Airport accessibility assessment and shuttle bus scheduling across socioeconomic groups

The influence of socioeconomic status on cancer diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes has been studied for several decades. In multiple myeloma, many authors are investigating the impact of poverty and social inequalities, measured by indicators such as place of residence, number of residents, occupation, income and education, the incidence, stage and management of the disease, and survival, with controversial results. The aim of this study was to ambispectively analyze the association between socioeconomic status and clinical characteristics of multiple myeloma at presentation. A total of 296 patients, diagnosed between 2015 and 2023 in three institutions in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were included. To assess the socioeconomic status, a social class questionnaire was administered to patients (or relatives, in the cases of death); information about educational level was collected from this interview and medical records and household income per capita were estimated, according to place of residence. Lower socioeconomic status was associated with delayed diagnosis, symptoms at presentation, advanced stage, poorer performance status, lower hemoglobin and higher calcium values. These findings suggest a possible relationship between socioeconomic aspects and severity of multiple myeloma presentation in Brazil, and underscore the importance of shaping health policies to promote greater equity in cancer diagnosis and treatment access.

Patient awareness and perspectives regarding the value of focal therapy for localized prostate cancer: A cross-sectional study.

Designing communication strategies to increase rural participation in clinical trials using the Health Belief Model and strategic communication.

Introduction: Cervical cancer is a malignancy that originates in the cervix, the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina, and is caused primarily by high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV). Globally, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women, with approximately 660,000 new cases and about 350,000 deaths reported in 2022. This study aimed to assess the facilitators and barriers influencing the utilization of cervical cancer health services among childbearing women aged 15-49 in Lusaka District of Zambia. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was utilized to investigate the facilitators and barriers that influence the utilization of cervical cancer health services among women of reproductive age. Ethical approval was sought and obtained from Lusaka Apex Medical University Biomedical Research Ethics Committee IRB number 00799-24. Results: The study disclosed that a large proportion of respondents were Christians (83.8%) and were not employed (45.8%). Research revealed that while 51.4% of respondents have heard about cervical cancer, a significant majority of them (67.6%) are still unaware of risk factors, endorsed frequency (73.2%) and acceptable methods (64.8%) of cervical cancer screening and the importance of early cervical cancer detection and management (73.2%). The study further disclosed that, while 64.8% of women have been encouraged by healthcare professionals, and the convenience of multiple healthcare facilities (64.8%) across the district, a significant proportion of respondents (84.5%) do not attend educational awareness campaigns on cervical cancer. Not only that, the study also disclosed that, many study participants (67.6%) are still unaware of government initiatives about cervical cancer. The study also revealed that, 64.8% of study participants have never received information about cervical cancer health services through community awareness campaigns in Lusaka District. Age, marital status, social class, religion, level of education, occupation and number of children were found to have statistically significant association with respondents’ level of awareness of cervical cancer (P < 0.05). The study also found that, most of the study participants’ significant challenges faced when accessing and utilizing cervical cancer health services include transportation issues and lack of privacy, each affecting 90.3% of study participants, and financial constraints impacting 67.9% of respondents. The study further uncovered that, 67.6% of women feel that the distance to healthcare facilities is another major obstacle to cervical cancer services accessibility and utilization. The study also disclosed that 64.8% of respondents are still unaware of available free cervical cancer health services due to lack of availability of health information and education among women of reproductive age. The study further disclosed that, most of the respondents (73.2%) do not perceive fear or anxiety about cervical cancer screening procedures to affect their willingness to utilize cervical cancer health services in the district. Conclusion: The study found that utilization of cervical cancer health services among women of childbearing age in Lusaka District remains suboptimal, largely due to low levels of awareness, limited access to health information, and persistent structural barriers such as transportation challenges, financial constraints, distance to health facilities, and concerns regarding privacy. Socio-demographic factors, including age, marital status, education, occupation, religion, and parity, were significantly associated with awareness of cervical cancer services. In response, the study recommends that the Lusaka District Health Office, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), strengthen community engagement, social mobilization, and health education campaigns to improve awareness of cervical cancer risk factors, screening services, and HPV vaccination. Additionally, capacity building for healthcare providers in culturally sensitive communication, patient confidentiality, stigma-free care, and the expansion of mobile outreach services is essential to address existing access-related barriers.

This study explores the socio-economic and environmental impacts of tourism in Cox’s Bazar. One of the most popular tourist destinations with a focus on sustainable development perspectives in Bangladesh. The aim is to assess the complex interplay between socio-economic outcomes, environmental challenges, and tourism growth while exploring the potential for sustainable tourism practices through sustainable tourism development (STD) model and community-based tourism (CBT) model. A mixedmethod approach was used, utilizing stakeholder interviews and thematic analysis. This methodology identified four key themes such as environmental degradation, social division, cultural destruction, and eco-tourism awareness. It provides a comprehensive view of the challenges and opportunities associated with tourism in the region. The findings reveal that tourism has significantly contributed to economic growth and cultural preservation. However, it has also resulted in several challenges related to ecotourism awareness, such as pollution, habitat loss, rising social inequality and commodification of local culture. While tourism has driven development, these negative outcomes have raised concerns about its long-term sustainability. The research emphasizes the importance of adopting the STD model that balances economic needs with social, and environmental sustainability. Additionally, the CBT model is proposed to empower local communities, ensuring their active participation in tourism management while preserving their environmental and cultural heritage for eco-tourism. The study provides actionable recommendations for policymakers to ensure that tourism contributes to long-term economic resilience, environmental sustainability and social equity in Cox’s Bazar. These encompass policies promoting sustainable tourism, local engagement, environmental safeguards, and economic diversification to reduce dependency on tourism. Furthermore, the adoption of STD model and CBT model can guide future tourism practices, ensuring inclusivity and environmental responsibility in the region.

The quick development of digital communication platforms has opened up new areas where people’s behavior is profoundly and frequently shaped by online anonymity. This paper looks at the psychological understanding of online anonymity and how it can lead to harmful behaviors like hate speech, harassment, cyberbullying, and flaming. In order to provide a thorough understanding of why people behave differently when protected by anonymity in digital environments, the study shows findings from theoretical literature, drawing on important theoretical frameworks. The research paper shows three main factors of toxic online disinhibition: anonymity, invisibility and lack of eye-contact. The long-held belief that toxic behavior is solely motivated by anonymity is challenged by experimental findings showing that the single biggest cause of negative disinhibition is absence of eye-contact. The study also shows how cyberbullying appears in online forums, how anonymity is adversely correlated with aggressive attacks, and how algorithmic amplification and social media platform design amplify these effects. The study recognizes the dual nature of anonymity in addition to the risks: although it encourages toxic behavior, it also decreases barriers to self-disclosure, assists vulnerable people seeking mental health support, and creates positive anonymous networks. The effects of toxic online behavior are examined at the individual level, such as despair, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts among victims, as well as at the communal and societal levels, such as the dissemination of false information and heightened social division. AI-powered content filtering, digital literacy instruction, identity verification systems, and platform design reform are some of the methods to lessen toxic behavior that are covered.

ABSTRACT The sustainable management of Pinus nigra plantations under changing climatic conditions requires a comprehensive understanding of how tree growth dynamics and climate–growth relationships are influenced by site orientation and tree social status. This study investigates growth parameters in two P. nigra plantations situated on contrasting slopes in central Albania: northwest (NW) and southeast (SE). Trees were classified into dominant (Dom) and suppressed (Supp) social classes. Radial growth responses to temperature, precipitation, and drought measured via the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), were assessed using Pearson correlation analyses. The results revealed Dom trees exhibiting greater growth than Supp individuals, and overall higher growth observed at the SE site. Trees at the SE site were more responsive to summer temperature and precipitation than those at the NW site. Radial growth responses to SPEI were most pronounced in latewood, with the strongest effects observed in Dom trees at NW and Supp trees at SE. The highest correlations were found with the 1-month SPEI in July at NW, and the 4-month SPEI in August at SE. These findings offer valuable insights for the development of adaptive forest management strategies under increasingly warm and arid conditions.

This article draws on the concept of frontier modernisation (I. V. Poberezhnikov) to examine the specific nature of Chelyabinsk’s development, with a focus on the role of the Cossacks in the city’s population. The social characteristics of the Cossack population of Chelyabinsk in the pre-reform period are presented herein, primarily based on three city resident registers from 1811, 1841, and 1861. These registers contain information regarding homeowners, their social status and families, real estate in the city, service, and economic activity. As demonstrated in the data, starting in the mid-eighteenth century and continuing through the nineteenth, the population of Cossacks in Chelyabinsk decreased steadily despite the town’s numerical growth. The author attempts to reconstruct several aspects of the social history of three related Cossack clans, the Kolbins, Bukharins, and Balandins, who lived in the city during this period. The Bukharins and Balandins lived in the city from the early years of the founding of the Chelyabinsk fortress (1736), while the Kolbins appeared later, but also in the eighteenth century. There is no record of Cossack families living in a compact area of the city. Cossack households were located on different streets. It has been determined that the financial situation of Cossack families (a correlation exists between this indicator and the number of rooms in a household) was initially associated with the military ranks of the heads of families. However, from the mid-nineteenth century onward, another trend emerged, whereby successful economic activity in various spheres could ensure material prosperity. In this regard, in the post-reform period, there were numerous cases of Cossacks moving to other social classes, mainly the petty bourgeoisie, in the territory of the Orenburg Cossack Army.

Chemical defenses are fundamental in organismal biology and widely used in medicine and agriculture. Plant defense chemistry evolves in response to various selective pressures, particularly herbivory, and theory has emphasized predicting toxin abundance and diversity. Here we test hypotheses about the evolution of structural innovation in chemical defense by combining molecular complexity metrics, metabolomics, molecular docking, and phylogenetic analyses, using milkweed cardenolides, steroidal glycosides that inhibit animal Na+/K+-ATPases. We identify the addition of a nitrogen-sulfur (N,S) heterocycle in highly substituted cardenolides as a major structural innovation that restores toxicity against coevolved natural enemies, such as the monarch butterfly. This toxicity is likely achieved by rigidifying the cardenolide scaffold and creating additional nonelectrostatic interactions within the Na+/K+-ATPase binding pocket, thereby enhancing binding affinity despite target-site resistance. Two biosynthetically distinct N,S-cardenolides, uscharin and labriformin, rank among the most complex structures in this chemical class and show divergent macroevolutionary histories: uscharin represents an ancestral character state with repeated losses, whereas labriformin has independently evolved multiple times in later-diverging lineages. This pattern across Asclepiadoideae indicates that the structural innovation evolved repeatedly, apparently limited by lineage-specific biosynthetic constraints among precursor pathways. N,S-cardenolides occur in over 75% of the 59 Asclepias species examined here, and species producing N,S-cardenolides exhibit greater cardenolide abundance, richness, metabolomic space, and toxicity against adapted organisms. More generally, structural innovation defines a distinct evolutionary axis in plant chemistry, enabling defense diversification and adaptive recovery of toxicity. Such innovations are predicted to build on existing molecular scaffolds in response to ecological challenges, here driven by coevolving specialist herbivores.

Roma people, being the largest ethnic minority in Europe, continue to experience prejudice and structural discrimination. Moreover, there is low participation in Roma collective action and allies' solidarity-based actions. This pre-registered experimental research examines on samples from non-Roma population in Spain how social class, discrimination awareness, and group efficacy predict prejudice towards Roma and non-Roma participation in solidarity-based actions as allies in addition to test the role of intergroup emotions on those effects. In Study 1 (N = 870) social class and discrimination awareness were manipulated. Results showed that individuals assigned to the low social class condition exhibited more prejudice towards Roma in terms of stereotypes, emotions and discriminatory behaviors. Moreover, discrimination awareness condition indirectly predicted more participation in pro-Roma solidarity-based actions through increased outrage about about the situation of Roma. Study 2 (N = 1,000) confirmed the effect of social class on prejudice. Further, it showed two different paths for predicting solidarity-based actions: discrimination awareness (high vs. low) predicted higher participation in solidarity-based actions indirectly via empathy towards Roma people and outrage towards about the situation of Roma, whereas group efficacy (high vs. low) predicted participation in solidarity-based actions through hope in relation to the situation of Roma and empathy towards Roma. This experimental research highlights the need to address the role of Roma social class as a crucial factor in understanding prejudice and confirms the discrimination (via outrage and empathy) and efficacy (via hope) routes for promoting solidarity-based actions participation to support Roma rights and promote social equity.

ABSTRACT Consumer buying behaviour is a key factor influencing the performance of retail stores in urban markets like Coimbatore. This study analyzes the purchasing behaviour, preferences, and decision-making patterns of consumers shopping in retail stores in Coimbatore. It particularly examines how demographic factors such as age, income level, education, and social class (middle, upper-middle, and high-income groups) affect buying decisions. The research is based on primary data collected through a structured questionnaire from retail customers, along with supporting secondary data. Statistical tools such as percentage analysis and ranking methods were used for interpretation. The findings indicate that product quality, price, brand reputation, store ambience, and promotional offers significantly influence consumer purchase decisions. Middle-income consumers are more price-conscious, while higher-income consumers show stronger preference for branded products and shopping experience. The study concludes that retailers in Coimbatore must understand varying consumer expectations to develop effective marketing strategies and improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. Keywords: Consumer Buying Behaviour, Retail Stores, Coimbatore, Customer Preference, Retail Marketing, Purchase Decision

Predation risk influences how animals approach predictable food sources where ambush predators may be present. In parids, chick-a-dee calls are used in a wide variety of contexts related to social cohesion and are well known as mobbing signals. Here, we examined whether they are also produced in the absence of visible predators in contexts in which predation risk may nevertheless be latent or uncertain. We tested whether chick-a-dee calls emitted by Willow Tits (Poecile montanus) during feeder approach exhibit acoustic and recruitment characteristics comparable to mobbing calls elicited by predator models. The study included repeated observations of 44 individuals across 11 flocks, enabling within-individual comparisons across habitat contexts. We analyzed call structure, calling duration, and recruitment latency in relation to habitat visibility and dominance status. Calls produced during the feeder approach showed overlapping structural features with mobbing calls and were associated with the recruitment of flock members, particularly in dense habitat. Mixed-effects models confirmed significant effects of habitat structure, predator presentation, and social rank on calling behavior and recruitment dynamics. These patterns are consistent with mobbing-like signaling under conditions of uncertain predation risk. Because predator presence and detection outcomes were not directly measured, our findings provide behavioral evidence compatible with proactive signaling rather than functional confirmation of predator probing.

Primates' decision-making in economic contexts follows distinctive patterns, as initially described by Prospect Theory. Social animals, such as monkeys, live in hierarchically structured groups where individual status may influence cognitive processes, including economic decisions. We leveraged a unique dataset from a semi-free ranging macaques' group, which had continuous access to gambling tasks over several years, yielding hundreds of thousands of trials and longitudinal assessments of social hierarchy. Our findings reveal a dynamic relationship between social hierarchy and decision parameters: middle-ranking individuals displayed reduced risk aversion for potential gains but not losses. Longitudinal analyses suggested that changes in social rank were followed by corresponding shifts in risk attitudes, implying that social position, rather than inherent traits, influences decision-making patterns. While sex had no significant impact, age was primarily associated with variations in loss aversion. These results underscore the flexibility and adaptive nature of primates' cognitive biases and provide key insights into how social structures influence risk behavior, with potential implications for understanding decision-making processes in other social species, including humans.

This study examines the non-linear process of leaving violent dating relationships among young Iranian immigrant women in Canada. Using a qualitative design, semi-structured interviews with 17 participants were analyzed via reflexive thematic analysis. Framed by Collins' Matrix of Domination, the research explores how intersecting social divisions shape the leaving trajectory. Findings reveal that aggressors' coercive control tactics are instrumentalized through cultural scripts of honor, community surveillance, and a transnational distrust of legal institutions. The study concludes that systemic barriers within the migration context complicate relationship termination, necessitating culturally grounded support strategies.

Economic inequality impacts development across the lifespan, influencing access to resources, suitable housing, and quality schooling. However, we lack an understanding of how differences in income shape interpersonal interactions, such as social class discrimination. Adolescence is a key developmental period to examine this construct, given identity formation and cognitive advances. We conducted semi-structured interviews with adolescents ( n = 33; 18 cisgender girls and 15 cisgender boys) and adults ( n = 8; five teachers and three parents; seven cisgender women and one trans-male). Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis, incorporating both structured and reflexive coding. Findings indicated three themes. First, Social Class Discrimination Occurs in a Variety of Ways captured experiences ranging from overt acts to subtle biases. Targets included the adolescent (direct) and via other individuals (indirect). Sources of discrimination were teachers, adolescents, adults in the community, and social media. Second, What Makes Social Class Discrimination Unique highlighted its novel qualities, such as appearance, materials, housing conditions, parental occupation, and wealth. Third, The Intersectionality of Social Class Discrimination indicated its overlap with race/ ethnicity, skin color, and gender. Addressing this topic is crucial for supporting adolescent well-being. Efforts to combat such discrimination should consider its multidimensionality, uniqueness, and intersectionality.

ABSTRACT This article examines how social class and gender intersect to shape educational experiences and aspirations of Chinese international postgraduate students’ in the UK. Drawing on qualitative longitudinal research with 25 Chinese taught postgraduate students, the study explores how family socio-economic background structures access to financial, cultural and social resources over one academic year. Using the concepts of ‘privileged dependence’ and ‘precarious autonomy’, the findings demonstrate that middle-class students benefit from sustained parental support, whereases working-class students experience autonomy as economically constrained and risk-laden. Beyond the influence of social class, these dynamics are also shaped intersectionally by sociocultural expectations around gender. The study thus conceptualises ‘privileged dependence’ and ‘precarious autonomy’ as dynamic ‘classed’ and ‘gendered’ processes, contributing to intersectional research on international student mobility.

ABSTRACT Transnational mobility is typically seen as an opportunity to break out of fixed class positions and facilitate social mobility. However, the availability of parental support remains a persistent if complex determinant of the social mobility opportunities available to young adults who move abroad. The influence of family support and class background on youth social mobility has been clearly recognised in class scholarship in Australia. Yet, this relationship has remained under-examined in transnational mobility contexts, where social mobility has tended to be examined more in relation to young people’s employment opportunities and visa pathways. Seeking to fill this gap, our paper draws together recent scholarship on mobile young adults’ experiences navigating social and class (im)mobility abroad in relation to employment (as this intersects with visas), and a growing body of literature that features the relational and social dimensions of social mobility for migrants. We argue that family support is a critical but overlooked factor in the social mobility of transnationally mobile youth. We explore how it functions not simply as a source of safety and stability, but shapes their economic opportunities and pathways in complex ways that illustrate the relational embeddedness of social mobility for middling mobile youth.

Federated open intent classification via granular-ball knowledge representation.

This manuscript was developed to present a comprehensive analysis of the solutions and conditions used in the production of cultured meat (CM). This study addressed the following research question: What are the reasons for the development of CM? The aim of the study was to conduct a thorough review of the scientific literature on issues related to the production and quality of CM, as well as methods used to improve it, and to systematize these issues. Issues related to shaping the chemical composition and nutritional value towards functional foods, as well as the organoleptic properties and safety of CM, were presented. Issues related to consumer acceptance of CM were discussed. Further issues concerned CM as a market product, including the advantages and barriers associated with acquiring and maintaining markets. Key development conditions were discussed, such as the need to improve the quality of CM, technological development, and lower production costs. Socioeconomic challenges, such as the risk of deepening economic inequalities between countries and social classes, and the potential consequences for farmers, consumers, and rural populations, were also considered.