Earth and Environmental Sciences

Where this inherent circularity is formalised, technology and organisational form become amplifiers, not sources. Li et al. treat computational optimisation as a circular resource logic in itself: a bi-objective model for rural home-based healthcare in China that cuts operating costs by 10-15% while improving equity of access for older adults. Sadat and Basir, using structural equation modelling of Indonesian survey data, find that smart-city and e-government platforms can lift civic participation, though digital literacy alone does not translate into collective action without civic-oriented frameworks to channel it. Alarcón et al., synthesising the B-Corporation literature across Ibero-America, show that hybrid firms fill institutional gaps only when circular strategies are explicitly embedded in governance rather than merely assumed. Across all three, the lesson holds: tools and corporate forms extend the community agency that precedes them; they do not replace it.Sustained practice leaves its mark on urban land and infrastructure. Grochová et al. show this on the Špitálka brownfield in Brno, where biochar-enriched agriculture turns derelict industrial ground into carbon-sequestering green space; their life-cycle costing finds a community-garden model reaching financial self-sufficiency while a social-farming variant needs near-full subsidy, both still delivering environmental benefit. Susamto et al., reviewing 101 studies of Indonesian practice, find that circularity concentrates at the micro and meso levels and is driven more by internal motivation and learning than by external policy pressure, with institutional misalignment and fragmented infrastructure the real brakes on scaling.What practice has long enacted, governance has yet to absorb. Lin et al., in a decade-long review of sustainable supply-chain governance, find that transparency, though necessary, cannot by itself dismantle entrenched power asymmetries, and call for participatory accountability mechanisms that couple openness with genuine inclusion. Nemakhavhani et al. reconceive public housing not as a product delivered once but as an institutional service system that requires lifecycle stewardship, shared responsibility, and resident co-management. Both point to the same structural need: governance must be rebuilt around the circular logic communities already live, not tuned at the margins.Taken as a whole, these nine contributions advance an argument larger than any single paper. Circularity does not originate at the policy level and cascade downward -it operates simultaneously across multiple layers of urban society, from community practice and organisational operations through land and infrastructure outcomes to governance frameworks. Each layer produces its own form of circular economy action; together they constitute sustainability management. The collection's methodological range -from computational modelling and statistical analysis to life-cycle costing and participatory fieldwork -reflects this vertical coverage, confirming that the practice-first pattern is structural rather than localised. The central findings is epistemic: the circularity that sustainable cities require is already present and generative across the Global south but overlooked because it does not conform to the industrial templates of conventional linear development frameworks -the frameworks that have demonstrably produced resource depletion, environmental pollution, and social inequity. Three priorities follow. Research should keep probing the nexus of economic optimisation, social justice, and ecological integrity through inclusive mixed methods that give equal analytical weight to grassroots and institutional scales. Policy must embed bottom-up experience-participatory transparency, product-service-system stewardship, and digital platforms-within legally binding frameworks rather than aspirational guideline. Businesses and civil-society organisations can act as catalytic nodes by aligning governance structure with explicit circular strategies and strengthening the local networks that amplify community agency across all layers.A waste-picker's daily route, an algorithm shortening a care worker's journey, biochar returned to tired soil: each is a detail, and together they form the structure of a circular city. We hope this Research Topic spurs further transdisciplinary collaboration and evidence-based reform, and invites the Hochschule Osnabrück community, and the wider global network, to look more closely at the practices-and the people-already building the sustainability our cities need.

Multimodal data processing is becoming increasingly important in neuroscience and perception science because children's emotional and social experiences are rarely expressed through a single observable channel. In parent–child interaction, children may verbally comply with parental expectations while simultaneously showing subtle affective, behavioral, physiological, or neural signs of internal distress. This review examines parental psychological control as a hidden but developmentally significant context for multimodal assessment. Unlike behavioral control, which regulates children's external behavior through rules and supervision, psychological control intrudes into children's inner emotional world through guilt induction, love withdrawal, and intrusive parenting. This review first summarizes how parental psychological control may create hidden emotional pressure and undermine children's socio-emotional development. Guilt induction may increase self-blame and emotional over-responsibility, thereby weakening emotional autonomy. Love withdrawal may make children associate affection with obedience, increasing rejection fear and distorting empathic expression. Intrusive parenting may restrict independent decision-making and social problem-solving, thereby impairing social adaptation. These mechanisms suggest that children exposed to psychological control may appear outwardly calm, obedient, or well-adjusted while internally experiencing emotional inhibition, relational anxiety, and reduced agency. To address this hidden discrepancy, this review highlights the value of multimodal data processing for detecting implicit emotional burden in parent–child interaction. Potential indicators include facial micro-expressions, vocal changes, gaze avoidance, body movement, language patterns, physiological arousal, and neural signals related to emotional reactivity and regulatory effort. By integrating behavioral observation, affective computing, physiological sensing, and neurodevelopmental evidence, multimodal approaches may provide a more sensitive framework for understanding how psychologically controlling parenting shapes children's emotional autonomy, empathy, and social adaptation.

This study examined a sample of 581 teachers from 60 diverse preschools, utilizing the Preschool Teacher Motivation Questionnaire, the Preschool Teacher Emotional Competence Questionnaire, and the Perceived Social Support Scale. The findings indicated that (a) preschool teachers’ autonomous motivation ( M = 13.23, SD = 16.22) and perceived social support ( M = 66.93, SD = 11.44) were above the median level, while emotional competence ( M = 75.32, SD = 10.02) was at a medium-high level, with all dimension scores exceeding the theoretical median; (b) perceived social support was significantly and positively correlated with autonomous motivation; (c) emotional competence significantly and positively predicted autonomous motivation; and (d) emotional competence fully mediated the relationship between perceived social support and autonomous motivation. These results underscore the importance of emotional competence and social support in fostering teachers’ autonomous motivation. Accordingly, this study recommends implementing strategies that target the development of emotional competence and the provision of adequate social support to effectively motivate preschool teachers.

Background Accumulating research suggests that nomophobia is common among nursing students and has been linked to adverse outcomes. Objective To explore the reasons for nomophobia and coping strategies employed by nursing students. Methods This research employed a qualitative design. 13 s-year undergraduate nursing students in Guizhou Province, China with moderate to severe nomophobia were recruited using purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. In the discussion section, the findings were interpreted through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping. Results Nursing students’ nomophobia was associated with perceived disruptions caused by smartphone unavailability in daily life functioning, academic routines, psychosocial support, and coping with developmental uncertainty. Additionally, coping strategies mainly involved sleeping or emptying the mind, diverting attention, and chatting with friends, while adopting alternative approaches was less frequently reported. Discussion Nomophobia among nursing students may reflect the disruption of smartphone-supported resources related to multidimensional needs. Students appear to rely mainly on emotion-focused coping, which may provide only limited relief, whereas problem-focused coping is limited. Efforts to reduce nomophobia should consider educational support, mental health services, and individualized intervention design.

Introduction This study examines early Mandarin acquisition of the yi “one” + classifier construction in monolingual Taiwanese Mandarin-speaking children and asks whether numeral-classifier development is holistic or staged. Methods Using the CHILDES-TCCM corpus, we analyzed 35,864 child utterances from 126 transcript files produced by ten children. We isolated 554 screened yi-target records, compared them with a matched caregiver-input baseline, and retained compressed adult headline materials as a qualitative contrast. Results Overt yi + classifier forms overwhelmingly dominated the child data: 543 of the 554 screened records were target-like. Only four clear omissions and two classifier-form errors were identified, and five additional tokens were excluded as ambiguous. Clear omissions were rare but concentrated in the 2;00–3;00 age range and distributed across three children. Individual classifiers dominated throughout, and child output was even more strongly skewed toward individual classifiers than caregiver input. The classifier ge functioned as an early broad-use form, but post hoc review showed that only a small subset of yi ge + N tokens constituted clear overgeneralization. Discussion The comparison with headline data is retained as a qualitative contrast. It does not motivate a shared derivational mechanism, but shows that under strong discourse pressure, surface Num + N strings remain interpretable in Mandarin. Overall, the findings support a staged and non-holistic view of numeral-classifier development while treating the evidence for omission cautiously because of the small number of clear omission tokens.

Purpose Art-based activities provide a flexible, nonverbal medium for exploring emotions, personal values, and inner experiences. Within the framework of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), art-making has been discussed in relation to psychological flexibility processes, such as acceptance, cognitive defusion, self-as-context, and value-based action. This study aimed to explore psychological counselor candidates’ descriptions of their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral experiences related to participation in an art-based labyrinth activity workshop from an ACT perspective. Methods This study employed a qualitative descriptive research design with 81 psychological counselor candidates (53 females and 28 males) who were final-year undergraduate students in the Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University. Participants engaged in an art-based workshop utilizing a symbolic labyrinth technique and completed written reflections on their experiences. A deductive content analysis approach was employed for data analysis, as the codes, subcategories, and categories derived from the data were interpreted within the framework of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Results The findings indicated that the participants’ reflections corresponded with the ACT processes. Under the category of “contact with the present moment and acceptance,” the subthemes “emotional relief” and “emotional confrontation” emerged. Within “self-as-context,” the subcategories included “self-esteem and inner observer,” “reconciliation with personal experiences and the self,” and “self-awareness.” The “values” category comprised “valuing challenges and solutions,” “assigning value to emotions,” “valuing experiences and actions related to family members,” and “attributing value to early childhood memories––first toy.” Under “defusion,” the subcategories “cognitive defusion––a new perspective on thoughts” and “emotional defusion––a new perspective on emotions” were identified. Finally, the “committed action” category encompassed the subcategories “decisive steps” and “a new journey.” Overall, the participants’ reflections suggested categories related to openness toward internal experiences, metaphorical meaning-making, and value-based reflections. Conclusion The candidates’ narratives suggested that the art-based labyrinth activity workshop provided a reflective and experiential context for exploring emotional shifts, values related to important personal contexts and situations, and meaning-making processes. The findings highlight the potential relevance of art-based activities for experiential reflection, self-exploration, and well-being-related reflection in counselor education and supervision contexts.

Purpose This study examined the cross-sectional association between ICT-related digital teaching demands and job burnout among university physical education (PE) teachers, and assessed whether technology-related stress and occupational stress served as stress-related pathways linking these demands to burnout. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among university PE teachers from Henan Province, China, yielding 1,869 valid responses. Digital teaching demands were operationalized as ICT-related work demands. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate the proposed associations, and indirect pathways were tested using bias-corrected percentile bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples. Results ICT-related digital teaching demands were positively associated with job burnout. The direct association remained significant after accounting for technology-related stress and occupational stress, but the indirect component accounted for a larger proportion of the total association. The total indirect association was significant [β = 0.292, 95% CI (0.254, 0.330)], indicating that stress-related pathways explained 68.54% of the total association. Significant indirect pathways were observed through technology-related stress, through occupational stress, and through the sequential pathway from technology-related stress to occupational stress. Conclusion In this sample of university PE teachers from Henan Province, ICT-related digital teaching demands were positively associated with job burnout, and this association was largely reflected through technology-specific strain and broader occupational pressure. These cross-sectional findings suggest that digitally intensified teaching environments may be better understood by considering both technostress and general occupational stress, while causal interpretations should be tested in future longitudinal research.

Introduction In vocational digital heritage programs, technical complexity is often associated with a heavy cognitive load, which may hinder students from utilizing cultural capital. Drawing on Cognitive Load Theory and the cultural assets framework, this study aims to examine the associations among instructional support, cognitive load, cultural identity, and students’ creative self-efficacy (CSE). Methods A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed. Data were collected from 333 vocational college students using an online survey. A moderated mediation model was evaluated using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), and the cross-contextual stability of the theoretical model was assessed via multi-group analysis. Results SEM analysis revealed that instructional support is positively associated with CSE, and this relationship is primarily mediated by perceived cognitive ease (lower cognitive load), with the indirect path accounting for 54.4% of the total relationship. Crucially, cultural identity serves as a significant moderator; the negative association between cognitive load and CSE is weaker among students with strong cultural connections. Multi-group analysis confirmed the consistency of this structural model across different cultural heritage topics. Discussion These correlational findings support a “Load-Asset Balance” mechanism, suggesting that cultural identity functions as an active psychological resource rather than a mere background variable. Cultivating learners’ emotional connection to traditional culture appears as essential as technical scaffolding. Future digital heritage pedagogy should integrate cognitive load management with cultural engagement to support creative confidence.

Objective This study examined the associations between different exercise habits, working memory performance, and prefrontal cortical activation patterns in male college students with excessive short video use. Methods Eighty-two male college students were recruited. Behavioral tests and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) were used to assess working memory performance and prefrontal oxygenated hemoglobin (OxyHb). Participants were classified by daily exercise habits (high exercise habits [HE], low exercise habits [LE], no exercise habits [NE]) and short video usage (low video [LV], moderate video [MV], high video [HV]). Results (1) In working memory tasks, the LV group exhibited significantly shorter reaction times and higher accuracy ratio than the MV and HV groups (all p < 0.01). The MV group also outperformed the HV group (all p < 0.05). (2) The HE group demonstrated higher accuracy and accuracy ratio than both the LE and NE groups ( p = 0.035), and the LE group performed better than the NE group ( p < 0.05). (3) A significant interaction between exercise habits and video usage duration was observed in channels 3 (left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex [VLPFC]), 6 (frontopolar cortex [FPC]), and 11 (orbitofrontal cortex [OFC]) during working memory tasks (all p < 0.05). Conclusion Excessive short video use was associated with poorer working memory performance, whereas regular exercise habits were associated with better behavioral performance. Moreover, exercise habits and short video use interacted to modulate prefrontal OxyHb in regions critical for cognitive control and decision-making. These findings suggest that promoting regular physical exercise may help counteract the negative cognitive effects of excessive short video consumption.

Background Social anxiety in university students is a mental health risk and is linked to various psychological resources. Emotional regulation and psychological flexibility are related to how students manage distress. This study explores how these factors are associated with the relationship between attitudes toward music therapy and social anxiety in students. Methods This study collected questionnaire data from 689 university students in China through class-based convenience sampling. Established scales were used to measure social anxiety, emotion regulation, and psychological flexibility, while attitudes toward music therapy were assessed using a previously used seven-item Music Therapy Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Results Attitudes toward music therapy were negatively associated with social anxiety. Cognitive reappraisal (β = −0.147, t = 8.685, p < 0.001) and expressive suppression (β = −0.115, t = 7.641, p < 0.001) showed significant indirect associations in this relationship. Psychological flexibility moderated the relationship between attitudes toward music therapy and social anxiety (β = −0.176, t = 7.483, p < 0.001). Students with higher psychological flexibility showed a stronger negative link between attitudes toward music therapy and social anxiety compared to those with lower psychological flexibility. Conclusion This study provides preliminary correlational evidence that university students’ attitudes toward music therapy are associated with social anxiety, emotion regulation, and psychological flexibility. The findings should not be interpreted as evidence for the effectiveness of music therapy intervention.

Introduction Family background correlates with academic performance and attainment of junior high school students, with learning engagement acting as a mediator. Shifting focus from final academic outcomes to learning processes helps explore the internal mechanism linking family background and academic competence. Methods This study established a parallel mediation model based on samples from two junior high schools in Central China. Family background was the independent variable, parental educational expectations and students’self-educational expectations served as parallel mediators, and learning engagement was the dependent variable. Results After controlling for gender, grade and school type, family background showed a significant positive correlation with students’learning engagement. Students’self-educational expectations functioned as a mediator between family background and learning engagement, whereas the indirect association of parental educational expectations was not statistically significant. Discussion The findings clarify the mechanism behind the association between family background and learning engagement among Chinese junior high school students, and provide practical references for peers in similar situations. Recommended practices include encouraging parental involvement, creating a harmonious family atmosphere, setting reasonable educational expectations, and regulating internal and external motivation to cultivate students’learning engagement.

For researching the long-time influence of cooperative learning sports teaching patterns on university students' inner drive for exercise and psychological toughness, we used cluster sampling to choose 160 participants which include 82 males and 78 females, then divided them into experiment group and control group, to carry out a 12-month teaching intervention research. Through questionnaire investigation, statistical analysis, and qualitative talks, we made systematic analysis on the dynamic change of students' inner exercise drive and psychological toughness under different teaching patterns. Thus, results showed that cooperative learning obviously lifted scores in all dimensions of inner exercise drive, with lasting long-time intervention effects. Therefore, it effectively developed psychological toughness, realizing all-round improvement in emotion control, pressure resistance, and goal persistence. A marked positive correlation was found between inner exercise drive and psychological toughness; hence, interactive quality, task design, and evaluation systems in cooperative learning had marked predictive functions for both two variables. This study uncovers the psychological cultivation mechanisms of cooperative learning, providing theory support and practice paths for reforming higher education institutions' physical education teaching.

Purpose Bulgaria currently lacks standardized instruments for assessing cognitive-communicative abilities in adults with neurological disorders. This study reports preliminary validation evidence for the Bulgarian version of the Scales of Cognitive and Communicative Ability for Neurorehabilitation (SCCAN-B). Methods Eighty-nine Bulgarian-speaking adults were assessed at a tertiary university hospital in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The main analytic sample included four separate groups: neurotypical controls, individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia, and ischemic stroke. All participants had previously received a formal diagnosis prior to being classified within one of these four groups. After informed consent was obtained, participants completed the SCCAN-B and the validated Bulgarian version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-B). Analyses examined internal consistency, convergent validity with MMSE-B, known-groups differences, and preliminary screening classification using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Results The SCCAN-B showed high internal consistency across the eight performance scales, α = 0.931. The SCCAN-B total score correlated strongly with MMSE-B scores, ρ = 0.84, p < 0.001. Significant group differences were observed for the SCCAN-B total score and all performance scales, with the largest impairments in the Alzheimer’s disease group. ROC analysis distinguishing controls from the main clinical groups yielded an AUC of 0.850. A preliminary SCCAN-B total cut-off of 80 showed 70.7% sensitivity and 87.1% specificity. Conclusion Findings provide preliminary evidence that the SCCAN-B is a clinically promising screening instrument for identifying cognitive-communicative difficulties in Bulgarian-speaking neurological populations. However, the results should be interpreted cautiously because of the modest sample size, clinical heterogeneity, limited control of confounding variables, and the need for further normative and cross-cultural validation work.

Objective Despite the importance of parental factors in the math anxiety of children, the influence of the interaction between parental involvement and parental math anxiety on the math anxiety of children has not been sufficiently explored. This study is aimed at investigating how parental math anxiety moderates the association of parental involvement with the math anxiety of children. Methods Data were collected from 450 seventh-grade students and their parents in China, including parental involvement, parental math anxiety and the math anxiety of children. Process Model 1 was used to perform moderated regression analysis. Results Relationship analysis indicated that mother ( r = −0.15, p < 0.01) and father involvement ( r = −0.18, p < 0.01) both showed a significant negative correlation with the math anxiety of children. In addition, parental math anxiety exhibited a significant positive correlation with the math anxiety of children ( r = 0.29, p < 0.01). Mother involvement significantly interacted with parental math anxiety ( β = −0.12, p = 0.017, 95% CI [−0.21, −0.02]), and father involvement also significantly interacted with parental math anxiety ( β = −0.12, p < 0.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) [−0.20, −0.04]). Specifically, the negative relationship of parental involvement with the math anxiety of children was significant only among parents with high (mother involvement: β = −0.259, p < 0.05; father involvement: β = −0.292, p < 0.05) rather than low math anxiety (mother: β = −0.029, p > 0.05; father: β = −0.053, p > 0.05). Furthermore, gender analysis demonstrated that this moderating effect was significant only for girls instead of boys. Conclusion Parental math anxiety moderates the association of parental involvement with the math anxiety of children. Overall, parental involvement is negatively linked to the math anxiety of children (significant main effect). After parental math anxiety was included as a moderator, this negative relationship was present only in the group with high parental math anxiety and was non-significant in the group with low parental math anxiety. This finding poses a challenge to the assumption that “high parental math anxiety is necessarily harmful”. Furthermore, this moderating effect was more pronounced among girls.

Rural families residing in ethnic minority border regions require precisely targeted family education guidance, and a professionally trained teaching workforce constitutes a critical prerequisite for the successful implementation of school-based family education guidance services. Employing a qualitative research paradigm grounded in constructivist epistemology, this study investigates the competency structure underlying family education guidance among rural teachers operating within ethnic minority border regions. Utilizing grounded theory methodology, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 25 teachers and subsequently analyzed through a rigorous three-level coding procedure. The findings reveal that the family education guidance competency of rural teachers in ethnic minority border regions comprises five interconnected core categories: (1) knowledge and professional competency, (2) communication and interaction competency, (3) cross-cultural and multilingual competency, (4) guidance and motivation competency, and (5) psychological support and management competency. These competencies demonstrate significant interrelationships, collectively forming a comprehensive family education guidance competency model specifically tailored to rural teachers in ethnic minority border regions. The theoretical model developed in this study effectively addresses the distinctive educational environment characteristic of ethnic minority border regions, responds to the specialized needs of rural teachers engaged in family education guidance, and provides both theoretical foundations and practical guidance for enhancing teachers' family education guidance competency in these underserved contexts.

Understanding how individuals engage in waste separation is a central challenge in sustainability and waste management, particularly in relation to their perceptions of public institutions. While governments and municipalities have implemented multiple initiatives to promote pro-environmental behavior, the effectiveness of these efforts is closely related to the behavioral factors associated with household decision-making. This study examines the key factors associated with waste separation intentions in several cities in southern Chile using an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework. The survey instrument incorporates additional constructs, including information availability, perceived role of municipalities and willingness to pay. Using structural equation modeling, the results indicate that subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are strongly associated with behavioral intention, while attitudes are not significantly related to intention. Information provided by municipalities is indirectly associated with intention through its relationships with attitudes and perceived behavioral control. The findings highlight the relevance of social influence, perceived feasibility, and access to information as factors associated with pro-environmental intentions. However, given the cross-sectional design of the study, these results should be interpreted as associations rather than causal relationships or observed behavioral change. These insights contribute to the extension of TPB in the context of environmental behavior and provide indicative implications for the design of waste management policies.

With the continuous development of technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, digital idols are gradually being favored by branded enterprises. Based on meaning transfer theory and trust theory, this paper conducts four scenario experiments to explore how virtual idol endorsers influence consumers' brand attitudes, as well as the moderating effect of brand type. The study results show that virtual idol endorsers affect consumer brand attitude when they buy symbolic brand products by enhancing their social identity. When consumers buy functional brand products, virtual idol endorsers influence their brand attitude by improving their brand trust. Theoretically, this study enriches the research on the influence of virtual idol endorsers on consumer brand attitude under different brand types. Practically, it provides valuable reference for brands to formulate global virtual endorsement strategies and improve the stability and continuity of corporate brand marketing and promotion.

Background Dementia care requires not only clinical competence but also a high level of empathy from nursing professionals. Resilience has increasingly been recognized as a critical factor in enhancing both competence and compassionate care in demanding healthcare settings. Objective This study aimed to examine the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between nurses’ competence in dementia care and their empathetic practices. Methods This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 200 registered nurses from ten hospitals in Sohag and Mansoura, Egypt. Participants met specific inclusion criteria, including at least one year of dementia care experience. Data were collected using the following instruments; the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, the Empathetic Care Scale, and the Sense of Competence in Dementia Care Staff Scale were administered. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and mediation analysis. Results Significant positive correlations were found between nurses’ competence in dementia care and resilience (r = 0.350, p < 0.001), and between competence and empathetic practices (r = 0.249, p < 0.001). Resilience was also significantly correlated with empathetic practices (r = 0.378, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis revealed that resilience partially mediated the relationship between competence and empathetic practices (indirect effect: β = 0.116, BootSE = 0.036, 95% CI [0.053, 0.193]). The total effect of competence on empathetic practices was statistically significant (β = 0.249, B = 0.301, SE = 0.083, t = 3.625, p < 0.001), explaining 6.2% of the variance. Conclusion Resilience serves as a key psychological mechanism through which nurses’ competence in dementia care translates into higher levels of empathetic practice. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating resilience-building interventions into nursing education and practice to enhance the quality of dementia care.

Purpose This study examined the bidirectional relationship between subjective wellbeing (SWB) and emotional distress (ED) among college students from a network perspective. It aimed to identify the cross-sectional network structure at two time points, identify the most central nodes, and explore bidirectional pathways between the two domains using cross-lagged network analysis. Methods A two-wave longitudinal survey was conducted among college students from six universities in Jiangxi, Guizhou, and Jiangsu Provinces, China. Data were collected in December 2024 and December 2025 through the Wenjuanxing online platform. After screening and matching across waves, 1,354 students were retained for analysis. SWB was measured with the Index of Wellbeing Scale, and ED was measured with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21. Cross-sectional networks were estimated at both time points, and a cross-lagged panel network model was used to examine cross-lagged relations over time. Results The T1 and T2 networks had densities of 0.522 and 0.554, featuring predominantly positive within-domain and negative between-domain edges. At T1, “Life was meaningless” showed the highest strength, whereas at T2, “Hopeful” showed the highest strength. The cross-lagged network showed longitudinal predictive associations between SWB and ED from T1 to T2. Hopeful showed the strongest out-expected influence, 3.24, whereas Satisfied showed the strongest in-expected influence, 2.31. Network stability analysis supported the robustness of the centrality estimates. Conclusion Network analysis revealed interconnected networks of SWB and ED among college students at both cross-sectional and longitudinal levels. The longitudinal findings indicate bidirectional predictive associations across a 1-year interval. These results highlight the value of a symptom-level approach and suggest that Hopeful and Satisfied may be informative nodes for future research on the temporal associations between positive and negative aspects of mental health.

Introduction Childbirth-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (CB-PTSS), including intrusive memories (CB-IM), affect a substantial proportion of mothers and can have lasting negative consequences for themselves and their families. A single-session behavioural intervention combining a childbirth memory recall in the maternity ward and a visuospatial task involving the videogame Tetris, has shown preliminary efficacy in reducing CB-IM and CB-PTSS. However, how women subjectively experience this intervention, whether they perceive it as potentially beneficial, and what mechanisms they believe may contribute to change remain unknown. This qualitative study, embedded within a multicentre single-blind waitlist-controlled randomised trial conducted in Switzerland, aimed to explore: (1) how women experienced the two components of this intervention (i.e., recall and Tetris); (2) what changes they perceived following the intervention; and (3) what mechanisms they attributed to these changes. Methods Seventeen participants were recruited from a multicentre, single-blind, waitlist-controlled randomised trial in which they receive a single-session behavioural intervention targeting CB-IM. A maximum variation sampling strategy based on self-reported changes in CB-IM frequency following the intervention was utilised. Semi-structured interviews were realised and analysed using inductive content analysis. Results Recalling the childbirth memory at the maternity ward was experienced as emotionally intense (i.e., stressful, destabilising), yet simultaneously meaningful for most participants. Playing Tetris elicited initial surprise or scepticism but was then experienced as engaging and soothing by most participants. Participants reported a broad range of perceived changes, most notably a reduction in CB-IM number, alongside qualitative changes in CB-IM, and greater acceptance of the childbirth memory. Perceived mechanisms of change were predominantly talking or writing about the childbirth experience. Conclusion These findings support the broad clinical benefits of this single-session intervention for women reporting established CB-IM. This study also highlights the importance of non-specific therapeutic factors may play a meaningful role in this intervention’s benefits.

Background Early childhood neuropsychological development exhibits substantial heterogeneity, yet the identification of distinct developmental profiles and their associated risk factors remains limited. This study aimed to delineate latent profiles of neuropsychological development in children aged 0–6 years and to identify factors influencing membership in these profiles. Methods A total of 2,297 children (1,193 boys and 1,104 girls) were assessed using the Chinese Developmental Scale for Children – Second Edition (CDSC-II). Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted based on age-standardized percentile scores across five developmental domains: gross motor, fine motor, language, adaptive behavior, and social behavior. A one-step regression mixture model, adjusting for child age and sex, was employed to examine associations between profile membership and perinatal and demographic factors. Results The LPA identified two distinct profiles: an Ordinary Development Group (28.6%, n = 656) and an Excellent Development Group (71.4%, n = 1,641), with good class separation (entropy = 0.818). In the regression mixture model, low birth weight (OR = 2.09, 95% CI: 1.19–3.67), preterm birth (OR = 5.23, 95% CI: 3.14–8.71), maternal pregnancy complications (OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.15–1.78), and older child age (OR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.007–1.027) were significantly associated with increased odds of belonging to the Ordinary Development Group. Conversely, female sex (vs. male) was associated with lower odds of membership in the Ordinary Development Group (OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.54–0.83). Parenting style (parental vs. non-parental care) and the timing of complementary food introduction were not independently associated with profile membership after adjustment (both p > 0.05). Conclusion These findings indicate that specific maternal environmental exposures during pregnancy and the postnatal period, alongside child demographic characteristics, are significantly associated with neurodevelopmental outcomes in early childhood. The results underscore the importance of early developmental screening and targeted intervention for high-risk children to optimize long-term neurodevelopmental trajectories.

Introduction Guided by Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study examined Chinese male college freshmen’s perceptions of their fundamental psychological needs in relation to fitness self-testing. Specifically, the study focused on how the educational experience of independently monitoring and enhancing health-related fitness (HRF) supported—or challenged—the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Methods Ten participants (age: 18–19 years old) were purposively sampled from those whose fitness testing scores ranked in the top or bottom 5% of the class at the end of a semester. Each participant completed monthly self-testing sessions over 4 months. Guided by the SDT, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted. Constant comparative analysis was used to analyze the data to generate themes. Observation notes and student reflections were utilized for data triangulation. Peer debriefing, member checking, and negative case analysis were conducted to establish the trustworthiness of the data. Results Four main themes emerged from the data: (a) Autonomy as empowerment and responsibility, (b) Competence satisfaction mixed with frustration, (c) Self-testing as a socially embedded practice, and (d) Self-testing as a catalyst for self-challenge, and self-regulated lifestyle development. Conclusion The three basic psychological needs in fitness self-testing, autonomy, competence, and relatedness, were central in this context. These findings can inform future fitness self-testing protocols that support student learning, HRF, and social belonging.

Objective This study examined the association between physical exercise and academic burnout among Chinese middle school students and tested whether expressive suppression mediated this association. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted using random cluster sampling among middle school students from Guangdong, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Beijing, Henan, and Hainan, China. A total of 3,786 valid responses were obtained. Physical exercise, expressive suppression, and academic burnout were measured using validated scales. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 24.0 for descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, path analysis, and SEM-based mediation testing, with gender, age, and grade controlled as demographic covariates. Results (1) Physical exercise was significantly negatively correlated with academic burnout (β = –0.192, p < 0.001); higher levels of physical exercise were associated with lower levels of academic burnout. (2) Physical exercise was significantly negatively correlated with expressive suppression (β = –0.450, p < 0.001); higher levels of physical exercise were associated with a lower tendency toward expressive suppression. (3) Expressive suppression was significantly positively correlated with academic burnout (β = 0.330, p < 0.001); higher levels of expressive suppression were associated with more severe academic burnout. (4) Expressive suppression showed a significant partial statistical mediation in the association between physical exercise and academic burnout. The indirect effect was –0.114 [95% CI: (–0.120, –0.097)], accounting for 36.31% of the total effect. Conclusion Higher levels of physical exercise were associated with lower academic burnout among middle school students. This association was partially mediated by lower levels of expressive suppression. These findings provide preliminary evidence that school-based physical activity may be relevant to students’ academic adjustment and emotion regulation, but longitudinal and intervention studies are needed before drawing causal or policy-level conclusions.

Introduction Climate change is modifying the climatic assumptions embedded in building regulation, urban regeneration policy and real estate valuation. In Spain, building-code climate zones combine winter and summer climatic severity, which are directly linked to heating demand, cooling demand, thermal comfort and envelope-performance requirements. Methods This study develops a GIS-based scenario assessment of projected climatezone shifts in Spain under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. The empirical database integrates 7,966 valid municipal observations and 77 AEMET/AdapteCCa climate-station observations, including recalculated present classifications and projected classes for 2055 and 2085. The analysis measures municipal class change, winterseverity shifts, summer-severity shifts, A4/B4 high-summer-severity concentration and valuation-materiality channels for ESG-oriented urban regeneration. Results Results show a substantial reconfiguration of Spain’s building-climate geography. Relative to the recalculated present classification, 84.2% of municipalities change class under RCP4.5-2055, 85.0% under RCP4.5-2085, 93.2% under RCP8.5-2055 and 93.2% under RCP8.5-2085. Under RCP8.5-2085, 88.9% of municipalities move toward lower winter severity, while 66.1% move toward higher summer severity. The dominant future classes become B4 and A4, representing 41.7% and 39.8% of valid observations, respectively. Discussion These findings indicate that chronic warming may reduce winter severity while intensifying summer stress, shifting building-performance priorities from heating-dominated assumptions toward cooling resilience, overheating prevention and adaptation-oriented retrofitting. The study provides a reproducible pathway for linking climatezone transition intensity with building vulnerability, socioeconomic sensitivity, ESG regeneration priorities and real estate valuation materiality.

Introduction Buildings and construction contribute substantially to global and United Kingdom carbon emissions, and achieving net-zero targets requires accelerated retrofit of the existing building stock. Digital Twin (DT) systems are increasingly promoted for real-time monitoring, predictive analytics and lifecycle performance optimisation, yet their ability to support whole-life carbon (WLC) assessment in United Kingdom retrofit contexts remains unclear. Methods This study conducted a PRISMA-guided systematic literature review and policy analysis of 62 sources, comprising 42 peer-reviewed academic papers and 20 United Kingdom government, parliamentary and industry documents. Sources were drawn from Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. The review used quality appraisal and thematic analysis to examine DT capabilities across EN 15978 lifecycle modules, RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment requirements and United Kingdom retrofit policy instruments. Results The findings show that current DT research is strongly weighted towards operational carbon, while embodied carbon and full WLC integration remain underdeveloped. Many systems described as digital twins function more closely as digital shadows with limited or one-way data flows. Reported energy-saving claims are often based on well-instrumented commercial buildings and are not always transferable to the heterogeneous domestic retrofit stock that dominates the United Kingdom's net-zero challenge. Retrofit-specific DT applications remain limited despite the importance of existing buildings in the 2050 stock. Discussion Four main gaps are identified: the absence of integrated DT-WLC frameworks across all EN 15978 modules, the underrepresentation of retrofit-focused DT research, limited alignment with United Kingdom policy and standards, and weak integration between static lifecycle assessment databases and dynamic DT systems. The paper proposes a conceptual five-layer DT-WLC integration framework and a policy-aligned research agenda to support future validation, interoperability and retrofit-scale implementation.