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Dryland winter wheat-fallow rotation in the US Northern High Plains face soil fertility and climate-related challenges, which contribute to low yields and reduced sustainability. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and wheat yield were monitored following a one-time compost (0, 15, 30, and 45 Mg ha⁻¹) in 2015 combined with annual cover cropping (2:1 Austrian winter pea and oats) during fallow phases. This study used the DAYCENT biogeochemical model to assess climate-smartness of the management, and determine the optimal timing for compost re-application between 2015 to 2050. The model was validated using field GHG observations and wheat yields from 2016, 2017 and 2018. The model showed positive correlations between observed and simulated carbon dioxide (CO₂, R² = 0.62), methane (CH₄, R² = 0.64), nitrous oxide (N₂O, R² = 0.52) emissions, and grain yield (R² = 0.93). Simulations for the period between 2015 to 2050 revealed that CO₂ and N₂O emissions peaked at 923 mg C m− 2 hr− 1 and 78 µg N m− 2 hr− 1 around 7 years after one-time compost application; and remained elevated between 923 to 1030 mg C m− 2 hr− 1 and 57 to 78 µg N m− 2 hr− 1 until 2031 and 2033 respectively, before gradually declining. CH₄ was consistently assimilated throughout the simulation, with an average of 99
This study evaluates the structural feasibility of using shredded plastic waste remnant (SPWR) as a partial replacement for fine aggregate in conventional reinforced concrete (RC) beams. Unlike previous studies limited to mortar or small-scale specimens, this research investigates full-scale reinforced concrete beams using locally sourced SPWR from Ghanaian waste streams under realistic flexural loading conditions. Concrete mixes were prepared with SPWR replacement levels of 0 to 25
Mining operations in the Ahafo region have increased due to the development of Newmont’s Ahafo North project, which is expected to add significantly to gold production. This expansion and the existing Ahafo South mine have resulted in increased mining operations and related activities in the area. This paper explores the effects of expanding mining operations on rental housing demand and construction in Sunyani Municipal. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews from participants including estate agents, house owners, residents, and mine employees. The results showed that the expansion of mining operations attracted additional employees into Sunyani. This increased rental housing demand and supply through the construction of new dwellings and hotels. High housing demand has also caused the retrofitting of functionally obsolete housing and the conversion of some commercial buildings into residential ones. Additionally, the expansion of mining operations has increased the profits of estate agents in Sunyani and it is contributing to increased rents and food costs, as well as traffic congestion in Sunyani. This paper provides new and deeper insights into the effects of expanding mining operations on Sunyani’s rental housing market. These findings can assist housing investors and developers, as well as firms in the extractive industries to identify opportunities, anticipate and mitigate possible negative impacts.
The growth of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) and edge computing has led to new vulnerabilities and higher risk through the potential for distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack vectors against hosting IoT devices and edge nodes. Because of the significant burden imposed on resources, countermeasures for DDoS attacks do not perform well in resource-constrained IoT and edge computing. This systematic review examines state-of-the-art Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) techniques for DDoS attack detection and mitigation in IoT and edge systems, focusing on advancements from 2020 to 2025. We propose a novel classification framework based on deployment architecture, learning paradigm, attack specificity, and performance considerations. Our analyses encompass 33 high-quality studies, revealing that 60.6% employ DL methods, 30.3% leverage ML techniques, and the remainder combine both, highlighting the superiority of DL models in detection accuracy notwithstanding their computational overhead, with ML methods offering lightweight alternatives and trade-offs in adaptability. Furthermore, we evaluate public datasets and simulation tools used for validation. This review covers critical issues such as inference latency, energy consumption, and heterogeneity of deployment, together with solutions to some problems emerging, including tiny machine learning and federated learning. Finally, we identify gaps in the literature, accentuating the need for up-to-date datasets, adversarial resiliency, and detection-mitigation frameworks. This review provides a comprehensive resource for engineers, researchers, and practitioners in the domain of DDoS defense in IoT and edge computing environments.
Achieving ecological sustainability remains a pressing global challenge as anthropogenic activities increasingly strain planetary boundaries. Why does tourism (TR) expansion continue to degrade ecological carrying capacity in developing economies, and how can institutional quality and ICT moderate this relationship? This study examines the tourism-ecological sustainability nexus in Ghana using the load capacity factor (LCF) as a comprehensive environmental measure, employing Kernel Regularised Least Squares (KRLS) as the primary estimator and Quantile-on-Quantile Regression (QQR) as a robustness check on data spanning 1996-2024. The results reveal that TR consistently deteriorates LCF across all quantiles, with stronger ecological damage at lower development levels. Institutional quality exhibits threshold dynamics: initially worsening, then eventually improving environmental outcomes beyond critical governance thresholds. ICT demonstrates uniformly negative effects, reflecting the energy-intensive demands of digital infrastructure, while financial development displays extreme heterogeneity, transitioning from negative to potentially positive effects at higher levels of development. These findings underscore the urgency of integrating institutional reforms, green digital infrastructure, and environmentally aligned financial regulations into Ghana's sustainable tourism frameworks, with broader policy implications for SDG-compliant strategies across Sub-Saharan Africa.
