Understanding the influence of music-social projects on students’ well-being is a growing area of research. This study examines the effects of Musiquem , a school-based music-social initiative implemented in a primary school in Spain, with the aim of (1) analysing its impact on students’ social well-being and (2) exploring the factors influencing students’ satisfaction with the programme. Seventy-five students (33 girls and 42 boys) from third to sixth grade (ages 8–12-years-old) participated in the study over the course of one academic year. The project was implemented during regular school hours through twice-weekly, 1-hr sessions. Activities included group instrumental learning (violin and cello), body percussion, singing, dancing, soundpainting, and collaborative music-making. The project was delivered jointly by schoolteachers and musicians-in-residence and included Service Learning components in which students designed and carried out socially oriented artistic actions. A mixed-methods research approach was used, with quantitative data collected through the Students’ Social Well-being at School (ESCODAD) scale and qualitative data collected through the “Student Satisfaction Dossier,” which included a one-to-ten satisfaction scale and seven open-ended questions. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (independent sample t -tests, p < .05, Hedge’s g for effect sizes), and qualitative data analysed inductively and thematically using MaxQDA. Results indicated significant improvements in various factors of social well-being, with stronger effects in solidarity and coexistence. Although not originally hypothesised, younger students showed greater gains. Students expressed high satisfaction, particularly valuing active participation and collaborative music-making. This study contributes to the growing literature on music education and well-being. The findings encourage further development and evaluation of music-social projects as tools for fostering inclusion, empathy, and meaningful community engagement through music.

This study examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental well-being and the mediating roles of impulsivity, sleep problems, spiritual health, and self-esteem in this association. Swedish adolescents (n = 5548; boys = 50.9%) responded to an online survey on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, impulsivity, sleep problems, spiritual health, self-esteem, and mental well-being between September and October 2020. The multigroup structural equation modeling (SEM) results for the whole group revealed a significant direct effect of COVID-19 pandemic on mental well-being and significant mediating effects of impulsivity, sleep problems, spiritual health, and self-esteem (p < 0.01). The mediators among girls (p values < 0.05) were similar to those among the whole group, but among boys, self-esteem (p = 0.186) was not significant. Generally, there are multiple pathways through which COVID-19 pandemic affects the well-being of adolescents. Therefore, there may be a need for psychoeducation and/or counseling on different coping strategies during infectious pandemics with a high risk of mortality to enhance mental well-being.

BackgroundAmino acids activate neutrophil phagocytosis and free radical release in vitro.AimWe examined the effects of amino acid supplementation on post-exercise accumulation of myeloperoxidase-positive (MPO⁺) cells in human skeletal muscle using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design.MethodsTen young men (22 ± 2.8 years) consumed either amino acids (15 g) or an isocaloric placebo before resistance exercise. Biopsies of the vastus lateralis muscle were collected at baseline, immediately after exercise (0 h), and 24 h post-exercise.ResultsResistance exercise increased MPO⁺ cell infiltration (+161%, p = 0.02) and 8-hydroxy−2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels (+66%, p = 0.02) at 24 h. Amino acid supplementation accelerated MPO⁺ cell infiltration to 0 h (+100%, p = 0.03), which diminished by 24 h post-exercise (+53%, p = 0.06). Immunofluorescence co-staining revealed that MPO⁺ cells exhibited markedly higher mitochondrial density (TOM20-labeled) and integrated with the injured regions of adjacent myofibers showing lower mitochondria. Other infiltrating MPO-negative cells also contributed mitochondria to exercised muscle tissue, resulting in an overall ~2-fold increase in mitochondrial content during 24-h recovery (p < 0.001), similar under both supplementation conditions. Cellular senescence marker p16Ink4a mRNA decreased by 58% at 24 h post-exercise, with an earlier reduction observed under amino acid treatment (0 h: –49%, p = 0.05).ConclusionThese findings indicate that amino acid supplementation accelerates the resolution of inflammation in exercised human skeletal muscle. Immunofluorescence evidence further suggests that infiltrating bone marrow-derived cells contribute to fast mitochondrial gains as part of the muscle damage-response following exercise.

ABSTRACT Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) habits of mind (HoM) are essential competencies and skills that students develop through STEM education, boosting learning outcomes across STEM domains. However, researchers have not examined how teacher attributes shape young children’s STEM HoM. This study investigated the relationships between teachers’ STEM knowledge, their STEM teaching attitudes and beliefs, and young students’ STEM HoM. Using multilevel structural equation modeling, we analyzed survey responses from 93 teachers and 2,144 students across 11 kindergartens in China. Research Findings: Results revealed that male teachers and those majoring in early childhood education reported more STEM knowledge. Male teachers, those with more years of STEM teaching experience, and those reporting more STEM knowledge expressed greater STEM teaching comfort and perceived fewer STEM teaching challenges. Teacher comfort in STEM teaching and student age were positively associated with students’ STEM HoM. Teachers’ STEM knowledge had an indirect positive effect on students’ STEM HoM through increased teaching comfort. However, neither teachers’ perceptions of STEM benefits for students nor their perceived teaching challenges were significantly related to students’ STEM HoM. Practice or Policy: These results provide insights for improving teacher professional development programs to enhance STEM instruction effectiveness and student STEM learning outcomes.

Abstract Background This quasi‐experimental study tested whether prosodic sensitivity serves as a mediator through which an 8‐week repeated reading intervention improves Chinese oral reading fluency. Methods Seventy‐nine typically developing Chinese Grades 4–6 students, including 39 in the experimental group and 40 in the control group, were recruited from north Taiwan and completed pretests and posttests of prosodic sensitivity, Chinese character reading and oral reading fluency before and after the intervention. Results Our results of 2 (group) × 2 (time) two‐way ANCOVAs indicated that significant interactions of prosodic sensitivity, Chinese character reading and oral reading fluency, and the simple main effects showed that repeated reading interventions could significantly improve all three reading skills. Additionally, parallel and sequential mediation models, estimated with 5000 bootstraps, examined two possible causal chains of the experimental group: decoding‐first (time → Chinese character reading difference → prosodic sensitivity difference → oral reading fluency difference) and prosody‐first (time → prosodic sensitivity difference → Chinese character reading difference → oral reading fluency difference). Because the pretest–posttest difference of the control group is not significant for any of the three reading skills, such mediation analyses were applied to the experimental group only. Results of this section showed that the prosody‐first chain produced a coherent, positive indirect effect, whereas the decoding‐first chain was insignificant. Total variance explained in oral reading fluency gains was comparable across models, but path coherence favored the prosody‐first ordering. Conclusions These findings suggest that repeated reading may accelerate Chinese oral reading fluency partly by first strengthening prosodic sensitivity, which then facilitates more accurate and efficient character decoding.

Prolonged hypoxia is known to induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, leading to cellular damage, particularly in cardiac cells. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key regulators in cellular responses to hypoxia. This study investigated the role of miR-365-5p in hypoxia-induced injury in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts and explored the potential protective effects of bioactive compounds derived from the Jing Si herbal tea. Microarray analysis was employed to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in H9c2 cells subjected to 24-hour hypoxic conditions. Among several candidates, mir-365-5p was found to be significantly downregulated, correlating with the upregulation of neurofibromin 2 (NF2), a known regulator of apoptotic signaling pathways. Functional studies using a mir-365-5p mimic revealed that NF2 expression was suppressed, ROS accumulation was decreased, and intrinsic apoptosis was attenuated. Similarly, NF2 knockdown via siRNA recapitulated the protective effects of the mir-365-5p mimic under hypoxic conditions. In parallel, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was utilized to isolate three individual compounds from Jing Si herbal tea. Treatment with these compounds prevented the hypoxia-induced downregulation of mir-365-5p, suggesting a mechanism for their cardioprotective action. The mir-365-5p served as a crucial modulator of hypoxia-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts through the regulation of NF2. Compounds derived from Jing Si herbal tea may exert cardioprotective effects by sustaining mir-365-5p expression under hypoxic conditions. These findings highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting the mir-365-5p/NF2 axis in cardiac injury.

Musical creativity is an enigmatic and significant topic of enduring interest, but its evaluation remains a challenging and underexplored area. Grounded in the context of compulsory education in China and the requirements of the latest version of China’s National Standard for Arts Curriculum 2022, this study discusses how to evaluate musical creativity with reference to the three theories developed by Webster, Williams, and Burnard. The paper moves on to construct an Evaluation Index System of Musical Creativity (hereafter EISMC) with reference to the Delphi method, and fixes its weightings using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). After three rounds of consultation with professionals working in the field, it was determined that EISMC should have three primary indices: creative musical thinking , creative musical personality , and creative musical environment . Nine secondary indices were represented by divergent thinking , and 27 third-level indices were represented by flexibility . These indices reflect the multifaceted concerns of evaluators surrounding the daily evaluation of musical creativity. This bridges the gulf between theory and practice and provides a theoretical foundation, a replicable design paradigm, and practical suggestions for the effective evaluation of musical creativity both in China and abroad, which facilitates an enhancement of the evaluation of musical creativity.

Abstract This article introduces “domesticated decoloniality”, which refers to the process through which radical, material and explicit critiques of colonial structures, systems and logics are diluted into sanitised, apolitical, ahistorical, convenient and non-confrontational discourses and frameworks aligned with neoliberal academia, state agendas and institutional policies, not threatening group/personal interests of the supposed beneficiaries of (de)coloniality. It captures how decolonial premises, objectives and commitments are stripped of their political and material urgency, and absorbed into advertised rhetorics and practices that sustain the hierarchies they purport to dismantle, rather than being anchored in embodied struggles of marginalised communities. Three main interconnected categories constitute “domesticated decoloniality”. First, the theoretical commodification of decoloniality by marketising decolonial critique and repackaging its core ideas as academic trends dissociated from material struggle. Second, depoliticising decoloniality as a diagnostic and interventional mechanism by reducing it to a mere analytical lens whose significance resides entirely in discursive critique of power relations in the abstract. Third, the co-optation of decoloniality by the elites (including Northern and Southern institutions, groups and individuals) to legitimise exclusionary hierarchies, e.g. nationalism, racism, nativism. These categories do not function independently, as they may be intersected and concurrently employed with varying degrees of influence within decolonial junctures.