Scientific Research Research Articles

The use of molecular and cell biology scientific news to facilitate learning and scientific thinking.

Molecular Cell Biology (MCB) should be taught according to the scientific practices, avoiding cumulative and memory knowledge construction, but favoring scientific thinking. A way to achieve this goal is to apply activities involving scientific news, which construct knowledge through significant learning and the development of critical thinking. The study aimed to evaluate the implementation of learning activities involving scientific news in the MCB course at the undergraduate level. The perspective of design-based research was applied, whereas the cognitive and interpersonal aspects were evaluated by means of the professors' narration, class registration, questionnaires answered by the students, and the evaluation of the activities carried out by the students. Results showed that the activity involving scientific news reinforces the construction and integration of new knowledge with that previously acquired and consolidates the acquisition of scientific thinking. Even though the completion of the activity involved a complex process, according to the professor and students' opinion, the students observed positive aspects such as the application of biological and scientific language and the motivation to search for related information. Regarding the cooperative learning strategy, students perceived that it is a methodology that facilitates their learning. In summary, incorporating scientific news into MCB courses will enhance professors' effectiveness in achieving didactic goals while also fostering scientific thinking in students, equipping them for future roles as biologists and professors in biological sciences.

A Systematic Review of Nursing Competencies: Addressing the Challenges of Evolving Healthcare Systems and Demographic Changes

Background/Objectives: The nursing profession is expected to undergo substantial transformations in the coming years due to rapidly evolving sociocultural, environmental, and technological changes. Defining and assessing nursing competencies are essential to ensuring high-quality care and fostering professional development. This systematic review aims to explore the future nursing competencies required and the sociocultural factors influencing their evolution. Methods: A comprehensive systematic search was conducted in several indexed databases PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science databases using keywords such as “nursing competencies”, “future”, “healthcare systems”, and “demographic change”. Studies published within the last five years were included, and a rigorous quality assessment was performed. Results: The findings suggest that key sociocultural and technological factors—including environmental sustainability, technological advancements, innovation, globalization, urbanization, policy uncertainty, and demographic shifts—will significantly shape the development of nursing competencies. It is projected that nearly 70% of the nursing workforce will operate in highly unpredictable environments. The review highlights the need to develop interpersonal, higher-order cognitive, and system-level competencies, alongside complementary skills in personal and customer services, decision making, technology utilization, creativity, and scientific methodologies. Conclusions: Addressing the future challenges in nursing requires a holistic and strategic approach, including a cultural shift within the profession supported by targeted policies and sustained investment in education and continuous professional development. Training systems should prioritize the development of core competencies and promote lifelong learning to ensure adaptability in an evolving healthcare landscape.

The Use of Indigenous Plants in Diarrhea Prevention in Rural Communities

Diarrheal diseases remain a significant health challenge in rural communities, where access to conventional healthcare is limited. Traditional knowledge about indigenous plants offers valuable insights into preventive and curative measures for diarrhea. This paper examines the ethnobotanical and pharmacological potential of indigenous plants used to address diarrhea, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and similar rural contexts. It highlights the symbiotic relationship between cultural practices, indigenous knowledge, and medicinal plant use, emphasizing the need for integrating traditional and scientific approaches. Case studies from the Eastern Cape, South Africa, provide practical examples of community-driven initiatives leveraging indigenous plants for primary healthcare. While indigenous plants offer cost-effective and accessible solutions, challenges such as biodiversity loss, knowledge erosion, and cultural barriers hinder their broader adoption. The paper concludes by advocating for policies and partnerships to document, preserve, and integrate indigenous plant knowledge into health systems, fostering sustainable healthcare solutions in rural communities. Keywords: Indigenous plants, Diarrhea prevention, Traditional knowledge, Ethnobotany, Rural healthcare, Medicinal plants, Biodiversity.

The Art of Medical Diagnosis: Lessons on Interpretation of Signs from Italian High Renaissance Paintings

Medicine is struggling with the constantly rising incidence of breast cancer. The key to this fight is to be able to speed up diagnosis, as rapid diagnosis reduces the number of aggressive or advanced cases. For this process to be effective, it is necessary to have the right attitude toward diagnosis as a research practice. Our critical analysis of diagnosis, as a methodology of medical science, reflects on it as a research practice that is regulated in a socio-subjective way by a methodological culture. This position allows us to contrast critical methodological culture with the habitual–practical, or methodical, culture of practicing diagnosis. We point to the interpretative status of medical analyses performed by medical historians by referring to Italian Renaissance paintings and historical–artistic interpretations. In this field, analyzing disputes between researchers as a clash of methodologies in the ways interpretation transforms signs into meaning is a critical methodological reflection. Medicine is a diverse scientific discourse with a paradigmatic structure in which new ways of conducting diagnostic tests may appear. It is only possible to see this from the methodological level. In addition, passive respect for existing patterns of conduct hinders an exchange of views between researchers, which limits the possibility of correcting research procedures. The ultimate consequence of such passivity is an inability to improve diagnosis, which, in turn, harms the interests of patients. In this regard, it is worth remembering that the paramount objective of diagnosis is not the disease, but the patient.

Open source software field research: Spanning social and practice networks for re-entering the field

Sociotechnical research increasingly includes the social sub-networks that emerge from large-scale sociotechnical infrastructure, including the infrastructure for building open source software. This paper addresses these numerous sub-networks as advantageous for researchers. It provides a methodological synthesis focusing on how researchers can best span adjacent social sub-networks during engaged field research. Specifically, we describe practices and artifacts that aid movement from one social subsystem within a more extensive technical infrastructure to another. To surface the importance of spanning sub-networks, we incorporate a discussion of social capital and the role of technical infrastructure in its development for sociotechnical researchers. We then characterize a five-step process for spanning social sub-networks during engaged field research: commitment, context mapping, jargon competence, returning value, and bridging. We then present our experience studying corporate open source software projects and the role of that experience in accelerating our work in open source scientific software research as described through the lens of bridging social capital. Based on our analysis, we offer recommendations for engaging in fieldwork in adjacent social sub-networks that share a technical context and discussion of how the relationship between social and technically acquired social capital is a missing but critical methodological dimension for research on large-scale sociotechnical research.

Herbal remedies for oral and dental health: a comprehensive review of their multifaceted mechanisms including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant pathways.

Across diverse cultures, herbal remedies have been used to alleviate oral discomfort and maintain dental hygiene. This review presents studies on herbal remedies with remarkable antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, anticaries, analgesic, and healing properties. The manuscripts demonstrate the depth of scientific inquiry into herbal remedies used for the management of various oral and dental health conditions. These include gingivitis, oral ulcers, mucositis, periodontitis, oral pathogens, carcinoma, xerostomia, and dental caries. Researchers have investigated the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of plant-derived compounds and theirextractsevaluated their interactions with oral pathogens and inflammatory processes. The convergence of traditional knowledge and rigorous scientific investigation offers a compelling narrative, fostering a deeper understanding of herbal remedies as viable alternatives to conventional dental interventions. This work has the potential to provide patients with access to gentle, yet effective solutions, and simultaneously offer dental health professionals the opportunity to enrich their knowledge, and ability to provide personalized, holistic care. This reviewhighlights the symbiotic relationship between herbal medicine and scientific understanding, emphasizing the importance of disseminating this knowledge to benefit both practitioners and patients, enabling evidence-based decision-making in dental care. The exploration of herbal remedies offers a promising alternative, potentially mitigating some of these side effects while promoting oral health in a more natural and holistic manner.

Global perspectives to enhance strategies for advancing women in healthcare and STEMM leadership.

The discourse surrounding gender equity has intensified recently, amplified by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the critical underrepresentation of women in leadership roles across various sectors including the media and healthcare. In medical research, this disparity is particularly pronounced, with women often excluded from senior positions despite their substantial presence in the workforce. This review seeks to explore the multifaceted issue of gender inequity in medical research leadership, examining the systemic barriers that women face, the socioeconomic factors that compound these challenges and the global variations in leadership representation of women. Diverse leadership teams are essential for fostering medical innovation, improving patient outcomes and ensuring that clinical trials and medical research are effective, inclusive and representative. The underrepresentation of women in leadership roles is not merely a matter of gender bias; it is intricately linked to socioeconomic factors that hinder their advancement. Women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds face additional obstacles, such as limited access to education and professional networks, which further exacerbate their underrepresentation in leadership positions. Moreover, cultural and societal norms play a significant role in shaping the career trajectories of women. As a group of immunologists, including representatives of the International Union of Immunological Sciences (IUIS) Gender Equity Committee, we review the causes of these inequities. We examine the impact of gender-diverse leadership on pre-clinical and medical research, emphasizing the need for inclusive leadership to drive progress in medical research and resulting healthcare. Finally, the review proposes strategies for improving gender equity in medical research leadership, including policy changes, organizational initiatives and societal shifts. By addressing these critical issues, this review contributes to the ongoing efforts to promote gender equity in medical research, ultimately enhancing the quality and inclusiveness of scientific inquiry and its impact on healthcare delivery.

Engaging citizen scientists: designing an open research system for collaborative problem exploration

Abstract Open Science aims to make scientific research and its dissemination accessible to all levels of society to foster openness and transparency. Engaging in a dialogue with society to explore real-world problems is particularly important to increase the relevance of information systems research. However, reaching out to citizens and engaging them in the research problem exploration process on a large scale is challenging for researchers. In this research, we build on existing prescriptive knowledge and design an open research system to involve citizens in the problem exploration process. Applying the design science research methodology, we report on the results and findings of one complete design cycle. We deliver design knowledge including (1) design requirements derived from the literature, (2) propose a set of design principles, (3) an instantiation of the design principles in the form of design features as well as a publicly available artifact, and (4) evaluations through a series of online experiments and two field studies with actual citizens. With this research project, we contribute design knowledge for the class of citizen science systems and present an approach and a publicly available instantiation that can be leveraged for open research problem exploration to engage with society members at large.

Exploring the Contribution of Ndumo Game Reserve to Scientific Research and Literature: 1988 to 2023

Exploring the Contribution of Ndumo Game Reserve to Scientific Research and Literature: 1988 to 2023

What matters for environmental concerns among university students in Bangladesh? An empirical study

IntroductionExperts have a well-established consensus regarding the detrimental effects of human activities on the environment, including extreme temperature events, rainfall variability, pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and flood occurrences—all of which significantly stress Earth’s natural systems. This study investigates the level of environmental concern among university students in Bangladesh, considering their socio-demographic factors.MethodsA comprehensive survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire targeting 380 final-year bachelor and master’s students from various academic disciplines at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) Sylhet, Bangladesh. The analysis involved variables such as gender, completion of university courses related to the environment or climate change, disciplinary background, and vulnerability to climate change or extreme weather events in their home locality. Relationships between these variables and the students’ environmental concerns were examined using cross-tabulation with the Chi-square test and mean difference with the ANOVA test.ResultsThe findings indicate a high level of knowledge and significant concern among students regarding environmental issues, with disciplinary background being the primary determinant of environmental concern level. Additionally, completing university courses on environmental or climate change topics and experiencing vulnerability to such events in one’s hometown are significant predictors of environmental concerns.DiscussionThis study highlights the growing environmental concerns among university students and underscores the need for further scientific research to comprehensively understand their impact on population dynamics.

Athletes’ Education for Their Successful Future Career After Sports—Perspective of Former Athletes and Potential Employers

Although sports are a dream career for many young people, only a small percentage of athletes can make a living from this. Moreover, even elite athletes with high incomes must find other employment after sports. This justifies the development of their human capital via education valued by employers. Our article originally approaches this issue with recommendations for the effective education of athletes. The aim is to identify and analyze the key skills that former athletes use in the work environment and that help them successfully integrate into employment outside sports. Our robust scientific approach, described in the methodology, combines relevant secondary and primary data and corresponding analytical methods. The secondary data analysis identified the skills required by employers as well as the employment of former athletes in areas outside of sports. Based on quantitative primary data (questionnaire on a sample of 237 young athletes), the skills perceived as important by young athletes were revealed. The qualitative component is represented by interviews with selected former athletes and employers from the corporate environment. The main findings include the alignment of the perceived importance of certain skills by young athletes and employers. The high perceived importance of education during sports careers was supported by all stakeholders.

Integrating User Feedback into Air Purifier Innovation: The FKANO-DEMATEL-VIKOR Decision Framework

As the demand for indoor air quality increases, air purifier design faces new challenges. This study adopts the FKANO-DEMATEL-VIKOR integrated model. Through 115 questionnaires, user needs are identified, with the FKANO model recognizing key requirements, DEMATEL analyzing the interdependencies and importance of these needs, and three air purifier designs being developed. The VIKOR method is then used to select the optimal solution, which is compared with two existing products for validation. This study proposes a comprehensive scientific approach to meet user needs, providing reliable decision support for air purifier design, enhancing user satisfaction, and improving product competitiveness. The stability of the integrated model under different weight settings is also verified, demonstrating its significant potential in meeting user needs and increasing product competitiveness. Additionally, for engineering management, this research emphasizes the importance of thoroughly understanding user needs. Engineering managers should encourage teams to conduct in-depth user research, consider interdependencies among requirements, make decisions based on comprehensive evaluations, and perform sensitivity analysis to ensure the product design maintains a competitive edge in the market.

Psilocybin mushroom stewardship: A qualitative inquiry into practices and priorities of “underground” psilocybin mushroom practitioners

AbstractBackground and AimsNetworks of so-called underground, or illegal, psilocybin mushroom practitioners are popularly known to exist, though few systematic investigations of their practices have been conducted. We sought to uncover the experiences of a hidden community of psilocybin practitioners in order to inform scientific and policy dialogues about safe and effective practices in this area.MethodsAn academic-community partnered research team used snowball sampling to recruit 17 underground psilocybin practitioners in a western U.S. state for in-depth individual interviews focused on training, protocols, practices, and policy priorities. Combined deductive and inductive analysis with three independent coders was completed using NVivo v12.ResultsPractitioners were white (76.5%), female-identified (64.7%), aged 31 to 50 (64.7%), non-therapists by training (58.8%), and moderately to highly experienced facilitators. All described multiple years of often difficult personal inner-directed work with psilocybin before guiding others. Benefits ranged from reduction in symptoms of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and addictions to greater self-knowledge, reduced death anxiety, and a greater ability to experience joy. Client screening protocols revealed precautions for persons with severe trauma backgrounds, personality disorders, or lacking social support. Moving too quickly into a high dose mushroom session without adequate preparation or internal resourcing was perceived as a significant risk for harm. Practitioners' direct personal relationship with mushrooms was highlighted as critical to safe practice. Policy priorities centered on respectful reciprocity, defined as an ethos of giving back rather than extraction, and equitable access.ConclusionsWhile some psychedelic research actively examines the role of the mystical-type experience in clients' positive outcomes, findings from underground practitioners suggest an even greater role of mysticism, relationality, and expanded concepts of holistic healing that can inform the development of best practice paradigms of an emerging profession.

Human Values Across the Lifespan: Age-Graded Differences at Three Hierarchical Levels and What We Can Learn From Them.

Personality-development research is flourishing. Here, we extend these efforts horizontally (new constructs) and vertically (new levels within the same construct) by charting out age-graded differences in Schwarz's human values across 80,814 individuals. Conducting a systematic investigation of cross-sectional age-graded differences in human values-from late teenage years to post-retirement-featuring 36 analytical model choices and 180,000 simulation-based decisions, our analyses replicate some earlier findings (e.g., increasing self- and growth-focus during adolescence and increasing security concerns during adulthood), while also highlighting complex and previously unappreciated dynamics. As such, while it is a common practice to aggregate specific values into parsimonious higher-order concepts to ease interpretation, this may risk overlooking meaningful trends in lower-order value development. Specifically, revealing unique and asynchronous patterns for value nuances, we find that aggregation (a) leads to a loss of critical information, (b) creates conflicting results when nuances diverge, and (c) significantly reduces predictive power.

Внутренний аудит как ключевой инструмент менеджмента: целеполагание, оценка и управление рисками

The article reveals the role of internal audit in the process of goal setting and risk management assessment as an integral element of modern management. Companies in modern business conditions and a rapidly changing business environment face many challenges related to potential threats. Internal audit helps management achieve its goals by using a systematic and consistent approach to evaluating and improving the effectiveness of risk management, control and corporate governance processes, which makes it an essential tool for achieving the company's strategic goals. The author updates the modern functions of internal audit in accordance with the International Professional Standards of Internal Audit (IASB), complementing the factors that may affect their content. Highlights the impact of the principles of internal audit, showing their complex impact on the company, ensuring a balance between efficiency, evaluation and rationality. This makes internal audit a key tool for achieving management's goal setting. The research is based on universal scientific methods – observation, practical methods of generalization and professional judgment, the method of critical assessment. The element of scientific novelty is determined by the practical method of generalizing a more in-depth understanding of the role of internal audit to changing market conditions and the business environment. Using professional judgments, the author focuses on the impact of business risks on the risks of distortion of accounting (financial) statements. Internal audit contributes to the creation of a risk management culture where risk management becomes an integrated element in business processes. Revealing the content of the stages of risk assessment and management, the role of internal audit in creating a culture of risk management within the company is assessed, which, in turn, contributes to its sustainable development and competitiveness. The article will be useful for both practicing internal auditors and managers seeking to improve the level of risk management in the organization.

The influencing factors of the participation intention and behavior in organized scientific research of young teachers in modern industrial colleges—based on the theory of planned behavior and normative activation theory

Organized scientific research is vital to implementing organized technological innovation in modern industrial colleges. Young teachers’ deep participation determines success. Based on the theory of planned behavior and normative activation, a survey of 309 young teachers from modern industrial colleges participating in organized scientific research found that personal norms, subjective norms, behavioral attitudes, and perceived behavioral control significantly impact their intention to participate. Awareness of consequence, ascribed responsibility, and subjective norms indirectly positively impact their participation intention, and the participation intention and perceived behavioral control positively affect their participation behavior. Policy support has a positive mediating effect between participation intention and behavior. There are group differences in gender, education level, professional title, and subject type in demographic characteristics in five aspects: subjective norms, personal norms, perceived behavioral control, participation intention, and participation behavior. This article proposes the following measures: improving the internal interest coordination mechanism of scientific research organizations to enhance young teachers’ sense of scientific research achievement; reconstructing the organized scientific research evaluation model to enhance young teachers’ teamwork awareness; improving the support system for organized research policies to stimulate young teachers’ self-efficacy; concerning young teachers’ group differences and creating a research environment that tolerates failure.

A study of lesson design strategies to promote regulated learning in science considering the social context

Going beyond merely imparting information and actually equipping children with the skills to engage in scientific enquiry is important. This is a focus area in Japan, through which scientific literacy and critical thinking in education can be improved. With the right environment, children can be encouraged to pursue self-driven inquiry, reflect on their learning and collaborate with their peers. Professor Ichiro Wada, Division of Advanced Professional Practice in Education, Yokohama National University who is interested in improving childrenâ–™s ability to regulate their own learning based on metacognition and the right environment for this to happen. His current research concerns how the regulation of learning is established within a social context and he is homing in on three important concepts: self-regulation (SRL); co-regulation (CoRL); and socially shared regulated learning (SSRL). Focusing on these types of regulation, Wada and his collaborators developed and examined a science lesson design strategy integrating instruction and evaluation to develop children's ability to solve problems independently and collaboratively. The researchers found that the children's metacognition function was a hub which connected them to one another and enhanced their function through interaction with others. They also discovered that the teacher's feedback function was promoted by the children's evaluation and judgement. This work enabled Wada to capture the interrelated cognitive, metacognitive and motivational variables of these concepts. He has modelled the formation of the internal structure and interaction processes. A key current focus for Wada is evaluative judgement, which requires children to have their own evaluative criteria related to the selection and choosing of information.

The role of universities’ social responsibility in enhancing business sustainability: Mediating role of entrepreneurial culture

This study aims to analyze the role of sustainable social responsibility in enhancing business sustainability, with entrepreneurial culture serving as a mediating variable. Focusing on Bisha University in Saudi Arabia, it demonstrates how the university’s socially responsible practices foster an entrepreneurial culture that, in turn, drives sustainable business outcomes within the local community. A descriptive-analytical approach was adopted, with data collected through a structured survey distributed to 200 faculty members of University of Bisha, yielding 190 valid responses. Hypotheses were tested using simple linear regression and path analysis to explore both direct and indirect relationships among the study variables.The findings reveal that sustainable social responsibility significantly impacts business sustainability, explaining 49.1% of its variability. Additionally, entrepreneurial culture mediates this relationship, contributing an indirect effect of 0.446 and amplifying the total impact of social responsibility on business sustainability to 70.1%. Sustainable social responsibility also explains 46.5% of the variability in entrepreneurial culture. Model fit indices confirm the robustness of the relationships, with strong statistical significance across all paths. These results underscore the strategic importance of universities in integrating social responsibility into their operations to foster entrepreneurial culture and achieve sustainable outcomes. This study provides valuable insights for higher education institutions aiming to align their academic and operational practices with sustainability goals, contributing to broader initiatives like Saudi Vision 2030. Acknowledgments The Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research at University of Bisha is acknowledged for supporting this work through the Fast-Track Research Support Program.

Does engaging in ESG practices improve banks’ performance in Jordan?

Assessing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices in the banking sector is becoming increasingly important. This study aims to analyze the correlation between ESG scores and the performance of banks. The ESG data were gathered using a Bloomberg database. Using fixed-effect estimation for a static model, this study examines a balanced panel sample of 15 Jordanian-listed banks from 2009 to 2023. Based on multivariate regression, the study outcomes suggest that Jordanian banks with higher ESG scores perform better in operating and market performance. Stakeholder theory supports this. Accordingly, the R2 values for the study models were 23.9% for the ROA model and 18.7% for Tobin’s Q, respectively, showing the high explanatory power of both models. Therefore, an increase of one point in ESG scores leads to a corresponding rise in ROA and Tobin’s Q 0.496 and 0.370, respectively. Regarding control variables, leverage has a negative correlation coefficient of –0.169 and –0.253, respectively, in both the ROA and Tobin’s Q models. According to the ROA model, a one-unit increase in bank size leads to a 0.309-unit increase in bank performance and a 0.115-unit increase, according to Tobin’s Q model. Similarly, as the bank ages by one year, its performance improves, with the ROA and Tobin’s Q models showing increases of 0.216 and 0.116 units, respectively. Additionally, the financial development showed correlation coefficients of 0.108 and 0.045 for the ROA and Tobin’s Q models, respectively. However, the ESG committee does not affect the performance of banks. AcknowledgmentThis research was funded through the annual funding track by the Deanship of Scientific Research, from the Vice Presidency for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia [Grant NO. KFU242703].

Research of the wedging mechanism with additional driven crank and gear transmission in the pressure plate drive of the die-cutting press

ABSTRACT Scientific research has been analysed to improve die-cutting presses’ drive pressure plate mechanisms. An upgraded drive pressure plate mechanism has been proposed based on its results. It involves the application of two wedging mechanisms, an additional pair of driven cranks, and a gear transmission. Geometric synthesis of the proposed mechanism has been carried out, determining its relative and absolute geometric dimensions. A methodology for calculating the kinematic parameters of the combined drive pressure plate mechanism has been created, involving the use of similarity theory. Analytical dependencies for determining the invariants of the kinematic parameters of the mechanism’s operation have been derived. Based on the results of geometric synthesis, a 3D model of the mechanism has been designed, and a virtual experiment has been conducted using the SolidWorks software. Engineering calculations of the proposed press plate drive mechanism model in a die-cutting press with cyclicity of 60 cycles per minute showed that with a displacement of 80 mm, the maximum speed is 0.372 m/s. At the same time, the inertial loads during the plate’s reversal are minimal, with a negative acceleration value of −0.139 m/s2. A comparative analysis of the results of analytical research on the kinematic parameters of the pressure plate drive mechanism and the results of the virtual experiment has shown their absolute identity. It confirms the correctness of the completed synthesis and calculation methodology of the kinematic parameters of the proposed combined drive mechanism operation.