Search Results (521)

Incorporating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) into early childhood education has been associated with children’s holistic development. STEM education not only enhances critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and other 21st-century skills but also contributes significantly to cognitive growth, emotional regulation, and social abilities. Within the early childhood context, the use of play and toys emerges as a natural and powerful medium for introducing STEM concepts in developmentally appropriate and engaging ways. Play and toys have a prominent role, and previous studies have provided strong evidence on their educational benefits. Toys enhanced with technological characteristics (Technology-Enhanced Toys—TETs), such as coding and interactive toys, are increasingly being viewed as cultural tools that mediate learning and nurture cognitive and collaborative skills among young learners. However, the impact TETs have on young children’s STEM learning remains largely unexplored. This qualitative observational study, grounded in a socio-cultural perspective, explored how 37 children aged 3 to 4 years in four early childhood settings in Greece exhibited STEM-related behaviours during free play with technology-enhanced toys. Data were collected through systematic video recordings and written observations over a three-month period that involved interacting with various TETs, such as Bee-Bot, Coko Robot, a remote-controlled dog, and others. Results indicate that playing with TETs enhanced problem-solving, computational thinking, and collaboration, thus affirming the positive influence of digital technology and the potential of TETs to enrich early STEM education. Implications for equity, the importance of teachers’ professional development in effectively integrating TETs into early childhood curricula and the need for further research will also be discussed. Full article

Elderspeak is a form of communication overaccommodation directed toward older adults, characterized by simplified language and an elevated pitch. While typically well-intentioned, it is rooted in ageist stereotypes and linked to negative health outcomes. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO (2018–2025), yielding 24 key articles focusing on acute and surgical settings. The purpose of this narrative review is to synthesize current evidence on Elderspeak within acute care hospitals and propose a research framework and intervention strategies. Elderspeak is a key determinant of resistiveness to care (RTC), particularly in acute settings where it is triggered by functional impairment. Exposure increases patient distress and negatively impacts vital signs and cooperation with medical interventions. Inconsistent measurement is being addressed through standardized schemes like the Iowa Coding Scheme for Elderspeak (ICodE). This paper proposes that future research must employ mixed-methods, longitudinal designs to capture the impact of Elderspeak on long-term outcomes. Drawing on the ICodE, we propose a qualitative self-reflection tool for clinicians to enhance awareness in high-stakes acute settings. Eliminating Elderspeak is a foundational necessity for patient safety and dignity-affirming care in advanced nursing. Full article

The indole scaffold represents a privileged structural motif in medicinal chemistry, celebrated for its remarkable chemical versatility, biological ubiquity, and clinical relevance. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the recent research on the indole nucleus, emphasizing its physicochemical properties, reactivity patterns, and capacity to interact with a wide array of biological targets. Found in key endogenous compounds such as serotonin and melatonin, indole serves as a cornerstone in neurochemical signaling, circadian regulation, and chrono-metabolic homeostasis. Beyond its physiological roles, synthetic indole derivatives have shown extensive therapeutic potential across diverse domains, including oncology, infectious diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, immunomodulation, and metabolic syndromes. The review explores structure–activity relationships (SAR), pharmacokinetics, and the molecular mechanisms by which indole-based compounds exert their tremendous effects, that are ranging from enzyme inhibition to receptor modulation. Special focus is given to current clinical applications and emerging strategies for enhancing drug specificity, bioavailability, and safety through indolic frameworks. Additionally, we highlight the translational potential of indole-containing molecules in personalized medicine, underscoring opportunities for future drug discovery. By integrating insights from medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, and clinical science, this review affirms the indole ring’s enduring value as a central scaffold in therapeutic innovation. Full article

Aesthetic Medicine is advanced as an integrated, evidence-based framework for patient-centered care that unites physical, psychological, social, and aesthetic dimensions of health. Drawing on Clinical Health Psychology, the paper introduces Aesthetic Health Psychology as a specialization that embeds psychological theory, assessment, and intervention within aesthetic medicine and surgery, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration rather than professional mistrust. The paper argues that integrating Aesthetic Health Psychology into aesthetic medicine can enhance ethical practice, improve patient-reported outcomes, and support equity-focused implementation across diverse procedures and settings. It further suggests a practical framework for implementation. Three interrelated models are proposed: the Aesthetic Biopsychosocial Model, which conceptualizes aesthetics as a distinct health domain alongside biological, psychological, and social factors; the Aesthetic Health Care Process Model, which structures care as a five-stage journey supported by systematic screening for body dysmorphic disorder and the routine use of patient-reported outcome measures; and the Aesthetic Health Systems Model, which situates aesthetic care within institutional, policy, and cultural contexts. Idealized but clinically grounded vignettes from elective cosmetic, reconstructive, and gender-affirming settings illustrate how these models address non-linear trajectories of adaptation, evolving expectations, complications, and stigma. These concepts jointly define both the motivation for Aesthetic Health Psychology and its practical implications, from the use of brief, selective aesthetic screening during primary health care visits to the design of equity-focused implementation strategies across aesthetic procedures and settings. Full article

An inorganic–organic hybrid nano-adsorbent was prepared by chemical immobilisation of an organic Schiff base Cu (II) ion receptor, DHB ((E)-N-(1-(2-hydroxy-6-methyl-4-oxo-4H-pyran-3-yl) ethylidene) benzohydrazide), a selective dehydroacetic acid-based chemosensor, onto a mesoporous silica support. In order to prepare the sorbent, the silylating agent was anchored onto the silica. During this procedure, 3-Chloropropyl trimethoxy silane (CPTS) was attached to the surface, increasing hydrophobicity. By immobilising DHB onto the CPTS platform, the silica surface was activated, and as a result the coordination chemistry of the Schiff base generated a hybrid adsorbent with the capability to rapidly sequestrate Cu (II) ions from wastewater, as an answer to combat growing Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) contamination in water supplies, in the wake of a prolonged consumerism mentality and boom in cryptocurrency mining. The produced hybrid materials were characterised by FTIR, proximate and ultimate analysis, nitrogen physisorption, PXRD, SEM, and TEM. The parameters influencing the removal efficiency of the sorbent, including pH, initial metal ion concentration, contact time, and adsorbent dosage, were optimised to achieve enhanced removal efficiency. Under optimal conditions (pH 7.0, adsorbent dosage 3 mg, contact time of 70 min, and 25 °C), Cu (II) ions were quantitatively sequestered from the sample solution; 93.1% of Cu (II) was removed under these conditions. The adsorption was found to follow pseudo-second-order kinetics, and Langmuir model fitting affirmed the monolayer adsorption. Full article

Amid escalating ecological degradation, social fragmentation, and rising mental health challenges—especially in rural and agricultural communities—there is an urgent need to reimagine systems that support both planetary and human flourishing. This viewpoint examines an emerging paradigm in agriculture that emphasizes the role of farmers’ inner development in fostering practices that enhance ecological health, community well-being, and a resilient food system. A key goal is to draw more academic attention to growing community calls for more holistic, relational, and spiritually grounded approaches to food systems as an important focus for ongoing research. Drawing on diverse case studies from Japan, India, and Europe, we examine how small-scale and natural farming initiatives are integrating inner development, universal human values, and ecological consciousness. These case studies were developed and/or refined through a program led by the Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA), an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that seeks to integrate inner transformation with sustainable food systems change. The initiatives are intended as illustrative examples of how agriculture can transcend its conventional, anthropocentric role as a food production system to become a site for cultivating deeper self-awareness, spiritual connection, and regenerative relationships with nature. Participants in these cases reported significant shifts in mindset—from materialistic and extractive worldviews to more relational and value-driven orientations rooted in care, cooperation, and sustainability. Core practices such as mindfulness, experiential learning, and spiritual ecology helped reframe farming as a holistic process that nurtures both land and life. These exploratory case studies suggest that when farmers are supported in aligning with inner values and natural systems, they become empowered as agents of systemic change. By linking personal growth with planetary stewardship, these models offer pathways toward more integrated, life-affirming approaches to agriculture and future academic research. Full article

Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and The Wealth of Nations (1776) offer a distinctive perspective on moral development that avoids succumbing to the limitations of capitalism and utilitarianism by supporting both moral agency and the importance of enabling structures and systems in commerce. Corruption of moral sentiments cannot be averted by enforcing only mechanical structures and systems of compliance with governance rules, regulations, and disciplinary processes to control employees. Compliance then follows a means-to-an-end logic for maximising profit, which becomes a barrier for autonomous moral development or is even incapable of moral decision-making, as suggested by Hannah Arendt. Smith’s originality lies in grounding this analysis with an affirmative view of human nature and liberty, which enables him to move beyond purely legalistic or moralistic approaches to understand and counter moral failure. Smith offers a distinctive perspective on moral development in commerce, integrating human cognition, moral philosophy, and enabling structural and systemic design that avoids the displacement of responsibility noted by Albert Bandura. For Smith, the corruption of moral sentiments is distorted by the natural need for praise from others at all costs, as opposed to praiseworthy conduct. His remedy is a two-fold process of moral education in which the impartial spectator extends the natural desire for praise to prioritise honour and integrity in behaviour that is praiseworthy. However, moral education also requires a structural social space that is not prescriptive or legalistic to enhance the freedom to develop morally by exercising the choice to strive towards ethical behaviour. In this manner, self-interest enables moral development through natural means that prioritise honourable conduct and perpetuates sympathetic sentiment in which the well-being of others is considered. Full article

Background/Objectives: Orthopedic surgery is among the most frequently litigated medical specialties worldwide. However, high-court malpractice decisions involving orthopedic specialists in Türkiye remain underexplored. This study aims to identify the patterns, causes, and outcomes of malpractice cases involving orthopedists by analyzing Turkish Supreme Court decisions over the past 15 years. Methods: A retrospective review of orthopedic malpractice cases adjudicated by the Turkish Court of Cassation between January 2010 and November 2025 was conducted. Variables included type of alleged offense, clinical context, primary/secondary liability, initial court outcomes, high-court decisions, and fault attribution. Findings were compared with international literature to contextualize national patterns. Results: A total of 71 decisions were analyzed. Negligent injury was the most common allegation. Initial acquittal and conviction rates were 50.7% and 49.3%, respectively. The Supreme Court affirmed 53.5% of decisions and overturned 46.5%. Fault was attributed to orthopedic specialists in 29.6% of cases, while 40.8% were found faultless; the remaining cases required additional expert evaluation. Litigation themes included diagnostic delay, postoperative complications, inadequate monitoring, and documentation deficiencies. Comparative analysis revealed substantial alignment between Turkish and international malpractice patterns. Conclusions: Orthopedic malpractice litigation in Türkiye mirrors global trends, with most claims stemming from trauma-related care and diagnostic errors. Although many cases undergo prolonged appeals, ultimate conviction rates remain low. Strengthened documentation, improved communication, and enhanced clinical guideline adherence may reduce litigation risk and improve patient safety. Full article

Background/Objectives: Robotic technology has transformed several surgical specialties, offering enhanced precision, visualization, and dexterity. In plastic and reconstructive surgery, robotic systems are increasingly utilized across a range of procedures, though their applications remain in early development. Methods: A review of the literature was performed to identify studies reporting robot-assisted procedures in plastic and reconstructive surgery. The literature was synthesized thematically to characterize current procedural applications, emerging technologies, and areas of active clinical investigation. Results: Robotic systems have been reported in a broad range of plastic and reconstructive procedures, including flap harvest, microsurgery, breast reconstruction, craniofacial and head and neck reconstruction, esthetic surgery, and gender-affirming surgery. The existing studies primarily consist of case series and case reports with substantial variability in reported indications, techniques, and technological platforms. Comparative clinical outcomes and long-term data are limited. Conclusions: Robot-assisted reconstruction continues to expand across multiple procedural domains. However, current evidence remains largely descriptive, underscoring the need for standardized reporting and prospective studies to better define clinical value, safety, and appropriate indications. Full article

Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) have demonstrated remarkable capabilities across vision–language tasks, yet their safety alignment remains vulnerable to adversarial manipulation. Existing jailbreak attacks typically optimize adversarial perturbations using negative log-likelihood loss alone, which often leads to overfitting on target affirmative tokens and fails to elicit substantive harmful content. We propose Attention-Enhancement and Targeted Entropy Regularization for Adversarial Optimization (AERO), a novel jailbreak framework addressing these limitations through two complementary mechanisms. First, an attention enhancement loss strategically redirects cross-modal attention toward perturbed visual tokens, distracting safety-aligned features from scrutinizing malicious queries. Second, a targeted entropy regularization scheme maximizes output diversity over non-refusal tokens during initial generation, creating a permissive context that improves cross-query generalization and enables responses that genuinely address malicious requests. Extensive experiments on multiple state-of-the-art MLLMs demonstrate that AERO significantly outperforms existing methods, achieving Attack Success Rates (ASRs) of 65.8–70.7% on MM-SafetyBench and 71.0–84.5% on HarmBench. Our approach surpasses the strongest baselines by margins of up to 16.2% in success rate while consistently generating higher-quality harmful content. Full article

The study investigates the performance of polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes modified with a coating of polymerizable bicontinuous microemulsion (PBM) for membrane bioreactor (MBR) applications. Two types of PBM-modified PES membranes—casting-coated and spray-coated—were compared with a commercial PES membrane. A laboratory side-stream MBR (ssMBR) was employed to treat model wastewater (MW) with activated sludge under aerobic conditions. The fouling propensity of the membranes in ssMBR was evaluated through the implementation of two protocols: (i) flux-step test to treat low-strength domestic model wastewater (DMW) and (ii) constant flux test to treat high-strength olive mill model wastewater (OMW). The findings indicated that both the commercial PES and PBM spray-coated PES membranes started to critically foul at 36 L m⁻² h⁻¹. The PBM spray-coated membranes showed enhanced fouling resistance in comparison to the PBM casting-coated membranes. The deposition of the biofouling layer was the thinnest on PBM spray-coated membranes, which can be attributed to the low surface charge and high hydrophilicity of the modified membrane surface. In contrast, deposition of a thicker fouling layer was found on the commercial PES membrane, which can be attributed to the relatively higher surface charge promoting organic adsorption. A comparison of the fouling trends exhibited by commercial PES and PBM spray-coated membranes in OMW treatment revealed that they have similar fouling tendencies. However, a notable distinction emerged when the PBM spray-coated membrane was observed to demonstrate a lower fouling propensity accompanied by comparatively thinner fouling layers. The results demonstrate that the PBM spray-coated membranes have enhanced fouling resistance and filtration efficacy in MBRs treating wastewater with diverse strengths, thereby affirming their potential for application in wastewater treatment systems. Full article

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its associated conditions, namely, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), obesity, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are characterized by insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and low-grade inflammation. Curcumin, a polyphenolic compound derived from Curcuma longa Linn., exhibits pleiotropic metabolic and anti-inflammatory properties and has thus been evaluated as a nutraceutical intervention for these conditions, but findings remain inconsistent. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the clinical efficacy of Curcuma longa supplementation on anthropometric, glycemic, lipid, inflammatory, and oxidative stress parameters in adults with MetS or related disorders. A comprehensive search of databases (PubMed, Scopus, AMED, LILACS, and Google Scholar) identified 104 eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The included trials primarily assessed standardized oral turmeric/curcumin supplements and bioavailability-enhanced formulations rather than whole culinary turmeric. Pooled standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed using random-effects models. Subgroup analyses were conducted by disease category, dose, and formulation. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2 tool. Curcumin supplementation significantly reduced fasting blood sugar (SMD = −0.54, 95% CI −0.72 to −0.36) and HbA1c (SMD = −0.41, 95% CI −0.60 to −0.23) in T2DM; decreased triglycerides (SMD = −0.48; 95% CI: −0.70 to −0.25), and LDL cholesterol (SMD = −0.39; 95% CI: −0.59 to −0.18) while elevating HDL cholesterol (SMD = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.25 to 0.65) and total antioxidant capacity (SMD = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.51 to 0.94). Curcuma longa also attenuated systemic inflammation, lowering C-reactive protein (SMD = −0.62; 95% CI: −0.81 to −0.43), TNF-α (SMD = −0.57; 95% CI: −0.80 to −0.34), and IL-6 (SMD = −0.50; 95% CI: −0.70 to −0.29). Heterogeneity was moderate-to-high, reflecting some differences in the formulation, dosage, and duration. Collectively, these findings affirm that Curcuma longa exerts measurable, clinically relevant improvements on glycemic regulation, lipid metabolism, and inflammatory−oxidative balance, supporting its role as a nutraceutical adjunct in metabolic health management, while its bioavailability-enhanced formulations show superior efficacy. Larger, long-term, multicenter RCTs are warranted to confirm durability, optimal dosing, and safety. Full article

Anti-UAV detection is paramount for safeguarding airspace security. However, existing methodologies often exhibit low detection accuracy due to their inability to adaptively address target scale variations and complex backgrounds. To enhance detection precision, this paper introduces a UAV detection method founded on non-local feature learning. Initially, we design a Cross-scale Non-local Feature Interaction (CNFI) module. This module explicitly models long-range dependencies between features at disparate scales, thereby effectively integrating multi-scale information and adapting to target scale variations. Subsequently, a Non-local Feature Enhancement (NFE) module is proposed, which fuses global contextual information, acquired via non-local attention, with low-level structural cues such as gradients, to bolster the boundary and detail features of UAV targets amidst complex backgrounds. The proposed method was experimentally validated on the DUT-Anti-UAV and Det-Fly dataset. In comparison with the state-of-the-art model, our approach demonstrates improvements of 0.93%, 1.09%, and 2.12% in Precision (P), Recall (R), and mAP50 on DUT-Anti-UAV dataset, respectively. Experimental results affirm that our proposed enhancements yield superior performance in the anti-UAV detection task. Full article

The emerging development of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) software receivers has opened new opportunities in diverse operations. However, non-line-of-sight (NLOS) concatenated signal reception is one prevalent deterioration factor causing positioning errors in urban scenarios. To enhance integrity and reliability through receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) techniques in urban environments, distinguishing between line-of-sight (LOS) and NLOS signals facilitates the exclusion of NLOS channels: this is challenging due to uncertain signal reflections/refractions from diverse obstruction conditions in the built environment. Moreover, NLOS features show similarity to multipath effects like scattering and diffraction which causes difficulty in identifying the NLOS type. Recent work exploited NLOS detections with multi-correlator outputs using neural networks that outperform using signal strength techniques for NLOS detection. This paper proposes a neural network approach designed to recognise and learn spatial features among early, late, and prompt correlator outputs, differentiating between correlations, and also by memorising temporal features to acquire propagation information. Specifically, the spatial features of correlator IQ streams are derived from convolutional layers incorporated with concatenations, to formulate associate models like early-minus-late discrimination. A Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), i.e., long short-term memory (LSTM), is integrated to obtain comprehensive temporal features; hereby, a softmax classifier is appended in the last layer to distinguish between NLOS and LOS signals. By simulating synthetic datasets generated by a Spirent simulator and captured by a software-defined radio (SDR), the correlator outputs are acquired during the scalar tracking stage. The product of the proposed network demonstrates high performance in terms of accuracy, time consumption and sensitivity, affirming the efficiency of utilising early-stage correlations for NLOS detection. Moreover, an impact analysis of varying the sliding window length on NLOS discrimination underscores the need to fine-tune the parameter, as well as balancing accuracy, operation complexity and sensitivity. Full article

In order to ensure the structural safety and serviceability of existing reinforced concrete (RC) structures, there is a compelling need to develop efficient techniques for the rapid replacement of damaged RC beams within strong-column–weak-beam structural systems. This study introduces a novel prefabricated RC beam with welded cover-plate steel sleeve and bolted splice designed to facilitate accelerated replacement and enhance construction efficiency. The proposed beam is connected to cast-in-place RC columns, forming a prefabricated novel prefabricated RC joint with a welded cover-plate steel sleeve and a bolted splice; this configuration contrasts with conventional monolithic RC joints, which are formed by integrally casting beams and columns. The assembly speed of the prefabricated system markedly surpasses that of its cast-in-place counterpart, and the resulting beam–column system is fully demountable. Finite element simulations of the novel prefabricated RC joint with welded cover-plate steel sleeve and bolted splice, performed using ABAQUS, identified the thickness of the welded end-plate as a pivotal parameter influencing the joint’s mechanical behavior. Accordingly, quasi-static tests were carried out on three novel prefabricated RC joints with welded cover-plate steel sleeves and bolted splices and one cast-in-place RC joint, with the welded end-plate thickness serving as the primary test variable. The failure patterns, hysteretic responses, energy dissipation capacity, ductility, and stiffness degradation were systematically analyzed. Experimental findings indicate that increasing the end-plate thickness effectively improves both the peak load-bearing capacity and the ductility of the joint. All prefabricated specimens exhibited fully developed spindle-shaped hysteresis loops, with ductility coefficients ranging from 3.47 to 3.64 and equivalent viscous damping ratios exceeding 0.13. All critical seismic performance metrics either met or exceeded those of the reference cast-in-place RC joint, affirming the reliability and superior behavior of the proposed novel prefabricated RC joints with welded cover-plate steel sleeves. Full article