Search Results (9,187)

Prostate cancer (PC) remains a leading cause of malignancy in men worldwide, with current diagnostic methods such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and tissue biopsies facing limitations in specificity, invasiveness, and ability to capture tumor heterogeneity. Liquid biopsy, especially analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), has emerged as a transformative tool for non-invasive detection, real-time monitoring, and treatment selection for PC. This review examines the role of ctDNA in both localized and metastatic PCs, focusing on its utility in early detection, risk stratification, therapy selection, and post-treatment monitoring. In localized PC, ctDNA-based biomarkers, including ctDNA fraction, methylation patterns, fragmentation profiles, and mutations, demonstrate promise in improving diagnostic accuracy and predicting disease recurrence. For metastatic PC, ctDNA analysis provides insights into tumor burden, genomic alterations, and resistance mechanisms, enabling immediate assessment of treatment response and guiding therapeutic decisions. Despite challenges such as the low ctDNA abundance in early-stage disease and the need for standardized protocols, advances in sequencing technologies and multimodal approaches enhance the clinical applicability of ctDNA. Integrating ctDNA with imaging and traditional biomarkers offers a pathway to precision oncology, ultimately improving outcomes. This review underscores the potential of ctDNA to redefine PC management while addressing current limitations and future directions for research and clinical implementation. Full article

Coal serves as the primary energy source for China, with production anticipated to reach 4.76 billion tons in 2024. However, the mining process generates a significant amount of gangue, with approximately 800 million tons produced in 2023 alone. Currently, China faces substantial gangue stockpiles, characterized by a low comprehensive utilization rate that fails to meet the country’s ecological and environmental protection requirements. The environmental challenges posed by the treatment and disposal of gangue are becoming increasingly severe. This review employs bibliometric analysis and theoretical perspectives to examine the latest advancements in gangue utilization, specifically focusing on the application of computational chemistry to elucidate the structural features and interaction mechanisms of coal gangue, and to collate how these insights have been leveraged in the literature to inform its potential utilization routes. The aim is to promote the effective resource utilization of this material, and key topics discussed include evaluating the risks of spontaneous combustion associated with gangue, understanding the mechanisms governing heavy metal migration, and modifying coal byproducts to enhance both economic viability and environmental sustainability. The case studies presented in this article offer valuable insights into the gangue conversion process, contributing to the development of more efficient and eco-friendly methods. By proposing a theoretical framework, this review will support ongoing initiatives aimed at the sustainable management and utilization of coal gangue, emphasizing the critical need for continued research and development in this vital area. This review uniquely combines bibliometric analysis with computational chemistry to identify new trends and gaps in coal waste utilization, providing a roadmap for future research. Full article

In the context of the GCC, the adoption of integrated reporting (IR) remains limited, due in part to weak regulatory enforcement, a lack of awareness of the strategic benefits of IR, and a strong focus on short-term financial results. This limited reporting context presents a significant challenge for firms to credibly demonstrate their value to the market and attract potential investors, thus communicating long-term value. Given these limitations, this study considers how IR contributes to firm value, but also examines the mediating role that firm image (FI) plays in this relationship as a reputational construct representing stakeholder perspectives of a firm’s transparency and accountability. The research employs a quantitative methodology, analysing secondary data from corporate governance and integrated reports spanning 2017–2018 to 2022–2023. Findings indicate a positive and robust relationship between integrated reporting and the firm’s value, which was assessed using Tobin’s Q. The findings highlight the significant mediating role of firm image, illustrating how IR practices, via increased transparency, accountability, and sustainability, enhance firm value. This study provides significant insights for researchers, policymakers, and corporate managers, highlighting the strategic relevance of IR in the GCC region. The findings demonstrate that integrated reporting improves transparency, accountability, and sustainability, thereby assisting corporate managers in utilising IR to enhance firm image and facilitate value creation. Policymakers can utilise these insights to develop regulatory frameworks that promote integrated reporting practices, thereby enhancing transparency and sustainable growth within the corporate sector. Full article

Weed management remains a critical challenge in the U.S. container ornamental production industry, where weeds not only compete with crops for limited resources but also harbor pests and pathogens, thereby diminishing plant quality and marketability. The paper explores the economic impact of weed infestations, herbicide resistance development, and the limited availability of selective herbicides for ornamental crops in the United States. This review synthesizes current chemical weed control tactics, focusing not only on both preemergence and postemergence herbicides commonly used in ornamental nurseries, but also organic alternatives and integrated weed management (IWM) approaches as complementary strategies by evaluating their effectiveness, crop safety, and usage. There is a critical need for research in the areas of alternative chemical options such as insecticides, miticides (e.g., Zerotol and Tetra Curb Max), and organic products for liverwort control in greenhouses. Although essential oils and plant-based extracts show some potential, their effectiveness and practical use remain largely unexplored. Full article

With the increasing global emphasis on sustainable development goals, and in the context of pursuing high-quality sustainable development of the economy and enterprises, this study empirically examines the effect of digital finance on corporate financing constraints and the impact on corporate green innovation with a sample of China’s A-share-listed companies in the period of 2011–2020 and explores the issue from the perspectives of management power and corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the micro level of enterprises. The empirical results show that digital finance can indeed alleviate corporate financing constraints. Still, the synergistic effect of the two on corporate green innovation produces a “quantitative and qualitative separation” effect, which only promotes the enhancement of iconic green innovation, and the effect on substantive green innovation is not obvious. The power of management and CSR performanceshave different moderating roles in the alleviation of financing constraints by the empowerment of digital finance. Management power and corporate social responsibility have different moderating effects on digital financial empowerment to alleviate financing constraints. The findings of this study enrich the research in related fields and provide more basis for the promotion of digital financial policies and more solutions for the high-quality development of enterprises. Full article

The growing need to improve the management of end-of-life vehicle (ELV) waste and mitigate its environmental impact is a global concern. One promising approach to enhancing the recyclability of these vehicles is leveraging synergies between the automotive and construction industries as part of a circular economy strategy. In this context, ELV waste emerges as a valuable source of secondary raw materials, enabling the development of sustainable innovations that capitalize on its physical and mechanical properties. This paper aims to develop and evaluate construction industry composites incorporating waste from ELV carpets, with a focus on maintaining or enhancing performance compared to conventional materials. To achieve this, an experimental program was designed to assess cementitious composites, specifically subfloor mortars, incorporating automotive carpet waste (ACW). The results demonstrate that, beyond the physical and mechanical properties of the developed composites, the dynamic stiffness significantly improved across all tested waste incorporation levels. This finding highlights the potential of these composites as an alternative material for impact noise insulation in flooring systems. From an academic perspective, this research advances knowledge on the application of ACW in cement-based composites for construction. In terms of managerial contributions, two key market opportunities emerge: (1) the commercial exploitation of composites produced with ELV carpet waste and (2) the development of a network of environmental service providers to ensure a stable waste supply chain for innovative and sustainable products. Both strategies contribute to reducing landfill disposal and mitigating the environmental impact of ELV waste, reinforcing the principles of the circular economy. Full article

Virtual influencers (VIs) on e-commerce platforms are becoming increasingly popular, enhancing the consumer experience. This study examines the consumer–brand relationship (CBR) with VIs through the perspective of social presence. Data from 1041 e-commerce platform users (e.g., Douyin, RED, Weibo) were collected and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings reveal that both the visual and mental human-likeness of VIs significantly strengthen CBR, with social presence acting as a mediator. Additionally, the interaction between visual and mental human-likeness positively impacts social presence, which in turn enhances CBR. Moreover, consumers’ need for uniqueness moderates the relationship between social presence and CBR, providing valuable insights for virtual influencer strategies in e-commerce. This research suggests the feasibility of leveraging VI design both visually and mentally to capture new trends in developing effective virtual campaigns with digitization and metaverse technologies. This study extends the stream of research VIs use for interactive marketing, highlighting the role of parasocial relationships in interactive marketing. These findings can provide managers with a better understanding of VI design from both visual and mental aspects. Full article

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are increasingly pivotal for reducing carbon emissions in supply chain management (SCM); however, research exploring their combined potential from a sustainability perspective remains fragmented. This study aims to systematically map the research landscape and synthesize evidence on the applications, benefits, and challenges. Methods: A systematic scoping review was conducted on 23 peer-reviewed studies from the Scopus database, published between 2013 and 2024. Data were systematically extracted and analyzed for publication trends, application domains (e.g., transportation, warehousing), specific AI and robotic technologies, emissions reduction strategies, and implementation challenges. Results: The analysis reveals that AI-driven logistics optimization is the most frequently reported strategy for reducing transportation emissions. At the same time, robotic automation is commonly associated with improved energy efficiency in warehousing. Despite these benefits, the reviewed literature consistently identifies significant barriers, including the high energy demands of AI computation and complexities in data integration. Conclusions: This review confirms the transformative potential of AI and robotics for developing low-carbon supply chains. An evidence-based framework is proposed to guide practical implementation and identify critical gaps, such as the need for standardized validation benchmarks, to direct future research and accelerate the transition to sustainable SCM. Full article

This study presents the scientific and methodological foundation of Spain’s first national framework for the ethical management of community cat populations: the Action Plan for the Management of Community Cat Colonies (PACF), launched in 2025 under the mandate of Law 7/2023. This pioneering legislation introduces a standardized, nationwide obligation for trap–neuter–return (TNR)-based management of free-roaming cats, defined as animals living freely, territorially attached, and with limited socialization toward humans. The PACF aims to support municipalities in implementing this mandate through evidence-based strategies that integrate animal welfare, biodiversity protection, and public health objectives. Using standardized data submitted by 1128 municipalities (13.9% of Spain’s total), we estimated a baseline population of 1.81 million community cats distributed across 125,000 colonies. These data were stratified by municipal population size and applied to national census figures to generate a model-ready demographic structure. We then implemented a stochastic simulation using Vortex software to project long-term population dynamics over a 25-year horizon. The model integrated eight demographic–environmental scenarios defined by a combination of urban–rural classification and ecological reproductive potential based on photoperiod and winter temperature. Parameters included reproductive output, mortality, sterilization coverage, abandonment and adoption rates, stochastic catastrophic events, and territorial carrying capacity. Under current sterilization rates (~20%), our projections indicate that Spain’s community cat population could surpass 5 million individuals by 2050, saturating ecological and social thresholds within a decade. In contrast, a differentiated sterilization strategy aligned with territorial reproductive intensity (50% in most areas, 60–70% in high-pressure zones) achieves population stabilization by 2030 at approximately 1.5 million cats, followed by a gradual long-term decline. This scenario prioritizes feasibility while substantially reducing reproductive output, particularly in rural and high-intensity contexts. The PACF combines stratified demographic modeling with spatial sensitivity, offering a flexible framework adaptable to local conditions. It incorporates One Health principles and introduces tools for adaptive management, including digital monitoring platforms and standardized welfare protocols. While ecological impacts were not directly assessed, the proposed demographic stabilization is designed to mitigate population-driven risks to biodiversity and public health without relying on lethal control. By integrating legal mandates, stratified modeling, and realistic intervention goals, this study outlines a replicable and scalable framework for coordinated action across administrative levels. It exemplifies how national policy can be operationalized through data-driven, territorially sensitive planning tools. The findings support the strategic deployment of TNR-based programs across diverse municipal contexts, providing a model for other countries seeking to align animal welfare policy with ecological planning under a multi-level governance perspective. Full article

Adverse drug events (ADEs) significantly impact patient safety and health outcomes. Manual ADE detection from clinical narratives is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly. Recent advancements in large language models (LLMs), including transformer-based architectures such as Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) and Generative Pretrained Transformer (GPT) series, offer promising methods for automating ADE extraction from clinical data. These models have been applied to various aspects of pharmacovigilance and clinical decision support, demonstrating potential in extracting ADE-related information from real-world clinical data. Additionally, chatbot-assisted systems have been explored as tools in clinical management, aiding in medication adherence, patient engagement, and symptom monitoring. This narrative review synthesizes the current state of LLMs in ADE detection from a clinical perspective, organizing studies into categories such as human-facing decision support tools, immune-related ADE detection, cancer-related and non-cancer-related ADE surveillance, and personalized decision support systems. In total, 39 articles were included in this review. Across domains, LLM-driven methods have demonstrated promising performances, often outperforming traditional approaches. However, critical limitations persist, such as domain-specific variability in model performance, interpretability challenges, data quality and privacy concerns, and infrastructure requirements. By addressing these challenges, LLM-based ADE detection could enhance pharmacovigilance practices, improve patient safety outcomes, and optimize clinical workflows. Full article

Contact unmodified antisense DNA biotechnology (CUADb), developed in 2008, employs short antisense DNA oligonucleotides (oligos) as a novel approach to insect pest control. These oligonucleotide-based insecticides target pest mature rRNAs and/or pre-rRNAs and have demonstrated high insecticidal efficacy, particularly against sap-feeding insect pests, which are key vectors of plant DNA viruses and among the most economically damaging herbivorous insects. To further explore the potential of CUADb, this study evaluated the insecticidal efficacy of short 11-mer antisense DNA oligos against Coccus hesperidum, in comparison with long 56-mer single-stranded and double-stranded DNA sequences. The short oligos exhibited higher insecticidal activity. By day 9, the highest mortality rate (97.66 ± 4.04%) was recorded in the Coccus-11 group, while the most effective long sequence was the double-stranded DNA in the dsCoccus-56 group (77.09 ± 6.24%). This study also describes the architecture of the DNA containment (DNAc) mechanism, highlighting the intricate interactions between rRNAs and various types of DNA oligos. During DNAc, the Coccus-11 treatment induced enhanced ribosome biogenesis and ATP production through a metabolic shift from carbohydrates to lipid-based energy synthesis. However, this ultimately led to a ‘kinase disaster’ due to widespread kinase downregulation resulting from insufficient ATP levels. All DNA oligos with high or moderate complementarity to target rRNA initiated hypercompensation, but subsequent substantial rRNA degradation and insect mortality occurred only when the oligo sequence perfectly matched the rRNA. Both short and long oligonucleotide insecticide treatments led to a 3.75–4.25-fold decrease in rRNA levels following hypercompensation, which was likely mediated by a DNA-guided rRNase, such as RNase H1, while crucial enzymes of RNAi (DICER1, Argonaute 2, and DROSHA) were downregulated, indicating fundamental difference in molecular mechanisms of DNAc and RNAi. Consistently, significant upregulation of RNase H1 was detected in the Coccus-11 treatment group. In contrast, treatment with random DNA oligos resulted in only a 2–3-fold rRNA decrease, consistent with the normal rRNA half-life maintained by general ribonucleases. These findings reveal a fundamental new mechanism of rRNA regulation via complementary binding between exogenous unmodified antisense DNA and cellular rRNA. From a practical perspective, this minimalist approach, applying short antisense DNA dissolved in water, offers an effective, eco-friendly and innovative solution for managing sternorrhynchans and other insect pests. The results introduce a promising new concept in crop protection: DNA-programmable insect pest control. Full article

As a typical grain base with a dense population and high-level urbanization, the North China Plain (NCP) faces a serious threat to its sustainable development due to water shortage. Surface water area (SWA) is a key indicator for continuously measuring the trends of regional water resources and assessing their current status. Therefore, a deep understanding of its changing patterns and driving forces is essential for achieving the sustainable management of water resources. In this study, we examined the interannual variability and trends of SWA in the NCP from 1990 to 2023 using annual 30 m water body maps generated from all available Landsat imagery, a robust water mapping algorithm, and the cloud computing platform Google Earth Engine (GEE). The results showed that the SWA in the NCP has significantly increased over the past three decades. The continuous emergence of artificial reservoirs and urban lakes, along with the booming aquaculture industry, are the main factors driving the growth of SWA. Consequently, the expansion of artificial water bodies resulted in a significant increase in water evaporation (0.16 km³/yr). Moreover, the proportion of water evaporation to regional evapotranspiration (ET) gradually increased (0–0.7%/yr), indicating that the contribution of water evaporation from artificial water bodies to ET is becoming increasingly prominent. Therefore, it can be concluded that the ever-expanding artificial water bodies have become a new hidden danger affecting the water security of the NCP through evaporative loss and deserve close attention. This study not only provides us with a new perspective for deeply understanding the current status of water resources security in the NCP but also provides a typical case with great reference value for the analysis of water resources changes in other similar regions. Full article

Against the backdrop of multifaceted strategies to combat climate change, understanding soil erosion’s role in carbon cycling is critical due to terrestrial carbon pool vulnerability. This study integrates bibliometric methods with visualization tools (CiteSpace, VOSviewer) to analyze 3880 Web of Science core publications (1994–2024, inclusive), constructing knowledge graphs and forecasting trends. The results show exponential publication growth, shifting from slow development (1994–2011) to rapid expansion (2012–2024), aligning with international climate policy milestones. The Chinese Academy of Sciences led productivity (519 articles), while the US demonstrated major influence (H-index 117; 52,297 citations), creating a China–US bipolar research pattern. It was also found that Dutch journals dominate this research field. A keyword analysis revealed a shift from erosion-driven carbon transport to ecosystem service assessments. Emerging hotspots include microbial community regulation, climate–erosion feedback, and model–policy integration, though developing country collaboration remains limited. Future research should prioritize isotope tracing, multiscale modeling, and studies in ecologically vulnerable regions to enhance global soil carbon management. This study provides a novel analytical framework and forward-looking perspective for the soil erosion research on soil carbon cycling, serving as an extension of climate change mitigation strategies. Full article

This study ground in the Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT), explores the value of digital twin technology in cross-border logistics risk management. Using structural equation modeling, it examines how five innovation characteristics of digital twins—relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability—influence risk management capabilities, specifically robustness and resilience, within cross-border logistics systems. The findings reveal that relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, and observability significantly enhance both robustness and resilience, while complexity does not show a significant negative impact. Furthermore, the study confirms that improvements in risk management capabilities contribute positively to competitive performance. This research not only enriches the theoretical understanding of digital twin applications in cross-border logistics but also offers valuable insights for practical implementation by enterprises. Full article

Background and Aim: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) continues to pose a significant public health challenge worldwide. Among therapeutic options, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) have proven effective in optimizing glycemic control and improving cardiometabolic profiles. Semaglutide, now available in an oral formulation, represents a modern strategy to improve patient adherence while supporting glucose and weight regulation. This study primarily investigated the effects of oral semaglutide on key metabolic indicators and secondary endpoints included cardiovascular risk markers (blood pressure and lipid profile) and patient-reported quality of life (QoL). Study Design and Methods: A longitudinal, prospective observational study was conducted involving patients with T2D across two Italian healthcare facilities. Participants were assessed at baseline (T0) and at three subsequent intervals—6 months (T1), 12 months (T2), and 18 months (T3)—following the initiation of oral semaglutide use. Key Findings: Out of 116 participants enrolled, 97 had complete and analyzable data. Across the 18-month follow-up, significant improvements were observed in glycemic parameters, with a notable reduction in HbA1c levels (T0 vs. T3, p = 0.0028; p ≤ 0.05, statistically significant). Self-reported outcomes showed enhanced quality of life, especially in treatment satisfaction and perceived flexibility (T0 vs. T3, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Daily administration of 14 mg oral semaglutide in individuals with T2D resulted in substantial benefits in glycemic regulation, weight reduction, cardiovascular risk management, and overall patient satisfaction. These findings reinforce its potential role as a sustainable and effective option in long-term diabetes care from both a clinical and public health perspective. Full article