Search Results (42)

Background/Objectives: The role of environmental modifications and design in mitigating behavioural symptoms is increasingly being recognised as a way to address the psychosocial needs of individuals with dementia. This study aims to investigate various nature-based interventions for reducing agitation in people with dementia in long-term residential care environments. Methods: Database searches were conducted on MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science. A literature search was conducted with the following inclusion criteria: (i) peer-reviewed journal publication written in English; (ii) random controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental design with results for pre- and post-testing reported; (iii) interventions using natural elements, where the effectiveness of the reduction in agitation was measured using a validated instrument; and (iv) participants aged 65 and older with dementia residing in long-term care facilities. Results: This meta-analysis included 29 studies with 733 participants. The results showed that such interventions had a significant negative mean effect on lowering agitation in this population. Additionally, intervention settings (indoor vs. outdoor) and the presence of social interaction were significant predictors of the effect size for agitation reduction. At the same time, no significant differences in effect size were observed between the types of experiences with nature (indirect vs. direct) or the duration of the interventions. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that, when thoughtfully applied, nature-based interventions can significantly alleviate agitation in patients with dementia residing in long-term residential care facilities. This review lays the groundwork for future research aimed at developing design guidelines and planning strategies to integrate natural elements into dementia-friendly environments effectively. Full article

A pioneering detailed comparative study of the dynamics of plasma flows generated by high-power nanosecond and high-intensity femtosecond laser pulses with similar fluences of up to $3\times {10}^4$ J/cm² is presented. The experiments were conducted on the petawatt laser facility PEARL using two types of high-power laser radiation: femtosecond pulses with energy exceeding 10 J and a duration less than 60 fs, and nanosecond pulses with energy exceeding 10 J and a duration on the order of 1 ns. In the experiments, high-velocity (>100 km/s) flows of «femtosecond» (created by femtosecond laser pulses) and «nanosecond» plasmas propagated in a vacuum across a uniform magnetic field with a strength over 14 T. A significant difference in the dynamics of «femtosecond» and «nanosecond» plasma flows was observed: (i) The «femtosecond» plasma initially propagated in a vacuum (no B-field) as a collimated flow, while the «nanosecond» flow diverged. (ii) The «nanosecond» plasma interacting with external magnetic field formed a quasi-spherical cavity with Rayleigh–Taylor instability flutes. In the case of «femtosecond» plasma, such flutes were not observed, and the flow was immediately redirected into a narrow plasma sheet (or «tongue») propagating across the magnetic field at an approximately constant velocity. (iii) Elongated «nanosecond» and «femtosecond» plasma slabs interacting with a transverse magnetic field broke up into Rayleigh–Taylor «tongues». (iv) The ends of these «tongues» in the femtosecond case twisted into vortex structures aligned with the ion motion in the external magnetic field, whereas the «tongues» in the nanosecond case were randomly oriented. It was suggested that the twisting of femtosecond «tongues» is related to Hall effects. The experimental results are complemented by and consistent with numerical 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations. The potential applications of these findings for astrophysical objects, such as short bursts in active galactic nuclei, are discussed. Full article

Single-phase white-light-emitting materials, particularly 2D hybrid organic–inorganic halide perovskites, have garnered significant attention due to their strong electron–phonon interactions, which lead to broad luminescence and a notable Stokes shift resulting from self-trapped exciton recombination. However, 2D lead iodide perovskites typically display these characteristics poorly, restricting their efficiency as white-light emitters. This study presents a 2D lead iodide perovskite that incorporates a fluorinated π-conjugated aggregation-induced enhanced emission luminophore, FPCSA, as a bulky organic cation to create a quasi-2D perovskite. The FPCSA cation establishes a Type II energy level alignment with the lead iodide layer in the 2D perovskite, and a significant energy offset effectively suppresses charge transfer, enabling independent emission from both the organic and inorganic layers while facilitating self-trapped exciton formation. Under 315 nm UV excitation, this material demonstrates warm white-light emission with RGB triple-band photoluminescence stemming from the electronically decoupled FPCSA and perovskite layers. These findings provide a promising new method for designing efficient single-phase white-light-emitting materials for optoelectronic applications. Full article

MWC 342 (V1972 Cyg) was discovered nearly 90 years ago as an early-type emission-line star. It was among the first hot stars whose strong infrared excess was detected in the early 1970s. Several mostly short-term photometric and spectroscopic studies resulted in contradictory conclusions about the nature and evolutionary status of MWC 342. It has been classified as a pre-main-sequence Herbig Be star, an evolved suspected binary system, and a long-period variable star. Suggestions on the nature of the secondary component to this B0/B1 primary included a cool M-type giant and an X-ray source. We collected medium- and high-resolution optical spectra of MWC 342 taken in 1994–2024 as well as optical photometric data taken in 1986–2024. Analysis of these data shows strong variations in the object’s brightness and spectral line properties at various time scales, but no strictly periodic phenomena have been found. Inparticular, such a long-term dataset allowed us to reveal the optical brightness variations over a nearly 20-year-long quasi-period, as well as their anti-correlation with the H$\alpha$ emission-line strength. Also, we did not confirm the presence of He ii emission lines and absorption lines of the star’s atmosphere that were suspected in previously published studies. Full article

The spatial navigation of filamentous fungi was compared for three species, namely Pycnoporus cinnabarinus, Neurospora crassa wild type and ro-1 mutant, and Armillaria mellea, in microfluidic structures. The analysis of the navigation of these filamentous fungi in open and especially confining environments suggests that they perform space exploration using a hierarchical, three-layered system of information processing. The output of the space navigation of a single hypha is the result of coordination and competition between three programs with their corresponding subroutines: (i) the sensing of narrow passages (remote- or contact-based); (ii) directional memory; and (iii) branching (collision-induced or stochastic). One information-processing level up, the spatial distribution of multiple, closely collocated hyphae is the result of a combination of (i) negative autotropism and (ii) cytoplasm reallocation between closely related branches (with anastomosis as an alternative subroutine to increase robustness). Finally, the mycelium is the result of the sum of quasi-autonomous sub-populations of hyphae performing distribution in space in parallel based on the different spatial conditions and constraints found locally. The efficiency of space exploration by filamentous fungi appears to be the result of the synergy of various biological algorithms integrated into a hierarchical architecture of information processing, balancing complexity with specialization. Full article

Rodent-borne diseases threaten global public health, impacting the urban poor. Despite widespread application of rodenticide in rodent/rodent-borne disease control programs, empirical evidence demonstrating their effectiveness is lacking. This review proposed guidelines for designing and implementing empirical studies on rodenticides as public health measures. The recommendations include: (i) the importance of the type of quasi-experimental design adopted, and how it creates robust evidence; (ii) how urban slums present both challenges for control and ideal settings for studies; (iii) partnering with pest control authorities and community engagement for long-term viability; (iv) leveraging zoonotic systems with direct/environmental transmission, reliable diagnosis, and high prevalence for effectivity assessment; (v) pairing human cohort studies to observe epidemiological links; (vi) systematic data collection and management protocols; (vii) short- and long-term goals for critical evaluation and course-correction; (viii) focus on mechanistic approach; (ix) the need for standardized reporting of the findings. Full article

Among the different naked and quasi-enveloped viruses, the hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis E virus (HEV), and norovirus genogroups I and II (NoV GI and NoV GII) are considered the main microbiological noxae involved in foodborne outbreaks. Mussels can harbor pathogens in their tissues. In addition to epidemiological attention, marine water temperature changes are considered a crucial variable influencing viral loads. This study aimed to biomolecularly screen 1775 farmed mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) for viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequence detection (belonging to the HAV, HEV, and NoV GI and GII genogroups) in three different sampling periods (spring, summer, and winter), with the mussels collected from three farms located in the Central Adriatic Sea (Italy). The results showed that 10.42% of the screened animals harbored at least one type of pathogen RNA, more specifically, 5.35% HEV, 4.51% NoV GI, and 0.56% HAV. The highest genetic equivalent (GE) amounts were majorly observed in the winter season (NoV GI 1.0 × 10³ GE/g and HEV 1.0 × 10² GE/g), resulting in statistical differences when compared to summer and spring (p-value: <0.001). The original data obtained serve to bring scientific attention to the possible influence of environmental and climatic aspects on viral loads, highlighting the crucial role played by biomolecular assays as preventive medicine tools. Full article

Physical modeling is essential for developing the theory of concentrated, tornado-like vortices. Physical modeling data are crucial for interpreting real tornado field measurements and mathematical modeling data. This review focuses on describing and analyzing the results of a physical modeling of the structure and dynamics of tornado-like vortices, which are laboratory analogs of the vortex structures observed in nature (such as “dust devils” and air tornadoes). This review discusses studies on various types of concentrated vortices in laboratory conditions: (i) wall-bounded, stationary, and tornado-like vortices, (ii) wall-free, quasi-stationary, and tornado-like vortices, and (iii) wall-free, non-stationary, and tornado-like vortices. In our opinion, further progress in the development of the theory of non-stationary concentrated tornado-like vortices will determine the possibility of setting up the following studies: conducting experiments in order to study the mechanisms of vortex generation near the surface, determining the factors contributing to the stabilization (strengthening) and destabilization (weakening) of the generated vortices, and to find methods and means of controlling vortices. Full article

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a complex condition to manage. Patients with a greater understanding and knowledge of their condition might achieve better glycemic control than others. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of clinical pharmacist-led diabetes education on the knowledge and attitude of individuals with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental study which was conducted at a diabetes clinic in Khartoum, Sudan. The study population was adult individuals with T2DM who attended the diabetes clinic. The estimated sample size was 182 participants. The participants were selected randomly by a simple random sampling method. The knowledge and attitudes of the participants were assessed at baseline and at the end of the study after 12 months. The intervention was carried out through educational materials about diabetes and medications for its treatment. Results: The majority of the participants were females. The mean age was 54.5 (±10) years. Most participants had a family history of diabetes (69.2%). The mean knowledge score after the intervention was increased by 1.4 (±0.1) from baseline, p value (<0.001), while the mean attitude score was increased by 1.7 (±0.2) from baseline, p value (<0.001). At baseline, 14.8% of the participants had a high level of knowledge and 18.7% had a negative attitude, while after intervention for 12 months, 28.5% of them had a high level of knowledge and 16.8% had a negative attitude (p values < 0.001, 0.032, respectively). Conclusions: The knowledge of and attitudes towards diabetes differed significantly as a result of the educational program provided by the clinical pharmacist. Full article

The operation of many queueing systems is adequately described by the structured multidimensional continuous-time Markov chains. The most well-studied classes of such chains are level-independent Quasi-Birth-and-Death processes, $GI/M/1$ type and $M/G/1$ type Markov chains, generators of which have the block tri-diagonal, lower- and upper-Hessenberg structure, respectively. All these classes assume that the matrices of transition rates are quasi-Toeplitz. This property greatly simplifies their analysis but makes them inappropriate for the study of many important systems, e.g., retrial queues with a retrial rate depending on the number of customers in orbit, queues with impatient customers, etc. The importance of such systems attracts significant interest to their analysis. However, in the literature, there is a methodological gap relating to the ergodicity condition of the corresponding Markov chains. To fulfill this gap and facilitate the analysis of a wide range of such systems, we show that under non-restrictive assumptions, the following hold true: (i) if the customers can balk or are impatient or non-persistent, then the Markov chain describing the behavior of the system belongs to the class of asymptotically quasi-Toeplitz Markov chains; (ii) this chain is ergodic; (iii) known algorithms can be applied for the calculation of the stationary distribution of the corresponding queueing system. Full article

A large number of construction practice projects have found that there are many joints and microcracks in rock, concrete, and other structures, which cause the complexity of rock mechanical properties and are the main cause of geological or engineering disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, and rock bursts. To establish a rock fracture toughness evaluation method and understand the distribution range of fracture toughness of Longmaxi Formation shale, this study prepared three-point bending semi-circular disk shale samples of Longmaxi Formation with different crack inclination angles. The dimensionless fracture parameters of the samples, including the dimensionless stress intensity factors of type I, type II, and T-stress, were calibrated using the finite element method. Then, the peak load of the samples was tested using quasi-static loading, and the load–displacement curve characteristics of Longmaxi Formation shale and the variation in fracture toughness with crack inclination angle were analyzed. The study concluded that the specimens exhibited significant brittle failure characteristics and that the stress intensity factor is not the sole parameter controlling crack propagation in rock materials. With an increase in crack inclination angle, the prefabricated crack propagation gradually transitions from being dominated by type I fracture to type II fracture, and the T-stress changes from negative to positive, gradually increasing its influence on the fracture. An excessively large relative crack length increases the error in fracture toughness test results. Therefore, this paper suggests that the relative crack length a/R should be between 0.2 and 0.6. The fracture load distribution range of shale samples with different crack angles is 3.27 kN to 10.92 kN. As the crack inclination angle increases, the maximum load that the semi-circular disk shale samples can bear gradually increases. The pure type I fracture toughness of Longmaxi Formation shale is 1.13–1.38 MPa·m^1/2, the pure type II fracture toughness is 0.55–0.62 MPa·m^1/2, and the T-stress variation range of shale samples with different inclination angles is −0.49–9.48 MPa. Full article

Introduction. Individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) exhibit general impairments, particularly non-motor symptoms that are related to language, communication, and cognition processes. People with this disease may undergo a surgical intervention for the placement of a deep brain stimulation device, which improves their motor symptoms. However, this type of intervention leads to a decline in their linguistic and cognitive abilities that becomes increasingly noticeable as the disease progresses. Objective. The objective of this research was to compare the performance and linguistic–cognitive profile of individuals with Parkinson’s disease who underwent deep brain stimulation treatment based on the stage of the disease. Method. A total of 60 participants who were diagnosed with PD by their reference hospital were selected. These participants were divided into three groups based on the stage of the disease that they were in, forming three groups: a Stage I group (n = 20), a Stage II group (n = 20), and a Stage III group (n = 20). The linguistic–cognitive profile was assessed using the MoCA, ACE-III, and MetAphas tests. The design of this study was established as a quasi-experimental, cross-sectional investigation, and statistical analysis was performed using MANOVA to compare the scores between the study groups. Results. The results indicate that individuals in Stage I exhibit better linguistic and cognitive performance compared to the other groups of participants in Stage II and Stage III, with statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). Conclusion. In conclusion, the progression of PD leads to significant linguistic and cognitive decline in individuals with this disease who have a deep brain stimulation device, greatly limiting the autonomy and quality of life for people with PD. Full article

In this paper, the experimental characterization of the viscoelastic properties of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) samples through creep experiments is presented. Experiments were conducted at different constant temperature levels (15, 25, and 35 ${}^{\circ }$C), for three different tensile stress levels (0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 MPa), and at different physisorbed water contents, providing access to: (i) the temperature dependency of creep parameters and (ii) the assessment, if behavior is indeed viscoelastic. The physisorbed water content was achieved by exposing virgin samples to environments with relative humidity ranging from 0 to 80 percent until mass stability was reached. Creep tests were conducted immediately afterwards with this particular humidity level. The main results of this study are as follows. The temperature dependency of the obtained creep parameters is well described in Arrhenius plots. With regard to water content, two prototype material responses were observed in the experimental program and accurately modeled using the following fractional-type models: (i) Scott Blair-type (i.e., power-law-type) only behavior, pronounced for the combination of low water content/low temperature; (ii) combined Scott Blair plus Lomnitz (i.e., log-type) behavior for high water content/high temperature. This change in behavior associated with certain thresholds for the specified environmental conditions (temperature and relative humidity) may indicate the initiation of hydrogen bond breakage and rearrangement (carbamate H-bonds and physisorbed water H-bonds). Regarding the short-term or quasi-instantaneous behavior, the Scott Blair element seems highly appropriate and may be better suited than the standard elastic model: the Hookean spring. We associated Scott Blair behavior with the load-induced, quasi-instantaneous re-arrangement of polymer network chains. The secondary viscoelastic mechanism associated with the Lomnitz element, hydrogen bond breakage and rearrangement, comes into play for higher temperatures and/or higher physisorbed water contents. In this case, the contribution of the two constitutive elements is well separated due to the large number of the characteristic time of the Lomnitz element, much larger than the respective value for the Scott Blair element. Full article

The formation of materials with negative thermal expansion (NTE) based on a phase transition-type mechanism (NTE-II) in 50 T–x (temperature–composition) RF₃-R’F₃ (R = La-Lu) systems out of 105 possible is predicted. The components of these systems are “mother” RF₃ compounds (R = Pm, Sm, Eu, and Gd) with polymorphic transformations (PolTrs), which occur during heating between the main structural types of RF₃: β-(β-YF₃) → t-(mineral tysonite LaF₃). The PolTr is characterized by a density anomaly: the formula volume (V_form) of the low-temperature modification (V_β-) is higher than that of the high-temperature modification (V_t-) by a giant value (up to 4.7%). In RF₃-R’F₃ systems, isomorphic substitutions chemically modify RF₃ by forming R_1−xR’_xF₃ solid solutions (ss) based on both modifications. A two-phase composite (β-ss + t-ss) is a two-component NTE-II material with adjustable parameters. The prospects of using the material are estimated using the parameter of the average volume change (ΔV/V_av). The V_av at a fixed gross composition of a system is determined by the β-ss and t-ss decay (synthesis) curves and the temperature T. The regulation of ΔV/V_av is achieved by changing T within a “window ΔT”. The available ΔT values are determined using phase diagrams. A chemical classification (ChCl) translates the search for NTE-II materials from 15 RF₃ into an array of 105 RF₃-R’F₃ systems. Phase diagrams are divided into 10 types of systems (TypeSs), in four of which NTE-II materials are formed. The tables of the systems that comprise these TypeSs are presented. The position of T_trans of the PolTr on the T scale for a short quasi-system (QS) “from PmF₃ to TbF₃” determines the interval of the ΔT_trans offset achievable in the RF₃-R’F₃ systems: from −148 to 1186 ± 10 °C. NTE-II fluoride materials exceed known NTE-II materials by almost three times in this parameter. Equilibrium in RF₃-R’F₃ systems is established quickly. The number of qualitatively different two-component fluoride materials with the giant NTE-II can be increased by more than ten times compared to RF₃ with NTE-II. Full article

In the current study, the interlaminar fracture toughness behavior of high-performance carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRPs) modified with Bis-maleimide (BMI) resin was investigated under Mode II quasi-static and fatigue remote loading conditions. Specifically, CFRPs were locally integrated with BMI resin, either nano-modified with graphene nano-platelets (GNPs) or unmodified, using the melt electro-writing process (MEP) technique. Following the modification, two types of CFRPs were manufactured: (a) CFRPs with pure BMI resin and (b) CFRPs with GNP-modified resin. Quasi-static tests demonstrated that the interlaminar fracture toughness properties of both modified CFRPs were significantly improved compared to the unmodified/reference CFRPs. Conversely, fatigue tests were conducted under displacement control, with crack length measurement performed using a traveling microscope. Delamination length and load quantities were measured at specific cycle intervals. The results indicated that both modified CFRPs exhibited enhanced resistance to delamination under Mode II fatigue loading, with earlier crack arrest, compared against the reference CFRPs. Additionally, the CFRPs displayed low healing efficiency (H.E.) after the healing cycle was activated. Overall, this approach shows promise in improving the delamination resistance of CFRPs under Mode II. Full article