Search Results (701)

In clinical veterinary medicine, the Body Condition Score (BCS) serves as a validated, semi-quantitative estimation of subcutaneous adipose reserves, yet it cannot by itself detect systemic nutrient deficiencies or excesses that do not necessarily imply energy storage. Human clinical dietetics addressed an analogous diagnostic gap through the Nutrition-Focused Physical Examination (NFPE), but veterinary medicine still lacks a unified, multi-species physical examination sequence for nutritional screening. This narrative review synthesizes the comparative and clinical nutrition literature into a proposed, operational interspecies framework for nutritional assessment, designed to complement the BCS and the Muscle Condition Score (MCS) within the existing WSAVA and AAHA nutritional assessment guidelines. The approach sequences a detailed feeding and behavioural anamnesis with a systematic, tissue-by-tissue physical examination of the integument, mucous membranes, skeleton, muscle and joints, and endocrine-metabolic status, supported by metabolic and haematological profiling. Seven synoptic diagnostic tables link observable clinical signs to specific micro- and macronutrient imbalances, the underlying nutritional mechanisms, and the species-specific dependence on key nutrients. Key interspecific determinants are integrated to support differential diagnosis and to caution against uncritical cross-species extrapolation. Each clinical entry is explicitly classified as a primary nutrient deficiency or excess, a nutrition-responsive or nutrition-related metabolic disease, a disease causing secondary malnutrition, or a management or behavioural determinant of intake, and each table states the principal non-nutritional differentials and the confirmatory test required, so that the tables function as screening prompts. The resulting semiotic methodology is intended to extend nutritional assessment beyond fatness (assessed on extension of explorable sub-cutaneous adipose tissue) towards whole-body nourishment. It is presented as a proposed framework and not as a validated instrument, and it requires prospective validation before any routine clinical adoption across animal species. The supporting evidence is substantially stronger for dogs, cats, horses, and ruminants than for avian, reptile, and small exotic mammal species, for which the present extension is a proof of concept requiring dedicated species-specific validation. Full article

Background: Health professional training is inherently challenging, with elevated rates of burnout, stress, and diminished well-being. Dedicating curricular time to well-being education may build awareness and skills to help students navigate these demands. Methods: A 10-week well-being elective was designed and implemented for health professional students. Participants in the intervention group were predominantly pharmacy students. This pilot feasibility study used a pre- and post-intervention survey design with a comparison group. Course evaluation, self-reported confidence, knowledge, skills, and attitudes about well-being practices, and measures of empathy, compassion, stress, social support, and burnout were assessed [n = 29 intervention, n = 24 comparison]. Results: Students in the elective reported high satisfaction in the course and significantly greater improvements than those in the comparison group in confidence applying wellness strategies in their personal and academic lives, identifying mental health and wellness resources, preparing nourishing meals, showing up authentically, using mindfulness, practicing self-compassion, as well as in frequency of reflecting on wellness, practicing mindfulness and self-compassion, and applying wellness strategies (all p < 0.05). Prioritization of wellness and feelings of social connection also improved significantly more than in the comparison group. At 6-week delayed follow-up, participants reported significantly greater increases in confidence in preparing nourishing meals, showing up authentically, applying mindfulness, as well as in frequency of mindfulness practice, reflection on wellness, and greater gains in social connection (all p < 0.05). No significant between-group differences were observed on the validated measures of empathy, burnout, or self-compassion. Conclusions: A novel well-being elective designed for health professional students significantly improved select well-being-promoting behaviors and emotional connectedness among participating students. Scalable curricula may bolster student well-being and foster community in demanding academic environments. Full article

The core predicament of energy transition lies not in the availability of clean technologies, but in whether an economy possesses the institutional capacity and social foundation to systematically regulate its carbon-energy metabolic processes. Drawing upon co-evolutionary theory from evolutionary economics, this paper constructs a composite indicator of Low-Carbon Green Energy Eco-Co-evolution (LCEE) encompassing three functional dimensions: efficiency advancement, kinetic energy replacement, and boundary adherence. Concurrently, by integrating innovation ecosystem theory with inclusive development theory, we propose the concept of “Inclusive Potential of Regional Innovation Ecosystems” (IEP), characterizing the systemic potential for transforming innovation outcomes into social welfare across four dimensions: Knowledge Matrix Abundance (KMF), Cultural Capillary Permeation (CCP), Technological Community Succession (TCS), and Social Root Nourishment (SRN). Taking China’s 2016 intellectual property (IP) powerhouse construction pilot as the institutional prototype of Industrial Intellectual Property Upgrading Reform (IPR), we incorporate IPR, IEP, and LCEE into a unified causal analytical framework, proposing a testable transmission logic of ‘institutional supply → ecological development → co-evolutionary synergy. Using panel data from 30 Chinese provincial-level administrative regions over 2010–2022, we employ a Spatial Durbin Difference-in-Differences (SDM-DID) model to identify the direct and spatial spillover effects of IPR on LCEE, and embed a Double Machine Learning (DML) framework to test the mediating mechanism of IEP while controlling for high-dimensional nonlinear interference. The findings reveal that IPR exerts a significant and robust direct promoting effect on LCEE, generating positive spatial spillovers to neighboring regions through the public disclosure of patent information. IEP significantly promotes local LCEE, yet its spatial spillover lacks statistical support due to structural conflicts in inter-dimensional transmission attributes. IEP plays a significant partial mediating role between IPR and LCEE, with the indirect effect accounting for over one-third of the total effect, a finding robust to alternative machine learning algorithms, sample split adjustments, and exclusion of contemporaneous competing policies. Sub-path tests reveal that KMF bears the strongest mediating efficacy, serving as the primary transmission channel, while CCP exhibits full mediation—the institutional effect on LCEE in the cultural dimension depends almost entirely on the mediating transformation through the public cultural service system. Heterogeneity analysis further demonstrates full mediation in the Low-Carbon Green Energy Eco-Kinetic Replacement (KER) dimension, indicating that the institutional catalytic effect on clean energy substitution must be realized through IEP transformation. This paper provides empirical evidence for the proposed causal pathway through which institutional public goods indirectly enhance the synergistic quality of carbon-energy transition via the inclusive potential of innovation ecosystems, providing theoretical foundations and policy implications that, while grounded in China’s institutional context, may offer valuable reference points for emerging market economies facing similar dual pressures of technological constraints and green transition. Full article

This study aimed to evaluate and quantify the environmental impacts generated by anthropogenic actions on coastal dunes globally using bibliometric data, while concurrently identifying human impacts in a local context on the Brazilian semi-arid coast. A systematic review identified 897 relevant publications from a final sample of 1838 works, revealing an increasing trend in global research, peaking in 2018. Geographically, the United States (141), Italy (95), and Spain (79) lead the field, with Brazil contributing 46 publications. The global overview highlights urbanization (217 studies) and tourism (193 studies) as the most frequent impact factors, contrasting with common mitigation measures like dune stabilization with vegetation (112 studies) and beach nourishment (74 studies). Critically, 11 studies reported that management actions, particularly stabilization without considering native flora, led to problems with invasive plants. A significant research gap was identified due to the absence of literature on wind farms, typically located in transgressive dune systems. The local case study in Ceará state confirms dynamics consistent with global trends, where intense exploitation results in management failures; quantitative temporal analysis (2015–2023) demonstrated a dramatic 86.76% loss of dune area in Fortim and a 4.24 km² loss in Jijoca de Jericoacoara. Findings suggest that, in the Ceará case study, restricting access, promoting community participation, and relocating infrastructure to more appropriate areas may help mitigate human impacts. In addition to identifying potential research gaps, this integration of global and local analysis approaches can contribute to evidence-based coastal dune management adapted to local conditions. Full article

Contemporary pastoral theology has increasingly absorbed the categories and methods of counseling psychology, yet this turn often leaves unexplained the theological ontology of the pastoral caregiver. This article develops a constructive interdisciplinary dialogue between Pauline theology, counseling psychology, and the pastoral theology of Witness Lee (1905–1997), proposing an ontological-participatory account of Christian shepherding. After surveying the therapeutic turn and major psychology–Christianity integration models, the study examines Lee’s reading of Paul’s pastoral pattern—nursing mother, exhorting father, and slave of Christ—and his interpretation of “shepherding according to God” (κατὰ Θεόν) in 1 Peter 5:2 as participation in the life, nature, and shepherding activity of the Triune God. Building on Lee’s doctrine of practical deification—believers becoming “God in life, nature, expression, and function, but not in the Godhead”—this article argues that pastoral care is mediated through persons constituted with Christ who minister divine life through cherishing, nourishing, and mutual shepherding. Placed into dialogue with counseling psychology, this vision yields convergences in empathy, presence, and holistic care, alongside tensions concerning anthropology and the telos of human transformation. The article offers an ontological-participatory framework that situates the descriptive achievements of the human sciences within a richer Pauline vision of participation in the Triune God’s ongoing shepherding ministry. Full article

Background: Dangguibuxue decoction (DD), containing Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (AS) and Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. (AM) (1:5), is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used for strengthening qi and nourishing the blood. DD has shown therapeutic effects in nephropathy patients. However, the underlying mechanisms based on the traditional efficacy are still not fully elucidated. Methods: The chemical constituents in DD were identified using UPLC-MS/MS. Network pharmacology analysis was applied to predict the potential target genes and associated signaling pathways. A renal fibrosis mouse model was induced by the intraperitoneal injection of aristolochic acid I (AA I) at 3.0 mg/kg. Mice were treated with AM, AS, and DD at two dosages by oral gavage for 30 days. Body weights, serum biochemistry, hematology, and histopathology observations were assessed. The key targets predicted were validated using qRT-PCR and Western blotting. The active constituents were screened by molecular docking, and their anti-fibrotic effects were evaluated through in vitro assays. Results: DD effectively improved renal functions and alleviated AA I-induced renal fibrosis. DD alleviated anemia and upregulated the expression of Erythropoietin (EPO). Network pharmacology analysis indicated the involvement of signaling pathways, including the PI3K/Akt, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathways. Experimental validation further demonstrated that DD reduced the protein expression of HIF-1α, collagen I, and TGF-β, and the ratios of phosphorylated Smad2/3 to total Smad2/3. Molecular docking and in vitro assays suggested that rutin may be a potential bioactive compound in DD. Conclusions: This research indicated that DD ameliorated AA I-induced renal fibrosis in mice, which may be associated with the modulation of HIF-1α and TGF-β/Smad signaling pathways. Rutin may be a potential bioactive compound in DD with anti-fibrotic activity, but further studies are still needed to clarify the content of rutin in DD, the amount of its exposure in the body, and its contribution to the effects of DD. Full article

Edible bird’s nest (EBN) is considered to moisten the lung and nourish yin in China. EBN from different geographical sources vary in morphology, material composition and commercial value. In this study, EBN samples with four different colors were collected, and their protein compositions were analyzed by proteomics technology. Combined with characterization analysis, the physicochemical properties and material composition were analyzed, including physical morphology, protein composition, and metal element composition. Proteomic analysis initially identified 73 differential peptide sequences, of which 59 showed significant abundance differences (p < 0.05). After removing redundant peptide assignments, these sequences corresponded to 51 non-redundant proteins exhibiting significant abundance changes among the four EBN color groups. Among them, the beige edible bird’s nest (BEBN) contained a large number of amino acids with iron-chelating ability, which was consistent with its high Fe content. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that the functions of the differential proteins in EBN were mainly related to glycoprotein hydrolysis. In conclusion, this study elucidated different expressed proteins and their potential functions in EBN with various colors, which provided a basis for production standardization and processing advances in EBN industry. Full article

Diabetes ranks first among non-communicable chronic diseases worldwide, with its incidence rising year on year; this makes the search for safer and more effective drugs an effective strategy. Ophiopogon japonicus (OJ) is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb used to nourish yin, and Ophiopogon japonicus polysaccharides (OJPS) are one of its primary active components. Currently, research into the hypoglycaemic effects of OJPS, particularly in vivo studies of its mechanisms of action, remains limited. This paper provides a systematic review of the structural characteristics of Ophiopogon japonicus polysaccharides and their hypoglycaemic mechanisms in a zebrafish hyperglycaemia model. Structural studies indicate that OJPS (3.929 kDa) is a highly homogeneous, highly soluble, and compact polysaccharide, primarily composed of glucose (91.85%) and galacturonic acid (3.41%). Following treatment with OJPS, hyperglycaemic zebrafish exhibited improvements in both glucose and lipid metabolism parameters. Concurrently, OJPS suppressed oxidative stress in the zebrafish, reducing hepatic lipid accumulation and inflammatory cell infiltration. Furthermore, OJPS significantly increased the expression of GLP-1, cAMP, PKA and phosphorylated CREB (P-CREB) proteins, thereby promoting insulin secretion. In summary, this study demonstrates the dual potential of OJPS in the functional food and pharmaceutical industries. Full article

Beach nourishment has become one of the principal soft-engineering strategies for mitigating coastal erosion while preserving the recreational, environmental and protective functions of sandy beaches. During the last four decades, Spain has accumulated extensive experience in beach nourishment, with annual nourishment volumes approaching 10 million m³ under a wide range of coastal settings. Many of the best-documented engineering examples originate from the Gulf of Cadiz, although the lessons synthesized here are interpreted within the broader context of Spanish coastal practice. This structured narrative review combines publications retrieved from Web of Science and Google Scholar with Spanish technical reports, project records, and institutional sources. It focuses on borrow-area characterization, sediment compatibility, construction quality control, post-nourishment monitoring, and adaptive management. Rather than providing a chronological description of nourishment projects, this review examines how repeated project implementation, monitoring and maintenance have progressively reduced uncertainty and improved engineering practice. Long-term nourishment performance is controlled more by sediment compatibility, local morphodynamics, and construction quality than by the total sediment volume placed. It also demonstrates that systematic monitoring provides the feedback required to improve future project design, optimize maintenance strategies and support evidence-based coastal management. The principal contribution of four decades of Spanish beach nourishment has been the progressive development of an engineering framework in which quality control, long-term monitoring and accumulated field experience continuously refine project planning and management. Although derived from Spanish practice, the lessons synthesized are broadly applicable to nourishment programs facing increasing pressures from climate change, sediment scarcity and growing environmental constraints. Full article

Associated with Nietzsche’s nihilism, the concept of ressentiment—the resentment felt by the slave toward the master—is defined by Max Scheler, following Nietzsche’s line of thought, as the self-poisoning of the mind. This emotion frequently appears in cinema and the performing arts, which are nourished by conflict. Theatre does not merely reflect the calm moments of life; it also incorporates its complexity, tensions, and distortions. This study examines Jean Genet’s The Maids through the concept of ressentiment. Situated at the intersection of underground literature and absurd theatre, The Maids offers a particularly suitable context for examining the dynamics of ressentiment. Ressentiment emerges as one of the principal forces shaping the characters’ actions and relationships. Their resentment is directed toward the woman for whom they work and functions as a central force that generates dramatic conflict. While the characters attempt to transform their resentment into violence, they simultaneously enact what Scheler describes as the self-poisoning of the mind. Dramatic and post-dramatic theatre, sustained by conflict, operates in close relation with negative emotions. Accordingly, this article examines ressentiment as the central affect structuring conflict in The Maids, drawing on Nietzsche’s and Scheler’s accounts of ressentiment. Full article

Kazakhstan’s Ili River delta nourishes a unique wetland ecosystem in arid Central Asia. The delta is dominated by common reed [Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud.], an ecologically and economically significant species that is sensitive to water levels. We used machine learning methods, including the Random Forest algorithm, to classify common reed-containing wetland vegetation and water surfaces in the delta based on satellite data from 2000 to 2023. The remote sensing results were integrated with field-based geobotanical studies conducted between 2017 and 2019. These studies, which facilitated identification of three classes of vegetation: meadow, marsh and aquatic, also revealed a good correspondence between predicted and measured common reed biomass per unit area. The long-term dynamics of four wetland communities with a common reed content of ≥25% were analyzed with respect to significant interannual variability in the flow of the Ili River. The highest water inflows and water surface areas in the delta were recorded in 2002, 2010 and 2016, and in each case, a statistically significant expansion of common reed was observed one year later. Common reed areas subsequently declined—rapidly or after a lag of several years. Temporal expansion and contraction of these areas following pulses of water differed substantially from that of overall wetland vegetation as measured previously. The identified patterns have important scientific and practical significance for assessing the stability of the surrounding wetlands, preservation of the delta environment, and sustainable use of common reed. Full article

Intertidal flats are highly dynamic coastal environments that provide vital ecosystem services. Despite their importance, intertidal flats are declining worldwide. In response, a range of restoration and management measures are increasingly being applied to enhance sediment accumulation and stabilize the bed surface. However, the effectiveness of these interventions ultimately depends on how sediment properties and bed stability develop over time. Quantitative understanding of these properties in natural and restored intertidal areas remains limited because field measurements are scarce, spatial heterogeneity is high, and hydrodynamic forcing is highly variable. Here, we quantify differences in key sediment properties between natural and restored intertidal flats to identify bed stability. We sampled sediments and measured key in situ bed characteristics at 16 intertidal sites in the Dutch Eastern and Western Scheldts, spanning multiple restoration strategies (i.e., managed realignments, groynes, and sediment nourishments) and natural locations. Our results show that restoration sites differ in sediment characteristics, with bulk density as the most consistent predictor of critical shear stress, an indicator of bed stability. These findings provide new insights into erosion thresholds in intertidal environments and can help inform adaptive coastal management of restoration measures under accelerating intertidal loss. Full article

Erosion and habitat loss on intertidal flats are increasingly fought through large-scale sediment nourishment. Yet the impact of nourishment on short-term bed-level dynamics remains poorly quantified. Daily erosion–accretion events shape the immediate physical environment experienced by benthic infauna: repeated burial and re-exposure set the physical bounds of the ecological niche, making bed-level dynamics a key indicator of habitat suitability that annual bathymetric surveys fail to capture. We evaluate the impact of a large-scale (1.13 million m³) nourishment at Roggenplaat in the Eastern Scheldt, Netherlands (2019) on bed-level dynamics, comparing daily bed-level changes between nourished and adjacent non-nourished areas with millimetre precision over five years. We assess three dimensions: persistence (temporal memory of the bed-level state), volatility (the frequency and magnitude of daily change), and sensitivity (the coupling between forcing and bed-level response). Two key insights emerge. First, nourished areas showed larger daily fluctuations, but event-driven bed-level changes were indistinguishable between treatments. Second, nourishment shifted the forcing balance: storm events dominate erosion in non-nourished areas, whereas in nourished areas, spring tides alone drive both accretion and erosion. Ecologically, the elevated daily disturbance is expected to act as a community-assembly filter, selecting for mobile infauna rather than excluding colonisation. These findings suggest that, although nourishment elevates day-to-day bed-level activity, its episodic disturbance regime remains compatible with the native bed-level regime, with implications for benthic habitat assessment at future restoration sites. Full article

Sicily is a Mediterranean island region whose economy is based especially on tourism, with tourists being attracted to its beaches. The whole coastline of the island, including its minor islands, is 1745 km. At the moment, considering the whole period analyzed by the Coastal Plan of Sicilian Region (2008–2024), about 115 km of the 683 km of the main island’s sandy coastline present erosion problems that affect 23% of its unprotected coastline (506 km). Some of these problems are threatening Sicily’s economic and important historical assets as well as its cultural heritage; 177 km of protected beaches, using hard structure, have lost their original beauty. In the last fifty years, about 2.5 km² of beaches were lost due to erosion, causing damages worth approximately 5 billion Euros. Current coastal management guidelines identify artificial beach nourishment as the most sustainable strategy for protecting the insular economy against the accelerating impacts of climate change. Successful nourishment, however, hinges on the availability of vast quantities of borrow material that must be granulometrically, compositionally, and chromatically compatible with native beach sediments. While subaerial quarries are being phased out due to their irreversible environmental degradation and logistical inefficiency, as well as local “ephemeral” sources (such as harbor dredging or over-alluvial deposits) providing insufficient volumes, the research has shifted toward Remote/Relict Marine Sediment Deposits (RMSDs). This study evaluates the strategic potential of RMSDs as a high-volume, low-impact resource for coastal defense. By integrating the geological, morphological, and sedimentological characteristics of the Sicilian continental shelf within a GIS framework, we have delineated potential dredging sectors. These areas are bounded by the −30 m isobath (the lower limit of Posidonia oceanica meadows) and the −200 m isobath, which represents the current operational limit of Jumbo Trailer Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHDs). A multi-criteria constraint analysis was performed, categorizing environmental and infrastructural overlaps into fatal flaws (prohibitive) and non-prohibitive constraints. This subtractive spatial analysis reveals that approximately 6500 km² of the Sicilian shelf may be eligible for resource exploitation concessions, pending site-specific, high-resolution surveys. Full article

Background: Meat-based and meat analogue products are commonly consumed foods for protein nourishment across the globe. These food products are promising carrier media that can be targeted for the delivery of edible insect products as a strategy to overcome food neophobia. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effect of edible insect enrichment on the nutritional, physicochemical, techno-functional, and acceptability of meat-based and meat analogue products for consumers. Methods: A systematic search for relevant articles was conducted on the databases PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus on 5 November 2025. A total of 25 papers were included. Results: Edible insects and larvae from mealworms, crickets, grasshoppers, silkworm pupae, and superworms were commonly used to enrich meat-based and meat analogue products. Commonly reported meat products were sausages from pork and beef, pork patties, meat emulsion, and frankfurters. Soya flour was commonly used for meat analogue formulation. Conclusions: Acceptable edible insect incorporation is matrix-dependent, with conventional meat products generally tolerating low substitution levels (≈2.5–10%) before sensory and structural quality declines, whereas meat analogue systems can accommodate substantially higher inclusion (≈10–40% and, in some cases, up to ~60%). However, heterogeneity in formulations and sensory evaluation methods restricts direct comparison across studies. Full article