Search Results (15,790)

Background: Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm), particularly vanA-positive strains, represents a growing threat in hospital settings worldwide. These bacteria are able to survive under severe environmental conditions, including high temperatures and saline concentrations. High genome plasticity and advanced ability of inheriting antimicrobial resistance determinants defined the success of E. faecium as a hospital pathogen. Methods: This study presents the whole genomic characterization of vanA-positive VREfm isolates, analyzing 10 clinical isolates collected from three tertiary care hospitals in Moscow, Russia. Several typing approaches, including two MLST schemes and cgMLST profiles, were used to elucidate the relationship between the isolates. Phylogenetic analysis placed the isolates in context with global VREfm populations, demonstrating both local clonal expansion and possible international connections. Phenotypic and genomic antimicrobial resistance profiles were obtained, as well as data regarding the repertoire of virulence factors and plasmid content. Results: Whole genome sequencing revealed that all isolates belonged to the clinically significant CC17 lineage, specifically sequence types ST80 and ST552. Notably, two isolates possessed truncated Tn1546-type transposons lacking vanY and vanZ genes, representing a potentially emerging variant of the vanA operon in Russian clinical settings. A plasmid carrying a truncated vanA operon was reconstructed using long-read sequencing. Conclusions: The study highlights the utility of genomic investigation for tracking resistance mechanisms and strain dissemination, providing crucial baseline data for epidemiological surveillance of infections caused by VREfm in Russia. These findings emphasize the need for continued genomic monitoring to understand the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance in clinically important enterococcal lineages. Full article

(1) Background: In today’s digital society, challenges like cyberbullying, harmful social media use, and unhealthy digital habits demand innovative and inclusive educational responses. This study investigates the potential of service-learning (SL) and electronic service-learning (e-SL) as experiential approaches to enhance digital well-being among youth. By actively engaging students, educators, and community stakeholders in co-designed projects, SL/e-SL promotes critical awareness, digital citizenship, and prosocial values while addressing digital risks. (2) Methods: This review offers a literature-based analysis of existing programs and good practices that apply experiential education to encourage responsible digital engagement. It explores SL and e-SL experiences across various educational settings. (3) Results: The findings show that SL and e-SL can be effective educational tools, creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in tackling digital issues and building inclusive spaces where students, faculty, and communities collaborate to foster digital literacy and well-being. The analysis also led to the development of quality standards for SL and e-SL practices that promote digital well-being. (4) Conclusions: This study highlights key implications for teaching, underscoring the value of integrative pedagogies that connect experiential learning to digital challenges, promoting a more inclusive and responsible digital culture. Full article

Accurate cerebral vasculature segmentation using digital subtraction angiography (DSA) is critical for diagnosing and treating cerebrovascular diseases. However, conventional single-frame analysis methods often fail to capture fine vascular structures due to background noise, overlapping anatomy, and dynamic contrast flow. In this study, we propose a novel vessel-enhancing preprocessing technique using temporal differencing of DSA sequences to improve cerebrovascular segmentation accuracy. Our method emphasizes contrast flow dynamics while suppressing static background components by computing absolute differences between sequential DSA frames. The enhanced images were input into state-of-the-art deep learning models, U-Net++ and DeepLabv3+, for vascular segmentation. Quantitative evaluation of the publicly available DIAS dataset demonstrated significant segmentation improvements across multiple metrics, including the Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), Intersection over Union (IoU), and Vascular Connectivity (VC). Particularly, DeepLabv3+ with the proposed preprocessing achieved a DSC of 0.83 ± 0.05 and VC of 44.65 ± 0.63, outperforming conventional methods. These results suggest that leveraging temporal information via input enhancement substantially improves small and complex vascular structure extraction. Our approach is computationally efficient, model-agnostic, and clinically applicable for DSA. Full article

A class of retinal dystrophies known as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is caused by the loss of photoreceptor cells. RP can be genetically transmitted as an autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or X-linked trait. About one-third of genes implicated in retinal degeneration encode for proteins whose functional dysregulation affects the “connecting cilium” in photoreceptors, altering its structure and function. Here we report on a 33-year-old woman who was referred for clinical genetic testing following a previous diagnosis of degenerative retinopathy, which was not informative. She was enrolled in a research program dedicated to undiagnosed retinal disorders, where a whole genome sequencing approach was employed to understand the underlying genetic basis. The genomic analysis documented the occurrence of compound heterozygosity for two functionally relevant missense variants in BAIAP3, which encodes a protein with a well-documented role in SNARE-mediated trafficking and ciliogenesis. Confocal microscopy analysis showed elongated cilia in patient-derived and BAIAP3-depleted fibroblasts compared to control cells. Real-time PCR analyses showed a consistent significant reduction of GLI1 mRNA levels in patient-derived and BAIAP3-depleted cells, both in basal conditions and after treatment with Smoothened agonist, SAG, indicating Sonic hedgehog signaling dysregulation. Collectively, these data suggest that biallelic loss-of-function variants of BAIAP3 may cause photoreceptor degeneration and underlie isolated RP. Full article

Efficient urban land use is a cornerstone of sustainable city development, yet the drivers of such efficiency are increasingly complex in an era of spatial transformation. As industrial specialization and collaboration deepen, cities are becoming interconnected through complex networks. These “invisible threads” are redefining the dynamics of land use and spatial efficiency. This study examines the influence of intercity industrial networks on urban land use efficiency by constructing urban networks from multi-regional input–output data and evaluating city performance using a super-SBM model. We employed Tobit regression and mediation analysis to identify the mechanisms. Results indicate that both the quantity and quality of urban network connections significantly enhance land use efficiency, with notable differences across city types. The positive effect of industrial network centrality is most pronounced in large cities. In growing cities, both the number and quality of industrial linkages promote efficiency, whereas in shrinking cities, connection quality is more critical than quantity. Mechanism analysis reveals that industrial networks improve land use efficiency primarily by expanding intermediate goods markets and fostering technological innovation. Full article

This paper presents a novel large-span ring deployable perimeter truss for the mesh reflector deployable antennas, which is made up of two parts including a single-mobility driving mechanism and a ring deployable metamorphic mechanism. The mechanism design employs polygon approximation, and each side is treated as a basic unit using a modular design approach. By reasonable assembly, a ring deployable metamorphic mechanism with a small folded state and a large deployed state can be formed. Here, multiple singular positions, the axis of its three revolute joints being parallel and coplanar, are used in the fully deployed state, which forms multiple dead-center positions and changes the constraint conditions. The metamorphic motion is thus achieved, and a stable self-locking state is established that greatly enhances the stability. The paper first introduces the mechanism design and evaluation method; the kinematic and dynamic analysis is then conducted, and the simulation validation is also performed. Moreover, a principle design for cable-net structural setting and connection is illustrated. Finally, with the design of a driving system and the fabrication of a physical prototype, the deployable experiments are carried out, and the results show that the perimeter truss can efficiently act as the mesh reflector deployable antennas. Full article

Background: Undergraduate nursing students (UNSs) often enter clinical training just as they are still mastering the emotional labor of the profession. In Nepal, where teaching hierarchies discourage upward dialogue and hospitals routinely struggle with overcrowding, supply shortages, and outward nurse migration, these learners confront a distinct, under-documented burden of psychological distress. Objective: This study examines how UNSs interpret, negotiate, and cope with the mental health challenges that arise at the intersection of cultural deference, resource scarcity, and migration-fueled uncertainty. Methods: A qualitative design employing reflexive thematic analysis (RTA), guided by the Reflexive Thematic Analysis Reporting Guidelines (RTARG), was used. Fifteen second-, third-, and fourth-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing students at a major urban tertiary institution in Nepal were purposively recruited via on-campus digital flyers and brief in-class announcements that directed students (by QR code) to a secure sign-up form. Participants then completed semi-structured interviews; audio files were transcribed verbatim and iteratively analyzed through an inductive, reflexive coding process to ensure methodological rigor. Results: Four themes portray a continuum from silenced struggle to systemic constraint. First, Shrouded Voices, Quiet Connections captures how students confide only in trusted peers, fearing that formal disclosure could be perceived as weakness or incompetence. Second, Performing Resilience: Masking Authentic Struggles describes the institutional narratives of “strong nurses” that drive students to suppress anxiety, adopting scripted positivity to satisfy assessment expectations. Third, Power, Hierarchy, and the Weight of Tradition reveals that strict authority gradients inhibit questions in classrooms and clinical placements, leaving stress unvoiced and unaddressed. Finally, Overshadowed by Systemic Realities shows how chronic understaffing, equipment shortages, and patient poverty compel students to prioritize patients’ hardships, normalizing self-neglect. Conclusions: Psychological distress among Nepalese UNSs is not an individual failing but a product of structural silence and resource poverty. Educators and policymakers must move beyond resilience-only rhetoric toward concrete reforms that dismantle punitive hierarchies, create confidential support avenues, and embed collaborative pedagogy. Institutional accountability—through regulated workloads, faculty-endorsed wellbeing forums, and systematic mentoring—can shift mental health care from a private struggle to a shared professional responsibility. Multi-site studies across low- and middle-income countries are now essential for testing such system-level interventions and building a globally resilient, compassionate nursing workforce. Full article

This paper presents an investigation into the mechanical performance of a subway station prefabricated assembly air duct (PAAD), constructed by assembling the prefabricated reinforced concrete segments. The study is implemented through numerical analysis, focusing on the impact from the grouting defects in the sleeve grouting connection and assembly error defects along the assembly direction. The results demonstrate that the assembly error defect has almost no impact on the mechanical performance of the PAAD, satisfying the safety requirements for use. However, the grouting defects in the sleeve grouting connection can influence the mechanical performance of the PAAD, in which the maximum tensile stress of concrete in the sleeve grouting connection with a 20 mm-long bottom grouting defect is greater than the tensile strength of that concrete, and strengthening treatment is thus required for ensuring the structure’s safety and reliability. This study provides the basis for applying a PAAD in subway station construction. Full article

The aim of this scoping review was to identify the attributes that have led female leaders and coaches to be successful in high-performance (HP) sport and uncover what may be missing elements aiding women wishing to advance in HP sport. To date, most research has focused on addressing the shortage of women in sports from the organizational perspective. This study investigates the challenges, and coping skills women have encountered on an individual level. Drawing attention to the skills and experiences of women who have been successful in attaining and maintaining their role in HP sport has the potential to help others advance in the field. Abstract screening (n = 411) and full-text reviews (n = 25) resulted in the inclusion of 16 studies. Included studies were conducted in the UK, Canada, Australia, the USA, and Europe, giving this review broad worldwide scope. Several areas of interest were revealed during data analysis: the challenges these women face working in the male dominated world of sport, how they faced and overcame those challenges and have maintained their role in HP sport, and the connectivity that has been established as a support mechanism for women in a leadership role. Lastly, these women discussed competency and knowledge of the sport as an important aspect of their tenure. What is absent from the literature, and exemplified in these data, is a clearly defined pathway into HP sport for the competent and knowledgeable female leader. The specific steps she can take are yet to be defined. Full article

Background/Objectives: Computer-aided manufacturing techniques are divided into subtractive (milling) and additive (3D printing) techniques. The accuracy of both techniques is measured only indirectly by testing the fabricated restorations. However, the role of the fabrication technique is masked by the differences in the materials used. Hence, this study used the same printing resin to print crowns and blocks for milling. Methods: Ten maxillary first premolars were prepared for full crowns and scanned with Primescan Connect IOS, and then crown restorations were designed using Exocad. A CAD/CAM block equal to size C14 was designed in CAD software (Microsoft 3D Builder) (Version 18.0.1931.0). The designed crowns and blocks were printed using three hybrid ceramic materials, namely, Ceramic Crown (SprintRay), Varseosmile Crown plus (Bego), and P-crown (Senertek), using a SprintRay Pro95S 3D-printer. The printed blocks were then used to fabricate the designed crowns using an In-Lab MCXL milling machine. The trueness and marginal and internal gaps of the crowns were then measured using Geomagic Control X metrology software (Version 2022.1). Statistical analysis was performed using the Kruskal–Wallis test, Dunn’s test, one-way ANOVA test, and Tukey’s HSD test. Results: Generally, the milled crowns showed significantly higher trueness but lower fitness than their 3D-printed counterparts (p < 0.05). A significant reverse correlation was found between the trueness and fitness of the fabricated restorations. Conclusions: The fabrication technique significantly influenced the accuracy of the hybrid ceramic crowns. Milling offered superior trueness, whereas 3D printing resulted in better internal and marginal adaptation. Full article

Judging a person’s appearance as beautiful or ugly is not a factual description but an aesthetic act. Kant believed that the human figure is the ideal of beauty, and at the same time, beauty can positively symbolize morality. However, regarding the correlation between aesthetics and morality, the Chapter “De Chong Fu 德充符” in the Zhuangzi offers us a strikingly insightful perspective that is transcendent and religious. The characters depicted in “De Chong Fu 德充符” have incomplete physical forms and ugly appearances, which seemingly do not qualify as symbols of morality in Kant’s sense. Yet, their behavior and demeanor precisely reflect their detachment from external physical forms and their inner virtue being full. This inner virtue embodies a religious ethic that transcends individual and subjective perspectives. This paper posits that there is a deeper and more thought-provoking connection between virtue and physical form in Zhuangzi’s philosophy. The aim of this paper is to explore the issue of self-transcendence in Zhuangzi’s philosophy from the perspective of religious ethics, using the relationship between the body, beauty, and virtue in Lao–Zhuang philosophy as a guiding thread. This paper will be divided into three main parts: the first part introduces the topic through the symbolic relationship between beauty and morality in Kant; the second part discusses the transcendence of aesthetics and physical form in Daoist philosophy and provides a section-by-section analysis of Chapter “De Chong Fu 德充符” of the Zhuangzi; and the third part summarizes the relationship between virtue and form in “De Chong Fu 德充符”. The paper argues that the transcendence of the physical form by virtue, as reflected in Chapter “De Chong Fu 德充符”, is an embodiment of religious ethics. In Lao–Zhuang philosophy, due to their deep understanding of the nature of beauty and the nature of the body, there is no necessary positive connection between beauty and form. Virtue does not necessarily need to rely on beauty as a symbol to be realized, and there can still be a positive connection between a defective physical form and virtue. In conclusions, the paper proposes the modern inspiration of self-transcendence reflected in Zhuangzi’s “De Chong Fu 德充符”. Full article

Each charging/discharging cycle leads to a gradual decrease in the battery’s capacity. The degradation of capacity in lithium-ion batteries represents a non-monotonous process with random jumps. Earlier studies claimed that the instantaneous degradation value of a lithium-ion battery is influenced by the historical dataset with long-range dependence. The existing methods ignore large jumps and long-range dependences in degradation processes. In order to capture long-range-dependent behavior with random jumps, we refer to the fractional Poisson process. We also outline the relationship between the long-range correlation and the Hurst index. The connection between random jumps in capacitance and long-range dependence of the fractional Poisson process is proven. In order to construct the fractional Poisson predictive model, we included fractional Brownian motion as the diffusion term and the fractional Poisson process as the jump term. The proposed approach is implemented on NASA’s dataset for Li-ion battery degradation. We believe that the error analysis for the fractional Poisson process is advantageous compared with that of the fractional Brownian motion, the fractional Levy stable motion, the Wiener model, and the long short-term memory model. Full article

Human perception of urban streetscapes plays a crucial role in shaping human-centered urban planning and policymaking. Traditional studies on safety perception often rely on labor-intensive field surveys with limited spatial coverage, hindering large-scale assessments. To address this gap, this study constructs a street safety perception dataset for Wuhan, classifying street scenes into three perception levels. A convolutional neural network model based on transfer learning is developed, achieving a classification accuracy of 78.3%. By integrating image-based prediction with spatial clustering and correlation analysis, this study demonstrates that safety perception displays a distinctly clustered and uneven spatial distribution, primarily concentrated along major arterial roads and rail transit corridors by high safety levels. Correlation analysis indicates that higher safety perception is moderately associated with greater road grade, increased road width, and lower functional level while showing a weak negative correlation with housing prices. By presenting a framework that integrates transfer learning and geospatial analysis to connect urban street imagery with human perception, this study advances the assessment of spatialized safety perception and offers practical insights for urban planners and policymakers striving to create safer, more inclusive, and sustainable urban environments. Full article

Variability in the Laptev Sea–East Siberian Sea circulation system modulates freshwater circulation in the Arctic Ocean, yet details of these wind-driven mechanisms remain poorly understood. Based on in situ observations from the 2018 Sino-Russian joint Arctic expedition, this study investigates the modulatory influence of wind on circulation structures and freshwater transport in the study area and examines the long-term variation characteristics of this circulation and its inherent connection with the Arctic wind. In situ measurements confirm two freshwater transport pathways: a coastal-current route and a geostrophic slope-current route. As the Beaufort High moves toward the Canadian Basin, it shifts wind patterns from anticyclonic to cyclonic, which regulates the transport of shelf water by influencing the prevailing wind direction. Furthermore, our analysis identifies two main modes of long-term changes in summer surface circulation: the first mode characterizes the coastal-current architecture, while the second mode delineates slope-current configurations. Crucially, large-scale modes of the Arctic wind play an important role in regulating circulation. Its first mode corresponds to the summer anticyclonic circulation pattern of the Arctic Ocean Oscillation, which drives the eastward strengthening of the coastal current, while the third mode presents a mechanism similar to the Arctic Dipole, which promotes the development of the slope current by enhancing the convergence of the polar current and wind. This has led to the long-term strengthening of the slope current. Full article

Digital city planning increasingly relies on data-driven approaches to address complex urban sustainability challenges through innovative network analysis methodologies. This study introduces a comprehensive spatiotemporal network framework to examine digital innovation networks as fundamental infrastructure for urban sustainable development, focusing on the Yellow River Basin as a representative case study. Utilizing digital patent data as innovation indicators across 57 urban centers, we employ advanced network analysis techniques including Social Network Analysis (SNA) and the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) to investigate the spatiotemporal evolution patterns and underlying driving mechanisms of regional digital innovation networks. The methodology integrates big data analytics with urban planning applications to provide evidence-based insights for digital city planning strategies. Our empirical findings reveal three critical dimensions of urban sustainable development through digital innovation networks: First, the region demonstrated significant enhancement in digital innovation capacity from 2012 to 2022, with accelerated growth patterns post 2020, indicating robust urban resilience and adaptive capacity for sustainable transformation. Second, the spatial network configuration exhibited increasing interconnectivity characterized by strengthened urban–rural linkages and enhanced cross-regional innovation flows, forming a hierarchical centrality pattern where major metropolitan centers (Xi’an, Zhengzhou, Jinan, and Lanzhou) serve as innovation hubs driving coordinated regional development. Third, analysis of network formation mechanisms indicates that spatial proximity, market dynamics, and industrial foundations negatively correlate with network density, suggesting that regional heterogeneity in these characteristics promotes innovation diffusion and strengthens inter-urban connections, while technical human capital and governmental interventions show limited influence on network evolution. This research contributes to the digital city planning literature by demonstrating how data-driven network analysis can inform sustainable urban development strategies, providing valuable insights for policymakers and urban planners implementing AI technologies and big data applications in regional development planning. Full article