Search Results (659)

Triboelectric materials can convert irregular mechanical stimuli from human motion or environmental sources into high surface charge densities and instantaneous electrical outputs. Their intrinsic properties, such as flexibility, stretchability, chemical tunability, and compatibility with diverse substrates, play a critical role in determining the efficiency and reliability of triboelectric devices. In the context of active health, triboelectric materials not only serve as the core functional layers for self-powered sensing but also enable real-time physiological monitoring, motion tracking, and human–machine interaction by directly transducing biomechanical signals into electrical information. Soft triboelectric sensors exhibit high sensitivity, wide operational ranges, excellent biocompatibility, and wearability, making them highly promising for active health monitoring applications. Despite these advantages, challenges remain in enhancing surface charge density, achieving effective signal multiplexing, and ensuring long-term stability. This review provides a comprehensive overview of triboelectric mechanisms, working modes, influencing factors, performance enhancement strategies, and wearable health applications. Finally, it systematically summarizes the key improvement approaches and future development directions of triboelectric materials for active health, offering valuable guidance for advancing wearable self-powered biosensors. Full article

The immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory potential of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) underpins their therapeutic value in musculoskeletal disorders. However, the underlying mechanisms remain ill-defined. Traditionally associated with immune cells, immunometabolism (the cellular metabolism–immune system interplay) is now recognized as central in a broader range of processes, including tissue homeostasis, repair, and chronic inflammation. Depending on the context and cell type, distinct metabolic pathways (e.g., fatty acid oxidation, lipid mediator biosynthesis) can drive pro-inflammatory/pro-resolving immune phenotypes. This dynamic is salient in musculoskeletal tissues: macrophage polarization, T-cell activation, and MSC immunomodulation are governed by metabolic cues. Emerging evidence highlights lipid-driven immunometabolism as a key player in MSC function, particularly in post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) and osteoporosis (OP). Unlike immune cells, MSCs rely on distinct metabolic programs (e.g., lipid sensing, uptake, and signaling) to exert context-dependent immunoregulation. In PTOA, persistent inflammation triggers lipid-centric metabolic pathways, enhancing MSC-driven immunomodulation and therapeutic outcomes. In OP, low-grade inflammation and altered lipid metabolism impair bone regeneration, modulating lipid-driven routes that can restore MSC osteogenic function and influence osteoclast precursors. This review explores how lipid-derived mediators and signaling contribute to MSCs’ immunosuppressive capacity, positioning lipid immunometabolism as a novel axis for rebalancing the inflamed joint microenvironment and encouraging musculoskeletal regeneration. Full article

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR-α, PPAR-δ, and PPAR-γ) are transcription factors that belong to the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily. Upon activation by specific lipids, they regulate gene expression by directly binding to PPAR response elements (PPREs) in the DNA. Although the functions of the different PPARs are specific to the isoform, tissue, and context, all three PPARs are generally involved in energy homeostasis through lipid sensing in physiological conditions. Importantly, there is increasing evidence linking PPARs with malignant behavior in cancer, regulating features frequently attributed to the aggressive subpopulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs): self-renewal, tumor initiation, chemoresistance, metastasis, and immune evasion. However, contradictory effects have been described for each isoform in various cancer types, and their implication in these malignant features may not consistently follow a pro- or anti-tumoral pattern. In this review, we revise the current knowledge on the role of the PPAR family members in cancer, with a special focus on cancer stemness, and discuss the potential for PPARs as therapeutic targets in CSC-driven relapse and resistance. Full article

Landscapes are vital systems where ecological, cultural, perceptual, and socio-economic values meet, making their quality assessment essential for sustainable development. Landscape Quality (LQ), shaped by the interaction of natural processes and human activities, remains methodologically challenging due to its interdisciplinarity and the need to integrate multiple dimensions. This challenge is particularly perceived in peri-urban areas, predominantly understudied in landscape research. This article addresses this gap in LQ assessment at peri-urban landscapes, through the case of Houch Al Oumaraa, Zahleh, a peri-urban area of patrimonial significance and agricultural landscape value. To evaluate the four spatial dimensions of LQ (structural, ecological, cultural and visual), we adopted a mixed methodology, where a pre-developed set of landscape indicators (LIs) applied within GIS and spatial technics, were supplemented by expert analysis through visual studies. Two questions framed this research: (i) is remote sensing sufficient to assess peri-urban LQ, and (ii) what are the limits of applying pre-developed LIs to diverse landscape contexts? Results show moderate fragmentation (CONTAG 61.6%), low diversity (MSDI 0.27), high density of cultural monuments (PROTAP 4.19) and average visual disharmony (FCDHI 0.49). Findings reveal that spatial dimensions alone are insufficient for assessing LQ of peri-urban landscapes, where socio-economic dimensions must also be integrated. Structural indicators (PLAND, MPA, ED, CONTAG) and MSDI proved transferable, while ECOLBAR was less applicable, cultural indicators (PROTAP, HLE) were limited to tangible heritage, and visual indicators (FCDHI, SDHI) highly context dependent. Establishing a differentiated yet standardized framework would not only enhance methodological precision but also ensure that LQ assessment remain relevant across diverse contexts, providing policymakers with actionable insights to align planning with sustainability goals. Full article

Secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) in chronic kidney disease often necessitates parathyroidectomy (PTX), but this definitive treatment can precipitate hungry bone syndrome (HBS)—a profound, prolonged hypocalcemia caused by the rapid skeletal uptake of minerals after surgery. HBS results from the abrupt cessation of parathyroid hormone (PTH)-driven bone resorption while bone formation continues, leading to intensive mineral deposition (mainly calcium) into chronically demineralized bone. Clinically, HBS ranges from asymptomatic biochemical disturbances to life-threatening hypocalcemia with tetany, seizures, and/or cardiac arrhythmias. This illustrative review synthesizes current knowledge of HBS pathogenesis and management in the context of SHPT. We detail how the high-turnover bone remodeling state of SHPT (osteitis fibrosa cystica) creates an expansive unmineralized osteoid pool that avidly mineralizes post-PTX. We also explore molecular mechanisms (e.g., RANKL/OPG dysregulation, Wnt/β-catenin activation, osteocyte-driven signals, and calcium-sensing receptor effects) that underpin this process. Key preoperative risk factors for HBS include very elevated PTH and alkaline phosphatase levels, large skeletal calcium deficits, younger patient age, and total PTX. We outline the typical postoperative course of HBS, phased from immediate acute hypocalcemia to a nadir and gradual recovery. Prevention and management strategies are emphasized, centered on vigilant monitoring and aggressive calcium and calcitriol supplementation, with preoperative optimization (e.g., vitamin D loading, calcimimetics) to mitigate severity. By enhancing risk stratification and perioperative care, clinicians can improve outcomes and safely navigate patients through this challenging complication of endocrine surgery. Full article

Cognition is often modeled in terms of abstract reasoning and neural computation, yet a growing body of theoretical and experimental work suggests that the roots of cognition lie in fundamental embodied regulatory processes. This article presents a theory of cognition grounded in sensing, feeling, and affect—capacities that precede neural systems and are observable in even the simplest living organisms. Based on the info-computational framework, this entry outlines how cognition and proto-subjectivity co-emerge in biological systems. Embodied appraisal—the system’s ability to evaluate internal and external conditions in terms of valence (positive/negative; good/bad)—and the capacity to regulate accordingly are described as mutually constitutive processes observable at the cellular level. This concept reframes cognition not as abstract symbolic reasoning but as value-sensitive, embodied information dynamics resulting from self-regulating engagement with the environment that spans scales from unicellular organisms to complex animals. In this context, information is physically instantiated, and computation is the dynamic, self-modifying process by which organisms regulate and organize themselves. Cognition thus emerges from the dynamic coupling of sensing, internal evaluation, and adaptive morphological (material shape-based) activity. Grounded in findings from developmental biology, bioelectric signaling, morphological computation, and basal cognition, this account situates intelligence as an affect-driven regulatory capacity intrinsic to biological life. While focused on biological systems, this framework also offers conceptual insights for developing more adaptive and embodied forms of artificial intelligence. Future experiments with minimal living systems or synthetic agents may help operationalize and test the proposed mechanisms of proto-subjectivity and affect regulation. Full article

Background/Objectives: Decision-making under socially evaluative stress engages a dynamic interplay between cognitive control, emotional appraisal, and motivational systems. Contemporary models of multi-level co-regulation posit that these systems operate in reciprocal modulation, redistributing processing resources to prioritise either rapid socio-emotional alignment or deliberate evaluation depending on situational demands. Methods: Adopting a neurofunctional approach, a novel dual-task protocol combining the MetaCognition–Stress Convergence Paradigm (MSCP) and the Social Stress Test Neuro-Evaluation (SST-NeuroEval), a simulated social–evaluative speech task calibrated across progressive emotional intensities, was implemented. Twenty professionals from an HR consultancy firm participated in the study, with concurrent recording of frontal-temporoparietal electroencephalography (EEG) and bespoke psychometric indices: the MetaStress-Insight Index and the TimeSense Scale. Results: Findings revealed that decision contexts with higher socio-emotional salience elicited faster, emotionally guided choices (mean RT difference emotional vs. cognitive: −220 ms, p = 0.026), accompanied by oscillatory signatures (frontal delta: F(1,19) = 13.30, p = 0.002; gamma: F(3,57) = 14.93, p ≤ 0.001) consistent with intensified socio-emotional integration and contextual reconstruction. Under evaluative stress, oscillatory activity shifted across phases, reflecting the transition from anticipatory regulation to reactive engagement, in line with models of phase-dependent stress adaptation. Across paradigms, convergences emerged between decision orientation, subjective stress, and oscillatory patterns, supporting the view that cognitive–emotional regulation operates as a coordinated, multi-level system. Conclusions: These results underscore the importance of integrating behavioural, experiential, and neural indices to characterise how individuals adaptively regulate decision-making under socially evaluative stress and highlight the potential of dual-paradigm designs for advancing theory and application in cognitive–affective neuroscience. Full article

A personalized framework for smart home automation is introduced, utilizing machine learning to predict user activities and allow for the context-aware control of living spaces. Predicting user activities, such as ‘Watch_TV’, ‘Sleep’, ‘Work_On_Computer’, and ‘Cook_Dinner’, is essential for improving occupant comfort, optimizing energy consumption, and offering proactive support in smart home settings. The Edge Light Human Activity Recognition Predictor, or EL-HARP, is the main prediction model used in this framework to predict user behavior. The system combines open-source software for real-time sensing, facial recognition, and appliance control with affordable hardware, including the Raspberry Pi 5, ESP32-CAM, Tuya smart switches, NFC (Near Field Communication), and ultrasonic sensors. In order to predict daily user activities, three gradient-boosting models—XGBoost, CatBoost, and LightGBM (Gradient Boosting Models)—are trained for each household using engineered features and past behaviour patterns. Using extended temporal features, LightGBM in particular achieves strong predictive performance within EL-HARP. The framework is optimized for edge deployment with efficient training, regularization, and class imbalance handling. A fully functional prototype demonstrates real-time performance and adaptability to individual behavior patterns. This work contributes a scalable, privacy-preserving, and user-centric approach to intelligent home automation. Full article

Tourism marketing videos can lead to positive emotions and visit intention. This study investigated the impact of VR and 2D tourism videos on user engagement, perception, and emotional responses. This research adopted a priori coding, analyzed 52 interviews using thematic analysis, and concluded a framework with six dimensions, including interactivity, authenticity, presence, cognitive value, hedonic value, and learning value. Findings indicate that VR videos compared to 2D allow users to explore the environment actively and feel an increased sense of presence. However, challenges such as rapid movement, lack of control, and distractions were also reported. VR does not necessarily lead to a higher sense of authenticity because the fast-paced sequences and distracting elements may negatively affect the experiences. Regarding cognitive values, participants mentioned that the videos increased their knowledge of the destination, particularly the 2D format video maintained viewers’ focus. VR facilitates exploration and may enhance learning value. Videos can also generate hedonic value, as many participants reported the emotions of excitement, happiness, and relaxation while watching videos. The findings extend the literature on immersive experiences in the video context. This research also offers practical insights into tourism marketers to design more engaging and effective tourism videos. Full article

Within the context of urban sustainability, the renewal and activation of communities have received growing attention. Public art, as a common approach to community revitalization, has long been regarded as an effective means of addressing urban and community issues. Basic human senses serve as a bridge between residents and community spaces, offering an effective entry point for creating human-oriented spaces. This study addresses the challenge of insufficient spatial vitality in community spaces by examining how sensory interventions can enhance residents’ participation in public art and thereby contribute to the revitalization of communities. To guide this inquiry, a theoretical framework was constructed based on sensory marketing theory and the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) model, focusing on three core dimensions: sensory stimuli, perceptual responses, and behavioral intention. The study further investigated the relationship between public art and residents’ willingness to participate through five types of sensory stimuli, using a measurement scale and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), with eight public art installations in Shanghai serving as case references. It also assessed the relative strength of each effect. Participant interviews and non-participatory observations were subsequently conducted for validation and supplementary analysis. The results show that residents’ participation willingness in community public art is directly influenced by perceptual responses (emotional fluctuations, cognitive memory, and physiological responses), and indirectly influenced by different sensory stimuli. Cognitive memory, shaped mainly by olfactory and visual stimuli, emerged as the most important factor in encouraging participation. Participation willingness also varies across generations, and different sensory stimuli are associated with distinct participation patterns. Based on empirical data from Shanghai’s community activation practices, the study proposes implementation strategies guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to enhance spatial vitality, promote community activation, and support sustainable development. Full article

Background: Children with Autism often face motor, sensory and communicational challenges that can hinder their participation in meaningful physical and social activities. This study explores the potential of Capoeira to support their development across these domains. Methods: This qualitative pilot study used semi-structured interviews with parents of children aged 7–15 with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who participated in group Capoeira programs. Data were analyzed through content categorization, leading to the development of thematic constructs. Results: Three central domains emerged regarding the perceived impact of Capoeira training on children with Autism: 1. Improvements in areas commonly affected in Autism, including sensory and auditory regulation, motor coordination, bodily awareness, compliance, and social communication. 2. Increased motivation, independence, sense of belonging and integration into mixed peer groups of typically developing (TD) children and children with ASD. 3. Broader developmental gains were also reported, such as increased self-confidence, initiative, awareness of others, and transfer of skills beyond the training context. Conclusions: The findings suggest that Capoeira may serve as an effective integrated intervention model, supporting physical and social development in children with ASD. Capoeira was reported to be associated with improved coordination, balance, body awareness, and gains in nonverbal interaction and social engagement, all within a collaborative, non-competitive framework. Future studies should explore the short and long-term impact of such interventions through quantitative outcome measures, as well as clarify the mechanisms that promote successful integration. Full article

Environmental degradation and soil desertification are among the most severe environmental issues of recent decades worldwide. Over time, these processes have led to increasingly extreme and highly dynamic climatic conditions. In Brazil, the Northeast Region is characterized by semi-arid and arid areas that exhibit high climatic variability and are extremely vulnerable to environmental changes and pressures from human activities. The application of geotechnologies and geographic information system (GIS) modeling is essential to mitigate the impacts and pressures on the various ecosystems of Northeastern Brazil (NEB), where the Caatinga biome is predominant and critically threatened by these factors. In this context, the objective was to map and assess the spatiotemporal patterns of land use and land cover (LULC), detecting significant trends of loss and gain, based on surface reflectance data and precipitation data over two decades (2000–2019). Remote sensing datasets were utilized, including Landsat satellite data (LULC data), MODIS sensor data (surface reflectance product) and TRMM data (precipitation data). The Google Earth Engine (GEE) software was used to process orbital images and determine surface albedo and acquisition of the LULC dataset. Satellite data were subjected to multivariate analysis, descriptive statistics, dispersion and variability assessments. The results indicated a significant loss trend over the time series (2000–2019) for forest areas (Z_MK = −5.872; Tau = −0.958; p < 0.01) with an annual loss of −3705.853 km² and a total loss of −74,117.06 km². Conversely, farming areas (agriculture and pasture) exhibited a significant gain trend (Z_MK = 5.807; Tau = 0.947; p < 0.01), with an annual gain of +3978.898 km² and a total gain of +79,577.96 km², indicating a substantial expansion of these areas over time. However, it is important to emphasize that deforestation of the region’s native vegetation contributes to reduced water production and availability. The trend analysis identified an increase in environmental degradation due to the rapid expansion of land use. LULC and albedo data confirmed the intensification of deforestation in the Northern, Northwestern, Southern and Southeastern regions of NEB. The Northwestern region was the most directly impacted by this increase due to anthropogenic pressures. Over two decades (2000–2019), forested areas in the NEB lost approximately 80.000 km². Principal component analysis (PCA) identified a significant cumulative variance of 87.15%. It is concluded, then, that the spatiotemporal relationship between biophysical conditions and regional climate helps us to understand and evaluate the impacts and environmental dynamics, especially of the vegetation cover of the NEB. Full article

With accelerating digital transformation, firms must renew how they create, deliver, and capture value to remain competitive and to advance sustainable competitiveness. This study examines how ambidextrous market orientation drives digital business model innovation (DBMI) through the mediating role of digital resource bricolage and the moderating effect of environmental turbulence. Using survey data and structural equation modeling (SEM), we find that both proactive and responsive market orientations positively affect DBMI. Digital resource bricolage partially mediates both relationships, with a stronger mediation effect for responsive orientation. Environmental turbulence strengthens the association between ambidextrous market orientation and digital resource bricolage. Complementing variable-centric tests, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) identifies three configurational pathways sufficient for high DBMI, revealing alternative routes to business-model renewal under different contextual conditions. The findings extend ambidextrous market orientation research to digital contexts, enrich the resource-recombination perspective on DBMI, and provide actionable guidance for firms seeking to orchestrate data, platforms, and legacy assets to reconfigure activity systems. By clarifying when and how market sensing and shaping translate into effective digital recombination, this study informs strategies for sustainable competitiveness in turbulent environments. Full article

Land degradation is a complex and context-specific phenomenon with significant implications for rural areas, where agricultural and livestock activities intersect with natural ecosystem processes. Despite growing efforts to monitor land degradation, the absence of standardized methodologies limits the comparability of results and the implementation of coherent mitigation strategies. This study introduces RURALIS, a multi-model framework, based on remote sensing, specifically designed to assess land degradation in the rural areas of Italy. Drawing on the structure and outputs of three existing models, RURALIS adopts a model-learning approach. A Random Forest classifier is then employed to compare outputs from all models and identify areas of severe degradation across all models. The analysis reveals that approximately 2.34 million hectares (13.6%) of Italy’s rural lands are severely degraded, with hotspots in northern Puglia, Sicilia, and parts of northern Italy. The model demonstrates strong classification performance and provides a flexible, high-resolution tool that leverages the shared foundation of remote sensing to deliver spatially detailed, decision-ready outputs for rural land management. Full article

Effective rhizobium–legume symbiosis depends on multiple molecular signaling pathways, integrating not only classical nodulation factors and surface polysaccharides but also diverse protein secretion systems. Among them, the Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) has emerged as a key player, due to its dual roles in interbacterial competition and interactions with eukaryotic hosts, though its contribution to symbiosis remains unclear. Key regulatory messengers, including the main autoinducer of the quorum sensing (QS) systems, the N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs), and the second messenger cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP), modulate the transition between motility and biofilm formation, especially in the context of bacteria interacting with eukaryotes, including rhizobia. While c-di-GMP’s impact on exopolysaccharide production in these organisms is well established, its influence on protein secretion systems, particularly in conjunction with QS, is largely unexplored. To contribute to the study of such interplay, we artificially increased intracellular c-di-GMP levels by overexpressing a heterologous diguanylate cyclase in three Sinorhizobium fredii strains of agronomic relevance. This engineering revealed strain-specific outcomes, since elevated c-di-GMP enhanced biofilm development in two strains, but reduced it in another. Furthermore, using β-galactosidase expression assays, we confirmed that both high c-di-GMP and/or AHL concentrations contribute to the transcriptional activation of T6SS. These results demonstrate a direct regulatory link between c-di-GMP, QS signals, and T6SS expression, shedding light on the multilayered control mechanisms that structure beneficial rhizobia–plant interactions. Full article