Search Results (1,183)

This paper proposes a human-centric digital twin (DT) framework balancing energy efficiency with occupant well-being in existing buildings, addressing the lack of actionable insights in data-driven facility management and comfort issues common in fully automated systems. A “Human-in-the-loop” approach using dual-KPIs integrates real-time IoT data and visualization to evaluate sustainable energy use via Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). A novel occupancy-inference method tracks efficiency in legacy buildings without granular metering, implemented through a case study of 26 office rooms. Results indicate that the framework successfully identifies significant energy wastage and comfort anomalies without compromising well-being. Integrating real-time analytics with human oversight enables more resilient management than fully automated alternatives, particularly for detecting non-operational heating waste. The occupancy inference method was validated against ground truth, achieving 81% accuracy, with limitations regarding decay lag discussed. This research offers a cost-effective diagnostic tool for legacy buildings lacking sub-metering, lowering DT adoption barriers, and shifting maintenance from reactive to data-driven strategies. The framework leverages human expertise and infers occupancy-normalized energy metrics from standard IEQ sensors, proposing a human-centric DT framework to bridge the gap between raw sensor data and actionable facility management insights. Full article

Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills are seldom regarded as potential sources of airborne mineral fibres, notwithstanding the possible presence of legacy asbestos-containing materials within mixed waste streams. Prolonged exposure to asbestos fibres is well established as causally associated with severe adverse health outcomes, prompting stringent regulatory measures across the European Union, most recently reinforced by Directive (EU) 2023/2668 amending Directive 2009/148/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to asbestos exposure. This study presents systematic annual monitoring of airborne mineral fibres (MinFib), including asbestos fibres (AsbFib), conducted between 2019 and 2025 at an MSW landfill in the Czech Republic. Personal air sampling targeted heavy equipment operators as the most exposed occupational group and was conducted in accordance with established occupational hygiene principles. Fibre identification and quantification were carried out using Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy-Dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM/EDX) according to accredited laboratory internal standard operating procedures (SOPs). Across all monitoring campaigns, asbestos fibre concentrations remained below the analytical detection limits, including during handling of asbestos-containing materials. However, the analytical sensitivity appears to be within the range relevant to the current EU occupational exposure limit (0.01 fibres/cm³), potentially limiting the ability to identify very low-level exposures. These findings indicate that occupational exposure under routine operational conditions was below analytical detection limits, suggesting a low exposure potential. However, non-detectable results should be interpreted as method-limited rather than as indicating that exposure did not occur. Continued monitoring using more sensitive analytical approaches is therefore warranted. Full article

Occupational sedentary behavior presents a public health risk, yet current interventions often rely on subjective self-reports or context-blind prompts. This study validates a privacy-preserving, edge-computing time-of-flight (ToF) sensor that detects postural states and quantifies therapeutic exercise gestures in real time. The dual-sensor architecture distinguishes between sitting, standing, and absence, while capturing rapid sit-to-stand repetitions suitable for active-break interventions. In this paper, a laboratory study (N = 7) evaluated the system against ground truth comprising activPAL3 accelerometry and video analysis. Across 378 postural events, the sensor achieved high temporal fidelity (mean absolute error < 1.6 s) and 100% sensitivity in counting exercise repetitions. The system differentiated workstation occupancy from physical absence. These findings demonstrate that ToF sensing matches the accuracy of video analysis without privacy concerns while offering the contextual awareness required for just-in-time, adaptive workplace interventions. Full article

Two-dimensional Ti₃C₂O₂ MXene has emerged as a promising electrode material for non-enzymatic glucose sensing due to its metallic conductivity and biocompatibility. However, the atomic-scale sensing mechanism remains unclear. This DFT study uses the PBE functional with the D3(BJ) dispersion correction to elucidate glucose–MXene interactions under idealized vacuum conditions. Pristine Ti₃C₂O₂ shows metallic behavior with a density of states of about 8.2 states per electron volt at the Fermi level, dominated by Ti 3d states. β-d-glucose adsorbs onto the surface through hydrogen bonding, with an adsorption energy of −0.82 eV at a separation distance of 2.8 angstroms. Bader analysis indicates a transfer of about 0.15 electrons from MXene to glucose, resulting in a Fermi level shift of about −0.15 eV and an 18% reduction in the density of states at the Fermi level. These changes correspond to an estimated sensitivity of approximately 0.6 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻² and a detection limit of about 17 µM, consistent with reported experimental performance of MXene-based sensors. Comparative adsorption calculations for common sweat interferents yield −0.45 eV for lactate and −0.25 eV for urea, indicating weaker interfacial affinity than glucose; these values reflect thermodynamic binding strength and possible surface occupation rather than definitive electrochemical selectivity, which additionally depends on redox potential, electron-transfer kinetics, and operating bias. We acknowledge three main limitations: first, the model considers only pure oxygen termination rather than mixed oxygen, hydroxyl, and fluorine terminations; second, the calculations are performed under vacuum rather than in aqueous conditions; third, the study is based on static zero kelvin structures rather than finite temperature dynamics. Despite these idealizations, the results provide baseline mechanistic insights to support rational design of MXene-based glucose sensors. Full article

Automated face mask detection remains an important component of hygiene compliance, occupational safety, and public health monitoring, even in post-pandemic environments where real-time and non-intrusive surveillance is required. Traditional deep learning models provide strong recognition performance but are often impractical for deployment on embedded and edge devices due to their computational and energy demands. Recent research has therefore emphasized lightweight and hybrid architectures that seek to preserve detection accuracy while reducing model complexity, inference latency, and power consumption. This review presents an architecture-centered synthesis of face mask detection systems, examining conventional convolutional models, lightweight convolutional networks such as the MobileNet family, and hybrid frameworks that integrate efficient backbones with optimized detection heads. Comparative analysis of reported results highlights key trade-offs between accuracy, efficiency, and deployment feasibility under heterogeneous datasets, evaluation protocols, and hardware settings. Open challenges, including improper mask detection, domain adaptation, model compression, and the extension of mask detection toward broader Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) compliance monitoring, are discussed to outline a forward-looking research agenda. Overall, this review consolidates current understanding of architectural design strategies for face mask detection and provides guidance for developing scalable, robust, and real-time deep learning solutions suitable for embedded and mobile platforms. Full article

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) features progressive fibrotic remodeling, but the shared molecular circuitry connecting diabetes mellitus (DM) to cardiomyopathy (CM) remains unclear. We integrated three DM- and three CM-related Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets and corrected batch effects with sva, verified by violin plots, principal component analysis (PCA), and silhouette coefficients computed on all common genes (DM: 0.9489 to −0.1016; CM: 0.9693 to −0.045; PC1/PC2 inter-batch differences abolished after normalization). Differential expression analysis identified 2562 DM Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 1414 CM DEGs, and their intersection yielded 91 common DEGs (51 upregulated, 40 downregulated). Protein–protein interaction (PPI) analysis prioritized 25 hub genes, whose enrichment profiles implicated insulin resistance/insulin signaling and adrenergic signaling in cardiomyocytes. TRRUST-based inference further defined a regulatory network centered on seven key genes (HIF-1α, ACTN4, ABCB1, LTBP1, CLU, TIMP2, and MYH11). To nominate a candidate target of oxymatrine (OMT), we performed docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for representative complexes; OMT showed the most stable interaction with LTBP1, maintaining a consistently short pocket distance (~0.2 nm), the highest contact frequency, and the lowest MM/PBSA binding free energy (−15.32 kcal/mol), with favorable contributions dominated by van der Waals and nonpolar solvation terms. In primary cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), high glucose (HG, 30 mM glucose) induced proliferative and profibrotic activation, whereas OMT (0.4–0.8 mM) reduced HG-driven proliferation without detectable toxicity below 1.2 mM, suppressed FN, collagen I/III, and α-SMA expression, and inhibited migration. OMT also normalized HG-induced cell-cycle skewing by restoring G0/G1-phase occupancy and reducing S-phase entry, with effects comparable to metformin. Finally, HG increased LTBP1 expression and upregulated SMAD3/SMAD4, while OMT attenuated LTBP1 induction and suppressed downstream TGF-β/SMAD activation. Together, these data integrate cross-dataset transcriptomics with mechanistic validation to position LTBP1 as a putative antifibrotic node targeted by OMT, supporting inhibition of the LTBP1/TGF-β/SMAD axis as a candidate strategy to counter DCM-associated fibrosis. Full article

Background/Objectives: The Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC) scale is one of the most widely used instruments to assess perceived parental competence, understood as the degree to which parents feel capable of adequately fulfilling their parental role. Despite its widespread use, studies seeking to determine PSOC normative scores are scarce, especially in specific populations such as mothers with infants younger than 9 months, which limits the interpretation of its scores in applied contexts. This study establishes PSOC normative scores in a nonclinical sample of 522 Spanish mothers with infants aged between 3 and 37 weeks who attended a public early intervention program. Methods: Regression and ANOVA analyses were performed to examine the effect of infant and maternal age, as well as educational level and occupation, on the dimensions of Efficacy, Satisfaction, and Total score of the PSOC. Results: The results show a significant decline in parental competence starting when their infants reach 9 months of age, and lower levels of self-efficacy in mothers over 35 years of age. No significant differences were found according to the educational level or occupation of the mothers. Normative scores are presented by percentiles, offering specific criteria for this stage of child development. Z- and T-scores are included, useful for standardized comparisons between subscale and studies. Conclusions: These findings provide useful information for early detection and psychoeducational interventions within the framework of early intervention. Full article

Glaesserella parasuis (formerly Haemophilus parasuis, HPS), Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP), Streptococcus suis (SS), and Pasteurella multocida (PM) are common bacterial pathogens associated with Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex (PRDC), a major cause of economic losses in the swine industry. To address this, a cross-sectional study was conducted across 27 large-scale swine farms in Xinjiang, China (October 2024–May 2025). A total of 1239 clinical samples were analyzed by species-specific PCR, and positive samples were further serotyped. Overall, SS and HPS were the predominant pathogens, with higher detection rates in winter and spring. Notably, SS and HPS were most frequent in nasal swabs, while APP and PM predominated in tissue samples. Furthermore, co-infections were common, with HPS + SS being the most prevalent. Serotyping revealed dominance of HPS serotype 12, APP serotype 12, SS serotype 3, and PM serotypes A and B (serotypes E and F not detected). In addition, SS was also detected in environmental samples and farm workers’ nasal swabs. These findings suggest that future prevention and control strategies should focus on developing multivalent vaccines targeting the predominant serotypes identified, implementing regular serotype surveillance to guide precision immunization protocols, and strengthening environmental disinfection and biosecurity practices to reduce co-infections and occupational exposure risks. Full article

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are prevalent among orthopaedic surgeons as a result of prolonged exposure to non-neutral postures and forceful manual tasks during surgery. Although working height is a key determinant of trunk and upper-limb posture, the systematic evaluation of ergonomic working-height recommendations in orthopaedic surgery remains limited. Methods: A simulated left total knee arthroplasty (TKA) was divided into twelve critical surgical steps and analysed across four commonly used surgeon positions (A–D). Two conditions were compared: uncorrected working height (N) and working height corrected according to Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) recommendations (C). Joint angles were measured from standardized photographs using Kinovea software, and postural load was quantified with the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) method. Two trained evaluators conducted three independent assessments, yielding 288 REBA scores. Results: Mean REBA scores decreased across all surgeon positions following ergonomic correction, with statistically significant reductions observed in positions A, B, and D. When pooled across all position–step combinations (n = 48), the mean reduction was 0.92 REBA points (95% CI 0.50–1.33; p < 0.001). Notably, 27 of the 48 position–step comparisons exceeded the minimal detectable change threshold. The largest reductions occurred during force-intensive surgical steps, including bone cutting, drilling, and implant impaction. Conclusions: Adjusting working height in accordance with CCOHS ergonomic recommendations reduces surgeons’ postural load during TKA. These findings support the integration of evidence-based ergonomic adjustments into routine orthopaedic surgical practice. Full article

Train track occupancy detection is essential for railway operation safety and dispatching, yet GNSS-based positioning and track matching can degrade or fail in turnouts and station yards due to multipath, interference, and dense track layouts. This paper presents an IMU-only method to discriminate track-switching events during turnout passage by exploiting the transient change in heading angular velocity. The Z-axis gyroscope measurement (approximately aligned with the track-plane normal) is used as a heading-rate proxy, and a lightweight indicator is constructed from the difference between a short-window moving average and the full-run mean. The full-run mean further serves as an in situ approximation of the gyroscope zero bias, alleviating the need for pre-calibration and improving robustness to systematic drift. A fixed discrimination threshold is determined from stationary gyroscope noise statistics, and the minimum effective operating speed is derived by combining gyro noise characteristics with the kinematic relationship among train speed, turnout curvature radius, and heading rate. Field experiments conducted from January to April 2025 on three railway sections covering 27 turnouts (300 turnout-passage events) show that, using a constant threshold $T_0=0.002\mathrm{rad}/\mathrm{s}$, the proposed method achieves 100% track-switching discrimination accuracy within 5–40 km/h, without requiring track maps, GNSS, or prior databases. Full article

Despite their significance as forensic targets, alkyl nitrites, classified as illegal drugs, have received little attention in forensic analysis due to their high volatility and chemical instability. Here, we present a high-performance analytical approach using a pulsed dc soft plasma ionization-quadrupole mass spectrometry (pulsed dc SPI-MS) system, uniquely designed to operate using ambient air as the discharge gas. In this system, the modulation of the duty ratio functions as a “structural probe” to identify reactive isomers. Unlike conventional dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) sources that typically operate at atmospheric pressure, our SPI system utilizes a controlled pressure regime of several kPa, where the nitrogen in the ambient air effectively functions as a third-body gas to suppress excessive internal energy. The control of the duty ratio in our pulsed dc SPI source allowed for the successful manipulation of ion–molecule reaction pathways for highly reactive analytes. By optimizing several parameters, including duty ratio and discharge pressure, we achieved a unique ionization regime where the molecular-related ion [2 M − 3 H]⁺ was predominantly detected as the base peak with minimal fragmentation. Notably, by reducing the duty ratio from 50% to 5%, both the target ion occupancy and signal intensity were significantly enhanced, achieving a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.16 parts per million by volume (ppmv). This sensitivity is several orders of magnitude higher than previously reported thresholds, enabling rapid identification of C4–C6 alkyl nitrite isomers. This method transforms the duty ratio into a powerful diagnostic tool for identifying reactive intermediates, providing a practical and efficient approach for the onsite identification of illegal alkyl nitrites in forensic and security fields. Full article

Background: Dental professionals are routinely exposed to occupational noise from high-speed handpieces and ultrasonic scalers, with levels that can reach up to 90 dB(A). While such exposure is suspected to affect cochlear function, objective assessments in this population remain limited. This study investigated short-term changes in distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) as a biomarker of outer hair cell (OHC) function following routine clinical dental procedures. Methods: DPOAEs were recorded at frequencies from 1000 to 6000 Hz in young dental professionals with clinically normal hearing. Measurements were obtained at three time points: prior to dental procedures (baseline), immediately after exposure (3–5 min post-procedure), and at a 48-h (follow-up). Participants were stratified into two groups based on exposure profile: those exposed to occupational dental noise alone (Group 1) and those with concurrent use of personal listening devices (PLDs) in addition to occupational exposure (Group 2). Results: A significant reduction in DPOAE amplitudes was observed immediately following dental procedures in both groups, indicating an acute effect on OHC function. This reduction was more pronounced in Group 1 (PLD users) compared to Group 2 (occupational noise only). Amplitudes returned to baseline levels at the 48-h follow-up in both groups, confirming the transient nature of the effect. The absence of significant Frequency × Time interactions indicates that the observed amplitude reductions were broadly distributed across the tested frequency range rather than confined to a specific spectral region. Conclusions: Routine clinical dental procedures can induce transient, measurable changes in cochlear outer hair cell function, detectable by DPOAEs in young professionals with normal audiometric thresholds. Although these changes appear reversible within 48 h, the greater acute response observed in individuals with concurrent personal listening device use suggests that cumulative acoustic exposure may increase cochlear susceptibility. These findings support the integration of objective cochlear monitoring into occupational health surveillance for dental personnel. Full article

Background: Severe Alpha-1-Antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), phenotype PiZZ, is a leading cause of liver disease in neonates, children, and adults. Nevertheless, the prevalence of liver disease and mortality within PiZZ adults remains unclear. Between 1972 and 1974, a cohort of 129 individuals with severe AATD (PiZZ) was identified through the Swedish national screening of 200,000 newborns. The cohort has been followed up regularly since birth. This prospective cohort follow-up study, with a cross-sectional comparison at 50 years of age, aims to characterize the natural history of liver disease and mortality in this cohort in their early fifties, compared with an age-matched control group (PiMM) randomly selected from the population registry. Methods: Study participants completed questionnaires regarding occupation, medical history, medication, and alcohol consumption. They underwent physical examination and measurement of liver stiffness using transient elastography (TE, FibroScan^®). Blood samples were obtained for evaluation of liver function, alcohol consumption, calculation of liver fibrosis scores, and detection of viral hepatitis and autoimmune liver disease. Results: Ninety-five PiZZ and 124 PiMM individuals participated in the study, of whom 47 PiZZ and 96 PiMM underwent TE measurement. PiZZ individuals had significantly higher median liver stiffness compared with PiMM individuals (5.9 kPa vs. 4.5 kPa, p < 0.01). No significant differences were found in Fib-4 score or the Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Fibrosis Score (NFS) between the groups. Since identification of the cohort at birth, 13 (10%) of the 129 PiZZ individuals have died. Of these, liver disease was the main or underlying cause of death in 8 individuals (6%). Conclusions: In their early fifties, PiZZ individuals show a small but significant increase in liver stiffness measured by TE, indicating early liver fibrosis. In contrast, conventional fibrosis scores, such as Fib-4 and NFS, do not differ between PiZZ individuals and PiMM, suggesting that serum-based fibrosis scores may underestimate fibrosis in AATD. In this cohort, liver disease and its complications represented the main cause of death in PiZZ individuals by the age of 50, an observation that is uncommon in the general population at this age. Full article

Motor vehicle encroachment into non-motorized lanes is a common but hard-to-verify violation in urban intersections, especially when monitored from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or high-mounted overhead views. Existing rule-based solutions built on horizontal bounding boxes and center-point/line-crossing criteria are sensitive to perspective distortion, occlusion, and frame-to-frame jitter, resulting in unstable decisions and low evidential value. This paper presents a cascaded UAV-view system that closes the loop from perception to evidence output through detection–segmentation–recognition–decision. First, we adopt a two-stage detection cascade: a lightweight vehicle detector localizes vehicles using axis-aligned bounding boxes, and a dedicated YOLOv5n-based oriented bounding box (OBB) license plate detector, constructed via architecture grafting and weight transfer, is then applied within each vehicle region of interest (ROI) to localize rotated license plates under large pose variation and small-target conditions. Second, a U-Net lane region segmentation module provides pixel-level spatial constraints to define an enforceable lane occupancy region. Third, a perspective rectification step is integrated with the PP-OCRv4 optical character recognition (OCR) framework to improve license plate recognition reliability for tilted plates. Finally, an area ratio criterion and an N-frame temporal counter are used to suppress transient misdetections and stabilize alarms. On a representative 100-sample controlled encroachment benchmark, the proposed system improves detection accuracy from 67.0% to 92.0% and reduces the false positive rate from 32.35% to 5.88% compared with a baseline horizontal bounding box (HBB)-based rule. The system outputs both violation alarms and license plate evidence, supporting practical deployment for multi-view traffic governance. Full article

Neonicotinoids are widely used pesticides that have caused a catastrophic decrease in bee and bumblebee populations worldwide. In addition to insects, neonicotinoids induce toxic effects in other species, including lizards, birds, and mammals. Previous studies have shown that gestational exposure to thiacloprid promotes transgenerational effects in the testes and thyroid. In this project, we described the epigenetic effects of thiacloprid on prostate tissue in directly exposed F1 and non-directly exposed F3 outbred Swiss male mice. We used paraffin sections for morphological analysis and frozen tissue for immunofluorescence analysis, RT–qPCR, and protein analysis. We purified histones and analyzed them through Western blot. We used ChIP–qPCR for histone H3K4me3 occupancy analysis. A tendency to increase in epithelial hyperplasia in F1 but not in F3 prostate was detected. Elevated levels of phosphorylated histone H3 at serine 10, a marker of mitosis, in both the F1 and F3 prostates were noted. A significant increase in the level of the Ki-67 marker of proliferation was detected in the F1 but not in the F3 anterior prostate. Hox gene expression was upregulated in the F1 and downregulated in the F3 prostate. The changes in gene expression were positively associated with histone H3K4me3 alterations at the promoters of the Hoxa and Hoxb13 genes. We determined that regions of Hox genes that play important roles in prostate development had altered DNA methylation in the sperm of F1 and F3. These alterations in DNA methylation were negatively related to gene expression. This is an observational study, as it was part of our previous research on the effects of thiacloprid on the testis and thyroid. Our analysis revealed that gestational exposure to thiacloprid induced an increase in cell proliferation in the prostates of directly exposed F1. Some persistent epigenetic alterations in the prostate of F3 males were not associated with phenotypic changes. Full article