Abstract: This study introduces the R-index as a novel framework for quantifying the economic impact of risk through realized deviations from expected performance. In contrast to traditional risk measures that rely on probabilistic or volatility-based approaches, the proposed index captures risk as an outcome-based phenomenon directly linked to firm-level performance. The R-index is constructed as a normalized measure of deviation between actual and expected values and is further extended to a multidimensional setting, allowing for aggregation across different performance indicators. The empirical analysis is conducted using longitudinal financial data from three firms operating in distinct sectors of the Montenegrin economy—telecommunications, retail, and tourism—over the period 2015–2024. The results reveal substantial heterogeneity in the realization of risk across firms, even under identical macroeconomic conditions. While some firms exhibit stable performance and limited deviations, others demonstrate pronounced volatility and sensitivity to external shocks, particularly during the COVID-19 period. These findings suggest that risk is not uniformly transmitted but is instead shaped by firm-specific characteristics, including operational structure and adaptive capacity. The study contributes to the literature by redefining risk as a realized economic phenomenon and by proposing a scalable and interpretable metric that bridges risk measurement and performance evaluation. The R-index offers practical relevance for managerial decision-making and provides a foundation for future research on the relationship between risk and firm value.

Abstract: This study investigates how Gen Z’s digital engagement with the Diyandi Festival in Iligan City reconfigures cultural participation into a hybrid experience—where faith, identity, and storytelling unfold across both physical and digital spaces. Employing a qualitative case study design, enriched by digital ethnographic and content analytic methods, the research draws from semi-structured interviews, written and online artifacts, and a robust theoretical framework that includes Hall’s encoding/decoding model, Bakhtin’s carnivalesque theory, and Adorno’s critique of mass culture. Twenty salient themes emerged, mirroring the voices, views, sentiments, and lived experiences of young Iliganons as they navigate tradition through memes, livestreams, and remix aesthetics. Overall, the paper encapsulates the symbolic tension between sacred ritual and digital disruption, highlighting the fragility of mediated spirituality. The study’s innovation lies in its fusion of ethnographic depth with digital cultural analysis, offering a localized yet globally resonant portrait of participatory heritage. It positions Iligan’s festival as a living archive that stands resilient against the tide of global cultural information. Limitations in scope and generational range prompt recommendations for comparative and longitudinal research, and suggest the viability of a “phygital” festival model—one that blends physical celebration with digital engagement to ensure cultural continuity in the age of information.

Abstract: Cardiovascular disease is traditionally interpreted through macrocirculatory parameters such as cardiac output, vascular resistance, and epicardial coronary anatomy. However, clinical outcomes frequently diverge from predictions based solely on these indices, particularly in syndromes such as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), cardiogenic shock, and sepsis-associated myocardial dysfunction. Increasing evidence suggests that the integrity of the microvascular–immune interface plays a central role in determining tissue perfusion and cardiovascular resilience. This review proposes a staged framework of cardiovascular decompensation centered on progressive failure of this interface. In Stage 1, chronic cardiometabolic and inflammatory stress produces a primed but compensated microvascular state characterized by endothelial activation, glycocalyx vulnerability, pericyte remodeling, platelet sensitization, and reduced lymphatic reserve. Perfusion is preserved at rest, but vasodilatory reserve and microvascular stability are reduced, narrowing the effective perfusion window under physiologic stress. In Stage 2, acute insults such as infection, ischemia, or neurohumoral activation precipitate threshold instability within the microcirculation. Perfusion becomes governed by the arterial pressure–critical closing pressure (Pa − Pcrit) relationship rather than traditional arterial–venous gradients. As this window narrows, segmental capillary derecruitment and heterogeneous flow emerge, producing loss of hemodynamic coherence in which systemic blood pressure and cardiac output may appear preserved despite impaired tissue perfusion. In Stage 3, inflammatory amplification and immunothrombotic processes consolidate microvascular dysfunction. Pericyte contraction, endothelial injury, cytokine escalation, and neutrophil extracellular trap formation promote platelet–fibrin deposition and capillary obstruction, transforming reversible conductance failure into structural microvascular impairment. This framework provides a unifying physiologic lens for diverse cardiovascular syndromes, including Type 2 myocardial infarction, HFpEF decompensation, and cardiogenic shock. It also suggests that therapeutic efficacy may depend less on macrocirculatory normalization alone and more on preserving microvascular integrity before immunothrombotic consolidation occurs. Although this model remains hypothesis-generating, it highlights the microvascular–immune interface as a central determinant of cardiovascular stability and a potential target for future precision hemodynamic and immunomodulatory strategies.

Abstract: Background: The expansion of online and hybrid graduate education has shifted the central quality question from delivery feasibility to whether institutions can credibly demonstrate advanced, assessable graduate capability in digitally mediated environments. Competency-based education offers a promising framework for this challenge, but its conceptual foundations and implementation logics remain uneven across higher education. Objective: This scoping review maps how competency-based curriculum design is conceptualised and operationalised in online graduate education and derives context-sensitive implications for emerging African universities. Methods: Guided by Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methodology and a Population-Concept-Context framework, the review synthesised peer-reviewed studies alongside selected policy and quality assurance documents relevant to online graduate education, competency-based design, and digital higher education governance. The analysis was interpreted through Constructive Alignment, Community of Inquiry, and TPACK. Results: The evidence converged around six interdependent domains: competency specification, curriculum architecture, assessment evidence chains, online interaction design, learning management system configuration, and faculty and governance capability. The review found that the central problem is not merely definitional ambiguity, but the failure to sustain alignment from competency statements to valid assessment, platform workflows, and institutional quality assurance. It also found that much of the available evidence comes from higher-capacity systems and professionally regulated disciplines, limiting direct transferability to emerging African universities. Conclusion: Competency-based online graduate curricula are most defensible when treated as institution-wide design architectures rather than course-level innovations. For emerging African universities, credible implementation depends on coherent alignment among curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, platform design, faculty development, and quality management. The review therefore argues for selective translation rather than uncritical borrowing of dominant models.

Abstract: We develop a queueing-organized framework for within-venue monitoring of BTC/USDT liquidity, signed-flow pressure, and resiliency on Binance. The model treats latent buy and sell pressure as occupancy processes and uses that state space to organize three empirical diagnostics: the variance-per-BTC liquidity measure R_r, the effective mean-reversion rate θ_eff, and the companion signed-flow proxy beta^proxy_eff. Using Binance trade data from 2020 to 2025, we find a pooled first-order variance-volume regularity away from the highest-volume tail and substantial time variation in rolling liquidity and resiliency. In overlapping 30-day windows, θ_eff is positive by point estimate in roughly two-thirds of windows but clearly positive in only about two-fifths under a simple uncertainty buffer, implying that local recovery is often fragile or ambiguous. The intended users are short-horizon risk managers, execution desks, market makers, and exchange surveillance teams that need auditable venue-level indicators of when liquidity is thinning, recovery is weakening, and signed flow is turning one-sided. Queueing is useful here because it turns those signals into one coherent monitoring dashboard for venue-level market quality and short-horizon risk.

Abstract: Supplemental oxygen is a cornerstone intervention in modern clinical practice, widely used to correct hypoxemia in emergencies, perioperative, and critical care settings. While oxygen therapy is lifesaving, accumulating evidence indicates that excessive oxygen exposure can induce significant pathophysiological disturbances, particularly within the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems. Hyperoxia (PaO₂ > 100 mm Hg) promotes the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and activation of pro-fibrotic pathways. When combined with mechanical ventilation, these effects are further amplified through alterations in intrathoracic pressure, reduced venous return, and increased pulmonary vascular resistance, collectively imposing hemodynamic stress on the myocardium. These mechanical and biochemical perturbations converge to drive structural, functional, and electrical remodeling of the heart, including conduction abnormalities and arrhythmogenesis. Emerging clinical insights, particularly from critically ill and COVID-19 populations, underscore the importance of titrated oxygen strategies that balance adequate tissue oxygenation with minimization of hyperoxic injury. This review synthesizes current evidence on hyperoxia-induced oxidative stress, heart–lung interactions, and mechanisms underlying myocardial remodeling to provide a comprehensive framework for optimizing oxygen therapy.

Abstract: 4-Dimethylamino-2’-hydroxy chalcone (DHC) 1 is an important natural compound that is nearly non-fluorescent in solution but highly fluorescent in its crystalline state. At room temperature, the weak fluorescence from DHC solution is exclusively from its keto tautomer, without notable contribution from its enol tautomer. By using low temperature fluorescence, the study found that the enol emission could be detected upon cooling with liquid N₂ in a protic solvent (e.g. EtOH). This led to observation of the fluorescence vibronic structure of enol tautomer, in addition to its enol emission λ_em ≈ 473 nm that is well separated from its keto tautomer emission (λ_em ≈ 600 nm). By freezing DHC in a solvent matrix, the study revealed the fluorescent characteristics of a single molecule in a rigid environment. Further comparison of DHC in a solvent matrix and crystalline state disclosed that the emission of crystalline DHC was primarily from the keto tautomer, along with some minor contribution from the enol tautomer, despite the tight packing environment in the crystalline state.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: To analyse the causes, characteristics, and outcomes of hospital admissions in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) over a 30-year period in a tertiary referral centre in Catalonia, and to evaluate temporal trends and prognostic factors associated with adverse outcomes. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted including all SLE patients admitted to the Department of Autoimmune Diseases at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona between June 1995 and December 2024. Admissions lasting less than 48 hours or lacking clinical documentation were excluded. Variables analysed included demographics, disease duration, comorbidities, cause of admission, treatments, and outcomes. A composite outcome was defined as intensive care unit (ICU) admission, 30-day readmission, or prolonged hospital stay. Statistical analyses included univariate and multivariate regression models. Results: Among the 1,216 hospital admissions, SLE flares and infections were the most frequent causes. Over the study period, admissions due to infections increased significantly and, in the last five years, exceeded those related to disease flares (33.7% vs. 26.1%). Patients hospitalized for flares were younger and had a shorter disease duration, whereas infection-related admissions were more common among older patients, those with overlap syndromes, and those with higher damage scores. Vascular events and SLE flares were independently associated with poorer outcomes. Although antimalarial use increased over time, it remained suboptimal, largely due to drug toxicity and newly diagnosed cases (from 45.2% to 69.7%; p< 0.001). Treatment strategies also evolved, with a shift toward lower gluco-corticoid doses (from 14.5% to 38.3%; p< 0.001), and mycophenolate mofetil replacing cyclophosphamide as the preferred immunosuppressive agent. Conclusions: Hospitalisation patterns in SLE have shifted over time, with infections emerging as the leading cause of admission. This trend reflects an evolving patient profile characterized by older age, greater accumulated damage, comorbidities, and increased exposure to immunosuppressive therapies. These findings underscore the need for optimized infection prevention strategies and individualized treatment approaches to improve outcomes in contemporary SLE care.

Abstract: Text classification in low-resource languages has become increasingly important due to the rapid growth of user-generated digital content. While multitask learning has long been studied in NLP, the use of LLMs for multitask text classification in low-resource languages such as Bengali remains underexplored. Although LLMs are inherently multilingual and multitasking, their effectiveness in structured multitask classification settings for Bengali has not been systematically evaluated. In this work, we investigate how LLMs can be leveraged for multitask Bengali text classification across five domains: sentiment analysis, aggressive text detection, fake news detection, news categorization, and emotion analysis. We compare in-context learning strategies—including zero-shot, one-shot, and chain-of-thought prompting—with parameter-efficient fine-tuning approaches. Our findings show that CoT prompting does not consistently improve performance and often degrades performance, highlighting the instability of prompt-based adaptation in low-resource settings with limited pretraining exposure. Moreover, reasoning-optimized models such as DeepSeek-R1 exhibit substantial performance drops, indicating that enhanced reasoning capabilities alone cannot overcome the challenges posed by low-resource settings. Among the evaluated mLLMs, Gemma-3-4B demonstrates the most stable and balanced cross-task performance under both in-context learning and parameter-efficient fine-tuning, making it a strong backbone candidate for multitask Bengali text classification. These results provide empirical evidence on the limitations of prompting and the advantages of lightweight fine-tuning for low-resource multilingual NLP.

Abstract: Dengue infection remains a major global health concern, with a subset of patients progressing from self-limited dengue fever to severe disease characterized by plasma leakage, shock, and organ dysfunction. The dengue non-structural protein 1 (NS1), a multifunctional glycoprotein expressed on infected cells and secreted into circulation, has emerged as a key mediator linking viral infection to immune-driven vascular pathology. This review synthesizes experimental, animal, and human clinical evidence on NS1-driven immunopathogenesis, focusing on mechanisms leading to endothelial dysfunction and increased vascular permeability. NS1 modulates the complement system in a context-dependent manner, contributing to immune evasion by inhibiting terminal complement complex formation, while also promoting antibody-dependent complement activation associated with severe disease. Additionally, NS1 directly disrupts endothelial barrier integrity through disruption of adherens and tight junction architecture, Ang-2/Tie2 imbalance, activation of RhoA/ROCK signalling, and enzymatic degradation of the endothelial glycocalyx, with further amplification through inflammatory mediators. In addition, evidence is integrated showing that NS1 activates innate immune signaling, perturbs platelet biology and haemostasis, forms pro-inflammatory complexes with lipoproteins. Moreover, anti-NS1 antibodies may be both protective and pathogenic. Collectively, these data position NS1-linked pathways as rational targets for adjunctive therapies and next-generation vaccines aimed at preventing vascular leakage and severe dengue infection.

Abstract: This study introduces a rational, template-free synthetic strategy for the scalable preparation of high-performance monodisperse spherical mesoporous silica particles (MSPs), engineered specifically as advanced heterogeneous catalytic supports. Leveraging Ostwald ripening as the core morphogenetic driver—rather than conventional organic structure-directing agents—the approach achieves both environmental compatibility and process robustness. Precise pH modulation to 8.0 using biocompatible organic acids (e.g., acetic or citric acid) enables controlled silica dissolution–reprecipitation kinetics, yielding MSPs with exceptional sphericity (PDI < 0.08), narrow size distribution, a specific surface area of up to 484 m²/g, uniform pore diameters centered at ~2 nm, and radially aligned, thermodynamically stabilized mesochannels—structural attributes that collectively satisfy stringent design criteria for high-efficiency catalytic carriers, including maximized active-site accessibility, minimized diffusion limitations, and mechanical resilience under reaction conditions. A systematic pH-screening study reveals a distinct structural transition: at pH < 7.5, incomplete condensation and suppressed ripening yield polydisperse aggregates with disordered worm-like porosity; at pH > 8.5, accelerated silicate dissolution induces particle coalescence and partial mesostructural degradation. Critically, pore ordering, channel dimensionality, surface area, and particle morphology are all quantitatively modulated by pH—establishing it as a master variable for hierarchical textural programming. This study compares the methoxychlor (MXC) degradation efficiency of polyhedral Bi2WO6 and MSP/Bi2WO6 under identical irradiation conditions to assess MSP’s catalytic impact. Mechanistic analysis of charge dynamics, interfacial electron transfer, and active species reveals how MSP enhances photocatalytic activity.

Abstract: Background: Paranasal sinuses and mastoid air cells have been attributed to multiple functions-voice resonance, cranial lightening, and pressure regulation-yet their potential role in local thermal homeostasis remains underappreciated. The thermoregulatory hypothesis, first proposed by Proetz (1953), was largely abandoned after mid-century, when anthropological findings of climate-correlated variation seemed contradictory. Hypothesis: We propose that pneumatized skull regions form a three-component craniofacial biothermal system that maintains thermal stability in the ocular vitreous and vestibular endolymph, two avascular, temperature-sensitive structures that lack intrinsic thermoregulatory capacity. This represents a novel integration that explicitly links paranasal and mastoid pneumatization into a coordinated system that protects sensory organs, distinct from previous brain-cooling hypotheses. Mechanism: The system comprises: (1) passive thermal insulation via air spaces, providing ~15× greater thermal resistance than bone; (2) active cold protection via mucosal heat delivery (estimated 2-5 W capacity); and (3) active heat dissipation via evaporative cooling (estimated 0.3-0.5 W capacity). This architecture provides asymmetric protection, with cold buffering exceeding heat dissipation by approximately 5-15×, consistent with thermodynamic constraints and putative evolutionary priorities. Evidence: Supporting observations include the anatomical proximity of pneumatized regions to the vitreous and labyrinth, intranasal selective brain cooling studies, and recent clinical evidence showing a 40% reduction in thermal buffering among post-mastoidectomy patients. Climate-correlated pneumatization patterns can be reinterpreted as bidirectional thermal adaptation. Implications: We present five falsifiable predictions that can be tested with thermographic imaging, pharmacological manipulation, and computational modeling. Validation could inform surgical planning, explain postoperative thermal-sensitivity symptoms, and provide evolutionary insights into craniofacial adaptation.

Abstract: Urban housing in Nigerian cities has become a major concern due to rapid urbanization, population growth, and the increasing demand for affordable accommodation. In cities such as Ibadan, housing development often prioritizes cost and speed over environmental performance, resulting in buildings that do not adequately respond to local climatic conditions and consequently provide poor indoor thermal comfort. This study examines climate-responsive design strategies for affordable urban housing in Ibadan, Nigeria, with a focus on improving comfort while maintaining affordability. A qualitative, design-based approach was adopted, drawing on climatic analysis, relevant literature, and field observations in rapidly developing areas such as Moniya. The study evaluated key passive design strategies, including building orientation, natural ventilation, solar shading, material selection, and spatial planning. Findings reveal that many existing housing developments neglect these principles, leading to excessive heat gain and poor airflow. However, the study demonstrates that the integration of simple, cost-effective climate-responsive strategies can significantly enhance indoor comfort and reduce reliance on mechanical cooling systems. It concludes that incorporating climate-responsive design is essential for improving housing performance and addressing energy challenges within the Nigerian context.

Abstract: We report a statistically significant detection of dihedral D₃ symmetry in the Planck PR3 temperature anisotropy data, validated across all four independent component-separation pipelines (SMICA, NILC, SEVEM, Commander). At a single optimized axis (ℓ, b) = (50.3°, −64.9°), the power fraction in the A₂ (reflection-antisymmetric) irreducible representation exceeds isotropic expectations with a two-tier structure: a dense cluster at l ≤ 15 (Fisher PTE = 4.2 × 10⁻³ to 1.2 × 10⁻² across maps), driven by three multipoles significant in all four pipelines, with l = 3 serving as the axis-registration multipole (f_A₂ = 0.94, z > 4.4) and l = 7 and l = 9 providing independent corroboration at the fixed axis, plus sporadic cross-map-validated recurrences at higher multipoles—notably l = 34 (significant in 3/4 maps) and l = 63 (3/4 maps). The A₂ excess draws power specifically from the E (rotation-doublet) irrep with anti-correlation r = −0.81, while the A₁ (trivial) irrep is decoupled. Extension to l_max = 150 with N_MC = 10,000 simulations shows that the aggregate high-l Fisher PTE is consistent with isotropy (PTE > 0.91), but individual multipoles punctuate this null background. Among the nine strongest cross-map-consistent peaks, none belongs to the l ≡ 2 (mod 3) residue class (p ≈ 0.02 under uniformity), consistent with the C₃ selection rule. Cross-map correlations of f_A₂(l) exceed r = 0.93 for all pipeline pairs (SMICA–NILC: r = 0.997), ruling out component-separation artifacts. A null test on E-mode polarization at the same axis returns Fisher PTE = 0.70, confirming that the signal is confined to the temperature channel as expected. The irrep redistribution is sharply parity-gated: all four maps confine the A₂ collecting signal to odd-l multipoles (Fisher p < 2 × 10⁻⁴), with even-l entirely null (p > 0.97). Crossing parity with residue class produces a six-cell grammar dominated by a single cell (odd, l ≡ 0 mod 3), with step-function onset at l = 3. Singular-value decomposition reveals that this 2 × 3 grammar admits an approximate rank-1 factorization into a binary parity selector and a D₃ residue routing vector, recovered independently by all four pipelines (rank-1 fraction > 94% in three of four maps). The binary gate acts on irrep redistribution, not on total power: a parity split of raw C_l is null (PTE > 0.61) in every map. The signal morphology—dense at large angular scales with isolated resonances at smaller scales—is consistent with a parity-gated boundary condition on the acoustic eigenvalue problem whose geometry is fully resolved only at l ≲ 15 (θ ≳ 12°). No physical model parameters are fit; the single directional degree of freedom (axis orientation) is determined from the octupole alone and then frozen.

Abstract: Background: An estimated 2–5% of infants are born with significant congenital defects and/or go on to develop severe neurodevelopmental disorders in early childhood, with a substantial proportion attributed to underlying genetic causes. Variants in the MED13L gene have been linked to a syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by developmental delay, intellectual disability, and, in some cases, congenital heart defects. However, the pathogenicity of many MED13L variants—particularly missense changes—remains poorly understood. Methods: This study analyzed clinically and genomically annotated data from the 100,000 Genomes Project (Genomics England), focusing on individuals with rare MED13L variants. A structured pipeline was developed to extract, filter, and interpret missense and truncating variants using the Interactive Variant Analysis (IVA) tool and associated resources. Detailed clinical phenotypes were manually cross-referenced through the Participant Explorer, and variants were classified following ACMG guidelines. Results: After filtering, eight probands were identified with clinically relevant, previously unreported, MED13L variants: five variants of uncertain significance (VUS) and three likely pathogenic. Despite differences in classification, both VUS and likely pathogenic variants were associated with a consistent neurodevelopmental phenotype. One additional patient carried an intronic MED13L variant with predicted spliceogenic potential and presented with a congenital heart defect, raising the possibility of a regulatory effect on cardiac gene expression. Notably, four of the eight individuals also harbored additional pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in other genes known to contribute to neurodevelopmental phenotypes, illustrating potential genetic heterogeneity. The study also identified a disproportionately high rate of VUS among individuals of non-European ancestry, highlighting challenges in variant interpretation due to underrepresentation in population databases. Conclusions: This work emphasizes the value of large-scale genomic datasets in refining variant classification and improving diagnostic accuracy. It highlights the complexity of interpreting MED13L variants, the importance of considering genetic heterogeneity, and the need for increased diversity in genomic reference databases. Findings underscore the necessity of trio sequencing and functional studies to reclassify VUS and advance understanding of MED13L-associated syndromes.

Abstract: The advancement of technology has improved the supply chain of major sectors of the economy, including construction. Thus, digital technology may advance the transition from the conventional practices to the Construction 4.0 environment, particularly in developing countries. Studies are scarce concerning the role of technology as a key driver of digital transformation in Construction 4.0 Adoption in the South African construction sector. Thus, this study appraises digital technologies for construction project execution and sheds light on the role of technology as a key driver of digital transformation in Construction 4.0 Adoption in the South African construction sector. The study utilised a qualitative approach and included face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 50 participants in South Africa who are knowledgeable in Construc-tion 4.0 and digital technology. The researchers also adopted thematic analysis using Atlas.ti and NVivo to analyse the data. The findings reveal that the benefits of digital technologies for construction project execution in the South African construction sector, and, by extension, for transforming conventional practices into Construction 4.0, can-not be overstated if well embraced and implemented. Findings also identified the key technologies driving digital transformation in Construction 4.0 Adoption in the South African construction sector, grouping them into six sub-themes. This study contributes to the theoretical discourse on technology as a primary driver of digital transformation in the context of Construction 4.0 adoption. It also offers practical insights into project resilience and the role of adopting digital technologies in the construction industry, particularly in the South African construction industry context.

Abstract: Background: With the rapid aging of populations worldwide, strengthening the professional capacity of long-term care (LTC) workers has become a critical priority for health systems. While competency-based training frameworks are widely implemented, it remains unclear which domains of competency are most closely associated with ethical professionalism in daily care practice. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 268 LTC workers across home-based, community-based, and institutional settings in Taiwan. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to examine the associations between core competency domains and perceived ethical professionalism. Results: Participants reported relatively high levels of overall competency and ethical professionalism. Among the competency domains, interpersonal communication (β = .345, p < .001), psychological support (β = .184, p = .020), and teamwork (β = .111, p = .045) were significantly associated with ethical professionalism. In contrast, technical competencies, including physical care, daily living care, and emergency management, were not significantly associated (p > .05). Conclusion: The findings suggest that ethical professionalism in LTC practice is more strongly associated with relational and psychosocial competencies than with technical skills. These results highlight the importance of incorporating communication, emotional support, and teamwork training into workforce development programs. Strengthening these competencies may enhance care quality, workforce sustainability, and person-centered care delivery in aging societies.

Abstract: Fungi represent a prolific source of structurally diverse secondary metabolites, yet the extent to which culture conditions reshape the metabolic profile and functional bioactivity remains incompletely understood. In this exploratory study, ten fungal strains cultivated in Yeast Extract Sucrose (YES) and Czapek Yeast Autolysate (CYA) media were analysed using untargeted LC-HRMS metabolomics. This was then combined with multivariate statistical modelling to evaluate medium-dependent metabolic variation and its relation to cytotoxic, antibacterial and antifungal activities. Global metabolic profiling revealed moderate but statistically significant medium-associated metabolite variation, with discriminant metabolites predominantly enriched under CYA conditions. Putative structural annotation suggested patterns consistent with differential regulation of isoprenoid-derived sterols, terpenoids, alkaloid-like metabolites and aromatic polyketides. While antimicrobial activities displayed a heterogeneous, strain-dependent pattern with limited correlation to individual metabolites, cytotoxic activity co-varied with metabolite composition in OPLS regression modelling. Sterols and terpenoid-related features emerged as major contributors to cytotoxicity. Given the absence of biological replication and the limited sample size inherent to this pilot study, all findings should be considered hypothesis-generating and interpreted within an exploratory framework. These results suggest that nutrient composition influences biosynthetic pathway activation while functional outcomes remain strongly dependent on strain-specific metabolic capacity. This work provides a systematic framework and targeted hypothesis for future investigations into condition-dependent fungal chemical diversity in natural product discovery.

Abstract: Social media increasingly shapes how younger publics encounter environmental issues, sustainability themes, and knowledge about responsible natural resource use. Despite this influence, many institutions still choose platforms impressionistically, even though differences in platform scale, audience concentration, and communication affordances affect the reach and educational fit of environmental messaging. This paper examines how major social media platforms can be interpreted as strategic communication environments for advancing youth-oriented environmental awareness and literacy. The study employs a comparative secondary-data design and treats platform indicators as planning evidence rather than as proof of platform effectiveness. It synthesizes current global and platform-specific reporting from DataReportal alongside official company and investor records where available. The analysis compares platform-scale indicators, youth-relevant audience structure, and recent trend signals to identify communication opportunity structures for youth outreach. The analysis shows that major platforms differ not only in reported scale but also in metric type, youth concentration, and likely communication function. Visually driven and socially networked platforms appear especially relevant to youth-facing dissemination, while broader-reach or search-oriented platforms remain useful for explanation, search visibility, and sustained follow-through. At the same time, the evidence does not demonstrate that platform scale alone produces environmental literacy or behavioral change. The study concludes that validated platform indicators can support bounded inference about where youth-oriented environmental communication is most plausibly positioned to achieve visibility, repetition, and strategic fit. It provides a source-validated, cross-platform framework for utilizing social media to enhance environmental awareness and literacy among youth, while maintaining clear boundaries on what public platform indicators can demonstrate.

Abstract: Wound infections result from contamination of a compromised skin following either intentional or accidental trauma. Failure of wound to heal can be due to mixed infections, with huge impact on global healthcare finances. For surveillance purposes, this investigation looks at wound infections and their susceptibility to antibiotics. Data obtained from the Microbiology laboratory achieves for the years 2014 and 2019 were wound characteristics, patient demographics and causative bacteria pathogen. Also retrieved from the -80° C freezer were 270 Gram-negative bacteria isolates from wounds that formed part of patient care. Vitek Compact 2 was used for bacteria IDs and AST testing. Wound swabs were in majority (74.07%) followed by bedsore samples (12.22%). Others were tissue cultures (6.3%), skin swab (3.7%) necrotizing fasciitis (1.48%), foot swabs (1.10%) and cervical wounds (1.11%). Isolated pathogens included Pseudomonas aeruginosa (33.6%), Escherichia coli (24.78%), Acinetobacter baumannii (21.85%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (17.65%), Proteus mirabilis (1,7%) and Morganelli morganii (0.41%). Most isolates had become MDR after 5-years with extensive (100%) resistance to β-lactam and fluoroquinolone. Only tigecycline and amikacin maintained their antimicrobial activity for the period with some bacteria species. Suitable therapeutic options were few irrespective of the year of isolation particularly among the ESKAPE isolates. Overall results demonstrates that after a 5-year period about 75% of the isolates of the bacteria pathogens had become resistant to most of the antibiotics used for their management.