Search Results (4,533)

This study examines how Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) is linked to sustainable organizational performance, encompassing environmental, economic, and social outcomes through the capability-building mechanisms of green innovation (GI) and green organizational culture (GOCL) in emerging manufacturing systems. Drawing on the Resource-Based View and capability-based sustainability perspectives, GHRM is conceptualized as a strategic organizational capability that enables firms in developing economies to beyond short-term regulatory compliance toward measurable and integrated sustainability performance outcomes. Survey data were collected from 446 managerial and technical respondents in Ethiopia’s garment and textile industrial parks, one of Africa’s fastest-growing industrial sectors facing significant sustainability challenges. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with bootstrapping-based mediation analysis, the results show that GHRM is positively associated with sustainable organizational performance, with GI and GOCL operating as key mediating mechanisms that translate HR-related practices into measurable sustainability outcomes. The findings highlight the role of GHRM in strengthening firms’ adaptive and developmental sustainability capabilities by fostering pro-sustainability mindsets and innovation-oriented behaviors, which are particularly critical in resource-constrained and weak-institutional contexts. The study contributes to sustainability and management literature by explicitly linking Green HRM to triple-bottom-line performance through a capability-building framework and by providing rare firm-level empirical evidence from a low-income emerging economy. Practically, the results provide guidance for managers and policy makers to design, monitor, and evaluate HRM systems that intentionally cultivate human, cultural, and innovative capabilities to support long-term organizational sustainability transitions. Full article

In an increasingly digitalized work environment, the expectation of perpetual work availability—constant connectivity (CC)—has become central to employees’ daily experiences, influencing productivity, well-being, and work–life balance. This study validates the Constant Connectivity Scale in the Italian organizational context, assessing its psychometric properties through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with 300 employees from three organizations. Reliability and validity assessments revealed the scale’s unidimensional structure, strong internal consistency, and high construct validity, demonstrating its effectiveness in measuring perceived hyperconnectivity at work. Findings reveal important relationships between constant connectivity and employee outcomes: significant associations with increased anxiety and a paradoxical moderate positive correlation with job performance, suggesting complex mechanisms whereby connectivity simultaneously activates engagement and strain processes. The weak correlation with smart working perception indicates that organizational flexibility policies have not substantially reduced connectivity expectations in Italian organizations. This study contributes to the digital work literature by providing a validated, culturally adapted instrument for as sessing constant connectivity in the Italian workforce. The validated CCS offers organizations evidence-based measurement for understanding hyperconnectivity intensity and implementing targeted strategies for building workforce resilience and promoting mental health through better management of digital connectivity demands. Full article

Background/Objectives: Digital transformation is increasingly essential for healthcare organizations to improve operational efficiency and service quality. However, in developing countries such as Indonesia, many lower-middle-class hospitals lag due to limited financial, human, and infrastructural resources. This study examines how environmental dynamism—comprising regulatory changes, market pressures, and technological shifts—affects the digital capabilities of these hospitals. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was conducted in Class C and D hospitals across Indonesia. Respondents included hospital directors, deputy directors, and IT heads. Data were collected through structured questionnaires measuring environmental dynamism and digital capability using a six-point Likert scale. Reliability testing yielded Cronbach’s alpha values above 0.96 for both constructs. Correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between environmental dynamism and digital capability. Results: Findings reveal a weak positive correlation (r = 0.1816) between environmental dynamism and digital capability. Although external factors such as policy regulations and technological competition encourage digital adoption, hospitals with limited internal resources struggle to translate these pressures into sustainable transformation. Key challenges include low ICT budgets, inconsistent staff training, and insufficient infrastructure. Conclusions: The results suggest that environmental change alone cannot drive digital readiness without internal capacity development. To foster resilient digital healthcare ecosystems, policy interventions should integrate regulatory frameworks with practical support programs that strengthen resources, leadership, and human capital in lower-middle-class hospitals. Full article

To study the complex dynamic response characteristics of spatial crossing tunnels under seismic loads, shaking table model tests were carried out for typical spatial parallel, orthogonal, and oblique crossing tunnels. The propagation and energy distribution characteristics of seismic waves were quantitatively analyzed according to the fundamental frequency, acceleration, and strain response of the system. The results show the following: the addition of a tunnel structure significantly reduces the natural frequency of the system. In spatial crossing tunnel engineering, the axial acceleration responses of the arch top and arch bottom of the tunnel both exhibit the characteristic of a linear distribution, presenting a ‘linear’ shape. For spatial parallel-type and spatial orthogonal-type tunnels, the peak acceleration at the same measurement point of the overcrossing tunnel under the same working condition is generally greater than that of the undercrossing tunnel. However, for the spatial oblique intersection-type structure, the result is just the opposite, that is, the peak acceleration of the overcrossing tunnel is generally less than that of the undercrossing tunnel. For spatial crossing tunnels, unlike the amplification effect of acceleration in a single tunnel, due to the reflection and refraction of seismic waves between the two tunnels, a ‘superposition effect’ of acceleration is generated in space, resulting in an abnormal increase in the acceleration response within the crossing section, which is prone to becoming a weak link in the seismic resistance of the tunnel structure. The strain response of both spatially parallel and orthogonal overcrossing tunnels is greater at the central section than that of undercrossing tunnels and less on both sides. The strain response of the spatial oblique intersection-type overcrossing tunnel is generally greater than that of the undercrossing tunnel. Full article

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a 3D structural deformity of the spine that can cause decreased spinal movement, paraspinal muscle weakness, or chronic pain. Our study aims to evaluate biomechanical and viscoelastic properties of the paravertebral muscles in adolescents with idiopathic S-type scoliosis, static plantar pressure, and stabilometry at the beginning of a physical exercise program and after 3 months. The myotonometry performed by using MyotonPro will determine five parameters (frequency, stiffness, logarithmic decrement, stress relaxation time, and ratio of relaxation time to deformation time). Measurements will be taken at the level of the left/right middle trapezius, left/right lower trapezius, left/right latissimus dorsi, and left/right lumbar erector muscles. Static pressure assessment and stabilometry (length described by the center of pressure, confidence area, and speed described by the center of pressure) will be determined by a PoData device in different testing positions (eyes open, eyes closed, head rotated to the right/left, head tilted to the right/left, and head in hyperextension). We expect to record a difference between the muscles on the concave side and the convex side in terms of myotonometric parameters, as well as differences between the initial and 3-month assessment. We predict an improvement in stabilometric parameters after the 3-month physical exercise program. Full article

Electromagnetic flowmeters face significant challenges in measuring complex fluids, characterized by weak flow signals and severe noise interference. Conventional solutions, such as dual-frequency rectangular wave excitation, suffer from multiple drawbacks including rich harmonic components, high electromagnetic noise during switching transitions, a propensity for resonance which shortens stabilization time, reduced sampling windows, and complex circuit implementation. Similarly, traditional single-frequency excitation struggles to balance zero stability with the suppression of slurry noise. To address these limitations, this paper proposes a novel converter design based on dual-frequency sinusoidal wave excitation. A pure hardware circuit is used to generate the composite excitation signal, which superimposes low-frequency and high-frequency components. This approach eliminates the need for a master control chip in signal generation, thereby reducing both circuit complexity and computational resource allocation. The signal processing chain employs a technique of “high-order Butterworth separation filtering combined with synchronous demodulation,” effectively suppressing power frequency, orthogonal, and in-phase interference, achieving an improvement in interference rejection by approximately three orders of magnitude (1000×). Experimental results show that the proposed converter featured simplified circuitry, achieved a measurement accuracy of class 0.5, and validated the overall feasibility of the scheme. Full article

This paper develops a procedure for assessing both supply chain processes and strategic criteria in the context of platform-based supply chains, addressing the problem that organizations often invest in digital platforms without a clear understanding of how process effectiveness, process dysfunction, and strategic platform priorities jointly influence implementation success. The main research objective is to evaluate how effective and dysfunctional supply chain processes, together with prioritized strategic platform criteria, shape performance, productivity, and resilience outcomes in platform-based supply chain integration. The paper further discusses how identified dysfunctional processes and prioritized strategic criteria relate to operational vulnerabilities and resilience-building measures. The research adopts a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach to address the challenges of digital transformation and platform integration. An exploratory study was conducted applying the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate functional and dysfunctional processes, complemented by the best worst method (BWM) to prioritize critical strategic criteria. The combined assessment highlights effective and dysfunctional processes while also identifying the most influential factors driving platform-based adoption and their potential implications for operational vulnerability and resilience. The results demonstrate how platform integration contributes to performance improvement, process alignment, and productivity gains across supply chain operations. The study contributes to both theory and practice by integrating MCDM techniques to support structured decision-making, enhancing responsiveness, resilience, and alignment with platform-oriented strategies. The primary contribution lies in providing a dual-level framework that enables supply chain managers to diagnose weaknesses, leverage strengths, and strategically guide the transition toward platform-based supply chain operations, with a measurable impact on organizational performance and productivity development. Full article

Predicting internal quality parameters, such as Brix and water content, of apples, is essential for quality control. Existing near-infrared (NIR) and hyperspectral imaging (HSI)-based techniques have limited applicability due to their dependence on equipment and environmental sensitivity. In this study, a transportable quality assessment system was proposed using spatiotemporal domain analysis with long-wave infrared (LWIR)-based thermal diffusion phenomics, enabling non-destructive prediction of the internal Brix of apples during transport. After cooling, the thermal gradient of the apple surface during the cooling-to-equilibrium interval was extracted. This gradient was used as an input variable for multiple linear regression, Ridge, and Lasso models, and the prediction performance was assessed. Overall, 492 specimens of 5 cultivars of apple (Hongro, Arisoo, Sinano Gold, Stored Fuji, and Fuji) were included in the experiment. The thermal diffusion response of each specimen was imaged at a sampling frequency of 8.9 Hz using LWIR-based thermal imaging, and the temperature changes over time were compared. In cross-validation of the integrated model for all cultivars, the coefficient of determination (R²_cv) was 0.80, and the RMSEcv was 0.86 °Brix, demonstrating stable prediction accuracy within ±1 °Brix. In terms of cultivar, Arisoo (Cultivar 2) and Fuji (Cultivar 5) showed high prediction reliability (R²_cv = 0.74–0.77), while Hongro (Cultivar 1) and Stored Fuji (Cultivar 4) showed relatively weak correlations. This is thought to be due to differences in thermal diffusion characteristics between cultivars, depending on their tissue density and water content. The LWIR-based thermal diffusion analysis presented in this study is less sensitive to changes in reflectance and illuminance compared to conventional NIR and visible light spectrophotometry, as it enables real-time measurements during transport without requiring a separate light source. Surface heat distribution phenomics due to external heat sources serves as an index that proximally reflects changes in the internal Brix of apples. Later, this could be developed into a reliable commercial screening system to obtain extensive data accounting for diversity between cultivars and to elucidate the effects of interference using external environmental factors. Full article

As the core technology of clean and efficient utilization of coal, coal gasification technology plays an important role in reducing environmental pollution, improving coal utilization, and achieving sustainable energy development. In order to ensure the safe, stable, and long-term operation of coal gasification plant, aiming to address the strong subjectivity of dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) prior data in dynamic risk assessment, this study takes the coal slurry preparation system—the main piece of equipment in the initial stage of the coal gasification process—as the research object and uses a long short-term memory (LSTM) model combined with a back propagation (BP) neural network model to optimize DBN prior data. To further validate the superiority of the model, a gated recurrent unit (GRU) model was introduced for comparative verification. The mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), and coefficient of determination are used to evaluate the generalization ability of the LSTM model. The results show that the LSTM model’s predictions are more accurate and stable. Bidirectional inference is performed on the DBN of the optimized coal slurry preparation system to achieve dynamic reliability analysis. Thanks to the forward reasoning of DBN in the coal slurry preparation system, quantitative analysis of the system’s reliability effects is conducted to clearly demonstrate the trend of system reliability over time, providing data support for stable operation and subsequent upgrades. By conducting reverse reasoning, key events and weak links before and after system optimization can be identified, and targeted improvement measures can be proposed accordingly. Full article

Background: Eating disorders are increasingly diagnosed in young women, particularly during adolescence. The recently described Anorexic Readiness Syndrome (ARS) is more common than full-blown anorexia. It has been identified in female athletes engaging in disciplines focusing on the aesthetics of the body, in women involved in recreational exercise and in those who are not physically active but strive to achieve the “perfect” figure. The study aimed to assess the severity and prevalence of ARS in women regularly engaging in body-shaping physical activity. Methods: The study included 659 women aged ≥14 years who engaged in regular body-shaping physical activity, provided informed consent to participate in the study (in the case of minors, also the consent of a parent or legal guardian), and had no diagnosed chronic diseases. The level of ARS was assessed using a questionnaire measuring attitudes toward food, supplemented with a specially designed survey consisting of 32 questions and a personal data form. Based on the frequency of body-shaping physical activity, participants were divided into two groups: the study group comprised women exercising ≥3 times per week (n = 301), while women exercising <3 times per week constituted the control group (n = 358). The analyses examined the relationships between ARS, frequency of body-shaping physical activity, BMI, and menstrual irregularities. Results: Medium or high ARS level was identified in over 96% (n = 637) of the respondents. The level of ARS was significantly related to the allocation into the group (p = 0.034) and the weekly hours of physical activity (p = 0.011 in the control group; p = 0.020 in the study group). There was a correlation between ARS and menstrual irregularities (p = 0.001). Weak but significant correlations were identified for awareness of eating disorders (V = 0.20; p = 0.001), adherence to a special diet (V = 0.18; p < 0.001) and self-assessed health (V = 0.18; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Higher ARS levels were observed in women reporting greater weekly physical activity. No significant associations were found between ARS and body mass index or body weight. Medium and high ARS levels were significantly associated with self-reported menstrual disturbances, while most participants with elevated ARS were unaware of disordered eating risk. Full article

An experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate the statistical properties and scintillation mitigation performance of multi-aperture free-space optical transmission under real-measured atmospheric turbulence. Continuous monitoring of turbulence parameters over a 24 h period showed that the atmospheric coherence length ranged from 3 to 29 cm, indicating that the experimental link operated predominantly under weak-to-moderate turbulence conditions, while a limited number of measurement intervals exhibited relatively strong scintillation and were included for statistical modelling analysis. An 865 m four-channel receiving link was constructed under the measured turbulence conditions to acquire irradiance data for analysis. The results show that the multi-aperture reception significantly suppresses scintillation, reducing the scintillation index from 0.36 to 0.04 under moderate turbulence. The irradiance probability density functions were fitted using lognormal, Gamma–Gamma, exponentiated Weibull, and Málaga (M) distributions. The M distribution exhibited superior adaptability, with fitting accuracy improved by 18.75% under weak turbulence and 13.16% under moderate turbulence. Further analysis shows that the shape parameters of the M distribution vary systematically with turbulence strength, effectively capturing the turbulence-induced evolution of irradiance statistics and providing experimental support for turbulence channel modelling and the optimisation of FSO diversity reception architectures. Full article

Family Allotment Gardens (FAGs) represent key components of urban cooling and air-purification systems. However, research has mainly focused on their social roles and on their contributions to food production. This study quantified the capacity of FAGs in Warsaw (Poland) to provide two key ecosystem services at distances up to 300 m from their boundaries: air-pollution filtration and microclimate regulation. Measurements of particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM10), air temperature and relative humidity were conducted along transects inside and outside three allotment complexes in autumn 2023, a period characterised by increased traffic emissions and elevated particulate levels. The results show a moderate but significant reduction in PM concentrations inside gardens (by about 2 µg/m³; r = 0.22–0.29) and slightly higher humidity (by 2.1%; r = −0.34). The cooling effect was weak (<0.3 °C; r = 0.06), indicating a limited spatial range under autumn conditions, though selected transects exhibited stronger local effects. The results confirm that FAGs can contribute to air purification and local climate regulation, but their effectiveness depends on vegetation structure and urban context. Strengthening their role requires integration with green-infrastructure planning and emission-reduction practices within gardens. FAGs, beyond their recreational and productive value, should be recognised as active components of urban adaptation strategies. Full article

Endosymbiotic bacteria influence the ecology and evolution of insects through complex associations within host cells. To explore how these relationships vary among environments and taxa, we examined 1028 insect specimens from 14 orders across Korea for infections by three representative endosymbionts (Wolbachia, Rickettsia, and Spiroplasma). Overall, 33.8% of specimens were infected, with single infections predominating and co-infections remaining relatively less common. Weak-to-modest but statistically significant associations were detected between several symbiont pairs (Rickettsia–Spiroplasma, Wolbachia–Spiroplasma, and Wolbachia–Rickettsia). Infection rates exhibited no significant variation among host orders except for Spiroplasma, and Wolbachia infections were more frequently detected in terrestrial than in aquatic insects. These results indicate that endosymbiont infection patterns might be shaped by factors operating at multiple biological scales, including host taxonomy and habitat types. As this study relied on polymerase chain reaction detection, infection frequencies should be interpreted as comparative rather than absolute measures. This survey provides baseline data that might help characterize regional patterns of endosymbiont distributions and their variation across taxonomic and ecological contexts. Full article

Background: This study aims to evaluate the effect of hand grip strength (HGS) on perioperative outcomes—particularly postoperative delirium (POD)—in patients scheduled for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods: Older female patients, aged ≥ 65 years, who were scheduled for TKA under general anesthesia were enrolled in this study. We measured preoperative HGS and clinical frailty scale. The primary outcome was the incidence of POD within 30 days of surgery. Secondary outcomes included intraoperative hypotension, surgical site infection, postoperative pulmonary complications, postoperative nausea and vomiting, acute kidney injury, postoperative urinary retention, and hospital length of stay. Results: The final analysis was conducted on 78 participants. The median HGS was 17.9 kg, the patients were divided into Weak (HGS ≤ 17.9, n = 39) and Strong groups (HGS > 17.9, n = 39). POD was more prevalent in the Weak group (23.1% vs. 0.0%, p = 0.005). As secondary outcomes, there were no significant differences between the two groups, except the postoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (101 [90; 120.5] mL/min/1.73 m² in the Weak group vs. 122 [104; 138] mL/min/1.73 m² in the Strong group; p = 0.007). In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of POD occurrence according to HGS, the cutoff value was 17.5 (area under curve 0.88, p < 0.001). In univariate logistic regression analysis, age and HGS were associated with the occurrence of POD. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, HGS was the only factor that affects POD. For each 1 kg increase in HGS, the risk of POD decreased by 28% (Odds ratio: 0.72). Conclusions: In this study, lower preoperative HGS was significantly associated with the occurrence of POD. Full article

Forests play a vital role in the global carbon cycle but face growing anthropogenic pressures, with climate change and forest fragmentation among the most critical. In West Africa, particularly in Ghana, the interaction between increasing aridity and forest fragmentation remains underexplored, despite its significance for forest biomass dynamics and carbon storage processes. This study examined how spatial variation in climatic aridity (Aridity Index, AI) affects above-ground biomass (AGB) in Ghana’s ecological zones, both directly and indirectly through forest fragmentation and biodiversity, using structural equation modeling (SEM) and generalized additive models (GAMs). Results from this study show that AGB declines along the aridity gradient, with humid zones supporting the highest biomass and semi-arid zones the lowest. The SEM analysis revealed that areas with a lower aridity index (drier conditions) had significantly lower AGB, indicating that arid conditions are associated with lower forest biomass. Fragmentation patterns align with this relationship, while biodiversity (as measured by species richness) showed weak associations, likely reflecting both ecological and data limitations. GAMs highlighted nonlinear fragmentation effects: mean patch area (AREA_MN) was the strongest predictor, showing a unimodal relationship with biomass, whereas number of patches (NP), edge density (ED), and landscape shape index (LSI) reduced AGB. Overall, these findings demonstrate that aridity and spatial configuration jointly control biomass, with fragmentation acting as a key mediator of this relationship. Dry and transitional forests emerge as particularly vulnerable, emphasizing the need for management strategies that maintain large, connected forest patches and integrate restoration into climate adaptation policies. Full article