Integrating climate change predictions into infrastructure degradation modelling using advanced markovian frameworks to enhanced resilience.

This study introduces a prognostic model that quantifies infrastructure degradation in highway systems, incorporating the impacts of climate change using an advanced Markovian framework. By assimilating extensive historical maintenance records and detailed climatic data, the model employs a multi-tiered exponential erosion risk framework to enhance predictive accuracy. Our findings indicate a 15-20% acceleration in degradation rates under projected climate scenarios, emphasizing the necessity for climate-adaptive infrastructure management strategies. Utilizing maximal likelihood estimation, the model corrects sample distortion biases, resulting in a 30% improvement in the accuracy of degradation forecasts compared to conventional models. This accuracy enables maintenance cost savings of up to 25% by optimizing repair timings, thus avoiding premature interventions and reducing costs associated with reactive maintenance strategies. The validated model provides a robust tool for strategic planning and adaptive maintenance of highway systems, promoting resilient infrastructure management in the face of evolving climatic conditions. This research ensures that infrastructure professionals can anticipate and mitigate the impacts of climate change, optimizing maintenance budgets and extending the service life of highway assets.

Integrative strategies for social inclusion and equity: Enhancing refugee access to higher education in Jordan.

Incorporating sustainability principles into refugee education, an often overlooked yet crucial domain is pivotal for future societal development. Focusing on UNHCR's directive in Jordan, this research delves into the nuances of elevating refugee enrollment in higher education to 15 % by 2030. The study identifies significant challenges through empirical and theoretical lenses, such as financial impediments, infrastructural deficits, and socio-cultural deterrents. A multi-layered solution is proposed: instituting targeted scholarship programs, bolstering institutional capacities for diverse learners, leveraging digital education platforms, and fostering global educational partnerships. By strategically enhancing higher education opportunities for refugees, nations harness a richer tapestry of skilled human capital and underscore a commitment to holistic sustainability, inclusivity, and equity.

Optimization of the Structural Performance of Buried Reinforced Concrete Pipelines in Cohesionless Soils.

Pipelines are widely used to transport water, wastewater, and energy products. However, the recently published American Society of Civil Engineers report revealed that the USA drinking water infrastructure is deficient, where 12,000 miles of pipelines have deteriorated. This would require substantial financial investment to rebuild. Furthermore, the current pipeline design practice lacks the guideline to obtain the optimum steel reinforcement and pipeline geometry. Therefore, the current study aimed to fill this gap and help the pipeline designers and practitioners select the most economical reinforced concrete pipelines with optimum steel reinforcement while satisfying the shear stresses demand and serviceability limitations. Experimental testing is considered uneconomical and impractical for measuring the performance of pipelines under a high soil fill depth. Therefore, a parametric study was carried out for reinforced concrete pipes with various diameters buried under soil fill depths using a reliable finite element analysis to execute this investigation. The deflection range of the investigated reinforced concrete pipelines was between 0.5 to 13 mm. This indicates that the finite element analysis carefully selected the pipeline thickness, required flexural steel reinforcement, and concrete crack width while the pipeline does not undergo excessive deformation. This study revealed that the recommended optimum reinforced concrete pipeline diameter-to-thickness ratio, which is highly sensitive to the soil fill depth, is 6.0, 4.6, 4.2, and 3.8 for soil fill depths of 9.1, 12.2, 15.2, and 18.3 m, respectively. Moreover, the parametric study results offered an equation to estimate the optimum pipeline diameter-to-thickness ratio via a design example. The current research outcomes are imperative for decision-makers to accurately evaluate the structural performance of buried reinforced concrete pipelines.