Chinese College Students’ Attitudes towards Animal Welfare

Understanding the attitude of stakeholders towards animals is critical for the development and improvement of animal welfare in a country. College students from veterinary, animal, and life sciences majors represent future key stakeholders that will interact with professionals from animal industries. Therefore, it is critical to understand these college students’ attitudes towards animals and their knowledge about animal welfare. The present survey aimed to investigate Chinese college students’ concerns towards different animal classes (i.e., pets, farm, laboratory, and wild animals) through the animal Sentient and Five Freedoms models. Chinese college students from different majors (i.e., related to animal sciences or not) scored very well in their attitude towards both the animal Sentient and Five Freedoms models, with differences depending on the animal class considered. Pets (dogs and cats) had better consideration for both animal Sentient and Five Freedoms models, followed by wild animals, while farm and laboratory animals were less considered. Veterinary science major students showed the strongest differences in attitudes depending on the animal classes considered compared to other majors. Furthermore, respondents showed better attitude scoring if they currently owned or had owned animals, had participated in animal welfare courses, or in laboratory work that involved animals. When compared to previous studies, our results suggest a general improvement of Chinese college students’ attitudes towards animals.

Biosecurity Levels and Farm Characteristics of African Swine Fever Outbreak and Unaffected Farms in Estonia—What Can Be Learned from Them?

Risk factors related to external biosecurity have been considered to play a major role in the introduction and spread of African swine fever (ASF) in domestic pig populations. The aim of the study was to describe the biosecurity levels and management practices of ASF outbreak and uninfected herds and to identify potential risk factors for ASF introduction. Data collected from the outbreak herds during outbreak investigations and from the randomly selected uninfected herds were analyzed. The biosecurity score in ASF outbreak herds was significantly lower compared to uninfected herds. However, this may reflect general improvement in the application of biosecurity measures in pig farms over time as the data on uninfected herds were collected later, at a time when intensified official controls may have had their effect. Larger herds were more at risk of being outbreak herds compared to smaller herds. The biosecurity parameters significantly associated with the outbreak herd status in multiple correspondence analysis were mostly related to indirect contacts with the outside farm environment. The biosecurity barriers applied in Estonian pig farms have not been sufficient to avoid ASF introduction and need critical evaluation and improvement. Reduction of all contacts between the farm and the external environment should be emphasized in a situation where ASF is circulating in wild boar populations close to pig farms.

Formation of the modern paradigm of management in the legal and cultural space

Purpose of the article. The study reveals the theoretical and practical problems of implementing legal projects in Ukraine through the prism of creativity and the role of the director in the structure of legal education activities. Professional educational training of future directors is a specific educational process aimed at the development of graduates as highly experienced creative figures. The essence of the above training will allow developing in a wider range of cultures and law. It is the skillful organization of the educational and artistic process, in particular, future professionals at all stages from directing to the realization of creative vision in the student body, ultimately aimed at the development and self-realization of artistic and creative abilities of youth and their moral and ethical education. Methodology. In theoretical and methodological terms, the analyzed and presented aspects were previously presented in the works of K.S. Stanislavsky, B.E. Zakhava, I.G. Sharoev, A.A. Goncharov, and others. In higher education, all plans are needed - creative and organizational indivisible holistic learning process, which will allow students to put into practice their powerful knowledge in terms of management. Relevant approaches to their study are identified. The methodology is to find a conceptual and creative activity of the director, revealing his ability to qualitatively implement legal materials through the prism of cultural activities in the educational process, influencing in parallel and the educational component. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the disclosure of the organic combination of functions of director-creator, director-organizer, and director-manager, for the quality implementation of the legal-cultural project "I have the right". Conclusions. New forms of cultural realization are being expanded and offered to teachers, which will help in the future to answer the question of how to find creative directing techniques for implementing cultural projects together with state legal institutions, indicating the right vector of general improvement and development of society. Key words: director, director-organizer, organization management, directing practice, cultural creation, cultural space, dramatization, Ukrainian legal culture, legal consciousness, culture, legal educational activities

PROBABILISTIC SAFETY OF ESTUARY VESSELS BASED ON NONLINEAR ROLLING IN WIND AND WAVES

In the first place the discusser would like to congratulate Dr. Bačkalov with his paper, in which he assesses the new Belgian safety regulations for estuary vessels by means of a non-linear approach taking account the effect of a combination of beam waves and unsteady beam wind. The results presented are based on a solid, scientific background, and the author’s approach as published in former papers can be considered as the base of a promising methodology for evaluating the stability and safety of a vessel in waves and wind. As the discusser has supported the Belgian federal authorities in defining the methodology and formulating the present regulations, it is a pleasure to learn that the implementation of the latter is considered as a significant step in the general improvement of ship safety regulations.

In the Service of the Electress

This chapter begins by looking at Elizabeth Stuart's use of jewellery to understand the complex networks of honour and obligation she was negotiating. By the middle of 1615, the atmosphere in Heidelberg had changed, and for the better. Elizabeth asserted her authority in Heidelberg by taking responsibility for a small area of the soon-to-be-famous Heidelberger Gardens, the Hortus Palatinus, and with the full approval of her husband. She employed French architect and engineer Salomon de Caus to design the Hortus Palatinus; he stayed with Elizabeth until 1619, collaborating with her on the designs of several masques. Meanwhile, the Schomberg marriage and its celebrations served not only to unite the Anglo-Scottish and German factions at the Heidelberg Court, but also indicate a general improvement in relations between Frederick V and Elizabeth, something which may be put down to the retirement of the Dowager Electress. The chapter then recounts the death of Elizabeth's chief lady-in-waiting, Anne Dudley. It also illustrates the arrival of Elizabeth's first daughter, Palatine princess Elisabeth; it was Elizabeth's children who began the long process of binding her to Germany. By June of 1619, she was pregnant with her fourth child, Rupert, but still Elizabeth wished to return to England.

Analysis of the Damage Mechanism around the Crack Tip for Two Rubber-Toughened PLA-Based Blends

The toughening mechanisms of poly(lactic acid; PLA) blended with two different elastomers, namely poly (butylene adipate-co-terephtalate; PBAT) and polyolefin elastomers with grafted glycidyl methacrylate (POE-g-GMA), at 10 and 20 wt.%, were investigated. Tensile and Charpy impact tests showed a general improvement in the performance of the PLA. The morphology of the dispersed phases showed that PBAT is in the form of spheres while POE-g-GMA has a dual sphere/fibre morphology. To correlate the micromechanical deformation mechanism with the macroscopical mechanical behaviour, the analysis of the subcritical crack tip damaged zone of double-notched specimens subjected to a four-point bending test (according to the single-edge double-notch four-point bend (SEDN-4PB) technique) was carried out using several microscopic techniques (SEM, polarized TOM and TEM). The damage was mainly generated by shear yielding deformation although voids associated with dilatational bands were observed.

E-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: the impact on medical students’ perceived academic progress

The Covid-19 pandemic created one of the most stressful situations all around the world and affected almost all activity sectors, including medical education. Sudden restrictions on social interactions forced an abrupt transition from amphitheatres and physical examinations to online lectures and, despite difficulties, the academic community rallied to continue teaching. The swift transition left academia with no time to design custom platforms and confined the university to choose among a set of readily available tools: Google Classroom and Google Meet, Zoom and Moodle, which offer a basic framework for substituting the students’ needs. In some countries, ours included, most of the summer term took place online. Although pandemics are, hopefully, rare events, the experience with online classes should be used to improve and expand current teaching models, since this improvement could be a means to a general improvement of the medical teaching system. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic is not finished yet and many restrictions continue, affecting at least 20% of the total undergraduate training of several generations of doctors. The study aims to identify – within the medical students’ community - transferable aspects of online classes to the post-pandemic teaching in the perspective of blended learning. We deliberately chose to omit the examination part of the educational process in order to set the focus on the delivery of teaching. In this first analysis of the results, the degree of progress in reaching a high professionalism level was analyzed starting from the self-assessment of professional growth, that was previously found to be in good agreement with the actual achievements as derived from the traditional formative examination. [1]

The significant symbiotic interactions between a native mycorrhizal fungi complex newly identified and the endemic tree Argania spinosa Skeels mediate growth, photosynthesis and enzymatic responses under drought stress conditions.

Argan tree (Argania spinosa skeels) is one of the most affected species by desertification and global warming. To advance knowledge on how this tree can withstand drought stress, Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation with a native complex, mainly formed of Glomus genus, was studied on a set of growth and physiological parameters. Under controlled conditions, inoculated and non- inoculated Argan seedlings were grown for three months under three water regimes (25%, 50%, 75% relatively to the field capacity of used soil substrate). Results showed that the Argan tree had different growth abilities to develop and withstand the various applied water limitations. The AMF complex stimulates growth and mineral nutrition of Argan seedlings under the different imposed levels of water deficiency). The Relative water content (RWC) in leaves, the hydric potential and the stomatal conductance in Argan leaves had shown a general improvement in inoculated seedlings compared to non-inoculated ones. Soluble sugar and proline contents significantly increased in non-inoculated compared with inoculated seedlings under water-limiting conditions (25%). This was similar to oxidative enzyme (Catalase, peoxydase, superoxide dismutase) whose activity increased significantly in drought stressed seedlings.

Analysis of the main epidemiological parameters of morbidity with tuberculosis of children and adolescents of the Ryazan region in 2010–2019

AIM: This study aimed to identify the main trends of the epidemiology of tuberculosis in children and adolescents in the Ryazan Region (RR) by analyzing the main epidemiological parameters of morbidity in 20102019. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The morbidity of children and adolescents with tuberculosis in the RR was subjected to retrospective epidemiological analysis. The data of the official and reporting documentation of the Ryazan Regional Clinical Antituberculosis Dispensary and the materials of the state reports of Territorial Administration of Rospotrebnadzor (On the Condition of SanitaryEpidemiological WellBeing of Population) in 20102019 were used. The main epidemiological parameters of morbidity due to tuberculosis were calculated using mathematical methods. RESULTS: The proportion of children and adolescents in the structure of morbidity due to tuberculosis in the RR in 20102019 decreased by 3.9 times and reached 6.09% in 2019. The morbidity caused by the active form of tuberculosis in children (014 years) and adolescents (1517 years) evidently declined by -20.7% and -11.5%, respectively. In children, respiratory tuberculosis predominated (55%100%), and the leading clinical form was tuberculosis in intrathoracic lymph nodes (77%). In adolescents, only pulmonary tuberculosis was identified, and focal tuberculosis was the predominating clinical form (43%). In the study period, the highest morbidity in children was recorded at the age of 714 years. No cases of mortality among children and adolescents with tuberculosis were recorded in 20102019. In 20182019, the primary infection and the risk of infection among children under 14 years of age increased from 1.3% (2018) to 1.8% (2019) and from 2.6% (2018) to 3.3% (2019), respectively. This result might indicate that morbidity due to tuberculosis increased. The majority of ill children and adolescents were identified among vaccinated ones, suggesting that the protective properties of the vaccine were insufficient (80%). CONCLUSION: The morbidity of children and adolescents with tuberculosis decreased, and this decrease directly associated with the general improvement in the status of tuberculosis in the country; in particular, tuberculosis foci in the RF decreased by 2.2 times [4]. In the study period, the morbidity of children (014 years) decreased by 3.5 and 2.1 times in the RR and RF, respectively. The morbidity of adolescents (1517 years) decreased by 3.1 and 2.2 times in the RR and RF, respectively. The mortality of children and adolescents in the RP was 0.0 per 100,000 population of the given age groups. In the RF, their mortalities reduced by 6.5 and 1.6 times, respectively [4].

Mineral Composition of Potted Cabbage (Brassica Oleracea Var. Capitata L.) Grown in Zeolite Amended Sandy Soil

Vegetables are essential components in human diets because they are rich in vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibre. There is a growing interest in human nutrition enhancement through vegetable consumption to reduce micro mineral deficiencies, especially in households with low buying power. A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of zeolite amendment on the mineral composition of cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.), in relation to the soil chemical status. The experiment was carried out over two growing seasons (winter/spring) of 2018 and 2019. The treatments were in the ratios of 0:10, 1:9, 2:8, 3:7 zeolite to sandy soil, on a weight-to-weight basis. Zeolite improved soil chemical status (p < 0.05), except for soil iron (Fe) and phosphorus (P) contents. There was also a general improvement of macro minerals in cabbage with increased zeolite application, especially in the second season. Zeolite did not improve the micronutrients of the vegetable. This indicates that cabbage planted under zeolite amended soils provides no additional contribution to the fight against micronutrient deficiencies. However, zeolite showed potential for soil conditioning in soil macronutrients and soil pH.