Search Results (20,012)

Livestock plays a crucial role in the global food system, not only as an important source of nutrients but also as a means of economic and social well-being. It constitutes a critical parameter of agricultural production in Mediterranean countries, with the majority of farms still having a relatively small herd size and depending largely on family labor. The purpose of this study is to record and evaluate the perceptions of livestock farmers in the Region of Western Macedonia, Greece (which represents a typical paradigm of an agricultural region), regarding the future prospects and the actions taken to ensure the sustainability of their farms. The research is based on a survey carried out from May to October, 2024, on ruminant farmers. Selective breeding and crossbreeding with higher-productivity breeds are some of the genetic improvements that are generally applied to increase productivity and were, therefore, investigated in this study. Through gradual crossbreeding, farmers attempt to improve the composition of their initial herds by incorporating high-productivity traits—although without officially participating in any recognized improvement program. This increases the risk of extinction for indigenous breeds, which are abandoned for use by the farmers. Our results also showed that most livestock farms derive from inheritances, with many livestock farmers practicing grazing mainly in mountainous areas and still rearing indigenous breeds. From the farmers’ point of view, more information and education regarding market conditions are needed. Furthermore, the sustainability of farms largely depends on subsidies, which are crucial due to difficulties in economic viability, particularly in mountainous areas. Encouraging the support of market differentiation and public awareness for the nutritional value of products derived from local breeds may serve as a promising agrobiodiversity conservation strategy. Full article

Background/Objectives: Soft tissues are essential for maintaining the function and long-term success of dental implants. In many cases, implant placement necessitates soft tissue augmentation procedures such as free gingival grafts (FGGs) or connective tissue grafts (CTGs) to restore lost gingival architecture. Nevertheless, a significant challenge associated with FGG and CTG is postoperative pain, largely due to morbidity at the palatal donor site. To address this issue, various approaches have been proposed to reduce patient discomfort and promote improved wound healing at the donor site. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of four different methods for protecting the palatal donor site following free gingival graft harvesting. Methods: A total of 76 patients undergoing implant therapy with an indication for free gingival grafting were selected and divided into four groups based on the method used to protect the palatal donor site: an absorbable gelatin sponge secured with sutures (GS); an absorbable gelatin sponge with sutures and cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive (GS+CTA); oxidized regenerated cellulose combined with cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive (ORC+CTA); and an absorbable gelatin sponge covered with a flowable resin composite and stabilized with sutures (GS+FRC). The effectiveness of each method was evaluated in terms of postoperative pain, bleeding, and wound healing. Results: Although the differences in pain intensity among the groups were not statistically significant throughout the observation period (p > 0.05), the GS+FRC group consistently exhibited the lowest mean pain scores. No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups regarding the incidence of secondary bleeding. The highest mean wound healing rate was recorded in the GS+FRC group (75.95 ± 18.75%), whereas the ORC+CTA group demonstrated the lowest rate (43.66 ± 25.74%). Conclusions: The use of an absorbable gelatin sponge covered with a flowable resin composite and secured with sutures, despite the presented limitations, appears to be a promising approach for palatal wound protection. While this group consistently demonstrated the lowest mean pain scores, differences in pain intensity among the groups were not statistically significant. Nonetheless, it achieved the most favorable outcomes in terms of wound epithelialization. Full article

Between 2014 and 2016, traps baited with synthetic generic lures were used to collect data on insect diversity, with a focus on Lepidoptera pest assemblages in the surroundings of Velyka Dobron’ in Transcarpathia, West Ukraine. Traps captured a large number of insects from various taxa, including Hymenoptera, providing valuable data on both the poorly known regional fauna and the attractiveness of the lures to different Hymenoptera groups. In total, 1214 individuals were recorded, representing 11 families and 39 species, of which 17 species are reported from Transcarpathia for the first time. The majority of the sample (97%) belonged to the families Apidae and Vespidae. The Apidae and Halictidae species were predominantly attracted to phenylacetaldehyde-based lures, while Vespidae species responded more to semisynthetic lures containing isoamyl alcohol. The parallel use of the tested lures with different selectivity appears to be an effective, user-friendly, standardized method for studying Hymenoptera assemblages. Furthermore, knowledge of lure selectivity allows for the target collection of species belonging to different ecotypes. Full article

Privacy risk mining, a crucial domain in data privacy protection, endeavors to uncover potential information among datasets that could be linked to individuals’ sensitive data. Existing anonymization and privacy assessment techniques either lack quantitative granularity or fail to adapt to dynamic, heterogeneous data environments. In this work, we propose a unified two-phase linkability quantification framework that systematically measures privacy risks at both the inter-dataset and intra-dataset levels. Our approach integrates unsupervised clustering on attribute distributions with record-level matching to compute interpretable, fine-grained risk scores. By aligning risk measurement with regulatory standards such as the GDPR, our framework provides a practical, scalable solution for safeguarding user privacy in evolving data-sharing ecosystems. Extensive experiments on real-world and synthetic datasets show that our method achieves up to 96.7% precision in identifying true linkage risks, outperforming the compared baseline by 13 percentage points under identical experimental settings. Ablation studies further demonstrate that the hierarchical risk fusion strategy improves sensitivity to latent vulnerabilities, providing more actionable insights than previous privacy gain-based metrics. Full article

This paper provides a comprehensive review of sessile benthic invertebrate biodiversity across three interconnected marine areas in Western Australia’s Gascoyne and southern Pilbara regions: Ningaloo Reef (a UNESCO World Heritage site), the nearby Muiron Islands to its north, and Exmouth Gulf to its east. The study aims to identify taxonomic and spatial knowledge gaps and establish a baseline biodiversity record for the broader region. We collated specimen-based records from seven Australian museums and supplemented them with data from the Atlas of Living Australia, iNaturalist, and a Web of Science literature review. In total, we report 827 verified species of sessile benthic invertebrates in shallow waters (less than 30 m depth) across the Gascoyne and southern Pilbara regions from 4578 records. Ningaloo Reef exhibits the highest diversity, hosting 587 species, including 239 scleractinian corals and 124 sponges. Exmouth Gulf is home to a diverse and unique assemblage of at least 295 species, including 165 species of putative turbid water specialists or regionally restricted species which are not found at Ningaloo Reef or the Muiron Islands. Notably, all three sea pen species identified in this review are recorded exclusively from Exmouth Gulf. The Gulf also hosts a distinctive community of filter-feeding invertebrates, including 125 sponges, 27 tunicates, and 18 anemones that are not found in neighboring regions. The Muiron Islands, although under sampled, host 22 species of sponges, 14 octocorals, and 5 tunicates that have not so far been found at Ningaloo Reef or Exmouth Gulf, highlighting the uniqueness of the islands’ marine invertebrate fauna. The southern sector of Ningaloo Reef is under sampled, and there are gaps in the state faunal collections for many groups, including anemones, corallimorphs, zoanthids, cerianthids, and hydrozoans. Further targeted taxonomic research on existing museum collections is crucial, as only 18% of specimen records have been verified, and 41% of the verified records are only identified to morphospecies. This limits our understanding of regional diversity and distribution patterns but provides ample opportunity for further taxonomic study. Expanding monitoring programs to include Exmouth Gulf and the Muiron Islands, along with unique habitats such as the King Reef artificial reef, and conducting additional biodiversity, demographic, and ecosystem health research is essential to assess the cumulative impacts of climate change and other environmental stressors on the unique and culturally significant marine ecosystems of this region. Full article

Proceroplatus (Keroplatidae: Keroplatinae) is a distinct keroplatid group comprising 39 described species. These species are found worldwide, but none had previously been reported in China prior to this study. In this paper, Proceroplatus is recorded for the first time from China, along with two new species: P. dapanshanussp. n. and P. biemarginatussp. n., which were collected from the southern region. Here, a worldwide distribution map of this genus is presented by species, including the new ones. Images and detailed morphological descriptions are provided for each new species, accompanied by molecular identification based on the standard mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. To clarify the mitogenomic characteristics of Proceroplatus, the well-assembled and annotated mitogenome of P. dapanshanus was obtained and described in detail. The comparative analyses and phylogenetic tree indicate that the mitogenomic evolution of keroplatids is relatively conserved and influenced not only by mutation pressure but also by natural selection and other factors. Full article

This study presents a novel deep learning framework for classifying visual images based on brain responses recorded through electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. The primary challenge in EEG-based visual pattern recognition lies in the inherent spatiotemporal variability of neural signals across different individuals and recording sessions, which severely limits the generalization capabilities of classification models. Our work specifically addresses the task of identifying which image category a person is viewing based solely on their recorded brain activity. The proposed methodology incorporates three primary components: first, a brain hemisphere asymmetry-based dimensional reduction approach to extract discriminative lateralization features while addressing high-dimensional data constraints; second, an advanced channel selection algorithm utilizing Fisher score methodology to identify electrodes with optimal spatial representativeness across participants; and third, a Dynamic Temporal Warping (DTW) alignment technique to synchronize temporal signal variations with respect to selected reference channels. Comprehensive experimental validation on a visual image classification task using a publicly available EEG-based visual classification dataset, ImageNet-EEG, demonstrates that the proposed disambiguation framework substantially improves classification accuracy while simultaneously enhancing model convergence characteristics. The integrated approach not only outperforms individual component implementations but also accelerates the learning process, thereby reducing training data requirements for EEG-based applications. These findings suggest that systematic spatiotemporal disambiguation represents a promising direction for developing robust and generalizable EEG classification systems across diverse neurological and brain–computer interface applications. Full article

Despite the growing adoption of modular construction (MC) to enhance productivity, sustainability and industrialization in the building sector, critical terminological inconsistencies and conceptual ambiguities persist across academic, professional and regulatory domains. This study conducts a systematic literature review to investigate how the key terms modular, module, modularity, modularization and modular coordination are defined and applied in the recent literature. Following the PRISMA protocol, 85 peer-reviewed articles were selected from an initial pool of 4832 Scopus records. Bibliometric and thematic analyses reveal a lack of conceptual consistency in the application of key terms, most notably the frequent misuse of module to describe non-volumetric components. Beyond identifying these ambiguities, this study maps the most recurrent definitional patterns to outline potential pathways toward conceptual consensus. It clarifies the boundaries between modular (a system attribute), modularization (a design strategy), modularity (a system property), module (a prefabricated, spatially autonomous, functionally complete, and volumetric unit) and modular coordination (a dimensional grid system). Based on these insights, it proposes a conceptual hierarchy, and a set of propositions integrated into a structured glossary that contribute to terminological clarity, foster standardization, and improve communication in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector. Full article

Heavy metal contamination, particularly lead (Pb), represents a threat to ecosystems and human health. This study investigates the variety Aloe vera var. Chinensis as a plant sensing platform for detecting the presence of lead by characterizing its bioelectrical response. A low-cost system based on Arduino was developed to acquire real-time electrical signals from 160 plants, equally divided between two groups: control conditions (n = 80) and Pb acetate exposure (500 mg/L; n = 80). Two recording sessions per plant were obtained after the plant had stabilized, resulting in 320 labeled measurements. The signals were characterized using the discrete wavelet transform (DWT), autoregressive (AR) models, and complexity measures based on entropy. Three classifiers—Support Vector Machine, Random Forest, and XGBoost—were trained and evaluated using five-fold cross-validation and a held-out test set with plant disjoint samples. XGBoost achieved the highest performance (accuracy = 93.0%; precision = 92.5%; recall = 93.8%; F1-score = 93.1%; and 95% CI for accuracy: 90.4–95.2% via bootstrap), significantly outperforming the other models. SHAP analysis revealed that midscale wavelet entropy and energy features, along with AR residual variance, were the most discriminative for Pb detection. These findings demonstrate a scalable, low-cost, and interpretable biosensing framework with potential applications in real-time environmental monitoring and early detection of heavy metal contamination. Full article

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is marked by emotional dysregulation, instability in self-image and relationships, and high impulsivity. While functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have provided valuable insights into the disorder’s neural correlates, electroencephalography (EEG) may capture real-time brain activity changes relevant to BPD’s rapid emotional shifts. This review summarizes findings from studies investigating resting state and task-based EEG in individuals with BPD, highlighting common neurophysiological markers and their clinical implications. A targeted literature search (1980–2025) was conducted across databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane. The search terms combined “EEG” or “electroencephalography” with “borderline personality disorder” or “BPD”. Clinical trials and case reports published in English were included if they recorded and analyzed EEG activity in BPD. A total of 24 studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings indicate that individuals with BPD often show patterns consistent with chronic hyperarousal (e.g., reduced alpha power and increased slow-wave activity) and difficulties shifting between vigilance states. Studies examining frontal EEG asymmetry reported varying results—some linked left-frontal activity to heightened hostility, while others found correlations between right-frontal shifts and dissociation. Childhood trauma, mentalization deficits, and dissociative symptoms were frequently predicted or correlated with EEG anomalies, underscoring the impact of adverse experiences on neural regulation—however, substantial heterogeneity in methods, small sample sizes, and comorbid conditions limited study comparability. Overall, EEG research supports the notion of altered arousal and emotion regulation circuits in BPD. While no single EEG marker uniformly defines the disorder, patterns such as reduced alpha power, increased theta/delta activity, and shifting frontal asymmetries converge with core BPD features of emotional lability and interpersonal hypersensitivity. More extensive, standardized, and multimodal investigations are needed to establish more reliable EEG biomarkers and elucidate how early trauma and dissociation shape BPD’s neurophysiological profile. Full article

Understanding how environmental conditions affect broiler comfort across different seasons is crucial for enhancing welfare in commercial poultry production. This study aimed to identify the relationship between housing environment, litter conditions, and broiler discomfort at different growth stages using data collected from two flocks reared during winter and summer. Environmental variables (temperature, humidity, ammonia, pH, and CO₂) and broiler responses were recorded and analyzed weekly. Discomfort was defined as a binary variable based on threshold deviations in temperature and air quality. Non-parametric statistical tests and a Random Forest model were employed to explore associations and predict comfort status. Results showed that discomfort was significantly higher during winter, particularly in weeks 1 and 6, likely due to thermal instability and rising ammonia levels. Summer flocks exhibited more stable comfort profiles. The predictive model achieved a high test accuracy (97.1%) and identified broiler weight, ammonia, and temperature as the strongest predictors of discomfort. Weekly discomfort patterns and feature importance analyses revealed critical intervention points and variables. These findings provide actionable insights for automating welfare monitoring in commercial broiler production, offering valuable information for season-specific management strategies and demonstrating the potential for integrating predictive models into automated welfare monitoring systems to support precision livestock farming. Full article

Background: Gut microbiota dysregulation is increasingly recognized as a key contributor to the progression of liver cirrhosis and its complications, particularly hepatic encephalopathy. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has emerged as a novel therapeutic strategy aimed at restoring intestinal microbial homeostasis and modulating systemic inflammation. Methods: This prospective, single-center clinical trial evaluated the short-term safety and efficacy of FMT in patients with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis. Clinical assessment, liver stiffness (via elastography), steatosis (controlled attenuation parameter), inflammatory biomarkers, and extended biochemical panels were analyzed at baseline, one week and one month post-FMT. A control group receiving standard medical therapy was used for comparison. Results: FMT was associated with a significant reduction in hepatic encephalopathy severity (p = 0.014), sustained improvements in liver stiffness (p = 0.027) and decreased steatosis (p = 0.025). At one month, C-reactive protein and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio both declined significantly (p = 0.043), indicating a measurable anti-inflammatory effect. No serious adverse events were recorded. In comparison with controls, FMT recipients showed lower systemic inflammation and improved neuropsychiatric status. Conclusions: FMT demonstrated a favorable safety profile and yielded early clinical and biochemical benefits in patients with cirrhosis. These preliminary findings support the potential utility of microbiota-based interventions in chronic liver disease and warrant validation in larger, multicenter trials. Full article

The aim of this research is to provide a 25-year multi-model analysis of gender dynamics in economics articles that include at least one Romanian-affiliated author, published in Web of Science journals between 2000 and 2025 (2025 records current as of 15 May 2025). Drawing on 4030 papers, we map the bibliometric gender gap by examining first-author status, collaboration patterns, research topics and citation impact. The results show that the female-to-male first-author ratio for Romanian-affiliated publications is close to parity, in sharp contrast to the pronounced under-representation of women among foreign-affiliated first authors. Combining negative binomial, journal fixed-effects Poisson, quantile regressions with a text-based topic analysis, we find no systematic or robust gender penalty in citations once structural and topical factors are controlled for. The initial gender gap largely reflects men’s over-representation in higher-impact journals rather than an intrinsic bias against women’s work. Team size consistently emerges as the strongest predictor of citations, and, by extension, scientific visibility. Our findings offer valuable insights into gender dynamics in a semi-peripheral scientific system, highlighting the nuanced interplay between institutional context, research practices, legislation and academic recognition. Full article

The tomato russet mite, Aculops lycopersici, is considered one of the most important crop pests globally. The main control strategy is based on synthetic acaricides; however, they create resistant strains and ecological risks. In this context, biopesticides could be a viable and sustainable alternative for eriophyid control. In the present study, the toxic effects of a N-alkylamides-enriched extract obtained from Acmella oleracea and of carlina oxide, the main bioactive component of Carlina acaulis, on A. lycopersici were evaluated, as well as their side effects on the phytoseiid Typhlodromus exhilaratus Ragusa under laboratory conditions. Six concentrations were tested for each product against A. lycopersici adults (0, 320, 640, 1280, 2500, and 5000 μL L⁻¹), and the median concentration (1280 μL L⁻¹) was evaluated against eggs and females of the phytoseiid T. exhilaratus. Both the N-alkylamides-enriched extract and carlina oxide showed total lethal effects (100% of mortality) towards A. lycopersici at the two highest concentrations. Moderate-to-high mortality was also recorded with the lower concentrations: from 42.22 to 97.78%. Probit analysis identified LC₅₀ values of 205.32 μL L⁻¹ for carlina oxide and 253.79 μL L⁻¹ for the N-alkylamides-enriched extract, respectively. Carlina oxide showed a moderate ovicidal effect on T. exhilaratus eggs (50.00% hatching rate) on T. exhilaratus, and caused 39.13% mortality on females, whereas the N-alkylamides-enriched extract was less toxic, with a hatching rate of 88.00% and a mortality rate of 18.75% on females. In conclusion, carlina oxide and the N-alkylamides-enriched extract showed high toxicity on A. lycopersici, with a reduced effect on phytoseiid. These results highlight the potential of these products as sustainable means for the management of tomato russet mite. Full article

Background/Objectives: Stroke survivors with dysphagia are usually fed with different feeding routes ranging from oral to percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG). However, the impact of the feeding route on the gastric myoelectric activity (GMA) is little-studied. This work examined the effect of feeding route on GMA changes in stroke survivors with dysphagia. Methods: This study included 50 patients (20% women) who were divided into three groups based on their feeding route: an oral group (n = 20), a nasogastric group (NGT) (n = 20), and a PEG group (n = 10). For all participants, a nutritional assessment was conducted, and the GMA was measured using a transcutaneous multichannel electrogastrogram (EGG) with a water load satiety test before and after water loading. The EGG-related parameters used in the analysis included the average power distribution by frequency region and the average dominant frequency (ADF). Results: The study sample experienced ischemic stroke (66%) or hemorrhagic stroke (34%). At the baseline phase, the PEG group exhibited significantly longer periods of normogastria compared to the NGT and oral groups. Moreover, protein intake was significantly higher in the PEG tube feeding group compared to the other groups. Based on the type of stroke, the ischemic stroke group showed significantly higher tachygastria periods during postprandial EGG recording (p = 0.022). The energy and protein consumptions were significantly higher in the hemorrhagic stroke group (p = 0.001, p = 0.028, respectively). Conclusions: The GMA pattern is distinctive for the type of stroke. The PEG feeding route showed more periods with normogastria and the best protein intake. Full article