Search Results (961)

The conceptual design phase in architecture establishes the foundation for subsequent design decisions and influences up to 80% of a building’s lifecycle environmental impact. While Building Information Modeling (BIM) demonstrates transformative potential for sustainable design, its application during conceptual design remains constrained by perceived technical complexity and limited support for abstract thinking. This research examines how BIM tools can facilitate conceptual design through diagrammatic reasoning, thereby bridging technical capabilities with creative exploration. A mixed-methods approach was employed to develop and validate a Diagrammatic BIM (D-BIM) framework. It integrates diagrammatic reasoning, parametric modeling, and performance evaluation within BIM environments. The framework defines three core relationships—dissection, articulation, and actualization—which enable transitions from abstract concepts to detailed architectural forms in Revit’s modeling environments. Using Richard Meier’s architectural language as a structured test case, a 14-week quasi-experimental study with 19 third-year architecture students assessed the framework’s effectiveness through pre- and post-surveys, observations, and artifact analysis. Statistical analysis revealed significant improvements (p < 0.05) with moderate to large effect sizes across all measures, including systematic design thinking, diagram utilization, and academic self-efficacy. Students demonstrated enhanced design iteration, abstraction-to-realization transitions, and performance-informed decision-making through quantitative and qualitative assessments during early design stages. However, the study’s limitations include a small, single-institution sample, the absence of a control group, a focus on a single architectural language, and the exploratory integration of environmental analysis tools. Findings indicate that the framework repositions BIM as a cognitive design environment that supports creative ideation while integrating structured design logic and performance analysis. The study advances Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) by embedding critical, systems-based, and problem-solving competencies, demonstrating BIM’s role in sustainability-focused early design. This research provides preliminary evidence that conceptual design and BIM are compatible when supported with diagrammatic reasoning, offering a foundation for integrating competency-based digital pedagogy that bridges creative and technical dimensions of architectural design. Full article

The integration of emerging technologies is reshaping the teaching skills required in the 21st century, yet little evidence exists on how contextualized training supports rural teachers in adopting active methodologies and critically incorporating AI into entrepreneurship education. This study evaluated the impact of a 40-h professional development program implemented in Educational District 15D01 in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Thirty-nine secondary school teachers participated (mean age = 43.1 years); 36% lacked prior entrepreneurship training, and 44% had not recently mentored student projects. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed. The quantitative phase employed a 22-item questionnaire that addressed four dimensions: entrepreneurial knowledge, competencies, methodological strategies, and AI integration. Significant pre–post improvements were found (p < 0.001), with large effects for knowledge (d = 1.43), methodologies (d = 1.39), and AI integration (d = 1.30), and a moderate effect for competences (d = 0.66). The qualitative phase analyzed 312 open-ended responses, highlighting greater openness to innovation, enhanced teacher agency, and favorable perceptions of AI as a resource for ideation, prototyping, and evaluation. Overall, the findings suggest that situated, contextually aligned training can strengthen digital equity policies, foster pedagogical innovation, and empower educators in underserved rural communities, contributing to sustainable pathways for teacher professional development. Full article

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an evolving neurosurgical treatment, originally developed for movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and dystonia. In recent years, it has been increasingly applied to psychiatric and cognitive disorders. This review aimed to summarize the psychological and neuroethical dimensions of DBS, with particular attention to cognitive, emotional, and personality-related outcomes. While DBS can significantly enhance quality of life, it may also lead to subtle or overt changes in cognition, affect, and self-perception, especially in patients with neuropsychiatric comorbidities. Comprehensive psychological evaluation, both pre- and post-operatively, is essential. Findings from recent trials highlight a balance of potential risks and benefits that must be communicated transparently to patients. From a neuroethical perspective, DBS raises important questions regarding personal identity and autonomy, concerns that will become increasingly relevant as the technology advances. This paper underscores the need for more systematic research and the development of personalized care protocols that address not only motor outcomes but also psychosocial well-being. Full article

Background/Objectives: Cancer remains a leading global cause of death, with breast, lung, colorectal, and prostate cancers being among the most prevalent. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into cancer imaging research offers opportunities for earlier diagnosis and personalized treatment. However, the effectiveness of AI models depends critically on the quality, standardization, and fairness of the input data. The EU-funded INCISIVE project aimed to create a federated, pan-European repository of imaging and clinical data for cancer cases, with a key objective to develop a robust framework for pre-validating data prior to its use in AI development. Methods: We propose a data validation framework to assess clinical (meta)data and imaging data across five dimensions: completeness, validity, consistency, integrity, and fairness. The framework includes procedures for deduplication, annotation verification, DICOM metadata analysis, and anonymization compliance. Results: The pre-validation process identified key data quality issues, such as missing clinical information, inconsistent formatting, and subgroup imbalances, while also demonstrating the added value of structured data entry and standardized protocols. Conclusions: This structured framework addresses common challenges in curating large-scale, multimodal medical data. By applying this approach, the INCISIVE project ensures data quality, interoperability, and equity, providing a transferable model for future health data repositories supporting AI research in oncology. Full article

Health behavior encompasses the attitudes, decisions, and actions that individuals adopt in their daily lives and that directly influence their well-being. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a nursing intervention based on Nola Pender’s Health Promotion Model in promoting healthy behaviors among adults over 20 years of age. A quasi-experimental design was used with a sample of adults from a Colombian community. In 2022, sociodemographic data were collected, and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II), developed by Nola Pender to measure healthy lifestyles, was administered. In 2023, the intervention was carried out in 24 group sessions of 40 min each, supported by printed educational material and focused on the dimensions of Pender’s theory. Statistical analysis using nonparametric tests such as the Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests showed significant improvements: the overall score increased from 22.92 in the pre-test to 27.30 in the post-test. The physical activity dimension received the lowest score, while the spiritual growth dimension showed the highest improvement. The results indicate that nursing interventions based on Pender’s model led to statistically significant improvements in multiple dimensions of healthy behavior, with the greatest impact on spiritual growth and health responsibility. Full article

Actuating monolithic photonic components (particularly slab waveguides) requires higher force due to their inherent stiffness. However, two primary constraints must be addressed: actuator footprint and fabrication limits. Increasing the number of fingers to provide the required force is not a viable solution due to space constraints, and we must also adhere to the process design kits of standard fabrications and respect their design limits. Therefore, it is crucial to increase the actuator force output without significantly enlarging the actuator footprint while maintaining the necessary travel range. In order to achieve this, we utilize arrays of electrostatic comb drives, with each repeating cell geometry optimized to produce the highest force per actuator footprint. Our optimization strategy focuses on finger geometry, the arrangement of fingers and arms design in the comb structure, including the number of fingers per arm and arm length, ensuring that each repeating cell delivers maximum force per unit area or force intensity. Co-optimizing a repeatable, footprint-optimized comb-array unit cell (arm length, arm width, finger pitch, finger count) and validating it against an asymmetric slab waveguide load, we reach a maximum pre-pull-in force intensity of about 342 N m⁻² at 70 V with about 6 µm travel, confirmed by analytical modeling, numerical simulation, and measurement. Despite fabrication challenges such as over-etching and variations in electrode dimensions, detailed SEM analyses and correction functions ensure that the theoretical models closely match the experimental data, confirming the robustness and accuracy of the design. These optimized actuators, capable of achieving substantial force output without sacrificing travel range or mechanical stability, are particularly effective for applications in optical beam steering for in-plane silicon-photonics and related optical microsystems applications. Full article

Physical activity has been shown to influence ocular health, yet the acute effects of exercise on retinal and choroidal structures remain underexplored. This prospective pre-post study evaluated 30 low-fit adults without diagnosed cardiovascular disease who underwent comprehensive ophthalmologic assessments, including OCT and OCTA imaging, before and after a submaximal aerobic capacity test. Statistically significant thinning was observed in specific retinal sectors, affecting both inner and outer layers, including the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Vascular analysis using the OCTAVA toolbox revealed a significant post-exercise reduction in vessel length density, total vessel length, branchpoint density and fractal dimension in the peripapillary plexus; and mean tortuosity in the macular superficial vascular complex (SVC). Choroidal thickness also showed a significant reduction in several regions. No significant changes were found in the foveal avascular zone (FAZ). These findings suggest that acute submaximal physical activity induces transient yet measurable changes in retinal and choroidal microvasculature. The results have potential implications for understanding ocular vascular dynamics and for evaluating ocular health in clinical and sports medicine contexts. Full article

Aims: To analyze the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing students who had just completed their first period of clinical placement and compare these results with a study previously conducted on the same students during their university education. Design: A pre–post design was used. Methods: Students who had already participated in a previous (February 2021) related study were sent a follow-up questionnaire (response rate = 52.8%) at the end of their clinical placement training period (June 2021). Descriptive analyses of the study variables were conducted, and burnout levels were estimated after the students had completed their clinical placement. Predictive models for the three dimensions of burnout were then obtained using multiple linear regression. Results: The study results suggest that a high proportion (47.2%) of nursing students who performed their first clinical placements during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced high levels of burnout. However, engagement was a protective factor against fear of COVID-19, anxiety, neuroticism, emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment. Conclusions: Nursing students who completed their first clinical placements during the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to exhibit high levels of burnout and showed significant changes in their psychological dimensions. A risk profile should be established to identify the nursing students most vulnerable to developing high levels of burnout. Full article

Background: Practical field experiences (PFEs) in teacher education aim to foster pre-service teachers’ career-oriented reflection processes. Although aspects of occupational well-being are thought to shape reflection, empirical evidence remains limited. This study investigated how different facets of occupational well-being—including positive and negative affect as well as job satisfaction—predict distinct dimensions of pre-service teachers’ career-oriented reflections during a four-week PFE. Methods: Using a quantitative pre-post design, we analyzed data from 242 German bachelor’s degree students. Occupational well-being was assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and a job satisfaction scale; reflection processes were measured via five subscales capturing information, exploration, critical reflection, career guidance, and development. Results: Findings indicate a significant increase in positive affect (d = 0.75), a slight decrease in negative affect (d = 0.15), and stable job satisfaction. Regression analyses reveal that baseline positive affect and job satisfaction enhanced career guidance and exploration, whereas negative affect promoted critical reflection. Increases in positive affect and job satisfaction further strengthened career guidance and development. Conclusion: Aspects of occupational well-being can substantially shape career-oriented reflection processes. These findings highlight the importance of explicitly considering pre-service teachers’ emotional experiences in the design of field experiences and reflection opportunities within teacher education. Full article

Background: Arterial switch operation (ASO) is the standard surgical treatment for dextro-transposition of great arteries (d-TGA). Long-term complications affecting pulmonary arteries, coronary arteries, and aortic root necessitate detailed surveillance, but the optimal imaging strategy remains undefined. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 47 patients with d-TGA who underwent ASO between January 2023 and June 2025 with at least six months postoperative follow-up. All patients underwent both transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and ECG-gated cardiac CT angiography (CTA). Anatomical measurements, functional parameters, and diagnostic completeness were compared between modalities. Results: Median age at follow-up was 37.2 months. CT detected pulmonary artery stenosis in 31 patients (65.9%) and aortic root dilatation in 31 patients (65.9%). TTE provided incomplete pulmonary artery assessment in 11 patients (23.4%) and incomplete coronary evaluation in 13 patients (27.6%), while CT successfully evaluated all patients (100%). Strong correlation was found between left pulmonary artery bending angle and aortic root dimensions (r = 0.65, p = 0.016), suggesting mechanical interdependence of post-surgical anatomical changes. Median radiation exposure was 2.684 mSv (IQR: 1.5–4.6). During follow-up, 10 patients (21.3%) required cardiovascular interventions, with CT providing complete pre-intervention assessment in all cases. Conclusions: TTE alone is insufficient for complete anatomical assessment following ASO. An integrated imaging approach utilizing TTE for functional assessment and CT for anatomical evaluation optimizes post-ASO surveillance. Full article

Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) generates high-dimensional features that frequently induce the curse of dimensionality, impairing classification efficiency and generalizability in high-resolution remote sensing images. To address these challenges while simultaneously overcoming the limitations of single-criterion feature selection and enhancing temporal adaptability, we propose a novel feature selection framework named Mutual information Pre-filtering and Genetic-Hill climbing hybrid Feature Selection (MPGH-FS), which integrates Mutual Information Correlation Coefficient (MICC) pre-filtering, Genetic Algorithm (GA) global search, and Hill Climbing (HC) local optimization. Experiments based on multi-temporal GF-2 imagery from 2018 to 2023 demonstrated that MPGH-FS could reduce the feature dimension from 232 to 9, and it achieved the highest Overall Accuracy (OA) of 85.55% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.75 in full-scene classification, with training and inference times limited to 6 s and 1 min, respectively. Cross-temporal transfer experiments further validated the method’s robustness to inter-annual variation within the same area, with classification accuracy fluctuations remaining below 4% across different years, outperforming comparative methods. These results confirm that MPGH-FS offers significant advantages in feature compression, classification performance, and temporal adaptability, providing a robust technical foundation for efficient and accurate multi-temporal remote sensing classification. Full article

Traditional perceptual loss functions, primarily designed for photographic images, often perform poorly in the sketch domain due to significant differences in visual representation. To address this domain gap, we propose an improved perceptual loss specifically designed for sketch images. Our method fine-tunes a pre-trained VGG-16 model on the ImageNet-Sketch dataset while strategically replacing max-pooling layers with spatial and channel attention mechanisms. We comprehensively evaluate our approach across three dimensions: generation quality, sketch retrieval performance, and feature space organization. Experimental results demonstrate consistent improvements across all evaluation metrics, with our method achieving the best generation performance, over 10% improvement in sketch retrieval accuracy, and 6-fold improvement in class separability compared to baseline methods. The ablation studies confirm that both fine-tuning and attention mechanisms are essential components that work together effectively. Our domain-specific perceptual loss effectively bridges the gap between photographic and sketch domains, providing enhanced performance for various sketch-related computer vision applications, including generation, retrieval, and recognition. Full article

Clear aligners are increasingly used as an alternative to fixed appliances in orthognathic surgery, particularly for skeletal Class III malocclusions. This scoping review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of clear aligners in the pre- and postoperative phases of surgical treatment and was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Electronic searches were conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and OpenGrey. Data extraction considered study design, country, sample characteristics, surgical protocol, orthodontic biomechanics, use of auxiliaries, and cephalometric outcomes. Seven studies published between 2020 and 2024 were included. They involved 120 adult patients treated with Invisalign^® combined with Le Fort I osteotomy and bilateral sagittal split osteotomy. All studies reported skeletal improvements, particularly in ANB angle and Wits appraisal, with maintenance of vertical dimensions. Clear aligners facilitated presurgical dental decompensation, torque control, and postsurgical occlusal refinement, with auxiliaries and digital tools enhancing predictability. Despite variability in protocols and limited long-term follow-up, outcomes were comparable to those achieved with fixed appliances. Current evidence supports the clinical viability of integrating clear aligners into orthognathic surgery, although standardized protocols and further high-quality prospective studies are needed to confirm long-term stability. Full article

Digital transformation has re-engineered tourism marketing and how destination branding competes for tourist attention, yet scholarship offers little systematic quantification of these changes. Drawing on 160 peer-reviewed studies published between 1990 and 2025, we combine grounded-theory thematic synthesis with a random-effect meta-analysis of 60 datasets to trace branding performance across five technological eras (pre-Internet and brochure era: to mid-1990s; Web 1.0: 1995–2004; Web 2.0: 2004–2013; mobile first: 2013–2020; AI-XR: 2020–2025). Results reveal three structural shifts: (i) dialogic engagement replaces one-way promotion, (ii) credibility migrates to user-generated content, and (iii) artificial intelligence–driven personalisation reconfigures relevance, while mobile and virtual reality marketing extend immersion. Meta-analytic estimates show the strongest gains for engagement intentions (g = 0.57), followed by brand awareness (g = 0.46) and image (g = 0.41). Other equity dimensions (attitudes, loyalty, perceived quality) also improved on average, but to a lesser degree. Visual, UGC-rich, and influencer posts on highly interactive platforms consistently outperform brochure-style content, while robustness checks (fail-safe N, funnel symmetry, leave-one-out) confirm stability. We conclude that digital tools amplify, rather than replace, co-creation, credibility, and context. By fusing historical narrative with statistical certainty, the study delivers a data-anchored roadmap for destination marketers, researchers, and policymakers preparing for the AI-mediated decade ahead. Full article

This study investigated shifts in preservice teachers’ perceived preparedness, readiness to engage in the profession, and teaching self-efficacy before and after a culminating field experience within a two-year, master’s level initial teacher education program at a large Australian university. Employing the Pre-service Teacher Professional Experience (PTPE) scale, we examined pre-service teachers’ pre- and post-field experience changes for each construct. We then used structural equation modeling to test a hypothesized causal framework, confirming theorized relationships among preparedness, readiness to engage, and self-efficacy for teaching. Path analyses revealed significant shifts in how specific dimensions of preparedness contributed to preservice teachers’ readiness to engage in the profession, which, in turn, influenced their teaching self-efficacy. Findings support the utility of the PTPE and causal framework in future research on teacher preparation, particularly as a means for teacher education programs to assess pre-service teacher development in alignment with professional standards for teaching. Full article