bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pengembangan Kurikulum Diklat Budidaya Lebah (Trigonula sp.) untuk SMA, Mahasiswa, dan Umum
Authors: Utami Sri , Sulistyarsi Ani , Winarsih Eni , Widiyanto Joko , Atmojo Frihatnolo Pardani
Published: June 2024

Universitas PGRI Madiun has provided assistance to MSMEs An-Nahl Madiun Group since 2020 until now. These assistance activities include hygienic packaging of beekeeping products, online and offline marketing. The impact of this assistance has made CV. An-Nahl Group is more advanced and known in the East Java region and throughout Indonesia. There are many visitors who want to learn about beekeeping from all walks of life, whether from the general public or an agency. Based on request from CV. An Nahl Madiun Group, the research team developed a bee cultivation training curriculum for high school students, students and the general public. This research is Research and Development (R&D) research using the Borg and Gall development model developed by Sugiyono (2016). There are 10 stages of R&D, namely potential problems, data collection, product design, design validation, design revision, product trials, product revisions, use trials, final stage product revisions, and mass production. This research adopts 8 R&D steps according to Sugiyono. The development steps we take include: 1) potential and problems; 2) data collection; 3) product design; 4) design validation; 5) design revision; 6) product testing; 7) product revision; and 8) limited production. The results of data validation analysis show a curriculum validity level of 83.65% (Quite Valid), with a feasibility level of "very feasible" (84.38%). So it can be concluded that the livestock cultivation training curriculum for high school students, students and the general public on CV farms. An-Nahl Madiun Group can be used.
Aktivitas Antibakteri Ekstrak Daun Mangrove (Rhizophora mucronata) pada Bakteri Helicobacter pylori Penyebab Tukak Lambung
Authors: Pertiwi Reza , S Salprima Yudha , Wibowo Risky Hadi , Notriawan Doni , Nasution Riski Padilah , Azhar Afra Wafiqah
Published: June 2024

Mangrove (Rhizophora mucronata) is a plant that can be used as an antibacterial because it contains several secondary metabolite compounds such as saponins and flavonoids which can inhibit bacterial growth. This research aims to determinehe antibacterial activity of mangrove leaves (Rhizophora mucronata) in inhibiting the growth of Helicobacter pylori bacteria. This research is an in vitro study using the agar dilution method for 2-5 days. The treatment groups consisted of negative, positive (co-trimoxazole), ethanol extract of mangrove leaves (Rhizophora mucronata) with concentrations of6.25%, 12.5%, 25% and 50%. The treatment was carried out by adding the Helicobacter pylori suspension to a petri dish containing agar media. Observations were made to see whether bacteria grew in the media. The data is then analyzed and broken down from the results of calculating the diameter of the inhibition zone. The test results showed that the ethanol extract of mangrove leaves (Rhizophora mucronata) had antibacterial activity in the weak category in inhibiting the growth of Helicobacter pylori bacteria. This antibacterial activity can be caused because mangrove leaves (Rhizophora mucronata) contain secondary metabolite compounds with an antibacterial mechanism of action, so this is in line with the results of this study.
A Class of Implicit Fractional $\psi$-Hilfer Langevin Equation with Time Delay and Impulse in the Weighted Space
Authors: Louakar Ayoub , Kajounı Ahmed , Hilal Khalid , Lmou Hamid
Published: June 2024

In this paper, the Ulam-Hyers-Rassias stability is discussed and the existence and uniqueness of solutions for a class of implicit fractional $\psi$-Hilfer Langevin equation with impulse and time delay are investigated. A novel form of generalized Gronwall inequality is introduced. Picard operator theory is employed in authour’s analysis. An example will be given to support the validity of our findings.
Human postural responses to different frequency vibrations of lower leg muscles.
Authors: Polónyová A , Hlavačka F
Published: June 2024

We analyzed human postural responses to muscle vibration applied at four different frequencies to lower leg muscles, the lateral gastrocnemius (GA) or tibialis anterior (TA) muscles. The muscle vibrations induced changes in postural orientation characterized by the center of pressure (CoP) on the force platform surface on which the subjects were standing. Unilateral vibratory stimulation of TA induced body leaning forward and in the direction of the stimulated leg. Unilateral vibration of GA muscles induced body tilting backwards and in the opposite direction of the stimulated leg. The time course of postural responses was similar and started within 1 s after the onset of vibration by a gradual body tilt. When a new slope of the body position was reached, oscillations of body alignment occurred. When the vibrations were discontinued, this was followed by rapid recovery of the initial body position. The relationship between the magnitude of the postural response and frequency of vibration differed between TA and GA. While the magnitude of postural responses to TA vibration increased approximately linearly in the 60-100 Hz range of vibration frequency, the magnitude of response to GA vibration increased linearly only at lower frequencies of 40-60 Hz. The direction of body tilt induced by muscle vibration did not depend on the vibration frequency.
Management and Prevention of Impaction Colic in a 56-Year Old Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
Authors: Cousens Robert , Dales Jaden
Published: June 2024

A 56-year old female Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), with known dental issues, presented with lethargy and inappetence. Clinical examination and a history of dental abnormalities and mild impaction colic led to a diagnosis of moderate to severe obstructive intestinal impaction colic. Treatment with oral meloxicam, DSS (Dioctyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate), mineral oil, epsom salt and electrolytes as well as rectal enemas were combined with rest and periods of exercise. Treatment resulted in successful passing of an enlarged fecal ball consisting of dried out long fiber feed material. A prevention plan was created for this elephant which has been successful in reducing frequency and severity of colic events for this patient.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL MECHANISM FOR REGULATING THE RIGHT TO HOUSING OF CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF CITIZENS IN RUSSIA
Authors:   Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation, BATTALOVA L.M. , KOSTYLEVA G.V.
Published: June 2024

The article is devoted to the Study of the constitutional and legal mechanism for regulating the right to housing of certain categories of citizens in Russia. The article defines the concepts of "regulation" and "constitutional and legal mechanism of regulation", and also discusses various approaches to the definition of the latter. The authors believe that the basis of the legal mechanism of regulation is the constitutional legal mechanism of regulation. The object of the study is the inalienable constitutional rights and freedoms of man and citizen, which are vested in him by the State. The article highlights the elements of the mechanism of legal regulation: the rule of law, legal relationship, law enforcement act.
EUROPEAN POLICY VECTOR M. THATCHER, T. MAY, L. TRUSS: EUROSCEPTICISM, BREXIT, DISTANCING
Authors:   Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation, LAZAREVA E.V. , USTINOVA N.V.
Published: June 2024

The article is devoted to the European course of Prime Ministers M. Thatcher, T. May and L. Truss, based on the analysis of a wide range of sources and literature, the British policy regarding Euro integration in the period 1979-1990, and 2016-2019 is examined. and 2022. The work identifies the main stages and main directions of each of the three ladies - heads of government of the United Kingdom in the formation and implementation of the British strategy in a united Europe. We examined the reasons, goals, features and factors of London’s political course regarding the Brussels model of deepening and expanding cooperation from the European Economic Community to the European Union. It is shown that, firstly, the Thatcher government sought to use the Common Market as a trade and economic bloc, membership in which could contribute to both the economic growth of its country and the restoration of Britain’s global role in Europe and in the world. This task was solved by Thatcher through sharp confrontation, defending British interests, and receiving benefits and preferences from participation in the Community. Secondly, after the decision of the referendum on leaving the EU, T. May led a complex and contradictory negotiation process to develop conditions with Brussels, the British Parliament and the Conservative Party, which found itself in crisis due to disagreements on Brexit, which led to T. May’s resignation. Thirdly, the course of the L. Truss cabinet, in a situation of economic crisis, was focused on protecting British interests in trade and the fight against illegal migration but did not lead to noticeable results.
INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS AND THE HEYDAR ALIYEV FOUNDATION AS A TOOL OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN
Authors:   Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, BAYRAMLI N.S.O. ,   North-Western Institute of Management - a branch of the Russian Academy of National Economy a nd Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation,   Azerbaijan Center for Humanitarian Cooperation
Published: June 2024

Currently, public diplomacy is often studied and analyzed in the context of international public relations. This article discusses the main and significant tools of public diplomacy of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The article notes the common features of public diplomacy and the international community. The activities of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation as an instrument of public diplomacy in Azerbaijan are analyzed. As a result, it was concluded that these tools are significant for the public diplomacy of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Working with an audience of millions can change the paradigm of today’s public diplomacy. There is no alternative to the Internet, the World Wide Web. Because the Internet knows no boundaries. And the Heydar Aliyev Foundation demonstrates a vivid example of the conductor of public diplomacy of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The projects implemented during the period of activity show that the Foundation has achieved great success and reputation not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the international world. The Foundation plays a big role in popularizing Azerbaijan abroad.
FAMILY MEMORY AS A FACTOR IN THE FORMATION OF CIVIC IDENTITY OF YOUTH. SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
Authors:   Ogarev Mordovian State University, Saransk, Russian Federation, BOGATOVA O.A. , DADAEVA T.M.
Published: June 2024

The article analyzes and summarizes the results of a qualitative sociological study of the family memory of young people. generation of “centennials”, using the example of students of Mordovian State University, implemented by the method of in-depth interviews in order to identify the main characteristics of the family memory of young people in the context of the formation of their civic identity. Regular interaction of the family with wider communities of memory, as well as institutional “places of memory”, in modern Russia has been established, including the exchange of information and material evidence of memory through digital and traditional archives, museums, local history publications, the media, etc., construction “assemblage points” between significant people and events in the history of the family, on the one hand, and the country, on the other, through which the historical past of the country is included in the family narrative, and the family's past in the public memorial culture. The similarities and differences between the basic structure of informants' family memory narratives and the official narrative of Russian memory policy are shown. It was revealed that the family memory of “centennials” mediates the individual's connection not with individual social groups, formed in the form of mnemonic communities, but with the community of memory of an indefinite set of people, which can be correlated with the category of “people” as a state-civil community
DEVELOPMENT OF THE POTENTIAL OF INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGIES IN MANAGING THE SECURITY OF A MODERN CITY
Authors:   Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation, GARAGANOV A.V.
Published: June 2024

The article examines current challenges related to ensuring security and efficient functioning of urban infrastructure. The author analyzes the potential of smart technologies, such as video surveillance, data analytics, artificial intelligence and the Internet of things, in the context of creating innovative solutions for the management and development of the urban environment. The history of urban safety management, ethical and legal issues, as well as prospects for the development of smart technologies in this area, including smart transport management, the use of Big Data and analytics, the development of drones and autonomous systems, and the creation of ethical standards are briefly described.
SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES OF PATRIOTIC EDUCATION IN MODERN RUSSIA
Authors:   Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation, DENIKIN A.V. , DENIKINA Z.D.
Published: June 2024

This article studies social technologies used in modern Russia for patriotic education. The purpose of the study is to analyze the effectiveness of techniques of patriotic education and to assess the attitude of the population of different age groups to this type of education. The study is based on the results of a survey conducted among different age groups. The results of the survey allow us to get an idea of the opinion of the population of different age groups regarding patriotic education in modern Russia. They are applicable for the development and adaptation of patriotic education programs that take into account the preferences and opinions of different age groups, as well as for a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of the activities carried out.
THE TEACHING OF DOUBLE EFFECT AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Authors:   Elabuga Institute of Kazan Federal University, Elabuga, Russian Federation, GORYACHEV A.YU. , SMIRNOV S.V.
Published: June 2024

This paper explores the possibility of applying existing ethical principles to artificial intelligence learning algorithms. The processes controlled by artificial intelligence will have a significant impact on the lives of all people in the future. Decision-making without consideration of moral and ethical principles may lead to catastrophic consequences not only as direct damage, but also in the form of degradation of certain ethical norms in general. An attempt to directly transfer universal moral principles to the ethics of artificial intelligence may lead to insurmountable obstacles due to the nature of artificial intelligence.
IMPLEMENTATION OF LEGISLATION ON EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES ON THE TERRITORY OF “NEW SUBJECTS” IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERAL STATE
Authors:   Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation, PAVLIKOV S.G.
Published: June 2024

The article analyzes the process of integration of the educational system of the “new subjects” (DPR, LPR, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions) into the Russian educational system. On this basis, on the one hand, the specifics are revealed, on the other hand, the universal possibilities of implementing Russian laws, taking into account regional and “profile” specifics, including on the territory of “new subjects” where martial law is in effect.
THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN’S PUBLIC DIPLOMACY: MAIN FEATURES AND PROSPECTS
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University (SPbSU), Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, MESHCHERYAKOV K.E. , LEKSYUTINA YA.V. ,   Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation, ROZMETOV A.S. , KUANYSHBEK A.K.
Published: June 2024

The article aims to create a comprehensive view of Kazakhstan’s public diplomacy among the readership. It concludes that this phenomenon originated in the first decades of the existence of the Kazakh Khanate. At a time when the Kazakh lands were part of the Russian Empire and the USSR, the Kazakh people had no opportunity to pursue an independent foreign policy, the only element of which was public diplomacy. The revival of national public diplomacy became possible after Kazakhstan gained independence in 1991. For the last three decades, the main objective of Kazakhstan’s public diplomacy has been to create a positive international image of a newly independent Kazakhstani State and help its economy attract foreign investments. Such guidelines were designed to make favorable conditions for ensuring the socio-economic development of the country and the implementation of its foreign policy goals. Nowadays, Kazakhstan’s public diplomacy has three dimensions: political, economic and cultural, the main one of which is political. In the foreseeable future, Astana will remain interested in the active use of public diplomacy tools, in strengthening its status as one of the world’s best masters in this field.
COMPUTER SIMULATION OF LI AND BE WETTING LAYERS ON THE SI (100) SURFACE
Authors:   Khabarovsk branch at Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Khabarovsk, Russian Federation, ZAVODINSKY V.G. , GORKUSHA O.A. , PLUSNIN N.I. ,   Military Academy of Communications named after Marshal of the Soviet Union S.M. Budyonny, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
Published: June 2024

Within the framework of the of density functionality theory and the pseudopotential method, the atomic and electronic structure of the two-dimensional Li-Si and Be-Si systems forming on the Si (100) surface is calculated, with a metal thickness of one to three monolayers (ML). At the first ML, the formation of ordered silicide wetting layer of Li (with atoms embedded inside the top layer Si) and Be (with atoms embedded between the top two Si layers) was detected. At 2 ML, the systems are modified: Li atoms occupy positions between the top two Si layers, and Be atoms rise at positions above the top Si layer. After that, with a coating thickness of 3 ML, in the case of Li, a continuous disordered wetting layer is formed, and in the case of Be, a wetting layer in the form of disordered chains along the length. At 1 ML, an energy gap appears in the electronic structure of the studied systems in the density of electronic states near the Fermi level, the width of which is 1.02 eV and 0.36 eV, respectively, for Li-Si and Be-Si systems. Then the gap disappears, first for the lithium system (at 2 ML), and then, for the beryllium system (at 3 ML).
AN OVERVIEW OF THE SIMULATION CAPABILITIES FOR OPTIMIZING THE OPERATION OF THE SEAPORT IN THE ANYLOGIC ENVIRONMENT
Authors:   Admiral G.I. Nevelsky Maritime State University, Vladivostok, Russian Federation, SHEVCHENKO A.M. , DYDA A.A.
Published: June 2024

Globalization and containerization have significantly increased the volume of shipping in international trade. A seaport is a critical component in maritime transportation. Currently, the main focus for the effective functioning of commercial ports is focused on the use of the latest information technologies. Information support of the port operation is a difficult task for a variety of reasons, the main of which is the external influence on the internal operations of the port and its overall efficiency. Simulation modeling is the most suitable tool for analyzing such a complex interaction. The article defines the characteristic features describing the specifics of the seaport operation in the AnyLogic simulation program. Various possibilities of using the established simulation model are shown to determine the limitations in the size of the throughput and processing capacity of the seaport, substantiate the need to create a “dry” port and select its main parameters.
NON-ITERATIVE CALCULATION OF PARAMETERS OF A LINEAR CLASSIFIER WITH A THRESHOLD ACTIVATION FUNCTION
Authors:   FractalTech LLC, Taganrog, Rostov region, Russian Federation, PONIMASH Z.A. , POTANIN M.V.
Published: June 2024

The relevance of artificial intelligence (AI) systems is growing every year. AI is being introduced into various fields of activity. One of the main technologies used in AI is artificial neural networks (hereinafter referred to as NN). With the help of neural networks, a huge class of problems is solved, such as classification, regression, autoregression, clustering, noise reduction, creating a vector representation of objects, and others. In this work, we consider the simplest case of operation of one neuron with the Heaviside activation function, we also consider fast ways to train it, and we reduce the learning problem to the problem of finding the normal vector to the separating hyperplane and the displacement weight. One of the promising areas for training NN is non-iterative training, especially in the context of processing and analyzing high-dimensional data. This article discusses a method of non-iterative learning, which allows you to greatly (by 1-2 orders of magnitude) speed up the training of one neuron. The peculiarity of the approach is to determine the hyperplane separating two classes of objects in the feature space, without the need for repeated recalculation of weights, which is typical for traditional iterative methods. Within the framework of the study, special attention is paid to cases when the main axes of the ellipsoids describing the classes are parallel. The function pln is defined to calculate the distances between objects and the centers of their classes, based on which the non-normalized normal vector to the hyperplane and the displacement weight are calculated. In addition, we provide a comparison of our method with support vector machines and logistic regression.
PRODUCTIVE METHODS FOR INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF INTERMEDIATE REACTIONS IN THE SYNTHESIS OF FUNCTIONAL CERAMICS
Authors:   Institute of Materials Science of the SPA “Physics-Sun” of the Academy of Science of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan, RAKHIMOV R.KH. , PANKOV V.V. ,   Belarusian State University, Minsk, Republic of Belarus, MAKHNACH L.V.
Published: June 2024

This study focuses on investigating the potential of modified ceramic technology methods for producing composition materials with nano-level heterogeneity, approximating the properties of functional ceramics (FC) obtained through helio-technology. Three different powder synthesis methods were utilized: oxide method, ceramic technology, and sol-gel technology. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy analyses were employed to compare the microstructure of powders obtained by these methods with samples synthesized using helio-technology. The results revealed that powders obtained through modified ceramic technology methods exhibited a more homogeneous structure and smaller particle size compared to those obtained through helio-technology. Nano-sized, metastable, and amorphous phases formed at the boundaries of such powders are considered responsible for the generation of pulsed infrared radiation. These findings have significant practical implications in various fields that require composition materials with controlled properties and the ability to generate pulsed infrared radiation.
VISUALIZATION OF MICROSERVICES-BASED INFORMATION SYSTEM ARCHITECTURES USING OPENTELEMETRY DATA
Authors:   Bunin Yelets State University, Yelets, Russia, KORNIENKO D.V. , NIKULIN A.V.
Published: June 2024

Within the framework of the presented article, the relevance and necessity of solving the problem of visualizing the architecture of information systems based on microservices is substantiated. This task is especially significant both for the process of developing new systems and for optimizing the operation of existing ones. To provide comprehensive and balanced up-to-date information about the structure and interaction of microservices, an approach is required that is focused on automatically collecting and processing information about the relationships between microservices and their internal structure for the purpose of subsequent visualization of architectural diagrams. The authors found that specialized software trace logs provide sufficient information for visualizing the architecture. In their article, the authors took a closer look at tracing issues in the context of OpenTelemetry, an open-source project designed specifically for collecting telemetry data from software and then analyzing it. The authors proposed the C4 model as a means for visualizing architecture. The C4 model is a relatively new approach to modeling software systems, which involves the development and representation of context, containers, components, code and their relationships. The main task that the authors set for themselves is to automate the process of creating C4 model diagrams based on data received from OpenTelemetry. This approach will significantly simplify the process of understanding the structure and dynamics of interaction between microservices within the system. The key result of the research is the development of algorithms for collecting and converting trace data to create C4 diagrams, as well as the creation of appropriate software that implements these algorithms.
FOLDING AND OPERATION DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR REPAIR SYSTEMS
Authors:   Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation, ZAPARIY V.V.
Published: June 2024

This article examines the mechanisms of the formation and functioning of the post-war reparations system in the last period of the Great Patriotic War. Based on recently declassified GKO documents, a description of the forms and methods of work of the military bodies of our country in this direction is given. Quite debatable conclusions are being made that reparations in the short term after the war gave significant increases in industrial production, however, after some time, they became, to some extent, a technical and technological brake on the further development of Soviet industry.
Glycyrrhiza uralensis polysaccharides ameliorates cecal ligation and puncture-induced sepsis by inhibiting the cGAS-STING signaling pathway
Authors: Hui Siwen , Kan Wen , Qin Shuanglin , He Ping , Zhao Jia , Li Hui , Bai Jun , Wen Jincai , Mou Wenqing , Hou Manting , Wei Ziying , Lin Li , Xiao Xiaohe , Xu Guang , Bai Zhaofang
Published: June 2024

Graphical Abstract

GUP can effectively inhibit the activation of cGAS-STING pathway induced by multiple stimuli and reduce the expression of type I interferon and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Meanwhile GUP also has a good therapeutic effect on sepsis contributed to cecum ligation and puncture.
Prediction of Hippocampal Signals in Mice Using a Deep Learning Approach for Neurohybrid Technology Applications
Authors: Lebedeva Albina V. , Samburova Margarita I. , Razin Vyacheslav V. , Gromov Nikolay V. , Gerasimova Svetlana A. , Levanova Tatiana A. , Smirnov Lev A. , Pisarchik Alexander N.
Published: June 2024

The increasing growth in knowledge about the functioning of the nervous system of mammals and humans, as well as the significant neuromorphic technology developments in recent decades, has led to the emergence of a large number of brain–computer interfaces and neuroprosthetics for regenerative medicine tasks. Neurotechnologies have traditionally been developed for therapeutic purposes to help or replace motor, sensory or cognitive abilities damaged by injury or disease. They also have significant potential for memory enhancement. However, there are still no fully developed neurotechnologies and neural interfaces capable of restoring or expanding cognitive functions, in particular memory, in mammals or humans. In this regard, the search for new technologies in the field of the restoration of cognitive functions is an urgent task of modern neurophysiology, neurotechnology and artificial intelligence. The hippocampus is an important brain structure connected to memory and information processing in the brain. The aim of this paper is to propose an approach based on deep neural networks for the prediction of hippocampal signals in the CA1 region based on received biological input in the CA3 region. We compare the results of prediction for two widely used deep architectures: reservoir computing (RC) and long short-term memory (LSTM) networks. The proposed study can be viewed as a first step in the complex task of the development of a neurohybrid chip, which allows one to restore memory functions in the damaged rodent hippocampus.
Functional Analysis of the Apple SPS Gene Family in Response to Abiotic Stresses
Authors: Yang Shangwen , Feng Yongqing , Cao Xuejing , Hu Huanhuan , Yang Jinghua , Li Wenfang , Hou Yingjun , Ma Zonghuan
Published: June 2024

Sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) is an important link in the process of sugar metabolism. In addition, it is also involved in abiotic stresses in plants. In order to study the SPS gene family and its role in abiotic stress, we identified the MdSPS gene family members by bioinformatics methods such as correlation analysis, the HMM method, and the Clustering method, and analyzed the transient expression of MdSPS genes by quantitative real-time fluorescence analysis (qRT-PCR). The MdSPS gene family consists of a total of 19 members divided into three subfamilies distributed on 14 chromosomes in apples. The MdSPS gene family has 12 collinearity gene pairs, indicating significant duplication. Most members of this family contain a large number of plant hormone response elements, light-inducible elements, and abiotic stress response elements 2kb upstream of the promoter. Codon bias analysis shows that there are 28 high-frequency codons and no codons with strong preference in this family. Gene chip results showed that only MdSPS2, MdSPS3, MdSPS11, and MdSPS17 were up-regulated in roots, and they were all members of subfamily C. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that all members of this family responded significantly to drought stress, salt stress, and low temperature stress. Interestingly, the relative expression of MdSPS12 was significantly down-regulated under salt stress and low temperature stress. In addition, the expression of MdSPS3, MdSPS8, MdSPS11, and MdSPS17 was more than 20 fold higher than that of the control under drought stress, salt stress, and low temperature stress. These four genes could be candidates for molecular breeding in the MdSPS family.
Modeling Gross Primary Production (GPP) of a Mediterranean Grassland in Central Spain Using Sentinel-2 NDVI and Meteorological Field Information
Authors: Cicuéndez Víctor , Inclán Rosa , Sánchez-Cañete Enrique P. , Román-Cascón Carlos , Sáenz César , Yagüe Carlos
Published: June 2024

Mediterranean grasslands provide different ecosystems and social and economic services to the Mediterranean basin. Specifically, in Spain, pastures occupy more than 55% of the Spanish surface. Farmers and policymakers need to estimate the Gross Primary Production (GPP) to make sustainable management of these ecosystems and to study the role of grasslands acting as sinks or sources of Carbon in the context of climate change. High-frequency satellites, such as Sentinel-2, have opened the door to study GPP with a higher spatial and lower revisit time (10 m and 5 days). Therefore, the overall objective of this research is to estimate an ecosystem light use efficiency (eLUE) GPP model for a Mediterranean grassland in central Spain using Sentinel-2 NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), complemented with meteorological information at the field scale for a relatively long period (from January 2018 to July 2020). The GPP models studied in this research were the MODIS GPP product, as well as the four eLUE models built with MODIS or Sentinel-2 NDVI and complemented by the inclusion of minimum temperature (Tmin) and soil water content (SWC). The models were validated through the GPP obtained from an eddy-covariance flux tower located in the study site (GPP_T). Results showed that the MODIS GPP product underestimated the GPP_T of the grassland ecosystem. Besides this, the approach of the eLUE concept was valid for estimating GPP in this Mediterranean grassland ecosystem. In addition, the models showed an improvement using Sentinel-2 NDVI compared to MODIS GPP product and compared to the models that used MODIS NDVI due to its higher spatial and temporal resolution. The inclusion of Tmin and SWC was also a determinant in improving GPP models during winter and summer periods. This work also illustrates how the main wind directions of the study area must be considered to appropriately estimate the footprint of the eddy covariance flux tower. In conclusion, this study is the first step to efficiently estimating the GPP of Mediterranean grasslands using the Sentinel-2 NDVI with complementary meteorological field information to make the management of these ecosystems sustainable.
Classification of Rice Seeds Grown in Different Geographical Environments: An Approach Based on Improved Residual Networks
Authors: Yu Helong , Chen Zhenyang , Song Shaozhong , Chen Mojun , Yang Chenglin
Published: June 2024

Rice is one of the most important crops for food supply, and there are multiple differences in the quality of rice in different geographic regions, which have a significant impact on subsequent yields and economic benefits. The traditional rice identification methods are time-consuming, inefficient, and delicate. This study proposes a deep learning-based method for fast and non-destructive classification of rice grown in different geographic environments. The experiment collected rice with the name of Ji-Japonica 830 from 10 different regions, and a total of 10,600 rice grains were obtained, and the fronts and backsides of the seeds were photographed with a camera in batches, and a total of 30,000 images were obtained by preprocessing the data. The proposed improved residual network architecture, High-precision Residual Network (HResNet), was used to compare the performance of the models. The results showed that HResNet obtained the highest classification accuracy result of 95.13%, which is an improvement of 7.56% accuracy with respect to the original model, and validation showed that HResNet achieves a 98.7% accuracy in the identification of rice grown in different soil classes. The experimental results show that the proposed network model can effectively recognize and classify rice grown in different soil categories. It can provide a reference for the identification of other crops and can be applied for consumer and food industry use.
15N Isotope Labeled Tracking of the Nitrogen Utilization of Apple under Water and Nitrogen Coupling Application in Arid and Semiarid Areas
Authors: Lan Guanquecailang , Feng Yongqing , Ma Weifeng , Feng Tong , Lu Yang , Mao Juan , Chen Baihong
Published: June 2024

In order to solve the problem of water waste and environmental pollution in arid and semiarid areas, this study aimed to investigate the effects of different water and nitrogen treatments on the growth of apple leaves, photosynthetic physiology, nutrient uptake and nitrogen use efficiency. A two-factor experimental design was used in this experiment. The first factor was three levels of irrigation (40–50%, 50–65%, 65–80% RWC, relative water content) and the second factor was four levels of nitrogen application (0, 150, 300, 600 kg/ha), which were a completely randomized combination. The results showed that irrigation and nitrogen application had significant effects on the growth, photosynthetic rate, chlorophyl and mineral element contents of apple tree leaves, but excessive input of water and nitrogen would restrain the growth of apple tree leaves. The Ndff% of different organs for apple trees were evaluated by 15N isotope tracer technology, and the highest Ndff% value was found in leaves, ranging from 1.01–1.23‰. Next were roots with 0.29–0.43‰, and the lowest Ndff% was found in fruits with 0.03–0.08‰. The calculation results of 15N utilization in apple trees showed that nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) under the medium-water low nitrogen (W1N1) treatment had the highest value with 43.33%. In conclusion, considering the growth physiology and nitrogen utilization of apple trees, it is recommended that a water and fertilizer coupling combination scheme for apple trees in arid and semi-arid areas of the Loess Plateau should be that of a medium-water and medium-nitrogen mode (W1N2, 50–65% RWC, 300 kg/ha).
Animal Pose Estimation Based on Contrastive Learning with Dynamic Conditional Prompts
Authors: Hu Xiaoling , Liu Chang
Published: June 2024

Traditional animal pose estimation techniques based on images face significant hurdles, including scarce training data, costly data annotation, and challenges posed by non-rigid deformation. Addressing these issues, we proposed dynamic conditional prompts for the prior knowledge of animal poses in language modalities. Then, we utilized a multimodal (language–image) collaborative training and contrastive learning model to estimate animal poses. Our method leverages text prompt templates and image feature conditional tokens to construct dynamic conditional prompts that integrate rich linguistic prior knowledge in depth. The text prompts highlight key points and relevant descriptions of animal poses, enhancing their representation in the learning process. Meanwhile, transformed via a fully connected non-linear network, image feature conditional tokens efficiently embed the image features into these prompts. The resultant context vector, derived from the fusion of the text prompt template and the image feature conditional token, generates a dynamic conditional prompt for each input sample. By utilizing a contrastive language–image pre-training model, our approach effectively synchronizes and strengthens the training interactions between image and text features, resulting in an improvement to the precision of key-point localization and overall animal pose estimation accuracy. The experimental results show that language–image contrastive learning based on dynamic conditional prompts enhances the average accuracy of animal pose estimation on the AP-10K and Animal Pose datasets.
Supplementing Monosodium Glutamate in Sow Diets Enhances Reproductive Performance in Lactating Sows and Improves the Growth of Suckling Piglets
Authors: Li Tian Xiang , Kim In Ho
Published: June 2024

In most current farm operations, lactating sows need to overcome reproductive and environmental stresses that have resulted in poor sow production performance and piglet growth. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of in-feed supplementation of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in sows during late gestation lactation in regard to litter performance. The study subjects were 12 multi-parity sows (Landrace × Large White), farrowing sows with an average parity of four (three with three parities, seven with four parities, and two with five parities). They were randomly divided into the following two diet groups: the basal diet as a control (CON) group based on corn and soybean meal; and the basal diet + 2% MSG group. The experimental time ranged from 109 days before delivery to 21 days after delivery. There were six sows in each group, and each sow served as the experimental unit. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in body weight (BW), back fat (BF) thickness and estrus interval between sows supplemented with 2% MSG in their diets before and after farrowing and during weaning (p > 0.05). However, MSG-treated sows tended to increase BW loss at farrowing more than the CON group (p = 0.093) but lost less weight during lactation than the CON group (p = 0.019). There were no significant differences in the body condition scores (BCSs) and BF loss of the two groups of sows before and after farrowing and at weaning (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the weight of newborn piglets between the two groups of sows (p > 0.05). The weaning weight (p = 0.020) and average daily gain (ADG) (p = 0.045) of suckling piglets were higher in the MSG treated group compared to the CON group. The daily milk production of sows in the MSG treatment group was higher compared to the CON group (p = 0.045). The protein concentration of milk at week 3 (p = 0.060) and fat concentration of milk at week 5 (p = 0.095) of the MSG-supplemented sows tended to increase more than the CON group. In summary, the dietary inclusion of MSG supplementation had a beneficial effect on the late gestating sows and their piglet’s growth and milk production. Our research has shown that the addition of 2% MSG in late gestation and lactation diet would be beneficial for both sow and piglet production.
m6A Methylation Mediates the Function of the circRNA-08436/miR-195/ELOVL6 Axis in Regards to Lipid Metabolism in Dairy Goat Mammary Glands
Authors: Wang Yu , Wu Yanni , Yang Sitian , Gao Rui , Lv Xiaoyang , Yang Zhangping , Jiao Peixin , Zhang Ning , Loor Juan J. , Chen Zhi
Published: June 2024

The nutritional value of goat milk is determined by the composition of its fatty acids, with particular importance placed on the role of unsaturated fatty acids in promoting human health. CircRNAs have been known to affect fatty acid metabolism through different pathways. In this study, high-throughput sequencing was employed to construct expression profiles of mammary tissue harvested during the dry period and peak lactation stages of dairy goats. Differentially expressed circRNAs and mRNAs were screened, revealing significantly higher expression levels of circRNA-08436 and ELOVL6 during the peak lactation period compared with the dry period. Thus, circRNA-08436 and ELOVL6 were chosen for subsequent studies. The findings demonstrated that circRNA-08436 not only promotes the synthesis of triglyceride (TAG) and cholesterol in goat mammary epithelial cells (GMECs), but also increases the concentrations of saturated fatty acids in the cells. Through the utilization of software prediction, the dual luciferase reporter system, and qRT-PCR, it was observed that circRNA-08436 binds to miR-195, with its overexpression reducing the expression levels of miR-195 and inhibiting TAG synthesis. In addition, circRNA-08436 upregulated the expression levels of the miR-195 target gene ELOVL6. The data also revealed that YTHDC1 facilitated the transport of circRNA-08436 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, while YTHDC2 in the cytoplasm functioned as a “reader” to identify and degrade circRNA-08436. Taken together, these findings contribute to a better understanding of the molecular regulation of fatty acid metabolism in the mammary glands of dairy goats, thus offering a sound theoretical basis for the production of high-quality goat milk.
Utilizing Geographical Distribution Statistical Data to Improve Zero-Shot Species Recognition
Authors: Liu Lei , Han Boxun , Chen Feixiang , Mou Chao , Xu Fu
Published: June 2024

Species recognition is a crucial part of understanding the abundance and distribution of various organisms and is important for biodiversity conservation and management. Traditional vision-based deep learning-driven species recognition requires large amounts of well-labeled, high-quality image data, the collection of which is challenging for rare and endangered species. In addition, recognition methods designed based on specific species have poor generalization ability and are difficult to adapt to new species recognition scenarios. To address these issues, zero-shot species recognition based on Contrastive Language–Image Pre-training (CLIP) has become a research hotspot. However, previous studies have primarily utilized visual descriptive information and taxonomic information of species to improve zero-shot recognition performance, and the use of geographic distribution characteristics of species to improve zero-shot recognition performance has not been explored. To fill this gap, we proposed a CLIP-driven zero-shot species recognition method that incorporates knowledge of the geographic distribution of species. First, we designed three prompts based on the species geographic distribution statistical data. Then, the latitude and longitude coordinate information attached to each image in the species dataset was converted into addresses, and they were integrated together to form the geographical distribution knowledge of each species. Finally, species recognition results were derived by calculating the similarity after acquiring features by the trained CLIP image encoder and text encoder. We conducted extensive experiments on multiple species datasets from the iNaturalist 2021 dataset, where the zero-shot recognition accuracies of mammals, mollusks, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and insects were 44.96%, 15.27%, 17.51%, 9.47%, 28.35%, and 7.03%, an improvement of 2.07%, 0.48%, 0.35%, 1.12%, 1.64%, and 0.61%, respectively, as compared to CLIP with default prompt. The experimental results show that the fusion of geographic distribution statistical data can effectively improve the performance of zero-shot species recognition, which provides a new way to utilize species domain knowledge.
Embodied Communication, Sensed Atmospheres, Joint Situations: Human–Horse Encounters from a Neophenomenological Perspective
Authors: Pütz Robert
Published: June 2024

This article shows that the German philosopher Hermann Schmitz’s new phenomenology can make a valuable contribution to human–animal studies. The three concepts suitable for this purpose are, first, Schmitz’s concept of embodied communication, which can be applied to trans-species encounters; second, his understanding of atmospheres, which are always co-communicated in trans-species encounters; and, third, his conception of situation, which can help with analyzing the relationship of society to animals. My contribution applies these three basic elements of new phenomenology—embodied communication, atmosphere, and situation—to the analysis of the encounters between humans and horses. This paper demonstrates that embodied communication in particular is not only a worthwhile object of research but can also serve as a mode of producing scientific insight.
Two-Dimensional Amphibian Diversity along a 3500 m Elevational Gradient at the Eastern Edge of the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau
Authors: Tang Jiaxing , Cui Jiaxin , Wang Gang , Jiang Yong , Zhou Huaming , Jiang Jianping , Xie Feng , Wang Jie , Chen Guiying
Published: June 2024

Amphibians serve as reliable indicators of ecosystem health and are the most threatened group of vertebrates. Studies on their spatial distribution pattern and threats are crucial to formulate conservation strategies. Gongga Mountains, with a peak at 7509 m a.s.l. and running latitudinally, are in the center of the Hengduan Mountains Range and at the eastern steep edge of the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau, providing heterogeneous habitats and varied niches for amphibians. In this study, we combined 83 days of field work with information from 3894 museum specimens that were collected over the past 80 years, and identified twenty amphibian species belonging to seven families and twelve genera by morphology. Of these species, seven were listed in the threatened categories of the Red List of China’s Biodiversity and thirteen were endemic to China. Ten species were found on the plateau side (western slope) and eleven species were found on the other side close to the Sichuan Basin (eastern slope). Only one species was found on both sides, indicating different community structures horizontally. The species richness was unimodal vertically and peaking at mid elevation on both sides, with the maximum number (ten vs. nine) of species occurring at 3300–3700 vs. 1700–1900 m a.s.l. and in different types of vegetation. The elevation span and body length of species distributed on both slopes did not show significant differences. These findings help to understand the horizontal and vertical distribution pattern of amphibian diversity, laying a foundation for future biogeographical and conservation research in this area.