Search Results (94)

Background/Objectives: Family is a key protective factor for firefighters’ mental health, yet the home-related challenges of firefighting’s occupational demands remain underexplored in South Korea. This study aimed to establish an initial understanding of these challenges by conducting in-depth interviews with male firefighters and analyzing their lived experiences using a phenomenological approach. Methods: Twenty-nine married male firefighters (mean age = 43.4 years, range = 31–55) affiliated with the Busan Fire Department participated in individual telephone interviews between April and July 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analyzed using Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method, with NVivo Pro 12.0 employed for coding and organization. Results: Six themes were identified: (1) acting as an emergency commander at home, (2) reinterpreting traumatic experiences after marriage, (3) physical and emotional exhaustion from irregular schedules, (4) being national heroes misunderstood by families, (5) guilt-ridden and indebted Superman, and (6) striving to be Superman at home as well. These themes reflected the overarching meaning of a “lonely breadwinner struggling to be Superman both at work and home.” Participants described hyperarousal, emotional withdrawal, strained relationships, guilt over missed family events, and compensatory overextension. Distress was often concealed to protect families, but this limited emotional support. Conclusions: Korean male firefighters face significant work–family conflict shaped by cultural and occupational factors. These findings highlight the need for family-centered counseling, psychoeducation, and organizational interventions. Policy measures such as guaranteed rest after shifts, couple-based communication programs, and resilience-building initiatives are recommended to strengthen families as vital sources of psychological resilience. Full article

Lactation is a critical period in which mothers generally increase food intake and metabolism to meet high energy demands. In the present study, we examined the effect of time-restricted feeding (TRF) on lactating striped hamsters. On the day of litter birth, lactating females were assigned into 3 experimental groups that experienced 24-h ad lib feeding (Con), 12-h daytime feeding (DF), or 12-h nighttime feeding (NF). A group of non-lactating females with 24-h feeding (NL) served as an additional control. Our data show that lactating females had increased food intake, oxygen consumption, and small intestine mass but a decreased level of circulating melatonin, compared to the NL females. However, TRF manipulation significantly reduced the mother’s food intake, the pup’s body mass, and survival rate. In addition, TRF had some phase-specific (i.e., DF vs. NF) effects on facilitating body mass loss, decreasing CART, AgRP, and POMC gene expression in the hypothalamus, and increasing abundance in Desulfobacterota and Actinobacteriota in the gut microbiota of lactating females. Together, our data illustrate adaptive changes of lactating hamsters under TRF conditions, and highlight the importance of food access and dietary rhythm regulation in maternal and offspring health, development, and reproductive success. These findings not only expand our understanding of lactation biology and ecological feeding strategies but also highlight the significance of regular dietary patterns for lactating individuals, with particular emphasis on shift workers and other populations with irregular daily schedules. Full article

Mandible cemento-osseous dysplasia (COD) can be found mostly associated with dental roots and tooth-bearing anatomical structures. A variety of odontogenic cysts and tumors might have similar appearances. A lesion in the jaw bone not associated with dental roots with a cyst-like appearance might suggest a non-odontogenic lesion, an empty bone cavity, an osseous, fibrous, or fibro-osseous lesion, or a traumatic bone cyst (TBC). A radiolucent irregular bone cavity without clear borders always requires improved diagnostics in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) as well as a revision and a biopsy in some cases. When there is some bone swelling and asymmetry on radiological evaluation, followed by extra-cortical spread, and the lesion has irregular borders with thickening or atypical calcifications, a biopsy should be performed. COD and TBCs can be found mostly associated with dental roots, but sometimes they are not associated with tooth-bearing jaw structures and might cause some diagnostic problems, especially if they resemble an empty radiolucent cystic-like lesion in an atypical location. Regardless of the type of lesion, a bone revision and a biopsy are important. When a sufficient amount of a sample is removed and evaluated, this can greatly improve the final diagnosis. The authors present an interesting case of a lesion accidentally found in a routine panoramic radiograph used for screening before scheduled orthodontic treatment. Full article

The psychological mechanisms through which occupational stress impacts quality of life remain underexplored in shift-working healthcare professionals, a population exposed to unique stressors such as circadian disruption, high cognitive demands, and irregular work schedules. This study examined whether executive self-regulation mediates the relationship between perceived stress and quality of life in a sample of 82 shift-working healthcare professionals. Participants completed validated self-report measures, including the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4), Executive Skills Questionnaire–Revised (ESQ-R), and Quality of Life Scale (QOLS). Mediation analysis using 5126 bias-corrected bootstrapped samples revealed that perceived stress significantly predicted self-regulation difficulties, which in turn were associated with diminished quality of life. Self-regulation demonstrated an indirect-only mediation effect in both directions, though the forward path (stress → self-regulation → QOL) showed a stronger effect (indirect effect = −0.79; 95% CI: −1.63, −0.17), compared to the reverse path (QOL → self-regulation → stress; indirect effect = −0.04; 95% CI: −0.08, −0.01). Unsupervised K-means clustering identified three distinct behavioral clusters: resilient, low-strain, and high-strain, providing further support for personalized targeted interventions. These findings highlight self-regulation as a central mechanism through which stress affects quality of life and underscore the need for interventions that strengthen executive functioning in shift-based healthcare settings. Full article

The paper advances the theory of queuing networks by presenting generalized product-form solutions that explicitly take into account the service intensity depending on the number of customers in the network nodes, including the presence of multiple service channels and multi-threaded nodes. This represents a significant extension of the classical results on the Jackson network by integrating graph-theoretic methods, including basic subgraphs with service rates depending on the number of requests. The originality of the article is in the combination of stationary and non-stationary approaches to modeling service networks within a single approach. In particular, acyclic networks with deterministic service time and non-stationary Poisson input flow are considered. Such systems present a significant difficulty, which is noted in well-known works. A stationary model of an open queuing network with service intensity depending on the number of customers in the network nodes is constructed. The stationary network model is related to the problem of marine linear navigation along a strictly defined route and schedule. A generalization of the product theorem with a new form of stationary distribution is developed for it. It is shown that even a small increase in the service intensity with a large number of requests in a queuing network node can significantly reduce its average value. A non-stationary model of an acyclic queuing network with deterministic service time in network nodes and a non-stationary Poisson input flow is constructed. The non-stationary model is associated with irregular (tramp) sea transportation. The intensities of non-stationary Poisson flows in acyclic networks are represented by product formulas using paths between the initial node and other network nodes. The parameters of Poisson distributions of the number of customers in network nodes are calculated. The simplest formulas for calculating such queuing networks are obtained for networks in the form of trees. Full article

Background/Objectives: Complications of edentulism include bone resorption, muscular dysfunction, temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ), and stomatognathic system dysfunctional syndrome (SSDS). The objectives of the study were as follows: to analyze the distribution of edentulism complications related to sociodemographic and clinical parameters and to quantify the strength of relationships between edentulism complications and these socio-demographic or clinical variables. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated 150 edentulous subjects (mean age 61.54 +/− 8.99 years) scheduled for hybrid prosthetic therapy. The distribution of edentulism complications was assessed in relation to sex-specific and age-specific patterns, edentulism location (maxillary vs. mandibular), edentulism extension (partial reduced, partial extended, subtotal, complete edentulism), and Kennedy classification (class I vs. class II vs. class IV). Cramér’s V was used to measure the strength of the association between edentulism complications and sociodemographic and clinical factors. Results: The most prevalent complications were more frequent in males—bone resorption (74.2% vs. 40.9%), malocclusion (97.5% vs. 84.9%), TMJ disorders (74.2% vs. 57.0%), muscular disorders (62.5% vs. 31.2%), dyshomeostasis (64.2% vs. 31.2%), and SSDS (79.2% vs. 53.8%). The most relevant associations were found between age group and clinical variables such as irregular ridge (Cramer’s V = 0.737), long/thick frenum (0.711), and SSDS (0.544), while edentulism category was strongly associated with irregular ridge (0.585), TMJ disorders (0.493), and bone resorption (0.492). Conclusions: The type and stage of edentulism emerged as key determinants of complication severity, with complete and subtotal edentulism being associated with the highest rates of muscular and temporomandibular joint dysfunctions. Full article

Engineering contract management is a critical component of project management systems, serving as a key mechanism for ensuring successful project implementation. This study systematically analyzes 349 s-instance judicial cases related to construction engineering contract disputes in the Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone from 2017 to 2021, based on data obtained from the China Judgments Online database. The research identifies contractual risk characteristics across dimensions such as regional distribution, dispute terminology, legal citation patterns, and appellate role transitions. The key findings include the following: (1) Primary risks involve payment disputes, quality assurance failures, contractual validity issues, and schedule compliance challenges. (2) Litigation patterns reveal complex interdependencies between contracting parties and stakeholders, posing significant risk management challenges. (3) High second-instance modification rates stem from procedural irregularities, new evidence, improper legal application, and factual errors in initial trials. The study proposes stratified risk mitigation strategies, including governmental regulatory improvements and enterprise-level management optimizations. These findings offer valuable insights into advancing risk governance in construction contract administration, particularly through an enhanced understanding of dispute complexity and systemic vulnerabilities. Full article

Background: Newly arrived migrants are at increased risk for vaccine-preventable and communicable diseases due to low immunization coverage, poor access to healthcare, and challenging migration trajectories. This study describes the implementation and outcomes of a one-stop public health intervention focused on serological screening and accelerated vaccination in recently arrived migrants in Galicia, Spain. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study in July and August 2024 involving 335 adult migrants from sub-Saharan Africa with irregular administrative status and asylum applications. A centralized mobile health unit provided point-of-care screening for immunity against measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, and hepatitis A, alongside testing for active infections, including hepatitis B and syphilis. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected, and individuals were offered vaccination according to an accelerated immunization schedule. Results: Of 336 migrant adults invited to participate in the study, only 1 individual declined to participate (participation rate: 99.7%). Therefore, 335 migrants were assessed. A significant proportion of participants were susceptible to at least one vaccine-preventable disease, particularly hepatitis B (36.4%, 95% CI 31.3–41.6), measles (22.7%, 95% CI 18.2–27.2), and varicella (16.4%, 95% CI 12.5–20.4). Active infections were detected in 12.9% (95% CI 9.3–16.4) of individuals, including hepatitis B (9.9%, 95% CI 6.7–13.0) and syphilis (3.0%, 95% CI 1.2–4.8). The intervention allowed for timely vaccination and linkage to care, minimizing dependence on passive healthcare access. Conclusions: This study highlights substantial immunization gaps and the presence of undiagnosed infections in vulnerable migrant populations. Centralized and culturally adapted screening programs, combined with accelerated vaccination strategies, are feasible and effective. These findings support the integration of structured protocols into national health systems to ensure equity, reduce transmission risk, and align with WHO and ECDC public health frameworks. Full article

Fatigue among hospital nurses, resulting from demanding workloads and irregular shift schedules, presents significant risks to both healthcare workers and patient safety. This study developed a fatigue detection model using heart-rate variability (HRV) and investigated its relationship with the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory (SOFI) among nurses. Sixty nurses from a hospital in Depok, Indonesia, participated with HRV data collected via Polar H10 monitors before and after shifts alongside SOFI questionnaires. A mixed ANOVA revealed no significant between-subjects differences in HRV across morning, afternoon, and night shifts. However, within-subjects analyses showed pronounced parasympathetic rebound (elevated Mean RR) and sympathetic withdrawal (reduced Mean HR) post-shift, particularly after afternoon and night shifts, contrasting with stable profiles in morning shifts. Correlation analysis showed significant associations between SOFI dimensions, specifically lack of motivation and sleepiness, with HRV measures, indicating autonomic dysfunction and elevated stress levels. Several machine-learning classifiers were used to develop a fatigue detection model and compare their accuracy. The Fine Gaussian Support Vector Machine (SVM) model achieved the highest performance with 81.48% accuracy and an 81% F1 score, outperforming other models. These findings suggest that HRV-based fatigue detection integrated with machine learning provides a promising approach for continuous nurse fatigue monitoring. Full article

The Building Information Modeling (BIM) concept has been recently implemented in railway infrastructure, assisting mainly in the project elaboration, and further, the facility management aspect. The present study addresses the inspection activity of the railway geometry, in a BIM context, using a rigorous modeling process of the railway track components, and the development of a Dynamo script for the evaluation of the degree of geometric irregularity detected during inspection works. The monitoring phase of the rail tracks involves a planned railway inspection schedule, normally supported by human analyses of data collected in a railway geometric inspection. The created script allows for evaluating the inspection data and categorizes the data by alert levels that are associated with a color code, visualized over the railway components of the BIM model. The Dynamo script uses new BIM parameters considering the maintenance activity, allowing for analyzing inspection data and visualizing the colored alerts. This capacity alerts the maintenance engineer about the urgency of planning a retrofitting action, according to the severity level of the detected geometric anomaly. An illustrative real railway track segment is considered supporting the modeling process, the inspection data collection and the efficiency analyses of the script application. This research intends to contribute to increment knowledge of BIM adoption in railway infrastructures, emphasizing the potential of using Dynamo programming on BIM model database management. Full article

The technical objective of a monitoring system is to provide the means to detect potential irregularities related to the project plan, to provide assurance that the migration of the CO₂ plume stays within the storage unit, and to show that CO₂ behaves in conformance with the model predictions. From an operational point of view, monitoring will also provide data that can be used to optimize the injection schedule relative to the storage capacity and availability of CO₂ to minimize risks and long-term costs. Finally, monitoring is a crucial factor for the public perception of risks related to CO₂ storage, as surveys indicate that adequately designed monitoring can mitigate concerns. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a holistic, transdisciplinary, multi-criteria decision-making framework. The objective of this work is to apply the AHP framework to monitoring-solutions for a synthetic geological storage site of CO₂ to secure the technical, operational, and societal embeddedness of the solutions and gain experience in how this can be applied to a real project. Through this first application of AHP within the field of geological carbon storage, the AHP was found to be a structured and transparent framework for holistic, multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM), where the wisdom and expertise of different domain experts were considered. A further novelty in this study is introducing a measure of spread in assessing the various solution alternatives’ capacity to meet monitoring criteria. This approach was utilized to underscore disparities among respondents’ experiences and to identify potential informational deficiencies in evaluating alternatives and devising the optimal monitoring solution. Full article

Every year, airlines invest considerable resources in recovering from irregular operations caused by delays and disruptions to aircraft and crew. Consequently, the need to reschedule aircraft and crew to better address these problems has become pressing. The airline scheduling problem comprises two stages—that is, the Aircraft-Routing Problem (ARP) and the Crew-Pairing Problem (CPP). While the ARP and CPP have traditionally been solved sequentially, such an approach fails to capture their interdependencies, often compromising the robustness of aircraft and crew schedules in the face of disruptions. However, existing integrated ARP and CPP models often apply static rules for buffer time allocation, which may result in excessive and ineffective long-buffer connections. To bridge these gaps, we propose a robust integrated ARP and CPP model with two key innovations: (1) the definition of new critical connections (NCCs), which combine structural feasibility with data-driven delay risk; and (2) a spatiotemporal delay-prediction module that quantifies connection vulnerability. The problem is formulated as a sequential decision-making process and solved via a novel multi-agent reinforcement learning algorithm. Numerical results demonstrate that the novel method outperforms prior methods in the literature in terms of solving speed and can also enhance planning robustness. This, in turn, can enhance both operational profitability and passenger satisfaction. Full article

Background/Objectives: Shift workers face higher risks of impaired glucose metabolism due to irregular eating habits and circadian misalignment. Time-restricted eating (TRE) could improve glucose metabolism by aligning food intake with the circadian clock, but its effectiveness remains unclear. Methods: Ten electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Science.gov, and ClinicalTrials.gov) were searched from journal inception to September 2024. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving shift workers were included. Meta-analyses with sensitivity analyses were conducted using a random-effects model to pool glucose metabolism and sleep outcomes, with heterogeneity and quality assessments performed. Results: Six RCTs were included. TRE demonstrated positive but non-significant effects on glucose metabolism outcomes: fasting blood glucose (weighted mean difference [WMD]: −0.02 mmol/L, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.13 to 0.10, I² = 0%), fasting blood insulin (WMD: −5.77 pmol/L, 95% CI: −85.62 to 74.08, I² = 92%), HOMA-IR (WMD: −0.50, 95% CI: −2.76 to 1.76, I² = 82%), 2 h postprandial glucose (WMD: −0.65 mmol/L, 95% CI: −3.18 to 1.89, I² = 86%), total sleep time (g = 0.07, 95% CI: −0.23 to 0.37, I² = 0%), and sleep efficiency (g = −0.05, 95% CI: −0.63 to 0.53, I² = 62%). Sensitivity analyses yielded similar findings, and overall certainty of evidence was rated ‘very low’. Conclusions: While TRE shows potential for improving the glucose metabolism in shift workers, current evidence remains inconclusive due to small sample sizes and study limitations. Future research should prioritize well-powered TRE RCTs in shift workers that adhere to a 6–10 h eating window. Incorporating early-TRE schedules with sleep hygiene may optimize metabolic outcomes, with circadian biomarkers analyzed to better elucidate the mechanistic pathway implicated. Full article

Shift workers are at increased risk of insomnia. The standard treatment (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia) poses significant challenges for this demographic due to irregular work and sleep schedules. New approaches are still considered insufficient due to high attrition or insufficient effectiveness. Our preliminary study identified sleep-relevant state and trait factors (see secondary outcomes) for incorporation into an innovative manual that addresses sleep in an implicit manner. The objective was to reduce the focus on insomnia and to replace regularity-based interventions. With a sample of 55 insomniacs (67.74% male, mean age 41.62 years), standard and customized treatments were compared using pre-treatment, post-treatment, and three-month follow-up measurements (RCT, self-assessment data). Our linear mixed models revealed the main significant effects of the measurement point for the primary (insomnia severity, sleep quality, sleep onset latency, total sleep time, daytime sleepiness) and the secondary outcomes (selection: anxiety/depression, dysfunctional beliefs, arousal, emotional stability, concern). No main effects of the condition or interaction effects were identified. Non-inferiority and equivalence tests demonstrated that the customized treatment is equivalent to standard therapy, which is a favorable outcome in light of the implicit approach. Consequently, this innovative approach warrants further exploration, incorporating the present results. Full article

Educational institutions face growing challenges. Rising enrolment, limited budgets, and sustainability goals demand more efficient resource management and administrative decision-making. To address challenges like these, this work proposes a conceptual framework for smart campus management which integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced wireless networks based on 5G. The framework’s design outlines layers for campus data collection (via sensors and connected devices), high-speed communication, and AI-driven analytics for decision support. By leveraging data-driven insights enabled by reliable wireless connectivity, institutions can make more informed decisions, use resources more effectively, and automate routine tasks. Envisioned AI capabilities include forecasting (for predictive maintenance and demand planning), anomaly detection (for fault or irregularity identification), and optimisation (for resource scheduling). Rather than reporting empirical results, the framework is illustrated through hypothetical scenarios (e.g., anticipating equipment maintenance, dynamically scheduling classrooms, or reallocating resources) to present potential benefits and tools for researchers. The discussion also highlights how the framework incorporates data privacy, security, and accessibility considerations to ensure inclusive adoption. Eventually, this conceptual proposal provides a roadmap for administrators and planners, guiding the adoption of AI and wireless innovations in educational management to enable more responsive, efficient governance and, ultimately, improve outcomes for students and staff. Full article