Search Results (79,025)

Dogs are key reservoirs of zoonotic infections, including Toxocara canis, a widely distributed parasite of major public health concern. In Vietnam, the parasite is highly prevalent in dog populations and humans. Epidemiological studies assessing infection and associated factors are essential to better understand transmission and to inform effective control strategies. We conducted a cross-sectional baseline survey to assess Toxocara infection in dogs in rural Vietnam. Fecal samples from 371 dogs were examined using centrifugal flotation (Sheather’s solution, specific gravity 1.2) and conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR), alongside structured questionnaires on dog demographics and management. Using combined copromicroscopic and molecular methods, the overall prevalence of Toxocara infection was 44.7% (95% CI: 39.6–50.0). By microscopy alone, 29.9% (95% CI: 25.4–34.9) of samples were positive, while PCR detected Toxocara DNA in 41.2% (95% CI: 36.2–46.5) of dogs. Molecular analysis identified T. canis in 35.9% (95% CI: 31.0–41.0) and T. cati in 10.5% (95% CI: 7.7–14.2) of tested dogs. Dog age and deworming status were independently associated with PCR-detected T. canis infection. The elevated likelihood of infection among dogs that have never been dewormed highlights the importance of canine deworming. Questionnaire findings indicating suboptimal dog care and management highlight the need for community public health education to promote responsible ownership and reduce transmission risk. This baseline assessment provides essential evidence to inform targeted interventions and improve understanding of Toxocara transmission in endemic settings. Full article

Higher education institutions (HEIs) play a vital role in shaping sustainability mindsets and fostering awareness of planetary health and social responsibility. However, research on how community-based learning affects Malaysian students’ knowledge and attitudes in this area remains limited. This exploratory study, conceptually informed by a theory of change (ToC), examines students’ perceived knowledge and attitudes, alongside descriptively reported behaviours, related to sustainability values and social responsibility within a community service learning initiative at Sunway University (SU). A mixed-methods online survey was administered to undergraduate students enrolled in the “Community Service for Planetary Health (MPU 3422)” course to evaluate programme-related learning outcomes and engagement. Based on 52 valid responses, preliminary analysis suggests that students reported moderate to strong perceived knowledge and positive attitudes towards planetary health. A strong positive association between perceived knowledge and attitudes was observed. Behavioural responses indicate variability in students’ engagement, suggesting that positive knowledge and attitudes do not necessarily correspond to consistent behavioural participation. To our knowledge, this study offers an initial empirical exploration of the integration of the KAB and ToC frameworks as conceptual lenses, with a primary focus on knowledge and attitudes, within a Malaysian higher education service learning context, contributing to the understanding of sustainability education in this setting. The findings offer insights into how experiential, community-based learning relates to sustainability awareness and value formation, while highlighting the need for further research to examine how these may translate into sustained behavioural outcomes. Full article

Background: Family caregivers of older adults with cognitive impairment commonly encounter heavy care burdens and elevated mental health risks, particularly depressive symptoms. This study aimed to explore the association between telehealth guidance service use and depressive symptoms among family caregivers of older adults with cognitive impairment, and to further examine the mediating role of caregiving competence and the moderating role of psychological resilience. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 491 family caregivers of older adults with cognitive impairment was conducted from August to October 2023. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, linear regression analysis, and moderated-mediating-effect analysis were employed. Results: Among the participants, only 17.31% reported using telehealth guidance services. Mean scores for caregiving competence, psychological resilience, and depressive symptoms were 3.04 ± 0.48, 27.11 ± 7.54, and 9.69 ± 1.46, respectively. Telehealth service use was positively associated with caregiving competence, and both telehealth service use and caregiving competence were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. The interaction between psychological resilience and caregiving competence was also significantly negatively associated with depressive symptoms (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Telehealth guidance service use is directly and indirectly negatively associated with depressive symptoms via caregiving competence. Psychological resilience moderates the relationship between caregiving competence and depressive symptoms. These findings contribute to a better understanding of factors linked to mental health among family caregivers of older adults with cognitive impairment. Full article

Background/Objectives: Exclusive breastfeeding offers optimal benefits for infant nutrition and health and increases maternal involvement, bonding and interactions. This study aimed to explore breastfeeding practices among mothers in Romania and identify risk factors associated with low exclusive breastfeeding rates. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between September and December 2025, targeting mothers in Romania via social media platforms. The questionnaire, developed specifically for this study, collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, birth and neonatology variables, hospital practices, feeding intentions, community influences, and breastfeeding outcomes. Responses were analyzed using Fisher’s exact tests and multivariable logistic regression. Results: A total of 357 complete questionnaires were analyzed. Cesarean section was the most frequent mode of delivery (54.6%), while immediate mother–infant contact after birth was reported by only 35.6% of mothers, and breastfeeding initiation within the first hour occurred in 10.6% of cases. Overall, 49.3% of mothers reported exclusive breastfeeding, 35.3% mixed feeding, and 15.4% exclusive formula feeding. Women who delivered in private hospitals reported earlier mother–infant contact, more frequent encouragement to initiate breastfeeding, and earlier breastfeeding initiation compared with those delivering in public hospitals. Preterm birth was associated with delayed breastfeeding initiation, reduced rooming-in, and lower rates of exclusive breastfeeding up to six months. In multivariable logistic regression, rooming-in was independently associated with higher odds of exclusive breastfeeding (aOR = 2.798, 95% CI: 1.779–4.401), while lack of lactation support was associated with lower odds (aOR = 0.546, 95% CI: 0.302–0.987). No significant associations were observed for timing of initial maternal–infant contact (aOR = 1.084, 95% CI: 0.679–1.733) or encouragement from medical staff to initiate breastfeeding (aOR = 1.207, 95% CI: 0.721–2.020). Conclusions: Our study highlights current breastfeeding practices and associated hospital factors in Romania. However, significant challenges remain in supporting and encouraging mothers to optimally feed their infants. Additional investment and bold policy action are needed to promote and support breastfeeding from the first hour of life, for both term and preterm infants, in all maternity hospitals in Romania. Full article

Aberrant glycosylation is a recognized hallmark of cancer, establishing Golgi α-mannosidase II (GMII) as strategic therapeutic target. While the natural alkaloid swainsonine demonstrated potent anticancer activity, its clinical use is hampered by toxicity from off-target inhibition of the lysosomal α-mannosidase (LMan). This review surveys computational methodologies advancing inhibitor development from empirical observations to precision structural optimization. We examine the evolution from Molecular Docking to advanced Quantum Mechanics (QM) and Molecular Dynamics (MD), highlighting their combined role in modeling metalloenzyme flexibility and energetics. Analysis reveals that selectivity relies on exploiting peripheral structural divergences, organelle-specific pH gradients, and distinct substrate conformational itineraries. In this context, electronic structure calculations and pKa predictions prove critical for designing “electrostatic switches”, inhibitors binding neutrally at Golgi pH while incurring lysosomal repulsion. Structurally, targeting the non-conserved “anchor site”, mimicking specific transition-state ring distortions and utilizing conformationally restricted scaffolds represent the most effective strategies. Integrating dynamic sampling with rigorous energetic profiling is therefore crucial for developing the next generation of safe, selective GMII inhibitors. Full article

High-resolution vertical profile observations of ocean environmental parameters are essential for investigating mesoscale ocean dynamic phenomena, such as internal waves, mesoscale eddies, and oceanic fronts. At present, vertical profile measurement in marine surveys mainly relies on shipborne winches to deploy and recover marine sensors, which entails high labor costs and considerable energy consumption. Unmanned observation platforms integrated with winch systems enable automatic sensor deployment and recovery, offering a viable approach to cutting observation costs. Nevertheless, inadequate energy supply remains a critical bottleneck restricting the large-scale popularization and application of such equipment. Accordingly, the development of high-efficiency winch systems tailored for unmanned autonomous observation platforms is of great engineering significance for facilitating long-term, continuous, and low-energy marine profile observation. This paper proposes a novel energy-saving winch with an embedded three-stage parallel nested energy storage structure for unmanned marine observation platforms. During operation, the coil spring energy storage system is charged during cable payout, and the stored elastic potential energy is released to assist motor driving in the cable retraction process. This auxiliary driving mode reduces motor power demand and improves the overall energy utilization efficiency of the platform. Experimental results demonstrate that, neglecting ocean current resistance, the proposed winch reduces energy consumption by 5% during cable payout and 21% during cable retraction. The overall energy consumption is decreased by 13% throughout a complete vertical profile measurement cycle. Under constrained and fixed energy supply conditions, this technology substantially enhances the sampling capability of unmanned marine platforms for ocean environmental monitoring. It further improves operational efficiency and extends continuous service time, providing key technical support for revealing ocean dynamic evolution and clarifying the formation and driving mechanisms of marine environmental phenomena. Full article

Knowledge management platforms are increasingly important for strengthening governance, scientific collaboration, and evidence-based decision making in complex regional networks. This study analyses the prospective intention to adopt two strategic digital mechanisms of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (OCTA): the Amazon Regional Observatory (ORA) and the Network of Amazonian Research Centres (REDCIA). Adapting the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to a pre-implementation context, the study focuses on performance expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions, while operationalizing these constructs through a Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) survey. Using a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional design, penalized ordinal logistic regression models were estimated from 162 responses collected from institutional actors and experts across eight Amazonian jurisdictions. The results show that social influence is the only statistically significant predictor of intention to use in both mechanisms, whereas performance expectancy and facilitating conditions are not significant in the estimated models. These findings suggest that, in the Amazonian cooperation context, adoption is driven less by individual evaluations of utility or technical feasibility than by institutional legitimacy, peer expectations, and collaborative norms. The study contributes to the information systems literature by providing an ex ante analytical approach for assessing technology acceptance in the absence of an operational artefact. It also offers practical guidance for OCTA by highlighting the importance of change management, political endorsement, and network-based incentives to support future implementation. Full article

Background/Objectives: To evaluate the monocular and binocular visual outcomes for patients who underwent PRESBYOND Laser Blended Vision (LBV) surgery. Methods: A total of 46 patients participated in this study (mean age 47.5 yrs ± 4.7) with various refractive errors. Patients were treated using the MEL 90 excimer laser to correct their refractive errors. The patients were asked to attend follow-up sessions at intervals of 1, 3, and 6 months. A self-developed binary (Yes/No) satisfaction survey was then conducted at the end of the 6-month visit. Results: The mean preoperative spherical equivalent for the distance eyes was −0.42 ± 1.53, and for the near eyes was −0.4 ± 1.76. The mean logMAR for the uncorrected distance visual acuity after treatment and follow-up at one month, three months, and six months was 0.016, 0.037, and 0.028 (20/20 to 20/22 range), respectively. After treatment, 81% of patients achieved 20/22.5 vision or better, and 94% achieved 20/25 vision or better. For near vision, 100% of patients reached J2 print. After treatment, 97% of patients achieved 20/25 or better at distance and J2 or better at near. Patient satisfaction was 92%, with only 8% of patients reporting dissatisfaction. Conclusions: This protocol has demonstrated stable, well-tolerated, effective, and acceptable results in patients with presbyopia. The safety and efficacy of the procedure were demonstrated, with strong outcomes. Full article

This study investigates people management efficiency as a multidimensional organizational capability, contributing to the broader discussion on how organizational culture and internal processes are associated with management effectiveness as a socially embedded organizational outcome beyond formal institutional arrangements. A sequential exploratory mixed-methods design was employed, comprising three interrelated studies. Study 1 involved semi-structured interviews with 15 auditors to identify the key dimensions of people management. Study 2 used cognitive interviews with 28 professionals to refine and validate the measurement items. Study 3 consisted of a survey administered to 286 employees, aiming to validate the People Management Efficiency Scale (PMES) and to test a parallel mediation model. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a stable five-dimensional structure. The results show that organizational culture is positively associated with people management efficiency, both directly and indirectly, with work organization and continuous improvement operating as statistically significant mediating variables within the tested model. No statistically significant differences were identified between certified and non-certified organizations in terms of people management efficiency, work organization, and transparency. However, statistically significant differences were observed for organizational culture and continuous improvement. Overall, the findings suggest that people management efficiency is closely associated with the alignment between cultural values and internal organizational practices as socially embedded processes. These results highlight the relevance of internal organizational mechanisms in shaping people management outcomes. Given the simplified operationalization of certification in the present study, the findings should be interpreted with caution and do not support definitive comparative conclusions between culture-driven processes and formal certification mechanisms. Full article

The growing emphasis on sustainable tourism has increased the importance of environmentally responsible practices in the hospitality industry. Green hotels have emerged as an important strategy for reducing environmental impacts while meeting the expectations of environmentally conscious travelers. However, limited research has examined the psychological mechanisms influencing international tourists’ decisions to choose green hotels in emerging tourism destinations. This study investigates the factors influencing international tourists’ motivation and intention to select green hotels in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. A quantitative research design was employed using a structured questionnaire survey of 350 international tourists. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the relationships among sustainability image, perceived Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), environmental awareness, perceived value for money, trust in green hotels, motivation to choose green hotels, and Green Hotel Selection Intention. The results indicate that sustainability image, perceived ESG, and trust in green hotels significantly influence tourists’ motivation to choose green hotels, with trust demonstrating the strongest effect. In contrast, environmental awareness and perceived value for money do not show significant effects on motivation. Furthermore, motivation to choose green hotels has a strong positive influence on Green Hotel Selection Intention. These findings highlight the critical role of motivation as a psychological mechanism linking sustainability perceptions to tourists’ accommodation choices. The study contributes to the literature on sustainable tourism and green consumer behavior by integrating sustainability image and ESG perceptions into a comprehensive framework explaining Green Hotel Selection Intention. From a practical perspective, the findings suggest that hotel managers should strengthen trust through transparent sustainability communication, obtain recognized green certifications, and promote ESG initiatives through digital marketing channels. Destination policymakers in Chiang Mai may also support standardized green hotel accreditation programs to enhance tourists’ confidence in sustainable accommodation choices. These strategies can support the development of sustainable hospitality practices and enhance the competitiveness of green hotels in Chiang Mai and other tourism destinations. Full article

Remote sensing enables building-level flood vulnerability assessment without field surveys, yet existing approaches require site-specific calibration or produce categorical outputs without physical interpretability. We present the Global Flood Vulnerability Model (GFVM), integrating six remotely sensed components (elevation, slope, topographic position index, distance to water, building height, and basement depth) through geographic context classification to quantify vulnerability from terrain and structural characteristics across coastal, fluvial, and pluvial settings. Building heights are extracted primarily from the Global Building Atlas, with gaps filled using a ConvNeXt neural network trained on high-resolution Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) ground truth from four cities (within-city MAE 1.35–1.91 m, cross-city MAE 2.05–3.47 m). Terrain metrics are derived from a combination of hierarchical digital elevation models (DEM) (USGS 3DEP 10 m, AHN LiDAR 0.5 m, UK Environment Agency DTM 1 m, Australia 5 m) and global datasets (NASADEM 30 m, Copernicus GLO-30). Hydrographic networks are sourced from OpenStreetMap and Natural Earth. Implementation through Google Earth Engine requires only coordinates as input, returning a five-level vulnerability index with multi-hazard decomposition (fluvial, coastal, pluvial) and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP)-based attribution identifying dominant drivers. Validation across 183 independent locations in Germany, UK, and USA demonstrates robust performance: Area Under Curve 0.855 for separating flooded from non-flooded sites, weighted Cohen’s kappa 0.493 across regulatory zones, and Spearman ρ 0.746 against Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) classifications. Sensitivity analysis across 625 parameter configurations confirms stability, and DEM resolution experiments show that global 30 m elevation data produces category reclassification in only 5.3–8.6% of locations compared to high-resolution sources. Application to the 2024 Kazakhstan floods identifies 118 high-vulnerability locations across 581 assessment points, with vulnerability patterns matching documented inundation. GFVM advances remote sensing applications for disaster risk assessment by demonstrating that multi-source geospatial data fusion enables building-level vulnerability screening without local calibration or field surveys. Full article

Nowadays, Global Value Chains (GVCs) play a vital role in job creation, income generation, knowledge diffusion, and productivity growth. However, significant disparities exist across countries in terms of their integration into GVCs, and Tunisia is no exception to this pattern. In this regard, the question about factors that influence GVCs’ participation is yet to be discussed, to formulate and implement appropriate strategies and reforms. Thus, using firm-level data from the 2025 World Bank Enterprise Survey, this paper examines the role of female leadership and innovation in determining Tunisian firms’ participation in GVCs. Participation in GVCs is captured by a dummy variable indicating the firm’s export and import status. Estimation results from the logit model show that female representation in decision-making positions significantly increases the likelihood of firms’ participation in GVCs. The results also highlight the importance of process innovation in GVC participation, while product innovation appears to have no significant effect. Notably, when firms combine both types of innovation, their likelihood of joining GVCs increases further. Regarding control variables, firm size appears to be an important determinant, as larger firms display a greater tendency to participate in GVCs. The findings further indicate that firm certification and foreign equity participation significantly promote integration into GVCs, while corruption constitutes a major constraint on the integration of Tunisian firms. From a policy perspective, these findings highlight the need to rethink industrial policies, with a stronger focus on process innovation as a key lever of productive sector modernization. Achieving this transformation also requires the development of an inclusive policy ecosystem that supports meaningful and sustainable progress in female’s leadership representation. Full article

Large-scale population surveys provide valuable information for studying child well-being, yet their structure often limits the direct application of machine-learning methods. The National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) is one of the most comprehensive datasets for monitoring children’s health and development in the United States, but the raw survey files contain logical skip patterns, categorical variables, and complex survey-design elements that require substantial preprocessing before predictive analysis can be performed. This study presents a curated machine-learning-ready benchmark dataset derived from the 2023 NSCH together with a fully reproducible computational pipeline for studying school-age child flourishing. The workflow constructs a binary flourishing outcome from four survey items related to curiosity, task persistence, emotional self-regulation, and interest in doing well in school. After restricting the sample to children aged 6–17 years and retaining only records with valid responses in all four outcome items, the final analytical dataset contained 32,934 observations. Feature selection based on mutual information computed on the training partition, combined with cross-validated subset-size selection, yielded a final benchmark subset of 150 predictors. Baseline experiments using logistic regression and random forest showed stable and reasonably strong predictive performance, with held-out ROC-AUC values around 0.84–0.85 and closely aligned cross-validation results. An exploratory comparison between weighted and unweighted learning further showed that survey weighting did not improve discriminative performance in this benchmark setting, although the magnitude of the effect was modest and model-dependent. By releasing both the curated benchmark dataset and the reproducible pipeline, this study provides a reusable resource for machine-learning research on child well-being and survey-based computational benchmarking. Full article

The increasing vulnerability of global food systems—exacerbated by the pandemic, climate change, and disruptions to international supply chains—has highlighted the importance of local food production for sustainability, food security, and rural resilience. At the same time, the LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) value system is gaining prominence, shaping consumer demand for locally produced, environmentally responsible, and health-oriented products. While the existing literature predominantly addresses LOHAS consumers and local food systems as separate research domains, limited empirical attention has been paid to the value-based alignment between LOHAS principles and local food producers, particularly from a territorial and place-based perspective. This study seeks to address this gap by examining how LOHAS value dimensions are reflected in the self-identification and operational practices of local food producers, and by analyzing how such value alignment may be interpreted as contributing to the sustainability and resilience of territorially embedded rural production systems. From a systems perspective, LOHAS-related value alignment may be interpreted as a potential coordination mechanism that may contribute to strengthening feedback loops between producers and consumers and may enhance the adaptive capacity of short food supply chains as socio-ecological systems. The empirical analysis draws on an online survey conducted in the second quarter of 2024 among 73 local producers operating in Zala and Vas counties in Western Hungary. Factor analysis and cluster analysis were applied to identify underlying value structures and producer typologies. The results reveal two distinct producer clusters, one of which exhibits a strong alignment with LOHAS values. Producers within this cluster place particular emphasis on sustainability, environmental responsibility, health consciousness, and authenticity, alongside a pronounced commitment to local embeddedness and community-oriented practices. Overall, the findings demonstrate that LOHAS-related values are not confined to the consumer side but are increasingly embedded in territorially grounded local production models. This value alignment may contribute to strengthening short food supply chains rooted in specific geographical contexts, thereby contributing to the long-term socio-economic and environmental sustainability of rural regions. Full article

The fishing processing industry in Chimbote, Peru, reflects structural vulnerabilities typical of high-informality extractive sectors, including precarious working conditions and limited internal corporate social responsibility (ICSR), hindering progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8). Although prior research has linked ICSR to positive employee outcomes, the multilevel mechanisms through which these effects translate into organisational outcomes remain insufficiently understood. This study examines the relationship between ICSR and labour management through a multilevel sequential framework. Using survey data from 384 workers in fishing processing firms, a structural model was estimated to analyse the pathways linking ICSR with individual-, group-, and organisational-level labour management. The findings reveal that ICSR does not directly predict organisational-level outcomes. Instead, its effects operate through a sequential bottom-up process, where ICSR is associated with individual-level labour management, which in turn relates to group-level dynamics, ultimately contributing to organisational-level outcomes. This indirect-only mechanism highlights the central role of individual and group processes in translating organisational practices into broader organisational effects. These results contribute to the literature by providing empirical evidence of a multilevel transmission mechanism in a high-informality context, extending current understanding of ICSR beyond single-level models. From a practical perspective, the findings suggest that organisations seeking to improve labour conditions should prioritise interventions at the individual and group levels to achieve sustainable organisational outcomes aligned with SDG 8. Full article