Search Results (1,451)

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Although the aetiology of IBD remains largely unknown, several studies suggest that an individual’s genetic susceptibility, external environmental factors, intestinal microbial flora, and immune responses are all factors involved in and functionally linked to the pathogenesis of IBD. Beyond the gastrointestinal manifestations, IBD patients frequently suffer from psychiatric comorbidities, particularly depression and anxiety. It remains unclear whether these disorders arise solely from reduced quality of life or whether they share overlapping biological mechanisms with IBD. This review aims to explore the bidirectional relationship between IBD and depressive disorders (DDs), with a focus on four key shared mechanisms: immune dysregulation, genetic susceptibility, alterations in gut microbiota composition, and dysfunction of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. By examining recent literature, we highlight how these interconnected systems may contribute to both intestinal inflammation and mood disturbances. Furthermore, we discuss the reciprocal pharmacologic interactions between IBD and DDs: treatments for IBD, such as TNF-alpha and integrin inhibitors, have demonstrated effects on mood and anxiety symptoms, while certain antidepressants appear to exert independent anti-inflammatory properties, potentially reducing the risk or severity of IBD. Overall, this review underscores the need for a multidisciplinary approach to the care of IBD patients, integrating psychological and gastroenterological assessment. A better understanding of the shared pathophysiology may help refine therapeutic strategies and support the development of personalized, gut–brain-targeted interventions. Full article

Understanding the social drivers of pro-environmental behavior in urban forests and green spaces is critical for addressing sustainability challenges. Subjective norms serve as a key pathway through which social expectations influence individuals’ behavioral intentions. Despite mixed findings in the literature regarding the impact of subjective norms on individuals’ intentions, there is a research gap about the determinants of this construct. This study was conducted to explore how social expectations shape perceived subjective norms among visitors of urban forests. A theoretical model was developed with subjective norms at its center, incorporating their predictors including social identity, media influence, interpersonal influence, and institutional trust, personal norms as a mediator, and behavioral intention as the outcome variable. Using structural equation modeling, data was collected and analyzed from a sample of visitors of urban forests in Tehran, Iran. The results revealed that subjective norms play a central mediating role in linking external social factors to behavioral intention. Social identity emerged as the strongest predictor of subjective norms, followed by media and interpersonal influence, while institutional trust had no significant effect. Subjective norms significantly influenced both personal norms and intentions, and personal norms also directly predicted intention. The model explained 50.9% of the variance in subjective norms and 39.0% in behavioral intention, highlighting its relatively high explanatory power. These findings underscore the importance of social context and internalized norms in shaping sustainable behavior. Policy and managerial implications suggest that strategies should prioritize community-based identity reinforcement, media engagement, and peer influence over top-down institutional messaging. This study contributes to environmental psychology and the behavior change literature by offering an integrated, empirically validated model. It also provides practical guidance for designing interventions that target both social and moral dimensions of environmental action. Full article

Sport volunteering plays an important role in achieving the goals of sustainable development by supporting the social dimension of sustainability, fostering social integration, and promoting a healthy lifestyle. However, there is a lack of systematic research in Poland on the motivations of sport volunteers, particularly in the context of mass endurance events. This study employed a quantitative, cross-sectional design involving 148 sport volunteers engaged in mass endurance events in Poznan, Poland. To measure motivation, the Polish adaptation of the VMS-ISE scale was used. Data analysis was conducted using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that volunteer motivations were relatively homogeneous regardless of gender and education level, with the exception of passion for sport, which was significantly stronger among men (p = 0.037). Significant differences were found based on place of residence: residents of medium-sized cities demonstrated the highest motivation for personal development (p < 0.001), whereas individuals from rural areas exhibited stronger patriotism, a greater need for interpersonal interaction, and a higher valuation of external rewards (p < 0.05). The motivations of sport volunteers in Poland are complex and sensitive to environmental factors. Understanding these differences allows for better alignment of recruitment and volunteer management strategies, which can enhance both the effectiveness and sustainability of volunteer engagement. It is recommended to develop volunteer programs that take into account the demographic and socio-cultural characteristics of participants. Full article

DNA connects the domains of genetic regulation and environmental interactions and plays a crucial role in neural development and cognitive function. The complex roles of genetic and epigenetic processes in brain development, synaptic plasticity, and higher-order cognitive abilities were reviewed in this study. Neural progenitors are formed and differentiated according to genetic instructions, whereas epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation, dynamically control gene expression in response to external stimuli. These processes shape behavior and cognitive resilience by influencing neural identity, synaptic efficiency, and adaptation. This review also examines how DNA damage and repair mechanisms affect the integrity of neurons, which are essential for memory and learning. It also emphasizes how genetic predispositions and environmental factors interact to determine a person’s susceptibility to neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Developments in gene-editing technologies, such as CRISPR, and non-viral delivery techniques provide encouraging treatment avenues for neurodegenerative disorders. This review highlights the fundamental role of DNA in coordinating the intricate interactions between molecular and environmental factors that underlie brain function and diseases. Full article

In today’s dynamic and highly uncertain environment, organizations, particularly in the aviation sector, face increasing challenges that demand resilient, flexible, and data-driven change management decisions. Responding to the growing need for structured approaches to managing complex uncertainties—geopolitical tensions, economic volatility, social shifts, rapid technological advancements, environmental pressures and regulatory changes—this research proposes a theoretical change management model for aviation service providers, such as airports. Integrating three analytical approaches, the model offers a robust, multi-method approach for supporting sustainable transformation under uncertainty. Normative analysis using Bayesian decision theory identifies influential external environmental factors, capturing probabilistic relationships, and revealing causal links under uncertainty. Prescriptive planning through scenario theory explores alternative future pathways and helps to identify possible predictions, offer descriptive evaluation employing fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, and assess decision quality under vagueness and complexity. The proposed four-stage model—observation, analysis, evaluation, and response—offers a methodology for continuous external environment monitoring, scenario development, and data-driven, proactive change management decision-making, including the impact assessment of change and development. The proposed model contributes to the theoretical advancement of the change management research area under uncertainty and offers practical guidance for aviation organizations (airports) facing a volatile external environment. This framework strengthens aviation organizations’ ability to anticipate, evaluate, and adapt to multifaceted external changes, supporting operational flexibility and adaptability and contributing to the sustainable development of aviation services. Supporting aviation organizations with tools to proactively manage systemic uncertainty, this research directly supports the integration of sustainability principles, such as resilience and adaptability, for long-term value creation through change management decision-making. Full article

Background: Faced with the profound impact of major infectious diseases on public life and economic development, humans have long sought to understand disease transmission and intervention strategies. To better explore the impact of individuals’ different coping behaviors—triggered by changes in their psychological security due to public information and external environmental changes—on the spread to infectious diseases, the model will place greater emphasis on quantifying psychological factors to make it more aligned with real-world situations. Methods: To better understand the interplay between information dissemination and disease transmission, we propose a two-layer network model that incorporates psychological safety factors. Results: Our model reveals key insights into disease transmission dynamics: (1) active defense behaviors help reduce both disease spread and information diffusion; (2) passive resistance behaviors expand disease transmission and may trigger recurrence but enhance information spread; (3) high-timeliness, low-fuzziness information reduces the peak of the initial infection but does not significantly curb overall disease spread, and the rapid dissemination of disease-related information is most effective in limiting the early stages of transmission; and (4) community structures in information networks can effectively curb the spread of infectious diseases. Conclusions: These findings offer valuable theoretical support for public health strategies and disease prevention after government information release. Full article

Both ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) and energy underground structures are engineered systems that utilize shallow geothermal energy. However, due to the construction complexity and associated costs of energy tunnels, their heat exchange efficiency relative to GSHPs remains a topic worthy of in-depth investigation. In this study, a thermal–hydraulic (TH) coupled finite element model was developed based on a section of the Torino Metro Line in Italy to analyze the differences in and influencing factors of heat transfer performance between energy tunnels and GSHPs. The model was validated by comparing the outlet temperature curves under both winter and summer loading conditions. Based on this validated model, a parametric analysis was conducted to examine the effects of the tunnel air velocity, heat carrier fluid velocity, and fluid type. The results indicate that, under identical environmental conditions, energy tunnels exhibit higher heat exchange efficiency than conventional GSHP systems and are less sensitive to external factors such as fluid velocity. Furthermore, a comparison of different heat carrier fluids, including alcohol-based fluids, refrigerants, and water, revealed that the fluid type significantly affects thermal performance, with the refrigerant R-134a outperforming ethylene glycol and water in both heating and cooling efficiency. Full article

This study aims to map the scientific knowledge of bank profitability and its determinants. It identifies trends and gaps in existing research through a bibliometric analysis. To this end, 634 documents published in the Web of Science database over the last 54 years were analyzed using the bibliometric package. The results indicate an increase in the volume of publications following the 2008 financial crisis, focusing on analyzing the factors influencing bank profitability and economic growth. The Journal of Banking and Finance is the preeminent publication in this field. The literature reviewed shows that bank profitability depends on internal factors (size, credit risk, liquidity, efficiency, and management) and external factors (such as GDP, inflation, interest rates, and unemployment). In addition to the traditional determinants, the recent literature highlights the importance of innovation and technological factors such as digitalization, mobile banking, and electronic payments as relevant to bank profitability. ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and governance indicators, which are still emerging but have been extensively researched in companies, indicate a need for evidence in this area. This paper also provides relevant insights for the formulation of monetary policy and the strategic formulation of banks, helping managers and owners to improve bank performance. It also provides directions for future empirical studies and research collaborations in this field. Full article

Demre is one of the most important tourist destinations in Antalya province in terms of its natural and cultural heritage values, historical texture, and ecological diversity. Evaluating these potentials and managing them sustainably is of great importance. Management strategies that focus solely on improving ecological elements often fail to deliver the desired results because they tend to neglect the needs and perspectives of stakeholders. Participatory approaches are important for determining and prioritizing tourism strategies because they encourage participation and awareness, thereby facilitating the development of sustainable and effective management strategies. In this context, this study, which aims to contribute to the protection and sustainable management of tourism areas in Demre district using a participatory approach, conducted a SWOT analysis to assess the state of environmental management. Based on the data obtained, internal strategic factors scored 3415 points, while external strategic factors scored 2899 points. Ten sustainable tourism strategies were developed, primarily focusing on the SO strategy, which leverages the potential of the area by focusing on internal strengths and external opportunities, with the aim of increasing tourism opportunities in the region and developing and implementing effective management strategies. At the end of the study, tourism strategies were prioritized using the TOPSIS analysis. Full article

The recent identification of early-onset mutational signatures with geographic variations by Diaz-Gay et al. is a significant finding, since early-onset colorectal cancer has emerged as an alarming public health challenge in the past two decades, and the pathomechanism remains unclear. Environmental risk factors, including lifestyle and diet, are highly suspected. The identification of colibactin from Escherichia coli as a potential pathogenic source is a major step forward in addressing this public health challenge. Therefore, the following opinion manuscript aims to outline the likely onset of the pathomechanism and the critical role of acquired Piezo2 channelopathy in early-onset colorectal cancer, which skews proton availability and proton motive force regulation toward E. coli within the microbiota–host symbiotic relationship. In addition, the colibactin produced by the pks island of E. coli induces host DNA damage, which likely interacts at the level of Wnt signaling with Piezo2 channelopathy-induced pathological remodeling. This transcriptional dysregulation eventually leads to tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer. Mechanotransduction converts external physical cues to inner chemical and biological ones. Correspondingly, the proposed quantum mechanical free-energy-stimulated ultrafast proton-coupled tunneling, initiated by Piezo2, seems to be the principal and essential underlying novel oscillatory signaling that could be lost in colorectal cancer onset. Hence, Piezo2 channelopathy not only contributes to cancer initiation and impaired circadian regulation, including the proposed hippocampal ultradian clock, but also to proliferation and metastasis. Full article

Concrete structures increasingly face dynamic loading conditions, such as seismic events, vehicular traffic, and environmental vibrations, necessitating enhanced energy dissipation capabilities. The damping ratio, a critical parameter quantifying a material’s ability to dissipate vibrational energy, is typically low in conventional concrete, prompting extensive research into strategies for improvement. This review comprehensively explores the impact of advanced concrete types—such as Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECCs), Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC), High-Performance Concrete (HPC), and polymer concrete—on enhancing the damping behavior. Additionally, key mix design innovations, including fiber reinforcement, rubber powder incorporation, and aggregate modification, are evaluated for their roles in increasing energy dissipation. External factors, particularly curing conditions, are also discussed for their influence on the damping performance. The findings consolidate experimental and theoretical insights into how material composition, mix design, and external treatments interact to optimize dynamic resilience. To guide future research, this paper identifies critical gaps including the need for multi-scale numerical simulation frameworks, standardized damping test protocols, and long-term performance evaluation under realistic service conditions. Advancing work in material innovation, optimized mix design, and controlled curing environments will be essential for developing next-generation concretes with superior vibration control, durability, and sustainability. These insights provide a strategic foundation for applications in seismic-prone and vibration-sensitive infrastructure. Full article

The palm-vein recognition system has garnered attention as a biometric technology due to its resilience to external environmental factors, protection of personal privacy, and low risk of external exposure. However, with recent advancements in deep learning-based generative models for image synthesis, the quality and sophistication of fake images have improved, leading to an increased security threat from counterfeit images. In particular, palm-vein images acquired through near-infrared illumination exhibit low resolution and blurred characteristics, making it even more challenging to detect fake images. Furthermore, spoof detection specifically targeting palm-vein images has not been studied in detail. To address these challenges, this study proposes the Fourier-gated feature-fusion network (FGFNet) as a novel spoof detector for palm-vein recognition systems. The proposed network integrates masked fast Fourier transform, a map-based gated feature fusion block, and a fast Fourier convolution (FFC) attention block with global contrastive loss to effectively detect distortion patterns caused by generative models. These components enable the efficient extraction of critical information required to determine the authenticity of palm-vein images. In addition, fractal dimension estimation (FDE) was employed for two purposes in this study. In the spoof attack procedure, FDE was used to evaluate how closely the generated fake images approximate the structural complexity of real palm-vein images, confirming that the generative model produced highly realistic spoof samples. In the spoof detection procedure, the FDE results further demonstrated that the proposed FGFNet effectively distinguishes between real and fake images, validating its capability to capture subtle structural differences induced by generative manipulation. To evaluate the spoof detection performance of FGFNet, experiments were conducted using real palm-vein images from two publicly available palm-vein datasets—VERA Spoofing PalmVein (VERA dataset) and PLUSVein-contactless (PLUS dataset)—as well as fake palm-vein images generated based on these datasets using a cycle-consistent generative adversarial network. The results showed that, based on the average classification error rate, FGFNet achieved 0.3% and 0.3% on the VERA and PLUS datasets, respectively, demonstrating superior performance compared to existing state-of-the-art spoof detection methods. Full article

Penicillium expansum is an acidogenic fungal species that belongs to the phylum Ascomycota. During the infection and colonization of host fruits, P. expansum can efficiently express glucose oxidase (GOX) and oxidize β-D-glucose to generate gluconic acid (GLA). In this study, the bioinformatics analysis method was employed to predict and analyze the function of the GOX protein. In addition, a comprehensive assessment was conducted on the P. expansum GOX coding gene GOX2, and the expression response rules of GOX2 under different external stress environments were explored. The results show that GOX is an unstable hydrophilic protein. It is either an integrated membrane protein (such as a receptor or channel) that is directly anchored to the membrane through a transmembrane structure or a non-classical secreted protein that is secreted extracellularly. RNA-seq data analysis shows that the GOX2 gene is regulated by multiple environmental factors, including pH, temperature, carbon base, and chemical fungicides. The expression level of GOX2 reaches its maximum value under alkaline conditions (pH 8–10) and at approximately 10 °C. Using starch as the carbon source and adding sodium propionate or potassium sorbate has the effect of inhibiting the expression of the GOX2 gene. The analysis of the function of the GOX protein and the characteristics of the GOX2 gene in P. expansum provides new insights into the glucose oxidase-encoding gene GOX2. The research results provide significant value for the subsequent development of new disease resistance strategies by targeting the GOX2 gene and reducing post-harvest disease losses in fruits. Full article

One of the goals of Agenda 2030 is to increase the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. In this context, photovoltaic systems play a key role in the transition to clean energy. According to the International Energy Agency, in 2023, solar photovoltaic alone accounted for three-quarters of renewable capacity additions worldwide. Designing a performing photovoltaic system requires careful planning that takes into account various factors, both internal and external, in order to maximize energy production and optimize costs. In addition to the technical characteristics of the system (internal factors), the positions and the shapes of external buildings and surrounding obstacles (external factors) have a significant impact on the output of photovoltaic systems. However, given the complexity of these environmental factors, they cannot be treated accurately in manual design practice. For this reason, this paper proposes a Building Information Modeling-based workflow for the design of a photovoltaic system that can guide the professional step-by-step throughout the design process, starting from the embryonic phase to the definitive, and therefore more detailed, one. The developed methodology allows for an in-depth analysis of the shading, the photovoltaic potential of the building, the performance of the photovoltaic system, and the costs for its construction in order to evaluate the appropriateness of the investment. The main aim of the paper is to create a standardized procedure applicable on a large scale for photovoltaic integration within Building Information Modeling workflows. The methodology is tested on two case studies, characterized by different architectural features and geographical positions. Full article

Educators must understand current practices and gaps in knowledge regarding environmental sustainability in simulation education to reduce the environmental impact of plastic waste while still maintaining fidelity in simulation education. Therefore, a scoping review was conducted to answer the PICO question, “In healthcare institutions and hospitals, what are the environmentally sustainable practices that can be translated into simulation labs as best practice?” Fourteen studies were identified through a search of seven databases, critically appraised, and analyzed. Three key themes emerged: (1) the 5 R’s, (2) getting people motivated, and (3) larger external collaboration. These themes highlight practical strategies and motivational factors for sustainable practices. An expanded 5 R’s framework (reduce, reuse, recycle, research, and rethink) was introduced to guide a holistic approach. The literature highlights the importance of education, stakeholder engagement, and clearly defined standards as key drivers for motivating individuals and teams to engage in sustainable behaviors. These efforts are most effective when supported by interdisciplinary collaboration, regulatory frameworks, national policies, and technological innovation. Sustainability initiatives should extend beyond individual institutions to foster broader systemic change. Full article