Pakistan is the one of the top ten countries affected by climate change. Floods started this year in Pakistan from June 2025. Since then, approximately two million people have been displaced and 1000 have died.1 Gender is an important determinant in disaster planning and management. Unfortunately Pakistan ranked 148 according to the Global Gender Gap Index Report 2025, hitting rock bottom.2 This is mainly due to socioeconomic and cultural disparities. Women are usually ignored or discriminated against when it comes to relief activities during disasters.3 Risk factors for gender discrimination among women include lack of education, limited access to health facilities, family system and economic dependency.2
In Pakistan the largest sector which provides employment to women (66%) is agriculture4 however their work is usually informal, unpaid and unrecognized. In our patriarchal society women remain at home and fulfill household responsibilities hence they receive no training to cope with natural disasters and are more likely to suffer in such situations. This in turn also makes them more prone to gender based violence, exploitation and child marriages as this issue surges globally during disasters.5 Small home based industries post floods should be established where women can get employed so that they become economically empowered.
Women suffer from home based ailments such as anaemia, severe malnutrition, skin and gastrointestinal diseases, dengue, malaria, pneumonia, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder post floods are also common.6 An important issue which women face is of menstrual hygiene. Lack of awareness, inadequate supplies and cultural stigma are the factors which cause menstrual hygiene problems.7 Financial constraints post floods make it difficult for women to buy sanitary products due to which they start using washable cloth pads. As they may not have privacy or proper drying areas they use unclean cloths which cause urinary tract infections and bacterial vaginosis which puts them at risk of premature labour and pelvic inflammatory disease.7 Lack of segregated toilet facilities for women in flood affected areas is also a problem. During the 2022 floods 95% women reported using the same toilet as men because there was only latrine in the flood relief camp.4 In our society menstrual hygiene is a taboo topic and cannot be discussed openly. Majority of the relief workers are men so it is difficult for women to communicate with them. In addition they are also not properly trained. Efforts should be made to create a favorable environment for them to practice menstrual hygiene activities with dignity.
Pakistan’s high maternal mortality rate is worsened by inadequate reproductive health services, especially in rural areas, where floods further strain an already fragile health system. During the 2022 floods, around 650,000 pregnant women were deprived of essential antenatal and delivery services.8 The displacement of Lady Health Workers disrupted community-level care, forcing women to travel to distant facilities despite limited transport and financial constraints. Many women delivering in relief camps faced complications due to unhygienic conditions, lack of skilled birth attendants and poor postnatal care, increasing risks for both mothers and newborns, including long-term developmental issues. Implementing the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) is crucial in emergencies, as it provides education, hygiene supplies and reproductive health services that reduce maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.9 A multisectoral, gender-sensitive approach involving health, social and education sectors is essential. Strengthening structural and systemic capacities will enhance Pakistan’s preparedness for future climate-related disasters.
Donald et al. (2025) misinterpret the central premise of the paper, incorrectly stating that we argue “carbon credit claims […] for increased sequestered carbon from early measurements are based on increases related to favourable climatic variations rather than improved land management”. At no point in our paper do we make this claim. Instead, our analysis concluded that “SOC stocks were primarily driven by rainfall,” while also acknowledging the role of improved land management in SOC dynamics.
This broad objective of this study is to investigates the relationship between tax incentives and entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. The study adopted a survey research design approach through administration of questionnaire to infinite population which comprises of entrepreneurs drawn from highly commercialised States (including Lagos, Edo, Kano, Rivers, Anambra, and Federal Capital Territory) in Nigeria, staff of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), staff of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), and staff of Bank of Industries (BOI) respectively. The Cochran 1977 sample size determination technique was used in arriving at a sample size of three hundred and eighty-four (384) respondents. However, for purpose of proactiveness, four hundred and fifty (450) copies of likert scale questionnaire were administered. Four hundred and seven (407) copies were retrieved, and after sorting for defects and mutilated copies, the sample size of 384 copies, which conforms with Cochran (1977) sample size for infinite population were used for this study. Responses were analysed with the aid of inferential analytical statistics, and the results shows that on the average that tax exemption has a significant positive relationship between entrepreneurship development; there is a significant and positive relationship between rural location tax incentives and entrepreneurship development; and there is a significant positive relationship between tax holiday and entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that the Nigerian Government should as a matter of urgency give policy direction targeted are granting tax incentives to entrepreneurs in its fiscal policy implementations to be able to attract more persons into the entrepreneurship and allied activities, as this will go a long way in changing the current narrative of mass unemployment in Nigeria.
Rural, regional and remote communities are vulnerable to the impacts of drought due to their reliance on agriculture, water intensive industries and nature-based tourism. These communities experience significant environmental, social, economic and health impacts because of the reoccurring nature of droughts. This paper reviews the literature on the relationship between mental health, wellbeing and drought resilience and finds that increasingly, mental health and wellbeing are being addressed through a range of drought resilience interventions as it is recognised that good (poor) mental health and wellbeing is linked to high (low) drought resilience. This is because improving mental health and wellbeing increases adaptive capacity and high adaptive capacity is necessary for high drought resilience. Despite this recent progress it is also recognised that there is a lack of tools and resources that (a) recognise when people need help and (b) efficiently connect people to help that is available at the time the help is required. These findings will inform the development of an online rural wellbeing toolkit aimed at enhancing mental health and wellbeing in order to improve drought-resilience in rural, regional and remote Australian communities.
India is an agricultural country. One third of population depends on the agricultural agro based industry sector directly or indirectly. Agriculture plays a vital role in the manufacture sector, agricultural products demand linking with manufacturing sector. Indian Agricultural product are exporting to other countries like USA, Australia, Gulf countries etc., One among the exporting Agricultural Product is Coconut and its by products. The coconut industry occupies an extremely important position in the economy of India. Among the extraordinary number of products derived from the coconut palm, copra, coconut oil, fresh coconuts, desiccated coconut, coir and shell products have high demand in local and International markets. India is one of the top producers and exporters of coir and coir products in international market. This article analysis export performance of coir industry in India from 2017-18 to 2021-2022.
Nathan P. Lawrence, Seshu Kumar Damarla, Jong Woo Kim
et al.
With the rise of deep learning, there has been renewed interest within the process industries to utilize data on large-scale nonlinear sensing and control problems. We identify key statistical and machine learning techniques that have seen practical success in the process industries. To do so, we start with hybrid modeling to provide a methodological framework underlying core application areas: soft sensing, process optimization, and control. Soft sensing contains a wealth of industrial applications of statistical and machine learning methods. We quantitatively identify research trends, allowing insight into the most successful techniques in practice. We consider two distinct flavors for data-driven optimization and control: hybrid modeling in conjunction with mathematical programming techniques and reinforcement learning. Throughout these application areas, we discuss their respective industrial requirements and challenges. A common challenge is the interpretability and efficiency of purely data-driven methods. This suggests a need to carefully balance deep learning techniques with domain knowledge. As a result, we highlight ways prior knowledge may be integrated into industrial machine learning applications. The treatment of methods, problems, and applications presented here is poised to inform and inspire practitioners and researchers to develop impactful data-driven sensing, optimization, and control solutions in the process industries.
William Incacutipa, Laymir Apaza, Clever Mamani
et al.
This study examines the low population presence in the Community Campesina de Antacahua, aiming to identify migration drivers and assess their correlation with rural-to-urban migration trends. Employing a mixed approach, including surveys, normative, and bibliographic analysis, the research reveals that emigration is propelled by factors like dissatisfaction with inadequate services (34.4%), economic support deficiency (23.4%), low crop productivity (15.6%), study-related reasons (18.8%), and land scarcity (7.8%). Emigrants, comprising teenagers (12.5%), young adults (17.2%, 43.7%), and adults (26.6%), prefer destinations like Juliaca (40.0%), Puno (23.0%), Ananea and Cojata mines (25.0%), and other locations (12.0%). Literature analysis highlights insufficient government policies, suggesting solutions like promoting basic services through land allocation and enhancing economic opportunities by integrating new members into the Communal Directive.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fundamentally reshaping various industries by enhancing decision-making processes, optimizing operations, and unlocking new opportunities for innovation. This paper explores the applications of AI across four key sectors: healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and retail. Each section delves into the specific challenges faced by these industries, the AI technologies employed to address them, and the measurable impact on business outcomes and societal welfare. We also discuss the implications of AI integration, including ethical considerations, the future trajectory of AI development, and its potential to drive economic growth while posing challenges that need to be managed responsibly.
Papa Yaw Owusu-Obeng, Sarah Banas Mills, Michael T. Craig
Local zoning ordinances across the United States have the impact of restricting development of energy infrastructure, including utility-scale solar photovoltaics. While these ordinances may be developed for legitimate purposes to protect public health and safety, they could impede or increase costs of power sector decarbonization. We quantify the role of utility-scale solar zoning ordinances on power sector decarbonization across the Great Lakes region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) by integrating 6,300 rural community zoning ordinances into a power system planning model. Relative to no ordinances, solar zoning ordinances reduce total potential deployment of solar PV by 52% (or 1.6 TW) across our region. Currently, however, the biggest zoning barrier to deployment is zoning ordinances which are silent on utility-scale solar. Deployment restrictions translate to up to 4 GW greater investment needs and 5.6% greater PV investment costs to achieve a 10% PV generation target. Starker shifts occur at the state level, e.g. Wisconsin sees a 40% reduction in PV investments due to zoning restrictions. Our results underscore the need for planning that aligns local zoning laws with state and regional goals.
Food by products are good sources of phytochemicals. Phytochemicals can be extracted, using different methods and utilized in developing different foods. This research aimed to characterize the bioactive phytochemicals extracted from pomegranate peel and to examine the impact of the phytochemicals on the nutritional, physicochemical, and microbial quality of the fortified functional yogurt. In this study, ethanol, methanol, and acetone were used to characterize total phenolic, flavonoid, and anthocyanin contents and total antioxidant activity by the solvent extraction method. The ethanolic extracts showed a higher amount of total phenolic, flavonoid, anthocyanin contents and total antioxidant activity than the methanolic and acetonic extracts. The ethanolic extracts were used for the fortification of functional yogurt at 0.25 % (S1), 0.5 % (S2), and 0.75 % (S3), respectively, compared with the control (S4). Functional yogurt fortified by pomegranate peel extract contained a higher amount of total phenolic, flavonoid, anthocyanin, and antioxidant activity. The extracts also had a significant (*p ≤ 0.05) effect on lowering pH, reducing syneresis, and increasing water holding capacity, gross energy, yellowing index, titratable acidity and firmness throughout the storage periods. The survivors of Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus in the fortified yogurt were decreased. In case of sensory qualities, the fortified yogurts were almost identical to the control except S3 due to its pungent flavor. According to the findings, yogurt fortified with 0.5 % pomegranate peel was the best among the treatments, considering all parameters. This research gives an insight into optimizing yogurt fortification with pomegranate peel phytochemicals to improve its physicochemical and nutritional values.
Family farm sustainability is an essential guarantee for increasing the resilience of food systems. Based on the network embeddedness theory and entrepreneurial bricolage theory, an exploratory longitudinal case study was adopted. The value-creating behaviors of family farms in different entrepreneurial periods were described and a process model of family farms sustainability with network embeddedness and entrepreneurial bricolage was constructed. The study revealed that family farms faced resource constraints such as shortage of element resources, insufficient market resources and lack of knowledge resources during the induction, start-up, and growth periods, respectively. In order to overcome resource constraints in different entrepreneurial periods, family farms employed multiple network embeddedness ways including relational embeddedness, structural embeddedness and cognitive embeddedness to seek help from actors in the rural social network. Family farms embedded in multiple networks used the entrepreneurial bricolage strategy of “element bricolage – market bricolage – institutional bricolage” to continuously acquire production elements, improve brand awareness, optimize processing techniques and promote the convergence of three industries. Family farms benefited from a win-win result with actors through network embeddedness and entrepreneurial bricolage, and created economic, social and ecological values eventually. The study offers fresh insights into the dynamics of rural entrepreneurship.
Nutrition. Foods and food supply, Food processing and manufacture
Abstract Literature shows that only 56% of Kenyan households had access to electricity, with rural areas having the lowest access rate at percent. The high cost of extending the power grid to remote areas and power losses on distribution are significant challenges facing rural electrification. In addressing power accessibility problems, especially in rural areas, there is a need for tapping hydropower generation through the invention and implementation of in‐duct turbines to maximize the utilization of already existing pressurized water ducts that supply water in various parts of Kenya for hydropower generation. Makueni County is endowed with gravity‐fed water ducts with high potential for hydropower which can innovatively be produced by application of in‐duct turbines. This paper focuses on the assessment of energy needs and applications in rural areas. The research design was exploratory and experimental in nature. It was exploratory because, through an assessment, it sought to explore and identify the potential areas within the water supply lines for the production of hydropower to supply hydropower in Makueni County. It was experimental because the researcher developed (designed and fabricated) a hydro turbine for use in the production of hydropower from gravity water ducts of a diameter raging 100 mm. The research revealed that 62% (98) used solar power for lighting their homes, while 17% (28), 12% (20), and 8% (12) used lanterns, electricity, and kerosene lamps, respectively. Among the fuels assessed was firewood which was identified as the most used fuel at 89% (140). This was followed at a distance far by paraffin at 6% (9) of respondents. The households at 100% (158) identified electricity as a potential source of lighting for their household. The study recommends harnessing hydropower to enhance reach to 100% of the rural communities. The energy availability will provide opportunities for communities and institutions in rural areas to open their minds to business development and engage in income‐generating activities like the rearing of poultry and the development of light industries like the gridding of maize and other cereals.
Arti Kumbhar, Amruta Chougule, Priya Lokhande
et al.
Utilizing Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs), and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), our system introduces an innovative approach to defect detection in manufacturing. This technology excels in precisely identifying faults by extracting intricate details from product photographs, utilizing RNNs to detect evolving errors and generating synthetic defect data to bolster the model's robustness and adaptability across various defect scenarios. The project leverages a deep learning framework to automate real-time flaw detection in the manufacturing process. It harnesses extensive datasets of annotated images to discern complex defect patterns. This integrated system seamlessly fits into production workflows, thereby boosting efficiency and elevating product quality. As a result, it reduces waste and operational costs, ultimately enhancing market competitiveness.
The beginning of the 21st century is marked by the global demand for innovative (creative) industries, based on unique authorship, experience and personal talent. Cultural industries are systematically transformed into the main factor of the socio-economic transformation on the basis of updating the industrial culture of production, creation and cultivation of artistic geniuses. The new challenges of the global art development transform the infrastructure of intellectual and creative entrepreneurship, production and export of artistic works. This article explores the author's style formation on the basis of the creative interpretation of Old Turkic (Scythian, Central Asian) menagerie, widely represented in the artistic heritage of the region. The incorporation of the animalistic style of ancient civilizations in the creative practices of contemporary artists is accompanied by a deep philosophical, artistic, technical and technological reworking of the traditional code of the artistic culture. The article conceptualizes three types of the artistic continuity: the craftsmen type that reproduces the Mongolian craftsmen canon; the cultural institutions that convert the craft heritage into the contemporary creative industries and the rare type of craftsmen-artists who synthesize both approaches, rethinking the canon, traditional techniques and technology of working with traditional materials. All three types are represented by different systems of styling, the core of which is the animalistic style. Contemporary artisans Zhigzhit Bayaskhalanov and Dashi Namdakov create unique artistic images and metaphors, use innovative ways of shaping, and apply illogical, provocative and asymmetrical compositional solutions, transforming regional artistic traditions into leading global trends. The success of this experience is caused by socio-cultural, institutional factors (education, ethnicity, social origin from the rural handicrafts circle), ethno-cultural backgrounds (craft heritage, the presence of the family art collaboration). The empirical basis of the research consisted of 6 in-depth interviews and dozens of case studies from the participant observation.
Andreas Jechow, Christopher C. M. Kyba, Franz Hölker
Artificial skyglow is a form of light pollution with wide ranging implications on the environment. The extent, intensity and color of skyglow depends on the artificial light sources and weather conditions. Skyglow can be best determined with ground based instruments. We mapped the skyglow of Berlin, Germany, for clear sky and overcast sky conditions inside and outside of the city limits. We conducted observations using a transect from the city center of Berlin towards a rural place more than 58 km south of Berlin using all-sky photometry with a calibrated commercial digital camera and a fisheye lens. From the multispectral imaging data, we processed luminance and correlated color temperature maps. We extracted the night sky brightness and correlated color temperature at zenith, as well as horizontal and scalar illuminance simultaneously. We calculated cloud amplification factors at each site and investigated the changes of brightness and color with distance, particularly showing differences inside and outside of the city limits. We found high values for illuminance above full moon light levels and amplification factors as high as 25 in the city center and a gradient towards the city limit and outside of the city limit. We further observed that clouds decrease the correlated color temperature in almost all cases. We discuss advantages and weaknesses of our method, compare the results with modeled night sky brightness data and provide recommendations for future work.
By amalgamating recent communication and control technologies, computing and data analytics techniques, and modular manufacturing, Industry~4.0 promotes integrating cyber-physical worlds through cyber-physical systems (CPS) and digital twin (DT) for monitoring, optimization, and prognostics of industrial processes. A DT is an emerging but conceptually different construct than CPS. Like CPS, DT relies on communication to create a highly-consistent, synchronized digital mirror image of the objects or physical processes. DT, in addition, uses built-in models on this precise image to simulate, analyze, predict, and optimize their real-time operation using feedback. DT is rapidly diffusing in the industries with recent advances in the industrial Internet of things (IIoT), edge and cloud computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and advanced data analytics. However, the existing literature lacks in identifying and discussing the role and requirements of these technologies in DT-enabled industries from the communication and computing perspective. In this article, we first present the functional aspects, appeal, and innovative use of DT in smart industries. Then, we elaborate on this perspective by systematically reviewing and reflecting on recent research in next-generation (NextG) wireless technologies (e.g., 5G and beyond networks), various tools (e.g., age of information, federated learning, data analytics), and other promising trends in networked computing (e.g., edge and cloud computing). Moreover, we discuss the DT deployment strategies at different industrial communication layers to meet the monitoring and control requirements of industrial applications. We also outline several key reflections and future research challenges and directions to facilitate industrial DT's adoption.
In rural regions of several developing countries, access to quality healthcare, medical infrastructure, and professional diagnosis is largely unavailable. Many of these regions are gradually gaining access to internet infrastructure, although not with a strong enough connection to allow for sustained communication with a medical practitioner. Several deaths resulting from this lack of medical access, absence of patient's previous health records, and the unavailability of information in indigenous languages can be easily prevented. In this paper, we describe an approach leveraging the phenomenal progress in Machine Learning and NLP (Natural Language Processing) techniques to design a model that is low-resource, multilingual, and a preliminary first-point-of-contact medical assistant. Our contribution includes defining the NLP pipeline required for named-entity-recognition, language-agnostic sentence embedding, natural language translation, information retrieval, question answering, and generative pre-training for final query processing. We obtain promising results for this pipeline and preliminary results for EHR (Electronic Health Record) analysis with text summarization for medical practitioners to peruse for their diagnosis. Through this NLP pipeline, we aim to provide preliminary medical information to the user and do not claim to supplant diagnosis from qualified medical practitioners. Using the input from subject matter experts, we have compiled a large corpus to pre-train and fine-tune our BioBERT based NLP model for the specific tasks. We expect recent advances in NLP architectures, several of which are efficient and privacy-preserving models, to further the impact of our solution and improve on individual task performance.
We argue that uncertainty network structures extracted from option prices contain valuable information for business cycles. Classifying U.S. industries according to their contribution to system-related uncertainty across business cycles, we uncover an uncertainty hub role for the communications, industrials and information technology sectors, while shocks to materials, real estate and utilities do not create strong linkages in the network. Moreover, we find that this ex-ante network of uncertainty is a useful predictor of business cycles, especially when it is based on uncertainty hubs. The industry uncertainty network behaves counter-cyclically in that a tighter network tends to associate with future business cycle contractions.
Industrial robots are important machines applied in numerous modern industries that execute repetitive tasks with high accuracy, replacing or supporting dangerous jobs. In this kind of system, with increased complexity in which cost is related to the time the system keeps working, the system must operate with a minimum number of failures. In other words, a quality aspect important in industry is reliability. We hypothesize that Automated Acceptance Testing improves reliability for industrial robot program. We present the research question, the motivation for this study, our hypothesis and future research efforts.
Sharon Fraser, Nicoli Barnes, Sue Kilpatrick
et al.
Rural, regional and remote (RRR) communities and industries in Australia cannot currently produce or attract the workforce needed to survive, making skills and qualifications in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) increasingly important. Yet student engagement in STEM education in RRR schools remains low, with limited numbers of young people either moving into further STEM education post-secondary, or accessing readily available STEM-related jobs in RRR areas. Currently many rural children and young people are not exposed to, nor recognize the diverse ways in which STEM knowledge is required and used in their world. We propose that if young people are to increasingly engage with STEM and continue onto STEM-related careers, they must be able to see connections between their “school” learning of STEM and the STEM knowledge that is enacted in rural work and life. We also suggest that for this to change, there should be increased visibility of “place-based” knowledges, including Aboriginal STEM knowledges, in RRR communities to promote enhanced student engagement with STEM. In this paper we explore these ideas by drawing on Foucault and Bourdieu understandings to develop a methodological framework – the Place-based STEM- alignment Framework for the purposes of exposing alternate STEM knowledges. We argue that the nuanced and critical methodological approach applied in the development of the Place-based STEM-alignment Framework, is necessary in order to generate this analytical tool and provide data that will allow us the scope to “reset” current understandings of STEM knowledges. The framework design provides us with the methodological vehicle to identify possible reasons for the invisibility of STEM knowledge and practices in the local fabric of RRR communities and to examine enablers and/or barriers to engagement in STEM learning. The framework must be a practical tool for use in the field, one that can be used in RRR communities to engage, children and young people, in STEM, in a way that is meaningful and that aligns with their everyday experience of RRR life. Finally, the framework has to work to enable alternative perspectives to be exposed that will advance methodological considerations of STEM.