Griffith Research Online

The demand for fertilisers is growing, and increased fertiliser production has significant environmental impacts. Human urine, rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, presents a sustainable alternative; however, the long-distance distribution from urban to rural areas poses challenges for commercial operations. Researchers suggest concentrating urine using reverse osmosis (RO) to reduce distribution cost, but its economic feasibility remains uncertain. A techno-economic assessment was conducted based on demographic and geographic data of Greater Melbourne area to assess the feasibility of RO hydrolysed urine concentration under different distribution modes (decentralised and centralised), with volume reduction factors (VRF) of 2.0 and 3.0, across distribution distances ranging from 0 km to 550 km. With a 7 % discounted cash flow rate, unconcentrated urine is the most cost-effective option at distances less than 248 km. Beyond 248 km, urine concentrated to a VRF of 2.0, with decentralised RO becoming the most cost-effective option, with the minimum selling price of A$8.19/kgN. Centralised RO requires a feasible distribution distance of more than 320 km. Concentrating urine to a VRF of 3.0 does not reduce the distribution distance needed for RO concentration to be economically viable. A 248 km radius typically covers the entire city centre and peri-urban areas. Therefore, the viability of adopting RO for urine concentration depends on the customer acceptance of the fertiliser selling price, the proportion of customers located beyond 248 km, and the availability of surplus urine to meet demand beyond this range.

Online service failure is seldom looked into in totality, from causes of failure to recovery outcomes, with reported effects on both its causes and recovery remaining contradictory and inconsistent. To address these issues, this study proposes and empirically validates an integrated meta-analytic model, grounded in attribution theory and justice theory, that explains online service failure and the subsequent recovery process, using a cumulative sample of 82,901 individuals from 24 countries across 147 studies. Meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) indicates that customer-related, service provider-related, and technology-related causes of online service failure increase customer complaints and that effective complaint handling elevates perceptions of distributive, interactional, and procedural justice, each of which strengthens positive emotions that, in turn, raise loyalty, trust, and word-of-mouth while reducing switching. Moderation analysis reveals that the differences in marketing-related factors, including brand prestige (high versus low), offering type (product-based services versus true services versus pseudo services), and purchase frequency (low versus high), together with differences in sample-related factors, such as age (young versus old), gender (male versus female), income (low versus high), and status of country development (developed versus developing), help explain the inconsistencies in reported relationships within online service failure and recovery. Therefore, this study consolidates the evidence on these relationships using the integrated model and, in doing so, advances the literature on online service failure while offering actionable insights for recovery design and execution.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common inflammatory disease, with increasing incidence in many countries across the world1–3. The disease is characterized by abdominal pain, which is often described as severe and intense4. The clinical course may vary significantly, ranging from a mild disease that resolves spontaneously to more severe cases. Severe disease can include organ failure and pancreatic necrosis, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality5. As such, early identification of patients at risk of severe pancreatitis is crucial for optimizing management and improving outcomes.

To address the incomplete understanding of concurrent pollutants' sorption behavior on microplastics (MPs), this study systematically investigated the competitive and synergistic sorption behaviors of norfloxacin (NOR) and bisphenol A (BPA) on pristine polypropylene (PP) and polyamide (PA) MPs. Six isothermal models were employed to analyze sorption data, with the Freundlich model demonstrating the best fit for both single and binary solute systems. Sorption capacities followed the order: PA-BPA > PP-NOR > PP-BPA ≈ PA-NOR. On PA, synergistic sorption was observed, where BPA enhanced NOR's multilayer formation at low concentrations, even though the two pollutants likely occupied distinct preferred sites. In contrast, on PP, the chemically dissimilar NOR and BPA exhibited competitive sorption, with the more hydrophobic BPA being prioritized. Notably, multilayer sorption occurred at high concentrations in the presence of co-sorbates, suggesting initial monolayer competition at low concentrations and subsequent multilayer accumulation at higher levels. Salinity effects showed that low initial pollutant concentrations were inhibited by high salinity, while high BPA concentrations combined with salinity significantly enhanced NOR sorption on PP by 31.39%–109.30%, revealing competitors could act as sorption enhancers under specific conditions. These findings highlight that synergistic sorption and salinity-driven effects may concentrate low-concentration pollutants like antibiotics onto MPs in saline environments, drawing more attention to their ecological fate and risks.

Building destination resilience and preparing tourism businesses for disasters requires collaboration with emergency management agencies. This study investigates network formation and development during emergencies in Piopiotahi/Milford Sound and Tāhuna/Queenstown, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Using survey and interview data from tourism and emergency management stakeholders, it employs mixed methods Social Network Analysis to explore collaboration drivers and network structural changes. Findings underscore tourism stakeholders’ pivotal roles in functions such as intelligence, welfare, and logistics. Communication, formal agreements, and business relations have a significant and positive effect on response collaboration, highlighting the importance of cultivating diverse connections and involving tourism stakeholders in disaster planning. Key structural changes include reduced connections and a more distinct core-periphery structure, indicating increased peripheral actor engagement during response. Understanding these dynamics can help policymakers and emergency managers enhance collaboration strategies, thus improving disaster response outcomes.