Search Results (16,736)

Background and Objectives: The treatment of duodenal injuries remains one of the most challenging issues in clinical surgery due to their high morbidity and mortality rates. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the histopathology and other diagnostic outcomes of wound repair following surgical reconstruction of large experimental duodenal defects using synthetic (ePTFE, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene) or organic (JSP, jejunal serosal patch) materials. Materials and Methods: A total of 20 European rabbits were randomly divided into two equal groups (n = 10 each). A grade III defect covering over 50% of the duodenum’s circumference was created in the second part of the duodenum of the rabbits. The anesthesia, duodenal injury, postoperative care, and animal sacrifice protocols were identical for all experimental rabbits. The effectiveness of JSP and ePTFE patch repair techniques was investigated based on clinical, macroscopic, and microscopic assessments at two and four weeks postoperatively. Results: Survival rates were comparable between groups (p > 0.05). Remarkable mucosal regeneration was evident in all experimental animals by two weeks, showing complete coverage of the jejunal serosal and ePTFE patches by re-epithelialized mucosa with functional villus formation. While partial development of the underlying muscular and serosal layers was observed in both groups at four weeks, the JSP group achieved a significantly higher median histological score (19 vs. 14; p = 0.003). Conversely, the ePTFE group exhibited a major safety concern: a highly significant increase (p ≤ 0.001) in Grade 4 dense, inseparable adhesions throughout the abdominal cavity, which were entirely absent in the JSP group. Conclusions: Both JSP and ePTFE are viable for duodenal reconstruction, but the autologous JSP is superior in tissue healing and safety. Severe adhesions associated with ePTFE constitute a significant clinical concern, limiting its use to a second-line alternative. Consequently, JSP is the preferred option, while ePTFE requires further long-term safety validation. Full article

This review synthesizes the literature on the degradation and decomposition of holopelagic Sargassum, with a focus on process dynamics, including microbial contribution, process descriptions, and ecological impacts. Our objective is to consolidate a robust knowledge framework to inform and optimize management strategies in affected areas. Overall, we observed that the current literature relies primarily on isolated field ecological descriptions rather than a coherent, unified research line; mechanistic studies, including bacterial pathways and factors controlling degradation, remain scarce. At the fine scale, microbial community shifts during decomposition are strongly linked to the sequential utilization of distinct organic substrates, thereby favoring the proliferation of microorganisms capable of degrading complex organic molecules and of bacterial groups involved in sulfur respiration, methanogenesis, and nutrient recycling. In the case of sulfur respiration, groups such as Desulfobacterales and Desulfovibrionales may be responsible for the reported H₂S emissions, which pose significant public health concerns. At a broad scale, degradation occurs both on beaches during emersion and in the water column during immersion, particularly during massive accumulations. The initial stages are characterized by the release of organic exudates and leachates. Experimental and observational studies confirm a strong early-stage release of H₂S until the substrate is largely depleted. Depending on environmental conditions, a significant amount of biomass can be lost; however, this loss is highly variable, with notable consequences for contamination studies. Leachates may also contain low but ecologically significant amounts of arsenic, posing a potential contamination risk. Decomposition contributes to water-quality deterioration and oxygen depletion, with impacts at the individual, population, and ecosystem levels, yet many remain imprecisely attributed. Although evidence of nutrient enrichment in the water column is limited, studies indicate biological nutrient uptake. Achieving a comprehensive understanding of degradation and decomposition, including temporal and spatial dynamics, microbiome interactions, by means of directed research, is critical for effective coastal management, improved mitigation strategies, industrial valorization, and accurate modeling of biogeochemical cycles. Full article

Breast cancer remains the most prevalent malignancy among women worldwide, and experimental tumor models are essential for evaluating new therapeutic approaches before clinical application. The Walker-256 carcinoma model exhibits biological behavior comparable to human carcinoma and allows short-term assessment of tumor progression. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of dietary supplementation on Walker-256 tumor growth. We followed the PRISMA guidelines and searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases without time restrictions. The meta-analysis included clustering based on the type of supplementation received, comparing treatment groups with control groups. Twenty-one studies were included, analyzing 18 different supplements, and 12 studies were considered for quantitative synthesis. The overall effect indicated a significant reduction in tumor growth with supplementation (SMD = 3.286; 95% CI: 2.546–4.027; p < 0.001), despite high heterogeneity (I² = 98.6%). Oils had the greatest impact, particularly fish oil (SMD = 7.368; 95% CI: 3.606–11.131) and shark liver oil (SMD = 5.781; 95% CI: 3.655–7.907), followed by amino acids and linoleic acid-rich supplements. We conclude that nutritional supplementation may have the potential to reduce tumor growth in Walker-256 models. Full article

We analyzed intraspecific phenotypic variability relation to experimentally established dependencies of phenotypic traits on developmental conditions. As a model system, we examined meristic variation in the sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) across the European part of its range. At both the level of individual traits and their combined expression, of the spatial patterns of phenotypic diversity largely corresponds to experimentally identified trends in phenotype changes associated with developmental temperature, indicating a substantial role of habitat conditions in shaping phenotypic differentiation and the direction of genetic change. Deviations from these trends were observed in several intraspecific groups and were consistent with previously documented patterns of genetic differentiation. Overall, our results demonstrate the utility of an approach that interprets phenotypic variability through experimentally derived relationships between phenotype and developmental conditions, providing a promising framework for large-scale studies of intraspecific diversity in this and other species. Full article

Accurate assessment of rice resistance to Sogatella furcifera (Horváth) is essential for breeding insect-resistant cultivars. Traditional assessment methods rely on manual scoring of damage severity, which is subjective and inefficient. To overcome these limitations, this study proposes an automated resistance evaluation approach based on multi-view 3D reconstruction and deep learning–based point cloud segmentation. Multi-view videos of rice materials with different resistance levels were collected over time and processed using Structure from Motion (SfM) and Multi-View Stereo (MVS) to reconstruct high-quality 3D point clouds. A well-annotated “3D Rice WBPH Damage” dataset comprising 174 samples (15 rice materials, three replicates each, 45 pots) was established, where each sample corresponds to a reconstructed 3D point cloud from a video sequence. A comparative study of various point cloud semantic segmentation models, including PointNet, PointNet++, ShellNet, and PointCNN, revealed that the PointNet++ (MSG) model, which employs a Multi-Scale Grouping strategy, demonstrated the best performance in segmenting complex damage symptoms. To further accurately quantify the severity of damage, an adaptive point cloud dimensionality reduction method was proposed, which effectively mitigates the interference of leaf shrinkage on damage assessment. Experimental results demonstrated a strong correlation (R² = 0.95) between automated and manual evaluations, achieving accuracies of 86.67% and 93.33% at the sample and material levels, respectively. This work provides an objective, efficient, and scalable solution for evaluating rice resistance to S. furcifera, offering promising applications in crop resistance breeding. Full article

Safe and efficient coal mining faces a global challenge in predicting sudden surface subsidence whose mechanisms remain unclear. This study, centered on deep coal seams in China’s Ordos Basin, examines the risk of abrupt subsidence controlled by high-positioned, ultra-thick, and weakly cemented key strata. We adopt an integrated “observation–experiment–model” paradigm. First, we construct a spatial decoupling model to analyze errors in 1D SBAS-InSAR monitoring, leading to a refined 2D method that reduces the three-dimensional monitoring error from 50 mm to under 20 mm. Based on this, the subsidence basin’s boundary angles are accurately determined as 52.3°–58.6° (strike) and 44.3°–48.2° (dip). Second, a large-scale physical simulation experiment visualizes the complete process of overburden failure up to the breaking of high-level key strata. Finally, by coupling remote sensing observations with experimental phenomena, a theoretical model is built to quantify the mechanical behavior of key strata, revealing the critical width-to-depth ratios for the rupture of the Yan’an Formation (0.21–0.27), Zhiluo Formation (0.53–0.82), and Zhidan Group (1.22–1.34). The research not only delineates surface subsidence morphology under special geological conditions but also answers the core questions of why subsidence occurs and when mutation may happen, thereby laying a theoretical foundation for a comprehensive early-warning model for mining areas worldwide. Full article

The purpose of this research was to investigate whether music empirically associated with therapeutic effects contains intrinsic informational structures that differentiate it from other sound sequences. Drawing on ontology, phenomenology, nonlinear dynamics, and complex systems theory, we hypothesize that therapeutic relevance may be linked to persistent structural patterns embedded in musical signals rather than to stylistic or genre-related attributes. This paper introduces the Discriminating Music Sequences (DiMuSes) method, an unsupervised, structure-oriented analytical framework designed to detect such patterns. The method applies 24 scalar evaluators derived from statistics, fractal geometry, nonlinear physics, and complex systems, transforming sound sequences into multidimensional vectors that characterize their global temporal organization. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) reduces this feature space to three dominant components (PC1–PC3), enabling visualization and comparison in a reduced informational space. Unsupervised k-Means clustering is subsequently applied in the PCA space to identify groups of structurally similar sound sequences, with cluster quality evaluated using Silhouette and Davies–Bouldin indices. Beyond clustering, DiMuSe implements ranking procedures based on relative positions in the PCA space, including distance to cluster centroids, inter-item proximity, and stability across clustering configurations, allowing melodies to be ordered according to their structural proximity to the therapeutic cluster. The method was first validated using synthetically generated nonlinear signals with known properties, confirming its capacity to discriminate structured time series. It was then applied to a dataset of 39 music and sound sequences spanning therapeutic, classical, folk, religious, vocal, natural, and noise categories. The results show that therapeutic music consistently forms a compact and well-separated cluster and ranks highly in structural proximity measures, suggesting shared informational characteristics. Notably, pink noise and ocean sounds also cluster near therapeutic music, aligning with independent evidence of their regulatory and relaxation effects. DiMuSe-derived rankings were consistent with two independent studies that identified the same musical pieces as highly therapeutic.The present research remains at a theoretical stage. Our method has not yet been tested in clinical or experimental therapeutic settings and does not account for individual preference, cultural background, or personal music history, all of which strongly influence therapeutic outcomes. Consequently, DiMuSe does not claim to predict individual efficacy but rather to identify structural potential at the signal level. Future work will focus on clinical validation, integration of biometric feedback, and the development of personalized extensions that combine intrinsic informational structure with listener-specific response data. Full article

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of air-abrasion as a dentin pre-treatment on the bond strength of contemporary adhesive systems. The bonding approaches included etch-and-rinse (ER), self-etch (SE) and universal (UN) adhesive systems, with the latter applied in both ER and SE modes. Twenty-eight third molars were used, each sectioned in four parts. All specimens were embedded in acrylic resin, ground with silicon carbide papers, and divided into eight experimental groups (n = 14) based on the combination of surface pre-treatment (air-abrasion or none) and adhesive approach. Subsequently, a resin cylinder was bonded to each surface following the respective treatment. Shear bond strength (SBS) was evaluated at a cross-head speed of 0.7 mm/min using a shear-testing machine (OM100 Odeme, Luzerna, Brazil). The data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test. No statistically significant increase in SBS after air-abrasion of dentin was found for any of the experimental groups (p > 0.05). Among the adhesive strategies, the ER system presented higher SBS values (32.81 ± 9.04 MPa) than the UN adhesive applied in SE mode (21.68 ± 5.85 MPa) (p < 0.05). Mixed failures were the most common failure type across all groups. In particular, 20.5% of the specimens exhibited adhesive failure, 14.3% cohesive failure within resin composite, 12.5% cohesive failure within dentin and 52.7% specimens demonstrated mixed failure types. Dentin pre-treatment with air-abrasion using 29 μm Al₂O₃ did not significantly increase the SBS of the three tested contemporary adhesive systems; however, the choice of adhesive strategies influenced the SBS outcomes. Full article

Understanding the long-term effectiveness of warm-up strategies is essential for enhancing neuromuscular performance in youth soccer players. This study examined the long-term effects of integrating squat exercises into the final phase of the warm-up over nine weeks on sprint, jump, change-of-direction (COD), and aerobic performance in youth soccer players. Twenty-four male U17 players were randomly assigned to either a squat-based warm-up (experimental group [EG]) or a rondo-based warm-up (control group [CG]). The EG trained twice weekly using 3–4 sets of 4–12 repetitions at progressively increasing intensities (50–85% of 1-RM). Performance was assessed pre- and post-intervention using 10 and 30 m sprint, squat jump (SJ), countermovement (CMJ), standing long jump (SLJ), 5-jump (5JT), T-half (COD), and VAMEVAL tests. The EG showed small to large significant gains in sprint (10 m: −2.21%, Cohen’s d [d] = 1; 30 m: −1.6%, d = 0.58), jumping (SJ: +9.29%, d = 1.23; CMJ: +12.08%, d = 1.83; SLJ: +7.14%, d = 0.8; 5JT: +2.33%, d = 0.32), and COD (−1.41%, d = 0.32), while aerobic endurance showed no significant change (p > 0.05). The CG showed no significant improvements (p > 0.05). Overall, integrating brief, progressive squat exercises at the end of warm-ups twice weekly led to chronic improvements in explosive neuromuscular performance, with minimal impact on aerobic endurance. Full article

Game-based learning has become an increasingly popular educational methodology due to its ability to enhance student interest and engagement. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of game-based learning on motivation, self-efficacy, and academic performance in Natural Sciences learning. A systematic review and meta-analytic methodology was employed, following PRISMA guidelines. For this purpose, the databases consulted were Web of Science and Scopus, from which a total of 234 documents were retrieved and reduced to 15 studies after rigorously applying the established eligibility criteria. These studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis to ensure the validity and relevance of the meta-analytic findings. The meta-analytic results revealed a very strong and highly significant positive effect across all subgroups, benefiting the experimental groups (Z = 6.29; p < 0.00001). In conclusion, the implementation of game-based learning has a positive impact on motivation, self-efficacy, and academic performance in the teaching and learning of Natural Sciences content. Therefore, its incorporation into pedagogical practices represents an opportunity to strengthen student engagement and promote more meaningful learning. Full article

The broader aim of this research is to examine how Learning Analytics (LA) can become ethically sound, pedagogically actionable, and realistically adopted in educational practice. To address this overarching challenge, the study investigates three interrelated research questions: ethics by design, learning impact, and adoption conditions. Methodologically, the research follows an exploratory sequential multi-method design. First, a meta-synthesis of 53 studies is conducted to identify key ethical challenges in LA and to derive an ethics-by-design framework. Second, a quasi-experimental study examines the impact of interface-based LA guidance (strong versus minimal) on students’ self-regulated learning skills and academic performance. Third, a mixed-methods adoption study, combining surveys, focus groups, and ethnographic observations, investigates the factors that encourage or hinder teachers’ adoption of LA in K–12 education. The findings indicate that strong LA-based guidance leads to statistically significant improvements in students’ self-regulated learning skills and academic performance compared to minimal guidance. Furthermore, the adoption analysis reveals that performance expectancy, social influence, human-centred design, and positive emotions facilitate LA adoption, whereas effort expectancy, limited facilitating conditions, ethical concerns, and cultural resistance inhibit it. Overall, the study demonstrates that ethics by design, effective pedagogical guidance, and adoption conditions are mutually reinforcing dimensions. It argues that LA can support intelligent, responsive, and human-centred learning environments when ethical safeguards, instructional design, and stakeholder involvement are systematically aligned. Full article

Write amplification factor (WAF) is a critical performance and endurance bottleneck in flash-based solid-state drives (SSDs). Multi-streamed SSDs mitigate WAF by enabling logical data streams to be written separately, thereby improving the efficiency of garbage collection. However, despite the architectural potential of multi-streaming, prior research has largely overlooked the design of write buffer management schemes tailored to this model. In this paper, we propose a stream-aware block-level write buffer management technique that leverages both spatial and temporal locality to further reduce WAF. Although the write buffer operates at the granularity of pages, eviction is performed at the block level, where each block is composed exclusively of pages from the same stream. All pages and blocks are tracked using least recently used (LRU) lists at both global and per-stream levels. To avoid mixing data with disparate hotness and update frequencies, pages from the same stream are dynamically grouped into logical blocks based on their recency order. When space is exhausted, eviction is triggered by selecting a full block of pages from the cold region of the global LRU list. This strategy prevents premature eviction of hot pages and aligns physical block composition with logical stream boundaries. The proposed approach enhances WAF and garbage collection efficiency without requiring hardware modification or device-specific extensions. Experimental results confirm that our design delivers consistent performance and endurance improvements across diverse multi-streamed I/O workloads. Full article

Maintaining water quality and fish well-being in newly established, small, unfiltered betta (Betta splendens) aquaria is a significant challenge. To improve betta fish breeding and welfare, this study set up four groups: the Sagittaria subulata (S.su) group, the Alternanthera reineckii (A.re) group, the Wolffia globosa (W.gl) group, and the plant-free (CG) group. We evaluated the effects of aquatic plants on water quality, fish behavior, and microbial community in newly established tanks over 25 days. The results demonstrated that both the dissolved oxygen (DO) and potential of hydrogen (pH) decreased with the experimental duration, while ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) increased over time in all groups. Compared to the CG group, all aquatic plants significantly reduced the NH₃-N accumulation. The S.su group exhibited the lowest mean NH₃-N concentration of only 0.14 mg·L⁻¹, which was considerably lower than that of the other groups (p < 0.05). The behavioral analysis revealed that, during the 25-day randomized monitoring period, bettas in the S.su group exhibited the lowest surface breathing, with an average of only 0.36 events per 5 min, which was significantly lower than that of the CG group (p < 0.05). Additionally, the S.su and W.gl groups demonstrated longer average swimming durations than the other groups, suggesting a potential trend toward improved welfare in betta fish. Aquatic plants shaped the microbial diversity and composition within the experimental aquatic system. The W.gl group had the highest microbial diversity, and the A.re and S.su groups enriched Verrucomicrobiota. These results demonstrate the preferential shaping of microbial communities by aquatic plants, suggesting a potential pathway for enhancing water quality. In conclusion, S. subulata demonstrates the greatest benefits under the experimental conditions, making it a more suitable choice for this experiment. Full article

This study develops a green, high-performance, cement-based grout by replacing manufactured sand with iron tailings sand (ITS) at ratios of 0–50% to address resource depletion. Fluidity, mechanical strength, and expansion rates were experimentally evaluated to determine engineering feasibility. The results indicate that while ITS inclusion reduces fluidity due to particle morphology, it significantly enhances compressive strength through a physical filling effect. Specifically, the 30% replacement group achieved a peak 28-day compressive strength of 100.4 MPa. Comprehensive analysis identifies 40% as the optimal replacement rate, where the grout strictly satisfies relevant industry specifications regarding fluidity, early strength, and volume stability. This research demonstrates the practical significance of utilizing industrial solid waste to produce high-performance sleeve grout for prefabricated construction. Full article

Background: Executive functions, notably attention and processing speed, are essential for athletic performance, especially in sports that require quick reactions and decision-making under pressure. The current study aims to assess the impact of the SmartACT program—a psychological intervention that includes acceptance and commitment therapy, hypnosis, and guided imagery—on attentional processes and psychological flexibility in adolescent student-athletes. Methods: This 7-week quasi-experimental controlled study investigated the efficacy of SmartACT in adolescent student-athletes aged 15 to 18. A total of 309 individuals were divided into three groups using convenience sampling: SmartACT (n = 93), MAC (Mindfulness–Acceptance–Commitment, the standardized Gardner & Moore technique; n = 109), and control (n = 107). The d2 test was used to examine attention and visual processing, while the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire—II (AAQ-II) was used to assess psychological flexibility, both before and after the intervention. The data were analyzed using mixed-design repeated-measures ANOVA and paired-samples t-tests. Results: The SmartACT group showed significant improvement on both tests, specifically in the total number of items processed in the d2 test (457.83 to 600.24; p < 0.001), and experiential avoidance, measured by AAQ-II, decreased (18.48 to 12.80; p < 0.001), indicating increased psychological flexibility. Conclusions: The main findings of our study suggest that integrating ACT with hypnosis and imagery may enhance cognitive attentional functions and psychological flexibility in adolescent student-athletes. Full article