Earth and Environmental Sciences

Abstract The unsustainability of the EU food system calls for a shift toward more sustainable and healthy consumption patterns. However, the system’s complexity—marked by multiple loosely coupled subsystems and interacting drivers—poses a major challenge to identifying effective interventions. To locate leverage points for policy action, we develop a high-level systems map that captures the core dynamics of the EU food system using a soft systems methodology. The analysis unfolds in three steps: (1) identifying and analysing key trends within the EU food system, (2) validating a stylized systems map through expert interviews, and (3) conducting focus groups to identify leverage points and systemic solutions. The resulting system pattern reveals that short-term economic motivations are a dominant force shaping food system outcomes. From the focus groups, five promising solution areas emerged: true cost accounting, financial incentives to promote ecosystem services, broad societal revaluation of food, alternative proteins, and community-based initiatives targeting socio-economic and environmental challenges. Each of these solutions is linked to specific leverage points and highlights the importance of embedding social equity considerations in any policy strategy. Achieving deep, structural transformation of the EU food system will require normative change, cross-sectoral coordination, and long-term commitment. Methodologically, the study highlights a central tension in systems analysis: the need to embrace complexity while maintaining practical relevance for policy and governance. This approach offers a foundational step toward more coherent and effective food system reform in the EU.

Abstract Incorporating diverse values of nature into decision-making is essential for achieving sustainability, particularly in contested policy arenas. Decision-making about forests is highly contested in Australia due to historical legacies, ongoing discourses and emerging challenges. We investigate values that participants from diverse stakeholder groups nationally have of forests in Australia through semi-structured interviews, guided by the Nature Futures Framework (NFF). Results reveal a plurality of values for forests in Australia—the three values most commonly identified were biodiversity and wildlife habitat, cultural and spiritual connections, and wood production, representing one of each of the three NFF value perspectives—respectively, Forests for Nature (FN), Forests as Culture (FC), and Forests for Society (FS). Overlapping values, embodying more than one value perspective, were also evident. First Nations Australians participants expressed predominantly the relational FC value perspective, while others expressed primarily the instrumental FS and intrinsic FN value perspectives. Contestations about the value of wood production remain apparent, but our results challenge the binary narratives that are commonly used to characterise ‘forestry’ and ‘conservation’ interests. Our study demonstrates the potential of using the NFF to guide the exploration of values held by individuals of forests and advances the use of the NFF to facilitate decision-making about forest policy and management. The insights from this paper enhance understanding of the values of forests in Australia and reveal commonalities and differences that can inform more inclusive decision processes about Australian forests. Our results suggest that it is important that these processes incorporate diverse stakeholder voices and embrace a multiplicity of values, including recognising non-Western ways of valuing nature, to facilitate transformative change for sustainability.

Nature contact is a low-cost intervention shown through experimental studies to improve many aspects of mental health. The ‘equigenesis’ hypothesis indicates that nature contact may disproportionately benefit less advantaged persons, however, evidence remains nascent. This cross-sectional study of validated measures of depression, anxiety, stress and wellbeing in 1433 adults aged 18–64 in Sydney and Brisbane conducted in 2021 found support for equigenesis. Nature visits once per week or more were associated with constrained income inequities in depression, anxiety and stress, compared to less frequent visits, though mainly for moderate income earners. Nature visits of 2 h per week or more (versus less) and visits to three or more different nature spaces (versus none) also constrained income inequities in wellbeing, mainly for participants on lower incomes. Associations were negligible for those on higher incomes, highlighting the potential of nature contact to level-up mental health inequities by supporting those less advantaged most.

Abstract Urban areas increasingly turn to nature-based solutions (NbS) to adapt to climate-related risks, which require integrated and systemic planning evaluating risks and feasibility of implementation. Here we develop a transferable, SETS-based decision-support framework that spatially analyzes multi-hazard climate risk and feasibility for four NbS types: green roofs, permeable pavements, rain gardens, and urban parks, across Barcelona, Boston, and Rotterdam. Integrating spatial and statistical analyses, we identify where different kinds of NbS are both most needed and most feasible for mitigating urban flooding and heat stress. Results reveal strong spatial clustering of risks and feasibility across all cities, with heat risk showing the highest spatial autocorrelation. Across cases, green roofs and permeable pavements consistently exhibit high feasibility in dense, heat-prone urban areas, whereas rain gardens and urban parks are constrained by land availability and underground infrastructure. The comparative analysis highlights how urban morphology, governance structures, and socio-economic factors shape feasibility for NbS implementation. Overlaying risk and feasibility identifies priority high risk –high feasibility zones for rapid implementation and flags high-risk/low-feasibility neighborhoods where infrastructure deficits and vulnerability may constrain adaptation, supporting more justice-oriented, context-sensitive NbS planning.

Abstract Living-condition deficits remain widespread in rapidly growing cities, yet their spatial distribution is poorly measured beyond metropolitan areas, limiting progress toward Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11.1 on adequate, safe and affordable housing. Here we conceptualize morphological deprivation as an area-based form of disadvantage reflected in built form, residential density, road connectivity and infrastructure conditions, and generate globally comparable, neighborhood-scale estimates across 5,132 cities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Using harmonized geospatial datasets and supervised learning trained on eight benchmark cities, we estimate that 395 million people (20.2% of the covered urban population) live in morphologically deprived neighborhoods. While relative prevalence is highest in Africa (43.6%), substantial populations are affected across all regions. Notably, over one-third (136 million) reside in small and medium-sized cities, revealing a large but underrecognized burden and underscoring the need to prioritize these cities in data, finance and policy efforts to achieve SDG 11.1.

Widespread degradation of nature has increased pressure on corporations and financial institutions to assess and mitigate their biodiversity impact, however, collecting relevant local data can be costly. The increasing availability of biodiversity data and Earth observation (EO) data provides a route to cost effective impact assessment via extrapolation using existing data and statistical modeling. Through a review of the datasets and tools currently used by corporations and financial institutions we show that extrapolation to local sites from global datasets, or using only proxies, is the dominant approach. We test the reliability of such assessments by combining high resolution earth observation time series data with extensive biodiversity data from recent environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys of two countries with widely varying conditions, Sweden and Madagascar. We use machine learning in combination with high-quality biodiversity data to predict five essential biodiversity variables (EBVs) for local sites, using cross-validation to test prediction accuracy. The results show that reasonably accurate EBV predictions can be obtained for sites with some local data, but performance declines considerably when modelling summary measures at new sites. Moreover, the quality of predictions, both within sites and at new sites, is dependent on the EBV and local context. To address the concerns over the reliability of model-based EBV assessments, we propose a biodiversity data hierarchy framework, which can be used by organisations to track stepwise improvements in the data sources underpinning their biodiversity impact assessments.

Introduction Urban population shrinkage has become a critical challenge confronting sustainable urban development across China. However, systematic cross-regional and multi-type comparative investigations remain scarce in the existing literature. Methods Taking the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region, the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and the mainland cities of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as research objects, this paper investigates the spatiotemporal patterns and driving factors of population shrinkage using panel data from 2010 to 2024. A two-way fixed-effects panel regression model is constructed to examine the impacts of multidimensional factors and their regional heterogeneity. Results The findings reveal pronounced regional heterogeneity. The BTH region presents a shrinkage trajectory spreading from peripheral cities to core metropolitan centers; the YRD experiences extensive mild population shrinkage alongside localized severe contraction; whereas the mainland cities of the GBA maintain steady population growth throughout the study period, with no shrinking cities identified. Two-way fixed-effects models further confirm that natural population growth, economic development, and transportation infrastructure constitute the primary drivers, with their impacts exhibiting significant heterogeneity across the three urban agglomerations. Discussion In response to differentiated urban governance needs, this study proposes context-specific smart shrinkage strategies tailored to each urban agglomeration. The findings enrich the empirical literature on urban shrinkage in Chinese megaregions and provide scientific references for sustainable urban management and coordinated regional development policymaking.

First responders are trained civilian professionals, including firefighters, law enforcement, emergency medical services, and frontline medical workers, who have a vocational duty and are expected to respond in person to emergency situations. The chronic exposure to adverse traumatic events while working with public health and safety can lead to the clinical presentation of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which also occurs in other trauma-exposed populations such as military personnel, veterans, refugees, and individuals who experience interpersonal violence. Examining epigenetic and transcriptomic profiles through DNA methylation (DNAm) and RNA transcripts allows researchers to observe how genetic predispositions interact with environmental exposures, shaping biological processes that underlie PTSD across time frames. This review synthesized published analyses on first responders to assess if the observed epigenetic and transcriptomic signatures of PTSD were shared with or distinct from the potential convergence in evidence within the broader molecular PTSD literature as derived from reviews and meta-analyses. In comparing molecular profiles of PTSD across populations, this review assessed the value of integrating epigenetic and transcriptomic markers alongside clinical assessments to understand molecular adaptations, protective and risk factors, and resilience. With the exception of consistently privileged candidate genes, such as NR3C1 and FKBP5 , individual studies identified unique DNA methylation sites and transcripts, likely reflecting differences in statistical significance and replication. This highlights the need for standardized methodologies across trauma-exposed populations. Future research should address chronic occupational trauma in first responders to better characterize PTSD manifestation in this unique population and utilize molecular profiling to identify distinct epigenetic and transcriptomic signatures associated with symptom development, treatment trajectories, and risk of reemergence. The field has the potential to inform our understanding of the long-term health consequences and treatment of PTSD for first responders and all those exposed to trauma.

Neurorights debate from abstract principles to practical institutional design, suggesting that autonomy should be protected not only by law but also by the architecture of technological systems themselves. Martín y Ladera, Martínez-Ruiz, and Araque-Hontangas continue this discussion through their notion of digital defencelessness. While legal debates on privacy have traditionally focused on data collection, they highlight a deeper vulnerability: the tendency of users to establish apparently intimate relationships with generative AI systems that neither understand nor care about them. Their analysis extends Neurorights from laboratories and neurotechnologies into everyday digital life, demonstrating that the protection of mental privacy has become an urgent challenge for ordinary citizens, not only for scholars engaged in debates about emerging neurotechnologies. The psychological consequences of digital environments are further explored by Seceleanu and colleagues. Although not explicitly framed within Neurorights discourse, their findings on social media addiction, authenticity, affect, and selfimage contribute an important psychological dimension to the volume. Their work suggests that contemporary threats to autonomy and well-being are often mediated not through direct coercion but through subtle processes involving identity, emotional engagement, and self-perception. In doing so, they provide an empirical complement to the normative concerns raised by other contributions. Questions of vulnerability and protection occupy a central place in several articles. García-López, Díaz-Victoria, Contreras-Taibo, and Nombela introduce the concept of neurovictimology, shifting attention toward individuals who may become vulnerable not only through crime and trauma but also through the use of neurotechnologies themselves. Their contribution is particularly significant because it broadens a field that has often focused on offenders, responsibility, and punishment. By placing victims at the center of the discussion, they remind us that technological innovation may generate new forms of harm requiring novel forms of protection. This concern with vulnerability also appears in the work of Haveman, Jin, and van Dongen. Through a dialogue involving clinicians, ethicists, legal scholars, researchers, and experts by experience, they explore the promises and perils of neuroprediction and neuromodulation in forensic care. Their findings reveal cautious optimism: participants recognized the potential benefits of neuroinformed risk assessment and rehabilitation while insisting on the importance of transparency, informed consent, contextual interpretation, and respect for human dignity. In many respects, their article represents the practical counterpart to the more conceptual discussions found elsewhere in the volume, illustrating what responsible translation from laboratory to practice might look like. The forensic domain receives further attention through contributions addressing cognition, development, and emotional functioning. Meddeb and colleagues highlight a surprisingly underexplored issue: the lack of conceptual clarity surrounding emotion regulation in forensic populations. Their systematic review demonstrates that before neuroscience can transform forensic practice, fundamental psychological constructs must be measured consistently and rigorously. Similarly, Ioannidis and colleagues show that understanding offending behavior among individuals with severe mental disorders requires attention to the complex interplay between intelligence and social cognition. Their findings support a more individualized approach to forensic assessment and rehabilitation, moving beyond simplistic diagnostic categories. Developmental considerations are brought to the forefront by Ramírez-Rivera and Martínez-González, whose analysis of juvenile justice in Puerto Rico illustrates how neuroscience can enrich rather than replace legal reasoning. Their concept of neurodevelopmental justice offers a nuanced middle ground between punitive and deterministic approaches, recognizing both adolescents' developmental limitations and their capacity for growth. The article reflects a broader message running throughout the volume: neuroscience is most valuable when it helps refine legal judgment, not when it seeks to substitute it. This message is perhaps most explicitly articulated by Schleim. Revisiting the enduring debate on free will, he argues that criminal law and everyday moral practice do not depend on resolving metaphysical questions about determinism. What matters are capacities for insight, deliberation, and conscious control. By redirecting attention from abstract philosophical disputes to practical questions of agency and responsibility, Schleim provides a fitting conceptual anchor for the entire collection. Taken together, the contributions gathered in this volume reveal a field in transition. Neuroscience is no longer presented as a revolutionary force destined to overturn law, nor is it dismissed as irrelevant to legal practice. Instead, these articles demonstrate the emergence of a more mature dialogue in which Neuroscience, Psychology, Technology, and Law are understood as complementary sources of knowledge about human behavior and human dignity. What ultimately unites the contributions is their shared recognition that justice in the twenty-first century must confront new realities: minds shaped by digital environments, identities vulnerable to technological intervention, behaviors influenced by biological systems extending beyond the brain, and legal institutions challenged to incorporate scientific knowledge without sacrificing fundamental rights. In exploring these questions, this volume advances not only the fields of Neurorights, Neurolaw, and Forensic Psychology, but also a broader conversation about what it means to protect human agency, autonomy, and dignity in an increasingly neurotechnological world.

Background Early identification of neurodevelopmental conditions during the pre-school years (ages 3–6) is critical for timely intervention, yet traditional questionnaire-based screeners suffer from low positive predictive value, late detection, and inequitable access. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning (ML) methods promise more objective, scalable identification, and two devices (Cognoa Canvas Dx, 2021; EarliPoint Evaluation, 2023) are already US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-authorized. Recent reviews summarize the technical literature, but few address how deployed tools perform on clinical validity, equity, and real-world implementation, particularly outside high-income, English-speaking settings. Methods Following Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR), we searched seven databases (1 January 2020–15 June 2026) and charted primary validation studies of AI/ML developmental-screening tools for children aged 72 months or younger. We mapped tools by modality, diagnostic performance, regulatory status, geographic origin, and, as a structured analytic axis, demographic subgroup (equity) reporting and deployment readiness. Results Sixteen primary AI-tool studies met inclusion, spanning eight modality classes (eye-tracking, multimodal questionnaire-plus-video, computer-vision home/clinical video, tablet/smartphone digital phenotyping, voice/acoustic ML, electronic-health-record risk prediction, questionnaire-based ML, and wearable sensors) and eight countries (USA, South Korea, Australia, Switzerland, France, Israel, China, Vietnam). Reported sensitivities ranged from approximately 75 to 99.2% and specificities from 78.9 to 95.5%. Only one tool demonstrated stable performance across sex, race, and ethnicity; subgroup-stratified validation was otherwise near-absent. No CE-marked autism-specific screening device was identified. Conclusions The evidence base has broadened in modality and geography but remains autism-concentrated and equity-blind, with a wide gap between analytic accuracy and primary-care deployment. We propose equity validation, deployment-readiness reporting, and an implementation pathway for low-resource guidance-center settings as priorities.

In the acknowledgements, [During the proofreading process of our paper, we intended to include the funding acknowledgment "Open access is funded by Helsinki University Library" in the Acknowledgements section. Although the corresponding author left a message to the production editor via the online proofing system before final publication, this addition was unfortunately not incorporated in the published version.]. The original version of this article has been updated.

Background The application of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar surgery under local anesthesia is becoming increasingly widespread; however, the impact of preoperative psychological status on surgical outcomes remains unclear. This study utilized propensity score matching to evaluate the effects of psychological distress and pain catastrophizing on clinical outcomes. Methods A retrospective cohort of 148 propensity-score-matched patients (74 per group) undergoing percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy under local anesthesia was analyzed. Preoperative psychological status was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). Outcome measures included the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for leg and back pain, the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), the Modified MacNab criteria, and the achievement rate of the Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) at 12 months postoperatively. Results At baseline, no significant differences were observed between the distress and non-distress groups in leg VAS (7.6 ± 2.3 vs. 7.5 ± 2.2, p = 0.681), back VAS (6.6 ± 1.3 vs. 6.5 ± 1.2, p = 0.093), or ODI (54.8 ± 9.5 vs. 53.9 ± 9.7, p = 0.594). At 12 months postoperatively, the distress group exhibited significantly higher leg VAS (3.7 ± 1.9 vs. 2.0 ± 1.1, p = 0.033), back VAS (3.1 ± 1.5 vs. 2.0 ± 1.0, p = 0.024), and ODI (31.2 ± 10.8 vs. 21.0 ± 7.5, p = 0.012) scores. The rate of MCID achievement for ODI was significantly lower in the distress group (60.8% vs. 82.4%, p = 0.015). Furthermore, the proportion of patients achieving excellent or good outcomes according to the Modified MacNab criteria was 81.1% in the distress group compared to 93.2% in the non-distress group ( p = 0.021). Both HADS and PCS scores were identified as independent predictors of unsatisfactory outcomes (adjusted OR = 1.17 and 1.09, respectively; both p < 0.01). The combined clinical-psychological model demonstrated superior predictive accuracy (AUC = 0.84). Conclusion Preoperative psychological distress and pain catastrophizing are independent predictors of inferior clinical outcomes following percutaneous endoscopic lumbar surgery under local anesthesia. Routine preoperative psychological screening and targeted interventions may be beneficial for optimizing surgical outcomes.

Background Childhood is crucial for students’ FMS development, and the growth of these skills is also highly important for their adulthood development. Offering an effective, dependable assessment tool can not only accurately measure students’ FMS development but also offer specific guidance to help them enhance their skills. Methods CAMSA was conducted with a sample of 1,183 students from five districts in Shanghai, with an average age of 9.98 ± 1.42 years. This study adopted specific methods and procedures for assessing the reliability and validity of measurement tools. Two indicators were selected for reliability: test-retest reliability and rater reliability. For validity, three indicators were chosen: structural validity, content validity, and concurrent validity—in addition to the subsequent construction of age-specific percentile norms for Shanghai children via standardized Z-score transformation. Results The revised CAMSA demonstrated a reliability coefficient between 0.704 and 0.874, with the time score at 0.777, skill score at 0.814, and total score at 0.850. Rater reliability ranged from 0.678 to 0.922. The difficulty scores ranged from 0.52 to 0.71, with skill score difficulty between 0.64 and 0.77, and time score difficulty from 0.39 to 0.64. The skill and time scores were 0.71 and 0.52, respectively, indicating appropriate difficulty levels. The differentiation values for the total CAMSA score, skill score, and time score were 0.35, 0.34, and 0.52, respectively, suggesting effective differentiation. The scale also demonstrated acceptable structural validity, with fit indices meeting the pre-specified thresholds (χ 2 /df = 3.849, CFI = 0.931, GFI = 0.988, AGFI = 0.975, NFI = 0.911, RMR = 0.012, RMSEA = 0.050). Furthermore, the mean CAMSA score was 17.82 with a standard deviation of ± 3.80, while the average TGMD-3 score was 56.57 with a standard deviation of ± 22.97. The correlation coefficient between the TGMD-3 and CAMSA scores was 0.613( P = 0.000), the corresponding coefficient of determination R 2 was reported as 0.376. Conclusion The CAMSA is a reliable and valid assessment tool for evaluating fundamental movement skills in children aged 8–12 years. The study established norms from grades 1 to 5 and percentile norms that can be used to assess the development of children’s fundamental movement skills.

Background Anxiety and aggression are important concerns for college students’ mental health and campus adjustment. However, motivational and self-regulatory correlates of this association remain insufficiently examined. Objective This study examined the anxiety–aggression association among students at one medical college in China, tested separate and serial statistical indirect associations involving physical activity motivation (PAM) and self-regulatory fatigue (SRF), and examined the reverse ordering of PAM and SRF. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 1,773 students at Shangqiu Medical College, Henan Province, China. Measures included a GAD-7-derived anxiety item set with five-point agreement responses and no two-week recall period, a BAQ-derived aggression item set with five rather than seven response categories, and PAM and SRF scales. Pearson correlations, regression analyses, and PROCESS Model 6 with 5,000 percentile bootstrap samples were used. Gender and three age-group indicator variables were included as covariates; reverse-order and outlier sensitivity analyses were also conducted. Results Anxiety showed modest correlations with aggression ( r = 0.260), SRF ( r = 0.254), and PAM ( r = −0.257; all p < 0.001). The adjusted aggression model explained 14.5% of the variance (R 2 = 0.145), and the direct anxiety–aggression association remained statistically distinguishable from zero ( B = 0.1101, 95% CI [0.0807, 0.1395]). Bootstrap confidence intervals excluded zero for the separate statistical indirect associations involving PAM and SRF and for the prespecified serial association. The serial association was small ( B = 0.0053, 95% bootstrap CI [0.0034, 0.0077]; completely standardized estimate = 0.0083, 95% bootstrap CI [0.0053, 0.0120]), and the reverse ordering yielded a similarly small serial association. The outlier sensitivity analysis did not materially alter the findings. Conclusion Among students at one medical college, anxiety, lower PAM, higher SRF, and aggression formed modest cross-sectional covariance patterns. Because both PAM–SRF orderings were compatible with the data and the serial association was small, the findings are hypothesis-generating and do not establish temporal or causal mechanisms.

Focusing on two prominent belief frameworks – science and religion – this study examined adults’ retrospective perceptions of the role their parents played in transmitting and maintaining beliefs. We adapted a previous method (McLoughlin, 2021) and asked Australian and Malaysian adults to reflect on whether and how their current scientific and religious beliefs were influenced by their parents. Across both countries, adults indicated that their parents were influential for both science and religion. Participants generally recalled scientific influence positively irrespective of how religious they were. For religion, greater participant religiosity was associated with positive influence for Australian adults only. Approximately three-quarters of Malaysian participants identified their parents as the only source for both religious and scientific beliefs. While the same proportion of Australians indicated so for science, significantly less Australian participants identified their parents as the only source for religious beliefs. When reflecting on how their parents approached conflicting views between themselves and their parents, Australian participants generally reported that their parents employed a supportive approach across both domains. Malaysian participants often reported that their parents, though open to accepting dissenting scientific beliefs with a supportive stance, were more inclined toward a directive approach when faced with conflicts in religious views. This study affords novel insights into the universality and variation of parents’ roles in the transmission and maintenance of scientific and religious beliefs across diverse populations.

Objective Test anxiety is one of the most prevalent psychological problems among adolescents and university students and is associated with impaired academic performance, emotional distress, and reduced psychological wellbeing. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of music-based interventions on test anxiety among students. Methods A comprehensive literature search was conducted in CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP Database, China Biology Medicine (CBM), PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, and Embase from database inception to April 2026. Published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of music-based interventions on test anxiety among students were included. Meta-analyses were performed using RevMan 5.4 and Stata 18.0. The primary outcomes were test anxiety measured using the State Anxiety Subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S/SAI), Test Anxiety Scale (TAS), Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI), and Generalized Test Anxiety Inventory (GTAI). Fixed- or random-effects models were applied according to heterogeneity, and subgroup analyses were conducted. Results A total of 10 RCTs involving 681 students were included, with 371 participants in the intervention groups and 310 in the control groups. The meta-analysis showed that music-based interventions were significantly more effective than control conditions in reducing test anxiety among students (SMD = −1.21, 95% CI: −1.79 to −0.63, P < 0.0001). Subgroup analyses indicated that interventions lasting ≥8 weeks (SMD = −2.14), sessions lasting ≥60 min (SMD = −1.89), and active music-based interventions (SMD = −2.21) produced greater reductions in test anxiety. Conclusion Music-based interventions appear to be a promising non-pharmacological strategy for improving students' psychological wellbeing by reducing test anxiety and may serve as an effective adjunct to school-based mental health education. Systematic review registration https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ , identifier: CRD420261414547.

As artificial intelligence (AI) is integrated into translation pedagogy, it brings new possibilities for competence development. However, concerns also emerge regarding learner engagement and maintenance of human agency. This study investigates the effects of an AI-Collaborative Translation Workshop on translation major students’ learner engagement and translation competence with a mixed-methods approach. 69 undergraduate translation-major students participated in a 16-week quasi-experimental design. The experimental group ( n = 35) attended a structured AI-collaborative workflow, while the control group ( n = 34) took a conventional translation course concurrently. Through pre- and post-intervention scales and translation competence tests, quantitative data were gathered, while classroom observations and semi-structured interviews generated qualitative data. According to the ANCOVA results, significantly greater improvements in overall translation performance and engagement were observed in the experimental group. Specifically, the intervention yielded moderate-to-large effects on textual faithfulness and linguistic appropriateness, but the effectiveness of cultural transmission showed no pronounced improvement. In terms of learner engagement, the intervention exerted moderate positive effects on overall engagement, with considerable improvements in behavioral and emotional engagement. No significant change was found in cognitive engagement. Qualitative data corroborated these findings. Students in the experimental group demonstrated more proactive behaviors and positive emotions. Overall, despite strengthening behavioral and emotional participation as well as certain aspects of translation competence, AI-human collaboration still had limited ability to cultivate deep cognitive engagement and culturally sensitive translation skills. Therefore, pedagogical designs should position AI as a resource for critical reflection rather than a substitute for translator decision-making, thereby preserving learner agency and promoting the development of higher-order thinking.

Introduction Drawing upon Socio-Technical Systems Theory and the Sense of Community Theory, this study examines the associations between digital campus governance participation and the ethnic-cultural identity of multi-ethnic college students, testing the multiple indirect associations of online social support and campus sense of community connection, as well as the potential moderating role of ethnic background. Methods Utilizing a cross-sectional questionnaire survey method, data were collected from 890 students across multi-ethnic universities in Southwest China. Results Regression and bias-corrected Bootstrap analyses indicate that: (1) digital campus governance participation is significantly and positively associated with ethnic-cultural identity; (2) online social support and campus sense of community connection exhibit significant parallel indirect statistical covariations in this relationship, while jointly constructing a sequential chain association structure defined as “digital participation → online social support → campus sense of community connection → ethnic-cultural identity”; (3) the moderating role of ethnic background on the relationship between digital participation and online social support is not statistically significant. This suggests that the positive association of digital participation possesses cross-group similarity and stability between Han and ethnic minority students. Discussion This study provides micro-psychological empirical evidence for the construction of inclusive digital campuses.

Background Vocal skill acquisition is inherently “invisible”: learners cannot directly observe the movements of their vocal organs, so traditional instruction depends heavily on the teacher’s auditory judgment and metaphorical language. This leaves learners ill-equipped to detect errors and self-correct during independent practice. Spectral and acoustic visualization technologies—pitch-trajectory displays, spectrograms, formant analysis, and physiological biofeedback—can externalize this hidden process, yet systematic synthesis at the level of psychological mechanisms remains scarce. Aim Using psychological mechanisms as its organizing framework, this review synthesizes the role of acoustic spectral feedback in vocal learning and seeks to bridge motor learning theory and self-regulated learning theory, which have not previously been integrated in this context. Methods Following PRISMA 2020, we systematically searched WoS, Scopus, PsycINFO, ERIC, PubMed, and CNKI (2005–2025). Using thematic narrative synthesis, we classified the 36 included studies by psychological mechanism rather than by tool type; only 7 reported a formal mediation test. Results The evidence revealed five mechanism pathways. Spectral feedback is associated with self-efficacy gains attributed to accumulated mastery experience via knowledge of results (relatively strong). It promotes metacognitive monitoring by externalizing implicit mechanisms (strong for measurement, but the metacognition→skill test was null). It supports self-regulated learning through the plan–monitor–reflect cycle (moderate). Its effect on motivation and emotional engagement remains unverified (limited). Real-time concurrent feedback entails a cognitive-load versus guidance-dependency trade-off (moderate). Critically, 29 of 36 studies did not formally test the feedback→mechanism→skill pathway—the field’s most prominent methodological gap. Conclusion A preliminary integrated pathway framework of acoustic spectral feedback in vocal learning is advanced as an interpretive proposition derived from the synthesized evidence rather than as an empirically verified mechanism, with evidence gaps and testable hypotheses annotated so as to scaffold future empirical research. Systematic review registration Open Science Framework, https://osf.io/qgwxk , identifier qgwxk.