BackgroundPrior studies concentrated the application of regulatory focus on employees' positive actions and behaviors. No such validating regulatory focus scales limit its future research opportunities.ObjectiveThe paper validates the regulatory focus scale initially created by Wallace and Chen (2006) within the context of Malaysia.MethodsInitially, a review of the literature was carried out to identify the core components of regulatory focus and the relevant items. Subsequently, these items were evaluated by expert panel. A systematic sampling approach was applied, yielding 344 responses from the Malaysian healthcare workers. Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed as regulatory focus was operationalized as second-order formative construct because it formed by the prevention- and promotion- focused which considered as first-order reflective constructs. After that, the regulatory focus scale was assessed for convergent validity and discriminant validity.ResultsThe results revealed that two dimensions namely promotion- and prevention-focused are well-suited for assessing regulatory focus. Regulatory focus is defined by these two dimensions. If any of these elements are omitted, the nature of regulatory focus could be changed.ConclusionsThis study contributes to the body of knowledge by validating regulatory focus scale as scale validation studies are scarcely found.

Amelioration of obesity-induced endothelial dysfunction by a synthetic ocean-derived peptide via regulating PPARα/γ pathway.

This study aimed to investigate the association between cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on negative mood states, such as anxiety and depression, in patients with post-stroke dysphagia through a retrospective review of medical records. A retrospective study was conducted using medical records of patients with post-stroke dysphagia who were hospitalised at The Affiliated Huaian No. 1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between January 2022 and June 2025. Sample size matching was performed using the nearest neighbour matching method in propensity score matching on the basis of data extracted from medical records, ultimately including 348 study subjects for analysis. Based on the treatment regimens documented in the medical records, 174 patients in the combination group received CBT combined with tDCS, and 174 patients in the control group received tDCS alone. Basic rehabilitation measures were consistent between the two groups as per clinical protocols. Both groups completed a continuous 4-week treatment course as recorded in the medical charts. Data on the grading of the water swallowing test, surface electromyography parameters, the Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness (SSCI) score, the Herth Hope Index (HHI) score, the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) score and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) score were extracted from the medical records at baseline (within 48 h before treatment initiation) and after the 4-week treatment period. Following the 4-week treatment period, the overall distribution of water swallowing test grades documented in the medical records for the combination group was superior to that for the control group (p < 0.05). At baseline, no statistically significant differences were found in the surface electromyography parameters (average and maximum amplitudes) retrieved from the records between the two groups (p > 0.05). After the 4-week treatment period, the recorded values for average and maximum amplitudes in the combination group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). At baseline, no statistically significant differences were observed in various stigma scale scores extracted from the records between the two groups (p > 0.05). After the treatment period, the scores for internalised stigma and the total SSCI score in the combination group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p < 0.05). At baseline, no statistically significant differences were noted in any dimension scores of HHI between the two groups (p > 0.05). After the treatment period, the scores for positive attitude toward reality and the future, positive actions taken and maintaining close relationships with others and the total HHI score were all markedly higher in the combination group than in the control group (p < 0.05). At baseline, no statistically significant differences were observed in the SAS and SDS scores between the two groups (p > 0.05). After the treatment period, the SAS and SDS scores in the combination group were evidently lower than those in the control group (p < 0.05). The combination of CBT and tDCS was associated with improved swallowing function; reduced stigma, depression and anxiety; and increased hope levels in patients with post-stroke dysphagia.

ABSTRACTBackgroundAdolescent engagement is critical to ensuring research meets adolescent health and well‐being needs; however, it is not common practice. To maintain research quality, meaningful adolescent engagement requires tailored support and training, yet limited resources exist globally. This study aimed to describe the co‐creation process and outputs of developing a freely accessible online course to build adolescent research capacity in public health (14–24 years).MethodsAn iterative participatory co‐creation research design with four stages, grounded in Positive Youth Development Theory (strengths‐based) and Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) principles (participatory, inquiry‐based and transformative). Adolescents, academics and community partners collaborated at every stage as equal knowledge holders. Stage i: An evidence brief was developed synthesising literature reviews and diverse adolescents' lived experience to inform course development. Stage ii: A co‐design workshop was held in March 2025 to design the course structure, style and delivery through interactive group activities, dot‐voting and inclusive dialogue. Stage iii: Content was drafted with iterative rounds of feedback with knowledge holders. Stage iv: Course production and user‐testing, hosted on Open edX.OutputsThe iterative co‐creation process with 37 knowledge holders (43% 14–24 years) led to an online course structured into six core modules: (1) The power of engaging young people in research, (2) What is public research?, (3) Ethics—how to do research the ‘right way’, (4) Mentally safe participation, (5) How to get involved, and (6) How to apply learnings. Consensus was reached on style and delivery of modules to enhance engagement, content credibility and trust, reflecting adolescent priorities. The course is self‐paced (~3 h duration), strengths‐based, interactive and accessible (e.g., short videos, quizzes, closed captions, audio‐visuals and grade‐8 reading level). It launched in October 2025 and is accessible worldwide.ConclusionThe co‐created accessible online course aims to support adolescents to be active contributors in public health research. This training has potential to create pathways for inclusive and sustained adolescent engagement in research, translating into evidence‐based research and policy. Effectiveness of the training will be assessed through a mixed‐methods evaluation.Patient or Public ContributionAdolescents were involved in all co‐creation stages from inception to delivery, at various capacities within the Health Hive Steering Committee as paid employees. They were provided mentoring and training to fulfil their role throughout each stage. Their contributions included developing the grant proposal, conceptualising the study name and logo, and informing the workshop evidence brief and agenda. They also played an active role at the co‐design workshop, including facilitating and presenting. Further, adolescents informed the course structure, content and delivery of the course and provided iterative feedback during the content creation stage. They also featured in the production of course materials including videos and audio recordings and user‐tested the course. They also engaged as co‐authors of this manuscript (S.W., E.S., K.C., E.W. and D.M.). A checklist adapted by Nagata et al. 2025 of reporting research with adolescent and youth engagement is available in the supporting material.

ABSTRACT Research on visual exploratory activity (VEA), or scanning, in soccer has primarily focussed on in-possession scenarios, where higher scan rates are associated with improved performance. However, little is known about defenders’ VEA out of possession, despite its importance for anticipation and positioning. This study examined the VEA of 16 English National Youth League academy defenders using manually coded VEO footage. Three out-of-possession phases were captured: (1) periods of ≥10 seconds without ball contact; (2) the 10 seconds prior to an opposition set piece; and (3) the 10 seconds preceding a positive defensive action (e.g. interception). A total of 696 clipped phases were analysed. Linear mixed models revealed significant differences in scan rate across phases (p < 0.05). Scan rates were the highest before set pieces (M = 0.32 scans/s, 95% CI [0.29, 0.35]), lowest before positive defensive actions (M = 0.17 scans/s, 95% CI [0.14, 0.21]) and intermediate during prolonged defending (M = 0.24 scans/s, 95% CI [0.20, 0.28]). These findings indicate defensive scanning is phase-dependent, informing practice on how defenders can optimise their scanning out of possession. Future research should investigate other variables affecting defenders’ VEA, the information defenders look for and if these findings are similar in elite defenders.

Sam Foster discusses how nurse leaders can embed a proactive way of reflecting on patient safety incidents that leads to positive action to improve practice at a local level.

6-Cyanodopamine (6-CYD) is a recently identified endogenous catecholamine that exerts positive chronotropic and inotropic actions, but its occurrence in vascular tissue and effects on vascular reactivity are unknown. In endothelium-intact and endothelium-denuded rabbit isolated aortic rings, we investigated the basal release of 6-CYD and its effects on aortic smooth muscle reactivity. 6-Cyanodopamine release was quantified by LC-MS/MS. Isometric tension was recorded to assess concentration-response curves to noradrenaline, adrenaline, and dopamine in aortic rings pre-incubated or not with 6-CYD, whereas vasorelaxation was evaluated in endothelin-1 (ET-1)-pre-contracted rings. Rabbit aorta released significant amounts of 6-CYD, which were largely reduced either by endothelium removal or pre-incubation with the NOX1/4 inhibitor GKT137831 (1µM), whereas the nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor L-NAME (100µM) and the voltage-gated sodium channel blocker tetrodotoxin (TTX, 1µM) had no significant effect. Addition of 6-CYD (0.1pM to 10nM) had no contractile activity itself, but it significantly potentiated noradrenaline- and adrenaline-induced aortic contractions, an effect largely reduced by endothelium removal. The dopamine-induced aortic contractions remained unaffected by 6-CYD. In ET-1-pre-contracted rings, 6-CYD (1nM-10µM) produced concentration-dependent relaxations that were significantly reduced by endothelium removal and L-NAME (100µM), as well as by the soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) inhibitors ODQ (100µM) and methylene blue (10µM). In conclusion, these findings identify vascular endothelium as a source of 6-CYD and indicate this catecholamine as a novel endogenous modulator of vascular tone, acting through a dual mechanism, namely, potentiating vasoconstriction and producing NO/sGC-dependent vasorelaxation.

Open Science aims to fight misinformation and improve trust in scientific research; it encourages the reliability and accessibility of evidence, reduces inequalities through the democratisation of scientific knowledge and focuses scientific endeavours on issues of societal significance. As a multisponsor collaboration committed to driving positive change, Open Pharma has a multifaceted vision for scientific research publications funded by pharmaceutical companies ('company research publications') that aligns strongly with Open Science tenets. This new vision statement outlines our forward-looking principles for company research publications, both for short-term attainment ('immediate') and long-term commitment ('ultimate'). Together, the principles provide a framework for positive collective action by all stakeholders involved in the development and dissemination of peer-reviewed company research publications. Underpinned by our central commitment to transparency for company research publications, we outline goals for: universal access to these publications; provision of peer-reviewed plain language summaries of the publications to aid comprehension among non-specialist readers; leveraging author and institutional metadata to advance transparency, discoverability and research impact; working towards FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reuse) data principles through cross-sector consensus and action, and disclosure of patient involvement in research and its reporting to support transparency and encourage a research ecosystem attuned to patient centricity. We call on all stakeholders to realise the Open Pharma Vision and achieve an open and trusted future for company research publications that will ultimately advance patient care and improve global health.

Ovulation is triggered by a surge in luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion from the pituitary. The LH surge is itself driven by a surge in gonadotropin-releasing hormone release induced by estrogen positive feedback action in the hypothalamus. While ERα-expressing kisspeptin (Kiss1) neurons in the preoptic area (in mice, the rostral periventricular region of the third ventricle [RP3V]) are proposed to mediate this estrogen positive feedback event, the functional necessity of RP3V-derived kisspeptin for the LH surge has not been directly tested. Here we leveraged Cre/lox technology and the known high co-expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) with Kiss1 in only the RP3V region to generate novel transgenic mice with selective knockout (KO) of the Kiss1 gene in just RP3V neurons (Kiss1RP3V KO mice). In situ hybridization confirmed a significant 70% reduction in cells expressing Kiss1 in the RP3V region, but not in the arcuate nucleus, along with no change in RP3V Th expression. Kiss1RP3V KO females exhibited normal pubertal timing and estrous cycles. However, functional interrogation of the ability of Kiss1RP3V KO females to generate an estradiol-induced LH surge demonstrated markedly blunted LH surges and reduced occurrence of surges, in line with the partial Kiss1RP3V knockout in this group. Correspondingly, fertility assessment revealed significant subfertility, including fewer and smaller litters. This subfertility is consistent with the observed impaired LH surges, though the downstream ovarian mechanism(s) underlying the smaller litters still needs to be determined. These findings provide direct causal evidence that RP3V-derived kisspeptin is essential for normal LH surge magnitude and optimal fertility.

Abstract This perspective provides a reflective account of our personal experiences as African professors and lecturers in diverse fields of environmental sciences encountering the urban Anthropocene. Here, we explain the nature of the unprecedented, potent and hidden changes in our lived environments. Such collective explanations are important in documenting the speed and scale of landscape change in the context of the Anthropocene. Africa, being the fastest (and most unguided) urbanising region, could be the epicentre of the diminishing and collapsing human‐nature co‐existence. Certainly, situations of this nature need alternative explanations that guide us toward positive actions for the future. Our respective experiences of the recent massive loss of centuries‐old human‐nature co‐existence make us nostalgic. The pain of loss of greenery and cultural formations within two to three decades is unimaginable, yet explainable. The nature of the lost landscape composition, functions and experiences within and around our habitats suggest the need for rethinking actions and charting responsibilities for securing our common futures. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Disabled staff are significantly underrepresented and face limited career opportunities within healthcare. This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of an internal positive action programme for disabled staff focusing on healthcare leadership, involving sessions from executive directors, combined with self-leadership through selected podcasts. In 2024, a course designed for disabled staff with a total of 10 leadership workshops was delivered by executive directors and matched with 10 self-leadership podcasts, supported by a reflective workbook. The programme's recruitment and retention were measured, as well as undertaking an embedded mixed methodology with quantitative and qualitative analysis to understand the effectiveness of the programme. A total of 14 participants signed up for the programme from different disciplines and levels in healthcare. No participants dropped out of the programme. Self-reported scores on leadership, the ability to navigate the organisation and requesting reasonable adjustments were all shown to have improved after the leadership programme. Key takeaways for participants included better understanding of change management, advocacy, networking, new career pathways and the complexity of the National Health Service (NHS) system. Executive directors within provider organisations could take the lead on local and tailored positive action programmes, potentially improving disability leadership within the NHS.

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy), a metabolic disorder that causes a higher risk of neurovascular disease, is brought on by elevated blood levels of Hcy. Increased production of ROS and neuroinflammation, which result in neuronal damage and ultimately neuronal death, are known consequences of HHcy. The oxidative effect could be neutralized through the consumption of products rich in polyphenols, such as cashew nuts. Therefore, the objective of the study was to investigate the beneficial effect of cashews in an experimental condition of HHcy. HHcy was induced in rats by oral methionine (Meth) administration for 30 days, and cashew nuts at the dose of 100 mg/kg were administered by oral gavage for 30 consecutive days. Our results showed that Meth administration induced oxidative stress, astrocytes, and microglia activation, and neuronal cell death. Daily consumption of cashew nuts was able to counteract oxidative stress by the modulation of the antioxidant NRF-2 pathway and consequent reduction of lipid peroxidation and upregulation of antioxidant enzyme levels, such as GSH and HO-1. At the same way, Cashew nuts reduced neuroinflammatory markers and apoptotic process, as demonstrated by TUNEL assay and Bax and Bcl-2 levels. Thus, the results suggested that the balanced consumption of cashew nuts could have a positive action in the prevention of HHcy-induced disorders.

Social media platforms like Reddit, YouTube, and online news portals have become dominant in understanding public opinion because of their immediacy and accessibility. The sheer amount of content in these platforms conveys important messages regarding how people perceive and respond emotionally to environmental issues. This paper presents an examination of contemporary public sentiment and emotional expression for environmental topics using state-of-the-art transformer-based NLP models. Unlike the lexicon-based approaches previously suggested, the proposed system makes use of DistilBERT for contextual sentiment classification and DistilRoBERTa for multi-label emotion detection. This paper identifies emotions such as fear, anger, trust, and joy simultaneously. Based on real-time data gathered during the project period, Top2Vec is proposed for automatic identification of trending discussion themes across multiple platforms, including Reddit, YouTube, and NewsAPI, offering up-to-date reflections of public attitudes toward environmental sustainability and climate-related issues. Experimental evaluations show that transformer-based models outperform traditional methods such as PMI and VADER in terms of contextual accuracy and sarcasm detection. By integrating sentiment, emotion, and topic-level insights, the system provides a holistic and cross-platform understanding of discussions associated with the environment and uses this knowledge to support researchers, policymakers, and organizations in data-driven decision-making to create awareness and drive environmentally positive actions.

ABSTRACT Our analysis investigates the distinct relationship between sexism and workplace stress as experienced by women academics in the UK higher education system. We argue that due to the insufficient literature on this issue there is a limited knowledge base of the harmful psychological effects of stress in the workplace upon women academics in the UK university sector. In applying the concept of “gender regime” through a feminist lens we explain how the patriarchal, neoliberal university is a site of sexist discrimination, producing psychosocial health hazards in the workplace resulting in stressful experiences unique to women academics. The methodology employed in the study was a combined feminist and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach using semi‐structured interviews to generate qualitative data. The sample included detailed interviews with seven women academics. Three themes were identified; exclusion , discrimination, and gendered divisions of labor as categories to illustrate how the gender regime manifests itself to cause stress in the workplace. Our data also suggested that the presence of men in leadership roles was associated with a higher frequency of sexist incidents compared to women‐led management teams. To challenge such discrimination and the consequential experiences of workplace stress for women academics, we argue for recommendations that go beyond the micro agentic level implementing transformative change at the meso institutional level. These proposals include positive action equality programs, equitable and transparent recruitment/promotion procedures, access to full participation in all forms of academic work, statutory equality training programs for senior leadership postholders, and effective support mechanisms for employees with caring responsibilities. Simultaneously, we contend that any analysis of organizational gender regimes within UK universities needs to be recognized as originating from the wider macro patriarchal structural context.

The interaction between man and nature has existed since time immemorial. In the literary arena, scholarship on the interaction between man and his environment is on a steady rise, given the global concern with environmental issues. This study examines the relationship between man and nature in Austin Bukenya’s play, A Hole in the Sky (2013). In particular, the study examines the playwright’s depiction of man’s connectedness/disconnectedness with the natural world and how this impacts the environment as brought out in the play. An analytical research design was adopted for the study. The Eco-critical theory was used in the reading analysis and interpretation of the text. The findings reveal that the pursuit of selfish interest leads to a disconnection between man and nature thereby destabilizing the balance between them. Harmony exists only when there is a sense of connection between man and nature. Nature and man are trapped in a reciprocal relationship in which nature responds positively to positive actions by man, and vice versa—defilement of nature by man results in retributive justice. The playwright advocates an eco-centric relationship between man and nature that recognizes the interrelations among organismal and inanimate elements in the world and the fact that they depend on one another and therefore need to be considerate in their actions towards one another.

Resilience is an important capacity that enables students to adapt to academic stress and social pressures. This research aims to determine the effectiveness of self-awareness–based NLP therapy in improving students’ resilience. This research is a quantitative study using a quasi-experimental design with a control group and an experimental group. The data collection methods included a resilience scale to measure students’ academic and social resilience, as well as self-awareness and resilience scales administered before and after the intervention to evaluate the outcomes of the NLP intervention. The subjects of this research were students with low levels of resilience, consisting of 146 female students and 124 male students. The results showed that self-awareness–based NLP intervention was effective in increasing students’ academic and social resilience. The conclusion of this research is that students’ thoughts about their lives have the potential to influence their resilience, and NLP is beneficial in fostering positive thinking in students so that they can better understand themselves and channel negative thoughts and emotions into positive actions.

Influence of TiH2/PTFE mass ratio on the detonation performance of RDX-Based active shell thermobaric explosives

What kinds of nonfiction stories can engage young readers to develop ecological awareness and foster environmental action? Through the lens of literature, readers explore complex environmental themes, fostering deeper understanding and ecological empathy. This study examines how new nonfiction children's literature fosters ecoliteracy through specific narrative and communicative strategies. Building on insights from the literature review, we defined three key dimensions that guided the thematic analysis of 14 selected texts (published 2004–2024) available to primary school children in Italy and Ireland. These dimensions include narrative strategies, representations of ecosystem complexity and participatory approaches positioning children as environmental agents. These texts employ strategies such as personal narratives, multimodal designs and action-oriented frameworks enabling readers to develop both cognitive understanding and emotional connection to environmental issues. This study reveals how nonfiction's unique affordances can promote critical thinking, ecological awareness, and positive environmental action, contributing to our understanding of how literature nurtures environmentally conscious young citizens.

This study investigated the impact of climate action communication on tourists’ destination evaluations. Specifically, it examined how climate action communication (positive vs. negative) influences emotional reactions of warm glow and guilt, which subsequently impact tourists’ intention to visit the destination and evaluate it as proenvironmental. It also examined the moderating role of destination type (natural vs. cultural). Using a multimethod approach, one exploratory and two online experiments revealed that positive climate action messages result in higher levels of warm glow, while negative climate action messages heighten perceptions of guilt. However, only warm glow influences tourists’ intention to visit the destination and their perceptions of its image as proenvironmental. Additionally, positive climate action messages are more effective for shaping tourists’ evaluations of natural destinations compared to cultural destinations. These findings offer novel insights for marketers of natural destinations on effectively communicating climate initiatives and encouraging climate-responsible tourist behavior.

Cervical screening programmes are long-established and supported by robust evidence, but participation is declining. Around a third of those eligible did not participate in England in 2023-24. To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of an audit and feedback intervention to improve the uptake of cervical screening in general practice. Semi-structured interview study with general practice staff in three Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and regional and national policy leaders. Quarterly reports were generated for 23 general practices comparing cervical screening coverage with other local practices with similar population levels of deprivation, alongside resources and practical suggestions to improve screening uptake. Reports were emailed to practice managers requesting they be shared with teams. We conducted semi-structured interviews with practice staff and health service leaders to determine how the reports were received, understood, and used. Interviews were structured and analysed using Clinical Performance Feedback Intervention Theory (CP-FIT). Fourteen practice staff and three service leaders were interviewed. Practice teams seldom recalled seeing the feedback reports prior to interview invitations but generally viewed them positively when shown at interview. Report format, length, frequency and content were considered appropriate. Staff involved in cervical screening found the reports clear and informative, and thought that enhanced awareness and motivation could prompt positive actions. Audit and feedback cannot improve cervical cancer screening uptake if targeted recipients do not receive it. More effective methods are required to engage or circumvent practice 'gatekeepers' to ensure feedback reach.