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Subjective suffering due to oral diseases and disorders has been conceptualized as oral health-related quality of life and is often assessed with a multidimensional version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP). In the current study, a secondary analysis of a Dutch-language translated version of the original OHIP-14 was performed in different samples of approximately 1000 participants from diverse contexts (i.e., The Netherlands, the Caribbean, and Nepal). The dimensional structure and reliability of the scales resulting from these analyses were also examined. Based on a number of Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFAs) and Simultaneous Components Analysis (SCA) of the OHIP-14 scale, testing various models with different numbers of factors, several models were acceptable, but a two-factor solution, comprising psychological discomfort and physical discomfort was the most satisfactory in all three samples, although a one-factor solution, oral discomfort was also acceptable. Instead of using a large number of dimensions with a few items each, as often is done, it is most adequate and feasible to use no more than two scales, i.e., psychological discomfort and physical discomfort, comprising 11 items in total. These subscales of six and, respectively, five items are not only statistically, but also theoretically, the most adequate. Additionally, all items together, i.e., oral discomfort as a one-dimensional scale, are useful and easy to apply for practical use.

Eye pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience including sensory-discriminative, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components and supported by distinct, interconnected peripheral and central nervous system elements. Normal or physiological pain results of the stimulation by noxious stimuli of sensory axons of trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons innervating the eye. These are functionally heterogeneous. Mechano-nociceptors are only excited by noxious mechanical forces. Polymodal nociceptors also respond to heat, exogenous irritants, and endogenous inflammatory mediators, whereas cold thermoreceptors detect moderate temperature changes. Their distinct sensitivity to stimulating forces is determined by the expression of specific classes of ion channels: Piezo2 for mechanical forces, TRPV1 and TRPA1 for heat and chemical agents, and TRPM8 for cold. Pricking pain is evoked by mechano-nociceptors, while polymodal nociceptors are responsible of burning and stinging eye pain; sensations of dryness appear to be mainly evoked by cold thermoreceptors. Mediators released by local inflammation, increase the excitability of eye polymodal nociceptors causing their sensitization and the augmented pain sensations. During chronic inflammation, additional, long-lasting changes in the expression and function of stimulus-transducing and voltage-sensitive ion channels develop, thereby altering polymodal terminal’s excitability and evoking chronic inflammatory pain. When trauma, infections, or metabolic processes directly damage eye nerve terminals, these display aberrant impulse firing due to an abnormal expression of transducing and excitability-modulating ion channels. This malfunction evokes ‘neuropathic pain’ which may also result from abnormal function of higher brain structures where ocular TG neurons project. Eye diseases or ocular surface surgery cause different levels of inflammation and/or nerve injury, which in turn activate sensory fibers of the eye in a variable degree. When inflammation dominates (allergic or actinic kerato-conjunctivitis), polymodal nociceptors are primarily stimulated and sensitized, causing pain. In uncomplicated photorefractive surgery and moderate dry eye, cold thermoreceptors appear to be mainly affected, evoking predominant sensations of unpleasant dryness.

This study analyzes more than a century of hourly meteorological data (1901–2024) from the Thissio station in central Athens, Greece, to assess the long-term changes in human thermal discomfort. Three simple and widely used bioclimatic indices, Thom’s Discomfort Index (TDI), Humidex (HMDX), and Heat Index (HI), were calculated to capture the combined effects of air temperature and humidity. The results show a marked increase in the frequency, intensity, and duration of thermal discomfort since the 1980s, with a strong acceleration after 2000. The number of days with severe or dangerous heat stress has more than doubled compared with the mid-20th century, and periods of high discomfort now extend from June to September. The maximum values of HMDX and HI have exceeded critical health thresholds, highlighting increasing risks for the urban population. These findings demonstrate how rising temperature and humidity amplify heat stress in a Mediterranean city and emphasize the need for adaptation strategies in urban planning and public health to reduce vulnerability to extreme heat.

Background and objectivesWork-related musculoskeletal pain and discomfort are due to repetitive, unnatural, continuous movements and postures. Yoga therapy is beneficial for pain and disability in occupational settings. The current study aims to investigate the effect of yoga on musculoskeletal pain, stress, and sleep quality among industry workers.MethodologyThe study was conducted as a parallel randomized controlled open-label trial. An allocation ratio of 1:1 was followed for randomization. A health survey was used to recruit 90 male workers in machinery manufacturing industries from Bengaluru. A specially designed yoga module was administered five days a week for eight weeks to yoga group. The waitlisted control group received lifestyle suggestions. Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were administered at baseline, at the fourth week and eighth weeks. Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (RM-ANOVA) was conducted to elicit the group*time interactions.ResultsNinety participants (Yoga = 45, Control = 45) with age 40.57 ± 6.85 were randomized. Significant interactions were found in CMDQ, VAS, PSS and PSQI scores. Further, between group comparison demonstrate significant difference between the groups at the end of 8 weeks for CMDQ, VAS and PSS scores.ConclusionsYoga can be used to reduce musculoskeletal pain, discomfort, perceived stress and improve sleep quality among industry workers.Trial registration numberCTRI/2022/03/040894.

•Ten kinds of Trombe wall systems integrated with PCMs were proposed.•The effect on thermal comfort of PCM temperature and location was analyzed.•The integrated indoor discomfort hour and discomfort degree-hour were calculated.•An optimal wall structure was obtained for the hot summer and cold winter region. Trombe wall and phase change materials (PCMs) are two effective ways to regulate indoor thermal comfort. However, Trombe wall surfers from overheating in summer and PCMs suffer from low heat transfer rate caused by the limited thermal conductivity. To compensate the shortcomings of the two methods, this paper proposed a Trombe wall system integrated with PCMs. Based on a light-weight building envelope in Changsha, China, the thermal comfort of 10 kinds of Trombe wall systems with PCMs with a melting temperature of 18–28 ℃ were studied. Taking the integrated indoor discomfort duration (ID), integrated indoor discomfort degree-hour (IDH), indoor air temperature (Tin), PCM liquid fraction (γ) and heat flux across wall (q) as evaluation indexes, the indoor thermal comfort was assessed in hot summer and cold winter region. Results show that the Trombe wall helped PCMs complete the phase change process effectively. Trombe wall with PCM25 next to the wall inner surface possessed the lowest annual ID and IDH, as 2877 h and 12,974 ℃· h, respectively. Compared with the values in a traditional building, the ID and IDH were reduced by 7.01% and 14.14%. In order to give full play to the heat storage and heat release of the Trombe wall with PCMs, PCMs with phase change temperature 7℃ lower than the peak ambient temperature in summer or 8℃ higher than the winter night temperature was recommended according to regional climate conditions. [Display omitted]

PurposeThe automation of services is rapidly growing, led by sectors such as banking and financial investment. The growing number of investments managed by artificial intelligence (AI) suggests that this technology-based service will become increasingly popular. This study examines how customers' technology readiness and service awareness affect their intention to use analytical AI investment services.Design/methodology/approachHypotheses were tested with a data set of 404 North American-based potential customers of robo-advisors. In addition to technology readiness dimensions, the potential customers' characteristics were included in the framework as moderating factors (age, gender and previous experience with financial investment services). A post-hoc analysis examined the roles of service awareness and the financial advisor's name (i.e., robo-advisor vs. AI-advisor).FindingsThe results indicated that customers' technological optimism increases, and insecurity decreases, their intention to use robo-advisors. Surprisingly, feelings of technological discomfort positively influenced robo-advisor adoption. This interesting finding challenges previous insights into technology adoption and value co-creation as analytical AI puts customers into a very passive role and reduces barriers to technology adoption. The research also analyzes how consumers become aware of robo-advisors, and how this influences their acceptance.Originality/valueThis is the first study to analyze the role of customers' technology readiness in the adoption of analytical AI. The authors link the findings to previous technology adoption and automated services' literature and provide specific managerial implications and avenues for further research.

This article suggests that although there is not much of an explicitly defined anthropology of populism, anthropologists have nevertheless been working for many years on the things we talk about when we talk about populism. Anthropologists should thus be exceptionally well situated to divert the debate on populism in creative ways. In particular, I argue that the term populism registers an intensified insistence of collective forces that are no longer adequately organized by formerly hegemonic social forms: a mattering-forth of the collective flesh. The article also shows why populism is such an awkward topic for anthropologists. In part, this discomfort has to do with a tension between anthropologists' effectively populist commitments to the common sense of common people at a time when that common sense can often look ugly. In part, it has to do with how the populist challenge to liberalism both aligns populist politics with anthropological critiques of liberal norms and puts pressure on anthropology's continued dependence on liberal categories for its own relevance to broader public debates.

Objective Short sleep duration is common among nurses. Sleep restriction has been associated with musculoskeletal discomfort. However, studies on the effect of short sleep duration on chronic neck and shoulder discomfort in nurses have been lacking. The aim of this study was to determine whether short sleep duration is related to chronic neck and shoulder discomfort. Methods We conducted a cross‐sectional survey of female nurses in secondary referral health centers in Taiwan. We applied stratified sampling based on region (north, central, south, and east) to select representative centers for this study. A self‐administered structured questionnaire, including demographic data, the psychological working environment, and musculoskeletal symptoms, was administered to nurses. Multiple logistic regression and population attributable risk analyses were performed to assess the effect of average sleeping hours per working day on chronic neck and shoulder discomfort. Results A total of 1602 (78.9%) questionnaires were eligible for final analysis. The prevalence rates of chronic neck and shoulder discomfort were 33.9% and 34.7%, respectively. Population attributable risk estimation revealed that a sleep duration of <7 hours per working day was the most crucial factor for chronic neck and shoulder discomfort in the nurses, accounting for 8.8% of chronic neck discomfort and 8.6% of chronic shoulder discomfort respectively. Conclusion Our study found that sleep duration on working days was associated with chronic neck and shoulder discomfort in female nurses. Further interventions are warranted for maintaining nurses’ sleep hygiene.

Interdisciplinary collaboration has become mainstream practice for sustainability researchers. However, interdisciplinary research teams encounter numerous challenges for which they may find themselves under-prepared. In this article, we challenge the often-held assumption that researchers already know how to collaborate when entering interdisciplinary research teams and argue that, if we want to enhance interdisciplinary sustainability research, we need to take collaboration and its challenges seriously. First, we suggest thinking about interdisciplinary research collaborations as spaces that comprise epistemic, social, symbolic, spatial, and temporal dimensions and that produce different degrees of comfort and discomfort for researchers. Thinking about collaborations in this way supports a more systematic understanding of collaborative challenges. Second, we make a proposal for learning to collaborate while collaborating, so as to tackle challenges of interdisciplinary research. Drawing on a literature review and on experiences in the project Leverage Points for Sustainability Transformation, we argue for advancing collaborative interdisciplinary research for sustainability by creating and engaging in collaborations in ways that prioritize learning to collaborate. We outline a strategy for learning to collaborate while collaborating, which implies: (1) creating conditions for learning to take place, which includes paying attention to discomfort as a trigger for learning and (2) engaging in collaborations in ways that strengthen researchers’ collaborative capacities by cultivating particular orientations, knowledge and skills. The fundamental inquiry is whether and how learning to collaborate has a role in more fully realizing the inspiring potentials and ambitious goals of interdisciplinary research for sustainability.

Overhead arc welding tasks are physically demanding, often leading to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), particularly affecting the upper limb and lower back due to sustained awkward postures, repetitive motion, inadequate workstation design, and prolonged standing. These factors affect the worker’s performance, health, safety, and comfort. This study aimed to optimize the shoulder angle, elbow angle, and wrist position to minimize discomfort and shoulder pain, grip force, and task time in overhead arc welding tasks. An L27 orthogonal array design was used to evaluate the effects of shoulder angles, elbow angles, and wrist positions on grip force, task time, discomfort rating, and shoulder pain. Grey relational analysis (GRA) identified the optimal factor combination, while ANOVA applied on Grey Relational Grades (GRG) identified the significance of each input factor. To validate the GRA results, TOPSIS was applied, followed by experimental confirmation of responses at the optimal settings. The GRA identified shoulder angle (115–125°), elbow angle (30–40°), and neutral wrist position (A2B3C2) as the optimal configuration. ANOVA results revealed that shoulder angle, elbow angle, and wrist position significantly influence grip force, task efficiency, shoulder pain, and discomfort levels. This study examines ergonomic factors in overhead arc welding to minimize WMSDs and improve productivity and comfort. It offers insights into the optimal shoulder, elbow, and wrist positions but is limited by a controlled environment and limited-angle ranges. Future research should involve varied participant profiles, explore grip force at different points, capture EMG signals, and evaluate torch movement consistency.