Search Results (2,160)

Estimating the economic value of recreation and ecotourism is essential for sustainable ecosystem management and informed environmental policymaking. However, values derived from individual studies often vary because of subjective preferences and contextual variability, making it challenging to obtain generalizable estimates. To address this issue, this study employed a meta-regression analysis synthesizing 179 willingness-to-pay (WTP) observations obtained from 48 individual valuation studies conducted across various recreational and ecotourism sites in the Republic of Korea. Focusing specifically on national parks, which are prominent providers of cultural ecosystem services, we examined how site characteristics, study design factors, and valuation methodologies influenced estimated WTP values. Outliers were systematically identified and treated using statistical methods, with the random-effects model utilizing studentized residuals yielding the most robust results. Our findings revealed that national parks and studies employing the travel cost method (TCM) were associated with significantly higher WTP values. By applying the developed meta-regression model, we estimated that the total value of recreational and ecotourism services provided by national parks in the Republic of Korea was approximately USD 865.0 million in 2020. These results highlight the effectiveness of meta-regression analysis in synthesizing heterogeneous valuation studies, facilitating more accurate benefit transfers, and offering empirical insights to guide ecosystem service policy and management decisions. Full article

Urban green spaces (UGSs) and forests play a vital role in shaping sustainable and livable cities, offering not only ecological benefits but also spaces that are essential for human well-being, social interactions, and everyday life. Understanding the landscape features that resonate most with public preferences is essential for enhancing the appeal, accessibility, and functionality of these environments. However, traditional approaches—such as surveys or single-data analyses—often lack the nuance needed to capture the complex and multisensory nature of human responses to green spaces. This study explores a cross-modal methodology that integrates natural language processing (NLP) and deep learning techniques to analyze text and image data collected from public reviews of 19 urban parks in Nanjing. By capturing both subjective emotional expressions and objective visual impressions, this study reveals a consistent public preference for natural landscapes, particularly those featuring evergreen trees, shrubs, and floral elements. Text-based data reflect users’ lived experiences and nuanced perceptions, while image data offers insights into visual appeal and spatial composition. By bridging human-centered insights with data-driven analysis, this research provides a robust framework for evaluating landscape preferences. It also underscores the importance of designing green spaces that are not only ecologically sound but also emotionally resonant and socially inclusive. The findings offer valuable guidance for the planning, design, and adaptive management of urban green infrastructure in ways that support healthier, more responsive, and smarter urban environments. Full article

Expatriates and missionaries in China played a significant role in the development and transformation of Chinese architecture in the Late Qing period. However, a systematic comparison of their discourses and proposals on Chinese architecture has been hindered by a lack of historical literature and the complexities of fragmented data and methodologies. This article examines and compares the two most influential non-native newspapers: The North-China Daily News in English, edited by expatriates, and The Review of the Times in Chinese, founded by missionaries. By analyzing these two groups’ discourses and narratives on Chinese architecture, the study explores their similarities and distinctions, revealing the characteristics, strategies, attitudes, interests, and opinions of expatriates, missionaries, and non-missionaries in China on the transmission and transformation of architecture knowledge. The research highlights differences in their preferences for specific text types, subjects, and themes on Chinese architecture, as well as their attitudes toward native and foreign architecture, professional education, and architecture regulations in individual and official spheres. Despite these differences, overlapping characteristics and proposals existed among the three groups. The study further investigates the underlying reasons and mechanisms for their similar or divergent mindsets and behavioral patterns, drawing on human responsive psychology rather than relying on postcolonial or cultural theories. Full article

Ductile structures have demonstrated the ability to withstand increased seismic intensity levels. Additionally, these structures can be restored to their operational state promptly following the replacement of damaged components post-earthquake. This capability has been a subject of considerable interest and focus in recent years. The study presented in this paper introduces an innovative beam-column connection that incorporates V-shaped steel as the replaceable energy-dissipating component. It delineates the structural configuration and design principles of this joint. Furthermore, the paper conducts a detailed analysis of the joint’s failure mode, stress distribution, and strain patterns using ABAQUS 2022 finite element software, thereby elucidating the failure mechanisms, load transfer pathways, and energy dissipation characteristics of the joint. In addition, the study investigates the impact of critical design parameters, including the strength, thickness, and weakening dimensions of the dog-bone energy-dissipating section, as well as the strength and thickness of the V-shaped plate, on the seismic behavior of the beam-column joint. The outcomes demonstrate that the incorporation of V-shaped steel with a configurable replaceable energy-dissipating component into the traditional dog-bone replaceable joint significantly improves the out-of-plane stability. Concurrently, the V-shaped steel undergoes a process of gradual flattening under load, which allows for a larger degree of deformation. In conclusion, the innovative joint design exhibits superior ductility and load-bearing capacity when contrasted with the conventional replaceable dog-bone energy-dissipating section joint. The joint’s equivalent viscous damping coefficient, ranging between 0.252 and 0.331, demonstrates its robust energy dissipation properties. The parametric analysis results indicate that the LY160 and Q235 steel grades are recommended for the dog-bone connector and V-shaped steel connector, respectively. The optimal thickness ranges are 6–10 mm for the dog-bone connector and 2–4 mm for the V-shaped steel connector, while the weakened dimension should preferably be selected within 15–20 mm. Full article

Objectives: We compared the effects of two active re-warm-up protocols applied during halftime’s last three minutes, after a warm-up, testing, and a simulated first-half match. Methods: Twenty-two professional players from a first Portuguese division club were randomized into two re-warm-up protocols during a simulated match interval: (i) a strength, plyometrics, and balance protocol (SPBP); and (ii) a soccer-specific protocol (SSP). Players were assessed for a 20-m linear sprint and countermovement jump (CMJ) after the warm-up and the re-warm-up. Descriptive statistics and mixed ANOVA were performed, with effect size assessed using partial eta-squared. The Acute Readiness Monitoring Scale (ARMS) questionnaire was administered after the simulated match and re-warm-up and was analyzed using a multifactorial ANOVA. Results: No significant interaction effects were observed (p > 0.05). Comparing pre-match to post-re-warm-up, there was a slight decrease in sprint (significant) and jump performance (non-significant). Additionally, there were no between-protocol differences in perceived readiness (ARMS). Conclusions: After the three-minute re-warm-up protocols, similar results were observed in the 20-m sprint performance, CMJ, and perceived readiness when comparing SPBP and SSP. These re-warm-up protocols (SPBP and SSP) are practical to implement within a 3-min time window, and, given their apparent lack of differences, players’ preferences could be considered. However, the SSP is currently subject to restrictions that limit teams’ access to the field during this period. Future research should compare active re-warm-up protocols with passive controls to more clearly assess their effectiveness. Full article

In order to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of the economy and society, as the economic center of the western region of China, Chengdu actively promotes the national green and low-carbon policies. Some specific measures are proposed to develop Chengdu’s low-carbon economy, such as increasing the ownership of new energy vehicles, promoting the development of park cities and increasing the proportion of clean energy and non-fossil energy, etc. So, in order to accurately evaluate Chengdu’s low-carbon economy-development achievements, firstly, this paper uses literature research to construct an evaluation indicator system for the low-carbon economy development of Chengdu city from five dimensions: economy, energy, technology, environment, and transportation. Then, an improved Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method based on judgment matrices is proposed to determine subjective weights of indicators, while Entropy Weight Method (EWM) and Variation Coefficient (VC) method are used to determine objective weights of the evaluation indicators. Finally, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is used for the multi-indicator comprehensive evaluation of Chengdu’s low-carbon economy development. The evaluation results show that the comprehensive performance of Chengdu’s low-carbon economy has continued to improve from 2018 to 2023, simultaneously, the main influencing factors and weak links are analyzed, and targeted suggestions and strategies for improvement are put forward to promote the low-carbon economy development of Chengdu city. Full article

Background/Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to identify the role of orthodontics in patients undergoing tumor-ablative surgery, in collaboration with maxillofacial prosthodontic rehabilitation in a multidisciplinary fashion. Methods: This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) database (CRD42024582050). The focused question was constructed using the PICO (participant, intervention, comparison, and outcome) approach. A three-stage search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science using Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms. To assess the risk of bias, the National Institute of Health (NIH) “Quality Assessment Tool for case series/reports” was used. All data was synthesized qualitatively, according to the Synthesis Without Meta-analysis (SWiM) reporting guideline. Results: The initial search yielded 624 articles, of which 22 met the inclusion criteria after screening and eligibility assessment, with most being single-patient case reports and one case series involving 12 patients. The included studies primarily involved tumors in the mandible (64.5%) and maxilla (32.3%). Orthodontic treatment was initiated at various time points, ranging from one month pre-surgery to 19 years post-surgery, primarily utilizing fixed appliances (77.8%). In some studies, orthodontic appliances were used to enhance the stability of maxillofacial prostheses. The results of this study indicate that orthodontic treatment may facilitate prosthetic rehabilitation by improving conditions prior to prosthetic intervention and increasing the retention of the obturator prosthesis. Conclusions: Orthodontic treatment can enhance maxillofacial prosthetic rehabilitation after tumor-ablative surgery by optimizing jaw growth, improving occlusion, and facilitating prosthetic retention or space creation. Further research is needed to establish treatment guidelines. Orthodontic miniscrews may improve temporary prosthesis retention before final implant placement, when indicated. Full article

Objectives: An aging population and declining birth rates are among the challenges that smart cities currently face and will continue to face in the near future. In light of the above, this article seeks to answer the following question: Are older people (seniors) taken into account and described in the literature on smart cities, and if so, how? Methods: To answer this research question, a systematic literature review was conducted using the Bibliometrix package in R. In the process of systematizing the publications, the authors additionally used the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) method and qualitative text analysis. Findings: The research shows that relatively little attention is paid to seniors in smart cities in the literature on the subject. Among the few publications on smart aging, the technological trend dominates, in which researchers present the possibilities of using IT and ICT to improve medical and social care for seniors, and to improve their quality of life (Smart Living, Smart Mobility). In the non-technological trend, most analyses focus on the determinants of quality of life and the distinguishing features of senior-friendly cities. Implications: There is a clear lack of a “human” perspective on aging in smart cities and publications on Smart Governance and Smart People that would provide guidelines for making elderly people full and equal stakeholders in smart cities. It is also necessary to develop practical documents and procedures that define a comprehensive and long-term urban policy for elderly adults. The analyses contribute to diagnosing current and determining further directions of research on smart aging in smart cities. The results clearly imply the need to intensify social, humanistic, and governance research on the role of seniors in smart cities. Full article

Against the backdrop of frequent public health emergencies caused by infectious diseases, it is urgent to evaluate the importance of urban epidemic prevention by integrating population mobility networks. In this study, a comprehensive evaluation index system is constructed based on a population mobility network, and the improved entropy weight method and analytic hierarchy process are used to obtain the comprehensive weights. The weight imbalance problem of traditional methods is solved by introducing community structure weighting and subjective weight. We establish a Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS)-based evaluation model named city importance evaluation based on the division of communities and TOPSIS (CICT) for the importance of urban epidemic prevention and simulate the model using data from 297 cities in China. It can rank indicators that affect the importance of cities in infectious disease prevention and control and identify key cities for infectious disease prevention and control. The influence of various indicators on the evaluation objectives vary during different investigation periods, but the entropy weights of confirmed cases, hospital beds, and practicing (assistant) physicians remain at a high level. Cities with a high number of confirmed cases consistently rank at the top in the comprehensive evaluation, but this model can also identify potential key cities with fewer confirmed cases. These cities require key management during the outbreak of infectious diseases. The evaluation model can scientifically assess the epidemic prevention significance of cities, improve the efficiency of public health emergency management, and provide quantitative support for formulating urban epidemic control strategies, promoting resource optimization allocation, and implementing targeted measures. Full article

Color vision deficiency (CVD) affects around 300 million people globally due to issues with cone cells, highlighting the need for effective daltonization methods. These methods modify color palettes to enhance detail visibility for individuals with CVD. However, they can also distort the natural appearance of images. This study presents a novel daltonization method that focuses on preserving image naturalness for both normal trichromats and individuals with CVD. Our approach modifies only the achromatic component while enhancing detail visibility for individuals with CVD. To compare our approach with the previously known anisotropic daltonization method, we utilize objective and subjective evaluations that separately assess visibility enhancement and naturalness preservation. Our findings indicate that the proposed method outperforms the anisotropic method in naturalness by over 10 times according to objective criteria. Subjective evaluations revealed that more than 90% of CVD individuals and 95% of trichromats preferred our method for its natural appearance. Although objective contrast metrics suggest inferior visibility enhancement, subjective evaluation indicates comparable performance: contrast improvement was observed in 65% of protan cases for our method versus 70% for the anisotropic method, with contrast deterioration in 18% versus 7%, respectively. Overall, our method offers superior naturalness while maintaining comparable detail discrimination. Full article

Objectives: This study aims to identify the effectiveness of exercise in chronic tension-type headache and chronic migraine. Methods: The PICOS (Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes, Study design) strategy was followed, where P—patients with chronic tension-type headache or chronic migraine; I—exercise; C—conventional treatment; O—pain reduction; and S—RCTs (randomized controlled trials) and quasi-experimental trials. Studies with a high risk of bias according to the RoB 2 (Risk of Bias) scale and with a score < 6 according to the PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database) scale were excluded. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement was followed. The databases Pubmed, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched in November 2024. The PEDro and RoB2 scales were used to assess the risk of bias and internal validity of the studies. The results were synthesized qualitatively. Results: Ten studies with a total sample of 848 subjects were analyzed, comparing therapeutic interventions with an exercise versus conventional treatment. In most of the studies, the exercise group significantly outperformed the control group in pain reduction. Discussion: The findings suggest that exercise improves central pain modulation and reinforces the potential of body strategies such as postural integration. The main limitations found were the limited evidence on exercise’s role in chronic tension-type headache or migraine and the risk of bias due to the difficulty of blinding patients, therapists, and evaluators. Conclusions: The studies analyzed have shown that exercise could be an effective strategy to support the management of chronic tension-type headache and migraine. Full article

Sceletium tortuosum (ST) induces antidepressant and anxiolytic effects, purportedly by monoamine regulation, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibition. These multimodal actions have not been demonstrated in an animal model of major depressive disorder. Wistar rats (both sexes) were subjected to 8-week unpredictable chronic mild stress, subsequently receiving saline, a standardized ST extract, Zembrin^® 25 and 12.5 mg/kg (ZEM25 and ZEM12.5), its primary alkaloid mesembrine (MES), or escitalopram (20 mg/kg) for 36 days. Sucrose preference, open field, Barnes maze, and forced swim tests were performed, with cortico-hippocampal monoamines, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers analyzed post-mortem. Male, but not female rats, presented with increased anhedonia and anxiety but not despair. Males presented with increased hippocampal PDE4B expression, increased dopamine metabolites, and decreased cortical serotonin. In males, ZEM12.5 decreased anhedonia- and anxiety-like behavior, decreased cortical and hippocampal PDE4B, and increased plasma interleukin-10. MES induced a transient decrease in anhedonia-like behavior and increased hippocampal serotonergic and cortical dopaminergic activity, whilst decreasing hippocampal PDE4B. ZEM25 increased plasma interleukin-10 but decreased cortical glutathione, indicating paradoxical anti-inflammatory and prooxidant effects. ZEM12.5 and MES more effectively addressed anxious–depressive-like behavior and stress-induced inflammation and monoaminergic alterations, respectively. Multitargeted actions on monoamines, redox-inflammation, and PDE4 may provide ST with antidepressant effects across multiple symptom domains, although mutually synergistic/antagonistic effects of constituent alkaloids should be considered. Full article

Background: Serious videogames have already demonstrated their positive impact on rehabilitation and of particular interest is the virtual reality (VR) technology. This immersive technology has been used in this study to create a neuroaesthetic experience based on the Michelangelo effect for the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injury. The aim of this study was to test the usability of a system for virtual art therapy and its capacity to assess patients’ deficits performances. Methods: A VR headset was worn by the participants who experienced a painting simulation of famous artworks (artistic stimuli) against a coloring canvas (non-artistic stimuli). The trajectories of the hand were studied to obtain different kinematic and spectral parameters to evaluate the user performances. A total of 13 healthy subjects and 13 patients with spinal cord injury participated in this study. Results: Significative differences were obtained for most of the parameters between the two groups, except for the normalized jerk and energy of the spectrum. Analysis in the frequency domain showed that both groups preferred horizontal movements for painting the canvas. The NASA and USEQ scores reported a comfortable and user-friendly system according to the patients’ point of view. Conclusions: The system can be a usable tool, the rehabilitative efficacy of which should be tested in patients with spinal cord injury. The kinematic and spectral parameters would allow for the evaluation of the performances alongside the clinical scales, distinguish pathological and physiological performances. Full article

Current research predominantly involves human subjects to evaluate AI creativity. In this explorative study, we questioned the validity of this practice and examined how creator–assessor (dis)similarity—namely to what extent the creator and the assessor were alike—along two dimensions of culture (Western and English-speaking vs. Eastern and Chinese-speaking) and agency (human vs. AI) influences the assessment of creativity. We first asked four types of subjects to create stories, including Eastern participants (university students from China), Eastern AI (Kimi from China), Western participants (university students from The Netherlands), and Western AI (ChatGPT 3.5 from the US). Both Eastern participants and AI created stories in Chinese, which were then translated into English, while both Western participants and AI created stories in English, which were then translated into Chinese. A subset of these stories (2 creative and 2 uncreative per creator type, in total 16 stories) was then randomly selected as assessment materials. Adopting a within-subject design, we then asked new subjects from the same four types (n = 120, 30 per type) to assess these stories on creativity, originality, and appropriateness. The results confirmed that similarities in both dimensions of culture and agency influence the assessment of originality and appropriateness. As for the agency dimension, human assessors preferred human-created stories for originality, while AI assessors showed no preference. Conversely, AI assessors rated AI-generated stories higher in appropriateness, whereas human assessors showed no preference. Culturally, both Eastern and Western assessors favored Eastern-created stories in originality. And as for appropriateness, the assessors always preferred stories from the creators with the same cultural backgrounds. The present study is significant in attempting to ask an often-overlooked question and provides the first empirical evidence to underscore the need for more discussion on using humans to judge AI agents’ creativity or the other way around. Full article

This study focuses on the importance of sustainability in the tourism and accommodation sector in terms of energy use. Energy, which is one of the biggest cost components in accommodation facilities, not only brings a financial burden but also leads to environmental degradation through significant carbon emissions. On the other hand, as environmental awareness increases globally, the number of environmentally sensitive travellers increases and accommodations that stand out with sustainable practices and use renewable energy sources are preferred. There is a lack of comprehensive research on this subject in Northern Cyprus. This study is a preliminary study for a more comprehensive study. Due to the key role of managers in the transition to sustainable energy use in accommodation facilities, their opinions are very important in determining the situation. Therefore, the study aims to learn the evaluations of hotel managers in order to determine the status of sustainable energy practices in accommodation facilities. Our findings indicate that although hotel managers in Northern Cyprus are aware of holistic energy management, legal and infrastructural barriers significantly hinder the practical implementation of environmentally friendly energy practices. Full article