Search Results (1,927)

This study investigated the effects of color shade and curing time on the degree of conversion (DC) and microhardness of colored compomers. A total of 162 samples (81 for DC, 81 for microhardness) were prepared, with nine samples per color group (gold, blackberry, green, pink, orange, lemon, blue, silver) and for the control. Samples were subdivided into three polymerization subgroups (3 s/3200 mW/cm², 10 s/1000 mW/cm², 20 s/1000 mW/cm²). The DC was analyzed via fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and microhardness was measured using Vickers testing. Statistical analysis included two-way ANOVA and Spearman correlation (α = 0.05). The colored compomers demonstrated a significantly lower DC compared to the control group (p ≤ 0.001). Among the tested colors, green exhibited the lowest DC (33.3%), while orange showed the highest (51.0%). A significant difference in DC was observed across curing times (p = 0.005), with the 3 s and 20 s groups exhibiting significantly higher conversion rates than the 10 s group. Microhardness values exhibited significant variation depending on the color (p < 0.001). Gold compomers demonstrated the lowest microhardness, whereas silver compomers showed comparable performance with the control group (p = 0.154). A moderate correlation between DC and microhardness was observed overall (ρ = 0.42, p = 0.003). However, the observed relationships were color-dependent: orange displayed a strong positive correlation (ρ = 0.78), whereas pink revealed no meaningful association (ρ = −0.15). Color and curing time critically influence compomer performance. High-intensity short curing is viable for lighter colors, while darker colors require extended curing. Customized protocols are essential to optimize clinical outcomes in pediatric dentistry. Full article

Nanotechnologies bring a rapid paradigm shift in hard and soft bone tissue regeneration (BTR) through unprecedented control over the nanoscale structures and chemistry of biocompatible materials to regenerate the intricate architecture and functional adaptability of bone. This review focuses on the transformative analyses and prospects of current and next-generation nanomaterials in designing bioactive bone scaffolds, emphasizing hierarchical architecture, mechanical resilience, and regenerative precision. Mainly, this review elucidated the innovative findings, new capabilities, unmet challenges, and possible future opportunities associated with biocompatible inorganic ceramics (e.g., phosphates, metallic oxides) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approved synthetic polymers, including their nanoscale structures. Furthermore, this review demonstrates the newly available approaches for achieving customized standard porosity, mechanical strengths, and accelerated bioactivity to construct an optimized nanomaterial-oriented scaffold. Numerous strategies including three-dimensional bioprinting, electro-spinning techniques and meticulous nanomaterials (NMs) fabrication are well established to achieve radical scientific precision in BTR engineering. The contemporary research is unceasingly decoding the pathways for spatial and temporal release of osteoinductive agents to enhance targeted therapy and prompt healing processes. Additionally, successful material design and integration of an osteoinductive and osteoconductive agents with the blend of contemporary technologies will bring radical success in this field. Furthermore, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) can further decode the current complexities of material design for BTR, notwithstanding the fact that these methods call for an in-depth understanding of bone composition, relationships and impacts on biochemical processes, distribution of stem cells on the matrix, and functionalization strategies of NMs for better scaffold development. Overall, this review integrated important technological progress with ethical considerations, aiming for a future where nanotechnology-facilitated bone regeneration is boosted by enhanced functionality, safety, inclusivity, and long-term environmental responsibility. Therefore, the assimilation of a specialized research design, while upholding ethical standards, will elucidate the challenge and questions we are presently encountering. Full article

Virtual influencers (VIs) on e-commerce platforms are becoming increasingly popular, enhancing the consumer experience. This study examines the consumer–brand relationship (CBR) with VIs through the perspective of social presence. Data from 1041 e-commerce platform users (e.g., Douyin, RED, Weibo) were collected and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings reveal that both the visual and mental human-likeness of VIs significantly strengthen CBR, with social presence acting as a mediator. Additionally, the interaction between visual and mental human-likeness positively impacts social presence, which in turn enhances CBR. Moreover, consumers’ need for uniqueness moderates the relationship between social presence and CBR, providing valuable insights for virtual influencer strategies in e-commerce. This research suggests the feasibility of leveraging VI design both visually and mentally to capture new trends in developing effective virtual campaigns with digitization and metaverse technologies. This study extends the stream of research VIs use for interactive marketing, highlighting the role of parasocial relationships in interactive marketing. These findings can provide managers with a better understanding of VI design from both visual and mental aspects. Full article

With the arrival of an aging society and the continuous extension of the human lifespan, the quality of life has not improved in a corresponding manner. People’s demand for happiness and health is increasing. As a result, a model emerged that integrates tourism and medical services, which is health tourism. This growing demand has prompted many service providers to see it as a business opportunity and enter the market. Tourism can help travelers release work stress and restore physical and mental balance; meanwhile, health check-ups and disease treatment can help them regain health. Consumers have long favored health and medical tourism because it helps relieve stress and promotes overall well-being. As people age, some consumers experience a gradual decline in physical functions, making it difficult for them to participate in regular travel services provided by traditional travel agencies. Therefore, this study aims to explore the service needs of health and medical tourism customers (tourists/patients) and the interrelationships among these service needs, so that health and medical tourism service providers can develop more customized and diversified services. This study identifies four key drivers of medical tourism services: medical services, medical facilities, tour planning, and hospitality facilities. This study uses the APA (attention and performance analysis) method to assess each dimension and criterion and utilizes the DEMATEL method with the NRM (network relationship map) to identify network relationships. By combining APA and NRM techniques, this study develops the APA-NRM technique to evaluate adoption strategies and identify suitable paths for health tourism services, providing tailored development strategies and recommendations for service providers to enhance the service experience. Full article

This study investigates the thermal dynamics and material behavior involved in the baking process for Lebanese flatbread, focusing on the heat transfer mechanisms, water loss, and dough expansion under high-temperature conditions. Despite previous studies on flatbread baking using impingement or conventional ovens, this work presents the first experimental investigation of the traditional Lebanese flatbread baking process under realistic industrial conditions, specifically using a high-temperature tunnel oven with direct flame heating, extremely short baking times (~10–12 s), and peak temperatures reaching ~650 °C, which are essential to achieving the characteristic pocket formation and texture of Lebanese bread. This experimental study characterizes the baking kinetics of traditional Lebanese flatbread, recording mass loss pre- and post-baking, thermal profiles, and dough expansion through real-time temperature measurements and video recordings, providing insights into the dough’s thermal response and expansion behavior under high-temperature conditions. A custom-designed instrumented oven with a steel conveyor and a direct flame burner was employed. The dough, prepared following a traditional recipe, was analyzed during the baking process using K-type thermocouples and visual monitoring. Results revealed that Lebanese bread undergoes significant water loss due to high baking temperatures (~650 °C), leading to rapid crust formation and pocket development. Empirical equations modeling the relationship between baking time, temperature, and expansion were developed with high predictive accuracy. Additionally, an energy analysis revealed that the total energy required to bake Lebanese bread is approximately 667 kJ/kg, with an overall thermal efficiency of only 21%, dropping to 16% when preheating is included. According to previous CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations, most heat loss in similar tunnel ovens occurs via the chimney (50%) and oven walls (29%). These findings contribute to understanding the broader thermophysical principles that can be applied to the development of more efficient baking processes for various types of bread. The empirical models developed in this study can be applied to automating and refining the industrial production of Lebanese flatbread, ensuring consistent product quality across different baking environments. Future studies will extend this work to alternative oven designs and dough formulations. Full article

The port logistics service innovation (PLSI) is closely associated with cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) enterprise performance, given that the port, as the spatial carrier and the joint point of goods, information, customs house affairs, etc., is essentially a key node of the CBEC logistics chain. However, the influence mechanism of PLSI on CBEC enterprise performance has still not yet been elaborated by consensus. To fill this gap, this study aims to figure out the effect mechanism integrating the probe into two variables (i.e., information interaction and environmental upgrade) in a moderated mediation model. Specifically, this study collects questionnaire survey data of logistics enterprises and CBEC enterprises in the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port of China by the Bootstrap method in the software SPSS 26.0. The results show the following: (1) PLSI can positively affect the CBEC enterprise performance; (2) information interaction plays an intermediary role between PLSI and CBEC enterprise performance; and (3) environmental upgrade can not only positively regulate the relationship between information interaction and CBEC enterprise performance, but also enhance the mediating role of information interaction with a moderated intermediary effect. Full article

This study integrates Expectation–Confirmation Theory (ECT) and the existing literature on service failure to propose a novel service gaps model. This model categorizes service gaps into three dimensions: Gap 1—the service delivery system gap; Gap 2—the customer needs and requests gap; and Gap 3—the unprompted and unsolicited service behaviors gap. This study examines the effects of these service gaps and recovery satisfaction on repurchase intention, as well as the moderating role of service recovery in the relationship between recovery satisfaction and repurchase intention. Based on the findings, this study offers practical recommendations to address service gaps, enhance recovery satisfaction, and ultimately improve customers’ repurchase intentions in the restaurant industry. Full article

Anxiety is a significant mental health concern in universities worldwide. This study examines the structure of anxiety symptoms and their relationship with contextual stressors among pre-service English teachers. The sample included 269 students enrolled in a Teaching English as a Foreign Language program at a public university in Manabí, Ecuador. Data were collected using the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and a custom-designed questionnaire identifying anxiety triggers. Results showed that while most students reported normal or mild anxiety levels, a considerable portion exhibited moderate to severe symptoms. Cluster analysis revealed three emotional profiles, with the high-anxiety group strongly associated with stressors such as economic hardship and job insecurity. Academic pressure and financial instability emerged as the strongest predictors of anxiety. These findings highlight the urgent need to develop and evaluate targeted psycho-educational strategies to prevent and reduce anxiety within teacher training programs in higher education. Full article

Background: Energy drinks (EDs) are non-alcoholic, functional beverages sold worldwide in more than 165 countries. These products are very popular and often consumed by children, teenagers, and young adults to improve physical performance, reduce drowsiness, and improve memory and concentration with increased intellectual effort. However, their consumption is associated with an increased risk of various health consequences. Objectives: The purpose of this non-systematic review was to discuss the components of EDs and their effects, summarize the AEs reported in the literature associated with the consumption of EDs, and briefly characterize the possible ED-related drug interactions. Methods: Scientific evidence was extracted by searching the databases PubMed and Google Scholar. In addition, the reference lists of the retrieved papers were reviewed and cross-referenced to reveal additional relevant scientific evidence. Results: The most common ingredients in EDs are caffeine, taurine, glucuronolactone, B vitamins, the vitamin-like compound inositol, and sweeteners (sugar, fructose, glucose–fructose syrup or artificial sweeteners). Although it is difficult to conclusively prove a cause-and-effect relationship between the consumption of EDs and the observed pathophysiological abnormalities, most scientific evidence (mostly clinical case reports) indicates that both occasional and especially chronic use of EDs is associated with the occurrence of numerous adverse effects (AEs). Among these, the best documented AEs are those on the cardiovascular system. It should also be noted that the components of EDs (primarily caffeine) may have drug interactions; therefore, EDs may be an important factor influencing the safety of pharmacotherapy in patients consuming EDs. Conclusions: Consuming energy drinks lead to various health problems and may interfere with pharmacotherapy due to the potential development of drug interactions. Due to the widespread availability of EDs, their suggestive advertising aimed at the youngest customers, and ambiguous regulations, new legislative policies are required to limit the widespread consumption of such products and their negative health effects. Full article

Phishing attacks pose significant risks to security, drawing considerable attention from both security professionals and customers. Despite extensive research, the current phishing website detection mechanisms often fail to efficiently diagnose unknown attacks due to their poor performances in the feature selection stage. Many techniques suffer from overfitting when working with huge datasets. To address this issue, we propose a feature selection strategy based on a convolutional graph network, which utilizes a dataset containing both labels and features, along with hyperparameters for a Support Vector Machine (SVM) and a graph neural network (GNN). Our technique consists of three main stages: (1) preprocessing the data by dividing them into testing and training sets, (2) constructing a graph from pairwise feature distances using the Manhattan distance and adding self-loops to nodes, and (3) implementing a GraphSAGE model with node embeddings and training the GNN by updating the node embeddings through message passing from neighbors, calculating the hinge loss, applying the softmax function, and updating weights via backpropagation. Additionally, we compute the neighborhood random walk (NRW) distance using a random walk with restart to create an adjacency matrix that captures the node relationships. The node features are ranked based on gradient significance to select the top k features, and the SVM is trained using the selected features, with the hyperparameters tuned through cross-validation. We evaluated our model on a test set, calculating the performance metrics and validating the effectiveness of the PhishGNN dataset. Our model achieved a precision of 90.78%, an F1-score of 93.79%, a recall of 97%, and an accuracy of 93.53%, outperforming the existing techniques. Full article

Supervisory control theory (SCT), based on Petri nets, offers a robust framework for modeling and controlling discrete-event systems but faces significant challenges in scalability, expressiveness, and practical implementation. This paper introduces General-purpose Petri Net Simulator and Real-Time Controller (GPenSIM), a MATLAB version 24.1.0.2689473 (R2024a) Update 6-based modular Petri net framework, as a novel solution to these limitations. GPenSIM leverages modular decomposition to mitigate state-space explosion, enabling parallel execution of weakly coupled Petri modules on multi-core systems. Its programmable interfaces (pre-processors and post-processors) extend classical Petri nets’ expressiveness by enforcing nonlinear, temporal, and conditional constraints through custom MATLAB scripts, addressing the rigidity of traditional linear constraints. Furthermore, the integration of GPenSIM with MATLAB facilitates real-time control synthesis, performance optimization, and seamless interaction with external hardware and software, bridging the gap between theoretical models and industrial applications. Empirical studies demonstrate the efficacy of GPenSIM in reconfigurable manufacturing systems, where it reduced downtime by 30%, and in distributed control scenarios, where decentralized modules minimized synchronization delays. Grounded in systems theory principles of interconnectedness, GPenSIM emphasizes dynamic relationships between components, offering a scalable, adaptable, and practical tool for supervisory control. This work highlights the potential of GPenSIM to overcome longstanding limitations in SCT, providing a versatile platform for both academic research and industrial deployment. Full article

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing and social media is gaining scholarly interest. While AI technologies offer significant potential for enhancing customer engagement (CE), their effectiveness depends on an industry’s level of digital and AI readiness. This is especially relevant for people-centric sectors such as tourism and hospitality, where digital maturity remains relatively low. This study aims to understand how AI supports CE and social media marketing (SMM), and to identify the key antecedents and consequences of its use. Using the PRISMA approach, we conduct a systematic review of 55 peer-reviewed empirical studies on AI-based CE and SMM. Our analysis identifies the main contributing theories and AI technologies in the field, and uncovers four central themes: (1) AI in customer service and user experience design, (2) AI-based customer relationships with brands, (3) AI-driven development of customer trust, and (4) cultural differences and varying levels of AI readiness. We also develop a conceptual framework that outlines the determinants and outcomes of AI-based CE, including relevant moderators and mediators. The study concludes with directions for future research and provides theoretical and managerial implications, particularly for the tourism and hospitality industries. Full article

This study explores the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty in mobile banking, emphasizing the moderating role of Technology Readiness. As mobile banking becomes increasingly central to financial service delivery, understanding the nuanced drivers of customer loyalty is essential for strategic growth. Drawing from the Technology Readiness Index, this study examines how four dimensions, optimism, innovativeness, discomfort, and insecurity, moderate the satisfaction–loyalty linkage. Data were collected via a structured survey from 258 mobile banking users in the United States, analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results show that optimism and innovativeness positively moderate this relationship, while discomfort and insecurity act as negative moderators. Practically, this research introduces a segmented approach to mobile banking service design, underscoring the need for differentiated strategies that address varying levels of user readiness. Theoretically, this study addresses a gap in mobile banking literature by shifting the focus from adoption to sustained usage and satisfaction-based loyalty, enriching the discourse on customer behavior in digital finance. Full article

This study investigates the critical determinants of customer retention in casual dining restaurants within the context of the post-pandemic “new normal.” Anchored in service quality and consumer behavior theories, the research examines the influences of food quality, health measures, perceived price, brand image, ambiance, and location on customer decision making. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), data from 336 respondents in the National Capital Region, Philippines were analyzed to assess the relationships among these variables and their effects on restaurant selection and customer retention. The results reveal that food quality (β = 0.698, p < 0.05) exerts the strongest influence on restaurant selection, followed by health measures (β = 0.477, p = 0.001), perceived price (β = 0.378, p < 0.02), and brand image (β = 0.341, p < 0.035). Furthermore, health measures (β = 0.436, p = 0.002) and restaurant selection (β = 0.475, p < 0.05) significantly enhance customer retention, while ambiance and location were not found to be significant predictors. These findings offer theoretical contributions to the service quality and consumer trust literature and provide practical and policy-relevant insights for food establishments adapting to health-driven consumer expectations. The study highlights the need for the strategic integration of safety protocols, pricing value, and brand positioning to foster long-term loyalty and resilience in the evolving food service market. Full article

Background: People with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD) often experience sleep disturbances and reduced physical activity. Altered sleep behavior and lower daily steps have been linked to disease severity and symptom burden. Although physical activity may influence sleep, few studies have examined the relationship between sleep parameters and daily steps in PD. This scoping review aimed to review current knowledge on sleep parameters and daily steps collected concurrently in PwPD and their potential association. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in five databases, PubMed, Web of Science, Sport Discus, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. Methodological quality was assessed using a customized quality checklist developed by Zanardi and collaborators for observational studies, based on Downs and Black’s work. Results: Out of 1421 records, five studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Four studies reported wearable-based measurements of both step count and sleep parameters, while one study reported wearable-based measurements of step count and self-reported sleep measures. Two studies examined the association between sleep parameters and step count. One study did not find any correlation between sleep and step count, whereas one study reported a positive correlation between daytime sleepiness and step count. Conclusions: This review highlighted the lack of research investigating the relationship between sleep parameters and step count as an indicator of physical activity in PwPD. Findings are inconsistent with a potential positive correlation emerging between daytime sleepiness and step count. Findings also pointed toward lower step count and reduced sleep duration in PwPD, as measured with wearable devices. Full article