Search Results (215,551)

In this study, we develop and investigate a novel fractional discrete-time computer virus dynamics model in two dimensions with a memristive nonlinear coupling mechanism. The memristor introduces nonlinearity by having memory regulation that depends on the state and enhances the propagation dynamics of virus spread. By investigating both matching and non-matching fractional orders, it is then possible to derive useful knowledge with respect to cooperating roles in terms of fractional memory and memristive effects. The complexity behind it is confirmed via 3D phase portraits, bifurcation analysis with LE_max calculation, 0–1 chaos test, and SE complexity. Numerical results reveal rich dynamical phenomena, including periodic oscillations, quasi-periodicity, and strong chaos. In fact, positive LE_max values, Brownian-like trajectories, and high-complexity SE corroborate the chaotic nature of the regimes. Thereby, the fractional-order separation in noncommensurate conditions is a marker of chaotic motion, magnified in the emergently high-dimensional space introduced by the memristive element. As these results indicate that the derivative model proposed here provides an excellent fit for complex viruses present in scaffolds, it may prove to be a useful modeling tool. Full article

In this study, 72 genetically diverse accessions of Psathyrostachys juncea from a germplasm collection were evaluated for silicon content, biochemical composition and nutritional value in pasture biomass for grazing feed in Northern Kazakhstan in 2024 and 2025. High-quality biomass and low silicon are the most important traits for P. juncea pasture. In the studied germplasm collection, the average silicon content in leaves was 2.59%, ranging from 1.45% to 4.11%. All studied accessions of P. juncea were split into two clusters based on biochemical analyses. Cluster B with preferable genotypes had significantly lower silicon content, crude fibre, neutral detergent fibre and hemicellulose, but higher crude protein content compared to cluster A. The six best genotypes with close to or less than 2% silicon and with high nutritional value in pasture biomass content were selected from cluster B for hybridization and further breeding. Low silicon content in leaves was confirmed in most of the hybrids, similar to parents and significantly less than other genotypes in the germplasm collection. Strong negative heterosis values were identified in all hybrids for acid detergent fibre and lignin, showing a reduction in undesired traits for biomass pasture quality. A strong negative correlation was found between the content of crude protein and fibre (r = −0.71), whereas neutral and acid detergent fibre content had a strong positive correlation (r = 0.78). The most promising hybrids with the combined traits of low silicon accumulation and high-quality pasture biomass were selected for further breeding and production of new perspective cultivars of P. juncea for pastures with perennial forage plant species. Full article

With the advancement of aeroengines toward higher pressure and efficiency, the advantages and disadvantages of the compressor working environment significantly affect the whole machine’s performance. Boundary layer separation deteriorates the flow field structure. End-wall suction technology is an end-zone control technology that can enhance the aerodynamic performance and flow field structure. This study numerically simulated the influence of end-wall suction at different positions on the vortex evolution and aerodynamic performance under various working conditions. The results suggest that end-wall suction can effectively improve the flow field, reduce the corner separation region, and inhibit low-energy fluid cluster aggregation, thereby improving the cascade diffusion capacity and reducing flow loss. The suction effect gradually diminishes as the suction position moves closer to the trailing edge (TE). The total pressure loss is reduced by 16% when implementing suction at the leading edge (LE), and the loss reduction effect is the best. Furthermore, the suction effect shows a trend of increasing initially before diminishing as the incidence angle increases. When the incidence angle is 0°, the suction effect is the most potent. Full article

Background/Objectives: Many products that claim to have anti-aging effects have been reported, but their relative potency is not clear. In this study, the in vitro replicative lifespan extension (RLE) activity of various groups of physiologically active substances was compared by using the updated “overlay method”. Methods: Human dermal and periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HDFa, HPLF) were inoculated into the inner 60 wells of 96-well microplate, surround by sterile water to prevent the water evaporation. At Day 1 and Day 8, the cells were overlayed with wide ranges of concentrations (0.01–100 µM) of samples without medium change. Viable cell number was measured by the MTT method at Day 15 and then corrected for the variation in cell growth due to the location of inoculated cells. The RLE value was calculated as the maximum cell proliferation rate relative to the control. Results: Cell density of HDFa and HPLFs at subculture decreased with the passage number, and their growth was stopped at 56 or 85 population doubling levels (PDLs), respectively. Hydrocortisone showed the highest RLE values among six hormones, followed by three plant extracts, sodium ascorbate and quercetin. On the other hand, other antioxidants, chlorogenic acid, phenylpropanoids, vanilloids, and bacterial products showed little or no RLE effects. However, for HPLF cells, hydrocortisone did not show RLE effects while oxytocin showed slight stimulation. Conclusions: When differences in proliferation due to cell seeding position were corrected, the biphasic dose response curve of most of the compounds significantly reduced. The present study suggests the significant role of hormones for the regulation of the long-term aging process. To confirm systemic or clinical anti-aging effects, further in vitro and in vivo experiments are needed. Full article

Few studies have investigated the effects of L-valine (L-Val) supplementation on in vitro rumen fermentation parameters and methane (CH₄) production in low-nitrogen diets for ruminants. Therefore, we examined the impact of L-Val supplementation in low-protein diets on in vitro rumen fermentation parameters, CH₄ production, and microbial community structure. Two crude protein (CP) levels and 4 L-Val levels were tested as follows: CON group (Control group with 14.05% CP), LD group (low-nitrogen diets with 11.26% CP), LVA group (LD group + 0.25% L-Val), LVB group (LD group + 0.5% L-Val), LVC group (LD group + 0.75% L-Val), and LVD group (LD group + 1% L-Val). The experiment was conducted at five time points (2 h, 4 h, 8 h, 12 h, 24 h), with three replicates per treatment at each time point. Results indicated the following: (1) Fermentation pH decreased overall with time; at each time point, the LVB group exhibited the highest pH, significantly higher than the LD, LVC, and LVD groups (p < 0.05). (2) Ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) concentration increased over time, with LVA~LVD groups showing higher levels than the LD group at 24 h, while showing no difference compared to the CON group (p > 0.05). (3) Microbial protein (MCP) trends aligned with NH₃-N, with the LVB group exhibiting higher MCP than the LD group, while showing no difference compared to the CON group (p > 0.05). (4) Compared to the LD group, adding 0.5~1% L-Val increased acetic acid, total VFA (TVFA), and isobutyric acid concentrations at 4 h, 8 h, and 24 h fermentation (p < 0.05). (5) The LVB group exhibited higher proportions of protozoa and Fibrobacter succinogenes (F. succinogenes) compared to the LD group (p < 0.05). The proportion of F. succinogenes showed no significant difference from the CON group (p > 0.05), while the proportion of Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens (B. fibrisolvens) decreased when L-Val addition exceeded 0.5%. (6) Correlation analysis revealed positive correlation between protozoa and TVFA (R = 0.512, p = 0.030). Isobutyric acid showed positive correlations with protozoa, B. fibrisolvens, and F. succinogenes (p < 0.05). In summary, under the present experimental conditions, the addition of 0.5% L-Val to a low-nitrogen diet did not affect predicted CH₄ production, but improved other in vitro rumen fermentation parameters, including acetate, isobutyrate and MCP. Meanwhile, it favored the growth and proliferation of the fibrolytic bacteria (B. fibrisolvens and F. succinogenes). This provides a theoretical basis for the rational formulation of low-nitrogen diets for sheep. Full article

Background: Difficult intubation is an important clinical problem faced by anesthesiologists and is one of the most important causes of anesthesia-related morbidity. According to various sources, the frequency of encountering a difficult airway is stated as 1–4%. Aim: We thought that difficult tracheal intubation could be predicted by photographic analysis using artificial intelligence. Methods: Sixteen photographs were taken in the preoperative period in the sitting and lying positions anteriorly, laterally, with the mouth open, with the mouth closed, with the neck straight, and with the neck extended. Intubations performed without intervention for the first time were considered easy. Intubations with external tracheal intervention and with more than one attempt were evaluated as medium. Intubations requiring more than three attempts; intubation with stylets, fiberoptic bronchoscopes, or video laryngoscopes; or cases in which patients could not be intubated and provided airway with a laryngeal mask were considered difficult. Results: In our study, the CNN (convolutional neural network) model performed well overall, with the best results generally obtained using batch sizes of 32 and 128 and learning rates ranging from 0.1 to 0.001. Conclusions: The prominent aspects of our study are that it can be conducted with an easily accessible mobile phone, can be performed at the bedside, and is successful in predicting difficult intubation. The sensitivity of methods currently used to assess difficult airways is generally low, and the likelihood of clinicians successfully identifying this condition using available information varies widely; thus far, there is no gold standard for prediction. We believe that our study will bring a different perspective to estimating the difficulty of intubation, which occupies a very important place in anesthesia practice. Full article

Background: Sustainability-oriented higher education research has increasingly foregrounded staff wellbeing, motivational practice, and instructional continuity as central to long-term educational effectiveness. However, empirical evidence remains limited for university English language teaching (ELT) instructors operating within fragile, post-conflict, and regionally uneven systems such as Libya. In particular, little is known about whether job satisfaction is translated into motivational teaching behaviour through teacher self-efficacy, or how such relationships vary across demographic and institutional contexts. Addressing this gap is critical for understanding human-capital sustainability in higher education systems facing structural instability. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional online survey was conducted using Google Forms and regionally stratified convenience sampling across Libya’s Western, Eastern, Central, and Southern regions. The final sample comprised 385 eligible university ELT instructors, including both full-time and part-time staff. Data were collected using three validated instruments: an adapted Teacher Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (21 items), a teacher self-efficacy scale (12 items), and a motivational teaching strategies scale (18 items). All measures demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics v29, applying descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, regression-based mediation analysis with bootstrapping, and group comparisons using independent-samples t-tests and one-way ANOVA. Results: The sample included 57.14% male and 42.86% female instructors, with 62.86% employed full-time and the majority reporting 6–10 years of teaching experience (51.95%). Mean scores indicated moderate levels of job satisfaction (M = 3.32, SD = 0.94) and teacher self-efficacy (M = 3.03, SD = 0.68), alongside high levels of motivational teaching strategies (M = 4.15, SD = 0.87). Job satisfaction was positively associated with motivational teaching strategies (r = 0.61, p < 0.001) and teacher self-efficacy (r = 0.49, p < 0.001), while teacher self-efficacy was also positively related to motivational strategies (r = 0.53, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis revealed a significant partial mediating effect of teacher self-efficacy (indirect effect = 0.19, 95% CI [0.12, 0.28]). Significant differences were observed across demographic variables (age, gender, teaching experience) and institutional characteristics (employment status and university region). Conclusions: The findings indicate that sustainable teaching practice in Libyan higher education has been jointly shaped by organisational satisfaction and teachers’ capability beliefs. These results underscore the importance of context-sensitive institutional policies that support both structural working conditions and psychological resources. Future research could extend this evidence through longitudinal and mixed-methods designs to deepen understanding of sustainability-oriented teaching dynamics in fragile higher education systems. Full article

With non-rainfall water (NRW), principally dew and fog, serving as an important water source, especially in arid and semiarid regions, factors that may increase the NRW yield may have important hydrological and ecological consequences. On the other hand, dew and fog may also have hazardous effect on inorganic and human-made materials that may undergo corrosion and/or degradation. It has long been noted that dew and fog are affected by neighboring objects, the effect of which was, however, only barely explored. Hypothesizing that it may principally be linked to the sky view factor (SVF) (determining, in turn, substrate temperature and heat flow) and, therefore, to the angle that is formed between the collecting substrate and the height of the neighboring objects, a set of square boxes (30 × 30 or 60 × 60 cm) was constructed. The boxes had variable heights, forming angles of 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 75° between 6 × 6 × 0.1 cm cloth attached to a substratum (10 × 10 × 0.2 cm glass plate overlying 10 × 10 × 0.5 cm plywood) at the center of each box and the top walls of the box. NRW that accumulated at the cloths was compared with cloths placed in the open, serving as control. Another set served to measure the plate temperatures. A clear decrease in NRW, with an angle corresponding to a third-degree polynomial equation, was found (r² = 0.998). Taking 0.1 mm as the threshold for vapor condensation (dew), and taking the average maximal NRW as measured for two years in the Negev (0.20 mm), angles of ≥45° will suffice to impair condensation. However, with the projected decrease in NRW with global warming, even angles of ≥30° may impair condensation in 1–2 decades. While it may decrease the dew amounts and subsequently negatively affect the vegetation in forest clearings and wadis or canyons, it may decrease the exposure of construction materials to corrosion and/or degradation, thus exerting a positive effect on construction materials in urban settings. Full article

Masson Pine (Pinus massoniana), an important afforestation species in southern China, is severely threatened by pine wilt disease caused by pine wood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, PWN). To differentiate mortality induced by B. xylophilus from that caused by abiotic environmental factors, hyperspectral imaging and needle chlorophyll content were measured and analyzed for the early detection physiological changes in Masson pine seedlings under various environmental stressors. Four-year-old Masson pine seedlings were subjected to PWN inoculation, mechanical injury, drought, and waterlogging treatments. Hyperspectral reflectance and needle chlorophyll content of Masson pine were measured concurrently at 7-day intervals. The results showed that hyperspectral imaging responses varied among the stressors. Both PWN and waterlogging stress induced rapid mortality, with spectral changes observed as early as the 3rd week and reaching statistical significance by the 5th week. Under PWN infection, hyperspectral reflectance increased markedly in the 405–580 nm range, accompanied by a pronounced blue-shift of the red edge position (680–750 nm), while needle chlorophyll content declined sharply from approximately 0.8 mg g⁻¹ to 0.48 mg g⁻¹. Waterlogging stress produced a uniform increase in reflectance within the 500–580 nm range, with the hyperspectral curve gradually flattening, and needle chlorophyll content decreasing from 0.75 mg g⁻¹ to 0.6 mg g⁻¹. Conversely, drought-stressed seedlings exhibited only minor hyperspectral changes and maintained relatively stable chlorophyll levels, demonstrating the inherent drought tolerance of Masson pine. The RF and XGBoost models performed best in fitting the entire process of pine wood nematode infection and waterlogging stress, with all R² values greater than 0.69. The distinct hyperspectral imaging patterns under nematode infection and water-related stresses provide a reliable basis for early diagnosis and monitoring pine wilt disease in Masson pine stands. Full article

Urachal carcinoma is a rare and aggressive malignancy for which standardized management remains limited, particularly in patients with locally advanced and node-positive disease. We report the case of a 34-year-old woman with urachal adenocarcinoma involving the bladder dome and radiographically suspicious pelvic lymph nodes who underwent robot-assisted partial cystectomy with urachal resection and extended bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection. Because there was no clinical, radiologic, or intraoperative evidence of umbilical involvement, the umbilicus was preserved after preoperative counseling and intraoperative confirmation of a negative proximal margin. Final pathology demonstrated a 4.5 cm enteric-type urachal adenocarcinoma, pT3a pN2 (2/17), with lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and negative surgical margins. Immunohistochemistry and DNA- and RNA-based next-generation sequencing showed microsatellite stability, mismatch-repair proficiency, low tumor mutational burden, and no actionable genomic alteration. Given the absence of an established adjuvant standard, the multidisciplinary tumor board selected adjuvant FOLFOX as a non-standard postoperative strategy based on the overall clinicopathologic context. The patient remained continent, experienced no postoperative complications or treatment-limiting toxicity, and showed normalization of carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels. This case provides a carefully contextualized example of transparent surgical reasoning and restrained multidisciplinary management in a rare malignancy with limited prospective evidence. Full article

Background/Objectives: The processing and evaluation of behavior, actions or events that go against social (moral) norms can be assumed to operate on mental representations of the world and of how people typically behave. These mechanisms and representations may therefore be shared by the processing of meaning in general. The current study investigated whether the processing of deviations of morality can be distinguished from processing of semantic inconsistencies. Methods: Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded from English speakers while they read short written texts in English for comprehension. Texts contained words that constituted moral violations, semantic violations and neutral controls depending on the context, allowing for a direct comparison. Results: Using trial-based analyses, we found different ERP responses to semantic and moral violations: the moral violation elicited a long-lasting, posterior Late Positive Component (LPC) starting at around 300 ms, whereas the semantic violation elicited a positivity that started later and was descriptively more frontally distributed. Furthermore, the LPC amplitudes could be explained by the moral acceptance scores over and above plausibility scores, but not vice versa. Conclusions: The outcomes are compatible with the view that the processing of moral deviations engages at least some mechanisms that are different from the processing of semantic deviations. Full article

Background/Objectives: Patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy experience multiple symptoms. Effective identification, assessment, and management of these symptoms improve treatment effectiveness and satisfaction, as well as their quality of life. The present study aimed to record the symptoms of cancer patients and assess their satisfaction with chemotherapy in a Day Care Unit. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 95 cancer patients under chemotherapy. Data were collected using the Greek M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory, the Brief Fatigue Inventory, the Cancer Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire, and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using software SPSS 26.0. Results: Participants had a mean age of 63.8 ± 10.2 years, were mainly married (75.8%) and male (50.5%), and had a mean time since diagnosis of 1.9 years. Fatigue was the most common moderate symptom (81.1%, M = 4.26), whereas vomiting (18.9%, M = 1.03) and dyspnea (22.1%, M = 1.03) were infrequent and mild. Fatigue was significantly associated with Satisfaction with Therapy (SWT) and symptom severity. Overall satisfaction was moderate to high, with the Feelings About Side Effects (FSE) subscale scoring lowest (M = 54.0, SD = 24.7); females had lower odds of very high SWT than males (OR = 0.10, p = 0.003). Higher SWT was associated with being married (rho = −0.260, p < 0.05) and having higher education (rho = 0.276, p < 0.05). Higher levels of education were also associated with lower fatigue (rho = −0.233, p < 0.05), while positive FSE and higher Expectations of Therapy were linked to fewer severe symptoms and reduced fatigue, respectively. Conclusions: Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy reported low symptom severity and moderate to high SWT, although fatigue remained the most prominent and impactful symptom. These findings emphasize the importance of systematic symptom monitoring, particularly fatigue management, to enhance patient satisfaction and optimize the overall treatment experience. Full article

Self-controlled feedback promotes motor skills among patients with bodies altered by disease or injury. However, mechanisms underlying its effectiveness remain unexplored. This study determined whether metacognitive ability is involved in the learning benefits of self-controlled feedback during motor skill acquisition. Twenty-eight healthy adults (14 women; mean age = 21.6 ± 0.5 years), assigned to a self-control group (which received knowledge of the results only when requested) or a yoked group (which received knowledge of the results with the paired participants in the self-control group), performed a golf putting task. The experiment comprised a pre-test, practice trials, and a retention test administered 24 h after practice completion. Metacognitive ability was assessed after practice using the Adult Metacognition Scale. The self-control group showed greater improvement from the pre-test (V = 4.5, p < 0.01) and scored higher than the yoked group on the retention test (U = 51, p = 0.02). No between-group differences were found for any metacognitive subscale scores. Metacognitive monitoring was positively correlated with putting performance improvement only in the yoked group (p < 0.05, r = 0.56). The self-control group showed enhanced motor learning compared with the yoked group. Metacognitive monitoring was associated with learning only when feedback timing was externally determined, suggesting that self-control benefits learners with lower metacognitive monitoring. Full article

Objectives: This study aimed to explore whether the association of lifestyle behaviors with mental well-being differed by sports app use among college students, while also examining differences by sex. Methods: A total of 38,738 Chinese college students aged 19–22 years from a nationally cross-sectional survey in 2019 were included in this study. The Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale was applied to evaluate mental well-being. Clustered lifestyle behaviors were defined as unfavorable (zero to two healthy factors), intermediate (three healthy factors), or favorable (four to five healthy factors). The use of sports apps was classified as dichotomized frequently (sometimes and often) and infrequently (never, rarely, and occasionally). Log-binomial regression was used to investigate the associations. Results: Intermediate (PR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.11–1.18) and unfavorable (PR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.26–1.33) lifestyles were positively associated with low mental well-being. Infrequently using sports apps was associated with low mental well-being (PR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.06–1.10). The magnitude of the association between an unfavorable lifestyle and low mental well-being was smaller among girls who frequently used sports apps (PR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.16–1.27) than among those who used them infrequently (PR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.24–1.38). Conclusion: These findings suggest that integrating engagement with digital sports apps into campus health promotion strategies might help support mental well-being, especially for college students with multiple unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. Full article