Search Results (549)

This study aimed to identify anatomical regions and developmental stages in broiler chickens that serve as reliable thermographic indicators of acute heat stress. Broilers aged 14, 21, 35, and 39 days were exposed to controlled heat stress, and surface temperatures across 12 anatomical regions were recorded using infrared thermography. Thermal response metrics (maximum, minimum, and mean peak variation) were analyzed with repeated-measures ANOVA and eta squared (η²) to quantify the strength of physiological responses. Principal component and cluster analyses grouped body regions based on their thermal sensitivity. The comb and wattle consistently showed the highest temperature increases (ΔT = 2.3–4.1 °C) and strongest effect sizes (η² ≥ 0.70), establishing them as primary thermoregulatory markers. As age increased, more body regions—especially peripheral zones like the drumstick and tail—exhibited strong responses (η² > 0.40), indicating an expansion of thermoregulatory activity. Cluster analysis identified three distinct sensitivity groups, confirming anatomical differences in thermal regulation. Thermographic responses to heat stress in broilers depend on age and region. The comb and wattle are the most reliable biomarkers, while peripheral responses grow more prominent with maturity. These findings support the use of targeted, age-specific infrared thermography for monitoring poultry welfare. Full article

In order to improve the poor prediction effect of current filling body strength design, a support vector machine (SVM) and Lib Toolbox were used to build an optimal match model or strength index of unclassified tailings filling body. Eight main factors were analyzed and screened as condition attributes, and backfill strength as a decision attribute. Next, we selected 72 groups of training samples and 6 groups of calibration samples. Our model adopts a radial basis function (RBF) as the kernel function and uses a grid search method to optimize parameters; it then tests the combination of optimal parameters by cross-validation. Results show that the mean error of regression prediction and verified predictions made by the SVM match model were 1.01%, which were more accurate than the BP neural network model’s predictions. On the premise that stope stability is ensured, the SVM match model may decrease cement consumption and the cost of backfill more effectively, and improve economic efficiency. Full article

Developing green mining technology for medium-to low-grade mines requires achieving minimal or no damage to the mining area’s ecological environment. A medium-to low-grade phosphate mine in Hubei Province was taken as the research object in this study. The tailings were selected as the main filling aggregate. Indoor tests and theoretical analysis were conducted to analyze the influence of curing age, the water–cement ratio, the cement–sand ratio, and slurry concentration on the strength of the cemented backfill. Furthermore, a multi-factor non-linear mathematical model of the strength of the cementitious filler was established. The study results indicated that the strength of backfill increased linearly with the increase in the curing age, decreased negatively with the increase in the water–cement ratio, and increased exponentially with the increase in the cement–sand ratio and the slurry concentration. The multivariate non-linear prediction model of the strength of the filling body at different ages was also established based on the test results. This predictive model could effectively predict the strength of the cemented backfill, and the error value was not larger than 4%. Our research results can lay a theoretical foundation for developing medium-to low-grade phosphate mine filling with tailings as the main filling aggregate. Full article

In this study, we investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with thermally modified attapulgite on the daily weight gain, serum biochemical indices, and serum metabolites of Simmental fattening cattle. A total of 30 healthy Simmental fattening beef calves of similar age (8 to 9 months old) and body weight (370 ± 10 kg) were randomly divided into two groups, each containing 15 animals. A control group was fed the basal diet, and a treatment group was fed the same basal diet with the addition of 4 g/kg of thermally modified attapulgite. After 75 days of formal experiment, the calves in the two groups were weighed, and blood samples were collected by tail vein blood sampling for determinations of the serum biochemical indices and serum metabolites using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. The results indicated that the addition of thermally modified attapulgite to the diet had no significant effects on the daily weight gain of fattening beef cattle. After feeding with modified attapulgite, the glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities in the serum of the experimental group were 55.02% (257.26 U·mL⁻¹ to 165.95 U·mL⁻¹, p < 0.05) and 13.11% (18.98 U·mL⁻¹ to 16.78 U·mL⁻¹, p < 0.05) higher than that in the control group. Compared with the control group, the tumor necrosis factor-alpha content was reduced by 14.50% (31.27 pg·mL⁻¹ to 36.57 pg·mL⁻¹, p < 0.01), and the concentration of interleukin-6 and lipopolysaccharide decreased by 17.00% (34.33 pg·mL⁻¹ to 41.36 pg·mL⁻¹, p < 0.001) and 23.05% (51.34 EU·L⁻¹ to 66.72 EU·L⁻¹, p < 0.001) in the serum of the experimental group. Contrastingly, the thermally modified attapulgite had no significant effects on the levels of serum total protein, albumin, or globulin in Simmental fattening cattle (p > 0.05). Furthermore, the results of serum metabolomic analyses revealed that there were a total of 98 differential metabolites, which were mainly enriched with respect to glycerophospholipid metabolism, Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation, autophagy-other, retrograde endogenous cannabinoid signaling, and the NF-κB signaling pathway. Overall, thermally modified attapulgite was found to effectively increase the activity of antioxidant enzymes, reduce serum inflammatory mediators, may suppress oxidative damage, enhance immunity, and have a positive influence on the health of Simmental fattening beef calves. Full article

Insects’ body coloration may be indirectly influenced by their host plants. Perina nuda (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), commonly known as the Banyan Tussock Moth and a serious pest of banyan trees (Ficus spp.) in southern China, exhibits light body coloration during its first- to third-instar stages, with its coloration progressively darkening as it matures, but little is known of the relationship between larval body coloration and host plants. To address this gap, we examined the R (red), G (green), B (blue), and L (lightness) values of the head, dorsal thorax and abdomen, stripe, dorsal mid-line, and tail of larvae fed on different hosts and host endogenous substance by using quantitative image analysis and chemical determination. Our results revealed that larval body coloration exhibited conserved ontogenetic patterns but varied significantly with host species, developmental age, and anatomical region. Redundancy analysis identified chlorophyll-b as the dominant driver, strongly associating with dorsal thorax–abdomen pigmentation. Flavonoids exhibited subthreshold significance, correlating with darker dorsal mid-line coloration, while nutrients (sugars, proteins) showed negligible effects. Linear regression revealed weak but significant links between leaf and larval body coloration in specific body regions. These findings demonstrate that host plant endogenous substances play a critical role in shaping larval body coloration. This study provides a foundation for understanding the ecological and biochemical mechanisms underlying insect pigmentation, with implications for adaptive evolution and pest management strategies. Full article

In the coal industry, miner safety is increasingly challenged by growing mining depths and complex environments. The failure to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a frequent issue in accidents, threatening lives and reducing operational efficiency. Additionally, existing PPE datasets are inadequate for model training due to their small size, lack of diversity, and poor labeling. Current methods often struggle with the complexity of multi-scenario and multi-type PPE detection, especially under varying environmental conditions and with limited training data. In this paper, we propose a novel minersPPE dataset and an improved algorithm based on YOLOv8, enhanced with Dilated-CBAM (Dilated Convolutional Block Attention Module) and DBB (Diverse Branch Block) Detection Block (YOLOv8-DCDB), to address these challenges. The minersPPE dataset constructed in this paper includes 14 categories of protective equipment needed for various body parts of miners. To improve detection performance under complex lighting conditions and with varying PPE features, the algorithm incorporates the Dilated-CBAM module. Additionally, a multi-branch structured detection head is employed to effectively capture multi-scale features, especially enhancing the detection of small targets. To mitigate the class imbalance issue caused by the long-tail distribution in the dataset, we adopt a K-fold cross-validation strategy, optimizing the detection results. Compared to standard YOLOv8-based models, experiments on the minersPPE dataset demonstrate an 18.9% improvement in detection precision, verifying the effectiveness of the proposed YOLOv8-DCDB model in multi-scenario, multi-type PPE detection tasks. Full article

Background: N^ε-(carboxymethyl)-lysine (CML) is formed in the human body by non-enzymatically driven reactions including glycation, oxidation, and lipoxidation. CML is a ubiquitous product of normal physiology, but its levels are increased under disease conditions like chronic kidney disease (CKD) and diabetes mellitus (DM). Free CML is eliminated from the human body mainly through kidney excretion, and its accumulation in the kidney tissue is linked to CKD pathogenesis. Aim: The main goal of this study was to evaluate the relative contribution of CKD and Type 2 DM (T2DM) to the accumulation of CML in patients’ sera. Methods: The study included 22 patients with CKD without DM, 55 with CKD and comorbid T2DM, and 21 with T2DM without CKD. Serum CML levels were measured by ELISA. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to detect differences among groups. Spearman correlation analysis was performed, and the one-tailed Dunn test was considered to indicate statistical significance at p < 0.05. Results: The median serum CML levels (CKD, 658.4 ± 434.3 ng/mL; CKD + T2DM, 431.3 ± 327.9 ng/mL; T2DM, 273.9 ± 134.2 ng/mL) differed significantly (p < 0.05) among the three patient groups. A positive correlation was observed between serum CML and microalbuminuria (p = 0.004; r = 0.58), proteinuria (p = 0.002; r = 0.6), and age (p = 0.007; r = 0.52) only in the CKD patients. In all T2DM patients, independent of CKD status, serum CML correlated negatively (p < 0.05) with postprandial glucose and duration of diabetes, while its correlation with fasting glucose and HbA1c was negative only in the T2DM cohort without CKD. Conclusions: In patients with CKD, higher levels of CML were observed compared to those with T2DM. Serum CML correlated positively with proteinuria, albuminuria, and patient age in non-diabetic CKD patients, and negatively with blood glucose, HbA1c, and DM duration of T2DM in patients without CKD. Full article

Geometallurgy is an approach that utilizes predictive models that can support business decisions, mitigate risks, and enhance production efficiency. To develop an accurate geometallurgical model, it is essential to understand the behavior of each lithology within the ore body through geometallurgical testing. In this context, the present study aims to evaluate the performance of bench-scale tests conducted on the main mining fronts of a zinc mine operation located in Brazil. The mineral processing plant was designed to process lead and zinc sulfide ores without material stockpiling, where all ores extracted from the underground mine are immediately processed. The geometallurgical characterization was conducted through the following steps: sampling, crushing, grinding, and flotation. The recovery, concentrate, and tailing contents during the flotation stages of galena and sphalerite were analyzed. A mineralogical characterization using a Mineral Liberation Analyzer (MLA) was performed to assess the degree of particle liberation and mineral associations within the studied mining fronts. The results indicate that a higher degree of pyrite liberation leads to greater metallurgical recovery of mineralized bodies A (breccia-hosted orebody), B (sphalerite-rich doloarenite orebody), and C (upper replaced stratiform orebody). Among these, mineralized body C presents the highest recovery in the zinc and lead stages, with 99.5% and 86.2%, respectively. Full article

Carbonaceous–siliceous–argillaceous rock-type uranium deposits, a major uranium resource in China, pose significant environmental risks due to heavy metal contamination. Geochemical investigations in the former Zoige uranium mine revealed elevated As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, U, and Zn concentrations in soils and sediments, particularly at river confluences and downstream regions, attributed to leachate migration from ore bodies and tailings ponds. Surface samples exhibited high Cd bioavailability. The integrated BCR and mineral analysis reveals that Acid-soluble and reducible fractions of Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Pb are governed by carbonate dissolution and Fe-Mn oxide dynamics via silicate weathering, while residual and oxidizable fractions show weak mineral-phase dependencies. Positive Matrix Factorization identified natural lithogenic, anthropogenic–natural composite, mining-related sources. Pollution assessments using geo-accumulation index and contamination factor demonstrated severe contamination disparities: soils showed extreme Cd pollution, moderate U, As, Zn contamination, and no Cr, Pb pollution (overall moderate risk); sediments exhibited extreme Cd pollution, moderate Ni, Zn, U levels, and negligible Cr, Pb impacts (overall extreme risk). USEPA health risk models indicated notable non-carcinogenic (higher in adults) and carcinogenic risks (higher in children) for both age groups. Ecological risk assessments categorized As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn as low risk, contrasting with Cd (extremely high risk) and sediment-bound U (high risk). These findings underscore mining legacy as a critical environmental stressor and highlight the necessity for multi-source pollution mitigation strategies. Full article

Objective: This study compares the surgical and oncological outcomes of minimally invasive robotic (RLP) and laparoscopic (LLP) left pancreatectomy in pancreatic cancer (PC) patients. Methods: Data from patients who underwent minimally invasive left pancreatectomy between 2013 and 2023 were analyzed. Two groups were identified: RLP and LLP. Perioperative outcomes were compared, including operative time, blood loss, conversion rate, and postoperative complications. Oncological outcomes included margin status, lymph node retrieval, lymph node status, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS). Results: Fifty-four patients were divided into the LLP (n = 39) and RLP (n = 15) groups. The median operative time was shorter for LLP than RLP [260 min vs. 366 min, p = 0.007]. Blood loss and conversion rates were comparable (p > 0.05). In the LLP group, significantly more lymph nodes were harvested (29 vs. 19, p = 0.05), and a higher percentage of positive lymph nodes was noted (72% vs. 40%, p = 0.033). No significant difference was found in the R0 resection status (82% vs. 73%, p = 0.358). After a median follow-up of 26 months, OS (23 months vs. 34 months, p = 0.812) and DFS (17 months vs. 16 months, p = 0.635) were similar. Conclusion: RLP provides outcomes identical to LLP in treating body–tail pancreatic cancer, with further studies needed to confirm its long-term oncological efficacy. Full article

The cosmopolitan nematode Spirinia parasitifera has long been considered a single, morphologically variable species; however, mounting molecular evidence suggests that it represents a complex of cryptic taxa. In this study, we describe Spirinia koreana sp. nov., a new species collected from intertidal sediments of the Republic of Korea. The new species exhibits a high degree of morphological resemblance to both S. antipodea and S. parasitifera, with overlapping ranges in most morphological traits. While certain measurements, such as relatively shorter body length, more slender form (higher a ratio), moderately long tail length, and shorter spicule length differ from those in some described populations, no single morphological character alone reliably separates S. koreana from all previously reported specimens of S. parasitifera or S. antipodea. Nevertheless, molecular evidence from multiple genetic markers clearly supports its distinction as a separate species. Molecular data from mitochondrial COI, 18S rRNA, and 28S rRNA genes confirm the genetic distinctness of the Korean specimens from S. parasitifera and S. antipodea. Notably, S. koreana sp. nov. differs from other Spirinia species by 2.1–3.4% in 18S and up to 34.4% in 28S sequences, surpassing thresholds previously used to delimit marine nematode species. Our results emphasize the value of integrative taxonomy combining fine-scale morphology and multi-marker molecular data to uncover hidden diversity in meiofaunal nematodes. Full article

Interspecific interactions among sympatric carnivores are critical for understanding patterns of coexistence, competition, and community structure. Among mesocarnivores, dominance hierarchies are typically shaped by differences in body size, social organization, and competitive ability. The golden jackal (Canis aureus) is generally assumed to dominate the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) across shared landscapes, particularly at high-value resources such as carcasses. However, here, we present rare behavioral evidence that challenges this prevailing assumption. Using motion-triggered camera traps deployed at a carcass in Lake Kerkini National Park, Greece, we recorded a sequence of interactions in which a golden jackal displayed clear submissive behavior toward a red fox, including lowered body posture, tail tucking, and conflict avoidance. Subsequent footage revealed two additional agonistic encounters, during which the same red fox successfully displaced two separate jackals, one of which emitted a distress vocalization while retreating. These findings represent the first documented case of interspecific submission by golden jackals toward a red fox and suggest that context-specific factors—such as immediate carcass possession, individual experience, or body condition—may modulate expected dominance outcomes. Our observations underscore the importance of fine-scale behavioral studies in revealing plasticity in interspecific relationships and contribute to a more nuanced understanding of carnivore competition under semi-natural conditions. Full article

This paper presents a comparative study for detecting the activities of daily living (ADLs) using two distinct sensor systems: the FlexTail wearable spine tracker and a camera-based pose estimation model. We developed a protocol to simultaneously record data with both systems and capture eleven activities from general movement, household, and food handling. We tested a comprehensive selection of state-of-the-art time series classification algorithms. Both systems achieved high classification performance, with average $F_1$ scores of 0.90 for both datasets using a 1-second time window and the random dilated shapelet transform (RDST) and QUANT classifier for FlexTail and camera data, respectively. We also explored the impact of hierarchical activity grouping and found that while it improved classification performance in some cases, the benefits were not consistent across all activities. Our findings suggest that both sensor systems recognize ADLs. The FlexTail model performs better for detecting sitting and transitions, like standing up, while the camera-based model is better for activities that involve arm and hand movements. Full article

Background/Objectives: Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of deaths related to cancer. It is a highly aggressive malignancy and often metastasizes quickly to other parts of the body and organs. The most effective cure is surgical resection, which also is limited by tumor identification and clear tumor margin visualization. Previously, we used MUC4 antibodies labeled with IRDye800CW (anti-MUC4-IR800) to target primary human pancreatic cancer in orthotopic cell line mouse models. Methods: In the present study, we established a pancreatic cancer liver metastasis mouse model by implanting a tumor fragment in the liver and a peritoneal carcinomatosis mouse model by injecting pancreatic cancer cells interperitoneally. Once the tumors were established, anti-MUC4-IR800 was administered to the mice by tail vein injection. Laparotomy was performed and tumors were imaged under white-light and near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence with the Pearl Small Animal Imaging System. Results: NIR imaging after 72 h shows the bright targeting of pancreatic cancer metastasis in both mouse models with high tumor-to-background ratios. Conclusions: Anti-MUC4-IR800 was able to successfully target and brightly label metastatic pancreatic cancer as small as 1 mm. Future clinical applications of the results of the present study are discussed. Full article

Background/Objectives: Assessing hippocampal pathology in epilepsy is challenging, and improving diagnostic accuracy can benefit from deep learning image reconstruction, standardized imaging protocols, and advanced post-processing methods. This study compares T2 TSE DRB (Deep Resolve Boost) sequences with standard T2 TSE sequences for hippocampal segmentation and volumetry using FreeSurfer, focusing on how DRB affects image acquisition time without compromising diagnostic accuracy. Methods: FreeSurfer (version 7.4.1) was used to segment hippocampal subregions in 36 subjects (mean age of 39 ± 14 years; 21 males, 15 females) using both T2 TSE DRB and T2 TSE sequences. The segmented volumes were compared with a two-tailed t-test, and pathological volume differences were assessed using z-values based on a 95% confidence interval (−2 < z < 2). Results: Overall hippocampal segment volumes were identical between sequences. However, significant volume differences were noted in the CA1-Body (p = 0.003), CA4-Body (p = 0.002), and whole hippocampal body (p = 0.012) in the right hippocampus. Despite these differences, the low effect sizes suggest DRB sequences are comparable to conventional sequences. Additionally, DRB reduced image acquisition time by 61%. Z-scores identified pathological volume changes between the left and right hippocampus in individual subjects. Conclusions: T2 TSE DRB sequences are non-inferior to conventional T2 TSE sequences for hippocampal segmentation. The DRB method improves efficiency while providing clinically reliable results, and the proposed 95% confidence interval can aid in more objective assessments of hippocampal pathology. Full article