Search Results (2,059)

This study evaluates potential routes for electric bicycles (E-Bikes) in Valparaíso, Chile, using street audits performed by both humans and artificial intelligence (AI). Audit methods were compared to identify routes connecting the Puerto metro station with Avenida Alemania (a strategic city avenue), prioritizing criteria such as street infrastructure, habitability, and street coexistence. The results show that the human audit gives higher scores in subjective variables, such as the perception of security and urban dynamism, while AI penalizes infrastructure deficiencies more severely, especially in areas with steep slopes and low tree cover. Despite these differences, both methods highlight the inadequacy of current infrastructure to promote the use of E-Bikes in the city. This work provides a novel perspective by evaluating human and AI-assisted methodologies, suggesting that an integration between the two could improve accuracy and reduce subjectivity in urban audits. In addition, the results underline the need for public policies that prioritize accessibility, safety, and equity in urban mobility, especially in vulnerable areas. Future research should explore training AI algorithms with human audit data to strengthen AI’s ability to interpret contextual variables and dynamics in complex urban environments. Full article

Introduction: Radon is a radioactive noble gas formed from uranium decay in the Earth’s crust. The most significant isotope, 222Rn, emits alpha particles capable of damaging lung tissue and inducing cancer. Radon exposure is affected by geophysical and building characteristics and is recognized as a Group 1 carcinogen by the IARC. Despite regulatory thresholds (e.g., EURATOM standards), health risks remain. Various mitigation methods aim to reduce indoor radon exposure and its impact. Materials and Methods: This systematic review followed PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched up to 28 February 2025, using a defined string. Studies with original data on radon exposure and lung cancer risk or mitigation efficacy were included. Independent screening and quality assessment (Newcastle–Ottawa Scale) were conducted by multiple reviewers. Results: Of the 457 studies identified, 14 met the inclusion criteria. Eleven of these investigated the link between indoor radon and lung cancer risk, and three evaluated mitigation strategies. Radon levels were commonly measured using passive alpha track detectors. Levels varied depending on geographical location, season, building design and ventilation, these were higher in rural homes and during the colder months. Case–control studies consistently found an increased lung cancer risk with elevated radon exposure, especially among smokers. Effective mitigation methods included sub-slab depressurisation and balanced ventilation systems, which significantly reduced indoor radon concentrations. Adenocarcinoma was the most common lung cancer subtype in non-smokers, whereas squamous and small cell carcinomas were more prevalent in smokers exposed to radon. Discussion and Conclusions: This review confirms the robust association between indoor radon exposure and lung cancer. Risks persist even below regulatory limits and are amplified by smoking. While mitigation techniques are effective, their application remains uneven across regions. Stronger public education, building codes, and targeted interventions are needed, particularly in high-risk areas. To inform future prevention and policy, further research should seek to clarify radon’s molecular role in lung carcinogenesis, especially among non-smokers. Full article

This study investigates the determinants of Romanian workers’ migration intentions towards Italy, integrating economic, social, and psychological perspectives. Based on a sample of 358 respondents, four hypotheses were tested concerning perceived living standards, working conditions, quality of public services, and anticipated integration difficulties. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rho correlation, Mann–Whitney U, Chi-square, ANOVA, and ordinal logistic regression. The results confirm that higher perceived living standards and better working conditions in Italy significantly increase the likelihood of expressing migration intentions, while favourable evaluations of healthcare and education act as additional pull factors. Conversely, anticipated integration difficulties, particularly language barriers and cultural adaptation, reduce migration intentions, indicating that socio-psychological obstacles can counterbalance economic incentives. By combining non-parametric and multivariate analyses, the study demonstrates that migration is a multidimensional process shaped not only by structural opportunities but also by behavioural and psychological appraisals. These findings are consistent with recent research on European labour mobility and contribute to the literature by highlighting the role of subjective perceptions in shaping migration decisions. Implications for policy include the need to address both economic disparities and integration barriers to support more balanced mobility within the European space. Full article

Higher education institutions play a critical role in the transition to a low-carbon future due to their research capacity and societal influence. Accordingly, the calculation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the prioritization of mitigation strategies are of particular importance. In this study, a comprehensive campus-level GHG inventory was prepared for a public university in Türkiye in alignment with the ISO 14064-1:2018 standard, and mitigation strategies were evaluated. To prioritize these strategies, both the classical Policy Modeling Consistency (PMC) index and, for the first time in the literature, a fuzzy extension of the PMC model was applied. The results reveal that the total GHG emissions for 2023 amounted to 4888.63 tCO₂e (1.19 tCO₂e per capita), with the largest shares originating from investments (31%) and purchased electricity (28.38%). While the classical PMC identified only two high-priority actions, the fuzzy PMC reduced score dispersion, resolved ranking ties, and expanded the number of high-priority actions to seven. The top strategies include awareness programs, energy-efficiency measures, virtual meeting practices, advanced electricity monitoring, and improved data management systems. By comparing the classical and fuzzy approaches, the study demonstrates that integrating fuzzy logic enhances the transparency, reproducibility, and robustness of strategy prioritization, thereby offering a practical roadmap for campus decarbonization and sustainability policy in higher education institutions. Full article

Against the backdrop of China’s “dual carbon” strategy (carbon peaking and carbon neutrality), provincial-level carbon emission research is crucial for the implementation of related policies. However, existing studies insufficiently cover the driving mechanisms and scenario prediction for energy-importing provinces. This study can provide theoretical references for similar provinces in China to conduct research on carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption. The carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption in Jiangsu Province between 2000 and 2023 were calculated using the carbon emission coefficient method. The Tapio decoupling index model was adopted to evaluate the decoupling relationship between economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption in Jiangsu. An extended STIRPAT model was established to predict carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption in Jiangsu, and this model was applied to analyze the emissions under three scenarios (baseline scenario, low-carbon scenario, and enhanced low-carbon scenario) during 2024–2030. The results show the following: (1) During 2000–2023, the carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption in Jiangsu Province ranged from 215.22428 million tons to 783.94270 million tons, with an average of 549.96280 million tons. (2) The decoupling status between carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption and economic development in Jiangsu was dominated by weak decoupling, accounting for 91.304%, while a small proportion (8.696%) of expansive coupling was also observed. (3) Under the baseline scenario, the carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption in Jiangsu in 2030 will reach 796.828 million tons; under the low-carbon scenario, the emissions will be 786.355 million tons; and under the enhanced low-carbon scenario, the emissions will be 772.293 million tons. Furthermore, countermeasures and suggestions for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption in Jiangsu are proposed, mainly including strengthening the guidance of policies and institutional systems, optimizing the energy consumption structure, intensifying technological innovation efforts, and enhancing government promotion and publicity. Full article

Street design quality and socio-economic factors jointly influence housing prices, but their intertwined effects and spatial variations remain under-quantified. Housing prices not only reflect residents’ neighborhood experiences but also stem from the spillover value of public streets perceived and used by different users. This study takes Tianjin as a case and views the street environment as an immediate experience proxy for through-travelers, combining street view images and crowdsourced perception data to extract both subjective and objective indicators of the street environment, and integrating neighborhood and location characteristics. We use Geographical-XGBoost to evaluate the relative contributions of multiple factors to housing prices and their spatial variations. The results show that incorporating both subjective and objective street information into the Hedonic Pricing Model (HPM) improves its explanatory power, while local modeling with G-XGBoost further reveals significant heterogeneity in the strength and direction of effects across different locations. The results indicate that incorporating both subjective and objective street information into the HPM enhances explanatory power, while local modeling with G-XGBoost reveals significant heterogeneity in the strength and direction of effects across different locations. Street greening, educational resources, and transportation accessibility are consistently associated with higher housing prices, but their strength varies by location. Core urban areas exhibit a “counterproductive effect” in terms of complexity and recognizability, while peripheral areas show a “barely acceptable effect,” which may increase cognitive load and uncertainty for through-travelers. In summary, street environments and socio-economic conditions jointly influence housing prices via a “corridor-side–community-side” dual-pathway: the former (enclosure, safety, recognizability) corresponds to immediate improvements for through-travelers, while the latter (education and public services) corresponds to long-term improvements for residents. Therefore, core urban areas should control design complexity and optimize human-scale safety cues, while peripheral areas should focus on enhancing public services and transportation, and meeting basic quality thresholds with green spaces and open areas. Urban renewal within a 15 min walking radius of residential areas is expected to collaboratively improve daily travel experiences and neighborhood quality for both residents and through-travelers, supporting differentiated housing policy development and enhancing overall quality of life. Full article

Urban green spaces are essential for promoting human health and well-being, especially in cities facing increasing noise pollution and ecological stress. This study investigates the effects of audio-visual interaction on restorative outcomes across three soundscape types (park, residential, and street), focusing on the compensatory role of positive visual stimuli in low-quality soundscape environments. Thirty-two university students participated in a controlled evaluation using soundscapes and corresponding visual materials derived from 30 urban green spaces. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant main effects of soundscape type and modality (auditory vs. audio-visual), as well as a significant interaction between these factors. Audio-visual conditions consistently outperformed auditory conditions, with the strongest restorative effects observed in noisy street soundscapes when paired with positive visual stimuli. Further analysis highlighted that visual cleanliness and structural clarity significantly enhanced restorative outcomes in challenging environments. These findings align with existing theories of sensory integration and extend their application to large-scale urban settings. This study shows that multi-sensory optimization can mitigate urban environmental stressors, supporting healthier, more resilient, and sustainable urban environments. Future research should explore long-term and cross-cultural applications to inform evidence-based urban planning and public health policies. Full article

Heavy metal(loid) (HM) contamination in water arises from various anthropogenic activities and natural processes, posing risks to human health through ingestion and dermal absorption. Although numerous studies have assessed health risks associated with HMs in water, inconsistencies in the selection of exposure and toxicity factors limit comparability and reliability across studies. To address this gap, the aim of this review was to provide a comprehensive synthesis of exposure and toxicity factors used in health risk assessment (HRA) of HMs in water. The objectives were to evaluate the variability in ingestion, body weight, exposure duration and frequency, and dermal contact parameters, as well as in reference doses and cancer slope factors and to propose standardized values and statistical distributions for more consistent risk estimation. A systematic search of the Scopus database retrieved 806 studies, from which highly cited articles (≥100 citations) and recent publications (2023–2025) were prioritized for analysis. The findings revealed substantial variability in factors and showed that probabilistic approaches, particularly Monte Carlo simulation, were increasingly applied and provided more reliable estimates than traditional deterministic methods. The highest agreement was observed for exposure frequency for ingestion (365 days/year) and skin surface area (18,000 cm²), each applied in 75.5% of cases. By identifying inconsistencies in current practices and proposing standardized exposure and toxicity values and distributions for water, this review is expected to offer practical recommendations to improve the robustness, reliability, and comparability of HRAs, ultimately informing more effective policy-making and water management practices. Full article

Research visibility has become a critical issue for universities, yet the institutional conditions that shape it remain underexplored. While Current Research Information Systems (CRISs) provide essential infrastructure for managing publications and researcher profiles, their impact depends on broader governance and cultural factors. This study compares four universities—two in Peru, one in Chile, and one in Spain—that have adopted the Pure CRIS platform. Data were manually extracted from institutional portals and analyzed descriptively, using normalized indicators such as publications per researcher, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) alignment, and collaboration networks. Although based on a limited sample, the analysis highlights substantial contrasts: European institutions show consolidated integration of CRIS into national evaluation systems, while Latin American universities remain at earlier stages of adoption, with fragmented policies and limited international reach. The findings suggest that technological platforms alone are insufficient; institutional commitment, coherent policies, and academic cultures that value dissemination are decisive. These insights contribute a comparative framework to guide universities, particularly in Latin America, seeking to strengthen their global research visibility. Full article

As governments increasingly explore digital financial instruments to diversify funding channels and expand citizen participation, Thailand’s G-Token represents an early attempt to integrate blockchain technology into sovereign debt issuance. This study examines its potential implications through a multi-dimensional risk and governance framework, situating the analysis within both domestic regulatory structures and international benchmarks. The evaluation considers macroeconomic effects—such as potential shifts in monetary policy transmission, bank disintermediation risks, and systemic liquidity impacts—alongside micro-level concerns involving investor protection, market integrity, and financial literacy. Using comparative analysis with the European Union, Singapore, and United States regulatory approaches, the paper identifies critical gaps in legal classification, oversight maturity, and structural safeguards. Findings indicate that while Thailand’s design—particularly its separation from payment systems—supports monetary coherence, its ad hoc legal integration, reliance on administrative investor protections, and early-stage market infrastructure pose vulnerabilities if adoption scales. The study concludes that achieving long-term viability will require explicit statutory authorization, enhanced disclosure and governance standards, strengthened interagency oversight, and inclusive market access strategies. These insights provide a structured basis for emerging economies seeking to adopt government-backed tokenized instruments without undermining financial stability or public trust. Full article

One of the limiting factors in the implementation of water resource management is the absence of tools that help water programs evaluate processes and progress. This is because, until now, the indicators that have been developed have not addressed specific local characteristics and issues. Therefore, in this research, a set of indicators has been proposed, with the purpose of developing a management index for urban public water supply, which will consider the Drinking Water and Sewer System of León (SAPAL), in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, as case study. This index will be useful to measure progress toward sustainable development, monitor the impact of public policies, and foster citizen participation. In order to propose a methodology that aligns with the changing environments, where proper decision-making is key to the current water management requirements, the combination of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Logic (FL) methodologies will be helpful for proper decision-making. All this will foster a paradigm shift towards appropriate water management actions that allow for the conditions and availability of human and natural resources, which the municipality has control of, for a long-term improvement that guarantees the well-being of the population. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the world to pause temporarily on an almost planetary scale. The creation and diffusion of knowledge about environmental planning and public health are now almost taken for granted. However, such processes were rather different in pre-pandemic times. It took a substantial dose of labor and resources to generate the information needed to produce useful and usable knowledge, and especially to make it available to others in a timely and effective way. As automobility has come to occupy center stage in the lives of an increasing number of suburbanized dwellers, it has taken multiple energy and public health crises, bold leadership, and the real threat of climate change to create the conditions needed to bolster sustainable Non-Motorized Transportation (NMT) as a complement to cleaner and more convenient mass transit options in cities. How does knowledge about sustainable NMT get created? How are sustainable NMT innovations diffused? How can technological and societal transitions to more sustainable realities be nurtured and augmented? This article utilizes a longitudinal and integrated knowledge creation and diffusion model with a Participatory Planning Process to analyze the adoption of measures aimed at reducing the negative consequences of too much automobility and encouraging higher levels of walking, cycling, and mass transportation. The research methods comprised autoethnographic, qualitative, and policy evaluation techniques. The study makes use of the means and ends matrix to discuss cases from five distinct realms: personal, academic, institutional, volunteering NGO, and private sector. The key findings and lessons learned promote scenarios of managed degrowth and sustainable urban transitions. Full article

This study investigates the development and application of the GDELT (Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone) news database. Through experiments, we conducted a quantitative statistical analysis of the GDELT event database to evaluate its practical characteristics. The results indicate that although the database achieves comprehensive coverage across all countries and regions and includes most major global media outlets, the accuracy rate of its key fields is only approximately 55%, with a data redundancy as high as 20%. Based on these findings, while the GDELT data demonstrates good coverage and data integrity, data correction and deduplication are recommended before its use in research contexts and industrial applications. Subsequently, a survey of the existing literature reveals that current studies using GDELT primarily focused on event-related metrics, such as event quantity, tone, and GoldsteinScale, for application in international relations analysis, crisis event prediction, policy effectiveness testing, and public opinion impact analysis. Nevertheless, news constitutes a fundamental channel of information dissemination in media networks, and the propagation of news events through these networks represents a critical area of study for information recommendation, public opinion guidance, and crisis intervention. Existing research has employed the Event, GKG, and Mentions tables to construct cross-national news flow network models. However, the informational correlations across different data table fields have not been fully leveraged in preliminary data selection, leading to substantial computational overhead. To advance research in this field, this study employs chained list queries on the Event and Mentions tables within GDELT. Using social network analysis, we constructed a media co-occurrence network of event reports, through which core hubs and associative relationships within the event dissemination network are identified. Full article

Background/Objectives: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a persistent challenge for transfusion safety. Although testing for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and nucleic acid testing (NAT) reduces transmission risk, antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) and antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) provide additional insight into past infection and vaccine-induced immunity. We aimed to determine their seroprevalence among blood donors in southern Croatia and assess associations with age, occupation, and time since vaccination. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between February and November 2024 at two regional transfusion centers in southern Croatia. A total of 1008 voluntary blood donors, all HBsAg- and NAT-negative, were tested for anti-HBc and anti-HBs using chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Demographic and vaccination data were collected through verified medical records. Results: Anti-HBc was detected in 0.5% of donors, exclusively among the unvaccinated. Protective anti-HBs levels were found in 38.1% overall and 70.6% of vaccinated donors, with significant declines by age and more than 15 years post-vaccination (p = 0.024). Healthcare workers showed higher seroprotection than non-healthcare donors (67.0% vs. 35.1%; p < 0.001), although one-third still lacked protective levels. Conclusions: HBV exposure was rare, but waning vaccine-induced immunity was evident, with protective anti-HBs levels in 70.6% of vaccinated donors, declining with age and time since vaccination. These findings highlight the need for periodic monitoring of anti-HBs and targeted booster strategies, especially in older and occupationally exposed groups. HBsAg and NAT provide a high level of transfusion safety, while the role of routine anti-HBc testing in this low-endemic context should be carefully evaluated in view of its potential benefits and drawbacks. Donor-based surveillance is a valuable tool for evaluating long-term vaccine effectiveness and guiding public health policy. Full article

This study investigates how neuromarketing practices intersect with consumer privacy regulation in California, with particular attention to the 2024 Senate Bill 1223 (SB 1223), which amends the CCPA/CPRA to explicitly define “neural data.” By examining corporate strategies and regulatory frameworks, the paper evaluates how firms navigate the tension between innovation, ethics, and consumer protection. A qualitative, multiple-case study approach was adopted, focusing on Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, and Hyundai. Data were collected from corporate privacy policies, industry publications, and legislative documents, triangulated through doctrinal legal analysis and cross-case synthesis. The analysis reveals that, while companies comply with disclosure, consent, and oversight requirements under the CCPA/CPRA, such compliance remains largely procedural, with transparency often being technical rather than consumer-friendly, consent being insufficiently informed, and protections for vulnerable groups being inconsistently enforced. SB 1223’s recent definition of neural data directly encompasses techniques such as EEG, fMRI, eye-tracking, and biometrics, underscoring the urgent need for firms to treat neuromarketing as a category of regulated practice rather than discretionary innovation. The study is limited by its reliance on publicly available documentation and by the recency of SB 1223, which precludes observation of mature compliance patterns. Future research should explore consumer perceptions, track evolving regulatory responses, and extend the analysis across various sectors, including healthcare, education, and non-profits. This study contributes to theory by extending stakeholder theory to neural data governance and by conceptualizing neuromarketing as a governance-intensive strategic capability situated at the frontier of consumer rights and technological innovation. It contributes to practice by demonstrating how firms can transform compliance with emerging neural data regulations into a strategic capability that strengthens consumer trust, ethical legitimacy, and brand equity. Full article