Search Results (1,858)

Edible beef organs are nutrient-dense ingredients that may improve whole-animal utilization while enhancing the nutritional value of ground beef. This study evaluated the effects of organ type and inclusion level on the quality characteristics and consumer acceptability of ground beef patties. Patties were manufactured from three independent batches and formulated as a control (0% organ), 6% beef heart, 12% beef heart, 6% beef kidney, or 12% beef kidney. Nutritional composition, cooking characteristics, instrumental color, texture, and consumer acceptance were evaluated. Organ-containing patties had higher moisture content than the control (p = 0.0082), while 12% beef kidney resulted in the greatest cholesterol and sodium concentrations (p < 0.0001). Patties containing 12% beef kidney exhibited the lowest cooking loss (p = 0.0004) and Allo–Kramer shear force values (p < 0.0001), corresponding to the greatest consumer-perceived tenderness (p < 0.0001). However, this treatment received the lowest ratings for overall liking, flavor, texture, purchase intent, and willingness to pay (p < 0.0001). In contrast, 6% and 12% beef heart retained consumer acceptability comparable to the control while reducing formulation cost. These findings identify beef heart as a promising ingredient for increasing edible organ utilization in ground beef without compromising consumer acceptance. Full article

Background/Objectives: Rural populations remain underrepresented in genomic research and may face unique barriers to accessing genetic and precision medicine services. This study evaluated knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and perceived barriers related to genetics and precision medicine among rural participants enrolled in OneDukeGen (ODG), a large academic biobank and precision medicine research initiative. Methods: This mixed-methods study included rural ODG participants identified using U.S. Census Bureau rural classification code. Participants completed an online survey assessing genetics knowledge, attitudes toward genetic testing and precision medicine, healthcare utilization, and internet use. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a subset of survey participants to further explore perceptions of genetics research, barriers to care, privacy concerns, and educational needs. Results: Among 10,305 ODG participants, 3268 (31.7%) were classified as rural, representing 97 of North Carolina’s 100 counties. A total of 111 rural participants completed surveys and 14 participated in qualitative interviews. Participants generally demonstrated favorable attitudes toward genetics and precision medicine despite moderate genetics knowledge scores. Most participants believed genetic testing could improve disease prevention and treatment selection, particularly for cancer care and pharmacogenomics applications. Qualitative interviews identified three major thematic domains: (1) perceived value and promise of genetics, (2) concerns regarding privacy, trust, and misuse of genetic information, and (3) barriers and facilitators to accessing genetic services. Participants generally viewed genetics research positively but expressed concerns regarding cost, insurance coverage, privacy, and genetic discrimination. Conclusions: Rural participants generally expressed positive attitudes toward genetics and precision medicine; however, substantial barriers related to cost, trust, privacy, awareness, and digital access remain. Community-engaged approaches emphasizing accessibility, provider education, and culturally appropriate communication may be critical for equitable implementation of precision medicine in rural communities. Full article

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being integrated into radiology and may improve diagnostic efficiency and workflows. Its successful adoption depends on workforce readiness, organizational capacity, and effective governance. This study evaluated radiology professionals’ perceptions of AI integration in Saudi Arabia; sustainability was considered only as a conceptual implementation context and was not directly measured. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling was conducted among healthcare professionals involved in radiology services in Saudi Arabia, using an expert-reviewed and pilot-tested 30-item questionnaire covering knowledge, attitudes, implementation readiness, and perceived barriers. Responses from 295 healthcare professionals were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, Spearman correlation, and Kruskal–Wallis testing. Results: Participants demonstrated positive attitudes toward AI integration (3.57 ± 0.69) and moderate knowledge (3.35 ± 0.70), whereas implementation readiness was comparatively lower (3.04 ± 0.79). Perceived barriers showed the highest domain score (3.67 ± 0.64). Major barriers included implementation costs (3.98 ± 0.71), limited digital infrastructure (3.90 ± 0.75), insufficient staff training (3.84 ± 0.77), and lack of technical expertise (3.82 ± 0.78). Positive correlations between knowledge, attitudes, and implementation readiness were observed. Conclusions: Among participating respondents, support for AI integration was generally favorable, but lower perceived institutional readiness and organizational, infrastructural, and governance barriers may constrain implementation. Because the convenience sample lacked a sampling frame and a calculable response rate, the results should not be interpreted as national estimates. The survey also did not measure clinical, economic, resource-use, or environmental outcomes and therefore does not establish sustainability benefits. Future probability-based and implementation studies should evaluate representativeness and these outcomes directly. Full article

Terrain types significantly affect the dynamics and locomotion performance of hexapod robots during walking. Terrain classification is a key solution to modify gait patterns in different terrains and recognize hazardous conditions. Perceiving the terrain with proprioceptive sensing is a robust and reliable approach in extreme conditions. In this paper, an efficient terrain classification approach for a hexapod robot is proposed. The proposed method combines a deep classification framework including the long short-term memory (LSTM) network and an effective statistical feature extraction. Proprioceptive inertial measurement unit (IMU) data is only used as the sensing system for the robot–terrain interaction. In the feature extraction process, four meaningful characteristic features, namely, the mean, median, Lomb–Scargle periodogram power spectral density (LPSD), and Welch’s power spectral density (WPSD), are extracted from the body orientation data using a sliding-window method. These features are combined and fed into the network to perform the training and testing processes. In the experiments, the proposed method is evaluated with commonly used soft computing and deep learning models. The classification performance for the concrete, pebble, and waxed tile terrains reaches 100% with the proposed method. The overall accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, F1-score, and Matthew correlation coefficient are recorded as 95.45%, 96.36%, 95.28%, 98.86%, 95.49%, and 94.61%, respectively. These results demonstrate that the proposed approach delivers reliable classification performance with a low-cost and easy-to-implement solution. Full article

This study aims to investigate the perspectives of aquaculture producers in the Western Mediterranean Region (operating in Antalya, Burdur, and Isparta provinces) on climate change, examine the impacts of climate change on regional aquaculture, and develop solution proposals. Within the scope of this objective, the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the aquaculture producers in the Western Mediterranean Region, along with their knowledge levels regarding climate change, were obtained through a questionnaire technique. The results indicate that producers, who are predominantly engaged in rainbow trout aquaculture, are under severe economic pressure due to high-exchange-rate-driven input costs and the abolition of government subsidies. While all participants (100%) perceived that climate change has decreased production tonnage, the most prominent impact of the climate crisis is perceived as drought and the decline of water resources, with a response rate of 37.2%. Multivariable analysis further showed that aquaculture experience and satisfaction with aquaculture income were significantly associated with producers’ future outlook, highlighting the importance of socioeconomic factors in shaping perceived sectoral vulnerability. Due to both rising costs and environmental risks, 50% of the producers view the future of the sector pessimistically and do not recommend this profession to future generations. Consequently, these results emphasize the critical need for integrated land and water resource management policies, alongside targeted climate adaptation strategies, to ensure the long-term socio-ecological sustainability of forest inland aquaculture in the region. Full article

Background/Objective: Web-delivered psychoeducational tools offer scalable options for managing elevated stress. Passive psychoeducation that delivers self-guided content without active psychotherapy techniques or homework may be particularly accessible at low costs. The present study examined the acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of a seven-week app-based passive psychoeducational stress-management program in an unselected cohort of nursing students. Methods: In this parallel-group randomized controlled trial (preregistered at the German Clinical Trials Register), 154 nursing students were randomized to either a psychoeducation group (n = 77) or a waitlist control (n = 77). Outcomes were assessed at baseline and post-intervention using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales–21 (DASS-21). A total of 56 completed the post-test assessment. The intervention group received a new psychoeducational module each week for seven weeks. After each module, participants rated satisfaction and reported adherence and application of content in daily life. The control group received no intervention. Results: Compared with the waitlist control, the intervention group showed a statistically significant reduction in perceived stress from pre- to post-test. Depressive symptoms demonstrated a trend toward improvement, whereas anxiety scores did not change significantly. Acceptability ratings were high and participants reported moderate uptake of strategies and perceived relief. Conclusions: A brief, app-based passive psychoeducational program appears feasible and acceptable for nursing students and can reduce perceived stress. However, the findings of the current study should be interpreted cautiously given the high attrition rate and the absence of long-term follow-up. Further studies with larger samples and replication under conditions of better retention are warranted. Full article

Although additive manufacturing enables cost-effective surgical training models, variation in materials and printing parameters limits standardization. This study combined biomechanical testing and user evaluation to identify fused deposition modeling (FDM) settings for osteotomy simulation. Porcine ribs and three-dimensional (3D)-printed models were compared using three-point bending tests. Subsequently, 32 participants performed osteotomies using an ultrasonic device, a Lindemann bur, and a reciprocating saw. Haptic feedback was assessed by questionnaire, while surface artifacts were evaluated by two blinded evaluators. With 25% gyroid infill and two outer layers, maximum bending forces ranged from 322.9 to 552.1 N across the printed materials, compared with 604.9 N for the porcine ribs, with polylactic acid (PLA) showing the closest approximation. Polycarbonate (PC) achieved the highest haptic rating (6.7 ± 1.8), followed by acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA), polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG), and PLA, with a significant difference between PC and PLA (p = 0.029). The reciprocating saw received the highest ratings across all criteria. Surface artifacts differed between materials (p < 0.001), with PETG and PLA showing more melting and fraying, and ASA and PC more stringing. No significant differences were observed between students and doctors. Overall, PLA most closely approximated the reference maximum bending force, whereas PC and ASA achieved the highest perceived tactile realism. Full article

The financial well-being of urban middle-income households in developing economies is an urgent yet theoretically underexplored issue. In Malaysia, the Middle 40 percent (M40) group faces a middle-income squeeze, where wage growth has failed to keep pace with rising urban costs, leaving them ineligible for means-tested aid but lacking the financial resilience of higher income-earners. Existing research largely links financial vulnerability to absolute poverty among the Bottom 40 percent (B40), treating financial strain, financial behaviour, and perceived inequality as separate factors. This leaves the M40’s financial erosion conceptually disjointed and untested as a cohesive system. This paper fills that gap by proposing an integrated framework positioning financial well-being as shaped by strain and perceived inequality, with financial behaviour as a mediator and household size as a moderator. It draws on the Family Economic Stress Model, Relative Deprivation Theory, and the Life Cycle Hypothesis to explain how economic pressure, social comparison, and life-stage disruptions interact. By synthesising these three theoretical lenses the framework repositions financial well-being, rather than income or poverty status alone, as the central outcome of interest for Malaysia’s structurally underserved urban middle class, and offers a theoretically grounded and testable basis for future empirical validation and policy design. Full article

Making judgments of learning (JOLs) can directly modify future memory, which is termed JOL reactivity. Recently, JOLs were found to produce positive reactivity for negative faces but not for positive faces. The finding was interpreted as support for the changed-goal hypothesis, which posits that making JOLs highlights item differences in learning difficulty, thereby prompting people to become more performance-oriented and to focus more on items perceived as easier (e.g., negative faces) at the cost of items perceived as harder (e.g., positive faces). While face emotion was manipulated in a mixed-list design in a prior study, we used a pure list of either positive or negative faces during encoding, which minimizes incentives to change learning goals. We replicated the finding of positive reactivity for negative faces and null reactivity for positive faces even in the pure-list design. Additionally, this pattern was consistent across same-race and cross-race faces and persisted when faces were tested with neutral rather than emotional expressions, demonstrating the robustness of the finding. Our results suggest that the emotion-related difference in JOL reactivity for face recognition cannot be explained by the changed-goal hypothesis. Instead, the current findings may be explained by the elaborative processing account, which assumes that making JOLs engages more elaborative processing than people spontaneously do. Because positive faces are spontaneously processed more elaborately than negative faces during encoding, this account posits that JOLs should provide a weaker reactivity for positive faces than for negative faces. Full article

As China’s dominant urban housing form, gated residential communities deploy layered spatial access controls governing who may enter and move through neighbourhood space. While neighbourhood social sustainability has attracted substantial scholarly attention, how micro-spatial governance arrangements affect the inclusiveness of residential built environments toward essential service workers remains underexplored. Drawing on Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space, this study uses food delivery riders—who navigate gated community access controls dozens of times daily—as an analytical lens to evaluate how neighbourhood spatial governance shapes social inclusiveness. Vignette-based survey data from 445 riders across 157 cities in 27 Chinese provinces were analysed using structural equation modeling. Results show that cumulative anxiety from procedural delays, detours, and elevator waiting is the dominant pathway through which spatial governance undermines riders’ perceived spatial inclusion—operationalised through occupational dignity indicators—with elevator-based spatial stratification identified as a concrete, low-cost intervention target within the spatial-channeling mechanism. Technology-mediated access partially mitigates face-to-face exclusion but leaves underlying spatial inequalities intact. Demographic invariance across all tested variables confirms that diminished inclusion arises from the governance regime itself. The findings position neighbourhood spatial governance as a measurable dimension of urban social sustainability—one concretely testable through the experience of essential service workers—and identify low-cost built-environment interventions for inclusive residential design. While the study focuses on riders as a single user group, the analytical framework is transferable to evaluating how residential built environments accommodate diverse non-resident populations. Full article

Sustainable supply chains carry a cost premium that can make their demand base fragile when economic shocks tighten household budgets, because the more expensive environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-aligned product is often among the first that consumers forgo. We propose extending resilience thinking to the downstream, demand-side node of the supply chain: we frame premium-tolerant ESG consumption as a conceptual indicator of demand-side resilience—an absorptive buffer that may help keep sustainable supply chains viable through disturbance—and draw on signaling theory to model how it is formed. Using a nationally structured, quota-controlled survey of 3000 Korean consumers collected by the Korea Consumer Agency, we estimate a moderated-mediation structural equation model in which ESG signal trust is associated with resilient sustainable consumption through perceived ESG legitimacy, conditioned by income and perceived greenwashing. Because the data are cross-sectional, we report associations rather than causal effects. Trust was positively associated with perceived legitimacy, which in turn was associated with resilient sustainable consumption, so that legitimacy is the proximal correlate linking trust to resilience. Income moderated this conversion only modestly—the sustainability–resilience trade-off is statistically present but small in magnitude—while perceived greenwashing did not attenuate it, and its unexpected positive coefficient proved unstable across specifications and is not interpreted. A multi-group comparison indicated that the pattern of associations differs with the perceived credibility of the ESG signal environment: when third-party signals were perceived as credible, the trust–legitimacy–consumption route was more pronounced, whereas when they were not, trust was associated with consumption more directly. Consumers also expected ESG far more of large firms than of micro-enterprises. No supply-chain-level outcome was measured; the cross-level link is advanced as a proposition for future work. The study reframes supply chain resilience as partly demand-side, potentially sustained by credible, independently verified ESG signals rather than by firms’ own disclosure. Full article

Background/Objectives: Healthcare workforce shortages and the challenges facing healthcare professionals are among the most pressing issues confronting contemporary health systems. This study examines the social representations of public, private, and public–private partnership (PPP) healthcare organisational models and professional practice elicited from public-sector physicians and nurses in Portugal. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between October 2022 and May 2023 using a non-probability sample of 308 physicians and nurses classified as public-sector professionals. Participants completed a free-association task concerning the public, private, and PPP healthcare models and their professional practice. The evoked terms were examined using prototypical analysis within the structural approach to Social Representations Theory. The representation of the public healthcare sector included elements such as accessibility, universality, equity, slowness, disorganisation, and resource limitations. The private healthcare sector was characterised by elements including cost, profit, speed, organisation, inaccessibility, and service quality. Results: The representation of PPPs included better management, efficiency, profit, interests, and quality, alongside a relatively frequent “No opinion” response. Professional practice was characterised by elements including caring, dedication, empathy, resilience, exhaustion, perceived undervaluation, and remuneration. Conclusions: These findings describe the social representations elicited from the present sample of public-sector physicians and nurses and should not be interpreted as evidence of objective differences between healthcare organisational models or as direct measures of motivation, resilience, burnout, sector preference, or working conditions. The findings are exploratory and hypothesis-generating and may inform future comparative research involving professionals working across different healthcare settings, as well as studies using dedicated measures of professional and occupational outcomes. Full article

This study protocol presents a pre-specified framework for assessing whether Farm Machinery-as-a-Service (FMaaS) can support inclusive access to Agriculture 4.0 in fragmented agrarian systems. The aim of the protocol is to define the conceptual framework, research questions, hypotheses, target population, sampling strategy, data collection procedures and planned analytical approach for a future empirical study using Poland as a case of a fragmented, family-farm-based agricultural system in which many small and medium-sized farms face difficulties in keeping pace with Agriculture 4.0. The manuscript does not report empirical results or human-subject data. The planned study will use a sequential mixed-methods design in which each component has a specific role. Secondary data analysis will diagnose farm structural conditions, machinery-use patterns, productivity gaps and innovation gaps. Expert and stakeholder interviews will refine the typology of FMaaS arrangements and identify relevant service attributes. A farm survey and a discrete choice experiment will assess farmers’ willingness to use FMaaS, perceived transaction costs, trust, digital readiness and preferences for specific service characteristics. Farm-level economic modeling and Monte Carlo simulation will evaluate the viability of ownership-based and service-based modernization scenarios under uncertainty. Structural equation modeling will examine social-sustainability mechanisms, including adaptive capacity, perceived resilience, perceived inclusion in digital agriculture and the perceived ability to continue farming under technological change. The expected output of the protocol is an integrated analytical framework for evaluating the economic, institutional, resource-use and social conditions under which FMaaS may become a viable and socially acceptable pathway to Agriculture 4.0. By combining transaction-cost theory, market-design reasoning, stated-preference methods, farm-level modeling and social-sustainability assessment, the protocol provides a transparent basis for future empirical research on access-based digital mechanization. Full article

Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) offer significant potential to enhance energy efficiency and reduce reliance on SO₂ and other chemical preservatives, aligning with current sustainability and health demands. This work evaluates PEF industrial viability for wine stabilisation through a multidisciplinary pilot-scale approach (108 L/h). A sulfur-free comparative trial evaluated four sequential bipolar PEF treatments (20–23 kV/cm; 19–34 kJ/kg) against stabilisation with a commercial chitosan–glucan complex. PEF caused significant effects on microbial kinetics: B. bruxellensis was successfully maintained below the detection limit and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were undetected by the end of the trial. Standard oenological parameters showed no relevant changes, except for lactic acid dynamics, corroborating LAB knockdown. Regarding metal ion migration into the food matrix, Fe, Ni, and Cr were assessed. No significant variations were found for Fe and Ni compared to the control group; all elements presented residual concentrations compatible with international regulatory guidelines. Sensory analysis revealed that PEF-treated wines exhibited lower perceived bitterness and higher colour intensity, driven by B. bruxellensis proliferation in control wines. In total, 75% of panellists preferred PEF wines. OPEX analysis demonstrates industrial competitiveness for medium-to-large scale, reducing consumable costs over 10-fold (0.6064 vs. 6.50 €/hL), excluding initial CAPEX. These findings validate multi-stage, pilot-scale PEF as a competitive and electrochemically safe technology to transition toward sustainable reduced-SO₂ or SO₂-free winemaking. Full article

Urban parks are essential components of green infrastructure that support residents’ physical health and well-being. However, less attention has been paid to how women can secure such benefits under equitable, safe, and sustainable park-use conditions. Using Xi’an Expo Park as a case study, this study examined the associations among Inclusive Urban Park Design (IUPD), Place Attachment (PA), Environmental Experience (EE), and Women’s Well-Being (WWB), with a focus on whether PA showed an indirect association between IUPD and WWB. This study adopted a quantitative-dominant mixed-methods design, combining 220 valid questionnaires (115 female and 105 male participants) with field observations and semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using correlation analysis, gender-comparison tests, mediation models, and robustness checks. Among female participants, the baseline model showed a statistically significant indirect association between IUPD and WWB through PA; however, this association was not retained after controlling for EE, nor in the fully adjusted model including EE, age, and visit frequency. The gender-comparison and qualitative findings suggested that similar levels of PA and WWB did not necessarily reflect equal conditions of park use. Qualitative evidence further indicated that some women’s park use was shaped by childcare, family activities, and other task-oriented responsibilities, which may involve hidden time, physical, and psychological costs. The subdimension-level findings suggested that perceived safety, accessibility and spatial legibility, and facility support and maintenance should be understood as interrelated use conditions rather than distinct independent effects. This study extends urban park equity research beyond spatial provision by emphasizing actual conditions of use and the equitable realization of well-being benefits. The findings provide implications for gender-responsive park design and social sustainability, while their relevance to everyday resilience should be understood as a conceptual extension rather than as direct evidence of community resilience. Full article