often the signature of critical failure in complex systems. A synthetic example is presented to illustrate this useful application of the HCT.
Environmental Risk Assessment of Vehicle Exhaust Particles on Aquatic Organisms of Different Trophic Levels
Authors: Pikula Konstantin , Tretyakova Mariya , Zakharenko Alexander , Johari Seyed Ali , Ugay Sergey , Chernyshev Valery , Chaika Vladimir , Kalenik Tatiana , Golokhvast Kirill
Published: October 2021

Vehicle emission particles (VEPs) represent a significant part of air pollution in urban areas. However, the toxicity of this category of particles in different aquatic organisms is still unexplored. This work aimed to extend the understanding of the toxicity of the vehicle exhaust particles in two species of marine diatomic microalgae, the planktonic crustacean Artemia salina, and the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius. These aquatic species were applied for the first time in the risk assessment of VEPs. Our results demonstrated that the samples obtained from diesel-powered vehicles completely prevented egg fertilization of the sea urchin S. intermedius and caused pronounced membrane depolarization in the cells of both tested microalgae species at concentrations between 10 and 100 mg/L. The sample with the highest proportion of submicron particles and the highest content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) had the highest growth rate inhibition in both microalgae species and caused high toxicity to the crustacean. The toxicity level of the other samples varied among the species. We can conclude that metal content and the difference in the concentrations of PAHs by itself did not directly reflect the toxic level of VEPs, but the combination of both a high number of submicron particles and high PAH concentrations had the highest toxic effect on all the tested species.
An Autopsy-Based Analysis of Fatal Road Traffic Collisions: How the Pattern of Injury Differs with the Type of Vehicle
Authors: Tambuzzi Stefano , Rittberg Wendelin , Cattaneo Cristina , Collini Federica
Published: October 2021

In Italy, in only 2018, 3310 people died in road traffic accidents, more than in any other European country. Since the revelation of this occurrence, the authors carried out an analysis aimed at investigating if there was a difference in the injury patterns among different road users. A retrospective post-mortem study on road traffic fatalities was performed, which had been autopsied at the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Milan. First, the authors analyzed the epidemiological data of all the 1022 road traffic accidents subjected to an autopsy from 2007 to 2019. Secondly, further analysis of individual autopsy reports was carried out. For this purpose, 180 autopsies belonging to 5 different categories were analyzed: car, pedestrian, motorbike, bicycle, and truck. Seventy-six percent of road traffic fatalities were male, 54% were between 10 and 49 years of age, and 62% of the patients died before arriving at a hospital. “Multiple injuries” was the main cause of death. Traumatic brain injuries were particularly high in pedestrians and cyclists. In car, motorbike, and truck fatalities, thoracic and abdominal injuries were the most frequent. Therefore, pedestrians and cyclists had a higher prevalence for traumatic head injuries, while car, motorcycle, and truck occupants, on the other hand, had a higher prevalence for thoracic and abdominal injuries.