Search Results (849)

Air pollution is linked to childhood mortality and morbidity in low- and middle-income countries globally. There is growing evidence linking air pollution to asthma and other respiratory diseases in children. Studies have shown that children are likely to experience asthma due to their narrow airways and their heightened sensitivity to environmental irritants. This study aims to investigate the relationship between ambient air pollution and respiratory diseases in children under the age of 5. The study will be conducted in the informal township of Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, South Africa. A quantitative approach will be used in this cross-sectional analytical study. Data will be collected using different tools that include a questionnaire to determine the prevalence of asthma and respiratory disease and potential risk factors. While environmental air pollution will be measured using Radiello passive samplers and Gillian pumps. Data will be analyzed using the latest version of the STATANow/MP 19.5 software. Furthermore, health risk assessment will be conducted for lifetime non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk estimation following the USEPA framework. The study will identify environmental triggers that exacerbate asthma and other respiratory conditions in other similar community settings and will contribute to the body of knowledge in public health. Ethical approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee, Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Johannesburg. Full article

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) in young children, especially bronchiolitis, with significant global health and economic impact. Increasing evidence links early-life RSV infection to long-term respiratory complications, notably recurrent wheezing and asthma. This narrative review examines these associations, emphasizing predictive factors and emerging biomarkers for risk stratification. Early RSV infection can trigger persistent airway inflammation and immune dysregulation, increasing the likelihood of chronic respiratory outcomes. Risk factors include severity of the initial infection, age at exposure, genetic susceptibility, prematurity, air pollution, and tobacco smoke. Biomarkers such as cytokines and chemokines are showing promise in identifying children at higher risk, potentially guiding early interventions. RSV-related bronchiolitis may also induce airway remodeling and promote Th2/Th17-skewed immune responses, mechanisms closely linked to asthma development. Advances in molecular profiling are shedding light on these pathways, suggesting novel targets for early therapeutic strategies. Furthermore, passive immunization and maternal vaccination offer promising approaches to reducing both acute and long-term RSV-related morbidity. A deeper understanding of RSV’s prolonged impact is essential to develop targeted prevention, enhance risk prediction, and improve long-term respiratory health in children. Future studies should aim to validate biomarkers and refine immunoprophylactic strategies. Full article

This story began half a century ago with the discovery of an unusually high presence of tryptophan (Trp, W) in transthyretin (TTR), one of the three carrier proteins of thyroid hormones. With the Trp-rich retinol-binding protein (RBP), TTR forms a plasma complex implicated in the delivery of retinoid compounds to body tissues. W has the lowest concentration among all AAs involved in the sequencing of human body proteins. The present review proposes molecular maps focusing on the ratio of W/AA residues found in the sequence of proteins involved in immune events, allowing us to ascribe the guidance of inflammatory processes as fully under the influence of W. Under the control of cytokine stimulation, plasma biomarkers of protein nutritional status work in concert with major acute-phase reactants (APRs) and with carrier proteins to release, in a free and active form, their W and hormonal ligands, interacting to generate hot spots affecting the course of acute stress disorders. The prognostic inflammatory and nutritional index (PINI) scoring formula contributes to identifying the respective roles played by each of the components prevailing during the progression of the disease. Glucagon demonstrates ambivalent properties, remaining passive under steady-state conditions while displaying stronger effects after cytokine activation. In developing countries, inappropriate weaning periods lead to toddlers eating W-deficient cereals as a staple, causing a dramatic reduction in the levels of W-rich biomarkers in plasma, constituting a novel nutritional deficiency at the global scale. Appropriate counseling should be set up using W implementations to cover the weaning period and extended until school age. In adult and elderly subjects, the helpful immune protections provided by W may be hindered by the surge in harmful catabolites with the occurrence of chronic complications, which can have a significant public health impact but lack the uncontrolled surges in PINI observed in young infants and teenagers. Biomarkers of neurodegenerative and neoplastic disorders measured in elderly patients indicate the slow-moving elevation of APRs due to rampant degradation processes. Full article

This study aimed to compare isometric strength, range of motion (RoM), and strength ratios of shoulder internal and external rotators between female volleyball and hand ball players Twenty-five volleyball players (age = 21.8 ± 4.8 years, height = 178.5 ± 7.1 cm, mass = 69.3 ± 7.7 kg) and twenty-four handball players (age = 19.5 ± 2.9 years, height = 169.7 ± 6.4 cm, mass = 67.6 ± 8.4 kg), all competing in the Slovenian 1st national league, participated. Maximal isometric strength and passive RoM of internal and external rotation were measured bilaterally using a handheld dynamometer and goniometer, respectively. A significant group × side interaction was observed for internal rotation RoM (F = 5.41; p = 0.024; η² = 0.10), with volleyball players showing lower RoM on the dominant side (p = 0.001; d = 0.89), but this was not the case for handball players (p = 0.304). External rotation strength also showed a significant interaction (F = 9.34; p = 0.004; η² = 0.17); volleyball players were stronger in the non-dominant arm (p = 0.033), while handball players were stronger in the dominant arm (p = 0.041). The external-to-internal rotation strength ratio was significantly lower on the dominant side in volleyball players compared to handball players (p = 0.047; d = 0.59). Findings suggest sport-specific adaptations and asymmetries in shoulder function, emphasizing the need for sport-specific and individually tailored injury prevention strategies. Volleyball players, in particular, may benefit from targeted strengthening of external rotators and flexibility training to address imbalances. Full article

Forest structure parameters are critical for understanding and managing forest ecosystems, yet sparse forests have received limited attention in previous studies. To address this research gap, this study systematically evaluates and compares the sensitivity of active Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and passive optical remote sensing to key forest structure parameters in sparse forests, including Diameter at Breast Height (DBH), Tree Height (H), Crown Width (CW), and Leaf Area Index (LAI). Using the novel computer-graphics-based radiosity model applicable to porous individual thin objects, named Radiosity Applicable to Porous Individual Objects (RAPID), we simulated 38 distinct sparse forest scenarios to generate both SAR backscatter coefficients and optical reflectance across various wavelengths, polarization modes, and incidence/observation angles. Sensitivity was assessed using the coefficient of variation (CV). The results reveal that C-band SAR in HH polarization mode demonstrates the highest sensitivity to DBH (CV = −6.73%), H (CV = −52.68%), and LAI (CV = −63.39%), while optical data in the red band show the strongest response to CW (CV = 18.83%) variations. The study further identifies optimal acquisition configurations, with SAR data achieving maximum sensitivity at smaller incidence angles and optical reflectance performing best at forward observation angles. This study addresses a critical gap by presenting the first systematic comparison of the sensitivity of multi-band SAR and VIS/NIR data to key forest structural parameters across sparsity gradients, thereby clarifying their applicability for monitoring young and middle-aged sparse forests with high carbon sequestration potential. Full article

The transfer of passive immunity (TPI) is vital for newborn calf health and is typically assessed through blood sampling to measure serum or plasma IgG or total protein levels. Saliva offers a less invasive alternative. This study evaluated the potential of saliva for assessing TPI. Saliva and serum samples were collected from 20 calves at birth and on days 1, 2, and 7 of life to measure IgG, IgA, IgM, and total protein concentrations. Colostrum fed to the calves was also analyzed for gross composition and immunoglobulin content. Colostrum intake and composition were associated with saliva IgG (R² = 0.48; p = 0.019), saliva IgM (R² = 0.73; p = 0.02), and saliva total protein (R² = 0.41; p = 0.043). Serum IgG and IgA levels were predicted by saliva IgG (p < 0.001; R² = 0.33) and IgA (p < 0.001; R² = 0.13), respectively, though predictive accuracy varied by calf age (IgG: p < 0.001; R² = 0.40; IgA: p < 0.001; R² = 0.91). In conclusion, the results suggest that both saliva IgG and IgA concentrations could be used to predict IgG and IgA serum concentrations. Nevertheless, further studies are still needed to clarify the best time for sample collection. Full article

This study presents a comprehensive case of green remodeling applied to a local fire station in Seoul, South Korea. The project aimed to improve energy performance through an integrated upgrade of passive systems (exterior insulation, high-performance windows, and airtightness) and active systems (electric heat pumps, energy recovery ventilation, and rooftop photovoltaic systems), while maintaining uninterrupted emergency operations. A detailed analysis of annual energy use before and after the remodeling shows a 44% reduction in total energy consumption, significantly exceeding the initial reduction target of 20%. While electricity use increased modestly during winter due to the electrification of heating systems, gas consumption dropped sharply by 63%, indicating a shift in energy source and improved efficiency. The building’s airtightness also improved significantly, with a reduction in the air change rate. The project further addressed unique challenges associated with continuously operated public facilities, such as insulating the fire apparatus garage and executing phased construction to avoid operational disruption. This study contributes valuable insights into green remodeling strategies for mission-critical public buildings, emphasizing the importance of integrating technical upgrades with operational constraints to achieve verified energy performance improvements. Full article

Background: Adhesive capsulitis (AC) causes a global limitation of both active and passive range of motion (ROM) in the shoulder, with or without pain, and no specific radiographic findings. Its course is self-limiting and progresses through three or four stages. The diagnosis is primarily clinical, since imaging tests are nonspecific. Treatment options include physical therapy (PT), intra-articular corticosteroid injections, suprascapular nerve block (SSNB), and hydrodilatation (HD). The latter is useful for expanding and reducing inflammation of the joint capsule through the insufflation of saline solution, anesthetics, and corticosteroids. Objectives: To compare whether patients with AC, stratified by phase 1 and 2, who receive high-volume HD as treatment achieve better outcomes in terms of shoulder pain and function compared to patients who receive low-volume HD. To compare whether there are differences in PT times and to determine mean axillary recess (AR) values. Methods: A randomized, parallel-block, triple-blind clinical trial will be conducted in 64 patients with AC in phases 1 and 2, aged 30 to 70 years, with limited active and passive ROM in two planes, and shoulder pain lasting more than 3 months. HD will be administered with volumes of 20 mL or 40 mL, followed by a conventional rehabilitation program. Outcomes will be reviewed at the 1st, 3rd, and 6th months of HD. Variables collected will include Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Range of motion (ROM), Lattinen index (LI), AR size, and time to completion of PT. Results: HD has been gaining clinical relevance in interventional rehabilitation as a treatment for AC, although its medium- and long-term efficacy remains a matter of debate. The variability in the volumes used for capsular expansion, with studies ranging from 18 mL to 47 mL, is compounded by the fact that most of these studies do not differentiate between AC stages. This could influence treatment effectiveness. Furthermore, diagnosis remains a challenge since valid and specific diagnostic parameters are lacking. Conclusions: Understanding the differences between HD techniques, considering the influence of certain factors such as the volume used or the stages of AC, as well as improving diagnosis and the coordination of scientific work. This could facilitate the development of protocols for the use of HD in AC. Full article

In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), architectural practice faces a paradox of immense potential and creeping standardization. As humans are increasingly relying on AI-generated outputs, architecture risks becoming a spectacle of repetition—a shuffling of data that neither truly innovates nor progresses vertically in creative depth. This paper explores the critical role of data in AI systems, scrutinizing the training datasets that form the basis of AI’s generative capabilities and the implications for architectural practice. We argue that when architects approach AI passively, without actively engaging their own creative and critical faculties, they risk becoming passive users locked in an endless loop of horizontal expansion without meaningful vertical growth. By examining the epistemology of architecture in the AI age, this paper calls for a paradigm where AI serves as a tool for vertical and horizontal growth, contingent on human creativity and agency. Only by mastering this dynamic relationship can architects avoid the trap of passive, standardized design and unlock the true potential of AI. Full article

Traditional playground settings are often less effective in fostering STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)-related activities, as fixed play structures tend to restrict the diversity of play behaviors and inhibit children’s ability to engage in self-directed, imaginative exploration. Using a research-through-design methodology, this study investigated how playground design (temporary landscape interventions) influences children’s engagement in informal STEAM learning activities and enhances the STEAM learning affordances of the playground. Conducted at an early learning center in Lubbock, Texas, the research involved GIS-based Environment–Behavior Mapping (E-B Mapping) and video analysis of 21 preschool-age children to compare pre- and post-intervention STEAM learning behaviors. The intervention incorporated fourteen nature-based landscape elements—such as sand and water play areas, sensory gardens, loose parts, art areas, etc.—to enhance affordances for informal STEAM activities. The results showed a marked decrease in passive behaviors and a notable rise in constructive play; collaborative interactions; and STEAM-related activities such as building, hypothesizing, observing, and experimenting. Engagement shifted away from fixed play structures to more diverse and naturalized play settings. The findings underscore the critical role of integrating diverse landscape settings and elements into playgrounds in enriching STEAM learning experiences for young children. Full article

For the majority of human history, humans lived in sustenance hunter–gatherer tribes. Due to rapid cultural evolution in the past few thousand years, our biological evolution has not kept up, and many of the adaptations are, as a result, better suited to ancestral conditions than they are to modern conditions. This is known as evolutionary mismatch. While evolutionary mismatches can be seen across many facets of contemporary human life (e.g., diet, exercise, online communication), evolutionary mismatches are particularly pervasive in our elementary schools. Due to the critical nature of social learning and cultural transmission, there is a long history of learning that has shaped the evolved learning mechanisms of children. Rather than learning from hands-on, collaborative experiences as was typical for our ancestors, children today often learn in age-segregated classrooms through passive instruction and standardized curricula. In this entry, eight common school-related issues are identified and the associated evolutionary mismatch is outlined. The goal is to provide educators with a model of how an evolutionary lens can be used to better understand, and potentially improve, modern schooling systems. Full article

Series elastic actuators (SEAs) represent a key technological solution to enhance safety, performance, and adaptability in robotic devices for physical training. Their ability to decouple the rigid actuator’s mechanical impedance from the load, combined with passive absorption of external disturbances, makes them particularly suitable for pediatric applications. In children aged 2 to 5 years—where motor control is still developing and movements can be unpredictable or unstructured—SEAs provide a compliant mechanical response that ensures user protection and enables safe physical interaction. This study explores the role of SEAs as a central component for imparting compliance and backdrivability in robotic systems designed for upper-limb training. A dynamic model is proposed, incorporating interaction with the user’s limb, along with a computed torque control strategy featuring integral action. The system’s performance is validated through simulations and experimental tests, demonstrating stable trajectory tracking, disturbance absorption, and effective impedance decoupling. The results support the use of SEAs as a foundational technology for developing safe adaptive robotic solutions in pediatric contexts capable of responding flexibly to user variability and promoting secure interaction in early motor development environments. Full article

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between passive-aggressive behavior and social problem-solving among Hungarian adolescents (16- and 18-year-olds, N = 496). The Passive Aggression Scale (PAS) was used to explore the characteristics of criticism, ignoring, and sabotage, and the Social Problem-Solving Inventory–Revised (SPSI–R) was employed to measure negative and positive problem orientations and rational, impulsive, and avoidant problem-solving styles. Both questionnaires performed reliably for both ages. The results show that 18-year-olds are more likely to have a negative problem orientation. Both age groups show a similarly strong positive relationship between criticism–impulsivity and ignoring–rationality. Based on a latent profile analysis, two problem-solving profiles (mixed and positive rational) were distinguished for 16-year-olds and three (mixed, positive rational, and negative avoidant) for 18-year-olds. Only the profiles obtained for the older age groups differ in passive-aggressive characteristics: criticism is most common for impulsive avoiders, ignoring is least typical of positive rationalists, and sabotage is most characteristic of mixed profiles. Developmental and socio-psychological features are usually well understood in these patterns, but a measure of various passive-aggressive behaviors is needed that is specific to adolescents. Full article

Background and Objectives: Pediatric pulmonary medicine relies heavily on accurate lung function assessment, yet conventional spirometry presents challenges in children due to cooperation requirements. In this context, the interrupter resistance technique (Rint), a method used in pediatric pulmonology, offers a potentially more feasible alternative for evaluating airway resistance in younger populations. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and clinical concordance between expiratory interrupter resistance (Rint(e)) and standard spirometry in healthy children under 8 years, thus contributing to the development of age-appropriate pulmonary function testing in pediatric medicine. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 healthy children (aged 2–8 years) in Tunisia. Pulmonary measurements were taken using a handheld device for both Rint(e) and spirometry. Feasibility rates were calculated, and correlations between the techniques were statistically analyzed. Results: Rint(e) showed significantly higher feasibility than spirometry (82.5% vs. 34.5%, p < 0.05). While older children had higher success rates with both techniques, feasibility was independent of sex, BMI, and passive smoking exposure. Moderate negative correlations were found between log Rint(e) and FEV1/FVC indices. Conclusions: In pediatric pulmonary assessment, Rint(e) demonstrated higher feasibility than spirometry among young children, making it a practical complementary method in clinical settings. However, due to only moderate correlation with spirometric indices, Rint(e) cannot yet replace spirometry in diagnostic use. Its integration into pediatric medicine may help address the gap in functional respiratory evaluation for children under the age of 8. Full article

Objectives: We aimed to identify clustering patterns of the device-measured physical activity (PA) levels (i.e., light PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA) and sedentary time (ST), screen time, sleep duration, and breakfast consumption of Spanish adolescents and their associations with the mode of commuting to and from schools (i.e., active and passive). Methods: A total of 151 adolescents aged 14.4 ± 0.6 years (53.64% girls) were included in this study. Participants wore an accelerometer device during seven consecutive days to measure PA levels and ST levels. Screen time, sleep duration, breakfast consumption, and the mode of commuting to and from school were self-reported by the participants. A two-step cluster analysis was performed to examine the different lifestyle behavior patterns (defined as data-driven groupings of daily behaviors identified through cluster analysis). Logistic regression models were used to determine the associations among the lifestyle behavior patterns and the mode of commuting to and from school. Results: The main characteristics of the three identified clusters were as follows: (active) high PA levels and low ST (38.4%); (inactive) high sleep duration and daily breakfast consumption, but low PA levels and high ST and screen time (37.2%); and (unhealthy) low PA levels and sleep duration, high ST and screen time, and usually skip breakfast (24.4%). No associations were found between these clusters and the mode of commuting to and from school (all, p > 0.05). Conclusions: Three different lifestyle behavior patterns were identified among Spanish adolescents, but no associations were found between these patterns and their mode of commuting to and from school. Full article