Search Results (150)

The consumption of aquaculture products and, in turn, the importance of the aquaculture industry are increasing with the depletion of global fishery resources. In the flow-through aquaculture systems used in Korea, olive flounders are overcrowded near the central outlet, causing stress, and the sharp central outlet hole injures the olive flounders. Therefore, in this study, we propose a central outlet cap that can prevent overcrowding and injuries in olive flounders near the central outlet in a flow-through aquaculture system. An L₂₇(3⁵) orthogonal array was constructed using five central outlet cap design variables, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed for each experimental point. The pressure drop between the tank inlet and the central outlet was evaluated, and the experimental point with the highest pressure drop was identified. In addition, the internal fluid velocity of the experimental point with the highest pressure drop value was confirmed to be improved compared to the initial flow-through aquaculture system. The central outlet cap designed in this study is expected to be economically beneficial to aquaculture by reducing the overcrowding of olive flounder and preventing injury to olive flounder while improving the internal fluid velocity. Full article

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continue to pose a threat to public health. Although their impact on the workforce is widely recognized, there needs to be more understanding of how NCDs affect peace and security, particularly in low-middle-income countries. To address this, we conducted a scoping review and presented a narrative to explore how NCDs in the workforce threaten peace and security. Out of 570 papers screened, 34 articles, comprising 26 peer review and 8 grey literature, met the study criteria. Our findings reveal that while no study has drawn a direct relationship between NCDs in the workforce in LMICs and peace and security, several studies have demonstrated a relationship between NCDs and economic growth on one hand and economic growth and peace and security on the other. Therefore, using economic growth as a proximal factor, our findings show three pathways that link NCDs in the workforce to peace and security: (i) NCDs lead to low productivity and poor economic growth, which can threaten public peace and security; (ii) NCDs in the workforce can result in long-term care needs, which then puts pressure on public resources and have implications for public expenditure on peace and security; and (iii) household expenditures on caring for a family member with an NCD can destabilize families and create an unfavourable condition that threatens peace and security. This research highlights the dual threat of NCDs to health and security, as they impact human resources and community structures crucial for peace and security. The results underscore the importance of considering the workplace as a strategic setting for NCD prevention, which will have long-term implications for economic growth and peace and security. Full article

Background: The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency has been a growing concern in recent years. Vitamin D is important in many of the body’s physiological systems, such as the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and immune functions. A deficiency of vitamin D in athletes may negatively impact both muscle functions and recovery and, thus, affect performance and increase the risk of injury. Many studies assessed the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in athletes; however, as of today, there are no official recommendations/protocols for screening vitamin D levels in athletes, and only a few studies were performed in male and female elite athletes (i.e., Olympic level), in different sport disciplines. Method: We investigated the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among athletes entering the Israeli Olympic team. A total of 761 samples of Vitamin D(OH)25 from 334 athletes were analyzed. For this analysis, we used the first test the athlete had performed when joining the Olympic team. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (<50 nmol/L, as defined by the Endocrine Society Committee) was investigated according to gender, types of sports and outdoor vs. indoor sports through the different seasons of the Israeli Olympic team athletes. Result: Twenty-five athletes (7.5%) were diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency. One hundred and thirty-one athletes (39.2%) had insufficient levels of vitamin D (50–75 nmol/L). The highest incidence of vitamin D deficiency was found amongst gymnastics and combat sport athletes. A significant difference was also found in vitamin D concentration between seasons. Vitamin D average concentration in the winter was 74.1 nmol/L compared to 86.4 nmol/L in the Summer (p < 0.0005). Conclusions: Due to the importance of vitamin D to athletic performance and the high prevalence of deficiency and insufficiency, we suggest careful and frequent monitoring of groups at risk, including elite athletes, especially in susceptible sports and during the winter. Future studies are necessary to investigate the effectiveness of Vitamin D supplementation in athletes with low baseline vitamin D levels. Full article

This paper proposes an innovative approach capitalized on the distinctive characteristics of command and control (C&C) beacons, namely, time intervals and frequency between consecutive unique connections, to compress the network flow dataset. While previous studies on the same matter used single technique, we propose a multi-technique approach for efficient detection of DoH tunnels. We use a baseline public dataset, CIRA-CIC-DoHBrw-2020, containing over a million network flow properties and statistical features of DoH, tunnels, benign DoH and normal browsing (HTTPS) traffic. Each sample is represented by 33 features with a timestamp. Our methodology combines star graph and bar plot visualizations with supervised and unsupervised learning techniques. The approach underscores the importance of C&C beacon characteristic features in compressing a dataset and reducing a flow dimension while enabling efficient detection of DoH tunnels. Through compression, the original dataset size and dimensions are reduced by approximately $95\%$ and $94\%$ respectively. For supervised learning, RF emerges as the top-performing algorithm, attaining precision and recall scores of 100% each, with speed increase of $\approx 6796$ times faster in training and $\approx 55$ in testing. For anomaly detection models, OCSVM emerges as the most suitable choice for this purpose, with precision (88.89) and recall (100). Star graph and bar graph models also show a clear difference between normal traffic and DoH tunnels. The reduction in flow sample size and dimension, while maintaining accuracy, holds promise for edge networks with constrained resources and aids security analysts in interpreting complex ML models to identify Indicators of Compromise (IoC). Full article

Women’s empowerment and health literacy are essential for fostering community well-being. Empowering women through education and diverse training plays a crucial role in ensuring their prosperity and overall health. This study investigates the satisfaction and experiences of underprivileged rural mothers participating in a functional literacy education program in the Kailali district, Nepal. We assess participants’ perceptions of program effectiveness, examining training content, facilities, and trainers while exploring menstrual hygiene practices and maternal health awareness. Through convenience sampling, 141 underprivileged women from five rural villages near Tikapur were selected from literacy centers run by Mahima Group. Utilizing structured questionnaires and statistical analyses, including descriptive analyses, Spearman’s rho correlation, and Pearson’s chi-square test, we found that 65.2% of participants expressed high satisfaction levels. Moreover, 96.5% found the program highly effective, with 97.9% reporting improved literacy skills and 96.5% demonstrating increased awareness of menstrual hygiene practices. Additionally, 97.2% agreed that the program enhanced maternal and child health knowledge. Significant correlations were observed among the training course, facilities, trainers, and overall training perception. In line with this, significant associations were found between age groups (p = 0.003) and geographical areas (p = 0.023) with satisfaction levels with the literacy program. These results underscore the satisfaction of participants within the literacy program and its impact on their lives, and advocates for its broader implementation to empower marginalized communities for sustainable development. Full article

The aim of this study is to determine the total iodine content in Korean abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) and to investigate the bioavailability of iodine using an in vitro method. This research paper focuses on total iodine quantification in abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) and its components (viscera and muscle) using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Additionally, an in vitro bioavailability study explored iodine absorption potential. Abalone pretreatment involved both the European standard method (ES) and microwave-assisted extraction method (MAE). The limits of detection (LOD) were 0.11 ng/g for both ES and MAE, with a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 5.4 ng/g for MAE. Accuracy, assessed using a reference material (fish muscle, ERM—BB422), showed values of 1.5 ± 0.010 mg/kg for ES and 1.6 ± 0.066 mg/kg for MAE, within an acceptable range of 1.4 ± 0.42 mg/kg. Precision, evaluated using the Horwitz ratio (HorRat) with a reference material, was determined to be 0.45 for ES and 0.27 for MAE. Therefore, total iodine contents were estimated as 74 ± 2.2 µg/g for abalone viscera and 17 ± 0.77 µg/g for abalone muscle with ES, and 76 ± 1.0 µg/g for abalone viscera and 17 ± 0.51 µg/g for abalone muscle with MAE. Recovery tests demonstrated an acceptable range of 90–110%. In the in vitro bioavailability assessment, digestion efficiency yielded ranges of 42–50.2% for viscera and 67–115% for muscle. Absorption efficiency variations were determined as 37–43% for viscera and 48–75% for muscle. Full article

The genus Angelica comprises various species utilized for diverse medicinal purposes, with differences attributed to the varying levels or types of inherent chemical components in each species. This study employed DNA barcode analysis and HPLC analysis to genetically authenticate and chemically classify eight medicinal Angelica species (n = 106) as well as two non-medicinal species (n = 14) that have been misused. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region revealed differences ranging from 11 to 117 bp, while psbA-trnH showed variances of 3 to 95 bp, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis grouped all samples except Angelica sinensis into the same cluster, with some counterfeits forming separate clusters. Verification using the NCBI database confirmed the feasibility of species identification. For chemical identification, a robust quantitative HPLC analysis method was developed for 46 marker compounds. Subsequently, two A. reflexa-specific and seven A. biserrata-specific marker compounds were identified, alongside non-specific markers. Moreover, chemometric clustering analysis reflecting differences in chemical content between species revealed that most samples formed distinct clusters according to the plant species. However, some samples formed mixed clusters containing different species. These findings offer crucial insights for the standardization and quality control of medicinal Angelica species. Full article

Objective and objectives: Patients with cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) frequently exhibit depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms can be evaluated with various measures and questionnaires. The geriatric depression scale (GDS) is a scale that can be used to measure symptoms in geriatric age. Many questionnaires sum up symptom scales. However, core symptoms of depression in these patients and connections between these symptoms have not been fully explored yet. Thus, the objectives of this study were (1) to determine core symptoms of two cognitive disorders, Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment, and (2) to investigate the network structure of depressive symptomatology in individuals with cognitive impairment in comparison with those with Alzheimer’s disease. Materials and Methods: This study encompassed 5354 patients with cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer’s disease (n 1889) and mild cognitive impairment (n = 3464). The geriatric depression scale, a self-administered questionnaire, was employed to assess depressive symptomatology. Using exploratory graph analysis (EGA), a network analysis was conducted, and the network structure was evaluated through regularized partial correlation models. To determine the centrality of depressive symptoms within each cohort, network parameters such as strength, betweenness, and closeness were examined. Additionally, to explore differences in the network structure between Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment groups, a network comparison test was performed. Results: In the analysis of centrality indices, “worthlessness” was identified as the most central symptom in the geriatric depression scale among patients with Alzheimer’s disease, whereas “emptiness” was found to be the most central symptom in patients with mild cognitive impairment. Despite these differences in central symptoms, the comparative analysis showed no statistical difference in the overall network structure between Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment groups. Conclusions: Findings of this study could contribute to a better understanding of the manifestation of depressive symptoms in patients with cognitive impairment. These results are expected to aid in identifying and prioritizing core symptoms in these patients. Further research should be conducted to explore potential interventions tailored to these core symptoms in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment. Establishing core symptoms in those groups might have clinical importance in that appropriate treatment for neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with cognitive impairment could help preclude progression to further impairment. Full article

Background: We aimed to evaluate whether the administration of remimazolam as a maintenance agent for general anesthesia affects the occurrence of hypotension compared with sevoflurane when switching to the beach chair position (BCP). Methods: We conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial from June 2023 to October 2023 in adult patients undergoing orthopedic surgery under general anesthesia in the BCP. A total of 78 participants were randomly allocated to the remimazolam (R) or sevoflurane (S) groups. The primary outcome was the incidence of hypotension that occurred immediately after switching to a BCP. The secondary outcomes included differences between the study groups in perioperative blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), endotracheal tube extubation time, postoperative complications, and hospital length of stay (LOS). Results: The incidence of hypotension immediately after switching to a BCP was significantly higher in the S group. The risk factors associated with hypotension included sevoflurane administration and a high baseline systolic BP. In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for the occurrence of hypotension after the transition to a BCP, the cutoff value for systolic BP was 142 mmHg. The perioperative BP and HR were higher in the R group at several timepoints. Postoperative endotracheal tube extubation time was shorter in the R group. There were no significant differences in the postoperative complications or hospital LOS between the two groups. Conclusions: Remimazolam should be considered as an anesthetic agent to prevent hypotension when switching to BCP, and hypotension may occur frequently in patients with high baseline BP. Full article

The underground mining environment is currently based on technology that uses mainly analogue sensors in machine and equipment control systems. The primary machine performing the most important functions in a mining system is the powered roof support. In order for it to work properly, it is important that it achieves the required power. To ensure this, it is necessary to continuously and precisely monitor the pressure in the under-piston space of the prop. Due to the extreme environmental conditions, pressure sensors should have high sensitivity, large transmission capacity, small size and light weight. To achieve these requirements, the authors of the article propose to implement a monitoring system based on photonics technology. To achieve this goal, several studies were carried out. The range of these studies included simulations, bench tests and tests under real conditions. The obtained test results showed the possibility of developing the control system for the powered roof support, the additional function to supercharge power. Based on the analysis of the obtained test results, assumptions were developed for the development of a power charging system with monitoring sensors. Based on the guidelines obtained from the research results, thedevelopment of the above prototype based on photonics technology is proposed. Full article

An organization’s human resource management practices are essential for its competitive advantage. This study specifically examined human resource (HR) practices that predict corporate performance (employee turnover and firm sales) based on a backpropagation neural network (BPN)-based causality analysis. This study aims to test how to optimize human resource practices to improve organizational performance. This study elucidated the effect of HR practices and organizational-level factors on predicting employee turnover and firm sales. The BPN-based causality analysis revealed the relative importance of explanatory variables on firm performance. To test the model, it employed the Human Capital Corporate Panel open data on Korean companies’ HR practices and other characteristics. The analysis identifies causal relationships between specific HR practices and firm performance. The results show that compensation-related HR practices are most influential in predicting firm sales and employee turnover. Moreover, training-related HR practices were modest, and talent acquisition and performance management practices had relatively weak effects on the two outcomes. The study provides insights into how human resource practices can be optimized to improve firm performance and enhance organizational effectiveness. The findings of this study contribute to the growing body of research on the use of machine learning in HR management and suggest practical implications for managers’ insights to optimize HR practices. Full article

This study investigated the effects of a synbiotic consisting of inulin, Enterococcus faecium, Pediococcus acidilactici, Bifidobacterium animalis, and Lactobacillus reuteri given orally to day (d)-of-hatch (DOH) broiler chicks at the hatchery and in the feed for a 21 d period. A total of 480 Cobb male broilers were randomly divided into one of four treatments using a 2 × 2 factorial design as follows: (1) control (CTRL) group receiving a gel-only oral application on DOH at the hatchery prior to transport and a non-medicated basal corn/soybean meal starter diet; (2) hatchery synbiotic (HS) receiving an oral gel containing the synbiotic (0.5 mL/bird) at the hatchery and the basal diet; (3) CTRL + dietary synbiotic at 0.5 kg/MT (DS); and (4) HS + dietary synbiotic at 0.5 kg/MT (HSDS). On d 7 and d 21, one bird per pen (eight replicate pens/group) was euthanized, and the ileum was immediately removed for qPCR analysis. Data were subjected to a 2-way ANOVA using GLM procedure (JMP Pro17). A significant diet × hatchery interaction was observed in feed conversion ratio (FCR) from d 14 to d 21 (p = 0.013) where the HS, DS, and HSDS treatments had a significantly lower FCR compared to the CTRL. However, no significant interaction effect was observed for body weight gain (BWG) or FCR during the overall experimental period. No significant interaction was observed in mRNA abundance of the evaluated genes in the ileum on d 7 and d 21. Gel application with the synbiotic significantly reduced sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) mRNA abundance on d 7 (p = 0.035) in comparison to birds receiving gel alone. Regardless of hatchery application, dietary synbiotic supplementation significantly reduced Toll-like receptor (TLR)2, TLR4, and interleukin (IL)-10 mRNA abundance on d 7 (p = 0.013). In conclusion, these findings showed that hatchery and dietary synbiotic application could have a potential beneficial impact on broiler intestinal immunity by regulating the TLR response, a key element of innate immunity. FCR was improved from d 14 to d 21 after synbiotic application. Future research involving extended grow-out studies with a disease challenge would expand on the implications of an early application of synbiotics. Full article

Introduction: Self-managed exercise and nutrition interventions can alleviate pre-frailty and frailty but understanding of adherence to them is lacking. This study aimed to explore the experiences of, and barriers and enablers to, a hospital-to-home self-managed combined exercise and nutrition program for hospitalised older adults living with pre-frailty and frailty. Methods: A hybrid approach to data- and theory-driven descriptive thematic analysis identified experiences, barriers, and enablers to participation in a 3-month, self-managed, exercise–nutrition, hospital-to-home frailty-support program. Pre-frail and frail older adult patients ≥ 65 years admitted to the acute medical unit at a South Australian tertiary hospital were recruited. Individual semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed descriptively, using the Theoretical Domains Framework. Results: The nutrition component of the program found 11 common barriers and 18 common enablers. The exercise component included 14 barriers and 24 enablers. Intentions, Social influences, Environmental context/resource and Emotions served as primary barriers towards adherence to both components. Common enablers for both components included Knowledge, Social identity, Environmental context/resource, Social influences, and Emotions. Conclusions: This research revealed important factors affecting adherence to a self-managed exercise–nutrition program in pre-frail and frail older adults within the environment, resources, and emotion domains that should be considered when designing other intervention programs in this population group. Full article

Inorganic phosphate (Pi) homeostasis plays an important role in plant growth and abiotic stress tolerance. Several MYB-CC transcription factors involved in Pi homeostasis have been identified in rice (Oryza sativa). PHOSPHATE STARVATION RESPONSE-LIKE 7 (PHL7) is a class II MYC-CC protein, in which the MYC-CC domain is located at the N terminus. In this study, we established that OsPHL7 is localized to the nucleus and that the encoding gene is induced by Pi deficiency. The Pi-responsive genes and Pi transporter genes are positively regulated by OsPHL7. The overexpression of OsPHL7 enhanced the tolerance of rice plants to Pi starvation, whereas the RNA interference-based knockdown of this gene resulted in increased sensitivity to Pi deficiency. Transgenic rice plants overexpressing OsPHL7 produced more roots than wild-type plants under both Pi-sufficient and Pi-deficient conditions and accumulated more Pi in the shoots and roots. In addition, the overexpression of OsPHL7 enhanced rice tolerance to salt stress. Together, these results demonstrate that OsPHL7 is involved in the maintenance of Pi homeostasis and enhances tolerance to Pi deficiency and salt stress in rice. Full article

Phosphate (Pi) starvation is a critical factor limiting crop growth, development, and productivity. Rice (Oryza sativa) R2R3-MYB transcription factors function in the transcriptional regulation of plant responses to various abiotic stresses and micronutrient deprivation, but little is known about their roles in Pi starvation signaling and Pi homeostasis. Here, we identified the R2R3-MYB transcription factor gene OsMYB58, which shares high sequence similarity with AtMYB58. OsMYB58 expression was induced more strongly by Pi starvation than by other micronutrient deficiencies. Overexpressing OsMYB58 in Arabidopsis thaliana and rice inhibited plant growth and development under Pi-deficient conditions. In addition, the overexpression of OsMYB58 in plants exposed to Pi deficiency strongly affected root development, including seminal root, lateral root, and root hair formation. Overexpressing OsMYB58 strongly decreased the expression of the rice microRNAs OsmiR399a and OsmiR399j. By contrast, overexpressing OsMYB58 strongly increased the expression of rice PHOSPHATE 2 (OsPHO2), whose expression is repressed by miR399 during Pi starvation signaling. OsMYB58 functions as a transcriptional repressor of the expression of its target genes, as determined by a transcriptional activity assay. These results demonstrate that OsMYB58 negatively regulates OsmiR399-dependent Pi starvation signaling by enhancing OsmiR399s expression. Full article