The expanding adoption of artificial intelligence systems across high-impact sectors has catalyzed concerns regarding inherent biases and discrimination, leading to calls for greater transparency and accountability. Algorithm auditing has emerged as a pivotal method to assess fairness and mitigate risks in applied machine learning models. This systematic literature review comprehensively analyzes contemporary techniques for auditing the biases of black-box AI systems beyond traditional software testing approaches. An extensive search across technology, law, and social sciences publications identified 22 recent studies exemplifying innovations in quantitative benchmarking, model inspections, adversarial evaluations, and participatory engagements situated in applied contexts like clinical predictions, lending decisions, and employment screenings. A rigorous analytical lens spotlighted considerable limitations in current approaches, including predominant technical orientations divorced from lived realities, lack of transparent value deliberations, overwhelming reliance on one-shot assessments, scarce participation of affected communities, and limited corrective actions instituted in response to audits. At the same time, directions like subsidiarity analyses, human-cent
Rural sub-Saharan Africa faces limited medical access, healthcare worker shortages, and inadequate health information systems. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies offer potential solutions but remain underdeveloped in these settings. This review aims to explore the sociocultural context of mHealth adoption in rural sub-Saharan Africa to support sustainable implementation. A comprehensive Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research (ENTREQ) search was conducted in databases like PubMed, MEDLINE, and African Journals Online, covering peer-reviewed literature from 2010 to 2024. Qualitative studies of mHealth interventions were included, with quality assessed via the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) checklist and data synthesized using a meta-ethnographic approach. Out of 892 studies, 38 met the inclusion criteria. Key findings include sociocultural factors like community trust influencing technology acceptance, local implementation strategies, user empowerment in health decisions, and innovative solutions for infrastructure issues. Challenges include privacy concerns, increased healthcare worker workload, and intervention sustainability. While mHealth can reduce healthcare barriers, success depends on sociocultural alignment and adaptability. Future interventions should prioritize community co-design, privacy protection, and sustainable, infrastructure-aware models.
Land use changes have been demonstrated to exert a significant influence on urban planning and sustainable development, particularly in regions undergoing rapid urbanization. Tehran Province, as the political and economic capital of Iran, has undergone substantial growth in recent decades. The present study employs sophisticated Geographic Information System (GIS) instruments and the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform to comprehensively track and analyze land use change over the past two decades. A comprehensive analysis of Landsat images of the Tehran metropolitan area from 2003 to 2023 has yielded significant insights into the patterns of land use change. The methodology encompasses the utilization of GIS, GEE, and TerrSet techniques for image classification, accuracy assessment, and change detection. The Kappa coefficients for the maps obtained for 2016 and 2023 were 0.82 and 0.87 for four classes: built-up, vegetation cover, barren land, and water bodies. The findings suggest that, over the past two decades, Tehran Province has undergone a substantial decline in ecological and vegetative areas, amounting to 2.4% (458.3 km2). Concurrently, the urban area and the barren lands have expanded by 287.5 and 125.5 km2, respectively. The increase in water bodies during this period is likely attributable to the reduction of vegetation cover and dam construction in the region. The present study demonstrates that remote sensing and GIS are excellent tools for monitoring environmental and sustainable urban development in areas experiencing rapid urbanization and land use changes.
In order to address severe siltation and enhance urban green spaces in Xianyang Lake, the research offers a sustainable solution by proposing an innovative integration of ecological dredging and landscape transformation. The key findings are as follows: Firstly, an ecological dredging mechanism was established by directly transporting sediment from Xianyang Lake to its central greenbelt, reducing dredging costs and environmental impact while creating a sustainable funding cycle through revenue from eco-tourism activities. Secondly, the landscape artistic conception of the central greenbelt was significantly improved by leveraging the natural distance between the lakeshore and the greenbelt, offering diverse viewing experiences and enhancing the cognitive abilities and urban life satisfaction of tourists. Thirdly, the project demonstrated substantial economic and social benefits, including revenue generation from paid activities like boat tours, increased public awareness of biodiversity through ecological education, and improved community well-being. The central greenbelt also enhanced the urban environment by improving air quality, mitigating the "heat island effect", and providing habitats for wildlife. This integrated approach serves as a model for sustainable urban development, offering valuable insights for cities facing similar ecological challenges. Future research should focus on long-term monitoring to further evaluate the ecological and socio-economic impacts of such projects.
Two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNS) were synthesized on silver (Ag) substrates via a scalable, room-temperature atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) technique, employing borazine as a precursor. This approach overcomes the limitations of conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which requires high temperatures (>800 °C) and low pressures (10−2 Pa). The h-BNNS were characterized using FT-IR spectroscopy, confirming the presence of BN functional groups (805 cm−1 and 1632 cm−1), while FESEM/EDS revealed uniform nanosheet morphology with reduced particle size (80.66 nm at 20 min plasma exposure) and pore size (28.6 nm). XRD analysis demonstrated high crystallinity, with prominent h-BN (002) and h-BN (100) peaks, and Scherrer calculations indicated a crystallite size of ~15 nm. The coatings exhibited minimal disruption to UV-VIS reflectivity, maintaining Ag's optical properties. Crucially, Vickers hardness tests showed a 39% improvement (38.3 HV vs. 27.6 HV for pristine Ag) due to plasma-induced cross-linking and interfacial adhesion. This work establishes APP as a cost-effective, eco-friendly alternative for growing h-BNNS on temperature-sensitive substrates, with applications in optical mirrors, corrosion-resistant coatings, energy devices and gas sensing.
Potassium is an essential macronutrient for living creatures on earth and in plants, it plays a very significant role in determining the overall health of the plants. Although potassium is present in the soil, it is present in a form that is inaccessible to the plants, and hence synthetic harmful non-eco-friendly potassium fertilizers are used. To overcome this problem, the use of eco-friendly potassium-solubilizing bacteria comes into play. The goal of the present study was to assess the potassium-solubilizing bacteria that inhabit the farm rhizosphere, which demonstrate the presence of enzymes associated with plant growth promotion and antagonistic properties. A total of thirty-four isolates were isolated from the rhizosphere. All these isolates were subjected to a potassium solubilization test on Aleksandrov agar medium, out of which fourteen were found to possess potassium solubilizing ability. On the basis of the 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the most potential potassium-solubilizing bacterium was identified as Proteus mirabilis PSCR17. The plant growth promoting abilities and production of biocontrol enzymes of this isolate were evaluated, and the results indicated, in addition to potassium solubilization, the isolate was positive for indole acetic acid production, hydrogen cyanide production, amylase, catalase, cellulase, chitinase, and protease. The use of potassium fertilizers is harmful to the environment and ecosystem; hence, this study concludes that P. mirabilis PSCR17 can be used as a substitute for chemical potassium fertilizers to improve the growth and biocontrol traits of the plants in a sustainable manner after further research.
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