Search Results (114)

Background: Problematic Internet gaming (PIG), considered an early stage of Internet gaming addiction (IGA), has become increasingly prevalent among adolescents. This study focused on deviant peer affiliation (DPA) and hedonic gaming experience (HGE) as key mediators and examined four psychosocial risk factors closely related to them: interpersonal incompetence (II), perceived stress (PS), frustration (FR), and emotional loneliness (EL). Specifically, the study investigated how these four psychosocial risk factors influence adolescents’ DPA, HGE, and PIG, and whether DPA and HGE mediate these relationships. Methods: Based on existing validated scales, we developed a questionnaire to measure these seven constructs (II, PS, FR, IC, DPA, HGE, and PIG), proposed 14 hypotheses, and collected 214 valid responses from adolescents. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized model. Findings: The results showed that all 14 hypotheses were supported. Specifically, interpersonal incompetence significantly predicted perceived stress; stress led to frustration; and frustration, in turn, contributed to emotional loneliness. Furthermore, all four psychosocial risk factors significantly predicted deviant peer affiliation, hedonic gaming experience, and ultimately, problematic Internet gaming among adolescents. Both DPA and HGE mediated the effects of psychosocial risk factors on adolescent problematic Internet gaming (PIG), with the model explaining moderate-to-high variance. This study highlights the importance of segmenting adolescents into more specific subgroups based on the distinct developmental pathways leading to PIG. Implications: Understanding the step-by-step mechanisms and psychological drivers of different adolescent subtypes can provide a more solid foundation for early identification and targeted intervention efforts. Full article

Background and Objectives: Suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Identifying psychopathological factors and personality traits associated with suicidal ideation is crucial for improving prevention. This study investigates the association between current suicidal ideation—measured by item 4 of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale-24 items (BPRS-24)—and personality traits assessed with the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) in a transdiagnostic outpatient psychiatric population. The association of BPRS-24 item 4 with early traumatic experiences, attachment styles, and dissociative phenomena is also explored as a secondary objective. Materials and Methods: We propose a secondary analysis on a sample of 137 individuals receiving care at an academic community mental health center. Personality traits were assessed using the PID-5, while attachment styles were assessed with the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ERC-R), childhood traumas with the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire (CECA.Q), and dissociative experiences with the Dissociative Experience Scale II (DES-II). Suicidal ideation was measured with item 4 of the BPRS-24. Associations were examined using Spearman’s correlation and ordinal logistic regression models, adjusted for age, sex assigned at birth, and global clinical severity (CGI-S). Results: We found statistically significant associations between suicidal ideation and the PID-5 trait of depressivity (OR = 1.80, 95 % CI 1.23–2.63, p = 0.002, p-value adjusted Holm’s method 0.012). However, this association lost significance after adjusting for depressive symptoms (BPRS-24 item 3), suggesting a mediating role of depression. We found no significant associations with childhood trauma, attachment styles, or dissociative experiences. Conclusions: Our findings suggest a potential link between specific personality traits and suicidal ideation, mediated by depressive symptomatology. We explore how future studies may evaluate PID-5 as a clinical tool to support the identification of individuals at long-term risk of suicidality or for targeting specific populations for tailored interventions. Full article

Despite widespread adoption, traditional Agile project management practices often fail to ensure successful delivery of enterprise-scale software projects. One key limitation lies in the absence of a conceptually defined structure for the various types of Agile activities and their interactions. As a result, Agile methodologies typically lack formal indicators for evaluating the semantic content and progress status of project activities. Although widely used tools for Agile project management, such as Atlassian Jira, capture operational data, project status assessment interpretation remains largely subjective—relying on the experience and judgment of managers and team members rather than on a formal knowledge model or well-defined semantic attributes. As Agile project activities continue to grow in complexity, there is a pressing need for a modeling approach that captures their causal structure in order to describe the essential characteristics of the processes and ensure systematic monitoring and evaluation of the project. The complexity of the corresponding model must correlate with the causality of processes to avoid losing essential properties and to reveal the content of causal interactions. To address these gaps, this paper introduces a causal Agile process model that formalizes the internal structure and transformation pathways of Agile activity types. To our knowledge, it is the first framework to integrate a recursive, causally grounded structure into Agile management, enabling both semantic clarity and quantitative evaluation of project complexity and progress. The aim of the article is, first, to describe conceptually different Agile activity types from a causal modeling perspective, its internal structure and information transformations, and, second, to formally define the causal Agile management model and its characteristics. Each Agile activity type (e.g., theme, initiative, epic, user story) is modeled using the management transaction (MT) framework—an internal model of activity that comprises a closed-loop causal relationship among management function (F), process (P), state attribute (A), and control (V) informational flows. Using this framework, the internal structure of Agile activity types is normalized and the different roles of activities in internal MT interactions are defined. An important feature of this model is its recursive structure, formed through a hierarchy of MTs. Additionally, the paper presents classifications of vertical and horizontal causal interactions, uncovering theoretically grounded patterns of information exchange among Agile activities. These classifications support the derivation of quantitative indicators for assessing project complexity and progress at a given point in time, offering insights into activity specification completeness at hierarchical levels and overall project content completeness. Examples of complexity indicator calculations applied to real-world enterprise application system (EAS) projects are included. Finally, the paper describes enhancements to the Jira tool, including a causal Agile management repository and a prototype user interface. An experimental case study involving four Nordic EAS projects (using Scrum at the team level and SAFe at the program level) demonstrates that the Jira tool, when supplemented with causal analysis, can reveal missing links between themes and initiatives and align interdependencies between teams in real time. The causal Agile approach reduced the total number of requirements by an average of 13% and the number of change requests by 14%, indicating a significant improvement in project coordination and quality. Full article

Background: Pregnancies following perinatal loss present emotional and clinical challenges that require individualized care. While awareness of the psychological vulnerability of bereaved parents is increasing, the perspectives and preparedness of healthcare professionals (HCPs) are still under-investigated. Methods: The UNSURENESS study involved a national cross-sectional web-based survey conducted between August 2023 and February 2024. The questionnaire explored sociodemographic data, professional experience, training in perinatal loss care, communication approaches, and clinical decision making. Results: Two hundred female HCPs participated (midwives 78.0%). One-third had received specific training on managing pregnancies after perinatal loss. On a 0–4 Likert scale, participants emphasized the importance of addressing the previous loss (M = 3.82; SD = 0.03) and building a trusting relationship with parents (M = 3.78; SD = 0.04). Providing comprehensive information (M = 3.59; SD = 0.05) and promoting shared decision making (M = 3.72; SD = 0.04) followed closely. The most challenging tasks included responding to parental fears (M = 3.37; SD = 0.75) and offering reassurance (M = 3.06; SD = 1.06). Clinical decisions were primarily driven by continuity of care (M = 3.70; SD = 0.56) and parental preferences (M = 3.63; SD = 0.57), rather than national guidelines (M = 3.16; SD = 0.82) or research evidence (M = 2.86; SD = 0.94). Conclusions: HCPs are aware of the psychosocial complexity involved in these pregnancies but often lack specific training. There is a clear need for trauma-informed interventions and national guidelines to better support both professionals and bereaved families. Full article

Background and Objectives: With the widespread integration of digital media into daily life, social media addiction (SMA) has become a growing concern for university students’ mental health. Based on attachment theory, this study examined how attachment anxiety and avoidance influence SMA through fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and loneliness. Methods: A sample of 400 Chinese university students completed the 16-item short version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR), the 8-item Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE), the 6-item Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale–Short Form (RULS-6), and the 6-item Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). Using the PROCESS macro (Model 6), a chained mediation model was tested. Results: Attachment anxiety positively predicts SMA (β = 0.42); the chained mediation pathway through FNE and loneliness accounts for ab = 0.06 of this effect, alongside additional single-mediator paths. In contrast, attachment avoidance shows a weaker total effect (β = −0.08) and a small negative chained mediation effect (ab = −0.02), offset by opposing single-mediator paths via FNE (negative) and loneliness (positive), resulting in a nonsignificant total indirect effect. Discussion: These findings suggest that in the Chinese cultural context, where social evaluation and belonging are emphasized, insecure attachment may heighten emotional reliance on social media. This study elucidates the socio-emotional mechanisms underlying SMA and extends the application of attachment theory to the digital media environment. Full article

Background/Objectives: Respectful maternity care involves privacy, dignity, and informed choice within the process of delivery as stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO). Informed consent is a cornerstone of patient-centered care, representing not just a formal document, but an ongoing ethical and clinical process through which women are offered objective, understandable information to support autonomous, informed decision-making. Methods: This narrative review critically examines the literature on informed consent in maternity care, with particular attention to both obstetric-led and midwifery-led models of care. In addition to identifying institutional, cultural, and systemic obstacles to its successful implementation, the review examines the definition and application of informed consent in perinatal settings and evaluates its effects on women’s autonomy and satisfaction with care. Results: Important conclusions emphasize that improving women’s experiences and minimizing needless interventions require active decision-making participation, a positive provider–patient relationship, and ongoing support from medical professionals. However, significant gaps persist between legal mandates and actual practice due to provider attitudes, systemic constraints, and sociocultural influences. Women’s experiences of consent can be more effectively understood through the use of instruments such as the Mothers’ Respect (MOR) Index and the Mothers’ Autonomy in Decision Making (MADM) Scale. Conclusions: To promote genuinely informed and considerate maternity care, this review emphasizes the necessity of legislative reform and improved provider education in order to close the gap between policy and practice. Full article

The Silurian marine shale in the Sichuan Basin is currently the main reservoir for shale gas reserves and production in China. This study investigates the reservoir evolution of the Silurian marine shale based on fractal dimension, quantifying the complexity and heterogeneity of the shale’s pore structure. Physical simulation experiments were conducted on field-collected shale samples, revealing the evolution of total organic carbon, mineral composition, porosity, and micro-fractures. The fractal dimension of shale pore was characterized using the Frenkel–Halsey–Hill and capillary bundle models. The relationships among shale components, porosity, and fractal dimensions were investigated through a correlation analysis and a principal component analysis. A comprehensive evolution model for porosity and micro-fractures was established. The evolution of mineral composition indicates a gradual increase in quartz content, accompanied by a decline in clay, feldspar, and carbonate minerals. The thermal evolution of organic matter is characterized by the formation of organic pores and shrinkage fractures on the surface of kerogen. Retained hydrocarbons undergo cracking in the late stages of thermal evolution, resulting in the formation of numerous nanometer-scale organic pores. The evolution of inorganic minerals is represented by compaction, dissolution, and the transformation of clay minerals. Throughout the simulation, porosity evolution exhibited distinct stages of rapid decline, notable increase, and relative stabilization. Both pore volume and specific surface area exhibit a trend of decreasing initially and then increasing during thermal evolution. However, pore volume slowly decreases after reaching its peak in the late overmature stage. Fractal dimensions derived from the Frenkel–Halsey–Hill model indicate that the surface roughness of pores (D1) in organic-rich shale is generally lower than the complexity of their internal structures (D2) across different maturity levels. Additionally, the average fractal dimension calculated based on the capillary bundle model is higher, suggesting that larger pores exhibit more complex structures. The correlation matrix indicates a co-evolution relationship between shale components and pore structure. Principal component analysis results show a close relationship between the porosity of inorganic pores, microfractures, and fractal dimension D2. The porosity of organic pores, the pore volume and specific surface area of the main pore size are closely related to fractal dimension D1. D1 serves as an indicator of pore development extent and characterizes the changes in components that are “consumed” or “generated” during the evolution process. Based on mineral composition, fractal dimensions, and pore structure evolution, a comprehensive model describing the evolution of pores and fractal dimensions in organic-rich shale was established. Full article

Object detection in drone-captured imagery has attracted significant attention due to its wide range of real-world applications, including surveillance, disaster response, and environmental monitoring. Although the majority of existing methods are developed under closed-set assumptions, and some recent studies have begun to explore open-vocabulary or open-world detection, their application to UAV imagery remains limited and underexplored. In this paper, we address this limitation by exploring the relationship between images and textual semantics to extend object detection in UAV imagery to an open-vocabulary setting. We propose a novel and efficient detector named Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Open-Vocabulary Detector (UAV-OVD), specifically designed for drone-captured scenes. To facilitate open-vocabulary object detection, we propose improvements from three complementary perspectives. First, at the training level, we design a region–text contrastive loss to replace conventional classification loss, allowing the model to align visual regions with textual descriptions beyond fixed category sets. Structurally, building on this, we introduce a multi-level text-guided fusion decoder that integrates visual features across multiple spatial scales under language guidance, thereby improving overall detection performance and enhancing the representation and perception of small objects. Finally, from the data perspective, we enrich the original dataset with synonym-augmented category labels, enabling more flexible and semantically expressive supervision. Experiments conducted on two widely used benchmark datasets demonstrate that our approach achieves significant improvements in both mean mAP and Recall. For instance, for Zero-Shot Detection on xView, UAV-OVD achieves 9.9 mAP and 67.3 Recall, 1.1 and 25.6 higher than that of YOLO-World. In terms of speed, UAV-OVD achieves 53.8 FPS, nearly twice as fast as YOLO-World and five times faster than DetrReg, demonstrating its strong potential for real-time open-vocabulary detection in UAV imagery. Full article

Objective: This cross-sectional study examined assumptions about the role of parenting qualities in predicting child problems. Background: Children with ADHD often experience distress, partially linked to less adaptive parenting practices. Our working assumptions are that: parental mindfulness, insecure parent attachment styles, and parental child rejection have a significant impact upon the severity of child problems and therefore should be addressed in parental training. Methods: A total of 122 Israeli parents (55 fathers (Mage = 43.8; SD = 4.01) and 67 mothers (Mage = 41.6; SD = 4.59)) of 75 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Mage = 8.4; SD = 1.56) completed self-report measures: the Experience of Close Relationships scale (ECR), the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ), and Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: The key finding was that a latent ‘parental rejection/non-warmth’ factor mediated the relationship between (a) parents’ anxious attachment and child behavior problems, and (b) parental mindfulness and child problems. Parental rejection emerged as the strongest predictor of child difficulties. Conclusions: Parental training for parents of children with ADHD should prioritize reducing rejection while also addressing mindfulness and anxious attachment style to promote child well-being. Clinical Trial Registration: Group training for parents whose children suffer from ADHD and comorbidity using a behavioral-dynamic approach (SPBT). Registered at Veeva Vault. Full article

Camouflaged object detection (COD) aims to detect objects that seamlessly integrate with their surrounding environment and are thereby intractable to distinguish from the background. Existing approaches face difficulties in dynamically adapting to scenarios where the foreground closely resembles the background. Additionally, these methods primarily rely on single-domain boundary supervision while overlooking multi-dimensional constraints, leading to indistinct object boundaries. Inspired by the hawk’s visual predation mechanism, namely, global perception and local refinement, we design an innovative two-stage boundary-aware network, namely, SFNet, which relies on supervision in the spatial-frequency domains. In detail, to simulate the global perception mechanism, we design a multi-scale dynamic attention module to capture contextual relationships between camouflaged objects and surroundings and to enhance key feature representation. In the local refinement stage, we introduce a dual-domain boundary supervision mechanism that jointly optimizes boundaries in frequency and spatial domains, along with an adaptive gated boundary guided module to maintain global semantic consistency. Extensive experiments on four camouflaged object detection datasets demonstrate that SFNet surpasses state-of-the-art methods by 4.1%, with lower computational overhead and memory costs. Full article

Research into the potential health consequences of trauma indicates that traumatic experiences can disrupt normal biological processes and increase the risk of neuroinflammation and the development of clinical symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study, we examined the relationship between neuroinflammation and three specific biomarkers—matrix metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MMP-9, the inflammasome NLRP3, and the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA—in connection with PTSD symptoms assessed using the PTSD Symptom Scale–Interview for DSM-5 (PSSI-5). The symptoms were categorized into the following domains: re-experiencing, avoidance, alterations in cognition and mood, increased arousal and reactivity, distress and functional impairment, symptom onset and duration, and the total symptom score. Our findings confirmed the pro-inflammatory roles of MMP-2, MMP-9, and the inflammasome NLRP3, as well as the anti-inflammatory, calming effect of GABA. We identified strong correlations between biomarkers, particularly between MMP-2 and MMP-9, MMP-2 and NLRP3, and MMP-2 and GABA, highlighting a closely interconnected inflammatory response. Among the PSSI-5 domains, re-experiencing, increased arousal and reactivity, and distress and functional impairment showed the strongest associations with the total symptom score. Recent research focusing on these cellular mechanisms has provided valuable insights into the role of neuroinflammation in PTSD. These findings enhance our understanding of how inflammation contributes to the disorder’s development and progression. Full article

Introduction: Testicular cancer (TC) is diagnosed at a young age and carries a remarkably high cure rate. Hence, there is a sizeable population living in the survivorship phase. Many studies have highlighted the plight of TC survivors as a result of the late side-effects of the different therapeutic modalities used for the treatment of TC. This is the first study in Ireland to highlight the impact of TC on socio-economic health, sexual health, and fertility in survivors. Method: We performed a questionnaire-based survey, which was fully anonymised to encourage participation. Questionnaires were designed to measure the self-reported impact on social, sexual, and economic health on a five-point Likert scale (ranging from no effect to very significant effect), whereas any effect on fertility was investigated with questions regarding biological children before and after cancer with or without medical assistance. Results: A total of 83 TC survivors participated in the study. Almost half of our respondents revealed some effect on their performance at work and personal finances. Around one-third suffered an impact on career choice, job security, and their relationship with their partner. Regarding sexual health, the worst repercussions were noted on sex drive and body image perception, where close to half of the respondents reported at least some deterioration. Ejaculation and erectile function were affected in 30% of the participants. Of all participants, 17% reported issues with fertility, and the same proportion reported seeking medical help to conceive after diagnosis or treatment of TC. Conclusions: In conclusion, some TC survivors experience significant impact on their socio-economic and sexual health. Full article

Purpose/Objective: Children with disabilities are at a greater risk of being bullied and experience mental health and academic problems that may persist in adulthood. This study examined the association of childhood bullying experiences with current mental health (anxiety and depression) among adults with disabilities, and whether academic satisfaction mediated the relationship between childhood bullying and adult mental health outcomes. Research Method/Design: A sample of 409 adult participants with disabilities who had had their disabilities while attending school, and currently, completed an online survey assessing bullying experiences (California Bullying Victimization Scale-Retrospective), academic satisfaction (Academic Satisfaction Scale), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), and anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7). Bivariate correlations and two mediation analyses were conducted to identify the direct and indirect effects of school bullying experiences on current mental health outcomes, via academic satisfaction. Results: Participants reported a moderate amount of childhood bullying and relatively high levels of depression and anxiety symptomology (with averages close to or exceeding clinical cutoffs of 10). Bivariate correlations among the four variables were all significantly moderately or strongly correlated. Bullying and academic satisfaction had direct associations with depression and anxiety. Academic satisfaction partially mediated the relationships between bullying and both mental health outcomes. Conclusions/Implications: Bullying prevention interventions and programs, especially geared toward preventing bullying in students with disabilities, are critical to stop the likely long-term impacts of bullying on mental health outcomes in disabled communities. Full article

Background: Research has underscored that the attachment type could explain the association between sexual behavior and relational satisfaction. This study aimed to explore the relationship between attachment type, sexual function, and relationship characteristics of adult women. Methods: This cross-sectional study included an a priori calculated sample of 304 women, who completed the Female Sexual Function Index, the Relationship Assessment Scale, and the Experiences in Close Relationships—Revised Scale. Results: Women with anxious attachment types reported higher levels of sexual arousal, orgasm, and satisfaction compared to other types, suggesting that emotional insecurity may intensify sexual intimacy within relationships. Overall, relational satisfaction was positively associated with various aspects of sexual function, particularly arousal and orgasmic function. Specifically, anxious attachment was associated with higher levels of sexual arousal, orgasm, and overall satisfaction, emphasizing the impact of relational dynamics on sexual well-being. Conclusions: The findings of this study highlight the significant role of attachment patterns and relational satisfaction in shaping women’s sexual function and experiences. The results suggest that therapeutic interventions aiming at the improvement of women’s sexual health should consider both attachment type and relational satisfaction as these factors are integral to the quality of sexual experience. Full article

Determining the friction coefficients for uniform flows over very rough bottoms is a long-standing problem in open-channel hydraulics and river engineering. This experimental study presents measurements of the surface deformation as well as Darcy–Weisbach and Manning friction coefficients for steady, turbulent (6058 $\le \mathcal{R}e\le$ 28,502), and subcritical flows (0.14 $\le \mathcal{F}r\le$ 0.52) over large roughness elements, where $\mathcal{F}r$ and $\mathcal{R}e$ denote the Froude and Reynolds numbers, respectively. The experiments were conducted in a rectangular, inclined flume with a train of half-cylinders mounted on the bed, with radii in the range 20 mm $\le a\le$ 50 mm. These obstacles yield a relative submergence 1.45 $\le h_N/a\le$ 4.41 and a constant spacing ratio $e/a=12.8$ across all experimental runs, where $h_N$ and e denote the normal flow depth and the center-to-center spacing between cylinders, respectively. The relative amplitude of the surface profiles, ($\Delta h/a$), was analyzed and found to correlate strongly with $h_N/a$, $\mathcal{R}e$ and $\mathcal{F}r$. The results reveal very high values of the Darcy friction factor, f, which follows scaling laws of the form ${f\propto (h_N/a)}^{\widehat{n}}$, with $\widehat{n}<0$, independent of a, and ${f\propto \mathcal{R}e}^{\beta }$, where $\beta <0$ is closely linked to a. Scaling relationships for the Manning roughness coefficient, (n), were also investigated and are reported herein. Full article