Human Development Research Articles

The role of school leaders in developing inclusive practices in Icelandic compulsory schools

ABSTRACT Icelandic education policy has a strong focus on inclusive education, but available Icelandic evidence indicates a lack of well-defined procedures in schools and municipalities aimed at inclusive education. Research literature has placed emphasis on the central role that school leaders play in developing inclusive schools. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to develop an understanding of school leaders’ role in developing inclusive practices in Icelandic compulsory schools. Inclusive practices refer to the strategies, approaches, and frameworks created to ensure that all students, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, and learning needs, can participate fully in educational opportunities. Data collection took place between May 2022 and January 2023. Interviews were conducted in two compulsory schools and in this paper, we build on 8 interviews with 14 teachers and school directors. The interviews were recorded and then transcribed verbatim before the thematic analysis commenced. The findings are introduced according to three main themes: Inclusive school leaders’ role in setting direction, Inclusive school leaders’ role in organisational development and Inclusive school leaders’ role in human development.

Parental Acceptance of Fetal Tissue Donation

ImportanceHuman fetal tissue is essential for biomedical research, providing unparalleled insights into human development and disease.ObjectiveTo assess changes in parental decisions to donate fetal tissue following termination of pregnancy after the introduction of the Dutch Fetal Biobank (DFB) and to identify factors associated with consent to donate.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cohort study collected data from all individuals assigned female at birth (hereafter referred to as participants) who underwent a termination of pregnancy at the Amsterdam University Medical Center from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2022. No exclusion criteria were applied.ExposureIntroduction of the DFB on September 1, 2017, which offers the option to donate fetal tissue after pregnancy termination.Main Outcome and MeasureRates of fetal tissue donation before and after DFB introduction and associations between patient characteristics (maternal age, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gestational age, and reason for termination) and consent to donation were assessed using multivariable binary logistic regression modeling.ResultsOf a total of 1272 participants (mean [SD] age, 33.0 [5.4] years), 576 (45.3%) were nulliparous. The mean (SD) gestational age at termination was 18 weeks 3 days (26 days), and reasons for termination were primarily because of structural defects (567 participants [44.6%]), with only a small portion (58 participants [4.6%]) terminating for social reasons (eg, unwanted or unplanned pregnancy). Fetal tissue donations increased from 1.2% (8 donations among 663 terminations) before the DFB introduction to 21.7% (132 donations among 609 terminations) after its introduction. This rise was primarily due to a shift from collective cremation to donation, while individual cremation or burial rates remained stable. The consent rate was 30.3% (132 of 436) for participants informed about the donation option. No significant demographic differences were found between participants who consented and those who did not, except for gestational age; consent rates decreased with advanced gestational age (odds ratio per week, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.83-0.94). Higher consent rates were observed for terminations due to social reasons (odds ratio, 3.56; 95% CI, 1.40-9.10).Conclusions and RelevanceThese findings suggest that a substantial proportion of individuals may be willing to donate fetal tissue for biomedical research after pregnancy termination. Integrating donation options in posttermination counseling respects patient autonomy and could ethically increase tissue availability for research. Expanding biobanks and fostering international collaboration is crucial for standardizing practices and ensuring equitable research benefits.

Agricultural economic complexity and regional inequalities: a new approach using census data from Brazil

ABSTRACT The paper presents an original application of economic complexity to the agricultural sector aiming to determine its suitability to measure and depict regional structural inequalities across Brazilian regions. Using census data, we calculate agricultural complexity indexes for products (PCI-Agro) and regions (ECI-Agro) and the agricultural product space. We show that higher PCI-Agro is associated with higher levels of productivity, education, income and human development. Also, we found that ECI-Agro is associated with higher productivity in agriculture. The econometric evidence points to an inverted ‘U’-shape curve relationship between ECI-Agro and agricultural productivity, which has significant policy implications.

Essential Characteristics for School Administrators in the Digital Age for Thailand

Introduction: It is well known that education and teaching practices are affected by technological developments. The ubiquitous spread of information and communication technologies in recent years has forced educational institutions to undergo a digital transformation so as to keep up with the today’s technological age. Educational activities have become sustainable in virtually all environments and under virtually all conditions, with interactive whiteboards having long since replaced the traditional blackboard in most schools. Changes emerging today include revised job definitions, changing patterns of daily life, and the desire for economic value; together they represent the primary results of this digital transformation. Objective: This study aims to explore the essential characteristic for school administrators in the digital age. Method: This is quantitative approach. The population was educational administrators in Thailand who are responsible for management in educational institutions. This Quantitative Research analyzed the data using Descriptive Statistics, Inference Statistic and Multivariate by IBM SPSS and Structural Equations Modeling (SEM) was analyzed by IBM SPSS AMOS. Results: 1) Government Policy (GP) 2) Performance Attribute (PA) and 3) Competent Innovation directly influence on Perceived Value. Moreover, Perceived Value directly influences on Performance Identification. Analysis of the SEM model was found to be accurate because the model is consistent with empirical data, harmonization index passed all criteria, Chi-Square = 173.53, df = 88 RMSEA = 0.04 and RMR = 0.03, index GIF = 0.96 and AGIF = 0.94 and R2/ df = 1.97. Conclusion: These findings can be used to develop academic fields such as research and strategic planning effectively and can be applied in educational industry as well, so making the product feature that meets the needs of the customer will result in the perception of the value of the product and making a purchase decision. This finding has benefits on human resources development and school management and school administrators as well.

A Review of Data-Driven Intelligent Monitoring for Geological Drilling Processes

The exploration and development of resources and energy are fundamental to human survival and development, and geological drilling is a key method for deep resource and energy exploration. Intelligent monitoring technology can achieve anomaly detection, fault diagnosis, and fault prediction in the drilling process, which is crucial for ensuring production safety and improving drilling efficiency. The drilling process is characterized by complex geological conditions, variable working conditions, and low information value density, which pose a series of difficulties and challenges for intelligent monitoring. This paper reviews the research progress of the data-driven intelligent monitoring of geological drilling processes, focusing on the above difficulties and challenges. It mainly includes multivariate statistics, machine learning, and multi-model fusion. Multivariate statistical methods can effectively handle and analyze complex geological drilling data, while machine learning methods can efficiently extract key patterns and trends from a large amount of geological drilling data. Multi-model fusion methods, by combining the advantages of the first two methods, enhance the ability to handle complex multivariable and nonlinear problems. This review shows that existing research still faces problems such as limited data processing capabilities and insufficient model generalization capabilities. Improving the efficiency of data processing and the generalization capability of models may be the main research directions in the future.

Human capital, creativity and innovation as pillars of leading technology systems

The relevance of the research is determined by the need of modern agricultural enterprises for innovations. Only on the basis of innovative development they can be competitive and later enter industry 4. The purpose of the article is to analyze and justify an innovative approach to the formation of technological networks in the agricultural sector based on the use of competitive advantages of human capital and strengthening of its creativity. The authors note that in order to attract innovation, project managers must coordinate the company's strategy with the strategy of knowledge management and creativity development. The study summarizes the results of using an innovative model in the Brazilian agricultural sector that promotes human capital development and knowledge generation, as well as environmental sustainability (the UTAUT model). The evaluation of these results showed that a significant factor in the successful implementation of the innovation model is the creation of an appropriate organizational and management culture, focused on the involvement of innovations in the activities of agricultural enterprises. The authors conducted a survey of agricultural workers of large and small enterprises of this industry in order to identify their need and degree of readiness for innovations. The results of the survey showed significant differences between large and small enterprises in the given parameters, which require the choice of different ways and sources of strengthening their innovativeness. The problem raised in the article is also relevant for Ukraine as a country with a traditional agricultural sector.

A Review on Photovoltaic Model Cleaning Robot

The PV Sun oriented Board made a difference us tackle the control of the sun and change over it into electrical vitality with adequate productivity and comfort. Sun powered vitality is one of the most solid and maintainable sources of renewable vitality. But the productivity is unfavorably influenced by the collection of tidy, fog, winged creature droppings, and snow and in this manner it is the require of the hour to have normal cleaning of sun oriented boards. Along with the planned cleaning, it is moreover basic to have fitting and viable sun based board cleaning. Customarily, Sun powered boards are cleaned physically. The impediments of manual cleaning are non-uniform cleaning, detachment, harm to boards, hazard of human casualties (particularly in roof- top boards) and development troubles. The labour-hire is too a lumbering errand for PV board cleaning. The errand of PV board cleaning gets to be troublesome an exorbitant if work is contracted. The drawback can be overcome with the offer assistance of an robotized mechanical cleaning arrangement. This extend, we propose an programmed sun powered following framework with an programmed cleaning solar-based instrument to keep up the effectiveness of sun powered boards. The plan, execution, and appraisal of a sun oriented following framework with an programmed board cleaning component are secured in this venture. By expanding sun powered vitality retention and protecting the cleanliness of sun oriented boards, the framework looks for to increment the viability of control era.

Trade liberalization and total factor productivity in Brazil: A vecm modeling

This paper aims to investigate trade openness’s effects on total factor productivity (TFP) using monthly data from December 1991 to March 2024. The analysis also incorporated absorptive capacity to examine the behavior of TFP components. Our findings from a multivariate VECM model indicated that absorptive capacity did not significantly impact TFP, even in the short term. Conversely, the increase in openness contributes to raising TFP by about 26 and 0.16 percentage points in the short and long term, respectively. Additionally, absorptive capacity and trade openness Granger-Cause short- and long-term components of TFP. These results are statistically significant at conventional significance levels. Policymakers should consider the dynamic effects of their policy actions on other sectors of the economy that were not initially the focus of the policy. Policymakers should develop concrete policies that improve the efficient use of resources in production chains to potentialize the productive impact of trade liberalization, including investment in human capital, ICT, and research and development.

The Effects of Cognitive Self-Consciousness, Cultural Values, and Socioeconomic Context on Anxiety in Youth: A Meta-Analysis

Youth mental health is a global health priority due to its increasing prevalence and adverse outcomes. Although the relationship between metacognitions and anxiety is well-documented in adults, further research is needed for the younger populations. This research examines two questions: (a) What is the correlation between cognitive self-consciousness and anxiety in children and adolescents? (b) Is this correlation moderated by cultural and socioeconomic differences? Based on 22 effect sizes from 8,459 participants in 11 countries, a meta-analysis was performed to find the overall effect size, heterogeneity, publication bias, and the moderating effect of Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions and United Nation Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI). Using the random-effects model, the results revealed that cognitive self-consciousness ( r = .312, p < .0001, 95% confidence interval: [.257, .365]) showing moderate effect size in association with anxiety in children and adolescents. Meta-regressions indicated that power distance, masculinity, and HDI were important moderators. The findings show a significant correlation between cognitive self-consciousness and mental wellness in youth. The results have important implications for understanding the influence of cultural beliefs and national-level context on the associations between cognition and psychopathology. This article provides consistent evidence that there is a lack of mental health research resources in the Global South.

Disentangling the gender-differentiated determinants of home-based self-employment choices in Nigeria

Abstract Understanding gender disparities in home-based self-employment (HBS) and their links to homeownership and socioeconomic factors is crucial for advancing sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially Nigeria. This study uses data from the 2010/2011, 2012/13, 2015/16, and 2018/19 waves of the Nigerian General Household Survey (GHS). It employs random effect probit regression, the LASSO method for identifying predictors, and the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition technique to analyse gender differences in nonlinear binary outcomes. The results show that female business owners are more likely to engage in HBS compared to males, highlighting the importance of gender equality (SDG 5) and decent work (SDG 8). While male entrepreneurs are mainly driven by profit, females prioritise balancing paid and unpaid work, reflecting motivations beyond profit within heterodox economics. Significant gender-differentiated impacts are observed in relation to monthly rent, post-secondary education, dwelling space, energy, and regional locations. Notably, the presence of children significantly increases female involvement in HBS, a trend not seen among males. Marriage also influences female participation, suggesting that marital circumstances and economic benefits play a role. These findings highlight the need for policies addressing gender-specific constraints, challenging traditional gender roles, and promoting inclusive human development within the SDG framework.

A greener approach to assess bioactive compounds in tropical pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) using colorimetry

Bioactive compounds have been shown to promote healthy human development and protect against certain diseases including some cancers. Tropical pumpkins bred for consumption, such as calabaza (Cucurbita moschata), possess these compounds, though concentrations vary considerably between varieties. Bioactive compound quantification methods can be expensive, complex, and generate considerable hazardous waste. A predictive tool utilizing the relationship between extrinsic properties and tristimulus colorimetry values of calabaza would allow for significantly higher throughput with lower requirements for equipment, training, and laboratory consumables. Therefore, this study examined correlations between flesh color and bioactive compound quantities of several calabaza germplasm lines to assess the utility of a sustainable and portable predictive tool. CIEL* a* b* values of pumpkin flesh were assessed using a colorimeter and compared to bioactive compound concentrations determined analytically. Redness was found to correlate with increased ascorbic acid and total soluble solids content. Yellowness correlated with β-carotene equivalent carotenoids and ascorbic acid content. These results suggest that colorimetry may be a viable pre-screening technique for quantifying bioactive compounds in C. moschata.

Assessing the impact of ecological, climatic, and socioeconomic factors on age-specific malaria incidence in India: a mixed-model approach using the Global Burden of Disease Study (2010–2019)

BackgroundMalaria continues to be a critical public health concern in India, predominantly driven by complex interplays of ecological, climatic, and socioeconomic factors.MethodsThis study aimed to assess the association between climatic variables (temperature and precipitation) and malaria incidence across India from 2010 to 2019, utilizing data from the Global Historical Weather and Climate Data for climate metrics and the Global Burden of Disease Study for malaria incidence rates. Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) with a Poisson distribution were employed to analyze the data, adjusting for socio-economic status, as indexed by the Human Development Index (HDI).ResultsThe results indicated a declining trend in both the number of malaria cases and age-specific incidence rates (ASIR) over the study period. In 2010, India reported approximately 20.7 million cases with an ASIR of 1688.86 per 100,000 population, which significantly reduced to 9.8 million cases and an ASIR of 700.80 by 2019. High malaria incidence was consistently observed in the states of Jharkhand and Odisha, whereas Sikkim reported the lowest numbers. Statistical analysis identified significant associations between malaria incidence and both temperature deviations and precipitation levels, with variations also linked to HDI, suggesting better detection and reporting capabilities in more developed areas.ConclusionThe study underscores the critical interactions between climatic variables and socio-economic factors in shaping the trends of malaria incidence across India. These findings highlight the necessity for adaptive, localized public health strategies that integrate environmental monitoring with socio-economic data to efficiently predict and manage malaria outbreaks.

Toward Environmental Sustainability in Africa: The Impact of Financial Technology, Human Development, and Renewable Energy Consumption Across Income Groups

Toward Environmental Sustainability in Africa: The Impact of Financial Technology, Human Development, and Renewable Energy Consumption Across Income Groups

Investigating on Humanistic Quality Education in Medical Schools in Shandong Province as Basis for Proposed Management Intervention Program

This study aims to understand the content, methods and effective implementation strategies of humanistic education in medical colleges in Shandong Province, to construct a process model of humanistic education in medical colleges in Shandong Province, and finally to propose a management intervention plan. This study adopted a multiple case study method, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 4 humanistic education teachers, 3 medical students and 3 managers from three medical colleges in Shandong Province through purposive sampling and snowballing methods. This study used the basic ideas of grounded theory to conduct thematic analysis of the interview data. This study conducted open coding, screened typical sentences from the interviewees' answers, extracted keywords from the typical sentences; then the keywords were classified and sorted to further extract relevant information such as the content, methods, and implementation strategies of humanistic education in higher medical colleges. The research results show that the humanities education in medical schools in Shandong Province has a certain foundation, but there are still some shortcomings. In addition, the study proposed four (4) concepts, namely: humanistic leadership in medical schools, strengthening humanistic guidance, strengthening the humanistic development of medical students, and cultivating and nurturing students' humanistic qualities. Furthermore, the findings also indicated the positive impact of empathy, communication skills, and cultural awareness, which highlights the importance of integrating humanities into medical education to develop well-rounded, compassionate healthcare professionals of the future.Based on the findings, a management intervention plan is hereby proposed.

Understanding public opinion and discussion dynamics of digital humans on social media: an analysis of sentiment, themes and user characteristics

PurposeThe emergence of artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) technology has markedly enhanced the capabilities of digital human content generation and natural language processing, thus further advancing the development of digital humans. To enable enterprises and governments to effectively address the challenges and opportunities arising from the rapid development of digital humans, it is imperative to understand the public opinion and discussion dynamics of digital humans.Design/methodology/approachThis study initially analyzed the trends and distribution patterns of public attention to digital humans. By utilizing word cloud technology, we explored the primary focal points of public interest and conducted a topic analysis using latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) techniques. Subsequently, content analysis was conducted on the popular application domains of digital humans. Finally, this study examined the influence of user characteristics on emotional scores toward digital humans and the presence of differences in focus across user groups.FindingsThe results indicate a sustained increase in public attention toward digital humans, accompanied by notable geographic disparities in the distribution of discussions. Discussions on Weibo are primarily focused on four domains, whereas areas within the digital human application domain that provoke widespread discussion include live streaming, service, cultural entertainment and digital avatars. Significant impacts of user characteristics on sentiment scores were observed, revealing divergent focal points of interest among different user groups toward digital humans.Originality/valueThrough the deep analysis of Weibo data, this study offers new insights into the digital human industry, enabling governments and businesses to understand industry trends and develop targeted digital human customization strategies based on customer characteristics.

Epigenetic dynamics of partially methylated domains in human placenta and trophoblast stem cells

BackgroundThe placenta is essential for nutrient exchange and hormone production between the mother and the developing fetus and serves as an invaluable model for epigenetic research. Most epigenetic studies of the human placenta have used whole placentas from term pregnancies and have identified the presence of partially methylated domains (PMDs). However, the origin of these domains, which are typically absent in most somatic cells, remains unclear in the placental context.ResultsUsing whole-genome bisulfite sequencing and analysis of histone H3 modifications, we generated epigenetic profiles of human cytotrophoblasts during the first trimester and at term, as well as human trophoblast stem cells. Our study focused specifically on PMDs. We found that genomic regions likely to form PMDs are resistant to global DNA demethylation during trophectoderm reprogramming, and that PMDs arise through a slow methylation process within condensed chromatin near the nuclear lamina. In addition, we found significant differences in histone H3 modifications between PMDs in cytotrophoblasts and trophoblast stem cells.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that spatiotemporal genomic features shape megabase-scale DNA methylation patterns, including PMDs, in the human placenta and highlight distinct differences in PMDs between human cytotrophoblasts and trophoblast stem cells. These findings advance our understanding of placental biology and provide a basis for further research into human development and related diseases.

Quantifying the Effect of Land Use and Land Cover Changes on Spatial-Temporal Dynamics of Water in Hanjiang River Basin

As a vital part of the geo-environment and water cycle, ecosystem health and human development are dependent on water resources. Water supply and demand are influenced significantly by land use and cover change (LUCC) which shapes the surface ecosystems by altering their structure and function. Under future climate change scenarios, LUCC may greatly impact regional water balance, yet the impact is still not well understood. Therefore, examining the spatial relationship between LUCC and water yield services is crucial for optimizing land resources and informing sustainable development policies. In this study, we focused on the Hanjiang River Basin and used the patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) model, coupled with the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model, to assess water yield services under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathway and Representative Concentration Pathway (SSP-RCP) scenarios. For the first time, we considered the impact of future changes in socio-economic and water use indicators on water demand using correction factors and ARIMA projections. The relationship between water supply and demand was explored using this approach, and LUCC’s effects on this balance are also discussed. Results indicate that: (1) The patterns of LUCC are similar for the three scenarios from 2030 to 2050, with varying levels of decrease for cropland and significant growth of built-up areas, with increases of 6.77% to 19.65% (SSP119), 7.66% to 22.65% (SSP245), and 15.88% to 46.69% (SSP585), respectively, in the three scenarios relative to 2020; (2) The future supply and demand trends for the three scenarios of produced water services are similar, and the overall supply and demand risks are all on a downward trend. Water demand continues to decline, and by 2050, the water demand of the 3 scenarios will decrease by 96.275×108t, 81.210×108t, and 84.13×108t relative to 2020, respectively; while supply decreases from 2030 to 2040 and rises from 2040 to 2050; (3) Both water supply and demand distributions exhibit spatial correlation, and the distribution of hotspots is similar. The water supply and demand are well-matched, with an overall supply-demand ratio greater than 1.5; (4) LUCC can either increase or decrease water yield. Built-up land provides more water supply compared to other land types, while forest land has the lowest average water supply. Limiting land use type conversions can enhance the water supply.

Qualitative research in the Academy of Human Resource Development-sponsored journals

Purpose Qualitative paradigmatic perspectives are increasingly recognized as providing in-depth, rich and nuanced interpretations and critiques of complex phenomena. Nonetheless, positivist and post-positivist epistemologies still dominate social science disciplines. The authors were unable to identify published information on the state of qualitative research in human resource development (HRD) despite the numerous theoretical foundations, epistemological stances and global approaches that shape HRD. To fill this gap, this study determined the prevalence of qualitative designs, data collection methods and data analysis techniques that have been used in Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD)-sponsored journals. This study identified gaps in the use of qualitative research to be explored by HRD scholars to advance research and practice. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive case study approach was used to determine the state of qualitative research in three AHRD-sponsored journals. Findings Qualitative articles have increased in number but still account for a lower percentage of articles when compared with other peer-reviewed articles, including quantitative methodologies and conceptual papers. Most articles lacked grounding in stated ontology and epistemology needed to guide researchers’ investigations, potentially leading to weakened methodological choices, interpretations and authenticity of conclusions. Research limitations/implications To provide in-depth understanding of HRD-related phenomena, all important elements of qualitative articles should be addressed to strengthen the credibility and authenticity of the research process. Qualitative theorists and researchers can build on and embrace the soundness of qualitative research and theories in HRD. Expanding on the credibility and authenticity of rigorously conducted qualitative research will help to broaden the perspectives of researchers who may be hesitant to explore this methodology of inquiry. This will strengthen methodological sophistication and expand the knowledge base of qualitative research. Practical implications HRD professors/instructors will find this study to be a useful guide for graduate students who are exploring and using qualitative inquiry for their research and for understanding others’ research. Practitioners will also find it useful to understand HRD research to determine possible interventions in their workplaces. Originality/value This study identifies trends and patterns of epistemologies and methods used in HRD qualitative articles and provides a foundation on which to build future studies and establish unexplored, unconventional qualitative methodologies and methods.

Exposure to the antiretroviral drug dolutegravir impairs structure and neurogenesis in a forebrain organoid model of human embryonic cortical development

IntroductionFor many therapeutic drugs, including antiretroviral drugs used to treat people living with HIV-1 (PLWH), we have little data on the potential effects on the developing human brain due to limited access to tissue and historical constraints on the inclusion of pregnant populations in clinical trials. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer a new avenue to gain insight on how drugs may impact human cell types representative of the developing central nervous system. To prevent vertical transmission of HIV and promote the health of pregnant PLWH, antiretroviral therapy must be initiated and/or maintained throughout pregnancy. However, many antiretroviral drugs are approved for widespread use following clinical testing only in non-pregnant populations and there may be limited information on potential teratogenicity until pregnancy outcomes are evaluated. The integrase strand transfer inhibitor dolutegravir (DTG) is a frontline antiretroviral drug that is effective in viral suppression of HIV but was previously reported to be associated with a slight increase in the risk for neural tube defects in one study, although this has not been replicated in other cohorts.MethodsTo directly investigate the potential impact of DTG on human cortical neurogenesis, we measured the effects of daily drug exposure on the early stages of corticogenesis in a human iPSC-based forebrain organoid model. We quantified organoid size and structure and analyzed gene and protein expression to evaluate the impact of several doses of DTG on organoid development.ResultsWe observed deficits in organoid structure and impaired neurogenesis in DTG-treated organoids compared to vehicle-treated control organoids after 20 or 40 days in culture. Our highest dose of DTG (10 μM) resulted in significantly smaller organoids with a reduced density of neural rosette structures compared to vehicle-treated controls. Mechanistically, RNA-sequencing and immunohistological analysis suggests dysregulated amino acid transport and activation of the integrated stress response in the DTG-treated organoids, and functionally, a small molecule integrated stress response inhibitor (ISRIB) could partially rescue increased expression of proteins related to cell cycle regulation.DiscussionTogether, these results illustrate the potential for human iPSC-based strategies to reveal biological processes during neurogenesis that may be affected by therapeutic drugs and provide complementary data in relevant human cell types to augment preclinical investigations of drug safety during pregnancy.

A Comprehensive Review of Multimodal XR Applications, Risks, and Ethical Challenges in the Metaverse

This scoping review examines the broad applications, risks, and ethical challenges associated with Extended Reality (XR) technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), within the context of Metaverse. XR is revolutionizing fields such as immersive learning in education, medical and professional training, neuropsychological assessment, therapeutic interventions, arts, entertainment, retail, e-commerce, remote work, sports, architecture, urban planning, and cultural heritage preservation. The integration of multimodal technologies—haptics, eye-, face-, and body tracking, and brain–computer interfaces—enhances user engagement and interactivity, playing a key role in shaping the immersive experiences in the Metaverse. However, XR’s expansion raises serious concerns, including data privacy risks, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, cybersickness, addiction, dissociation, harassment, bullying, and misinformation. These psychological, social, and security challenges are further complicated by intense advertising, manipulation of public opinion, and social inequality, which could disproportionately affect vulnerable individuals and social groups. This review emphasizes the urgent need for robust ethical frameworks and regulatory guidelines to address these risks while promoting equitable access, privacy, autonomy, and mental well-being. As XR technologies increasingly integrate with artificial intelligence, responsible governance is essential to ensure the safe and beneficial development of the Metaverse and the broader application of XR in enhancing human development.