Search Results (1,191)

Acinetobacter baumannii is a leading cause of healthcare-associated infections and is classified among the highest-priority antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. Its clinical success reflects the convergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and biological traits that promote environmental persistence and transmission. Acinetobacter baumannii has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past few decades, evolving from a relatively obscure environmental bacterium into a globally recognized multidrug-resistant pathogen. Its prevalence in healthcare settings, particularly intensive care units, has made it a leading cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia, bloodstream infections, wound infections, and urinary tract infections. Beyond its antibiotic resistance, the bacterium’s ability to persist in hospital environments and adapt to host defences has amplified its clinical significance. Recent research has uncovered complex networks of virulence factors, regulatory systems, and metabolic strategies that enable A. baumannii to thrive in hostile environments and evade host immunity, providing new insights into its pathogenesis and potential therapeutic vulnerabilities. This review summarizes the main mechanisms underlying its pathogenicity, including desiccation tolerance, biofilm formation, disinfectant resistance, metal acquisition, motility, and the ability to enter viable but non-culturable states. In A. baumannii, AMR functions as a pathogenesis-adjacent trait, enhancing survival and clonal dissemination through genomic plasticity, resistance islands, efflux systems, and envelope remodeling. Key resistance pathways involve carbapenem-hydrolyzing oxacillinases, metallo-β-lactamases, permeability defects, and multidrug efflux, often coexisting within high-risk clones. From a clinical perspective, management of carbapenem-resistant strains requires accurate infection diagnosis, reliable susceptibility testing, site-specific and PK/PD-optimized therapy, and early reassessment. Overall, the success of A. baumannii reflects the integration of resistance and persistence within healthcare ecosystems, highlighting the need for coordinated strategies combining stewardship, infection control, improved diagnostics, and anti-biofilm or anti-virulence approaches. Full article

Polymer-based biosensors have evolved from passive supports into active functional elements that dictate analytical performance in complex real-world samples. This critical review with meta-trend analysis examines 96 original research articles published between 2015 and 2025, evaluating how four polymer classes (conductive polymers, redox-mediator polymers, hydrogels, and molecularly imprinted polymers) address matrix effects in food, beverage, environmental and clinical applications. Electrochemical detection dominates (79% of studies), with conductive polymers enabling low-potential operation that excludes electroactive interference. Hydrogels achieve superior precision (RSD below 3%) in protein-rich matrices through biocompatible microenvironments that preserve enzyme kinetics. Molecularly imprinted polymers provide unmatched stability in harsh environments for trace-level detection of heavy metals and toxins, though delayed response times from slow analyte diffusion persist. Critical evaluation exposes validation deficits: 91% of studies omit limits of quantification, while approximately one-third lack reproducibility (33%) and precision (30%). The multi-matrix challenge, maintaining calibration across different hostile environments, remains the primary barrier to commercial deployment. Advanced architectures, including nanocapsulation, hierarchical nanocomposites, and microneedle-integrated systems, offer pathways to overcome limitations in fouling resistance and operational stability. Full article

Today’s world is a pluralistic society. This is evident in the multiplicity of cultures and religions, which should ordinarily have practiced mutual respect through interfaith and ecumenical dialogues, compromises, communal and peaceful transformation, with recognition of basic rights of all communities. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, particularly in Nigeria, dominated by three major religions: African Traditional Religions (ATR), Christianity, and Islam. These three, we must acknowledge, sometimes not only misunderstood other faiths, but scandalously eyed them with hostile suspicions and tragic distinction that we are the children of light and everyone else the child of darkness, breeding conflicts and violence. This article, using literary and theological analysis, addresses those issues that promote interreligious and ecumenical dialogue as recipes for overcoming conflicts and reinforcing positive and integral human transformation and development in communities. Full article

Bacterial adaptation to hostile environments depends on the coordinated expression of stress response genes. When adverse conditions persist and nutrients become limiting, sporulating species may initiate sporulation as a last-resort survival strategy. However, sporulation under such conditions may alter the resistance and germination properties of the resulting spores. In this study, we investigated whether stress response regulators that facilitate vegetative cell adaptation to temperature and/or salinity changes during growth can influence the properties of Bacillus subtilis 168 spores. To this end, we examined the resistance and germination of mutant spores lacking key regulators of stress response pathways (SigB, SigW, SigX, Fur, HrcA, CtsR, and CssRS regulon), all produced under optimal sporulation conditions. The constitutive activation of the SigB-mediated general stress response, achieved through the deletion of its negative regulator RsbX, reduced spore heat resistance by 2.2-fold compared to the parental strain, while no effect was observed in vegetative cells. Additionally, ΔrsbX spores displayed both impaired nutrient-induced and CaDPA-induced germination. Collectively, these findings suggest that stress response regulators can influence spore behavior, although their effects may differ from those observed in vegetative cells. Full article

Ageism—encompassing stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination across age groups—affects how individuals perceive and experience their own ageing. This study, based on a large sample (N = 1047), compared three age cohorts and explored intra-group variability among older adults (65–75 vs. ≥76 years). Results indicated that attitudes towards ageing were influenced by life stage, knowledge about ageing, perceived ageism, and internalised stereotypes. Participants aged 65–75 years showed more favourable attitudes, greater knowledge, and better emotional wellbeing compared to the ≥76 group, which exhibited higher hostile ageism and lower psychological wellbeing. A forward stepwise logistic regression (explained 35.9% of the variance) identified five predictors of a positive self-perception of ageing: lower perceived age discrimination; generally positive attitudinal profile; endorsement of benevolent stereotypes; absence of hostile ageism; and belonging to the 65–75 group. The findings highlighted the psychosocial complexity of ageing and call for interventions promoting positive ageing and reducing ageism. Full article

Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) remains limited in solid tumors by poor T cell persistence within the metabolically hostile tumor microenvironment (TME). Although IL-9-producing CD8⁺ T cells (Tc9) consistently demonstrate superior antitumor efficacy compared with conventional Tc1 cells, the selective pressures that shape their functional advantage remain unclear. Here, we show that effective ACT-mediated tumor control is accompanied by a marked increase in intratumoral extracellular ATP (eATP), representing a common metabolic consequence of tumor cell destruction. Despite comparable ATP accumulation following Tc1 or Tc9 treatment, these subsets exhibit strikingly distinct responses to ATP stress. Tc1 cells are highly susceptible to ATP-induced apoptosis, whereas Tc9 cells display intrinsic resistance, resulting in superior in vivo persistence. Mechanistically, Tc9 cells actively convert ATP signaling into enhanced mitochondrial fitness, characterized by increased oxidative phosphorylation and spare respiratory capacity. ATP exposure further drives Tc9 cells toward a tissue-resident memory (TRM) phenotype through activation of the TGF-β signaling axis. Transcriptomic and molecular analyses reveal that purinergic signaling pathways, including elevated expression of the ATP receptor P2RX7, are intrinsically enriched in Tc9 cells and are further amplified upon ATP stimulation. Collectively, our findings identify extracellular ATP as a metabolic lineage selection signal in ACT, demonstrating that ATP stress preferentially stabilizes metabolically resilient Tc9 cells by linking purinergic sensing to mitochondrial remodeling and TRM programming, thereby providing a conceptual basis for enhancing the persistence and efficacy of engineered T cell therapies in solid tumors. Full article

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of variations in the 3-hourly geomagnetic activity level during the period of the lowest solar and geomagnetic activity on the psychological state of patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting or valve surgery. The study was performed in Kaunas, Lithuania, during 2008–2012. The psychological state of 233 patients was assessed using the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised instrument (SCL-90-R) at 1.5 months, 1 year, and 2 years after the surgery (N = 531). During days of a negative difference between k-index sums at 18:00–00:00 h and 06:00–12:00, all SCL scores were statistically significantly higher. A low k- sum during 18:00–00:00 on the previous day was associated with an increase in anxiety, anger–hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism. The combination of these conditions was associated with higher values of the SCL scores. These effects were observed at 1.5 and 12 months after the surgery. During the period lasting from 18:00 on the previous day to 12:00 on the day of the test, variations in k-indices that were not in line with the general trend of changes in the k-index were associated with a poorer psychological state in patients after open-heart surgery. Full article

Background: This study examined age-related differences and interrelationships among psychological symptoms, personality traits, and emotional expression styles in a community sample of 151 participants aged 10–77 years, spanning four age groups: adolescents, young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults. Methods: Psychological symptoms were assessed using the SCL-90, personality traits using the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2), and emotional expression patterns were derived from facial expression recognition via a convolutional neural network (CNN) model. Kruskal–Wallis H tests were used to examine age-related differences. K-means cluster analysis was applied to identify emotional expression patterns, and logistic regression was used to construct a mental health risk screening model. Results: The young adult group (19–35 years) achieved the highest scores on the depression (M = 1.73) and anxiety (M = 1.61) dimensions, indicating a higher level of psychological distress during this life stage. Personality traits showed a significant developmental trajectory: neuroticism decreased with age (H(3) = 17.09, p < 0.001, η² = 0.11), declining from 2.69 in the young adult group to 2.17 in the older adult group; conscientiousness increased with age (H(3) = 37.39, p < 0.001, η² = 0.24), representing the most substantial age-related effect. K-means clustering identified three distinct emotional expression patterns: Cluster 1 was characterised by happiness, Cluster 2 by anger, disgust, and fear, and Cluster 3 by neutrality, sadness, and surprise. Cluster 2 exhibited the highest scores on neuroticism, anxiety, depression, and mood swings, and scored significantly higher than the other two clusters on interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, and hostility (p < 0.05). Mental health risk screening indicated that 26.5% of participants were classified as high-risk. Logistic regression analysis (AUC = 0.742) showed that neuroticism was the strongest predictor of elevated mental health risk (OR = 4.58), while extraversion (OR = 0.41) and conscientiousness (OR = 0.57) were significant protective factors. Conclusions: These findings provide exploratory evidence regarding age-related patterns of psychological symptoms and personality traits in a convenience sample and offer preliminary support for personality-based mental health risk screening. Notably, the SCL-90 was employed as a screening tool rather than for clinical diagnosis. Given the unequal age group sizes, particularly the small young adult subgroup, generalisability across the lifespan should not be assumed. Full article

Armed conflicts are at the epicentre of an information war, amplified by false claims about the motivations of the conflicts and refugees. The spread of narratives, especially in digital media, challenges the European Union to implement effective strategies to combat misinformation and to adopt measures to scrutinise and hold the main communication channels accountable, in order to prevent hostile narratives from influencing public opinion and political decision-makers. In this context, this article seeks to analyse the implications of media discourses and misinformation in the development of social representations about the Russian–Ukrainian war and refugees, as well as the use of social networks by individuals to share this type of content. The research is based on an exploratory study as part of the R&D Project MeInWar—Study on the media and social representations of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, funded by Europeia University. The study employed a survey method and an online questionnaire applied to a non-probabilistic convenience sample of 222 individuals aged between 18 and 38. The results revealed that media narratives influence attitudes towards refugees and migration policies, and it is clear that factors such as age and gender have an impact on content-sharing practices and the motivations behind them. Full article

Background: Personality traits, particularly those belonging to the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), may influence violent behavior and adaptation to the prison environment. Methods: The study included 250 male inmates from Bucharest-Jilava Penitentiary, aged between 20 and 67 years. The Emotional Stability Scale (IPIP), the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire, and the Short Dark Triad Scale (SD3) were administered. Statistical analyses included Pearson correlations, multiple linear regressions, and binary logistic regressions. Results: Emotional stability was negatively correlated with aggression (r = −0.48, p < 0.01). Psychopathy significantly predicted physical aggression (t = 11.96, p < 0.001) and anger (t = 9.53, p < 0.001), whereas Machiavellianism predicted verbal aggression (t = 3.14, p = 0.002) and hostility (t = 4.73, p < 0.001). Higher levels of physical aggression were associated with a lower likelihood of participation in educational activities (Exp(B) = 0.93, p = 0.032). Conclusions: The influence of Dark Triad traits on aggression is differentiated, with psychopathy exerting the strongest effect. Low emotional stability increases vulnerability to hostile behaviors. These findings support the need for multidimensional psychological assessments and tailored intervention programs designed to enhance violent offenders’ engagement in educational activities aimed at impulse control and empathy development within the prison environment. Full article

This study maps European countries’ resilience to cognitive warfare by developing a cross-national composite measure. The framework integrates three pillars: information ecology, institutional-digital capacity, and socioeconomic context—drawing on a systemic perspective linking social structures to societal functions. Publicly available secondary indicators are compiled from online sources for EU (European Union) and EEA (European Economics Area) states. The dataset is examined through descriptive analysis, association testing, multivariate modelling, dimensionality reduction to derive a composite resilience score, and unsupervised clustering to produce a country typology. Indicators capture governance effectiveness, e-government maturity, public-sector AI (Artificial Intelligence) readiness, digital connectivity and infrastructure, media freedom and broader media-ecosystem quality, academic freedom, and socioeconomic vulnerabilities such as youth labour market exclusion. Results show that resilience aligns most strongly with institutional capacity and governance performance; a healthy ecology acts as a reinforcing layer. Digital infrastructure appears necessary but insufficient without capable, credible institutions and coherent public policy. Socioeconomic vulnerabilities tend to erode resilience and heighten susceptibility to hostile cognitive influence. The study concludes that policy efforts should prioritise governance integrity and effectiveness, end-to-end digital government, responsible public-sector AI capability, and safeguards for media and academic autonomy, alongside measures that improve youth inclusion. Full article

Heritage speakers’ language acquisition is a complex process that is affected by linguistic, social, cultural, and affective factors. Studies on heritage speakers (HSs) have primarily focused on challenges HSs face in the classroom and scarcely investigated these challenges outside of instructional settings. This study addresses this gap by exploring the lived experiences of two young adult Spanish HSs outside of educational settings through a series of interviews to create personal narratives of their HL and experiences. Through Narrative Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (NIPA), three main themes emerged from these narratives: (1) Spanish heritage language (HL) knowledge and language use, (2) emotional factors that hinder language knowledge and language use, and (3) self-positioning towards SHL and culture. The findings indicated that the participants’ experiences with their Spanish heritage language (SHL) were profoundly impacted by the nature of language input they received, hostile environments, and negative interactions with members of their communities, which led to emotional distress and communicative avoidance. This situated study also offers potential conceptual and community-based implications for the Spanish HSs. Full article

Adolescence is a period in which the frequency of aggressive behavior increases. However, the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and different types of aggression remains unclear. This study explored this relationship among middle school students. It also examined the mediating mechanisms of aggressive cognition and affect, while investigating the gender differences in the relationships among the study variables. A total of 1891 middle school students from Southwest China completed the SES scale, the normative beliefs about aggression questionnaire, the relational aggression behavior questionnaire, and the Chinese version of the Buss and Perry aggression questionnaire. Three main findings were obtained. First, SES showed a significant positive correlation with relational aggression (β = 0.22, p < 0.001) and a negative correlation with verbal aggression (β = −0.10, p < 0.001), but not with physical aggression (β = −0.02, p = 0.44). Second, normative beliefs about aggression mediated the relationships between SES and two types of aggression (physical and relational); anger/hostility mediated the relationships between SES and all types of aggression (verbal, physical, and relational). Finally, among boys, only the direct effect of SES on relational aggression and the mediating effect of normative beliefs about aggression were significant; however, among girls, the result was the same as that of the total sample. The findings provide support for social learning theory and the general aggression model, highlight the important role of SES in adolescent development, and clarify the distinct patterns underlying physical, verbal, and relational aggression. This study provides empirical evidence that may assist parents and that teachers can use to effectively intervene in adolescent aggressive behavior. Full article

Soda lakes are ecologically significant habitats characterized by high salinity, alkaline pH, and intense evaporation. These milieus are hostile to most life, though these lakes could be a rich source for discovering novel halotolerant and halophilic cyanobacterial taxa. The Indian subcontinent is endowed with shallow saline–alkaline lakes whose cyanobacterial diversity has been little explored. The present study was undertaken to explore the cyanobacterial diversity in an inland saline–alkaline lake (Sambhar Lake) in India using a polyphasic approach. Two thin, filamentous strains encapsulated within thick sheaths and capable of nodule formation under normal light conditions were recovered. Both isolates exhibited growth at up to 4% salinity, indicating their halotolerant nature. The studied strains exhibited <95% 16S rRNA gene similarity with closely related taxa from the genera Thainema and Insularia and formed a distinct evolutionary lineage in phylogenetic tree supported by a high bootstrap value. Additionally, the secondary structures of the 16S-23S Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) regions (D1-D1′ and BoxB) of the studied strains showed remarkable differences from phylogenetically closely related taxa, indicating these strains represent a new genus in the Nodosilineales: Krienitziella sambharensis gen. et sp. nov., in accordance with the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants (ICN). Full article

This article examines how NATO adapted its public communication during the 2022–2025 Ukraine–Russia war by analysing over 1400 Facebook posts through an integrated interpretive–computational approach. While existing research mainly focuses on media narratives or public reactions, institutional emotional signalling remains underexplored. To address this gap, the study combines sentiment analysis, transformer-based emotion detection, dictionary-based conflict scoring, and a composite Daily Risk Index (DRI) capturing deviations in agenda saturation, tonal volatility, negativity, and threat-related emotions. The findings show that NATO’s digital communication is generally stable but punctuated by short, high-intensity phases triggered by major geopolitical events. Fear emerges as the dominant emotional cue, signalling gravity without escalating hostility, while anger appears selectively in references to severe violations or war crimes. Communication follows a recurring escalation pattern—gradual volatility increase, brief peak intensity, and rapid normalisation. The study advances crisis communication theory, contributes to digital securitization research, and offers a replicable framework for analysing discursive risk. Full article