Paclitaxel (PTX) is a chemotherapeutic agent affecting microtubule polymerization. The efficacy of PTX depends on the type of tumor, and its improvement would be beneficial in patients’ treatment. Therefore, we tested the effect of slow sulfide donor GYY4137 on paclitaxel sensitivity in two different breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231, derived from a triple negative cell line, and JIMT1, which overexpresses HER2 and is resistant to trastuzumab. In JIMT1 and MDA-MB-231 cells, we compared IC50 and some metabolic (apoptosis induction, lactate/pyruvate conversion, production of reactive oxygen species, etc.), morphologic (changes in cytoskeleton), and functional (migration, angiogenesis) parameters for PTX and PTX/GYY4137, aiming to determine the mechanism of the sensitization of PTX. We observed improved sensitivity to paclitaxel in the presence of GYY4137 in both cell lines, but also some differences in apoptosis induction and pyruvate/lactate conversion between these cells. In MDA-MB-231 cells, GYY4137 increased apoptosis without affecting the IP₃R1 protein, changing the morphology of the cytoskeleton. A mechanism of PTX sensitization by GYY4137 in JIMT1 cells is distinct from MDA-MB-231, and remains to be further elucidated. We suggest different mechanisms of action for H₂S on the paclitaxel treatment of MDA-MB-231 and JIMT1 breast cancer cell lines. Full article

Key long-lived greenhouse gases (CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O) are perhaps among the best-studied components of the Earth’s atmosphere today; however, attempts to predict or explain trends or even shorter-term variations of these trace gases are not always successful. Infrared spectroscopy is a recognized technique for the ground-based long-term monitoring of the gaseous composition of the atmosphere. The current paper is focused on the analysis of new data on CO₂, CH4, and N₂O total columns (TCs) retrieved from high resolution IR solar spectra acquired during 2009–2022 at the NDACC atmospheric monitoring station of St. Petersburg State University (STP station, 59.88°N, 29.83°E, 20 m asl.). The paper provides information on the FTIR system (Fourier-transform infrared) installed at the STP station, and an overview of techniques used for the CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O retrievals. Trends of key greenhouse gases and their confidence levels were evaluated using an original approach which combines the Lomb–Scargle method with the cross-validation and bootstrapping techniques. As a result, the following fourteen-year (2009–2022) trends of TCs have been revealed: (0.56 ± 0.01) % yr⁻¹ for CO₂; (0.46 ± 0.02) % yr⁻¹ for CH₄; (0.28 ± 0.01) % yr⁻¹ for N₂O. A comparison with trends based on the EMAC numerical modeling data was carried out. The trends of greenhouse gases observed at the STP site are consistent with the results of the in situ monitoring performed at the same geographical location, and with the independent estimates of the global volume mixing ratio growth rates obtained by the GAW network and the NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory. There is reasonable agreement between the CH₄ and N₂O TC trends for 2009–2019, which have been derived from FTIR measurements at three locations: the STP site, Izaña Observatory and the University of Toronto Atmospheric Observatory. Full article

In response to the issues of premature convergence, lack of population diversity, and poor convergence accuracy in the traditional Sand Cat Swarm Optimization (SCSO) algorithm, a Multi-Strategy Improved SCSO (MISCSO) algorithm is proposed. Firstly, multiple population strategies are used to avoid premature convergence and falling into local optima traps. Secondly, a distribution estimation learning strategy is introduced to represent the relationships between individuals, using probability models to improve algorithm performance. Next, the diversity of candidate solutions in the elite pool is utilized to expand the search space and enhance the algorithm’s ability to avoid local solutions. Lastly, a Cauchy disturbance strategy is adopted to accelerate the convergence speed of the algorithm, thereby improving the search efficiency and convergence accuracy. The experimental results of CEC2017 tests show that the improved algorithm balances convergence speed and global search capabilities effectively. Finally, the algorithm is applied to actual drone path planning and compared with six other intelligent algorithms, demonstrating the practicality and effectiveness of the improved algorithm. Full article

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) have been investigated as one of the potential dose enhancement agents for radiation therapy. The role of TiO₂ NPs as a photodynamic sensitiser has been well documented, but its sensitisation with X-rays is not highlighted. Unlike other metal NPs, such as gold NPs, the main challenge for TiO₂ NPs as radiosensitisers is their low atomic number, resulting in a small cross-section for X-rays. This review summarises the results of current research in this area to explore the dose enhancement inflicted by TiO₂ NPs, which could potentially be of great value in improving radiation therapy efficiency. Full article

Risk-stratified breast screening has been proposed as a strategy to overcome the limitations of age-based screening. A prospective cohort study was undertaken within the PERSPECTIVE I&I project, which will generate the first Canadian evidence on multifactorial breast cancer risk assessment in the population setting to inform the implementation of risk-stratified screening. Recruited females aged 40–69 unaffected by breast cancer, with a previous mammogram, underwent multifactorial breast cancer risk assessment. The adoption of multifactorial risk assessment, the effectiveness of methods for collecting risk factor information and the costs of risk assessment were examined. Associations between participant characteristics and study sites, as well as data collection methods, were assessed using logistic regression; all p-values are two-sided. Of the 4246 participants recruited, 88.4% completed a risk assessment, with 79.8%, 15.7% and 4.4% estimated at average, higher than average and high risk, respectively. The total per-participant cost for risk assessment was CAD 315. Participants who chose to provide risk factor information on paper/telephone (27.2%) vs. online were more likely to be older (p = 0.021), not born in Canada (p = 0.043), visible minorities (p = 0.01) and have a lower attained education (p < 0.0001) and perceived fair/poor health (p < 0.001). The 34.4% of participants requiring risk factor verification for missing/unusual values were more likely to be visible minorities (p = 0.009) and have a lower attained education (p ≤ 0.006). This study demonstrates the feasibility of risk assessment for risk-stratified screening at the population level. Implementation should incorporate an equity lens to ensure cancer-screening disparities are not widened. Full article

The need to develop advanced wastewater treatment techniques and their use has become a priority, the main goal being the efficient removal of pollutants, especially those of organic origin. This study presents the photo-degradation of a pharmaceutical wastewater containing Kabi cytarabine, using ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and a synthesized catalyst, a composite based on bismuth and iron oxides (BFO). The size of the bandgap was determined by UV spectroscopy, having a value of 2.27 eV. The specific surface was determined using the BET method, having a value of 0.7 m² g⁻¹. The material studied for the photo-degradation of cytarabine presents a remarkable photo-degradation efficiency of 97.9% for an initial concentration 0f 10 mg/L cytarabine Kabi when 0.15 g of material was used, during 120 min of interaction with UV radiation at 3 cm from the irradiation source. The material withstands five photo-degradation cycles with good results. At the same time, through this study, it was possible to establish that pyrimidine derivatives could be able to combat infections caused by Escherichia coli and Candida parapsilosis. Full article

Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming much of society in a short time. Regardless of whether we know it, we interact with AI systems when we seek information online, shop, work, and engage with social media. AI has massive potential to promote human wellbeing but also poses considerable risks, as set out in an open letter signed by leaders in the field, such as Geoffrey Hinton, the “Godfather of AI”. This paper examines how AI can be used as a powerful tool to change pro-social behaviors as part of social marketing programs. We examine opportunities to build on existing efforts to use AI for pro-social behavior changes and the challenges and potential risks that AI may pose. The specific aims of the paper are to explore how AI can be used in social marketing policy, strategy development, and operational delivery. We also explore what this means for future social marketing practice. We present an overview of case studies from the social marketing field and the application of AI in the past, present, and future. We examine the following key question: can these new technologies can be used to promote social good, and if so, how? Through examples from policy, strategy development, operations, and research in social marketing, we examine how AI has been used and successfully applied to improve consumer outcomes and analyze its implications for social marketing. We conclude that AI has substantial promise but also poses some challenges and has potential negative impacts on efforts to promote pro-social behavior changes. Used well, AI may enable social marketers to more rapidly assess how to modify programs of action to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness. We suggest future research and programs within this field. Full article

Drought limits the growth and development of Phaseolus vulgaris L. (known as common bean). Common bean plants contain various phenylpropanoids, but it is not known whether the levels of these metabolites are altered by drought. Here, BT6 and BT44, two white bean recombinant inbred lines (RILs), were cultivated under severe drought. Their respective growth and phenylpropanoid profiles were compared to those of well-irrigated plants. Both RILs accumulated much less biomass in their vegetative parts with severe drought, which was associated with more phaseollin and phaseollinisoflavan in their roots relative to well-irrigated plants. A sustained accumulation of coumestrol was evident in BT44 roots with drought. Transient alterations in the leaf profiles of various phenolic acids occurred in drought-stressed BT6 and BT44 plants, including the respective accumulation of two separate caftaric acid isomers and coutaric acid (isomer 1) relative to well-irrigated plants. A sustained rise in fertaric acid was observed in BT44 with drought stress, whereas the greater amount relative to well-watered plants was transient in BT6. Apart from kaempferol diglucoside (isomer 2), the concentrations of most leaf flavonol glycosides were not altered with drought. Overall, fine tuning of leaf and root phenylpropanoid profiles occurs in white bean plants subjected to severe drought. Full article

The study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) meal levels on the nutrient disappearance rate, rumen fermentation, and microflora of beef cattle in vitro. A total of 24 fermentation tanks were randomly divided into four treatments containing 0% COS (CON), 0.02% COS, 0.04% COS, and 0.08% COS for an 8-day experiment period, with each treatment comprising six replicates. The disappear rates of DM, CP, EE, and total gas production were quadratically increased with increasing COS levels. The disappear rates of DM, CP, EE, and ADF were greatest, whereas the total gas production was lowest in the 0.08% COS group. The pH, NH₃-N, MCP, the content of propionate, isobutyrate, butyrate, valerate, and the A/P were quadratically increased with increasing COS levels, while the A/P were linearly decreased. The pH, MCP, and the content of propionate, and butyrate were highest, whereas the NH₃-N and the content of acetate, isobutyrate, valerate, and the A/P were lowest in the 0.08% COS group. Microbiomics analysis showed that the rumen microbial diversity was not altered between the CON and the 0.08% COS group. However, the relative abundance of Methanosphaera, Ruminococcus, Endomicrobium, and Eubacterium groups was increased, and the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria Dorea and Escherichia-Shigella showed a decrease in the 0.08% COS group. Overall, the 0.08% COS was the most effective among the three addition levels, resulting in an increase in the disappearance rate of in vitro fermented nutrients and improvements in rumen fermentation indexes and microbial communities. This, in turn, led to the maintenance of rumen health. Full article

(1) Background: To compare oncologic outcomes of South Asian (SA) patients treated for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) to the general population. (2) Methods: Adult patients who underwent surgical resection of OSCC +/− adjuvant treatment between 2009 and 2022 (N = 697) at a regional cancer centre in Canada were included. SA patients, identified using a validated method, were compared to non-SA patients. Kaplan–Meier methods were used to compare the primary outcomes, disease-specific survival (DSS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) across baseline univariate characteristics, including betel nut consumption. Median follow-up time was 36.4 months. Cox proportional hazard models were used to identify independent predictors of survival with significance set at p < 0.05. (3) Results: SA patients (9% of cohort, N = 64) were significantly younger and had lower rates of smoking and alcohol consumption compared to non-SA patients (p < 0.05). SA patients had a two-fold higher risk of recurrence and significantly worse disease-specific survival, even after adjusting for stage and high-risk features [RFS: HR 2.01 (1.28–3.14), DSS: HR 1.79 (1.12–2.88)]. The consumption of betel nut was not associated with outcomes. (4) Conclusion: SA patients had significantly worse oncologic outcomes, even after controlling for known predictors of poor prognosis. These findings are novel and can inform personalized treatment decisions and influence public health policies when managing patients with different ethnic backgrounds. Full article

There is growing evidence on the prevalence and impact of loneliness, particularly among older people. However, much less is known about the personal origins of loneliness and how it persists, or not, over an individual’s life course. This study aimed to increase understanding of the personal experiences of loneliness among older adults across the life course. Central to this study was giving voice to the participants and allowing them to define loneliness, what it meant to them, and how it affected them throughout their lives. This qualitative study employed 18 life story interviews with older adults attending a mental health service. We explored their personal experiences of loneliness and the situations and factors associated with loneliness across the life course. We identified three distinct typologies of loneliness: those who experienced (1) chronic loneliness since childhood, (2) chronic loneliness after a life-changing event in midlife, and (3) loneliness which remained situational/transitional, never becoming chronic. This study found the seeds of chronic life course loneliness are often determined in childhood. Early detection and intervention may prevent situational loneliness from becoming chronic. More research is needed from a life course approach to help understand and address the causes and consequences of loneliness. Full article

A novel terahertz polarization isolator using a two-dimensional square lattice tellurium rod array is numerically investigated at the interesting band of 0.22 THz in this short paper. The isolator is designed by inserting six hexagonal tellurium rods into a fully polarized photonic crystals waveguide with high efficiency of −0.34 dB. The TE and TM photonic band gaps of the 7 × 16 tellurium photonic crystals are computed based on the plane wave expansion method, which happen to coincide at the normalized frequency domain from 0.3859(a/λ) to 0.4033(a/λ), corresponding to the frequency domain from 0.2152 to 0.2249 THz. The operating bandwidth of the tellurium photonic crystals waveguide covers 0.2146 to 0.2247 THz, calculated by the finite element method. The six hexagonal tellurium rods with smaller circumradii of 0.16a serve to isolate transverse electric waves and turn a blind eye to transverse magnetic waves. The polarization isolation function and external characteristic curves of the envisaged structure are numerically simulated, which achieves the highest isolation of −33.49 dB at the central frequency of 0.2104 THz and the maximum reflection efficiency of 98.95 percent at the frequency of 0.2141 THz. The designed isolator with a unique function and high performance provides a promising approach for implementing fully polarized THz devices for future 6G communication systems. Full article

Seedling is a crucial stage in the growth and development of plants, and the expansion and persistence of plant populations can be achieved through seed regeneration. Sheep grazing, fertilization, light, soil moisture, vegetation diversity and biomass, and litter all have potential impacts on species regeneration. We measured vegetation diversity, annual net primary productivity (ANPP), litter, ground photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and soil moisture of alpine meadows under sheep grazing and nitrogen addition treatments, and studied their effects on the dicotyledonous seedling abundance and diversity using linear regression models (LMs) and structural equation models (SEMs). We found that sheep grazing reduced ANPP, increased vegetation diversity and PAR, and decreased soil moisture. Fertilization increased ANPP and litter, decreased vegetation diversity and PAR, but had no effect on soil moisture. Sheep grazing and fertilization both reduced the abundance of dicotyledonous seedlings, and simultaneously fertilization can reduce the diversity of dicotyledonous seedlings, while sheep grazing had no effect on the diversity of dicotyledonous seedlings. LMs showed that vegetation diversity, ANPP, and litter, rather than light and soil moisture, affected dicotyledonous seedling abundance and diversity. SEMs revealed that sheep grazing and fertilization indirectly influenced seedling regeneration through vegetation diversity rather than ANPP and litter. Our research will increase our understanding of the dicotyledonous plant regeneration process in alpine grasslands and facilitate the development of strategies for management and protection of alpine grassland. Full article

The paper introduces a computer vision methodology for detecting pitting corrosion in gas pipelines. To achieve this, a dataset comprising 576,000 images of pipelines with and without pitting corrosion was curated. A custom-designed and optimized convolutional neural network (CNN) was employed for binary classification, distinguishing between corroded and non-corroded images. This CNN architecture, despite having relatively few parameters compared to existing CNN classifiers, achieved a notably high classification accuracy of 98.44%. The proposed CNN outperformed many contemporary classifiers in its efficacy. By leveraging deep learning, this approach effectively eliminates the need for manual inspection of pipelines for pitting corrosion, thus streamlining what was previously a time-consuming and cost-ineffective process. Full article

This study investigates the impact of high temperatures on the mechanical properties of fire-protected versus unprotected S235 cold-formed steel (CFS) specimens with variable thicknesses. Through axial tensile tests, we assessed how intumescent coatings influence the behavior of steel under fire-like conditions. The results reveal that as temperatures increase, the mechanical strength of unprotected steel diminishes significantly, especially at temperatures beyond 400 °C. However, at temperatures between 500 and 900 °C, coated specimens demonstrate considerably enhanced strength compared to their uncoated counterparts. The coating effectively reduces the steel’s temperature exposure by approximately 200 °C, crucially preserving its integrity at critical temperatures. The thickness of the steel also plays a role, with thicker specimens maintaining higher ultimate strength up to a threshold temperature. The study culminates in a predictive analytical model that estimates the ultimate strength of coated and uncoated steel based on temperature and specimen thickness. These insights contribute substantially to the design of safer, more fire-resistant steel structures. Full article

In medicine, parasitic cysts (e.g., brain cysticerci) are believed to be sterile, and are primarily treated with antiparasitic medications, not antibiotics, which could prevent abscess formation and localized inflammation. This study quantified the microbial composition of parasitic cysts in a wild rodent, using multi-kingdom metagenomics to comprehensively assess if parasitic cysts are sterile, and further understand gut microbial translocation and adaptation in wildlife confined environments, outside the gut. Analysis was conducted on DNA from two hepatic parasitic cysts from a feline tapeworm, Hydatigera (Taenia) taeniaeformis, affecting a wild vole mouse (Microtus pennsylvanicus), and from feces, liver and peritoneal fluid of this and two other concurrent individual wild voles trapped during pest control in one of our university research vegetable gardens. Bacterial metagenomics revealed the presence of gut commensal/opportunistic species, Parabacteroides distasonis, Bacteroides (Bacteroidota); Klebsiella variicola, E. coli (Enterobacteriaceae); Enterococcus faecium and Lactobacillus acidophilus (Bacillota) inhabiting the cysts, and peritoneal fluid. Remarkably, viral metagenomics revealed various murine viral species, and unexpectedly, a virus from the insect armyworm moth (Pseudaletia/Mythimna unipuncta), known as Mythimna unipuncta granulovirus A (MyunGV-A), in both cysts, and in one fecal and one peritoneal sample from the other non-cyst voles, indicating the survival and adaption potential of the insect virus in voles. Metagenomics also revealed a significantly lower probability of fungal detection in cysts compared to that in peritoneal fluid/feces (p < 0.05), with single taxon detection in each cyst (Malassezia and Pseudophaeomoniella oleicola). The peritoneal fluid had the highest probability for fungi. In conclusion, metagenomics revealed that bacteria/viruses/fungi coexist within parasitic cysts supporting the potential therapeutic benefits of antibiotics in cystic diseases, and in inflammatory microniches of chronic diseases, such as Crohn’s disease gut wall cavitating micropathologies, from which we recently isolated similar synergistic pathogenic Bacteroidota and Enterobacteriaceae, and Bacillota. Full article

In its business-as-usual scenario, the 1972 Club-of-Rome report—The Limits to Growth—describes the collapse of the world economy around the year 2030, either because of the scarcity of natural resources or because of pollution. Mainstream economists, the high priests of secular societies, condemned it fiercely. Their gospel of perpetual economic growth, during which technological progress would solve all problems, promises a bright future for all mankind. On the other hand, engineers, natural scientists, and mathematicians realized that the breakdown scenario is due to the inclusion of the First and the Second Law of Thermodynamics in the Club-of-Rome’s world model. According to these laws, nothing happens in the world without energy conversion and entropy production. In 1865, Rudolph Clausius, the discoverer of entropy, published the laws as the constitution of the universe. Entropy is the physical measure of disorder. Without a proper understanding of energy and entropy in the economy, all efforts to achieve sustainability will fail. Full article

Background: Quality-of-life metrics are increasingly important for oncological patients alongside traditional endpoints like mortality and disease progression. Statistical tools such as Win Ratio, Win Odds, and Net Benefit prioritize clinically significant outcomes using composite endpoints. In randomized trials, Win Statistics provide fair comparisons between treatment and control groups. However, their use in observational studies is complicated by confounding variables. Propensity score (PS) matching mitigates confounding variables but may reduce the sample size, affecting the power of win statistics analyses. Alternatively, PS matching can stratify samples, preserving the sample size. This study aims to assess the long-term impact of these methods on decision making, particularly in colorectal cancer patients. Methods: A motivating example involves a cohort of patients from the ReSARCh observational study (2016–2021) with locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the rectum, situated up to 12 cm from the anal verge. These patients underwent either a watch-and-wait approach (WW) or trans-anal local excision (LE). Win statistics compared the effects of WW and LE on a composite outcome (overall survival, recurrence, presence of ostomy, and rectum excision). For matched win statistics, we used robust inference techniques proposed by Matsouaka et al. (2022), and for stratified win statistics, we applied the method proposed by Dong et al. (2018). A simulation study assessed the coverage probability of matched and stratified win statistics in balanced and unbalanced groups, calculating how often the confidence intervals included the true values of WR, NB, and WO across 1000 simulations. Results: The results suggest a better efficacy of the LE approach when considering efficacy outcomes alone (WR: 0.47 (0.01 to 1.14); NB: −0.16 (−0.34 to 0.02); and WO: 0.73 (0.5 to 1.05)). However, when QoL outcomes are included in the analyses, the estimates are closer to 1 (WR: 0.87 (0.06 to 2.06); WO: 0.93 (0.61 to 1.4)) and to 0 (NB: −0.04 (−0.25 to 0.17)), indicating a negative impact of the treatment effect of LE regarding the presence of ostomy and the excision of the rectum. Moreover, based on the simulation study, our findings underscore the superior performance of matched compared to stratified win statistics in terms of coverage probability (matched WR: 97% vs. stratified WR: 33.3% in a high-imbalance setting; matched WR: 98% vs. stratified WR: 34.4% in a medium-imbalance setting; and matched WR: 99.2% vs. stratified WR: 37.4% in a low-imbalance setting). Conclusions: In conclusion, our study sheds light on the interpretation of the results of win statistics in terms of statistical significance, providing insights into the application of pairwise comparison in observational settings, promoting its use to improve outcomes for cancer patients. Full article

Integrated disaster risk reduction in schools represents a key component of safety strategies within the educational sector of every country. The aim of this study is to comprehensively explore the impact of various demographic and socio-economic factors on the perceptions of students and teachers regarding disaster risk reduction and safety in schools. This study is distinguished by its extensive empirical approach, employing a multistage random sampling method to conduct 850 face-to-face interviews (650 with students and 200 with teachers) throughout 2023 in 10 out of the total 18 municipalities in the Western Morava Basin of the Republic of Serbia. Two structured survey instruments were developed, incorporating a mix of qualitative (closed-ended) multiple-choice questions and five-point Likert scales. The research proposes two central hypotheses regarding school-based disaster risk reduction. Firstly, it suggests that gender, age, parent’s employment, academic achievement, living situation, parental education levels, and engagement with social media collectively influence students’ perspectives on this matter (H1–H8). Secondly, it posits that gender, age, marital status, parenthood, and educational background significantly impact teachers’ viewpoints on school-based disaster risk reduction (H1–H5). Multivariate linear regression was used to explore predictors of students’ and teachers’ insights on school-based disaster risk reduction. Various statistical tests, including Chi-square, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlation, were employed to investigate the influence of demographic and socioeconomic factors on these insights. The results of multivariate regression analyses indicate that age, gender, and marital status emerge as the primary predictors across various facets of students’ and teachers’ insights on school-based disaster risk reduction, including awareness of disasters, disaster education activities, attitudes toward disaster risk reduction education, and enhancement of disaster information accessibility. The findings of this study provide comprehensive insights into the key factors influencing students’ and teachers’ perceptions of disaster risk reduction in schools. This research not only contributes to the academic discourse on disaster education but also serves as a foundational basis for improving educational programs, developing policies and strategies, refining normative educational frameworks, guiding teacher training, and informing further research in disaster education. Full article

Background: The electronics industry has characteristics, such as the continuous occurrence of new hazards and risk factors due to rapid technological changes, the occurrence of safety and health blind spots due to the outsourcing of work, trade secrets, and a lack of information, so research is needed from a safety and health perspective. This study sought to determine the relationship between work-related health problems and the working conditions of electronics industry workers. Methods: The study subjects were 3354 workers in the electronics industry from the raw data of the 4th to 6th Korean Working Condition Survey (KWCS). The variables were divided into general, occupational, and working environment characteristics, and a logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between work-related health problems and working conditions. Results: Among the general and occupational characteristics, gender, education, night work, and working time appropriateness were analyzed as effect factors. In terms of working environment characteristics, physical work risk, musculoskeletal work risk, possibility of risk to work, subjective health impact, and working environment satisfaction were found to have effects on work-related health problems. Conclusions: The results of this study are meaningful in that they identified the effect factors of work-related health problems in the working conditions of workers in the electronics industry, where prior studies are lacking. Therefore, improvements, such as the management of night workers, appropriate working time, reduction in exposure to work risk factors, and improvement in working environment satisfaction, appear to be necessary. Full article

The widespread availability of tools to collect and share spatial data enables us to produce a large amount of geographic information on a daily basis. This enormous production of spatial data requires scalable data management systems. Geospatial architectures have changed from clusters to cloud architectures and more parallel and distributed processing platforms to be able to tackle these challenges. Peer-to-peer (P2P) systems as a backbone of distributed systems have been established in several application areas such as web3, blockchains, and crypto-currencies. Unlike centralized systems, data storage in P2P networks is distributed across network nodes, providing scalability and no single point of failure. However, managing and processing queries on these networks has always been challenging. In this work, we propose a spatio-temporal indexing data structure, DSTree. DSTree does not require additional Distributed Hash Trees (DHTs) to perform multi-dimensional range queries. Inserting a piece of new geographic information updates only a portion of the tree structure and does not impact the entire graph of the data. For example, for time-series data, such as storing sensor data, the DSTree performs around 40% faster in spatio-temporal queries for small and medium datasets. Despite the advantages of our proposed framework, challenges such as 20% slower insertion speed or semantic query capabilities remain. We conclude that more significant research effort from GIScience and related fields in developing decentralized applications is needed. The need for the standardization of different geographic information when sharing data on the IPFS network is one of the requirements. Full article

The aim of this research is to explore the potential effects of two microalgae-based additives included in finishing feeds on the quality and shelf-life of seabream fillets. In a 41-day feeding trial, seabream specimens were fed with experimental aquafeeds containing 10% of the bioactive supplements. These additives consisted of a blend of Nannochloropsis gaditana and Arthrospira platensis biomass, which was utilized as either raw (LB-CB) or enzymatically hydrolyzed (LB-CBplus). A control group received a microalgae-free diet. The results showed that the functional aquafeeds improved the nutritional profile of seabream fillets, increasing protein and PUFA-n3 contents while reducing the atherogenic index, especially for the LB-CBplus treatment. LB-CBplus also enhanced the texture parameters (hardness and chewiness) of fillets during the initial 5 days under cold storage. Regarding skin pigmentation, fillets showed increased greenish and yellowish coloration compared to control fish, mostly attributed to the inclusion of crude algal biomass (LB-CB). Moreover, diets enriched with microalgae additives effectively delayed muscle lipid oxidation processes under refrigeration for up to 12 days, with LB-CBplus exhibiting higher antioxidant effects. These findings highlight the potential of microalgae-based additives to enhance both the nutritional and organoleptic quality of seabream fillets. Full article