Search Results (145)

We study an optimal control framework for chemotherapy administration in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) while accounting for immune regulation and treatment-induced allergic reactions. The analysis is based on a previously developed nonlinear delay differential equation model describing the interactions between leukemic cells, immune populations, antigen-presenting cells, and cytokine dynamics, with three distinct biological delays. The chemotherapy infusion rate is introduced as a time-dependent control variable and optimized to reduce leukemic burden, shift the helper T-cell balance toward a Th1-dominant configuration associated with lower hypersensitivity risk, and preserve immune competence. Existence of an optimal control is established for arbitrary delays and horizon, without the commensurability hypothesis required by reductions in delay systems to higher-dimensional delay-free ones; the argument uses only that the control enters the dynamics affinely and the running cost concavely. Necessary optimality conditions are derived via Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle for systems with delays, and the resulting eleven-dimensional adjoint system, which carries advanced arguments generated by the three delays, is written out explicitly. A contraction estimate for the associated sweep operator yields both uniqueness of the optimal control on a short horizon and geometric convergence of the numerical scheme. The optimality system is solved by a forward–backward sweep adapted to the delayed setting, with documented convergence and grid independence and sensitivity analysis over kinetic parameters, delays, initial conditions and objective weights. The optimized schedule is compared not only with the untreated case and a low constant dose, but also with a constant infusion delivering the same cumulative exposure, so that the reported benefit is attributable to the temporal distribution of the dose rather than to its total amount. At equal exposure, the optimal schedule reaches each therapeutic milestone earlier—Th1 dominance 0.9 days sooner and a 90% leukemic reduction 1.6 days sooner—and attains a terminal leukemic burden lower by a factor of 2.25; a constant infusion of the same total dose reaches a comparable configuration later. The benefit of adaptive scheduling in this model is therefore principally one of rate of response at fixed drug exposure. We emphasize that the absolute Th2 population is not reduced by treatment; the reduction in hypersensitivity risk arises from the resulting Th1-dominant relative balance rather than from direct Th2 suppression. To characterize the therapeutic outcome in information-theoretic terms, we describe the two competing goals as distributional balances: an allergy axis, given by the Th1/Th2/Treg distribution, and a leukemia axis, given by the immune/leukemic distribution, each measured by its Shannon entropy and its Kullback–Leibler divergence to a healthy reference profile. These quantities are used in two roles. As diagnostics, they are evaluated along the computed trajectories, and the ordering of dosing strategies is shown to be robust across twenty alternative reference profiles. As an objective, the combined divergence is then taken as the running cost of a second optimal control problem; because it depends on the leukemic population only through a normalized fraction, it prescribes a markedly gentler schedule that administers 37% of the drug and still achieves a 93% leukemic reduction, against 98% for the population-based formulation. These results suggest that adaptive, immune-aware chemotherapy scheduling may accelerate disease control at fixed drug exposure, and that information-theoretic objectives offer a scale-free alternative formulation of the therapeutic goal. Full article

Artificial intelligence-enabled technologies offer new opportunities to support healthy aging and the long-term care needs of older adults. However, inclusive practices are paramount to ensuring that accessibility, usability, privacy, and equitable use are factored into the design and deployment of these emerging technologies. This article explores the role of co-design in health technology development and highlights the application of three methodological tools—the NIH Stage Model for Behavioral Intervention Development, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, and Goal Attainment Scaling—to create a smart-home-based socially assistive robot (SAR) for the care of individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Ten participants (five caregiver–care recipient dyads) from an ongoing mixed-methods pilot feasibility study trialed the SAR in their homes for 1–6 months, with the robot personalized to their daily functioning, home layout, and caregiving needs. Qualitative analysis of monthly interviews derived themes pertaining to technical design, care protocol design, training management, and complementary care. These themes, combined with goal attainment analysis, offered several insights that allowed us to iteratively scale and refine the technology tailored to ADRD care. The study offers a practical framework for future co-design efforts aimed at enhancing the adoption of AI-enabled health technologies among older adults. Full article

Explosive detonation is a high-speed and high-energy chemical-physical transformation process that rapidly generates high-temperature and high-pressure gases as well as shock waves. These energies are released intensely in a short time, exhibiting extremely strong destructive power. When these high-temperature and high-pressure gases and shock waves act on the surface of combustibles, they can instantly peel off the hot core on the surface, disrupting the conditions necessary for sustaining the combustion reaction and thereby achieving a fire-extinguishing effect. However, to attain this application goal, it is essential to select explosive materials with both high energy density and low sensitivity. In this study, DFTB-MD (Density Functional Tight-Binding Molecular Dynamics) and DFT (Density Functional Theory) methods were employed to systematically investigate the thermal decomposition process of benzotrifuroxan (BTF)/1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNB) cocrystal nanoparticles under high-temperature conditions. Our simulations reveal, for the first time, that the thermal decomposition mechanism of BTF/TNB cocrystal nanoparticles is strongly size-dependent: the 1.8 nm particles exhibit earlier ring-opening of BTF due to the higher surface-to-volume ratio, while the 2.2 nm particles show superior structural stability and lower molecular diffusivity. Meanwhile, increasing temperature from 2100 K to 2400 K shifts the dominant initial decomposition pathway from C–NO₂ cleavage in TNB to ring rupture in BTF. These findings provide atomic-scale theoretical insights into the design and application of BTF/TNB cocrystal nanoparticles for explosion-based fire suppression. Full article

To advance environmental sustainability, China proposed the Beautiful China Goals (BCGs) as its localized strategy, with urban agglomerations serving as the key implementation scale. To address the limitations of difficulty in identifying key tasks and insufficient regional applicability, this study develops a multi-goal evaluation system comprising 21 goals and 52 indicators rooted in the policy framework. Methodologically, a three-tiered assessment framework—goal, city, and region—is constructed for urban agglomerations, integrating spatial-temporal analysis, city-level two-dimensional diagnostics, and regional synergy quantification. The framework is applied to the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRDUA), a national-level pilot area for the BCGs, over the period 2015–2023. Results indicate that: (1) progress toward the BCGs in the YRDUA increased by 5.7%, but full achievement by 2035 remains unlikely. Significant structural imbalances exist among the 21 goals, with infrastructure-related goals scoring higher than those related to institutional development, innovation, and carbon neutrality. Spatially, BCGs’ performance follows a “high southeast, low northwest” pattern, although distribution varied by goal, and regional equity has improved. (2) Fewer than half of the 41 cities had achieved “double high” states in both development magnitude and evenness by 2023, with cities following four distinct development pathways that reflect differing priorities and strategies for goal attainment. (3) Intercity cooperation in advancing the BCGs remains limited. Synergistic effects are relatively stronger for green production goals but weaker for ecological, technological, and institutional goals, with Ningbo, Suzhou, and Shaoxing emerging as key contributors to regional synergy. This framework offers a replicable tool for regional environmental planning and provides evidence for BCGs implementation strategies in China and beyond. Full article

The 1991 Gulf War contaminated more than 49 km² of Kuwaiti desert with hydrocarbon spills, a persistent threat to soil resources, infrastructure and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals embedded in Kuwait Vision 2035. Managing these legacy lands calls for predictive tools that capture spatial variability while remaining computationally tractable and statistically defensible at the small sample sizes typical of post-conflict monitoring. This study develops a multi-resolution physics-informed neural network that combines wavelet-based parameter encoding, scale-dependent regularisation and a progressive upsampling training protocol. The framework is evaluated on nine trial-pit observations at a single depth of 30 cm in the Al-Ahmadi field, where the contaminated pits show a mean internal friction angle of 26.8° compared with 36.0° at co-located control pits sampled at the same time. Generalisation is assessed by leave-one-out cross-validation across the nine locations. The framework attains a friction-angle root-mean-square error of 1.29°. Under the same data and compute budget, ordinary kriging and a standard physics-informed neural network remain statistically competitive. This outcome indicates that the physics residual acts as a mass-conservation-consistent smoothness regulariser rather than a site-calibrated transport predictor. A multi-objective remediation workflow produces a cost-versus-residual-risk Pareto front for a scenario-specific 1–2 km² case, presented as an illustrative decision-support envelope pending external pilot calibration. A projected pathway from these outcomes to six Sustainable Development Goals and two pillars of Kuwait Vision 2035 is also discussed; quantitative attribution at this sample size is beyond scope. The small-sample, single-depth and single-locality limitations that bound the admissible inference are stated explicitly. Full article

Introduction: The WHO African Region is working to eliminate measles and rubella in 80% of countries by 2030. In countries with sub-optimal routine immunization coverage, periodic supplemental Immunization Activities (SIAs) are implemented to boost childhood immunity against measles and rubella. Methods: We reviewed the SIA technical reports and reports from post-campaign surveys shared by countries with the WHO Regional Office for Africa, and we analyzed the coverage data from preventive measles campaigns implemented during the years 2001–2025. Results: A total of 326 preventive measles/measles–rubella SIAs were implemented across 44 countries in the years 2001–2025, providing more than 1.5 billion doses of vaccine to eligible children according to the type and scale of the campaigns. Four fifths (82%) of the SIAs were nationwide exercises, and all of the SIAs were implemented as non-selective vaccination campaigns targeting all eligible children irrespective of past vaccination history, with the exception of four SIAs. The 95% administrative SIA coverage target at national level was met in 209 SIAs (64.7%). At district level, 11 of 164 SIAs had 100% of districts attaining 95% administrative coverage. Only 94 SIAs (29%) were followed by post-campaign coverage survey, and only 18 (19%) of these attained coverage of 95% or more by survey. Nearly two thirds (62%) of the 272 SIAs implemented during 2006–2025 had at least one additional intervention included with the measles/MR vaccination. Discussion: Measles and MR vaccination campaigns have served as excellent opportunities for providing integrated child survival interventions in the African Region. While two thirds of the SIAs met the national administrative coverage target, district-level coverage targets were not met in the majority of the SIAs, and only one fifth of the SIAs met the national-level survey coverage targets. Moreover, discrepancies were noted between administrative and survey coverage results, possibly due to inaccuracies in the reporting of the number of doses administered and/or reliance on inaccurate denominators. For optimal impact, SIAs need to adequately reach unreached populations. Conclusions: In view of the documented sub-optimal coverage, countries should provide strong leadership and ownership of the measles elimination strategies for the attainment of the SIA coverage targets as well as the overall measles and rubella elimination goal. There is an urgent need for improved tools to identify unvaccinated children, high-risk populations, and innovative strategies to reach them. All countries implementing SIAs should also include systematic monitoring of zero-dose children, and conduct post-campaign coverage surveys in a timely manner. Full article

The present study investigated the relationship between resilience, self-esteem, and academic performance in primary school students. The sample comprised 124 pupils (59 males and 65 females) enrolled in the 5th and 6th grades. Psychometric assessment was conducted using the Resilience Scale and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, while academic achievement was evaluated based on students’ grades in Language, Mathematics, Science, English, and Physical Education. Data analysis was performed using ANOVAs and Pearson correlation coefficients. The results indicated that higher academic performance was positively correlated with both increased resilience and self-esteem. Furthermore, a strong positive correlation was observed between self-esteem and resilience. Regarding gender, no significant differences were found in resilience or self-esteem levels. However, academic performance variations were identified exclusively in English language proficiency; specifically, for male students, higher performance in English was significantly associated with greater resilience. In conclusion, these findings suggest that integrating self-esteem and resilience-building activities into the educational curriculum is essential. Such interventions may enhance students’ capacity to manage adversity and facilitate the attainment of their academic goals. Full article

Background: Occupational therapists often provide sensory integration therapy (SIT) as part of interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, evidence supporting its effectiveness remains limited. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the potential benefits of once-weekly SIT for children with ASD and co-occurring intellectual disability. Methods: A non-blinded single-group pre–post study was conducted using SIT once a week for 8 weeks. Participants were children aged 2–6 years who had been diagnosed with ASD, had a developmental index score of ≤70, and were classified as having severe autism according to the Childhood Autism Rating Scale. Outcome measures included the Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (VABS-II), Short Sensory Profile (SSP), and Parenting Stress Index, Short Form (PSI-SF). Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test to compare pre- and post-intervention results. Results: Ten children completed the full intervention protocol. Changes were observed in some domains of the GAS and VABS-II; however, these findings were characterized by substantial uncertainty and considerable variability across participants. In contrast, no apparent changes were observed in the SSP or PSI-SF. Conclusions: The findings of this study do not support the effectiveness of sensory integration therapy (SIT) and should not be interpreted as evidence of intervention-related benefit. Rather, the results should be considered as exploratory observations obtained under real-world clinical conditions. Future research employing more rigorous designs, including the use of control groups, larger sample sizes, and blinded assessments, is required. Full article

Decarbonizing the transportation sector is critical for China to achieve its ambitious “dual-carbon” goals of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and attaining carbon neutrality by 2060. Guided by the overarching philosophy of “ecological civilization,” this paper systematically reviews the historical evolution, technological pathways, and global implications of China’s transport transition. We analyze the institutional trajectory as governance shifts from early administrative mandates focused on energy conservation to a sophisticated, market-oriented framework incorporating carbon trading and green finance. The study identifies a synergistic technical pathway centered on the widespread adoption of new-energy vehicles (NEVs), the deep integration of renewable energy, and the deployment of intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) to enhance operational efficiency. Beyond domestic progress, the review highlights significant global spillover effects: China’s massive deployment scale and manufacturing capabilities have accelerated technological learning, driving down costs for batteries and clean technologies, thereby lowering adoption barriers worldwide. Furthermore, by reshaping green industrial value chains and actively engaging in global climate governance, China plays a pivotal role in fostering international technology diffusion. Ultimately, this review offers valuable insights into the complexity of systemic decarbonization, demonstrating how the coordination of policy guidance, technological innovation, and market mechanisms can advance sustainable development and effective emission reductions on a global scale. Full article

Background/Objectives: The present study investigated the effects of parental participation in home program intervention on parent–child interactions, parental self-efficacy, and the goal attainment of children with developmental delays in motor skills. Methods: While the interviews consisted of qualitative data, quantitative analyses were applied to the results, making this a mixed-methods study. Participants were 2–6-year-old young children and their families. Twenty-three parent–child dyads were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 13) or a comparison group (n = 10). Outcomes were evaluated using the Parent–Child Interaction Questionnaire and Parental Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. Results: Improvements in parental self-efficacy and in the Goal Attainment Scale scores of the children were evident in the posttest, whereas no evidence of differences in improvement was found in parent–child interactions between the intervention and comparison groups on the pretest and posttest. Conclusions: Parent collaboration with therapists has a significant impact on achieving functional goals for young children, and parental involvement in intervention programs effectively enhances parental self-efficacy. Full article

When looking towards the goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, automotive manufacturers face several challenges when planning future vehicle offerings in different markets. The planned vehicle offerings must cope with uncertainties in the supply chains of critical materials and adhere to regulatory requirements in different regions, all while appealing to customer preferences and maintaining low cost. Regulatory requirements, which are often based on tailpipe GHG emissions, do not necessarily align with Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) of GHG emissions, which becomes yet another challenge towards attaining sustainability goals. Planning the future mix of vehicles to be manufactured under all such considerations can be a complex task, often relying on methods with poor transparency, unguaranteed optimality, or requiring difficult-to-predict a priori knowledge. This paper considers the special case of a short time window (one future model–year), which allows for modelling the future planning decisions as a linear programming (LP) problem, which in turn, can be solved to global optimality via well-established algorithms, such as Dual-Simplex. The proposed formulation is demonstrated via one simple example, as well as a scaled-up study with two regions, two vehicle size categories, and four powertrain configurations. A key insight that the proposed formulation is able to demonstrate in the scaled-up study is how the optimum (lowest) LCA GHG solution depends on the availability of battery materials, ranging from an increased share of hybrids under low battery supply to an increased share of electric vehicles for abundant battery supply. Full article

Background/Objectives: Commitment to self-tracking refers to the extent to which individuals are dedicated to the practice of wearable- and app-based self-monitoring. This commitment is behaviorally grounded and captures users’ sustained investment in wearable and app-based self-monitoring. The objective of this study was to validate the Commitment to Self-Tracking (C2ST) scale in Czechia by examining its dimensionality, confirmatory model fit, reliability, and known-groups evidence among self-tracking device users. Methods: The results were obtained from a face-to-face survey of a sample of 502 self-tracking device users who were recruited from the Czech general population using address-based sampling. The sample was randomly split into two subsamples for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Item- and scale-level descriptive statistics and internal consistency (Cronbach’s α, McDonald’s ω) were calculated. The EFA was utilized to evaluate the factorability and latent structure of the model, and the CFA was employed to assess the model’s fit. The known-groups validity was examined using nonparametric group comparisons (Kruskal–Wallis H and Mann–Whitney U tests) with theoretically relevant external indicators, such as social comparison orientation, willingness to share data, perceived usefulness of tracking, and self-rated health. Results: The C2ST score demonstrated a full range of theoretical variation, exhibiting minimal floor (7.2%) and ceiling (2.0%) effects and a nearly symmetrical distribution. The internal consistency of the scale was found to be high (α = 0.968; ω = 0.968), and the corrected item-total correlations were uniformly high. The EFA supported a single-factor solution that explained 74.4% of the variance. The CFA model demonstrated a unidimensional structure, indicating that the observed variables were best explained by a single factor. An improved model attained an adequate-to-excellent fit (RMSEA = 0.051; SRMR = 0.018; CFI = 0.991; TLI = 0.986) and accounted for substantial item variance (R² = 0.60–0.82). The known-groups validity was supported by pronounced differences in C2ST scores across social comparison and data-sharing orientations, as well as perceived usefulness of tracking for health and training goals (all p < 0.001). Conclusions: The Czech C2ST has been demonstrated to exhibit high reliability and a clear, unidimensional structure. Additionally, it exhibited robust CFA support and theory-consistent known-groups validity among self-tracking device users. The scale is appropriate for research on self-tracking commitment and persistence. Full article

Automatic recognition of endangered animal behavior is crucial for biodiversity conservation and improving animal welfare, yet traditional manual observation remains inefficient and invasive. This work contributes directly to sustainable wildlife management by enabling non-invasive, scalable, and efficient monitoring, which supports long-term ecological balance and aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). The current deep learning approaches often struggle with the scarcity of behavioral data and complex environments, leading to poor model generalization. To address these challenges, this study focuses on endangered animal behavior monitoring and proposes a multimodal learning framework termed ABCLIP. This model leverages multimodal contrastive learning between video-and-text pairs, utilizing natural language supervision to enhance representation ability. The framework integrates pre-training, prompt learning, and fine-tuning to optimize performance specifically for small-scale animal behavior datasets, with a focus on the specific social and ecological behaviors of giant pandas. The experimental results demonstrate that ABCLIP achieves remarkable accuracy and robustness in recognizing endangered animal behaviors, attaining Top-1 and Top-5 accuracy of 82.50% and 99.25%, respectively, on the LoTE-Animal dataset, which outperforms strong baseline methods such as SlowFast (78.54%/97.55%). Furthermore, in zero-shot recognition scenarios for unseen behaviors, ABCLIP achieves an accuracy of 58.00%. This study highlights the potential of multimodal contrastive learning in wildlife monitoring and provides efficient technical support for precise protection measures and scientific management of endangered species. Full article

This study evaluated the effect of time of botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) treatment on clinical outcomes in adults with post-stroke spasticity (PSS). Individual data were pooled from five studies. Eligible patients received ≥1 BoNT-A injection(s) for PSS and had goal attainment scaling (GAS) scores measured at baseline and 12 weeks. Patients were grouped according to time of treatment post-stroke: early (<1 year) or late (≥1 year). The primary endpoint was the total GAS (GAS-T) score change from baseline to 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of patients with a GAS-T score ≥ 50. Overall, 968 patients were included (166 early and 802 late). Median time post-stroke to BoNT-A treatment was 0.5 (early) versus 5.4 (late) years. Mean (standard deviation [SD]) baseline GAS scores were similar between cohorts (early: 36.9 [3.5]; late: 36.9 [3.6]). The mean (SD) change in the GAS-T score from baseline to 12 weeks was greater in the early versus late cohort (15.7 [8.9] vs. 13.1 [8.9]; p < 0.001). More patients in the early versus late cohort had a GAS-T score ≥ 50 (63.9% vs. 47.4%; p < 0.001) at 12 weeks. No new safety concerns were reported. Early treatment of PSS with BoNT-A has a positive impact on patients’ ability to achieve treatment goals. Plain Language Summary: After a stroke, people can experience muscle stiffness in their limbs, called post-stroke spasticity (PSS), which can lead to pain and make movement difficult. Treatment can include botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injections given directly into affected muscles. The aim of our study was to assess whether giving BoNT-A within a year after experiencing a stroke was more effective in treating PSS than delaying treatment. We combined data from 968 patients across five different studies. Most people (802 patients) received BoNT-A treatment 1 year or more after their stroke (late treatment group), while 166 people received treatment within a year of their stroke (early treatment group). In the studies, patients set treatment goals with their physician, for example being able to hold an object or walk a certain distance. After treatment, the extent to which each goal was achieved was assessed and scored based on whether the result was less than expected, as expected, or better than expected by the patient and physician. The scores from the two treatment groups were compared. People in the early treatment group did better in achieving their treatment goals compared with those in the late treatment group. We also looked at any side effects patients experienced. No unexpected side effects were reported. BoNT-A treatment of PSS can help patients achieve their treatment goals, and patients treated early (within 1 year after stroke) may do better than those treated later. This information may help in rehabilitation planning for stroke patients. Full article

Improvement in passive function (i.e., ease of caring for a limb) is a common goal for treatment of spasticity in the arm with botulinum toxin. A large international, observational, 2-year longitudinal study (ULIS-III, N = 953) was conducted in real-life practice. This original secondary analysis examines whether improvement in passive function goals were met over repeated injection cycles. We report changes by cycle measured by the Passive Function sub-scale of the Arm Activity measure (ArmA-PF) and examine predictors of improvement and injection occurrence. Inclusion in this analysis was based on passive function being selected as a primary or secondary goal for one or more cycle of treatment (n = 542/953). Goals were assessed at the start and end of each cycle using the Goal Attainment Test score and the ArmA-PF. Over all cycles of treatment, goals were set for 1641/2187 injections (75.0%) and achieved in 1250 (76.2%). Significant improvements in ArmA-PF score were identified for at least six cycles (p < 0.001) with evidence of cumulative benefit over successive cycles. This occurred regardless of patient-related baseline characteristics, with the possible exception of some relationship with injection localization techniques. In conclusion, repeated botulinum toxin injections provide significant improvement in passive function, which was sustained over repeated cycles of treatment. Full article