Search Results (843)

The integrated development of transportation, culture, and tourism is widely recognized as critical for regional sustainability, yet existing research predominantly uses two-dimensional frameworks and overlooks the unique constraints of highway-dominated pastoral borderlands. Taking Inner Mongolia (2023–2025) as a case study, this research develops a 24-indicator evaluation system and a multi-model analytical framework integrating entropy-weighted TOPSIS, coupling coordination, obstacle degree, and grey relational analysis. This study makes three contributions: (1) It constructs a highway-oriented three-dimensional evaluation framework suited for border regions spanning millions of square kilometres; (2) it distinguishes short-term static obstacles from long-term dynamic factors using an integrated multi-model chain; and (3) it proposes the theoretical concept of ‘Highway–Culture Spatial Matching’ for sparsely populated borderlands. The results reveal a significant spatial gradient, with high coordination in the Hohhot–Baotou–Ordos core and severe lagging in western pastoral areas. The spatial match between highway network accessibility and nomadic cultural heritage sites, rather than resource abundance alone, is the decisive factor determining system coupling. The obstacle degree model pinpoints highway mileage and road network density as primary short-term bottlenecks, while grey relational analysis confirms that the scale of the cultural tourism industry and intangible heritage activation are key long-term drivers. This work provides a quantifiable, evidence-based reference for formulating tiered, sustainable development policies in similar northern frontier ethnic regions, consistent with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Full article

Early, rapid, and accurate detection is essential for clinical management and epidemiological control of acute respiratory infections caused by pathogens. Traditional testing methods such as microbial culture, serological testing, and PCR are restrictive in terms of operation and logistics and are therefore not easily used in point-of-care settings. The CRISPR/Cas system is an adaptive prokaryotic immune system composed of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and their associated proteins, which has been used as a nucleic acid diagnostic platform with programmable sequence-specific target recognition and signal-amplifying collateral cleavage activity. Existing reviews have mostly focused on the classification of Cas enzymes or amplification strategies; in this review, a pathogen-centric approach was taken, covering viral pathogens (SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus, RSV, HAdV and VZV), bacterial pathogens (Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus) and fungal pathogens (Aspergillus fumigatus and Pneumocystis jirovecii). Key technological advances, such as isothermal amplification coupling, single-vessel integrated reaction designs, amplification-free digital detection, and electrochemical biosensor integration, are evaluated for Cas9-, Cas12-, and Cas13-based systems, with their mechanistic bases outlined. The current challenges that hinder clinical translation, such as sample matrix interference, multiple signal cross-talk, crRNA off-target effects, and the lack of large-scale validation studies, are critically assessed. At the same time, future pathways for portable, integrated, and inexpensive diagnostic platforms are suggested. Full article

The global mining sector plays a vital economic role but frequently results in the displacement of communities, generating profound environmental, social, and cultural consequences. In South Africa mining remains a key economic driver. The literature on the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF) attests to the impact of mining on communities and the industry’s influence on the five capitals, namely social, physical, natural, financial and human. However, research on SLF offers a limited assessment of the long-term effectiveness of livelihood restoration initiatives directed at communities resettled elsewhere because of mining. The research gap in this study can be explained as the sparseness of research in clarifying and amplifying the voices of mining-resettled communities. Research, besides being limited, has focused on the activities of mining companies and their supposed economic benefit. Adopting a qualitative approach within an interpretivist paradigm, data was collected through semi-structured interviews with seven community leaders and activists from Gauteng, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga. Contestations, inaccessibility and possibilities of victimisation by mining companies, and non-universality in interview sample numbers are some of the issues justifying those seven interviewees in this study. Additionally, the interviewees in this study are leaders, activists, and family and community members directly affected by mining resettlement. Based on the nature of the research inquiry, the number of interviewees is adequate and enabled the study to establish its findings as a multi-case study of the communities in the three provinces. Thematic analysis using ATLAS.ti revealed that resettlement significantly disrupted livelihoods through loss of productive land, diminished agricultural activities, and the erosion of social and cultural networks. Although mining companies provided compensation, housing, and skills training, these measures were largely fragmented, short-term, and insufficient to restore pre-displacement living standards. Weak governance and limited community participation further undermined outcomes. Although limited to seven participants doubling as activists, community leaders, and former farm owners, the study concludes that existing livelihood restoration efforts are largely unsustainable from the perspective of community leaders and activists based in three mining provinces of South Africa. The study proposes a sustainable livelihood framework that embraces justice and guarantees the socio-economic resilience of the resettled communities. Full article

Early hematopoietic injury is a critical determinant of hematopoietic acute radiation syndrome (H-ARS), yet biologically relevant cellular endpoints and optimal evaluation windows for therapeutic screening remain poorly defined. Here, we combined high-dimensional mass cytometry (CyTOF) and flow cytometry to characterize early hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) remodeling following 6.5 Gy total-body irradiation. Radiation exposure induced rapid bone marrow injury, with substantial cellular loss and reduced viability occurring within hours after irradiation. CyTOF analysis revealed that radiation-induced injury was characterized by selective remodeling rather than uniform depletion of the HSPC compartment. While long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) were relatively preserved, short-term HSCs (ST-HSCs), multipotent progenitors (MPPs), and megakaryocyte–erythroid progenitors (MEPs) exhibited marked reductions during the early phase after irradiation. Importantly, surviving cells retained partial differentiation capacity during this period, indicating that the early post-irradiation phase represents a biologically informative window for therapeutic evaluation. These radiosensitive populations were subsequently validated using a simplified flow cytometry platform and remained detectable under short-term in vitro culture conditions. Collectively, our findings identify key radiosensitive HSPC subsets and establish an early hematopoietic injury framework that integrates optimal evaluation timing with practical cellular endpoints for H-ARS therapeutic screening and radiomitigator development. Full article

Microalgal bioprocesses increasingly rely on predictive modelling to support automated control and reduce the cost of laboratory experimentation. Yet, the scarcity of high-quality datasets and the nonlinear nature of microalgal growth severely limit the accuracy and robustness of conventional machine-learning approaches. This study introduces an ensemble-learning framework for forecasting biomass accumulation in Limnospira platensis cultures supplemented with Effective Microorganism (EM) consortia. The method combines temporally consistent, strictly causal feature engineering with tree-based ensemble learning under a prospective validation protocol designed to mirror real deployment. Growth measurements are transformed into temporal descriptors that encode phase transitions, short-term growth dynamics, and treatment effects, enabling tree-based ensemble algorithms to capture nonlinear patterns inaccessible to traditional models. When features are restricted to information available strictly before each prediction, and models are evaluated only on real held-out measurements, one-step nowcasting does not surpass a trivial persistence baseline. For genuine multi-horizon forecasting of a monitored culture, the regime with practical value, a horizon-aware gradient-boosting model trained jointly on two cultivation media (Jordan and Zarrouk), attains R² ≈ 0.72 on the held-out Jordan observations (0.72 ± 0.02, mean ± SD over 30 seeds; RMSE ≈ 0.20 g L⁻¹, Pearson r ≈ 0.85) and remains stable across forecast horizons of 1–28 days, outperforming persistence roughly fourfold in pooled R² (0.72 vs. 0.16) at medium-to-long horizons where the naive baseline collapses. Permutation-based feature-importance analysis identifies current biomass and the EM dilution level as the leading predictors, whereas EM treatment identity contributes only modestly. Including an independent second-medium experiment (Zarrouk) in joint training did not materially change held-out Jordan performance, indicating that, under these data-limited conditions, neither additional model complexity nor a second training medium substantially improved forecasting once the causal, horizon-aware framework was in place. Among treatments, EM3 most strongly suppressed biomass accumulation. Overall, the study provides an honest, fully reproducible, two-medium benchmark for microalgal biomass forecasting under data-limited conditions, and identifies the forecast horizon as the regime in which ensemble learning adds genuine value over trivial baselines. Full article

The transition toward sustainable energy systems is not only a technological and economic challenge but also a social one, with public acceptance playing a decisive role in the success of sustainability transitions. While traditional technology acceptance models primarily emphasize cognitive and utilitarian determinants, increasing attention has been directed toward underlying motivational processes. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) provides a valuable framework for understanding how autonomous and controlled motivation shape attitudes and behaviours toward sustainable energy technologies. This systematic review synthesizes empirical and theoretical research on the application of SDT in the context of social acceptance within this domain. Following PRISMA guidelines, studies published between January 2000 and April 2026 were identified through searches of Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, with 34 eligible studies included in the thematic analysis. The findings from many of the reviewed studies suggest that autonomous motivation, supported by the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs, is associated with greater technology acceptance, trust, engagement, and long-term behavioural support. In contrast, controlled motivation is more often associated with resistance, weak internalisation, or short-term compliance. The review further highlights the important moderating role of contextual factors, including policy design, communication strategies, trust, and socio-cultural environments. By integrating SDT into sustainable technology acceptance research, this review advances motivation-based perspectives on sustainability transitions and provides practical implications for policymakers, technology developers, and communication practitioners seeking to foster enduring public engagement with sustainable innovations. Full article

Although rural public cultural spaces in China have expanded rapidly, many struggle to maintain stable and sustained public participation. Taking Sanchalu Village in Wuhan as a case, this study examines how multi-actor interactions transform fragmented and short-term participation into a resilient participatory structure. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, the study analyzed semi-structured interviews with 13 government officials, village cadres, enterprise representatives, and villagers, supplemented by participant observation and documentary materials. The findings identify an adaptive linkage process in which external resource embedding activates participation, village-level organizations promote the institutionalization of participation through incentive mechanisms and participation channels, internal and external resources are integrated through trust-based reciprocity, and multi-actor collaboration stabilizes governance arrangements. Accordingly, participation resilience develops through sustained participation, organizational mediation, and institutional safeguards rather than through infrastructure provision alone. This study clarifies how participation resilience supports the social sustainability of rural public cultural spaces and offers practical guidance for developing demand-responsive, locally embedded, and institutionally sustained participation mechanisms. Full article

Planetary health, the interdependence of human well-being and the integrity of Earth’s natural systems requires frameworks capable of integrating ecological stewardship, relational governance, intergenerational accountability, and equitable participation. This paper argues that Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), long marginalized by colonial policies of suppression and assimilation, offer precisely such frameworks. Drawing on illustrative examples from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Amazonian Indigenous nations, Maasai communities of East Africa, the Mapuche of South America, and the first Global Summit on Indigenous Peacebuilding, the paper identifies three interlocking contributions of IKS to planetary health: (1) intergenerational ecological stewardship; (2) relational governance and community-centered peacebuilding; and (3) gender-balanced authority as a condition for flourishing. The paper concludes that the integration of IKS into planetary health scholarship and practice is not an exercise in cultural representation but a strategic necessity for addressing the interconnected crises of ecological degradation, social fragmentation, and institutional short-termism that define the present era. Full article

Nutrient supplementation may enhance muscle growth by supporting myogenic activity and regulating metabolic pathways involved in skeletal muscle development. However, the effect of specific nutrient supplementation on satellite cell (SC) activity and muscle-related metabolic pathways remains unclear. Two experiments were conducted to investigate dietary supplements, including guanidinoacetic acid (GAA), 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), and quercetin, on SC proliferation and differentiation in vitro and on muscle growth and transcriptomics in vivo. For the in vitro study, ovine SC were cultured with different levels (0, 12.5, 25, and 50 μmol/L) of 5-HTP, GAA, or quercetin to examine SC proliferation and differentiation. SC proliferation was greater with 5-HTP and quercetin supplementation, whereas GAA increased SC differentiation. Based on these results, 5-HTP and GAA were selected for the in vivo study because they increased proliferation and differentiation, respectively, and had a wider range of dose effectiveness (12.5 and 25 μmol/L). For the in vivo study, Texel lambs (n = 15; 33 ± 6 kg) were blocked by weight and assigned to one of three treatments: control, GAA, or 5-HTP for 28 d. Supplements were administered sublingually at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg body weight daily before feeding. GAA or 5-HTP did not influence (p > 0.05) average daily gain or dry matter intake. Longissimus muscle area was greater (p < 0.05) at the end of the study compared to the start for all treatment groups. mRNA sequencing showed that GAA supplementation altered gene expression (Padj < 0.05) compared to the control or 5-HTP. However, 5-HTP did not affect (p > 0.05) gene expression compared to the control. LC-MS also showed that plasma 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) was elevated (p < 0.05) in the 5-HTP group. The results suggest that these dietary supplements can stimulate SC proliferation or differentiation in vitro. Short-term supplementation of GAA or 5-HTP in vivo did not alter growth performance, muscle mass, or miR-133a expression; however, GAA supplementation altered the transcriptome to promote amino acid metabolism pathways that are commonly linked to muscle growth through muscle protein synthesis and energy metabolism. Full article

Background: Educational environments grounded in respect, empathy, and fair treatment are vital for effective learning and clinical safety. Cultivating this positive culture is essential for improving professional practices and future development. The aim was to develop strategies collaboratively to promote good treatment practices within health programs across six Chilean universities. Methods: This study utilized a qualitative action research (AR) approach. Researchers conducted 23 co-creation workshops involving 188 students and 158 faculty members. The resulting data were analyzed using CAQDAS MAXQDA, version 24. Results: Participants favored short-term actions (61.6%; n = 94) over medium-term (17%; n = 26) or long-term (20.9%; n = 32) initiatives. Proposed short-term actions focused on curricular changes, faculty development, and well-being initiatives. Medium-term plans emphasized support systems and committees, while long-term goals targeted broader policies, labor conditions, and teaching hospitals, which presented the lowest frequency. The study identified three domains of actors involved: beneficiaries, groups, and those responsible for implementation. Conclusions: These community-driven, collaborative efforts provide a constructive framework for institutional intervention. By engaging stakeholders directly, the co-creation process allows for a comprehensive understanding of the scope and limitations of educational initiatives, effectively grounding them within the specific needs of the academic context. Full article

Children undergoing cancer treatment face repeated, prolonged hospitalisations carrying substantial risks of psychological distress, social isolation, and impaired development. Volunteers offering structured non-medical activities are widely employed to complement professional psychosocial care in paediatric oncology settings, yet empirical evidence examining their role specifically—as distinct from professionally delivered psychosocial interventions—remains sparse. This narrative review, conducted in accordance with SANRA criteria and drawing on a structured search of PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar (2000–2025), supplemented by a targeted verification search in July 2026, synthesises the theoretical and preliminary empirical basis for volunteer involvement, critically evaluates associated clinical risks, and proposes evidence-informed recommendations for paediatric oncology clinical practice. Three theoretical frameworks provide the conceptual grounding for volunteer activities: developmental psychological models (Piaget; Erikson), stress and coping theory (Lazarus and Folkman), and the biopsychosocial model (Engel). Indirect empirical evidence—derived predominantly from professionally delivered interventions—supports short-term benefits of structured distraction, play, and social activities on procedural anxiety, pain experience, and sense of social inclusion; the sole study examining volunteer-facilitated activities specifically in paediatric oncology reported meaningful reductions in distress and high family satisfaction. Eight categories of clinical risk are identified, including physical and psychological overload, erosion of child autonomy, suppression of authentic emotional expression, and inadequate coordination with healthcare staff. Six practice recommendations are proposed, centred on a working definition of the volunteer role, mandatory pre-access training, genuine individualisation including cultural adaptation, multidisciplinary-team-led coordination, and structured programme evaluation. Volunteer involvement can meaningfully complement professional psychosocial care when delivered within a structured, supervised, and multidisciplinary-team-coordinated framework. The paediatric oncology team occupies a pivotal role in realising the potential benefits while safeguarding children from associated risks. Prospective research employing standardised volunteer programme definitions and validated child-reported outcome measures is urgently needed to build an evidence base commensurate with the clinical importance of this practice. Full article

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are essential in the innate immune response. Furthermore, neuronal TLRs have been involved in regulating neuronal dendritic outgrowth and excitability. However, a deeper understanding of neuronal-TLR function is essential. We investigated the expression and role of TLR8 using mouse postnatal hippocampal neuronal cultures. We assessed TLR8 (and TLR7) expression by immunocytochemistry and TLR8 functionality via electrophysiological recordings in a high-density multi-electrode array system and calcium flux imaging. Pathway activation following fast TLR8 stimulation was performed via Western blot. TLR8 and TLR7 are expressed in postnatal hippocampal neurons at DIV14 and in neurosphere-derived neurons. TLR8 expression was detected in the cell body and dendrites of GABAergic, parvalbumin-expressing interneurons. Stimulation with the TLR8 agonist TL8-506 led to increased neuronal activity in the short term and enhanced neuronal synchronization in short- and long-term recordings. The calcium flux induced by TLR8 was reduced by blocking NMDA receptors with D-AP5. TLR8 stimulation did not lead to IkB-α degradation. Our findings demonstrate that TLR8 and TLR7 are expressed in mouse postnatal hippocampal neurons. TLR8 activation leads to increased neuronal excitability that was decreased by NMDA antagonism. However, acute TLR8 stimulation failed to robustly activate the canonical TLR signaling pathway. We propose that TLR8 activation might lead to the enhancement of excitatory NMDA receptors. Full article

This study applies Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory to music student psychology, with particular attention to the differentiated impacts of artificial intelligence across music student subgroups. Background: Music education requires intensive cognitive, motor, emotional, and social training. Methods: Employing a narrative literature review and conceptual framework approach, this paper draws on JD-R theory, technostress research, and cross-cultural scholarship to identify demands and resources in music education and examine their relationships with burnout and engagement. Results: Seven demands: technical, physical, temporal, performance, social–emotional, technostress, cultural identity. Resources: teacher support, peer collaboration, instruments, AI tools, curricula, and intrinsic motivation. Critically, AI-related demands and resources differ substantially across subgroups: composers face direct demand shocks (job displacement) and resource opportunities (creative augmentation) that vary by career stage, while performers experience more indirect impacts through recording market disruption and emerging self-media opportunities. Singers face a unique paradox whereby AI voice cloning creates short-term recording opportunities while potentially enabling long-term vocal replacement. Cultural identity demands arise from heritage-Western tensions in East Asia. Conclusions: This JD-R framework provides a nuanced lens for understanding music students’ well-being that accounts for subgroup-specific vulnerabilities and opportunities. Full article

The development of reusable and biocompatible biomaterial-based culture substrates is increasingly relevant for improving sustainability in biomedical research workflows. In this study, polyethylene terephthalate glycol-modified (PETG) was evaluated as a potential alternative to conventional polystyrene (PS) for in vitro cell culture applications. PETG substrates were fabricated through laser cutting and tested for their ability to support cell adhesion, viability, proliferation, and lineage-specific differentiation across multiple human cell models, including calvarial mesenchymal stromal cells (CMSCs), bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hBM-MSCs), dermal fibroblasts, LHCN-M2 myoblasts, and SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Morphological and immunofluorescence analyses demonstrated that PETG supported cell attachment and focal adhesion formation, comparable to standard PS surfaces. Cell viability and proliferation assays confirmed metabolic activity and growth over time. Furthermore, PETG substrates supported osteogenic, adipogenic, myogenic, and neuronal differentiation, as demonstrated by histological staining, myotube formation, neurite outgrowth, and lineage-specific gene expression analyses. Finally, PETG maintained CMSC morphology and metabolic activity after repeated recovery, ethanol/UV treatment, and gelatin re-coating, with comparable results between new substrates and those reused for up to three cycles. These findings support PETG as a biocompatible culture substrate with preliminary short-term reuse potential and possible sustainability benefits for laboratory workflows. Full article

Marine bivalves represent promising experimental models for the development of in vitro approaches in environmental biology, ecotoxicology, and bioactive compound screening. However, their application remains limited compared with that of more established vertebrate and mammalian cell systems, mainly due to the lack of standardized and reproducible protocols for maintaining primary cell cultures. This study aimed to establish and optimize a short-term primary cell culture protocol using gill and digestive gland tissues from the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Primary cultures were prepared at four initial cell densities, ranging from 2.5 to 10 × 10⁶ cells mL⁻¹, and monitored over 72 h through cell density evaluation and metabolic activity assessment. Cells from both tissues were successfully maintained in short-term culture, predominantly showed rounded to spheroidal morphologies. Nevertheless, tissue-specific responses were observed. Gill-derived cultures displayed greater morphological homogeneity and stability across the tested densities, whereas digestive gland cultures showed greater cellular heterogeneity, aggregation, and stronger density-dependent responses. Metabolic activity remained stable during the first 24 h, while more evident differences among cell densities emerged after 48 and 72 h. Overall, intermediate cell densities, particularly 5 × 10⁶ and 7.5 × 10⁶ cells mL⁻¹, provided the most suitable balance between cell maintenance and metabolic performance. This optimized methodological framework supports the further development of mussel primary cell cultures as reproducible and ecologically relevant in vitro models for studying early cellular responses and for preliminary environmental safety assessment. Full article