Search Results (4,430)

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

The global transition toward net-zero emissions has led to the restructuring of labor markets and an intensification of the demand for sustainability-competent business graduates. However, higher-education curricula lack an operationalized, job-competency-based framework, and this gap in knowledge is especially acute in emerging industrial economies that are facing pressures due to the ongoing decarbonization of the global supply chain. In this context, this study addresses two interrelated gaps in the relevant research: the lack of a structured system of criteria to assess competency in sustainability that is specifically geared toward business education, and the insufficient attention that has been paid to causal interdependencies among such criteria in previously developed frameworks. The authors apply a two-stage, hybrid multiple-criteria decision-making design based on the KSAO framework, which classifies professional competency into knowledge (K), skills (S), abilities (A), and other characteristics (O). A modified Delphi method that involved 12 academic and industry experts serving as surrogate assessors of competency requirements for business and management students was first used to consolidate 142 literature-derived items into 26 initial criteria, which were then refined into 12 core competencies in sustainability, identified through cross-domain expert consensus. Following this, fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) was applied to analyze the structure of causal influence among the retained criteria. The results identified interdisciplinary work as the primary driving competency and integrated problem-solving as the central hub with the highest prominence, with the two factors forming a bidirectional feedback dynamic that anchored the competency system. The retention of four “other” criteria (O-dimension)—ethical values, normative orientation, empathy, and adaptive resilience—confirmed that competency concerning sustainability in business education extends beyond technical knowledge into deeper dispositional attributes. These findings provide business schools in Taiwan with a structurally grounded logic of sequencing for their curricula, as well as a reference framework for curriculum design that is aligned with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Societal Impact standards. While the findings are grounded in Taiwan’s specific ESG regulatory and industrial context, only the methodological approach is offered as a reference for comparable settings; the substantive findings require cross-national verification. Full article

Background/Objectives: This cross-sectional observational study investigated factors associated with emergency room (ER) utilization for dental pain in a rural inland region of Portugal. The main objective was to examine the relationship between access to dental care, sociodemographic characteristics, oral health behaviors, and clinical outcomes with the use of emergency room services for dental problems. Methods: The study sample comprised 423 participants from the districts of Bragança and Vinhais, in Trás-os-Montes, aged 4 to 90 years, who attended their first dental medicine consultation. Participants completed a structured questionnaire addressing sociodemographic characteristics, general health, oral health behaviors, and dental prosthetic use, and underwent oral examination for assessment of the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index. Associations with reported ER utilization due to toothache were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test and the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: Overall, 28.4% of participants reported having visited the ER due to dental pain, and most cases were managed with medication followed by discharge. ER utilization was significantly associated with behavioral risk factors such as smoking, as well as poorer oral hygiene practices, including less frequent tooth brushing. In addition, participants who sought ER care presented higher DMFT scores, indicating a greater burden of untreated dental decay and tooth loss. Conclusions: These findings suggest that limited preventive dental care and unfavorable oral health behaviors are associated with to avoidable ER visits for dental pain in rural settings. This study reinforces the need to strengthen access to preventive oral health services and to advance the integration of dental care into Portugal’s National Health Service (SNS), particularly in underserved inland regions. Full article

Background: Breast cancer comprises 31.4% of all female cancers in Saudi Arabia (2020 Cancer Registry). Despite free national screening services existing since 2005, mammography utilization remains critically low. This study assessed breast cancer knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among females in Saudi Arabia and identified independent predictors of screening behavior. Methods: A cross-sectional study (December 2024–February 2025) enrolled 426 females aged ≥20 years from all 13 Saudi administrative regions using a quota-based design combining facility-based and online recruitment. Attitude and barrier domains were adapted from Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale (CHBMS), validated in Arabic; knowledge items used validated regional instruments. Knowledge-score reliability: KR-20 = 0.45; attitude subscale: α = 0.74. Binary logistic regression identified independent predictors of screening uptake (outcome: any screening in the preceding five years, coded as screened = 1; not screened = 0). Results: Mean composite knowledge score: 4.51 ± 1.52/7 (KR-20 = 0.45); 54.0% achieved high knowledge (≥5). Mammography uptake was 30.5% overall and 52.2% among women aged ≥40 (n = 136; the recommended target group). Predominant barriers: Fear of diagnosis (83.6%), belief in incurability (76.3%), radiation concern (73.2%), and pain anxiety (72.3%). Logistic regression (χ²(8) = 188.96, p < 0.001; McFadden’s pseudo R² = 0.323) identified older age (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.21–1.92), higher income (OR = 1.57; 95% CI: 1.25–1.99), transportation barriers (OR = 3.39; 95% CI: 1.95–5.89), and family discouragement (OR = 3.03; 95% CI: 1.72–5.34) as significant predictors (all p < 0.001). Conclusions: A significant knowledge–practice gap persists across all 13 Saudi regions. These findings suggest several implications for a multi-level public health response to be evaluated through future intervention research; multi-level strategies targeting CHBMS Barriers are needed. Full article

Understanding and managing the electric vehicle (EV) charging network is expected to become a major challenge for future electricity grids, driven by the growing penetration of battery electric vehicles. This study analyzes two real-world datasets from the Czech Republic, representing public and workplace charging sessions, each further categorized into AC and DC charging, with a focus on their key operational differences. Workplace charging is characterized by significantly longer session durations, higher energy delivered per session compared to public charging, and a distinct peak in energy use on Mondays. In contrast, public charging sessions peak on Fridays. Cross-country comparisons highlight substantial differences in charging behavior, driven primarily by local charging infrastructure conditions and EV fleet composition. To our knowledge, this is the first in-depth analysis comparing public and workplace charging based on real-world data from charging stations. The scientific novelty of the study lies in showing that charging-session parameters are shaped not only by charging location and AC/DC technology, but also by battery electric vehicle (BEV)/plugin-hybrid-electric-vehicle (PHEV) fleet composition and provider-specific pricing strategies, including overstay-fee policies. The findings suggest that EU- and national-level policies and subsidy schemes should consider not only the total number and installed power of charging points, but also the composition of the charging mix, including workplace charging and different forms of public charging such as on-street AC, commercial charging, and high-power DC charging. Such differentiation is particularly important for smart grid integration, demand flexibility, and the development of grid-compatible charging infrastructure. Full article

Background/Objectives: Emotional eating (EE) is an emerging public health concern among university students, a population exposed to heightened academic demands, psychosocial stressors, and lifestyle changes that may promote maladaptive coping behaviors. EE has been linked to psychological distress, particularly depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as sociodemographic, lifestyle, and anthropometric factors; however, findings remain heterogeneous and insufficiently integrated within comprehensive analytical frameworks. This study aimed to examine the association between EE and depressive and anxiety symptoms in university students, while assessing the independent contributions of sociodemographic, academic, lifestyle, and anthropometric determinants. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed among 1279 university students from 10 regions in Greece. Sociodemographic, academic, lifestyle, and anthropometric data were collected using validated instruments and standardized procedures. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed by the use of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the six-item State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-6), respectively. EE was evaluated utilizing the EE subscale of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire–Revised 18 (TFEQ-R18). Multivariable ordinal logistic regression models were applied to examine independent associations. Results: In fully adjusted models, depressive and anxiety symptoms were the strongest correlates of higher EE levels, each associated with more than twofold increased odds. Female sex, Greek nationality, rural residence, enrollment in biomedical sciences, later academic years, and regular smoking were also positively associated with EE. Higher physical activity was inversely associated with EE levels. Overweight, obesity, and increased waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio were consistently linked to higher EE, with several associations exceeding twofold increased odds. Conclusions: EE in university students is strongly associated with psychological distress and clusters with adverse lifestyle and anthropometric characteristics. These findings support the need for integrated interventions targeting mental health, lifestyle behaviors, and obesity-related risk factors. Longitudinal studies are warranted to clarify causal pathways and underlying mechanisms. Full article

Gender discrimination is a widespread phenomenon in contemporary societies; however, people often acknowledge its existence without challenging it. This study introduces the concept of the ‘recognition–normalisation paradox’, defined as the simultaneous recognition of gender discrimination and its mitigation through interpretative frameworks that render it socially acceptable, and proposes a theoretical framework based on predictive elaboration and social cognition to explain its cognitive underpinnings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants (14 in Italy, 11 in Lithuania) of both genders, analysed using an integrated qualitative–quantitative approach with ATLAS.ti (v. 26.0.1). The findings reveal that recognition and normalisation systematically coexist within the same narrative sequences. The cross-national analysis indicates that, whilst the paradox is structurally invariant in both contexts, its specific configuration differs: in Italy, normalisation operates predominantly through routinised relational and familial expectations, whereas in Lithuania it is achieved through discursive relativisation and contextual distancing. These findings challenge the view that normalisation reflects an absence of recognition, reframing it as a phenomenon that can be interpreted as a form of inferential processing. The implications for interventions promoting gender equality are discussed. Full article

Keratoconus is a progressive corneal ectasia that results in substantial visual impairment and imposes a significant functional and psychosocial burden on affected individuals. Despite evidence suggesting earlier onset and a potentially more aggressive disease course of keratoconus in Saudi populations, there is a significant lack of region-specific data evaluating vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) in Riyadh. This cross-sectional study conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, evaluated VRQoL in individuals with keratoconus using the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25). Data were obtained from January to March 2025 through an online, structured, self-administered questionnaire. A total of 1007 participants were included, of whom 299 (29.7%) reported a diagnosis of keratoconus. The mean composite NEI-VFQ-25 score among participants with keratoconus was 61.0 ± 15.8, reflecting moderate impairment in VRQoL. Reduced VRQoL was significantly associated with eye-rubbing behavior, including both frequency (p = 0.027) and method (p = 0.026). The results highlight the importance of early detection and the relevance of eye-rubbing behavior in relation to reduced VRQoL, while supporting the need for longitudinal research to further clarify these associations. Full article

Background/Objectives: Dietary habits are important modifiable factors influencing survival among cancer patients. The dietary quality among cancer survivors may differ from those of the general population and may vary according to age at cancer diagnosis. This study aimed to compare dietary quality between cancer survivors and the general population and to examine whether age at diagnosis is associated with dietary quality. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study used data from 8706 adults aged ≥ 30 years (641 cancer survivors and 8065 controls) from the 2019–2021 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Dietary quality was assessed using the Diet Quality Index-International (DQI-I; range 0–100). Survey-weighted multiple linear regression models were used to compare DQI-I scores between cancer survivors and controls. Subgroup analyses were stratified by age at diagnosis, and quadratic age terms were included to assess nonlinear associations. All analyses accounted for the complex survey design. Results: Cancer survivors had significantly higher mean DQI-I scores than controls (69.1 ± 0.4 vs. 66.1 ± 0.2; p < 0.001). Among survivors diagnosed before age 50, dietary quality was significantly higher in those currently under 65 years than in controls (mean difference +3.02, 95% CI 1.44–4.60), but notably lower in those aged ≥ 65 years (−3.18, 95% CI −6.16 to −0.20). In contrast, survivors diagnosed at age ≥ 50 consistently showed higher dietary quality than controls across all age groups (+3.76, 95% CI 2.83–4.68). Conclusions: While cancer survivors generally exhibit better dietary quality than the general population, this positive trend was not observed among younger-onset survivors in older age groups. These findings suggest that age at cancer diagnosis may be associated with dietary quality and highlight the need for sustained, age-specific nutritional support strategies in cancer survivorship. Full article

Ensuring sustainable management of water, energy, and food (WEF) resources requires governance frameworks capable of addressing cross-sectoral interdependencies and policy fragmentation. This study evaluates the performance and coherence of national water, energy, and agricultural policies in Mali, South Africa, Malawi, and Tanzania, with a focus on their contribution to WEF nexus integration and energy transition pathways. A mixed-methods approach is applied, combining qualitative policy analysis, stakeholder consultations (n = 52), and a composite policy coherence index to assess cross-sectoral policy alignment across three river basins: the Bani River Basin (Mali), the Songwe River Basin (Malawi–Tanzania), and the Inkomati–Usuthu Water Management Area (South Africa). The results indicate that key water policy dimensions such as conservation, pollution control, and stakeholder participation demonstrate high performance (mean = 1.0) and strong coherence (SD = 0.0–0.1) across all countries. However, these values primarily reflect the presence of policy instruments rather than their effective implementation. Stakeholder evidence highlights persistent gaps in enforcement, coordination, and institutional capacity. In the energy sector, core infrastructure and participation policies exhibit high performance (mean = 1.0; SD = 0.0), while critical market instruments—including feed-in tariffs (FITs) and power purchase agreements (PPAs)—show moderate performance (mean = 0.6–0.8) and high variability (SD = 0.4–0.5), indicating regulatory inconsistency. In the agricultural sector, economic incentives achieve high performance (mean = 1.0; SD = 0.0), whereas sustainable practices such as agroecology, crop rotation, and organic fertilization remain weakly integrated (mean = 0.1–0.4; SD up to 0.5). Overall, the findings reveal that WEF nexus governance is characterized by strong structural policy alignment (mean = 0.8–1.0) but limited functional integration, reflecting a gap between policy design coherence and implementation effectiveness. Strengthening regulatory frameworks, improving cross-sectoral coordination, and enhancing investment mechanisms are critical for advancing resource efficiency and accelerating energy transition. The study provides a reproducible framework for assessing policy coherence and offers policy-relevant insights for integrated resource governance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Full article

Background: Currently, expected goal models are tools that enable quantitative analysis in the study of conventional sports, although they have seen very little application in the Paralympic context. Objective: To present a trained expected goals model for 5-a-side blind soccer games based on an analysis of 164 offensive plays by the national team that won first place at the 2022 IBSA Copa América. The novelty of this work lies in being, to our knowledge, the first expected goals (xG) model developed for Paralympic blind football (B1): conventional xG weights cannot be transferred directly because shooting in F5 is governed by auditory orientation, the absence of an offside rule, a smaller rebound-walled pitch, and fully blind executors, so a sport-specific, reproducible and SHAP-interpretable benchmark is required where none previously existed. Materials and Methods: The SHapley Additive exPlanations library was used to analyze the data via partial dependency plots, dependency scatter plots, waterfall plots, decision plots, and SHAP heatmaps. Additionally, ten machine learning algorithms were compared, including logistic regression, random forest, extra trees, gradient boosting, XGBoost, LightGBM, CatBoost, support vector machine, k-nearest neighbors, and multilayer perceptron, using a 70/30 stratification process with fivefold stratified cross-validation to define the main hyperparameters. Results: The most consistent model was CatBoost (F1 = 0.778; AUC-ROC = 0.913; AUC-PR = 0.828; MCC = 0.729; Brier = 0.072), which allowed for independent analysis and evaluation of the dataset. The five main offensive variables were determined to be (i) distance to the goal before the shot; (ii) lateral coordinate; (iii) absolute magnitude of the shooting angle; (iv) magnitude of the progression vector; (v) proximity to the side kickboard. However, none of these variables proved to be decisive in the tournament (n = 24), a characteristic that the model captured as a significant negative contribution from the opponent variable. Conclusions: The expected goals model considered for this study serves as a starting point for further analysis of tactical variables in 5-a-side soccer for the blind. Because the model was trained on a single team in a single tournament with few positive cases, these results should be read as preliminary, hypothesis-generating tactical insights rather than validated performance estimates, and require external validation before transfer to other teams or competitions. Full article

Although digital media play an increasingly important role in young children’s home learning environment (HLE), validated tools that measure both traditional and digital aspects of the HLE are lacking. The present study examines the cross-cultural validity of the Greek Home Learning Environment Questionnaire (HLEQ) in Austrian and Hungarian contexts. A sample of N = 515 parents of preschool children (M_age = 62 months, SD = 13.2; 52% boys) was assessed. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the six-factor structure of the HLEQ across both countries, including digital learning activities as a distinct dimension. Reliability indices (Cronbach’s α, McDonald’s ω) indicated acceptable to good internal consistency across most scales. Multi-group analyses demonstrated configural and metric invariance, suggesting comparable factor structures and item–factor relations across countries. However, scalar invariance was not supported, indicating differences in item intercepts and limiting the comparability of latent mean levels. Descriptive findings revealed cross-national differences in most HLE dimensions. Overall, the results advance cross-cultural research on digital learning environments and support the structural validity of the HLEQ across cultural contexts while highlighting the importance of culturally sensitive interpretation when comparing HLE levels. Future research should examine how traditional and digital aspects of the HLE contribute to children’s development. Full article

We examine the measurement of country-level institutions in international accounting research. Despite a large body of literature linking national institutions to financial reporting outcomes, the construct validity and reliability of the institutional measures used in cross-country studies have rarely been assessed. We show that widely cited measures of investor protection, legal quality, and equity market development have been adopted without validity or reliability assessment and used inconsistently across published studies, with the same indicator labelled as a measure of different constructs in different papers. Using forty-eight candidate indicators from six international databases for seventy countries, we conduct an exploratory factor analysis followed by a confirmatory factor analysis and identify three latent constructs that pass conventional thresholds for convergent reliability and discriminant validity. The constructs are empirically distinct, indicating that measures routinely treated as interchangeable in published work measure different latent dimensions. We offer a validated three-factor measurement model that researchers can use to operationalise country-level institutions in future cross-country studies and discuss the implications for the interpretation of existing studies. Full article

Background/Objectives: Children with chronic neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders (CNDD) constitute a medically vulnerable population in whom routine childhood immunization may be interrupted because of clinical complexity and parental concerns. This study aimed to evaluate immunization patterns, timing of vaccination interruption, and associated clinical and sociodemographic factors in children with CNDDs followed at a tertiary pediatric neurology center. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study included 545 children aged 1–18 years with chronic neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders evaluated between September and November 2025. Immunization status according to the Turkish National Immunization Program was classified as fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated, or not vaccinated. Information regarding non-NIP vaccines, timing of vaccination interruption, parental characteristics, and motor impairment severity assessed using the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) was collected. Associations between vaccination status and clinical variables were evaluated using chi-square tests and logistic regression analysis. Results: Overall, 72.1% of children were fully vaccinated, 25.0% were partially vaccinated, and 2.9% had never received routine childhood vaccines. Immunization status differed significantly across diagnostic groups (p < 0.001). Partial vaccination was more common than complete vaccine refusal across most diagnostic categories. Lower full vaccination rates were observed in autism spectrum disorder and cerebral palsy, whereas higher coverage was observed in Down syndrome. Among partially vaccinated children, interruption of routine immunization after 48 months was the most frequent pattern. In multivariable analysis, only maternal age remained significantly associated with incomplete or no vaccination. Conclusions: Incomplete immunization in children with CNDDs was more commonly characterized by partial vaccination than complete vaccine refusal and followed diagnosis-specific patterns. Evaluating vaccination continuity during pediatric neurology follow-up may help support diagnosis-sensitive immunization counseling. Full article

Coal-dominated resource-based cities face a structurally embedded carbon-neutrality gap, shaped by the simultaneous pressures of industrial carbon lock-in and ecological fragility. China’s dual-carbon targets impose severe transition pressure on such regions, where carbon-intensive industries, strong path dependence, and limited decarbonization flexibility compound the challenge. Forest carbon sinks offer a cost-effective approach for offsetting residual emissions. However, water scarcity and restricted land-carrying capacity impose hard ecological ceilings on sink expansion in semi-arid areas such as the Loess Plateau. Existing studies have largely focused on national or provincial scales, with few addressing the coupled dynamics of industrial emissions and water-limited sink capacity at the county level. This study examines Shenmu, China’s largest coal-producing county-level city and a national energy-chemical industrial base. Using time-series data spanning 2010–2025, we project multi-scenario carbon emissions via an extended STIRPAT model with ridge regression, estimate forest carbon sink potential through a growing-stock (GS) gradient model cross-validated against GM(1,1), and systematically quantify the resulting carbon-neutrality gap. The results show that energy activities dominate total emissions throughout, consistently exceeding 90% of the aggregate. Under the baseline scenario, emissions reach 407.96 MtCO₂eq in 2060 without peaking; under moderate mitigation, emissions peak at 269.39 MtCO₂eq in 2050; under strengthened mitigation, emissions peak at 225.80 MtCO₂eq before 2040 and subsequently decline. Forest carbon sinks are projected to offset 2.1–11.2% of emissions by 2060 under all scenarios, constrained by climatic aridity, finite afforestation potential, and water–soil carrying capacity thresholds. The carbon-neutrality gap remains structurally positive across every scenario, reflecting a fundamental asymmetry between rigid emission growth and ecologically bounded sink capacity. These findings indicate that only an integrated pathway combining industrial restructuring, energy decarbonization, diversified ecological sinks, and CCUS deployment can substantially narrow the gap; carbon neutrality by 2060 is unattainable through natural sinks alone. Full article