The sediment pollution caused by different metals has attracted a great deal of attention because of the toxicity, persistence, and bio-accumulation. This study focuses on heavy metals in the hyporheic sediment of the Weihe River, China. Contamination levels of metals were examined by using “geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor, and contamination factor” while ecological risk of metals were determined by “potential ecological risk and risk index”. The pollutant accumulation of metals ranked as follows: “manganese (Mn)   >   chromium (Cr)   >   zinc (Zn)   > copper (Cu)   >   nickel (Ni)   >   arsenic (As)   >   lead (Pb)”. The geo-accumulation index identified arsenic as class 1 (uncontaminated to moderate contamination), whereas Cu, Cr, Ni, Zn, Pb, and Mn were classified as class 0 (uncontaminated). According to the enrichment factor, arsenic originated through anthropogenic activities and Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb were mainly controlled by natural sources. The contamination factor elucidated that sediments were moderately polluted by (As, Cr, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Pb), whereas Ni slightly contaminated the sediments of the Weihe River. All metals posed a low ecological risk in the study area. The risk index revealed that contribution of arsenic (53.43 %) was higher than half of the total risk.

Attended collection and delivery points are vital components of 'last-mile logistics'. Based on point of interest (POI) data for Cainiao Stations and China Post stations in Changsha City, China, this paper provides a detailed exploration of the basic features, spatial distribution, and location influencing factors of attended collection and delivery points. Specifically, analyses of the types, service objects and location distributions of the attended collection and delivery points alongside a discussion of their spatial pattern and influencing factors provides a reference for their general geographic layout and characteristics. The findings of this study indicate that: 1) The main mode of operation of attended collection and delivery points is franchises, with other modes of operation rely on supermarkets and other individual shop types. 2) The main service targets of attended collection and delivery points are communities, schools, and businesses, followed by townships, enterprises, scenic spots, and administrative units. 3) Approximately 77.44% of the attended collection and delivery points are located near the exits of service areas; others are situated in the centre of the service areas. For the Cainiao Stations, 80% are located within 125 m of the exit; for the China Post stations, 80% are located within 175 m of the exit. 4) The spatial distribution of the attended collection and delivery points in Changsha is unbalanced, with 'more centre and fewer surrounding'. The centre is an 'inverted triangle', and the edge is an 'orphan', showing a northwest-southeast orientation and symmetrical along the axis. The layout of the attended collection and delivery points forms three core areas, and the number of sites decreases with the distance from the core. 5) The number and distribution of the attended collection and delivery points are strongly consistent with the regional economic development level, population, and roadway system traffic convenience. Most attended collection and delivery points are on residential, scientific and educational, and commercial and financial land.

Globally, natural hazards have become more destructive in recent times because of rapid urban development and exposure. Consequently, significant human life loss, the damage to property and infrastructure, and the collapse of the environment directed the attention of geoscientists to control the consequences and risk management in relation to geo-hazards. In this research, an effort was made to produce a compound map, geo-visualizing the susceptibility of multi-hazards, to select suitable sites for sustainable future development and other economic activities in the region. Muzaffarabad District was chosen as a case research area due to the high magnitude of hydro-meteorological and geological hazards. On the one hand, both selected geo-hazard inventories were developed using the field survey and remote sensing data. The subjective and objective weight of all the causative factors and their classes were calculated using the assembled geospatial techniques, such as the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Frequency Ratio (FR) in the Geographic Information System (GIS). The results reveal that the most suitable areas are distributed in the southern and northwestern parts, which can be used for future sustainable development and other economic activities. In contrast, the eastern and western regions, including Muzaffarabad City, are within high and very susceptibility zones. Finally, more than 50% of the land area is located in very low and low susceptibility zones. The validation of the proposed model was checked by using three different techniques: the Receiver Operative Characteristic (ROC) curve, Seed Cell Area Index (SCAI), and Frequency Ratio (FR). Both ROCs, the Success Rate Curve (SRC) and the Predictive Rate Curve (PRC), showed the goodness of fit for both the selected geo-hazards: landslides (81.3%) and floods (93.2%), at 80.1% and 91.7%, respectively. All the validation techniques showed good fitness for both the individual and multi-hazard maps. The proposed model sets a baseline for policy implementation for all the stakeholders to minimize the risk and sustainable future development in areas of high frequent geo-hazards.

Hydrological extremes are common throughout the world and can be considered a globally significant phenomenon with severe environmental and social consequences. In recent decades, especially in the second half of the 20th century, Extreme Hydrological Events (EHEs) have attracted extensive attention. Physiological and anthropogenic factors have increased the frequency and severity of hydrological extremes worldwide in the last few decades. Recently, it has become a significant environmental issue in Sri Lanka. Both floods and droughts are widespread throughout the country, and the influence of floods is becoming more common every year. Currently, the frequency and severity of EHEs in the Kelani River Basin (KRB), Sri Lanka, are very common and have increased due to climate variations. Therefore, this study focused mainly on evaluating the EHEs and the impact of long-term El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Sea Surface Temperature (SST), and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) dynamics on extreme events. Rainfall Anomaly Index (RAI) and Extreme Precipitation Indices (EPIs) were calculated to examine the EHEs and their spatial variability. In addition, the relationships between EHEs and ENSO were investigated using several climate indices based on SST anomalies. Both observed and satellite-derived daily precipitation from 1951 to 2019 were used to assess the EHEs in the KRB. The trend of EHEs and the change points were evaluated using the Pettitt test, and teleconnection with global indices was examined using the correlation coefficient in the R application. The result of the study revealed that the pattern of EHEs varied spatially from 1951 to 2019. The strong La Niña years showed a high degree of teleconnection with EHEs in April (r = 0.622 at 0.05 significance level) and August (r = −0.732 at 0.05 significance level). NINO3.4 and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) have shown a significant positive impact on EHEs in the Northeast Monsoon (NEM) period. This research on KRB will be a popular scientific measure that can provide scientific results and solutions for the comprehensive decision-making process in the future. Investigating the global physical changes that influence EHEs is critical to taking the necessary steps to reduce the severity of hydrological extremes in Sri Lanka.

E-commerce and online shopping have become more convenient due to the rapid growth of the internet logistic industry in many developed countries and are particularly popular and suitable in China. The method is primarily based on logistic points like attended collection and delivery points (ACDPs), an emerging industry for economic development. This article includes descriptive statistics, and spatial analysis to analyse the location distribution, and influencing factors of ACDPs in Nanjing City using point of interest data (POI) of Cainiao stations and China Post stations. The results show that the spatial distribution of ACDPs in Nanjing is asymmetrical, displaying a trend to the northwest direction and a difference in the trend between the S-W and N-E axes. Their layout creates four main core areas and the number of sites decreases with distance from the core. Most of the ACDPs are in urban areas and on residential and industrial land. This study provides insightful ideas for decision-makers and planners to help formulate policies that can lead to more sustainable logistic enterprises development and for the companies that want to establish successful CDP networks in big cities.

Diabetes mellitus is leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Most of them are due to its macro and microvascular complication. Objectives: To determine the accuracy of insulin injection technique in adult diabetic patients between age of 20 to 50 years on insulin therapy for ≥02 years. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Settings: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad. Period: From March to August, 2016. Subjects: All diabetic patients between age 20 to 50 years and on insulin therapy for >02 years were enrolled in the current study. Material & Methods: A total of 260 diabetic patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria, visiting the emergency or medical OPD, who gave informed consent were enrolled. The patient′s knowledge was categorized as "Adequate" or "Inadequate" on the basis of his/her score. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 22 software. Results: The mean (±SD) age of all patients was 36.8 (± 8.5) years. Out of 260 patients, 150 (57.3%) patients were female and 138 (53.1%) lived in urban areas. Majority of patients, 141 (54.2%) received knowledge regarding insulin injection technique from doctors and 98(37.7%) received knowledge from family member or friend. Out of 260, 64 (24.6%) patients had adequate knowledge, while 196 (75.4%) patients had inadequate knowledge score. Conclusions: One quarter of the patients has adequate knowledge about insulin injection techniques. Based on our findings there is a need to conduct awareness campaigns at the community level to impart useful knowledge about diabetes and its various aspects like insulin injections techniques.

Water is a primary element for human life on Earth. Fresh water, which includes rivers, lakes, streams, and ponds, contributes less than one thousandth of a percent of the total water on Earth, but it is critical for the environment and human life. Change in land use and land cover (LULC) is a foremost concern in global environment change. Rapid changes in LULC lead to the degradation of ecosystems and have adverse effects on the environment. There is an urgent need to monitor changes in LULC and evaluate the effects of these changes in order to inform decision makers on how to support sustainable development. This study used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometry images to detect and investigate changes in LULC patterns in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, between 2008 and 2017. Six types of LULC were used to explain the major changes of LULC in the study area. The results showed that there was a reduction of barren lands and an increase of urban areas. It also showed an inconsistent behavior of water bodies during the study. Snow area, which also increased, needs further investigation.

In the context of rapid urbanization, Urban Heat Island (UHI) is considered as a major anthropogenic alteration in Earth environments, and its temporal trends and future forecasts for large areas did not receive much attention. Using land surface temperature (LST) data from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer) for years 2006 to 2020, we quantified the temporal trends of daytime and nighttime surface UHI intensity (SUHII, difference of urban temperature to rural temperature) using the Mann-Kendall (MK) trend test in six major cities of the Punjab province of Pakistan and estimated the future SUHII for the year 2030 using the ARIMA model. Results from the study revealed that the average mean SUHII for daytime was noted as 2.221 °C and the average mean nighttime SUHII was noted as 2.82 °C for the years 2006 to 2020. The average mean SUHII for daytime and nighttime exhibited increasing trends for all seasons and annually, and for the daytime spring season it showed a maximum upward trend of 0.486 °C/year (p < 0.05) and for the nighttime annual SUHII with an increasing rate of 0.485 °C/year (p < 0.05) which exhibited a maximum upward trend. The ARIMA model forecast suggested an increase of 0.04 °C in the average daytime SUHII and an increase of 0.1 °C in the average nighttime SUHII until 2030. The results from this study highlight the increasing trends of daytime and nighttime SUHII, ARIMA also forecasted an increase in daytime and nighttime SUHII, suggesting various strategies are needed for an effective mitigation of the UHI effect.