Search Results (6,763)

Frequent marine heatwaves (MHWs) pose significant threats to and have a profound impact on the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems. The response of marine organisms to MHWs may depend on the background temperature of their habitats. Saccharina japonica is a cold-temperate species that is vulnerable to thermal stress. However, it remains unclear how habitat-related temperatures impact responses of S. japonica to MHWs. In this study, the algae were exposed to MHWs (+∆4 °C) under two background temperatures (control level, 8 °C; warmer level, 12 °C), and the growth, photosynthetic performance, and biochemical composition were measured at the end of the MHW and the recovery periods. The results showed that a warmer background temperature increased the growth and pigment contents (Chlorophyll c and fucoxanthin) of S. japonica, but decreased chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, including the effective quantum yield, relative electron transport rate, non-photochemical quenching, and photochemical quenching. The MHWs had no significant effect on growth rate, photosynthetic performance, or biochemical compositions at the background temperature of 8 °C. In contrast, MHWs reduced growth and biochemical composition contents (Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll c, fucoxanthin and soluble protein) at a warmer level, but the negative influence was alleviated after the recovery period. Furthermore, there was a considerable increase in the total antioxidative capacity caused by MHWs under warmer conditions. Overall, the stimulation in growth demonstrated that warmer conditions (12 °C) may provide a better growth temperature for young S. japonica but also increase the risks of biomass losses and physiological damage triggered by MHWs. These findings deepen our understandings of the tolerance and resistance of S. japonica to heatwaves and provide useful information for managing and modulating the cultivation of this important commercial seaweed. Full article

This article argues that The Chosen offers a popular affective Christology by transmediating the Gospel story through a sustained grammar of lament, fatigue, embodied vulnerability, and grief. Rather than treating Jesus’ sorrow as an occasional dramatic accent, the series makes tears, exhaustion, silence, withdrawal, and prayer into theological signs shaped by serial streaming and digital circulation. Using close viewing as a theological method, the article analyzes performance, pacing, mise-en-scène (the arrangement of bodies, objects, lighting, and space within the frame), sound, and gesture to show how sparse Gospel cues are expanded into a devotional portrait of Christ’s humanity. Theologically, this portrait presses on questions of incarnation, lament, divine solidarity, and the relation between Christ’s human affect and divine holiness. Read within Jesus-film scholarship, biblical transmediation, and debates over passibility and impassibility, The Chosen demonstrates how contemporary religious media can form moral and theological imagination by inviting viewers to imagine what holiness may look, sound, and feel like under conditions of grief. Full article

Environmental chemical exposures are increasingly recognized as contributors to metabolic dysfunction, particularly when they occur as chronic, low-dose mixtures rather than as isolated high-dose toxicants. However, current approaches often focus on exposure intensity, single-compound hazard or isolated biomarker associations, and provide limited explanation for why individuals with comparable exposure profiles may develop markedly different metabolic outcomes. This semi-systematic review proposes an Exposure–Adaptive Capacity (EAC) framework to interpret the metabolic consequences of environmental chemical mixtures through the interaction between exposure burden and host adaptive capacity. A structured literature search covered PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science records published through 30 June 2026; a reviewer-triggered PubMed/MEDLINE update was executed on 30 July 2026 using harmonized British and American dyslipidaemia/dyslipidemia terms, explicit eligibility domains and evidence-mapping procedures. The review integrates epidemiological, mechanistic, toxicological and translational evidence related to environmental chemicals, metabolic dysfunction, mitochondrial impairment, oxidative stress, inflammation, endocrine disruption, metabolic resilience and biomarkers. The evidence indicates that several chemical classes, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, bisphenols, phthalates, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants and selected metals, converge on mitochondrial bioenergetics, redox regulation, inflammatory signalling, endocrine and nuclear receptor activity, nutrient-sensing networks and adipose tissue function. The EAC framework defines exposure burden as the cumulative biological pressure imposed by chemical mixtures and adaptive capacity as the organism’s functional ability to buffer, compensate for or recover from exposure-induced metabolic stress. To make the framework empirically testable, we specify measurable domains for exposure burden, adaptive capacity and EAC mismatch, and distinguish biomarkers of exposure, early biological effect, adaptive capacity, metabolic dysfunction and vulnerability. A quotient-based expression is retained only as a heuristic representation, while empirical testing is proposed through exposure-by-adaptive-capacity interaction models and complementary multidimensional approaches. The framework provides a structured basis for future exposomic, epidemiological and translational studies by shifting attention from exposure alone to the balance between environmental pressure and biological resilience. Full article

Honey bee colonies play a vital role in ecosystem stability and global food security. Together with bumble bees and other wild bee species, they form a diverse pollinator community that is particularly vulnerable to environmental pollution. Among stressors, environmental xenobiotics including heavy metals, metalloids, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and emerging contaminants such as microplastics pose a growing concern due to their persistence, bioaccumulation potential and capacity to trigger oxidative stress and interact with pathogens, nutritional stress and climate-related extremes. The antioxidant defense system, encompassing enzymatic components (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione-dependent enzymes and glutathione-S-transferase) and non-enzymatic antioxidants, represents a key protective mechanism, and its disruption leads to redox imbalance, immunosuppression, and behavioral alterations that can reduce honey bee colony vitality. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the sources, exposure pathways and toxicological effects of major environmental xenobiotics on the antioxidant defense systems of honey bees, with particular emphasis on oxidative-stress biomarkers for early detection of sublethal impairment in field and experimental settings. Where available, evidence from bumble bees and other wild bees is considered to place findings in a broader pollinator-health context and to highlight taxa-specific sensitivities. Work should now concentrate on a validated core panel of redox biomarkers, on chronic multi-stressor exposures that include PFAS and plastic particles, and on biomarker baselines for bumble bees and solitary bees tied to colony- or population-level endpoints. Full article

Background/Objectives: The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and targeted therapies has revolutionized advanced melanoma treatment but introduced unique immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Hematological irAEs (Hem-irAEs) are rare but carry disproportionately high morbidity and mortality. This review systematically synthesizes current literature to comprehensively understand the incidence, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and management of Hem-irAEs in modern melanoma therapy. Methods: A comprehensive Web of Science literature search (January 2015 to January 2026) identified studies reporting hematological adverse events associated with melanoma immunotherapy and targeted therapies. After screening 2274 records, 130 relevant studies were included for quantitative data extraction, focusing on incidence rates and toxicity grading. Results: Hem-irAEs occur infrequently (under 4% overall incidence for ICIs) but possess staggering mortality rates between 12% and 15.5%. The most common manifestations are immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), autoimmune hemolytic anemia, and neutropenia. Combination regimens significantly amplify toxicity frequency and severity. Diagnosis requires meticulous baseline monitoring and bone marrow biopsies to differentiate peripheral destruction from central marrow failure. First-line management mandates ICI discontinuation and high-dose corticosteroids, utilizing targeted second-line immunosuppressants for refractory syndromes. Conclusions: Hem-irAEs embody a profound clinical paradox: while mild toxicities often herald a robust anti-tumor response, severe hematological events drastically increase non-cancer mortality, negating these oncological benefits. Navigating this “double-edged sword” demands a paradigm shift toward proactive risk stratification. Integrating predictive biomarkers including baseline autoantibodies, Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) profiling, and systemic inflammatory indices is crucial to identify vulnerable populations before treatment. Optimizing outcomes requires highly personalized vigilance to balance the life-saving efficacy of immunotherapy against the catastrophic threat of hematopoietic failure. Full article

A growing body of research documents intergenerational transmission of trauma, attachment, parenting practices, and vulnerability to psychopathology. Another relevant component of psychopathology that may show parent–child associations is maladaptive interpersonal guilt, which may be shaped by parental teachings and role modelling. The present cross-sectional study examined whether parents’ self-reported guilt was associated with children’s self-reported guilt and with parents’ perceptions of their children’s guilt. The sample included 323 parent–child dyads. Parents completed the Interpersonal Guilt Rating Scale-20s (IGRS-20s) and the Interpersonal Guilt Rating Scale—Child Informant (IGRS-18CI); children completed the Interpersonal Guilt Rating Scale for Children (IGRS-17C). Spearman correlations revealed significant parent–child associations: parents’ Separation/Disloyalty guilt was positively associated with children’s Separation/Disloyalty and Omnipotent Responsibility guilt, whereas parental Burdening guilt was positively associated with children’s Self-Hate/Burdening guilt. Moreover, parents’ Survivor guilt, Separation/Disloyalty guilt, and Self-Hate guilt were significantly associated with higher levels of the corresponding and related kinds of guilt as perceived in their children. These findings suggest that specific forms of interpersonal guilt may be similarly present in parents and children and highlight the clinical relevance of addressing parental pathogenic beliefs in child psychotherapy. Full article

Advances in healthcare have led to substantial growth in the global population of cancer survivors, yet young adult cancer survivors (YACS) aged 18–39 years remain an underrepresented population in cancer survivorship research. This review examines the health challenges and psychosocial factors that shape nutritional status in YACS, with the aim of informing age-appropriate nutritional care. YACS face significant financial and psychosocial demands unique to this life stage, balancing education, early careers and family responsibilities. They report greater unmet nutritional and health needs than other age cohorts, in addition to concerns regarding long-term side effects, financial strain, fear of cancer recurrence and increased responsibility for managing their own care. Cancer treatment can cause nutrition impact symptoms (e.g., nausea, taste changes, fatigue, dysphagia and gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances) that may persist for years, and YACS are vulnerable to late effects such as endocrine dysfunction, cardiometabolic disease, chronic pain and osteoporosis, all of which can be influenced by diet. Poor dietary patterns have been observed in YACS, indicating low intakes of fruits, vegetables, fibre and dairy, and higher consumption of saturated fat, sodium and processed foods. This narrative review evaluated fourteen nutritional intervention studies targeting YACS aged 18–39. Most existing interventions demonstrate minimal recruitment and retention rates, small sample sizes, and a reliance on self-report methods rather than objective nutritional measures. These limitations highlight the need for a deeper understanding of YACS’ specific nutritional needs and more effective strategies to engage this cohort. Future research should prioritise larger, more representative samples, incorporate objective nutritional and clinical measures, and explicitly address psychosocial and age-related barriers to healthy eating in young adulthood. Full article

Background: Sports injuries in children and adolescents may affect physical health, emotional well-being, sleep, quality of life, confidence, sport participation, and readiness to return to sport. Objective: This systematic review synthesized evidence on the relationship between sports-related injuries and mental health in athletes aged 19 years or younger, considering both psychological factors associated with injury vulnerability and psychosocial outcomes following injury. Methods: The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched from inception to 8 July 2026, with eligibility restricted to studies published between 2021 and 2026. Risk of bias was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools, and findings were synthesized narratively. Results: Twenty-one studies were included. Lower well-being, anxiety, stress, fatigue, sleep disturbance, kinesiophobia, and reduced psychological readiness were associated with injury occurrence, symptom burden, recovery, or reinjury. Conversely, injuries were associated with anxiety, depressive symptoms, sleep problems, reduced health-related quality of life, lower confidence, disrupted athletic identity, and return-to-sport difficulties. Conclusions: The findings suggest a potentially bidirectional association between sports injury and mental health within a broader biopsychosocial context. However, heterogeneity and predominantly observational designs limit causal inference. Full article

Background: Identifying biomarkers for biological vulnerability in older patients with cancer remains challenging. We evaluated psoas muscle index (PMI) and immunonutritional indices’ association with toxicity and overall survival (OS) in patients ≥ 65 years receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Methods: This retrospective study included 104 patients. Baseline sarcopenia was assessed via CT-derived PMI at the L3 level. Immunonutritional status was evaluated using the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI). Primary endpoint was immune-related adverse event (irAE) development; secondary endpoint was OS. Results: Median age was 71 years. Patients developing irAEs had significantly higher baseline PNI than those without (49.0 vs. 46.0, p = 0.042). OS did not differ significantly by irAE status (p = 0.859) or PMI group (p = 0.664). However, low PNI was strongly associated with poorer OS (17.0 months vs. not reached, p < 0.001). In a multivariable Cox model stratified by ICI treatment type, higher PNI remained independently associated with better OS (adjusted HR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.81–0.93, p < 0.001). PNI correlated negatively with inflammatory markers NLR and SII. Conclusions: Baseline PNI was independently associated with OS, whereas PMI was not significantly associated with survival in this cohort. These findings support the potential prognostic utility of PNI in older patients receiving immunotherapy but should not be interpreted as demonstrating superiority over comprehensive sarcopenia assessment. Full article

Background/Objectives: In Lebanon, the economic crisis since 2019 has severely strained healthcare infrastructure, yet its impact on cancer treatment adherence remains incompletely characterized. This study assessed factors associated with treatment delay and regimen modification to identify barriers to optimal cancer care among Lebanese patients. Methods: This multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted in five tertiary hospitals in Beirut, Lebanon, between 13 June 2024, and 27 June 2025. Demographic, clinical and treatment data were collected via a structured questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of treatment delay (>2 weeks) and incomplete treatment regimens. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) are reported. Results: A total of 244 patients were enrolled in the study. The study population was predominantly female (59.0%) and aged ≥60 years (60.2%). Advanced disease was common, with 50.4% of patients presenting with stage IV disease. Financial vulnerability was widespread: 72.6% reported monthly household incomes below USD 1000, 88.1% reported a decline in income due to the economic crisis, and 39.3% relied on unstable income sources. Overall, 52.5% of patients experienced treatment initiation delays, and 9.0% received incomplete or dose-reduced regimens. On multivariable analysis, reliance on unfixed income independently predicted treatment delay (aOR 2.55, 95% CI 1.42–4.59; p = 0.002), lack of health insurance (aOR 1.91, 95% CI 1.08–3.39; p = 0.026) and pre-treatment surgical costs also increased the odds of delay (aOR 9.03, 95% CI 2.57–31.7; p = 0.001). For incomplete treatment, unfixed income remained an independent predictor (aOR 2.09, 95% CI 1.16–5.79; p = 0.015). A lack of insurance (aOR 5.62, 95% CI 1.22–25.9; p = 0.027) and high laboratory costs (>USD 150 per session) were also associated with incomplete regimens (aOR 1.62, 95% CI 1.02–2.57; p = 0.041). Conclusions: In Lebanon’s crisis context, financial instability was a key factor associated with deviations in cancer treatment. These findings highlight the need for strengthened insurance coverage and subsidization of diagnostic and treatment-related costs to ensure timely and continuous oncologic care. Full article

Background/Objectives: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a life-threatening cardiovascular infection with in-hospital mortality of 15–30% despite modern therapy. Contemporary IE demonstrates non-random valve involvement: aortic and mitral 35–45%, tricuspid 5–10% (30–50% in intravenous drug users [IVDU]), and pulmonary < 1%. These patterns implicate valve-specific anatomy and hemodynamics as central determinants of susceptibility. This narrative review examines the reported distribution of IE across the aortic, mitral, tricuspid and pulmonary valves and summarises the anatomical, haemodynamic, structural, microbial and patient-related factors associated with valve-specific susceptibility. Methods: A structured narrative review of English-language literature was conducted using PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar (January 1990–March 2026). Search terms included “infective endocarditis,” “valve anatomy,” “hemodynamics,” “bicuspid aortic valve,” “prosthetic valve endocarditis,” and “transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) endocarditis.” We included anatomical studies, clinical cohorts, surgical series, imaging research, and international guidelines. Evidence was synthesized narratively using Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) levels. Results: IE susceptibility follows a biologically coherent gradient determined by the interaction between valve anatomy, hemodynamic stress, endothelial injury, and structural substrate. The aortic valve is most vulnerable because of high shear stress, congenital abnormalities such as bicuspid aortic valve, and direct continuity with the cardiac fibrous skeleton, predisposing to peri-annular extension. Mitral valve IE is largely conditional upon pre-existing structural disease, particularly mitral valve prolapse, rheumatic heart disease, and mitral annular calcification, and is characterized by a high risk of systemic embolization. Tricuspid valve IE reflects the interaction between low-pressure hemodynamics and acquired patient-specific modifiers, including intravenous drug use, cardiovascular implantable electronic devices, and congenital heart disease. Pulmonary valve IE remains uncommon because of favorable native hemodynamics but occurs predominantly in repaired congenital heart disease, right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction, and prosthetic pulmonary valves. Across all valve types, multimodality imaging and anatomical assessment consistently influence complication detection, surgical planning, and long-term surveillance. Conclusions: IE involvement is unevenly distributed among the cardiac valves. Aortic and mitral involvement predominate, tricuspid involvement is strongly influenced by injection drug use and intracardiac devices, and pulmonary-valve IE remains rare and is principally associated with congenital abnormalities or prosthetic material. These patterns highlight the possible contributions of haemodynamic stress, pre-existing structural abnormalities, and age-related valvular changes to the greater susceptibility of left-sided valves. Full article

With the rapid advancement of urbanization, the density and vulnerability of urban lifeline networks are increasing, and urban lifeline security risks have become a major challenge to urban public security governance. The backward governance means and fragmented governance mechanisms cannot adapt to the complex emerging urban public security risks. Digital empowerment is considered to be a new solution for the holistic governance of urban lifeline security, but related research has only focused on a single scenario, a single risk type or a single risk management link. This study shifted from a single perspective to a holistic perspective and explored how to use digital technology to develop the urban lifeline security project from three levels, that is, overall methods, key supporting technology, and governance mechanism innovation, so as to enable a holistic governance model for lifeline security. Specifically, this study constructed the main processes and methods for constructing urban lifeline security projects, the key supporting technology system for the scenario-driven urban lifeline security project, and the overall governance mechanism for the urban lifeline security project. The case from Hefei, China, further verifies the effectiveness of urban lifeline security engineering. The contribution of this study is to promote the collaborative innovation and integrated application of engineering technology and governance mechanisms in the field of holistic governance of urban lifeline security. Full article

Automatic semantic parsing of architectural floor plans provides a two-dimensional semantic layer for building information modeling (BIM)-related workflows, intelligent plan checking, renovation, and large-scale drawing management. Unlike natural images, floor plans contain sparse textures, dense linework, small architectural symbols, and strong axis-aligned geometric regularities. These properties make conventional segmentation networks vulnerable to small-symbol dilution during downsampling, noisy skip-feature fusion, and fragmented predictions along long wall boundaries. Inspired by principles of hierarchical visual processing, selective attention, and spatial encoding, this study presents PCP-Net, an end-to-end Planar Component Parsing Network for room, icon, and boundary-aware floor plan parsing. PCP-Net uses a Grouped Residual Encoder to extract multi-scale local patterns, a Cross-Scale Feature Recalibration (CSFR) pipeline to recalibrate skip features through Adaptive Channel Gating, Spatial Response Amplification, and Axis-Decompositional Positional Embedding, and a Structural Gradient Propagation branch to provide training-time boundary regularization. Experiments on CubiCasa5K and three external datasets (R3D, CVC-FP, and ROBIN) evaluate PCP-Net under in-domain and zero-shot cross-domain protocols. On CubiCasa5K, PCP-Net attains 71.3% mIoU, 90.1% overall accuracy, and 78.9% mean accuracy; in the current ablation setting, ADPE improves mIoU by 0.8 percentage points over the ADPE-ablated configuration. These results indicate that cross-scale feature recalibration with axis-aware positional cues can improve floor plan semantic parsing within the evaluated datasets and pixel-level metrics, while downstream BIM generation still requires additional vectorization, topology graph construction, and attribute extraction. Full article

Background: In advanced cancer care, routine clinical assessment often focuses on symptoms, treatment tolerance, and disease status, while spiritual well-being remains insufficiently explored despite its relevance to quality of life (QoL). Standardized patient-reported tools may help identify spiritual and existential vulnerability in patients receiving palliative treatment. This study evaluated the EORTC QLQ-SWB32 as a structured spiritual well-being assessment tool in advanced cancer care through its cultural adaptation and clinical validation among Romanian patients. Furthermore, it evaluated the tool’s feasibility and explored the association between spiritual well-being and QoL in individuals receiving palliative systemic therapy. Methods: Following EORTC Quality of Life Group guidelines, the QLQ-SWB32 was translated and pilot-tested with ten cancer patients. A prospective, cross-sectional observational study was then conducted at the Regional Institute of Oncology in Iași, Romania. Over six months, 42 adult patients with metastatic or locally advanced inoperable malignancies undergoing palliative systemic therapy were enrolled. Participants completed the EORTC QLQ-SWB32 and EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL questionnaires, while sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected using structured case report forms. Results: The translated instrument showed good linguistic clarity and clinical acceptability during pilot testing. The study cohort was predominantly aged 40–64 years (52.38%) and was socio-culturally homogeneous, with all patients identifying as Romanian and most as Eastern Orthodox (92.85%). The Relationship with God/the Divine (RSG) domain showed a stronger association with QoL in male patients than in female patients, particularly in subsequent treatment lines. In the subsequent-line subgroup, residential environment reached statistical significance (p = 0.021), with a stronger RSG–QoL correlation among rural residents. Age-related inversion patterns in the RSG–QoL association were also observed across treatment lines. Conclusions: Spiritual well-being assessment may provide clinically relevant patient-reported information in advanced cancer care. The Romanian EORTC QLQ-SWB32 demonstrated feasibility, linguistic clarity, and clinical validity as a structured assessment tool. The association between the Relationship with God/the Divine domain and QoL varied according to sex, age, residential environment, and treatment trajectory, supporting the integration of standardized spiritual assessment into individualized palliative oncology care. Full article

The resilience of electricity networks to extreme weather is an essential component of sustainable energy systems, as power interruptions can affect essential services, economic activities, public safety, and the integration of renewable energy sources. However, this assessment can be challenging due to the inherent differences and complexities between weather and grid data. To address this issue, we developed a data pipeline to acquire, prepare, and integrate power grid outage records, meteorological measurements, and lightning strike data into a unified relational database. The framework was applied to the Italian power grid, with detailed regional analyses conducted for Piedmont and Campania. The results show that, for more than 90% of the matched weather-related failures, at least one relevant weather condition was identified in the integrated datasets. Rainfall showed the most widespread association with failures throughout the year, while lightning was particularly relevant during summer and snowfall during colder months. The proposed framework provides a reproducible basis for monitoring weather-related infrastructure vulnerability and can support evidence-based maintenance prioritization, climate adaptation, and resilience-oriented grid planning. By facilitating the identification of regional risk patterns, the approach contributes to the development of more reliable and sustainable electricity infrastructure. Full article