Passive smoking is associated with an increased risk of hypertension in children. Antioxidant nutrients are known to alleviate oxidative stress, a key factor in the development of hypertension. Riboflavin, with its antioxidant properties, may help mitigate oxidative damage caused by passive smoke exposure. This study aimed to examine whether riboflavin intake could influence the relationship between passive smoking and hypertension in children and adolescents aged 6–19 years. Data were extracted from the 2007–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Weighted logistic regression models were used to identify potential covariates, and weighted multiple logistic regression models assessed the associations between passive smoking, riboflavin intake and hypertension. The association was also investigated in diverse age, gender and race subgroups. Results were presented as OR and 95 % CI. A total of 11 445 children and adolescents with a mean age of 12·89 (0·06) years were included. After adjusting covariates, cotinine ≥ 0·05 ng/ml was associated with increased odds of hypertension (OR = 1·20, 95 % CI: 1·06, 1·36). When individuals had a riboflavin intake < 1·87 mg, passive smoking (OR = 1·98, 95 % CI: 1·25, 3·13) and active smoking (OR = 1·69, 95 % CI: 1·14, 2·51) were both related to higher odds of hypertension. When individuals had a riboflavin intake ≥ 1·87 mg, no association was observed between passive smoking (OR = 0·83, 95 % CI: 0·48, 1·44) and active smoking (OR = 1·05, 95 % CI: 0·68, 1·62) and hypertension. Riboflavin intake may modulate the association between smoking status and hypertension in children and adolescents aged 6–19 years. The moderating effect was also found in age < 13 years old, ≥ 13 years old, males and non-Hispanic Whites.

This case report describes a rare incidence of innominate artery compression syndrome in a 5-month-old infant, presenting with severe respiratory symptoms. It highlights the diagnostic challenges, the detailed imaging techniques used, and the surgical intervention that resulted in a successful resolution of symptoms, emphasising the importance of early recognition and intervention in paediatric vascular anomalies.

As the global elderly population expands, the associated risks of longevity intensify, presenting significant challenges to traditional retirement security systems. We study actuarial fairness in tontines under the Volterra mortality framework, integrating long-range dependence mortality models rates with tontine structures. Initially, we establish an optimal tontine model for a homogeneous tontine under this framework. However, according only to individual actuarial fairness can neglect the collective nature of tontines. So we propose a hybrid optimization model that accounts for age and wealth discrepancies affecting payment amounts and the collective fairness. Specially, we first apply the f-value fairness measure in age-heterogeneous tontines for assessing fairness. Our results reveal that while the model ensures actuarial fairness at the group level, relative payments are lower for older age groups. By incorporating dynamic mortality modeling through the Volterra mortality framework, our work demonstrates that this comprehensive scheme significantly enhances the robustness and sustainability of retirement security systems. These findings provide valuable insights for the future integration of dynamic mortality models with innovative retirement income structures.

This paper is the latter part of a series of our studies on the concentration and oscillation analysis of semilinear elliptic equations with exponential growth $e^{u^p}$. In the first one [17], we completed the concentration analysis of blow-up positive solutions in the supercritical case p > 2 via a scaling approach. As a result, we detected infinite sequences of concentrating parts with precise quantification. In the present paper, we proceed to our second aim, the oscillation analysis. Especially, we deduce an infinite oscillation estimate directly from the previous infinite concentration ones. This allows us to investigate intersection properties between blow-up solutions and singular functions. Consequently, we show that the intersection number between blow-up and singular solutions diverges to infinity. This leads to a proof of infinite oscillations of bifurcation diagrams, which ensures the existence of infinitely many solutions. Finally, we also remark on infinite concentration and oscillation phenomena in the limit cases $p\to2^+$ and $p\to \infty$.

Coastal wetlands, known for their remarkable productivity and diverse ecological functions, face growing threats from aquaculture expansion, which can fragment natural habitats and disrupt water flow. In this study, we focused on White-bellied Sea-Eagles Haliaeetus leucogaster along the eastern coast of Odisha, India, to see how these top predators adapt to accelerating aquaculture. Across 22 nesting sites over three breeding seasons (2021–2024), we analysed 3,319 prey items, and found that fish dominated at 66.89%, followed by birds (25.64%), reptiles (3.31%), invertebrates (3.16%), and mammals (0.99%). Using generalised additive models (GAMs), we evaluated various landscape factors influencing the proportion of fish in WBSE diets. Our results revealed that shorter distances to natural water-bodies and higher water coverage strongly influenced higher fish intake, while aquaculture-related variables did not increase fish consumption. These patterns indicate that WBSEs favour wild fish in less-disturbed wetlands, likely because of better energy returns, lower risks, and convenient perching spots. Consequently, our findings highlight the need to safeguard natural aquatic habitats for sustaining apex predators and point to ways of reconciling aquaculture growth with wetland conservation. By clarifying how the eagles respond to changes in coastal landscapes, we offer key insights for preserving biodiversity under fast-paced environmental transformation.

Researchers and policymakers propose a job guarantee as a means of overcoming long-term unemployment and the associated risk of social exclusion. Such a programme implies that all long-term-unemployed individuals within a certain territory are offered subsidised employment in not-for-profit enterprises or the public sector. This results in heterogeneous participation because the group of long-term-unemployed people is more diverse than often assumed. Against the background of the literature on subsidised employment, this contribution presents findings from an evaluation study of a job guarantee that was implemented in a small town in Lower Austria between 2020 and 2024. The aim of this paper is to explore the changes brought about by re-employment within a job creation scheme and in particular how the scheme coped with the diversity among the participants, which is a consequence of offering employment to all long-term-unemployed individuals. Based on data from a longitudinal mixed-methods study, the contribution shows how the project was implemented, to what extent the participants benefited from it and how the form of implementation met the different needs of participants. A typology based on qualitative data captures the diversity among the participants and shows how the scheme fits different groups. Finally, we discuss the pros and cons of the inclusion of diverse participants within one project.

This article offers a new reconstruction of the phonological history of pre-Old English, building on a potential parallelism between English, Frisian and North Germanic. Pivotal to the reconstruction is the development of PGmc *a, which is the target of eight different sound laws in the traditional theory. A combination of a conditional early fronting and rounding, followed by a gradual i-mutation impact, both with parallels in Frisian, and a relatively late seventh-century application of breaking before ‑rC can account for most of the attested spellings of instances with PGmc *a in the language of the early Épinal and Erfurt glossaries. This approach is much simpler than the traditional theory and allows parallelisms to be (re)established between the earliest stages of Old English, Old Frisian and Old Norse.

While conventional technologies like Zoom have limitations in interpersonal communication and a risk-free training environment in delivering comprehensive corporate training, the Metaverse provides immersive, face-to-face, interactive, and simulated learning opportunities. However, the literature highlights significant Metaverse adoption barriers and emphasises the need for interdisciplinary research-driven competency integration solutions. Furthermore, the present study investigates essential competencies human resource development professionals need to develop to implement Metaverse-based training, as a literature research gap. Anchored in the Critical Success Factor theory, the study has utilised the Spherical Fuzzy-Bayesian Best Worst Method and Grey Influence Analysis to prioritise and analyse the influential relations of the identified competencies. The findings highlight the significance of technical and gamification competency categories and competencies related to privacy and security, content loss, scripting, playability, and ethical and social responsibility. These findings signify the competencies for implementing the Metaverse for training by the human resource development professionals.

The Qualifying Law Degree (QLD) resulted in law degrees tending to be similar in design, with compulsory foundation modules at their core. The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) represents a significant change to solicitor qualification and potentially frees universities from the constraints of the foundations. There was also speculation that some universities would feel pressure to align undergraduate curricula to the SQE. This paper makes a contribution to knowledge by undertaking the first content analysis of LLB webpages since the SQE’s implementation. The data reveals that: (1) law schools still overwhelmingly require mandatory study of all the foundations; (2) there has been an incremental shift towards vocationalism; (3) a small minority of webpages may be overstating the extent that their LLB prepares students for the SQE; and (4) a significant proportion of webpages contain factually inaccurate or confusing information about programmes or routes to qualification. It confirms an inherent irony: the deregulation of undergraduate solicitor education in England and Wales had led to more vocational alignment than experienced under the previous system but has not resulted in a significant shift away from the foundations. We present a novel explanation as to why this is the case, based on institutional theory and organisational strategic theory.

Falls account for 95 percent of hip fractures in older adults. Wearable hip protectors reduce hip fracture risk in long-term care settings, but their use is low among community-dwelling older adults. We conducted interviews to explore how hip protectors are perceived by 27 community-dwelling older adults who visited the Fraser Health Fall Prevention Mobile Clinic in British Columbia. Directed content analysis focused on perceived benefits, design preferences, and cost as a barrier to use of hip protectors. Most participants acknowledged the benefits of hip protectors in reducing the risk of hip fracture, enhancing physical activity, and reducing the fear of falling. However, most participants did not perceive they were at high enough risk to warrant the use of hip protectors. Participants also discussed how willingness to wear depended on design features, including style, pad thickness, appearance, ease of use, fit, comfort, and laundering. Participants also noted the cost, ranging from $60 to $120, as a barrier.

If supposedly homophonous words were acoustically distinct despite sharing phonemic form, theories of mental storage may have to account for the consistent differences with separate storage for each homophone. Previous studies of the homophonous functions or word classes of the English word like showed such subphonemic differences between functions, though some studies also found effects of utterance context alongside these. Schleef & Turton (2018) argued that all these function effects reduce to context effects, since function is not independent of context – for example, quotative like typically occurs before a pause and thus is typically subject to lengthening because of its position, not due to a lexicalised acoustic distinction between functions. Testing this argument with new data from a different regional variety to those used by Schleef & Turton, we only find differences that can be explained by context, in line with their argument. This casts prior findings of acoustic distinctions between like functions in new light, and introduces the need for further research (especially including the frequency of different functions).

This study evaluated how informing clinicians about Clostridioides difficile (CD) carriage affected antibiotic stewardship. A quasi-experimental pre/post design assessed antibiotic use in carriers versus non-carriers. Clinician awareness was associated with reduced antibiotic use, particularly quinolones, among carriers. Findings suggest screening and targeted education enhance stewardship and reduce high-risk antibiotic use.