Infrastructure decision-making has traditionally been focused on the use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA). Nevertheless, there remains no consensus in the infrastructure sector regarding a favored approach that comprehensively integrates resilience principles with those tools. This review focuses on how resilience has been evaluated in infrastructure projects. Initially, 400 papers were sourced from Web of Science and Scopus. After a preliminary review, 103 papers were selected, and ultimately, the focus was narrowed down to 56 papers. The primary aim was to uncover limitations in both CBA and MCDA, exploring various strategies for amalgamating them and enhancing their potential to foster resilience, sustainability, and other infrastructure performance aspects. Results were classified based on different rationalities: i) objectivist, ii) conformist, iii) adjustive, and iv) reflexive. The analysis revealed that while both CBA and MCDA contribute to decision-making, their perceived strengths and weaknesses differ depending on the chosen rationality. Nonetheless, embracing a broader perspective, fostering participatory methods, and potentially integrating both approaches seem to offer more promising avenues for assessing the resilience of infrastructures. The goal of this research proposal is to devise an integrated approach for evaluating the long-term sustainability and resilience of infrastructure projects and constructed assets.
This study focuses on the competency structure factors of elementary school English teachers under China’s new curriculum standards, aiming to reveal the core competencies that teachers should possess in the context of education in the new era. Through the comprehensive application of qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaire survey methods, this study provides an in-depth analysis of the competency structure of primary English teachers. It was found that the competency structure of elementary school English teachers is mainly composed of six dimensions: professionalism, personality traits, teaching ability, student views, teaching organization strategy and research ability. These dimensions work together to influence teachers’ teaching effectiveness and students’ learning effectiveness. The study also found that there were significant differences in the competency characteristics of elementary school English teachers across gender, teaching experience and educational qualifications. In general, this study provides a theoretical basis and practical guidance for the professional development of elementary school English teachers, which can help to improve the quality of teachers’ teaching and promote the comprehensive development of students.
A novel composite material based on polymers (polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl butyral) and liquid crystal (4-n-pentyl-4’-cyanobiphenyl) has been developed and studied. Configuration transformations of point defects in nematic droplets under the influence of an electric field, caused by localized changes in the concentration of NLC within the polymer matrix, have been discovered and analyzed. The boundary conditions necessary for achieving a nematic structure with homogeneous alignment of the director both within the droplet and at its surface have been established, optimizing the anisotropy of light transmission in polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films. Additionally, polarization effects inside nematic droplets under the application of an electric field have been identified.
Water splitting has gained significant attention as a means to produce clean and sustainable hydrogen fuel through the electrochemical or photoelectrochemical decomposition of water. Efficient and cost-effective water splitting requires the development of highly active and stable catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Carbon nanomaterials, including carbon nanotubes, graphene, and carbon nanofibers, etc., have emerged as promising candidates for catalyzing these reactions due to their unique properties, such as high surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, and chemical stability. This review article provides an overview of recent advancements in the utilization of carbon nanomaterials as catalysts or catalyst supports for the OER and HER in water splitting. It discusses various strategies employed to enhance the catalytic activity and stability of carbon nanomaterials, such as surface functionalization, hybridization with other active materials, and optimization of nanostructure and morphology. The influence of carbon nanomaterial properties, such as defect density, doping, and surface chemistry, on electrochemical performance is also explored. Furthermore, the article highlights the challenges and opportunities in the field, including scalability, long-term stability, and integration of carbon nanomaterials into practical water splitting devices. Overall, carbon nanomaterials show great potential for advancing the field of water splitting and enabling the realization of efficient and sustainable hydrogen production.
Carbon-based hollow structured nanomaterials have become one of the hot areas for research and development of hollow structured nanomaterials due to their unique structure, excellent physicochemical properties and promising applications. The design and synthesis of novel carbon-based hollow structured nanomaterials are of great scientific significance and wide application value. The recent research on the synthesis, structure and functionalization of carbon-based hollow structured nanomaterials and their related applications are reviewed. The basic synthetic strategies of carbon-based hollow structure nanomaterials are briefly introduced, and the structural design, material functionalization and main applications of carbon-based hollow structure nanomaterials are described in detail. Finally, the current challenges and opportunities in the synthesis and application of carbon-based hollow structured nanomaterials are discussed.
Species of the Moraceae family are of great economic, medicinal and ecological importance in Amazonia. However, there are few studies on their diversity and population dynamics in residual forests. The objective was to determine the composition, structure and ecological importance of Moraceae in a residual forest. The applied method was descriptive and consisted of establishing 16 plots of 20 m × 50 m (0.10 ha), in a residual forest of the Alexánder von Humboldt substation of the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation-INIA, Pucallpa, department of Ucayali, where individuals of arboreal or hemi-epiphytic habit, with DBH ≥ 2.50 cm, were evaluated. The floristic composition was represented by 33 species, distributed in 12 genera; five species not recorded for Ucayali were found. Structurally, the family was represented by 138 individuals/ha with a horizontal distribution similar to an irregular inverted “J”. However, there were different horizontal structures among species. It was determined that 85% of the species were in diameter class I (2.50 to 9.99 cm), being the most abundant Pseudolmedia laevis (Ruiz & Pav.) J.F. Macbr. (41.88 individuals/ha); and the most dominant were Brosimum utile (Kunth) Oken (1.71 m2∕ha) and Brosimum alicastrum subsp. bolivarense (Pittier) C.C.Berg (0.90 m2/ha). Likewise, P. laevis and B. utile were the most ecologically important. The information from the present research will allow the establishment of a baseline, which can be used to propose the management of Moraceae in residual forests in the same study area.
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