Search Results (1,770)

Background: Public beliefs about dietary risks, such as excessive salt intake, are often not isolated misconceptions but part of structured cognitive systems. This study aimed to explore how individuals organize their beliefs and misperceptions regarding salt-related health consequences. Material and Methods: Using data from an international online survey, we applied a system of multivariate proportional odds logistic regression (POLR) models to estimate conditional associations among beliefs about salt’s links to various diseases—including cardiovascular, metabolic, renal, neuropsychiatric, and mortality outcomes. In addition, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA) were conducted to identify and validate latent constructs underlying the belief items. Beliefs were modeled as interdependent, controlling for latent constructs, sociodemographics, and self-reported health awareness. Statistically significant associations (p < 0.05) were visualized via a heatmap of beta coefficients. Results: Physicians showed almost universal agreement that salt contributes to hypertension (µ = 0.97), compared to non-medical respondents (µ = 0.85; p < 0.0001). Beliefs about mortality (µ = 1.55 for MDs vs. 0.99 for non-medical; p < 0.0001) emerged as central hubs in the belief network. Strong inter-item associations were observed, such as between hypertension and heart failure (β = −0.39), and between obesity and type 2 diabetes (β = −0.94). Notably, cognitive gaps were found, including a lack of association between atrial fibrillation and stroke, and non-reciprocal links between hypertension and heart failure. Conclusions: Beliefs about the health effects of salt are structured and sometimes asymmetrical, reflecting underlying reasoning patterns rather than isolated ignorance. Understanding these structures provides a systems-level view of health literacy and may inform more effective public health communication and education strategies. Full article

The lotus–fish co-culture (LFC) system leverages plant–fish symbiosis to optimize aqua-culture environments, enhancing both economic and ecological yields. However, the eco-logical mechanisms of microbial communities in LFC systems remain poorly understood, particularly regarding the functional roles of fungi, archaea, and viruses. This study compared microbiota (viruses, archaea, fungi) in water, sediment, and fish (crucian carp) gut of LFC and intensive pond culture (IPC) systems using integrated metagenomic and environmental analyses. Results demonstrated that LFC significantly reduced concentrations of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and nitrite nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand in water, and organic matter and total nitrogen in sediment compared to IPC. Community diversity analysis, LefSe, and KEGG annotation revealed suppressed viral diversity in LFC, yet increased complexity and stability of intestinal virus communities compared to IPC. Archaeal and functional analyses revealed significantly enhanced ammonia oxidation and OM decomposition in LFC versus IPC, promoting methane metabolism equilibrium and sediment organic matter decomposition. Moreover, crucian carp intestines in LFC harbored abundant Methanobacteria, which contributed to maintaining a low hydrogen partial pressure, suppressing facultative anaerobes and reducing intestinal infection risk. The abundance of fungi in sediment and crucian carp intestine in LFC was significantly higher than that in IPC, showing higher ecological self-purification ability and sustainability potential in LFC. Collectively, LFC's optimized archaeal–fungal networks strengthened host immunity and environmental resilience, while viral community suppression reduced pathogen risks. These findings elucidate microbiome-driven mechanisms underlying LFC’s ecological advantages, providing a framework for designing sustainable aquaculture systems through microbial community modulation. Full article

Background/Objectives: Patients with inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) exhibit complex clinical profiles due to autonomic dysfunction. While sinus node sparing (SNS) hybrid ablation is emerging as a promising therapy, there are no established guidelines worldwide for post-procedure patient management and care is mainly based on telemonitoring. In contrast, our hybrid cardiac rehabilitation (HCR) program integrates inpatient care and home-based telerehabilitation. We aim to evaluate the implementation of the HCR program, patient acceptance and adherence, and the effectiveness of the Malmö POTS scoring system in monitoring disease progression and rehabilitation outcomes. Methods: Patients underwent a personalized HCR program after SNS. The program included early mobilization, psychological support, respiratory therapy, and structured exercise. Clinical outcomes were assessed using symptom burden (Malmö POTS score), ECG parameters, exercise duration, perceived exertion, and rehabilitation adherence. Results: All patients completed the inpatient phase, and 87% completed the home-based phase. In the early postoperative period, pericarditis, anemia, and benign rhythm disturbances were mild and self-limiting. The Malmö POTS score decreased from 65.3 to 25.7. Lower perceived exertion early in the program correlated with clinical improvement. At the 2-month follow-up, 81% of patients no longer met the clinical criteria for IST/POTS without the use of medications. The program was evaluated as safe, feasible, and well-tolerated, with high patient satisfaction. Conclusions: A well-organized hybrid cardiac rehabilitation program after SNS is feasible, safe, and well-tolerated in IST/POTS patients. The Malmö POTS score may support outcome monitoring. The integration of individualized training and telemedicine represents a promising development for patients post-SNS ablation. While this study demonstrates feasibility and potential benefits, further controlled studies are needed to evaluate its impact on long-term recovery and symptom control. Full article

In some cases, the catalytic processes involve the formation of self-organized supramolecular structures due to H-bonds and other non-covalent interactions. It has been suggested that the construction of self-assembled catalytic systems is a promising strategy to mimic enzyme catalysis at the model level. As a rule, the real catalysts are not the primary catalytic complexes, but rather, those that are formed during the catalytic process. In our earlier works, we have established that the effective catalysts M(II)_xL¹_y(L¹_ox)_z(L²)_n(H₂O)_m (M = Ni, Fe, L¹ = acac⁻, L² = activating electron-donating ligand) for the selective oxidation of ethylbenzene to α-phenyl ethyl hydroperoxide are the result of the transformation of primary (Ni(Fe)L¹)_x(L²)_y complexes during the oxidation of ethylbenzene. In addition, the mechanism of the transformation to active complexes is similar to the mechanism of action of NiFeARD (NiFe-acireductone dioxygenase). Based on kinetic and spectrophotometric data, we hypothesized that the high stability of effective catalytically active complexes may be associated with the formation of stable supramolecular structures due to intermolecular hydrogen bonds and possibly other non-covalent bonds. We confirmed this assumption using AFM. In this work, using AFM, we studied the possibility of forming supramolecular structures based on iron complexes with L²-crown ethers and quaternary ammonium salts, which are catalysts for the oxidation of ethylbenzene and are models of FeARD (Fe-acireductone dioxygenase). The formation of supramolecular structures based on complexes of natural Hemin with PhOH and L-histidine or Hemin with L-tyrosine and L-histidine, which are models of heme-dependent tyrosine hydroxylase and cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenases (AFM method), may indicate the importance of outer-sphere regulatory interactions with the participation of Tyrosine and Histidine in the mechanism of action of these enzymes. Full article

Trustworthy product quality data forms the foundation of digital and distributed manufacturing, yet current centralized product quality management (PQM) systems remain vulnerable to data manipulation, traceability breaks, single points of failure, and related adverse effects. To clarify how blockchain can address these weaknesses, this paper presents a systematic review of blockchained product quality management (BPQM). Firstly, the paper groups the architectures and models related to BPQM and proposes an ISA 95-aligned reference framework that secures a real-time quality data exchange. Secondly, seven key BPQM enablers are analyzed, including (1) visual intelligence-based quality inspection, (2) cyber–physical twinning and parallel control of manufacturing systems, (3) blockchained agent modeling and secure data sharing, (4) multi-level blockchain mapping, (5) smart contract-based decentralized system configuration and operation, (6) artificial intelligence-based decentralized BPQM applications, and (7) traceability of process coordination and control. Thirdly, through analysis of social barriers and technological challenges, four research directions are identified, namely, (1) optimal granularity of data in system configuration; (2) smart contracts for self-organizing intelligence; (3) balancing system security, cost, and performance; and (4) interoperability and integration with legacy systems. It is expected that this paper lays a solid foundation for the practical use of blockchain in PQM engineering. Full article

The frequency and intensity of floods increase with global climate change. Strengthening the resilience of farmers to disasters, in particular to mitigate flood risks, has become an important policy issue. Increasing the livelihood resilience of farmers to enhance their disaster preparedness has become the main form of coping with flood risk. However, few studies have explored the correlation between farmers’ livelihood resilience and disaster preparedness. Using data from a survey of 540 rural households conducted in July 2021 across nine towns in three counties in Sichuan Province, we construct an indicator system for evaluating the farmers’ livelihood resilience in flood risk areas. The relationship between farmers’ livelihood resilience and their disaster preparedness is studied using the tobit model. The results show that farmers’ livelihood resilience is composed of multiple dimensions, with self-organization capacity scoring the highest (0.541), followed by learning ability (0.303), and buffer capacity scoring the lowest (0.223). Additionally, the level of trust in society and the possibility of suffering from floods in the research area have a noticeable positive effect on farmers’ decision-making related to disaster preparedness. The more farmers trust in society and the greater the likelihood of exposure to flood risk is, the more they tend to be prepared for risk avoidance. Furthermore, farmers’ livelihood resilience is positively associated with their overall disaster preparedness. Specifically, both buffer capacity and learning ability influence emergency disaster preparedness and knowledge and skill preparation; self-organization capacity affects only knowledge and skill preparation. These results suggest procedures to enhance farmers’ livelihood resilience and further strengthen preparedness for disasters such as floods. Full article

Intelligence is a central topic in computing and philosophy, yet its origins and biological roots remain poorly understood. The framework proposed in this paper approaches intelligence as the complexification of agency across multiple levels of organization—from active matter to symbolic and social systems. Agents gradually acquire the capacity to detect differences, regulate themselves, and sustain identity within dynamic environments. Grounded in autopoiesis, cognition is reframed as a recursive, embodied process sustaining life through self-construction. Intelligence evolves as a problem-solving capacity of increasing organizational complexity: from physical self-organization to collective and reflexive capabilities. The model integrates systems theory, cybernetics, enactivism, and computational approaches into a unified info-computational perspective. Full article

Traditional landslide susceptibility assessment (LSA) methods typically adopt a global modeling strategy, which struggles to account for the pronounced spatial heterogeneity arising from variations in topography, geology, and vegetation conditions within a region. Furthermore, model predictive performance is often undermined by feature redundancy. To address these limitations, this study focuses on the landslide disaster early-warning demonstration area in Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province. It proposes an ensemble learning model termed heterogeneity feature optimized stacking (HF-stacking), which integrates spatial heterogeneity partitioning (SHP) with feature selection to improve the scientific rigor of LSA. This method initially establishes an LSA system comprising 15 static landslide conditioning factors (LCFs) and two dynamic factors representing the average annual deformation rates derived from interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technology. Based on landslide inventory data, an SHP method combining t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) and iterative self-organizing (ISO) clustering was developed to divide the study area into subregions. Within each subregion, a tailored feature selection strategy was applied to determine the optimal feature subset. The final LSA was performed using the stacking ensemble learning approach. The results show that the HF-stacking model achieved the best overall performance, with an average AUC of 95.90% across subregions, 4.23% higher than the traditional stacking model. Other evaluation metrics also demonstrated comprehensive improvements. This study confirms that constructing an SHP framework and implementing feature selection strategies can effectively reduce the impact of spatial heterogeneity and feature redundancy, thereby significantly enhancing the predictive performance of LSA models. The proposed method contributes to improving the reliability of regional landslide risk assessments. Full article

Background: Scientific literature confirms the benefits of mother’s own milk (MOM) for both term and preterm infants. The feeding of pathological newborns, in particular the very low birth weight infants (VLBWIs), is dependent on human milk. When MOM is not available, pasteurized donor human milk obtained from a recognized Human Milk Bank (HMB) is the best alternative. Research aims: This survey aims to evaluate the activity of human milk banks (HMBs) in Italy in the years 2023–2024. Methods: Following the previous three surveys performed in 2012, 2016, and 2022, a fourth survey related to 2023 and 2024 was planned in the year 2025. A questionnaire was sent to the 44 HMBs officially operating in Italy, with questions regarding their management and activity, in order to collect national-level data. Results: All 44 Italian HMBs (100%) responded to this survey. The collected data confirm the results of the previous surveys, confirming an optimal adherence to the Italian Ministerial Guidelines. Almost all the HMBs (96%) apply the principles of self-control and the HACCP system, while the home milk collection service still requires improvement. Only 68% of HMBs organize collection and transport of the donated milk from the donor’s home to the bank. In addition, this survey shows the spreading of computerization in the management of the activities of HMBs: 36.4% make use of specific software that could lead to a greater availability of donor human milk for the neonatal centers in the future. The number of donors and the amount of donated milk increased consistently compared to the previous years. Conclusions: In general, this survey shows an improvement in the results obtained in the three previous surveys, with a positive dissemination of the culture of human milk donation in Italy. The impressive response rate to the survey demonstrates the importance of a regular check-up of the activity of HMBs. Full article

Skeletal muscle, constituting ~40% of body mass, serves as a primary effector for movement and a key metabolic regulator through myokine secretion. Hereditary myopathies, including dystrophinopathies (DMD/BMD), limb–girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD), and metabolic disorders like Pompe disease, arise from pathogenic mutations in structural, metabolic, or ion channel genes, leading to progressive weakness and multi-organ dysfunction. Gene therapy has emerged as a transformative strategy, leveraging viral and non-viral vectors to deliver therapeutic nucleic acids. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors dominate clinical applications due to their efficient transduction of post-mitotic myofibers and sustained transgene expression. Innovations in AAV engineering, such as capsid modification (chemical conjugation, rational design, directed evolution), self-complementary genomes, and tissue-specific promoters (e.g., MHCK7), enhance muscle tropism while mitigating immunogenicity and off-target effects. Non-viral vectors (liposomes, polymers, exosomes) offer advantages in cargo capacity (delivering full-length dystrophin), biocompatibility, and scalable production but face challenges in transduction efficiency and endosomal escape. Clinically, AAV-based therapies (e.g., Elevidys^® for DMD, Zolgensma^® for SMA) demonstrate functional improvements, though immune responses and hepatotoxicity remain concerns. Future directions focus on AI-driven vector design, hybrid systems (AAV–exosomes), and standardized manufacturing to achieve “single-dose, lifelong cure” paradigms for muscular disorders. Full article

Supporting dementia carers is a global priority. As a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) (n = 352) of the Word Health Organization recommended, an internationally disseminated ‘iSupport’ e-health intervention was conducted, revealing no measurable benefits to the wellbeing of adult dementia carers. This process evaluation contributes original insights of the trial outcomes. Its aims were to ascertain the usability and acceptability of iSupport, participant engagement and adherence to iSupport, and contextual factors influencing its implementation and potential impact. The process evaluation followed a mixed-method design. The following data were collected from all participants randomised to iSupport (n = 175): (1) post-intervention evaluation questionnaire (n = 93) containing the 10-item System Usability Scale and bespoke items exploring acceptability, engagement, and perceived impact; (2) qualitative interviews (n = 52) with a sub-sample of participants who were purposively sampled according to age, scores on the outcome measures, and gender, as these interviews aimed to generate contextual detail and explanatory accounts; and (3) ‘Access’ data from the iSupport platform (n = 175). Descriptive statistics was used to report on the frequency of survey responses whilst a thematic analysis approach was followed to identify themes from the qualitative interview data. Data sets were analysed independently and then used with respect to one another in order to generate explanatory pathways related to the usability, acceptability, and the impact of iSupport. Despite good trial retention, 8.3% of participants (n = 32) did not spend any time on iSupport, and 54% (n = 94) spent between 30 min and 1.5 h. Factors driving this were the following: time constrains, method of delivery, and content characteristics. Positive impacts of iSupport were also described. Participants, including those with extensive caring experience, reported how iSupport had made them feel reassured, valued, and more able to ask for help. They also reported having an improved outlook on their caring role and on the needs and feelings of the person living with dementia. Research and practice should focus on exploring blended delivery, including self-directed and interactive components, such as regular contact with a health professional. These insights are critical for supporting the global implementation and adaptation of iSupport and offer valuable directions for future research. Full article

A growing body of scholarship recognizes the importance of understanding the inner dimensions of transformations to sustainability at individual, collective, and system levels and their influence on the behavior of individuals and groups and the types of institutions that prevail. This review summarizes and synthesizes scholarship on the inner dimensions of regeneration, a subject of growing interest in the sustainability science literature. Regeneration refers to a process of rebuilding or renewing an asset, resource, ecosystem, individual, family, organization, community, or place. It enables the expression of nature’s capacity for self-organization and empowers social-ecological systems to revive themselves through positive reinforcing cycles. The review seeks to improve understanding of the characteristics and meanings of regenerative mental models, mindsets, and cultures. It begins with definitions, then describes methods, summarizes results, and discusses what regenerative mental models and mindsets look like when they become part of culture and are scaled to larger social-ecological systems. Full article

This mini-review article is focused on polymeric materials that comprise thermoresponsive and fluorescent organic units. The combination of fluorescent clusters/dots embedded in or grafted with polymers is not considered in this article. Here we review the preparation, characterization, and application of thermoresponsive polymers functionalized covalently with organic fluorescent compounds either compartmentalized or randomly distributed: block-copolymers, self-assembled micelles or vesicles, core–shell nanogels, and their temperature driven self-assembly/shrinkage/expansion and resulting effect in fluorescence: quenching, enhancing, shifting. The applications suggested for these smart-materials are reviewed in the last ten years and range from nanothermometers, drug delivery systems, agents for bioimaging, sensors, and advanced materials for theranostics focused on cancer treatment. This article is organized reviewing the preparation methods, the main characterization techniques, and the application, depending on polymer architecture and the emission wavelength of the fluorophores. Finally, comments, suggestions, and problems to be solved for the advancement of these materials in the future prior to real-life applications are given. Full article

When periodic and other piecewise linear functions are introduced in a chaotic system with two-dimensional offset boosting for extra feedback, more patterns of diagonal distribution from coexisting attractors can be organized. In this study, the periodic function is implanted for attractor self-reproducing, while the signum function and absolute value function are integrated for the attractor symmetrization. For the offset interlocking across dimensions, the coexisting attractors can be reproduced in phase space with the shapes of “V” and “X”. Based on the FPGA platform, all the patterns are validated in a digital hardware environment confirming the consistency with simulation. Full article

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared snakebite envenoming (SBE) as a neglected tropical disease in 2017. Antivenom is the gold standard of treatment, but many healthcare barriers exist, and hence, affected populations are often unable to access it. The challenge is further perpetuated by the lack of attention from national health authorities, poor regulatory systems and policies, and mismanagement of antivenom. This study aims to map the evidence regarding snake antivenom regulations globally and identify gaps in the literature to inform future research and policy. This review was conducted using the original Arksey and O’Malley framework by three independent reviewers, and the results were reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). A search strategy was developed with assistance from a librarian, and six databases were searched: PubMed, SCOPUS, ProQuest Central, Africa Wide Web, Academic Search Output, and Web of Science. Screening was conducted independently by the reviewers, using Rayyan, and conflicts were resolved with discussions. A total of 84 articles were included for data extraction. The major themes that emerged from the included studies were regarding antivenom availability, accessibility, manufacturing, and regulations. The study revealed massive gaps in terms of policies governing antivenom management, especially in Asia and Africa. The literature does not offer sufficient evidence on management guidelines for antivenom in the endemic regions, despite identifying the challenges in supply. However, significant information from Latin America revealed self-sufficient production, involvement of national health bodies in establishing efficient regulations, effective distribution nationally and regionally, and technology sharing to reduce SBE-related mortality. Full article