Search Results (22,499)

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have become a global environmental concern due to their extreme persistence and toxicity. In this study, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was removed from aqueous solutions using porous carbon adsorbents synthesized from peach stones. The novelty of this work lies in the development of a procedure for obtaining a suitable carbon adsorbent, whose properties are consistent with the properties of the adsorbate. An appropriate activation was used, allowing the preparation of an adsorbent with a highly developed porous texture and a large surface area, which is a prerequisite for a significant adsorption capacity of the obtained adsorbents towards PFOA. Both carbon adsorbents obtained from peach pits, with clearly different surface chemistry—KOH-activated carbon (AC_KOH) and its nitric acid-oxidized derivative (AC_HNO3)—for PFOA adsorption were compared, along with the clarification of the relationship between the graphitic structure, pore development, surface functionality and adsorption characteristics. The first adsorbent was produced by chemical activation with KOH at 800 °C, while the second was obtained by oxidative modification of the activated sample with 12% HNO₃. Characterization by Raman spectroscopy, SEM, and nitrogen physisorption revealed a highly graphitized structure (ID/IG = 0.86) and well-developed porosity. Adsorption experiments were carried out at PFOA concentrations from 8 to 40 µmol/L using a spectrophotometric method based on methylene blue ion-pair extraction into chloroform. The results showed that AC_KOH exhibited a high maximum adsorption capacity of 1660 µmol/g (687.36 mg/g) and followed the Langmuir isotherm model, indicating monolayer adsorption. In contrast, AC_HNO3 showed a significantly lower adsorption capacity of 398.36 µmol/g (164.95 mg/g), which was attributed to electrostatic repulsion caused by acidic oxygen-containing surface groups. These findings demonstrate that peach stone-derived activated carbon is a promising, sustainable, and efficient adsorbent for the removal of PFOA from water. Full article

With the increasing number of wildfire events, people living close to the wildland–urban interface (WUI) are more likely to be exposed to these events. To mitigate the hazards related to wildfires, it is of great importance to identify areas where human settlements are at a greater risk. Remote sensing-based techniques for mapping and quantifying the inhabitants possibly affected by these events are crucial to reduce the loss of life as well as reduce the negative impact that wildfires pose to the people living in WUIs, the surrounding areas, and the environment. Fine-scale mapping is a suitable auxiliary tool to indicate areas at greater risk. Hence, the dasymetric method was applied to generate a high-resolution map of the study area’s population, using products generated from Sentinel-2 imagery, a census, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data. The findings of the proposed methodology show that around 59% of the population in the study area currently lives inside the WUI, while in 2025, most of the people affected by wildfires—77%—lived outside the WUI. This is expected, since wildfires vary in space and time, and they are seen as spatial–temporal processes. In addition, the results demonstrated that women are slightly more exposed to wildfires than other population groups. These results showed that the proposed methodology could not only help identify high-risk areas but also the number of people living in these areas due to the high-resolution dasymetric methodology. The proposed methodology described in this work shows that fine-scale mapping could enrich forest management in order to protect the populations susceptible to the negative impacts of wildfires, consequently protecting the environment. Full article

Academia has undergone significant changes recently, such as financial cuts, restructuring, new management policies, precarious employment, and rapid technological advancement. We argue that these shifts can lead to organizational anomie, characterized by deregulation and a breakdown of academia’s normative structure, impacting teaching, learning, and research. In Norway, we conducted qualitative individual interviews with academics (n = 12) and two group interviews with students (n = 13) to explore whether they perceive their academic environment in terms of organizational anomie. Staff participants see the academic environment as transformative but increasingly shaped by economic rationality. They also see a conflict between academic ideals and current work designs and practices, which are highly gamified, reliant on quantified performance measures, and dependent on external funding. They view these changes negatively, casting doubt on whether universities can still fulfil their mission in pursuit of independent critical inquiry. Students report a mismatch between expectations and reality, with some viewing academia instrumentally as a platform to the labor market, reflecting governmental policies to promote employability as a key goal of higher education. Others regard academia as a space for critical inquiry. Although the focus group discussions ultimately converged on the university’s norms and values being a space for critical inquiry, both groups expressed dissatisfaction that the current system fails to fully meet either of these goals. These findings are discussed in light of our understanding of organizational anomie in academia. Full article

The place and people of Waiʻanae, Hawaiʻi, are rich in connection with ʻāina (natural environment) and culture. Counter to this strengths-based approach, metrics and narratives imposed by outside systems assess many communities like ours as “sick,” “poor,” or “unwell.” This paper details our community’s approach to defining “well-being” around the values specific to our place, overseen by a council of community leaders with decades of experience supporting youth. The development was a mixed methods process including formal focus groups, informal community conversations, review of existing models, and collaboration with a professional artist. Centering community was the priority through each phase, engaging youth, parents, cultural practitioners, healthcare providers, and educators. Our community built the Kaiona Framework around the moʻolelo (traditional story) of Kaiona who helps the lost find home through empathy and compassion. Well-being is grounded in connection to, in relationship with, and in service to ʻāina. The child is at the center of our work, but inseparable from the family, community, and wider nation of people. Wellness comprises four values vital to our community: mauli ola, a balanced state of physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and environmental health; waiwai, abundance and prosperity; pilina, mutually sustaining relationships; and ea, self-determination and agency. Full article

Background: Burn injuries have both physical and psychological impacts on patients. Factors such as personal beliefs, prior experiences, and geographic, economic, or cultural barriers, as well as fear of hospitals, can contribute to delays in seeking specialized care. When combined with inadequate first aid or the inappropriate use of pharmaceutical or traditional remedies, these delays may worsen burn severity, prolong healing, and negatively affect quality of life. From a clinical perspective, delayed presentation following burn injury has been linked to burn wound progression, which increases the risk of local infection, hypertrophic scarring and prolonged functional impairment. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at the Clinical Emergency Hospital of Bucharest between January and September 2025. The primary objective was to characterize adult burn patients presenting more than 24 h after injury (Group A) and to describe self-reported psychosocial/behavioral characteristics and explore unadjusted patterns among delayed presenters. Data were collected from medical records and a structured questionnaire administered to delayed presenters. A secondary descriptive comparison was performed with patients presenting within 24 h (Group B) to provide contextual reference. Results: The majority of patients were male (62.2%) and of working age (18–65 years, 82.4%). Thermal burns from domestic accidents were most common (58.8%), with scalds predominating. Second-degree burns were the most frequent (60.5%), primarily affecting the upper and lower limbs. Mean total body surface area (TBSA) was low (2.86 ± 1.91%), although higher values were observed in radiation burns and closed-space accidents. More than half of the patients did not receive any first aid, while the remainder used various pharmaceutical or natural products, some of which were inappropriate for burn treatment. The main reasons for delaying specialized care were the expectation that injuries would heal spontaneously, negligence, and fear of the hospital. In contrast, escalating pain, edema, and family insistence were the primary motivators for seeking professional medical attention. Delayed presentation was associated with older burn lesions, higher burn severity and an increased likelihood of hospitalization or refusal of recommended admission. Conclusions: Burn injuries predominantly affect working-age males and most frequently arise from domestic thermal accidents. Delayed presentation and inadequate first aid are common and influenced by behavioral, social, and demographic factors. Targeted public education, improved first aid practices, and timely healthcare-seeking are essential to reduce burn severity and improve patient outcomes. Full article

The Middle Tonian tectonic setting of the Jiangnan Orogen, South China, remains intensely debated, and is centered on two competing models: subduction–collision versus mantle plume. This study addresses this critical knowledge gap through an integrated, multi-proxy investigation of the Middle Tonian Fanjingshan Group. This region preserves a continuous volcano-sedimentary and magmatic record, offering key insights into the orogen’s full lifecycle. To test these hypotheses, we employed a synthesis of geological survey, sediment provenance analysis, detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology of clastic rocks to determine sediment provenance and basin evolution, and petrogenetic study of coeval magmatic suites (pillow lava, mafic–ultramafic sills, and granitoids) to evaluate their magmatic processes and tectonic setting. Analysis of 1736 detrital zircon U-Pb ages from Middle Tonian strata reveals a four-stage provenance evolution: (1) SW Yangtze sources in a passive margin basin before 870 Ma; (2) bidirectional sources in an 870–835 Ma arc-derived basin; (3) syn-collisional detritus during 835–820 Ma amalgamation; and (4) post-collisional and northern Yangtze inputs in an 800 Ma rifting basin. Geochemical data from ~845–840 Ma basalts and coeval sills reveal calc-alkaline affinities and marked subduction-fluid signatures. Their calculated mantle potential temperature (1404 °C) is significantly lower than that expected for plume-derived melts (1570 °C), which is consistent with melting in a subduction-modified mantle wedge, supporting a continental rear-arc basin setting. The ~845–832 Ma mafic–ultramafic sills exhibit symmetrical geochemical zoning and two-stage emplacement, recording sustained magma recharge in the rear-arc basin. Furthermore, the ~830 Ma Fanjingshan granite is identified as a crust-derived, syn-collisional S-type granite. Synthesizing these findings, we demonstrate that the sedimentary and magmatic records collectively point to plate margin setting. A four-stage tectonic model is suggested: (1) pre-870 Ma passive margin without significant magmatic activity; (2) 870–835 Ma continental arc development at an active continental margin; (3) 835–820 Ma Yangtze–Cathaysia collision; and (4) post-820 Ma post-orogenic rifting. This work provides a robust regional case study, demonstrating that integrating records of deep magmatic processes with coeval shifts in sedimentary provenance and basin architecture is essential to reconstruct the complete evolution of ancient orogens. Full article

(1) Achilles tendon rupture is one of the most severe lower-limb injuries, frequently occurring during movements involving maximal dorsiflexion with the knee at near-full extension. Preventive strategies are crucial, particularly for athletes engaged in high-risk sports such as basketball. (2) In this work, we examined the effect of a novel Achilles brace on Achilles tendon loading during concentric and eccentric mechanisms associated with tendon rupture. (3) Twenty-eight young basketball players performed tests under two conditions: with the adaptive brace and without it (control). Participants were divided into two groups (n = 14 in both). The first group assessed concentric Achilles loading by performing three plantar-flexor strength tests in three different joint configurations: maximal dorsiflexion with the knee flexed (FKF); injury mechanism position—full plantar flexion with the knee extended (FKE); and neutral ankle position with the knee extended (NKE). The number of maximal heel-raise repetitions performed before onset of fatigue was recorded. The second group assessed eccentric tendon loading by performing single-leg forced maximal-velocity dorsiflexion with the knee extended. In all tests, the time between maximal plantar flexion and maximal dorsiflexion, as well as the ankle range of motion, was analyzed using 2D video. Paired t-tests were used to compare braced and control conditions. In all tests, the ankle range of motion (ROM) did not differ significantly between brace and control conditions. Wearing the brace significantly improved plantar-flexor muscle strength only in the FKE test (31 ± 1.3 repetitions with brace vs. 21 ± 1.3 in control, p < 0.05). No significant differences were found for the FKF (27 ± 1.3 vs. 25 ± 1.3) or NKE (25 ± 1.3 vs. 24 ± 1.3) positions. During drop eccentric loading, wearing the brace resulted in a significantly slower transition time from plantar flexion to dorsiflexion (460 ± 60 ms with brace vs. 320 ± 30 ms in control, p < 0.001). (4) In brief, the novel Achilles brace was found to significantly reduces Achilles tendon load during both concentric and eccentric activities, but only in high-risk joint positions. These findings suggest that the brace provides mechanical protection, and may reduce the risk of Achilles tendon rupture, in athletes exposed to high tendon stress. Full article

Epoxy resin (E-51) exhibits excellent adhesion and is widely used in the preparation of functional composite coatings. However, its smooth surface lacking micro/nano composite structures limits its self-cleaning capability and optical properties. Direct incorporation of organic silicone or inorganic fillers often faces severe phase separation and filler agglomeration issues, resulting in defects in coating durability and weather resistance. To address these challenges, this study developed a synergistic modification strategy integrating surface energy modulation with the architectural design of micro/nano-structures. Amino-terminated PDMS undergoes ring-opening addition reactions with epoxy groups in the epoxy resin, while functionalized barium sulfate nanoparticles modified with dual silane coupling agents are incorporated to enhance optical properties. This synergistic approach not only resolved interfacial compatibility but also endowed the PDMS@EP-BaSO₄ coating with outstanding comprehensive properties; the water contact angle increased to 123.5°, demonstrating an easy-to-clean benefit. Visible light reflectance reached 95%, and emissivity rose to 90%. Furthermore, when applied to metal surfaces, the coating exhibited excellent stability against acid–alkali–salt corrosion, extreme temperatures, and ultrasonic agitation. This work provided a novel approach for developing protective coatings that integrated high reflectance, high emissivity, and long-term anti-soiling properties. Full article

In the academic year 2022/2023, an orientation course addressed to high school students was proposed at Politecnico di Milano. The course was conducted using active methodologies referring to the Problem-Based Learning pedagogical framework. Most of the time was dedicated to an open-ended style physics laboratory in which students worked in small groups exploring different areas of physics. The main aim of the course was to foster science self-efficacy and motivation, in order to enable students to prepare themselves for passing the test required to enrol in any engineering programme at Politecnico di Milano University. To investigate the effectiveness of the course, a statistical analysis of students’ attendance and students’ results on the test was performed. The results of the analysis show that students who attended the course had a slightly better improvement in their test scores compared to those who did not attend. The impact of the course seems to be more effective for female students. The results confirm the validity of active and open-ended activities to increase scholastic performance and to enable students in autonomous preparation. Using these strategies in an orientation course can help students make more informed choices about the university pathway best suited to them, thereby reducing issues related to student dropout. Full article

Osteoarthritis (OA) has emerged as a significant public health crisis in Latin America, with prevalence rates in Mexico doubling over the last two decades. Despite this growing burden, current management in underrepresented populations —defined here as groups facing structural barriers to care, including rural or remote communities, uninsured individuals, and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups —is hindered by a critical mismatch between international guidelines and regional healthcare realities. This narrative review, synthesized under the SANRA framework, evaluates the last 20 years of evidence to address the structural and clinical barriers that sustain a 50% diagnostic gap at the primary care level and high rates of inadequate pain relief. Using Mexico as a primary case study, we move beyond conventional symptomatic treatment to explore the complex interplay of central sensitization, neuroinflammation, and metabolic phenotypes, factors often overlooked in standardized protocols. By identifying the limitations of current pharmacological reliance and the underutilization of non-pharmacological interventions, this work proposes a strategic shift toward a multidisciplinary, patient-centered model. We outline a translational roadmap that integrates multi-omic research with personalized therapeutic strategies, emphasizing the need for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines tailored to the socioeconomic and genetic contexts of Latin American patients. Ultimately, this review serves as a call to action to bridge the healthcare disparity gap, offering a framework for innovative, integrative care to transform long-term clinical outcomes in developing healthcare systems. Full article

The decentralisation of autonomous Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) introduces significant challenges in terms of establishing secure communication and consensus in contested, resource-constrained environments. This research addresses these challenges by conducting a comprehensive performance evaluation of two cryptographic technologies: Messaging Layer Security (MLS) for group key exchange, and threshold signatures (FROST and BLS) for decentralised consensus. Seven leading open-source libraries were methodically assessed through a series of static, network-simulated, and novel bulk-signing benchmarks to measure their computational efficiency and practical resilience. This paper confirms that MLS is a viable solution, capable of supporting the group sizes and throughput requirements of a UAS swarm. It corroborates prior work by identifying the Cisco MLSpp library as unsuitable for dynamic environments due to poorly scaling group management functions, while demonstrating that OpenMLS is a highly performant and scalable alternative. Furthermore, the findings show that operating MLS in a `key management’ mode offers a dramatic increase in performance and resilience, a critical trade-off for UAS operations. For consensus, the benchmarks reveal a range of compromises for developers to consider, while identifying the Zcash FROST implementation as the most effective all-around performer for sustained, high-volume use cases due to its balance of security features and efficient verification. Full article

Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel burning remains a severe environmental challenge that needs to be addressed. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have emerged as promising alternatives to conventional alkanolamines for CO₂ capture applications due to their lower volatility and reduced corrosion potential. In this work, two tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB)-based systems were synthesized using different hydrogen bond donors: 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) at a 1:1 molar ratio and p-toluenesulfonic acid (PTSA) at a 1:2 molar ratio. FTIR spectroscopic analysis confirmed that TBAB-AMP (1:1) forms a true DES through hydrogen bonding interactions, whereas TBAB-PTSA (1:2) undergoes proton transfer to form an ionic salt. CO₂ solubility measurements were conducted using the pressure drop method up to 15 bar at 30 °C. The TBAB-AMP system exhibited a CO₂ uptake of 0.194 mol CO₂/mol DES at 14.7 bar, approximately 2.5-fold higher than the TBAB-PTSA system, which achieved 0.079 mol/mol at 14.5 bar. Critical and thermophysical properties were estimated using the modified Lydersen–Joback–Reid, Lee–Kesler, and Haghbakhsh group-contribution methods. Viscosity measurements conducted from 30 to 50 °C revealed that TBAB-AMP exhibited significantly lower viscosity, ranging from 163 to 46 mPa·s, compared to TBAB-PTSA, which showed viscosity values between 536 and 155 mPa·s. The superior CO₂ capture performance of the amine-functionalized DES was attributed to favorable hydrogen-bonding interactions, lower viscosity, which enabled better mass transfer, and enhanced chemical affinity toward CO₂ through carbamate formation. Full article

Cataract diagnosis requires a comprehensive dilated examination by an ophthalmologist using a slit lamp; there is currently no effective means to objectively screen for cataracts in the community using portable devices without dilation. We hypothesized that it would be possible to predict cataract severity using deep learning on images taken using a portable smartphone-based slit lamp prototype, with and without dilation. In this prospective cross-sectional pilot study, slit lamp images were captured from eligible patients with cataracts in a tertiary clinic using a portable slit lamp prototype attached to a smartphone. The Pentacam nuclear staging score (PNS, Pentacam^®, Oculus, Inc., Arlington, WA, USA) was taken from the dilated pupils and served as ground truth. A transformer prototypical network with the Swin transformer on the images was trained to assign the class label corresponding to the highest predicted probability. Heat maps were generated based on attribution masks to identify the anatomical areas of concern. A total of 1900 images from 198 eyes of 99 patients were captured. The average age was 65.3 ± 10.4 years (range, 41.0 to 88.0 years) and the average PNS score was 1.57 ± 0.81 (range, 0 to 4). The model achieved an average accuracy of 81.25% and 74.38% for undilated and dilated eyes, respectively. Heat map visualization using the integrated gradient method successfully identified the anatomical area of interest in certain images. This study suggests the possibility of estimating cataract density using a portable smartphone slit lamp device without dilation. Further work is under way to validate this technique in a larger and more diverse group of eyes with cataracts. Full article

Objective: Chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH) is a common neurosurgical condition with rising incidence in the aging population. Recurrence after surgical evacuation remains frequent, affecting up to one third of patients. Prior studies have proposed an association between ABO blood type and recurrence risk, though the findings are inconsistent. This study aimed to determine whether ABO blood group independently predicts cSDH recurrence after adjusting for clinical and radiological risk factors and to contextualize these findings in the context of previously published studies. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all consecutive patients surgically treated for cSDH at University Hospital RWTH Aachen between 2015 and 2023. Clinical, laboratory, and imaging data, including hematoma volume, laterality, and architecture, were extracted from medical records. The primary outcome was recurrence requiring reintervention. Associations between ABO blood type and recurrence were assessed using chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to integrate our findings with all identified prior studies reporting recurrence stratified by blood type. Results: Of 630 treated patients, 488 with documented ABO blood type and recurrence status were included. Recurrence occurred in 31.1% of these patients. ABO distribution matched European population frequencies. Univariate analysis showed no association between blood type and recurrence (p = 0.434). Adjusted models likewise showed no significant differences between type A and type B (OR 1.43, 95% CI 0.67–3.00), type AB (OR 2.35, 95% CI 0.74–7.24), and type O (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.57–1.58). Hematoma architecture remained strongly associated with recurrence (p < 0.001). A meta-analysis of available studies similarly demonstrated no association between any ABO blood type and recurrence, with pooled odds ratios near unity across comparisons. Conclusions: ABO blood type was not associated with cSDH recurrence in our cohort, and pooled evidence from previously published studies confirms the absence of a meaningful effect. Hematoma architecture and volume remain the most important predictors of recurrence. Based on these results, blood type should not influence postoperative surveillance or counseling, and future work should focus on modifiable biological and imaging-based determinants of recurrence. Full article

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the daily routines of young adults. This study investigated alcohol consumption patterns and associated factors among young adults in Romania during this period. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey. Participants were asked to retrospectively report their alcohol consumption patterns before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the period of university campus closures. A cohort of 249 young adults (68.6% female) participated in an online survey focused on their alcohol consumption patterns, utilizing the standardized AUDIT-C questionnaire and some modified questions to better establish the habit of drinking. Results: In total, 41.7% of the included subjects were in medical school, 10% in IT, and 44% in various areas of work. Most respondents were female, between 20 and 25 years old (65%) and living in urban areas, with wine being the most favorable drink. Regarding AUDIT scores, approximately 90% fall into low-risk drinking or even abstinence, 10% belong to the high-risk group of alcohol consumption, and 3 people have a high score, which suggests drinking abuse and the likelihood of developing alcohol dependence. A comparison of pre- to post-closure drinking among medical students showed statistically significant changes in the typical number of drinks per week (from 11.5 to 9.9) and maximum drinks per day (from 4.9 to 3.3) and a slight increase in typical drinking days per week (from 3 to 3.2), p < 0.05, outlining a decrease in alcohol consumption. Conclusions: The study highlights specific drinking patterns during the pandemic. While some individuals decreased consumption, a significant portion remained at risk for alcohol-related complications, emphasizing the need for targeted screening and prevention programs. Full article