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Coupling technological advances with sociocultural and policy changes can transform agri-food systems to address pressing climate, economic, environmental, health and social challenges. An international expert panel reports on options to induce contextualized combinations of innovations that can balance multiple goals.

Complex urban systems, such as multi-floor rail transit stations and integrated railway transport hubs, are termed “complex urban public spaces” (CUPSs). These CUPSs facilitate people’s lives, but, at the same time, are threatened by various risks due to their multi-floor structure, dense crowds, high correlation in multi-function, complex facilities, and space openness. The risk events of CUPSs could have a negative influence on public safety and further influence sustainable development. Increasing the resilience of CUPSs is an effective way to respond to risks and guarantee public safety. Therefore, it is necessary to first assess the resilience of CUPSs. In this paper, a six-level comprehensive resilience indicator system was established based on aspects of the essence of resilience. Used in combination with the methods of resilience impact score and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process, the resilience value could be calculated. The Shenzhen North Railway Station (SZ) and the Guangzhou South Railway Station (GZ) were used to validate the proposed methodology. The established resilience indicator system was shown to be comprehensive and innovative, and, regarding practicality, the proposed assessment methodology is convenient to use. This research can help policymakers to assess the resilience of CUPSs and develop relevant policies to improve the resilience of buildings, which can further enhance urban sustainability.

This article undertakes a ‘backcasting’ analysis exploring strategic approaches for overall systems sustainability in personal transport. Starting from a robust definition of sustainability for the...

This article examines outstanding “sustainable” skyscrapers that received international recognition, including LEED certification. It identifies vital green features in each building and summarizes the prominent elements for informing future projects. Overall, this research is significant because, given the mega-scale of skyscrapers, any improvement in their design, engineering, and construction will have mega impacts and major savings (e.g., structural materials, potable water, energy, etc.). Therefore, the extracted design elements, principles, and recommendations from the reviewed case studies are substantial. Further, the article debates controversial design elements such as wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, glass skin, green roofs, aerodynamic forms, and mixed-use schemes. Finally, it discusses greenwashing and the impact of COVID-19 on sustainable design.

Abstract In order to achieve a perfect bottom-up electroplated Cu filling with a minimal surface thickness, 2-mercaptopyridine (2-MP) was investigated as a new leveler for replacing Janus Green B (JGB) for bottom-up copper filling. Electrochemical impedence results indicate that 2-MP has a stronger suppression for Cu deposition than JGB. With the addition of 2-MP, the filling capability of the electroplating solution is improved significantly with the Cu thickness on surface decreasing from ∼16 μm to ∼10 μm. The interaction mechanisms of 2-MP, bis(3-sulfopropyl) disulfide (SPS), Cl − and tri-block copolymer of PEG and PPG with ethylene oxide terminal blocks (EPE) in the plating solution are studied by galvanostatic measurements (GMs). The acceleration effect of SPS and the inhibition effect of 2-MP on copper deposition occur in the presence of EPE, and the convection-dependent adsorption (CDA) behavior of additives usually occurs with the injection of four additives at optional concentrations. Further, it was found that when 1.0 ppm 2-MP, 1.0 ppm SPS and 200 ppm EPE were injected into the basic electrolyte, the potential difference ( Δ h) value of the electrolyte became positive, and the bottom-up electroplated copper filling was obtained in the electrolyte in absence of Cl − . The interaction mechanisms of three additives for bottom-up filling have been investigated by GMs.

Abstract In this study, parallel, bench-scale, mesophilic and thermophilic, dry, semi-continuous anaerobic digestion (DScAD) of Korea food waste (FW, containing 22% total solids (TS) and 20% volatile solids (VS)) was investigated thoroughly under varying operational conditions, including hydraulic retention times (HRTs) and organic loading rates (OLRs). The aim was to evaluate the start-up, stability, overall removal efficiency, and inhibitory effects of toxic compounds on process performance over a long-term operation lasting 100 days. The results from both digesters indicate that the simultaneous reduction of VS and the production of gas improved as the HRT decreased or the OLR increased. The highest average rates of VS reduction (79.67%) and biogas production (162.14 m 3 biogas/ton of FW, 61.89% CH 4 ), at an OLR of 8.62 ± 0.34 kg VS/m 3 day (25 days of HRT), were achieved under thermophilic DScAD. In addition, the average rates of reduction of VS and the production of biogas in thermophilic DScAD were higher by 6.88% and 16.4%, respectively, than were those in mesophilic DScAD. The inhibitory effects of ammonia, H 2 S, and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) on methane production was not clear from either of the digesters, although, apparently, their concentrations did fluctuate. This fluctuation could be attributed to the self-adaptation of the microbial well. However, digestion that was more stable and faster was observed under thermophilic conditions compared with that under mesophilic conditions. Based on our results, the optimum operational parameters to improve FW treatment and achieve higher energy yields could be determined, expanding the application of DScAD in treating organic wastes.

Few studies on population-specific health effects of extreme temperature on cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) deaths have been conducted in the subtropical and tropical climates of China. We examined the association between extreme temperature and CVD across four cities in China. We performed a two-stage analysis; we generated city-specific estimates using a distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) and estimated the overall effects by conducting a meta-analysis. Heat thresholds of 29 °C, 29 °C, 29 °C, and 30 °C and cold thresholds of 6 °C, 10 °C, 14 °C, and 15 °C were observed in Hefei, Changsha, Nanning, and Haikou, respectively. The lag periods for heat-related CVD mortality were observed only for 0–2 days, while those of cold-related CVD mortality were observed for 10–15 days. The meta-analysis showed that a 1 °C increase above the city-specific heat threshold was associated with average overall CVD mortality increases of 4.6% (3.0%–6.2%), 6.4% (3.4%–9.4%), and 0.2% (−4.8%–5.2%) for all ages, ≥65 years, and <65 years over a lag period of 0–2 days, respectively. Similarly, a 1 °C decrease below the city-specific cold threshold was associated with average overall CVD mortality increases of 4.2% (3.0%–5.4%), 4.9% (3.5%–6.3%), and 3.1% (1.7%–4.5%), for all ages, ≥65 years, and <65 years over a lag period of 0–15 days, respectively. This work will help to take appropriate measures to reduce temperature-mortality risk in different populations in the subtropical and tropical climates of China.

Introduction Increases in recent times in electricity costs and in associated emissions of greenhouse gases are having an impact on societies to adopt business and lifestyle strategies based on sustainability practices. The emergence of the smart grid (Xinghuo et al., 2011) facilitates both suppliers and consumers of electricity in reducing carbon footprint and improving the reliability and efficiency of electricity generation, distribution and utilization. The smart grid unifies recent developments in the electrical power area with those in information and communication technologies (ICT) to bring to bear changes to business practices and life styles of consumers. The smart grid recognizes the distributed nature of electricity industry and the unifying power of the ICT. Traditional power grids consist of (i) large-scale electricity generators that are located within easy reach of energy resources, (ii) highvoltage transmission lines to bring bulk electricity to load centres that are close to loads, such as industries, cities, townships etc., and (iii) lower voltage distribution networks which in turn distribute electrical power to smaller consumers of electricity. Unlike such traditional power grids, smart grids have distributed energy generation that encompasses both centrally-located large-scale generators with ratings of 100's of megawatts (MWs) and many geographically distributed smaller generators of widely varying sizes from 10's of MWs that use fossil fuels and renewables to a few kilo watts (kW) that may be solar photo voltaic (PV) panels mounted on the roof of a small house. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Several geographically distributed power generators need to be integrated into the smart grid, recognizing the varying capacities, characteristics and technologies associated with generators (Figure 1). Electricity generated using renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and wind turbines, is variable depending upon the season, weather conditions and the period of any given day. This variability has a strong influence on the delivery of reliable power to consumers. Storage of electrical energy to dampen the effects of variability in the power from renewables is therefore an important aspect of the smart grid. Various types of energy storage: pumped hydro storage, batteries, fuel cells, flywheels etc. need to be integrated into a smart grid. Such distributed energy storages in the grid may serve different networks within the grid so that they continue to operate as self-powered islands during outages resulting from natural causes or system faults (Nourai & Keane, 2010). The electricity generated by solar PV panels and by some wind generators is in the form of direct current (DC). This DC power must be converted (or inverted) to make alternating current (AC) power to enable connection to an AC smart grid. Smart grids need smart inverters with controls to maximise renewable power utilization, and to supply power to either the local load and/or the grid (Xinghuo et al., 2011). The smart grid needs to integrate the action of generators, energy suppliers and customers. The smart grid must provide suitable multi-way communication of relevant information between various business actors associated with the grid. The smart grid includes even a small household as a business actor into its business model because a household contributes towards sustainable business outcomes. There are many research papers on smart grids with a focus on large power systems (Brown, 2008; Ipakchi & Albuyeh, 2009; and Farhangi, 2010) that emphasize the importance of pervasive control and monitoring requirements in a smart grid. They point out the convergence of ICT with power system engineering. There are also many publications (Guinard, 2011; Kamilaris, et al., 2011) that deal with energy management at household levels using the ICT strategy, such as Web of things. …