Soil carbon (C) sequestration is a key component of European climate change mitigation strategies, and it forms part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) standards. Using national data for Romania (2005–2024), this paper aims to quantify how crop type, tillage system (conventional, minimum-till and no-till), and nitrogen fertilization influence soil humic carbon (Ch) in wheat, maize, sunflower and rapeseed cropping systems. Carbon inputs from residues, roots, and rhizodeposition were calculated in R based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) coefficients, then tested in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (factorial ANOVA, multiple regression, Pearson correlations). The results showed that both crop type and tillage systems significantly influence humic carbon values, with the highest values obtained in oilseed crops and in conservation systems (minimum-till and no-till). Among the quantitative factors, nitrogen fertilization had the most pronounced positive effect on carbon fluxes, while yield and precipitation had less influence. The conclusions indicate that the adoption of conservative soil management, in line with CAP objectives and GAEC standards, can support the increase of carbon stocks, with the need for contextual assessment of economic performance and pedoclimatic conditions.

Emerging technologies offer significant opportunities for sustainable rural development; however, their applications have not been systematically mapped across all dimensions of sustainability. This scoping review aims to identify, classify, and synthesize the literature on emerging technologies in rural development, structured around four pillars: economic, social, environmental, and governance. Eligible studies included English-language scientific articles published between 2015 and 2025 that propose solutions based on emerging technologies in rural contexts, identified in the Web of Science Core Collection database, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Data extracted from the 129 eligible articles were synthesized in thematic tables and comparatively analyzed for each pillar. Results indicate an accelerated growth in publications after 2020, with machine learning, deep learning, and the Internet of Things dominating applications such as precision agriculture, telemedicine, and water management. Critical gaps persist in biodiversity monitoring, climate adaptation, elderly care services, and rural circular economy, with the governance pillar remaining the least represented. This study proposes an integrated framework and a knowledge map to guide future research and public policies toward balanced and sustainable rural transformation.

The agricultural sector is increasingly exposed to a complex set of climatic, economic, and institutional pressures, indicating that resilience assessment alone is insufficient; investments must also be strategically directed toward strengthening resilience. In response, this study proposes an integrated framework for assessing the resilience of crop farms and supporting the strategic screening and relative prioritization of investments at the regional level. The framework is applied to Romania, which is administratively organized into eight NUTS-2 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) development regions. The framework combines a Farm Resilience Composite Index (ICRF)—structured around five interconnected pillars (productive, economic, technological, ecological, and organizational)—with a Strategic Resilience Investment Score (SRIS), designed to translate resilience diagnostic outcomes into strategic screening and relative investment priorities. The methodology integrates normalized regional sub-indicators, expert-based weighting, and catch-up gap measures relative to the observed regional benchmark. It further incorporates complementarity and substitution relationships among sub-indicators, thereby capturing the systemic nature of resilience. Robustness is ensured through sensitivity analysis, Monte Carlo simulations, and a leave-one-region-out jackknife procedure. The results indicate that investment priorities are not driven solely by the magnitude of regional deficits. Instead, they emerge at the intersection of catch-up needs, systemic relevance, and the stability of outcomes under uncertainty. Across all regions, production stability, access to the agricultural knowledge and innovation system (AKIS), and farm-level digitalization consistently emerge as cross-regional priorities. Moreover, at least two of the three initial priorities are retained in 55 of the 56 leave-one-region-out comparisons, indicating a high degree of robustness. In contrast, ecological, economic, and organizational indicators exhibit greater territorial specificity. Overall, the ICRF–SRIS framework provides a transparent and analytically grounded tool for supporting place-based agricultural policy and guiding investment allocation in the context of post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Patient-specific Ti–6Al–4V fixation systems are increasingly used to stabilise the maxilla following segmental Le Fort I osteotomy; however, the biomechanical responses of complete locking and non-locking patient-specific fixation configurations remain insufficiently characterised. In this study, two patient-specific plate designs (a standard design and a reduced, minimally invasive design) were analysed by linear-elastic finite element analysis, each with locking and non-locking screws. Because they were developed for different indications and evaluated in distinct patient-specific anatomical models, between-model comparisons were considered descriptive. Vertical forces of 97.6, 206.9, and 257.0 N were applied bilaterally to the incisor and premolar regions, and the equivalent von Mises stress and total displacement were evaluated in the bone, plates, and screws. All results scaled linearly with load. Within the standard model, the locking configuration exhibited slightly greater bone, plate, and screw displacement than the corresponding non-locking configuration. Within the reduced model, it exhibited lower maximum bone, plate, and screw displacement by 16.4%, 19.2%, and 16.3%, respectively. Solver-reported local stress maxima were concentrated at the screw-head/plate-hole transition; because these isolated peaks were contact- and mesh-sensitive, they were not used to quantify relative screw loading or predict yielding. The modelled locking and non-locking fixation configurations therefore exhibited different, model-dependent displacement patterns. Further controlled simulations and experimental validation are required to determine the clinical relevance of these findings.