Government is expected to lead the payment of heat-resilient infrastructure.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: He BJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10214286 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Government is expected to lead the payment of heat-resilient infrastructure.
iScience 20230411 5
Urban heat is severe in numerous cities, but the urgency of heat action and support for the development of heat-resilient infrastructure is unclear. To address these research gaps, this study investigated the perceived urgency of developing heat-resilient infrastructure and associated payment issues in eight megacities, in China using a questionnaire survey of 3758 respondents in August 2020. Overall, the respondents thought it was moderately urgent to take actions to address heat-related challe ...[more]
Similar Datasets
Project description:Increasingly prevalent extreme weather events have caused resilience to become an essential sustainable development component for resource and infrastructure networks. Existing resilience metrics require detailed knowledge of the system and potential disruptions, which is not available in the early design stage. The lack of quantitative tools to guide the early stages of design for resilience, forces engineers to rely on heuristics (use physical redundancy, localized capacity, etc.). This research asserts that the required quantitative guidelines can be developed using the architecting principles of biological ecosystems, which maintain a unique balance between pathway redundancy and efficiency, enabling them to be both productive under normal circumstances and survive disruptions. Ecologists quantify this network characteristic using the ecological fitness function. This paper presents the required reformulation required to enable the use of this metric in the design and analysis of resource and infrastructure networks with multiple distinct, but interdependent, interactions. The proposed framework is validated by comparing the resilience characteristics of two notional supply chain designs: one designed for minimum shipping cost and the other designed using the proposed bio-inspired framework. The results support using the proposed bio-inspired framework to guide designers in creating resilient and sustainable resource and infrastructure networks.
| S-EPMC7385727 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In addition to regulating the actin cytoskeleton, Cofilin also senses and responds to environmental stress. Cofilin can promote cell survival or death depending on context. Yet, many aspects of Cofilin's role in survival need clarification. Here, we show that exposing early Drosophila embryos to mild heat stress (32°C) induces a Cofilin-mediated Actin Stress Response and upregulation of heat- and ER- stress response genes. However, these responses do not alleviate the negative impacts of heat exposure. Instead, heat stressed embryos show downregulation of hundreds of developmental genes, including determinants of the embryonic body plan, and are less likely to hatch as larvae and adults. Remarkably, reducing Cofilin dosage blunts induction of all stress response pathways, mitigates downregulation of developmental genes, and completely rescues survival. Thus, Cofilin intersects with multiple stress response pathways, and modulates the transcriptomic response to heat stress. Strikingly, Cofilin knockdown emerges as a potent pro-survival manipulation for embryos.
| S-EPMC11722379 | biostudies-literature
Project description:As regions around the world invest billions in new infrastructure to overcome increasing water scarcity, better guidance is needed to facilitate cooperative planning and investment in institutionally complex and interconnected water supply systems. This work combines detailed water resource system ensemble modeling with multiobjective intelligent search to explore infrastructure investment partnership design in the context of ongoing canal rehabilitation and groundwater banking in California. Here we demonstrate that severe tradeoffs can emerge between conflicting goals related to water supply deliveries, partnership size, and the underlying financial risks associated with cooperative infrastructure investments. We show how hydroclimatic variability and institutional complexity can create significant uncertainty in realized water supply benefits and heterogeneity in partners' financial risks that threaten infrastructure investment partnership viability. We demonstrate how multiobjective intelligent search can design partnerships with substantially higher water supply benefits and a fraction of the financial risk compared to status quo planning processes. This work has important implications globally for efforts to use cooperative infrastructure investments to enhance the climate resilience and financial stability of water supply systems.
| S-EPMC11350222 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study combines responses from a social survey with compound flood modeling in a marginalized coastal community to assess implementation of green infrastructure, such as rain barrels and rain gardens, in a city scale. This research focuses on the City of Imperial Beach, CA, which is an underserved coastal community located near the border with Mexico. A principal objective of the present research was analyzing social survey responses and the public's perceptions to estimate the extent to which decentralized water infrastructure might be accepted by and feasible for the target underserved coastal community. The feasibility of the proposed solution is strengthened through a collaboration with the City of Imperial Beach, which has led to the results of this study being presented in various public sources and forums. The social survey revealed that more than 4/5 of respondents are interested in receiving a rain barrel for free, and the needed financial incentives for rain barrel and rain garden installation can be the whole cost of the practice. Results of the social survey provide promising prospects for the community's adoption of decentralized water infrastructure, but public awareness and engagement still need to be improved through appropriate outreach activities, particularly in areas at risk of future flooding and sewer overflows. The effectiveness of our proposed solution is assessed through hydrologic-hydraulic model outputs, deploying a fine resolution 2-dimensional overland flow model, present that for a stormdrain system with typical defects (e.g. 0.25% porosity), working under current sea levels (i.e., sea level rise = 0 m), and a typical storm (e.g., 1-year rainfall), the flood volume may decrease 56-99% after implementing a rain barrel system and adding a rain garden system.
| S-EPMC11871364 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study explores the complex dynamics of environmental resistance, policy stability, skill development, and green initiatives in light of the growing worldwide concerns about climate change. COP27 and the G20 Summit show that as microcosm of the global discourse, provides a unique opportunity to study it. This research sought to thoroughly investigate, the links among green infrastructure, green technological innovation, policy stability, skill development, and their combined effects on social mobility and climate change (Case-1), it also discusses the global talk on climate change in COP27 and G20 (Case-2). In Case-1 data were analyzed through the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) by adopting a quantitative approach, and in Case-2 data were analyzed using theme analysis by applying a qualitative approach. Using a mixed-method research approach, the study surveyed 375 locals living close to the CPEC corridor quantitatively and interviewed ten important stakeholders, including elected officials, environmental activists, and community leaders, qualitatively. The survey highlighted the complex perspectives and experiences of citizens with green programs and environmental legislation in the CPEC zone. The study revealed the perceptions and experiences of residents regarding green initiatives and environmental policies within the CPEC region. Key stakeholders provided valuable insights into policy formulation and ongoing environmental sustainability efforts. The analysis unveiled intricate relationships between green infrastructure, technological innovation, policy stability, skill development, and their collective impact on climate change and social mobility. Notably, the study identified a critical research gap in understanding these dynamics within regions undergoing substantial economic development. Policy formulation and continuing environmental sustainability efforts were aided by key stakeholders' ideas. Green infrastructure, technological innovation, policy stability, skill development, and their overall influence on climate change and social mobility were all examined. Notably, the study found a critical research vacuum in understanding these processes inside rapidly developing economies. Policymakers, environmental groups, and communities managing the fine line between economic success and environmental responsibility will find great value in the findings. This study is unique because it examines issues on climate change from a local perspective in a region that is rapidly developing economically, it also adds value to the climate change challenges on the global level. This study presents a substantial theoretical contribution by examining the intricate interactions among environmental opposition, policy stability, skill development, and green initiatives within the CPEC against the backdrop of global climate change concerns.
| S-EPMC11259874 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesReimbursement rates in national health insurance schemes are frequently weighted to account for differences in the costs of service provision. To determine weights for a differential case-based payment system under India's publicly financed national health insurance scheme, the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), by exploring and quantifying the influence of supply-side factors on the costs of inpatient admissions and surgical procedures.DesignExploratory analysis using regression-based cost function on data from a multisite health facility costing study-the Cost of Health Services in India (CHSI) Study.SettingThe CHSI Study sample included 11 public sector tertiary care hospitals, 27 public sector district hospitals providing secondary care and 16 private hospitals, from 11 Indian states.Participants521 sites from 57 healthcare facilities in 11 states of India.InterventionsMedical and surgical packages of PM-JAY.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe cost per bed-day and cost per surgical procedure were regressed against a range of factors to be considered as weights including hospital location, presence of a teaching function and ownership. In addition, capacity utilisation, number of beds, specialist mix, state gross domestic product, State Health Index ranking and volume of patients across the sample were included as variables in the models. Given the skewed data, cost variables were log-transformed for some models.ResultsThe estimated mean costs per inpatient bed-day and per procedure were 2307 and 10 686 Indian rupees, respectively. Teaching status, annual hospitalisation, bed size, location of hospital and average length of hospitalisation significantly determine the inpatient bed-day cost, while location of hospital and teaching status determine the procedure costs. Cost per bed-day of teaching hospitals was 38-143.4% higher than in non-teaching hospitals. Similarly, cost per bed-day was 1.3-89.7% higher in tier 1 cities, and 19.5-77.3% higher in tier 2 cities relative to tier 3 cities, respectively. Finally, cost per surgical procedure was higher by 10.6-144.6% in teaching hospitals than non-teaching hospitals; 12.9-171.7% higher in tier 1 cities; and 33.4-140.9% higher in tier 2 cities compared with tier 3 cities, respectively.ConclusionOur study findings support and validate the recently introduced differential provider payment system under the PM-JAY. While our results are indicative of heterogeneity in hospital costs, other considerations of how these weights will affect coverage, quality, cost containment, as well as create incentives and disincentives for provider and consumer behaviour, and integrate with existing price mark-ups for other factors, should be considered to determine the future revisions in the differential pricing scheme.
| S-EPMC10603525 | biostudies-literature
Project description:There is a worldwide need for reagents to perform SARS-CoV-2 detection. Some laboratories have implemented kit-free protocols, but many others do not have the capacity to develop these and/or perform manual processing. We provide multiple workflows for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection in clinical samples by comparing several commercially available RNA extraction methods: QIAamp Viral RNA Mini Kit (QIAgen), RNAdvance Blood/Viral (Beckman) and Mag-Bind Viral DNA/RNA 96 Kit (Omega Bio-tek). We also compared One-step RT-qPCR reagents: TaqMan Fast Virus 1-Step Master Mix (FastVirus, ThermoFisher Scientific), qPCRBIO Probe 1-Step Go Lo-ROX (PCR Biosystems) and Luna ® Universal Probe One-Step RT-qPCR Kit (Luna, NEB). We used primer-probes that detect viral N (EUA CDC) and RdRP (PHE guidelines). All RNA extraction methods provided similar results. FastVirus and Luna proved most sensitive. N detection was more reliable than that of RdRP, particularly in samples with low viral titres. Importantly, we demonstrate that treatment of nasopharyngeal swabs with 70 degrees for 10 or 30 min, or 90 degrees for 10 or 30 min (both original variant and B 1.1.7) inactivates SARS-CoV-2 employing plaque assays, and that it has minimal impact on the sensitivity of the qPCR in clinical samples. These findings make SARS-CoV-2 testing portable to settings that do not have CL-3 facilities. In summary, we provide several testing pipelines that can be easily implemented in other laboratories and have made all our protocols and SOPs freely available at https://osf.io/uebvj/ .
| S-EPMC8043481 | biostudies-literature
Project description:There is a worldwide need for reagents to perform SARS-CoV-2 detection. Some laboratories have implemented kit-free protocols, but many others do not have the capacity to develop these and/or perform manual processing. We provide multiple workflows for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection in clinical samples by comparing several commercially available RNA extraction methods: QIAamp Viral RNA Mini Kit (QIAgen), RNAdvance Blood/Viral (Beckman) and Mag-Bind Viral DNA/RNA 96 Kit (Omega Bio-tek). We also compared One-step RT-qPCR reagents: TaqMan Fast Virus 1-Step Master Mix (FastVirus, ThermoFisher Scientific), qPCRBIO Probe 1-Step Go Lo-ROX (PCR Biosystems) and Luna® Universal Probe One-Step RT-qPCR Kit (Luna, NEB). We used primer-probes that detect viral N (EUA CDC) and RdRP. RNA extraction methods provided similar results, with Beckman performing better with our primer-probe combinations. Luna proved most sensitive although overall the three reagents did not show significant differences. N detection was more reliable than that of RdRP, particularly in samples with low viral titres. Importantly, we demonstrated that heat treatment of nasopharyngeal swabs at 70°C for 10 or 30 min, or 90°C for 10 or 30 min (both original variant and B 1.1.7) inactivated SARS-CoV-2 employing plaque assays, and had minimal impact on the sensitivity of the qPCR in clinical samples. These findings make SARS-CoV-2 testing portable in settings that do not have CL-3 facilities. In summary, we provide several testing pipelines that can be easily implemented in other laboratories and have made all our protocols and SOPs freely available at https://osf.io/uebvj/.
| S-EPMC8443028 | biostudies-literature
Project description:People typically purchase residential properties for two reasons: to live in or invest. However, both purposes necessitate careful consideration before deciding because high financial costs are involved, and housing loans are typically considered necessary for this purpose. Customers' demands are constantly changing, becoming more complicated with higher requirements. The focus of this research is on tourism real estate selection. This market in Vietnam is still new and emerging and has encountered numerous issues regarding government policy, finance, and land authorization for constructing, owning, and managing. Because the form of tourism real estate is still new, customers are hesitant about investing in or buying these properties. Hence, to compete in the current fiercely real estate industry, real estate firms must understand their customers' expectations by frequently involving customer research in the company's strategy. However, there is still a lack of research on the connection between these factors and individual expectations in the well-known philosophy of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), leading to behavioral intentions. Therefore, to fulfill the gap in the previous literature, this paper aims to investigate the connection between these factors with core variables of TPB, hence, addressing the current problems in the real estate industry. 471 valid respondents in Vietnam were collected for data analysis through two survey approaches. PLS-SEM was used to test hypotheses due to the relationship complication in the conceptual models. The results show that government policy influences attitudes and perceived behavioral control, whereas social infrastructure affects social norms and perceived behavioral control. Moreover, Fengshui ambient condition also positively influences all three core factors: attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control. Finally, these factors impact on intention to buy tourism real estate. Through results, this paper has developed a purchase intention model through social aspects of the tourism real estate industry. In addition, this paper demonstrates the connection between social factors and individuals' expectations for a purchase intention, providing the importance of the government's role, architecture style, and social infrastructure in the marketing literature of the real estate industry. As a result, managers and governments need to take advantage of new releases of government regulations in time to enhance customers' positive attitudes toward purchasing tourism real estate. Moreover, social infrastructure and Fengshui conditions are crucial to establishing social norms and perceived control, aiming to leverage the intention to purchase tourism real estate. Thereby, recommendations of marketing strategies based on these findings were suggested to attain the optimal result for sales. Finally, this research also includes some limitations. Hence, suggestions for further research were also provided, such as possible moderation, possible mediating effects, or control of data bias.
| S-EPMC10374126 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Many cities aim to progress toward their sustainability and public health goals by increasing use of their public transit systems. However, without adequate protective infrastructure that provides thermally comfortable conditions for public transit riders, it can be challenging to reach these goals in hot climates. We took micrometeorological measurements and surveyed riders about their perceptions of heat and heat-coping behaviors at bus stops with a variety of design attributes in Phoenix, AZ, USA, during the summer of 2018. We identified the design attributes and coping behaviors that made riders feel cooler. We observed that current infrastructure standards and material choices for bus stops in Phoenix are insufficient to provide thermal comfort, and can even expose riders to health risks. Almost half of the study participants felt hot or very hot at the time they were surveyed, and more than half reported feeling thermally uncomfortable. On average, shade reduced the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) by 19 °C. Moreover, we found significant diurnal differences in PET reductions from the shade provided by various design attributes. For instance, all design attributes were effective in reducing PET in the morning; however, a vegetated awning did not provide statistically significant shade reductions in the afternoon. Temperatures of sun-exposed surfaces of man-made materials exceeded skin burn thresholds in the afternoon, but shade was effective in bringing the same surfaces to safe levels. Aesthetically pleasing stops were rated as cooler than stops rated as less beautiful. We conclude that cities striving to increase public transit use should prioritize thermal comfort when designing public transit stops in hot climates.
| S-EPMC8807448 | biostudies-literature