Search

While the visual estimation of systolic left ventricular function by experienced examiners closely aligns with quantitative methodologies, the accuracy of visual estimation in determining the severity of valvular regurgitation using colour flow Doppler assessment of native heart valves remains largely unexplored. This study analysed the ability of 262 physicians to visually estimate the severity of 12 native valve regurgitations by grading colour Doppler transthoracic echocardiography loops in an online questionnaire. The assessments of the participants were compared to standardized quantitative evaluations conducted by certified echocardiography experts. Of the three valves to assess, evaluations by the participants showed the best correlation (Rs = 0.75, p < 0.0001) and agreement (percent agreement: 66.4%) with those of the experts in mitral valve regurgitation (MR). High agreement was observed for mild regurgitation across all valves (MR 94.5%, AR 80.3% and TR 88.7%), while consensus diminished in moderate (MR 55.9%, AR 49.5% and TR 55.0%) and severe regurgitation (MR 57.6%, AR 67.4%, TR 14.6%). The study underscores the potential utility of visual estimation of valvular regurgitation in clinical settings for identifying clinically relevant regurgitations. However, our findings also highlight the importance of integrating visual estimation with quantitative methods, particularly in moderate and severe cases of regurgitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work attempts to define metrics for hydrodynamic exposure, using known oceanographic variables to provide a universal site assessment method for mariculture structures. Understanding environmental conditions driving openocean mariculture siting is crucial in establishing consistent ocean governance, minimizing adverse environmental impacts, and facilitating economically sustainable farm operations. To provide a metric of oceanic conditions and associated requirements for structural design and operation of aquaculture systems, six Exposure Indices (EI) are proposed that consider physical energy levels related to hydrodynamic forces at a site. Four of the proposed indices consider only environmental conditions, while the other two also consider the dimensions of the gear that is exposed to the external loads. These indices are: Exposure Velocity (EV), Exposure Velocity at ReferenceDepth (EVRD), SpecificExposureEnergy (SEE), Depth integrated Energy Flux (DEF), Structure-centeredDepth-integrated Energy (SDE), and aStructure-centeredDrag-to-BuoyancyRatio (SDBR). While these indices are derived with a focus on aquaculture structures, they may also have applications for estimating biological stressors and operational challenges. The proposed exposure indiceswere evaluated for a range of known aquaculture sites around the world. A sensitivity analysis was conducted that quantified the relationship between the exposure indices and storm event return period. At a regional scale, hindcast numerical data for the German Bight combined with calculations of 50-year extreme values were used to calculate and map each proposed index spatially. Resulting maps showed that exposure is not simply a function of distance from shore. The six indices show plausible performance regarding the objective assessment of aquaculture sites. The authors herein present the indices to the aquaculture and ocean engineering communities for discussion, application, and potential adoption of one or more of the proposed indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many diseases, including cancer, infections, and auto-immune diseases, the immune response is a major determinant of disease progression, response to therapy, and clinical outcome. Innate and adaptive immune responses are controlled by coordinated activity of different immune cell types. The functional activity state of immune cells is determined by Signal Transduction Pathways (STPs). A recently developed technology (Simultaneous Transcriptome-based Activity Profiling of Signal Transduction Pathways, STAP-STP) enables simultaneous and quantitative activity measurement of relevant STPs in immune cells based on mRNA-analysis. STAP-STP technology was used to analyze public transcriptome data of a variety of immune cell types in resting and activated functional state. In addition, a clinical study on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was analyzed to illustrate utility of the technology. Per sample, activity of androgen and estrogen receptor, PI3K, MAPK, TGFβ, Notch, NFκB, JAK-STAT1/2, and JAK-STAT3 STPs was calculated, generating an STP activity profile (SAP) consisting of 9 activity scores. Each analyzed immune cell type, i.e. naive/resting and immune-activated CD4 + and CD8 + T cells, T helper cells, B cells, NK cells, monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells, had a reproducible and characteristic SAP, reflecting both cell type and its activity state. Analysis of clinical RA samples revealed increased TGFβ STP activity in whole blood samples. In conclusion, STAP-STP technology enables quantitative measurement of the functional activity state of immune cells of the innate and adaptive immune system. Aside from diagnostic applications, utility lies in unravelling abnormal immune function in disease and immunomodulatory drug development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition towards sustainable construction is crucial, and demountable building elements are frequently advocated for achieving this goal. While these elements offer relocatability during refurbishments, their adoption may increase initial environmental impact due to higher material use and steel connections. To address this, a quantitative assessment of demountable building elements in refurbishment scenarios at the building level is needed, filling a gap in the existing literature. This study bridges the gap by comparing the total environmental impact of demountable and traditional space-dividing walls in refurbishment scenarios for a semi-detached dwelling. Using a life cycle assessment, seven space-dividing wall types, including metal studs, wood structures, and masonry walls, are evaluated under four refurbishment scenarios spanning a 60-year building lifespan. The results reveal that traditional metal stud walls have a lower environmental impact in scenarios with limited refurbishments. In contrast, demountable walls become more environmentally beneficial only when refurbishing at least 60% of the wall area with three or more refurbishments. This conclusion was further validated through sensitivity analysis on the refurbishment rate, refurbished area, and impact assessment method. In this study, the assumed environmental benefits of demountable walls are challenged, providing a robust evaluation in a specific building typology and offering insights for policymakers and industry professionals on the environmental implications of incorporating demountable building elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arunachal Pradesh is a tribal inhabited area where most people are directly or indirectly dependent on forest resources for their sustenance. The present study was carried out in Deb, Lakang, Leporiang, Ompuli, and Parang villages of Papum Pare district of Arunachal Pradesh from June to December 2021. The Nyishi tribes mostly inhabit the study area. The Nyishi people have a long history of using ethnomedicinal plants for the treatment of various ailments. They also use these plants as a source of food. With time, the demand for such plants has increased rapidly leading to a declining population in the wild. Concerned about the diminishing population in the wild, the local people have ventured to grow them in the home gardens to meet their needs. The study found 21 ethnomedicinal plant species belonging to 16 families cultivated by the people in their kitchen gardens. Of these, 52% were herbs, 24% were shrubs, 19% were trees and 5% were climbers. Quantitative indices like Relative Frequency of Citations (RFC) and Fidelity Level (FL) of the plants have been also calculated. While the RFC ranged between 0.13 to 0.97 and FL between 51.1 to 96.7%. The study reveals the importance of ethnomedicinal plants as a source of food as well as curing a variety of ailments by the Nyishi tribes. Cultivation of ethnomedicinally and economically important plants in the home gardens is a useful strategy for conservation. It will also contribute towards the preservation of associated traditional ecological knowledge of the people. Therefore, the farmers should be encouraged and motivated for more such efforts to ensure the conservation of plants and food security in light of the changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Plateau Meteorology is the property of Plateau Meteorology Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Questioning is a critical strategy for science teachers to scaffold students' exploration and knowledge construction in inquiry-oriented science teaching. In science teacher preparation, open-ended questions asked by teachers are advocated as an advantageous strategy to prompt student thinking. However, insufficient attention has been cast on how science content knowledge embedded in teacher questions contributes to students' conceptual understanding. Pre-Service Teachers (PST) may formulate a mindset of hands-off inquiry teaching where students could achieve a learning objective by articulating their thoughts without guidance from teachers. In addition, existing methods for the assessment of questioning are mainly qualitative via discourse analysis from limited scenarios, which may yield biased inferences of a teacher's competency in questioning. Besides, qualitative methods are unwieldy for large-scale analyses due to the complexity of synthesizing discoursal information. In this study, we designed a written instrument for quantitative assessment of PSTs' pedagogical content knowledge of questioning. We thoroughly introduced the free-response and multiple-choice versions of this instrument and applied it with 108 PSTs. The findings supported the validity and reliability of this instrument. As suggested by this instrument, the participating PSTs were aware of the importance of questioning in inquiry teaching. However, the PSTs' difficulties with science content knowledge and knowledge of students' understanding might impede them from determining effective guiding questions to scaffold student learning. Finally, we discussed the potential of this instrument in preparing PSTs' questioning skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous updating and progress of medical equipment, the overdue medical device has problems such as management difficulties, resource waste, and potential security risks. Therefore, this paper used the Kohonen network algorithm to quantitatively evaluate and analyze the surplus value of overdue medical devices. In this paper, the Kohonen network algorithm was used to build a quantitative model of the surplus value of the overdue medical device, and the self-organization characteristics and data-driven learning ability of the Kohonen network were used to predict the surplus value of the equipment more accurately. Support vector machine was used to quantitatively evaluate and predict the surplus value of overdue medical devices, and further optimize the model performance, to provide more accurate and reliable decision support for medical equipment management. The Kohonen network algorithm used in this paper evaluated the correlation between the service life and maintenance cost of eight types of overdue medical devices and quantitatively predicted the surplus value of overdue medical devices with the random forest algorithm. According to the comparison of prediction bias, the maximum deviation between the expected surplus value and the actual surplus value is only 1, and the deviation value by the random forest algorithm is as low as 6, the Kohonen network algorithm in this paper has better prediction performance than the random forest algorithm. In the experiment of comparative analysis and verification by introducing the decision tree algorithm, the average error rate of the Kohonen network algorithm in this paper was only 20.57%, which was far lower than 46.34% of the random forest algorithm and 65.31% of decision tree algorithm. The Kohonen network algorithm used in this paper can effectively quantitatively evaluate and predict the surplus value of overdue medical devices, thus improving the efficiency of medical equipment management, reducing costs, and ensuring patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Histological staining plays a crucial role in anatomic pathology for the analysis of biological tissues and the formulation of diagnostic reports. Traditional methods like hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) primarily offer morphological information but lack insight into functional details, such as the expression of biomarkers indicative of cellular activity. To overcome this limitation, we propose a computational approach to synthesize virtual immunohistochemical (IHC) stains from H&E input, transferring imaging features across staining domains. Our approach comprises two stages: (i) a multi‐stage registration framework ensuring precise alignment of cellular and subcellular structures between the source H&E and target IHC stains, and (ii) a deep learning‐based generative model which incorporates functional attributes from the target IHC stain by learning cell‐to‐cell mappings from paired training data. We evaluated our approach of virtual restaining H&E slides to simulate IHC staining for phospho‐histone H3, on inguinal lymph node and bladder tissues. Blind pathologist assessments and quantitative metrics validated the diagnostic quality of the synthetic slides. Notably, mitotic counts derived from synthetic images exhibited a strong correlation with physical staining. Moreover, global and stain‐specific metrics confirmed the high quality of the synthetic IHC images generated by our approach. This methodology represents an important advance in automated functional restaining, achieved through robust registration and a model trained on precisely paired H&E and IHC data to transfer functions cell‐by‐cell. Our approach forms the basis for multiparameter histology analysis and comprehensive cohort staining using only digitized H&E slides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geoconservation policies assumed by the Sicilian Region (Italy) induced to classify as geosites all the geodiversity preserved in the Sicilian natural reserves. In particular, two of these geosites present in the oriented natural reserve of the coastal lagoon of Cape Peloro (Messina, NE Sicily, Italy), denoted "Morpho–tectonic system of Cape Peloro–Lake Faro" and "Morpho–tectonic system of Cape Peloro–Lake Ganzirri", were considered Global areal geosites on the base of their tectonic origin. Lacking an official scientific report of these sites, the present research was aimed to investigate the lagoon, in order to provide the (i) geological and structural framework, (ii) inventory, and (iii) quantitative assessment of geodiversity. The study geosites resulted to be originated during the post–Wurmian sea–level rise and the strong extensional tectonics affecting the Calabria–Peloritani Arc still active. Indeed, the lagoon depression hosting the Lakes Faro and Ganzirri, developed on low-relief coasts because of different systems of capable faults, NW–SE oriented in the Lake Faro and ENE–WSW oriented in the Lake Ganzirri. The quantitative assessment of geodiversity indicated high scores for the scientific value and the potential educational and touristic uses. On the basis of these results, it was possible to confirm the attribution of Lake Faro's and Lake Ganzirri's geodiversity to Global areal geosites, being the study morpho-structures key localities, providing indicators of representativeness, geological diversity, and rarity that ought to be protected as clear and unequivocal examples of the Earth's geological history and evolution of the Quaternary tectonic coastal lagoons. Actual criticisms that could irreversibly affect the environmental equilibria have been evidenced. Possible actions for the redevelopment of the oriented natural reserve of the coastal lagoon of Cape Peloro and the extension of the geosites were also described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the historical disaster records of 28 typhoons in Cangnan County since 2000, combining typhoon paths and hazard-bearing bodies data and based on the theoretical framework of climate change risk, the social and economic risks of typhoon disasters in Cangnan County with four intensity levels—severe tropical storm, typhoon, severe typhoon, and super typhoon—were quantitatively assessed. The results show that with the increase in typhoon disaster intensity, the spatial pattern of typhoon disaster hazard in Cangnan County changes from high in the west and low in the east to high in the south and low in the north. Super typhoons mainly affected Mazhan town and Dailing town in the south. The vulnerability shows an obvious upward trend. Super typhoons cause more than 40% of the population to be affected, more than 20% of direct economic losses and house collapse, and nearly 30% of crops to be affected in Cangnan County. The spatial pattern of risks that typhoon disasters have on populations, economies, crops, and houses change from low in south and high in north to high in north and south, and these risks increase gradually. The comprehensive risk of typhoon disasters is higher in the north and lower in the south, with the risk level being higher in the central and northern regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban greening is a major goal in policies for sustainable cities, and spatial planners are nowadays strongly interested in the benefits of greenspace for the well-being of urban residents. We present a novel, model-based approach to support the development of effective greening strategies. The approach is quantitative and spatially explicit and accounts for multiple health benefits as well as burdens. In our study, we applied this generic approach to the city of Maastricht (The Netherlands) and conducted an integrated, city-scale assessment of the health benefits and burdens of four urban greenspace designs. These included: 'No greenspace', 'Current greenspace', 'Green parking lots and squares', and 'Optimized greenspace locations'. For each greenspace design, indicator values were calculated for five determinants of health and well-being: heat stress, air pollution, perceived unsafety, unattractive views, and tick-bite risk. To assess the health contribution of urban greenspace in a given design, these indicator values were compared with the values in the 'No greenspace' design. The study produced clear, quantitative conclusions about the health benefits and burdens of the urban greenspace designs for the case of Maastricht but also generated novel, more general insights relevant to the planning of urban greenspace for health and well-being. These insights concern the importance of translating health policy objectives into specific target values or thresholds and the importance of 'smart' choices in greenspace type and location that can effectively reduce trade-offs between health benefits and burdens, as well as the insights that adding more greenery not always improves urban health and that urban greenspace alone cannot solve major air pollution problems. The priorities for future research, which will address the limitations of the presented approach, concern a further expansion of the range of health benefits and burdens covered by the model and the development of a common metric for the entire range of health benefits and burdens to optimize greenspace design and maximize its overall net health benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An inventory and assessment of mountainous geoheritage sites based on solid and clear criteria is a first step for any geoconservation strategy. The study area (DPR Korea) has a complex geological setting and many mountains with geological significance, the reasons that justify the mountainous geoheritage inventory done in this work. The inventoried ten mountainous geoheritage sites were quantitatively assessed and clearly show that Mt. Paektu and Mt. Kumgang is the most important mountainous geoheritage sites in the DPR Korea due to its high international scientific value. Mt. Chilbo and Mt. Myohyang have a slightly low value than these geoheritage sites in scientific value, but a high educational value and a high touristic value. In addition, the majority of the other mountainous geoheritage sites are characterized by moderate scientific, high educational, and high touristic values and low degradation risk. This study may help in selecting the ranking of mountainous geoheritage sites for World Heritage registration and the development of a new geopark project in DPR Korea, a country where the geopark concept is still emerging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract While the visual estimation of systolic left ventricular function by experienced examiners closely aligns with quantitative methodologies, the accuracy of visual estimation in determining the severity of valvular regurgitation using colour flow Doppler assessment of native heart valves remains largely unexplored. This study analysed the ability of 262 physicians to visually estimate the severity of 12 native valve regurgitations by grading colour Doppler transthoracic echocardiography loops in an online questionnaire. The assessments of the participants were compared to standardized quantitative evaluations conducted by certified echocardiography experts. Of the three valves to assess, evaluations by the participants showed the best correlation (Rs = 0.75, p

This paper employs statistical methods to analyze the relationship between vegetation and climatology variables.Additionally， it quantitatively assesses vegetation feedback over East Asia using the equilibrium feedback assessment （EFA） method.The study reveals a significant correlation between vegetation and climate variables， including temperature and precipitation.In middle and high latitudes， positive feedback is observed between vegetation and temperature， while negative feedback is identified between vegetation and precipitation.In middle and low latitudes， positive feedback is observed between vegetation and precipitation， while negative feedback is identified between vegetation and temperature.In high latitudes， the positive vegetation anomaly tends to reduce the albedo by shading effect， leading to increased energy absorption and warming air during winter and spring.The analysis highlights that in low latitudes， the correlation between leading vegetation and precipitation is highly sensitive.It is mainly because the high year-round temperature in this area leads to the vegetation being dominated by precipitation signals.The study also finds a positive correlation between leading vegetation and precipitation in low latitudes.The increased vegetation stimulates moisture convergence and enhances evapotranspiration， resulting in more precipitation.The vegetation feedback parameter for temperature is positive in regions around the Da Hinggan Mountains and Baikal Lake， predominantly covered by evergreen needle-leaf forests.The feedback parameter in this area is approximately 1 to 2 ℃·(0. 1FPAR ) -1.The positive feedback parameter is identified in the southern part of China， ranging from 0.2 to 1 ℃·(0. 1FPAR ) -1.Regarding precipitation， the feedback parameter exhibits significant noise， making it challenging to distinguish signals except for the positive signal around the North China Plain.In the North China Plain， the feedback parameter for precipitation is approximately 1.5 cm·mon-1 ·(0. 1FPAR ) -1.

Abstract For many diseases, including cancer, infections, and auto-immune diseases, the immune response is a major determinant of disease progression, response to therapy, and clinical outcome. Innate and adaptive immune responses are controlled by coordinated activity of different immune cell types. The functional activity state of immune cells is determined by Signal Transduction Pathways (STPs). A recently developed technology (Simultaneous Transcriptome-based Activity Profiling of Signal Transduction Pathways, STAP-STP) enables simultaneous and quantitative activity measurement of relevant STPs in immune cells based on mRNA-analysis. STAP-STP technology was used to analyze public transcriptome data of a variety of immune cell types in resting and activated functional state. In addition, a clinical study on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was analyzed to illustrate utility of the technology. Per sample, activity of androgen and estrogen receptor, PI3K, MAPK, TGFβ, Notch, NFκB, JAK-STAT1/2, and JAK-STAT3 STPs was calculated, generating an STP activity profile (SAP) consisting of 9 activity scores. Each analyzed immune cell type, i.e. naive/resting and immune-activated CD4 + and CD8 + T cells, T helper cells, B cells, NK cells, monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells, had a reproducible and characteristic SAP, reflecting both cell type and its activity state. Analysis of clinical RA samples revealed increased TGFβ STP activity in whole blood samples. In conclusion, STAP-STP technology enables quantitative measurement of the functional activity state of immune cells of the innate and adaptive immune system. Aside from diagnostic applications, utility lies in unravelling abnormal immune function in disease and immunomodulatory drug development.

Abstract With the continuous updating and progress of medical equipment, the overdue medical device has problems such as management difficulties, resource waste, and potential security risks. Therefore, this paper used the Kohonen network algorithm to quantitatively evaluate and analyze the surplus value of overdue medical devices. In this paper, the Kohonen network algorithm was used to build a quantitative model of the surplus value of the overdue medical device, and the self-organization characteristics and data-driven learning ability of the Kohonen network were used to predict the surplus value of the equipment more accurately. Support vector machine was used to quantitatively evaluate and predict the surplus value of overdue medical devices, and further optimize the model performance, to provide more accurate and reliable decision support for medical equipment management. The Kohonen network algorithm used in this paper evaluated the correlation between the service life and maintenance cost of eight types of overdue medical devices and quantitatively predicted the surplus value of overdue medical devices with the random forest algorithm. According to the comparison of prediction bias, the maximum deviation between the expected surplus value and the actual surplus value is only 1, and the deviation value by the random forest algorithm is as low as 6, the Kohonen network algorithm in this paper has better prediction performance than the random forest algorithm. In the experiment of comparative analysis and verification by introducing the decision tree algorithm, the average error rate of the Kohonen network algorithm in this paper was only 20.57%, which was far lower than 46.34% of the random forest algorithm and 65.31% of decision tree algorithm. The Kohonen network algorithm used in this paper can effectively quantitatively evaluate and predict the surplus value of overdue medical devices, thus improving the efficiency of medical equipment management, reducing costs, and ensuring patient safety.

Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a quantitative pest risk assessment to assess whether the import of cut roses provides a pathway for the introduction of Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) into the EU. The assessment was limited to the entry and establishment steps. A pathway model was used to assess how many T. leucotreta individuals would survive and emerge as adults from commercial or household wastes in an EU NUTS2 region climatically suitable in a specific season. This pathway model for entry consisted of three components: a cut roses distribution model, a T. leucotreta developmental model and a waste model. Four scenarios of timing from initial disposal of the cut roses until waste treatment (3, 7, 14 and 28 days) were considered. The estimated median number of adults escaping per year from imported cut roses in all the climatically suitable NUTS2 regions of the EU varied from 49,867 (90% uncertainty between 5,298 and 234,393) up to 143,689 (90% uncertainty between 21,126 and 401,458) for the 3- and 28-day scenarios. Assuming that, on average, a successful mating will happen for every 435 escaping moths, the estimated median number of T. leucotreta mated females per year from imported cut roses in all the climatically suitable NUTS2 regions of the EU would vary from 115 (90% uncertainty between 12 and 538) up to 330 (90% uncertainty between 49 and 923) for the 3- and 28-day scenarios. Due to the extreme polyphagia of T. leucotreta, host availability will not be a limiting factor for establishment. Climatic suitability assessment, using a physiologically based demographic modelling approach, identified the coastline extending from the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula through the Mediterranean as area suitable for establishment of T. leucotreta. This assessment indicates that cut roses provide a pathway for the introduction of T. leucotreta into the EU.

Debris flow blocking river is a common mountain disaster chain, and however, there is a scarcity of quantitative approaches for assessing this particular disaster chain. To tackle this issue, we have developed a mathematical model using the framework of depth-averaged theory and its associated computational method. The model effectively captures the multistage process of debris flow blocking river at a catchment scale. It encompasses the dynamics of runoff, debris flow, and the river, ensuring the transfer of mass and momentum throughout the entire chain. To facilitate a more intuitive transition between the various secondary induced disasters associated with debris flow blocking river, two additional state variables are introduced. The presented computing method solves the model equations by integrating an HLLC Riemann solver into a second-order accurate finite volume method. To validate the effectiveness of this approach, two laboratory experiments and the 2020 Meilong debris flow blocking river event are simulated, and the obtained results are consistent with the available data. Moreover, this approach is employed to estimate the impact of scission on the chain process of debris flow blocking river. The simulated results showcase whether the transition between the various sub-disasters can successfully transpire under the influence of chain scission. This study can provide a basis for quantitatively assessing the chain process of debris flow blocking river as well as finding the optimization scheme to prevent this disaster chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rheological model is proposed that captures the performance loss and properties of a potential subsequent recovery of socio-technical systems subject to arbitrary disruptions. The model facilitates the quantitative assessment of such systems' resilience. While most models known from the literature describe systems that fully recover from aforementioned load events, the proposed model can capture also permanent performance loss or post disruption improvement. To demonstrate the versatility of the approach for a wide range of the socio-technical system spectrum, the model is applied to three systems: the frequency stability of the continental Europe power grid, flight operations of German airports, and the revenue of the German gastronomic sector. Fitting the proposed two-spring, one-damper, single-degree-of-freedom model to the recorded performance data determines relevant parameters which serve as a quantitative measure of the respective system's resilience. The small set of model parameters can be associated with relevant resilience dimensions. Variation of these parameters allows to quantitively determine the change of the model's response to the load events, and thus of the resilience predicted by the model. This allows to identify parameter ranges in which the model predicts, e.g., full recovery of a system, instead of permanent performance loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Based on a full-scale experiment, the process of forming a drawing prism in front of the blade surface was assessed and qualitative indicators that confirm theoretical studies of this process were identified.Materials and methods. In conducting experimental research, the main provisions of the theory of experimental design, based on the methods of mathematical statistics, were used. In accordance with theoretical studies, the process of formation of the drawing prism in front of the working bodies of earth-moving machines is accompanied not only by a change in the speed of soil movement on the surface, which occurs as a result of the action of adhesive forces and frictional forces, but also by the Coriolis acceleration that occurs in the process of moving soil along the curved surface of the dump, which, in our opinion, is the main reason for the uneven distribution of soil in front of the dump surface.Results. The proposed method of conducting and processing the results of the experiment made it possible to identify that the parameters characterizing the force of soil adhesion on the surface of the working body of the dump type are: volumetric mass of soil; the speed of soil movement at the i-th point of the surface of the working body; time of soil movement on the dump surface; coefficient of friction of the soil on the surface of the working body; time of interaction of the soil with the surface of the working body. The method of processing the results of the experiment made it possible to qualitatively identify and quantitatively assess the process of formation of the drag prism when moving soil on the surface of the working body in two-dimensional space, to determine the change in the velocities of soil movement at an arbitrary point of the surface and to verify the working hypothesis and theoretical studies on the nature of the change in the velocities of soil movement in front of the dump surface.Discussions and conclusions. It has been established that in order to reduce stickiness, it is necessary to optimize the parameters of the working body, the depth of digging and the time of interaction of the soil with the surface of the working body.

Abstract Residents learn the vesico-urethral anastomosis (VUA), a key step in robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP), early in their training. VUA assessment and training significantly impact patient outcomes and have high educational value. This study aimed to develop objective prediction models for the Robotic Anastomosis Competency Evaluation (RACE) metrics using electroencephalogram (EEG) and eye-tracking data. Data were recorded from 23 participants performing robot-assisted VUA (henceforth ‘anastomosis’) on plastic models and animal tissue using the da Vinci surgical robot. EEG and eye-tracking features were extracted, and participants’ anastomosis subtask performance was assessed by three raters using the RACE tool and operative videos. Random forest regression (RFR) and gradient boosting regression (GBR) models were developed to predict RACE scores using extracted features, while linear mixed models (LMM) identified associations between features and RACE scores. Overall performance scores significantly differed among inexperienced, competent, and experienced skill levels (P value

Abstract Understanding the spatial distribution of world cultural heritage in its present-day geographical context is the foundation for the identification of and subsequent protection from key threats and vulnerabilities, particularly those arising from anthropogenic climate change. To address this challenge, we classified 45 Spanish world cultural heritage sites (WCHS) listed in the UNESCO register (as of 2023) according to type, entry date, and creation date. To establish a basis for a detailed analysis of the specific impact of climate change on the Spanish WCHS, a spatial cartographic database was developed showing the relationships between the WCHS and key geographical and climatic variables. We then used historical climate data, combined with a review of the impact mechanism of climate conditions on cultural heritage, to quantitatively evaluate the extent to which the WCHS in Spain are affected by local climate conditions from five aspects: freeze thaw cycle, thermal stress (thermoclastism), hydrodynamic scoring, corrosion, and biodegradation. Based on the above climate condition risks, we identified the five Spanish WCHS with the greatest potential climate condition risks, including Santiago de Compostela (Old Town), Pyrénées—Mont Perdu, the Roman Walls of Lugo, the Routes of Santiago de Compostela: Camino Francés and Routes of Northern Spain, and the Tower of Hercules. Additionally, based on different shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs), we conducted a qualitative assessment of climate risk changes for WCHS in Spain under climate change. We found that the SSP1-2.6 scenario had the lowest climate risk, emphasizing the importance of achieving carbon neutrality for the protection of the WCHS. Our work translates historical climate conditions into specific climate risk levels for cultural heritage, providing data and theoretical support for effectively assessing the climate risks to Spanish WCHS.

This paper aims to identify the geological properties of Sentono Gentong and provide a quantitative assessment of its geodiversity site in Pacitan Regency, Indonesia.This area is an integral part of the vast Gunung Sewu UNESCO Global Geopark. Rock samples and site conditions are compiled on field study. The study area consists mainly of Neogene limestone and older igneous rock. Microscopic analysis has revealed that the limestone is composed of bioclastic wackestone, boundstone, and fossiliferous wackestone. The igneous rock in the area is a grey-black hornblende andesite. Bangunsari fault, which cuts through the study area, disturbs the coastal terraces to its south. The results of the quantitative assessment show that the site's potential educational use, potential touristic use, and degradation risk scores are 92.5, 80, and 56.25, respectively. The assessment scores describe the site as having potential for education and tourism uses, with a medium risk of degradation. Quite prominent cultural elements, which form the local community's identity, are included as a complement to the identification of the site. In order to preserve and maintain the sustainability of this potential geodiversity site, a high commitment related to geoconservation is required.

A high proportion of distributed generators (DGs) connected to the distribution network causes a significant change in the normal and fault currents of the system as well as in the linearization of the characteristics. It is difficult to adapt to conventional protection. This paper theoretically analyzes the possible impact of fault current characteristics on traditional protection based on single-ended informativeness after connecting to DGs. From the perspective of protection action, the evaluation index system of DG protection is established by considering the maximum short-circuit current output from DG. Combined with the relay protection requirements, the calculation method of evaluation indexes is given concerning the protection characteristics and expert experience. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and a CRITIC combination assignment method based on the principle of minimum information identification are proposed. The scores of different types of protection before and after DG access are calculated using the proposed methodology employing a typical distribution network example. The proposed method can quantitatively obtain the distribution network protection adaptability boundary. In the actual calculation example selected in this paper, a DG can reasonably improve the adaptability of the three-stage current protection when it increases the current amplitude at a penetration rate of 50%; the DG needs to adjust the three-stage current protection rectification value when it decreases the current amplitude at a penetration rate of 20%; and adaptive overcurrent protection and inverse time limit current protection need to be adjusted when the penetration rate of DG is 50%. Compared with the traditional protection evaluation method, the method adopted in this paper can intuitively derive the weak link between protection handling faults after DG access as well as the appropriate capacity of DG to improve protection performance. It can provide a powerful reference for the optimization of protection schemes after the high percentage of DG access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Fish passage facilities are crucial for restoring river connectivity and protecting ecosystems. This study quantitatively assessed the upstream migration of fish under various environmental conditions. In the Heishuihe River downstream of the Songxin Dam, 19 fish species were monitored, with 15 species reaching the fishway entrance and 12 successfully passing through. The entrance attraction and passage rates of the vertical-slot fishway at Songxin were 15.7% and 40.42%, respectively. The results indicate that May is the optimal period for fish migration, with better performance observed during nighttime than daytime. Optimal entrance attraction occurred at a flow rate of 6–7 m3/s and a temperature of 19–20 °C, while the best passage efficiency was achieved at a flow rate of 0–0.5 m3/s and a temperature of 17–20 °C. A multifactorial Cox regression model identified diurnal rhythms, release location, temperature, and flow rate as primary hindering factors, while body length and water level were found to be promoting factors. A nomogram was developed to predict the success rates of fishway attraction and passage based on these key factors. This study provides theoretical and data support for optimizing fishway operations and offers scientific insights into ecological restoration. Fish passage facilities are essential for restoring river connectivity and protecting ecosystems, effectively balancing economic and ecological benefits. Systematic and comprehensive monitoring, assessment, and optimized management are therefore crucial. This study quantitatively evaluated the entire upstream migration process of fish from the downstream river to the entrance and exit of the fishway and investigated the upstream movement patterns of fish under various environmental factors. A total of 19 fish species were monitored in the Heishuihe River downstream of the dam, with 15 species reaching the fishway entrance and 12 species successfully passing through it. The entrance attraction and passage rates of the vertical-slot fishway at the Songxin hydropower station were 15.7% and 40.42%, respectively. The best upstream performance was observed in May, with fish demonstrating better upstream timing and speed during nighttime compared to daytime. Specifically, the highest entrance attraction efficiency was recorded at a flow rate of 6–7 m3/s and a temperature of 19–20 °C, while the optimal passage efficiency was observed at a flow rate of 0–0.5 m3/s and a temperature of 17–20 °C. Additionally, a multifactorial Cox proportional hazards regression model was constructed to identify key factors influencing the probability of fishway entrance attraction and successful passage. The model elucidated the impact patterns of these key factors on fish upstream migration, ultimately generating an alignment diagram for prediction and control. This study provides a theoretical foundation and data support for developing optimized operational schedules for fishways. The findings offer a more comprehensive and systematic approach for monitoring and evaluating fish passage facilities, serving as a scientific basis for ecological restoration and fish conservation in this region and similar areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization brings us challenges, but it is meant to bring us well‐being. The short lifetime of buildings and urban renewal policies have led to the demand for demolition. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the benefits of implementing an advanced demolition system and to fill the sustainability assessment gap in the demolition sector. This approach will help reduce obstacles to conducting sustainable demolition. To achieve this goal, an assessment system based on external costs was built, which mainly focused on the costs of damage due to global warming and environmental pollution. A case study employing two advanced demolition systems was used to show how the assessment works and the effects of demolition. According to the assessment results, the total external damage for the two advanced demolition systems is 37.6% and 19.6% of that of the conventional demolition method. Excellent waste management causes damage due to global warming in only 9.4% of conventional demolition projects, but noise impacts are still a crucial issue in the demolition field, as they contribute to 74.4% of the total damage. Based on the case study results, the benefits of sustainable demolition and the future of demolition are revealed. Further development should be sought for future demolition through new design theory or new technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cervicocerebral artery dissection stands out as a significant contributor to ischemic stroke in young adults. Several studies have shown that arterial tortuosity is associated with dissection. We searched Pubmed and Embase to identify studies on the association between arterial tortuosity and cervicocerebral artery dissection, and to perform a review on the epidemiology of cervicocerebral artery tortuosity and dissection, pathophysiology, measurement of vessels tortuosity, strength of association between tortuosity and dissection, clinical manifestation and management strategies. The prevalence of tortuosity in dissected cervical arteries was reported to be around 22%-65% while it is only around 8%-22% in non-dissected arteries. In tortuous cervical arteries elastin and tunica media degradation, increased wall stiffness, changes in hemodynamics as well as arterial wall inflammation might be associated with dissection. Arterial tortuosity index and vertebrobasilar artery deviation is used to measure the level of vessel tortuosity. Studies have shown an independent association between these two measurements and cervicocerebral artery dissection. Different anatomical variants of tortuosity such as loops, coils and kinks may have a different level of association with cervicocerebral artery dissection. Symptomatic patients with extracranial cervical artery dissection are often treated with anticoagulant or antiplatelet agents, while patients with intracranial arterial dissection were often treated with antiplatelets only due to concerns of developing subarachnoid hemorrhage. Patients with recurrent ischemia, compromised cerebral blood flow or contraindications for antithrombotic agents are usually treated with open surgery or endovascular technique. Those with subarachnoid hemorrhage and intracranial artery dissection are often managed with surgical intervention due to high risk of re-hemorrhage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovative economic growth is not only based on the development of technologies that ensure the growth of aggregate supply. This type of growth is impossible without constant innovation in consumer goods that drive growth in aggregate demand. At the same time, in modern economic theory, the attention of researchers focuses mainly on the development of engineering and technology and the role of innovation in the field of consumer goods has not been studied separately from technical and technological innovations. The article analyzes the special roles of production innovations and consumer innovations in economic growth. A methodology developed by the author is presented for measuring the technological level of consumption, as well as for comparing the production technological level and the consumption technological level in the national economy. Based on statistical data, technological levels of production and consumption were calculated for the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, and Kazakhstan. The results of analysis of the dynamics of the production and consumption technological levels are presented. The level of correspondence between the technological capabilities of production and consumption within the national economies of the countries under consideration is evaluated. Such an analysis allows us to anticipate possible threats to the development of countries occupying a catching-up position in innovative development, as well as to anticipate the danger of a slowdown in economic growth for countries that are leaders in innovative development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major challenge in deep and high stress mining is managing seismic risk associated with blasting of production stopes and drift development to access the ore zones. The location, magnitude, and frequency of occurrence of seismic events are influenced by changes in stress, lithology, structure, and mining sequence rock properties such as brittleness. Mining induced seismicity can have significant safety and economic consequences for a mining operation.This paper presents a methodology for quantifying and integrating the influence of geological and structural characteristics to provide an improved understanding of the seismic hazards associated with drift development blasts. The method is based on multivariate statistics using a factor analysis of mixed data (FAMD) approach. It was demonstrated that specific geological and structural variables, at each drift segment, are correlated to the intensity of seismic responses to development blasting. A greater understanding of the critical factors provides a greater confidence in managing of seismicity. A further significant benefit is that the FAMD results can be used to prioritize the data collection for geological characterization to improve our understanding of seismic response after development blasts. This can be fully integrated in a cost benefit analysis that is critical for seismic risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the spatial distribution of world cultural heritage in its present-day geographical context is the foundation for the identification of and subsequent protection from key threats and vulnerabilities, particularly those arising from anthropogenic climate change. To address this challenge, we classified 45 Spanish world cultural heritage sites (WCHS) listed in the UNESCO register (as of 2023) according to type, entry date, and creation date. To establish a basis for a detailed analysis of the specific impact of climate change on the Spanish WCHS, a spatial cartographic database was developed showing the relationships between the WCHS and key geographical and climatic variables. We then used historical climate data, combined with a review of the impact mechanism of climate conditions on cultural heritage, to quantitatively evaluate the extent to which the WCHS in Spain are affected by local climate conditions from five aspects: freeze thaw cycle, thermal stress (thermoclastism), hydrodynamic scoring, corrosion, and biodegradation. Based on the above climate condition risks, we identified the five Spanish WCHS with the greatest potential climate condition risks, including Santiago de Compostela (Old Town), Pyrénées—Mont Perdu, the Roman Walls of Lugo, the Routes of Santiago de Compostela: Camino Francés and Routes of Northern Spain, and the Tower of Hercules. Additionally, based on different shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs), we conducted a qualitative assessment of climate risk changes for WCHS in Spain under climate change. We found that the SSP1-2.6 scenario had the lowest climate risk, emphasizing the importance of achieving carbon neutrality for the protection of the WCHS. Our work translates historical climate conditions into specific climate risk levels for cultural heritage, providing data and theoretical support for effectively assessing the climate risks to Spanish WCHS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces a method for quantitatively assessing the complexity and predictability of fish behavior in closed systems through the application of information entropy, offering a novel lens through which to understand how fish adapt to environmental changes. Utilizing simulations rooted in a random walk model for fish movement, we delve into entropy fluctuations under varying environmental conditions, including responses to feeding and external stimuli. Our findings underscore the utility of information entropy in capturing the intricacies of fish behavior, particularly highlighting the synchrony in collective actions and adaptations to environmental shifts. This research not only broadens our comprehension of fish behavior but also paves the way for its application in fields like aquaculture and resource management. Through our analysis, we discovered that smaller grid sizes in simulations capture detailed local fluctuations, while larger grids elucidate general trends, pinpointing a 2.5 grid as optimal for our study. Moreover, changes in swimming speeds and behavioral adaptations during feeding were quantitatively analyzed, with results illustrating significant behavior modifications. Additionally, employing a Gaussian mixture model helped to clarify the nuanced changes in fish behavior in response to altered light conditions, demonstrating the layered complexity of fish responses to environmental stimuli. This investigation confirms the efficacy of information entropy as a robust metric for evaluating fish shoal behavior, offering a fresh methodology for ecological and environmental studies, with promising implications for sustainable management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speckle reduction is a key preprocessing approach for the applications of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data. For many interpretation tasks, high-quality SAR images with a rich texture and structure information are useful. Therefore, a satisfactory SAR image filter should retain this information well after processing. Some quantitative assessment indicators have been presented to evaluate the edge-preservation capability of single-polarization SAR filters, among which the non-clean-reference-based (i.e., blind) ones are attractive. However, most of these indicators are derived based only on the basic fact that the speckle is a kind of multiplicative noise, and they do not take into account the detailed statistical distribution traits of SAR data, making the assessment not robust enough. Moreover, to our knowledge, there are no specific blind assessment indicators for fully Polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) filters up to now. In this paper, a blind assessment indicator based on an SAR Ratio Gradient Operator (RGO) and Confidence Interval Estimation (CIE) is proposed. The RGO is employed to quantify the edge gradient between two neighboring image patches in both the speckled and filtered data. A decision is then made as to whether the ratio gradient value in the filtered image is close to that in the unobserved clean image by considering the statistical traits of speckle and a CIE method. The proposed indicator is also extended to assess the PolSAR filters by transforming the polarimetric scattering matrix into a scalar which follows a Gamma distribution. Experiments on the simulated SAR dataset and three real-world SAR images acquired by ALOS-PALSAR, AirSAR, and TerraSAR-X validate the robustness and reliability of the proposed indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem service flow is essential for transporting, transforming, and maintaining ecosystem services and connecting supply and demand. This study attempted to quantitatively assess the supply and demand flows of ecosystem services in the Yangtze River Basin in 2000, 2010, and 2020; assess the evolution of the spatial patterns of ecosystem service flow at the provincial, watershed and urban agglomeration scales; and design a zoning standard for ecosystem service flow. The results showed as follows. 1) Between 2000 and 2020, the Yangtze River had a progressive drop in its freshwater supply, water conservation service and carbon sequestration service flows. The decline rates for these services were measured at 10.90%, 11.11%, and 5.17%, respectively. The climate regulation service flow exhibited a pattern of initial fall followed by a subsequent increase, characterized by a decline rate of 35.53%. 2) The lowest was the ecosystem service flow in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. Freshwater supply service flow and water conservation service flow were the highest in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration. Carbon sequestration service flow and climate regulation service flow were the highest in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River Basin and the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. 3) From 2000 to 2020, the change ratios of the area proportion of the confluence, flow, and outflow areas in the Yangtze River Basin were 1.06, 3.17, and 0.86, respectively. The results of this research could offer decision support for regulating ecosystem services in the Yangtze River Basin, promoting sustainable regional development and achieving rational use of the basin resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A concurrent qualitative-quantitative assessment of geodiversity was carried out within the Midriff Islands, a priority region within the Gulf of California that stands out for its geological, ecological, and cultural importance. This study is carried out on the coast of central Sonora, where the Comcaac indigenous community has lived for more than a thousand years imbuing their territory with material and symbolic values. The objective of this study was to highlight the elements of geodiversity and contribute to the management and conservation strategies that are carried out in the area. The qualitative approach consisted of detailed fieldwork and a descriptive-documentary assessment of the geodiversity attributes of the study area, which led to the preparation of geomorphological and geological maps. The quantitative approach consisted of the elaboration of a geodiversity index map using an adapted methodology that considered some sites of cultural value due to their relationship with abiotic natural elements of geodiversity. As a result of both approaches, several localities and zones of high to medium geodiversity were identified mainly located along the mountain ranges and the coast. Coastal areas, although not having the highest geodiversity, could be considered the most relevant in terms of geological heritage and geoconservation, because they comprise a variety of rocky outcrops and extraordinary landforms with scientific interest, as well as cultural and aesthetic values. In addition, the concurrent assessment was favorable to recognize localities where geoconservation and sustainable use strategies, such as geotourism, can be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macrophytes, visible aquatic and semi-aquatic plants, are integral components of wetland ecosystems, playing crucial roles in maintaining biodiversity, providing ecosystem services, and ensuring ecological stability. This research examines the distribution, abundance, frequency, diversity, and ecosystem services of macrophytes in several wetlands (W1-W7) located in the eastern part of Ranchi district, Jharkhand, India. The study sites include Bundu Lake, Hindalco Pond, Choga Bada Talab, Raja Bandh, Kita Uparbandh, Tamar Bada Talab, and Rukka Dam. A quantitative assessment using quadrat sampling and phytosociological methods was conducted from September 2022 to March 2023 to ensure accurate data collection and analysis. The study documented 78 macrophyte species belonging to 33 families and 58 genera. Emergent macrophytes were found to be the dominant life form, constituting 69% of the recorded species. Several species demonstrated high frequency and abundance across multiple study sites, including Pontederia crassipes Mart., Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart) Griseb., Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royle, Ipomoea aquaticaForssk., and Nymphoides hydrophyllum (Lour.) kuntze. To assess the diversity and ecological characteristics of the macrophyte communities, various diversity indices were calculated. These included the Shannon-Wiener index, Simpson's index, Margalef index, and Pielou's Evenness index. The results of these analyses revealed high levels of macrophyte diversity and evenness within the studied wetlands. Twenty-one macrophytes were identified as key species and nine species as rare species based on their IVI (Importance Value Index) scores. The key species were found to provide essential ecosystem services, including erosion control, water quality improvement, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and habitat provision for other organisms. This research contributes significantly to our understanding of macrophyte diversity patterns and traits-based ecosystem services in wetland ecosystems. The findings of this study have important implications for the development and implementation of effective conservation strategies for these vital wetland ecosystems in the eastern Ranchi (W1- W7).

This work attempts to define metrics for hydrodynamic exposure, using known oceanographic variables to provide a universal site assessment method for mariculture structures. Understanding environmental conditions driving open-ocean mariculture siting is crucial in establishing consistent ocean governance, minimizing adverse environmental impacts, and facilitating economically sustainable farm operations. To provide a metric of oceanic conditions and associated requirements for structural design and operation of aquaculture systems, six Exposure Indices (EI) are proposed that consider physical energy levels related to hydrodynamic forces at a site. Four of the proposed indices consider only environmental conditions, while the other two also consider the dimensions of the gear that is exposed to the external loads. These indices are: Exposure Velocity (EV), Exposure Velocity at Reference Depth (EVRD), Specific Exposure Energy (SEE), Depth-integrated Energy Flux (DEF), Structure-centered Depth-integrated Energy (SDE), and a Structure-centered Drag-to-Buoyancy Ratio (SDBR). While these indices are derived with a focus on aquaculture structures, they may also have applications for estimating biological stressors and operational challenges. The proposed exposure indices were evaluated for a range of known aquaculture sites around the world. A sensitivity analysis was conducted that quantified the relationship between the exposure indices and storm event return period. At a regional scale, hindcast numerical data for the German Bight combined with calculations of 50-year extreme values were used to calculate and map each proposed index spatially. Resulting maps showed that exposure is not simply a function of distance from shore. The six indices show plausible performance regarding the objective assessment of aquaculture sites. The authors herein present the indices to the aquaculture and ocean engineering communities for discussion, application, and potential adoption of one or more of the proposed indices.

Information literacy is a crucial skill often overlooked by faculty in higher education, who expect incoming Gen Z students to have some ability to navigate the information landscape appropriately and efficiently either from prior high school instruction or simply by the ubiquity of information access. Assessments of college students' information literacy paints a different picture, indicating that information literacy instruction is required and that deliberate efforts should be made to aid students in proper evaluation and use of informational media. This study investigates the value of generalized information literacy instruction at a medium-sized, public 4-year university in a rural area. Student knowledge is assessed pre- and post-instruction to determine specific impacts of information literacy instruction on various facets of information literacy – source quality, relevance, and context. Specifically, the purpose of this research is to determine (1) whether information literacy varies across students in different fields/disciplines and (2) if so, whether generalized information literacy instruction tends to close those cross-disciplinary gaps or extend existing disparities. Data collected herein demonstrate that gains in information literacy vary substantially by academic discipline. For example, students in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts began with the second-highest average pre-instruction scores (75.00 %) and exhibited the largest gains between pre- and post-instruction assessments (+12.14 %). The results obtained in this study indicate that generalized instruction tends to inflate existing disparities in information literacy between disciplines. Based on these findings, there is ample evidence to suggest that discipline-specific information literacy instruction could provide students with larger individual gains and potentially allow information literacy to converge across fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of the study lies in the fact that at present, information flows, often based on “falsification” of data, are having an increasing influence. And statistics act as such a tool.Purpose of the study. The purpose of this paper is to study opinions and approaches to the use of statistics to conduct information wars.Materials and methods. The study examined the main directions of statistics as a tool for working with data. The most common and practically justified is the use of statistics as a tool of knowledge, management, propaganda and control. The result of interpreting statistical data primarily depends on the degree of objectivity and level of literacy of those who work with the data: both at the initial stage of the original data array, and at the stage of explaining the resulting values.Results. It was revealed that the same parameters (proportions) can be interpreted in completely different ways. Such differences arise both from the subjectivity of the perception of these data and from the degree of elaboration of the material. As a result, a field for discrepancies and discussion arises.Conclusion. Statistics have already become an integral component of wars of a new format, where the battle for people’s worldview becomes the basis for further presence in many spheres of life. But with competent, properly structured and timely statistical information, it is possible to suppress falsely generated data and inflict damage on the enemy that significantly exceeds direct military clashes on the battlefield.

Ijen Geopark, also known as “Sunrise of Java,” is situated on the eastern tip of Java. Twelve geosites of the geopark are located in Banyuwangi Regency, while the left are situated in Bondowoso Regency. This paper aims to inventory and conduct a geosites quantitative assessment in Ijen Geopark in Banyuwangi Regency. A four-step model, comprising scientific value, potential educational value, potential tourism value, and degradation risk, is utilized for the quantitative assessment of the geosites. Geological characteristics of the twelve geosites have been inventoried. Ijen Acidic Crater Lake is the most valuable geosite in scientific terms. The publication of international papers can enhance the scientific score, particularly for geosites with a final scientific score below 300. All geosites in Ijen Geopark are potential for both education and tourism purposes, as they have final scores higher than 300. The Intrusive Rock Pulau Merah, despite facing moderate challenges related to population density and uniqueness, has been shown to have the greatest potential for both educational and tourism purposes. The geosites within Ijen Geopark are relatively protected from deterioration, with a total deterioration risk score less than 250. The study supports the efforts of local and national governments in promoting economic development.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are recognized as one of the approaches that can address a range of environmental issues, often with conservation and natural resource management missions. However, the promotion of NbS often lacks a robust understanding of their actual impacts and effectiveness. To support the evaluation and implementation of NbS, there is a need for a comprehensive quantitative assessment framework. The main objectives of the study are to (1) develop an assessment framework that can be used to quantify the performance of NbS interventions and to (2) provide a step-by-step guideline for evaluating NbS. The assessment framework proposed in this study was built upon existing frameworks used in previous studies, designed to address specific gaps. Several aspects and tools were integrated in response to the NbS standard criteria provided by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as a result, this quantitative assessment framework can provide a comprehensive evidence based on environmental, social, and economic aspects. The study introduced one approach, viz., the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA), and three main assessment tools (i.e., Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA), and Cost-Benefit Assessment (CBA)) aimed at facilitating a comprehensive evaluation of NbS. The results provide a conceptual framework that offers a systematic approach for evaluating the performance of NbS, along with methods to address conflicting results among aspects and/or indicators. Ideas and approaches for assessing ecosystem services provided by NbS and primary concerns when conducting NbS assessments are also highlighted. In summary, the conceptual framework proposed in this study can be used to assess NbS performance and determine whether NbS interventions align with the NbS standard criteria provided by IUCN, utilizing the introduced assessment tools.