Search Results (1,212)

Background: The current definition of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) relies on a classical assessment of steatosis via liver biopsy, with grades S0–S3 (5–100% fat) potentially underestimating low-grade steatosis. We propose a new, more sensitive classification based on magnetic resonance imaging–proton-density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF), splitting the existing S0 and S1 grades into three classes: new-S0, very early S1 (S1A), and later S1 (S1B). We aimed to determine whether these early S1A/S1B phenotypes differed clinically or biologically from the new-S0 grade using large population cohorts. Methods: We assessed the prevalence of the new MRI-PDFF—based grades in 29,252 healthy participants from the UK Biobank discovery cohort, 286 outpatients with type 2 diabetes, and in six previously published databases (N = 149,212) using SteatoTest-2 or a proxy. We performed a multimodal assessment of steatosis using longitudinal MRI-PDFF and liver biopsy data (N = 286). Models were used to adjust for phenotypes and overall mortality, controlling for age, sex, and cardiometabolic factors. Results: In the UK Biobank cohort, the prevalences of the new-S0, S1A, and S1B grades were 54%, 26%, and 17%, respectively. Grades S1A and new-S0 were most discriminated by triglycerides (odds ratio [OR]: 2.40, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.07–2.77, p < 0.00001) and body mass index (BMI; OR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.27–1.33, p < 0.00001), and grades S1A and S1B were most discriminated by triglycerides, BMI, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Adjusting for age, sex, SBP, BMI, HbA1c, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein–cholesterol) revealed significantly lower 15-year survival in the high-risk group (97.2%, 95% CI: 96.9–97.7) versus the low-risk (99.4%, 95% CI: 99.2–99.6) group (p < 0.00001). Conclusions: The early trajectory of liver steatosis is undetectable in 26% of middle-aged adults. This early steatosis phenotype differs clinically and biologically from the new-S0 grade in large population cohorts. Full article

Drawing on social comparison and attribution theories, this study examines how employees’ attitudinal dissimilarity within work groups shapes their willingness to speak up or remain silent. We conceptualize dissimilarity in psychological ownership and job stress as individual-level differences that trigger internal attributions, leading employees to direct attention inward and reduce their likelihood of speaking up. In contrast, dissimilarity in perceived status conflict, an individual-level perception of a structural feature of the group, induces external attributions toward the social system, motivating employees to express voice aimed at preserving or challenging the status quo. Using multi-source data from 202 employees nested in 39 work groups in South Korea, hierarchical regression analyses support all proposed hypotheses: individual-level dissimilarities are negatively related and structural-level dissimilarity is positively related to voice. These findings reveal that the behavioral consequences of difference depend on where attribution is directed—toward the self or the system. The study contributes to the voice literature by integrating attributional reasoning into social comparison processes and by identifying two forms of attitudinal minorities: invisible minorities who remain silent, and boisterous minorities who speak up for change. Full article

Groundwater sustains more than 60% of irrigation in Pakistan’s Indus Basin, yet accelerating depletion, rising salinity and fragmented governance threaten agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. Although new monitoring technologies and provincial water laws have emerged, a persistent gap remains between scientific evidence, policy frameworks and farmer practices. This study applies the Science–Policy–Practice Interface (SPPI) to examine these disconnects, drawing on qualitative data from multi-stakeholder focus groups and interviews with farmers, scientists and policymakers in Punjab, Sindh and federal agencies. The analysis identifies five governance challenges: weak knowledge integration, fragmented institutions, political resistance to regulation, limited adaptive capacity and under-recognition of farmer-led innovations. While depletion is well documented, it rarely informs enforceable rules and informal practices often outweigh formal regulation. At the same time, farmers contribute adaptive strategies, such as recharge initiatives and water-sharing arrangements, that remain invisible to policy. The findings highlight both the potential and the limits of SPPI. It provides a valuable lens for aligning science, policy and practice but cannot overcome entrenched political economy barriers such as subsidies and elite capture. The study contributes theoretically by extending SPPI to irrigation-dependent aquifers and practically by identifying opportunities for hybrid knowledge systems to support adaptive and equitable groundwater governance in Pakistan and other LMICs. Full article

This article examines the persistent legal invisibility of the Kashmiri Pandits within international frameworks on indigenous rights and internal displacement. Despite meeting definitional criteria under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the community remains unrecognised as either indigenous or internally displaced. Drawing on Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), constructivist norm diffusion and decolonial intersectional critique, this article argues that this exclusion arises not from normative ambiguity but from geopolitical selectivity and epistemic suppression. Through doctrinal analysis of India’s treaty commitments, including its accession to the Genocide Convention (1959) and its interpretative reservation to Article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (1979), this study reveals how recognition is constrained by state narratives of sovereignty and secularism. Supported by evidence from the NHRC inquiry, IDMC displacement data, and comparative experiences such as Native American recognition this paper demonstrates that categories of protection in international law are applied unevenly, depending on political compatibility rather than legal principle. It calls for renewed engagement with epistemic justice and narrative accountability in rethinking indigeneity and displacement in postcolonial contexts. Full article

The history of women’s education in Portugal predates the implementation of an official system, which was only consistently addressed after 1836 with Passos Manuel’s reform of primary instruction. Long before that, particularly from the Early Modern period onwards, women religious played a key role in providing education. Convents and Third Order houses—alongside families, charities, and religion-inspired foundations—offered instruction considered appropriate to women’s gender and social status. The Council of Trent (1545–1563) extended strict enclosure to all female convents, leading to the “monasticisation” of education—an arrangement that neither promoted the visibility of female learners nor encouraged the development of the pedagogical models that shaped their instruction. The later emergence of teaching orders, despite their adherence to enclosure, began to challenge the traditional monastic model. Drawing on largely unpublished or scarcely explored archival sources, this article seeks to shed light on the historical reasons behind the prominent and precedent-setting role of monasticism in the field of female education, and to address the enduring invisibility that still shrouds the cloistered world. Full article

According to Sigmund Freud, the unconscious is full of contradictions (wild emotional impulses, baseless fears, and repressive forces) but it is also a control mechanism. It is no wonder that digital platforms—requiring uniformity, reliable protocols, secure transmissions and proprietary algorithms as well as an enormous database about human desire and impulses—would gravitate toward a model of control, or more specifically, the ideal of automating impulsive actions and reactions. Similar to the Freudian unconscious, digital platforms and networks are infamously black-boxed, meaning their operations (inner workings) are made invisible to the average user, including information about them. Yet, the digital unconscious also seems to perfect and promote this as an automatic destructive force (a death drive fed by extraction, consumption and a will to endless profit) that is incommensurate with life on the planet. Using the recent pleas by the Tuvaluan Minister of Justice, Communication, and Foreign Affairs (Simon Kofe) to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, this article will argue that denial has replaced repression as the key mechanism of the digital unconscious, allowing twenty-first century media to offer itself as pharmakon (both poison and a remedy or at least a distraction) to those twenty-first century crises that nineteenth-, twentieth-, and twenty-first-century media continue to advance. Full article

This review examines how demographic knowledge is framed and reimagined within a Scottish widening access higher education programme. Drawing on my positionality as a former international student and widening access graduate, alongside over 15 years of community-based work with disadvantaged Roma populations, I reflect on how notions of population “need” are often shaped by national policy priorities and narrow imaginaries of populations—typically white, Scottish, and urban. While these narratives reflect lived realities, they risk overlooking multilingual, racialised, and globally mobile populations increasingly present in both the student body and the communities that graduates will serve. Based on my work since 2021 in placement coordination and teaching, I outline how applied changes to placement partnerships, thematic content, and assessment practice can challenge and reframe these dominant narratives. Drawing on Foucault’s concepts of population, discipline, and control, and Esposito’s theorisation of community, immunity, and exclusion, and coupled with anti-oppressive pedagogies, I argue for a reorientation of demographic literacy toward more plural, critically engaged, and globally attuned understandings of population. In reframing demographic literacy as a site of justice, I move it beyond a technical skill of interpreting population data toward a critical practice of interrogating how populations are constructed, which groups are rendered visible or invisible, and how imaginaries of “need” shape inclusion and exclusion in higher education. Such a shift positions international students not only as beneficiaries of widening access but as active population actors whose experiences and knowledges expand the terms of justice and belonging in higher education. Full article

Background/Objectives: Ergot alkaloids are mycotoxins produced mainly by fungi of the genus Claviceps, infecting a wide variety of plants, especially cereals. These toxins usually manifest as black, hardened sclerotia (ergots), though they may also be invisible when dispersed in grain. They pose a significant risk to animals and humans when present in contaminated cereals. They can cause ergotism, with vasoconstriction, ischemia, hallucinations, and in severe cases gangrene. This study was carried out in response to the European legislative actions which determine the permissible levels of ergot alkaloids in cereals. Historically, consumers manually removed visible sclerotia from grain, and farmers applied fertilizers or timed harvests to specific periods to mitigate contamination. However, these traditional methods have proven insufficient. We therefore explored advanced techniques for detecting and quantifying ergot-contaminated cereals, as well as methods for reducing ergot alkaloid concentrations. Methods: Searches were conducted in scientific databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus to identify research articles, reviews, and experimental studies published mainly between 2012 and August 2025, including accepted or in-press manuscripts, with special attention to works from 2021 onward to capture the most recent advancements. Results/Conclusions: Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) is the reference method for confirmatory, epimer-aware quantification of ergot alkaloids, and is already standardized. Recent QuEChERS-UHPLC-MS/MS workflows in cereal matrices, including oat-based products, routinely achieve limits of quantification of about 0.5–1.0 µg/kg with single-run analysis times of about 5–15 min. Rapid screening options complement, rather than replace, confirmatory mass spectrometry: magnetic bead-based immunoassays that use magnetic separation and a smartphone-linked potentiostat provide sub-hour turnaround and field portability for trained quality-assurance staff, although external validation and calibration traceable to LC-MS/MS remain prerequisites for routine use. In practice, operators are adopting tiered, orthogonal workflows (e.g., immunoassay or electronic-nose triage at intake followed by DNA-based checks on grain washings and LC–MS/MS confirmation, or hydrazinolysis “sum parameter” screening followed by targeted MS speciation). Such combinations reduce turnaround time while preserving analytical rigor. Biotechnology also offers potential solutions for reducing ergot alkaloid concentrations at the source. Finally, to enhance consumer safety, artificial intelligence and blockchain-based food traceability appear highly effective. These systems can connect all stakeholders from producers to consumers, allowing for real-time updates on food safety and rapid responses to contamination issues. This review primarily synthesizes advances in analytical detection of ergot alkaloids, while mitigation strategies and supply chain traceability are covered concisely as supporting context for decision making. Full article

GNSS-based InBSAR can be used for 3D deformation monitoring due to its remote sensing capability, simultaneous use of multiple transmitters of opportunity, and high-accuracy potential. Mature GB-SAR and D-GNSS measurements can be used for comprehensive accuracy assessment, which has become a prominent focus in recent research. However, inter-system accuracy has not been fully assessed due to DEM errors, resolution cell variance, and limitations in accuracy mapping. This paper proposes an accuracy assessment algorithm for GNSS-based InBSAR. First, the global DEM error is accurately estimated by associating multi-angle images to correct the positions of inter-system PSs. Second, the intersection of resolution cells is introduced to address inter-system resolution cell variance and obtain inter-system coregistered PSs. Third, a mathematical operator model is developed to map different deformation directions for inter-system accuracy assessment. Raw data verify the validity of the proposed algorithm and model. In the first experimental scene with continuous deformation, the system achieves an LOS accuracy of 3.1 mm compared with GB-SAR. In the second experimental scene with invisible deformation, it achieves 3D accuracies of 2.2, 2.5, and 4.3 mm using D-GNSS as the reference and an LOS accuracy of 2.6 mm using GB-SAR as the reference. The results show that the method provides an effective solution for inter-system accuracy assessment. Full article

Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic nociplastic pain condition predominantly affecting women. Although often addressed within biomedical frameworks, its structural and relational dimensions remain underexplored. This study examined how social, familial, and economic factors are associated with symptom severity and self-perceived mental health among women with FM, with particular emphasis on social participation and perceived discrimination. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among women diagnosed with FM in Chile. Participants were recruited through patient organizations and community networks and completed a self-administered questionnaire covering biopsychosocial aspects of FM. Multifactor ANOVA models were used to explore associations between social and familial variables and symptom count and perceived mental health. Results: Participants were mostly middle-aged women who reported a high burden of symptoms and moderate levels of self-perceived mental health. Involvement in FM-related organizations was significantly associated with differences in symptom perception and better mental health, while perceived discrimination was linked to poorer mental health outcomes. Conclusions: Social participation and supportive environments emerge as potential determinants of health among women with FM. Primary care providers should adopt social and gender-sensitive approaches that acknowledge the influence of discrimination, economic vulnerability, and support networks in shaping the illness experience. Full article

This article explores the persistent exclusion of certain informal settlements in Portugal from legal urban recognition, focusing on areas characterized by both historical informality and current legal invisibility, here termed by “doubly marginal”. Despite the existence of legal frameworks aimed at integrating Informally Originated Urban Areas (AUGIs), a significant number remain outside the scope of regularization, revealing deep-rooted structural, social, and legal constraints. These cases exemplify the systemic limitations of existing urban governance models and underscore the inadequacy of one-size-fits-all planning laws. By proposing a conceptual typology grounded in social, legal, and environmental dimensions, the article exposes how overlapping vulnerabilities perpetuate urban marginality. The findings point to a critical mismatch between legal norms and the lived realities of affected communities, many of which face barriers that existing legislation is ill-equipped to resolve. The article advocates for a more comprehensive legal framework that responds to the diversity and complexity of informal settlements, particularly in municipalities with limited administrative capacity. This reconceptualization challenges dominant paradigms in urban policy and calls for a rethinking of territorial justice and the right to remain in place. Full article

Pharmaceutical compounds are small, invisible, and biologically powerful molecules that, due to widespread production and consumption, have become part of the environment, causing long-term adverse effects on biota even at low doses. Advances in sensitive and reliable analytical methods have made their detection possible in complex environmental matrices such as wastewater. Given the large number of synthesized pharmaceuticals with various therapeutic purposes, the occurrence of a synergistic effect is to be expected, interfering with their analysis. Therefore, the challenging analysis is often improved through the application of different sample preparation techniques. This paper includes the development of an SPE-HPLC-DAD method for the determination of eleven pharmaceuticals from water samples. To achieve better recoveries for the specified pharmaceutical (sulfamethoxazole) and possibly other components of the mixture, a sulfamethoxazole-imprinted polymer (MIP-SMETOX) was prepared and used in combination with a commercial sorbent (Oasis HLB) for MIP-SPE-HPLC-DAD. After optimization of the extraction conditions, both methods were validated. The LOD was 0.1 to 0.5 µg/L for SPE-HPLC-DAD and 0.1 to 0.25 µg/L for MIP-SPE-HPLC-DAD, depending on the pharmaceuticals. The matrix effect is different (77–196%) for both methods. A decrease in the signal for sulfamethoxazole (77%) was observed with SPE-HPLC-DAD, while MIP-SMETOX as a sorbent is not suitable for procaine (196%), and this is also the highest matrix effect. To extend the data obtained, additional in silico methods were used to gain deeper insights into the nature and strength of the binding interactions. Both methods (with and without MIP) confirmed their purpose by determining various validation performance features, and the final goal of the developed methods was tested using complex wastewater. The MIP-SMETOX produced justified its production, as the MIP-SPE-HPLC-DAD method is generally slightly better than the method using only a commercial sorbent. Full article

Background/Objectives: Obstetric violence (OV) is a violation of women’s human rights during reproductive processes. Despite being the subject of debate among healthcare professionals, increasingly recognized, and legislated against in some countries, OV continues to be reproduced and normalized during training. The objective of this study was to determine the perception of OV among health sciences students and gynaecology and obstetrics residents. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted with 304 health sciences students and gynaecology and obstetrics residents in Spain. An online questionnaire was distributed that gathered information on sociodemographic variables and clinical experience and included the validated PercOV-S instrument. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed to explore associations between variables. Results: The overall perception of OV was moderately high (mean 3.93/5), with higher scores for visible or protocolized forms (4.27/5) than for invisible or subtle forms (2.87/5). Being a woman, being a midwifery resident, or having had personal experiences with pregnancy or childbirth increased sensitivity to OV. Clinical exposure in obstetrics and gynaecology services increased both awareness and the likelihood of witnessing OV. Twenty-eight percent of students reported having observed OV, and twenty percent reported emotional distress, even considering dropping out. Conclusions: Despite the recognition of OV, repeated exposure during training can promote its normalization. The results of this study highlight the need for safe, reflective training environments that mainstream feminist perspectives, sexual rights, and the detection of subtle forms of OV. Full article

Traditional image watermarking technology focuses on the robustness and imperceptibility of the copyright information embedded in the cover image. However, in addition to copyright theft, the cover images stored and transmitted in the open network environment is facing the threat of being identified and retrieved by deep neural network (DNN) with malicious purpose, which is a new privacy threat. Therefore, it is essential to protect the copyright and the privacy of cover image simultaneously. In this paper, a novel cover-concealed image watermarking (CCIW) is proposed, which combines conditional generative adversarial networks with channel attention mechanisms to generate adversarial examples of the cover image containing invisible copyright information. This method can effectively prevent privacy leakage and copyright infringement simultaneously, since the cover image cannot be collected and processed by DNNs without permission, and the embedded copyright information is hardly to be removed. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieved a success rate of adversarial attack over 98% on the Caltech256 dataset, and the generated adversarial examples have good image quality. The accuracy of copyright information extraction is close to 100%, and it also exhibits good robustness in different noise environments. Full article

This study investigates gender and disciplinary differences in self-directed study strategies with digital tools among university students. Grounded in Activity Theory (AT), Gender Similarities Hypothesis, and Self-Determination Theory, the research explores how students from STEM and non-STEM fields interact with digital and paper-based materials during individual study sessions. A mixed-methods design was employed, combining eye-tracking data with qualitative interviews. Forty students (mean age: 21.5; equally distributed by gender and disciplinary field) participated in 15 min study sessions using the Pupil Invisible eye-tracker. Fixation durations and heat maps were analyzed through RStudio (Version 2024.04.2+764r), while semi-structured interviews explored students’ motivations, study habits, and perceptions of strategy effectiveness. A theory-driven codebook was developed to analyze interview data, incorporating cognitive, emotional, socio-cultural, and metacognitive dimensions. Results indicate that the disciplinary field plays a more decisive role than gender in shaping study strategies. Female STEM students alternated between digital and paper tools, while non-STEM females used digital tools more continuously. Among males, non-STEM students favored paper, whereas STEM students engaged more with digital materials. Interview data confirmed intra-gender variation and emphasized the influence of context, autonomy, and study planning. The integration of eye-tracking and qualitative inquiry effectively captured both behavioral patterns and students’ perspectives. Findings suggest the need for inclusive, flexible educational practices that respect diverse learning preferences and disciplinary cultures. Full article