Search Results (15,451)

Background/Objectives: Previous research has demonstrated that the initial letters of a word likely play a privileged role in visual word recognition, such that reading and visual recognition errors reflecting changes in this position are much less likely. For example, prior case studies of attentional dyslexia reported that participants were most accurate at rejecting nonwords formed by transposing a word’s first two letters (e.g., WONER from OWNER) compared to transpositions in later positions. The current study aimed to replicate and extend this finding in patients with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), a neurodegenerative condition associated with visuospatial and attentional impairments. Methods: Two PCA patients completed lexical decision tasks involving five-letter real words and nonwords created either by transposing adjacent letters (in positions 1 + 2, 2 + 3, 3 + 4, or 4 + 5) or using matched nonword controls. To assess robustness, tasks were repeated across test–retest sessions. Stimuli were presented in both canonical horizontal and non-canonical vertical (marquee) formats. Accuracy, response bias, and sensitivity (d′) were estimated, with 95% confidence intervals derived from a nonparametric bootstrap procedure. Within-case logistic regressions were also conducted to illustrate the findings. Results: Both patients showed significantly higher accuracy and lower response bias for 1 + 2 transposition nonwords relative to other positions. This early-letter advantage persisted across test–retest observations and was maintained when words were presented in the vertical format, suggesting orientation-invariant effects. The bootstrap and regression analyses provided convergent support for these results. Conclusions: The findings provide novel evidence in PCA that the encoding of early letter positions operates independently of visual orientation and persists despite attentional deficits. This supports models in which the initial letters serve as a key anchor point in orthographic processing, highlighting the privileged and resilient status of early letter encoding in visual word recognition. Full article

Background: The Nursing Work Environment (NWE) plays a critical role in determining the quality of care, staff well-being, and organizational performance, particularly in oncology settings. Despite increasing attention, a comprehensive synthesis of organizational factors shaping oncology NWEs has been lacking. This scoping review aimed to describe the key features of oncology NWEs and to explore the outcomes associated with these characteristics. Methods: A scoping review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. Peer-reviewed studies published in English or Italian were included without time restrictions. Literature searches were performed in MEDLINE via PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus between January and April 2025. Results: Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria. Key organizational characteristics of oncology NWEs were grouped into the following four domains: leadership and organizational support; workload and resource availability; ethical climate and collegial relationships; and physical and structural conditions of care settings. Across the studies, a positive NWE was frequently reported to be associated with improved nurse-related outcomes and, to a lesser extent, with patient-related outcomes. However, these associations should be interpreted with caution due to the heterogeneity of contexts and the predominance of cross-sectional designs. Conclusions: The NWE is a strategic element in delivering effective, safe, and sustainable oncology care. Practical actions for nurse managers and healthcare leaders include implementing leadership training programs, ensuring adequate staffing and resource allocation, fostering open communication, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration. These measures are essential to protect staff well-being and guarantee high-quality, patient-centered care. Full article

This study verified the effects of a Virtual Reality (VR) play program on young children’s playfulness using a Solomon four-group experimental design. Targeting 120 children aged four and five in South Korea, a 10-week, child-friendly non-immersive VR program was conducted, measuring five subdomains of playfulness based on Barnett’s framework: physical, social, and cognitive spontaneity, manifestation of enjoyment, and sense of humor. Statistical analysis revealed that the VR program had a significant positive effect across all subdomains of playfulness. The biggest influence on playfulness was sense of humor, followed by physical spontaneity and social spontaneity with an overall effect size of 0.290. Furthermore, the lack of interaction effects with the pretest confirmed the study’s internal validity, proving the VR program was the clear causal factor. These results provide empirical evidence that VR play can enhance the emotional, cognitive, and social development of young children. This study offers a practical basis for integrating VR-based play into early childhood education curricula and suggests its potential to improve peer relationships, confidence, and self-expression. Future research is needed, including the development of content to enhance cognitive spontaneity and longitudinal studies. Full article

The relationship between renewable (REN) and non-renewable (NREN) energy and economic growth plays a fundamental role in sustainable development. The number of studies on this relationship in countries with the highest REN consumption is limited. This study analyzes the effects of REN and NREN on economic growth between 1970 and 2023, focusing on the ten leading countries in REN consumption. These countries constitute an appropriate sample for analysis, not only due to their high REN capacity but also because they represent diverse levels of economic development. For this purpose, second-generation panel data methods were employed to investigate the long-run effects, taking into account cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity in the dataset. The CADF unit root test developed by Pesaran indicated that all variables are stationary at their first differences. The Westerlund panel cointegration test confirmed the existence of a long-run relationship among the variables. Long-run coefficients were estimated using the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCE) approach developed by Pesaran and the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimators proposed by Bond & Eberhardt and Eberhardt & Teal. The results revealed that renewable energy consumption has a positive and significant effect on economic growth, while fossil fuel consumption continues to have a favorable effect on growth. However, the negative and significant effect of primary renewable energy production suggests that technological deficiencies and efficiency problems in current production structures may play a role. Overall, this study highlights the necessity of aligning energy policies with both environmental sustainability and economic growth objectives. Full article

Leveling of the crane support platform plays a vital role in operational safety and lifting efficiency; it requires both precise horizontal positioning and the rational distribution of outrigger load. However, the current synchronous leveling methods mainly focus on displacement synchronization leveling while neglecting the control of outrigger load, resulting in the problem of individual outrigger overloading. To address this problem, a synchronous leveling control method with variable load constraints (SLCM-VLC) is proposed in this paper based on the framework of model predictive control. Firstly, the proposed method conducts independent outrigger modeling and decoupling of outriggers through adjacent cross-coupling; then a displacement synchronization controller (DSC) is designed to ensure efficient synchronous leveling. Secondly, a collaborative controller of displacement and force (DFCC) under variable load constraints is designed to overcome the limitations of traditional independent optimization. Subsequently, an extended state observer (ESO) is introduced to compensate for environmental disturbances and control deviations. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through a co-simulation using Matlab, Adams, and Solidworks. The results show that, compared with existing leveling control methods, the proposed method can achieve high precision and rapid leveling under smaller peak load, thereby extending the service life of the platform’s electric cylinders. Full article

Objectives: Sprinting and jumping abilities are key determinants of basketball performance. This study aims to analyze changes in sprinting and jumping performance among professional basketball players during the preseason and to determine whether these adaptations are influenced by specific playing positions (Guards vs. Bigs). Methods: A total of 106 professional basketball players from European leagues were evaluated twice over a 6-week preseason. Neuromuscular assessments included linear sprints (5, 10, and 20 m), a change of direction test, curved sprints, and multiple jump tests: Squat Jump (SJ), Countermovement Jump (CMJ), Single-Leg CMJ (SL-CMJ) and Arm-Swing CMJ (CMJA), Single Leg Hop for Distance (SHDJ), Lateral Bound Jump (LBJ), and Single-Leg Repeated Jumps (SLRJ). The training program integrated 6–8 weekly basketball-specific technical–tactical sessions with two to three strength and conditioning sessions targeting maximal strength, power, and hypertrophy. Results: Players significantly improved linear and curved sprint performance, and jumping ability, particularly CMJ, CMJA, and right-leg SHDJ. Minimal changes were observed in SJ, LBJ, and SLRJ. Positional differences were small, with Guards showing greater gains in CMJA than Bigs (6.85% vs. 1.87%). Conclusions: A 6-week preseason training program may be associated with improvements in sprinting (linear 5, 10, 20 m, and curved sprint) and vertical jump performance (CMJ, CMJA, SHDJ) in professional basketball players, with limited influence of playing position. Guards appear to benefit more from arm-swing vertical jump development. Full article

Leadership literature suggests that a transformational leadership style can reduce negative employee outcomes, even in challenging work environments such as the education sector, where teachers play a key role in social development. This study aimed to analyze the association between transformational leadership and job satisfaction: the role of gratitude toward the organization in the Peruvian context. A cross-sectional study with an explanatory design was conducted considering 457 men and women who declared themselves teachers, aged between 18 and 73 years (M = 38.63; SD = 10.61), recruited through non-probability convenience sampling. The theoretical model was evaluated using the Partial Least Squares method (PLS-SEM). An adequately fitting measurement model was obtained (α = between 0.893 and 0.969; CR = between 0.897 and 0.971; AVE = between 0.757 and 0.845), demonstrating that transformational leadership is positively associated with the components of gratitude toward the organization and job satisfaction, as well as the association of the components of gratitude toward the organization and job satisfaction. In turn, it was evident how gratitude toward the organization plays a mediating role in these relationships. In this sense, the study provides valuable information for Peruvian educational leaders seeking to improve indicators of satisfaction, gratitude, and leadership in their work environment. These findings enrich educational management, given that it is the first empirical study to demonstrate these links in a challenging sector of an emerging country, offering a solid foundation for the development of more humanized, effective, and sustainable management strategies. Full article

This study analyzes the factors that affect the technical efficiency (TE) of firms in the supporting industry in the context of Vietnam’s digitalized economy. Stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), Fixed Effect Models, and System-GMM methods are applied to reach the findings that the quality of human resources, capital intensity, and firm size have positive effects on TE. Furthermore, exogenous environmental factors, such as the domestic demand of an industry impacting all upstream businesses, which use inputs that are products of that industry (BSpill-ratio), and the FDI backward effect (BFSpill), also exhibit positive effects. These confirm that the linkage between domestic supporting industry suppliers and FDI assembly enterprises plays an important role in improving TE. Vietnam’s digital transformation since 2020 has also created some interesting changes in the correlation coefficient. Location, sectors, competitiveness, and investment environment are also considered, and the results suggest that they are all determinants to be considered in management policies at both the firm level and the government level. Our contribution in this study is new policies aligned with many major changes in the world economic context, such as the tough tariff policy implemented by recent presidential administrations and a series of reforms of the Vietnamese Government, as well as strong digital transformation in Vietnam. The key findings of this research are important as they confirm which factors are really determinants for the Vietnamese government to implement investment policies for this industry effectively. Full article

The static orientation of the eyes during visual fixation is determined by the simultaneous operation of multiple equilibria. This phenomenon is collectively referred to as poly-equilibrium, which involves multiple systems that work together to cancel each other out and establish gaze direction. While other systems, such as audio- and cervico-ocular systems, may also contribute to gaze direction, this review focuses primarily on the commands issued by the vestibulo- and visuo-oculomotor systems that determine gaze direction, as they play a key role in the poly-equilibrium process. From the visual and vestibular activities accompanying the appearance of an object in the central visual field to the recruitment of premotor neurons responsible for the generation of slow and saccadic eye movements, a delicate balance is maintained. As long as the recruited channels convey commands that counterbalance each other, no movement is initiated. This alternative viewpoint leads to reconsidering the nature of saccadic and pursuit eye movements. Rather than viewing them as the dynamic reduction in brain signals encoding kinematic parameters such as position or velocity, they can be seen as the physical expression of intracerebral processes restoring balanced activities between sensorimotor channels whose recruitment leads to mutually opposed movements. Full article

The effectiveness of industrial heritage conservation relies on the collaborative efforts of multiple stakeholders. However, existing research lacks systematic exploration of stakeholders’ perception of heritage value and the pathways through which such perception translates into conservation behaviors. This study takes the Shaanxi section of the Baocheng Railway, a typical linear industrial heritage, as a case study. Based on the “Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Emotions” (CATE) theory, it examines the mechanism between heritage value perception, place identity, and heritage responsibility behavior. Through structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis of 414 questionnaire responses, the study finds that heritage value perception of the Baocheng Railway’s Shaanxi section not only significantly positively influences stakeholders’ place identity but also directly promotes the formation of heritage responsibility behavior. Among these, the perception of social value has the most pronounced impact on place identity and responsibility behavior. Furthermore, place identity plays a key mediating role between value perception and responsibility behavior. This study introduces the CATE theory into industrial heritage research, revealing the mechanism of behavior generation from the path of “cognition → emotion → behavior”. By focusing on linear industrial heritage sites, it broadens the scope of heritage research and highlights the central role of social value perception in driving conservation intentions and behaviors. The study further enriches research on heritage responsibility behavior, and the proposed theoretical model and findings can provide theoretical references for the management and conservation of industrial heritage. Full article

Pistacia terebinthus L. which has been traditionally used in diet and medicine, remains underexplored in Greece, particularly regarding its chemical composition and antioxidant activity. The current study aims to comparatively evaluate the chemical profile of cold-pressed terebinth fruit oils, obtained from wild trees growing in the Greek Island of Chios (North East Aegean Sea), harvested during three years (2019, 2020 and 2021). The oils’ lipid profile was dominated by oleic acid (C18:1 cis-9) (42–45%) followed by palmitic acid (C16:0) (24–30%) and linoleic acid (C18:2 cis-9,12) (19–22%). Their phenolic acid content, expressed as anacardic acids—known for their bioactive properties—was quantified via q-¹H-NMR and found to be markedly high (1.91–2.98 mmol/kg oil). Total phenolic content (TPC) of the fruit extract showed interesting high value (185.92 ± 2.61 mg GAE/g) accompanied by strong antioxidant activity (DPPH, exhibiting > 80% inhibition at a concentration of 100 µg/mL) which was positively correlated with TPC. Additionally, the fruits demonstrated a rich nutritional profile, particularly in crude fibers (38.9%) and essential minerals (K, Mg, and Zn), along with low sodium content, suggesting notable dietary benefits. The cold-pressed oil exhibited high lipid content and low specific extinction coefficients (K₂₃₂, K₂₇₀), indicating minimal oxidation and confirming the oil’s freshness. These findings highlight the potential of P. terebinthus fruit oil as a high-value functional raw material with nutritional and antioxidant properties. Comparable to olive oil in lipid quality, Greek turpentine fruit and oil could play a promising role towards further applications in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors. Full article

The identification of germline BRCA1/2 (BRCA) mutations plays an important role in the treatment planning of high-risk breast cancer patients, but genetic testing may be costly or unavailable. The multiparametric breast MRI (mpMRI) features offer noninvasive imaging biomarkers that could support BRCA mutation prediction. In this study, we investigate whether mpMRI features can predict BRCA mutation status in high-risk breast cancer patients. We collected data from 231 consecutive patients (82 BRCA-positive, 149 BRCA-negative) who underwent BRCA mutation testing and preoperative MRI between 2013 and 2019. We used the mpMRI features, including computer-aided diagnosis (CAD)-derived kinetic features, morphologic features, and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). In the univariate analysis, higher CAD-derived washout component and peak enhancement, larger tumor size and angio-volume, peritumoral edema on T2-weighted imaging, axillary adenopathy, and minimal or mild background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) were significantly associated with BRCA mutation, while ADC values showed no significant differences. In the multivariate analysis, three significant predictors were washout component ≥ 19.5% (odds ratio [OR] = 3.89, p < 0.001), minimal or mild BPE (OR = 2.57, p = 0.004), and tumor size ≥ 2.5 cm (OR = 2.41, p = 0.004). Using these predictors, we compared the predictive performance of 13 ML models through 30 repeated runs and achieved the highest performance (AUC = 0.72). In conclusion, ML models integrating mpMRI features demonstrated good performance for predicting BRCA mutations in high-risk patients. This noninvasive approach may aid personalized treatment planning and genetic counseling. Full article

The development of the digital economy has become a significant driving force for the innovation of green technology in the manufacturing sectors. Green technology innovation in the manufacturing sectors is not only a key engine for realizing economic green transformation and achieving the goal of achieving peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, but also an important path for cultivating new quality productivity. Based on Schumpeter’s endogenous growth theory, in this study, we constructed an analytical model with a unified framework of digital economic development and environmental regulation, systematically explored the mechanism of digital economic development with respect to green technological innovation in the manufacturing sectors and the moderating effect of environmental regulation, and carried out empirical research based on panel data at the provincial level and the level of the subdivided manufacturing sectors in China. We found that the development of the digital economy promotes green technology innovation in the manufacturing industry. However, according to the theory of increasing marginal information costs, it shows a significant nonlinear relationship. Absorptive capacity is the key means of support that manufacturing enterprises can leverage to improve their level of green technological innovation. Environmental regulation plays a crucial role in guiding green technological innovation in the manufacturing sectors. A further heterogeneity analysis showed that the development of the digital economy exerts a stronger positive impact on green technological innovation in cleaner-production-oriented manufacturing sectors and those located in regions with more advanced financial regions and in technology-intensive industries. This study provides theoretical support for understanding the driving mechanisms of green technological innovation in the manufacturing sector against the backdrop of the digital economy, offering practical implications for optimizing environmental regulation policies and enhancing the level of green development in manufacturing. Full article

Epigeic groups play a key ecological role in vineyards, as they represent a significant component of soil and surface communities that directly affect the functioning of the agroecosystem. They act as predators, decomposers of organic matter, and important regulators of pest populations, thereby contributing to the natural biological protection of the vineyard. We conducted research between 2021 and 2023, where we monitored the impact of different types of vineyard landscape habitats on the spatial distribution and abundance of epigeic fauna. Over the study period, 57,964 individuals were recorded, with the highest abundance observed in 2023 and the lowest in 2022. Redundancy analysis confirmed a significant impact of habitat type on community composition, especially in semi-intensive and intensive vineyards, meadows, and abandoned sites, with the differences being statistically significant in all monitored habitats. The interannual changes indicated a significant decrease in biodiversity in 2022, followed by a significant increase in 2023, indicating a positive effect of changing management practices and natural succession on restoring ecological stability. The K-nearest neighbor (KNN) prediction model successfully classified individual years based on the number of individuals and taxa with an accuracy of 97%, with 2021 characterized by lower biodiversity, 2022 by a transitional state, and 2023 by a higher taxa and abundance level. The findings highlight the sensitivity of epigeic fauna communities to management and environmental changes and confirm that the application of gentle agri-environmental measures can significantly contribute to the maintenance and restoration of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Full article

Background/Objectives: Pet therapy, also known as Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), is increasingly recognized for its potential to support pediatric patients and their families in the hospital setting. This study explores the perceptions of parents of pediatric surgical patients regarding the use of pet therapy during hospitalization. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of children admitted for surgery procedures. The interviews were transcribed, read thoroughly, and analyzed. Thematic analysis was employed to identify recurring themes related to the emotional, relational, and organizational aspects of pet therapy. Results: Twenty mothers were interviewed and five main themes emerged: (1) general perception of pet therapy (valuable tool to reduce children’s anxiety and provide emotional support); (2) parental expectations about benefits for their children (positive interactions between children, parents and caregivers); (3) expected behavioral impact on the child (animals were viewed as mediators of relational bonding, especially in stressful moments); (4) emotional repercussions on caregivers (parental well-being improved when children appeared calmer during sessions); and (5) preferences regarding animals and organizational aspects (most parents preferred dogs for their empathic and communicative nature, while horses were appreciated but considered impractical in a hospital setting). In addition, the presence of structured AAT programs also positively influenced parents’ perception of the quality of care. Nurses played a crucial role in supporting the implementation of AAT and family involvement, aligning with the Family-Centered Care model. Conclusions: This study found that parents view AAT as a valuable intervention that reduces anxiety and supports emotional well-being in hospitalized children. Nurses play a vital role in integrating AAT within Family-Centered Care to enhance the pediatric hospital experience. Full article