Search Results (406)

Introducing charged groups into comb-like copolymers significantly enhances the incompatibility between the main chain and side chains, enabling sub-5 nm microphase separation. In this work, a series of charged comb-like copolymers with imidazolium ionic junctions and mixed alkyl side chains (C18/C8, C20/C12, C22/C12) were synthesized. The regulation of microphase separation behavior via side-chain composition and length were investigated. The crystallization of long alkyl side chains could disrupt pre-formed microphase-separated structures, rendering a disordered state at low temperatures. The systems underwent a lower disorder–order transition (LDOT) that was closely correlated with the melting of side-chain crystallites, forming lamellar (LAM) or hexagonally packed cylindrical (HEX) nanostructures. By adjusting the side-chain length and feed ratio (r) of long/short chains, both the LDOT and closed-loop sequence of transitions (LDOT at low temperatures and upper order–disorder transition (UODT) at high temperatures) were achieved, with transition temperatures shifting accordingly. Notably, the SAXS data at a specific composition are consistent with the Frank–Kasper (F-K) A15 complex spherical phase. Moreover, the domain spacing showed an approximately linear dependence on the nominal long-chain feed ratio within the investigated range. This work demonstrates that statistical side-chain functionalization is an effective strategy for tuning microphase separation in charged comb-like copolymers with ultra-small self-assembled dimensions. Full article

Fluorinated UV-curable coatings typically rely on high fluorine loadings to achieve water repellency, which causes phase separation, high cost, and environmental concerns. Here, a novel UV-curable fluorinated epoxy acrylate (FEA) oligomer with a comb-like architecture bearing perfluorophenyl-terminated fluorinated side chains was synthesized to maximize fluorine efficiency. A mono-substituted fluorinated alcohol was prepared via nucleophilic aromatic substitution of hexafluorobenzene with octafluorohexanediol, and the FEA oligomer was constructed through a two-step urethane-forming reaction with diglycerol diacrylate (DGDA) and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI). The chemical structures were confirmed by FT-IR and ¹H/¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy. UV-cured FEA/HDDA-F films exhibited high double-bond conversions of 93.5–97.9% and adequate thermal stability for coating applications. As the FEA content increased, the advancing water contact angle rose from 69° to 118°, and the surface free energy decreased from 34.0 to 19.2 mJ/m², comparable to that of polytetrafluoroethylene (18.5 mJ/m²). Remarkably, this performance was achieved at a lower overall fluorine content than the fluorinated diluent alone, and the near-zero polar component of the surface energy, together with XPS analysis and SEM-observed surface texturing, supports the proposed preferential segregation of the fluorinated side chains toward the air–film interface. The comb-like FEA is a promising fluorine-efficient material for UV-curable hydrophobic and self-cleaning coatings. Full article

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health threat, driven in part by inappropriate antibiotic use. Vulnerable populations, such as individuals within the criminal justice system, potentially face heightened AMR risks due to infection control challenges and health inequalities. This study explored health and justice healthcare professionals’ views of AMR and antibiotic prescribing to identify challenges and opportunities for action. Methods: A quantitative survey among healthcare professionals in English correctional facilities assessed knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards AMR and prescribing, including acne prescribing. The survey was structured using COM-B and included 82 Likert-scale statements and 7 key AMR knowledge questions. Results: There were 24 respondents; 54.2% were pharmacy professionals. Both pharmacy and non-pharmacy professionals demonstrated strong AMR understanding, with 5/7 knowledge questions answered correctly by everyone. Motivation-related responses were generally positive, with the median response corresponding to strong agreement for five of six questions. Although opportunity and capability responses were generally positive, they indicated several areas where respondents reported lower levels of confidence and knowledge, such as having the opportunity to run searches on the clinical system to monitor antibiotic prescribing. Overall, 79% of respondents were able to answer all seven key AMR knowledge questions correctly. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary insights into prescribing behavior in health and justice settings, emphasizing the need for further research to understand health and justice healthcare workers and develop appropriate interventions to reduce AMR. Full article

As health services shift to digital delivery, older adults face practical online risks, including operational errors, difficulty interpreting clinical information, unclear privacy consent procedures, and telecommunications fraud. Existing empirical work mostly adopts questionnaire and interview designs to document older adults’ real-world digital usage, yet few studies systematically analyze policy documents as an external intervention system and assess how they address four core usage barriers: limited digital proficiency, constrained service access, weak sustained participation, and individualized online safety threats. This paper analyzes 1008 policy records extracted from the Peking University Legal Database covering 2007–2025, and develops a four-dimensional analytical framework split into B1 (Digital Capacity and Age-Friendly Support), B2 (Digital Health Management Support), B3 (Home- and Community-Based Care Support), and B4 (Institutional Care and Risk Governance). The analytical toolkit combines a Capability–Opportunity–Motivation–Behavior (COM-B) diagnostic model, an M1–M4 intervention-mechanism coding protocol, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling, and two indices: the Digital Adaptation Policy Orientation Index (DAPOI) and the Behavioral Intervention Diversity Index (BIDI). Coding outputs reveal a pronounced structural imbalance in policy allocation for older adults’ digital health in China: community and institutional governance clauses (B3, B4) dominate the corpus, while person-centred support including one-on-one operational coaching, clinical data interpretation guidance and offline manual backup channels accounts for a marginal share of all coded entries (B1, B2). Age-friendly digital policies issued circa 2020 serve primarily short-term emergency adjustments instead of permanent institutional arrangements. Built on full-text policy coding outputs, this work defines policy-supported digital resilience as a holistic protective system formed by coordinated institutional clauses. Every result reported is sourced exclusively from supply-side policy records, which provides policy-level evidence for subsequent behavioral research on older adults’ digital risk management and digital welfare construction. Full article

When water waves encounter marine structures, significant scattering is produced, which affects the stability and safety of marine equipment. The cloaking of marine structures in water waves, achieved by water-wave transformation metamaterials, provides a new approach to solving this problem. However, in the anisotropic water depth required for perfect cloaking, the radial water depth tends to infinity, and the circumferential water depth tends to zero at the edge of the structure, leading to a singularity problem. This results in extreme parameters of the metamaterial near the structure, making fabrication difficult. To address the above issue, a comb-type metamaterial for weak scattering of water waves is designed in this paper based on space-transformation metamaterials, by which optimized control over the scattering characteristics of water waves is achieved. First, a general nonlinear spatial transformation is designed for both weak scattering and perfect cloaking. Then, the anisotropic water depths and equivalent gravitational acceleration parameters for the two cases are calculated and analyzed. Subsequently, the Helmholtz equation is solved using the finite element method, and the distributions of wave fields under anisotropic water depths and metamaterials for weak scattering and perfect cloaking are compared and analyzed. The results show that for weak scattering, the radial and circumferential water depths tend to constant values at the edge of the structure, thus resolving the singularity problem in perfect cloaking, while the control performance over water waves is comparable. Compared with perfect-cloaking metamaterials, the designed weak-scattering metamaterial significantly reduces the water depth parameters near the structure while maintaining water-wave control performance, making it easier to fabricate. Full article

A one-dimensional Thue–Morse graphene photonic crystal (1D TMGPC) composed of alternating identical dielectric layers and graphene sheets is proposed, in which two distinct graphene chemical potentials are arranged according to a Thue–Morse quasi-periodic sequence. Using the transfer matrix method, we demonstrate that this structure effectively modulates terahertz waves and generates multiple abundant photonic bandgaps at both 20 K and 300 K. Notably, a novel splitting of low-frequency bandgaps produces two additional omnidirectional and polarization-insensitive bandgaps centered at approximately 1.45 THz and 1.95 THz. By analyzing the dispersion relations, reflection phase, photonic density of states, and electric field distributions, the boundary-driven modulation mechanism associated with the quasi-periodic chemical potential is elucidated. Furthermore, the proposed structure exhibits excellent multi-dimensional tunability. The bandgap properties can be dynamically tuned via the electrical control of graphene chemical potentials without altering the physical geometry. Structural tailoring provides an additional degree of freedom, as increasing the Thue–Morse sequence order induces passband splitting. Additionally, increasing the number of repeating periods yields comb-like multi-channel narrowband filtering responses. At a cryogenic temperature of 20 K, two distinct multi-channel narrowband comb filtering responses appear in the frequency ranges of 1.20–1.33 THz and 4.10–4.80 THz, with a minimum full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 1.10 GHz. At a room temperature of 300 K, the higher-frequency comb filtering response remains in the range of 4.10–4.80 THz, with a minimum FWHM of 5.70 GHz. Moreover, we evaluate the performance and stability of the structure when employed as filters and electro-optic switches, thereby providing useful insights for terahertz applications. With its simple geometry, abundant bandgaps, and flexible electro-structural tunability, the proposed 1D TMGPC is highly promising for broadband and electrically tunable terahertz devices. Full article

Background: Delirium management remains inconsistently implemented in intensive care units (ICUs), and existing studies provide limited insight into how assessment capability, organisational opportunity, and emotional motivation interact in Chinese tertiary care settings. Aim: To explore ICU nurses’ perceived barriers and facilitators to delirium assessment and management using the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation model of Behaviour (COM-B). Methods: A qualitative descriptive exploratory study was conducted with 14 registered ICU nurses from two tertiary hospitals in Chongqing, China, between December 2025 and February 2026. Purposive sampling captured variation in clinical experience, educational background, and ICU type. The first author conducted face-to-face interviews in Mandarin Chinese and completed the initial coding. COM-B informed both the interview guide and the deductive organisation of the analysis, while six themes and 33 lowest-level factors were developed within the three domains. During revision, the fixed analytic structure was audited against all 14 Mandarin transcripts, and the second author independently applied the fixed codebook to five complete transcripts selected for maximum variation; disagreements were resolved by returning to the original Mandarin context and predefined coding boundaries. Results: Eighteen barriers and fifteen facilitators were identified across six themes within the COM-B domains. Capability was strengthened by clinical experience, senior nurses’ intuitive pattern recognition, and conversational assessment, but constrained by difficulty recognising hypoactive delirium, uncertainty when assessing older adults, inconsistent use of CAM-ICU, and insufficient targeted training. Opportunity was enhanced by staffing, environmental control, peer support, family engagement, and physician collaboration, but restricted by fragmented visibility, sensory overstimulation, workload, restrictive visiting, and delayed medical responses. Motivation reflected the tension between professional duty and accountability for safety on one hand and emotional burden, verbal abuse, and violence on the other. Cross-domain accounts showed that opportunity constraints could amplify anxiety and safety-first motivation, narrowing feasible behaviour toward containment, whereas social support could sustain relational care. Conclusions: Delirium management was shaped by interacting behavioural, organisational, and emotional conditions. Strengthening assessment capability alone is unlikely to produce consistent practice without staffing, workflow, environmental, and interprofessional support. Mapping the findings to Behaviour Change Wheel intervention functions highlighted training, environmental restructuring, enablement, and modelling as priority candidate functions for prospective evaluation; education alone was unlikely to be sufficient. Reporting Method: This study was reported in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research checklist. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution was involved in the design, conduct or reporting of this study. Participants were registered intensive care unit nurses. Full article

Background/Objectives: Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) is included in ICD-11 and poses a substantial risk to Saudi university students, yet no structured nursing intervention framework exists within Saudi higher education health services. This paper presents the Resilience-Based Nursing Intervention Framework (RBNIF), a three-tiered, theory-driven nursing architecture translating evidence on impulsivity, resilience, and IGD into practice specifications for this setting. Methods: Using secondary analysis of a dataset of 207 gaming students from four King Saud University colleges, framework development followed a four-phase Medical Research Council (MRC) process: theoretical identification (I-PACE, Dual Process Theory, COM-B), evidence synthesis, Behavior Change Wheel/Intervention Mapping, and cultural adaptation via Bernal et al.’s Ecological Validity Framework. Results: The sample (58.9% male; 20–25 years, 61.4%; bachelor’s level, 73.9%) yielded three tiers differentiated by a dual-domain screening rule (elevated impulsivity and/or low resilience, rather than a single combined score): Tier 1 (universal psychoeducation); Tier 2 (six-session group program, S-UPPS-P ≥ 52 and/or CD-RISC-10 ≤ 20; 63 of 207 participants [30.4%]); and Tier 3 (10-session RIRDH clinical program, IGDS9-SF ≥ 36, met by 38 of 207 participants [18.4%]). Fifty-two participants (25.1%) met the elevated-impulsivity criterion, and 51 (24.6%) met the low-resilience criterion. Each tier specifies nursing competencies and behavior change techniques, with cultural adaptation integrating Islamic values concepts (sabr, mizan, tawakkul), family protocols, and single-sex delivery. Conclusions: To our knowledge, the RBNIF is the first theory-driven, culturally adapted nursing intervention architecture for IGD in Saudi university health services; a focused, non-systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL identified no directly comparable published framework. It is pre-implementation and requires feasibility testing, pilot evaluation, and a cluster-randomized controlled trial (c-RCT). Full article

The honeybee (Apis mellifera) gut microbiota serves as a model for host–microbe studies, as newly emerged workers provide a low-complexity, nearly germ-free system. Although multiple inoculation strategies are commonly applied under laboratory conditions, their comparative effects on microbial colonization remain incompletely understood. Here, we systematically compared four commonly used inoculation strategies, including pollen mixture feeding, oral feeding, dunk inoculation, and comb-exposed inoculation, under controlled laboratory conditions using an identical microbial source. We assessed gut microbiota establishment using spike-in 16S rRNA gene sequencing, enabling the quantification of both relative and absolute bacterial abundances, together with analyses of community composition, alpha diversity, and beta diversity. Our results showed that method-dependent differences were observed. Pollen mixture feeding and oral feeding produced highly comparable outcomes across the measured parameters, suggesting that dietary incorporation and direct oral delivery are similarly effective for establishing core gut communities (p > 0.05). Dunk inoculation also supported core bacterial colonization, although differences in beta diversity indicated some variation in community structure (p < 0.05). Comb-exposed inoculation showed the most pronounced differences, with significantly reduced bacterial abundance, lower alpha diversity, and decreased colonization of specific core taxa including Bifidobacterium and Snodgrassella alvi (p < 0.05). Importantly, despite these differences, none of the inoculation methods resulted in atypical communities dominated by noncore taxa, indicating that the core gut microbiota remained broadly conserved across treatments. Collectively, our findings indicate that although inoculation delivery methods differed fundamentally in inoculum volume, microbial concentration, and the mechanisms by which microbes were introduced into the bee gut, these distinct strategies can introduce measurable differences, while the established gut communities remain consistently dominated by core bacterial taxa. These results provide a basis for selecting appropriate inoculation strategies in experimental studies of honeybee microbiota. Full article

Abelmoschus manihot (L.) flowers are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine, whereas the roots are often discarded as agricultural waste. The compact cellular and tissue architecture of the roots hinders the release of intracellular metabolites, thus impeding their reutilization. Here, enzyme-assisted ultrasonic extraction was developed to obtain a polysaccharide-rich crude extract from A. manihot roots. Orthogonal optimization identified pH 4.5, a temperature of 60 °C and a cellulase dosage of 6% (w/w) as the optimal extraction conditions, giving an extraction yield of 21.59%. The phenol–sulfuric acid assay indicated a total carbohydrate content of 75.09% (glucose equivalents). Structural analysis by Fourier transform infrared (FT−IR) confirmed the presence of characteristic polysaccharide functional groups, while monosaccharide composition analysis via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) revealed the major components of glucose, glucuronic acid, rhamnose, galacturonic acid, etc. Inspired by the traditional use of A. manihot extract in papermaking, its preliminary hair care-related properties were further evaluated. At a concentration of 30 mg/mL, the extract solution inhibited Malassezia furfur growth by 84%, reduced wet and dry combing work by 16.93% and 30.86%, and increased tensile strength and tensile fracture energy by 13.04% and 14.84%, respectively. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images suggested smoother hair fiber surfaces after treatment. These results highlight the extract’s great potential for hair care cosmetic products. Full article

Despite growing evidence on sustainable food systems and children’s food choice behaviours, a persistent gap remains between research findings and their implementation in local institutional contexts, particularly in schools. Existing approaches often address behavioural, implementation, or governance dimensions separately, limiting real-world applicability. This conceptual review aimed to develop a theoretically grounded and practice-informed conceptual framework explaining how science–local government partnerships can support sustainable food system interventions in schools. An integrative conceptual approach was applied, combining a targeted narrative review of literature on sustainable food systems, consumer behaviour, and school-based interventions; theoretical integration of behavioural and implementation frameworks, including the COM-B model and Self-Determination Theory; and practice-informed implementation insights from a large-scale municipal nutrition education programme implemented in primary schools in Warsaw, Poland. Framework development involved component identification, domain synthesis, and model integration. The resulting Integrated Science–Policy–Practice (ISPP) Model integrates five interrelated components: Knowledge Translation, Institutional Embedding, Sustainability-Oriented Behavioural Activation Mechanisms, Multi-stakeholder Integration, and Feedback Loops. The model provides a system-level explanation of how evidence-informed interventions can be embedded within local governance structures and translated into mechanisms that may support responsible food-related behaviours. It offers implications for research, policy, and practice in sustainable school food systems. Full article

Background/Objectives: Filipino Americans are one of the least likely Asian American subgroups to use formal mental health services, even when mental health needs are present. This study used the Capability–Opportunity–Motivation–Behavior (COM-B) framework to examine mental health symptomatology, perceived social support, help-seeking intentions, and perceived barriers to mental health treatment among Filipino American older adults residing in the United States. Methods: We used a cross-sectional descriptive correlational design. A sample of 100 Filipino American older adults completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, an 8-item subset of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Mental Health Seeking Intention Scale, and the Perceived Barriers to Psychological Treatment scale. We performed descriptive statistics and correlation analyses using Pearson’s and Spearman’s coefficients. Results: Participants experienced low levels of depressive symptoms (M = 2.73, SD = 4.80) and anxiety symptoms (M = 2.56, SD = 4.11), high perceived social support (M = 5.32, SD = 1.83), moderate help-seeking intentions (M = 4.90, SD = 2.18), low overall perceived barriers to care (M = 1.67, SD = 0.90), and nearly universal health insurance coverage. Of the barrier domains, stigma/interpersonal barriers had the highest mean scores. Greater depressive and anxiety symptom severity was associated with higher overall perceived barriers to mental health care (r = 0.45–0.47) and with higher structural, motivational, and stigma/interpersonal barriers (r = 0.41–0.46). Conclusions: Despite high healthcare access and strong perceived social support, Filipino American older adults expressed only moderate intentions to seek professional mental health care. Culturally mediated factors may shape mental health help-seeking beyond structural barriers to access. The COM-B framework offers a useful lens for understanding help-seeking behavior and guiding culturally responsive interventions with Filipino American older adults. Full article

Cystoseira sensu lato (s.l.) (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) form structurally complex marine forests along the warm-temperate coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean. They are experiencing widespread decline, yet their conservation and restoration are hindered by taxonomic uncertainty. Within Cystoseira sensu stricto (s.s.), species boundaries among taxa traditionally referred to as C. compressa, C. foeniculacea, C. humilis (including the C. canariensis morphotype), and C. pustulata have long been debated due to the high plasticity and partial overlap of diagnostic morphological traits. Here we reassess species boundaries within the Cystoseira s.s. complex using an integrative approach combining morphology, ecology, and multilocus genetic data. We collected specimens from 20 sites spanning the Mediterranean–Atlantic distribution. Genomic DNA was extracted from 220 specimens and Sanger sequencing generated 243 new sequences (ITS2: n = 99; cox1: n = 88; rbcL–rbcS: n = 56). We inferred single-locus and concatenated phylogenies, reconstructed haplotype networks, and applied multiple single-locus species delimitation approaches to test the robustness of inferred boundaries. We consistently recovered two primary lineages corresponding to C. foeniculacea and a C. compressa complex, the latter including specimens historically identified as C. pustulata and the C. humilis with the C. canariensis morphotype. Within an integrative framework that prioritises cross-locus concordance and diagnosability, we recognise two species-level lineages in Cystoseira s.s. and treat the morpho-ecologically coherent entities within C. compressa at the variety rank. Accordingly, we propose the new status and combination Cystoseira compressa var. pustulata (Ercegović) D’Ambros Burchio & Falace, comb. et stat. nov. Full article

Background: In 2022, we adapted the World Health Organization Digital Adaptation Kit (DAK) for antenatal care (ANC) into the BornFyne digital health platform. Because ANC services in many facilities relied on fragmented paper-based guidance, the DAK represented the first exposure for many providers to a structured, comprehensive ANC guideline framework integrated into a digital system. Understanding providers’ motivation, capabilities, and readiness to adopt guideline-driven digital care was essential to inform implementation strategies. We therefore conducted a workshop to explore healthcare providers’ expectations, perceived challenges, and readiness to integrate a comprehensive digital ANC system into routine practice. Methods: A prospective mixed-methods pre–post implementation pilot workshop was conducted between June and August 2023 across four districts. The 5-h workshop targeted ANC providers and included exposure to the WHO ANC DAK and demonstration of its integration into the BornFyne platform. Survey tools assessed perceived knowledge, attitudes, perceived behavioural control, intention, and social norms using Likert scales. Constructs were mapped to the COM-B framework. Paired student’s t-tests assessed pre–post changes (p < 0.05), and Cohen’s d estimated effect sizes. Qualitative responses were thematically analysed. Results: Nineteen participants, including doctors, nurses, midwives, and data managers from public, private, and faith-based facilities, completed the surveys. Most participants were women (90%). Following the workshop, perceived knowledge of behaviour change and digital guideline use significantly increased (t(19) = 3.22, p = 0.004, d = 0.78). Although no statistically significant changes were observed in attitudes, perceived behavioural control, intentions, or social norms, descriptive trends suggested improved confidence and openness toward digital ANC systems. Qualitative findings identified increased knowledge as the most important outcome, with 80% of participants emphasizing its role in strengthening capability. Participants also reported greater confidence in integrating digital tools into routine care but highlighted contextual and motivational barriers as ongoing challenges. Acceptability was high: 90% expressed satisfaction, and all participants rated the workshop as useful, relevant, engaging, and worth their time. Conclusions: The workshop improved providers’ perceived knowledge and demonstrated high acceptability of DAK-aligned digital ANC systems. While changes in attitudes and behavioural control were not statistically significant, the findings support the feasibility of behaviour change-based digital ANC interventions. Addressing contextual and motivational barriers will be essential for sustained adoption in resource-limited settings. Full article

Youth in northern Ghana experience high rates of unintended pregnancy due to limited access to and use of sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH) services. Peer-led interventions are effective in increasing the youth uptake of SRH services, but limited peer-led interventions have been developed for Ghana. This study explores youth (ages 15–24 years) and clinical provider perspectives on youth SRH to inform the co-design of a peer-led SRH counseling program in northern Ghana. We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 22 SRH providers and 27 youth. We then conducted an inductive thematic analysis and mapped themes onto the COM-B (Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behavior) model. Results revealed that youth capability to make informed and confident SRH decisions is constrained by a fragmented information environment. Although access to SRH services is increasing in the region, logistical and privacy barriers limit adolescents’ opportunities to engage in care. Religious and cultural norms stigmatize youth SRH care, though support for contraceptive use is growing among more educated sectors. Youth motivation to use SRH services is driven by a desire for autonomy but undermined by concerns about contraceptive side effects and anticipated stigma. This study supports the co-development of a contextually grounded peer counseling SRH intervention in northern Ghana. Full article