19684 research outputs found
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Wetlands and Landscape Approaches
No full textIn this chapter we explore the ideas and concepts behind the growing interest in landscape approaches to environmental management, which offer the prospect of more sustainable and integrated planning interventions for reconciling the tensions between environment, economy and society. In particular, we discuss what landscape approaches have to offer wetlands, and how reconceptualising wetlands as social-ecological systems, whose emergent properties are a function of environmental and social interconnections within the wider landscape, can better inform management, policy, and sustainable development. The chapter starts by considering the origins and characteristics of landscape approaches, before reviewing their conceptual evolution, underpinning principles, and the challenges of integration into various wetland management initiatives. We then examine the experiences of the Functional Landscape Approach (FLA), a community-based package of measures implemented in parts of sub-Saharan Africa that has sought to deliver adaptive and sustainable wetland management. Finally, we conclude by arguing the need for greater integration of landscape approaches within the discourse, policy, and especially the practice, of wetland management, while recognising that this will require new forms of cross-sectoral coordination and governance
Upcycle Challenge 2025:The Denim Edit
No full textFeaturing in the exhibition THREAD REPUBLIC CIC 2025 Exhibition: TEXTILE CITIZENS: BEYOND CONSUMERISM, this outfit explores the reconstructed aesthetic potential of garment waste through flat pattern cutting, sampling, and three-dimensional draping techniques, using denim remnants directly on the stand. It incorporates elements from repurposed denim garments – such as existing pockets, and belt loops – to enhance garment detailing. Constructed from four pairs of jeans, a dungaree dress (sourced from Oxfam Batley Wastesaver) and denim offcuts, the design experiments with ruching, eyelet fastenings and bias-bound lacing straps. Curved panel pattern drafting creates fluidity and drape in the dress, while deliberate raw hems/seams highlight the deconstructed aesthetic. Belt loops connect interchangeable components, allowing for multiple configurations to be worn as separate garments or a layered outfit
LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion and Corporate Environmental Performance
No full textThis study examines the impact of LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion on corporate environmental performance, with a focus on the mediating role of environmental innovation. Drawing on 6,419 firm-year observations from 898 U.S. firms between 2010 and 2023, we measure LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion using the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. Our findings show that firms with stronger LGBTQ+ inclusion exhibit higher environmental performance scores and greater renewable energy consumption. We further find that this relationship is partially mediated by environmental innovation, indicating that LGBTQ+ inclusive workplace practices enhance environmental outcomes by fostering innovation. To strengthen causal inference, we implement a quasi-natural experiment based on the staggered legalization of same-sex marriage across states. Results reveal that firms headquartered in states that recognized same-sex marriage prior to the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling demonstrate superior environmental performance. These findings are robust across various identification strategies and estimation methods
Bioengineering 3D wound simulations as tools in wound care training
No full textAim: Wound care specialists are faced with limited resources that enable them to safely and effectively develop their debriding and wound management skills. Current training resources include citrus peels and cadavers, either exhibiting poor mechanical resemblance to wounds in live humans or lacking in supply, which subsequently causes a significant risk when translation to patients is inevitably mismatched. Our research aims to establish a multitude of true-to-life wound simulations with various aetiologies, allowing the practice of multiple wound management and debridement techniques, whilst also overcoming the mechanical, ethical and accessibility-related issues of other models.Method: Collaboration between academic staff, materials scientists and tissue viability nurses has facilitated the creation of our initial prototype – a chronic wound simulation. Models were bioengineered using 3D printing and casting technology, generating multiple wound layers including healthy skin base in a range of skin tones, rough granulation tissue, removable slough, and debridable skin necrosis. The mechanical properties of the models were matched to those found in human wounds using 100% natural and sustainable biomaterials that are readily accessible.Results / Discussion: From this, we have extended our portfolio, establishing a wound tear simulation, diabetic foot model with multiple ulcers, and incorporated other anatomical features including hair, fat and bone to enhance realism and further educate the user. We continue to successfully supply model units with multinational wound care companies, in addition to partners Accelerate Academy (UK), who deliver Society of Tissue Viability endorsed sharp debridement courses, with excellent feedback being given.Conclusion: We envisage that our wound models will help contribute to a more skilled and confident wound care workforce in a cost-effective manner, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes
Advanced Practice Nurse Perceptions of Spirituality:A Global Quantitative Perspective in Everyday Life and Practice Settings
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this study was to explore Advanced Practice Nurses’ (APN) perceptions of spirituality globally, in both clinical practice and in everyday life, and to evaluate the usefulness of Spiritually Competent Practice as a relevant framework for holistic APN care. Design/Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used. Respondents were recruited via convenience (snowballing) sampling. Spirituality in Everyday Life (SEDL) and Spirituality in Practice (SIP) were measured, as well as the importance of spiritual care competencies and Spiritually Competent Practice. Data was analyzed using Multiple Regression Analysis and Univariate Screening Analysis. Findings: A total of n = 641 APNs from 55 countries participated in the study. Participant responses yielded mean SEDL, SIP, and CONCEPT scores above the mid-point of the associated range for each measure, representing an overall positive perception of SEDL and SIP, and a similar positive perception of personal experience of Spiritually Competent Practice. This study offers further insight into perceptions and use of spirituality to ensure holistic care by APNs’ globally and how APNs’ view spirituality both within and outside of their work. Conclusion: Spirituality is pivotal in advanced practice and holistic nursing, fostering comprehensive and whole-person care and providing patients and practitioners with a sense of hope, meaning, and purpose. The results from this study highlight the need to ensure spirituality is fully understood by APNs’ and how APN education and continuing professional development should consider how best to integrate spirituality into holistic practice.<br/
Growing Forward:Exploring Post-Traumatic Growth and Trait Resilience Following the COVID-19 Pandemic in England
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic presented many potentially traumatic circumstances. Research continues to investigate pandemic-related Post-traumatic Growth (PTG). However, most studies fail to fulfil the parameters of PTG whereby a triggering event must be of seismic intensity and have ceased before PTG can manifest, producing significant validity and reliability issues. The relationships between PTG, trait resilience and fear are also under-researched, particularly in circumstances where the parameters of PTG are met. This study examined the relationship between PTG, COVID-19-related fear and trait resilience. Participants (n = 229) completed an online questionnaire incorporating the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory and the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale. The sample participants were moderately traumatised with moderate–low PTG (M = 50.85). Participants reported greater levels of PTG compared to participants from pre-COVID studies, notably in relation to the constructs of Relating to Other (d = 0.29), New Possibilities (d = 0.47), Personal Strength (d = 0.39), and Spiritual Change (d = 0.29). Higher levels of resilience (B = 0.48) and COVID-19-related fear (B = 0.16) were associated with greater overall PTG. Younger participants also reported greater levels of PTG (B = −0.29). The findings advance current knowledge regarding the potential relationship between fear and PTG and demonstrate that trait resilience is a promotional factor, presenting opportunity for future intervention formulation. However, reform is required within the PTG literature pool. Future research investigating PTG must reach both parameters. In circumstances where this is impossible, research concerning newfound positive cognition during adverse circumstances should be re-explored as Post-Adversarial Appreciation (PAA) to maintain validity
OperaHPC & SCORPION:accelerated optimization of advanced fuels for Gen-II/III reactors via the synergy of high-performance computing with multiscale material engineering
No full textThe licensing of advanced fuel materials and designs for Gen-II/III reactors requires an extension of the qualification of industrial fuel performance codes to meet the requirements of nuclear safety authorities vis-à-vis the verification, validation, and uncertainties quantification process. To address these requirements, the OperaHPC project works on advanced simulation tools enabling 3D representation of fuel rods. In the first two years of this project, a creep test device for hot cell installation was designed and transmission electron microscopy was used to characterize the microstructure of an irradiated fuel on the nanoscale. In parallel, small-scale simulation and physics-based fuel mechanical modelling were initiated to study dislocation mobility. State-of-the-art fuel and fuel cladding mechanical laws were employed in preparation of advanced mechanical modelling. HPC fuel performance codes are being developed with OFFBEAT/SCIANTIX for macroscale fuel element simulations, and MMM for mesoscale fuel pellet microstructural simulations. The preparation of industrial applications with improved models involves exchanges on machine-learning methods alongside the computation of input data for fuel safety analysis. SiC/SiC composites are a candidate accident-tolerant fuel cladding material that exhibits inherent refractoriness, pseudo-ductility, and a lack of accelerated oxidation during loss-of-coolant scenarios. Due to its potential for exceptional accident tolerance, this ‘revolutionary’ fuel cladding material concept has claimed large global investments since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi event. Regrettably, all state-of-the-art variants of the SiC/SiC composite material concept must still overcome shortcomings, such as the inadequate compatibility of SiC with water/steam and its early (>2 dpa) saturation of radiation-induced swelling during nominal operation. The SCORPION project strives for the radical performance optimization of SiC/SiC composites via multiscale material tailoring, which entails material re-design on the nanoscale (e.g., grain boundary engineering), mesoscale (e.g., fiber/matrix interface), and macroscale (e.g., coating development). In the first two years of this project, candidate coating ceramics and grain boundary engineered/doped SiC were experimentally synthesized and their performance was assessed via autoclave tests, high-temperature steam oxidation tests, and combined proton irradiation/aqueous corrosion tests. The hitherto tested materials performed significantly better than monolithic SiC, highlighting the success of the multiscale material engineering approach. This article offers a high-level overview of the scope and midterm achievements of the OperaHPC & SCORPION projects, in view of the FISA-EURADWASTE & SNETP Forum 2025, organized in Warshaw, Poland, in the period 12-16 May 2025.</p
Assessment of geometric variations on efficiency and emissions of a Hydrogen–Diesel dual-fuel engine using CFD approach
No full textThe global shift towards sustainable energy solutions has increased the demand for cleaner fuels in internal combustion engines, with hydrogen offering significant potential due to its zero-carbon nature and superior combustion properties. This study conducts a comprehensive numerical analysis of how engine geometry—specifically stroke length, bore size, and the associated compression ratio—affects the combustion, performance, and emission characteristics of a hydrogen–diesel dual-fuel (HDDF) compression ignition engine. Validated three-dimensional CFD simulations were performed for hydrogen energy shares (HESs) of 24 %, 57 %, 73 %, and 90 %, under high and low load conditions. Results show that increasing stroke length improves in-cylinder pressure, heat release rate (HRR), and brake thermal efficiency (BTE), with BTE rising by up to 9 % at high load and 73 % HES. However, under low load, longer strokes led to a BTE drop of up to 29 % at 90 % HES. Bore enlargement consistently reduced BTE—by up to 17 % at high load and 27 % at low load—due to reduced compression ratios and weakened combustion intensity. Emission analysis revealed that NOx emissions increased by 38 % at high load and 73 % HES with stroke extension, and by as much as 64 % under low load at 90 % HES. Conversely, increasing bore size reduced NOx by up to 16 % at high load and 13 % at low load, but resulted in sharp rises in CO, UHC, and soot—exceeding 100 % in some cases. These findings underscore the importance of optimising stroke–bore geometry based on hydrogen substitution level and engine load to balance efficiency gains with emission control in HDDF engine applications.</p
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