Urban Spatial Form Optimization Strategies Based on the Principle of Climate Adaptability of Regional Architecture: A Case Study of Traditional Cave Dwelling Villages in Northern Shaanxi Province

A multitude of climate-adaptive design approaches are embedded in regional architecture,which have a positive impact on addressing the deformed development of urban spatial patterns and the dual challenges of climate and resources.This paper examines the principles of climate adaptability embedded in the site layout and spatial organization characteristics of traditional cave dwelling villages in northern Shaanxi Province.The extracted climate adaptability principles are summarized,and the resulting design strategies that are well-suited to the contemporary urban space form are presented.Through analysis,it can be observed that traditional cave dwelling villages in northern Shaanxi are predominantly situated on south-facing slopes in proximity to water at low altitudes.These villages are characterized by compact building groups and east-west development,which is constrained by the elements of mountains and rivers.A two-level street system is generated,comprising streets parallel to the contour line and roadways perpendicular to the contour line.This results in the formation of a courtyard form enclosed by mountains.Such site layout and spatial organization exhibit excellent climate adaptability with regard to heat,ventilation,and wind storage.In light of the aforementioned considerations,the following urban spatial form design strategies are put forth:①the topographic height difference can be exploited to obtain sufficient sunshine;②the group shape can be optimized in order to reduce building energy consumption;③the best orientation of the building can be chosen to take account of both winter and summer conditions;④the height and length can be combined in order to form natural masking;⑤the D/H ratio of streets and roadways should be controlled to achieve a balance between heat gain and cooling of groups;⑥vents should be set appropriately to optimize group ventilation;⑦climate buffers should be established to increase the level of climate response.

The Influence of the Implementation of Trade Facilitation Systems on the Time Required for Creating Delivery Orders: A Case Study of Tema Port

This study evaluated the impact of Ghana’s Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), implemented within the National Single Window initiative, on the efficiency of issuing Delivery Orders (DO) at Tema Port. Filling a gap in the existing literature, the research employed a quantitative approach to assess a specific time-related aspect of the cargo clearance process. Employing an Independent t-test on a dataset spanning 2026 Delivery Orders (924 pre-ICUMS and 1102 post-ICUMS) from July 2020 to July 2023, the study investigated ICUMS’s effectiveness in reducing DO issuance time. Results indicate a noteworthy decrease in average DO issuance time, from 11 days pre-implementation to approximately 9 days post-implementation, a reduction validated by statistical analysis through the independent t-test. In light of these findings, the study recommends ongoing refinement of the implementation, reinforcement of trade facilitation measures, and the adoption of best practices from successful global ports. Continuous stakeholder training and regular assessments of ICUMS performance are also endorsed. The study’s implications support the theoretical framework for Single Window systems and carry significant policy implications, emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts to streamline trade facilitation processes driven by Information Technology. Practically, the results serve as a management tool for stakeholders, highlighting areas for targeted interventions to reduce DO issuance times. Methodologically, this research contributes by applying robust statistical analysis to a specific component within the Time Release Study framework, offering a nuanced understanding of trade facilitation systems’ effectiveness in improving cargo clearance processes.

Research on the Ecological Wisdom of Traditional Dwellings of the Liangshan Yi Nationality Based on Regional Climate

As a typical building with ethnic and regional characteristics in southwest Chi-na, its construction skills contain rich local ecological wisdom. The detailed analysis of the climatic and geomorphological features of the Liangshan Yi nationality area shows that the thermal mass effect is the first choice for the passive adjustment strategy of residential dwellings. This study focuses on the typical representatives of traditional dwellings in Meigu County, analyzing the wisdom of ecological construction to improve the thermal mass effects of res-idential buildings at the macro (village), moderate (courtyard), and micro (building unit) levels. Based on this analysis, the study summarizes the “genetic factor library” of the ecological construction mode of traditional Yi residential dwellings. Finally, the measured data of the residential thermal environment and the simulation data of Ecotect software are used to study and judge the logic behind its ecological construction wisdom. The results show that the tradi-tional dwellings of the Yi nationality in Liangshan have six aspects of local en-vironmental knowledge to improve the thermal mass effects performance of buildings. The winter thermal environment of the house is comfortable, and the heat is sufficient;Rammed earth materials in residential buildings have more potent, powerful, and robust thermal mass effects performance than stone slabs and wooden boards.

Inheritance and Development of Cultures of Traditional Vernacular Dwellings in the Townscape Renovation Project of Guangxi,China

By analyzing background and present situation of townscape renovation project in Guangxi, endeavors for inheriting and developing cultures of traditional vernacular dwellings in the implementation of this project are discussed, and characteristics of traditional vernacular dwellings in the study area are summarized. Local vernacular dwellings can be classified in the following 3 ways on the basis of their own regional features:First, classifying by the origin and development history:stilt building, courtyard and non-courtyard building, western-style building; Second, by building materials:bamboo-wood building, stone building, adobe building, earth-stone building, brick-wood building, building of mixed materials; Third, by architectural form:stilt building, courtyard building, non-courtyard building. Stilt wooden building in northern Guangxi is a representative of traditional vernacular dwellings in the study area. By giving mature consideration to inheritance and development of cultures of traditional vernacular dwellings, this study proposes that proper renovation plans should be made according to actual conditions of the planning site; form renovation of vernacular dwellings should be taken as the new trend of renovation; traditional cultures should be further explored, demonstrated and protected. These suggestions are of great instructive significance for improving the cultural taste of townscapes.

Ecological Concepts in Traditional Vernacular Dwellings of Miao Nationality in Southeast Guizhou Province

Traditional vernacular dwellings of Miao Nationality in southeast Guizhou Province are reasonable and scientific in many aspects, such as site selection, construction, structure, direction, room layout, harmony between constructions and environment, moderate development of natural resources and so on, which demonstrate the ecological concepts of Miao people respecting the Nature, pursuing the harmonious coexistence between human beings and Nature. This study analyzed the gist of Miao people constructing vernacular dwellings, i.e. natural and harmonious ecological concepts, the principle of planning according to actual conditions, saving cost by utilizing local materials and sustainably developing architectural structure.

Structure and Construction Pattern of Folk Dwellings of the Dai Nationality in Guanchun Village of Dehong Prefecture,Yunnan Province

Evolution pattern of folk dwellings of the Dai Nationality in Guanchun Village,Dehong Prefecture,Yunnan Province is discussed in this study,and Field Study of the anthropology is applied to study family structure and use of residential spaces in this village.The study shows that structure of traditional residence is changing,traditional buildings cannot meet demands of modern life due to the changing lifestyle;it is a trend that traditional building materials like brick and wood are to be substituted by new materials.It implies that useful elements of traditional living styles and construction patterns should be refined in the update of folk dwellings in the village ofminorities,and combined with modern building materials and techniques to satisfy the demands of modern life.

Development and Significance of Cave Dwelling Resort on the Loess Plateau

Relevant ecotourism theories were applied to further investigate the mushrooming cave dwelling resorts on the Loess Plateau.By introducing the present development of cave dwelling settlements in the study area,types of cave dwelling resort was summarized:historic cave dwelling resort based on high cultural value,artistic value and aesthetic value;cave dwelling resort characterized by primitive folk customs;cave hotel showing folk house features of the Loess Plateau.Luochuan Resort of the Loess Folk Customs,Miaoshang Resort of Sanmenxia,Stone Cave Hotel of Yangjialing in Yan'an were respectively studied to analyze features and development conditions of cave dwelling resort,on the basis of which development principles and countermeasures were discussed.The orientation of cave dwelling resort on the Loess Plateau should be determined first,sustainability and accountability of ecotourism should be followed.Finally,the significance of cave dwelling resort for promoting local economic development,enhancing the rational utilization of natural resources,protecting and developing traditional settlements of cave dwellings was given.

Enlightenment of Modern Interior Design from the Interior Decoration of Ancient Huizhou Vernacular Dwellings

Through analyzing the basic structure of ancient Huizhou vernacular dwellings and the spatial order of interior decoration,this study rethought profoundly about modern interior design and put forward the inheritance of traditional methods in interior decoration.

Material Analysis of Traditional Folk Dwellings and Its Modern Inheritance:A Case Study of Traditional Folk Dwellings in Hunan Province

Traditional folk dwellings contain rich cultural connotations and plain architectural techniques.In architecture,material is the most fundamental thing,different materials can demonstrate different architectural forms,and reflect local characteristics and change of the time.Therefore,it is of great significance to explore the material selection of traditional Chinese folk dwellings.The paper took traditional folk dwellings in Hunan for example to analyze the regional materials and construction of these dwellings,discussed the application of traditional materials in modern architecture,used some cases to explore the innovative application of traditional materials,so as to figure out the new direction of applying traditional materials,and provide references for the construction of modern architecture.

Study on Development Countermeasures of Cave Dwellings in Northern Area of Shaanxi Province in China

In view of traditional house in northern area of Shaanxi Province which was cave dwelling,based on cave dwelling and its development environment,the paper had analyzed architectural characteristics and use value of cave dwelling and its development in northern Shaanxi,and then pointed out that cave dwelling development had been reduced into an awkward situation.By using SWOT analysis method,the strengths,weaknesses,opportunities and threats of cave dwellings had been summarized.In terms of strengths,cave dwelling had ecological advantage as native architecture,was constructed based on local conditions,could solve land,energy and environment problems on Loess Plateau,and abounded in aesthetic value of native feature.In terms of weaknesses,village layout lacked of integrity,transportation was not convenient,indoor ventilation and lighting were insufficient,and pattern and space were simplified and stereotyped.In terms of opportunities,it stressed architectural ecology having received more and more attention in the world,and exploration and application of underground civil architecture.In terms of threats,it lied in construction technology of cave dwelling,contradiction between cave dwelling and urbanization and between cave dwelling and modern life,and management mode of restricted type.On this basis,it suggested that cave dwelling development in northern Shaanxi should transform people's traditio-nal concept through correct guidance of public voice;strive to eliminate weakness of cave dwelling;improve cave environment by enhancing infrastructure construction;develop characteristic cave dwelling cultural tourism in northern Shaanxi,and construct new socialist countryside of northern Shaanxi character.

Impact of Agricultural Eco-environment on the Architectural Form of Vernacular Dwellings

Through analyzing the form, materials, building techniques of vernacular dwellings in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province, this study tries to explore the influence of agricultural eco-environment on the form of folk houses, points out that vernacular dwellings are fully combined with local traditional agricultural environment from site selection, spatial form, architectural style, building materials and detail designs, which unifies the economic and environmental benefits of vernacular dwellings.

Resilience of Wengding,the Phoenix Wa traditional village

The village of Wengding,ancestral home of the Wa ethnic group,considered as China’s last primitive tribe,suf-fered near-complete extinction due to a fire incident in 2021.Historical records indicate that stilt-style buildings,also in Wengding,are highly susceptible to fire.Nevertheless,this has not hindered the long-term existence of these distinctive architectural forms.This study analyses the reasons for the sustained existence of the traditional building forms in Wengding,from the perspective of resilience.The findings indicate that the requirements of the traditional nomadic civilization for rapid construction of dwellings,the communal consciousness toward dis-aster resistance,and the implementation of spatially oriented fire protection measures collectively account for the swift recovery and reconstruction observed in Wengding village after the disaster.These aspects are tangible manifestations of the capacity of the village for resilience.Overall,resilience is essential for the sustainability of such traditional villages in the long term.

Dynamic train dwell time forecasting:a hybrid approach to address the influence of passenger flow fluctuations

Train timetables and operations are defined by the train running time in sections,dwell time at stations,and headways between trains.Accurate estimation of these factors is essential to decision-making for train delay reduction,train dispatching,and station capacity estimation.In the present study,we aim to propose a train dwell time model based on an averaging mechanism and dynamic updating to address the challenges in the train dwell time prediction problem(e.g.,dynamics over time,heavy-tailed distribution of data,and spatiotemporal relationships of factors)for real-time train dispatching.The averaging mechanism in the present study is based on multiple state-of-the-art base predictors,enabling the proposed model to integrate the advantages of the base predictors in addressing the challenges in terms of data attributes and data distributions.Then,considering the influence of passenger flow on train dwell time,we use a dynamic updating method based on exponential smoothing to improve the performance of the proposed method by considering the real-time passenger amount fluctuations(e.g.,passenger soars in peak hours or passenger plunges during regular periods).We conduct experiments with the train operation data and passenger flow data from the Chinese high-speed railway line.The results show that due to the advantages over the base predictors,the averaging mechanism can more accurately predict the dwell time at stations than its counterparts for different prediction horizons regarding predictive errors and variances.Further,the experimental results show that dynamic smoothing can significantly improve the accuracy of the proposed model during passenger amount changes,i.e.,15.4%and 15.5%corresponding to the mean absolute error and root mean square error,respectively.Based on the proposed predictor,a feature importance analysis shows that the planned dwell time and arrival delay are the two most important factors to dwell time.However,planned time has positive influences,whereas arrival delay has negative influences.

Utilizing Instilling Negative Pressure Wound Therapy with Vashe Wound Solution for an Infected Sternal Dehiscence: A Case Report

Utilization of negative pressure wound therapy with instillation (NPWTi) for sternal dehiscence wounds secondary to sternal wound infection after surgery has become an accepted therapy. NPWTi accelerates wound healing through macrostrain, microstrain, and cyclic fluid instillation. Wounds benefit from additional superficial infection control with the removal of microorganisms, the release of proinflammatory mediators, stimulation of angiogenesis, as well as mechanical debridement. However, very few cases of utilizing NPWTi in the treatment of sternal wound infections have been reported in the literature. This case study describes the use of NPWTi with hypochlorous acid for the treatment of a sternal wound infection.

Study on the thermal environment of rural residential buildings in winter in the Guanzhong region of Shaanxi

In order to study the thermal environment of rural dwellings in cold areas,the physical environment of rural dwellings in the Guanzhong region was taken as the research object.The thermal environment parameters,such as indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity,wall surface temperature of existing dwellings were measured,recorded,and analysed using physical environment measurements and numerical software simulations.By using Ecotect Analysis software to optimize the building envelope of existing residential buildings,the thermal analysis shows that the optimized building envelope reduces the heat transfer coefficient,increases thermal insulation,reduces building energy consumption by 59%,and increases the human comfort PMV from-2.01 to-1.40.These findings provide theoretical and data support for the construction of rural dwellings in cold regions and for research into thermal environments.

Study on constructive system of green cave dwelling in Loess Plateau—Interpretation with the “regional gene” theory

This article reveals the inherent evolution adjusting mechanism of regional architecture by means of considering the concept and method of "regional gene" as the research approach of regional architecture construction system, and in the mean- while establishes the "gene database" of regional architecture and optimum technology, on the basis of the principle of sustainable development and scientific evaluation system. In addition, this article chooses the planning of model villages of cave dwellings in Loess Plateau and the construction of ecological cave dwellings for case study to prove the feasibility of the research approach.

Improvement of thermal performance of envelopes for traditional wooden vernacular dwellings of Tujia Minority in Western Hunan,China

Thermal performance of envelopes and indoor thermal environment were technologically improved for traditional wooden vernacular dwellings of Tujia Minority in Western Hunan, China, on the premise of protecting their conventional styles. Thermal insulation boards and wooden boards were added to the interior side of external walls of vernacular dwellings to form two layers of air cavities, so as to gain excellent thermal performance. The indoor temperature of such dwellings after reconstruction was apparently improved compared with the data before reconstruction both in winter and summer, which verified the feasibility and the effectiveness of the reconstruction technologies proposed.

Research on the Construction of Natural, Ecological and Environment-friendly Earth-wooden Folk Dwellings

By applying modern and traditional techniques of constructing tulou (or literally translated as earthen structures, and also known as "hakka tulou", "earth dwelling", and "round stronghold"), building environment and traditional ecological views of tulou were taken as the basis to explore the construction of modern folk dwellings. Work in all areas is promoted by drawing upon the experience gained on key points. Highlight of the design is to use raw soil and pollution-free raw materials, explore the construction of ecological folk dwellings in the new countryside, seek for the breakthrough of traditional architectural designs on the application of raw soil, and find out a practical platform for the construction of natural, ecological and environment-friendly buildings.

Co-dwelling, Mix-dwelling and Dis-dwelling: The Diversity Among Three Human and Livestock Dwelling Forms in Rural China

Humans and livestock have always dwelling together, especially in rural areas. Based on a multi-method approach of ethnographic fieldwork, grounded theory and one-way multivariate analysis of variance, this paper explores human and livestock dwelling. The findings show that human and livestock dwelling form a special type of human dwelling place, with forms defined as co-, mix-and dis-dwelling. Then, from co-, mix-to dis-dwelling constructed a story line to the evolution of human and livestock dwelling forms, which further explains the entire dwelling situation of humans and livestock, including the dimensions of human dweller, livestock dweller, the rural environment and special events. Among co-, mix-and dis-dwelling significant differences existed between human and livestock individuals, the nature of rural environment, vernacularity and rural tourism development. Between co-and dis-dwelling, significant differences existed in seventeen aspects; between mix-and dis-dwelling, significant differences existed in eleven aspects; meanwhile, no significant differences existed between co-and mix-dwelling. Accordingly, this suggested that human and livestock dwelling forms can be divided into mix-and dis-dwelling. This study on humans and livestock dwelling relationship offer a new perspective on rural and animal geography. This paper is an exploratory foray into rural dwelling geography as part of the Anthrozoology study and broadens the scope of extant scholarship on human dwelling morphology, as well as analyses the spatial relationships between human and livestock dwelling.

An Eternal Quest for Poetic Dwelling: A Comparative Study of the Eco-Ethic Thoughts in Silent Spring and Wolf Totem

This thesis is aimed at conducting a comparative study of the ecoethic thoughts in Silent Spring and Wolf Totem. It points out that Carson and Jiang's eco-ethics are relatively complete, ideal and objective. Moreover, the most shining features are that they not only unfold the grim fact of ecological crisis before the public, but also instil confidence and hope in each and every reader.