Search Results (3,594)

Safety signs in innovative manufacturing environments fail to match dynamic risks due to the separation of perception, semantics, and decision-making. Existing methods lack closed-loop integration of IoT sensor streams, knowledge graph reasoning, and adaptive signage control. This paper proposes a framework that fuses dynamic graph attention networks with hierarchical temporal knowledge graphs and reinforcement learning optimization. The framework extracts spatiotemporal dependencies from multi-source sensors, traces risk propagation paths on an industrial knowledge graph, and generates adaptive signage actions. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves 96.7% risk identification accuracy, a 91.3% risk propagation F1 score, a 94.2 semantic matching score, and 43.65 milliseconds response latency. Real-world validation on an aerospace workshop confirms the method’s effectiveness. This work provides a closed-loop solution from physical perception to adaptive semantic expression for intelligent manufacturing safety. Full article

Background/Objectives: Promoting postural health in children requires not only adequate knowledge but also the implementation of health-promoting behaviors in the school environment. Teachers play a key role in this process; however, the extent to which their knowledge is reflected in everyday practice remains unclear. The study aimed to analyze and compare the levels of knowledge among preschool, early school, and physical education teachers regarding postural health in children and adolescents, including postural abnormalities, ergonomics, the selection of corrective exercises, and behaviors that promote correct body posture. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 153 teachers in Poland: 24 preschool (P), 53 early school education (EE), and 76 physical education (PE) teachers. The self-report Teachers’ Body Posture Literacy Questionnaire (TBPLQ) was used to assess knowledge regarding postural abnormalities. Results: PE achieved the highest TBPLQ scores, with significant differences observed mainly in comparison with EE (r = 0.30–0.50, p < 0.001). Across all groups, teachers performed best in recognizing postural abnormalities and worst in selecting appropriate corrective exercises. Although knowledge levels were relatively high, only weak correlations were found between knowledge and postural hygiene-promoting behaviors. The largest behavioral differences concerned the use of appropriate sportswear during physical education classes (η² > 0.14). Conclusions: Teachers demonstrated relatively high levels of knowledge regarding posture health. However, a clear knowledge–behavior gap was identified. Knowledge was only partially translated into proactive health-promoting actions, particularly regarding corrective interventions and communication with parents. The results suggest the need for educational initiatives for teachers focusing on proactive health-promoting and postural hygiene behaviors. Full article

Background: Football is an intermittent sport characterized by high physical and physiological demands, which may be influenced by the competitive level. Understanding differences in match load is fundamental for optimizing training planning, fatigue management, and athlete performance and injury prevention. This study aimed to evaluate and compare external and internal load in senior football players in Portugal across five distinct competitive levels. Methods: Wimu Pro^TM (Hudl, Lincoln, NE, USA) and Garmin Heart Rate bands (Garmin International Inc., Olathe, KS, USA) were used to quantify and evaluate the external and internal load of the players. A total of 96 athletes were assessed, with ages ranging from 19 to 36 years (mean: 24.28 ± 4.72), who were divided into five competition levels (1st Division (n = 19), 2nd Division (n = 21), 3rd Division (n = 14), 4th Division (n = 20), and Regional Division (n = 22). Results: Significant differences were observed between competitive levels across several external load variables (p > 0.001). The 3rd Division and 4th Division showed higher values in variables associated with reactive and high-intensity actions (p < 0.001; effect size: 0.287), whereas the 2nd Division exhibited a more controlled load profile. Regarding internal load, significant differences were only observed in average heart rate during the second half (p = 0.043; effect size: 0.085), indicating distinct capacities to maintain physiological intensity under fatigue. Conclusions: It can be concluded that competitive level influences load profiles in football, although the differences do not follow a linear pattern. External and internal loads demonstrate greater discriminatory capacity between competitive levels than internal load. Full article

Background/Objectives: Curcumin has been proposed as a nutritional strategy to support exercise recovery through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions. However, trials differ in sport context, training status, supplementation timing, dose, formulation, and methodological control. This systematic review evaluated its effects on recovery outcomes in active individuals and athletes, with particular attention to the applicability of the evidence to real-world sport settings. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and Cochrane Library/CENTRAL were searched from 2012 to June 2026. Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials were eligible when they evaluated oral curcumin, curcuminoids, Curcuma-derived preparations with a specified curcumin dose, or curcumin combined only with bioavailability enhancers. Studies using artificial muscle-damage protocols, clinical populations, non-randomized designs, or combined bioactive interventions were excluded. Methodological quality was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale, supplemented by a Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2) assessment and a Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) certainty-of-evidence evaluation. Owing to heterogeneity, findings were synthesized narratively by outcome domain, supplementation timing, formulation type, exercise context, and training status. Results: Fifteen trials were included. Favorable effects were reported in 6/7 studies assessing oxidative stress, 4/6 assessing muscle damage, 3/8 assessing inflammation, 3/7 assessing subjective recovery, soreness, or fatigue, and 4/8 assessing physical or athletic performance. However, effects varied substantially according to population, exercise context, biomarker selection, timing of assessment, and formulation type. The certainty of evidence was low for oxidative stress and very low for muscle damage, inflammation, subjective recovery/soreness/fatigue, and performance. Conclusions: Curcumin supplementation may support selected aspects of exercise recovery, particularly oxidative stress responses. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously because the evidence derives mostly from small trials with heterogeneous populations, exercise protocols, supplementation regimens, formulations, biomarkers, and assessment time points. Evidence for muscle damage, inflammation, subjective recovery, fatigue, and performance remains inconsistent, and further well-controlled trials in trained and high-performance athletes are needed before practical recommendations can be established. Full article

Product mismatch, arising from consumers’ inability to physically experience products before purchase, is a major cause of returns in e-commerce, eroding e-tailer profits and intensifying consumers’ concerns about returns. To alleviate these concerns, e-tailers have increasingly adopted return insurance (RI), which reduces consumers’ return freight costs. However, RI may encourage consumers to defer product selection from the pre-purchase search stage to the post-purchase evaluation stage, thereby exacerbating mismatch and increasing return rates. As a countermeasure in live-streaming commerce, augmented reality (AR) provides an immersive product experience that can reduce mismatch and returns. This study develops a game-theoretic model to analyze the strategic interplay between an e-tailer’s RI decision and a live streamer’s AR decision while incorporating consumer search effort. The results show that consumer search effort changes the relationship between the two strategies. When search effort is low, RI and AR function as strategic substitutes; when search effort is high, they function as strategic complements. These findings indicate that the value of a return-management strategy depends on consumer behavior and on the presence of the partner’s AR strategy. The study contributes to the literature on interdependent return-management strategies and provides actionable insights for e-commerce practitioners. Full article

Polyethylene microplastics (PE-MPs) are ubiquitous constituents of waste activated sludge (WAS), acting as a major land-based source threatening coastal environmental integrity. However, how particle size and dose govern the methanogenic outcome during WAS digestion remains poorly defined. This study evaluated two particle sizes (50 vs. 300 µm) and doses (100 vs. 200 particles/gTS) to elucidate the differential effects of PE-MPs on methane yield and the underlying biological mechanisms. The results show that, while low-dose treatments either slightly inhibited methane yield (RS1) or had no significant effect (RL1), high-dose treatments (RS2 and RL2) achieved a net positive effect, with significant increases of 10.2% (p < 0.05) and 9.0% (p < 0.05) relative to the control, respectively. Nevertheless, RS2 and RL2 achieved methanogenic enhancement via distinctly different biological pathways. RS2 harnessed the stress of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (110.5% of the control) to drive community restructuring and biomass accrual (positive correlation between ROS intensity and total VS, Pearson’s r = 0.99). Key syntrophic and electrogenic taxa (e.g., Syntrophales, Bacteroidetes vadinHA17) exhibited a fully interconnected, decentralized network, thereby achieving tight coupling between hydrolysis and methanogenesis. RL2 leveraged the physical carrier effect to promote granulation and biomass growth, enriching Syntrophobacter to enhance propionate degradation. This culminated in a highly modular, sparse network characterized by localized competitive interactions. Together, dosage governs the net methanogenic effect of PE MPs, whereas particle size dictates the mechanistic routes of action. This work offers a mechanistic framework to optimize energy recovery from PE-MP-contaminated sludge while mitigating secondary environmental risks, providing a science-based strategy for the sustainable management of plastic-laden sludge that reconciles renewable energy recovery with pollution control. Full article

This article examines the utilization of WhatsApp as an alternative communication tool for disseminating visual content among social activists during protests. While WhatsApp is typically conceptualized as an interpersonal or group messaging platform, research on its role as an infrastructure for alternative media and citizen journalism remains limited. The study focuses on the “Tikva” group, established at the onset of the public struggle against the 2023 judicial reform in Israel, which evolved into a nine-month mass protest movement described as one of the largest in the country’s history. Through qualitative thematic content analysis of videos distributed within the group, the article explores how WhatsApp functions simultaneously as a channel for digital activism and as a site of bottom-up, democratic, non-institutional news production. The findings indicate two primary trends: functionally, WhatsApp operates as a mechanism for resource mobilization, calls to action in physical and digital spaces, and the cultivation of belonging and solidarity among activists facing institutional power; in terms of content and production, the videos articulate an anti-hegemonic discourse and challenge mainstream media conventions. The analysis shows how these videos dismantle delegitimizing frames and construct a counter-narrative depicting protesters as citizens defending democracy, thereby sustaining the protest movement’s momentum. Full article

The 9th National Congress of the Italian Society for Virology (SIV-ISV), entitled “One Virology—One Health”, took place in Turin at the Centro Congressi Lingotto from 22 to 24 June 2025. The meeting highlighted recent multidisciplinary and translational developments in virology, with a strong focus on the integration of the One Health perspective. Major themes included viral emergence and surveillance, genomic sequencing and bioinformatics, virus–host interactions, viral immunology and vaccines, structural and physical virology, environmental and food virology, zoonoses and animal infections, diagnostics and antiviral therapy, virus-based biotechnology and plant virology. The Congress aimed to: (i) bring together clinicians, basic researchers, veterinarians, environmental microbiologists, bioinformaticians, public-health professionals and industry to share methodologies and best practices; (ii) provide an interactive scientific environment promoting discussion and collaboration between senior investigators and trainees through plenaries, joint society sessions, invited talks, oral communications selected from abstracts, poster sessions, and mentoring panels; and (iii) identify priorities and inspire new research directions at the interface of human, animal and environmental health. More than 400 participants from national and international institutions attended the meeting, featuring distinguished plenary speakers, joint sessions with global networks, and numerous presentations of original unpublished data. This report summarizes the meeting’s scientific highlights, cross-disciplinary discussions, and proposed actions to strengthen One Health surveillance, computational infrastructures, and translational applications of viral biology. Full article

Extreme climate events have emerged as a critical threat to the economic resilience and environmental sustainability of urban systems. As a central pillar of the low-carbon transition, improvements in carbon emission efficiency (CEE) are increasingly recognized as a potential pathway to mitigate the occurrence and intensity of such events. Drawing on a balanced panel dataset of 163 cities from 2006 to 2022, this study integrates an Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model augmented with SHAP (Shapley Additive Explanations) analysis and a Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) framework to examine the nonlinear and spatially heterogeneous effects of CEE on the Climate Physical Risk Index (CPRI). The results reveal a distinct two-stage dynamic pattern, in which CEE initially exacerbates and subsequently mitigates climate risk, indicating a nonlinear transition from short-term intensification to long-term alleviation. This relationship shows clear differences across city levels and climate types. The strongest effects appear in peripheral cities and in areas with extreme rainfall dominance (ERD). Spatial analysis based on GTWR also shows a clear north–south pattern. The effect of CEE in reducing risk becomes stronger from the south to the north. Based on these results, the study suggests different land-use policy strategies for different city types and climate conditions. The results give actionable insights for designing targeted carbon governance policies. These policies aim to deal with the growing challenges caused by extreme climate events under ongoing climate change. Full article

The high penetration of renewable energy has exposed integrated energy systems (IES) to stronger source-load uncertainties. Traditional scheduling methods that primarily pursue economic optimality often fail to account for system regulation margins, which may lead to excessive charging and discharging of energy storage systems, frequent fluctuations in unit output, and insufficient supply–demand matching capability under uncertain operating scenarios. To address these issues, this paper proposes a Flex-TD3 optimal scheduling method for IESs with embedded flexibility rules. First, a regional IES model incorporating photovoltaic generation, wind power, micro-gas turbines, gas boilers, electric chillers, waste heat recovery units, heat exchangers, and battery energy storage systems is established to describe the coupling relationships among electricity, heat, cooling, and gas flows, as well as the operational constraints of key devices. Second, active regulation flexibility indicators are constructed from the perspectives of system upward regulation capability, downward regulation capability, energy storage state health, and electro-thermal decoupling regulation margin. A comprehensive flexibility score is then formulated to characterize the system’s capability to cope with renewable energy fluctuations and load disturbances under the current operating state. Third, the flexibility indicators are embedded into the state space and reward function of the Twin Delayed Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (TD3) algorithm, and a rule-based physical feasibility mapping mechanism is introduced to modify the raw scheduling actions generated by the agent according to device operational constraints, thereby enhancing the physical consistency and operational safety of the scheduling strategy. Case study results show that, compared with traditional optimal scheduling methods, the proposed method achieves better overall performance in terms of training convergence speed, operational economy, and scheduling stability. It can effectively reduce system operating costs, improve renewable energy accommodation capability, and decrease renewable energy curtailment, supply shortages, and constraint violations. Under uncertain scenarios involving renewable energy prediction errors, load disturbances, and high renewable energy penetration, the proposed method still maintains favorable scheduling performance, demonstrating its effectiveness and robustness. Full article

Background/Objectives: Melanoma is a major and growing public health concern in Poland, with a five-year survival around 60–70%. While UV radiation and genetic susceptibility are well-known risk factors, lifestyle and environmental exposures may also contribute. This study examined how selected risk factors relate to one-year melanoma prevalence across Poland’s 16 voivodeships and assessed whether these factors can support short-term prediction. Methods: Annual melanoma prevalence for 2011–2021 was obtained from the Polish National Cancer Registry, and voivodeship-level estimates of metabolic risk factors, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, smoking, high BMI, air pollution, water pollution and limited data on UV exposure were used to build a general estimating equations model. Model predictions for 2020–2021 were compared with observed data, and forecasts were generated through 2030. Results: Melanoma cases increased in every voivodeship between 2011 and 2021. Metabolic risk factors, high BMI, low physical activity and smoking were associated with higher melanoma prevalence. When other factors were considered, air pollution showed an inverse association, suggesting complex relationships that warrant further analysis. Forecasts indicated increasing prevalence in all of 16 voivodeships through 2030, although three regions showed large prediction errors for 2020–2021. A key limitation was the lack of sufficient UV exposure data. Conclusions: The findings support further evaluation of public health actions targeting the reduction of unhealthy lifestyle regarding diet, low physical activity, and smoking to help slow the projected rise in melanoma. Full article

This study develops an integrated computational framework to assess the passage efficiency of a dam crest serving as a critical inter-regional corridor following a severe explosion event. The framework combines a physics-based damage model with an agent-based cellular automata (CA) approach that incorporates pedestrian behavioral heterogeneity. The damage model conceptualizes three concentric zones: a complete fragmentation zone (0–1.5 m) with total material disintegration, a primary damage zone (1.5–5 m) following an exponential decay in structural integrity, and a secondary damage zone (5–20 m) governed by a power-law attenuation of fragmentation effects. Pedestrian behavior is parameterized by the Allowable Conflict Coefficient (ACC), the inverse of interpersonal friction, and the Emergency Level (EL), which scales the desired velocity. Extensive simulations under stochastic and targeted impact scenarios reveal a consistent evacuation performance hierarchy: Center (C) > Bottom-Left (BL) > Top-Left (TL) > Bottom-Right (BR) ≈ Top-Right (TR). Exit-proximal damage (TR, BR) increased evacuation time by up to 85% compared with central impacts. Results demonstrate a strong coupling between physical friction and urgency: the “faster-is-faster” effect is maximized under low friction (high ACC), while high friction not only suppresses the benefits of elevated EL but can also induce “faster-is-slower” phenomena under extreme conditions. These findings underscore that optimal evacuation strategies depend critically on both impact location and crowd behavior management, providing actionable insights for emergency planning and highlighting the importance of conflict mitigation in enhancing infrastructure resilience. The proposed framework thus offers a versatile and validated simulation tool for emergency planners to proactively assess and optimize evacuation strategies under various damage scenarios. Full article

Cyber–Physical Systems (CPSs) are increasingly vulnerable to Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, which can disrupt critical operations and compromise system safety. Although deep learning (DL) techniques are widely adopted for cyberattack detection, conventional DL-based classifiers often struggle to handle the uncertainty and ambiguity inherent in network traffic data. To address this limitation, this paper proposes an AI-driven hybrid framework, termed LSTM–Fuzzy–CPS, for adaptive DDoS detection in CPS environments. Unlike prior LSTM–Fuzzy approaches that are primarily restricted to SDN settings, the proposed framework is adapted for CPS environments and introduces continuous risk scoring, reduced false positives for safety-critical operation, and proportional mitigation mechanisms. The framework consists of a detection module and a conceptual mitigation module. The detection module, named LSTM–Fuzzy–Detector, integrates an LSTM network with a Mamdani-type fuzzy inference system that maps LSTM outputs into a continuous risk score using triangular membership functions (Low, Medium, High) and centroid defuzzification. The mitigation module is designed as a rule-based conceptual framework that translates risk levels into adaptive response actions; however, its experimental implementation is left for future work. The proposed detector is evaluated on the CICIoT2023 dataset and achieves an accuracy of 99.83% with a false-positive rate of 0.12%, demonstrating strong robustness against complex and evolving attack patterns. These results indicate that the proposed framework provides an effective, interpretable, and scalable solution for intelligent threat detection in CPS environments. Full article

Biofilms are structured communities of microorganisms embedded in a self-produced extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) matrix, whose development significantly enhances microbial resistance to antibiotics, disinfectants, and host immune defenses, posing major challenges in clinical, industrial, and environmental settings. Compared with planktonic cells, biofilm-associated microorganisms can exhibit up to 10- to 1000-fold increased tolerance to antimicrobial agents, contributing to the persistence of biofilm-associated infections (BAIs). These infections remain difficult to eradicate due to reduced penetration, altered metabolic states, and the presence of dormant or persister cells. Anti-biofilm strategies can be broadly classified into physical approaches (e.g., ultrasound, mechanical stress, and light-based approaches) that target biofilm structure; chemical and enzymatic methods (e.g., EPS-degrading enzymes) that destabilize the matrix; and biological and molecular strategies (e.g., quorum-sensing (QS) inhibitors, anti-virulence agents, bacteriophages, phage-derived antimicrobial molecules, antimicrobial peptides, and natural bioactive compounds) that modulate biofilm development and integrity by targeting regulatory pathways and matrix stability through distinct mechanisms of action. Natural compounds, including lactoferrin, lactoferrin-derived peptides, and probiotic and postbiotic fractions of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), as well as plant-derived metabolites, have shown promising anti-biofilm effects, with efficacy often enhanced through complementary or potentially synergistic interactions. However, despite these advancements, clinical translation remains limited. For example, BAIs account for approximately 80% of chronic infections, with high recurrence rates and therapeutic failure reported in device-associated infections and chronic wounds. These limitations highlight the need for clinically translatable, multimodal approaches that integrate structural biofilm disruption, antimicrobial targeting, and host response modulation to design more effective and sustainable anti-biofilm strategies. Full article

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder of gut–brain interaction (DGBI) of multifactorial genesis. Studies consistently show a disrupted intestinal barrier with increased permeability in IBS patients, regardless of subtype. This allows facultative pathogenic bacteria to translocate into underlying body tissue and to initiate or exacerbate IBS symptoms. Protecting the intestinal barrier is therefore a primary therapeutic target. Bifidobacterium bifidum MIMBb75 has proven its efficacy in IBS both in its viable and heat-inactivated forms. Its efficacy is thought to be mediated by the physical adhesion of B. bifidum MIMBb75 to intestinal epithelial cells, thereby protecting the intestinal barrier. In the present study, we show—using a Caco-2 model—that this strain-specific adhesion is facilitated by the high cell surface hydrophobicity of B. bifidum MIMBb75, which is retained following heat inactivation. In line with these adhesive properties, both viable and heat-inactivated B. bifidum MIMBb75 protect the epithelial barrier, as indicated by an increased transepithelial electrical resistance in Caco-2 monolayers. Together, these findings strongly support a physical mode of action in which both viable and heat-inactivated B. bifidum MIMBb75 adhere to the epithelial surface and act, figuratively, as a protective plaster on the epithelial barrier. Full article