Search Results (125)

Elabela (ELA/APELA/Toddler) is an endogenous peptide ligand of the apelin receptor APLNR (also known as APJ) and, together with apelin, forms the apelinergic signalling system. Its role in embryonic development, the cardiovascular system, the kidneys and the endothelium is becoming increasingly well characterised, whilst its function in metabolic regulation remains unresolved. Elabela activates pathways essential for metabolic homeostasis—PI3K/Akt, AMPK-related pathways, redox regulation, inflammatory control and pro-survival cascades—but no study has shown that it directly regulates adipocyte lipid metabolism. This narrative review categorises the evidence at the receptor, organ, immunometabolic and intra-adipocyte levels, and also considers the adipose tissue microenvironment as a distinct level of potential relevance. The available data support a role for Elabela as a candidate mediator of lipid-related metabolic dysfunction—via anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and tissue-protective mechanisms—with macrophage lipid metabolism representing the most informative immunometabolic interface. Human studies remain scarce, heterogeneous and limited by a lack of standardisation in assay methods and the unresolved specificity of isoforms. Elabela should therefore be regarded as a candidate indirect modulator of metabolic homeostasis and a candidate biomarker of cardiometabolic stress or adaptation—not as a confirmed direct regulator of adipocyte lipid metabolism. Full article

The article deals with non-destructive methodologies for assessing and preventing corrosion of polymer-coated underground pipelines, advanced corrosion-barrier coating systems based on extruded three-layer high-density polyethylene (3LPE), corrosion control strategies for buried oil, gas, and water transmission infrastructures, and mechanisms and engineering approaches for corrosion prevention and mitigation. The quality assurance of newly polymer-coated underground pipelines, following construction (installation and backfilling), is vital for evaluating the polymer coating quality state and the efficiency of passive anti-corrosion protection, aimed at reducing corrosion risks and prolonging the pipeline’s service life. The evaluation relies on the coating average specific electrical resistance and the presence of coating defects (number, total area, and distribution) of inspected pipeline sections. In this study, based on extensive real data obtained from testing of newly installed underground water and oil/gas pipeline networks (60 projects with a total pipeline length of 260 km) with various technical characteristics, Drainage Test and DCVG (Direct Current Voltage Gradient) complementary non-destructive indirect methods have been investigated to determine the quality level and identify the location and severity of defects in polyolefin (polyethylene) coatings. The novel concepts and criteria were defined: the quantitative criteria for average specific electrical resistance are established; in addition, a new parameter related to the specific coating defects ratio is introduced, which has been shown to correlate with the criteria for the average specific electrical resistance of the polymer coating and consumed electrical current; finally, following DCVG measurements of the 3LPE coating system, a novel degree of relative defect sizes (%IR) for repairs has been suggested. The innovative and comprehensive approach can support the efforts of regulatory quality assurance, design, maintenance, safety, and research communities to ensure the long-term integrity and sustainability of underground polymer-coated steel pipelines. Full article

Objective: To identify modifiable factors associated with acne vulgaris in college students and further delineate the potential mechanistic pathway underlying the effect of psychological stress on acne development. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with a questionnaire-based survey among 819 college students, collecting data on demographic characteristics, lifestyle behaviors, sleep quality, psychological stress, and acne prevalence. Descriptive statistics and univariate analyses were used to compare baseline characteristics between groups, and stepwise adjusted binary logistic regression models were constructed to identify independent risk factors for acne. The Bootstrap method was applied for mediation effect analysis. Subgroup analyses, interaction tests, sensitivity analyses, and robustness analyses were also performed. Results: The overall prevalence of acne in the study cohort was 33.33%. Multivariable regression analysis revealed that total stress score (OR = 1.187, p < 0.001), poor sleep quality (OR = 1.109, p = 0.010), excessive screen time (OR = 1.107, p = 0.021), intake of sugary drinks (OR = 1.561, p = 0.027), spicy diet (OR = 1.739, p = 0.003), smoking (OR = 1.809, p = 0.031), and use of skincare products (OR = 2.004, p = 0.001) were independent risk factors for acne, while outdoor activities were a protective factor (OR = 0.676, p = 0.048). Mediation effect analysis demonstrated that psychological stress exerted not only a direct effect on acne development, but also an indirect effect to increase disease risk via impairing sleep quality. This indirect effect was statistically significant (95% CI: 0.000–0.013, p < 0.05), accounting for approximately 20.67% of the total effect. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the E-values of all significant variables were greater than 1.4. The robustness test indicated that the results remained unchanged after excluding students majoring in medicine and extreme values. Furthermore, LASSO variable screening and Bootstrap internal validation further verified the stability of the model. Conclusions: Although as a cross-sectional study, this work cannot establish causal relationships, but we found that psychological stress and sleep disturbance are key modifiable risk factors for acne, and the impact of stress on acne is partially mediated by the impairment of sleep quality. Full article

Background/Objectives: Rotenone (RT)-induced neurotoxicity is widely used to model Parkinsonism-like nigrostriatal injury and recapitulates several PD-relevant pathological features, including oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and dopaminergic neurochemical disturbance. Loganin (LG), an iridoid glycoside isolated from Cornus officinalis, has been reported to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and neuroprotective properties. However, its protective effects in a unilateral stereotaxic RT lesion model have not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective potential of LG against RT-induced Parkinsonism-like pathology in rats and to explore the possible involvement of antioxidant-related signaling mechanisms. Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to twelve experimental groups (n = 8/group), including control, sham, RT, sham + LG, RT + LG, RT + trigonelline (TG) + LG, and RT + selegiline (SL). RT was stereotaxically injected once into the right substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) on Day 0 to induce unilateral nigrostriatal injury. LG was administered orally once daily from Day 1 to Day 21 at doses of 3, 10, and 30 mg/kg. TG was given intraperitoneally 30 min before LG treatment, while SL served as a reference antiparkinsonian drug. Behavioral assessments and biochemical analyses were conducted to evaluate motor dysfunction, oxidative and nitrosative stress, endogenous antioxidant status, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammatory and apoptotic responses in the SNpc, and striatal catecholamine disturbances. Results: RT lesioning produced significant motor deficits, oxidative and nitrosative stress, depletion of endogenous antioxidant defenses, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammatory and apoptotic activation in the SNpc, and abnormalities in striatal catecholamine levels. LG treatment significantly attenuated these pathological changes, with more pronounced protective effects observed at 10 and 30 mg/kg. Co-administration of TG partially weakened the beneficial effects of LG, suggesting the possible involvement of antioxidant defense-related signaling while not providing direct proof of a single pathway. SL also ameliorated RT-induced behavioral and biochemical abnormalities. Conclusions: These findings suggest that LG confers multi-target neuroprotective effects against RT-induced Parkinsonism-like features in rats. The protective actions of LG were associated with attenuation of oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation, apoptosis, and catecholaminergic disturbances. Because the pathway analysis remains pharmacological and indirect, additional studies using direct molecular validation are warranted before LG can be considered a disease-modifying candidate for PD-related neurodegeneration. Full article

Using beneficial bacteria from the plant microbiome to combat pathogens is an environmentally friendly strategy for biological control. Although significant progress has been made in characterizing microorganisms with biocontrol potential, the optimal methods for applying such biological preparations to achieve maximum effectiveness against plant pathogens remain insufficiently defined. Our goal was to select rhizobacteria from the sugar beet microbiome and analyze their biocontrol capacity in both indirect and direct applications to protect the plant from Pseudomonas syringae pv. aptata P21. The methodological approach differed: indirect application involved seed priming with selected strains, Bacillus safensis MRh275, B. pseudomycoides JRh226, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia JRh266, or the T2 consortium (MRh275 and JRh266), while direct application involved simultaneous treatment of both the pathogen and the biocontrol strain. Although the direct approach resulted in a greater reduction in lesions and a lower concentration of H₂O₂, the indirect approach showed higher activity of peroxidase and superoxide dismutase as antioxidant enzymes, as well as phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, which is involved in the phenylpropanoid pathway and plant defense mechanisms. Infected plants showed higher expression of NPR1, MYC2, and LOX defense-related genes only under indirect biocontrol with all three strains, except in the T2 application. The T2 consortium performed best in direct biocontrol, where it most effectively reduced lesions. Since encounters between plants and pathogens cannot be accurately predicted, and the application of biological preparations should be easy and accessible for farmers, this study highlights the use of indirect biocontrol through seed priming to enhance the plant’s intrinsic defense capacity. Full article

This research examines how community support for sustainable tourism development is influenced by sustainable hospitality in protected park areas. This relationship focuses primarily on the effect of perceived eco-social performance (ESP) as an enhancement of the community’s perceived location-specific environmental attachment (CEA), leading to increased pro-sustainable tourism intentions through CEA. Despite the growing focus on sustainability within hospitality industries, there remains very little scholarly research that explores how local communities perceive sustainable hospitality practices and how these perceptions then manifest as emotional attachment, followed by behavioural support. To achieve the stated goal, researchers employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design to collect quantitative survey data from residents living in close proximity to a protected area destination, and the quantitative data were used separately to develop qualitative insights into residents’ support for sustainable tourism initiatives. Findings of this study reveal that perceived ESP significantly enhances CEA, providing an impetus for increased PSTI (via direct and indirect pathways) for communities in close proximity to a protected area destination. CEA further enhances PSTI significantly and acts as a significant mediator in the relationship between perception and behavioural support for sustainable tourism. Qualitative findings further indicate that eco-social hospitality practices fulfil the following: develop community pride; increase the sense of environmental responsibility among the community; and create opportunities for actively supporting sustainable tourism. These findings demonstrate that, while sustainable hospitality practices generate observable actions, they also create deeper psychological connections between communities and their environment. The cumulative findings from this study contribute to a greater understanding of how ESP can strategically contribute to growing the number of communities supporting sustainable tourism through the creation of CEA, thereby expanding the overall community’s intention to support sustainable tourism development. Full article

The production of green hydrogen via aqueous electrolysis of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) holds significant potential to address challenges related to sustainable energy generation and environmental protection. The electrocatalytic splitting of water polluted with highly toxic H₂S is attractive for industrial applications because the process: (i) is less power-consuming than direct thermal H₂S decomposition; (ii) achieves high Faradaic efficiencies for hydrogen production; and (iii) yields elemental sulfur as an added-value by-product. This review covers a brief discussion on sulfide-containing water sources and electrochemical methods for hydrogen production from H₂S, specifically Direct, Indirect, and Electrochemical Membrane Reactor (EMR) systems. To become commercially and economically attractive, these approaches require improvements in electrolysis efficiency through the development of low-cost electrode materials that are resistant to sulfur poisoning and corrosion, while possessing high catalytic activity, enhanced stability, and durability. Early research focused on carbon-based materials combined with noble metal oxides, transition metal compounds, and related materials. Since their practical performance is limited, investigations have shifted toward nanostructured electrocatalysts with unique crystal structures and designs, which show significantly improved efficiency for H₂S electrolysis. This review highlights the potential of H₂S electrolysis for hydrogen production, giving special attention to recent advancements in electrode materials. Full article

Background/Objectives: Financial toxicity (FT) is increasingly recognised as a critical dimension of the cancer care continuum, reflecting both objective financial burden and subjective financial distress arising from cancer-related care. Head and neck cancers (HNC) may be particularly vulnerable to FT because treatment often involves multimodal care, functional morbidity, prolonged rehabilitation, and disruption to employment. This scoping review mapped and synthesised the literature on FT in a focused subset of head and neck cancers (HNC), namely malignancies of the oral cavity, oropharynx, nasopharynx, sinonasal tract, and major and minor salivary glands. Methods: A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the methodological guidance of the Joanna Briggs Institute for scoping reviews to identify and synthesise studies addressing FT in the selected HNC subsites. Searches were undertaken in MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, EconLit, and Global Index Medicus for English-language studies published between 1 January 2015 and 1 January 2025. The search window was restricted to this period to capture the more contemporary evolution of FT as a distinct research construct in oncology. Eligible studies included adult patients and reported patient-level FT outcomes, including direct costs, indirect costs, out-of-pocket expenditure, financial hardship, financial distress, employment disruption, or related economic strain. Findings were synthesised narratively and organised thematically. Results: Twenty-five studies published between 2015 and 2025 were included. The evidence base was dominated by cross-sectional and retrospective designs, with limited prospective follow-up and very little intervention-focused research. FT was conceptualised heterogeneously across studies, spanning direct expenditure, indirect and non-medical costs, subjective financial distress, and coping-related consequences. Questionnaire-based approaches were used in 13 studies, but only a smaller subset employed FT-specific instruments such as COST. Across the literature, FT was most commonly associated with lower income, weaker financial protection, employment disruption, rural residence in some settings, and more intensive treatment. Reported downstream associations included poorer quality of life, psychological distress, care alteration, and work-related burden, although evidence for treatment delay or survival effects was more limited and should be interpreted cautiously. Conclusions: In this focused HNC subset, FT appears multidimensional, socially patterned, and clinically relevant. However, the literature remains methodologically fragmented, with inconsistent measurement and sparse longitudinal evidence. Future work should prioritise validated and tumour-specific assessment strategies, prospective study designs, and evaluation of mitigation interventions that address both direct and indirect burden across the cancer continuum. Full article

Background/Objectives: Parental school involvement (PSI) is an adaptive construct that is sensitive to developmental and contextual changes and refers to the active and sustained engagement of parents in school- and home-based activities that support children’s educational experiences. Perceived social support can strengthen PSI by reducing parenting stress, while PSI may, in turn, mediate the effects of all the above factors on children’s quality of life (QoL). This study examined the direct and indirect associations among perceived social support, parenting stress, PSI, and children’s QoL, adopting an integrative framework encompassing multiple psychosocial dimensions. Methods: The sample comprised 358 Portuguese parents who completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and validated measures assessing PSI, parenting stress, social support, and children’s QoL. Results: Preliminary analyses showed that all four variables were strongly and significantly correlated. Path analysis revealed that the model showed satisfactory fit indices. Perceived social support was linked to lower parenting stress, which in turn was associated with reduced PSI. Meanwhile, greater involvement was associated with better children’s QoL, indicating an indirect pathway from stress to QoL via involvement. Parenting stress and PSI acted as critical mediating pathways between perceived social support and children’s well-being, the former as a risk factor and the latter as a protective resource. Conclusions: These findings highlight the central role of PSI in promoting children’s QoL and suggest that interventions aimed at increasing social support and reducing parenting stress may enhance parental engagement, with positive implications for family well-being. Full article

Background: Rabies is almost invariably fatal once clinical symptoms develop, yet it is preventable through canine vaccination and timely post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). In rural Thailand, preventive behaviors likely depend on health literacy and contextual conditions that enable and reinforce protective action, but structural pathways remain unclear. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 750 adults in rabies-risk areas of Si Sa Ket Province, Thailand. A socio-ecological, One Health-informed structural equation model (SEM) examined associations among rabies-related health literacy skills (HLskill), service/system enabling conditions (ENAB), reinforcing community mechanisms (COMM), and rabies-prevention behaviors (BEHAV). Results: Model fit was acceptable (CFI = 0.948; TLI = 0.918; SRMR = 0.047; scaled RMSEA = 0.090). HLskill and COMM showed direct associations with BEHAV (β = 0.352 and 0.371, respectively), while ENAB was strongly associated with COMM (β = 0.939), indicating an indirect pathway through community reinforcement (β = 0.348; 95% CI [0.273, 0.424]). Conclusions: Rabies-prevention behaviors were associated with health literacy skills and reinforcing community mechanisms; service readiness operated primarily through community reinforcement. Rabies control should combine health literacy strengthening with community communication, coordinated dog vaccination, bite management, and timely PEP uptake. Full article

The dynamic field of radiopharmaceuticals is currently experiencing an explosion of growth due in part to excitement over the emerging field of theranostics (therapy and diagnostics). Radiopharmaceuticals use physiological targeting methods to deliver radionuclides with medically relevant decay properties to disease biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment, offering opportunities for early disease imaging and radiation therapy treatment in disease pathologies that are inoperable or refractory to other forms of radiotherapy. Sustaining this rapidly growing field depends heavily on the continued design and production of novel, effective radiopharmaceuticals. Effective therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals cause complex and varied cellular responses, and to choose radionuclides that maximize therapeutic response, researchers must understand radiation biology. Cellular radiation response depends heavily on factors including linear energy transfer (LET), dose, dose rate, targeted location, direct or indirect energy deposition mechanisms, the broader cellular matrix, cellular stress signaling pathways, and endogenous radiation protection mechanisms. Because of the extensive application of low-LET external beam radiation on clinical cancer treatments, biological responses to low-LET form the basis of radiation biology and are generally considered transferable to high-LET radiopharmaceuticals. However, increased focus on high-LET, radiopharmaceutical therapy-specific radiation biology is motivated by differences between low- and high-LET radiation, external beam versus radiopharmaceutical therapy-induced biological response, and the observed varied clinical responses to radiopharmaceutical therapies. This review article summarizes historical understanding of low- and high-LET radiation responses within cells, with emphasis on radiopharmaceutical-specific responses when available, and discusses current gaps in understanding in the radiation biology of radiotheranostic pharmaceuticals. Full article

Background: Professional identity (PI) formation is a central developmental process associated with students’ well-being and ability to cope with professional demands. Healthy lifestyle (HL) and self-care are recognised as resources for sustaining long-term professional engagement. Although both PI formation and HL are considered important in nursing education, their interrelationship remains insufficiently understood. Objective: This review aimed to map and synthesise the existing literature on nursing students’ PI formation and its relationship with HL. Methods: A scoping review was conducted following the Arksey and O’Malley framework, Joanna Briggs Institute guidance, and PRISMA-ScR reporting standards. A systematic search was performed in Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE, and PubMed for peer-reviewed studies published 2015–2025. Results: Twelve sources met the inclusion criteria. The relationship between PI and HL is complex, indirect, and not yet clearly conceptualised. Rather than being defined through direct behavioural pathways, it appears to be mediated through mental well-being and related psychosocial aspects, as well as contextual influences. Tensions were identified between expectations of nurses as health role models and students’ lived behaviours. A well-developed PI may function as a protective resource against maladaptive coping and support-adaptive responses to academic and clinical stress. Conclusions: Both PI and HL are predominantly conceptualised as dynamic and contextually embedded processes. More integrative approaches addressing both behavioural and psychosocial dimensions are needed. Future research should adopt conceptually coherent and methodologically balanced designs across diverse educational contexts. Full article

Developing electric motors with higher efficiencies for energy savings and environmental protection is crucial. The efficiency of grid-connected induction motors can be measured using various approaches; the preferred method is the indirect approach, which evaluates the separate losses from the additional losses due to residual losses. This approach follows the traditional approach to efficiency determination, introducing experimental procedures to assess additional losses by measuring the torque delivered by the motors. As noted in previous articles, the procedure is complex and requires numerous direct measurements. One area of interest is the determination of measurement uncertainty. This work aims to quantify the sensitivity of the combined uncertainties of losses and efficiency to variations in directly measured input variables: power frequency, rotational speed, torque, power, current, voltage, resistance, coolant temperature, and cold frame temperature. The results presented here help select measurement instrumentation, depending on whether the tests are aimed solely at determining efficiency or whether it is necessary to analyze the trend of the various types of loss, as occurs in optimization and experimental verification processes with high-performance materials, based on a comprehensive analysis of all standard and combined uncertainties, and with experimental data to assign a realistic value to the uncertainties themselves. Full article

Background/Objectives: The mediating role of the diverse range of screen-based sedentary behaviors (SBs) remains understudied, particularly at younger ages. The present study examined the direct and indirect effects of parental BMI and education on ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption among preschoolers, testing the potential mediating role of screen time. Methods: The cross-sectional study sample comprised 919 kindergarten children (484 boys, 52.7%), with ages ranging from 2.2 to 6.8 years (mean: 4.7 ± 1.0 years). Screen-based sedentary behaviors (television viewing, smartphone use, tablet use, computer use, and playing electronic games) were measured by proxy-report fulfilled by parents, separately for weekdays and weekends. UPF consumption (drinks/yogurts, packaged/fast foods, and sweet/salty snacks) was assessed via 24 h recall scales. Path analysis mediation models tested direct effects of maternal/paternal BMI and education on UPF intake, and indirect effects through screen time, controlling for child age and sex. Results: Lower parental education and higher parental BMI were associated with increased mobile device use and UPF consumption (r = 0.10–0.28). Screen-based sedentary behaviors mediated the association between maternal BMI and UPF pathways (15–90% of total effects), particularly for sweet and salty snacks (50–90%). Parental education effects were also mediated by screen time (9–23% indirect effects), with paternal education showing stronger protection against packaged/fast foods. Conclusions: Mobile devices and watching television partially mediate intergenerational transmission of obesogenic dietary patterns from parental BMI/education to preschoolers’ UPF consumption. Findings of the current study support family-centered interventions targeting screen-time limits and UPF exposure, mainly at the weekends, to prevent early obesity trajectories. Full article

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to examine how mindfulness and self-efficacy are associated with turnover intention among direct care workers through the hypothesized indirect pathways involving job stress and job satisfaction. Grounded in the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) and Conservation of Resources (COR) frameworks, the study highlights the buffering and protective functions of psychological resources under high job demands. Methods: A regression-based path analysis was conducted using data collected from a structured questionnaire survey of 967 direct care workers in southern Taiwan. Results: Job stress was positively associated with turnover intention (β = 0.599, p < 0.001), whereas job satisfaction was negatively associated with it (β = −0.139, p < 0.001). Self-efficacy was positively associated with job satisfaction (β = 0.407, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with job stress (β = −0.109, p < 0.001). Mindfulness demonstrated significant direct associations with self-efficacy (β = 0.497, p < 0.001) and job stress (β = −0.200, p < 0.001), but its direct effect on turnover intention was not significant (β = −0.035, p > 0.05), implying its influence is indirect through self-efficacy, job stress, and job satisfaction. Diagnostic checks, including the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF), confirmed the absence of multicollinearity issues, and the overall model demonstrated satisfactory explanatory power. Conclusions: These findings enhance understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying turnover intention among care workers and provide practical implications for human resource management and workplace stress interventions in long-term care settings. Full article