EOAC-LLM: An LLM-driven event ontology automatic construction system

Physics-informed deep learning for rapid marine radionuclide dispersion forecasting in nuclear emergency response.

Emergency preparedness and response education in U.S. pharmacy curricula: Preparing student pharmacists to address public health needs.

Abstract: This article investigates how organizational formalization enabled the Shanghai Civic Association (SCA) to function as an effective civic actor during the 1932 Shanghai War and its aftermath in early twentieth-century China. Established as an elite-led voluntary association, the SCA coordinated citywide relief efforts, mobilized resources, and maintained local stability amid fragmented political authority. Over time, it evolved from an informal network into a formalized bureaucracy operating alongside municipal authorities. Drawing on archival research, this study traces the SCA's development from its emergency response during the 1932 crisis to its expanded role in governance by 1937. The analysis demonstrates that formalization—through structured processes, routinized practices, and decision-making frameworks—enhanced the association's operational capacity, stability, and adaptability. By situating the SCA within broader debates on state-society relations, the article integrates relational and formalization perspectives to argue that voluntary associations played a transformative role in navigating crises, fostering civic participation, and shaping governance in early twentieth-century China.

Extreme flooding poses escalating risks to roadway infrastructure, threatening structural integrity, operational reliability, and public safety. Existing flood-monitoring approaches primarily utilize sparse sensor networks, thus providing limited real-time data and insufficiently capturing indirect flooding impacts on noninundated roadway segments. This gap complicates emergency response, delays evacuation, and undermines postevent recovery efforts. Addressing this critical knowledge gap, this study proposes an advanced predictive decision-support framework leveraging an artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced digital twin integrated with flood simulations and graph neural network (GNN) modeling. It systematically assesses roadway serviceability during extreme flooding by integrating structural conditions, operational disruptions, historical maintenance records, inundation severity, and recovery timelines. By consolidating heterogeneous data sets, including historical traffic volumes, pavement conditions, hydrological data, and weather forecasts, the developed framework provides accurate, real-time predictive insights for both inundated and indirectly impacted roadway segments. This capability was demonstrated through an illustrative validation study. Ultimately, this research equips transportation agencies and emergency responders with robust hands-on tools that can facilitate optimized emergency response, improved infrastructure management, and enhanced resilience of transportation systems under ever-increasing flood risks due to climate change.

SAR-based individual-building damage identification and large-scale earthquake damage prediction

Evaluating dynamic fire rescue accessibility and emergency response capacity for EV charging stations

Numerical simulation of methane explosion shock waves and flame propagation characteristics in multibranch pipelines

Post-disaster imagery collected by communities and field teams provides critical visual evidence for assessing damage and guiding emergency responses. However, the geocoordinates embedded in these images often capture the camera’s location rather than the position of the depicted building, introducing spatial misalignment that reduces mapping accuracy and weakens machine learning–based decision support. To address this challenge, we present an enhanced version of GeoSight, a geolocation refinement framework that integrates three key components: (i) coordinate referencing to constrain candidate search areas, (ii) building detection with inpainting to isolate structures and remove unrelated objects such as vehicles and debris, and (iii) perceptual similarity analysis using DreamSim to match query images against a georeferenced database. Using NOAA’s 2023 Norman, Oklahoma tornado building-damage imagery, the enhanced framework improves retrieval accuracy from 53% to 67% (Top-1) and 77% to 84% (Top-3), while reducing average geolocation errors by 26.1 m, with maximum corrections up to 46.5 m. By combining coordinate data, object-level preprocessing, and perceptual similarity, this framework provides a scalable and generalizable approach for refining the geolocation of community-driven disaster imagery, enabling more accurate and timely damage mapping for disaster response and recovery.

Developing community disaster resilience through collaborative professional development: Integrating teachers, informal educators, and emergency management personnel

The operation of hub-type emergent organizations and their effect on the resilience of emergency response networks: A case study of flood disaster in China

How do natural disasters affect agricultural exports?

The article examines the dual role of Maritime English instructors, highlighting the challenges they encounter when teaching this specialized form of English used in the global maritime industry. English serves as the primary lingua franca in international shipping, making effective communication crucial for safety, operational efficiency, and collaboration among multinational crews. Given the high-risk nature of maritime operations and the cultural diversity of personnel, clear and precise communication plays a vital role in preventing accidents and safeguarding human lives. Maritime English is regarded as a specialized branch of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), concentrating on the linguistic and communicative needs of maritime professionals. International organisations like the International Maritime Organization have set regulations and training standards that highlight the critical role of language competence in maritime operations. These standards mandate that seafarers possess sufficient communication skills for navigation, safety protocols, and emergency response procedures. Within this framework, Maritime English instructors assume a multifaceted professional role. They are responsible not only for teaching language skills but also for integrating technical maritime knowledge, operational terminology, and intercultural communication practices. Often, instructors must balance linguistic pedagogy with domain-specific content, even when lacking extensive maritime experience themselves. This gap creates challenges in bridging theoretical language instruction with the practical demands of maritime work environments. Another significant challenge is the diverse backgrounds of learners. Maritime students typically come from varied linguistic, cultural, and educational contexts, affecting their learning styles and language proficiency. Consequently, instructors must employ flexible teaching strategies that combine communicative approaches, task-based learning, and authentic maritime scenarios. Tools such as simulation exercises, real-life communication tasks, and technical documentation are commonly used to help students develop practical language skills relevant to their professional roles. The paper, also, underscores the importance of continuous professional development for Maritime English instructors. Effective teaching in this field demands collaboration between language educators and maritime experts, along with ongoing training to stay updated on industry developments, technological advances, and innovative pedagogical methods. Overall, the study highlights that Maritime English instructors play a crucial role in bridging the gap between language education and maritime practice. Their efforts significantly contribute to safer communication, enhanced professional competence, and the overall efficiency of the global maritime industry.

Introduction There is a need to reflect on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution plans across Canada and the extent to which they considered equity-deserving populations, as lessons from the rollout can inform future emergency responses and foster trust in public health. This paper examined and compared strategies implemented by six Canadian provinces to increase access and promote the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among selected priority populations. We also explored the factors that impacted the implementation of these strategies. Methods In six provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec), we conducted an environmental scan of provincial rollout documents and media sources reporting vaccine distribution among selected priority populations: First Nations, Inuit, and Métis; Black communities; essential workers; people experiencing homelessness; and people with disabilities. We subsequently interviewed 39 key informants to validate the environmental scan results, identify additional strategies to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake, and uncover perceptions of the facilitators and challenges that influenced the strategies implementation. Results We identified that provincial health authorities employed several strategies to overcome structural, geographical, and attitudinal barriers to COVID-19 vaccines experienced by the priority populations. Most provinces implemented walk-in, mobile, and pop-up vaccination clinics, mobilized their public and private health workforce, and designed multilingual communication materials. Facilitators in implementing COVID-19 vaccination strategies included harmonizing communication efforts, leveraging existing relationships and networks, and ensuring representation and leadership of community partners. Challenges to implementing COVID-19 vaccination strategies included uncoordinated communication efforts, inadequate distribution of vaccines to areas with the greatest need, mistrust in the government and healthcare system, vaccine hesitancy, and lack of cultural competence by vaccine providers. Conclusions This study highlights the divide between well-intentioned strategies and interventions and the reality of on-the-ground implementation. The findings offer valuable insights and can inform the implementation of strategies to distribute vaccines equitably in future large-scale vaccination efforts in Canada and globally.

ABSTRACT Urban road system resilience is critical for managing extreme flood events, yet existing assessments predominantly focus on static indicators that capture inherent system capacity rather than dynamic responses to disturbances. This study proposes a dynamic resilience analysis framework that tracks urban road system performance under progressive flood intensities using three core indicators: road service availability (infrastructure condition), road network accessibility (user impact), and recovery speed (managerial effectiveness). Applied to Xiamen, a coastal city in China, the framework simulates four flood inundation scenarios (0.335, 1, 3, and 9 m) to monitor system‐flood interactions and identify critical thresholds. Results reveal that structural damage does not necessarily imply functional disruption, and high road density provides service redundancy, maintaining user accessibility even when some roads are flooded. The analysis identifies a current resilience threshold at 1 m inundation, which can be elevated through infrastructure upgrades. These findings demonstrate that dynamic assessment complements static approaches by revealing critical flood thresholds and vulnerable zones to enable targeted interventions—from emergency response prioritization to long‐term adaptation planning. The proposed framework offers a transferable methodology for coastal cities to diagnose their own resilience thresholds and guide evidence‐based investments, with minimal data requirements making it applicable in data‐scarce contexts.

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious and often fatal viral disease of pigs that poses serious economic consequences to the swine industry due to its high mortality rate and rapid spread. Currently, the identification of infectious ASF virus (ASFV) is the confirmatory test when clinical samples are positive for ASFV by any other diagnostic methods. Detection of infectious ASFV requires the availability of primary swine macrophage cultures as a cell substrate. We demonstrate here that cryopreserved swine primary macrophages are a suitable cell substrate for the detection, isolation and propagation of ASFV, showing similar results as when fresh swine macrophages are utilized. The possibility of using cryopreserved macrophages for detecting infectious ASFV would improve the efficacy of diagnostics in ensuring the availability of macrophage cell cultures during an emergency response.

The analytical precision and molecular specificity of electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy make it a highly attractive technique for sensor applications, particularly in radiation dosimetry. However, its broader deployment has been hindered by substantial practical and experimental challenges. Traditional ESR systems require bulky electromagnets to sweep magnetic fields and high-Q resonators for signal detection, which restricts portability. Additionally, conventional ESR methods often demand prolonged data acquisition and extensive signal averaging to achieve adequate sensitivity, limiting their responsiveness in field-deployable scenarios. In this work, we overcome these limitations by introducing a compact and robust ESR sensor, marking a meaningful advancement toward practical, field-ready ESR-based dosimetry with broad applicability in medical physics, radiation protection, emergency response, and environmental monitoring. This new ESR sensor incorporates a versatile sample holder and a low-power magnet component, which is made possible by a broadband nonresonant interferometric detection technique. This paper discusses the instrumentation of this sensor, including the sample holder, magnet, and detector. There is also a detailed discussion of this approach, its advantages and limitations, and its potential applications for radiation dosimetry in various settings. This demonstrates the relevance of this setup to a wide range of retrospective dosimetry applications using alanine and lithium formate, the two most studied ESR dosimeters, at doses ranging from 2 Gy to 100 kGy. Demonstration of this broadband ESR detection using the nonresonant interferometric technique crystallizes its contribution to the advancement of portable magnetic resonance sensor technology.

Effective preparedness and response to mass casualty incidents (MCI) are essential for hospital safety, operational efficiency, and the delivery of timely, high-quality patient care during emergencies. This study assessed a tertiary government hospital in Lebanon's Code Orange plan by reviewing documentation for alignment with international guidelines and evaluating staff knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding MCI preparedness. Documents reviewed at Rafik Hariri University Hospital (RHUH) included the current Code Orange plan, relevant policies, and international guidelines. A comprehensive evaluation framework was used, focusing on preparedness, incident command systems, communication, and management. A comparison with established standards was conducted to identify gaps. Complementing this, a cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenient sample of medical and non-medical healthcare workers to evaluate their KAP regarding MCI preparedness. The desk review of the RHUH Code Orange plan identified both strengths and significant gaps in MCI preparedness. While the plan defines staff roles and resources for emergency response, it lacks detailed procedures for activation strategies, surge capacity, continuity of essential services, and triage processes. Additionally, post-event recovery protocols are insufficient or absent, and the importance of regular drills is not adequately emphasized. The KAP study revealed significant differences between medical and non-medical staff in terms of MCI knowledge, involvement, and training engagement, with medical staff reporting higher levels of familiarity and desire for participation. The findings underscore the need to bridge knowledge and engagement gaps between medical and non-medical staff to enhance MCI response. Key actions include interdisciplinary training to build coordination, clear communication protocols to streamline information flow, and routine drills with defined roles to strengthen preparedness. Additionally, implementing performance monitoring during drills and real MCIs, along with conducting regular evaluations, will allow for continuous refinement of response strategies.

Emergency response squads in Israel represent a unique mix between civilian volunteerism and military-style security functions, operating in communities exposed to persistent security threats. This study examined how members of Emergency Response Squads negotiated their professional identity, role ambiguity, and physical readiness within a framework that decreases the clarity of traditional civil–military boundaries. Using a mixed-methods design, we surveyed 21 squad members with the Hebrew version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-S-H) and conducted semi-structured interviews to explore perceptions of organizational structure and readiness. Findings revealed a strong sense of community commitment but significant lacks in institutional support, standardized training, and physical fitness requirements. These shortages created tensions between the expectation of military-level performance and the voluntary nature of participation. We propose the Volunteer Readiness Integration Model, a conceptual framework linking community identity, organizational infrastructure, physical competence, and social resilience.

Abstract— This project presents the design and implementation of an IoT-enabled smart vehicle black box system aimed at enhancing road safety, accident analysis, and real-time monitoring. The system integrates sensors, a microcontroller, and wireless communication modules to continuously capture critical parameters such as vehicle speed, location, acceleration, and impact force. In the event of an accident, the system automatically records and transmits essential data to a cloud platform, enabling quick access for emergency response and post-incident investigation. Additionally, features such as GPS tracking, driver behaviour monitoring, and remote data access improve vehicle security and accountability. The proposed solution offers a cost-effective, reliable, and scalable approach to modern vehicular data logging, contributing to smarter transportation systems and improved safety outcomes. Keywords— IoT, Smart Vehicle System, Black Box, Accident Detection, GPS Tracking, Data Logging, Real-Time Monitoring, Vehicle Safety, Cloud Storage, Sensor Integration, Emergency Alert System, Telematics