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Low-cost paper-based analytical devices are the latest generation of portable lab-on-chip designs that offers an innovative platform for the on/off-site analysis (biosensing) of target analytes, especially in rural and remote areas. Recently, microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) have attained significant recognition owing to their exciting fundamental features such as: ease of fabrication, rapid operation, and precise interpretations. The incorporation of enzymes with paper-based analytical devices significantly improves analytical performance while exhibiting excellent chemical and storage stability. In addition to that, these devices are highly compact, portable, easy-to-use, and do not require any additional sophisticated equipment for the detection and quantification of target analytes. This review provides a holistic insight into design, fabrication, and enzyme immobilization strategies for the development of enzyme-μPADs, which enables them to be widely implemented for in-field analysis. It also highlights the recent application of enzyme-μPADs in the area of: biomedical, food safety, and environmental monitoring while exploring the mechanisms of detection involved. Further, in order to improve the accuracy of analysis, researchers have designed a smartphone-based scanning tool for multi-variant point-of-care devices, which is summarized in the latter part of the review. Finally, the future perspectives and outlook of major challenges associated with enzyme-μPADs are discussed with their possible solutions. The development of enzyme integrated μPADs will open a new avenue as an exceptional analytical tool to explore various applications. Enzyme embedded paper-based analytical devices are a revolution in the field of biosensing. The design, fabrication, and enzyme immobilization on μPADs have been comprehensively discussed. The application of enzyme-μPADs food safety, environmental monitoring, and clinical diagnostic have been reviewed. Smartphones can be used as an on-site, user-friendly, and compact next-gen scanning tool for biosensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, paper-based point-of-care testing (POCT) has been widely used in medical diagnostics, food safety and environmental monitoring. However, a high-cost, time-consuming and equipment-dependent sample pretreatment technique is generally required for raw sample processing, which are impractical for low-resource and disease-endemic areas. Therefore, there is an escalating demand for a cost-effective, simple and portable pretreatment technique, to be coupled with the commonly used paper-based assay (e.g. lateral flow assay) in POCT. In this review, we focus on the importance of using paper as a platform for sample pretreatment. We firstly discuss the beneficial use of paper for sample pretreatment, including sample collection and storage, separation, extraction, and concentration. We highlight the working principle and fabrication of each sample pretreatment device, the existing challenges and the future perspectives for developing paper-based sample pretreatment technique. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study analysed 40 planning applications in the East of England to investigate the practice of translating paper recommendations in the environmental statement (ES) into legal conditions and obligations. A high proportion (50%) of suggested mitigation measures were not translated into planning conditions or obligations. However, a significant number of additional conditions or obligations, not directly based on the ES, were imposed on developers. The research suggests a mismatch between the practice of those producing ESs and the expectations of planning authorities, leading to inefficiency and, possibly, emasculation of environmental impact assessment through a failure to implement mitigation. Several recommendations are made to increase the effectiveness of the implementation and integration of mitigation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of environmental protection tax on green technology innovation of Chinese resource-based enterprises and behavior of thirdparty environmental monitoring institutions. It uses game theory to analyze participants' strategy selections, and uses the triple difference method to empirically test the promotion effect. Our robust results find that (1) Chinese environmental tax policy effectively promotes the green innovation of resource-based enterprises and standardizes the behavior of third-party monitoring institutions; (2) local governments' actions such as increasing environmental protection tax, penalizing third-party monitoring agencies for violations, and promoting public preference for green consumption, all contribute to accelerating enterprises' green innovation; (3) the central government's increased regulation of local governments has a positive impact on enterprises and third-party monitoring institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A long-term monitoring study was conducted on effluents from a bleached kraft pulp and paper mill located in Eastern Canada. The study was designed to gain insights into temporal effluent variability with respect to fish reproduction as it related to production upsets, mill restarts and conditions affecting biological treatment performance. Final effluent quality was monitored between February 2007 and May 2009 using biochemical and chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, resin and fatty acids, a gas chromatographic profiling index, and the presence of methyl substituted 2-cyclopentenones. Selected effluent samples were evaluated for effects on fish reproduction (egg production) using a shortened version of the adult fathead minnow reproductive test. The events relating to negative effects on fish reproduction were upsets of the pulping liquor recovery system resulting in black liquor losses, operational upsets of the hardwood line resulting in the loss of oxygen delignification filtrates, and conditions that reduced the performance of biological treatment (e.g., mill shutdown and low ambient temperatures). The reductions in egg production observed in fathead minnow were associated with biochemical oxygen demand values > 20 mg/L, GC profiling indices > 1.2 and the presence of methyl-substituted 2-cyclopentenones at concentrations > 100 μg/L. This study demonstrated the importance of both in-plant measures for controlling the loss of organics as well as the optimum operation of biological effluent treatment for eliminating effluent-related effects on fish reproduction (egg production) in the laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise extraction of open-pit mines is crucial for resource management and ecological and environmental dynamic monitoring. Current methods for extracting open-pit mines encounter challenges such as low accuracy and difficulty detecting complex scenes of open-pit mining. To address these issues, this paper proposes an object-oriented intelligent extraction method for complex mining scenes using Gaofen-2(GF-2) high-resolution remote-sensing images, which expresses the pixel-level features at the object level and utilizes the unique feature propagation and aggregation capabilities of the graph structure for the extraction of the mines. First, an object-oriented feature expression strategy is introduced to express multi-level pixel-level features as object-level features by constructing objects with appropriate multi-resolution segmentation parameters. This approach effectively reduces the impact of isolated pixel noise and outliers on classification results. Second, this paper proposes a U-GCN-based open-pit mining extraction method that combines the powerful multi-level feature extraction capabilities of U-GCN to propagate and aggregate information in a graph structure, effectively modelling spatial relationships between different objects. This method achieves high-precision extraction of open-pit mining areas. In experiments conducted on two study areas of varying scales, the F1 scores for open-pit mine extraction reached 93.32% and 83.06%. Comparative experiments demonstrate that the proposed object-oriented U-GCN method performs superiorly in terms of accuracy, stability and robustness across mining scenes with different levels of complexity. The proposed open-pit mine extraction method offers new insights and methodologies for current extraction practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nucleic acid-based molecular detection of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been used for the detection of eukaryotic pathogens, genetic markers, and biomedical studies in humans and animals, forensic investigation, conservation biology, and environmental monitoring. Currently available molecular mtDNA testing is predominately dependent on relatively expensive laboratory equipment, which limits test applicability for on-site field testing. Recent technical advances in molecular testing of mtDNA using microfluidic chip technology and paper-based methods, and assays based on isothermal nucleic acid amplification show promise for field assay development. Microfluidic and paper-based components for mtDNA sample preparation and isothermal amplification establish the groundwork for targeted detection. The goal is on-site field detection mtDNA assays that combine sample processing, assay setup, and visual representation of the presence of mtDNA. This review examines advantages and disadvantages of alternative field-compatible tests for on-site detection of mtDNA. Despite challenges, developing an integrated "sample-through detection" field test platform is the future direction for mtDNA molecular detection in environmental samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel Schiff base, N'-(4-(diethylamino)-2-hydroxybenzylidene) isonicotinohydrazide (S1) was synthesised by the condensation reaction between isonicotinohydrazide and 4-(diethylamino)-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde. The chemo-sensing behaviour of S1 towards Ni2+ was investigated and confirmed that the S1 exhibited fair selectivity and sensitivity. Furthermore, it was noted that there was no significant effect of co-existing cations and anions on the detection of Ni2+. The complexation ratio of S1 and Ni2+ was confirmed as 1:1 with Jobs continuous variation method and two isosbestic points on absorption titration further supported by DFT calculations. The binding constant (Kb) for S1+Ni2+ was calculated as 22,769 M−1 and 22,134 M−1. Moreover, the obtained limit of detection (LOD) for Ni2+ was found to be 375 nM. Finally, chemosensing applications of S1 as a paper test strip kit in the environmental monitoring assessment laboratory for the recovery of Ni2+ from real water samples were successfully designed and evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic contamination of surface waters is a critical issue in urbanised catchments, especially in Mediterranean environments with scarce water resources and intermittent rivers. A combined hydro-geochemical and multivariate statistical methodology has been applied to evaluate the surface water quality of Wadi El Hatab catchment (Central Tunisia). More than half of the 28 samples collected in March 2021 exceeded WHO standards for sodium, chloride and sulphate contents. Most polluted sites are directly influenced by domestic and industrial effluents that contaminate the river for kilometers. Principal Component Analysis and Hierarchical Ascendant Classification distinguished four contamination sources: water-rock interaction, domestic wastewater, untreated industrial effluents mainly from paper mills and irrigation return. A Water Quality Index model indicated that 75% of the surface water was unsuitable for drinking purposes; while according to chemical indices such as saturation index, sodium absorption coefficient (SAR), magnesium ratio (MR) and percent sodium (%Na), 25 to 49% of samples were unsuitable for irrigation. Considering that water of Wadi El Hatab is used for vegetable irrigation, serious public health issues may arise. The investigation demonstrated that a single representative sampling campaign could be a useful way to identify contamination sources when interpreted with both statistical and geochemical tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several topics discussed at a roundtable discussion regarding environmental bioindicators is presented. Roundtable participants identified characteristics for developing bioindicators for use in policy which include scale, context, use of consistent nomenclature, and others. Moreover, they emphasized the importance of focusing at environmental bioindicators in climate change context and others.

Mercury (Hg) is a well know element due its toxicity to both environment and humans. Also, mercury has a high persistence in the environment, and therefore, it is essential to monitor its presence on environmental matrices, such as water, soils and sediments. Sediment cores can provide a useful tool when monitoring water bodies for the presence of mercury since, when coupled with geochronological techniques, it is possible to analyze the temporal variation of Hg during a certain period. Thus, the objective of this work was to perform a systematic review about papers that analyzed the presence of Hg in dated sediment cores in Brazil. The review was performed in the following databases: Scielo, PubMed, Science Direct and Scopus. We searched for papers published between 2011 and 2020. In total, we found 217 articles, that after the application of successive filtration criteria, were reduced to 13 articles. The majority of the papers showed a tendency of increase in the concentration of Hg. We also performed a risk assessment that indicates that some places have Hg concentrations above quality criteria established for sediments. Regarding the sources, all the papers that presented a tendency of increase in Hg concentrations considered this as consequence of anthropogenic activities, such as chlor-alkali industries and deforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transmission teaching which centres around traditional lecturing discounts the variety of different learners and individual aptitudes. Physical Geography as a discipline has historically provided a range of teaching methods beyond lecturing which embrace field and laboratory activities, frequently adapting new research technologies to further student learning. While technological trends are increasing the demand for Geography graduates with GIS, modelling, or programming skills, Geography lecturers should remain open to using other technological advances as teaching tools. Using an example of low-cost environmental sensors, this paper demonstrates how technologically-focused exercises can effectively solidify a range of geographical skills through experiential learning. Using Kolb's Experiential Learning Model to identify the key learning processes, we compare low-cost environmental sensor training to the UK's current Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education's (QAA) Geography benchmarks. We also consider the practical applications of this technology as a learning tool for Physical Geography. In comparison with a student evaluation, this paper provides an initial basis to support additional qualitative investigations into the learning outcomes of independent, technology-based learning activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Change Detection (CD) provides a research basis for environmental monitoring, urban expansion and reconstruction as well as disaster assessment, by identifying the changes of ground objects in different time periods. Traditional CD focused on the Binary Change Detection (BCD), focusing solely on the change and no-change regions. Due to the dynamic progress of earth observation satellite techniques, the spatial resolution of remote sensing images continues to increase, Multi-class Change Detection (MCD) which can reflect more detailed land change has become a hot research direction in the field of CD. Although many scholars have reviewed change detection at present, most of the work still focuses on BCD. This paper focuses on the recent progress in MCD, which includes five major aspects: challenges, datasets, methods, applications and future research direction. Specifically, the background of MCD is first introduced. Then, the major difficulties and challenges in MCD are discussed and delineated. The benchmark datasets for MCD are described, and the available open datasets are listed. Moreover, MCD is further divided into three categories and the specific techniques are described, respectively. Subsequently, the common applications of MCD are described. Finally, the relevant literature in the main journals of remote sensing in the past five years are analyzed and the development and future research direction of MCD are discussed. This review will help researchers understand this field and provide a reference for the subsequent development of MCD. Our collections of MCD benchmark datasets are available at: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperspectral image (HSI) contains rich spatial and spectral information, which has been widely used in resource exploration, ecological environment monitoring, land cover classification and target recognition. However, the nonlinearity of HSI data and the strong correlation between bands also bring difficulties and challenges to HSI application. In particular, the limited available hyperspectral training samples will lead to the classification accuracy cannot be improved. Therefore, making full use of the advantages of HSI data, through algorithms and strategies to solve the limited training samples, high-dimensional HSI data and effective classification method, so as to improve the classification accuracy. This paper reviews the research results of the feature extraction methods and classification methods of HSI classification in recent years. In addition, this paper expounds five kinds of small sample strategies, and solves the problem of small sample in HSI classification from different angles. Small sample strategy will be the focus of HSI classification research in the future. To solve the problem of small sample classification can greatly promote the application of HSI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the influence of smog on firm earnings and information content using the data of Chinese A share listed firms and the air quality monitoring data released by the China National Environmental Monitoring Center from 2013 to 2017. The empirical results show that smog will not only negatively influence the earnings of local firms, but also result in a decrease in the information content of their earnings for market valuations. This paper further tests the role of firm size in the influence mechanism of smog on earnings and information content. The results reveal the significant moderating effect of firm size in the influence mechanism, which is reflected by large-scale firms being more likely to suffer earnings decrease and less likely to suffer earnings information content decrease due to smog, while small-scale firms tend to experience the opposite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the effect of agricultural data collection and transmission, based on the technology adopted by the mainstream agricultural environmental information monitoring system on the market, this paper uses game theory to innovatively improve the algorithm mechanism of wireless sensor nodes, optimise the clustering structure and routing method of wireless sensor networks, design a remote monitoring platform for field farm information and finally build a complete agricultural information monitoring system. Moreover, taking the temperature and humidity sensor as an example, this paper improves the parameters on the basis of testing the various performance of the sensor, and develops the software of the main chip on the basis of the improved node, and completes the driver design of the sensor. In addition, this paper constructs a wireless sensor network data transmission model based on game theory, and combines simulation experiments to conduct experimental research on the system model constructed in this paper. From the test results, it can be seen that the model constructed in this paper has a better effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2022, the authors presented the first stage of implementing a revised climate control strategy at the National Gallery of Victoria, monitoring collection object response in collaboration with the Getty Conservation Institute using acoustic emissions (AE) monitoring. The research and education, motivating factors, and interdepartmental alignment required for adopting the Bizot Green Protocol (BGP) were discussed, as well as the experimental design and set-up of the AE system on a large Flemish altarpiece in an active gallery. This second and concluding paper presents the results of the AE monitoring study along with energy used by the HVAC system for the gallery housing the AE monitoring study, during the transition from traditional environmental parameters through to broadened parameters as defined in the BGP. The project highlights the importance of understanding individual gallery and building behaviour as well as the HVAC system in place. In the case of the gallery housing the AE study, the implementation of BGP parameters resulted in smaller environmental fluctuations than expected. That HVAC energy efficiency could be improved with a relatively low impact on the gallery environment was an unexpected but welcome outcome. This case study describes some common challenges faced when considering such a change operationally, including resourcing and communication needs. Identifying points of resistance, framing problems clearly, and identifying common goals were essential to making progress. In this case, sustainability has compelled many stakeholders into alignment and enabled a shift in institutional culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a formidable analytical tool for the analysis of non-polar to polar compounds individually and/or from mixtures, providing information on the molecular weights and chemical structures of the analytes. During the last more than one-decade, ambient ionization mass spectrometry (AIMS) has developed quickly, producing a wide range of platforms and proving scientific improvements in a variety of domains, from biological imaging to quick quality control. These methods have made it possible to detect target analytes in real time without sample preparation in an open environment, and they can be connected to any MS system with an atmospheric pressure interface. They also have the ability to analyze explosives, illicit drugs, disease diagnostics, drugs in biological samples, adulterants in food and agricultural products, reaction progress, and environmental monitoring. The development of novel ambient ionization techniques, such as probe electrospray ionization, paper spray ionization, and fiber spray ionization, employed even at picolitre to femtolitre solution levels to provide femtogram to attogram levels of the target analytes. The special characteristic of this ambient ion source, which has been extensively used, is the noninvasive property of PESI of examination of biological real samples. The results in the current review supports the idea that AIMS has emerged as a pioneer in MS-based approaches and that methods will continue to be developed along with improvements to existing ones in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increased call to demonstrate the benefits of EU Member States' river basin management plans, whose implementation has been delayed largely due to insufficient funding. This paper applies a contingent valuation study to investigate the benefit value of improved ecological status in river basins and the discrepancy between the quality of waters as perceived by river basin residents and as monitored under the Water Framework Directive. Respondents often reported worse quality for their focal water body than the monitored status indicated, a tendency established in a GIS analysis. The likelihood of such divergence increased most with degree of perceived deterioration of surface waters. Observed deterioration in waters, official status of one's focal water body and divergence between two quality measures had implications for welfare estimates. Describing water quality according to ecological criteria and as uniformly as possible would facilitate the use of valuation results in future benefit transfers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollution of the environment by microplastics is a problem that is increasingly visible and worrisome, with tyre wear particles (TWPs) being considered, after several studies, as one of the major sources of microplastics. The aim of this paper is to present a review of the current knowledge on microplastics generated by road traffic, more specifically in TWPs. Generation and pathways depend on different factors like characteristics of the tyre and road or physical properties of the particles, among others. Currently, there are some studies on TWPs, both, carried out at the laboratory and under real scale conditions. So far, it has been possible to identify the presence of TWPs in samples, but their quantification involves time-consuming and expensive methods. The big knowledge gap is to find a standardised and practical method for sampling, detection and quantification, so more research on TWPs and their dispersion in the environment is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple plastic face shields have numerous practical advantages over regular surgical masks. In light of the spreading COVID-19 pandemic, the potential of face shields as a substitution for surgical masks was investigated. In order to determine the efficacy of the protective equipment we used a cough simulator. The protective equipment considered was placed on a manikin head that simulated human breathing. Concentration and size distribution of small particles that reached the manikin respiration pathways during the few tens of seconds following the cough event were monitored. Additionally, water sensitive papers were taped on the tested protective equipment and the manikin face. In the case of frontal exposure, for droplet diameter larger than 3 μm, the shield efficiency in blocking cough droplets was found to be comparable to that of regular surgical masks, with enhanced protection for portions of the face that the mask does not cover. Additionally, for finer particles, down to 0.3 µm diameter, a shield blocked about 10 times more fine particles than the surgical mask. When exposure from the side was considered, the performance of the shield was found to depend dramatically on its geometry. While a narrow shield allowed more droplets and aerosol to penetrate in comparison to a mask under the same configuration, a slightly wider shield significantly improved the performance. The source control potential of shields was also investigated. A shield, and alternatively, a surgical mask, were placed on the cough simulator, while the breathing simulator, situated 60 cm away in the jet direction, remained totally exposed. In both cases, no droplets or particles were found in the vicinity of the breathing simulator. Conducted experiments were limited to short time periods after expiratory events, and do not include longer time ranges associated with exposure to suspended aerosol. Thus, additional evidence regarding the risk posed by floating aerosol is needed to establish practical conclusions regarding actual transmittance reduction potential of face shields and surgical face masks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensors and sensor systems for monitoring fine particles with aerodynamic diameters smaller than 2.5 µm can provide real-time feedback on indoor air quality and thus can help guide actions to manage indoor air pollutant concentrations. Standardized verification of the performance and accuracy of sensors and sensor systems is crucial for predicting the efficacy of such monitoring. A new ASTM International standard test method (ASTM D8405) was created for this need and is the most exacting laboratory protocol published to date for evaluating indoor air quality sensors and sensor systems measuring particles smaller than 2.5 µm in diameter. ASTM D8405 subjects sensors and sensor systems to five test phases: (1) an initial particle concentration ramp; (2) exposure to various temperature and humidity conditions; (3) exposure to interfering particles; (4) temperature cycling; and (5) a final particle concentration ramp to assess drift. This paper discusses the development of the standard test method, key aspects of the testing process, example evaluation results, and a comparison of this standard test method against peer evaluation protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports a study of the concentration of fine particles in the atmospheric air with a diameter of < 2.5 microns (PM2.5) and solid particles with a diameter of < 10 microns (PM10) of urbanised territories. An environmental monitoring device (DT-9881 M) determined the concentration of dust particles, and the amount of adsorbed dust on the leaves of woody plants was determined by the flushing method. The research established that the concentration of solid particles in the atmospheric air PM2.5/PM10 depended on the intensity of motor traffic. A decrease in the content of PM2.5/PM10 was revealed in plantings where the influence of forest air on human beings was recorded. Measurements on the content of formaldehyde and carbon monoxide at all measurement points gave negative indicators. Green spaces are important to human well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental operators perform their activities in accordance with the relevant legal provisions; however, this does not mean that they operate at their technological optima using the operational information available. The possible negative effects (odor, noise, etc.) of a sub-optimal operation can be felt first and foremost by those living in the immediate vicinity of the given object. It would be important to make effective use of these citizens feedback (quickly to revealing the root causes) thus minimize negative environmental impact of operations. The solution proposed in this paper is a portal called EnviroMind, which allows citizens feedback to be recorded in an easy, immediate, and structured way via a form and on the other hand, it provides a real-time graphical odor transmission model output in a dashboard to operators. Using this portal as a monitoring system the magnitude of the odor effect could be reduced and a smaller area around the industrial object could be affected. In a landfill monitoring pilot project where this monitoring system was used the decrease in the number of indicated odor observations was 85% and the decrease in maximal distance from landfill to odor detection positions was 45%. It is proposed to use EnviroMind monitoring system for all industrial objects which have a significant odor effect on the environment, because by using it we can make the odor effect visible to operators in real time, thus, the reaction time for solving the problem can be minimized. Implications: monitoring is available online to the surrounding community, the affected population, so that quick responses and interventions are available; in the knowledge of the current technological activity carried out on the site its expected odor effect in the area can be determined, whether a protected area can be reached and what odor concentration is expected; in every 15 minutes model results to accurately track expected odor emission values; possibility of intervention, stopping or modification of the technology steps. Experience and main achievements of portal operation in a landfill monitoring pilot project from recent 3 years: the decreasing number of odor perceptions (the decrease in the number of indicated observations was 85%) and the cessation of odor effects in certain areas (and the decrease in maximal distance from landfill to odor detection positions was 45%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an evolutionary game was developed and used to simulate interactions among the key stakeholders associated with the monitoring and control of environmental impact of the projects. The system dynamics simulation of the evolutionary game indicated problems in sustaining desired behaviour from the concerned stakeholders. Based on the observations from the simulation of the evolutionary game, a penalty – reward system was proposed to deal with these problems and to ensure that execution of projects is pro-environmental with minimum monitoring from the senior management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine mucilage, also known as sea-snot, is an environmental disaster with ecological, economical, and public health-related impacts, which is occurring with increasing frequency and severity worldwide. One of the latest mucilage occurrences, the mucilage outbreak of Spring 2021 in the Sea of Marmara, lasted for well over three months and covered more than area of 1160 $k{m^2}$ k m 2 , and was repeated in 2022, although to a smaller extent in terms of duration, coverage area, and severity. Remotely sensed images acquired by Earth observation sensors provide a convenient and promising alternative for environmental monitoring of marine mucilage, with respect to field and laboratory work which are costly, require expert knowledge, and which have to be conducted in a small time-window and have limited generalizability due to the under-sampling of a large medium with a highly dynamic character. This work presents an unmixing-based approach using nonnegative matrix factorization for marine mucilage monitoring from remotely sensed hyperspectral data. The proposed method enables to identify the spectral signature of mucilage, and its variants where applicable, and the precise detection and estimation of mucilage concentrations in affected regions. Additionally, the proposed approach facilitates monitoring the temporal variations of mucilage presence, distribution, and accumulation, between data acquired from the same region at different dates or times. This enables quantitative spatio-temporal mapping of distributions and the potential of assessing the severity of outbreaks, without the requirement of manually prepared ground truth maps or carefully selected thresholds. Real hyperspectral data acquired by the PRISMA mission are used to validate the proposed approach qualitatively and quantitatively. The paper also discusses future directions and recommendations to enhance the performance and applicability of the proposed approach for marine mucilage analysis, and environmental monitoring in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental noise has a negative impact on human health and well-being. Real-time noise monitoring for effective noise control and management helps to identify noise sources and areas with high noise pollution, and potential mitigation strategies in urban planning. This paper reports work with a pilot scale system that can continuously collect noise data to assess noise levels accurately for real-time monitoring of environmental noise, focusing on hardware and software aspects and potential applications. The system permits the transfer of measurement data to the central server computer, with storage and display there, with the code written using Python. This system includes Web integration, with open source technologies to provide data access, and is based on Wi-Fi communication and a Control Card with Wi-Fi technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of deep learning-based high resolution remote sensing image sea and land segmentation method has become prevalent in various fields such as environmental monitoring, resource assessment, and urban planning. However, the segmentation process faces challenges due to the complex coastline and the similarity in spectral colour difference between the sea and land in certain areas. The remote sensing images obtained from satellites often exhibit unclear boundaries between the sea and land, as well as intricate coastlines. Consequently, the segmentation of sea and land becomes a difficult task. The existing sea-land segmentation methods have limitations in accurately segmenting long and narrow waters, as well as areas with low differentiation between sea and land. In this paper, we propose a new sea-land segmentation method called SRMA (Swin-Res-Multi-Attention). SRMA performs parallel feature extraction using a dual-branch parallel: Swin-Transformer branch and ResNet branch. The combination of Swin-Transformer's self-attention and ResNet's residual design helps reduce the loss of feature information, thereby avoiding incorrect segmentation in regions with low distinctness. To improve overall stability, we introduce the MCA (Multiscale channel attention module) module, which combines feature information from different scales. The multi-scale pyramid design of MCA module ensures stability and improves segmentation accuracy in narrow waters. Experimental results on a public dataset demonstrate that our model outperforms existing methods. Additionally, we evaluate the model's performance in complex scenarios by creating a new dataset that includes a complex urban water body and cloud interference. The results showcase the robustness and superiority of our model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) gathered data between 1989 and 1997 to build an "objective database" to further understand the occupational exposures generated by the few asbestos-containing materials remaining at various steelmaking companies at this time. This paper analyzed the 520 samples from this campaign which occurred at five different steel manufacturers: Georgetown Steel Company, Inland Steel Company, Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) Corporation, United States Steel Corporation, and Weirton Steel Corporation. This database is believed to have never previously been systematically organized. Samples were grouped based on sampling times to determine whether they should most appropriately be compared to the OSHA short-term excursion limit (EL) or the 8-hr time-weighted average (TWA) permissible exposure limit (PEL). Sampling times of 30 min or less were considered short-term samples, and samples of 180 min or greater were considered representative workday samples. Samples that did not fit into either category, with sampling times between 31 and 179 min, were considered task samples. Overall, the data indicated that the airborne concentrations were quite low in 1989 and they continued to be low through the study period which ended in 1997. Only seven out of 286 (approximately 2.5%) short-term or representative workday samples were in exceedance of the current OSHA OELs that were implemented in 1994 (short-term samples being compared to the 1 f/cc EL and representative workday samples being compared to the 0.1 f/cc 8-hr TWA PEL). Consistent with prior data, analysis of this dataset supports the view that materials containing asbestos were not used in many applications in the steel industry, and measured airborne concentrations of asbestos were almost always below the occupational exposure limits (OELs) in the post-OSHA era (1972–2000). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on an advanced level physical laboratory experiment designed for college level undergraduate education and for scholars who need specialized training on using and interpreting Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy. The technical principle, experimental operation and sample preparation of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy are introduced in detail. A presentation and discussion of the use of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy in the traceability of four common samples is emphasized. Combining Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy with Machine Learning, two distinct datasets are constructed through the extraction of spectral features. Dimensionality reduction of spectral data is performed using Linear Discriminant Analysis, while the Random Forest model is employed for provenance classification. Finally, the interpretability of the Random Forest model is leveraged to explore the contributions of different spectral elements to provenance tracing. Results demonstrated the system's effectiveness in not only accurately identifying ash types but also in elucidating the influential chemical components, offering significant implications for material analysis and environmental monitoring. On an educational standpoint, this paper will allow any reader, in particular, undergraduate and graduate students, to gain a better understanding of the theory and practice of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and machine learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the spatial Durbin model to capture horizontal strategic environmental policymaking and their effects on air polluting industrial agglomeration in Chinese prefectures. Using a set of panel data on 276 prefectures from 2003 to 2009 in China, we found strong evidence in favor of the pollution haven hypothesis in China. Moreover, we observed evident spillover effects in environmental regulations at the provincial level but not at the prefectural level. Air polluting industries transferred to their neighbored provinces to avoid harsh environmental regulations when the environmental regulatory stringency of the own province was enhanced. Exploring the heterogeneous impacts of EPAs on air polluting industrial activities, we found that senior EPA staff and those working in higher EPA ranks and Environmental Monitoring Stations played a superior role in implementing environmental regulations. The results are robust to alternative spatial weights, different agglomeration indexes, and the SLX model using the ventilation coefficient as an instrumental variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the application of long-term environmental and structural remote monitoring in two emblematic 16th-century adobe churches located in southern Peru. The paper starts by presenting details of the planning and installation processes of the monitoring systems and continues with a detailed discussion of the results of almost two years of continuous monitoring. As expected, due to the large thermal inertia of the adobe systems and size of the buildings, the results of the environmental monitoring indicated a non-uniform distribution of temperature and relative humidity inside the buildings, and an important attenuation of the internal conditions in comparison with the external ones. On the other hand, the structural monitoring results evidenced an annual cyclical behavior of the natural frequencies with an apparent correspondence with the changes in environmental conditions due to seasonal influences. The correlation of ambient conditions and structural parameters confirmed the high affinity between relative humidity measurements and natural frequencies when hourly fluctuations were removed from the measurements. An important novelty is the affinity of structural dynamic properties and a single environmental variable, the absolute humidity, was also evidenced since high determination coefficients were obtained when it was compared with the identified natural frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a control chart for monitoring non-normal environmental data. Particularly, we are interested in double bounded data, such as rates and proportions. Control charts based on the well-known beta distribution are usually considered when dealing with this type of data. However, environmental data may not be adequately modeled by this distribution. For double bounded environmental data the Kumaraswamy distribution is admittedly a better alternative than the beta distribution. In this sense, this paper proposes the Kumaraswamy control chart to monitor the behavior of environmental data, said as rates and proportions. The performance of the proposed chart is evaluated and compared with the beta control chart through an extensive Monte Carlo simulation study. The numerical results show that the proposed control chart outperforms the beta control chart in terms of run length analysis. Finally, an application to real data referring to the relative humidity in the city of Des Moines (USA) is presented, evidencing the practical applicability of the proposed chart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between the axial structures of three-dimensional (3-D) targets and the signal of the remote-sensing techniques, such as the modulated echo waveform of the full-waveform light detection and ranging (FW-LiDAR), has been well established. However, the relationship between the lateral structures on modulated echo waveform has not been exploited in detail. For FW-LiDAR, the peak intensity, rather than the shape and width, of the echo waveform reflects lateral structural information. Using four typical two-dimensional shapes to approach the lateral structures, a mathematical formula bridging the peak intensity and the lateral structures is derived. Based upon the echo waveform simulated using the formula, modulations of the lateral structural information on the peak intensity are examined to establish a database of target properties, including shape, size and position. The physics regarding peak intensity dependence on target position is used for facile shape recognition. The modulation of the lateral shapes of ground and aerial targets on the FW-LiDAR can be assessed extensively following the procedure demonstrated in this paper. Owing to the conciseness, the peak intensity formula enables the retrieval of lateral structural information by inversion, promoting the applications of FW-LiDAR in domains including topological mapping, ecological monitoring and space debris detection and removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatiotemporal data are common in practice. Such data often have complicated structures that are difficult to describe by parametric statistical models. Thus, it is often challenging to analyze spatiotemporal data effectively since most existing statistical methods and software packages in the literature are based on parametric modeling and cannot handle certain applications properly. This paper introduces the new R package SpTe2M, which was developed for implementing some recent nonparametric methods for modeling and monitoring spatiotemporal data. This package provides analytic tools for modeling spatiotemporal data nonparametrically and for monitoring dynamic spatial processes sequentially over time. It can be used for different applications, including disease surveillance and environmental monitoring. The use of the package is demonstrated using the Florida influenza-like illness data observed during 2012–2014 and the PM2.5 concentration data in China collected during 2014–2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microfade tester is used to assess fading rates of fugitive colors of collection items. The paper presents the research considerations to design a simple, less expensive and portable contact microfade tester that could serve as a screening tool for conservators. Hardware design for such an instrument is presented that includes variations in light source (xenon or LED) and measuring head (ball lens or angled holder fiber), and does not need refocusing between measurements. Performance of the portable microfade tester versions was tested on lab samples and a paper based collection item and based on the ability to rank light sensitivity relative to that of ISO Blue Wool Standards 1, 2 or 3. The results are compared to the ranking obtained with the bench instrument when testing sensitivity of the same items for the same duration. All versions of the portable hardware were found suitable for use as a screening tool to discriminate light-sensitive collection items, with performance of the portable microfade testers using an LED optimized for samples more fugitive than Blue Wool Standard 3. These portable microfade testers need not replace the bench microfade tester as the presented portable microfade tester versions are only suitable to test collection items tolerating surface contact with the instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Where a virtual representation of the Earth must contain data values observed within the physical Earth system, data models are required that allow the integration of data across the silos of various Earth and environmental sciences domains. Creating a mapping between the well-defined terminologies of these silos is a stubborn problem. This paper presents a generalised ontology for use within Web 3.0 services, which builds on European Commission spatial data infrastructure models. The presented ontology acknowledges that there are many complexities to the description of environmental properties which can be observed within the physical Earth system. The ontology is shown to be flexible and robust enough to describe concepts drawn from a range of Earth science disciplines, including ecology, geochemistry, hydrology and oceanography. This paper also demonstrates the alignment and compatibility of the ontology with existing systems and shows applications in which the ontology may be deployed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Local Environment has established a bit of a niche in local sustainability indicator studies. In 1997 it published the important debate between Jeb Brugman and Graham Pinfield, which highlighted that sustainability indicators and their role are contested issues (Vol. 2, Nos 1-3). In 1999 it produce a first special issue on the topic (Vol. 4, No. 2). As the editors identified, this special issue probed 'deeper into aspects of indicator selection, methodology, theory and practice'. The papers presented there began to discuss a theme that is developed further in this special issue, that of the relationship between the objective and the subjective in indicator development and use. Our special issue brings together three full papers and a commentary presenting research and information from the USA, Sweden, France and Austria. In this editorial we are going to review the growth of interest in sustainability indicators and the changing way in which they are viewed and briefly comment on some recent indicator projects that we have been involved in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, portable sensors, with high accuracy and embedded communication technologies, have become available and affordable. By deploying such sensors on various urban vehicles that routinely navigate through city streets, vehicles can form a dynamic network for comprehensively and efficiently monitoring the urban environment. This drive-by sensing approach benefits also from the lower costs of sensor deployment and maintenance compared to stationary sensor networks. However, the data sampling frequency and spatial granularity of measurements are constrained by factors such as topology of the underlying street network and mobility pattern of sensor-equipped vehicles. In this paper we investigate the effect of street network topology on the quality of data captured through drive-by sensing. To this end, we first study the temporal aspects of drive-by sensing and present a quantitative method for comparing various street networks. Then, we consider the spatial aspects of drive-by sensing by defining a sensing-potential indicator for urban areas based on the geometrical properties of the street networks. This indicator is then combined with vehicle mobility patterns derived to measure the sensing potential of routes and cycles. In this context, we define the novel concept of Sensogram for describing the spatial sensing potential of network cycles using dedicated vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and surface plasmon polariton (SPP) is substantially developing optical sensing approaches that have been working in a wide range of applications, such as biological and chemical analyte detection, bioimaging, food safety, and environmental monitoring to security. Recently, optical fiber-based Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors has gained much attention due to the invention of Photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and microstructured optical fiber (MOF) which offer compact size and light regulatory competencies in unmatched ways. Moreover, the field of sensing has witnessed another type of plasmonic sensors which are based on metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide structure utilizing surface plasmon polariton (SPP) phenomena. This review paper provides an insight into the technological growths in plasmonic sensors based on optical fibers and the MIM platform. We believe that this paper is one of its kind which provides a diverse range of novel plasmonic sensor structures to its readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Palace of Westminster is a Grade 1 listed building and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site that is deteriorating faster than it can be repaired, increasing the risk of sudden and catastrophic failure. In 2018 the Restoration and Renewal (R&R) Programme was established to transform the Houses of Parliament and safeguard their future as the working home of British parliamentary democracy. It is a multifaceted and challenging undertaking, with key considerations for the architectural fabric and parliamentary heritage required to ensure it is fit for purpose in the twenty-first century. This paper will explore the impact conservation has had on planning, risk mitigation and project management by discussing how to raise heritage awareness and the complex approach to governance required due to the nature of the R&R Programme. It will focus on building information modelling, Palace surveys and sustainability considerations as specific case studies of conservation deliverables, whilst also showcasing the utilisation of innovative and cross-disciplinary techniques that have allowed the re-imagining of traditional construction methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the advent of X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrum analysis technology, with its wide range of elemental analysis, rapid, nondestructive analysis characteristics, and better detection accuracy, the workload of semi-quantitative analysis has taken half of the total analysis in contemporary research institutes and university laboratories engaged in material research. In addition, XRF has been widely and efficiently used in analytical chemistry, geological and mineral survey, ecological and environmental monitoring, food and drug detection, archeology and other fields. XRF spectrum processing technology is based on the application of mathematical principles, using reasonable algorithms to optimize the processing of spectrum data to contribute more accurate quantitative analysis of key elements. Over the years, XRF spectrum processing technology has formed a relatively complete set of processes, in each step of spectrum processing, plenty of research work and paper reports have been implemented and developed. This paper mainly reviews the representative algorithms and their progress in spectrum smoothing, background subtraction and overlapping peak decomposition of XRF spectrum analysis technology, analyzes their applications in related fields, summarizes and proposes the development direction of some potential algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pressure on manufacturing organizations to adopt benign processes and to develop greener products has increased significantly over the last decade. As such, several manufacturing organizations have turned to their suppliers and customers to find innovative solutions to environmental issues. Using the data from a survey of the Canadian and United States package printing industry, the linkage between green supply chain practices and the selection of environmental technologies is examined. This paper differs from other studies that have linked supply chain management to environmental technologies as it focuses specifically on green interactions between organizations in the supply chain. In particular, the paper explores the possible relation between environmental collaboration and environmental monitoring in the supply chain and the form of environmental investment characterized by three categories: pollution prevention, pollution control, and management systems. The results suggest that environmental collaboration with suppliers is positively associated with greater investment in pollution prevention technologies while such collaboration with customers has no impact on the adoption and the implementation of pollution prevention technologies. In contrast, environmental collaboration with suppliers is associated with fewer investments in management systems. Overall, green supply chain practices with customers have very little impact on environmental investment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A wireless sensor network requires judicious utilization of its limited energy resources. As a result, the energy efficient algorithms have become a pre-requisite for healthy and prolonged functioning of these networks. Consequently, the present work minimizes the energy expenditure, maximizes the node utilization, incurs less state switching, and prolongs the network lifetime by proposing a partly centralized and partly distributed sleep wake scheduling for the overlapped dominating sets. The concepts of such a hybrid scheduling and overlapped dominating sets have not been explored to their full potential for continuous sensing. Therefore, the research work presented in this paper shall be a stepping stone to further explore the suggested concept for the purpose of reducing energy consumption in wireless sensor networks. It is envisioned that the proposed approach shall be beneficial in battlefield monitoring, security surveillance, environmental monitoring etc., which necessitate long-term continuous/non-periodic coverage of the target region. The proposed sleep wake scheduling algorithm is hybrid in nature and possesses the advantages of both distributed and centralized approaches. The superiority and significance of the results have been established by a comparative analysis with other existing techniques mentioned in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological vulnerability is one of the core issues in the study of achieving sustainable development and is important for ecological conservation and environmental management, especially for ecologically vulnerable regions. Scientific assessment of ecological vulnerability can improve decision-making capacity and provide appropriate information for sustainable development. The Hexi Corridor is located in the inland northwest of China, and its ecological environment is very fragile. Under the influence of climate change and human activities, the Hexi Corridor is facing a crisis of ecological degradation. Therefore, this paper assessed the influence of various factors on ecological vulnerability, followed the principles of scientificity and data accessibility, and constructed a comprehensive assessment framework to reflect the spatio-temporal characteristics of ecological vulnerability in the Hexi Corridor from three aspects: natural factors, socio-economic factors and human interference factors so as to provide theoretical and practical guidance for regional ecological protection. The results showed that: (1) The ecological vulnerability of the Hexi Corridor was dominated by extreme vulnerability, mainly in the arid desert region, while mildly and lowly vulnerable areas were mainly distributed in the southern Qilian Mountains and the plain oasis region, which was closely related to its physical geography. The index values showed an overall decreasing trend, and the environmental situation was improving from 2000 to 2020. (2) The distribution of ecological vulnerability had obvious directional characteristics, and it gradually decreased from north to south. Moreover, it exhibited a significant positive spatial correlation, and its spatial aggregation pattern was basically consistent with the spatial distribution state. (3) Based on the spatio-temporal patterns of ecological vulnerability, the Hexi Corridor was divided into five zones: ecological core protection zone, integrated ecological monitoring zone, ecological optimization concern zone, ecological restoration management zone and ecological potential governance zone. Different environmental protection policies have been taken for different zones according to its basic conditions. Spatial principal component analysis (SPCA) method was used to analyze the ecological vulnerability factors based on the GIS technology. The partitions of ecological vulnerability for configuration and optimization has been classified and practical application. Geographic detector and national policies were considered for ecological vulnerability driver factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ventilation plays an important role in mitigating the risk of airborne virus transmission in university classrooms. During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, methods to assess classrooms for ventilation adequacy were needed. The aim of this paper was to compare the adequacy of classroom ventilation determined through an easily accessible, simple, quantitative measure of air changes per hour (ACH) to that determined through qualitative "expert judgment" and recommendations from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)®. Two experts, ventilation engineers from facilities maintenance, qualitatively ranked buildings with classrooms on campus with regard to having "acceptable classroom ventilation." Twelve lecture classrooms were selected for further testing, including a mix of perceived adequate/inadequate ventilation. Total air change per hour (ACH) was measured to quantitatively assess ventilation through the decay of carbon dioxide in the front and rear of these classrooms. The outdoor ACH was calculated by multiplying the total ACH by the outdoor air fraction. The classrooms in a building designed to the highest ASHRAE standards (62.1 2004) did not meet ACGIH COVID-19 recommendations. Four of the classrooms met the ASHRAE criteria. However, a classroom that was anticipated to fail based on expert knowledge met the ASHRAE and ACGIH criteria. Only two classrooms passed stringent ACGIH recommendations (outdoor ACH > 6). None of the classrooms that passed ACGIH criteria were originally expected to pass. There was no significant difference in ACH measured in the front and back of classrooms, suggesting that all classrooms were well mixed with no dead zones. From these results, schools should assess classroom ventilation considering a combination of classroom design criteria, expert knowledge, and ACH measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including land remote sensing, remote sensing of the coastal zone, and environmental monitoring and management.

Water is one of the most important and abundant resources on earth; therefore, determining easier and more accurate methods of measuring water quality has become challenging in recent years. Images of the Sentinel-2 multispectral (MSI) sensor and field measurements for three seasons and 39 spectral indices were evaluated to identify those that can be used as patterns for the generation of semi-empirical bio-optical models to predict the total dissolved solids (TDS) in surface water of freshwater wetlands. The Guartinaja and Momil wetlands, located in the Wetland Complex of Bajo Sinú, Northern Colombia, were used as references in the field. The individual bands of the Sentinel 2 MSI sensor and the spectral indices derived from these bands were tested (and will be referred to in this paper as spectral indices). They were classified as follows: 10 individual spectral bands of the MSI sensor of the Sentinel 2 satellite; 11 indices reported by the literature to determine water, vegetation, or soils; 11 indices reported to estimate salinity; and 7 to estimate total dissolved solids and proposed in this research. The indices were evaluated based on three exclusive conditions: 1) the correlation between the TDS values measured in the field and indices spectral values >0.7 for at least two sampling seasons; 2) for the three seasons, the regression models derived from the indices have a determination coefficient >0.7; and 3) the spatial correlation matrix between the images derived from the models is >0.8 for at least two out of the three analysis seasons. We achieved important results: 1) seven indices (B3, Brightness-3, SI-3, SI-5, Ferdous-2020, TDS-1, and TDS5) met the three conditions proposed above and therefore, they were preliminarily defined as patterns for estimating TDS in the selected wetlands; 2) Additionally, this research provided two new efficient indices for calculating TDS through bio-optical models: TDS-1 and TDS-5. The validation of the regression models derived from these indices indicated a high accuracy of the prediction surfaces, expressed in values <10% of the normalized root-mean-square deviation. The results of this study contribute to the determination of semi-empirical bio-optical models for predicting optically inactive water quality parameters, which are generally predicted with empirical models whose use is spatiotemporally limited. Additionally, the research contributions that are carried out to improve the methods of evaluating water quality from remote sensing products become investigations that positively impact the evaluation of water resources, especially in geographical locations in which there is no with sufficient financial resources for on-site sampling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]