The failure to acknowledge and account for environmental externalities or spillovers in climate change adaptation policy, advocacy and programming spaces exercabates the risk of ecological degradation, more so, degradation of land. In particular use of unsuitable water sources for irrigation may increase salinisation risks. However, little if any policy assessments and research effort has been directed at investigating how farmer perceptions mediate spillovers from the ubiquitous irrigation adaptation strategy. In this study cognitive failure and/or bias construct is examined and proposed as an analytical lens in research, policy and learning and the convergence of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation discourses. The findings from small-scale farmers, Machakos and Kakamega counties, Kenya, suggest multifaceted biases and failures about the existence and importance of externalities in adaptation planning discourses. Among other dimensions, cognitive failure which encompasses fragmented approaches among institutions for use and management of resources, inadequate policy and information support, as well as, poor integration of actors in adaptation planning accounts for adaptation failure. The failures in such Human-Environment system interactions have the potential to exercabate existing vulnerability of farmer production systems in the long run. The findings further suggest that in absence of risk message information dissemination, education level, farming experience and information accumulation, as integral elements to human capital, do not seem to have significant effect on behaviour about mitigation of environmental spillovers. Implicitly, reversing the inherent adaptation failures calls for system approaches that enhance coordinated adaptation planning, prioritises proactive mitigation of slow onset disaster risks and broadens decision support systems, such as, risk information dissemination integration into the existing adaptation policy discourses and practice.

The prevalence of back pain (BP) among children and adolescents has increased over recent years. Some authors advocate promoting back-health education in the school setting. It is therefore important to adopt a uniform suite of assessment instruments to measure the various constructs. The present study aimed to perform a cultural adaptation of a validated measurement instrument (BackPEI), beginning with a translation and cultural adaptation phase, followed by a second phase to test reliability using a test-retest design. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation were performed based on the guidelines. Reliability was tested by applying the questionnaire to 224 secondary school students, at two different times with a 7-day interval between the tests. In general, the Spanish version presented adequate agreement for questions 1–20, with only question 9 achieving a low Kappa range of .312 [-.152- .189]. The question about pain intensity did not show differences between the averages for the test (4.72 ± 2.33) and re-test (4.58 ± 2.37) (p = .333), and the responses for these two tests were highly correlated (ICC= .951 [.928- .966]; p= .0001). Psychometric testing indicated that the Spanish version of the BackPEI is well-adapted and reliable, based on the test-retest design, providing similar results to the original Brazilian version.

Riverbed farming (RbF) has emerged as an alternative form of agriculture. This farming supports the poor and marginalized farmers to adapt to climate change, especially in the degraded lands because of floods and flood-induced riverbank erosions every year. The government and non-government organizations (GOs/NGOs) have supported and built capacities of farmers to adopt this as an effective adaptation strategy in the region. This study aims to analyze the determinants of riverbed farming at the household level mainly in Deukhuri valley of Western Terai, Nepal. A total of 150 households were selected randomly for the study in Sisahaniya rural municipality for the household survey. The determinants of the adoption of riverbed farming have been analyzed utilizing independent variables such as age, gender, education, occupation, ethnicity, family size, and others. Education and occupation are positively significant for the adoption of riverbed farming whereas the family size is negatively significant. Agriculture is the main occupation in the area and education helped them to understand the concept and procedure of RbF as alternative farming in the degraded lands. However, not all the family members have actively contributed to the RbF. This is an interesting study that could be expanded with the support of GOs/NGOs.

Symbioses between animals and bacteria are ubiquitous. To better understand these relationships, it is essential to unravel how bacteria evolve to colonize hosts. Previously, we serially passaged the free-living bacterium, Shewanella oneidensis, through the digestive tracts of germ-free larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) to uncover the evolutionary changes involved in the initiation of a novel symbiosis with a vertebrate host. After 20 passages, we discovered an adaptive missense mutation in the mshL gene of the msh pilus operon, which improved host colonization, increased swimming motility, and reduced surface adhesion. In the present study, we have determined that this mutation was a loss-of-function mutation and found that it improved zebrafish colonization by augmenting S. oneidensis representation in the water column outside larvae through a reduced association with environmental surfaces. Additionally, we found that strains containing the mshL mutation were able to immigrate into host digestive tracts at higher rates per capita. However, mutant and evolved strains exhibited no evidence of a competitive advantage after colonizing hosts. Our results demonstrate that bacterial behaviors outside the host can play a dominant role in facilitating the onset of novel host associations.

Chromobacterium species are common in tropical and subtropical zones in environmental water samples and believed to «tropical» species. Here we describe an environmental case of resident Chromobacterium vaccinii in biofilms associated with Carex spp. roots in Moscow region, Russia (warm-summer humid continental climate zone). We performed broad characterization of individual properties as well as surrounding context for better understanding the premise of C. vaccinii survival during winter season. Genome properties of isolated strains propose some insights into adaptation to habit and biofilm mode of life, including social cheaters carrying ΔluxR mutation. Isolated C. vaccinii differs with previously described strains in some biochemical properties and some basic characteristics like fatty acid composition as well as unique genome features. Despite potential to modulate membrane fluidity and presence of several genes responsible for cold shock response, isolated C. vaccinii didn`t survive during exposure to 4 °C, while in initial complex biofilm it was able to survive for months in vitro at 4 °C. Surrounding bacterial community within the same biofilm with C. vaccinii represented a series of psychrophilic bacterial species which may share resistance to low temperatures with other species within biofilm and provide C. vaccinii opportunity to survive during cold winter season.

In the context of global changes, Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) increasingly draw attention as a possible way to reduce disaster risk associated with extreme hydro-meteorological events while providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits at the same time. The PHUSICOS platform is dedicated to gather and analyse relevant NBSs used to reduce disaster risk associated with extreme hydro-meteorological events in mountainous and hilly lands. To design the platform, an in-depth review of 11 existing platforms has been performed. The platform currently references 152 literature NBS cases and is continuously enriched with demonstrator sites through the contribution of NBS community. The platform also proposes a qualitative assessment of the NBSs collected according to 15 criteria related with five ambits: disaster risk reduction, technical and economical feasibility, environment, society and local economy. This paper presents the structure of the platform and a first analysis of its content.

Not only are humans responsible for the anthropogenic causes of currently observed climate change, but we are also responsible for our responses to climate change. How we choose to respond provides important insights into our ability to collectively act in the face of threats with the unique characteristics of climate change. This communication attempts to provide an overview of some the difficulties in forging new policy directions along our coastlines in an era of climate change. It is meant as a referential framing for the research presented in this special issue. As this communication is being written, the world is gripped by a global pandemic caused by a variant of the coronavirus. There are important corollaries between the underlying characteristics of the coronavirus and the causes and effects of climate change. Seeing how the global citizenry is responding to the current epidemic provides some insight into the difficulties in fostering collective action towards climate change. As with the pandemic, the issue is not really one of understanding the problem, but rather the varying human responses to the problem. We can expect the same difficulties as we continue to confront the ever-growing problem of climate change.

As a part of the European Green Deal, the Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive will apply to over 50,000 companies in Europe, meant to advance the quality of sustainability reporting in the EU, and reduce global emissions and emission distribution inequality. Part of the requirements centre around organisational emission quantification, which will bring much attention to the methodological aspects and resulting decision support capability, which calls for synthesis and argues for clarity. Currently, quantifying the emissions embedded in global transactions mostly focus on direct value-chain attributes, and do not consider unintended consequences beyond the scope of assessment. To achieve genuine reductions, estimated emissions must be considered from a systems perspective to accurately reflect their true impact. While emission inventories serve several purposes, incorrect application limits their potential. The CSRD aligns itself with the GHG Protocol, which does not explicitly facilitate this distinction, although new Land Sector and Removals Guidance draft does, in part. With first CSRD reports expected in 2025, and the GHG protocol entering a revisions period, it presents an opportunity to marry systems thinking with carbon literacy, thereby equipping the expected surge of activity with the sufficient tools for an accelerated transition.

Climate change (CC) poses severe consequences, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where poverty rates may escalate by 2050 without significant climate and development action. The health impacts are diverse, encompassing communicable and non-communicable diseases. Mozambique, a climate-vulnerable nation, has experienced significant natural disasters in the past 42 years, impacting its health system. This study aims to assess Mozambique’s health sector vulnerability and adaptation needs to climate change. Following a methodology proposed by the World Health Organization and Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change, a six-step vulnerability and adaptation assessment was conducted. The Health Vulnerability Index (HVI), integrating historical climate, epidemiological, and socio-economic data at the district level (n=162), was computed using exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity dimensions. The Results revealed spatial patterns in exposure to climate variables, extreme weather events, and variations in sensitivity and adaptive capacity across the country. The HVI mirrored the exposure findings. Notably, high vulnerability was observed in several districts, while major urban centers displayed lower vulnerability. These findings highlight the country’s vulnerability to climate change and underscore the potential for adverse impacts on livelihoods, the economy, and human health. The study provides a foundation for developing strategies and adaptation actions.

In the author's opinion, many global problems that face humanity - in the fields of education, medicine, management etc can be tackled more effectively if the cyclic nature of self-reproducing systems – including living beings – is taken into account. Summarizing the main physiological findings of the last decades on "adaptation reactions", one can very roughly say that the way of action which is effective in the sense of productive activity of people happens at the same time to be healthy, and it gives the participants of the process the feeling of happiness. The present paper represents a very short overview of the contemporary concepts of the adaptation reactions based on the fundamental understanding of their cyclic nature due to general properties of self-reproducing systems. One interesting feature of self-reproduction cycles is its first "phase of orientation" which was not discussed in detail in the past but plays a key role in the whole cycle.

Having valid and reliable tools that help health professionals to assess fear in children undergoing medical procedures is essential to offer humanized and quality of care in the paediatric population. The aim of this study was to develop the cross-cultural adaptation and the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the “Child Medical Fear Scale” in its shortened version (CMFS-R). The design consisted of two phases, first of cross-cultural adaptation and second of the psychometric validation of the CMFS-R with a sample of 262 children from Spain. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess construct validity and the Cronbach alpha and the adjusted item-total score correlation coefficients were performed to study reliability. The results confirmed internal consistency and construct validity of the Spanish version of the CMFS-R, indicating that the scale has an acceptable level of validity and reliability. Therefore, this study brings a new version of the scale to assess fear related to medical procedures for use in the Spanish paediatric population.

A simplified nonlinear dispersive system of BBM-type, initially derived by D. Mitsotakis, is employed here in order to model the generation and propagation of surface water waves over variable bottom. The simplification consists in applying the so-called Boussinesq approximation. Using the finite element method and the FreeFem++ software, we solve numerically this system for three different complexities for the bathymetry function: a flat bottom case, a variable bottom in space, and a variable bottom both in space and in time. The last case is illustrated with the Java 2006 tsunami event. This article is designed rather as a tutorial paper even if it contains the description of completely new adaptation techniques.

We present a novel approach for adapting text written in standard Finnish to different dialects. We experiment with character level NMT models both by using a multi-dialectal and transfer learning approaches. The models are tested with over 20 different dialects. The results seem to favor transfer learning, although not strongly over the multi-dialectal approach. We study the influence dialectal adaptation has on perceived creativity of computer generated poetry. Our results suggest that the more the dialect deviates from the standard Finnish, the lower scores people tend to give on an existing evaluation metric. However, on a word association test, people associate creativity and originality more with dialect and fluency more with standard Finnish.

The issue of actualization of labor interests as a motivational driver and one of the sources of labor productivity is little-studied in applied and organizational psychology. The study given in the paper fills some “blanks” of this problem. The leading approach to research is the motivational system proposed on the basis of theoretical analysis and the developed psychological model of labor interests. Using the methods of a special survey, questioning and interview guides, the analysis and comparative assessment of the labor interests of 50 candidates for the service manager position (entertainment and restaurant industry field) was conducted; as well as of 45 employees in this industry aged 18 to 25. The main results of the paper show the connection of labor interests with the company's personnel management system, namely with the processes of selection, adaptation, and training. It was revealed that the candidates selected for the service manager position were of primary group interest and financial incentive was secondary. At the same time, financial incentive contributed to the successful passage of the adaptation period. Occupational interests of employees depended on their education and job specifics. Career interests were influenced by the time spent with the company. The recommendations necessary for employers to create the conditions corresponding to the leading labor interests of employees were substantiated.

Real-world optimization problems are often governed by one or more constraints. Over the last few decades, extensive research has been performed in Constrained Optimization Problems (COPs) fueled by advances in computational intelligence. In particular, Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) are a preferred tool for practitioners for solving these COPs within practicable time limits. We propose an ensemble of multi- method hybrid EA framework with four mutation operators, two crossover operators, multi-search [Differential Evolution (DE) & Gaining Sharing Knowledge (GSK)] optimization algorithm, and ensemble of constraint handling techniques to solve global real- world constrained optimization problem. The proposed frame- work FEPEA has an ascendancy of multiple adaptation strategies concerning the control parameters, search mechanisms, two sub-populations as well as uses knowledge sharing mechanism between junior and senior phases. The algorithm also combines the power of four popular constraint handling techniques (CHT) and uses a voting mechanism to select any particular CHT. On top of that, this algorithm also uses both linear and non- linear population size reduction in every step of the evolutionary process. We test our method on 57 real-world problems provided as part of the CEC 2020 special session & competition on real- world constrained optimization benchmark suite. Experimental results indicate that FEPEA is able to achieve state-of-the- art performance on real-world constrained global optimization when compared against other well-known real-world constrained optimizers.

Alopecurus myosuroides (blackgrass) is a problematic weed of Western European winter wheat and its success is largely due to widespread multiple-herbicide resistance. Previous analysis of F2 seed families derived from two distinct blackgrass populations exhibiting equivalent non-target site resistance (NTSR) phenotypes shows resistance is polygenic and evolves from standing genetic variation. Using a CIDER-seq pipeline we show that herbicide resistant (HR) and herbicide sensitive (HS) F3 plants from these F2 seed families as well as the parent populations they were derived from carry extra-chromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA). We identify the similarities and differences in the coding structures within and between resistant and sensitive populations. Although the numbers and size of detected eccDNAs varied between the populations, comparisons between HR and HS blackgrass populations identified shared and unique coding content, predicted genes, and functional protein domains. These include genes related to herbicide detoxification such as Cytochrome P450s, ATP-binding cassette transporters and glutathione transferases including AmGSTF1. eccDNA content was mapped to the Alopecurus myosuroides reference genome, revealing genomic regions at distal end of chromosome 5 and the near center of chromosome 1 and 7 as regions with high number of mapped eccDNA gene density. Mapping to 15 known herbicide-resistant QTL regions showed the eccDNA coding sequences match 12 with four QLT matching HS coding sequences one region only contained HR coding sequences. These findings establish that like other pernicious weeds, blackgrass has eccDNAs that contain homologs of chromosomal genes, and these may contribute genetic heterogeneity and evolutionary innovation to rapidly adapt to abiotic stresses including herbicide treatment.

The accumulation of loss of function mutations in the uricase gene well explains the high urate levels in hominoids (apes and humans) compared to other mammals. The loss of human uricase activity may have allowed humans to survive environmental stressors, evolution bottlenecks, and life-threatening pathogens. While high urate levels may contribute to developing cardiometabolic disorders such as hypertension and insulin resistance, low urate levels may increase the risk for neurodegenerative diseases. The double-edged sword effect of uric acid has resurrected a growing interest in the antioxidant role of urate and the role of the uricase gene in modulating the risk of obesity. Characterizing both the effect of uric acid levels and the uricase gene in different animal models may provide new insights into the potential therapeutic benefits of uric acid and novel uricase-based therapy.

Background This paper draws learnings and successes based on field implementation experience spanning four years (2016–2019) of implementing CLTS by Prince of Peace Orphans and Widows Vision, a community-based organization located in Kaberamaido district in eastern Uganda. Methods The study aimed to document, disseminate and inform from an evidence-based point of view how adaptation and collaborative engagements triggers learning from mistakes to inform iterative changes from improvements and success.This is a descriptive paper that used project documents review based on field implementation experience. Existing project reports were synthesised, collated and curated for evidence. Data were drawn from project reports and records to inform narratives in writing. Implementation of the project was executed in homogenous rural communities occupied by people of the same dialect, cultural and social settings. Results We note that success in CLTS implementation can hardly be achieved by merely following prescriptions in handbooks and guidelines but rather by devising innovative community engagement and other participatory and community-driven techniques that foster adaptive management, promote ownership, and buy-in.Having learned from our failures, we used data to inform decisions and transformatively deviated from traditional CLTS implementation and introduced high impact and innovative approaches such as the use of CLTS helpdesks and Situation room, the Pamoja approach, learning labs and iterative feedback loops, innovatively tackling slippage and carefully introducing the follow-up mandona approach. These enhanced experiential learning and ultimately resulted in sustained sanitation behaviour. Conclusions The CLTS approach as outlined in the handbook needs to be flexibly adapted to address contextual needs. Reflective and learning sessions reinforced with routine feedback loops from implementers and beneficiaries yields tremendous results, propagates experiential learning, and ultimately results in a transformative deviation from undesirable to desired sanitation behaviours. These innovative approaches once carefully blended have proved to be sustainable, are adaptable and can work in an even larger scale and in a variety of contexts.

During recent decades, contextual computing applications have emerged in the field of healthcare and particularly in the field of telemonitoring of patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). According to WHO rankings, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death worldwide. Various research works are therefore carried out to improve the health of patients and the monitoring of patients in the comfort of their home environment. To this end, several telemonitoring systems are designed to COPD patients. These systems are connected to health center. Emergency physicians follow the patients subscribed to these systems remotely. These systems focus mainly on prediction, decision-making and the requirements of the healthcare profession, and do not address the quality control aspects of services or QoS based on service level agreements (SLAs). This situation can be dangerous for patients in case of extreme exacerbation of COPD patients. For example, the unavailability of the monitoring system can lead to the death of the patient because the emergency physician could not have access to the patient's data in real time in the context of COPD Patient Monitoring. In addition, Remote medical monitoring platforms are manipulating large volumes of data and the risks of data lost or data quality are real. It is therefore important to have the mechanisms to continuously improve the quality of service of these monitoring platforms in general and COPD patients particularly. In this article, we propose an ontology that uses SLA information from COPD monitoring platforms with dynamic data from the patient context. The purpose of this article is to propose a dynamic mechanism model for evaluating SLA violations. This solution allows retrieving knowledge from the main items of the SLA document based on XML and the COPD patient context data dynamically from a COPD SLA ontology. These data retrieved in real time allow the calculation of SLO-based metrics and display a SLA template available on the supplier and consumer interfaces. The information of the SLA violation control Interface changes dynamically depending the context-aware system and SLA document data. The SLA parties can dynamically control their Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Target.

How robust is our assessment of impacts to ecosystems and species from a rapidly changing climate during the 21st century? We examine the challenges of uncertainty, complexity and constraints associated with applying climate projections to understanding future biological responses. This includes an evaluation of how to incorporate the uncertainty associated with different greenhouse gas emissions scenarios and climate models, and constraints of spatiotemporal scales and resolution of climate data into impact assessments. We describe the challenges of identifying relevant climate metrics for ecological models and evaluate the usefulness and limitations of different methodologies of applying climate change to both quantitative and qualitative ecological response models. We discuss the importance of incorporating extreme climate events and their stochastic tendencies in assessing ecological impacts and transformation, and provide recommendations for better integration of complex climate-ecological interactions at relevant spatiotemporal scales. We further recognize the compounding nature of uncertainty when accounting for our limited understanding of the interactions between climate and biological processes. Given the inherent complexity in ecological processes and their interactions with climate, we recommend integrating quantitative modeling with expert elicitation from diverse disciplines and experiential understanding of recent climate-driven ecological processes to develop more robust understanding of ecological responses under different scenarios of future climate change. Inherently complex interactions between climate and biological systems also provide an opportunity to develop wide-ranging strategies that resource managers can employ to prepare for the future.

In our paper, we develop the hypothesis of a general call for high mobility and discuss the consequences of it. First, we examine the contemporary social representations of mobility, looking for a definition of what is seen as being properly mobile. We will then show how intertwined social representations of space and time result in the prevalent vision of an inevitable and constant mobility. Next, we will thus discuss the importance of seeing mobility as much more than its material facet. Our third step will be to propose a formalisation of the contemporary requisite for mobility. Through four imperatives (activity, activation, participation, adaptation), the mobilitarian ideal requires each person and organisation to be constantly active, mobile, flexible, networking, etc. We argue that, today, we are all meant to be highly mobile. We will illustrate this point with the example of the parliamentary documents of the Belgian Prison Act (2005) in which prison is open and porous, good inmates are described as dynamic individuals on the move and the legitimate penitentiary system is a paradoxical mobilisation system. We will conclude by discussing the need to reshape our vision of the prison, considering its apparently paradoxical relation with mobility.

There has been limited research on improving Internet-delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (ICBT) in routine online therapy clinics that serve people from diverse ethnocultural groups (PDEGs). This article describes a patient-oriented adaptation approach used to address this gap in research. A working group consisting of people with lived experience, community stakeholders, ICBT clinicians, managers, and researchers, was formed. The working group examined archival feedback on ICBT from past clients who self-identified as being from diverse ethnocultural back-grounds (N=278) and results of interviews with current patients (N=16), community stakeholders (N=6), and clinicians (N=3). The archival data and interviews revealed the majority of the pa-tients reported being satisfied with and benefitting from ICBT. Suggestions for improvement were not related to the cognitive-behavioural model and techniques, but rather to making treatment materials more inclusive. Consequently, the ICBT adaptation focused on adding content related to cultural influences on mental health, addressing stigma, diversifying case stories, examples and imagery, adding audiovisual introductions, and replacing English idioms with more descriptive language. Moreover, further training was offered to clinicians and efforts were made to improve community outreach. This study demonstrates a process for using patient-oriented research to improve ICBT within routine care serving patients of diverse backgrounds.

Artificial intelligence systems are increasingly becoming a component of security-critical applications. The protection of such systems from various types of destructive influences is thus a relevant area of research. The vast majority of previously published works are aimed at reducing vulnerability to certain types of disturbances or implementing certain resilience properties. At the same time, the authors either do not consider the concept of resilience as such, or their understanding varies greatly. This work presents a formalized definition of resilience and its characteristics for artificial intelligence systems from a systemic point of view. It systematizes ideas and approaches to building resilience to various types of disturbances. Taxonomy of resilience of artificial intelligence systems to destructive disturbances is proposed. Approaches and technologies for complex protection of intelligent systems, issues of their resource efficiency and other open research issues are considered. Approaches of resilience assessment for artificial intelligence system are also analyzed and recommendations are provided for their implementation.

Coastal areas are highly vulnerable to climate change hazards (e.g., sea-level rise, flooding, coastal erosion), which can lead to significant impacts at the ecosystem and societal level. Interest in Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is gaining importance due to its potential multiple benefits, including social and environmental aspects, when compared to more traditional approaches such as hard engineering interventions. When assessing EbA strategies, further understanding of the nature-society functions, processes, values, and benefits is needed to increase its application. This study contributes to a better knowledge of EbA by developing a systematic literature review of studies performing socio-economic assessments of climate change adaptation in coastal areas. The analysis of 54 publications revealed that most of the studies assessed adaptation solutions through cost-benefit analysis, followed by multi-criteria analysis, and other techniques. Hybrid adaptation strategies based on different combinations of hard, soft and EbA interventions were considered as potential optimal solutions in a significant part of the assessments. This study suggests the potential co-benefits of EbA in the form of ecosystem services, livelihood diversification or biodiversity conservation, but also stresses the need for further research on this topic, as well as on evaluating how EbA perform in the long-term under climate changing conditions scenarios.

The literature on contract farming and climate change in Zimbabwe has blind spots in relation to the study of contract farming as a climate change response. While the literature on contract farming and climate change abounds, such literature is lacking when it comes to the exploration of how contract farming can facilitate climate change coping and adaptation strategies by smallholder farmers. This paper fills this gap. It draws on in-depth interviews with 10 contracted and 10 non-contract farmers who were engaged through face-to-face in-depth interviews in the Chipinge South Constituency. It found that contract farming does not only boost productivity, but it also enables farmers to positively respond to the ravages of climate change, and therefore, it should be supported and encouraged. Future research should explore more viable and sustainable way through which the state, instead of private sector actors, should be at the centre of contract farming.

Mental health could worsen in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder during the Covid19 pandemic. In addition, their parents could be more at risk for an increase in anxiety and depression symptomatology. This study aims to understand the adaptation and the psychosocial well-being in a sample of 16 males aged 10-21 years old with Asperger syndrome after the quarantine for Covid19 when they return to school and partially to their activities in September 2020, The approach adopted is multi-informant with a battery of questionnaires on psychological health and adaptation given by a secure online web data Qualtrics both to adolescents and also to their parents. Paralleling matched peers with typically development were assessed adopting the same methodology. The results evidenced several difficulties in Asperger’s psychological health, especially in anxiety and socialization. Also adaptation is put in crisis, even if they reported a good comprehension and adoption of the behaviors anti-Covid19. Parents of children with Asperger reported similar psychological difficulties and general health than those of the group of children typically developing. Some clinical indications could be discussed for psychologists who follow children and adolescents with Asperger.

The increase in ecosystem biodiversity can be perceived as one of the universal processes converting energy into information across a wide range of living systems. This study delves into the dynamics of living systems, highlighting the distinction between ex-post adaptation, typically associated with natural selection, and its proactive counterpart, ex-ante adaptability. Through coalescence experiments using synthetic ecosystems, we (i) quantified an ecosystem stability, (ii) identified correlations between species richness and the stability, (iii) proposed a mechanism for increasing biodiversity through moderate inter-ecosystem interactions, and (iv) inferred that the information carrier of ecosystems is species composition, or merged genomic information. Additionally, we observed that (v) changes in ecosystems are constrained to a low-dimensional state space, with three distinct alteration trajectories—fluctuations, rapid environmental responses, and long-term changes—converging into this state space in common. These findings suggest that daily fluctuations may predict broader ecosystem changes. Our experimental insights, coupled with an exploration of living systems' information dynamics from an ecosystem perspective, enhance our predictive capabilities for natural ecosystem behavior, providing a universal framework for understanding a broad spectrum of living systems.

The Agile Building Adaptation (AgiBuild) framework is the adoption and adaptation of the large-scale agile framework for building adaptation projects. The agile methodology is proven to drive innovation by focusing on adaptation to change and user centricity. Similarly, the authors envision that the AgiBuild framework can fundamentally change the way that buildings are re-designed, refurbished, and operated. The AgiBuild framework is developed from the need of the building adaptation industry to manage uncertainties, overcome communication barriers, and improve innovation. In this study, a literature review of Agile and its impact on building adaptation projects is undertaken. Based on this systematic literature review, this paper defines the AgiBuilt framework and provides its benefits and barriers to implementation. A key finding of the literature review is that leadership influence, and adequate training form the key foundation for the implementation of the AgiBuild Framework. In defining the AgiBuild framework, the paper describes its components and how its implementation is likely to proceed. The authors propose that by adopting the AgiBuild framework, the industry can transform itself into a highly innovative and user-centred industry to improve productivity and performance of the construction industry..

In an ever-evolving landscape of higher education institution, the College of Arts and Sciences at St. Michael's College, Iligan City, Philippines, embarked on a strategic journey to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the post-pandemic era. This study, conducted in August 2022, delves into the multifaceted dimensions of their strategic planning processes. Through qualitative methods that use intensive in-depth reviews of literature, informal interviews, observation, and thematic analysis, this research unveils a narrative of adaptation, innovation, and internationalization. It explores how the institution resiliently adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraged technological advancements to enhance educational delivery, fostered interdisciplinary collaboration at the nexus of arts and sciences, and embraced internationalization through partnerships and cultural exchange. Anchored in a robust theoretical framework, this study resonates with broader trends in higher education, echoing the global call for agile, student-centric, and forward-thinking institutions. As this institution's journey unfolds, its experiences and lessons resonate with academic leaders, administrators, faculty, students, and stakeholders, inviting reflection and dialogue on the future of higher education.

The log data generated during the operation of a software system contains information about the system, and using logs for anomaly detection can detect system failures in a timely manner. Most of the existing log anomaly detection methods are specific to a particular system, have cold start problems, and are sensitive to updates in log format. In this paper, we propose a log anomaly detection method LogBD based on pre-training model and domain adaptation, which uses the pre-training model BERT to learn the semantic information of logs, and can solve the problems caused by multiple meaning words and log statement updates. An anomaly detection method LogBD based on distance to determine anomalies is constructed based on domain adaptation, using TCN networks to extract common features of different system logs and map them to the same hypersphere space. Finally, experiments are conducted on two publicly available datasets to evaluate the method, and the experimental results show that the method can better solve the log instability problem and has some improvement in the cross-system log anomaly detection effect.

For tropical forests to survive anthropogenic climate change, the trees that comprise them will need to tolerate the newly emerging conditions through adaptation or acclimation, or they can avoid climate change through range shifts and “species migrations”. In this review, we show that the rapid pace and extreme severity of modern climate change makes it extremely unlikely that tropical tree species can adapt (with some possible exceptions). We also show that while many tropical tree species are shifting their distributions to higher, cooler elevations, the rate of these migrations are mostly insufficient to offset ongoing changes in temperatures, especially in lowland tropical rainforests where thermal gradients are shallow or nonexistent. We argue that the best hope for tropical tree species to avoid becoming “committed to extinction” is acclimation. While several new methods are being developed to test for acclimation, we unfortunately still do not know if tropical tree species can acclimate or what factors may prevent or facilitate acclimation. Until these questions are answered, our ability to predict the fate of tropical species and tropical forests – and the many services that they provide to humanity – remains critically impaired.

Background: The red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852), native to the United States and northern Mexico, has been introduced in many countries worldwide. The species has a remarkable invasiveness, due to its high reproductive rate and to its ability to tolerate broad ranges of water parameters like salinity. Nevertheless, no consistent observations of P. clarkii have been reported in the marine environment until now. Methods: Through the observations of a personal acquaintance and of two volunteers who published photos of the species on Facebook marine biology and fishing groups, we collected data showing the presence of the crayfish within marine ecosystems. Results: P. clarkii has been spotted in three different localities, in two of which observations are recurrent. The species can live miles from the nearest freshwater stream, and can colonise the depths up to 20 meters. Conclusions: The multiple observations of P. clarkii collected in our study uncover a persistent presence of the species within some marine areas, rather than its mere sporadic occurrence. As resistance to increasing salinities is influenced by multiple genes, genetic admixture between genetically-differentiated individuals coming from distinct geographical origins could have brought together different salinity-resistance genes, leading to the formation of these resilient phenotypes.

Real-world optimization problems are often gov- erned by one or more constraints. Over the last few decades, extensive research has been performed in Constrained Opti- mization Problems (COPs) fueled by advances in computational power. In particular, Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) are a preferred tool for practitioners for solving these COPs within practicable time limits. We propose a novel hybrid Evolutionary Algorithm based on the Differential Evolution algorithm and Adaptive Parameter Gaining Sharing Knowledge-based algo- rithm to solve global real-world constrained parameter space. The proposed CHAGSKODE algorithm leverages the power of multiple adaptation strategies concerning the control parameters, search mechanisms, as well as uses knowledge sharing between junior and senior phases. We test our method on the benchmark functions taken from the CEC2020 special session & competition on real-world constrained optimization. Experimental results indicate that CHAGSKODE is able to achieve state-of-the- art performance on real-world constrained global optimization when compared against other well-known real-world constrained optimizers.

The paper provides a critical synthesis of analysis and evaluation of some case studies in the Italian national context, which allowed, through an inductive method, to assess, in terms of integration and coherence, the process of transposition of climate change adaptation contents, possibly already contained within a regional urban framework (Regional Urban Laws) or specific Regional Adaptation Strategies or Local Adaptation Plans, within the territorial and urban planning tools of metropolitan or local scale.

The agricultural sector provides employment and income to the majority of Myanmar's population. The sector, however, is extremely susceptible to severe weather, rising temperatures, and changes in precipitation. This paper aims to analyze how vulnerable Myanmar's agricultural sector is to climate change and highlights the key sectors that are most at risk. This report also examines historical climate information, and the anticipated effects of climate change on Myanmar's agricultural sectors. In-depth literature reviews and summaries of Myanmar's climate change adaptation efforts are included in the report, along with recom-mendations for targeted, locally appropriate actions to strengthen the country's agricultural sector's resilience. Additionally, the study reviews Myanmar's in-stitutional framework for climate action and government priorities for adaptation measures, emphasizes the urgent need for climate action in Myanmar's agricul-ture sectors and calls for more research and development efforts on the effects of climate change on rural livelihoods and agriculture.

The paper analyses the national DK-model Hydrological Information and Prediction (HIP) system and HIP portal viewed as a ‘Digital Twin’ and how the introduction of real-time dynamic updating of the DK-model HIP simulations can give room for plug-in sub-models with real-time boundary conditions made available from a HIP portal. The possible feedback to a national real-time risk knowledge base during extreme events (flooding and drought) is also discussed. Under climate change conditions, Denmark is likely to experience more rain in winter, more evapotranspiration in summer, intensified cloudbursts, drought, and sea level rise. These challenges have been addressed as part of the Joint Governmental Digitalization Strategy 2016-2020 for better use and sharing of public data about the terrain, water, and climate to support climate adaptation, water management, and disaster risk reduction. This initiative included the development of a new web-based data portal (HIP portal) developed by the Danish Agency for Data Supply and Infrastructure (SDFI). GEUS delivered 5 terra-byte of hydrological model data to the portal with robust calibration methods and hybrid Machine Learning (ML) being key parts of the deliverables. The paper discusses the challenges and potentials of further developing the HIP Digital Twin with ‘plug-in Digital Twins’ for local river basins including feedback to the national level.

The period of study in the online environment can be a very demanding trial for students and masters, especially for those who are not familiar with computer technology. This is largely due to a complex of factors that come from the changes to which they are subjected, such as: leaving the parental home and settling into another living environment (living in dormitories or other forms of accommodation) but also settling with an unfamiliar and very different educational environment from what they were familiar with. Along with all the changes occurring in the family and social plan, the students had to adapt to the educational system made exclusively online. Higher educa-tion institutions in Romania use, as a method of knowledge transmission, traditional learning methods, namely they use face-to-face lecture-type courses in a lecture hall or practical and ex-planatory activities in a seminar/laboratory room. The emergence of this pandemic forced higher education institutions to switch to an online teaching mode for all types of activities included in the educational process.

The present research was titled “A Study on Dark Triad Personality and Emergency Response and Psychological Adaptation among Young Adults during Pandemic.” The purpose of the study was to explore the association between the dimensions of dark triad personality namely narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism and the dimensions of emergency response and psychological adaptation namely worry, agitation, awareness, prosociality, perceived self-efficacy. The correlation between the dimensions of dark triad personality and the dimensions of emergency response and psychological adaptation. Gender differences were also studied for the dimension dark triad personality. The results showed that a strong positive correlation existed between narcissism and agitation, Machiavellianism and worry and Machiavellianism and agitation. Narcissism and psychopathy were found to be strong predictors of agitation. Significant Gender differences were noted on the dimensions of psychopathy and Machiavellianism where males scored higher than females.

This study aims to investigate the influence of various economic, environmental, and social factors on sustainable development, with a specific focus on the impact of green technology and climate change adaptation. A panel dataset comprising 38 OECD member countries from 1990 to 2020 is employed, and a series of dynamic panel data models are estimated using the system generalized method of moments (GMM) approach. Numerous covariates, such as globalization, socio-economic conditions, economic and political values, climate and technological progress, and environmental determinants, are examined. The empirical findings highlight the significant role played by macroeconomic, institutional, social, and government policy-related factors in sustainable development. More importantly, our results provide novel and robust evidence that the diffusion of green technology and climate change adaptation positively affect green growth. The study's empirical outcomes are demonstrated to be robust to misspecification errors and statistically significant at traditional significance levels. These findings carry substantial policy implications for the development and implementation of strategies that promote climate change adaptation and green innovation. Consequently, policymakers should prioritize the integration of green technology and adaptive measures in their sustainable development agendas to foster a greener, more resilient future.

Metastasis is a systemic condition and the major challenge among cancer types, as it can lead to multiorgan vulnerability. Recently, attention has been drawn to cellular senescence, a complex stress response condition, as a factor implicated in metastatic dissemination and outgrowth. Here, we examine the current knowledge of the features required for cells to invade and colonize secondary organs and how senescent cells can contribute to this process. First, we described the role of senescence in placentation, itself an invasive process which has been linked to higher rates of invasive cancers. Second, we describe how senescent cells can contribute to metastatic dissemination and colonization. Third, we discuss several metabolic adaptations by which senescent cells could promote cancer survival along the metastatic journey. In conclusion, we posit that targeting cellular senescence may have a potential therapeutic efficacy to limit metastasis formation.

To remain relevant in the green transition, companies are beginning to voluntarily account for the exchange of emissions in their supply chain transactions and using the resulting greenhouse gas inventories for climate resilient decision support. Market advantages of sustainability and transparency see a shift from internal decision support tools to external communication tools which potentially expose companies to the risk of uncovering greenwashing if claims are not supported by transparent data, sound modelling, and a climate just emissions inventory, which considers external impacts connected to the production system. The different methods and standards in place for such greenhouse gas inventories, despite all referring to the ISO life cycle analysis standards and guidelines, present mixed signals and leave room for different interpretations, that may ultimately lead to cascading greenwashing, misleading results, and false successes. The new GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Guidance draft addresses this in part. With the GHG Protocol moving into revision periods, we identify gaps that present barriers to companies, or allow for interpretations that goes against the intentions of reporting GHG emissions related to an activity or organisation. The literature agrees that not rectifying these subtle-ties present counterproductive decision support for the green transition’s overall goal: to reduce global emissions.

This study aimed to conduct a cross-cultural adaptation of the development of the cat-owner/dog-owner relationship scales. The method encompassed several stages: conceptual, item, semantic, operational, measurement, and functional equivalence. Processes included translations, synthesis of translations, back-translations, consensus on the English versions, external evaluation by the original authors, expert committee evaluation, and pre-tests. The study involved surveying 342 pet owners throughout Brazil using a 20-item questionnaire. Data analyses utilized confirmatory factor analysis, covariance-based modeling, and multigroup analysis. The techniques confirmed that the scale preserved its psychometric properties and showed no variance between dog and cat owners, indicating that the measured constructs are universal and unaffected by specific cultural nuances. Hence, the cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the scale facilitate applying and testing concepts and measures in diverse contexts, enriching our understanding of the dynamics between owners and their pets (dogs and cats) in different living situations. In addition, this research holds particular significance in Brazil, given the country’s vast cultural diversity.

Abstract. The increasing frequency of isolation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) limits the chances of effective antibacterial therapy of staphylococcal diseases and results in development of persistent infection such as bacteremia and osteomyelitis. The aim of this study was to identify features of the MRSAST239 0943-1505-2016 (SA943) genome, that contribute to the formation of both acute and chronic musculoskeletal infections. The analysis was performed using comparative genomics data of the dominant epidemic S. aureus lineages namely ST1, ST8, ST30, ST36, ST239. SA943 genome encodes proteins that provide resistance to the host immune system, suppress immunological memory and form biofilms. The molecular mechanisms of adaptation responsible for development of persistent infection were as follows: amino acid substitution in PBP2 and PBP2a, providing resistance to ceftaroline; loss of a large part of prophage DNA and restoration of nucleotide sequence of beta-hemolysin, that greatly facilitates escape of phagocytosed bacteria from phagosome and formation of biofilms; dysfunction of the AgrA system due to the presence of psm-mec and several amino acid substitutions in the AgrC; partial deletion of nucleotide sequence in genomic island vSAβ resulting in the loss of two proteases of Spl - operon; deletion of SD repeats in SdrE amino acid sequence.

This research looks into the evolving dynamics of ransomware, shifting from conventional encryption-based attacks to sophisticated data exfiltration strategies. Employing the Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) model, the study analyzes network traffic patterns to detect ransomware activities, offering new insights into their covert operations. The findings emphasize the need for advanced AI tools in cybersecurity, highlighting the significance of adapting and innovating defense strategies to counter the changing landscape of ransomware threats. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of ransomware evolution and underscores the importance of integrating AI in cybersecurity practices.

This paper explores the challenges faced by blue-collared international migrants in adapting to new and unfamiliar climates while pursuing job opportunities, with a focus on poverty alleviation. Drawing on existing research and empirical evidence, the study investigates the trials encountered by these migrants as they navigate climate shocks and assesses the potential impacts on poverty reduction efforts. The findings underscore the significant difficulties blue-collared migrants experience when confronted with abrupt changes in climate conditions, adversely affecting their physical and mental well-being, as well as their employment prospects. The process of adjustment involves not only acclimating to new climate patterns but also navigating cultural nuances and social dynamics, exacerbating stress and feelings of isolation. Consequently, these challenges can perpetuate poverty by disrupting employment stability and limiting opportunities for career advancement. To address these issues, the paper proposes comprehensive support measures, including targeted pre-departure training programs, access to retraining opportunities, and assistance in securing sustainable livelihoods. By prioritizing climate resilience and empowering blue-collared migrants to adapt effectively to new climates, it becomes possible to enhance their livelihood prospects, reduce poverty levels, and foster sustainable development. The paper concludes by highlighting the significance of integrating climate adaptation strategies with poverty alleviation efforts to create a more inclusive and resilient future for blue-collared migrants in their pursuit of sustainable livelihoods.

Genetic adaptation of Hermetia illucens (BSF) to suboptimal single sourced wastes can open new perspectives for insect production. Here, four replicate BSF lines were maintained on a single sourced, low-quality wheat bran diet (WB) or on a high-quality chicken feed diet (CF) for 13 generations. We continuously evaluated evolutionary responses in several performance traits to rearing at the two diets. Subsequently, we tested responses to interchanged diets, i.e. of larvae that had been adapted to low-quality feed and to high quality feed and vice versa to evaluate costs associated with diet adaptation. BSF were found to experience rapid adaptation to the diet composition. While performances on WB diet were always inferior to CF diet, the adaptive re-sponses were stronger to the former diet. This stronger response was likely due to stronger se-lection pressure experienced by BSF fed on the low-quality single sourced diet. The interchanged diet experiment found no costs associated with diet adaptation but confirmed diet adaptation for the larval biomass and insect frass traits for the WB diet treatment. Our results revealed that BSF can rapidly adapt to diet through evolutionary responses, which has potential to be utilized to produce lines tailored to specific diets.

Economic risks for livestock production are caused by volatile commodities and market conditions, but also by environmental drivers like increasing uncertainties due to weather anomalies and global warming. These risks impact the gross margin of farmers and can stimulated investment decisions. For confined pig and poultry production, farmers can reduce the environmental impact by implementing specific adaptation measures to reduce heat stress. A simulation model driven by meteorological data was used to calculate heat stress impact as a projection for 2030. For a business-as-usual livestock building, the indoor climate for several adaptation measures was calculated. The weather-related value-at risk quantified the economic risks caused by global warming and the stochastic component of the weather. The results show that only energy-saving adaptation measures to reduce the inlet air temperature are appropriate to reduce the economic risk to the level of the year 1980. The efficiency of other adaptation measures to reduce heat stress is distinctly lower. The results in this study can support the decision making of farmers concerning adaptation management and investments. It can inform agricultural policy design as well as technological development.

The impacts of climate change are already felt across the globe, and (SIDS) are at the forefront. Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) are extremely vulnerable to climate change and adaptation is crucial, however they often lack funding or the fiscal capacity to make the necessary invest-ments and require support from climate finance instruments. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was designed with the objective of achieving a “paradigm shift” towards low-carbon and climate resilient country-driven development pathway. Despite the amounts invested, assessing the impacts of climate finance on adaptation and adaptive capacity, particularly at the institutional level remains a challenge. Researchers identified two key components for more efficient adapta-tion policies at the national level: the degree of adaptation mainstreaming and institutional adaptive capacity. In SIDS, institutional capacity at the national level is seen as a key component to achieve the objectives of climate change strategies, and is supported by several programmes, including the Green Climate Fund Readiness Preparatory Support Programmes. However, to date few studies have analysed the linkages between climate finance, adaptation mainstreaming and adaptive institutional capacity. Through the review of the Readiness Grants and semi-structured interviews in three Caribbean SIDS, this research assess how climate finance may promote in-stitutional change through the mainstreaming of adaptation policies at the national level and contribute to more institutional adaptive capacity. It shows that the grants had a positive impact, which can be limited to by the strength of the institutions in place. These results demonstrate that access to climate finance can create a window of opportunity for countries to accelerate institu-tional change and allow to make recommendations on how to maximise the impacts adaptation funds. More in-depth studies would be needed to examine the complementary influence of the different climate finance flows (multilateral or bilateral) and their interplay with national institu-tional mechanisms.

Apis cerana and Apis mellifera, are very important honey species for agriculture in Asian countries. In recent decades, A. cerana populations have sharply declined in all Asian countries as a result of Sacbrood Virus infection and have now recovered to their original size. It can change the genetic structure of local populations of A. cerana. We used the nuclear gene Vitellogenin VG to assess the genetic structure of local populations of A. cerana and the signature of adaptive selection. We performed a population genetic analysis of the honey bees A. cerana from South Korea in comparison with A. cerana samples from Russia, Japan, Nepal, and China. The sequences of the gene VG of a closely related honey bee species, A. mellifera, from India and Poland were used as outgroup samples. A comparative analysis of northern and southern A. cerana populations was performed. The signatures of positive adaptive selection were found in the local population of A. cerana. We performed the Tajima's neutrality D test for A. cerana populations from different local populations based on the gene VG exon sequences. All A. cerana populations showed signs of population size expansion following the possible recent decline in population sizes. The local populations of A. c. koreana were subdivided according to their geographical distribution into southern, northern, and central Korean clusters. The gene VG exon sequences can be used as informative markers for monitoring the changes in genetic structure and adaptation to the environment processes in A. cerana populations.

Dioscorea remotiflora, a perennial climbing herbaceous plant wild and native to México, bears tubers of important ethnobotanical and nutritional value. However, the information for its production and use is precarious. The objective of this research was to characterize the adaptation habitats of D. remotiflora in order to determine its ecological descriptors and current distribution, as well as to model its potential distribution. A comprehensive database encompassing 481 geo-referenced accessions was assembled. Using the Agroclimatic Information System for México and Central America (SIAMEXCA), 42 environmental variables were formulated. The MaxEnt model within the Kuenm R-package was employed to predict the species distribution. The findings reveal a greater presence of D. remotiflora in harsh environments, characterized by arid to semi-arid conditions, poor soils, and hot climates with long dry periods. The plant's nutritional and medicinal attributes, combined with its ecological adaptability, suggest its viability within evolving regional cropping systems under the influence of climate change. Niche modeling revealed that seven key variables determine the geographical distribution of D. remotiflora: precipitation of the warmest quarter, precipitation of the driest month, minimum temperature of the coldest month, November-April solar radiation, annual mean relative humidity, annual moisture availability index, and May-October mean temperature. Favorable regions for D. remotiflora coincide with its current presence sites, while other suitable areas, such as the Yucatan Peninsula, Northeast region, and Gulf of México, offer potential expansion opportunities for the species distribution. The characterization obtained for D. remotiflora, together with the description of its edaphic and climatic adaptation habitats, will enable an efficient design of strategies for its use and conservation in the near future.

This paper investigates urban microclimate in relation to the typical major streets and mobility layout in Turin, i.e. boulevards with lateral minor roads, called “controviali”, an almost unique urban mobility layout. The aim is to examine the possibility of intervention in relation to the type and scope of mobility for microclimate mitigation and climate adaptation purposes. To this, this paper evaluates to which extent urban morphology and mobility features contribute to determining microclimatic conditions, to finally identify site-specific prioritised strategies to cope with its mitigation. This research is structured in two phases. The first phase is dedicated to urban-scale analysis of the streets with “controviali”, resulting in the creation of a database containing their properties and typology, to finally derive six clusters of boulevards. The second phase involves the selection of one representative case study per cluster and simulation of their microclimate conditions, performed by the software ENVI-met. The results are discussed in relation to the parameters proven in the prior literature review to have a major impact on the microclimate. The assessment of the results indicated which elements affect the climatic conditions the most, allowing for the proposal of different prioritised mitigation strategies in the conclusion.

The rice-wheat rotation is the dominant cropping system in Bihar, where food security of the rural population depends heavily on the production of rice and wheat. In Bihar, climatic shocks induced by low temperatures and terminal heat stress can significantly affect rice and wheat yields. The present work evaluates the benefit of using the monsoon onset as the date for planting rice in reducing thermal stress on rice-wheat systems. High-resolution gridded crop simulations using the APSIM model were performed to simulate potential yields of rice and wheat using the monsoon onset and the farmers’ practice as planting dates. The monsoon onset was calculated using an agronomic definition and farmers’ practice dates were estimated using satellite data. Model outputs were analyzed in terms of planting dates, yields, and the incidence of low temperature stress on rice and high temperature stress on wheat by means of the APSIM yields limiting factors. The results show that the rice planting and harvest dates using the monsoon onset are in general 20-30 days earlier, decreasing the incidence of thermal stress in rice and wheat, and generating higher and more stable yields. These results can help design mitigation strategies for the impacts of climate shocks induced by low and high temperature events in the context of the advances in sub-seasonal and seasonal forecasting, targeting climate services for farmers in Bihar.

This article explores the intersection of innovative leadership and climate change, aiming to provide outstanding contributions to the existing body of knowledge in this field. The article identifies the critical role of innovative leadership in driving sustainable solutions and strategies for addressing climate change. It examines the defining characteristics and behaviors of innovative leaders and explores how their transformative leadership approaches can create a positive impact on climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. The article also highlights the importance of fostering innovation within organizations and societies to tackle the complex challenges posed by climate change. Through a comprehensive review of relevant literature and case studies, this article presents novel insights, theoretical frameworks, and practical implications for policymakers, organizations, and individuals involved in climate change leadership.

Coastal ecosystems provide a wide range of goods and services for the lives of human beings and aquatic species. Nevertheless, climate-induced extreme events cause unprecedented impacts on these areas, instigating a reduction of aquatic goods and services, destruction of infrastructure, and loss of human lives. Hence, this review investigated the impacts of climate-induced coastal hazards and adaptation responses. A systematic review method was used to address the objectives of this literature review. The main data sources were Research Gate, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases. A total of 40 research articles (2012-2023) were selected using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA 2020) methodology. The findings of this review revealed that Bangladesh was the leading country based on the number of studies published on the impacts of climate-induced coastal hazards and coastal adaptations (20%), followed by the USA, which accounts for about 15%. Sea-level rise, coastal flooding, and climate change and variability were the most studied climate-induced coastal hazards, each accounting for 55%, 52.5% and 52.5% respectively. Coastal hazards have had significant impacts on the fishery, water, coastal ecosystems and biodiversity, agriculture, tourism, and infrastructure sectors. Besides, they caused migration and death of humans and animals. About 35% of the articles explored the assessment of vulnerability to climate-induced hazards. Moreover, 32.5% of the articles investigated anticipated climate-induced hazards. Hard, soft, ecosystem-based, and hybrid adaptation measures were used to adapt to the impacts of diverse climate-induced coastal hazards. In conclusion, developing countries are more vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate-induced coastal hazards than developed countries. The coastal area’s vulnerability to climate change risks will continue unless all stakeholders act proactively. Thus, it is suggested that the adaptation policies of vulnerable coastal areas should give due attention to nature-based solutions to reduce the adverse impacts of coastal hazards sustainably.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy of reproductive-aged women characterized by hyperandrogenism, oligo-anovulation and insulin resistance closely linked with preferential abdominal fat accumulation. As an ancestral primate trait, PCOS was likely further selected in humans when scarcity of food in hunter-gatherers of the late Pleistocene additionally programmed for enhanced fat storage to meet the metabolic demands of reproduction in later life. As an evolutional model for PCOS, healthy normal-weight women with hyperandrogenic PCOS have subcutaneous (SC) abdominal adipose stem cells that favor fat storage through exaggerated lipid accumulation during development to adipocytes in vitro. In turn, fat storage is counterbalanced by reduced insulin sensitivity and preferential accumulation of highly-lipolytic intra-abdominal fat in vivo. This metabolic adaptation in PCOS balances energy storage with glucose availability and fatty acid oxidation for optimal energy use during reproduction; its accompanying oligo-anovulation allowed PCOS women from antiquity sufficient time and strength for childrearing of fewer offspring with a greater likelihood of childhood survival. Heritable PCOS characteristics are now affected by today’s contemporary environment through epigenetic events that predispose to lipotoxicity with excess weight gain and pregnancy complications, calling for an emphasis on preventive healthcare to optimize the long-term, endocrine-metabolic health of PCOS women in today’s obesogenic environment.

In the field of climate change adaptation, the future matters. Amongst others, river futures justify the way adaptation projects materialize in rivers. In this paper, we challenge the ways in which dominant paradigms and expert claims monopolise the truth concerning policies and designs of river futures, side-lining and delegitimizing alternative river futures. Currently, limited work is done to critically reflect on the power of river futures in the context of climate change adaptation. We conceptualized the power of river futures through river imaginaries: collectively performed and publicly envisioned reproductions of riverine socionatures, mobilized through truth claims of social life and social order. Through the Border Meuse project case study, a climate change adaptation project in a stretch of the river Meuse in the south of the Netherlands and a proclaimed success story of climate adaptation in Dutch water management, we elucidated how three river imaginaries: a modern river imaginary, a market-driven imaginary and an eco-centric river imaginary, merged and materialized as an eco-modern river imaginary. Importantly, not only the river futures merged, also their aligned truth regimes merged. To this end, we argue that George Orwell’s famous quote “Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past” can be extended to ‘Who controls the future, controls how we see and act in the present, and how we rediscover the past’.

We performed electronic research for articles published in PubMed, MEDLINE, and ScienceDirect databases from January 2004 to January 2023. The systematic review of twenty (20) peer-reviewed articles about dosimetric parameters and eight (8) articles about clinical outcomes confirmed the dosimetric advantages of ART through better target coverage and Organs at Risk (OARs) sparing, with subsequent benefits on decreased toxicity and improved clinical outcome, specifically local control of the disease. ART replanning is a sustainable strategy for minimizing toxicity by improving normal tissue sparing. Furthermore, it enhances target volume coverage by correctly determining the specific amount of dose to be delivered to the tumor. In conclusion, this review confirms that ART benefits dosimetric, clinical/therapeutic, and toxicity outcomes.

Depression and anxiety are the most common mental health disorders worldwide. Internet-Delivered Cogni-tive Behaviour Therapy (ICBT) can reduce barriers to care for broad cross sections of the population. How-ever, People of Diverse Ethnocultural Backgrounds (PDEGs) other than White/Caucasian underutilize mental health services and are underrepresented in clinical trials of psychological interventions. To address this research gap, we adapted an evidence-based ICBT program for PDEGs. The current pilot study explores the effectiveness, satisfaction, and engagement in the adapted ICBT by PDEGs (N=41) when benchmarked against a sample of PDEGs (N=134) drawn from a previous non-adapted version of the ICBT program. Inntent-to-treat analyses showed that the adapted ICBT program is effective in reducing anxiety and de-pression symptoms among PDEGs. Large within-group pre-to-post-treatment Cohen’s effect sizes of d = 1.23, 95% CI [0.68, 1.77] and d = 1.24, 95% CI [0.69, 1.79] were found for depression and anxiety, respectively. Further, 81.8% of the PDEGs who received the adapted ICBT program reported high overall satisfaction, 90.9 % reported increased confidence in managing symptoms, and 70.7% of participants completed the ma-jority of the psychoeducational lessons in the ICBT program. No statistically significant differences in clinical outcomes, engagement, and satisfaction were found between the pilot study and benchmark sample. Future directions for ICBT research with PDEGs are described.

This paper explores the application of fisheries management theories to broader environmental issues, including climate change and biodiversity conservation. It underscores the inherent trade-off in fisheries between yield and resource conservation, identifying harvesting as a significant environmental burden. Early recognition of the sustainability concept aimed to address challenges like economic discounts and the tragedy of the commons, contributing to the issue of overfishing. These insights extend beyond fisries to other environmental concerns, particularly climate change. The development of adaptive management, initially tailored to address uncertainties and non-stationarity in fisheries, has found application in diverse environmental issues. Recognizing humans as integral parts of ecosystems highlights the impossibility of achieving zero environmental impact when utilizing natural resources. The paper advocates for passive restoration to prevent overfishing, leveraging nature's resilience. While goals like complete biodiversity restoration are inherent in fisheries, their relevance may not be immediately apparent to other environmentalists. Despite ongoing discussions on the sustainability of ecosystem services, legislation often tends to favor the long-term maximization of fisheries yield. The paper calls for mutual understanding of theories and experiences across various environmental fields, including fisheries, to enhance collaborative efforts in each field.

This paper presents a novel approach for accurate counting and localization of tropical plants in aerial images that is able to work in new visual domains in which the available data is not labeled. Our approach uses deep learning and domain adaptation, designed to handle domain shift between the training and test data, which is a common challenge in this agricultural applications. This method uses a source dataset with annotated plants and a target dataset without annotations, and adapts a model trained on the source dataset to the target dataset using unsupervised domain alignment and pseudolabeling. The experimental results show the effectiveness of this approach for plant counting in aerial images of pineapples under significative domain shift, achieving a reduction up to 97% in the counting error when compared to the supervised baseline.

Given the context of global climate change, a worldwide increase in land surface temperature (LST) is anticipated, leading to the exacerbation and broadening of its impacts. This could jeopardize the environmental conditions in countries with a predominantly hot and harsh climate, such as Bahrain, one of the Cooperation Countries (GCC) nations. Conversely, Bahrain is currently experiencing significant population growth, leading to a surge in demand for land to accommodate the construction of additional residential developments. This circumstance allows investigation of the potential impact of land use and land cover alterations on the variation in Land Surface Temperature (LST). In order to accomplish this objective, a residential development project was executed within the timeframe spanning from 2013 to 2023. Four sets of Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS remote sensing datasets were selected, with each set corresponding to one of the four climate seasons. Each set consisted of two images: one capturing the study area before the commencement of the development process and the other depicting the study area after the completion of the development. The study area was analyzed by extracting the land surface temperature (LST), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) on various dates. Subsequently, correlation and regression analysis were employed to examine the interrelationships among these three variables. The findings demonstrated a notable rise in the mean land surface temperature throughout the spring and autumn seasons following the conclusion of land development activities. The findings indicate a positive and robust association between LST and NDBI across all seasons. Moreover, this relationship strengthened following the completion of development activities in the area. Conversely, there was a negative correlation between LST and NDVI prior to the region's development, which transformed into a positive relationship post-development. These results provide empirical support for the notion that small-scale residential developments contribute to a notable increase in LST, primarily driven by the expansion of impervious surfaces in built-up areas. The findings can potentially contribute to the formulation of localized adaptation strategies for small-scale residential development projects.

Cross-cultural mobility is a phenomenon that is increasingly growing, and the resulting stress has become a severe health issue. Thus, we conducted a systematic review of articles reporting research on stress measures of cross-cultural mobility or acculturative stress, emphasizing its internal structure. We adopted the PRISMA procedures for scoping reviews (e.g., searching articles in databases), resulting in the inclusion 20 articles in the final analysis that present evidence of validity based on the internal structure of 16 measures. The most common factors identified were related to cultural stressors, language stressors, and discrimination stressors. After analyzing a cross-cultural mobility stress concept implicit in the definitions used in the articles, we found that most measures of acculturative stress did not evaluate it according to the Stress and Coping Model of Lazarus and Folkman. Most measures only focused on part of the phenomena (some estimated the stressors, others the coping strategies). Few took into account the physiological and psychological responses to internal or external stressors, and even fewer considered its positive aspects (eustress). Consequently, it is pivotal to develop measures that take into account the multiple dimensions of the cross-cultural mobility stress. Other results (e.g., validity evidence of the measures) and limitations of this systematic scoping review are presented and discussed.

When “hijacked” by compulsive behaviors that affect the reward and stress centers of the brain, functional changes in dopamine circuitry occur as the consequence of pathological brain adaptation. As a brain explanans for mental health, with a central functional role in behavioral regulation from healthy reward seeking to pathological adaptation to stress in response to adversity, we may use dopamine regulation in interaction with other brain mechanisms, as discussed herein, to gather a deeper insight into environmentally triggered mental health changes to understand, for example, specific behavioral changes observed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemic-related adversities, the stresses they engendered, and the long lockdown periods where people had to rely on digital tools to get feed-back rewards via the internet can be seen as the major triggers of changes in motivation and reward seeking behavior worldwide. The pathological adaptation of dopamine-mediated reward circuitry in the brain offers a highly plausible explanation why, when pushed by fate and circumstance into a physiological brain state of anti-reward, human behavior and mental health changes almost inevitably depending on individual vulnerability to stress. A unified conceptual account that places dopamine function at the centre of the current global mental health context is proposed.

In this study, an analysis was conducted on 16 durum wheat genotypes cultivated under seven different crop management systems. The purpose was to investigate the influence of Genotype (G), Environment (E), and Genotype by Environment interactions (GxE) on the content of total free phenolic compounds (TPC) and the antioxidant capacity (AC) of durum wheat in Mediterranean environments and identify their adaptability in climatic change. Additionally, possible correlations between TPC and AC with protein content (PC), and vitreous-kernel percentage (VKP) of the samples were examined. The results indicated significant impacts from E, G, and GxE on both TPC and AC. Among the E, the mean values for TPC, ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP values were recorded at 48.8 mg TE/100 g dw, 121.3 mg TE/100 g dw, 23.0 mg TE/100 g dw, and 88.4 mg TE/100 g dw, respectively. Environments subjected to splitting topdressing N fertilization consistently showed low values, while the late sowing ones possessed high values. The Organic environment maintained a stable position in the middle across all measurements. The predominant influence was attributed to GxE, as indicated by the order GxE >E>G for ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP while for TPC was E>GxE>G. A comprehensive exploration of GxE interaction holds the potential to improve the total free phenolics content and antioxidant capacity of durum wheat within wheat farming systems. Achieving this enhancement involves the meticulous selection of cultivars that not only display high values but also exhibit stability across diverse conditions. Noteworthy genotypes for TPC include G5, G7 and G10, for ABTS include G3, G5 and G7, and for protein include G1, G9, and G16. G7 and G5 had high presence of frequency with G7 being the closest genotype to the ideal for both TPC and ABTS. These results suggest that the cultivation period as well as the nitrogen fertilization and its application method have a significant impact on the various antioxidant properties of durum wheat. This study holds significant importance as it represents the first comprehensive exploration of the impact of various E on the TPC and AC in durum wheat, with a special emphasis on the crop management. Notably, the significance of several statistical tools is also highlighted, such as the GGE biplot, Pi, and KR, in identifying superior genotypes, with the GGE biplot being highly valuable since it offers a visual representation of the study's outcomes.

The public administrations (PAs) that have joined the Covenant of Mayors must now complete their adaptation plans with the climate chapter (SECAP). At the same time, the previous Plan for sustainable energy (SEAP) was mainly dedicated to mitigation actions (sustainable energy). It was often managed directly by municipalities' in-house energy companies or agencies. The WMO1234 Recommendation (Guidance on Integrated Urban Hydrometeorological, Climate and Environmental Services) is a fundamental Guidance to allow PAs to make policies and decisions regarding city regeneration and population health prevention. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe a process undertaken in the Emilia-Romagna region to build a coherent frame from the individuation of local environmental vulnerabilities and adopt specific policies. This frame was created by the contribution of various Institutions, including the Regional Authority, which furnished the main directives and tools for the mitigation and adaptation, the Municipality of Bologna, which prepared the first Adaptation Plan following the SECAP guidance, the Emilia-Romagna branch of Italian Association of Municipalities (ANCI), which took in charge the approach to harmonize different urban contexts and to communicate with stakeholders and population, and Research Institutes and Scientific Associations to explore, with specific studies and modeling application, the outcomes produced by a joint support to the new urban directives, such as the General Urban Planning Plan (PUG). To achieve this result, the WMO Guidance 1234 has been assumed as a reference methodology to ensure the best utilization of available data and widespread a common science-based methodological approach to other municipalities.

Môle Saint-Nicolas, like all other communes in the Republic of Haiti, faces increasing climate variability, impacting agricultural production and water resources. Consequently, there is a pressing need for adaptation to these climatic changes. This research aims to showcase the adaptation strategies deployed by farmers to cope with the increasing climate variability. Surveys were conducted through group and individual discussions with a randomly selected cohort of 150 farmers. Two types of analysis were performed: quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative data analysis was conducted using SPSS software. The findings reveal that farmers have perceived changes in rainfall patterns, temperature, wind, and their environment. These changes manifest as irregular rainfall, higher temperatures, prolonged drought periods, violent winds accompanied by rain, premature cessation of rains, and reduced flow from water sources. In response, the most common adaptation strategies developed include selecting new cultivars, early-maturing varieties, crop rotation and diversification, canal dredging, new soil preparation methods, upstream water source protection, and micro-watershed management. The significance of this research lies in its contribution to enhancing farmers' adaptive capacities by alerting stakeholders in the irrigated perimeters about the consequences of climate change, thereby incorporating the real needs of farmers in future projects.

Detailed evaluation is provided for the likelihood statistics intrinsic to interlocking Sequential Bayes analysis, which allows estimation of evidential support for dendrograms charting the macroevolution of taxa. It involves complexity functions, such as fractal evolution, to generate well-supported evolutionary trees. Required are data on trait changes from ancestral species to descendant species, which is facilitated by reduction of large genera to monothetic groups (one ancestral species each), most conveniently named as separate genera. Assigning each species one Shannon informational bit per new trait, then adding the traits as sequential Bayesian analysis (each posterior probability used as the prior for the next iteration of Bayes Formula), then interpretation with an odds chart, provides a posterior probability that the ancestor-descendant order is correct, that is, entirely follows evolutionary theory involving adaptation and rarity of total trait reversals. The key fact is that the most recently acquired traits of the ancestral species are selectively inviolate and passed on without change to each descendant species. The details of sequential Bayesian analysis were clarified by calculation of likelihood ratios and Bayes factors that compare optimal models with the next most likely model. Such analysis demonstrated that the optimum arrangement of ancestor and descendant species leads to high support values for fitting evolutionary theory, comparable to statistical support levels reported for molecular evolutionary trees. The fact that phylogenetic analysis does not offer an ancestor-descendant model in is found to be conducive of precision at the expense of accuracy, and leads to wrong ancestor-free models with likelihoods explaining data at high credible levels. The number of advanced traits in the outgroup as a Bayesian prior greatly enhances posterior probability. The method is simple, free of special computer analysis, and well-suited to standard taxonomic practice.

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the world's most important staple food crop providing 20% global energy and dietary proteins. It is widely grown in sub-tropical and tropical areas and as such exposed to heat-stress especially at grain filling period (GFP). Global warming has further affected its production and productivity in these heat-stressed environments. We examined the effect of heat-stress on 18 morpho-physiological and yield-related traits in 96 bread wheat accessions. Heat susceptibility index (HSI <0.60) and yield stability (i <0.55) used as criteria for selecting the tolerant accessions. Heat-stress, imposed by delayed sowing, decreased crop growth and GFP, and as a result reduced morphological and yield-related traits, namely days to 50% anthesis, plant height, peduncle length, flag-leaf area, spike length, spikelets per spike, grain length and width, thousand grain weight (TGW), harvest index and yield. The reduction in the trait values was severe in susceptible accessions (48.2% yield reduction in IC277741) than the tolerant. Physiological traits like chlorophyll content, canopy temperature depression (CTD), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), plant waxiness and leaf rolling showed higher expression in the tolerant accessions under heat-stress. Scanning electron microscopy of matured wheat grains revealed ultrastructural changes in endosperm and aleurone cells caused due to heat-stress. The reduction of size and density of large starch granules is the major cause of yield and TGW decrease in the heat-stress susceptible lines. The most stable and high-yielding accessions namely IC566223, IC128454, IC335792, EC576707, IC535176, IC529207, IC446713 and IC416019 were identified as the climate-smart germplasm lines. Germplasm lines possessing desirable traits were selected as po-tential parents for the development of bi-parental and multi-parental populations.

Over the years, machine learning has emerged as a tool for automated translation and has been studied relentlessly for decades. RBMT, SMT, and NMT models have been used to achieve machine translation and the results have drastically improved from when research in this field first began. Although a few general-purpose translators such as Google Translate or Microsoft Translator have accurate translations compared to that of a human translator, many pieces of text containing highly technical terms or homonyms are often mistranslated completely. When considering the necessity and importance of translating technical patents from different domains, accuracy in translation is not something that can be compromised. This motivates the need to improve the performance of machine translation further. The scope of this paper covers three open-source machine translation models for the purpose of patent documentation translation from English to Japanese, evaluates their performance on patent data, and proposes a methodology that enabled us to improve one of the model’s BLEU score by 41.22%, achieving a BLEU score of 46.18.

Advances in biological sciences have been applied in medicine, agriculture and industry with great benefit. Some recent trends in society, governance structures and communications, however, appear to be hampering the use of new scientific findings for controlling infectious diseases. These limitations are illustrated with examples related to (i) the adaptation of fresh water mosquito vectors of major arboviral diseases to salinity in coastal areas with consequences for disease transmission, (ii) understanding the implications of reduced dengue transmission during the COVID-19 lockdown for dengue control, (iii) causes underlying the rapid spread of the malaria vector Anopheles stephensi in South Asia and Africa, (iv) the application of serodiagnostic techniques for Lyme disease and tick-borne relapsing fever caused by tick-borne bacteria of the genus Borrelia, and (v) COVID-19 prevention.

The study explores the value of indigenous knowledge in mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change in rural communities of Uganda. It provides an overview of how rural farmers use traditional and indigenous knowledge to predict weather changes to inform their adaptation and mitigation plans. The study intended to investigate how climate change effects were managed by the rural communities of Bakiga using indigenous knowledge and practices. Specifically, it sought to establish how local farmers’ innovations and practices were used to mitigate the effects of climate change and enhance food security. A case study research design with triangulation of data sources was employed. The study was conducted in Rukiga District, southwestern Uganda, where rural farmers were interviewed to explore their practices for reducing the effects of climate change to enhance food security. Thematic data analysis was used to get participants’ experiences and views regarding indigenous knowledge and effects of climate change mitigation. The findings indicate that rural farmers have indigenous practices of mitigating the effects climate change and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a challenge for global health services, affecting millions and leading hundreds to end-stage liver disease each year. This comprehensive review explores the interactions between HBV and the host, examining their impact on clinical outcomes. HBV infection encompasses a spectrum of severity, ranging from acute hepatitis B to chronic hepatitis B, which can potentially progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Occult hepatitis B infection (OBI), characterized by low HBV DNA levels in hepatitis B surface antigen-negative individuals, can reactivate and cause acute hepatitis B. The identification of diverse HBV genotypes reveals distinct geographical distributions and associations with clinical outcomes. Moreover, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the host genome have been linked to several clinical outcomes, including cirrhosis, HCC, OBI, hepatitis B reactivation, and spontaneous clearance. The immune response plays a key role in controlling HBV infection by eliminating infected cells and neutralizing HBV in the bloodstream. Furthermore, HBV can modulate host metabolic pathways involved in glucose and lipid metabolism and bile acid absorption, further influencing disease progression. HBV clinical outcomes correlate with three levels of viral adaptation. In conclusion, the clinical outcomes of HBV infection could result from complex immune and metabolic interactions between the host and HBV. These outcomes can vary among populations and are influenced by HBV genotypes, host genetics, environmental factors, and lifestyle. Understanding the degrees of HBV adaptation is essential for developing region-specific control and prevention measures.

The relationship between living things and their respective environments highly dependent on body temperature regulation. The human capacity to effectively thermoregulate evolved at a time when the environmental temperature was likely around 25°C during the Eocene epoch, some ~ 50-60 million years ago. This effectively meant that homeothermy settled on a core temperature balance point of ~ 37°C. When Homo split from chimpanzee around 5 million years ago the Earth was entering a cooling period where the balance point temperature was always well above that of the environment and body heat balance could be maintained. Following this cooling period, the Earth’s rewarming by 7 °C took over approximately 5,000 years, whereas the current estimates indicate 0.7 °C over the past 100 years; ten times the rate of ice-age-recovery warming, or 20 times faster compared with the last 2 million years. As such, if the predicted continued rise in global temperature continues, and surface temperature reaches values where heat load cannot be dumped as the body temperature balance point is at or near the environmental temperature, areas of the Earth would become inhospitable. This effectively means that we will need to deal with both physiological and behavioral limitations since our ability to adapt will be limited by a thermoregulatory strategy that evolved over millions of years for a different kind of environment, not one that is predicted to change rapidly over the next century. This paper outlines the basis on which Homo settled on a thermoregulatory balance point and what limitations this presents for us in the future.

Tropical cyclones (TC) are dangerous weather events and accurate monitoring and forecasting can provide significant early warning to reduce loss of life and property. However, the study of tropical cyclone intensity remains challenging, both in terms of theory and forecasting. ERA5 reanalysis is benchmark data set for tropical cyclone studies, yet the maximum wind speed error is very large (68 kts) and still 19 kts after simple linear correction even in the better sampled North Atlantic. Here, we develop an adaptive learning approach to correct the intensity in the ERA5 reanalysis, by optimising the inputs to overcome the problems because of the poor data quality and updating the features to improve the generalisability of the deep learning-based model. Specifically, we use TC knowledge to increase the representativeness of the inputs so that the general features can be learned with deep neural networks in the sample space, and then use domain adaptation to update the general features from the known domain with historical storms to the specific features for the unknown domain of new storms. This approach can reduce the error to only 6 kts which is within the uncertainty of the best track data in IBTrACS in the North Atlantic. The method may have wide applicability, such as extending it to the correction of intensity estimation from satellite imagery and intensity prediction from dynamical models.

Agriculture contributes towards South African economy, but this sector is highly vulnerable to risks imposed by climate change. Smallholder maize farmers are specifically susceptible to climate change impacts. Maize crop plays a crucial role in the country's food security as it is considered a stable food for households and source of feed for livestock. The study aimed to analyze the socio-economic factors influencing smallholder maize farmers’ willingness to adopt climate-smart agriculture. It was conducted in three different areas due to their specific agro-ecological zones. Multipurpose research design was used to gather data, and multistage random sampling to choose the study areas. Subsequently, 209 purposively selected farmers were interviewed face-to-face using structured questionnaires and focus discussion groups. Descriptive statistics and Double-hurdle regression model were used to analyze the data. Descriptive results indicated that 81%, 67%, and 63% farmers were willing to adopt CSA in Ga-Makanye, Gabaza, and Giyani, respectively. Empirical results from the first and second hurdles of the regression analysis showed that farmers’ education, crop diversification, information about CSA positively influenced the decision to adopt CSA while household size and agricultural experience negatively influenced the decision to adopt CSA. It is recommended that the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development should provide CSA workshops and educational programs to farmers to enhance their knowledge and decision-making processes regarding adaptation strategies.

This academic paper explores the synergistic potential of Agroforestry systems and Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) in enhancing climate change adaptation strategies. Focusing on Australia and Pacific Island Countries, the study delves into the pivotal role of these approaches in mitigating the impacts of changing climate variables on agricultural production. By analysing important climate variables, their potential alterations, and their subsequent effects on crop production, the paper advocates for a holistic and forward-thinking approach to sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the mental health of individuals globally, and primary healthcare (PHC) nurses play a critical role in providing mental healthcare services. However, limited research has explored the experiences of PHC nurses in providing mental healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored the experiences of PHC nurses in providing mental healthcare services during the pandemic in Durban, South Africa. The aim was to identify the challenges faced by healthcare providers and the potential for innovative approaches to improve access to care. A qualitative, exploratory design guided the study, and data were collected through in-depth interviews with twelve PHC nurses purposively selected. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings from interviews with primary healthcare nurses reveal that the pandemic exacerbated existing challenges, including medication adherence issues, fear and uncertainty among patients, vaccine hesitancy, decreased clinic visits, and the mental and emotional toll on both patients and healthcare workers. PHC nurses adapted their services by increasing outreach efforts, prioritising patient care, and utilising technology and non-governmental organisations’ (NGO) support. Challenges included reduced patient visits, complexities in healthcare provision, and lack of adequate support. Positive changes observed include increased mental health awareness among healthcare professionals and younger generations. Recommendations include implementing outreach and awareness campaigns, providing accurate information about COVID-19 and vaccinations, and promoting cultural sensitivity in mental healthcare provision.

(1) Background: The issue of human adaptation to the Arctic environmental factors is relevant. The adaptation can be assessed through dynamic monitoring of the functional state of a person during his/her stay there. The vitamin D level in blood is one of the markers of the functional reserves of the human body and can contribute to more successful adaptation in the Arctic. (2) Methods: The study involved 38 participants in the scientific and educational expeditionary project "Arctic Floating University-2021". Blood collection for determination of vitamin D content was carried out at the beginning of the expedition. A dynamic study was carried out for 20 days in the morning and in the evening during a marine scientific expedition to the Arctic. The main parameters of the functional state of the participants were assessed using instrumental psychophysiological, projective and questionnaire methods. Statistical methods: Mann-Whitney U-test, correlation analysis using the Spearman coefficient. (3) Results: It was found that at the beginning of the expedition, the functional state of participants with severe vitamin D deficiency is characterized by a shorter average duration of RR intervals and reduced SDNN values, which may indicate a higher level of regulatory mechanisms tension. The pronounced differences in the nature of the dynamic series of objective and projective working capacity parameters were manifested most clearly. According to the subjective questionnaire characteristics of well-being, activity and mood, no significant features of the participants with vitamin D deficiency were revealed. (4) Conclusion: The participants with vitamin D deficiency in blood are characterized by a reduced adaptive capacity during the expedition to the Arctic.

SMEs constitute the backbone of the Syrian economy which have suffered manifold challenges due to the continuous Syrian war. Covid-19 added further pressures on Syrian SMEs and force them to take certain adaptation strategies to survive. This paper aims to investigate the main challenges that face Syrian SMEs during the pandemic and illustrate how they respond to adversities emerged from governmental intervention to control the spread of the virus. It also discusses the measures initiated by the government to support SMEs during the pandemic. Through interviewing persons from the Syrian SMEs ecosystem, we find that high interest rates on SMEs loans, decline on demand as well as high inflation represent the main challenges. SMEs respond to these challenges by marketing products online, stock procurement, and strengthen connections with stakeholders. We recommend the Syrian authorities reduce lending rates and increase loan size available to SMEs to help them overcome the pandemic adversities. Moreover, SMEs will immensely benefit from training on digital tools to enhance their expansion and survival opportunities. Furthermore, bazars should be organized around the year to give SMEs the opportunity to gain continuous access to markets. In addition, incubation services should be revised, particularly, to SMEs with great potential to grow to create the suitable environment for them to scale and flourish.

The adaptation stress experienced by overseas dispatched employees has serious implications for their physical and mental health and work performance. This study aimed to investigate the impact of resource-oriented music listening on work stress among overseas dispatched employees. The study recruited 10 participants of different ages and occupations who had worked abroad for at least 3 years. Five sessions of personalized resource-oriented music listening, and interviews were conducted. The Global Assessment of Recent Stress Scale (GARS) and Job Stress Scale (JSS) were used to measure stress before and after the intervention. Results showed that participants' work stress and perceived stress were significantly reduced after the music therapy intervention. The study also found that 'awareness' and 'self-acceptance' were factors that reduced regulatory stress among overseas dispatched employees. This study highlights the potential of resource-oriented music listening as a useful tool to address workplace stress and promote the well-being of expatriate employees.

Maternal obesity is increasingly prevalent and is associated with elevated morbidity and mortality rates in both mothers and children. As the interface between the mother and fetus, the placenta has mediates the impact of the maternal environment on fetal development. Most of the literature data on the effects of maternal obesity on placental functions do not exclude potential confounding factors like metabolic diseases (e.g. gestational diabetes). Moreover, it is now clear that the placental response to maternal environment depends on the fetal sex. In this context, we reviewed how maternal obesity (in the absence of gestational diabetes) affects the human placenta in terms of (i) endocrine function, (ii) morphological characteristics, (iii) nutrient exchanges and metabolism, (iv) inflammatory/immune status, (v) oxidative stress, and (vi) transcriptome, with a focus on fetal sex specificities. A better understanding of sex-specific placental responses to maternal obesity is crucial for improving pregnancy outcomes and the health of mothers and children.

Rapid urbanization and climate change effects may cause dramatic change of ecosystem functions in cities, thereby inevitably affecting the growth performance of ancient trees. Few studies have explored species diversity and spatial differentiation in Benin urban area. Here, we took Cotonou city to do that. The objective of the study conducted in the city of Cotonou, was to determine the predominant level of plant diversity in the city's land-use units. The urban green frame was subdivided into six land use units, namely establishments, residences, green spaces, commercial areas, administrative areas, and roads. The forest inventories were carried out in 149 plots with surfaces evaluated at 2500 m2 each. A total of 62 tree species in 55 genera and 27 families were recorded. The results show that the flora of the city of Cotonou is characterized by a strong preponderance of exotic species. The most abundant species with high ecological importance (IVI) in the different type of land use of the city are Terminalia catappa (IVI=121.47%), Terminalia mentally (IVI=90.50%), Mangifera indica (IVI=64.06%) and Khaya senegalensis (IVI=151.16%). This study shows that a directed development of this urban vegetation could improve the resilience of urban life to climate hazards through the provision of urban ecosystem services, potential ecological infrastructure foundations and urban nature-based solutions.

Drought is a long period of unusually low rainfall and can have serious effects on people's lives. It is caused by various factors such as climate change, deforestation, and the overuse of water re-sources. In the Somali region of Ethiopia, Kebri Dehar is the most at risk and most likely to have a drought. The lack of rainfall and high temperatures in Kebri Dehar have led to drought. Man-aging drought is the most challenging and complex problem. The purpose of this study is to as-sess household perception of drought hazards occurrence and adaptation. Additionally, the study aims to design a drought resilience mechanism matrix to mitigate its impact on the local commu-nity. This study used the Heckman two-stage model, which is useful in measuring drought per-ception as it accounts for potential selection bias and allows for the identification of factors that influence individuals' perceptions of drought. Gender, severity of drought, water shortage, tem-perature, drought frequency, and long dry season all have a positive effect on adaptation of resil-ience mechanisms to drought hazards, while food availability and rainfall have a negative effect. It is important for governments and individuals to act to mitigate the effects of the drought. Ef-forts to address the issue require a multi-participation approach that involves household, com-munity, and institutional level participation is needed for adopting drought resilience mecha-nisms.

To date, radiation adaptation response has been reported as a low-dose related phenomenon and has been associated with radiation hormesis. Well-known cancers are caused by non-radiation active reactants, in addition to radiation. A model of suppression for radiation-specific cancers was previously reported, but the model did not target radiation-nonspecific cancers. In this paper, we describe kinetic models of radiation-induced suppressors for general radiation non-specific cancers, estimating the dose that induces the maximum hormesis effect while satisfying the condition that the risk is approximately proportional to dose above 100 mSv. It was found that the radiation hormesis effect is maximal at about 20 mSv when the rate constant for generation is the same as the rate constant for decomposition. When the two rate constants are different, the dose at which the radiation hormesis effect is maximized depends on both rate constants, but the dose increases as the two rate constants approach each other, reaching a maximum of about 20 mSv. This conclusion may lead to the discovery of unknown cancer suppressors at low doses and the development of cancer suppression methods in the future.

There is a growing consensus that to effectively adapt to climate change, cities need user-friendly tools and reliable high-resolution biophysical and socio-economic data for analysis, mapping, modeling, and visualization. This study examines availability of various types of information used in climate adaptation plans of 40 municipalities with population less than 300,000 people in the United and in France, probing into the choice and usage of relevant information by small municipalities. We argue that non-climatic spatial data, such as population demographic and socio-economic patterns, urban infrastructure, and environmental data must be integrated with climate tools and datasets to inform effective vulnerability assessment and equitable climate adaptation planning goals. Climate adaptation plans frequently fail to address the existing structural inequalities and environmental injustices in urban infrastructure and land use. Adaptation methodological approaches should be reassessed in the context of much needed societal transformation. Lessons learned from our studies offer valuable insights for potential development of the national and state-level climate adaptation information services for cities.

The system identification problem with multiple nonlinearities is relevant. Its decision depends on many factors. These include: feedbacks, the method of connecting nonlinear links, signal properties. They affect the identifiability of the system parameters. We introduced a condition for the excitation constancy for state variables, which considers the S-identifiability of the system. We propose system decomposition by measuring input to identify parameters. Each subsystem has an implicit identification representation. It guarantees obtaining estimates of subsystem parameters based on experimental data. The trajectories boundedness of adaptive system proved in parametric and coordinate spaces. Conditions guaranteeing exponential stability of the system obtained. Systems of self-oscillation generation and nonlinear correction of a nonlinear system consider. Conditions for the trajectories boundedness of the adaptive system obtained for these cases. The influence of nonlinearity and feedback on the system performance estimated.

Eustachian Tube Dysfunction is considered a common condition among ENT patients and requires careful history, clinical examination and appropriate investigations to obtain a diagnosis. The ETDQ-7 questionnaire is a useful tool to subjectively score severity of symptoms that are related to this pathology (Appendix A). This study aimed to adapt and validate the ETDQ-7 questionnaire in Greece to ensure correct and efficient use in the outpatient setting (Appendix B). The ETDQ-7 was translated into the Greek language following appropriate methodology. Data for the main study were collected from a sample of 75 Greek patients diagnosed with ETD as well as 25 patients that did not have ETD and who served as a control group. The participants completed the adapted ETDQ-7 questionnaire and underwent a clinical examination that was statistically correlated with their ETDQ-7 answers. Face and content validity were confirmed and the questionnaire was found easy to administer and to be completed by our patients. Test-retest reliability revealed similar internal consistency for the questions and good correlation between individual items and total score. Discriminative validity confirmed statistically significant difference between the two patient groups to ensure that the Greek version of ETDQ-7 is useful to confirm the diagnosis. The Greek version of the ETDQ-7 is safe and efficient to use among a variety of investigation methods for the diagnosis of ETD in the Greek speaking population.

Arable Сhernozems with high SOC contents have the potential to be significant sources of GHGs, and climate change is likely to increase SOC losses, making the issue of carbon sequestration in this region even more important. The prospect of maintaining SOC stock or increasing it by 4% an-nually under planned management practice modifications for the period up to 2090 was evaluated using a long-term experiment on Haplic Chernozem in the Rostov Region, Russia. In this study, we used the RothC model to evaluate SOC dynamics for three treatments with mineral and organic fertilization under two adaptation scenarios vs. business as usual, as well as under two climate change scenarios. Correction of crop rotation and the application of organic fertilizers at high rates are essential tools for maintaining and increasing SOC stocks. This can maintain SOC stock at the level of 84–87 Mg∙ha-1 until the middle of the 21st century, as the first half of the century is con-sidered the most promising period for the introduction of adaptation measures for the additional accumulation of SOC on Chernozems. Part of the additional accumulated SOC is expected to be lost before 2090.

The negative impact of drought on plant growth may be modified by different availability of mineral nutrients and by their adaptation to different local habitat conditions. In this study, we examine the impact of drought, fertilization with phosphorus and provenance, as well as their interactions, on the growth and allometric growth relationships between belowground and aboveground organs of common beech (Fagus sylvatica) and sessile oak (Quercus petraea). The research was conducted on saplings originating from two mature mixed stands (dry and wet provenances) dominated by these species. In the common garden experiment, saplings were exposed to regular watering and drought in interaction with moderate and high phosphorus concentrations in the growing substrate (achieved by phosphorus fertilization). Obtained results indicate negative impact of drought and phosphorus fertilization on the growth of both species. In common beech, phosphorus fertilization had a negative impact on its adaptive capacity to drought, because of the unfavourable ratios between fine root mass and mass of other organs. The sessile oak provenances under the impact of drought showed a different root collar diameter/stem height increment ratio, which indicates its different phenotypic plasticity as a consequence of adaptation to different frequencies of dry periods in their natural habitats.

Endophytic fungi (EF) have emerged as promising modulators of plant growth and stress tolerance in agricultural ecosystems. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the role of EF in en-hancing crop adaptation to abiotic stress. Abiotic stresses, such as drought, salinity, and extreme temperatures, pose significant challenges to crop productivity worldwide. EF have shown re-markable potential in alleviating the adverse effects of these stresses. Through various mechanisms including synthesis of osmolytes, production of stress-related enzymes, and induction of plant de-fense mechanisms, EF enhance plant resilience to abiotic stressors. Moreover, EF promote nutrient uptake and modulate hormonal balance in plants, further enhancing stress tolerance. Recent ad-vancements in molecular techniques have facilitated the identification and characterization of stress-tolerant endophytic fungal strains, paving the way for their utilization in agricultural prac-tices. Furthermore, the symbiotic relationship between EF and plants offers ecological benefits, such as improved soil health and reduced dependence on chemical inputs. However, challenges remain in understanding the complex interactions between EF and host plants, as well as in scaling up their application in diverse agricultural systems. Future research should focus on elucidating the mechanisms underlying endophytic fungal-mediated stress tolerance and developing sustainable strategies for harnessing their potential in crop production.

Radiotherapy is the primary treatment modality for non-metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) across all TNM-stages. Locoregional control rates have been impressive even from the 2D-radiotherapy (RT) era, except when the ability to deliver optimal dose coverage to the tumor is compromised. However, short- and long-term complications following head and neck RT are potentially debilitating, and thus, there had been much research investigating technological advances in RT delivery over the past decades, with the primary goal of limiting normal tissue damage. On this note, with a plateau in gains of therapeutic ratio by modern RT techniques, future advances have to be focused on individualization of RT, both in terms of dose prescription and delineation of target volumes. In this review, we analyzed the guidelines and evidence related to contouring methods, and dose prescription for early and locoregionally-advanced (LA-) NPC. Next, with the preference for induction chemotherapy (IC) in patients with LA-NPC, we assessed the evidence concerning radiotherapy adaptations guided by IC response, as well as functional imaging and contour changes during treatment. Finally, we discussed on RT individualization that is guided by EBV DNA assessment, and its importance in the era of combinatorial immune checkpoint blockade therapy with RT.

The inherent dependency of deep learning models to labeled data is a well-known problem and one of the barriers that slows down the integration of such methods into different fields of applied sciences and engineering, in which experimental and numerical methods can easily generate a colossal amount of unlabeled data. This paper proposes an unsupervised domain adaptation methodology that mimics the peer review process to label new observations in a different domain from the training set. The approach evaluates the validity of a hypothesis using domain knowledge acquired from the training set through a similarity analysis, exploring the projected feature space to examine the class centroid shifts. The methodology is tested on a binary classification problem, where synthetic images of cubes and cylinders in different orientations are generated. The methodology improves the accuracy of the object classifier from 60% to around 90% in the case of a domain shift in physical feature space without human labeling.

Anarchic urbanization and land artificialization expose urban ecosystems and Ecosystem Services (ES) to the threat. Urban ecosystems and trees play a crucial role in improving urban environments, and their management depends on the perceptions and preferences of urban residents. An assessment of the socio-ecological factors determining the perception of the actors allows for the proper design and planning of ecological urban policies and urban adaptation to climate change. In this study, we assessed the perception and discriminating variables of the different stakeholders of urban ES provided in the city of Cotonou. Thus, 381 city dwellers were individually interviewed after statistical sampling. Focus group discussions with the stakeholders also made it possible to highlight the ES provided in the different Land Use Units (LU). The results show that 73.23% of the city dwellers agreed that they were aware of ecosystem services. The hierarchical classification shows two homogeneous groups of perceivers with ethnicity, age and education as statistically discriminating sociological variables (pv˂0.001). Urban dwellers in the city of Cotonou perceived more SEs in the cultural and regulatory services category significantly (pv<0.001; v-test>3). The principal component analysis (PCA) reveals the varying availability of ES according to the different LU in the city. This study adds scientific value in the application of urban ecology to decision-making in climate and environment policy planning for sustainable cities in Africa and all over the world.

This review summarizes the currently known biochemical neuroadaptive mechanisms of remote ischemic conditioning. In particular, it focuses on the significance of the pro-adaptive effects of remote ischemic conditioning, which allow prevention of neurological and cognitive impairments associated with hippocampal dysregulation after brain damage. The neuro-immuno-humoral pathway of transmitting a conditioning stimulus, as well as the molecular basis of the early and delayed phases of neuroprotection, including anti-apoptotic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components, are also outlined. Based on the close interplay between the effects of ischemia, especially mediated by interaction of HIF factors and steroid hormones, the involvement of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system in remote ischemic conditioning is also discussed.

Background: The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a key role in the adaptive immune response to pathogens due to its extraordinary polymorphism. However, the spatial patterns of MHC variation in the striped hamster remain unclear, particularly regarding the relative contribution of balancing selection in shaping MHC population and diversity compared to neutral forces. Methods: In this study, we investigated the immunogenic variation of the striped hamster in four wild populations in Inner Mongolia, which experience heterogeneous parasitic stress. Our goal was to identify local adaptation by comparing the genetic structure at MHC with that at seven microsatellite loci, taking into account neutral processes. Results: We observed significant variation in parasite pressure among sites, with parasite burden showing a correlation with temperature and precipitation. Molecular analysis revealed a similar co-structure between MHC and microsatellite loci. We observed lower genetic differentiation at MHC loci compared to microsatellite loci, and no correlation was found between the two. Conclusions: Overall, these results suggest a complex interplay between neutral evolutionary forces and balancing selection in shaping the spatial patterns of MHC variation. Local adaptation was not detected at a small scale but may be applicable at a larger scale.

Single-cell green microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica is potentially considered to be the bioresource for biofuel and pharmaceutical production. Urea is a kind of nutrient component for photosyn-thetic N. oceanica. Meanwhile, urea could induce to accumulate some substances such as lipid and affect its growth and physiology. However, how marine microalga N. oceanica respond and adapt to urea addition remains elusive. Here, acclimation of the metabolic reprogramming to changes in the nutrient environment was studied by high-throughput mRNA sequencing in N. oceanica under Ct vs U, there were 2104 genes displayed differential expression (including 1354 upregulation and 750 downregulation, respectively) and some pathways including carbon/nitrogen metabolism, photosynthesis, and lipid metabolism would be reprogrammed in N. oceanica. The results showed that genes related to photosynthesis in N. oceanica were significantly down-regulated, especially those related to light harvesting proteins. Interestingly, urea absorption and transport may de-pend not only on specialized transport mechanisms such as urease, but also on alternative transport channels such as the ABC transporter family, CLC protein family. In addition, urea causes specific changes in carbon and lipid metabolism. Genes associated with the Calvin cycle and carbon concentration mechanisms were significantly upregulated. In lipid metabolism, genes associated with lipases, or polyunsaturated fatty acid enzymes, are highly activated. In addition, expression is enhanced in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and folate metabolism, making important contributions to energy supply and synthesis and modification of genes or macromolecules. These phenomena indicate that N. oceanica actively and dynamically regulates the redistribution of carbon and nitrogen after urea addition., which will provide references for further research on the effects of urea on N. oceanica.

Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) is a global agricultural pest that poses a threat to crop production, characterized by its refractory polyphagous nature that makes it difficult to control and may lead to damage to woody plants. However, research on its adaptability to woody plants remains limited. This study compares the feeding adaptations (survival rate, pupation time, pupation rate, weight, length, and feeding volume), protective enzyme activities, and feeding preferences of S. frugiperda on leaves of six economically significant tree species (Areca catechu, Aquilaria sinensis, Cocos nucifera, Camellia oleifera, Dalbergia odorifera and Hevea brasiliensis) and maize as a control treatment. The results indicate that A. sinensis as the most vulnerable trees in high risk, H. brasiliensis and C. nucifera presented varying degrees of susceptibility, A. catechu, C. oleifera, and D. odorifera were unsuitability for S. frugiperda. In conclusion, this report extensively explores the feeding effects of S. frugiperda on six economically important tree species, and provides insights into the feeding preferences on these plants, thereby informing the potential threat posed by S. frugiperda to economically vital trees.

The epigenetic mechanism of DNA methylation is essential for regulating gene expression and adaptation in plants, especially when exposed to various environmental stressors such as drought, heat, and nutrient availability. The impact of these stressors can lead to alterations in DNA methylation patterns and gene expression, which this study aims to investigate. Specifically, we are interested in understanding how DNA methylation plays a role in controlling the expression of stress-response genes, as well as genes involved in plant growth and development. To accomplish this, we are analyzing the changes in DNA methylation patterns and gene expression in response to different stressors like drought and heat. Our research findings suggest that DNA methylation is a vital regulator of plant adaptation to environmental stress, and we hope to gain further insight into these mechanisms by identifying genes that exhibit differential expression in response to stress and analyzing their DNA methylation status. This study offers valuable insights into the development of crops that can thrive under changing climate conditions.

The unsupervised domain-adaptive vehicle reidentification approach aims to transfer knowledge from a labeled source domain to an unlabeled target domain, however there are knowledge differences between the target domain and the source domain. To reduce domain differences, existing unsupervised domain-adaptive rerecognition methods generally require access to the source domain data to assist in re-training the target domain model. But for security reasons, in many cases, data between different domains cannot communicate. To this end, this paper proposes an unsupervised domain-adaptive vehicle re-identification method based on source-free knowledge transfer. First, by constructing a passive domain knowledge migration module, the target domain is consistent with the source domain model output to train a generator to generate the "source-like samples". Then, it can effectively reduce the model knowledge difference and improve the model generalization performance. According to the experiment and testing of VeRi776 and VehicleID, two mainstream public data sets in this field, the rank-k and mAP indexes obtained are both improved, and are suitable for object re-recognition tasks without source data.

Pure silver as well as silver compounds have been used as antiseptics for centuries. Nowadays, the most frequently applied form of silver is a nanoparticle form. Several studies demonstrate the ability of silver nanoparticles and silver salts to accumulate in the brain of laboratory ani-mals as well as the ability of silver nanoparticles to influence behavioral and cognitive functions of laboratory mammals. For the first time, the influence of a silver salt, in particular, silver citrate on the change dynamics of behavioral and cognitive functions of laboratory mice at the daily oral exposure during 30, 60, 120 and 180 days is investigated in the present research. We observed the anxiety increase after 30 days of the exposure as well as the ability of mice to adapt to the prolonged oral exposure of silver citrate manifested in the anxiety decrease, increase of locomotor activity and the tendency of long-term contextual memory improvement. Increase of locomotor activity and memory improvement might be associated with the sensitivity increase and regarded as compensatory mechanism to anxiety increase. The observed phenomenon is classified as a hormetic effect. A comparison with the analogous study implemented polyvi-nylpyrrolidone coated silver nanoparticles is carried out. It was concluded that the nanoform is more neurotoxic.