Search Results (2,363)

Background and Objectives. Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) or vertical transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is largely preventable in settings where prevention of MTCT (PVT) strategies are consistently implemented. Romania represents a particular epidemiological context, as individuals from the historical pediatric HIV cohort have now reached reproductive age. This study assessed current PVT outcomes in northeastern Romania and explored the remaining circumstances in which transmission still occurs. Materials and Methods. We performed a retrospective observational analysis at the Regional HIV/AIDS Center of Iași (“Sfânta Parascheva” Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases), including all pregnant women living with HIV and their HIV-exposed infants followed between 2023 and 2025. Maternal data comprised age, place of residence, origin from the Romanian pediatric cohort, antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence, and HIV RNA viral load in the third trimester. Obstetric characteristics, delivery mode, neonatal antiretroviral prophylaxis, and infant HIV RNA PCR results during follow-up up to 18–24 months were also evaluated. Results. A total of 61 HIV-positive pregnant women and 53 HIV-exposed infants were included. Viral suppression during pregnancy was documented in 59 women (96.7%), while two cases of detectable viremia in late pregnancy were linked to poor ART adherence. All women delivered by elective cesarean section, and all infants received neonatal antiretroviral prophylaxis, with Raltegravir added in selected higher-risk situations. Overall, MTCT was 3.8% (2/53). No transmission events were recorded in 2023 or 2024; both cases occurred in 2025 (15.4% of infants born that year) and exclusively in the context of maternal viremia. Women originating from the historical pediatric HIV cohort accounted for 31.1% (19/61) of pregnancies, and no transmission was observed among their infants. Conclusions. In northeastern Romania, PVT programs remain highly effective when maternal viral suppression is achieved. Residual transmission was confined to situations of maternal viremia driven by ART non-adherence, highlighting the continued importance of adherence support during pregnancy. Full article

In this paper, by means of a comprehensive analysis of the statutory and non-statutory documents that govern its preschool provision, we examine how early childhood education and care (ECEC), particularly in relation to mathematics, is conceptualised by the English educational authorities. Situated within international debates about economic (school-readiness, accountability-driven) versus social (holistic, play-based, rights-oriented) models of ECEC, the study explores how curriculum expectations, assessment practices and didactical guidance collectively frame young children’s learning opportunities. Drawing on a document-based analytic approach, and guided by six literature-derived questions, the analysis reveals significant inconsistencies both within and between documents, including conflicting messages about the purpose of preschool, an uneven emphasis on school readiness, and ambivalent statements regarding the role of play, instruction and practitioner agency, as well as contradictory and shifting expectations surrounding the scope, status and pedagogical treatment of early mathematics. While statutory materials frequently privilege school readiness and narrowly defined number outcomes, non-statutory guidance promotes broader mathematical thinking, exploratory play and child-initiated reasoning. Overall, the findings demonstrate limited coherence across the English authorities’ ECEC expectations and highlight the interpretive and professional challenges faced by practitioners expected to implement this fragmented early years mathematics policy landscape. Full article

The issue of emergency facility location is a long-term strategic issue, and the complexity and diversity of the decision-making environment force decision-makers to focus on multiple objectives when making location decisions. We develop a multi-objective optimization system centered on cost-effectiveness, service balance, and fairness, targeting three core objectives: minimizing total costs, minimizing differences in service quality among demand points, and minimizing material shortage gaps between demand points. To address the issue of limited facility service capacity induced by material shortages, we establish a multi-objective optimization model for the reliable location of emergency facilities. By combining the model’s characteristics with the Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) and an elite retention strategy, the Pareto frontier solution set of the multi-objective model is obtained, and the model’s feasibility is verified through various examples of different scales. Finally, sensitivity analysis was conducted on the reliability location model of emergency facilities under different disruption risks using the control variable method, and the topology structure of the reliability location allocation network for emergency facilities under different disruption situations is obtained. The research findings provide decision-makers with actionable references and technical support for selecting reliable locations for emergency facilities amid disruption risks. Full article

In computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) restorations for severely damaged teeth, the cavity floor or proximal margins may be elevated with composite resin to improve adhesion. This in vitro study investigated how different surface pretreatment methods affect the shear bond strength (SBS) of hybrid CAD/CAM materials to dentin or composite surfaces, simulating clinical situations of composite elevation. Hybrid CAD/CAM samples were bonded to dentin or composite substrates following different surface pretreatment protocols and cemented using a dual-cure adhesive resin cement. The samples were thermocycled and subjected to shear bond strength testing, and failure modes were analyzed. The SBS in the sandblasting (SB)+Dentin group and hydrofluoric acid (HF)+Dentin was significantly higher than that in the SB+Composite and HF+Composite groups (p < 0.05). Untreated+composite and untreated+dentin groups showed significantly lower SBS (p < 0.05). Failure mode analysis revealed a predominance of cohesive failures in the SB+Dentin group, while adhesive failures were more frequently observed in most of the other groups. SB-treated and HF-etched hybrid CAD/CAM materials showed more favorable bonding behavior to dentin than to composite, highlighting that bonding to the elevated composite layer may be less effective than bonding directly to prepared dentin. Full article

This study situates Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) within the broader challenge of decarbonising the built environment, arguing that efficiency-oriented approaches remain insufficient unless complemented by a sufficiency paradigm that already questions “how much is necessary” in the meta-design phase. Building on an interdisciplinary reading of standards and the scientific literature, the paper analyses the regulatory architecture of Type III environmental declarations and discusses the operational implications of the two main reference frameworks for construction EPDs—ISO 21930 (global) and EN 15804 (European)—with attention paid to methodological rigidity, system boundaries, and the granularity of climate-related indicators. The paper highlights that the declared aim of comparability is frequently undermined in practice by heterogeneous Product Category Rules, background databases, modelling assumptions, and verification practices, producing an “illusion of comparability” and limiting the reliability of product-to-product comparisons. Emphasis is placed on the epistemic role of the functional unit and reference service life, showing how narrowly product-based units can conceal system-level effects and bias decision-making. The paper concludes that EPDs are most effective when interpreted as boundary objects linking policy, industry, and design, and when embedded in a sufficiency-oriented “critical ecology of materials” that integrates embodied and operational carbon within contextualised project decisions. Full article

The rapid detection of zinc in different aqueous matrices is very relevant. For example, a Zn²⁺ level above ca. 50 µM affects drinking water quality, while levels below ca. 25 µM in urine are related to higher probability of prostate cancer. Herein, a simple and rapid qualitative colorimetric sensor for the detection of zinc ions in aqueous samples is developed. The sensor exploits the reaction between 1,5-diphenylthiocarbazone and Zn²⁺ to form colored chelates whose color changes with increasing Zn²⁺ concentration. The chelating agent has been immobilized in a dried form on various cellulose- and synthetic-based materials to obtain a sensor that can be used for in situ analysis. The procedure to obtain the colorimetric device is easy and straightforward. Moreover, it requires neither specialized personnel to perform the analysis nor specialized personnel for the interpretation of the analytical results. The analysis requires only 20 µL of sample, and a reliable colorimetric output is obtained within 10 min and is stable up to 30 min. The sensor allows Zn²⁺ visual detection in drinking water and urine without any sample pre-treatment with excellent efficiency and repeatability. Considering the ability to distinguish between Zn²⁺ concentrations equal to 0.5 and 2× the cut-off level, the sensor showed sensitivity and specificity of 100% for fortified tap water analysis and 100% sensitivity and 88.9% specificity for urine samples. The almost-perfect concordance with the reference atomic absorption spectrometer and the 94.1% accuracy demonstrated the sensor’s excellent potential to be applied for selective qualitative Zn²⁺ detection in real-life situations. Full article

Physics-based constitutive modelling remains a cornerstone for predicting ductile damage and fracture in metallic materials, particularly where microstructural mechanisms govern macroscopic response. Over the past two decades, a wide range of crystal plasticity, porous plasticity, and void-based fracture models have been proposed to capture deformation localisation, void growth, and coalescence under complex loading paths. However, these developments are often presented in isolation, obscuring their shared physical assumptions and limiting their transferability across material systems and length scales. This article provides a microstructure-sensitive perspective on the constitutive modelling of ductile damage and fracture, with particular emphasis on crystal plasticity-based frameworks, void growth and coalescence mechanisms, and interface-driven fracture. Rather than attempting an exhaustive review, this review highlights the unifying concepts, modelling trade-offs, and recurring challenges related to parameter identifiability, scale bridging, and predictive robustness. It further clarifies how physics-based constitutive descriptions can be systematically integrated into modern fatigue and fracture assessments and situates these developments relative to emerging data-assisted and machine-learning-enhanced modelling strategies. By reframing established constitutive models within a coherent physical narrative, this perspective aims to support more transparent model selection, improve interpretability, and guide future developments in the multiscale damage and fracture modelling of metallic materials. While these frameworks offer enhanced microstructure sensitivity, their parameter richness and experimental calibration demand currently limit widespread industrial deployment, motivating ongoing work on reduced-order and data-assisted variants. Full article

In this paper, we investigate how social entrepreneurial competencies develop among young children in self-organized early childhood and primary education settings in Greece that operate outside traditional state–market logics and embrace a commons-based ethos. While existing approaches to Entrepreneurship Education (EE) frequently privilege individual skills and economic productivity, this study reframes entrepreneurial learning through the lens of social entrepreneurship. Using a qualitative comparative case study, we analyze educational material from self-organized schools and include focus groups with educators. The findings show that social entrepreneurial competencies emerge as present-tense relational practices embedded in everyday collective life, rather than as future-oriented economic skills. By situating these findings within contemporary debates on Social Entrepreneurship Education (SEE) and Childhood Studies, the paper advances a model of entrepreneurship grounded in empathy and collective action in response to social antagonism. In these schools, social entrepreneurship in childhood is understood as a mode of being and becoming in common, enacted through pedagogical worlds in which children learn to live, decide, care, and act together in the present. Overall, the findings highlight the potential of commons-based pedagogies to reconfigure entrepreneurial learning as a relational and collective practice in preschool and primary school education. Full article

Chemical coagulation is a highly important step of the conventional treatment processes, determination of the optimum coagulant dose to meet the demand of particulate materials and natural organic matters (NOMs) in raw water is crucial for good drinking water quality. WTC-Coag is a universal non-site-specific coagulant prediction model using three raw water quality parameters, UV₂₅₄, colour, and turbidity, as model inputs. The empirical model can determine the dose for maximum dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal to achieve the conditions of enhanced coagulation; it also features an operator-selectable input—% setpoint (as % DOC removal)—to establish a dose for the desirable treated water quality. This hybrid modelling and control approach in practice is extremely useful for operators to be able to optimise the process by balancing between water quality and use of resources (chemical and sludge disposal costs) for sustainable operation. This paper discusses the practicality of this hybrid modelling approach via a long-term evaluation by comparing the plant dose against predicted dose using five years historical operations and water quality data. The assessment covered raw water quality change against treatment performance, predictability, usability and operator behaviour in response to the dose change situation. During the study period, five “black water” events were captured, and the performance of the predictability due to operational changes and operator’s response in these extreme events have been analysed. The comparison between the predicted enhanced dose and the plant dose indicated enhanced coagulation would not be always required. Furthermore, the selection of 50% setpoint from the targeted dose option matched well with the plant dose during which the lower-dose situation would be sufficient, with 90% of the predicted doses within ±10 mg/L of the plant dose and 95% of the predicted doses within ±15 mg/L of the plant dose during the normal period. The use of a correction factor to compensate for the particulate demand due to powdered activated carbon (PAC) dose during “black water” events has shown to be effective. The 50% setpoint matches with the plant alum dose over the entire period after accounting for the PAC dose, with 70% of the predicted doses within ±10 mg/L and 80% within ±15 mg/L of the plant dose. All the coagulation-related prediction functions have been evaluated and confirmed their non-site-specific nature. This study is unique in terms of using real operations data for an extended period to evaluate this novel hybrid modelling concept towards the sustainability goal. Full article

Understanding the composition and amount of waste is crucial for the health and development of communities. Panic and the unpredictable situation of COVID-19 caused significant demands for food, which resulted in high pressure on food waste and waste management systems. To determine the change in waste composition in Northern Cyprus during the COVID-19 pandemic, questionnaires were prepared and distributed through the media and via email. This study found that household waste generation per capita was 0.91 kg with a 6% error when compared with a conventional waste composition study performed by the European Union in 2016. According to the results, the quantity of domestic waste decreased during the pandemic, while garden waste increased. Additionally, the results show that 27% of plastic waste came from cleaning purposes. As face mask usage and tea consumption increased during the pandemic, these materials were incorporated as additives into marble-dust-modified cement paste to develop sustainable construction composite. The mechanical performance of the proposed material was evaluated by measuring the flexural and compressive strengths of specimens cured for 7, 28, and 56 days. Eco-efficiency metrics derived directly from mechanical data provided strong environmental engineering insight. When assessed per unit of compressive function, cement intensity increased with mask dosage, indicating reduced binder efficiency despite batch-level cement savings. Furthermore, waste diversion per unit strength increased with mask content, but progressively larger compressive penalties accompanied this benefit. Within this trade-off, low to intermediate mask dosages offered the most validified balance between waste diversion and mechanical performance. Full article

Background/Objectives: The increasing use of digital manufacturing techniques in prosthodontics has raised concerns regarding the long-term esthetic performance of provisional restorations. This in vitro study aimed to compare the color stability of provisional restorations fabricated by additive (3D-printed) and subtractive (milled) manufacturing techniques after immersion in common staining beverages. Methods: Eighty polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)-based specimens (16 × 1 mm) were fabricated and divided into two groups: additive (n = 40) and subtractive (n = 40). Each group was immersed in coffee, red wine, green tea, or cola for 60 and 120 h at 37 °C. Color measurements were recorded using a spectrophotometer in the CIE LCh* system, and color differences (ΔE₀₀) were calculated using the CIEDE2000 formula. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey post hoc tests (α = 0.05). Results: Additively manufactured specimens showed significantly higher color change (ΔE₀₀) values than subtractively milled specimens across all immersion media and time intervals (p < 0.05). Red wine and coffee caused the greatest discoloration, whereas cola produced the least effect. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, additive manufacturing resulted in lower color stability than subtractive fabrication. Subtractive PMMA materials exhibited superior optical behavior, suggesting their suitability for long-term provisionalization in esthetically demanding clinical situations. Full article

Generative artificial intelligence is increasingly embedded in architectural practice and education, yet its role often remains confined to image production or optimization tasks. This study situates generative AI within a broader design ecology. It examines how structured human–AI interaction can support environmentally oriented architectural thinking in design education. The article presents an international design workshop as a research setting in which architecture students engaged with AI through a multi-agent workflow. This workflow combined large language models, diffusion-based image generation, 2D–3D translation tools, parametric modeling, and clay-based 3D printing. Central to the methodology is the concept of prompt choreographies. These are deliberate dialogs between human and AI agents, based on a language of prompts and AI-generated outcomes. Through this process, the design concept moves toward a final architectural proposal. The workshop addressed complex ecological challenges emerging from interactions among Earth’s spheres. These were conceived as environmental interfaces defined by behavioral continuity rather than typological form. Using qualitative, design-based evaluation criteria focused on environmental, spatial, and material aspects, the study identifies recurring patterns of human–AI collaboration. The findings indicate that generative AI supports architectural ideation most effectively when embedded in structured workflows that emphasize curatorial decision-making and reduce generative overproduction. While limited to a workshop-based educational context, the research offers transferable methodological insights for architectural pedagogy and conceptual practice. It proposes a process-oriented framework for designing with generative AI and outlines an emerging form of architectural literacy and multi-agent collaboration that warrants further empirical validation. Full article

This practice-led research examines how virtual production represents a circular return to scenographic practice, reactivating integrated modes of spatial authorship that have long underpinned screen storytelling but were obscured by industrial fragmentation. Drawing on a single-day intensive workshop at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS), the study analyses how spatial authorship emerged through embodied, collaborative engagement with an LED volume environment. Grounded in scenographic theory and concepts of distributed cognition and situated authorship, the article reframes virtual production as a condition that renders pre-digital, collaborative modes of making visible within contemporary screen production. The LED volume functions simultaneously as scenic environment, lighting instrument, and compositional partner, requiring participants to negotiate space, light, movement, and camera as a unified spatial event. Analysis identifies how scenographic understanding emerged through virtual scouting, world-responsive storytelling, physical-digital integration, and embodied realisation. The findings extend production design theory by challenging ocular-centric models of mise-en-scène and positioning scenographic integration as screen practice—an epistemic mode of enacting through collective, materially grounded spatial experimentation. While situated within an educational context, the study points to broader implications for how spatial authorship and collective practice are understood in contemporary screen production. Full article

High-precision 3D reconstruction of non-cooperative space targets is a critical technology for on-orbit servicing (OOS) and situational awareness, driven by the growing number of OOS missions. However, traditional visual algorithms struggle to acquire accurate geometric information due to the unique high-dynamic-range lighting and strong specular reflections characteristic of the space environment. This paper proposes Space-Gaussian, a compact 3D Gaussian reconstruction method tailored for complex lighting environments. Built upon the 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) framework, the method incorporates a physically based rendering pipeline and a microfacet bidirectional reflectance distribution function model. By decoupling geometric structure from material properties and utilizing deferred rendering, it effectively suppresses geometric artifacts and specular highlights arising from non-Lambertian surface reflections. Comparative experiments on a high-fidelity simulation dataset demonstrate that Space-Gaussian outperforms mainstream methods—including Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF), Instant-NGP, GaussianShader, and 3DGS—in geometric reconstruction accuracy, novel view synthesis quality, and real-time rendering. On our self-created dataset, our approach achieves a significant performance boost over existing 3DGS methods. The results highlight its potential for high-fidelity, real-time 3D perception on resource-constrained spacecraft platforms. Full article

The stability, elasticity, and thermoelectric property of ABX₃ (A = K, Ag, Cu; B = Si_xGe_ySn_zPb_{(1−x−y−z)}; X = Br, I) metal halide perovskites (MHPs) with B-type medium entropy sub-lattices (MESLs) are investigated by first principles calculations. The results show that the order of dissociation formation enthalpy ${\Delta H}_{\mathrm{f}}$ for conventional unit cell APbX₃ with changing atomic type in the A site is K < Ag < Cu, and for each case Br < I. The ${\Delta H}_{\mathrm{f}}$ values of (KBBr₃, KBI₃, AgBBr₃) and (CuBBr₃, CuBI₃, AgBI₃) with MESL in the B site slightly increase and decrease, respectively, with the exception of certain situations. By using Slack’s model, the lattice thermal conductivity (LTC) ${\kappa }_l$ at finite temperatures is obtained. It is found that the LTC ${\kappa }_l$ for all MHPs shows an extremely low value at room temperature, not exceeding 1.5 Wm⁻¹K⁻¹. Interestingly, it is also found that the B-type MESLs significantly increase the ZT_max values of KPbX₃, whereas they decrease the ZT_max values of CuPbX₃ and AgPbX₃, except for in some cases. All calculated parameters show obvious variation laws with the increase in atomic number of the high-content B-type atom in the ABX₃, and CuBX₃ and AgBX₃ materials exhibit an extremely low ZT value (ZT ≈ 0) due to their high σ accompanied by high ${\kappa }_e$ and low S. We believe that KSi_0.375Ge_0.25Sn_0.25Pb_0.125Br₃ with a ZT value of 3.012 can serve as an excellent thermoelectric material at room temperature. These findings make contributions to the design of high-quality thermoelectric MHP materials. Full article