Tour guides as climate change agents : conceptualizing meaningful work through agency theory in precarious employment

This paper addresses the mediating role of tour guides in educating tourists in climate-sensitive regions. Such a role is crucial for fostering awareness of climate change and encouraging environmentally responsible behaviour. The study focuses on the Mekong Delta, a region highly vulnerable to climate impacts, where tourism is both a livelihood source and a potential driver of climate action. Employing Agency Theory, we examine how tour guides in this setting find meaning in their work as climate change advocates, drawing on in-depth interviews with 43 casual-work tour guides. Findings reveal that tour guides in the Mekong Delta derive significant personal and professional meaning from promoting climate awareness among tourists

Performance investigation of an oscillating-body WEC with the tristable energy capture mechanism

This paper conducts an investigation into the energy harvesting performance of a tristable wave energy converter (WEC) utilizing a dual snap-through mechanism. Existing studies have indicated that the bistable characteristics inherent in such mechanisms can substantially improve the power output of oscillating-body WECs. The dual snap-through mechanism comprises four symmetrically configured inclined springs, with its energy harvesting behavior being highly dependent on the geometric arrangement and stiffness of the springs. A distinctive feature of the tristable system is the emergence of three potential wells. Following the development of a mathematical model for the nonlinear WEC, this study first examines the mechanism through which multiple potential wells contribute to enhanced energy conversion. Subsequently, a comprehensive parameter analysis is conducted to evaluate the influence of variations in the parameters of the dual snap-through mechanism and wave amplitudes on the energy conversion. The results demonstrate that appropriate stiffness and projected lengths of the springs can markedly improve the power output of the WEC. Furthermore, by adjusting the parameters of tristable mechanism, the WEC can achieve superior energy generation even at high wave frequencies or under low-amplitude excitation. Finally, the current study can offer some valuable insights for the design of other multistable WECs

A steady-state model for tilting pad journal bearings incorporating an analytical extension of the Sommerfeld solution

An analytical model for a tilting pad journal bearing has been developed by adapting a correction factor method previously used for standard journal bearings. The approach derives the Sommerfeld solution for an infinitely long tilting pad bearing and uses it to adjust the centerline pressure of an infinitely short bearing. This semi-analytical solution addresses a gap in the literature on finite-length tilting pad bearings. Analytical models offer valuable insights into variable interactions and enable faster computation, useful in systems with fluctuating loads, like energy transmission systems. Validation across varying journal speeds and load directions showed a maximum error of 23.5% on the most loaded pad, demonstrating the model’s usefulness in early-stage design, mapping operational envelopes, and assessing bearing suitability

From policy ambition to classroom practice : health education in China’s physical education and health curriculum reform

Background: Recent reforms in physical education and health (PEH) increasingly speak the language of holistic health, prevention, and wellbeing. In China, these holistic ambitions have been sharpened through Healthy China 2030. The 2022 PEH curriculum reform reflects this policy moment, formally elevating health education as a core learning area. Yet PEH has long been shaped by healthism, where health is understood primarily as an individual responsibility. What remains less clear is how the holistic policy vision is interpreted, produced, and lived out in everyday practice. Purpose: This study examined how health education is understood and enacted within China’s new PEH curriculum, focusing on how teacher educators and in-service teachers interpret the health learning area and how these interpretations shape classroom practice. Methods: This study used conversational inquiry to explore participants’ perspectives and experiences through thirteen semi-structured interviews with PEH teacher educators and secondary school PEH teachers in Shanghai. Interview data were analysed using concept and structural coding, supported by analytic memo writing, and deductive theoretical analysis using healthism. Findings: Three interrelated findings emerged. First, teacher educators strongly endorsed the curriculum’s alignment with Healthy China 2030, framing PEH as a vehicle for early intervention. Second, despite policy ambition, health education remained marginalised in practice due to gaps in teacher preparation, entrenched professional identities, limited time, and scarce resources. Third, teachers adapted the curriculum in pragmatic ways, reducing health education to manageable reminders and risk-avoidance practices. Through these stages, health was gradually redefined through individual responsibility, motivation, and self-management – shifting away from the policy intent. Conclusion: The PEH curriculum was reshaped as it moved through interpretation, preparation, and practice. Holistic health was not sustained but displaced by healthism, narrowing what health education could become. These findings highlight the limits of curriculum reform when underlying assumptions about health remain unexamined. Impact statement: This study shows how healthism can settle in as ‘common sense’, shaping policy intentions and classroom practice alike, even within reforms framed as holistic. It suggests that meaningful change in health education requires attention not just to the content added to the curriculum, but to how health itself is imagined and lived in schools

Disposable and cost-effective printed circuit board based sensing technology for rapid detection of alkaline phosphatase

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is a key biomarker for liver function; however, current detection methods often require bulky and costly instrumentation, which limits their utility at the point-of-care (PoC). In this study, we introduce a low-cost, portable electrochemical sensor platform based on a printed circuit board (PCB) electrode with a hard gold surface finish, designed for simple and rapid ALP detection. The sensor quantifies enzymatically produced ascorbic acid using chronoamperometry, enabling a straightforward readout of ALP concentration. In contrast to many reports which do not fully document electrode optimization, this work transparently demonstrates the systematic development of functional PCB electrodes, from early prototypes through to optimized gold-deposited devices. The resulting platform exhibited a clear, concentration-dependent response to ALP across a clinically relevant range (50–2000 U/L), consistent with typical enzyme kinetics. Importantly, the sensor maintained reliable performance in both Tris buffer and 10 % human serum, underscoring compatibility with complex biological matrices and demonstrating direct clinical translatability. By relying solely on straightforward PCB engineering without any complex nanomodifications or surface chemistry, this work presents a practical alternative to conventional lab-based assays, bridging the gap between laboratory accuracy and point-of-care accessibility for decentralized liver function monitoring

Hydrogen–diesel dual-fuel combustion in marine medium-speed engines : knocking suppression by direct water injection at high hydrogen substitution ratios

Hydrogen is among the most promising alternative fuels for achieving zero-carbon emissions in the maritime sector. However, its application in marine engines faces the bottleneck of substitution ratio limitation. The primary reason is the risk of knocking resulting from hydrogen's rapid heat release and high flame speed. The aim of this study is to explore in-cylinder direct water injection as a knocking-suppression strategy to enable higher hydrogen fractions in the engine. Two knocking-free operating modes are investigated: low hydrogen substitution ratios (0–40 %) without water injection and high hydrogen substitution ratios (90 and 95 %) with water injection. The results show that without water injection, the maximum hydrogen substitution ratio that can maintain stable combustion is 30 %, resulting in a 2.96 % improvement in indicated thermal efficiency and a 3.11 g/kWh rise in NOx emission. With direct water injection, knocking-free combustion can be achieved at high hydrogen substitution (90 and 95 %) under specific injection timing. At the suggested control point of 90 and 95 % HSR (1.5 water-to-fuel ratio, and −100 °CA water injection timing), a 1.43 % and 1.39 % improvement in indicated thermal efficiency and a 6.01 g/kWh and 6.45 g/kWh reduction in NOx emissions can be achieved compared to pure diesel mode. These findings indicate that in-cylinder direct water injection effectively increases hydrogen substitution ratios while enabling high thermal efficiency and low emissions, making it a promising approach for hydrogen–diesel dual-fuel marine engines

Single transmission phase- and frequency-modulated coded excitation for enhanced inspection of thick complex industrial components using a scalable, flexible, lead-free, ultrasonic array

To address the growing challenge of applying ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation to complex industrial components, flexible ultrasonic arrays have emerged as a conformable solution to inspect such geometries, thereby removing the need for custom-designed wedges to conform to surfaces. Flexible lead-based arrays have been used in prior research. They offer high piezoelectric coefficient, however, they pose human health and environmental risks, and fail to comply with global initiatives including the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulation enacted by the European Union. Although numerous studies on the piezoelectric properties of lead-free materials have been conducted, the uptake of technology and implementation in practice has been slow. In this work, a scalable, RoHS-compliant, flexible ultrasonic array was employed to improve operability in thick convex and concave components. However, the lead-free array exhibits lower piezoelectric coefficient compared to its lead-based counterparts, resulting in reduced signal quality. To tackle this shortcoming, single transmission phase-modulated Barker and frequency-modulated chirp excitation schemes, in conjunction with pulse compression, were employed to improve the signal quality. Subsequently, their impact was studied in terms of imaging quality, through Full Matrix Capture (FMC) acquisition methodology and Total Focusing Method (TFM) imaging, and Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) measurements. A novel SNR method was presented. Existing SNR approaches evaluate image quality by calculating it within a designated area surrounding the target, where the noise level is quantified as the root mean square of the image noise, omitting any indication of the target. In addition to the noise level, artifacts from matched filters and sidelobes require quantitative evaluation. The new SNR technique was proposed to automate the selection of regions when characterising the SNR. The SNR was calculated across regions of varying size, with the region size where the SNR values converged being selected. This technique was utilised in a comparative analysis including a single-cycle pulse excitation, modulated Barker and chirp excitation schemes with equivalent energy levels in simulation and experimentally. The simulated and experimental results showed good agreement, with some discrepancies attributed to imperfections in the experimental conditions. SNR improvement exceeding 2.6 dB was observed experimentally, with the coded excitation techniques showing higher SNR and better image quality without sacrificing acquisition speed. Moreover, sidelobe artifacts were evident in all TFM images, while the coded excitation images further exhibited matched filter processing artifacts. The flexibility of the array was assessed in the subsequent two experiments to determine its effectiveness in improving operability in complex-geometry samples. The convex and concave samples pre-aligned the array to promote a converging and diverging ultrasonic beam, respectively. In all cases, the array demonstrated excellent conformity with the components, and the coded excitation schemes consistently achieved better imaging quality relative to the pulse excitation case

An adaptable framework for remotely controlling a telepresence robot in a dynamic environment

This paper presents a framework for telepresence robot navigation in dynamic environments with network-induced time delays. The proposed system introduces a predictive control model that processes sensor data, implements real-time control algorithms, and transmits commands to enable robust remote navigation. To address visual and control discrepancies caused by latency, a state estimation model is employed to minimise the visual disparity between the robot’s actual and perceived positions. Additionally, a simulation-based predictive controller anticipates operator commands to improve teleoperation accuracy. A key contribution of this work is the development of a low-cost, simulation-based telepresence platform that enables controlled experiments without relying on expensive physical infrastructure. The system is designed for flexibility, allowing parameter adjustments to suit a range of experimental conditions. By integrating predictive technologies and addressing latency-related challenges, this research advances the state-of-the-art in telepresence robotics and provides a practical, reproducible foundation for future studies in remote robot navigation

PEGylated zein micelles for prostate cancer therapy : influence of PEG chain length and transferrin targeting on docetaxel delivery

Background/Objectives: Docetaxel is a widely used chemotherapeutic agent for several malignancies and is an established treatment for castration-resistant prostate cancer. However, its poor aqueous solubility, systemic toxicity, and the emergence of drug resistance limit its clinical benefit. Zein, a prolamin, forms micelles that enhance the solubility and delivery of hydrophobic drugs. As PEG length and ligand presentation govern micelle behavior, we investigated transferrin-functionalized PEGylated zein micelles as docetaxel nanocarriers and examined how PEG chain length (5 K vs. 10 K) and transferrin-mediated targeting affect delivery to prostate cancer cells. Methods: Docetaxel-loaded zein micelles bearing 5 K or 10 K PEG chains were prepared and conjugated to transferrin. Formulations were characterized for size, charge, morphology, critical micelle concentration, colloidal stability, drug loading and transferrin density. Cellular uptake and mechanisms were assessed in PC-3-Luc, DU145 and LNCaP cells by confocal microscopy, flow cytometry and pharmacological inhibition. Anti-proliferative activity was determined by MTT assays. Results: Both PEG5K and PEG10K micelles formed micellar dispersions with low polydispersity and high encapsulation efficiency. PEG5K micelles achieved higher transferrin conjugation and drug loading. Transferrin-functionalized PEG5K micelles showed enhanced uptake in DU145 and LNCaP cells but lower internalization in PC-3-Luc cells. Inhibitor studies indicated receptor-dependent uptake via clathrin- and caveolae-mediated endocytosis. Free docetaxel remained the most potent. However, among nanocarriers, transferrin-targeted PEG5K micelles showed the greatest anti-proliferative efficacy relative to their non-targeted counterparts, whereas transferrin-targeted PEG10K micelles were less potent than the non-targeted PEG10K micelles across all three cell lines. Conclusions: PEG chain length and ligand presentation are key determinants of uptake and cytotoxicity of docetaxel-loaded zein micelles. Shorter PEG chains favor effective transferrin display and receptor engagement, whereas longer PEG likely induces steric hindrance and reduces targeting, supporting transferrin-conjugated PEG5K zein micelles (the lead formulation in this study) as a targeted delivery platform that improves performance relative to matched non-targeted micelles in vitro, while free docetaxel remains more potent in 2D monolayer assays

High-performance curved sections in 3D printed continuous carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites using aligned fibre deposition

This paper presents high-performance curved sections in 3D printed continuous carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites using an aligned fibre deposition (AFD) method on a 6-axis robotic arm. 3D printed curved composite beams using both AFD and conventional methods are mechanically tested under four-point bending and scanned by X-ray computed microtomography (μCT) to characterise the fibre distribution and develop image-based finite element models. Compared to conventional printing method using a commercial nozzle, the proposed AFD method significantly improves the fibre alignment and reduces void content in the printed composites, and the curved beam strength is calculated as 204.2 N and 224.5 N for the cases of 7 mm and 15 mm radius of curvature, achieving an improvement of 34.0 % and 45.3 %, respectively. The modelling produces excellently matched stiffness with the experimental measurement, providing useful insights into the stress and strain distributions. The combination of experimental data and modelling results shows that the alignment of fibres in the curved composite beams plays a key role in improving mechanical performance and determining the final failure mode