Search Results (3,707)

Groundwater salinization is a crucial socio-economic and environmental issue that is significant for a variety of reasons, including water quality and availability, agricultural productivity, health implications, socio-political stability and environmental sustainability. Salinization degrades the quality of water, rendering it unfit for human consumption and increasing the demand for costly desalination treatments. Consequently, there is a need to find simple, sustainable, green and cost-effective methods that can be used in understanding and minimizing groundwater salinization. Therefore, this work employed the implementation of cost-effective neurocomputing approaches for modeling groundwater salinization. Before starting the modeling approach, correlation and sensitivity analyses of the independent and dependent variables were conducted. Hence, three different modeling schema groups (G1–G3) were subsequently developed based on the sensitivity analysis results. The obtained quantitative results illustrate that the G2 input grouping depicts a substantial performance compared to G1 and G3. Overall, the evidential neural network (EVNN), as a novel neurocomputing technique, demonstrates the highest performance accuracy, and has the capability of boosting the performance as against the classical robust linear regression (RLR) up to 46% and 46.4% in the calibration and validation stages, respectively. Both EVNN-G1 and EVNN-G2 present excellent performance metrics (RMSE ≈ 0, MAPE = 0, PCC = 1, R² = 1), indicating a perfect prediction accuracy, while EVNN-G3 demonstrates a slightly lower performance than EVNN-G1 and EVNN-G2, but is still highly accurate (RMSE = 10.5351, MAPE = 0.1129, PCC = 0.9999, R² = 0.9999). Lastly, various state-of-the-art visualizations, including a contour plot embedded with a response plot, a bump plot and a Taylor diagram, were used in illustrating the performance results of the models. Full article

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, non-core firms face increasing pressure to innovate while adhering to sustainable practices. Non-core firms are organizations that operate in peripheral or less central positions within an ecosystem, having limited access to critical resources but playing essential supportive roles in innovation processes. Innovation eco-embeddedness, which integrates ecological considerations into innovation processes, is becoming a critical factor for enhancing innovation performance. However, the dynamics between eco-embeddedness, breakthrough innovation, and innovation performance, especially under varying levels of ecological legitimacy and technology turbulence, remain under examination. This study aims to investigate the relationships between innovation eco-embeddedness, breakthrough innovation, and innovation performance in non-core firms. Additionally, it examines the moderating effects of ecological legitimacy and technology turbulence on these relationships. This study developed and tested seven hypotheses using a conceptual framework based on innovation ecosystem theory, breakthrough innovation theory, and institutional theory. We collected data from a diverse sample of non-core firms and used structural equation modeling to analyze the direct, mediating, and moderating effects. The findings reveal a positive relationship between innovation eco-embeddedness and both breakthrough innovation and innovation performance. Breakthrough innovation also directly enhances innovation performance and mediates the relationship between eco-embeddedness and performance. Ecological legitimacy significantly moderates the impact of eco-embeddedness on breakthrough innovation, while technology turbulence intensifies the mediated relationship between eco-embeddedness and innovation performance when both moderating factors are high. This study provides valuable perceptions for managers and policymakers in non-core firms, highlighting the importance of embedding ecological considerations in innovation processes. Full article

This comprehensive review synthesizes the current knowledge regarding the characteristics of particulate matter (PM) at locations directly impacted by industrial emissions. A particular emphasis was given to the morphology and size of these particles and their chemical characteristics per type of industrial activity. The relationship between the exposure to PM from industrial activities and health issues such as cancer, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases was also discussed, highlighting significant epidemiological findings. Furthermore, this work highlights the source apportionment of PM in these areas as well as available databases for source profiles. The majority of the studies accentuate the ambiguity found in the identification of industrial sources mainly due to the lack of specific tracers and the overlapping between these sources and other natural and anthropogenic ones. The contribution of industrial sources to PM concentrations is generally less than 10%. Moreover, this review gathers studies conducted in the 18 countries of the East Mediterranean-Middle East (EMME) region, focusing on sites under industrial influence. In these studies, PM₁₀ concentrations range from 22 to 423 μg/m³ while PM_2.5 levels vary between 12 and 250 μg/m³. While extensive studies have been conducted in Egypt, Iran, and Lebanon, a lack of research in the UAE, Bahrain, Greece, Israel, Palestine, and Yemen highlights regional disparities in environmental health research. The major industrial sources found in the region were oil and gas industries, metallurgical industries, cement plants, petrochemical complexes, and power plants running on gas or heavy fuel oil. Future research in the region should focus on longitudinal studies and a more detailed chemical analysis of PM in the vicinity of industrial areas to enhance the accuracy of current findings and support effective policy making for air pollution control. Full article

Most people struggle to articulate the reasons why a promotional email they are exposed to influences them to make a purchase. Marketing experts and companies find it beneficial to understand these reasons, even if consumers themselves cannot express them, by using neuromarketing tools, specifically the technique of eye tracking. This study analyses various types of email campaigns and their metrics and explores neuromarketing techniques to examine how email recipients view promotional emails. This study deploys eye tracking to investigate and also verify user attention, gaze, and behaviour. As a result, this approach assesses which elements of an email influence consumer purchasing decisions and which elements capture their attention the most. Furthermore, this study examines the influence of salary and the multiple-choice series of emails on consumer purchasing choices. The findings reveal that only the row that people choose to see in an email affects their purchasing decisions. Regarding promotional emails, the title and brand play a significant role, while in welcome emails, the main factor is primarily the title. Through web eye tracking, it is found that, in both promotional and welcome emails, large images captivate consumers the most. Finally, this work proposes ideas on how to improve emails for similar campaigns. Full article

Dynamic environmental changes continue to impact organizations’ performance and goals, prompting them to adapt and develop strategies that foster innovation continually. Thus, HRMS enables talented, retaining skilled, and innovative employees who contribute with creative ideas and creative problem-solving problems to enhance innovation practices in organizations. Therefore, the findings of previous studies are insufficient and considered as empirical evidence to investigate the research constructs relationship. This study aims to examine the gap in strategic adaptability via HRM strategies and innovation in Jordanian banks. The study employs data analysis and hypotheses testing, descriptive analysis approach, and (SEM) structural equation modeling through SPSS-24 and PLS-SEM-4 software. The research population includes 16 Jordanian banks, and a stratified sampling method conducted on 468 respondents resulted in 455 completed ones, the respondents are middle level managers and department heads. The findings reveal a positive significant impact of HRMS and innovation (INN), a significant positive impact of HRMS and strategic adaptability (SA), and a significant positive effect between strategic adaptability (SA) and innovation (INN). In addition, the findings indicate a partial indirect relationship effect between strategic adaptability (SA) via HRMS and innovation (INN). The conclusion shows that the bank’s performance is highly improved by strategic adaptability, which allows the bank to quickly respond to local and global environmental changes, challenges, crises, and market trends, and provides valuable theoretical and practical insights regarding the role of strategic adaptability (SA) relationship between HRM strategies (HRMS) and innovation (INN). These findings are relevant to the global banking sector due to the similar operating conditions and environments. Moreover, a better understanding of these relationships by practitioners and researchers for future studies in different environments, and sectors. Full article

This study leveraged the social exchange theory to explore the influence of the knowledge management cycle on employee engagement, job satisfaction, and organizational culture within the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA). The structural equation modeling (SEM) software (AMOS version 23) was employed to analyze data from 300 GHA employees. The study used snowball sampling and a descriptive cross-sectional methodology to collect data through printed and electronic questionnaires. The findings demonstrated a substantial and positive impact of the knowledge management cycle on employee engagement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Employee engagement also exhibited a significant and positive influence on both job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Furthermore, employee engagement partially mediated the relationships between the knowledge management cycle, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. This study’s findings underscore the practical implications of allocating resources to knowledge management activities. Such allocation can promote organizational culture and employee satisfaction, enabling firms to achieve real gains. Full article

Background: Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is a condition that affects a significant proportion of acutely unwell patients and is associated with a high mortality rate. Patients undergoing haemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are in an extremely high group for AKI. Identifying a biomarker or panel of markers that can reliably identify at-risk individuals undergoing HSCT can potentially impact management and outcomes. Early identification of AKI can reduce its severity and improve prognosis. We evaluated the urinary Liver type fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP), a tubular stress and injury biomarker both as an ELISA and a point of care (POC) assay for AKI detection in HSCT. Methods: 85 patients that had undergone autologous and allogenic HSCT (35 and 50, respectively) had urinary L-FABP (uL-FABP) measured by means of a quantitative ELISA and a semi-quantitative POC at baseline, day 0 and 7 post-transplantation. Serum creatinine (SCr) was also measured at the same time. Patients were followed up for 30 days for the occurrence of AKI and up to 18 months for mortality. The sensitivity and specificity of uL-FABP as an AKI biomarker were evaluated and compared to the performance of sCr using ROC curve analysis and logistic regression. Results: 39% of participants developed AKI within 1 month of their transplantation. The incidence of AKI was higher in the allogenic group than in the autologous HTSC group (57% vs. 26%, p = 0.008) with the median time to AKI being 25 [range 9-30] days. This group was younger (median age 59 vs. 63, p < 0.001) with a lower percentage of multiple myeloma as the primary diagnosis (6% vs. 88%, p < 0.001). The median time to AKI diagnosis was 25 [range 9–30] days. uL-FABP (mcg/gCr) at baseline, day of transplant and on the 7th day post-transplant were 1.61, 5.39 and 10.27, respectively, for the allogenic group and 0.58, 4.36 and 5.14 for the autologous group. Both SCr and uL-FABP levels rose from baseline to day 7 post-transplantation, while the AUC for predicting AKI for baseline, day 0 and day 7 post-transplant was 0.54, 0.59 and 0.62 for SCr and for 0.49, 0.43 and 0.49 uL-FABP, respectively. Univariate logistic regression showed the risk of AKI to be increased in patients with allogenic HSCT (p = 0.004, 95%CI [0.1; 0.65]) and in those with impaired renal function at baseline (p = 0.01, 95%CI [0.02, 0.54]). The risk of AKI was also significantly associated with SCr levels on day 7 post-transplant (p = 0.03, 95%CI [1; 1.03]). Multivariate logistic regression showed the type of HSCT to be the strongest predictor of AKI at all time points, while SCr levels at days 0 and 7 also correlated with increased risk in the model that included uL-FABP levels at the corresponding time points. The POC device for uL-FABP measurement correlated with ELISA (p < 0.001, Spearman ‘correlation’ = 0.54) Conclusions: The urinary biomarker uL-FABP did not demonstrate an independent predictive value in the detection of AKI at all stages. The most powerful risk predictor of AKI in this setting appears to be allograft recipients and baseline renal impairment, highlighting the importance of clinical risk stratification. Urinary L-FAPB as a POC biomarker was comparable to ELISA, which provides an opportunity for simple and rapid testing. However, the utility of LFABP in AKI is unclear and needs further exploration. Whether screening through rapid testing of uL-FABP can prevent or reduce AKI severity is unknown and merits further studies. Full article

The integration of sociology into medical education is essential for cultivating a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between social determinants and health outcomes. This national cross-sectional survey utilized a qualitative, descriptive research approach to examine the inclusion of sociology as a course in the undergraduate curricula of medical schools in Greek higher education. Data collection and analysis were conducted through a comprehensive review of the syllabi from all seven medical schools in Greece. The analysis revealed that none of the seven undergraduate medical curricula include sociology as a discrete course. Social medicine is offered as a discrete course in three out of the seven programs, whereas sociological concepts are present in the majority of the medical curricula (six out of seven). A significant gap in the integration of sociology as a discrete course within Greek medical graduate education is revealed. To better equip future medical doctors with sociological lenses towards medical practice, a more comprehensive integration of sociology into medical training is recommended. Full article

This exploratory study examines the socio-technical dynamics of Artificial Intelligence Companions (AICs), focusing on user interactions with AI platforms like Replika 9.35.1. Through qualitative analysis, including user interviews and digital ethnography, we explored the nuanced roles played by these AIs in social interactions. Findings revealed that users often form emotional attachments to their AICs, viewing them as empathetic and supportive, thus enhancing emotional well-being. This study highlights how AI companions provide a safe space for self-expression and identity exploration, often without fear of judgment, offering a backstage setting in Goffmanian terms. This research contributes to the discourse on AI’s societal integration, emphasizing how, in interactions with AICs, users often craft and experiment with their identities by acting in ways they would avoid in face-to-face or human-human online interactions due to fear of judgment. This reflects front-stage behavior, in which users manage audience perceptions. Conversely, the backstage, typically hidden, is somewhat disclosed to AICs, revealing deeper aspects of the self. Full article

Understanding the density of possible prices in one-minute intervals provides traders, investors, and financial institutions with the data necessary for making informed decisions, managing risk, optimizing trading strategies, and enhancing the overall efficiency of the cryptocurrency market. While high accuracy is critical for researchers and investors, market nonlinearity and hidden dependencies pose challenges. In this study, the filtered historical simulation is used to generate pathways for the next hour on the one-minute step for Bitcoin and Ethereum quotes. The innovations in the simulation are standardized historical returns resampled with the method of block bootstrapping, which helps to capture any hidden dependencies in the residuals of a conditional parameterization in the mean and variance. Ordinary bootstrapping requires the feed innovations to be free of any dependencies. To deal with complex data structures and dependencies found in ultra-high-frequency data, this study employs block bootstrap to resample contiguous segments, thereby preserving the sequential dependencies and sectoral clustering within the market. These techniques enhance decision-making and risk measures in investment strategies despite the complexities inherent in financial data. This offers a new dimension in measuring the market risk of cryptocurrency prices and can help market participants price these assets, as well as improve the timing of their entry and exit trades. Full article

The growing complexity of cybersecurity threats demands a robust framework that integrates various security domains, addressing the issue of disjointed security practices that fail to comply with evolving regulations. This paper introduces a novel information security management and compliance framework that integrates operational, technical, human, and physical security domains. The aim of this framework is to enable organizations to identify the requisite information security controls and legislative compliance needs effectively. Unlike traditional approaches, this framework systematically aligns with both current and emerging security legislation, including GDPR, NIS2 Directive, and the Artificial Intelligence Act, offering a unified approach to comprehensive security management. The experimental methodology involves evaluating the framework against five distinct risk scenarios to test its effectiveness and adaptability. Each scenario assesses the framework’s capability to manage and ensure compliance with specific security controls and regulations. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework not only meets compliance requirements across multiple security domains but also provides a scalable solution for adapting to new threats and regulations efficiently. These findings represent a significant step forward in holistic security management, indicating that organizations can enhance their security posture and legislative compliance simultaneously through this integrated framework. Full article

This study aims to provide a review of the existing literature regarding the use of extended reality technologies and the metaverse focusing on virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) in safety training. Based on the outcomes, VR was predominantly used in the context of safety training with immersive VR yielding the best outcomes. In comparison, only recently has AR been introduced in safety training but with positive outcomes. Both AR and VR can be effectively adopted and integrated in safety training and render the learning experiences and environments more realistic, secure, intense, interactive, and personalized, which are crucial aspects to ensure high-quality safety training. Their ability to provide safe virtual learning environments in which individuals can practice and develop their skills and knowledge in real-life simulated working settings that do not involve any risks emerged as one of the main benefits. Their ability to support social and collaborative learning and offer experiential learning significantly contributed to the learning outcomes. Therefore, it was concluded that VR and AR emerged as effective tools that can support and enrich safety training and, in turn, increase occupational health and safety. Full article

Given the plethora of studies today that focus on the same topic, clinicians and other healthcare professionals increasingly rely on meta-analysis to aid in their evidence-based decision-making. This research method, which combines data from multiple studies to produce a single, more precise estimate of effect size, is invaluable for synthesizing evidence, resolving inconsistencies and guiding clinical practice and public health policies. Especially in disease prevention and control, meta-analysis has emerged as a critical tool. Meta-analysis is particularly valuable in assessing the effectiveness of preventive interventions such as vaccines, lifestyle modifications and screening programs. It provides robust evidence that supports the implementation of effective preventive measures and the discontinuation of ineffective or harmful ones. Furthermore, meta-analysis provides evidence to develop clinical practice guidelines, ensuring patients receive evidence-based treatments. In addition, public health policies aimed at disease prevention and control often rely on evidence from meta-analyses, which provide the data needed to justify and design large-scale public health initiatives. This comprehensive review delves into the role of meta-analysis in disease prevention and control, exploring its advantages, applications, challenges and overall impact on guiding clinical practice and public health policies. Through case studies and an examination of future directions, this paper underscores the pivotal role of meta-analysis in disease prevention and control. Full article

Many countries around the world have leveraged the potential of partnerships to counter collective challenges and foster development. ECOWAS has looked to partnerships to tackle shared challenges to infrastructural development in its member countries. This study sought to understand ‘how partnerships could foster sustainable development in ECOWAS member nations.’ Using a qualitative method, both primary and secondary data were sourced to mainstream the ECOWAS multilateral Public–Private Partnership (PPP) strategy to foster sustainable development in implementing its 2045 Infrastructure Master Plan. This study finds that such development plans that were hitherto a challenge to implement by ECOWAS member states have received a boost through the World Bank Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF). This partnership provided effective diagnostics to improve efficiency, build capacity, identify PPP possibilities, and revamp policy and legal frameworks for PPPs, resulting in better access to more financing, proper implementation, monitoring, and sustainability of infrastructural projects. The ECOWAS PPP framework has been able to allow its member states to leverage the advantages that the private sector has to foster sustainable development. This has poised ECOWAS to be on track to implementing its infrastructure master plan. Full article

Coastal risk assessment is crucial for coastal management and decision making, especially in areas already experiencing the negative impacts of climate change. This study aims to investigate the coastal vulnerability due to climate change and human activities in an area west of the Limassol district’s coastline, in Cyprus, on which there have been limited studies. Furthermore, an analysis is conducted utilising the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) by exploiting eight key parameters: land cover, coastal slope, shoreline erosion rates, tidal range, significant wave height, coastal elevation, sea-level rise, and coastal geomorphology. These parameters were assessed utilising remote sensing (RS) data and Geographical Information Systems (GISs) along a 36.1 km stretch of coastline. The results exhibited varying risk levels of coastal vulnerability, mainly highlighting a coastal area where the Kouris River estuary is highly vulnerable. The study underscores the need for targeted coastal management strategies to address the risks associated with coastal erosion. Additionally, the CVI developed in this study can be exploited as a tool for decision makers, empowering them to prioritise areas for intervention and bolster the resilience of coastal areas in the face of environmental changes. Full article