Assessment of Past Dioxin Emissions from Waste Incineration Plants Based on Archive Studies and Process Modeling: A New Methodological Tool.

Pollution from past industrial activities can remain unnoticed for years or even decades because the pollutant has only recently gained attention or been identified by measurements. Modeling the emission history of pollution is essential for estimating population exposure and apportioning potential liability among stakeholders. This paper proposes a novel approach for reconstructing the history of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) pollution from municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) with unknown past emissions.

Smart Skin for Zero Energy Buildings: A Review of Thermoresponsive Spectral-Adaptive Envelopes.

Buildings are increasingly being conceived as dynamic systems that interact with their surroundings to optimize energy performance and enhance occupant comfort. This evolution in architectural thinking draws inspiration from biological systems, where the building envelope functions like a thermally responsive "skin" that can autonomously adjust its optical and thermal properties in response to environmental temperature changes. Among the many approaches developed for smart building envelopes, passive thermoresponsive spectral modulation systems have attracted growing interest due to their structural simplicity and low energy demand.

Investigating the early-stage emissions of formaldehyde/VOCs from building materials and their influencing factors.

As urbanization accelerates, the issue of pollutant discharge from building materials has become the focus of public attention. Conducted in a ventilated environmental chamber, the experiments investigated the emission characteristics of VOCs from dry and wet building materials, focusing on the influencing factors, such as temperature, relative humidity (RH), ventilation, and seasonality. The impact of influencing factors was quantified using a one-factor-at-a-time control method.

Energy burden and asthma prevalence in U.S. cities: An emerging social determinant of health.

Background: Energy burden, defined as the inability to afford residential energy consumption, is a pressing public health issue globally and in the U.S. However, its impact on asthma remains largely unknown.

Early-life nutritional additives, household environment, and air pollution in relation to childhood food allergies: A multi-city mother-child study in China.

Background: Nutritional supplements and environments have been linked with food allergy (FA), but little research has explored their interactions on children's FA.

Objectives: To explore the associations between early-life nutritional supplements, household environmental factors (HEFs), and outdoor air pollutant (OAP) exposures, and their interactions on children's FAs.

Methods: We collected 20,730 surveyed questionnaires from five Chinese cities, covering data on individual characteristics, health outcomes, and HEFs.

A System dynamics analysis of the factors influencing the promotion of prefabricated decoration, based on a co-occurrence network.

Prefabricated decoration effectively addresses resource waste, environmental pollution, and quality issues associated with traditional decoration methods. It also enhances the functionality of prefabricated buildings and offers promising market potential. Currently, insufficient attention from both the public and managers hinders prefabricated decoration development.

Estimating food availability and self-reliance in island territories: Puerto Rico as a case study.

Introduction: In Small Island Developing States (SIDS), limited statistical capacity and reliance on imports hinder comprehensive assessments of food systems. For island territories, this issue is more pronounced as food production data are disaggregated, inconsistent, and scarce. Most non-independent territories within the SIDS designation are not included in international food availability datasets, and local datasets are not readily available.

Determinants and relationships of climate change, climate change hazards, mental health, and well-being: a systematic review.

Introduction: Impacts of climate change on human health receive increasing attention. However, the connections of climate change with well-being and mental health are still poorly understood.

Objective: As part of the Horizon Europe project TRIGGER, we aim to deepen the understanding of the relationships between climate change and human mental health and well-being in Europe by focusing on environmental and socio-individual determinants.

Daily and seasonal human mobility modulates temperature exposure in European cities.

Extreme temperatures pose a serious threat to human health, especially in urban areas where the majority of the world population is living. Temperature-related risks are exacerbated by urban-induced warming but existing exposure assessments rely on a static residential population, thus overlooking space-time changes in population density and their covariation with urban temperatures. Here we combine 1-km monthly daytime and nighttime population estimates for 80 European cities with existing high-resolution urban climate simulations to quantify the impact of daily and seasonal mobility on residents' exposure to heat and cold.

Measurement of dynamic stress using linear and nonlinear acoustoelastic effects due to colinear wave mixing.

This paper investigates a new method to evaluate dynamic stress in plate or shell-like components due to propagation of elastic waves. The proposed method is based on collinear mixing of the stress wave with a high frequency (probe) wave, which is excited in the ultrasonic frequency range. The wave interactions generate linear and nonlinear responses such as the changes of the group velocity of the probe wave and generation of higher-order harmonics, respectively.

Market-based instruments to fund nature-based solutions for flood risk management can disproportionately benefit affluent areas.

Market-based instruments, including competitive tenders, are central to funding global environmental restoration and management projects. Recently, tenders have been utilised to fund Nature-based Solutions schemes for Natural Flood Management, with the explicit purpose of achieving co-benefits; flood management reducing inequities. While multiple studies consider the efficacy of Nature-based Solutions for tackling inequities, no prior research has quantified whether the resource allocation for these projects has been conducted equitably.

Spatial and policy analysis of livability in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

A livable city ensures safety, health, inclusivity, sustainability, housing, mobility, and opportunities for all. The Global Observatory of Healthy and Sustainable Cities (GOHSC) launched the 1000 Cities Challenge to assess urban health and sustainability globally. This study uses the GOHSC's spatial and policy indicators to evaluate livability in St.

Impact of land use change on carbon metabolism in Hunan Province: An ecological network analysis approach.

Rapid urbanization alters land use patterns and, in turn, regional carbon metabolism. Focusing on Hunan Province, China (2000-2020), we combined high-resolution land-use inventories with ecological network analysis to quantify carbon emissions, carbon sequestration, and the interactions among major land categories. Emissions rose markedly over two decades, driven mainly by expanding transportation and industrial zones.

Mapping the mismatch between building and population growth: A global study of 1,700 cities.

The proportionality between urban building expansion and population growth is a key indicator of sustainable development, yet its global patterns and drivers remain underexplored. This study investigates the discrepancies between building volume and population growth rates (Δ) across 1,744 cities in 12 major global economies from 2000 to 2020 using satellite-based building volume and population databases. Results reveal significant regional disparities: cities in East and Southeast Asia tend to construct buildings at rates exceeding population growth, while many cities in Europe and North America show conservative building developments with Δ close to or lower than zero.

Built environment and residential blocks carbon emissions: a study using advanced metering infrastructure data.

To address the pressure of emissions reduction in urban residential blocks (RBs), this study takes 99 micro-scale RBs in Hongqiao District, Tianjin as the objects, aiming to reveal the driving mechanism of built environmental factors (BEF) on residential blocks carbon emissions (RBCE) and explore planning strategies that balance carbon reduction and health benefits. By integrating spatial statistical analysis and high-precision machine learning models, the system has systematically revealed the spatio-temporal evolution laws, spatial differentiation characteristics and driving mechanisms of BEF on RBCE. Key findings include: (1) From 2021 to 2023, both the RBCE, residential blocks carbon emissions intensity (RBCEI), and average household carbon emissions (RBCE-AH) showed a "first rise then fall" fluctuation, with an overall 5.

An integrated genetic algorithm-machine learning approach for morphological optimization of high-rise residential districts in Yulin.

The pursuit of global carbon neutrality necessitates addressing the dual challenge of enhancing solar energy utilization while improving thermal comfort in high-rise residential areas, particularly in Yulin, northern Shaanxi, China, where abundant solar resources exist but maximizing solar acquisition often compromises summer thermal environment quality. This resource-comfort contradiction highlights the need for balanced architectural strategies in regions with pronounced seasonal variations. Building morphological parameter optimization is crucial for balancing annual solar energy capture against summer overheating risks, yet research remains insufficient.

Changes in extreme climate events during the tobacco growing season and risk assessment of climate disasters: A case study in Southwest China.

Tobacco is an important economic crop globally, yet its production is increasingly threatened by extreme climate events, which affect both yield and quality. This study explores the temporal and spatial evolution of extreme climate events during the tobacco growing season in Southwest China and assesses associated climate disaster risks. By applying a range of extreme climate indices, spatial analysis techniques, and a climate disaster risk assessment model, the study identifies significant trends in future climate scenarios.

Unveiling the spatiotemporal dynamics and sectoral nexus of urban carbon metabolism: Insights from community-level analysis.

Urban communities are fundamental units in addressing carbon mitigation, yet the patterns of carbon metabolism remain largely unexplored due to limited data and less-integrated methods. This study unveils the carbon metabolism dynamics of a Chinese mixed-function community from 2013 to 2022 by integrating bottom-up carbon accounting, spatiotemporal analysis, and ecological network analysis (ENA). We investigate carbon stocks and flows, sectoral characteristics, and intersectoral interactions at a refined spatial level in the 1.

Embedding a Palliative Care Nurse Consultant Within a General Medicine Ward: A Prospective Exploratory Study.

Aim: To describe patient outcomes for patients at high risk of mortality (with a prognosis of three months or less to live) where a Palliative Care Nurse Consultant (PCNC) was embedded in a General Medicine team. To explore patients and/or their carers feedback and allied health, nursing professionals' perspectives on integrating a palliative care approach in the General Medicine ward.

Design: Prospective exploratory study.

The role of climate change in shaping the distribution patterns of Hylurgus ligniperda and its key natural enemies.

Background: Accurate knowledge of the spatial distribution of invasive alien species is crucial for effective prevention, management, and ecological sustainability. Hylurgus ligniperda, a major forest pest native to Europe, has spread globally via wood packaging and logs, yet predictive studies investigating both this pest and its natural enemies remain scarce. This study aimed to predict the potential geographic distributions of H.

Bird habitat network construction in Shenyang City based on improved circuit theory of neighborhood landscape compatibility.

Constructing urban habitat networks can effectively improve the stability of regional ecosystems, increase energy flow and gene exchange in landscape patches, and play a crucial role in urban biodiversity conservation. With urban area of Shenyang City as the study area, we identified the source of bird habitats from three dimensions: morphology-quality-neighborhood. From the three dimensions of environmental elements, architectural index, and anthropogenic interference, we superimposed 12 resistance factors to construct resistance surfaces.

Domains of Housing Instability and Intimate Partner Violence Risk Among U.S. Tenants.

While IPV is often studied as a predictor of housing insecurity, few U.S. studies explore how different forms of housing instability may contribute to intimate partner violence (IPV) risk.

Blood pressure-lowering efficacy of antihypertensive drugs and their combinations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.

Background: We aimed to quantify the blood pressure-lowering efficacy of antihypertensive drugs and their combinations from the five major drug classes.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials involving adult participants randomly assigned to receive angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, β blockers, calcium channel blockers, or diuretics. Eligibility criteria included follow-up duration between 4 weeks and 26 weeks, antihypertensive drug treatment fixed in all participants for at least 4 weeks before follow-up blood pressure assessment; and availability of clinic blood pressure for the calculation of mean difference in systolic blood pressure between treatment groups.

Effect of dimethyl phthalate and salinity on barium bioavailability and bioaccessibility in the soil-plant-human systems near a shale gas development area.

Barium (Ba), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), and elevated salinity represent signature contaminations derived from shale gas extraction activities. Investigating the interactive effects of DMP and salinity on the bioavailability and bioaccessibility of Ba within soil-crop systems is essential for precise human health risk assessments and the development of effective remediation strategies. This study comprehensively evaluated the bioavailability, bioaccessibility, and phytotoxicity of Ba.