Sankey Diagram Research Articles

300 Years of changes and persistences in the historic wine – growing area of Svätý Jur (Slovakia)

Svätý Jur represents a traditional vineyard landscape located in south-west Slovakia. We mapped and analysed changes and persistence in Svätý Jur to bring additional insight into the development of cultural landscapes in Europe. We digitised a unique map from the end of the 17th century, and a set of historical maps and aerial images from 1783, 1858, 1950, 1985, and 2017. The area of vineyards has decreased since the 18th century as a result of periods of cold weather, high taxes for vinegrowers and the spread of human plagues and vineyard diseases. Today, urbanisation is changing the area and character of the vineyards. This confirms the dynamic character of landscapes. We compared the persistence and found that it decreased over time until the last period, when persistence increased. The results are also presented in an upgraded Sankey diagram depicting the temporal aspect of changes and persistence in the area.

Transcriptome profiling uncovers differentially expressed genes linked to nutritional quality in vegetable soybean.

Vegetative soybean (maodou or edamame) serves as a nutrient-rich food source with significant potential for mitigating global nutritional deficiencies. This study undertook a thorough examination of the nutritional profiles and transcriptomic landscapes of six soybean cultivars, including three common cultivars (Heinong551, Heinong562, and Heinong63) and three fresh maodou cultivars (Heinong527, HeinongXS4, and HeinongXS5). Nutrient analysis of the seeds disclosed notable differences in the levels of protein, fat, soluble sugars, vitamin E, calcium, potassium, magnesium, manganese, iron, and zinc across the cultivars. Through comparative transcriptome profiling and RNA sequencing, distinct variations in differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between fresh and traditional maodou cultivars. Functional enrichment analyses underscored the involvement of DEGs in critical biological processes, such as nutrient biosynthesis, seed development, and stress responses. Additionally, association studies demonstrated robust correlations between specific DEG expression patterns and seed nutrient compositions across the different cultivars. Sankey diagrams illustrated that DEGs are strongly linked with seed quality traits, revealing potential molecular determinants that govern variations in nutritional content. The identified DEGs and their relationships with nutritional profiles offer valuable insights for breeding programs focused on developing cultivars with improved nutritional quality, tailored to specific dietary needs or industrial applications.

Technical and Economic Analyses for the Implementation of a Biohydrogen Production System Using Bioelectricity from Vinasse Biogas of the Sugarcane and Alcohol Industry

This paper studies the implementation of a system consisting of an electrolyzer connected to a bioelectricity generator set that operates using vinasse biogas. Data on total ethanol production across all regions of Brazil were collected, and two ethanol plants in São Paulo state were selected for analysis (São Jose da Estiva and São Manoel). The feasibility of implementing this system at these facilities was evaluated using energy analysis for biohydrogen production. The process’s energy efficiency was assessed, allowing for the construction of a Sankey Diagram for both plants. Additionally, the costs of producing bioelectricity and biohydrogen via electrolysis using vinasse biogas from Brazil’s sugar/alcohol industry were determined, factoring in the payback period, equivalent utilization period, and annual interest rate. The study demonstrates the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of producing biohydrogen using vinasse biogas. The cost of producing bioelectricity at the two plants decreases significantly over the 25-year system implementation period, starting at around 0.159–0.197 USD/kWh in the first year and dropping to a minimum of 0.027–0.039 USD/kWh by the end of the period. The initial cost of producing biohydrogen ranges from 1.154 to 1.236 USD/kWh at São Jose da Estiva and from 1.491 to 1.597 USD/kWh at São Manoel in the first year. However, prices drop by nearly half in the second year, reaching 0.630 to 0.693 USD/kWh at São Jose da Estiva and 0.808 to 0.891 USD/kWh at São Manoel. The payback period for the biohydrogen and bioelectricity production system increases, with São Jose da Estiva generating income by year 5 at a 4% interest rate and by year 8 at a 12% rate. For São Manoel, income is expected by year 8 at a 4% interest rate and by year 16 at a 12% rate. Both plants recover their investment within the first 10 years of operation. By the final year, São Jose da Estiva’s income is projected to be between 363,262.20 and 678,129.46 USD/kWh, while São Manoel’s income is expected to range from 85,765.59 to 433,347.70 USD/kWh, demonstrating that the system is viable for sugar and ethanol plants.

Key effects contributing to changes in energy imports in the EU-27 between 2000 and 2020: A decomposition analysis based on the Sankey diagram

The aim of this paper is to analyse the key effects contributing to changes in energy imports in the European Union (EU-27) in the period 2000–2020. Using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI), the analysis examines the effect of changes in six factors—energy structure, energy dependence, energy transformation efficiency, energy yield after transformation, energy efficiency and activity—on imports of oil, natural gas and other sources of energy. The results of the analysis reveal that the decarbonisation process has fostered the abandonment of the most polluting fossil fuel sources; however, there has been an increase in energy dependence on less polluting sources that are not produced domestically. In contrast, there has been an opportunity for change through improved energy efficiency, which has made it possible to reduce energy requirements per unit produced. In short, in order to achieve a sustainable and secure energy future, it is crucial to implement policies and actions that promote both the diversification of the energy mix—particularly renewable energies—and efficiency in consumption. Doing so will enable countries to move towards true decarbonisation and minimise vulnerability in their energy supply.

Transmission Network and Phylogenetic Analysis Highlight the Role of Suburban Population in HIV-1 Transmission Among Older Adults in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.

Describing the transmission characteristics among older adults is essential for designing tailored interventions. An epidemiological investigation combined with phylogenetic analysis was conducted to reveal potential transmission linkages among older adults in Nanjing. Between 2018 and 2022, 188 pol sequences were successfully amplified. Multiple genotypes were identified, including CRF07_BC (55.3%), CRF01_AE (30.3%), CRF08_BC (8.0%), B (3.2%), CRF55_01B (1.1%), CRF67_01B (0.5%), CRF68_01B (0.5%), and unique recombinant forms (URF) (1.1%). Transmission network analysis identified 120 genetically linked patients forming 23 clusters, ranging from 2 to 26 individuals. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that compared with farmers and heterosexuals, patients with other occupations (OR = 0.404, 95% CI: 0.173-0.945) and MSM (OR = 0.193, 95% CI: 0.050-0.738) were less likely to have high linkage. Subjects who lived in suburban areas were more likely to have high linkage (OR = 10.932, 95% CI: 3.335-35.830). The Sankey diagram suggested that patients living in suburban areas primarily transmitted the disease within the local district (χ2 = 24.192, p < 0.001). Among the 188 pol sequences, the prevalence of pretreatment drug resistance was 8%. In suburban areas with a rising HIV-1 epidemic, improving early detection and timely treatment is critical. More tailored interventions for this subgroup are urgently needed.

Investigating the impacts of the Dual Carbon Targets on energy and carbon flows in China

As the world’s largest carbon emitter, China has committed to ambitious “Dual Carbon Targets” to address climate change. To investigate the impact of the Dual Carbon Targets on energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, CO2 emissions were calculated, and Sankey diagrams of energy and CO2 flows for 2018-2022 were drawn based on the latest energy statistics. This study finds that China’s primary energy supply was 5.429 Gtce, with terminal energy consumption at 3.801 Gtce in 2022. CO2 emissions reached 12.01 Gt, marking a 12.24% increase since 2018. Emission intensity varies regionally, being higher in the north and lower in the south, with a national average of 0.1 kg/CNY. Coal continues to dominate energy consumption at 64%, though its share of emissions is declining, particularly in transportation and residential sectors. By 2060, electricity is expected to become the primary energy source, significantly lowering carbon emissions, with Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage technologies playing a crucial role in achieving the targets. This analysis provides critical insights into China’s transition to a low-carbon economy, serving as a valuable resource for policymakers to optimize the energy structure and meet environmental goals.

Évaluation de l’impact économique et du parcours patient lors du traitement de l’occlusion coronaire totale chronique

Chronic total occlusion (CTO) of coronary arteries is defined as complete absence of antegrade coronary flow without iodine passage, since more than 3 months. Coronary revascularization is a highly resource-intensive angioplasty procedure involving numerous medical devices (MDs). Its consumption and associated costs are not covered by either the medical act classification (CCAM) or the hospitalization fees and additional MD funding. The primary aim of this study is to analyze the financial sustainability of this activity for a public healthcare institution and to assess the budgetary impact of CTO treatment on the most expensive items of expenditure. The secondary aim is to describe the patient's intra-hospital pathway. CTO revascularization stays are categorized under the code 05K06 "Vascular Stents without Myocardial Infarction". Major cost items were identified using national coded expenditure data and compared with those from our cost study. Every CTO intervention from January to November 2021 were retrospectively retrieved. Establishment purchase prices in 2021 were used to determine MD costs. Clinical data were extracted from electronic patient records. Operative data (procedure duration, professionals involved, and MD used) were extracted. Human Resources (HR) costs were integrated into the calculations. A Sankey diagram was created. Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation. In our study, 41 patients underwent 45 interventions. The median was 65 years. 78% of interventions were successful with a median duration of 113 minutes. 222 different MD references were used, with 27% reimbursed additionally and 73% funded within the homogeneous group of stays (HGS). The total cost of MD described in the coded expenditure data is 2142euro, of which 721euro is funded within the HGS. In our cohort, it represented averages of 2736euro ± 1393euro and 1710euro ± 926euro, respectively. Regarding HR, the total cost described in the coded expenditure data was 442euro compared to 410euro ± 169euro in our cohort. Finally, patient pathway analysis showed an average length of stay (LOS) of 1.8 days. Two pathways were identified depending on admission context: weekday hospitalization or cardiac intensive care. CTO revascularization is a planned intervention with a short LOS and a highly standardized patient pathway. Our study highlights a proliferation of MD references used during CTO revascularization due to innovative industrial developments. The cost differential with coded expenditure data confirms the need for a revision of the procedure and its categorization within an HGS, which is currently non-specific.

Sequence Flow: interactive web application for visualizing partial order alignments

BackgroundMultiple sequence alignment (MSA) has proven extremely useful in computational biology, especially in inferring evolutionary relationships via phylogenetic analysis and providing insight into protein structure and function. An alternative to the standard MSA model is partial order alignment (POA), in which aligned sequences are represented as paths in a graph rather than rows in a matrix. While the POA model has proven useful in several applications (e.g. sequencing reads assembly and pangenome structure exploration), we lack efficient visualization tools that could highlight its advantages.ResultsWe propose Sequence Flow – a web application designed to address the above problem. Sequence Flow presents the POA as a Sankey diagram, a kind of graph visualisation typically used for graphs representing flowcharts. Sequence Flow enables interactive alignment exploration, including fragment selection, highlighting a selected group of sequences, modification of the position of graph nodes, structure simplification etc. After adjustment, the visualization can be saved as a high-quality graphic file. Thanks to the use of SanKEY.js – a JavaScript library for creating Sankey diagrams, designed specifically to visualize POAs, Sequence Flow provides satisfactory performance even with large alignments.ConclusionsWe provide Sankey diagram-based POA visualization tools for both end users (Sequence Flow) and bioinformatic software developers (SanKEY.js). Sequence Flow webservice is available at https://sequenceflow.mimuw.edu.pl/. The source code for SanKEY.js is available at https://github.com/Krzysiekzd/SanKEY.js and for Sequence Flow at https://github.com/Krzysiekzd/SequenceFlow.

Associations between socioeconomic status and dynamic development of physical,psychological and cognitive degenerative multimorbidity among middle aged and older adults in China

Objective: To analyze the dynamic development of physical, psychological, and cognitive degenerative multimorbidity among middle-aged and older Chinese adults (≥45 years old) while estimating the longitudinal association between socioeconomic status (SES) and the progression of multimorbidity. Methods: Based on data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011-2020), the Sankey diagram was used to show the dynamic development of physical, psychological, and cognitive degenerative multimorbidity from 2011 to 2020. SES was constructed based on the level of education and total household wealth. Logistic regression was used to estimate OR and 95%CI to evaluate the association between SES and the progression of multimorbidity. Results: Of the 5 393 participants included, 4 484 (83.14%) of them developed new diseases, and the prevalence of physical, psychological, and cognitive degenerative multimorbidity increased from 38.04% to 74.23%. Compared to those with no reported disorders at baseline, participants with psychological disorder (for newly developed physical-cognitive multimorbidity: OR=4.59,95%CI: 2.89-7.29), cognitive disorder (for newly developed physical-psychological multimorbidity: OR=2.24,95%CI: 1.40-3.60), or their multimorbidity at baseline were more likely to progress to physical, psychological, and cognitive degenerative multimorbidity. After adjusting covariates, individuals with low SES were more likely to develop physical diseases (OR=1.45, 95%CI: 1.11-1.89), cognitive disorder (OR=1.84, 95%CI: 1.16-2.91), physical-psychological multimorbidity (OR=1.87, 95%CI: 1.37-2.56), physical-cognitive multimorbidity (OR=3.58, 95%CI: 2.54-5.06), psychological-cognitive multimorbidity (OR=5.66, 95%CI: 3.04-10.55), and physical-psychological-cognitive multimorbidity (OR=3.21, 95%CI: 2.06-5.01) in comparison to those with high SES. There is a dose-response relationship between SES and the multimorbidity progression (all trend P<0.001). Conclusions: The prevalence of physical, psychological, and cognitive degenerative multimorbidity increased significantly among middle-aged and older Chinese adults. Lower SES was associated with multiple patterns of physical, psychological, and cognitive disorders progression.

Solar methanol production from carbon dioxide and water using NaA zeolitic membrane reactor with pressurized solid oxide electrolysis cell

Solar-driven methanol synthesis coupled with water electrolysis can achieve carbon-negative methanol production. In this study, a solar methanol production system using water-conduction membrane reactor coupled with pressurized solid oxide electrolysis cell is proposed. A methanol synthesis membrane reactor model and a solar-driven pressurized solid oxide electrolysis cell model are developed and validated. Under the specified conditions, the conversion efficiency of the membrane reactor is found to be twice as high as that of a conventional reactor. A thermodynamic model is developed to simulate the system's performance. Using this model, the energy flows within the system are visually represented through a Sankey diagram, providing a clear illustration of energy distribution and losses. Additionally, effects of the solid oxide electrolysis cell temperature, current density, methanol synthesis temperature and pressure on the system performance are investigated parametrically. An optimum solar-to-methanol efficiency of 7.3 % is obtained. Furthermore, the economic analysis shows the levelized cost of methanol close to 1.40 Euro/kg and the payback period is around 4.5 years. This study proposed a novel efficient solar methanol production system.

Weather, Climate, and Society: A Retrospective between 2009 and 2022 Using Bibliometric and Content Analysis

Abstract This paper aims to analyze the bibliometrics of articles published in Weather, Climate, and Society (WCAS) over the last 14 years (2009–22). We conducted an analysis using the Scopus database and cross-checked the WCAS online journal and obtained 577 document results (article) and then analyzed and visualized using VOSviewer, Sankey diagrams, altmetric, and content analysis. This research was conducted to show publication trends, citation rates, productivity levels, and developments in research topics at WCAS. The study results show that the 577 articles published in Weather, Climate, and Society have become references for 7106 other articles and are spread across 160 publication sources. Based on the most cited articles, five cluster topics are references for many papers, namely, climate change and environmental management policy, weather risk assessment, climate hazard assessment, anthropogenic climate change, and decision support systems. Climatic Change, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, and Sustainability Switzerland are the three publications with the most citations of articles published by WCAS. Research topics related to climate change, decision-making, risk assessment, the United States, societal impacts, social science, communications/decision-making, and vulnerability are the eight most commonly discussed topics in WCAS articles. Significance Statement From 2009 to 2022, 1773 authors published WCAS articles, either individually or collaboratively, across 1350 institutional affiliations in 70 countries. Using Scopus metadata, this study employs bibliometric and content analysis to explore temporal trends, article impact metrics, citation characteristics, and topic shifts in WCAS publications over this period. The findings indicate that analyzing citations, topics, and authors aids in understanding a journal’s interdisciplinary accessibility. Notably, highly cited papers in WCAS do not necessarily score high on altmetrics, suggesting that future impact measures might integrate academic and social media metrics. Prolific authors often collaborate rather than publish solo. Dominant research topics include climate change, decision-making, risk assessment, social impacts, and U.S. issues.

Plant Agrobiodiversity, Agricultural and Phytosanitary Practices of Market Garden Crops in the Centre‐East Region of Burkina Faso

ABSTRACTIntroductionIn West Africa, market gardeners use various agricultural practices to increase yields. However, many of these practices do not comply with agroecological standards and cause intoxication, pollution, soil degradation and biodiversity loss. This study characterizes the plant agrobiodiversity of market garden crops grown during the rainy season and the agricultural and phytosanitary practices used for their management.Materials and MethodsThe study was carried out in Burkina Faso. Plant agrobiodiversity was assessed in 100 market gardens. Agricultural and phytosanitary practices were characterized using semi‐structured interviews. A Sankey diagram was used to highlight the relationships among market garden crops, bioaggressors and diseases. Principal component analyses were applied to highlight the agricultural and phytosanitary practices used.ResultsThe results revealed rich agrobiodiversity, including 16 market garden crops, 15 local agroforestry species, 17 planted species and 37 weed species. The main market garden crops grown in the rainy season were cabbage (20.30%), lettuce (16.62%), tomato (11.69%), and amaranth (10.15%). The most frequent agroforestry species were Azadirachta indica (18.20%) and Mangifera indica (15.03%). The most common weeds were Eleusine indica (11.02%) and Cyperus reduncus (9.70%). Eleven pests were identified, and the most frequently recorded were caterpillars (39.06%). Sixteen diseases were reported, the most common being leaf yellowing (15.67%) and leaf wilt (11.67%). Numerous market gardeners use mineral fertilizers such as Yaramila (NPK 23‐10‐5), NPK (14‐23‐14), urea (46.00% nitrogen), and liquid fertilizer as well as compost and organic manure. The most common agricultural practice was crop rotation (79.00%). To protect crops, 89.00% of producers used synthetic chemical pesticides in an uncontrolled manner, most of which are purchased on the local market. Only 11.00% of the market gardeners practiced the natural phytosanitary treatments.ConclusionThis study provides important information that can be used for the sustainable management of market gardens. Agroecological standards should be popularized to ensure food security for market garden crops.

Design of Tools for Visualizing Thermodynamic Concepts in Steam Power Plant Trainer Processes with Web-Based Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA)

Thermodynamics is considered one of the most complex and challenging subjects for many students. This is primarily due to comprehending abstract concepts such as entropy, enthalpy, and energy flow, which involve complex mathematical equations and are rarely accompanied by tangible visualizations. This research aims to design, develop, and test a data-based visualization tool for thermodynamics testing results. This study collected and processed data from thermodynamics testing and simulations, such as the mini-steam power plant trainer used as a teaching aid in thermodynamics education, as the foundation for designing a data-based visualization tool for thermodynamics concepts. The visualization tool was created using the Python programming language integrated with the web-based Streamlit framework. The designed visualization tool encompasses various features, including automated data reporting, visualization of variable correlations using correlation heatmaps, Sankey diagrams for visualizing energy flow, and the capability to predict electrical output using machine learning integrated with three different machine learning algorithms. The visualization tool was evaluated by thermodynamics experts using a Likert scale. Based on the results obtained, the experts gave an average score of 4 in the information accuracy aspect in the good category. This shows that the information displayed in this visualization tool is by thermodynamics learning at Padang State University. In the visualization aspect, experts gave an average score of 4.25, which is in the Good and Very Good range. In alignment with the education aspect, experts gave an average score of 3.75, which is close to the good category. This shows that this aspect is considered suitable for studying thermodynamics, although shortcomings still need to be corrected. Experts gave a relatively high assessment of the Ease-of-Use aspect, with an average score of 4.5, with a range of Good and Very Good. This enables students to better understand complex patterns, cause-and-effect relationships, and parameter changes within thermodynamics concepts.

Examining bus service quality among clusters of commuters: the case of Maputo Metropolitan Area, Mozambique

ABSTRACT The Maputo Metropolitan Area's bus transport service is comprised of both formal and informal operations, characterized by declined service quality. To improve service quality, the Maputo Metropolitan Transport Agency is transitioning to formal operations. The study aims to determine who experiences substandard bus service and where, to inform targeted actions. Data from 8,095 bus users were analysed using cluster analysis, Sankey diagrams, and multicriteria analysis, revealing four distinct behavioural clusters (C1–C4). C1 (Non-frequent-early evening) and C4 (Non-frequent-early morning) commuters experience low and very low service quality, respectively, needing increased bus frequency and easy-to-board buses. C2 (Non-frequent-daytime) commuters enjoy high service quality but could benefit from dedicated bus lanes to further improve frequency and convenience. C3 (Frequent-short travel time) commuters experience very high service quality but require direct bus lines from the suburbs to the CBD to reduce travel costs. The study findings form a basis for targeted bus service improvements.

Global environmental sustainability trends: A temporal comparison using a new interval-based composite indicator

Assessing progress on the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals is crucial for evaluating the sustainability of a Country, although this is not easy, considering the interdependencies or interconnections of individual goals with others, and the fact that there are several indicators for each goal. The aims of this research are: (1) to propose a novel interval-based environmental sustainable composite index (ESI) suitable to monitor the worldwide environmental SDGs' implementation at national scale, (2) to solve the problem of missing data in large databases and the subjectivity in computing a composite index (CI), (3) to group and compare statistically countries according to the ESI, and (4) to represent spatially the results to identify areas of the world more or less environmentally sustainable than others. Clustering and Sankey diagrams have supported the temporal and spatial analysis of ESI trends, showing that Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, and several European countries have been the most sustainable in 2019. The novelty of this indicator is that each country presents an ESI central value, the most probable value of the composite indicator, and a range, which represents the uncertainty given by the lower and upper bounds. In this sense, it is possible to better interpret the results of the composite indicator, while simultaneously obtaining a measure of the uncertainty of the results. The composite indicator can be used to monitor countries’ vulnerability towards the unsustainability risk, as well as countries that are not able to escape from a sort of “unsustainability trap”.

Leveraging Sankey diagrams for enhanced curriculum planning in higher education

Leveraging Sankey diagrams for enhanced curriculum planning in higher education

Trace the evolution path of pharmaceutical wastewater treatment technology based on a patent perspective

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the research hotspots and future development trends of pharmaceutical wastewater treatment technology, in order to provide valuable reference and guidance to promote the development of technology. First, the search path counting (SPC) algorithm is utilized to identify the global main path to perform a preliminary analysis of the technology evolution path from a macro perspective. Second, according to the life cycle, S-curve divides the time windows of the temporal themes and uses the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) modeling to identify the themes under each time window. Then, a visualized Sankey diagram is generated to determine the evolutionary relationship, which can be supplemented with the paths of technological evolution from the micro point of view. Finally, six research hotspots of pharmaceutical wastewater treatment technology were found, which are compounding agents, advanced oxidation technology, nanomaterials, artificial intelligence (AI) technology, membrane pollution prevention, and various combinations of wastewater treatment technology. The study also predicted its future development direction.

Tracing Trajectories: Qualitative Visualizations of Migrant Death in South Texas, 1993–2020

Executive Summary This paper explores how qualitative information may be used to enhance understanding and inform recommendations for improved accounting of migrant deaths along the Texas-Mexico border. While border crossing related deaths affect jurisdictions throughout the US’s Southwestern border states and Northern Mexican states, Texas has unique challenges that merit specific examination. In short, the management and investigation of unidentified migrant decedents in Texas is severely fragmented and often noncompliant with Texas Criminal Code Procedure. I explore a way to improve accounting of migrant deaths leveraging qualitative information, local newspaper articles from South Texas and Northern Mexico, by using descriptive summaries coupled with Sankey Diagrams and a programmatic technique, qualitative spatial representation (QSR). QSR enabled me to identify under-recognized stakeholders (South Texas locals, Mexican consulates) and under-supported counties (i.e., those with migrant deaths that do not share a border directly with Mexico). I found that local English-language newspapers obscured the prevalence of migrant deaths and that their narrative tone of “business as usual” normalized the occurrence of such deaths. The Spanish-language articles better represented the diversity of agencies and individuals that were involved in the various aspects of migrant remains management and forensic investigation, most notably residents of South Texas themselves (or situational participants who first found the remains) and Mexican consulates. Finally, I noted that the collaborations among Texas counties and between Texan and Mexican jurisdictions, when they were described in the newspapers, highlighted that the phenomenon of migrant deaths penetrates beyond the dividing line of the Rio Grande/Río Bravo River. Migrant deaths must be accounted for in a way that reflects a regional experience in which people may perish as far as ~100 miles into Texas’ interior. Considering these observations, I have two policy recommendations. First, the Office of the Texas Governor should establish funds distinct from the Operation Lone Star program for the management of unidentified human remains. Currently, grants through the Operation Lone Star Program are the only funds available in Texas to support identification of migrant decedents. However, this program is explicitly designed to further border security operations in the state of Texas, which can contradict efforts around recovery and identification. The documentation and forensic investigation of the unidentified deceased can be eclipsed or neglected under the larger deterrence aims of Operation Lone Star. Second, to improve accounting and increase documentation of migrant deaths, a Regional Identification Center should be established in South Texas. Not every county in Texas has or has access to a Medical Examiner’s office, including the means to transport and pay for autopsy or other forensic services. The Center would provide training, store extra equipment such as mobile refrigerated morgues, and hire personnel to inventory cases, and report information to the state (e.g., vital statistics) and to foreign consulates. A Regional Identification Center would counteract the challenges highlighted in the local newspaper summaries and QSR by decreasing the isolation of counties experiencing migrant deaths and serve as a documentary and communication hub for stakeholders in Texas and Mexico.

The implementation of the guideline for the management of pediatric off-label use of drugs in China: a cross-sectional study.

Previously, we developed the Guidelines for the Management of Pediatric Off-Label Use of Drugs in China in addressing the need for standardization of pediatric off-label drug use. As the implementation of recommendations in Guidelines among healthcare professionals is weak, it is important to identify barriers to guideline implementation for developing appropriate strategies for specific settings and target groups. This study aimed to assess the difficulty and urgency in implementing the recommendations in the Guideline, identifying the factors affecting the implementation of these recommendations to realize the clinical translation of the Guideline. A cross-sectional study was conducted from March 1 to June 17, 2022. Pediatricians, pharmacists, and health managers from all 31 mainland Chinese provinces were involved. The electronic questionnaires were distributed nationwide by The Clinical Pharmacology Group of the Pediatric Society of the Chinese Medical Association and the National Clinical Research Center for Child Health. Data analysis, including frequency, percentages, averages, and standard deviations was performed using Microsoft Excel 16.54. Chi-squared tests, multi-factor logistic regression, and linear regression were analyzed in SPSS 23.0. A Sankey diagram was constructed using R software. A total of 869 valid questionnaires were collected from 491 participating organizations. More than half of the recommendations were implemented, and 12 recommendations were implemented more in tertiary hospitals than in secondary hospitals. The mean urgency scores of all 21 recommendations were over 5. The mean difficulty scores of all 21 recommendations were over 4. The percentage of the most urgent was 44.33%, and the least urgent was 1.45%. The most difficult portion was 12.03%, and the least difficult was 5.74%. Factors impacting the urgency and difficulty of guideline implementation were different, with common influences including the position, education level of clinicians and hospital level. The recommendations in the Guideline for the Management of Pediatric Off-Label Use of Drugs are considered highly urgent for implementation in China. Nevertheless, the study revealed challenges in applying all 21 recommendations within clinical practice. The key factors affecting implementation include the position, education, experience, and hospital level of healthcare professionals. It is recommended to facilitate implementing the recommendations by sharing experience across various hospital levels, starting from high-level hospitals and extending to primary healthcare settings. Moreover, adjustments to the professional structure within hospitals are needed to enhance the management of off-label drug use in pediatric patients.

Design and utilization of a decision support tool to advance energy efficiency in industries

The industrial sector contributes significant environmental impact due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is necessary to investigate the energy flow from resources, and the possibilities for lowering energy use through energy management. Energy modeling and visualization have been identified as effective and powerful methods for investigating energy-saving potential and improving energy efficiency. In this study, the Sankey diagram-based decision support tool is designed and developed to illustrate the energy flow and the potential for energy savings from various processes in different industrial sectors. The tool is developed in Python and presented as a web-based dashboard, making it accessible to various users. The web-based Sankey diagram tool allows the user to comprehend the present state of energy consumption, costs, and CO2 emissions, as well as the potential for enhancing system flexibility and efficiency in the industry. The opportunities for heat recovery, renewable energy sources, and energy storage technologies are discussed as an assumed case study in 4 specific scenarios. Finally, the findings validate the significance of energy-efficient solutions in industry utilizing the proposed tool. This underscores the importance of adopting sustainable practices within industries, ultimately contributing to the enhancement of the sector's overall sustainability and resilience.