Search Results (591)

As a core component of terrestrial ecosystems, forests play an irreplaceable ecological role in carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and global climate regulation. Home to key global forest belts including the Congo Basin, the African continent’s forest changes directly shape regional ecological balance and sustainable development while profoundly affecting global ecological security and climate dynamics. Based on the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), a unified narrative framework for global socioeconomic and environmental change scenarios, this study couples techniques such as the Future Land Use Simulation (FLUS) model, dynamic degree analysis, transition matrix, K-means clustering analysis, and patch fragmentation analysis. This work aims to answer two key questions: (1) What are the spatiotemporal characteristics and dominant drivers of African woodland changes under different SSPs? (2) How do spatial clustering and fragmentation patterns vary across scenarios? It systematically predicts and analyzes the spatiotemporal characteristics, driving mechanisms, and fragmentation change patterns of African woodlands in 2030, 2050, and 2070 under five scenarios (SSP1-SSP5) with 2020 as the baseline. These five official IPCC SSP frameworks represent five distinctly divergent socioeconomic development trajectories ranging from sustainable to fossil-fuel-driven development, which are the core differentiated scenarios recommended by IPCC; full inclusion facilitates systematic comparison of varied forest feedback features across Africa’s diversified national development backgrounds. The research results show that understory forests in the SSP5 (Fossil Fuel-dominated Development) scenario exhibit a stable growth trend, with the total area transferred in significantly exceeding the area transferred out from 2020 to 2070, resulting in a net increase of 143,513 km². This growth occurs because high-income economies under this scenario invest heavily in ecological restoration and forest protection, offsetting carbon-intensive development impacts. The core forest density continues to increase and is distributed in contiguous areas; the SSP4 (uneven development) scenario regarding forest degradation is the most severe, with the dynamic rate expected to drop to −0.05% between 2050 and 2070, and a net transfer of −265,581 km². Forest fragmentation is highest, and the core density area is gradually shrinking. Cluster analysis shows that forest area remains relatively stable in most African countries, with stable countries accounting for as much as 95.49% under scenario SSP5. Regions with woodland expansion are mainly distributed in North Africa and localized parts of Southern Africa. After refinement using independent tree-density evidence, woodland expansion in South Africa is shown to be more limited and spatially heterogeneous; these newly expanded woodlands are mostly artificial plantations and alien invasive tree stands rather than native natural woodlands, mainly occurring in eastern and southeastern areas rather than in arid western regions. The spatiotemporal transfer process exhibits significant periodic differentiation, with 2030–2050 being a critical transitional period for forest change, and the differentiation effect between scenarios intensifying. Fragmentation analysis indicates that scenario SSP3 (regional rivalry, with moderate population growth and weak policy constraints) has the best forest integration and the lowest degree of fragmentation, while scenario SSP4 is most strongly affected by human activities and has the highest risk of patch fragmentation. These findings can provide a scientific basis for African countries to formulate differentiated forest protection policies and optimize ecological restoration plans, while also offering theoretical insights for continental-scale forest ecological management. Full article

Background and Objectives: Falls represent a major public health concern among older adults, contributing substantially to morbidity, mortality, and healthcare burden. This study aimed to analyze trends, demographic characteristics, hospitalization rates, injury patterns, and outcomes of fall-related hospitalizations among individuals aged ≥65 years in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, from 2020 to 2024. Materials and Methods: A retrospective epidemiological study was conducted using fall-related hospitalization data from the National Health Information System. Discharges for injury (S00-T98) caused by a fall (W00-W19) were selected using ICD-10. Analyses included individuals aged ≥65 years and were stratified by age group (65–74, 75–84, ≥85 years), sex, and year. Hospitalization rates per 100,000 population were calculated using official population data. Differences were assessed using chi-square and Kruskal–Wallis tests, while Poisson regression was used to estimate rate ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and assess temporal trends. Results: A total of 4737 fall-related hospitalizations were recorded among individuals aged ≥65 years (58.32% of all cases). Hospitalization rates increased markedly with age, with individuals aged ≥85 years having more than a fivefold higher rate compared to those aged 65–74 years (RR = 5.16, 95% CI 4.80–5.56). Women accounted for 69.83% of cases and had higher hospitalization rates than men (RR = 1.74, 95% CI 1.64–1.85). Hip and femur injuries were the most common (50.39%). In-hospital mortality was 3.02% and higher among men. No significant temporal trend was observed (AAPC = −2.18%, p = 0.392). Conclusions: Fall-related hospitalizations are strongly associated with advanced age and female sex, with hip fractures predominating. Although rates remained stable over time, ongoing population ageing is likely to increase the future burden. Targeted, age- and sex-specific prevention strategies should be prioritized. Full article

With the rapid growth of Chinese social media data, many language-driven analytical tasks, such as sentiment analysis and malicious account detection, are increasingly formulated as computationally expensive optimization problems, particularly in the context of hyperparameter tuning for deep learning models. Due to the intrinsic characteristics of Chinese text, including implicit word boundaries, strong context dependency, and high linguistic variability, the resulting feature representations are often high-dimensional, sparse, and heterogeneously distributed. From an optimization perspective, these properties induce highly irregular, non-smooth, and multimodal objective landscapes, posing significant challenges to conventional surrogate-assisted data-driven evolutionary algorithms (DDEAs). To address this problem, this paper proposes a Normal Selection-based data-driven evolutionary algorithm (NSEA) for improving surrogate-assisted optimization under complex conditions. Specifically, a Normal distribution-based selection strategy (NSS) is developed to enable probabilistic selection of surrogate models, balancing exploitation of high-performing models and exploration of alternative candidates, thereby alleviating premature convergence in multimodal search spaces. In addition, an exponential weighting ensemble (EWE) method is introduced to aggregate surrogate models based on their relative ranking performance, which enhances the stability and generalization capability of fitness approximation across different regions of the search space. Extensive experiments on benchmark functions demonstrate that the proposed NSEA consistently outperforms several state-of-the-art DDEAs in terms of optimization accuracy and robustness. Furthermore, a real-world application of cheating official account (COA) detection on Chinese social media is conducted, in which the hyperparameter optimization of a heterogeneous graph transformer (HGT) model is formulated as an EOP. The results further prove the effectiveness and practical applicability of the NSEA in complex data-driven scenarios. Overall, this study provides an effective optimization framework for handling EOPs with complex and multimodal characteristics and offers a feasible computational approach for tasks associated with large-scale Chinese textual data. Full article

Background/Objectives: Labor pain is a multidimensional experience associated with physiological, cultural, psychological, and contextual factors. This study aimed to examine the association of personality-related characteristics, cultural beliefs, obstetric characteristics, and proxy indicators of post-disaster context with labor pain perception among women giving birth in Hatay after the 2023 Türkiye earthquakes. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted with 314 women admitted to Hatay Training and Research Hospital between February and June 2025. Participants were between 38 and 42 gestational weeks, had a singleton healthy fetus, were admitted in active labor, and were expected to give birth vaginally. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire, the Ten-Item Personality Inventory, and the Visual Analog Scale. Labor pain was assessed at 6 cm, 8 cm, and full cervical dilatation (10 cm). Results: VAS scores increased significantly across cervical dilatation points, from 5.04 ± 0.81 at 6 cm to 7.01 ± 0.82 at 8 cm and 8.06 ± 0.93 at full cervical dilatation (10 cm). Repeated-measures ANOVA showed a significant within-person increase in pain intensity across the three assessment points, F(2, 626) = 996.444, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.761. Age was not significantly correlated with VAS pain score at full cervical dilatation. In exploratory unadjusted comparisons, VAS scores at full cervical dilatation differed according to education level, official marriage status, previous birth history and mode, attendance at antenatal education, and praying to relieve labor pain. In the multivariable regression model, higher Extraversion and higher education level were associated with lower VAS scores, whereas attendance at antenatal education, greater importance given to traditional rules, previous assisted vaginal/cesarean birth, and current place of residence were independently associated with VAS scores. Conscientiousness was not significantly associated with VAS scores in the adjusted model. Earthquake experience was not significantly associated with VAS scores. Conclusions: Labor pain perception was associated with selected sociodemographic, obstetric, and cultural characteristics. The findings support the importance of individualized, culturally sensitive, and trauma-informed midwifery care in disaster-affected regions. Personality-related findings should be interpreted cautiously because the corrected reliability analysis showed low internal consistency for Agreeableness, Emotional Stability, and Openness to Experience, although Extraversion showed high internal consistency and Conscientiousness showed relatively better but still limited internal consistency. Disaster-related findings should also be interpreted cautiously because post-disaster context was assessed using only limited proxy indicators; current place of residence was independently associated with VAS scores in the adjusted model, whereas earthquake experience was not. Because of the observational design, causal interpretations cannot be made. Full article

The Tomarrazón-Camarones Basin (La Guajira, Colombia) is characterized by frequent, widespread flooding and, anthropogenically, by intense instream sediment mining. Mapping flood hazard is hence essential to develop effective flood management plans, and a knowledge of the water regime (duration curves) is also essential to estimate sediment transport and carry out sediment budgets to inform on the impacts and sustainability of the mining activity. However, neither water levels nor discharges are monitored by official gauging stations, and only a few rainfall gauging stations are available in the area, with daily records often affected by data gaps. Therefore, a first challenge is to reconstruct discharge time series by an affordable effort, scaled to the financial-labour resources available in that challenging context. This paper presents an integrated approach that combines satellite-derived rainfall data with ground observations. A semi-distributed hydrological model (HEC-HMS, SCS-CN method) is used to reconstruct the full flow-rate time series once calibrated and validated with data derived from automatic sensors and field measurements. The model is fed with hourly data derived from daily data at ground gauging stations temporally downscaled by adopting the spatially distributed hourly rainfall patterns obtained from satellite records. Before that, observed water levels in three stations equipped with water level sensors were translated into discharge time series using analytical relationships based on field-measured geometric and physical characteristics. Then, these event-based hydrographs were used to calibrate and validate the model. Results show good agreement with observations, with R² = 0.981 and a relative RMSE of 40% for overall hydrograph reproduction, and R² = 0.87 for peak flow estimation, supporting a reasonable confidence in the approach. The calibrated model is then applied to long-term datasets (1973–2024) to retrieve duration curves and return periods of peak discharges. Full article

Background: Upper-limb strength characteristics are considered important determinants of shooting stability in precision sports; however, the specific relationships between upper-limb strength variables and shooting performance in elite air pistol athletes remain insufficiently understood. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the associations between upper-limb-specific strength characteristics and shooting performance in elite air pistol shooters. Methods: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted using a purposive total population sample from an elite training camp. Isometric peak force and rate of force development of nine upper-limb muscle actions, including handgrip, elbow flexion and extension, and shoulder joint movements, were assessed using a Vald Dynamo handheld dynamometer. Official scores from an international selection competition were used as indicators of shooting performance. Ridge regression analysis was applied to examine the relationships between strength variables and shooting performance while addressing multicollinearity among predictors. Results: Twenty-four elite air pistol athletes at national master level or above were recruited. Ridge regression revealed distinct coefficient patterns between upper-limb task-specific strength characteristics and total shooting score. After within-sex standardization of strength predictors, larger positive ridge coefficients were observed for handgrip RFD, elbow flexion peak force, shoulder external rotation RFD, elbow extension peak force, and selected shoulder variables, whereas negative coefficients were observed for shoulder internal rotation RFD, handgrip peak force, shoulder extension RFD, elbow extension RFD, and selected shoulder variables. These findings suggest that shooting performance is associated with the balance and coordination of task-specific upper-limb strength characteristics rather than maximal strength alone. Conclusions: These findings suggest that coordinated upper-limb task-specific strength balance is associated with shooting performance in elite air pistol athletes. These findings may help inform individualized conditioning and monitoring strategies; however, longitudinal intervention studies are needed to determine whether modifying upper-limb strength balance can improve shooting outcomes. Full article

The aim of the study was to assess the seroprevalence of hantaviruses, the causative agents of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), and their distribution to socio-demographic characteristics among the populations of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. A total of 4464 samples were analyzed, including 2265 samples from residents of Saint Petersburg and 2199 samples from residents of the Leningrad Region. Blood plasma samples were tested for specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Blood samples were collected in 2023 from randomly selected volunteers. Hantavirus seroprevalence in Saint Petersburg was 5.39%, while in the Leningrad Region, it was 8.55%. In both regions, the highest proportion of seropositive individuals was found among volunteers aged ≥70 years, whereas the lowest seroprevalence was observed in the 1–17-year age group (inclusive). Seroprevalence was significantly higher in men than in women in both regions. The seroprevalence values identified in this study are comparable to those reported in similar studies in areas with a high incidence of HFRS. These findings may indicate that the true incidence of HFRS may be significantly higher than officially registered in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. Full article

This paper addresses the lack of bilingual annotated resources for automatic fake news detection in the Kazakh–Russian media space, as well as the limitations of binary annotation, which does not always allow disinformation to be represented as a complex and interpretable phenomenon. The aim of the study is to develop KazFakeCorpus and propose a multi-level annotation scheme that captures not only the final veracity of a message, but also the type of fake content, the disinformation technique, communicative intent, modality, and the characteristics of the source and evidence base. The corpus was constructed on the basis of official news materials published on the Gov.kz portal for the REAL class and synthetically generated messages for the FAKE class, complemented by an external validation set of authentic fake news from independent fact-checking sources to assess generalization. After data collection, the texts underwent cleaning, normalization, balancing, and sampling. The final resource includes 4276 texts in Kazakh and Russian, with an average length of approximately 200 words and a balanced distribution across languages and classes. Annotation was carried out in the Label Studio environment by two independent experts: a linguist and a fact-checking specialist. Before the main annotation phase, a pilot study was conducted on a subsample of 120 texts, the results of which were used to refine the categories and prepare the annotation guidelines. Krippendorff’s alpha was used to assess inter-annotator agreement; the obtained values, ranging from 0.79 to 0.88, indicate sufficient stability of the annotation across the key categories. The corpus analysis showed that misattribution (32.5%) is the most frequent disinformation technique, followed by clickbait (23.0%) and emotional pressure (16.4%). The results show that the proposed scheme makes it possible to treat fake news not only as a binary class but also as a multi-level semantic object that includes mechanisms of information distortion and features of content presentation. The practical contribution of the study lies in the creation of a bilingual corpus and annotation protocol that can be used in disinformation research, interpretable text analysis, and cross-lingual studies. Full article

Property taxation serves as a critical instrument for fiscal efficiency and equitable distribution, yet implementation faces significant challenges including valuation inaccuracies, insufficient administrative capacity, and diminished public trust. Indonesia’s Land and Building Tax (PBB-P2) utilizes the Sales Value of Taxable Objects (NJOP) as an administrative proxy for market value, which frequently deviates from actual land prices. These disparities create horizontal inequities, diminish local revenue potential, and generate taxpayer resistance, especially in decentralized regions with constrained technical resources. This research presents the Spatially Adaptive Land Value Determination (SALAD) model as a comprehensive framework for enhancing property tax governance and modernizing fiscal cadastre systems. Unlike conventional mass appraisal methods, SALAD integrates spatial zoning, assessment ratio analysis, land-use characteristics, and the Index of Developing Villages (IDM) with socio-economic indicators including purchasing power and community fiscal behavior. The model incorporates structured social validation to improve public acceptance. Field validation in Lebak Regency employed mixed-methods design with surveys of 75 respondents across 20 villages and interviews with village heads and tax officials. Results demonstrate that transparency, fairness, and visible public benefits are essential for community support. Validation indices vary significantly by IDM category (ANOVA: F = 4.23, p = 0.03 for economic; F = 3.81, p = 0.04 for institutional), confirming that the SALAD model’s adaptive mechanism is empirically grounded. Full article

Traditional Chinese brick-and-stone archways are not merely architectural products shaped by geographical constraints; they also embody a highly rational structural logic. Drawing on the unique earthen environment of the Loess Plateau and the region’s traditions of brick-and-stone construction, the Jinzhong region of China has developed a distinct system of archways. Consequently, to deconstruct the mechanical wisdom inherent in the traditional building techniques of the Jinzhong region, this study selected residential buildings in Qi County and Pingyao, as well as Qing Dynasty (1636–1912 AD) official architecture, as case studies. Through field investigations into the masonry techniques of three typical vault forms—the single-centre arch, the double-centre arch, and the four-centre arch—the study revealed their evolutionary characteristics in terms of geometric form. Static numerical simulation analysis was conducted using the Abaqus CAE 2025 (Dassault Systèmes, Vélizy-Villacoublay, France) platform. The study found that, under a simulated surface load of 0.027 N/mm², different arch profiles exhibited significant quantitative mechanical differences, and their stress distributions and deformation thresholds showed distinct scenario-specific tendencies. The results show that, compared to a semicircular arch, the official double-centred arch reduces maximum displacement by approximately 20%, and the maximum principal stress decreased from 1.35 MPa to 1.215 MPa, effectively mitigating the risk of cracking at the arch crown. With this high sectional stiffness and displacement-constraining capability, it supports the high load requirements of defensive city fortifications. Compared to the Pingyao gentle-type four-centre arch, its maximum displacement increased by only about 10%, and the maximum principal stress rose by only about 8%. Therefore, given similar mechanical performance but considering construction feasibility, the official double-centred arch was selected for the construction of defensive city fortifications. Furthermore, although the stress concentration at the corners (arch feet) of the Pingyao gentle-curved four-centred arch is approximately 4.8% higher than that of the pointed four-centred arch, its spatial utilization is improved by 15–20%; This geometric trade-off achieved through composite curvature maximizes interior clear space while maintaining structural stability, aligning with the functional requirements of guyao architecture for large-span living spaces. Meanwhile, the semicircular vaults of Qi County demonstrate universal value in low-load residential door and window components due to their low construction threshold. These quantitative data and qualitative observations indicate that the evolution of traditional forms is not merely an esthetic pursuit, but rather a precise optimization of structural performance within the constraints of material strength. This coupled relationship between “geometric form, load-bearing mechanism and usage context” confirms the inherent principles of resource efficiency and performance balance within traditional building systems. The quantitative assessment framework established in this study provides scientific guidance, grounded in construction logic, for the preventive conservation and precise reinforcement strategies of historic masonry structures. Full article

In recent years, social media platforms have emerged as major sources of health-related information. The aim of this study was to evaluate the alignment between TikTok videos on oral hygiene and official dental protocols, and to determine the prevalence of misinformation. A quantitative, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted to analyze 246 Spanish-language TikTok videos collected between May and July 2025 using 11 hashtags. Videos were assessed using a standardized summary based on guidelines from the Fédération Dentaire Internationale, American Dental Association, Federación Odontológica Ecuatoriana, and Federación Dental Española. Content was classified as aligned if it aligned with at least one protocol. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Z-tests for proportions, chi-square tests, and Mann–Whitney U tests. As results, only 1% of videos cited official references. Overall, 26.19% aligned with at least one protocol, while 73.81% contained unsupported or non-aligned information. Misrepresentation was most frequent for fluoride concentration, toothpaste quantity, dental floss characteristics, and mouthwash use. Video format, presentation style, and creator profile were significantly associated with accuracy. Engagement metrics did not consistently favor accurate content. In conclusion, most TikTok oral hygiene content does not reflect official dental protocols, highlighting the need for improved digital health literacy and responsible professional communication. Full article

Elite women’s rugby has often been analysed using the male performance model as a reference, despite evidence that women’s rugby presents distinct game demands and potentially different risk profiles. This study aimed to compare the frequency of key contact-related events between elite men’s and women’s rugby. An observational, retrospective, comparative cohort study was conducted using official performance data from 135 international matches from the men’s and women’s Six Nations Championships. Variables were grouped into three categories: Open-Play, Static Phases, and Discipline. Independent samples t-tests, Mann–Whitney U tests, and Linear Discriminant Analysis were used to identify sex-based differences. The results showed that men presented a higher frequency of rucks lasting more than 6 s (p < 0.001), whereas no significant differences were found in total tackles (p = 0.378) or total rucks (p = 0.634). In Static Phases, women’s teams recorded significantly more scrums (p < 0.001). In Discipline, women conceded fewer free kicks (p = 0.003) but received more red cards (p = 0.020). In conclusion, elite women’s rugby shares some open-play characteristics with the men’s game but differs in scrum frequency and disciplinary profile, supporting the existence of a distinct contact and risk exposure profile that should be considered when designing training and prevention strategies. Full article

Over the last forty years British Methodism has moved increasingly toward becoming an inclusive Church. Indeed, today, the concept of inclusion may accurately be described as a hallmark of British Methodism. However, while the Methodist Conference has formally identified principles governing its practice in this area there has been limited discussion as to how far these developments cohere with the church’s doctrinal standards which are officially related to John Wesley’s writings. This paper explores the continuity and discontinuity between Wesley’s theology and the commitment to inclusion characteristic of his spiritual descendants. In particular, it probes Wesley’s actual practice in relation to the admission and expulsion of members and evaluates whether or not his conception of holiness really serves as a warrant for the conception of inclusion, practically operative in contemporary British Methodism. In exploring these questions the paper explores whether or not John Wesley really was as Inclusive as contemporary British Methodists imagine. Full article

This study examines the probabilistic patterns associated with casualty severity in collisions between commercial and fishing vessels in China’s coastal waters. Using 137 official accident investigation reports from 2013 to 2022, a structured dataset capturing vessel characteristics, environmental conditions, and human liability factors was constructed. A Tree-Augmented Bayesian Network (TAN-BN) was developed to model the probabilistic interactions among these variables and to identify the key drivers of casualty severity. Sensitivity analysis based on mutual information indicates that fishing vessel length is the most influential factor affecting casualty outcomes (MI = 0.322), followed by time of occurrence, wind speed, visibility, and season. Scenario analysis using MPE indicates that severe casualty scenarios are associated with adverse temporal and environmental conditions such as nighttime, poor visibility, and open-water environments, while liability-specific analysis further shows that collisions attributed primarily to commercial vessel errors are most likely to result in 4–10 casualties. The results highlight the structural vulnerability of small fishing vessels and the critical role of environmental exposure in heterogeneous vessel encounters. This study provides an interpretable probabilistic framework for examining casualty severity patterns in maritime collisions and offers risk-informed insights for improving sustainable maritime safety management in mixed-traffic coastal waters. Full article

Background: Problematic smartphone use has been increasingly reported among university students, including nursing students, yet the availability of brief, culturally appropriate, and psychometrically sound assessment instruments in Greece remains limited. Aim: This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the Greek version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale—Short Version (SAS-SV) and to evaluate its psychometric properties, including internal structure, reliability, and convergent validity with the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale-10, among nursing students in Greece. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, nursing students from multiple departments across Greece (N = 331) completed the Greek SAS-SV, distributed online via official university forums, student groups, and institutional social media pages, between September 2025 and November 2025. We conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using polychoric correlations, examined convergent validity, performed exploratory comparisons across demographic characteristics, and estimated the reliability of the SAS-SV. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis was consistent with a one-factor structure and showed acceptable model fit. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s α was 0.862 and McDonald’s omega was 0.891), with supportive evidence of convergent validity through its correlation with the MPPUS-10 (Spearman’s ρ = 0.772, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The Greek SAS-SV showed acceptable psychometric properties among nursing students and seems appropriate for research purposes in Greece. Full article