Search Results (6,454)

Background/Objectives: Wheelchair users with multiple sclerosis (MS) often face barriers that restrict participation in physical activity and exercise training. This manuscript reports on participant feedback to guide evaluating and refining a novel exercise training program, Seated Physical activity INtervention (SPIN). SPIN was adapted from the Guidelines for Exercise in MS (GEMS) approach using a three-step community-engaged research framework based on meeting the needs of wheelchair users with MS. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 9 participants who completed the 16-week SPIN intervention. The key SPIN intervention components were the exercise prescription, exercise equipment, and behavioral coaching grounded in Social Cognitive Theory. Formative interview domains included overall experience, enjoyable and missing components, delivery modifications, barriers, lessons learned, and additional research topics of interest. Data were analyzed and reported using a rapid qualitative analysis approach. Results: Interviews averaged 16 ± 10 min. Participants reported enjoying SPIN, noting program strengths as being flexible and appropriate for individuals with MS, receiving coaching calls by knowledgeable staff that offered support and accountability, and receiving exercise equipment and video demonstrations. Participants also identified strategies for enhancing the program such as including peer support, offering real-time feedback during exercise, and adding other wellness behavior topics (e.g., diet). Conclusions: The results offer helpful ideas to consider when developing exercise training programs for wheelchair users with MS and other disabilities that may improve health and well-being. Full article

Following spinal cord injury (SCI), a complex lesion scar forms at the injury site that matures and remodels over weeks, profoundly influencing neural repair and functional recovery. This lesion consists of a fibrotic scar at its core surrounded by an astrocytic scar (or border). While the astrocytic scar has been extensively studied for decades, the fibrotic scar has only recently emerged as a critical player in post-injury pathophysiology. Fibrotic scarring plays a dual role: it contributes to tissue stabilization and limits secondary damage, yet its persistence can pose a barrier that inhibits axonal regeneration and hinders recovery. Despite growing interest, key aspects of fibrotic scar formation and function remain poorly understood. This review synthesizes the current knowledge of fibrotic scarring after SCI, including its temporal progression, cellular composition, molecular mechanisms, and interactions with other cell types at the injury site, and we discuss emerging therapeutic strategies targeting fibrosis. We further highlight critical knowledge gaps and outline future directions to define how fibrotic scarring shapes the injury microenvironment and influences neural repair. Full article

Background and Clinical Significance: Ischaemia with non-obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA) has attained more recognition in recent decades. These patients may present with typical cardiac sounding chest pain but have no evidence of obstructed coronary arteries on coronary angiography. This presents a challenge to clinicians in terms of diagnosis and management. Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD), or coronary spasm (whether epicardial or microvascular) may be the cause of their presentation, and they usually require further invasive investigations of their coronary microvascular circulation to determine the cause. Case Presentation: This case involves a male patient in his 60s presenting with recurrent nocturnal chest pain, clinical and ECG evidence of ischaemia, and diagnostic findings from invasive coronary angiography and a microvascular study. These findings confirmed an absence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) but demonstrated significant microvascular dysfunction, consistent with a diagnosis of microvascular angina according to the COVADIS criteria, as well as epicardial coronary artery spasm leading to complete vessel closure. This case highlights the clinical and diagnostic complexities of microvascular angina and coronary artery spasm. It also emphasises the importance of advanced diagnostic testing in confirming this challenging diagnosis. This case was interesting due to the patient having a final diagnosis of microvascular angina and coronary artery spasm at the same time. This case also demonstrates how 300 mcg of intracoronary nitrate was given to dilate a vessel in coronary spasm with positive effect. This finding was supportive of the final diagnosis given the clinical context of this patient. Conclusions: This case report demonstrates the diagnostic steps, from symptom assessment through to angiography and microvascular testing and would add to the existing knowledge of INOCA and aid in the understanding and management of these patients especially in centres where acetylcholine testing to confirm inducible epicardial coronary spasm is not available, like it was not in our centre (Blackpool Victoria Hospital). Full article

Engineering design education is an effective instructional approach for enhancing students’ motivation, interest, and creativity while introducing them to the engineering design process (EDP). However, there is limited knowledge on how to integrate the EDP into robotics education, particularly AI-robotics, and how students experience AI-enabled robotics project-based learning grounded in an EDP. This pre-/posttest embedded mixed-methods study adds to the scarce body of literature on interdisciplinary education in engineering design, robotics, and AI. This project developed, implemented, and evaluated a project-based engineering design AI-robotics curriculum that introduced novice Computer Science (CS) high school students to robotics, machine learning, and AI. Students’ collaborative robotics projects were grounded in an EDP to introduce the students to engineering practices and promote engagement and interest through design-based, hands-on learning. An analysis of quantitative and qualitative data revealed an improvement in students’ CS attitudes, collaboration, and social interactions after participating in the curriculum. Recommendations for designing AI-robotics projects grounded in an EDP are discussed. Full article

The construction sector is undergoing a rapid transition toward more resilient, sustainable, and digitally connected systems, creating increasing demand for materials capable of providing functions beyond conventional structural performance. In this context, smart materials have emerged as promising solutions due to their ability to respond to mechanical, thermal, chemical, or electromagnetic stimuli through adaptive behaviors such as self-healing, structural sensing, energy regulation, vibration control, and reversible deformation. Despite growing scientific interest, available knowledge remains fragmented across specific material families and isolated application domains. Therefore, this study presents a PRISMA-based systematic review of smart materials in construction using peer-reviewed journal literature indexed in Scopus during the 2021–2026 period. The review examines the principal smart material families currently applied in construction, including self-healing concretes, self-sensing cementitious systems, Shape Memory Alloys (SMA), piezoelectric materials, phase change materials, adaptive coatings, conductive nanocomposites, and multifunctional geopolymers. Their engineering functions, structural and architectural applications, reported performance characteristics, sustainability contributions, digital integration potential, and implementation barriers are comparatively discussed and qualitatively synthesized based on the reviewed literature. The findings indicate that smart materials can improve durability, structural health monitoring, seismic resilience, thermal efficiency, lifecycle performance, and carbon reduction when properly integrated into buildings and infrastructure. However, large-scale adoption remains constrained by high initial costs, manufacturing scalability, regulatory uncertainty, long-term durability validation, and limited market confidence. The review further shows that the greatest future potential lies in combining material intelligence with IoT platforms, artificial intelligence, BIM environments, and digital twins. Overall, smart materials are positioned as strategic enablers of next-generation low-carbon, adaptive, and intelligent construction systems. Full article

Wikidata provides extensive coverage of tourism-related Points of Interest (POIs), yet its heterogeneous type system and uneven metadata limit its direct use in smart tourism applications. This paper presents an end-to-end pipeline that transforms Wikidata POIs into a compact and interpretable tourism-oriented representation supporting multi-category assignments. We collect POIs from six countries—Greece, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark—and construct a dataset that integrates core identifiers with textual descriptions, type information, heritage indicators, geographic coordinates, and Wikipedia sitelinks. We introduce an eight-category tourism taxonomy capturing key themes, including cultural venues, archaeological and historic sites, monuments, fortifications, religious sites, protected areas, natural features, and coastal or water locations. As a reproducible baseline, category likelihoods are estimated using sentence embeddings and similarity to category anchor descriptions, producing a probability vector for each POI. Building on this baseline, we propose a fuzzy inference layer that integrates embedding-based probabilities with structured Wikidata signals to generate interpretable membership degrees across categories and enable principled multi-category classification. This fusion is particularly valuable for smart tourism applications, as it supports robust faceted exploration and personalized recommendations (e.g., “historic + coastal”), while providing evidence-based explanations that enhance user trust and facilitate curator oversight when POI metadata is sparse or ambiguous. The resulting pipeline produces ranked POI catalogs by country and category, country-level tourism profiles, and diagnostic views for examining uncertain cases. The approach is fully reproducible and readily adaptable to other geographic regions or domain taxonomies. Full article

Background/Objectives: Nurses’ engagement in research is essential to strengthen evidence-based practice, knowledge translation, and quality of care. However, individual, organisational, and cultural barriers may limit nurses’ participation in research activities. This study aimed to cross-culturally adapt and psychometrically test the Italian version of the Barriers to Nurses’ Participation in Research Questionnaire within the Italian cultural and healthcare organisational context, and to explore perceived obstacles to research engagement among nurses in Italy. Methods: A cross-sectional methodological study was conducted. The instrument was translated, back-translated, reviewed by the original instrument developer and an expert panel, and evaluated for content validity by 12 clinical research professionals. Data were collected online between September and October 2024 from 196 nurses working across Italian healthcare settings, including hospitals, university hospitals, IRCCS, primary care, and private hospitals. Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling was used to examine the factor structure. Results: A total of 196 nurses were enrolled in the study. A two-factor structure was identified, comprising Research Resources and Personal Relevance of Research, which explained 35.37% and 25.14% of the variance, respectively. Both factors demonstrated good reliability. The most prominent barrier was the lack of incentive or reward for nurses to engage in research, whereas the least relevant barrier was the perception that research was not interesting or valuable. Greater barriers were reported by younger nurses, those with fewer years of experience, and those without specific research training. Lack of time to conduct research emerged as a pervasive obstacle across the sample. Conclusions: The Italian version of the Barriers to Nurses’ Participation in Research Questionnaire provides preliminary evidence of validity and reliability for assessing perceived barriers to research participation among Italian nurses. Owing to the structural modifications introduced during adaptation, the instrument should be interpreted as a culturally adapted and modified Italian version rather than as a direct replication of the original structure. Its use may support organisational diagnosis, research mentorship, training planning, and future research-capacity-building initiatives, although further validation in larger and more heterogeneous samples is warranted. Full article

The genus Dracocephalum (Lamiaceae), comprising over 60 species predominantly distributed in Europe and Asia, has historically been used in traditional medicine and has recently attracted growing scientific interest due to its diverse pharmacological and phytochemical properties. Despite increasing pharmacological and phytochemical investigations, the antioxidant potential and related bioactivities of Dracocephalum species remain fragmented across individual studies, with limited efforts to comparatively integrate evidence on phytochemical diversity, antioxidant relevance, and pharmacological variability. Therefore, this review consolidates and critically evaluates current knowledge regarding the phytochemical diversity, antioxidant potential, and therapeutic applications of Dracocephalum species, emphasizing their bioactive compounds and antioxidant-driven mechanisms. Particular attention is given to polyphenolic and phenolic constituents—including flavonoids, phenolic acids, terpenoids, and volatile compounds, with rosmarinic acid, tilianin, luteolin derivatives, and apigenin derivatives identified as key contributors to biological activity. Unlike previous reviews, which primarily focused on isolated pharmacological effects or individual species, this study provides a comparative and integrative perspective by linking phytochemical composition with antioxidant-related activities and therapeutic implications across species. By synthesizing fragmented evidence and highlighting methodological advances in chromatography, metabolomics, and comparative analyses, this review identifies current knowledge gaps and outlines future perspectives for phytopharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and functional food applications. Full article

Background: Digital twins and patient-specific computational models are emerging technologies in healthcare, enabling predictive, personalized, and adaptive interventions. Their integration with artificial intelligence (AI) facilitates the simulation of clinical scenarios, optimization of treatment strategies, and advancement of precision medicine. Despite growing interest, the evidence base is still evolving, highlighting the need for a comprehensive synthesis to identify current trends, applications, and gaps. Methods: A narrative review was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus to identify relevant literature on digital twins in healthcare. Priority was given to systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the selection process. From this process, 28 studies were selected for in-depth analysis, and their findings were complemented by primary research and conceptual, and synthesized evidence to capture emerging trends and real-world applications. Results and Discussion: The analysis revealed that digital twins are increasingly applied for patient-specific monitoring, predictive simulations, and adaptive interventions. Integration with AI enhances their ability to model complex clinical scenarios and support precision medicine. While the selected systematic reviews provide consolidated evidence of established applications, the complementary analysis indicates that these studies actively contribute to stabilizing clinical evidence, consolidating knowledge, and enabling the development of more robust patient-specific strategies. Conclusions: Digital twins are progressively shaping patient-centered healthcare by combining AI-driven simulations with clinical insights. Current research is not only consolidating existing evidence but also exploring novel applications, underscoring the potential of digital twins to enhance precision medicine. Further studies are required to fully integrate these technologies into routine clinical practice. Full article

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), as one of the most common metabolic disorders occurring during pregnancy, represents a significant public health concern due to its rising prevalence and the numerous complications that can affect both the mother and the foetus. In recent years, there has been growing interest in the use of omics technologies, such as metabolomics and proteomics, in research on the pathogenesis and early detection of GDM. The aim of this paper was to summarise the current knowledge on metabolomic and proteomic changes observed in women with GDM and to assess the potential usefulness of these methods in identifying biomarkers of the disease. The narrative review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 statement, using PubMed and Web of Science until 23 December 2025. The studies analysed show that GDM is associated with abnormalities in the metabolism of lipids, amino acids, carbohydrates and metabolites associated with the gut microbiota. The most commonly observed changes included: elevated levels of branched-chain amino acids, free fatty acids and purine metabolites, as well as changes in the metabolism of phospholipids and acylcarnitines. Multi-omics studies also indicate significant changes in plasma protein and lipid profiles. The data collected suggest that omics technologies may be a promising tool for identifying early biomarkers of GDM and for developing our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of this condition. Nevertheless, further studies involving larger and more diverse patient populations are needed to confirm their diagnostic and clinical value. Full article

Introduction: Records of rare, deep-water, and non-indigenous fish species are of growing interest in marine biodiversity research because they refine regional inventories, improve taxonomic knowledge, and provide valuable evidence of ecological change. In regions supported by long-term monitoring programs, such findings are especially relevant, as they help detect unusual occurrences and document changes in species composition over time. Objective: The aim of this communication is to present recent records of fish species new to science and new to Spanish waters, together with a non-indigenous species, all from Galician and Cantabrian waters (northern Spain), while emphasizing the importance of scientific surveys and complementary local observations in their detection. Methodology: The material examined was collected during the annual demersal trawl surveys conducted by the Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO-CSIC) on the northern Spanish continental shelf (DEMERSALES), as well as during two multidisciplinary surveys carried out on the Galicia Bank in 2010 and 2011. An additional specimen was obtained from a local recreational fisher off Asturias. In all cases, species identification was based on an integrative taxonomic approach combining morphological examination and molecular analyses (COI barcoding). Results: Three species new to science were identified: Gaidropsarus gallaeciae (Gadiformes: Gaidropsaridae), Notacanthus arrontei (Notacanthiformes: Notacanthidae), and Neoscopelus serranoi (Myctophiformes: Neoscopelidae). In addition, Lyconus brachicolus (Gadiformes: Lyconidae) and Lipogenys hyalovelanum (Notacanthiformes: Notacanthidae) were recorded for the first time in Spanish waters. A specimen of Diapterus brevirostris (Perciformes: Gerreidae), native to the tropical and subtropical Pacific coast of America, was also identified off Asturias. Owing to its small size and to the proximity of the commercial port of Gijón, ballast water is considered the most plausible vector for its introduction into the Cantabrian Sea. Conclusions: These records illustrate the value of long-term oceanographic surveys for detecting rare and deep-water fishes and confirm the usefulness of integrative taxonomy for robust species identification. They also highlight the complementary role of fishers and citizen observers in documenting biodiversity change and detecting non-indigenous species in Spanish waters. Full article

Polarimetric color cameras are a forefront technology that simultaneously captures polarimetric and color information by analyzing polarization states across different color channels, commonly red, green, and blue. In general, each of these color channels can carry different polarization information. Therefore, measuring the polarization Stokes vector at several discrete wavelengths simultaneously and with the highest possible resolution is of interest in multiple research areas. However, when a commercial color polarization sensor is used under simultaneous narrowband RGB illumination mode, its channels cannot be assumed to represent independent wavelength channels. Spectral overlap of the color filters introduces color crosstalk between wavelength-dependent analyzer intensities, which may bias the reconstructed Stokes parameters if it is not corrected before polarimetric inversion. Several methods have been proposed in the literature to address the color crosstalk problem but they typically assume that the polarization state is identical for all wavelengths. This assumption does not generally hold for real samples, which exhibit wavelength-dependent depolarization, retardance, and dichroism. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work presenting a method that addresses the color crosstalk problem without assuming that the polarization state is identical across all wavelengths. In addition, Fourier domain demosaicking techniques are applied to interpolate the data and reconstruct the images. The present study demonstrates how the proposed method leads to an accurate recovery of chromatic and polarimetric information on both synthetic and real-world datasets. To test our approach, narrowband light beams at three wavelengths (470, 554, 630 nm), with different spatial polarization and degree of linear polarization distributions, have been simulated and validated with simulated and experimental data. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the method for accurate three polarization channels measurements. Full article

Introduction: Streptococcus pneumoniae severely affects adults over 65, especially those with comorbidities. Since vaccination coverage among healthcare workers (HCWs) is unknown despite free availability, this study evaluates knowledge, behaviours, hesitancy and accessibility among employees of an Italian hospital. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional survey was administered via “SurveyMonkey.” From February 22 to June 15, 2024, healthcare and administrative staff aged ≥ 18 at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Gemelli were recruited by email. Descriptive and inferential analyses used Stata 16.1. Results: Among HCWs, 72% are women, with an average age of 48. Pneumococcal vaccination coverage is 20%, with 82.7% vaccinated in-hospital. Preferred information sources include courses, webinars, and institutional websites. For management staff, vaccine safety and effectiveness were significant determinants. Among administrative employees, 65% are women (average age 51); 19% are vaccinated, 24% are unsure, and 43% prefer in-hospital vaccination. Physicians cited trust in vaccines (25.3%) and self-protection (23.2%) as key motivators, compared with 12.4% among nursing, technical and rehabilitative staff. Recommendation to family members was higher among medical and specialist professionals (90%) than in other groups (77% in nursing/technical/rehabilitative; <50% in assistants and auxiliary staff). About half of the groups rated their knowledge at level 2 (scale 1–4). Multivariable regression analysis showed that medical professionals and specialists exhibited a higher perception of the importance and safety of vaccines compared with other categories. Conclusions: HCWs showed greater knowledge of pneumococcal vaccination, while administrative staff had lower awareness and more hesitancy. Both groups preferred in-hospital vaccination and expressed interest in structured educational initiatives. Full article

This study focuses on the design and development of instructional materials tailored for the subject fundamentals of food processing, with the primary objective of equipping students with foundational knowledge and practical competencies essential to understanding core concepts and principles within the discipline. The instructional content was purposefully crafted to align with established course learning outcomes and the broader curricular framework. Drawing upon contemporary research and pedagogical best practices, the materials were customized to address the specific academic needs, interests, and learning preferences of students. Emphasis was placed on interactivity and inclusivity, with the integration of varied media formats to support diverse learning styles and enhance accessibility. The expert’s evaluation of the instructional materials is based on the three criteria: content, organization and structure, and support for learning. Overall, the instructional material has a mean of 3.71, with a verbal interpretation of high evidence and a standard deviation of 0.11, indicating high reliability. The highest mean score is 3.79 for the content category. This indicates that the instructional material is highly effective in aligning with course requirements, currently accurate, and bias-free. The lowest mean score is 3.67 on organization structure and support for learning. These scores suggest that while these areas are well regarded, they have certain aspects that could be further improved. Moreover, the materials must exhibit flexibility and adaptability to accommodate various teaching methodologies. They should seamlessly integrate with various instructional strategies, including project-based learning, problem-based learning, and hands-on activities. This versatility ensures that educators can employ diverse approaches to cater to their students’ needs and learning preferences. Full article

Studies of quality of life have developed into a major field of academic research that examines the determinants of subjective well-being beyond traditional economic measures. The link between environmental quality and quality of life (also known as subjective well-being, usually measured by happiness) has been studied in different settings. However, the heterogeneity of the levels of development and of the policy settings in OECD countries offer an interesting environment to study this relationship. This study is the first to offer a complete analysis of the environmental quality–quality of life nexus across OECD member nations, with a special focus on developmental differences within the organization. We analyzed 38 OECD nations using panel data methods for the period 2010–2022, and also classify them into developed and developing subgroups according to income thresholds and United Nations development classifications. Our findings suggest a positive and significant correlation between environment quality (as evaluated by the Environmental Performance Index (EPI)) and subjective quality of life in developed OECD countries. However, this association was statistically insignificant in developing OECD countries, where economic concerns like unemployment and inflation have a more prominent influence on quality of life. Specifically, a 10-point increase in the EPI is associated with a 0.24-point increase in quality of life in developed OECD countries—an effect comparable to a one-percentage-point reduction in unemployment. In contrast, no significant association was found for developing OECD countries. These conclusions have substantial implications for the design of differentiated environmental policies in the OECD framework, and add to the broader knowledge of how sustainable development increases well-being at different phases of economic progress. Full article