The UN agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015–2030 is a holistic approach. Universities play an important role in dissemination of quality knowledge, developing the skills and attitudes of a large number of youth across the world. Though the emphasis on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) started as early as 1992, yet Universities adopted the concept of Green Campus integrating the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability quite recently. In developing countries including Pakistan, the Green Campus Initiatives (GCI) have not been implemented in the majority of the Universities. Northern Pakistan comprising Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) faces multiple challenges including Climate Impacts at the top. The fragile ecosystem of the region requires more sustainable initiatives at the University and community levels. In this research, the readiness of the seven universities located in Northern Pakistan have been assessed for GCI on the basis scanning of the websites and questionnaire survey of the relevant stakeholders. The results have shown that there is little commitment of resources for sustainability from senior management, lack of awareness in faculty & staff and less research focus on the related themes of green campus. The co-curricular activities in universities are not linked with sustainability and there are no incentives for faculty, staff and students to this end. It has been recommended that Green Campus Framework may be developed for Pakistani Mountain Universities, with commitment from leaders of the universities and allocation of sufficient resources for development of sustainable campuses. The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) needs to allocate special funds for promoting GCI across universities in Pakistan.

This paper assesses South Africa’s massive infrastructure drive to revive growth and increase employment. After years of stagnant growth, this is now facing a deep economic crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This drive also comes after years of weak infrastructure investment, widening the infrastructure deficit. The plan outlines a R1 trillion investment drive, primarily from the private sector through the Infrastructure Fund over the next 10 years (Government of South Africa, 2020). This paper argues that while infrastructure development in South Africa is much-needed, the emphasis on de-risking for private sector buy-in overshadows the key role the state must play in leading on structurally transforming the economy.

A method for studying the resilience of energy and socio-ecological systems is considered; it integrates approaches developed at the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis and the Melentyev Institute of Energy Systems (MESI) of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The article discusses in detail the methods of using intelligent information technologies, in particular semantic technologies and knowledge engineering (cognitive probabilistic modeling), which the authors propose to use in assessing the risks of natural and man-made threats to the resilience of the energy sector and social and ecological systems. More attention is paid to the study and adaptation of the integral indicator of quality of life, which makes it possible to combine these interdisciplinary studies.

Sustainability in road construction projects is hindered by the extensive use of non-renewable materials, high greenhouse gas emissions, risk cost, and significant disruption to the local community. Sustainability involves economic, environmental, and social aspects (triple bottom line). However, establishing metrics to evaluate economic, environmental, and social impacts is challenging because of the different nature of these dimensions and the shortage of accepted indicators. This paper developed a comprehensive method considering all three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, environmental, and social burdens. Initially, the economic, environmental, and social impact category indicators were assessed using the Life cycle approach. After that, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) were utilized to prioritize the alternatives according to the acquired weightings and sustainable indicators. The steps of the AHP method involve forming a hierarchy, determining priorities, calculating weighting factors, examining the consistency of these assessments, and then determining global priorities/weightings. The TOPSIS method is conducted by building a normalized decision matrix, constructing the weighted normalized decision matrix, evaluating the positive and negative solutions, determining the separation measures, and calculating the relative closeness to the ideal solution. The selected alternative performs the highest Relative Closeness to the Ideal Solution. Lastly, a case study was undertaken to validate the proposed method. In three alternatives in the case study (Cement Concrete, Dense-Graded Polymer Asphalt Concrete, and Dense-Graded Asphalt Concrete), option 3 showed the most sustainable performance due to its highest Relative Closeness to the Ideal Solution. Integrating AHP and TOPSIS methods combines both strengths, including AHP’s structured approach for determining criteria weights through pairwise comparisons and TOPSIS’s ability to rank choices based on their proximity to an ideal solution.

A systemic and synthetic review of the anatomy of the temporomandibular joint in magnetic resonance imaging was developed for its evaluation. The temporomandibular joint is an anatomical structure composed of bones, muscles, ligaments and an articular disc that allows important physiological movements, such as mandibular opening, closing, protrusion, retrusion and lateralization. Magnetic resonance imaging is an imaging technique that does not use ionizing radiation and is more specific for the evaluation and interpretation of soft tissues, due to its high resolution, so it has an important role in the diagnosis of various maxillofacial pathologies, which is why the dentist should have knowledge of the structures and functions of the temporomandibular joint through magnetic resonance imaging. The review demonstrates the importance of magnetic resonance imaging in the study of the anatomy of the temporomandibular joint, in addition to mentioning the advantages provided by this imaging technique such as its good detail of the soft tissues in its different sequences and the non-use of ionizing radiation to obtain its images.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region faces unique challenges and opportunities in integrating sustainability into sovereign credit assessments. This research study examines environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors embedded in the lending policies of jurisdictional institutions in MENA. By analyzing existing literature and case studies, we identify key drivers and barriers to ESG integration in sovereign lending. Our findings suggest a growing recognition of sustainability’s importance in financial stability and credit, driven by global climate guarantees and local socio-economic development. However, challenges such as data availability, regulatory frameworks, and market acceptance persist. This paper provides an overview of current practices, highlights best practices, and offers recommendations to enhance ESG integration in sovereign debt reviews in the MENA region. The study concludes that a robust ESG framework is necessary to accurately reflect the long-term risks and opportunities associated with sovereign debt, ultimately contributing to sustainable economic growth regionally.