Search Results (1,216)

With increasing life expectancy, the number of older people living with comorbid diabetes and frailty is increasing. The development of frailty accelerates diabetes-related adverse outcomes. Frailty is a multidimensional syndrome with physical, mental and social aspects which is associated with increased risk of hypoglycaemia, dementia and hospitalisation. Therefore, regular screening for all aspects of frailty should be an integrated part of the care plans of older people with diabetes. In addition, every effort should be made for prevention, which includes adequate nutrition combined with regular resistance exercise training. In already frail older people with diabetes, metabolic targets should be relaxed and hypoglycaemic agents should be of low hypoglycaemic risk potential. Furthermore, the metabolic phenotype of frailty should be considered when choosing hypoglycaemic agents and determining targets. With increasing severity of frailty, proactive chronological plans of de-escalation, palliation and end-of-life care should be considered. These plans should be undertaken in a shared decision-making manner which involves patients and their families. This ensures that patients’ views, wishes and preferences are in the heart of these plans. Full article

Despite growing evidence supporting the efficacy of LSD-assisted psychotherapy in treating major depressive disorder (MDD), identifying reliable psychopharmacological biomarkers remains necessary. Oxytocin, a neuropeptide implicated in social bonding and flexibility, is a promising candidate due to its release following serotonergic psychedelic administration in healthy individuals; however, its dynamics in psychiatric populations are currently unexplored. This observational pilot study aimed to characterize salivary oxytocin dynamics during a single LSD-assisted psychotherapy session in our patients with treatment-resistant MDD. Participants received 100 or 150 µg LSD, and salivary oxytocin was measured at baseline, 60, 90, and 180 min post-LSD. Concurrently, participants rated subjective drug intensity (0–10 scale) at 60, 90, and 180 min. A linear mixed model revealed significant variation of oxytocin levels over time. Perceived psychedelic intensity also significantly varied over time. This supports oxytocin as a potential biomarker. Larger, controlled trials are warranted to replicate these findings and clarify the mechanistic links between oxytocin dynamics and clinical outcomes, including changes in depressive symptoms and mental flexibility. Full article

During the course of genome mining initiatives, we identified a marine-derived Micromonospora, assigned here as strain WMMD956; the genome of WMMD956 appeared to contain a number of features associated with everninomicins, well-known antimicrobial orthosomycins. In addition, LCMS-based hierarchical clustering analysis and principal component analysis (hcapca) revealed that WMMD956 displayed an extreme degree of metabolomic and genomic novelty. Dereplication of high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HRMS/MS) and Global Natural Product Social molecular networking platform (GNPS) analysis of WMMD956 resulted in the identification of several analogs of the previously known everninomicin. Chemical structures were unambiguously confirmed by HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR experiments, and the use of MS/MS data. The isolated metabolites, 1–3, were evaluated for their antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphalococcus aureus (MRSA). Full article

The Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) has implemented various policies to reduce car use and promote more sustainable mobility. Initiatives such as superblocks, Low Emission Zones (LEZs), and the Bicivia network aim to transform the urban model in response to environmental and congestion challenges. However, the high reliance on private vehicles for intermunicipal travel, uneven infrastructure, and social resistance to certain changes remain significant issues. This study examines the evolution of mobility patterns and assesses the effectiveness of the above policies in fostering real and sustainable change. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, which combined an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of 2011–2024 data, trend linear regression, and a comparative international analysis. The EFA identified four key structural dimensions: traditional transport infrastructure, active mobility and bus lines, public bicycles and mixed use, and transport efficiency and punctuality. The findings reveal a clear reduction in private car use and an increase in sustainable modes of transport. This indicates that there are prospects for future transformation. Nonetheless, challenges persist in intermunicipal mobility and the public acceptance of the measures. This study provides empirical and comparative evidence and emphasizes the need for integrated metropolitan governance to achieve a resilient and sustainable urban model. Full article

Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques—ranging from hybrid mechanistic–machine learning (ML) ensembles to gradient-boosted decision trees, support-vector machines, and deep neural networks—are transforming the management of seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Symptom-based triage models using eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and Random Forests, as well as imaging classifiers built on convolutional neural networks (CNNs), have improved diagnostic accuracy across respiratory infections. Transformer-based architectures and social media surveillance pipelines have enabled real-time monitoring of COVID-19. In HIV research, support-vector machines (SVMs), logistic regression, and deep neural network (DNN) frameworks advance viral-protein classification and drug-resistance mapping, accelerating antiviral and vaccine discovery. Despite these successes, persistent challenges remain—data heterogeneity, limited model interpretability, hallucinations in large language models (LLMs), and infrastructure gaps in low-resource settings. We recommend standardized open-access data pipelines and integration of explainable-AI methodologies to ensure safe, equitable deployment of AI-driven interventions in future viral-outbreak responses. Full article

This article utilises Max-Neef’s Human Scale Development (HSD) framework (1991) to answer two research questions: what impact does government and community-based social protection (SP) have on UK asylum-seeker wellbeing; how are interactions with all forms of SP, both as giver and receiver, supporting or harming the satisfaction of asylum-seekers’ fundamental human needs at this time? The research study utilised a mixed-methods, collaborative, case study design situated within a refugee and asylum-seeker (RAS) support charity in Southwest England. Methods included peer-led Qualitative Impact Protocol interviews, Photovoice, surveys, and staff interviews. Data were subjected to an inductive, bottom-up process on Causal Map software (version 2, Causal Map Ltd., 39 Apsley Rd., Bath BA1 3LP, UK) and the analysis used the HSD framework. We found eight over-arching themes. The four main needs-violators/destroyers of asylum-seeker wellbeing were dehumanisation, unfreedoms, enforced ignorance, and (re)traumatisation, and the four main needs-satisfiers were common humanity, autonomy and resistance, exerting agency through knowledge exchange, and healing. Five policy and practice-focused bridging satisfiers are recommended to help move individual and collective experience from a negative to a positive state in the research population. Policy and practice should be transparent and evidence-based, efficient and equitable, supportive of participation and productivity, trauma-informed, and multi-agency. Full article

Background/Objectives: Traditional dietary screeners face significant limitations: they rely on subjective self-reporting, average intake estimates, and are influenced by a participant’s awareness of being observed—each of which can distort results. These factors reduce both accuracy and reproducibility. The Guide Against Age-Related Disease (GARD) addresses these issues by applying Assembly Theory to objectively quantify food and food behavior (FFB) complexity. This study aims to validate the GARD as a structured, bias-resistant tool for dietary assessment in clinical and research settings. Methods: The GARD survey was administered in an internal medicine clinic within a suburban hospital system in the southeastern U.S. The tool assessed six daily eating windows, scoring high-complexity FFBs (e.g., fresh plants, social eating, fasting) as +1 and low-complexity FFBs (e.g., ultra-processed foods, refined ingredients, distracted eating) as –1. To minimize bias, patients were unaware of scoring criteria and reported only what they ate the previous day, avoiding broad averages. A computer algorithm then scored responses based on complexity, independent of dietary guidelines. Internal (face, convergent, and discriminant) validity was assessed using Spearman rho correlations. Results: Face validation showed high inter-rater agreement using predefined Assembly Index (A_i) and Copy Number (N_i) thresholds. Positive correlations were found between high-complexity diets and behaviors (rho = 0.533–0.565, p < 0.001), while opposing constructs showed moderate negative correlations (rho = –0.363 to −0.425, p < 0.05). GARD scores aligned with established diet patterns: Mediterranean diets averaged +22; Standard American Diet averaged −10. Full article

As multimedia technologies evolve, digital images have become increasingly prevalent across various fields, highlighting an urgent demand for robust image privacy and security mechanisms. However, existing image encryption algorithms (IEAs) still face limitations in balancing strong security, real-time performance, and computational efficiency. Therefore, we proposes a new IEA that integrates an improved chaotic map (Tent map), an improved Zigzag transform, and dynamic DNA coding. Firstly, a pseudo-wavelet transform (PWT) is applied to plain images to produce four sub-images $I_1$, $I_2$, $I_3$, and $I_4$. Secondly, the improved Zigzag transform and its three variants are used to rearrange the sub-image $I_1$, and then the scrambled sub-image is diffused using XOR operation. Thirdly, an inverse pseudo-wavelet transform (IPWT) is employed on the four sub-images to reconstruct the image, and then the reconstructed image is encoded into a DNA sequence utilizing dynamic DNA encoding. Finally, the DNA sequence is scrambled and diffused employing DNA-level index scrambling and dynamic DNA operations. The experimental results and performance evaluations, including chaotic performance evaluation and comprehensive security analysis, demonstrate that our IEA achieves high key sensitivity, low correlation, excellent entropy, and strong resistance to common attacks. This highlights its potential for deployment in real-time, high-security image cryptosystems, especially in fields such as medical image security and social media privacy. Full article

Blackness, both as a racial identity and a marker of cultural difference, disrupts the hegemonic norms embedded in dominant forms of cultural capital. This article examines how first- and second-generation Haitian and Jamaican communities in Ontario and Quebec negotiate Blackness within a Canadian context. Drawing from international literature, it introduces distinctly Canadian concepts—such as polite racism, racial ignominy, and duplicity of consciousness—to illuminate local racial dynamics. Using Yosso’s (2005) framework of community cultural wealth, the study analyzes six forms of cultural capital—linguistic, aspirational, social, navigational, resistant, and familial—as employed by Afro-Caribbeans to navigate systemic exclusion. The article expands the limited Canadian discourse on Black identity and offers theoretical tools for understanding how cultural capital is shaped and constrained by race in multicultural democracies. Full article

The rapid growth in plastic consumption, particularly polyethylene terephthalate (PET), has led to a significant increase in plastic waste, posing a major environmental challenge. Developing an integrated circular economy framework for nanomaterial-enhanced recycled PET (nrPET) can be a promising approach to address this issue and advance sustainable and resilient road construction practices. This comprehensive review examines the current use of rPET in road construction, its existing limitations, and the role of nanomaterials in enhancing the performance of these materials. The review explores the mechanisms by which nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, nanosilica, and clay nanoplatelets, can improve the properties of rPET, leading to more durable, weather-resistant, and cost-effective road materials. Furthermore, the review analyzes the environmental and sustainability benefits of using nrPET in road construction, focusing on carbon footprint reduction, conservation of natural resources, and alignment with circular economy principles. The potential for job creation, social benefits, and support for circular economy initiatives are also discussed. The review then delves into the challenges associated with the implementation of this framework, including technical barriers, economic and market barriers, regulatory and policy challenges, and environmental and safety considerations. Strategies to address these challenges, such as advancements in nanotechnology, scaling up circular economy models, and fostering collaborative research, are presented. Finally, the article proposes a framework and outlines future directions and research opportunities, emphasizing the exploration of emerging nanomaterials, scaling up circular economy models, and encouraging collaborations between researchers, industry stakeholders, policymakers, and communities. Full article

This essay examines two hybrid poetic texts that emerged from a period of feminist activism in U.S. and global poetry communities from 2014 to 2017: the collaboratively, anonymously authored “No Manifesto” (2015) and the radically revised second edition of the book of poetry and visual art YOU DA ONE by Jennif(f)er Tamayo. “No Manifesto” and YOU DA ONE embrace the hybrid tactics of collectivity, incongruity, and nonresolution as ways of protesting sexism and sexual violence in poetry communities. Synthesizing theories of hybridity from poetry criticism as well as immigrant and borderlands studies, the essay defines hybridity as a literary representation of cultural positions forcefully imposed upon subjects. Born out of the domination of sexual and state violence, hybridity marks the wound that remakes the subject, who develops strategies for resistance. By refusing to play by the rules of poetic or social discourse—the logics of domination that would have them be singular, cohesive, and compliant—Tamayo and the authors of “No Manifesto” insist on alternative ways of performing activism, composing literature, and entering the public sphere. These socially engaged, hybrid poetic texts demonstrate the power of the collective to disrupt the social and literary status quo. Full article

Background and Clinical Significance: Avatar Therapy (AT) for individuals with treatment-resistant auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) in schizophrenia aims to address emotional responses, beliefs about voices, self-perception, and coping strategies. This study focuses on three participants who, during AT, shifted their belief about the origin of their most distressing voice from an external source to a self-generated one. Case Presentation: The objective of this study was to explore the evolution of the reattribution of the participants’ most distressing voice to oneself during AT and the patients’ perception of this reattribution. Immersive sessions and semi-structured interviews were transcribed and qualitatively described to provide a session-by-session account of the evolution of each participant’s AVH reattribution to themselves during the course of AT, along with their perceptions of this reattribution. This process led to the recognition that initially perceived as external voices were internally generated thoughts, reflecting how participants viewed themselves. Two participants reported a reduction in AVH severity. All three described positive changes in how they related to their voices and self-perception. Additional improvements were observed in emotional regulation, social functioning, and engagement in personal projects. Conclusions: This reassignment of the voice from an external source to an internal one suggests that AT can modify how individuals relate to their voices and may empower them to regain control over their hallucinations. However, given the exploratory nature of this study, the results should be interpreted as examples. Full article

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), commonly known as “forever chemicals”, are synthetic compounds with highly stable carbon–fluorine bonds, making them resistant to environmental degradation. These chemicals accumulate in ecosystems and water supplies, posing significant risks to human health, including cancer, immune system dysfunction, and neurological disorders. However, the mental health impacts of PFAS exposure remain underexplored, particularly in marginalized communities. This review examines the emerging evidence linking PFAS exposure to mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and cognitive decline, with a focus on communities of color who face heightened vulnerability due to environmental and social health disparities. The review highlights the persistence of PFASs in the environment, common exposure pathways, and the disproportionate effects on populations living near contaminated sites. Despite some regulatory progress, U.S. regulations on PFASs are limited, especially compared to international standards. The review calls for stronger policy frameworks and emphasizes the need for environmental justice, health equity, and public awareness. By connecting environmental health, social justice, and mental well-being, the review aims to guide future research and policy reforms to mitigate the mental health consequences of PFAS exposure in vulnerable populations. Full article

This paper examines how Marley Dias’ activism on Instagram promotes racial justice, Black feminist thought, and youth mobilization through digital storytelling, representation, and audience engagement. Using a mixed-methods analysis of 744 posts published between 2016 and 2025, the study combined critical thematic coding, temporal mapping, and engagement metrics to analyze the discursive and emotional strategies behind Dias’ activism. Five key themes were identified as central to her activist work: diversity in literature, lack girl empowerment, racial justice, Black representation, and educational advocacy. The findings reveal that Dias strategically tailors her messages to suit Instagram’s unique features, using carousels and videos to enhance visibility, foster intimacy, and provide depth in education. Posts that focused on identity, aesthetics, and empowerment garnered the highest levels of engagement, while posts that concentrated on structural issues received lower, yet still significant, interaction. The paper argues that Dias’ Instagram account serves as a dynamic platform for youth-led Black feminist resistance, where cultural production, civic education, and emotional impact converge. This case underscores the political potential of digital literacies and encourages a reconsideration of how youth-driven digital activism is reshaping contemporary public discourse, agency, and knowledge production in the social media age. Full article

This article focuses on an advocacy campaign for a complete ban on vaping in Kazakhstan led by the Smokefree Kazakhstan Coalition. Initiated in 2021, the campaign aimed to address the growing public health concerns about vaping among adolescents, which was reflected in a sharp increase in vape use among young people—from 1.6% in 2014 to 5.8% in 2022. Despite facing strong opposition from the vaping industry and political lobbyists, the Coalition gained support from key political figures, public health leaders, and NGOs. Over 32 months, the campaign achieved several key milestones, including the inclusion of criminal liabilities for those involved in the vaping industry, and, in 2024, it eventually joined a number of countries such as Thailand, Qatar, Japan, Singapore, and India in approving a vaping ban. The advocacy efforts relied on public engagement, social media, and coordinated civil society mobilization—including petitions, public meetings, awareness campaigns, and coalition-building among NGOs and health advocacy groups—to overcome industry resistance toward official vaping market ban approvals. This article uses the case study approach with the Power Prism framework to describe and evaluate the advocacy campaign’s strategic plan, its political challenges, and the significant impact of public health advocacy in shaping national health policy. The significance of the article lies in the success of the vaping ban in the Kazakhstani context, which may serve as a model for other countries facing similar public health issues, political instability, and industry resistance. Full article