Search Results (235)

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is being increasingly used in educational and mental health contexts, yet many emotion-related applications still prioritize detection, classification, and automated feedback over contextual understanding. This study uses the Stanford AI Index Reports (2021–2025) as an exploratory discourse corpus to examine how prominent AI reports frame technology, application domains, and governance, and to consider what this framing implies for emotion regulation through sport and exercise in higher education. Methods: Across 1813 report pages, we applied BERTopic with multilingual sentence embeddings (paraphrase-multilingual-MiniLM-L12-v2), UMAP dimensionality reduction, HDBSCAN clustering, and class-based TF-IDF, followed by dynamic and hierarchical topic analysis and theory-informed synthesis. Of 22 topics generated, 13 relevant to the study focus were retained and validated through keyword inspection, representative-text review, and independent expert agreement. Results: The analysis indicated a three-layer structure: a technology core, an application-expansion layer, and an ethics-and-governance layer. Health and education themes grew most across reports, with medicine/health rising from 14 to 105 and school pathways from 3 to 105 segment occurrences between 2021 and 2025, whereas sport, exercise, embodied activity, and campus support appeared only indirectly. As prominence reflects raw frequency across five reports, trends are read descriptively. Conclusions: We propose a human–technology–environment framework comprising multimodal contextual profiling, autonomy-supportive task adaptation, feedback–reflection–practice loops, peer and campus support integration, and human-in-the-loop governance. The study does not test intervention effects; its contribution is conceptual and agenda-setting, clarifying a gap between mainstream AI discourse and the embodied, relational, and ecological conditions through which sport and exercise may support students’ emotion regulation. Full article

When history of religion intersects with that of Europeans in Early Modern Age, it is inevitable to analyse the reality of consecrated Catholic women in convents. This is the subject of the present text, which is structured around four key questions: What does ‘female religious enclosure’ mean? What are its consequences? What does the society in which it exists think of it? How do the two interact? Drawing on normative texts and practices documented in the abundant archival sources and bibliography, this paper constructs an original synthesis that aims to highlight all the characteristics of the female monastic condition during this period across all Orders. The presentation begins by analysing the values and behaviours advocated by ecclesiastical authorities for the construction of the identities of the ideal nun and her community. It then examines situations of adoption or rejection of aspects of this model and of the orders received, concluding that while individual rebellion constitutes a transgression, collective rebellion may constitute a struggle for justice and for the fulfilment of sworn vows. There are multiple points of convergence between nuns and laypeople (spirituality, the exercise of freedom and powers, family policies, mutual aid), demonstrating they belong to the same society. Full article

Young Black women face barriers to exercise and elevated cardiometabolic risk, yet resistance exercise (RE) remains underutilized despite its benefits. We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a 24-week culturally adapted RE intervention + text messages in young Black women. Participants were randomized to the motivational exercise group (MEG; n = 14) or the standard exercise group (SEG; n = 13). Both groups received 10 and 11 weeks of supervised (by a Black woman) and unsupervised RE. MEG received additional cultural adaptations and weekly discussions to build competence, autonomy, and self-regulation strategies + mobile support. Feasibility and acceptability were assessed via recruitment, consent, and retention rates, adherence, and thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews. Recruitment and consent rates were 97.2% and 100.0%, respectively. Retention rates were 93.3% (MEG) and 86.7% (SEG) at 12 weeks, and 93.3% and 80.0% at 24 weeks, respectively. Supervised adherence was 93.9% and 88.8% in MEG and SEG, and 14.3% and 15.4%, respectively, during unsupervised RE. Participants desired continued support and a more tailored mobile experience during unsupervised RE. Supervised RE with ethnically matched trainers was feasible and acceptable. Future interventions should incorporate mobile tools with tailored feedback and accountability strategies to sustain long-term RE to improve health outcomes in this population. Full article

The article examines how India and Pakistan have interpreted the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in the broader context of their preference, needs, and constraints. Rather than treating the IWT as a static legal instrument or as a case of institutional resilience, the analysis conceptualizes the Treaty as a performance-based regime, where treaty stability emerges from how states perform their obligations over time rather than from institutional design alone. Adopting a qualitative process-tracing approach grounded in treaty interpretation as operationalized through state practice, this article advances three interrelated arguments: first, the durability of the IWT cannot be explained solely by institutional design, but must be understood as a “performance-based equilibrium” sustained through state practice. Second, this stability historically relied on a pattern of “compliance asymmetry,” in which India, as the upper riparian, exercised restraint well beyond minimal entitlement while Pakistan consolidated downstream dependence through infrastructural development. Third, the growing juridification of dispute resolution since the 2000s, driven by escalating infrastructural friction, has altered the political meaning of compliance, narrowed interpretive flexibility, and reshaped reciprocal expectations. The article contributes to the scholarship of international legal theory and hydro-politics, particularly by reconceptualizing treaty resilience as a function of material and political performance, rather than the formal text alone. Full article

Background/Objectives: Physical inactivity is a significant public health challenge among children and young people (CYP), particularly within clinical populations. Whilst healthcare professionals (HCPs) are uniquely positioned to implement behaviour change strategies, there is little evidence of implementation in practice. This study examined the practices of, as well as barriers and facilitators experienced by, HCPs in South Wales, United Kingdom (UK), when promoting physical activity (PA) and reducing sedentary behaviour (SED) in clinical paediatric populations, together with their perceptions and proficiencies in delivering this support. Methods: A 32-item questionnaire was completed by 41 HCPs, recruited through professional and clinical networks to generate an opportunistic sample from physiotherapists (n = 22), doctors (n = 7), occupational therapists (n = 4), therapy technical instructors (n = 2), and others (n = 1 each). Quantitative responses were analysed using descriptive statistics; free-text responses underwent qualitative content analysis. Results: The findings revealed that 95% of HCPs discussed PA at some or all appointments, with similar figures reported for SED (90%) and exercise (88%). However, only 63% of participants felt PA was adequately addressed within their services. Barriers included time constraints, resource limitations, and knowledge gaps. Key facilitators included training, toolkit availability, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Conclusions: This study highlights the need for system-level changes to enable HCPs to deliver consistent, effective messaging that promotes PA and reduces SED, ultimately improving health outcomes for CYP receiving clinical input. Facilitating this approach requires embedding PA promotion into HCP training, expanding referral pathways to CYP, and strengthening multidisciplinary working. Full article

Background/Objectives: To clarify the cognitive level and selection behavior of the exercising population regarding sports nutrition foods, as well as their relationship with athletic performance, this narrative review examined the literature published from 2001 to 2025. Methods: CNKI, Wanfang Data, PubMed, and ScienceDirect were searched for studies published between 2001 and 2025 using keywords: sports nutrition foods, exercise intensity, public cognition, and food development. Studies addressing ingredient functionality, exercise-related nutritional requirements, public cognition, or product development were included. After screening, 45 full-text articles and four authoritative documents were incorporated into the synthesis. Results: The synthesis reveals a persistent disconnect between the cognition and utilization of sports nutrition foods. Common misconceptions include inappropriate supplementation timing, indiscriminate product selection, and imprecise dosage control, while structural constraints on the industrial side—product homogenization, inadequate standardization, and imprecise product development—remain significant barriers. Conclusions: To bridge this gap, we recommend establishing a three-in-one public education framework that integrates professional education, mass media communication, and regulatory oversight, and we encourage enterprises to transition toward clean labeling, precision nutrition, and green processing. This review provides an evidence-based reference for advancing the development of sports nutrition foods. Full article

Education is crucial for addressing the global biodiversity crisis and encouraging behaviours that support sustainable resource use and biodiversity protection. Species identification skills are an important part of biodiversity education, but research shows that educational practitioners have limited species knowledge and preferences for certain biodiversity. This study compares UK practitioners’ knowledge, awareness, and perceptions regarding four biodiversity categories (invertebrates, mammals, birds, flowering plants). UK schoolteachers in primary education, secondary science, and geography (n = 192) completed an online survey, comprising an identification test, free listing exercise, Likert scale, and closed and open-text questions. Knowledge was poor overall but highest for birds and mammals, followed by plants and lastly invertebrates. Few respondents correctly identified all six plant species, and none correctly identified all six invertebrates. Identification knowledge was positively associated with age, nature connectedness, and type of university degree. Relative awareness was high for mammals, similar for trees, flowers and birds, and low for invertebrates and other vertebrate groups. Respondents perceived colourful flying species as attractive but species with stinging structures as unattractive. Approximately half the respondents thought it was important for teachers to possess identification skills and two thirds thought that children had poor identification skills. The potential impacts of low invertebrate knowledge and awareness on environmental education are discussed and solutions proposed for teacher training, support, and classroom interventions. Full article

Background/Objectives: Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA)- and incretin-based therapies are now central to obesity management. Their clinical value, however, should be interpreted beyond total weight loss, because changes in fat mass, lean mass, physical function, and cardiometabolic risk may depend on the accompanying dietary, behavioral, and exercise co-interventions. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated GLP-1RA- and incretin-based therapies delivered within lifestyle interventions in adults with overweight or obesity. Methods: The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420261360837). PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, and CENTRAL were searched from inception to the final search dates. Records were deduplicated in Zotero. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2 tool. Random-effects meta-analyses were estimated using restricted maximum likelihood with Hartung–Knapp adjustment when pooling was appropriate. Results: Across all database sources, 1651 records were identified. After removing 113 duplicate records and 212 records with an ineligible publication type before screening, 1326 records were screened. Seventy-seven reports were sought for retrieval, five were not retrieved, 72 were assessed at full text, and 48 reports corresponding to 35 independent parent trials or trial clusters were retained for qualitative synthesis. The primary kilogram-scale meta-analysis included eight independent comparisons and showed greater body-weight reduction with GLP-1RA/incretin-based therapy delivered within a lifestyle background than with placebo/control (mean difference [MD] −10.08 kg, 95% confidence interval [CI] −12.76 to −7.39; 95% prediction interval [PI] −17.86 to −2.29; I² = 95.6%). Percentage body-weight change was analyzed separately across 11 independent comparisons and also favored GLP-1RA/incretin-based therapy (MD −9.53 percentage points, 95% CI −11.92 to −7.14; 95% PI −17.58 to −1.48; I² = 95.4%). Conclusions: GLP-1RA- and incretin-based therapies delivered within lifestyle interventions are associated with clinically meaningful reductions in body weight in adults with overweight or obesity. Absolute and relative body-weight change metrics should remain analytically separate. The magnitude of benefit varies across trial contexts, and certainty remains limited by risk-of-bias concerns and considerable heterogeneity. Future trials should standardize the reporting of lifestyle co-interventions, body composition, adherence, physical-function outcomes, and safety monitoring. Full article

This article examines how women’s ritual authority and identity are negotiated in contemporary mourning practices among the Tsonga. Although African scholarship has increasingly addressed gender, widowhood, and ritual life, limited attention has been paid to mourning as a gendered space in which women’s authority is simultaneously exercised, regulated, and contested. The article addresses this gap by analysing mourning not as a static cultural residue, but as a dynamic ritual field shaped by kinship, seniority, obligation, memory, and social change. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative document analysis of recent scholarly literature, ethnographic studies, and theoretically relevant texts on Tsonga mourning, African ritual practice, kinship, and gender. The analysis is guided by a decolonial perspective, which recentres African epistemologies and lived ritual meanings, and a genealogical perspective, which traces how authority, identity, and obligation are transmitted and reworked across generations. The article argues that Tsonga mourning practices position women as custodians of ritual continuity while also subjecting them to moral discipline and social regulation. Its contribution lies in bringing together African gender studies, ritual studies, genealogy, and decolonial scholarship to show how mourning remains a vital site for the ongoing negotiation of gender, belonging, and cultural authority. Full article

Background: Physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour are major public health concerns associated with an increased risk of non-communicable diseases, reduced quality of life, and substantial healthcare burden. In recent years, technology-based interventions, including wearable devices, mobile health applications, artificial intelligence-driven systems, and adaptive digital platforms, have been increasingly adopted to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary time in adult populations. However, the evidence remains fragmented across intervention types, behavioural targets, and population groups. The aim of this scoping review was to map the recent literature on digital interventions designed to promote active lifestyles in adults, with a specific focus on their reported impact on physical activity promotion and sedentary behaviour reduction. Methods: This scoping review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A literature search was performed in PubMed and Scopus using a predefined search strategy combining terms related to digital technologies, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and adult populations. Studies published in English between 2022 and 2026 were considered. After removal of duplicates and screening of titles and abstracts, full texts were assessed according to predefined eligibility criteria. Data were charted descriptively and synthesised narratively to identify the main intervention models and emerging research trends. Results: The search identified 887 records, of which 35 studies were included in the final synthesis. The literature included was grouped into four broad categories: wearable devices and mHealth tools for monitoring and goal-setting; adaptive interventions based on Just-In-Time Adaptive Interventions, artificial intelligence, and gamification; advanced technologies such as Internet of Things systems and exoskeleton-based approaches; and hybrid interventions combining digital tools with human support or environmental modifications. Overall, technology-based interventions were generally associated with increases in step count, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and adherence to movement-related behaviours. In contrast, their effectiveness in reducing sedentary behaviour was less consistent and appeared to depend more strongly on context-sensitive prompting, posture-focused strategies, and multicomponent or hybrid intervention models. Conclusions: Digital health interventions represent a promising strategy for promoting physical activity in adults, but their impact on sedentary behaviour reduction remains more limited and heterogeneous. The findings suggest that simply increasing exercise is not sufficient to address prolonged sitting and that more tailored, adaptive, and context-aware approaches are needed. Future research should prioritise methodological standardisation, longer follow-up periods, and interventions specifically designed to interrupt sedentary time across different adult populations. Full article

Social media text offers new opportunities for tracking psychological constructs over time, but such measurement requires methods that are interpretable and stable in longitudinal settings. Grounded in Conceptual Space Theory and semantic projection, this study develops the Word Embedding Projection Approach (WEPA), which represents psychological constructs as semantic axes defined by theory-driven anchor words in a domain-specific word embedding space. WEPA scores are interpreted as indicators of expressed psychological salience in user-generated text. Using panel data from Keep, a Chinese fitness-oriented social media platform (177,829 users; 2,668,298 weekly observations), we evaluate WEPA across four studies. Study I examines the measurement foundation through anchor-word validation, human-coded benchmarks, and cross-temporal semantic-axis stability checks. Studies II and III show theoretically interpretable predictive associations between WEPA-derived scores and subsequent exercise duration for goal-setting constructs and the four source dimensions of self-efficacy. Study IV provides exploratory relative-week trajectories of aggregate construct dynamics. Overall, WEPA shows strong agreement with human-coded benchmarks for goal specificity and physiological states and achieves broader text coverage than a dictionary-based baseline. These findings suggest that WEPA offers a promising approach to theory-driven psychological measurement from domain-specific social media text. Full article

Background/Objectives: Taping is widely used as an adjunctive intervention in musculoskeletal and neurological rehabilitation due to its low cost, noninvasive nature, and clinical versatility. However, reported clinical effects remain inconsistent across studies, largely because of the heterogeneity in tape material properties, structural characteristics, application parameters, and clinical contexts. This structured narrative review aimed to synthesize the current evidence on the material composition, structural characteristics, mechanisms of action, and condition-specific application strategies of therapeutic taping in rehabilitation. Methods: A structured narrative review of the literature published between January 2000 and March 2025 was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Peer-reviewed studies involving human participants were selected based on predefined inclusion criteria and screened through title/abstract and full-text review. Evidence was prioritized according to study design, with greater emphasis placed on randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. Studies investigating the effects of elastic taping, non-elastic taping, and specialized techniques (e.g., diamond taping and Mulligan taping) on pain, neuromuscular function, proprioception, balance, circulation, and functional outcomes were included. Evidence was synthesized according to taping type, material characteristics, and clinical context. Results: Non-elastic taping demonstrated greater effectiveness in providing mechanical stabilization and load redistribution in acute injuries and mechanically driven joint instability. In contrast, elastic taping showed more consistent relevance in chronic musculoskeletal conditions and neurological rehabilitation, primarily through proprioceptive facilitation and neuromuscular modulation. Across studies, clinical outcomes varied substantially according to tape width, elasticity, material composition, and application tension, highlighting the influence of tape-related factors on therapeutic effects. Overall, the observed effects were predominantly short-term and condition-specific, with considerable heterogeneity across studies. Conclusions: Current evidence suggests that taping may be most appropriately used as an adjunctive intervention rather than a stand-alone treatment, particularly when combined with exercise therapy or other rehabilitation approaches. Individualized, goal-directed application that considers material properties and dose–response characteristics may be more appropriate than uniform taping protocols. However, the overall strength of the evidence remains variable, and further research with standardized protocols, longer follow-up periods, and mechanistic investigation is required to strengthen evidence-based clinical application. Full article

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are increasing in young athletes and many are related to non-contact, spontaneous mechanical fatigue-related ruptures. The objective of this narrative review is to identify and synthesize the anatomical, histological, physiological, and biomechanical basis of extracellular matrix (ECM) factors that contribute to ACL injuries and suggest ways to decrease their occurrence. Methods: The primary investigator searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar database titles and abstracts using search phrases with Boolean operators: “anterior cruciate ligament” OR “ACL”, OR “cranial cruciate ligament” AND “disease”; “anterior cruciate ligament” OR “ACL”, OR “cranial cruciate ligament” AND “spontaneous rupture” OR “non-contact injury”; and “anterior cruciate ligament” OR ACL, OR cranial cruciate ligament” AND “crosslink”, “collagen” OR “extracellular matrix”; and “anterior cruciate ligament” OR “ACL”, OR “cranial cruciate ligament” AND “microtrauma”, OR “sudden” OR “fatigue failure”. The primary investigator and a sports orthopedic surgeon reviewed titles and abstracts of diverse evidence sources. From these identified sources, the study team performed full text reviews, selected contributing articles, performed Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy (SORT) grading, and synthesized the following themes: A Hostile Environment, ACL Strain, and Poor Nutrient Delivery; Accumulative ACL Microtrauma and Mechanical Failure; The ACL Differs From Other Ligaments; Collagen, the ECM, and ACL Mechanobiology; Crimps and ACL ECM Stretch; Crosslinks Improve ECM Mechanical Properties; The Delicate Collagen Synthesis and Degradation Balance; Exercise Training and the ACL; Can Nutraceuticals Help Restore the Balance?; Training Induced ACL Hypoxia; Estrogen and the Female Athlete; Counting Pitches or Counting Collagen Fiber Ruptures; and Restoring A Positive Anabolic–Catabolic Collagen Balance. Results: Regular exercise training within a physiologically safe loading range is vital to ACL ECM health. However, low or moderate evidence suggested that poor blood supply, slow metabolism, and a hypoxic environment may unbalance anabolic and catabolic homeostasis. Active rest and recovery concepts that prevent youth baseball shoulder and elbow injuries may help prevent non-contact ACL injuries. Conclusions: More prescriptive active rest and recovery intervals and neuromuscular control training may restore the anabolic–catabolic balance that increases mature crosslink density and improves ACL ECM strength. Confirmatory studies are needed to better establish therapeutic intervention mode(s), timing, dosage, and frequency optimization. Full article

Background: Pneumonia of unknown etiology (PUE), defined as pneumonia cases without an identified pathogen at the time of clinical presentation, represents a critical clinical warning signal for emerging infectious disease (EID) outbreaks with pandemic potential. Yet, conventional pathogen-centric surveillance systems suffer from an inherent blind spot: they cannot detect early clustering signals before the causative agent is identified, creating a window of vulnerability during novel pathogen emergence. To address this gap, this study aims to develop a deep learning model that leverages unstructured chest imaging text—a routinely available clinical data stream—to enable real-time, automated screening of PUE cases and early warning of EID clusters, independent of prior pathogen knowledge, within an integrated multi-pathogen surveillance framework. Methods: We retrospectively collected data from 8860 patients with respiratory illnesses at a tertiary hospital in Beijing, China, including 980 PUE cases (11.1%) and 7880 known-etiology pneumonia cases. A deep learning model (RoBERTa with attention enhancement) was developed using unstructured chest imaging reports. The Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) curve was employed to determine the optimal decision threshold. Model performance was assessed for PUE case identification and clustering signal detection on a test set. Results: The model achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.986 (95% CI: 0.981–0.991). At the optimal threshold of 0.08, selected by maximizing the Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC)—a balanced metric that accounts for all four confusion matrix outcomes—sensitivity was 89.8%, and specificity was 97.0% for identifying PUE cases. In a simulated surveillance exercise, the model showed a high correlation between the predicted and actual case counts (Pearson’s r = 0.901), suggesting its potential to detect abnormal clustering signals prior to pathogen identification. Conclusions: The developed model demonstrates potential to detect clustering signals of PUE caused by unknown pathogens and can be integrated with hospital information systems, providing a feasible, low-cost tool for integrated surveillance of pathogens with pandemic potential. This approach enables earlier outbreak detection and supports public health decision-making during the critical window before pathogen identification. Full article

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive medical concern affecting millions of people worldwide, with the majority being women. IPV is linked to a number of long-term physical and mental health consequences, including brain injuries and associated persistent post-concussion symptoms (PPCS) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite the high prevalence of these conditions, there is sparse literature assessing accessible and effective therapeutic avenues specific to IPV victim-survivors. Methods: This narrative review had two aims: to identify therapeutic studies addressing PTSD and PPCS in women IPV survivors, and to provide a narrative overview of potential therapeutic categories, including psychotherapy, mindfulness and meditation, exercise, and pharmacotherapy. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed and Google Scholar. Inclusion criteria required full-text, peer-reviewed articles published in English, conducted in women with a history of IPV, reporting treatment outcomes related to PTSD or PPCS. Where no IPV-specific evidence was identified, findings from closely related populations including military veterans, athletes, and general TBI samples were narratively reviewed to inform potential therapeutic implications. Results: Nineteen studies addressing PTSD in women IPV survivors were identified, predominantly utilizing psychotherapeutic or mindfulness and meditation-based interventions. No intervention studies targeting PPCS specifically in IPV survivors were identified. Consequently, results for PPCS are largely extrapolated from adjacent populations. Although potential therapeutic avenues were narratively identified across psychotherapy, mindfulness and meditation, exercise, and pharmacotherapy, IPV-specific evidence remains limited, and validation for PTSD and PPCS in this population is needed before clinical recommendations can be made. Conclusions: While 19 studies identified promising therapeutic options for IPV-related PTSD, no IPV-specific PPCS interventions were identified, and implications for PPCS management remain largely inferential. Validation and integrated trauma-informed approaches addressing the intersection of PTSD and PPCS are needed for this understudied population. Full article