Search Results (2,622)

Background/Objectives: The nutrition transition in low- and middle-income countries has produced a double burden of malnutrition (coexistence of excess weight, undernutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies), with scarce evidence in schoolchildren from vulnerable peri-urban areas of Paraguay. The objective was to characterize, in a multidimensional way, the nutritional status of children and adolescents from Limpio and to explore its associations with anemia and clinical, dietary, and environmental variables, in particular, reported intestinal parasitosis. Methods: Cross-sectional observational study in 90 participants aged 6 to 16 years recruited by convenience at six community settings. Anthropometry, body composition, capillary hemoglobin, dietary patterns, and environment were assessed. Weight status was classified using the WHO 2007 references (z-scores), anemia was described using WHO thresholds, and central obesity was assessed using a waist-to-height ratio > 0.5. Non-parametric tests, Fisher’s exact test, Spearman correlations, and multivariable logistic regression were used. Results: Overweight or obesity affected 39.3% (obesity, 16.7%) and central obesity 22.4%, with no cases of thinness, coexisting with anemia (27.0%), stunting (8.2%), and reported intestinal parasitosis (24.1%). Anemia was more frequent in children with reported intestinal parasitosis (45% versus 20%; adjusted OR 5.44; 95% CI 1.44–20.51). Height-for-age was inversely associated with the number of siblings (ρ = −0.25). Conclusions: This population showed a double burden of malnutrition. The association between reported, non-laboratory-confirmed intestinal parasitosis and capillary-hemoglobin-defined anemia was exploratory and non-causal, given the cross-sectional design. Together with the high burden of anemia, these findings raise the hypothesis of a possible triple burden of malnutrition, which would require confirmation through stool parasitological testing and biomarkers of iron status, inflammation, and other micronutrients. These findings are compatible with integrated community strategies addressing dietary quality, sanitation, and access to safe water; decisions on deworming and micronutrient supplementation should be guided by local parasitological surveillance and biomarker-based assessment rather than by these data alone. Because the study used a convenience sample from a single peri-urban community during one fieldwork period, the findings should not be generalized beyond similar vulnerable settings without further confirmation. Full article

This study examines the operational resilience of Limassol Port, Cyprus’s primary maritime hub, amid disruptions caused mainly by the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing high-resolution port-level data from 2018 to 2025, we evaluate performance across five key performance indicators: port calls, anchorage utilization, berth utilization, waiting times, and arrival punctuality. The analysis adopts a longitudinal approach, spanning pre-pandemic, peak-pandemic, post-pandemic, and recent phases, while differentiating impacts across vessel categories. Unlike many regional ports, Limassol’s cruise sector exhibited unique counter-cyclical growth, with calls doubling during the pandemic as the port transitioned into a strategic safe haven and repositioning base. This surge normalized over the 2024–2025 period as temporary operational disruptions resolved. Conversely, container and Ro-Ro (roll-on/roll-off) segments demonstrated robust stability, achieving rapid post-pandemic normalization, while bulk and tanker operations exhibited higher volatility linked to shifting commodity demands. These findings, validated through one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Cohen’s d effect sizes, underscore the adaptive capacity of mid-sized Mediterranean hubs. The study concludes that operational flexibility, coupled with enhanced digital coordination and strategic capacity planning, is essential for maintaining the resilience of short sea shipping networks during global crises. Full article

Electric power steering (EPS) systems have become the dominant steering solution in modern vehicles due to their advantages in energy efficiency and driving convenience. Among EPS configurations, rack-type EPS(R-EPS) is widely adopted in mid-to-large vehicles for its direct and responsive steering characteristics. However, conventional slotted motors used in R-EPS suffer from cogging torque and torque ripple caused by periodic reluctance variation in the stator tooth structure, resulting in vibration and noise directly perceived by the driver. This article proposes a slotless Surface Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (SPMSM) employing a Bar-Type magnet with a double-bridge rotor structure for R-EPS applications. By eliminating stator teeth, the proposed design achieves a uniform reluctance distribution during rotor rotation, theoretically reducing cogging torque to zero. The absence of stator tooth magnetic saturation further enables the use of high-remanence permanent magnets, improving gravimetric power density and enabling motor miniaturization. The proposed motor was designed and verified through finite element analysis (FEA). Compared to the conventional Arc-Type motor, the optimized design achieves a torque ripple reduction of 64.7% (from 5.07% to 1.79%) through Bar-Type magnet shaping combined with a 5 mm edge filet. The optimized design achieved an output power of 359.9 W, a gravimetric power density of 276.85 W/kg based on an active part weight of 1.30 kg, and a structural safety factor of 1146, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed double-bridge slotless motor for R-EPS applications. Full article

Implant macrogeometry and surface microstructure represent fundamental pillars for accelerating and enhancing the quality of osseointegration. The objective of this study was to evaluate the synergistic effect of three distinct implant designs, Strong (hybrid with trapezoidal threads), Unitite (hybrid with healing chambers), and Epikut (hybrid with active double threads), associated with two surface configurations (dual acid-etched [DAE] and nanohydroxyapatite [NanoHA]) on bone regeneration at 3 and 8 weeks. Twenty-four male rabbits randomly received forty-eight implants in their tibiae, yielding an equal accounting of n = 12 animals per experimental healing period (3 and 8 weeks) to ensure a balanced longitudinal and structural analysis. Biomechanical monitoring included final insertion torque (IT) and resonance frequency analysis (ISQ) at installation and euthanasia, while high-resolution micro-computed tomography (µCT) quantified the 3D intersection surface index (IS/TS) and trabecular microarchitecture (BV/TV, Tb.Th, Tb.Sp, and Connectivity). Regarding insertion torque, no significant differences were observed between macrogeometries (p = 0.557), ensuring a standardized mechanical baseline for biological comparison. For clinical stability (ISQ), the Epikut and Unitite designs demonstrated significant stability gains as early as 3 weeks (p < 0.05). µCT data confirmed a progressive, time-dependent structural reorganization, presenting a significant increase in trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) over time (p < 0.001), while the overall bone volume fraction (BV/TV, p = 0.861) and IS/TS index (p = 0.774) maintained statistical uniformity across all studied models. In conclusion, implant macrogeometry and surface nanotopography exert a distinct, chronologically shifted synergy during osseointegration. Clinically, these findings dictate target-specific selection: macrogeometric innovations accelerate early secondary clinical stabilization, whereas bioactive NanoHA coatings optimize subsequent long-term trabecular thickening within the established peri-implant architecture. Full article

This article reconceptualizes Velimir Khlebnikov’s aesthetic temporality not as a lyrical motif but as an epistemic procedure through which poetic language tests the legibility of history. Treating his historico-mathematical “constants” and his avant-garde formal inventions as mutually implicative, it isolates a double regime: time as oscillatory recurrence (wave, cyclic return, numerical periodicity) and time as a higher-order extension in which duration is spatialized, traversable, and re-coordinatizable. Against linear models of influence, this study situates Khlebnikov within a thick interdiscursive atmosphere—folkloric chronotopes, Romantic time–space convertibility (Novalis), non-Euclidean geometry (Lobachevsky, Riemann), Minkowski–Einstein relativity, and the Russian vogue for “hyperspace” mediated by Morozov and Ouspensky (with Hinton as prototype)—and argues that these matrices are metabolized via poetico-fantastic transmutation rather than imported as explanatory doctrine. Close readings show how reverse temporality, historical inversion, palindromic and collage logics, and the super-narrative architecture of autonomous “planes” operationalize a hyperspatial present in which distant epochs collide without recourse to technological “time machines.” The article thereby reframes Khlebnikov’s project as a cognitive technology: an attempt to re-engineer the chronotope so that past and future become navigable coordinates inside an expanded textual now. In this model, number and word converge as homologous instruments for forecasting, montage, and speculative world-construction itself. Full article

Objective: This study evaluated hepatitis B vaccine (HepB) uptake, associated influencing factors, and post-vaccination immune responses among preterm infants residing in Fujian Province. The findings can support targeted improvements in hepatitis B prevention and control strategies tailored for this high-risk neonatal population. Methods: We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study combined with short-term prospective serological follow-up across five counties, cities and districts of Fujian Province between 2022 and 2023. A total of 779 eligible preterm infants were enrolled in this study. We collected demographic information of participating mothers and infants, as well as complete HepB vaccination records throughout the study period. For 363 enrolled infants, we performed serological tests to detect hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) at 1–2 months after they completed the full HepB vaccination series. To explore factors linked to timely administration of the first HepB dose (HepB1), completion of the full vaccination course and HBsAb serostatus, we adopted a set of statistical approaches including descriptive statistics, the chi-square test (Fisher’s exact test was used for groups with small sample sizes) and binary logistic regression. Results: The timely HepB1 vaccination rate among all preterm infants was 78.18%, while 63.80% completed the full vaccination schedule as required. In the serology cohort, the HBsAb positive rate was 90.91%, and 8.82% of infants showed double-negative HBsAg and HBsAb results, indicating susceptibility to HBV infection. Multivariate analysis identified multiple risk factors for delayed vaccination. Preterm infants were more likely to receive vaccinations late if their mothers tested HBsAg-negative (HepB1: OR = 25.231, 95%CI: 4.997–127.406; full-course HepB: OR = 2.440, 95%CI: 1.395–4.269), were delivered in county-level or lower-tier medical facilities (HepB1: OR = 3.724, 95%CI: 2.107–6.580), or were born via cesarean section (HepB1: OR = 3.460, 95%CI: 2.169–5.520; full-course HepB: OR = 1.954, 95%CI: 1.411–2.704). Additional risk factors included a gestational age below 34 weeks (HepB1: OR = 4.369, 95%CI: 1.894–10.081; full-course HepB: OR = 2.237, 95%CI: 1.148–4.359) and a birth weight less than 2500 g (HepB1: OR = 2.251, 95%CI: 1.397–3.629; full-course HepB: OR = 1.513, 95%CI: 1.065–2.150). Conclusions: Preterm infants enrolled from five regions in Fujian Province achieved robust immune protection following standard HepB vaccination. However, timely first-dose coverage and on-schedule full-course vaccination remain suboptimal in this cohort. Observed gaps in routine vaccination management at primary care settings highlight a key area for improvement in local hepatitis B prevention. Targeted standardized training for maternity care staff at county-level facilities, paired with a full-cycle follow-up system for preterm infant vaccination, may further strengthen hepatitis B mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) interruption in the study regions. Full article

Total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) is a ubiquitous and critical pollutant in global surface waters. In China, regulatory oversight largely relies on static standard limits, often overlooking the influence of environmental factors on ammonia toxicity. Based on large-scale monitoring data from seven major river basins across China from 2021 to 2024, this study employed pH- and temperature-dependent Local Water Quality Criteria (LWQC) to identify the spatiotemporal decoupling between TAN concentrations and Risk Quotients (RQs). The results reveal a “double-peak” seasonal pattern in TAN concentrations nationwide, namely a primary peak in winter (December to February) and a secondary peak in summer (June to August), driven by low flow during the dry season and rainfall-induced non-point source runoff, respectively. Crucially, the study confirms a significant “concentration-risk paradox”: while TAN concentrations are highest in winter, ecological risk remains at an annual low due to the protective effect of low temperatures on toxicity. Conversely, despite lower total concentrations in summer, high temperatures and elevated pH trigger a sharp decline in LWQC and a surge in the proportion of highly toxic un-ionized ammonia (NH₃), marking summer as the peak period for ecological risk. Comparative analysis indicates that approximately 61.43% of river sections meeting the current Grade III water quality standards remain in a high-risk state. This underscores the inadequacy of static standards in providing sufficient protection during sensitive seasons. We suggest that water environmental management should shift from “concentration-based compliance” to “risk-based management,” implementing differentiated TAN control strategies specifically targeting the sensitive summer window. Full article

The critical binding of quantum states in Screened Coulomb Potentials such as Yukawa/Debye, Hulthén, and ECSC (Exponential Cosine Screened Coulomb) potentials is of perennial interest and relevance in many fields of science, ranging from nuclear and particle physics; plasma physics, astrophysics, cosmology, and nuclear fusion; physical chemistry, condensed matter, and materials physics; to synthetic nanostructures and nanophotonics. The purpose of this paper is to heuristically explore two related mysteries, one new, the other more than 50 years old. The solutions to these mysteries have implications for a much broader class of potentials, those addressed by Klaus and Simon. In our recent paper we presented numerical calculations using the Phase Method (PM), which is accurate to 60 digits and to screening lengths $\mathcal{D}\le {10}^3$ au and $l=0$–20 of the critical binding parameters for these potentials and, for Yukawa and ECSC, $l=0$–12 to $\mathcal{D}\le {10}^5$ au, at 30 digits. In doing so, we discovered an anomalous period-40 sawtooth structure in the critical parameters of the ECSC potential that is not observed for the Yukawa potential. In this second paper, we quantitatively explain the origin and periodicity of this newly discovered structure. To do so, we use two complementary approaches: a “neoclassical” (NC) variant of conventional semiclassical phase-space quantization and the PM for very precise fully quantum calculations. The observed period-40 sawtooth structure is quantitatively explained in terms of a novel “tick-tock” mechanism. The periodicity is calculated in terms of the ratio of phase-space integrals for the primary and secondary potential wells. A quartic double-well potential is used as a simple model to further illustrate the tick-tock mechanism. Using the NC method, an approximate expression is derived to predict the locations of tick-tock glitches from higher-order wells; it is confirmed by a PM calculation up to $\mathcal{D}\le {10}^6$ au. The second mystery is a strangely linear dependence of the total number of bound states vs. screening length for both the Yukawa and ECSC potentials. Using the PM, we confirm and extend these empirical relations. We show, using the PM, that an approximate trivariate linear relation between the square root of the critical screening length $\sqrt{D_c}$, state number n, and angular momentum l applies to these potentials. This, plus a geometrical state accumulation argument, solve the second mystery. We show these properties derive from the scaling relation between screening length and coupling constant and, as such, are predicted to be applicable to the whole class of potentials. These results are expected to be of both theoretical interest and experimental relevance when interpreting spectra or calculating thermal properties. The significance of these results, and the applicability of these methods and conclusions to a vast array of related potentials, is briefly discussed. Full article

Government data governance has become an important institutional mechanism for reducing information frictions, improving data-resource allocation, and supporting firm innovation in the digital economy. However, whether government data governance can promote firms’ technological catch-up remains insufficiently understood. Based on the quasi-natural experiment of the establishment of Big Data Administrations, this study constructs a multi-period difference-in-differences model to examine the impact of government data governance on firms’ technological catch-up. Using panel data from Chinese A-share listed firms from 2011 to 2021, the DID estimates indicate that the establishment of Big Data Administrations significantly improves firms’ technological catch-up. This estimated effect remains robust across placebo tests, specifications controlling for differential trends associated with pre-treatment city characteristics, and double/debiased machine learning estimation. Mechanism analyses provide evidence consistent with three channels: technology stimulation, digital-ecosystem optimization, and competition strengthening. Heterogeneity analyses further show that the effect is evident among non-state-owned enterprises, firms with higher information asymmetry, and larger firms. Additional spatial analyses suggest that neighboring cities’ data governance capacity does not generate stable positive spillovers; instead, it may be associated with negative spatial externalities, potentially reflecting siphoning or competitive crowding-out pressures. These findings highlight government data governance as an institutional driver of firm technological progress and provide policy implications for improving digital governance capacity, optimizing digital ecosystems, and promoting high-quality development. Full article

We demonstrate an 80 MHz, 350 mW, 120 fs, 770 nm femtosecond laser based on a nonlinear compressed 1540 nm femtosecond fiber laser. The home-built 1540 nm fiber laser, delivering 80 MHz, 2.69 W, 269 fs laser pulses, was realized by employing spectral pre-modulation and pre-chirp management inside an Er/Yb co-doped fiber power amplifier. The subsequent nonlinear fiber pulse compression stage was utilized to further nonlinearly compress the pulse duration to 128 fs based on the Gaussian assumption. Detailed numerical simulation was also implemented to investigate the optical dynamics of the nonlinear compression process. Finally, a 0.5 mm thick fan-out periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal was utilized to generate the frequency-doubled, 350 mW, 770 nm laser pulses with a 120 fs pulse duration based on the Gaussian assumption. Full article

Background/Objectives: The management of dyslipidaemia in Slovakia has undergone significant changes in recent years, particularly through the relaxation of prescription restrictions for existing medications and the introduction of new innovative molecules. Achieving target levels of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) plays a key role in preventing the onset and progression of atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular (CV) diseases. The aim of this study was to analyse how these changes have affected the effectiveness of reaching target LDL-C levels in patients at very high CV risk. Methods: This project was conducted as a retrospective analysis of anonymised LDL-C values from 2020 to 2023 using data from a collaborating nationwide laboratory. Patients included were those diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), stroke, and, more generally, those with high and very high CV risk. Target LDL-C values were assessed based on the 2019 ESC/EAS guidelines. Results: A total of 363,020 LDL-C test records from 115,950 patients were evaluated over the four-year study period. Among patients diagnosed with ACS, 2.2–5% achieved target LDL-C levels in the respective years of observation 2020–2023. As many as 6.5–7.4% had LDL-C levels ≥ 4.9 mmol/L. For patients with stroke, only 4–6.6% reached target LDL-C levels, while 5.6–6.7% had levels ≥ 4.9 mmol/L. In the group with very high CV risk, only 1.7–3% achieved target levels, and 7.5–8.7% had extremely high LDL-C levels ≥ 4.9 mmol/L. Despite these modest improvements, over 93.4% of patients in the highest-performing subgroup failed to reach the absolute guideline target threshold in 2023. Conclusions: While the lifting of prescription constraints and the introduction of innovative treatments correlates with a doubling of absolute target attainment and a contraction of extreme hypercholesterolemia, overall control remains critically low in Slovakia. Systematic, protocol-driven combination regimens and intensive follow-up are urgently needed. Full article

Background: Selenium is an essential trace element for humans that plays a key role in glucose homeostasis and hepatic function. Biofortification is a sustainable agricultural technique able to increase micronutrients and reduce pesticides in crops. Purpose: The present study aimed to examine whether the consumption of strawberries biofortified with selenium in a healthy population for 30 days would increase the endogenous selenium concentration, and whether and to what extent it would impact glucose homeostasis and hepatic function. Methods: Thirty-five healthy participants, male and female, were divided by double-blinding into three different groups that received control strawberries (100 g/day), selenium-biofortified strawberries (100 g/day) or selenium in tablets (100 µg/day) for 30 consecutive days. Blood samples were collected at the beginning (T0, baseline) and at the end of the nutritional intervention (T1), and the groups were compared for differences in serum selenium concentrations, glucose homeostasis aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and albumin (ALB). Results: Biofortification increased the selenium concentration in strawberries by 419%. Supplementation with biofortified strawberries increased serum selenium levels by about 73.6%, while standard selenium supplementation showed no statistically significant effect. Selenium-biofortifies strawberries reduced fasting glucose and insulin, and improved insulin sensitivity and β cell function. They also reduced AST and GGT within the physiological range. Conclusions: These data suggest that supplementation for 30 days with selenium-biofortified strawberries is safe and is associated with favourable changes in markers of glucose regulation. Selenium supplementation, at the standard market dose of 100 µg/day, demonstrated no significant clinical differences during the studied period. Full article

The transition to university is a critical period of academic, social, and emotional adjustment. Social media plays a central yet complex role, offering opportunities for connection while also posing risks to wellbeing, productivity, and social integration. This study explores how first-year undergraduates experience and interprets their social media use during this transition. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, nine focus groups were conducted with 40 first-year students at a UK university. Analysis generated a model conceptualising social media as a ‘double-edged sword’ within the broader social transition. Five interrelated themes were identified: social transition, polarised attitudes, quality of social connection, wellbeing support, and quantity and form of use. Social media supported early connection-building, maintaining peer ties, and accessing support, yet excessive or passive use intensified social comparison, fear of missing out, and academic distraction. Students recognised problematic use themselves, often prompting peer intervention to restore balance. Form, purpose, and perceived impact shaped experiences more than time spent. Findings highlight the importance of student agency, peer networks, and institutional support, offering implications for promoting healthy social media practices, wellbeing, and smoother transitions to university life. Full article

Sustainability transitions confront firms with the following informational paradox: the regulatory pressure to innovate green has intensified, yet the knowledge required to do so is dispersed across agencies, sectors, and jurisdictions that rarely speak to one another. Treating data as a strategic factor of production, this paper asks whether and how opening public data—the systematic release of government-held datasets—reconfigures the conditions under which firms generate green innovation. We model the green-innovation ecosystem as a Complex Adaptive System (CAS) in which heterogeneous, bounded-rational agents co-evolve with a data-mediated selection environment. Within this frame, public data openness (PDO) is not marginal input but an exogenous shock to the fitness landscape that propagates through three coupling channels—supply–demand alignment, recalibration of government intervention, and amplification of green credit. Formal derivations link each channel to a testable proposition, and a multi-period Difference-in-Differences (DIDs) design built on the staggered roll-out of Chinese municipal open-data platforms identifies the causal effects, with Callaway–Sant’Anna estimators and double/debiased machine learning (DDML) addressing recent econometric critiques. The evidence supports each proposition and reveals the following distinctive heterogeneity signature consistent with absorptive-capacity heterogeneity: the policy is most consequential where agents and ecosystems are best able to convert data into knowledge. Reframing PDO as a systemic enabler clarifies why uniform rollouts yield uneven returns and motivates a tiered design that scales with the absorptive capacity of recipient firms and regions. Full article

The transition to electric bus (EB) fleets is a critical step towards sustainable urban transportation, offering substantial reductions in greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions relative to diesel buses. However, transit authorities face multifaceted challenges in this transition, including limited driving ranges of EBs, the need for widespread charging infrastructure, and potential strain on the electric grid, alongside opportunities such as governmental subsidies and increased fare revenues. This paper proposes a comprehensive multi-period mixed-integer programming model seeking to optimize long-term EB fleet transition plans in urban contexts while jointly accounting for all inherent financial, technical, and operational factors impacting such a transition. The model is operationalized using real data acquired from Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), encompassing 71 bus routes and a 25-year planning horizon to meet a 100% electrification target by 2050. A scenario-based analysis evaluates the robustness of the transition plans under variations in key operational parameters. The results illustrate that optimized long-term planning yields substantial cost savings and emissions reductions, where the incorporation of environmental and social externalities and revenue shifts causes profit maximization to emerge as a more appropriate objective. In addition, it turns out that adequate dwell time is crucial for cost containment and full fleet electrification feasibility. While RTA targets 100% electrification by 2050, the base case is deliberately relaxed to 90% as certain routes, notably double-decker lines, are incompatible with currently available EB configurations. Nevertheless, full electrification is restored under the minimum dwell scenario. Also, a policy of purchasing only EBs accelerates full fleet electrification by roughly a decade with only a marginal increase in total cost, unlike imposing strict interim electrification targets. The optimized transition plans provide actionable insights for transit authorities balancing economic efficiency with sustainability goals. Full article