Artiles
Open Access
Article
29 April 2026Family Factors and Children’s Academic Performance: The Mediating Role of Anxiety and the Moderating Role of Student Type
Family-related factors have been consistently linked to children’s academic performance and may also be associated with academic outcomes through psychological processes. Based on this perspective, the present study investigated the association between different family factors (parental involvement, parenting styles, and family functioning) and academic performance among Chinese primary school children. In addition, the potential mediating role of anxiety was examined, as well as whether the associations between these family factors and anxiety differed by student type (students with low versus typical school performance). Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey of 1083 students in Grades 3–5 and their parents from three primary schools in China, with parental involvement, parenting styles, family functioning, and children’s anxiety assessed via parent-reported questionnaires, along with measures of academic performance. The results showed that parental involvement, parenting styles, and family functioning were each significantly associated with children’s academic performance, and that anxiety played an indirect role in these relationships. Student type did not significantly moderate the relationship between these family factors and anxiety. Overall, the findings highlight the relevance of both the family environment and children’s anxiety in understanding variations in academic performance, and they suggest the importance of considering family- and child-related factors in educational research.
Open Access
Article
29 April 2026Design of an Industrial Facility for Recycled Polymer Granule Production
With the global increase in the production and disposal of polymeric waste, it becomes crucial to develop sustainable solutions that promote the circular economy of recyclable materials. This work presents a technical feasibility study for the implementation of a production unit for recycled polymer pellets, using a mixture of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE), and Polypropylene (PP) as raw material. The proposal aims to map the complete production process, from the collection and receipt of the recycled material to the granulation and sale of the pellets, including the characterization of the materials and the necessary compatibilizers and additives. The definition of production capacity, equipment selection, and industrial layout will also be addressed. The study includes a logistical and financial analysis, even if preliminary, for a hypothetical organization located in the region of São José dos Pinhais—PR, for the processing of recycled PP-PE blend. To carry out this study, basic concepts of industrial engineering design were applied. Information on the process and characteristics of a hypothetical PP-PE formulation was obtained through bibliographic research. The study allowed for important considerations regarding the development of a basic industrial design for processing recycled polymer. Preliminary results indicate existing demand in the metropolitan region of Curitiba (southern Brazil) and potential for job creation, including the use of labor from waste pickers distributed throughout the region.
Open Access
Article
28 April 2026Framing the ‘Double Burden’: A Critical Policy Discourse Analysis of the Climate-Poverty Nexus in the World Bank’s CCDRs for LDCs
Climate change and poverty are intertwined global challenges that disproportionately impact Least Developed Countries (LDCs). However, how global institutions discursively construct the climate-poverty nexus to legitimize their policy recommendations remains underexplored. Drawing on Critical Policy Discourse Analysis (CPDA), this study investigates how the World Bank Group frames the relationship between climate change and poverty in its Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs) for LDCs, as well as the discursive legitimation strategies embedded in these constructions. Findings identify two dominant, complementary discursive frames: the vulnerability frame and the causality frame. The vulnerability frame constructs poor and marginalized groups as passive victims of climate impacts, leveraging on attributive relational and passive material processes, and deploys moral evaluation as a legitimization strategy to position adaptation policies as a non-negotiable moral imperative. In contrast, the causality frame positions climate change as an active, causal agent driving poverty dynamics, utilizing active material processes and extended causal chains, and employs scientific rationalization to legitimize mitigation policies as rational, long-term investments aligned with LDCs’ development priorities. These two frames collectively shape a hybrid policy agenda that integrates ethical imperatives with technocratic efficiency, reflecting the World Bank’s attempt to legitimize its institutional influence on LDC climate-development trajectories. This research contributes to the scholarship on discourse in global climate governance by equipping stakeholders to engage with international policy advice critically and fostering more context-sensitive strategies for LDCs.
Open Access
Article
28 April 2026Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Hypothesis Generation in Childhood Asthma: Insights from NHANES
Although large language models (LLMs) have undergone substantial development, their applicability to epidemiological research has not been sufficiently examined. This study aims to develop and evaluate an LLM-based framework for hypothesis generation and testing, demonstrating its application in childhood asthma in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Pilot study was conducted to explore factors associated with childhood asthma in the 2001–2020 NHANES cycles. A modular agent system was developed, including Database Query, Statistic, Paper Search, and Paper Download tools, along with two LLM models (Key Generator and Hypothesis Tester). Multivariable logistic regression was used to test for the association between each variable and current asthma, generating a tentative affirmative claim. The Key Generator module produced keywords for literature search, the Paper Search and Paper Download tools queried PubMed and retrieved relevant studies, and the Hypothesis Tester module synthesized evidence and determined the support for claims for each variable. Keywords and conclusions were reviewed by researchers and validated using multiple LLMs (ChatGPT, DeepSeek, and Gemini) to ensure consistency and robustness. 25,839 children with (n = 2928) and without (n = 22,911) current asthma, and 10,359 variables were included in the multivariable analysis, which yielded 100 variables associated with asthma. Of these, 21 were directly related to asthma (supporting published studies), 43 were indirectly related to asthma (based on background knowledge, though not explicitly discussed in the available publications), and 34 were unrelated to asthma. Two variables were excluded due to a lack of discriminative keywords. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of LLM-based models for generating and testing hypotheses about childhood asthma.
Open Access
Article
27 April 2026Identifying Effective Intervention Targets for Depressive Symptoms Across Adolescence: A Network-Based Simulated Intervention
Depressive symptoms are prevalent and demonstrate distinct developmental trajectories throughout adolescence. Although previous research has suggested central symptoms as possible intervention targets, few studies have explored the effects of targeting these symptoms on global network states. Utilizing the Ising model and the NodeIdentifyR algorithm, this study aimed to identify effective intervention targets and examine their associations with central symptoms across different stages of adolescence. A total of 46,842 participants completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and provided demographic information. Participants were categorized into early (n = 15,299), middle (n = 15,596), and late (n = 15,547) adolescence. The Ising model identified “feeling sad” and “feeling depressed” as the symptoms with the highest expected influence in early and middle-to-late adolescence, respectively. The expected influence value of “feeling depressed” increased from early to late adolescence. Simulated interventions projected that decreasing the thresholds of “feeling bad” (early adolescence) and “feeling depressed” (middle and late adolescence) would yield the greatest reduction in network activation, identifying them as effective treatment targets. Worsening “feeling sad” and “feeling depressed” (early adolescence) and “feeling blue” (middle and late adolescence) was projected to result in the greatest increase in network activation, making them the effective prevention targets. The most central symptoms were not necessarily congruent with the effective intervention targets identified by simulations. These findings may help practitioners optimize treatment and prevention efforts for adolescents with depressive symptoms across distinct developmental stages.
Open Access
Article
27 April 2026Physicochemical Characterisation of Commercial Brazilian Sparkling Wines Produced by the Charmat and Traditional Methods
This study provides a physicochemical characterisation of commercial Brazilian sparkling wines, aiming to describe the typicity of products obtained using the Charmat and Traditional methods. A total of 261 wines were analysed, including 119 produced by the Charmat method and 142 by the Traditional method. The results show distinct compositional patterns across the analysed samples. Wines produced by the Traditional method, predominantly based on blends of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, showed higher levels of lactic acid, volatile acidity, alcohol, and pressure, together with lower residual sugar contents. In contrast, Charmat sparkling wines displayed greater varietal diversity, including the widespread use of Glera, and higher levels of residual sugar, malic, and citric acids. A relatively high proportion of sparkling wines were identified as “Long Charmat”, with maturation periods of six months or more on lees in tanks, while a subset of Traditional method wines showed ageing times shorter than 12 months. In both production methods, Riesling Italico (Welschriesling) ranked among the four most frequently used grape varieties. Overall, the results highlight consistent compositional tendencies within a broad set of commercial wines. This study establishes a reference compositional dataset for Brazilian sparkling wines, contributing to the understanding of this expanding wine category by characterizing production practices and grape variety usage and identifying “Long Charmat” as a distinctive feature in the Brazilian context.
Open Access
Review
27 April 2026Engineering High-Performance CIGS Solar Cells: Structural Design and Process Development
The development of high-efficiency copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar cells is currently driven by a dual strategy of internal structural refinement and integration into multi-junction tandem architectures. This study aims to systematically analyze the key design and optimization strategies required to overcome the 33.7% Shockley–Queisser limit of single-junction devices. The results demonstrate that bandgap engineering, particularly through double-graded “notch” profiles, significantly enhances charge carrier collection and improves overall device performance, while alkali metal post-deposition treatments effectively reduce interface recombination losses. Furthermore, integrating CIGS with perovskite top cells in two-terminal (2T) and four-terminal (4T) configurations is a promising pathway to achieving efficiencies exceeding 30%. By combining advanced vacuum-based fabrication techniques, such as the three-stage co-evaporation process, with precise optical management, CIGS technology is positioned as a versatile candidate for both high-performance terrestrial and radiation-tolerant space applications.
Open Access
Article
24 April 2026Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Post-Processed IN 625 Fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion
Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is widely used for manufacturing nickel-based superalloy components with complex geometries; however, the process produces non-equilibrium microstructures characterized by directional grain growth, cellular substructures, and compositional segregation, which can lead to anisotropic mechanical behavior. In this study, the influence of multiple post-processing heat-treatment routes on the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of LPBF-fabricated Inconel 625 (IN625) was systematically investigated by combining stress relief, hot isostatic pressing (HIP), and solution annealing. Microstructural characterization was performed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, while tensile properties were evaluated from room temperature to 700 °C. The HT3 condition resulted in a fully recrystallized, equiaxed grain structure with reduced segregation and minimal Nb-rich Laves phase, leading to nearly isotropic mechanical properties, with an ultimate tensile strength of approximately 880 MPa and an elongation exceeding 50%. Elevated-temperature testing demonstrated stable mechanical performance, with a localized strengthening effect near 600 °C attributed to dynamic strain aging. These results demonstrate that appropriate post-processing can effectively homogenize LPBF IN625 and improve its mechanical reliability.
Open Access
Article
22 April 2026MUGI-Net: A Group-Aware Pedestrian Trajectory Prediction Model for Autonomous Vehicles from First-Person View
With the rapid development of autonomous driving, first-person view (FPV) pedestrian trajectory prediction has emerged as a key research direction to improve transportation system safety and operational efficiency. However, current studies ignore inter-pedestrian group information and long- and short-term dependence, leading to error accumulation at medium and long temporal horizons. To address these problems, we propose an FPV pedestrian trajectory prediction model dubbed MUGI-Net (Mixture of Universals and Group Interaction Network). It adopts a group pooling mechanism to adaptively aggregate group nodes and build sparse intra- and inter-group interaction graphs to fuse group interaction information. Afterward, it employs a Mixture of Universals (MoU) structure that combines MoF (Mixture of Feature Extractors) and MoA (Mixture of Architectures) to capture short-term dynamics and long-term dependencies simultaneously. Extensive experiments on the JAAD and PIE datasets show that MUGI-Net reduces the 1.5 s prediction MSE by 5% compared with the state-of-the-art AANet, and achieves the best performance on multiple key metrics, which is beneficial for autonomous driving in mixed traffic scenarios.
Open Access
Review
20 April 2026Molecular Targets and Emerging Therapeutics in Cardiac Fibrosis
Cardiac fibrosis represents a global health crisis, observed in nearly all forms of heart disease, and contributes significantly to the progression of heart failure. Driven by diverse etiologies such as chronic hypertension, myocardial infarction, and metabolic disorders, cardiac fibrosis is characterized by the excessive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins. At the cellular level, the activation of cardiac fibroblasts into myofibroblasts serves as the primary mechanism for this structural remodelling. Excessive collagen deposition, crosslinking, and pathological scarring lead to increased ventricular stiffness, electrical arrhythmias, and a profound decline in cardiac function, affecting the quality of life for millions of patients worldwide. The review discusses the existing well-known profibrotic signals and molecular signalling pathways leading to cardiac fibroblast activation, collagen synthesis, and crosslinking. Mechanosensitive pathways, signalling mechanisms involved in collagen crosslinking, and epigenetic factors of cardiac fibrosis are also discussed along with their potential antifibrotic targets and therapeutic drugs. Further, small-molecule inhibitors, peptide-based therapies, natural compounds, and repurposed drugs for fibrosis are also discussed. This review concludes with recent approaches of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy for cardiac fibrosis.
