Grounded in the framework of Sustainable Development Goal 4. 7 (SDG 4.7) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), this study focuses on the core issue of "sustained participation and cross-contextual continuity" as a key sustainable competence in higher education. It aims to construct a process-oriented mechanism model explaining how this competence is generated, internalized, and institutionally sustained within classroom ecology. Taking classroom participation practices as an interactive field, the study explores how sustainable competence is constructed and maintained within multi-actor interaction structures and institutional conditions. A qualitative research design was adopted. Using an interaction-oriented course as the research context, semi-structured interviews were conducted with students, teachers, and organizational/institutional support representatives (N = 29). Guided by constructivist grounded theory, the study employed open coding, axial coding, and selective coding (three-level coding) for systematic integration. Triangulation across multiple participant perspectives was further applied to enhance analytical rigor and interpretive robustness. Four interrelated mechanisms were identified: (1) The reconstruction of the participation risk framework, through which classroom interaction shifted from a high-exposure structure to a low-risk participation structure; (2) The institutionalization and internalization of teacher interaction rules and peer collaboration norms, transforming participation from a high-cost individual risk-taking behavior into a low-cost shared routine; (3) The formation of a sustaining strategy system, enabling participation to achieve operational stability and repeatability; and (4) The ecological and institutional continuity conditions required for cross-contextual extension, as well as the sustainability constraints triggered by ecological discontinuities. This study proposes an integrated mechanism model of "safe generation - agency internalization - ecological continuity," demonstrating that sustainable participation competence is not an inherent individual trait but an ecological form of competence embedded within interaction structures and institutional design. Its long-term stability depends on the coordinated alignment among instructional rules, collaborative norms, and mechanisms of institutional continuity.
Psychological resources are critical to employee well-being and are widely regarded as enabling resilient functioning in the face of uncertainty. Evidence from non-Western contexts, however, remains limited. This cross-national pilot study examined whether psychological resources, operationalized as a composite of mental well-being (WEMWBS), flourishing (Flourishing Scale), and work engagement (UWES-3), predicted life satisfaction (SWLS) directly and/or indirectly via perceived stress (PSS-4) among employees in South Africa and India. The findings are discussed in relation to their implications for employee resilience theory and resource-building practice. An explanatory-sequential mixed-methods design was used. The quantitative phase comprised South African pharmaceutical employees (n = 87) and Indian IT employees (n = 65), for a total of N = 152. After z-standardizing indicators within each country, we formed a Resources composite. We estimated simple mediation (Resources → PSS → SWLS) within each country and a pooled moderation model (standardized SWLS) with Country and interaction terms. The qualitative phase included 2 focus groups and 29 one-on-one interviews (South Africa n = 19; India n = 10), which were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to explain statistical patterns. Resources showed a strong, positive association with life satisfaction (pooled model: b = 0.71, SE = 0.11, p < 0.001; R2  = 0.358). Resources were linked to lower perceived stress (South Africa: a = -0.88, p < 0.001; India: a = -0.69, p = 0.016). However, perceived stress did not uniquely predict life satisfaction once Resources were included (pooled b = -0.10, SE = 0.10, p = 0.331), while bootstrapped indirect effects included zero in both countries. Country did not moderate the relationship between Resources and life satisfaction, nor between perceived stress and life satisfaction (Resources × Country: p = 0.165; PSS × Country: p = 0.782). Qualitative themes explained the resource-dominant pathway: in South Africa, Ubuntu-based meaning, complex family support, masculine help-seeking norms, and economic/infrastructure strain characterized the resource-dominant pathway; whereas in India, technology-sector pride and aspirational mobility offset AI-related job insecurity, urban infrastructure burdens, and family separation characterized the resource-dominant pathway. The findings support resource-building interventions and motivate future testing of alternative mediators (e.g., meaningful work, positive affect, self-efficacy) through adequately powered longitudinal studies. The cross-country similarity suggests functional equivalence of mechanisms with culturally specific content.
Social belonging is a critical determinant of psychological well-being and healthy aging, yet it often declines among older women due to social, physical, and contextual barriers. Innovative, engaging, and socially meaningful interventions are needed to address social isolation in this population. Virtual reality (VR)-based group dance has emerged as a promising approach that combines physical activity, social interaction, and immersive experience. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 94 community-dwelling older women aged 60 years and above, who were randomly assigned to an experimental group (VR-based group dance; n = 47) or a control group (dose-matched light conventional physical activity; n = 47). The intervention lasted 6 weeks, with two sessions per week (20-30 min per session). Perceived social belonging was assessed before and after the intervention using the Sense of Belonging Instrument (SOBI). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to evaluate between-group differences while controlling for baseline scores. Both groups demonstrated improvements in perceived social belonging; however, the increase was significantly greater in the experimental group compared to the control group. The VR-based group dance intervention showed a substantially larger effect size, indicating that participation in the combined intervention was associated with greater improvements in social belonging relative to the control condition. These findings suggest that while light physical activity provides modest benefits, the integrated VR-based group dance program was associated with stronger social-psychological gains compared with conventional activity. VR-based group dance was associated with meaningful improvements in perceived social belonging among older women. By integrating rhythmic movement, shared group experience, and immersive virtual environments, this approach offers a meaningful social-emotional experience that extends beyond traditional exercise. The findings support the use of VR-based group dance as a complementary strategy to promote social well-being and healthy aging in community-dwelling older adults.
Restrained eating, a dietary pattern with potential health risks, is prevalent among college students. Although physical exercise is associated with restrained eating, the underlying psychological mechanisms remain unclear. This study examined the relationship between physical exercise and restrained eating among Chinese university students, focusing on the chain mediating roles of emotional intelligence (EI) and perceived stress. Participants were 1,640 college students (58.5% male; mean age 19.29 ± 1.16 years) from eight provinces in China. They completed measures of physical exercise [Physical Activity Rating Scale-3 (PARS-3)], restrained eating [Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ)], emotional intelligence [Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS)], and perceived stress [Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)]. Mediation analysis was conducted using SPSS 26.0 with the PROCESS macro (Model 6) and 5,000 bootstrap samples. Physical exercise was negatively correlated with restrained eating (r = -0.369, p < 0.001). Regression analyses showed that physical exercise (β = -0.406, p < 0.001) and emotional intelligence (β = -0.337, p < 0.001) negatively predicted restrained eating, while perceived stress positively predicted it (β = 0.332, p < 0.001). Mediation analyses revealed significant indirect effects through emotional intelligence (indirect effect = -0.023, 95% CI [-0.030, -0.017]), perceived stress (indirect effect = -0.019, 95% CI [-0.025, -0.013]), and the sequential pathway through both mediators (indirect effect = -0.002, 95% CI [-0.004, -0.001]). The total indirect effect (-0.044) accounted for 35.8% of the total effect (-0.123). Physical exercise is negatively associated with restrained eating among Chinese college students, with emotional intelligence and perceived stress serving as independent and sequential mediators. These findings highlight the importance of integrating emotional competence and stress management into physical activity interventions to promote healthy eating behaviors in university populations.
Recognizing emotions objectively and accurately remains challenging because of the limited ecological validity, informational incompleteness, and constrained model performance of conventional approaches. This study addresses these limitations holistically by investigating a novel framework that integrates ecologically valid virtual reality (VR) for emotion elicitation with deep learning-based multimodal physiological signal fusion. An immersive VR environment was developed to effectively elicit three target emotional states: positive, neutral, and negative. Synchronized physiological signals-electroencephalography (EEG), electrocardiography (ECG), and galvanic skin response (GSR)-were recorded from 20 healthy participants alongside subjective self-assessment data. After preprocessing and feature extraction, a nested cross-validation procedure was employed to prevent data leakage: within each of the five folds, feature selection (one-way repeated-measures ANOVA, α = 0.05) was performed solely on the training data. A hybrid network architecture combining principal component analysis (PCA) with long short-term memory (LSTM) was employed for dimensionality reduction and modeling. The PCA retained components explaining 90% cumulative variance, while the LSTM layer contained 96 hidden units, followed by three fully connected layers with integrated dropout regularization. Model performance was evaluated using this rigorous cross-validation framework and compared against baseline models including support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), k-nearest neighbors (k-NN), and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost). Subjective evaluation results confirmed the effectiveness of VR-induced emotion elicitation. At the group level, one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed significant main effects of emotional states (p < 0.05) on multiple physiological features: EEG frontal alpha asymmetry indices (AI_F4/F3, AI_F8/F7), ECG indices (SDNN, RMSSD, LF/HF ratio, sample entropy), and GSR measures (SCL, NS.SCRs). Employing a nested cross-validation framework to prevent data leakage, the PCA-LSTM model achieved a mean accuracy of 87.18% ± 2.28% under five-fold cross-validation, significantly outperforming SVM (75.83% ± 4.25%), RF (78.89% ± 6.85%), k-NN (72.78% ± 5.21%), and XGBoost (81.67% ± 5.83%). This study validates that integrating an ecologically valid VR emotion elicitation paradigm with a multimodal PCA-LSTM fusion model effectively enhances the objectivity and accuracy of emotion recognition. The proposed framework provides an effective solution to overcome the bottlenecks of ecological validity and quantification precision in traditional methods, demonstrating preliminary application potential in intelligent human-computer interaction and mental-health monitoring domains.
Social comparison is a fundamental mechanism of social-cognitive functioning, yet validated instruments for assessing social comparison orientation in Arabic remain limited. This study presents a comprehensive, multistage validation of an Arabic version of the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM) using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Study 1 employed a rigorous three-stage validation procedure: Stage 1 estimated a hierarchical measurement model specifying Social Comparison as a reflective higher-order construct comprising Ability and Opinion dimensions; Stage 2 addressed potential wording-related method effects by introducing positively rephrased alternatives for the two negatively worded items and re-estimating the model at the indicator level to reduce artifactual variance; and Stage 3 applied a prespecified retention criterion (outer loadings ≥0.70) to optimize reliability, convergent validity, and parsimony. Measurement quality was evaluated using indicator reliability, average variance extracted, heterotrait-monotrait ratio, and the Fornell-Larcker criterion, while predictive relevance was examined using PLSpredict. Study 2 employed a cross-sectional, between-groups design to examine cross-language measurement invariance between the Arabic INCOM short form and a matched English seven-item short form. Participants were assigned to one of two language versions (n = 251 per group), and invariance was evaluated using the three-step MICOM procedure based on permutation testing (5,000 permutations). Additional psychometric evidence was obtained through testretest reliability and associations with theoretically related external variables. Findings supported a coherent seven-item short form (Ability: four items; Opinion: three items) with satisfactory psychometric properties. Study 2 examined cross-language measurement invariance between the Arabic short form and a partially modified English seven-item short form in two independent groups of university students. The Measurement Invariance of Composite Models procedure supported full measurement invariance, indicating configural, compositional, and scalar equivalence. Furthermore, evidence based on relations to other variables supported the scale through theory-consistent correlational associations with related constructs (neuroticism and social anxiety) and weak associations with theoretically more distal constructs (perceived social support and need for cognition). Our findings suggest that the Arabic INCOM short form demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties and cross-language measurement invariance, supporting its use for assessing social comparison orientation among Arabic-speaking university students.
Short video platforms have rapidly gained popularity among college students, leading to issues of addictive use. Existing research has shown a significant association between interpersonal sensitivity and short video addiction, but the underlying psychological mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to explore the mediating role of loneliness and fear of missing out in the relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and short video addiction. A questionnaire survey method was used to select 465 college students in mainland China. Scales measuring interpersonal sensitivity, loneliness, fear of missing out, and short video addiction were employed for measurement, and mediation analysis was conducted to test the causal pathways. Interpersonal sensitivity is significantly positively correlated with short video addiction (p < 0.01). Loneliness and fear of missing out are both significantly positively correlated with interpersonal sensitivity and short video addiction (p < 0.01). Loneliness and fear of missing out both play a significant mediating role in the relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and short video addiction. Loneliness and fear of missing out exhibit a significant chain mediating effect. Interpersonal sensitivity not only directly affects college students' addiction to short videos, but also indirectly increases the risk of addiction by exacerbating loneliness and heightening the fear of missing out. Interventions targeting individuals with high interpersonal sensitivity should focus on both loneliness and fear of missing out management to break the vicious cycle between psychology and behavior and reduce the incidence of short video addiction.
To examine the associations between Artificial intelligence (AI) dependence and critical thinking ability among nursing interns and to explore the potential mediating role of AI literacy. A convenience sampling method was used to select nursing interns recruited from multiple hospitals in Hunan, China between January and February 2026. A general information questionnaire, AI literacy scale, AI dependence scale, and critical thinking ability scale were used to conduct the online questionnaire survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and regression-based mediation analysis (PROCESS Model 4) with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. A total of 517 nursing interns were included in the final analysis. AI dependence was positively associated with AI literacy and critical thinking ability (all p < 0.001). After adjusting for covariates, AI literacy partially mediated the relationship between AI dependence and critical thinking ability. The indirect effect was significant [95%CI (0.399, 0.610)], and the model explained 52.0% of the variance in critical thinking ability. AI dependence was positively associated with critical thinking ability among nursing interns, both directly and indirectly through AI literacy. These findings suggest that integrating AI literacy training into nursing education may help optimize the educational benefits of AI.
This paper applies principles and perspectives emerging from free energy neuroscience to the psychoanalytic concept of the death drive. The aim is to offer a contemporary reappraisal of this controversial aspect of psychoanalytic theory and its link to psychosis. The paper begins with a review of the death drive as proposed by Sigmund Freud, before proceeding to briefly outline Karl Friston's free energy principle. Building on proposals from Gustaw Sikora and Bernard Penot, it then explores how the combined and coordinating processes of minimising [binding] free energy and dismantling [unbinding] inexpedient generative models of reality may be understood as essential to life, growth, and adaptation. The question is thus raised: if a periodic unbinding-even destruction and demise-of generative models is vital to adaptive living, how might the death drive be conceptualised? The paper then proceeds to develop the notion that what Freud identified as the (defused) death drive may reflect a critical breakdown in the reciprocal ebb and flow of binding free energy/unbinding generative models of reality. Two illustrations-both of which concern psychotic phenomena-are given in an attempt to depict how the death drive in defused form may be recognised as manifesting both as arrested unbinding and/or interminable binding. The discussion explores how such a breakdown in the vital rhythms of life and self-organisation can sabotage the ability to think, compromise the mind's capacity to function as a container, and produce a boundless infinitisation of experience therein.
In this paper, we study how Psychological Capital (a higher-order construct of hope, self-efficacy, resilience and optimism) affects Financial Wellbeing of working-age adults in China, where Financial Behavior is the mediator. Based on cross-sectional data of 508 valid subjects recruited by Wenjuanxing online platform, we used a two-step Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4, treating Psychological Capital as a second-order notion and weighting the population weighted by national proportions to increase representation. We found that Psychological Capital does indeed influence Financial wellbeing (β = 0.563, p < 0.001), but also indirectly affects Financial wellbeing via Financial Behavior (β = 0.081, p < 0.004), with the same mediation pathway as hypothesized. Weighted data revealed similar structure of effects with slight decrease due to the small effective sample size. The model has solid reliability and discriminant validity and good predictive performance (Stone-Geisser's Q 2_predict > 0.10; Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = 0.028; Normed Fit Index (NFI) = 0.973) and a smoothness across gender, education, and age. We also find that it is consistent across gender/education and age groups. All of these results support Psychological Capital to be a potentially flexible psychological tool that can positively affect financial wellbeing directly and in a more adaptive manner. This suggests that interventions embedding resilience-building, hope-enhancing, and self-efficacy-strengthening components within financial education may help individuals cultivate more secure long-term financial outcomes. By embedding Psychological Capital within a behavioral explanation framework, we complement the model of financial well-being and provide one of the first population-weighted PLS-SEM studies on the relationships between Psychological Capital and Financial Behavior in China.
Heart failure (HF) is a life-altering diagnosis that requires sustained self-care and adherence to complex treatment regimens, yet patients may struggle with the psychological burden of managing a progressive, life-altering illness. Although positive psychological approaches are gaining attention in cardiovascular care, growth-oriented frameworks remain underexplored. Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) theory, which describes positive psychological change emerging through engagement with highly challenging life circumstances, may offer a novel conceptual lens for understanding HF self-care and guiding intervention development. This paper introduces PTG theory as a novel theoretical lens for understanding psychological adaptation and adherence in HF self-care. By extending PTG, a framework previously unused in HF, to the chronic demands of daily self-care, we propose new explanatory pathways linking growth-oriented processes to potential sustained adherence. To illustrate the framework's applicability, we draw on two selected example cases from a small, early-stage positive psychology program development effort. These illustrative cases informed the development of a proposed PTG-informed conceptual model, CardioWell. The illustrative cases contained examples of processes aligned with all five PTG domains: personal strength, spiritual and existential change, improved relationships, appreciation of life, and new possibilities. These examples suggest how engagement in growth-oriented psychological processes might support coping with the ongoing demands of HF self-care. By identifying psychologically meaningful targets and proposing conceptual pathways linking PTG-related processes to HF self-care, this work provides a strong theoretical foundation for the PTG-informed CardioWell model. This paper advances PTG theory as a novel theoretical lens for understanding psychological adaptation in HF self-care and for guiding the development of growth-oriented interventions. A PTG-informed conceptual model (CardioWell) is presented to illustrate how growth-oriented psychological processes could be targeted in future intervention development. These proposed pathways are exploratory and warrant formal evaluation in future research.
In the context of educational digital transformation, AI precision feedback has emerged as a critical technological support for optimizing college students' cognitive development. As a key dimension of core competencies, thinking shaping ability directly impacts academic progress and lifelong learning capabilities. To elucidate the mechanism of AI precision feedback in shaping students' thinking shaping ability, this study conducted a mediation analysis with 1,079 college students using path analysis, Bootstrap sampling, and moderation testing. The research constructed a mediation model: "AI precision feedback → intrinsic value identification → thinking shaping ability," incorporating critical consciousness transformation as a moderating variable. Results revealed: (1) AI precision feedback significantly enhances thinking shaping ability (standardized coefficient = 0.561, p < 0.001); (2) Intrinsic value identification partially mediates this relationship [mediation effect = 0.153, accounting for 32.01% of total effect; 95% Bootstrap CI = (0.061, 0.284)]; (3) Critical consciousness transformation significantly moderates the relationship between intrinsic value identification and college students' thinking shaping ability (interaction ** p = 0.040), and the transformation of high critical consciousness can strengthen the promoting effect of intrinsic value identification on thinking shaping ability. This study enriches the theoretical framework for AI education and cognitive cultivation, providing empirical evidence and practical guidance for universities to optimize AI technology applications and precisely enhance students' cognitive literacy.
Music performance anxiety is prevalent among professional musicians and can undermine both wellbeing and performance. Musicians navigating the transition from advanced training to professional careers may be particularly vulnerable due to sustained evaluative exposure and career uncertainty. This study examines whether dispositional mindfulness is associated with music performance anxiety and whether this association operates through emotional intelligence and perfectionism, guided by Emotion Regulation Theory. Participants were 283 early-career and pre-professional musicians (including advanced conservatory students and working musicians in professional transition) recruited using purposive convenience and snowball sampling. Data were collected via an anonymous online questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS v23 was used to test the hypothesized dual-pathway mediation model. Indirect effects were estimated using bias-corrected bootstrapping (5,000 resamples; 95% confidence intervals). Dispositional mindfulness was negatively associated with music performance anxiety. Mindfulness was positively associated with emotional intelligence and negatively associated with perfectionism. In turn, emotional intelligence was negatively associated with music performance anxiety, whereas perfectionism was positively associated with music performance anxiety. Bias-corrected bootstrapped confidence intervals indicated a statistically significant indirect association between mindfulness and music performance anxiety through emotional intelligence and perfectionism. The findings are consistent with Emotion Regulation Theory and indicate that mindfulness is statistically associated with lower music performance anxiety via both resource-related (emotional intelligence) and risk-related (perfectionism) pathways. Practically, these results highlight potentially modifiable psychological targets for supporting musicians in early professional development stages, with implications for resilience-building approaches in high-pressure performance communities.
Separation-individuation (S-I) in relation to parents is a core developmental process that unfolds during infancy/toddlerhood (primary S-I) and adolescence/ emerging adulthood (second S-I) and relates to psychological functioning across several domains. While the outcomes of this process are most commonly explained by the quality of parent-child relationships, the role of child temperament/personality is rarely considered. We examined the role of emerging adults' primary emotions on five aspects of S-I in relation to mother and father, as captured by the Individuation Test for Emerging Adults-Short. The sample consisted of 446 emerging adults (58.7% females, 41.3% males), predominantly students. Hierarchical linear regressions suggested a significant contribution of the six primary emotions (SEEKING, FEAR, ANGER, SADNESS, CARE, and PLAY) across the aspects of S-I (seeking parental support, connectedness, perceived parental intrusiveness, self-reliance, and fear of disappointing the parent), over and beyond the relevant demographic variables (age, gender, living arrangement). Differential associations showed consistent links of SEEKING with self-reliance, of CARE and low SADNESS with both support seeking and connectedness, of SADNESS with perceived parental intrusiveness, and of FEAR with fear of disappointing parents. A few inconsistent relations were likely due to somewhat different roles of mothers and fathers in the caregiving context. Overall, our results provide new evidence supporting the idea that individual differences in primary emotional systems may play a distinct and meaningful role in affecting aspects of the S-I process in emerging adulthood.
Proactive personality is increasingly recognized as a key individual difference that may drive innovative work behavior and enhance employee performance in dynamic service sectors. However, empirical evidence examining the interrelationships among proactive personality, innovative work behavior, task performance, and contextual performance remains limited, particularly in the insurance industry of small economies such as Northern Cyprus. This study aims to investigate these relationships among insurance employees. A cross-sectional survey design was employed. Data were collected in 2023-2024 from 313 insurance employees in Northern Cyprus using validated scales measuring proactive personality, innovative work behavior, task performance, and contextual performance. Participants completed self-report questionnaires, and the data were analyzed using SPSS 30.0 with correlation and regression analyses. The results revealed that proactive personality was positively and significantly associated with innovative work behavior, task performance, and contextual performance. Innovative work behavior was also positively related to both dimensions of employee performance (task and contextual). These findings indicate that proactive dispositions and innovation-oriented behaviors co-occur with stronger performance outcomes in this service setting. Overall, the findings underscore the managerial importance of fostering proactive dispositions to promote discretionary innovation and enhance both in-role and extra-role performance in insurance organizations. Given the cross-sectional and self-report nature of the data, the relationships should be interpreted as associative rather than causal. Future research should employ longitudinal designs and multi-source data to establish causality and generalizability.
Cognitive impairment (CI) is a prevalent and debilitating non-motor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD), yet reliable early diagnostic biomarkers are lacking. This study aimed to identify serum biomarkers associated with PD-CI and investigate the synergistic contributions of lipid metabolism and inflammatory signaling. In this retrospective, cross-sectional study, six candidate proteins (INPP5D, FLNA, ICAM-1, PCSK9, JAK1, and LCAT) were selected based on our previously published discovery-phase serum proteomics analysis and were quantified via ELISA in an independent cohort of 75 PD patients and 35 age-matched healthy controls (HCs). All participants underwent comprehensive cognitive assessments (MoCA, MMSE, CDR). Multivariate regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and bioinformatics tools were employed to evaluate diagnostic potential and pathway associations. PD patients showed significantly lower MoCA and MMSE scores than HC, accompanied by elevated serum ICAM-1, PCSK9, and JAK1, and decreased INPP5D and FLNA. Notably, as MoCA scores declined, serum ICAM-1, PCSK9, JAK1, and LCAT levels gradually increased, while INPP5D and FLNA decreased. ROC analysis indicated that these biomarkers, particularly PCSK9 and LCAT, effectively distinguished PD-NC from PD-CI. Bioinformatics analyses highlighted focal adhesion and JAK-STAT signaling as key pathways, with ICAM1 and ITGB2 as central nodes in the protein-protein interaction network. All six serum biomarkers showed potential in distinguishing PD-NC from PD-CI, with PCSK9 and LCAT being the most effective. The findings propose a pathogenic cascade integrating neuroinflammation, lipid metabolism, and cell adhesion dysfunction, offering new mechanistic insights and potential avenues for early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention in PD-CI.
The interface between lexical tone and phrase-level intonation constitutes a complex functional interface constraint in Second Language Acquisition (SLA). This study investigates the acquisition of French prosody by Mandarin learners (n = 35) at two proficiency levels compared to a native baseline (n = 8), identifying a developmental dissociation between structural and pragmatic functions. Utilizing Linear Mixed-Effects Models (LMM), we analyzed four acoustic parameters-Global Pitch Span, Final Pitch Span, Final Expansion, and Final Lengthening-across a factorial design crossing modality (Statement vs. Command) and utterance length. The results reveal a bifurcated acquisition trajectory: while intermediate learners demonstrate convergence toward native-like macro-prosodic framing (successfully expanding global pitch envelopes for structural demarcation), they reach a persistent plateau in micro-prosodic pragmatic encoding. Specifically, learners failed to implement the sharp nuclear reshaping and pitch intensification required to signal directive force, resulting in a systematic "prosodic merging" of modalities. Based on these findings, we propose the Modality-Prosody Acquisition Hierarchy (MPAH), which posits that the automation of a stable structural frame (Tier 2) serves as a functional prerequisite for the high-resolution modulation of illocutionary intent (Tier 3). These findings refine the Prosodic Transfer Hypothesis by isolating the selective processing constraints at the tone-to-intonation transition and offer a tiered roadmap for pedagogical intervention.
With the rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) tools into academic English learning, understanding how learners' AI-related competencies influence their motivational and emotional experiences has become increasingly important. Drawing on frameworks of technology enhanced learning and foreign language emotions, this study examines the relationship between AI literacy and foreign language boredom in AI-assisted academic English learning, with a particular focus on the roles of learner engagement and task value. Survey data were collected from 392 postgraduate students and analyzed using Exploratory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling. The results indicated that AI literacy played a foundational role by positively associating with both learning engagement and perceived task value. Learning engagement was found to reduce levels of foreign language boredom and academic pressure, whereas academic pressure emerged as a strong positive predictor of foreign language boredom. Interestingly, perceived task value showed a positive association with boredom, suggesting that highly valued academic English tasks may simultaneously evoke emotional fatigue in high demand learning environments. There is no moderating effect of perceived task value on the relationship between engagement and boredom. Overall, the findings highlight the complex interplay between AI-related competencies, motivational processes, and emotional experiences in AI-assisted foreign language learning. The study underscores the importance of fostering AI literacy and sustained learning engagement while also addressing academic pressure to promote emotionally sustainable AI-supported language learning environments.
Despite research highlighting the influence of rape attitudes and other juror traits on trial outcomes, few studies have examined such relationships within intimate partner rape trials, prioritising instead decision-making in so-called "date rape" cases. The current study, therefore, sought to investigate the relationship between juror demographic traits, their pre-trial legal attitudes, and rape myth beliefs, upon subsequent verdict decisions made in an intimate partner rape trial. The study adopted a mock trial paradigm, with methodological enhancements aimed at increasing ecological validity. Mock jurors (N = 435) completed a series of attitudinal and demographic questions online before observing a recreation of a genuine intimate partner rape trial and subsequently rendering their verdict. Results revealed that ethnicity, educational attainment, and rape myth acceptance, though not varied legal attitudes, were all significant predictors of the verdict selections that jurors made. Caucasian, university-educated mock jurors and jurors who rejected rape myths to a greater extent were those most likely to find the defendant guilty. Female jurors were also significantly more likely to return a guilty verdict before, though not after, controlling for variation in rape myth beliefs. These findings offer further support to the wealth of existing literature that suggests jurors' pre-trial rape myth beliefs, alongside other demographic characteristics, appear to predispose juror judgements and decision-making, and extend upon past literature in identifying a similar trend within intimate partner rape trials. Findings highlight the need for targeted juror reforms, such as myth-debunking juror education, before such recommendations are made. Before such recommendations are made, further enhancements to mock-trial procedures to maximise ecological validity, alongside greater research among genuine trial jurors, are warranted.
This study aimed to examine the mediating role of mental toughness (MT) in the relationship between intrinsic motivation (IM) and psychological wellbeing (PWB) in combat sport athletes. Combat sport athletes face unique psychological challenges that can significantly impact their wellbeing, yet the mechanisms through which intrinsic motivation influences psychological wellbeing remain underexplored. The sample of this correlational survey study consisted of 489 combat sport athletes from university teams in Turkiye. Data were collected using the IM subscale of the "Sport Motivation Scale (SMS)", the "Mental Toughness Scale (MTS)," and the "Psychological wellbeing Scale (PWB)." Relationships between variables were examined via correlation analysis, and the proposed mediation model was tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and the bootstrap method (5,000 resamples). The analyses revealed that IM had significant direct effects on both PWB (β = 0.385, p < 0.001) and MT (β = 0.486, p < 0.001). MT was also found to be a significant predictor of PWB (β = 0.324, p < 0.001). Most notably, a significant indirect effect was identified, indicating that IM influences PWB through the enhancement of MT [b = 0.108, SE = 0.019, 95% CI (0.070, 0.145)]. The standardized indirect effect was β = 0.158. The research demonstrates that IM supports the PWB of combat sport athletes both directly and indirectly by fostering MT. These findings suggest that programs designed to enhance the PWB of these athletes should target not only their motivational sources but also their resilience-building skills. Future research should employ longitudinal designs to establish causal relationships and examine the effectiveness of psycho-educational interventions targeting IM and MT in enhancing PWB among combat sport athletes.