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Development of a self-administered questionnaire to identify levers and barriers to adherence to medication regimens for chronic disease: The QUILAM project

Objective We aimed to develop a generic questionnaire for use in routine clinical practice to identify barriers and levers to medication adherence, particularly for patients with chronic disease, in order to implement targeted interventions. Materials and methods To generate items we conducted a narrative literature review and qualitatively analyzed semi-structured interviews of patients with chronic diseases (type 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure). Items were classified according to the five dimensions that influence medication adherence proposed by the WHO. Qualitative reduction of the number of items was conducted by a panel of experts. This long questionnaire was tested on ambulatory patients and analysis of responses enabled quantitative item reduction. Validation of the short questionnaire and stability over time was tested on an independent cohort of patients, and again 15 days later. Results The 194 items extracted from the literature review (validated in several pathologies) and/or from analysis of 45 interviews, spanned all five dimensions of medication adherence according to the WHO. The expert panel reduced the number of items to 62. The analysis of responses from 112 patients using factorial component analysis reduced the final questionnaire to 14 questions each scored on a 7-point Likert-type scale. A validated visual analogue scale (0–100) was added to evaluate medication adherence in general. The final version was well accepted by patients and took 5–10 minutes to complete, with little missing data. In an independent community pharmacy population (n = 55) concordance of the results between day 0 and day 15 was acceptable. Conclusion This generic questionnaire (initially developed in French) for the identification of barriers and levers to medication adherence in patients with chronic disease could help care teams to structure and propose help-with-adherence visits to their patients and personalize interventions to improve patient outcomes.

Wastewater treatment produces surprising amounts of greenhouse gases

Civet Robusta and natural Robusta coffee are different on key fatty acid methyl esters and total fat

Green accounting and ESG-driven eco-efficiency in European financial institutions: A two-stage DEA–CRITIC-TOPSIS evaluation

Background Evaluation of the eco-efficiency of financial institutions and their underlying green accounting practices is imperative as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles become ingrained in financial regulation and investment strategy. Nevertheless, the current ESG assessments frequently suffer from a lack of a dual focus on governance quality and performance, which raises concerns about misaligned reporting and Greenwashing. Objective This investigation suggests a two-stage methodological framework for evaluating the eco-efficiency of European financial institutions that is driven by ESG and evaluating the impact of internal green accounting practices on sustainability performance. Methods Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is implemented in the initial phase to calculate eco-efficiency scores that are determined by financial outputs and environmental inputs (GHG emissions, energy consumption, assets). The second stage employs the CRITIC-TOPSIS method to rank 365 institutions according to seven governance-related green accounting criteria. These criteria are derived from the Refinitiv ESG Screener CO₂ dataset. The performance frontiers are identified by DEA, while the contribution of internal sustainability mechanisms is assessed by CRITIC-TOPSIS. Results According to the DEA results, only 38% of institutions are entirely efficient, with a substantial degree of variation across the sample. The results of the CRITIC-TOPSIS analysis indicate that the most reliable predictors of green accounting quality are governance indicators, including the presence of an ESG committee and board supervision of climate risks. According to a moderate positive correlation between DEA scores and TOPSIS rankings, eco-efficiency and green accounting maturity are related, but they are not entirely aligned. Conclusions The results underscore the importance of integrating institutional governance evaluations with operational performance metrics to accurately evaluate sustainability. Theoretical and methodological contributions to the disciplines of environmental accounting and sustainable finance are made by this integrated framework, which provides regulators, rating agencies, and institutional decision-makers with valuable insights.

Plasticity properties and undrained strength of bio-enzyme treated black-cotton soils

Abstract For Black cotton (B.C.) soils many alternate stabilization techniques are being suggested by researchers from time to time, which partially address the problem of volumetric instability with moisture changes. Of late, with the success of the enzymatic stabilization of kaolinitic soils, researchers have tried to extend the application of enzymatic stabilization to B.C. soils. The reported information in the literature on index properties of enzyme treated B.C. soils is very intriguing. In this study, two different formulations of a commercially available TerraZyme (TZ 5X and TZ 11X) with four selected dosages were used to understand the changes in index as well as undrained strength properties with ageing of two B.C. soils selected from different geological locations. Contrasting changes in plasticity properties on enzymatic treatment using TZ 5X with ageing are observed for the two B.C. soils used in the present study. However, TZ 11X has shown to have a slight reduction in liquid limit and an increase in shrinkage limit. As index properties are inferential properties of soils, changes in plasticity properties by using enzymes may not be the only indication of the effectiveness of enzymatic stabilization. Enzyme treated soils yielded a marked improvement in undrained strength indicating a better parameter to assess the effectiveness of enzymatic stabilization of B.C Soils.

Retraction: The impacts of economic policy uncertainty on firm cash holding in China

Surface electromyographic assessment of lower eyelid muscle function in ptosis: investigating the role of the orbicularis oculi in scleral show

Unpacking the link between flexible work arrangements and job stress: The mediating role of Job satisfaction among highly educated employees

The main objective of this research was to investigate the mediating role of Job satisfaction in the relationship between flexible working arrangements (FWAs) and Job stress. The main research question is: what is the nature of the effect of flexible working arrangements on Job stress and Job satisfaction, the effect of Job satisfaction on Job stress and the role of Job satisfaction as mediation in the relationship between FWAs and Job stress? The methodology consists of theoretical and empirical parts. The empirical research was performed on a sample of 448 highly educated employees who operate in Serbia. Sample collection lasted from April to July 2024 via G-Forms electronic questionnaire. The proposed relationships were tested by applying PLS-SEM method via SmartPLS software. The main findings of the research are that there are positive effects of Flexible work arrangements and Job satisfaction on Job stress, and Job satisfaction has an indirect effect on the relationship between Flexible work arrangements and Job stress. The results indicated a partial mediation; a noticeable reduction of job stress was observed among employees who are sati.sfied with their jobs because of the implementation of flexible work arrangements.

Capsaicin evoked cardiopulmonary reflexes and heart rate variability responses are attenuated in a rat model of dementia induced by streptozotocin

Historic analysis of habitat suitability for the commercially promising berry crop Kadsura longipedunculata in China under climate change

Climate change is threatening global plant diversity, necessitating the identification of resilient species for sustainable utilization. This study presents the first comprehensive prediction integrating paleo, current, and future climate scenarios with soil and terrain variables to assess Kadsura longipedunculata , a cold-tolerant evergreen liana with economic and medicinal values. Using 158 validated species occurrence records and 15 key environmental variables (climate, soil, and terrain), we employed the MaxEnt model integrated with ArcGIS to predict distribution shifts across the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ~ 22 kyr BP), Mid-Holocene (MH; ~ 6 kyr BP), current (1970–2000), and future periods (2041–2060, 2081–2100) under SSP126 and SSP585 scenarios. Our results revealed that precipitation during the driest month (bio14) was the most critical factor influencing habitat suitability, contributing 75.9% to the model. Under current conditions, highly suitable habitats were concentrated in southeastern China (25°N–30°N), particularly in Jiangxi, Fujian, and Hunan provinces. Future projections indicated significant restructuring: firstly total suitable area showed limited change under most scenarios (<±10%), but low-suitability habitats were showed contracting substantially (>20%) under SSP126-2050s and SSP585-2090s, while medium-suitability areas were showed expanding (up to +17.0%). High-suitability habitats were showed remaining stable, and a northward migration trend of distribution centroids, and highlights both the species’ resilience in core montane habitats and its vulnerability to precipitation changes. The findings offer a scientific basis for conserving and domesticating this species, with Jiangxi Province identified as a key region for future cultivation efforts.

Spent casing, Sphagnum moss, grass fibers, and green compost as peat alternatives in casing soils for Agaricus bisporus cultivation

Lychee13-3634: A new lychee image dataset and classification methodological evaluation

The rapid and accurate classification of lychee varieties is crucial for improving production efficiency and optimizing market supply. Especially for the main production areas of lychee, efficient lychee classification is more urgent. However, there is currently no publicly available comprehensive and diverse lychee benchmark dataset for precise training of classification models. To fill this gap, this work constructs a comprehensive lychee image dataset (Lychee13-3634), which covers 13 varieties and 3634 images. Different from the general fruit datasets, which show significant differences in features between their fruit images, Lychee13-3634 highlights minor inter-class differences among various lychee varieties. Based on this dataset, we applied 20 advanced deep learning-based classification models to validate its availability and effectiveness. Meanwhile, we comprehensively evaluated and provided meaningful insights about all models. Experimental results show that EfficientNetv2 has the best classification performance with an accuracy of up to 99.90%. Besides, we further comprehensively analyzed the balance of Lychee13-3634, and the corresponding experiments demonstrate that a more balanced dataset usually leads to better classification performance of the model. In summary, Lychee13-3634 provides benchmark training data for the lychee image classification task and demonstrates the effective application of existing deep learning classification models, providing reference and inspiration for other agricultural product image recognition research. Our Lychee13-3634 and all evaluation models are available at https://github.com/jyanhuang/Lychee13-3634 .

Greenhouse gas emissions from ditches in oil palm plantations on tropical peatlands in Malaysia

Abstract Tropical peatlands, which store 20% of global peat carbon, are increasingly threatened by conversion to alternative land-uses such as oil palm plantations, pulp wood plantations, crop growth or other economic activities. This transformation involves peatland drainage, which lowers water tables, exposes peat to oxygen, and alters greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: increasing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes while reducing methane (CH 4 ) emissions from soils. However, drainage ditches created in the process may become significant sources of CH 4 due to anoxic conditions. This study quantified GHG fluxes from drainage ditches in Sarawak, Malaysia, through spatial sampling conducted during the daytime in the transitional period between the drier and wetter seasons using portable trace gas analyzers. Median fluxes were 0.19 g CH 4  m −2  d −1 , 17.1 g CO 2  m −2  d −1 , and − 0.12 mg N 2 O m −2  d −1 . Physical water parameters such as pH, oxygen concentration, temperature, and oxidation–reduction potential were found to be significant drivers of GHG fluxes. The median emissions from ditches in one hectare of land were 5.84 kg CO 2  ha −1  d −1 , 2.78 kg CH 4 as CO 2  eq ha −1  d −1 , and − 0.001 kg N 2 O as CO 2  eq ha −1  d −1 . These findings underscore the role of drainage ditches as CH 4 sources in tropical peatland agriculture, highlighting the need for further research into GHG management in these modified landscapes.

A survey on the implementation of environmental health monitoring in mouse facilities in German-speaking countries

The health status of laboratory animals plays a decisive role not only for the health and welfare of the animals but also for the validity of study results. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of publications on environmental health monitoring (EHM), which uses molecular biological methods to detect nucleic acids of infectious agents in individually ventilated cage systems, e.g. in exhaust air dust. This monitoring strategy can reduce the number of mice used for health monitoring in conformity with the 3Rs. Numerous studies have shown that EHM is reliable and sensitive and is, therefore, a useful method for health monitoring of mice. An online survey was created to assess the prevalence of the use of EHM in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and to better understand the factors influencing its use in animal facilities. The survey revealed that the majority of facilities primarily equipped with individually ventilated cage systems already use EHM to varying degrees, replacing between 8 and 1200 animals per year and facility. However, the predominant strategy is still the use of (sentinel) animals for health monitoring. Beliefs on factors such as cost, reliability and the number of false-positive results differ significantly between facilities that predominantly use either animals or EHM. Additionally, the choice of monitoring strategy may be influenced by the existing cage system and the availability of a decontamination option for the equipment. The evaluation of the survey showed that there is still a gap in knowledge and a demand for specific training on the topic of health monitoring and especially on EHM.

Entropy and heat transfer in (SWCNTs)/(C2H6O2–H2O) 50:50% dissipative nanofluidic system: application of Kyamada–ota model

Retraction: Does the history of opening ports and trading influence the long-term business credit environment of cities? Evidence from the Yangtze River Delta region of China

Insights from 24-hour actigraphy using functional linear modeling in children with and without ADHD

Abstract Sleep problems and alterations in circadian rhythmicity have been widely reported in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients, but studies covering the full 24h-motor-activity patterns to explore whole-day activity cycles are scarce. Furthermore, correlates and predictors of (hyper-)activity patterns are largely unknown. A subsample of 74 children (6–12 years) with ADHD ( n  = 35) participating in the multicenter study ESCAlife and n  = 39 controls recruited in one center were assessed using 24h-actigraphy for two weeks. Functional linear modeling (FLM) was applied to the actigraphy data and further post-hoc correlational analyses were conducted. FLM revealed no significant differences in 24h-actigraphy profiles between children with and without ADHD, but differentiated between ADHD presentations (combined vs. inattentive) around sleep onset time (around 8:00p.m.) on free days. In the ADHD group, the 24h-actigraphy profiles were associated with measures of the chronotype and early regulation problems in toddler age; in the control group, with daylight exposure. Finding 24h-activity profile differences between ADHD presentations, but not between ADHD and control children as in classical analyses of sleep-onset latency suggests that comprehensive 24h-FLM analyses and focused sleep-related analyses of actigraphy data capture complementary aspects altered in ADHD and its presentations. Another limitation is that the majority of children with ADHD were medicated. However, actigraphy may still prove valuable as a supplementary diagnostic tool in clinical ADHD assessment.

Retraction: Unveiling the synergy: Green finance, technological innovation, green energy, and carbon neutrality

Prediction of waste generation forecast and emission potential on the Erode City solid waste dump yards based on machine learning approach

Eosinophilic esophagitis and its association with food allergies: A United States national analysis 2016 to 2022

Background Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) has known associations with allergic conditions. Previous studies have reported an increased frequency of EoE in patients with IgE-mediated food allergies (FA), however, statistical validation in large inpatient cohorts remains limited. Methods and Findings A retrospective analysis was performed using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2016 to 2022. International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes were used to identify patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of EoE and FA. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the relationship between EoE and FA. Multivariable regression analysis showed a strong association between EoE and milk (aOR: 7.52, p < 0.001), egg (aOR: 4.77, p < 0.001), peanut (aOR: 3.94, p < 0.001), and seafood allergy (aOR: 2.57, p < 0.001). Among patients with a FA studied, Black (aOR: 0.47, p = 0.001) and Hispanic (aOR: 0.45, p = 0.001) patients had lower odds of EoE compared to White patients. Patients aged 45–64 (aOR: 0.18, p = 0.001) and over 65 (aOR: 0.06, p = 0.001) years with FA had decreased odds of EoE compared to patients under 18. Patients in the highest household zip code income quartile (≥ $86,000) had the greatest odds of EoE (aOR: 1.79, p = 0.001) when compared to the lowest quartile. Conclusions Our study supports a strong association between EoE and milk, egg, peanut, and seafood allergies, and the findings across demographics show notable disparities.