Search Results (47,897)

In the present study, a series of isoxazole derivatives were severally evaluated for their antifungal activity against the yeast Candida albicans and molds such as Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, and Fusarium oxysporum. The results demonstrate that the isoxazole derivatives exhibit considerable antifungal potential, particularly isoxazole-sulfonate ester 4b (Ar= 4-(Cl)C₆H₄, Ar′= 4-(CH₃)C₆H₄), which was found to be active with significant inhibition zones; the diameters of the C. albicans and F. oxysporum samples were measured at 17.00 ± 0.00 mm and 14.00 ± 0.00 mm, respectively. Furthermore, compounds 4a (Ar= 4-(CH₃)C₆H₄, Ar′= 4-(CH₃)C₆H₄), 4c (Ar: 4-(Cl)C₆H₄, Ar′: 4-(NO₂)C₆H₄) and 4d (Ar: 4-(Cl)C₆H₄, Ar′: 3-(Cl)-2-(OCH₃)C₆H₃) demonstrated MIC and MFC values of 20 µg/mL against C. albicans. In addition, the anti-hemolytic activity of these derivatives was evaluated. Compounds 4a, 4e (Ar: 4-(Cl)C₆H₄, Ar′: 3,4-(OCH₃)₂C₆H₃) and aroylisoxazole 3a (Ar: 4-(CH₃)C₆H₄) demonstrated a high degree of anti-hemolytic activity (>99%) at all concentrations evaluated (10, 15, and 20 mg/mL). Molecular docking and molecular dynamics studies over 200 ns revealed protein–ligand complexes to have high affinity and stability, which agrees with the experimental results. The compounds 4d, 4e, and 3a have shown significant interaction with the target proteins of C. albicans, A. flavus, and F. oxysporum, respectively. The results have revealed that the major interaction sites are hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, and the presence of a water molecule, especially with key residues like TYR_84, ASP_120, SER_90, and THR_89. The crystal structure of compound 4a was also obtained. Full article

An experimental investigation of the Cu-As-Sb ternary system in the Cu-rich region led to the identification of a new intermetallic phase, Cu₅(As,Sb)₂. The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic Mg₅Ga₂-type structure (oI28, Ibam), analogous to the binary parent phase Cu₅As₂, with lattice parameters a = 5.968–5.977(1) Å, b = 11.550–11.565(3) Å, c = 5.530–5.573(3) Å. Similar to the parent Cu₅As₂ phase, the ternary compound forms with slight Cu under stoichiometry and exhibits a limited compositional range, with no continuous solid solubility between the binary and ternary phases. The phase formation, compositional stability, and decomposition behavior were systematically studied using a combination of powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD, including Rietveld refinement), metallographic analysis with optical and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (LOM, SEM-EDXS), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and thermal analysis (DTA, DSC). The results reveal that Cu₅(As,Sb)₂ is a high-temperature phase forming peritectically at 650–635 °C and stable only within a limited temperature interval. No continuous solid solubility exists between the ternary compound and the parent binary phase Cu₅As₂. Its formation occurs in strong competition with that of two other close neighboring solid-solution compounds, [Cu_3−x(As_1−ySb_y) (Cu₃P-type; hP24, P6₃cm) and Cu_3−x(As,Sb) (Cu₉TeSb₂-type; cP32, Pm−3n)], reflecting a complex interplay between composition, solubility ranges and thermal history. No evidence for the existence of high-temperature (HT) and low-temperature (LT) polymorphic phases was found for either the binary compound Cu₅As₂ or the ternary compound Cu₅(As,Sb)₂. Electrical resistivity measurements on a quenched sample indicate metallic behavior. These findings provide new insight into phase stability and structure–property relationships in Cu-As-Sb alloys and contribute to the understanding of competing intermetallic phases in this system. Full article

The Teachers’ Beliefs and Intentions Questionnaire (TBIQ) assesses educators’ beliefs and intentions regarding the importance of sensitive interactions with young children. Understanding these beliefs is particularly relevant in contemporary educational contexts where teacher–child interactions are viewed as central to children’s learning and development. Despite its use in several countries, there is no validated Spanish version available. This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and psychometrically validate a Spanish version of the TBIQ for early childhood education settings in Chile. Following international guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation, the questionnaire was translated into Spanish and administered to early childhood teachers and assistant teachers working in public early childhood education centers. The original two-factor structure (Beliefs and Intentions) was tested using confirmatory factor analyses with robust estimators for ordinal data. Results supported the two-factor model after removing six items with low factor loadings and indicated excellent model fit. Both scales demonstrated high internal consistency. However, measurement invariance across educator roles could not be established, and cross-group comparisons should be interpreted with caution. Despite this limitation, the Spanish version of the TBIQ demonstrates adequate validity and reliability and offers a brief and accessible instrument for research and for the assessment of educators’ beliefs and intentions regarding interaction quality in early childhood education. Full article

The MnP family of binary compounds presents an intriguingly simple platform to mix-and-match elemental components. Replacement on the transition metal or pnictogen site can alter magnetism, electronic correlations, and electrical properties. Here we report low-temperature properties of CoP, including measurements at magnetic fields exceeding 30 T, revealing de Haas–van Alphen oscillations and a nearly two orders of magnitude increase in resistance. When viewed together with prior work, it is possible to put together a global picture of the role of different atoms in variations in magnetic ordering, lattice coherence, and topological band structure features in this material family. Full article

Smartphone-based portable slit lamp microscopes are increasingly used as low-cost tools for anterior segment imaging in teleophthalmology, yet the literature combines heterogeneous study designs, comparator standards, and deployment contexts. Because the evidence base spans engineering reports, basic science, clinical validation studies, implementation research, and case-based telemedicine, we structured a narrative review rather than a pooled meta-analysis. We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, and DOAJ for literature available on or before 28 February 2026, supplemented by manual reference list screening and targeted retrieval of relevant technical standards. Peer-reviewed English original studies formed the core evidence base; contextual non-English and gray literature sources were retained only when explicitly labeled as non-core. To improve interpretability, the results were grouped by synthesis domain, clinical task, comparator standard, telemedicine scenario, and artificial intelligence (AI) dataset/validation characteristics. The highest-confidence evidence concerned nuclear cataract grading, tear film breakup time and corneal staining assessment, anterior chamber depth screening, tear meniscus height measurement, allergic conjunctival grading, and selected corneal disorders. Agreement with conventional slit lamp examination or anterior segment optical coherence tomography was generally moderate to high within task-specific comparisons, and telemedicine deployment was feasible for screening, follow-up, remote consultation, emergency triage, house visits, and outreach. However, illumination reporting remains inconsistent, explicit ISO-aligned dosimetry is sparse, and most AI studies remain retrospective, single-center, and device family-specific. Current evidence, therefore, supports smartphone-based portable slit lamp microscopes primarily as adjunctive teleophthalmology tools rather than replacements for comprehensive in-clinic microscopy. The synthesis clarifies where conclusions are supported by comparative validation data, where they remain exploratory, and which methodological gaps should be prioritized in future multicenter studies. Full article

The static magnetic field from large seafloor exploration platforms severely interferes with weak geological signals. Accurately predicting and compensating for this interference is critical for deep-sea surveys. However, traditional inversion methods using limited spatial measurements have severely ill-posed coefficient matrices, amplifying near-field noise and causing massive divergence during far-field extrapolation. To address this, we propose a reliable and data-efficient magnetic field prediction method utilizing prior-constrained boundary integrals. First, a virtual plane is constructed between the platform and the measurement plane. A differential recursive algorithm extracts the local magnetic field on this plane from limited measurements to serve as physical prior information. Incorporating this knowledge to structurally constrain the boundary integral inversion fundamentally mitigates the ill-posed problem. Simulations and scaled physical experiments demonstrate that this method prevents near-field noise overfitting, achieving enhanced far-field reliability. By maximizing the utility of limited spatial data, the maximum relative error on the far-field prediction plane is reduced from 10.5% to 8.3% in simulations, and from 13.2% to 9.8% in physical experiments. This provides a highly reliable approach for marine magnetic interference compensation. Full article

The skin serves as a primary defensive barrier to protect the body from environmental contaminants, infections and trauma. Unfortunately, skin barrier’s structural and functional integrity can be compromised, disrupted or impaired due to a combination of internal and external factors, making it vulnerable and often leading to a wide range of skin conditions characterized by dryness, heightened sensitivity, and increased susceptibility to damage and infections. In addition, the integrity of the skin barrier tends to deteriorate progressively with age. As people age, their skin naturally changes and can also be compromised by a plethora of factors that reduce its strength and resilience. The aging skin becomes thinner and more sensitive, coinciding with a variety of structural–functional alterations, decreased levels of natural moisturizing factor (NMF), lipid content and hydration, increased transepidermal water loss (TEWL), altered skin surface pH (pHss) and microbiome diversity. All these age-related skin integrity alterations make the skin drier, flakier, itchy, and fragile, and more susceptible to damage and breakdown, thus diminishing its ability to effectively protect, repair and heal efficiently. Identifying skin integrity issues before they progress will foster positive outcomes through effective preventive measures. Hence, it is important to understand the impact of skincare formulations on skin integrity in compromised aging skin. A well-considered, evidence-based approach to skincare can provide cleansing, moisturizing and protective benefits, while aiding the reduction in skin integrity issues like dry and itchy skin, sensitive skin, bruising, skin tears, pressure injuries (PIs), lower leg ulcers and moisture-associated skin damage (MASD). Managing skin integrity in compromised aging skin begins with gentle skin cleansing, adequate moisturization and protective barrier care to ensure the skin’s function is maximized. Full article

Fine-grained dredged clay is difficult to reuse without treatment due to its high water content and weak soil structure. From a sustainability perspective, this limitation poses challenges for the beneficial reuse of dredged materials and often leads to disposal and increased demand for natural resources. In this study, the 28-day mechanical behavior of stabilized dredged clay, treated with cement or lime and modified with coir fiber, polypropylene (PP) fiber, and styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) latex, was systematically investigated through experimental measurements, with an emphasis on resource-efficient and sustainable ground improvement. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) results showed that the UCS of dredged clay stabilized with 4% cement was 374 kPa, and this value increased linearly with increasing cement content, reaching 2487 kPa at 16% cement. In contrast, the UCS of dredged clay stabilized with 16% lime was approximately 30% of that achieved with cement at the same dosage, at only 780 kPa, indicating the need to balance mechanical performance with the environmental impact associated with high cement usage and its carbon footprint. In addition, the inclusion of fibers significantly enhanced the UCS of the stabilized soil samples. The experimental results indicate that the UCS of specimens stabilized with 16% cement could be doubled with the addition of fibers, suggesting the potential to achieve target strength with reduced binder content, thereby contributing to a low-carbon and material-efficient design. Among the fibers tested, coir fiber exhibited better performance than PP fiber in improving UCS, highlighting the effectiveness of natural, renewable, and biodegradable materials in sustainable soil stabilization. Furthermore, fiber length also influenced the UCS of the stabilized soil samples. Additionally, the direct shear test results indicated that both fiber content and length played important roles in determining the internal friction angle of the stabilized soil. It was observed that stabilized soil reinforced with 6 mm fibers exhibited a higher internal friction angle compared to that reinforced with 12 mm fibers. These findings provide insights into optimizing material composition for improved mechanical performance while supporting environmentally sustainable and resource-efficient geotechnical practices. Full article

The imaging quality of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) crucially depends on the electrode array configuration. Although the symmetrical optimized ‘Compare R’ (CR) method improves computational efficiency, restricting the search to the symmetrical data set inherently limits the imaging accuracy. To address this limitation, this paper proposes a multi-step optimized CR method that progressively explores both symmetrical and asymmetrical arrays to extend the search space and further enhance imaging accuracy. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the multi-step optimized array yields the highest average relative model resolution (0.646) and structural similarity index measure (0.668), surpassing the symmetrical optimized array (0.615 and 0.630, respectively). Field experiments on pipeline detection confirm that the proposed array accurately identifies the location and geometry of underground anomalies and achieves superior imaging accuracy. Applications in karst cavity exploration further confirm that the proposed array effectively detects the deep karst caves and the bedrock interfaces, as validated by borehole drilling. Additionally, the detection performance of both optimized arrays is evaluated at different depths. The results indicate that the multi-step optimized array preserves anomaly geometry and resistivity more reliably at greater depths, attributed to the accumulation of asymmetrical data points in deep regions, which results in a significantly higher data density. Full article

The study of veterinary anatomy is gradually progressing with the combination of digital imaging and artificial intelligence (AI). This paper aimed to evaluate the potential use of AI tools for morphometric analysis and the anatomical identification of the ovine brain. Five adult specimens were used and approached through traditional dissection and fixation methods followed by digital photography and manual measurement with high-precision Vernier calipers. These results were compared against AI-based approaches, including DeeVid AI for 3D reconstruction, Imageonline for digital measurement, and ChatGPT/Artlist for anatomical nomenclature. The findings indicate that AI tools like DeeVid AI significantly enhance structural visualization, and Imageonline provides high-precision measurements comparable to manual tools (p > 0.05). However, AI-driven anatomical naming remains prone to significant errors, with ChatGPT and Artlist exhibiting error rates of 87.5% and 70.8%, respectively, in specific neuroanatomical labeling. This study concludes that while AI eases the reshaping and measurement of anatomical structures, human expertise remains indispensable for accurate anatomical identification. Full article

This work proposes an extended Mermin inequality based on a hybrid classical model that involves only one classical source, with the remaining sources being post-quantum. In a chain-structured quantum network consisting of hybrid Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) pairs and Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger (GHZ) states, joint measurements are performed at the central node, while local measurements are conducted at the peripheral nodes. This setup shows that the obtained quantum correlations can violate the proposed inequality with fewer measurement settings, thereby verifying network nonlocality. Furthermore, we extend this method to chain networks of arbitrary length n and show that the proposed inequality remains effective in verifying network nonlocality. Full article

The therapeutic alliance is widely recognized as a central mechanism of change in psychotherapy; however, much existing research risks reifying it as a measurable and static construct, obscuring its fluid, co-constructed nature and the ways it is shaped by power, identity, and social context. This study aimed to explore how psychotherapists understand, construct, and enact the therapeutic alliance in their everyday practice, with particular attention to diversity, anxiety, rupture, and the reciprocal impact of the therapeutic relationship on the therapist. Using a qualitative design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 psychotherapists primarily working in private practice, and the data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Six interrelated themes were identified: moving from technique to relational presence; diversity as relational negotiation; anxiety as a co-created relational process; rupture as inevitable and generative; therapist transformation through the therapeutic relationship; and navigating professional role and human authenticity. The findings suggest that effective therapeutic work relies less on rigid adherence to technique and more on reflexivity, emotional attunement, and a willingness to engage with discomfort, difference, and relational rupture. The study highlights the need for psychotherapy training to prioritize relational, ethical, and reflexive capacities alongside technical skills, and contributes a more process-oriented understanding of the therapeutic alliance from therapists’ lived perspectives. Full article

Healthcare waste management is a growing environmental and economic challenge due to increasing waste volumes, hazardous materials, and continued reliance on linear disposal methods such as incineration and landfilling. This review aims to examine how circular economy and zero-waste approaches can be applied to healthcare waste management to improve sustainability, resource efficiency, and system performance. A structured narrative review was conducted using peer-reviewed literature obtained from prominent scientific databases, concentrating on circular strategies, zero-waste initiatives, digital technologies, and policy frameworks relevant to healthcare waste systems. The reviewed studies indicate that practices such as improved waste segregation, recycling and material recovery, reusable product design, digital waste tracking, and Extended Producer Responsibility can significantly reduce waste generation, lower environmental impacts, and achieve cost savings, while maintaining infection control and patient safety. However, the review also identifies key barriers to implementation, including regulatory complexity, limited infrastructure, financial constraints, and weak coordination among stakeholders. The novelty of this review lies in its integrated analysis of circular economy and zero-waste strategies through the lens of digital enablement, offering a systems-based framework for transforming healthcare waste management beyond incremental improvements. The findings highlight that successful circular healthcare waste management requires strong institutional leadership, supportive policies, and the integration of digital technologies to enable monitoring, traceability, and decision-making. This review enhances the comprehension of how circular economy principles can facilitate the transition from linear to sustainable healthcare waste systems and provides guidance for policymakers, healthcare managers, and researchers. Future research should focus on evaluating real-world implementation, advancing recyclable and reusable medical materials, and developing standardised indicators to measure circular performance in healthcare settings. Full article

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) orthophoto generation in complex environments remains challenging because weak textures, reflective surfaces, occlusions, and large scene extents can cause incomplete reconstruction, ghosting, and seam artifacts. Although 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) offers an efficient explicit scene representation, its use in large-scale UAV orthophoto generation is limited by high memory consumption, unstable densification, and insufficient support for mapping-oriented orthographic rendering. This paper proposes a single-GPU 3DGS framework for UAV orthophoto generation by integrating adaptive spatial block partitioning, deterministic structure-sensitive adaptive density control, and core–buffer tiled orthographic rendering with weighted blending. The proposed framework decomposes large scenes into resource-bounded subregions, guides Gaussian densification using fixed multi-view neighborhoods and edge-enhanced dynamic consistency, and generates large-format orthophotos with reduced boundary and seam artifacts. Experiments on MatrixCity-S and multiple UAV photogrammetric datasets show that the method achieves competitive reconstruction quality and improved resource efficiency. On MatrixCity-S, it reaches 29.01 dB PSNR and 0.901 SSIM, while completing training in 1 h 49 min on a single NVIDIA RTX 3090 GPU. Compared with BlockGS, peak VRAM consumption is reduced by more than 38% across datasets. Under geo-aligned comparison conditions, line-measurement comparisons with MetaShape and Pix4DMapper yield RMSE values of 0.099 m and 0.087 m, respectively. These results demonstrate the potential of the proposed framework for memory-efficient 3DGS-based UAV orthophoto generation under constrained hardware resources, while further control-point-based validation is still needed for rigorous surveying-grade applications. Full article

The multilayers of Ta/Pd/[CoFeB (0.3 nm)/Pd]×5/Pd films were fabricated by ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) magnetron sputtering and subsequently annealed at temperatures (T_A) ranging from 100 °C to 400 °C. The magnetic measurements were performed with the applied field oriented parallel and perpendicular to the film plane to evaluate the out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy (PMA). A maximum effective PMA energy density (K_eff) of ≈7.82 × 10⁵ erg/cc and a small out-of-plane saturation magnetisation (M_s⊥) were achieved at the optimal T_A. The evolution of PMA is associated with interfacial atomic migration and oxidation processes, as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Annealing at 300 °C initiates the formation of TaB and TaOB interfacial phases, whereas annealing at 400 °C promotes the enhanced growth of Ta₂O₅ and TaB, along with additional TaOB formation owing to increased oxygen migration. These thermally stable Ta–boride phases lead to pronounced modifications in the magnetic properties. Consequently, oxygen migration and interfacial reactions at elevated temperatures primarily alter the chemical states of the B 1s, Pd 3d, and Ta 4f orbitals, thereby influencing the PMA. The field-dependent electrical resistance (MR) study demonstrates that annealing at 100–400 °C optimises the anisotropic effect in the [CoFeB/Pd]×5-based multilayers. However, higher temperatures can trigger atomic intermixing, which degrades PMA strength and the resistance response. Moreover, the samples were further characterised by their structural, anomalous Hall effect (AHE) and magnetoresonance (MRO) properties. Overall, controlled T_A-driven oxygen diffusion and interfacial oxidation enable effective tuning of the PMA, MR, and MRO properties of ultrathin [CoFeB/Pd]×5 multilayers, highlighting their strong potential for spin–orbit torque (SOT), Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI), and magnetic skyrmion-based spintronic devices. Full article