Abstract: We report the first successful synthesis of millimeter-sized single crystals of high-entropy perovskite manganites with the composition (La_0.25Pr_0.25Sm_0.25Gd_0.25)_1-xCa_xMnO₃ (x = 0.3, 0.4, 0.5). Single crystals exceeding 2 mm in size were grown via a flux method using a PbF₂/PbO/B₂O₃ system. The X-ray diffraction patterns exhibit only (0k0) series reflections, indicating strong preferred orientation and high-quality single-crystal character. Scanning electron microscopy reveals dense, grain-boundary-free surfaces. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy elemental mapping shows uniform distribution of all constituent elements without detectable segregation or secondary phases, confirming the formation of a true high-entropy solid solution in single-crystal form. To the best of our knowledge, based on the publicly searchable literature, this is the first report of bulk single-crystalline high-entropy perovskite oxide. This breakthrough provides a much-needed single crystal experimental platform for systematically investigating the intrinsic magnetotransport mechanisms of compositionally complex strongly correlated oxides, free from grain-boundary interference.

Abstract: A green and facile hydrothermal method for synthesizing of copper-doped hydroxyapatite (Cu-HA) nanowires was reported. In this research, oleic acid was completely replaced by food-grade peanut oil as both the solvent and template agent for the synthesis of hydroxyapatite nanowires (HAW). Results confirm that a uniform one-dimensional nanowire morphology Cu-doped HAW was successfully synthesized. In vitro cytotoxicity tests confirm that the material exhibits good biocompatibility and supports normal cell growth. This study presents a viable route for the green and multifunctional fabrication of HA nanowires.

Abstract: Moisture damage in buildings has conventionally been discussed mainly in relation to winter condensation in cold climates. In hot-humid buildings, however, deterioration develops under different boundary conditions, including persistently warm and humid outdoor air, frequent rainfall, air-conditioning operation, air leakage, and limited drying after wetting. Climate change is increasing atmospheric moisture loading and weakening nighttime recovery. These changes make hot-humid moisture risks more consequential not only in established hot-humid regions, but also in regions shifting toward more persistently humid climates. This review examines moisture damage in hot-humid buildings as a coupled problem linking climate change, building-envelope moisture response, risk assessment, microbial implications, and building adaptation. Representative scenarios include biological contamination on exterior surfaces, summer condensation and moisture accumulation within envelope assemblies, localized dampness at indoor surfaces and behind furniture, moisture stagnation in semi-enclosed spaces, and material deterioration or performance loss. These phenomena are interpreted not as isolated defects, but as manifestations of drying deficit. The review discusses climatic drivers, building-physics mechanisms, and major moisture and mold risk indices, including the Fungal Index (FI), the VTT Mold Index, isopleth-based approaches, Mold Resistance Design (MRD), and the Dose-Response Simple Isopleth for Mold (DR-SIM). It also highlights implications for envelope design, retrofit, ventilation, dehumidification, and operation. Overall, moisture damage in hot-humid buildings is best understood as the outcome of climate-driven drying deficit.

Abstract: Reliable and scalable landmine detection technologies are essential for humanitarian mine action (HMA), yet standardized benchmarks for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based sensing in operationally relevant environments remain limited. This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of 34 multimodal datasets acquired over a standardized seeded test site for landmine and unexploded ordnance detection. Nine sensing modalities, including RGB, thermal, multispectral, hyperspectral, LiDAR, and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), are evaluated using the Anomaly, Identifiable Anomaly, Unique Identifiable Anomaly (AIU) index to establish a unified framework for quantifying detection fidelity. Results indicate that RGB imagery achieves the highest surface detection rate (94.8%), with 45.4% of targets classified as uniquely identifiable, reducing false-positive risk. For sub-surface detection, handheld electromagnetic induction (EMI) and magnetometry exceed 95% detection for ferrous items but fall below 10% for plastic ordnance. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is the only modality capable of detecting buried plastic targets (55.6% for cart-based systems), whereas UAV-mounted GPR remains limited (18.2%) at current operational flight heights. Based on the comparative analysis, we discuss the gaps in current detection capabilities, compare false positive rates across modalities, and perform a cost-benefit analysis fitting contamination scenario with the most cost effective detection method. All datasets are publicly released (https://zenodo.org/records/19100554) along with an interactive web-map (https://staging.dmsamfvv1bhon.amplifyapp.com/) to support reproducible benchmarking and cross-modality comparison in UAV-enabled explosive hazard detection.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: This study assessed the impact of different postoperative antithrombotic strategies on graft patency and overall survival after open posterior repair of popliteal artery aneurysms (PAAs). Methods: A retrospectively maintained dataset of consecutive PAAs electively treated in 40 centers between January 2010 and December 2023 was analyzed. The study included patients undergoing elective open posterior repair. Primary outcomes were primary patency and overall survival according to postoperative antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy. Secondary outcomes included secondary patency and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). Kaplan–Meier analysis, log-rank testing, and Cox regression models were applied. Results: Overall, 638 patients were included. The cohort was predominantly male (96%), with a median age of 70 years. At 30 days, one death (0.2%) and seven MACEs (1.1%) occurred. Postoperative therapy was not associated with 30-day primary patency or MACEs. At a median follow-up of 30 months, overall survival was 90.3%. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed comparable overall survival across antithrombotic regimens, with a significant difference only between patients receiving combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy and those receiving other regimens. No differences emerged between vitamin K antagonists (VKA) and direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC), nor between single or dual antiplatelet therapy and anticoagulation. Multivariable Cox regression showed combined therapy was associated with poorer overall survival (HR 0.77). Primary and secondary patency were also similar among regimens except for combined therapy. Conclusions: Postoperative medical therapy was not associated with 30-day outcomes. During long-term follow-up, overall survival and graft patency were lower in patients receiving combined anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy.

Abstract: Critical ventilation velocity is crucial for smoke control in tunnel fires, yet its behavior in tunnels with unconventional cross-sections remains inadequately quantified. This study numerically investigates the critical velocity in a full-scale, 1000-m-long semi-circular tunnel using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). A systematic parametric analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of fire heat release rate (HRR, 4-10 MW), cross-sectional geometry (semi-circular vs. three arched sections of equal area), and longitudinal slope (-1% to +2%). The critical velocity was determined using a successive approximation method, validated against multi-criteria safety thresholds including smoke back-layering length, upstream temperature, and visibility height. Results demonstrate that HRR is the dominant factor, with critical velocity increasing from 2.2 to 2.7 m/s. More importantly, cross-sectional shape exhibits a significant, non-monotonic influence; the streamlined semi-circular arch requires a lower critical velocity (2.2 m/s) compared to arched sections (2.4-2.6 m/s) of the same area, attributed to reduced flow resistance and a more coherent ceiling jet. Within the studied range, the effect of slope is minor compared to HRR and geometry, showing only a slight decrease in critical velocity for uphill gradients. These findings provide quantitative insights into optimizing ventilation design for semi-circular tunnels, highlighting that an aerodynamically favorable shape can reduce the required longitudinal airflow, thus balancing safety and energy efficiency.

Abstract: The challenge of radioresistance in radiotherapy is currently tackled by introducing new radiotherapy facilities with high-quality of ionizing beams, high-precision of radiation delivery to tumour, and optimized treatment plans. This strategy is further enhanced by the development of new therapeutic methods for suppressing radioresistance in tumours of cancer patients by combining radiotherapy with chemo-, immuno-, and targeted therapies tailored to patients’ molecular profiles. As a result of numerous preclinical and clinical trials of the combination therapy, the primary molecular mechanisms, driving an increase in radiosensitivity, and the key cellular signalling pathways responsible for radioresistance were identified. One of the established radioresistance mechanisms involves adaptation of cancer cells to an elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by activating antioxidant systems (AOS) of cellular protection and survival. Since radiotherapy mainly relies on ROS production that damages DNA, causing cancer cell death, activation of the AOS can mitigate radiotherapy effectiveness. Therefore, suppressing the AOS and its associated adaptation mechanisms may increase tumour radiosensitivity and enhance treatment outcomes. In this review, we discuss the role of one of the key components of the cellular AOS which is under the control of the NRF2 transcription factor (nuclear erythroid factor 2) – a master regulator of cellular redox balance that protects cells from oxidative stress during radiotherapy by governing expression of a battery of antioxidant enzymes. We first outline the molecular mechanism of the redox-sensitive NRF2 AOS and its activation in response to the increased ROS levels following irradiation. We then evaluate experimental and clinical evidence regarding NRF2 activation in various cancer cells and tumours exposed to ionizing irradiation. Furthermore, we discuss results of numerous experimental and clinical investigations demonstrating that suppression of the NRF2 AOS enhances radiosensitivity of various cancers and improves radiotherapy outcomes. Collectively, these findings confirmed the potential of combining radiotherapy with targeted therapy aiming at the suppression of the NRF2 AOS. In this combination therapy NRF2 inhibitors act as radiosensitizers that promote overcoming radioresistance due to extra ROS accumulation and oxidative stress induction in cancer cells by inhibition of the NRF2-dependent antioxidant responses to radiotherapy.

Abstract: The global energy crisis drives the search for sustainable biomass resources. Microalgae, particularly Chlorella vulgaris, represent a promising third-generation feedstock for bi-ochar and biofuels. However, detailed kinetic schemes for its slow devolatilization are still scarce. This work compares the thermogravimetric behavior of commercially Chlorella vulgaris with data reported in the literature under identical experimental conditions and develops a multi-stage kinetic scheme using model-free methods and simultaneous global optimization. A complete set of kinetic parameter is provided in conjunction with a mass wights in order to close the reaction scheme. Biological composition of microalgae was experimentally determined resulting in 21.20, 59.30 and 19.50% for carbohydrates, protein and lipids. Thermogravimetric (TG/DTG) analyses were conducted with 5, 10 and 20 °C/min heating rates. Activation energy distribution was obtained through isoconversional model-free methods (Fried-man, FWO, KAS and Starink). A parallel multi-stage kinetic model was subsequently optimized globally against the experimental data to determine the complete kinetic tri-plet (E, A, n). TG/DTG profiles exhibited in general a good agreement with the literature refer-ence in the number and the temperature of features, peaks and shoulders, however different in intensity probably due to the different amount of biological components, carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. The multi-stage model achieved excellent fitting quality accounting for 5 reactions. Activation energies for the principal devolatilization stages ranged from 140 to 220 kJ/mol, while ln(A) values lay between 20 and 35 s⁻¹. The findings an results provided by this study is considered useful for the community con-tributing with discussion and a robust kinetic scheme suitable for example for slow pyrolysis process simulation.

Abstract: Autoregressive large language models (AR-LLMs) have achieved remarkable success, but their inherently sequential decoding process remains a fundamental bottleneck for efficient inference. Diffusion large language models (DLLMs), with bidirectional modeling and parallel token generation, offer a promising alternative to break this token-by-token limitation. Yet despite rapid progress, the practical inference efficiency of current DLLMs remains unclear. From a verification perspective, this survey establishes a systematic taxonomy of existing acceleration methods, benchmarks representative techniques under a unified experimental setting, and further evaluates strong strategy combinations to quantify the gap between mainstream DLLM inference methods and state-of-the-art AR baselines. Specially, the overall analysis highlights that the parallel decoding efficiency of DLLMs still remains a significant lag compared to the decoding efficiency of AR-LLMs under inference acceleration. We provide an in-depth experimental analysis about the underlying trade-offs among generation quality, latency, and system compatibility, and build up a standard evaluation bench open to the community. Remaining bottlenecks are also summarized, together with future directions for more practical and competitive DLLM inference. Code is available at \url{https://github.com/haoyun-jiang/DLLM-AccelEval}.

Abstract: Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) play a crucial role in fostering environmentally responsible citizens and supporting the achievement of sustainability goals. This study aims to investigate primary school teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions regarding EE/ESD, as well as the factors influencing their implementation in the educational process. A quantitative research design was employed using a structured questionnaire distributed to a sample of 500 teachers across Greece. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, content analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability testing, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis with the use of SPSS software. The results indicate that teachers generally demonstrate positive attitudes toward EE/ESD and recognize its importance in promoting environmental awareness, behavioral change, and students’ social development. Content analysis revealed that key environmental concerns identified by participants include pollution, climate change, and waste management, while EE/ESD is mainly associated with environmental practices and awareness. Factor analysis identified five core dimensions shaping teachers’ attitudes: (i) perceived value and impact, (ii) social and personal development outcomes, (iii) pedagogical design and evaluation understanding, (iv) institutional and structural barriers, and (v) practical implementation challenges. Significant correlations were found among these factors, particularly between perceived value and pedagogical understanding, as well as between institutional barriers and implementation challenges. Regression analysis showed that demographic and experiential variables have a modest but significant effect on perceived challenges, with age and participation in EE/ESD programs negatively associated with difficulties, while years of involvement increased awareness of implementation constraints. Overall, the findings highlight that although teachers possess a satisfactory level of awareness and positive attitudes toward EE/ESD, limited training, insufficient institutional support, and structural barriers hinder effective implementation. The study underscores the need for enhanced training opportunities, stronger policy support, and systematic integration of EE/ESD into school curricula to promote sustainable education practices.

Abstract: Multimodal reinforcement learning agents must fuse signals with vastly different noise profiles—yet existing architectures, whether monolithic (π0, DreamerV3) or modular (MSDP, VTDexManip), allow noise from unreliable modalities to contaminate reliable ones at the point of fusion. We propose filter-before-mixing: each modality’s representation is independently refined by a per-modality Flow Matching module before spectral-domain fusion via a Fourier Neural Operator (FNO), with a residual gate ensuring that refinement is never harmful. The resulting architecture, FreamerV1 (Filter-before-mixing dreamer), has 93M parameters (0.4M trainable). On MiniGrid, FreamerV1 reaches 100% success at 5000 episodes, surpassing the 94% encoder-only baseline which degrades to 78% due to catastrophic forgetting. On Crafter (no language modality), it scores 16.0%, exceeding DreamerV3 (14.5%). On PAMAP2 wearable sensors—where no pre-trained encoder exists—the foundation encoder achieves 2.4× higher reward and 16× lower variance than a vanilla MLP, confirming that the filter-before-mixing advantage grows with encoder noise.

Abstract: Osmosis has lacked a satisfactory mechanistic explanation for over a century. Pollack and colleagues showed that hydrophilic surfaces release protons into adjacent water, and that the resulting pH and potential gradients across a membrane can account for the direction of osmotic flow. That account, however, is incomplete: a pure proton flux across a membrane would acidify one side indefinitely, and would not by itself constitute the transfer of water. The missing step is redox. Osmosis is the same chemistry as in the demonstrated acid–base battery with oxygen electrodes, in which water is broken down on the alkaline side (4 OH⁻ → O₂ + 2 H₂O + 4 e⁻), electrons cross to the acidic side, and water is reconstituted there (4 H⁺ + O₂ + 4 e⁻ → 2 H₂O). Dioxygen is consumed and produced in the cycle and is therefore required. This redox interpretation has a direct anatomical consequence: any biological system sustaining osmosis at scale must continuously supply dioxygen to the acidic side. The loop of Henle in the mammalian kidney is shown to be precisely such a recirculation system, with the vasa recta returning dioxygen released in the descending limb back to where it is needed. The anatomy of the nephron is what the redox mechanism predicts.

Abstract: The extant body of evidence pertaining to the acceptance of cultured meat in Sub-Saharan Africa remains limited. The present study examined the determinants of intention to adopt cultured meat among a sample of young, urban, meat-eating adults in Chad (n = 290, from a recruited sample of 304). This was achieved using a cross-sectional online survey. Hierarchical OLS with HC3-robust inference was estimated across five hypothesis blocks, complemented by dominance analysis, binary-outcome sensitivity, and exploratory triangulation (Bayesian, elastic net, conditional random forest). Approximately half of the respondents expressed a willingness to try cultured meat (52.4%). The final model accounted for 30.6% of the intention variance (adjusted R² = 0.188). Following Holm's correction for multiple comparisons, the conventional-meat and knowledge blocks did not demonstrate a significant difference. The product beliefs (ΔR² = 0.056, p = 0.022), affective-risk barriers (ΔR² = 0.086, p = 0.004), and value-fit (ΔR² = 0.039, p = 0.048) were found to be significant, with affective-risk ranking first in dominance analysis (22.8%). Binary sensitivity analysis demonstrated acceptable discrimination (AUC = 0.744), although no block remained significant after correction. Exploratory analyses yielded convergent results, including notably robust Bayesian support for excluding the conventional-meat block (BF01 = 1.66 × 10^12). Sensitivity power analysis confirmed adequate power (≥ 0.80) for the significant blocks, but indicated that the conventional-meat non-significance may partly reflect limited power (estimated power = 0.47). Cultured-meat adoption intention was more strongly associated with affective-risk and value-fit appraisals than with conventional meat-purchase priorities. This suggests that acceptance strategies should prioritise risk reduction, trust-building, and perceived value. Findings should be interpreted as applying to a digitally connected, young, urban, meat-eating, predominantly tertiary-educated early-adopter-like segment (90.5% with university-level education; 72.7% residing in cities of more than 500,000 inhabitants), rather than to the general Chadian population.

Abstract: The social dimension of sustainability in building construction has long occupied an uncomfortable position in the research literature; acknowledged in theory, yet sidelined in practice. Environmental performance dominates assessment frameworks globally, while economic viability commands institutional attention. What is left, all too often, is a thin layer of social indicators that lack contextual grounding, statistical validation, or practical operationalizability, particularly in rapidly urbanizing settings across the developing world. This study confronts that gap directly. Drawing on an original mixed-methods investigation conducted across the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan, we develop and validate a comprehensive social sustainability assessment framework specifically tailored to building construction projects in South Asian urban environments. Employing a three-round Delphi technique with industry experts, a structured Likert-scale survey administered to 50 experienced construction professionals, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using AMOS, the study identifies and statistically validates eighteen social sustainability indicators organized under five latent constructs: (i) Social Responsibility and Human Well-being, (ii) Institutional Governance and Knowledge, (iii) Stakeholder Engagement and Community Trust, (iv) Workforce Development and Labor Equity, and (v) Inclusive Design and Service Accessibility. Reliability analysis returned a Cronbach's alpha of 0.984, while the Relative Importance Index (RII) ranked project experience (SCL8, RII = 0.856), health, safety and environment at the site (SCL7, RII = 0.848), and project manager awareness (SCL12, RII = 0.828) as the most influential indicators. Kruskal-Wallis tests confirmed cross-group consensus. Crucially, the study finds that social sustainability is not merely a welfare afterthought, it is deeply interwoven with economic performance and environmental stewardship through measurable cross-pillar correlations. The resulting framework, the first of its kind validated through expert consensus and inferential statistics within the Pakistan context, offers a practical decision-support tool for project managers, urban planners, and regulatory bodies including the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) and the Capital Development Authority (CDA). Broader implications for South Asian and developing-country construction governance are discussed.

Abstract: Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) have demonstrated safety potential and are becoming increasingly available in the vehicle markets across the world. However, drivers’ perceptions, trust, and engagement with these systems in Thailand remain unexplored. This study therefore aimed to explore Thai drivers’ perceptions towards ADAS and investigated factors associated with trust and intention to use. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 849 licensed drivers in Thailand. The online survey measured perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust, barriers and concerns, expectations and preferences, and intention to use ADAS. Data were analyzed using Mann–Whitney U tests and Spearman’s rank correlations. Results showed that Thai drivers reported positive perceptions of usefulness and intention to use ADAS, while trust was moderate, and barriers and concerns showed variability. Trust demonstrated strong positive associations with perceived usefulness (ρ = .69), perceived ease of use (ρ = .56), and intention to use (ρ = .49). The findings highlight the important role of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and trust in shaping drivers’ intent to use the system and supports the development of learning strategies to enhance ADAS usage whilst promoting utilization of these systems.

Abstract: Portable biosensor hardware can now sustain continuous multimodal physiological acquisition at the edge, yet the analytical layer that converts raw signals into deployment-consistent inference remains the main bottleneck for practical embedded systems. This study addresses that bottleneck by presenting the machine-learning layer of the Real-time Cognitive Grid, the analytical companion to the previously reported hardware architecture, which equips a fixed-wiring biosensor assembly with real-time physiological-state classification through an asymmetric edge-cloud workflow. The proposed framework assigns analytical responsibility across tiers: a locked 17-feature schema comprising 5 EMG features, 6 EEG spectral features, 2 cross-modal features, 2 HRV features, 1 EOG feature, and 1 EEG quality indicator governs window-bounded inference on the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect with an LDA edge artefact requiring approximately 716 B RAM, whereas the cloud tier supports public-dataset pretraining, hardware-aligned refinement, multimodal fusion, deployment comparison, and feature-importance analysis under the same schema contract. To evaluate analytical consistency across physiological diversity, five public repositories covering stress physiology (WESAD), affective EEG (DEAP), inertial activity recognition (PAMAP2), sEMG gesture decoding (EMG Gestures), and motor-imagery EEG (EEGMMIDB) were evaluated under subject-disjoint GroupKFold (k=5) protocols. To test whether the same contract survives translation to the physical rig, the hardware branch was evaluated under session-disjoint GroupKFold across five bench-acquired sessions. Unimodal performance was strongest in sEMG- and IMU-dominant tasks, whereas multimodal fusion improved macro-F1 by up to 0.141 over the strongest unimodal baseline in WESAD and by 0.109 in PAMAP2. In the hardware branch, the deployed edge LDA artefact reached 0.9435 macro-F1 with 0.9470 accuracy, while the retained cloud Random Forest reached 0.8792 macro-F1 with 0.8799 accuracy; feature-importance analysis further showed that the final 17-feature branch was dominated by EMG descriptors, with EEG spectral terms contributing secondary support and hardware-exclusive variables remaining weak under the present bench regime. These results show that a compact multimodal sensing assembly can be elevated beyond passive signal capture into an intelligent portable biosensor that performs context-aware interpretation with minimal user intervention, supported by a reproducible analytical workflow that remains coherent across heterogeneous benchmark repositories, hardware-specific refinement, and microcontroller-class deployment, thereby establishing cross-session bench feasibility as a structured basis for future multi-subject wearable validation.

Abstract: Microplastics (MPs) are widespread pollutants in aquatic environments, but their impacts throughout the life cycle remains of organisms are still not well understood. This systematic review integrates recent experimental results on the developmental, physiological, and neurobehavioral effects of MPs exposure on zebrafish (Danio rerio), a popular model organism for ecotoxicology research. A PRISMA-guided search using Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus as databases generated 371 articles, which was screened to 60 eligible articles. The collated results showed that MP toxicity strongly related to concentration, size, and extent of weathering or aging at various life stages of zebrafish. For developmental toxicity, a concentration-dependent yielded peer-reviewed publications assessing specific MPs properties, such as polymer identity, size, concentration, shape, and aging status. At various life stages, the toxicity of MPs was most affected by concentration, size, and aging. The developmental toxicity showed a concentration-dependent decrease in the rate of hatching, growth inhibition, and cardiac dysfunction, while, an increase in malformations, especially at concentrations of ≥100 µg/L or ≥10 mg/L has been reported. Non-monotonic and threshold effects have also been observed, the complexity of particle-based versus mass-based concentrations. Weathered and photo-aged MPs were found to exhibit higher embryotoxicity and neurodevelopmental toxicity, including changes in gene expression of neurons, decreased integrity of motor neurons, and impaired retinal development, compared with virgin MPs. Furthermore, physiological endpoints showed that oxidative imbalance was a key mechanistic process, which included changes in the activity of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, GPx), lipid peroxidation, inflammation, and disruption of tight junctions. Chronic MP exposures caused changes in the gut microbiota, hepatic metabolism, endocrine disruption, reproductive damage, thyroid function disruption, and genotoxicity in zebrafish. Neurobehavioral alterations, such as changes in locomotor activity, anxiety response, neurotransmitter homeostasis, and acetylcholinesterase function, occurred in both larvae and adults, with a potentiation effect in aged MP exposure. Previous, experimental data have also shown that zebrafish are very sensitive to MPs exposure in various biological systems, with toxicity being a function of physicochemical properties and exposure conditions. Finally, this review found major limitations for inter-study comparisons because of inconsistencies and differences in methodology related to MP concentration, simulation of MP aging, and MP dose measurements.

Abstract: We discover a synchronization admissibility boundary defined solely by the states of oscillators. The boundary is independent of structure and determines whether any two oscillators share a cluster in real time, unifying global synchronization, cluster partition, and the real-time onset of synchronization loss. This uniformity has been validated through dozens of adversarial tests. Mathematical proofs show that this boundary is mathematically equivalent to the constraint that the synchronous frequency must be a real number. This constraint is a direct corollary of a cornerstone of physics long taken for granted: all measurable physical quantities are real numbers. This equivalence reveals that the synchronous admissibility boundary (a key function) emerges directly from the principle that is logically prior to any specific structure.

Abstract: Objective fitting measures offer a means to circumvent the subjectivity of cochlea implant programming, with the stapedius reflex representing one robust predictor of the maxi-mum comfortable loudness level. With the present study, it was investigated whether long-term electromyographic measurements of the stapedius muscle using implanted electrodes are feasible. In nine sheep, myoelectrical activities were recorded intraopera-tively and synchronized with middle-ear admittance as a reference signal. For acoustic stimulation pure tones with different frequencies were used. The electrodes were placed at the stapedius muscle surface after exposing it via the retrofacial approach. Measurements were performed over a period of six months. The treated muscles were subsequently ex-cised, cut and examined histologically. Long-term electromyographic measurements were possible. No signs of atrophy were found in the muscles examined. However, the histo-logical section series showed a clear division of the muscle from proximal to distal. The ratio between tendon and muscle fibers being most pronounced in favor of the muscle fi-bers in the proximal section. The integration of an electromyography-based measurement method for the objective determination of the stapedius reflex threshold and thus, for the long-term adjustment of cochlear implants, appears fundamentally possible and could potentially enable largely autonomous fitting of the implants.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: Two sociodemographic characteristics of the nursing workforce — formal level of education and length of professional experience — are widely assumed to shape both how often nurses report adverse events and how safe they perceive their workplace to be for patients. Empirical evidence on these associations remains uneven, however, and large multicentre data from Central and Eastern European secondary-care systems are scarce. The present study examined whether educational level and length of work experience are independently related to (a) the self-reported frequency of adverse-event reporting and (b) the perceived level of patient safety, in a national sample of nurses working in Croatian general and county hospitals. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, multicentre survey in 2023 covering all 22 general and county hospitals in the Republic of Croatia. A 99-item paper questionnaire — including 81 items distributed across six previously validated scales (Cronbach’s α 0.730–0.951) — was distributed proportionally to the eligible nursing workforce (N = 6,661). Of the 1,657 questionnaires distributed, 1,518 were returned fully completed (response rate 91.6%). Two outcomes were examined in parallel: self-reported frequency of adverse-event reporting in the past 12 months, and global perceived level of patient safety on the respondent’s ward. Group differences were tested with Pearson’s chi-square and Kruskal–Wallis H tests; effect sizes were assessed using the φ coefficient and Cramér’s V. The study followed the STROBE reporting guideline. Results: Educational level was associated with the frequency of adverse-event reporting (χ² = 29.873, df = 8, p < 0.001; φ = 0.14) and with safety perception (χ² = 16.084, df = 8, p = 0.041; φ = 0.10). The same monotonic gradient was confirmed by Kruskal–Wallis tests, with mean ranks rising from secondary (SSS) through bachelor (VŠS) to master’s or doctoral (VSS+DR) levels for both reporting (719.40; 772.93; 836.56; H = 15.901, p < 0.001) and safety perception (735.29; 775.89; 844.86; H = 10.539, p = 0.005). Length of total work experience was associated with reporting (χ² = 22.708, df = 12, p = 0.030; φ = 0.12; H = 9.249, p = 0.026): mean ranks were lowest for nurses with ≤ 10 years and ≥ 31 years, and highest for mid-career nurses (11–20 and 21–30 years). For safety perception, the experience gradient ran in the opposite direction — highest in nurses with ≤ 10 years (mean rank 795.08) and lowest in those with ≥ 31 years (718.17; χ² = 35.036, df = 12, p < 0.001; φ = 0.15; H = 8.517, p = 0.036). Conclusions: Educational level and length of work experience are independently related to both the reporting of adverse events and the perception of patient safety among Croatian hospital nurses, but the two characteristics operate in different ways. Higher education is associated with more reporting and more favorable safety perception, whereas longer experience is associated with more reporting at mid-career but with a less favorable view of workplace safety in late-career nurses. Investing in continuing nursing education and in mid-career retention, while remaining attentive to the deteriorating safety perception of the most experienced staff, may be more effective than redesigning reporting forms alone. The findings inform nursing leadership, continuing-education planning, and national patient-safety policy in Central and Eastern European secondary-care systems.