Search Results (12,964)

Work–family conflicts (WFCs) and family–work conflicts (FWCs) have been found to be important to worker morale and retention as well as family (as defined by the respondents) well-being, with particular importance within the military, as indicated by a number of studies in the United States, Canada, and European countries. However, few studies have focused on the impact of WFC and FWC for high ranking officers and their families. This study involved two samples of officers attending an advanced leadership course at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 2007, featuring a total of 262 Army officers and another 45 officers from other services and countries. The sample of Army officers included 239 men (85.4% of whom were a parent) and 22 women (63.6% of whom were a parent; Fisher’s Exact Test, p < 0.02), with one missing case for sex. Of the men and women, respectively, most were married for the first time (190/11), with some never married (14/5), married but divorced (10/1), married/divorced/remarried (20/4), married/spouse died/remarried (1/0), married/divorced/remarried/divorced/remarried (4/0), and married/divorced/remarried/divorced/remarried (0/1). Measures for cohabitation or same-sex partnerships were not used. Two modified measures of WFC and FWC of four items each were tested and found to represent different factors and to have high internal consistency reliability. In general we found few sex differences, but female officers seemed to be more influenced by family–work conflict than male officers. One of our most substantial findings was that work–family conflict was more prevalent than family–work conflict within our sample. Also, we found that marital satisfaction tended to be higher than parental satisfaction and that officers usually found their own retention intentions to be higher than their perception of that of their spouses. Satisfaction with the military was consistently and strongly related to lower levels of work–family conflict while similar but weaker trends were found for family–work conflict. Most of our results were found to cross-validate with a subsample of non-Army officers in our sample. We found bias from marital social desirability to be lower for our marital process scale and for FWC than for marital satisfaction and WFC. In sum, our results confirm adverse effects of deployments and other stressors on military families and a continuing need for military support for families, even among higher ranking officer families. Full article

The Landau–de Gennes model is one of the most significant fundamental frameworks in The Physics of Liquid Crystals and Soft Matter Physics. It is validated by the universal parameterisation of the Cotton–Mouton effect, the Kerr effect, and light scattering in the isotropic phase of nematogens. However, as early as 1974, de Gennes identified the first two puzzling problems of this model. Over the following decades, this list has expanded. This report presents the first comprehensive analysis of these issues, with the explicit experimental reference. It focuses on the hardly coherently discussed pretransitional changes in the dielectric constant and the extension in a strong electric field, specifically the nonlinear dielectric effect (NDE). Notably, there are uniquely different pretransitional forms of pretransitional effects, depending on molecular structural features such as permanent dipole moment loci or a steric hindrance. It is tested for 5CB, 5*CB, and MBBA: nematogenic liquid crystalline materials that differ in the above features. The obtained specific pretransitional effects and the evidence for the essential importance of the interplay between observation and pretransition fluctuations time scales led to a new coherent, model-based explanation of all the discussed problems, which cannot be explained within the canonical Landau–de Gennes model. Full article

In the realm of image classification, the capsule network is a network topology that packs the extracted features into many capsules, performs sophisticated capsule screening using a dynamic routing mechanism, and finally recognizes that each capsule corresponds to a category feature. Compared with previous network topologies, the capsule network has more sophisticated operations, uses a large number of parameter matrices and vectors to express picture attributes, and has more powerful image classification capabilities. However, in the practical application field, the capsule network has always been constrained by the quantity of calculation produced by the complicated structure. In the face of basic datasets, it is prone to over-fitting and poor generalization and often cannot satisfy the high computational overhead when facing complex datasets. Based on the aforesaid problems, this research proposes a novel enhanced capsule network topology. The upgraded network boosts the feature extraction ability of the network by incorporating a multi-scale feature extraction module based on proprietary star structure convolution into the standard capsule network. At the same time, additional structural portions of the capsule network are changed, and a variety of optimization approaches such as dense connection, attention mechanism, and low-rank matrix operation are combined. Image classification studies are carried out on different datasets, and the novel structure suggested in this paper has good classification performance on CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, and CUB datasets. At the same time, we also achieved 98.21% and 95.38% classification accuracy on two complicated datasets of skin cancer ISIC derived and Forged Face EXP. Full article

Fractional-order chaotic systems have received increasing attention over the past few years due to their ability to effectively model memory and complexity in nonlinear dynamics. Nonetheless, most of the research conducted so far has been on constant-order formulations, which still have some limitations in terms of adaptability and reality. Thus, to evade these limitations, we present a recently designed four-dimensional hyperchaotic Chen system with variable-order fractional (VOF) derivatives in the Liouville–Caputo sense. In comparison with constant-order systems, the new system possesses excellent performance in numerous aspects. Firstly, with the use of variable-order derivatives, the system becomes more adaptive and flexible, allowing the chaotic dynamics of the system to evolve with changing fractional orders. Secondly, large-scale numerical simulations are conducted, where phase portrait orbits and time series for differences in VOF directly illustrate the effect of the order function on the system’s behavior. Thirdly, qualitative analysis is performed with the help of phase portraits, time series, and Lyapunov exponents to confirm the system’s hyperchaotic behavior and sensitivity to initial and control parameters. Finally, the model developed demonstrates a wide range of dynamic behaviors, which confirms the sufficient efficiency of VOF calculus for modeling complicated nonlinear processes. Numerous analyses indicate that this research not only shows meaningful findings but also provides thoughtful methodologies that might result in subsequent research on fractional-order chaotic systems. Full article

Background: Authentic leadership is characterized by the authenticity and self-awareness of the leader, who acts with transparency and promotes positive outcomes in clinical practice and team management. In Portugal, there isn’t a tool available to assess nurses’ perceptions of authentic leadership in nursing. This study aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the Authentic Nurse Leadership Questionnaire (ANLQ) for the Portuguese context and to evaluate its psychometric properties. This instrument assesses nurses’ perceptions of the authentic leadership exercised by their leader. Methods: A methodological, descriptive, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach was conducted. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation process followed the recommendations of internationally recognized guidelines. The Authentic Nurse Leadership Scale—Portuguese version (ANLS-PT) was administered to a sample of 406 nurses from various functional units in three primary healthcare centers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis techniques were used. Reliability was established through a test–retest administration to 22 nurses at two different times, with a two-week interval. The internal consistency of the scale was assessed using Cronbach’s Alpha. Results: An instrument with 29 items and 3 dimensions was obtained, explaining 68.3% of the total variance. The identified dimensions were Caring and Decision-Making, Self-Awareness, and Relational Integrity and Ethics. The overall instrument showed an internal consistency of 0.97. Conclusions: The ANLS-PT proved to be a valid, reliable, and robust tool for assessing authentic leadership in the Portuguese cultural context and can be used in various nursing practice contexts. Full article

Background and Objectives: The erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is an emerging regional anesthesia technique that has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing postoperative pain and opioid consumption following laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). However, the optimal timing of ESPB whether administered preoperatively or postoperatively remains uncertain, particularly regarding its influence on intraoperative hemodynamic stability and procedural feasibility. This study aimed to compare the analgesic efficacy, intraoperative hemodynamic profiles, and procedural advantages of preoperative versus postoperative ESPB in patients undergoing elective LC. Materials and Methods: In this prospective, randomized, and single-blind clinical trial, 80 ASA I–II adult patients scheduled for elective LC were randomly assigned to receive bilateral ESPB either before anesthesia induction (Group 1) or immediately after surgery but prior to extubation (Group 2). All patients received standardized general anesthesia. The primary outcome was postoperative pain measured by the numeric rating scale (NRS) at 2 h postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included NRS scores at other time points (0, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h), intraoperative and postoperative hemodynamic parameters, cumulative 24 h rescue analgesic consumption, patient satisfaction scores, and adverse events. Results: Both groups experienced significant reductions in postoperative NRS scores, with no statistically significant differences between groups in pain intensity or tramadol consumption. However, the preoperative ESPB group exhibited significantly more stable intraoperative blood pressure readings, particularly at 30 and 60 min after incision and at extubation. No ESPB-related complications occurred in either group. Patient satisfaction levels were comparable across groups. Conclusions: Preoperative and postoperative ESPBs offer comparable analgesic efficacy and opioid sparing effects in LC. However, preoperative ESPB provides enhanced intraoperative hemodynamic stability and avoids the logistical challenges of performing blocks under anesthesia, including repositioning related risks. These findings suggest that preoperative ESPB may be considered for integration into enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols for minimally invasive biliary surgery, pending further large-scale multicenter trials. Full article

Information announcement is the process of propagating and synchronizing the information of Computing Resource Nodes (CRNs) within the system of the Computing Networks. Accurate and timely acquisition of information is crucial to ensuring the efficiency and quality of subsequent task scheduling. However, existing announcement mechanisms primarily focus on reducing communication overhead, often neglecting the direct impact of information freshness on scheduling accuracy and service quality. To address this issue, this paper proposes a hierarchical and clustering-based announcement mechanism for the wide-area Computing Networks. The mechanism first categorizes the Computing Network Nodes (CNNs) into different layers based on the type of CRNs they interconnect to, and a top-down cross-layer announcement strategy is introduced during this process; within each layer, CNNs are further divided into several domains according to the round-trip time (RTT) to each other; and in each domain, inspired by the “Six Degrees of Separation” concept from social propagation, a RTT-aware fast clustering algorithm canopy is employed to partition CNNs into multiple overlap clusters. Intra-cluster announcements are modeled as a Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) and optimized to accelerate updates, while inter-cluster propagation leverages overlapping nodes for global dissemination. Experimental results demonstrate that, by exploiting shortest path optimization within clusters and overlapping-node-based inter-cluster transmission, the mechanism is significantly superior to the comparison scheme in key indicators such as convergence time, Age of Information (AoI), and communication data volume per hop. The mechanism exhibits strong scalability and adaptability in large-scale network environments, providing robust support for efficient and rapid information synchronization in the Computing Networks. Full article

This study explores the impact of assimilating Doppler radar data on short-term numerical weather forecasting for a heavy rainfall event in Southern China, focusing on different spatial scales. Results show that radar data assimilation significantly improves the initial analysis and enhances the accuracy of hourly precipitation forecasts by providing more detailed mesoscale system information, compared to assimilating only wind profiler radar data. The Barnes filter analysis reveals that radar data assimilation has a more pronounced effect on mesoscale systems, with improvements primarily concentrated in the first 2 h of the forecast. However, this improvement diminishes rapidly beyond the 2 h lead time, indicating the inherent predictability limits of mesoscale systems. In contrast, large-scale systems exhibit a greater stability and predictability, with radar data assimilation having a relatively smaller but still positive impact. The study emphasizes the importance of radar data assimilation for short-term forecasts at different spatial scales and suggests that future work prioritize extending mesoscale predictability. Full article

Aggregate masonry buildings in historic urban centers constitute tangible testimony of collective identity and historical continuity. They encompass both simple terraced configurations and more intricate clusters, which are inherently vulnerable to earthquake-induced damage, due to their typological features and the transformations that occurred in the course of time. Strategies aimed at the protection and valorization of such typical architectural heritage should be based on the recognition of their peculiarities, so that the intangible values embedded within the historic fabric can be preserved. A simplified approach able to identify the effect of facade layout on the vulnerability of terraced buildings was validated on a historical center struck by the Central Italy earthquake. It is based on the evaluation of vulnerability factors derived by the application of a multi-level procedure on a large scale, which integrates data on typological and structural aspects, as well as on the condition state and previous interventions. In the center in question, the evidence of prevalent shear damage in the continuous frontage of the buildings facing the main street suggested the in-depth analysis of the facade’s characteristics, and its relationship with the main direction of the seismic swarm. Starting from a preliminary abacus of twelve vulnerability factors, 16 archetypes of facades at increasing vulnerability defined by a combination of the most significant geometrical features of building aggregates were identified. These virtual models encompass typical features that can be found in similar buildings in different contexts, thus enabling preventive actions based on parametric assessment. Full article

In the contemporary energy landscape, the increasing demand for electricity and the inherent uncertainties associated with the integration of renewable resources have rendered the accurate and reliable forecasting of short- and long-term demand imperative. Energy demand forecasting, fundamentally a time series problem, can be inherently complex, nonlinear, and multi-scale. Therefore, interest in artificial intelligence–based methods that provide high performance for short- and long-term forecasting, rather than traditional methods, has increased in order to solve these problems. In this study, a hybrid artificial intelligence model based on LSTM, GRU, and Random Forest, utilizing a distinct mechanism to address these types of problems, is proposed. The Multi-Scale Sliding Window (MSSW) approach was utilized for the model’s input data to capture the dynamics of the time series at different scales. The optimization of windows was conducted using the Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) method to determine the optimal window sizes within the MSSW structure in a data-driven manner. Experimental studies on Panama’s real energy demand data from 2015 to 2020 show that the CWT-aided MSSW-hybrid model forecasts better with lower error rates (0.007 MAE, 0.009 RMSE, 1.051% MAPE) than single models and manually determined window sizes. The results of the study demonstrate the importance of hybrid structures and window optimization in energy demand forecasting. Full article

CrossFit performance is influenced by physiological, neuromuscular, and perceptual factors, yet the extent to which these determinants vary by sex or training experience in standardized CrossFit Workouts of the Day (WODs) remains unclear. This study examined whether variables such as lactate accumulation, oxygen uptake dynamics, jump performance loss, and ventilatory responses relate differently to performance when stratified by sex and expertise. Fifteen trained athletes (eight males, seven females; overall mean age 27.7 ± 4.6 years) took part. Assessments included body composition, squat (SJ) and countermovement jumps (CMJ), and maximal oxygen consumption [VO₂max]. On a separate day, they performed Fran (21-15-9 thrusters and pull-ups, Rx or scaled) The prescribed (‘Rx’) version used standardized barbell loads (43 kg for men, 29 kg for women), while the scaled version involved reduced loads or pull-up modifications. Respiratory gas exchange and heart rate were continuously monitored, while blood lactate and jump performance were measured pre- and post-WOD. Workout completion time [s] was the primary outcome. Correlation heatmaps explored associations in the overall sample and by sex and expertise. Mean completion time was 422.1 ± 173.2 s (range: 200–840). Faster performance correlated with higher ventilatory responses [ΔVe, r = −0.60, p = 0.018], greater mean VO₂ (r = −0.62, p = 0.014), superior jump power [CMJ pre, r = −0.65, p = 0.009], and higher post-WOD lactate [r = −0.54, p = 0.036]. Sex-stratified analyses showed that males relied on ventilatory efficiency and neuromuscular power, whereas females were more constrained by performance loss and higher resting perceived exertion (RPE). Experts depended on ventilatory and neuromuscular efficiency, while initiates showed stronger associations with decrements in jump performance and higher RPE. These findings highlight subgroup-specific performance profiles and reinforce the need for tailored training strategies in CrossFit athletes. Full article

(1) Background: Technological advancements provide new opportunities to objectively assess motor deficits in people with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS). This pilot study aimed to evaluate the performance and usability of iFeel, a novel wearable system which integrates inertial sensors, instrumented shoes, and an AI-based algorithm. (2) Methods: Sixteen adult PwMS (Expanded Disability Status Scale—EDSS ≤ 6) performed motor tests (Timed 25-Foot Walk—T25FW; Timed Up and Go—TUG) both with and without the iFeel suit. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) were also collected to assess perceived fatigue, dual-task impact, and walking difficulties. System Usability Scale (SUS) and ad hoc questionnaires have been further administered to test usability. (3) Results: No significant differences were found between the clinician and system-based scores for both T25FW (p = 0.383) and TUG (p = 0.447). Reliability analyses showed good agreement for T25FW (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient—ICC = 0.83) and excellent agreement for TUG (ICC = 0.92). Sensor-derived measures correlated strongly with PROs on fatigue, dual-task interference, and mobility. Usability was rated high (SUS: 78.6 ± 16.1), with participants reporting minimal discomfort and positive perceptions of iFeel usefulness for rehabilitation, health monitoring, and daily activities. (4) Conclusions: This pilot study provides preliminary yet promising evidence on the feasibility, usability, and perceived usefulness of the iFeel technology for motor assessment in PwMS. The findings support its further development and potential integration into clinical practice, particularly for remote or continuous motor monitoring. Full article

Background/Objectives: Individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) are known to exhibit both reduced pain sensitivity—when assessed via thresholds and subjective ratings—and diminished facial expressions of emotion. Therefore, investigating the facial response to pain in this population is of particular interest. Method: Seventeen patients with AN and 18 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were assessed using a thermode to induce heat pain. Subjective pain measures included pain threshold, pain tolerance, and pain ratings of supra-threshold stimuli, rated on a numerical rating scale (NRS). Facial responses to the suprathreshold stimuli were analyzed using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS). Eating pathology was assessed using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2) and the body mass index (BMI), while depression was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Results: Compared with healthy controls, AN patients showed altogether significantly reduced facial expressions of pain, with particularly pronounced reductions in Action Units AU 6_7 and AU 9_10. In contrast, subjective pain measures showed only marginal differences between groups. Importantly, the reduction in facial expression could not be accounted for by differences in pain thresholds or ratings, nor by levels of eating pathology or depression. Conclusions: Individuals with AN display a markedly reduced facial expression of pain, which was observed for the first time, consistent with similar findings regarding the facial expressions of emotions. As this reduction cannot be explained by subjective pain report, it suggests that the communication of pain is impaired on two levels in AN: both in verbal and in nonverbal signaling. This may hinder the ability of others to recognize and respond to their pain appropriately. Full article

Introduction: Exposure to violence is an adverse experience associated with the perpetration of violent future behaviors such as child-to-parent violence. Objective: The objectives were to analyze the psychometric properties of the Violence Exposure Scale (VES) in a sample of Ecuadorian adolescents as well as its measurement invariance by sex and age; analyze the differences in exposure to violence across four settings (home, school, street, and TV), in two time frames (last year and childhood), according to sex and age; and analyze the relationship between exposure to violence in the four settings and in both time frames with child-to-parent violence. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a probabilistic sample of 2150 Ecuadorian adolescents (55% female), aged 12 to 18 years (M = 14.53; SD = 1.55). Participants completed the adapted version of the VES and the Child-to-Parent Violence Questionnaire (CPV-Q). Confirmatory factor analyses, reliability testing, convergent and discriminant validity analyses, and measurement invariance assessments were performed. Results: The VES showed excellent model fit in both versions, VES¹ (last year) and VES² (before age 10), with strong goodness-of-fit indices (VES¹: CFI = 0.988; RMSEA = 0.055; VES²: CFI = 0.994; RMSEA = 0.044). Reliability was good (α_o and ω_o ≤ 0.80; G.6 and CR ≤ 0.70). Effect sizes ranged from 0.11 to 0.31 for violence by children toward parents and reached up to 0.83 among the different forms of victimization. Conclusions: The adaptation of the VES in Ecuadorian adolescents showed validity and reliability in assessing exposure to violence. Girls were more at risk at home, while boys were more exposed at school and in the community. Full article

The growth of the human population, combined with climate change, has made the provisioning of water resources to human populations one of the greatest challenges of recent decades. One commonly adopted solution has been the construction of small dams and reservoirs close to urban settlements. However, concerns have arisen that, despite their small size, small dams may have environmental impacts similar to those known for large dams. The severe water crisis observed between 2014 and 2015 led to the multiplication of small dams in southeastern Brazil, such as the one built on the Fetá stream at the Capivari River basin in the municipality of Louveira. This study aimed to contribute to the assessment of the impacts of small dam construction on water quality by monitoring basic parameters and nutrients during the filling and stabilization period of the Fetá reservoir. As expected, the interruption of water flow and the increase in water residence time led to increases in temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen and concentrations of dissolved carbon and nitrogen, as well as a reduction in turbidity. Consistent with the shallow depth of the water column, neither thermal nor chemical stratification was observed. Nevertheless, the water quality of surface and bottom layers was markedly different. Over time, water volume and water quality tended to stabilize. This research clearly demonstrates that small dams and reservoirs cause qualitatively similar environmental impacts to those of large-scale dams and reservoirs worldwide. Full article