The rise of digitalization and AI has transformed corporate accountability, pushing ESG reporting from a voluntary exercise to a governance imperative. Yet greenwashing, carbon misreporting, and deceptive sustainability disclosures have surged, exposing the limits of traditional forensic accounting. This chapter examines how Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, predictive analytics, blockchain, and robotic process automation can be integrated into forensic accounting to detect ESG fraud. A conceptual AI-Enabled Sustainable Forensic Governance framework is proposed, combining technological innovation with legal compliance and ESG accountability
We investigate the γ-ray and X-ray population properties of changing-look blazars (CLBs) using sources from the Fourth Fermi LAT Source Catalog Data Release 4 (4FGL-DR4) together with X-ray information from the Living Swift XRT Point Source (LSXPS) catalog. The CLB sample is compared with large populations of confirmed BL Lac objects (BLLs) and flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) using spectral, variability, and broadband properties. In the γ-ray parameter space, CLBs mainly occupy intermediate and overlap regions between the BLL and FSRQ populations. However, the centroid locations in different parameter planes, along with the PCA and UMAP projections, show that the CLB population lies closer to the FSRQ region. The X-ray analysis also shows a similar behavior, where the overall distribution of CLBs in the X-ray parameter space is found to be nearer to FSRQs than to BLLs. In addition, the X-ray/γ-ray coupling relations and random-forest classification probabilities are consistent with this trend. Overall, the results suggest that CLBs form a transitional population between the two main blazar subclasses while retaining characteristics closer to the FSRQ population.
Carbon-based nanomaterials (CBMs), including fullerenes, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, and their derivatives, are increasingly utilized across industrial, biomedical, and environmental applications, leading to their inevitable release into aquatic ecosystems. Despite extensive studies on CBMs toxicity, a critical gap remains in integrating their environmental sources, transformation processes, and mechanistic toxicity within an aquaculture-specific risk assessment framework. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the occurrence, physicochemical properties, environmental fate, and ecotoxicological effects of CBMs in freshwater and marine systems, with particular emphasis on aquaculture-relevant exposure conditions. Key processes governing environmental behavior, including aggregation dynamics, sediment interactions, and associations with natural organic matter, are discussed in relation to their influence on colloidal stability, transport, and bioavailability. Mechanistic toxicity pathways, including oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, immunomodulation, and tissue-level alterations are examined in connection with material properties such as surface functionalization, aspect ratio, and structural defects. In addition, this review highlights current analytical challenges in CBM detection and quantification in complex aquatic matrices and distinguishes between modelled and experimentally measured environmental concentrations. Available evidence indicates variability in sensitivity across species and life stages, with early developmental stages often showing greater susceptivity. Although environmental concentrations are generally lower than acute toxicity thresholds, CBMs may significantly influence contaminant dynamics through sorption and carrier-mediated transport, particularly under intensive aquaculture conditions. By integrating environmental behavior with mechanistic toxicity and exposure assessment, this review proposes a conceptual risk profiling framework tailored to aquaculture systems and identifies key research gaps to support improved environmental risk assessment and the sustainable management of carbon-based nanomaterials.
High-altitude environments impose a multifactorial stress matrix, including cold, intense UV-B radiation, hypoxia, and drought, which demand integrated adaptive responses. The genus Artemisia exhibits coordinated phenotypic, physiological, and metabolic adaptations to altitude, collectively termed the Altitudinal Stress Syndrome. While recent work has established that this syndrome emerges from integration across genomic, physiological, metabolic, and architectural levels, the regulatory mechanisms coordinating this multi-level integration remain undefined. This review synthesizes molecular evidence from Artemisia to construct a testable framework for the regulatory architecture underlying altitude adaptation. We organize the known components into three functionally distinct levels: signal transducers (reactive oxygen species, calcium, hormones) that convert physical stress into biochemical information; signal integrators (hormonal crosstalk nodes, photoreceptor pathways) where convergent inputs combine; and transcriptional regulators (bHLH, MYB, WRKY families) that execute genome-wide reprogramming. The artemisinin biosynthetic pathway provides a well-mapped case study, revealing how cold signals propagate through AabHLH112 and AaERF1 to biosynthetic genes, how UV-B signals are transduced via AaHY5 and AaGSW1, and how AabHLH113 integrates jasmonate and abscisic acid signals. Competitive dimerization among bHLH factors creates tunable regulatory nodes, whereas epigenetic modifications at AaPAL1 may stabilize adaptive states. We critically evaluate evidence for each connection, distinguishing direct biochemical validation, genetic evidence, and correlational observations. This framework generates specific hypotheses about network architecture testable via genetic, biochemical, and systems-level approaches. By building upon the systems-level foundation of Altitudinal Stress Syndrome, this review advances our understanding from descriptive cataloging to a mechanistic and predictive model of plant adaptation to extreme environments.
Gaining insight into local communities' perception of Joint Forest Management (JFM) is crucial for sustainable forest management and livelihood improvement. However, limited research exists on people's perceptions of JFM, particularly in the North-western Himalayas. This study evaluates the perceptions of local people as key stakeholders in the JFM program, based on primary data collected from 434 households using structured and semi-structured questionnaires comprising both close- and open-ended questions. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Weighted Mean Scores (WMS). Findings reveal a moderate perception level regarding the socio-economic aspects (WMS: 3.51) and forest governance (WMS: 3.05) of JFM. In contrast, perceptions of ecological aspects were low (WMS: 2.32), likely due to the indirect link between ecological services and immediate economic benefits for forest dwellers. Additionally, respondents largely disagreed with the notion that JFM promotes forest tourism and water-harvesting mechanisms to mitigate water scarcity. The findings hold important policy implications, emphasizing the need to integrate community awareness initiatives, equitable benefit-sharing, and ecological education into JFM frameworks. For forest managers and policymakers, the results provide practical guidance for formulating locally tailored strategies that strengthen community engagement, enhance governance, and promote the sustainable management of forest resources in this fragile Himalayan region.
