Search

Paper sludge consists mainly of wet short cellulose fibers that are lost during papermaking and of residual chemicals used in the manufacturing process that remain dissolved in the water. Each ton of paper generates about 40–50 kg of dry sludge, of which 70% is primary sludge. Paper production, which exceeded 400 million tons globally in 2020, generates vast volumes of solid waste. Primary sludge is usually fiber-rich and hence suitable to be recycled back into the papermaking process. However, if the sludge is to be disposed of in landfills, sustainable practices must be developed in order to recover the fibers as they are valuable source for manufacturing high value-added products. This study investigates the valorization of paper sludge discarded by a filter paper manufacturer, with the purpose of producing cellulose acetate films for food packaging. The process involves recovering cellulose fibers from the sludge, purifying them and through acetylation reaction produce cellulose acetate films. FTIR spectra confirmed successful acetylation of fibers and also that acetyl groups reduced the hydrophilicity of cellulose—the contact angle was increased to over 80° from 50° in native cellulose. The films exhibited very good water barrier properties at both 50% and 90% relative humidity (RH). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fast growth of building constructions industry and of the universal population is the main cause of increase in global energy consumption. Therefore, the improvement of the building envelope encourages the scientific community to investigate the use of alternative materials that assure indoor comfort conditions and at the same time promote the reduction of energy consumption by adopting energy saving strategies in the manufacturing process. The present research contribution aims to focus on the potential use of innovative building materials developed with waste paper, classified as urban non-hazardous discard component. The use of paper pulp originated from recycled paper and cardboard with the addition of textile fibers from industrial by-products was explored. Here, an effort has been made to realize sustainable insulating panel for internal use, considering different mix design and recycled components in various percentages. The research focuses on hygric, thermal, and physical performances of recycled waste based panels, measuring physical aspects as bulk porosity and bulk density and testing hygrothermal performances as the dry-state thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, volumetric heat capacity, and water vapour permeability. Furthermore, in order to assess the hygrothermal behaviour of the building envelope, a numerical simulation, carried out by WUFI® Plus in a Mediterranean context, was developed using as inputs the results collected from the measurement campaign in laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stone paper is a relatively sustainable alternative to traditional fibre-based paper. Stone paper is made using resin such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and a mineral such calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Plasticizers, bulking agents, coupling reagents, dispersing agents, and inorganic fillers are added in the stone paper formulation for imparting different properties. However, the HDPE, used in stone paper formulation, is not biodegradable and can be replaced with biodegradable polymers to make stone paper more environment friendly. The biodegradable stone paper can be easily made using relatively cheaper blown film process. The stone paper can also be made from CaCO3 waste of traditional paper industry and recycled polymer waste. This review paper provides overview about the stone paper, the biodegradable polymeric materials which can be used instead of HDPE, information about the converting processes for stone paper; it's applications and comparison to the traditional paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bats have long been recognized as important pest controllers. However, there are no studies evaluating the potential of bats in predating insect pests of Eucalyptus trees, one of the most planted trees worldwide. We evaluated the predation of 3 worldwide spread Eucalyptus pest, Ctenarytaina spatulata, C. eucalypti and Gonipterus platensis, in Portugal, and also the former main pest biological control agent, the parasitoid Anaphes nitens. We used molecular methods to identify 10 bat species from 356 droppings and used a specific PCR assay to detect the 4 target insects. We detected C. eucalypti in 3 droppings, C. spatulata in 4, G. platensis in 1, and none with A. nitens. Our results indicate that bats can potentially act as suppressing agents of the novel exotic prey in eucalypt plantations, but their importance seems low, likely as a result of their low use of eucalypt plantations as foraging grounds. Managing plantations to attract bats, would not only help in bat conservation, but could also increase natural pest control of eucalypt pests, leading to more sustainable forestry practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and the resulting higher frequency of extreme weather events have a direct negative impact on mental health. Natural disasters are particularly associated with an increase in the prevalence of depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder. Indirect consequences of climate change, such as food shortages, economic crises, violent conflicts and forced migration, additionally represent severe psychological risk and stress factors. Climate anxiety and solastalgia, the distress induced by environmental change, are new psychological syndromes in the face of the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. Accordingly, a sustainable psychiatry must prepare for increasing and changing demands. The principles of psychiatric treatment need to focus more on prevention to reduce the overall burden on the healthcare system. Waste of resources and CO2 emissions in psychiatric treatment processes as well as infrastructure must be perceived and prevented. Psychiatric education, training and continuing education concepts should be expanded to include the topic of climate change in order to comprehensively inform and sensitize professionals, those affected and the public and to encourage climate-friendly and health-promoting behavior. More in-depth research is needed on the impact of climate change on mental health. The DGPPN becomes a sponsor and aims for climate neutrality by 2030 by committing to climate-friendly and energy-saving measures in the area of finance, in relation to the DGPPN congress as well as the DGPPN office. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has indicated high economic and environmental costs of human paper usage. Technologies have been developed to reduce consumers' paper use behavior, including mechanical dispensers that institute a delay between opportunities to obtain each consecutive unit. However, there is no empirical evidence that these dispensers or delays reduce paper use. In Experiment 1, implementing a delay between paper-unit deliveries using mechanical dispensers in a university café resulted in a significant decrease in units per person, material per person, and cost per person, compared to free-access dispensers. In Experiment 2, a relatively long delay was more effective than a short delay in reducing paper consumption in a laboratory experiment using mechanical dispensers. These results indicate that delays could be used to decrease paper use in many contexts on a larger scale. More research is necessary to determine the underlying behavioral mechanisms responsible for the observed reduction and the cost–benefit relationship under different circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets two questions. (a) What changes has the pandemic engendered? (b) How should the government connect these changes to efficient administration?. Three changes can be delineated. (a) The Special Law established a prefectural-centered management. (b) Substantial power was assigned to the governors. (c) The effectiveness of inter-prefectural cooperation is reflected. The governments face the challenges: (a) demand for strengthening public health administration, (b) difficult complex financial management, and (c) regional disparities. The governments are trying to overcome these challenges. This paper focuses on (a) the enrichment of medical welfare personnel and (b) living shift and local revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the real meaning of sustainable innovation? How is sustainable innovation different from other forms of innovation? How does sustainable innovation contribute to societal development? How can we measure the sustainable innovation of a country—which indicators and which synthesis methods should we use? In this paper we try to answer these previous questions. Starting from the concept of sustainable innovation, as it has been extensively discussed in recent years in a range of disciplines from economics to engineering and sociology, the paper focuses on the basic criteria (such as indicators and statistical models) required to evaluate the sustainable innovation at the regional level, choosing Italy as a case study. From the elementary indicators of innovation, on one hand, and sustainability, on other hand, a composite indicator of sustainable innovation has been computed. The statistical model used to compute this composite indicator has been a Higher-Order Partial Least Squares Path model. The results obtained applying this model to the Italian scenario are discussed, the ranking of the different Italian regions, and the impact of the composite indicator sustainable innovation on economic results of each region are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incorporation of net-zero technology into preexisting energy networks is crucial for facilitating the shift toward an ecologically conscious and sustainable energy infrastructure. The primary objective of this integration is to effectively decrease carbon footprints and to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current approaches and trends related to the design and management frameworks of integrated energy networks. The initial section of this study establishes the foundation for a comprehensive examination of the particular challenges associated with decarbonization in the strategic and operational aspects of integrated energy networks. The subsequent analysis proceeds to elucidate the fundamental framework and technological architecture upon which these energy networks are constructed. This provides significant insights into the operational complexity and efficacy of the system. In addition, the paper provides a concise examination of prominent frameworks and alternative approaches that tackle the issue of low-carbon design and administration. The degree of accuracy facilitates individuals when selecting systems that align with the specific requirements of unique circumstances. Furthermore, this study provides explicit suggestions for future research based on an examination of the distinct attributes and framework of integrated energy networks. The anticipated outcome of implementing these recommendations is to enable the advancement of sustainable development and expedite the shift toward energy infrastructure with reduced carbon emissions. This will make a significant contribution to the collaborative endeavor of mitigating climate change and fostering a sustainable energy future. This study further elucidates the significant contribution of integrated energy networks in addressing climate change and enhancing energy efficiency. It achieves this by synthesizing a complete range of concepts sourced from many academic papers, industry reports, and case studies. This statement offers an examination of the multifaceted technological, legislative, and planning factors that contribute to the attainment of net-zero objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains the importance of environmental care for the growth and development of the global world and how One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR) can help to connect Asia, Europe, and Africa for economic cooperation and long-term sustainability. Paper, based on bibliometric analysis and utilizing Web of Science Core Collection database for calculation, summarizes total OBOR publications in terms of quantity, citations, regions, disciplines, institutes and explains about the most productive countries. Results reveal that total OBOR papers indexed in Web of Science was found 2508 where there were 1335 articles and 854 proceedings papers marking 87.3% of total OBOR research. We find the most productive direction of environmental science and global climate change and work related to environmental policies. Results show that China has contributed 73.3% (1755 publications) to global OBOR publication and have received 69.3% of all citations to "One Belt One Road" publications. Highest average citation level was from Canada, Portugal, and Spain while China's average citations were quite low though very close to average world level. Internationally collaborated publications had more citations than the publications prepared by authors of one country. The paper concludes that environmental concerns should be kept in mind while focusing on the growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCA) are essential for diagnostic MRI examinations. GBCA are only used in small quantities on a per-patient basis; however, the acquisition of contrast-enhanced MRI examinations worldwide results in the use of many thousands of litres of GBCA per year. Data shows that these GBCA are present in sewage water, surface water, and drinking water in many regions of the world. Therefore, there is growing concern regarding the environmental impact of GBCA because of their ubiquitous presence in the aquatic environment. To address the problem of GBCA in the water system as a whole, collaboration is necessary between all stakeholders, including the producers of GBCA, medical professionals and importantly, the consumers of drinking water, i.e. the patients. This paper aims to make healthcare professionals aware of the opportunity to take the lead in making informed decisions about the use of GBCA and provides an overview of the different options for action. In this paper, we first provide a summary on the metabolism and clinical use of GBCA, then the environmental fate and observations of GBCA, followed by measures to reduce the use of GBCA. The environmental impact of GBCA can be reduced by (1) measures focusing on the application of GBCA by means of weight-based contrast volume reduction, GBCA with higher relaxivity per mmol of Gd, contrast-enhancing sequences, and post-processing; and (2) measures that reduce the waste of GBCA, including the use of bulk packaging and collecting residues of GBCA at the point of application. Critical relevance statement This review aims to make healthcare professionals aware of the environmental impact of GBCA and the opportunity for them to take the lead in making informed decisions about GBCA use and the different options to reduce its environmental burden. Key points • Gadolinium-based contrast agents are found in sources of drinking water and constitute an environmental risk. • Radiologists have a wide spectrum of options to reduce GBCA use without compromising diagnostic quality. • Radiology can become more sustainable by adopting such measures in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Society is increasingly aware of and sensitive to the deployment of sustainability. Therefore, firms must implement policies that not only have a positive effect on their sustainable behavior but also contribute to improving their competitivity. In this dual context of sustainability and competitiveness, there has been little in-depth analysis in the academic literature of the positive impact of structured employee participation systems. The main aim of this paper is to propose and apply a methodology for the joint development of sustainability and competitiveness by means of such systems. The methodology will draw on the basic principles of continuous improvement based on a literature review but also by adopting an Action Research approach, in which the researchers and companies collaborate to create useful knowledge for both parties. Likewise, this paper also illustrates its implementation at a Spanish food product manufacturer. The paper shows the potential in both the research and business spheres, as it provides a useful guide for improving sustainability and competitiveness through the deployment of structured employee participation systems. Likewise, the paper also illustrates the usefulness of researchers and practitioners collaborating shoulder to shoulder to generate and transfer knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional method of manufacturing propellant tanks for rockets and spaceships involves significant amounts of forging, and machining, making it expensive and environmentally unfriendly. A novel approach for manufacturing propellant tanks that reduces the need for machining and friction stir welding processes has been presented in this paper. This approach involves manufacturing a tank half starting from a single metal plate, using innovative and advanced metal forming processes such as hot stretch forming, magnetic pulse forming, hub forming, and integrated stiffened cylinder (ISC) flow forming followed by orbital welding of two tank halves. A life cycle assessment (LCA) study was conducted in accordance with ISO 14044:2006 standard using the ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H) method to compare the environmental impacts of the traditional and newly developed approaches for manufacturing propellant tanks. The results of the LCA study showed that the new approach based on advanced forming technologies reduced carbon footprint by 40%, cumulative energy demand by 35%, water footprint by 17%, and materials waste by 4% compared to traditional manufacturing. The lower environmental impact of the new approach was attributed to a decrease in friction stir welding requirements due to the implementation of advanced forming techniques that enable integrated tank production. This lowered the overall energy consumption in the novel approach by a factor of 1.5 and in turn resulted in lower environmental impact compared to traditional forging and machining-based method. Furthermore, a futuristic scenario that involves in-house tank production using the novel approach with minimal transportation of inventories was also simulated. Based on the LCA results, it was seen that the newly developed approach for manufacturing propellant tanks was more environmentally friendly than the traditional approach and its environmental footprint could be further reduced by implementing the futuristic scenario with minimal transportation. This novel approach is also expected to reduce the lead time and production cost of manufacturing a propellant tank. Hence, future efforts in cost assessment and further optimization of raw material and energy usage are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable microgrids enhance security, reliability, and power quality in power systems by integrating solar and wind sources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This paper proposes a machine learning approach, leveraging Gaussian Process (GP) and Krill Herd Algorithm (KHA), for energy management in renewable microgrids with a reconfigurable structure based on remote switching of tie and sectionalizing. The method utilizes Gaussian Process (GP) for modeling hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) charging demand. To counteract HEV charging effects, two scenarios are explored: coordinated and intelligent charging. A novel optimization method inspired by the Krill Herd Algorithm (KHA) is introduced for the complex problem, along with a self-adaptive modification to tailor solutions to specific situations. Simulation on an IEEE microgrid demonstrates efficiency in both scenarios. The predictive model yields a remarkably low Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 1.02381 for total HEV charging demand. Results also reveal a reduction in microgrid operation cost in the intelligent charging scenario compared to coordinated charging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surge in global biofuel demand is propelled by intensifying concerns over climate change and effective waste management. Government mandates on biofuel blending further boost this trend, underlining the significance of selecting renewable feedstocks, such as bioethanol and biodiesel, for biofuel production. The importance of selecting an efficient biomass pretreatment method cannot be overstated, given its status as the most energy-intensive and chemical-reliant step in the biofuel production chain. Thus, pretreatment becomes a crucial determinant in the feasibility and economic viability of biofuel technologies. Amid a wide array of pretreatment strategies, identifying a method that is both effective and sustainable is crucial for advancing biofuel commercialization. This review aims to rigorously evaluate both traditional and novel pretreatment techniques and their environmental footprints, leveraging life cycle assessment (LCA) studies from existing literature. By examining the sustainability of various pretreatment methods, this paper provides a holistic and clear view, serving as an essential resource for policymakers and industry stakeholders. It outlines the challenges faced in each phase of an LCA and proposes viable solutions. Additionally, the review furnishes valuable insights, recommendations, and directions for future research in achieving sustainable biofuel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrodialysis (ED) and the continuous evolution of ion exchange membranes are one of the reasons behind its diverse applications. Known to be a high-water recovery process with limited uses of chemicals gives it the advantage of sustainable treatment technology. Water softening plays a major role in water industry; it can ensure clean, safe, and efficient water use but it affects water equilibrium. Mainly the lack of calcium carbonate causes a real issue in water distribution networks made of concrete, pipes, and reservoirs by decreasing their lifetime. This paper addresses the selectivity of softening using ED to reduce the negative impact of water hardness and to maintain both the quality and equilibrium of water. This latter should be neither too hard nor too soft, and the calco-carbonic equilibrium is of major interest. In this work, ED operations were carried out at a laboratory scale using different water initial concentrations. The propensity of the water towards calcium carbonate scaling was addressed by monitoring the Langelier saturation index (LSI) generally used to assess water scaling potential. At a demineralization rate (DR) of 80%, all the dilutes obtained from all the feed water reached the status of soft water. ED gave good results in terms of hardness reduction, and LSI corresponded to the equilibrium state at a DR of 40% in all the cases studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence and the underlying machine learning (ML) methods are increasingly finding their way into our working world. One of these areas is sales planning, where machine learning is used to leverage a variety of different input parameters such as prices, promotions, or the weather, to forecast sales, and therefore directly affects the production of products and goods. To satisfy the goal of environmental sustainability as well as address short shelf life, the food industry represents an interesting application field for the use of ML for optimizing sales planning. Within this paper, we will examine the design, and especially the application, of ML methods in the food industry and show the current challenges that exist in the use of such concepts and technologies from the end-user's point of view. Our study of a smaller bakery company shows that there are enormous challenges in setting up the appropriate infrastructure and processes for the implementation of ML, that the output quality of ML processes does not always match the perceived result quality, and that trust in the functioning of the algorithms is the most important criterion for using ML processes in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recycling bio-waste shells problem has grown more and more serious in recent years and many efforts have been made to solve this problem. One possible solution is to put these bio-shells into concrete and recycle them as building materials using the aggregate matrix concrete approach. To verify the engineering feasibility, the mechanical properties of bio-shells aggregated concrete were invested via gradient substitution rates at 10%, 30%, and 50% with a total of 78 groups of specimens in this paper. Our results show that the mechanical properties of the concrete were enhanced in maximum flexural strength and maximum compressive. Economic performance was also analyzed and found that the costs of frame-shear structure, frame structure, and tube-in-tube structure were reduced by 10.2%, 10%, and 10.3%. The carbon environmental assessment also shows superiority in the carbon reduction of a single specimen with various rates of the shell. In summary, compared with ordinary concrete materials, it is very possible to use waste bio-shells as a substitute for aggregates to develop the sustainable recycling development of concrete materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart grids are the electrical grid with intelligent communication systems comprising conventional- and renewable-based power generation units along with storage systems that can monitor the power flow from generation to consumption and manage power flow to match the generation. This paper studies the frequency control of multi-area systems integrated with traditional and renewable power plants taking reliability and sustainability into account. Several nonlinearities like boiler dynamics and generation rate constant are also reflected in the simulation model. Further, a delay is introduced in the plant and controller formulation phase. To maintain stability, fractional calculus-based Proportional-Integral-derivative controller is formulated. The gain parameters of the fractional controller are optimized using the recent optimization algorithm. Furthermore, the chaotic-based function is also included in the existing Harris hawk optimizer to improve the optimizer's effectiveness. System stability is established with the fractional controller through the Bode plot and eigenvector analysis. Additionally, the system response is evaluated with the application of 2% step loading and time-varying random loading. The system's response through the suggested controller is verified using MATLAB/SIMULINK environment with various widely used controllers, and significant performance enhancement of peak overshoot, undershoot, and settling time are also observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This literature review presents a comprehensive review of life Cycle Assessmernt (LCA), as an emerging tool in the field of cultural heritage research and demonstrate how this tool could be useful to support the development of green heritage science into an environmentally responsible field of scientific endeavour. LCA is a standardised, structured, comprehensive, international environmental assessment tool and a rapidly evolving field of research that leverages and harmonises efforts across many sectors to inform environmentally-friendly solutions and choices. LCA has been growing in importance as an evidence-based tool in the field of heritage science, being used as a decision-support tool at micro level (typically for questions related to specific products/processes) and macro levels (e.g. strategies, scenarios, and policy options). This review explores applications of LCA (and the complementary Life Cycle Cost Assessment (LCC), and Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA)) to a wide array of conservation and preservation actions. The paper also examines challenges associated with the application of these life cycle-based methods in heritage science, in order to put forward a set of recommendations to guide the domain of heritage science towards greener and more sustainable practices and impacts. Based on a review of the principles of green chemistry, green analytical chemistry, green engineering, and nature conservation, the paper also attempts to formulate nine principles of green heritage science, taking into account the complexity of research challenges and the environmental and socio-economic sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is addressed to recent theoretical discussions of the Anthropocene, in particular Bernard Stiegler's Neganthropocene (Open Universities Press, 2018), which argues: "As we drift past tipping points that put future biota at risk, while a post-truth regime institutes the denial of 'climate change' (as fake news), and as Silicon Valley assistants snatch decision and memory, and as gene-editing and a financially-engineered bifurcation advances over the rising hum of extinction events and the innumerable toxins and conceptual opiates that Anthropocene Talk fascinated itself with—in short, as 'the Anthropocene' discloses itself as a dead-end trap...". The objective of this paper is therefore twofold: (1) to discuss how the Anthropocene is appropriated to certain ideological discourses (paradoxically) to maintain the hegemony of precisely those systems of production that have most accelerated climate change etc.; (2) to consider how the factography of the Anthropocene is exploited in this process to mask the ideological character of industry-aligned "technocratic" environmental management. The paper is not concerned with specific case studies in terms of government and industry policy, or climate science, but rather with the ways in which the discourse of the Anthropocene has been inflected within the humanities and the broader cultural field—that is to say, ideologically, as a system or logic of meaning. How the Anthropocene "means" is, in this respect, a question of some importance. This paper does not attempt to address all the facets of this question, but focuses upon a central "apocalyptic" strain in the discourse of the Anthropocene drawn particularly from Francis Fukuyama's millennial posthumanism and centred in the question of "sustainability" as catastrophe management—with the risk that real environmental degradation will become an alibi for a revived neoliberalism. In other words, that the critical Earth system transformations that characterise the Anthropocene are themselves commodities, and that the project of their amelioration is in process of defining a future (opportunistic) "crisis" rhetoric with a global political franchise. The ideological import of the Anthropocene stems precisely from the fact that it is planetary and, while catalysed by human agency, independent in its specific behaviour from it. The Anthropocene objectively presents as the contemporary counterpart of the Cold War doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction and the most compelling argument for a new kind of technological "arms race." But it also presents as the condition of an emerging ideological discourse which will determine how this race is run. From the discourse on "energy security" to the widespread "security crackdown" on environmental activists across the so-called developed & developing world, the Anthropocene has come to represent the co-option of a scientific factography for the thinly disguised resurgence of "ideological science" of the Fukuyamaesque variety (post-history, post-human). For Fukuyama, the true meaning of "posthuman" is thus the accomplishment of humanity's historical mission. As the "End of History" designates an end of ideological struggle, so too the dénouement of the Anthropocene and the "ends of man" represent the accomplished purpose of species warfare: dominion, not simply over the world, but over all possible worlds. According to this narrative, science—like technology—must be uniquely at the service of the maintenance of the global order, organised around a universal appeal to "crisis management." It is precisely for this reason that what calls itself post-human masks the return of an ever-more-apocalyptic Humanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to identify the major significant dimensions that contribute to the overall quality of life (QOL) of wage workers in Egypt. As the QOL is a complex, multidimensional, and interdisciplinary concept, forty-seven indicators under five domains were chosen to investigate the QOL determinants of wage workers in Egypt, namely job characteristics, job satisfaction, ICT access, gender equality and women empowerment, and neighborhood services and utilities. Using data from the 2018 wave of the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey, the paper employed structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to investigate the impact of proposed dimensions on the overall QOL. In addition, multi-group SEM analysis was implemented to measure how people differ in the way they assess their QOL on the basis of various moderating variables such as the geographical region of residence, age group, and years of schooling. The findings showed the significant impact of the chosen dimensions on the overall QOL. Moreover, the multi-group models showed a significant variation among compared groups, in which the weights of dimensions vary due to the differences in socio-cultural characteristics and the surrounding environment, confirming the complexity of such a concept. As people usually differ in the way they assess their QOL, which is affected by their characteristics and priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining recycling and additive manufacturing (AM) can bring significant environmental and economic advantages. Using recycled materials can help reduce waste and the need for virgin materials, which can be resource-intensive to extract and process. Recycling is also more energy-efficient than extracting and processing virgin materials. This paper reviews and discusses the current trends and limitations of using recycled materials for AM, an essential step toward a more sustainable manufacturing process. Specifically, this paper reviews the research on waste materials transformed into resins for stereolithography (SLA), digital light projection (DLP) printers, filaments for fused deposition modeling (FDM), as well as metal powders for selective laser melting (SLM) and selective laser sintering (SLS) printing processes. The goal is to provide an overview of the recycled materials used in AM, their recycling methods, and the mechanical and thermal properties of the resulting materials and manufactured parts. The paper also discusses potential improvements in the process and areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct printing nanoparticle-based conductive inks onto paper substrates has encountered difficulties e.g. the nanoparticles are prone to penetrate into the pores of the paper and become partially segmented, and the necessary low-temperature-sintering process is harmful to the dimension-stability of paper. Here we prototyped the paper-based circuit substrate in combination with printed thermoplastic electrically conductive adhesives (ECA), which takes the advantage of the capillarity of paper and thus both the conductivity and mechanical robustness of the printed circuits were drastically improved without sintering process. For instance, the electrical resistivity of the ECA specimen on a pulp paper (6 × 10-5Ω·cm, with 50 wt% loading of Ag) was only 14% of that on PET film than that on PET film. This improvement has been found directly related to the sizing degree of paper, in agreement with the effective medium approximation simulation results in this work. The thermoplastic nature also enables excellent mechanical strength of the printed ECA to resist repeated folding. Considering the generality of the process and the wide acceptance of ECA technique in the modern electronic packages, this method may find vast applications in e.g. circuit boards, capacitive touch pads, and radio frequency identification antennas, which have been prototyped in the manuscript. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities located in the Arctic often have extreme geographic and environmental contexts and unique sociopolitical and economic trajectories that, when combined with amplified effects of climate change in the region, impact future sustainable development. Well-recognized and standardized sustainable development indicator (SDI) frameworks such as ISO 37120 or UN-Habitat City Prosperity Index are often used to compare data across cities globally using comprehensive sets of indicators. While such indexes help characterize progress toward development and guide short- and long-term decision-making, they often lack relevance to specific contexts or characterize future visions of urban growth. To evaluate the extent of these deficiencies and to provide a comparative analysis of approaches to sustainable urban growth in the Arctic, this paper analyzes city planning documents for five northern cities - Anchorage (USA), Utqiagvik (USA), Reyjavik (ISL), Iqaluit, (CAN), Whitehorse, (CAN) - for goals, targets, and indicators and compare these to thematic areas and indicators defined by ISO 37120:2018 Sustainable Cities and Communities. The results confirm that although international SDI frameworks may be useful for comparative analysis of cities across diverse regions, they exclude important local factors that influence goal-oriented urban sustainability planning strategies employed in the Arctic region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the potential of repurposing mosque minarets as solar chimneys in hot arid regions to facilitate natural ventilation and diminish the reliance on energy-intensive cooling systems. Originating as a means to call the faithful to prayer, minarets have become iconic landmarks within Islamic cities. This research focuses on Cairo, Egypt, as a representative hot arid environment. The paper traces the evolution of the minaret, underscoring the variations in form that influence the experimental design. The investigation proceeded in two stages: the construction of physical mosque models with variably positioned minarets for laboratory testing, ensuring standardized measurements, followed by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations for comparison. Findings indicate that mosque minarets can be effectively adapted for passive ventilation, with their performance significantly influenced by orientation and placement. This study concludes that traditional mosque minarets offer a viable, sustainable option for passive cooling in hot climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fashion and textile manufacturing sectors are increasingly focusing on innovative raw materials that are renewable and biodegradable. Such materials not only mitigate environmental impacts but also prevent resource depletion. Bacterial cellulose (BC) has emerged as a prime candidate, derivable from a variety of natural ingredients such as tea and coffee in addition to a sugar source in presence of the bacterial microorganisms. Numerous studies have established the potential of BC in future fashion, and some brands have already started to utilise BC as a sustainable raw material. The applications of BC ranges from basic clothing and accessories to wearable electronics. This paper discusses the scope of BC in fashion and textiles, positioning it as a sustainable alternative to conventional materials. We present a comprehensive scoping review, covering the unique properties of BC, the factors influencing its production, and its applications in textile, clothing, and footwear over the past decade. The advantages of BC in fashion are manifold: zero-waste manufacturing, reliance on renewable sources, diminished environmental pollution, and biodegradability. Furthermore, the use of BC aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 6, 7, 12, 13 and 15. However, there exist challenges pertaining to production costs, scalability, and quality, in addition to the imperative of harnessing food waste streams instead of contending for human food resources. Addressing these challenges is vital to cement BC's position as a pivotal sustainable material in future fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A substantial level of significance has been placed on renewable energy systems, especially photovoltaic (PV) systems, given the urgent global apprehensions regarding climate change and the need to cut carbon emissions. One of the main concerns in the field of PV is the ability to track power effectively over a range of factors. In the context of solar power extraction, this research paper performs a thorough comparative examination of ten controllers, including both conventional maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controllers and artificial intelligence (AI) controllers. Various factors, such as voltage, current, power, weather dependence, cost, complexity, response time, periodic tuning, stability, partial shading, and accuracy, are all intended to be evaluated by the study. It is aimed to provide insight into how well each controller performs in various circumstances by carefully examining these broad parameters. The main goal is to identify and recommend the best controller based on their performance. It is notified that, conventional techniques like INC, P&O, INC-PSO, P&O-PSO, achieved accuracies of 94.3, 97.6, 98.4, 99.6 respectively while AI based techniques Fuzzy-PSO, ANN, ANFIS, ANN-PSO, PSO, and FLC achieved accuracies of 98.6, 98, 98.6, 98.8, 98.2, 98 respectively. The results of this study add significantly to our knowledge of the applicability and effectiveness of both AI and traditional MPPT controllers, which will help the solar industry make well-informed choices when implementing solar energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting the shift from private cars to micromobility (e.g., bike, e-bike, scooter) can represent a valuable action to improve city sustainability and liveability. Micromobility can help to replace trips by individual private cars (e.g., daily short round trips) as well as to improve coverage and accessibility of transit services, and, subsequently, to reduce the traffic impacts (e.g., pollutant emissions). It can be seen as a potential solution to move people more efficiently in urban areas, as well as to push people towards a more active mobility behaviour, contributing to the well-being goals. In this context, the paper, rather than inferring the users' propensity to change their travel mode, proposes a methodology to identify car trips that can be considered the most compatible with micromobility. Estimation of the potential demand (e.g., the upper level of car trips that could be replaced by micromobility) is carried out by exploiting the opportunity offered by floating car data (FCD) for characterising car trips. Its goodness is therefore evaluated through an application to a real case study (i.e., the city of Trani, Apulia Region, Southern Italy), divided into seventy traffic zones, and where a FCD dataset of about 5,200 trips was available. The FCD allowed the car trips to be characterised (e.g., origin and destination, path features) instead of using the traditional surveys. The results indicate that a significant share of daily car trips can be substituted (i.e., the most compatible) by micromobility (31% of car round trips in the case study), with considerable potential environmental gains (traffic emission reduction; less than 21% of total emissions from private cars). Results can be of interest to local authorities in integrating micromobility in urban mobility planning and promoting new sustainable transport alternatives, as well as to transport companies for designing new appeal services. The developed methodology is parametric and uses easy-to-obtain data available worldwide; thus, it can be easily transferred to other city contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The perception of the value and propriety of modern engineered systems is changing. In addition to their functional and extra-functional properties, nowadays' systems are also evaluated by their sustainability properties. The next generation of systems will be characterized by an overall elevated sustainability—including their post-life, driven by efficient value retention mechanisms. Current systems engineering practices fall short of supporting these ambitions and need to be revised appropriately. In this paper, we introduce the concept of circular systems engineering, a novel paradigm for systems sustainability, and define two principles to successfully implement it: end-to-end sustainability and bipartite sustainability. We outline typical organizational evolution patterns that lead to the implementation and adoption of circularity principles, and outline key challenges and research opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organization's sustainability performance is influenced by its suppliers' sustainability performance. This relationship makes sustainable supplier development a strategic competitive option for a buyer or focal organization. When considering sustainable supplier development practices (SSDPs) adoption, organizations have to balance and consider their limited financial resources and operational constraints. It becomes necessary to both select the best SSDPs set and investment allocation among the selected SSDP set such that the organization can maximize overall sustainability performance level. In this paper, an integrated formal modeling methodology using DEMATEL, the NK model, and multi-objective linear programming model is used support this objective. The proposed methodology is evaluated in a practical sustainable supply chain field study of an equipment manufacturing company in China. Through case study, we found that the interdependency among SSDPs must be considered in SSDPs selection and investment allocation problem. Theoretical, managerial and methodology implications, conclusions, and directions for future research are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demand on water resources, reduced land for agriculture, and concerns over food and nutrition security have prompted the evolution of innovative and complex food production systems. In this context, efficient and sustainable food production systems such as aquaponics are viewed as an important and environmentally friendly technology for adaptation under resource-limited environments. Producing food in soilless systems is a promising strategy, as this method utilizes significantly less water than traditional agriculture. However, optimizing growing conditions to enhance crop and fish yields in aquaponics is frequently ambiguous and is often not economically feasible. One of the strategies to improve plant yields and supply of nutrients in aquaponics is the application of probiotics. With this strategy, the crop yields in aquaponics are improved via a variety of mechanisms, including nitrogen fixation, solubilization of mineral nutrients, organic matter mineralization, plant hormone modulation, and biocontrol. As a result, incorporating probiotics in aquaponic systems is a strategy for mitigating environmental effects and advancing sustainable agriculture. This review paper provides the current knowledge of the use of probiotics in aquaponics. Suggestions for further studies on the effects of probiotics in aquaponic systems are proposed. Through literature review, integrating probiotics into aquaponic systems has the potential to improve nutrient supply, modulation of water quality parameters, and microbial communities, which are key processes in enhancing the productivity of aquaponic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open water transposition channels in hot and arid regions, like those in the São Francisco River Integration Project (PISF) in Brazil, suffer significant water losses through evaporation. This paper proposes covering these channels with photovoltaic (PV) panels to reduce evaporation while simultaneously generating clean energy. The research aims to quantify water savings and energy generation potential across all channel lengths and assess whether the generated solar power can substitute grid electricity for powering the transposition pumps during peak hours, thereby enhancing energy efficiency. This study analyzed the state-of-the-art of PV generation and calculated their solar potential. Identified the specific characteristics of PISF channels and watercourses considering the regional geography, meteorology, irradiation, and social peculiarities. And, finally, assessed the feasibility of covering the watercourses with solar panels. The results reveal that covering all current PISF channels with PV panels could save up to 25,000 cubic meters of water per day, significantly contributing to water security and improving the quality of life for the local population. Additionally, the project could generate 1200 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, meeting the energy demands of the transposition pumps during peak hours and promoting energy efficiency within the project. This research paves the way for utilizing PV technology to address water scarcity challenges and enhance the sustainability of water infrastructure projects in arid regions worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on total factor productivity (TFP) in the European mining industry, considering micro- and macroeconomic indicators of the relationship between CSR and TFP. Employing data from 40 European mining companies from content analysis, CSR Hub, and the World Bank between 2018 and 2021, this paper utilizes a combination of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and panel regression techniques to test the research hypotheses. The findings suggest that the TFP of European mining firms is positively affected by CSR initiatives implemented by the companies. Also, the empirical results depict that the CSR-TFP relationship is mainly established on institutional criteria. The results also indicate that CSR-related factors, namely, transparency and reporting, training, health and safety, and resource management, are the impacting indicators. The study broadens the horizons of this line of research and can be beneficial to CEOs, managers, experts, policymakers, decision-makers, and economists in the field of mining who are willing to promote responsible and sustainable mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: The accessibility and relatively low cost of nitrogen (N) fertilizers have been a gift to humankind and made it possible to feed the exponentially growing world population. The excessive use of N, in combination with a poor N use efficiency (NUE) in crop production, is associated with severe environmental impacts, and the scientific community has repeatedly warned that the safe operating space for N within the planetary boundaries has been exceeded. In the light of these considerations, a global player and India's largest fertilizer manufacturer, the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO), has recently developed and patented a nanotechnology-based fertilizer marketed as Nano Urea (liquid). Strikingly, the producers state that it is now possible to replace a 45 kg bag of conventional urea, containing 21 kg N, by foliar application of just 20 g N in the form of nano urea (NU). If so, N from this novel high-tech fertilizer product should be able to increase the NUE of crops more than 1000 times compared to conventional urea. This year, the Indian government and IFFCO announced plans to massively boost production by building 10 new factories, with an annual production capacity of 440 million bottles NU by 2025 and to expand export of the product to another 25 countries, mainly situated in Asia, Africa and South-America. In the marketing of NU, IFFCO states that there is scientific evidence for distinct beneficial properties in terms of higher crop yields and reduced negative environmental impacts. Similar ambitions have recently been presented for Nano Zinc, Nano Copper, and Nano Di-Ammonium-Phosphate, a product that entered the market in March 2023. Methods: In this Opinion Paper, we compare the claims made by IFFCO scientists to the existing scientific evidence in the field of foliar nanofertilizers. Results: We observe that NU is a poorly described product with no scientifically proven effects. The product is marketed with misleading and wrong statements about its fertilizer efficiency, the underlying plant uptake pathways, and the environmental friendliness. Conclusion: The expectations raised by IFFCO are far from reality and may lead to large-scale yield losses with serious consequences for food security and the livelihood of farmers. At the same time, the confidence in innovative sustainable products as well as the science behind them may be threatened. Based on the IFFCO case, and considering the booming emergence of novel nano based fertilizers appearing all over the world these years, it is clear that much more priority should be given to scientifically prove their efficacy and mode of action, before they are launched on the markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic synthesis of urea is a bright substitutable to Haber–Bosch progression and industrial urea synthesis. Electrochemical C–N coupling of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides under environmental conditions is a newly developed method, which also provides a novel opinion for solving nitrate contamination. Conjugated organic frameworks (COFs) have been used as prospective electrocatalysts for nitrogen reduction reactions and carbon dioxide reduction reactions (CO2RR) as a result of their regulate structure and multihole properties, resulting in efficient electron transfer. This paper reports the efficient synthesis of urea from carbon dioxide and nitrate over MoM1S-Pc-M2PPs COF (M as a transition metal) electrocatalyst. According to the calculation of DFT, it was found that it was difficult for carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide to coadsorb on MoM1S-Pc to synthesize urea, so we chose to synthesize CO on the metal porphyrin (M2PPs) structural unit, and then overflow on the bimetallic phthalocyanine and nitrogen oxide to synthesize urea. The possibility of nitrate adsorption on different catalysts was verified by calculation. We screened the stability, nitrate adsorption strength, and catalytic activity of MoM1S-Pc candidates, and the results showed that the most promising candidate catalyst was MoFeS-Pc. At the same time, the CO2RR M2PPs substrate was also screened, and the VPPs structure was selected as the best. In the study of coupling between different nitrogen-containing intermediates and *CO, the C–N coupling mechanism shows that *NOH and *CO are two possible C–N coupling nitrogen intermediates, which are shown to be thermodynamically spontaneous and have an inferior activation barrier. This study not only provisions novel perceptions into urea synthesis by coupling nitrogen oxides with carbon dioxide under environmental conditions, but also paves the way for boosting the sustainable production of carbon and nitrogen-coupled products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of global environmental concerns has prompted a worldwide movement towards sustainable development. In recent years, China's rapid economic growth has been reflected in increased environmental degradation, exacerbated by rapid urbanization, the urban–rural divide, and a government commitment to urban ecological preservation at the expense of rural areas. At the same time, rural communities require increased cultural awareness of environmental conservation and sustainable practices. To address the indiscriminate depletion of natural resources endangering China's rural landscapes, this paper presents a novel framework that combines deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with rural ecological governance. A thorough understanding of rural ecological dynamics is made possible by the integration of cutting-edge CNN technology, which facilitates complex data processing and image recognition from satellite and sensor data. Utilizing the Eurostat dataset, it carries out an extensive sustainability analysis of rural ecological governance by applying fundamental theories of environmental governance, such as polycentricity and symbiosis, that are adapted for rural environments. The pastoral environmental governance issues are systematically addressed by means of a multi-stage PPS hierarchical approach. The framework also suggests a novel approach to household waste management for isolated communities, focusing on natural sewage treatment and waste recycling as ways to reduce environmental impact. This all-encompassing strategy seeks to transform rural ecological management by providing customized solutions to protect resources and promote sustainable development in China's rural areas. The experimental results show a fantastic accuracy rate of 98.5% of the CNN model. This compares favorably to recognized architectures such as ResNet16, ResNet32, and ResNet64, demonstrating CNN's ability to handle complex features of rural landscapes. A comparative analysis with RNN and LSTM highlights CNN's capacity to extract hierarchical features and capture spatial dependencies. In addition, the work reveals that rural residents have an overall satisfaction rate of 85.2% with environmental governance, of which 45.6% provide high levels of satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability is an issue of worldwide concern. Twitter is one of the most popular social networks, which makes it particularly interesting for exploring opinions and characteristics related to issues of social preoccupation. This paper aims to gain a better understanding of the activity related to sustainability that takes place on twitter. In addition to building a mathematical model to identify account typologies (bot and human users), different behavioural patterns were detected using clustering analysis mainly in the mechanisms of posting tweets and retweets). The model took as explanatory variables, certain characteristics of the user's profile and her/his activity. A lexicon-based sentiment analysis in the period from 2006 to 2022 was also carried out in conjunction with a keyword study based on centrality metrics. We found that, in both bot and human users, messages showed mostly a positive sentiment. Bots had a higher percentage of neutral messages than human users. With respect to the used keywords certain commonalities but also slight differences between humans and bots were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combine harvesters (CHs) use large amounts of diesel fuel and they contribute significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollutants. A reduction in fuel consumption of agricultural machines has immediate economic benefits but can also results in longer term environmental benefits. Savickas et al. (Precis Agric 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-023-10060-6) introduced extensive telematics data analysis and field tests for identifying the potential sustainable use of CHs. This paper follows on from that research and discusses the need for an IT tool for the management of economic and environmental indicators of a CH. The innovative tool allows the comparison of the data of specific agricultural machines with the multi-year telematics data stored in the database. It offers opportunities to reduce environmental impact and evaluate the results of field trials, presenting them in terms of environmental impact, expressed as CO2 equivalents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability in our food and fiber agriculture systems is inherently knowledge intensive. It is more likely to be achieved by using all the knowledge, technology, and resources available, including data-driven agricultural technology and precision agriculture methods, than by relying entirely on human powers of observation, analysis, and memory following practical experience. Data collected by sensors and digested by artificial intelligence (AI) can help farmers learn about synergies between the domains of natural systems that are key to simultaneously achieve sustainability and food security. In the quest for agricultural sustainability, some high-payoff research areas are suggested to resolve critical legal and technical barriers as well as economic and social constraints. These include: the development of holistic decision-making systems, automated animal intake measurement, low-cost environmental sensors, robot obstacle avoidance, integrating remote sensing with crop and pasture models, extension methods for data-driven agriculture, methods for exploiting naturally occurring Genotype x Environment x Management experiments, innovation in business models for data sharing and data regulation reinforcing trust. Public funding for research is needed in several critical areas identified in this paper to enable sustainable agriculture and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the emergence of digital technologies, we have witnessed a rapid growth of the sharing economy in recent years. In fashion industry, sharing economy concept is also widely applied. Instances can be found all over the world, like Rent the Runway, Golden Tote, Stitch Fix, and Le Tote in the US, Air Closet in Japan, Y Closet, Ms Paris, and Dora's Dream in China, etc. In this paper, motivated by the industrial practices of fashion sharing platforms, we first conduct a literature review on business operations of sharing platforms, including the sharing platform operations, digital and information technologies employed in sharing economy, business models, and sustainability and circularity in business operations. Afterwards, we analyze the challenges faced by fashion sharing platforms by exploring the two leading fashion sharing platforms in the US and in China, respectively. At last, we propose future research directions on fashion sharing platform operations and conclude the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the major causes of climate change, there is an urgent need for a fundamental transformation of the food system. Calls for greater sustainability underscore the importance of integrating civil society and the local knowledge of citizens in this transformation process. One increasingly relevant organisation that can actively engage a plurality of actors from across civil society is the Food Policy Council (FPC). In this paper, we explore the potential role of FPCs in sustainability politics to create an alternative food system, with a focus on the co-production of knowledge for policy-making. We propose that the co-production of knowledge requires knowledge inclusion, exchange and transmission, and we focus on the challenges that can arise for FPCs. Our paper shows that bottom-up emerging FPCs constitute a new form of alternative food organisation that can integrate and support the critical capacity of civil society in food system transformation, but also face potential struggles in the co-production of knowledge for sustainable food policy-making. The paper further highlights that co-producing knowledge in and for sustainability transformation is fundamentally a political process, with politics broadly conceived. It not only has relevance for the institutions of formal politics, but emerges in and is intrinsically linked to the grassroots collective action of contentious and prefigurative politics in civil society. FPCs (re)politicise food by combining these various kinds of sustainability politics, which constitutes their transformative potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite widespread acknowledgement of the value of sustainability, the transition towards more sustainable economies and societies remains a challenge around the world. Civil societies play an important role not only in supporting government efforts on sustainability by 'filling gaps' and raising social awareness, but also in pioneering new practices and disrupting particular governmental or corporate strategies, as well as engaging and empowering previously marginalised individuals and groups. Yet civil society is not always a champion of sustainability nor of democracy; these actors may of course also destabilise innovations, depoliticise sustainability issues by reifying certain concepts or approaches and reinforce social hierarchies and patterns of exclusion that can undermine any transformative potential and bolster the unsustainable status quo. This Special Issue is therefore dedicated to interrogating what we see as the ambiguous, yet critical, role played by civil societies in sustainability politics. This introductory paper intends not only to draw attention to some of the arguments, theories and challenges found in each of the individual papers collected here, but also to pull on the common threads that run through them, as well as to unpick some of the different uses of the key terminology that they employ. We aim, moreover, to highlight the inevitable tension between the 'democratic side' and the 'dark side' of civil society and its politics of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eco-conferences like COP26 in Glasgow (UK) in 2021 have brought the debate on energy consumption and climate change to the fore. Given that a third of the energy produced worldwide is consumed in the home, it is pertinent to investigate how households use emerging technologies that allow households to monitor their energy consumption. This paper investigates how Danish households use green IT to monitor and manage their energy use and studies the related meaning householders attach to the green IT. We present qualitative data collected through interviews with 14 households, electric car owners mostly, who have adopted an application to monitor green energy availability – and its derived consumption. The paper highlights these householders' green energy monitoring practices with an emphasis on the meaning they make of the green IT application they used. Our study found that households can use more green energy without interacting continuously with the green IT application. This contrasts with a common assumption in the field of green IT design that consumers must continuously engage with the green IT to consume more green energy. We also posit that including householders in future green IT design is paramount for designing successful green IT applications. Finally, this paper calls for household energy consumption studies to view energy consumption as a service where specific practices are matched to energy sources – rather than viewing energy availability as a solitary incident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The machined surface in the industrial cutting environment is often covered by some interference factors, such as chips or coolant residuals, which make the existing methods have large detection errors. Therefore, the interference factors in the cutting environment seriously affect the sustainability detection and evaluation of the processed surface quality. This paper discusses the relationship between interference factors and roughness to study the sustainability detection of roughness. Firstly, a multidimensional feature parameter matrix with strong correlation with surface roughness is extracted and constructed based on the gray level co-occurrence matrix. On this basis, the adverse effects of interference factors (chips) on image feature parameters are quantitatively analyzed. According to the relationship between chip area and error change rate of feature parameters, an error correction model is constructed to optimize the feature parameters that change due to interference factors. The error correction model greatly reduces the negative influence of chip interference. This is the core of this paper. Further, the BP neural network model and support vector machine (SVM) model are used to predict the surface roughness with the optimized multi-dimensional feature parameters matrix as input, respectively. The above process realizes the sustainable detection of machined surface roughness. At the same time, in order to facilitate industrial applications, this paper uses LabVIEW software and MATLAB software to package the above research into a software system. Finally, the practicability and effectiveness of the sustainable detection research are verified by practical application in the industrial scene. This study promotes the sustainable development between product safety and environmental impact in the industrial manufacturing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microfluidic immunoassay devices are a promising technology that can quickly detect biomarkers with high sensitivity. Recently, many studies implementing this technology on paper substrates have been proposed for improving cost and user-friendliness. However, these studies have identified problems with the large volume of sample required, low sensitivity, and a lack of quantitative accuracy and precision. In this paper, we report a novel structure implemented as a cellulosic material-based microchannel device capable of quantitative immunoassay using small sample volumes. We fabricated microfluidic channels between a transparent cellophane film and water-resistant paper to facilitate loading of small-volume samples and reagents, with a 40-μm-wide immunoreaction matrix constructed in the center of the microchannel using highly precise photolithography. A fluorescence sandwich immunoassay for C-reactive protein (CRP) was successfully implemented that required only a 1-μL sample volume and a 20-min reaction time. We confirmed that the limit of detection of the device was 10–20 ng/mL with a coefficient of variation under 5.6%, which is a performance level comparable to conventional plastic-based human CRP enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. We expect that such devices will lead to the elimination of large amounts of medical waste from the use of ubiquitous diagnostics, a result that is consistent with environmental sustainability goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature review shows research gaps into the food supply chain design. In that context, this paper deals with the design of a sustainable supply chain. A multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming model includes four decisions and three sustainable criteria (economic—total network costs—, environmental—carbon emissions—, and social—work conditions and societal development—). The model aims to determine the optimal location and capacity of processing and distribution facilities, to choose the suppliers from a set of potential candidates, to determine transportation modes between all the actors, and to define the quantity of product, in order to satisfy the demand of dairy products in a set of regions. The applicability of the model is tested in a realistic case in the dairy sector in the central region of Colombia. The results show the existent trade-offs between the three dimensions of sustainability. The unweighted balance results, giving more priority to the social dimension, which obtains the least deviation, affecting the environmental performance of the chain. The analysis carried out in this paper does help decision-makers that will have at hand a set of possible configurations to be chosen in order to comply with environmental and social regulations without neglecting economic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, research on the relationship between environmental sustainability and firm performance focused on determining whether the effect of the former on the latter was positive or negative. That potentially controversial approach had driven mainstream research to ask two focal questions: Does it pay to be green? and Does it cost to be green? Recent papers have explored a curvilinear effect (i.e., U-shaped and inverted U-shaped) by tackling another question: When does it pay to be green? These efforts, however, have either oversimplified the complex linkage between these two things into a linear relationship or confined the complexity within a formatted frame. This paper overcomes these shortfalls by exploring the holistic effect of environmental sustainability on firm performance, contingent upon corporate reputation. In conjunction with direct effect analysis, this paper uniquely explores the synergistic effect of environmental sustainability and corporate reputation on performance. In addition to detecting the nonlinear synergy pattern, we found that the synergy effect is asymmetric. Specifically, the effect is complementary for low-reputation firms but substitutive for high-reputation firms. In addition to its theoretical contributions and pragmatic implications, this paper uniquely presents PROCESS-Neural network as a promising analytic paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]