bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Burnout, resilience, and subjective well-being among Portuguese lecturers’ during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Castro Luísa , Serrão Carla , Rodrigues Ana Rita , Marina Sílvia , dos Santos José Paulo Marques , Amorim-Lopes Teresa Sofia , Miguel Carla , Teixeira Andreia , Duarte Ivone
Published: December 2023

Background

Lecturers face a large wide of occupational stressors. If the prolonged stress and the symptomatology associated with the working conditions to which lecturers were exposed were already a concern before the pandemic, the pandemic may have exacerbated this psychosocial vulnerability. Burnout is a psychological syndrome that develops in response to chronic work stress. This study aims to describe burnout amongst lecturers working in Portugal and to analyse potential determinants of burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed using an online questionnaire distributed via social networks. The survey collected sociodemographic and sleep patterns data in addition to applying the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (personal, work- and student-related burnout), the Resilience Scale, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale.

Results

The sample included 331 lecturers from 35 different colleges and faculties. Three significant models explained personal (R2 = 54%), work- (R2 = 47%) and student- (R2 = 19%) related burnout. Lower levels of resilience and higher levels of depression and stress were significantly associated with personal and work-related burnout. Changes in sleep patterns were additionally associated with both personal and work-related burnout.

Conclusion

Higher education institutions must recognize the impact of the work environment and organizational culture on faculty mental health and take proactive measures to improve this environment. These institutions can implement support strategies such as educational technology training, professional development programmes, emotional support resources, and workload flexibility. Implementing measures to enhance lecturers’ resilience and overall life satisfaction could potentially help mitigate burnout and improve the well-being of educators, ultimately contributing to the overall quality of education.
Emotional urgency predicts bipolar symptoms, severity, and suicide attempt better than non-emotional impulsivity: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Teh Wen Lin , Liu Jianlin , Chandwani Nisha , Lee Yu Wei , Tor Phern-Chern , Subramaniam Mythily , Ho Roger C.
Published: December 2023

Introduction

Emotional urgency is an emotion-based subdimension of trait impulsivity that is more clinically relevant to psychopathology and disorders of emotion dysfunction than non-emotional subdimensions (i.e., lack of perseverance, sensation seeking, lack of premeditation). However, few studies have examined the relative effects of emotional urgency in bipolar disorder. This cross-sectional study aimed to establish the clinical relevance of emotional urgency in bipolar disorders by (1) explicating clinically relevant correlates of emotional urgency and (2) comparing its effects against non-emotional impulsivity subdimensions.

Methods and results

A total of 150 individuals with bipolar disorder were recruited between October 2021 and January 2023. Zero-order correlations found that emotional urgency had the greatest effect on bipolar symptoms (r = 0.37 to 0.44). Multiple two-step hierarchical regression models showed that (1) positive urgency predicted past manic symptomology and dysfunction severity (b = 1.94, p < 0.001 and 0.35 p < 0.05, respectively), (2) negative urgency predicted current depression severity, and (3) non-emotional facets of impulsivity had smaller effects on bipolar symptoms and dysfunction by contrast, and were non-significant factors in the final step of all regression models (b < 0.30, ns); Those who had a history of attempted suicide had significantly greater levels of emotional urgency (Cohen’s d = –0.63).

Discussion

Notwithstanding the study’s limitations, our findings expand status quo knowledge beyond the perennial relationship between non-emotion-based impulsivity and bipolar disorder and its implications.
Analysis regarding the impact of ‘fake news’ on the quality of life of the population in a region affected by earthquake activity. The case of Romania–Northern Oltenia
Authors: Mărcău Flavius Cristian , Peptan Cătălin , Băleanu Vlad Dumitru , Holt Alina Georgiana , Iana Silviu Adrian , Gheorman Victor
Published: December 2023

Purpose

The study aims to examine the impact of the wave of seismic activity in the northern region of Oltenia (Gorj County, Romania) in February 2023 and the belief in ‘fake news’ (circulated regarding causality, manifestations, and future developments of the seismic activity) on the quality of life of the affected population. It was considered opportune to conduct this study, given the novelty of such a situation, as the mentioned geographical area is not known to have a high seismic risk.

Methods

The study was built based on the questionnaire to which 975 respondents, present/residing in Gorj County during the earthquakes and at least 14 days after, and with a minimum age of 18 years, responded. The data was collected between February 27, 2023, and March 31, 2023, at a reasonable time interval from the recording of the first seismic event in the region, assuming that the respondents’ opinions regarding the negative impact of seismic events on societal life are well crystallized. The aim was to obtain information and analyze it in order to establish the respondents’ perception regarding the negative effects of seismic activity and the elements of “fake news” promoted in this context on the quality of life of individuals in the region.

Results

Our study indicates that individuals who are not concerned, due to their disbelief in “fake news” information, about the possibility of new strong earthquakes in the mentioned area feel the best physically, having an average satisfaction level of 82.80 (with a standard deviation of 19.70) on the WHOQOL-BREF scale. On the other hand, those who believed in the fake news experienced the lowest levels of psychological well-being, with an average satisfaction of 60.80 (and a standard deviation of 21.98). The WHOQOL-BREF is an instrument that assesses the quality of life across four distinct domains, and this study emphasizes the importance of accurate and trustworthy information for people’s well-being.

Conclusion

The results of the study highlight that the quality of life indicators of people in the geographic area affected by the wave of seismic movements are negatively impacted due to the release of “fake news” in the public domain regarding the cause of seismic movements in Gorj county (and the previous earthquakes in Turkey) and their future manifestations and developments (the possibility of high magnitude seismic movements), as well as the lack of information provided by the public authorities on the issue at hand (causes, effects, future manifestations, management measures).
High prevalence of subjective cognitive decline in older Chinese adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Xue Chao , Li Juan , Hao Mingqing , Chen Lihua , Chen Zuoxiu , Tang Zeli , Tang Huan , Fang Qian
Published: December 2023

Background

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is considered a preclinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease. However, reliable prevalence estimates of SCD in the Chinese population are lacking, underscoring the importance of such metrics for policymakers to formulate appropriate healthcare strategies.

Objective

To systematically evaluate SCD prevalence among older Chinese adults.

Methods

PubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, CBM, and Airiti Library databases were searched for studies on SCD in older Chinese individuals published before May 2023. Two investigators independently screened the literature, extracted the information, and assessed the bias risk of the included studies. A meta-analysis was then conducted using Stata 16.0 software via a random-effects model to analyze SCD prevalence in older Chinese adults.

Results

A total of 17 studies were included (n = 31,782). The SCD prevalence in older Chinese adults was 46.4% (95% CI, 40.6–52.2%). Further, subgroup analyzes indicated that SCD prevalence was 50.8% in men and 58.9% among women. Additionally, SCD prevalence in individuals aged 60–69, 70–79, and ≥ 80 years was 38.0, 45.2, and 60.3%, respectively. Furthermore, SCD prevalence in older adults with BMI <18.5, 18.5–24.0, and > 24.0 was 59.3, 54.0, and 52.9%, respectively. Geographically, SCD prevalence among older Chinese individuals was 41.3% in North China and 50.0% in South China. In terms of residence, SCD prevalence was 47.1% in urban residents and 50.0% among rural residents. As for retired individuals, SCD prevalence was 44.2% in non-manual workers and 49.2% among manual workers. In the case of education, individuals with an education level of “elementary school and below” had an SCD prevalence rate of 62.8%; “middle school, “52.4%; “high school, “55.0%; and “college and above, “51.3%. Finally, SCD prevalence was lower among married individuals with surviving spouses than in single adults who were divorced, widowed, or unmarried.

Conclusion

Our systematic review and meta-analysis identified significant and widespread SCD prevalence in the older population in China. Therefore, our review findings highlight the urgent requirement for medical institutions and policymakers across all levels to prioritize and rapidly develop and implement comprehensive preventive and therapeutic strategies for SCD.

Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42023406950, identifier: CRD42023406950.
How rumination influences meaning in life among Chinese high school students: the mediating effects of perceived chronic social adversity and coping style
Authors: Yu Xiaolin , Zhao Jingjing
Published: December 2023

Meaning in life can be affected by many factors during adolescence. This study explored the relationship between rumination and meaning in life among high school students, as well as the mediating effect of perceived chronic social adversity and coping style. A sample of 1,275 Chinese high school students were surveyed using four questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted using Harman's single-factor test, Pearson's correlation coefficient with confidence intervals (CI), and a structural equation model. We found that rumination significantly negatively affected meaning in life among high school students (β = −0.28, 95% CI = −0.33–0.23). Perceived chronic social adversity (β = −0.14, 95% CI = −0.29–0.02) and negative coping style (β = −0.09, 95% CI = −0.16–0.04) each had mediating effects between rumination and meaning in life. Further, perceived chronic social adversity and coping style had chain-mediating effects between rumination and meaning in life, with both positive (β = −0.11, 95% CI = −0.17–0.07) and negative (β = −0.08, 95% CI = −0.13–0.04) coping styles showing significant effects. To enhance the meaning in life among high school students, appropriate strategies to reduce the levels of rumination and perceived chronic social adversity are needed, while also fostering appropriate coping styles.
Prior water availability modifies the effect of heavy rainfall on dengue transmission: a time series analysis of passive surveillance data from southern China
Authors: Cheng Qu , Jing Qinlong , Collender Philip A. , Head Jennifer R. , Li Qi , Yu Hailan , Li Zhichao , Ju Yang , Chen Tianmu , Wang Peng , Cleary Eimear , Lai Shengjie
Published: December 2023

Introduction

Given the rapid geographic spread of dengue and the growing frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events, it is imperative to understand the relationship between these phenomena in order to propose effective interventions. However, studies exploring the association between heavy rainfall and dengue infection risk have reached conflicting conclusions, potentially due to the neglect of prior water availability in mosquito breeding sites as an effect modifier.

Methods

In this study, we addressed this research gap by considering the impact of prior water availability for the first time. We measured prior water availability as the cumulative precipitation over the preceding 8 weeks and utilized a distributed lag non-linear model stratified by the level of prior water availability to examine the association between dengue infection risk and heavy rainfall in Guangzhou, a dengue transmission hotspot in southern China.

Results

Our findings suggest that the effects of heavy rainfall are likely to be modified by prior water availability. A 24–55 day lagged impact of heavy rainfall was associated with an increase in dengue risk when prior water availability was low, with the greatest incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 1.37 [95% credible interval (CI): 1.02–1.83] occurring at a lag of 27 days. In contrast, a heavy rainfall lag of 7–121 days decreased dengue risk when prior water availability was high, with the lowest IRR of 0.59 (95% CI: 0.43–0.79), occurring at a lag of 45 days.

Discussion

These findings may help to reconcile the inconsistent conclusions reached by previous studies and improve our understanding of the complex relationship between heavy rainfall and dengue infection risk.
Studying full-shift inhalation exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) among Latino workers in very small-sized beauty salons and auto repair shops
Authors: Lothrop Nathan , Sandoval Flor , Cortez Imelda , Wagoner Rietta , Lopez-Galvez Nicolas , Parra Kimberly , Wolf Ann Marie , Wertheim Betsy C. , Quijada Carolina , Lee Amanda , Griffin Stephanie , Bell Melanie , Carvajal Scott , Ingram Maia , Beamer Paloma
Published: December 2023

Background

One in every 200 US jobs is in a beauty salon or auto repair shop, where workers are regularly exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that may cause a range of short- and long-term health issues. In these shops, Latino workers are overrepresented and lack culturally and linguistically appropriate industrial hygiene resources. This leaves a gap in knowledge on inhalation exposures to VOCs in this hard-to-reach and ubiquitous worker population.

Objective

Our goal was to recruit hard-to-reach, predominantly Spanish-speaking workers in beauty salons and auto repair shops and monitor total VOC inhalation exposures for over entire work shifts, with minimal impact on workers, clients, and business.

Methods

We developed and refined measurement and exposure assessment methods for personal and area full-shift VOC inhalation exposures.

Results

With minimal participant loss, we measured over 500 h of real-time, personal VOC exposures and recorded activities and other exposure factors for 47 participants, while also documenting chemical inventories and quantifying indoor area concentrations of specific VOCs among 10 auto repair shops and 10 beauty salons.

Conclusion

Lessons learned from our study can assist future studies of inhalation exposures in other hard-to-reach occupational populations.
Cultivation of human centered artificial intelligence: culturally adaptive thinking in education (CATE) for AI
Authors: Samuel Yana , Brennan-Tonetta Margaret , Samuel Jim , Kashyap Rajiv , Kumar Vivek , Krishna Kaashyap Sri , Chidipothu Nishitha , Anand Irawati , Jain Parth
Published: December 2023

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become ubiquitous in human society, and yet vast segments of the global population have no, little, or counterproductive information about AI. It is necessary to teach AI topics on a mass scale. While there is a rush to implement academic initiatives, scant attention has been paid to the unique challenges of teaching AI curricula to a global and culturally diverse audience with varying expectations of privacy, technological autonomy, risk preference, and knowledge sharing. Our study fills this void by focusing on AI elements in a new framework titled Culturally Adaptive Thinking in Education for AI (CATE-AI) to enable teaching AI concepts to culturally diverse learners. Failure to contextualize and sensitize AI education to culture and other categorical human-thought clusters, can lead to several undesirable effects including confusion, AI-phobia, cultural biases to AI, increased resistance toward AI technologies and AI education. We discuss and integrate human behavior theories, AI applications research, educational frameworks, and human centered AI principles to articulate CATE-AI. In the first part of this paper, we present the development a significantly enhanced version of CATE. In the second part, we explore textual data from AI related news articles to generate insights that lay the foundation for CATE-AI, and support our findings. The CATE-AI framework can help learners study artificial intelligence topics more effectively by serving as a basis for adapting and contextualizing AI to their sociocultural needs.
Real-time emotion generation in human-robot dialogue using large language models
Authors: Mishra Chinmaya , Verdonschot Rinus , Hagoort Peter , Skantze Gabriel
Published: December 2023

Affective behaviors enable social robots to not only establish better connections with humans but also serve as a tool for the robots to express their internal states. It has been well established that emotions are important to signal understanding in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). This work aims to harness the power of Large Language Models (LLM) and proposes an approach to control the affective behavior of robots. By interpreting emotion appraisal as an Emotion Recognition in Conversation (ERC) tasks, we used GPT-3.5 to predict the emotion of a robot’s turn in real-time, using the dialogue history of the ongoing conversation. The robot signaled the predicted emotion using facial expressions. The model was evaluated in a within-subjects user study (N = 47) where the model-driven emotion generation was compared against conditions where the robot did not display any emotions and where it displayed incongruent emotions. The participants interacted with the robot by playing a card sorting game that was specifically designed to evoke emotions. The results indicated that the emotions were reliably generated by the LLM and the participants were able to perceive the robot’s emotions. It was found that the robot expressing congruent model-driven facial emotion expressions were perceived to be significantly more human-like, emotionally appropriate, and elicit a more positive impression. Participants also scored significantly better in the card sorting game when the robot displayed congruent facial expressions. From a technical perspective, the study shows that LLMs can be used to control the affective behavior of robots reliably in real-time. Additionally, our results could be used in devising novel human-robot interactions, making robots more effective in roles where emotional interaction is important, such as therapy, companionship, or customer service.
Digitainability and open innovation: how they change innovation processes and strategies in the agrifood sector?
Authors: Piot-Lepetit Isabelle
Published: December 2023

By developing a conceptual analysis, this research explores the possibility of fostering a convergence between digitalization and sustainability, also named digitainability. This convergence is often seen as an opportunity to solve the various challenges the agrifood sector faces nowadays, especially those of feeding more people without deteriorating the environment and creating social divides and, at the same time, managing specific risks related to climate change, biodiversity loss, and hunger. The research describes how open innovation is becoming an imperative and explains the contribution of startups in the development of these new innovative initiatives. It also explains how sustainability considerations are closely linked to the development of servitization in the business context. Finally, it explores how these changes impact established companies, forcing them to develop ambidextrous innovation strategies to maintain and support their competitive advantage. In doing so, the paper illustrates some of the well-known effects of this ongoing change, while identifying the opportunities created and the challenges for which more research is still needed.
A Lightweight Graph Neural Network Algorithm for Action Recognition Based on Self-Distillation
Authors: Feng Miao , Meunier Jean
Published: December 2023

Recognizing human actions can help in numerous ways, such as health monitoring, intelligent surveillance, virtual reality and human–computer interaction. A quick and accurate detection algorithm is required for daily real-time detection. This paper first proposes to generate a lightweight graph neural network by self-distillation for human action recognition tasks. The lightweight graph neural network was evaluated on the NTU-RGB+D dataset. The results demonstrate that, with competitive accuracy, the heavyweight graph neural network can be compressed by up to 80%. Furthermore, the learned representations have denser clusters, estimated by the Davies–Bouldin index, the Dunn index and silhouette coefficients. The ideal input data and algorithm capacity are also discussed.
Organic Amendment for Disinfecting Soil Alters the Metabolites in Spinacia oleracea
Authors: Hernández-Lara Alicia , Ros Margarita , Giménez Almudena , Moreno Diego A. , Díaz-Galiano Francisco J. , Martínez-Bueno María Jesús , Lozano-Pastor Pedro , Pascual José Antonio
Published: December 2023

Solar radiation and the incorporation of compost into soil is a practice for disinfecting soil that could have some other effects on spinach cultivation. The quality of spinach leaves after two types of soil disinfection, non-amended soil (NAS) and compost-amended soil (CAS), was compared in order to find biomarkers of both types of disinfection. These practices did not show significant differences in nutrient composition (N-P-K) compared to the control soil (CS). However, the amount of harmful nutrients such as NO2− was significantly lower in CAS (65.74 mg kg−1 FW) and NAS (49.99 mg kg−1 FW) than in CS (114.39 mg kg−1 FW). In addition, NO3− levels did not exceed the EU-recommended limit (<3500 mg kg−1 FW). Both types of disinfected soils produced higher concentrations of total phenols and more individual flavonoids in spinach leaves than the control. Combined chemometric analysis of the HRAMS data showed different clustering depending on the type of disinfection (NAS and CAS). Fifteen metabolite compounds could be identified, seven of which are beneficial for health and were more abundant in spinach grown in CAS compared to that grown in NAS or CS. Such beneficial metabolites measured with non-target analysis as markers of CAS-grown spinach. However, more studies are necessary in order to determine the differences between the metabolites of spinach grown in NAS or CAS.
Insights from Farmers’ Rice Culture Practices under Integrated Rice–Crayfish Farming System in the Hongze Lake District of China
Authors: Dou Zhi , Mi Changsheng , Lu Haikong , Gao Hui
Published: December 2023

In recent years, rice–crayfish integrated farming has expanded rapidly in the Hongze Lake district of China as the booming consumer market of crayfish. However, the current rice cultivation technology limits rice yield and the economic profits of rice–crayfish integrated farming, and the characteristics and farmers’ practices of rice culture under the rice–crayfish integrated farming system are unknown. To understand the present rice culture practices in rice–crayfish integrated farming by farmers and their perceptions and provide direction for improvement, a survey was carried out in 2019 and 2020 in Xuyi County, a representative region of rice–crayfish integrated farming in the Hongze Lake district of China, comprising 208 farmers engaged in RCIF, and detailed and complex information was obtained using face-to-face conversations. Based on the survey results, we found that farmers have limited knowledge of the rice cultivation request in a specific RCIF mode and well-suited rice varieties and mechanical transplanting equipment and corresponding techniques are lacking in RCIF. In addition, farmers had no reliable and scientific methods for the use of nitrogen fertilizers and pest management schemes. In accordance with the constraints mentioned above, we put forward the following suggestions for rice culture improvement: (i) the local agricultural extension department should strengthen the RCIF mode and extend techniques and training; (ii) researchers should develop RCIF-suited rice varieties, mechanical transplanters, and related seedling-raising methods; (iii) researchers should clarify the occurrence regularity of soil properties and rice pests with continuous RCIF practices and provide corresponding guidance for nitrogen application and pest control schemes.
Land Valuation Systems in Relation to Water Retention
Authors: Slaboch Josef , Malý Michal
Published: December 2023

This article uses a derived econometric model to estimate the impact of the physical properties of soil on its retention capacity and, subsequently, the impact of retention capacity on production potential. This is an important aspect considering climate change impacts, which are affecting food production across the world. An investigation of academic publications shows that very few studies address opportunities to price rainwater in relation to agricultural production. As such, the objective of the submitted article is to use soil physical property spatial data to create an econometric model. The econometric model itself determines the intensity and direction of action of the soil’s physical properties on the ability of the soil to hold rainwater. The results demonstrate the positive effect of physical properties such as porosity and humus content. Important information for farming practice is the relatively pronounced influence of soil acidity (pH) on its retention capacity, which is mainly the result of its effect on soil biogeochemical processes. The most significant variable in terms of the extent of action is the depth of the soil profile, which is in line with general assumptions. The actual evaluation of soil retention capacity was undertaken using an option with the use of a sensitivity analysis. In order to include the non-production function of the soil (retention capacity), we conclude for individual enhanced quality soil ecological units an increased price of 1–12%. These conclusions are particularly valuable because some soils may have a low production potential while also being highly valuable for their particular location in terms of their non-production potential (typically desirable floodwater retention, etc.). Considering climate change, this is a particularly topical issue. The use of enhanced-quality soil ecological units is reflected in a wide range of fields through legislative processes—determining rural land protection class and, especially in the tax obligations of agricultural entities, farming agricultural land.
Genomic Dissection through Whole-Genome Resequencing of Five Local Pig Breeds from Shanghai, China
Authors: Gao Jun , Sun Lingwei , Pan Hongmei , Zhang Shushan , Xu Jiehuan , He Mengqian , Zhang Keqing , Zhou Jinyong , Zhang Defu , Wu Caifeng , Dai Jianjun
Published: December 2023

China has rich genetic resources of local pig breeds. In this study, whole-genome resequencing was performed on five Shanghai local pig breeds, aiming to analyze their population genetic structure and unique genomic characteristics. Tens of millions of single nucleotide variants were obtained through the resequencing of a total of 150 individual pigs from five local pig breeds (Meishan, Fengjing, Shawutou, Pudong White, and Shanghai White) after mapping them with the pig reference genome of Sus scrofa 11.1. The results of admixture structure analysis also clearly demonstrated the genetic differences between the Shanghai local pig breeds and the three commercial pig breeds (Duroc, Landrace, and Yorkshire). The genetic infiltration of Landrace and Yorkshire pig breeds in the SHW breed was detected, which is consistent with the early history of crossbreeding in this breed. Selective sweep analysis between four indigenous Shanghai pig breed populations and three commercial pig breed populations identified 270 and 224 genes with selective signatures in the commercial and indigenous Shanghai pig populations, respectively. Six genes (TGS1, PLAG1, CHCHD7, LCORL, TMEM68, and TMEM8B) were found to be associated with animal growth in the commercial pig population through gene enrichment and protein–protein interaction analysis. In contrast, the MSRB3 gene in the indigenous Shanghai pig population was significantly under selection, which correlated with the long pendulous ear phenotype of the indigenous Shanghai pig population. In conclusion, this study is the first genomic profiling of five representative local pig breeds in Shanghai, which provides molecular genetic data and foundations for better conservation and utilization of local pig breed resources in Shanghai, China.
Beta-Carotene Supplementation for Sows: Reproductive Parameters and Productive Performance of Piglets
Authors: Oliveira Amanda Medeiros Araújo de , Freitas Ednardo Rodrigues , Nogueira Denise Batista , Araújo Gabriel Gobira de Alcântara , Silva Lucas Melo de , Butolo Eduardo Afonso Frandi , Santos Kassia Moreira , Prata Maurício Frias , Silva Martins Claudia Cassimira da , Passos Adsos Adami , Lozano Carlos , Pascoal Leonardo Augusto Fonseca , Watanabe Pedro Henrique
Published: December 2023

The rapid fetal development and the increased demand for milk result in a catabolic state and oxidative stress in hyperprolific sows. Despite animal defense mechanisms, the dietary supplementation of antioxidants is being evaluated to reduce the impacts of excess free radicals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of beta-carotene supplementation for sows on the reproductive response and performance of suckling piglets. A total of 120 sows were distributed in a 3 × 4 factorial arrangement of three supplementation levels (B0–no supplementation, B200–200 mg beta-carotene/day and B400–400 mg beta-carotene/day) and four groups of parity order (1st, 2nd, 3rd, above 4th). Beta-carotene supplementation during lactation resulted in a higher litter weight at weaning. A higher average weight of piglets and litter weight at birth were observed, as well as a greater number of piglets weaned and litter weight at weaning in sows supplemented with 400 mg of beta-carotene during gestation and lactation periods. Supplementation with 200 and 400 mg of beta-carotene resulted in a greater weight at weaning and daily weight gain in piglets. Daily supplementation with 400 mg of beta-carotene in the prepartum and lactation phases provides a greater litter weight at weaning and, when supplemented in the pre-gestation and gestation periods, results in a greater litter weight at birth and at weaning.
Factors Influencing Isolation Behavior of Dogs: A Holder-Based Questionnaire and Behavioral and Saliva Cortisol Responses during Separation
Authors: Silbermann Jennifer , Gansloßer Udo
Published: December 2023

This study examined how separation behavior differs between dogs with and without separation-related problem behavior (SRB) and the possible risk factors. The study consisted of an online survey with 940 dog holders, which, in addition to demographic facts, also includes personality, emotional disposition and the attachment by the holder. Furthermore, a separation test was carried out with six non-SRB dogs over a maximum of 6 h, in which behavior and cortisol were determined. The questionnaire revealed that SRB dogs differed significantly from non-SRB dogs regarding the following factors: symptoms with at least a medium effect size such as restlessness, excitement, whining, howling, lip licking, barking and salivation, time to relax after separation, pessimism, persistence, excitability, calmness, separation frequency, greeting of holder and type of greeting. There were several other differences, but with weak effect sizes. The test showed that non-SRB dogs were mostly inactive during separation (lying resting and lying alert). Vocalization was almost non-existent. Behavior and cortisol did not change significantly over the different time periods. The data demonstrated typical symptoms and possible risk factors, some of which may be avoided or changed to improve animal welfare.
Activity of Cinnamic Acid Derivatives with 4-Chloro-2-mercaptobenzenesulfonamide Moiety against Clinical HLAR and VRE Enterococcus spp.
Authors: Hałasa Rafał , Bułakowska Anita , Sławiński Jarosław , Smoktunowicz Magdalena , Rapacka-Zdończyk Aleksandra , Mizerska Urszula
Published: December 2023

The rapid increase in strains that are resistant to antibiotics requires new active compounds to be found whose mechanism of action on bacteria is different to those that are currently known. Of particular interest are compounds that occur in plants as secondary metabolites. The focus of this study concerns the examination of the effects of synthetic cinnamic acid derivatives, with 4-chloro-2-mercaptobenzenesulfonamide moiety on Enterococcus spp. with HLAR (high-level aminoglycoside resistance) and VRE (vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus) mechanisms. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the tested compounds were determined using the serial dilution method for Enterococcus spp. groups, and the most active compounds were as follows: 16d, 17c, 16a, 16c and 16f (2–4 µg/mL). These compounds, at a concentration of 4 × MIC, inhibited the biofilm formation of HLAR strains (70 to 94%). At concentrations of 2 × MIC and 4 × MIC, they also inhibited the growth of VRE strains (42 to 96%). The best effect produced on the formed biofilm was demonstrated by compound 16f (from 62% MIC concentration to 89% 4 × MIC concentration) on the tested HLAR strains. In vitro studies, using the peripheral blood of domestic sheep, demonstrated the stable bacteriostatic activity of the tested compounds against Enterococcus spp. The compounds 16a, 16c, 16d, 16f and 17c showed synergism and additivity with ampicillin, streptomycin, gentamicin and vancomycin against resistant strains of Enterococcus spp. The tested compounds, when combined, reduce the MIC for antibiotics by 800 to 10,000 times for HLAR strains and by 8 to 10,000 times for VRE strains. The MIC of the tested compounds, in combination with antibiotics, is reduced 2–16-fold for HLAR strains and 2–32-fold for VRE strains. These studies demonstrate the potential for the therapeutic use of synthetic, cinnamic acid derivatives, with 4-chloro-2-mercaptobenzenesulfonamide moiety, to work against clinical strains of Enterococcus spp.
Nanogap Plasmon Resonator: An Analytical Model
Authors: Sarychev Andrey K. , Barbillon Grégory , Ivanov Andrey
Published: December 2023

Generic, analytical equations are suggested for the localized plasmon excited in a narrow gap formed between a metal/dielectric cylinder and a metal surface. The local distribution of the electric field was found by employing the quasi-static approximation. A strong electric field can be achieved in the nanogap in the optical and infrared frequency regimes. The maximum electric field was reached when the incident light was in resonance with the mode of the plasmon gap and can be expressed in terms of the incident field E0 as Emax/E0∝εmδ−2 with δ=ℑεm/ℜεm. This aspect of the maximum field achievable in the nanogap can be enhanced by many orders of magnitude. The results of the analytical model were in relatively good agreement with a known theoretical model and the experimental results of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The narrow gap resonator seems to be a powerful and flexible tool for different spectroscopies such as SERS and infrared absorption.
Influence of Different Prioritization Approaches of Maintenance and Replacement Measures on Station Infrastructure Quality
Authors: Lampe Felix , Maus Maren , Elfert Lea , Nießen Nils
Published: December 2023

This paper presents a model that establishes a relationship between the financial resources allocated to maintain and replace railway station infrastructure assets and the resulting infrastructure quality. Until now, there has been no known relationship between quality and financial resources, making targeted planning for railway stations and the control of financial resources challenging. This model aims to predict infrastructure quality by analyzing the age-related degradation of infrastructure assets using historical data. The effects of maintenance and replacement measures are implemented in the model to map quality-improving measures. This allows for the comparison and analysis of different budget allocation scenarios on different assets, with different approaches for prioritizing replacement and maintenance measures. In this paper, the influence of budget allocation and prioritization strategies on station infrastructure quality is quantified by comparing different scenarios. Based on the results of the analysis, a quality assessment method can be evaluated, and disincentives can be identified. The analyses in this paper are carried out for quality measurement defined in Germany and the German railway station infrastructure.
A Cloud Coverage Image Reconstruction Approach for Remote Sensing of Temperature and Vegetation in Amazon Rainforest
Authors: Bezerra Emili , Mafalda Salomão , Alvarez Ana Beatriz , Uman-Flores Diego Armando , Perez-Torres William Isaac , Palomino-Quispe Facundo
Published: December 2023

Remote sensing involves actions to obtain information about an area located on Earth. In the Amazon region, the presence of clouds is a common occurrence, and the visualization of important terrestrial information in the image, like vegetation and temperature, can be difficult. In order to estimate land surface temperature (LST) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from satellite images with cloud coverage, the inpainting approach will be applied to remove clouds and restore the image of the removed region. This paper proposes the use of the neural network LaMa (large mask inpainting) and the scalable model named Big LaMa for the automatic reconstruction process in satellite images. Experiments are conducted on Landsat-8 satellite images of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Acre, Brazil. To evaluate the architecture’s accuracy, the RMSE (root mean squared error), SSIM (structural similarity index) and PSNR (peak signal-to-noise ratio) metrics were used. The LST and NDVI of the reconstructed image were calculated and compared qualitatively and quantitatively, using scatter plots and the chosen metrics, respectively. The experimental results show that the Big LaMa architecture performs more effectively and robustly in restoring images in terms of visual quality. And the LaMa network shows minimal superiority for the measured metrics when addressing medium marked areas. When comparing the results achieved in NDVI and LST of the reconstructed images with real cloud coverage, great visual results were obtained with Big LaMa.
Application of Artificial Neural Networks for Power Load Prediction in Critical Infrastructure: A Comparative Case Study
Authors: Aliyari Mostafa , Ayele Yonas Zewdu
Published: December 2023

This article aims to assess the effectiveness of state-of-the-art artificial neural network (ANN) models in time series analysis, specifically focusing on their application in prediction tasks of critical infrastructures (CIs). To accomplish this, shallow models with nearly identical numbers of trainable parameters are constructed and examined. The dataset, which includes 120,884 hourly electricity consumption records, is divided into three subsets (25%, 50%, and the entire dataset) to examine the effect of increasing training data. Additionally, the same models are trained and evaluated for univariable and multivariable data to evaluate the impact of including more features. The case study specifically focuses on predicting electricity consumption using load information from Norway. The results of this study confirm that LSTM models emerge as the best-performed model, surpassing other models as data volume and feature increase. Notably, for training datasets ranging from 2000 to 22,000 instances, GRU exhibits superior accuracy, while in the 22,000 to 42,000 range, LSTM and BiLSTM are the best. When the training dataset is within 42,000 to 360,000, LSTM and ConvLSTM prove to be good choices in terms of accuracy. Convolutional-based models exhibit superior performance in terms of computational efficiency. The convolutional 1D univariable model emerges as a standout choice for scenarios where training time is critical, sacrificing only 0.000105 in accuracy while a threefold improvement in training time is gained. For training datasets lower than 22,000, feature inclusion does not enhance any of the ANN model’s performance. In datasets exceeding 22,000 instances, ANN models display no consistent pattern regarding feature inclusion, though LSTM, Conv1D, Conv2D, ConvLSTM, and FCN tend to benefit. BiLSTM, GRU, and Transformer do not benefit from feature inclusion, regardless of the training dataset size. Moreover, Transformers exhibit inefficiency in time series forecasting due to their permutation-invariant self-attention mechanism, neglecting the crucial role of sequence order, as evidenced by their poor performance across all three datasets in this study. These results provide valuable insights into the capabilities of ANN models and their effective usage in the context of CI prediction tasks.
Surface Layer Turbulence at the Maidanak Observatory
Authors: Azimov Azimjon , Tillayev Yusufjon , Ehgamberdiev Shuhrat , Rajabov Yodgor , Ilyasov Sabit , Sarazin Marc
Published: December 2023

Results of night-time surface layer turbulence measurements using ESO LuSci at the Maidanak observatory are presented. Turbulence in the surface layer was evaluated at the Maidanak observatory using LuSci during the period of 2021–2022. The overall median DIMM-seeing was 0.74 arcseconds during this period. It was determined that the seeing in the surface layer up to 256 m equals 0.44 arcseconds. This corresponds to 42% of the contribution to the integral seeing in the entire atmosphere. A telescope installed at 6 m above the ground will be affected by 33% of the integral turbulence and about 79% of the surface layer one. Taking into account that the free atmosphere contributes around 30%, we conclude that around 30% of the overall seeing is contributed by the boundary layer above the Maidanak observatory.
Bedrooms and the Vulnerability of Sleepers to Extreme Heat Events
Authors: Emmitt Stephen
Published: December 2023

Insufficient sleep is known to have an impact on health, wellbeing, and productivity. Sleep has been explored extensively in the medical literature but has received scant attention in the built environment journals. With the climate becoming unpredictable, combined with the climate emergency and concerns over energy poverty, questions need to be asked about the suitability of the housing stock and, especially, bedrooms. This is pertinent for vulnerable individuals (e.g., very young, elder members of society, and those with medical conditions) who may be unable to adapt their sleep environment in extreme and prolonged heat events. The aim of this narrative review is to raise awareness of the complex inter-relationship between the sleeper and the bedroom in domestic properties. It highlights the vulnerability of sleepers and the need for adaptation strategies to cope with extreme heat events without resorting to mechanical air conditioning. It emphasises the need for interdisciplinary research to better inform stakeholders of the risks posed to sleep quality by climate change, and contributes positively to the promotion of health.
Effect of Mycotoxins in Silage on Biogas Production
Authors: Kintl Antonín , Vítěz Tomáš , Huňady Igor , Sobotková Julie , Hammerschmiedt Tereza , Vítězová Monika , Brtnický Martin , Holátko Jiří , Elbl Jakub
Published: December 2023

Mycotoxins can pose a threat to biogas production as they can contaminate the feedstock used in biogas production, such as agricultural crops and other organic materials. This research study evaluated the contents of deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEA), fumonisin (FUM), and aflatoxin (AFL) mycotoxins in maize silage prior to it being processed in a biogas plant and in digestate produced at the end of the anaerobic digestion (AD) process. In the experiment, three samples of silage were collected from one silage warehouse: Variant 1 = low contamination, Variant 2 = medium contamination, and Variant 3 = heavy contamination, which were subjected to investigation. A significantly reduced biogas production was recorded that was proportional to the increasing contamination with molds, which was primarily due to the AD of silage caused by technologically erroneous silage treatment. The AD was connected with changes in silage composition expressed by the values of VS content, sugar content, lactic acid content, acetic acid content, and the ratio of lactic acid content to acetic acid content. The production of biogas and methane decreased with the increasing contents of NDF, ADF, CF, and lignin. The only exception was Variant 2, in which the content of ADF, CF, and lignin was lower (by 8–11%) than that in Variant 1, and only the content of NDF was higher (by 9%) than that in Variant 1. A secondary factor that also correlated with changes in the composition of the substrate was the development of undesirable organisms, which further contributed to its degradation and to the production of mycotoxins. It was also demonstrated in this study that during the AD process, the tested mycotoxins were degraded, and their content was reduced by 27–100%. Only the variant with low mold contamination showed a DON concentration increase of 27.8%.
Unraveling the Genomic Association for Milk Production Traits and Signatures of Selection of Cattle in a Harsh Tropical Environment
Authors: Velayudhan Silpa Mullakkalparambil , Yin Tong , Alam Shahin , Brügemann Kerstin , Sejian Veerasamy , Bhatta Raghavendra , Schlecht Eva , König Sven
Published: December 2023

A study was designed to identify the genomic regions associated with milk production traits in a dairy cattle population reared by smallholder farmers in the harsh and challenging tropical savanna climate of Bengaluru, India. This study is a first-of-its-kind attempt to identify the selection sweeps for the dairy cattle breeds reared in such an environment. Two hundred forty lactating dairy cows reared by 68 farmers across the rural–urban transiting regions of Bengaluru were selected for this study. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed to identify candidate genes for test-day milk yield, solids-not-fat (SNF), milk lactose, milk density and clinical mastitis. Furthermore, the cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity (XP-EHH) methodology was adopted to scan the dairy cattle breeds (Holstein Friesian, Jersey and Crossbred) in Bengaluru. Two SNPs, rs109340659 and rs41571523, were observed to be significantly associated with test-day milk yield. No significant SNPs were observed for the remaining production traits. The GWAS for milk lactose revealed one SNP (rs41634101) that was very close to the threshold limit, though not significant. The potential candidate genes fibrosin-like 1 (FBRSL) and calcium voltage-gated channel auxiliary subunit gamma 3 (CACN) were identified to be in close proximity to the SNP identified for test-day milk yield. These genes were observed to be associated with milk production traits based on previous reports. Furthermore, the selection signature analysis revealed a number of regions under selection for the breed-group comparisons (Crossbred-HF, Crossbred-J and HF-J). Functional analysis of these annotated genes under selection indicated pathways and mechanisms involving ubiquitination, cell signaling and immune response. These findings point towards the probable selection of dairy cows in Bengaluru for thermotolerance.