Concentrations of Potentially Toxic Elements in Groundwater and Surface Water in Ruashi and Annexe Municipalities of Lubumbashi City, Southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Groundwater and surface water contamination by PTE(Potentially Toxic Elements)was assessed in Ruashi and Annexe municipalities of Lubumbashi city.Analyses of seventy water samples collected from six drilled wells,eight spade-sunk wells,one river and one spring in both municipalities in 2017 and 2018 were carried out by ICP-SF-MS(Inductively Coupled Plasma-Sector Field Mass Spectrometry).Twenty PTEs including aluminum,arsenic,barium,bismuth,cadmium,cesium,chromium,cobalt,copper,iron,lead,manganese,molybdenum,nickel,strontium,thallium,tungsten,uranium,vanadium and zinc were detected at various concentrations in each one of the samples.Many samples had concentrations and mean concentrations of PTEs,such as aluminum,cadmium,copper,iron,lead,manganese,nickel and zinc,higher than the respective acceptable limits set for drinking water by the EU(European Union),the USEPA(United States Environmental Protection Agency),and the WHO(World Health Organization)standards.Most PTEs being deleterious to human health even at very low concentrations,people who use the groundwater and surface water to meet their water needs in both Ruashi and Annexe municipalities are at risk.

Studying and Estimating Visual Pollution in Irbid City (Centre of Irbid City-Case Study)

Despite the global attention towards pollution,it remains a significant global threat and challenge for both developed and developing countries.Urbanization and economic development influence different types of pollution.Visual pollution is considered a new phenomenon referring to the impact of existing and growing mainstream pollution which impairs an individual’s ability to enjoy visits or views.Recently,Jordanian cities have expanded in response to urbanization and ongoing development.Irbid City has the second largest population in Jordan after the capital Amman City highest population density in Jordan.In the modern era,Irbid City dramatically increased in population and dimension.The growth of the demographic population has been significant and has led to overpopulation,rapid urbanization,and unresolved problems associated with spatial planning and infrastructures leading to different types of pollution including visual pollution.The study area focuses on the city center with the most crowded population through field visits and actual observations.The study technique is descriptive and analytical,with a focus on meticulous monitoring and a follow-up-based questionnaire which is a tool for the study,involving data collection,classification,presentation,analysis,interpretation,and exploration to identify new facts and generalizations that can help solve current issues of visual pollution.The study provides recommendations for Irbid Municipal to eliminate visual pollution,in parallel with stricter supervision from the municipality during the building process to ensure proper implementation of the new rules,adopting an integrated policy for the city with the rest of the social,political,sensory,cultural,economic,and functional aspects,so that this policy is in the short and long term.

Empowerment Mechanisms and Empirical Evidence of Payment Technology in Capacity Expansion and Quality Improvement of Residents’Consumption

The time-varying difference-in-difference model is used to identify the impact of payment technology on residents’consumption,and the moderation effect analysis method is used to identify its mechanism.It is found that payment technology promotes consumption capacity expansion and quality improvement(CEQI)through three pathways of alleviating liquidity constraints,reducing transaction costs and weakening the payment of pain.The parallel and serial mechanisms of the three are further explored.The effect of payment technology on the CEQI of residents’consumption shows obvious heterogeneity due to differences in urban and rural household registration and financial literacy.Based on the empirical research results and the national conditions of China,targeted policy recommendations are proposed from the demand side,the supply side and the technological side.

Strategies for Traditional Village Sustainable Development in Fuzhou City from the Perspective of Native Residents

Traditional village protection has been a hot topic recently. And traditional villages are far from meeting residents＇ demands in infrastructure as economic and social advances. Besides, local residents are not fully aware of cultural protection or inheritance, so that many traditional buildings long fallen into disrepair, have been replaced by new ones. In the meantime, the population of migrant workers is in- creasing, making cultural inheritance more difficult and causing decreasing of tradi- tional villages. Now, it is an important and tough job to release the conflict between increasing material needs of the people and historical cultural inheritance. In the re- search, field investigation was made on Dongkeng Village, Le＇an county to seek the optimal strategy for traditional village sustainable development from the perspective of importance on traditional village protection.

Subsurface multi-physical characterization of mountain excavation and city construction in loess plateau with a fiber-optic sensing system

Mountain excavation and city construction(MECC)projects being launched in the Loess Plateau in China involve the creation of large-scale artificial land.Understanding the subsurface evolution characteristics of the artificial land is essential,yet challenging.Here,we use an improved fiber-optic monitoring system for its subsurface multi-physical characterization.The system enables us to gather spatiotemporal distribution of various parameters,including strata deformation,temperature,and moisture.Yan’an New District was selected as a case study to conduct refined in-situ monitoring through a 77 m-deep borehole and a 30 m-long trench.Findings reveal that the ground settlement involves both the deformation of the filling loess and the underlying intact loess.Notably,the filling loess exhibits a stronger creep capability compared to underlying intact loess.The deformation along the profile is unevenly distributed,with a positive correlation with soil moisture.Water accumulation has been observed at the interface between the filling loess and the underlying intact loess,leading to a significant deformation.Moreover,the temperature and moisture in the filling loess have reached a new equilibrium state,with their depths influenced by atmospheric conditions measuring at 31 m and 26 m,respectively.The refined investigation allows us to identify critical layers that matter the sustainable development of newly created urban areas,and provide improved insights into the evolution mechanisms of land creation.

A Review on Integration of IoT as an Approach for Energy Saving in Smart Sustainable Cities

Rapid urbanization has been happening around the world,leading to many challenges and difficulties in infrastructure,communication network,transportation,environmental and organizational problems.Proper and responsible management of urban resources plays a significant role in sustainable development.Smart sustainable cities use ICTs(Information and Communication Technologies)to improve quality of life,efficiency of urban operation and services.The latest advancement in communication,technology,data management,and IoT(Internet of Things)provide a tremendous role for practical implementations and adoption of devices and entities.Smart sustainable cities can be intellectualized as an innovative approach of controlling urban resources and valuable components based on the latest advancement in ICT.Our study focuses on reviewing and discussing the literature that states the vital components of IoT associated with smart sustainable cities in general and specifically with green energy.

Between the City and Images:An Analysis of Mainstream Media’s Paths of Constructing the Cultural Memory of a City:Taking Chengdu Radio and Television’s“Hi Chengdu”as an Example

Mainstream media play a crucial role in constructing the cultural memory of a city.This study used 319 short videos released by“Hi Chengdu,”a new media product of Chengdu Radio and Television,as samples.Based on the grounded theory,a research framework encompassing“content,technology,and discourse”was established to explore the paths through which mainstream media construct the cultural memory.Regarding content,this paper emphasized temporal and spatial contexts and urban spaces,delving deep into the themes of the cultural memory and vehicles for it.In terms of technology,this paper discussed the practice of leveraging audio/visual-mode discourse to stitch together the impressions of a city and evoke emotional resonance to create a“flow”of memory.As for discourse,this paper looked at the performance of a communication ritual to frame concepts and shape urban identity.It is essential to break free from conventional thinking and leverage local culture as the primary driving force to further boost a city’s productivity,in order to excel in cultural communication.

Spatio-temporal Evolution Characteristics and Driving Forces of Winter Urban Heat Island:A Case Study of Rapid Urbanization Area of Fuzhou City,China

Under the influence of anthropogenic and climate change,the problems caused by urban heat island(UHI)has become increasingly prominent.In order to promote urban sustainable development and improve the quality of human settlements,it is significant for exploring the evolution characteristics of urban thermal environment and analyzing its driving forces.Taking the Landsat series images as the basic data sources,the winter land surface temperature(LST)of the rapid urbanization area of Fuzhou City in China was quantitatively retrieved from 2001 to 2021.Combing comprehensively the standard deviation ellipse model,profile analysis and GeoDetector model,the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and influencing factors of the winter urban thermal environment were systematically analyzed.The results showed that the winter LST presented an increasing trend in the study area during 2001–2021,and the winter LST of the central urban regions was significantly higher than the suburbs.There was a strong UHI effect from 2001 to 2021with an expansion trend from the central urban regions to the suburbs and coastal areas in space scale.The LST of green lands and wetlands are significantly lower than croplands,artificial surface and unvegetated lands.Vegetation and water bodies had a significant mitigation effect on UHI,especially in the micro-scale.The winter UHI had been jointly driven by the underlying surface and socio-economic factors in a nonlinear or two-factor interactive enhancement mode,and socio-economic factors had played a leading role.This research could provide data support and decision-making references for rationally planning urban layout and promoting sustainable urban development.

Development of a Lightweight Model for Handwritten Dataset Recognition: Bangladeshi City Names in Bangla Script

The context of recognizing handwritten city names,this research addresses the challenges posed by the manual inscription of Bangladeshi city names in the Bangla script.In today’s technology-driven era,where precise tools for reading handwritten text are essential,this study focuses on leveraging deep learning to understand the intricacies of Bangla handwriting.The existing dearth of dedicated datasets has impeded the progress of Bangla handwritten city name recognition systems,particularly in critical areas such as postal automation and document processing.Notably,no prior research has specifically targeted the unique needs of Bangla handwritten city name recognition.To bridge this gap,the study collects real-world images from diverse sources to construct a comprehensive dataset for Bangla Hand Written City name recognition.The emphasis on practical data for system training enhances accuracy.The research further conducts a comparative analysis,pitting state-of-the-art(SOTA)deep learning models,including EfficientNetB0,VGG16,ResNet50,DenseNet201,InceptionV3,and Xception,against a custom Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)model named“Our CNN.”The results showcase the superior performance of“Our CNN,”with a test accuracy of 99.97% and an outstanding F1 score of 99.95%.These metrics underscore its potential for automating city name recognition,particularly in postal services.The study concludes by highlighting the significance of meticulous dataset curation and the promising outlook for custom CNN architectures.It encourages future research avenues,including dataset expansion,algorithm refinement,exploration of recurrent neural networks and attention mechanisms,real-world deployment of models,and extension to other regional languages and scripts.These recommendations offer exciting possibilities for advancing the field of handwritten recognition technology and hold practical implications for enhancing global postal services.

Associations between Rejective Parenting Style and Academic Anxiety among Chinese High School Students:The Chain Mediation Effect of Self-Concept and Positive Coping Style

Background:The phenomenon of academic anxiety has been demonstrated to exert a considerable influence on students’academic engagement,leading to the emergence of a phenomenon known as“learned helplessness”and undermining the selfconfidence and motivation of high school students.Using acceptance-rejection theory,this study elucidated how a rejective parenting style affects Chinese high school students’academic anxiety and explored the urban-rural heterogeneity of this relationship.Methods:Data were analyzed using a stratified whole-cluster random sampling method.There are a total of 30,000 high school students in the three regions of northern and central China(from Shanxi,Hebei and Henan).A sample of 2286 high school students aged 14–19 years was ultimately selected from 2760 respondents for this investigation,which was conducted at the beginning of the 2023 school year.Pearson correlation,ordinary least squares(OLS)regression analysis,path analysis,and Fisher’s permutation test(FPT)were used to examine the effects of rejective parenting style on high school students’academic anxiety.Results:Results indicated a significant positive predictive effect between rejective parenting style and academic anxiety among high school students(β=0.815,t=116.211,p<0.001).Students’self-concept was significantly positively related to positive coping style(β=0.424,t=21.208,p<0.001)and chain-mediated this relationship.Therefore,this parenting style may indirectly mitigate academic anxiety through these mediators.The study also found that the effect of rejective parenting style on academic anxiety varied by students’residential background and was more pronounced in urban areas(0.226)than in rural areas(0.130).Conclusion:The research underscores the imperative for Chinese families to reexamine their utilization of rejection parenting and to prioritize the cultivation of students’intrinsic attributes.These findings offer a theoretical framework and practical evidence for policymakers and educators to develop efficacious and targeted interventions.In particular,greater attention should be directed towards the discrepancies in the manifestation of emotional and academic anxiety between urban and rural students,and prompt guidance should be furnished.

Grid System Analysis of Urban Flora of Bukhara City (Uzbekistan)

This article presents information on the study of the flora of Uzbekistan based on grid system mapping. The urban flora of the city of Bukhara was researched in it. As a result of research, the territory of Bukhara city was divided into 85 indexes based on 1 × 1 km2 grid mapping system. The diversity and density of species in the indexes are determined. The influence of anthropogenic factors on the diversity of species in the indexes is determined.

Geospatial Technology Integration in Smart City Frameworks for Achieving Climate Neutrality by 2050: A Case Study of Limassol Municipality, Cyprus

This study investigated the integration of geospatial technologies within smart city frameworks to achieve the European Union’s climate neutrality goals by 2050. Focusing on rapid urbanization and escalating climate challenges, the research analyzed how smart city frameworks, aligned with climate neutrality objectives, leverage geospatial technologies for urban planning and climate action. The study included case studies from three leading European cities, extracting lessons and best practices in implementing Climate City Contracts across sectors like energy, transport, and waste management. These insights highlighted the essential role of EU and national authorities in providing technical, regulatory, and financial support. Additionally, the paper presented the application of a WEBGIS platform in Limassol Municipality, Cyprus, demonstrating citizen engagement and acceptance of the proposed geospatial framework. Concluding with recommendations for future research, the study contributed significant insights into the advancement of urban sustainability and the effectiveness of geospatial technologies in smart city initiatives for combating climate change.

An Analysis of the Lifestyle and Mental Health Status of Adult People Living in Dhaka City: A Cross-Sectional Study in Post COVID-19 Era

Introduction: The Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 affected all the megacities of the world and made the mental health and lifestyle of people paralyzed. According to different studies, such difficulties were different in scale in different cities depending on the demographic attributes of the people. This phenomenon has created the essence of the current study to examine the health conditions in terms of their mental health, lifestyle, and demographic attributes during and immediate past of the COVID-19 era. Method: It was a cross-sectional study covering the people of Dhaka City Corporation. For this purpose, a multistage sampling method was applied, under which the respondents were selected randomly and a self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire was developed based on the DASS 21, as it was suitable to measure the components of mental health in the form of depression, anxiety, and stress. Descriptive analysis and cross-tabulation were applied to find out the association between dependent and independent variables, whereas, a chi-square test was performed to examine the hypothesis. Finally, multivariate analysis was done to find out the risk factors. Three logistic regression models were developed for three dependent variables. Result: The findings of the analysis revealed that the lifestyle of people had severely influenced the components of their mental health conditions during and immediate past of COVID-19 in the Dhaka City Corporation, which varies to some extent depending on the demographic attributes of those. Conclusion: The above findings are statistically significant enough to conclude about the essence of taking preventive measures regarding mental health issues in the future. However, the limitations of this study-keeping it within the urban areas and the educated people, have also created the venue for future researchers to move with their research endeavors in the rural areas nationwide and thus generalize the results.

Assessment of Breast Cancer Prevention Practices among Women Attending Primary Health Care in Abha City, Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, with breast cancer being the most common (2.26 million new cases and 685,000 deaths). In Saudi Arabia, breast cancer ranked the first among females in 2014, accounting for 15.9% of all cancers reported among Saudi nationals and 28.7% of all cancers reported among females of all ages. Early detection of breast cancer could decrease the risks, have a better prognosis, and have better outcomes/more successful treatments. Prevalence of breast cancer reached more than 25% of all diagnosed cancer in the kingdom among women. Aim: This study aims to assess the knowledge and performance of women attending primary care centers about breast self-examination and mammogram screening for prevention and early detection of breast cancer in Abha city primary healthcare centers, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Research Method: cross sectional design was conducted by using questionnaire, which was distributed to primary care center nurses. The collected data was statistically analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 25. Results: The study found that participants had poor awareness and knowledge about breast self-examination, risk factors for breast cancer, and trends and practices in early diagnosis of breast cancer. Conclusion and Recommendations: It recommends increasing awareness campaigns and providing educational programs to improve knowledge and practices.

Detection and Identification of Microplastics from Locally Sold Fishes in Borongan City, Samar Island, Philippines

Microplastics, a prevailing modern contaminant, were detected on fish caught in Brgy. Mayangdan and Brgy. Tabunan, Borongan City, Eastern Samar. Fish samples were collected from markets and barangays, with 1 representative species per species, irrespective of location. The digestive channel, including the gills, was utilized as an anatomy of concern in fishes as the digestive systems are used in the feeding process while gills are primarily exposed to the water around them. Results found a few microplastics, mostly micro fragments that are irregularly shaped and colored either red or transparent/white. This concludes the presence of microplastics in the area of the two barangays in Borongan City. Therefore, it is highly recommended that the presence of microplastics in the water and mangrove areas of the said barangay be assessed to lessen the contamination of water systems with different plastic garbage.

The Contribution of AI-Powered Mobile Apps to Smart City Ecosystems

In the groundbreaking study “The Contribution of AI-powered Mobile Apps to Smart City Ecosystems,” authored by Zaki Ali Bayashot, the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in urban development is meticulously examined. This comprehensive research delineates the multifaceted ways in which AI-powered mobile applications can significantly enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and livability of urban environments, marking a pivotal step towards the realization of smart cities globally. Bayashot meticulously outlines the critical areas where AI-powered apps offer unprecedented advantages, including urban mobility, public safety, energy management, and environmental monitoring. By leveraging AI’s capabilities, these applications not only streamline city operations but also foster a more sustainable interaction between city dwellers and their environment. The paper emphasizes the importance of data-driven decision-making in urban planning, showcasing how AI analytics can predict and mitigate traffic congestion, optimize energy consumption, and enhance emergency response strategies. The author also explores the social implications of AI in urban settings, highlighting the potential for these technologies to bridge the gap between government entities and citizens. Through engaging case studies, Bayashot demonstrates how participatory governance models, enabled by AI apps, can promote transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement in urban management. A significant contribution of this research is its focus on the challenges and opportunities presented by the integration of AI into smart city ecosystems. Bayashot discusses the technical, ethical, and privacy concerns associated with AI applications, advocating for a balanced approach that ensures technological advancements do not come at the expense of civil liberties. The study calls for robust regulatory frameworks to govern the use of AI in public spaces, emphasizing the need for ethical AI practices that respect privacy and promote inclusivity. Furthermore, Bayashot’s research underscores the necessity of cross-disciplinary collaboration in the development and implementation of AI technologies in urban contexts. By bringing together experts from information technology, urban planning, environmental science, and social sciences, the author argues for a holistic approach to smart city development. This interdisciplinary strategy ensures that AI applications are not only technologically sound but also socially and environmentally responsible. The paper concludes with a visionary outlook on the future of smart cities, posited on the seamless integration of AI technologies. Bayashot envisions a world where AI-powered mobile apps not only facilitate smoother urban operations but also empower citizens to actively participate in the shaping of their urban environments. This research serves as a critical call to action for policymakers, technologists, and urban planners to embrace AI as a tool for creating more sustainable, efficient, and inclusive cities. By presenting a detailed analysis of the current state of AI in urban development, coupled with practical insights and forward-looking recommendations, “The Contribution of AI-powered Mobile Apps to Smart City Ecosystems” stands as a seminal work that is poised to inspire and guide the evolution of urban landscapes worldwide. Its comprehensive exploration of the subject matter, combined with its impactful conclusions, make it a must-read for anyone involved in the field of smart city development, AI technology, or urban policy-making.

Resilience assessment and optimization method of city road network in the post-earthquake emergency period

The post-earthquake emergency period,which is a sensitive time segment just after an event,mainly focuses on saving life and restoring social order.To improve the seismic resilience of city road networks,a resilience evaluation method used in the post-earthquake emergency period is proposed.The road seismic damage index of a city road network can consider the influence of roads,bridges and buildings along the roads,etc.on road capacity after an earthquake.A function index for a city road network is developed,which reflects the connectivity,redundancy,traffic demand and traffic function of the network.An optimization model for improving the road repair order in the post-earthquake emergency period is also developed according to the resilience evaluation,to enable decision support for city emergency management and achieve the best seismic resilience of the city road network.The optimization model is applied to a city road network and the results illustrate the feasibility of the resilience evaluation and optimization method for a city road network in the post-earthquake emergency period.

Megacity pathways in China under the dual carbon goal:The case of Shanghai

The pathways to achieving carbon neutrality at the city level are diverse due to varying energy supply and demand conditions.Shanghai faces obstacles such as limited land resources,high costs of renewable energy technologies,and instability of renewable energy.These challenges hinder the city’s efforts to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality(dual carbon).Therefore,Shanghai must identify and optimize its development path for renewable energy under the dual carbon goal.We employed the Low Emissions Analysis Platform Shanghai(LEAP-SH)model to simulate the impact of policies,such as industrial upgrading,energy efficiency improvement,energy structure optimization,increased technical innovation on energy,and ecological restoration,on the carbon emission pathways from 2022 to 2060 using five different scenarios.Our results indicate that Shanghai has the potential to achieve carbon neutrality in 2059 by promoting carbon reduction,pollution control,and green expansion.Moreover,we determined that the manufacturing industry;power generation industry;and transportation,storage,and mail services are the three major sectors for emission reduction under the dual carbon goal.Furthermore,the capacity and output of coal-fired power plants will be gradually replaced by offshore wind power in the dual carbon pathway.Finally,this study proposes countermeasures and suggestions for Shanghai to attain the dual carbon goal and high-quality development.

Constructing a standard system of city sustainable development assessment technology based on the SDGs

Given the rapid development of China’s new urbanization,cities with different locations and varying functional positioning,resource endowments,and development stages have insufficient scientific and applicable technical tools for implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).City managers and policymakers must urgently establish SDG benchmarks to diagnose city development.Moreover,successful experiences from similar cities regarding sustainable development and self-improvement must be learned from to promote diversified,sustainable development across the country.Furthermore,emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence,the Internet of Things,big data and 5G are widely used in smart cities.Therefore,there is a growing need for“knowledge-based,personalized and intelligent”technologies to support monitoring,evaluation,and decision-making processes facilitating sustainable development in cities.This paper uses standardization as the theoretical support and technical basis.This approach can help clarify the sustainable development processes in China and clarify the evaluation results of and provide data on horizontal city comparisons,which can be used to develop evaluation technology for sustainable development in cities and construct a standardized system.The results provide a standard framework for intelligent assessment and decision-making regarding cities’sustainable development capabilities in China.Evaluating major international standardization institutions reveals that the practices of Chinese national standards should be fully absorbed and integrated to guide the evaluation of smart,resilient,and low-carbon cities.To this end,an indicator library of city sustainable development is proposed to provide standard evaluation technology methods.Finally,analyzing the response relationship of the indicator library to SDGs reveals the need for a standardized knowledge map of sustainable development assessment techniques and methods from the perspective of integrated management for sustainable development in cities.

Some of the Chemical and Physical Characteristics of the Graff River in Kut City, Iraq

Some of the chemical and physical water qualities of the Graff River in the city of Kut were studied, and for two sites of the river, One was at the Crimea site, the other in the Jihad district, and for the period from October/2018 to March/2019, Seven variables of river water have been analyzed: temperature PH, electrical conductivity, TDS, turbidity, alkaline, and chloride. The results showed that most of the chemical and physical water properties of the river were in normal proportions and did not rise, except for the turbidity, which was at a very high level, and that the pH values were close to the basal side. The results of the statistical analysis revealed positive significant relationships between the pH and (chloride and TDS). On the other hand, between electrical conductivity and both previous variables as well. And a negative significant connection between temperature and alkaline.