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Digitalised Predictive Maintenance in Railways:A Systematic Review of AI, BIM, and Digital Twins
Full text linkRailway infrastructure faces growing degradation risks from intensified operational loads and climate change, necessitating a paradigm shift from reactive repairs to digitalized predictive maintenance. This study explores the synergistic convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Building Information Modeling (BIM), and Digital Twins (DT) to optimize asset management. A Systematic Literature Review was conducted, adhering to PRISMA guidelines and strictly selecting and analyzing 73 peer-reviewed articles from Web of Science and Scopus (2015–2026). The results reveal that while Supervised Learning remains the dominant paradigm for defect detection, Reinforcement Learning is emerging as a key tool for maintenance scheduling. However, a critical “Digital Twin Gap” is identified, where most systems function only as unidirectional digital representations rather than bidirectional, self-correcting twins. Furthermore, despite frequent sustainability claims, there is a marked absence of quantified environmental metrics in current research. Consequently, this paper concludes that future advancements must prioritize the development of “True Digital Twins” with autonomous actuation, ensure interoperability through Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), and integrate explicit “Green KPIs” to objectively validate the environmental benefits of digitalized maintenance strategies
Impacts of Surface Sensible Heating Over the Tibetan Plateau on Cloud Fraction and Surface Radiation Budget in Surrounding Asia
Full text linkThe Tibetan Plateau (TP) surface heating profoundly regulates the Asian circulation, but its roles in regional clouds and surface radiation budget remain unclear. Here, we investigate the impacts of the TP surface sensible heating on the surrounding Asian cloud fraction and surface radiation budget using numerical climate experiments that vary sensible heat exchange. The TP surface sensible heating, as an elevated heating source, can induce a low-level cyclone surrounding the TP and ascent over the central-eastern TP, pumping air into the middle troposphere. Consequently, spring cloud fractions significantly increase over the east TP and East China (EC) owing to the TP surface heating, enhancing cloud radiative effects and longwave radiation but reducing shortwave and net radiation at the surface, whereas the opposite changes occur over the west TP. The summer TP impacts exhibit more substantial changes in both magnitude and spatial coverage relative to spring states. Due to the coupling between the upper and lower circulations forced by the TP surface heating, increased cloud fractions extend over the whole TP in summer, with enhanced ascent and cloud radiative cooling dominated by the shortwave component. Meanwhile, cloud fractions decrease over Central and North Asia, accompanied by abnormal descent, weakened cloud radiative cooling, and minimal change in net surface radiation due to a weak offset between longwave and shortwave radiations. Our results indicate that the TP surface sensible heating significantly influences the distribution and magnitude of the surrounding Asian cloud fraction and surface radiation budget via circulation responses.</p
Feasibility and Safety of Allied Health Professional Delivered Clinics for Suspected Head and Neck Cancers:A Scoping Review
Full text linkBackground: In the UK alone, suspected head & neck cancer referrals exceed a quarter‐million, with a detected malignancy rate of around 2.6%1. This, coupled with the need for urgent assessment and treatment of cancer patients, puts an increasing strain on clinical services. Advances in technology have allowed integration of video‐endoscopy, particularly ‘store and forward’ of clinical media and patient information for deferred consultant review. Building on these, Allied Health Professional (AHP)‐delivered nasoendoscopy clinics emerged: AHPs perform endoscopy and a consultant reviews the video asynchronously. This model, in theory, preserves specialist input while helping to address current clinical pressures. Methods: A scoping review was conducted per PRISMA‐ScR guidelines (PROSPERO 1016067). We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Emcare, and CINAHL for relevant English‐language studies up to April 2025. Data on clinic setup, diagnostic outcomes, and stakeholder satisfaction were synthesized. Results: Five papers were included in the study. The majority (n = 3) focused on the use of Speech and Language therapists. Across four studies, patients were risk stratified into low and high‐risk groups, with low‐risk patients seen in AHP‐delivered clinics. Three studies focused on cancer diagnostic yield and review within a short time frame. Cancer detection in low‐risk cohorts was minimal, with no missed malignancies. Remote pathways achieved prompt diagnoses (mean 21 days), and the majority of recordings were diagnostically adequate. One study focused on the opinions of ENT surgeons, which was positive, reporting improved efficiency and increased focus on complex cases, but stressed the need for AHP training and robust governance. Conclusion: Remote asynchronous nasoendoscopy clinics can help meet diagnostic targets and reduce consultant workload. Although robust governance is essential for safe implementation, this model remains a promising and acceptable option. Further work will fully ascertain their long‐term impact on service delivery and patient outcomes
Comparative Vagueness
No full textThis paper provides new examples of vagueness phenomena with comparatives. I show that comparatives of the form ‘x is ADJ-er than y’ can be vague due to a fuzziness in how much of some property makes for a difference in ADJ-ness. The sorites examples I provide cannot be assimilated to cases of indiscriminability or fuzziness in relevant dimensions, standards, or measurement procedures. A revised degree-based semantics with semiorders, a well studied threshold structure, is developed. The treatment of equatives captures the truth of the claim that adjacent items in the sorites series are not relevantly distinguishable in ADJ-ness; and it avoids validating transitivities that would yield paradoxical conclusions. This paper provides new examples of vagueness phenomena with comparatives. I show that comparatives of the form ‘x is ADJ-er than y’ can be vague due to a fuzziness in how much of some property makes for a difference in ADJ-ness. The sorites examples I provide cannot be assimilated to cases of indiscriminability or fuzziness in relevant dimensions, standards, or measurement procedures. A revised degree-based semantics with semiorders, a well studied threshold structure, is developed. The treatment of equatives captures the truth of the claim that adjacent items in the sorites series are not relevantly distinguishable in ADJ-ness; and it avoids validating transitivities that would yield paradoxical conclusions
From local production to global consumption:Assessing the carbon footprints of Chinese cities in global value chains
Full text linkAs cities take on increasingly specialized roles in global value chains (GVCs), the spatial disconnect between where emissions occur and where responsibility lies continues to widen. However, city-level carbon flows across GVCs remain largely underexamined, hindering the design of effective climate policies. Here, we develop a GVC-oriented carbon accounting framework by nesting a multiregional input–output (MRIO) model of 313 Chinese cities within a global MRIO system. We quantify the upstream and downstream carbon footprints of Chinese cities via GVCs and assess their economic gains from GVC integration. Our analysis reveals a strong concentration of foreign demand–driven emissions (FDEs) in major coastal hubs, with the top 10 cities accounting for 25% of national FDE. In these cities, up to 43% of FDE stems from intermediate goods trade. Carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product from international trade were 1.5 times higher than those solely relying on domestic industrial chains. In 54 service- and high-tech-oriented cities, over 20% of emissions occurred outside their borders and were induced by international supply chains (foreign GVC segment), with the United States being the largest contributor. At the national level, the United States alone accounted for 43.7% of emissions embodied in Chinese 313 cities’ gross exports. Our framework may inform more equitable allocation of responsibilities to develop collaborative decarbonization strategies across cities
Mediation effects in blockchain technology adoption for social sustainability:Pre- and post-adoption analysis of existing and future socially sustainable supply chains
Full text linkWhile blockchain technology offers promising potential for enhancing social sustainability in supply chains, its adoption and effective utilisation remain underexplored. This study, grounded in the dynamic capabilities view, investigates the role of social orientation and the cognitive mechanism of Perceived Usefulness in driving blockchain technology adoption, and its subsequent impact on future social practices and social performance across both pre- and post-adoption phases. Using a quantitative survey of UK manufacturing organisations, this study examines the mediating effects of existing social practices in the pre-adoption phase and future social practices in the post-adoption phase. Findings reveal that while social orientation positively influences blockchain adoption, this effect is partially mediated by existing social practices. Furthermore, blockchain implementation acts as a catalyst for the adoption of future social practices, which in turn mediates its impact on social performance. This study contributes to the operations and supply chain management body of literature by: 1) providing empirical evidence for the mediating role of social practices in the relationship between social orientation, blockchain adoption, and social performance; 2) highlighting the dynamic interplay between existing and future social practices in shaping the adoption and impact of blockchain technology, adopting a multi-stage approach that considers both pre- and post-adoption phases; and 3) providing managers with the strategic tool Blockchain Technology for Social Sustainability (BTSS) for leveraging blockchain for social sustainability
Everyday exposures:feasibility of community-based trace metal monitoring using non-invasive bio-sampling in children’s environments, a pilot study
Full text linkChildren are uniquely vulnerable to environmental pollution due to their developing physiology, distinct behaviours, and higher exposure per body mass, and have limited influence over how their environments are designed and managed. However, the real-world feasibility of integrating non-invasive biomonitoring with community-sourced environmental sampling in children’s everyday settings remains under-evaluated. The absence of validated, field-feasible biomonitoring methods for use in schools and homes, limits the early detection of harmful exposures and constrains the development of routine paediatric environmental surveillance. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility of non-invasive bio-sampling to assess trace-metal exposure in 13 UK schoolchildren. Paired urine and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) samples, EBC being a condensed fraction of exhaled respiratory droplets that may reflect airway-level exposure, were collected alongside drinking water and soil from participants’ school and home environments. All samples were analysed for multiple trace elements using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. To relate internal and external measures, Enrichment factors (EFs), were calculated as the ratio of metal concentrations in biological matrices relative to corresponding environmental sources. Despite small sample sizes, meaningful trends emerged. Elevated zinc and copper levels in tap water corresponded to higher urinary concentrations, suggesting urine is a sensitive matrix for waterborne exposure. In contrast low EFs in EBC relative to soil highlight matrix-specific limitations in using soil as a proxy for inhaled exposure in this matrix. The study demonstrates the practical and ethical suitability of non-invasive biomonitoring in paediatric populations, reinforcing the need for improved standardisation and comprehensive metadata collection. Findings support the potential value of integrating non-invasive methods into larger environmental health surveillance efforts involving children. This work contributes a scalable model for child-focused environmental health research that bridges scientific-data with social-justice, environmental education and equity
The Evolution of a Polar Cap Patch Into a Blob in the Nightside Ionosphere:Direct Observations of Multiple Blob Formation Mechanisms Acting Simultaneously on the Same Plasma
Full text linkA polar cap patch was observed to exit the polar cap to become a blob as it entered the auroral oval on the nightside of the Earth under moderately quiet geomagnetic conditions (Kp = 3−). Auroral particle precipitation led to an increase in the electron density of the blob. Blobs can be formed by multiple formation mechanisms, including transportation effects and auroral precipitation. This blob exhibited characteristics which fit within the definitions of both boundary and auroral blobs. This study therefore presents direct observations of multiple blob formation mechanisms acting simultaneously on the same plasma. These observations were made using the European Incoherent SCATter (EISCAT) radars. The polar cap patch was first observed in the EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR) and is later observed as a blob by the EISCAT VHF and UHF radars as the plasma moves antisunward from the polar cap and into the auroral oval. The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network radars showed that the plasma was moving antisunward and data from the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment provided supporting evidence for the location of the auroral boundary. In addition, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers monitored the scintillation effects that were associated with large-scale structures. Overall, very low scintillation was observed by these receivers, suggesting that small-scale structures (<365 m for GNSS L1 frequencies) did not develop significantly during this period
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